Page 43 - Punjab

Shiromani Akali Dal's Parkash Singh Badal admitted to Mohali hospital

Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal has been admitted to a private hospital in Mohali following complaints of breathing difficulties. Hospital sources said Badal, 95, is under close observation of doctors. "Concerned to know that the veteran leader Shri Parkash Singh Badal Ji is unwell and admitted to hospital. Had a telephone discussion about his health with Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal Ji. I pray to God for his speedy recovery," Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted. Badal was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. In June last year, Badal, a five-time Punjab chief minister, was hospitalised following a complaint of gastritis and bronchial asthma. In February 2022, he was taken to a private hospital in Mohali for a post-Covid health check-up during which he had undergone cardiac and pulmonary check-ups too. In January 2022, he was admitted to a hospital in Ludhiana after testing positive for Covid-19. The SAD patriarch had been advised by doctors to opt for regular ...

Congress releases list of 40-star campaigners for Jalandhar LS bypoll

The Congress party on Wednesday announced the list of its 40-star campaigners for the by-elections in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat

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Hot weather conditions prevail in Punjab, Bathinda sizzles at 41.6 deg C

Hot weather conditions prevailed in Haryana and Punjab on Monday with the maximum temperature settling above 40 degrees in most parts of the two states. In Haryana, sizzling heat swept across Hisar as the mercury settled at 41.5 degrees Celsius, according to the Meteorological Department here. Sirsa recorded a high of 41.4 degrees Celsius, Ambala 40.6 degrees, Rohtak 40.5 degrees, Narnaul 40 degrees and Bhiwani 39.2 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Bathinda recorded a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius. The mercury settled at 39.9 degrees Celsius in Amritsar and at 40.2 degrees in Ludhiana. Patiala recorded a high of 40.5 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature in Pathankot settled at 40.9 degrees Celsius. Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a high of 40 degrees Celsius. Notably, over the past few days, the maximum temperatures in the two states and Chandigarh have been hovering above normal limits.

Sole witness Army jawan detained in Bathinda military station firing case

Days after four Army personnel were killed in firing at Bathinda Military Station in Punjab, the police detained a jawan in connection with the incident, officials said on Monday

Why was this woman with a face painting denied entry into Golden Temple?

Amid the ongoing controversy, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has now issued a clarification in relation to the incident

Four held in Punjab for harbouring Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh

Four persons, including an advocate, were arrested for allegedly harbouring radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who has been on the run after a police crackdown on his outfit last month, police said on Saturday. The arrested men were identified as advocate Rajdeep Singh of Babak village in Hoshiarpur, Sarbjit Singh of Jalandhar, Omkar Nath of Nakodar town in Jalandhar and Karnail Singh of the local Mohalla Ramgarh. They were produced before a court here, which sent Omkar Nath to judicial custody and the rest three to a four-day police remand. Police earlier arrested three men Gurwant Singh of Lakhimpur Kheri and brothers Hardeep Singh and Kuldip Singh of village Rajpur Bhaian in Hoshiarpur district for allegedly harbouring the pro-Khalistan preacher. Punjab Police launched a major crackdown on Amritpal Singh and members of his 'Waris Punjab De' outfit on March 18. The Khalistan sympathiser escaped the police's net in Jalandhar district, switching vehicles and changing his appearance

Separatist Amritpal does a no show on Baisakhi, flop show at Talwandi Sabo

There was no tension visible among the people visiting the holy shrine and every activity seemed to be taking its normal course

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Punjab ex-CM Channi appears before Vigilance Bureau; quizzed for 7 hours

Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday appeared before the Vigilance Bureau in connection with a disproportionate assets matter and was questioned by the officials for seven hours. Channi described the probe as "totally political". Emerging out from Vigilance Bureau's Mohali office in the evening, Channi again slammed the AAP government, alleging that "this government is treating worse than even the Mughals. They want to use every way to humiliate and defame." "In democracy, this is not the way.. that without any basis they try to build up a case. I stand by what I said earlier in the morning at my press conference, they may do whatever they have to," Channi said. "I always worked with honesty and will continue to do so," he said. Ahead of entering the bureau's Mohali office around 11 am, the Congress leader had slammed the state's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over his date of appearance being advanced and claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's regi

Channi appears before Vigilance Bureau, slams AAP for vendetta politics

Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday appeared before the Vigilance Bureau in connection with a disproportionate assets matter. Ahead of entering the bureau's Mohali office at 11.10 am, the Congress leader slammed the state's AAP government over his date of appearance being advanced and claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's regime was indulging in "vendetta politics". The vigilance bureau had initially asked Channi to appear for questioning on April 12. He, however, requested for another date to join the investigation, which the bureau allowed, asking him to appear on April 20. Later, the bureau advanced the date to Friday. Asked about being questioned in the matter before he entered the bureau's office, Channi said, "The probe is totally political. Let them do what they want." Addressing a press conference before he reached the bureau's office, Channi launched a scathing attack on the state's AAP government and said he may be tortured, arrested or eve

Channi summoned to appear before Vigilance Bureau today: Punjab Cong chief

Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi has been asked to appear before the Vigilance Bureau on Friday (April 14) for questioning in a disproportionate assets case, state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said. The vigilance bureau had initially asked Channi to appear for questioning on April 12. He, however, requested for another date to join the investigation, which the bureau allowed, asking him to appear on April 20 at its Mohali office. "But today, the bureau advanced the date from April 20 to April 14," Warring said on Thursday. The Punjab Congress chief slammed the AAP government over the advancement of the date, alleging that it exposes the party's "anti-Dalit face and vendetta politics". Channi was in Jalandhar on Thursday accompanying Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha bypoll Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary for filing her nomination papers. The vigilance bureau has been inquiring into allegations of Channi amassing assets disproportionate to his known sour

4 Army jawans killed in firing at Bathinda military station, two booked

Army sources said a court of inquiry (CoI) will investigate the entire incident in addition to the ongoing probe by the state police with support from the force

'Amritpal Singh wanted' posters at Batala station, informers to be rewarded

Posters declaring radical preacher Amritpal Singh as a "wanted man" were pasted at the Batala railway station in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on Wednesday. In the posters pasted by the government railway police, it is mentioned that Amritpal, who has been on the run since March 18 following a police crackdown, is wanted in multiple cases by police. "Whosoever has any information about him (Amritpal) can share it on the mobile numbers given below. Appropriate reward will be given on providing the information," read the poster. The name of the informer will be kept confidential, it said. Police had last month launched a major crackdown against the Khalistan sympathiser and members of his outfit 'Waris Punjab De'. Amritpal, who is yet to be nabbed, escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances. His close aide Papalpreet Singh was held recently by the state police. The radical preacher and his associates have been booked under s

Govt relaxes wheat procurement norms in Punjab, Haryana, C'garh, Rajasthan

The Centre has relaxed quality norms for wheat procurement in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent distressed sale as well as protect the interest of farmers, a senior official said on Tuesday. The recent untimely rainfall, hailstorm and high velocity wind have damaged the standing wheat crop, which was ready for harvest, in some parts of these states. These state governments had demanded the relaxation in procurement norms. Currently, wheat procurement is underway in Madhya Pradesh, while it has been delayed in other states because of untimely rains. State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) along with state agencies undertake the procurement of wheat. "After the field survey, we have relaxed the quality norms for procurement of wheat in Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana and Rajasthan in order to reduce hardship of farmers and to avoid distressed sale of wheat," Subodh Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary in the Union Food Ministry, told PTI. The government has relaxed t

Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal's close aide Papalpreet Singh arrested

Radical preacher Amritpal Singh's close aide Papalpreet Singh has been arrested from Punjab's Hoshiarpur, police said on Monday. Papalpreet was arrested in a Punjab Police operation that also involved its counter intelligence wing, they said. Papalpreet is considered to be his mentor and has allegedly been in contact with Pakistan's ISI. Amritpal and Papalpreet had been on the run since March 18 when the Punjab Police launched a crackdown against the Khalistan sympathiser and his aides. The radical preacher escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances. He and his associates have been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

Akali Dal's Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, several others from Punjab join BJP

Prominent Akali Dal leaders Sardar Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal and Sardar Jasjeet Singh Atwal, along with several others from Punjab, joined the Bharatiya Janta party (BJP) in New Delhi on Sunday.

Punjab minister launches helpline for farmers to report unfair practices

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Saturday launched a helpline number and asked farmers to register complaints on it if they find any unfair practice during the special field inspection being conducted to assess crop loss due to inclement weather. Dhaliwal said he himself is supervising the ongoing work of 'girdawari' by visiting fields. He said the state government was fully committed to compensate farmers for their crop loss due to the rough weather. "My effort is that every farmer gets due compensation but if any farmer is facing inappropriate or unfair practice in the 'girdawari' process, then a concerned farmer can register his complaint on 9309388088 without any hesitation," Dhaliwal said in a statement here. He further said complaints can be made through WhatsApp on this number. The minister further said the complaint lodged on this number will be taken seriously and immediate action will be taken. He assured that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's promise

AAP MP seeks special package from Centre for weather-struck Punjab farmers

AAP MP Raghav Chadha Saturday sought from the Union Finance Minister a special package for Punjab farmers ensuring them adequate compensation for their crop damaged by an inclement weather. In a letter to the Finance Minister, Chadha, who is Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, sought to draw his attention towards the plight of the Punjab farmers, saying that since March 24, rains, high-velocity winds, and hailstorm have impacted wheat crop more than 14 lakh hectares of 34.9 lakh hectares of total wheat area in the state. "The unseasonal rains have adversely affected the yield and the quality of the standing wheat crop," said Chadha in his missive to the FM. "I met a Manjeet Singh at a village in Barwa, who clutched the stems of his damaged crop tightly as he described his plight with teary eyes. Manjeet has a sick wife to look after and a daughter to educate. "For those inspecting, loss of crop may well be just a matter of records and statistics. However, for our farmers, it also means a l

Punjab to miss fiscal targets by a wide margin due to freebies: Ind Ra

The AAP government's freebies push in Punjab will have the state, which already is one of the most fiscally stressed states, missing the fiscal targets by a wide margin yet again this fiscal, shows an analysis. According to an India Ratings' analysis of the Punjab budget for FY24, the Bhagwant Mann government will likely close the year with a fiscal deficit of Rs 33,216 crore which is a whopping 5.3 per cent of GSDP or gross state domestic product from the budgeted Rs 23,835 crore or 3.8 per cent in FY24. This comes on top of the state closing the previous year with a 5 per cent fiscal deficit. The Centre allows a state to borrow annually only 3 per cent of its GSDP and an additional 50 bps more on meeting certain reforms in the power distribution and public transport sectors. Punjab's fiscal stress will continue even in the medium-term and will remain one of the fiscally most stressed states, says Sunil Kumar Sinha, the senior director at the agency. This is because the state's .