Majithia had surrendered after the February 20 state assembly polls and is currently lodged in a Patiala jail.
The Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday announced sweeping organisational reforms, saying it will now follow the one family, one ticket principle at elections and ensure that half of its contestants are below 50.
For Sikhs, they say, honour is the bottom line; and whatever the state of the SAD's political fortunes today, arrogance will not be helpful in the negotiation.
Gurbachan Singh, 40, allegedly hurled the shoe towards Badal, which first hit security personnel and then touched 89-year-old Badal's turban, police said.
It was not that differences did not crop up over other issues between the two erstwhile allies, but Parkash Singh Badal always ensured that these were amicably resolved and the ties remained intact.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases from September 18 while Haryana will go to polls in a single phase on October 1, the Election Commission announced on Friday.
Sukhbir Badal also announced the candidature of his 94-year-old father and five-time state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from the Lambi assembly seat.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several central ministers and chief ministers and leaders cutting across party lines condoled the demise of former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday and hailed his immense contributions to the state as well as the country.
The bench said it was not questioning the credentials of the election commissioners appointed but the procedure.
The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
The Congress also fielded former Patiala mayor Vishnu Sharma from the Patiala assembly seats against its former leader Amarinder Singh.
'They have been found wanting in taking stern measures to stop this because the Constitution has given them this authority and the power to ensure a free and fair election in the country.'
Sukhbir declared that there will be no political vendetta against the former chief minister and his colleagues, but if complaints are received they will certainly be looked into.
Amritpal Singh, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, has thrown his hat into the ring as an Independent.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Lok Sabha polls will be held in seven phases beginning from April 19 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4 for the world's biggest election exercise in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bid for a third consecutive term.
If everything goes according to plan, a resuscitated SAD could emerge as a central player in Punjab in three years, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Opposition parties targeted the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led state government over the law and order situation and demanded that he step down on moral grounds.
Bypolls are due in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Flooding in Jummagad river flowing near Jumma village on the Joshimath-Niti highway, about 45 km from Joshimath, continued till late night on Monday evening, during which the bridge collapsed.
Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday tested positive for coronavirus.
The Supreme Court of India has scheduled a hearing on February 19 for pleas challenging the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners under the 2023 law. The court emphasized the potential consequences if any action is taken before the hearing. The pleas argue that the 2023 law, which excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, undermines the independence of the Election Commission and allows for undue influence from the executive branch. The court's earlier verdict in March 2023 called for an independent selection panel comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India to ensure the integrity of the Election Commission. The case highlights concerns about the independence of India's electoral process and the potential for political influence in the appointment of key election officials.
The matter is being investigated, they said and added that so far, there is no evidence that the "Khalistani" slur was used.
Ali, who was believed to be in a relationship with Khan back in the 1990s, sent a "direct message" to Bishnoi on Wednesday through an Instagram post.
The Supreme Court will hear on February 19 pleas challenging the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners under the 2023 law. The court will take up the matter on a priority basis, after some urgent listed matters. The government has appointed a new CEC and ECs under the new law, which excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, despite a 2023 Supreme Court verdict directing the inclusion of the CJI in the panel. The petitioners argue that the exclusion of the CJI undermines the independence of the election commission.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih told the petitioners, who pointed out that a meeting for the selection of ECs was pre-poned, to file a separate application pointing out the fact.
Speaking at an event organised to remember former Prime Minister IK Gujral on his 100th birth anniversary, Singh said, "When the sad event of 1984 took place, Gujral ji that very evening went to the then Home Minister Narsimha Rao and said to him that the situation is so grim that it is necessary for the government to call the army at the earliest. If that advice would have been heeded perhaps the massacre that took place in 1984 could have been avoided."
The Supreme Court has adjourned pleas challenging the appointments of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) under the 2023 law. The court indicated the matter would be listed after the Holi festival break due to a paucity of time. Petitioners, including the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, argued for an urgent hearing, emphasizing the importance of the issue and the potential impact on democratic processes. The appointment of the new CEC and ECs under the 2023 law, which excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel, has been a point of contention, with petitioners alleging it undermines the independence of the election commission.
The first time the Election Commission has taken cognisance of a model code of conduct complaint against a sitting prime minister.
Two gangsters, who were arrested in connection with singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case and lodged in the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, were killed in a clash among inmates on Sunday, police said.
The Election Commission Wednesday directed the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to refrain from making speeches on religious and communal lines, and opposition Congress from potentially divisive statements on the socioeconomic composition of the armed forces.
Several candidates, including Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the BJP's Amritsar candidate, are promising resumption of India-Pakistan trade via the Attari-Wagah land route.
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94) became the country's oldest candidate to fight elections as he filed his nomination papers from Lambi on Monday.
Counting for assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur was held on Thursday. Here's how the big names fared.
Abhay Chautala said that Banerjee has told him that she had some preoccupation on that day and she will depute a senior leader of her party for the event while Thackeray told him that if he is unable to attend due to some reasons he will send a senior leader for the event.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and the state's Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Tuesday, described the acquittal of former Congress Member of Parliament Sajjan Kumar in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, as one of the saddest days in Indian history.
The Opposition targeted Mann on Monday, alleging that he was deplaned from a Delhi-bound aircraft at the Frankfurt airport as he was drunk, a charge dismissed by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as baseless.
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.
The Punjab police arrested Jasvir Singh after the incident and booked him for hurting religious sentiments and attempt to murder.
