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In an interview to Sukhdeep Kaur on Monday, Jakhar said exposing Akalis does not dent secular credentials of the Congress nor is state’s communal harmony under threat.
Chandigarh : The report of Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission on sacrilege and police firing incidents of October 2015 has indicted former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. But Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar is targeting Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal for the firing at Behbal Kalan citing “circumstantial evidence”. In an interview to Sukhdeep Kaur on Monday, Jakhar said exposing Akalis does not dent secular credentials of the Congress nor is state’s communal harmony under threat. Excerpts:
The panel blamed some cops for Behbal Kalan firing. But you are accusing Sukhbir. Have you rejected its report?
I have not rejected the report. The commission did what was its mandate. I am only going beyond it. Is it possible that the deputy CM, home minister and head of the party in power was unaware of the happenings, irrespective of where in the world he was at that time? There is enough circumstantial evidence against Sukhbir. The report says DSP Harjinder Singh posted at Jalalabad, Sukhbir’s assembly segment, was deputed with force at Behbal Kalan on the day of firing. Why? Who allowed police to open fire 3 hours after Kotkapura? The report says the police allowed dera followers to even target rail traffic for the release of ‘MSG-2 The Messenger’ a few days back. Whose orders were those? We want the special investigation team (SIT) to probe all this.
The CM has vowed to go after Badal, but you are gunning for the son. Are you two on the same page?
Badal has taken the blame onto himself to save his son. Sukhbir is doing what no son would do. He is using his father as a shield. (Former DGP Sumedh Singh) Saini has said he spoke to Badal at 2am before Kotkapura firing. But Badal says he did not order the firing. Was the DGP out of control? Or someone else allowed him to fire? The Akal Takht pardon to dera chief was issued on September 24, a day before the release of his movie ‘MSG-2 The Messenger’ on Friday. The movie’s first week collections were ₹104 crore. Is the timing not clinching evidence, even if the witness flip-flopped? Then SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar has said he warned Sukhbir against the pardon. But Sukhbir was power-drunk.
Why then was Sukhbir not attacked by the Congress during the House debate?
I was not part of the debate. It was restricted to findings of the commission. I held a press conference a day later and blamed Sukhbir for Behbal Kalan and pardon to dera chief. How can he escape blame when Punjab burned?
But why is secular Congress harping on Panthic agenda? Your central leaders have opposed the blasphemy law.
Yes, some reservations have been expressed by central leaders on the blasphemy law. But no one from the party high command or party’s state unit has shown any resentment on the sacrilege report or asked us not to proceed on the issue. Otherwise, we would have explained our position to the high command. We are not harping on the Panthic agenda but exposing Badals’ Panthic face. They projected themselves as custodians of the Sikh faith. But they did not even spare their own faith.
Akalis say communal harmony of Punjab is under threat and Congress is deflecting attention from governance issues.
There is no threat to Punjab’s communal harmony. The Akalis are trying to vilify Hindus by saying they are scared. Even their own ally, BJP, wants the culprits of sacrilege and police firing to be nailed. We are exposing misgovernance of the Akalis.
But is law and order not a concern when an internal war is raging within Punjab Police? Why has anti-drug STF chief Harpreet Singh Sidhu been shunted out?
It is the chief minister’s prerogative to appoint people. Sidhu was handpicked for the job by the CM. He (Harpreet Singh Sidhu) could even have been appointed to head the SIT to probe sacrilege, police firing incidents.

Displaying unusual bonhomie, the two parties blamed SAD, which ran a coalition government with the BJP from 2007 to 2017.
Chandigarh : The seven-hour-long debate in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday on Justice Ranjit Singh commission report saw legislators of the Congress and the Aam aadmi party (AAP) targeting former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, for all problems in the state.
The two parties, which displayed unusual bonhomie, blamed the SAD, which ran a coalition government with the BJP in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, for just about everything, from sacrilege and firing to military and operation Bluestar.
A rattled Sukhbir said the two parties of trying to make Sikh panth leaderless.
“They want to take control of our institutions. We will not let this happen. The debate was turned into a joint political rally of Congress and AAP,” he said on Tuesday evening after being accused of pushing the state in ruins in the last 10 years.
The Akalis had stayed away from the debate for which two hours were fixed initially with only 14 minutes for their MLAs in proportion to their strength in the 117-member House. “Had we taken part, the debate time would never have been increased,” claimed an Akali MLA, requesting anonymity.
The decision was apparently prompted by the realisation that Badals would be the primary targets. Badal senior did not attend the session from the start as he was unwell. Before the assembly session, slogans were raised against the two Badals when hardliners attacked DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK in New York and California. At the Sikhs for Justice meeting at Trafalgar Square in London on August 12 to build support for ‘Referendum 2020’, they were the prime target and blamed for sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.
However, other party leaders, including Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and Prem Singh Chandumajra, not only escaped unscathed, they also maintained silence. They did not vociferously defend the top leaders when they were targeted from all sides by the Congress, AAP and the hardliners.
“The entire debate was to defame Badals who were targeted because they held top posts in the government. What could have I said on the issue?” asked Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Chandumajra said the party’s core committee will met Thursday and announce the future course of action. “The assembly speaker should have acted to stop the unparliamentary debate,” he added.
In the absence of senior leaders, the party’s second-rung leaders such as former speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, who held a press conference in Amritsar, and ex-MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha came out in their defence.
Though Sukhbir had former ministers, Bikram Majithia and Parminder Singh Dhindsa, by his side while devising the party strategy, the party failed to counter the onslaught.

Underworld don Arun Gawli has topped an examination based on the concept of the ideals of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Gawli reportedly scored 74 out of a total of 80 marks in the examination.
Underworld don Arun Gawli has topped an examination based on the concept of the ideals of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Gawli reportedly scored 74 out of a total of 80 marks in the examination.
As many as 160 jail inmates had appeared for the examination in Nagpur central jail.
The examination is conducted on October 1 every year, on the eve of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It is conducted jointly by Sahyog Trust and Sarvodaya Ashram.
Gawli, the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Sena, was in August 2012 convicted for the murder of Shiv Sena MLA Kamalakar Jamsandekar in 2008, and awarded life imprisonment by a sessions court in Mumbai.
He was arrested by Saki Naka police in Mumbai and booked for offences under IPC sections 302 (murder), 149, 120B, and sections 3(1), 3(2) and 3 (4) of the MCOCA Act.
A Bollywood film has also been made on the life and times of the gangster, who has also tried his luck in politics. The role of Gawli was essayed by model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal. The role of Arun Gawli’s wife, Asha Gawli, was portrayed by south film industry actress Aishwarya Rajesh.
Directed by Ashim Ahluwalia and produced by Kundalini Entertainment, the film also featured Nishikant Kamat, Anand Ingale, Shrikant Yadav, Vijay Sanap and Abhimanyu Arun in pivotal roles.

“They say we have ignored people. Congress was even ashamed of speaking on toilets but it is our government that has given people dignity.”
New Delhi: Accusing Congress of having used politics to serve vested interests, BJP’s Rakesh Singh opened his party’s attack during Friday’s no-confidence motion debate in Lok Sabha.
Speaking after TDP’s Jayadev Gulla made a lengthy speech alleging that BJP had betrayed Andhra Pradesh on the issue of special category status, Rakesh Singh said that the instead of pointing at Congress for ignoring AP, the party was accusing a government committed to working for people. “It is not our aim to strangle other parties in our democracy. We want democracy to be strengthened. Congress, over decades, have shown that one family and keeping it in power has been its sole priority,” he said. “TDP should question Congress for its past policies instead of showing us down.”
Highlighting the current government’s achievement, Rakesh Singh went on to say that he did not comprehend why a no-confidence motion was brought in the first place. “They say we have been ignoring people at large. Congress was even ashamed to speak about toilets but it is our government that has provided people with dignity. Do go see what all has been achieved in just the last four years. PM Modi and his government has relentlessly worked for people, especially the poor. There is a new enthusiasm among the poor, the youth. Our policies have shown that people who have waited for 70 years for amenities are now smiling because of them,” he said.
Rakesh Singh concluded by saying that those who indulged in rampant corruption should not question the pro-people government of PM Modi.
Around the same time, Congress countered the charges made by claiming that the party had reduced poverty levels in the country. “UPA brought the number of poor people down to 26.93 Cr, which was 21.9% of the population in 2012, from 40.71 Cr in 2004 – One of the greatest achievements of the UPA & we are proud of it,” read a tweet on the party’s official Twitter account.

crucial floor test, the party held a meeting where the decision to boycott the house proceeding was taken.
NEW DELHI: The Shiv Sena on Friday morning boycotted the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. Ahead of the crucial floor test, the party held a meeting where the decision to boycott the house proceeding was taken.
No-confidence motion debate Live Updates
“Absolutely not. We haven’t even signed our attendance,” Anandrao Adsul, Lok Sabha MP from Shiv Sena when asked if his party will take part in the trust vote.
Earlier in the day, party mouthpiece Saamna carried an editorial which read that the entire exercise would make the PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government more accountable.
“Even the opposition knows it does not have the numbers to make the government fall. But the no-confidence motion brought about has not been with the view to topple the government but to make the Modi government more accountable,” said the article.
The editorial further predicted that the government will give complex answers when attacked with a slew of questions and that certain tactics would be used which would show Indian democracy in a bad light.
On Thursday, reports of Shiv Sena supporting the BJP-led NDA government during the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha emerged.
A source close to Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said that party will take part in the no-trust vote, saying it has decided to back the government in the Lok Sabha tomorrow.
According to PTI, Sena chief whip Chandrakant Khaire had issued a whip asking all members to be present in the House when the motion is taken up for discussion tomorrow and support the government.

Rahul’s attack on Modi comes just before the Prime Minister begins his third round of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka.
NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday gave out a report card to Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he judged him for the subject ‘agriculture’ in Karnataka. As expected, the results are not anything that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the PM would like. Rahul said in the tweet: “Mr Modi’s Report Card..State: Karnataka..Sub: Agriculture
1. Contribution to Cong State Govts 8,500 Cr Farm Loan waiver = 0 Rs
2. PM’s crop insurance scheme: Farmers suffer; pvt insurance companies make huge profits.
3. No MSP+50%, for Karnataka farmers…Grade = F”
His attack on Modi comes just before the Prime Minister begins his third round of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka. The Prime Minister is slated to address another 12 rallies over the next few days before Karnataka goes to poll on May 12. A galaxy of BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, will also be addressing public meetings in the next few days in the state.
Rahul Gandhi will also be in Karnataka on Thursday on his eighth visit this year as a part of his election campaign in the state. During his two-day visit to Karnataka, he will be in Bidar district, where he will hold several meetings in Bidar district. He will also visit the state again from May 7 to May 10.
A war of words has been on between the PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi in the run up to the Karnataka elections. While Rahul dared the PM to allow him to speak for 15 minutes in Parliament on various issues, including corruption, the latter challenged the Congress chief for just 15 minutes without referring to his notes. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also jumped into the fight challenging the PM to speak about the BJP government led by BS Yeddyurappa in Karnataka even by looking at a piece of paper. “Dear PM @narendramodi ji, I challenge you to speak about the achievements of BS Yeddyurappa’s Govt in Karnataka for 15 minutes by looking at a paper,” Siddaramaiah tweeted.

ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ- ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿਜੀਲੈਂਸ ਬਿਊਰੋ ਨੇ ਅੱਜ ਥਾਣਾ ਮਮਦੋਟ, ਫਿਰੋਜਪੁਰਵਿਖੇ ਤਾਇਨਾਤ ਏ.ਐਸ.ਆਈ.ਬਲਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ 10,000 ਰੁਪਏ ਦੀਰਿਸ਼ਵਤ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਰੰਗੇ ਹੱਥੀਂ ਕਾਬੂ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ।

ਇਸ ਸਬੰਧੀ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਦਿੰਦਿਆਂ ਵਿਜੀਲੈਂਸ ਬਿਓਰੋ ਦੇ ਬੁਲਾਰੇ ਨੇ ਦੱਸਿਆਕਿ ਉਕਤ ਏ.ਐਸ.ਆਈ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤਕਰਤਾ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਲਸਿੰਘ ਵਾਸੀ ਪਿੰਡਲੱਖਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਾਲਾ, ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹਾ ਫਿਰੋਜਪੁਰ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ ‘ਤੇ ਫ਼ੜਿਆ ਹੈ।ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤਕਰਤਾ ਨੇ ਵਿਜੀਲੈਂਸ ਬਿਊਰੋ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੀਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਦੋਸ਼ਲਾਇਆ ਕਿ ਉਕਤ ਏ.ਐਸ.ਆਈ ਵਲੋਂ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਪਰਿਵਾਰਕ ਮੈਂਬਰਾਂ ਨੂੰਦਰਜ ਕੀਤੇ ਮੁਕੱਦਮੇ ਵਿਚ ਗ੍ਰਿਫਤਾਰ ਨਾਕਰਨ ਅਤੇ ਜਮਾਨਤ ਲੈਣਵਿਚ ਮਦਦ ਕਰਨ ਬਦਲੇ 10,000 ਰੁਪਏ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ ਹੈ।

ਵਿਜੀਲੈਂਸ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ ਦੀ ਪੜਤਾਲ ਉਪਰੰਤ ਉਕਤ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਏ.ਐਸ.ਆਈ. ਨੂੰ ਦੋ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਗਵਾਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਹਾਜਰੀ ਵਿਚ 10,000ਰੁਪਏਦੀ ਰਿਸ਼ਵਤ ਲੈਂਦਿਆਂ ਮੌਕੇ ‘ਤੇ ਹੀ ਦਬੋਚ ਲਿਆ। ਉਨਾਂ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਖਿਲਾਫ਼ ਭ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟਾਚਾਰ ਰੋਕੂ ਕਾਨੂੰਨ ਦੀਆਂ ਵੱਖ–ਵੱਖਧਾਰਾਵਾਂਤਹਿਤ ਵਿਜੀਲੈਂਸ ਬਿਓਰੋ ਦੇ ਥਾਣਾ ਫਿਰੋਜਪੁਰ ਵਿਚ ਮੁਕੱਦਮਾ ਦਰਜ ਕਰਕੇ ਅਗਲੇਰੀ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਆਰੰਭ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਹੈ।

This is the fourth incident of airspace violation by Chinese choppers within a month.
NEW DELHI: Breaching airspace norms, a Chinese military helicopter on Monday infiltrated the Line of Actual Control and was seen hovering over Barahoti region of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
This is the fourth incident of airspace violation by Chinese choppers within a month.
On March 10, three Chinese military helicopters had entered Barahoti. The choppers came within 4 kilometres of the Indian airspace and hovered for nearly five minutes.
Chinese helicopters had earlier infiltrated into the Indian airspace in Ladakh.
On March 8, two Chinese helicopters were spotted hovering in Ladakh at around 8.55 AM. They came within 18 kilometers of the Indian airspace.
A similar incident was reported on February 27 when the Chinese chopper infiltrated and entered within 19 kilometers of Indian airspace in Depsang and Trig Highway of Ladakh.

Unveiling his new South Asia policy in August 2017, Trump had warned of tougher measures against Pakistan if it failed to cooperate with the US in the fight against terror.
Washington: Unhappy with Pakistan’s attitude to terrorism, US President Donald Trump has approached international financial watchdog to put the country on the global terrorist-financing watchlist.
Despite several warnings, Islamabad has failed to comply with the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions relating to terror groups on home soil including al-Qaeda and its affiliates, a top State Department official said today.
Last week, the US and its European allies – which includes UK, Germany and France – nominated Pakistan to be put on Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) list.
The anti-money-laundering monitoring group maintains grey and blacklists for identifying countries with weak measures to combat money laundering and terror financing.
“The US has consistently expressed our long-standing concern about ongoing deficiencies in Pakistan’s implementation of its anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism finance (AML/CFT) regime,” said a US State Department spokesperson.
“In addition to broader systemic concerns, this also includes Pakistan’s non-compliance with its commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 1267,” the official said.
The move can severly dent Pakistan’s economy.
“If you`re put on a terror watchlist, you`re made to go through all the (extra) scrutiny,” Pakistan`s former counterterrorism chief, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, told Reuters. “It can hurt the economy very badly.”
Pakistan has been scrambling to avoid being put on FATF watchlist. On Friday, the country pushed forward an ordinance that puts terror group Jamaat-ud Dawa, led by Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, on the list of banned terrorist individuals and organisations. Islamabad also endorsed the UNSC’s list of banned terrorist organisations.
US President Donald Trump, in his first tweet of 2018, had lashed out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists and accused it of “lies and deceit” and of fooling US leaders while sheltering terrorists.
Trump went on to freeze a $2 billion military aid to Pakistan and threatened to block financial aid.
Unveiling his new South Asia policy in August last year, Trump had warned of tougher measures against Pakistan if it failed to cooperate with the US in the fight against terror.

“India underscores that the United States’ request is not a valid request,” a statement from the Indian government said.
GENEVA: India hit back on Monday at Washington’s latest legal assault on its solar power policies at the World Trade Organization, rejecting a US legal claim and exploring possible new protection of India’s own solar industry.
Last month, the United States triggered a new round of litigation at the WTO, arguing that India had failed to abide by a ruling that it had illegally discriminated against foreign suppliers of solar cells and modules.
In a statement published by the WTO on Monday, India said it had changed its rules to conform with the ruling and that a U.S. claim for punitive trade sanctions was groundless.
“India underscores that the United States’ request is not a valid request,” the Indian statement said.
It said Washington had skipped legal steps, failed to follow the correct WTO procedure, and omitted to mention any specific level of trade sanctions that it proposed to level on India, leaving India “severely prejudiced”.
India would be vindicated if the proper process was followed, it said.
“In view of the above, India strongly objects to the US request of 19 December 2017,” it said.
Renewable energy has become an area of severe trade friction as major economies compete to dominate a sector that is expected to thrive as reliance on coal and oil dwindles.
India unveiled its national solar programme in 2011, seeking to ease chronic energy shortages in Asia’s third-largest economy without creating pollution.
But the United States complained to the WTO in 2013, saying U.S. solar exports to India had fallen by 90 percent. The WTO judges agreed that India had broken the trade rules by requiring solar power developers to use Indian-made cells and modules.
In a separate move that could protect its solar industry from global competitors, not only U.S. rivals, India told the WTO last week that it was considering the case for imposing temporary emergency tariffs on solar cells, modules and panels, after a petition from the domestic industry.
So-called safeguard tariffs are permitted by the WTO if there is evidence of serious harm, or threat of serious harm, to a country’s production from a sudden, unforeseen surge in imports.
India said the market share of imports had increased from 86 percent in 2014-15 to 90 percent in 2017-18, with growing losses for Indian producers and a fourfold rise in inventory levels.
That amounted to prima facie evidence of serious injury to Indian firms, India said in the WTO filing.