Chandigarh Dec 17 PTI The Punjab government has appointed Siddharth Chattopadhyaya as the officiating director general of police replacing an officer that state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu wanted removed from the top postChattopadhyaya replaces another senior IPS officer Iqbal Preet Singh SahotaThe order to appoint Chattopadhyaya as the officiating DGP was issued late Thursday nightA 1986-batch IPS officer Chattopadhyaya would hold this charge until a regular DGP is appointed out of a panel of three IPS officers shortlisted by the Union Public Service Commission The UPSC is set to hold a meeting for shortlisting the panel of three officers from the state governments list of 10 on December 21 in DelhiChattopadhyaya would also continue to hold the charge of chief director of the vigilance bureauSahota 1988-batch IPS officer was appointed as the officiating DGP after Charanjit Singh Channi became the chief minister of Punjab in September Sahota was considered as Channis choiceHowever Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has been pressing for replacing Sahota who had remained the head of the special investigation team formed by the previous SAD-BJP government to probe desecration incidentsSidhu was learnt to have been backing the name of Chattopadhyaya as the DGP after Channi replaced Amarinder Singh as the Punjab chief ministerLast month the Channi government replaced the states advocate general A P S Deol after strong opposition from SidhuLater senior advocate D S Patwalia was appointed as the AG PTI CHS VSD RHL

Chandigarh Nov 26 PTI Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday once again questioned his partys government in the state asking why it did not move the apex court against the blanket bail given to former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini by the state high court He also took a dig at his predecessor Sunil Jakhar saying he never raised the issue and inviting a sarcastic reply on Twitter from him Saini figures as an accused in the case involving the police firing on people protesting the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjabs Faridkot district in 2015 Speaking to reporters in Amritsar Sidhu questioned the government over the steps taken in desecration cases and not making public the STF report on the drug issue I keep giving reminders regularly What is my interest Yesterday I said this from the stage in Moga The earlier president keeps tweeting but did he ever raise these issues Sidhu asked taking a swipe at Jakhar Jakhar responded with a couplet which means the idol is calling him an infidel Sidhu said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the completion of the probe into the Kotkapura police firing incident preferably within six months but the deadline has already passed Why no special leave petition was filed against the blanket bail to Saini one of the accused in the police firing incidents he asked If that accused has got a blanket bail how will the investigation be completed he questioned Everyone including me asks what is the governments intent If Saini got a blanket bail by the high court did you file an SLP On September 10 he got a blanket bail was the SLP filed against it he asked On the special task force report on drugs he asked the state government who stopped it from making it public He asserted that he always appreciates any good work done by the state government Replying to a question Sidhu asserted that there is good coordination between the party and the state government though he added he would keep raising public issues Sidhu said he had talked about a reduction in power fuel and sand prices which have now been lowered The BJP took a dig at the Congress saying Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu have made a tamasha of the entire state It has always been clear that Channi and Sidhu are not on the same page because of their conflict of interests but it is a shame that in the process they have made Punjab an ugly stage of political gimmicks BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said in a statement Chugh alleged that the AAP and the Akali Dal were also doing the same to the state Instead of making sensible statements and promises to the people they are ridiculing people of Punjab by making false and baseless promises he said Chugh said the way Channi and Sidhu have been working at cross purposes indicated that the Congress high command has no idea how a sensitive border state like Punjab has been handed over to political tamashbeens onlookers The Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed in April the Punjab Police SIT probe into the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident The probe was conducted by an SIT team headed by the then IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh who later took premature retirement Following the order a new special investigation team was formed on May 7 this year The new SIT was led by Additional Director General of Police L K Yadav The state had witnessed the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and subsequent police firing on people protesting the desecration in Faridkot in 2015 One incident of police firing had taken place at Kotkapura and second at Behbal Kalan in Faridkot PTI SUN VSD RAX RAX

New Delhi [India], November 20 (ANI): After controversy erupted over Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu calling Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan "elder brother", Amit Malviya, the head of BJP IT Cell on Saturday alleged that Congress is using Sidhu to make remarks on Pakistan to appease minorities in India and get their votes.

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], November 8 (ANI): Slamming Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi-led state government over the progress in the Kotkapura police firing incident, state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday alleged that it has been six months since the third Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the incident but no chargesheet has been filed so far in the case.