'Most pollution boards across the country have unused funds. There is practically no reason why pollution should not be a political priority.'
Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur on Friday said her husband 'gifted' the chief minister's chair to Bhagwant Mann, claiming that Arvind Kejriwal once wanted the former cricketer to lead Punjab but he chose not to betray his party.
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.
The BJP knows how to play with people's lives and bodies, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said.
He further said Sidhu's resignation has been forwarded to Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore.
'He was walking on the road when a car coming from Bhogpur hit him. He suffered head injuries and was taken to a private hospital where he died in the evening'
The Congress also fielded former Patiala mayor Vishnu Sharma from the Patiala assembly seats against its former leader Amarinder Singh.
The regular 'band, bajaa, baraat' were missing but the festivities seemed intact as Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann turned groom for his wedding with a doctor from Kurukshetra at his home.
Congress MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi stoked controversy by demanding proof of the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan territory in the past under the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.
The CM also ordered opening of bars, cinema halls, restaurants, spas, swimming pools, gyms, malls, sports complexes, museums, zoos etc, subject to all eligible staff members and visitors having taken at least one dose each of the vaccine.
Hamza was re-elected to the post by just three votes amidst high drama.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, 48, will tie the nuptial knot in Chandigarh on Thursday, party leaders confirmed.
Sidhu's meeting came days after he called Mann as a "rubber doll", alluding to the Opposition charge that the state government is being run by the Aam Aadmi Party leadership from Delhi.
Last month, the Channi government replaced the state's advocate general A P S Deol after strong opposition from Sidhu.
Thai police have arrested a fugitive Sikh terrorist who was involved in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and several others in 1995.
In a major escalation of the tussle with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday warned that he could recommend President's rule in the state and also initiate criminal proceedings if his letters are not answered.
"Vijay Rupani was going to London by the Air India flight," said senior state BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.
The Opposition on Monday targeted Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alleging that he was deplaned from a Delhi-bound flight at the Frankfurt airport as he was 'drunk', a charge denied by the ruling AAP as baseless.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
However, the scheme will be optional for the eligible beneficiaries, Mann said in a video message.
Punjab Police detained several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, while they were returning from a meeting with a central delegation in Chandigarh. The police also began evicting protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border points, which have been closed for over a year. The action comes amid concerns from industrialists in Punjab over the prolonged closure of the border points, which they say has resulted in heavy losses. The meeting between the farmer leaders and the central delegation, led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was inconclusive, but the next meeting is scheduled for May 4.
Opposition leaders in Punjab have claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls signals the beginning of its downfall in the state as well. They cited the party's inability to deliver on promises and allegations of corruption as reasons for the setback in Delhi and predicted a similar fate for the AAP in Punjab, where it is currently in power.
A few people held a protest against the Punjab Police in Mansa for allegedly stopping them from entering the Moosa village by deploying heavy security ahead of Mann's visit.
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.
The CMs with lowest assets are West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with assets worth over Rs 15.38 lakh, Omar Abdullah, CM of Jammu and Kashmir, with assets worth over Rs 55.24 lakh, and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, who has assets worth Rs 1.18 crore.
"The Congress has an edge this time," Sonu claimed.
The wife of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal passed away in Chandigarh on Tuesday in a hospital after a prolonged illness.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the party will go into the Punjab assembly polls with a CM face and the decision on it will be taken soon after consulting party workers.
The move comes a day after Channi reached out to Sidhu and offered to resolve issues through talks.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday demanded that Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa reveal the source of his claim that 50 bombs had reached the state, questioning if he had direct links with Pakistan. Bajwa, who had made the statement in a TV interview, said he cooperated with police but refused to divulge his sources. The police visited Bajwa's residence and questioned him about his statement. Mann also sought a clarification from the Congress party, saying the government will take strict action if Bajwa's statement was meant only to "create panic."
Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his party will be asking the general public as to who should be the party's chief ministerial face in the Punjab Assembly polls, even as he indicated that his own preference for the post was state unit president Bhagwant Mann.
His remarks comes after AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with CM Mann, Punjab ministers and MLAs at Kapurthala House in Delhi on Tuesday amid rumours of dissent in the party's Punjab unit.
Punjab's daily COVID-19 count has been relatively low and on Tuesday, 635 new cases were recorded which pushed the active tally to 4853.
Navjot Singh Sidhu was not part of the Channi-led 'jatha' (group) which went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara.
Kejriwal then said that though he had wanted party MP Bhagwant Mann's name to be declared as the chief ministerial candidate, the latter insisted that the people of Punjab should make this decision.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister. Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls.
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.
Sidhu, who had been attacking the AAP-led government in the state over various issues including the law and order situation, said Punjab's resurrection was possible only with a collective effort.
A resident of a village in Kaithal, Haryana, was arrested for allegedly passing information to the Pakistan army and Inter-Services Intelligence during the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
Bhagwant Mann will take oath as the chief minister of Punjab on March 16 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of iconic freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, party sources said on Friday after he met the party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.
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