Punjab

Chandigarh, Sep 30 (PTI) Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh kept up his attack on Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday and said he thinks that the cricketer-turned-politician is undermining Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's authority.

He also said the kind of situation that Sidhu has created was never seen before in Punjab.

Asked if Sidhu is undermining Channi's authority, the veteran Congress leader, who returned to Chandigarh on Thursday evening after a visit to Delhi, said, "I think so."

Chandigarh, Sep 28 (PTI) Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday resigned as the chief of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee.

In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Sidhu, however, said he will continue to serve the party.

Sidhu had taken over as the state party chief in July this year.

"The collapse of a man's character stems from the compromise corner, I can never compromise on Punjab's future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab," he wrote in the letter.

Chandigarh, Sep 26 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi carried out his first cabinet expansion on Sunday, inducting 15 Cabinet Ministers which included seven new entrants, as the Congress gears up to face assembly elections that are barely five months away.

The new faces in the Channi Ministry are Randeep Singh Nabha, Raj Kumar Verka, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Pargat Singh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Gurkirat Singh Kotli.

Rana Gurjit Singh has made a comeback after resigning in 2018 from the Amrinder Singh Ministry.

Chandigarh, Sep 25 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday said he will meet ministers, MLAs and other political functionaries every Tuesday.

The move is aimed at ensuring better coordination between the government and people's representatives.

A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said Channi ordered that the Cabinet meeting would be held every Tuesday at 3 pm and directed all administrative secretaries and heads of departments to remain present in their offices during this time every Tuesday.

Chandigarh, Sep 25 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will meet Governor Banwarilal Purohit this afternoon as the list of legislators for the new cabinet has been finalised, sources said.

Channi is expected to meet the governor at 12:30 pm and the oath-taking ceremony for the new ministers is likely to take place Sunday, they said.

The development comes hours after Channi returned from Delhi having held a final round of discussion with the party high command on the faces to be included in the new cabinet.

Chandigarh, Sep 20 (PTI) Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi was on Monday sworn in as chief minister of Punjab.

He is the first Dalit to hold this post in the state.

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered oath to Channi at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here.

Channi took oath in Punjabi.

The Congress on Sunday picked Channi as chief minister of Punjab after Amarinder Singh resigned from the post.

Chandigarh, Sep 18 (PTI) Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit Saturday accepted Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's resignation.

The governor, however, has asked him and his council of ministers to continue in office for the transaction of routine business till alternative arrangements are made, according to an official statement.

"Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit accepted his (Amarinder) resignation and that of his council of ministers," said the statement.

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has decided to put in his papers ahead of the crucial Congress Legislature Party meeting in Chandigarh on Saturday evening, sources close to him said.

The chief minister will meet the Punjab governor around 4.30 pm and resign from the post. Earlier in the day, Amarinder Singh spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and expressed his anguish and displeasure over his repeated "humiliation", the sources said.

Chandigarh, Sep 13 (PTI) The SAD on Monday announced its candidates for 64 assembly seats for the upcoming polls in Punjab.

While Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal will fight from Jalalabad, former ministers Tota Singh, Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Daljit Singh Cheema and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon will contest from Dharamkot, Zira, Rupnagar, and Sahnewal, respectively.

Though the party had earlier announced names of 24 candidates, it released a complete list of 64 candidates on Monday for the 2022 state assembly polls.

Chandigarh, Sep 8 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will be donning the chef's hat for a dinner he will be hosting on Wednesday evening for athletes from the state who won medals at the Tokyo Olympics and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra from Haryana.

The dinner will be hosted at Singh's farmhouse at Siswan in Mohali.