Chandigarh, Nov 26 (IANS) Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday lashed out at Congress secretary in-charge of Punjab, Harish Chaudhary, over his baseless accusations of being hand in glove with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, when he was the Chief Minister.
Amarinder Singh said in a statement here that although he owed no explanation to "an out of job legislator who has been sacked as a minister in Rajasthan for being named as an accused in murder case of Kamlesh Prajapat, in Barmer, and inquiry for which has been handed over to the CBI by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ghelot", he still wanted to set the record straight.
"Had I had any understanding with the Prime Minister or the BJP when I was the Chief Minister, I would not have supported the farmers' agitation and demanded repealing of the agriculture laws and passed law in the Vidhan Sabha against these", Amarinder clarified.
He said as the Chief Minister and Home Minister of Punjab, he was supposed to meet the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister and so were his ministers who would meet their central counterparts.
"Even your new CM has met the PM and the Home Minister, and from your senseless logic then he should also be having an understanding with the BJP and waiting to be sacked", he taunted Chaudhary.
Amarinder Singh said it was for the first time that a party in-charge had made the state as his permanent abode.
"I have worked with 14 party in-charges like Pranab Mukherjee, Mohsina Kidwai, Janaradhan Dwivedi to name a few, and they would rarely interfere, leave aside visiting or settling down in Punjab", he recalled, while pointing out, "a party in-charge is not supposed to settle down in the state he is assigned but to facilitate interaction and feedback to the high command".
But, he added, here is a man, who has been sacked from the government for being named as an accused in a murder case in his home state, and is enjoying "Chief Ministerial power and privileges in Punjab, turning the Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi into a rubber stamp, by dictating terms to him".
He said Chaudhary has even been attending the Cabinet and other meetings of officers, which is illegal and unconstitutional.
The former Chief Minister questioned the legality of his getting a ministerial bungalow in Chandigarh and the entire Punjab Bhavan at his disposal, from where he commands and dictates orders to the Chief Minister, other ministers and the officers.
Fugitive liquor lord Vijay Mallya Thursday lost his application to appeal against extradition proceedings in the England Supreme Court, setting off the 28-day “mandatory period” for the 64-year-old businessman to be extradited to India on charges of fraud and money laundering related to unrecovered loans to his now non existent Kingfisher Airlines.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 270 billion dollar package to tackle the impact of coronavirus and weeks of lockdown. India would not be controlled by the virus, he said, also announcing "lockdown 4" after May 17 in a "completely different form", with new rules.
Heartfelt messages and prayers pour in for former Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, 87, who had undergone a heart surgery, had agreed to advise Punjab Government on ways to cope with the economic and humanitarian crisis in the wake of the pandemic. He complained of chest pain on Sunday evening and was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. (AIIMS)
Getting around Stanley Park since the pandemic struck is a new experience for Tom Green. Roads that weave through the urban forest in Vancouver have been closed to traffic, making space for residents to get fresh air at a physical distance.
The Punjab Police on Wednesday evening charged former state DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and six other police officials at Mohali in a 29-year-old case of alleged kidnapping, torture, and “stage-managed elimination” of Balwant Singh Multani, son of IAS officer Darshan Singh Multani. In the FIR filed, Palwinder Singh Multani, brother of the alleged victim, has named six other police officials, including DSP Baldev Singh Saini, Inspector Satvir Singh, SI Har Sahai Sharma, SI Jagir Singh, SI Anoop Singh and ASI Kuldip Singh.
British Columbia is unveiling a digital registration system for evacuees as the province prepares for the upcoming wildfire season while coping with physical distancing restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A statement from the Ministry of Public Safety says the new platform will allow communities to provide emergency support services, including evacuee self-registration and referrals.
