News Analysis India

Tag: Amit Shah

  • Every penny sent to Northeast is properly utilised: Amit Shah

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday claimed the Narendra Modi government had taken some steps that ensured every penny sent to the states in the Northeast was properly utilised.

    Shah took potshots at the Congress, stating that when it ruled these states, central funds were invariably siphoned off.

    “But Modiji had taken some strict anti-corruption measures that ensured every penny that comes from the Centre to the Northeast is properly utilised,” Shah said after inaugurating some projects at a programme on the last day of his two-day visit to Arunachal.

    “During the time of the Congress, one chief minister would lay the foundation of a project, another would announce it and possibly, the third would inaugurate it. For us, (Arunachal CM) Pema Khandu will lay the foundation and also inaugurate it,” the Home Minister said.

    He said the people in the country could learn patriotism from the people of Arunachal and take it forward. He said he returned to Delhi energised every time he visited the state where people are greeted with “Jai Hind”.

    On Sunday, he either inaugurated or laid the foundation of various projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

    “In terms of infrastructure development, what the double engine of Modi and Khandu governments did in eight years, the Congress could not do in 50 years. The Northeast was strange to the entire country but Modiji brought it to the centre of it. When the PM visits a region more than 50 times in eight years, it automatically comes to focus,” Shah said.

    “But the Congress cannot see the development that has taken place in Arunachal. If the eyes of somebody are closed, how can s/he see it?” the Home Minister quipped.

    He said insurgency-related incidents dropped by 89% and highlighted how the Modi government solved various problems, one after the other, in the Northeast.

    He said over 9,000 insurgents laid down weapons and joined the mainstream while the insurgency-related problems in Tripura and Assam’s Bodo areas and Karbi Anglong had been solved. He said talks were on with the Naga extremist groups.

    “There was a time when the Northeast hit newspaper headlines for insurgency, bombs, bullets and deaths. Today, it is known for tourism, development, infrastructure, various languages, cultures and traditions,” Shah said.

    According to him, the priorities of the Modi government include protecting and enriching the languages, cultures and traditions of the Northeast so that tourists from all over the world visit the region and solving all disputes and establishing peace in the region.

    “The Assam-Arunachal boundary dispute has existed for 50 years. But Himanta (Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma) took the responsibility and Khandu responded positively. I assure you, the problem will be resolved soon. For how long will one state fight with another?” he said.

  • Want to bring Northeast on par with developed states: Union Home Minister Amit Shah

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said a peaceful Northeast is one of Centre’s three goals for the region, along with safeguarding local cultures, and development.

    “We not only want to protect local cultures, languages and traditions but also enrich them. We want to make the region insurgency, and dispute-free and give a platform to the youth to compete with the world,” Shah said, after unveiling a statue of Swami Vivekananda at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram at Narottam Nagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

    “We want to ensure that the states here are on a par with the developed states. Over 60 per cent of areas on the Assam-Meghalaya boundary had been freed from disputes,” Shah said.

    The two states had signed an agreement to resolve their disputes in six of the 12 areas. He added that the Assam-Arunachal problem could be resolved by 2023. Stressing how PM Narendra Modi has brought about change, Shah said, “Over 9,000 youth, who were wielding the gun, joined the mainstream.”

    He highlighted how issues like bandhs in Manipur, the Bru unrest in Mizoram-Tripura, and problems in Assam’s Bodo areas were resolved. “Modiji has reduced the gap between the Northeast and the rest of the country,” Shah said.

  • Assam-Arunachal border dispute likely to be resolved by next year: Union Home Minister Amit Shah

    By PTI

    DEOMALI (ARUNACHAL PRADESH): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the inter-state boundary dispute between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam is likely to be resolved by next year. Asserting that efforts are underway to make Northeast insurgency-free, he claimed that 9,000 militants from the region have surrendered during the last eight years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

    Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Ramakrishna Mission School at Narottam Nagar in Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh, Shah said that the Centre is committed to bringing peace and development to the region.

    He said that the governments of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam were working for an amicable and permanent resolution of the inter-state boundary dispute. “Youths of Northeast no longer carry guns and petrol bombs. They are now carrying laptops and are launching startups. This is the path of development that the Centre has envisaged for the region. Manipur, which was earlier known for bandhs and blockades for more than 200 days a year, is now witnessing a sea of change without any bandh during the last five years of BJP rule in the state,” he said.

    Shah said that the insurgency in the Bodoland region of Assam was resolved through the signing of the Bodo Peace Accord. “Surrender of militant groups in Tripura and resolving of the Bru refugee issue was undertaken by the Modi government. The Union Home Ministry has taken initiatives to bring peace to Assam’s Karbi Anglong,” he said.

    The Union home minister said that a three-pronged agenda has been prepared for the development of the Northeast. “Firstly, we would preserve and promote the indigenous cultures and languages of the region. Secondly, we want to end all disputes among the northeastern states and make it free from insurgency and thirdly, we want to make the eight states the most developed in the country,” he added.

  • Amid SSC row, Bengal BJP leader claims party MLAs also took favours; writes to Amit Shah

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Amid the ongoing scandal over school recruitments, a local BJP leader in West Bengal’s Nadia district has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah complaining that two MLAs from the saffron party used their position to help their daughters land jobs in a central government-run multi-specialty hospital in the district.

    In an email to Shah, Partha Chatterjee, a local BJP leader from Kalyani in Nadia district, complained that two BJP MLAs, one from Bankura and another from Nadia district , misused their position in gaining favours for their daughters.

    PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the claim.

    “I have written to Amit Shah Ji and have informed him how two MLAs have used their position to help their daughter get jobs at the hospital. These political leaders are fulfilling their personal agenda in the party by using their portfolios. The workers of the BJP, who are fighting against the TMC, are being deprived,” Chatterjee told a news channel.

    Reacting to his allegations, Niladri Sekhar Dana, an MLA from Bankura, who has been named in the letter, dubbed the allegations baseless and politically motivated.

    “The allegations are baseless and politically motivated. My daughter is working there as a contractual staff for a contractor hired by the hospital. It is not a government job but a temporary contractual job. My daughter has got the job on her merit. I have nothing to do with it,” Jana told the news channel.

    The TMC, which is facing attacks from the opposition over the CBI investigation in the SSC recruitment case, demanded that the central investigating agency should also look into this complaint.

    “Why is the CBI not taking action now? The CBI should summon the BJP MLAs and their daughters and look into the complaint,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.

    Reacting to Ghosh’s demand, BJP MP Saumitra Khan launched a vigorous defense.

    “Is being a daughter or a son of an MLA or MP a crime that he or she can’t even get a contractual job? There is a difference between the SSC scam and this contractual job,” he said.

  • Amit Shah sounds poll bugle in T’gana, expresses confidence of party storming to power in 2023

    By PTI

    HYDERABAD: Sounding the poll bugle in Telangana, Union Home Minister and BJP veteran Amit Shah on Saturday hit out at the TRS government in the state for alleged corruption and unkept promises and said his party is ready to face the polls, due in the state next year.

    Addressing a public meeting here which marked the culmination of state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar’s second phase of ‘padayatra’ (foot march), Shah appealed to the electorate to defeat the ruling TRS and make the saffron party successful in the 2023 elections.

    The BJP is ready to face elections even if they are held “tomorrow” and he can see the writing on the wall about the defeat of TRS in the polls, Shah claimed. “Do we need to change the Nizam of Telangana or not,” he asked the gathering, in an obvious reference to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

    Accusing the TRS government of failing to fulfil the major planks of separate Telangana agitation of “water, funds and jobs”, Shah said BJP, if elected to power, would implement them. He also said his party would end minority reservations in the state and provide the benefit to STs, SCs and backward classes.

    The senior BJP leader, whose party won two Assembly by-polls and made significant gains in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election in the last two years, expressed confidence of BJP coming to power in the state in the hustings next year and urged the voters to elect the saffron party to usher in a secure and prosperous Telangana.

    Referring to TRS poll symbol of car, Shah charged that its steering is in the hands of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.

    On the alleged high-handedness against BJP activists, he claimed attempts were on to make Telangana like West Bengal, an apparent reference to the deaths of party workers in the eastern state, for which the BJP blames the ruling TMC there.

    Referring to the alleged suicide of a BJP activist Sai Ganesh at Khammam due to “police harassment”, Shah said the BJP would ensure that those responsible for the party worker’s death would be put behind bars. Coming down heavily on the TRS government, Shah slammed the ruling party over alleged corruption.

    The “Praja Sangrama Yatra” held by the state BJP president was not for BJP to form the government but to herald the welfare of Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, farmers, women and youth and to end the family rule, he said, adding it was to uproot the corrupt TRS from power.

    He alleged the TRS government failed to implement its promises like double bedroom houses for poor, distribution of three acres of land to SCs and to provide Rs 1,000 crore annually for the welfare of backward classes.

    Without properly procuring paddy from farmers, the TRS tried to put the blame on the Modi government, he said. It was the responsibility of the state governments to procure crops like jowar, bajra, he said, adding the TRS should step down if it cannot purchase parboiled rice.

    The TRS government led by KCR is changing the names of Central schemes and funds and claiming them to be its own, he charged. He also talked about the free COVID-19 vaccination drive and other welfare measures of the Modi government.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave over Rs 2.52 lakh crores for Telangana’s development, Shah said, referring to Central assistance to the state. He also hit out at KCR for not celebrating the ‘Telangana liberation Day’ (the day the erstwhile Nizam government merged with Indian Union in 1948) and promised to celebrate it when BJP comes to power.

    The day is not officially celebrated by the TRS regime due to “fear” of AIMIM, he alleged. Saying that a “double decker government” is needed in Telangana, he urged the voters to elect the BJP to power to realise a prosperous state.

    Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, BJP MLA Raja Singh and others were present. Raja Singh slammed the AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi for visiting the tomb of Aurangazeb in Maharashtra.

  • Modi restored people’s faith in multi-party democracy: Shah

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The biggest achievement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was that he restored the faith of people in a multi-party democratic system of governance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.

    Speaking at the launch of the book Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery, Shah said Modi became the leader of the nation without any family background, which showed that the people loved him and had  faith in him.

    “Getting such a huge mandate (in 2014), without any surprise, without any family background, without political upbringing, and again people giving him another mandate (in 2019) as Prime Minister is significant,” Shah said.

    The book about PM Modi’s work in politics and governance was released by Vice- President M Venkaiah Naidu. It is a compilation of chapters written by domain experts, PM’s cabinet colleagues and other eminent personalities.

    “This book will rise up to become equivalent to Gita for those who believe in the path of building a complete persona and those who are in the field of social work and politics,” the minister said.

  • Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appeals to Shah to withdraw CAA in next Parliament session

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and appealed to withdraw Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the next Parliament session.

    A large number of Pakistani Hindus who had come to India from Pakistan in order to escape religious persecution had to return to Pakistan because they were unable to secure Indian citizenship, Chowdhury said in his letter.

    “We have always raised our voice for the marginalized and neglected lot irrespective of religion, caste, creed or nationality,” he wrote to Shah.

    This come after Shah, during his West Bengal visit earlier this month, that the Central government will implement it once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

    Chowdhury further said, “It is more than two years now that you have passed the ill-thought-out legislation called CAA. But still, you are not able to implement it because of its inherent and manifest unconstitutionality.”

    “That is why Pakistani Hindu returnees are going back to Pakistan out of sheer frustration and hopelessness. This draconian legislation cannot be implemented because it is legislation targeting a particular community. It is against the basic tenets and fundamentals of our constitutional ethos. The underlying value of our constitution is “to live and let live”. I am sure this targeted legislation against a particular community will not stand judicial scrutiny.”

    “Perhaps you know it well and that’s why despite the passage of the act of more than two years, you have not been able to frame even the rudimentary rules of CAA,” he said.

    “In view of the above, I appeal to you to withdraw the CAA legislation in the impending monsoon session of Parliament like the three controversial farm laws,” the letter read.

    The CAA allows persecuted minorities belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to avail Indian citizenship.

  • BJYM activist’s autopsy report indicates death by hanging; TMC asks Shah to apologise

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The autopsy report of BJYM activist Arjun Chourasia, conducted by Command Hospital here and submitted to Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, indicated that he died by hanging and the ligature mark on his neck was ante-mortem in nature.

    The report submitted the post-mortem report in a sealed cover before a division bench presided by Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava.

    The Trinamool Congress was quick to launch an attack on the BJP which had been holding demonstrations after the body of the activist was found hanging in an abandoned house as well as an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah who had described it as a “political murder”.

    Shah had visited Kashipur and demanded a CBI probe into Chourasia’s death, claiming a culture of violence and a fear psychosis prevailed in West Bengal.

    “The union home minister had called it a political murder even before the probe was over. He should now apologise to the people for trying to tarnish the image of the state,” senior TMC leader and minister Shashi Panja said.

    The TMC leader added, “The BJP is continuously maligning the people of Bengal. This stems from its failure to win the assembly election.”

    Reacting to the TMC remarks, the state BJP unit said it would not be right to comment on a sub-judice matter.

    The autopsy was conducted by a team of experts constituted by the head of Command Hospital, a defence healthcare establishment, as per an order of the court passed on Friday.

    The bench noted in its order that the findings relating to the cause of death of Chourasia is “hanging” and the ligature mark on his neck is “ante-mortem”.

    The post-mortem report was handed over by the court to Advocate General S N Mookherjee representing the West Bengal government. It directed that the viscera sample be handed over to police authority concerned.

    BJP leader and lawyer Priyanka Tibrewal had submitted earlier to the court that the family does not have faith in the investigation being conducted by the Kolkata Police, which has already formed a special investigation team to probe Chourasia’s death.

    Claiming that Chourasia was one of many BJP workers who had to leave their homes during post-poll violence and had recently returned to his residence, Tibrewal also prayed before the court that the case be handed over to the CBI in accordance with its earlier order that directed probe by the central agency in cases of murders, rapes and attempts to rape that took place after the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections.

    AG submitted that the police has formed an SIT to investigate the matter, treating it as a case of unnatural death. The bench directed that the matter will be taken up for hearing again on May 19.

  • Will approach PM Modi against our ‘ill-treatment’ by Uddhav government: Rana couple

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA-husband Ravi on Monday said they will approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to raise the issue of their alleged ill-treatment by Maharashtra authorities when the couple was in jail recently.

    Talking to reporters here, Navneet Rana said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, “who back-stabbed the BJP”, should not talk and teach the Ranas about principles.

    The Ranas also dismissed the allegation that they committed contempt of court by speaking to the media.

    On May 4, a special court here while granting bail to the couple said the duo shall not commit a similar offence while on bail, and not address the press on any subject related to the case.

    The couple was arrested on April 23 by the Mumbai police after they announced that they would recite ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ outside Chief Minister Thackeray’s private residence ‘Matoshree’ here, which had angered workers of the Shiv Sena, Thackeray’s party, leading to tension.

    They walked out of jail on May 5 following which Navneet Rana was admitted to a private hospital here.

    Her lawyer had then said she had complaints of high blood pressure, body-ache and spondylitis.

    She was discharged from the hospital on Sunday.

    “We are going to Delhi today and meet all the leaders who respect women. I am going to meet the prime minister, (Union) home minister and Lok Sabha Speaker and tell them how we were ill-treated from a lockup to jail. I am going to complain about it,” said Navneet Rana, who was flanked by her husband.

    Describing Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut as a “parrot”, Navneet Rana alleged that he had talked about “burying the couple”.

    “We had filed a complaint against it here, but no action was taken. So, I am going to Delhi to raise the issue,” she said.

    The Ranas also categorically denied having committed any contempt of court by speaking to the press.

    “We did not talk about the offence, how it was registered against us, reciting ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ and Matoshree. We spoke about how I was ill-treated from the lockup to jail and how my health issues were avoided (ignored),” she said.

    The Lok Sabha member from Amravati wondered would be the fate of common people if a public representative like her could be treated “in such a manner” in Maharashtra.

    “So, it was important for me to speak up and the Constitution has given me the right as a public representative. Nobody should snatch my rights from me,” she said.

    She said CM Thackeray should learn how to run the state from his predecessor and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

    “Devendra Fadnavis ji also ran the government for five years, but he was not this shrewd. Thackeray should learn from Devendra sahab how to run Maharashtra (government) and with what sentiments,” she said.

    She further said that Thackeray, “who back-stabbed the BJP”, should not talk and teach the Ranas about principles.

    Ravi Rana, the MLA from Badnera in Amravati, also hit out at CM Thackeray over the Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation issuing a notice to the housing society where they live in suburban Khar here following a complaint of illegal construction.

    “Thackeray should inspect our flat online since he worked only through the online platform for the past two-and-half years,” he quipped.

    “You (the CM) can send Raut and (another Shiv Sena leader and state minister) Anil Parab, your right and left (hands), who are sitting idle. You can send them to take the measurements (of the house) if there is any problem. We will welcome them,” the MLA said.

    To a question, Ravi Rana said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar should take information on how the couple was allegedly ill-treated when they were in the lockup and jail.

    “We were treated worse than a criminal,” he alleged, while responding to Pawar’s reported remark that the duo was served tea when taken to Khar police station before their arrest.

  • Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Assam on May 9, 10

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will tour Assam on Monday and Tuesday during which he will visit the India-Bangladesh border, inaugurate the National Forensic Sciences University and attend the first-anniversary celebration of the Himanta Biswa Sarma government.

    Shah will begin his tour by visiting a Border Out Post (BOP) at Mankachar on Monday and interact with the BSF personnel deployed along the international border, officials said.

    After that, the home minister will inaugurate the BSF’s central store and workshop and launch Khadi and Village Industries products at Tamulpur.

    In the evening, he will inaugurate the census office and an SSB building at Amingaon, near Guwahati.

    Shah will also inaugurate a super speciality hospital and the National Forensic Sciences University in Guwahati.

    On Tuesday, the home minister will inspect the ceremonial parade of the Assam Police, interact and have lunch with officers and jawans of the Assam Police at its headquarters, officials said.

    In the afternoon, he will grace a function organised in Guwahati on the occasion of one year of the Himanta Biswa Sarma government, before laying the foundation of the police commissionerate building in the city.