Amarinder questions Saini’s continuance as Vigilance chief
Chandigarh, March 16
The PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, today questioned the appointment and continuance of Sumedh Singh Saini, who, he claimed, was facing charges in two separate murder cases as the Chief of the Vigilance Bureau in the state. Speaking during the debate on the Budget in the Vidhan Sabha today, Amarinder said, “I will be failing in my duties if I don’t mention the appointment of an officer as the Chief Vigilance Director who is facing a trial in two murder cases”.

Chandigarh, March 16
The Punjab Congress today chose to boycott the debate on the Budget staging a walkout after Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh while opening the debate on behalf of the party alleged figures given in the Budget were fudged and demanded a White Paper on the state’s finances.

Following the walkout after reading out from a prepared speech, Amarinder Singh said his party had decided to boycott the debate on the Budget as neither the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister nor the Finance Minister had chosen to respond to the Congress demand to reframe the Budget. There is no norm for the Treasury benches to respond to such a demand immediately.

By deciding to boycott the debate, the Congress has robbed its members of the chance to point out lacunae and to take its views to the people. Some Congress legislators were apparently unhappy with the party strategy and one of them, Harminder Jassi, even urged the party to reconsider its stand at a meeting of its legislature wing after the walkout.A few legislators even claimed the party did not give enough time to the Treasury benches to consider its request before staging the walkout.

While reading out his speech, Amarinder Singh said the Budget in its present form was not acceptable to the Congress. Demanding it be reframed, he said the House could pass the vote on account for three months by which time the government could bring out a White Paper on the true state of its finances.

The PCC President also demanded that the government constitute a joint Vidhan Sabha committee to conduct a probe into the transfer of government land to private entities in the name of infrastructure development. He gave the example of land given to the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences in this regard. He also alleged that the money received from selling properties had not been deposited in the Consolidated Fund.

Later talking to newspersons along with legislature party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, the PCC president claimed the Budget was “the biggest fudge and fraud ever attempted in the fiscal history of the state”. He claimed that while the Budget for 2009-10 had projected a revenue deficit of Rs 3,787 crore, it actually turned out to be Rs 5,251 crore. Amarinder Singh said what was shocking was that the revenue deficit for 2010-11 had been projected at Rs 3,705 crore and at a still lower level of Rs 3,378 crore for 2011-12.

Amarinder Singh also claimed that it was strange that while the revenue deficit was projected to come down from Rs 5,251 crore during 2009-10 to Rs 3,378 crore during 2011-12, the fiscal deficit was projected to go up from Rs 6,170 crore during 2009-10 to Rs 8,801 crore during 2011-12. 

Chandigarh, March 16
The Congress today took on the ruling SAD-BJP alliance for what it called the latter’s complete failure to maintain law and order situation in the state. Legislators from across the state raised several instances of police high handedness during Zero Hour and demanded the intervention of the government. But the government dismissed the allegations as mere rhetoric and refused to get drawn into any controversy.

Ishar Singh raised the issue of Kot Gangu Rai where an accused was yet to be arrested two months after he fired to kill an opponent. Similarly Gurpreet Singh Kangar from Rampura Phul raised the issue where the son of a trader who committed suicide due to indebtedness was picked up by the police on the eve of his board exams and asked to pay back his father’s debt. Balbir Sidhu from Mohali, while pointing out a notification of GAMADA, said that 80 riot-affected families living in 44 flats had been asked to vacate the flats in Mohali. He wanted to know if the SAD-BJP government that had been fighting for the cause of the 1984 riot victims was deliberately trying to uproot these people or whether it was unaware.

Again Samana MLA Brham Mohindra pointed out that for the past 33 months, 465 employees of the Sugar Mill at Rakhra Village in his constituency had not been paid salary. Out of these, 225 were regular employees and 240 were seasonal employees. He further stated that nine co-operative sugar mills in the state had been closed in the state.

Surinder Pal Singh Sivia, also of the Congress, raised the issue of extending work permits after the tendering process was over for Rajpur and Talwandi Saboo Thermal Plants. Harminder Jassi, however, expressed resentment over setting up large number of power plants in Bathinda, saying that the entire environment in the area had been polluted on account of fly ash from the plants.

Chandigarh, March 16
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today claimed Budget figures could not be fudged and that Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh was contradicting figures released by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) even as he asserted the Congress had conceded defeat before the beginning of the war by choosing to walk out rather than debate the Budget.

Talking to newspersons after the Congress staged a walkout and decided to boycott the debate on the Budget, the Deputy CM accused Amarinder Singh of uttering lies himself even as he claimed the Budget figures were fudged.

Quoting figures given by Amarinder Singh, the Deputy CM said the former Chief Minister had in his written note claimed that the fiscal deficit in 2006-07 was Rs 611 crore (0.50% of GSDP) whereas according to CAG figures it was Rs 4,384 crore (3.46% of GSDP).

He said that similarly Amarinder Singh had quoted the revenue deficit for 2010-11 wrongly as Rs 3,788 crore whereas it was Rs 3,705 crore.

Sukhbir Badal claimed the Congress leader was apparently perplexed as to how the SAD-BJP government had brought down outstanding debt as percentage of GSDP from 44.81 in 2002-03 during Amarinder’s term to 30.40 in 2010-11.

He claimed these CAG figures were a slap in the face of those Congress leaders as well as “disgruntled outfits” (read former FM Manpreet Singh Badal) that had indulged in propaganda that the SAD-BJP government had pushed Punjab into a debt trap.

Sukhbir Badal also claimed that Amarinder Singh had read out from a prepared script that he did not know anything about. He said it was a “great pity” that Amarinder Singh was so cut off from the realities of Punjab that he had read out a write-up, which contained imaginary figures, he added.

Describing the Budget presented by Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur as historic and path breaking, Sukhbir Badal said it had transformed Punjab and that the state was now truly out of the dark tunnel.

He said on the other hand it was a pity that Amarinder Singh could find only one day to participate in the most important Budget session and had even then found an excuse to escape from the rising temperature of the plains.

Chandigarh, March 16
The PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, today questioned the appointment and continuance of Sumedh Singh Saini, who, he claimed, was facing charges in two separate murder cases as the Chief of the Vigilance Bureau in the state.

Speaking during the debate on the Budget in the Vidhan Sabha today, Amarinder said, “I will be failing in my duties if I don’t mention the appointment of an officer as the Chief Vigilance Director who is facing a trial in two murder cases”.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court, while cancelling the appointment of CV Thomas as the CVC, had very aptly observed that officers of proven integrity should be appointed to such posts. “The personal integrity of the Chief Director, Vigilance, and the institutional integrity of Vigilance Bureau stand in tatters with the appointment of a person standing trial for murder,” he remarked.

Amarinder said Punjab needed an impartial, efficient and effective police force to deal with the deteriorating law and order situation, as was evident from the fact that crime during the first four years of this government increased at least by 26 per cent as compared to the last four years of the Congress government. “Instead, this government has politicised the police, which is being used for settling political scores,” he observed. 

Amritsar, March 16
Though the 119-year-old Khalsa College is on its way to attain the status of a university, faculty members are of the view that this would curtail the annual grant-in-aid of about Rs 5 crore, which the college was getting from the state government. Subsequently, it would affect their salaries, they added.

Out of the total 140 teachers, 88 have been deputed against aided posts. Ninety five per cent of their salaries are borne by the Punjab Government under the grant-in-aid head.

However, with an aim to start functioning as “Khalsa University” from the coming session, the management, as per the UGC’s stipulated norms, has applied for an NOC from Guru Nanak Dev (GND) University for admitting its students to the first year.

In protest against the move, teachers today raised “anti-management’ slogans and stopped Principal Daljit Singh from entering his office. The college authorities have declared to close the college tomorrow. However, confirming that a letter of indent for attaining a university status has been received, the Principal said a detailed project report had already been submitted to the Centre for compliance with the Private State Universities Act, 2010. “The management aspired to preserve the grant-in-aid and the subsequent interests of the present faculty,” he added.

Nevertheless, if all goes well, there would be a multi-domain university in Khalsa College’s 330- acre compound. It would have graduate and postgraduate courses in all major disciplines. At present, the management is being headed by Satyajit Singh Majithia, the father-in-law of the Deputy CM.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders, Harpal Bhatia and Laali Majithia, have flayed the move. 

Chandigarh, March 16
The Congress, both at the state as well as at the national level, has demanded a White paper on the state of Punjab’s fiscal health from the time when President’s rule was imposed in the state. Reiterating the demand raised by the Congress in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Manish Tewari, Congress national spokesperson and Member of Parliament from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, challenged the SAD - BJP government to lay bare the fiscal facts for the past two decades, so that the people could see facts for themselves.

Tewari said the SAD-BJP government in Punjab was trying to mislead the people by blaming the Centre for the fiscal mess created by the alliance. Talking at a Meet-the-Press Programme at the Chandigarh Press Club here today, he said, “This is essential to set the record straight.”

Refuting allegations by the Punjab Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, accusing the Centre for most of Punjab’s ills, Tewari said the total disbursement to all states under the NDA government was Rs 1, 82, 048 crore which jumped by 300 per cent to Rs 4,41,821 crore in 2010-2011. Even the tax devolved to states by the NDA in its last year 2003-2004 was Rs 65,784 crore. The tax given back to states rose to Rs 2, 19,302 during 2010-2011, when the UPA was in power. “How can the states allege any discrimination?” he questioned.

Taking the debate on fiscal mess in Punjab further, Tewari said that the NDA and the BJP were presenting Gujarat as their role model state. “But not many know that Gujarat has a debt of Rs 1,27,000 crore, making it the most indebted state in the country. The NDA follows on one fiscal model --- borrow, spend and leave the debt to the future generations. This has happened in Punjab and in many other states”.

In reply to a question, he pointed out that he had prevailed upon the Union Government to lift the ban on setting up of industry in Ludhiana. However, each case would be decided on its merit.

With regard to the turban issue, asking Sikhs across Europe to remove their religious headgear for security reasons, Tewari pointed out that the Prime Minister had taken up the issue three times with his French counterpart and there was a greater need to send out a strong signal, opposing disrespect to Sikhs.

Chandigarh, March 16
Punjab Health Minister and senior BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla and BJP’s former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jagdish Raj Sahni had a slanging match on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha for the second time in three days. Both legislators from the BJP were so fierce in their onslaught against each other that both the Speaker, Nirmal Singh Kahlon, and Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had to intervene.

It started during Question Hour in the beginning of the day’s proceedings when Sahni raised the issue of resignations by government doctors. A BJP MLA from Batala, Sahni wanted to know how many government doctors had resigned from service since 2007 and the reason for their resignation. He was, however, not satisfied by the reply of the minister who gave the number of resignations and the reasons.

But a furious Sahni rose to say that the reason for most resignations was the arrogant attitude of the minister. This upset the minister and the two exchanged harsh words.

Barely had the matter been resolved when another question listed by Sahni came up. This time it was on whether any inquiry had been ordered by the Union Government regarding mis-utilisation of Rs 4.50 crore received for planting herbal medicines. He directly levelled allegations of corruption and demanded that the inquiry report, if any, be placed in the House. After the minister gave a reply in the negative and added that the CBI had conducted a preliminary inquiry into the matter on the basis of source information, she lost her cool and the two entered into a verbal duel.

The two, both from the BJP, have been at loggerheads ever since the hospital run by Sahni relative was raided last year by the Health Department apparently on directions from Chawla.

Earlier another matter was raised by Abohar MLA Sunil Jakhar with regard to the sale of subsidised wheat seed by the Agriculture Department. Unsatisfied by the answer by Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah, Jakhar pointed out that there was large-scale irregularity in the sale of seeds. He demanded a probe after constitution of a house committee. Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal intervened and offered to make a Hosue committee comprising Jakhar and Virsa Singh Valtoha. But Jakhar declined to be a member of the committee. 

Ropar, March 16
The Ropar district administration has banned merry-go-rounds and swings during the Hola Mohalla Celebrations till March 21. None of these joy rides could be put up without taking permission from the administration.

Deputy Commissioner Arunjit Singh Miglani said a committee had been constituted, which would give permission for installing and running these joy rides. The chairman of this committee is subdivisional magistrate-cum-mela officer, Anandpur Sahib, APS Sandhu.

The decision has been taken keeping in mind the security of lakhs of pilgrims. “Such entertaining centres are usually overcrowded. On March 10, we had received recommendations from the police that such places be de-congested to provide safe exit routes in emergency,” said the DC.

Earlier, contractors, who had already taken land to install these joy rides, had opposed this order on a plea that this fair was being held for the past many years and nothing serious had happened. — TNS

Ludhiana, March 16
Four progressive farmers from Punjab will be honoured with the Chief Minister's Award during the Kisan Mela, to be held at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) tomorrow. Two farmers will get the award in horticulture, while the other two will be honoured for their services in agriculture. The farmers include Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Shergill, Surinder Kumar Ahuja and Surjeet Singh Chaggar.

For excellence in horticulture, Iqbal Singh Sidhu of Gumti Kalan village in Bathinda district has been selected for the Chief Minister’s Award. He has a holding of 40 acres and is in the agricultural profession for the past 26 years.

He cultivates potatoes on 10 acres and is concerned with maintenance of soil health through using green manure, farm yard and poultry manure. Iqbal Singh raises vegetables on beds and recharges his fields with rain water.

He is providing employment to 20 families at his farm.

For making significant progress in horticulture, Gurpreet Singh Shergill of Majal Khurd village in Patiala has also been selected for the award.

A trained mechanical engineer, Shergill is in farming since 1996 on his 36-acre ancestral land.

He has excelled in the cultivation of gladiolus in the area. Besides, Shergill carries out a variety of subsidiary occupations such as bee keeping, mushroom growing, rabbit farming, dairy and food processing.

Surinder Kumar Ahuja, a 73-year-old farmer, is a commerce graduate who has been cultivating his ancestral land of 150 acres for the last 50 years.

He has provided his inputs in various agricultural fora and the state Department of Horticulture and PAU has also recognised his contributions. Ahuja is propagating scientific farming among other farmers through his organisation called "Farm Solutions".

Surjit Singh Chaggar, resident of Chaggran village (Hoshiarpur), cultivates 67 acres of land. Chaggar uses laser land leveller and leaf colour chart (LCC) for saving water and nitrogen. Chaggar is also producing vermicompost at his farm since 2003 and has a dairy farm of 10 animals. 

Jalandhar, March 16
To check the growing trend of “paid news” in some sections of the print and electronic media in support of candidates contesting the Assembly or the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission is working on a code of conduct for the media.

Sources said at the time of the coverage of elections, the media would have to follow the code of conduct prescribed by the commission. Newspapers and the electronic media would have to make a clear demarcation in advertisements and news reports related to the poll. Publishing advertisements in form of news in support of any candidate would not be allowed.

Candidates would have to make payments through checks or drafts and not in cash to media establishments against advertisements they get published related to their election campaign.

The commission is also working on a proposal to stop the entry of criminals in the state Assemblies and Parliament. Sources said the commission was of the opinion that any person against whom charges had been framed in any case, he or she should not be allowed to contest the elections.

They added that the commission was not in favour of the state funding of the elections. That would put additional burden on people. But such an arrangement would not be helpful in checking the use of private money in the elections by various candidates. The issue before the commission was to stop candidates from spending money, mostly “black money”, in the elections. To do so, the commission will have to put strict curbs on election campaigns.

The sources said soon, the commission would make it mandatory for candidates to open their separate account in any bank to spend money in the elections. All donations would have to be accepted through cheque or draft and account of those donations would have to be maintained separately.

The Commission is also working on guidelines with regard to allowing NRIs to poll their votes in the elections in the country.

Jalandhar, March 16
If facts are any indication, prosperous states like Haryana and Punjab are fast climbing the ladder of the notorious human- trafficking nexus among the 28 states of the country.

The number of such cases is on the rise in both the states. The neighbouring state Haryana is at the sixth position with a total of 255 cases while Punjab stands 10th across the country with 147 cases of human trafficking recorded from 2007 to 2009. Surprisingly, Himachal Pradesh does not find any mention in the list of states.

These hard facts have come to the fore from the statewise data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, New Delhi. This information was given by Krishna Tirath, Minister of State (independent charge) for Women and Child Development in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha recently.

Among the seven Union Territories, Chandigarh reported 16 human trafficking cases and stands second, according to the data of the past three years. Tamil Nadu stands first with a total of 2,602 cases among the states while Pudducherry tops the chart with 19 cases in the list of union territories.

However, terming this as a casual report, President of the Lok Bhalai Party, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, said that he had facts to prove hundreds of such human trafficking cases from Punjab alone leave other states. “I challenge the governments to prove me wrong. I can highlight at least 50 times more such cases,” he stated. “Human trafficking is rampant under the garb of student visa, immigration agencies, marriage bureaus, visa consultancies, jobs abroad and cultural troupes,” he said.

Phagwara, March 16
A pall of gloom descended on Saprod village when the news of the killing of a village youth in Manila reached this village.

The victim, Jaswant Singh (25), was shot dead allegedly by some armed assailants in Manila yesterday. The incident took place when the deceased was taking lunch with his father, Kuldip Singh, at a dhabha. His father, however, escaped unhurt.

Earlier, three village youths had been killed in Manila.

Amritsar, March 16
Even as the issue of Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh’s coach being asked to remove his turban during a security check at the Milan airport in Italy echoed in Parliament today, Sikh leaders have expressed outrage over a series of “humiliating experiences” to members of the community at the same airport.

Talking to The Tribune, SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar said they would write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take up the matter with Italy at the highest level. “We will also seek time to meet him and discuss the issue,” he added.

The SGPC chief said they had time and again raised the issue with the Centre, but all their pleas had fallen on deaf ears. “The government should understand the gravity of the issue,” he said.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said being a Sikh himself, the PM should take up the matter with the countries where Sikhs were facing problems on this count. He said all the outfits making efforts in this direction should form a joint panel and fight for the cause along with the SGPC.

DSGMC President Paramjeet Singh Sarna said they had met Union Minister for External Affair Preneet Kaur last week and had urged her to consider moving European courts over the issue, as these security norms had been framed by European Parliament. He said they would continue their struggle and would not even hesitate if they themselves had to file a petition in the European court.

Former Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh said it was a serious issue and he was making all the efforts to approach the Ambassador of the European Union to India in this regard. He said Punjab MPs like Partap Singh Bajwa and Harsimrat Badal did a good job by raising the issue in Parliament today and with Union Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna making a statement on the floor of the House, he hoped the government would initiate some measures aimed at providing succour to the Sikh community.

Jaswinder Singh Dhaliwal, Patron of NRI Sabha, Punjab, who was also forced to take off turban at the same airport, said, “I have been pursuing the matter with the SGPC and urging them to raise the issue with the European Commission. I have also suggested the SGPC to form a panel to deal with the issues relating to Sikh identity and their religious symbols abroad.”

Earlier, Hazuri Ragi Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa was also compelled to take off his turban at the same airport and he had approached the Prime Minister over the issue.

Patiala, March 16
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar today laid the foundation stone of the “Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra Institute of Advanced Studies in Sikhism” at Bahadurgarh, a few km from Patiala. The institute will be set up on 10-acre land and will offer various courses, pertaining to the Sikh religion. “Since late Gurcharan Singh Tohra dedicated his entire life towards the well being of the Sikh panth, the institute is being set up after his name,” said Makkar.

In January this year, it was announced by the SGPC that the site of the institute had been shifted from Mohali to Patiala. Meanwhile, after laying the foundation stone of the institute, Makkar stated that funds to the tune of Rs 12 crore would be spent on setting up the institute. “The construction work of the institute building will be completed in two years. Six professors with 20-25 years of experience in the field of teaching and research along with 10 research scholars will be there in the institute,” he said.

Later, addressing the “Prof Sahib Singh Memorial Seminar,” organised by the Punjabi University’s Department of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Studies, in collaboration with the Khalsa Parcharak Jatha, UK, the SGPC president deplored the minuscule segment of society that was hell bent upon challenging the authority and supremacy of Akal Takht on small issues like Nanakshahi calendar. 

Phagwara, March 16
More than 75,000 policemen of the Punjab Police from the constable level to the DGP will be provided with a cashless health insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh each. This scheme will be implemented from April 1. This was stated by Punjab DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill while talking to TNS at the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, today.

When asked about the death of KCF (Panjwar) militant Sohan Singh in police custody, the DGP claimed that he had committed suicide, but a judicial probe had been ordered.

When asked about militants’ threat to some politicians, the DGP said according to intelligence agencies, only the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister were on terrorists’ hit list. The DGP further said the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, was providing adequate training to cops for every field and from now onwards, any cop could get training and related lectures online. This provision was today inaugurated by the DGP at the academy in the presence of academy director Rohit Chaudhary.

Amritsar, March 16
President of the SAD (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann has sought a CBI inquiry into the death of Sohan Singh, an alleged member of the Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar group), in police custody on March 14.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Mann doubted the veracity of police version that Sohan Singh had committed suicide. He was accompanied by the deceased wife, Bibi Bhupinder Kaur, and party men.

Mann claimed that earlier the police had raided the houses of Sohan Singh and his brother-in-law, Harbans Singh, without any valid documents. He alleged that the deceased was tortured to death.

Meanwhile, the Khalra Mission Organisation has sought the intervention of the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 16
In a significant order, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the State of Punjab to keep seats reserved for backward class and ex-servicemen dependent category candidates seeking appointment as Punjabi mistresses in the Education Department.

The order was passed by Justice Permod Kohli on different petitions filed by Jaspreet Kaur, Charanjeet Kaur and other candidates. They had challenged the action of a selection committee, whereby their categories were changed from backward class and ex-servicemen to the general category without giving any opportunity. They were made ineligible in the general category despite higher merits in their respective categories.

Counsel Kapil Kakkar and Hema Kakkar submitted that the petitioners had applied under the BC and ex-servicemen dependent category in response to an advertisement issued on September 23, 2009.

They were placed high up in merit after verifying their documents and two counselling sessions. However, they found that their categories had been changed to general and they were declared ineligible on account of lower merit in the general category.