Tag: Govt

Punjab Cong chief comes down heavily on AAP govt over Amritpal Singh issue

[ad_1]
In a statement, he said people’s trust and confidence in the state government was at its lowest ebb ever in history.
“It won’t be any exaggeration that Bhagwant Mann is spearheading the most inept state government in the country which hurtles towards a new embarrassment every new day,” Warring said, adding that the absence of governance in Punjab is a matter of concern for every Punjabi.
He said there are tell tale signs that the state government’s intelligence failed miserably in catching the Khalistan sympathiser even after such ‘meticulous’ planning as is being claimed by the state government.
Notably, the Punjab Police on Wednesday reiterated that they are making all-out efforts to trace Amritpal against whom a lookout circular and a non-bailable warrant had been issued.
“Our efforts are on to arrest him,” he said.
After the police crackdown against elements of ‘Waris Punjab De’ on Saturday, the Khalistan sympathiser switched from Mercedes car to Brezza SUV and later went to a gurdwara in Nangal Ambian village in Jalandhar from where he escaped along with three others on two bikes.
Warring also wrote to Punjab’s Director General of Police, saying he had earlier too written two letters drawing attention to the “growing concern of Punjabis regarding the Amritpal Singh issue and about him getting emboldened with every passing day”.
“I am very sure if you would have cautioned the Punjab government on the urgency of the matter and had the government been serious about the damage he was inflicting on the law and order situation by misguiding the youth of Punjab, the present-day situation could have been avoided.

“..I have always been appreciative of the capabilities of Punjab Police under your able leadership as Director General, but I am dumb struck and aghast at the failure of the Punjab Police.
“I am sure that Amritpal must have been under police surveillance for his anti national activities for quite some time. As per the information in public domain, he is said to have escaped by switching vehicles and changing dresses..,” the letter stated.
Warring mentioned that to allegedly cover up this failure of Punjab Police to nab Amritpal Singh, the police is rounding up a large number of youths who are branded as associates of Waris Punjab De chief.
“No doubt some young boys must have been misguided by his religious sermons, yet I feel that branding them as hardcore anti-national elements will further alienate these young people from mainstream and may push them to become hardliners, which Punjab can ill afford at this juncture.
“We do not support any leniency towards anti-national elements or criminals, but a soft approach is needed to bring these misguided youth back into the mainstream and rehabilitate them,” he added.
[ad_2]
#Punjab #Cong #chief #heavily #AAP #govt #Amritpal #Singh #issue
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
Delhi: AAP govt allocates Rs 16,575 crore for education sector

[ad_1]
New Delhi: The Delhi government will provide new tablets to all teachers, principals and vice-principals, besides setting up new computers in 350 schools in the national capital in 2023-24.
The Delhi Budget presented by Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot on Wednesday allocated Rs 16,575 crore for the education department for the year 2023-24.
In the 2022-23 Delhi Budget, the education sector received the highest allocation of Rs 16,278 crore.
Providing 20 new computers to each of the 350 schools under the Delhi government and teaching of French, German, Japanese and Spanish languages in Schools of Specialised Excellence are the highlights of Delhi’s budget for the education sector.
The minister said more branches of the Ambedkar Schools of Specialised Education will come up in 2023. In 2021, there were 20 schools of specialised education, which will be increased to 37 in 2023.
Gahlot also announced that schools and industries will collaborate to develop professional skills for children at Schools of Applied Learning.
According to the Delhi government, around 56 students of the first batch of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Curriculum got direct admissions in the top seven universities of Delhi in courses such as BBA and B.Tech.
The first batch of Delhi’s Model Virtual School got students from 14 different states across the nation, the minister said.

He further said that in the past eight years, 1,410 teachers, principals and educators were sent to Finland, Singapore and Cambridge by the Delhi government, 1,247 principals received training in IIM Ahmedabad and 61 principals in IIM Lucknow.
State-of-the-art sports complexes have been developed in the last five years, including the International Sports Complex in Kair (Najafgarh), Mundhela Sports Complex and the Pehladpur Sports Complex, Gahlot said.
Projects in the pipeline include a wrestling hostel and relaying of synthetic tracks at the Chhatrasal Stadium, upgrading the Rajiv Gandhi stadium and construction of a squash centre at the Thyagraj stadium, the minister said.
He added that there are plans to develop a multipurpose sports complex at Samaspur Khalsa in Najafgarh for which 35 acres of land have already been allocated.
The government has disbursed an amount of Rs 110 crore to more than 9,000 players in the last eight years, the minister said.
[ad_2]
#Delhi #AAP #govt #allocates #crore #education #sector
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023
VHP lauds AAP govt in Punjab, Centre for ‘willpower’ against Amritpal

[ad_1]
New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday praised the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab as well as the Centre for investigation against punjab-de”>Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal Singh.
At a celebration of the Hindu New Year, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Working President Alok Kumar said the Punjab government had shown “willpower and determination” in action against Amritpal Singh and his aides.
“In the past two days, the willpower and determination showed by Punjab, and the way the Centre and Punjab have together taken those challenging India’s integrity head-on, it is something to celebrate. Some people have started running businesses in the name of Khalistan, this should be banned immediately,” said VHP’s President Kumar.
“The best thing in this matter is that the people of Punjab are no longer with any kind of extremism, efforts should be made to stop any kind of extremism to them,” he added.
Criticising the abroad protests and attacks on Indian missions in the UK by alleged pro-Khalistan elements, Alok Kumar lauded the Centre for registering its protest with London over it.
He said, “At present, the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an Indian and a proud Hindu. At this time we all have to come together and agree that the nation’s issues cannot be issues of dispute. All parties must come together and take a stand as one on the issue of the new business of Khalistan in Canada and the UK.”
VHP general secretary Milind Parande, who also addressed the gathering, said, “Given the “conducive” environment for Hindutva, the organisation had made significant expansion. It had made significant expansion, growing by “100% in the past year”.
Parande said the VHP had reached 1.33 lakh villages while 72 lakh people had joined it.

VHP international joint general secretary Surendra Jain said, “It is a well-known fact that the Hindu community is currently representing every evolutionary region of the world, that is why some people are making objectionable comments on Hindu religion, Hindu scriptures and Hindu great men.”
He said that even these people themselves know that they are fighting a losing battle.
Recently, intensifying his attack on Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of Indian democracy in London, Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda said the leader whose party is being rejected by the public is saying that democracy is “under attack”.
Nadda also stated, “It’s unfortunate that the Congress party is indulging in anti-national activities. After being repeatedly rejected by the nation, Rahul Gandhi has now become a permanent part of this anti-nationalist toolkit.”
[ad_2]
#VHP #lauds #AAP #govt #Punjab #Centre #willpower #Amritpal
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 22, 2023
NSA invoked against Amritpal Singh, Punjab govt tells HC

[ad_1]
Chandigarh: The stringent National Security Act has been invoked against Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government on Tuesday told the high court which rapped it over the “intelligence failure” that led to the pro-Khalistan preacher giving police the slip.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by advocate Imaan Singh Khara, seeking the “release” of Amritpal Singh from alleged police custody.
Justice N S Shekhawat asked Punjab Advocate General Vinod Ghai how Amritpal Singh gave police the slip when the whole operation was meticulously planned and called it an intelligence failure, a lawyer said.
Police on Saturday had launched a major crackdown against Amritpal Singh and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De.’ The elusive preacher himself, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in the Jalandhar district.
In his petition, Khara sought the production of Amritpal Singh from alleged police custody. Khara is the legal advisor of Amritpal Singh and his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De.’
The Punjab Police say the Khalistan sympathizer is still on the run after escaping their dragnet.
Speaking to reporters after the court hearing, Khara said the Punjab advocate general filed its record pertaining to Amritpal Singh in the high court.
Khara said Ghai told the court that five to six FIRs have been registered in the matter. The petitioner further said that the AG told the court that NSA has been invoked against Amritpal Singh.

The step was taken after the senior superintendent of police Amritsar recommended it to the district magistrate. However, according to the reply filed by the state, Amritpal Singh has not been detained by police, said Khara.
Armed with weapons, the entire state machinery swung into action yet Amritpal Singh managed to escape while all his associates were arrested, Justice Shekhawat observed and said it was hard for him to believe this.
Replying to the court queries, the Punjab AG said the state police was fully armed but exercised restraint due to security issues as the operation occurred at a public place.
Some matters are so sensitive that they cannot be explained in open court, Ghai said, adding that the Punjab Police was doing its best to arrest Amritpal Singh.
Meanwhile, Amritpal Singh’s father Tarsem Singh also reached the court but Justice Shekhawat stated that he cannot be heard as he is not a party in the case.
The HC appointed advocate Tanu Bedi as amicus curiae to assist the court.
[ad_2]
#NSA #invoked #Amritpal #Singh #Punjab #govt #tells
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
National strategy, roadmap formed to boost medical tourism: Govt

[ad_1]
Delhi: The Ministry of Tourism has formulated a national strategy and roadmap for medical and wellness tourism in order to boost medical tourism in the country, said Union Minister G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha on Monday.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, the strategy has identified several pillars including developing a brand for India as a wellness destination, strengthening the ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism, enabling digitalization by setting up Online Medical Value Travel (MVT) Portal, enhancement of accessibility for medical value travel, promoting wellness tourism and governance and institutional framework
The Minister said the central government liberalized the e-Tourist Visa Scheme pursuant to the Cabinet approval on November 30, 2016 and the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme was renamed to e-Visa scheme and at present, it has e-Medical Visa and e-Medical Attendant Visa as sub-categories of e-visa.
In the case of e-Medical Visa and for e-Medical Attendant Visa, triple entry is permitted and extension may be granted up to six months on case to case basis on the merits of each case by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO)/Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) concerned. Medical Attendant Visa was co-terminus with the validity of the principal e-Visa holder, the Minister informed.
Further, as conveyed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, it is coordinating with other Ministries and stakeholders to promote medical value travel in the country. Several rounds of stakeholder consultations have been conducted with line Ministries, Hospitals, MVT facilitators, Insurance Companies and NABH etc to identify the challenges and opportunities in the sector, said the Ministry of Tourism statement.
[ad_2]
#National #strategy #roadmap #formed #boost #medical #tourism #Govt
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
HC asks Maha govt to consider reservation for transgenders

[ad_1]
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to consider granting reservation to transgenders in state-run educational institutions and government jobs.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne asked a committee set up by the state government for the issue to consider and submit a report by June 7.
When Advocate General Birendra Saraf sought more time, the court remarked, “If there is a hanging sword then things move faster.”
Vinayak Kashid, a transgender who is a graduate in Electrical Engineering and post graduate in Technology (Electrical Power System Engineering), had filed a petition seeking modification to the advertisement issued by MahaTransco in May this year for mass recruitment to include transgender category.
Kashid’s lawyer, Advocate Kranti LC, informed the court that 1 per cent reservation was provided for transgenders in all caste categories in Karnataka, and sought that such reservation policy be adopted in Maharashtra as well.
The court then sought to know why such a policy was not adopted by the state government.
Saraf informed the court that transgender persons got reservation under the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) section.
The bench, however, asked what would happen if a transgender person was from the general category.

“There may be some transgenders from the scheduled caste, some in general…so why not give reservation across all categories,” the court asked.
The court asked the AG to convey its suggestion to the newly-formed committee under the social justice department of the state government.
The state had issued a government resolution (GR) on March 3, 2023 for recruitment of transgenders in employment and education.
As per the GR, a committee would be set up under the social justice department comprising 14 members, who were majorly secretaries of various state departments and psychologists.
When the court asked the committee to look into the issue of reservation for transgender persons, Saraf in a lighter vein said the government had “woken up from a slumber” eight years after the Supreme Court ordered for opening doors of education and employment for transgender persons.
[ad_2]
#asks #Maha #govt #reservation #transgenders
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 21, 2023
Presentation of Delhi budget put on hold, Centre and AAP govt trade charges

[ad_1]
New Delhi: The presentation of the Delhi government’s budget for 2023-24, scheduled for Tuesday, has been put on hold, with the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation and the central government trading charges over allocations in various heads.
Speaking at a News 18 programme on Monday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal charged that the Centre was resorting to “gundagardi” and that it was for the first time in the history of the country that a budget of a government was put on hold. A video clip of his speech was tweeted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Sources in the Delhi government said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has stopped the Kejriwal government’s budget and it will not be tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday.
As the chief minister lashed out at the Centre, sources in the MHA said the ministry has sought clarification from the AAP government as its budget proposal had high allocation for advertisement and relatively low funding for infrastructure and other development initiatives.
Delhi Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot denied the charges as lies. The total budget size was Rs 78,800 crore, out of which 22,000 crore was earmarked for expenditure on infrastructure and just Rs 550 crore on advertisements, he said.
The allocation for advertisement was the same as in last year’s budget, he added.
In a statement, the MHA said, “The Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, had raised certain concerns of administrative nature on the proposed Budget, keeping in view the fiscal interest of the National Capital Territory on which MHA vide its letter dated 17.03.2023 has requested GNCTD to resubmit the Budget addressing these concerns for taking further action. The reply from GNCTD is awaited for last four days. For the benefit of the people of Delhi, the GNCTD should submit reply immediately.”
In a separate statement, Gahlot said, “It is now learned that the MHA expressed some concerns on Delhi government’s budget and refused to give it approval through a letter sent to the Chief Secretary on 17 March. For mysterious reasons, the Chief Secretary of Delhi kept the letter hidden for 3 days.”

“I learned about the letter only at 2 pm today… The file with MHA’s letter was put up to me officially only at 6pm today i.e. just the day before the budget was to be presented in Delhi Assembly. Subsequently, we have responded to MHA’s concerns and submitted the file back to Delhi’s LG, after CM’s approval, at 9pm today. The role of the Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary of Delhi in delaying Delhi’s budget ought to be investigated,” he said.
A source in the LG office said, “The file was received in LG Sectt at 9:25 PM and was sent back to the Chief Minister at 10:05 PM, after approval of LG, for further action as per law.”
Delhi government sources said that the finance secretary will write to the MHA on Tuesday for its approval and the budget will be tabled after its nod. They said budget will not be tabled on Tuesday.
According to sources in the lieutenant governor’s office, LG V K Saxena approved the Annual Financial Statement for 2023-2024, with certain observations on March 9, and sent the file to the chief minister.
The Government of Delhi, thereafter, sought the approval of the President as mandated by law by sending a letter to the Home Ministry.
The Home Ministry conveyed its observations to the Delhi government on March 17. The LG office is awaiting for the file to be sent to it from the chief minister.
According to LG office sources, Saxena flagged that “as against proposed Budget size of Rs 78,800 crore, the expenditure on Capital components is indicated at Rs 21,816 crore, which is only 27.68%…. Further, this also includes Rs 5,586.92 crore on account of loan repayment, which, if excluded will further reduce the Capital component to Rs 16,230 crore which is only 20% of the budget.”
“Since Delhi is the country’s capital and also a large metropolis in which need for creation and improvements of infrastructure is extremely important, the allocation for Capital projects does not appear to be sufficient,” the LG said.
“It is noted that expenditure incurred by the Directorate of Information & Publicity as per the Revised Estimate 2022-23 is Rs 272.21 crore against the Budget Estimate of Rs 511.64 crore. However, the allocation for the Budget Estimate 2023-24 is Rs. 557.24 crore, which seems incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” he further said.
He claimed that the entire potential under various central schemes has not been fully utilised by Delhi.
“A case in example, the flagship scheme of Ayushman Bharat’, has not yet been adopted by Delhi due to which CSS funds under health sector are not made available. The Union Territory needs to obtain all possible funds under Central Schemes to augment its resources and also to meet national goals,” he said.
There was no clarity yet on when the budget will be presented in the Assembly. The ongoing budget session of the Assembly is scheduled to conclude on March 23.
Delhi Finance Minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday tabled an outcome budget of the Kejriwal government and the economic survey, 2022-23.
Earlier in the day, the Assembly was adjourned till 11 am on Tuesday.
[ad_2]
#Presentation #Delhi #budget #put #hold #Centre #AAP #govt #trade #charges
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
UK govt failed miserably in its basic responsibility: Jairam Ramesh

[ad_1]
New Delhi: As the Punjab government cracks down on self-styled radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission in London was grabbed at by a group of protesters on Sunday, who were waving separatist flags and chanting pro-Khalistani slogans.
The Congress on Monday condemned the incident in London and blamed the UK government for failing to protect the Indian High Commission there.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The pulling down of the national flag at the Indian High Commission in London by pro Khalistani elements is totally unacceptable and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The British government has failed miserably in its most basic responsibility and must be held accountable.”
Several opposition parties have said that the responsibility of protecting the Indian embassies and high commissions abroad lies with the host country, and the Indian government must take up the matter diplomatically with these countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, the US etc.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, “This can’t be allowed and the External Affairs Ministry should take the matter to the host countries to protect the high commissions and embassies.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “UK government should apologise to India and take action against the miscreants.”
Late on Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in India to lodge its protest after some pro-Khalistani groups allegedly took down the tricolour at the Indian High Commission in London.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had tweeted: “India lodges strong protest with the UK,” along with a MEA statement.

[ad_2]
#govt #failed #miserably #basic #responsibility #Jairam #Ramesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
Maha govt agreeable to OPS, employees call off weeklong strike

[ad_1]
Mumbai: Following a successful round of negotiations with the Maharashtra government, around 18 lakh government employees in the state called off their weeklong indefinite strike to press for the contentious issue of implementing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), a top leader said here on Monday.
The convenor of the striking unions’ coordination committee, Vishwas Katkar, said that the state government has agreed in principle’ to consider the issue of bringing back OPS, which was discontinued in 2005 owing to various reasons.
The much-awaited discussions were held on Monday afternoon between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, top state officials, Katkar and other union representatives.
“The government has assured that OPS will definitely be implemented, and our salaries shall not be affected. This has also been given to us in writing… They will also withdraw the show-cause notices issued to the strikers. We will also fully cooperate with the government on this issue,” Katkar told mediapersons.
In view of the positive outcome, Katkar and other leaders said that the strike has been called off with immediate effect and all employees will resume normal duties from Tuesday.
Later on Monday, Shinde informed about the development and reiterated that the government is completely positive towards the employees’ demands.
“We have constituted a committee to examine this matter and its report will be received soon, after which we shall take an appropriate decision,” Shinde said.
The Chief Minister said that all the state government and semi-government employees have been on strike since March 14, while the Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers’ Federation has given a separate notice of strike from March 28.

“After the discussions today, the employees and gazetted officers’ associations have responded positively to our appeal and have decided to withdraw their strike,” said Shinde among thumping of benches by the ruling alliance legislators.
Katkar also thanked the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for supporting the strikers and raising their issue in the legislature, and appreciated the government for positively considering the staffers’ pending demand on OPS.
From Tuesday, all government, semi-government offices, schools, junior colleges, government hospitals and other departments where Class III-IV employees had gone on strike are expected to resume normal functioning.
[ad_2]
#Maha #govt #agreeable #OPS #employees #call #weeklong #strike
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
Telangana govt reduces work hours for Muslim employees for Ramzan

[ad_1]
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has issued orders permitting all Muslim government employees/contract/out sourcing/boards/ public sector employees to leave offices/schools early by an hour during the month of Ramzan to offer prayers.
The orders will be in force from 23 March to 23 April.
The orders were issued by Chief Secretary Telangana, Santhi Kumari following a representation made by TS – MS Central Association Hyderabad.
Subscribe us on
[ad_2]
#Telangana #govt #reduces #work #hours #Muslim #employees #Ramzan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023