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Wisconsin gurdwara shootout shocks Sikhs
Solemn Sunday Disrupted
Badal asks PM to take up issue of Sikhs’ safety with
US
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Krishna, Powell flay killings
Badal leaves for US today
Wedding preparations turn into mourning
Senseless act of violence and a tragedy
Monsoon Session
Cong, allies get together for Sonia’s lunch
Hazare disbands Team Anna, says no to future talks with govt
SC rejects CBI’s plea against Yeddyurappa
CRPF jawan killed in Naxal attack
Senior RAW official in China dismissed
Power Ministry mechanism to prevent grid collapse
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Wisconsin gurdwara shootout shocks Sikhs
Amritsar, August 6 Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said, “It is an unfortunate incident which claimed the lives of innocent devotees, besides leaving several others injured.” He stressed on the need to adopt security measures like CCTV cameras at the entrance of gurdwaras in the US to keep a vigil on suspicious persons. Expressing deep condolences for the families of those killed in the shootout, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar today announced setting up of a three-member sub-committee to probe into the incident and submit its report to the premier Sikh body. The committee comprises of SGPC members Surinder Singh Bhuleratha and Amarjeet Singh
Chawla, besides Paramjeet Singh Khalsa. Makkar said he would soon leave for New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister, the Union Minister of External Affairs and the US Ambassador. He announced an aid of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of the kin of the two preachers from New Delhi, who were killed in the incident. The SGPC will organise an ‘Akhand Path’ at the Gurdwara Shri Diwan Sahib Manji Hall on August 8-10 for peace to the departed souls, Makkar
said. Makkar said the Sikhs in the US had been at the receiving end of racist attacks earlier too, but this was for the first time that an attack has been carried out in a “planned manner”. He said the US should ensure safety and security of Sikh shrines, besides arresting those behind the incident. He has appealed to the Sikh community in the US not to get incited and protest against the shootout in a peaceful manner. He also urged the US administration to protect lives and property of the Sikhs living there. Washington-based Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), expressed shock and grief at the tragic killing of Sikhs in the incident which “appears to be an apparent hate crime”. “We have feared since 9/11 that this kind of incident will take place. It was a matter of time because there is so much ignorance and people mistakenly identify us as members of Taliban or belonging to Osama bin Laden's deadly network. Any incident that occurs in the Middle East or any major loss of life of American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan has always created an apprehension that there would be some reaction or retaliation in the US,” Rajwant Singh said.
Badal’s appeal
chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged PM Manmohan Singh to take up the issue of safety and security of members of the Sikh community living in America with the US administration |
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Solemn Sunday Disrupted
Yuba City (California), Aug 6 As wafts of ‘gurbani’ drifted through the air and the ‘raagis’ sang hymns in praise of the Almighty, a lone gunman, identified as former armyman Wade Michael Page, presumably of Caucasian descent, strode into the complex around 10.20 am, bent upon killing as many people as possible. Before anyone could realise what he was up to, he left behind a trail of death with blood splattered all over as devotees ran for cover. Among his victims were the ‘raagis’ and the priest at the ‘tabya’ of Guru Granth Sahib. However, the assailant did not go unchallenged. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Satwant Singh Kaleka, president of the temple, grappled with him before being shot from close range. By then, most of the worshippers had taken refuge in adjoining rooms and closets. Children, attending the Punjabi school, huddled together downstairs. The police was at the temple within three minutes of the first distress call made around 10.26 am. As the gunman made his exit from the gurdwara, a police officer kneeling down to help a victim became his next target. However, another police officer standing close by felled him to the ground with a rapid burst of gunfire. Thus ended the sordid saga seen as a hate crime against the community which according to President Barack Obama has played a significant role in “enriching the country as a part of the broader American family.” Parkash Singh, the priest, had been a resident for Oak Creek for several years. In his mid-30s, he had recently returned from India along with his wife and son. Satwant Singh Kaleka, who fell to the assailant’s bullets, is related to Darshan Singh Dhaliwal and Surjit Singh Rakhra, Punjab Cabinet Minister. Incidentally, the wedding of Dhaliwal’s daughter was scheduled to be solemnised this weekend and among the guests expected were the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. Manminder Sethi, a dentist who works in Brown Deer, described priest Parkash Singh as a good guy. “He was a noble soul,” he said. After the incident, there were few tears, just shock and disbelief with older people sitting in cars and others huddled together in groups talking about the victims. By mid-afternoon, the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, locked down the mosque at 4707 S 13th Street in Milwaukee with a police car guarding entrance doors. The 128th Air Refuelling Wing at Mitchell International Airport was also shut down briefly on Sunday as a precautionary measure.
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Badal asks PM to take up issue of Sikhs’ safety with
US
Chandigarh August 6 Badal called for a comprehensive administrative and social campaign to eliminate the chances of recurrence of tragic incidents like the one in Oak Creek gurdwara in Wisconsin. In his letter to the PM, Badal said, "There was a growing feeling in the minds of the people of Punjab that the centre must get more actively and vigorously involved in getting the US Administration to address the issue in right earnest." "There is also a strong feeling among the Sikhs masses about the need for a comprehensive awareness campaign by the US Government about the identity and the highly constructive role of the Sikh community in that country. Such an initiative should have been taken immediately after violent attacks against members of the Sikh community in the wake of 9/11. Unfortunately, no step in this direction seems to have been taken," the CM said. "Apart from tracking down the culprits and getting to the root of the crime and understanding the dynamics behind it, there is an equally important and urgent need to provide relief to the affected families," he said. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh and general secretary Arvind Khanna have also condemned the attack and expressed hope that the US Government would punish the guilty at the earliest. Expressing shock and grief over the incident, Amarinder Singh said, "It has shocked the entire community the world over." He said the Sikhs were a peace-loving community who believed in service to the humanity. It was tragic and unfortunate that they were targeted in such a dastardly manner.
Sukhbir to meet US Ambassador
Shambhu (Rajpura): Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has shot off letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna expressing concerns over the shootout in a gurdwara in Wisconsin, US, on Sunday. After inaugurating an over-bridge at Shambhu on Monday, Sukhbir said he had also sought an appointment with the US Ambassador in India to discuss the matter
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Krishna, Powell flay killings
New Delhi, August 6 External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today said this was not in line with the proclaimed policies of the US. "I condemn this incident and every right thinking person has to condemn this. This is an attitude which does not fit into the proclaimed policies of the US," Krishna told reporters here. He said he was trying to get in touch with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a tour of Africa. Krishna said the motive and the persons responsible for the attack on the gurdwara would be revealed in the preliminary report of the investigating agency. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao had sent a special officer to Wisconsin. The minister also said the security of gurdwaras and other religious places of communities in the US should be taken care of. This afternoon, US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell joined in the prayer at the Bangla Sahib gurdwara to pay homage to the deceased. The Ambassador was joined in the members of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. She said, “I express condolence on behalf of the entire mission here in India and also join President Barack Obama and Manmohan Singh in condemning this ghastly act. We are deeply saddened.”
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Badal leaves for US today
Chandigarh, August 6 He left for Delhi this afternoon and was scheduled to board a flight for the US early tomorrow morning. Sources said the CM would take his personal staff and two security personnel on the trip. The state government has informed the Centre about the trip. The Centre is expected to ask the US Government to provide appropriate security to the Chief Minister in view of the gurdwara killings. Badal would be the guest of NRI business magnate Darshan Singh Dhaliwal whose daughter Tina was scheduled to wed on August 11. The Dhaliwal family lost a family member in the gurdwara attack yesterday. Revenue Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, who is Darshan Dhaliwal's brother, has said the family would go in for a quiet wedding in view of the tragedy. He said earlier plans had been made for a lavish celebrations.
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Wedding preparations turn into mourning
Patiala, August 6 Almost a week before the proposed wedding of noted NRI Darshan Singh Dhaliwal’s daughter, tragedy has struck the family. His younger brother and Punjab Rural Development Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra has lost his brother-in-law in the Sunday’s shooting, along with two close family friends. Anxious relatives and people from nearby Dugal village are dotting their house in Patiala to share the grief of the Kaleka family. According to officials, the dead have been identified as Rakhra’s brother-in-law Satwant Singh Kaleka who was the president of the gurdwara, Bhai Parkash Singh of Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Bhai Santokh Singh from Delhi, Subeg Singh Khatra from Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Paramjit Kaur of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Punjab) and another girl child (still to be identified). “It is a big loss for us. He was shot in the back and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital,” said his brother Amarjit Singh Kaleka at his Century Enclave-based house in Patiala. “He was an established businessman in the USA and owned many fuel stations. He had been the head of the gurdwara for the past around two decades,” Kaleka said. Kaleka had shifted to the USA along with his four brothers. While Amarjit came back as he was serving the Punjab Government, others stayed there and made a fortune. Satwant Kaleka is survived by two sons, one of whom Amardeep Kaleka is an Emmy Award winner documentary maker in the USA. Another victim, Parkash Singh, had been settled in the USA for the past many years and had visited India in June to take along his wife and two children. “His relatives, both in India and abroad, are inconsolable,” said a family friend. “The funeral will be held in the USA as most of the relatives are there and the few in India will also leave soon, including Satwant Kaleka’s sisters,” said another relative.
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Senseless act of violence and a tragedy
The killing of six Sikh devotees in a Wisconsin gurdwara on Sunday saw an unequivocal condemnation of the shooting.
The gurdwara in Oak Creek was founded in 1997 and is attended by more than 400 worshipers who work and live in the greater Milwaukee area. Oak Creek Alderman Dan Jakubczyk said the gurdwara had been “a plus to this city and to my district”. After President Barack Obama, his likely Republican Party challenger in November’s presidential election, Mitt Romney called the shootings “a senseless act of violence and a tragedy”. “Our hearts are with the victims, their families and the entire Oak Creek Sikh community,” Romney said. “We join Americans everywhere in mourning those who lost their lives and in prayer for healing in the difficult days ahead.” The Sikh community, with their beards and headgear, was the target of a racial backlash following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as bigots mistook them for Muslims or followers of now-slain Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Sikh and Muslim American organisations condemned the incident. “The Sikh American community, like all Americans, is shocked after this attack,” said Sikh-American Legal Defence and Education Fund Managing Director Kavneet Singh. “We mourn the loss of those who were killed today and pray for the swift recovery of those injured, including the veteran police officer who put himself in harm’s way to protect his community. This attack is particularly troubling due to its occurrence at a place of worship,” he said.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations said American Muslims “stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters.”
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Oppn to corner UPA on grid failures, Sikh killings in US
Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 6 At the meeting of party leaders which Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar held this morning, UPA sensed trouble not just from the usual suspects but also its ally the Trinamool Congress which joined the BJP and the Left in red flagging the FDI-in-retail move. “We will oppose everything anti-people, including FDI in retail. The government should not bring any anti-people Bill which creates differences in their relationship with us,” TMC leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay said after the meeting which Sushil Kumar Shinde attended as the new Leader of the House. Shinde said he hoped for everyone’s support to transact government business. Minutes later, the Trinamool made known its opposition to UPA’s economic reform agenda (including a bill to allow FDI in insurance) which Finance Minister P Chidambaram is expected to initiate. On the FDI, it was as though the TMC had borrowed Sushma Swaraj’s (Leader of Opposition in LS) words. She said, “Despite assurances by former Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee, the government held no consultations with the stakeholders. They seem to have accorded silent approval to the FDI in retail. We will raise the issue in Parliament,” Swaraj said. The Bodo-Muslim clashes in Assam that claimed 63 lives and displaced three lakh persons will dominate proceedings at the start of the 20-day session which has 120 hours allocated for business. The session ends on September 7. “The violence, its link to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and its brutal consequences will be raised on Day one. The NDA is meeting tomorrow to decide the rule under which to raise the issue. We want the government to explain Grid failures and the crisis being posed by flood and drought in different parts of the country. The deaths of Amarnath pilgrims will also come up. We join the JDU in seeking a discussion on media’s accountability,” said Swaraj. Both the BJP and the Left have demanded discussions on Kokrajhar violence, the worsening agrarian crisis being exasperated by 100 pc raise in fertiliser prices; the National Water Policy and Centre-state relations. Akali Dal wants a discussion on the criterion used to declare a drought.
FDI in retail: Trinamool joins BJP, Left
“We will oppose everything anti-people, including FDI in retail. The government should not bring any anti-people Bill which creates differences in their relationship with us,” Sudip Bandopadhyay, TMC leader
BJP vs Chidambaram
Sushma Swaraj said the BJP’s parliamentary party would take a decision on what strategy to adopt against which minister in Parliament. Asked whether the party would again boycott P Chidambaram, now Finance Minister, she said, “The Parliamentary party will decide that”
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Cong, allies get together for Sonia’s lunch
New Delhi, August 6 Arch rivals BSP chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who normally don’t like to be seen together and are constantly at loggerheads, chose to make an appearance at Sonia Gandhi’s lunch, creating a buzz at the otherwise quiet affair. While their presence was seen as a major achievement, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his deputy Praful Patel played spoiler by staying away. The NCP was represented by Tariq Anwar. Although Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav are extending outside support to the ruling coalition, this is the first time that the bitter political opponents have been spotted together at any UPA function. That the two leaders are considered invaluable partners was evident from the seating arrangements at the lunch. Mayawati was seated on the high table with Sonia Gandhi. Despite their bitter political rivalry in Uttar Pradesh, the two leaders have always enjoyed a good rapport. Mulayam Singh Yadav was seated at the Prime Minister’s table. The Trinamool Congress, whose relations with the Congress came under severe strain in the run-up to the presidential election, was also present at the lunch after its members were instructed to do so by their leader West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. This indicated that the party would vote for UPA vice-presidential candidate Hamid Ansari, who is assured of a comfortable win against the NDA-backed nominee Jaswant Singh. While the lunch was hosted to showcase the UPA’s strength on the eve of the Vice-President’s election and in the monsoon session of Parliament commencing on Wednesday, it also served as an occasion to send out important political signals to its partners. Mayawati’s presence was a message to Mulayam Singh Yadav that the Congress can always bank upon the BSP chief who has pledged the support of her 21 Lok Sabha MPs to the UPA government. This comes in the backdrop of a favourable Supreme Court order in the disproportionate assets case which had been pending against Mayawati. Similarly, the Congress has also made it known to Mamata that it has the SP and BSP on its side in case she creates trouble for the ruling alliance. Congress sources leaders said both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee are undependable allies who are capable of rocking the UPA boat as an early election suits them both but Mayawati is committed to the ruling coalition. “More than Mulayam, it is Mayawati who is keen that the UPA government lasts its full term. She does not want an early election as she needs time to recover from her recent poll debacle and for anti-incumbency to set in against the SP government in Uttar Pradesh,” remarked a senior Congress leader.
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Hazare disbands Team Anna, says no to future talks with govt
New Delhi, August 6 Though the latest move is maintained by the erstwhile Team Anna’s core committee members as a logical ending to the Lokpal agitation emerging from a collective viewpoint, it remains to be gauged whether it could be a possible pointer about the fact that the 75-year-old social activist had been reluctant about the latest political plunge. The dissolution of the core committee of the Anna-led team, following an informal meeting of some of the members yesterday, clearly paves in for the new sojourn into electoral politics. “We are now stopping the activities of Team Anna today. Team Anna was formed to fight for the Lokpal. Also henceforth, we have decided not to have any more talks with the government. The government is not ready to enact Lokpal Bill. How long and how many times we will go on fast? People want us to leave fasts and give an alternative,” writes Anna. “I want to emphasise that I will not contest election or form a party. I will tour the country to awaken people and ensure that good people go to Parliament so that the Lokpal law is enacted,” writes the anti-graft crusader. Some of the members of the dissolved team like Santosh Hegde and Medha Patkar, who have made their opposition on the matter public in the past, feel the movement should have focused on the Lokpal. Patkar, who has abstained from several core committee’s past meetings of the erstwhile Team Anna, said, “Anna has spelt out the next course of action. He himself has chosen the path of non-party political intervention. It is clear and now I believe a new mode is going to be set-up.”
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SC rejects CBI’s plea against Yeddyurappa
New Delhi, August 6 A bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and Ibrahim Kalifulla said there was no point in putting Yeddyurappa behind the bars. “Do you want this man to be inside? What for,” the court questioned Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Mohan Parasaran, who appeared for the CBI. The CBI has registered an FIR against Yeddyurappa on the basis of a May 11, 2012, order by the SC directing the agency to probe his alleged role in large-scale illegal mining of iron ore in that state. The order had been passed by a three-member Forest Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia. The Forest Bench had, however, restricted the investigation to two allegations - purchase of a land by Yeddyurappa’s close relatives for Rs 0.40 crore in 2006 and its subsequent sale to M/s South West Mining Limited in 2010 for Rs 20 crore and a donation of Rs 20 crore received by Prerana Education Society run by his family members from the mining company.
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CRPF jawan killed in Naxal attack
Raipur, August 6 The blast that injured about four CRPF and one state police personnel occurred when a 80-personnel strong contingent of security forces were out on patrol at a place under the Aranpur police station of the district . A helicopter was immediately pressed into service to evacuate the injured troopers and they were later brought to Dantewada. The mine-protected vehicle was totally damaged in the explosion which is suspected to have been carried out by triggering an Improvised Explosive Device kept under the road on which the vehicle rolled over, a senior official said. Initial reports said two injured troopers are in critical condition. Senior security officials along with reinforcements have rushed to the area, the official said. — PTI
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Senior RAW official in China dismissed
New Delhi, August 6 The Joint Secretary-level officer Amreet Ahluwalia was recently called back and served sacking order under Article 311 (2) which permits such dismissal when the President is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry, sources said. In the past also Ahluwalia while posted at Jammu had faced flak from the then Home Ministry P Chidambaram who pulled him up during one of the meetings for poor reporting, they said. Sources said charges were serious which were evident from the nature of dismissal but refused to give any other details about the action taken against him. They said Ahluwalia had problems during his assignments in the past too. — PTI
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Power Ministry mechanism to prevent grid collapse
New Delhi, August 6 After a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi and representatives of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Moily announced that adequate defence plans and protection system will be put in place to ensure integrated operation of the national and regional grids. The plans include islanding schemes to ensure that essential services like Railways and mining are insulated from a grid collapse. The plans will also include restoration procedures to be updated regularly. States will prepare islanding schemes in consultation with the Power Grid and Central Electricity Authority. An independent third party audit of protection systems will be carried out within a month and the regional power committees will monitor it. The states will also prepare plans for short to long term time horizons for procurement of power, network and demand management in line with the Indian Electricity Grid Code. Moily said these decisions are “milestones in the history of the national grid” and expressed confidence that the kind of grid collapse seen last week will not happen again. He also said systems will be put in place to control such crises in a better manner. On being asked if the states had agreed on these decisions and not to overdraw, Moily responded that the decisions were mutually agreed upon and the states had responded positively. Moily said, “Overdrawing is a matter of fact, but I do not want to get into a blame game. The fact that none of the states asked for a review or altering of the grid code shows that everyone agreed.”
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Patiala, August 6
