The Congress' top leadership realises the former cricketer's utility and mass appeal. His oratory skills and ability to whip up mass hysteria in election rallies is acknowledged as an asset
With a saffron-coloured cloth covering his head, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday offered prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where he was presented with a traditional robe of honour. The Punjab leg of Trudeau's visit comes after he mingled with Bollywood stars in Mumbai and a visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and a trip to Taj Mahal in Agra. Here are glimpses from Day 4 of the Trudeau India visit.
In what is being seen as a veiled jibe at Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, CM Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday asked policemen not to bother about who says what and said criminals wet their pants on seeing them.
Who can forget the 1996 World Cup quarter-final in Bengaluru? Or Sachin Tendulkar's magical knock at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup? Or Kapil Dev-inspired India bowling out Pakistan 87 at Sharjah?
The SC has agreed to re-examine the sentence awarded by it to the cricketer turned politician in a 30-year-old road rage case.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, facing arrest in an NDPS case, involving sale, purchase and manufacturing of drugs among other offences, was on Monday granted anticipatory bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The crucial meetings come amid talks of the Congress leadership making efforts to bring all leaders together ahead of next year's Punjab Assembly polls and present a united face of the party.
On Saturday, Amarinder Singh had accepted Sidhu's "one-line" resignation and forwarded it to Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore who conveyed his acceptance of the same.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had convened an emergency meeting of newly reconstituted Council of Ministers in view of the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) to protest against the three agri laws, an official statement said after the cabinet meeting.
'Let the Congress high command decide who will replace Captain Amarinder because they are far wiser than I am.'
A case against Majithia under various sections of the NDPS Act was registered on the basis of a 2018 status report of probe into the drug racket in the state.
'What I would love him to do most is to become a life coach and share his incredible story of struggle, success, and survival,' says marketing guru Sandeep Goyal.
Amarinder Singh met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and is learnt to have discussed the issue.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
With its landslide victory in Punjab assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party has achieved a major milestone in its journey so far and emerged as an alternative in the national politics.
On his meeting with General Bajwa, the Congress leader said, "On his meeting with General Bajwa, Sidhu said, "I again want to make it clear that this meeting took place in Islamabad at a time when Gen Bajwa reached the venue of swearing-in ceremony." "He met me with enthusiasm after seeing me sitting in the first row. Immediately, he told me that they were making efforts to open the corridor from India's Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur Sahib, which is about 3 to 3.5 km in Pakistan, to facilitate the pilgrims to pay obeisance on the occasion of 550th 'Prakash Diwas' of Guru Nanak Dev ji."
Cricketer-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday said despite being part of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance in Punjab, he feels he is in the opposition as several developmental works in his constituency have been stalled.
Sidhu had on Friday met Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's residence, but the party remained tight lipped on what transpired at the meeting.
Aam Aadmi Party calls Bhagwant Mann its people's choice for CM candidate in Punjab. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com traces what makes Mann so indispensable for his party.
"A hundred years ago, Britishers had called Bhagat Singh a terrorist and 100 years later, history is repeating when all these parties want to prove Bhagat Singh's follower (Kejriwal) as a terrorist, but people know the reality," he said.
The game intensified after Congress fielded Channi from a second seat and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia chose to take on Sidhu from the Amritsar East seat.
Navjot Singh Sidhu quit as the Punjab PCC chief, triggering other resignations and plunging the party into a fresh crisis just months ahead of the assembly elections.
An adverse outcome against the BJP in UP can well be taken into its stride by the ruling combine at the Centre, argues Virendra Kapoor.
Sudhir Kumar Ojha from Muzaffarpur, an advocate known for his penchant to file cases against the high and mighty, has fired a legal salvo at the irrepressible cricketer-turned-politician.
The Congress is banking on decisions like reducing electricity tariff and fuel prices, taken during current CM Charanjit Singh Channi's 111-day tenure.
Senior party leader P Chidambaram, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut expressed support to Priyanka, who has alleged that no notice or first information report (FIR) has been given to her even after her 38-hour detention and was not allowed to meet her legal counsel.
'The Congress is trying to cover up their anti-incumbency by highlighting the Dalit CM factor.'
'It will be a mistake to imagine that Sidhu will be a permanent feature of the Congress' Punjab scene,' says Amulya Ganguli.
In the past, Sidhu has slammed Kejriwal calling him a dramebaaz. What would he say today now that he's left the BJP to join the AAP.
'It is a great feeling, to be honest. I never thought I would play so many Test matches for India'
The Congress on Sunday named Baghel, a five-time MLA from Patan, to head the state Congress Legislature Party. Baghel, who took charge as Congress state president Congress after the 2013 assembly polls, was credited for the massive victory of the party in the recent assembly polls where Congress won 68 seats in the 90-member House.
Imran's uncle Jahangir Khan had played for Patiala, then captained by the Punjab CM's father.
Amid the ongoing crisis within the Congress in Punjab, its national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Friday expressed the hope that its leaders "talk more in private and less in public."
'The fight is between the Congress and Akali Dal.'
'The honourable prime minister virtually handpicked me for the Amritsar East seat.' 'Amit Shahji announced that if I am elected, the whole of Punjab will be drugs free.'
Naidu released a commemorative coin and a postage stamp to mark the centenary.
Australia's legendary spinner Shane Warne picked his greatest Indian eleven, comprising the players he played against. A notable absentee from his list is VVS Laxman, who is named as 12th man.
With less than a month left for campaigning to end in Amritsar, the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate Arun Jaitley is still facing one question in almost all his interactions with media -- Will sitting MP Navjot Singh Sidhu canvass for him?
'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 Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday defended cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's prolong absence from party affairs for the past few months, saying the Amritsar member of Parliament is still the "favourite candidate" for them.
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