The historic decision of the Election Commission
of India to hold the Punjab Parliamentary polls in 2 phases is
a major setback for the ruling coalition.
By doing so the Election Commission has accepted the views of
the Punjab Congress that the state is indeed sensitive and that
free and fair polls cannot be expected without the significant
presence of paramilitary forces.
By splitting the polling into 2 phases the paramilitary resources
will be more visible on polling day and on the critical last few
days preceding.
This decision also confirms that the Election Commission has taken
cognisance of the attacks on Congress workers and leaders during
the Corporation elections of 2007 and the Panchayati Raj Institutions
elections last year.
The fact that polling in current Punjab has never been divided
into 2 phases before is a slap in the face of the ruling family
and a recognition by the EC that illegal strategies are being
formulated by the Akalis to undermine and sabotage the forthcoming
elections.
Whether this act of the EC will be sufficient to prevent the further
"Biharisation" of Punjab by the Akalis cannot be established
at this stage.
But what is certain is that the Akali goons and hoodlums now better
think twice for every this historic decision by the EC will be
followed by a record number of booths being repolled should they
even think of disturbing the peace.
The EC is to be congratulated for taking this decision.
Jassi Khangura MLA
Halqa Qila Raipur
03 March 2009
Enc. Punjabi version and font
Mr N Gopalaswami
Chief Election Commissioner
Nirvachan Sadan
Ashoka Road
New Delhi 110001
3 March 2009
Dear Sir,
Nullify Punjab Cabinet Meeting
A meeting of the Punjab cabinet was hurriedly convened on 2 March
2009 in full anticipation of the Code of Conduct being implemented
later in the day.
This is unethical and is tantamount to a fraud on the electorate.
The Election Commission must act immediately to nullify the decisions
of the said meeting.
None of the decisions taken are time critical and the same decisions
could be taken after the elections.
Not to do so would set a dangerous precedent for the future.
Immediate action would also make it abundantly clear to the father
and son duo that rules this state, that the EC means business.
This is a critical message for an electorate that has suffered
hugely from acts of violence perpetrated by the Akalis over the
last 2 years.
Your early action in this matter will be appreciated.
Yours faithfully,
Jassi Khangura MLA
Halqa Qila Raipur
Punjab
S. Prakash Singh Badal ji
Hon. Chief Minister (Punjab)
Chandigarh
3 March 2009
Dear Sir,
Sub: Failure to include the 26/11 Mumbai victims in the obituaries
list
I am shocked that your government failed to include the Mumbai
victims in the obituaries list today in the Vidhan Sabha.
Not only was the loss of life massive, totalling approximately
300, but this included Punjabis, NRIs and foreigners.
As the head of a border state that has suffered so much from
cross border militancy and terrorism I fail to understand how
you can be so insensitive and callous.
May be it is the 24 months of mayhem and violence in Punjab perpetrated
by your goons on Congress leaders and workers, as well as on other
innocent Punjabis, that has desensitised your mind to such events.
The victims of Mumbai and the people of Punjab will not allow
you to forget this ommission.
You are requested to apologize immediately to the families of
the victims.
Yours faithfully,
Jassi Khangura MLA
Halqa Qila Raipur
The
Akalis were looking for a scapegoat and in Mr Galib they found
a willing victim.
Ludhiana, FEB 26, 2009
Jassi Khangura
That Mr Gurcharan Singh Galib is now the Akali candidate
for the Ludhiana seat reflects poor judgement by Mr Galib, the
CM and Sukhbir Badal.
Throughout his political career Mr Galib has been loyal only
to himself. He consistently worked against Congress Party candidates
but somehow managed to avoid being expelled.
The fact of the matter is that the Akali party has since delimitation
effectively written off the Ludhiana seat as a certain loss. That
is why Bikram Majitha, having toyed for a few days last month
with the idea of contesting the Ludhiana seat, quickly rejected
the proposal once he understood the ground political realities.
The Akalis were looking for a scapegoat and in Mr Galib they
found a willing victim.
Most shocking of all, for anyone who has observed Mr Galib’s
dalliance with the Akalis over the last few weeks, it is now abundantly
clear that this is more a case of Mr Galib asking for the Akali
ticket than the Akali party offering him the ticket.
In spite of his two Parliamentary terms and earlier MLA tenure
there is no way that Mr Galib can claim to have been the doyen
of Ludhiana Congress politics. Far from being a political heavyweight,
Mr Galib was always a divisive figure in Ludhiana and he never
enjoyed the support of the majority of Congress MLAs in Ludhiana.
His mercenary role in the allotment of Corportation election
tickets in 2002 is well known to all.
In Parliament he failed to fulfil his duties. On questions tabled,
contribution to debates and committee proceedings his record is
amongst the poorest of all Parliamentarians. Present yes, active
no, effective never; that’s Mr Galib’s Parliamentary
report card.
Outside of Parliament he never did much of note either. In spite
of a career spread over 5 decades there are no issues or campaigns
or initiatives that one can attribute to Mr Galib. Even a first
time MLA can do better than this in a single year.
As a non-performing Parliamentarian Mr Galib was rightly denied
the ticket in 2004. To have rewarded him then would have been
a tragedy and an insult to others with better credentials.
In Manish Tewari the Congress Party has a person who is streets
ahead of Mr Galib when it comes to intellect, the understanding
of issues and the protection of Punjab’s interests. Manish
can proficiently communicate and debate.
Moreover, most people agree that Manish’s stature will
grow once he becomes an MP, something that was never expected
of Galib sahib.
Any enhancement of the rural vote in the Ludhiana Parliamentary
seat will be more than offset by a huge urban swing to Congress
as a result of Mr Galib’s candidature. Mr Galib may have
gategrashed the Akali party but there will be no sweets on results
day, just tears.
Far from the media star power the Akalis once wanted to bring
to Ludhiana, most people are shocked that Mr Galib is the best
that they can offer. If there is a media star in this contest
it is most certainly Manish Tewari, the next MP from the Ludhiana
Parliamentary constituency.
Jassi Khangura MLA Halqa Qila Raipur 25 February 2009
Enc.
Punjabi version
Mr
P S Badal has failed to protect Punjab's interests in Parliament.
Ludhiana, 25 FEB 2009
Jassi Khangura
The failure of the Akali party to field a candidate in Ludhiana
from within its own ranks is proof of the lack of depth of quality
parliamentary material in the party.
Mr Prakash Singh Badal has consistently failed over several decades
to develop and promote individuals with good parliamentary potential.
He has done so to confine capable persons to Punjab lest they
develop a reputation in Delhi that could in due course threaten
the stranglehold of the Badal family over the Akali party.
As a result the Akali Parliamentarians have tended to be mute
spectators in both houses, neither tabling quality questions nor
making any significant contribution to debates nor raising the
issues most important to the people of Punjab.
By so protecting his family's interests Mr P S Badal has failed
to protect Punjab's interests in Parliament.
For that he should be rightly condemned in the forthcoming Parliamentary
polls.
Letter
to Sukbir Singh Badal
To refuse questions on any political matter is a sign of weakness.
Mr. Sukbir Singh Badal,
Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab,
House No-256,
Sector 9C,
Chandigarh
160017
Congratulations on your assumption of the new post. I am certain
that you will bring to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha all the highlights
of your illustrious Parliamentary career, including your industrious
work rate, your exemplary attendance record, and your frequent barrage
of questions, together with your great wit, sharp intelligence and
incisive mind.
All politicians assuming a new post are entitled to a honeymoon
period, but I am surprised that you are utilising your best endeavours
to ensure that this is as short as possible.
Your recent statements that “corruption starts from the bottom”
and is “largely at lower levels” could not be further
from the truth.
As every socio-economic expert will tell you: corruption starts
from the top and with the passage of time it becomes institutionalised
primarily by the acts and failings of our political leaders to the
extent that soon a well entrenched system emerges which funnels
the gains of corruption across all strata of the administration
from bottom to top.
If you truly want to reduce corruption in Punjab you need to start
at the top by:
1. controlling the actions of your Council of Ministers and senior
officers by reducing their discretionary powers creating greater
transparency in their working
2. making your administration satisfy all RTI requests within the
stipulated time frame
3. ensuring that all government procurement is by an e-enabled tender
process
4. setting up a Punjab Public Servant Transfer Commission, which
will be responsible for the posting and transfer of all gazetted
officers
5. ensuring that your administration complies in a time-bound manner
with the finite orders of the judiciary.
6. enforcing a concurrent independent audit on all government expenditure
and revenue collection
7. publishing on the internet all file proceedings and notes relating
to each and every CLU request
Most importantly, as the Deputy Chief Minister you can lead by
example by:
1. not only being honest but also being universally perceived as
being honest
2. rejecting an ostentatious life style that mirrors all the trappings
of royalty
3. ensuring that no tainted officer is accommodated in your support
team nor has access to you
4. rejecting all approaches from drug peddlers, land grabbers and
looters of the public purse
5. publish weekly source and application statements of your party
of which you continue to be the President
6. swearing at the Harmandir Sahib that, henceforth, all of your
actions will be above board, honest and beyond scrutiny.
