Page 3 - Chandigarh

Chandigarh polls case: SC verdict huge victory of democracy, says AAP

The Supreme Court's order in the Chandigarh mayoral polls case is a big victory for democracy, the AAP said on Tuesday, demanding that BJP leaders apologise to the country for its "dishonesty" during the elections. The top court has said it would direct recounting of votes polled in the controversial elections and declaration of result after considering the eight "defaced" ballots that were declared invalid by the returning officer. The Supreme Court's order has exposed the BJP and shown it the mirror. The party's leaders should apologise to the country if they have any shame left, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj told a press conference here. "It is a matter of grave concern that if the BJP and its central government can do such open stealing and dishonesty in such a small poll, what would they do in other elections where there are no microphones and CCTV cameras," Bharadwaj said. The January 30 polls were videographed, and days after the announcement of result

Highlights of the day: Cong dismisses Kamal Nath's BJP switch speculation

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Chandigarh mayoral polls: SC seeks ballot papers, video footage for perusal

Observing that "horse-trading is taking place", the Supreme Court has said it would peruse on Tuesday the ballot papers of the Chandigarh mayoral polls and the entire video-recording of the counting day, and directed the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to depute a judicial officer to bring the records safely to Delhi. The top court, on February 5, rapped Returning Officer Anil Masih, who conducted the mayoral polls, observing that it was obvious that he had defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted, adding that his action amounted to "murder" and a "mockery" of democracy. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the Chandigarh administration on Monday to provide security to the judicial officer, to be appointed by the high court, to ensure the safety of the officer and the records. "We ourselves will look at the records at 2 pm," the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. "Horse-trading taking ...

Chandigarh mayor's resignation shows BJP won by 'unfair means': Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that BJP leader Manoj Sonkar's resignation as Chandigarh mayor shows that they won the elections by using "unfair means". Addressing the media outside the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said, "If the mayor has resigned then it is very obvious that something is suspicious there. It clearly shows that they won the elections by unfair means." "This is how they win other elections too; if they don't, they buy leaders from the winning party. How will a democratic country function if elections are won unfairly? They (BJP) should let the party that won the elections run the government," Kejriwal alleged. Sonkar resigned as Chandigarh mayor and three AAP councillors -- Neha, Poonam and Gurcharan Kala -- joined the BJP on Sunday. Hitting back at AAP, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde said that the councillors joined the BJP on their "own will" and alleged that AAP made false promises to those leaders. "AAP councilors joined the BJP on their own

Union ministers hold fourth round of talks with farmers in Chandigarh

The panel of Union ministers holding talks with protesting farmers reached Chandigarh on Sunday evening for a fourth round of dialogue with farmer leaders over their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP. After reaching here, Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Minister Arjun Munda and Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal went to a hotel where Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav were present. The meeting between the ministers and the farmer leaders will be held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26. The two sides had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive. Prominent among the farmer leaders who will attend the meeting are Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher, who are spearheading the agitation. Besides minimum support price (MSP) for crops, the farmers are demanding a loan waiver, implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, .

Newly-elected Chandigarh mayor Sonkar resigns amid poll rigging allegations

Newly elected Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigned from the post on Sunday, amid allegations that the January 30 mayoral polls were rigged, according to sources. This comes a day before the matter is to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court. Mayor Manoj Sonkar has submitted his resignation to the municipal commissioner, sources said. The BJP had swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls, in a setback to the Congress-AAP alliance that alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had rapped the returning officer who conducted the mayoral polls, observing that it was obvious that he defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted, adding that his action amounted to "murder and mockery" of democracy. The court had also ordered preservation of ballots and the video of the poll proceedings besides seeking the returning officer's personal appearance during the next hearing in the case on February 19.

Panel of 3 Union ministers hold talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh

Meanwhile, there was no report of any clash between farmers and the Haryana security personnel at the two Punjab and Haryana border points - Shambhu and Khanauri - on Thursday

Haryana beefs up security ahead of farmers' planned 'Delhi chalo' march

Agitating farmers and central ministers to meet on Monday for 2nd round of talks

Chandigarh Mayor Elections: Murder of democracy, says SC

See what SC does next: Sanjay Raut on court's remark on mayoral polls

In the Mayor polls, the BJP's Manoj Sonkar defeated the AAP's Kuldeep Kumar by four votes, after the AAP's eight votes were declared "invalid" without cause

Chandigarh mayoral elections: SC appalled by 'defacing' of ballots

Appalled by the alleged defacing of ballot papers in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the Supreme Court on Monday said this is a mockery of democracy and ordered that the ballots and the video of the electoral proceedings be preserved. Taking note of a plea of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor alleging wrongdoing in the polls, the court issued notices to the Chandigarh authorities, including the civic body. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed annoyance after watching the video of the electoral proceedings and said that, prima facie, the returning officer was defacing the ballot papers. "This is a mockery of democracy. We are appalled by what has happened. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this," the CJI said. The bench ordered that the ballot papers and the video recordings of the proceedings be preserved. One of the AAP councillors had moved the top court challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that

Murder of democracy in Chandigarh Mayor polls: SC on ballot paper row

Chandigarh mayoral poll row: The Supreme Court was hearing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kuldeep Kumar's plea seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh

Chandigarh mayor polls: High court issues notices, refuses to stay result

Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar on Tuesday moved the high court to challenge the results of the mayoral elections

BJP's Manoj Sonkar beats AAP-Cong candidate to win post of Chandigarh mayor

BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar on Tuesday defeated AAP's Kuldeep Kumar, who was fielded as part of an alliance with the Congress, to win the post of mayor in the Chandigarh mayoral polls. Sonkar polled 16 votes while Kumar secured 12. Eight votes were declared invalid. Councillors of INDIA bloc parties AAP and Congress protested as soon as the results were announced. From Delhi, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of "cheating". The newly elected mayor will hold the elections to the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. As part of the alliance, the AAP was contesting for the mayor's post while the Congress has fielded candidates for senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The polls, being held following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, assume significance with opposition INDIA bloc members Congress and AAP joining hands, even though they are yet to agree on seat-sharing in Punjab. The BJP has 14 councillors in the 35-member Chandigarh Municipal ...

Cheating in broad daylight: Kejriwal reacts to BJP's victory in Chandigarh

Arvind Kejriwal said that if the BJP could 'stoop so low' in mayoral elections, it could go to any extent to win the Lok Sabha elections

Security tightened at Chandigarh Municipal office ahead of Mayoral polls

The Mayoral Elections in Chandigarh were scheduled to be held on January 18 but due to the "ill health" of the designated presiding officer, the election was postponed to February 6

INDIA bloc will sweep Chandigarh municipal polls: AAP leader Raghav Chadha

The INDIA bloc will sweep the Chandigarh municipal polls and the win will be the curtain raiser for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha said on Tuesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress -- both INDIA bloc members -- forged an alliance on Monday for the January 18 mayoral polls in the Union Territory. Chadha told a press conference here that he was sure that the INDIA bloc will defeat the BJP in the elections in Chandigarh. "The Chandigarh municipal polls will be the first big face-off between the BJP and the INDIA bloc. It will set the tone for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," he said. Under the alliance arrangement for the mayoral elections, the AAP will fight for the mayor's seat while the Congress will contest the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. The INDIA bloc was formed by opposition parties, including the Congress, the AAP, the TMC and the Samajwadi Party, to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

'Lohri' celebrated with traditional fervour in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh

The festival of 'Lohri' was celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh with traditional fervour on Saturday. Bonfires, an important part of the festivities, were lit as families danced to the tunes of famous festival songs like 'sundar mundriye ho'. The sky was dotted with colourful kites of different sizes and shapes as children and youths engaged in kite-flying competitions at many places. Jaggery, peanuts, and popcorn -- the three edibles associated with Lohri -- were distributed among people. Girls in traditional attire performed the 'Gidha' folk dance. People at many places danced to the beats of 'dhol' to celebrate the festival. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his counterpart in Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar greeted people on the occasion. "Congratulations to all the Punjabis on Lohri, the festival of happiness. May this Lohri bring joy and happiness to everyone's home," said Mann in his post on X. Khattar, in his post on X, said, "On this auspicious occasion, I wis

Vodafone Idea imposed Rs 13.16 cr penalty by addl commissioner in GST case

GST additional commissioner's office in Chandigarh has imposed a Rs 13.16 crore penalty on Vodafone Idea, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. According to the filing, the order was passed on January 10 against the debt-ridden telecom firm for alleged "wrongful transition of CENVAT credit to Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime". "Order passed u/s 74 of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, inter-alia, levying a penalty of Rs 13,16,53,661," Vodafone Idea (VIL) said in the filing. The company said the maximum financial impact is to the extent of the tax demand, interest and penalty levied. "The Company does not agree with the Order and will take appropriate legal action(s) for rectification/ reversal of the same," VIL said. The order was issued by the Office of the Additional Commissioner, Central Goods & Service Tax in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh imposes temporary restriction on sale of petrol, diesel

The Chandigarh administration stated that this measure is a precautionary step to manage the current situation until normalcy is restored