London, June 5

British Sikh Opposition Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi called for an independent inquiry into the extent of the involvement of the then Margaret Thatcher-led British government in Operation Bluestar in June 1984.

The UK’s first turbaned Sikh member of Parliament, who raised the issue in the House of Commons on Thursday to mark 36 years since the Indian Army’s operation at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, also called for a debate on the issue.

“This week marks 36 years since the then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, ordered her abhorrent attack on the most revered Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar,” Dhesi said.

“Despite recent revelations and given the huge demand from within the British Sikh community and the support of the Labour party and other Opposition parties, an independent inquiry to establish the extent of the Thatcher government’s involvement in the attack has still not been held,” he said.

Leader of the Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, responded on behalf of the government to describe it as an “important anniversary”.

“I have every confidence that Margaret Thatcher, one of the greatest leaders this country has ever had, would always have behaved properly,” said Rees-Mogg.

The demand for an inquiry arose a few years ago when it emerged that British military advice was given to Indian forces prior to the Operation Bluestar.

The then British Prime Minister, David Cameron, had ordered an internal review into this discovery, which led to a statement in Parliament declaring that Britain’s role had been purely “advisory” and the Special Air Service (SAS) advice had “limited impact” on the Operation Bluestar. PTI

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 5

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday rejected the “so-called reforms” announced by the Government of India for the Agriculture sector, as yet another brazen attempt to erode and destabilise the country’s federal structure, and warned that it could pave the way for disbanding the MSP regime as well as the foodgrain procurement regime, triggering unrest among the state’s farmers.

On illegal sale of liquor during the lockdown period, the CM said an SIT has been set up to probe the entire matter related to illegal smuggling of liquor from distilleries. The involvement of excise officials and the kingpins in the smuggling of liquor without paying the government fee would be probed.

Read more: Experts question timing of agricultural reforms

Cabinet approves amendment to Essential Commodities Act

Left parties pitch for rescinding of Ordinances related to farm sector

Cabinet approves big farm reforms

Strongly opposing the Centre’s move to suppress the rights of the states, as enshrined under the Indian Constitution, the Chief Minister said: “Punjab would fight any steps on the part of the Government of India to weaken the federal structure of the country through such direct and detrimental interference in the well-established agriculture produce marketing system of the state”.

Such a measure, he warned, shall severely and adversely impact the food security of the nation, which Punjab’s hard-working and selfless farmers have sustained ever since the green revolution.

Pointing out that the federal structure of India envisages well-defined roles and responsibilities for the Centre and the states, Captain Amarinder said that under the Constitutional framework, Agriculture is a State Subject, and the Union Government has no powers to make any legislation to deal with the dynamics of agricultural production, marketing and processing.

These are state matters, which individual states are best placed to handle and manage, he said, describing the

“Farming Produce, Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020” as a highly ill-conceived move on the part of the central government.

Asserting that the move would damage Punjab, the Chief Minister said during a video press conference that the Centre’s habit of taking sudden decisions and forcing them on states, without taking their views into account, was violative of the very federal framework of the state.

In a statement, the Chief Minister further said that such actions of the Union Government during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis can have serious economic, social and law and order consequences. The farmers will not gain but will suffer at the hands of traders due to the legislative change, he said. He further pointed out that the Centre had not even created any dispute redressal mechanism, and had not consulted the state governments, which would be left to handle the consequences of this hasty action.

Terming the legislation as a cruel joke on the farming community, whose interests have been continuously ignored by the NDA-led central government, the Chief Minister said that far from ushering in an era of much-needed reforms in Agriculture, the announcements are a clear and concerted design to undermine the systems and processes that are holding the sector together.

Citing the well-oiled agriculture produce marketing system in Punjab, the Chief Minister said it had served the state well, standing the test of time, for 60 years. The state has in place a well- developed state-of-the-art infrastructure, both for open marketing of produce and its seamless transportation from the farm gates to mandis and godowns.

At present, the entire trade of agriculture produce is carried out within the notified markets/mandi yards through a system licensed under, “The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961 (APMC Act),” which allows farmers to bring their produce to the Mandis, where buying/ selling of the produce is conducted in a transparent manner and payment to the farmers is ensured, the Chief Minister pointed out.

Further, he said, the State Government has already made necessary amendments to the Punjab APMC Act to provide for setting up of regulated Mandis even in the Private Sector for specific produces.

In fact, he said, sale/purchase worth about Rs. 80000 crore is transacted annually in Punjab’s Market Yards, which effectively support 65% of the State’s population that is dependent on agriculture and agro produce.

As such, there is no further need of a Central Law to interfere with already the existing well-established marketing system in Punjab, asserted Captain Amarinder, warning that any move to interfere with this well-entrenched system has the potential for triggering unrest in the State as it will badly hit farmers, especially small and marginal farmers.

Jayadeva Ranade

President, Centre for China Analysis and Strategy

The annual plenary meetings (May 21-28) of China’s top political advisers who comprise the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) — China’s version of a parliament — in Beijing are important events that give an insight into China’s economic situation, plans for the coming year and the thinking of its leadership. Commonly called the ‘Big Two’, the list of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) delegates attending the event and their discussions yields clues as to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership’s areas of emphasis in the military. The recently concluded 13th session of the 13th NPC and third session of the 13th CPPCC have been no different.

As per practice, President Xi Jinping, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and commander-in-chief of the PLA, met the PLA deputies, and told them that ‘the world is an increasingly dangerous place’ and ‘the epidemic has brought a profound impact on the global landscape and on China’s security and development as well.’ He ordered the military to ‘think about worst-case scenarios, scale up training and battle preparedness, promptly and effectively deal with all sorts of complex situations and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.’ The hike in defence budget by the lowest increment in recent years of only 6.6 per cent to $178.2 billion, elicited some negative comments. Hong Kong-based retired officer of the PLA Second Artillery, now renamed the PLA Rocket Force, and prolific commentator on China’s state-owned TV and media, Song Zhongping, said: ‘China is facing national security threats, including those taking place very nearby to China and in non-traditional security fields. Compared to these threats, China’s military expenditure was far from enough’. Global Times quoted unnamed military experts as saying, ‘In the post-pandemic period, China faces more military threats from other countries, mainly the US. With Taiwan secessionists becoming more and more rampant, reunification by force with the island of Taiwan is always on the table, adding that in this situation, increasing the defence budget must not stop’. With this as backdrop, Xi Jinping told PLA officers not to take the money for granted and that ‘every penny must be well spent to produce maximum results’. He also asked them to accelerate research and development of Covid-19 drugs and vaccines.

Interesting was that through the entire week’s deliberations of the CPPCC and NPC, none of the delegates was reported by China’s official media as having made any reference to the tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Xi Jinping did not refer to it. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, at his press conference on the sidelines of the NPC meeting on May 24, also made no mention of the tensions. The solitary reference to India was by Song Zhongping, who told Global Times (May 22) that ‘people should ask first, which countries are threatening China’s national security in the first place? They should ask the US, they should ask India, and some other neighbouring countries and regions.’

The other surprise development was the announcement on May 21 that 17 deputies to the NPC had been asked to resign. Among them were four senior PLA officers who were ordered to resign, including as NPC deputies, due to ‘serious violations of discipline and law’. Investigations of the four had started late last year and the list of PLA deputies to the NPC, which was finalised on May 10, omitted their names. Corruption, which is often listed as one of the charges, was not mentioned, suggesting that possibly doubts about their political reliability or factionalism could have been the factors for their dismissal.

The PLA officers are Lt Gen Rao Kaixun, the former Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the PLA Strategic Support Force (SSF); Maj Gen Meng Zhongkang, former Political Commissar of the Jiangsu Military District; Maj Gen Xu Xianghua, the former Deputy Commander of the Army in the Western Theatre Command; and Maj Gen Ye Qing, the former Political Commissar of the Hainan Military Region.

At least two of them were decorated officers with good records. Lt Gen Rao Kuixun was an officer on the fast, upward mobile track and had received rapid promotions. He was appointed commander of a Group Army at the age of 48, becoming the youngest Group Army commander at that time. He was honoured as an ‘excellent commanding officer of the PLA army’ in 2008. He was also the first Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the newly formed PLA Strategic Support Force (SSF).

Maj Gen Meng Zhongkang studied at the X’ian Politics College and trained at the Shijiazhuang Army Command College, Nanjing Political College Shanghai Branch, and graduated from the National Defence University. When he resigned from service, he was Political Commissar of the Jiangsu Military Region. He was awarded ‘third-class merit’ five times.

The unexpected dismissal of the four Generals further confirms that Xi Jinping continues to closely monitor the PLA and the party for any signs of factionalism or wavering in political reliability. More importantly, announcing the dismissal of the two decorated senior officers on the eve of the NPC would have sent a chill through the PLA officer cadre, thereby enabling Xi Jinping to further tighten his grip on the PLA.

India formally applied in May 2016, and have the backing of majority of group’s members, but its entry is being blocked by China

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 4

Amidst the continuing stand-off with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) has rushed to raise the newly sanctioned Command at Chandigarh that will control all ITBP formations in the western theatre.

An officer of the rank of Inspector General (IG) at the force headquarters in New Delhi has been transferred to Command Headquarters Chandigarh with immediate effect “in public interest” to head the command, sources said.

He will officiate as the Additional Director General (ADG) till the posting of a regular officer, according to orders issued by the ITBP Director General SS Deswal on June 3, sources said. This would be in addition to his present duties at New Delhi.

Following a cadre review that was approved by the Cabinet in October 2019, two new commands, one based at Chandigarh and the other at Guwahati for the eastern theatre, are to be raised. These are to be headed by officers of the rank of ADG, equivalent to a lieutenant general in the Army. “An imperative need has been felt to make these headquarters functional immediately,” Deswal’s orders state.

All ITBP ‘frontiers’ located in the eastern and western theatres would now report to their respective command headquarters. At present, the force is divided into five frontiers that report directly to Force Headquarters, along with other training, logistic and administrative establishments, through an ADG based in New Delhi. The geographical responsibility of each frontier is generally aligned with the stretch of the border shared by respective states with China.

Western Command will control the Dehradun-based Northern Frontier comprising Shimla, Dehradun and Bareilly sectors and the North-West Frontier, recently moved from Chandigarh to Leh that comprises Srinagar and Ladakh sectors. Eastern Command will control the Northern Frontier and the North-eastern Frontier. The Bhopal-based Central frontier along with the ITBP’s specialist battalions and some other establishments would be under the command of the ADG at Force Headquarters.

ITBP, mandated for the peacetime management of the border with China, has 56 service battalions and four specialist battalions, out of which 32 are deployed in border guarding duties, 11 in internal security and eight in anti-Naxal operations.

The need to create commands in the ITBP was felt to streamline command, control and coordination over field formations in view of the force expansion due to new battalions being raised, increasing commitments and raising border volatility. This necessitated the creation of new posts that included two ADGs, 10 IGs (equivalent to Major General), 10 Deputy Inspector General (equivalent to Brigadier) and 13 posts of Commandant (equivalent to Colonel), in addition to more posts at lower levels.

While the Director General of all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) under the Ministry of Home Affairs is an officer from the Indian Police Service (IPS), other higher level posts are tenable by a mix of IPS and cadre officers. Till now, cadre officers could only reach up to the level of IG, but the cadre review opened doors to the level of ADG and also created more vacancies for them at other ranks.

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Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 4

India and Australia signed a joint declaration to enhance bilateral partnership on Thursday, which was accompanied by the parallel conclusion of bilateral defence arrangements.

At their first-ever virtual summit, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Scott Morrison decided to elevate the bilateral Strategic Partnership concluded in 2009 to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

The expanded Australia-India cooperation on maritime safety and security will be marked by building stronger links between coast guards and civil maritime agencies and by developing deeper navy-to-navy engagement. It will be under-girded by an agreement to share logistics, giving the armed forces of both countries easier access to each other’s military bases. India already has one such agreement with the US and is planning to sign another with Japan. The pact will widen the arc of operations for India, specially its maritime surveillance planes – the Boeing P8I- whose close variant is also used by Australia. This would mean, that a surveillance plane, if flying in the far east, dopes not need to rely on just US bases for refuel/ spare parts.

To propel this security relationship further, the Foreign and Defence Ministers will meet in a ‘2+2’ format to discuss strategic issues at least once every two years.

The Modi-Morrison interaction provided a glimpse of the extended relationship with Asian countries, including trilaterals with Japan and Indonesia, respectively, seven-country consultations on Covid with Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam and a quadrilateral with the US. Both countries are among the four invited by the US President to the next G-7 summit.

The security side pushed into the background a vital agreement to cooperate on rare mineral exports to India, which officials had earlier said would be instrumental in reducing the dependence on China as well as position India for 21st century technologies.

Australia did not raise upfront its expectations of India signing the RCEP agreement that would have given its dairy sector, under pressure from China, an alternate outlet.

Joint declaration

India and Australia have common concerns regarding the strategic, security and environmental challenges in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain

The Chinese Army is learnt to have deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso

Beijing, June 5

China on Friday said that it is committed to properly resolve the “relevant issue” with India ahead of the key talks between senior Indian and Chinese military officials on Saturday to end the border standoff.

Both the sides are expected to deliberate on specific proposals to end the month-long bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh during the first extensive talks between the Indian and Chinese military on Saturday, led by lieutenant generals from both the armies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here that “at the moment the situation in the boundary region between China and India is overall stable and controllable”.

“We have full-fledged border-related mechanisms, and we maintain close communications though military and diplomatic channels,” he said when asked about reports that Indian and Chinese military officials are due to hold talks on Saturday.

“We are committed to properly resolve the relevant issue,” Geng said.

The general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, is expected to represent India at the talks which is scheduled to be held at one of the border meeting points, the official sources in New Delhi said.

The Indian side is expected to present specific proposals at the talks to de-escalate tension in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Demchok—the three areas in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have been on a bitter standoff for the last one month, the sources said.

It is not immediately known what will be the proposals that the Indian military will take to the negotiating table but it is understood that it will insist on return to status quo in all the areas.

The two sides have already held at least 10 rounds of negotiations between local commanders as well as major general-rank officials of the two armies but the talks did not yield any positive result, they said.

It is learnt that two sides are also engaged in diplomatic talks to find a solution to the face-off which is turning out to be the most serious military standoff between the two armies after the Doklam episode of 2017.

After the standoff began early last month, the Indian military leadership decided that Indian troops will adopt a firm approach dealing with the aggressive posturing by the Chinese troops in all disputed areas of Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.

The Chinese Army is learnt to have deployed around 2,500 troops in Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley besides gradually enhancing temporary infrastructure and weaponry.

India has also been bolstering its presence by sending additional troops and artillery guns, the sources said.

The trigger for the face-off was China’s stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

The troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in the Doklam tri-junction in 2017 which triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas. PTI

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ਪਿੰਡ ਫੱਤੋ ਚੱਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਅੱਜ ਫਰੀ ਰਾਸ਼ਨ ਵੰਡਿਆ ਜੀ ਓ ਜੀ ਟੀਮ ਅਤੇ ਡੀਪੋ ਹੋਲਡਰ ਦੀ ਹਾਜਰੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਨਕ -3005 ਕਿਲੋ ਗ੍ਰਾਮ ਅਤੇ ਮਾਹ -180 ਕਿਲੋ ਗ੍ਰਾਮ . … . . ਰਾਸ਼ਨ ਕਾਰਡ – 61 ਜਿਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਰਾਸ਼ਨ ਵੰਡਿਆ ਤਰੀਕ 03/06/2020

 Free Ration( Wheat & Dal) being issued in village Ghiala to beneficiaries in presence of Sarpanch, Ward Members & GOG Lt Bachitar Singh.

DISTRIBUTION OF FREE RATION,MNGREGA WORKS,ROAD BUILDINGS

GOG are distributing Free Ration to the Blue card holders, Anganbadi workers , poor mothers and small children

Mid Day meal dry ration to school children now as ration was kept for students due to closer of School.

Construction of Roads , Ponds, walls have commenced under supervision of GOG

THE MOTIVATORS OF GOG 

Lt Gen TS Shergill ,Senior Vice chairman GOG 

and Brig Prahald ,Distt Head Pathankot 

ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਹਾਈ ਸਕੂਲ ਲਹਿਰੂਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਿਡ ਡੇਅ ਮੀਲ ਦਾ ਸੁੱਖਾ ਰਾਸ਼ਨ ਛੇਵੀਂ ਜਮਾਤ ਤੋਂ ਅੱਠਵੀਂ ਕਲਾਸ ਦੇ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਪੰਦਰਾਂ ਅਪ੍ਰੈਲ ਤੱਕ 28ਬਚਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ 81ਕਿਲੋ 900ਗਰਾਮ ਮਿਡ ਡੇ ਮੀਲ ਇਨਚਾਰਜ ਮੋਨਿਕਾ ਮੈਡਮ ਅਤੇ ਜੀ ਉ ਜੀ ਟੀਮ ਦੇ ਮਨੋਹਰ ਲਾਲ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ਾਮ ਲਾਲ ਦੀ ਮੌਜੂਦਗੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਵੰਡਿਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ।

evelopment Works under MNGREGA During new Lockdown policy

Some of on going activities beings performed by GoG 

गांव bassa में भूमि विभाग की तरफ से 50 फिट लंबी दीवार दी जा रही है जिसमें लेबर मनरेगा की है आज जिओ जी टीम शाहपुर कंडी ने चेक किया तो वहां पर 8 मजदूर काम पर मिले और काम सही हो रहा है इसी के साथ bassa गांव में ही एक तलाव को साफ किया जा रहा है उसमें 7 मजदूर लगे हुए थे यह काम भी मनरेगा का ही चल रहा है यह काम भी ठीक-ठाक हो रहा है

The Road construction work