The Tribune – Damdami Taksal wants Sikh as Amritsar Mayor

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 18. The Damdami Taksal today urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal to have a Sikh as Mayor of the holy city. In a statement here today, Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa said Amritsar was known as the spiritual centre of the Sikhs across the world. Therefore, it should have a Sikh mayor.

He said the Shiromani Akali Dal had seen a historic victory in Amritsar in the recent municipal elections, capturing 24 seats.

He said this demand should not be seen as that of a particular organisation or a political group. “ It is the desire of the entire Sikh community that a Sikh owing allegiance to the SAD should be appointed Mayor of Amritsar”.

He urged the SAD leadership to consider this demand seriously.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120619/punjab.htm#7

The Tribune – Sops will raise deficit to more than Rs 2,500 cr

Naveen S. Garewal, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 18. The Akali-BJP Government in Punjab may have come under fire from all quarters for its poor fiscal management. But unlike its more “affluent” neighbour Haryana, the state had been following the fiscal correction path until the assembly elections that saw the coalition government take the “sops route” to retain power.

These sops are now eating away into the state’s limited resources and have pushed the state off the fiscal correction path laid down by the 13th Finance Commission.The new sops, announced by the government just before the elections, will raise the revenue deficit by more than Rs 2,500 crore in 2011-12.

Though all five Budgets presented by the Akali-BJP Government between 2007-2012 failed to give any direction to resource mobilisation, steps were taken to bring down the revenue as well as fiscal deficit. In the last year of its five-year tenure, the government ensured that the revenue deficit fell to 1.33 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP), as against 1.80 per cent of GSDP laid out by the 13th Finance Commission.

No Budget (presented between 2007-2011) sought to impose any fresh tax on the state. Though there was a move to make the collection of abiana ( tax collected for using canal water) more stringent in Budget 2009-10, it was scuttled because of its political ramifications.The farming community that forms a huge vote bank was not open to paying abiana.

Big landlords were expected to pay abiana at the rate of Rs 150 per acre. The past five years saw a hike in the subsidy bill of the government. The power subsidy bill stands at Rs 4,500 crore per annum, with another Rs 500 crore going into social security pensions and the atta-dal scheme.

The public debt has seen a steady rise too, from Rs 48,344 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 77,585 crore in 2011-12. It remains to be seen how the first- time Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa fares on these key economic parameters.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120619/punjab.htm#3

The Asian Age – Team A charges unfair: Pranab Mukherjee

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi 19 June 2012. Taking Team Anna head on in countering the allegations levelled against him, finance minister and UPA’s presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee in a statement on Monday said, the accusations are “unfair, self-seeking, motivated and malafide”.

The statement, which was issued by his office on his behalf, said, “It is unfortunate that Team-Anna which claims to represent high standards of ethical behaviour has thrown its professed moral ground to winds, as it has sent the allegations to the Prime Minister for investigation without mentioning that the matter is already pending before Delhi high court.”

Mr Mukherjee, against whom Team Anna has demanded a probe, said the “false” allegations against him were being levelled with “ulterior motive” and are “malafide” and suffered from “serious suppression of facts”.

“It is unfortunate that India Against Corruption, that claims to represent high standards of ethical behaviour, has thrown its professed moral grounds to winds…” the statement addressed to Mr Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia said.

Attacking Prashant Bhushan, the letter said that he was the lawyer in the PIL and he is now seeking to agitate in a non-judicial forum what he has been unable to achieve through Constitutional process. Mr Mukherjee particularly referred to the allegations on the Scorpene deal and Navy War Room leak case and rubbished these as “blatantly false and malicious”.

Earlier speaking at the regular party briefing, AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari too rubbished the allegations and condemned Team Anna for attacking Mr Mukherjee, saying it was “indeed very unfortunate that some people have got into the habit of making allegations against distinguished and senior leaders, who have spent decades in public life”.

Giving a point-to-point rebuttal to allegation levelled by Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal, Mr Tewari said, “Under these circumstances to drag Mr Mukherjee’s name is not only unfortunate but also politically motivated.”

He said that it also “reflects the panic” among few sections with the wide political support Mr Mukherjee’s candidature is garnering.

http://www.asianage.com/india/team-charges-unfair-pranab-548

Vilvoorde Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan, 20 May 2012

Sint Truiden, NMBS station, three sardars on their way to Vilvoorde

Sint Truiden, NMBS station, Siemens engine 1823 pulling the train to Brussel

Sint Truiden, NMBS station, IC Doubledecker carriages

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji, four small sardars studying a phone

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji, sangat having tea and ‘bites’

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Dev Ji
14 Lange Molen Straat
B-1800 Vilvoorde (Vlaams-Brabant)
Vilvoorde is just north of Brussel and near to Brussel Airport

To see more Belgium and Netherlands gurdwara pictures :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622147381380/

More Belgium pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – After trade, Pakistan shelling halts trans-Line-o-Control bus service

Ravi Krishnan Khajuria & Darshan Bharti, Tribune News Service

Jammu/Poonch, June 18. After taking a heavy toll on cross-LoC trade, repeated shelling by Pakistani troops on Indian forward posts in the KG sector has hit another crucial Confidence Building Measure between two nations – the trans-LoC bus service between Poonch and Rawalakote.

The Pakistani authorities today refused to open the gates for the weekly bus -“Carvan-e-Aman”- which was started to facilitate easy to-and-fro travel for divided families of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“There has been no cross-LoC trade via Chakan-da-Bagh since June 14 and now Poonch-Rawalakote bus service has also run into rough weather,” Abdul Hamid, custodian of the trans-LoC trade and travel told The Tribune.

The Army has been demanding a flag meeting with its Pakistani counterpart to de-escalate the border tension. “Unless it takes place, resumption of trade and travel between the two sides looks remote,” Hamid added.

The travel and trade via Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch and Salamabad in Uri were started between the two countries in 2005 and 2008, respectively.

“Going by existing circumstances it appears the cross-LoC trade and travel will remain suspended for some more days. We have informed the passengers,” said Hamid.

Jammu-based traders have already suffered a loss of nearly Rs 1 crore due to abrupt suspension of the trade. “No trade took place last week and chances look bleak this week too,” rued president of the Poonch Cross-LoC Traders’ Association Pawan Anand.

Border Trouble

- The trans-LoC bus service between Poonch and Rawalakote has been suspended

- The Pakistani authorities on Monday refused to open the gates for the weekly bus -“Carvan-e-Aman”- which was started to facilitate easy to-and-fro travel for divided families of Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir [Azad Kashmir ?!?]

Fresh message sent to Pakistan

Jammu: The Army on Monday again sent a message via hotline to its Pakistani counterpart to hold a flag meeting. “We have sent a message but so far haven’t received any response from the Pakistan side,” said an Army spokesperson. Uneasy calm has returned to the KG sector as guns on both sides are silent since June 17.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120619/main3.htm

Dawn – Drone attacks discussed in UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, 19 June 2012. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanethem Pillay, in her opening statement to the 20th session of the HRC, while referring to her recent visit to Pakistan, said that she was impressed by “the energy and capacity” available to strengthen human rights and democracy in Pakistan.

The High Commissioner also expressed serious concern over the continuing use of armed drones for targeted attacks, in particular because it was unclear that all persons targeted were combatants or directly participating in hostilities.

The High Commissioner urged states to conduct investigation that were transparent, credible and independent and provide victims with effective remedies.

In his statements, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan, Ambassador Zamir Akram, thanked the High Commissioner for her words of encouragement in commending the efforts made by the Government of Pakistan to strengthen human rights.

He also referred to the fact that the former Special Reporter on Extraordinary, Summary or Arbitrary executions Philip Alston, as well as his successor Christof Heyns, had raised serious concerns regarding the use of drones.

The Permanent Representative of Pakistan reiterated the position of the Government of Pakistan that drone strikes were contrary to international law and a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, and were counter-productive.

He called upon the international community to pay heed to the concerns expressed by the High Commissioner and the Special Procedures with regard to drone attacks.

The prominent human rights organisation, Amnesty International, in its statement, also said that the drone attacks “disregard human rights law” and that “the carrying out of killings …. represents a fundamental challenge to the whole international system for the protection of human rights.”

The American Civil Liberty Union, in its statement, called for “increased transparency and accountability regarding the use of armed drones for targeted killing”, and expressed concerns that “US drone killings have not complied with international law requirements mandating the protection of civilians.”

http://dawn.com/2012/06/19/drone-attacks-discussed-in-un-human-rights-council/