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HC upholds state’s decision not to
invite objections to land acquisition
Bishnoi Sabha to back Jakhar
Sidhu factor may hit Jaitley’s poll prospects
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Patiala ex-Mayor Vishnu joins SAD
The winner of Rs 1 crore prize money, Subhash Sharma (centre), with friends in Abohar. A Tribune Photograph
Notice to Capt, Jaitley for ‘understating’ poll expense
BJP, RSS workers also involved in riots: Cong
from
the war room
Kant no criminal, order CBI probe: Congress
23 candidates in state booked in criminal cases
Ramdev canvasses for BJP
Rahul rally faces another hurdle; Cong cries foul
Harsimrat vows scheme for girl students
Youths at CM’s village seek jobs
Upset with Maya, Kanshi Ram’s village discards BSP
First-time voters in Gurdaspur firm on bringing about change
Women resent poll duty in far-off areas
Breach in canal damages crop
Parents resent DEO’s order to depute students at polling booths
SAD nominee Gulshan faces series of protests in Moga
Inmates die cleaning sewerage, families blame jail officials
EC restrictions on family functions
EC teams seize Rs
13 lakh
case
against dgp saini
HC Bar Association poll today, keen contest on cards
Moga bar association poll today
Liquor seized in Lehragaga
Cop killed in accident
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HC upholds state’s decision not to
invite objections to land acquisition
Chandigarh, April 23 The High Court referred to the days of turmoil when “there was a spade of human right violations” and “hundreds of prima facie fake encounters”. A notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act was issued on March 26, 1992. An urgency clause, under Section 17, was also invoked and opportunity to submit objections under Section 5-A was dispensed with for the land on the Amritsar-Majitha road. Challenging the process, Daljit Singh and other petitioners contended, among other things, that there was no need to invoke the urgency clause. Justice Surya Kant and Justice Amol Rattan Singh asserted: “The State of Punjab remained in turmoil for over a decade in the 1980s when hundreds and hundreds of innocent people were killed; there was a spade of human right violations; there were hundreds of prima facie fake encounters and ambushes; all democratic institutions stood destroyed; there was a near to collapse of the civic administration and common man’s life was completely paralysed. The youth of the state was the worst affected as victim and victimiser both. “The year 1990 was the beginning of the decade of hope when efforts to restore peace and harmony started showing visible signs, albeit here and there. There was a dire need to reach out to people, in general, and youth, in particular, to bring them in the mainstream by involving them in multifarious positive activities and restoring their faith in the civilised system thereby restoring the rule of law and a democratic forum of governance. “Amritsar and other border areas were the worst affected. The state’s priority to bring the youth of these areas on the right path and involve them in creative activities deserves applaud. It was in that scenario that the state government vide memo dated April 12, 1991, decided to set up a Government Polytechnic for Women in Amritsar under the World Bank project.” The bench added: “The setting up of an exclusive institution for women is otherwise in consonance with our Constitutional commitment of women’s empowerment…. Since the land was acquired for a laudable public project; to honour the commitment before the World Bank and is a salutary step towards a Constitutional goal, we are of the considered view that in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, the denial of audi-alteram-partem, namely, the right to submit objections under Section 5-A to the petitioners, particularly when none of the other landowners made such a hue and cry, was fully justified.” Dismissing the petition, the bench directed the respondents to release a 500-square-yard plot to the petitioners.
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Bishnoi Sabha to back Jakhar
Abohar, April 23 The HJC alleged that the SAD patriarch had killed the very spirit of the NDA, of which he was the national convener. The party has urged senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Rajnath Singh to remove the SAD from the NDA. HJC spokesman Praveen Bishnoi held a meeting with senior functionaries of the Bishnoi Sabha, Jeev Raksha Samiti and the Guru Jambheshwar Sewak Sabha here today. He said the ruling Badals had
hurt the sentiments of the community by casting aspersions on the siblings of Haryana’s former
Chief Minister “Bishnoi Ratan” Bhajan Lal, while campaigning for the INLD recently. The members in the meeting resolved to extend
support to CLP leader Sunil Jakhar to strengthen the ground for SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya’s defeat in Ferozepur parliamentary constituency. Some of the functionaries said the SAD-led government had not fulfilled promises over developing an open wildlife sanctuary spread over 18 villages of the Seetogunno belt in the Abohar sub-division. They said Bishnois had been protecting various wildlife species and trees at their own cost. While addressing mediapersons, the HJC spokesman said the ruling Badals were responsible for “converting their home turf into North India’s leading hub of drug peddlers”. He said, “Badals have ruined the lives of youths by making them drug addicts and have also failed to check the supply of polluted river water that spreads cancer.” “Their claims on checking drug menace and cancer are funny since cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia’s name, besides others, had surfaced in the drug lord Jagdish Bhola’s infamous story. Majithia should have been ousted from the cabinet. Sukhbir Badal should also quit on moral grounds,” Bishnoi said. Notably, Kuldeep Bishnoi, his brother, former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana Chander Mohan, and one of his sisters
are married in Seetogunno sub-tehsil of the Abohar sub-division. Bhajan Lal’s election rallies here were considered
significant as Bishnois form a dominating community in these wildlife sanctuary villages.
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Sidhu factor may hit Jaitley’s poll prospects
Amritsar, April 23 The fact that his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who is also Amritsar East MLA, is campaigning only in the municipal wards of BJP councillors in her constituency may cause further damage to the SAD-BJP alliance in the elections. Talking to The Tribune at her residence here today,
Dr Sidhu said she was not canvassing in the wards represented by SAD councillors. "Why should I campaign there? They don't acknowledge the BJP. They don't print my photographs on banners or pamphlets. They have boycotted me whenever I inaugurated any development work in their wards. They have even burnt my effigies, despite the fact that I spent crores of rupees on the development of their wards," she claimed. She said she had spent
Rs 4 crore on each municipal ward represented by the Akali councillors. On the possibility of Sidhu attending Modi's rally here on April 25, she replied: "Why would he come? They (Bikram Singh Majithia and Anil Joshi) are the ones who held a press conference against him. How can he now share the dais with the same people?" When contacted, Sidhu hinted that he would not be attending Modi's rally. "Right now I am in Gujarat, holding public rallies in support of LK Advani and Narendra Modi. Besides, I will be campaigning in almost half the Lok Sabha seats in the state." Evading a direct answer on if he would participate in Modi's Amritsar rally, he said: "You will come to know on that day." He said his hands were full. Besides campaigning for his party, he was busy with the IPL. There is also a sense of alienation among the BJP leaders associated with Sidhu in the constituency. A section of the electorate, which has voted for Sidhu in the past, is disillusioned with the turn of events. His "unceremonious ouster" from Amritsar has not gone down well with them. The Congress is raking up the issue to muster support in the Sikh-dominated
constituency. Congress candidate Capt Amarinder Singh has time and again targeted the BJP for "throwing out" an honest MP who was popular with the people and who had fought for their cause. Earlier, Sidhu had made it clear that he would not campaign for Jaitley, maintaining that he would actually help him by not canvassing for him in the constituency. . "I am a well-wisher of Jaitley Sir. I am helping his cause by not campaigning for him in Amritsar. Besides, there are so many people who feel insecure when I am around. I am giving them a sense of security," he had said.
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Patiala ex-Mayor Vishnu joins SAD
Patiala, April 23 He said Sharma’s joining the SAD was a big blow to the Congress. Sharma had not been on good terms with Capt Amarinder Singh as he had been opposing his wife Preneet Kaur’s candidature from the city. Sharma, who has been demanding better representation for the Hindu community, had held several meetings with Congress leaders in this regard, but in vain. “We had been working very hard for the Congress, but our work had been ignored for several years now. We were unhappy in the party,” said Sharma. On being promised a plum post in the SAD, Sharma said he just wanted to work for the SAD and its leaders. Those who joined the SAD along with Vishnu Sharma were Gurdev Singh Punia, Baljit Kaur Punia, Monika Grover, Sharda Devi, Pawan Nagrath (all former councillors), Youth Congress rural president Vinod Arora Kalu, district general secretary Dalbir Singh, vice-president Bhushan Sharma and general secretary Rajan Puri. Reacting to Sharma joining the SAD, the District Congress Committee said he was left with no other option, but to leave the party as all his close aides had joined Preneet Kaur’s campaign. “He is an opportunist and had been working against the party for some time. We are happy that he formally left the party,” the panel said. Sukhbir later visited Surjit Singh Rakhra’s office in Patiala, where he held a closed-door meeting to discuss SAD candidate Deepinder Dhillon’s campaign. Sukhbir later flayed Captain Amarinder Singh for giving a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler. He said Amarinder had betrayed the Sikh community to get into the good books of the Gandhi family. On Manpreet Badal’s chances of winning in Bathinda, the Deputy CM said Manpreet had made a mistake by joining the Congress. Sukhbir further said the SAD-BJP would win all the 13 seats in the state.
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For Rs 1 cr lottery winner, it is life as usual
Abohar, April 23 Prashant Pasricha, who looks after the lottery stall, said the search for the Rs 1 crore prize winner was launched last evening with the beat of drums but it could not catch the attention of Subhash, who finally saw the result in a vernacular daily today. The organisers of the show had said yesterday that the winner’s profile was not available at the sale counter. Subhash, however looked little excited, even as his monthly earnings as an employee at a sweets and confectionery outlet does not exceed four digits. He had initially pursued his father’s business of preparing and selling “dahi bhallas and pakodas” on a rehri but the income was “insufficient” to meet the cost of living. “I have so far not found time to think about future plans. Please let me do my routine work,” he said when approached by
mediapersons.
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Notice to Capt, Jaitley for ‘understating’ poll expense
Amritsar, April 23 They came under the scanner of the district expenditure monitoring cell (DEMC) after the poll expenditure revealed by them did not match with the figures computed by the expenditure observers. However, AAP candidate Dr Daljit Singh's expenditure tallied cent per cent. Dr Daljit Singh of AAP has declared he has spent Rs 20,52,452. Official records show till April 22, Jaitley has claimed to have incurred an expenditure of just Rs 9,80,593 whereas the shadow observation register puts the expenditure at Rs 25,61,955. Amarinder has declared to have spent Rs 13,60,572 whereas the observer's records say it is Rs 15,45,379. Ravi Bhagat, DEO said if the candidates failed to reply, the suppressed amount would be added to their poll expenses.
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BJP, RSS workers also involved in riots: Cong
Amloh, April 23 Ahmad said this had been revealed by two English dailies in 2002. He claimed that the BJP leaders had tried to get the names of the suspects removed from the FIR during the tenure of the Vajpayee Government. Ahmed, who was in the town today, addressed party workers. He alleged that the BJP-led NDA Government, that had the SAD as one of its allies, had done nothing to provide justice to the riot victims. He said the SAD and the BJP were now raking up the issue to derive political mileage. On the accusations against Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra, Shakeel said real estate firm DLF had given in writing, stating that they had not favoured Vadra. Three IAS officers who had probed the matter had also given a clean chit to Vadra. To a question on Congress legislator OP Soni’s involvement in the drug trade in the state, Ahmad said if found guilty, the party would act against him.
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from
the war room
Ludhiana, April 23 His team keeps him informed on the day’s happenings on the cellphone. His brother Balwinder Singh Bains, Ludhiana (South) MLA, is the campaign in charge. Everyday, he chalks out a strategy after obtaining a feedback on the voters’ response in both rural and urban areas. Karamjeet Singh Bains and Paramjeet Singh Bains keep a tab on Simarjit’s election expenses and election material. Manish Vinayak and Dalwinder Singh, a retired bank manager, are Simarjit’s trusted commanders. They had also helped him win Ludhiana’s Atam Nagar Assembly seat. Vinayak is the campaign coordinator. He manages media interaction. Simarjit’s aide Manish Singla assists in framing press releases at Bains’ election office on Street No. 5, Kot Managal Singh. For organising rallies and corner meetings, Simarjit has a sound network of friends, most of them, such as Gurpreet Khurana, Gurpreet Gora, Daljeet Bhola and Randhir Sibia, are councillors. For public meetings in rural areas, Simarjit relies on another team of councillors, including Kamaljeet Singh Karwal, Ranjit Singh Ubbhi, Ranjeet Singh Bittu, Bhola Grewal , Satpal Lohara (Gill), Satnam Singh.
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Kant no criminal, order CBI probe: Congress
Chandigarh, April 23 PPCC spokesperson Sukhpal Khaira, in a press release, demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for his alleged role in preventing a raid on the house of Animal Husbandry Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Enforcement Directorate in 2007. Khaira said: “Now that Shashi Kant has revealed the names of six politicians, there is no reason why the SAD-BJP government must not disclose full details of the dossier of drug mafia prepared by the Intelligence Department then headed by Shashi Kant. “The government now cannot dismiss our demand for a CBI probe on frivolous grounds like it did when Jagdish Bhola named Bikram Majithia saying that they cannot act on the statement of a hardened criminal. Shashi Kant is neither a hardened criminal nor an accused?” Khaira said: “We cannot keep quiet merely because the name of a senior Congress leader has appeared in the list.”
Jalandhar: The Dal Khalsa has demanded that either Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal should resign from the post of SAD president or he should file a criminal defamation case against former DGP Shashi Kant. Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said Kant had accused the Badals of triggering bloody clashes between dera followers and Sikhs to gain political benefits. “We don’t want to jump to any conclusion in haste. There must be an independent probe into the matter,” he demanded.
Apologise or face suit, Ranike tells ex-DGP
Amritsar: Cabinet Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike today refuted former Director General of Police (DGP) Shashi Kant’s allegations that he was involved in drug trade. Ranike said he would take legal action against
the former DGP if he didn’t apologise.
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Badal Govt anti-Dalit: Surjewala
Jalandhar, April 23 Talking to the media today, Surjewala said between 2007 and 2014, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal failed to convene any meeting of the committee constituted for reviewing schemes under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan. He said: “Funds for the welfare schemes for Dalits worth hundreds of crores are not being utilised. Badal owes an explanation to the community for this discriminatory approach towards them. Dalits constitute 33 per cent of the state population.” He alleged the Punjab Government had not filled vacancies reserved for SCs in the state despite directions from the National Scheduled Castes Commission to fill the same by July 2013 Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, the Congress leader said Modi had also not reviewed schemes under the SC Sub-Plan for the past 11 years. “There is a backlog of 27,900 vacancies for SCs/STs in Gujarat, but Modi is least bothered about Dalits.”
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23 candidates in state booked in criminal cases
Chandigarh, April 23 Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, founder member of the National Election Watch Association for Democratic Reforms, at a press conference said Dharminder, an independent candidate from Jalandhar, Simarjeet Singh Bains, an independent candidate from Ludhiana and Gurnam Singh, an independent candidate from Khadur Sahib, were facing the charges of attempt to murder. He said Jarnail Singh, Nav Bharat Democratic Party, who is contesting from Faridkot, had been accused of theft. Chhokar said Capt Amarinder Singh, the Congress candidate from Amritsar, had been booked on charges of cheating and dishonesty, conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust and causing disappearance of evidence, while Tarsem Singh Banga, an independent candidate from Ludhiana, Bhagwant Singh Samaon faced charges of criminal intimidation. He further said the assets of Harsimrat Badal (SAD) from Bathinda had increased by Rs 47 crore from Rs 60 crore in 2009; the assets of Congress Preneet Kaur increased from Rs 42.30 crore to Rs 86.35 crore; Congress candidate Partap Singh Bajwa from Rs 6.80 crore to Rs 24 crore; and Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla’s assets rose from Rs 3.19 crore to Rs 14.74 crore, between 2009 to 2014. He said 16 candidates had declared their assets to be over Rs 15 crore. Kulwant Singh of the SAD contesting from Fatehgarh Sahib has the most assets valued at Rs 139 crore, Congress candidate Ambika Soni in second place with Rs 118 crore; and Arun Jaitley of the BJP worth Rs 111 crore. Chhokar said on average, the BJP candidates have the most assets worth Rs 60 crore, followed by Independents with assets worth Rs 44 crore and the SAD candidates worth Rs 34 crore. As many as 132 out of 253 candidates had not declared their income tax details, he added. Harsimrat Badal had the highest income of Rs 4.91 crore in 2012-2013, followed by Kulwant Singh at Rs 4.34 crore and Arun Jaitley at Rs 3.19 crore. All the 10 SAD contestants and the three of the BJP and all except one of the Congress are crorepatis. The AAP has eight crorepatis, the BSP has six and CPM has two. Of the total, nine candidates are illiterate, 20 have passed Class V; 32 Class VIII; 62 Class X, 38 Class XII, 30 are graduates and 29 postgraduates. Of the 13 candidates, Congress has filed two women, AAP two and SAD two, while the BJP, BSP and CPI have not filed any women candidates.
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Ramdev canvasses for BJP
Amritsar, April 23 Ramdev questioned Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh’s character, saying: “The Congress has fielded a candidate who still believes that he is a ‘maharaja’. The entire Punjab knows about his character.” He termed Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi as people with “flawless” character. The Yoga guru said Amritsar was an important religious place in the country and people should vote for Jaitley so that it could acquire the same significance in the political sphere. Ramdev accused the Gandhi family of “looting” the country’s wealth.
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Rahul rally faces another hurdle; Cong cries foul
Bathinda, April 23 Narendra Modi’s rally on April 25 is at the same venue. An Independent candidate who was earlier allotted the venue has been allotted a site nearby. The DCC leaders are now faced with another impediment — Sethi Tent House owners have backed out. They have been hired for Modi’s rally too. Gupreet Bhatti, PPP general secretary, and Harmandir Jassi, a former Congress MLA, alleged that local SAD had hatched a plot to scuttle the rally.
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Harsimrat vows scheme for girl students
Chandigarh, April 20 "I will take concrete steps to start course to upgrade skills of girls in Bathinda constituency," she said. Listing her other priorities, she said it would be her endeavour to get all irrigation channels in her constituency revamped in the next five years. Also, she would try to bring more beneficiaries under the scheme for the houseless initiated by the SAD-BJP Government. Claiming that the SAD- BJP Government had delivered on all fronts, she said: “The Bathinda constituency now has RO plants in all 652 villages, 357 water works and 52 grids and sub-stations.” — TNS
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Youths at CM’s village seek jobs
Badal (Muktsar), April 23 These days, whenever Akali leaders go door-to-door to campaign for the Chief Minister’s daughter-in-law, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, people demand government jobs. Class XII pass-out Gurpreet Singh (21), who lives close to the CM’s mansion, said, “This village is well-developed and people here only seek employment. With several youths sitting idle, people demand a government
job for a member of their family.” “We told Paramjit Singh ‘Lali’ (a relative of the Badals) to convey our demand to the CM. He had visited our house a few days ago,” said Gurpreet, who is willing to join as an office boy in any government department. Similarly, Harpreet Singh, a graduate in humanities, said, “We thank the Badal family for setting up several institutions here. But now we need jobs. Nearly 150-200 youths, eligible for a number of government jobs, are jobless. They need to be employed.” Surinder Pal Singh, who has got a BCA, said they were planning to meet Badal in this regard very soon. Even during the assembly elections in 2012, several people had raised this issue with the Chief Minister. Thereafter, a few persons had been recruited in the state police. Since then, a few youths have opened shops, but business has not taken off. This village also has a large number of Scheduled Caste persons. The village has five schools, two colleges, some health institutes, a state-of-the-art sports stadium and three banks.
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Upset with Maya, Kanshi Ram’s village discards BSP
Khwaspura (Anandpur Sahib), April 23 With a few days to go for polling, the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders have been trying to woo voters of this village. But none from Kanshi Ram’s party has approached them so far. Mayawati, BSP chief, who has put up candidates in all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies of Punjab, toured Nawanshahr and Kharar, both part of the Anandpur Sahib constituency, but did not visit this village. “Only once has BSP candidate KS Makhan visited us for support. He got a lukewarm response. After Kanshi Ram’s death, the people here disocciated themselves from the BSP. They are angry with Mayawati for not allowing Kanshi Ram’s family members and friends to meet him in the last years of his life. “There was a time when Dalit families wanted their sons to grow up to be another Kanshi Ram. Now the younger generation does not know of him or his contribution to the Dalit society,” Baldev Singh, an ex-serviceman. Over the years, BSP’s vote share in Punjab has been on the decline. In the 2012 Assembly elections, it was a mere 4.75 per cent. Kanshi Ram’s brother Harbans Singh and his sister Swaran Kaur, who stays in nearby Bunga Sahib, have refused to canvass for the BSP. “Because of what Mayawati did to our brother and to us, we will not support her. Though we believe in the principles on which this party was formed, we will not support the party or canvass for its candidates,” they told The Tribune. The disconnect of the villagers with the BSP seems to be benefiting the Congress. Traditionally, the BSP has always eroded the Congress vote bank. During the 2012 Assembly elections, the Congress had faced a virtual rout in the Doaba region, which has a Dalit population of almost 45 per cent. Though the BSP did not win any seat, the Dalits had then turned out in large numbers to
vote. The party had managed to increase its vote base in the Kartarpur, Phillaur, Jalandhar (South), Adampur, Sham Chaurasi, Phagwara, Nawanshahr and Banga Assembly seats. Lakhbir Singh, Kanshi Ram’s relative, who has been a Block Samiti member, said the Congress had been gaining ground in the village. “The village has 1,029 votes of which just 58 went to the BSP in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress got the
maximum 368 votes, followed by the SAD (224),” Lakhbir Singh said.
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First-time voters in Gurdaspur firm on bringing about change
Gurdaspur, April 23 Many youngsters say that theirs is a generation which is no longer prepared to accept the present political scenario, and that alone is a major change. “If we want change, we should act and vote. That is the only way forward,” says Aarushi Sharma, who is a Pathankot-based MBBS student. A majority of these first-time voters see the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a metaphor for change. “Earlier, we were devoid of options. Either we had to vote for the Congress or the BJP. The AAP is a new political experiment and we want to be a part of this experiment. If we go out of Gurdaspur, we can see a wider story of the present day India. The growth that boosted incomes and significantly reduced poverty has faltered in the past two or three years. That means there is a problem somewhere. It is imperative for us to vote to ensure that we change the corruption-ridden system,” said Gurdaspur-based Dr Nitika Hans, who is pursuing MBBS in Amritsar. For these voters, past issues do not hold much significance as they say they want to usher in a new beginning. “I know the power of my vote. Long queues at the polling station are not going to deter me from exercising my franchise. I have my own aspiration about a vibrant new India. By voting, I will become a part of the process of change,” said Kulwinder Kaur Dala, another first-time voter. Some young voters say they will have local issues in their mind when they step into the polling station. “The use of drugs among unemployed youth in this border district has become rampant. We need more industrial units so that there are more employment opportunities. The Congress candidate in the last elections had promised to set up a Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in my home town of Kalanaur. This would have also revitalised the ailing Batala industry. The AAP candidate has promised to bring things back on the track as far as the RCF is concerned. So my vote will go to him,” said Ramandeep Singh, who is educated but unemployed.
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Women resent poll duty in far-off areas
Abohar, April 23 The teachers in a memorandum to the Election Commission said they could have been assigned such work in the neighbouring segments of Balluana and Fazilka instead of being sent to far-off
border villages that do not have adequate transport facilities. They said as the husbands of most of the teachers were also government employees and were deployed in other segments, there would be no one from their family to accompany them to these far-off places. “We should be escorted by women police wherever deputed," they said. They rued that during the recent village panchayat and zila parishad elections, most
of them returned home the next morning as polling booths were mobbed by political workers. — OC
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Breach in canal damages crop
Abohar, April 23 Farmers Ram Swarup Poonia and Patel Siyag said the sub-canal had recently been cleaned but the sidewalls were not repaired by the Irrigation Department due to the paucity of funds. Officials said a JCB machine had been pressed into service and the breach would be plugged by Thursday morning.
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Police say can’t cancel FIR against Orbit bus conductor
Jalandhar, April 23 The Orbit Bus Service staff had, on Monday, hijacked the passengers of the PRTC bus at PAP Chowk. The complaint has been filed under Sections 353 and 186 of the IPC, which are non-compoundable. The police claim they will now go ahead with an inquiry into the matter. The police have yet to take action against the Orbit bus conductor. KK Arora, a Jalandhar-based lawyer, said: “An FIR lodged under Sections 186 and 353, which are non-compoundable, cannot be cancelled as this would be a violation under Section 320 of the CrPC. “The police have no powers to cancel the FIR. This can be only be done by an area magistrate.” Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh said: “We are looking into the matter. Apparently, the PRTC bus conductor was not attacked.” The incident occurred at PAP Chowk on Monday at 7.50 am. An FIR was lodged the following day. The PRTC bus conductor, Nirmal Singh, had said yesterday that he had agreed to a compromise after he was told he would be paid ~7,000 for the losses incurred. Meanwhile, three employees of the Orbit Bus Service held a press conference today. They said the Badal family was being needlessly dragged into the row. They claimed they did not know who the owners of the bus company were. “We are small fries in the company. Please stop grilling us,” they pleaded with mediapersons.
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Parents resent DEO’s order to depute students at polling booths
Fatehgarh Sahib, April.23 The DEO issued the written order on Monday to all heads of the Government High Schools and Government Senior Secondary Schools to depute students from Classes IX to XII at polling booths to welcome voters and directed them to send the lists within 24 hours. The teachers have been directed to take students from their homes to the polling booths and ensure their return. He has also sent them the lists of polling booths. The DEO, Parveen Kumar, said Additional District Election Officer Fatehgarh Sahib told him verbally to depute students on each polling booth to help voters. To a query that wouldn’t it be difficult for students, particularly girls, to stand from 7 am to 6 pm, the DEO said students would be deputed in two shifts. There are 513 polling booths in the district and more than 5,000 students will be required to be deputed. When pointed out that how more than 5,000 students would be managed, Kumar said the department was seeking help of private schools, NSS volunteers and NCC cadets. Advocate Amardeep Singh Dharni, former president of the District Bar Association, said the authorities could not direct or even suggest deputing minors on such duties. “Welcoming voters is not part of the election process,” he said. Ashok Bardeja, president of the Parent-Teacher Association of Mandi-Gobindgarh-based girls school, said it was ethically wrong to assign such duties, especially to girl students. Amarjit Singh, a social worker, said parents had objected to the proposal of deputing girl students at polling booths. The parents urged the Election Commission to withdraw the order.
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SAD nominee Gulshan faces series of protests in Moga
Moga, April 23 Valmiki Sabha's local unit president Shammi Bohat alleged that the MP had ignored the Moga district. "In spite of being a Dalit, she has betrayed her community and did not listen to its problems," he claimed. Bohat said she did not impress upon the government to generate job avenues for Dalit youths. "Unemployment among the community is becoming a curse. The frustrated youths are getting addicted to drugs." At Rattian village, a group of disgruntled Akalis led by Jabar Jang Singh, who was once a supporter of the local MLA Joginder Pal Jain, showed black flags to Gulshan. At Landeke village, Darshan Singh (70) confronted Gulshan over the drug menace. “Chitte powder ne saadi naujawan peerhi khatam kar ditti hai par tusi kaum nu bachaun lai kush nahin kita…. (Drugs have destroyed our younger generation, but you did nothing to save them),” he said. Most of the people standing near Darshan expressed annoyance against the government for shielding the bigwigs allegedly involved in drug trade.
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Inmates die cleaning sewerage, families blame jail officials
Patiala, April 23 A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident. A convict and an undertrial were asphyxiated to death after they fell in a manhole on the jail premises around 4 pm yesterday. The deceased Malook Singh (48), the convict, was a resident of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, while Lacha Sagar (30), the undertrial, was a native of Rori Kutt Mohalla in Patiala. Malook was convicted under the NDPS Act, while Sagar was undergoing under the same Act. Malook’s son Kuldeep Singh said it was inhuman to make convicts do risky works without any safety kits. “The jail authorities should be booked for my father’s death,” he said. Sagar’s brother Jeeta claimed that a few months ago, a similar incident had occurred in Patiala, wherein two men died while cleaning a sewerage line without safety kits. He said the jail authorities did not learn a lesson from the earlier incident and thus they should be held accountable for the deaths. As per jail authorities, Malook had been cleaning sewerage since 2005. They said that when he opened the manhole yesterday to clean the sewerage line, he fell unconscious after inhaling the poisonous gases and fell in it. Sagar tried to pull him out, but he could not bear the weight of Malook’s body and he too fell in. By the time the jail authorities fished them out, they had died. Additional Superintendent of the Central Jail Rajan Kapur said, “It is an unfortunate incident, but we tried our best to save them.”
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Anti-Congress riot victims protest
Amritsar, April 23 This group pointed out that Jaitley’s aide Mukul Rohtagi was defending Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar in courts. Led by Harpal Singh, Surjit Singh and Atma Singh Lobana, members of the anti-Congress group were prevented from marching towards Amarinder’s election office. They tried to get past the police barricades, but in vain. They accused Amarinder of “backstabbing the Sikhs for petty political gains”. The second group of riot victims lashed out at Jaitley, pointing out that his aide Rohtagi was defending Jagdish Tytler as well as Sajjan Kumar in courts. They said Rohtagi was also defending Narendra Modi in cases related to the Gujarat riots. “He was recently seen in Amritsar campaigning for Jaitley,” they claimed.
Questions on RSS, BJP role
Addressing a press conference, the 1984 Sikh Qatal-e-Aam Insaaf Committee president, Gurdeep Singh Kahlon, and former DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna alleged that Jaitley had brokered a compromise between Tytler, Sajjan Kumar and Parkash Singh Badal in 2001. “They wanted to bail out RSS and BJP workers involved in the riots and in the bargain offered a compromise,” Kahlon alleged. They asked why Jaitley and Parkash Singh Badal had been “silent on the role of RSS and BJP workers in the anti-Sikh riots”. They accused Badal of doing little for the anti-Sikh riot victims.
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EC restrictions on family functions
Chandigarh, April 23 Addressing a press conference today, he said anyone caught serving liquor at a function without permission was liable to face a maximum sentence of three years and those found consuming could be sentenced for one year. “Anyone serving liquor on April 28 and 29 during a family function needs to take permission from the Returning Officer concerned while April 30 is a dry day,” he said. The issue came up during a meeting of the CEO, police and election officials with the Director General, Election Commission, through videoconferencing. It was pointed out that it became imperative to deploy police force strategically to check any last minute maneuvering and instilling a sense of security among voters. The CEO said steps had been taken to prevent bribing of voters with liquor which was an accepted practice 48 hours before the polling. At least 20 constituencies with the lowest average of polling (57.60 per cent) during the 2009 elections have been identified for an extra vigil.
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case against dgp saini
Chandigarh/Delhi, April 23 Taking up the matter, a Delhi court has made it clear that the examination of businessman-cum-prime witness in the case, Ashish Kumar, is to be “carried on successive dates till conclusion”. Saini is accused of being involved in abduction and physical liquidation of three persons in 1994. Kumar has all along been saying that his brother Vinod Kumar, brother-in-law Ashok Kumar and their driver Mukhtiar Singh were kidnapped and later eliminated. The CBI found Saini and three other police officials responsible for their disappearance. The charges have already been framed and Saini is out on bail. In his detailed order, Special Judge AK Mendiratta asserted: “The cross-examination of prosecution witness Ashish Kumar has been further recorded…. It is impressed upon counsels for accused that examination of this witness is to be carried on successive dates till conclusion, as cross-examination has continued over several dates.” Fixing April 29, 30 and May 1 as dates for evidence, Judge Mendiratta added: “It is expected that endeavour shall be made by counsels for accused to conclude the cross-examination on aforesaid dates and further dates for cross-examination, if required, shall be fixed on successive days.” Kumar had earlier created a flutter in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by claiming that then Punjab Vigilance chief Saini was out to eliminate him. Already, Justice Daya Chaudhary has quashed the warrants issued by a Ludhiana court against him and his mother Amar Kaur. Kumar’s family was the chief financier to Saini Motors, run by the divorced husband of Saini’s sister. The Ludhiana case was an offshoot of their struggle for justice, Kumar has been asserting.
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HC Bar Association poll today, keen contest on cards
Chandigarh, April 23 Contesting the elections against five-time president Anmol Ratan Sidhu, Lakhanpal made it clear that “misbehaviour with the members by the bench will not be tolerated”, and transfer of “uncle judges” would be sought. Lakhanpal said he would seek transparency in the appointment of judges in the subordinate judiciary. The issue of “uncle judges” in the Punjab and Haryana High Court was first raised by the-then Chief Justice BK Roy during his tenure from October 14, 2002, to March 20, 2005. He had issued an administrative order barring a group of 10 to 12 judges from hearing any case argued by their relatives. The assertion on alleged “misbehaviour” comes at a time when the Bench-Bar relations in the High Court are a matter of debate and concern. Recently, a senior advocate found himself in contempt loop, after he and a High Court judge were caught in a verbal spat. The arguments between the lawyer and the judge took place after the senior advocate appeared before the bench in a “kurta-pajama”. Talking to The Tribune, human rights “activist” Lakhanpal also made it clear that he would work for “the dignity and respect of the Bar”, besides seeking appointment of judges outside the home state. One of the oldest and leading bar associations of the country, the bar association will go to polls tomorrow. More than 3,600 advocate members will exercise their franchise to elect the president, vice-president and other office-bearers. The polling will commence at 9.30 am and will continue till 5 pm with a lunch break. As of now, the High Court Bar has nearly 5,000 advocates. In all, 3,647 are eligible to cast their votes for the post of president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer. Sitting president Sidhu has been soliciting votes in the name of development.
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Moga bar association poll today
Moga, April 23 Bawa has been the president of the assocition 12 times. He was once a Congress supporter and Municipal Commissioner in the local Municipal Council but in the Moga Assembly by-elections, he joined the SAD. He is considered a confidant of the local MLA Joginder Pal Jain. Grover enjoys a good rapport among senior and young colleagues. He enjoys good relations with local leaders of both the SAD and the Congress. Vijay Sathi, senior Congress leader and former MLA, who is also a lawyer, today openly campaigned for Grover. Notably, over 65 votes have become invalid as 26 lawyers have started their practice at the Nihalsinghwala sub-division court while the others have lost the voting right as they were not regularly practicing here. — TNS
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Liquor seized in Lehragaga
Sangrur, April 23 City in charge of the Lehra police station Dharamveer said the police seized around 1,600 cartons of Punjab-made liquor. He said a case had been registered against Bhim Sain, liquor contractor, and his associates. — TNS
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Patiala, April 23
Chandigarh, April 23
Dr Navjot Kaur’s take
