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760 want to skip poll duty in Moga
FCI procures wheat from border districts
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Parties redraw strategies as AAP makes inroads into Malwa belt
BJP, BSP faceoff during a roadshow at Baghapurana
The BJP and BSP workers argue in Baghapurana on Monday. a Tribune Photo
Modi will ensure ample funds for state: Badal
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Paramjit Kaur Gulshan in Kotkapura on Monday. Tribune photo
These leaders won’t get vote of their kin
Cyber war gets more curious
SAD promises more routes to boost trade with Pakistan
Sukhbir Badal (centre) releases party manifesto in Bathinda on Monday. Also in the picture are SS Dhindsa (left) and BS Bhunder, MPs. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
SAD manifesto misleading: Bajwa
Badal did little for riot-hit: Sarna
AAP effect hard to miss
Elect good leaders, former dacoit tells voters
‘I’ve better credentials to make a difference’
All geared up: SAD-BJP candidate Arun Jaitley in Amrtisar on Monday for an interactive session for the The Tribune’s ‘Punjab Votes 2014’. He is pitted against Congress stalwart Captain Amarinder Singh. Tribune photo: Vishal Kumar
BJP a divided house in Phagwara
Baba Ramdev in ‘apolitical’ mode
CEO seeks report on new road in Lambi
Ashutosh Maharaj’s ‘son’
willing to take DNA test
Centre’s intervention sought
Passengers ‘forced’ to board Orbit bus
Man gets life term for murder
BJP leader booked for hoarding liquor worth
Rs 4 crore
Commission agent thrashed
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760 want to skip poll duty in Moga
Moga, April 21 With the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, government officials, mostly women, had also reportedly approached local MLAs of the ruling Akali Dal and other senior leaders of the SAD and the BJP to get themselves absolved from poll duty. Thind while talking to The Tribune said he had designated a magistrate to look into all such applications and strictly follow guidelines of the Election Commission (EC) in giving exemptions from poll duty. He said pregnant women, lactating women having children less than the age of one year and certain categories of the health staff and officers of food procurement agencies, who have been deputed on duty for procurement of wheat, had been given a respite from poll duty. As per the details available with The Tribune, as many as 660 officers and employees of various departments have been given a respite from poll duty after examining their cases by a magistrate. “Exemption has been given only in genuine cases, where officials are suffering from life-threatening diseases such as cancer or cardiac ailments. Anyone can have a backache and that’s not an excuse to escape poll duty and this is non-negotiable,” another senior officer of the district administration said. There were also instances of senior officials requesting exemption, many of whom were trying to use the “influence” of higher-ups. The EC had already given instructions that physicians and nurses should not be deputed for election work as their services were being considered to be urgent and elemental in nature. The district administration continues to receive such requests for exemption from poll duty but a list of 3,634 employees has been finalised for Moga district. Out of these, 736 employees had been kept on reserve for emergency duties. Besides this, 2,500 employees of the state police and four companies of the Central forces have been deputed for security during the elections. A majority gets lucky n Out of 740 applications for poll duty exemption, 660 have been cleared after examination of their cases by a magistrate. n District Electoral Officer of Moga Arshdip Singh Thind said pregnant women, lactating women having children less than the age of one year and certain categories of the health staff and officers of food procurement agencies, who have been deputed on duty for procurement of wheat, had been given a respite from poll duty.
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FCI procures wheat from border districts
Abohar, April 21 As labour unions had given a call for strike to press their demand for better wages, the purchase was affected in some markets. However, Rajasthan Ware Housing Corporation officials claimed that 24,000 bags of wheat had been purchased in Sriganganagar till afternoon. The total arrival was 50,000 bags. The purchase was described as good in Padampur, Sadulshehar and Srikaranpur segments. The authorities had pursued private purchasers to lift the stacks till Sunday evening to make space for fresh arrivals, the latter did cooperate, sources said. Despite repeated appeals made by the administration to withhold wet produce, wheat with moisture upto 12 per cent was unloaded at 70 purchase centres, buyers regretted. Sriganganagar Traders Association president Deepak Kanda and Arhtia Association president Kuldeep Kasnia said Rs 1,616 was offered for the “1482” variety of wheat per quintal. The quality is popular with domestic buyers. Other varieties fetched Rs 1,550 that has been fixed as minimum support price.
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Parties redraw strategies as AAP makes inroads into Malwa belt
Chandigarh, April 21 The Aam Aadmi Party seems to have a good following in Malwa. Significantly, seven of the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies- Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Ludhiana- are in this region. With AAP eating into the traditional vote bank of the Congress and the SAD, these parties have been forced to change their poll strategies. A survey conducted by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to assess the impact of AAP in Punjab, turned out to be an eye-opener for the party that had dismissed AAP as a fledgling outfit. Sources say the survey showed that AAP was likely to get a 15 per cent vote share in the Lok Sabha elections with the anti -incumbency votes going to AAP. Surveys by other agencies show AAP getting 13 per cent-15 per cent votes in the state. While the Akalis claim that the anti- incumbency sentiment against the Congress-led UPA Government will translate into votes for AAP, Congress leaders in the fray maintain that the anti-incumbency sentiment against the SAD-BJP Government in Punjab will work in their favour. During the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the SAD- BJP vote share in Punjab was 43.91 per cent (SAD’s vote share was 33.85%). The Congress had secured 45. 23 per cent votes. As campaigning reaches a feverish pitch, it is evident that both parties are losing their vote share to AAP. If in Patiala, AAP is eating into the Congress votes, in Bathinda AAP candidate is hurting the prospects of the SAD candidate. In Sangrur, AAP's Bhagwant Mann is eating into the Congress as well as the SAD vote share. In Ludhiana, AAP candidate HS Phoolka is taking away the Akali vote share. Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD president has now reportedly decided to focus on micro management to ensure that his party does well in Malwa. With nine days left for campaigning coming to an end, Sukhbir will be canvassing aggressively in the Malwa belt. Party’s chief patron and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be throwing his weight behind the party candidates in the Majha and Doaba regions. Problem areas for SAD *
In Patiala, AAP is eating into the Congress vote share * In Bathinda, AAP candidate is hurting the prospects of the SAD candidate *
In Sangrur, AAP’s Bhagwant Mann is eating into the Cong and SAD votes * In Ludhiana, HS Phoolka is taking away the Akali vote share
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BJP, BSP faceoff during a roadshow at Baghapurana
Moga, April 21 A police officer claimed that none was injured even as the workers armed themselves with sticks. Officials on duty remained mute spectators as the workers of both the parties gathered at the town square. Eyewitnesses said the BJP workers tried to disrupt Sant Ram's roadshow. This angered the BSP workers who gheraoed some BJP activists. The BSP candidate said: “The BJP workers are trying to provoke my supporters as they are afraid of my growing popularity”. The district administration has tightened security for roadshows and public rallies in the district.
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Modi will ensure ample funds for state: Badal
Muktsar, April 21 Accusing the Congress-led UPA Government of discrimination, the Chief Minister said, “These issues were decided in Parliament and even the Prime Minister had agreed, but then later came the U-turn. Punjab is already facing a severe water crisis with groundwater level going alarmingly down because of excessive dependence on tubewell irrigation. The issue needs to be resolved expeditiously. If the Narendra Modi-led NDA government comes to the power, we will raise these issues and get them resolved.” Citing the development works done by the SAD-BJP coalition government, he appealed the masses to cast their vote in favour of Narendra
Modi. Forgive Gulshan for long absence: CM Faridkot: As Paramjit Gulshan’s long absence from her parliamentary constituency and “inaccessibility” to the voters has been inviting her public ire during electioneering, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday appealed to the voters to forgive her for her “mistakes”. “If Bibi Gulshan has made any mistake, ignore it this time as every human being is prone to mistakes. But do not forget to cast your vote to her to elect Narendra Modi as the next PM,” he said at a rally here.
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These leaders won’t get vote of their kin
Muktsar, April 21 Jakhar’s wife Silvia Jakhar is a citizen of Switzerland and Inderpreet Kaur, Bhagwant’s wife, is a US citizen. While Inderpreet is actively campaigning for her husband, Silvia does not seem to have any interest in politics as she has never canvassed for Jakhar. Similarly, PPP-Congress candidate from Bathinda Manpreet Singh Badal’s son Arjun Badal, who is a US citizen, won’t be able to vote for his father. Arjun is pursuing his bachelor's degree from New York University. He has come here to campaign for his father. There are also a number of candidates in the fray who will not be able to cast their votes for themselves. These include Capt Amarinder Singh, Arun Jaitley, Ambika Soni, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, HS Phoolka, Vinod Khanna, Simranjit Singh Mann and Vijay Sampla. Many of them may not even vote as they will hardly get time on the polling day to leave their respective constituency.
Foreign link *n Sunil Jakhar’s wife is a Switzerland citizen *
Bhagwant Mann’s wife is a US citizen * Manpreet Badal’s son is a US citizen
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Cyber war gets more curious
Chandigarh, April 21 Sample this. Fatehjeet
Sandhu, a Canada-based hotelier, while supporting the Aam Admi Party (AAP), has pasted on the Facebook a picture of Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal on the driver's seat of a truck with its front tyres missing. The Chief Minister is quoted saying: “Puttra gaddi bhaja
lai. Lagda hai aam aadmi jag gaya hai (Son speed up the truck. Looks like the common man
(Aam Admi) has woken up)." Sukhbir replies: “Can’t do anything. We have already sold the engine and the
tyres." The SAD's Facebook campaign is decent. There is no use of foul language. Sukhbir's site today read: “We are on a mission to ensure that every town of Punjab is connected by four-lane expressways in the next three years.” Bathinda candidate Harsimrat Kaur’s website is being regularly updated with her daily
programmes. The Facebook website of AAP's Sangrur candidate Bhagwant Mann shows a whiskey bottle with pictures of SAD's Ludhiana candidate Manpreet Ayali and the Chief Minister and a supporter's comment: “Chakko, Badal”(raise the toast,
Badal). The CPI (ML) Liberation has ridiculed Sukhbir for his tall claims. He is shown announcing a Rs 150-crore project for making a "bridge to the Sun” with his wife, standing next to him, speaking to herself: “Why can't my husband announce something more plausible!." Another picture shows Badal Senior hugging BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and saying: “You have never introduced your wife. At this age, people complain of losing their wives, but you have found one!”. Annudeep Singh has posted a video of Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh showing Narendra Modi walking out of a TV interview with Karan
Thapar. The post reads: “What a pity, he cannot even face a reporter. How can he be the PM?” BJP Amritsar candidate Arun Jaitley is most responsive to public comments. Congress candidate from Ludhiana Ravneet Bittu also interacts with the people regularly on the internet. A post of Simarjit Singh
Bains, an Independent from Ludhiana, has gone viral. It says: “Takdi (scales), the SAD party symbol, is now only used for distributing smack and poppy husk among young addicts”.
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SAD promises more routes to boost trade with Pakistan
Bathinda, April 21 The move, however, is in contrast with its alliance partner BJP's alleged hostile stance towards the neighbhouring country. The SAD manifesto says Punjab had traditionally been a trade and commerce hub but after the partition, the state lost its position. The SAD advocates setting up new trade check posts through the Attari-Wagah border which would cover all items that are traded on the Mumbai-Karachi route. It also promises to initiate steps to open the Ferozepur and Fazilka check posts for trade. Besides, the party says it wants to set up international trade fair and convention centres in Ludhiana, Amritsar and Mohali to boost the bilateral trade. The manifesto says the SAD will also work for getting a direct access to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan to enable devotees to pay obeisance at the historic gurdwara without any hassles. The SAD has earlier taken steps to improve ties with the neighbouring country. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal had visited Pakistan in 2012. A joint working committee for trade and commerce was constituted during the visit to work out a blueprint for increasing commerce and industrial ties. The SAD last year invited Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister at the closing ceremony of the World Kabaddi Cup. Earlier, former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Amritsar Capt Amarinder Singh also advocated better trade and bilateral relations with Pakistan. Manifesto for better ties *
Better people-to-people contact with Pakistan * More trade check posts through the Wagah border *
Steps to open Ferozepur and Fazilka check posts for trade * International trade fair and convention centres *
Direct access for Sikh devotees to Kartarpur Sahib in Pak
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SAD manifesto misleading: Bajwa
Gurdaspur, April 21 Bajwa said though the manifesto spoke of preserving and promoting the interests of minorities, its main agenda was making Narendra Modi the next Prime Minister. The PPCC chief said while Modi was yet to own moral responsibility for the 2002 Gujarat riots, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had apologised for the November 1984 riots. "Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has forgotten that his party, under the presidentship of Parkash Singh Badal, had made a similar promise in its manifesto for the 1997 Assembly elections. Within months of coming into power, Badal backtracked on the plea that it would re-open old wounds... Sukhbir Badal should explain a why is he befooling the people on this sensitive issue once again,” Bajwa said. Bajwa pointed out that issues such as the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, river waters and the federal structure had been part of the Akali manifestos for years. The party had done nothing on these issues when it was part of the NDA Government at the Centre, he said. “The Akalis must stop misleading the people time and again as they have seen through the SAD gameplan," Bajwa said. On the issue of industrial concessions to Punjab, Bajwa said: “Sukhbir must admit before the people that these concessions were given by the NDA Government in which the Akali Dal was a partner. The Akali ministers did not raise any objection then. He should tell the people that he was Union Minister of State for Industries at that time.” Bajwa alleged that corruption had increased under the SAD-BJP Government. He referred to the sand and gravel mafia operating in the state. He said the manifesto promised to promote trade with Pakistan and Central Asian countries through Pakistan. “Would this be possible with the jingoistic rhetoric being resorted to by Modi against the neighbours,” Bajwa asked. Condemns attack on church
Gurdaspur: Bajwa on Monday visited the Mallakwal church in the Fatehgarh Churian Assembly segment that was vandalised by miscreants on Sunday. Flaying the SAD-BJP Government, Bajwa said the law and order machinery had broken down. If the miscreants were not arrested within 72 hours, the Congress would lay a siege to the Fatehgarh Churian police station, Bajwa warned. On concessions Sukhbir must admit that concessions to hill states were given by the NDA Government. The Akali ministers did not raise any objection then. Sukhbir was Minister of State for Industries at that
time On riots While Modi is yet to own moral responsibility for the 2002 Gujarat riots, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had apologised for the November 1984
riots On trade The manifesto promises to promote trade with Pakistan and Central Asian countries. Would that be possible with the jingoistic rhetoric being resorted to by Modi against the
neighbours?~Partap Singh Bajwa, ppcc chief
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Badal did little for riot-hit: Sarna
Amritsar, April 21 Sarna said Amarinder had merely narrated the eyewitness account after visiting the relief camps of the 1984 riot victims. "He had not given a clean chit to anybody," he said. He asked whether Parkash Singh Badal had visited any camp of the riot victims. He said Amarinder was the only leader who not only quit the Lok Sabha but also the Congress. Alleging that BJP candidate Arun Jaitley had told the Sikhs to forget Operation Bluestar, he wondered why the Akalis had not objected to this. He alleged the SGPC didn't give a single penny to the riot victims. He said the SAD-BJP alliance felt that they were fast losing ground in the elections and thus resorted to such a ploy.
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AAP effect hard to miss
Chandigarh, April 21 With AAP attacking corruption, the SAD has declared that it is committed to providing a clean, transparent, responsive and accountable administration. Responding to AAP's criticism of the VIP culture, the SAD says it is committed to "creating an environment in which every citizen feels and is treated as a VIP." It also talks of effective measures to check corruption and black money. The use of a strong words against the Congress point to the CM's hand in shaping the manifesto. Badal has always had the Congress as his first target. The manifesto says: “Successive Congress governments at the Centre and in Punjab treated the state almost as a colony and its brave and patriotic people as subjects and systematically looted and discriminated against them”. when contacted, the primary author of the manifesto and SAD general secretary, Harcharan Bains, said: “Panthic agenda is the foundation of SAD's political ideology and the manifesto has been built on it”. The SAD has devoted a full chapter to Congress-bashing. It has raised the issues of non-transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab, denial of big projects, discrimination against the Punjabi language and Delhi riots. Reflecting Sukhbir’s school of thought, the manifesto talks of express ways, introducing the metro in cities, more domestic flights, recreational parks, superfast trains, IT, medical and education hubs and governance reforms.
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Elect good leaders, former dacoit tells voters
Patiala, April 21 Pancham Singh, 90, once a dreaded dacoit in Madhya Pradesh's Chambal belt, surrendered to the government in 1972 and thereafter joined the Prajapita Brahma Kumari Ishwariya Vidyalaya. There, he was re-christianed as Brahma Kumar Pancham Singh. In Patiala today to deliver a discourse to jail inmates, Pancham said: “Many criminals, if given a chance, will be happy to return to the mainstream. And for that, they must elect good leaders. Corruption is a scourge that must be eliminated. Only then will the country attain new heights. It will make sure that our future is safe.” Pancham said that as a young lad from Singpura village in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh, he got involved in panchayat elections. He was brutally assaulted by his rivals. “After I recovered, I decided to take revenge. I joined a gang of dacoits led by Mehar Singh and killed all 12 persons who had attacked me. I later headed a gang of 500 dacoits and the government declared a bounty on my head. Most of the money we gathered through robbery was distributed among the poor,” he claimed. Inspired by Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, he turned himself in. “I was awarded the death penalty, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on the Loknayak’s appeal,” he said.
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‘I’ve better credentials to make a difference’
BHARATIYA Party (BJP) candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency Arun Jaitley wishes to promote tourism in Amritsar, boost India-Pakistan trade, attract top minds in the healthcare sector, enforce strict laws against drugs, besides focusing on college education and skill development among youth. At an interactive session moderated by The Tribune Special Correspondent Perneet Singh, Jaitley fields questions of a group of eminent citizens. In his opening remarks, he said: “I share a strong connection with the city as my father was born in Lahore and mother hailed from Amritsar. I consider Amritsar my ancestral town, as Lahore is somewhat inaccessible. Having an emotional bond with the city, I want to make a difference. You require a person of stature, who can influence decision-making to effect that difference.”
Q: Amritsar has a premiere institute, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, but with no backing from the government, it has deteriorated in quality. What you have to say on this? Besides, what needs to be done to revive and promote it for medical tourism? — Dr PS Grover, medical practitioner
Arun Jaitley: The healthcare sector in India, on the whole, needs immediate attention. There are a number of things to be considered. India is woefully short of doctors, needing at least 5 lakh more medical practitioners. The existing medical system is not being able to produce them, with only 300-odd medical colleges and institutes with limited capacity. The government hospitals have the most experienced doctors, but the number of people they examine is very large. The problem is that the public sector has not seen any major development in healthcare as the government thought that it did not need do anything after the coming up of private players. When was the last government hospital built? Rural primary health care centres to civil hospitals to at least one AIIMS-like institute in each state have to be developed. The private hospitals must be allowed to grow, especially in major urban centres. Today, in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, some life-saving private medical institutions have come up and people are getting good treatment. With this, the load on government hospital is coming down. But private healthcare system should be encouraged by creating a healthcare insurance back-up for it to be affordable. As for premier medical institutes, their decline should be arrested. The solution lies in adequate government investment. Besides, the retirement age of senior doctors should be relaxed. Another challenge is to attract top minds in healthcare and this can be done by providing better working conditions for research and development. Q: With increasing population and infrastructure development in the city, the heritage structures are being compromised. How can we use heritage conservation as a tool for development? —Rachanpuneet Singh, heritage and conservation expert
The continuous stream of people to cities will lead to traffic chaos in the coming years. So there is need for proper sewerage system, relaying and broadening of roads, and building bypasses and at least 10 flyovers to ease traffic congestion. We will need an elevated bus corridor and incentivise people not to use cars for commuting and, instead, use the city bus service. As for tourism, it is contingent on two to three sites only. The small monuments and heritage sites need development boost. For instance, Company Bagh can become a major tourist attraction because of the monuments and heritage spaces in the park. All great gardens in the world have exquisite restaurants inside. So, major relaxations are needed and serious development required in the park. The city must have an amusement park, a walkway food street, a food and heritage village in the outskirts and many more. We need to create 10 visiting points instead of four and tourism will get a boost accordingly. I believe tourism has been one of the low-hanging fruits in the city. A little push from the state and the Centre in the form of Rs 200-300 crore and this can change the face of the city. Q: For the past 10 years, issues concerning Amritsar have been neglected because of governments of rival parties in the state and at the Centre. In the city, the only hope is India-Pakistan trade. The residents have a long-pending demand that rail freight corridor should be brought up to Wagah. At present, it is up till Ludhiana. — Rajdeep Uppal, leading exporter and importer
Talking of global scenario, trade is a mutually beneficial area, but national security is of prime concern. We cannot trade at the cost of national security. Relationship with neighbouring countries such as Pakistan has to be normalised, especially when territorial issues, as of Kashmir, is there. The relationship can be cordial when cross-border terrorism ends and cordial environment can be maintained by way of sports or cultural activities. The global fundamental rules have changed. It's not like one country dominating the other. The present rules are that whoever provides goods and services at competitive rate is the sought-after. When we have the capability to provide services at cheaper rates, like we get patients from all over the world as medical services are far cheaper here, then why can't we manufacture goods at cheaper rates? The other key issue is connectivity. Distance from the port in today's world of business is a major factor that impacts both trade and manufacturing cost. If you can shorten the distances with easier connectivity for raw material and transport goods, it can actually facilitate trade. Globally, it is considered that it can cut down 14 per cent of the total cost in competitive economy, which is huge. China has achieved the low cost target. International trade is a win-win situation for both sides. Instead of imports hundreds of costlier goods from various parts of the world, it could be viable and cheaper for Pakistan to import through Wagah. Similarly, Pakistan can produce some of the cheaper goods such as cement and give our consumers the competitive product. Therefore, Wagah is absolutely essential. Then you have to raise the infrastructure at other areas. That may not be my immediate concern as the candidate from Amritsar but, as an Indian, I would like to see Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pardesh to prosper economically. When India moves on, you need to move on from Ludhiana in the long run and the freight corridor certainly needs to be moved on in the direction of Wagah. Also, with a bigger idea, Jammu should also come under its umbrella, so that it should be connected to Himachal as we have industry in Samba, Kathua, and Baddi. Q: What will be your policy to reform the present education — Anjana Gupta, Principal, DAV International School
I am happy with the quality of education in schools. The private schools impart good education, but at a price. On the other hand, the state-run schools need to pull up their socks. In spite of incurring heavy expenditure on infrastructure, the state-run schools couldn't yield desired results. The political establishment is approached for transfers and postings of teachers, which is a cause for concern. This practice needs to be discouraged as it affects the quality of education. A few state-run such as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodya Vidyalayas across the country are doing exceptionally well and are on par with some of the best private schools. My worry is the college education and skill development programmes. There is need to transform colleges into institutions of excellence. Barring a few, the colleges continue to remain average. None of our best colleges or universities or even IITs do not figure in the list of top 100 institutes globally. The quality of college education needs improvement in terms of environment, discipline and quality of students we produce. India has to move towards a direction where we have to start with the pattern of privately administered institutions in terms of teachers' salary and fee structure. The need is to attract the best minds in teaching. Fifty years ago, best minds were there in teaching, but this is not the case today. And this is impacting college education. The country's population stands at nearly 122 crore, but there are not adequate institutions to accommodate all. So the key lies with the skill development institutions, which would cater to idle minds. Instead of getting into drug addiction or other vices, they should learn cooking, tailoring, languages to become self-reliant. Skill development programmes as part of education, whether it's mechanical, technical, scientific or vocational, need to be launched. There should be specialised training for language courses in every district of Punjab. For school passouts, who know English, Punjabi and Hindi languages, outsourcing hubs could be created like the one in Srinagar. These service sectors are the easy source of employment. There is an outsourcing hub in Chandigarh and such centres could be set up in Amritsar and Ludhiana. Q: A majority of the state's youth, especially in Amritsar, is into drugs. In metros, drug intake has become a fashion. What are your plans to channel youth's energy in the right direction? — George Emanual, a cartoonist
The situation is extremely grim. I would call it narco-terrorism in this part of the region. The whole generation is at the stake. There are three ways of dealing with the problem. Firstly, enhance vigilance along the border and enforce strict laws against drugs by being ruthless with those who are into the trade. Secondly, there has to be state-run and privately run de-addiction centres for rehabilitation. Thirdly, unless we can create skill development and vocational jobs in various sectors, the problem cannot be tackled. If you are unable to employ former drug addicts and use them as an economic resource, they will probably become a wild resource. Q: Whenever the Centre announces MSP for several crops, the state governments criticise it, terming the price low. Do you think that the MSP should be linked to the price index? — Kuljeet Singh, progressive farmer
The increase in MSP is necessary because of high input costs. The prices of fertiliser, land and rate of interest on loan, among other things, are increasing by the day. In such a scenario, farmers need to be compensated. In case of the power sector, the government policy is that the price should be cost plus 16 per cent. When you determine the MSP, the cost incurred on power should be taken into account every time. Instead of saying that the MSP has been increased by 5 per cent or 10 per cent, the cost of all factors involved in agriculture should be taken into account. The formula to determine the MSP should be made transparent. Q: The UPA Government had announced its manufacturing policy in 2011 and the time period to increase the manufacturing GDP from 15 per cent to 25 per cent was 10 years. Three years have passed. Since a change of guard seems imminent, we hope that it would be raised to the level it should be. What is your take on it? — Major Jyoti Joshi Mitter, Head, Logistics and Foreign Trade, Shore to Shore Logistics India Ltd
I don’t completely disagree completely with what the UPA Government's manufacturing policy was, but there is one fundamental contradiction in that. By creating an industrial corridor, you don't increase manufacturing unless goods of that industrial corridor start selling. It's only then that you can take the manufacturing GDP from 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Goods won't merely sell because they were manufactured in an industrial corridor. Instead, goods will sell if they are cheaper. The UPA Government did not cut high taxes, rates of interest and power tariff because of the coal crisis. Labour reforms are a challenge, so I am not even stating that at the moment. If the manufacturing GDP is to clock 25 per cent, there's need to create a regime of low-cost manufacturing. There is no other substitute for it. Q: Why should the people in Amritsar vote for you rather than Captain Amarinder Singh, who was the Chief Minister for several years? — Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune Group of Newspapers
He was a terrible Chief Minister at the first instance. He didn't do anything and he is incapable of making a difference. He represents conventional politics at its worse. I think I have better credentials to make a difference. (With inputs from GS Paul, Neha Saini and Manmeet Singh Gill)
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BJP a divided house in Phagwara
Phagwara, April 21 Sources said despite repeated assurances of full support by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash, who was a strong contender for the party ticket from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency, Sampla was not getting much support from this camp. On the other hand, sources said Swarana Ram camp was supporting Sampla whole-heartedly, leading to the current move. The camp was annoyed with the “indifferent” attitude of Som Parkash and alleged that they had sidelined them. However, the allegations were denied by the CPS’ camp. At the new office, Swarana Ram while talking to The Tribune said that their only aim was to win the elections. Meanwhile, Congress candidate Mohinder Singh Kaypee, along with DCC president Harjit Singh Parmar, former minister Joginder Singh Maan and PPCC delegate Balbir Raja Sodhi, today visited various villages of the Phagwara sub-division to seek support from people.
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Baba Ramdev in ‘apolitical’ mode
Hoshiarpur, April 21 Representatives Satish Mahajan and Kuldeep Krishan Kalia said Ramdev would be reaching Hoshiarpur in the afternoon and he would be addressing the camp at Gautam Bagar in the evening. “The sabha will be completely apolitical and the subject, on which Baba ji will be speaking and impart training, will be yoga for holistic healing of common ailments people suffer the most these days.” When asked about the recent controversies due to his political speeches at yoga camps, a representative said, “No candidate or politician will be allowed to enter the pandal. There will be no political banners or hoardings on the stage or anywhere in pandal.” After conducting the conference here, Ramdev is slated to leave for Mukerian, where he will hold a similar
programme. Camp on April 24 *
Members of Bharat Swabhiman and Patanjali Yog claimed that the yoga camp scheduled for April 24 in Hoshiarpur would completely be a non-political affair *
Baba Ram Dev has been slapped several notices for violating the model code of conduct at various places and a recent FIR was registered in this regard in UP
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Itinerary of top leaders
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EC gets air-borne
Sangrur: To create awareness among voters about their right to vote, the Election Commission (EC) on Monday used an aircraft to shower paper slips on
Malerkotla, Dhuri, Sunam, Lehra, Moonak and Sangrur towns in Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency. The aircraft was hired by the district returning officials from Aviation Club,
Patiala. The slips carried an appeal to the voters to cast their votes without any temptation of money and drugs. Rally taken out
Sangrur: The district administration took out a voter awareness rally from Barra Chowk to the district administrative complex here on Monday. The State Bank of Patiala sponsored the rally. Punjab Additional Chief Electoral Officer B Purushartha flagged off the rally. All participants wore T-shirts and caps, specially deigned for the programme with slogans such as "My vote right" and "Vote for India".
MCPI to support AAP Patiala: The Marxist Communist Party of India (United) (MCPI) has decided to support Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab to allegedly defeat the “corrupt” Congress and SAD-BJP candidates. Comrade Prem Singh Bhangusaid AAP was committed to fight corruption and foreign direct investmen.
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CEO seeks report on new road in Lambi
Chandigarh, April 21 Supreet Singh Gulati, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, said the CEO had taken a suo motto notice of a newspaper report and ordered an inquiry. In another suo motto notice, the CEO has sought a report from Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner over the use of government vehicles for carrying material for Narendra Modi’s rally in the town on April 25.
Transfer XEN, Powercom told
Gulati said Secretary, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, had been asked to transfer Daljeet Singh, executive engineer, Faridkot, to a far flung place as he was a close relative of Prof Sadhu Singh, AAP candidate from Faridkot. Similarly, Punjab DGP had been asked to transfer Bachan Singh, Inspector, a relative of SAD-BJP candidate from Ferozepur Sher Singh Ghubaya, to Amritsar.
Rs 1.11 crore seized
Gulati said Rs 1.11 crore had been seized in the last 24 hours and the cases were referred to the Income Tax Department. He said 3,152 litres of illicit liquor, 13,292 bottles of country-made liquor and 1,555 kg of lahan have also been seized since yesterday.
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Ashutosh Maharaj’s ‘son’
willing to take DNA test
Chandigarh, April 21 He told the media that his father had renounced the world early. Besides family resemblance, Jha said he was willing to undergo the test to prove he was Ashutosh Maharaj’s son. Jha made it clear that he suspected Ashutosh Maharaj was poisoned to grab and usurp his movable and immovable assets. Claiming to be the only son of the deceased spiritual guru, he sought directions for handing over his father’s body so that last rites could be performed. He claimed before the High Court that in February, the Principal Secretary, Bihar, had written to the Principal Secretary (Home), Punjab, to arrange for the dispatch of the mortal remains to Bihar, but action was not taken on the communication. The petition is expected to come up for hearing on April 23. On April 4, the Punjab Police had ruled out before the High Court the possibility of his unnatural death. In its report, the police had said the Maharaj was clinically dead. The High Court had, on the previous date of hearing, asked the Punjab Advocate General to clarify the state’s stand on the issue of initiating inquest proceedings in Maharaja’s mysterious death. The High Court had directed Advocate General Ashok Aggarwal to file the state government’s reply on the need for carrying out inquest proceedings. The purpose behind preparing an inquest report under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is to look into, and draw up, a report on the apparent cause of death. ‘Foul play’ *
Ashutosh Maharaj’s ‘son’ Dalip Kumar Jha sumbitted in the HC that he suspected that his father was poisoned to grab his properties *
Claiming to be the only son of the deceased spiritual guru, he sought directions for handing over his father's body so that last rites could be performed
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Centre’s intervention sought
Chandigarh, April 21 They have expressed apprehensions about threat to the natural habitat of wild birds and animals in the forest following the release of these flightless birds of the ostrich family. They have also raised doubts about the functioning the animal husbandry and wildlife departments. They said the trend of abandoning emus also amounted to cruelty towards the birds. Taking a serious note of the incident when nearly 100 birds were found abandoned in Chakk-Sadhu village on the Hoshairpur-Una road at the inter-state border in the first week of April, a Punjab-based member of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has written to the board chairman seeking intervention at the level of the Union ministry. In his letter, Sandeep Kumar Jain, AWBI member, has written that once promoted by the government, emu farming had failed miserably across the country and now, the situation is such that debt-ridden farmers had started abandoning birds in forests. They have also been dumping the dead ones at isolated places. This, he said, was evident from incidents in Tamil Nadu, Delhi (Okhla) and Punjab (Hoshiarpur). Giving references, Jain has also requested to the board’s chairman to take up the issue with the Animal Husbandry Commissioner of India and the Director General, Wildlife. He said exotic birds such as emus could dominate the scene in a natural wildlife habitat and can harm native birds and animals. Sources in the state forest department said about 125 emus were found abandoned in the forest area in Hoshiarpur, out of which 25 were found dead, some were taken away by local residents while the rest made the forest their new home. Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab, Dharinder Kumar was not available for comment while Vishal Chauhan, Divisional Forest Officer, Hoshiarpur, claimed that the carcasses of 25 birds were buried in the forest area in the presence of teams from the animal husbandry and wildlife departments. HS Sandha, Director, Animal Husbandry, Punjab, said the government never promoted emu farming in the state. “Scientists from GADVASU, Ludhiana, and the department had already cautioned farmers saying that emu farming was not viable but certain private companies and breeders allured them to make money,” Sandha claimed. Wildlife lovers concerned Taking a serious note of the incident in which nearly 100 birds were found abandoned in Chakk-Sadhu village on the Hoshairpur-Una road at the inter-state border in the first week of April, a Punjab-based member of the Animal Welfare Board of India has written to the board chairman seeking intervention at the level of the Union ministry.
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Passengers ‘forced’ to board Orbit bus
Jalandhar April 21 Musclemen of the company allegedly stopped the Bathinda-bound PRTC bus and told the passengers to board their bus. Though the PRTC bus driver and the conductor pleaded with the passengers that the bus would complete the journey, the musclemen managed to impress upon the passengers to board the private bus. The driver and the conductor called the police control room number. No policemen, however, came for help. Later, they reached the Rama Mandi police station and submitted a written complaint. The PRTC employees alleged that musclemen of the Orbit bus (PB-10-W-7257) “hijacked” passengers of the state-owned bus. Rama Mandi ASI Charanjit said both parties had been called to the police station tomorrow. Punjab Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar termed the incident “wrong” and assured that strict action would be taken against erring persons. Kaputhala PRTC general manager MP Singh couldn’t be contacted.
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Man gets life term for murder
Moga, April 21 Later that night, Swaranjit hit Jagjit on his head with a liquor bottle. Jagjit died on the spot. — TNS
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BJP leader booked for hoarding liquor worth
Rs 4 crore
Hoshiarpur, April 21 The liquor, kept in four godowns in Dasuya, was probably meant to be distributed among voters ahead of the April 30 Lok Sabha elections in the state. While two FIRs under various sections of the Excise Act have been registered against Khosla. An Election Commission flying squad had yesterday seized 66,404 bottles of illegally stored Indian made foreign liquor and the country made variant. Liquor worth Rs 2.33 crore was seized from a godown in Budhobarkat village whereas liquor worth Rs 1.65 crore was seized from another store at Kasba Road in Dasuya town. During investigations, it came out that the godown at Budhobarkat village was owned by Kanjit Singh and he had rented it out to Khosla. The godown at Kasba Road was owned by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Vivek Rinka and he too had reportedly rented it out to Khosla. Excise and Taxation Officer Avtar Singh Kang has sealed both the godowns. In a separate case, six persons, including Harvinder Singh, Shakini Kumar, Surjit Singh, Vivek Kumar, Sanjeev Pal Singh and Kamal Kumar, have been arrested from a godown in Usman Shaheed village where liquor worth Rs 1.29 crore was illegally stored. A jeep being used to ferry the liquor was also seized. The accused have been booked under various sections of the Excise Act.
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Commission agent thrashed
Fazilka, April 21 He stated that when Balram was on his way to sell his wheat produce near Rana village through another commission agent at 11 pm on Sunday, he asked them to sell his produce through him or return the borrowed amount. Upon this Balram, Bishan and their three-four companions allegedly assaulted him with sticks. Pupneja sustained injuries on head and hand. The police is investigating the matter. — OC
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Workers of the BJP and the BSP nearly came to blows while campaigning in Baghapurana today. There were heated exchanges, but a clash was averted owing to the intervention of BSP candidate Sant Ram, who was leading a
roadshow.
With just a few days left for the Lok Sabha elections, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today again raised the contentious inter-state issues of Chandigarh and river waters. He was addressing a rally in support of SAD candidate from Ferozepur parliamentary constituency Sher Singh Ghubaya at the Grain Market here.
In its election manifesto released today, the SAD aims to restore Punjab's pre-partition status of being a seat of trade in the Central Asia by opening more trade routes and boosting people-to-people contact with Pakistan.
Jaitley wishes to promote tourism in Amritsar, boost India-Pakistan trade, attract top minds in the healthcare sector, enforce strict laws against drugs, besides focusing on college education and skill development among youth. 
Chandigarh, April 21
