VOICE OF EX-SERVICEMEN PUNJAB

19 years on, benefits elude ex-serviceman

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 3

An ex-serviceman who served the state government, Sukhminder Singh Bains (70), has been running from pillar to post for the past 19 years to get his due benefits.

Bains has been demanding that the state government award his notional promotion, re-fixation of pay as per already decided date of appointment and payment of arrears.

“I was appointed Public Relations Officer in January 1982 against a post reserved for an ex-serviceman. I had represented on several occasions and forums to grant my seniority, pay increments and other consequential benefits such as counting of military service towards pension and gratuity under policy directions of the state government,” he said.

“The state government granted me seniority benefit on the post and date of appointment as May 26, 1966, for pay fixation. Consequently, the Director, Information and Public Relations, in 2002 had re-fixed my pay with assumed date of appointment as May 26, 1966. But, I was denied notional promotion and accruable pay fixation and subsequent benefits, including increment on every promotion,” he added.

“I have written several letters and given representation on different forums, but I am yet to get my due benefits,” he said.

“I have been appreciated for my outstanding work by the secretary, public relations, but never expected that this kind of treatment would be meted out to me,” he added.

Kejriwal heckled at Golden Temple

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 3

In town to release the Aam Aadmi Party's "youth manifesto," party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today faced resistance from unidentified Sikhs in the Golden Temple complex. He is on a three-day Punjab visit.

As Kejriwal and his party leaders, including Sucha Singh Chhotepur and Bhagwant Mann, came out of the Golden Temple complex at 2.30 pm, two Sikh youths threw pamphlets at them. They raised slogans against Kejriwal for razing a 'piao' (drinking water kiosk) outside Sis Ganj Sahib Gurdwara in Delhi. They were taken away by police personnel who were in mufti.

The pamphlets claimed that neither Kejriwal nor his party MLA Alka Lamba had apologised to the Sikhs for demolishing the "historic piao" at the shrine. The kiosk was demolished on March 28, on the orders of the Delhi High Court, during an anti-encroachment drive. However, it was rebuilt after the drive.

Chhotepur accused the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of launching a false propaganda against AAP. “The Delhi Government has nothing to do with it. The Akalis are playing dirty politics,” he said.The SGPC did not honour Kejriwal with a siropa (robe of honour), but he was accorded a warm welcome by the Durgiana Temple Committee.

Kejriwal's visit begins under the shadow of an AAP legislator in Delhi, Naresh Yadav, being named in an FIR related to the recent case of sacrilege in Malerkotla. But AAP leaders say the SAD-BJP government is trying to implicate its leaders in false cases. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal refused to be drawn into the controversy, saying the police were investigating the matter.

AAP’s 51-point youth manifesto out

Vows to end drug menace in a month, provide 25 lakh jobs, revamp education

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 3

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here today unveiled the party’s 51-point youth manifesto for the 2017 Assembly polls, terming it “for the youth, of the youth and by the youth”.

The manifesto, prepared by the party’s Punjab Dialogue Committee — headed by veteran journalist Kanwar Sandhu — promises to end the drug menace in a month, revamp education and end unemployment.

Addressing a gathering, Kejriwal said the ‘vision document’ was a commitment to the youth to make Punjab corruption-free, pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, crack down on the drug scourge, overhaul governance and revive the dying industry. He said the committee had finalised the manifesto after incorporating inputs from youngsters across the state.

Kejriwal, who started a three-day tour of Punjab by paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and Durgiana Temple here, claimed that AAP would win at least 100 of the 117 assembly seats in the state.

Addressing a rally, he said if his party came to power, those responsible for the desecration of Quran and Guru Granth Sahib would be behind bars within a month.

“Why has the name of Naresh Yadav cropped up in the sacrilege case just a day ahead of my Punjab visit? The SAD is playing dirty politics,” he said. “First Amarinder looted Punjab, then the Badals did it,” he added.

Party’s promises

• Creating at least 25 lakh jobs and employment opportunities in the state
• 147 entrepreneurship and skill development centres to be set up in each block
• Filling 29,000 vacant posts of schoolteachers
• Revamp of the contract system for liquor, sand and other trades to keep out politicians and their relatives
• Every village to have a modern Pendu Sehat Clinic with doctors, free medicines and diagnostic tests
• ‘Punjab Olympic Mission’ to motivate Punjab’s sportspersons; sports university with state-of-the-art facilities to be established; Majha, Malwa and Doaba to have one sports college each
• Olympic medallists from the state to get Rs 5 crore (gold), Rs 4 crore (silver) and Rs 3 crore (bronze)
• Asiad medallists to receive Rs 3 crore (gold), Rs 2 crore (silver) and Rs 1 crore

AAP youth manifesto an eyewash, says NSUI

Jalandhar, July 3

The National Student Union of India (NSUI), a unit of the Congress, termed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) manifesto for the youth a mere eyewash.

Members of the unit said the promises which AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal made for the Delhi youth were still pending to be fulfilled and now, Kejriwal was coming to befool the youth of Punjab. “Well, Mr Kejriwal himself has said that it’ll be an achievement for him if he can complete even 50 per cent of all the promises he made before elections in 5 years. Looking at how things are going for him, I think it’ll be an achievement if he can deliver even 10 per cent of what he promised. No change at all. Delhi is going to remain as it is,” said Iqbal Singh Grewal, president, NSUI, Punjab. Grewal said the AAP failed to double the number of drug de-addiction centres in Delhi as mentioned in its manifesto. Leave doubling the number, in fact no anti-drug centre had been opened in Delhi till date.

In terms of employment, the AAP had promised a 3 million sq ft incubation centre for budding entrepreneurs and they miserably failed to even start working on this poll promise, the NSUI president added.

Grewal asserted that the AAP wooed the youth by claiming eight lakh jobs, vocational training, stadiums, 20 new colleges, 500 new schools and Wi-fi across the city but still, nothing happened in this regard. He also said that the AAP had promised security and safety of women in Delhi buses but failed miserably and their claims about installation of CCTV cameras were also a bunch of lies.

“People of Punjab should be wary of the AAP which, like the BJP, does not honour their promises. They do not walk on their talks. We will meet Kejriwal, who is scheduled to visit Jalandhar to deliberate on the issues,” the NSUI said. — TNS

Modi salutes Banda Bahadur

Syed Ali Ahmed

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 3

Paying tributes to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here today that the first Sikh ruler was not only a warrior but also a selfless administrator who gave rights to the farmers and the poor.

Addressing a gathering at Banda Bahadur’s 300th Shaheedi Samagam (martyrdom day) at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Modi announced the allocation of Rs 100 crore for the celebrations to mark the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh next year.

Modi said Banda Bahadur took along members from all communities to build an army and gave utmost respect to the cultural and social diversity in the country.

The Prime Minister also released a coffee table book, ‘Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, Pioneer of India’s Independence’. Amid chants of ‘Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’, a set of commemorative coins issued earlier was presented to him, besides a ‘siropa’.

Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal underscored the secular traditions of the state. He urged the Prime Minister to build a national memorial to commemorate Banda Bahadur’s sacrifice.

Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal said it was time to be wary of the people who were labelling industrious Sikhs and Punjabis as “nashedi” (drug addicts). Without naming the Aam Aadmi Party or the Congress, he hit out at those who were tarnishing the image of Punjabis.

Meanwhile, a multi-media event was organised to pay homage to Banda Bahadur.

He was a Brahmin, claims Sabha

Chandigarh: Shri Brahmin Sabha, Punjab, on Sunday said it was wrong to term Banda Singh Bahadur as a Rajput as he was a Brahmin. In a press statement, president of the sabha Devi Dyal Prashar said the Brahmin community was pained over the wrong propaganda. He said Banda Bahadur’s real name was Lachman Das Bhardwaj. — TNS

Another jolt to BSP as Phillaur leader quits

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 3

In a major jolt to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that is fighting to keep its Dalit vote bank intact, Phillaur leader Baldev Khera today announced to quit the party.

Khera had bagged 42,328 votes in the 2012 Assembly elections from Phillaur, finishing third. He had won the Zila Parishad elections in 2008.

While announcing to quit the party, he said, “I do not think that there is any future for the party, the way it is going in Punjab. I will announce my next plan tomorrow.”

In March, just a week after party chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati had held a rally in Nawanshahr and announced to go it alone in the Assembly elections, party leaders Jarnail Nangal from Phagwara and Samittar Singh Sikri from Sham Churasi in Hoshiarpur district had quit the party and joined the Congress.

In April, the party’s incharge of Punjab affairs and Rajya Sabha MP Narendra Kashyap had been arrested in the dowry death case of his daughter-in-law in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh). Dr Meghraj had then been appointed as his replacement.

Party insiders revealed that there were other leaders in the BSP who too were thinking on similar lines and might quit any time.

The party is already in the doldrums in the state as its vote bank had fallen to 1.9 per cent in the 2014 parliamentary polls. Since then, all major parties — Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress and the ruling SAD-BJP alliance — have been trying to woo the sizeable Dalit vote bank.

HOSHIARPUR LAND SCAM

SDM pegged land cost at ~800 cr, cut it to Rs 290 cr on Centre’s snub

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 3

Nearly a fortnight after it was reported that Akali leaders made huge money by purchasing notified land along the Jalandhar-Chintpurni highway and getting high compensation for its acquisition, it has now come to light that the Land Acquisition Collector (LAC), Hoshiarpur, had sent an “inflated” estimate of Rs800 crore to the Central Works Department (CWD).

But after it was objected by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, then SDM-cum-LAC Anand Sagar Sharma slashed it to Rs290 crore. The total award announced later was calculated close to this amount at Rs286 crore.

On December 10 last year, Sharma wrote to the CWD: “As per discussion on earmarking budget allocated for the proposed widening of the Jalandhar-Chintpurni road, it is requested that a provision be made for an allocation of Rs800 crore. The final award has not been made and the amount proposed may change after exact calculations.”

In reply to this communiqué, the Executive Engineer, CWD, wrote: “The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has objected that the cost of 102.92 acres is exorbitant and they have shown reluctance to accept the project. You are requested to give a reasonable cost of the land based on the awards given by your counterparts in Jalandhar for land acquisition.”

The SDM then brought it down to just Rs290 crore. A few days after the scam came to light, the SDM was transferred. He is now posted at Gidderbaha.

Founder chairman, RTI Awareness Forum, Rajiv Vashisht, who unearthed the scam, alleged: “The SDM wanted to give a larger share to Akali beneficiaries. He has been a favourite of the SAD.”

Denying charges, Sharma said: “The first estimate of Rs800 crore was for land acquisition plus construction costs, while the second one was for acquisition alone.”

Vashisht said: “He was acting as a land acquisition officer and was not expected to get the construction cost cleared.”

Cong leaders visit drug victims’ kin

Accuse police of putting pressure on families to state it was suicide

Tribune News Service

Joga (Mansa), July 3

A day after AAP leaders visited the families of Joga youths who died of “drug overdose”, Congress leaders Manpreet Badal and Vijay Inder Singla, too, met them today.

Manpreet alleged that the Mansa police had pressurised the families to sign a note claiming the cause of death was suicide. However, both victim families have denied this. Manpreet alleged that the police, being a puppet of the state government, had failed to arrest those involved in the supply of drugs.

Vijay Inder Singla said, “While Sukhbir claims that more BSF force is needed, his alliance party leaders have exposed the government by claiming that drugs are being supplied in red-beacon cars.”

In the morning, Congress leader from Mansa Gurpreet Singh Vicky addressed a press conference along with the victims’ families and demanded the arrest of those who supplied drugs to the deceased youths. He also demanded a government job and compensation for their kin.On June 27, two youths of Joga, Parvinder Singh and Mehar Singh, both 18 years old, died after they allegedly consumed an overdose of drugs.

Gamdoor Singh, father of Parvinder, who is a rickshaw puller, claimed his son was not an addict but had started consuming drugs from a few days. “My son used to oppose me whenever I smoked before him. He was under stress after the village councillor sent some police officials to pressurise my son to repay his minor debt. From the last few days, he started consuming some capsules. To date, the police have not even approached us. Everybody in the village knows who supplies the drugs, but the police are apathetic and intentionally not arresting them.”

Mansa SSP Mukhwinder Singh said, “A lot of bhang is grown around the spot where Parvinder’s body was found. The family claimed that they had consumed this bhang in excess but the reports are awaited. We are not pressurising anyone to do anything. Rather, we had started a drive to destroy the bhang grown in villages.”

Ferozepur: AICC spokesman and former MP from Sangrur Vijay Inder Singla today took on the ruling SAD-BJP combine for its alleged failure to combat the drug menace in the state. He said while a section of saffron party leaders were accusing the Akalis for the "mess", the Akali leaders were putting the onus on central agencies for their inability to prevent the flow of drugs from across the border.