The minister also hoped that a resolution should be reached before the year ends and asserted that the Modi government is committed to address all genuine concerns of the farming community.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday said his government will take all possible legal steps pertaining to death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana. "My government has been taking advice from legal experts. All possible legal steps will be initiated pertaining to Rajoana's case," he told reporters. On Friday, the Sikh clergy directed him and Shiromani Guru Prabhandhak Committee head Avtar Singh Makkar to make efforts to save Rajoana.
This will be after over two decades that the 'black cat' commandos of the elite counter-terror force will be taken out from VIP protection duties, a task not originally charted for it when the force was conceptualised and raised in 1984.
Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal said his party would abide by any decision taken by the National Democratic Alliance regarding the upcoming Presidential election.
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday took a jibe at Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray -- for his remarks that Sushma Swaraj is the "only deserving" prime ministerial candidate in the Bharatiya Janata Party -- saying it is premature to say anything at this stage.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has written to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, appraising him that India has taken up the issue of shooting in a United States gurdwara with Washington.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was served summons by a United States court last month in a case of alleged custodial torture and extra judicial killings of Sikhs, has sought dismissal of the motion against him or additional time of 90 days to defend the charges.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O' Brien met the agitating farmers at the Singhu border in the afternoon.
As Haryana encountered the 15th rape case in a month on Tuesday, former chief minister Om Parkash Chautala has backed the idea of Khap panchayats to marry of girls early to curb such crimes, citing a Mughal era practice.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene personally at the highest level of the United States administration to ensure that United States President Barack Obama visits the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
A day after a court convicted and sentenced her to a five-year jail term in connection with her daughter's abduction, senior Punjab Minister Bibi Jagir Kaur resigned on Saturday citing "moral grounds". Kaur, 57, sent her resignation letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who forwarded it to the Punjab governor for its acceptance with immediate effect. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said Bibi Jagir Kaur resigned as cabinet Minister on moral grounds.
The execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a co-accused in the killing of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995, is taking political connotations in the state even as top leadership of main parties Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress treaded cautiously on the issue here in Chandigarh.
Punjab Chief Minister and ruling Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal on Monday said his party will go by the decision of the National Democratic Alliance on the forthcoming presidential elections.
Several luminaries of Indian politics are descending in Lucknow to attend the historic swearing-in ceremony of 38-year-old Akhilesh Yadav as the youngest ever chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday.
Punjab Police on Wednesday caned protesting teachers and arrested three of them when they tried to meet Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during a function at Muktsar district in Chandigarh.
She resigned soon after her husband and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal strongly opposed the bills in Lok Sabha on Thursday night, claiming these proposed legislations will "destroy" the agriculture sector in Punjab, and announced that Harsimrat Kaur Badal will quit the government in protest against these three bills.
Farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan said told reporters after the meeting that the unions urged the government to repeal the three laws, but the Centre was unwilling to do so. "We decided to meet again on January 19 at 12 pm," he said.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is on a visit to the United States, has been served the summons issued by a US court in a human rights violation case for alleged torture of Sikhs in his state, according to petitioners.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has urged the Union government to sanction Rs 1,000 crore to fight drought in the state, which had faced a short fall of 60 per cent in rainfall this year.
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.
Haryana Janhit Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi won the Hisar by-poll by defeating nearest rival Ajay Chautala of Indian National Lok Dal by 23,617 votes.
The Punjab government on Thursday gave Rs 5 lakh as financial assistance to Surjeet Singh, who spent almost 30 years of his life in a Pakistan jail, and a government job to his son.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has assets worth a whopping Rs 87.27 crore, according to the National Election Watch, which has analysed the affidavits filed by the chief ministers of the five poll-bound states.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday declared that the Shiromani Akali Dal would support the National Democratic Alliance's decision on the Presidential candidate. In a statement, he said that as a key ally of the NDA, the Shiromani Akali Dal was committed to toe the line of action, as decided by the NDA.
Gurjot Parkash Sahib gurdwara, located in the suburb of Island Lake, was locked down by police on December 8 because of certain safety violations that had put public safety in jeopardy.
Eighty five-year-old Shiromani Alkali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday created two records in one go by becoming the chief minister of Punjab for the fifth time and the first in the reorganised state's history to return to power for the second successive tenure heading the SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance ministry.
The balloons were first seen by a villager near his house on Friday and when he found the note written in Urdu, he handed them over to the police.
Putting at rest all speculation, Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday declared that Parkash Singh Badal will remain the chief minister of Punjab, a post he would be holding for a record fifth time.
A group of four-five 'Nihangs' (Sikhs armed with traditional weapons and dressed in loose blue top) were travelling in a vehicle and they were asked to stop at a vegetable market by the Mandi board officials at around 6.15 am, police said.
Amid a plethora of Bharatiya Janata Party bigwigs, Manohar Lal Khattar and his council of ministers took the oath of office at Panchkula on Sunday.
In a show strength, he was joined by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.
President of newly-formed Punjab People's Party, which is emerging as a third force in the state, Manpreet claims the results of Punjab elections would be quite different than expected.
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.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday started his three-day fast at the Gujarat University Convention Centre for "peace, harmony and unity in the state".
Chief Ministers of a number of states including those from Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal on Saturday skipped the meeting of the prime minister-led National Integration Council in New Delhi.
With 85-year-old Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal at the helm, the old faces mostly stand out in the newly sworn Punjab Cabinet, whose average age is 60 years. Badal is the oldest member of his council of ministers, which comprises 17 other Cabinet-rank ministers, including his son Sukhbir Singh Badal as his deputy.
Eighty five-year-old Shiromani Alkali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal today created two records in one go by becoming the chief minister of Punjab for the fifth time and the first in the reorganised state's history to return to power for the second successive tenure heading the SAD-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance ministry.
Despite attaining absolute majority in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal and its ally Bharatiya Janata Party lost its vote share in comparison to Congress which failed to live up to its expectations in the poll results of the 117 member assembly.
Farmer leaders on Monday started their day-long hunger strike against the Centre's new farm laws and said protests will be held at all district headquarters later in the day, even as more people are expected to join the ongoing agitation at Delhi border points.