New Delhi Apr 26 PTI Opposition BJP and Congress Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the knowledge sharing agreement signed between Punjab and Delhi governments alleging it was his way to control the AAP dispensation in the state from the national capital The MoU was signed by Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Singh Mann enabling the two AAP governments to send and receive officials ministers and other personnel to learn and share their knowledge experience and skills for public welfare BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that the purpose of the MoU was to enable Kejriwal to run Punjab by controlling the states bureaucracy This MoU btwn Punjab Delhi Govt is nothing less than a mortgage of Punjabs interest sovereignty to ArvindKejriwal Kejriwal Ji your East India company like agenda to control confiscate Punjab is not acceptable to Punjabis CM BhagwantMann we urge you not to surrender Sirsa tweeted after signing of the MoU Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar charged that Knowledge Sharing Agreement was Kejriwals devious method to remote-control the Punjab government in an unconstitutional manner The recent incident of Kejriwal meeting senior Punjab officials including the Chief Secretary of the state undermined the powers of the Punjab CM Kumar claimed BJP member and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri slammed the agreement saying Kejriwal wanted to rule Punjab sitting in Delhi In the name of this agreement Kejriwal will now summon ministers and officers of Punjab and run the government of the state from Delhi It will render Punjab Chief Minister into a puppet he alleged The AAP campaigned in Punjab elections selling its Delhi Model of governance so everyone knew the government in the state won by the party will follow it Bidhuri said and questioned the need of the MoU In a joint press conference with Mann after signing of the MoU Kejriwal hit back at Opposition parties over their criticism Manish Sisodia Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister visited Europe and Finland to learn about their education system It will be stupid if someone says the Delhi government is being run by Finland Recently Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin visited Delhi It cant be alleged that the Tamil Nadu government is being run from Delhi Kejriwal said The two-day visit of the Punjab Chief Minister to see working of Kejriwal governments schools hospitals and Mohalla Clinic concluded on Tuesday PTI VIT TIR TIR

Chandigarh Apr 23 PTI In a relief to Punjabs transporters whose business suffered during the Covid lockdown Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday allowed them to pay their motor vehicle tax without any penalty in the next three months Today we are fulfilling our promise to transporters Those transporters who could not pay motor vehicle tax due to the Covid lockdown can pay it now without any penalty or arrears in the next three months Mann said in a tweet in Hindi Transporters are the backbone of our economy and we stand by them in every need he added Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang later said the Mann governments amnesty scheme will provide relief to the states small transporters and give them another opportunity to pay taxes without any penalty The state revenue too will increase from this scheme and this will be used for more public welfare schemes he further said Through this scheme the transporters will get three months time from April 25 till July 24 The transporters who were unable to pay taxes due to the Covid lockdown will be given one more chance to pay taxes without any penalty he stated PTI CHS VSD RAX RAX

Chandigarh Apr 23 PTI In a relief to Punjabs transporters whose business suffered due to Covid pandemic Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday allowed them to pay motor vehicle tax without any penalty in the next three months Today we are fulfilling our promise made with transporters Because of corona virus those transporters who could not pay motor vehicle tax can now pay it without penalty or arrears in the next three months Mann said in a tweet in Hindi Transporters are the backbone of our economy and we stand by them in every need Mann added PTI CHS VSD RAX RAX

Chandigarh Apr 22 PTI Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the party lost the Punjab elections because of the mafia raj that prevailed in the state and it now needed to reinvent itself while praising Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as a younger brother and an honest man Without taking names he blamed Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi - the two Congress chief ministers who ran the state in the past five years for failing to crack down on the mafia He said he will support Mann whose Aam Aadmi Party trounced the Congress in the recent assembly polls if he fights the mafia He is an honest man Sidhu told reporters at the sidelines of an event where Amrinder Singh Raja Warring took charge as the state Congress president Sidhu had resigned from the same post after the partys defeat in the Punjab elections I did not speak earlier but everybody has a right to speak and I say today that the Congress lost because of the five-year rule of the mafia raj he added Sidhu said he has always fought against the mafia Though he did not elaborate he has in the past criticised his own Congress government in the state over alleged mafias in sand-mining transport and cable TV sectors My fight was not against any individual It was against the system and against some persons who were eating into the state like termites he said His fight is for Punjabs existence and not for any post the former cricketer said Till the time politics remains a business it will not be respected he said When Punjab becomes mafia-free the state will rise he added Sidhu said he considered Mann his younger brother whom he will support in the fight against the mafia He is an honest man I have never raised a finger at him If he fights against it my support is with him even rising above party lines because it is a fight for Punjabs existence In a tweet later he said The Congress will have to reinvent to come back to power Honest faces with moral authority and integrity will be the propellers We are fighting a battle of existence for this great state Its either the Mafia or Honest people he tweeted Sidhu indirectly referred to Amarinder Singh claiming that the former CM had said it was his mistake to have not stopped the mafia Without naming him he alleged that the CM had patronised the mafia Sidhu said questions were also raised about those who came after him an indirect reference to Charanjit Singh Channi who was appointed CM next Ahead of the Punjab polls the opposition had targeted Channi after the Enforcement Directorate arrested his relative Bhupinder Singh Honey in an alleged money laundering case linked to illegal sand-mining Honey is a son of Channis sister-in-law For months before the elections Sidhu had been questioning the leadership of the then chief minister Amarinder Singh He also took swipes occasionally at Channi The AAP stormed to power in the state after winning 92 seats out of 117 while the Congress got just 18 Following the partys drubbing in the five states that went to polls earlier this year Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had asked the party chiefs there to resign PTI CHS SUN VSD ASH ASH

Chandigarh Jan 30 PTI To increase voter awareness and participation in the February 20 Punjab Assembly polls the state Chief Electoral Officers CEO office unveiled its election mascot Shera on SundayFive persons with disabilities PwDs were specially invited on the occasion as the guests of honourSpeaking on the launch of the poll mascot through an online event Punjab CEO S Karuna Raju said dressed in traditional Punjabi attire Shera depicting a lion represents the rich cultural heritage of the statePromoted under the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation SVEEP project the mascot aims to increase voter awareness and participation in the upcoming polls and promote ethical voting according to an official statementAs part of the SVEEP plan posters effigies and huge cut-outs of Shera will be used besides extensively disseminating voter awareness messages on social media This will strike a chord with youngsters in particular Raju saidHe further said the voter awareness campaign has been conceived and executed keeping in mind Punjabs culture and the voters preferences Giving an example the CEO said various Nukkad Natak street plays and performances by theatre artistes are being organisedPTI SUN RC

Ludhiana Jan 29 PTI Only a BJP-led double-engine dispensation can restore Punjabs glory Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi said on Saturday asserting that massive development works were carried out by the saffron party-led Union government although it is not in power in the stateDescribing the people of Punjab as hard-working the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said that If good governance is provided then the state can move on the path of progressThat is possible only by a BJP-led government in the state she addedThe BJP has tied up with former chief minister Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress and SAD Sanyukt for the Punjab Assembly polls to be held on February 20Elaborating on the works done in the state from the funds received under various missions and schemes of the Union government Lekhi said when the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014 the total length of roads in Punjab was 1114 km which has now increased to 4100 kmAll this development has been done when the BJP is not in power in the state Development will be at a double pace when there is be a BJP-led Government in the state as well Lekhi added PTI COR SUN NSD

Chandigarh Jan 22 PTI Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said Charanjit Singh Channis denial of involvement in illegal sand mining was a total lie and alleged he had received inputs that the CM had a share in the mafia along with other Congress leaders and MLAs From top to bottom right up to the level of senior ministers many people were involved as I had told Sonia Gandhi while I was chief minister She asked me what action I was taking in the matter and I told her I will have to start from the top The one and only mistake I made during my entire tenure was that I did not take any action then out of my sense of loyalty to the Congress since I did not get a go-ahead from Sonia Gandhi said the Punjab Lok Congress PLC leader who was made to resign September last year as the chief minister While Channis involvement in the mining mafia and in the metoo incident had exposed him as a contemptible character unworthy of ruling Punjab Navjot Sidhus mental instability made him completely unfit to run the state Singh alleged terming both the Congress leaders utterly useless Expressing surprise he questioned what Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saw in these people and added that the Congresss decision to sideline him for such men was inexplicable A statement quoting an interview to a TV channel said that Singh spoke about Channis metoo case which he said was not pursued by the woman in question as she accepted the then ministers apology Had she wanted to pursue the case I would have taken action against Channi he said adding that his only role in the matter was to ask Channi to apologise to the officer which he did and the apology was accepted by the woman Channi was alleged to have sent an inappropriate text to an IAS officer in 2018 The former chief minister who made it clear that he will contest again from his home constituency of Patiala ruled out any challenge from the Congress or the other parties in the fray saying none of the CM faces or prospective CM candidates have the mental acumen to think about Punjabs future How can a man who claims to talk to God an hour every morning and evening be stable Singh asked referring to Sidhu The PPCC president can go around hugging Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani army chief as much as he likes but neither is it going to bring peace nor will people tolerate such things when Indian soldiers are being killed at the border every day he said adding that since 2017 Punjab alone had lost 83 soldiers to firing by the neighbouring nation The PLC chief labelled AAPs CM nominee Bhagwant Mann an out-and-out comedian which Punjab with its 600 km-long border with Pakistan did not need The people of Punjab will not be fooled by the antics of the Aam Aadmi Party and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal just as they were not fooled in 2017 he said rejecting any poll surveys putting the party ahead in the state He said the Badals and their Shiromani Akali Dal SAD were also not suitable for the state Singh said it was he as chief minister who had successfully brought the sacrilege cases to the court despite the hurdles and delays in getting them back from the CBI The former chief minister ruled out any post-poll tie-up with either the Congress or the AAP saying the PLC had an alliance with the BJP and the SAD Sanyukt which will definitely win the elections The three parties were working on a common minimum programme which would secure the future of Punjab and its people he said adding that the chief ministerial face of the alliance was yet to be decided PTI CHS VSD AAR

Chandigarh Jan 22 PTI There is a growing clamour within the Punjab Congress over the need to declare a chief ministerial candidate for next months assembly polls with many senior leaders throwing their weight behind Charanjit Singh Channi the states first chief minister from the schedule caste communityThough the Congress high command has so far maintained that the party will fight the February 20 elections to the 117-member assembly under a collective leadership many leaders in its state unit are seeking that the air surrounding the issue be cleared at the earliestThe party had declared its chief ministerial candidate ahead of the elections in 2012 and 2017 senior leader and minister Brahm Mohindra said adding that Channi has proved himself in the role in just three monthsThere should not be any confusion in the party about announcing the CM candidate when there is already one who has proved himself beyond everybodys expectations he saidChanni became chief minister last year after Amarinder Singh was made to resign from the post by the CongressThe clamour on the issue grows in the Congress state unit in the backdrop of the Aam Aadmi Party AAP which is emerging as strong contender for the polls declaring its MP and state unit chief Bhagwant Mann as its chief ministerial candidate The Shiromani Akali Dal SAD which has been the Congress main rival may not have formally named its candidate for the chief ministers post but its president Sukhbir Singh Badal is the likely choiceThe need to declare a chief ministerial candidate becomes more important for the Congress as the AAP has named Bhagwant Mann as its candidate while the SAD are projecting Sukhbir Badal for the post Mohindra saidMohindras cabinet colleague Rana Gurjeet Singh has too thrown his weight behind Channi saying raising a question mark about his continuation as chief minister after the party comes back to power can prove to suicidalChanni has done an exceedingly outstanding job in just three months Rana Gurjeet Singh saidCabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Shahkot MLA Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia are also backing the idea of having Channi as chief ministers if the party succeed in the pollsHowever Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala who was in Chandigarh this week while replying to a question on the issue said Sidhu ji Punjab Congress ke sardar hain Navjot Singh Sidhu is Punjab Congress chief Channi ji government ke sardar hain Channi is chief minister and we will contest elections under collective leadership A survey Who should be the CM face of the Congress in Punjab on Twitter by Nikhil Alva an aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shows that Channi is the choice with maximum 687 per cent of the total 1283 voters in the survey responding in his favourWhile this may not be a party survey but it also showed that 115 per cent voters batted for Sidhu followed by 93 per cent in favour of Sunil Jakhar while 104 per cent said there was no need for a chief ministerial cnadidateThe Congress on January 17 shared a short video showing actor Sonu Sood whose sister is contesting on a party ticket from Moga saying the real CM will be the one who deserves to be at the post and not that person who declares himself to be the chief ministerial candidateThe 36-second video on Twitter which was retweeted by the Punjab Congress ends with visuals of Charanjit Singh Channi at different programmes and eventsEven Channi who is from the scheduled caste community which enjoys a sizeable presence in the state had recently said that the Congress should declare its chief ministerial candidate and pointed out that it has been seen in the past that doing so has favoured the party reap electoral gainsThe Congress has gone on a counter offensive following attacks by opposition parties including the AAP the SAD and the BJP in the wake of the recent Enforcement Directorate ED raids in which cash amounting to over Rs 10 crore including about Rs 8 crore was seized from a relative of Channi in connection with an anti-money laundering investigation against illegal sand-mining operations in the poll-bound stateThe partys state unit has launched a campaign on social media stating that the entire state is with Charanjit Singh Channi and blaming the BJP-led Centre for trying to defame Punjabs first chief minister from the scheduled caste community PTI SUN VSD ANB ANB

Chandigarh Jan 21 PTI Under fire from its political rivals over the ED raids the Congress in Punjab has launched a campaign on social media stating that the entire state is with Charanjit Singh Channi and blaming the BJP-led Centre for trying to defame Punjabs first chief minister from the scheduled caste communityThe Enforcement Directorate ED on Wednesday had said it seized cash amounting to over Rs 10 crore including about Rs 8 crore from a relative of Channi during raids conducted in connection with an anti-money laundering investigation against illegal sand mining operations in the poll-bound stateIt had also said incriminating documents related to illegal sand mining and property transactions mobile phones gold worth more than Rs 21 lakh and a Rolex watch worth Rs 12 lakh were also seized during the searches that ended on WednesdayThe Punjab Congress has come out with a social media campaign PunjabChanniDeNaalHai and has posted video clips of several persons coming out in support of Chief Minister Channi on its Facebook pageChanni was appointed as the chief minister of Punjab last September after the Congress made Amarinder Singh resign from the postOpposition parties in Punjab have asked the Congress to explain the money recovered from the premises of Channis nephew during the ED raids with BJPs state unit dubbing the ruling party as GhotalebajCongress and CongressChorUnder the Punjab Congress social media campaign party MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra could be heard in a video lashing out at the BJP and accusing it of trying to defame Channi under a well-planned conspiracy He alleged that the Centre was misusing the ED against its political opponentsA person from Sri Hargobindpur while criticising the Centre for the ED raids claimed that entire Punjab was with ChanniSeveral such videos supporting Channi were uploaded on the Facebook page of the Punjab CongressThe Aam Aadmi Party AAP has been attacking Channi ever since the ED carried out the raidsAAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal had on Wednesday said Channi is not a common man but a dishonest man as he sought to corner the Congress leader over the raidsPunjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma on Thursday had said that the recovery of crores of rupees from Channis nephews premises has busted his chief minister false image of a humble common man Former Union minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal had on Thursday said that Channis family members had minted crore of rupees through illegal sand mining during his 111-day stint as the CM Channi on Wednesday had accused the BJP-led central government of hatching a conspiracy to trap him in the case in which raids were conducted by the ED The Congress on Thursday had complained to the Election Commission of India ECI seeking stern action against the ED officials for carrying out illegal and malafide raids to defame Channi and the incumbent state government PTI CHS SUN ANB ANB

Ludhiana Dec 23 PTI A bomb went off in the district court complex here on Thursday killing one person and injuring five others prompting the Punjab government to declare a high alert in the state Police suspect that the man killed in the blast in the second-floor bathroom was trying to set off the explosive device or may even have been a suicide bomber As forensic teams and specialised agencies were being summoned to the blast site Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi expressed apprehension that the explosion might have been an attempt to create anarchy in the poll-bound state The Union Home Ministry has sought a detailed report from the state government as early as possible It also wanted to be informed about the findings of the initial investigations The blast wrecked a wall of the bathroom shattered window panes in adjoining rooms and broke windscreens of some cars parked below triggering panic in the busy court complex Officials said the five people including two women were injured in the explosion were out of danger CM Channi accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu visited a hospital in Ludhiana to meet the injured He also summoned a meeting later in the day in Chandigarh The blast comes days after the alleged sacrilege bids at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and a gurdwara in Kapurthala followed by the lynching of two men Over the past onths there have also been cases of drones being spotted near the Pakistan border with authorities suspecting that they could have dropped arms or explosives Channi expressed fear that an attempt was being made to spread anarchy in Punjab ahead of the state assembly polls Our police is capable of maintaining law and order he saidBut which agencies which are trying to disturb Punjabs peace will become clear as investigations are on he said Earlier he told reporters in Chandigarh As elections near some anti-national and anti-state forces are trying to commit such disgusting acts and for this the government is alert and the people should also be alert he said Deputy CM Randhawa who is also the states home minister said some external forces could be trying to destabilise Punjab and alluded to Pakistan Punjab has been put on high alert he said Several advocates complained of lax security arrangements at the complex and Randhawa said more metal detectors will be installed there Asked if it could be a human bomb or a fidayeen suicide attack he minister nothing can be ruled out A DNA test will be conducted on the unidentified man found dead at the blast site he added CCTV footage will also be examined he said Ludhiana Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the area has been sealed and forensic teams will collect samples from the site Initial reports said two people were killed but police later clarified that only one man had died Former chief minister Amarinder Singh said he was saddened after hearing that two people had died PunjabPoliceInd must get to the bottom of this he tweeted Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed shock Pb govt must focus on law order instead of political vendetta to ensure peace communal harmony in State he said in a tweet The Aam Aadmi Party called it a conspiracy and said the Channi government had completely failed in maintaining law and order in the state PTI COR CHS SUN VSD ACB PYK ASH ASH