New Delhi/Chandigarh, Nov 10 (IANS) Amid crisis, the Congress in poll-bound Punjab is all set to welcome an MLA from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who has resigned from the party.
AAP is one of the main challengers of the Congress in the state.
After a late night meeting on Tuesday with Congress leaders Harish Chaudhary and Navjot Singh Sidhu, AAP MLA from Bathinda Rural Rupinder Kaur Ruby quit the party and tweeted: "Mr.@ArvindKejriwal ji Convener, AAP & @BhagwantMann ji this is hereby inform u that I am resigning with immediate effect from the membership of Aam Aadmi Party. Please accept my resignation. Thx Rupinder Kaur Ruby.(MLA Bti.rural)"
The Congress, which is reeling under infighting between factions, got a slight relief on Tuesday after the Congress, giving in to Sidhu's pressure, accepted the resignation of Advocate General A.P.S. Deol -- a decision that is being seen in political circles as lessening the "friction" between Chief Minister Charanjit Channi and Congress state chief Navjot Sidhu.
Sidhu has been demanding the replacement of Deol, who had represented former Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini in cases related to the 2015 sacrilege and subsequent police firing on protesters.
Earlier, Sidhu had tweeted: "Technically, any lawyer can become AG and any IPS officer can become DG but if we talk about morals and ethics of government, as we promised to the people of Punjab that we will give justice to them in sacrilege cases."
According to police, the robbers, coming out of the Amruth Gold and Silver shop after the crime, saw Chandru approach and opened fire at him, fearing he may try to apprehend them or alert the public. One of the bullets hit Chandru on the head and he died on the spot.
The Vigilance Bureau arrested Saini, who retired in June 2018, for cheating, forgery and other offences under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act on Wednesday.
To be headed by the Chief Minister, the group will have Local Government Minister Brahm Mohindra, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Social Security Minister Aruna Chaudhary as members, along with Sidhu, the four party working presidents -- Kuljit Singh Nagra, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Sangat Singh Gilzian and Pawan Goel, besides Pargat Singh.
After paying floral tributes to the former Prime Minister at Central Hall of Parliament, Defence Minister Singh tweeted, "Paid tributes to former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi ji on his birth anniversary at Parliament House today."
Microsoft and MAQ Software will set up their units in Noida whereas PepsiCo has started construction of its factory in Mathura, said an Industrial Department official.
Stressing that Rajiv Gandhi was a close friend, Amarinder Singh recalled that he always used ask when the day will come when people will have their own houses to live and India would be free from poverty. He, therefore, thought it apt to launch this scheme on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, said the Chief Minister, adding that the Congress had fighting for the people for the last 130 years.
