Having played the second fiddle for long to its ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, the state BJP has now packed its team with Congress turncoats and Sikh faces with an aim to gain ground ahead of the 2024 elections, reports Rajesh Moudgil

The Punjab BJP has picked up several Congress turncoats and Sikh faces as well as roped in many of its home-grown leaders in its recent revamp so as to expand its base to better its show in the 2024 elections.

While retaining its state president Ashwani Sharma, the party has announced the names of 60-odd office-holders in its new Punjab team adjusting most of the former Congress heavyweights who had joined the saffron party around the state assembly election in February this year.

The former Congress leaders among them included former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s daughter Jai Inder Kaur, former minister Raj Kumar Verka and former MLAs Kewal Singh Dhillon, Fateh Jung Bajwa and Arvind Khanna. They were among the new 11 vice-presidents named in the new BJP body.

Nonetheless, striking a balance, the BJP also named its home-grown leaders, namely, Dr Subhash Sharma, Rakesh Rathore, Dyal Singh Sodhi, Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, Dr Jagmohan Raju and Jagdeep Nakai, as the vice presidents in its new team.

The BJP also named its own leaders Rajesh Bagha, Jiwan Gupta, Bikramjeet Singh Cheema and Mona Jaiswal, besides the former Congress leader Gurpreet Singh Kangar, as general secretaries in the new team.

Notably, Kanwarveer Singh Tohra, grandson of the former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gurucharan Singh Tohra was named as the president of the BJP’s youth wing in Punjab.

Likewise, the party appointed 11 state secretaries. Its Hoshiarpur BJP leader Meenu Sethi was named as the president of the Mahila Morcha and the former IAS officer S R Ladhar was made the president of the Scheduled Caste (SC) wing of the party.

However, conspicuously enough, former Cabinet minister Balbir Singh Sidhu was not named in the new team. Reacting to it, he held that he was a loyal worker of the party and that the party leadership may have some other role for him in mind in days to come.

It is also pertinent to mention here that a little earlier, the former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and former state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar were named as the BJP national executive members, and party’s own leaders, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Manoranjan Kalia and Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia as the special invitees to the national executive.

Notably, Capt Amarinder, 80, had floated the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) a little before the assembly polls after quitting Congress following bad blood in the party. However, his PLC had failed to win any seat in the assembly elections, and he himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban. He merged his PLC into BJP in August, this year. Jakhar, 68, joined the BJP in May this year, after five decades in the Congress, the party three generations of his family had served, also because of bitter bickering in the party.

Earlier, before the February polls, beside Kanwarveer Singh Tohra, the grandson of tall Akali leader late Gurcharan Singh Tohra, other prominent Sikh faces who had joined BJP included Harinder Singh Kahlon, former president of All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), Jagmohan Saini, president of Farmers’ Intellectual Front, from Patiala, Nirmal Singh from Mohali, Kuldeep Singh Kahlon, also from AISSF, Gurdaspur, former vice-chancellor of Guru Kashi University, Jaswinder Singh Dhillon, and Col Jaibans Singh from Patiala.

Meanwhile, subsequent to the state body, the state BJP chief Ashwani Sharma has also formed the state core committee as well as finance committee.

Stating that after a detailed discussion with the national president J P Nadda, senior leaders had been included in both these committees, senior state general secretary Jeevan Gupta said that the BJP would out-perform all opposition parties in the state in the coming parliamentary elections in 2024.

Special invitees to the core committee were party’s national vice president, Saudan Singh, chairman of the national commission for minorities, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, national general secretary, Tarun Chugh, national secretary, Dr Narinder Raina, former Gujarat chief minister, Vijay Rupani and all five general secretaries of the state.

Elaborating upon the party’s revamp, the state unit’s media secretary Janardhan Sharma, says that the revamp was done with the party’s ideology to involve all with a collective effort and approach for growth of all.

“It is with this philosophy that the leaders from other parties who had joined and helped BJP have been accommodated in the new team’’, he said.

However, the political observers opine that with the recent revamp, the BJP aims at expanding its base in the state and gain ground in the areas of the leaders inducted in the rejig.

Was dumped by SAD in 2020

The BJP was a junior partner with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) till 2020 when it was never given more than 23 constituencies (out of total 117), and that too the urban seats only, since 1995, a major reason why it could not have Sikh leaders.

Having been dumped by the SAD in 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws, the BJP leadership decided not to have any truck with SAD. While the BJP Central leadership held it would not go for an alliance with SAD, the latter responded by stating that they would protect Punjab and would not bow before the Centre.

Repeal of farm laws notwithstanding – the BJP leaders may hate to admit it – the damage caused by the said farm laws was severe to such an extent that it left the Punjab BJP in a sticky situation ahead of election time. So much so, some senior leaders including the former minister and two-time MLA from Amritsar, Anil Joshi had also sided with farmers and later joined SAD.

The BJP, thus, in 2022 assembly polls, had an alliance with the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) floated by the former two-time and five-time legislator Capt Amarinder Singh as well as SAD’s splinter group – SAD (Sanyukt) – floated by senior Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, but fared poorly.

While only the saffron party could win two seats and others faced a brutal drubbing – AAP registered a landslide win with 92 seats, Congress got 18, SAD, three and its ally, BSP, one while one independent legislator could make it to the assembly.

It’s a sad fact that home owners and cooperative housing societies refuse to rent apartments or homes to bachelors and bachelorettes who leave their homes in search of better opportunities in different cities

Everyone talks about various kinds of discriminations in our society. Whether it is gender-based bias, or religious bigotry, caste-based inequity or whether it is colour-based prejudice, it’s all out in the open. Talked about, called out and fought against by woke people.  However, there is a silent prejudice that is making life difficult for young singles in India, which few talk about. It’s called ‘Discrimination in housing’ and it’s a sad fact that home owners and cooperative housing societies refuse to rent apartments or homes to bachelors and bachelorettes who are forced by circumstances or lured by better prospects to leave the shelter of their homes and go out into the world to live alone.

And if people do rent out homes to them or take them in as Paying Guests (PGs), they are either charged higher rentals than normally would be charged of a married couple or a family or ridiculous conditions are placed on them. For instance some societies allow homeowners to rent out apartments to singles but the bachelors have to make a deposit of Rs10,000 with the society to recover any “damage” that may be caused by the singles which is of course returnable at the time of vacating the house.

Really!! Do societies think that bachelors are uncontrollable, rage-filled delinquents who will go around punching holes into walls or breaking down doors, uprooting trees or damaging the lifts or common areas? Imagine, the extra financial burden they are putting on a young person who is forced to live far away from home just because there are not any good job or educational facilities in their hometown?

Then, there are some who expect young, working professionals or students living as PG with them to be back home latest by 8 pm? So what do you tell your bosses? “Sorry sir I can’t put in extra hours today for that all-important project because I have a curfew of 8 pm imposed by my landlord.” Or what do you tell your friends? “Sorry I can’t make it to that all-important party/movie/get together because I have to be back home by 8 pm?”

So in effect, what the landlord is saying is that young people living away from home are not entitled to have a social life or fun with their friends. Because, to your mind, all this is immoral activity?

There are also those who don’t allow their tenants to bring home friends of the opposite sex. Why? Can’t people of opposite gender be friends? So, if they are living in an apartment they consider home why can’t they have the liberty to bring their friends home? Do you stop your own children from bringing friends of the opposite sex home? And if you frown upon mixed gender friendships then what kind of regressive mindset do you have? And you certainly need to get your mind out of the gutter!

Forget about friends of the opposite sex, some societies and landlords prohibit people in a relationship from also bringing their love interest home. Why this moral policing? They are consenting adults aren’t they? Don’t youngsters in our society have a right to a life of their own? Do they have no right to privacy, right to love, relax with the person they love or have a quiet meal just because they don’t own a home and are renting yours out?

And God help you if you are a bachelorette, looking for a place to live. First, you will find it difficult to get a house and if you do have the good fortune to find one, you will be regarded with suspicion in the first place for daring to dream of having an independent existence. And then, a hundred restrictions will be placed on you and your movements will be watched closely to ensure that you don’t break any of the house rules. Because, after all a young woman who leaves the security of her home to go to a distant city to study or work, certainly can’t be up to any good..can she?

So yes, young singles in India are victims of ‘Discrimination in Housing.’ And this silent malaise is very prevalent and it is hidden in plain sight. We can call it ‘Discrimination in Housing’ or ‘Rental prejudice’ or any other sophisticated name but at the end of the day it is plain and simple moral policing. And this silent bias has spread all over India, poisoning the lives of our youngsters who leave their homes in search of better opportunities in different cities. And mind you, this bias is not restricted to small cities it is very much prevalent in cosmopolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Bengaluru and Noida. This middle class morality and toxic attitude towards young singles is also not the prerogative of those living in lower middle class or middle class neighbourhoods, but in posh societies too, where one would not expect to encounter mindsets that are centuries old.

The most recent example of this regressive and discriminatory mindset is at display in Noida’s Emerald Court society. The posh society in Sector 93A, where the infamous twin towers once stood, has given a notice to tenants who are bachelors to vacate their premises, citing violation of its rules. The notice, issued on November 15, stated a rule of society’s bye-law which stipulates that it is “prohibited to use flats as paying guest accommodation, or rent to a group of students/bachelors where the residency of the flat is of transient nature.” The notice further stated, “We are hereby informing the owners of these flats to give notice to the students/bachelors/guest house managers and get the flats vacated within 30 days from today. From January 1, 2023 we will not permit these PG accommodations in our premises.”

As a result, hundreds of singles have had to drop everything they were doing and start looking for a new home to move into. Which is easier said than done because the space for singles in this country is increasingly shrinking because of this silent discrimination.

The RWA says they were getting “complaints” and this has been “done in the interest of harmonious community living and we have no intention of any moral policing.”

So, is the RWA trying to imply that people who are married and families are all paragons of virtue and they never do anything wrong? All the muck there is in society is because of singles? Married wo/men never have parties with loud music, they never flout any society rules, they never have fights or there are never any unpaid bills or parking violations or late nights out, or raucous friends over?

In making it next to impossible for singles to get accommodation aren’t we being harsh and prejudiced towards our youngsters? They have the fundamental right to life too. We can’t trample on those rights. People need to realize that there cannot be any discriminatory rules and regulations based on caste, creed, geographies or marital status of a resident in a community living. If a bachelor tenant is not following society rules and by-laws, they need to be treated at par with other erring tenants and corrective measures should be taken accordingly. If repeated warnings fail then it is ok to evict a person who is making a nuisance of themselves. But a blanket ban on bachelors and youths, who are the future of this country and an integral part of our community is not on. We need to be there to stand by them, mentor them and offer support because it’s not easy living alone in a place far from home. It’s no wonder then that a large part of our urban youth suffers from depression, anxiety, loneliness and suicidal thoughts. Life is difficult, let’s not make it worse for our singles.

The number of drones coming from Pakistan into Indian territories have increased manifold in the last one year. While only five drones were shot down in the three-year period between 2019-2021, but this year, more than 15 drones have been shot in 11 months, writes Rajendra Khatry

Frequent drone incursions from Pakistan are posing a fresh security threat to India. In the last two years, drones have become the preferred mode for cross-border delivery of consignments including drugs and arms by the ISI and Pakistan-based militant groups.

According to the reports of the Intelligence Wing of the Punjab police, around 215 drone activities were noticed this year at various points near the border. In the first five days of December, as many as seven drones were reported to have trespassed into Indian  territory from Pakistan.

According to the Border Security Force (BSF), drones from across the Pakistan border, used particularly for drugs and ammunition, have been witnessed on a regular basis along India’s western front. The number of such drones trying to enter Indian space has increased several times in the last couple of years.

For the last several months the Border Security Force (BSF) has been keeping a close watch and cracking down hard on Pakistan’s conspiracy of sending drugs and weapons through drones inside India.

Incidentally, the BSF has installed anti-drone systems along the India-Pakistan border to prevent drone infiltration. This system helps in jamming and shooting down the drones. The BSF is reportedly spending Rs 30 crore this year to strengthen the borders.

How serious the problem is can be gauged from the fact that besides the anti-drone systems, as many as 5,500 additional cameras are also being installed to monitor border infiltration and drone activities. No wonder a large number of drones returned without dropping the payload as they were confronted by the BSF.

According to reports, airdropping of drugs, arms and ammunition by drones continues non-stop despite many consignments being seized by the Indian security forces on the border. It was in the year 2019 when the drone activity to carry out narcotics and arms smuggling was first noticed. Since then such incursions have increased manifold.

Drone flights have increased tremendously in the last one year, according to the BSF. In fact, this frequency has doubled in number from across the Pakistan border on the western front posing a major challenge to the security forces. The versatility of the drone, which is very well known, has been posing  a threat. In the past, drones have found new ways to bypass the frontiers which is worrisome indeed.

Fortunately, the BSF has established a modern laboratory at a camp in Delhi to study drone forensics. Now, the security agencies can track the flight path and even criminals’ addresses involved in illegal cross-border activity,

India has a long international border with Pakistan. The BSF guards the entire area which is across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. According to information, India first established a drone repair lab at Delhi in September last year and later enhanced it to analyse the forensics of the drones shot down or recovered by it.

The BSF often deploys drone tracking teams, increases patrolling and instals drone tracking equipment at suspected border areas. But the criminals change the spot to continue their nefarious activities and start operating from some other region.

Many drones from Pakistan have been shot down in the Indian territory while carrying drugs and weapons. A women squad of the BSF recently foiled a cross-border drug-smuggling attempt in Amritsar district of Punjab by shooting down a drone, which was flying into Indian territory from Pakistan. It was carrying around 3.1 kg of narcotics.

The troops fired at the drone when they noticed it entering Indian territory, around 40 km north of Amritsar city. The BSF recovered partially damaged hexacopter aerial vehicle rotors. The drone’s weight was found to be around 18 kg. It was trying to smuggle around 3 kg of narcotics from Pakistan to India. The drug was wrapped in a polythene bag and was attached to the drone. In many similar instances the drone shot down in India by the security forces had similar bags attached to them.

Interestingly, since the year 2019, the Punjab Police have busted as many as 24 terror modules resulting in the recovery of a huge number of terror-related hardware, narcotics, and foreign currency. These had been reportedly sent through drones from Pakistan.

According to sources in the Punjab police, only five drones were shot down in the three-year period between 2019-2021, but this year, more than 15 drones have been shot in 11 months. The problem is such drone incursions are increasing day by day.

Most of the drones sent by Pakistan into India are Chinese-made. For example, the drone manufactured by Da-Jiang Innovations, Shenzhen, China, can carry  a 9 kg weight. It has a maximum flight time of 31 minutes and its maximum speed is around 82.8 km/per hour.

There is a deep connection between the drones from Pakistan and terrorism in India. The drugs and arms sent into the Indian territories are reportedly used by the terrorists to foment trouble in India. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently carried out raids at 10 places in Punjab which also confirmed that gangsters turned terrorists who are operating from Pakistan are making increased use of China-made drones to send arms, ammunition and drugs across the border into Punjab.

The NIA raided the residences of several gangster-linked suspects in the border districts of Fazilka and Tarn Taran of Punjab. The suspects were found to be engaged in collecting arms and drugs supplied through the drones and passing them on to other parts of the country.

The drugs are reportedly pushed from across the border to the conduits of Khalistani terrorists in India. These conduits are said to be providing money to some modules in Punjab to perform terrorist activities. The Punjab Police suspect that  the ammunition and arms used in the RPG attack on Punjab Police’s intelligence headquarters in Mohali earlier this year were also provided by the Khalistanis operating from within Pakistan who want to create trouble in India.

Pakistan has been spending a lot on these drones. A large hexacopter drone, which does not have the capacity to lift more weight, costs around Rs 14-16 lakhs in Pakistan. According to reports, to reduce the cost of the expensive Chinese drones, Pakistani smugglers have started using old drones assembled in Pakistan instead of new ones made in China to send them to India. This helps them reduce the economic loss due to the constant actions taken by the Indian security forces. Most of the drones that come from Pakistan to India are said to be made in China such as the hexacopter and quadcopter drones.