Sunday 30 October 2016

Don’t take ticket for granted, Kejri tells AAP candidates

Vishav Bharti
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 29

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal has told the party candidates not to take the AAP ticket for granted, adding that the nominees can be changed if found wanting in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
As per sources in the party, Kejriwal interacted with the 61 candidates announced so far during a meeting in Sangrur on Wednesday. He also told them not to consider their victory a foregone conclusion. He made it clear that there were AAP volunteers in their respective constituencies who were capable of being picked instead for candidature.
Citing the Delhi elections (2013 and 2015), he said AAP had changed “weak” candidates at the eleventh hour. Kejriwal added that in each constituency where the party had announced candidates, there were five observers who were sending reports to the high command on a day-to-day basis, assessing their chances of victory, the response to their mass contact programme and the people’s perception about them.
AAP MP Bhagwant Mann, state party in-charge Sanjay Singh and co-incharge Jarnail Singh were also present at the meeting.
Gurpreet Singh Waraich, state party convener, justified Kejriwal’s “wake-up call” for the candidates.
Nominees may lose party posts
AAP candidates who are also heading various wings may lose their party posts soon. These include legal cell head Himmat Singh Shergill, youth wing chief Harjot Bains, Punjab Dialogue head Kanwar Sandhu, RTI wing chief Sukhpal Khaira, NRI wing head Jagtar Singh Sanghera and SC/ST wing head Dev Mann. All zonal incharges who have got the party ticket will also be removed. State party convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich said they would first replace the zonal incharges.

On Bandi Chhor eve, Mand placed under ‘house arrest’

Tribune News Service
Amritsar/Ferozepur, Oct 29
Dhyan Singh Mand, the Sarbat Khalsa-appointed acting Akal Takht “Jathedar”, was allegedly placed under house arrest in Ferozepur today. He has announced to deliver a message to the Sikh community from the Akal Takht on the occasion of Bandi Chhor Diwas tomorrow.
His message is now likely to be conveyed in the form of handouts at the Golden Temple. Mand might be released in the afternoon tomorrow.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh is scheduled to address the Sikh Sangat on Bandi Chhor Diwas. However, various Sikh organisations are up in arms against him, claiming that he has been rejected by the community.
SAD (Amritsar) leader Jarnail Singh Sakhira said the Sikh community would stage a protest in case Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh delivered the message. Sakhira was among the organisers of the “Sarbat Khalsa” held last year.
Sakhira and another congregation organiser, Gurdeep Singh, slammed Mand’s detention. They said the police were not even allowing any communication with Mand.
Another Sikh outfit, Dal Khalsa has also announced a protest against Giani Gurbachan Singh’s address.
Security is expected to be beefed up in and around the shrine tomorrow. Sources said the SGPC would deploy more members of its task force, while the police would be present in mufti inside the Golden Temple complex.
When contacted, Ferozepur SSP RK Bakshi denied that the police had detained Mand or kept him under house arrest.
PUNJAB ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS — 1951-1952

General Elections In The Punjab: Some Essential Facts And Figures

While voters in the three hill districts of the Punjab, namely, Simla, Kangra Hoshiarpur, have already been to the polls in a number of constituencies, the main election battle in a major part of the State will commence in the first week of January. Since our readers are sure to be interested in the elections, we are putting down below some data which will be of use to them in this connection. 
 
In the Punjab there are about 65 lakh voters who are going to elect 125 members — one having been already elected without contest — for the State Legislative Assembly and 18 for Parliament (House of the People). There are 846 candidates, belonging to 17 parties, for the former and 101 for the latter. 
As the list given below will indicate, for the 18 Parliamentary seats, the Congress Party (C) has put up 19 candidates, Jan Sangh (J) 10, Akali Dal (A) 9, Socialists (S) 5, Krishak Lok Party (KL) 5, Communists (CO) 4, Ram Rajya Parishad (R) 4, Lal Communist Party (LCO) 2, Hindu Mahasabha (H) 2, Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) 2, Forward Bloc Marxists (FM) 2, and K. M. P. P. (K) 1. There are also 35 Independents (I). 
Read more stories related to Punjab Assembly Elections — 1951-1952
The contest for the State Legislative Assembly is even more keen. One seat— Ferozepore-Jhirka — has already been won unopposed by Congress. Of the remaining 125, 84 are single-member and 21 double-member constituencies. In each one of these 21, one seat is general one reserved for the Scheduled Castes. 
According to party affiliation the 846 candidates are distributed as follows: Congress (C) 121, Akali Dal (A) 59, Socialists (S) 56, Communist Party (CO) 34, Krishak Lok Party (KL) 29, Jan Sangh (J) 26, Forward Bloc Marxists (FM) 29, Forward Bloc Subhasist (FS) 2, Zamindara Party (Z) 3, Lal Communist Party (LCO) 13, Lok Congress (LC) 9, K.M.P.P. (K) 10,  Hindu Mahasabha (H) 3, and Ram Rajya Periahad (R) 3. The largest bloc, as in the case of candidates for Parliament, consists of Independents (I). They number 364. The reader will notice that, on an average, there are three independent candidates for every one of the 125 seats which are still to be contested.  
A few dozen of the total number of 6,974 polling stations have already been put be to use. The rest will start functioning according to the date-sheet previously announced. No fewer than 70,000 ballot-boxes will be used and polling will last till January 21. All results are to be out by February 15. 
We append below a chart of all the Parliamentary and State Assembly constituencies with the name and party affiliations (as notified to the authorities at the time of nominations) of candidates for every one of them. Readers can keep this list for reference and for recording results (and votes polled by each of the contestants) as announced from day to day after the polling is over. 
Note: Although every care has been taken to make this list completely accurate, "The Tribune' does not accept responsibility for any mistake that may have inadvertently crypt in. 

A heritage that breathes life into holy city

Neha Saini
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, October 28

Enter the gates of Bhai Vir Singh Niwas Sthaan, a quaint abode to nature’s best sites right in the middle of the bustling Lawrance Road, the noise of traffic and shrieking of horns gradually disappears. Spread across almost four cares, the place immediately reminds you of life’s simple realities.
“The place can be called the lungs of city, with the sprawling organic gardens that grow fruits one can only find here in the city, trees over 100 years old and flowers that remind you of Bhai Veer Singh’s traditions,” says Navneet Kaur, director, of the Bhai Vir Singh Memorial Library and curator of the museum. The residence of noted Sikh scholar and environmentalist, Bhai Vir Singh was turned into a museum in 2003 and since then it has been a site of cultural and literary heritage. Currently undergoing process of restoration, the place is houses memorabilia in form of Bhai Vir Singh’s handwritten letters, documents and lithographs of Sikh newsletters, over 100 years old.
What stands out is the preservation of Bhai Vir Singh’s personal belongings that are placed in the room he used to live in. His armchair, his reading glasses, even his bed linens have been kept untouched. “They are all a part of his legacy. Bhai Vir Singh used to live here and everything except his books, which he took with himself during Partition to Pakistan, is now a part of the museum. We are trying our best to preserve his memory, including the restoration of news weeklies, newsletters. Khalsa Samachar, which he established in 1917 and his poetry,” informs Kaur.
Since he was a nature lover, one of his many traditions adopted by the management here is the flower bouquets specially made from the blooms of the organic gardens for Golden Temple. “This tradition has been continued ever since he used to carry two bouquets of flowers picked from the garden everyday to Golden Temple. We have chrysanthemums, his favourite flowers, and magnolia in winters. In fact, his love for the flowers reflects in some of his poems and writings. In summers, we have sunflowers and lilies in monsoon.” The bouquets are made by the gardener and one of the volunteers and committee members Bhajan Kaur.
The organic gardens stand as an example for many, with a wide variety of fruits, rare plants, herbs and trees that have been standing for more than 100 years now. “One can witness nature in its true glory, right in the heart of Amritsar at this place,” Kaur says.

Foodgrain ‘scam’ — a dubious ‘legacy’

IN A MAZE OF CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS, TRUTH CAN ONLY BE SIFTED BY SUBJECTING THE WHOLE GAMUT OF PROCUREMENT TRANSACTIONS TO A THIRD PARTY AUDIT
After screaming headlines since last April about an alleged foodgrain scam, the issue has been given an indecent burial with the epitaph of a ‘legacy issue’. The issue surfaced when the Punjab government sought a cash credit limit (CCL) for procuring wheat, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed the lending banks to make provisions for the gap between the value of stocks and the outstanding CCL. At that time, the gap was indicated to be `12,000 crore. It was widely speculated that stocks of corresponding value were missing. That is how it earned the moniker of a scam.
The Punjab government vehemently denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the stocks matched grain to grain. It also explained that the gap was entirely on account of the time lag between the lifting of stocks by the Union government and receipt of payment thereof by the state procurement agencies. The gap was then stated to be about `21,000 crore. The Punjab government had also furnished details of receivables from the central government on various counts, adding to a staggering `26,000 crore. Most of these receivables were on account of additional costs incurred by the Punjab procurement agencies over and above the norms, interest thereon, and pertained to a period as far back as 1994. Even at that time, it was very well known that most of such claims are dubious and are unlikely to be sanctioned by the Centre.
Besides, such claims flew in the face of the comptroller and auditor general (CAG)’s categorical observations about missing stocks, non-delivery of rice by the millers and bogus and above-norms costs incurred by the Punjab procurement agencies. However, the issue remained unresolved and on part repayment to the banks and to avoid distress to farmers — due to nonprocurement of wheat — a fresh limit was sanctioned.
As usual, the issue resurfaced when Punjab sought approval for a fresh CCL for the procurement of paddy. The consortium of banks flatly denied it, until the outstanding amount in the CCL sanctioned for various crops in the past is squared up by an upfront payment. In the face of this dilemma and with the intervention of the central government and the RBI (which approved restructuring of close to `30,000 crore of legacy loans), the banks are reported to have agreed to settle the Punjab food credit, after setting some terms.
The banks decided to disburse credit to Punjab for this season from October 1, on the condition that only on its settlement by the end of this year, loan for the next year will be disbursed. Also, the interest rate will not be less than the base rate. If there is a shortfall in repayment, the state and the central government will have to chip in.
While settling the issue, banks also pointed out that the mismatch between the value of stocks and the outstanding loans is a legacy issue that happened over several years and will have to be settled once for all. CEASED TO BE LEGACY ISSUE AFTER 2004
To set the record straight, let it be stated that the legacy part of this issue was sorted way back in 2004, when cumulative mismatch amounting to `4,500 crore was squared up by obtaining a clean loan from banks. In fairness, let it also be stated that the mismatch then was entirely on account of the procurement operations of the food and civil supplies department that formed a part of the state budget/ treasury and the other four state procurement agencies were directed to square up their part of the mismatch, if any, of their own, as the government was in no way responsible for it.
In order to ensure that such a situation does not arise again, the departmental procurement operations were hived off to an independent entity christened as Pungrain, making procurement operations independent of the budget and government treasury. In addition, the procurement agencies were directed to ensure that there is no mismatch between the value of the stocks held by them and the outstanding loans, and if there is any gap the same should be fully covered by good receivable. Therefore, it ceased to be a legacy issue after 2004.Unfortunately, the government of Punjab is not coming clean on it. Immediately after the media picked up the story of missing stocks and smelt a scam, the state government went into the denial mode and categorically declared that no stocks were missing. When this did not wash, the government attempted to explain away the mismatch, by trumping up receivables from the Centre on various counts. The readiness with which Punjab agreed to fund the whopping gap of over `30,000 crore by raising a loan and settle the issue on the terms and conditions dictated to by the banks and the RBI is proof enough to show that it is no longer a legacy issue. Instead, it is an issue of malgovernance and malfeasance, if not a plain fraud. SOME QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ANSWERED
In a maze of claims and counterclaims, very serious observations of the CAG on procurement operations and allegations of fraud by the opposition, truth can only be sifted by subjecting the whole gamut of procurement transactions to a third party audit. Meanwhile, some troubling questions need to be answered.
What explains a whopping mismatch of over `30,000 crore between the value of stock held and the outstanding bank loans, especially after the inherited mismatch of `4,500 crore was squared up and the procurement operations were made independent of the government budget and treasury in 2004?
The mismatch is obviously in the accounts of the procurement agencies, namely Pungrain, Punsup, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, Markfed and the Punjab Warehousing Corporation. How has the state government so readily agreed to raise a huge loan on its books, burdening the yet to be born children with a debt – servicing burden of `3,500 crore per annum for the next twenty years, without seeking an explanation from these agencies?
In the absence of any plausible explanation for this huge mismatch, have the procurement agencies misapplied, diverted or misappropriated the sale proceeds of the stocks lifted by the central government, instead of repaying the bank loans?
Will it not open floodgates for wrongdoing by the procurement agencies and end up providing cover to serious malpractices on the part of the procurement agencies?
How the mismatch that to begin with was reported to be `12,000 crore has now shot up to over `30,000 crore and what is the guarantee that it will not further go up tomorrow? In other words, has the quantum of mismatch been independently validated?
What will it entail on the part of the government of Punjab to comply with the terms and conditions that are being rightly insisted upon by the banks and the RBI now, and what will be the consequences, if it fails to do so?
What safeguards have been put in place to ensure that such an eventuality does not recur?An accountable and responsible government will definitely ponder over these questions before subjecting the state to such a crippling debt burden. Failure to do so would lead one to the inescapable conclusion that a possible scam is being underwritten by dubbing it as a legacy issue.

Chunni Lal Bhagat, 84

BJP

I met people not as a leader, but as a servant. I distributed funds without keeping political affiliations in mind.

Constituency: JALANDHAR-WEST (SC) Education: Class 10 Assets declared in last polls: `1.7 cr
Electoral record
2012: Defeated Cong’s Suman Kaypee by a margin of 11,343 votes 2007: Defeated Cong’s Mohinder Singh Kaypee by 11,915 votes
ASSEMBLY RECORD
Leader of BJP in House; forest & labour minister POWER PUNCH Support of the Bhagat community; old BJP hand WHAT NEXT Unlikely to get ticket due to old age and inefficiency; son trying

BY THE WAY Son remains de facto MLA and minister

Technically on number-three position in the government, he failed to get any significant project. He did get approved the Satguru Kabir Construction Skill Development Centre but the work on that is lying stalled due to objections raised by the central government for using funds from the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board for the project. The politics of the Bhagat family remains focussed on attending bhog and marriages. He remains inaccessible to the public because of his age and, in his absence, his son Mohinder Bhagat runs the show, even taking calls from journalists and answering questions for him. He still enjoys support of the Bhagat community that has always played a major role in his standing.

KD Bhandari, 49 BJP


Not a single street in my area is in a bad shape. Cleanliness here is best in the city. I am going for re-election with satisfaction.

Constituency: JALANDHAR-NORTH Education: Graduate Assets declared in last polls: `1.7 cr
Electoral record
2012: Defeated Congress candidate Avtar Henry by 1,703 votes 2007: Defeated Congress candidate Avtar Henry by 4,929 votes
ASSEMBLY RECORD
2 Questions asked: 0 Call attention moved: POWER PUNCH Close to the deputy CM, he was made CPS too WHAT NEXT Likely to get the ticket again on back of clout, work

Sarwan Singh Phillaur, 68 SAD

I was sent here 12 days before elections in 2012, yet I won. I put Kartarpur on the world map with the Jang-e-Azadi memorial.

Constituency: KARTARPUR (SC) Education: Graduate Assets declared in last polls: `2.7 cr
Electoral record
2012: Defeated Cong’s Chaudhary Jagjit Singh by a margin of 823 votes 2007: He won the Phillaur segment; SAD’s Avinash Chander won here
ASSEMBLY RECORD
0 Questions asked: 0 Call attention moved: POWER PUNCH 6-time MLA among seniormost SAD leaders, close to CM WHAT NEXT Most likely to get the ticket again


Manoranjan Kalia, 58

I spent more than `120 crore. If I add last two tenures, my work for the city is more than what ministers did in Congress rule.


Constituency: JALANDHAR-CENTRAL Education: Law graduate Assets declared in last polls: `2.6 cr
Electoral record
2012: Defeated Cong’s Rajinder Beri by a margin of 1,075 votes 2007: Defeated Congress candidate Tejinder Bittu by 19,009 votes
ASSEMBLY RECORD
3 Questions asked: 1 Call attention moved: POWER PUNCH Former state BJP chief known for his aggressive style WHAT NEXT Likely to get the ticket again as he remains popular





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