News Analysis India

Tag: Bhagwant Mann

  • AAP’s Media Crackdown: Zee News Channel Faces Blackout In Mann Ruled Punjab |

    The Bhagwan led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has stopped the telecast of Zee News channel in the state. The black out of the media group comes without any formal notice by the Punjab government. Zee News’ viewers in Punjab have confirmed that they are unable to access the channel. Our viewers termed Mann government’s decision as ‘dictatorial’ and likened it to ban on the press during emergency.

    ZEE NEWS has always done journalism based on facts. As the oldest channel in the country, we understand our responsibility towards the people. The Mann government’s action comes amidst our coverage of the Punjab Lok Sabha elections where we raised the issues of the people and highlighted the shortcomings of the government.

    The same thing happened during the Emergency. Then the government collapsed. Whenever there has been an attempt to suppress the fourth pillar of democracy… the result has not been good.

    No matter how hard Arvind Kejriwal or Bhagwant Mann try, Zee News will continue to show the truth. The reality of people like Kejriwal, who cannot face the truth, will continue to reach the people. The people of Punjab are with Zee News.

  • Arvind Kejriwal: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann meets Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail: ‘Being treated like hardcore criminal’ – The Economic Times Video

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail on Monday and alleged the AAP chief was not being given amenities that are provided even to hardcore criminals. Mann, who was accompanied by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, said they met Kejriwal for half-an-hour but they were separated by a glass wall and interacted over a phone call.

  • Punjab: SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal slams CM Mann on Tarn Taran case ‘Aise CM Ko Chullu Bhar Paani…’ – The Economic Times Video

    Shiromani Akali Dal’s MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal slammed Aam Aadmi Party on April 7 in Punjab’s Bathinda over horrific Tarn Taran incident. Harsimrat Kaur Badal hit out at Punjab CM’s Bhagwant Mann and alleged that such a Chief Minister should drown himself in water as even after 15 days the culprits are not being arrested. She also made pointing remarks on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said that even after going to jail, he doesn’t want to leave the CM seat and this has exposed AAP. While addressing to media, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said, aise Chief Minister ko Chullu bhar paani me doob jaana chahiye, even after 15 days, culprits of Tarn Taran incident are not being arrested. Even after going to jail, He doesn’t want to leave the CM seat and this has exposed AAP.”

  • Arvind Kejriwal: Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest: AAP faces leadership crisis ahead of Lok Sabha election

    New Delhi: The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy scam case has posed a leadership crisis question before the AAP as well as the Delhi government, with his wife Sunita Kejriwal and cabinet ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj being talked about as his possible replacement. The challenge before the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) now is to come up with a worthy leader who could handle both the party and its government in Delhi in absence of Kejriwal.

    However, it’s indeed a big task for the AAP leadership to come up with a name of a leader that at least comes closer to Kejriwal’s stature as convener of the party since its inception in 2012 and holding Delhi Chief Minister’s post for three terms spanning nearly a decade.

    The urgency of the task becomes even more pressing as the AAP is gearing up to contest the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Assam and Haryana in which Kejriwal was to be a key campaigner of the party. Apart from Sunita Kejriwal, a former IRS officer, the names of AAP government ministers Atishi and Bharadwaj too are taking rounds for the post of Delhi chief minister.

    Atishi, who holds the maximum number of portfolios in the Delhi government, including education, finance, PWD, revenue and services, is considered close to Arvind Kejriwal.

    She is also a frontline spokesperson of the party defending the AAP government and Kejriwal, and attacking the BJP in her regular press conferences and appearances on news channels. Likewise, Bharadwaj is also a prominent member of the Delhi Cabinet holding several important portfolios including health and urban development. He, too, is a well known face of the party, often engaged in defending the party and its leaders and counter-attacking the BJP and its government at the Centre on a range of governance-related and political issues.

    However, in December last year, the AAP launched a signature campaign ‘Mai Bhi Kejriwal’, asking people whether he should resign as Delhi chief minister or run the government from jail if arrested.

    During the campaign, the AAP supremo also met party MLAs and municipal corporation councilors in Delhi for their feedback on the issue.

    Bharadwaj recently told reporters in a press conference, “Nearly 90 per cent of people in this exercise opined that Kejriwal has the mandate of Delhi and he has been elected and hence, only he would run the government in Delhi no matter from where.”

    The AAP leadership also has to find a replacement of Kejriwal to head the party that runs governments in Delhi and Punjab besides having MLAs in Gujarat and Goa as well.

    In this area also, the options of the party are rather limited.

    Apart from Sunita Kejriwal, name of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Atishi too are taking rounds as leaders who could hold the responsibility of new AAP national convener.

  • “World’s biggest party caught stealing votes”, Kejriwal led AAP protests against BJP

    Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other party leaders, protested in Delhi against the BJP over the Chandigarh mayoral elections.”BJP messes up in elections; there were often allegations that BJP wins elections by messing up; BJP steals election votes, tampers with EVMs, gets names removed from the voter list, and adds fake names, we heard. We used to hear that fake votes were cast, but never found any proof. There is a verse written in the Gita, Yada Yada hi Dharmasya Glanirbhavati Bharata: whenever too much sin is committed on this earth, then the God above will come to the earth. This election in Chandigarh shows that they are the pot of sin. How did it get filled? When the pot of sin gets filled too much, then nature moves its broom, God moves its broom, and corrects things. The Chandigarh election was a small one. The world’s biggest party was caught stealing votes in the Chandigarh elections; it was caught red-handed.” said CM Kejriwal at Delhi while addressing the protest.”We have not come here to seek power. Elections keep coming. Parties keep on coming and going. Leaders keep on coming. Leaders keep on coming. Today the BJP is ruling; tomorrow someone else will be. There should not be any playing with our democracy; those who have started playing with the elections, those who are playing with the democracy, were caught on camera,” the CM added.Speaking about the potential misuse of election machinery on a large scale in the Lok Sabha election, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “If they can create such a big mess in a small election like Chandigarh, then it is obvious that they can create such a big mess in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, whether it is so or not, no matter how they come in front of the country. This is a wrong thing, so friends, we strongly condemn it and today, from this platform, I want to warn the people of the country that when you come after casting your vote, you think that you voted for a particular party, but after that, your vote gets counted. What happens is nothing; you press someone’s button inside the machine, the vote goes to someone’s account, and someone’s name is removed from the voter list, If democracy is in danger, election are meaningless.”

    “We all have to come together and raise our voice against it, under any circumstances, we should not let democracy die; do not let the country be tampered with. Now we will not make any mess in a peaceful manner; we will peacefully go towards the headquarters of BJP. We will stop wherever the police stop us, we should not not have to quarrel with the police,” said CM Kejriwal.

    Earlier the Delhi Chief Minister skipped the fifth summons from the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged Delhi Liquor scam. Kejriwal and his party have called the summons illegal.The BJP however accused the Delhi CM of running away from the investigative agency.”Arvind Kejriwal, if there is nothing to hide…then why are you not presenting yourself before the ED and other agencies? You are the same Kejriwal who, under Anna Hazare’s tutelage, said that first there should be resignation and then investigation. Today you refuse to cooperate with investigation. You say that these are all politically motivated, as if doing ‘bhrashtachar’ is your ‘shishtachar’…How long will you play this victimhood card?…This is the ‘charitra’ of INDI alliance, that the only thing that binds them is commission and corruption, not a mission or vision” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said.

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

  • Punjab CM responds to Guv Purohit’s Prez rule threat, cites silence of his counterparts in BJP-ruled states

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday alleged that Governor Banwarilal Purohit was threatening to impose President’s rule in the state, while his counterparts in Manipur and Haryana are observing silence on the law and order situation there.

    Purohit had on Friday warned the Mann government that he could recommend President’s rule in the state and also launch criminal proceedings if his letters are not answered.

    Purohit has been accusing Mann of not responding to the letters sent to him in defiance of his authority, whereas Mann has claimed he has replied to all but seven such missives he has received.

    “The threat which the governor gave to the people of Punjab, peace loving people of the state, I will call it a threat of imposition of the President’s rule. He said I will recommend Article 356 and will recommend Governor’s rule,” Mann said at a press conference.

    He said the Punjab Governor wrote 16 letters to him, nine of which have been responded to, and the rest are awaiting details.

    The governor should not be in a hurry to write a letter and expect an immediate reply, he said.

    Mann said that while his government had been taking proactive steps to tackle the scourge of drugs, confiscating, raiding properties of smugglers, and going after gangsters with the formation of an Anti-Gangster Task Force, the governor claims law and order in the state is not good.

    “I want to ask Governor Sahab, has the Haryana Governor issued any notice to Haryana Chief Minister Khattar regarding what happened in Nuh, communal clashes and violence which took place there and curfew that had to be imposed? Did the Haryana governor write any letter to Khattar? No, because their government is also ruling at the Centre,” he said.

    He said the Punjab governor was concerned about law and order in Punjab, but never gave a statement on Manipur which is racked with ethnic violence.

    “Is the Constitution not applicable in Manipur?” In Uttar Pradesh, a murder takes place in front of journalists, “but will the UP Governor dare issue any letter to Yogi Adityanath questioning law and order” asked the CM, apparently referring to the brazen gunning down of Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed in April this year.

    Most people would not know of their governors’ names, except those in Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, because they all are ruled by the non-BJP governments, Mann claimed.

    In his latest communication on Friday, the governor indicated he was upset over not getting any reply to his previous letters and told the Punjab chief minister that he could send a report to the President on the failure of constitutional mechanisms in the state.

    Purohit advised Mann to act before he takes his final decision under Article 356 of the Constitution and section 124 of the Indian Penal Code.

    A state is brought under direct rule of the Centre with the invocation of Article 356, usually after a report is sent by the governor. Section 124 of the IPC relates to assaulting or wrongfully restraining the President or a governor from exercising their lawful powers.

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday alleged that Governor Banwarilal Purohit was threatening to impose President’s rule in the state, while his counterparts in Manipur and Haryana are observing silence on the law and order situation there.

    Purohit had on Friday warned the Mann government that he could recommend President’s rule in the state and also launch criminal proceedings if his letters are not answered.

    Purohit has been accusing Mann of not responding to the letters sent to him in defiance of his authority, whereas Mann has claimed he has replied to all but seven such missives he has received.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    “The threat which the governor gave to the people of Punjab, peace loving people of the state, I will call it a threat of imposition of the President’s rule. He said I will recommend Article 356 and will recommend Governor’s rule,” Mann said at a press conference.

    He said the Punjab Governor wrote 16 letters to him, nine of which have been responded to, and the rest are awaiting details.

    The governor should not be in a hurry to write a letter and expect an immediate reply, he said.

    Mann said that while his government had been taking proactive steps to tackle the scourge of drugs, confiscating, raiding properties of smugglers, and going after gangsters with the formation of an Anti-Gangster Task Force, the governor claims law and order in the state is not good.

    “I want to ask Governor Sahab, has the Haryana Governor issued any notice to Haryana Chief Minister Khattar regarding what happened in Nuh, communal clashes and violence which took place there and curfew that had to be imposed? Did the Haryana governor write any letter to Khattar? No, because their government is also ruling at the Centre,” he said.

    He said the Punjab governor was concerned about law and order in Punjab, but never gave a statement on Manipur which is racked with ethnic violence.

    “Is the Constitution not applicable in Manipur?” In Uttar Pradesh, a murder takes place in front of journalists, “but will the UP Governor dare issue any letter to Yogi Adityanath questioning law and order” asked the CM, apparently referring to the brazen gunning down of Mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed in April this year.

    Most people would not know of their governors’ names, except those in Punjab, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, because they all are ruled by the non-BJP governments, Mann claimed.

    In his latest communication on Friday, the governor indicated he was upset over not getting any reply to his previous letters and told the Punjab chief minister that he could send a report to the President on the failure of constitutional mechanisms in the state.

    Purohit advised Mann to act before he takes his final decision under Article 356 of the Constitution and section 124 of the Indian Penal Code.

    A state is brought under direct rule of the Centre with the invocation of Article 356, usually after a report is sent by the governor. Section 124 of the IPC relates to assaulting or wrongfully restraining the President or a governor from exercising their lawful powers.

  • Punjab Congress chief urges CM Mann to consider release of Navjot Sidhu from jail

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Saturday appealed to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to consider early release of Navjot Singh Sidhu who is serving a year-long sentence in Patiala central prison in a 1988 road rage death case.

    The appeal comes a day after the Punjab Cabinet approved a proposal of granting special remission to five convicts serving terms in jails. However, the name of Sidhu does not figure in the list.

    “I appeal to Chief Minister @BhagwantMann Sahab to consider the early release of senior @INCIndia leader @sherryontopp Navjot Singh Sidhu Ji also. Matters of justice should be treated above the partisan divide,” Warring tweeted.

    There had been speculations that Sidhu might be granted special remission on Republic Day.

    Several Punjab Congress leaders, including former Punjab Congress chief Shamsher Singh Dullo, had last month lambasted the AAP government for not releasing Sidhu.

    On May 20 last year, Sidhu, the former Punjab Congress chief, was jailed following his surrender before a court in Patiala after he was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court.

    The top court had, in its order, said any sympathy in imposing an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law.

    Though the court had in May 2018 held Sidhu guilty of “voluntarily causing hurt” to the man, it had spared him a jail term and imposed on him a fine of Rs 1,000.

    The Punjab Cabinet on Friday gave approval for sending the case of special remission to convicts confined in jails of Punjab in the second phase to commemorate the 75th Independence Day of the country being celebrated as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

    Similarly, a green signal was also given for sending the cases seeking the premature release of life convicts confined in the jails of the state.

    After the Cabinet’s nod under Article 163 of the Constitution of India, these special remission/premature release cases will be submitted to Punjab Governor under Article 161 of the constitution, an official statement said.

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Saturday appealed to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to consider early release of Navjot Singh Sidhu who is serving a year-long sentence in Patiala central prison in a 1988 road rage death case.

    The appeal comes a day after the Punjab Cabinet approved a proposal of granting special remission to five convicts serving terms in jails. However, the name of Sidhu does not figure in the list.

    “I appeal to Chief Minister @BhagwantMann Sahab to consider the early release of senior @INCIndia leader @sherryontopp Navjot Singh Sidhu Ji also. Matters of justice should be treated above the partisan divide,” Warring tweeted.

    There had been speculations that Sidhu might be granted special remission on Republic Day.

    Several Punjab Congress leaders, including former Punjab Congress chief Shamsher Singh Dullo, had last month lambasted the AAP government for not releasing Sidhu.

    On May 20 last year, Sidhu, the former Punjab Congress chief, was jailed following his surrender before a court in Patiala after he was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court.

    The top court had, in its order, said any sympathy in imposing an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law.

    Though the court had in May 2018 held Sidhu guilty of “voluntarily causing hurt” to the man, it had spared him a jail term and imposed on him a fine of Rs 1,000.

    The Punjab Cabinet on Friday gave approval for sending the case of special remission to convicts confined in jails of Punjab in the second phase to commemorate the 75th Independence Day of the country being celebrated as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

    Similarly, a green signal was also given for sending the cases seeking the premature release of life convicts confined in the jails of the state.

    After the Cabinet’s nod under Article 163 of the Constitution of India, these special remission/premature release cases will be submitted to Punjab Governor under Article 161 of the constitution, an official statement said.

  • Labourers protest outside Punjab CM’s residence seeking land for poor Dalits, lathi-charged

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Police lathi-charged labourers protesting outside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur district on Wednesday.

    A senior police official, however, claimed that the police did not use force against the protesters.

    Hundreds of labourers, under the banner of Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha, were protesting against the Aam Aadmi Party government in support of various demands including seeking five marla plots for poor Dalits, representation of labourers in village cooperative societies and allotment of one-third of panchayat land to Dalits.

    The Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha ended its protest after the district administration assured its representatives of a meeting with the chief minister on December 21.

    Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union president Zora Singh Nasrali said police lathi-charged protesters when they were trying to move towards Mann’s residence in Dreamland Colony on Patiala road.

    Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba, however, denied the use of force by police against the protesters.

    Some protesters turned aggressive and tried to scuffle with policemen but the situation was handled, he said.

    Heavy police force was deployed and barricades were put up by police near Mann’s residence.

    Protesters owing allegiance to various labour unions including Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, Dehati Mazdoor Sabha, Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, Pendu Mazdoor Union and Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union took part in the protest.

    CHANDIGARH: Police lathi-charged labourers protesting outside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Sangrur district on Wednesday.

    A senior police official, however, claimed that the police did not use force against the protesters.

    Hundreds of labourers, under the banner of Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha, were protesting against the Aam Aadmi Party government in support of various demands including seeking five marla plots for poor Dalits, representation of labourers in village cooperative societies and allotment of one-third of panchayat land to Dalits.

    The Sanjha Mazdoor Morcha ended its protest after the district administration assured its representatives of a meeting with the chief minister on December 21.

    Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union president Zora Singh Nasrali said police lathi-charged protesters when they were trying to move towards Mann’s residence in Dreamland Colony on Patiala road.

    Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba, however, denied the use of force by police against the protesters.

    Some protesters turned aggressive and tried to scuffle with policemen but the situation was handled, he said.

    Heavy police force was deployed and barricades were put up by police near Mann’s residence.

    Protesters owing allegiance to various labour unions including Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, Dehati Mazdoor Sabha, Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, Pendu Mazdoor Union and Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union took part in the protest.

  • Guj polls: Punjab CM steps up AAP’s free power pitch, brings bunch of 25,000 ‘zero’ electricity bills

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD:  Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday brought a bunch of 25,000 “zero” electricity bills from his state and added the people of Gujarat will get similar bills if Aam Aadmi Party is voted to power in the Assembly polls.

    Providing free electricity up to 300 units per month is one of the main election “guarantees” of AAP in Gujarat.

    Voting for 182 Assembly seats will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. The campaigning for the first phase ended on Tuesday evening.

    Addressing a press conference here, Mann said the zero electricity bills were received by 61 lakh out of the 75 lakh households in Punjab, which is a testimony of AAP’s commitment that it walks the talk.

    “I have brought 25,000 zero electricity bills with the names and addresses which you can check. To date, there are around 75 lakh electric metres in Punjab. As many as 61 lakh households have received zero electricity bills.”

    “The number of such bills for December will be 67 lakh because of low consumption in winter. The same will increase to 71 lakh in January. We do what we say, and we say what we can do. The same can happen in Gujarat. We have made a promise and will deliver,” he said.

    Mann said the Punjab government has set up 100 mohalla clinics till August 15 and plans to establish more than 500 more such clinics by January 26.

    The AAP government in Punjab had also guaranteed to revert to the old pension scheme (OPS) and the notification for the same has been issued, Mann said.

    “Not just that, our government also stopped the pension to legislatures that saved crores of rupees of public exchequer,” he added.

    Mann was referring to the amendment bill passed in June this year by the Legislative Assembly putting an end to multiple pensions to ex-MLAs for every term served.

    “The government’s work is to collect tax and give it back to the people in the form of free electricity, infrastructure, roads, colleges, and mohalla clinics. We are setting up 16 medical colleges,” he said.

    Mann took potshots at the “so-called Gujarat model”, saying when one goes off the highways in the state, “roads exist in potholes rather than potholes in roads”.

    With all the promises announced by the AAP, the people of Gujarat will be able to save Rs 30,000 from the very first month after the party forms a government.

    “6.5 crore people of Gujarat are ready for a change. The situation is the same as what I saw in Punjab (before the elections which AAP had won hands down),” he said.

    Downplaying surveys predicting a certain number of seats AAP might win in Gujarat, Mann said the party “does not figure in surveys but ends up forming a government”. “Surveys are being written by people sitting at home,” he added.

    Mann said AAP’s agenda does not match with the ruling BJP and it will be wrong to call the Kejriwal-led party a “B-team” of BJP. “The AAP is the A team of the 130 crore people of the country,” he added.

    AHMEDABAD:  Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday brought a bunch of 25,000 “zero” electricity bills from his state and added the people of Gujarat will get similar bills if Aam Aadmi Party is voted to power in the Assembly polls.

    Providing free electricity up to 300 units per month is one of the main election “guarantees” of AAP in Gujarat.

    Voting for 182 Assembly seats will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. The campaigning for the first phase ended on Tuesday evening.

    Addressing a press conference here, Mann said the zero electricity bills were received by 61 lakh out of the 75 lakh households in Punjab, which is a testimony of AAP’s commitment that it walks the talk.

    “I have brought 25,000 zero electricity bills with the names and addresses which you can check. To date, there are around 75 lakh electric metres in Punjab. As many as 61 lakh households have received zero electricity bills.”

    “The number of such bills for December will be 67 lakh because of low consumption in winter. The same will increase to 71 lakh in January. We do what we say, and we say what we can do. The same can happen in Gujarat. We have made a promise and will deliver,” he said.

    Mann said the Punjab government has set up 100 mohalla clinics till August 15 and plans to establish more than 500 more such clinics by January 26.

    The AAP government in Punjab had also guaranteed to revert to the old pension scheme (OPS) and the notification for the same has been issued, Mann said.

    “Not just that, our government also stopped the pension to legislatures that saved crores of rupees of public exchequer,” he added.

    Mann was referring to the amendment bill passed in June this year by the Legislative Assembly putting an end to multiple pensions to ex-MLAs for every term served.

    “The government’s work is to collect tax and give it back to the people in the form of free electricity, infrastructure, roads, colleges, and mohalla clinics. We are setting up 16 medical colleges,” he said.

    Mann took potshots at the “so-called Gujarat model”, saying when one goes off the highways in the state, “roads exist in potholes rather than potholes in roads”.

    With all the promises announced by the AAP, the people of Gujarat will be able to save Rs 30,000 from the very first month after the party forms a government.

    “6.5 crore people of Gujarat are ready for a change. The situation is the same as what I saw in Punjab (before the elections which AAP had won hands down),” he said.

    Downplaying surveys predicting a certain number of seats AAP might win in Gujarat, Mann said the party “does not figure in surveys but ends up forming a government”. “Surveys are being written by people sitting at home,” he added.

    Mann said AAP’s agenda does not match with the ruling BJP and it will be wrong to call the Kejriwal-led party a “B-team” of BJP. “The AAP is the A team of the 130 crore people of the country,” he added.

  • Punjab cabinet approves implementation of old pension scheme

    By Agencies

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab cabinet has approved the restoration of Old Pension Scheme.

    The decision has been taken in a cabinet meeting on Friday. An official notification would be put out subsequently. Faced with several demands from government employees, the Punjab government took the decision to restore the Old Pension Scheme.This will directly benefit more than 1.75 lakh employees currently covered under NPS. In addition to this, 1.26 lakh employees are already covered under the existing OPS.

    Earlier, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand too went back to the Old Pension Scheme and quashed the new pension scheme.

    Under the old pension scheme, a government employee is entitled to a monthly pension after retirement. The monthly pension is typically half of the last drawn salary of the person.

    Under the new pension scheme, employees contribute a portion of their salaries to the pension fund. Based on that, they are entitled to a one-time lump sum amount on superannuation.

    For the record, the old pension scheme was discontinued in December 2003, and the new pension scheme came into effect on April 1, 2004. The scheme is aimed at safeguarding the future of government employees and recognising their contribution towards the state. In order to ensure that the scheme being introduced is financially sustainable for the exchequer in the future also, the government will be contributing proactively towards the creation of a pension corpus which will service the pension in future to the beneficiaries of the scheme.

    This contribution towards the pension corpus will be Rs 1,000 crore per annum initially and will gradually increase in future.

    Besides, the current accumulated corpus with NPS is Rs 16,746 crore for which the state will request the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of the government of India to refund this amount for effective utilisation at its end.(With Inputs from ANI, IANS)

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab cabinet has approved the restoration of Old Pension Scheme.

    The decision has been taken in a cabinet meeting on Friday. An official notification would be put out subsequently. Faced with several demands from government employees, the Punjab government took the decision to restore the Old Pension Scheme.
    This will directly benefit more than 1.75 lakh employees currently covered under NPS. In addition to this, 1.26 lakh employees are already covered under the existing OPS.

    Earlier, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand too went back to the Old Pension Scheme and quashed the new pension scheme.

    Under the old pension scheme, a government employee is entitled to a monthly pension after retirement. The monthly pension is typically half of the last drawn salary of the person.

    Under the new pension scheme, employees contribute a portion of their salaries to the pension fund. Based on that, they are entitled to a one-time lump sum amount on superannuation.

    For the record, the old pension scheme was discontinued in December 2003, and the new pension scheme came into effect on April 1, 2004. 
    The scheme is aimed at safeguarding the future of government employees and recognising their contribution towards the state. In order to ensure that the scheme being introduced is financially sustainable for the exchequer in the future also, the government will be contributing proactively towards the creation of a pension corpus which will service the pension in future to the beneficiaries of the scheme.

    This contribution towards the pension corpus will be Rs 1,000 crore per annum initially and will gradually increase in future.

    Besides, the current accumulated corpus with NPS is Rs 16,746 crore for which the state will request the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of the government of India to refund this amount for effective utilisation at its end.(With Inputs from ANI, IANS)