Loveye
mauja maan di
Across Punjab, rural folks are helplessly watching dirty grassroot level political violence as men (women are rarely involved) drunk on powerare indulging in violence and bloodshed to capture sarpanch-ship of villages. Clashes have been happeningat a shocking scale, reports of bloodshed and murder have been pouring from many a village, somevillages have witnessed kidnappings, and news of such skirmisheshas become staple for Punjab media. The elected panches are now fighting tooth and nail to decide on a sarpanch amongst themselves and at many places across Punjab, factionalism amongst the Akalis was responsible for clashes, just as in Kotli Sabo village under Sangat police station that left over one dozen seriously injured. In Bathinda's Daan Singh Wala village, little school children watched horror-struck as bullets flew and swords flashed, leaving a young man dead and several people injured inside the premises of Government Elementary School in this village on July 17. Children in the school were studying in various classrooms when Sukhjit Singh alias Surjeet of Chak Heera Singh Wala village in the district, a supporter of the Congress candidate for the sarpanch's post, was shot dead. In the nine-member panchayat, the SAD and the Congress reportedly enjoyed the support of four panches each, while one panch, Angrez Singh, was being wooed by both groups.
Harwinder Singh Gora and Bant Singh were SAD and Congress contenders, respectively, for the sarpanch's post. Angrez Singh was abducted by Akali leaders and he was being pressurised to vote for the SAD candidate.
A news report in the Hindustan Times said while the process of registering the FIR was underway, Nathana area halqa incharge Gura Singh Tungwali, who contested the Assembly elections on SAD ticket but lost, arrived thereand allegedly started giving instructions to the police. However, Tungwali claimed that he had come there just to inquire about the incident.
Panches kidnapped
In Haji Khanpur village of Hoshiarpur, another kidnap drama was played out. Being a member of the ruling party is an intoxicating experience and drunk on this power, an Akali Dal leader kidnapped three panches to prevent his rivals from wresting the sarpanch's post at Haji Khanpur village of this district. While families of two panches preferred to keep mum, mother of the third panch Jai Gopal alias Jaspal met the SSP and lodged a complaint. SAD circle president Balwant Singh Barial kidnapped the panches.
Dharna against police
In Batala's Sakhowal village, rural folk staged a dharna at Ghuman police station and blocked traffic on the Batala-Sri Hargobindpur Road for more than two hours in protest against the "partisan role" of the police in elections to the post of sarpanch. Villagers said police was acting as agents of the SAD-BJP government and forcing panches to vote in favour of SAD candidates. They said an SHO barged into the house of a scheduled caste panch, Kamu Kaur, along with a police team, last Wednesday morning and forced her to vote for Samrakhan Dev, a candidate supported by an SAD MLA.
Media quoted Kamu Kaur as saying that the SHO threatened to implicate her in a false case if she did not vote for the SAD candidate. No further action has been taken since then by the police.
Don out from jail for NC polls
Gurmit Singh Mann alias Kala, known as a 'don' of Dhanaula area and involved in numerous criminal cases in Sangrur and Barnala districts, is now calling the shots in the Dhanaula Nagar Council after his release from the Sangrur district jail last Wednesday. Soon after he came to the town, he was not only elected unanimously to the Nagar Council, but also managed to get his mother Baljit Kaur Mann elected president. Three of his relatives, including his mother, are Nagar Council members from ward number 2, 3 and 7.
Irregularities galore in Majha
In Amritsar, elected panches of six villages and their supporters today held a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office here, accusing the ruling alliance of large-scale irregularities in Sarpanch elections. Ratan Singh Randhawa, who led the protest, said, in Neshta village, Jaswant Singh held the clear majority but officials refused to make him the Sarpanch. The Returning Officer selected Amrik Singh as the Sarpanch though four out of the total seven panches were against him, he said. Similarly, the Ajnala police allegedly framed a false case on Paramjit Singh, an elected Panch of Muhar village, so that an Akali lacking majority could become a Sarpanch. Randhawa also highlighted cases of Muhawa, Lahori Mal, Muhar, Dial Bhatti, Awan and Hoshiar Nagar villages, where the ruling alliance allegedly used the administration to make Akali workers Sarpanches.
Majority does not matter
Panches of several villages in the district said that even though they had clear majority, returning officers had refused to conduct the sarpanch's election due to political pressure. Panch Gurpreet Kaur, a resident of Bangi Kalan, claimed she had been denied the sarpanch's post even though five panches in the nine-member panchayat were supporting her. She and her supporters sat on dharna in front of Talwandi Sabo SDM's office. The administration was forced to postpone the election.
Meanwhile, Nathana Congress MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti claimed Congress-supported candidates for sarpanch's post enjoyed clear majority in Nathana, Bhucho Kalan and Kahan Singh Wala villages, but the officials had refused to declare them elected at the behest of Akali leaders.
In Bathinda's Kotli Sabo village under Sangat police station, of the total seven panches, six were divided equally between Jashanpreet Kaur and Baljit Singh, the claimant for sarpanch post. But, Jashanpreet was elected sarpanch after winning over the support of an independent panch. However, when her procession was taken out, it was pelted with stones, leading to brick-batting between both the two groups. The injured have been admitted to civil hospital, Bathinda.
Harwinder Singh Gora and Bant Singh were SAD and Congress contenders, respectively, for the sarpanch's post. Angrez Singh was abducted by Akali leaders and he was being pressurised to vote for the SAD candidate.
A news report in the Hindustan Times said while the process of registering the FIR was underway, Nathana area halqa incharge Gura Singh Tungwali, who contested the Assembly elections on SAD ticket but lost, arrived thereand allegedly started giving instructions to the police. However, Tungwali claimed that he had come there just to inquire about the incident.
Panches kidnapped
In Haji Khanpur village of Hoshiarpur, another kidnap drama was played out. Being a member of the ruling party is an intoxicating experience and drunk on this power, an Akali Dal leader kidnapped three panches to prevent his rivals from wresting the sarpanch's post at Haji Khanpur village of this district. While families of two panches preferred to keep mum, mother of the third panch Jai Gopal alias Jaspal met the SSP and lodged a complaint. SAD circle president Balwant Singh Barial kidnapped the panches.
Dharna against police
In Batala's Sakhowal village, rural folk staged a dharna at Ghuman police station and blocked traffic on the Batala-Sri Hargobindpur Road for more than two hours in protest against the "partisan role" of the police in elections to the post of sarpanch. Villagers said police was acting as agents of the SAD-BJP government and forcing panches to vote in favour of SAD candidates. They said an SHO barged into the house of a scheduled caste panch, Kamu Kaur, along with a police team, last Wednesday morning and forced her to vote for Samrakhan Dev, a candidate supported by an SAD MLA.
Media quoted Kamu Kaur as saying that the SHO threatened to implicate her in a false case if she did not vote for the SAD candidate. No further action has been taken since then by the police.
Don out from jail for NC polls
Gurmit Singh Mann alias Kala, known as a 'don' of Dhanaula area and involved in numerous criminal cases in Sangrur and Barnala districts, is now calling the shots in the Dhanaula Nagar Council after his release from the Sangrur district jail last Wednesday. Soon after he came to the town, he was not only elected unanimously to the Nagar Council, but also managed to get his mother Baljit Kaur Mann elected president. Three of his relatives, including his mother, are Nagar Council members from ward number 2, 3 and 7.
Irregularities galore in Majha
In Amritsar, elected panches of six villages and their supporters today held a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office here, accusing the ruling alliance of large-scale irregularities in Sarpanch elections. Ratan Singh Randhawa, who led the protest, said, in Neshta village, Jaswant Singh held the clear majority but officials refused to make him the Sarpanch. The Returning Officer selected Amrik Singh as the Sarpanch though four out of the total seven panches were against him, he said. Similarly, the Ajnala police allegedly framed a false case on Paramjit Singh, an elected Panch of Muhar village, so that an Akali lacking majority could become a Sarpanch. Randhawa also highlighted cases of Muhawa, Lahori Mal, Muhar, Dial Bhatti, Awan and Hoshiar Nagar villages, where the ruling alliance allegedly used the administration to make Akali workers Sarpanches.
Majority does not matter
Panches of several villages in the district said that even though they had clear majority, returning officers had refused to conduct the sarpanch's election due to political pressure. Panch Gurpreet Kaur, a resident of Bangi Kalan, claimed she had been denied the sarpanch's post even though five panches in the nine-member panchayat were supporting her. She and her supporters sat on dharna in front of Talwandi Sabo SDM's office. The administration was forced to postpone the election.
Meanwhile, Nathana Congress MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti claimed Congress-supported candidates for sarpanch's post enjoyed clear majority in Nathana, Bhucho Kalan and Kahan Singh Wala villages, but the officials had refused to declare them elected at the behest of Akali leaders.
In Bathinda's Kotli Sabo village under Sangat police station, of the total seven panches, six were divided equally between Jashanpreet Kaur and Baljit Singh, the claimant for sarpanch post. But, Jashanpreet was elected sarpanch after winning over the support of an independent panch. However, when her procession was taken out, it was pelted with stones, leading to brick-batting between both the two groups. The injured have been admitted to civil hospital, Bathinda.
