The Tribune – Bluestar memorial stone to be laid tomorrow

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 18. Reviewing the preparations for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Operation Bluestar Memorial scheduled for May 20, Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh today confirmed that the memorial will be in the form of a gurdwara near Miri Piri inside the Golden Temple Complex.

Talking to mediapersons after the beginning of an ‘Akhand Path’ to mark the occasion, Baba Harnam Singh revealed that some designs had also been prepared for the gurdwara, but it was yet to be finalised. On the issue of “gallery of martyrs”, he said they would work as per suggestions received from the SGPC.

On the demand of having the memorial that was “more than a gurdwara”, he said the memorial will be raised in view of the sentiments of the Sikh Sangat as well as the spiritual character of the Golden Temple Complex. He said the memorial would be built within a year. The Taksal chief said Maharaja Sher Singh Deodhi, which is opposite to the memorial site, will also be preserved, as it still bore the bullet marks dating back to Operation Bluestar in June 1984.

He said they would rope in experts to preserve this structure. He also took the opportunity to clarify that the memorial will not be that of only Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, but also of scores of innocent Sikh pilgrims who were killed in the Army operation. He dubbed the controversy regarding the blueprint of the memorial as baseless saying the memorial would be built in consonance with Sikh sentiments, traditions, ‘maryada’ and the holy shrine’s splendour.

He urged the outfits behind the controversy not to resort to such moves due to their mutual differences and political interests. “Such acts will only strengthen “anti-Panth” forces, which have been opposing the Operation Bluestar Memorial till now,” he said.

Regarding the foundation stone laying ceremony, Baba Harnam Singh said the five Sikh high priests would launch the “kar sewa” of the memorial in the presence of eminent Sikh personalities and members of Sant Samaj at 10 am on Sunday. He said all Panthic organisations, Taksals, sects and Akhand Kirtani jathas had been invited for the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the SGPC’s move to hand over the “kar sewa” of the memorial to Damdami Taksal doesn’t seem to have gone down well with some political and religious groups. SAD (Amritsar), SAD (1920) and the rival faction of the Taksal have resented the step. SAD (1920) leader Raghubir Singh Rajansansi today demanded that the blueprint of the memorial should be made public and the community’s views should be sought before finalising it.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120519/punjab.htm#3

The Tribune – Congress MPs meet PM on ‘corridor’ to Sikh shrine

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 18. Three Congress MPs from Punjab today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him that Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur be linked with Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara at Narowal in Pakistan. The shrine in Pakistan is located less than 2 km from the border. Sikhs have been seeking a ‘corridor’ to connect the shrine with India.

Partap Singh Bajwa, Gurdaspur MP, made a written request to the PM in this regard. He was accompanied by Manish Tewari, Ludhiana MP, and Ravneet Singh Bittu, MP from Anandpur Sahib.

Bajwa said the Indian and Pakistani Governments had reached an agreement to build a ‘corridor’ in 1998 to enable Sikh pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan without a visa/passport. But there had been no progress on the issue so far.

Bajwa told the Prime Minister that post-Partition, when land on which the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala stands went to Pakistan, India swapped 12 villages near Suleman-ke head works in Fazilka for getting back the land. “We can propose to Pakistan that if it is hands over to India the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara area, we will give Pakistan an equivalent portion of land across the Ravi,” Bajwa suggested.

“A link with the shrine will be an apt confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan”, observed Tewari.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120519/punjab.htm#9

The Hindu – Sangma’s entry creates a buzz in Presidential race

Congress still playing cards close to its chest

Smita Gupta

New Delhi, 18 May 2012. A day after the AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal endorsed Purno A. Sangma’s candidature for President, the former Lok Sabha Speaker’s chances in the Rashtrapati Bhavan sweepstakes dominated informal discussions across political parties. With Parliament still in session on Friday, conversations in its corridors centred round the significance of the move.

The most credible explanation came from BJD circles: since a candidate proposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance would not find favour with Opposition parties not inclined towards the BJP, and a Left-sponsored nominee would be opposed by the NDA, a name floated by the AIADMK and the BJD — both currently unattached to any political formation — might find readier acceptance across the Opposition. The BJD sources said that of late the Chief Ministers of Odhisha and Tamil Nadu — Naveen Patnaik and Jayalalithaa — tended to be in close touch with their counterparts in West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat, Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi.

Would such a move succeed? Perhaps not, agreed the BJD sources, as the numbers will favour the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, provided it stays intact and gets the backing of the Left Parties and the support of either the Samajwadi Party or the Bahujan Samaj Party. Besides, Mr Sangma’s own party, the Nationalist Congress Party, the sources pointed out, clarified on Friday that it would stay with the UPA.

On Thursday, NCP supremo and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told journalists that Mr. Sangma had not spoken to him on the subject; on Friday, when the former Speaker met him, Mr. Pawar told him that the NCP was part of the UPA and his stand on the issue would be consistent with it.

The BJP, on its part, has been coy about Mr. Sangma’s candidature, even though his name comes from the AIADMK, a party it has been assiduously wooing, hoping it will swell the NDA ranks before the next polls.

Meanwhile, in the Congress, no new names have emerged after those of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari. On Friday, MPs of many non-Congress parties, including the BSP and the Left, concurred that if Mr. Mukherjee became the UPA’s official candidate, he could easily find support across Parliament and emerge as a consensus candidate, considering his stature and standing.

Most MPs of the Congress The Hindu spoke to said the possibility of Mr. Sangma emerging as a challenge to its candidate — whoever it is — was remote, as they were confident that the UPA and the parties that support it from outside had an edge in terms of numbers.

But even as the pros and cons of Mr. Sangma’s candidature were discussed, it was evident that a majority in the Congress view him with disfavour, given the manner of his exit from the party in the late 1990s. A Congress secretary Praveen Davar even issued a statement, accusing Mr. Sangma of playing the BJP’s game, and saying, “Mr. Purno Sangma lacks both the political and ethical stature expected of the nation’s Rashtrapati.”

But as Mr. Sangma continues to lobby tribal legislators, his entry into the race has begun to generate some excitement, with some MPs even saying his entry will force the Congress to declare its candidate soon.

As far as the Congress is concerned, party sources said that while the names of Mr. Mukherjee and Mr. Ansari were still on the table, it was possible that a dark horse could emerge in a couple of weeks— a name that might help the party in one of the States going to the polls over the next two years.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3433370.ece?homepage=true

Sint-Truiden – Brussel – Bristol vv 19/04 – 25/04 2012

On the 19th of April I went to Vilvoorde and on the 20th I travelled from Vilvoorde to Bristol via Brussel and  London. I returned from Bristol to Sint-Truiden on the 25th of April.

21 April – Bristol, river Avon, S S Great Britain

21 April – Bristol, river Avon, anchor

21 April – Bristol, river Avon, stop of ferry and riverboats

21 April – Bristol, river Avon

To see more UK pictures :

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157627296796095/

More UK pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Wankhede brawl; MCA imposes 5-yr ban on SRK; IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla says BCCI to take a final call

Mumbai, May 18. Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was today banned by Mumbai Cricket Association for five years from entering the Wankhede Stadium for misbehaving with its officials in an IPL match here.

Khan, who was alleged by the MCA to have manhandled a security guard of the Association besides hurling choices abuses on its officials after the IPL game on May 16 between KKR and Mumbai Indians, was threatened with a life ban by some officials before the managing committee toned it down to a five-year period.

The decision to debar Khan was taken by the MCA’s managing committee at its emergency sitting chaired by its president Vilasrao Deshmukh.

“The Managing Committee of the MCA at its meeting today has condemned the behaviour of Shah Rukh Khan, who without any provocation hurled abuses at MCA officials and manhandled the security guard in the presence of BCCI-IPL officials,” Deshmukh said.

“Shah Rukh had no regrets for his action and misbehaviour. He, in fact, has justified his action of manhandling the security guard and abusing and threatening MCA officials. The Managing Committee is forced to ban Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium for a period of five years,” said Deshmukh in a statement before answering the questions.

Asked whether there would be any change in the MCA’s stand if Khan apologises later, Deshmukh said the question did not arise.

“The ban is a message to every one that if anyone behaves like that action will be taken,” said Deshmukh, adding that more than 50 per cent of the members in the MCA managing committee were present when the unsavoury incident took place on Wednesday night.

The MCA president said the cricket board had been informed of the incident, a fact corroborated by BCCI’s CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty, who was present at the conference as one of the vice-presidents of the MCA. (PTI)

Read full report on :

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120519/main5.htm

Dawn – Zardari and Karzai in US for Nato summit

Zardari arrives in US for Nato summit

Washington, 19 May 2012. President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Washington on Saturday to attend the Nato summit in Chicago, DawnNews reported.

The president will address the two-day summit which will gather Nato’s 28 member states as well as leaders from more than 30 nations and international organisations.

Pakistan was extended the invitation to the summit on Tuesday after Islamabad signaled it was about to end a nearly six-month blockade on supply routes to Afghanistan.

However, Pakistani officials claim the invitation for the summit was made without conditions.

On the other hand, Pakistan Ambassador to US Sherry Rehman said that Pakistan had not given up its demand for an apology over the Salala incident. However, the US government had been reluctant to apologise and has stated the apology over the incident should be issued by Nato.

Rehman further said that a final decision on restoration of Nato supplies was yet to be taken as negotiations between both countries were still underway.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/19/zardari-arrives-in-us-for-nato-summit

Afghan leader in Chicago for key Nato summit

Chicago, 19 May 2012. Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Chicago on Friday ahead of talks with US President Barack Obama and other Nato leaders at a key summit for Afghanistan’s future, an alliance official said.

Obama will hold one-on-one talks with Karzai on Sunday on the sidelines of the summit, at which Nato allies will chart the final two years of the war before 130,000 foreign combat troops are withdrawn in late 2014.

The summit will also seek consensus on the structure and financing of the estimated $4.1 billion annual cost of Afghan forces after 2014.

Obama last met Karzai during a surprise trip to Kabul earlier this month when the two leaders inked a deal cementing 10 years of US aid for Afghanistan after Nato combat troops leave in 2014.

The two-day summit, which will continue on Monday, will gather Nato’s 28 member states as well as leaders from more than 30 nations and international organisations, including Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

http://dawn.com/2012/05/19/afghan-leader-in-chicago-for-key-nato-summit/