Punjab

Chandigarh, Aug 20 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and State Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday agreed to set up a 10-member strategic policy group to ensure better coordination between the party and the state government and expedite implementation of various government programmes.

The development is seen as a sign of thaw between Singh and Sidhu, amid the ongoing tussle between the two of them.

Ferozepur, Aug 19 (PTI) Two-time Ferozepur MLA Sukhpal Singh Nannu on Thursday quit the BJP, citing the death of farmers during the agitation against the Centre's farm laws.

Nannu had won from Ferozepur city twice as BJP candidate in 2002 and 2007. He lost to Congress' Parminder Singh Pinky in 2012 and 2017.

Addressing the media at his residence, Nannu said due to the death of several farmers during the ongoing agitation against the farm laws, his supporters were upset and forced him to take some decision ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

Attari (Amritsar), Aug 15 (PTI) The Border Security Force on Sunday offered sweets to the Pakistani Rangers at Attari-Wagah border on the occasion of Independence Day, officials said.

Indian troops on Saturday had greeted their Pakistani counterparts on their nation's Independence Day and exchanged sweets along the Line of Control and the International Border in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan Rangers had offered sweets to the BSF at the Attari-Wagah border. The Indian border guarding force reciprocated the gesture on Sunday.

Ludhiana, Aug 3 (PTI) A group of farmers held a protest outside the venue where a BJP meeting was taking place here, with police saying their timely intervention prevented the situation from turning ugly.

Police said a meeting of the women wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party was being held and when the farmers protested.

The meeting was attended by Sukhpreet Kaur, national general secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha, and Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharm.

Carrying BKU flags, the farmers raised slogans against the Centre over its contentious farm laws.

Chandigarh, Jul 28 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the Kartarpur corridor so that devotees could visit the shrine dedicated to Sikh Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan.

Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chandigarh, Jul 23 (PTI) Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday took over as the new chief of the Punjab Congress at an event held here, which was attended by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, with whom he was at loggerheads in the recent past.

The new working presidents of the Punjab Congress -- Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel and Kuljit Singh Nagra -- also assumed charge at the event at the party's state headquarters here in the presence of a huge number of Congress workers and supporters.

New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the new president of the party's Punjab unit, notwithstanding the strong opposition from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Gandhi also appointed four working presidents to assist Sidhu in the run-up to the next assembly elections.

The appointments came after days of internal squabbling and public bickering that virtually divided the state unit between two factions owing allegiance to Singh and Sidhu.

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Convoys of farmers from different parts of Punjab have started their journeys towards Delhi to take part in planned protests outside the Parliament House during the monsoon session, a statement by Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) said on Monday.

We already announced plans to stage protests during the monsoon session of Parliament starting July 22.

Chandigarh, Jul 11 (PTI) A group of farmers protesting against the Centre's farm laws on Sunday chased away a local BJP leader and allegedly manhandled him during a protest against the party at Rajpura in Punjab's Patiala district.

The BJP's Punjab unit general secretary, Subhash Sharma, and party workers were later in the evening not allowed to come out of a house as scores of farmers laid siege.

Protesting farmers had gathered outside the venue of the BJP's local leaders and workers' meeting in Rajpura and started raising slogans against them.

Hoshiarpur (Punjab), July 9 (PTI) A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour in a village here, police said on Friday.

The incident took place in Nangal Shahidan village on Thursday when the girl's parents, who are daily wagers, were at work and the victim was alone at home.

A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered on the complaint of the victim's mother.