Fastway has carried out loot in Punjab and finished off many small cable operators through monopoly. We can give employment to 1 lakh youth if this ends. We will be seen as cowards if we do not act now. NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU, local bodies minister

In an election fought against business interests of the Badal family, the Congress promised both sops and clean-up of the system by ending the family’s “monopoly” – from roads to airwaves. The transport policy unveiled this week tried to rein in Badal buses, but the Amarinder Singh government is still to bring the promised law to end the “monopoly” of Fastway, patronised by the Badals, over cable business. Local bodies minister Navjot Sidhu has, however, launched a tirade against the company’s alleged tax evasions running into crores, forcing the CM to warn it of action “if found guilty of violations”. HT explains the controversy and its many actors.

HT PHOTOThe Fastway Transmissions office in Ludhiana.

WHAT IS FASTWAY CONTROVERSY?

Fastway Transmissions is a multi-system operator (MSO) started by Ludhianabased Jhujhar Transport owner, Gurdeep Singh, after the Badals came to power in 2007. Through aggressive expansion, it made majority of local cable operators buy its signal, edging Siti Cable, owned by Zee group, out of competition. The Congress had then alleged that it monopolised the business under patronage of then deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, who “promoted” his PTC group of channels and blocked access to other Punjab-based news channels such as Zee Punjabi and Day and Night.

WHAT DOES NAVJOT SIDHU WANT?

Sidhu, who had a running political battle with the Badals, wants Fastway’s monopoly to end. He has accused it of evading state taxes such as entertainment tax and sales tax, and charges for using electricity poles for overhead cable and road digging for laying optical fibre. He has demanded a vigilance inquiry. Sidhu is also claiming a bigger scam in evasion of central taxes, mainly service tax.

WHY IS SIDHU AFTER FASTWAY?

Badal-bashing being his USP, Sidhu was restless to get down to his agenda of taking them on. But Amarinder said he would not indulge in political vendetta. All Sidhu needed was a tax that fell within his purview and used “unpaid” road cutting charges payable to department of local government to go after Fastway. He has written to other departments, including those under the CM, to probe and penalise it.

DOES HE HAVE EVIDENCE?

Sidhu’s evidence, particularly his charge of Fastway underreporting its TV connections to avoid tax liability, is mostly based on a deductive theory than facts on record. Reliance Jio has yet to respond to charges that Fastway “bullied” it to lay its optical fibre in Punjab for free. His tax evasion figures are estimates. No documentary evidence has been shown. The extent of evasion of central taxes is based on allegations.

WHAT LAW DID CONG PROMISE?

The Congress had promised to end the monopoly over the transmission of TV channels by bringing the cable business regulation law.

WHY IS CM SOFT­PEDALING?

Amarinder wants to ruffle no feathers, not the least of the Badals, and is flip-flopping on several promises. Even if he wants to hit business interests of the Badals, Captain may not want to be seen as the hand behind it. But he may not be too happy to let Sidhu set the agenda of governance.

WHAT ARE BADALS’ STAKES?

They have stayed away from the controversy so far, but the links between Fastway and Sukhbir’s PTC are not hard to find. Mumbai-based JS Kohli and Yogesh Shah had joined hands with Gurdeep to roll out Fastway in 2007. The two were also the founders of PTC. However, they ceased to be directors of PTC in 2010. The cartelisation of cable network had ensured promotion of PTC, a mouthpiece of the Badals.

WHAT DOES FASTWAY HAVE TO SAY?

It has rebutted the minister’s all charges, showing agreements, filings and permissions for its dealings with Jio, laying underground cable, number of TV connections. It also claims to have permission for using electricity poles.

WHAT NEXT?

Though it has answers to allegations on paper, Sidhu has bound Fastway in knots by raising lapses such as non-reversal of credit availed on central value-added tax (CENVAT) on set-top boxes and cancelling of invoices. In this maze of tax details, it would finally come down to how credible are Sidhu’s sources and how efficient are the tax consultants of Fastway.

Itanagar, July 5

An Arunachal Pradesh Police team today spotted the debris of an IAF chopper, which went missing yesterday, in a deep ravine, and also the bodies of two crew members.“The team could not retrieve the bodies as the crash site is located in a deep gorge at the confluence of a waterfall and the Nyorch river. The third body is yet to be traced,” IGP (Law and Order) Nabin Payeng said, adding extra ground force would move to the site early tomorrow to retrieve the bodies. The team spotted the chopper’s debris earlier in the day and two search teams were deployed at the reported locations.One team, was led by Papum Pare SP Tumme Amo comprising 63 personnel from Police Training Centre and 17 ITBP personnel, besides a medical team. The second team was led by DSP Neelam Nega with 61 personnel from PTC and 10 local youths armed  with GPS and WT set.A search operation was launched since morning by the Army, ITBP along with Arunachal Pradesh Police and India Reserve Battalion to locate the chopper.The Advanced Light Helicopter of the IAF engaged in flood rescue mission in the state went missing at 3.50 pm yesterday after it took off from Pilputu Helipad near Sagalee. It was evacuating people stranded in Sagalee and Dambuk due to landslides caused by heavy rains.Tezpur-based Defence spokesperson Lt Col Sombit Ghosh had said the chopper had gone out for flood rescue operations from its base in Jorhat on Tuesday morning.Sagalee Additional Deputy Commissioner J Pertin said the IAF helicopter had made five sorties since it arrived there at 10.30 am yesterday. — TNS/PTI

Fatalities in Arunachal 

• In May this year, IAF’s Sukhoi-30 jet crashed near the Assam-Arunachal border, killing both pilots
• In 2011, then Arunacha CM Dorjee Khandu and four others had died after the Pawan Hans chopper carrying them crashed at a remote location in the state

Army men pay floral tributes to the statue of martyr Capt Roopendra Singh Garcha on his 17th martyrdom day in Jalandhar on Friday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 30

Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma today said the supreme sacrifice made by Capt Roopendra Singh Garcha and other Army men would always inspire the younger generations to lay down their lives for safeguarding the unity and integrity of the country.He was addressing the gathering during a function to commemorate the 17th martyrdom day of Capt Garcha, who sacrificed his life at the altar of his motherland in 2000. The Deputy Commissioner, while saluting the Army, said the exemplary social services being rendered by the Capt Roopendra Singh Garcha Charitable Trust instituted by the family were laudable. Presiding over the function, Chief of Staff Headquarters 11 Corps Maj Gen Balwinder Singh saluted the martyr on this momentous occasion. Recalling the days of his posting in the Valley during 2000 when Capt Garcha attained martyrdom, the Major General said the Army was mostly fighting with an invisible enemy to protect the country.Like every year, a contingent of 323 AAD Regiment from which Capt Roopendra Singh Garcha hailed also came all the way from Pune under Captain Lokesh Yadav to pay homage to the great martyr.Prominent amongst other present on the occasion included mother of Capt Garcha Harminder Kaur Garcha, brother Deepinder Singh Garcha, Lieut Gen Surjit Singh (retd), Lieut Gen MS Shergill (retd), Lieut Gen AS Bahia (retd), Lieut Gen JS Dhillon (retd), Maj Gen Iqbal Singh, Maj Gen Manjit Singh, Maj Gen MS Parmar, Major Gen Amrik Singh, Lieut Col Manmohan Singh (retd) and families of Kargil martyrs.

DSP Mohammed Ayub Pandith’s wife (right) being consoled during his funeral in Srinagar on Friday. Tribune photo: Yawar Kabli

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 23

Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammed Ayub Pandith, 57, had left his Nowpora home at 8.30 pm for his night duty at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid, located three kilometres from his home. During the night, when the pictures of an unidentified man, who was lynched outside the mosque, spread on the social media and WhatsApp, the family could not recognise him.“Many in our family had seen the picture, but none could identify him,” said his cousin Mohammad Abdullah Pandit. “At 5.20 am, we were told to identify the body and everyone was in shock.”Abdullah claimed that it was for the first time after joining the police, Pandith was deployed at Jamia Masjid. The family also received a call from the police at around 3 am inquiring whether Pandith had returned home or not.As the body reached home, the family members wailed and neighbours also assembled to offer condolences. Emotional scenes were seen at his home. He was laid to rest at his native place in Nowpora.The officer is survived by wife, son Danish, who is a businessman, and daughter Sana, who is doing MBBS in Bangladesh.“Sana had arrived a few days ago to celebrate Eid and she was to leave on Tuesday,” another family member said.Pandith’s colleagues remembered him as one of the finest officers. “He was known to be one of the most decent and dedicated officer,” ADGP (Security) Dilbagh Singh said.Pandith had joined the police in 1990 as a Sub-Inspector. After completing his basic training in 1992, he was posted at Pulwama. He was promoted to the Deputy Superintendent of Police’s post in 2013 and was posted with the security wing.

New Delhi, June 22India on Thursday affirmed that bilateral issues between India and Pakistan will have to be decided “bilaterally”, reacting to suggestions by UN chief Antonio Guteress that he is engaged in bringing about a dialogue between the two neighbours.External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Bagley told reporters he was aware of the remarks made by Guteress that he has raised the issue during his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.”I have seen the reply which has been reported in the media. Essentially the secretary general asked a question in response to a question… Bilateral issues have to be decided bilaterally and the UN secretary general has been made aware of that position,” Bagley said.Addressing reporters at his first press conference at the world body’s headquarters since assuming office in January, Guterres recently said that he is engaged in bringing about a dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue.”Why do you think I met three times the Prime Minister of Pakistan and two times the Prime Minister of India,” Guterres said with a laughter, responding to a question on whether he is involved in the matter. — PTI

The move would benefit a total of 10.25 lakh farmers. Tribune file photo

Chandigarh, June 19

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday announced total waiver of crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh of small and marginal farmers, and a flat Rs 2 lakh relief for all marginal farmers, irrespective of the loan amount.

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The announcement has thus paved way for eventual total waiver of agricultural debts, which was a major poll promise of the Congress during the Punjab Assembly polls in March this year.

Making the announcements during his speech in the Punjab assembly, the Chief Minister said the move would benefit a total of 10.25 lakh farmers of the state’s 18.5 lakh farming families, including 8.75 lakh farmers having land up to 5 acres.

“The initiative would provide double the relief announced by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra,” Amarinder pointed out.

The decision is based on the interim report of an expert group, headed by eminent economist Dr T. Haque, which was tasked with suggesting ways and means to help the state’s distressed farming community.

Making it clear that his government stood by its commitment to waive off the crop loans of the farmers, Amarinder said his government had also additionally decided to take over the outstanding crop loan from institutional sources of all the families of farmers who committed suicide in the state.

It has also decided to raise the ex gratia for families of farmers committing suicide to Rs 5 lakh from the existing Rs 3 lakh.

For debt relief to farmers for loans raised from non-institutional resources, the government has decided to review the ‘Punjab Settlement of Agriculture Indebtedness Act’ to provide the desired relief to the farmers through mutually acceptable debt reconciliation and settlement, which shall be statutorily binding on both the parties, the lender and the borrower.

“The government has already constituted a Cabinet Sub Committee to review this Act,” Amarinder added.

The Chief Minister proposed that the Speaker may constitute a 5-member committee of the Vidhan Sabha to visit families of the suicide victims, ascertain the reasons for suicides and suggest further steps to be taken to check the menace.

He also told the Assembly that his government had already decided to repeal Section 67 A of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, which provides for auction (kurki) of farmers’ land.

Also asserting that his government’s is committed to provide free power to farmers, he however, appealed to all big and well-to-do farmers of the state to give up power subsidy voluntarily.

Amarinder announced his decision to immediately give up the subsidy at his own farms to set a personal example, and appealed to his colleagues to do the same. — IANS

Family members bid adieu to martyr Bakhtawar Singh at Hajipur village in Hoshiarpur on Saturday. Tribune photo

Sanjiv Bakshi

Hajipur (Hoshiarpur), June 17

The body of Naik Bakhtawar Singh, who was killed in cross-border firing in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, was cremated with military honours at his native village Hajipur today.During the funeral procession, his widow Jasveer Kaur raised slogans against Pakistan. The martyr’s eldest son Sukhwinder Singh (11) lit the pyre. After the “antim ardas”, a contingent of the Armyreversed their firearms and fired gunshots in the air as a mark of respect to the martyr.Bakhtawar’s father Pritam Singh, daughter Jaspreet Kaur (9) and nine-month-old son Maninder Singh along with area residents and representatives of social, religious and political organisations paid tributes to the martyr.Also present were MLA Rajneesh Kumar Babby, BJP vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, former MP Santosh Chaudhary and AAP leader Sukkhan Singh Jaggi.Later in the day, Rural Development, Panchayat and Water Supply Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa met his family members.He was accompanied by MLAs Babby, Arun Kumar Dogra, Pawan Kumar Adia and Dr Raj Kumar. Bajwa said Bakhtawar had sacrificed life for the country and made the state proud. He announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the family and the construction of a memorial gate. He said he would take up the matter of giving a job to a family member with the Chief Minister.

The Islamic summit of Sunni nations along with the US vowed to target Iran as the supporter of global terror.

 The battle against ISIS seems to have lost focus partially in the physical realm in the Middle Eastern battlefields, but equally so in the psychological realm.(Photo: AP)