Gurdaspur (Punjab), Dec 16 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday made a slew of historical announcements for the Christian community, including setting up of a Chair at university level for the study of the Bible.
In his address here, the Chief Minister said that Christians would be given due representation in the state government boards.
He said the problem of graveyards would be resolved in the districts where the community has a presence.
"The land for graveyards would be provided where it is not available but the community has a sizeable presence," said Channi, adding a community hall would be constructed in each district in order to enable the community to hold functions there.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on the occasion extended warm greetings to the community and advocated following the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ.
On the occasion, Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa extending his good wishes said that every religion and their spiritual leaders emphasize upon the principles of mutual coexistence and universal brotherhood.
Lauding the Christian community, he said it has contributed a lot in the health and education sectors and the religion has spread throughout the globe due to its selfless nature.
A Delhi court on Thursday directed Delhi Police to file an Action Taken Report (ATR) on a petition seeking an FIR against Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his alleged controversial remarks against the protesting farmers.
The Uttar Pradesh government has given a six months' extension to the special investigation team (SIT) probing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. The SIT had sought extension and the state government has given time to the SIT to complete the investigation and make arrests by May 2022.
This comes just days after the COP26 climate summit, where India pledged to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, reduce carbon emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, and raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50 per cent, among others, before staging a last-minute climbdown opposing a commitment to "phase out" coal.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe and to ensure fairness and independence in the investigation.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked petitions against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order, which upheld the appointment of Dinkar Gupta as Punjab Director General of Police.
Punjab has always stood against external intrusions and hence must be considered as a security case, not just as an economic case at the time of budgetary allocation, state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said here on Tuesday. Badal made the demand during a virtual discussion with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on stepping up investment, infrastructure and growth in the country.
