Page 14 - Punjab

Punjab stalemate ends: Guv Purohit approves Sep 27 assembly session

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has approved the state government's request to hold a one-day assembly session on September 27, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan said Sunday, indicating the stalemate between the AAP dispensation and the government over the issue has ended. The governor's approval came a day after the AAP government informed him about the issues to be taken up during the session. "Hon. Governor, Punjab, has very kindly acceded to our request and summoned the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to meet for its third session on 27.9.2022 at 11.00 AM at Chandigarh," Speaker said in a tweet. The Bhagwant Mann-led government on Saturday informed the governor that the issues like stubble burning, goods and services tax and power supply will be discussed in the session on September 27. This came after the governor on Friday had asked for details of the legislative business to be taken up in the session, sparking a strong reaction from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who had said "it's too ..

Incessant rainfall in Punjab may damage Kharif crops, say experts

Incessant rain at many places in Punjab may cause damage to Kharif crops, especially paddy and cotton, farm experts said on Saturday. Besides delaying harvesting of crops, the untimely rain will not only affect the yield but also quality of crop, they said. Rain lashed parts of Punjab and Haryana, leading to a dip in the mercury by a few notches. Rain was witnessed in Punjab's Ludhiana, Mohali, Patiala, Mansa, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Amritsar and Bathinda and Haryana's Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Ambala and Sonipat, according to the Metrological Department here. According to farm experts, the untimely rain, if it continues for a few more days, will hit both paddy and cotton crops. "Rain at this stage if it continues for two-three days will affect the kharif crops. It will affect yield and quality of paddy crop which is at the harvesting stage," said Punjab Agriculture Department Director Gurwinder Singh. Farm experts fear that rain accompanied by wind can lead to flattening o

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit acting at behest of BJP, alleges AAP

The ruling AAP in Punjab on Saturday sharpened its attacked against Governor Banwarilal Purohit, alleging that he is acting at the behest of the BJP. The fresh attack came a day after the Governor's office sought details of the legislative business to be taken up in the September 27 Assembly session. Purohit had come under fire after he stopped the government from holding a special session of the Assembly on September 22 to bring a "confidence motion". AAP leader and state Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said the Punjab government does not want any confrontation but asserted that it will be unacceptable to the ruling party if anyone tries to deprive them of exercising their constitutional rights. Arora accused Purohit of cancelling the earlier special session scheduled for September 22 at the instance of the BJP-led Centre to make the party's "Operation Lotus" a success. The Governor is acting at the behest of the BJP, he alleged addressing the media here. Arora said it never happened

Punjab set for crop diversification if govt assures remunerative prices: CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that the state is fully ready to adopt crop diversification but the Centre must provide assured mechanism to give remunerative prices for these crops. The Centre must take this step for ensuring that farmers of the state shift from water guzzling crops to less water consuming crops, said the Chief Minister while addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Kisan Mela here at Punjab Agricultural University and Pashu Palan Mela at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. On the occasion, Mann also said that in coming days an important decision will be taken to get rid of the menace of paddy straw burning. The Chief Minister said that instead of paddy, the farmer of the state is ready to sow sunflower, maize and pulses but for that they must get adequate and assured price. He said that this will help in checking the depleting water table in the state on one hand and making agriculture a profitable venture on the ...

NGT slaps over Rs 2,000 crore fine on Punjab for failure to treat waste

The National Green Tribunal has imposed a penalty of over Rs 2,000 crore on the Punjab government for its failure to treat solid and liquid waste, leading to a huge gap in their generation and treatment. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel said corrective action cannot wait for an indefinite period and health issues be deferred for long. Responsibility of the State is to have a comprehensive plan to control pollution which is its absolute liability, which is not being understood. If there is deficit in budgetary allocations, it is for the state and the state alone to have suitable planning by reducing cost or augmenting resources, the bench said. It said that the compliance of environmental norms on the subject of waste management has to be high on priority. According to the NGT, the total compensation is rounded off at Rs 2,180 crore. Out of this, Punjab government has already deposited with the tribunal Rs 100 croe for its failure to prevent discharge of untreate

AAP legislators march against cancellation of Punjab Assembly session

AAP legislators on Thursday took out a march in protest against the cancellation of the special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here. Carrying placards with messages of "Stop murder of democracy" and "Operation Lotus murdabad'", the party MLAs slammed the Congress and the BJP for allegedly being hand in glove and working against holding the special session of the state assembly. However, the AAP legislators were stopped from moving towards the Governor's residence. Police had put up barricades around one km from the Vidhan Sabha complex. The protesting MLAs sat down where they were stopped and started shouting slogans against the Congress and BJP. No state minister was seen participating in the protest. The decision to take out the march was taken after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann chaired a meeting of AAP legislators at Vidhan Sabha complex Thursday morning to decide the next course of action after cancellation of the special session. The AAP legislators also hit out at Gove

CM Mann holds AAP's meeting after Punjab assembly session gets cancelled

A meeting of AAP legislators chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is here underway on Thursday to discuss the next strategy after the governor cancelled the special session of the state assembly called to bring a confidence motion. AAP legislators on Thursday morning reached the assembly complex for the meeting. A meeting of the Punjab Cabinet has also been called after the MLAs meeting, party sources said. Later, a march will also be taken out by the AAP legislators here, they said. AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha said the next strategy will be decided at the meeting. Another AAP MLA and senior leader Baljinder Kaur dubbed the governor's move of withdrawing his earlier order calling the special session as a "mockery of democracy". In an embarrassment to the AAP government in Punjab, Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday thwarted the Bhagwant Mann-led regime's plan to summon a special assembly session to bring a confidence motion. The governor withdrew an earlier order callin

BJP's expenses on assembly polls in five states up 58% to Rs 344 cr

In 2017, BJP had spent Rs 218.26 crore on the elections in the five states. In 2022, the expense was Rs 344 crore. Congress's bill rose from Rs 108.14 crore to Rs 194.80 during the same period

Punjab guv withdraws order summoning special Assembly session on Sep 22

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday withdrew his order summoning a special Assembly session on September 22 for the AAP govt to move a confidence motion. The Raj Bhavan cited absence of specific rules on summoning the Assembly for considering only a confidence motion. The decision came after Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma approached the governor, arguing that there was no legal provision to convene a special session of the Assembly to just move a 'confidence motion' in favour of the state government. The AAP government in Punjab had sought the special session to bring a confidence motion, days after it accused the BJP of trying to topple its government.

Student commits suicide at Punjab's university; peers protest on campus

A first-year student of a private university in Punjab's Phagwara committed suicide, triggering a protest by fellow students on the campus, police said on Wednesday. The student, who was from Kerala and was studying B.Design at Lovely Professional University (LPU), took the extreme step on Tuesday, they said. Soon after, other students of the university held a protest on the campus. Policemen have been deployed outside the university campus. Prima facie, the student was facing some personal issues, as was suggested by a suicide note left by him, a police official in Phagwara said. Police said the student's parents have been informed and an investigation is underway. A Kapurthala district administration official appealed to students not to believe any rumours. LPU said it is saddened by the unfortunate incident. "The initial investigation by the police, and the content of the suicide note point towards personal issues of the deceased. The university is providing full support to t

Stubble burning: Unhappy with Punjab govt plan, farmers want compensation

Farmers have indicated that they will continue with the practice unless the govt compensates them suitably for the expenses they will incur by adopting alternative methods of disposing of crop residue

Punjab CM Mann's deplaning row: Will certainly look into it, says Scindia

Amid Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann's deplaning controversy, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that he will look into the matter based on requests

Punjab prisons become first to allow conjugal visits for low-risk inmates

Prisoners in Punjab can now spend some time with their spouses as the prisons department has begun conjugal visits for inmates from Tuesday, claiming to be the first state to launch such a facility. Initially, conjugal visits will be allowed at the central jail in Goindwal Sahib, new district jail in Nabha and women's jail in Bathinda, a senior official of the prisons department said. Hardcore criminals, gangsters, high risk prisoners and inmates involved in sexual related offences will, however, not be allowed to avail this facility. The visits -- allowed for prisoners exhibiting good conduct -- will last for two hours and the department has designated a separate room with an attached bathroom, the official said. "Priority will be given to those inmates who have had the longest stay in jails," the official said. "According to the information we have, Punjab is the first state to implement conjugal visits in the country," he claimed. The department expects that this initiative wi

Students across universities in the region stand up for CU students

Student unions in universities across the state including Panjab University (Chandigarh) and others, have mobilised their cadre to raise support for Chandigarh Univesity students

Gehlot writes to Mann seeking timely completion of Budha Nullah project

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter to his Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, drawing the latter's attention to the issue of "untreated water" coming from Punjab into the canals of Rajasthan

Amarinder Singh joins BJP, merges Punjab Lok Congress with saffron party

Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress chief Amarinder Singh joined the BJP here on Monday in the presence of senior BJP leaders Narinder Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju. Singh also merged his newly formed Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Singh (80) had floated the PLC last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister, but his party failed to win any seat in the state assembly polls. Singh himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban. The PLC contested the elections in alliance with the BJP and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt). Along with Singh, former deputy speaker of Punjab Assembly Ajaib Singh Bhatti also joined the BJP. Singh, the two-time former chief minister, is the scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family. Before his joining, Singh met BJP president J P Nadda.

Considering restoration of old pension scheme, says Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said his government is considering restoring the old pension scheme for government employees. Restoration of the old pension scheme, which was discontinued in 2004, has been one of the major demands of the state government employees. "My government is considering reverting to the Old Pension System (OPS). I have asked my chief secretary to study the feasibility and modalities of its implementation. We stand committed to the welfare of our employees," Mann said on Twitter. In August last year, Aam Aadmi Party leader and incumbent Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had promised to restore the old pension system if the party was voted to power in Punjab. Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association chairman Sukhchain Singh Khaira welcomed the chief minister's announcement and said the state government employees have been struggling to get the old pension system restored.

Punjab CM Mann calls special Assembly session to conduct floor test

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday called a special session of the state Assembly on September 22 to seek a trust vote, days after the AAP accused the BJP of trying to topple its government. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state had earlier claimed that some of its MLAs were approached by the BJP with an offer of Rs 25 crore to each of them. "You must have heard how they tried to contact our MLAs and tried to offer money and other allurements in an attempt to topple the government which was elected with a huge mandate," Mann, who is in Germany, said in a video message in Punjabi. A few days ago, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had alleged that some BJP leaders had approached seven to 10 MLAs with money and ministerial positions under 'Operation Lotus'. "We are summoning a special session of Punjab Assembly on September 22 in which we will show how elected MLAs are determined to realise the dream of making the state vibrant...We will bring a trust vote in

Protests in CU over alleged objectionable videos of female students; 3 held

Protests rocked the campus of Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali Saturday night over allegations that objectionable videos of several women students were recorded by a hosteller, following which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ordered a probe. The protests continued on the campus till late Sunday night with senior officials from the district administration, police and university trying to pacify the students. After a preliminary investigation, police arrested a woman student, while a 23-year-old youth, stated to be her boyfriend, was held in Himachal Pradesh and handed over to the Punjab Police. The Himachal Police also detained another 31-year-old man in connection with the case. Punjab's Additional Director General of Police, Gurpreet Deo, who reached the Chandigarh University campus to take stock of the situation after the Saturday night protests, told reporters that the woman student appeared to have shared a video of herself with the youth and no objectionable video of any

Stir continues at Chandigarh University over 'leaked objectionable videos'

Donning black T-shirts, students of Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali district continued to protest demanding justice over the alleged 'leaked objectionable videos' on Sunday