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Akalis to blame for verdict on BBMB, says Amarinder
Now, check your answer sheets at PTU
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Sarna: SAD (Delhi) to support parties that are
anti-Badal
Paramjit Singh Sarna, SAD (Delhi) president
Bhattal demands longer assembly session
Won’t use chopper for canvassing, car will do: Manpreet
Amid political rivalry, farmers see their paddy perish
Tearful adieu to playwright Gursharan Singh
Khatkar Kalan village remembers Bhagat Singh
Block Samiti chief Dhillon suspended
Students boycott classes; PU law centre unaware
Why delay in deciding on mercy plea, asks SC
6 HC judges to be sworn in tomorrow
Arguments lead to spat between lawyers in HC
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Akalis to blame for verdict on BBMB, says Amarinder
Chandigarh, September 28 Reacting to the SC judgement, Capt Amarinder said he had consistently maintained that the Akalis, because of their narrow and sectarian vision, had broken Punjab into pieces along religious lines and in the process surrendered huge resources like hydroelectric power. “The Akalis wanted to make Punjab a Sikh majority state with the sole purpose of forming government in the state”, he said. “Yet they could never form a government of their own although they surrendered so much in the bargain to the newly created states of HP and Haryana. The SC verdict is the outcome of that narrow vision,” he said. “Had Punjab not been fragmented, the state would have had a huge potential for hydroelectric power and it would never had faced any shortage.” The PCC president said despite a dip in the demand, the state government had introduced a four-day power cut for industry and regular cuts for domestic consumers. The former Chief Minister said after the SC verdict and the closure of Unit IV of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant at Bathinda, there was bound to be a severe power crisis in the state. Amarinder said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced in 2007 that Punjab would become power surplus within three years. “They have not even been able to maintain the existing generation, what to speak of improving it or making it surplus”, he pointed out. Surplus power by 2014: Chaudhari Bathinda: KD Chaudhari, CMD, PSPCL, said on Wednesday that Punjab would become power surplus by 2014 with three new thermal power plants being commissioned to their full capacity. Chaudhari, who was in town, said the 1980 MW Talwandi Sabo thermal plant would be commissioned in November 2012 and the Rajpura and the Goindwal Sahib thermal plants would become operational in 2014. He said the NTPC had yet to respond to the issue of land acquisition for the setting up of a 2640 MW thermal plant at Gidderbaha. He said the deadline for signing an MoU with Indiabulls for the 1320 MW Gobindpura thermal power plant had been extended by a year with the project entangled in a land row. — TNS
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Now, check your answer sheets at PTU
Jalandhar, September 28 A notification in this connection was issued by Punjab Technical University (PTU) Registrar Dr HS Bains in compliance with the recent orders of the Supreme Court. The apex court order came in the case ‘CWP 6454 of 2011 titled CBSE and Another v/s Adita Bandhopadhyay and Others’. However, the university, as per the order, had the right to conceal the identity of the examiner. PTU Vice Chancellor Dr Rajneesh Arora said the order had been passed after studying the copy of the judgment. He said legal opinion had also been taken before implementing it. He said the order would add transparency to the working of the examination branch of the university. “We are the first university in the region to implement the order,” he said. The university had been earlier following the challenge evaluation system under which a student desirous of seeing his result could see his paper in front of the examiner after paying a fee of Rs 2,500. If he was able to prove to the examiner that he deserved more marks on any account, the fee was refunded to the student. The scheme, however, was dropped sometime back. Now, the students would be able to see their paper or copy under the RTI Act by paying a minimal Rs 10 as fee in addition to duplicate copy charges. Adviser to VC Dr Nachhatar Singh said the university was contemplating on devising some system to tackle the complaints that would start coming from students’ side. “We may set up some neutral board of examiners to study complaints, if any. The teachers of a particular subject can be called on a particular days to answer queries and handle complaints. We may even first demand a written recommendation from the college teacher of the student for increase of marks,” he said. “Anyways, the implementation of the Act would come as a big check on the examiners,” added Dr Singh. Showing the way A student of the Punjab Technical University or its affiliated colleges can inspect his answer sheets by filing an RTI application. A copy of the answer sheets can also be obtained You can’t... Know the name of the examiner who checked the answer sheet regarding which the RTI application has been filed Earlier practice The PTU earlier had been following the challenge evaluation system under which a student could see his answer sheet in the presence of the examiner for a fee of Rs 2,500. If the student was able to prove to the examiner that he deserved more marks on any account, the fee was refunded. The scheme, however, was dropped sometime back
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Sarna: SAD (Delhi) to support parties that are anti-Badal
Ludhiana, September 28 “The Congress can defeat Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. But I want to make it clear that we will not indulge in any kind of bargaining or seat sharing with the Congress. Our sole aim is to defeat Badal and his party and that is why I have suggested our party workers that we should not contest from any constituency,” said Sarna. Sarna’s party was part of the Panthic Morcha, which bagged two seats — Surjit Singh Tugalwal (Sri Hargobindpur) and Kulbir Singh Barapind (Phillaur) — in the recently held Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections. The Panthic Morcha today honoured all its candidates who had contested the SGPC elections. “Despite facing problems, they stood by us and now it is our turn to honour them for their courage. I have even suggested that all parties in the Panthic Morcha should merge and form one party, which can take Parkash Singh Badal head on,” added Sarna.
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Bhattal demands longer assembly session
Patiala, September 28 Speaking to mediapersons at the Circuit House here, Bhattal said the
SAD-BJP coalition wanted a short assembly session so that they did not have to face queries by Congress MLAs on various issues, including the government’s corrupt practices, deteriorating fiscal health of the Power Corporation and the Hansi-Butana canal wall. “As Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan
Sabha, I am sending a letter to Punjab Assembly Speaker demanding that since this assembly session will be the last session of the
SAD-BJP government, it should be held for at least 15 days,” she said. On the SAD planning to bring a resolution in the assembly seeking clemency for Devinderpal Singh
Bhullar, she said the Congress would oppose any such move. — TNS
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Won’t use chopper for canvassing, car will do: Manpreet
Bathinda, September 28 On the possibility of issuing an invitation to the BSP or the SAD (Longowal) for an election alliance, Manpreet said: “We can’t send an invitation to these parties through newspapers. However, if I get an opportunity to meet any of the leaders of these parties, I will approach them on the issue.” Manpreet was here to inaugurate a blood donation camp organised by his party to celebrate the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Bibi Wala road. Manpreet was among those to donate blood. As many as 26 units of blood were collected by a team of the blood bank of the local civil hospital. Regarding seat sharing with the CPI and the CPM, Manpreet said a meeting of the PPP, the CPI and the CPM leaders would be held on October 5 where everything would be decided, including the common minimum programme . The alliance would contest all the 117 seats, he added. Manpreet said he would not hire chopper for canvassing in the elections as his car would do. He said he would bring disgruntled persons from other parties into his party fold. When told that a former SAD minister was interested in contesting the elections on his party ticket, Manpreet said he should approach the PPP leadership for the purpose. Regarding the selection of candidates, he said the candidates would be selected by committees, formed on the pattern of the Green Light Committees, which were constituted in a few foreign countries to select candidates. Such committees had retired judges and VCs as members, he explained. Regarding clemency to Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, Manpreet said the government should understand and respect the sentiments of the people of the state. After his exit from the SAD, Manpreet said he was enjoying every moment of his life as he was now free to speak his mind and do whatever he believed in.
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Amid political rivalry, farmers see their paddy perish
Muktsar, September 28 But now these brawls have started precipitating into political conflicts for which the villagers are quite unprepared. And moreover when these political conflicts have 'Sukhbir-Manpreet spat' connotations, it is more hard time for the villagers. A month ago, the farmers of inundated Fattanwala village of Muktsar assembly constituency dug up a road to make passage for floodwater. These farmers not only had a quarrel with their next neighbours, the farmers of Akalgarh village for opening the water channel towards their fields, but also are now facing attempt to murder charges for allegedly attacking policemen who had reached to pacify the fighting farmers. The police has booked two cousins of Manpreet Singh Badal, besides 60 others, on attempt to murder charge. One of these cousins is Jagjit Singh Honey, a former chairman of the Muktsar Market Committee who resigned from the chairman's post days after Manpreet was ousted from the SAD (B). Manpreet's another cousin, Amritpal Singh, has also been named as main accused in the case. Fattanwala is known as Manpreet's stronghold, the village being his maternal ancestral village. So while Honey and Amritpal have gone into hiding, other accused in the case have been trying to "mollify" the ruling party leaders vowing their support to the SAD (B) and distancing themselves from Manpreet's PPP. After a month in hiding, Honey today moved an application for anticipatory bail in a Ferozepur court. In his application, he accused the ruling SAD (B) of implicating him in a false case only for the reason that he was Manpreet's cousin and supporting the PPP. Granting a stay on Honey's arrest, the court has sent notice to the state government for its version for October 4. "For the past 10 months, the police is being misused brazenly to implicate Manpreet's supporters in fake cases to mount pressure on them to surrender or vanish," said Honey. Amritpal said: "I and Honey have been living in Muktsar for the past several years and our agriculture land is on lease. How can we fight over water drainage and attack the police party, it is a big surprise." The case has been registered on the complaint of Rajiv Devgan, an SDO in the PWD. About Honey and Jagjit Singh's presence at the dispute site, Devgan avoided reply but said Fattanwala farmers made attack on police party when the police was trying to pacify the fighting farmers. Since the time Manpreet parted his ways with the SAD (B), there was no financial grant for Fattanwala. While 450 pump motors were working round the clock for the drainage of rainwater in submerged villages of Gidderbaha and Lambi constituency, there was not even a single pump motor in Fattanwala where over 500 acres paddy crop was under two-foot-deep water for the past over a month, said Joginder Singh, Fattanwala's sarpanch. However, the area executive engineer, drainage, Vijaypal Singh Mann said the motor pumps were used in the villages where the rainwater entered the houses and there was no such house in Fattanwala. About Manpreet's allegations of political vendetta, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the charges were false. "I believe in democracy and never indulge in such cheap tactics to suppress political opponents," the CM said.
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Tearful adieu to playwright Gursharan Singh
Chandigarh, September 28 The doyen of Punjabi theatre died late last night. Tributes were paid by admirers amid slogans. “An institution in himself, Bhaji
(Gursharan Singh) will continue to live in our hearts and inspire us to fight injustice,” said a member of his theatre group, fighting tears. Wreaths were placed by Daljit Singh
Cheema, adviser to the Punjab CM, DS Saroya, Director NZCC, Harjinder
Kaur, chairperson, Punjab Arts Council, Kewal Dhaliwal, Jatinder Kaur, Hardeep Gill
(Amritsar), Deshbhagat Yadgaar Committee (Jalandhar), Lalit Kala Akademi chief Dewan Manna, Neelam Man Singh, Dolly
Tewari, Kamal Tewari, GS Channi, Rani Balbir, Dr Sahib Singh, Pran
Sabharwal, Dr Prem Singh, Joginder Dayal of the CPI, Rajpal Singh and Gurbhajan Gill. Hailed as “Yugpurush” Gursharan Singh became the voice of the oppressed masses. Born on September 16, 1929, at Multan (now in Pakistan), he completed his Masters in technical chemistry from Khalsa College,
Amritsar. He worked as a Project Research Officer at the Bhakra dam and later shifted to the Irrigation Department. But theatre remained his first love and he opted for voluntary retirement. He inspired the younger generation to use theatre as a tool for social change. His disciples include National school of Drama alumnus Kewal
Dhaliwal, Dr Sahib Singh, Anita Shabdeesh and Iqatar Singh. Gursharan Singh leaves behind his wife Kailash
Kaur, daughters Dr Navsharan Kaur and Dr Areet Kaur and grand-daughter
Nadiya. A sammelan in memory of the deceased will be held at the grounds opposite the Sector 34 gurdwara on October 2, said family sources.
Amritsar: A pall of gloom descended on theatre artistes and residents of Ranjit
Pura, where once Gursharan Singh lived, as news of his demise came in. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Award (1993), Gursharan Singh took drama to the ordinary people with his innumerable street plays. Popular TV artiste Jatinder Kaur described him as a crusader against social evils. She said she joined theatre in 1964 and “Bhaji stood like a rock behind me”. Punjabi playwright Jatinder
Brar, who runs Punjab Naatshala, said he became a member of Gursharan Singh’s Amritsar Kala Manch in the late sixties.
Jagdish Sachdeva, who has been associated with theatre for the past three decades, said: “Bhaji encouraged me to write plays with a social message.” Gursharan Singh had to leave his family home here and move to Chandigarh during the peak of militancy. He kept his bond with the city, turning a portion of his house into Guru Khalsa Library.
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Khatkar Kalan village remembers Bhagat Singh
Nawanshahr, September 28 Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Paul, accompanied by officials of different departments and SAD MLA from Banga Chaudhary Mohan
Lal, paid tributes to the martyrs, including Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and
Sukhdev, in the morning. Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu along with his supporters reached there to pay homage to the martyrs. A large number of Congress workers from Balachaur attired in ‘kurta
pyajamas’ and turban in the style of the great martyr took out a motorcycle rally from Balachaur to Khatkar
Kalan. The People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) organised a blood donation camp. Abhey
Sandhu, PPP leader and nephew of Bhagat Singh, inaugurated the camp where as many as 100 units of blood were collected. The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Cultural Club, Khatkar
Kalan, organised a cultural fair. Noted artistes sang patriotic songs on the occasion. Kalgidhar Sewa Jatha organised an exhibition at Khatkar
Kalan. The activists of Yuva Shakti Sangathan from Rajasthan also reached Khatkar Kalan to pay their tributes.
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Block Samiti chief Dhillon suspended
Patiala, September 28 When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner Andita Mitra confirmed the development. Dhillon and his cousin Amandeep Singh, who is sarpanch of Pathanmajra village, had allegedly beaten up the BDPO in his office on September 19. Subsequently, the Punjab Development Officers Association had met Rural Development and Panchayat Minister in Chandigarh and demanded action against the two.
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Students boycott classes; PU law centre unaware
Ludhiana, September 28 Though the students’ protest entered its eighth day today with students boycotting their classes, neither the director nor the university seemed to be interested in solving the issues of the students. The students are to take their exams from November 15, but not a single class of two subjects has been held at the campus due to the unavailability of faculty members. “We have sent several messages to our director to listen to our grievances, but to no avail. We have not attended even a single class of the subjects — pleading and drafting and history — due to the unavailability of teachers. Even for getting re-appear or re-evaluation forms, we have to go to Chandigarh. We get the forms attested here and then go to Chandigarh to submit it,” said a BA LLB student. Another student said there was no permanent director at the centre, adding that the present director had been given an additional charge of the post and he preferred to stay back in Chandigarh as he was the Dean, MBA Department, Panjab University. Deepak Kapoor, director of the university, said he was not aware of the students boycotting the classes. “As far as the recruitment of teachers for the two subjects is concerned, we will be doing that shortly,” he said.
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Hearing on Bhullar’s petition
New Delhi, September 28 “What happened between 2003 and 2011 (when the mercy petition was pending)? Anybody will be anxious to know,” a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya told Additional Solicitor-General Harin Rawal, who appeared for the Union Government. “We can close our eyes altogether and pass an order on Bhullar’s plea for quashing the Presidential order rejecting his mercy petition in view of the delay without going into the reasons. Unfortunately, we have not stopped reading newspapers which talk about some death row convicts getting support from sections of society... “One way is to decide the cases strictly on Constitutional and legal issues uninfluenced by other issues,” the Bench observed. The apex court’s remarks assume significance in the light of the resolution passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly seeking pardon for those involved in the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and signs of a similar move in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to stall the execution of Afzal Guru convicted in the Parliament attack case. The Tamil Nadu assembly had passed the resolution hours before the Madras High Court stayed the execution of the three convicts and issued a notice to the government. The High Court has sought the government’s response on a petition filed by the three pleading for revocation of the death penalty due to the long delay in rejecting their mercy pleas. The government assured the court that it would provide the reasons for the delay by October 10, the next date of hearing on the petitions filed by Bhullar and his wife Navneet Kaur, pleading that Bhullar be spared the gallows.
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6 HC judges to be sworn in tomorrow
Chandigarh, September 28 Available information suggests the warrants of appointment of the six advocates as the Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have been signed. The designated Judges are expected to be administered oath on Friday morning. The High Court has already received a fax message on the clearing of their names for elevation. The lawyers being elevated are RN Raina, NK Sanghi, Rameshwar Malik, TS Dhindsa, PS Dhaliwal and Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia. The oath is expected to be administered by Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar, as Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is currently on a long leave following illness. It is also believed that Justice Mohinder Pal stands transferred out to the Gujarat High Court. He was elevated as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 8, 2007. Born on December 30, 1956, Justice Mohinder Pal is a Panjab University alumnus. This is the first time in the recent past that just one Judge has been transferred out of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Prior to this, three judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court were transferred out in October last. In fact, the transfer orders of Justice Ashutosh Mohunta, Justice Vinod Kumar Sharma and Justice HS Bhalla were received by the High Court on October 13, 2010. With the elevation of the six advocates, the number of judges will go up to 48 against the current strength of 42. But it will drop to 47 after Justice Mohinder Pal joins the new place of posting. Even after the elevation of the additional Judges, the vacancies of Judges in the High Court will continue, as their sanctioned strength is 68. The result of the shortage of Judges is there for all to see. As of now, the High Court has approximately two lakh pending cases. The New Judges RN Raina NK Sanghi Rameshwar Malik TS Dhindsa PS Dhaliwal Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia
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Election
Petition Against Capt
Chandigarh, September 28 As the petition came up for resumed hearing before Justice Rajive Bhalla of
the Punjab and Haryana High Court, heated arguments were witnessed between the
petitioner’s lawyer Satya Pal Jain and Capt Amarinder Singh’s lawyer ML
Saggar. The spat had its genesis in an objection raised by Jain to repeated
interruptions by Saggar during Amarinder Singh’s cross-examination. Saggar retorted by saying Jain had not conducted any trial according to the Evidence Act. Jain took exception to the remark. Mincing no words, Jain reacted by saying: "I do not want any certificate from you. I am hurt". The situation was defused after Justice Rajive Bhalla intervened and asked the lawyers to calm down. In a lighter vein, Jain said Amarinder Singh had a tendency to forget his supporters. The former CM quipped that the supporters were on the wrong side. Amarinder Singh was cross-examined for nearly two hours on the petition filed by Sukhbir Badal, challenging his election to the assembly in 2007 from the Patiala city constituency. The proceedings began a little before 2 pm. As undertaken, the former Chief Minister appeared before the court at 1.45 pm. Though he was offered a chair, he chose to stand throughout the cross-examination. The case will come up for resumed hearing on October 3.
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Chandigarh, September 28
Any student of the Punjab Technical University or its affiliated colleges who feels he has got less marks than his expectations in any exam can now have a look at his answer sheets by filing an application under the Right to Information Act. No only that, he can even get a copy of those answer sheets. And the university would be the first institution in the region to implement any such order.
Ludhiana, September 28
President of the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) Manpreet Singh Badal said today that “for the formation of a credible alternative in the ensuing assembly elections, we are open for talks with other parties, including the BSP and the SAD (Longowal)”. But he clarified that as of now, the PPP was not holding talks, either formal or informal, with any party, except for the CPI and the CPM. Regarding talks with the Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) for a poll alliance, his answer was “ no”.
Several incidents of violence were reported in more than 80 flood-hit villages of the district over the past one month. The trigger: drainage of accumulated rainwater from fields.
But now these brawls have started precipitating into political conflicts for which the villagers are quite unprepared.
Hundreds of litterateurs, farmers, social and political activists paid tributes to Bhisham Pitamah of Punjabi theatre Gursharan Singh at the Sector 25 electric crematorium here today.
Expressing displeasure over outside intervention in cases of death sentence, the Supreme Court today asked the government to specify reasons for taking eight years in deciding to reject the mercy petition of Devinderpal Singh
Bhullar, sentenced to capital punishment for his involvement in the 1993 bomb attack on the then Youth Congress chief MS Bitta in Delhi.
