The Tribune – Violence rocks Badal turf as 65% vote in panchayat polls; Re-poll at 8 booths; Highest polling in Mansa; Lowest in Gurdaspur

Sanjeev Singh Bariana, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 19. Burning of vehicles in the constituency of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday was one of the scores of sporadic incidents of violence across the state during elections to 22 Zila Parishads and 146 Panchayat Samitis.

The state recorded 65 per cent voter turnout amid rampant incidents of alleged booth capturing and skirmishes in Muktsar, Faridkot, Moga, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Gidderbaha, Patiala and some other places. Highest polling in the state was recorded in Mansa (72 per cent) and lowest in Gurdaspur (52.81 per cent).

The Election Commission has ordered re-polling at eight booths that witnessed booth capturing. State Election Commissioner SS Brar, said “Re-polling will take place at eight booths of six polling stations, which witnessed booth capturing. These are Ropana (Muktsar), Kothe Maluk Patti (Faridkot), Churriwal Chisti, Ojhanwali and Kanha Ram (all in Fazilka) and Indergarh (Moga). Re-polling will be held on May 20
and counting is scheduled for May 21.”

Five cars and a motorcycle were torched in Mann village during a clash between Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) workers in the CM’s home constituency, Lambi. A mob led by Pawanpreet Singh ‘Bobby’ Badal, ex-OSD to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, entered a polling booth in the Government School in Mann village and allegedly “captured” it after locking the door from inside. Furious Opposition workers
burnt cars outside.

Booth capturing by SAD activists was also reported at Jheurheri village.

In one of the major incidents of poll-related violence in Ferozepur, a group of Akali workers allegedly beat up Congress candidate Harbachan Singh (60) and his son Punjab Singh in a school in Mohan ke Uttar village. The Congress alleged the Akalis captured five polling stations set up in the school.

Stones were also pelted by some persons. Over 18 persons were injured in minor clashes in Patiala district.

Booth capturing was reported from over a dozen villages in Samana, the home constituency of Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra.

In Fatehpur, villagers boycotted the polls following police inaction over the death of a local youth. In Nabha, three persons were injured, one of them seriously, after SAD and Congress supporters locked horns.

Polling in all 23 zones of the Zila Parishad and 201 Block Samitis in Gurdaspur district was reported to be peaceful, although Congress leaders claimed politicians of the ruling SAD-BJP combine indulged in electoral malpractices in several zones.

Elections for 21 Zila Parishad and 176 Block Samitis in Amritsar and 13 Zila Parishad zones and 128 Block Samiti zones in Tarn Taran concluded with minor scuffles and verbal duels in several villages in the border districts. A scuffle was reported between SAD factions from Bhagwanpur village near Bhikhiwind.

Barring stray incidents of violence at a village in Khanna Block in which five persons sustained injuries and another incident at Seekhan village in Malaudh where an Akali Panch was attacked, polling for 25 Zila Parishad zones and 12 Blocks in Ludhiana remained peaceful.

Polls in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr remained peaceful with no reports of violence.

Stray cases of violation of the poll code were reported from certain places, including Wariana village where BSP and SAD workers got into a verbal duel. The presiding officer at Lalian Kalan village in Kartarpur, Shinderpal Singh, was found to be working in an inebriated condition in the morning.

Polling also remained largely peaceful in Bathinda and Mansa districts where 71 per cent and 72 per cent voting was reported. Minor trouble was reported from Teona village in Bathinda district where a PPP candidate raised objections when he was stopped from moving near a booth by the police in the morning.

Bathinda village boycotts poll

Continuing their boycott of the state government in protest against the pollution caused by Bathinda refinery, over 1,300 voters of Kanakwal village here did not exercise their franchise on Sunday.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130520/main2.htm

The Tribune – Copies of FIRs on websites soon

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 19. Copies of the FIRs will soon be available on the Internet. For, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has turned down the objections raised by the States of Punjab and Haryana before allowing a petition filed in public interest for uploading copies of the FIRs on official websites.

As the petition filed by advocate Ajay Jagga came up for hearing, the Chandigarh Administration even made it clear that the copies would be uploaded on the website from June 1.

During the course of hearing, the Haryana Government claimed that loading the FIRs on the net was not free from problem. Punjab too claimed difficulty in the process by expressing apprehension that defamation proceedings could be initiated in case the FIR was quashed. The Bench, however, refused to accept the contentions by asserting that the accused were being forced to even approach courts for copies of the FIR.

In the petition, Jagga had also sought directions for providing the copies of the FIRs to the accused straight away on an application moved to the police station or the trial court concerned.

Jagga claimed the directions would be of great help to the economically weaker and “depressed part of the society”, who were unaware of the technical procedures to avail a copy of the FIR.

Jagga added: “In many cases, the police officials concerned show reluctance to provide a copy of the FIR and insist that the accused should themselves come in the police station to obtain a copy of the FIR.

“In that eventuality, the chances of having been arrested are prominent, which results into jeopardising the right of life and personal liberty of the said named person as in that eventuality, without even getting a chance to move to the concerned court to avail the concession of anticipatory bail, the said persons are straightaway arrested…”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130520/punjab.htm#17

The Asian Age – PM talks tough to Li on Ladakh intrusion

Parul Chandra, Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 20 May 2013. Doing some tough talking with visiting Chinese Premier Li Kequiang on Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised the issue of the recent incursion by PLA troops in Ladakh’s Depsang area, and emphasised the need for “peace and tranquillity” along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control.

Mr Li arrived earlier on a blazing Sunday afternoon for a three-day visit, his first trip abroad as Premier.Sources said two other issues flagged “upfront” by the PM at the “restricted” hour-long meeting, with only a few aides present, were India’s concerns on water flows of trans-border rivers and the need to address trade imbalances.

This was followed by a dinner attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Leaders of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat.

The PM stressed the need for a swifter resolution of the vexed boundary issue in a “firm but constructive manner”, the sources said.

The Chinese PM, in turn, is learnt to have raised the Dalai Lama’s presence in India and what Beijing sees as his political activities here. Mr Li was, however, firmly told India respected the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader, and that he did not have any political rights here.

Sunday’s discussions set the stage for the longer format of delegation-level talks Monday, where the incursion and the boundary question are expected to dominate the discussions.

http://www.asianage.com/india/pm-talks-tough-li-ladakh-intrusion-095

The Tribune – Take gradual steps to boost India ties: Kayani tells Nawaz

Islamabad, May 19. In the backdrop of Nawaz Sharif’s positive remarks on ties with India, powerful Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has suggested Pakistan’s Prime Minister – designate to take gradual initiatives with utmost caution for improving relations with New Delhi, a media report said today.

Kayani made the suggestion when he called on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, set to become Prime Minister for a record third term following his party’s victory in the May 11 polls, at his brother Shahbaz Sharif’s home in Lahore yesterday.

The News daily quoted its sources as saying that Kayani wanted the new government to take gradual initiatives with utmost caution to improve relations with India as this alone “may lead to lasting peace in the region”.

Kayani ensured that Sharif “knew the exact situation on the ground with regard to Pakistan-India ties in the backdrop of developments over the last decade” as Sharif did not have first-hand experience in view of his absence from power, the report said.

In Kayani’s view, the relationship between Pakistan and India “demands a comprehensive strategy for addressing the geopolitical challenges which have cropped up over the years” since Sharif’s last tenure as premier.

There was no official word from the PML-N or the army on the meeting.

Before the elections, Sharif had made some surprisingly positive statements on ties with India which many thought may not have gone down well with the Army, the News said.

The PML-N chief had said he is keen on resuming the India-Pakistan peace process that was interrupted in 1999 by then Army Chief Pervez Musharraf, who ousted Sharif’s government in a military coup.

The report said Kayani called on Sharif to congratulate him on the PML-N’s success in the general election and informally talked “about all national security issues”.

He informed Sharif that the new premier and his Cabinet would be given a briefing on all important internal and external national security challenges after their swearing-in.

The armed forces are “fully behind the democratic government and had worked hard for ensuring democracy”, Kayani was quoted as saying. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130520/main4.htm

The Tribune – Farmers protest case against leaders

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 18. The sudden blockade of rail traffic on the Amritsar-Delhi railway line by farmers to protest against registration of a “false case” against their leaders pertaining to the mysterious death of ASI Kulbir Singh in Tarn Taran delayed the arrival and departure of many trains today.

Various farmer organisations under the patronage of the Kisan Sangarsh Committee (KSC) blocked the railway lines at the Jandiala Guru Railway Station, about 20 km from Amritsar, at about 4 pm. As the Tarn Taran railway line does not have the facility of power, diesel engines were pressed in to cover up for the loss, which increased the cost of travel.

Ferozepur Division Railway Manager Naresh Chander Goel said five trains were routed through the Amritsar-Tarn Taran-Goindwal Sahib route to reach Beas.

KSC leader Satnam Singh Pannu said various farmer organisations, including the Bharitya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugraha) and the Kirti Kisan Union, had extended their support for the agitation. He said following the death of ASI Kulbir Singh on March 6, the police had registered an FIR against their 44 leaders. Of these, 11 had been locked up in the jail, he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130519/punjab.htm#9

The Tribune – Man who set family ablaze held, failed in his attempt twice earlier

Jupinderjit Singh, Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 18. The main accused in the case in which six members of a family were set on fire in Jattawali village did not commit the crime on the spur of the moment but was planning it for over three months. The accused, Lakhwinder, made attempts to commit the crime twice earlier but could not succeed as all the family members were not asleep both the times.

This was revealed by Lakhwinder to the police following his arrest from Ambala this morning. A police team of Ferozepur district nabbed him near the Ambala railway station.

Ferozepur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varinderpal Singh told The Tribune that the cold-bloodied planning and the way the accused set six sleeping persons on fire suggested how cruel he was. “I have not seen such a ghastly act in my life. The accused did not think twice before setting the aged mother of his enemy Balwant Singh on fire along with others. Such criminals need to be psychoanalysed,” he said.

He said the accused was not remorseful even though the two families had no major enmity. Lakhwinder confessed to the police that he had visited Balwant’s house on Lohri (January 13) this year and had a tiff with him, following which he had decided to kill him and his family.

The SSP said, “When he (Lakhwinder) threw a bucket full of petrol and lighted the match, his hands, too, caught fire.” The police said the role of Lakhwinder’s father and brother was being looked into.

While Balwant’s mother Bachan Kaur (70), daughters Jasbir Kaur (17), and Tasveer Kaur (15) died in the attack, Balwant, his wife Veerpal Kaur and his son Satveer Singh (10) are under treatment.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130519/punjab.htm#2

The Hindu – Don’t dilute promise on better deal for Tamils, India tells Sri Lanka

Khurshid asks Colombo to request Army not to purchase land in conflict-hit area

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, 19 May 2013.  India tried to contain the after effects of a selective briefing it gave on Friday about its relations with Sri Lanka.

During a telephonic conversation on Friday, the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid advised his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris not to take any steps that would dilute Colombo’s assurance of a better deal to island Tamils who had been hit hard by the conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The Indian advice came in the wake of reports about a small nationalist party, the JHU, planning to move parliament soon to abolish the thirteenth amendment — which aims to empower the Tamils regionally.

Asked whether a small party would be able to get the government to drop a clause that it has promised to the world to implement, official sources they feared that an upsurge of nationalist sentiments in the Sri Lankan Parliament may well carry such a proposal through. That’s why Mr. Khurshid thought it prudent to caution Mr. Peiris.

The second counsel by Mr. Khurshid was to request the Lankan Army not to purchase land in conflict-hit areas. Here too the same approach of cautioning the Lankans has prevailed with sources pointing out in the past too, India has drawn Colombo’s attention to the issue of the Sri Lankan Army squatting on prime pieces of farm land years after the conflict ended.

Sri Lankan diplomatic sources continued to remain baffled over this interpretation of the conversation.

“This is strange because I hear there are factual inaccuracies in the reports,” they said. Indian sources also tried to play down the reports that have got adverse play in the Sri Lankan media.

“We were not as stern but we had to take this risk of pointing out the pitfalls. People will take us to task if we didn’t point it out,” they explained while preferring to highlight Mr. Khurshid raising the issue of early release of 26 Indian fishermen detained by Sri Lanka.

Jayalalithaa’s ‘indifference’

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s indifference was one reason for the arrests and long detentions of prisoners, said the MEA sources. They accused Ms. Jayalalithaa of not allowing Tamil fishermen from both countries to meet in order to resolve most issues of discord among themselves.

The sources also blamed her for Indian fishermen being detained in Sri Lanka for long periods because her government tends to arrest fishermen from the other country and not respond to pleas to release them.

“The MEA has written several letters to the Tamil Nadu government on releasing the Sri Lankan fishermen after completing the formalities. But she has rarely, if ever, replied to them,’’ they said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/dont-dilute-promise-on-better-deal-for-tamils-india-tells-sri-lanka/article4728284.ece

The Tribune – China has chance to explain Ladakh incursion: Ex-envoy Nalin Surie

K V Prasad, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 18. Suggesting that the recent Ladakh incursion by China has cast a “dark shadow” over its relations with India, a former envoy has said the Beijing leadership after having resolved the issue in a mature manner will have the opportunity to tell New Delhi the reason behind the move.

As new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives here tomorrow on his first overseas visit to any country after assuming office, former Indian Ambassdor to China Nalin Surie feels Premier Li and his team have an opportunity to explain why the incident occurred. “It is an advantage for Premier Li and his team to explain why it happened while India can understand the aspirations of the new Chinese leadership,” Surie said in an interaction here today.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Office had recently told Indian mediapesons that the Ladakh incursion was an “isolated incident”, which Surie felt was not an adequate explanation.

Surie, who succeeded current National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon as Indian Ambassador to China, said the new Chinese leadership had been groomed for the task and was well aware of the aspirations of the country and the world.

Referring to the recent statement by Li during an interaction with an Indian youth delegation that it was time to look ahead, Surie said while it was good to think of the future, this constant testing by Beijing in the form of Ladakh incursion sets back the trust that should be built in the relationship between the two most populous neighbours in Asia.

Surie, who retired last year after serving as the Indian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, felt while there were no differences between the Chinese leadership in government and military, whoever ordered the Chinese platoon to move into the Ladakh region made an “error of judgement”.

Citing his lecture at a conference on Sino-Indian relations at Thrissur, Kerala, earlier this year, Suire said both India and China were too big and growing in power to be contained and even when India was less powerful, both countries were not susceptible to containment.

The relationship between the two countries would in the foreseeable future continue to be a mix of competition and cooperation, he said, adding that the key resentment in Beijing was that while its rise was seen as being threatening, India’s rise wasn’t.

It is an advantage for Premier Li and his team to explain why it happened while India can understand the aspirations of the new Chinese leadership.
—Nalin Surie, former Indian envoy

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130519/main2.htm

The Tribune – Preneet Kaur, Raninder Singh make up for Captain’s absence in Patiala

Aman Sood, Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 17. With local MLA Captain Amarinder Singh opting to stay away from campaigning, his wife and MP Preneet Kaur and son Raninder Singh have been working hard to fill the void. The mother-son duo went on a whirlwind tour of Samana constituency and addressed a series of rallies in support of Congress candidates.

Winning the elections on her home turf would be crucial for the Union Minister (Preneet) as these would set the tone for next year’s parliamentary elections.

Raninder appeared leaving no stone unturned while trying to infuse confidence in the party cadre. He had lost the assembly elections from Samana to Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra.

“The National Rifle Association of India working kept me busy in Delhi, but I was in constant touch with the local leaders in the constituency,” he said.

Lashing out at the Akalis, he said: “You voted for them (SAD-BJP) but what did you get in return? Theirs is a government of liars. So, get ready to teach them a lesson on May 19 (polling day).”

The next to target the ruling coalition was Preneet Kaur: “We will take the Akalis head-on and make sure they are not able to succeed in their evil designs to win the elections by rigging.”

At some distance from the Congress rally, Rakhra quipped that voters in his constituency would not even recognise the Congress leaders “who only turn up on poll eve”. “I have been working round the clock and despite my engagements as a Cabinet Minister, I make it a point to attend each and every person from Samana on a priority.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130518/punjab.htm#5

The Tribune – Pre-poll violence unabated; 2 killed in Amritsar village clash

P K Jaiswar, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 17. A day after the killing of a Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) leader in Bathinda, two persons were shot dead in an exchange of fire between two groups at Chak Mishri Khan village in Lopoke near here this morning, pushing the toll in the run-up to the May 19 local body elections in Punjab to four.

The deceased are Congress worker Gurjinder Singh of the Master Manjit Singh group and SAD worker Balkar Singh, an associate of Chak Mishri Khan village Sarpanch Jagir Singh. The injured has been identified as Major Singh, also an associate of Jagir Singh. He is admitted to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here.

Tension was brewing between two groups of Chak Mishri Khan village over a consensus to elect the village panchayat, without polls. Both groups were preparing for Panchayat elections though members of the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti were elected unanimously after the Congress decided not to contest. The SAD leader wanted unanimous election to the village Panchayat, but Manjit Singh was opposing the move, it is learnt.

Today, Jagir Singh and his armed companions, who were camping in the house of his associate Shinder Singh in the village, moved towards Manjit Singh’s house with an intention of attack. On the way, Congress worker Gurjinder Singh tried to stop them and asked them to settle the dispute with “mutual understanding”. Jagir and his group were in no mood to relent and reportedly opened fire, killing Gurjinder.

Jagir Singh and his men then reached Manjit Singh’s house, where they were allegedly fired upon. Major Singh said Manjit and 20 others attacked them. Balkar Singh suffered a gunshot injury in the firing and died on the spot.

However, Border Range IG Ishwar Chander Sharma and DIG Paramraj Singh Umranangal, in a hurriedly convened press conference, said the incident was the outcome of personal enmity between two groups.

“There was a controversy between two groups in the village over possession of land measuring over two kanals between two groups headed by Jagir Singh and Manjit Singh. This was the reason behind today’s firing and subsequent killing of two persons” said Ishwar Chander.

On the statement of Gurjinder’s son, the police have booked 14 persons, of which three persons — including Jagir Singh, Mangat Singh and Major Singh — have been arrested. Narinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Nirmal Singh besides others are at large and a manhunt has been launched to arrest the remaining accused, he said.

As many as 15 police parties headed by SHOs from Batala and Amritsar Rural police have been conducting raids at various places to nab the accused. Senior police officials including SSP Amritsar rural police district have been stationed at Lopoke to supervise the operation.

The firing incident has raised a question mark, as the police administration had already launched a drive to deposit licenced arms. The arms used in the crime belonged to Narinder Singh, a former sarpanch of the village. He is affiliated to Jagir Singh, present Akali Sarpanch from Chak Mishri Khan village.

DIG Border Range Paramraj Singh Umranangal said till today morning, 85 per cent licenced arms had been deposited with respective police stations in police districts falling under the Border Range. He said the remaining weapons would be in police custody by the evening.

District Rural Congress president Harpartap Singh Ajnala condemned the incident and said it had nothing to do with the ongoing Zila Parishad polls and was the result of tension between two groups regarding forthcoming Panchayat elections.

Killing fields

May 16: One person killed in a shootout at a PPP-Congress rally in Adampur in Jalandhar; Congress worker Rajwinder Singh injured
May 15: Nine persons belonging to two groups of the ruling SAD injured in a fierce hour-long clash at Mianwala village in Tarn Taran
May 8: Youth Congress leader Sukhraj Singh shot dead in Tarn Taran
May 7: Personal assistant of Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi , Guruharsahai legislator, attacked

Both killed by same weapon

The death of SAD worker Balkar Singh has become a mystery for the police. Investigations pointed out that the same weapon was used to kill both Gurjinder and Balkar, which raises a question mark on the theory of Balkar being killed in crossfire. DIG Border Range Paramraj Singh Umranangal confirmed doubts over whether crossfiring had taken place, adding that the firearm used in the crime has been recovered.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130518/main2.htm