Man behind Rana’s power dressing

Muktsar: Under fire over the mining row, Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh continues to create a buzz with his sartorial style. He owes his power dressing to Muktsar-based menswear designer Manpreet Singh. “I have been stitching Ranaji’s kurta-pyjamas and colourful jackets for almost three years now,” he says. Manpreet’s high-profile clientele once included SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

NEET topper becomes poster boy

Muktsar: Local boy Navdeep Singh, the all-India NEET topper, is getting congratulatory calls or messages on social media from VIPs. The list includes Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Punjab Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary, DSGMC chief Manjit Singh GK, state TMC chief Jagmeet Singh Brar, senior Congress leader Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Baba Farid University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur. Some prominent local residents have honoured him, while others have decided to give him cash rewards.

Don’t name Kejriwal, please

Chandigarh: On the concluding day of the Budget session, Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa referred to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the House while taking a dig at AAP, some of whose MLAs were involved in a ruckus a day earlier. Going by the rules, Speaker Rana KP Singh immediately directed his staff not to enter Kejriwal’s name in the record of the Assembly proceedings as the latter was not a member of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. “Kejriwal cut deyo ji”, the Speaker said, to which Randhawa quipped, “Ehna da naam taan aape hi pakka kataya jana (Kejriwal’s party will eventually be wiped out).” His remark made the Congress MLA smile. AAP MLAs were absent from the House at that time as they had staged a walkout.

Bouquets, brickbats for Speaker

Ropar: Even as Aam Aadmi Party workers burnt effigies of Speaker Rana KP Singh across the state on Friday in protest against the forcible removal of Opposition members from the Assembly, a few of them here lauded the Anandpur Sahib MLA for taking strict action. After burning Rana’s effigy at Bela Chowk, a local AAP leader said the Congress legislator — who has a house in Ropar town — had refused to succumb 

to Opposition pressure.

Award for philanthropist

Hoshiarpur: Balbir Kaur Phul, a philanthropist and social worker from Dasuya, was honoured with the Asia Pacific Award for Individual Excellence and Distinguished Service to the Nation by the Nepal-India Forum for Peace and Development during its recent conference in Kathmandu. Former Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav, Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara and India’s Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri were among those who felicitated her. She dedicated the award to her late husband, Phul Kamaljit Singh, who was a founder-member and chairman of the Guru Nanak Mission Hospital Charitable Trust, Dasuya. Balbir 

had unsuccessfully contested this year’s Assembly elections from Dasuya on the AAP ticket.