NEWS

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu attacked the Baals during his Independence Day speech on Sunday and said that he would convert their hotels into government schools. He was at the Punjab Congress headquarters to unfurl the national flag and to participate in the Azadi March to express solidarity with the farmers.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, however, devoted a sizeable chunk of his speech to hit out at Shiromani Akali Dahl (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia. He blamed them for the empty coffers, poor revenue generation and unemployment in Punjab.

"I will convert your (Badal's) hotels into Punjab government schools and your buses will spew black smoke. If I fail you can change my name. You cannot scare Sidhu," he said.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has appointed six public relation officers (PROs) — three in the CM’s office, two in the CM’s constituency and another to dispose of public complaints.

This comes days after several RSS functionaries stressed on the need for coordination between officials and RSS workers, during a meeting with the CM and senior leaders of the BJP.

As per an order dated August 6, three PROs appointed in the CM’s office, who are assigned the task to coordinate with functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, its affiliates and the BJP, come from an RSS background. Three other PROs had been associated with the BJP.

Amidst an ongoing controversy over appointment of judges and the large number of vacancies in the Supreme Court and several high courts, the search committee of senior lawyers set up by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has recommended 48 names of Supreme Court lawyers for elevation as judges to various high courts.

These names have been sent to the Supreme Court Collegium for its consideration.

The Minutes of the meeting of the search committee, which were sent to Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana in a sealed cover, were leaked to the media, amidst uproar in the legal fraternity over legitimacy of these recommendations.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Krishnanagar Uttar MLA Mukul Roy on Friday said the BJP, his former party, would win if a by-election was held in his constituency. Roy also said the TMC would do well in the 2023 Assembly polls in Tripura.

At a press conference in Krishnanagar in Nadia district on August 6, Roy had said the BJP would win a bypoll in Krishnanagar Uttar. Realising his faux pas, he quickly corrected himself saying that he meant the TMC.

Roy’s switch to the ruling party after the BJP’s loss in the Assembly polls has infuriated his former colleagues in the saffron party who have been demanding his disqualification from the Assembly under the anti-defection law. The BJP pressed the demand even more after the TMC backed his candidature for the chairperson of the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a post that is held by a member of the Opposition party as per convention.