ECI appoints five new SSPs in Punjab
Chandigarh: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday made significant administrative changes in Punjab by appointing new Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) in five districts. Sharing information, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C on Friday said that the newly-appointed SSPs are Deepak Pareek for Bathinda, Ankur Gupta for Jalandhar Rural, Simrat Kaur for Malerkotla, Suhail Qasim Mir for Pathankot, and Dr Pragya Jain for Fazilka. The move comes after orders were issued to remove officials from these districts earlier. Among those replaced were four PPS officers — Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar as Jalandhar Rural SSP, Daljinder Singh as Pathankot SSP, Varinder Singh Barad as Fazilka SSP, and Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh as Malerkotla SSP — for not being from the IPS cadre. Additionally, Harmannbir Singh Gill, who was serving as Bathinda SSP, was removed from his post due to his relation to Congress MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa from Khadoor Sahib.
Hry CM meets Vij in Ambala
Ambala: Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday met senior BJP leader and former Home Minister Anil Vij, who was stated to be upset with the party for not keeping him in the loop when deciding to replace Manohar Lal Khattar as CM. Vij also did not find a place in Saini’s Cabinet. The two leaders spent some time at Vij’s Ambala Cantonment residence over a cup of tea, sources said. “I express my gratitude to you from the bottom of my heart for your love, blessings and good wishes,” Saini said in a post on X in Hindi. Last week, the BJP replaced Khattar with OBC leader Saini as the Chief Minister in a swift switch in the state, just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
May 6 last date for filing nominations in Hry
Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Agarwal on Friday said that the voting for the general elections 2024 in the state will be held in the sixth phase on May 25, and the notification for the same will be issued on April 29. The deadline for filing nomination papers is May 6. “Returning Officers will make public information regarding the last date for filing nomination papers, locations, times, scrutiny of nomination papers, and the date for the return of papers in government offices,” CEO said. He made it clear that during the process, candidates will be allowed to bring a maximum of four people with them to offices of ROs and Assistant ROs, and maximum of three vehicles will be allowed within a perimeter of 100 metre of the RO and ARO offices. “Candidates contesting general elections will be permitted a maximum election expenditure of Rs 95 lakh. For this purpose, candidates will be required to open a separate bank account and provide an expenditure report to the Commission within one month after the election,” he added.
