29052024-LT-01.qxd 29-05-2024 01:16 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune COMMITMENTS MADE BY AAP BEING FULFILLED: PARASHAR FLORAL PRINTS MAKE THEIR PRESENCE FELT GLOBALLY Going by what designers are offering on red carpets across the world, floral sure is the flavour of the season. P4 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 45°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 46°C | MIN 25°C B-TOWN REACTS TO ATTACK ON REFUGEE CAMP IN RAFAH Aam Aadmi Party candidate Ashok Parashar Pappi addressed a large public meeting in Ward 77. P2 FORECAST Bollywood actors reacted to killing of 45 Palestinians during an Israeli drone attack on a camp in Gaza. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.18 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:22 AM » WEDNESDAY | 29 MAY 2024 | LUDHIANA 80-yr-old woman ‘succumbed to injuries’ Ludhiana, May 28 An 80-year-old woman, Surjeet Kaur, who, along with her family, was attacked by gangster Sagar Newton and his accomplices, by barging into their house at Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar 45 days ago, allegedly succumbed to her injuries yesterday. The police, however, said the autopsy report would only clear the exact cause of death. Surjeet Kaur and her family members, including two sons, a daughter-in-law and a grandson, had also suffered injuries. A case of attempt to murder was then registered against Newton, Monu Dedhi, Shubham, Rajeev, Kuldeep Singh, Ankit and Monu Dwarka. Two of the suspects were also nabbed by the police in the case. SHO, Dugri, inspector Gurpreet Singh, said the deceased had then suffered injury on her hands only and there was no other serious injuries. The preliminary medical report states that cardiac arrest could be the cause of the death. Still, the police would wait for the autopsy report to know the exact cause of death. So far, murder charge was not added to the case. Notably, gangster Newton had an enmity with Navi, son of the deceased. He and his accomplices had planned to attack Navi by barging into his house but he was not available, hence, they attacked his family. — TNS Condition of state industry was terrible before AAP’s arrival, says Kejriwal Party’s national convener says industries were leaving, now they are returning INDIA VOTES 2024 ❝ Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 28 National convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the Sarkar Vyapar Milni programme in Ludhiana on Tuesday. He appealed to the people of Ludhiana to make AAP candidate Ashok Parashar Pappi win and said the party candidate would raise all their issues in Parliament and fight at the Central-level for their rights. Kejriwal said: “Before our government was formed, the condition of business and industry in Punjab was so bad that the industries were leaving the state and going to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and other neighbouring states. In the past two years, the trend of industries leaving Punjab has stopped and new industries are coming to the state. Punjab, under the Bhagwant MAKE AAP STRONG AT CENTRE THESE POLLS You people gave us a huge majority in the Assembly poll two years ago. These are the LS elections. This time make us strong at the Centre. Make the Aam Aadmi Party win all 13 seats in the state, then only Punjab will reverberate inside the Lok Sabha. AAP national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addresses industrialists in Ludhiana on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Mann government, got investments worth Rupees fiftysix thousand crores. Now, foreign companies are also buying land for industries here. After Jamshedpur, Tata Steel’s biggest plant is now being set up in the state,” he said. Kejriwal said on the previous occasion, he came to listen to their problems but this time he had come to ask for their support. “You people gave us a huge majority in the Assembly poll two years ago. These are the Lok Sabha elections. This time make us strong at the Centre. Make the Aam Aadmi Party win all 13 seats in the state, then only Punjab will reverberate inside the Lok Sabha,” he said. He said: “All our MPs will raise the voice of the people of the state and get all issues related to the Centre resolved. When we will have 13 MPs from Punjab, the Central Government cannot stop even Rs 1 of Punjab funds,” he said. Kejriwal said BJP leaders had running a dictatorship in the country. “The elections were announced on March 16 and I was arrested on March ❞ Arvind Kejriwal, AAP NATIONAL CONVENER 21 because Narendra Modi was afraid that if Kejriwal was not arrested, he would campaign around the whole country, which would reduce his seats,” he said. Kejriwal said the BJP had become so arrogant that they have started considering Modi above God. He said the Modi government had withheld funds worth about Rs nine thousand crores of Punjab. Of this, Rs 5,500 crore is part of the Rural Development Fund. This RDF money was to be used to build roads in every village. The money of the National Health Mission has also been withheld, which could have been used to build more mohalla clinics. They are doing the same as the BJP wants to stop development of the state. Finance Minister meets bizmen in separate event Meanwhile, in a separate event indutrialists were addressed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. An industrilaist said the minister while addressing businessmen stated that she understands challenges faced by the state industry. She also stated that if BJP comes to power again, she assured all that issues such as amendment of Section 43B of the Income Tax Act, the speedy work of Halwara airport, more budget to the MSMEs for growth, the issue of under billing products, the exorbitant rates of raw material and steel will be taken care of, he said. Core issues were patiently listened by the BJP leader and industry looked satisfied,” said another industrialist, who had attended the event. with inputs from Shivani Bhakoo Rahul Gandhi in city today Cong will win Ludhiana, it’s party that matters: Warring Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 28 After Priyanka Gandhi kickstarted her election campaign in Punjab on Sunday from Khanna now, Rahul Gandhi will be addressing a rally at Dakha on Wednesday in favour of PPCC president and candidate from the Ludhiana constituency Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. The Congress in Ludhiana is going an extra mile to woo voters with a sole aim to defeat the turncoat, Ravneet Singh Bittu, and presence of Rahul Gandhi on the poll scene in Ludhiana will give a major boost and infuse enthusiasm in both leaders and party workers. Senior leader Pratap Singh Bajwa is also camping in Ludhiana till the elections with only aim to teach ‘traitor’Bittu, a lesson. Rahul Gandhi’s rally will definitely ramp up campaigning. Priyanka while addressing the rally at Khanna talked only about farmers and how the BJP does not understand Punjab and its farmers and their spirit. She asked the farmers to show Modi the door and choose the one who holds farmers and their sacrifices as supreme. Ludhiana, May 28 Punjab Congress president and party candidate from Ludhiana parliamentary constituency Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today asserted that the Congress will substantially improve upon the winning margin from here in 2019. Appealing to the people of Ludhiana to vote for the party, he said the people here have always stood by the Congress, whosoever came and contested for the party from here and hoped that the trend will continue this time also with an improved margin. Warring was campaigning in the Gill assembly segment Amarinder Singh Raja Warring campaigns in the Gill segment. today. Later, he led an impressive roadshow in the Jawahar Nagar area of the city, where thousands of people joined him. He expressed confidence that the Congress, insisting on the party and not himself, will win Ludhiana this time by at least two lakh votes. “Please note I am insisting that it will be the Congress party and not me, as individuals do not matter, it is the party that matters,” Warring said, while clarifying that he was a humble soldier of the party deputed here to fight the battle and win it for the party to serve the people. He said the Congress had got 3.83 lakh votes in 2019, while Simarjit Singh Bains who stood second had polled 3.07 lakh votes. “With Bains having joined the Congress and merged his LIP with the Congress, it makes it a total of 6.90 lakh votes,” he pointed out, while expressing confidence that the Congress lead over its nearest rival this time will be of over 2 lakh votes. “Take it in writing from me,” Warring remarked. — TNS SCHOOL OF Hospitality Masters in Tourism & Hotel Management B.Sc. Hotel Management Bachelors in Hotel Management and Catering Technology B.Sc. Culinary Arts B.Sc. Airlines Tourism and Hospitality Farmers hold protest outside Bittu’s house Ludhiana, May 28 Even in the rising mercury, farmers’ enthusiasm was high as farm union leaders and members under the umbrella of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee today sat on a dharna outside the residence of BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu in Ludhiana. After completing 105 days of the Kisan Andolan-2 on the border of Punjab and Haryana, farmers today protested outside houses of BJP leaders across the state over their major demand to release farmers arrested at the behest of the BJP . Sapinder Singh Bagga, district president of BKU Ekta (Sidhupur) while addressing farmers outside the house of Bittu said farmers were protesting peacefully at the border from February 13 but on the order of the Centre, the Haryana Government did not let farmers enter Delhi and tried to supress their voice. They they were also put in jail. “We were going to Delhi to put forward our demands but the sad part is that the govern- A first: DC reaches out to frail electors at their doorsteps in district Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 28 In a first, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney is reaching out to majority of the frail electors, especially those aged 85 years and above, and specially-abled ones, at their doorsteps across the 14 Assembly segments under the two Lok Sabha constituencies (nine under Ludhiana and five under Fatehgarh Sahib) in the district under the “votefrom-home” initiative launched by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Leading a posse of 390 officials, including 312 polling and police officials (156 each), and 78 micro observers, besides booth-level officers (BLOs) and sector officers concerned, the young 2014batch IAS officer knocked at the door of Kartar Kaur Dosanjh (107), who is among the oldest voters in the district, at Dugri, Phase 2. Amused over seeing the DC at their doorsteps, the centenarian elector’s son Harbhajan Singh Dosanjh greeted the district head with folded hands at their not so big or palatial home. The officials accompanying Sakshi, who is the District Election Officer (DEO) for Ludhiana, tell Harbhajan that they want to meet his mother to enable her to cast her vote from home. Carrying the ballot box and secret ballots, reminding of old times prior to the electronic voting machines (EVMs), the polling officials, led by the DC-cum-DEO reach out to Kartar Kaur, who was sitting on a sofa. Sakshi greeted the centenarian voter with folded hands and requested her to exercise her franchise for which they have come to her place. “Eh taan main pehli baar vekhiya hai apni zindagi vich…ki tusi mere naal majak taan nahi kar rahe ho? (I am seeing this for the first time in my lifetime…aren’t you doing a prank with me?),” the amused Kartar Kaur asks. On being briefed that this time the ECI has introduced this new system to facilitate the aged and persons with disabilities for casting their votes from their homes, the Over 92% aged, specially-abled vote from homes LUDHIANA ON TOP ■ Aged: 22,003 (85 years and above) ■ First-timers: (18-19 years) ■ Third gender: 58,801 151 ROVING STAFF ■ Polling officers: ■ Police personnel: ■ Micro observers: ■ Videographers: ■ Teams: DC-cum-DEO Sakshi Sawhney presents a certificate to 107-year-old Kartar Kaur Dosanjh, after she cast vote at her home in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO 107-year-old elector readily agrees to get her finger inked before making her choice on the postal ballot, which was put in the sealed ballot box carried by the officials. “It is a good initiative by the Election Commission and district administration as the elderly and PwD vot- ers have been given a chance to cast their votes sitting at their homes,” the aged voter’s son expressed. The DC-cum-DEO felicitated the centenarian voter with a shawl and a certificate. The next stop was the home of Sushila Devi (103). Here, her granddaughter Neena c m y b Jain greeted the DC-led polling team and took them to meet her grandmother, who was sitting on a charpoy. “It becomes difficult to take the elderly voters like my grandma to the polling station. It is a good initiative as my grandmother is able to cast her vote at home in a 156 156 78 78 78 smooth and peaceful manner,” Neena said. Raj Rani Arora (87) of Rajguru Nagar, who has been bedridden for the past seven years also discharged her duty of exercising her franchise at her doorsteps and encouraged other voters to go for vote on June 1 to strengthen the democracy. All elderly and PwD voters and their family members expressed happiness over the ECI’s initiative and appreciated the district administration for undertaking the home voting smoothly. Speaking with The Tribune, the DEO said 78 special polling parties were formed for conducting home voting, which consisted of polling staff, police personnel and micro observers. “The entire process has been completed by adhering to the guidelines issued by the ECI,” she said. Sakshi, who has been on her toes overseeing the arrangements for the General Election to the 18th Lok Sabha slated for June 1 in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, said the initiative had been taken to make the elections more inclusive and allow the eligible voters to exercise their right to vote. “It was delightful to see the elderly voters casting their votes at their respective houses. The administration is making all efforts to achieve the target of minimum 70 per cent voter turnout during the elections (Iss Baar, 70 Paar) and it will also add to the voter turnout,” she felt. Meanwhile, on the first day of the two-day exercise, 838 of the total 908 electors (707 aged 85 years and above) and 201 PwD), which accounted for 92.29 per cent turnout, continued on page 2 ment did not even allow us to enter Delhi, what to consider about our demands. We are treated as enemies in our own country. We will continue our struggle till our demands are met,” said Gurdeep Singh, another farm union leader. “Farmer Shubhkaran Singh and Surinder Pal singh Akri lost their lives while farmer Pritpal Singh lost his eyesight due to the oppression of the police force inflicted upon growers. Nearly 700 farmers lost their lives during the first Kisan Andolan,” he added. The main demands of farmers include a legal guarantee to MSP on their produce, withdrawal of police cases against them during earlier protests, pensions for farmers and farm labourers, debt waivers and no hike in electricity tariff. Farmers have vowed to continue their protest until the Central Government meets their demands. Lok Sabha elections in Punjab are scheduled on June 1 and farmers’ anger towards the Centre is becoming increasingly evident. They are not allowing BJP leaders to enter villages and have announced to boycott the BJP in the poll. — TNS Self-styled farmer leaders need to introspect: Jakhar Ludhiana, May 28 State BJP president Sunil Jakhar today launched a scathing attack on self-styled leaders of farmer unions saying that some of these leaders had become extortionists with the patronage and collusion of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government in the state. “They need to introspect. People will turn against them. They are defaming their own community. These self-styled leaders need to mend their ways,” Jakhar said during an interaction with representatives of trade and industry in Ludhiana on Monday. He reacted after representatives of the industry raised the issue of farmers harassing people and blocking highways in protest and disrupting industrial operations leading to massive losses. “Punjab’s arteries are blocked. The protesters are not genuine farmers. Those resorting to these undemocratic ways are self-styled leaders who have their axe to grind. The AAP government is fanning their protest by patronising it,” Jakhar said in the presence of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. — TNS