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BJP expels Batala MC president
Batala, April 30
The state BJP, acting on the recommendation of the party’s Batala unit, expelled BJP councillor from ward no 20 Jatinder Kalyan from the party a week after his appointment as the MC chief was notified. State BJP president Kamal Sharma confirmed his expulsion. He said the step had been taken because of "Kalyan's anti-party activities."

Education Dept employees without salary for two months
Nawanshahr, April 30
The employees of the Education Department in the state are still to get their salaries of the past two months, despite the claims by the state government that there is nothing wrong with the financial health of the state and the clamour to introduce administrative reforms to ensure hassle-free, transparent and speedy delivery of various public utility services.

Man held with heroin
Phagwara, April 30 The police has arrested a resident of Mehtab Garh village in Kapurthala and recovered 5 gram heroin and 25 gram intoxicant powder from him.

EARLIER STORIES

	Four killed in road accidents April 30, 2013
	Conference on career teachers held April 29, 2013
	Scooterist hit by bus, injured April 27, 2013
	HC asks state govt to decide in 3 months April 26, 2013
	Chabal girl’s abduction: Residents block traffic April 25, 2013
	Police crackdown on liquor, drug mafia April 24, 2013
	Thousands of Pathankot residents fear displacement April 23, 2013
	Forest Dept’s drive to save Batala from pollution April 21, 2013
	Batala to have new MC chief April 20, 2013

BJP expels Batala MC president
Tribune News Service

Batala, April 30
The state BJP, acting on the recommendation of the party’s Batala unit, expelled BJP councillor from ward no 20 Jatinder Kalyan from the party a week after his appointment as the MC chief was notified. State BJP president Kamal Sharma confirmed his expulsion. He said the step had been taken because of "Kalyan's anti-party activities."

Notwithstanding his expulsion, Kalyan will continue to remain the president till June 30, when the term of the 32-member house expires. However, he cannot call a meeting of the house following which neither estimates of developmental works can be passed nor any tender can be called for. The BJP is being seen as a fractured unit after the expulsion.

Senior SAD leader and former MLA LS Lodhinangal was instrumental in pushing the candidature of Kalyan as the president after he vertically divided the 19-member BJP. Backed by all the six SAD councillors, Kalyan was installed as the president at a meeting held at the Town Hall on August 6 last year.

All the seven Congress councillors too had covertly backed Kalyan. Batala MLA Ashwani Sekhri who is the ex-officio member of the MC by virtue of being the sitting legislator, was also present at the meeting. However, owing to technical reasons the Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha had declared the meeting as null and void forcing Kalyan to move to the High court which later ruled in his favour.

Kalyan now finds himself in no man's land as he no longer enjoys the support of any party. Lodhinangal washed his hands off the issue by claiming that it was the internal matter of the BJP while Ashwani Sekhri too has pulled the rug from under the feet of Kalyan by saying that "The Congress has nothing to do with his removal."

Ashok Modgil, Batala BJP president, said the party was exploring legal options of bringing in a no-confidence motion against the president.

Education Dept employees without salary for two months
Our Correspondent

Nawanshahr, April 30
The employees of the Education Department in the state are still to get their salaries of the past two months, despite the claims by the state government that there is nothing wrong with the financial health of the state and the clamour to introduce administrative reforms to ensure hassle-free, transparent and speedy delivery of various public utility services.

Harminder Singh Uppal, state vice-president of Masters Cadre Union, Punjab, said the salaries of the employees of Education Department had been delayed on the one pretext or the other.

Earlier, the salaries were delayed for want of budget allocation and sanctions for the post. Afterwards, it was delayed for want of issuance of drawing and disbursing powers. Though the drawing and disbursing powers had been issued by the Principal Secretary, Education Department, about a month ago and the same had been endorsed by the District Education Officers of the state but the treasuries had not been entertaining the salary bills on the pretext that the powers had not been issued by the AG (Audit) to the treasuries yet.

"Such delaying tactics in releasing the salaries have been causing great inconvenience to the employees, that too, in the present era of e-governance", said Uppal, while raising the question mark on the administrative reforms and the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMS) introduced by the state government to streamline fiscal management.

"Still, procedures like budget allocation and issuance of drawing and disbursing powers are being done in an old fashion and is taking months together to get the procedures complete", he added.

Man held with heroin

Phagwara, April 30
The police has arrested a resident of Mehtab Garh village in Kapurthala and recovered 5 gram heroin and 25 gram intoxicant powder from him.

The accused has been identified as Harwinder Singh. A case under Sections 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against him.

Phagwara Superintendent of Police (SP) HPS Khakh said the accused was nabbed during a nakabandi near Rawalpindi village. The accused was produced before judicial magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody, the SP said. —OC