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Sonia spoke what Capt wrote: Badal
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Brothers pin down Badal to Lambi
BJP stars set to hit campaign trail
Elections fail to stop BSP candidate from examining patients
4 lakh youth ‘missing’ from electoral rolls
Five officials suspended
Bar on election expenses
Unemployment
Elections have little meaning for them
City Centre scam case adjourned to February 4
KCF conduit arrested
Corruption charges against Deputy CM
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Bhoa: Both Cong, BJP fighting dissidence
Sitting MLA Bishambar Dass, who won the 2007 elections beating Rumal Chand of the Congress by a massive margin of 15,365 votes, has been denied the party nomination this time and he has refused
to extend support to See-ma Devi. He says as a 'loyal soldier' of the party, he and his supporters will back the BJP candidate to the hilt but reports emanating from the area suggest that he and his colleagues so far have not gone out to help Seema Devi. To make matters worse, former legislator Ram Lal, too,has not come out in the open to canvass for the BJP candidate. If the saffron party is in a state of disarray, so is the Congress with Balbir Fatehpuri facing opposition from former MLAs Rumal Chand and Kishen Chand Bains, considered close to Union Minister Ashwani Kumar. The latter has remained the president of the Gurdaspur DCC at one time. A peeved Rumal Chand, losing out in the ticket race, fielded his daughter-in-law Kavita as an Independent. However, on persuasion by senior leaders, he withdrew her papers but refuses to support the Congress candidate. Rumal Chand commands some influence in the area and has the potential to make a dent in the Congress votes. Bains was Fatehpuri covering candidate but is reportedly staying away from the latter's poll campaign. The Congress will also have to be wary of BSP candidate Amarjit Singh and CPI (Pasla) candidate Lal Chand. With both collectively securing nearly 13,000 votes in the 2007 elections, Rumal Chand was relegated to the second spot. This time, both Amarjit Singh and Lal Chand are in the fray, giving Fatehpuri's campaign managers sleepless nights. Although the Manpreet Badal-led Sanjha Morcha holds little or no influence in the area, its candidate Gurdev Dev, who left a lucrative job in the US to enter the electoral ring, is working hard to muster support. Targeting the youth, he may eat into both the Congress and BJP vote banks.
trouble within
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Sonia spoke what Capt wrote: Badal
Jalandhar, January 21 Badal along with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, who have been camping here since last night, addressed a slew of gatherings in favour of SAD-BJP candidates, including Manoranjan Kalia (Jalandhar-Central), KD Bhandari (Jalandhar-North), Bhagat Chunni Lal (Jalandhar-West) and Pargat Singh (Jalandhar Cantonment). Countering Sonia’s allegations on development, the CM claimed Punjab had bagged a certificate of excellence in the health sector from the Union Government, besides achieving generation of 7,200 MW in the power sector. Dubbing Congress candidate from Jalandhar Cantonment Jagbir Singh Brar as a “migratory pigeon”, Badal alleged the former had stabbed his mother party (SAD). “I would not have minded if Brar had been sticking to the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), but he again switched over to the Congress, which hurt me a lot,” Badal said. Jaitley claimed he had witnessed large-scale development in the infrastructure sector in Punjab. “The alliance is committed to communal harmony in Punjab. The government has a vision to make the state prosperous, which is evident from the fact that several thermal plants have been set up, a number of educational institutions have come up in the past five years,” he said.
BJP complains against Capt
Chandigarh: The BJP has complained to the EC against the use of words "qatl-e-aam" (carnage) by Capt Amarinder Singh during a political rally in Khanna. The complaint stated in shocking turn of events having direct bearing upon the conducting free and fair polls, Capt's threat of "carnage" to Congress rebels was against the law. Earlier, CEO Kusumjit Sidhu, while addressing the media, had stated that Capt Amarinder had apologised for his remarks and thus, this did not demand any action. — TNS
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Dera Sacha Sauda will support us: Amarinder
Jalandhar/Talwara, January 21 Meanwhile, addressing a gathering in support of Congress candidate from Dasuya Ramesh Chander Dogra, Amarinder said if the Congress returned to power, all poll promises would be fulfilled on priority. He said special focus would be laid on industrialisation in the Kandi belt. Round-the-clock power for domestic as well as industrial consumers would be provided and the government would not charge anything for tubewell connections in this area. He also announced opening of six new medical colleges across the state, including one in Talwara. Responding to a demand of the local residents for taking over the BBMB hospital, he said, once the Congress came to power, the issue would be taken up with the BBMB. Amarinder also promised 75 per cent subsidy to the farmers for fencing their land against wild animals to save their crops. He said after the introduction of the Land Acquisition Act, no canal-irrigated land could be acquired for industry and the obvious choice was the Kandi belt. The PPCC president ridiculed the surplus power promise of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, pointing out that even during the lean season, the industry had been facing long power cuts while the domestic segment was also not getting regular supply.
NRI supporters arrive in state
Chandigarh: As part of the Congress' drive to bring home NRIs in the run up to election for garnering votes with their influence, a convoy of NRIs was received by PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh here on Saturday. These NRIs, from the UK, Canada and the US were received at New Delhi by Dr Karan Singh, chairman of foreign affairs of the Congress, from where they were brought to Punjab in three special buses. Amarinder said if the Congress was voted to power, the CM office would have a special NRI cell. — TNS
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A Tribune series on government performance: governance reforms
Getting an arms licence would have normally taken Arshdeep Singh three to four months, anywhere in Punjab. But when he received it in less than three weeks, he was pleasantly surprised. In the process, he not only saved time but also managed to bypass the middlemen that earlier operated at the Ludhiana Civil Secretariat. This is just one of the services that are now available in a time-bound manner as part of the Punjab governance reforms initiative.
The Punjab Right to Services (RTS) Act, 2011 — one significant achievement of the SAD-BJP alliance — promised to deliver 67 services in a time-bound manner. Yet, the government is unable to present it as one of its biggest achievements, as its implementation was delayed and made difficult by a recalcitrant bureaucracy that resisted change. Before SAD went to the polls in 2007, it promised people a “hassle-free life”, devoid of corruption, at least in their routine affairs. The BJP manifesto too had seconded the promise. However, owing to the resistance from the bureaucracy, it took the SAD-BJP government more than two years to get moving on its promise, setting up a Punjab Governance Reforms Commission (PGRC) only in 2009. Its task was to suggest ways to free the people of red tape, simplify official procedures, and provide better governance. The commission submitted five reports in 2011, nearly six months ahead of schedule. By the time the reports were evaluated, it was perhaps a little late in the day, with the ruling alliance getting into election mode. However, since the reports were released in phases, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal prevailed upon bureaucrats to implement some of the recommendations, such as introducing self-attestation of affidavits. With not all officials pleased with the changes, certain initiatives have not been fully accepted by all departments. The PGRC head, Dr Pramod Kumar, had on his team renowned social scientists Professors Dipankar Gupta and Atul Sood, and former bureaucrats R.N. Gupta and Satwant Reddy. They suggested simple and practical ways to improve governance and thereby reduce corruption. However, results remained below expectation, as officials remained unwilling despite Sukhbir himself pulling up deputy commissioners and administrative secretaries. While citizen-centric reforms suggested in civic, revenue and police departments were readily accepted by the government — as those had a direct bearing on the vote bank — but many other recommendations related to health, education, fiscal management, public health and employees’ welfare and transfer policy were not implemented, both due to time constraint and a suspected lack of political will.
Political interference defeats police reforms The government launched a major initiative in police reforms too. Police commissionerate system was introduced in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, bestowing the police with executive powers, which has cut the time taken for services such as issuance or renewal of arms licence. But with the police acquiring greater powers, corruption in the force has not come down. One of the most controversial decisions was to bring police stations and SHOs virtually under the command of MLAs, as police jurisdictions were delineated according to assembly segments. This politicised the police force. A community policing programme christened Saanjh, however, has facilitated citizen-police interaction. It is another matter that Saanjh Kendras opened at many places are facing staff shortage. The government has provisioned for one such centre in each subdivision. As on August 8, 2011, a total of 80 community police centres and 36 police station outreach centres were functioning. So far, police offices at 510 locations have been connected with a community-policing software at a cost of Rs 28.8 crore. True police reforms would, however, take place only if the uniformed force is made independent of the political system. The majority of police districts in the state have Punjab Police Service officers as chief, rather than those from the IPS cadre. Political dividend
Elections in states such as Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have shown that citizen-friendly delivery of government services pays back at election time. In Punjab, though, early announcement of elections may have robbed the government of the publicity factor from some such initiatives. But former Punjab Local Government and Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia is not concerned, and expects a positive outcome for the SAD-BJP alliance. He says: “Every successive government has promised good governance, but until now precious little had been done for the common man. The Congress government led by Capt Amarinder Singh had claimed having a similar plan, but it was never implemented.” The state Congress president, Capt Amarinder Singh, however, is dismissive of the governance reforms agenda of the SAD-BJP alliance. He says: “The Akali-BJP government is trying to project that there was no governance till the introduction of the RTS Act. Does it mean there were no laws existing till then? The fact that the government needed such an Act exposes its own incompetence and ineffectiveness. This is just a law to implement the existing laws. It won’t make much difference until there is a will to serve, which can only be inspired and not enforced, as Sukhbir is trying to do.” On the other hand, Sukhbir Badal claims there will be delivery too. “We have proposed an Administrative Reforms Commission, which will oversee all aspects of this Act. The decision of the commission in matters pertaining to the Act will be final.” He says the reforms may have been slow and not comprehensively implemented, “but they have become part of the political dialogue in the state”. And that is the major contribution of the Akali-BJP government, he adds. Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Congress MLA from Bholath, says, “On the face of it, the reforms appear people oriented and need to be encouraged. But on the ground, the system is badly eroded, and the Akalis have done little to set things in order. Nothing that is claimed to have been implemented exists on ground.” The main objective of the Act is to “change the system”, a tall order, the success of which will be seen only over time.
Life made easy
A number of initiatives taken on the recommendations of the Punjab Governance Reforms Commission have made life simpler. For example, the government has done away with the filing of affidavits except in cases where it is mandated by law. The government has also issued instructions to vice-chancellors of universities to dispense with the requirement of seeking attested copies of documents at the time of admissions. Reforms in land records have made access to revenue services efficient. One can get online copies of “jamabandis” for the majority of districts, though some records are still in the process of being
digitised.
Problems persist
There was resistance to change in almost every department. For example, outsourcing of registration certificates for new vehicles was taken up by the Cabinet in 2000 (during the previous SAD-BJP tenure), but it took 11 years to partially implement the decision. Certain areas that have yet to receive attention include registration of births and deaths. The commission has recommended extending the registration period allowed to a year. The move to privatise registration of vehicles and other transport functions is yet to be fully implemented. E-tendering is also is yet to be extended to all departments. THE RIGHT TO SERVICES ACT for time-bound work The Punjab Right to Services Act, 2011, aimed at providing statutory backing for ensuring delivery of services to citizens within stipulated period, was implemented on July 26, 2011. As many as 67 services — related to the police, revenue, transport, housing, local government, health, welfare of SCs and BCs and social security departments — have been covered. If a citizen does not get a service within the time limit, he can make an appeal to the sub-divisional magistrate, who is also required to respond within a specified period. The next level of appeal is the deputy commissioner, who can take penal action against the official concerned. Under the Act, a fine of ` 500-` 5,000 can be imposed. Dignity for citizen The priority was to protect the dignity of citizens by identifying spaces, policies, processes and practices that perpetuate undignified exchange between the citizen and the State. Dr Pramod Kumar, Punjab Governance Reforms Commission chief
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Brothers pin down Badal to Lambi
Muktsar, January 21 In contrast, his arch rival and the PPCC president Amarinder Singh, who is contesting from Patiala (City), has almost stayed away, leaving his campaigning to his loyalists, including daughter Jai Inder. Amarinder is everywhere in Punjab, except Patiala and Samana, from where his son Raninder is contesting. It’s a study of contrast between the two chief ministerial candidates this time. Badal, otherwise known to be powerful campaigner fond of moving around the state and that too during the elections, is stuck in Lambi, faced with a tough fight. Even when Badal goes out, he returns back within hours. Amarinder, on the other hand, is known for his relaxed style of functioning is all over the state, leaving no inch of Punjab uncovered. Badal’s compulsions are understandable as he is faced with a do or die battle in Lambi. He cannot afford to take any chance in Lambi as that happens to be the prestigious seat for the party. Moreover, Badal cannot afford to lose the seat, which in all probability is going to be his last election. Amarinder during last couple of days has addressed about a dozen rallies and in between attended one each of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
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Following in the footsteps of Rahul
Gidderbaha, January 21 As soon as he alights from his imported SUV in Rukhala village, he goes straight to a shanty in Bazigar Basti and requests the inmates to serve him food. “I have been out since 8 am and am hungry. If you have anything for lunch, please share it with me,” he tells the family. After that, he addresses a public meeting. “I am Rahul Gandhi’s fan. If he can have food in shanties to understand the plight of the poor, so can I,” he explains, emphasising that it is not a poll gimmickry. “Since the day I began campaigning in this area more than a year ago, I have been focusing on the lower strata that has always been neglected by the Akalis. Once I get the people’s mandate, I will build concrete houses for those living in shanties,” he says. “Manpreet is finding it difficult to win from Gidderbaha, so he has opted to contest from Maur constituency as well. Sant Brar is a turncoat. He joined the SAD on Congress refusal to allot him the party ticket,” he says about his rivals. He claims Rahul Gandhi will campaign in his favour in the coming days.
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Campaign trail Sanaur
Sanaur, January 21 Instead of big rallies, the focus is now on house to house and village to village campaigning, with both the candidates trying to cover over 24 villages each day. While development is the poll plank of both the candidates, people of the constituency rue lack of development and blame politicians for ignoring the area and seeking votes by playing the communal card. Congress heavyweight Lal Singh is contesting for the eighth time from this constituency and is trying hard to tackle anti-incumbency following his “failure” to find a permanent solution to the perennial problem of floods, which cause major devastation in the area. “Lal Singh has remained the finance minister and cooperation minister, but he has done nothing for us,” claimed Nirmal Singh, a resident of Bibipur Khurd. In most of his speeches, Lal Singh says, “I have always stayed with you through thick and thin and despite losing the elections a couple of times, I have never deserted the constituency the way SAD leaders have done. Vote for me as the Congress will form the next government and I will be there to serve you again”. Meanwhile, addressing an election gathering at Sarkarpur village, Akali candidate Sandhu, who is five times MLA Jasdev Singh Sandhu’s son, said, “My father has served the area earlier and I promise to continue his good works and will ensure an industrial project in the constituency to provide more employment opportunities”. Sandhu alleged that the Congress had not done anything for the people of Sanaur. “Despite the fact that a Congress-led government is at the Centre, the benefits of the Central schemes failed to reach the people of Sanaur. This is a good reason for the electorate to reject the Congress candidate,” Sandhu said.
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BJP stars set to hit campaign trail Chandigarh, January 21 Former BJP president Rajnath Singh will also be in the state on January 25 and 26 while Uma Bharati will visit on January 22. She will campaign in the Fatehgarh Sahib area. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will campaign on January 26 and 27. Bollywood star Hema Malini and TV actress Smriti Irani will also hit the campaign trail. Hema Malini will visit the state on January 25 while Smriti on January 26 and 27. Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhra Raje will come on January 27. Gujarat Chief Minister Narinder Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and Shatrughan Sinha will also visit the state and seek votes for the BJP candidates.
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EC officials search Sukhbir’s chopper Accompanied by paramilitary personnel and Punjab Police, Lambi naib tehsildar Gurmeet Singh thoroughly searched the helicopter at around 4:30 pm but nothing objectionable was found in it. Lambi returning officer Sandeep Rishi said, "The EC has directed that if any chopper lands at any non-designated area other than an airport or helipad, we have to conduct a search operation." Rishi said the Deputy CM was not in it when the chopper was searched. The chopper, which had come from Kaljharani village (near Badal village), was to be boarded by the Deputy CM to fly for Ludhiana. Meanwhile, timely action by SAD workers averted an embarrassing situation for Sukhbir in Ludhiana after the Deputy Chief Minister failed to seek permission for his chopper to land on the Punjab Agriculture University ground. The permission for landing was granted after SAD workers filled a request letter and submitted a fee of Rs 2,000. The guidelines to charge Rs 2,000 for landing permission have been laid down by the Election Commission.
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Elections fail to stop BSP candidate from examining patients Muktsar, January 21 After doing MS from Bikaner, Dr Matharoo got a job as PCMS doctor in Punjab in 1981. Belonging to Padampur in Rajasthan, he has now settled here permanently. "I retired as Senior Medical Officer (SMO). And after retirement, social activist Joginder Singh Sandhu approached me to start a dispensary for poor patients. I offered my services and told them that I will not charge money from any patient", he said. "In fact, during government job, I stayed away from private practice and did not charge any fee from patients, who came to me after duty hours", he claimed. Because of my service to the people of the area, the BSP gave me the party ticket to contest, he said. "Even I don't charge for surgeries from patients. There are some private hospitals that provide their operation theatres free of cost for surgeries of poor patients", he added. About canvassing timings, he said, "I have scheduled my election programme in such a way that I never miss to attend my patients. In winters, which is called healthy season in medical terminology, number of patients also goes down." "I mostly do door-to-door campaigning. I tell voters that they should vote for me in case they feel I am serving people. I also tell about the policies of my party, which has given 25 % tickets to candidates from the general category."
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SAD ignored Patiala: Preneet Patiala, January 21 Addressing a gathering at Sheranwala Gate today evening, she requested the city residents to vote for Capt Amarinder Singh for the overall development of Punjab. She said, "In the past five years, there was complete lawlessness in the state and people had to resort to protests in order to make them heard. The Congress, once back in power, will ensure that all demands of Punjab residents, including providing employment and quality education would be fulfilled at the earliest." She said the Congress has always carried out remarkable development in the city since years, whereas the SAD-BJP government had deliberately ignored Patiala in the past five years. "The condition of the city is pitiable, but as soon as the Congress resumes the charge, proper civic facilities would be in place in the city," she said. All remaining projects, including construction of AC bus stand, shifting dairies to outskirts of the city, would be fulfilled and new projects would be initiated for betterment of city residents, added Preneet.
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Amritsar, January 21 She said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had held a series of meeting with the PM on the issue in the past but to no avail. “The PM has already announced a package of Rs 25,000 crore for West Bengal on the insistence of its CM Mamata Banerjee. He could have done so for his home state,” she added. — TNS
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4 lakh youth ‘missing’ from electoral rolls
Chandigarh, January 21 As many as 4,13,144 new voters, out of which 2,73,434 men and 1,39,710 women in the age group of 18-19 years have been registered in the voters list. As per the Census 2011 the number of youth projected was 8.5 lakh. The office of CEO has, however, achieved a major task as against 1.20 lakh voters registered last year, the number has come up to 4.13 lakh. "It is more than 200 per cent increase. We are satisfied with such an encouraging response," said Raj Kamal Chaudhary, Additional CEO. He added, due to an aggressive campaign launched by the CEO in the state in the last one year, so many youth had enrolled themselves. A few days ago, CEO Kusumjit Sidhu had asked the deputy commissioners of all districts to look into the difference between the number projected by the Census and that registered in the voting lists. As a part of its campaign, the EC had projected former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Indian cricket team Captain MS Dhoni as the icons to motivate voters in Punjab. The CEO had asked the DCs to ensure the adequate publicity of their messages not only in electronic and print media but also on cable network in their respective districts. The CEO directed them to ensure the enrollment of the maximum number of young voters as per directions of the EC.
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Five officials suspended
Chandigarh, January 21 Booth level officers of Mandi Board, Balraj Singh and Balvinder Singh, and constable Aroor Singh, alias Manjeet Singh, were also suspended for allegations of politicking. Parwinder Kaur, SAD MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha's wife, has been transferred to Chandigarh from Senior Secondary School, Putlighar in Amritsar, following allegations of canvassing for her husband. SS Bhullar, XEN-Irrigation, Patiala, and Jagdish Benipal has been transferred as XEN, Evaluation-1 at Chandigarh, and BL Singla has been transferred as XEN-cum-technical examiner-11 and vigilance officer, Irrigation Department, Patiala. SHO Manjit Singh, C-Division, Amritsar, and Jagdish Benipal, secretary, Market Committee, Abohar, have also been transferred. Taking note of a novel way of wooing Pathankot voters by Independent candidate Ashok Sharma by stamping newspapers asking for votes, the CEO has directed to confiscate the stamped newspapers and include the expense in the candidate's poll account.
Repaint overhead water tanks: EC
In a letter to the Chief Secretary, the CEO has asked the government to ensure that all the buses, overhead water tanks, conveniences in the state that has SAD colours should be repainted.
— TNS
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Suave Pargat catches young voters’ fancy
Jalandhar, January 21 His suave dressing sense seems to be creating quite an impression on the people who flock to listen to him. His style statement is getting him a good response from the youth. Endorsing his style, his wife Barinderpreet Kaur says the personality and approach of the candidate towards the people is important. “We would love to see politicians dressed up smartly”, says Ravideep Singh. “ Barring actors-turned-politicians, there are hardly any leaders with a style statement. Pargat’s dressing style is very impressive,” adds Mandeep
Kaur.
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Bar on election expenses
Mohali, January 21 Right from organising sector-level and village-level kirtan jathas to door-to-door distribution of pamphlets, entourage of the candidates and their family members are making their presence felt among the voters. "As the observers are recording the day-to-day details of the expenses being incurred by the candidates on public rallies, campaigning, pitching of tents, printing of banners and posters, the candidates have done away with the traditional system of wooing the voters. So, we are adopting discreet methods to contact the electorate," said a supporter of a political party. In Mohali constituency, supporters of the SAD had been found holding a meeting in a gurdwara to target a large segment of voters, while supporters of the Congress has been found holding a meeting at an Aganwadi center of a village. Two such incidents, however, caught attention of the Returning Officer (RO), Mohali, who had issued notices to the SAD and the Congress candidates to explain their position regarding violations of the election related guidelines. The traditional election din of blaring loudspeakers and fluttering posters and banners are also missing this time. "All visible expenses, from hiring of cars, cameramen, chairs, tents, food, public rallies, charges of star campaigners, are being counted", said a senior official associated with an expenditure monitoring cell. But candidates have "hired" close associates for door-to-door campaigning so that maximum areas could be covered. Close associates and relatives of the candidate are publishing pamphlets with their money. Political parties, instead of traditional system of issuing slips to the voters, have given certain 'faithful' party workers stock of liquor to woo voters. Sources said that while the Static and Surveillance teams of the Election Commission were keeping a check on the flow of liquor, candidates had managed their stock in advance.
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Unemployment
Patiala, January 21 According to various sections of the society, despite admitting that unemployment was the main reason behind youth indulging in drug menace, the successive governments have not done much to provide jobs to unemployed. Interacting with TNS, students of Punjabi University and many other professional institutions rued that because of unemployment, talented youngsters either take the extreme step of committing suicide or get into the trap of drug menace. State president of the NSUI, Gobind Khatra, said that if the Congress won the elections, efforts would be made to bring industrial units and educational institutes to the state, which would certainly help in generating jobs. Chairman, Youth Development Board, Punjab, Gurpreet Singh Raju Khanna, said that in the past five years, the state government had provided more than 1.5 lakh jobs in almost all sectors, including education, food supply, health and police.
— TNS
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Badals' houses wear deserted look
Badal (Lambi): Unlike earlier elections, the residences of rival Badal brothers, CM Parkash Singh Badal, Gurdas Singh Badal and Maheshinder Singh Badal, which used to be the hub of political activity in the run-up to assembly elections, have been wearing a deserted look this time. Expecting it to be the toughest-ever fight, the Badals are meeting the voters at their doorsteps rather than calling them to their houses. A visit to Congress candidate Maheshinder's house found that only one man was sitting inside a room, which he called as the election office. At PPP candidate Gurdas Badal's house, only a few labourers were present. The picture was almost similar at the Chief Minister's house. The security guards present there said, "The CM, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had gone out for election campaign."
— Archit Watts
Fake complaints flood EC office
Gidderbaha:
The election authorities here are facing a difficult situation as people here have made the poll complaint cell a tool to settle their personal scores. Each day, nearly four-five complaints are pouring at the office of the RO with most of them are proving false. Puneet Goyal, Returning Officer, said, "We receive a number of complaints regarding poll code violations, but hardly any complaint proves genuine. It seems that people here are now using the EC as a tool to settle their personal score”. Most complaints are regarding distribution of liquor in villages, he added.
— Archit Watts
Amritsar: Following reports of various political leaders approaching Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for electoral gains, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on Saturday said action would be taken against such leaders in accordance with Panthic traditions, if any proof corroborating their visit to the dera was provided. The jathedar said the matter would be discussed in the meeting of Sikh high priests next month. As per reports, a number of candidates from the Malwa region have approached the dera, seeking its support for the assembly elections.
— TNS
Khaira complains against CM, Bibi
Jalandhar: Congress candidate from Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira has lodged a complaint with the EC against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD candidate Bibi Jagir Kaur for allegedly threatening local SDM-cum-returning officer. Khaira alleged that both the SAD leaders had threatened the Bholath RO in their speeches while addressing an election rally at Dana Mandi in Nadala on Friday.
— Dharmendra Joshi
Sanjay Nirupam bats for Warring
Gidderbaha:
To suppress the dissenting voices in Gidderbaha, AICC secretary and in charge for Malwa region Sanjay Nirupam on Saturday came here in support of the party’s candidate Amarinder Singh Warring “Raja”. The MP warned Congress workers to either support Raja or face action. He said, “I have visited a few villages in Gidderbaha where people have particularly complained that the party leadership was not united here. We will have to work unitedly for the victory of the Congress candidate”.
— Archit Watts
Bicycles confiscated
Muktsar: The authorities seized 10 bicycles from the house of an Akali leader which were allegedly meant to be distributed at Jasseana village in Muktsar, said Dalvinderjeet Singh, RO. Meanwhile, the police registered a case against SAD leaders for defacing government buildings in Muktsar. "Posters of SAD candidate Kanwarjeet Singh Barkandi "Rozy" were found pasted on government buildings.
— Archit Watts
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Despair, rejection across Sutlej
Chheena Singh Wala Di Basti (Ferozepur), January 21 With elections only a few days away, hundreds of villagers along the river would like to teach politicians a lesson. “We are waiting for them to come. We will shoo them away. They have done nothing for us. We see them only after five years. They come, make promises and disappear. They are not bothered whether we have basic amenities,” says Sumitra Mai, a widow who feeds her family of six by working on her two- acre land. Others too have a similar reaction. These farmers have to cross the river in small boats to reach their small farmlands. There is no bridge. For ferrying tractors to their farms, they have to borrow a ‘rehra’ (a homemade contraption that can carry the vehicle across the river). And in spite of the huge efforts they make to earn a living, heavy rains every year wash away their standing paddy crop. “But politicians aren’t bothered. We are not willing to vote as voting does not change anything for us,” says Harnam Singh of Tindiwala Basti. The roads in the villages have remained unpaved, and muddy tracks are all they have when it rains. The nearest school is in village Chandiwala, while the nearest hospital is in Ferozepur. Perhaps the only facility that has reached them is power supply and radio and TV, bringing in some awareness. “We haven’t seen the development work the government often talks about. Though we have about 250 votes in all, we will vote only if we are assured of basic civic amenities,” says Faqir Chand, a village elder. For the record, sitting MLA Sukhpal Singh Nannu of SAD will take on the Congress’s Parminder Singh Pinky from the Ferozepur constituency.
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Elections have little meaning for them
Patti, January 21 Joshian Wala Mohalla alone has seen 19 youths dying due to drug abuse in the past five years. Heroin has replaced smack and injectables as the choice of drug in the Majha region despite police claims that the state is only a transit region for this drug. Sixty-one-year-old Kamla Rani is yet to come to terms with the death of her son Sanjeev Shelly four years ago. Shelly left behind a son who is now 10 years old. “I don’t know from where he acquired the habit. We tried our best to keep a check, but could not stop him,” says Kamla. When asked how her son used to procure drugs, she says motorcyclists stocked with “pudian” (packets) and “teeke” (injections) move around freely in the town supplying drugs to youngsters. “There is no one to stop them”. Mahinder Kaur, who lost her son more than three years ago due to drug overdose, says her son used to divert money from earnings at the family kirana shop. “There is no hope for our youth. Why should we be interested in the elections,” she asks. Vinod Sharma, a social worker who runs Bhagat Puran Singh Blood Donation Society, says his committee had even announced names of some drug dealers in public gatherings, but no action was ever taken against them. He says neither the administration nor political leaders have cared to build quality educational institutions or a stadium in Patti to wean away youth from drugs. Even the police is hesitant to take action against drug addicts who often get violent or behave in an unpredictable manner, he adds. Social worker Parvinder Singh Jolly says the situation is going from bad to worse. While addicts earlier used to spend Rs 100 on a “pudi” of smack, they now shell out Rs 1,000 for a one gram of heroin. This, he says, has led to rise in the number of snatching incidents in the town and nearby areas.
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City Centre scam case adjourned to February 4
Ludhiana, January 21 Capt Amarinder Singh, his son Raninder Singh and former minister Ch Jagjit Singh were not present during the hearing in the wake of Assembly elections in the state, as their personal presence were exempted by the court for today following written requests by their
lawyers. — TNS
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BSF recovers 14-kg heroin worth Rs 70 cr
Ferozepur, January 21 The BSF DIG said that immediately the jawans sounded an alert and challenged the three intruders coming from Pakistani side who fired back towards the BSF post. He said that the jawans also opened fire and following several rounds of firing, the intruders retracted back towards Pakistani side under the cover of darkness. Gupta said that in the morning, the BSF launched a search operation during which 14 packets of heroin weighing 1 kg each
were recovered from the area close to a border pillar. He said that one 12 feet long plastic pipe was also recovered from that spot near border fencing which was being used to push the packets across the fencing. The BSF personnel also recovered woolen caps and shawls from the spot. The DIG said that some blood strains were also seen in the area, which indicate that one of the smugglers might have been hit during the firing. The DIG informed that the price of the seized contraband in the international market was around Rs 70 crore, adding that they
had also seized heroin worth Rs 40 crore in the last fortnight.
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KCF conduit arrested
Ludhiana, January 21 Sukhdeep, a resident of Bikhiwind in Mansa, had allegedly fled to the US in late 1990s by jumping bail and later he was declared proclaimed offender (PO) by the court. According to information, Sukhi Chahal returned to India in December last year. The team nabbed Sukhi Chahal following intelligence input that Sukhi was in the state to trigger unrest before the Assembly elections. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashish Choudhary confirmed the arrest and said that Sukhi Chahal was wanted by the city police for more than a decade. Division No. 5 police station SHO Raj Kumar said the police was probing about the whereabouts of his accomplice, who had allegedly entered the state along with him.
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Corruption charges against Deputy CM
Chandigarh, January 21 On this issue, the petitioner sought time to file his reply and the court deferred the hearing to February 4. In his petition Janjua had alleged that Sukhbir Badal had threatened him to pay Rs 1 crore or else he would be embroiled in some vigilance case. In his petition filed under section 156(3) of the
CrPc, 1973, he had sought directions to the Station House Officer (SHO) Sector 17 police station, Chandigarh, to carry out investigation after registering a first informatoin report (FIR).
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Gurdaspur, January 21
Muktsar/Ludhiana, January 21