Page 7 - Bhagwant Mann

Don't divide Punjab and India, says Mann; criticises Haryana's barriers

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday accused the Haryana government of creating a border "between Punjab and India", referring to the concrete blocks, nails and barbed wire placed on some roads to scuttle the farmers' proposed 'Delhi Chalo' march. He said the Manohar Khattar-led Haryana government has placed as much barbed wire at the state's borders with Punjab as there is at the country's border with Pakistan. Khattar, however, justified the steps taken by his government to seal the state's borders and stop Punjab farmers from marching towards the national capital, saying the arrangements are aimed at maintaining law and order. Haryana authorities have sealed the state's border with Punjab at Shambhu near Ambala district, placing concrete blocks, sandbags, barbed wire and anti-riot vehicles on the roads going towards Delhi. Elaborate arrangements have been made at the state's borders with Punjab in Jind and Fatehabad districts as well. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha ...

Kejriwal, Mann to participate in Kerala's 'historic protest' against Centre

The mega agitation will be held in Delhi's Jantar Mantar against the Centre's alleged discrimination towards Kerala

Punjab CM Mann to hand over job letters to 10 state players in Chandigarh

The ten players to be presented with the appointment letters include nine players from the Tokyo Olympic Games winning team in hockey and Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur

See what happens next: Anurag Thakur takes a jibe over rift in INDIA bloc

Thakur also said that the INDI alliance was meant to be scattered as the Congress failed to do justice to its allies

Lok Sabha polls: After Cong-TMC fallout, AAP hints at lone battle in Punjab

The developments followed after the Congress-TMC had a fallout over seat sharing proposal in West Bengal as Banerjee announced her party's decision to fight the polls alone

Punjab govt buys Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant for Rs 1,080 crore

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the state government has bought a 540-megawatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. "It is for the first time that a private power plant is being bought by the government," Mann said at a news conference here. "We have purchased it for Rs 1,080 crore, which works out to a cost of Rs 2 crore per megawatt," Mann said. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in July last year filed a bid to take over the 540 MegaWatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. The 540 MW thermal power plant is an independent power plant and is spread over 1,100 acres of land in Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran.

AAP's National Executive meeting to be held today via video conferencing

The meeting holds significant importance as it is being held amidst the 3rd notice by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to CM Kejriwal

Punjab CM announces 4% dearness allowance hike for govt employees

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced a 4 per cent hike in dearness allowance of government employees with effect from the ongoing month. Following the hike, the DA will increase to 38 per cent, Punjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU) President Amrik Singh said. A decision in this regard was taken following a meeting with the representatives of the PSMSU here. During the meeting, Mann discussed various demands of the employees. "Had a meeting with the representatives of Punjab State Ministerial Service Union today and discussed their issues in detail... Sharing the good news that we are going to give a new year gift to the employees... DA is increased by 4% which will be effective from 1st December 2023," Mann said in a post on X. After the meeting, the PSMSU president said the CM announced 4 per cent DA hike to state government employees. He further said the CM assured that the remaining 8 per cent DA will also be given. The employees had been demanding

Drug tablets being sold inside jails: Navjot Sidhu slams Bhagwant Mann

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently sought a status report from the Punjab and Haryana governments on the steps taken after the BSF gave a list of 75 individuals

Kejriwal, CM Mann launch scheme in Punjab to deliver services at doorstep

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the "Bhagwant Mann Sarkar Tuhade Dwar" scheme, aimed at providing citizen-centric services to people at their doorstep, on Sunday. Under the scheme, people will get 43 services, including issuance of certificates of birth, marriage, death, income, residence, caste, rural area, border area, backward area, pension, payment of electricity bills and land demarcation. Addressing a gathering here after the launch of the scheme, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal said it is a historic day not only for Punjab, but also for the country. "The work that is going to commence in Punjab is not less than any revolution. It is a revolutionary step," said Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Mann. "You do not need to go to offices. Your work will be done at your doorstep," he added. Kejriwal said as many as 43 government services will be delivered at the doorstep of people. He said to avail these services, people will h

AAP has pushed Punjab into unprecedented crisis: BJP's Tarun Chugh

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday alleged the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government has plunged Punjab into an "unprecedented crisis" as he targeted the AAP government on economic and law and order fronts. In a statement, Chugh claimed that anti-national elements are having a free run in the border state, which is a matter of concern. "The Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government has plunged Punjab into an unprecedented crisis. Punjab under the AAP government has collapsed economically and... (there has been a) complete collapse of law and order," the BJP leader said. "The state has been bequeathed to gangsters who are running amok," Chugh said. "Moreover, anti-national elements are having a free play in the border state which is a very serious national concern," he said. The mining mafia, drug dealers and gangsters are having a good time, he charged. Chugh further claimed Punjab already has a debt of Rs 4 lakh crore and it is growing with every passing day. "Th

Punjab CM Mann hikes sugarcane price by Rs 11 per quintal to Rs 391

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced a hike of Rs 11 per quintal in sugarcane price, saying the new rate of Rs 391 a quintal is the highest in the country. The announcement came days after the chief minister assured farmers of "good news" in the coming days. "With an increase of Rs 11, the new rate will be Rs 391 per quintal, which will be the highest in the country," Mann said in a post on social media platform X. Earlier, farmers held protests demanding an increase in sugarcane price from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal. On Friday last week, farmers held a demonstration on a national highway in Jalandhar but decided to end their stir after Mann's assurance. "As far as increasing the rate of sugarcane goes, Punjab has always been ahead," Mann had said last week. Protestors under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha had blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi National Highway near Dhanowali village. The strike ended on the four

CM Mann, Kejriwal launch free pilgrimage scheme for elderly in Punjab

On the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Punjab government Monday launched the 'Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna' under which elderly people of the state would be sent on pilgrimage free of charge on trains and buses. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who attended the launch event along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, said the state government will bear the expenditure for the pilgrimage. "Today is a pious day. It is the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. On this day, I am happy to note that the Mukhya Mantri Tirath Yatra Yojana for elderly people started in Punjab." The first train carrying devotees left Amritsar for Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra. Around 300 pilgrims from Amritsar, 200 from Jalandhar and 500 from Dhuri were on this train, said Kejriwal, who is also the chief minister of Delhi. Under this scheme, people will be able to visit religious places such as Hazur Sahib in Nanded, Patna Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, Mata Naina Devi temple, ...

7 officials suspended for security lapse during PM Modi's Punjab visit

Six more policemen have been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty in connection with a security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state in January 2022. These six were placed under suspension along with a Superintendent of Police rank officer, who was reported suspended earlier. Two Deputy Superintendent of Police rank officers, Parson Singh and Jagdish Kumar, Inspectors Jatinder Singh and Balwinder Singh, Sub-Inspector Jaswant Singh and Assistant Sub-Inspector Ramesh Kumar were the six policemen suspended, according to the November 22 order of the State's Home Department. SP Gurbinder Singh, who is at present posted as SP in Bathinda district, reported suspended on Saturday. According to the order, all seven policemen have been named in a charge sheet under section 8 of Punjab Civil Services rule (punishment and appeal) 1970. On January 5, 2022, Prime Minister Modi's convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur after w

Punjab govt calls protesting farmer leaders for meeting with CM Mann

The Punjab government has called farmer union leaders for a meeting here on Friday with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as highway blockade in Jalandhar by the farmers who are demanding an increase in sugarcane prices entered the fourth day. Farmers are staging a 'dharna' in the middle of the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the highway which has also affected traffic between Jalandhar and Delhi. On Thursday, the farmers also blocked a section of the railway track near Dhanowali village in Jalandhar, which affected the train movement too, but on Friday they decided to lift the blockade from the rail track after receiving a call of meeting with the chief minister. However, the road blockade continues. The farmers, who are demanding an increase in the prices of sugarcane from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal, have put up a tent in the middle of the road and are spending the night on the highway. They are also demanding the resumption of sugar mills' operations for the crushing of .

Don't turn people against you by blocking roads: CM Mann tells farmers

A day after farmers blocked a stretch of the national highway in Jalandhar, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday asked the farm unions not to turn people against themselves by blocking roads. Farmers under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi National Highway near Dhanowali village for an indefinite period on Tuesday, seeking a hike in sugarcane prices. Mann said if the farmers do not shun the practice of blocking roads every time their demands are not met, a day will come when people will stop sympathising with them. "My request to the farmer unions is not to turn common people against you by blocking roads for every issue. For holding talks with the government, there is Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh, the Secretariat, the office of the agriculture minister and my office and residence but not the roads. If this attitude remains, then the day is not far when you will not find people for 'dharnas'... understand

Punjab Cabinet gives nod to convene two-day Assembly session on Nov 28-29

The Punjab Cabinet on Monday gave its nod for convening a two-day assembly session on November 28 and 29. A decision to this effect was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. The move comes days after the governor prorogued the Budget session, which was held in March. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema told reporters the two-day session will be convened on November 28 and 29. The Cabinet gave approval to convene the fifth session of the 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Cheema said. "The Vidhan Sabha session will be held for two days in which different Bills that have been pending will be passed," the minister said. Three money Bills -- the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023, will be tabled during the session. Cheema also told reporters that there are many Bills pending before the governor and added he sh

SAD chief Badal sends legal notice to Punjab CM for 'malicious' allegations

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal sent a legal notice to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday, asking him to tender an unconditional apology within five days for levelling "malicious" allegations against the Badal family during a debate at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana. According to the notice, Badal will seek remedies as available in the law for causing wilful defamation and libel in case Mann fails to tender the apology. The legal notice was sent by Badal's lawyer, Arshdeep Singh Kler. The notice accuses Mann of defaming Badal and his family with his "false" and "malicious" allegation that an irrigation branch was created to carry canal water to the Badal farm in Haryana's Balasar village. The allegations were levelled by the chief minister during the "Main Punjab Bolda Haan" debate held at an auditorium of the PAU on November 1. Opposition leaders from the Congress, SAD and BJP had skipped the event. "In a pre-planned and ..

Punjab approves religious tours scheme, announces festival sop for traders

The Cabinet also gave it's nod to start Mukhyemantri Tirath Yatra scheme and also to double the Ex-Gratia grant of disabled soldiers

Punjab cabinet gives nod to pilgrimage, settlement scheme for traders

The Punjab cabinet Monday gave nod to a pilgrimage scheme for elderly people and a one-time settlement scheme for traders with tax dues up to Rs 1 lakh. The approval came during a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. Addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the cabinet has approved the 'Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra' scheme whereby elderly people could visit various religious places including Nanded Sahib, Hazur Sahib, Chintpurni, Jawalaji, Naina Devi through buses and trains free of charge. This scheme will be rolled out on November 27, the chief minister said in a post on X. A sum of Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for the 'Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra' scheme, said FM Cheema. He further said a sub-committee has also been formed for the scheme. Asked about the age of people who could avail this scheme, he said the sub-committee will take a call on it. In another decision, Cheema said the cabinet