Shimla, July 30 (IANS) US-based banned Pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice has issued a threat to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, saying the latter won't be allowed to hoist the national flag in the hill state.
In recorded telephonic calls to journalists, the caller identified himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and said, "We will not allow Jai Ram Thakur to hoist the Indian tricolour. Himachal Pradesh was part of Punjab and we are seeking a referendum in Punjab. Once we liberate Punjab, we will make sure that we take over areas of Himachal Pradesh which were parts of Punjab."
Responding to the threat calls, the state police informed in a tweet: "We are in receipt of pre-recorded message from pro-Khalistani elements from oversees sent to some journalists.
"Himachal Pradesh police are fully capable of securing the state and preventing anti-national elements from thwarting peace and security in the state in corporation with the central security and intelligence agencies."
Toughening his stance, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday clarified that he won't meet new state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu till he publicly apologises to him.
Delhi's iconic Red Fort will be shut for the public from July 21 till Independence Day celebrations on August 15 are over, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said on Tuesday.
Taking part in a discussion in the Upper House, Puri said, "I have got an impression that the one realisation which has escaped many is that the enemy here is the virus, not the government, or the Chief Ministers, or the system. It is the virus which is the real enemy."
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said it is not correct to say that the third Covid wave will affect children as in the two waves till now children were relatively less infected.
Most experts believe India’s official toll of 414,000 dead was a vast undercount, but the government has dismissed those concerns. A report released Tuesday estimates excess deaths to be 3 million to 4.7 million between January 2020 and this June.