On the first day of Bhagwant Mann Government’s first budget session, tributes were paid to many late personalitieas including Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. After 13 minutes, the proceedings of the house were adjourned till 2 pm. 

Congress MLA Pratap Singh Bajwa brought an adjournment motion on law and order which was rejected by the speaker. Congress leader Pratap Bajwa raised question on law and order and asked how law and order situation could be ignored by the ruling government. There was a ruckus in the House demanding a discussion on law and order. Raja Warring of Congress, Ashwani Sharma of BJP, and Akali members agitated against the government. Congress members staged a walkout.All the opposition members who reached the Well started shouting slogans against the Speaker. The speaker appealed to all the members to sit. During this, Bajwa said that his life is in danger, the CM has also told that his life is in danger, and the video has gone viral. Why is there no debate in the House on such a serious issue?

The speaker said to keep their point during the discussion on the address. After this, all Congress members including BJP and SAD staged a walkout from the house. The discussion on the Governor’s address has begun in the House. MLA Aman Arora said that most of the promises were fulfilled in three months.

On the first day of the budget session of the 16th Punjab Legislative Assembly, the House paid tributes to former ministers Hardeepinder Singh Badal and Jathedar Tota Singh, besides former MLAs Sukhdev Singh Sukhladhi and Shingara Ram Sahungara. The House also paid tribute to freedom fighters Tara Singh, Swaran Singh, Karora Singh, and Sukhraj Singh Sandhanwalia, who played an important role in freeing the country from the clutches of British imperialism.

The House also paid tribute to mountaineer Gurcharan Singh Bhangu Arjuna Awardee, who successfully scaled the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, in 1965.

Tributes were also paid to the great athlete Hari Chand Arjuna Awardee, who brought laurels to the country in the field of athletics. Tributes were also paid to famous Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu (Sidhu Moosewala), who made a name for himself in the field of music and entertainment.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered the premature retirement of nine employees of the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) on the charges of corruption under Article 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil services Regulations, Departmental Committees of J-K confirmed on Friday.

The charges against the said nine officers were confirmed by the Departmental Committees and were upheld by the designated review committee under Article 226(2), which includes misappropriation of funds, falsification of records and raising fake bills, allowing illegal constructions, committing financial irregularities and making illegal appointments during their tenure in various Urban Local Bodies (ULBS). Earlier also, many officials faced probes by the Anti-Corruption Bureau and were also suspended. Article 226(2) of the J-K Civil Services Regulations, 1956 allows the government employees to be retired in “public interest” upon completing the 22 years of qualifying service or attaining 48 years of age.

Such employees are retired with a three-month notice or three months of pay. However, they retain their pensionary benefits. The nine employees of Housing and Urban Development Department who face premature retirement include Mehraj-ud-din Buja, I/C Senior Building Officer, Srinagar Municipal Corporation who as Head Assistant Revenue Section, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, was arrested by Vigilance Organization Kashmir in a trap case; Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Malik, who during his posting as in charge of EO Municipal Council Anantnag was involved in misappropriation, irregularities in financial transactions, illegal constructions, gross negligence and misconduct; Shabir Ahmad Wani, Assistant Sanitation Officer, MC Shopian, who during his posting as in-charge CEO Municipal Council Anantnag was involved in misappropriation, illegal constructions, irregularities in financial transactions, gross negligence, and misconduct; Zakir All, Sanitary Supervisor, MC Doda; Abdul Latief, Head Assistant, MC Banihal; and Sukesh Kumar, Senior Assistant, MC Doda who was involved in financial mismanagement by the drawal of fictitious bills against the non-existing Safalwallas.

The other three employees of the Housing and Urban Development Department ousted for alleged corruption were Gowhar All Tugoo, I/C Secretary, Directorate of Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir, who was involved in cases regarding the illegal appointments and financial irregularities made during his tenure at MC, Sopore; Shagufta Fazil, Secretary, Directorate of Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir who was found involved in embezzlement and unauthorized withdrawal of TA and 7th Pay Commission arrears; and Thakur Dass, Electrician, Municipal Committee Reasi involved in the huge case of embezzlement of funds and financial mismanagement.

After a three-week-long operation, the Jalandhar Rural Police have successfully busted an extortion and arms smuggling racket affiliated to the Pinda Gang with the arrest of all the 13 gang members, all are trained shooters and six others involved in harboring and providing logistic support, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Swapan Sharma here on Friday.A close aide of gangster Vicky Gounder, Palwinder Singh alias Pinda, whose role has also emerged in the Nabha Jail break, is said to be the kingpin of the gang and was apparently handling the gang with help of Paramjit alias Pamma, a native of Shahkot, Jalandhar and currently residing in Greece.The 13 arrested shooters have been identified as Sunil Masih alias Jeuna, Ravinder alias Ravi, Pradeep Singh, Manjinder alias Shavi, and Sukhman Singh @ Subha, all of Lohian, Jalandhar; Sandeep alias Dilli, Major Singh, Aprail Singh alias Shera, Balwinder alias Guddha and Salinder Singh, all of Nakodar, Jalandhar; Satpal alias Satta of Makhu, Ferozepur; Devinderpal Singh alias Deepu and Satwant Singh alias Jagga of Shahkot, Jalandhar.

All these arrested persons are history-sheeters and have been facing criminal cases of heinous crimes including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and arms smuggling.

While six other persons who were arrested for harboring and providing logistic support have been identified as Amarjeet alias Amar of Dharamkot, Balbir Masih, Erik and Badal, trio residents of Lohian, Harwinder Singh of Shahkot, and Bachittar Singh of Kapurthala.  

The police have also recovered nine weapons including seven .32 bore pistols, Three .315 bore pistols, one .315 bore gun, and one .12 bore gun, and two vehicles including Toyota Innova and Mahindra XUV 500, besides, foreign currency amounting to Rs 8 lakhs from their possession.The SSP said that Paramjit alias Pamma used to finance the gang and used to send foreign currency via Hawala to Amarjit alias Amar, who further used to distribute among the gang members to carry out various criminal activities.

He said that the gang is active for the last six years and has been involved in organized extortion, armed highway robbery, land mafia and weapon smuggling from Madhya Pradesh. “With the arrest of this group, the police have also been able to crack three blind cases of including murder, extortion, and Highway Armed Robbery occurred in Jalandhar and Bathinda,” said Swapan Sharma, while adding that of total 19 arrested persons, at least 12 were wanted by the Police in eight criminal cases.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai assured that the government is not thinking or planning to propose a separate state of North Karnataka, state on Thursday. “There is no thinking or proposal at the government level on a separate state of North Karnataka,” Bommai said. 

Reacting to the statement of minister Umesh Katti on the said issue of a separate state for North Karnataka, Bommai said, “this is not the first time Katti has spoken about it. He has been saying it for many years. He should reply to this question.”

As per the information, Katti has made the statements about the division of the state and urged for the formation of a separate state, from time to time. “Bangalore has become a centralised place for only the people of South Karnataka, while the ones in North Karnataka are suffering because of it, that’s why we need a separate state, and that is our agenda,” he had alleged.

During his address to the media persons at Karnataka Bhavan in the national capital, Bommai asserted that he will get the probe into the matter of the poor quality of a road laid by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) right before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state in Bengaluru and Mysore.

PM Modi visited the state on 20 June for his two-day trip, where he inaugurated several developmental projects including the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, the campus of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University located in Jnanabharati Campus of the Bangalore University, and also laid the foundation stone for Bagchi-Parthasarathy Multi-Speciality hospital.

The road near the Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE) was laid just a couple of days before PM Modi’s visit to inaugurate the BASE campus. The Chief Minister has instructed the BBMP Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into the shoddy work and take appropriate action against those responsible for it. According to a preliminary inquiry, the road caved in due to leakage of a water pipe.

Meanwhile, Bommai’s visit gave rise to fresh speculation of changes in the state Cabinet. According to the tour programme released by his office, the CM reached New Delhi on Thursday afternoon and will return to Karnataka on Friday evening.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National President and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu condemned the police attack on Chittoor ex-mayor Kathari Hemalatha and blamed the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP)-led government for it on Friday.

The TDP leader said that police officers were degrading themselves to win favours from the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy rule. What message were they sending by harassing witnesses in the mayor couple’s murder in Chittoor and by filing false cases against them? He questioned whether the police were trying to save the culprits?

Naidu alleged that when ex-Mayor Hemalatha went to stop the police’s highhandedness, they did not hesitate to run the police jeep on her.

Attacking the state chief minister, Naidu said, “With what confidence, the police were resorting to such atrocious activities? The government-sponsored attacks are highly condemnable.”

He further warned that the TDP would not spare the police officers who were committing serious offences by turning into the ruling YSRCP activists.

Meanwhile, TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh in a separate statement said, “TDP party would fight a legal battle on behalf of the victimised TDP leaders.” After coming to power, the TDP would take all the necessary action against all the errant officers, he said. “The police must explain whether they were living with the salaries taken from the public or just the private army, run by the Reddy’s mafia,” Lokesh said.

 Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP will back Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who is facing rebellion from his own party MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, leading to uncertainty over the future of MVA government.

Addressing a press conference here, Pawar, who was credited for stitching the MVA alliance after the 2019 state Assembly elections, said that the current political situation will change once rebel Shiv Sena MLAs return to Mumbai. «MVA decided to back CM Uddhav Thackeray. I believe once the (Shiv Sena) MLAs return to Mumbai the situation will change,» he said.

«Everyone knows how the rebel Sena MLAs were taken to Gujarat and then Assam. We don›t have to take the names of all those assisting them… Assam government is helping them. I don›t need to take any names further,» the NCP chief said.

Pawar expressed confidence in overcoming this crisis and said the government under the leadership of Thackeray will run smoothly.

«We have seen such situations in Maharashtra several times. With my experience, I can say that we will defeat this crisis, and the government under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray will run smoothly,» he said.

«Maharashtra government is in minority or not has to be established in Vidhan Sabha. When procedures will be followed, then it will be proved that this government is in majority,» he added.