Monthly Archives: August 2018

Rajmeet Singh

Completing two years in office, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh turned 77 this week. While there was a bash to celebrate his birthday, his tenure so far may not call for as grand a celebration. The roll-out of development schemes has been painfully slow and poll promises are yet to be met.

This said, Capt Amarinder continues to play on the front foot in the political arena. Outsmarting his rivals within the party, mainly those eyeing the top seat, he has reaffirmed his position as the undisputed leader of the Punjab Congress.

Securing a two-thirds majority in the 2017 Assembly elections followed by consecutive wins in the byelections to the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha and Shahkot Assembly seats with huge margins, the CM, strengthened by a divided Opposition, is now working on ‘Mission 13’ — winning all 13 Lok Sabha seats.

Capt Amarinder is credited with instilling a sense of security in all sections by eliminating organised crime, cracking murder cases of Hindu right-wing leaders and busting Khalistani modules. At the same time, he has addressed Panthic issue by initiating action — though only partially — on the emotive issue of sacrilege and the police firing at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura.

The special schemes launched to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and pushing for the Kartarpur Sahib corridor are his other accomplishments that has won him praise. But that’s half the story.

Capt Amarinder has given virtually a free hand to bureaucrats to run the government. In private, his Cabinet colleagues and party legislators admit the government’s performance has been below expectations, mainly owing to lack of delivery of government schemes.

In the saddle for 24 months now, the narrative of under-delivered poll promises is being played up by the Opposition. Given the financial crunch, promises like free smartphones under ‘Captain Smart Connect Scheme’, Rs 2,500 unemployment allowance and a job for each family remain a distant dream. The government intent of ending the sand, transport and cable mafia is not visible on the ground.

The involvement of a number of party MLAs in sand mining is a case in point. The government has been found wanting in prompt action as illegal mining continues unabated, despite the government bringing in a new sand and gravel policy.

Basking in glory for being the first state to disburse Rs 4,736 crore under farm loan debt waiver scheme ‘Karja Kurki Khatam, Fasal Di Puri Rakam’ benefiting five lakh small and marginal farmers and other Congress-ruled states replicating the Punjab model, the government is now bringing in a scheme for landless farmers and farmhand.

Though the government may be given credit for initiating administrative reforms, tackling corruption continues to be their Achilles heel. The much promised legislation on ‘Conflict of Interest’ to bring MLAs and ministers under its purview is still at the discussion stage.

Also, the exodus of Punjabi youth to foreign lands is indicative of the rising problem of unemployment.

Under the ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar’ schemes, the government claims to have helped 6.26 lakh  youth — 761 per day. The Opposition, however, is not impressed. It says the government has been using  private colleges to host ‘Rozgar Melas’ to send out the impression it is generating employment.

• AGRICULTURE: Farm distress hurt Akalis, continues to haunt Cong
• FINANCE: Despite intent, affirmative action missing
• HEALTH: Negatives, and positives, in face of serious challenges 
• EDUCATION: Chapter of dissent
• LAW & ORDER: Gangs reined in 
• TRANSPORT: Old monopoly rules
• Sidhu leads charge, but not much change on the ground

Washington, March 12

Pakistan has assured the United States that it will deal firmly with all terrorists and take steps to de-escalate tensions with India, a top White House official said on Monday.

Such an assurance was given by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during a call with the US National Security Adviser, John Bolton, the latter said in a tweet.

“Spoke with Pakistani FM Qureshi to encourage meaningful steps against JeM and other terrorist groups operating from Pakistan,” Bolton said.

“The FM assured me that Pakistan would deal firmly with all terrorists and would continue steps to de-escalate tensions with India,” tweeted the US national security adviser.

Bolton’s call with Qureshi came during the ongoing visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. On the first day of his official visit, the top Indian diplomat met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The United States continued to maintain pressure on Pakistan, according to a readout of the meeting issued by the State Department.

“Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Secretary Gokhale discussed the importance of bringing those responsible for the (Pulwama) attack to justice and the urgency of Pakistan taking meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said.

Pompeo affirmed that the United States stood with the people and Government of India in the fight against terrorism, he said.

“They noted the strength of our partnership and discussed ways to further enhance cooperation, including on counterterrorism,” Palladino said.

Tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.

Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting the biggest JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26.

The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured Indian pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1. PTI

Ganiv Kaur from Jammu celebrates with her family after being commissioned as an officer during a passing-out parade at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. Her father Col Harjinder Singh (L) is a Sena Medal awardee. PTI

Chennai: Ganiv Kaur had topped the merit list of JAG Branch (Women) of the Army. She is the fourth generation officer in her family to wear the uniform and the first woman from Jammu to top the list.

A total of 172 cadets were commissioned as officers, including those hailing from Bhutan and Afghanistan, on Saturday.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh presented the Sword of Honour and a silver medal to the academy under officer Siddharth Bhawnani, a gold medal to cadet Sandhya and a bronze medal to battalion under officer Noyonika Binda.

They are true epitome of valour; they wear the Olive green with great pride. This Women’s Day, meet these brave-hearts who serve the Army with great enthusiasm

Mona

Valour and honour these women wear on their sleeves, literally. With their indomitable spirit, grit and training, the women officers of Indian Army are the true representatives of nari shakti — that, by the way, was Oxford dictionary’s Hindi word of the year in 2018!

This Women’s Day we meet these brave-hearts who don the olive green with pride.

Childhood dream:Capt Priti Sharma

Capt Priti Sharma was fascinated by the olive green and the brass on the shoulders right from her childhood. A fitness freak, with an ambition to serve the country, she did not look beyond the Army, ever. “Joining the Force, I could fly in the sky, literally,” says the officer, who had her basic para training.  Be the fitness that she asserts is up to the next level since she joined Army or pursuing mountaineering that’s her passion, she next dreams of climbing the Everest.

“While serving the motherland, this is one field that lets you be. An officer is an officer, no man-woman distinction here, and courage, valour and strength are the words that we live by”. 

Proud soul Lt Col Shubhra Sambyal

When barely seven, little Shubhra was intrigued by her father’s friend who would show up at their house every now and then in uniform, and motivate her and her brother about being part of the prestigious Indian Army. “Now that I don olive greens just like him, I know how prestigious it is,” says Lt Col Shubhra Sambyal. A true believer of nari shakti, she insists, “Women are  tougher biologically for they are  the ones who give birth; also mentally they are way more resilient.”

“It is about time women support each other through different walks of life to emerge stronger in the times to come.”

Dream come true:Major Euthica

From Patna, Major Euthica’s inspiration to don the greens came from the serial Aarohan. “Seeing Pallavi Joshi as a cadet fuelled my dreams and the course of my life was set.” Schooling in Patna, college in Pune, it was Army next. “Women are already empowered, they don’t need any extra push. All women need today is the freedom to make decisions and a platform to showcase their abilities. Be it any field, they would prove their mettle.”

“Know your strength and don’t stop till you have achieved your aim.”

True strength:Capt Bhavna Syal

Army running in her blood, Capt Bhavna Syal is third-generation in the Indian Armed Forces. Part of the Republic Day Parade, Capt Bhavna insists, “I couldn’t think of any other profession that gives so much pride and dignity.” At the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, she credits her success to the lady officers who led them on. “Our commanding officer was a very motivating lady, who gave us a heads-up on every challenge that came our way.”

“Gender is a social construct and no challenge is insurmountable. Give your 100 per cent, and anything that you can think, you can achieve.”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken necessary steps to ensure that women, who were earlier inducted for Short Service Commission (SSC), will now be granted PC in the Armed forces.

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Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, March 25

The Indian Air Force on Monday formally inducted Chinook helicopters at Air Force Station 12 Wing in Chandigarh.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa attended the induction ceremony. Also, teachers from four different religions were present at the ceremony.

The helicopters were flown to Chandigarh, which would be the choppers permanent base. Two hangars and a maintenance bay along with associated technical and logistics facilities were to have been set up here for the purpose.

Chinooks have a payload capacity of about 10 tonne and will provide much-needed fillip to the IAF heavy-lift capability, a role earlier being fulfilled by Soviet origin Mi-26s, also based at Chandigarh.

The IAF had four Mi-26, but now is left with just one serviceable machine. Chinooks will lift artillery, vehicles, road construction and engineer equipment as well as troops and supplies to mountainous sectors in North and North-East.

Chandigarh is no stranger to Chinook. Three of them belonging to British Royal Air Force had been airlifted here from the UK for onward journey to Nepal for flood relief operations in 2015. After being re-assembled and test-flown, these spent a few days here before being recalled home

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh completes two years of his second term in office today. In an interview with The Tribune, he recounted his government’s achievements. Excerpts:

How would you rate the performance of your government?

More than satisfactory. We have made progress on all fronts, despite an acute financial crisis. We have put the economy back on track and alleviated the woes of lakhs of farmers with our debt waiver scheme. Investors and industry are now coming to Punjab. We have been able to break the backbone of the drug mafia. Most gangs have been eliminated. We’re facilitating employment with 5.76 lakh youth getting jobs every day in the government and private sectors.

We brought an end to VVIP culture within days of taking over. Other states followed suit. There is a lot more — development of infrastructure, particularly link roads, upgrading standards of education and making healthcare more accessible and affordable. We have raised the quantum of funds for social welfare schemes and launched Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana to ensure the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries. Most importantly, we have brought transparency in governance.

There is a perception that several ministers, especially Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sukhjinder Randhawa, are not on the same page with you.

I am not clear what exactly you are referring to, but in a democratic institution, everyone has the right to opinion on issues. Navjot felt differently on the issue of travelling to Pakistan for Imran Khan’s swearing-in. But as I have stated earlier there were personal reasons. It has been the Congress culture to allow members to speak their mind and yet be on the same page on a majority of issues. I am sure Navjot is on the same page as me when it comes to national security. His remarks on the IAF airstrikes need to be read in the same light. He is an emotional man.As for Sukhjinder, like other ministers, he wants quick action in sacrilege cases. But I have made it clear to him, and to everyone else, I cannot just rush to throw someone behind bars, without proper investigation. The judiciary will take action once investigations are complete. Sukhjinder knows I don’t believe in vendetta.

Have you been able to deal with the drug and liquor mafia and organised crime?

Very effectively, I would say. As I have said many a time, we have broken the backbone of the drugs mafia and saved our youth. Owing to efforts by the STF formed to tackle the menace, 19,443 cases have been filed under the NDPS Act, 22,933 persons arrested and 469 kg of heroin seized, besides other substances. Simultaneously, we are focusing on treatment and rehabilitation of the affected youth.

Coming to organised crime, our police has made a major breakthrough and eliminated notorious gangsters who had a free run under the previous regime. The figures with me show 1,332 gangsters and 18 terrorist modules have been busted and three terrorists and 22 foreign handlers either arrested or neutralised.

What about the outcome of the SIT probe into the role of bigwigs in sacrilege cases?

Let me clarify the SIT is not investigating the role of bigwigs in sacrilege cases, it is probing all aspects of the crime and the subsequent police firing. As to when the SIT will complete the probe is not for me to say. It is an independent agency. It will submit its findings to courts after the investigations are over. Those who have tried to divide us by inciting communal hatred and those behind the killing of innocent persons have to face the consequences of their actions. They have already gone scot-free for long.

Your party MLAs feel it is the bureaucracy, not elected representatives, who are calling the shots.

There were some complaints initially from MLAs but those were resolved. I personally told the bureaucrats that they must respect the MLAs, who are a bridge between the government and the people. They have been told that any lack of respect to elected representatives will not be tolerated. The bureaucracy and elected representatives are now working closely in the interest of the people. They are both pillars of my  government. I will ensure they continue to work in harmony.

The bureaucracy and elected representatives are working closely in the interest of the people. They are both pillars of my government. I will ensure they continue to work in harmony. — Capt Amarinder Singh, Punjab CM

As the Supreme Court asked the Attorney General, if the documents are genuine, does it matter if they are stolen?

At one point, especially after the CAG report, it appeared the government had weathered the worst of the Rafale controversy. Ideally, there could have been no comparison between the UPA’s Rafale deal and that of the NDA since, despite 10 long years of negotiations, there was no UPA deal; it was just an unending conversation and merely a statement of intent. The deal was stuck on costs since the Indian partner – the public sector HAL – was going to produce the aircraft at a higher cost than Dassault in France and, more important, Dassault was not willing to stand guarantee for the aircraft HAL produced even though these would be under license. The fact that the UPA wasn’t able to sign a deal while the Indian Air Force found its fleet rapidly depleting would, in normal circumstances, be enough to ensure the Congress party kept quiet on the deal. Indeed, the recent statement by the then defence minister AK Antony, that he had intentionally delayed the deal in the national interest – he has not explained what he meant – makes the UPA’s position even more untenable since the story is no longer just one of the usual delays in defence procurement, it is a lot more worrying.

Despite this, however, the CAG made some assumptions in order to compare the NDA’s deal and the UPA’s non-deal, and concluded that the NDA’s was a bit cheaper than the UPA’s despite the number of aircraft being much smaller – usually, smaller deals cost more. While some have argued that the assumptions made by the CAG for this exercise are incorrect, in times when few have the patience to hear detailed arguments, the headline is what really matters, and that favoured the NDA.

Given this, and the fact that The Hindu had published stories critical of the Rafale deal even earlier, it is indeed odd that Attorney General KK Venugopal should now ask the Supreme Court to not consider the latest story because it was based on stolen documents; he even said the government may file a case under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) since stolen official papers were used. Not surprisingly, the judges were quite caustic and asked him why stolen papers shouldn’t be used if they shed new light on the matter. One judge even asked Venugopal whether the courts should refuse to look at documents that proved a person’s innocence just because the documents were stolen. Such a defence, to even those sympathetic to the government’s dealings in the Rafale case, indicates that the government has something to hide. In the past, in fact, when The Hindu published a story last month suggesting irregularities, the defence minister had given a convincing reply without bringing in the allegations that the documents were stolen. Indeed, the Attorney General should be asked to name a single case of corruption where the documents used to prove the case were not ‘confidential’ government files and which, going by his stance, should have resulted in arrests under the OSA. And if national security – another tag that is being invoked – is to be used each time a journalist publishes government documents, surely this would apply to other corruption cases as well, including Bofors? More so when even fairly routine papers are marked classified or top secret.

Apart from the fact that it is not a journalist’s job to protect the government’s interest – in exposing official lies, the journalist is answerable to a larger cause, that of society or the country – the Attorney General should have kept in mind that, over time, governments all over the world including India are moving towards removing the veil of secrecy that covered most official dealings; India’s Right to Information attempts to ensure citizens have enough information to expose the wrongdoings of officials. Sadly, it is not just the BJP – though it stands exposed right now – most political parties speak in different voices at different times on laws like official secrets or sedition; they want them scrapped when they are in the opposition but use them quite liberally when they are in power.

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On 26 February, twelve Mirage 2000 fighter jets of the Indian Army were chosen for a “non-military, pre-emptive strike” on the camp of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) inside the Pakistan territory. The Mirage 2000 jets were chosen due to their advanced capabilities of hitting long-range targets with “pin-point” accuracy and dropping a range of bombs and missiles including laser-guided ones, Indian government sources had said earlier. The weapons used by the Indian Air Force at its targe in Balakot, about 60 km from the Line of Control, were Israeli-developed SPICE-2000. The SPICE, which stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective, is a guidance and maneuvering kit manufactured by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The SPICE kit adds a sophisticated guidance system—consisting of inertial navigation, satellite guidance and electro-optical sensors for pinpoint accuracy—and control fins to a conventional unguided bomb.

The SPICE-2000 is reportedly the biggest conventional bomb that can be delivered by the IAF. It is used on French-origin Mirage-2000 jets. The IAF acquired SPICE-2000 for use against fortified & underground command centres. The SPICE-1000 kit, which is available for 500kg bombs, has a glide range of nearly 100km, while the SPICE-2000 (meant for 1,000kg bombs) has a glide range of around 60km. Weapons like the SPICE-1000 and the SPICE-2000, are also difficult to detect by most ground-based radars. SPICE can overcome errors in locating the target, GPS jamming and reduces collateral damage.

The Indian Air Force is in the process of equipping its Su-30MKI with Israeli SPICE-2000 laser-guided bombs, it is being reported. Once the Spice-2000 smart bombs are integrated with the Sukhoi Su-30 jets, it will be a major upgrade for the Indian Air Force as a major part of its fleet will be able to launch these smart bombs.