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Cong ‘chakka jam’ throws life out of gear
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Bajwa moves HC for CBI probe into drug racket
Relief for sinking iron, steel industry
Strength low, 36 Ropar schools set for closure
Sukhbir: Sops to other states bias
against Punjab
Ready for probe: Dhindsa
Setback for docs with degrees from USSR
Free child delivery comes at a price in Rajindra Hospital
Excise inspector suspended
Swine flu case reported in Faridkot
No crisis in party, says Manpreet
Industrialists too decry tax holiday extension
14 officers shifted
VB told to investigate
Irrigation Dept fraud
Re-employed PCS officers barred from poll duty
Protesting teachers refuse to give in
Rice millers condemn FCI for ‘dumping’ state lab
Science City gets Climate Change Theatre
Another Punjabi youth
shot dead in Philippines
Robbery bid foiled, 4 held
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Cong ‘chakka jam’ throws life out of gear
Mohali, January 16 Addressing Congress workers at Landran-Kharar T-point, Bajwa said the party had given a one-week ultimatum to the state government to allow a CBI probe in the scam. “If our demand is not met, we will bring the state to a grinding halt,” said Bajwa. He further said the party would also launch an indefinite chain hunger strike from January 19. He said Sukhbir Badal was willing to save his brother-in-law (Bikram Singh Majithia) even at the cost of people’s lives. When asked if the PPCC may take disciplinary action against Captain Amarinder for his anti-party stand on the issue, Bajwa said Captain was a senior leader and the high command would take a call on the matter. Ludhiana ropar jalandhar Groups of Congress workers, led by former minister Avtar Henry, Anil Dutta, Varinder Sharma, Rana Randhawa, all PPCC Secretaries, were stopped near BSF chowk. Jalandhar DCC (Rural) president Jagbir Brar held a separate dharna. phillaur kapurthala nakodar nawanshahr hoshiarpur tarn taran bathinda abohar moga Workers led by district chief Darshan Singh Brar blocked the highway at Baghapurana town. fazilka
MLA Karan Kaur Brar and other leaders at a protest on Muktsar-Kotkapura road in Muktsar. Tribune photo gurdaspur 'Chakka jam' undemocratic: Badal Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday said though in a democracy everybody had the right to protest, hindering the life of the general public by blocking roads and rails was "unlawful" and the "violation" of the rights of a common man. He even said the state government had earmarked places in the districts for such protests. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said the 'chakka jam' was a complete failure. Cong divided in protests too
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Bajwa moves HC for CBI probe into drug racket
Chandigarh, January 16 The move, which on the face of it aims at killing two birds with one stone, is strategic as the SAD had only recently shifted the focus on Bajwa after accusing him of being the “political face of drug underworld”. The allegations were levelled by the SAD at a time when the name of its senior leader-cum-Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia had surfaced in the multi-crore drug racket. Bajwa’s image had taken another hit with the appearance of a letter written by Punjab’s former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. He had, in July 2012, shot off a communication to Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleging Bajwa’s involvement in the drug business. Bajwa’s petition contradicts Capt Amarinder Singh’s stand, as the former CM has publicly opposed a CBI investigation into the sensational racket unearthed by the Punjab Police. The petition, fourth one to seek an independent probe, was filed in the High Court registry this morning but could not be listed as certain objections were raised. Bajwa is expected to file the petition on Friday after removing the objections. The petition may come up for hearing on Monday if Bajwa succeeds in filing it before noon tomorrow. It is likely to be tagged with the other petitions coming up for hearing on Monday. Bajwa has been saying that a CBI inquiry was essential as alleged kingpin Jagdish Bhola had accused three Cabinet ministers of being involved, and had even named Majithia. Bajwa had also threatened to go on an indefinite fast from January 21, if the state government failed to handover the case to the premier investigating agency. Bajwa’s petition is also being seen as an attempt to project himself as the person in charge of the party’s affairs in Punjab. The premise stems from the fact that another Congress leader, Jagmeet Singh Brar, has already moved the High Court against the State of Punjab and other petitioners, alleging that “the Chief Minister of State of Punjab was requested by various NGOs, political parties and independent persons to hand over the inquiry to an independent agency as the problem was complex and its implications far reaching”. But, the prayer had been declined. The other two petitions have been filed separately by Bhola’s father Balshinder Singh and accused Jagjit Singh
Chahal.
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Relief for sinking iron, steel industry
Chandigarh, January 16 The government has decided to cut VAT on iron and steel goods (except CENVAT paid scrap) from 4.50 per cent (plus 10 per cent surcharge) to 2.5 per cent (plus 10 per cent surcharge). It has also decided to reduce advance tax on scrap brought to Punjab from other states from 4.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent in case where CENVAT has been paid and to just 1 per cent (with 10 per cent surcharge) on scrap brought from outside the state (including scrap bought from junk dealers) on which CENVAT has not been paid. Besides helping the staggering iron and steel industry, another reason for reducing VAT is to plug loopholes in its collection, especially in the case of scrap, which forms a major raw material in the industry. Most of its sale goes unaccounted. It is estimated that scrap worth Rs 5,000 crore is sold in the state annually. Official sources told The Tribune that the decision had been taken to give a boost to the industry. In just nine months, between April 1, 2013 and December 25, 2013, the state Industry Department reported that 155 steel units in Mandi Gobindgarh had closed down. These included 55 small, 40 medium and 60 large units. The main reason was shrinking profit margins because of disparity in taxation. This has its wider ramifications as this industry provides raw material to machine parts, tools, bicycle and bicycle parts, auto parts and foundries, among others. The sources said Punjab got Rs 1,100 crore revenue from the iron and steel industry, of which Rs 400 crore was refund claim. With the new incentives being given, the state would get a revenue of Rs 600 crore and the VAT refund claim was projected at Rs 100 crore. As a result of these incentives, the state would bear a loss of Rs 200 crore each year. All these incentives are to be cleared by the Punjab Cabinet before a formal notification is issued. The government also proposes to link production to power consumption for evaluating VAT. Officials feel that if production is linked to power consumption, it will lead to more VAT generation as production cannot be hidden. Fleeing industry
Steps taken
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Strength low, 36 Ropar schools set for closure
Ropar, January 16 A communiqué to the district education authorities from the Deputy Director, Senior Secondary, said the students from such schools should be shifted to nearby schools. Sources said that during a meeting convened by Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka recently, it was decided to close down such schools so that teachers could be shifted elsewhere. A decision was taken to shut down such 119 schools in the state, majority of them in Ropar, they said. All schools have three or more teachers whereas the student strength is between 10 and 29. A Department official said that in the absence of substantial number of students, the posting of sanctioned staff was proving a waste. This rationalisation would help in overcoming staff shortage to some extent, he said. The Government Teachers’ Union has decided to oppose the move claiming it would not only affect the students and teachers of these schools, but also buildings worth crores would go waste. Gurpreet Singh Hira, union president, said they “would oppose the decision”. Dharminder Singh Bhagoo, union general secretary, alleged that the present situation was fallout of government’s “wrong” policies. Report card
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Sukhbir: Sops to other states bias
against Punjab
Ludhiana, January 16 "This is an attempt of the Congress-led UPA government to derail the tempo of development in the state," he said while speaking at the inauguration of Fortis Hospital here. Congress workers from the state approached their high command to protest for party positions, but they never pleaded for an economic package for their own state, he said, adding that PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa should stage a dharna against the extension of sops to other states. Presiding over a meeting of principal secretaries and deputy commissioners along with Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia and Health Minister Surjeet Kumar Jyani at PAU, Sukhbir said the government would distribute Blue Cards within 10 days starting February 5. Sukhbir approved a distribution scheme of mineral supplies to be implemented from February 1. Under the scheme, mineral supplies like sand and gravel would be controlled by the Mandi Board to make available the material at affordable rates across the state.
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Ready for probe: Dhindsa
Sangrur, January 16 In a statement yesterday, Congress leaders Surinder Pal Singh Sibia, Ramesh Singla and Paramjit Singh Randhawa had alleged that Kanwarjit Singh Pehalwan, Parminder’s father-in-law, had close links with Dawood. Dhindsa dared Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa for a high-level inquiry by any independent agency of his choice. He alleged it was, in fact, the handiwork of Bajwa and his brother Fateh Jung to divert attention from their “own links with international drug smugglers”. Parminder said it was a “baseless allegation levelled by the Congress leaders to save their own skin”. Dhindsa said the Congress leadership had resorted to personal attacks as the party lacked issues to counter the ruling SAD in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. He said his relatives had businesses in Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab and others states but even Congress governments there had never registered any case against them.
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Setback for docs with degrees from USSR
Chandigarh, January 16 Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa also made it clear that a candidate would not be vested with an inherent right to seek the benefit of equivalent qualification, whenever specific qualifications have been prescribed for the post, in the absence of clear cut indication in the advertisement that the state government or the commission can consider and appoint incumbents possessing such qualifications. The ruling came on a bunch of 11 petitions filed by Dr Akashdeep Singh and other petitioners against the state of Punjab and other respondents. They had challenged the commission’s decision to treat them as ineligible for selection and appointment as medical officers (general) under the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The advertisement for filling 100 posts of medical officers issued in October 2008 specified that MBBS was an essential qualification. The petitioners after acquiring a degree from the medical institutions from erstwhile USSR applied for the post in question. But their candidature was rejected for not “fulfilling the requisite educational qualification”. Their counsel argued that the basis for the rejection of their candidature was untenable in law as each one of them possessed medical qualification recognised as equivalent to MBBS. The state counsel argued that the employer had the right to prescribe essential qualifications. He submitted that an equivalence of qualification accepted by the Medical Council of India (MCI) could not impinge upon such right of the employer. Justice Dhindsa asserted: “In the notification dated January 10, 2008, and advertisement dated October 10, 2008, the prescribed essential qualification was MBBS. There was no indication as regards considering candidates possessing equivalent qualification”.
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Free child delivery comes at a price in Rajindra Hospital
Patiala, January 16 This is the government’s direction. But, step into Rajindra Hospital here and the staff allegedly demand ‘badhai’ (token money) on every delivery from families. Sources in the hospital say that sweepers, and attendants in labour room, nursery and gynaecology wards demand Rs 3,000 each from the families, whose children are born in the hospital. A patient’s husband, on the condition of anonymity, said: “I admitted my wife to Rajindra Hospital since I cannot afford treatment in a private institute, but here the staff asked for ‘badhai’ on the birth of my child. When I refused, they justified their demand for a ‘meagre sum’ by saying that had the delivery been in a private institute, I would have paid around Rs 10,000,” he added. He is not the only one to be ‘charged’ in this manner. He said several families of pregnant women had been asked to shell out token money and were upset with the state of affairs. The women employees in the labour room were caught on camera asking for Rs 1,000 as token money from the families. The matter was brought to the notice of the authorities. An inquiry was instituted following several complaints in this regard. Based on the video, nine nurses were transferred to other departments. Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Harshinder Kaur said: “If there are any more complaints, we will take action against the guilty.” Poor state of affairs
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Excise inspector suspended
Patiala, January 16 The illegal practice has again highlighted corruption in the department as government officials are under the scanner for such shady deals. The services of Inspector Darshan Kumar have been placed under suspension for bogus entries of 45 paddy vehicles at Chullar Kalan barrier. “A firm, Laxmi Rice Mill, had purchased paddy amounting to Rs 2 crore from Punjab. To evade 5.5 per cent purchase tax, it showed that these purchases had been made outside the state,” an official said. One of the trucks that was shown carrying paddy was actually an oil tanker, he said. Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma said a report was received from the department’s Bathinda in charge, which confirmed the alleged misdeed. “When the matter came to the department’s notice, the rice mill admitted to the malpractice and deposited Rs 11 lakh as purchase tax,” he said.
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Swine flu case reported in Faridkot
Ludhiana, January 16 Dr Bhatia said two suspected cases of swine flu were reported from Ludhiana. One of patients is under treatment at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, while the other is under treatment at Christian Medical College Hospital. He said to combat the disease, instructions had been issued to Civil Surgeons, Medical Superintendents of hospitals and principals of government medical colleges.
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No crisis in party, says Manpreet
Jalandhar, January 16 He said he did not see this as a problem as people keep on switching their loyalties. The party would not divert from its ideology with such actions of some workers. The PPP has suffered a jolt recently as 151 of its workers led by party’s senior executive member from Mukerian joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Refuting reports that party member Bhagwant Mann was planning to leave, Manpreet said these were baseless reports and that they were together. “We have minor differences with the Left parties on FDI as we are in its favour while the Left parties are against it. Once differences are sorted out, we will announce a common agenda of the Sanjha Morcha for Lok Sabha polls,” the PPP chief said.
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Industrialists too decry tax holiday extension
Chandigarh, January 16 A meeting of industrial associations of Ludhiana was held today to condemn the allocation of industrial packages to the Congress-ruled states. The representatives condemned Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma for this "step-motherly treatment" to Punjab, which they alleged was based on political motives. The tax holiday package was given to these states in 2003 for a period of 10 years, which attracted an investment of more than Rs 13,000 crore in HP and Rs 30,000 crore in Uttarakhand, said Badish Jindal, president, Federation of Association of Small Industries of India. "Such political discrimination is a blow to the democratic federal system of the country. The industrialists are planning a protest against this move. They have conveyed their concerns to Union Minister Manish Tewari," he added.
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14 officers shifted
Chandigarh, January 16 Kuldeep Kumar has been posted as SP (H); Rakesh Kumar as SP, Ferozepur; Kulwant Singh as additional DCP, Industrial Security, Jalandhar; Narinder Pal Singh as SP, City, Bathinda; Des Raj as SP/CI, Bathinda; Satpal Singh Bhangu as Assistant Commandant, 7th BN, PAP, Jalandhar; Naveen Singla as SP, Abohar; Dilbag Singh as SP (H), Hoshiarpur; Saranjit Singh as SP (D), Barnala, and Satnam Singh as
DSPO-Cum-SP, Sangrur.
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VB told to investigate
Irrigation Dept fraud
Chandigarh, January 16 The official, Amrik Singh, worked as a senior assistant in the department's divisional office at Hoshiarpur, had allegedly embezzled Rs 29 lakh from the Kandi Watershed Drainage Division. The accused tampered payment vouchers and forged signatures of drawing & disbursing officers. He absconded after committing the fraud and was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) by a court. "Interestingly, the accused managed to rejoin duty at Chandigarh in connivance with department officials by producing a forged sanction letter of ex-India leave. Although he was later dismissed, the role of officials who facilitated the joining of an absconded official, is being looked into. A strict action will be taken against them," said Sarvesh Kaushal, Principal Secretary, Irrigation. Case file
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Re-employed PCS officers barred from poll duty
Chandigarh, January 16 While issuing guidelines to all the states regarding postings and transfers of officers in view of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission (EC) also said no officer should be allowed to remain posted in his home district. The EC also instructed that no official against whom a criminal case was pending be associated with election work. Raminder Singh, Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, said instructions had been issued that no officer connected with elections should be allowed to continue in home district.
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Protesting teachers refuse to give in
Barnala, January 16 The agitating teachers had been reiterating their demand for regular jobs. Makhan Singh Tolawal, Avtar Singh Faridkot, Sukhchain Singh Mansa, Kulwinder Singh, Satwinder Kaur Sandhu Faridkot, Madan Lal Fazilka, Gurjit Singh Ugoke, Veerpal Kaur Sidhana, Goga Rani Abohar have been booked under relevant Sections of of the IPC and Section 8B of the National Highway Act. The local police took hundreds of agitating unemployed teachers in custody for blocking traffic at the Bathinda T-point. They were taken to the local police station where they remained for about an hour. Kulwinder Singh, a member of the action committee, said today that when the police failed to provide them with quilts and tea at the police station, they came out and reached the water works at Cheema village, where they have been protesting since December 16. Gagandeep Abohar, a member of the action committee, said they would not lift the
dharna. Reiterating demand
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Rice millers condemn FCI for ‘dumping’ state lab
Moga, January 16 Presiding over a state-level meeting here today, Tarsem Saini, president of the association, alleged that FCI officials normally demanded money while accepting the custom milled rice. If someone said no to bribe, the technical staff rejected their samples, he said. He alleged that the FCI had bypassed the Union Government’s notification, dated November 26, 1999, to issue the unilateral circular just to mint money and indulge in corrupt practices. “There should be an appellant authority independent of the FCI to examine the rice samples in the disputed cases,” he said. The Directorate of the Food and Civil Supplies Department has recently written to the senior authorities of the FCI to withdraw the circular, which was in violation of the Union Government’s notification.
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Science City gets Climate Change Theatre
Kapurthala, January 16 The first-of-its-kind in India, the theatre has a seating capacity of 125 persons, which would provide information on climate changes and global warming to school and college students. A documentary on environment issues was also screened on the occasion.
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Another Punjabi youth
shot dead in Philippines
Jagraon, January 16 The victim has been identified as Kulwinder Singh (30) of Dangian village near Jagraon. A Philippines financer, with whom Kulwinder was working, was also killed in the incident. The attackers fired bullets at Kulwinder and the financer, who died on the spot. Kulwinder was injured in the head and succumbed to injuries in hospital. A police officer in Manila said they were investigating into the motive behind the murders. Kulwinder’s friend in Manila broke the news to his family last night. “Kulwinder’s friend called last night to inform us that he was shot dead by unidentified assailants,” Jagroop Singh, the victim’s younger brother told The Tribune. The family said Kulwinder was planning to visit India soon. “Kulwinder was to return home in a couple of months. We were planning his marriage, but the destiny had something else in store,” Jagroop said. Kulwinder, who belonged to a poor family, had moved to the Philippines around four years ago for greener pastures. The villagers said the victim’s family was too poor to bear the cost of bringing the body back. “As Kulwinder’s family was not in a position to bear the cost of bringing his body to India, relatives and friends cremated him in Manila today,” said Dharamjit Singh, victim’s friend. Last week, a Punjabi businessman was shot dead and another wounded by unidentified gunmen while they were collecting payments from clients. Fatal end
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Robbery bid foiled, 4 held
Abohar, January 16 The police said the alleged accused had planned to loot a brink-kiln owner of Rs 63 lakh. CS Soda, SHO, Gharsana police station, said a loaded pistol, a sharp-edged weapon and 19 gm of opium had been seized from Buta Singh, Sunil Kamboj, Pawan Kamboj and Tushar Sharma. All four are residents of Rajasthan. —OC
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Ludhiana, January 16
muktsar
Amritsar: Congress workers today came out in large numbers to resort to 'chakka jam' in different parts of the state. Prominent among those who didn't participate in the protests were PPCC chief, Vice President and Majha Zone incharge OP Soni, Amritsar West MLA Rajkumar Verka, Rajasansi MLA Sukh Sarkaria, former Deputy Speaker Prof Darbari Lal, former DCC chief Jugal Kishore Sharma and Tarsem Singh DC.