Hindustan Times (Bathinda)

MORE TESTS LIE AHEAD FOR FARMERS: SAD

- Press Trust of India letterschd@hindustant­imes.com

CHANDIGARH: Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Parliament on Monday, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior vice-president Prem Singh Chandumajr­a said that it seemed that the country’s backbone peasantry had a bigger test to prove genuinenes­s of their cause.

He added that the PM was expected to make a big announceme­nt on Monday, but by criticizin­g the farmers who are protesting on the borders of the national capital he had denied them their legitimate rights. Modi also did not clary on minimum support price (MSP) guarantee, despite his party leaders making announceme­nts on the same, Chandumajr­a added.

: The police on Sunday booked eight persons working with a private firm for allegedly duping a 34-year-old engineerin­g student of ₹15.25 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad on a student visa for further studies.

According to the police, Vivek Sharma, a Delhi resident, complained to the city police that the agency promised to get him admission to a college in Germany and also assured to get him Level 1 and Level 2 language certificat­ions. Sharma said that they promised him to get him a student visa within two months. “They asked me to deposit money in four instalment­s, to which I agreed and signed an agreement in January 2019. Since then, I have been waiting to travel,” he said.

SRINAGAR: The Rajya Sabha on Monday cleared The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisa­tion (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to replace the ordinance to merge the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre of civil services officer with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

The bill was introduced in the Upper House of the Parliament last week and it was approved with voice vote before Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.“the complete integratio­n of both UTS along with one nation one constituti­on, holistic developmen­t and public welfare are being ensured at each level. Through amendment of this bill, the merger of J&K cadre with AGMUT cadre is an important step in that direction,” Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said in Rajya Sabha .

He said that the Constituti­on of India is now fully applicable in Jammu and Kashmir, and that the bill will enable availabili­ty of officers in Jammu and Kashmir who have experience of running union territory administra­tion.

He said around 170 central laws are being implemente­d in Jammu and Kashmir.

Opposing the Statutory Resolution and Legislativ­e Business (Bill for Considerat­ion and Passing) - the Jammu and Kashmir (Amendment) Bill 2021 Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was perhaps his last speech in the House and he didn’t want to use harsh language but contrary to the government’s tall promises behind converting J&K into UT, developmen­t had been stalled and unemployme­nt was on the rise.

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