Page 16 - Bhagwant Mann

Gujarat: Kejriwal, Mann greeted with black flags, chants of Modi in Navsari

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann were on Saturday shown black flags by BJP supporters, who also chanted 'Modi, Modi' slogans when the AAP leaders were on their way to address a public rally at Chikhli in Gujarat's Navsari district. Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters standing on the roadside between Khudvel and Golvad villages in Chikhli taluka waved black flags as the motorcade of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders passed by. They also shouted 'Modi, Modi' as the vehicles made their way to the National Cricket Ground in Chikhli town, where the two chief ministers were to address the rally. Referring to the incident while addressing the rally later, Kejriwal said he considers those showing black flags to him as his brothers, and said he was confident that one day he would win over their hearts and make them join his party. Kejriwal said that people can vote for whichever party they like, but the AAP will make sure that their childr

Punjab CM wants Shah to look into farmers' problems along border fence

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to sympathetically look into the problems being faced by farmers along the India-Pakistan border fence in the state. Addressing a two-day "Chintan Shivir" of home ministers here, Mann urged Shah to reduce the distance between the border fence and the actual border to facilitate the farmers cultivating their land across the fence, according to an official release. The chief minister said the distance must be reduced to 150-200 metres, instead of the existing around one kilometre, to ensure that the farmers of the border region benefit from it. He said this will ensure optimum utilisation of the land on one hand and strengthen the security of the country on the other. Flagging another issue, Mann urged the Centre to set up a regional centre of the National Security Guards (NSG) at Pathankot. He said the setting up of the NSG centre at Pathankot will help effectively combat any terror activity in the

Previous govts plundered Punjab of its resources, trying to undo damage: CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday claimed that previous government "mercilessly plundered" the state's resources and his regime is trying to undo the damage. "The Aam Aadmi Party government will overhaul the entire system in the state to ensure its progress and prosperity of people," said Mann addressing a gathering at a state-level function to mark Vishwakarma Day here. Earlier, governments had "mercilessly plundered" the wealth of the state, causing it an irreparable damage, he said. Now, with the blessings of Lord Vishwakarma, he is trying to repair the damage done to the state by ensuring its complete revamp, claimed Mann. Exhorting workers and craftsmen to make concerted efforts for strengthening the infrastructure of the state and the nation, the CM said it will be a real and befitting tribute to Lord Vishwakarma. The CM said his government strives to make the youth of Punjab job providers instead of job seekers, stressing that Punjabis are blessed with qualities

Punjab, Haryana lit with Diwali spirit; Mann visits Gurudwara with wife

Diwali, the festival of lights, was celebrated across Punjab and Haryana on Monday with great fervour and enthusiasm. Devotees queued up at temples and gurudwaras across Punjab and Haryana including Chandigarh to worship their gurus and deities. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann along with his wife Gurpreet Kaur offered prayers at Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali. He also bought some diyas from a roadside vendor. Cities across the two states were lit with candles, diyas (earthen lamps), and electric lights, as people did rounds of each others' houses and exchanged sweets and gifts. Everywhere, people thronged the market places for last-minute shopping as shopkeepers selling Diwali items and sweets made a brisk business. To ward off any bad incident, security was tightened across the two states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, especially in and around vital locations, markets, and places of worship, officials said. In Amritsar, the Golden Temple, the holy Sikh shrine, gleamed

Upcoming G-20 summit will promote Punjab for business, says CM Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said the G-20 summit, scheduled to be held in the holy city of Amritsar in March 2023, will promote the state as a preferred destination

Punjab CM, Union minister inaugurate largest Bio energy project in Sangrur

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann along with Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday inaugurated the country's largest bio energy plant constructed at a cost of Rs 230 crore here. Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said this step will go a long way in wiping out the menace of paddy straw burning from the state. Germany-based Verbio Group's Indian subsidiary has set up the plant. This is the largest biofuel (biomethane/bio-CNG) production unit in India with 33 TPD (tonnes per day) capacity of compressed biogas, said Mann. The annual straw consumption in this unit will be 1.30 lakh tonnes, he said, adding that it will help in solving the problem of paddy straw burning. Set up over 20 acres of land, this unit will contribute to an annual reduction of 1.50 lakh metric tonnes of pollutants and 20,000 MT of fly ash currently produced due to paddy straw burning, said an official release quoting Mann. This unit will also give employment to 1,000 youth, he said,

AAP's Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann on 2-day Gujarat visit from today

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will be on a two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat from Sunday. Aam Aadmi Party's national convener Kejriwal along with Mann will address public rallies in Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Banaskantha districts during the two days, AAP's state general secretary Manoj Sorathiya said. "They will reach Bhavnagar on Sunday afternoon and address a public rally there," Sorathiya told reporters. On Monday, the two leaders will address public meetings in Unjha town of Mehsana district and Deesa town in Banaskantha district, he said. "During the two days, the two leaders will also meet local leaders and hold meetings with the state AAP leaders on the upcoming elections," Sorathiya said. The elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Gujarat are due this year-end. Kejriwal has visited Gujarat multiple times in the recent past and made a number of promises for the welfare of people of the state if his party is voted

Punjab, Haryana chief ministers meet over Sutlej Yamuna Link canal issue

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday met with his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar to discuss the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue

Haryana CM Khattar to meet Bhagwant Mann on Oct 14 over SYL canal issue

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will meet to discuss the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue on October 14. The discussion between the two chief ministers has been scheduled after the Supreme Court had recently nudged them to meet and try to find an amicable solution. We will definitely try to find a way to resolve the issue, Khattar told reporters here on Tuesday. Last month, he had said water from the SYL was crucial for Haryana. "On one hand, we are not getting this water, while on the other, Delhi is demanding more water from us. Fixing a deadline to resolve this issue at the earliest has become very essential," he had said. In Punjab, opposition parties had recently asked Mann to stand up for the state's cause over the issue. Water sharing from the SYL canal has been a bone of contention between the two states for several decades. Punjab has been demanding a reassessment of the Ravi-Beas river waters' volume while Haryana

AAP leaders Kejriwal, Mann to address 2 rallies in poll-bound Gujarat today

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will jointly address two rallies in Gujarat on Sunday on the second day of their visit to the BJP-ruled state where the Assembly elections are due in December this year. The two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders will address a public meeting at Dharampur in the tribal-dominated Valsad district and at Kadodara in Surat district. On Saturday, AAP national convener Kejriwal and Mann had addressed a public meeting in Dahod town and participated in a 'Tiranga Yatra' in Vadodara. BJP leaders in Gujarat on Saturday lashed out at the Kejriwal-led party, after a viral video clip showed AAP's Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam at an event where hundreds took a pledge to convert to Buddhism while denouncing Hindu deities. Several banners had also surfaced in prominent cities of Gujarat, calling Kejriwal "anti-Hindu". The AAP is trying to position itself as the main opposition to the BJP, which has governed Gujarat for

Punjab Guv takes exception as Mann skips Murmu's reception; AAP hits back

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit took exception to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann skipping the reception held for President Droupadi Murmu during her maiden visit to Chandigarh on Saturday. While welcoming Murmu at the Raj Bhavan, the governor noted Mann's absence from the event. Purohit said he had invited Mann for the civic reception. "He (Mann) had even accepted it. He may have some compulsions," the governor said. According to Purohit, Mann instead sent a representative. "No matter how occupied one is, I feel it is important to fulfill one's constitutional responsibility," he asserted. Cabinet minister Aman Arora, who attend the event, reacted sharply to Purohit's statements and said it was unfortunate that the governor raised a "political issue" from the Raj Bhavan stage. In a statement, Arora said Mann had a pre-confirmed event and had hence deputed him instead to receive and welcome the President. Arora said five other cabinet ministers and all senior bureaucrats attended

AAP leaders Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann on 2-day Gujarat visit from today

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will begin their two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat from Saturday. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders will jointly address a public meeting at Dahod town in tribal-dominated Dahod district on Saturday, the party's state general secretary Manoj Sorathiya said. Later in the day, they will participate in a 'Tiranga Yatra' in Vadodara city, he said. On Sunday, they will address a public meeting at Dharampur in tribal-dominated Valsad district, and then at Kadodara in Surat district. During these two days, Kejriwal, who is AAP's national convener, and Mann will hold an important meeting with social and other leaders in the state to chalk out plans for the upcoming elections, Sorathiya added. Assembly elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state are scheduled by the year-end.

Punjab CM Mann bats for collaboration in academics, tourism with Tajikistan

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday batted for collaboration with Tajikistan in the fields of academics, tourism, and trade and commerce. Interacting with a delegation from Tajikistan that called on him here, the CM said with the world emerging as a global village, there is a need for acquainting students about the emerging trends in the education sector. He said in such a scenario, an academic collaboration between the universities of different countries could do wonders in spreading the light of knowledge in every nook and cranny of the world, besides helping in the overall development of students, according to an official release. Emphasising on the need for frequent student and faculty exchange programmes between Punjab and Tajikistan, Mann said it would be very beneficial for the students. Mann said such initiatives could play a pivotal role in updating the knowledge of students and upskilling teachers. He said Punjab and Tajikistan can initiate measures for star

Punjab: Bhagwant Mann govt wins confidence motion; Cong, BJP abstain

The Punjab Assembly on Monday "unanimously" passed the confidence motion moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on September 27, even as Congress members staged a walkout. The BJP members have already announced to boycott the assembly session. After a lengthy discussion on the confidence motion, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan put it to vote. He asked MLAs to raise hands who were in support, and then asked those who were against the motion of confidence. Announcing the results, Sandhwan said 91 AAP MLAs supported the motion. He also said one of the three SAD MLAs who was present in the House and a lone BSP MLA did not oppose the motion. No Congress, BJP or lone Independent MLA was present in the House at the time of voting. AAP has 92 MLAs, including the Speaker, in the House. "So, 93 MLAs have supported the motion and none is against it. Thus, the motion is unanimously passed," the Speaker said. In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, the AAP has 92 members, Congress 18, SAD 3, BJP 2,

Punjab CM Mann announces hike in sugarcane price to Rs 380 per quintal

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced increasing the price of sugarcane to Rs 380 per quintal from the existing Rs 360 per quintal. He announced a hike in SAP (state agreed price) of sugarcane on the floor of the Punjab Assembly on the concluding day of its brief session. In August 2021, the then Congress government had announced a Rs 50 per quintal hike in SAP of sugarcane to Rs 360 per quintal. Mann said farmers will get an additional Rs 20 per quintal under SAP of sugarcane as compared to last year. With this decision, the state government will spend an additional Rs 200 crore annually to benefit the farmers. Mann said the farmers of the state eagerly want to adopt sugarcane crop under crop diversification, but they are hesitant for it due to lack of adequate price and timely payment of the crop. At present, sugarcane is cultivated on just 1.25 lakh hectares of land in Punjab, while the total crushing capacity of sugar mills was around 2.50 lakh hectares. Thi

Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann to address 2 public rallies in Gujarat today

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will address two public rallies in Gujarat on Sunday, ahead of the Assembly polls in the BJP-ruled state due later this year. Both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders are on a two-day Gujarat visit from Saturday. On Sunday, AAP national convener Kejriwal will address public gatherings in Surendranagar city and Khedbrahma town in Sabarkantha district. Mann will also be present during the rallies, the Gujarat party unit said in a statement. Before the rallies, the two leaders will address a press conference in Rajkot. AAP's Rajya Sabha member and Gujarat co-incharge Raghav Chadha will also address a press conference in Surat, the party said. Kejriwal and Mann on Saturday addressed public meetings at Gandhidham in Kutch district and Joshipura in Junagadh district. Kejriwal had promised the construction of 20,000 mohalla clinics on the lines of Delhi across Gujarat, government-run schools in each village of t

LIVE: PM Modi to inaugurate 36th National Games in Ahmedabad

PM will declare open the 36th National Games at a gala ceremony in the Narendra Modi stadium in Motera area

CM Bhagwant Mann bats for strengthening of ties between Punjab and Canada

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday batted for further strengthening ties between Punjab and Canada, especially with its Saskatchewan province. The chief minister, during a meeting with a delegation of Saskatchewan province which called on him here, advocated strong and cordial ties between Punjab and Canadian province, according to an official release. He said people from Punjab have been playing a vanguard role in the socio-economic progress of Canada. Mann also said it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that a large number of Punjabis have also carved a niche for themselves in the political arena of Canada. The CM also showcased Punjab as the most preferred industrial destination across the country and invited the delegation from Saskatchewan to encourage the entrepreneurs to invest in the Indian state. Mann said the government has already put the state on a high growth trajectory which will benefit the investors. Calling for further streamlining mechanism to ensur

Mann hails PM's announcement to name Chandigarh airport after Bhagat Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday welcomed the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to name Chandigarh airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh, saying a long pending demand of Punjabis has been fulfilled. In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, PM Modi said the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the great freedom fighter. "Finally our efforts paid off. On behalf of entire Punjab, we welcome the decision of naming the Chandigarh airport after Shaheed Bhagat Singh ji," Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi. Thanking the prime minister, he said, "a long pending demand of Punjabis has got fulfilled". Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala also welcomed the announcement. Chautala said Punjab and Haryana governments had earlier agreed to name the Chandigarh international airport after Bhagat Singh. The decision had come after Bhagwant Mann and Dushyant Chautala held a meeting over this issue last month. Referring to his

Kejriwal, Mann to meet sanitation, contractual workers in Gujarat today

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will meet sanitation workers as well as contractual and outsourced employees of the Gujarat government in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The two Aam Aadmi Party leaders will also hold a two hall meeting with youth from the state, where the Assembly polls are due in December this year, the AAP said. The AAP been making a concerted effort to emerge as the main force against the ruling BJP in the state, with leaders like Kejriwal and others promising various "guarantees" to the electorate if voted to power. On Sunday, AAP national convener Kejriwal and Punjab CM Mann will interact with youth at a town hall meet in Ahmedabad. They will also address contractual and outsourced employees of the state government and meet sanitation workers, the AAP said. During his multiple visits to Gujarat in the recent past, Kejriwal offered a number of "guarantees", including free electricity up to 300 units, allowances to unemployed