An explosion occurred outside a temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India, when a motorcycle-borne person threw an explosive device towards it, damaging a portion of its wall and shattering window panes. While no one was hurt in the incident, the explosion caused panic among residents. The incident has sparked concern about law and order in the state and led to accusations against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The police are investigating the incident and have collected samples from the site to identify the material used in the explosion.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday thwarted the Aam Aadmi Party government's plan to summon a special assembly session to bring in a confidence motion.
The governor's approval came a day after the AAP government informed him about the issues to be taken up during the session.
The Aam Aadmi Party's MP and lone Lok Sabha member Sushil Kumar Rinku joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday along with party MLA Sheetal Angural, dealing a blow to the party already facing a crisis following the arrest of its leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Punjab Police launched a statewide operation against drugs, conducting raids at more than 750 locations as the cabinet sub-committee on the drug menace held its first meeting on Saturday. Around 12,000 police personnel were involved in the operation being carried out as part of an anti-drug campaign. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free. The operation led to the arrest of 290 drug smugglers after registration of 232 FIRs. Police recovered 8.14 kg heroin, 1.21 kg opium, 3.5 kg ganja, 19 kg poppy husk, 700 grams charas, 16,238 intoxicant tablets, injections and Rs 8.02 lakh cash.
The Haryana government transferred Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya after an IPS officer's suicide and allegations of caste-based discrimination.
Following the eviction of protesting farmers from the Shambhu border, Haryana security personnel began removing cemented barricades erected to prevent Punjab farmers from reaching Delhi. The Shambhu-Ambala road, closed for over a year, is being cleared with JCBs and other machinery. Meanwhile, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced dharnas outside deputy commissioners' offices in protest against the Punjab Police crackdown. The groups criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for evicting the protesters and detaining farmer leaders on Wednesday. The police action was justified by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who said industries and businesses were hit hard due to the prolonged closure of the highways. The protesting farmers, led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, had been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points since February 13, 2022.
Dismissing the accusation, Singh asked why would the state government stop Kejriwal from holding a press conference when he was allowed to hold a party programme a few days back.
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 Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Swaraj India president and former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav on Thursday termed the Arvind Kejriwal-led party's performance in Punjab as "spectacular and extraordinary", but said it's more "an indictment" of the "entire political establishment" rather than the success of a party in the electoral battle.
The Centre has denied political clearance to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his visit to Paris to support the Indian Hockey team at the Olympic Games, an official source said on Saturday.
While the BJP has assured voters that these benefits will not be discontinued, AAP leaders have questioned the party's long-term commitment.
Sarari has resigned from the cabinet of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, confirmed a senior leader of the ruling AAP.
The Election Commission on Thursday asked its Delhi chief electoral officer to probe the Aam Aadmi Party's complaints against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Parvesh Verma and allegations of additions and deletions in the electoral roll of the New Delhi assembly seat.
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.
Mamata asserted that she has not spoken to anyone in the Congress on seat-sharing in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, has broken his fast after the Punjab government intervened and dispersed protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders. The Supreme Court lauded Dallewal's efforts and acknowledged the government's action, while also asking for a status report on the situation. Contempt proceedings against the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the court's order of providing medical aid to Dallewal were dropped.
'The BJP will not win a single seat in Punjab.'
Former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who was part of the SIT probing the 2015 Kotkapura police firing incident in Punjab, on Monday joined the AAP in Amritsar.
The Election Commission of India has initiated the process to hold the vice presidential election following Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation. The electoral college is being constituted, and the election schedule will be announced soon.
A recent pre-election survey suggests that AAP may win 53 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly and reduce the Congress to just 43.
Moderate turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling across five assembly constituencies across Punjab, West Bengal, Gujarat and Kerala where bypolls are underway on Thursday.
'One needs to understand what kind of means the BJP use to bring other party leaders in their party.' 'They are unscrupulous politicians and money plays an important role.'
Hours after taking a 'U-turn' by informing the high court that it is withdrawing its notification dissolving all gram panchayats in the state, the Punjab government suspended two senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers on Thursday for a 'technically-flawed' decision.
AAP is working on its new strategy to build a strong organisational set-up with leaders from all sections of society, reports Nitin Kumar.
The incumbent Congress could win only 18 seats, with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi losing both seats he contested -- Chamkaur Sahib as well as Bhadaur.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections have turned into a fierce battleground of slogans, one-liners, and AI-generated memes between the three main contenders: AAP, BJP, and Congress. From the AAP branding the BJP as the "Bharatiya Jhootha Party" (Indian Liar Party) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the AAP "AAP-Daa" (disaster), the war of words has taken center stage. With the poll results set to be announced on February 8, the elections are being viewed as a referendum on the AAP's governance model, which emphasizes free welfare schemes. The ruling party faces stiff competition from a resurgent BJP that is seeking to return to power in the capital after a gap of more than 25 years. The Congress, although a long shot, hopes to regain its lost ground.
The Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court claiming that Governor Arif Mohammed Khan was delaying giving his assent to bills passed by the state assembly, which was "defeating the rights of the people".
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.
The party has fielded Dr Charanjit Singh from Sri Chamkaur Sahib against Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
The prospect of the Delhi chief minister's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, who has so far maintained a distance from politics, assuming a new role is also being discussed by people.
Sunita Kejriwal is slowly emerging out of the shadows to assume a bigger role to give a fillip to the AAP's campaigning which has been affected by the chief minister's arrest in a money laundering case in March.
The Dhuri assembly seat is presently represented by Congress MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy.
A heated political battle erupted Tuesday over Arvind Kejriwal's claim of the Haryana government 'poisoning' the Yamuna water, with the Bharatiya Janata Party saying he cannot be forgiven for his 'dangerous statement', while the Aam Aadmi Party chief asserted he won't let the people of Delhi die due to the dirty, poisonous water.
The party is eyeing at expanding its footprint across the country and has tied up with the Congress to contest the Lok Sabha polls against the BJP in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat.
Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar's Simranjit Singh Mann on Sunday won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat after defeating his nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party's Gurmail Singh, by a margin of 5,822 votes.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mann in the swearing-in ceremony that took place at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district.
"They tried to buy our MLAs in Delhi and now in Punjab but we exposed them (BJP)," Kejriwal said.
Atishi said that all AAP leaders and volunteers will change their profile picture on X, Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media accounts with the new one showing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal behind the bars captioned "Modi Ka Sabse Bada Dar Kejriwal".
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