As the weather cooled further the political atmosphere became progressively more charged. The ruling alliance made much of the right to service legislation and trumpeted the opening of various Suvhida centres as almost an act of God, whereas in reality they are merely providing what are the inherent rights of our citizens. People are suspicious of governments that endeavour to improve governance as they are about to demit office. Yet, the abiding memory that Punjabis will retain of this administration is the gross plunder and pillage, the pervasive intimidation of all those not deemed to be Akali supporters and the denial of pensions, atta dal and shagun scheme cheques to the poor.

The state of rural roads in Punjab is shocking. The last government left most roads in a good state. This government has allowed them to deteriorate. Why? Because the government can either commit funds for sangat darshan or for roads, but not for both!

October also witnessed a major drive to register the remaining voters. Yet, for the Akali it is not enough to have an accurate voters list; they stuck to their old habits of filing bogus applications and deleting valid votes. As a result I was forced to file numerous complaints with the DC Ludhiana and the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab. The Booth Level Officers were by and large doing a good job, but there were a few rotten eggs that seemed hell bent on denying Congress voters their due. All goes to show that for the Akalis the voter registration process is simply another opportunity to undermine for political advantage. Yet, they will soon feel the wrath of voters who have not been allowed to register and who will campaign even more aggressively against the ruling administration.

With farmers busy with the paddy harvest, there was little scope for political activity in the villages beyond the voter registration drive. But Manish Tewari MP did manage to convene a well attended meeting to distribute MP fund cheques. With MPLAD funds now increased to Rs.5 crores a year I look forward to our MPs using these additional funds in a more innovative manner, possibly creating facilities to be used by more than one village.

With the harvest came the burning of paddy stubble, which is still prevalent in spite of all the bans and enforcement measures. I wish that farmers stopped this practice but clearly financial constraints force them to burn rather than plough because they can't afford the tractor fuel. Better farm incomes would help in solving this vexed issue. Unfortunately, all the Badals have done in 5 years is send Sukhbir on his private plane to Brazil and cry hoarse regularly about MSP. The bottom line is that the Badals have no plan for saving Punjab’s agriculture.

Diwali was to be in London, but pressing issues in Punjab prevented us from travelling. As a result our daughter, Sabina, celebrated Diwali with friends in Madrid where she is studying the third year of her 4 year European Studies course from Kings' College, London. This was the first time that we were separated as a family for Diwali and we will hope to make up the deficit when we celebrate Sabina's 21st birthday in London in the middle of November.

Punjab Congress announced a schedule of 40 odd rallies across Punjab, which are currently taking place to massive attendances across Punjab. As a result I expect the political barometer to shift further to Congress during November and beyond.

People often ask me why I am so confident that Congress will form the next government. I reply that the Akalis have never managed 2 consecutive terms, that this time will be no different and that the urban voters will decisively shift to Congress. The last 2 Punjab elections have effectively been decided by urban voters and 2012 will follow the same pattern.

In October I hosted the first of my Friday evening NRI dinners. It was a well attended affair. NRIs will have a critical role in this election.

Whilst the election itself is no small matter, Punjab Congress has started its preparation for governance. Captain Sahib has repeatedly stated that the new administration will hit the ground running, that it will have a pro development and pro poor focus and that it will be significantly different to the last administration. Captain Sahib genuinely wishes to leave a lasting legacy and Punjabis can optimistically look forward to the next administration. As for the Badals, the law will take its course. Handcuffs are, I believe, in order.

Many thanks for your time.

Jassi Khangura

From left to right: PPCC President Captain Amarinder Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir S. Badal and Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal

In Captain Sahib’s speech, he said, “you have to create an atmosphere that is right for investment in industry. Otherwise there will be no development.” He continued to say, “I want one commitment… written or unwritten understanding… I hope the deputy chief minister will listen to this, regardless who of who is in power… if you bring industry, I promise our government will endorse it, we will support it. Let us not look at Punjab from the prism of politics, rather, please let us have this unwritten agreement that anything concerning development should be endorsed by both the parties, irrespective of which is in power.” Jassi welcomes these types of interactions and applauds the Hindustan Times, which excels at this. Jassi looks forward to a similar event next year by which time the tables would have turned. The attendees of the Vision 2020 included many political stakeholders and entrepreneurs of the state.