Former Punjab minister Laljit Singh Bhullar has been arrested following the suicide of a state warehousing corporation official who accused the AAP MLA of harassment. The arrest follows public outcry and political pressure for accountability in the case.
The ED on Wednesday said it has seized cash amounting to over Rs 10 crore, including about Rs 8 crore from a relative of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, during raids conducted in connection with an anti-money laundering investigation against illegal sand-mining operations in the poll-bound state.
Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi was on Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab, making him the first Dalit to hold the top post in the state.
The five-state assembly poll results announced on Thursday brought gloom for several political heavyweights, including two current and five former chief ministers, who lost the electoral battle from their respective seats.
'This individual's constant endeavour at self-glorification, even at the cost of both the government and the party, has the potential to subvert whatever genuine efforts that Channi has been making since he became CM.'
The ED action, sources said, has been initiated after taking cognisance of a 2018 FIR of the Punjab Police against some companies and individuals alleged to be involved in illegal sand mining in the state.
Amid the ongoing turmoil in the Punjab Congress, former state party chief Sunil Jakhar on Thursday said there should be an end to attempts to undermine the authority of the Punjab chief minister time and again.
Mann made the claim while addressing a gathering after laying foundation stones for setting up tehsil complexes at Dirba and Cheema in Sangrur.
Soon after taking the oath of office, the newly-sworn in Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said his government is standing with farmers and will appeal to the Centre to withdraw the three farm laws.
The Charanjit Singh Channi-led government in Punjab on Thursday shunted Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan and appointed Anirudh Tewari in her place.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led 'jatha' (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.
On January 18, the agency had raided his premises and claimed to have seized about Rs 8 crore cash.
"The Congress has an edge this time," Sonu claimed.
With the Aam Aadmi Party looking set for a clean sweep in the Punjab assembly polls, its leader Raghav Chadha on Thursday said the party will emerge as the national and natural replacement of the Congress in the coming days.
Singh (80) had floated the Punjab Lok Congress last year after quitting the Congress.
'Politics is in a mess. Good people have to join to clean it up.'
Glimpses from the campaign trail on Thursday, February 17, 2022.
A social activist, a young law graduate, a debutante, and an eye surgeon -- Punjab polls gave gave birth to a number of giant killers from the Aam Aadmi Party, who drubbed such stalwarts as Navjot Singh Sidhu, the Badals, and even Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
"We did not find any sacrilege attempt or any evidence to back it. One person ran the gurdwara. This thing has moved to murder and inquiry is on," Channi said.
The chief ministers of the two Congress-ruled states, along with party leader Rahul Gandhi, have arrived in Lucknow, from where they intend to go to Lakhimpur Kheri to meet the families of the victims.
His tweet pressing the Charanjit Singh Channi-led government to change the director general of police and state's advocate general appears to indicate that he continues to remain unhappy over certain key appointments.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here Wednesday evening after he complained of weakness following a fever, sources said.
Rawat had played a crucial role in the removal of Amarinder Singh as chief minister of Punjab, who was replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi.
Slogans of 'Shaheed Amar Rahe' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' rent the air as military vehicles carrying the mortal remains of the three soldiers reached their respective villages. Anti-Pakistan slogans were also raised.
Last month, the Channi government replaced the state's advocate general A P S Deol after strong opposition from Sidhu.
Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh alias Honey was arrested in this case by the agency.
'If the Congress wants to keep the ship afloat, it will have to bury the differences.'
Several political parties had approached the EC to postpone the polls in the state in view of Ravidas Jayanti on February 16.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan is the final resting place of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanakji.
Two lecturers -- one from Nabha and another from Patiala -- wanted to be posted to a government polytechnic institute at Patiala.
Amarinder, 75, was sworn in as the state's 26th chief minister along with nine ministers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu.
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.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab government not to take any coercive action against Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa till April 22 in connection with an FIR lodged against him over his "50 bombs have reached Punjab" remarks. Bajwa, the leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly, has been booked on charges, including misleading information that endangers the country's sovereignty and unity, after being quizzed over his "50 bombs have reached Punjab" claim. The court also issued a notice to the state of Punjab on Bajwa's plea seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him over his statement.
Majithia and his wife claimed that members of the Vigilance Bureau barged into their house in Green Avenue in Amritsar. They claimed that a similar raid was conducted at their residence in Chandigarh.
The BJP on Saturday accused the Congress of repeatedly supplying "oxygen" to Pakistan, and slammed the opposition party for its leader Charanjit Singh Channi's remarks questioning the veracity of Balakot air strikes after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the Congress is full of pro-Pakistan leaders who make statements against India's interests, and mocked the party for its letter that had advised its functionaries to toe the official line on the issue. Patra also criticized other Congress leaders for their comments on the Pulwama and Pahalgam terror attacks, accusing them of lowering the morale of the armed forces. He further slammed the Congress for claiming credit for the government's announcement of the caste census and said the party never carried out the exercise during its over 60-year stint in power.
The Charanjit Singh Channi-led government selected the 1987 batch IPS officer out of a panel of three officers shortlisted by the Union Public Service Commission.
The home ministry has taken cognisance of the "serious security lapse" and has sought a detailed report from the state government. The State Government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action.
On his condition of resolving farmers' issues, the BJP leader said Singh did not talk about ending the farmers' agitation.
Amarinder Singh on Monday held the Gandhis totally responsible for the rout of the Congress in the assembly polls, claiming that the party was "comfortably placed" in Punjab before he was unseated as chief minister.
