Congs sad song

With Opposition leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal again riding her hobby-horse and lashing out at her bete noire former CM Capt Amarinder Singh...

With Opposition leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal again riding her hobby-horse and lashing out at her bete noire former CM Capt Amarinder Singh,who is reportedly eyeing the post of PPCC chief,bickering in the Punjab Congress has been cutting a wide swathe. Amarinders not marking his attendance at the Congress rallies which are being held against policies of the SAD-BJP government has driven Bhattal and her band of supporters up the wall. PPCCs Dalit president Mohinder Singh Kaypee had also accused the Captain of casting a caste slur on him. However,when Amarinder retorted,Kaypee ate his words,but Bhattal chose to chew on. Alleging that Amarinder deliberately chose not to attend the functions where Kaypee was present,Bhattal has been demanding action against those who have been going against the PPCC president. While Punjab Congress stands a divided house,with factions regularly raising the roof,Amarinder is calm as a monk.

Jhinda found guilty

The demand for separate SGPC in Haryana,which had reached a flashpoint on September 13 at a Kurukshetra gurdwara,is still simmering. The Sikh clergy found Haryana SGPC ad hoc head Jagdish Singh Jhinda guilty of religious misconduct in the case of forcible occupation of the Kurukshetra gurdwara. High priests would decide the quantum of punishment at the next meeting to be held at the Akal Takht on November 15. While asserting that he would accept the punishment,Jhinda said this would not stop his fight for a separate gurdwara management body.

Middlemen at centrestage

If you cannot convince them,confuse them. This old chestnut seems to be the mantra of the state government,which has not been able to plough out the seeds of discontent sowed by arhtiyas commission agents and farmers over issue of payment for paddy. First,the government decided that direct payment through cheques would be made to farmers,then it said that money would be given to arhtiyas,who could deduct not more than Rs 10,000 from the amount the cultivator owes him. The CM again took a U-turn,saying that farmers,if they wished,could take direct payment. As per an age-old practice in Punjab,procurement agencies pay the agents,who pay the farmers. However,arhtiyas,who have been directed to pay a farmer as soon as his paddy is procured,are an unhappy lot. They said the step was detrimental as one agent deals with many farmers,and paying them before the procurement agency clears dues would push them in the red. Before the government again gets down to brass tacks,paddy procurement season would be over.

Millers strike jarring note

After holding up paddy procurement for two weeks,rice millers called off their stir following a dialogue with the Punjab Food and Civil Supply Department,which assured to meet their demands. The department reportedly dealt with millers with an iron hand as farmers had started rolling up their sleeves. The millers association had,however,said that they had called off the strike on the assurance of Punjab Food and Civil Supply Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon that relaxations being sought by them would be allowed. The Union Agriculture Ministry has agreed to relax discolouration and damage specifications for this year and last years stock to 4 per cent. Meanwhile,allegations of political interference hit paddy procurement in Majha region. Threatening to launch an agitation,the Congress leaders have accused the SAD MLAs of getting produce of only their supporters lifted.