B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

CPI gives clean chit to Manpreet's Dera visit
Bathinda, December 12
The Communist Party of India that is a constituent of the recently set up Sanjha Morcha has given a clean chit to its chairman Manpreet Singh Badal on the issue of his visit to the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda of the controversial Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Harsimrat inspects ongoing development work
Mansa, December 12
While inspecting the on-going development projects in the Mansa district, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today pulled up the officials, responsible for the delay in the completion.
A fleet of vehicles that has arrived in Bathinda to go around the villages propagating mesages against female foeticide under the Nanhi Chhaan project that has been launched by MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The vehicles would travel across the villages of Bathinda and Mansa for the next few days. A Tribune photograph

Activist’s health deteriorates
Gidderbaha, December 12
The health condition of a female activist among the three fasting-unto-death members of the Guest Faculty Lecturers' Union Punjab (Government Colleges) today got deteriorated.

File SLP by Thursday or face agitation, say jobless linemen
Bathinda, December 12
The unemployed linemen, who have been staging dharna and observing chain hunger strike since December 5 outside the Mini-secretariat here, are still adamant that they would not move from here until their demand regarding the appointment of about 4,000 linemen in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is fulfilled in letter and spirit.

Boy killed by uncle
Ferozepur, December 12
A teenaged boy was allegedly killed by his uncles for a petty amount. The deceased, Ranjan’s father Muni Lal, a migrant labourer from Bihar, was working with Gurdev Singh, a landlord in village Machiwara for the last ten years.

CPI gives clean chit to Manpreet's Dera visit
SP Sharma
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 12
The Communist Party of India that is a constituent of the recently set up Sanjha Morcha has given a clean chit to its chairman Manpreet Singh Badal on the issue of his visit to the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda of the controversial Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Joginder Dayal, a member of the national executive of the CPI, today said that the Left parties have no objection in Manpreet visiting the Dera Sacha Sauda and deras of other sects to seek their support on the eve of the assembly elections in the state.

Joginder Dayal said that the alliance of the Left parties, including the CPI and CPM with the PPP of Manpreet was on the basis of a common minimum programme and there was no binding on Manpreet against visiting the deras. This is his democratic right that cannot be curbed, he said.

He said that the Left parties will stake claim to 25 to 30 assembly seats. Joginder Dayal urged the Centre to provide an economic and industrial package for Punjab on the lines of West Bengal to prevent industries from falling sick or shifting outside the state.

There was immediate need to take care of the derailed agrarian system of Punjab as the farming community was under dire economic stress.

The CPI leader said that the joint front, in its election campaign, was laying thrust against corruption and spiralling prices that have broken the back of the common people, causing hardship to them. 

Harsimrat inspects ongoing development work
Tribune News Service

Mansa, December 12
While inspecting the on-going development projects in the Mansa district, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today pulled up the officials, responsible for the delay in the completion.

During her visit to Bhikhi, Budhlada and Bareta, she inaugurated several development projects there.

At Bhikhi, Harsimrat inaugurated a reverse osmosis (RO) plant at the bus stand. Later, she inaugurated water supply and sewerage system on Thana road and streets, drains and roads near Gurdwara Sahib.

At Bareta, she inaugurated an RO plant and a sewerage project there. At Budhlada she inaugurated an RO plant besides roads near the railway overbridge.

Addressing the people, she criticised the Congress party, saying that it had never taken any pro-people decision during its regime in the state. Besides, no steps had been taken by it for the development of the state, she added.

She further said it was the SAD-BJP government that had created records in the development of the state and had done development in all spheres without any discrimination with any one. She said the SAD-BJP government had started development works in villages, mandis and cities, of which many had already completed while remaining were going to be completed soon.

She also held a meeting with the district officials at Budhlada where she directed them to complete the development works within the stipulated period. 

Activist’s health deteriorates

Gidderbaha, December 12
The health condition of a female activist among the three fasting-unto-death members of the Guest Faculty Lecturers' Union Punjab (Government Colleges) today got deteriorated.

Veerpal Kaur, a lecturer at the MR Government College, Fazilka, has been fasting-unto-death for the last five days at Husnar chowk here. “Though her health got deteriorated, none form the administration came even to ask about her,” alleged Harminder Singh, general secretary of the Union.

The agitationists further said that they had been lodging a peaceful protest, demanding jobs on ad-hoc basis, as they were well qualified and serving for a long period. — TNS

File SLP by Thursday or face agitation, say jobless linemen
Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 12
The unemployed linemen, who have been staging dharna and observing chain hunger strike since December 5 outside the Mini-secretariat here, are still adamant that they would not move from here until their demand regarding the appointment of about 4,000 linemen in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is fulfilled in letter and spirit.

State president of the Unemployed Linemen Union (Punjab) Pirmal Singh said a meeting of the union leaders and the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, principal secretary to the CM Darbara Singh Guru, PSPCL chairman KD Chaudhary and the advocate General, Punjab, was held at the Chief Minister's residence the previous day.

He said though no immediate way out to recruit 4,000 unemployed linemen had come out, but the Chief Minister had assured them that by Thursday a special leave petition (SPL) would be filed by the government in the Supreme Court to get the stay on the recruitment of linemen, imposed by the High Court, vacated. He said the stay had been granted as an association from Ludhiana had filed a petition in the court that with the recruitment of such a large number of linemen the common men had to bear the burden in the form of hike in tariff.

He also warned the state government that if it remained failed in filing the SPL in Supreme Court by Thursday, the union would chalk out further course of agitation, for which, the entire responsibility would be of the state government. He said they were staging a peaceful dharna and chain hunger strike so the government should not test their patience.

Meanwhile, the chain hunger strike and dharna by the union today entered its eighth day here. Today, 10 members of the union participated in the chain hunger strike. The agitating unemployed linemen also raised slogans in support of their demand. For the last eight days, they were preparing food at the dharna site for the agitators while a large number of agitators have been sleeping under the sky at night daily. Besides the unemployed linemen, their family members are also participating in the dharna.

Boy killed by uncle
Our Correspondent

Ferozepur, December 12
A teenaged boy was allegedly killed by his uncles for a petty amount. The deceased, Ranjan’s father Muni Lal, a migrant labourer from Bihar, was working with Gurdev Singh, a landlord in village Machiwara for the last ten years.

SSP Surjit Singh said the accused have been identified as Suresh Mukhiya and Mukhi Lal, belonged to the same native village, Masali Tola in Bihar, and had come to meet Muni Lal on November 21.

The SSP said Muni Lal had handed over some money to his son Ranjan. The duo, seeing the money in the child’s hand, were overpowered by greedy and lured him to go out with them. Thereafter, they took the child to an abandoned Army bunker and killed him after hitting him repeatedly with bricks.

The SSP said that then they covered the body with grass lying inside the bunker and fled to their village in Bihar. He said that the victim's father and elder brother Chandan started looking for Ranjan and even went to the village Gudder Dhandi and Sodhewala, where Suresh and Mukhi Lal were working but to no avail. Finally, when Muni Lal informed the Sarpanch of his native village in Bihar, he was informed that the duo were present in the village only.

The SSP said that a case has been registered and a team has been sent to Bihar to arrest the two accused.