In a special session, the Punjab Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution declaring Sarabjit Singh as national martyr and sought an impartial investigation by an international agency into his "merciless" attack in a Pakistani jail.
Describing Sarabjit Singh as a "national martyr", Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday said that the Indian death row prisoner, who died in Pakistan, will be given a state funeral.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday visited Rampura village and met the family of the policeman who was shot dead allegedly by a local Shiromani Akali Dal leader after he resisted the harassment of his daughter by the politician and his aides. Badal met the family members of slain Assistant Sub-inspector Ravinderpal Singh and expressed his condolences.
The dinner was followed by a meeting in which nearly two dozen allies facilitated Prime Minister Modi.
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.
The "silence" of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on the attack on Lieutenant General (retired) Kuldeep Singh Brar is "seditious", Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh alleged on Wednesday. It is shocking that the chief minister has preferred to keep quiet on such a critical issue that is directly related to Punjab, he said.
Congress candidate from Amritsar Amarinder Singh on Friday held Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal allegedly accountable for Operation Bluestar. At a press conference, he said, "It was Parkash Singh Badal who during the troubled period had instigated the innocent youth to disturb the peaceful situation of Punjab and later he met the then home minister urging him to go ahead with Operation Blue Star."
Amarinder, 75, was sworn in as the state's 26th chief minister along with nine ministers, including Navjot Singh Sidhu.
The Punjab government on Thursday announced an assistance of Rs 1 crore for the family of Sarabjit Singh, who died in Pakistan following a murderous assault in a jail there, and declared a three-day state mourning.
0After committing support to the United Progressive Alliance, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday ruled out his involvement in formation of third front before the next Lok Sabha polls even though he had an intriguing meeting with Sukhbir Badal, President of national Democractic Alliance's key constituent Akali Dal.
The Obama administration has deputed United States Attorney General Eric Holder to deliver remarks at Friday's memorial service for the victims of Wisconsin gurdwara shooting, which would also be attended by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
Wooing voters for his party candidate in the Moga assemby byelection, Shiromani Akali Dal patriach and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday regaled the crowds with his wit and sarcasm mainly directed at his political opponents.
Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday night suspended Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who is at loggerheads with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on the Centre's reported conditional loan-waiver offer, from the party on the charge of anti-party activities.
Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Shivraj Patil on Friday administered the oath of allegiance to Justice (retired) Jai Singh Sekhon as the Lokpal of Punjab at a brief ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as well as family members of Justice Sekhon were among others present on the occasion.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other areas have stayed put at various Delhi border points, protesting against the new farm laws, which they fear will dismantle the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporate firms.
The men were associated with the Khalistan Liberation Front.
Olympic medallist boxer Vijender Singh, who joined the farmers' agitation at the Haryana-Delhi border on Sunday, said he will return his Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award if the Centre's new farm laws are not withdrawn.
Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs brothers should embrace each other rather than we sow seeds of hatred, SAD stalwart Parkash Singh Badal said.
In the wake of alleged political violence in the state, the Punjab Congress on Friday demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, saying he was the main architect behind "political murders and growth of mafias".
Fourteen senior IAS officers were found "absent" during a surprise check conducted by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the state government's Mini Secretariat in Chandigarh on Monday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The wife of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal passed away in Chandigarh on Tuesday in a hospital after a prolonged illness.
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.
A US court in Wisconsin has reserved its decision in the alleged human rights violation case against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal after completing hearing in the matter.
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.
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.
Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa assumed the centre stage in the national scene on Monday by attacking Centre's policies on internal security during the chief minister's conference in New Delhi.
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.
In a reprieve for Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a local court in Mohali on Friday acquitted him along with his wife, son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and eight others in a seven-year-old corruption and disproportionate assets case. The case was filed against them during the Amarinder Singh-led Congress regime. Additional District and Sessions Judge R K Aggarwal acquitted 11 of the 15 accused, saying no incriminating evidence was available.
A US court has dismissed a case against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accusing him of being involved in human rights violations.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday asked the Centre to take effective steps to curb drug trafficking going on through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Rajasthan.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday dismissed talks of formation of a Third Front as a, 'figment of imagination'.
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.
Describing the Wisconsin gurdwara shooting that claimed six lives as 'very Shocking', Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has appealed to the Sikhs in the United States to keep 'peace and harmony', as he met the victims' families and visited the injured.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday assured family members of the victims of the shooting incident in United States that the state government will bear all expenditure of the transportation of the bodies to India -- for cremation at their native places. Badal contacted Indian Ambassador to US Nirupama Rao on telephone on Monday night and informed her that the Punjab government would extend all possible help to the bereaved families of the victims.