New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has been accused of spying on the BJP. In this case, Delhi Lieutenant-governor Vinai Saxena has given permission to the CBI to register a case against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Along with Sisodia, a case will also be registered against six others, including an IAS officer.

It is alleged that after coming to power in 2015, the AAP government had created a feedback unit under the Vigilance Department, which was used to spy on political opponents. According to officials in the LG’s office, the initial investigation of the CBI has revealed that the feedback unit was used to spy on politicians.

Delhi BJP is protesting today on this issue. It also includes Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.

The BJP has alleged that this unit has been formed under the Vigilance Department to keep an eye on the leaders of the opposition party.

The BJP said Rs 1 crore was given at the time of formation of the feedback unit. This fund was named secret service fund.

The head of the FBU was also made a retired officer from the paramilitary force. The BJP is now demanding that the expenditure incurred on this should also be recovered from Manish Sisodia.

According to sources, LG raised questions that the proposal to create a feedback unit was placed in the cabinet on September 29, 2015. The chief minister himself made the proposal, but no cabinet note was given along with it. It seems that it was made like a private intelligence agency.

The FBU started functioning from February 2016, at that time it employed 17 people, all contractual employees. All of them were retired from paramilitary forces and agencies like IB. This FBU could work only for seven months. Then the Vigilance Department itself complained about it and it was dissolved.

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New Delhi: After the CBI raid at the house of Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, four AAP MLAs on Wednesday accused the BJP that they were offered 20-20 crores by the BJP to leave the party and join the BJP.

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia has targeted the BJP and said in a tweet, “Failed to break me, now by offering 20-20 crores to other AAP MLAs, by showing fear of raid, started a conspiracy to break them.”

Sisodia further wrote, “BJP should keep it in mind, I am a soldier of Arvind Kejriwal ji, a follower of Bhagat Singh. Will give life but will not betray. Your ED CBI is of no use in front of them.”

Addressing a press conference, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday alleged that AAP MLAs in Delhi have received indirect threats from BJP leaders if they do not take Rs 20 crore from BJP and quit AAP, then they will also have the same fate as the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia.

Sanjay Singh said that the same model that worked on Shinde in Maharashtra failed on Sisodia, but now BJP is targeting AAP MLAs.

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Hoshiarpur: Sunder Sham Arora has not only betrayed the Congress but also the residents of Hoshiarpur who made him a cabinet minister. These views were expressed by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Raja Warring who arrived here today. He said the joining of Sunder Sham Arora in the BJP will not make any difference to the Congress.

Four four ministers Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Sunder Sham Arora joined the BJP in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah yesterday.

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Chandigarh: In a bid to reduce carbon emissions for making the state greener and healthier, the Punjab Government on Sunday announced to impose ban on single used plastic from coming July.

During a virtual state-level function to mark World Environment Day 2022, Secretary, Science, Technology and Environment Rahul Tewari announced the decision of the state government for protecting the environment in the state. He said that ban on single used plastic will be imposed from July 2022 onwards to make Punjab greener and healthier. Rahul Tewari said that the state government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to make Punjab clean, green and pollution free by walking on the path shown by our revered Guru Sahibs.

Announcing to set up 55 STPs across the state, the Secretary informed that these ultra-modern plants will reduce water pollution level to certain extent as well as using the treated water for cultivation and other allied activities. Speaking about initiatives of state government to convert Fossil Fuel based Industrial Units into Natural Gas based units, he mentioned that the state government has started online monitoring of industrial units by installing state of the art meters in industrial units as well as Online Monitoring Stations to check water and air pollution level. Setting up the target of planting 1.20 crore saplings this year, Rahul Tewari said that the state was ready with Climate Action Plan 2.0 to reduce carbon emissions.

In another path breaking initiative, the Secretary announced to institutionalise Shaheed Bhagat Singh Punjab state environment award for outstanding contribution Towards environment protection and conservation of pression precious natural resources of the state. He said that this award will be a recognition to the outstanding hard work made by individuals/organizations for the preservation of natural resources. Rahul Tewari said that this award will be named after Great son of the soil and Legendary martyr Shaheed Bhagat Singh, who laid down his life for the emancipation of the country from clutches of foreign imperialism.

On this occasion Common, the Secretary also dedicated 50 MLDS capacity Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP), Ludhiana and Gallery of Pushpa Gujral Science City to showcase salient features of Tandrust Punjab Mission, to the people of state. He also released Coffee Table Book on ‘Threatened Flora and Fauna of Punjab’ jointly published by Punjab Biodiversity Board and Punjab State Council for Science & Technology. Mission Tandrust Punjab Action Plan for Financial Year 2022-23 prepared by Society of Mission Tandrust Punjab and Student Activity Book on Climate Change prepared by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology besides Compendium on Environment Acts, Rules and Regulations prepared by Punjab Pollution Control Board.

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Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday nominated Sangrur district in-charge Gurmail Singh as the Lok Sabha candidate from Sangrur, which is scheduled for June 23.

Singh, a staunch worker of the party, joined AAP in 2013 and has been working industriously for welfare of the state. He is a eminent environmentalist and has been running a plantation drive since 2008.

Gurmail has held important responsibilities from the circle in-charge of the party to the district in-charge. Currently, he is sarpanch of Gharachon village.

Announcing him as a candidate for Sangrur bypoll, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that party has fielded Gurmail Singh, a volunteer connected to the ground, for the bypolls.

CM Mann, who had won from Sangrur parliamentary seat in 2014 and 2019, extended his good wishes to Gurmail and said Singh is a well-educated and a social activist, who has been working painstakingly for upliftment of the Sangrur constituency for years.

Meanwhile, AAP won all the 9 assembly segments in the 2022 polls. The seat had fallen vacant after CM Mann contested and won from Dhuri assembly segment in the recently held assembly polls.

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Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party has finalised the names of Padma Shri Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and Padma Shri Vikramjit Singh Sahani for 2 Rajya Sabha seats in Punjab. The party will file the nomination papers of both the candidates on May 31. May 31 has been set as the last date for filing of nomination papers of a Punjab Rajya Sabha member by the Election Commission, while voting will be held on June 10

Sant Balbir Singh has been working for a long time to take care of the environment. Vikramjit Singh Sahni is also known for his social service works all over the world.

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Chandigarh: Health minister Vijay Singla has been arrested and brought to police station Phase VIII Mohali.

A case under the Corruption Act has been registered against health minister Vijay Singla by the Mohali police.

Meanwhile the media has been barred from entering the police station for the time being by the police.

Reiterating his government’s firm commitment to make Punjab a corruption free state, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today dismissed Health Minister Dr Vijay Singla for seeking 1% commission in department headed by him.

“My government is having zero tolerance towards corruption and no one, howsoever affluent he may be, will be allowed to continue such malpractices ”, said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister categorically said that he had dismissed Dr Singla from his Cabinet and asked the Police to register case against him. He said that since the case was only in his knowledge so he could have easily buried it or ignored it. However, Bhagwant Mann said that after taking oath at sacred soil of Khatkar Kalan he had vowed to make Punjab corruption free and this is a historic step towards this cause.

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Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting searches at premises linked to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra at three places in Punjab’s Sangrur in connection with a bank fraud case of over Rs 40 crore.

Gajjananmajra is an AAP MLA from Amargarh constituency in Punjab.

The raid was conducted in Malerkotla area of Sangrur district on the complaint of Bank of Baroda.

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Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today requested Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to intervene and apprise the Sentence Review Board (SRD) of the Delhi government about the special remission granted to Prof Devinderpal Singh Bhullar by the union government to ensure his immediate release from prison.

The SAD president, while writing to the Delhi chief minister on this issue, said it was a matter of concern that the Delhi State SRB had rejected the proposal for Prof Bhullar’s repeatedly. “You yourself had during the recent Punjab assembly election stated that you had directed the SRB to meet and reconsider its earlier decision to block Prof Bhullar’s release. The fact that the opposite occurred during the meeting of the SRB on March 3 has raised a question mark on the commitment made by you in this context.

Sukhbir Badal also brought it to the notice of the Delhi chief minister that Prof Bhullar’s release was being blocked repeatedly by the SRB despite the fact that the centre’s direction to give special remission to the prisoner was binding on the State government. Appealing to the chief minister on behalf of Sikhs worldwide as well as all Punjabis to take note of these facts and intervene personally in the matter, Mr Badal said “these facts also need to be presented to the SRB in the right perspective”.

Asserting that the quick release of the Sikh prisoner would consolidate peace and communal harmony in Punjab, Badal said the inordinate delay in this release had hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community as well as Punjabis at large. “There is a growing demand from the community as well as Punjabis in general that Prof Bhullar, who has been incarcerated for more than 26 years, be freed on humanitarian grounds keeping in view his worsening mental and physical health. This sentiment should be respected”.

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Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday has cancelled his visit Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal to Delhi government schools and mohalla clinics tomorrow.

AAP had yet to give any official response that why Mann has cancelled his planned visit to Delhi.

Earlier, Mann faced heavy criticisms from opposition leaders in state for sending senior bureaucrats for holding meeting with Delhi CM Kejriwal without his present.

CM Mann, however, justified the move and said that he would send the official again and will also go himself to get information about advance Delhi model to implement it in the Punjab.

Meanwhile, Mohalla Clinic is a community clinic established AAP government in Delhi to ensure quality Healthcare in localities and Delhi has around 300 Mohalla Clinics at present besides many model schools, which AAP claims to overshadow private schools in delivering qualify education to students.

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