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Wednesday, May 22nd 09:05 PM IST
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Parkash Singh Badal GALLERY.
strongChandigarh/strong: At a time when Punjab is at the political crossroads over the issue of allowing international supermarket chains in multi-brand retail, Congress leader Amarinder Singh has accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of putting politics before Punjab and said the state will pay the price for Badal's indecision. The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, which runs an alliance government in Punjab with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has opposed allowing foreign investment in the state's retail business. Parkash Singh Badal is only playing politics. He knows it (foreign investment) is good for Punjab. His own mandi board chairman has spoken out in favour, Amarinder Singh, the former chief minister, told IANS in an interview here. This is entirely due to political compulsions and his closeness to the BJP. This has been his stand ever since aunha nu naal rakhna hai (we need to keep them (BJP) with us). Initially when they were fighting (elections), they were always losing. They only started forming the government (in Punjab) when the BJP came in, Amarinder said while drawing out Badal's compulsions to oppose the move to opening up retail to what is called foreign direct investment (FDI). The contradictions within the ruling Akali Dal have seen a flip-flop by its top leadership. Akali Dal president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had in December last year written to Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma lauding the move and complimenting the central government. [caption id=attachment_486013 align=alignleft width=380 strongChandigarh/strong: At a time
strongMilwaukee (Wisconsin): /strongVisiting Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been hit by a federal lawsuit by a Sikh human rights group alleging that he oversaw the torture of Sikhs in India. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Wednesday issued summons against Badal on a 30-page complaint filed by Avtar Singh of New York, who lists himself as coordinator of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). The lawsuit contends that Badal had shielded police officials who inflicted custodial torture and were responsible for the extra judicial killings and continuous human rights violations against the Sikh community in Punjab. It claims the federal court has jurisdiction under the Torture Victim Protection and Alien Tort laws, and because Badal is currently in Wisconsin. The court summons give Badal, who has been chief minister of Punjab for more than 12 years from 1997 till 2002 and from 2007 till present, 21 days to answer the charges. [caption id=attachment_411628 align=alignleft width=380 strongMilwaukee (Wisconsin): /stron
British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, visits the Golden Temple, Sikh s holiest shrine, along with Chief Minister of Punjab state Parkash Singh Badal, center left wearing glasses, in Amritsar, India, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Cameron also laid a mourning wreath at Jallianwala Bagh, the site of a notorious 1919 massacre of hundreds of Indians by British colonial forces. More than 300 Indians were killed during the massacre on unarmed Indians attending a rally, which galvanized the national independence movement. British Prime Minister David Camero
British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, visits the Golden Temple, Sikh s holiest shrine, along with Chief Minister of Punjab state Parkash Singh Badal, center left wearing glasses, in Amritsar, India, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Cameron also laid a mourning wreath at Jallianwala Bagh, the site of a notorious 1919 massacre of hundreds of Indians by British colonial forces. More than 300 Indians were killed during the massacre on unarmed Indians attending a rally, which galvanized the national independence movement. British Prime Minister David Camero
British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, visits the Golden Temple, Sikh s holiest shrine, along with Chief Minister of Punjab state Parkash Singh Badal, second from left wearing glasses, in Amritsar, India, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Cameron also laid a mourning wreath at Jallianwala Bagh, the site of a notorious 1919 massacre of hundreds of Indians by British colonial forces. More than 300 Indians were killed during the massacre on unarmed Indians attending a rally, which galvanized the national independence movement. British Prime Minister David Camero
British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, pays obeisance at the Golden Temple, Sikh s holiest shrine, along with Chief Minister of Punjab state Parkash Singh Badal, center left, in Amritsar, India, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Cameron also laid a mourning wreath at Jallianwala Bagh, the site of a notorious 1919 massacre of hundreds of Indians by British colonial forces. More than 300 Indians were killed during the massacre on unarmed Indians attending a rally, which galvanized the national independence movement. British Prime Minister David Camero
strongOak Creek (Wisconsin):/strong Describing the Wisconsin gurdwara shooting that claimed six lives as very shocking, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has appealed to the Sikhs in the US to keep peace and harmony, as he met the victims' families and visited the injured. Badal, who is on a private visit to the US along with several of his Cabinet colleagues, reached Milwaukee area in Wisconsin state yesterday and met the victims' families. The Punjab Chief Minister is also expected to attend the visitation for the gurdwara shooting victims tomorrow, which will take place from 9 am to 11 am local time at the Oak Creek High School. I came here for a wedding; I never expected such a thing, Badal told the local emMilwaukee Journal Sentinel/em. [caption id=attachment_412135 align=alignleft width=380 strongOak Creek (Wisconsin):/strong
Having spent over 30 years of his life in Pakistani jails on spying charges, Punjab resident Surjeet Singh has been given financial assistance of Rs.500,000 by the state government. Surjeet, who was released late last month, was given the cheque by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, a spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said. Badal also assured Surjeet that his son Kulwinder would be given a regular government job based on his qualifications. Surjeet's family depends on the meagre income they get from agriculture. During the meeting at the chief minister's residence, Badal felicitated Surjeet for rendering a great service to the nation and assured him that the state government was committed to extending all possible help for the rehabilitation of his family within the legal framework. [caption id=attachment_382860 align=alignleft width=380 Having spent over 30 years of his l
strongNew Delhi/strong: After committing support to UPA, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today ruled out his involvement in formation of third front before the next Lok Sabha polls even though he had an intriguing meeting with Sukhbir Badal, President of NDA's key constituent Akali Dal. Yadav went to the residence of Badal, son of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, and is understood to have discussed the possibility of the two parties joining forces in the event of formation of a non-Congress government, sources said. [caption id=attachment_464842 align=alignleft width=380 strongNew Delhi/strong: After commi
strongMuktsar (Pb):/strong Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today accused the Centre of meting out step- motherly treatment to the state and said the union government is partial in disbursements of grants. Unending saga of discrimination and step motherly treatment against Punjab and its peasantry (by Centre) is a deliberate attempt to demoralise the state, Badal told reporters after presiding over the Sports tournament at Abul Khurana here. He said, There is hardly any positive outcome from the side of Union government in allocation of funds and schemes to the state due to which its development had been badly hit...This is despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is at the helm of affairs at the Centre, being the son of soil (hailing from Punjab). [caption id=attachment_638953 align=alignleft width=380 strongMuktsar (Pb):/strong Punjab C
strongChandigarh/strong: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday sought immediate intervention of his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi and BJP chief Nitin Gadkari to sort out the issue of ownership right of Punjabi farmers on the agriculture land in Gujarat. In separate letters to Modi and Gadkari, Badal said the orders of the Kutch Collector to freeze more than 1000 Khedut Khatas (agricultural accounts) of the Punjabi farmers was an injustice to these people who had developed this barren land into a fertile one with their hard labour. The Chief Minister said he was peeved to learn that though the Gujarat High Court had given a ruling in favour of these farmers, the state government had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against it. [caption id=attachment_443344 align=alignleft width=380 strongChandigarh/strong: Punjab Chi
strongJalandhar/strong: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday advocated abolition of visa regime among the SAARC countries, and hoped the ongoing bilateral talks between India and Pakistan would pave way for the historic decision. He said, it would help in heralding a new era of mutual trust and goodwill in the region. Badal expressed hope that the ongoing bilateral talks between India and Pakistan would pave way for this historic decision. [caption id=attachment_448871 align=alignnone width=380 strongJalandhar/strong: Punjab Chie
Indian Punjab State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (C), along with Punjab State Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal (R), Sukhpreet Kaur (C-down) wife of Sarabjit Singh an Indian death row prisoner that was killed in Pakistan, and daughter Swapandip (2R) pay tribute to Sarabjit Singh before his cremation at Bikhiwind village some 45 kms from Amritsar, on May 3, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2 after being savagely beaten with a brick in Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Singh was cremated with state honours in his native village in northwestern India where hundreds of angry demonstrators shouted 'Down with Pakistan!' as they gathered to pay their tribute. Indian Punjab State Chief Minister
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (C) speaks with Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of the northern Indian state of Punjab, as he visits the holy Sikh shrine of Golden temple in Amritsar February 20, 2013. Cameron on Wednesday became the first serving prime minister to voice regret about one of the British Empire's bloodiest episodes in India, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and laid a wreath at Amritsar, scene of a notorious massacre of unarmed civilians. Britain's Prime Minister David Came
Indian Punjab State chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, (2L), Punjab state cabinet minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, (L), Dalbir Kaur, (C), sister of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner fatally assaulted in Pakistan, Singh's wife Sukhpreet Kaur (3R) and his daughter Swapandip (2R) attend the Bhog ceremony (final prayer) of Akhand Path recited in memory of Sarabjit Singh at Bikhiwind village, some 45 kms from Amritsar on May 11, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2, 2013 after being beaten in a Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Indian Punjab State chief minister
Punjab state chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (L) consoles Sukhpreet Kaur, (2L), wife of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner fatally assaulted in Pakistan as Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur (2R) and daughters Swapandip (R) and Poonam (C) look on during the Bhog ceremony (final prayer) of Akhand Path recited in memory of Sarabjit Singh at Bikhiwind village, some 45 kms from Amritsar on May 11, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2, 2013 after being beaten in a Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Punjab state chief minister Parkash
strongSri Muktsar Sahib/strong: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday said his government would start cultural exchange programmes with Pakistan to strengthen ties between the countries. Addressing reporters after presiding over the felicitation ceremony of Pakistan's Federal Minister, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, here, Badal said the state government was duty bound to improve ties with Pakistan so that a new era of mutual trust and cooperation could be ushered in. For this, cultural exchanges could play a pivotal role as they would encourage interaction among the youth and thaw differences. He asked Wattoo to impress upon the National Government of Pakistan for sending a delegation of students to educational institutions of the state for promoting mutual trust and goodwill in the region. [caption id=attachment_454654 align=alignleft width=380 strongSri Muktsar Sahib/strong: Pun
Punjab state chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (2L) presents shawls to Sukhpreet Kaur, (2R), wife of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner fatally assaulted in Pakistan and Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur (C) during the Bhog ceremony (final prayer) of Akhand Path recited in memory of Sarabjit Singh at Bikhiwind village, some 45 kms from Amritsar on May 11, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2, 2013 after being beaten in a Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Punjab state chief minister Parkash
Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid (R) along with Punjab State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (2L) pay their respects at the Sikh Shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on January 6, 2012. Khurshid and Badal visited the city to attend the inauguration ceremony of 8th South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) International Conference 2013. Indian Minister for External Affair
Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid (2R) along with Punjab State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (3R) pay their respects at the Sikh Shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on January 6, 2012. Khurshid and Badal visited the city to attend the inauguration ceremony of 8th South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) International Conference 2013. Indian Minister for External Affair
Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid (C) along with Punjab State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (2L) pay their respects at the Sikh Shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on January 6, 2012. Khurshid and Badal visited the city to attend the inauguration ceremony of 8th South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) International Conference 2013. Indian Minister for External Affair
Punjab state chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (L) gives cheques to Sukhpreet Kaur, (C), wife of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner fatally assaulted in Pakistan and Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur during the Bhog ceremony (final prayer) of Akhand Path recited in memory of Sarabjit Singh at Bikhiwind village, some 45 kms from Amritsar on May 11, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2, 2013 after being beaten in a Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Punjab state chief minister Parkash
Indian Punjab State chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (2L) greets Sukhpreet Kaur (4R), wife of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner fatally assaulted in Pakistan, Singh's daughters Swapandip (R) and Poonam (%L) and sister Dalbir Kaur (3R) during the Bhog ceremony (final prayer) of Akhand Path recited in memory of Sarabjit Singh at Bikhiwind village, some 45 kms from Amritsar on May 11, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2, 2013 after being beaten in a Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Indian Punjab State chief minister
Senior Congress leader and former Union minister, Ambika Soni (R) speaks as Punjab State chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (L) and the family of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner fatally assaulted in Pakistan look on during the Bhog ceremony (final prayer) of Akhand Path recited in memory of Sarabjit Singh at Bikhiwind village, some 45 kms from Amritsar on May 11, 2013. Singh, an Indian convicted 16 years ago in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died May 2, 2013 after being beaten in a Lahore prison, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Senior Congress leader and former U
Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid (C) along with Punjab State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (L) pay their respects at the Sikh Shrine Golden temple in Amritsar on January 6, 2012. Khurshid and Badal visited the city to attend the inauguration ceremony of 8th South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) International Conference 2013. Indian Minister for External Affair
strongNew Delhi/strong: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today appealed to HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju to relax the '5-km distance' criteria under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan to boost school-level education in the state. RMSA is a shared scheme of the Centre and state government to achieve universalisation of secondary education and to contain dropout after elementary education. The scheme aims to provide a secondary school within a reachable distance of any habitation, which should be 5 km for secondary school. [caption id=attachment_545719 align=alignleft width=380 strongNew Delhi/strong: Punjab Chie
strongChandigarh:/strong Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal yesterday described as deeply painful and shocking the attack by gunmen on devotees at a Gurudwara in the US and urged the authorities there to ensure that the sanctity of religious shrines is maintained. [caption id=attachment_406185 align=alignleft width=380 strongChandigarh:/strong Punjab Chi
Indian Harbrinder Kaur (C),22 , who was allegedly beaten by police along with her father Kashmir Singh (L), and brother Gurjinder Singh (R) arrive to speak to the media at Usman village near Tarn Taran district about 25 kms (15 miles) from Amritsar on March 6, 2013. Taking serious view of the alleged beating of Kaur by policemen in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. The 22-year-old girl and her father were allegedly beaten by policemen when they sought to lodge a complaint against some persons who teased the girl and passed vulgar comments in public. Indian Harbrinder Kaur (C),22 , who
Indian Harbrinder Kaur (C),22 , who was allegedly beaten by police along with her father Kashmir Singh (L), and brother Gurjinder Singh (R) arrive to speak to the media at Usman village near Tarn Taran district about 25 kms (15 miles) from Amritsar on March 6, 2013. Taking serious view of the alleged beating of Kaur by policemen in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. The 22-year-old girl and her father were allegedly beaten by policemen when they sought to lodge a complaint against some persons who teased the girl and passed vulgar comments in public. Indian Harbrinder Kaur (C),22 , who
Sometimes, one wonders if the old Mughal technique of powerful princes imprisoning their Emperor-Dads and grabbing power is not a better way to ring out the old and bring in new ideas to governance. In modern-day India, the thought processes on this score are ancient. The young are not leading, and the old are not retiring - or even receding gracefully into the background. Whether it is politics of sport or even business, old is oversold. We respect age too much, and have been paying a price for it. The country's median age is about 26. Some 30 percent of the population is minor - below 14. And 95 percent of India's population is below 64, but we are ruled usually by people well above that age. Consider the number of above eighties in politics. LK Advani won't retire, M Karunanidhi won't retire, Parkash Singh Badal won't retire, Jyoti Basu and VS Achuthanadan were CPI(M) Chief Ministers well into their eighties. The party's General Secretary, the late Harkishan Singh Surjeet, did not yield to Prakash Karat till he was 89. Atal Behari Vajpayee retired as PM at 80 only because he lost an election. Manmohan Singh, who will be 80 in two months, won't retire till 2014 - if even then. [caption id=attachment_373448 align=alignleft width=380 Sometimes, one wonders if the old M