VOICE OF EX-SERVICEMEN PUNJAB

Youth ‘uninterested’, Congress restless

Not many takers for promised 35 seats to youth; most applicants are scions of political families or from Youth Congress

CHANDIGARH: Not many young takers for its tickets has left the grand-old Congress restless. With Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) aiming to lure young voters with youth candidates, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Punjab state chief Captain Amarinder Singh have promised 35 seats in 2017 elections to the youth.

According to the state Youth Congress and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) sources, the figure of youth applicants is “around 100”. Most among these are past and present office-bearers of the Punjab Youth Congress or scions of political families.

“The number of past and present Youth Congress officebearers who have applied through us is 57. In total, around 100 applications have been received from youth candidates,” Punjab Youth Congress president Amarpreet Singh Lalli told HT. The age limit to qualify as a youth, Lalli said, is between 25 and 40 years. Lalli himself is an applicant from Garhshankar.

The discomfort of the PPCC in revealing the numbers is telling. Even a week after applications came to a close on August 15, it refused to divulge figure of youth applicants saying the list is still being compiled. But sources in the PPCC reveal the figure is “between 100 and 110”.

But Amarinder on Monday described the response from the younger generation as “overwhelming”, saying most of them are “graduates and post-graduates”. Claiming that the exact figures has not been worked out as yet, he pegged the number of youth applicants as “quite substantial” and “around 30 to 35% “. He said the total number of ticket applicants was 1,661 and the response was “overwhelming and indicative of which way the wind is blowing”.Amarinder did not respond to messages and calls on the number of youth applicants.

Party insiders said in the August 16 meeting of Rahul with the Punjab top brass, including Amarinder, state affairs in-charge Asha Kumari and campaign chairperson Ambika Soni, there was a discussion on youth faces that could be fielded.

“Rahul is not too keen on scions of political families, but a majority of applicants are sons of MLAs, MPs and former MLAs and Youth Congress officebearers. The party has even approached certain youth candidates to apply on seats of sitting MLAs. Unlike earlier polls when Congress fielded youth from tough seats, Rahul this time wants them to be fielded from even winnable ones,” said a party leader.

There is also no clarity in the party on the age for youth. A senior leader said it could even be 50, if sons of a few political families have to be accommodated.

The list of youth aspirants with a political lineage include Vikram Chaudhary, son of MP Santokh Chaudhary, Kamaljit Brar, son of former MLA Darshan Brar, Deepinder Randhawa, estranged cousin of MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa who has applied from latter’s seat Dera Baba Nanak and Fatehgarh Churian, Karanvir Dhillon, grandson of MLA Amrik Dhillon, and Angad Singh, son of MLA Guriqbal Kaur. The party’s dilemma is ticket to a few family scions will result in heartburn in others.

Polls, Pargat on mind, Sukhbir waters down waste plant stand

The plant at Jamsher in Jalandhar will come up only if people want it. We won’t force it on them. Public opinion will prevail. SUKHBIR BADAL, deputy chief minister

JALANDHAR: With the aim to not let Pargat Singh go to the people as a martyr in the next assembly polls, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has softened his stand on the proposed waste management pant in former’s constituency.

The residents living in the area near the plant site had been opposing it tooth and nail and they had the support of MLA Pargat Singh, who was suspended by the Shiromani Akali Dal from the party mainly because of his opposition to the project.

The government now says it will go ahead with the project at Jamsher village in Jalandhar Cantonment segment only if the residents give their consent.

“The plant will come up only if people want it. We won’t force it on them. The government will again go to the people to know their apprehensions. Only public view will prevail,” deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal told HT during his recent visit to the city.

He said Pargat’s opposition to the plant was just a political gimmick as he opposed the project when the groundwork was near complete.Even as this plant is termed as the pet project of Sukhbir, his latest stand is seen as a damagecontrol exercise ahead of the assembly polls.

“Pargat is set to contest the next assembly polls from some other party. He will project himself as a martyr before the public as he faced suspension from Shiromani Akali Dal for opposing the project. We have to go by public opinion ahead of the crucial polls,” said a senior SAD leader.

The Jindal Urban Waste Management Jalandhar Limited (JUWMJL)—the company that was awarded the project has already run away as the government has failed to act as per the agreement.

Sources in the SAD said till the party announced a new ‘halqa’ in-charge for the cantonment constituency, the party will try to even up with Pargat on the issue.

As per the project plan, the solid waste collected from 27 civic bodies falling in Doaba region was to be treated at the plant.

For the SAD-BJP alliance that is ruling most of the local bodies in Doaba , the project is of huge political importance because it will mean an effective waste management, which it can take credit for.

HC bench recuses from hearing Jagir Kaur’s plea

CHANDIGARH: A Punjab and Haryana high court bench on Monday recused itself from hearing Bholath MLA and former Shiromani SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur’s petition in a 2000 case related to her daughter’s murder.

The high court bench of justices TPS Mann and justice Gurmit Ram ordered that matter be put up before some other bench after obtaining necessary orders from the HC chief justice. On July 26, another division bench of justices SS Saron and Lisa Gill had also recsued from hearing the matter.n April 2000, the SAD leader’s daughter, Harpreet Kaur, had died under mysterious circumstances. Later, an inquiry conducted by the CBI, on the high court’s directions, found Jagir Kaur’s involvement. In 2012, she was convicted on various counts —forcible abortion of the victim’s child, wrongful confinement, abduction and criminal conspiracy — except murder.In November 2012, the high court admitted her appeal.

Cong targets Badal, says Akali MP Ghubaya sought new Punjab capital

HANDIGARH: The opposition Congress on Monday tried to steal the thunder of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal after he claimed to have scuttled the Narendra Modi government's move to appoint a separate administrator for Chandigarh.Punjab Congress spokesman Sunil Jakhar produced copies of unstarrred question asked by SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya in the Lok Sabha in 2015 seeking reply from the ministry of home affairs on a "new capital" for Punjab. The ministry, in its reply dated May 5, 2015, said: "As per Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, a common capital was created after reaching a consensus with state governments of Punjab and Haryana. At present, the Union government has no proposal to establish a new capital. The state government is the competent authority to take such a decision."

Accusing Badal of doublespeak, Jakhar said Gubaya's question revealed the mindset of the SAD. "The Modi government could not have appointed a separate administrator for Chandigarh out of the blue. The question exposes that the Akalis want to surrender their claim on Chandigarh. They tried a soft launch of the idea of a new capital through Gubaya. There are many land sharks in the ruling party waiting for such a move to reap profits," he added.

Inquiry panel wary of Sukhbir OSD’s clout

MANSA: An inquiry that Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal sought a month ago has failed to take off, reportedly due to the clout of her husband’s officer on special duty (OSD) — one of the people under the scanner.

The Bathinda MP had sought probe into the distribution of inferior water tanks during one of her sangat darshan (public contact) programmes in early July.

Harendra Sra, the OSD to deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, wields so much influence that an inquiry committee member dreads filing an adverse report. "Sra is a political player, a yes-man of the deputy CM,” the member said. “I am sure I will be replaced, if our report holds him at fault.”The 47 tanks were bought for `57 lakh. The low-grade product was purchased allegedly under Sra’s guidance.

The three-member inquiry committee includes the industries and commerce department general manager, besides the executive engineers of the public health and panchayati raj departments.

After sangat darshan, Harsimrat issued verbal orders to start the inquiry but the committee hasn’t met even once. Two of its members said they had not received any formal orders to be part of it.

The Mansa deputy commissioner, who issued the probe orders on July 22, hasn’t even reviewed the progress.

‘CARROT-AND-STICK’ APPROACH OF CAPT

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder is trying to invoke unity among ticket aspirants in the party by adopting a “carrot-and-stick” policy. He made the conditions to qualify for chairmanships of boards and corporations, if Congress comes to power, more stringent. In a statement on Monday, Amarinder said only those applicants will be eligible for these posts from whose constituencies the party candidates win.

Amarinder had earlier said those denied tickets will be “adjusted” as chairpersons. “Those who will not be able to make it to the final list will be equal stakeholders in the government formation as campaign drivers. Their performance during the elections will qualify them for positions in the government later. The assessment of winability will be made at multiple levels and through multiple channels. The party has adopted a scientifically foolproof method to ensure that the best candidate gets nominated,” he said.