Chandigarh, Jan 27 Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today condoled the death of eminent Punjabi writer Kartar Singh Duggal, who passed away in New Delhi following age-related ailments. Terming his death as a huge loss to the nation, Badal said Duggal, who died yesterday, had carved out a place for himself by penning novels, short stories and plays in several languages including Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and English. Considered a virtual pioneer of modern Punjabi fiction, Duggal penned seven plays, seven works of literary criticism, two collections poems and an autobiography. Apart from being a distinguished litterateur, Duggal had also served as Director of All India Radio and a Rajya Sabha MP. Read more...

 Promising to carry forward the agrarian state on the path of development, Shiromani Akali Dal president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday appealed to the voters to repeat the mandate in favour of the SAD-BJP alliance. Sukhbir addressed public meetings at Nihalsinghwala, Baghapurana and Moga in favour of SAD candidates Rajwinder Kaur, Mahesh Inder Singh and former DGP Paramdeep Singh Singh Gill, respectively. Sukhbir alleged PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh was finding it hard to counter the development works done by the government. Read more...

Rayya: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday said there was only contender for the CM's post in SAD whereas the Congress was finding it difficult to announce its chief ministerial candidate. Addressing a rally in support of SAD candidate from Baba Bakala Manjeet Singh Mianwind, Badal said, "The Congress has various contenders in the form of Capt Amarinder Singh, PS Bajwa, RK Bhattal and Preneet Kaur. But the party is yet to come clean as to who will be the CM if they come to power." Read more...

January 23 India today took exception to the remark on the Golden Temple by American television host Jay Leno and asked its envoy to the US to immediately take up the issue with the authorities concerned. Leno, the host of The Tonight Show on NBC channel, flashed a picture of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on his programme and termed it as a possible summer home of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao was being instructed to take up the matter with the US authorities. Read more...

January 23 This candidate is a people’s man. Most rickshaw drivers have his cell number and his opponents cringe at the direct connect he has established with the electorate. Former militant and SAD candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha has made his “direct connect” with the people a poll issue against Congress candidate and former minister Gurchet Singh Bhullar. Valtoha, a former AISSF leader who remained in jail at Jodhpur, Delhi and Amritsar for seven years, joined the SAD in 1993. Voters in Khemkaran say while Valtoha has been in the constituency for almost 10 months in a year, Bhullar has remained at Mohali. Devinder of Pahuwind village says Valtoha attends each and every call. “He does so even during electioneering. ... Read more...