Malerkotla, January 17
The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, said today that he would meet the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, in the next week to discuss about the expansion of his Council of Ministers. He said expansion would be done next week.

About the induction of Ms Razia Sultana, Congress MLA from Malerkotla, into the ministry at the time of expansion, he avoided to comment. He also ruled out any change in the leadership of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC). He indicated that Mr Hanspal would continue to function as the president of the PPCC.

He was in the town to pay tributes to 66 Kuka Sikh martyrs of the Independence movement, who were blown off with cannons by the British at Malerkotla on January 17 and 18 in 1872. Mr H.S. Hanspal, president of the Namdhari Darbar and president of the PPCC, also paid tributes to the martyrs.

Capt Amarinder Singh said the drive against corruption would be one of the major issues during the coming Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that the Congress would win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

A supplementary challan against the Badals would be filed in the court by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, he said. A team of the bureau would also go abroad to investigate into the assets of Badals there. He, however, said the Vigilance Bureau would decide on its own about the filing of supplementary challan and the foreign visit of its team.

Welcoming the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, Ms Razia Sultana, Congress MLA from Malerkotla, though expressed happiness over the arrival of Chief Minister to Malerkotla, but at the same time she added that the Chief Minister had perhaps come for Mr H.S. Hanspal, not for us. There was a general view that she had said this as Capt Amarinder Singh had not visited Malerkotla on two occasions of Eid.

Mr H.S. Hanspal asked the Chief Minister to announce a grant (about Rs 25 lakh) for the covering of a 66-foot high “Khanda” with Japanese steel and Rs 50 lakh for the construction of a meditation hall at the Namdhari Shaheedi Samarak. The Chief Minister said the government would extend full financial support for the purpose. Ms Razia Sultana, Congress MLA from Malerkotla, also spoke on the occasion.

Mr Jasbir Singh, chairman of Punjab Agro Industries, proposed a vote of thanks.