Bharatiya Janata Party MP Parvesh Verma on Wednesday said he will file a Rs 50 crore defamation suit each against AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for levelling "false allegations against" and claiming he called Punjabis a "threat" to the country.
The move came days after the Supreme Court vacated the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial in three sacrilege cases.
"Opinions of candidates, workers, and party MPs are being recorded to so that any feud over the CM face between Channi and Navjot Singh Siddhu can be avoided," said sources.
Shiromani Akali Dal Chief Parkash Singh Badal will take oath as the chief minister of Punjab on Friday.
Congress leader Sukhjinder Randhawa and Brahm Mohindra will be two deputies to Punjab's Chief Minister-designate Charanjit Singh Channi, said party leader Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is all set to take Punjab's close business as well as people-to-people relations with Canada to the next level, with a one-to-one meeting with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday, said an official spokesperson.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from northwest India around September 15. This year's monsoon covered the country earlier than usual, resulting in surplus rainfall and extreme weather events.
Charges under the SC/ST Act have been added to the FIR in the alleged suicide case of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar following a plea by his wife. The case involves allegations of caste-based discrimination and harassment against senior officers.
Before his legislative assembly debut this time, he has been elected twice as a Member of Parliament from Sangrur.
The meeting was attended by CMs of Kerala, Punjab and Telangana -- Pinarayi Vijayan, Bhagwant Manna and A Revanth Reddy, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar, and senior BRS leader KT Ramarao among others.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has said a probe would be carried out to ascertain whether Aroosa Alam, a Pakistani journalist who has been visiting former chief minister Amarinder Singh for several years, has links with the ISI.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the state.
The other main contender for the party's CM face was Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh face.
Sounding an alert in the state, Parkash Singh Badal said it was time that the Centre dealt with terrorism with an iron hand.
Mann, who visited the Amritpal Singh's house in Kotli Kalan village in Mansa district on Monday, handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore as compensation to his family, according to an official statement.
Punjab government on Friday said that the Centre was making all efforts to locate the whereabouts of the 39 Indian youths who had been held hostage for nearly a year by ISIS militants.
After a resounding victory in Punjab polls, the Aam Aadmi Party will hit the ground in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat which will go to polls in November this year.
Sidhu further said that electing a good chief minister is only in the hands of the voters of Punjab.
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.
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.
In seniority in the BJP leadership team, V K Malhotra, who passed into the ages this week, was next only to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Nanaji Deshmukh, notes Sudhir Bisht.
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.
Mann said this after a meeting in New Delhi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who assured him of all assistance from the central government.
Eight Punjab cabinet ministers and a senior bureaucrat were found to be "absent" from office during a surprise check on Tuesday by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Thousands of people gathered along the entire route of the funeral procession to give a poignant send-off to the late BJP leader at his hometown, where his mortal remains were flown from Ahmedabad four days after the tragedy.
A meeting of Aam Aadmi Party MLAs will be held on Tuesday morning, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to tender his resignation after it, the party said.
For the last several weeks, both Channi and Sidhu have, directly or indirectly, made a case to be declared as the party's nominee for the top post.
Mann said it was he who sent officials for the meeting with Delhi CM Kejriwal.
The Supreme Court on Friday termed the deadlock between the Punjab government and its governor over assent to bills passed by the assembly a matter of "serious concern" and said it is not happy with what is happening in the state.
The state had witnessed a record single-day spike of 7,014 cases on Sunday.
The victim was a farmer apparently taking part in the protest in the district's Longowal area, where police were trying to stop protesters from blocking a national highway and a toll plaza, officials said.
In a strong response to the Union home ministry's letter on the ongoing farmers' agitation, the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation in Punjab on Wednesday wrote to the Centre saying it is 'completely wrong' to claim the state government was allowing gathering at the two border points with Haryana.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has vowed to take strict action against travel agents involved in sending youth from the state abroad through illegal routes. He said the government is identifying those involved and will introduce a law to control illegal immigration. Saini also commented on the recent Delhi elections, praising the BJP's victory and criticizing former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Heavy rains across India have led to widespread flooding, causing damage to infrastructure, displacement of residents, and disruption of normal life. Rescue efforts are underway in affected areas.
However, the farmer bodies said they will again block the rail tracks if the government failed to resolve their issues.
Ahead of Amarinder Singh's resignation as Punjab chief minister on Saturday, over 50 Congress legislators from Punjab had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi seeking his replacement, highly placed party sources said.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday named former TV anchor and journalist Isudan Gadhvi as its chief ministerial candidate for next month's assembly elections in Gujarat.
The chief minister accused the Governor of interfering in the state government's affairs and, replying to Purohit's letter made public Monday, indirectly questioned his credentials for the post.
The Rajat Patidar-led team was received by state's Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar at the airport.
