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Mandi Gobindgarh steel industry crumbling
No seat swap between Akali Dal, BJP
SAD-BJP rift comes to fore in Gurdaspur
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HC refuses to allow Cong plea for CBI probe into drug racket
Dullo questions BJP silence on charges against Majithia
Action against Capt at right time: Bajwa
Chawla writes to Prez as temple bars women entry
Even CM has to wait his turn for ritual here
Police dilly-dallying in case against MLA, says complainant
Abohar transport mafia in yet another brawl
Disillusioned with ‘false’ promises, villagers threaten to boycott poll
Woman hospitalised with burns
Work on Gurdaspur administrative complex to begin in February
Abduction case: HC declines to suspend sentence of guilty cops
Man held for attempt to murder
SAD leader booked for cheating
Gidderbaha MLA alleges vendetta
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Mandi Gobindgarh steel industry crumbling
Mandi Gobindgarh, January 20 The mill was dismantled after heavy losses. “Afsaran tay sarkar nay lut liya (officers and the government have plundered us),” said a mill owner, who did not want to be identified. More than 100 steel and iron units in the town have shut down in the past two years. Even as the Punjab Government is asking business houses to invest in the state, industrial units already existing in the state are on the verge of closure. An estimated 150 units in this industrial town have already been closed. More than 5,000 semi-skilled and skilled labourers have lost their jobs and face a bleak future. There is some relief for the local industrialists with the government on Monday slashing VAT on iron and steel goods from 4.5 per cent (plus 10 per cent surcharge) to 2.5 per cent (plus the surcharge). Further, advance tax on scrap has also been reduced drastically from 4.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent (on which CENVAT has been paid) and to just 1 per cent (with 10 per cent surcharge) on scrap brought from outside the state on which CENVAT has not been paid. Sources claim this will entail a loss of over Rs 150 crore to the exchequer. The industry was facing a tough competition with the Central Government extending industrial package to neighbouring states till 2017. “Owing to the disparity in the tax structure, an industrialist in Gobindgarh was paying almost Rs 6,000 per tonne extra by the time raw material reached Punjab from Bhilai in Bihar”, claimed All-India Steel Re-Rolling Association vice-president Raj Jindal. “The Punjab Government claims it will be able to revive sick units with these tax benefits. But most of the 155 units have already been dismantled ,” he said. Another industrialist, earlier in the steel trade, said he had bought two acres of land in 2003 to set up a furnace unit in Majri village. But with profits dipping, he had opened a dairy farm instead. Kaka Ram, who works as a contract labourer, worked with a furnace unit for two decades. “The government efforts have come too late. Most workers have already shifted to neighbouring states,” he claimed. Relief measures
Tax disparity to blame Owing to disparity in the tax structure, an industrialist in Gobindgarh ended up paying almost Rs 6,000 per tonne extra by the time raw material from Bihar reaches
Punjab Too little, too late The Punjab Government claims it will be able to revive sick units with fresh tax benefits. However, most of the 155 units have already been
dismantled
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No seat swap between Akali Dal, BJP
Chandigarh, January 20 The BJP will contest the Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur seats. The SAD will field its candidates from the remaining 10 seats of Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Phillaur, Anandpur Sahib and Khadoor Sahib. Sources said there was no decision on the candidates to be fielded by the two parties. In 2009, the BJP had won the Amritsar seat, represented by former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu. It lost the Gurdaspur seat to Partap Singh Bajwa and the Hoshiarpur seat to Santosh Chaudhary. There had been speculation that the SAD and the BJP may swap the Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar seats. There were reports that the Akalis were eyeing the Amritsar seat. There is talk of the possibility of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley contesting from Amritsar. However, BJP state president Kamal Sharma denied that a decision in this regard has been taken. “The issue is yet to be decided. Sidhu has not sent any signal to indicate he will not re-contest from Amritsar. It will be Punjab's achievement if a top party leader like Jaitley contests from Amritsar,” he told The Tribune. When contacted, Sidhu said he would abide by the party decision. At the meeting was Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, general secretary BS Bhunder, Mahesh Inder Grewal, Kamal Sharma, Tikshan Sud, Balramji Das Tandon and BJP ministers Bhagat Chunni Lal, Madan Mohan Mittal and Anil Joshi. The leaders also discussed arrangements for the Narendra Modi rally at Jagraon on February 23. Drawing poll map
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SAD-BJP rift comes to fore in Gurdaspur
Dinanagar (Gurdaspur), January 20 The BJP has been allocated four out of the nine assembly seats of this parliamentary constituency and Dinanagar is one of them. The two-day Sangat Darshan was to be held on January 21 and 22 and BJP workers were elated as they had sensed an opportunity for developmental works to be initiated in their assembly seat. However, the visit was cancelled. Although the official reason for cancellation is said to be the Chief Minister’s “preoccupation” with some other things, party insiders said senior SAD leaders did not want Badal to hold the event in Dinanagar due to their differences with the halqa (constituency) in charge. It is a well-known fact that former Cabinet Minister SS Langah is at loggerheads with Dinanagar BJP area chief BD Dhuppar. The event was being held at the behest of state BJP chief Kamal Sharma. The programme was to cater to the needs of 252 village panchayats and 13 Municipal Committee (MC) wards of the seat. The administration had already made elaborate arrangements. However, when the word spread that the event had been called off, SAD leaders could be seen boasting that it was on their insistence that Badal had cancelled the proceedings. The seat, at present, is represented by Congress MLA Aruna Chowdhury who won the last assembly elections by 12,000 votes. BJP leaders were thinking that the event would help neutralise the margin to some extent in the General Election. Residents said the SAD-BJP divide was hampering developmental works in the town. They said they would be left with no option but to join the ranks of the AAP, which in any case, was gaining in strength with every passing day in Dinanagar. However, Kamal Sharma was unfazed and downplayed the rift. “We will urge the Chief Minister to hold two such events in Dinanagar and Bhoa next month.” Dinanagar at the receiving end
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HC refuses to allow Cong plea for CBI probe into drug racket
Chandigarh, January 20 The petitions were filed after the name of Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia had surfaced in the racket. The orders, dismissing the petitions as withdrawn, came as a setback for the Congress not only in its tirade to pin down the rivals but also in salvaging its image ahead of the Lok Sabha poll. Already, the Akalis have made attempts to shift the focus from Majithia to petitioner-cum-PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa accusing him of being the "political face of drug underworld". The party now has the option to mount pressure on the government for handing over the probe to the CBI or to assist the court in a pending case, in which the premier investigating agency has been made a party. In fact, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli gave petitioners, Bajwa and Jagmeet Singh Brar, the liberty to assist the court in the pending matter. In both the petitions, the Bench asserted: "We are not inclined to entertain the present petition as the larger issue is already before us in civil writ petition number 20359 of 2013, which is fixed for January 29. We, thus, put to the counsel for the petitioner that if he so desires, he can always assist us in that matter. "In view of the aforesaid, the petition stands dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the counsel to assist us in CWP number 20359 of 2013." The pending "court on its own motion" case has its origin in a plea filed by Tarlochan Singh through counsel Navkiran Singh. A Mohali resident, he was lodged at Ropar district jail at the time of filing the petition. The inmate is seeking an inquiry into the sale of intoxicants in the Ropar Jail "in connivance with the jail officials" as also into their highhandedness towards prisoners reporting against illegal activities. During the course of hearing, Punjab's former Director-General of Police (Prisons) Shashi Kant had stepped in to say drug smuggling worth over Rs 60,000 crore took place annually in the state and narcotics were used by political parties to woo the voters. In the case, the High Court on December 11 last year had asserted: "Taking into consideration the gravity of the matter in terms of the recent developments, we deem it appropriate to implead the CBI as a respondent. The court had asserted that it wanted to know "as to what role can be or should be performed by the CBI" especially as "the linkages appear to be extra territorial". Jolt for state Congress
We are not inclined to entertain the petition as the larger issue is already before us in civil writ petition number 20359 (of 2013), which is fixed for January 29. We, thus, put to counsel for the petitioner that if he so desires, he can always assist us in that
matter.
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Dullo questions BJP silence on charges against Majithia
Chandigarh, January 20 He questioned BJP's silence on the issue of a CBI inquiry into the multi-crore drug racket in the state allegedly involving Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia. "The BJP has not uttered a word on the issue so far. It seems the party has surrendered before the SAD for petty gains," he remarked. Congress workers from the Majitha and Ajnala constituencies led by PPCC general secretaries Sukhjinder Raj Singh (Lalli) Majithia and Harpratap Singh Ajnala and block presidents Balwinder Singh Mardi, Balbir Singh Kotli, Harpal Singh Khanuwal and Rajvir Singh Madhusingh were among those to observe fast along with Dullo. Dullo said neither the SAD nor the BJP seemed alarmed at reports that 70 per cent of the youth, including girls, was taking drugs. "The drug trade cannot flourish without being patronised by the police and netas," he said. On former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh opposing a CBI inquiry into the drug racket, Dullo said: “We differ on the issue. He is a friend." Ashwani Sekhri, AICC secretary, said it was duty of every Punjabi to speak out against the drug menace. Lalli Majithia and Harpratap Singh Ajnala said even before drug peddler Jagdish Bhola had named Majithia, the minister's hand in the drug racket had been revealed with the arrest of Maninder Singh Bittu Aulakh and Jagjit Singh Chahal. Congress workers held a candle march in Sector 17 in the evening. DGP on job: CM Mohali: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, at a function here on Monday, indicated that the CBI could not be trusted. He said he had faith in the inquiry being conducted by Punjab DGP in the Bhola drug scam. "The state DGP is on the job," he said. On the Congress relay fast, the CM said the Congress was indulging in gimmickry for cheap popularity. — TNS
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Action against Capt at right time: Bajwa
Barnala, January 20 Amarinder Singh has accused Bajwa of indulging in gold and drug smuggling. Had the party leadership taken these charges seriously, it would not have appointed him PPCC president, Bajwa contended. Asked if he would file a defamation suit against Amarinder Singh, he declined to comment. Bajwa attended a function at Thikriwal village and paid tributes to Shaheed Sewa Singh Thikriwala. Congress MP from Sangrur Vijay Inder Singla, Mehal Kalan MLA Harchand Kaur Ghanauri, PPCC vice-president Surinderpal Singh Sibia, Barnala district Congress president Paramjit Singh Mann and Bhadaur MLA Mohammad Sadique also paid homage to the martyr. On the Congress demand for a CBI probe into Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia's alleged role in the drug trade in Punjab, Bajwa said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should not be afraid to order a CBI inquiry if he believed Majithia was innocent and that druglord Jagdish Singh Bhola had been lying. Bajwa lashed out at the SAD-BJP Government for not paying salaries to employees, not releasing funds for the Shagun Scheme and for delaying pension to lakhs of beneficiaries. The PPCC chief said power should be supplied to tube well motors for 12 hours and power tariff cut by 33 per cent, if Punjab was truly power surplus as claimed by the state government. Jagmeet targets Capt Amarinder is a coward. He is toeing the Punjab Government line rather than asking for a CBI inquiry into the drug trade. I have not filed a case on behalf of my party. I am fighting it out on my own and do not wish to give a political hue to the
issue.
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Chawla writes to Prez as temple bars women entry
Amritsar, January 20 The direction, which has been discontinued now, was painted soon after the temple was inaugurated a month ago. She claimed a similar treatment was being meted out to women at several other temples across the country. Chawla, BJP national vice-president, wondered why no women or human rights commissions had raised the issue so far. In her letter to the President, Chawla mentioned that the directive prohibited women from coming close to the pedestal where ‘Shani shila’ (consecrated stone) was placed. She maintained that the instruction was inspired by orthodox Hindu thoughts. She claimed the move was reminiscent of pre-Independence era when various temple managements had prohibited the entry of some castes. It was only after numerous agitations that the ban was lifted. Temple management committee spokesman Harish Taneja admitted that the directive had been painted by some priests. But, he claimed, it was done without their (committee members) consent. He said the instruction was removed as soon as it was brought to their notice.
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Even CM has to wait his turn for ritual here
Amritsar, January 20 Five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (86) will have to wait for a few years to get his turn to get an ‘akhand path’, a Sikh prayer service of the Guru Granth Sahib, conducted at the Dukhbhanjani Sahib inside the Golden Temple complex. Badal’s name is among over 1.3 lakh people who figure in the list of those wanting the 48-hour long ceremony conducted. All VIPs and celebrities have to queue up along with thousands of commoners to get a religious ceremony conducted at Harmandar Sahib — popularly known as the Golden Temple and considered the holiest of Sikh shrines. Such is the rush of people for the religious ceremony that the shrine management has bookings full till 2019. The ceremony is conducted by Sikh priests (granthis) at two places —Dukhbhanjani Sahib and Har-ki-Pauri. All applicants have to specify where they want the ceremony to be conducted. The Dukhbhanjani Beri (tree) is believed to be even older than the shrine. “The ‘akhand path’ ceremony is held at various places inside the Golden Temple. At some places, we have bookings till 2019. Scores of people keep coming for more bookings,” Partap Singh, manager of the Golden Temple complex, said. “No one is a VIP here. Everyone has to wait for his turn for the ceremony,” he said. “It is a good thing that the shrine does not entertain VIPs and celebrities separately. Before God, everyone should be equal. Some shrines in other parts of India allow VIP darshan. That is not good,” Jagmohan Singh, a volunteer at the shrine said. — IANS No to VIP culture
On waiting list
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Police dilly-dallying in case against MLA, says complainant
Chandigarh, January 20 The MLA, along with Sukhbir Singh Shergill, trustee of Adesh Foundation, and Gurdeep Singh, managing director, Fastway Transmissions, and a partner in Jujhar Travels, were booked on the directions of the Area Magistrate on the complaint of Raman Uppal of International Customer Related Management Services Private Limited (ICRMS). Uppal, who accused them of forgery, creating false documents, money laundering and harbouring absconders, has written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Chandigarh Police, RP Upadhaya. He has said that despite the record of the registrar of companies being supplied to the investigating agency, no tangible progress had been made in the case. When contacted, the IGP said he could comment only after going through the case file. In his representation, Uppal is learnt to have quoted a letter by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) dated September 19, 2013, stating that the MLA was unnecessarily being dragged into the affairs of the company. When contacted, the DSP of the Economic Offence Wing (EOW), Chandigarh Police, RC Meena, denied that investigation in the case was being deliberately delayed. “We are recording the statements of persons named in the case. We cannot act on the basis of allegations alone. The case has been registered under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC.", the DSP added.
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Abohar transport mafia in yet another brawl
Abohar, January 20 Khubi Khan suffered a fractured arm. The duo was attacked at a dhaba on the Killianwali bypass here. The assailants also damaged their truck having a Haryana registration number. Both the injured have been admitted to Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital. Station House Officer Sahib Singh said the accused would be taken to task soon. On November 24 last year, more than 20 persons wielding sharp-edged weapons and firearms had damaged furniture in a businessman’s office. They also set a vehicle afire. They fired in the air before decamping with currency. On December 2, workers led by Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar had marched to the Superintendent of Police office to express anguish over the attack on councillor Suman Taneja, allegedly by the members of the truck operators union. The union office-bearers allegedly attacked Taneja, a kinnow waxing plant owner, for not paying ‘jazia’ (tax).
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Disillusioned with ‘false’ promises, villagers threaten to boycott poll
Abohar, January 20 The village was transferred from Abohar to Balluana constituency following delimitation a few years ago. Villagers said they had hoped things would get better as Balluana segment had been voting for the ruling SAD whereas Abohar “faced neglect” for being the stronghold of the Congress. They said the promises made by the ruling politicians had fallen flat even as the SAD got more than 65 per cent votes from the village. Streets of this village are inundated with dirty water overflowing from ponds. Earlier, the residents had decided to boycott the Vidhan Sabha poll but relented in the final stage after the ruling party leaders promised to improve the state of affairs in the village. Local residents Avinash Chander and Sukhchain Jagga said a five-km-long pipeline was laid by the government to dispose of surplus water from the village to the Abulkhurana drain but it failed to serve the purpose as the officials concerned did not monitor the level of the pipes. They said three of the five ponds on common land had been encroached upon by some influential persons and there was no proper drainage system. Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat Minster Surjit Singh Rakhra was quoted as saying on November 16, 2013, that the government had initiated a drive to remove encroachers from shamlat land. However, nothing has been done so far. Some villagers said an official had visited the village in March last year in response to the complaints lodged with the Director, (Panchayats) and other officers. However, he had dumped the file in cold storage after finding that the encroachers were active workers of the ruling party. Madhu and Manju, social activists in the village, said it was good that there was no downpour in the area this season. They would have been ruined if it had so happened, they said. An official in the Block Development and Panchayat Office said the problem would be looked into soon.
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Woman hospitalised with burns
Patiala, January 20 Hospital sources said she may have been attacked with acid. She was found near the Nabha-Rohti bridge by a passerby late this afternoon who informed the hospital. “The victim alleges that her in-laws threw acid on her. We are yet to corroborate her claim. Her in-laws are as of now in Zirakpur,” said Station House officer (SHO) of Bakhshiwal, Rajesh Chibber. He said the victim, who had been divorced recently, was living in Nabha with her son.
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Work on Gurdaspur administrative complex to begin in February
Gurdaspur, January 20 The multi-storied building, which will bring a majority of government offices under one roof, was to be constructed initially at a cost of Rs 68 crore but later the estimate was scaled down to Rs 48 crore. This means that some vital public utility offices such as the civil surgeon’s office, public health and fisheries departments will not be given space in the new complex. Earlier, a basement was to be built but now with financial constraints looming large, the idea has been put on the back burner. The foundation stone of the complex was laid near the animal husbandry complex in 2000 by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Since then, the project has been mired in controversies and political exigencies. In 2006, Capt Amarinder Singh, during his tenure as Chief Minister, re-laid the foundation stone at the same place making a mockery of the venture. In December 2012, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal once again laid the foundation stone of the complex, but this time near the Deputy Commissioner’s office. Now, the decks have been cleared for the construction at the site but some offices have been left out of the new building. Tenders have been floated by PUDA, the agency responsible for the construction. Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha said, “The Civil Hospital is being shifted to the outskirts of the city so it will make more sense if the Civil Surgeon’s office too shifts there. The Fisheries Department is located near Hayat Nagar and it is easy for people to go there. The Public Health Department already has a decent office near the water works on the Batala road. So there is no need to shift these offices to the complex.”
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Abduction case: HC declines to suspend sentence of guilty cops
Chandigarh, January 20 Taking up their plea, Justice RP Nagrath said: “A perusal of the impugned (trial court) judgment shows there is abundant evidence on record showing that appelant Pritpal Singh Virk was after the life of the victim (Tejinder Singh). Evidence shows that the family was asked to pay Rs 1 lakh for his release from police custody….” Tejinder Singh was abducted on May 14, 1993, and illegally detained by Virk and other policemen. He went to Kolkata to stay with his brother Jagrup Singh to avoid further harassment after he was released on June 8, 1993. But Virk left Sangrur on July 5, 1993, on "secret" duty and arrived in Kolkata. He forcibly took away Tejinder Singh on July 13, 1993, from near his house in Howrah. Despite efforts, his family could not secure his release. A judicial inquiry was marked to the Haryana District and Sessions Judge, Vigilance, after the victim’s father, Budh Singh, filed a writ petition in the High Court in 1994. The court entrusted the matter with the CBI after the Sessions Judge, in his report, said that in all probability, Tejinder Singh had either been eliminated by Virk or was still being detained illegally. Dismissing the petition, Justice Nagrath said: “It was contended for the appellants that there was a huge delay in initiating action by Budh Singh, father of the victim... “That was the most turbulent period in the state of Punjab and any amount of delay in such a case cannot by itself be fatal, particularly when the complainant had to approach this court for redressal of his grievance”. Case history
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Man held for attempt to murder
Hoshiarpur, January 20 Harbhajan Singh of Jandoli village told the police that his daughter Kashmir Kaur was at his home last evening when her husband Sarabjit Singh had a quarrel with her on some petty issue. He said her daughter’s son Navi was sleeping on a cot. He alleged that in a fit of anger Sarabjit caught him from his legs and hit him against a wall. Navi was taken to the Civil Hospital, Hoshiarpur. From there, he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. Navi has received serious injuries and multiple fractures in his head. The police has booked Sarabjit under Sections 307, 323 and 506 of the IPC and arrested him. He was produced in the court and was sent to judicial custody.
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SAD leader booked for cheating
Faridkot, January 20 The police started the inquiry after some voluntary organisations — Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Punjab Students Union and Kirti Kisan Union — held protests in this regard. They said the old man, who lived in a dilapidated house in Deep Singh Wala village, had no other family member to support him. “Some time back, I got an offer to exchange my land with a piece of land near my house,” said Jarnail. “I agreed to the offer as my poor visibility, old age and fragile health made it difficult for me to handle my land at a distance. However, instead of getting the exchange of the land registered in the revenue record, the accused got the ownership of my land transferred in his name on October 3, 2013. I was not given any documents in this regard and I came to know about it when the accused took physical possession of the land claiming to be its owner,” alleged Jarnail. “The police have taken no action against some influential persons who connived with the main culprit to cheat the old man. We will continue our protest till all the accused are arrested,” said Rajinder Singh, a student union leader. SSP Varinder Pal Singh said the FIR in the case was registered after an inquiry and the accused would not be spared if their role in the case was proved.
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Gidderbaha MLA alleges vendetta
Muktsar, January 20 "When local residents re-opened the street, the other party lodged a police complaint, alleging that they had damaged the wall of a religious place.” A former sarpanch of Daula village, who had slapped a young girl on the eve of the assembly elections had concocted this story, Warring alleged.
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Chandigarh, January 20
Abohar, January 20
