Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann

Rahul Not To Give Us LS Seats: Bhagwant

The Punjab Assembly on Monday witnessed chaotic scenes during the discussion on the state budget when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann engaged in a heated argument with the Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa following the former’s request to the Governor to “lock” the opposition in the assembly.

Before the beginning of the discussion on the budget, CM Mann handed over an envelope to the governor, stating that he had brought a gift for him. The envelope contained a lock and a key.

The CM, then, asked the governor to lock the opposition inside the assembly, so that they could not “run away” during the discussion, which later triggered a heated argument between LoP Bajwa and the CM.

An agitated chief minister Mann asked Bajwa to tell the central leadership of the Congress not to “bother” giving seats to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“Who does Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi sit with? With me. Have you ever sat with them? On one hand, you are making agreements (on seat sharing) with us. Go and tell them (Sonia and Rahul Gandhi) not to give Kurukshetra, Delhi and Gujarat (Lok Sabha) seats for us,” Mann said.

Later, the house was adjourned for 15 minutes.

LoP Partap Singh Bajwa, while speaking to the reporters, said, “The CM said that the Congress does not know how to listen hence the doors of the Assembly should be locked from inside… Are we labourers? We have not seen such a weak Speaker… The CM used inappropriate words for everyone.

“When the heated argument was going on, CM asked me if I would contest against him in the elections. I told him that from wherever he will contest from Punjab, I will stand against him. I have accepted his challenge openly,” he added.

The AAP and the Congress, allies in the INDIA bloc, have decided to go for a ‘friendly fight’ in Punjab, given the latter is the opposition in the state.

Earlier, the two parties closed their seat-sharing deal in Delhi, Haryana, Goa, Chandigarh and Gujarat.

As part of the agreement reached between the ruling party in Delhi and the grand old party, Congress will contest 3 of the 7 Lok Sabha seats in the national capital while the AAP will field candidates in the remaining 4 constituencies.

In neighbouring Gujarat, the Congress will contest 24 of 26 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the remaining 2–Bharuch and Bhavnagar– for the AAP.

In Haryana, the Congress will contest 8 of the 9 Lok Sabha seats while the AAP will contest the lone seat–Kurukshetra.

The two parties also reached a consensus on the grand old party contesting the prized Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

As part of the seat-sharing deal, the Congress will contest both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.

The Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held in April-May this year. (ANI)

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Puppet CM Busy Playing Driver To His Delhi Boss: Badal Rips Into Mann

Citing CCTV footage purportedly showing a man grabbing a woman’s neck in a bid to snatch her chain, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal launched a blistering attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, alleging a complete breakdown in law and order under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

“The law and order situation has completely collapsed in Punjab under the @BhagwantMann-led @AamAadmiParty govt. Murders, drug trafficking, land grabbing, illegal mining and such incidents of snatching have become an everyday affair,” the former deputy chief minister posted from his official handle on X.

Labelling CM Mann a ‘puppet’ of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, the SAD chief posted, “The situation demands immediate attention, but the “Puppet” CM is busy playing driver to his Delhi Boss Arvind Kejriwal and assisting the latter in election campaigning in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and other poll-bound States.”

Meanwhile, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu also took a swipe at the Punjab CM over an alleged decline in the state’s law and order situation.

Responding to CCTV footage of the purported chain-snatching bid, Sidhu posted from his X handle, “Chain snatching, extortions, gruesome murders are daily routine in Punjab! [?]The Home Minister and CM [?]are in deep slumber – this Ostrich mentality will spell Dooms Day for Punjab’s Democracy- fear is the name of the game! Wake up, CM Saheb. This is happening in Bathinda.”

The footage purportedly shows the woman walking on a street in Bathinda late at night when a man grabs her neck and tries to tear off her chain.

Earlier, following the summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, Badal had demanded a probe into the Punjab ‘excise scam’ as well.

“Twin developments, including the rejection of the bail plea of ex-Delhi CM Manish Sisodia and summoning of Aam Aadmi Party Convener, Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy Scam on Nov 2, calls for a thorough probe into the Punjab Excise Scam too,” the SAD chief posted on X.

He also alleged the involvement of CM Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha in the alleged scam.

ED summoned Kejriwal on November 2 for questioning in the Delhi Excise policy case. However, the Delhi CM skipped the ED date and wrote to the central agency instead, demanding that the summons be withdrawn. (ANI)

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Bajwa

We Will Fight This Vendetta Of AAP Legally: Bajwa

After being not allowed to meet Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira in Fazilka, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab legislative Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday said that they will fight this vendetta of the AAP party legally and on the streets.

Congress workers led by Punjab party chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa gathered outside the Fazilka CIA office where they were denied to meet Khaira. 

“Went to meet our MLA Sukhpal Khaira in Fazilka today with the senior leadership of Punjab Congress. The police stopped us from meeting him. We will fight this vendetta of the AAP party legally and on the streets. We won’t be cowed down by such pressure tactics,” Bajwa posted on X (Formerly Twitter). 

He further condemned the Punjab police and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said that the Congress has not seen this kind of situation in Punjab.

“I want to condemn Bhawant Mann’s action. Mann thinks he will be in the government forever but he is wrong everyone has to go and his government will also go,” he said while speaking to reporters outside Sardar police station. 

“As I am the Leader of the Opposition it is our constitutional right to meet Khaira. We were supposed to meet him in the custody of the police officials but they didn’t allow us. It was a courtesy call and wanted to tell him that the Congress party and each and every leader of the party is with him, nothing more than this,” he said.

He added that the Congress leaders are organizing a dharna in Bathinda against the arrest.

Meanwhile, Punjab unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday said that we will fight till the end.

“Vendetta politics is being done by involving him (Sukhpal Singh Khaira) in an old case. We will first meet Khaira and after meeting him we will decide what we have to do. This is being done to take revenge,” Punjab Congress chief Warring said while speaking to reporters.

Earlier on Thursday, Khaira was arrested from his residence and later was sent to a two-day police remand by Fazlika’s Jalalabad court in connection with a 2015 drugs smuggling case. Fazlika’s Jalalabad court sent Khaira to police custody till September 30.

Sukhpal Khaira was arrested in connection with an old case registered in 2015 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Earlier in 2015, there were two cases originated with the unearthing of a cross-border drug smuggling network in Fazilka, Punjab, leading to the seizure of heroin, gold biscuits, weapons, cartridges, and Pakistani SIM cards and the second of a fake passport racket being run in Delhi.

As the trial went on, nine smugglers, including Gurdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Harbans Singh, and Subhash Chander, were sentenced in October 2017 in connection with the Fazilka case. As per the chargesheet, Sukhpal Khaira wasclosely associated with Gurdev Singh, the leader of the Fazilka drug smuggling racket, and was accused of having sheltered him.

The primary accusations against Khaira included supporting an international gang of smugglers, having sheltered him and receiving financial benefits from drug traffickers, and enjoying the proceeds of crime.

On February 16, 2023, a Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath quashed the summoning order against Khaira in the drugs case.

The arrest of Sukhpal Khaira is expected to further dent the relations of AAP and the Congress which have come together to form the INDIA alliance at the centre. The state unit of the Congress has opposed any tie-up or seatsharing arrangement with the AAP in Punjab. (ANI)

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Sukhu and Mann

Sukhu Meets Mann, Discusses Key Developmental Issues

Chief Minister Of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu met Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday in Punjab’s Amritsar.

Both the leaders held talks on key issues concerning the state of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The meeting also targeted the key developmental concerns of both states.

The meeting was attended by other leaders of both parties.

Earlier on Monday, Himachal CM attended the famous Attari-Wagah Border beating retreat ceremony with his Punjab counterpart and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.

“The Indian Army and paramilitary forces have kept the integrity and sovereignty of the country intact by sacrificing their lives when the Nation needed them the most to safeguard the country,” said Himachal CM.

Sukhu also distributed sweets to the Jawans who participated in the ceremony between the thunderous applause by the people gathered on the occasion to witness the same. He also encouraged the Jawans for their commitment and valour and for the impressive show.

Dr Atul Fulzale, IG Jalandhar range BSF and a Himachal IPS cadre officer, welcomed the Chief Minister on the occasion and presented him with a sapling. (ANI)

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Punjab Governor and the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann

Reply Or I Will Write To Prez, Punjab Govnr Warns Mann

Amid the ongoing tussle between the Punjab Governor and the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Banwarilal Purohit sent a strongly worded letter to the CM, warning him that he could recommend President’s rule in the state and also initiate criminal proceedings if his letters are not answered.

In his latest communication to Mann, Governor Purohit reiterated that he was not getting any reply from him on his previous letters, and warned him that he could send a report to the President on “failure of constitutional mechanism.”

“I am pained to point out that there is reason to believe that there is failure of the constitutional machinery in the state,” Purohit said in his letter to Mann.

Purohit further asked the Punjab CM to act before he takes this “final decision” under Article 356 of the Constitution, and Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code.

“Before I am going to take a final decision regarding sending a report to the President of India under Article 356 about the failure of the constitutional mechanism and take a decision about initiating criminal proceedings under section 124 of the IPC, I ask you to send me the requisite information sought for under my letters referred to above, as also in the matter of the steps taken by you concerning the problem of drugs in the State, failing which I would have no choice but to take action according to law and the Constitution,” the governor wrote.

A state is brought under direct rule of the Centre with the invocation of Article 356, usually after a report is sent by the Governor.

Referring to the Constitution of India, he said, “Bound as I am by the duty placed on the Governor under the Constitution to see that the administration is carried on a level which would be regarded as good, efficient, impartial and honest and that the proposals enunciated by the government are not contrary to the Law of the Land, I have therefore to advise you, warn you and ask you to respond to my letters referred to above and give me the information sought by me.”

He also reminded Mann about his August 1 letter, seeking answers to his questions, Governor Purohit said, “You have still not given the information sought by me. It appears that you are deliberately refusing to give me the information asked for by me. I regret to note here that in spite of the clear provisions of Article 167 of the Constitution of India which makes it mandatory for the chief minister to furnish all such information relating to the administration of affairs of the state as the Governor may call for, you have failed to supply the information sought by me.”

Quoting a recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee wherein it said that one in five people is exposed or addicted to drugs in Punjab, the Governor also mentioned the supply of drugs in the state.

“I have received reports from various agencies regarding the rampant availability and abuse of drugs in Punjab. It is common knowledge that they are available in chemist shops, a new trend is observed that they are being sold in the government-controlled liquor vends. Recent action by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Chandigarh Police have sealed 66 liquor vends in Ludhiana who are selling drugs, in a joint operation,” Purohit said, adding that these facts point out the breaking down of the law and order system in Punjab so much so that now villagers have started protesting on the streets in large numbers and decided to set up their own village defence committees to protect themselves from drugs.

“Please send a report concerning the action taken by you in the matter of these drugs to my office immediately,” he directed.

The Governor has also reminded Mann of a Supreme Court judgment dated February 28, 2023, in which the apex court “observed that both the chief minister and the governor are constitutional functionaries who have specified roles and obligations earmarked by the Constitution and that the governor has a right to seek information from the chief minister in terms of Article 167(b) on matters relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation”. (ANI)

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Kejriwal, Bhagwant Reach Raipur To Campaign For Assembly Elections

Kejriwal, Bhagwant Reach Raipur To Campaign For Assembly Elections

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday reached Raipur to campaign for Chhattisgarh assembly elections, 2023.

While talking to ANI, Kejriwal said, “The upcoming elections are very important for the people of Chhattisgarh. BJP ruled Chhattisgarh for 15 years and Congress ruled for about seven years.”
He added, “There is no significant difference in the governance of both the parties. Only the names of the parties and the names of the chief minister have changed. The life of the people did not change, the system did not change, and the system remained the same.”

Mann said, “Punjab has suffered exactly the same. For 25 years since 1997, there was the rule of two families. The Badal family and Captain created a mafia that looted Punjab fiercely, Sand mafia, land mafia, whatever.”

Assembly elections are due in 2023 in Chhattisgarh. (ANI)

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lathi-charge on labour unions

Lathi-Charge At Members Of Labour Unions Near Mann’s Residence

Punjab Police on Wednesday resorted to a lathi-charge on members of the agriculture labour unions who were marching towards Chief Minister Bhagwant e in Sangrur over their various demands.

The protestors, who included agricultural workers, gathered at the Patiala bypass after which they started moving towards the Chief Minister’s residence where there was heavy police deployment.
The police tried to stop the protestors who included members of eight labour organizations and resorted to the use of force which left some of the protestors injured.

Police, however, said that they did not resort to the lathi charge and stated that “an aggressive faction of protestors indulged in a scuffle”.

“No lathi charge was done, and the protest is going on in a peaceful manner. An aggressive faction of protestors indulged in a scuffle, which was later controlled by the police. We have taken cognizance of their demands,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sangrur said.

The incident created a political uproar with Bharatiya Janata Party’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Shehzad Poonawalla attacking the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of showing his “true face” and said the people of Punjab will give a befitting reply to the injustice done to them.

“Kejriwal showed his true form through a lathi-charge on Punjab farmers sitting on dharna outside CM Bhagwant Mann’s house. Instead of giving the farmers their rights, Kejriwal is weakening Punjab by investing money of Punjab in the Gujarat campaign. Punjabis will give a befitting reply to this injustice of Kejriwal,” Sirsa said in a tweet.

He also said that making promises before elections and not fulfilling them later is the “new change” brought by AAP.

“Instead of giving rights to the farm labourers protesting outside the house, doing lathi charge at them is proof of the atrocities of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. Making promises before the elections and not fulfilling them after the elections is the change by AAP. People of Delhi and Gujarat should stay away from this deceitful party,” Sirsa said in another tweet.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that AAP is an “anti-people anti-peasant party”.

“The workers who were peacefully going towards the CM’s residence were brutally lathi-charged. It shows the real face of AAP. It stands for ‘anti-People anti-peasant party’. CM Bhagwant Mann is busy campaigning in Gujarat and the farmers of Punjab have been left in miserable conditions,” he said. (ANI)

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Stubble burning Punjab incident

Punjab Farmers Hit Out At Govt Over Stubble Management

Local farmers in Punjab’s Bathinda district expressed their dissatisfaction over Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led state government’s failure to find an alternative to the stubble burning problem.

Local Villagers of Punjab’s Bhatinda district said, “If any officials come to stop us from burning the residue on the farm, they will be held hostage, the government can impose as many fines on them but we will not pay the fine.”
Lashing out at the government’s poor uptake to obviate the problem of stubble burning, the local farmers said, “They are compelled to set the stubble on fire every year. It is not their hobby to do all this. Farmers and their families get affected due to the stubble smoke first of all.”

They further said that the government sees only the smoke of stubble.

They also said that the government has not provided machines to farmers yet for which they had deposited money.

“Lakhs of rupees have been deposited for the machines for the last 1 year but the government is not giving the machines. Then, where should the farmer go and if the farmers do not set the stubble on fire, what will they do, how will the next crop be sown,” farmers said.

Earlier, Gaurav Bhatia also attacked AAP over 30 per cent increase in the cases of stubble burning in Punjab. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing funds to the states without any discrimination and rising above party politics. The reports also prove that Punjab was given the maximum amount of Rs 1,300 crore and Haryana Rs 693 crore for stubble disposal,” Bhatia said.

“Still, on the other hand, 7,648 cases of stubble burning were reported in Punjab during the year 2021-22, which increased to 10,214 in the year 2022-23. Thus, there was an increase of 33 per cent in the incidence of stubble burning in Punjab,” Gaurav Bhatia said further.

Earlier, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed that the cases of stubble burning in Haryana are not even 10 per cent of that in Punjab.

Notably, stubble burning had turned worse across Punjab, giving no hope of improvement in Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) as the capital gasps for clean air.

Increasing incidents of stubble burning in Punjab this year have become a matter of concern with the Union Environment Ministry pointing out that the AQI is likely to deteriorate sharply as only about 45-50 per cent of sown area in the state had been harvested till October 24.

Sources in the Environment Ministry had told ANI that the contribution of stubble burning to the adverse air quality in Delhi and the National Capital Region has been increasing sharply and is about 18-20 per cent currently with the trend only likely to increase further.

As per the Standard Protocol developed by ISRO for Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), for the period September 15, 2022, to October 26, 2022, total paddy residue burning events reported in Punjab were 7,036 compared to 6,463 for the same period during the last year.

CAQM further stated that about 70 per cent of farm fires during the current paddy harvesting season were reported only from six districts namely Amritsar, Firozpur, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Patiala, and Tarn Taran.

These districts account for 4,899 cases against a total of 7,036 incidents in Punjab. These traditional six hotspot districts also accounted for about 65 per cent of the total burning incidents during the last year for the same period. Out of a total of 7,036 reported cases, 4,315 stubble-burning incidences were reported during the last six days alone i.e., about 61 per cent.

As per the Standard ISRO Protocol, for the period of September 15 – October 28 this year, a total of 10,214 paddy residue burning events have been reported in Punjab compared to 7,648 for the same period during the last year, which is a significant increase of about 33.5 per cent.

Out of the total 10,214 reported cases, 7,100 stubble-burning incidents were reported in the last 7 days alone which is about 69 per cent, added the official. (ANI)

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Was Sent On Earth To Finish Off ‘Kansa’ Descendants: Kejriwal In Gujarat

Apparently targeting the ruling dispensation in poll-bound Gujarat and reacting to the posters that surfaced calling him “anti-Hindu”, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that he was born on Krishna Janmashtami and God sent him with a special task to finish off “descendants” of Kansa.

He alleged that the posters and banners have used insulting words for God adding that the people of Gujarat will not spare those who have used such words.

“The people put the poster have used insulting words for God. They have insulted God. They hate me so much that they have not even spared God in the poster. I want to ask the people of Gujarat if they are going to spare those who have used such words. These people are the children of Kansa, who are insulting God,” said Kejriwal while addressing in Vadodara.

He further called himself a religious person and an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman.

“I was born on Krishna Janmashtami and God has sent me with a special task to finish off the descendants of Kansa, the corrupts and goons,” said Kejriwal.

Trying to put an end to the controversy over alleged “anti-Hindu” statements by AAP’s Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam in Delhi.

Gautam converted to Buddhism in a religious conversion event in which he allegedly denounced Hindu deities.

He further said that they (AAP) all will fulfill this task given by God.

“We will work together to fulfill God’s desire. God is with me. People are with me. People want a change, which is why they are so freaked out,” he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister also chanted “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Shri Krishna” slogans during his road show along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Earlier in the day, banners and posters calling Arvind Kejriwal “anti-Hindu” and showing him wearing a skull appeared in several cities of Gujarat.

AAP made its debut in Gujarat in the 2017 Assembly polls, but could not open its account.

AAP’s hopes in Gujarat have been fuelled by its performance in the February 2021 Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls in which BJP won 93 seats, while Aam Aadmi Party bagged 27 seats and the Congress drew a blank.

Meanwhile, in the 2017 Assembly elections, Congress had given a scare to the ruling BJP by restricting its MLAs to 99 and winning 77 seats on its own. There are 182 assembly seats in Gujarat.

Notably, the party has been constantly making efforts to replace the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat. (ANI)

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