News Analysis India

Tag: Punjab CM

  • ‘Beg, borrow’ but ensure 24-hour power supply, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal tells Punjab CM Amarinder Singh

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday slammed the Punjab government over power crisis in the state and asked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to “beg, borrow and buy power” to provide round-the-clock electricity to the people.

    He further told the chief minister that people need electricity, “not excuses”.

    Punjab is reeling under an unprecedented power shortage with urban and rural areas facing load shedding and voltage fluctuations.

    “@capt_amarinder beg, borrow, buy power; scrap or sign any agreement- do what it takes but give power 24×7 to domestic, minimum 8 hrs daytime to farmers & industry. Stop looking up to skies/rain gods. Deliver or quit. People need power, not excuses. And need it now,” said Badal in a tweet.

    He lambasted Amarinder for “failing” to add more power generation capacity in his tenure.

    “@captain_amarinder 4.5 years: Rise in power demand 4000 MW. Generation capacity added: ZERO UNIT. It actually fell by 880 MWs. Don’t BLAME agreements. SCRAP them. Give power. BIJLEE, NOT BLAME is what Punjabis are crying for,” said Badal.

    On Monday, the SAD chief had asked Amarinder to scrap power purchase pacts but should also ensure that any power shortfall, with this move, is covered at cheaper rates.

  • Punjab CM Amarinder Singh likely to meet Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Amid infighting in the Punjab Congress, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is likely to meet party president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, sources said.

    Singh is likely to leave for Delhi on Tuesday morning, they said.

    Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has been at loggerheads with the chief minister, attacking him on issues like the alleged delay in the completion of a probe into the 2015 desecration of Sikh texts and the subsequent police firing on protesters.

    The party high command has been trying to resolve the internal rift in the Punjab unit and there is talk of its revamp, with just months to go before the next assembly polls.

    There is some speculation that Sidhu may get an important role in the planned revamp.

    A few days back, Sidhu met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Delhi.

    On June 22, Amarinder Singh appeared before a three-member AICC panel headed by leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, set up to resolve the infighting in the Punjab Congress.

    But he returned to Chandigarh without an audience with party president Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi.

    The panel had then asked Amarinder to deliver on 18 pending promises, including on the 2015 sacrilege issue and power purchase agreements signed by the previous government.

    The panel had earlier met other party leaders and has submitted a report to the party high command.

    Rahul Gandhi has also met several party leaders, including legislators from Punjab, for their views on what is needed to strengthen the party ahead of the 2022 assembly polls.

    On June 23, AICC general secretary and party’s Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat had said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi would resolve all issues related to the state unit by early July and a united party would fight the next assembly elections.

    Sidhu had begun criticising Amarinder Singh again after the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April quashed a probe into the 2015 Kotkapura firing case.

    The CM has called his outbursts “total indiscipline”.

    Sidhu had resigned as a minister in Punjab after being divested of the Local Bodies portfolio in 2019.

    PTI CHS VSD ASH ASH 07052014 NNNN

  • Arvind Kejriwal making false poll promises on free power: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday accused his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal of making false poll promises on free electricity, claiming that the AAP leader has ignored farmers in his own state.

    Kejriwal recently promised free electricity to households that consume no more than 300 units per billing cycle and round-the-clock supply if his Aam Aadmi Party is voted to power in Punjab next year.

    The AAP promise comes at a time when Punjab is facing a power crisis and some leaders in Singh’s own Congress are harping on it.

    On Sunday, Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is at loggerheads with the CM, too suggested that consumers should get 300 units free.

    But the chief minister claimed that the AAP model on power supply in Delhi has failed.

    “The Kejriwal government has completely failed the people of Delhi on all counts, with no free power to the farmers in the villages located in the national capital and excessively high power tariffs for the industry,” Singh alleged in an official statement here.

    He said the people of Punjab have already rejected the “pathetic Delhi model” of governance.

    The Punjab CM termed the Delhi power tariff structure a case of “organized loot,” claiming that the AAP-led government was openly allowing private power distribution companies to collect excessively high charges at the cost of the common man.

    He claimed that while Delhi charges Rs 9.80 per unit for power to industries, the state government offers subsidized tariff of Rs 5 to attract industry to Punjab, which has witnessed more than Rs 85,000 crore worth of investment in the last four years.

    Subsidised power is being given to 1,43,812 industrial units in Punjab with an annual subsidy of Rs 2,226 crore, his statement said.

    In sharp contrast to Punjab, where his government is giving free power worth Rs 6,735 crore to 13,79,217 farmers, the AAP government in Delhi had made no effort to extend similar support to the agricultural community there, the CM claimed.

    The Delhi government is “befooling” people by putting a small amount into one pocket — the 200 units of free domestic power — and taking away a bigger amount from another pocket, Singh alleged, referring to the tariff for shopkeepers, industry and farmers.

    The Delhi government charged Rs 11.34 per unit from small shopkeepers and other commercial establishments, which is 50 per cent higher than the Punjab rate, he claimed.

    The CM said the Punjab government pays an annual power subsidy bill of Rs 10,458 crore while the Kejriwal government shells out just Rs 2,820 crore.

    This translates into an average power subsidy in Punjab of Rs 3,486 per person, against Rs 1,410 for a Delhi resident, according to him.

    During the year 2020-21, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited sold 46,713 MW of power while the distribution companies in Delhi sold 27,436 MW, the statement said.

    Total revenue earned through sale of power was Rs 29,903 crore in Punjab and Rs 20,556 crore in Delhi, he said.

    As a result, the average cost per unit in Punjab comes to Rs 6.40 while it is Rs 7.49 in Delhi, he said.

  • Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma seeks time from CM Amarinder Singh over attacks on party leaders

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma has sought a meeting with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over the issue of alleged attacks on party leaders by people in the guise of farmers.

    Party’s state general secretary Jeevan Gupta on Sunday claimed many of the BJP leaders had faced “murderous attacks” in the last one year in the presence of police.

    In some cases, police even registered cases against unidentified people, lamented Gupta.

    Gupta also pointed out that on July 2, some people under the guise of farmers destroyed paddy transplanted on the farm owned by BJP leader Harjit Singh Grewal in Barnala.

    The BJP leader alleged that the law and order situation in the state had ‘collapsed’ under the Congress-led regime.

    Farmers, agitating against the Centre’s three agri laws, have been protesting against the BJP leaders and are not allowing them to attend any programme or meetings in Punjab.

    A few days ago, a group of farmers held a protest against Sharma in Hoshiarpur.

    Last year, Sharma’s vehicle too was attacked in Hoshiarpur.

    In March this year, party’s legislator from Abohar Arun Narang was thrashed and his clothes torn by a group of farmers at Malout in Muktsar.

  • If survey is done, Punjab CM will emerge as most hated man, alleges SAD chief

    By ANI
    CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday alleged that if a survey is held today that Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will be voted is the most hated man in Punjab.

    Speaking to ANI, Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “Captain Amarinder Singh will lose his election deposit in the upcoming polls. If you conduct a poll on the most hated man in Punjab, the result will be Captain Amarinder Singh. Not only us, but people and Congress MLAs are also against him.”

    “BSP and Shiromani Akali Dal have the same ideology. When we had an alliance in 1996, we had a clean sweep. It will happen this time too,” added the SAD president.

    Reacting sharply to Badal’s comment, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the SAD-BSP alliance is an opportunist alliance.

    “Tell Sukhbir Singh Badal to contest from Patiala if he thinks so. He should think about how many MLAs does his party has in Punjab today…Mere words will not serve any purpose. He will know the reality if he goes to the field…This is an opportunist alliance,” Balbir Singh Sidhu told ANI.

    On Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s allegation that Captain Amarinder Singh had a secret pact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sidhu said, “Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government purchased oximeters at exorbitant prices as compared to Corona Fateh Kits in Punjab. Bulk purchase always based on wholesale prices but the Delhi Government looted public exchequer.”

    Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday formed an alliance to contest the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections together.

    SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and BSP’s Satish Mishra jointly held a press conference on Saturday to announce the alliance.

    Briefing the mediapersons, Badal said, “It is a new day in Punjab politics. Shiromani Akali Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party to fight the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly elections and future elections together. Out of 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly, BSP will contest on 20 seats and SAD will contest the remaining 97 seats.”

    BSP MP Satish Mishra also called the alliance a historic move in Punjab politics.

    “It is a historic day as the alliance has been formed with SAD, which is Punjab’s biggest party. In 1996 both BSP and SAD jointly fought Lok Sabha polls and emerged victorious on 11 of 13 seats. This time the alliance will not be broken,” said Mishra.

    “We will work to end corruption and scams under Congress’ leadership. The current government is anti-Dalits and anti-farmers while we will work for everyone’s welfare and development,” added the BSP MP.

    The alliance between SAD and BSP has been formed at a time when there is a crisis in the Congress party over factionalism. Now, SAD sealing a deal with BSP is certainly a massive political development in Punjab politics.

    SAD had pulled out of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September last year over the farm bills with the resignation of Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the post of Union Minister of Food Processing Industries.

    The party has been looking for an alliance partner to contest the upcoming Assembly election.

    Earlier, on June 5, SAD president Badal had said his party is open for pre-poll alliance with parties other than Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party. Badal, whose party was part of ruling NDA at the Centre before pulling out over the new farm laws last year, categorically ruled out the possibility of aligning with the BJP.

    “We are open to alliances with other parties minus Congress, BJP and AAP. We cannot align with these parties. We will form alliances and we are open to others. No chance to go with BJP at all,” he had told ANI.

    The Assembly elections in Punjab are scheduled to take place next year. 

  • ‘It will turn into a superspreader’: Punjab CM urges BKU to call off dharna in Patiala amid Covid surge

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has urged Bhartiya Kisan Union to not act irresponsibly after the farmers outfit of the state, Ekta Ugrahan, has announced a three-day dharna in Patiala, the CM’s home town. 

    The CM said that the dharna will jeopardise the lives of their own people if such reckless behaviour is shown amid the pandemic and the event could turn into a super spreader. 

    Amarinder said his government had fought hard to prevent Punjab going the way of some other states, such as Delhi, Maharashtra and even Uttar Pradesh (where bodies floating in the Ganga river had exposed the total pandemic mismanagement by the BJP-ruled states.) 

    Such events had the potential to negate the gains made by his government in tackling Covid in the state, he said.

    He urged the farmers’ group to not gather especially when the government has banned these events

    Such a dharna would draw people mainly from the villages, which were in any case going through a crisis during the second wave of the pandemic, he pointed out.

    The group’s action was also completely unwarranted considering the total support the state government had extended all these months to the agitating farmers on the issue of the Centre’s black Farm Laws, said Amarinder. His government was the first to pass the amendment laws in the state Assembly to contravene the Farm Laws, he pointed out. “It is time for the farmers to reciprocate by supporting the state government in the fight against the pandemic,” he said.

    Pointing out that even during the peak of the second Covid surge in Punjab, things had not gone out of control here as they had in several other states, he said the state had been one of the best performing so far in terms of pandemic management. 

    There were no widespread shortages of Oxygen in hospitals despite shortfall in supply, as the state government had ensured judicious management of the critical commodity, he noted, adding that even availability of medications and beds had been continuously ramped up to keep pace with the spiralling cases. This, he pointed out, was in sharp contrast to states like Delhi, Maharashtra and UP.

  • Explore possibility of procuring Sputnik V COVID vaccine: Punjab CM to officials

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Amid a severe vaccine shortage, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday directed authorities to explore the possibility of procuring Sputnik V COVID vaccine for inoculating people in the 18-44 age group.

    Addressing a virtual COVID review meeting, the chief minister said one lakh doses of Covishield, received initially for the 18-44 years category, had almost been completely utilized.

    He asked Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan to look into Sputnik V as an alternative vaccine for this age group, in which currently the state government is inoculating families of healthcare workers, co-morbid persons and construction labour, according to a government statement here.

    In the next stage, other categories, especially teachers, should be vaccinated to enable reopening of the schools at the earliest, he said.

    A few days back, the state government had decided to join the COVAX facility alliance for global sourcing and procurement of COVID vaccines at the best price.

    COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization.

    Referring to the continued shortage of Tocilizumab, Singh said he had spoken to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and hoped that some quantity will be supplied on Monday.

    He asked the health secretary to follow up on the issue with the central government.

    All efforts should be made to continue to ensure that all other medicines, as well as COVID kits, are easily available for patients in the state, the chief minister stressed.

    Health Secretary Hussan Lal informed the chief minister that there was no shortage of COVID ‘Fateh’ kits as the department currently has a stock of 24,000 with another 15,000 to be ready by Monday.

    Certain districts were probably delaying picking up the kits, he added.

     

  • Not in favour of complete lockdown but might take harsh measures if situation doesn’t improve: Punjab CM

    CM Amarinder SIngh also ordered a stop on all takeaway deliveries from restaurants, which was being used by youngsters as a pretext to move out of their homes.

  • Punjab CM orders recruitment of nurses, technicians for medical colleges

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday ordered immediate recruitment of 400 nurses and 140 technicians at government medical colleges, according to a statement.

    He also directed the Medical Education and Research Department to expedite the medical college projects approved or in progress in the state so that Punjab is not left behind in the development of medical infrastructure.

    The chief minister said he will also write to the Centre for a direction to satellite centres of the Chandigarh’s PGIMER and military hospitals in Punjab to provide additional COVID beds.

    Pre-fabricated structures can be used for this purpose, he stressed, according to the official statement.

    Amarinder Singh also reviewed the functioning of the Department of Medical Education and Research.

    Medical Education Minister O P Soni shared details of various hospitals and medical colleges that are coming up in Mohali, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala.

    ALSO READ: Centre’s COVID-19 vaccination policy for 18-plus age group unfair to states, says Punjab CM

    Efforts are also being made to establish medical colleges at Malerkotla and Gurdaspur with the approval of the Union government, he said, adding that the satellite centres of PGIMER will also be commissioned at Sangrur this year.

    The construction of a satellite centre of the PGIMER at Ferozepur has started, he said.

    Further, approval has recently been received from the ICMR, New Delhi, for setting up a national institute of virology at Mohali, he said.

    Soni said more than 14,000 COVID patients have been treated in government medical colleges, he said.

     

  • Sacrilege case probe: Sidhu accuses Amarinder of evading responsibility

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Congress leader and Amritsar MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday attacked Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, accusing him of evading responsibility in the case involving the desecration of a religious text.

    In a tweet, the former state minister also asked if the case is not the top priority for him.

    Sidhu’s fresh comments have come in the wake of the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashing a probe report into police firing at people protesting against the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Faridkot’s Kotkapura in 2015.

    The HC had directed the state government to set up a new SIT to investigate the case without the then IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, who resigned soon after the court order.

    Earlier in the month, the Amritsar legislator had demanded that the SIT probe into the case should be made public.

    Launching a direct attack on Amarinder Singh on Friday, who also holds the Home department portfolio, the Congress MLA asked, “Is Sacrilege case not the top priority for the Home Minister?” “Evading of responsibility & making only Advocate General (AG) a scapegoat means Executive Authority has No supervisory control. Who controls the AG? Legal Team is just a pawn in this game of shifting responsibilities,” Sidhu said in a tweet.

    Another senior Congress leader, Pratap Singh Bajwa, too had recently alleged that the state’s advocate general and his team were unable to defend the interests of the state despite professional and efficient investigation done by the SIT.

    Two days ago, Sidhu had alleged that the delay in justice is the ‘failure of one person, who is hand-in-glove with the culprits’.

    The Amritsar MLA, however, did not name anybody then.

    A month ago, Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu had met over tea, discussing the possible reinduction of the Amritsar MLA in the state cabinet.

    Harish Rawat, who is in-charge of Punjab affairs at the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), had been pushing for an important position for Sidhu. Last month, Sidhu also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi.

    The tensions between Amarinder Singh and Sidhu had come out in the open in May 2019 when the CM blamed the former cricketer for the ‘inept handling’ of the Local Government Department, claiming it had resulted in the ‘poor performance’ of the Congress in urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls.

    Sidhu was later stripped of this portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle, after which he resigned.