News Analysis India

Tag: Amit Shah

  • Cooperative movement in Maharashtra won’t be affected by new central ministry: Sharad Pawar

    By PTI
    PUNE:  NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday refuted reports which claimed that the newly-formed Ministry of Cooperation at the Centre may “hijack the cooperative movement” in Maharashtra.

    The concept is not new, but the Centre cannot interfere in the state’s cooperative sector, Pawar told reporters in Baramati town here.

    “As per the Constitution, cooperative institutions registered in a state come under the (jurisdiction of that respective) state,” he said.

    The Centre’s newly-formed ministry is about multi-state cooperative institutions, the former Union minister said.

    “A state cannot control a cooperative institution registered in more than one state, which is called multi-state, and the central government has control over it,” said Pawar, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra.

    He said taking a decision on such a multi-state cooperative institution comes under the central government’s cooperation department.

    “This is not a new decision as such. It was there when I was in the central government. But, unfortunately, the media is painting a different picture that the Centre’s Ministry of Cooperation may hijack or end the cooperative movement in Maharashtra,” he said.

    The central government recently carved out a new ministry for cooperation, which earlier was a small department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

    Union minister Amit Shah, who has been given the charge of the newly-created ministry, on Saturday said the government is determined to make cooperatives and all cooperative institutions more empowered.

    To a query on the Uniform Civil Code, Pawar said, “I can’t comment on it till the central government takes any decision. We are waiting for the central government’s take on it. Once they clear it, only then we can say something.” 

  • Amit Shah lays foundation stone for projects worth Rs 244 crore in Ahmedabad

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 244 crore in Ahmedabad and surrounding areas, which are part of his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, and hailed the development work started in Gujarat after Modi became the state’s chief minister of the state.

    “After so much of experience in politics, I have seen many type of leaders. There are some who just allow things to happen at their pace and go to cut the ribbon. There are such leaders also who work hard to ensure best development takes place during their tenure,”” Shah said.

    “But there are some others, probably Narendra bhai is the first such leader, who builds such mechanism that development continues even after they have left,” he said addressing a gathering in Bopal area of the city He said Gujarat has benefitted a lot from the 14-year rule of Narendra Modi as the chief minister.

    “Systems and arrangements were made in those 14 years which ensure development work takes place even after he has left Gujarat,” Shah said.

    The Union minister inaugurated a civic centre, a reading centre with a capacity of over 150 students in Bopal area, supply of drinking water to Ghuma, a community hall, party plot and various other projects.

    He also inaugurated some projects of the Western Railway for redevelopment and increasing facilities at stations in the western part of Ahmedabad.

    “It is my endeavour to ensure development of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha area and I thank all officials who have worked for the completion of these projects,” Shah said.

    He said the government has started a massive work of providing a ‘suraksha kavach’ (protective shield) against the coronavirus by taking up the vaccination drive.

    “I am pleased to inform you that around 86 per cent of those aged above 45 and 32 per cent of people in the age group of 18 to 45 have been vaccinated in Ahmedabad.

    But, this is not enough,” he said.

    The remaining 14 per cent in the 45 plus age group and 70 per cent youths (in the 18-44 age group) should get vaccinated and all should take their second doses also.

    “This will provide protection to all,” he said.

    Shah said though there was a shortage of oxygen in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Modi has taken up the task of setting up oxygen plants in hospitals and substantially augment the production capacity of the life saving gas.

    He asked BJP workers to ensure everybody in their area is vaccinated.

    The BJP leader also advised party workers to fight vaccine hesitancy and spread the message that the medicine (against COVID-19) is safe.

    Shah also said that for daily wagers, the government has extended the free 5 kg food grain per person scheme till November.

    He asked BJP workers to spread awareness among people about the scheme and to ensure every eligible person gets free food grains. 

  • Amit Shah to chair meeting with CMs of Northeast states on July 17, border disputes likely to be discussed

    By PTI
    SHILLONG: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting with CMs of northeast states on July 17, during which he is likely to take up the matter of interstate border disputes among other issues, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Friday.

    The meeting will also be attended by chief secretaries and the director general of police of these states, he said.

    “The Union Home Minister has informed us that he will be chairing a meeting with all chief ministers of NE states at the Convention Hall here, tentatively on July 17,” Sangma told reporters.

    He said the Centre has expressed desire that interstate issues among states should be resolved before the 75th Independece Day on August 15.

    “For 50 years, we could not find a solution to the vexed border problems At present, there is a political understanding among the states in the northeast. We can discuss this matter at a higher level,” Sangma said.

    Shah, during his two-day visit to Meghalaya, will also hold a meeting at the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) headquarters near here, he said.

    The Union minister will inaugurate a few projects in the state, too, the chief minister added.

  • PM Narendra Modi holds meeting with Amit Shah, BL Santhosh amid buzz of Cabinet expansion

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held marathon meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh in what is being seen as the final touches being given to the details of a likely expansion of the Union Cabinet.

    Sources said Shah and Santhosh confabulated with Modi at his residence for several hours on Sunday amid a “strong possibility” that the Cabinet reshuffle may happen very soon.

    Some sources said the swearing-in may happen as early as Wednesday.

    However, there was no official word on it.

    If the prime minister goes ahead with the exercise, he will be expanding his Council of Ministers for the first time since assuming the charge in May 2019 for his second innings.

    BJP leaders Sarbananda Sonowal, the former Assam chief minister who made way for Himanta Biswa Sarma in the state, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sushil Modi are seen as strong ministerial probables amid indications that some allies of the saffron party may also get berths.

    The states which will go to the assembly polls early next year, including the all-important Uttar Pradesh, may figure high.

    West Bengal may also see its representation in the Union Council of Ministers go up, the sources said.

    It is believed that the BJP’s allies like JD(U) and Apna Dal can also get representation.

    Presently, Republican Party leader Ramdas Athawale, a junior minister, is the only ally in the government after parties like the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal severed ties with the BJP.

    Lok Janshakti Party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, a Cabinet minister, had died last year and all eyes are on whether his brother Pashupati Kumar Paras will be part of the expansion.

    Paras is engaged in a bitter battle with Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan for the control of the party and has been recognised as the LJP leader in Lok Sabha after five of its six MPs lent their support to him.

    The current strength of the Council of Ministers is 53, besides Modi, and its maximum number can be 81.

    For the last few weeks, Modi has been meeting Union ministers in groups with BJP president J P Nadda also being present in the exercise to review their works and gather feedback.

    The BJP brass has also held organisational meetings in different states.

  • Sikh panel meets Amit Shah over anti-conversion law

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: A delegation of All Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee Kashmir met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday after it was alleged that two Sikh women were forcefully converted to Islam in J&K.

    “Met a delegation from All Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee-Kashmir,” Shah tweeted. Though the details of the meeting was not shared officially, sources said the Sikh body representatives demanded an anti-conversion law for J&K like UP and MP, to prevent forceful conversion in the UT.

    Recently, the Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee protested against alleged conversion of two Sikh girls after they were allegedly kidnapped.

    The Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, had taken a serious view of reports of Sikh women being subjected to alleged “love jihad” and has written to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha seeking a law to prevent forceful religious conversion and marriage. 

  • Meghalaya Governor writes to Amit Shah, seeks justice over mysterious deaths of two Garos in Haryana

    By PTI
    SHILLONG: Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik on Sunday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking justice over the alleged mysterious deaths of two members of a Garo family in Gurugram, an official said.

    While Rosy Sangma had earlier this week died under suspicious circumstances in a private hospital in Gurugram, her nephew Samuel Sangma was found hanging in a room a few days later.

    Both of them hailed from Dimapur in Nagaland.

    “The Governor of Meghalaya has taken cognizance of media reports and outrage over the unnatural deaths of both the individuals of North East and has taken note of the petition addressed to him on the matter,” a Raj Bhavan official said in a statement.

    The governor, who is travelling to New Delhi on Sunday, would take up the matter with the authorities concerned for a free, fair, and expeditious investigation into the matter and ensure justice for the deceased, the statement said.

  • All India Services officers should stay away from publicity: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said All India Services officers, especially those in the IPS, should stay away from publicity as the urge to seek publicity hinders work.

    Shah also asked young IPS officers to do the needful for improving the image of police while serving their respective organisations and said there is a need for increasing public contact.

    The urge to seek publicity hinders work even though it is difficult to stay away from social media in the present times, he said, interacting with probationary officers of the 72nd batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) through video-conferencing.

    The home minister said police officers should stay away from publicity and rather focus on their duties, a home ministry statement said.

    Shah said there are allegations against police about taking “no action” or taking “extreme action”, hence they should work towards taking “just action”.

    “Just action means natural action and police should understand the law and do the right thing,” he said.

    Shah said only police personnel will have to work for improving their image.

    “Communication and sensitivity is necessary to improve the image of the police, that is why there is a need to sensitise all police persons as well as increase communication and public contact,” he said.

    The home minister said it is very difficult to gather information about crime without public contact, therefore police officers of the level of Superintendent of Police and Deputy Superintendent of Police should go to tehsils and villages and meet people and stay overnight.

    Along with this, they should also interact with the people living under the jurisdiction of important police stations in their area, he said.

    The home minister told the young police officers to work carefully as they will have the key responsibility of maintaining law and order and ensuring criminal justice system and a little haste in it can do injustice to someone.

    Stressing on the welfare of police constables, Shah said police officers should work for it throughout their life.

    He said constables make up 85 per cent of the strength in the police forces and are an important part of the police system.

    “If we do not take care about their better training, health, good work environment and shelter, then can the remaining 15 per cent people run the organisation well,” he asked.

    Shah said the most difficult duty in the police is that of constables, so it is very important to provide them all the necessary facilities and be sensitive towards them.

  • PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh discuss ‘futuristic challenges’ in defence sector

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday and discussed “futuristic challenges” in the defence sector, sources said.

    They also discussed various other aspects, including equipping security forces with modern equipment and involving more youth, start-ups and the strategic community in the field. The meeting came against the backdrop of the first-of-its-kind terror attack using drone at an Indian Air Force station in Jammu.

    The government has handed over the probe into the attack to the National Investigation Agency.

  • Top BJP leaders discuss preparations for assembly polls in five states in 2022

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Preparation for the assembly polls in five states early next year was the main agenda of a meeting of senior BJP leaders, including several Union ministers, on Saturday as they deliberated on political and governance issues linked to these states.

    Party president J P Nadda and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan were among those who attended the meeting, party leaders said.

    “Preparation for the assembly polls in five states was the main agenda of the meeting,” a party leader said after the meeting.

    Union ministers Pralhad Joshi, Mansukh Mandaviya and Hardeep Singh Puri, besides BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav and its vice president Baijyant Jay Panda also attended the meeting.

    Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa are slated for early next year.

    The BJP is in power in all these states except Punjab, and has been holding a series of meetings of its senior leaders as it works to put up an impressive show in the next round of elections.

    In the meeting, party leaders also took stock of various development works going on in these states as the BJP leadership has often stressed on the need for coordination among different ministries and the party organisation in an effort to factor in the feedback, sources said.

    Uttar Pradesh is especially crucial to the BJP’s political fortunes as the party has been the dominant power in the country’s most populous state since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led it to power at the Centre in 2014.

    The ruling party leaders have been holding deliberations for weeks over a number of political and governance issues.

  • Top BJP leaders including Amit Shah, JP Nadda discuss preparations for five state polls in 2022

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Preparation for the assembly polls in five states early next year was the main agenda of a meeting of senior BJP leaders, including several Union ministers, on Saturday as they deliberated on political and governance issues linked to these states.

    Party president J P Nadda and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Smriti Irani, and Kiren Rijiju were among those who attended the meeting, party leaders said.

    “Preparation for the assembly polls in five states were the main agenda of the meeting,” a party leader said after the meeting.

    Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa are slated for early next year.

    The BJP is in power in all these states except Punjab, and has been holding a series of meetings of its senior leaders as it works to put up an impressive show in the next round of elections.

    Uttar Pradesh is especially crucial to the BJP’s political fortunes as the party has been the dominant power in the country’s largest state since Prime Minister Narendra Modi led it to power in 2014.

    The ruling party leaders have been holding deliberations for some time over a number of political and governance issues.