News Analysis India

Tag: Amit Shah

  • Abhishek Banerjee: Abhishek Banerjee slams Centre for withholding MGNREGA funds

    Trinamool National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday slammed the central government for blockade of MGNREGA funds for the last two years and “From the last two years, BJP blocked Bengal’s funds because they lost Bengal in 2021. When we went to fight for our rights in Delhi, our women MPs were dragged by their hair. The entire country saw these horrific visuals,” Banerjee alleged, speaking at a programme in his Diamond Harbour COnstituency.

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in 2018 that by 2022, everyone will have a pucca house or roof over their head. What happened to it?”

    After six days, Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee to hold another administrative programme in Maheshtala.”I give details of expenses incurred regarding the work done by me in the constituency,” Banerjee said while speaking about his accountability to people in his constituency.

    “I challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman- none of them would be able to give accountability to people,” Banerjee said.

    “In next five years, I will show you where West Bengal stands. We will take Bengal to greater heights where New Delhi leaders will come seeking for assistance.

    Speaking on Central Agencies or Commissions coming to West Bengal, “The Centrewho think by sending these agencies or ED raid would corner us – they don’t have any idea about us. We won’t cow down. You will have to release people’s money.”The MGNREGA workers have been deprived of their hard-earned wages for the last 2 years. This is not an amount allocated to a new scheme but the wages of the workers. It is an established law that the Centre is bound to release these funds within 15 days,” Abhsihek Banerjee said. “Just because they have been defeated in Bengal, the funds are being withheld. Mamata Banerjee has said that a Swanirbhar Bangla will be created,” he said.

    ” We are not living at the mercy of anyone and that is why the rightful dues worth Rs 4000 crore of 25 lakh workers will be sent to their bank accounts directly by March 1 as promised by the Mamata Banerjee government,” Banerjee added.

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  • BJP National Convention: Amit Shah Takes `9 Months Repeat Speech` Dig At Rahul Gandhi Over OBC Remarks

    Amit Shah alleged that the Congress and Indi Alliance used Dalit, tribal and backward communities as a vote bank.

  • India To Fence Entire 1,643 Km Border With Myanmar, Says Home Minister Amit Shah |

    New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday that the government of India has decided to fence the whole 1,643 km border with Myanmar. He said that this would enhance the surveillance along the border, and a patrol track would also be laid. Shah asserted that the Modi government is dedicated to creating unbreachable borders. He said that out of the total border length, a 10 km section in Moreh, Manipur, has been fenced already.

    He also said that two pilot projects using a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are in progress. They will fence 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Moreover, he said that fence works for about 20 km in Manipur have been sanctioned, and they will commence soon.

    The government has also initiated the ‘Vibrant Village’ programme for the border villages of India. An official said that previously, villages located in the border areas were regarded as the country’s last villages, but that view has changed.

    Now, according to the government of India’s policy, these villages are the first villages near the borders.

    Prime Minister Modi has already stated that when the sun rises in the east, its first ray reaches a border village and when the sun sets, the village on this side gets the benefit of its last ray.

    The latest move is deemed important given the vulnerability and threats of the 1,643 km unfenced India-Myanmar border covering Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.

    In fact, except for a 10-km section in Manipur, the India-Myanmar border through challenging terrains like hills and forests is unfenced. The Indian security forces face a hard time dealing with the challenges posed by the extremist groups that conduct hit-and-run operations from their concealed bases in the Chin and Sagaing regions of Myanmar.

    The inward smuggling of drugs and outward smuggling of wildlife body parts across the borders with Myanmar has also been one of the major worries for India.

    The catalyst for the decision to erect fencing is also the clash that erupted between the dominant Meitei and the tribal Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur on May 3, 2023.

    Also, over the last decade, the Manipur government has been expressing concern over the “influx” of Myanmar nationals. Amid the violence in Manipur, a few hundred Myanmar nationals were found seeking shelter in the state to flee a civil war in their country.

    In September 2023, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had attributed the ethnic violence to the free movement of Myanmar nationals into India and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to terminate the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which had been suspended on April 1, 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.

    The suspension was prolonged after the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021.

  • Chirag Paswan terms as ‘hypothetical’ speculations of BJP joining hands with Nitish

    Amid political uncertainty in Bihar, former Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan on Friday disclosed that he was “in constant touch with the top BJP leadership” but termed as “hypothetical” the question whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be acceptable to him as a new NDA partner. Paswan, who had come to the Bihar capital on Thursday evening, spoke to journalists at the airport, saying he has “cancelled” engagements in the state to hold deliberations over the “crucial next few days” in Delhi.

    “I have been in constant touch with the top BJP leadership. I spoke to them before coming here last evening when I held a meeting of party workers. I am going back to Delhi. I have cancelled my trip to late Karpoori Thakur’s village in Samastipur and to Sitamarhi, which I had been wanting to visit after having paid obeisance at Ayodhya”, he said.

    Paswan, who now heads Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), said his party is a “committed NDA ally in Bihar”. “Therefore, we are keeping a watch on the situation in the state where the next two or three days may be crucial. The BJP, which is the largest constituent of the alliance, is keeping me in the loop. We will be holding more talks in Delhi,” he said.

    The young Jamui MP, who is known to have no love lost for Nitish Kumar and whose rebellion during the 2020 assembly polls has been blamed by the ruling JD(U) for its debacle, was also asked whether he would now be comfortable with the Bihar chief minister as an alliance partner.

    “These are hypothetical questions which I would not like to answer. There can be no end to such speculations”, said Paswan. He also scoffed at reports in a section of the media speculating that if Kumar made a return to the NDA, Paswan could switch sides and seek an alliance with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the current Deputy CM. “These are baseless reports which erode the credibility of the fourth estate,” fumed Paswan.

    Paswan’s comments came amidst a strong buzz that Kumar, a key figure in the opposition bloc INDIA, was now done with the anti-BJP coalition and exploring possibilities with his old ally which he had dumped less than two years ago.

    However, neither Kumar’s JD(U) nor the BJP has dropped a clear hint in this direction.

    JD(U)’s political advisor and spokesperson K C Tyagi has been asserting that his party saw itself as “the architect of INDIA” and wanted to remain a part of the coalition though developments in West Bengal and Punjab were a cause for concern.

    State BJP president Samrat Choudhary, who met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the party’s principal strategist, in Delhi on Thursday, asserted that the talks centred around Lok Sabha polls.

    “Our top leaders like Amit Shah and national president J P Nadda have said, in public, that the doors of BJP were closed. As a party worker, I abide by the stand. Nitish Kumar, to us, is a politician who changes his allies like clothes”, said Choudhary.

  • PM Modi to consecrate Ram Lalla in Ayodhya after 550 years, says home minister Amit Shah

    Guwahati: Union Home minister Amit Shah said that on January 22 Prime minister Narendra Modi in Ayodhya will do the Pran Pratishtha (consecration) of Ram Lalla, who was disrespectfully out of his home for almost 550 years.

    Shah while attending the passing out parade of Assam Police commandos in Guwahati said, “I want to congratulate you all, on January 22 our Prime minister will do the Pran Pratishtha (consecration) of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. After staying away from his home disrespectfully for almost 550 years, Narendra Modi j.e will do the consecration and will establish the Lord in the large temple. It is a matter of pride for the whole country.”

    He said, “Under Modi’s leadership India is emerging as a power in the whole world. Modi has decided that by 2047 India will be a developed and self-reliant country and the beginning has started with the Lord Ram adorning his temple. This is a matter of joy and good wishes for the whole country.”Shah on Saturday in Sonitpur said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission of bringing peace and development in the northeast has been successful.

    The Congress had a policy to “divert attention from problems and enjoy power, which led to the deaths of thousands of people in the region”, particularly in Bodoland, Shah said at the 13th Triennial Conference of the All Bathou Mahasabha.

    “When I became home minister, the Bodo movement was underway and I made a sincere attempt to understand the problems and demands of one of the largest communities of the northeast,” he said.The prime minister also viewed it from a new perspective and the problem was resolved with Bodoland “today being free from bomb blasts, firing and violence”, Shah said.During the last three years, there has been no incident of violence in Bodoland, and it is scripting a new story by walking on the path of development, Shah asserted.

  • Last 10 years a ‘Golden Era’ for Northeast: Amit Shah

    Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said that if the last 10 years in northeast are compared with 75 years after the country’s independence, then this decade will definitely be considered as the golden period of the Northeast.

    He was addressing the 71st plenary session of the North Eastern Council in Shillong. While all the chief ministers and governors of eight northeastern states attended the meeting, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh skipped it owing to law and situation in his state.

    Shah said that the last 10 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been the most significant for the development of the northeast in 75 years since independence. Shah said that the northeast, which was struggling with various ethnic, linguistic, border and extremist group-related problems, has also had the beginning of a fresh and durable era of peace in these 10 years.Shah urged all the states to control the Gross Fiscal Deficit and said that Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Tripura have made commendable efforts in this direction. The Union home minister said that from 2004 to 2014, a total of 11,121 violent incidents took place in the northeast. It declined by 73% to 3,114 from 2014 to 2023. Deaths among security forces dropped by 71% from 458 to 132, while civilian deaths declined by 86%.

  • Lok Sabha polls: PM Modi plans pre-Lok Sabha poll visit to states before February 5

    In the runup to the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit all the major states at least once before February 5. Sources said Modi will make two visits to large states while he would visit a few of the smaller states once.

    The PM’s tour has already started with visit to southern states. Modi visited Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep and Kerala last week. He also visited Rajasthan last Friday. Apart from attending the DGP and IGP conference in Jaipur, he also attended a meeting of the newly elected BJP MLAs and senior leaders at the Jaipur’s party office. A roadshow or a public meeting of the PM is also on the cards during his upcoming visits.

    On January 10, he will visit Gujarat for two days, starting with the programme to inaugurate Vibrant Gujarat Summit.On January 12, he will head to Maharashtra to inaugurate the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link in Navi Mumbai. The same day he is expected to inaugurate the National Youth Festival in Nashik. A roadshow is likely to take place in Nashik, sources said. On January 13, he was expected to visit Dhanbad, Jharkhand and Bettiah, Bihar. However, this programme is likely to be delayed.

    On January 22, he is already scheduled to visit Ayodhya for the Ram Temple ceremony.

    Union home minister Amit Shah is also on tour to hold organisational meetings. In January, Shah will travel to six states starting from Jammu in the north to Meghalaya in the northeast. On January 9, he will be in Jammu to take stock of the election preparation. He will visit Tripura on January 11 and on January 12 he will be on a three-day trip to Gujarat. On January 18, he will travel to Punjab and on January 19 and 20, he will visit Assam and Meghalaya.

  • Amit Shah: Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Amit Shah: Special court defers hearing to Jan 18

    An MP-MLA court here on Saturday postponed to January 18 the hearing in a case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Union minister Amit Shah as advocates were occupied with a judicial workshop. The case stems from a lawsuit filed on August 4, 2018, by BJP leader Vijay Mishra, who accused Gandhi of making the remarks.

    Mishra’s lawyer Santosh Pandey said advocates were unavailable owing to a judicial workshop in the court for junior advocates.

    He said the court had summoned Gandhi on December 16 in the case, but he did not appear. The court then summoned the Congress leader on January 6. Earlier on November 18 last year, judge Yogesh Yadav had reserved the verdict after arguments, posted the matter for the next hearing on November 27 and summoned Gandhi to appear on December 16.

    Mishra, a former chairman of a cooperative bank, is a resident of Hanumanganj.

  • Amit Shah Instagram: Home Minister Amit Shah’s Instagram account crosses 1 crore followers

    Union Minister of Home and Cooperation Amit Shah’s Instagram account has crossed the 1 crore mark in the number of followers.

    Social media pundits suggest that the latest buzz around his dexterity in steering seven historic bills across both houses amidst an explosive furore created by the opposition has much to do with his soaring popularity on social media platforms.

    As per the latest numbers, the Union Home Minister has as many as 34.1 million followers on X, 10.7 million on Instagram and 15 million on Facebook. However, Amit Shah has been the most followed political personality in India second only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for a while now.The Home Minister’s 10.7 million followers on the short video platform Instagram is only second to PM Narendra Modi who is followed by a mind-boggling 82.7 million Insta people.

    On Facebook, Amit Shah scored 15 million followers right after PM Narendra Modi who leads him with 48 million followers.

    There is also a wide gap between Home Minister Amit Shah’s social media following and those of opposition stalwarts like Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi.Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge who was recently named as the probable Prime Ministerial candidate of the INDI alliance trails far behind Amit Shah on social media dominance with a following of 566.7 K on X and 130K on Facebook as opposed to Shah’s 34.1 and 15 million respectively.Arvind Kejriwal, one of the most vocal opposition leaders and the Delhi Chief Minister finishes the race at 27.3 million on X, 1.7 million on Instagram and 9.2 million on Facebook.

    While Rahul Gandhi clocks 24.7 million followers on X, 5.1 million on Instagram and 6.8 million on Facebook.

    Although Shah’s popularity has constantly been on the rise since he was credited with having master-minded PM Narendra Modi’s landslide victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls, it saw a massive upheaval after the BJP won an even bigger victory in 2019 under his presidency.

    Placing a slew of landmark bills, overpowering the opposition with razor-sharp arguments often leaving the house in splits with witty comebacks, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has fomented an image of Parliamentarian par excellence in the last five years. (ANI)

  • Over 70,000 killed due to Congress’ wrong policies on terrorism: Amit Shah

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah today claimed that over 70,000 people have been killed in India due to terrorism on account of Congress government’s wrong policies.

    Shah was speaking in Rajya Sabha.

    Replying to debate in Rajya Sabha on bills that seek to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act, Shah said the definition of terrorism has been included in the new bills.The House earlier took up discussion on the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023. The three bills were passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

    Amit Shah said in his reply that for the first time, changes have been made in the three laws governing the nearly 150-year-old criminal justice system.

    He said that after the three new laws are implemented, India’s criminal justice system will take maximum advantage of technology.”If there will be maximum contribution of technology in any system, it will be in the Indian system…The aim of the three bills is not provide punishment but give justice,” he said.He said that in old laws, instead of crimes against women, priority was given to the protection of the Treasury and the British Crown.

    Shah said the government has removed the section of sedition and replaced sedition with treason.

    “The implementation of new criminal laws will ensure an end to ‘tareekh pe tareekh’ era and justice will be given in three years,” he said.

    The minister said the bills have been framed after extensive deliberations since 2019 and these were also sent to the standing committee.

    With ANI Inputs