Saran (Bihar) [India], July 24 (ANI): Six people were killed when a house collapsed due to a blast at Chhapra in Saran district of Bihar on Sunday, said Saran Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar.

Chandigarh Mar 25 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said former MLAs will now get pension for only one term doing away with the practice of drawing the benefit for each term served by them An MLA gets a pension of around Rs 75000 per month for one term Thereafter an additional 66 per cent of the pension amount is given for each subsequent term More than 250 former MLAs are are getting pension at present Ex-MLAs in Punjab even if they have won twice five times or ten times they will now get pension for one term only said Mann in a video message while adding that several MPs are also getting pension for remaining MLAs earlier The CM said money saved from it will be spent on the welfare of people Our political leaders including MLAs seek votes from you with folded hands by saying that give us a chance to serve you Mann said addressing people But you will be surprised to know that several MLAs who won thrice four times or five times and then after losing the elections or after not getting tickets for contesting the polls get lakhs of rupees in pension per month Mann said Somebody gets Rs 350 lakh and somebody gets Rs 450 lakh and somebody gets Rs 525 lakh as pension It puts a financial burden of crores of rupees on the exchequer Mann said A reduction will also be made in their family pensions as well Mann stated Mann said he has given necessary directions to officials in this regard The CM later in a tweet said Today we have taken another big decision The pension formula for Punjabs MLAs will be changed MLAs will now be eligible for only one pension Thousands of crores of rupees which were being spent on MLA pensions will now be used to benefit the people of Punjab A few days ago SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal who is 11-time legislator had said he will not accept pension as an ex-MLA The nonagenarian had asked the Punjab government and the Vidhan Sabha speaker to divert his pension to some social work preferably to help some needy girl students in their education Had Badal decided not to forego the pension he would have received more than Rs 5 lakh per month as pension Meanwhile Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira welcomed the decision I welcome the decision of one pension to ex-MLAs taken by BhagwantMann particularly in view of the colossal debt of Rs 3 Lac Cr on which were paying an annual interest of Rs 30 K One pension is justified as lots of MLAs have virtually contributed their lifetime in politics said Khaira in a tweet Congress MLA and former minister Pargat Singh too hailed the move I welcome the one MLA one pension decision of BhagwantMann Govt This will reduce the burden on Punjabs finances As the main opposition we will continue to play a constructive and responsible role Punjab comes first to us said the Jalandhar Cantt MLA Former Congress MLA Kuldip Vaid accused AAP of presenting wrong facts AAP has wrongly propagated that if one becomes MLA for five times then he will get five pensions It is wrong Only an increment is given Therefore I do not agree with Bhagwant Manns decision of stoppingthe increment Yes percentage can be reduced said the former MLA from Gill seat in Ludhiana How an MLA who does not have any business or resources will run his house he asked Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema also welcomed the decision of the AAP government PTI CHS VSD RDK

Chandigarh Mar 25 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said former MLAs will now get pension for only one term doing away with the practice of drawing the benefit for each term served by them An MLA gets a pension of around Rs 75000 per month for one term Thereafter an additional 66 per cent of the pension amount is given for each subsequent term More than 250 former MLAs are getting pension at present Ex-MLAs in Punjab even if they have won twice five times or ten times they will now get pension for one term only said Mann in a video message while adding that several MPs are also getting pension for remaining MLAs earlier The CM said money saved from it will be spent on the welfare of people Our political leaders including MLAs seek votes from you with folded hands by saying that give us a chance to serve you Mann said addressing people But you will be surprised to know that several MLAs who won thrice four times or five times and then after losing the elections or after not getting tickets for contesting the polls get lakhs of rupees in pension per month Mann said Somebody gets Rs 350 lakh and somebody gets Rs 450 lakh and somebody gets Rs 525 lakh as pension It puts a financial burden of crores of rupees on the exchequer Mann said A reduction will also be made in their family pensions as well Mann stated Mann said he has given necessary directions to the officers concerned in this regard A few days ago SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal who is 11-time legislator had said he will not accept pension as an ex-MLA The nonagenarian had asked the Punjab government and the Vidhan Sabha speaker to divert his pension to some social work preferably to help some needy girl students in their education Had Badal decided not to forego the pension he would have received more than Rs 5 lakh per month as pension Meanwhile Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira welcomed the decision I welcome the decision of one pension to ex-MLAs taken by BhagwantMann particularly in view of the colossal debt of Rs 3 Lac Cr on which were paying an annual interest of Rs 30 K One pension is justified as lots of MLAs have virtually contributed their lifetime in politics said Khaira in a tweet Congress MLA and former minister Pargat Singh too hailed the move I welcome the one MLA-one pension decision of BhagwantMann Govt This will reduce the burden on Punjabs finances As the main opposition we will continue to play a constructive and responsible role Punjab comes first to us said the Jalandhar Cantt MLA Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema also welcomed the decision of the AAP government PTI CHS VSD RDK RDK

Chandigarh Mar 23 PTI Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Wednesday took on the Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab for its failure to give representation to the Dalit community in the nominations filed for the Rajya Sabha While on one hand the Aam Aadmi Party AAP claimed to follow footsteps of Baba Sahib Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on the other it failed to field a person belonging to the Dalit community for the Rajya Sabha polls Khaira in a statement AAP had nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal Delhi MLA Raghav Chadha IIT-Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the Rajya Sabha from Punjab Khaira said Bhagwant Manns announcement of installing statues of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar and first Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex was a welcome step However the AAP government is required to walk the talk on the Dalit community said the Bholath MLA If AAP was serious to uplift the downtrodden and sincerely adhere to the ideology of Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar the same should reflect in its actions also he said On Tuesday Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had criticised AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for his partys Rajya Sabha picks PTI CHS VSD RDK RDK

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], October 19 (ANI): The seat of 26-Bholath Assembly constituency in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha has fallen vacant following the resignation of Congress leader Sardar Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat stated in a notification on Tuesday.