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EC suspends atta-dal scheme
State
of Parties
Campaign
trail: Raninder Singh
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No misuse of funds: Jaitley
Arun Jaitley (centre), Navjot Singh Sidhu (right) and Dr Navjot Kaur, BJP candidate from Amritsar (East), at a rally in Amritsar on Wednesday. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan
Campaign trail: Dera
Bassi
CATCHING THEM YOUNG: Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal interacts with schoolgirls in Majitha on Wednesday. Photo: Vishal Kumar
It’s diligent Badal vs belligerent Capt, says Rajnath Singh
BJP leader Rajnath Singh at a rally in Ferozepur
on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
PPP candidate Gaganjit Singh Barnala canvasses at Jahangir village. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan
Rahul: Punjab has given a visionary like PM
Poll snippets
Fight foeticide, Hema tells women voters
BJP leader and Bollywood actor Hema Malini addresses an election rally in Jalandhar on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Rebels give tough time to official candidates
Ex-servicemen to back 112 candidates
Candidates mend ways, courtesy strict vigil by officials
Raid on SGPC member’s house; CM cries foul
Lawyer moves CBI against Badals
Armoured Div bags Commander’s Banner
Allotment of residential plots to department employees
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EC suspends atta-dal scheme
Chandigarh, January 25 Under the scheme, wheat flour and lentils are given to poor families at subsidised rates every month. Now, the benefit will not be extended for five days.
Ban on exit polls
The ban on telecast of opinion/exit polls in Punjab will commence 48 hours before the first phase of polling i.e. 48 hours before Manipur goes to the polls on January 28. This was stated today by a spokesman for the EC. He said thus opinion/exit poll could only be telecast till the evening of January 25.
Didn't meet
anybody: Cheema
Two days after Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister KJS Cheema was accused of canvassing for Congress candidate Rajinder Kaur Bhattal by PPP candidate Bhagwant Mann from Lehra, he has stated that he went to Moonak but did not meet any party candidate. His reply has been sent to the Election Commission in Delhi for further action, said CEO Kusumjit Sidhu.
Report sought on complaints
The CEO today asked the Town Planning, Irrigation and Home departments to check the veracity of complaints against Chief Engineer Irrigation AS Dulat, Chief Town Planner Balkar Singh Brar and DSP Kotkapura Pannu and if found correct, take disciplinary action against them. A complaint was forwarded by the observer that they were campaigning for SAD candidate Mantar Singh Brar and DSP Pannu was threatening the voters.
Two officials
suspended
Usha R Sharma, Special CEO, said Darshan Lal, headmaster of Government High School Midda, Ferozpur, and Sandeep Singh Sugga of the Agriculture Department had been placed under suspension for distributing cycles to students and indulging in political activities, respectively.
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State
of Parties
Chandigarh, January 25 In a departure from the practice of waiting for the poll results and then leaving the decision on naming the Chief Minister candidate to the party president, the party has this time chosen to re-affirm its faith in Capt Amarinder. Besides the Amarinder factor, the party is banking on the anti-incumbency sentiment. With the people of the state never having voted the same party to power the second time, the party is confident this will happen this time too. Another factor helping the Congress is the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP). Though Left party candidates, who are part of the PPP-led Sanjha Morcha, are affecting the Congress vote bank, a large number of PPP candidates are damaging the SAD more. The Congress is still trying to rein in rebel candidates and focusing on urban areas in the hope of encroaching the BJP vote bank.The BJP had won 19 seats in the 2007 elections. The rebels are strong in at least six seats- Dera Bassi, Fatehgarh Sahib, Balachaur, Kotkapura, Ferozepur City and Sujanpur. But Capt Amarinder claims that rebel Congress men won’t matter. He claims the Akalis are facing rebel trouble too and most PPP candidates are Akali dissidents. The party is focusing on combating the Akali claims on development, arguing that whatever development has taken place, has been because of Central funds. It claims that Central funds were even diverted towards Akalis’ pet projects. Mismanagement of law and order and ‘goonda-gardi’ is one of the major poll planks of the Congress. The Congress has a number of star campaigners. AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi is a big attraction because of the youth appeal. The party is mainly banking on Amarinder who is heli-hopping across the state to cover the maximum number of constituencies. The party is hoping the Amarinder magic will work in the Malwa belt, which has the maximum number of 68 seats. Even though the Akalis have made gains in this area, Congress men say the people will remember Amarinder’s pro-peasant agenda as well as his stand on riverwaters that led to the abrogation of water treaties with adjacent states. The party has carefully crafted a pro-urban image to take on the BJP on 23 seats being contested by the saffron party. It is hoping the neglect of the Majha region by the Akalis will help win most of the 24 Majha
seats. Party performance in 2007 elections
Prominent candidates this time
Party riddled with rebel trouble
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Campaign
trail: Raninder Singh
Sassa Gujaran (Samana), January 25 Sharing this during an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Congress candidate from Samana Raninder, who is president of the National Rifle Association of India, said he is confident of hitting the bull’s eye to make a debut in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The TNS team accompanied him for a few hours during his election campaign in Samana. As Raninder’s cavalcade entered Sassa Gujaran village, students, housewives, farmers and elderly women - almost the entire village was there to see, hug and give blessings to him. Showering warmth and affection on the “Yuvraj”, octogenarian women even cried, telling Raninder as how the Punjab Police personnel committed atrocities on them during the past five years. Consoling everyone, Raninder touched feet of the elderly villagers, requesting to bless him so that he can win the election and nail the “corrupt” police officers. Summing up the junior Badal in just one sentence, Raninder said, “Sukhbir has mastered the art to rig polls - be it panchayat, municipal bodies or block samiti elections.” Asked whether Congress can enter into any post poll alliance with the PPP, Raninder’s prompt reply was “No”. Refusing to comment on his uncle Malvinder Singh, who is campaigning against him in Samana, Raninder said, “I respect my uncle very much and I don’t discuss family matters in public domain.” Quickly listing his priorities, Raninder tells the people, “I would make sure that everyone gets the benefit of the old age pension, shagun scheme and atta-dal scheme.” Taking dig at the SAD-BJP government, Raninder said, “Akali regime was nothing but a bunch of liars, as they failed to fulfill the promises made by them.” On the issue of candidates approaching Deras in Punjab, Raninder admitted that importance of Deras in electoral battle in Punjab is a reality these days. However, he quickly added, “Congress is a secular party and I don’t see anything wrong in seeking blessings from different sects and religions.”
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No misuse of funds: Jaitley
Amritsar, January 25 “By giving grants and funds, the Central government has not done any favour, it is taxpayers’ money and is used for the public welfare only,” stated Jaitley. He lauded the state government for starting various schemes such as sale of atta at Rs 1 per kg. He added that the ruling government also distributed laptops among higher secondary students. “We have calculated all figures. The amount is half of the total amount siphoned off by the Congress leaders in the 2G spectrum scam,” he claimed. While addressing mediapersons, he claimed that there was no anti-incumbency factor in Punjab this time and the SAD-BJP combine would win easily. On the verbal assault launched by former Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, he said it was nothing less than a physical assault. “This shows the gross sense of irresponsibility on the part of Congress leader which had only divided the party cadre,” Jaitley added. While answering a query over not allowing noted writer Salman Rushidie to participate in the Jaipur Literary Festival, he said the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, should break his silence and clear his stand over the issue. The writer was not permitted to take part in the festival following threats by some Muslim groups.
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Ready to help states under debt: Pranab
Chandigarh, January 25 The issue of financial assistance to Punjab had taken on political overtones after the former Finance Minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, quit claiming he was not being allowed to negotiate a financial package for the state. Capt Amarinder Singh also claimed that the Centre could give financial assistance to the tune of Rs 4,500 crore to Punjab in case the state was ready to usher in financial reforms. Mukherjee made the announcement in order to woo voters. Meanwhile, in another significant development, the Finance Minister refused to give any credit to Manpreet for paving the way for the financial package. He said the proposed package was a part of the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission, which had suggested that steps should be taken to improve the GSDP ratio of Punjab, West Bengal and Kerala. He said individuals did not have any role in these suggestions. He said there was a difference between announcing subsidies and institutionalising these. He added that the UPA was in favour of the second option and the Right to Food Bill which would make wheat available at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg. He stated that the Congress had only talked about subsidies that were implementable. Mukherjee also used the occasion to announce that the SAD-BJP was making false charges of discrimination. Out of the total Rs 12,500 crore security bill raised during the period of militancy in Punjab, the Centre had taken liabilities of Rs 9,913 crore on itself, he said. He also claimed that the SAD-BJP alliance was coming in the way of the interests of farmers of Punjab by first supporting the FDI and then going back on their word. He said farmers in Punjab needed cold chains and infrastructure to market their fruits and vegetables. When questioned about steps being taken to encourage industry in Punjab, he replied that tax incentives given to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand had not resulted in new investment in these states. “Industries from other states have shifted there and which is why we have chosen to end these incentives,” he added.
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Campaign trail: Dera
Bassi
Both the rebels from the SAD and the Congress are giving sleepless nights to the official party nominees. Earlier, part of the Banur assembly segment, this seat was carved out after delimitation with the original Banur merged into Rajpura. The constituency has very different issues and problems with some candidates contributing to the haphazard development of the region due to escalation of land prices. Out of the nine candidates, Congress has fielded former minister Jasjit Singh Randhawa, who earlier used to contest from Ghanaur. SAD suddenly shifted NK Sharma, who was nurturing Mohali to Dera Bassi. The PPP fielded Bhagwant Singh Baltana and the BSP Satish Sharma. Despite a four-cornered contest between parties, two independents, Congress rebel Deepinder Singh Dhillon and Akali rebel Manpreet Kaur Dolly, daughter of the late Capt Kanwaljit Singh cannot be considered to be second to none. This seat could actually throw up a surprise by one of the dissidents toppling the careful planning of the parties. Dera Bassi now consist of 122 villages besides the townships of Zirakpur, Dera Bassi and Lalru. The total number of votes is about 1.72 lakh. In this constituency, betrayal has emerged the main theme of the election, raised by the two rebels. Dhillon was the Congress candidate in the 2009 by-election from Banur necessitated by the death of Capt Kanwlajit Singh. Although Dhillon lost to Akali nominee Jasjit Singh Bunny, he still managed to poll 54, 358 votes. This time too, Dhillon was the frontrunner in the race to secure Congress ticket, but even his proximity to the Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur, could not secure the nomination. A former Deputy Advocate General of Punjab, Dhillon has been active in the area for the past about two decades. Dolly says that her late father had represented the area in the Vidhan Sabha for more than a decade and half and carried out extensive developmental work and the ticket rightfully belonged to her. She has also objected to the use of her father's name and photographs by Sharma in his poll campaign and also given advertisements in newspapers in this regard. Congress candidate Jasjit Singh Randhawa is new to the area, while NK Sharma was an aspirant for the Akali ticket in 2009, which was allotted to Bunny. The Akali high command then compensated him by appointing him as chairman of the Mohali Development Board with the rank of a Cabinet minister.
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Sukhbir: We arrested fiscal downslide
Amritsar, January 25 Replying to media queries after addressing a rally in support of SAD-BJP candidate Dr Navjot Sidhu here, Sukhbir said it was the SAD-BJP alliance that had halted this downslide and propelled the state towards socio-economic development. He credited the alliance with bringing economy back on the rails with its "farsighted and pro-people policies" with particular emphasis on infrastructure. While Sukhbir campaigned in the holy city, a few kilometers away, his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur sought votes for her brother Bikram Singh Majithia. She attacked the Congress, saying it was "a party of royals far removed from the ground realities." SAD, BJP bigwigs in Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur: With just a couple of days left for the assembly elections, senior SAD and BJP leaders, in a last ditch attempt to garner votes, fanned out in this district today, campaigning for the alliance candidates. In Dinanagar, a reserved seat, former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, while addressing a gathering, made a fervent appeal to the people to vote for party candidate BD Dhuppar. Sitting MLA Sita Ram Kashyap was also on the stage, scotching rumours that there was dissidence in the party. In Babbehali village, 5 km from here, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal addressed a rally in favour of Gurdaspur sitting SAD MLA. Sukhbir warned PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh not to use derogatory language in his public addresses. In Pathankot, Congress candidate Raman Bhalla got a shot in the arm when senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad addressed a rally in his favour. — Ravi Dhaliwal
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It’s diligent Badal vs belligerent Capt, says Rajnath Singh
Ferozepur, January 25 While addressing a rally in support of sitting MLA Sukhpal Singh Nannu who is contesting from Ferozepur Urban, he said the BJP had won this seat three times in a row and “the time has come to score a ‘chauka’”. Rajnath claimed that Nannu had initiated developmental works to the tune of Rs 350 crore in this area. He said if the NDA regained power at the Centre, the compensation to farmers having landholdings across the fencing along Pakistan would be enhanced from Rs 2,500 to Rs 10,000 per acre. He also promised to provide soft loans to farmers at the rate of 3 per cent. Listing the achievements of the SAD-BJP regime, he made a special mention of government’s efforts to make Punjab power surplus, besides other initiatives like the atta-dal scheme. Rajnath also addressed a rally in Amritsar in support of party candidate from Amritsar Central Tarun
Chugh.
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Campaign trail: Dhuri
Dhuri, January 25 With age catching up, Barnala’s wife Surjit Kaur has taken over the reins of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Longowal). His son Gaganjit Singh is contesting the elections from here as the People’s Party of Punjab nominee. His wife and son Simarpartap Singh Barnala, an advocate in Hyderabad, have been campaigning from him.The tall, well-dressed Gaganjit is pitted against Congress’ Arvind Khanna besides SAD’s Gobind Singh Longowal. The latter also claims to be a political successor of the late Longowal. The Tribune caught up with Gaganjit in Jahangir village. Gaganjit’s campaign style is simple. He does not speak against his opponents and confines to spelling out his plans for the development of his constituency. “When others failed to muster courage, my father dared to negotiate an accord with all those who mattered at that point of time to restore peace in the state”, he says. “I was attacked at least thrice by forces inimical to the peace accord,” says Gaganji, who was elected MLA in 2002. “Parkash Singh Badal and his son have reduced the SAD to a family fiefdom,” he tells a crowd, but is all praise for People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal. “He is a good man who wants to do a lot for Punjab,” he says.
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Rahul: Punjab has given a visionary like PM
Jalandhar, January 25 Rahul, who addressed a rally in favour of Congress candidate from Jalandhar (West) Suman Kaypee, was accompanied by PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh, Gulchain Singh Charak, Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee, former ministers Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and Avtar Henry and Punjab Youth Congress president Vikramjit Chaudhary. Turning towards Amarinder Singh, he said: "Your Chief Minister is sitting right here. He will be launching a battle against vices like drug peddling in the state." Capt Amarinder alleged that the Badals had usurped the cable, transport and liquor trade in the state. "We have 47 lakh unemployed youngsters. This huge burden can only be lessened with rapid industrial growth under a Congress regime," he said.
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Poll snippets
Patiala: Returning Officer Rishipal Singh has issued a notice to three candidates from the Patiala Rural constituency, charging them with defacing of public property. Expenditure observer SK Meena took a round of the entire constituency and found that stickers and other election-related material of Congress candidate Brahm Mohindra, SAD candidate Kuldeep Kaur Tohra and Independent candidate Satbir Singh Khatra was pasted on the walls of various houses and telephone and electricity poles. Subsequently, the RO issued a notice seeking a reply in this regard failing which legal action would be taken against them.
— Gagan K. Teja UT urged to declare holiday on Jan 30
Chandigarh: In a representation submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, the People's Party of Punjab has urged that the Chandigarh Administration should be requested to declare holiday on January 30, the day of polling in Punjab. The PPP has informed the CEO that a large number of employees in the Chandigarh administration and offices belong to the state. They would not be able to vote in case the UT does not declare a holiday on January 30. The PPP has requested the CEO to take up this issue with the Chandigarh administration.
— TNS Candidates take green oath
Faridkot: It is probably for the first time that the health and environmental issues have started emerging as main issues in the wake of the assembly elections in the state. After Vatavaran Te Samaj Bachao Morcha, a group of 40 religious, environmental and social organisations in Punjab, started a campaign asking all candidates to take oath to work rigorously for the betterment of environment and increase green cover, more and more political leaders are signing a written undertaking in this regard in public gatherings. In one such public gathering in Faridkot on Wednesday, many candidates in the fray gave the undertaking.
— TNS 4 kg opium seized
Muktsar: The Muktsar police on Tuesday seized 4 kg of opium from four narcotics smugglers at Kattianwali village near Malout. The police said during the routine checking, a Maruti Esteem car was intercepted from which the contraband was seized. The opium was being smuggled from Rajasthan to Jalandhar. The accused have been identified as Gurwinder Singh, his wife Pooja, Charanjit Singh and Sukhpreet Singh, all residents of Shahkot. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered at Kabarwala police station.
— Archit Watts Bank staff attend poll rehearsal
Fazilka: Bank customers had to suffer a lot on Wednesday as most banks in the rural and urban areas of Fazilka, Abohar and Jalalabad falling under Fazilka Central Cooperative Bank Ltd, Fazilka, remained closed as all employees had to attend the final rehearsal for the January 30 polls. "We had brought this to the knowledge of the District Fazilka administration but the bank employees were not exempted," said HS Dhillon, district manager of the bank. "I was shocked to see the Fazilka Central Cooperative Bank closed today as I had to withdraw money for the occasion of the marriage of a relative," said Pardeep Setia, a local resident. Over 80 employees of 20 branches most of them clerks and cashiers had gone to attend the rehearsal and only the security guards were present outside the banks.
— Praful Chander Nagpal
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Fight foeticide, Hema tells women voters
Jalandhar, January 25 Appreciating Bhandari for his clean image and development works in his constituency, she appealed to the gathering to give him another chance. Addressing a gathering at Talwara in favour of Amarjit Singh
Sahi, BJP candidate from Dasuya, she again raised the issued female foeticide. Hema promised to revisit the area along with her husband Dharmendra if the voters helped Sahi to win with a thumping majority. Avinash Rai Khanna, MP, and Vijay
Sampla, Chairman of the Punjab Khadi Board, also spoke.
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Nagma lends colour to Cong campaign
Ludhiana, January 25 “See what Tewari has done for this industrial hub of the state,” she pointed out. Nagma, who has acted in several hit Bollywood movies with stars like Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan, recounted the works done by Tewari after being elected to the
Lok Sabha. “The city has got Ludhiana Shatabdi, air connectivity with the national Capital and a major project for cleaning the Budha Nullah,” she said. Nagma canvassed for Congress candidates in other constituencies as well.
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Rebels give tough time to official candidates
Moga, January 25 A rebel candidate, Amarjit Singh Rajeana has repelled the appeal of PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh to withdraw. In
Nihalsinghwala, Colonel Babu Singh (retired) is still in the fray as a rebel candidate making a dent in the poll fortunes of Independent MLA Ajit Singh
Shant, who has been contesting the elections on Congress ticket. Congress rebel Hardip Singh Fauji is in the fray from the Dharamkot constituency. Observers say he is not likely to cut into the poll prospects of the party candidate Sukhjit Singh Kaka.
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Ex-servicemen to back 112 candidates
Chandigarh, January 25 Addressing the media here today, veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal, chairman of committee, said they had decided to vote for certain candidates because of their their accessibility, educational qualifications, integrity and past performance. Chhatwal urged the ex-servicemen to support the candidates announced by them, including Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Badal, Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh and his son Raninder Singh, Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Manpreet Singh Badal, Manoranjan Kalia, JS Khangura and Sohan Singh Thandal. Chhatwal claimed the ex-servicemen vote in the state stood at 15.40 lakh. He released a list of 112 candidates to be backed by them- 64 of the SAD-BJP, 35 of the Congress and 13 of the Sanjha Morcha and other parties. Interestingly, he did not announce support for any BSP candidate in Punjab.
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Candidates mend ways, courtesy strict vigil by officials
Moga, January 25 The election campaign is at its peak, but one may not find glossy posters and party banners put up on roadsides and even on the walls of buildings, courtesy a strict vigil by the election observers. Officials have been insisting on the implementation of Property Defacement Act. The cost of removing hoardings, banners, posters and flags from roadsides and buildings is also being included in the poll expenditure of candidates. The commission’s guidelines have forced candidates to resort to door-to-door campaigning.
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Raid on SGPC member’s house; CM cries foul
Lambi, January 25 The IT officials, who were accompanied by paramilitary forces, started the search at 11 am which lasted till 6.30 pm. Nobody was allowed to enter or leave the house. Hundreds of Akali supporters gathered outside Kolianwali’s house and raised slogans . Though no official of the department gave any details, the Director, Investigation, Income Tax, HS
Sohi, said on the phone : “Our team seized 15 packets of narcotics from the Kolianwali’s house, which have been handed over to the police. He said the team had conducted the raid on a tip-off.
Kolianwali alleged the Congress had conspired to implicate him. “These are cheap tactics to demoralise SAD workers.” He said Rs 1.6 lakh in cash and 35 tolas of gold were found from his house. On the packets containing poppy husk, he said he did not know anything about it. After the raid, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called Kolianwali at a worker’s house in
Malout. When contacted, the CM said: “The search operation has exposed the Congress leadership at the Centre as well as in the state. They have come to know about their defeat in the coming elections and so have adopted such cheap tactics.”
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Lawyer moves CBI against Badals
Chandigarh, January 25 Advocate Himmat Singh Shergill had earlier filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, the HC on December 15 had asked him to approach an investigating agency and thereafter, approach the court if the problem remains unsolved. In his complaint, Shergill alleged that Badal and his son exercised their executive powers in an illegal and manipulative manner to provide monetary benefits to the companies owned by the Badal family. Most irregularities happened after they came into power in March 2007. Calling it a well-planned and institutionalised corruption, Shergill demanded a thorough probe by the CBI. Shergill had submitted the annual returns, director's reports and balance sheets of various companies that "established ownership of Parkash Singh Badal and his family". "They are running family businesses out of the state's exchequer", he alleged in the complaint.
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Armoured Div bags Commander’s Banner
As many as 15 teams from various formations under the Western Command had participated in 10 different events. The Banner, instituted in 2006, is aimed at improving operational efficiency, combat effectiveness, offensive spirit and camaraderie. The Banner was received by Division's General Officer Commanding Maj Gen RP Sahi from General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen SR Ghosh. The runners-up in the event were 26 Infantry Division, followed by 7 Infantry Division. Also, the winners of the recently concluded Western Command recce competition were also felicitated. The first, second and third positions were bagged by Guards, Armoured Regiment and 69 Armoured Regiment, respectively. As many as 14 teams took part in the event.
— TNS
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Allotment of residential plots to department employees
Chandigarh, January 25 The significant judgment came on challenge thrown by advocate HC Arora to an office order dated September 24, 2010, "which prescribed allotment of identified residential plots exclusively to the PUDA employees at reserve price". The development is significant as Arora had alleged "the allotment of residential plots to its own employees by the PUDA was to enable them to sell these at three to four times higher price; and thus to get financial gains at the cost of tax paying public". Arora had alleged PUDA was taking steps to allot at reserve prices residential plots from five to 14 marlas to its employees, depending upon their status, from Class-IV to Class-I. Even officers or employees with own residential plots or houses were eligible for allotment, if they have completed five years of regular service with the PUDA. Allowing the petition, the Bench of Justice MM Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina asserted: "We are of the view that the scheme is arbitrary, which is amply highlighted by the fact that it does not distinguish an officer/official, who or his/her spouse owns a house in an urban estate." "In fact, clause four of the scheme expressly postulates that officer/official who had purchased a plot/house/building through open sale in the market or auction is also eligible to submit application under the scheme". In its detailed order, the Bench added: "Even otherwise, it is well settled, as rightly pointed out by advocate HC Arora, that there cannot be any reservation of plots in favour of the employees or their wards because it has no rational basis…. "The scheme appears to have been finalised only by the Chief Administrator, PUDA, and not by the State Government, which smacks of arbitrariness". Before parting with the order, the Bench asserted: "The writ petition is allowed. The scheme/office order dated October 24, 2010, or any other similar scheme is hereby quashed".
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In the midst of the election campaign, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal escapes to Nada Sahib on the outskirts of Chandigarh.
Challenges Sonia to a debate on the issue
Ferozepur, January 25
BJP star campaigner Hema Malini today appealed to the women, hands folded, to fight female foeticide and rescue the
gildchild. She was in city to address a rally in favour of BJP candidate from Jalandhar (North) Krishan Dev
Bhandari. Hema started her speech with “Jo Bole so Nihal” and claimed that she loved Punjab for its rich food and culture.
Dera Bassi, January 25
Patiala, January 25