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Assembly elections
Former leader of SOI ‘battles’ Badal
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Jagmeet Brar to take litmus test in Kotkapura
Shanta Kumar fumes at dissidents for backing rebel candidate in Abohar
‘Politicians, their promises aim at befooling people’
Paddy scam
Three killed in road mishap
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Assembly elections
Yet, the rural-dominated Dharamkot constituency is not without the ingredients that characterise the aggressive electioneering in any other constituency of the Malwa belt in the state. Kaka, who has entered the electoral arena, climbing on the ladder of religious politics through the gurudwara polls, is being seen as an acceptable public figure with a knack of creating rapport with the masses. He won the recently held SGPC polls, winning the sympathy of the Sikh masses as an independent candidate after having been denied the SAD ticket just 24 hours before the filing of nomination papers even as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, personally campaigned against him. After assessing his support in the area, the Congress high command gave him the party ticket hoping for a party victory in the Akali-dominated constituency after many decades. The electioneering is on a high pitch here these days. Although, political issues and rivalries are prominent characteristics of the campaign, local development issues are also pet subjects. "While we highlight the achievements of the SAD-BJP government during the past five years, we also give prominence to the future plans of development," said the Akali candidate. However, Kaka counters this by saying that major problems in the constituency, including the absence of an effective policy for flood management, treatment facility for potable water, poor public transport, no facilities for higher education and poor healthcare, have remained unaddressed for the past many decades. The locals say that it is going to be a neck-and-neck fight for both the candidates and they could use the power of money to purchase the votes even as the Election Commission has maintained strict vigil on them. This constituency has already been declared sensitive, anticipating the possibilities of use of money to lure the voters. Political observers are of the view that if the jathedar loses at the hands of Kaka, he would meet his political Waterloo. He and his family could never think of winning this seat again.
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Former leader of SOI ‘battles’ Badal
Muktsar, January 17 A youth leader, who, a few days ago, was a front row member of the SAD’s activities in the Lambi constituency, Jaswinder Singh Dhaula, former state general secretary of the Students Organisation of India (SOI), the student wing of the SAD, is contesting elections against the SAD patron, Parkash Singh Badal. Jaswinder Singh, who has got telephone as his election symbol, has resigned a few days ago from his position in the SOI. This 33-year-old has done B.P.Ed. Talking over the phone, Jaswinder Singh said, “After getting dejected over the allotment of the party ticket, I made up my mind to contest the elections as an independent candidate from Lambi. I am very much in the poll fray and the overall development of the area is my aim.” However, the poll pundits here say that Jaswinder Singh was very close to the ruling Badal family and it might be their strategy to get more number of polling agents in the polling booths. |
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Jagmeet Brar to take litmus test in Kotkapura
Kotkapura, January 17 In Kotkapura, it is believed that Jagmeet Brar is a de facto candidate in his younger brother Ripjeet Brar. Known for his oratorical skill and personal influence, Jagmeet Brar was a force to reckon with in Kotkapura when his younger brother, Ripjeet Bar, a greenhorn in active politics, contested the 2007 election. This time too, he succeeded in wresting the party ticket for Ripjeet from the Kotkapura seat, despite stiff opposition by Upinder Sharma. After dissident Upinder Sharma filed his nomination papers as an independent, highly anxious about the victory prospects of his brother, Jagmeet Brar requested the Congress high command to tackle dissidence. In the run-up to this ‘dissident quelling’ exercise, Oscar Fernandes reached Faridkot yesterday but failed to prevail upon Upinder Sharma to withdraw his candidature. So, now it is not the SAD (B) candidate, Mantar Singh, also a close relative of Jagmeet Singh Brar, who would be a real challenge to him. More worrisome for him is the presence of Upinder Sharma. Not only Upinder Sharma, the impact of in-fighting among the Congress leaders and just ‘on paper’ support extended to Ripjeet Bar by the local leaders is also being keenly analysed by Brar here. |
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Shanta Kumar fumes at dissidents for backing rebel candidate in Abohar
Abohar, January 17 During the visit to address workers meeting at Arorvansh Dharamshala here, he justified the expulsion of the dissidents from the party for six years on the recommendation of core committee. Former state BJP president Prof BL Rinwa, former MLA Dr Ram Kumar Goyal and party candidate Vijay Laxmi Bhadoo shared the dais at the meeting. Notably, the BJP had expelled Zila Parishad member Sita Ram Telupura, Municipal Council members Surinder Vij, Gurmeet Kaur, Ramesh Dhaulpuria, Ved Parkash Nirania and Buta Singh, all are reportedly known as close associates of Municipal Council president Shiv Raj Goyal son of former MLA Dr Ram Kumar Goyal. Rebel candidate Shiv Lal Doda, liquor baron, had felicitated all of them during a function organised in his election office here after the expulsion. Doda had last month joined the BJP before filing application for party ticket for the elections. Shanta Kumar said there was no legitimate logic in extending support to rebels even if a section of workers does not relish the selection of candidate by the party high command. All the applicants had pledged to abide by the party's decision; none should betray the mother (party). He however avoided commenting on the support being extended reportedly by some senior SAD workers including a municipal councillor to the rebel candidate here. |
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Civil society takes up cudgels against use of drugs during polls
Ferozepur, January 17 The members of the society representing Sikh scholars and NGOs besides people from various walks of life, took out a rally to spread awareness about the misuse of drugs and contraband during the polls. Addressing the rally, HS Phoolka, advocate, Supreme Court, said there was a likelihood of country-made liquor, drugs, cash and gifts being used to cajole people to garner their vote and support. He added that the idea behind the rally was to make the public aware about the damage it does to the democratic norms. He said the people should reject such candidates who try to win them over using such tactics. It is pertinent to mention that in Ferozepur district alone, 5.48 kg of heroin, 4.5 kg opium, 83 kg poppy husk, 36484 intoxicating tablets, 10.40 Kg drug powder, 6583 litres of illicit liquor, 24830 kg of lahan, 1192 bottles of English liquor besides Rs 29.50 lakhs of unaccounted money has been recovered by the police within the last few days. Meanwhile, the district administration has also started making efforts to reach out to the electorate to spread awareness over the issue. Addressing a gathering of various NGOs and youth clubs besides Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Citizen Welfare Club and eminent people, S. Karuna Raju, DC-cum-DEO and C. Parthasarthi, the election observer, exhorted the people to make the right use of their mandate. “We should be proud of our right to vote and at the same time exercise the franchise with caution without getting influenced so as to strengthen the democratic process,” Raju said. B. Parthasarthi said strict implementation of the model code of conduct shall be ensured, adding that any incident regarding misuse of drugs, distribution of money or illicit liquor should be immediately brought to notice. |
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‘Politicians, their promises aim at befooling people’
Faridkot, January 17 Then, Jnanpith awardee Gurdial Singh, a Punjabi writer of consequence, says, it sounds like a jingle. “Election after election, the players change, the words do not. The manifestoes are very vague. Neither are these distributed among the voters nor are the vague promises made in the manifestoes met,” says the litterateur. The economy of the state is in a sorry mess, Gurdial Singh adds. “Non-issues are being made into issues. Raising a lot of dust to divert people’s attention from serious problems is an old practice.” “Politicians and their promises are aimed at fooling the people, exploiting their sentiments and forgetting them once power is in their hands,” said Gurdial Singh who has never cast his vote since 1952 when the first elections were held in Punjab. And people who spoke to The Tribune, agrees with Gurdial Singh. They feel the manifestoes are not a sacrosanct document in our polity. “Releasing manifesto is just a formality. The political parties never take much pain in preparing manifestoes. The copies of manifestoes are not even available in most election offices of the political parties,” said Laxman Singh Sewewala, general secretary, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, The SAD (B)-BJP government is claiming to be triumphant, saying it fulfilled all promises made in 2007. But alas, there is no improvement in health services, educational standards, no relief in reducing the graph of farmers committing suicide, increasing unemployment, spreading tentacles of drug abuse, perennial power crisis and so on. So it is the people who know better as to how much promises the Akalis fulfilled in the last five years and how many the new government will fulfil, said Laxman. In the absence of any concrete plan to revive the state economy and surpass the problems facing Punjab, the Congress and Akalis, the main players in the state, are luring the people to befool them time and again, said Gurdial Singh. The political leaders are like migratory birds who, the Lok Morcha, Punjab, a semi-political organization, says, descends during election time only. They then busy themselves in pulling the wool over the people’s eye, said NK Jeet, a senior advocate and patron of the Lok Morcha. The Morcha is organising meetings and rallies in Punjab to expose the ‘the hollow cavity of the election system’. |
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Paddy scam
Moga, January 17 “We have received a complaint in this regard from the District Manager of the Markfed to lodge an FIR but it does not have any specific details and reports of the inquiries conducted by the food agency. Therefore, a thorough investigation has been ordered into the complaint,” said an official of the local police. There was a telephonic conversation with the Markfed authorities and the SHO who stated that the complaint falls under sections 406, 409, 120-B of the IPC and section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, which was misunderstood as ‘the FIR is being registered’. |
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Abohar, January 17 Kheruwala village resident Ranjeet Singh said he was carrying daily wage earners on his pick-up van from village Jhumianwali to pluck kinnow fruit in an orchard on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road. The vehicle overturned near village Rajpura while trying to avert collision with a rickshaw. Gulzar Singh and his wife Biba Devi were killed on the spot while Satnam Singh succumbed to the injuries later. The couple is survived by four daughters. Eleven others have been admitted to the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here.
— OC |
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Moga, January 17