Chandigarh, May 5 (DNS)- Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today approved a comprehensive plan of Rs 122 crore for the development of Government Medical College (GMC) and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. The CM took this decision at a meeting with officers of the Medical Education and Research Department and senior doctors of Rajindra Hospital.
Sanctioning Rs 30 crore for 2012-13, Badal said the hospital would be developed into a state-of-the-art institution. He instructed the officers to fix priorities for the task immediately.
The CM was told that the recently started Cancer Cure Centre at the hospital, which was equipped with a Rs 3 crore simulator and a Rs 28 lakh mammography machine, was working well. A hospital welfare committee and an academic committee were constituted to improve the functioning of the ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, April 26 (DNS)- For supplying potable water to all cities and towns in the state, the government has envisaged an ambitious Rs 962 crore programme. This was decided at the first meeting of a committee constituted under Rule 4 of the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Fund (PMIDF) Act: 2011 headed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
Sanctioning another instalment of Rs 350 crore for the completion of water supply facilities in various towns, Badal said the government had already provided Rs 306 crore under this project and the rest of the amount would be provided soon.
The committee gave the nod to constituting a ‘Designing & Planning Cell’ comprising five experts to carry out the entire Municipal Infrastructure Development work in a comprehensive manner. Badal instructed Local Government officers to complete the entire water supply work in two years. Local Government Minister Bhagat Chuni Lal said HUDCO had sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore for Infrastructure development of which Rs 373 crore had been disbursed. Principal Secretary, Local Government, Suresh Kumar, said to constitute the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Fund and to provide financial aid to municipalities for development, the government had enacted the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Fund Act: 2011 under which the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company was formed for fund-raising from various sources.
Also, 20 per cent of additional tax levied and collected under the Punjab VAT ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, March 11 (DNS)- The first session of the newly elected Vidhan Sabha will begin on March 19. On the first day, oath will be administered to the MLAs. The next day, the legislators will elect the Speaker. After that, tributes will be paid to politicians and other persons who passed away in recent months.
It has already been announced that Parkash Singh Badal will take oath as Chief Minister on March 14 at Chappar Chiri. Following this, oath will be administered to cabinet ministers. In 2007, Badal had designated all ministers as cabinet ministers and no one was made minister of state or deputy minister. It was a single-tier cabinet. He is likely to follow the same pattern this time too.
The Punjab Governor will address the House on March 21. He would present the philosophy of the SAD-BJP government before the state people. What will be the agenda of the government for the next five years will be revealed in the address.
Following this, there will be a debate on the address and the Chief Minister will reply to the points raised in the debate on March 26.
Sources said each department had been told to prepare a note keeping in view the promises made in the election manifesto. In the Governor’s address, the government’s plan to fulfill the promises would be revealed. Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal has briefed all secretaries in this regard.
Villagers to attend Badal’s swearing-in
Muktsar: Apart from VIPs like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and National Democratic Alliance senior ... Read Full Story
Chandigarh, March 10 (DNS) For the first time in the last forty years, Punjab gave a second consecutive term to a party in power. Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal will take oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab for a fifth time on March 14. Today, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi said he will encourage the Congress General Secretary to campaign more.
"Wherever Rahul Gandhi goes, Congress loses...we will encourage him to campaign more," said the SAD president.
The Congress, in Uttar Pradesh, where Rahul had turned the revival of his party into his personal mission, could only add six seats to its earlier total of 22. The added insult comes from Rae Bareli and Amethi - the constituencies of Mr Gandhi and his mother - where the Congress took just two of the 10 assembly seats at stake. Priyanka Gandhi had campaigned extensively in this area and had promised her mother publicly that she would deliver all 10 seats.
Not just UP, Punjab was a disaster for the Congress too. The Congress, which had hoped that the anti-incumbency habit in the state would push it into government, was, however, left with just 46 out of 117 seats. The Congress candidate for chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, had predicted his party would defeat the Akalis. He won his seat, but his son, Raninder Singh, lost his constituency. ... Read Full Story
Badal (Muktsar), March 8 (DNS)- SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal who defeated his nearest rival and cousin Maheshinder Singh of the Congress from Lambi constituency by a margin of 24,739 votes emerged as the favourite in his native Badal village. Gurdas Badal, the SAD patron's estranged younger brother and People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal's father, couldn't even save his security deposit.
The Chief Minister polled 58 per cent votes in Badal village. Maheshinder got 32 per cent share while the score of Gurdas was 7 per cent. The village had three polling booths (104, 105 and 106) and 2,769 registered voters. Of them, 2,181 cast their franchise on January 30, the polling day.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal got 1,268 votes while Gurdas Badal secured a mere 151. Maheshinder Singh polled 693 votes.
At polling booth number 104, Badal got 408 votes, Maheshinder 222 and Gurdas 36. At booth number 105, Badal got 380 votes, Maheshinder 145 and Gurdas 48. At booth number 106, where the trio too cast their votes, Badal got 480 votes, Maheshinder 326 and Gurdas 67.
Badal got a total of 67,999 votes while Maheshinder got 43,260. The score of Gurdas Badal was 5,352 votes. The total polling in Lambi assembly constituency was 1,22,064 ... Read Full Story
Badal, January 31 (DNS)- In Badal village in Lambi, Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Gurdas Singh Badal, Manpreet Singh Badal and Maheshinder Singh Badal cast their vote at Government Primary School. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is pitted against his younger brother, Gurdas Singh Badal (PPP) and cousin Maheshinder Singh Badal (Congress).
Manpreet Singh Badal, PPP chief, was the first from the Badal clan to cast his vote at 8.30 am.He came to the polling station driving his favourite open jeep (PB-03-U-0786).
Flashing the victory sign, he said: “The PPP will win not only this seat, but a number of other seats too. It will be a sad moment to see my uncle (Parkash Singh Badal) face defeat at this stage of his life.”
After Manpreet came Congress candidate Maheshinder Singh. “I have contested the elections to win. Had the Badals done something to develop the area, they could have hoped for victory.They did not even find a solution to the problem of water-logging, which is a bane of the farmers.”
The trio of Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal were the next to cast their vote.
Exhibiting no signs of fear or anxiety, Badal said: “The parties are contesting the elections, not the brothers.” Asked as if he would congratulate his brother Gurdas if he was to turn victorious, he said: “There is no question of anyone else winning the seat but me.”
Sukhbir said the SAD would win 65 seats and along with the BJP, ... Read Full Story
Lambi, January 28 (PTI)- They share the common wall of their ancestral house, the family name and even the village name. But in the cut and thrust of politics, a common inheritance seems to matter little when it comes to electoral politics. Punjab's three Badal brothers are locked in a triangular contest in Lambi which goes to polls on Monday.
Fighting from here is Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, also the grand patriarch of Shiromani Akali Dal and the Badal family which hails from Lambi in Badal village. Challenging the CM are his brother Gurdas Badal and cousin Mahesh Inder Singh Badal. While the former is fighting to open the political account of his son Manpreet's newly-formed People's Party of Punjab, the latter is contesting on a Congress ticket, having fought as an independent in the last assembly elections.
The fight here is essentially in the family with Parkash Singh Badal running for the fifth time in a row. And though one would enter Lambi hoping mudslinging matches to be on, the brothers are refraining from running each other down in the public. For the outgoing CM, it is his brother Gurdas who is posing the biggest challenge.
Asked how he felt about taking on his own brother whom he had served for years, Gurdas Badal told PTI, "I have always dreamt of seeing my brother in the CM's chair. But things have now slipped out of his hands. He is only a face. It is his son Sukhbir Badal, the Deputy CM, and his family who are running the show. Nothing is in my brother's control nor does he assert ... Read Full Story
Bholath, January 21 (DNS)- A day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi accused the SAD-BJP alliance of having "failed" to use the central grants, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said it was the UPA regime, not the state government, that had fared "poorly" in terms of performance.
Addressing a rally in favour of SAD candidate for Bholath seat Bibi Jagir Kaur at Nadala, Badal said, "It is the duty of the Union Government to initiate steps to wipe out illiteracy, poverty and corruption and to provide essential commodities at cheaper rates. Can the Centre claim that it has performed its duties well?"
Leave apart wiping out corruption from the country, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had failed to eradicate it even from the Union Cabinet, alleged Badal.
"Former Telecom Minister A Raja is still in Tihar jail for his involvement in the 2G Spectrum scam. Several other UPA leaders have been in and out of jail for various scams. These instances are enough to belie the Congress' claims on anti-corruption measures," the Chief Minister said.
Regarding Sonia's allegations on increase in the number of BPL families, Badal claimed the Centre had directed the Punjab Government in 2002 that the number of BPL families should not go beyond 5.25 lakh. "The number is bound to rise as a new BPL survey is being conducted," he said.
Blaming the Centre for the plight of the farmers and industrialists, Badal said the minimum support price of various crops, including wheat and paddy, and the rate of pesticides and diesel were ... Read Full Story
ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ, 9 ਮਈ (ਏਜੰਸੀ)-ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਰਾਜਪਾਲ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਸ਼ਿਵਰਾਜ ਪਾਟਿਲ ਨੇ ਰਾਜ ਦੇ ਖੇਤੀਬਾੜੀ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਤੋਤਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਾ ਅਸਤੀਫਾ ਪ੍ਰਵਾਨ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ ਹੈ। ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਦੇ ਸੀਨੀਅਰ ਨੇਤਾ ਤੋਤਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਸ਼ਨੀਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਮੋਹਾਲੀ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਵਲੋਂ ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਅਹੁਦੇ ਦਾ ਦੁਰ-ਉਪਯੋਗ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਕਰਾਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਇੱਕ ਸਾਲ ਦੀ ਸਜ਼ਾ ਸੁਣਾਈ ਗਈ ਸੀ। ਰਾਜ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਦੇ ਬੁਲਾਰੇ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ ਸਵੇਰੇ ਤੋਤਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣਾ ਅਸਤੀਫਾ ਸੈਂਪਿਆ ਸੀ। ਇਹ ਵੀ ਕਿਹਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਿਭਾਗ ਫਿਲਹਾਲ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਸ. ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਕੋਲ ਰਹੇਗਾ। ...
ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ, 16 ਮਾਰਚ (ਪ. ਪ.) ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਸਣੇ ਸਮੁੱਚੇ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਮੰਡਲ ਨੇ ਅੱਜ ਸਵੇਰੇ ਇਥੇ ਦਰਬਾਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ 'ਚ ਮੱਥਾ ਟੇਕਿਆ। ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਉਹ ਦੁਰਗਿਆਣਾ ਮੰਦਰ 'ਚ ਮੱਥਾ ਟੇਕਿਆ। ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਉਹ ਦੁਰਗਿਆਣਾ ਮੰਦਰ ਗਏ। ਵਿਧਾਨ ਸਭਾ ਚੋਣਾਂ 'ਚ ਅਕਾਲੀ-ਭਾਜਪਾ ਗਠਬੰਧਨ ਦੀ ਜਿੱਤ ਲਈ ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਦਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ ਕਰਕੇ ਅਗਲੀ ਪਾਰੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਅਸ਼ੀਰਵਾਦ ਲਿਆ।
ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਹਰਿਮੰਦਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਦੇ ਸੂਚਨਾ ਕੇਂਦਰ 'ਚ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਬਾਦਲ ਨੇ ਪੱਤਰਕਾਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਪੂਰੀ ਕੈਬਨਿਟ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਦੂਜੀ ਵਾਰ ਗਠਬੰਧਨ ਨੂੰ ਮਿਲੇ ਇਤਿਹਾਸਕ ਬਹੁਮਤ ਲਈ ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਧਾਰਮਿਕ ਸਥਾਨਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਸ਼ੀਸ਼ ਨਿਵਾਉਣ ਅਤੇ ਇਥੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਰਥਨਾ ਕਰਨ ਆਈ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਇਸ ਜ਼ਿੰਮੇਵਾਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਉਹ ਬਾਖੂਬੀ ਨਿਭਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਸ਼ਕਤੀ ਦੇਵੇ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਸਰਕਾਰ ...
ਚੱਪੜਚਿੜੀ, 14 ਮਾਰਚ (ਪ.ਪ.)-ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਨੇ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਰਾਜਨੀਤੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਨਵਾਂ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਰਚਦੇ ਹੋਏ 5ਵੀਂ ਵਾਰ ਸੂਬੇ ਦੇ ਮੁ¤ਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਵਜੋਂ ਸਹੁੰ ਚੁੱਕੀ।।ਬਾਦਲ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਦੂਸਰੀ ਵਾਰ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮੁ¤ਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਬਣੇ ਹਨ।।ਇ¤ਥੇ ਮੁਗਲਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਹਰਾਉਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਸਿ¤ਖ ਸੂਰਮੇ ਬਾਬਾ ਬੰਦਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਹਾਦਰ ਦੇ ਸਥਿਤ ਸਮਾਰਕ ’ਤੇ ਵ¤ਡੀ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਏ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ ਸਹੁੰ ਚੁ¤ਕ ਸਮਾਰੋਹ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਾਜਪਾਲ ਸ਼ਿਵ ਰਾਜ ਪਾਟਿਲ ਨੇ 85 ਸਾਲਾ ਬਾਦਲ ਨੂੰ ਮੁ¤ਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਦੇ ਅਹੁਦੇ ਦੀ ਸਹੁੰ ਚੁਕਾਈ।।ਉਹ ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਅਤੇ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਜਨਤਾ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਗਠਜੋੜ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਦੇ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਦੂਸਰੀ ਵਾਰ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਬਣੇ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਹੀ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੂਬੇ ਦੇ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਬਜ਼ੁਰਗ ਮੁ¤ਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਬਣਨ ਦਾ ਰੁਤਬਾ ਵੀ ਮਿਲ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ।।
ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਬਾਦਲ ਤੋਂ ਇਲਾਵਾ ...
Chandigarh, March 10 (DNS) For the first time in the last forty years, Punjab gave a second consecutive term to a party in power. Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal will take oath as the Chief Minister of Punjab for a fifth time on March 14. Today, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi said he will encourage the Congress General Secretary to campaign more.
"Wherever Rahul Gandhi goes, Congress loses...we will encourage him to campaign more," said the SAD president.
The Congress, in Uttar Pradesh, where Rahul had turned the revival of his party into his personal mission, could only add six seats to its earlier total of 22. The added insult comes from Rae Bareli and Amethi - the constituencies of Mr Gandhi and his mother - where the Congress took just two of the 10 assembly seats at stake. Priyanka Gandhi had campaigned extensively in this area and had promised her mother publicly that she would deliver all 10 seats.
Not just UP, Punjab was a disaster for the Congress too. The Congress, which had hoped that the anti-incumbency habit in the state would push it into government, was, however, left with just 46 out of 117 seats. The Congress candidate for chief minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, had predicted his party would defeat the Akalis. He won his seat, but his son, Raninder Singh, lost his constituency. ...
ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ, 9 ਮਾਰਚ (ਦੋਆਬਾ ਨਿਊਜ਼ ਸਰਵਿਸ)- ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਬਣੇ ਰਹਿਣਗੇ। ਸਾਰੀਆਂ ਅਟਕਲਾਂ ’ਤੇ ਵਿਰਾਮ ਲਗਾਉਂਦੇ ਹੋਏ ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਨੇ ਐਲਾਨ ਕੀਤਾ ਕਿ ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਸੂਬੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਪੰਜਵੀਂ ਵਾਰ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਬਣਨ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ। 14 ਮਾਰਚ ਨੂੰ ਸਹੁੰ ਚੁੱਕ ਸਮਾਗਮ ਦਾ ਆਯੋਜਨ ਹੋਵੇਗਾ। ਇਤਿਹਾਸਕ ਜਿੱਤ ਦਰਜ ਕਰਨ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ਦੇ ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ ਸੁਖਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬਾਦਲ ਨੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਦੇ ਗ੍ਰਹਿ ਵਿਖੇ ਪੱਤਰਕਾਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਮੈਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਹੀ ਐਲਾਨ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਸ. ਬਾਦਲ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਬਣੇ ਰਹਿਣਗੇ। ਸੁਖਬੀਰ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਸਹੁੰ ਚੁੱਕ ਸਮਾਗਮ 14 ਮਾਰਚ ਨੂੰ ਆਯੋਜਿਤ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ।
ਅਕਾਲੀ-ਭਾਜਪਾ ਗੱਠਜੋੜ ਨੇ ਬਣਾਇਆ ਨਵਾਂ ਰਿਕਾਰਡ- ਸ਼੍ਰੋਮਣੀ ਅਕਾਲੀ ਦਲ ...
