3-WEEKS NOW, SILENCE OVER PUNJAB’S CABINET STRENGTH

WRITTEN OBJECTION RAISED CITING ARTICLE 164-1A OF INDIAN CONSTITUTION

ON 16th March the Governor of Punjab, BL Purohit  appointed  Bhagwant Maan as Chief Minister of Punjab. He was administered Oath of Office and Secrecy by the Governor the same day. 

Three days later, on 19th March   the Governor of Punjab on the advice of CM Mann appointed  Harpal Singh Cheema, Dr. Baljit Kaur, Harbhajan Singh, Dr. Vijay Singla, Lal Chand, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Bram Shanker and  Harjot Singh Bains (Total 10) as  Cabinet Ministers. All 10 were administered the Oath of Office & Secrecy the same day by the Governor. 

On 21st March, the Governor on the advice of CM Maan allocated respective portfolios as mentioned in State Government Business Allocation Rules, 2007 amongst all newly sworn in Cabinet Ministers including Mann who holds a total 27 portfolios.

Meanwhile, on March 20 I wrote to President of India, Prime Minister, Union Home Minister, Governor, CM and Chief Secretary of Punjab objecting to current strength of Mann’s  Council of Ministers that is Eleven, which is one less than the Twelve,  as mandated/prescribed in First Proviso to Article 164 (1A) of Constitution of India wherein it is explicitly mentioned that the number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister in a State shall not be less than twelve. 

It is also noteworthy to mention here that the hereinbefore mentioned First Proviso to Article 164 (IA) uses the word “shall” and not “may” hence it is nothing but compulsory/mandatory that the total strength of Council of Ministers in every State (including Punjab) at any given point of time shall (should) not be less than  Twelve. 

Also, till date there has been no authoritative judicial pronouncement (read any Reportable Judgment which acts as a binding precedent) by any Constitutional Court in India i.e. either by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India or else any High Court(s)  in India including the jurisdictional Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court on this very issue i.e. if total strength of Council of Ministers in a State in India can be less than 12 at any given point of time. 

Further, it was asserted that notwithstanding the fact that the recent expansion of Punjab’s Council of Ministers on 19 March  is very first and there can be more such expansion(s) in future as maximum 7 (seven) more Cabinet Ministers/Ministers of State can be appointed  in Punjab’s Council of Ministers in due course which is the upper ceiling/limit in case of State of Punjab since the total number of members of Legislative Assembly of Punjab is 117 and thus maximum number of Ministers in Punjab’s Council of Ministers can be 15% of 117 i.e. 17.55 (which means 17 or if rounded off then 18) as per Article 164 (1A) of Constitution of India. 

However, the significant legal (read constitutional) point is that the mandate/prescription of  minimum  number of Ministers in State’s Council of Ministers i.e. 12 as per First Proviso to Article 164 (IA) of Constitution of India is applicable from ab-initio (from the very beginning) of constitution/formation of Council of Ministers and it doesn’t means by any stretch of imagination that the strength of State’s Council of Ministers can be less than 12 initially and later on it can expanded to 12 or more in due course.

Until and unless the strength of Punjab’s current Council of Ministers is raised from 11 to 12, it nevertheless lacks legal (read constitutional ) sanctity in terms of First Proviso to Article 164(IA) of Constitution of India. 

As a consequence thereof, there would be serious question marks over the decisions taken by such Council of Ministers/Cabinet with less than 12 Ministers including the Chief Minister as in case of Punjab currently. The first and only meeting of Punjab’s new Cabinet till date was held this past Saturday immediately after the swearing in ceremony of 10 Cabinet Ministers.

Meanwhile, it has been three weeks since a response or reply from Punjab Raj Bhawan is yet to come. However, an email (cc copy) from the Office of Principal Secretary to CM was received two weeks back on March 21 from which it came to light that the matter has been forwarded to Secretary (PA- Political Affairs) and Superintendent (FUP) in CM Office, Punjab.

ABOUT INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION-6 IN INDIA

Every 10% INCREASE IN BROADBAND PENETRATION BOOSTS COUNTRY’S GDP BY 1.38%

India is progressing towards enabling a comprehensive indigenous technology ecosystem and making strides towards the digital growth path, with key pillars of robust digital infrastructure and quality service availability at affordable cost. Through various initiatives, simplification and reforms, digital access has been expanded to the remotest part of the country. In this growth journey, the Internet has been recognized world-over in enabling the socio-economic growth of a country.

It has also played an active and crucial role in enabling a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. It acts as a catalyst for phenomenal growth and modernisation of various sectors of the economy and serves as an effective medium for efficient delivery of various citizen-centric services. It has enriched the lives of citizens of the country by making them digitally empowered and helping in achieving India’s vision of a trillion-dollar digital economy.

A World Bank study suggests that every 10% increase in broadband penetration boosts the country’s GDP growth by 1.38% in developing countries. The Government of India (GoI) has made stupendous efforts to ensure affordable, equitable and inclusive broadband access to its citizens across the country. The massive proliferation of new emerging technologies such as 5G, Machine to Machine Communication, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud computing etc. and thrust on digital initiatives by the GoI along with the penetration of broadband and internet services, has necessitated a large number of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, beyond the currently available pool of IPv4 (IP version 4) addresses. As the telecom networks are evolving rapidly and becoming more dynamic in nature due to the introduction of many innovative applications every day, the requirement of more and more IP addresses has grown manifold.

The Internet Protocol (IP) Version 4 was developed about four decades ago around the beginning of the Internet. Although IPv4 has proven to be robust, easily implementable and interoperable, the initial design did not anticipate the exponential growth of the Internet, network supported devices and the impending exhaustion of the IPv4 address pool. 

To steer the efforts for the proliferation of IPv6 transition and deployment in India, the Department of Telecom (DoT) released the National IPv6 Deployment Roadmap in July 2010 which has helped to develop the IPv6 Eco-system in the country. Extensive sensitization of various stakeholders including Central Government, State Governments, PSUs and other Government Organizations, Telecom Service Providers, Internet Service Providers, Equipment Manufacturers, Cloud computing/Data Centre Providers, Academic Institutions, Content and Application providers etc. was undertaken which led to many of them becoming IPv6 ready. To consolidate the gains and build further from the achievements of the first roadmap, the second version of the National IPv6 Deployment Roadmap (Version-II) was released by DoT in March 2013. DoT’s focussed efforts across various sectors has led to the timely adoption of IPv6 and provided the potential for innovative application in different sectors. Further, to provide technical assistance in deployment of IPv6 solutions, DoT had also published a compendium on IPv6 based solutions/Architecture/case studies practices for different industry verticals.  

IPv6, which was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in the mid-nineties, is the Next Generation (version 6) of the Internet Protocol (IP). IPv6 provides enhanced addressing capabilities by using 128 bits for addressing instead of 32 bits as used in IPv4, resulting in the availability of a very large pool of IP addresses (10^28 times larger than IPv4) which seems enough for the foreseeable future. Apart from a large number of address availability, IPv6 also provides many other advantages such as it offers enhanced security due to the Built-in Security framework of IPSec protocol. It supports end-to-end security, authentication thereby simplifying end-to end security into applications. It also provides a Simplified Header format with better Quality of Service (QoS) which helps in faster routing and switching. There is also a traffic class and flow label field defined in IPv6, improving streaming for several applications such as VoIP, interactive gaming, e-commerce, videos etc. 

The other IPv6 advantages include Auto configuration which is a plug and play feature that simplifies network configuration especially when the number of devices is very large. This will be beneficial in the implementation of Smart Cities and M2M/IoT networks where it is anticipated that a large number of smart sensors/devices will be deployed. Also, it shall help networks to quickly respond to crisis situations and facilitate ad-hoc network reorganisations. IPv6 has been designed with many new features which make it possible to develop innovative applications which are not easily possible in the current IPv4 protocol e.g. Centralized Building Management System, Rural Emergency Health Care, Tele-education / Distance Education, Smart Grids, Intelligent Transport Systems etc. IPv6 will also boost the scalability and speed of the websites apart from supporting the M2M/IoT infrastructure. The adoption of IPv6 based innovative applications in areas like smart metering, smart grid, smart building, smart cities etc. will keep improving the quality of life of common citizens. 

With a vision to take a global leadership position in the technology field, India has achieved around 77% IPv6 capability as against the World average of 28.18%, and leads ahead of the developed countries such as USA (47.58%), Japan (32.38%) United Kingdom (32.61%) and China (19.58%). Globally, India is maintaining the leading position for the last 2 years in this endeavour. Since 2014 till date, outstanding progress in IPv6 adoption has been achieved by India which is evident from the fact that as per the report of APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre), which distributes and manages Internet number resources (IP addresses and AS numbers) in the Asia Pacific region, the percentage of IPv6 users (i.e., IPv6/total ratio) has grown from 3.22% in January 2015 to 24.33% in January 2020, at a 67.9% CAGR. At the same time, India’s CAGR growth for IPv6 Users has been at 413.70% which is phenomenal as compared to even developed countries such as USA (CAGR-33.90%) and Japan (CAGR-31.20%). Also, the total number of users (IPv6 + IPv4) has grown at a 12% CAGR. Thus, it can be concluded that the worldwide number of IPv6 users is growing much faster than the number of IPv4 users and due to India’s consistent efforts for IPv6 transition, India is leading globally. 

Further, the NIC (National Informatics Centre) which hosts most of the Government websites and applications, Core infrastructure of NICNET is now fully IPv6 compliant and its infrastructure at various Ministries and state centres has also become IPv6 ready. Also, many organizations are now provisioning new IP based services (like cloud computing, data centres etc.) on IPv6.

Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), ETSI and 3GPP through their protocols, standards are also contributing consistently for achieving tremendous progress by various countries which is evident from the fact that IETF no more requires IPv4 compatibility in the new or extended protocols. Also, 3GPP is considering mandating IPv6 in 5G Standalone (SA).

As a result of the concerted efforts of GoI and all stakeholders, the majority of the service providers in India have become ready to handle IPv6 traffic & offer IPv6 services. A large number of cloud service providers and equipment manufacturers have successfully deployed and used IPv6 for various innovative applications. A significant number of companies have also transitioned to IPv6-only service delivery. The National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP-2018) also envisages the transition to IPv6 for all the remaining communications systems, equipment, networks and devices. 

There is a need to consolidate the gains and build further on the milestones achieved. To take this forward, the service providers, content and application providers, cloud service providers and equipment manufacturers must provision the costs of phase-wise replacement/ up-gradation of their existing systems and Customer premise equipments with dual-stack and native IPv6, in their annual Capex. All new customer connections should be provided on IPv6 and all new procurement of various types of equipment should have a mandatory compliance clause of IPv6 readiness.

With digital connectivity becoming pervasive and the Internet as a key resource for socio-economic development, it is the need of the hour that all stakeholders i.e. Government, Service Providers, Academia, R&D institutions, Equipment Manufacturers, Cloud Computing and Data Centres, Content and Application Providers etc. should come together and make synergized efforts for IPv6 transition completion. Its usage across various sectors like Health, Education, Banking, Insurance, Transport, Telecom, Railways, Smart Cities etc. shall provide a boost to the implementation of updated technological solutions. Over time, many technical methods have been adopted by stakeholders to extend the usable life time of IPv4, but the same has resulted into added complexity to network infrastructure and enhanced cost. It is high time that full transition to IPv6 may be adopted by all stakeholders to ensure future growth and innovation in Internet technology and services. Timely transitioning to IPv6 will make India ready to cater to the needs for the Big Tech revolution led by emerging digital technologies apart from providing impetus to the Digital India ecosystem.

JOURNEY FROM A BOOK ON EMINENT SIKHS TO A WEB SERIES

BOLLYWOOD PRODUCER MAHESH BHATT TO FEATURE PROTAGONISTS IN THE BOOK FOR A WEB SERIES, PEHCHAAN – THE UNSCRIPTED

It started in the year 2018 when I brought out a book, “Prominent Sikhs of India” which was released by Hon’ble Vice President of India Sh. M. Venkaiah Naidu at New Delhi in an impressive function. The book was dedicated to 550TH birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

My book was applauded so much amongst the Sikh community around the globe that the Author in me decided to continue with the concept for Sikhs residing in different parts of the world. The endeavour became a turning point when I was invited by Cine-star Amitabh Bachan on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati and he spoke impressively about the book.

After that I started working on Prominent Sikhs of USA and which again attracted huge recognition for him. This book was launched in Capitol Hills Washington DC and in another function Lt. Governor California released it in a function where around 40 out of 50 Prominent Sikhs of USA were present. A third book was released by the Defence Minister of the country Rajnath Singh that talked about “Shining Sikh Youth of India”.

Now In the times of potboilers full of fiction and drama, Mahesh Bhatt decides to bring stories of real life heroes on screen based on my book. Mahesh Bhatt will host a reality show called “Pehchaan – The Unscripted Show”.

When it comes to controversial reality shows for celebrities, the Indian audience has seen a number of them. However, there have been relatively few shows about real life heroes. Well, now India will now get a glimpse into the lives of real Indian heroes with Mahesh Bhatt’s Pehchaan.

“Pehchaan – The Unscripted” show is a 16-episode docudrama series that will feature some of the world’s most renowned Sikhs. With the purpose of bringing my real life and inspirational journeys of Sikhs to the world’s attention, the show will feature inspiring stories of Sikhs such as renowned economist Dr. Montek Singh; environmentalist Sant Singh Seechewal; Sony television CEO N.P Singh; philanthropist and saviour SP Singh Oberoi, businessman Raju Chadha, President Pingalwara Trust, Amritsar, Dr. Inderjit Kaur former national minorities commission chairman Tarlochan Singh, former director general of Maharashtra Police PS Pasricha and many other Sikhs with name and fame.

“In the times post Pandemic we wanted for the audience to witness something real and inspirational and so we chose to bring Real heroes to your screen. We hope for it to be one of the biggest and most influential shows of the year,” says the makers of the show who conceptualized the idea.

According to Mahesh Bhatt, “What a time in the life of the world being inhabited by mankind? It was daunting, full of turmoil and fear. And yet it is dazzling, full of promise, creativity and care. These thoughts struck me when I saw brave Sikhs of my country and around the world step out during the pandemic and do what I had never imagined. The God of signs had come down on his knees and every institution imaginable had failed to help mankind through these dark times”. 

He adds: “It was they who came out and endlessly served their fellow human beings. The images of their generosity are burnt in my heart and body which gave birth to the idea of talking to this brave community which has been serving humankind for over 500 years. I chose to interview these brave, humble, kind human beings for people around the world to get only a taste of faith but also to get a glimpse of their great history. I call them the warriors of the 21st Century. They only inherited from their gurus and forefathers had left a legacy with them”.

The show will also showcase 16 heart-touching songs as a tribute to the guests. Directed by Suhrita, produced by his Prodigy Vinay Bhardwaj , A Shining Sun Studios Production, Pehchaan – The Unscripted Show will soon be out on an OTT platform.

NEW INDIA’S NEW RECORD $400 BILLION MERCHANDISE EXPORT

COVID-RAVAGED WORLD WAS NO DETERRENT, AS MODI GOVT ACTED DECISIVELY  

India’s achievement of record $400 billion of goods exports is a shining example of the way this country is being governed, reformed and transformed since 2014 with a mission to decisively improve the lives of citizens. The surge in exports is helping farmers, artisans, weavers and factory workers, and helping businesses, small and large to create jobs, scale up operations, become more competitive and make a mark in the global business arena.

The export target of $400 billion seemed impossible to many in the Covid-ravaged world, where demand was weak, scarce containers were priced exorbitantly and the world was facing job losses and conflicts. But this did not deter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government from acting decisively and swiftly with a bottom-up approach in assessing the situation, identifying products and regions where exports could be increased, and adopting a partnership approach with exporters and industry bodies to deliver results.

The exports mission was revved-up when the prime minister gave a clarion call to industry to focus on exports and inspired them to aspire for a quantum jump in India’s international trade in goods and services. The PM himself held consultations with ministries, states, Indian missions abroad, commodity boards, industry associations and experts to motivate and inspire all. He continuously monitored the progress of exports.

It was indeed an ambitious mission because the best India had achieved in merchandise exports in the past was $330 billion in the pre-Covid days of 2018-19, after which the pandemic battered global trade.

But India bounced back rapidly as policy measures, reforms, export-promotion schemes, major initiatives like the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, and bold decisions in the face of adversity propelled India to become the fastest growing major economy in the world. Exports have boomed, setting a series of monthly records that have added up to historic achievement in 2021-22.

Exports are contributing to economic growth, creating jobs and helping small businesses and workers. The world is now looking up to India as a trustworthy and reliable partner that can provide quality goods and services on time even at the peak of the pandemic.

The results are spectacular. India achieved the target nine days ahead of schedule.

MODI GOVT WORKED AS PARTNERS WITH EXPORTERS

We adopted the ‘whole-of-government’ approach and worked as partners with exporters. The government proactively helped them overcome any hurdle and encouraged them to grab every opportunity for every product in every country to help achieve the stiff target. Targets were fixed for 200 countries/territories and special emphasis was laid on new and existing markets, lost market share, and the role of small enterprises and startups as a vehicle for exports.

But it’s not just a story of numbers. There are exciting new developments such as the export of new products, penetration of new markets, rising exports of manufactured products, an impressive 50% growth in engineering exports, and laudable contribution of small businesses and farmers, whose hard work has strengthened global food security.

Agricultural exports have risen nearly 25 percent to a record of nearly $50 billion. India’s hardworking farmers provide almost half of the globally traded rice. Farmers have helped wheat exports jump to a record 70 lakh tonnes, which is softening the impact of the disruption in global wheat trade caused by the crisis in Ukraine, a major supplier.

Similarly, coffee exports have risen to a record of nearly USD1 billion, an impressive achievement for the sector where 95 percent of the output is from small growers. Marine exports are also booming, helping many small businesses and fishermen.

India now needs to maintain the momentum. Our manufacturers, exporters and policy makers cannot afford to be complacent in the fiercely competitive world. Indian industry needs to step up investment in Research and Development and focus sharply on quality. There was a time when there was a big gap between products sold to Indian citizens and the “export quality” goods that were shipped out. There should be no such gap.

GOVT WILL SCALE UP HELP TO EXPORTERS

The government will scale up efforts to help exporters. Many recent policies will bear fruits for years to come and give the country new global champions in manufacturing and exports. There will be many success stories like the mobile phone sector, which was once heavily import dependent but now exports have multiplied and imports are drying up. Exporters will also gain from PM Gati Shakti, the National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity which the PM launched last October.

We now have to make a bigger impact in international trade. This will be challenging but exciting and achievable. Our government has a track record of achieving very ambitious targets, be it electrification of every village in the country, the dramatic rise in renewable energy capacity along with the equally dramatic fall in its cost, the LED revolution that drastically reduced the cost of energy-efficient bulbs, as well as game-changing welfare schemes to provide ordinary citizens the convenience of toilets, cooking gas, bank accounts, health insurance, water supply, homes, rural roads, internet connectivity and the world’s biggest vaccination programme against Covid-19 with the help of India-made vaccines.

India is on track to reclaim its status as the major trading power it once was. That is an ambitious mission, but the story of Indian exports, like many game-changing initiatives in New India can be summed up with what Nelson Mandela famously said: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

WHY DSGMC WORKING IN ENGLISH ?

NON-GURMUKHI KNOWING DSGMC MEMBERS SHOULD RESIGN

After repeated complaints of misuse of Gurdwara funds by the office-bearers of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), now Gurmukhi (Punjabi) script is being vanished away from the Committee.

The present Committee is giving preference to English language thereby ignoring the Gurmukhi whereas as per DSGMC rules it is clearly defined in its aim and objectives to give utmost preference for the promotion of Gurmukhi script.

Recently letters appointing Chairman and Managers of different Gurdwaras, schools and Institutions have been issued in English language by the office-bearers of DSGMC, whereas some time back a Chartered Accountant was appointed as Head of the Accounts Section of DSGMC whose candidature was rejected during the process for Co-option of members in the year 2021 merely because such person was unable to read and write Gurmukhi.

The questions are raised by the DSGMC management that what was the compulsion to appoint such a person to the prime post in DSGMC and how will he handle the accounts whereas he is unable to read the office-notes, vouchers and approval of the managements which are in Gurmukhi script?

After the recent Delhi Gurdwara elections held in the year 2021, about 2 dozen Election Petitions are pending against different winning members of DSGMC, some of which are relating to non-knowing of Gurmukhi language due to which there are ample chances of cancellation of their memberships.

Such members should resign from their memberships on moral grounds because how they will promote Sikhism without having any knowledge of Gurmukhi Script. The DSGMC management should focus on the promotion and promulgation of Sikhism and Gurmukhi while shunning away their personal and political motives and also restrain themselves in doing day-to-day work of DSGMC in English language.

NO HARM IN LIMITING MULTIPLE PENSIONS TO EX-MLAs

COHERENT RULES BE APPLIED TO DO AWAY EXISTING ARRANGEMENT 

No harm in limiting the multiple pensions of the former legislators but coherent rules must be applied to do away the existing arrangement. I’m of the humble view that pensionary benefits to the former legislators cannot be done away with an oral announcement of the Chief Minister or by an executive order. The matter should be thoroughly thought through with clinical precision and also with intrinsic application of mind only then it should be placed before the State legislature for suitable amendment.

To be in public life and to become a legislator once or several times is not an easy task. It entails lifelong dedication and selfless service to the general public. Once you cease to be an MLA, you cannot robotically shut your doors to the public and refuse to nurse their genuine grievances.

We are a multiparty constitutional democracy and, in the elections, only one candidate, out of many wins and the rest loose, despite the fact that a substantial number of voters favor them to be elected and serve them as their legislators. If a sitting legislator loses the election that does not mean that he also ceases to be a public man. He is obliged to serve the public and also expected to sponsor and fulfil a variety of social commitments, being a former legislator. Hence there must me, some reasonable financial resources for the sustainability of his life and also to carry on as a public man.

The Chief Minister before making this abrupt and out of the box announcement should have appointed a committee of the parliamentarian under the Chairmanship of the Hon’ble Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly with unambiguous terms of reference with specific time frame to submit its recommendation.

As per the order of precedence and rules of protocol of Government of India and also that of the Government of Punjab, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is placed above the Chief Secretary of the State and then under what tangible justification, government can fix his or her pension and other benefits below the Chief Secretary of the State.

It is unfortunate and rather disparaging that after the change of the regime the legislators have become the subjective target of bashing and humiliation. I am afraid, If this disgraceful trend continues to prevail and predominate the narrative with unexpected ordeal, even the elected legislator would lose their dignity and relevance in running the administration of the State. Therefore, this subversive trend to denigrate the legislator would make them practically subservient to the bureaucracy of the State and their status and effectiveness as MLA would become nonexistent.

I am not opposed to the reduction of the multiple pensions, but to limit it to one pension norm and also much less than the IAS and IPS officers, would not be feasible. The measure would also not be commensurate with the dignity of the house of legislature including the elected and former members of the House.

I would therefore suggest to the Chief Minister not to rush through the indecent haste on this vital issue and matter should be thoroughly examined to some degree of reasonableness that may entail fixing minimum and maximum limit for the pension to the former legislators.

BIG TORNADO IN DELHI SIKH POLITICS

A BIG RESHUFFLE IN DELHI SIKH POLITICS IN OFFING

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Act 1971 is known as a big achievement for Sikh Community through which the control of historic gurdwaras in Delhi came in the hands of local electorates.

After Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Sri Amritsar set up in June 1926 under the ‘Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is the second largest religious body constituted on April 28, 1975 under the Delhi Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1971 with the main objective to control and manage Gurdwaras and Gurdwaras property in Delhi. Several instances have come to notice from time to time about direct or indirect political interference in gurdwara affairs and it is pertinent that the government in power always wishes to use religious stages to increase their vote bank and this motive is fulfilled by some religious leaders for their personal interests under religious shelter.

In present time also, a big reshuffling is seen in the Delhi Sikh politics. Whereas a section of 30 recently elected members having control of the DSGMC’s Executive Body claimed to have formed their own new party in the name of ‘Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi State’, but on the other hand opposition groups have surprised everyone by their sudden affection to their rival party namely ‘Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). In the recent past, the workers of the JAGO party in a meeting held by them have strongly appealed their President

Manjit Singh G.K. to take control of the Badal Akali Dal. In this campaign, ‘Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi’ headed by its President Paramjit Singh Sarna went a step ahead and called a meeting of Sikh intellectuals in Ludhiana thereby making an appeal to save the deteriorating image of Badal Akali Dal. A question is being raised to these opposite factions of Badal Dal in Delhi involved in Sikh politics that why have they suddenly come forward to save the identity of their opposite party, when the political image of the Badal Akali Dal was continuously going down for the last long stint of time ?

Why these opposite groups are bent upon to save the identity of Badal Dal whereas it is well known that neither these groups will shun their ego and become unite nor the command of Badal Akali Dal can come in their hands easily because the Badal Dal has already constituted a 21 members committee under the command of its veteran leader Jathedar Avtar Singh Hit to control this sensitive situation.

It cannot be ruled out that the new groups/parties have suddenly come up because all effort to take control of Executive Board of the DSGMC by Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) and JAGO Party in connivance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) was badly tarnished by the members who took one-sided win in recent election of the DSGMC Executive Board under support of Manjinder Singh Sirsa, DSGMC President who has recently joined the BJP, But it has to be seen that to what extent the new coalition can affect the Sikh politics in Delhi.

The political interference can be a big reason for the deteriorating financial crunch in the educational institutions of DSGMC which are on the verge of closure and also for time to time allegations of misuse of Gurdwara funds, which raises many questions about the working of the DSGMC.

In this way, great loss of ‘Guru ki Golak’ is being done whereas the cash offering of Sangat is required to be used solely for religious purposes. The DSGMC elected members should work for the welfare of the community and Sikh religion by shunning away their personal and political motives otherwise the Sangat will come forward and will not hesitate to make sacrifices to save these Gurdwaras from dirty politics.

SELECTION OF ‘PIGEON HOLED’ RS MEMBERS FROM PUNJAB

IT’S A SAD REFLECTION ON THE WISDOM OF MR. KEJRIWAL  

Capricious and autocratic selection of Rajya Sabha candidate from Punjab is a sad reflection on the wisdom of Mr. Kejriwal. I’m afraid, it is seemingly the beginning of fostering the seeds of fascism, violence and revolt; in complete violation of the spirit of tolerance, freedom and understanding the aspirations of the people of Punjab. It not only signals Kejriwal’s utter disregard for the defined political objectives of Punjab; it also sadly exposes his anti-Sikh mindset.

It is apparently a blatant attempt of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal to communicate a loud message to the Sikh community that they are no more relevant or a force to recon with, on the political landscape of Punjab.

As for as my memory serves, it is for the first time since 1966 that any political party, so disdainfully dared to ignore the geopolitical positioning and concerns of the aspirational Sikh community, with special reference to the value system; the Sikh community, cherish the most.

Rajya Sabha is a ‘Council of States’ as envisaged by the policy makers of exalted eminence, eminent jurists and the peers of who framed the constitution of India. Rajya Sabha, the ‘Council of States’ is the second most important chamber of the legislature, in a bicameral parliamentary system, where the vital issues, confronting the State’s interests could be highlighted and logically articulated. Punjab has so many unsettled issues, pending since November 1966.

Chandigarh, which was built as capital of Punjab by uprooting Punjabi speaking villages, continues to be a disputed ‘Union Territory’ since November 1966.  The river water sharing dispute with Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi and Punjab farmer’s pending issues such as to make statutory provision for MSP, are some of the burning issues that will entail calibrated debates in the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) in the nearest future.  

On March 24, the last day of withdrawing nomination papers for Rajya Sabha Election Punjab 2022, today, no candidate withdrew nominations. Thus, all the five candidates, who had filed nominations for Biennial Election have been declared the winners unopposed.

Giving further details, Returning Officer-cum-Secretary, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Mr. Surinder Pal said that the biennial election process for the Rajya Sabha Punjab 2022 was being carried out under the supervision of Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju, who had been appointed Observer by the Election Commission of India.

He further divulged that as no candidate withdrew his nomination paper up till the last day of withdrawal till 3:00 PM on March 24, 2022, Sandeep Kumar Pathak and Raghav Chadha (first cycle), Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal and Sanjeev Arora (second cycle) were declared winner unopposed. A report in this regard has been sent to the Election Commission of India, he added.

The hush-hush selection affairs of all the pigeon-holed five candidates, selected in a top-secret manner by the Aam Aadmi Party, to represent Punjab in Rajya Sabha, does not qualify and measure up to the expectation of the people of Punjab. It amounts to a colossal betrayal of the vital interests of Punjab and spells doom for the future of Punjab, as was cynically expected from Mr. Kejriwal.

The Machiavellian clever moves of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, has already reduced the stature of the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Bhagwant Mann as that of a puppet Chief Minister; which is certainly not a happy situation for Punjab to rejoice anymore.

BHAGWANT MANN: TIME TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT GOOD GOVERNANCE

FROM PREPARED POEMS IN LOK SABHA AND TO ROTE LEARNED HILARIOUS ELECTION RALLY SPEECHES TO EXTEMPORE REALITY

The time for Bhagwant Mann to become a delivery man of the bundle of promises made to the people of Punjab has come. In addition there is a huge burden of hopes to take Punjab out of the deep economic morass it finds itself due to deliberately created serial governance mishaps by previous regimes.

The king of satirical comedy is now in charge of the state for which his satire filled comedy brought out the various ills of the previous ruling governance teams. Time has now come to give solutions to all the problems he started highlighting starting with his famous poem “Kulfi Garma Garam…” in the early nineties as a young performer of satirical comedy.

As a CM he will have to have to come out with considered serious answers or directions on various queries and issues raised by officials or answer the questions to media extempore on day to day happenings for which sometimes even the best advisors also do not have answers.

So far he has been preparing and delivering the same speeches learnt by rote in various rallies with little changes in the run up to the elections. But now being on the other side of the barb receiving fence a new innovative Mann has to emerge as they say it is very easy to criticise but difficult to defend your own actions more so that of  your large band of legislators actions ,quotes and their spoken reputations.

Now on to SOLVING PROBLEMS with some SERIOUS, SINCERE AND INTELLIGENT ADVISE

He will have to put lot of time to study problems and their various solutions available in house and in the consultant driven management market .For finding the panacea to all ills of state  he needs either to have a very efficient bureaucratic team of advisers or have a shadow team of not seen but in shadow intelligent advisors or he needs a declared team of political advisors or he takes advice from an informal set of faceless advisors who just have the good of Punjab in mind despite their previous political affiliations or he is used as a puppet by a coterie of Delhi affiliated advisors who actually pull strings despite his being in command of Punjab.

To my mind he officially needs one set of on the move modern thinking economic advisors like what Mr Stalin, CM of Tamil Nadu has got if he has the will to take the revenue deficit and debt ridden state out of the present financial mess because raising revenue by out of box thinking is the key to all promises and perceived development dreams.

WILL HE BE A STATESMAN, A FULL PUPPET OR A HALF PUPPET OR A PUPPETEER HIMSELF?

If he is to perform and be known for his performance as an administrator cum statesman either he is to be left totally free to perform by Delhi or is forced to be a total or a half YESMAN. Thus he can be a full puppet or a Half puppet or he becomes the puppeteer and runs his own serious comedy show with his team for the betterment of people of Punjab. We wish and hope he gets an egoless, intelligent, dedicated and home grown team of advisors.

The running a state like Punjab is not a ONE MAN SHOW which so far it has been during Congress and Akali rule and as a result you can see the ruined landscape of Punjab from every aspect by these total rent seeking politicians who now have been thrown out mercilessly by the people of Punjab as they have CLEARED THE TRASH LADEN LANDSCAPE OF MALWA, MAJHA AND DOABA WITH A MASSIVE JHADDO SWEEP to see a CHANGE in their and their children future.

So let us wish the New CM Bhagwant Singh Mann an epoch making innings!

UNITED SIKHS’ VOLUNTEERS REACH UKRAINE WITH HUMANITARIAN AID

SUPPORTS WAR REFUGEES IN EVACUATION, PROVIDING FOOD, MEDICINES, HEATED SHELTER, ARTICLES OF DAILY NEEDS

UNITED SIKHS, the United Nations affiliated human rights and advocacy organization, has started relief work and humanitarian aid in Ukraine for more than two weeks serving the emergency needs of refugees escaping the war.

UNITED SIKHS is the only organization of the Sikhs that has reached ground zero in the war torn Ukraine and its neighbouring country Poland serving the Ukrainian refugees, selflessly, ignoring the danger of war when two nations Russia and Ukraine are locked in a severe war, leading to huge loss to men, material and properties.

More than a dozen UNITED SIKHS volunteers from the United States of America, Germany and the United Kingdom have set up a relief base camp in Medyka (Poland) close to the Ukrainian border. Atleast 100,000 refugees have been served by the UNITED SIKHS’ humanitarian mission till date and the relief work is continuing.

Driven by its motto from the Sikh faith, ‘Recognize the Human Race as One’, UNITED SIKHS teams have been serving hot meals, sanitation kits, water, clothing, other goods of daily needs and even toys for the newborn.

A team of volunteers drove for 36 hours with a commercial van full of supplies from the United Kingdom to reach the base camp, last week, delivering Power Generators, Water Pumps, Blankets/Quilts, Sleeping Bags, Sanitary Pads, Tents, Stove and Utensils, Radio Communications, Warm Clothing, Socks, Gloves etc.

During the past week, nearly eight elderly and children died while waiting for 18 hours to cross the border in temperatures as low as 15-Fahrenheit. UNITED SIKHS has set up a commercial heated tent in the Ukrainian DMZ now, to accommodate more than 200 refugees at a time as they are in transit to cross border checkpoints into Poland. “This largest is one of the largest shelters that is currently set up at the border. It will serve as a short-term warming center for refugees fighting the freezing weather conditions,” said Balwinder Singh, a UNITED SIKHS’ volunteer who was first to land in the war torn country with the relief material.

Volunteers are also taking supplies from the base camp across the border into Ukraine to deliver urgently needed supplies for refugees waiting to cross the border.

Volunteers are now serving on both sides of the border, 24 hours a day.

UNITED SIKHS is a UN affiliated non- profit organization that works internationally for disaster relief and humanitarian aid. UNITED SIKHS have served dozens of humanitarian missions around the globe in the last 20 years including the Asian Tsunami in 2004, Haiti Earthquake in 2010, Syrian refugee crisis in 2015, Rohingya refugee crisis in 2017 and the COVID pandemic in 2020-21. UNITED SIKHS is an active partner of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) a USA government agency for disaster relief works.