India records 78 doping cases till July 15; UP, Punjab top list: Sports Minister in LS

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. (File Photo)The Punjab Vidhan Sabha Monday unanimously passed a Bill to bring 26,000 to 28,000 outsourced employees under direct contractual engagement with the government, paving way for them to receive statutory benefits such as provident fund (PF), gratuity, maternity leave, and 10 days of casual leave per year. Tabled by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on the concluding day of the monsoon session, the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Bill, 2026 creates two categories of outsourced personnel — those engaged in hazardous occupations and those in non-hazardous jobs.Workers in hazardous occupations, including sanitation and sewer work and those working on electricity poles, will be eligible for contractual status after three years of service, while those in other categories will get it in five years. Cheema said the legislation would provide relief to workers who had remained outsourced for upto 15 years. He accused successive Akali-BJP and Congress governments of allowing such workers to be exploited and said the AAP dispensation was attempting, through legislation, to provide job security to long-serving outsourced employees. Participating in the discussion on the Bill, Shiromani Akali Dal’s Manpreet Singh Ayali said it lacked specific provision giving preference to Punjab-domiciled candidates. Cheema said the Bill was not intended to create new jobs but to provide contractual status to people already engaged with the government. Their domicile, educational qualifications and length of service would be verified before they were considered. To a point raised by Congress member Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Cheema said that employees engaged under centrally sponsored Schemes would continue to be governed by those schemes. He said extending the proposed provisions to such workers may leave the entire financial burden on Punjab if the Centre reduced or withdrew its share, particularly in schemes funded in a 60:40 ratio. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann termed the proposed legislation a step towards ending contractual exploitation, Mann said the government had received complaints from outsourced workers that contractors didn’t pay them the promised salary, while threatening them with dismissal or replacement.Story continues below this ad “The government pays the full amount as per the contract, but exploitation starts thereafter,” Mann said, arguing that intermediaries earned money without making any productive investment while workers bore the cost. Mann said that 15-22 per cent commission currently charged by the outsourcing agencies will no longer be deducted as that money and the corresponding benefit will accrue to the employees. He the Bill would cover eligible outsourced Group C and Group D workers engaged in essential public services, including electricity, firefighting and other services without which normal life could not function. In the first phase, he told the House, 26,000 to 28,000 outsourced employees will immediately benefit from this initiative. Workers who did not initially possess prescribed minimum educational, technical or experience qualifications would be given an opportunity to acquire the required qualifications through short-term courses within a year, he said. The remuneration paid to the employees will not be less than their existing salary or the legally prescribed minimum wage, whichever is applicable, he said.Story continues below this ad Apart from PF and gratuity, they will be entitled to ESI benefits, will receive the maternity leave and, like regular employees, will be entitled to 10 days of casual leave per year, he said. “This is one of the biggest decisions in Punjab’s history for the welfare and rights of employees. From today, the decades-old system of contractual outsourcing in Punjab will come to an end. The role of private contractors in government employment will be elimi

By filing a caveat, Punjab government employees have ensured that if the government moves the Supreme Court, the apex court cannot grant any ex parte interim relief without first issuing notice to them and hearing their submissions. (Image generated using AI) Anticipating that the Punjab government may challenge the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order directing it to clear pending dearness allowance (DA) dues within two weeks, state government employees and pensioners have filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to ensure they are heard before any interim relief is granted. The caveat was filed on August 5 in the case of Raghbir Singh versus Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab. Advocate Abhishek Gupta filed the caveat on behalf of the employees.Sukhchain Singh Khaira, president of the Punjab Government Employees Association, said they filed the caveat to ensure that they were heard before the government knocked at the Supreme Court’s doors. “Employees of PSPCL [Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd], school education department, Punjab civil secretariat have all got together to file this caveat. We had filed eight writ petitions for the DA in the high court earlier,” Khaira added. The move comes days after a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the Punjab government’s appeal against an earlier single judge’s order and directed the state to release the pending DA dues—estimated to be around Rs 25,000 crore—within two weeks. The high court had upheld the finding that the government could not adopt different standards in extending DA benefits to All India Services officers and state government employees and pensioners. A caveat is a legal precaution filed by a party expecting the opposite side to approach a higher court. By filing it, the employees have ensured that if the Punjab government files a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the high court judgment, the apex court cannot grant any ex parte interim relief, including a stay on the high court order, without first issuing notice to them and hearing their submissions. Legal experts said filing a caveat is a routine but important procedural safeguard that prevents one-sided interim orders in cases where an appeal is anticipated. State wanted to release DA in instalments The dispute relates to the Punjab government’s delay in paying DA and dearness relief (DR) to its employees and pensioners. Earlier this year, a single judge of the High Court had struck down the state’s decision to release DA arrears in 42 instalments and held that the government was required to pay DA and DR in accordance with the pattern followed by the central government. The state had challenged that order before a division bench.Story continues below this ad The division bench, however, upheld the single judge’s verdict and directed the Punjab government to clear the pending DA dues within two weeks. The judgment has significant financial implications for the state as employees have been seeking release of 18 per cent DA, pending since January 2023. The Punjab government is yet to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. However, the filing of the caveat indicates that the employees expect the legal battle over DA dues to move to the apex court in the coming days. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema had indicated on Tuesday that the government was considering legal options. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd Kanchan Vasdev is a Senior Assistant Editor in The Indian Express’ Punjab bureau. She is a highly experienced journalist with 22 years of expertise covering high-stakes politics, governance, and social issues in Northern India. Professional Background Role: Primary reporter covering the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), government policies, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership in the state. Experience: She previously worked with The Tribune and has played a key role in launching various city editions.

Chandigarh: The BJP's much-publicised organisational overhaul in Punjab appears to have hit turbulence.Within minutes of the party announcing its new team on August 2, veteran BJP leader Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal quit the party after over three decades of association. Less than 24 hours later, former Punjab minister Tikshan Sood openly rebelled against the leadership, with several district office-bearers in Hoshiarpur resigning from their organisational posts.The back-to-back developments have taken some sheen off the BJP's organisational rejig, which was aimed at strengthening the party ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.While both incidents stem from different issues, they underscore a common grievance increasingly being voiced within the Punjab BJP -- long-serving party workers believe they are being sidelined. Another gripe is that the leadership places greater emphasis on accommodating political entrants from rival parties.In his resignation letter addressed to BJP president Nitin Nabin, Grewal, who said he had been associated with the BJP since 1992, wrote that the party was no longer the organisation he had joined over three decades ago. He alleged that committed workers across Punjab felt "neglected, unheard and disheartened" and that ideological commitment and sacrifice were steadily losing their place within the organisation.The discontent became more visible on Sunday when Tikshan Sood led a virtual rebellion in Hoshiarpur. The crisis erupted after the party replaced Satish Bawa, considered close to Sood, as district president with Nitin Gupta Nannu, who is seen as being close to former Union minister Vijay Sampla.In protest, Sood and several district office-bearers resigned from their organisational posts, accusing the leadership of ignoring grassroots workers and taking decisions without consulting senior local leaders.Since ending its alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in 2020, the party has aggressively expanded by inducting leaders from the Congress, Akali Dal and other parties to build a broader social and political base.The strategy has also reshaped the party's leadership. Both the current Punjab BJP president, Kewal Singh Dhillon, and his predecessor, Sunil Jakhar, joined the BJP from the Congress before being elevated to head the state unit.While their appointments were aimed at expanding the party's electoral appeal, they also reinforced a perception among sections of the old cadre that newcomers were being rewarded with top positions while loyal workers remained on the sidelines.For the BJP, the challenge is not merely about two isolated episodes of dissent but about managing competing expectations within an organisation that is undergoing rapid political expansion.The party's traditional cadre, which sustained it through decades of limited electoral success in Punjab, now finds itself sharing space with influential entrants expected to help the BJP grow into a formidable force in the state.With the 2027 Assembly elections on the horizon, the organisational reshuffle was intended to project unity and preparedness. Instead, the immediate resignations and open rebellion have highlighted the strains that accompany the BJP's expansion strategy. Whether the leadership can contain the resentment among its old guard while continuing to attract influential political entrants could prove crucial to the party's ambitions in Punjab.

Sreeshankar Murali won the men's long jump final at the 65th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships with 8.38m — the second-best jump of his career, behind only his national record of 8.41m set on the same track. (AFI Photo)The 32-member Indian athletics contingent will face the litmus test at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after an incredible domestic season where more than 25 national records were shattered. Led by double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, the Indian contingent will be targeting medals in the field events as track events have a highly competitive field with the presence of the African nations. India won eight medals last time with five coming in field events and three on track including the historic 3000m steeplechase medal of Avinash Sable. Focus on jumps India’s major expectations will be from the jumps squad with latest high jump national record holder Sarvesh Kushare leading the field. Apart from Sarvesh, Tejaswin Shankar and Aadrash Ram are the other Indians in contention with Tejaswin being the bronze medallist from the previous edition.“I know a lot of eyes are on me. I think competing at Monaco Diamond League gave me more confidence,” Sarvesh told The Indian Express. Sarvesh, who set the new national record of 2.31m, will be up against Jack Kimani and Olympic medallist Hamish Kerr. Similarly in the men’s long jump, India’s hope rests on Sreeshankar Murali who is having a fantastic year with a season best of 8.38m. Along with him, NCAA indoor champion Lokesh Satyanathan will be competing in the event. “The Commonwealth Games is always a tough field. We have the likes of Tajay Gayle and Liam Adcock in the field,” said Sreeshankar in a media interaction. “I have been jumping consistently and the key will be to continue my form outside of India also,” he added further. Sreeshankar won silver last time in Birmingham and will hope to better the colour of his medal this time. Triple jump was the most successful event for India Last time in CWG with Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker winning gold and silver and Praveen Chithravel finishing fourth. This time, Praveen and recently crowned NCAA champion Selva Prabhu will be in action for India. Apart from the jumps, Javelin will be the event with the most medal hopes as Neeraj is participating along with Rohit Yadav, who has the best throw in the country this season. In men’s shot put, Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill will have an outside chance after Jacko Gill of New Zealand pulled out. Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, England’s Scott Lincoln along with reigning champion Tom Walsh will be their main competitors.Story continues below this ad National records can improve While India has outside chances of medals in events like 100m, 200m and 400m, there is a big chance of national records improving in Glasgow. The likes of Gurindervir Singh, Animesh Kujur, and Vishal TK will be running in a high quality field and such races often result in new national records. 100m national record holder Gurindervir is placed in heat 4 of 100m where he will be up against Jamaican Rohan Watson who has a personal best of 9.91s. In the 400m, national record holder Vishal TK will be up against the likes of Zakithi Nene of South Africa who has a personal best of 43.76s. Indian pole vaulters Dev Meena and Kuldeep Kumar have improved the national record five times this year and the duo will expect to put up a good show again. “See, I know that the competition is going to be very tough at the Commonwealth Games. Our boys have been doing well and we will look to do our best instead of thinking of what others are doing,” Dev and Kuldeep’s coach Ghanshyam Yadav said. Indian long distance runners Parul Chaudhary and Gulveer Singh will be making their debut at the multi sporting event but their medal chances are extremely slim with the presence of the African nations. Parul, who will compete in 3000m steeplechase, will target the

Barely seven months ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appears to be recalibrating its organisational structure by appointing new constituency in-charges or promoting alternative leaders alongside its sitting MLAs.While the AAP has made no official announcement linking these changes to ticket distribution, the emergence of such parallel power centres has triggered speculations in several constituencies.The latest example is Bathinda Rural, where retired sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Gopal Singh was appointed as the AAP’s constituency in-charge earlier this month. The constituency is represented by AAP MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta, who was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in an alleged bribery case in February 2023 and granted bail in May in a case for which the trial is still underway. Reacting to the appointment, Kotfatta said, “This is the fourth constituency in-charge appointed by the party in the past three years. It is the party’s decision.” Asked whether these appointments were linked to the pending case against him, Kotfatta said, “The matter is sub judice and it was a fabricated case to malign my image. Let the court decide about the case. I have full faith in the judiciary.” On whether the repeated appointments of constituency in-charges signalled a potential change in the AAP’s candidate from Bathinda Rural for the 2027 polls, Kotfatta said, “I will see when the polls draw closer… People elect an MLA and hence, I will continue serving masses and consult masses for every future decision.” In Bathinda Urban, represented by AAP MLA Jagrup Singh Gill, another prominent party face, Amarjeet Mehta, president of the Punjab Cricket Association, has increasingly become visible. Gill had openly criticised his party over ticket distribution in the recent local body elections, alleging the party had favoured Mehta, whose son Padamjeet became the Bathinda mayor after the AAP won 33 of the 50 wards in the municipal corporation. Though Gill has remained active in the constituency, he has largely stayed away from party events in recent months. Political observers point to the growing prominence of Amarjeet Mehta, who shared an open campaign vehicle with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal at a roadshow through Bathinda city in June. In Sangrur, represented by AAP MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj, AAP leader Gurmail Singh Gharachon has emerged as an influential face. Gharachon had unsuccessfully contested the Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll in June 2022 on the party’s ticket. Party sources say that two months ago, Gharachon played a key role in securing the appointment of the Bhawanigarh Truck Union president, while leaders close to Bharaj reportedly failed to get their preferred candidate accommodated. In Samana, represented by party MLA Chetan Singh Jauramajra, former state minister and senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar Surjit) Surjit Singh Rakhra joined the AAP in May. Since then, AAP workers say two parallel centres of activity have emerged, with both Jauramajra and Rakhra holding separate public programmes. In Patiala Rural, represented by state health minister Balbir Singh, Patiala Deputy Mayor Jagdeep Jagga has put up posters across the city asking voters to elect him from the constituency in 2027. Responding to the development, Balbir Singh said, “Yes, I have seen a few posters of the aspirants, the party has taken due cognisance of the same… However, such things don’t bother me as I am busy with the people of my constituency and the health department… No one may have seen my posters, but I can be seen physically present with my people.” A similar situation has arisen in Malerkotla, where Anwar Bhasod, AAP in-charge of the CM’s camp office in Dhuri, has put up prominent boards across the town carrying the slogan, “Navi soch navi gal, Malerkotla de masle karange hal (New thought, new approach, we will resolve Malerkotla’s issues)”. The constituen

New DelhiUpdated: Jul 24, 2026 11:58 AM IST Ahead of the meeting between the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and government representatives amid the ongoing protest against paper leaks, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of a new law had not changed their position. He said the CJP’s demands remain the same, and the protest will continue till they are met. CJP leaders are to meet government representatives at Delhi’s Constitutional Club of India today. The platform has demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, compensation for the families of those who died by suicide after exams were cancelled due to paper leaks, and withdrawal of cases filed against protesters. “Our demands remain the same, and the protest will continue until those demands are met,” Das said. He said he hoped the government would come with “an open mind” and listen to the concerns of people. The team will meet JP Nadda at a neutral location at 12.30 pm. We will not accept anything less than Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation! pic.twitter.com/j4kHj8HX6H — Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) July 24, 2026 Two key developments took place the night before the CJP-government meeting – Prime Minister Modi in a video address promised a new law to tackle paper leaks, and activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike in the presence of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. A massive protest is on at Jantar Mantar and several parts of the country.Wangchuk said the government had assured him that the paper leak issue will be discussed, compensation will be given to the suicide victims, and no cases will be registered against peaceful protesters. CJP founder Dipke said he was relieved that Wangchuk had ended his strike and credited him with awakening the “conscience” of a nation, but clarified, “The Cockroach Janta Party’s peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns.” Responding to the Prime Minister’s promise that a new law against paper leaks was in the works, Das told the media, “The Cabinet can do as it pleases. It has nothing to do with us. Our demands remain the same, and the protest will continue until those demands are met.” He said the party had suggested an alternative venue for talks because ministers expressed concerns about visiting the protest site at Jantar Mantar. “If the ministers have doubts about coming here due to security reasons, we understand. So we offered them alternative venues that are non-politically affiliated institutions,” he said.

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on July 23, 1986. 2 min readJul 23, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Jul 23, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST The Home Minister, Buta Singh, dismissed as “bogus” Pakistan President Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s denial of his country’s complicity in terrorist acts in Punjab. Replying to a day-long discussion on the situation in Punjab in the Rajya Sabha, Buta Singh said the issue had been taken up on several occasions, both in writing and verbally, with the Pakistan government through diplomatic channels. Bus hits mine in Sri LankaThirty one persons died on the spot and 22 were injured when a Ceylon Transport Board bus hit a landmine in Mahamadhu in the Vavuniya district, according to informed sources. The bus was travelling from Kochikattu on the Horapatana road to Vavuniya when the incident occurred. The impact of the explosion is said to have blown the bus 50 feet high. V P Singh on Reliance loans The Finance Minister, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, said that the loans given to companies connected with Reliance in the debenture case would be recalled if it was found that they were not being put to “proper” use. Singh told A G Kulkarni and others in reply to a spate of supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour that a four-member committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India was also looking into the “end use” of the loans given to the Reliance companies. India-China talks China’s recent deepest intrusion into Indian territory since the 1962 war came up at the seventh round of ongoing Sino-Indian talks, as officials completed a review of the eastern sector. India’s charge about last month’s intrusion into Sumdorong Chu valley area of Arunachal Pradesh came up on the opening day of the talks with discussion on who had intruded where and when.