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ASSEMBLY SESSION
Cong stages walkout on 2G Spectrum resolution move
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Oppn continues with SAD, BJP bashing
Turban Issue
Amarinder’s visit to dera criticised
Centre ‘ignoring issues of Sikhs’
Technology to ensure speedy justice: CJ
Doctors seek reduction in working hours
Summons of US Federal Court
3 students held for smuggling of opium
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ASSEMBLY SESSION Recruitment of CTU conductors rocks Vidhan Sabha Naveen S Garewal/TNS
Chandigarh, March 24 The issue was initially raised by Virasa Singh Valtoha of the SAD, who pointed out that while the re-organisation of territories in 1966 provided for Punjab and Haryana’s share in a 60:40 ratio in matters of appointments etc, but only one Punjabi youth had found place in the recruitment of conductors by the CTU. He further pointed out that 139 of the successful candidates were from Sonepat or Rohtak, which indicated that Ram Niwas, who is also Chandigarh ’s Transport Secretary had influenced the results. Avtar Brar of the Congress supported the move while Sunil Jakhar went a step further and suggested that Punjab should also demand a 60 per cent share in the revenue collection from Chandigarh as a matter of right. The Congress offered to help the SAD-BJP alliance in its campaign for securing Chandigarh for Punjab. Jhakhar wanted the House to bring in a resolution on revenue sharing. After the matter had been debated, CM Parkash Singh Badal suggested that either both sides could take an all-party delegation to Shivraj Patil or he could as the CM write to the Punjab Governor asking him to scrap the test results and order an inquiry into “the role of the Home Secretary”. There was unanimity on writing a letter and Badal assured that he would do it by tomorrow.
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Cong stages walkout on 2G Spectrum resolution move
Chandigarh, March 24 Before SAD legislator Jasjit Singh Bunny could read out the resolution that was eventually passed by a majority vote, Congress legislator Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi claimed that the resolution was in violation of the Assembly rules. Sodhi even read out the relevant rule to Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon. The Speaker, however, did not relent even after Congress legislature party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal claimed that the House was not being run according to the rules. After the walkout, the Speaker first upheld the Congress claim saying the resolution on the 2G scam could not be taken up, but later retracted. He said he was commenting on some observation made by Transport Minister Mohan Lal and not the resolution. Congress men on their part objected to the labelling of senior Congress leaders as “corrupt” by Jasjit Bunny. The Akali legislator listed an 11-member Congress team, whose names were, however, expunged from the record after vigorous protests by Opposition members. After Bunny, Surjit Jyani, who held the fort in the absence of the Speaker, gave an opportunity to SAD legislator Bikram Singh Majithia to speak on the resolution. Majithia alleged that the Congress was behind the 2G Spectrum scam and that this was the reason for the party’s extreme reluctance to order an investigation into the case. He also claimed that the Congress was not implementing a United Nations Convention, which would allow the return of black money to the country. Congress legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira, while claiming that the Assembly could not take up the resolution, alleged that the SAD was responsible for the creation of a sand mafia in the state. He said similarly, the SAD had allowed the monopolisation of cable news network with one company, Fastway, controlling the entire network in the state. Khaira said the Congress on its part had taken action in the 2G spectrum case and that the SAD, if it had any guts, should first take action against State vigilance chief Sumedh Singh Saini, who was an accused in a double murder case.
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Oppn continues with SAD, BJP bashing
Sale of land Harminder Singh Jassi accused the government of selling common panchayat land in Bathinda district for Rs 700 to 800 crore. But at the same time, he said the government had taken this money and spent it in other districts for electoral
gain. Dog menace Ajitinder Singh Mofar of the Congress raised the issue of dog menace in the state pointing out an incident where a 40-year old man had been eaten up by dogs in
Baghapurana. It was then decided the Mofar will bring in a calling attention motion on the
issue. Agricultural
land Makhan Singh also of the Congress raised the issue of the acquiring of agricultural land for Kot Shamir and Gidderbaha thermal plants.
Chandigarh, March 24
It also took on the government for its “failure” to make smooth arrangements for a state-level function held yesterday, leading to traffic chaos and harassment to people.
Following the ongoing attack from the Congress, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was forced to make a statement on the floor. He declared that a Vigilance probe into the alleged embezzlement had been completed and a report had been sent to the legal cell for some opinion. “If there is anything amiss, the guilty will not be spared,” he said. The issue was initially raised by former Congress President Lal Singh terming traffic chaos as an administrative failure. He said due to this lapse of the local administration, thousands of people who wanted to pay tributes to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their martyrdom day could not reach Khatkar Kalan. He then referred to the embezzlement of several crores of rupees in 2008 involving a SAD minister without naming him. Some members of the Treasury benches were heard saying that Swaran Singh, Chairman of the Punjab Arts Council, had told VB officials that minister Hira Singh Gabria was “involved in the furnishing of bogus bills”. The matter was again raised by Love Kumar Goldy, Congress MLA from Garshankar, who pointed out that the matter had come to light after filing an RTI application while the government was trying to hush up the matter. Gabria got up to defend himself, but he could not say anything in pandemonium that prevailed. It was then that on repeated pleas of the Speaker, there was some silence and the CM got up to make a statement saying he was aware of the scam and guilty would be brought to book. The Punjab Arts Council had spent Rs 3.05 crore on a function to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh on September 29, 2008, at Khatkar Kalan. Of this, Rs 1.49 crore was reportedly spent on lighting, stage, seating arrangement, tents, greenrooms, sound system, and power supply; Rs 1.12 crore on signing up singers and musicians; Rs 18.53 lakh on television / video production, stay, and transport; Rs 11.42 lakh on publicity and Rs 2.52 lakh on hospitality. Whereas, it was later discovered that two fictitious bidding firms were created and most bills were inflated and fake.
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Ex-Akali minister’s son flays SAD in presence of Badal
Kauli (Patiala), March 24 Airing their grievances in the presence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, members of the late minister’s family said they had been ignored by the SAD notwithstanding the fact that Jasdev Singh Sandhu was a Taksali leader and remained an Akali MLA for five times. In her speech, the minister’s daughter-in-law, Anupinder Kaur, said the contribution of his father-in-law for strengthening the Akali Dal had taken a backseat following which they had decided that Tejinderpal, a former Chairman of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board, would contest elections from Ghanaur, irrespective of the fact that whether the SAD gave him ticket or not. Reacting to the announcement, Badal said outstanding services rendered by leaders and party workers would not be ignored at any cost during the allotment of party ticket in the forthcoming Assembly poll. “It is too early to decide about the allotment of party ticket. But after having deliberations with the party leadership, criteria for ticket allotment would be laid down keeping in view an individual’s contribution and performance,” Badal told mediapersons. After addressing the media, Badal left the venue in a hurry. Expressing his views on the issues taken up by the late minister’s family, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also attended the programme, said: “We have no differences with the late minister’s family. Since Jasdev Singh Sandhu and my father Parkash Singh Badal worked relentlessly for the welfare of the SAD for long, the issue is more of a family matter and will be resolved amicably.” Sukhbir further said the contribution of the family and the performance of an individual and his popularity in the area would be the key factors to be taken into consideration during the allotment of ticket. “At this stage, it is too early to decide on this matter, as the final decision has to be taken at the level of the party keeping in view aspirations of the people”, he added. Earlier, during the programme, Badal released a calendar on the theme of “Empowerment of Women”, published by the Jasdev Singh Sandhu Group of Colleges.
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Students face ‘harassment’ as CM’s chopper lands at Punjabi varsity
Patiala, March 24 Due to the chopper landing, the working day of the university till afternoon was disturbed. Patiala DC, Dipinder Singh, said that when the schedule was finalised, the university premises was used because it was safe and nearest to the venue. “However if the university authorities inform us, we will find another site for the same,” he said, adding that they had written to the university authorities before taking the site. Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh denied that anyone faced any harassment due to the high-profile visit as the cops did not prohibit student movement.
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SGPC BUDGET
SGPC general secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur read out the budget speech at Teja Singh Samundri Hall in the presence of Sikh high priests, SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar and SGPC members. The SGPC increased allocation for maintenance of gurdwaras from Rs 311.59 crore last year to Rs 368.79 crore in 2011-12. Similarly, the allocation for upkeep and development of SGPC-run schools and colleges witnessed a rise from Rs 77.53 crore to Rs 84.34 crore. The allocation for education funds has also gone up from Rs 15.88 crore to Rs 17.36 crore. The SGPC will be opening 25 new schools/colleges between 2011 and 2013, apart from Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University at Fatehgarh Sahib where admissions in new courses will begin from this academic session. Out of these 25 institutions, 17 are coming up in the Malwa region, the stronghold of the ruling SAD, three in Majha, and one in Doaba. Interestingly, the SGPC has allocated Rs 40 crore for propagation of Sikhism, a decrease of Rs 6 crore as compared to last year's budget. Among the highlights of the budget are Rs 8 crore for building a gurdwara at Washington in US which will serve as a centre for spreading awareness on Sikhism to help the community deal with the problems it is facing on account of security barriers and mistaken identity abroad. The SGPC also allotted Rs 50 lakh for then next of kin of those killed during the Hondh-Chillar massacre in Haryana in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. In a significant development, the SGPC passed a resolution, demanding that the historic Khalsa College should continue to function as it is and separate arrangements should be made if the college management intends to set up a university. Meanwhile, the issue of separate Haryana gurdwara committee rocked the budget session with HSGPC (ad hoc) President Jagdish Singh Jhinda trying to make his point even before the start of the budget speech. When he was denied an opportunity to speak, he tendered his resignation from the SGPC and walked out of the session. However, the House rejected his resignation while Makkar dubbed it as a mere publicity stunt. Didar Singh Nalvi, another SGPC member from Haryana, said Jhinda’s resignation proved that he had nothing to do with the separate gurdwara panel for Haryana.
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Turban Issue
New Delhi, March 24 A delegation of SAD MPs, led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, said: “It was deliberate and repeated harassment of Sikhs.” The delegation met Italian Ambassador Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte here this morning. Emerging from the meeting, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said she was dissatisfied with the response of the Central Government, adding that, “It shows a lack of seriousness in dealing with the matter.” Amritinder Singh, coach of international golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, was asked to remove his turban twice within a few days when he entered and exited through the Milan airport in Italy while accompanying the player for a golf tournament. Dhindsa and the Bathinda MP added that the delegation had been assured by the Italian envoy that an inquiry was on and the official concerned would be taken to task. Dhindsa said in view of an assurance by Italians, a protest of the Delhi unit of the SAD, led by Manjit Singh GK, had been called off. Other MPs in the delegation were Rattan Singh Ajnala, Naresh Gujral, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan and Sher Singh Ghubaya. Yesterday, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna had condemned the behaviour of Milan airport personnel and called it a “national insult”.
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Amarinder’s visit to dera criticised
Bathinda, March 24 Daduwal warned that the Sikh electorate would keep the defiance of Amarinder Singh in mind during the assembly elections next year. He criticised Amarinder Singh for visiting the Dera chief, Gurmit Ram Rahim, and accused him of challenging the fundamentals of Sikhism for electoral gains. The visit was aimed at the coming assembly elections, he claimed. Daduwal, who has his base in the Malwa region and was also in the centrestage during the Dera-Sikh riots, pointed out that Gurmit Ram Rahim had impersonated as the last Sikh Guru Gobind Singh in 2007 that had hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs. “I will take up the issue at the highest level to get the Congress leader punished for rubbing salt on our wounds,” Daduwal said. Meanwhile, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Captain Amarinder Singh said his visit to Dera Sacha Sauda at Sirsa on Monday was part of his programme to pay a courtesy call to all the prominent dera heads in and around the state.
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Centre ‘ignoring issues of Sikhs’
Amritsar, March 24 In a resolution passed during the budget session, the SGPC said whenever there was an incident of misbehaviour with Sikhs at any international airport, they brought it to the notice of the PM and the Union Home Minister, but the issue was not addressed at any level by the government. In another resolution, the House flayed the Hondh Chhillar massacre. The House also passed a resolution seeking clemency for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who had been awarded death sentence in connection with a bomb blast targeting Maninderjit Singh Bitta.
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Technology to ensure speedy justice: CJ
In an exclusive interview to The Tribune soon after taking over as the chairman, Chief Justice Bhalla said that in many cases justice delayed by even a few hours could make a difference between righteousness and its denial. “It is all about providing instant justice,” said Justice Bhalla. The development is significant as normally the parties have to get a copy of the directions for communicating the same to the authorities concerned. The former Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court and the Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Bhalla, knows what he is saying. During his stint in the Chhattisgarh High Court, he had successfully tried mailing court orders pertaining to a case directly to the Union of India for early implementation. Justice Bhalla said that protection of life and personal liberty as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, will be top on his priority list. “Everyone has the right to lead his life with honour and dignity, and that right cannot be taken away from him,” asserted Justice Bhalla. And how does he plan to achieve the objective? Justice Bhalla says that he plans to bring the police, the administration and the common man on the same level platform through “good interaction”. “The intention is to ensure that the citizen does not feel the police and the administration are against him,” he said. “Once the police, the public and the administration are on the same platform, the violations of basic human rights will dip,” he added. Justice Bhalla is also expected to bring down the numbers of pending complaints by bringing the battling sides face to face. “A substantial number of cases can be disposed of if the judges mediate like mothers,” he said. “Lord Krishna did not succeed in the mediation process because one party was not only stubborn but also looked at him with suspicion. That is why judges have to act not like lords, but as mothers,” he said. Justice Bhalla believes a little persuasion can make a lot of difference. “The problems stem from the fact that the authorities concerned wait for things to happen before initiating action. The attitude has to change with a little persuation,” he said. Justice Bhalla said that the thrust of the legal system has to shift from judgements to justice.
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Sanitation Drive
Ropar, March 24 13 sarpanches from 51 villages selected for Nirmal Gram Puraskar award represented Punjab in the prize distribution function held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The selected villages included 17 villages each from Amritsar and Bathinda, four each from Gurdaspur and Kapurthala, eight from Ropar and one from Ferozepur.The villages from Ropar district include Dabur and Nanowal from Anandpur Sahib, Rashipur from Chamkaur Sahib, Bahadurpur, Rodemajra, Lakhanpur, Madpur and Patial from Ropar. With community participation people of Bahadurpur village in Ropar district have successfully ensured that no open defecation takes place in their village. Instead of depending on state government for funds, villagers got together and laid underground sewer on their own. NK Dhir, state coordinator for total sanitation campaign (TSC) and Superintending Engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department, said this campaign was a comprehensive program to ensure sanitation facilities in the rural areas with broader goal to eradicate the practice of open defecation. The campaign lays emphasis on information, education and communication, capacity building and hygiene education for effective behaviour change with involvement NGOs.
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Doctors seek reduction in working hours
Patiala, March 24 President of the federation DC Sharma said since Saturday remained full working day in all the government hospitals and health centres, mandatory working hours for the doctors should be reduced without any delay. “In addition to their routine duties, the doctors and paramedical staff have to attend emergency cases at odd hours and hence they are overstressed,” he said. — TNS
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Summons of US Federal Court
Amritsar, March 24 “The default judgment against the Congress will give the victims an opportunity to seek compensatory and punitive damages from the party for its role in genocidal attack on Sikhs,” said SFJ’s legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. According to him, the default judgment against the Congress would pave the way for filing criminal complaints against its leadership under various international laws.
— TNS
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3 students held for smuggling of opium
Abohar, March 24 This is second incident in the past three days when the police has arrest youths involved in smuggling narcotic. Earlier, two youths from Nagour district of Rajasthan, were arrested on March 21 while trying to smuggle about 3 kg opium from their native place to Amritsar district. Manish Kumar, alias Meesu, Harpreet Singh alias Happy and Lakhwinder Singh alias Lakha, all students of Class XII of a school in Dabwali (Haryana), were going to supply opium to their customers across Punjab when they fell into police trap. Police sources said all the accused were below 20 years of age and were stopped by a police party near Kadaka Singh Wala Dhani in this subdivision. After seeing the police, the accused left the motorcycle and tried to flee but were apprehended. Abohar SP Varinder Brar said about 4 kg opium was recovered from the accused. He said Pawan Kumar, father of accused Manish Kumar, was a renowned smuggler and was presently lodged in Sirsa jail for smuggling narcotics. Manish had managed to initiate Harpreet and Lakhwinder into this illegal trade.
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Reacting to the allegations, UT Home Secretary-cum-Transport Secretary Ram Niwas claimed that he had absolutely “no role” in the selection process as there was no interviews for the selections. The entire selection process was outsourced to Panjab University, which conducted the test on behalf of the UT Administration.
Amritsar, March 24
Chandigarh, March 24