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Moga bypoll SAD president Sukhbir Badal interacts with villagers in Moga on Friday. Tribune photo
Much will depend on Tota Singh, Gill
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Sukhbir sticks to development plank
PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh with party candidate Vijay Sathi at Jhandewala village in Moga on Friday.
New Twist To Patiala Rape Case
Quacks have a field day in Patiala
A quack operating from near the Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib in Patiala on Friday.
Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar
Parshuram Park
embezzlement
Liberalised industrial policy on cards: Joshi
Two teachers in Ludhiana dist suspended
Chief Minister announces memorial at Kartarpur
MoU with Monsanto alarms farmers
Cong: Probe grain pilferage
Chinese kite string injures
15 in Ropar
Swine flu patient from Moonak dies
Rape case verdict in two working days
Dhuri patwari, tehsildar get one-month imprisonment
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Moga bypoll
Moga, February 15 Both SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Amarinder Singh, who are camping here, update their day-to-day election strategy in the morning and hold meetings with party activists late in the night for feedback. They have not moved out of the town for the past couple of days. Be it Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir, PCC chief Amarinder Singh or People's Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Singh Badal, all are focusing on personal rapport with the electorate, campaigning door to door.They hold rallies in Moga town mostly in the evening. Several SAD-BJP ministers and legislators are seen moving village to village mustering support for their candidate Joginder Pal Jain. State BJP chief Kamal Sharma, and party stalwart Rajinder Bhandari are camping here to mobilise the BJP cadre in support of the SAD candidate. Accompanied by comedian Bhagwant Mann, Manpreet goes from one village to another on his SUV, seeking a change in the political set-up for the betterment of Punjab. While campaigning for his party nominee Ravinder Dhaliwal, Manpreet particularly targets the youth. The indomitable Chief Minister addresses at least six rallies everyday. Sukhbir talks of development in the state, that is his election plank. Defending Jain, he says: "If the Congress calls Jain a turncoat, then what about Amarinder Singh and Jagmeet Singh Brar ? They too have changed their political parties earlier. Congress candidate Vijay Kumar Sathi too was in the SAD prior to 1997." He describes the Congress leadership and Manpreet as a "pack of frustrated politicians." Sukhbir's itinerary includes at least 12 rallies everyday. Today, he visited the residences of Jagdeep Singh, Sukhminder Singh, former sarpanch, and Jagjit Singh Billa in Daddahoor village where a number of Congress activists joined the SAD. Amarinder Singh has been campaigning here since February 2, the day Sathi filed his nomination papers. His campaign manager Sandeep Sandhu says Amarinder Singh begins his day early in the morning with a meeting with party workers and leaders at Charrike village. He then leaves for campaigning. His programme is chalked out in a way that he gets to meet the maximum number of people. He addresses five to seven public meetings in a day.Congress leaders Partap Singh Bajwa, MP, and Muktsar legislator Karan Brar are also going house to house seeking votes.
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Much will depend on Tota Singh, Gill
Moga, February 15 Akali sources say the party is trying its best to prevail upon both these leaders to make their supporters in Moga city, which has one lakh out of the 1.78 lakh voters in the constituency, fall in line. Tota Singh said parties sometimes did take wrong decisions (giving the ticket to Jain) but he (Tota Singh) was a loyal party worker and was duty bound to support the party candidate. On Jain's chances to win the byelection, he said the party was doing well in rural areas, but its position was "dangerous" in the city. During a public meeting two days ago, Tota Singh had contradicted Jain in front of SAD president Sukhbir Badal. Taking a dig at Jain, who said he had sacrificed his seat to join the SAD, the veteran leader said the real sacrifice had been made by his son Makhan Brar and 30 councillors of the city who had resigned collectively to pave the way for the creation of the Moga Municipal Corporation. Gill said he was supporting Jain's candidature. But his supporters said they could not support someone whom they had opposed bitterly a year ago. Supporters of both Tota Singh and Gill see Makhan Brar and Gill as likely SAD candidates from this seat in the 2017 assembly elections if Jain loses the byelection. The sources say both leaders will have to deal with Sukhbir who, unlike his father, is not likely to take kindly to a party loss due to intra-party dissensions. They say the roles of both Tota Singh and Gill have been put under a scanner and in case Jain loses the elections, the Akali leadership in Moga will witness a change. The biggest gainer in such a situation will be Kaka Lohgarh, who is an adversary of Tota Singh, they say, adding the Gill family also faces the risk of falling out of favour of the SAD president. When questioned whether the old guard was being ignored, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed this was not the case. "Everybody has his own place in the party and there is complete harmony", he said. Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia said: "Jathedar ji (Tota Singh) has never opposed the party candidate. He will stand by the party. Senior leaders who perform know their followers will be given due recognition". Tackling dissidence within sad
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Sukhbir sticks to development plank
Moga, February 15 Addressing a gathering at Jhandewala village, he said the city and its adjoining villages witnessed development in the form of a mini-secretariat, flyover, focal point, road infrastructure, canal infrastructure and dharmshalas only during the SAD-BJP rule. He called upon the people of Moga to ask Amarinder to spell any single initiative he had taken for the development of Moga during his rule and it was for the local people to make a choice whether they want to vote for development or non-performance. He claimed after biting the dust in the DSGMC elections, Dasuya byelection and assembly elections, Amarinder was given an extension to continue as PCC president till the Moga byelection. He said the mood of the voters was clear and having failed to get public support, the PCC president has started a blame game to save his own skin. Later, addressing unions of truck, trolley and tanker operators and rickshaw-pullers in Moga city, Sukhbir appealed them to compare works done by both the parties and vote for the party with maximum entries.
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You were a Cong man too, Capt to Badal
Moga, February 15 He said on March 15, 1960, the working committee of the Akali Dal asked all its members who had contested on the Congress ticket to resign from the assembly. "Badal refused to resign as he was always desperate to cling to power. He resigned after over three years and that too quite reluctantly," he said. He alleged Badal had reduced the Akali Dal to a closely held private company with all his family members as its directors having huge financial stakes. "It is no longer the same Akali Dal which had participated in the freedom struggle and whose leaders sacrificed everything for the sake of the nation," he said. Party candidate Vijay Sathi took potshots at his opponent Joginder Pal Jain. He also raised issues like deteriorating political values and poor law and order situation.
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PollNuggets
Moga: Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa has begun door-to-door campaign for party candidate Vijay Sathi in the outer areas of Moga city. He campaigned along with Muktsar MLA Karan Brar. Bajwa claimed that the mood of the people was against the ruling alliance for its "anti-people" policies. Those who had voted for Jain in the last assembly elections were feeling cheated by his defection, he said. Bajwa claimed there were no visible signs of development in the outer areas of the city. "There are no sewerage lines and no potable water supply in the outer colonies", he said. EC notice to SAD on canal project
Moga: Taking a suo moto cognisance of the news report under headline "Despite poll code, Sukhbir announces canal water project" published in these columns on February 13, the Chief Election Commissioner of India has sought a reply from Joram Beda, Returning Officer of Moga. Beda said he had issued a notice to the SAD through its candidate Joginder Pal Jain to file a reply.
— TNS
SAD resorting to unfair means: Khaira
Moga: One of the 17 youths, Dharam Pal Singh, who was on death row but released recently by the UAE, on Thursday called on Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh and expressed gratitude to him and his wife and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Perneet Kaur for the efforts made by them for securing their release.
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Despite code, Badals promise to meet panchayat demands
Moga, February 15 At public meetings by the Badals, people are often seen lining up with their applications to get their works done through the official machinery. In a rally addressed by the Chief Minister at Sant Nagar and Landeke villages today, the local panchayats put forth their demands with regard to development works, Badal accepted their demands and promised to provide funds soon after the election process was over. Amarjit Singh, sarpanch of Landeke village, presented a charter of 10 demands with regard to construction of sewerage line, upgrading school, construction of roads etc. Asking the people to vote for the party, Badal promised that after the election, he would come to the village along with senior officials of various departments to fulfill their demands. District Magistrate-cum-District Electoral Officer Arshdeep Singh Thind said he had sought a report in this regard from the returning officer, which would be forwarded to the Election Commission (EC). Congress leader Jagmeet Singh Brar and president of the Punjab Youth Congress Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary have asked the EC to take stern action against the SAD. "I have sent a complaint to the EC against SAD leaders who are announcing development projects and making promises to get votes," Chaudhary said.
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Parties resort to mudslinging as campaign gathers steam
Moga, February 15 Amarinder has also carried out a door-to-door campaign on a couple of occasions, making direct contact with the electorate while junior Badal has so far resorted to public gatherings, probably due to security concerns. There is one similarity in their campaigns. Both have been resorting to mudslinging, hitting out at each other's personal lifestyles. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too has started speaking out against Congress leaders. Congress candidate Vijay Sathi minces no words while referring to Jain’s alleged shady background and lifestyle. Both had studied together in the same class at Arya Model School in Moga city and were childhood friends. But in recent years, they parted ways for vested political interests. PPP president Manpreet Singh Badal has kept his campaign low-profile, resorting to people-to-people contact, focusing much on the youth. He does not indulge in personal issues. He talks on issues like drug addiction, unemployment, deteriorating economy and shrinking landholdings which concern the society.
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New Twist To Patiala Rape Case
Chandigarh, February 15 In a petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Naseeb Singh claimed that the victim and her distant relative, Manpreet Singh, wanted to get married as they were in love. But their parents were opposed to the match. On December 25 last year, when the two informed their families about their relationship, they were told by their livid parents that they would be killed if they dared to tie the knot by running away. The duo could not tolerate this opposition. Manpreet Singh brought a vial of poison from which the victim took a swig. Manpreet Singh too consumed the poison but as fate would have it, the girl died while Manpreet Singh survived. Naseeb Singh maintained that Manpreet Singh’s family was a staunch SAD supporter and was “very close” to Rakhra. After the incident, Manpreet Singh and his family took refuge with Rakhra. Since Manpreet Singh had survived, it was imperative to register an FIR against him for attempt to suicide under Section 309 of the IPC and also for “killing” the girl. But Manpreet Singh and his family requested Rakhra to put pressure on Patiala Zone Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Paramjit Singh Gill and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). Thereafter, Rakhra, in connivance with the IGP and the SSP, hatched a conspiracy. Since the girl was allegedly raped by two persons on the Diwali night (November 13) in 2012 by two persons and had attempted suicide, blaming harassment by the police to reach a compromise with the rapists, it was decided to put the onus of her death on the accused in the rape case and register an abetment to suicide case against them. Seeking directions for setting aside the order dated December 27, 2012, dismissing SI Naseeb Singh from service, the petitioner also described as false and baseless the allegations that he had tried to force a compromise or had harassed the victim, resulting in her suicide. Taking up the petition, Justice Augustine George Masih issued a notice of motion to the State of Punjab and other respondents for August 5.
Accused’s defence
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Quacks have a field day in Patiala
Patiala, February 15 Playing with Lives
Information gathered by The Tribune brought to light that there is at least one quack operating in every village and the figure in city areas is high. Those who fall into the quacks’ traps are the uneducated and the poor. These ‘jhola chaap’ doctors treat people for fever, viral infection, stomach ailments, orthopaedic problems, neuro diseases
and even administer vaccinations. In villages, most quacks offer treatment at a very low cost and hand out medicines that do not carry any information about the manufacturer. “These ‘jhola chaap’ doctors indiscriminately use steroids in the medicines they hand out to patients and put the patients’ lives in danger. Under the provisions laid down by the Medical Council of India, legal action should be taken against these quacks, but none pursues the matter,” said Dr DC Sharma, president of the Doctors Federation of India. Quacks could be spotted outside the bus stand, railway station, Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Road, Chhoti Baradari and other areas in the city. “The quacks set up their tents on the roadside and put up banners claiming 100 per cent cure to several ailments. It is unfortunate that all this goes unchecked,” said Dr DS Bhullar, senior representative of the Indian Medical Association. When contacted, Patiala Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Purshotam Goyal admitted there was no check on quacks. He, however, said they had earlier initiated action against them in the villages but panchayats had come to their rescue. He claimed to have shot off a letter to all the 14 Senior Medical Officers posted in the Community Health Centres of the district to take action against the quacks. “In the recent past, we have got over a dozen cases registered against the quacks,” he added.
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Parshuram Park
embezzlement
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 15 The report said the JE was directed to appear before the inquiry officer during the four-month long inquiry but he had failed to do so. A vigilance enquiry was ordered by the Chief Minister’s office in 2008 and the report was submitted in May, 2010. The report clearly mentioned that the park had not been constructed at the site. The report held former JE Harmail Singh Jhandu and former Executive Officer (EO) Charanjit Singh responsible for committing financial irregularities. The total estimated cost of the project was around Rs 11.25 lakh and Rs 5 lakh had been provided by the state government while the rest of the funds were to be provided by the MC. The work on the project was started six years ago but it was abandoned after an inquiry was marked into the project. A senior MC official on the condition of anonymity said the inquiry had been completed and submitted to the secretary, Local Government. RTI activist and social worker NK Syal, who had been fighting a lone battle against the authorities, confirmed the same. Syal demanded that a criminal case should be immediately registered against the former JE for embezzling the tax payers’ money. He said as per the Municipal Account Code rule XVII.18 (2), cases involving embezzlement of more than one thousand rupees should be registered with the police after the examiner, Local Fund Department, Punjab, had enquired into the matter and felt satisfied with prima facie evidence.
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Liberalised industrial policy on cards: Joshi
Amritsar, February 15 Making an announcement in this regard during the launch of the first-ever model industrial park here today, Industry Minister Anil Joshi said the concept of “land bank” was aimed at identifying non-agricultural land lying abandoned in various pockets of the state to put it to use for industrial purposes. Different government departments were in the process of going online. This would enable the government to opt for a single-window clearance of the formalities required for establishing an industrial unit in the state. The new policy would attract industrialists, thereby enhancing job opportunities in Punjab and increasing the state revenue, Joshi said. After studying the industrial policies in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan, it had been decided to frame a liberalised industrial policy by incorporating the best practices adopted by these states. “Our thrust will be to provide better incentives to aspiring industrialists in the shape of rebate on stamp duty, electricity and octroi and relaxation in VAT realisation. We will give them the best infrastructure like uninterrupted power supply, better approach roads for connectivity and easy availability of raw material,” he said. “We decided on a single-window clearance as the lack of coordination among different wings of the Industry Department was discouraging investors. “We have put the department online and permission to set up an industrial unit in the state will be given within a stipulated timeframe of 30 days," the minister added. Salient Features
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Two teachers in Ludhiana dist suspended
Chandigarh, February 15 Only yesterday, 49-year-old Gurjant Singh, mathematics teacher at Government Senior Secondary School in Namol near Sunam in Sangrur district, was arrested for allegedly raping a class VIII student at his residence. So bad is the situation in government schools that the Education Department had recently passed an order instructing women teachers to be “dressed decently” to avoid lewd remarks. Gurkanwalpreet Singh, art and craft teacher at Government High School, Jandi village, Ludhiana, had been reportedly making indecent remarks about his students for a long time. The girl students finally mustered courage and complained to the principal. The case was heard by Education Department officials in the presence of the village panchayat and the teacher held guilty of “vulgar behaviour”. It has been mentioned in the suspension orders that Gurkanwalpreet had accepted the allegations against him. Sarabjit Singh, a teacher at the Government Senior Secondary School in Bandoori village, Ludhiana, was nabbed by the police, in the presence of members of the village panchayat, while keeping poppy husk in a school
almirah.
Grave Charges
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Chief Minister announces memorial at Kartarpur
Bhaini Sahib
(Khanna), February 15 Badal today visited Bhaini Sahib to attend a function to mark the 197th birth anniversary of Satguru Ram Singh. He said a special section dedicated to Namdhari martyrs would be established at the memorial, which would be set up over 40 acres at a cost of Rs 200 crore, He said the memorial would be the biggest in the country. The Chief Minister announced that the state government would celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of Satguru Ram Singh in a befitting manner. He said he would convene a meeting of Sikh scholars and intellectuals to seek their views for this forthcoming mega event of 2016. Later, talking to mediapersons, he termed the UPA Government as the “government of scams”.
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MoU with Monsanto alarms farmers
Chandigarh, February 15 They called on the Punjab Government to scrap the MoUs it had signed with Monsanto to set up research and development (R&D) centers in the state. They warned that no government with any commitment to farmers would sign an MoU with such a company as Monsanto. They pointed out that even in India a ‘biopiracy case’ had been filed against Monsanto by none other than the National Biodiversity Board (NBA). Among the groups that have come together on the issue
are the Kheti Virasat Mission, the Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur), the BKU Dakunda, the Kirti Kisan
Union, the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, the Punjab Kisan Union and the Internationalist Democratic Party.
— TNS
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Cong: Probe grain pilferage
Chandigarh, February 15 The leaders said grain was procured by the Food and Supplies Department, Markfed, Punsup and other agencies on behalf of the Centre. The credit limit of these agencies was extended by banks against these stocks.They said a physical verification of the stock would expose the scam involving various departments. Parminder Singh alleged the stock was being pilfered in collusion with political leadership and bureaucracy. The Congress leaders urged the CM to hand over the inquiry to a Vidhan Sabha committee that could be constituted when the House met for the Budget session.
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Chinese kite string injures 15 in Ropar
Ropar, February 15 Despite the ban on the string by the district administration, hundreds of residents continue using it. Sarabjit Singh, resident of Hussainpur, reached the local civil hospital with a deep wound in his neck. He was travelling on his scooter when the string got entangled in his neck and injured him seriously. The police has arrested vendors Anil Kumar and Sandip Kumar.
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Swine flu patient from Moonak dies
Sangrur, February 15 Dr Bali said 17 persons at Moonak who had come in contact with the deceased had been given Tamiflu medicine as a precautionary measure.
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Rape case verdict in two working days
Hoshiarpur, February 15 According to the prosecution, Manu would often visit the victim's house. He abducted her on the pretext of marrying her on the intervening night between September 15 and September 16, 2012. Later, it was medically established that he had raped the girl.
Man gets 10 yrs RI
Patiala: Nabha resident Makhan Singh (22) was sent to ten years RI for rape by Raj Shekhar Attri, District and Sessions judge, Patiala. Makhan was held guilty under Sections 363/120-B/366/376/506 of the IPC. Two other convicts, Baljinder Kaur and Surinder Kaur, were awarded three years RI after being held guilty under Section 363 of the IPC. According to the judgement, the victim’s mother had complained on August 15, 2011, that her daughter had gone to purchase some groceries from a nearby shop but did not return. On her return on August 17, 2011, the girl disclosed that she was kidnapped by Makhan, who had confined her for three days in the village and raped her. The girl had also alleged that the co-accused Baljinder Kaur and Surinder Kaur played an active role in her kidnapping.
— TNS
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Dhuri patwari, tehsildar get one-month imprisonment
Sangrur, February 15 They were ordered to issue the correct copy of the jamanbandi to complainant Harjit Kaur, resident of Wazidpur Badessa village in Dhuri tehsil of this district. The order was pronounced by forum president SD Sharma and member Harwinder Lal Sharma of February 8. It states that the arrest warrants be prepared and sent to effect the arrest of the accused. SD Sharma and Harwinder Lal Sharma also observed in the order that the accused had neither complied with their order nor appealed against the same. They said the accused had no respect for the law. Despite service of the notices under Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, both of them had failed to appear before the forum.
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The byelection has become a matter of prestige for leaders of the three main political parties who have decided to reach out to the voters personally instead of organising big rallies to exhibit their strength.
Patiala, February 15
To give a boost to the industrial sector and lure back investors who have migrated to other states, Punjab will introduce a single-window clearance system and “land bank” in its industrial policy 2013 to be notified in a month.
Making an announcement in this regard during the launch of the first-ever model industrial park here today, Industry Minister Anil Joshi said the concept of “land bank” was aimed at identifying non-agricultural land lying abandoned in various pockets of the state to put it to use for industrial purposes.
Industry Minister Anil Joshi in Amritsar.
A Tribune photo
