Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
Punjab Congress today termed Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal's allegations that it was scuttling central grants to derail the development campaign of SAD-BJP government, as "ridiculous" and "baseless".
The old alliance between the BJP and the SAD broke last year when the Shiromani Akali Dal quit the National Democratic Alliance over the farm laws.
Band, baaja... and a lot of star power, the makers of upcoming Ghudchadi unveiled the peppy dance track Punjabi Munde at a musical event with Raveena Tandon, Khushalii Kumar and Parth Samthaan.
In the wake of alleged political violence in the state, the Punjab Congress on Friday demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, saying he was the main architect behind "political murders and growth of mafias".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday had slammed those abusing agitating Sikh farmers, saying it won't do the country any good as he went on to appeal to the protesting farmers to withdraw their over two-month-long stir and give the new agriculture reform laws a chance.
Newly appointed election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu assumed charge on Friday.
Putting at rest all speculation, Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday declared that Parkash Singh Badal will remain the chief minister of Punjab, a post he would be holding for a record fifth time.
Modi should call an emergency Parliament session and repeal these acts, said the SAD chief, adding that people have the final say in a democracy.
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday. He will be given a state funeral with full state honors at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and was known for his role in India's economic reforms. Leaders from across the political spectrum paid their respects to the departed leader, highlighting his contributions to the nation.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
The SAD has been requesting the Centre not to introduce the three agriculture-related bills for the approval of Parliament until all reservations expressed by farmers' organisations, farmers and farm labourers are addressed, Badal said.
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.
'Whenever the hike in voting percentage is more, the NDA gains more, and when the hike is negligible, the NDA falls.' 'I have established this in UP, Haryana and Jharkhand.'
Asserting that "the BJP first set Hindus against Muslims", Badal said the party has "become the most powerful divisive force", out to "replay its evil game in Punjab".
The political parties have been given time slots for the meeting with the Election Commission.
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
'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.
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.
A bullet each hit Singh in the head and near the chest. Singh was rushed to a private hospital, police said. He is currently out of danger.
The Congress appeared to have bounced back in the state's political landscape after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the AAP in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.
The estimated costs of these weddings start from Rs 100 crore and go up to Rs 700 crore.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday played down the remark made by Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on backing Foreign Direct Investment in retail if the United Progressive Alliance government addresses the concerns of traders.
There has been speculation that Goel quit due to differences with Kumar.
The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Centre over the procedure adopted for the appointment of election commissioners and asked how six names were shortlisted from 200 within a few hours.
A day after pledging support to the United Progressive Alliance, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday met Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Seeking to ensure a level-playing field in the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission on Monday ordered the removal of home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, sources said.
'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.'
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday felicitated five players from the state, who have been included in Indian hockey team for London Olympic Games starting from July 27.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and several other famous faces were seen at polling booths, exercising their franchise in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.
When electoral alliances are cooked and tested in the blender of political endurance, all in prep for April-May 2024.
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.
'If, as happened in Baramulla during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the youth in the Valley get triggered enough to jump into the wider fray, the end result would be difficult to predict, especially as the state's post-August 5, 2019 political format remains substantially fragmented and foggy,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
If everything goes according to plan, a resuscitated SAD could emerge as a central player in Punjab in three years, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Badal's mortal remains were taken to the family's farmland, around a kilometer from his residence, on a flower-decked tractor-trolley with his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and other family members standing with folded hands as the vehicle moved past the mourners on the route.
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.
The matter is being investigated, they said and added that so far, there is no evidence that the "Khalistani" slur was used.
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.
The bench said it was not questioning the credentials of the election commissioners appointed but the procedure.
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