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NAGAR PANCHAYAT POLL
Voting amid tension in Muktsar
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Cong candidate alleges threat to life
Class XII results: Girls outshine boys
HC flooded with pleas by runaway couples
Rajoana’s hanging
Dreaded criminal escapes from police custody
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NAGAR PANCHAYAT POLL
Ghanaur (Patiala), June 7 Also, the polling in Ward 11 was suspended. As soon as polling began at 8 am, tension began to brew in Wards 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11. While Congress leaders claimed that the Akalis had captured almost all polling booths, Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said it was Congress workers led by Jalalpur who had tried to capture booths. While the warring workers sustained minor injuries, a women constable suffered a fracture. More policemen were rushed to Ghanaur. District president of the SAD and former minister Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpur and Ghanaur MLA Harpreet Kaur Mukhmailpur alleged that Congress leaders not only indulged in rigging but manhandled Akali activists. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, who reached the trouble spot, said: “It is complete ‘goondaraj’ with the Akalis and the Punjab police beating up Congress leaders.” Capt Amarinder Singh, PPCC chief, said there were apprehensions that the SAD-BJP combine would resort to rigging and the incidents of violence today vindicated the Congress stand. “We appeal to the Election Commission to take cognisance of the matter and ensure that Akali and BJP workers are not allowed to resort to booth-capturing on June 10 when elections to the four municipal corporations are held", he said.
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Voting amid tension in Muktsar
Muktsar, June 7 On the other hand, the Akalis accused Brar’s son Tegbir Singh of assaulting two of their activists. Despite a posse of policemen and senior administrative officials inside the polling station at the DAV Senior Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar, Akali workers reportedly pushed Brar and used foul language against her. At about 3 pm, when Brar and her sons Tegbir and Karanbir raised some doubt over the identity of a voter and tried to make a complaint to the officials, the Akali supporters raised a hue and cry and forcibly entered the polling station. The situation turned serious with some Akali supporters climbing a wall of the polling station, bricks in hand. Akali workers led by Harpreet Singh “Gola” demanded that Tegbir Singh must apologise to Akali workers Gurmeet Singh “Jeeta” and Binder for slapping them. The situation remained precarious till 3.30 pm when the police pushed the crowd out of the polling station. Congress candidate Surinder Kamboj tried to lodge a complaint with the election officials, objecting to the presence of outsiders inside the polling station. He was cowed by Akali workers. “The Akalis used cheap tactics, including bogus voting, to win the election,” alleged Kamboj, pitted against SAD candidate Surinder Singh “Chhinda.” Deciding to take up the matter with the Chief Minister, Congress MLA Brar said: “I made a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP, but none took action against the Akali workers.” The SDM-cum-Returning Officer, Dalvinderjit Singh, claimed: “There was no unruly incident inside the polling station and nearly 75 per cent voters cast their ballot.” He ruled out the possibility of bogus voters. In the evening, the administration called a battery of Punjab police commandos. The byelection was held following the death of Akali MC Gurinder Singh Pohli in July 2010. Rules flouted Congress MLA Brar and SAD's Muktsar constituency incharge KS Barkandi "Rozy" were seen inside polling booths. Since neither is a resident of the ward, the election authorities said they should not have been allowed inside the polling station.
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Vehicles of Cong workers damaged in Mullanpur
Ludhiana, June 7 Akali MLA from Mullanpur Dakha Manpreet Singh Ayali denied the allegations. Jagraon SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor said the police had not received any complaint regarding the incident. The turnout for Jagraon’s Ward 13 was 72.5 per cent while 79 per cent voters cast their vote in the Mullanpur Dakha Nagar Panchayat elections. Jagraon’s Ward 13 fell vacant after the death of BJP councillor Vinod Kumar Goel some time back. The four candidates in the fray here are the late Goel's son Honey Goel (SAD-BJP), Congress candidate Ajay Kumar Dhanda and Independents Sanjay Kumar Pakhija and Babban Goel. In Mullanpur Dakha, there are 22 candidates in the fray for 13 wards. Four SAD-BJP candidates have already been declared elected unopposed after Congress candidates and their covering candidates took their papers back and joined the SAD. Those declared victorious are Dr Amarjit Singh (Ward 1), Sukhbir Kaur (Ward 3), Amit Kumar Honey (Ward 4) and Baljit Kaur (Ward 9). In Machchiwara, about 82 per cent polling was reported . The election passed off peacefully except for a minor scuffle between Akali and Congress workers in Ward 7. There are 13 wards in the Machhiwara Nagar Panchayat of whichelections were held for 12 wards. Akali candidate Rupinder Singh Benipal (Ward 8) has already neen declared elected umopposed. While Ward 9 saw a 94 per cent turnout, reportedly the highest , the lowest turnout was recorded in Ward 2 (74 per cent). Congress MLA from Samrala alleged a nexus between the police and Akali workers. When contacted, Samrala DSP Jagvinder Singh Cheema, denying the allegations, said the police had acted as per the law. On the other hand, former SAD legislator Jagjivan Singh Khirnia said the Congress charges were baseless. Khanna SSP Inderbir Singh said there was no untoward incident.
Scuffles at Malaudh
Malaudh: Despite allegations of rigging by SAD activists, polling in 11 wards of the town polling passed off peacefully. Minor scuffles were reported at some booths where senior leaders of major parties or their spouses are in the fray. Ward 7, reserved for women, saw a minor scuffle. About 92 per cent voters cast their ballot amid allegations of partiality by the polling staff in favour of the ruling alliance. About 80 per cent had cast their vote by 1 pm. Senior leaders of SAD and the Congress, including Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, SGPC member Raghbir Singh Saharanmajra, Bhupinder Singh and Lakhvir Singh Lakha remained active during the polling
process. — Inputs by Jaswant Shetra, Lovleen Bains, Gurminder Grewal & Mahesh Sharma
Amarinder Singh, Jakhar condemn Mullanpur incidents
Captain Amarinder Singh has condemned the incidents of violence in Mullanpur Dakha. Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar alleged it was a "pre-planned attack to terrorise Congress workers and supporters". Jakhar said he would lead a delegation to the Governor to bring "state-sponsored terror" to his notice. He said it was not only the Constitutional responsibility of Parkash Singh Badal, who had become Chief Minister for the fifth time, but also his moral responsibility to ensure justice and fair play. "It was a pre-planned attack to terrorise Congress workers and supporters," CLP leader Sunil Jakhar said.
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Cong: 40,000 forged votes in Amritsar
Amritsar, June 7 Addressing mediapersons here, PPCC vice-president Rana Kaypee, who was accompanied by senior party leaders from the Majha region, said the supplementary voters’ list, copies of which they had received from the administration, didn’t have the voters’ photographs, which was mandatory as laid down by the Election Commission. Kaypee alleged that the names of genuine voters had been struck off from the voters’ list. In some cases votes of Congress loyalists had been shifted to other wards. The motive was to prevent them from exercising franchise on the polling day, he alleged. The Congress leaders alleged that of the 40,000 bogus votes, 11,102 were in the Amritsar South assembly constituency alone. They demanded that these votes not be included in the voters’ list meant for the corporation elections on June 10. “The administration should not facilitate rigging or else the MC elections will be reduced to a mere drama and genuine voters denied their voting rights.” The Congress leaders said they apprehended more supplementary voters’ lists prior to polling date, which would affect the outcome of the elections. Former Congress MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa alleged that 230 voters mentioned in the supplementary list for Ward 31 did not have any house number, while in Ward 40, as many as 99 voters had been shown living in a single house. Similarly, the house numbers against which 135 voters in Gwala Enclave were listed did not exist, he maintained. Dimpa claimed he had tried to contact the State Election Commissioner, but had not received any response, despite repeated attempts. “The State Election Commissioner is running away from his duty while democracy is being stifled ahead of the poll. The people have lost faith in the Election Commission,” he said. The Congress leaders demanded that paramilitary forces should be deployed and video-recording undertaken to ensure free and fair elections to the corporations. Former Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Prof Darbari Lal, DCC president Jugal Kishore Sharma, former Mayor Sunil Datti, and senior party leaders Dharamvir Agnihotri and Harminder Singh Gill were among those present at the Press conference. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal claimed he was yet to receive a complaint on the voters’ list and, therefore, would not comment on it. However, he said an in-depth inquiry would be conducted once such a complaint was received by them from the Congress. The Charges
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Desertions won’t affect us, claims Amarinder
Ludhiana, June 7 “Those (deserters) who want to leave (the party) may do so. No one can compel them to remain in the party,” he said. Flaying the State Election Commission for its “unresponsive” role in the municipal corporation and nagar panchayat elections, he said the code of conduct should be equally applicable to the ruling party. “The transfer of senior police and civil officials are clear violations of the code of conduct,” he said. Alleging that bogus votes were being created, he cautioned “ultra-loyalist” officials against any partisan role during the poll. “Five years is not a long time and these officials will have to be accountable for what they are doing,” he said. Addressing mediapersons after wrapping up his two-day campaign tour of six assembly segments of Ludhiana, he claimed that the morale of party workers was high. On the lessons the party had learnt from its debacle in the assembly poll, admitted that the party should have handled the rebels better. Owning responsibility for the party’s defeat in the Vidhan Sabha elections, he dismissed the suggestion that the SAD had a better poll management strategy. “The Akalis’ money power hurt the Congress,” he maintained. Condemning what he termed as “state-sponsored” violence during the nagar panchayat poll, he said he apprehended similar violence on June 10. Among others who accompanied Amarinder were local MP and Congress national spokesman Manish Tewari, PPCC vice-president Laal Singh and District Congress Committee president Pawan
Dewan.
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Cong candidate alleges threat to life
Patiala: Alleging threat to his
life from leaders of a rival party, Congress candidate from Ward No. 40
Narinder Pal Lalli has lodged a complaint with the Punjab DGP. Lalli has
alleged that since he was contesting elections to the Patiala Municipal
Corporation, his family members, workers and supporters are getting
threats from leaders of a rival party as well as from the Patiala
police. “Last evening, my workers were thrashed and threatened and
when they resisted, the police played a partisan role and instead of
taking action against the culprits, they threatened us of dire
consequences,” he stated in his complaint. Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh
Gill said no one would be allowed to break law and anyone approaching
the police would be provided the help. — Aman Sood
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83.24% in jalandhar’s Bhogpur
Jalandhar: Elections to the three nagar panchayats of Bhogpur, Goraya and Shahkot passed off peacefully today. Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said the Bhogpur nagar panchayat witnessed the highest 83.24 per cent voter turnout, followed by Gorya at 80 per cent. Shahkot saw 63.7 and 50.4 per cent turnout in ward number 9 and 8, respectively, whereas 11 SAD candidates made it unopposed to the civic body following withdrawal of nomination by Congress nominees. There was a direct contest between SAD and Congress candidates in a majority of these wards. Besides, polling was also conducted for bypolls in three municipal councils in the district. In the byelections, there was 76 per cent polling in Phillaur municipal council for ward no. 2 and 80.23 per cent in ward no. 1 of Nakodar council.
69% in Amritsar’s Rajasansi
Amritsar: Elections for the nine wards of Rajasansi nagar panchayat concluded peacefully today with 69 per cent of the electorate casting their franchise. Four SAD candidates in the 13-member House had been declared unopposed after Congress candidates withdrew their nominations. The results would be declared on June 10. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said elections were conducted in a free and fair manner with the help of electronic voting machines. In Tarn Taran district, 86.53 per cent polling was reported in five of the total 13 wards of Khemkaran nagar panchayat. Eight candidates of the ruling SAD were elected unopposed.
82.05% in hoshiarpur’s Mahilpur
Hoshiarpur: A heavy turnout of 82.05 per cent was witnessed in the elections for the Mahilpur nagar panchayat whereas the figure touched 79 per cent in two wards of Garhdiwala nagar council. The fate of 44 candidates belonging to different political parties contesting the 13 wards of Mahilpur nagar panchayat and four candidates contesting by-elections for two wards of Garhdiwala nagar council was sealed in electronic voting machines today.
80% in Ludhiana’s Sahnewal
Sahnewal: Polling was held for 13 wards of the town today. Official sources said 84 per cent votes were cast in Ward 1; 82 per cent in Ward 2; 81 per cent in Ward 3; 84 per cent in ward 4; 84 per cent in Ward 5; 76 per cent in Ward 6; 87 per cent in Ward 7; 81 per cent in Ward 8; 71 per cent in Ward 9; 84 per cent in Ward 10; 74 per cent in Ward 11; 79 per cent in Ward 12 and 81 per cent in Ward 13. More than 50 per cent votes had been polled before noon. In Ward 7, Ratan Devi (95) came with her relatives to cast her vote. Dalip Kaur (95) was carried by her son to the polling
booth. (Text by Bipin Bhardwaj, Manmeet Singh Gill, Ravinder Sud and Minna Zutshi)
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Class XII results: Girls outshine boys
Mohali, June 7 Parul Gupta (science stream) of Sanmati Vimal Jain Senior Secondary Public School, Jagraon, stood first, with 94.5 per cent marks. Rishu (humanities) of BCM Senior Secondary School, Focal Point, Ludhiana, came second with 93.9 per cent marks. The third slot was shared by Manpreet Kaur (commerce) of DAV Public Senior Secondary School, Ropar, and Nishu Bedi (humanities) of BCM Senior Secondary School, Focal Point, Ludhiana, both securing 93.8 per cent marks. The pass percentage of girl examinees was 78.70 against 68.36 in the case of boys. As many as 3,05,364 students appeared in the examinations out of which 2,23,627 passed, with the pass percentage coming to 73.23. The results will be available on the board's website www.pseb.ac.in from 8 am tomorrow. The results were declared by Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka at the board headquarters here. Students from rural areas put up a better performance (pass percentage 74.80) than their counterparts in urban areas (73.54 per cent). In the matter of pass percentage, Tarn Taran district led the other districts with 94.16 followed by Amritsar with 86.58. Students from government schools (pass percentage 75.29) did better than their counterparts in non-government (71.68) and recognised schools (69.71).
Advantage girls
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No shortcut to success: Topper
Jagraon, June 7 A student of Sanmati Vimal Jain Senior Secondary School, Jagraon, Parul says she is confident about her success because of the conceptual knowledge and clarity about what she studies. For this, she consults various sources and asks teachers and does not depend on books alone. “If I ever have any doubts about anything, I make it a point to ask my teachers," she says. She attributes her success to her parents and teachers. She says hard work always pays and there is no shortcut. Her father, Gulshan Gupta, a businessman, said she never had to be told to study. "If fact, we tell her to take a break as she studies for long hours”.
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Water enters zoo after canal breach Bir Talab (Bathinda), June 7 Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav and Irrigation and PWD officials rushed to the site and put JCB machines into use to change the course of the gushing water. Army jawans in two trucks and ambulances were called to plug the breach. Suresh Kumar said local residents who detected the breach rushed to inform the zoo authorities. “The water flowed towards the zoo entrance and broke the new boundary wall in less than an hour,” he said. Another breach, more than 10 feet wide, on the other side of the zoo, entered agricultural fields. The government has spent nearly Rs 2 crore on the zoo’s 4.5 km-long boundary wall. Efforts were on to plug the two breaches till the filing of the report.
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HC flooded with pleas by runaway couples
Chandigarh, June 7 Even as the High Court is observing summer vacations, on an average five petitions for protection by the "victims of hate" are being placed before the vacation Benches. The number is significant as the states of Punjab and Haryana have already been asked to put in place a mechanism for protecting the runaway couples from persecution. In almost all petitions, the couples are expressing apprehensions regarding their safety from kith and kin, while seeking directions to the police to safeguard their interests. Cautioning the runaway couples against running down the established social norms while racing towards the hymeneal altar, the court in these cases is nowadays asking the youngsters to "think twice" before according precedence to individual interests over society. The assertion by Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik, in more than one petition, is apparently aimed at easing the natural tension between the interests of individuals and the group as a whole. Referring to Apex Court judgments on the right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, Justice Malik has asserted: "It is equally important to note that freedom of the individual is not absolute, but subject to the established and time tested social norms of a civilised society. Coexistence of freedom of the individual and social control is sine-qua-non (an essential element or condition) for sustainable progress of society and this is also the integral part of our constitutional philosophy. "Therefore, though the petitioners are entitled for protection to their life and liberty, but at the same time, it is also expected from them and other young citizens like them that before running away from their homes for performing this type of rebellion marriage, they must think twice, besides, listening carefully to their respective parents who are not their enemies, but real well wisher”.
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Rajoana’s hanging
Chandigarh, June 7 The court had issued had show-cause notice to Jakhar on March 27 after he returned the execution warrants to hang Balwant Singh Rajoana, former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassin, twice. While issuing the notice, the judge had come down heavily on Jhakhar and said returning the death warrants was an intend to interfere with the due course of judicial proceedings and to obstruct the administration of justice. While pronouncing the orders today, the court stated that the superintendent had filed an unconditional apology in the case. Earlier while arguing in the court yesterday, Anupinder Singh Grewal, counsel for Jhakhar, said: "According to Section 772 of the jail manual, the superintendent is empowered to return the original warrant for execution of sentence of death in case of delay in its execution". "He was in fact assisting the court in administration of justice by following the directions of the Supreme Court. His action cannot in any manner be constituted as amounting to contempt of court," he added.
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Dreaded criminal escapes from police custody
Nabha/Patiala, June 7 The police said Sukha of Kahlwan village in Kartarpur was lodged at the Nabha jail and was taken for a court hearing by the Ropar police. "On reaching Rakhra village, Sukhbir complained of bodyache. When the policemen stopped the vehicle, two unidentified men pointed a pistol on them and then escaped with the undertrial on a motorcycle". Sources said that the role of Ropar policemen was under the scanner as the only policeman with a weapon did not accompany the police team to Nabha and got off at the Patiala Central Jail. "The Passiana SHO is also at fault for not informing his seniors immediately due to which precious time was lost in making efforts to trace the accused," said Patiala IG Paramjit Singh Gill. Ropar SSP Jatinder Singh Aulakh said initial probe suggested that lower ranked policemen were at fault for being lenient.
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