News Analysis India

Tag: Amethi

  • Over 5 lakh AK-203 rifles to be made in Amethi, deal may be signed during Putin’s visit

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In a big boost to self-reliance in defence manufacturing in India, the Indo-Russian ordnance factory at Korwa in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh is set to manufacture over five lakh AK-203 assault rifles. They will be produced by a joint Indo-Russian venture, approved by the Centre. The first 70,000 will include Russian-made components as technology transfers and the Army will receive these in 32 months after the manufacturing process begins.

    Signifying the robust defence ties between the two countries, India and Russia are likely to ink the Rs 6,000-crore deal for manufacturing AK-203 rifles at Korwa during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi. Over five lakh AK series rifles will be manufactured over a ten-year period time. These rifles are an advanced version of the AK-47.

    Korwa ordnance factory will manufacture the rifles for the military in the first phase followed by a bulk order for the paramilitary forces and police force of the country. A Major General is in charge of the plant.

    According to official sources, the proposed project will be executed in partnership with Russia. It will open up business opportunities for various MSMEs and other defence industries for supply of raw material and components, which will leadto generation of new employment opportunities.

    The 7.62 x 39mm caliber AK-203 rifles will replace the in-service INSAS rifles inducted over three decades back. AK-203 assault rifles, with an effective range of 300 metres, are lightweight, robust and easy to use with proven technology that will enhance the combat potential of soldiers to adequately meet present and envisaged operational challenges.

    They will enhance the operational effectiveness of the Indian Army in counter insurgency/counter terrorism operations.

    The project is significant as it would make UP a key contributor in the defence manufacturing hub of India given the upcoming 6-node defence corridor from Agra to Jhansi.

    The project will be implemented by a special purpose Joint Venture called Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL). It has been created with erstwhile OFB, now Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL), and Munitions India Limited (MIL) of India and Rosoboronexport (RoE) and Kalashnikov of Russia.

  • Development not reached all families in Amethi despite Gandhis ‘rule’ for 5 decades: Smriti Irani

    By PTI

    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amethi in Uttar Pradesh was presumed not to be in want of any infrastructure as it was “ruled” by the Gandhi family and “not served” by them for five decades, but development — like internet connectivity — has not reached all families there, Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani said on Sunday.

    Irani, who was scheduled to virtually inaugurate the ‘sevasamarpan’ initiative of RSS affiliated NGO Deseeya Seva Bharati, said she was unable to join the organisation’s conference earlier in the morning as she was deep in the interiors of Amethi, where it was “a struggle” to connect to the internet.

    “I am deep in the interiors of Amethi. Network connectivity is a challenge in some of the villages here. Many presume this was a constituency ruled and not served by the Gandhi family for five decades and hence, would not be in want of any infrastructure. However, the struggle today itself to connect with you (Seva Bharati) is significant enough for you to recognise that even under their (Gandhis) leadership, in their own constituency, development has not reached every single family,” she said after she managed to join the online conference much later.

    She said that with the endeavour to ensure development reaches all parts of the constituency, she is going from village to village to find out their needs.

  • UP’s Amethi now self-reliant in medical oxygen production with seven plants: MP Smriti Irani

    By PTI

    AMETHI: Amethi was neglected for 70 years and there was not even one oxygen generation unit, but it has become self-reliant in medical oxygen now with seven plants, Union Minister Smriti Irani said on Saturday, in an apparent swipe at the Congress whose leaders represented the constituency for decades.

    Irani, on a two-day visit to her parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh, inspected a trauma centre in Jagdishpur.

    “Amethi was deprived of various facilities for 70 years. There was not a single oxygen plant in Amethi, but today there are seven oxygen plants. In the area of medical oxygen, Amethi has become self-reliant,” she said.

    ALSO READ | India sends 150 tonnes of oxygen to Sri Lanka to help it tackle coronavirus surge

    “Amethi is my home, my family. I know how to look after the family. I do what I say. You have seen that during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Initially samples had to be sent to Lucknow for testing, but the Yogi Adityanath government in UP made such a provision that COVID-19 tests are now being conducted in Amethi,” said Irani, who defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the constituency in 2019.

    “Whether I am in Amethi or outside, I keep a tab of Amethi and am in touch with the administration,” the Union Women and Child Development Minister said.

  • 16-year-old girl abducted, raped over five days in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi

    By PTI
    AMETHI: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped for five days by a youth here, police said on Friday.

    According to the family of the girl, she had gone to fill water from a hand pump near her house on July 9 when the youth abducted her and raped her, they said.

    The girl managed to escape from the clutches of the youth after five days and informed her family about the matter, he said.

    A case has been registered under the POCSO Act and the girl has been sent for medical examination.

  • Man dies after neighbours force him to drink poison in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi

    By PTI
    AMETHI (UTTAR PRADESH): A 35-year-old man was allegedly killed by his neighbours who beat him up and forcibly gave him poison in Amethi area, police said on Friday. The deceased’s brother Shiv Bharat said that Ram Bharat Srivastava was on Thursday beaten with sticks by Umesh Pandey and Nilesh, who dragged him to their house in Ganesh Lal Bharetha village.

    He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition from where he was referred to Lucknow but he died on the way, the brother added. Locals said the neighbours were not on good terms and used to fight often.

    The victim’s body has been sent for post-mortem and an FIR has been registered in the matter, SHO, City Shyam Sunder said. Attempts are on to nab the accused who are absconding, he added.

  • Congress MP Rahul Gandhi sends 10,000 home isolation, medical kits to Amethi for COVID patients

    By PTI
    AMETHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has sent 10,000 home isolation, medical kits to his previous Lok Sabha constituency Amethi for the needy COVID-19 patients, a party leader said on Saturday.

    Chief of district unit of Congress Pradeep Singhal said 10,000 medical kits have arrived under the party’s ‘seva satyagraha’ programme and they would be given to people who need it.

    Rahul Gandhi, who is the former Lok Sabha MP from Amethi, had also earlier sent 20 oxygen concentrators and 20 oxygen cylinders to Amethi.

    Gandhi is currently the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala.

  • Relatives of patient create ruckus at UP hospital

    By PTI
    AMETHI: Angry relatives of a patient who died here created ruckus at the district hospital by damaging the emergency ward and beating up doctors and health workers at the facility, officials said on Sunday.

    A case has been registered against the relatives at the Gauriganj Police Station, they said.

    Sona Devi (55), a resident of Gartholia village under Shahgarh block, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday after her condition deteriorated. She was declared dead by the doctors.

    Ranjeet, brother of the deceased, alleged that his sister died because of medical negligence.

    Chief Medical Officer of Amethi Ashutosh Dubey, however, said Devi was brought dead to the hospital.

    “When the doctors said she was brought dead to the hospital, the family members got agitated and beat up the doctors and health workers,” he said.

  • Congress, Gandhi family ‘ruined’ Amethi, says UP minister Mohsin Raza

    By PTI
    AMETHI: Uttar Pradesh minister Mohsin Raza on Friday accused the Congress and Gandhi family of ‘ruining’ Amethi and then leaving for Wayanad in Kerala.

    Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had represented the Amethi constituency of Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha since 2004 but contested from the Wayanad seat in Kerala simultaneously in the 2019 general elections.

    Although he lost Amethi to Smriti Irani of the BJP, he won from the Congress bastion in Kerala.

    Raza, who is the Minister of State for Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj in Uttar Pradesh, said the Gandhi family “cheated” the people of Amethi for several decades and failed to ensure any development in the area.

    After serving their selfish motives, they left for Wayanad, Raza said at a press conference on the sidelines of a programme in Gauriganj to mark completion of four years of the BJP government in the state.

    Last month, Rahul Gandhi came under fire from opposition parties especially the BJP over his speech comparing politics in north and south India.

    Raza, who is also the minister in-charge of Amethi, targeted Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra saying, she has nothing to do with the people of Amethi and alleged that the leader does not even visit the constituency anymore.

    Raza claimed, Rs 800 crore were spent on development works in Amethi due to the efforts of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Irani.

    The Narendra Modi government at the centre and the Adityanath regime in the state have always been working for the development of Amethi.

    Several projects are underway in fields like education, medicine, rail and road, etc.he said.

    Raza said that the establishment of a medical college and a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Amethi indicate that the constituency is now marching on the path of development.

    He also released a booklet on the development work being done in Amethi

  • Union Minister Smriti Irani attacks Rahul Gandhi, accuses him of ‘insulting’ people of Amethi

    By PTI
    AMETHI: Union Minister Smriti Irani launched a scathing attack on former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, accusing him of “insulting” the people of Amethi by comparing voters in the north with those in Kerala.

    The Amethi MP, who laid the foundation stone for a bus stand in Tiloi, said the people of the town gave Gandhi immense love for 15 years despite him “not doing anything for its development”.

    “It is wrong for Rahul Gandhi to say that there is a lack of understanding among the people of Amethi than those in Kerala. I believe that there is no dearth of understanding in the people of Amethi. Rather it is in Rahul Gandhi,” she said.

    Her remarks come after Gandhi at a public gathering in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram recently said, “For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north, I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues, and not just superficially, but going into detail.”

    Attacking the Gandhi family, Irani said a political family of the country ruled Amethi for 30 years but never thought about its development.

    “Instead of developing Amethi and opening a medical college here, they continued to get their guest house constructed,” she claimed.

    Talking about farmers, Irani said in 2013, when Gandhi’s party was in power only 800 farmers got the benefit of minimum support price in Amethi while in 2020, as many as 23,800 farmers benefitted from MSP here.

    The Union minister said it is a matter of concern that there was not a single fertilizer rack centre in Amethi and claimed that the farmers had to face lathis for fertilizers.

    She said after the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh, a fertilizer rack centre was formed in Gauriganj in Amethi and construction work for a bypass and over bridge started in the town.

    Irani said the benefits of development schemes are reaching the common man directly, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sammann Nidhi has given financial strength to the farmers and people have benefitted directly from Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana.

    Earlier in the day, she took part in a ground-breaking ceremony of the bus stand to be constructed in Tiloi.

  • AAP MLA Somnath Bharti arrested for derogatory remarks on condition of UP hospitals 

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Aam Admi Party (AAP) MLA Somnath Bharti was arrested in Amethi on Monday for his alleged derogatory statement about the condition of hospitals in Uttar Pradesh. The arrest was made under Section 151 of the CrPC.

    Earlier in the day, ink was thrown at the AAP MLA by a youth while he was talking to police personnel over his visit to Rae Bareli district.

    Following the incident, Bharti got into an altercation with cops over his visit to Amethi. He was detained at a guest house. Meanwhile, the youth who threw ink on Bharti fled the spot.

    Bharti has been on a visit to Amethi and Rae Bareli. The incident occurred when he was trying to visit a school in Rae Bareli. 

    He had previously made a controversial comment regarding the condition of hospitals in the state. The AAP leader had reached Rae Bareli on Sunday night to inspect some government schools.

    Later talking to media persons, Bharti called it the “handiwork of BJP workers” while raising questions over the law and order situation in UP.

    On getting the information about the incident, CO Anjani Kumar Chaturvedi reached the spot. The MLA allegedly told the CO that the right-wing workers tryingto intimidate and that ink was thrown at him in the presence of cops.

    Bharti claimed that he was in Rae Bareli to oversee party’s preparations for the upcoming panchayat polls.

    AAP MP Sanjay Singh, meanwhile, said that the dictatorship in Uttar Pradesh was reaching a crescendo and efforts were being made to browbeat AAP leaders who raise questions on the poor conditions of health and education facilities in the state.