The Congress party has expelled Navjot Kaur Sidhu after she publicly criticized Rahul Gandhi. The expulsion follows her earlier suspension and a series of posts on X where she attacked the party leadership and questioned their commitment to Punjab.
The land pooling policy aims to kick-start a new wave of urbanisation in the predominantly rural state.
The party has fielded Dr Charanjit Singh from Sri Chamkaur Sahib against Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
It was not that differences did not crop up over other issues between the two erstwhile allies, but Parkash Singh Badal always ensured that these were amicably resolved and the ties remained intact.
As Punjab reels under unscheduled power cuts, Sidhu on Friday sought a law to nullify the power purchase agreements signed during the tenure of the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government.
In a statement, Deol said Sidhu's 'repeated utterances seek to derail the earnest efforts of the state government to ensure justice in the drugs matter and the sacrilege cases'.
Jakhar, the former president of Punjab Congress, said the party had never named its CM face adding that it was only an exception that the Congress high command had declared Captain Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2017 state assembly polls.
"My department is being singled out publicly. I always regard him as my elder I always listen to him."
The overall productivity of the House for the first three weeks of the monsoon session has been 22.60 per cent," sources said
His remarks came a day after AAP Punjab unit chief Bhagwant Mann took a dig at the cricketer-turned-politician and asked him to tweet about the 'funds' allegedly accepted by the ruling Congress from private power companies in the state.
Chandigarh police used water cannons to stop the protesters from going towards the chief minister's residence.
The CM's statement came on a day state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu once again sought the replacement of Punjab's police chief and advocate general.
The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine is heading for a clean sweep in the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti polls with winning 14 Zila Parishad and 130 Block Samiti seats and leading in most of the seats as per the results and trends available till noon on Tuesday.
Amid sporadic violence that left a 16-year-old boy dead and around 10 injured, nearly 77 per cent of 1.76 crore voters on Monday exercised their franchise under tight security to elect 117 members to the Punjab assembly.
Around 1.76 crore voters will seal the fate of 1,078 candidates, including the two chief ministerial aspirants Parkash Singh Badal of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party and Amarinder Singh of opposition Congress, in fray for 117 assembly seats in Punjab where polling will take place on Monday amidst tight security.
Samajwadi party may gently want to ease Akhilesh into the role of the CM, rather than rock the boat so soon after such an impressive victory, says Neerja Chowdhury
The Shiromoni Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance on Tuesday created history in Punjab by storming back to power for a second consecutive term, breaking a 46-year-old jinx.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Parkash Singh Badal-led Shiromoni Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government in Punjab, saying the state which was once a frontrunner in all spheres had now fallen behind.
Though the Congress lost the battle in 2007 to the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, it hopes to regain power in Punjab this year. The party, which is banking on the anti-incumbency factor, believes it "will throw Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Bhartiya Janata Party out of power".
Making the announcement at a press conference in Chandigarh, Sidhu, however, said he will assume charge the day Punjab will get a new advocate general.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Wednesday accused the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government in Orissa of working under "pressure" from missionary elements and the Centre to protect real "killers" of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Laxmanananda Saraswati and demanded a central law to ban religious conversion.
Rediff Labs analysed the 2012 assembly election results along with the 2014 Lok sabha results to develop a Sentiment Meter for the 2017 electoral battle.
Though United Progressive Alliance parties have already voiced their support to the government if it banned Bajrang Dal, leaders from Biju Janata Dal, Bharatiya janata Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha evaded a direct reply to questions from media persons on the issue, as they came out of the National Integration Council meeting in New Delhi.
Here is the list of constituencies where results have been announced.
The Centre is understood to have decided to invoke Article 355 of the Constitution to warn Orissa and Karnataka to rein in violence, following attacks on churches and prayer halls in the two states.According to official sources on Thursday night, a formal communication in this regard will be sent on Friday to the governments of the two states ruled by the Opposition. A Biju Janata Dal - Bharatiya Janata Party coalition is ruling Orissa while the BJP is in power in Karnataka.
Polling to 115 of 117 seats of the Punjab Assembly will be held amidst tight security.
Punjab Director General of Police N P S Aulakh has been appointed as the new chief of the elite National Security Guards and will assume charge on March 1. Aulakh, a 1972-batch officer of the Indian Police Service, will replace J K Dutta who is retiring on Saturday, official sources said on Friday. He was appointed the Punjab DGP in March 2007 after the formation of Shiromani Akali Dal Bharatiya Janata Party combine government in the state. Aulakh is to retire in August 2010
Amit Doda, one of the accused in Abohar Dalit murder case, has surrendered before police even as the liquor baron and Akali leader Shiv Lal Doda continued to remain elusive.
The Congress policy of minority appeasement and burdening the middle-class has cost it dear in Punjab
The going for Badal, however, may not be smooth as the Akalis will be dependent on the BJP for the survival of the government.
However, it was BJP, which put up an unexpectedly impressive performance bagging 19 of the 23 seats it contested.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the opposition SAD-BJP are at loggerheads over who will inaugurate the bridge in Gurdaspur district.
Sidhu said there would be no need for Amarinder to go for power cuts or to regulate the office timings if the state acts "in the right direction".
After months of investigations, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Saturday filed a charge sheet against former chief minister Prakash Singh Badal and his family in a disproportionate assets case in a court in Ropar.
The red beacons were removed from the vehicles of the chief minister and other members of the council of ministers. Additionally, a ban on the foreign travel of ministers for two years and organising of banquets on state expense has been imposed.
The Aam Aadmi Party MLAs spent the night in the state legislative assembly building demanding copies of the Bill which the state's Congress government is now expected to introduce on Tuesday.
Three police vehicles were damaged by agitators during bandh call in Saran district on Wednesday over the death of 22 children due to eating poisonous mid-day meal in a government school, police said.
Most villagers decided to stay back to harvest crops, their only source of livelihood.
However, restriction on opening of liquor vends within 500 metres of highways will remain as per the directions of the Supreme Court.
The rebel leader has been a vocal critic of AAP leadership since he was removed as leader of opposition in Punjab assembly in July last year.
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