Latest news with #Bains
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
In Punjab, 115 govt schools renamed after revolutionaries, athletes to inspire kids
1 2 Chandigarh: To honour the legacy of Punjab's eminent personalities, the AAP govt has renamed 115 govt schools after freedom fighters, martyrs, and internationally acclaimed athletes, said Harjot Singh Bains, minister for school education, on Monday. The school education department renamed 25 schools after freedom fighters and martyrs on July 18, said Bains. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday announced that a school in Beas village in Jalandhar district would be renamed after marathoner Fauja Singh, the minister said. Addressing a press conference, Bains said Punjab govt had also decided to display pictures and histories of these personalities in schools named after them to inspire students with their sacrifices and contributions while appropriately honouring their legacy. These 115 schools have been rechristened to honour Ghadar Movement heroes, freedom fighters, martyrs, and eminent personalities of Punjab. "Renaming schools will inspire students through the stories and sacrifices of these individuals," Bains said. He highlighted the AAP govt in 2023 renamed Govt High School in Khatkar Kalan as Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Govt High School. In response to a media query on the 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' campaign, Bains said the school education department, along with subject matter experts, was making a curriculum to sensitise students against the ill effects of drugs. It will lay a strong foundation against the drug menace, he added.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Citing cuts to health care, Bains says she's running for Congress
Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, said she's running for California's 22nd Congressional District, the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford. 'From the beginning of this year, a lot of people were asking me if I would ever consider a run for Congress, and I kept saying, 'I hope I don't have to,'' said Bains, a family physician who's served in California's 35th Assembly District since 2022. Bains said much of the work that she entered politics to accomplish was now being undone by the Trump administration, aided and abetted, she said, by Valadao in his recent vote for the massive reconciliation bill recently passed by Congress. 'I have been working day in, day out, to help expand access in an area with some of the most Medicaid patients in the country and this directly cuts a lot of the work that I have been doing,' Bains said. 'The whole reason why I even ran for an Assembly (seat) in the first place.' Speculation around the assemblywoman's potential run has swirled for months, but it wasn't until speaking with The Californian that Bains confirmed her intention to run. California's 22nd District is considered one of the most competitive in the nation and Valadao has been the target of relentless campaigning by Democrat-aligned groups for months. It also has the highest level of Medicaid enrollment in the state — 67%, according to UC Berkeley — making the focus of those attacks the proposed cuts to the program. 'I was shocked when I saw Congressman Valadao vote for what he himself said would decimate health care in our Central Valley, would take away vital access to care in an area that has the least access to begin with,' Bains said. Valadao didn't say revisions to Medicaid would decimate the valley, but he did sign onto a letter in June with other Congressional Republicans cautioning against changes made by the U.S. Senate. In a statement, Valadao said the vote on the reconciliation bill was not an easy one and he said he'd received assurances from the administration about the $50 billion allocated for rural health. Ahead of votes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Bains appeared in advertisements urging Valadao to vote against the bill. Following the U.S. House of Representatives' vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Bains submitted in the state Legislature a resolution to formally censure all nine members of California's Republican Congressional Delegation who voted for it. Yet Bains has also previously clashed with her own party. In 2023, she was removed from an Assembly committee assignment by party leadership for being the only Democrat to vote no on a bill targeting the oil and gas industry. Those clashes were evidence, Bains said, of her willingness to put the interests of her district ahead of party politics. Bains said repeatedly during an interview with The Californian that her loyalty was to the district first. 'Voters in this district just saw their congressman choose party loyalty over them. That is something that I, from the first day I was in the Assembly, it was about choosing my district first,' Bains said. 'This area needs a representative that will choose them first. My loyalty again to the people in this district will always come first.' Bains is the second Democrat to officially challenge Valadao. In April, Visalia School Board member Randy Villegas announced his run for Congress, running on a progressive platform and vowing not to take any corporate political action committee money. Bains declined to make a similar commitment, saying she is focused on bringing health care back to the district. 'I am a doctor,' Bains said. 'I have been fighting to increase health care and I've been fighting to increase access to health care. I continue focusing on the issues that matter most, health care and also affordability, making sure that government is working for the people.' Environmental groups such as Greenpeace have criticized Bains for accepting money from the oil and gas industry. Past campaigns in the district have brought in massive amounts of money, much of it from donors outside the district. According to the Federal Elections Commission, in the 2024 race Valadao's campaign raised nearly $5 million while Democratic challenger Rudy Salas raised $6.5 million. Salas, himself a former Assemblyman, twice lost to Valadao, in 2022 and 2024. He's filed paperwork with the FEC to run in 2026, but has not committed to doing so. Valadao's campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment Tuesday, but in an email, Republican National Congressional Committee spokesman Christian Martinez called Bains a radical. 'Radical Democrat Jasmeet Bains will never represent the values of the Central Valley with her extreme record that sells out hardworking California families,' Martinez said. 'She's more focused on handing out taxpayer-funded home loans, welfare and free health care to illegal immigrants than defending the very Californians footing the bill. Californians deserve better than a radical activist masquerading as their representative.' Whether or not Bains is elected to Congress, running for the 22nd District means she won't be able to run for the 35th Assembly District, leaving a vacancy in that seat for the 2026 election. California's primary election isn't until June 2026, but only the two top vote-getting candidates in that race will move on to the general election. Whether or not she's elected to Congress, Bains said she is first and foremost a doctor. 'This is a doctor taking her oath to the highest level. I never signed up for this job in the Assembly to be a career politician. I am staying true to who I said I was from day one,' Bains said. 'This is about a doctor taking her oath to protect her community.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Asm. Dr. Jasmeet Bains announces 2026 run for Congress for Rep. David Valadao's seat
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) has announced her bid for California's 22nd Congressional District Wednesday morning. Bains will be looking to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. David Valadao of Hanford in the 2026 election. Trump tells Texas Republicans to redraw the state congressional map to help keep House majority In a post on X, Bains emphasizes her career as a family doctor, directly calling out Valadao for voting yes on the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' and 'for the largest cut to health care in history.' Bains joins fellow Democrat Randy Villegas in opposing Valadao. 17 News will have a candidate profile with Bains. Check back for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Punjab Educational Infrastructure Expansion: Punjab set to expand educational infrastructure, says Higher Education Minister, ET Education
Advt Chandigarh, The Punjab government is set to expand its educational infrastructure with plans to establish new government colleges in the state, having a special focus on border areas and underserved regions, Minister for Higher Education Harjot Singh Bains informed the moving the Rayat Bahra Professional University, Hoshiarpur Bill -- 2025 and C.G.C. University, Mohali Bill -- 2025 in the Vidhan Sabha, Bains highlighted the state's remarkable progress in the field of education, citing an 85 per cent increase in enrolment in government Education Minister said all the colleges in the state, government, private and aided, saw a significant rise in student enrolment, from 7 lakh in 2022 to 9 lakh in the last academic Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University in Bathinda witnessed a notable surge in enrolment, growing from 1,400 to 2,480 the state has expanded its ITI seats by approximately 35,000 in the past three years, with an impressive 99 per cent seat fill-up rate last year, and further, plans to add 5,000-7,000 more seats this attributed this growth to the government's commitment to transform Punjab into a global education the government has provided over 54,000 government jobs to the youth, which has significantly helped in curbing brain drain."The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the only party in the country's history to have made education a central plank of its agenda during the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls," Bains said, adding education is the topmost priority of the Punjab highlighted that the state has introduced new-age courses in emerging fields such as data science, artificial intelligence, banking, financial services, digital marketing, hospitality and tourism, and event the government has also ensured the timely disbursement of Scheduled Caste scholarships so that no student should be deprived of quality education due to financial constraints.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Way clear for 2 new private universities
With box attached in CCI Chandigarh: The Punjab assembly on Friday passed two key bills unanimously, paving the way for the establishment of private universities in Mohali and Hoshiarpur, while promising expansion in the state's public education infrastructure and greater regulatory oversight. The Aam Aadmi Party govt introduced the Rayat Bahra Professional University, Hoshiarpur Bill 2025 and the CGC University, Mohali Bill 2025, both aimed at promoting multidisciplinary, research-focused education across engineering, medical, social sciences, and liberal arts. Education minister Harjot Bains, who tabled the bills, said Punjab had witnessed a sharp jump in student enrolment across all colleges — from 7 lakh in 2022 to 9 lakh in the latest academic session. "Govt colleges alone saw an 85% spike in enrolment," he told the House, adding that new govt colleges were being planned for border and underserved regions. Bains said that the state's technical university in Bathinda named after Maharaja Ranjit Singh also had seen admissions nearly double in a year. ITI seats were expanded by 35,000 in three years, with 99% fill-up rate, and the govt planned to add another 5,000-7,000 seats. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Providers are furious: Internet access without a subscription! Techno Mag Learn More Undo The new universities would help expand the state's academic footprint, Bains said, adding that Punjab was also offering modern courses in artificial intelligence, data science, digital marketing, and tourism. Calls for oversight, inclusive access Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh and his son, independent MLA Rana Inder Partap Singh, welcomed the move but called for a robust regulatory body to monitor private universities. "It should not be a toothless authority," Gurjeet said. Inder Partap also flagged concerns of an internal "brain drain", where teachers were shifting from govt to private institutes, and questioned how many foreign students study in public universities. Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa supported the bills but accused the AAP govt of not delivering on its earlier promises. "What happened to the sports university promised by Arvind Kejriwal during the Jalandhar byelection?" he asked, also pointing out that 16 promised medical colleges had been whittled down to seven, with "not even one foundation stone laid." Congress MLA Sukhwinder Kotli said Dalit students were being denied entry due to post-matric scholarship issues and criticised vacancies in school leadership roles. In response, Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said these issues were "isolated and technical", adding that the Mann govt had released ₹1,700 crore in stuck scholarship funds for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes since assuming office. Ends MSID:: 122391889 413 |
