Chandigarh, January 10

The General Secretary of

All India Congress Committee, former Union Minister, and Sirsa Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja accused the Narendra Modi-led Central Government of deliberately weakening MGNREGA. She said the BJP government is systematically conspiring to dismantle the constitutional and legal rights granted to the poor during the Congress regime. Kumari Selja said the MGNREGA has not merely been renamed; rather, its very spirit especially the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi is being destroyed, something the Congress will never tolerate at any cost.

MP Selja was addressing journalists at the Congress Bhawan in Sirsa on Tuesday. Earlier, she also addressed a press conference at Hotel Ganga in Fatehabad, where she raised several serious questions regarding the Centre’s intentions toward MGNREGA. Kumari Selja said through MGNREGA, the Congress had provided the poor with a legal guarantee of minimum wages, but the Central Government is now trying to dismantle this guarantee by altering rules and procedures. This, she said, is a clear reflection of an anti-poor mindset. She emphasized that weakening MGNREGA would directly impact rural poor families, laborers, and women, something the Congress will never accept. Kumari Selja informed that the Congress is conducting a nationwide agitation against the Centre’s anti-MGNREGA decisions, and as part of this movement, strong protests will be held at all district headquarters across Haryana on January 11.

Responding to a question, Kumari Selja said that whenever elections are held in any state, central agencies such as the ED and CBI suddenly become active. Money is deposited into people’s accounts, and once elections are over, everything is conveniently forgotten. She said in Haryana, the Lado Laxmi Scheme is being weakened, MGNREGA is being diluted, and farmers have still not received compensation, clearly exposing the intentions of the BJP government. Raising the issue of the Fatehabad–Sirsa railway line, she said the government announcements regarding this project are completely hollow, as no concrete work has taken place on the ground so far. She said that if the Haryana government is claiming a budget allocation of ₹1,400 crore for this project, it is misleading. She assured that she would once again raise this issue forcefully in Parliament.

Daughters and sisters are not safe in Haryana

Targeting the Haryana government, Kumari Selja said that corruption in the state has crossed all limits. Officials are unchecked, women and girls are unsafe, and the common people are struggling with basic problems. Despite tall claims of cleanliness drives, conditions in cities and villages are worsening, putting public health at serious risk.

Selja said instead of providing basic amenities, the BJP government is trying to divert public attention through superficial publicity. The Congress’s policy is clear to protect the rights of the poor, laborers, and farmers. By weakening MGNREGA, the Central Government is snatching away the rights of the poor and forcing them to beg once again, which the Congress will never allow to succeed. During the press conference at the Congress Bhawan in Sirsa, Kalanwali MLA Shishpal Keharwala, District President Santosh Beniwal, senior Congress leader Dr. K.V. Singh, Women’s District President Krishna Phogat, Rajkumar Sharma, Naveen Kedia, Rajesh Chadiwal, Sandeep Nehra, and a large number of Congress workers were present. At the press conference held at Hotel Ganga in Fatehabad, MLA Balwan Singh Daulatpuria, District President Arvind Sharma, former MLA Prahlad Singh Gillakheda, Jaipal Singh Lali, Mangat Ram Lalwas, Mahesh Sharma, and several other senior leaders were also present.

CHANDIGARH, January 10:

          Continuing the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state consecutively for the 315th day, Punjab Police conducted raids at 301 locations on Saturday leading to the arrest of 82 drug smugglers after registration of 61 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 43,950 in 315 days.

          The raids have resulted in recovery of 7.7 kg heroin, 8759 intoxicant tablets/capsules and Rs 12,790 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

          Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

          Over 100 Police teams, comprising over 800 police personnel, under the supervision of 57 gazetted officers have conducted 301 raids across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 470 suspicious persons during the day-long operation.

          The state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 28 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Panchkula, January 9: Deputy Commissioner Sh Satpal Sharma today chaired a meeting of the District Task Force and Vigilance Committee constituted for the prevention of child labour and bonded labour in the district. The meeting was held at the conference room of the Mini Secretariat. During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner directed the task force to conduct regular surprise inspections at locations where child labour is likely to occur, with the objective of making the district completely free from child labour.

The Deputy Commissioner said that his objective is to make Panchkula district completely free from child labour. He emphasized that along with taking strict measures to curb child labour, spreading awareness in society is equally important.

He directed that surprise inspections should be carried out at roadside eateries, brick kilns, industrial units, shops, traffic light points, and other locations where instances of child labour are likely to occur. If children are found employed at any such place, strict action should be taken against the offenders as per the prescribed rules.
In addition, he instructed that awareness programmes should be organized at regular intervals at these locations to sensitize people about the social evil of child labour. The Deputy Commissioner also directed the police department to maintain special vigilance at various traffic points.

While reviewing the action taken by the District Task Force, the Deputy Commissioner directed that a detailed report on the measures taken to prevent child labour be presented at the next meeting. The report should also include details of the locations where raids were conducted by the task force.

He stated that to completely eradicate this social evil, strict action must be taken against those who force children into labour. Along with action under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, public awareness campaigns should be conducted to sensitize people about this illegal practice. He further emphasized that under the Child Labour Act, employing children below the age of 14 years in any form of business or work is strictly prohibited.

During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner also reviewed the steps being taken by the Vigilance Committee constituted to prevent bonded labour in the district and issued necessary directions. He instructed that it must be ensured that no bonded labour exists anywhere in the district.

Present on the occasion were SDM Panchkula, Sh Chanderkant Kataria; SDM Kalka, Sh Sanyam Garg; ACP Sh Vikram Nehra; Assistant Labour Commissioner Smt Anjana; Chairperson of the Child Welfare Council Panchkula, Smt Veena Rani Arora; members Smt Ritu Agarwal and Sh Dinesh Jangra; Tehsildar Sh Suresh Kumar; ASMO Sh Mohit Sharma; Labour Inspectors Sh Tejbir Singh and Sh Krishna Kumar Saini; Sh Rahul Deswal from DLSA; Smt Navjeet Kaur from the DCPO office; and other non-governmental members of the committee.

Chandigarh January 9, 2026:

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing drive against corruption in the state, has apprehended Assistant Sub-Inspector Sarabjit Singh posted at Police Station City Phagwara, district Kapurthala red handed while accepting bribe of Rs. 5000/- in lieu of helping in granting the bail to complainant’s parents.

 Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above-mentioned accused has been arrested based on a complaint lodged by a resident of village Issarwal, district Jalandhar.

He said that the complainant’s parents were booked at Police Station City Phagwara and the accused ASI called the complainant to the court complex, Phagwara, in connection with joining the investigation of his parents. During this meeting, the accused demanded illegal gratification, threatening that in case of non-payment, the complainant’s parents would be sent to jail. The complainant paid Rs. 2,000/- as bribe to the accused on the spot under duress.

Subsequently, the complainant along with his parents visited Police Station City Phagwara, wherein his parents joined the investigation, above accused ASI demanded a further bribe of Rs. 10,000/ for helping in granting the bail to the complainant’s parents. As the complainant expressed inability to pay the entire amount, he paid another Rs. 2,000/- as bribe and was asked to pay the remaining amount later, he added.

He further informed that the accused ASI again called the complainant near the Rawalpindi Police Station and obtained bribe money of Rs. 2,000/- and asked him to pay the remaining amount. Even after the parents of the complainant were granted regular bail. The accused continued to demand the balance of the bribe amount. In this way, the accused had taken Rs. 6000/- as bribe from the complainant in three installments.

The spokesperson added that after a preliminary enquiry on his complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the accused was arrested while accepting  bribe money of Rs 5000/- from the complainant in presence of two official witnesses. In this regard, a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the accused at VB police station Jalandhar and further investigation into this case is under progress.

CHANDIGARH, 9th January 2026:

Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Friday said that the Easy Registry initiative has emerged as a game-changer in Punjab’s property registration system, delivering strong and consistent outcomes across the state.

Revenue Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said that from its inception in July 2025 till December 2025, a total of 3,70,967 property documents were registered, marking a major push towards transparent, corruption-free and citizen-friendly land services. “The response to Easy Registry clearly shows that people trust a system that is transparent, time-bound and free from harassment. In just six months, more than 3.70 lakh property documents have been registered, which itself proves the success of these reforms,” he noted.

Sharing month-wise figures, the Revenue Minister said that 64,965 documents were registered in July 2025, followed by 62,001 in August, 55,814 in September and 53,610 in October. He said the momentum strengthened further with 58,200 registrations in November, while December recorded the highest figure with 76,377 documents. “This steady rise in registrations reflects growing public confidence in a simplified and technology-driven property registration framework,” he said.

Explaining the structural reforms, He said that Easy Registry has introduced online pre-scrutiny of documents, significantly reduced procedural delays and improved accessibility at Sub Registrar offices. “Unsigned copies of sale deeds are now scrutinised online within 48 hours, which has effectively closed avenues for harassment and corruption,” said the Minister, adding that all objections raised during scrutiny are monitored by Deputy Commissioners and SDMs to ensure accountability and action against frivolous practices.

The Revenue Minister said that the implementation of the First In First Out principle has ended queue-jumping and favouritism, thereby dismantling the VIP culture in property registration. “Citizens now have the freedom to register documents at any Sub Registrar office within their district. This has broken monopolies and ensured fair and equal access to services for all,” said Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian.

Highlighting the citizen-centric nature of the initiative, Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said that applicants receive automated WhatsApp updates at every stage of the process, including scrutiny, payments and appointment scheduling. He said a direct complaint mechanism has also been put in place to report any demand for bribes, with immediate redressal ensured at the district level.

Detailing additional facilities, Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian said that citizens can draft sale deeds through the ‘Draft My Deed’ module, avail services at Sewa Kendra counters established in every Sub Registrar office, or opt for doorstep drafting and registration through helpline 1076. “Online payment of stamp duty and registration fees through 25 banks in a single transaction has further simplified the process and enhanced convenience for people,” he said.

The Minister said that an Integrated Token Management System has also been implemented to prioritise citizens with scheduled appointments and complete documentation. “This has reduced waiting time and ensured uniform service delivery across both urban and rural Punjab,” he said, adding that upgraded servers, trained staff and standardised processes have strengthened public trust and improved revenue collections for the state.

Chandigarh, January 9:

Punjab’s vibrant harvest festival, Lohri, was celebrated with great fervour at Anaj Bhawan in Sector-39 here today. Led by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, the event saw a gathering of the entire department which came together to mark the beginning of the harvest season.

The festivities kicked off with the lighting of a bonfire, which filled the atmosphere was filled with the sound of traditional music and dance. During the celebration, participants savoured traditional sweets and snacks such as rewri, gajak, and popcorn. The bonfire was lit with great enthusiasm, and the employees sang folk songs and danced around it, seeking blessings for prosperity and happiness.

The Minister said that Lohri is a significant festival in Punjabi culture, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the harvest season. It’s a celebration of community bonding, gratitude, and the rich cultural heritage of Punjab. The festival is also associated with the legend of Dulla Bhatti, a folk hero of Punjab who played a stellar role in saving the women.

Earlier, the Minister also chaired a meeting with the District Food Supply Controllers (DFSCs) and appreciated them for ensuring a successful Paddy procurement season despite floods ravaging the State. The Minister also directed the DFSCs to exhort more and more people to get their e-KYC done to continue availing the benefits under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

Among others present on the occasion included the Principal Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Rahul Tewari, Director Varinder Kumar Sharma, Member Punjab State Food Commission Jasvir Singh Sekhon, Additional Directors Food Supply Dr. Anjuman Bhaskar, Ajayveer Singh Sarao and GM Finance Sarvesh Kumar.

CHANDIGARH, January 9:

                   A spokesperson of the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate stated here today that an FIR has been registered on a complaint of Sh Iqbal Singh regarding uploading and circulating edited and doctored video of Ms. Atishi, MLA, LOP, Delhi Vidhan Sabha. Several social media posts containing a short video clip allegedly showing Ms. Atishi, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly making allegedly derogatory and blasphemous remarks against Gurus with highly inflammatory captions have been uploaded on social media platforms.

 The spokesperson further stated that investigations have been conducted in a scientific manner and the video clip containing Ms. Atishi’s audio was downloaded from social media platform of Sh Kapil Mishra (https://x.com/kapilmishra_ind/status/2008811019158847790?s=48) and forwarded to the Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Punjab, SAS Nagar for forensic examination.

 Vide Forensic Report dated 09-01-2026, it has emerged that the word “Guru” has not been uttered by Ms. Atishi in her audio as contained in the video clips being circulated on social media. Furthermore, there has been deliberate doctoring of the video to attribute words in the captions that were never spoken by Ms. Atishi.