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Close contest likely for Patiala (Urban) seat
Most complaints invalid, says returning officer
Badal pays tributes to Sant Longowal
Diesel subsidy won’t do, govt tells Centre
CM seeks report on activities of Sherwood Officers’ Society
Cong leaders back Jagmeet
Few private players show interest in Adarsh Schools
Alleging fake case, kin of accused block road
Ready to edit scenes, says film producer
Delhi-Lahore bus escort vehicle collides with car
Government to set up 2,500 more suvidha kendras
16 yrs on, investors to be refunded Rs
10 cr
Online form not must for admission: HC
Axing trees: Capt moves High Court
Paddy worth Rs 1.5 cr missing
Four held for blackmail
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Arrangements in place for byelections today
Talwandi Sabo, August 20
Baljinder Kaur at first alleged attack by Kolianwali at Jagaram Tirath village, then withdrew her statement and then again demanded an FIR against him. Baljinder Kaur said while returning from the village gurdwara in the morning, she saw close aide of Chief Minister and SGPC member Dayal Singh Kolianwali at the house of local SAD sarpanch. She informed the DC and the SDM about it. They assured her that they would send a team of officials there. However, no one reached there even after 30 minutes of informing them. Baljinder Kaur said she and her driver Gurbax Singh then went into the house and told Dayal Singh Kolianwali that campaigning had ended and that no outsider could now stay put in the constituency. He said there was no law for him, she alleged. She was then attacked by Kolianwali and some SAD worker, she alleged. Gurbax Singh was injured while trying to save her. He was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment, she said. Later, the SAD also got its three workers, Jaspal Singh, Sukhraj Singh and Bhola, admitted to the Civil Hospital alleging that they were injured in an attack by AAP workers. Kolianwali said he had gone to the sarpanch’s house to enquire about the well-being of his grandmother. “Suddenly, a group of AAP workers attacked me and others present there,” he said. The AAP leader met Basant Garg, DC, and submitted a memorandum, seeking an FIR against Kolianwali.
Phoolka meets EC
New Delhi: AAP leader HS Phoolka led a delegation to the Election Commission seeking action against Kolianwali. He said Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha had assured them of action. Teach SAD a lesson, says Manpreet Badal Bathinda: People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal today urged the electorate of Talwandi Sabo to set the agenda for change in Punjab by voting for Congress-PPP candidate Harminder Singh Jassi and teach the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) a lesson. Manpreet said it was the time for the people to trigger the countdown for the Parkash Singh Badal government that had failed the state in general and the Bathinda constituency, in particular. Attacking the Chief Minister for not fulfilling any of the promises made to the people during the last Assembly and the Lok Sabha elections, the PPP chief said the CM used to take refuge in the argument that the UPA government was discriminating against the state. He asked in what way the BJP government at the Centre, in which Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was a Cabinet minister, had proven beneficial to the state. — Nikhila Pant Dhawan Cong agents being targeted: Jassi Chandigarh: Congress candidate Harminder Jassi has complained to the Chief Electoral Officer against the “blatant display of money and muscle power” in Talwandi Sabo. “Musclemen of Akali leaders are targeting Congress polling agents and have kidnapped some of them. They are roaming around freely as the police look the other way,” he has said. — TNS
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Close contest likely for Patiala (Urban) seat
Patiala, August 20 It is expected to be a close contest among Preneet Kaur of the Congress, Bhagwan Dass Juneja of the SAD-BJP combine and Harjit Singh Adaltiwala of the Aam Admi Party. All three candidates today held closed-door meetings with their campaign and booth-level managers and workers. The Assembly segment is traditionally a Congress stronghold. While the Congress camp is a bit jittery due to the recent drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections when Preneet Kaur lost to AAP's Dharamvira Gandhi, the presence of former CM Captain Amarinder Singh in the campaign has made party workers upbeat. The jitters are understandable as despite the Congress winning this seat nine times in the past five decades, AAP secured 35,676 votes in the Lok Sabha elections compared to the Congress' 43,238. The SAD bagged only 16,342 votes. Amarinder Singh has been canvassing aggressively for his wife Preneet. "It will be a good margin (of victory)," he says, even as one of his close associates later asks "are you sure the Congress has the upper-hand". It will be a tough time for the police as all three political outfits are expecting violence and it is still for the security forces to ensure that outsiders camping in various parts of the city are banned from entering the Assembly segment. "We will not allow any outsiders in the Assembly segment. Nakas have been set up to ensure that," said Patiala SSP Hardyal Mann. AAP hands over two video clips to RO Patiala: Claiming that the SAD-BJP and the Congress were distributing free ration and liquor to woo voters in Patiala, the Aam Aadmi Party has handed over two videos to Returning Officer Gurpal Singh Chahal. The videos show people standing in a long queue for collecting ration. The Aam Aadmi Party has uploaded the videos on the Internet. These have gone viral. — TNS
Preneet Kaur, Congress
Bhagwan Dass Juneja, sad-bjp
Harjit Adaltiwala, aap
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Most complaints invalid, says returning officer
Talwandi Sabo, August 20 Officials at the complaint cell said maximum complaints were coming from villages already declared sensitive. Most complaints were against the ruling SAD-BJP. While nine complaints were lodged yesterday, the officials received 18 complaints today. Workers of the Aam Admi Party and the Congress complained that outsiders were still present in villages to influence voters. “We got complaints from Nangla, Mahi Nangal, Naseebpura, Chak Heera Singh Wala and other villages,” said an official. He said the complaints were being verified and disposed of at the same time. “Only four are pending. There is a complaint against a block-level officer from Talwandi Sabo for allegedly influencing voters at Malkana village,” the official said. “We are identifying outsiders associated with political parties from the registration number of their vehicles and are asking them to leave,” said Paramjit Doad, SHO, Kotfatta.
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Badal pays tributes to Sant Longowal
Sangrur, August 20 “The shoe-thrower and his accomplices have told the police that they are AAP workers,” he said. The Chief Minister was here to attend a state-level “Shaheedi Samagam” in memory of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal on his 29th death anniversary. The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, and other leaders recalled Sant Longowal’s services to the people of Punjab and his role in restoring peace and communal harmony in the state. No national-level BJP leader attended the function. The crowd at the function was rather thin. The Chief Minister said Sant Longowal had signed a peace accord with Rajiv Gandhi knowing well that it could endanger his life. The Sant’s supporters had advised him not to visit Delhi to sign the pact as they feared the Congress would let him down. “But some Akali leaders misguided Sant Longowal and took him to Delhi for signing the accord,” he claimed. Badal lashed out at the Congress for “ruining” Punjab’s industry and agriculture. On the demand for canal water for Sangrur and Barnala districts, Badal said the state government had approached the Centre. The latter had approved laying of underground pipes at a cost of Rs 800 crore. With regard to the demand for an SGPC-run college in Longowal, he said he would take up the matter with SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar. Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, state minister Chuni Lal Bhagat, Member of Parliament Prem Singh Chandumajra, former Union Minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia and state BJP president Kamal Sharma also paid tributes to Sant
Longowal.
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Diesel subsidy won’t do, govt tells Centre
Chandigarh, August 20 The Centre had announced a subsidy of Rs 2,100 per hectare on diesel for a maximum of 5 acres for which 50 per cent contribution is to be made by the state. This means that the Centre would give a diesel subsidy of only Rs 420 per acre. Sources said the state government had written to the Centre that the subsidy announced was sufficient for irrigating just two acres of land once, whereas the paddy crop required to be irrigated time and again from June to mid-October. The state government has reportedly urged the Centre to announce a special package of Rs 2,320 crore for the state reeling under deficient rainfall. It has pointed out that 10.50 lakh families in the state are dependent on agriculture and 3.5 lakh own land up to five acres. Farmers who own more than 5 acres will be only partially covered under the Centre’s subsidy scheme. But the contribution of these farmers to the central pool will be much more than that by small farmers. The state government has already spent more than Rs 1,440 crore on providing additional power to the farm sector. It has been providing power free of cost to farmers while imposing cuts on the industry. The government has told the Centre that it is facing a resource crunch. It can’t pay farmers from its treasury and then wait for the money to be reimbursed by the Centre.
Meagre relief
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CM seeks report on activities of Sherwood Officers’ Society
Chandigarh, August 20 The Chief Minister visited the society’s site in Amritsar along with Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat and Commissioner of Police Jatinder Aulakh. He sought facts on its working and the role of senior IPS and
PCS officers. Sources said the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, SK Sandhu, would submit a report after a comprehensive probe and fix responsibility. The Chief Minister is learnt to have expressed his displeasure over the delay in the execution of the
orders of the Debt Recovery Tribunal. Officials of the Punjab National Bank have been summoned to ascertain the obstacles created by senior officers in executing the tribunal orders to recover a defaulting amount of Rs 21.80 crore. The Amritsar DC has already submitted a brief report to the Chief Minister’s office. The society is not registered with the Cooperative Department but with the Registrar of Firms which comes under the Industry Department. Officials of this department have been asked to submit detailed information about the society. The local bench of the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) had exposed the real estate interests of senior police and civil servants in a hard-hitting judgement delivered on August 14, 2014, in which the Punjab National Bank (PNB) was the complainant. Those pulled up by the tribunal were senior IPS officer Parampal Singh Sidhu (now IG), PCS officers Parneet Bhardwaj, JS Grewal, Amarjit Paul and Inder Yash Bhatti. They are founding members and officer-bearers of
the society. The tribunal had observed: “It clearly shows that the state officers are indulging in commercial activities while in job. These officers are developing and selling flats/villas and getting not only returns from these commercial transactions but also misusing their powers and obstructing dues to the tune of crores of rupees.” Efforts by the bank to take possession of the site following the tribunal orders in February 2014 were reportedly thwarted by senior officers. What Debt Recovery Tribunal had said It clearly shows that the state officers are indulging in commercial activities while in job. These officers are developing and selling flats and getting not only returns from these commercial transactions but also obstructing dues to the tune of crores of rupees.
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Cong leaders back Jagmeet
Muktsar, August 20 Jagmeet’s younger brother Ripjit Singh Brar (an ex-MLA from Kotkapura), Vijay Sathi (ex-MLA from Moga) and Gurdas Girdhar (former president of the district Congress Committee, Muktsar) said, “The real issue that Jagmeet Brar raised after sensing the pulse of Congress workers will prove beneficial for the party in future.” They have sent a copy of their joint statement to AICC president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. They sought support from Congress leaders and asked them to stand united.
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Few private players show interest in Adarsh Schools
Faridkot, August 20 Though the PEDB has amended certain rules this time but the response to their move to attract new partners is lukewarm. While inviting charitable trusts, societies, educational institutions and other groups to operate these 11 schools as private partners, the PEDB had fixed July 30 as the last date to submit applications. However, as there were very few interested parties, the last date was extended to August 8. Sources said even after the extended deadline elapsed, the response from private players to operate these schools was not encouraging. So far, the PEDB has received 10 applications for 11 Adarsh Schools. However, GK Singh, Director General School Education (DGSE), Punjab, said the allotment of these schools to new partners under the PPP mode would be done in the coming days. Presently, the management of these schools — three in Faridkot, two each in Mansa, Moga and Bathinda and one each in Ferozepur and Hoshiarpur — is with the Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) of the respective areas after the private
operators abandoned these schools, said GK Singh. However, since the management has been handed over to the SDMs, teachers and students of these schools are facing many problems in due to the absence of a full-fledged management and shortage of funds. To operate these schools, the SDMs have further constituted teaching and non-teaching staff committees. Shortage of funds, non-payment of salaries to staff and no provision of books to students are common complaints. Since the managements have withdrawn from the institutions, three Adarsh Schools in Mallan, Middumann and Pacca villages in Faridkot are on the verge of closure as the teachers are not getting their salary and students have no books. The power supply to one of these schools was snapped about eight months ago due to non-payment of bills. After spending seven months without electricity supply, teachers of Adarsh School in Pacca village contributed funds and collected about Rs 25,000 this month to pay the bills in installments. A dream project of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the PEDB was established in 2008 to set up Adarsh Schools for providing free and quality education to poor and needy
students. As many as 24 Adarsh Schools are being run in the state.
Applications received
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Alleging fake case, kin of accused block road
Amritsar, August 20 They placed the body on the road and demanded that the “fake” case against Gurparkash be cancelled. The family had staged a protest yesterday too with the accused’s wife carrying their sick daughter in her arms. The protesters lifted the blockade after 90 minutes after the Tarn Taran SSP, Manmohan Sharma, assured them of an independent inquiry. Sharma promised to bare the truth in a couple of days. Later, a Tarn Taran court allowed Gurparkash to attend his daughter’s funeral on Thursday. Namanjot had been ill for the past two weeks. The family claimed that the child was in a shock ever since his father was picked up by the police from a market near the local railway station on June 29. “She went quiet after she met her father in jail 20 days ago. She stopped eating,” recalled Satnam Singh, Gurparkash’s uncle. He said the child was admitted to a hospital but was discharged yesterday as the doctors could not diagnose the illness. The CIA staff police station at Tarn Taran had registered a case against Gurparkash after he was allegedly caught carrying smack while travelling from Tarn Taran to Patti on June 29. Satnam Singh said: “All shopkeepers in the market have signed a petition, stating that Gurparkash was picked up from the market urinals and that police officers who claimed credit for arresting a ‘notorious smuggler’ should be questioned.” Earlier on July 29, the Punjab Human Rights Organisation had accused the police of torturing a Class XI student to force him to admit that he had links with drug peddlers.
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Ready to edit scenes, says film producer
Hoshiarpur, August 20 Kakra said, “We are ready to edit scenes of the film that the government finds objectionable.” He further said that those opposing the film had not seen it. He said people were trying to get political mileage out of the issue. The film has already been released worldwide and would hit cinemas in the country on August 22. On CM Badal’s direction to review the film, he said, “We have not yet received any letter in this regard.” Kakra said the film highlighted the sufferings of three families and was not an attempt to create history. Speaking at a press conference, along with the cast, producer Satish Katyal said the film depicted the sufferings of people affected by the 1984 Sikh riots. He said ‘Kaum De Heere’ was based on the biographical accounts of Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. “The film is based on the findings of Justice Thakkar Commission. We want to tell the people about the chain of events,” said Katyal. He said, “We haven’t belittled any religion or sect in the film. Some people are unnecessarily trying to cause a controversy. You have to see the film to form an opinion.” Katyal was flanked by Kakra, who plays the role of Beant Singh in the film, model-turned-actor Sukhdeep Sukh, who plays the role of Satwant Singh, Sardar Sohi and Isha Sharma. They said the film was made after thoroughly researching legal records, books and other material available in the public domain. Sai Raman Aggarwal has produced the film. The director, story, screenplay and dialogue writer of the film is Ravinder Ravi, who is best known for Tere Ishq Nachaya and Aappan Pher Milange. Shivtar Shiv is the cinematographer, while Beat Minister has composed its music. Sukshinder Shinda, Kamaal Khan, Krishna Beura, Shipra Goyal, Shehnaaz Akhtar, Harpreet Singh and Raj Kakra are the singers. Jot and Bunty have choreographed the songs.
Ban Punjabi film: Chawla tells Centre
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Delhi-Lahore bus escort vehicle collides with car
Amritsar, August 20 While the Gypsy got damaged in the accident, the Delhi-Lahore bus continued its journey to Delhi. The police said the car driver Rakhi Dua was not hurt. As no one was fatally injured, only a formal report was lodged and no case has been registered.
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Government to set up 2,500 more suvidha kendras
Chandigarh, August 20 There are at present 170 suvidha kendras and all are located in urban areas. Though 149 services are notified under the RTS Act, only 24 are being offered through the suvidha kendras. Taking governance reforms seriously, a special task force for the implementation of these reforms, headed by Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal, has decided to open these kendras in rural areas as well. With an estimate spending of Rs 8 lakh per kendra, the government will spend Rs 184 crore on the project. “This will allow citizens access to 149 public services in a time-bound manner in the departments of revenue, health, transport, personnel, food and supplies, housing, local government, police departments and others,” said C Roul, Principal Secretary. He said though it had now been decided that all new suvidha kendras in urban areas would be set up by the Local Bodies Department, the decision on who would set up the ones in rural areas was yet to be taken. These centres would be opened so that each centre served a rural population of 8,000 to 10,000. The government is making the deputy commissioners in all 22 districts accountable. DCs understating
pending cases
The government had recently launched Web Suvidha, an online platform to check the delivery of services. With this, it was detected that a number of deputy commissioners were misreporting the pendency report of services provided through the kendras. In some districts, where pendency on delivery of services under the RTS was as high as 5 per cent, the deputy commissioners were found to be reporting a pendency of just 1 per cent. Following this, a meeting of all deputy commissioners was held here on August 12 and they were warned against misreporting figures. Subsequently, the chief secretary, too, has held meetings with some deputy commissioners and asked them to ensure that services are delivered in a time-bound manner. Roul says that the move has started yielding results and pendency levels in some districts have fallen to 0.7 per cent.
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16 yrs on, investors to be refunded Rs 10 cr
Ropar, August 20 The Lok Adalat of Punjab and Haryana High Court has set up a two-member panel to dispose of the property of these companies so that Rs 10 crore could be refunded to investors. The companies that have agreed to refund the money include Panchshikha Tourist Resorts, Alpine Floritech, Marigold Motor Advances, Modern Orchid Agro Seeds, Alpine Education and Research Society and Madhur Cane Products. Balwinder Singh, president of Sanjha Chetna Manch, said after losing their hard earned money, the investors formed the manch in 1998 and moved the HC.
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Online form not must for admission: HC
Chandigarh, August 20 Justice K. Kannan also made it clear that India was far behind the West and other developed countries, when it came to internet and IT related services. The ruling came on a petition filed by a candidate who was denied admission to a medical course just because poor connectivity prevented her from filling the form. The petitioner, Alisha Sehjal, had contended that she was ranked 41 in the All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Test-2014. The last date for filling online application form was June 17. On that day, she submitted her application through a cyber café. But due to technical problem, her registration number was not generated.
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Axing trees: Capt moves High Court
Chandigarh, August 20 Blaming the state of Punjab and its functionaries for “lack of application of mind”, he said among the trees facing the axe for carrying out development works were “rare species” which were “fully grown and over hundred years old.” Amarinder Singh claimed that Amritsar residents had time and again submitted representations to the authorities concerned and to him. As such, “in discharge of his duties in public office”, he was filing the petition against the proposed cutting of trees and for directions to the respondents to form a committee and conduct a survey to save the trees. Taking up the petition filed in public interest, the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu disposed of the matter after setting a three-week deadline for the state of Punjab and the authorities concerned to decide the representations submitted by the residents. The petition stated that more than 1,000 trees in Amritsar were proposed to be cut for projects. Captain clarified that he and the residents were not opposing the proposed projects, but only seeking directions to the authorities to conduct a survey so that few trees were axed.
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Paddy worth Rs 1.5 cr missing
Muktsar, August 20 Kulwant Rai Sharma, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Bureau, said acting on a complaint, a raid was today conducted at Goyal Rice Mills where 83,000 bags were stored for milling. The VB officials found that 21,000 rice bags were missing. “A legal action is being taken against rice mill owner Surinderpal Singh,” he added.
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Religious complex gutted in fire
Abohar, August 20 The Chunawadh police said they were told that sewadar Gursahib Singh, who was sleeping at a distance, found the main gate of Gurdwara Sant Kartar Sahib lying open and saw smoke emanating from the inner room. The furniture and fixtures were damaged and the holy book and two arrows were found missing. A case has been registered has been registered. Two suspects were being questioned, the police said.
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Two killed in road mishap near Fazilka
Fazilka, August 20 Sources said Prem Kumar (23) of Roop Nagar village had come to Fazilka to buy some agricultural equipment. When he was on his way back to his village in a TATA canter loaded with the equipment, a private bus coming from the opposite direction collided with it. The canter was badly crushed. Prem Kumar and the driver of the canter, Pradeep Kumar (25), died on the spot. The driver of the bus lost control over the vehicle and it went off the road. Dozens of passengers travelling in the bus had a narrow escape. Subsequently, the bus driver fled from the spot. He has been booked.
Armymen die in accident
Abohar: Two Armymen, Sandeep and Tinu, were killed and two others sustained injuries when their car rammed into a roadside tree near Sirsi village near the Rajasthan-Haryana border on Tuesday. The police said Sandeep, a volleyball player, his colleagues Tinu and Rajesh and another sportsman Amit were on their way to participate in the All India Army Athletic Meet in Mohindergarh district.
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Four held for blackmail
Abohar, August 20 They were booked under Sections 328, 365, 364A, 387, 394, 397, 148, 149, 427 and 440 of the IPC. The police said complainant Vinod was
on Saturday evening allegedly kidnapped and threatened on gun point to pay Rs 50,000. He was told that he would be implicated in a case for sexually assaulting a girl. The miscreants had also taken away
his motorcycle. The police said a property dealer of Chak 83RB village, Sanjay Godara (constable’s husband), was the kingpin of the gang. He along with college girls Rajbala Meghwal and Sheeshpal of Raisinghnagar and Vinod Jat have been arrested.
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All arrangements are in place for tomorrow’s byelection to the Patiala (Urban) and Talwandi Sabo Assembly seats, even as the
AAP today alleged that its Talwandi Sabo candidate was attacked by SGPC member Dayal Singh Kolianwali.
Around
1.51 lakh voters will decide the fate of the candidates in fray for the Patiala
Assembly seat tomorrow. It is expected to be a close contest among Preneet Kaur of the Congress, Bhagwan Dass Juneja of the
SAD-BJP combine and Harjit Singh Adaltiwala of the Aam Admi Party.
Sangrur, August 20
Family members of Gurparkash Singh alias Sunny, who was arrested by the Tarn Taran police earlier on the charge of carrying drugs, block traffic at Bhandari Bridge here after his six-year-old daughter Namanjot Kaur died late last night.
The Punjab Police pilot Gypsy escorting ‘Sada-E-Sarhad’ Delhi-Lahore bus met with an accident here today. The Gypsy rammed into a car on the Amritsar-Attari bypass. Sub-Inspector Surinder Pal, who was leading the escort team, sustained minor injuries on his arm.
While the Gypsy got damaged in the accident, the Delhi-Lahore bus continued its journey to Delhi.
You should not think that this byelection is in any way less important than the General Election. It is an opportunity for you to pronounce your verdict on the performance of this
government.
Come out in large numbers to cast your votes on Thursday. By doing so, you can teach a lesson to the people who have been fooling you with their meaningless statements for a long
time.
Come out and vote against the SAD-BJP government as it will help AAP set up its base in Punjab and start its run for the 2017 Assembly elections. Don't be afraid of goondaism.
Stressing that the subsidy announced on diesel is not adequate, the state government has urged the Centre to announce a special package in view of the drought-like situation in the state.
Amritsar:
Nearly 21,000 bags of paddy have allegedly gone missing from a rice mill in Malout sub-division of the district, causing a loss of nearly Rs 1.5 crore to state-owned procurement agencies.