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Sulking Sekhri fails to show up at Capt’s Kalanaur rally
SAD: Don’t drag Golden Temple into politics
CM again extends invitation to Manmohan
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Badal honours Izhar Alam with a siropa
Notification appointing tribunal member withdrawn
Ramoowalia faces revolt against move on pre-poll pact
Centre sanctions Rs 1,300 crore for renovation of Indira Gandhi canal
Sikh outfit begins march to Haridwar
Family awaits return of its head from Pak jail
Bihar House delegation visits Hussainiwala
Administration gears up for Kabaddi World Cup matches
Panic as Dakala residents sight a leopard
Film on female foeticide on Dutch TV
Cops in trouble over Dhanola’s arrest
CIC issues notice to SGPC
2 arrested with fake currency in Muktsar
Cop kills villager over land dispute in Ferozepur
Couple held for illegal deliveries
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Sulking Sekhri fails to show up at Capt’s Kalanaur rally
Kalanaur (Gurdaspur), November 7 GDCC president Sukhjinder Randhawa managed to score some political points over his rivals by managing to rope in Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Capt Amarinder Singh in his Dera Baba Nanak assembly segment twice in the last 15 days. Interestingly, PPCC spokesman Ashwani Sekhri, who was the in-charge of the lacklustre show at Jalandhar following which a show cause notice was served upon him by the PPCC chief, did not show up at the rally. However, other ticket aspirants from Batala, including Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar, were seated on the dais with the PPCC chief. Sources said Sekhri had come to the helipad and drove back to Batala after exchanging pleasantries with Capt Amarinder Singh. The sources said his abrupt return to his native town had nothing to do with the show-cause notice as he had to attend some functions. There was an intense clamour among ticket seekers from the Gurdaspur assembly seat to grab the attention of Capt Amarinder Singh. All the main contenders, including PS Bhinder, Raman Bahl, Ajay Verma, Gurmeet Singh Pahra and SS Chottepur, were quick to take vantage positions on the dais in an attempt to get noticed by the former Chief Minister. Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Randhawa, who specially drove from Amritsar, successfully managed to guide the supporters, who came in thousands, to their seats, thereby avoiding a commotion. Capt Amarinder Singh in his speech, laced with sarcasm directed at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Deputy Chief Minister son Sukhbir Badal, said that “greed had overcome the father-son duo both of whom were blinded by ill-gotten wealth and unbridled power.” Speaking on developmental works planned by his party if it comes to power, the PPCC Chief said that the Congress government would set up a 1,000-MW thermal plant on 1,500 acres of panchayat land lying vacant in Kalanaur. “In this way, we will not have to enter into the controversial process of land acquisition and moreover employment opportunities in thousands would also be generated for the youth of Majha.” Gurdaspur Member Parliament Partap Singh Bajwa gave a grant of Rs 1 crore out of the MPLAD fund for developmental works to be initiated in Kalanaur. Fissures in the Gurdaspur Congress surfaced when former Minister SS Chottepur disclosed in his speech how some Congressmen had gone against the party’s official candidate in the 2007 assembly elections. He was apparently referring to PPCC member Raman Bahl who had “openly worked” against the party’s official candidate PS Bhinder in the last assembly polls.
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SAD: Don’t drag Golden Temple into politics
Chohla Sahib (Tarn Taran), November 7 Maintaining that ‘Guru Ghar’ never operated on the principles of profit and loss, Sukhbir said, “Capt has lost his mental balance as he has sensed imminent defeat in the coming assembly elections. He needs an immediate medical check-up.” Talking to mediapersons before inaugurating the Kabaddi World Cup Pool B matches here, he alleged that it was a matter of great regret that the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre and the party’s Punjab unit were working collectively to make the state economically weaker by shooing away investors. “No sane person can call bankrupt a state whose revenue has witnessed more than 100 per cent growth in four years,” he said. The Deputy Chief Minister said by witnessing forfeiture of security deposit of the Congress candidate in Hisar, now Captain has launched ‘Congress Zamanat Bachao Yatra’. He claimed the Congress' Jalandhar rally had exposed the “so called mass base” of the party, besides “increasing popularity” of Capt Amarinder Singh. “Why Captain is issuing show cause notices to his leaders when he has himself failed to attract crowd due to his negative politics,” he wondered. Lashing out at the PPCC chief for dragging Harmandar Sahib in petty politics, Sukhbir alleged that Capt’s politics was based on lies. He said it was unfortunate that Capt was abusing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who was his father’s age. On a query about ‘Izzat Bachao Yatra’ of the Sanjha Morcha, Sukhbir said former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, after controlling the finance of the state for four years, had no right to criticise it. He said by resigning on the grounds of subsidies and then offering them in his manifesto, Manpreet had exposed his double face to the public. On poll alliance, he said the SAD-BJP combine was open to alliance with anyone with a single aim to crush the Congress and the Sanjha
Morcha.
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CM again extends invitation to Manmohan
Mandi
Ahmedgarh, November 7 Badal inspected the newly built Wada Ghallughara Memorial at
Rohira, near here today. “Though we tried to set a precedent by inviting a dignitary from a rival political party with the intent to honour the Prime Minister, the state Congress leadership has disappointed the Sikhs by opposing his proposed visit,” said
Badal. He expressed gratitude to the PM for his positive approach while deciding certain issues concerning Punjab and reiterated his earlier invitation to him, saying, “Now it is he ( Manmohan Singh ) who has to decide whether he wants to present himself as a representative of a party or of countrymen in general and Punjabis in
particular.” Badal said coordinated efforts by the party leaders and officials had enabled him to keep his promise on dedicating the memorial to the Sikhs. . The CM had earlier asked the officials concerned to expedite work on all three memorials at
Kahnuwal, Chaparchiri and Rohira so that these could be inaugurated before the implementation of the model code of conduct in view of thecoming assembly elections.
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Badal honours Izhar Alam with a siropa
Malerkotla, November 7 “We will take the Sant Samaj and other Sikh religious bodies into confidence before announcing the party ticket for the former DGP and Chairman of the Punjab Wakf board, Izhar Alam,” the CM said. He honoured Izhar Alam with a siropa during the inauguration of Hazrat Haleema Maternity and General Hospital run by the Wakf Board. Badal, who was in town on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Zuha, addressed a gathering at the local mosque. He said the Muslims and Sikhs shared a cultural bond. Both communities revered their martyrs who had laid down their life for the sake of religion. Badal said the Sikhs took pride in the fact that it was a Muslim saint, Mian Mir, who had laid the foundation stone of Harmandar Sahib. He announced that Rs 25 lakh would be spent on the construction of the Muslim Community Centre here. Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated the new building of Islamia Girls School and College. He announced a grant of Rs 15 lakh for three educational institutions run by the Waqf Board. Talking to mediapersons, Badal said it was unfortunate that the state Congress president had made a habit of using unparliamentary language against him and his family. “The cheap tactics adopted by the Congress leadership only enhances my popularity among the masses,” he observed. Describing former Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal as "chronic defectors", the Chief Minister said both the leaders had firsaken their parent party for vested interests. Prominent among those present on the occasion were Rajya Sabha member SS Dhindsa, Cabinet Minister PS Dhindsa, MLA Iqbal S Jhhunda, chairman, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), Ranjit Singh Ballian, and former ministers Nusrat Ikram Khan Bagga, Chaudary Abdul Gaffar and Gobind Singh Kanjla. Addressing a gathering at his residence, Izhar Alam said the allegations that he was involved in the killing of Sikh youths during militancy were baseless. He said he was transferred from Punjab in 1990 and posted in Jammu and Kashmir. Thereon, he was posted at Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. He claimed that he returned to Punjab only in December 1995 when militancy was totally well under control. “So there is no question of my involvement in killing Sikh youths.” He said the controversy was the brainchild of SAD (A) leader Simranjit Singh Mann and Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh. “ I am unable to understand why Mann is doing this to me,” he remarked.
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Notification appointing tribunal member withdrawn
Chandigarh, November 7 A division Bench of the High Court has now given the state two months' time for appointing two members after following the laid down procedure. The directions issued by the Division Bench of acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina came after the High Court took suo motu notice of the issue. The court was assisted by advocate-cum-amicus curiae DS Patwalia. The Bench observed: “The proceedings were initiated by the court on its own motion when the notification dated July 28, issued by Punjab, was brought to the notice of this court. “According to the notification, Surjit Kaur Sandhu, IAS (retired), was appointed as a member of the Educational Tribunal, under Section 7-A(5) read with Section 7-A(6) of the Punjab Affiliate Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Act, 1974…. “There was a glaring illegality because the notification appointing the member, was issued in violation of the provisions of Section 7-A of the Act, which required that there shall be an Educational Tribunal consisting of a chairman and two members. “One of the members is required to have an administrative background and the other one an academic background. The other requirement was that the chairman and the members must be appointed by the state government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “It was noticed by this Court that both these salient features of Section 7-A of the Act were violated. Accordingly, a notice was issued by pointing out the violation. The Bench added: “Presently, there is only a Chairman, Justice RL Anand, a former judge of this court and there is no member. The state counsel states the government is likely to appoint two other members as per provisions of Section 7-A(2) of the Act. Accordingly, we direct that the needful shall be done within a period of two months”.
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Ramoowalia faces revolt against move on pre-poll pact
Jalandhar, November 7 At a general house meeting at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall here, which was filled to capacity, angry party delegates alleged that just a few leaders had been taken into confidence regarding the decision ahead of the assembly elections. A group of 25 representatives boycotted the meeting. Warning Ramoowalia, party office-bearer Nachhattar Singh said: “If you go ahead with the decision, be prepared to face the harsh consequences.” Ramoowalia’s confidant Avtar Singh Mullanpuri tried to reason out with the opponents, but in vain. He said there was little scope for a third front coming into power in the state. Ramoowalia, addressing the gathering, said he would make an announcement on the issue tomorrow after further consultations with party delegates.
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Centre sanctions Rs 1,300 crore for renovation of Indira Gandhi canal
Abohar, November 7 The Centre has sanctioned a Rs 1300-crore budget for the project that involves strengthening of bricklining and the concrete bed in Ferozepur region of Punjab at a cost of Rs 400 crore. The cost in the Rajasthan area has been estimated at Rs 900 crore. The project is considered a lifeline for the agricultural economy of West Rajasthan. Ninety per cent of the total cost will be borne by the Centre, while 10 per cent is to be shared by the Punjab and Rajasthan governments. Officials in the Water Resources Department at Sriganganagar confirmed the 40-day closure has been suggested by the consultative committee. The water supply might be suspended on April 1, 2012 for 40 days, while the officials favoured 60-day closure. Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal has suggested that supply can be suspended by March 20 as the wheat crop will be no longer need water after that. Speaking to this correspondent here after visiting the canal originating in the Ferozepur region, he said closure till May 10, as planned by the consultative committee, might create a drinking water problem as mercury had been soaring in the first week of May for the past few years. The project is to be completed in a phased manner, in four years. Exploring high-tech machinery and technology needs to be planned well in advance to ensure finishing the task within the prescribed period without compromising on quality or succumbing to pressure from the contractors, he observed. Sehgal suggested that the govt in neighbouring states must plan a drain on one side of the canal system that passes through Muktsar, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts. This, he said, will also avert water-logging on the home turf of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Dr GS Dhillon, a former chief engineer in the Punjab Irrigation Department, said he had opposed fixing of pressure release valves in remodelling of the canal system as it caused leakage in the floor bed of the gang (Bikaner) canal that he had looked after in different positions since 1958. Such valves were considering responsible for losses incurred in the flow of water.
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Sikh outfit begins march to Haridwar
Amritsar, November 7 Addressing mediapersons here today, AISC chief Gurcharan Singh Babbar said their march will pass through Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Yamunanagar, Paonta Sahib and Dehradun before reaching Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar on November 10. Babbar warned the Uttarakhand Government against stopping their march from heading to Haridwar. Notably, Gyan Godri Gurdwara was set up at Har-ki-Pauri in the memory of Guru Nanak Dev who visited the spot in 1504-05. He had an interaction with local "teerth purohits" there. However, in the 1970s the gurdwara was demolished in the name of renovation and was later handed over to Bharat Scouts and Guides, which still has its office at the same place. Since then Sikh organisations have been demanding allocation of the same place for the construction the
gurdwara.
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Family awaits return of its head from Pak jail
Mudki, November 7 “My younger brother, frustrated after repeated rounds to government offices proved futile, killed himself six years back,” he said, his voice choked. “We are so helpless,” remarked Parwinder Kaur, Kulwinder’s sister. “ In 1978, my husband started working with RAW and made several trips to Pakistan after getting training in Delhi. It was in January 1981 when he was working as a spy under the name of Surjit Singh that he was arrested in Lahore,” recalled Harbans Kaur. She said for the next 23 years there was no word about his whereabouts, until November 2004 when Gurjit Singh of Mansurwal village in Zira, who was arrested along with Makhan Singh, was released from Pakistan’s Kot Lakhpat jail. He carried a letter from Makhan Singh, saying he was serving life imprisonment and the sentence would end on October 27, 2010. “Some days back when the Pakistan’s foreign ministry released a list of 32 Indian prisoners in Pakistan jails, we were hopeful of our father’s name figuring in the list, but that was not the case,” said Kulwinder. Dalbir Kaur, spy Sarbjit Singh’s sister facing death penalty in Pakistan, said: “ I have raised Makhan Singh’s case matter with Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs,, the Indian Embassy in Pakistan and Justice Fazal Karim, a human rights activist in Pakistan.”
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Bihar House delegation visits Hussainiwala
Ferozepur, November 7 Dr Rai said they had come here to pay respects at the memorial of BK Dutt, an associate of Bhagat Singh. He said Dutt was a member of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha from 1963 to 196. Dutt’s memorial, was constructed here on the banks of the Sutlej as per his wishes, where Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were unceremoniously cremated by the British. Dr Rai said the visit was part of the centenary celebrations of the Bihar Vidhan
Sabha.
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Administration gears up for Kabaddi World Cup matches
Patiala, November 7 The district administration announced that all schools, be they private or government, would close at 1 pm on Tuesday. Sources said that the administration earlier wanted to declare a holiday in YPS and other schools but following the delay and the recent postponement of the dates of the event, they decided against it. Meanwhile, three matches would be held tomorrow under floodlights at the YPS stadium. Afghanistan would face Nepal, the home side India would take on England, while Australia would take on Germany. “The event at the stadium is at 5.30 pm and since the district police is busy with the Deputy Chief Minister and other VIPs attending the function, closing schools two hours beforehand was the easiest option”, said a government school teacher. “They take the school staff to task when our results are poor. It would mean a total rescheduling for all schools”, she added. The scheduled time for closing is 3 pm for a majority of the schools during the winter session. The orders for Tuesday are to close the schools at 1 pm. “The decision has been taken to ensure that there is no traffic jam for the school kids and on top of that to ensure that the children are able to reach the venue for the matches which start at 5.30 pm and would continue till late night”, reasons the Deputy Commissioner, Vikas
Garg. Earlier, the SSP Patiala visited the venue and reviewed the security arrangements for the visitors and the high-profile VIPs who are expected to be present on Tuesday. Other then the Punjab Dy CM Sukhbir Singh
Badal, Vice-president Olympic Foundation of Asia Mohammed Ali Abadi, and the vice-president India-Iran Chamber of Commerce Parvinder Singh Chandok would also be present.
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Panic as Dakala residents sight a leopard
Patiala, November
7 Villagers say: “The animal may be hiding in the forest area near Majhal village”, they said. Forest officials have been camping in the village. “We have gathered some pug marks.They have been sent to the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, for confirmation,” said an official. Former vice-chairman of the Punjab Wildlife Advisory Board Jaskaran
Sandhu, recalling that a leopard had strayed into the area eight years back, said there was a need to protect the animal from harm at the hands of awe-struck residents. Range Wildlife Officer Jugraj Singh said more guards had been deployed in the area to ensure the safety of the animal.
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Film on female foeticide on Dutch TV
Patiala, November 7 Dutch television, through its researcher Marnel
Breure, is planning a series of seven documentaries on modern India. One of these documentaries is about Punjab and focuses on the problems of female
foeticide, domestic violence and drug abuse. In this context, Nr Jelle Brandt, a Dutch journalist and collaborator with
Marnel, visited Patiala and nearby villages to find out more about these problems. Using
Patiala-based doctor Dr Harshinder's book “Female Foeticide: a curse” as the base of their documentary, he visited Mallan Kheri village of Patiala district to get a first-hand account of the situation prevailing in the villages of Punjab. He was accompanied by Dr Harshinder Kaur who acted as a mediator between him and villagers. Talking to The Tribune, Brandt said that he interviewed the villagers and discussed the reasons behind the killing of the girlchild in the womb. "The unanimous opinion was that the main reason that prompted the killing of the female foetus is dowry and unless this practice is curtailed or stopped it would be really difficult to curb this menace," he added. He further informed that they had selected various states for highlighting different issues. They would be shooting a documentary each in
Mumbai, Hayana, Delhi and Punjab. "I was thrilled to see India as I had a totally different picture in my mind. Despite the fact that there were some problems, one cannot deny the fact that Indian was no less than other developed countries. I interacted with a large number of people and collected enough information as to how we could highlight the issue of female foeticide and convince people to shun this practice. I will return with my team in February 2012 and shoot the entire documentary," added Brandt.
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Cops in trouble over Dhanola’s arrest
Chandigarh, November 7 The direction was verbally issued by Justice MMS Bedi after the High Court was informed about Tek Singh’s arrest. The case will come up for further hearing tomorrow. Dhanola had unsuccessfully contested the SGPC poll on the Panthic Morcha ticke. Available information suggests he was bundled into a car and taken to an undisclosed location soon after he appeared before the Barnala police to join investigations in a case on Saturday. Late in the evening, it was disclosed that Dhanola was arrested in a case registered on October 24. — TNS
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CIC issues notice to SGPC
Ludhiana, November 7 The officer has been asked to file a written submission for the delay by November 25, failing which the case will be decided
ex-parte and the penalty imposed on him. Kuldeep Singh Khaira had on April 27 sought information on the steps taken by the SGPC for the implementation of RTI Act 2005. The SGPC was declared a public authority by the Central Information Commission in March this year. “Section 4(1)(a) of the RTI Act mandates that each public authority shall maintain all the records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the Right to Information under the Act. We want transparency in the working of this body... but sadly the SGPC is not taking the RTI Act seriously. That is why, I was forced to approach the
CIC,” Khaira said. The CIC has advised Khaira to approach the commission again in case of non-compliance of orders.
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2 arrested with fake currency in Muktsar
Muktsar, November 7 The police here today arrest two persons on charge of circulating fake Indian currency in various villages of Muktsar district. Following a tip-off, the CIA staff from Muktsar waylaid a car near here and arrested the duo. Another accused, Raju of Rodanwali village, however, managed to escape. The police has recovered counterfeit currency equivalent to Rs 13,900 of Rs 500, Rs 100 and Rs 50 denomination, said SSP Inder Mohan Singh. Preliminary interrogation of the accused revealed that they were getting the supply of fake currency from Lakhasar, a village in
Rajasthan.
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Cop kills villager over land dispute in Ferozepur
Makhu (Ferozepur) Nov 7 The SHO of Makhu police station, Surjit Singh Gill, said that the deceased, farmer Gurmeet Singh, was ploughing his fields when head constable Rajinder Singh allegedly came there carrying his .12 bore gun and fired shots at him. A case of murder has been registered against the policeman and investigations were in progress. However, he was yet to be arrested at the time of writing this news report, the SHO said. In his complaint, deceased’s brother Kikkar Singh alleged that Rajinder, under the garb of ‘khaki’, wanted to grab his brother’s land. Cop injured as man fires from air gun Mansa: The police arrested a man and his son today after a policeman was injured in a brawl. Head constable Satpal in mufti went to arrest Rimpy Garg at his showroom on Gaushala road at 5.30 pm for selling smack. Earlier, a decoy posing as a customer was sent to Garg’s showroom for purchasing six sachets of smack. Garg entered in a brawl with the policeman as he tried to arrest him. Rimpy’s father Diwan Chand, a lawyer, opened fire from an air gun. The cop was hit in the face. Area residents said Diwan had opened fire in panic, thinking some bad elements were forcibly taking away his son.
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Couple held for illegal deliveries
Patiala, November 7 A case under Sections 15 (2) of the IMP Act-1956 and 27 (1) (2) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act-1940 has been filed against him. Health officials said the couple ran a private clinic near Tibba Basti, Patran. They were nabbed following a tipoff. “Whether or not they were involved in female foeticide is being probed,” the officials said. “The couple was nabbed while performing a delivery on a nearby village woman,” Dr VS Mohi said. A raid in 2006 had led to the discovery of foetuses in a well located behind Sahib Hospital. “The couple sold drugs without a licence and performed deliveries without any valid qualification,” said investigating officer Gurcharan Singh, incharge of the Shutrana police post. “The couple was arrested earlier too on the same charges,” he added. Meanwhile, the arrested couple said: “We are being framed by the health officials.”
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Malerkotla, November 7
Jalandhar, November 7
Abohar, November 7
Patiala, November 7
Patiala, November 7
