Archives for 2021

Chandigarh: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has courted controversy while praising two party members, allegedly saying that they are capable of making policemen wet their pants.

Former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema slammed him over the purported remark and a Chandigarh police officer sent him a defamation notice.

“I have sent a defamation notice to him for humiliating the police,” Chandigarh Deputy Superintendent of Police Dilsher Singh Chandel said.

A sub-inspector also issued a video message condemning the remark.

Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu has backed the policemen and praised them for their role during militancy and COVID-19 times.

The controversy erupted after Sidhu, at a recent rally in Sultanpur Lodhi while pointing towards sitting MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, said he can “make a ‘thanedar’ (policeman) wet his pants”.

He repeated the remark at a rally in Batala on Sunday while praising local leader Ashwani Sekhri who was standing by his side.

When reporters asked him about his remark, Sidhu indicated that it should not be taken literally.

He said it’s a way of saying that these Congress leaders “wield authority”.

A video clip of Sidhu making the remark went viral on social media inviting sharp reaction from some police officials and political leaders.

Punjab Lok Congress president and former chief minister Amarinder Singh said it was sad that the men in uniform were being disrespected.

“Sad to see our men in uniform being disrespected. 1700 @PunjabPoliceInd personnel sacrificed their lives to bring the state out of the dark days and now they are being mocked by @INCPunjab leaders & above all their President. Shameful! A leader must give respect to earn respect,” Amarinder Singh said in a tweet.

SAD’s Daljit Singh Cheema questioned the “silence” of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa over Sidhu’s remark.

He asked both of them to tell Sidhu that he should refrain from making such a remark and ask him to withdraw his statement and seek apology from the police.

Chandigarh DSP Chandel dubbed Sidhu’s remark as “shameful”.

“It is very shameful that such a senior leader uses these words for his own force and humiliates them,” Chandel said.

“This is the same force which protects him (Sidhu) and his family,” he said in a video message.

He even dared Sidhu to return his force deployed for his protection.

“Without (security) force, even a rickshaw puller will not listen to him,” he said.

“I strongly condemn this remark and he (Sidhu) should not use such words for his force. The force has its own dignity and respect and it is our responsibility to maintain this dignity,” he said.

In a video message, Sub-Inspector Balbir Singh, posted in Jalandhar (Rural), said, “Such language was used by a senior leader against us, I strongly condemn it.”

He also requested the Punjab DGP not to allow the image of police to be affected.

“We live with our families in the society and our children question us why such language is being used against us,” Balbir Singh said.

He said this remark was not against any ‘thanedar’ but against the entire police force.

“I want to tell Sidhu Sahib that we are not cowards. We are brave and the whole country knows about the tales of our bravery,” he said as he recalled the role of police against militancy.

Without caring for their own lives, the personnel of the Punjab police provided food to the needy at their homes during the COVID-19 outbreak, he added.

Commenting on the videos of the Chandigarh DSP and the sub-inspector, Ludhiana MP Bittu lauded the Punjab police for its role in eliminating terrorism from the state.

Bittu, whose grandfather and the then chief minister Beant Singh died in a bomb blast in 1995, said, “Some videos of a DSP and sub-inspector have gone viral. First of all whatever has been said about the police, I seek apology,” he said.

“I know it is Punjab police personnel, from senior IPS officer to the constable level, which did not care for their own lives and curbed terrorism with iron hand,” Bittu wrote on his Facebook page.

Bittu said during the COVID-19 outbreak, the police force personnel took food to the homes of people.

Referring to the Ludhiana court bomb blast, he said it was the Punjab police which reached the spot first.

“How will they protect people if we use wrong words against them. It was very important that we stand by them,” he said.

“We are proud of you and we salute you,” he said.

New Delhi: Tata Group’s takeover of loss-making national carrier Air India is most likely delayed by a month till January as the completion of procedures taking longer than expected, an official said on Monday.

In October, the government accepted the highest bid made by a Tata Sons company for 100 per cent equity shares of Air India and Air India Express along with its 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company AISATS — the first privatisation in 20 years.

At that time, the government had stated that it wanted to complete the transactions, which included Tatas paying Rs 2,700 crore in cash, by December end.

As per the conditions in SPA, all formalities of handover would have to be completed within 8 weeks, but this date can be mutually extended by the buyer and seller and is being done in this case.

However, some regulatory approvals are yet to come in for the handover, and certain formalities are yet to be completed, the official, who wished not to be named, told PTI.

“The process would be completed by January,” he said without giving a specific date.

On October 25, the government had signed the share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. Tata’s would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and takeover Rs 15,300 crore of the airline’s debt.

The cash component would come once the handover process is completed, another official explained.

Tatas beat the Rs 15,100-crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of Rs 12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100 per cent stake in the loss-making carrier.

As of August 31, Air India had a total debt of Rs 61,562 crore. 75 per cent of this debt or Rs 46,262 crore will be transferred to a special purpose vehicle AIAHL before handing over the loss-making airline to Tata Group.

Tatas will not get to retain non-core assets, such as the Vasant Vihar Housing colony of Air India, Air India Building at Nariman Point, Mumbai, and Air India Building in New Delhi.

Of the 141 Air India aircraft that Tatas will get, 42 are leased planes, while the remaining 99 are owned.

While this will be the first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas’ stable – it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd.

Tata’s acquisition of Air India will give it access to a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, and Air India Express Ltd another 24 narrow-body aircraft besides control of 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing, and parking slots at domestic airports.

Air India started suffering losses every year since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007-08.

A Turnaround Plan (TAP) and a Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) were approved for Air India by the previous UPA regime in 2012. However, the TAP did not work out, and Air India continued to reel under losses, with the government giving Rs 20 crore per day to keep the airline afloat.

Over the last decade, more than Rs 1.10 lakh crore was infused by way of cash support and loan guarantees in the loss-making airline to keep it afloat.

Kolkata:The Centre has frozen all bank accounts of Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Monday.

Expressing shock, Banerjee said that this move has left Missionaries of Charity’s 22,000 patients and employees without food and medicines.

“Shocked to hear that on Christmas, Union Ministry FROZE ALL BANK ACCOUNTS of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in India! Their 22,000 patients & employees have been left without food & medicines,” she tweeted.

“While the law is paramount, humanitarian efforts must not be compromised,” Banerjee added.

Chandigarh: New entrant Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as the leading outfit in the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls, winning 14 of 35 wards in the final results declared on Monday.

The BJP, which enjoyed a majority in the previous MC House, came a close second registering win in 12 wards while the Congress bagged eight seats and the Shiromani Akali Dal one.

Current Chandigarh Mayor and BJP candidate Ravi Kant Sharma was defeated by AAP’s Damanpreet Singh, who won by a margin of 828 votes in Ward No.17.

AAP leader and Delhi MLA Raghav Chadha called his party’s performance a “trailer” before next year’s Punjab Assembly polls. Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

This time, the number of wards in the city was increased from 26 to 35. In the last MC elections, the BJP had won 20 seats and its erstwhile ally SAD one. The Congress had managed to win only four seats.

Traditionally, the municipal elections, held every five years, see a locking of horns between the BJP and the Congress, but the AAP’s entry made the contest this time triangular.

In the results declared on Monday, AAP leader Chander Mukhi Sharma lost to Congress’ Sachin Galav by a margin of 285 votes from Ward Np. 13. Chander Mukhi had joined AAP after quitting the Congress last year.

Former mayor and BJP candidate Davesh Moudgil lost to AAP’s Jasbir by 939 votes from Ward No. 21. In Ward No. 25, BJP Yuva Morcha leader Vijay Kaushal Rana was defeated by Yogesh Dhingra of AAP by a margin of 315 votes.

The ward was earlier represented by Chandigarh BJP president Arun Sood.

From Ward No.2, Congress leader Harmohinder Singh Lucky lost by a narrow margin of 11 votes to BJP’s Maheshinder Singh Sidhu.

BJP’s senior leader Heera Negi lost from Ward No.22 to AAP’s Anju Katyal by a narrow margin of 76 votes.

Among the prominent winners, Harpreet Kaur Babla of the Congress, wife of party senior leader Devinder Singh Babla, won with a margin of 3,103 votes, defeating Rashi Bhasin of the BJP in Ward No.10.

BJP’s Saurabh Joshi won from Ward No. 12 with a handsome margin of 1,887 votes, defeating Deipa Asdhir Dubey of the Congress.

Congress leader Gurbax Rawat defeated BJP’s senior leader Ravinder Singh Rawat from Ward No.27 by a margin of 2,862 votes. Kuljeet Singh Sandhu of the BJP registered a win from Ward Number 14, defeating AAP’s Kuldeep Singh by a margin of 255 votes.

From this ward, Chandigarh Congress chief Subhash Chawla’s son Sumit Chawla had also entered the fray.

From Ward number 30, SAD’s Hardeep Singh defeated Congress’ Atinderjit Singh by 2,145 votes.

Reacting to his win against the sitting mayor, AAP’s Damanpreet Singh said he gives credit for this victory to city party leader Pradeep Chhabra, whom he called “his guru”, party national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

“Work is always appreciated and it has paid dividends today,” he said.

Hitting out at the BJP and the Congress, AAP leader Raghav Chadha said people were fed up with them as they failed to deliver despite being given chance repeatedly.

People were looking for an “honest, viable alternative”, he said.

“These two traditional parties failed to undertake development and bring about a change in the system, which people wanted. People saw how an ordinary councillor, who used to roam on bicycle and scooter, has big farmhouses and accumulated properties,” said Chadha.

Asked if the results will have any impact on the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls, Chadha quipped, “This is just a trailer.”

“The mood of people here will be seen in the Punjab polls too,” he said.

“People of Chandigarh have given a chance to Kejriwal, people of Punjab too will give us one chance,” he added.

New Delhi: Seventy-six lawyers have written to Chief Justice N V Ramana, requesting him to take suo motu cognisance of hate speeches allegedly made at separate events organised in Delhi and Haridwar.

The letter alleged that the speeches delivered during the events were not mere hate speeches but amounted to an open call for murder of an entire community.

“The said speeches thus, pose a grave threat not just to the unity and integrity of our country but also endanger the lives of millions of Muslim citizens,” the letter said.

“It is also pointed out that the recent speeches are a part of a series of similar speeches that we have come across in the past… Thus, urgent judicial intervention is required to prevent such events that seem to have become the order of the day,” it read.

The letter has been signed by senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Dushyant Dave, and Meenakshi Arora among others.

An FIR was lodged in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district against Jitendra Narayan Tyagi and others in connection with alleged hate speeches delivered at a ‘Dharma Sansad’ to incite violence against the minorities.

The second event was organised by the Hindu Yuva Vahini in Delhi.

Tyagi, who changed his name from Waseem Rizvi after converting to Hinduism earlier this month, and other speakers at last week’s event have been accused of making extremely provocative speeches, and some video clips of the same are doing the rounds on social media.

The FIR was registered under IPC section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), and the matter is under investigation, the police said.

The case was registered on the basis of a complaint by a resident of the Jwalapur area in Haridwar.

At the event, several speakers allegedly made inflammatory and provocative speeches calling for the killing of people from the minority communities and for taking up arms and shooting a former prime minister.

The ‘Dharma Sansad’ was allegedly organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of Juna Akhada who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against the minorities in the past.