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Cong rebels to enter poll fray in Majitha, Amritsar (East)
979 file papers; last day today
No political rallies this Maghi Mela
This Arjun has his eyes on the mark
People here feel discarded
Brahm Mohindra, Rakhra, Kamboj file nomination papers
Poll outcome: Small parties can make a big difference
Leaders take ballot war to cyber space
Paramilitary forces to man sensitive booths
Bains, Gabria supporters clash
Patiala shows the way in gender ratio
Despite complaints, real estate still attracts overseas Punjabis
Explain Sukhbir’s role in cable business: HC
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BJP’s Batala MLA joins Congress
Chandigarh, January 11 Sahni, who was welcomed into the Congress fold by Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh and party affairs incharge Gulchain Singh
Charak, said he had joined the Congress without any pre-conditions. He said he had served the BJP faithfully for more than 20 years, raising a cadre of 50,000 workers in
Batala. “The BJP, however, did not appreciate the sacrifices that I made. Hence, I quit the party.” Though Sahni’s supporters in Batala have not joined the Congress, he said he would put up a show of strength in Batala in the next few days to showcase his support base. Besides bolstering the chances of the Congress in
Batala, he is Sahni is expected to openly take on BJP party president Ashwani Sharma in
Pathankot. His supporters claim the BJP president is primarily responsible for the party leadership dumping
Sahni. Sahni had entered into a public spat with the then Health Minister Laxmi Kanta
Chawla, accusing her of indulging in corruption. But it was he who had to resign as Chief Parliamentary Secretary with the party feeling he had overstepped his brief. The BJP refused to give weightage to his demand for making Batala a district and instead worked for district status for Pathankot and
Fazilka. In the run up to the elections, Sahni had claimed he would go on an indefinite fast if the BJP gave up its right to contest from
Batala. The party, however, thought otherwise and gave the seat to the Akalis. This apparently left Sahni with little choice but to join the Congress. Talking to the media, Charak said if voted to power, he would request Capt Amarinder Singh to sympathetically consider Sahni’s demand for making Batala a district. Amarinder said Sahni would be “suitably adjusted” once the Congress was returned
to power. Troubled Ties
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Cong rebels to enter poll fray in Majitha, Amritsar (East)
Amritsar, January 11 Lalli Majithia's move is bound to divide the Congress vote in Majitha where the party has already failed to pose a tough challenge to former minister and Youth Akali Dal chief Bikram Singh Majithia. The Congress ignored Lalli's claim and allotted ticket to Shailenderjit Singh Shally, who comes from Rahul Gandhi's youth brigade. This decision did not go down well with Lalli. Similarly, Simarpreet's entry into the poll fray will turn the contest on Amritsar (East) seat into a triangular fight. Her decision will certainly make a dent in the Congress vote as her husband Harpal Singh Bhatia, who died in a road mishap a few days ago, was quite active in the constituency for the past sometime. Moreover, Harpal's untimely demise and subsequently, the Congress replacing Simarpreet with former Mayor Sunil Datti as its official candidate from the constituency has generated a lot of sympathy for the family. However, the Congress has succeeded in bridling the rebels to some extent in some urban constituencies of Amritsar. For instance, former MLA from Amritsar (South) Harjinder Singh Thekedar, who was peeved on being denied ticket, has extended his support to the party's official nominee from the seat, Jasbir Singh Dimpa. Similarly, former Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Prof Darbari Lal seems to have softened his tone, although he claims that the party is reconsidering changing its candidates on a few more seats and he will wait for the party decision till tonight. "We will take our final call once we get to know what the party has decided," he added. The party has also succeeded in bringing together sitting Amritsar (West) MLA OP Soni and party candidate Rajkumar Verka. Earlier, there were reports of differences between them. Soni has moved out of the constituency after it got reserved in delimitation and is now contesting from Amritsar (Central). In
Sujanpur, Puri turns rebel Sujanpur: Dissidence is brewing in the Sujanpur assembly segment with Naresh Puri, son of former minister Raghunath Sahai Puri, deciding to contest as an Independent. The Congress has fielded Vinay Mahajan from
this seat. Mahajan is a staunch loyalist of MP Partap Singh Bajwa. Naresh, who had been camping in New Delhi, returned to Sujanpur last evening. He said he had decided to enter the poll fray after consulting his supporters. Bajwa reportedly opposed Puri's nomination, claiming that he had worked against him in the the 2009 parliamentary elections that he had contested against filmstar Vinod Khanna. —
Ravi Dhaliwal Cong rebel Josan files papers Fazilka: Having been denied the Congress ticket from Jalalabad, former Congress minister Hans Raj Josan has filed his papers as an Independent. The Congress has allotted the ticket to Malkiat Singh, a Rai Sikh. The community has a considerable vote bank in the constituency. Josan belongs to the Kamboj community. Post-delimitation, the number of Kamboj votes in the area have increased too. Before filing the papers, Josan addressed a gathering, alleging the Congress had deliberately fielded a "weak" candidate. Josan asked his community members to oppose Congress candidates in the adjoining constituencies of Guru Harsai and Fazilka " to teach Congress a lesson." — Praful Chander Nagpal Gupta files papers as Cong nominee Jalandhar: Even as the Congress has replaced its candidate from Jalandhar Central Raj Kumar Gupta with three-time councillor Rajinder Berry, the former filed his papers today as the party candidate, saying he had no information about the matter. He was accompanied by former Mayor Suresh Sehgal and his councillor son Pawan Gupta. Gupta filed his papers declaring himself as the Congress candidate. His supporters came to the poll office carrying the party flag. Almost 30 minutes later, councillor Rajinder Berry came to the office with hotelier Gautam Kapoor, councillors Jagdish Raj Raja, Kuljit Babbi, Manjit Kaur Kahlon and Mandeep Kaur Multani. — Deepkamal Kaur
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979 file papers; last day today
Chandigarh, January 11 As many as 507 papers were filed today. Ludhiana tops the list of nominations with 76 candidates and covering candidates having filed their nominations so far, followed by Amritsar with 62 nominations, Jalandhar 43 nominations, Fatehgarh Sahib 20 nominations, Mansa 10, Moga 20, Gurdaspur 18 and Ferozepur 18 each, Patiala 46, Bathinda 30, Mohali and Nawanshahr 15 each, Muktsar and Fazilka 16 each, Tarn Tarn 35, Sangrur 32, Kapurthala 19, Pathankot 13, Barnala 27, Faridkot 31, Ropar 12 and Hoshiarpur 23. Almost all the top leaders have filed their nominations. Among them are Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, PPP president Manpreet Badal and his father Gurdas Badal. Prominent candidates who filed their nominations today were SAD’s Upinderjit Kaur from Sultanpur and Bibi Jagir Kaur from Bholath and Prem Singh Chandumajra from Fatehgarh Sahib; Congress’ Rana Gurjit Singh from Kapurthala and Razia Sultana from Malerkotla, The scrutiny will be on January 13 and withdrawals till January 16.
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No political rallies this Maghi Mela
Muktsar, January 11 The district administration has started preparations for the smooth conduct of the
mela. Talking to The Tribune, Manjeet Singh Barkandi, district president, SAD, said: “This time the SAD will not hold a political conference at the Maghi
Mela. I got a call from the party chief this morning to cancel the arrangements being made in this regard.” He said strict Election Commission guidelines had forced the Akalis to cancel the conference. “A candidate is allowed to spend a maximum of Rs 16 lakh on his election campaign. If we hold the conference, nearly half of the expenditure limit will go into this event.” Similarly, Gursant Singh
Brar, Congress incharge for the Maghi Mela conference, said: “All party workers and candidates are busy with the assembly elections. So, the party high command has decided not to hold a political conference this year.” The PPP-led Sanjha Morcha has already announced that it will not hold a conference during the Maghi
Mela. It will, however, hold a Basant rally on January 22 here. The SAD (A) has also cancelled its political rally on January 14 because of “ strict EC guidelines and the busy schedule of party leaders.”
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This Arjun has his eyes on the mark
Khirkianwala (Muktsar), January 11 The lanky lad alights from the vehicle. Hands folded, he greets one and all as he moves towards the village stage. He touches the feet of the elderly and apologises profusely for being late. He then goes on to explain to the people the purpose of his visit. He talks of what has gone wrong with Punjab and about his father’s mission to set things right. Never once does he utter a word against his father’s uncle, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Despite his tender age (17), Arjun does not look a novice in politics. On the contrary, he conducts himself as an astute politician. Fluent in the local Punjabi dialect, he delivers a carefully crafted speech regarding local issues. In a conversation with The Tribune later, he says : “I am hurt to read in a section of the media that I have been badmouthing my grandfather (CM). This is untrue. I respect my grandfather today as much as I did when my father was with him. “My sister and Sukhbir (Deputy CM) uncle’s daughter study in the same school, same class and interact with each other as before.” However, he says his father has had serious ideological differences with the CM. “These differences will remain and there can be no compromise in this regard.” “My father is fighting to bring about change while the CM is for status quo... My father’s struggle is not for power, but for a change in the system,” he adds. Listening to him, it appears yet another from the Badal clan may opt for a larger role in politics.
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People here feel discarded
Projects: People feel that the MLAs representing areas now under this constituency turned their back on them as soon as the seat was created post-delimitation. Most localities in Amritsar (East), particularly those in Verka and Jandiala, have no basic amenities like drinking water, sewerage and pucca streets. VOX POPULI: Residents of the constituency complain that post-delimitation, no MLA took any interest in the development of the area. Master Ajit Singh, who runs a school for the poor in Maqboolpura locality, that has a population of 25,000, said a stretch of a nullah which passes through the area has not been covered despite repeated requests to the authorities. "Whenever a drain is blocked during the rainy season, dirty water enters our homes." He said the only dispensary in the area had been shut. "The streets are in a bad shape and there are no streetlights." Ujagar Singh of Mohkampura said the area had not seen any development in the past five years back. "There is no proper drinking water, no sewerage facility and the streets have potholes. Though the authorities have started work on repairing streets, they seem to have woken up to our plight rather late," he said. Similarly, Vallah area has hardly seen any development. No initiative has been taken to either generate employment opportunities for the youth or to wean them away from drugs. The constituency comprises Maqboolpura, which is infamous for drug abuse, and has come to be known as a "locality of widows". However, no steps have been taken to rehabilitate drug addicts and bring them into the mainstream. The BJP has fielded MP Navjot Sidhu's wife Dr Navjot Kaur who will be banking on the star appeal of her husband and his performance as Amritsar MP. The Congress has fielded former Mayor Sunil Datti against her.
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Brahm Mohindra, Rakhra, Kamboj file nomination papers Patiala, January 11 Surjit Singh Rakhra, who will be contesting against Captain Amarinder Singh's son Raninder Singh in Samana, owns assets worth around Rs 20 crore as per the affidavit submitted by him. His movable income is Rs 2,07,11,623 whereas his immovable income is Rs 17,15,75,000. He has a loan and advances worth Rs 9,66,494. His wife has movable income of Rs 43,96,431. He has accounts in 14 banks. On the other hand, SAD-BJP candidate Surjit Singh Kohli, who will be contesting aagainst Captain Amarinder Singh, has declared total assets worth Rs 12.38 crore in the affidavit he submitted today. He has movable income worth Rs 94,00,186 and his immovable income is Rs 11.44 crore. His wife has total assets worth Rs 2,22,30,020.
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Poll outcome: Small parties can make a big difference If the ruling SAD-BJP is facing anti-incumbency in the state, the Congress is facing the same on account of it heading the government at the Centre. The Congress could not form government in 2007 despite polling 40.94 per cent votes, a jump of 5.13 per cent votes over the 2002 elections. Even as the Congress’ vote percentage is likely to go up this time, it will not determine the number of seats that it will win. The SAD had got 37.09 per cent votes in the 2007 elections, an improvement over its 2002 performance when it secured 31.08 per cent votes. Since the SAD fought these elections in alliance with the BJP, the votes polled by the latter influenced the results. When the Congress came into power in 2002, the BJP votes had dropped to 5.67 per cent but in 2007, the party secured 8.28 per cent votes. In 1997, the SAD-BJP together polled 45.97 per cent votes and in 2007, the alliance polled 45.37 votes. In 2002, the SAD-BJP polled 36.75 per cent votes as compared to 35.81 per cent polled by the Congress. In the 1997, 2002 and 2007 elections, Independents, mostly rebels, polled more votes than all the other political parties put together (except the Congress, the SAD and the BJP). If the anti-incumbency factor is considered, the percentage of votes that the SAD-BJP alliance is likely to poll is likely to go down . Ultimately, it will be the votes polled by the Independents and smaller parties that will determine the poll outcome.
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Not misusing power: Gill
Moga: "When I did not misuse power while in service, why will I act against the law now after retirement," says former Punjab DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill, SAD candidate from Moga. Talking to The Tribune, he claimed not to have raised his voice at his subordinates ever while serving with the police. He said he had joined politics to serve the people of his area, pointing out that his father, the late Nachattar Singh Gill, had represented the Moga constituency in the assembly. "I have not build a house in any part of the country and as a police officer would stay in government houses for security reasons. I will not leave my hometown", he added. — Kulwinder Sandhu BKU (Mann) to support Cong Chandigarh: The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Mann) has announced to support the Congress in the forthcoming assembly elections and expressed the wish that PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh be made the chief minister in case of a Congress win. BKU national president Bhupinder Singh Mann said political parties had used the issue of river waters for cheap political gains, but Amarinder had taken effective action by abrogating water treaties with the neighbouring states. He said the SAD-BJP combine had failed to do anything for the welfare of the farmers during its present stint while the previous Amarinder-led government had provided regular eight hour power supply, ensured smooth and timely procurement of farm produce, brought in cultivation of hybrid basmati and potato, besides introduction of BT cotton in the state. — TNS Akali campaign dull in Patiala Patiala: While the entire Congress rank and file is busy in hectic campaigning for the party's candidates contesting from the eight assembly constituencies of Patiala, the electioneering by the SAD-BJP has so far remained lacklustre. Though the campaign of the Congress has always been much better than the Akalis in Patiala as it is the home turf of Capt Amarinder Singh, this time electioneering by Akalis has been "unimpressive". "SAD leaders know that defeating Congress in Patiala is a daunting task. Many leaders of the district have gone to other constituencies to campaign for their respective political bosses," said a senior Akali leader. — Umesh Dewan Complaint against Preneet Kaur Patiala: SAD candidate from Samana, Surjit Singh Rakhra's brother Charanjit Singh Dhaliwal has shot a complaint to the Election Commission alleging that Congress MP Preneet Kaur while inaugurating the election office of Congress Samana candidate and her son Raninder Singh promised "to bring railway line to Samana" in violation of the code of conduct. Charanjit has demanded action against the Congress leader for the violation while the Congress has denied the allegation as baseless. — Aman Sood No dissidence, says BJP's Salaria Gurdaspur: BJP candidate Bishan Dass Dhuppar filed his nomination papers from Dinanagar Vidhan Sabha seat. His main rival will be former MLA Aruna Chowdhury who won the seat in the 2002 elections but lost by a narrow margin in 2007. Dhuppar filed his papers in the presence of BJP national executive member Swaran Salaria who has been appointed as incharge of all the nine seats falling in the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency. Salaria, while addressing a press conference, claimed that although the BJP had changed its candidates in Pathankot, Dinanager and Bhoa, there was no dissidence on these seats. Sita Ram Kashyap, sitting Dinanagar MLA, who has been replaced by BD Dhuppar, accompanied the latter when he filed his papers. — Ravi Dhaliwal
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In perspective
The crux of the issue lies in the definition and applicability of the Service Qualification (SQ), contained in the Election
Commission of India's (ECI) handbook for the Electoral Registration Officers
(EROs), which has been changed over the years to render servicemen ineligible. Armed forces personnel and their family members have the right to get themselves registered as voters at the place of their posting. Section 19 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1950, lists only two conditions, above 18 years of age and being ordinarily a resident of an Indian constituency, to be enumerated as a voter. Chapter 10 of the ECI's handbook for Electoral Registration Officers -- 2008 bars government employees with the SQ from being registered as voters. In addition to a large number of military stations, Punjab has a huge presence of paramilitary personnel who, besides being on permanent government duty, are subject to local laws and taxes. In a letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner, SY Quraishi on the issue a few days ago, Punjab Minister for Legal Affairs and Defence Services Welfare, Capt Balbir Singh Bath has termed the ECI's handbook as "defective". He said that such discrimination against soldiers was not justified, taxation without representation was a "tyranny". Several ex-servicemen's associations have also taken up the matter with the ECI as well as state electoral authorities, adding that provisions of the ECI's handbook are volatile of Article 14 of the Constitution. The SQ was extended to armed forces personnel under Amendment Act 2 of 1956 and was applicable only to those posted abroad so that they could cast their vote through postal ballot. However, the Service Qualification was "wrongly" applied to those posted in India, amounting to denial of the right to vote, according to ex-servicemen who are pursuing the issue. The problem was further compounded after Amendment Act 47 of 1966, which deleted the words "persons when posted aboard" from Section 20 of the RP Act. The deletion of the words was recommended by the ECI after the Home Ministry proposed extending the Service Qualification to the state armed police when deployed outside their home state, even though SQ was then applicable only to armed forces personnel posted abroad. The deletion, thereby led to SQ becoming legally applicable to military personnel residing in India and it implied that they could vote only through postal ballot during elections in their native place. The Supreme Court, in its ruling in 1971, upheld the registration of Assam Rifles personnel at their place of posting in Nagaland and ruled that SQ cannot take away the right of service personnel to be registered as their place of posting in India. Service personnel further, in 1984, the Apex Court had ruled that the ECI cannot override provisions of the Act and rules and its powers are meant to supplement rather than supplant the law. In March 1995, 24 years after the ruling, the ECI issued a letter stating that armed forces personnel can vote at their place of posting if they do not want to avail the facility of postal ballot. Based on this letter, Army Order 15/950 was issued, stating that service personnel can vote at their place of posting.
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Leaders take ballot war to cyber space
Chandigarh, January 11 The trend which transcends party lines is aimed at involving the internet savvy younger generation. “How to help Jassi Khangura’s election campaign” reads a newsletter from Qila Raipur MLA, who has been shifted by the Congress to Dakha on account of Qila Raipur constituency having been abolished. Targeting the NRIs, Khangura has appealed to his newsletter subscribers to submit a list of voters in the constituency who can be contacted. PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal is a regular on Twitter and Facebook and is using his Twitter account to link all the stories in newspapers and magazines to “expose the hollow claims of the SAD-BJP government” on various issues. His Twitter page had highlighted news about “Fugitive sharing stage with Parkash Singh Badal” and “Government claiming opening universities and colleges that are only on paper”. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has been busy campaigning in the traditional style. Perhaps this is what it seems from his Twitter accounts which have not been updated. Sukhbir’s last comment was about the demise of Tiger Pataudi. Before that he used the forum to highlight his government’s achievement saying “Governance reforms are our priority”. On the other hand, PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh in his recent Tweet wrote, “Fellow Punjabis, You need not despair anymore under the meek and weak leadership. Glory and prosperity beckons you. Support Congress”. Yesterday, he had written, “Friends, brothers and sisters as I file papers I seek your blessings and Grace of Almighty. Together we will change the destiny of Punjab”. Surprisingly, there are no tweets or blogs that tell what is in the mind of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Khangura has gone a step further. He has posted a relationship form on his website asking people to leave their details. He has asked NRIs to call their family and friends in Dakha to tell them why it is important for them to vote for the Congress. “Explain the innovative, proven work I have done in Qila Raipur and the commitment and progressiveness I will bring to Dakha”. Some not so tech savvy politicians have hired professional companies to improve their image in the cyber space in the hope that it will translate into votes in the real world. Canvassing online Be it YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, mass emailing, candidates are using each of the communication tools to reach out to the voters. The focus has changed from seeking votes to marketing the image of the candidate so that he/she becomes the obvious choice of voters.
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Paramilitary forces to man sensitive booths
Chandigarh, January 11 He was addressing DCs of Ferozepur, Faridkot, Fazilka, Moga, Muktsar, Mansa and Bathinda and 30 Returning Officers during a video conference today. Praveen Kumar is on a visit to Punjab to assist CEO Kusumjit Sidhu in holding a free and fair poll. S. Karuna Raju, Ferozepur DC told the Tribune that the CEO had asked them to ensure that the sensitive booths were manned by paramilitary forces. “We have 701 polling stations in the district. Wherever short of paramilitary personnel, we will install CCTV cameras,” he said. There are nearly 20,000 polling stations across the state. As many as 200 companies of paramilitary forces have already reached Punjab. Praveen Kumar suggested that flag marches be held as a confidence-building measure. Praveen Kumar said he had advised the DCs to use both police as well as paramilitary personnel for manning booths. “The ratio can vary depending upon the sensitivity of the polling booth,” he explained. The surveillance teams were effectively performing their duty , he added. Gurdaspur: BJP candidate Bishan Dass Dhuppar filed his nomination papers from the Dinanagar Vidhan Sabha seaton Wednesday. His main rival is former MLA Aruna Chowdhury who won the seat in the 2002 elections but lost by a wafer thin margin in 2007. Dhuppar filed his papers at the ADC (Development) office in the presence of BJP national executive member Swaran Salaria who has been appointed a incharge of all nine seats falling in the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency. Salaria, while addressing a press conference, claimed that although the BJP had changed its candidates in Pathankot, Dinanager and Bhoa, there was no dissidence on these seats. The party has retained sitting MLA Dinesh Babbu from Sujanpur. Sita Ram Kashyap, the sitting MLA of Dinanagar, who was replaced by B.D Dhuppar, accompanied the latter for filing of papers. Jalalabad RO in spot CEO Kusumjit Sidhu today warned the Returning Officer of Jalalabad, Sanjeev Gupta, to report for duty in the sensitive constituency where Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal is in the fray. Gupta had reported sick a few days ago.
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Bains, Gabria supporters clash Ludhiana, January 11 Kanwaljit Singh Karwal, a Bains’ supporter, said a Gabria supporter, who was in an inebriated condition, “misinformed” the police that a youth was forcibly pasting stickers on vehicles in support of Bains. The youth was taken to a police station where several Gabria men were present. Supporters of Bains also reached there. An argument ensued that led to a clash. However, Hira Singh Gabria said that Bains’ supporters were harassing the public by forcibly pasting stickers on their vehicles. The SHO, Amarpal Singh, said: “We have put the supporters of both the groups behind bars for creating a ruckus inside the police station.”
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Netas flock here for a cut above the rest
Muktsar, January 11 Manpreet, trained as a fashion designer, and his father Sukhdev Singh run “Prince Style Emporium” in the town. Shy of giving details about his VIP clients, Manpreet says: “During elections, one has to place an order at least three months in advance. We specialise in stitching achkans, kurtas and waistcourts.” Manpreet claims that their clientele includes young MLAs. He says most from the Malwa belt prefer long white shirts and pyjamas. Manpreet claims that Ripjit Brar, contesting from Kotkapura, his brother Jagmeet and Harminder Jassi, Joginder Singh Panjgrian, Sikander Singh Maluka, Sukhdarshan Mrar, Hari Singh Zira, Naresh Kataria, Inderjit Singh Zira, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Balbir Singh Miani and Kuldip Singh Dhose are among his regular clients. Sukhdev Singh, says: “The old-generation politicians are not too particular about the design. They want to keep it simple. However, the new generation of politicians are very fussy. They opt for costly fabrics ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 600 per metre.” Sukhdev says gone are the days when politicians, especially Congress men, would opt for khadi. He says in his view among those most elegantly dressed are Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Gangandeep Singh Barnala, Navjot Singh Sidhu , Raninder Singh, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Bir Devinder Singh, Kushaldeep Dhillon, V Singla and Malvinder Singh. Among the women politicians, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Razia Sultana are his
favourite.
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Patiala shows the way in gender ratio
Patiala, January 11 As per the survey conducted by the Health Department in the district three months back on children in the age group of 0 to 6 years, there are 72 villages in which there has been a remarkable improvement in the gender ratio. The number of girls in these villages is higher than boys with Kulara village topping the district with 1,556 girls as compared to 1,000 boys. The other frontrunner villages are Easerheri with 1,394 girls, Aloona (1,384), Gurdialpura (1,375), Galwati (1,362), Bir Keli (1,357) and Nasirpur (1,316). On the other hand, there are around 100 villages in the district where the number of girls is even less than half the number of boys. While Naina village of the district has the worst sex ratio with merely 222 girls against 1,000 boys, Mirzapur village and Ram Nagar have 231 and 250 girls, respectively, in comparison to 1,000 boys. Patial Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi said they had already identified these villages and would exclusively focus on these villages for improving gender ratio. "Though this is not a great situation but one cannot take away the credit of those 72 villages that have shown spectacular improvement. Last year, there were 52 villages in which the number of girls was either equal to or more than boys, but this number has gone up by 20, which certainly is not bad. Now, we will focus on these identified villages and organize awareness camps and ensure strict enforcement of the PNDT Act for better results," he added. A senior doctor of the health department said that it was not the case just with Patiala, but there were many other districts where the sex ratio was worse than this. Patiala still has come a long way and the health department must acknowledge the efforts of these 72 villages.
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Despite complaints, real estate still attracts overseas Punjabis
Chandigarh, January 11 Paul Pornthep SriNarula, a real estate entrepreuner, lecturer and author from Thailand, says that though investments in some parts of India, including Punjab, run more than normal risks, still he was venturing into real estate. "Real estate in India is growing rapidly while in Thialand after a boom couple of decades ago it has stabilised now. India offers tremendous opportunities. When I go around streets in Karoo Bazar I find women buying sarees of Rs 20,000 or Rs 30,000 each. Jewellery shops overflow with buyers. People in India have money. Some 30 years ago, we thought that we in Thailand were the rich. But now things have reversed. It is India which has money," says Paul Pornthep SriNarula, who also owns a five star Serviced Apartments Tower. Since he has attended all 10 editions of the Parvasi Bharati Divas, he feels this "flagship event" has started losing its value. "Something new and innovative has to be introduced to keep it vibrant and happening event for the overseas Indians," he suggests. While PaulPornthep SriNarula is interested in real estate investments in India, Kamal Singh, a Vancouver-based realtor, has innovated a new concept in real estate. "We are providing service to those overseas Punjabis who are in distress as they apprehend that they may lose their landed properties back home. We help them dispose off their properties in India," says Kamal Singh, who has already set up offices of Remax, his real estate company in Canada. His company is setting up offices in other parts of the country as well. "We are getting good response and trying to secure landed properties of overseas Indians by getting them the market value," he adds. Tarun Khatri, who is doing a similar thing in Rajasthan, is also associated with Remax Canada and providing specialised services to overseas Indians. Prabal Arora, who is now settled in Fiji after a stint in Australia, also thinks that real estate offers maximum investment opportunities in India. While real estate is stable both in Australia and Fiji, it is looking up in India in a big way. "Indian real estate market is booming, he says holding that problems like red-tapism, corruption and land grabbing are some risks that would be gradually resolved," he said. Arvind Sood, another real estate agent from North America, says that bureaucratic wrangling, corruption and red-tapism are prevalent in all developing democracies, but in India the growth potential is so much that it dwarfs the problems. "I am convinced that if one has to make good returns, he/she can invest in real estate," adds
Sood.
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Explain Sukhbir’s role in cable business: HC
Chandigarh, January 11 The High Court has directed the state government to respond to the allegations of the Deputy Chief Minister taking over 95 per cent of the cable business in Punjab by "misusing his official position and political power". The significant directions came even as the coalition, headed by the Shiromani Akali Dal, is driving hard at salvaging its image dented somewhat by the alleged transport scam. The directions by Justice Ranjit Singh has come on a plea filed by an Amritsar resident seeking anticipatory bail in a case alleging violation of the Copy Right Act, besides cheating and criminal conspiracy. In paragraph four of his petition, Rakesh Arora has asserted that co-accused in the case Gurdev Singh Bhullar of Godfather Communication, his employees and subscribers were being victimised by the local police at the instance of cable operator Sarabjit Singh alias Raju. Arora has added the complainant in the case against them is Sarabjit Singh's employee Sandeep Kumar. Sarabjit Singh is also a partner in Fastway Transmission Private Limited and DIGI Cable. "It is an open secret that SS Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, is the real owner of the DIGI Cable", Arora has added. Taking up the case, Justice Ranjit Singh has asserted the counsel for the petitioner has drawn his attention to the averments made in paragraph four of the petition, "making an allegation against the Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab, who is stated to be the real owner of DIGI Cable and has taken over 95 per cent of the cable business in Punjab by misusing his official position and political power." "The complainant and Sarabjit Singh alias Raju, at whose behest all these complaints are being filed, are stated to be the henchmen of the political master." "Let response be filed to the averments made in paragraph four of the petition by a competent officer, if need be after going through the material." "State counsel may also be ready to show as to how an offence under Section 420 IPC, on the basis of the allegations, would be made out," the court observed. "In addition, the counsel may also be ready to show the locus on part of Sandeep Kumar, stated to be in Gurgaon, to lodge the FIR," Justice Ranjit Singh has concluded.
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Drivers of two police officials held with liquor
Chandigarh, January 11 Special Chief Electoral Officer Usha R Sharma said that DSP (Crime) Jagdeep Singh was in the vehicle, which was stopped at a nakka, the driver ran away with the vehicle leaving the officer there. Later, he was nabbed and a case of liquor was found in the vehicle. In another case, an Innova vehicle belonging to DSP Harbhajan Singh of the IRB was also confiscated at Mohali along with a case of liquor. FIRs have been registered in both the cases and action was initiated against the drivers under the Excise Act. Keeping in view the assembly elections to Punjab on January 30, the Election Commission of India has declared complete prohibition in the state 48 hours before the date of polling and on March 6, when counting takes place. Non-proprietary clubs, star hotels, restaurants and hotels having licenses for possession and supply of liquor would not be permitted to serve liquor on these days and all the liquor vends in Punjab would also remain closed. Storage of liquor by the individuals would be curtailed and restrictions provided in the excise law on the storage of liquor in unlicensed premises would be vigorously enforced, she added. Clarifying on the opening of new account by the candidate, she said that although it was required for the candidate to furnish details of the newly opened account to the Returning Officers but for want of this information their nominations papers would not be rejected. She further said that in respect of the objections received in Form 7, after the final publication of electoral rolls on January 2, the commission has directed that the names of only deceased voters would be deleted. The EROs would prepare polling station-wise list of all the remaining objections and give it to the Presiding Officer who would thoroughly verify the identity of the said voter at the time of polling. On the applications received in other forms, the EROs would take action as per the ECI's instructions.
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Two arrested
with pistols
Jalandhar, January 11 Sources said the police had erected a naka at Kapurthla Chowk and on suspicion asked a person for checking. On search, the police recovered one country-made pistol and a live round from his possession. The arrested person has been identified as Gurvinder, alias Guggu, resident of Shahkot. A case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against him. Meanwhile, the police said a country-made pistol was recovered from Sandeep Singh, alias Sunny, resident of Preet Nagar, Nakodar, who was recently arrested by the police, during interrogation. Cases under Sections 307, 323, 341, 427, 324, 452, 506, 148, 149 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act had already been registered against him at Nakodar police station in 2007 and 2011.
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Batala legislator Jagdish
Sahni, who had been virtually rendered persona non grata in the BJP, today joined the Congress. He claimed he would make a positive canvass ardently for his new party in the five constituencies in Gurdaspur
district.
Khirkianwala (Muktsar), January 11
With the date of filing nominations for the assembly elections to end tomorrow, many heavyweight candidates filed their nominations today. Sitting Congress MLA from Samana Brahm Mohindra filed his nomination from Patiala Rural,
SAD-BJP candidate Surjit Singh Rakhra filed his nomination papers from
Samana, Congress candidate Hardyal Kamboj filed his nomination papers from Rajpura and
SAD-BJP candidate Surjit Singh Kohli filed his nomination papers from Patiala City.
Electioneering for the forthcoming assembly polls has entered the virtual world as well. Be it
YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, mass emailing, candidates are using each of the communication tools to reach out to the voters. The focus has changed from seeking votes to marketing the image of the candidate so that he or she becomes the obvious choice of voters.
This newly carved out constituency comprises areas earlier falling under the Verka, Jandiala, Amritsar (South) and Amritsar (North) constituencies, all represented by SAD-BJP legislators
Chandigarh, January 11
Chandigarh, January 11