The SAD also castigated the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly betraying farmers by not opposing the passage of the bills in Lok Sabha.
Farmer outfits on Friday started mobilising more batches of peasants from Haryana and Punjab to head towards Delhi's borders to join the ongoing agitation against agri laws, even as political parties such as the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Indian National Lok Dal threw their weight behind them.
Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Amarinder Singh took a dig at BJP nominee Arun Jaitley for his 'majboor' (helpless)-and-'mazboot' (strong)- leader remarks, saying strong leaders "do not go begging for constituencies to secure their secret prime ministerial ambitions".
Before being discharged from PGIMER, Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta handed over to Singh his son Arshpreet's appointment letter as a constable in the force.
Gandhi has written the letter, seeking passage of a resolution urging the central government to pass the bill, to the chief ministers of those states where the Congress is in power.
The home ministry can notify Google of the Voice of Punjab app's hateful content and have the app taken down from the app store. The glorification of Beant Singh's assassination alone is enough to have the app taken down.
The fear that Mamata might snatch the mantle of Opposition leadership which the Gandhis firmly believe to be theirs by birthright seems to have persuaded Sonia and Rahul to give up their hoity-toity ways, observes Virendra Kapoor.
42 MLAs, including leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi, went to the assembly and submitted their resignations.
When events like these take place, it is easy for the BJP to portray the Gandhis as latter-day versions of the Borgias or Medicis, who toy with their nobles and promote favourites, points out Vir Sanghvi.
The 2012 assembly poll was seen essentially as a battle between the two leading families of Punjab -- the Badals versus the 'Captain' Amarinder Singh -- and their durbars, their contending styles, the rebels they had to reckon with, their grip over the ground realities. Neerja Chowdhury reports.
The 2012 assembly poll was seen essentially as a battle between the two leading families of Punjab -- the Badals versus the 'Captain' Amarinder Singh -- and their durbars, their contending styles, the rebels they had to reckon with, their grip over the ground realities. Neerja Chowdhury reports.
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.
In his first speech at Rajasthan's Barmer, from where expelled Bhartiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh is contesting as an independent, party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did not utter a single word against the former party stalwart.
With six days to go for state assembly polls in Punjab, political parties have intensified their campaign in the state. The outgoing ruling alliance of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and Bhartiya Janata Party is banking on Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and L K Advani to regain the power in the state.
The leading ladies of Patiala royal family are sparing no efforts these days in gleaning voters' support for their men, who are in the fray from this crucial parliamentary segment in Punjab. The 117-constituency strong state assembly goes to polls on January 30.
The senior Congress leader was in a coma since October last year, when he was admitted to AIIMS after he suffered a brain haemorrhage.
Amarinder, who is also former Punjab Chief Minister, has sent his resignation to the Lok Sabha Speaker, copy of which was released to the media here, and has also sought a personal meeting with the Speaker next week.
Sonia called for cancelling all public gatherings and poll rallies in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases.
He said the farmer's agitation in Punjab against the new farm laws could lead to 'serious consequences' for national security and alleged that China and Pakistan were seeking to disturb peace in the country's border state. Stressing that his intention was not to disturb peace, Singh said he was trying to 'save' his state's farmers as the Centre was 'playing with' their livelihoods.
The Congress party continues to be racked by arbitrary decision-making and the absence of accountability.
The ruling Congress on Wednesday swept the urban body polls in Punjab, winning six municipal corporations, emerging as the largest party in the seventh and bagging most of the 109 municipal council and nagar panchayats.
'The spirit of cooperation between the Centre and states has been diluted in many ways.' 'The level of consultation which used to be there earlier has reduced significantly.'
Dissidence in Congress in Punjab came to the fore in the wake of the party's debacle in the assembly polls with a former stat unit chief on Wednesday demanding an emergency meeting of the PCC to go into the causes.
Addressing the members of the House, Singh said agriculture is a state subject but the Centre ignored it. "I find it very strange what the government of India wants to do," he said.
Sidhu said he had been invited by the Pakistan government for the opening ceremony of the corridor, which will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab.
In the unlikely event of the BJP-NDA losing all five states going to the polls in February-March, the Presidential electoral college numbers could be significantly altered, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
So far, the maximum 83 deaths have taken place in Tarn Taran district, followed by 14 in Batala and 13 in Amritsar. The tragedy has been unfolding since Wednesday evening in the three districts.
'While Kejriwal has lost his credibility due to his failure in Delhi, Captain Amarinder Singh is dancing on the tune of his image managers.'
The merger was sealed on Friday during a meeting between Badal and Rahul at the latter's residence here where Singh and All India Congress Committee General Secretary Shakeel Ahmad were also present, they said.
Police claimed he took the extreme step as he was 'hurt' over the agitators questioning his integrity.
The two, one a celebrity singer-actor from Punjab and the other a Bollywood star known for her combative comments, began bickering on the social media platform on Wednesday evening and continued till well into Thursday.
Rahul left for an undisclosed location abroad amid a growing clamour for structural changes within after the party's debacle in the Uttar Pradesh polls.
The assembly polls are seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation.
Amarinder Singh dubbed Kejriwal's proposed visit to Chandigarh as another example of the Delhi CM allegedly leaving the national capital in the midst of a crisis and travelling to other places when his presence was needed the most at home.
MP and Odisha to fine people who are found roaming outside without wearing masks. Rajasthan and Punjab pass similar orders.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh said Sidhu is welcome to the Congress if he wants.
We are ready to talk but will not accept any condition now," said a farmer's leader.
The statement came after chief ministers of West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh announced that the law is "unconstitutional" and has no place in their respective states.
One way forward could be for the CWC to name an interim working president for the party and then ideally dissolve itself, following which the main leadership positions within the party, including the CWC itself, should be opened up to fresh elections
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