Himachal CM meets Home Minister 

Shimla: Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah at New Delhi today. It was described as a courtesy call. This is his first meeting with the Union Minister after becoming the Chief Minister.

Himachal CM and Deputy CM greet people on Statehood Day

Shimla: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri greeted the people of Himachal Pradesh on its 53rd statehood day on Tuesday  Extending his warm wishes on the occasion, Sukhu said that after a long struggle of around two decades, Himachal Pradesh got full statehood on 25th January, 1971. He said that it was possible only due to the constant efforts of people of the state under the able leadership of first Chief Minister of the state Dr. Y.S. Parmar and the benevolence of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who had special affection towards the state and its people. Agnihotri said that the present state government was committed to all-round development of the state.

 Congress’ ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign to cover 3,226-gram panchayats in HP: Pratibha Singh

Shimla: The ruling Congress’ ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign to be launched on January 26 would cover 7,881 polling booths and 3,226 gram panchayats in Himachal, president of the party’s state unit Pratibha Singh said. Addressing media persons here, she said copies of a letter written by Rahul Gandhi highlighting the failures of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre would be distributed to each household during the two-month-long campaign. As some of the areas would be under snow cover, we will launch the campaign there in March, she said, adding that the Congress was compelled to raise its voice through the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and now, the ‘Haath Se Haath Jodo’ campaign as the voice of its leaders was not being heard in Parliament. The Congress would reach out to 10 lakh polling booths in six lakh villages and 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country during its ‘Hath Se Hath Jodo’ campaign from January 26 to March 26, the party said.

Govt should ensure confidentiality of PPP data: Hooda

Chandigarh:  Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday said the coalition government had imposed Parivar Pehchan Patra and property ID on the people to harass them and the confidentiality of the data collected through it was not ensured. The State Government should ensure the confidentiality of PPP data, there should be no political use or misuse of data, he added.  Talking to journalists in Chandigarh, Hooda said PPP and property ID will be closed when the Congress government is formed. He alleged that the government is weakening the Panchayati Raj system by enforcing the e-tendering on sarpanches.

Parts of Punjab, Haryana receive light rain

Chandigarh:Parts of Punjab and Haryana received light rain on Tuesday even as cold conditions persisted at many places in the two states. The Met centre here said light rain occurred in parts of the two states, including Chandigarh. However, Bathinda in Punjab reeled under severe cold, recording a minimum temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Gurdaspur recorded a minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius, Barnala 6.4 degrees, Faridkot 6.9 degrees, Amritsar 6.2 degrees, Ludhiana 7.4 degrees and Patiala 9.3 degrees. In Haryana, Sirsa was the coldest place, recording a low of 5.5 degrees Celsius.
The night temperature in Hisar was recorded at 8.8 degrees Celsius, Karnal 9.6 degrees, Rohtak 10.4 degrees and Bhiwani 9.1 degrees. Chandigarh recorded a low of 9.4 degrees Celsius.

Security tightened across Haryana for Republic Day

Chandigarh: Haryana Police have beefed up security measures across the state in the run-up to Republic day. All commissioners and district superintendents of police have been directed to ensure elaborate security cover at all important venues for celebrations and flag-hoisting on Thursday, Director General of Police (DGP) PK Agrawal said. All roads leading to celebration venues are being monitored with 'nakas' and surprise checks. Additional forces have been deployed to deal with any untoward incident, he said on Tuesday. ''Police officers have also been directed for making smooth traffic arrangements during the Republic Day celebrations, particularly routes leading to venues of functions,'' Agarwal said.