Page 5 - Bhagwant Mann

DC, SSP to be held responsible for any corrupt, illegal activity: Punjab CM

In a strict instruction to senior officers, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said if any official is found to be involved in corrupt or illegal activity then the deputy commissioner and the senior superintendent of police of that district will be held responsible. Mann also announced to open a 'mukh mantri sahayta kendra' (chief minister help centre) in each district to facilitate people in getting their works done in a time-bound manner. The chief minister on Monday held a meeting with all deputy commissioners of the state here. Addressing the media after the meeting, Mann said the development works got affected because of the Model Code of Conduct. He said the Model Code of Conduct remained in force for more than two months due to the Lok Sabha polls. Mann said that he gave instructions in the meeting to the deputy commissioners to ensure completion of the pending works. He also gave strict instructions to the deputy commissioners to ensure that no one should face

Atishi, Raghav meet Kejriwal in Tihar; asked to curb water, power crises

Amidst the persisting water and power crises in Delhi, state minister Atishi and AAP MP Raghav Chadha said on Thursday that they met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lodged in the Tihar jail and were directed to take measures to curb the problems as soon as possible. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener is lodged in Tihar jail's number 2 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case. "Today I met Kejriwal ji, who is lodged in Tihar jail in a fake case by the central government. But, he still worries about the people of Delhi, more than himself. "He inquired about the issues related to the power and water and he told me that he watched the water crisis in Delhi on television in Tihar," Atishi told media outside the Tihar jail. She said Kejriwal has directed them to take all necessary steps and arrangements that could be made to overcome the water crisis as soon as possible. "He has directed all the AAP legislators to go on the ground and take all possible steps to provide water to

LS polls: PM Modi attacks AAP, calls Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann as 'kagzi CM'

Addressing his first election rally in the state for the 7th phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, Modi said Punjab has given leadership to the country in various sectors - from agriculture to industry

Mann has 'understanding' with Amit Shah to split AAP after LS poll: Badal

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has an "understanding" with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to split AAP into a separate Punjab unit after the elections, like Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde did in Maharashtra, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on Saturday. Badal made the claim while addressing rallies at Sunam and Dhuri for the Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Sangrur candidate Iqbal Singh Jhundan. "Bhagwant Mann has compromised with the BJP as he felt he would also be arrested like his boss (Arvind) Kejriwal because he had also perpetrated the same liquor scam as done by AAP in Delhi. This understanding has saved him from arrest," Badal alleged. Shiv Sena leader Shinde became Maharashtra chief minister after parting ways with Uddhav Thackeray and forming an alliance with the BJP. The Election Commission of India has since recognised the Shinde faction as officially representing the Shiv Sena while the Thackeray-led faction has been using the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) name. The

CM Kejriwal holds first roadshow for LS poll campaign after his release

AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held his first roadshow for Lok Sabha election campaign along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann in the South Delhi constituency, a day after his release from Tihar jail. Party leaders and workers gathered in large numbers while Kejriwal and Mann mounted an open-roof vehicle waving and greeting people. AAP volunteers, holding party flags and raising slogans, marched behind the vehicle in the narrow streets of Mehrauli in South Delhi, in support of party candidate Sahi Ram Pehalwan. Kejriwal, who is out on an interim bail granted by the Supreme Court till June 1, earlier in the day said he will campaign across the country to fight against "dictatorship". He will also take part in a roadshow in East Delhi constituency in support of AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar.

Delhi CM Kejriwal, his wife Sunita offer prayers at Delhi's Hanuman temple

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his wife Sunita and Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in central Delhi's Connaught Place. A day after getting released from Tihar jail on interim bail, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Kejriwal reached the historic temple to pay his obeisance. Kejriwal was accompanied by AAP leaders including Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj. On Friday, the chief minister thanked Lord Hanuman as he stepped out of Tihar Jail on interim bail and sought people's support in his "fight against dictatorship". Kejriwal will address a press conference at AAP office at 1 pm and will hold two roadshows in south Delhi and east Delhi parliamentary constituencies.

LS polls: Mann, Cong leaders to campaign for AAP's Kurukshetra candidate

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and senior Congress leaders like Bhupinder Singh Hooda will campaign for AAP's Haryana unit president Sushil Gupta, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Kurukshetra. The AAP and the Congress are constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc. While the AAP has fielded Gupta from Kurukshetra, the Congress is contesting the remaining nine Lok Sabha seats in the state. Gupta said Mann, who held a roadshow in Kurukshetra last month, will join his campaign in the coming days. Besides Gupta, 30 candidates are in the fray from Kurukshetra including the BJP's Naveen Jindal and the Indian National Lok Dal's (INLD) Abhay Singh Chautala. "On May 13, Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda will join my campaign, on 14th Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will come, on 16th (Congress leader) Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be in Kurukshetra while on May 17, Bhagwant Mann and (AAP leader) Sanjay Singh will campaign," Gupta told PTI. He said he has requested th

LS polls: Mann to campaign for AAP in East, South Delhi seats on May 11

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will hold roadshows in East and South Delhi Lok Sabha constituencies on May 11 to campaign for AAP candidates, the party said on Thursday. Delhi will go to polls in the sixth phase of the seven-phase election on May 25. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. Mann will seek votes for Kuldeep Kumar and Sahiram Pahalwan, who have been fielded from the East Delhi and South Delhi constituencies by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "He will hold roadshows in the two constituencies," a party leader said. Under a seat-sharing arrangement between the Congress and the AAP, the former has fielded candidates from three Lok Sabha seats in Delhi while the latter is contesting from the remaining four.

Kejriwal, his wife Sunita, Sisodia, Jain in AAP's list of star campaigners

Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday issued a list of 40 star campaigners for Lok Sabha polls in Delhi and Haryana, featuring party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is in judicial custody and his wife Sunita Kejriwal. AAP's star campaigners' list also included the names of jailed AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, as well as Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Sunita Kejriwal has already taken reins of party's campaigning for the polls, attending roadshows in support of party's Lok Sabha candidates in Delhi and Gujarat. Recently she attended roadshows along with AAP candidates in East Delhi, West Delhi and Bharuch and Bhavnagar constituencies in Gujarat. She is scheduled to attend a roadshow in support of AAP candidate from South Delhi seat Sahi Ram Pehalwan on Sunday, party leaders said. She will also hold roadshows in Punjab and Haryana under the party's campaign 'Jail Ka Jawab Vote Se' centred around the arrest of the Delhi chief minister by Enforcement

LS polls: Former Punjab MLA from Congress Dalvir Singh Goldy joins AAP

A day after quitting the Congress, former MLA Dalvir Singh Goldy on Wednesday joined the AAP in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. Goldy resigned from the Congress days after he expressed his "displeasure" over denial of party ticket from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. While welcoming Goldy into the party fold, Mann described him as a a hardworking youth. "We welcome him along with his supporters," he said. In his resignation letter to the Congress' Punjab chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Goldy had said that he was "upset" by the state leadership and resigning from the party's primary membership. Former MLA from the Dhuri assembly seat, Goldy was a ticket aspirant from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat for the coming Lok Sabha elections. However, the Congress named three-time MLA Sukhpal Khaira from the Sangrur parliamentary seat. On April 16, Goldy had expressed his "displeasure" over denial of party ticket from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat and had urged the party

Punjab CM Mann to meet Kejriwal in Tihar jail on April 30, says report

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will meet his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail on April 30, AAP sources said on Sunday. This will be Mann's second meeting with Kejriwal in Tihar. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an excise policy-linked money-laundering case. Mann met Kejriwal in jail earlier this month and alleged that the AAP chief was not being given amenities provided even to hardcore criminals.

Kejriwal being treated like a terrorist in Tihar, claims Sanjay Singh

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday alleged that a notorious criminal meets his wife and lawyer inside the barrack in Tihar jail while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is being treated like a "terrorist". The AAP national convener was allowed to meet Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann only through a glass screen, said Singh, who recently walked out of the prison after spending six months there in a money laundering case, at a press conference. There was no immediate response from the Tihar jail administration to Singh's claims. "Kejriwal is being treated like a terrorist. He was allowed to meet Punjab Chief Minster Bhagwant Mann only through a glass screen," Singh alleged. "In Tihar's jail number 2, a notorious criminal meets his wife and lawyer inside the barrack. Meetings of other inmates are also held in the office of the jail," the AAP leader said without naming anyone. Due to "malice and vendetta", the BJP is trying to break Kejriwal but he will emerge stronger as

Mann meets Kejriwal in jail, says he is 'being treated like terrorist'

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail Monday and alleged he was being treated like a terrorist, even as AAP said its government in Delhi will start functioning from jail under a "proper format" with chief minister Kejriwal planning to meet two minister from next week. Mann, who was accompanied by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, said they met Kejriwal for half-an-hour but they were separated by a glass wall and had to interact over a phone call. He said Kejriwal asked him to campaign for INDIA bloc candidates in different parts of the country. Pathak said chief minister Kejriwal will start meeting two ministers in the jail from next week and review their works. "We will undertake whatever legal process are needed (to make this happen)," he said. "From next week, when the ministers meet, the government will start functioning from jail in a proper format," he said. The BJP has been demanding Kejriwal's resignation since his arrest by the Enforcement

He is being treated like hardcore criminal: Mann after meeting Kejriwal

Bhagwant Mann meets Kejriwal in jail, says he ie being treated like hardcore criminal

CM Mann, AAP leaders in Punjab to fast on Sunday against Kejriwal's arrest

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann along with AAP MLAs and volunteers will sit on a fast on Sunday to protest against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a party leader said. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had given the call for a nationwide collective fast on April 7 against the arrest of the Delhi chief minister. Kejriwal, who is also the AAP national convener, was arrested last month by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case. He had been sent to judicial custody till April 15. Addressing the media here on Saturday, AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha said the Punjab chief minister and the ruling party's legislators will sit on a fast at Khatkar Kalan in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district on April 7 in the fight to save democracy. He also appealed to the people of Punjab to take part in the fast. Alleging that the BJP-led Centre was behind the arrest of Kejriwal's arrest, the Rupnagar legislator claimed that the saffron party considers the AA

Mann in Delhi to support Kejriwal while people die in Punjab, says BJP

The BJP on Saturday hit out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said it is "very sad" that he is here to protest the arrest of his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal at a time when the death toll in a hooch tragedy in his state has climbed to 20. The party also targeted AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha over his London visit and asked why he had a meeting with British Labour Party MP Preet K Gill, "who openly advocates 'K' separatism". The death toll due to the suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab's Sangrur district has climbed to 20, with six more people succumbing during treatment, officials said on Saturday. Police have made eight arrests so far in connection with the case, they said. Reacting to the climb in the death toll, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "It is very sad. The BJP is very sensitive towards the plight of the family members of those who died in the incident." "It is also very sad that at a time when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant M

Will seek court permission to set up office for Delhi CM in jail: Mann

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said that if his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal is sent to jail, they will approach the court seeking permission to set up his office in prison to run his government from there. He also asserted that no one can take the place of Kejriwal in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "It is not written anywhere that a government cannot run from jail," Mann told PTI videos in an interview when asked about the arrest of the Delhi chief minister and AAP chief by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy case and how he will run his government if he is sent to judicial custody. The BJP has demanded the resignation of Kejriwal after he was remanded in ED custody till March 28. "The law says he can work from jail till found guilty. We will seek permission from the Supreme Court, High Court for setting up office in the jail and the government will function," Mann said. He said that no one can take the place of Kejriwal in

Punjab BJP urges EC to order investigation into state's excise policy

A delegation of the Punjab BJP on Saturday urged the Election Commission of India to order an ED probe into the state excise policy, which it claimed was tailored along the lines of the one for Delhi. The delegation led by Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar comprised Union Minister Som Parkash, former union minister Vijay Sampla, former state unit chiefs Ashwani Sharma and Manoranjan Kalia, MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan, national executive member Harjit Singh and state general secretary Parminder Brar. The delegation handed over a memorandum to Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C, seeking a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the state excise policy. This came after Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on Thursday. Speaking to reporters here, Jakhar said Punjab's excise policy was framed on the lines of the Delhi excise policy because of which ...

Kejriwal will be released, start revolution in country: Punjab CM Mann

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is in ED custody in connection with an excise policy-linked money-laundering case, will be released and bring a revolution in the country, his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann said on Saturday. The 55-year-old AAP national convenor was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday from his official residence. He was on Friday produced in court, which sent him to ED custody till March 28. Mann, Delhi ministers Atishi and Kailash Gahlot, and Mayor Shelly Oberoi visited Shaheedi Park on Saturday to commemorate the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. "The BJP wants to bring dictatorship in the country. Sending opposition leaders to jail is not freedom. Let us unite or the country will be ruined. Kejriwal will come out, bringing a big revolution," Mann said. The Delhi government will run according to the law, he said. "No law says that a chief minister sent to jail under a political vendetta needs to resign. He is in

Death toll in Sangrur spurious liquor case rises to 20; SIT formed

The death toll due to the suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab's Sangrur district has climbed to twenty, with six more persons succumbing, officials on Saturday said. Meanwhile, a four-member special investigation team (SIT), led by an additional director general of police (ADGP) rank officer, has been set up in connection with the incident. Eleven people are undergoing treatment at Patiala's Rajindra Hospital and six at the Civil Hospital in Sangrur. Sangrur Civil Surgeon Kirpal Singh on Saturday said that 20 people have died so far in the incident. The officials said that the casualties have been reported from Gujran, Tibbi Ravidaspura and Dhandoli Khurd villages in Dirba and Sunam blocks. The police have made six arrests in the case so far, they said. The AAP government has been under fire from the opposition parties Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) over the Sangrur hooch tragedy. A case has already been registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Ind