News Analysis India

Tag: Bhagwant Mann

  • Press Association condemns ‘beating’ of journalist at Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann event; seeks probe

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Press Association on Sunday condemned the alleged roughing up of a journalist by authorities during a press conference of the Delhi and Punjab chief ministers recently.

    In a statement here, the Press Association has demanded a thorough investigation followed by strong action against those responsible for the April 26 incident.

    Naresh Vats, a correspondent with Hindustan Post, has lodged a complaint at the Parliament Street police station contending that authorities refused to acknowledge the accreditation card issued by the Press Information Bureau and denied him entry to the press conference addressed by Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann.

    Vats, in his complaint, alleged that he was bashed by the security personnel at the venue after he questioned their decision to deny him entry for the press conference.

    “Off late, incidents of harassment of journalists in various states ruled by parties of all hue have come to light. Such incidents are an infringement upon the rights of the journalists,” Press Association president C K Nayak said.

  • Wheat procurement & lifting impacted in Punjab, 18 farmers have committed suicide so far

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: The procurement operation of wheat this season in Punjab has been impacted as till yesterday different central and state government agencies, including the Food Corporation of India have purchased only 85.98 Metric Tonnes (MT) going by the trend it does not seem the state will archive it’s target, as the wheat arrivals have gone down in grain markets across the state this is due to shrivelled grain problem as no decision has been taken by the Union Government till now on giving relaxation, also farmers are holding back the crop expecting surge in prices later on as global wheat is increasing due to Russia-Ukraine war and private player purchasing the crop above Minimum Support Price (MSP). 

    Also this season till yesterday only 62.81 per cent of wheat has been lifted. Thus approximately eighteen farmers have committed suicide to date across the state this month alone due to low yield on wheat.

    As per the data with the state food and supplies department as of April 25 the total wheat procurement was 90.61 MT of this government agency purchased 85.98 MT and private traders 4.62 MT. From 2009-10 till last year, the highest private purchase was in 2014-15 which was 2.9 LMT which was 2.4 per cent. While last year also the picture as almost similar as on April 25 it was 84.17 LMT of that84.15LMT was purchased by government agencies and only 2,376 KG by private players.

     The target fixed by the Food Corporation of India for 2022-23 for Punjab is 132 lakh MT as 132.22 LMT wheat was procured in 2021-22. Going by the trend it does not seem the state will archive it’s target as it seems it will remain around 100 LMT.

    A senior official of the department said that this time the farmers are holding back wheat as they are expecting high prices after few day or months as the prices of the grain are increasing in the global markets. So they are not bringing their crop to the grain market. Also the private players this time arepurchasing more wheat from the farmers and paying them more than the Minimum Reserveprice (MSP) as they are giving them Rs 2,025 per tonne against the MSP of Rs 2,015 per quintal. The main factor is the wheat grain is shrivelled by 10 to 20 per cent thus yield of wheat is also low.

    While this time the lifting is also slow as 62.81 per cent as  51.16 lakh MT of wheat has been lifted and 30.30 MT is yet to be lifted as of yesterday by different central and state government agencies from the 2,321-grain markets and procurements centres across Punjab.

    The main reason for slow lifting is that the contracts for transportation and labour were allotted during the term of the previous government and it is alleged that the contractors who did not have the requisite number of trucks and labour for the job were given these contracts.

    ALSO READ: Wheat procurement from Punjab expected to remain below 100 lakh MT

    “If we compare with last year, the pace of lifting this year is almost similar. Every year for a few days when there is a glut in mandis within few days, the entire stock will be lifted and shifted to godowns,” said an official.

    A senior officer of FCI said that they are waiting for the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to take a decision on relaxing specifications, following which they will lift the grain. Even the direct delivery of wheat to the FCI is stalled till this issue is resolved.

    This month eighteen suicides have been reported to date across Punjab due to the low yield of wheat of these 11 in malwa region. As per the data gathered by BKU (Ugrahan) the largest farmer union of Punjab, fourteen farmers have committed suicide in different parts of Punjab till date this month.

    “On April 18, 38-year-old Ramandeep Singh of Bajak village in Bathinda died as he consumedpesticide on April 14 due to the low yield of the grain. While Gurdeep Singh (28) of Mansa Khurd village in Bathinda hanged himself and Jaspal Singh of Maiserkhana village also in Bathinda jumped before the train on April 20 and Randhir Singh of Bhagivander villagen also Bathinda district was found dead in a pound. Manjit Singh of Paddi Sura Singh village in Hoshiarpur district consumed position on April 23. All these farmers committed suicide due to the low yield of wheat and the government should give Rs 10 lakh per family as compensation,’’ claimed Sukhdev Singh General Secretary of BKU (Ugrahan).

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has appealed to the Union Government to relax the specifications for shriveled grains in the purchase of wheat in the state without the imposition of any value cut, thereby protecting the incomes of the farmers who are already impacted by low yield and severe farm debt.

    He said that despite the passage of one week since the central teams, deputed by the Ministry of Food and  Public Distribution, completed their task and submitted their report to the ministry highlighting the extent of shriveling of the grain, no decision has been taken by the Union Government. He emphasized that farming issues are required to be resolved on high priority and the delay isimpacting the procurement operations.

    BOX: Input Costs High The input costs have gone up as fertiliser,  pesticides, seeds, and diesel needed to operate tubewells and tractors have shot up substantially this year. The prices of diammonium phosphate (DAP) have increased from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,350 per 50 kg.

  • Mann, Kejriwal sign pact to replicate Delhi model on education, health in Punjab

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH : There was a glint of a freshly injected hope in Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s eyes as he stood with his party boss Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. The occasion: the signing of a knowledge sharing agreement between the two CMs. Punjab will now replicate Delhi’s education and health model – a promise AAP made to the Punjab voters in February Assembly polls. “Delhi schools look like those in Canada.

    Even the general wards of government hospitals are better equipped than ICUs in most hospitals. During the peak of Covid, I had arranged ventilators through MPLAD funds but had to donate them to a private hospital because the district-level hospitals did not have doctors to operate them and support ventilator patients,” said Mann. 

    On a two-day trip to Delhi,  Mann is apprising himself of the quality of education and the state of health institutes in the national capital. The agreement will facilitate the two governments to learn and share their knowledge, experience and skills for public welfare.

    “Cooperation and collaboration is the only way ahead for Delhi and Punjab. We’ll fulfil Babasaheb Ambedkar and Sardar Bhagat Singh’s dreams,” said Kejriwal. Mann was in sync. “This agreement is a watershed moment. We’ll make our state a ‘Hasta-Khelta-Rangla’ Punjab again,” he said.

    Before inking the agreement, a team of Delhi ministers and officials gave an in-depth presentation on the state’s education and health models to their Punjab counterparts. They said about 25% of the total budget goes to education. The Delhi health model follows an aam aadmi approach to extend quality healthcare services from mohallas to hospitals.

    Mann said 117 government schools and an equal number of ‘Mohalla Clinics’ will be set up in each assembly constituency across Punjab. He brushed aside the opposition criticism against the agreement, saying it was not one-sided. 

    However, Punjab’s opposition parties were critical of the agreement. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal accused Mann of selling off the state’s interests to Delhi. “AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal has become the de-facto CM of Punjab,” he said. “It is a black day for the state. Never before in the history of the state have outsiders been given control of the state. Punjab has become subservient to Delhi, which is hardly a state,” Sukhbir said. 

    Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the agreement was akin to the Lahore Durbar move, which invited the British in 1846 to safeguard the safety of the Maharaja.

  • Punjab opposition parties hit out at CM Mann over agreement with Delhi

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Opposition parties in Punjab on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for signing a knowledge-sharing agreement with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of “surrendering his authority” and “institutionalising interference” in the border state.

    A knowledge-sharing agreement was signed on Tuesday between the two chief ministers with Mann saying that 117 schools and mohalla clinics will be developed in Punjab.

    Reacting to the agreement, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa termed it “complete abrogation of responsibility” on behalf of the state government towards its people while SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said it was a “black day” for Punjab.

    Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring took a swipe at Mann and asked him to admit that Kejriwal would now run Punjab from Delhi.

    Bajwa in a tweet said, “The proposed agreement between @PunjabGovtIndia and Delhi Govt is akin to inviting the British to ‘safeguard’ the Maharajah as requested by the Lahore Durbar in 1846. It is a complete abrogation of responsibility on behalf of the Govt of Punjab to its people. Such an agreement will ensure that Punjab Govt is essentially a colony outpost of @ArvindKejriwal ji.”

    “No transparency, no accountability and a complete selling off Punjab to Delhi in perpetuity,” alleged Bajwa in another tweet.

    Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira slammed Mann for allegedly surrendering his authority to Kejriwal.

    “Compromising PB (Punjab) Govt departments with Delhi Govt and making agreements amounts to abject & complete surrender of authority by @BhagwantMann before @ArvindKejriwal. How will PB defend its waters,language etc if we submit ourselves to another state!,” tweeted Khaira, who is an MLA from Bholath seat.

    Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal also expressed displeasure over the development, saying, “Black Day for Punjab: CM @BhagwantMann institutionalises Delhi Govt interference in Punjab by signing MoU today.”

    Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma too slammed Mann, saying it was not a memorandum of understanding but a “memorandum of surrender.”

    After signing the agreement, Mann, who was on a two-day visit to the national capital, said education, health and power are the priorities for his government and Punjab can learn from Delhi where a lot of work has been done in these fields.

  •  Punjab CM Mann to visit Delhi government schools and mohalla clinics

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann is scheduled to visit the Delhi Government Schools and the Mohalla Clinics on Monday. Mann is said to be accompanied by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. The Delhi CM office said, “Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along with Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, will visit Delhi government schools and mohalla clinics on April 25. Education and Health Ministers, as well as top officials of both the states, will also be present during the visit”.Delhi Education and Health ministers and other concerned officials will also be present during the visit.This visit comes after Punjab chief minister’s planned visit to the Delhi government schools on April 18 got postponed.The Delhi government educational institutions and its Mohalla Clinics have been in focus. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin also visited the Delhi government schools and mohalla clinics and was accompanied by Chief Minister Kejriwal.Stalin visited the schools on April 1 had said that his government is replicating the model of Delhi’s government schools in Tamil Nadu.“Visited Model School and Mohalla Clinic initiatives of Delhi government along with Honourable Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. We will also be establishing a world-class Government Model School in Chennai soon and I have extended my invitation to Arvind Kejriwal in advance,” stated Stalin on Twitter after the visit.

  • BJP leader JJ Singh criticises Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann over meeting with ‘pro-separatist’ UK MP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: BJP leader and former Army chief JJ Singh on Sunday lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over his meeting with UK MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and said the AAP should clarify if it endorses the “pro-separatist and anti-India” views of the British lawmaker.

    Dhesi, a Labour Party MP, met Mann along with AAP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha last week and reportedly raised several issues, including blacklisting of several Sikhs. “It is very unfortunate that AAP government in Punjab…is going the extra mile to welcome Labour Party MP Dhesi whose views are pro-separatist and anti-India. AAP owes an clarification to the country whether it supports his views on Kashmir and other matters which are against our country,” Singh said.

    The BJP leader further said Mann should disclose what transpired in the meeting with Dhesi and what commitments the AAP government in Punjab has given to him. Dhesi had criticised the Indian government’s revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

  • Why making people wait till July 1 for free power, Punjab Congress leader asks CM Bhagwant Mann

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Shortly after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced 300 units of free electricity for every household in the state every month from July 1, Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Saturday asked why was the AAP delaying in implementing its pre-poll promise.

    Former MP and Punjab Congress legislature party leader Partap Singh Bajwa too said they would go through the details of the order to see if there was any “hidden agenda” in it.

    He made the remark even while welcoming the AAP government’s move.

    Chief Minister Mann on Saturday announced the implementation of his party’s pre-poll promise of 300 units of free power to every household every month from July 1.

    Giving 300 units of free electricity was one of the major poll promises of the Aam Aadmi Party during the Punjab assembly elections.

    The party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal had promised it in June last year.

    Congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Saturday asked CM Mann why free electricity will be given from July month only.

    “I welcome @BhagwantMann for fulfilling his promise of 300 units of free electricity but why wait till 1st July? Is there an issue of fiscal management? And please clarify if the bill is 301 units, will the consumers be charged the full bill? Lastly any move to do away with the tubewell subsidy?” asked Khaira in a tweet.

    While welcoming the AAP government’s move, Qadian MLA Partap Singh Bajwa said, “As the Opposition, we will go through the details to ensure there are no hidden agenda unforeseen to the public eye with the policy.”

    “I hope this new policy will not change the current power subsidies for our farmers. After all the devil is in the details,” said Bajwa.

    Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring too insisted on examining the details of the order, saying “the Proof of the pudding is in the eating”.

    “Bhagwant Mann Ji , The Proof of the pudding is in the eating… The truthfulness of your 300 unit free power will be tested in the details and conditions attached to it…Best of luck to PSPCL which has to survive now, somehow.”

    Punjab BJP leader Subhash Sharma took on the Bhagwant Mann-led government, saying the AAP-led regime was just making announcements.

    Referring to advertisements put out by the state information and public relations department in various newspapers on the state government’s 30-day report card, Sharma said the government had announced the setting up of an anti-gangster taskforce but despite that more than 30 murders have taken place in the state in last one month.

    “People of Punjab want results and performance but your government has failed completely on this front,” alleged Sharma.

  • SGPC asks Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to apologise for violating ‘maryada’

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The SGPC has asked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to seek an apology from the Sikh community for allegedly violating the ‘maryada’ of the Guru’s house by visiting it under the influence of liquor.

    The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee demanded apology days after SAD chief Sukhbir Badal on Thursday accused Chief Minister Mann of visiting Takht Damdama Sahib in Bathinda under the influence of liquor, an allegation strongly denied as “false and baseless” by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

    The apex gurdwara body SGPC demanded apology from the CM saying that his visit in an alleged inebriated state was a violation of ‘Sikh maryada’ (code of conduct) and against the reverence of the Guru’s house.

    In a joint statement, SGPC senior vice-president Raghujit Singh, junior vice-president Surinder Singh and general secretary Karnail Singh Panjoli said, “Punjab CM forgetting the reverence of the Guru’s house is not only an insult to the constitutional post but it is also the height of immorality.”

    “Bhagwant Mann should immediately apologise to the Sikh world and should take care of the Sikh sentiments and the ‘maryada’ of the Guru’s house,” they added.

    Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, meanwhile on Saturday, said he has filed a police complaint against Punjab CM Mann.

    “Filed Police complaint against Punjab CM @BhagwantMann for Entering Gurudwara Damdama Sahib in Drunk Condition. I request @DGPPunjabPolice @PunjabPoliceInd to take action on my complaint,” said Bagga in a tweet.

    The Punjab police had recently booked Delhi BJP spokesperson Bagga, who had been attacking Kejriwal over his remarks on ‘The Kashmir Files’ film, on charges of making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation following a complaint by an AAP leader.

  • Ambedkar Jayanti: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann exhorts people to uphold the spirit of Constitution

    By PTI

    JALANDHAR: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday exhorted people to uphold the spirit of Indian constitution now under threat by some powers from within the country.

    Addressing a gathering here during a function to mark the 131st birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, Mann said some people are trying to undermine the basic character of the constitution as envisioned by Ambedakar.

    Ambedkar, who was also the country’s first law minister, was the chairman of the committee that drafted the Constitution. Mann said that these attempts are not being made by the foreigners or the British but by “some of our own people”, and that they need to be stopped before they succeed.

    According to a release, the CM said that Ambedkar empowered the people by giving them the right to vote which helped them replace the political giants who once ruled the state.

    Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Manpreet Singh Badal, Bikram Singh Majithia and several others were decimated by people because of the power of vote, he said. “Democracy is a pillar of our constitution and therefore any move to tamper with its values will not be tolerated at any cost,” he said.

    Drawing a parallel with Pakistan, the CM said the reason the neighbouring country is in dire straits is because of its weak constitutional democracy. He said that it is due to Ambedkar’s vision that constitutional values have flourished in India as against Pakistan, where they floundered.

    He urged the people to contribute towards making an ideal society by following the principles of equality and liberty as enshrined in the Constitution. Mann hailed Ambedkar as a great scholar, jurist, economist, social reformer, statesman, and one of the most towering personalities in the world history.

    He said the constitution was the result of Ambedkar’s unparalleled hard work, dedication, and farsightedness. Ambedkar was not only a leader of weaker sections, but belonged to the entire nation, he said.

  • Punjab people will soon get good news, says CM Mann

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said his government will soon give a “good news” to people of the state, indicating that it could announce 300 units of free electricity to households.

    Mann also said he had a meeting with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. AAP had made the promise in the run-up to the Punjab Assembly polls.

    While making the announcement last year, Kejriwal did not clarify whether 300 units of free electricity will be given per month as Punjab has a two-month billing cycle.

    Earlier in the day, the ruling party in Punjab faced flak over some reports suggesting that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal summoned senior officials of the state for a meeting in the national capital.

    Mann, who was in Delhi, met Kejriwal and held discussion over the issue of giving 300 units of free electricity to people of Punjab.

    “Had a wonderful meeting with our leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Very soon, will give good news to the people of Punjab,” said Mann in a Punjabi tweet.

    Meanwhile, party spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang told the media here that the Punjab government’s blueprint for giving 300 units of free electricity to people is almost ready and soon an announcement in this regard will be made.