Check rampant use of loudspeakers: HC

Chandigarh, January 8

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that it is the district administration’s “bounden duty” to ensure compliance of judicial directions on the use of loudspeakers.

The directions by the Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Mahesh Grover came on a petition against the use of loudspeaker at high pitch after 10 pm.

Acting on the petition, the High Court also ordered an inquiry by Patiala Deputy Commissioner into the allegations of indiscriminate use of loudspeaker at a village in Patiala district.

In her petition against the State of Punjab and other respondents, Mohinder Kaur had sought High Court’s intervention in the matter of “indiscriminate and unauthorised use of loudspeakers” at Gurudwara Shri Guru
Singh Sabha Mata Gujri Ji in Ajrawar village of Rajpura tehsil.

The petitioner had contended that the loudspeakers were being “used at a high pitch even after 10 pm”. She had claimed this was causing “disturbance to the petitioner, her family and other residents, besides being contrary to the law laid down by the Apex court with regard to such use”.

The Bench also took note of the fact that the petitioner filed representations before the Deputy Commissioner and Patiala Deputy Inspector-General of Police. “But no firm action has been taken by either of the two authorities, leaving the petitioner with no option but to move this court”.The Bench asserted: “The use of loudspeakers at particular volume at different hours stands regulated by court orders, including orders passed by the Apex Court from time to time.

“Such directions and orders, which hold the field as on date, would certainly require to be complied with by all concerned, and it is the bounden duty of the district administration to ensure such compliance.

“In such circumstances, we close this writ petition by directing the Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, to make/cause to make an inquiry with regard to the allegations made by the petitioner and if the same are found to be substantiated in any manner to issue orders to the concerned defaulters to take corrective action as mandated by law,” the court said.

“The Deputy Commissioner will act in the matter without any delay and ensure that necessary orders/directions, as may be warranted in law, are issued at an early date”.

India must fully tap investment potential of NRIs, PIOs: Pranab

JAIPUR: Citing example of China, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that India too needs to fully tap the investment potential of NRIs and their entrepreneurial skills and promote inclusive growth. 

"We have not yet reaped the full benefits of India's great diaspora. The most obvious area remains that of investment and entrepreneurship. For instance, in China a large chunk of foreign direct investment has come from overseas Chinese," he said, while addressing the 10thPravasi Bhartiya Divas in Jaipur. 

Though there have been "large ticket investments" by NRIs and PIOs, he said, "it is far less than the potential and perhaps too concentrated on the formal sector. Rather, we must pursue an alternative model. One that is more balanced and holistic in a socio-economic sense". 

Overseas Indians, he said, should increase their contribution in social and economic areas like education, healthcare, and skill development and supplement the efforts of the government to promote inclusive growth. Mukherjee made these remarks while addressing a gathering of about 1,900 Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). 

The non-resident Chinese have been playing a major role in the development of China and invest substantial in the domestic economy. 

Indian government, Mukherjee said, has been trying to improve the access of the poor and the vulnerable to vital public services by creating entitlements backed by limited legal guarantees which include the right to information, the right to work in rural areas and the right to education. 

Efforts, he added, were made to put in place right to food law which would ensure subsidised foodgrain for the poor population. 

Mukherjee said India does not require just financial contributions from its diaspora, but dedication of time, ideas and endeavour. 

On the economy, he said that though the year 2011 has been "an eventful one", India's achievements over the last few years have been commendable. 

"Though we have witnessed ups and downs, this period has transformed our country and catapulted it into the centre stage in the world...We are widely recognised as a major driver of global growth," he said. India is a member of the G20 and, within the G20, it is considered a part of the systemically most important 7. On the issue of brain drain, the Finance Minister said "the movement of the diaspora is no longer unidirectional as it was in the past. What started as a brain drain, has now become a brain gain, not just for India but the world as a whole". 

Today mobile Indian professionals and entrepreneurs, Mukherjee said are contributing across the global economy and enhancing its resilience in these troubled times. 

"Many have also returned to the home turf and are engaged in its socio-economic fabric. Still others have set up enterprises or professional relations that span national boundaries," he added. The entrepreneurial skills of the Indian business community settled abroad are a matter of envy for other nations, he said. 

Foreign firms are increasingly aware of the sharp business acumen of the Indian entrepreneur and managers. "They have come to respect our business houses and practices," Mukherjee said.

NRIs will get right to vote in Indian elections, promises Manmohan Singh

JAIPUR: Fulfilling a long-standing demand of its diaspora, India on Sunday said it would allowNRIs to vote and participate in the election process. 

"Pursuant to the law that was enacted to enable Non-resident Indians to vote in our national elections, the government has issued notifications for registration of overseas electors under the Representation of People Act, 1950," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. 

"This constitutes the first major step to enable Indian residents abroad to participate in our election process," the prime minister said while addressing the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divasdiaspora meet here. 

He said the diaspora plays an important role in the growth and development of the country. The government recognises it, and was committed to address their concerns and fulfil their demands. 

"The government and people of India recognise and value the important role being played by Indian communities living abroad. We believe that Indian diaspora has much more to contribute to the building of modern India," the prime minister said. 

"We propose to facilitate, encourage and promote this engagement. Over the past year, we have taken a number of steps towards this end," he added, as he formally inaugurated the 10th annual diaspora meet, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here. 

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said NRIs would be able to exercise their franchise in upcoming elections. 

"Indian nationals living abroad can now exercise their franchise in India at the time o f the elections," Ravi said. 

Now those NRIs who have registered with the embassies of their respective countries of stay, would be eligible to vote in the upcoming assembly elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. Polls will take place in these countries between Jan 28 and March 3. 

Ravi said objective of the government was to further increase engagements with diaspora. "Our objective is to raise the level of engagement to go beyond mere investment related issues and address a broader agenda." 

"We believe that this will provide the vast majority of you the opportunity to benefit from as well as contribute - each in your own way - to India's development story," the minister said. 

Later talking to media person, Ravi said this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is the largest congregation of Indian diaspora. 

He said almost 1,900 delegates from around 60 countries were participating in the three-day event. 

Jassi honour killing: Mother, uncle held in Canada after 11 years

Kaunke Kalan (Jagraon), January 7

Eleven-and-a-half years after Jassi Sidhu, a Canadian girl of Indian origin, was killed and her husband Sukhwinder Mithu left for dead near Narike village in Malerkotla by a group of contract killers allegedly hired by Jassi’s Canada-based mother and maternal uncle, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) finally arrested the duo from their house this morning in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.

Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur and uncle Surjit Singh were allegedly evading arrest and extradition to India all these years. The RCMP has, in a press release, announced that Malkiat Kaur and Surjit Singh were being questioned and would soon be extradited to India.

Of about 10 alleged contract killers, only three, including former sub-inspector Joginder Singh, Anil Kumar and Ashwani Kumar, are behind bars at present.

“Justice has finally been done to some extent. I am waiting for the day when Jassi’s mother and uncle will be brought to India and punished. I don’t know whether I would meet them or not. But I may not like to see such faces. I have always wished for exemplary punishment for Jassi’s mother, who ordered her killing,” said Mithu’s mother.

“It was due to immense media pressure that the case remained alive and forced the Canadian police to act. Justice was delayed, but not denied,” said Mithu, who did not remarry.

The murder was a rude end to a love story that transcended continents but could not overcome the barriers of caste and society. It was the first international instance of the menace of honour killing prevalent in North India.

DSP Swaran Singh, the investigating officer in the case, said he was elated at the arrest of Malkiat Kaur and Surjit Singh. “It was my duty as well as my life’s purpose to see justice done to Mithu and Jassi. We are eagerly awaiting the extradition of the duo.” 

Murder Most Foul

Dec 1994: Jassi meets Mithu in Jagraon.

Mar 15, 1999: They marry in secret at Baba Bakala gurdwara in Amritsar district.

May 1999: Jassi returns to Canada. Prepares documents for Mithu’s migration to Canada, but is exposed in early 2000. Kept in house custody illegally by her parents.

February 2000: Mithu booked for kidnapping and forcible marriage of Jassi.

May 19, 2000: Mithu acquitted after Jassi reaches India and gives a statement in his favour.

June 8, 2000: Contract killers attack them late evening near Narike village in Malerkotla. Jassi dies, Mithu injured.

June-July 2000: Most of the accused arrested. Police books Jassi’s mother Malkiat Kaur and uncle Surjit Singh for conspiracy to murder. Extradition proceedings begin.

Mid-2004: Mithu booked for rape of a village girl, arrested, sent to jail.

April 2008: Ludhiana court acquits Mithu of rape charge.

January 2012: RCMP arrests Malkiat Kaur and Surjit Singh Badesha.

Harper names 7 new senators

OTTAWA — A senator-in-waiting from Alberta, a police chief from Ottawa, a former MP and a defeated Tory candidate were among seven new senators named to the Upper Chamber on Friday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Among those announced in a statement by Harper were: Betty Unger, who had won a Senate election in Alberta; Ottawa police Chief Vernon White; and former Newfoundland Tory MP Norman Doyle.

Also named was Jean-Guy Dagenais, a defeated Tory candidate in last year's federal election and a former peace officer with Quebec's provincial police force.

Rounding out the list were JoAnne Buth, president of the Canola Council of Canada, Ghislain Maltais, a former member of the Quebec legislature; and Dr. Asha Seth, a Toronto physician.

Since coming to power in early 2006, Harper has now named 46 Conservative senators, including renaming several failed Tory federal election candidates.

He reappointed Fabian Manning and Larry Smith to the red chamber in May after they resigned and failed to win a seat in the House of Commons in last May's federal election. Former Conservative cabinet minister Josee Verner was also appointed after voters punted her from the Commons.

Filling the seven vacancies will boost the Conservatives' majority in the upper chamber to a solid 61 of 105 seats.

The postings come with a base salary of $132,300.

The seven vacancies arose from five retirements and two resignations: the retirement of Alberta Liberal senator Tommy Banks; resignations of Liberal senators Sharon Carstairs from Manitoba and Francis Fox in Quebec; retirements of Conservative senator Vim Kochhar and Progressive Conservative Lowell Murray in Ontario; and retirements of Liberal senators Lucie Pepin and Bill Rompkey in Quebec and Newfoundland, respectively.

The Harper government has for years vowed to reform the upper chamber, but change has been slow.

The government's Senate Reform Act, which is still before the House of Commons, would limit new senators' terms to nine years and establish guidelines for provinces to voluntarily hold Senate nominee elections.

However, the act wouldn't be binding on the prime minister or Governor General when making appointments to the Senate.

The Tory reforms set out a process by which a prime minister might appoint senators who are selected through provincial or municipal elections. It's up to the provinces, however, to run the elections and to pay for them — something many provinces have said they won't do.

Alberta is the only province to ever hold Senate elections.

Quebec has threatened to fight the senate-reform legislation in court, while other premiers, such as Ontario's Dalton McGuinty and British Columbia's Christy Clark, have called for the Senate to be abolished (although Clark has also said she favours elections if abolition isn't an option).

Alberta Premier Alison Redford has promised to hold a new Senate election in conjunction with the provincial campaign expected in 2012, while New Brunswick's David Alward recently announced his government will introduce legislation to elect Senate nominees.

‘Immigrate through legitimate means’

Chandigarh, January 5
Dwelling on the agenda of youth empowerment through quality education, skills development and employment, most of overseas participants expressed serious concerns over deterioration in the standard of senior secondary education and post-matriculation dropout rate in Punjab at the Punjabi Parvasi Divas conference here today.

Canada as a partner country in this years' conference was well represented, both among speakers and the audience.

Though Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, NRI Affairs Minister Balbir Singh Bath, Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal and NRI Commissioner Vijay Partap were conspicuous by their absence, overseas Punjabis from Canada, including Ontario Minister Harinder Takhar, Alberta MLA Peter Sandhu and former MP Gurbax Malhi, talked about how Punjabis have scripted a success story in their present country of abode.

The participants endorsed the suggestion made by the secretary-general of the International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry Gulshan Sharma that immigration overseas should be only through legitimate, decent and dignified means.

Satinder Dhiman, a management professor in North America, through video conferencing, expressed deep concern that the dropout rate of students for post-matriculatiuon education in Punjab had shot up to more than 90 per cent. Without education, he said, no state could come up economically.

Canada's Consul-General in Chandigarh Scot Slessor said what Canada needed most was young skilled people who were comfortable in speaking English.

More than 50 per cent of the total Indian immigrants in Canada come from Punjab and its surrounding areas. Scot Slessor said list of skills in demand in Canada were all prominently displayed on the government websites. Advanced countries did not need many people with higher educational qualifications, including PhDs, but they needed plumbers, drivers, mechanics or people trained in other trades in demand. Other basic requirement was that they should be conversant with English.

Ontario Minister for Government Services said Punjabis made up for their deficiencies in education with "jugads". With their hard work and unprecedented ability to adapt themselves to the new work and living environs, they had made major strides in every area.

Peter Sandhu from Alberta said when he left India more than three decades ago, the standard of high school education was pretty good. But unfortunately, it had deteriorated rapidly. The government needed to focus on reviving education network, besides imparting training in trades that were in demand overseas.

Inmates can contest poll but remain barred from voting

Kapurthala, January 5

Thousands of inmates languishing in various jails of the state would not be able to cast their franchise on January 30 even though those convicted under particular sections can contest the forthcoming assembly poll.

Such are the provisions of Section 62 (5) Representatives of the Public Act (RPA), 1951, that mention that no imprisoned person can vote. However, Section 8 of the RPA Act states that convicted persons with sentence less than two years can contest.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer Raj Kamal Chaudhary said the Punjab election office received instructions from the Election Commission of India a few days ago that no inmate be allowed to vote. However, he stated, if a person was convicted for some particular offences that entail less than two years of imprisonment, then he could contest the elections.

The offence includes crime under FERA, Corruption Act, Protection of Civil Rights Act, Sections 153 A of the IPC and various Sections of the IPC related with electoral malpractices, Customs Act, NDPS and TADA.

AIG (Jails) DK Sidhu said there were over 10,000 undertrials lodged in 23 jails of the state who would not be allowed to votes. These undertrials are lodges in eight central jails located at Kapurthala, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Patiala, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Gurdaspur (with capacity from 700 to 2800), six district jails at Ropar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Nabha, Sangrur and Mansa (with capacity below 500), eight sub jails at Dasuya, Pathankot, Phagwara, Patti, Malerkotla, Moga, Fazilka and Muktsar (with capacity from 25 to 250), Borstal jail at Ludhiana (capacity 500 prisoners from 18 to 21 years of age) and women jail at Ludhiana.

Taking strong exception to these provisions of the RPA Act, a human rights activist, advocate Rajinder Bhatia, has urged the Union Government to amend Section 62 (5) of the Act that prohibits the undertrials from voting.