Ever since former Olympian and Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh was named president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, his colleague, Adampur MLA Sukhwinder Singh Kotli, has emerged as his go-to-person and trusted lieutenant. From accompanying him on visits to Delhi and Amritsar and to Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar and to managing Pargat’s communications, Kotli, a prominent Dalit leader, has been overseeing most of the affairs. A senior Congress leader said that Kotli also minutely scrutinised the social media activity of Congress leaders after Pargat’s elevation to ensure that no negative posts mentioning factionalism in the party went on air.
Nearly three weeks after the Enforcement Directorate’s 52-hour search at GMADA’s Sector 62 office in Mohali, the raid’s aftershocks continue to haunt the housing and urban development department. With bureaucrats wary of taking calls and key decisions seemingly on hold, the department’s corridors are buzzing with anxiety, but not much activity. “We come to the office, meet people, have tea and head back. That’s pretty much what we have been doing since the raid,” quipped a senior IAS officer, summing up the prevailing mood.
SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami appears upset over repeated allegations from Sikh group over the prolonged stay of a Bahrain-based woman, who got a rape FIR registered against an SGPC member (now former), in gurdwara serais and the ₹1 lakh aid extended to her. At a press conference organised last week to share findings of an internal probe ordered by the SGPC, Dhami lost his cool following persistent questioning by reporters. “Am I guilty of the media?” he retorted.
Tempers flared at Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala on October 5 when a doctor confronted AAP market committee chairman Ashok Sirswal over his vehicle, fitted with police-style strobe lights, being parked inside the mortuary premises. The confrontation, captured on video and widely circulated on social media, once again brought VIP culture under scrutiny. According to the video, the doctor objected to the vehicle being parked in a manner that obstructed the movement of ambulances. However, the chairman reportedly insisted that being an official government vehicle, it could be parked anywhere. The exchange escalated into a verbal altercation.
An order issued by Haryana DGP Ajay Singhal on September 25 seeking to undo the transfer of HPS officer, Hitesh Yadav has drawn criticism in administrative circles over its legality. Yadav, a former aide de camp with former CM ML Khattar, was transferred on Sept 20 by the home department from DCP, South, Gurugram to DCP, Bahadurgarh, following CM’s directions. Five days later, the DGP issued a weird order directing ACS (home) to ensure meticulous compliance of his orders to cancel the transfer. Instead of sending a proposal to ACS (home), the DGP wrote “Hitesh Yadav is temporarily posted as DCP/Traffic, Gurugram, until further orders.” Officials said the order is irregular since the DGP cannot post an HPS officer on his own without CM’s nod. Yadav’s formal posting orders were finally issued on October 10 by ACS (home).
The Peoples Democratic Party is often at loggerheads with the ruling National Conference, both inside and outside the assembly. Not only senior leaders but also those in the second rung frequently target each other, not only in rallies but also on social media. Though both parties are part of the INDIA alliance, NC workers and leaders across the UT have over the past few days been holding joint protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. In these protests, the flags of the NC, the PDP and the Congress have been visible at these protests. However, this bonhomie remains confined only to INDIA alliance protests.
Union home minister Amit Shah called Himachal Pradesh deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri to extend birthday wishes. Agnihotri, who turned 64 on October 9, was tending to cows at a gaushala when he received the call from the home minister. The Congress leader thanked Shah for his wishes, noting that the home minister always remembers the occasion. The senior BJP leader’s call to the Himachal deputy CM on his birthday has become a topic of discussion in both political and personal circles. Agnihotri’s birthday this year has been special as his daughter, Dr Aastha Agnihotri, gave birth to a baby girl.
A simple question from a UKG student in Chidgaon, Rohru, turned into a nostalgic trip down memory lane for HP chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Asked what stories his grandmother told him during childhood, Sukhu found himself revisiting the warmth of his younger days. Sharing a video of the interaction on social media, Sukhu recalled winter evenings spent around a bonfire, listening to his grandmother’s fascinating tales. Among them was the story of the ‘Seven Sisters’, along with countless others, some still vivid in his memory and others fading with time. Reflecting on the little girl’s question, Sukhu wrote that childhood memories often lie quietly within us, waiting for the right moment to resurface.
(Contributed by Navrajdeep Singh, Hillary Victor, Surjit Singh, Karam Prakash, Hitender Rao, Mir Ehsan, Shailee Dogra)