Chandigarh Sep 21 PTI Opposition parties in Punjab SAD and AAP on Tuesday questioned the use of a chartered flight by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi his two deputies and state Congress chief Navjot Singh SidhuTaking a swipe at them the Shiromani Akali Dal SAD said Congress leaders opt for private jets for travelling just 250 km to Delhi while the Aam Aadmi Party AAP said the grand old party has not been able to give up its royal habitsRaveen Thukral media advisor to former chief minister Amarinder Singh also took potshots at the Congress leaders travelling to Delhi on a chartered flightChanni along with deputy chief ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa OP Soni and Sidhu flew to Delhi on a chartered flight on TuesdayThey met senior Congress leaders for deliberating on cabinet expansion party sources saidSidhu uploaded a photo on Twitter in which he was seen with Channi and Randhawa standing next to a chartered planeIn line of duty he tweetedThe SAD took a dig at Channis claim of aam aadmi sarkar which he made during a press conference on Monday after being sworn-in as the chief ministerAfter saying that they stand with the common man INC leaders take private jets to travel just 250 KMs from Chandigarh to Delhi Are there no normal flights or cars that can be used Or is this chest thumping aimed at propagation of Gandhi familys Delhi Darbar culture it said in a tweetLeader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema of the AAP said No one becomes a common man by saying it only his deeds reveal the truth of his personalityThe real faces of Channi Sidhu and Randhawa who were calling themselves poor common men a day before have been exposed The Congress could not give up its royal habits he said in a statement hereThukral said the Congress leaders took a chartered flight even when a five-seater official chopper was availableWowwhat a gareeban di sarkar A 16-seater Learjet to ferry 4 people when a 5-seater official chopper was available Im now beginning to feel I sleepwalked through the last 4 a half years believing Punjab to be in a fiscal mess My bad Wonder whos paying for such luxury - the state govt or INCPunjab Cant be sherryontopp or CHARANJITCHANNI or SukhjinderINC or OPSoni for sure Though eventually I guess its the common man wholl end up footing the bill for their pleasures he said in tweets PTI CHS VSD RC

Chandigarh Sep 21 PTI Punjab reported 37 COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the disease on Tuesday taking its infection tally to 601359 and the death toll to 16501Among the new cases Mohali reported eight followed by seven in Sangrur and three in AmritsarThe number of active cases of the infection in the state stands at 304 an official bulletin showedThirty-seven more people have recuperated from the disease taking the number of recoveries to 584554 it statedChandigarh meanwhile reported seven new COVID-19 cases taking its infection tally to 65195The death toll stood at 818 as no new fatalities due to the disease were reported in the cityThe number of active cases stands at 44 while the tally of recoveries is 64333 PTI CHSVSD IJT

Chandigarh Sep 21 PTI Thai envoy Pattarat Hongtong on Tuesday met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here to discuss possibilities to strengthen business sports academics agriculture and cultural ties between her country and the state During the meeting the ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to India held extensive discussions with the chief minister identifying various development avenues between Haryana and Thailand a state government statement said She especially sought cooperation from the Haryana government in exploring investment possibilities in the food processing sector the statement said As Haryana has one of the highest economic potentials including automobiles and agriculture sector various exchange programmes can be organised between Thailand and Haryana the statement quoted the ambassador as saying Hongtong also showed keen interest in exporting various products produced by Thailand She said that possibilities should be explored to strengthen economic growth and investment ties with Haryana for progress with Thailand The ambassador also showed interest in getting the details about various flagship programmes and initiatives taken by the state government Khattar told the dignitary that India and Thailand have age-old social and cultural ties I assure complete cooperation from the state government in terms of setting up industries investment cultural ties he said The chief minister said that Haryana is a leading state in the country in many spheres Haryana is the largest manufacturer of cars and other automobiles along with being the leading agrarian state in India he added The state produces two-thirds of passenger cars 50 per cent of tractors and 60 per cent of motorcycles manufactured in the country hence possibilities can be explored in strengthening the investment ties between Haryana and Thailand in this sector Khattar told the ambassador PTI SUN ANB ANB

Chandigarh Sep 21 PTI Governor Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday stressed on the need for taking help of universities and other educational institutions in wiping out drug trafficking from Haryana an official statement said He was interacting with State Narcotics Control Bureau ADGP Shrikant Jadhav who paid him a courtesy call at the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday The governor said that youths will be effective in checking the use of illegal substances and preventing drug trafficking effectively He said the officers of the bureau should coordinate with educational institutions and make youth aware of drug prohibition in rural and urban areas Dattatreya said that university administrations can play a better role in preventing drug trafficking and their illegal use through their own information system social media and other means of media including street plays and rallies University students can create awareness against drugs in urban areas villages and other far flung regions by giving effective messages using various media tools he said The governor said that NCC scouts and students associated with the NSS can play an important role as well Besides this the cooperation of the Red Cross and other social government and non-governmental organisations can also be taken he added Jadhav informed the governor that the State Narcotics Control Bureau has been established and there is a plan to open 17 branches of it at the district-level all over Haryana So far its branches have been established in 12 districts he said Jadhav said that so far they have held meetings with chemist associations and medical officers and voluntary organisations in many districts and all have been asked to cooperate with the bureau to bust any kind of smuggling and illegal use of drugs so that Haryana can be made completely drug-free PTI SUN AAR AAR

Chandigarh Sep 21 PTI In a major reshuffle the Punjab government on Tuesday transferred nine IAS and two PCS officers with immediate effect The move has come a day after Charanjit Singh Channi was sworn in as the Punjab chief minister Three more officers has been posted in the Chief Ministers Office Kamal Kishore Yadav a 2003-batch IAS officer has been given the charge of the special principal secretary to the Punjab CM He has also been given the charge of the secretary information and public relations according to a government order Showkat Ahmad Parray a 2013-batch IAS officer has been posted as the additional principal secretary to the CM and Mankanwal Singh Chahal a 2016-batch Punjab Civil Services PCS officer has been given the charge of the deputy principal secretary to the CM Two senior IAS officers Hussan Lal and Rahul Tiwari were posted as the principal secretary and the special principal secretary to Channi The 1994-batch IAS officer Tejveer Singh who was earlier the principal secretary to the CM has been posted as the principal secretary investment promotion industries and commerce and information technology Gurkirat Kirpal Singh who earlier held the charge of the special principal secretary to the CM has been posted as the secretary food civil supplies and consumer affairs and defence services welfare Dilip Kumar a 1995-batch IAS officer has been posted as the principal secretary science technology and environment He has also been give the charge of the mission director Tandrust Punjab in addition to the principal secretary employment generation and training IAS officer Mohammad Tayyab has been posted as the chief executive officer Punjab Wakf Board IAS officer Sumeet Jarangal has been given the charge of the director information and public relations The 2009-batch IAS officer Isha has been posted as the deputy commissioner of Mohali replacing Girish Dayalan IAS officer HS Sudan who is the director general of employment generation and training has been given the additional charge of the mission director Punjab Skill Development Mission PCS officer Anil Gupta has been posted as the deputy secretary personnel PTI CHS VSD RDK RDK

Chandigarh Sep 21 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi his two deputies and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu took a chartered flight to Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the expansion of the new Cabinet with the partys central leadership sources said The team will meet AICC general secretary Harish Rawat who is the Punjab affairs in-charge in Delhi they said Sidhu uploaded a photo on Twitter showing him with Channi and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa one of the two deputy chief ministers beside a chartered plane In line of duty he tweeted Channi Randhawa and the other deputy chief minister O P Soni were sworn in on Monday two days after Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister of the poll-bound state After hectic consultations the party had picked Channi as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party Randhawa a Jat Sikh and Soni a Hindu were apparently chosen to balance the caste equations Sources said the cabinet is likely to see the induction of fresh faces after the Delhi meeting where the probable candidates will be discussed There are indications that those who rallied behind Navjot Sidhu in the power tussle with Amarinder Singh will find a place in the new cabinet The names of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring Madan Lal Jalalpur Inderbir Singh Bolaria Gurkirat Singh Kotli Pargat Singh and Sangat Singh Gilzian are doing the rounds Pargat Singh considered close to Sidhu is at present the Punjab Congress general secretary and Gilzian is a working president of the partys state unit There is speculation whether Amarinder Singh- loyalists -- like Gurmit Singh Sodhi who was the sports minister and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot who held the ministry of social justice -- would retain their positions Channi himself was part of the group of ministers who constantly targeted Amarinder Singh making it clear that they were part of the Sidhu camp Shortly before the swearing of the three ministers on Monday Harish Rawat triggered a row by suggesting that the coming assembly elections will be fought under Sidhus leadership Former state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar who was at one stage also seen as a CM candidate said the baffling remark would undermine the new CMs authority In a damage-control exercise the Congress then said both Channi and Sidhu will lead the fight in the next election PTI CHS VSD ASH ASH