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Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Akali Dal split spurs double tree plantation drive in Punjab
CHANDIGARH: A deepening divide within the Shiromani Akali Dal has led unexpectedly to a silver lining for Punjab's environment - a doubling down on tree plantation efforts. Both the official Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and a breakaway five-member dissident panel are pushing ahead with sapling plantation drives separately, honouring a directive from the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority of Sikhs. The Akal Takht had, on Dec 2, 2024, ordered the fractured factions of the over-century-old party to unite and restructure, while also mandating the planting of 1.25 lakh saplings between March 1 and April 30. While unity remains elusive, both camps have taken the green pledge seriously. And with each faction determined to fulfil the target independently, Punjab is set to witness a plantation drive that could more than double the original goal. On June 18, the dissident panel - comprising Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Santa Singh Umedpur, Iqbal Singh Jhundan, and Satwant Kaur - launched its plantation campaign from Ludhiana. SAD, meanwhile, began its official drive on Friday, with senior leaders Daljit Singh Cheema and Hira Singh Gabhria planting saplings at the party headquarters in Chandigarh. SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said: "We've instructed party workers to plant at least 1,100 saplings in each of Punjab's 117 assembly constituencies by the end of July. The delay was necessary. April's extreme heat posed a threat to sapling survival. Even the forest department recommended waiting for monsoon rains." Cheema added that most saplings will be sourced from the forest department, with species selected to suit local conditions. "We're encouraging planting in homes, schools, farms - anywhere they'll be nurtured and protected." The dissident faction echoed similar sentiments. "We treat this as a mission," said Wadala. "The Akal Takht's directive was not just symbolic. It's about restoring Punjab's green cover. We will plant a mix of shady, ornamental, heritage, and fruit trees." While the two groups may remain estranged politically, their competition has, at least for now, translated into cooperative climate action - one tree at a time. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: SAD to target govt over ‘vendetta' politics
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday warned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to stop political vendetta, announcing that it would start a people's campaign against the corrupt and scam-ridden government on public issues, including snatching of thousands of acres of fertile land of farmers and protection being given to corrupt AAP leaders. Sukhbir Singh Badal (HT File) The first meeting of the newly constituted core committee of the party, which was presided over by president Sukhbir Singh Badal, also appointed senior leader Gulzar Singh Ranike as the coordinator for the forthcoming Tarn Taran bypoll. The meeting also directed the party observers to complete the task of electing district presidents and forming booth-level meetings. The core committee also decided to conduct a drive to plant one lakh saplings in July as per directives of Akal Takht. The SAD president will lead the drive. Emergency-like situation Giving details of the meeting, senior leader Daljit Singh Cheema said emergency-like conditions were being created in Punjab by the Delhi AAP team led by Arvind Kejriwal which was bent on suppressing the voice of the opposition. 'Bikram Singh Majithia was regularly exposing the government including its corrupt practices and that is the reason that a false case has been registered against him,' Cheema said, adding that the committee thanked leaders from all political parties who had expressed solidarity with Majithia and condemned the AAP government for indulging in a witch hunt. Asserting that the disproportionate assets case would also come to nought like the false case registered against Majithia under the NDPS Act, Cheema said, 'The SAD will continue to expose the AAP government as it has failed to keep any of the promises made to the people. Punjab is reeling under the spell of gangsters, and the drug mafia is ruling the roost. The law and order situation is at its worst ever. The entire governance has been outsourced to outsiders who have been adjusted in top positions'. Cheema said the core committee had also discussed the manner in which the AAP government was set to forcibly acquire 24,000 acres of land in Ludhiana besides hundreds of acres of land across the state. 'Thousands of farm labourers would also lose their livelihood in the process. The land acquisition is a scam as farmers are being forced to give up their land and will not be fairly compensated for the same. We will not let this open loot of our land succeed at any cost,' he asserted. The committee noted that even as opposition leaders were being framed in false cases, the government had given a clean chit to former minister Vijay Singla, against whom a case was registered as per evidence in the possession of chief minister Bhagwant Mann. The committee also expressed solidarity with singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh and asserted that the latter was being wrongfully persecuted over casting a Pakistani actress, Hania Amir, in the movie Sardaar Ji 3.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Majithia case: VB records statement of ex-SAD MLA Bonny
Former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA from Ajnala, Amarpal Singh Bonny, now a member of the BJP, on Sunday recorded his statement at the vigilance bureau office in Sector 68, Mohali, against senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Bonny alleged that Majithia had once invited him to his home and introduced him to two alleged drug smugglers—Satta and Pindi—claiming they were his close friends. (HT File) The SAD leader was arrested on July 25 from his Amritsar residence under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly laundering over ₹ 540 crore of 'drug money'. Currently, he remains in vigilance bureau custody and is scheduled to be produced in court on July 2. Bonny said he had been vocal against drug trafficking since 2013 during the Akali Dal government. 'I had written to then chief minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2015, highlighting the harassment of Akali workers in Ajnala and Majithia's alleged links with drug smugglers,' Bonny said after recording his statement. Bonny alleged that Majithia had once invited him to his home and introduced him to two alleged drug smugglers—Satta and Pindi—claiming they were his close friends. He also mentioned the case of Bittu Aulakh, who was picked up from Amritsar and implicated in a drug smuggling case in Banur but was later acquitted by a Mohali court. 'I have been speaking against drugs since 2013. Today was my fifth hearing. I demand a proper investigation to bring the truth to light,' Bonny said. According to the seven-page first information report (FIR), registered in VB (flying squad) police station, Mohali, Majithia's unaccounted income of over ₹ 540 crore includes ₹ 161 crore in cash deposits and ₹ 141 crore from foreign sources credited to his company, Saraya Industries, without any disclosed source. An additional ₹ 236 crore was found in Saraya's accounts with no explanation in its financial records, the FIR further states. The FIR also notes that Majithia's wife, MLA Ganieve Kaur, had floated a firm with ₹ 1 crore in seed capital, reporting ₹ 56 lakh profit in its first year. However, no further operational details of the firm are available. Officials allege that Majithia amassed properties and assets disproportionate to his known income between 2007 and 2012. On Saturday, former deputy director of enforcement directorate, Niranjan Singh, who had quizzed Majithia in case of money laundering in the Jagdish Bhola drug racket case, recorded his statement before the VB team. On Friday, former Punjab DGP Sidharth Chattopadhyaya, on whose order the NDPS case was registered against Majithia in 2021, appeared before the VB sleuths.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Ex-aide claims Majithia introduced ‘drug traffickers' as his brothers; says wrote to Badal in 2016, but was ignored
Mohali: In a fresh twist to the ongoing investigation into Punjab's multi-crore drug racket, former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Amarpal Singh Ajnala, also known as Boni Ajnala, on Sunday recorded his statement before the vigilance bureau (VB), making explosive revelations against arrested party leader . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Ajnala, once an aide of Majithia and now a BJP leader, appeared before vigilance officials at the Mohali headquarters and later addressed the media, alleging that Majithia personally introduced him to individuals now known to be key drug traffickers. "Majithia introduced me to (Parminder Singh) Pindi, Bhinda, Satpreet Satta, and Bittu Aulakh at his residence, calling them his brothers," claimed Ajnala. "But I later found out they were deeply involved in drug smuggling, with clients even in Canada. I raised the alarm back then and even wrote a DO letter to the then chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, in 2016, but the matter was deliberately buried," he added. Ajnala said Sunday's appearance marked his fifth hearing before the vigilance bureau in connection with the drug case. He maintained that he had been openly raising his voice against drugs since 2013, even when the SAD-led govt was in power, and reiterated his stand on all the statements he made in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Speaking about Bittu Aulakh, Ajnala claimed that Aulakh was once arrested from Amritsar in a drug smuggling case registered in Banur, but was later acquitted by the Mohali court. "That doesn't mean he's clean. There are layers of cover-up here that need to be investigated properly," he insisted. Ajnala alleged that police cases registered in Banur related to the drug racket were either filed away or tampered with, and that crucial jimni (supplementary) reports went missing. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "If land records and case files were not tampered with during the Channi govt, the truth about this entire network would have come out much earlier," he said. Similar exposures were made by former deputy director, Enforcement Directorate, Niranjan Singh during his statement to the vigilance bureau in Mohali. Majithia, who has consistently denied the charges, was recently arrested by the vigilance bureau from his Amritsar residence in a case of having assets disproportionate to his income. At present, he is in police custody.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
AAP suspends Punjab MLA Kunwar Vijay for 5 years after he opposes arrest of SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia
Days after the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Amritsar North in Punjab, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, opposed the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in a disproportionate assets case, the party's political affairs committee suspended him from the party for five years. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on June 25 arrested Majithia after conducting a raid at his residence in Amritsar in a disproportionate assets case worth Rs 540 crore Kunwar Vijay shared a video of the raid showing Majithia's wife Ganieve Kaur protesting against the alleged high-handedness of VB sleuths. Kunwar Vijay, who is a former IPS officer, said, 'When Majithia ji was in jail, the Bhagwant Mann government neither conducted any interrogation nor sought his remand and eventually allowed him bail.' 'However, it is a question of a family's dignity now, it is the dignity of every family, whether one is a politician, actor, rich or poor, friend or foe. Conducting a raid at someone's house early in the morning is against ethics. Almost every government has misused the police and vigilance agencies for its own benefit, but the outcome has never been significant,' Kunwar Vijay said on social media. While pronouncing disciplinary action against Kunwar Vijay, the AAP has stated, 'Questioning the vigilance action against Vikram Majithia proved costly for Kunwar Vijay Pratap. It is the Mann government's clear message through this big decision that politics will not be tolerated in the campaign against drugs. Action against drugs is the party's ideology and whoever tries to create obstacles in it has no place in the party. The Aam Aadmi Party has suspended Kunwar Vijay Pratap from the party for five years. This is a decision of the Aam Aadmi Party's PAC (political affairs committee). He has been suspended for being involved in anti-party activities.' Kunwar Vijay had said he may have had political disagreements or ideological differences with Majithia, but when it came to principles, religion, and integrity, one should speak out. 'When Majithia sahib was in jail in a case registered during the Congress government, the Mann government did not seek any remand or conduct any questioning. Later, the state apparatus under Mann sahib even facilitated his bail.' He had also stated that the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail on the grounds that if the police don't require someone for interrogation, keeping them in custody is against the law. 'I am trying to make a point here that when he was in custody, the government enabled his bail. Now, suddenly, notices are being issued to him, raids are being conducted at his house, and the privacy of his wife is being violated. I reiterate that I have an ideological disagreement with Majithia sahib. That will remain. This, however, is a matter of ethics and integrity,' he said.
