Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 5 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday visited the historical Kamakhya temple in Guwahati to seek blessings days before the announcement of Punjab poll results.

Chandigarh Feb 20 PTI Voting for 117 Assembly seats in Punjab began on Sunday morning amid tight security arrangements Polling started at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm A total of 1304 candidates including 93 women and two transgenders are in the fray for the high-stake electoral contest There are 21499804 voters including 10200996 women There are 24740 polling stations of which 2013 have been identified as critical while 2952 are vulnerable said Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju Punjab is witnessing a multi-cornered contest among the Congress AAP SAD-BSP BJP-PLC-SAD Sanyukt and the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha a political front of various farmer bodies The Shiromani Akali Dal is contesting the polls in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party BSP The BJP is fighting the elections in alliance with Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led SAD Sanyukt The SSM is contesting the polls with Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union Chaduni leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni-led Sanyukt Sangharsh Party Prominent faces in the fray include Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi Aam Aadmi Partys chief ministerial face Bhagwant Mann Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu former CMs Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal Former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma and former Union minister Vijay Sampla are also in the fray A total of 700 companies of the central armed police force besides the state police personnel have been deployed There are 196 pink polling stations for women while 70 polling stations will be managed by persons with disabilities PwD In the wake of COVID-19 arrangements have been made for masks gloves and sanitisers at polling stations and also for the disposal of Covid waste material PTI CHS VSD RDK RDK RDK

Kharar (Punjab) [India], February 20 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Sunday offered prayers at Gurudwara Sri Katalgarh Sahib in Kharar ahead of polling and said that his government has made all efforts to do the most in the short span of time he got and rest is the will of the people.

New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): The Centre has granted 'Y' category security cover to the poet-turned-politician Kumar Vishwas who recently accused Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal of having links with separatist outfits.

New Delhi Feb 19 PTI A group of poets Saturday demanded an apology from Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal accusing him of insulting poets in his rebuttal to his former party colleague Kumar Vishwas allegations that he had sympathies with pro-Khalistan elementsIn an open letter the poets said they were hurt at Kejriwals alleged attempt to ridicule them and said he should have used facts to counter the charge instead of insulting poetsThe 40 poets who have signed the letter include Gajendra Solanki and Dinesh RaghuvanshiThey also raked up the charge that Kejriwal had stayed at the house of an alleged pro-Khalistan terrorist during the 2017 assembly polls in Punjab and referred to a fake letter which extended support to the AAP in the ongoing polls attributed to proscribed organisation Sikhs for JusticeKejriwal had trashed Vishwas charge dubbing it a comedy One day a poet Vishwas recited a poetry in which he said seven years ago Kejriwal had told him they will break the country into two parts after which I will become the PM of one and he the former AAP leader would become the PM of the other the Delhi chief minister has said He added After this Rahul Gandhi repeated this allegations PM Modi saw Rahuls speech and then realisation dawned on him that there is a big terrorist here in the country Thanks to that poet who caught this terrorist he said mocking the senior leaders of rival partiesKejriwal said he must be the worlds sweetest terrorist who builds schools and hospitals The group of poets said people in the literary world have played a critical role in revolutions and other crucial turns in history something Kejriwal might have forgottenWith the AAP seen to be a key contender for power in Punjab its rivals Congress and the BJP have seized on the row to corner KejriwalResponding to a letter from Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Centre has taken serious note of a pro-Khalistan groups letter extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party PTI KR TIR TIR

New Delhi Feb 18 PTIThe Centre has taken serious note of a pro-Khalistan groups letter extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party AAP Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday as the controversy over the letter created a flutter on the last day of campaigning in PunjabThe letter purportedly written by the Sikhs For Justice SFJ in Gurmukhi was forwarded to the home minister by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi along with a personal note saying the matter was serious and compromised the security and integrity of the nationShah in his reply to Channis letter said that no one will be allowed to play with Indias unity and integrityHe said it is highly condemnable that to grab power some people go to the extent of joining hands with the separatists and also go to the limits of breaking Punjab and the countryHe said this in reply to the letter written by Channi claiming that he had received a letter by SFJ which shows that the group is in constant touch with the AAPChanni claimed that in the SFJ letter it was mentioned that it had given its support to the AAP in the assembly elections in Punjab in 2017 and similarly in these polls tooThe SFJ has exhorted the electorate to vote for AAP Channi further claimedPolling for the Punjab assembly elections will be held on February 20I want to assure you that no one will be allowed to play with the unity and integrity of the country The government of India has taken the matter very seriously and I myself will look into the matter deeply Shah said in his responseHe said the issue of a political party having relations and getting support from a terrorist and banned organisation is a serious matter with regard to the unity and integrity of the countryShah said the agenda of such forces is no different from the agenda of countrys enemiesThis is highly condemnable that to grab power such people go to the extent of joining hands with the separatists and also go to the limits of breaking Punjab and the country he saidChanni in his letter said it was a very serious issue of compromising with the security and integrity of the country and thus needs to be thoroughly investigatedI would urge upon you to immediately get this matter investigated for taking appropriate action in this regard he saidIn addition Channi said Arvind Kejriwals one time close aide Kumar Vishwas has made serious allegations of the AAP co-founder and Delhi chief ministers links with the Khalistani forces These allegations also deserved to be probed comprehensively and necessary action taken accordingly I hope you would consider this and take appropriate necessary action immediately keeping in view the seriousness of the matter involved as Punjab has already suffered heavily due to these separatist forces he said PTI ACB SKL ZMN

Bathinda (Punjab) [India], February 17 (ANI): The political sphere in poll-bound Punjab heated up as Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi called Aam Aadmi Party's Chief Ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann a "drunkard and illiterate person".

Chandigarh [India], February 14 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday promised to provide one lakh government jobs to the youth if Congress voted to power in the State Assembly elections that are scheduled to take place on February 20.

Jalandhar (Punjab) [India], February 11 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey was produced before a court on Friday in connection with an alleged illegal sand mining case where he was sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 4 (ANI): Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday accused the Centre of misusing probe agencies to threaten people and pressurise opponents and said this should not be allowed.