Amarinder hosts dinner in Delhi for select Punjab MPs
Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 Aug, 2021 10:34 AM
New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) A day after senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal hosted dinner for leaders cutting across party lines, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday held a similar event for party MPs and leaders from Punjab.
Those present at Amarinder Singh's dinner include former Union Minister Manish Tewari, who is part of 'G-23' bloc of party leaders who have sought wide-ranging reforms in the Congress, former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, MPs Santokh Chaudhry, and Preneet Kaur (the Chief Minister's wife), and few ministers from Punjab.
However, Rajya Sabha members Pratap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo were not present as both are considered from the opposite camp.
On the significance of the dinner, party sources say that Amarinder Singh is trying to fortify himself ahead of crucial state elections and muster support for himself.
The dinner came hours after Amarinder Singh met party interim chief Sonia Gandhi, in their first meeting after Navjot Singh Sidhu was appointed the Congress chief in Punjab despite the Chief Minister's opposition.
Their meeting lasted an hour, and sources said that the two leaders discussed the Assembly elections scheduled next year, besides talking about a minor reshuffle in the state cabinet.
Amarinder Singh's media advisor, Raveen Thukral, in a tweet, quoted the Chief Minister's statement after the meeting: "Met @INCIndia president #SoniaGandhi ji in Delhi this evening to discuss various state related issues. Spent an extremely satisfying one hour with her."
Ahead of the meeting, Amarinder Singh had detailed discussions with poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who had recently resigned as his advisor.
The Punjab Chief Minister then met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, from whom he demanded more Central forces be deployed in the state ahead of Independence Day.
Citing the escalating threat to the state's security from across the border, he asked Shah to urgently provide 25 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and anti-drone gadgets to the Border Security Force for protection from Pakistan-backed terror forces.
He also pressed the Union Home Minister for immediate repeal of the farm laws, which had caused great resentment amongst farmers from his and other states, stressing the social, economic and security implications of the prolonged farmers' agitation
With an outlay of Rs 75,000 crore for the PM KISAN scheme, the Modi government in the maiden Budget of its second term has allocated Rs 1,51,518 crore to the agriculture sector, which is a whopping 75 per cent hike year-on-year.
Newly-wed Trinamool MP Nusrat Jahan on Thursday sought to send a strong message of secularism, faith and humanity when she attended the International Society for Krishna Consciousness' (ISKCON) Rath Yatra event here.
Amidst a serene floral setup and multi-cuisine menu, newly-wed couple Nusrat Jahan and Nikhil Jain exuded charm as they personally welcomed a slew of eminent guests at a reception party here on Thursday.
India responded sharply to Pakistan police announcing a crackdown targeting 26/11 mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, describing it as a cosmetic step.
A court in Jodhpur rebuked Bollywood actor Salman Khan over his absence during a hearing in the blackbuck poaching case on Thursday, warning him it would cancel his bail if he fails to appear in the next hearing on September 27.
