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August 12, 2011

Act fast to save youths in Iraq, HC tells Centre

Chandigarh, August 12
A day after the news report on “Chandigarh travel agents under lens for dumping youths in Iraq” appeared in these columns, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Centre and its departments to take notice of the events and act promptly to prevent loss of life.
The Bench of Justice MM Kumar and Justice Gurdev Singh asserted: “Keeping in view the facts and circumstances and the plight of these 40 young persons, we direct the respondents to take notice of these events and act promptly before there is any loss to life.”
The directions came after the clippings of The Tribune report were placed before the Bench of amicus curiae Anil Malhotra. The Bench observed the application brings to the notice of the court the case of about 40 youths from the State of Punjab lured to go to foreign country. They were ultimately sent to Iraq by unscrupulous agents with the promise of jobs. Allured by the promise of jobs, they landed in Iraq and appear to have been apprehended by the local police there. According to reports, they have now been sent to Najaf, about 160 km from Bagdad, and have been forced to clear battlefields strewn with used missiles, bomb shells and rocket launchers as Iraq has been confronted with a grim type of violence in the recent times.
“According to the averment made in the application, these young persons belong to the area of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala. Malhotra has also brought on record the provisions of Passport Act, 1967 and a pointed reference has been made to the Passports Rules, 1980, to state how Emergency Certificate could be granted to a person who is citizen of India abroad and how he could be brought back to his country…,” the Bench added while issuing a notice.

NEW DELHI: Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa raised the matter in the Lok Sabha and sought a response from the Ministry of External Affairs. “At least 1,500 youth are affected. We wonder what the MEA is doing when such unscrupulous elements are duping our youth. We seek a statement from the Minister on the floor of the House,” Bajwa said, adding that such cases were increasing by the day.

‘Selling’ youths lucrative trade in Iraq: Victims


Jalandhar, August 11
Reminiscent of the slave trade, Indian agents and their conduits in Iraq are minting millions of dollars “selling” young boys to owners of big farms and construction companies. Kulwinder Singh of Takhni village in Hoshiarpur said an agent in his village had charged him Rs 1.5 lakh for a job in the housekeeping department of the Iraqi army.

“Selling youths from India and other south Asian countries is a lucrative business in Iraq. Agents in India have numerous conduits in Iraq who sell the unsuspecting youths to sub-agents, who in turn sell them to owners of big agricultural farms and private construction companies,” he said.
“We first landed at Dubai and after a few days’ stay there, a conduit took us to Iraq. There, a woman agent purchased us and further sold us to a contractor for 600 US dollars,” he said.
The exploitation does not end here. Those who want to return home have to go through the vicious circle again. Money is charged at every stage, he said.
Another youth Kamwaljit Singh of Khurlapur village near Mehatpur said: “ As Iraqi agents demand money for helping the youths to return home, most remain stranded there. Their families back home are unable to pay money for their release.”As the trapped youths belonged to poor families, there was “dim hope of any contractor letting them off,” he said.


Chandigarh, August 11
The Chandigarh Police today ordered an inquiry into the role of three city travel agents- JM Overseas, Sector 41-D, Gayatry Travels, Sector 34-A and Continental Trade Test Centre- for dumping youths from Punjab and Haryana in Iraq on the false promise of employment. SSP Naunihal Singh today marked an inquiry to DSP (headquarters) Ashish Kapoor following Tribune reports.

“ The antecedents of all the three travel agencies operating in city will be verified. We will verify if they are registered with the Labour Ministry and if they are legally entitled to send skilled labour to foreign countries.,” the SSP said .
JM Overseas, has been operating from Sector 41 since 2005. Jay Prakash, director of agency, denied his company’s involvement in sending youths abroad fraudulently. He said it was a year ago that one of their clients was sent to Iraq and he was “ well-settled there.

Mohali immigration firm booked for fraud



Mohali, August 12 - Flooded with complaints against local immigration company Jet International Placement Services, the Mohali police today slapped three cases of cheating, fraud and criminal conspiracy against the proprietors of the company, Deepak Arora, Karandeep Singh and Madh Pandey.
In the past two months, 10 cases of cheating have been registered against them. In the three cases registered today, 77 persons from Jalandhar, Patiala, and Gurdaspur had complained to the police that the company had taken Rs 35 lakh to arrange visas for Switzerland. All the individuals had given around Rs 1 lakh each. The money was taken from victims on different dates. “When the visa seekers sought a refund, cheques issued by the company bounced”, said Superintendent of Police (City) Harpreet Singh. The Mohali Phase 1 Police Station and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) are investigating the cases.
In June last, the Mohali police had registered a case under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B of the IPC and the Immigration Act against the owners and employees of the company on the complaint 
that the company took money from persons to send them abroad on work permits, for duping many residents. 
Last week, the police had registered another case against Deepak Arora on the complaint of Jai Singh, a resident of Sector 21, Panchkula, for duping him.
The SP (City) said arrest warrants had been issued against the persons named in the FIRs.


Appeals court rules against Obama healthcare mandate


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law suffered a setback on Friday when an appeals court ruled that it was unconstitutional to require all Americans to buy insurance or face a penalty.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, ruled 2 to 1 that Congress exceeded its authority by requiring Americans to buy coverage, but it unanimously reversed a lower court decision that threw out the entire law.
The legality of the individual mandate, a cornerstone of the healthcare law, is widely expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Opponents have argued that without the mandate, which goes into effect in 2014, the entire law falls.
The law, adopted by Congress in 2010 after a bruising battle, is expected to be a major political issue in the 2012 elections as Obama seeks another term. All the major Republican presidential candidates have opposed it.
Obama has championed the individual mandate as a major accomplishment of his presidency and as a way to try to slow the soaring costs of healthcare while expanding coverage to the more than 30 million Americans without it.
The White House voiced confidence the law would be upheld. "We strongly disagree with this decision and we are confident it will not stand," Obama aide Stephanie Cutter said in a statement.
Because it conflicts with another appeals court ruling that upheld the law, the Supreme Court is expected to take it up during its term that begins in October with a ruling possible just months before the November 2012 presidential election.
Legal experts said it was impossible to predict how the high court will rule but agreed that it may be a close vote by nine ideologically divided justices, with moderate conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy as the possible swing vote.
SPLIT DECISION
Twenty-six states together had challenged the mandate, arguing that Congress had exceeded its authority by imposing such a requirement. But the Obama administration had argued it was legal under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
A federal judge in Florida sided with the states and struck down the entire law, leading the administration to appeal.
A divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit found that it did not pass muster under that clause or under the power of Congress to tax. The administration has said the penalty for not buying healthcare coverage is akin to a tax.
"This economic mandate represents a wholly novel and potentially unbounded assertion of congressional authority: the ability to compel Americans to purchase an expensive health insurance product they have elected not to buy, and to make them repurchase that insurance product every month for their entire lives," the majority said in its 207-page opinion.
That opinion was jointly written by Judges Joel Dubina, who was appointed to the appeals court by Republican President George H.W. Bush, and by Frank Hull, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
REPUBLICANS AGAINST IT
Republicans have sought to undercut or repeal the healthcare law at every level of government -- in federal court, in the state legislatures and in the U.S. Congress.
The decision contrasts with one by the U.S. Appeals Court for the 6th Circuit, based in Cincinnati, which had upheld the individual mandate as constitutional. That case has already been appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, has yet to rule on a separate challenge by the state of Virginia. A federal judge in that state had ruled the mandate unconstitutional as well.
Either side could ask the full 11th Circuit court to reconsider the decision or go straight to the Supreme Court. The Justice Department said it was weighing its options.
"Today we have prevailed in preventing Congress from infringing on the individual liberty protected by the U.S. Constitution," Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
The 11th Circuit did not agree that the entire Obama healthcare law should be tossed out. Many provisions are already being implemented, including allowing children to stay on their parents' health insurance plan until age 26 and banning lifetime coverage limits.
Further, the Obama administration on Friday issued new incentives for states and people to participate in health insurance exchanges, including tax credits and funding grants for the states.
The Obama administration did win some support from the appeals court for the individual mandate. One of the three judges, Stanley Marcus, dissented from the majority opinion in his own 84-page opinion.
The majority "has ignored the undeniable fact that Congress' commerce power has grown exponentially over the past two centuries and is now generally accepted as having afforded Congress the authority to create rules regulating large areas of our national economy," wrote Marcus, also a Clinton appointee to the appeals court.
He also cited a past opinion about Congress' broad power by the possible Supreme Court swing vote, Justice Kennedy.
Cutter from the White House said that without the individual mandate, healthcare premiums could go up as much as 20 percent. America's Health Insurance Plans, the trade group for the industry, said repealing the individual mandate would cause "significant disruption and skyrocketing costs."
(Additional reporting by Jane Sutton in Miami and Lisa Lambert and Anna Yukhananov in Washington; Editing by Eric Beech and Howard Goller)
(For a link to the court decision: http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/courts/ca11/201111021.pdf)

Air India gets an overhaul


CMD Arvind Jadhav moved out; airline turnaround plan to roll out in 3 months
New Delhi, August 12
The government has given Rohit Nandan, a joint secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry, charge of the beleaguered national carrier Air India. He will be the airline’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) for the next three years.
Nandan replaces Arvind Jadhav, who has been facing criticism for not being able to carry along the airline staff, thanks to his “autocratic” style of functioning. With the appointment of the 1982 batch IAS officer belonging to the UP cadre, the government hopes to begin on a clean slate with the warring factions of Air India employees, especially the pilots, who had been gunning for Jadhav.
As efforts to set the Air India house in order get rolling, sources said Jadhav’s ouster would be followed by significant changes in the functioning of the pauper Maharaja. The turnaround plan for the pauper Maharaja will roll out in the next three months and this time all decisions concerning the ailing carrier will be implemented under strict supervision of the ministry.
The airline is in deep red and has to pull out fast if it wants to survive in the highly competitive industry.
While there have been speculations that the government was contemplating privatising the airline, which has failed to take off despite all the taxpayers’ money pumped in, the Centre has ruled out the possibility and promised administrative and monetary steps to turn the cash-strapped airline around. Senior officials, however, admit that the fortunes of the national carrier has nosedived beyond the recovery stage.
Though Nandan will be given a free hand to revamp the AI management panel, he will be working in close coordination with the ministry and report directly to Civil Aviation Secretary Naseem Zaidi.
Civil Aviation Minister Vyalar Ravi, who met Manmohan Singh in Parliament House, announced that three new Directors would be inducted into the Air India Board soon for Personnel, Marketing and Finance departments. “A full-fledged board will be there with Executive Directors from the industry... everything will be streamlined,” Ravi said, adding, “we will do everything possible, look into every aspect and revive Air India as fast as we can.”
Significantly, the general practice so far has been that Civil Aviation ministers, including the high-profile Praful Patel who has been in the dock for all that has gone wrong with the airline, have preferred to steer clear of commenting on management issues of the cash-strapped airline, at least in public.
Patel has often been quoted as saying that he was not a minister for Air India and that it was the CMD who was responsible for its functioning.
Interestingly, recent developments have revealed that the CMD of the airline is not such a coveted job, especially in the present circumstances when the Opposition ire is directed towards it
Jadhav, who is understood to be very close to the PMO, was recently targeted by the BJP for being selected by the search committee despite having no “domain experience”. The Opposition even charged the PMO with “manipulatively subverting” the selection process to benefit Jadhav.
Jadhav not just failed to turn the airline’s fortunes around, he was also targeted by the all-powerful pilots' union for being responsible for most of its woes, including the failure to implement the AI-IA merger properly. He was also under fire for mishandling the pilots’ strike in May this year. His tenure in fact saw three major strikes by employees and pilots.
Centre says no to privatisation
The Centre has ruled out the possibility of privatising the airline. Senior officials admit that the fortunes of the national carrier have nosedived beyond the recovery stage.
Concerns before new chief
AI has a cumulative debt of Rs 40,000 crore, incurred over aircraft acquisition and as short-term loans to maintain its operations. The recent CAG report blamed the airline management for lack of foresight, saying that the decision to buy new aircraft proved a disaster.
New Delhi: The government’s assurances to the Lok Sabha today that it would turn around the loss-making national carrier Air India and would do so without privatising it fell flat as the Opposition staged a walkout over the issue, demanding action against all top authorities involved in AI’s decline.The walkout led by the BJP and the CPI came at the end of nearly two hours of discussion around the dwindling passenger share and poor financial health of the airline.
The discussion, initiated by the CPI’s Gurudas Dasgupta, was taken forward by the BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi.
Both questioned the government’s intentions behind allowing the carrier to slide by withdrawing 30 flights from profitable routes and purchasing planes when there was no capacity to repay. The political adversaries also came together to question the appointment of Arvind Jadhav, the now sacked CMD of AI who was rejected by a panel comprising a PMO nominee in 2009 but a year later was appointed as chief.
“What changed in a year?” both Dasgupta and Joshi asked, with the MoS in PMO V Narayanasamy unable to satisfy these specific queries, causing the Opposition supported by the SP and RJD to walkout.

ਸੋਨੀ ਰਾਮਗੜ੍ਹ ਭੁੱਲਰ ਦੇ ਜੱਫਿਆਂ ਨੇ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ 'ਚ ਕਰਾਈ ਬੱਲੇ-ਬੱਲੇ

ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ, 12 ਅਗਸਤ (ਲਾਟ ਭਿੰਡਰ)-ਪਿਤਾ ਸੁਖਦੇਵ ਸਿੰਘ ਅਤੇ ਮਾਤਾ ਜਸਵੰਤ ਕੌਰ ਦੀ ਕੁੱਖੋਂ ਜਨ
ਮੇ 25 ਸਾਲਾ ਮਸ਼ਹੂਰ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਖਿਡਾਰੀ ਸੋਨੀ ਰਾਮਗੜ੍ਹ ਭੁੱਲਰ ਨੇ ਪੀ. ਐਸ. ਸੀ. ਕਬੱਡੀ ਫੈਡਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਦੀ ਸਰਪ੍ਰਸਤੀ ਹੇਠ ਹੋ ਰਹੇ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਦੇ ਅਲੱਗ-ਅਲੱਗ ਸੂਬਿਆਂ ਵਿਚ ਹੋ ਰਹੇ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਕੱਪ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਨਾਮੀ ਰੇਡਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਜੱਫੇ ਲਗਾ ਕੇ ਬੱਲੇ-ਬੱਲੇ ਕਰਵਾ ਦਿੱਤੀ। ਸੋਨੀ ਰਾਮਗੜ੍ਹ ਐਡਮਿੰਟਨ ਦੇ 'ਚੜ੍ਹਦਾ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਕਲੱਬ' ਦੇ ਸੱਦੇ 'ਤੇ ਖੇਡ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਸੋਨੀ ਨੇ 'ਅਜੀਤ' ਨਾਲ ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਪਿਛਲੇ ਲਗਭਗ 5-6 ਸਾਲ ਤੋਂ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਖੇਤਰ ਨਾਲ ਜੁੜਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਉਹ ਸੈਂਕੜੇ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਕੱਪਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਜੱਫੇ ਲਗਾ ਕੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਖੇਡ ਦੇ ਜੌਹਰ ਵਿਖਾ ਚੁੱਕਾ ਹੈ। ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ ਜ਼ਿਲ੍ਹੇ ਨਾਲ ਸੰਬੰਧਿਤ ਸੋਨੀ ਨੇ ਅੱਗੇ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਭਵਿੱਖ ਵਿਚ ਕੋਚ ਜਗਤਾਰ ਧਨੌਲਾ ਦੇ ਪਾਏ ਪੂਰਣਿਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਚੱਲ ਕੇ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਜਗਤ ਵਿਚ ਆਪਣੀ ਵੱਖਰੀ ਪਹਿਚਾਣ ਸਥਾਪਿਤ ਕਰੇਗਾ। ਉਸ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਸ: ਤਰਲੋਚਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਦਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦੀ ਹੈ ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਦਕਾ ਉਹ ਉੱਤਰੀ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਵਿਚ ਮਾਂ-ਖੇਡ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਨੂੰ ਬੁਲੰਦੀਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਪਹੁੰਚਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ। ਸੋਨੀ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਉਹ ਚੜ੍ਹਦਾ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਕਲੱਬ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਕ ਸੈਰੀ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ, ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਮੁੱਲਾਂਪੁਰ, ਅਵਤਾਰ ਮੋਹੀ, ਪਰਮਿੰਦਰ ਗਰੇਵਾਲ ਦਾ ਵੀ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਸਦਕਾ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਕੈਨੇਡਾ ਵਿਚ ਕਬੱਡੀ ਦੇ ਜੌਹਰ ਵਿਖਾਉਣ ਦਾ ਮੌਕਾ ਮਿਲਿਆ।

ਖੰਗੂੜਾ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਵਾਸੀ ਭਾਰਤੀਆਂ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਨਿਧ ਚੁਣਨ 'ਤੇ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਪ੍ਰਗਟ

ਟੋਰਾਂਟੋ, 12 ਅਗਸਤ (ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਸੈਣੀ)-ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਵਿਧਾਨ ਸਭਾ ਹਲਕੇ ਕਿਲ੍ਹਾ ਰਾਏਪੁਰ ਤੋਂ ਵਿ
ਧਾਇਕ ਜੱਸੀ ਖੰਗੂੜਾ ਨੂੰ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਕਾਂਗਰਸ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਸ. ਅਮਰਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਲੋਂ ਪ੍ਰਵਾਸੀ ਭਾਰਤੀਆਂ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਨਿਧ ਨਿਯੁਕਤ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਣ 'ਤੇ ਟੋਰਾਂਟੋ ਅਤੇ ਨੇੜਲੇ ਉਪ ਸ਼ਹਿਰਾਂ 'ਚ ਵਸੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਸਮਰਥਕ ਸ. ਖੰਗੂੜਾ ਦੀ ਨਿਯੁਕਤੀ ਤੋਂ ਬੇਹੱਦ ਖੁਸ਼ ਹਨ। ਸ. ਅਮਰਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਗਰੇਵਾਲ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਮੈਟਰੋ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਖੇਡ ਕਲੱਬ ਨੇ ਸ. ਖੰਗੂੜਾ ਦੀ ਨਿਯੁਕਤੀ 'ਤੇ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਦਾ ਪ੍ਰਗਟਾਵਾ ਕੀਤਾ।

ਦੁਆਬੇ ਦੇ ੩੩੫ ਵਿਅਕਤੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਦੇਣ 'ਤੇ ਲਾਈ ਰੋਕ


ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਰਾਜਸੀ ਸ਼ਰਨ ਮੰਗਣ ਦਾ ਮਾਮਲਾ
ਜਲੰਧਰ, 12 ਅਗਸਤ-ਭਾਰਤ ਵਿਚ ਖਤਰਾ ਦੱਸ ਕੇ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਕ ਸ਼ਰਣ ਮੰਗਣ ਵਾਲੇ 335 ਵਿਅਕਤੀਆਂ ਨੂੇੰ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਜਾਰੀ ਕਰਨ 'ਤੇ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ ਮੰਤਰਾਲੇ ਨੇ ਰੋਕ ਲਾਈ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਸਾਰੇ ਦੁਆਬੇ ਨਾਲ ਸਬੰਧਤ ਹਨ। ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ 335 ਵਿਅਕਤੀਆਂ ਨੇ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਕ ਸ਼ਰਣ ਲਈ ਬੇਨਤੀ ਕੀਤੀ ਸੀ ਪਰ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ੀ ਸਰਕਾਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਕੇਸ ਮਨਜ਼ੂਰ ਨਹੀਂ ਕੀਤੇ ਹਨ ਤੇ ਇਹ ਸਾਬਤ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਜਿਹੜੇ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੇ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਕ ਸ਼ਰਣ ਮੰਗੀ ਹੈ , ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਭਾਰਤ ਵਿਚ ਕਿਸੇ ਵੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਖਤਰਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਜਿਸ ਕਰਕੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵਾਪਿਸ ਭਾਰਤ ਭੇਜ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ ਮੰਤਰਾਲੇ ਨੇ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਉਪਰ 3 ਤੋਂ ਲੈ ਕੇ 5 ਸਾਲ ਤੱਕ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਜਾਰੀ ਨਾ ਕਰਨ ਦੀ ਪਾਬੰਦੀ ਲਗਾ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿਚ ਜਦੋਂ ਖੇਤਰੀ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਅਫ਼ਸਰ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਪ੍ਰਨੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਾਲ ਸੰਪਰਕ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਦੀ ਪੁਸ਼ਟੀ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ ਮੰਤਰਾਲੇ ਨੇ ਜਿੰਨਾ ਸਮਾਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਨਾ ਦੇਣ ਲਈ ਨਿਸ਼ਚਤ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਖਤਮ ਹੋਣ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਹੀ ਨਵੇਂ ਪਾਸਪੋਰਟ ਅਪਲਾਈ ਕਰਨ 'ਤੇ ਜਾਰੀ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਣਗੇ। ਉਧਰ ਸੂਤਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਕਹਿਣਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿਚ ਕਈ ਕਥਿਤ ਏਜੰਟ ਹੀ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਗੈਰ ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ ਤਰੀਕੇ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਭਿਜਵਾ ਕੇ ਰਾਜਨੀਤਕ ਸ਼ਰਣ ਮੰਗਣ ਦੀ ਸਲਾਹ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ ਪਰ ਇਹੋ ਜਿਹੇ ਲੋਕ ਬਾਅਦ ਵਿਚ ਫੜੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ ਤੇ ਕੇਸ ਹਾਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵਾਪਿਸ ਭੇਜ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਵਿਚ ਵਰਲਡ ਟਰੇਡ ਸੈਂਟਰ 'ਤੇ ਹਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਘਟਨਾ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਕਈ ਦੇਸ਼ਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਰਕਾਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿਚ ਪਾਬੰਦੀਆਂ ਸਖਤ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤੀਆਂ ਸਨ

Govt sides with censor board on ‘Aarakshan’


Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, August 12
Defending the censor board's decision to allow the film "Aakarshan" release, the Centre today ruled out any scope for intervention in the matter.
“I am fully with the decision of the Censor Board.... My Ministry has no role in it,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
To a question why the I & B Ministry was not intervening, Soni said: “In the Cinematograph Act, there was some scope for intervention earlier. But in 2000, that right was taken away by the Supreme Court. As of today, the Ministry has no right to intervene.” She said the Central Board of Film Certification is an autonomous body and it had been reconstituted very recently.
The I&B Minister said: “Generally four people of the board view a film before its release. But this time, chairperson Leela Samson constituted a nine-member panel for the film comprising Dalit, OBC, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe representatives. There is also a Dalit activist Rajni Tilak and retired justice Mukul Mudgal."
Meanwhile, producer Prakash Jha today made all efforts to have the ban on his Bollywood film, “Aarakshan”, in three states — Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh - lifted by the Supreme Court, but was not successful.
The Director’s lawyer appeared before a Bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir immediately after the court began hearing the cases listed for the day in the morning and said a petition had been filed challenging the ban and it required urgent hearing.
The Bench agreed to hear the plea at 2 pm in view of the fact that the film was released across the country today, save the three states. But the hearing did not take place till about 4 pm when the court rose for the day, apparently due to the delay in getting the petition numbered by the apex court’s Registry in time.
However, it has since been numbered and listed for hearing on August 16 before a Bench comprising Justices MK Sharma and Anil R Dave.
According to Jha’s counsel, Ameet Naik, the writ petition had pointed out several shortcomings in the ban order, slapped by the three states citing the difficulty in maintaining law and order in the wake of its release as it dealt with the sensitive caste issue involved in “Aarakshan” (reservation). The petition said the states had limited scope for banning a film cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification, the statutory body set up under the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
The Board had members from almost all sections of society, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and other backward castes. The ban also violated the producer's fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, it said.
Meanwhile, Jha has reportedly expressed his willingness to delete some parts from the controversial film in a bid to convince the states concerned to lift the ban.
With inputs from PTI
The Punjab Government has decided not to lift the ban on Parkash Jha’s ‘Aarakshan’ till certain changes are made in the screenplay. The decision is based on the report submitted by a special committee set up by the government for the purpose. Since the overall message of the movie is a “positive” one, the committee feels that the movie may be released in Punjab after some amendments.