Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 21

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding urgent withdrawal of fuel and LPG price hikes, saying “India deserves better”.

“Governments are elected to ease the burden of our people. I urge you to roll back these increases in fuel prices and pass on the benefit to our middle and salaried class, farmers and poor. I hope you will agree that it is time for your government to focus on solutions instead of looking for excuses. India deserves better,” she said in her letter today.

Accusing the government of profiteering from people’s misery, the Congress chief said the middle class and those at the margins were struggling, while “the government has chosen to profiteer off people’s misery”.

She said fuel prices were at an historic and unsustainable high, petrol had breached the Rs 100/litre mark in many parts and surging diesel prices had hit the farmers.

“What baffles most citizens is that these prices have been increased despite moderate prices of international crude oil. Crude oil price is nearly half of what it was during the UPA government’s tenure. Therefore, your government’s act of raising prices (continuously for 12 days till February 20) is little less than a brazen act of profiteering,” she alleged.

The Congress chief said the BJP government had increased excise duty on diesel by 820 per cent and on petrol by 258 per cent over and collected upwards of Rs 21 lakh crore in the past six and a half years.

“This unaccounted-for windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected. The whole principle of deregulation and dynamic pricing was predicated on the principle that reductions in crude oil prices will proportionately benefit the end consumers,” she added.

“Instead, your government has been unreasonably overzealous in levying excessive excise duty on petrol and diesel. This is nothing short of extortion to cover up economic mismanagement. As the principal party in opposition, I urge upon you to follow ‘Raj dharma’ and reduce fuel prices by partially rolling back excise duty,” Gandhi demanded.

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 21

After concluding his two-day visit to Maldives, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Mauritius on Sunday on the last leg of his two-nation tour during which he will hold talks with the top leadership of India’s strategically key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region.

Jaishankar, who will be in the country for two days, will call on President Prithvirajsing Roopun and Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth — both of Indian-origin. “Namaste-Bonsoir Mauritius. Thank FM Alan Ganoo for his warm welcome. Look forward to a fruitful visit,” Jaishankar tweeted soon after his arrival here. He will also meet the minister of foreign affairs, regional integration and international trade and minister for land transport and light rail.

During his visit, Jaishankar will review all aspects of bilateral relations, ongoing implementation of various infrastructure projects being carried out by India in Mauritius, and hold discussions on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest including India’s assistance to Mauritius.

Before leaving for Mauritius, Jaishankar reaffirmed its commitment to the Maldives’ security and signed a $50 million defence Line of Credit agreement with the strategically vital Indian Ocean island nation to boost its maritime capabilities. He also held in-depth talks with the country’s top leaders to further cement bilateral ties.

Jaishankar also witnessed the signing of a project execution contract for construction of roads in the southern-most island atoll Addu, which, he said, underscored the importance of connectivity in India-Maldives ties.

The last visit of an External Affairs Minister was in August 2018 when Sushma Swaraj visited Mauritius for the World Hindi Conference.

Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth last visited India on a private visit along with his spouse in December 2019, the visit being symbolic since it came just after his victory in the General Election. Both Maldives and Mauritius are India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in Prime Minister’s vision of “SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

(With inputs from PTI)

Reaching out via Vaccine diplomacy

• Mauritius was amongst the largest beneficiaries of India’s Covid-related assistance
• Got 13 tonnes of essential medicines, 5 lakh HCQ tablets and 10 tonnes of Ayurvedic medicines
• Received 1 lakh Covishield doses and mass vaccination began on January 26
• It was a symbolic move coinciding with India’s 72nd R-Day

Lt Gen SR Ghosh (Retd)

In August 2005, shortly before my assignment ended in the embassy at Washington DC, I received a call from a retired Army Colonel in Vancouver who said he was the president of the British Columbia Indian Ex-Servicemen Society. He complained that Military Attaches seldom, if ever, visited them, and that I must do so before I returned to India. Till that time, I wasn’t even aware that there was such an organisation of Indian veterans in Canada. Intrigued, I promised I would do so, but the Colonel insisted that I visit them on September 12. Thus, a month later, my wife and I landed in Vancouver after a six-hour flight from Washington.

British Columbia is an extremely beautiful part of Canada and we were looking forward to some good sightseeing. But sadly, that was not to be! The Colonel, a smart, well-dressed Sikh, informed us that the following morning there would be a meeting with our ex-servicemen to discuss their problems, mostly related to pensions, followed by a Bara Khana in the evening. The latter really took me by surprise, because for the life of me I couldn’t imagine attending a fauji Bara Khana, 11,000 km away from home.

The next day, we met with two dozen veterans, mostly all Sikhs, in a makeshift conference hall. The Colonel introduced us and thereafter, it was all pure Punjabi… it was just like being back in India in a Sikh infantry battalion! Their problems were many and my Punjabi wasn’t the best, so after a while, I handed over the meeting to my wife, who apart from being a Punjabi was also a senior civil servant in our government. Over the next two hours, she heard one complaint after another about non-release of pensions and the difficulties they faced getting their legitimate dues. It was all very upsetting and we left the meeting in a rather pensive mood.

The Bara Khana in the evening was very different. Nearly a hundred veterans, again mostly all Sikhs, sat together on tables of six and eight toasting good health to each other. It was only when the master of ceremonies, a Subedar Major, came on stage, that I realised the significance of September 12. It was Saragarhi Day, of great importance to all Sikh warriors in general, and to the Sikh Regiment in particular. It would be recalled that on September 12, 1897, hundreds of Afghans attacked the British outpost of Saragarhi in North West Frontier Province. Twenty-one soldiers of the Sikh Regiment, led by Hav Ishar Singh (portrayed by Akshay Kumar in the recent film), fought to the last man defending the fort, in one of the most courageous battles in the history of warfare.

The ‘josh’, spirit and enthusiasm amongst these veterans from Punjab was unimaginable as the Subedar Major narrated the story of the Battle of Saragarhi (which all of them would have heard multiple times before), ending in the final soul-stirring ‘Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’. This was surely India, not Vancouver!

The icing on the cake was the chance meeting with Brig Darshan Singh. No cadet of the National Defence Academy during the late 1960s can ever forget the burly head of Physical Training, especially those who were kicked off by him from the 10-metre diving board and fell spread eagled into the swimming pool below. Daka Singh, as he was then called, was sadly now a shadow of his original build, but it was such a pleasure for me to escort him to the stage and introduce him to the audience as my Ustaad! Everyone stood up and gave him a rousing round of applause.

We returned to Washington DC but my wife remained very disturbed. Over the next few months, she took it as a holy mission to ensure that our Vancouver warriors got their monetary dues. It took a while but soon after we returned to India, she received a letter from the Colonel that all the affected veterans had received lakhs of rupees as their pension arrears. What a joyful culmination of our journey to Vancouver!

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 20

At the Rally Ground of Sector 25, a crowd of over 7,000 people attended the first mahapanchayat in the City Beautiful. Propounded by the leaders of farmer unions, the dialectical camaraderie between Punjab and Haryana converged on the stage where some speakers address crowds in ‘puadhi’ language. The Tricolour stood tall amidst flags of several farmer unions and slogans of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ and ‘Kisan, Mazdoor Ekta, Zindabaad’ exuded the fervour of nationalism.Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan addresses the kisan mahapanchayat at the Rally Ground in Sector 25 on Saturday. Pradeep Tewari

The key speakers at the event, Joginder Singh Ugrahan of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), Ruldu Singh Mansa of the Punjab Kisan Union and Gurnam Singh Chaduni of the BKU, Haryana, spoke about the alleged BJP government-corporate nexus. “While Adani’s making silos or godowns for grains in Moga and Haryana, Modi’s making the laws,” alleged Joginder Singh Ugrahan.

Gurnam Singh Chaduni alleged, “Every time our supporters here have protested against the farm laws, the authorities have used violence as means to silence them.” He added: “If we lose this fight for our food, we will never be able to fight for our rights again. If these agro-business laws are exercised, everyone’s food will land in only a few people’s godowns.”

Sadhu Singh Sarangpur, one of the speakers, took to ‘puadhi’ language as he rooted for farm laws to be revoked, and Ruldu Singh Mansa cheered the people of Chandigarh for supporting farmers. “It is heartwarming how these farm laws reached urban spaces such as Chandigarh. It is encouraging that the City Beautiful, the hub of education and educated people, is backing us,” he said.

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 20

Expressing concern over the threat to agriculture as a result of the “disruptions caused by the three farm laws”, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure urgent resolution of the farm unrest.

Calling for respect for the annadata, the CM, through his speech submitted for the virtual meeting of the NITI Aayog, reiterated his government’s stand that agriculture was a state subject and law-making on the issue should be left to the states “in the true spirit of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution”. Capt Amarinder could not attend the meeting as he was indisposed.

Dispel farmer fears on MSP, says Amarinder

Citing strong apprehension among farmers of the state that the MSP-based procurement regime introduced as part of food security measures in the 1960s might be discontinued in view of the Shanta Kumar Committee report of 2015, the Chief Minister said the Government of India should dispel any such impression “to instil confidence in the farmers of Punjab”.

In his speech, the CM asserted that any reform in a sector subsuming almost 60 per cent of the country’s workforce must be done only through extensive consultation with stakeholders.

The CM also used the forum to once again reiterate the state government’s demand for a bonus of Rs 100 per quintal on paddy procured as “paddy straw management compensation”.

Underlining the importance of aligning the cropping system with agro-climatic conditions for the optimum use of resources, Capt Amarinder called upon the Government of India to designate agencies to procure and provide MSP matching the returns of wheat and paddy. This will motivate farmers to take up cultivation of alternate crops, he said.

Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 20

It has taken the intervention of the Supreme Court for a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) to get his disability pension for an injury which he suffered in 1984.

Finally, bringing closure to the ordeal of a retired Subedar from Dasuya in Punjab, the Supreme Court this week dismissed an appeal filed by the defence authorities against a disability pension that had been granted to him on judicial adjudication.

Subedar Sadiq Masih of the Corps of Engineers suffered a permanent disability while he was riding a two-wheeler after sunset to avoid any encounter with terrorists when attending to an urgency during his casual leave.

Terrorism was at peak in Punjab during those times, and it was common for military and police personnel to be attacked during daytime.

The disability was declared “attributable to military service” by the statutory Court of Inquiry and also by the brigade commander, but disability benefits were refused to him by administrative authorities stating that the disability was suffered during leave.

By discussing the scope and the length and breadth of rules and relying upon directions of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal comprising Justice MS Chauhan and Lt Gen Munish Sibal granted him relief in 2017.

Rather than releasing benefits, the Tribunal’s decision was challenged by the government in the Supreme Court which dismissed the appeal filed against the disabled Subedar this week.

He had retired from service in 2005.

Sources familiar with these matters said that despite directions by the Defence Minster and the Defence Secretary, insensitive and controversial appeals were being filed in many instances by defence authorities in cases involving disabled soldiers where the benefit granted was minuscule when compared to the amount spent by the government on litigation.

In the year 2016, the then defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, had accepted the recommendations of a high level Committee of Experts which had recorded that further appeals in individual cases must not be filed on subjects that have attained finality at the level of the High Court or Supreme Court.

The Committee had termed multiple appeals against soldiers and other employees as “administrative egotism”.

Jammu, February 20

Around 40,000 youths have registered online for the ongoing Army recruitment rally, the first in the Jammu division after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic last year, a Defence spokesman said on Saturday.

The February 15-March 6 rally for recruiting various categories of soldiers is being conducted under the aegis of Tiger Division at the Sunjuwan Military Station here.

“The rally is being organised for the youths of all the 10 districts of the Jammu division. The Army Recruiting Office (ARO), Jammu, in close coordination with Shivalik Brigade, civil administration of the Jammu division and the J&K Police is conducting the ongoing rally in a smooth and transparent manner,” the spokesman said.

He said the General Officer Commanding, Tiger Division, Maj Gen Vijay B Nair, reviewed the conduct of the recruitment rally on Saturday.

The GOC was briefed by Brig AP Singh, Commander, Shivalik Brigade, and Director Recruiting, Jammu, about various arrangements, including security, anti-touting and Covid-related measures, the spokesman said.

This is the first Army recruitment rally in the Jammu division after the Covid-19 restrictions.

“An overwhelming response from the exuberant youths has been recorded and approximately 40,000 candidates have registered online. Covid-19 protocol is being followed during the rally by all participants and staff,” the spokesman said. — PTI

New Delhi, February 20

India and China on Saturday held another round of military talks with a focus on taking forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and bring down the tensions in the region, official sources said.

The 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks are taking place two days after the Chinese and Indian militaries completed the withdrawal of troops, weapons and other military hardware from the North and South banks of Pangong Lake areas as part of an agreement.

The meeting started at 10 am at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control and it was continuing, sources said.

They said India would insist on a faster disengagement process in remaining areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the region that has witnessed a tense standoff between the two militaries for over nine months.

“The focus of the talks is on carrying forward the disengagement process,” said a source.

On February 11, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament that India and China reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong Lake that mandates both sides to “cease” forward deployment of troops in a “phased, coordinated and verifiable” manner.

Under the agreement, he said China would pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong Lake while the Indian personnel would be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region. Similar action would take place on the south bank of the lake as well, he said.

Sources said troops of both sides had retreated to positions that were agreed upon by both the sides.

The disengagement process began on February 10.

The Indian delegation at Saturday’s talks is being led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. The Chinese side was to be headed by Maj Gen Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military district of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). PTI