An alert Punjab Police ASI thwarted a murderous bid on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday. The incident took place while Badal was sitting on a wheelchair due to a fractured leg. The attacker, Narain Singh Chaura, a former terrorist, was overpowered by the ASI before he could fire his weapon. The incident has sparked controversy, with the opposition party criticizing the ruling AAP government's security measures.
Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, a former member of Akali Dal's women wing and daughter of former Union minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, Gurpreet Singh Shahpur, Chand Singh Chatha and Baljinder Singh Dakoha, all associated with the former BJP ally, joined the saffron party in presence of a number its leaders, including cabinet minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Sirsa has been a prominent face of the Akali Dal in the national capital and was a strong supporter of the farmers' protests against the three contentious farm laws. He said he will continue to work for Sikh causes.
The Congress appeared to have bounced back in the state's political landscape after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the AAP in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.
In an indication of rift within the National Democratic Alliance, its key constituent Akali Dal on Monday said it would like to listen to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on coal block allocation, a remark that goes against BJP's position of not allowing Parliament to function till he resigns.
An explosion occurred outside a temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India, when a motorcycle-borne person threw an explosive device towards it, damaging a portion of its wall and shattering window panes. While no one was hurt in the incident, the explosion caused panic among residents. The incident has sparked concern about law and order in the state and led to accusations against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The police are investigating the incident and have collected samples from the site to identify the material used in the explosion.
Among the national parties, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist opposed the proposal, while the Bharatiya Janata Party and the National People's Party supported it.
The BJP is willing to offer two Lok Sabha seats, including Baghpat which is currently represented by its MP Satya Pal Singh, to the RLD and may also give it a Rajya Sabha seat, they added.
Noting that the Bahujan Samaj Party had held a dialogue with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the past, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said no decision on the Mayawati-led party's inclusion in Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc can be taken until there is clarity on whose side she is on.
The film was scheduled to hit theatres across the country on September 6 but couldn't keep its date as it didn't get clearance certificate from the censor board, which is important for the public exhibition of films in India.
Punjab cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal was told he is left with only NRI Affairs portfolio as the administrative reforms department he was holding for the past nearly 21 months did not exist, according to a government notification.
Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia on Monday won from Gujarat's Visavadar assembly constituency and his party also retained Punjab's Ludhiana West seat while the Congress-led United Democratic Front wrested Nilambur from the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala, according to results of assembly bypolls in four states.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
Bharatiya Janata Party's National Democratic Alliance partners have got five cabinet ministerial berths in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as against none in the outgoing government, given the party's dependence on allies for a majority in the Lok Sabha.
Ahead of their planned protest in Chandigarh on March 5, several Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders were detained in early morning raids at their residences on Tuesday and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann denounced the agitating farmer unions, saying they have turned Punjab into a 'state of dharnas' and caused huge losses to it.
The BJP's vote share in Punjab has been declining -- 8.21 per cent in 2007 to 7.13 per cent in 2012, and finally to 5.4 per cent in 2017, when it won just three of 23 seats the party contested. So doing an election deal with Amarinder and a political formation he might float in the future is not inconceivable.
When electoral alliances are cooked and tested in the blender of political endurance, all in prep for April-May 2024.
She held a roadshow in Nagpur on Sunday for BJP candidate Pravin Datke.
In the melee, a couple of turbans also came off, only a couple of yards where the Guru Granth Sahib was placed.
The Aam Aadmi Party has fielded Karamjit Anmol, while the BJP has named North West Delhi MP Hans Raj Hans from Faridkot, a reserved parliamentary constituency.
The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Joginerpal Jain on Thursday wrested the Moga assembly seat defeating his nearest Congress rival by 18,845 votes.
Opposition parties in India, including the Congress, Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Trinamool Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), have unanimously hailed the armed forces' "Operation Sindoor", a retaliatory strike against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation, which involved missile and drone strikes, was conducted in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Despite political differences, all parties expressed support for the government and the armed forces, stressing the importance of national unity and integrity in the face of terrorism. While emphasizing the need for diplomatic avenues to prevent further escalation, some parties also called for caution in attributing political credit for the strikes.
Held under the aegis of the Sikh Student's Federation at Moti Bagh Gurdwara here, the event saw a bhog (feast) being organised "in the memory" of Gandhi's killers Kehar Singh, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, and recitation of the 'Akhand Path'.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
The political period drama, also written and co-produced by Ranaut, was scheduled to hit theatres across the country on Friday but the makers are yet to get a clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the matter is currently in court.
Though the Shiromani Akali Dal had offered to extended support to The NDA but refused to issue a whip and left it on individual members to vote according to their choice during the vote.
Arora will have to resign from the Rajya Sabha if he wins the bypoll, the date for which is yet to be announced.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
Narain Singh Chaura, a former terrorist with a history of violence and involvement in the 2004 Burail jailbreak case, attempted to shoot Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal outside the Golden Temple. The attack, which occurred while Badal was sitting in a wheelchair, was thwarted by quick action from security personnel. Chaura has been arrested and is facing multiple charges, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
'The Badals have made the Akali Dal a family enterprise and undermined the Sikh faith. They have no right to call themselves Akalis. We have approached the Election Commission to register ourselves as the Akali Dal with a different nomenclature. We will impress on people's minds that we are the real Akali Dal' Sai Manish reports on the fight for supremacy over the Akali Dal.
A total of 73 women got elected to the 18th Lok Sabha against 78 women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha.
The worst-hit in the Pakistani shelling was Poonch district which accounted for all the civilian deaths, the officials said, adding 28 persons were also injured and the condition of some of them was stated to be critical.
SAD president Prakash Singh Badal said the appointment of Tytler as a minister of state with independent charge in the Manmohan Singh government shows the Congress' indifference towards Punjab and Sikhs.
Polling for the seventh phase of the Lok Sabha elections will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024, with 57 seats going to the polls across 8 states.
Emergency is caught up in a controversy after Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, objected, accusing it of misrepresenting the community and getting historical facts wrong.
The Congress vice president accused the Akalis of trying to set the film 'Udta Punjab', which highlights the drugs problem in the state, banned and said they are not ready to admit the truth as they are "benefiting" from drugs and lawlessness.
The Congress also fielded former Patiala mayor Vishnu Sharma from the Patiala assembly seats against its former leader Amarinder Singh.
The Dera chief has sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period, if granted.
The man, identified as Narain Singh, was overpowered by some people standing outside the Golden Temple.
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