News Analysis India

Tag: Amit Shah

  • World’s largest vaccination drive shows determination of a self-reliant India, says Amit Shah

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: As the country began administering two made-in-India vaccines against COVID-19 on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said it represents the determination of a self-reliant India and is an important milestone in the fight against the pandemic.

    Complimenting scientists as the world’s largest vaccination drive was rolled out, Shah said in a series of tweets that India is one of the few countries which have achieved success to end the biggest crisis facing the humanity.

    The home minister said the ‘New India’ led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an India that transforms disasters into opportunities and challenges into achievements.

    “This ‘Made in India’ vaccine represents the determination of the self-reliant India. On this historic day, I bow to all our Corona warriors,” he said in tweets in Hindi.

    मोदी जी के नेतृत्व वाला यह ‘नया भारत’ आपदाओं को अवसर में और चुनौतियों को उपलब्धियों में बदलने वाला भारत है।यह ‘मेड इन इंडिया’ वैक्सीन इसी आत्मनिर्भर भारत के संकल्प की परिचायक हैं।इस ऐतिहासिक दिन पर मैं हमारे सभी कोरोना योद्धाओं को कोटि-कोटि नमन करता हूँ।#LargestVaccineDrive
    — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 16, 2021

    Shah said the country is witnessing a historic moment and has crossed an important milestone in the fight against the coronavirus under the leadership of Modi.

    “The world’s largest vaccination campaign shows the immense potential of India’s scientists and the power of our leadership,” he said.

    The home minister said, “India is one of the few countries which has achieved success to end the biggest crisis against humanity.”

    He said every Indian is proud of this unprecedented achievement.

    “This is the emergence of a new self-sufficient India on the globe. Many congratulations to all the scientists,” he said.

    The prime minister on Saturday launched India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive and asserted that the made-in-India vaccines being rolled out will ensure a “decisive victory” for the country over the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Amit Shah meets Bengal team to sharpen victory focus

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Union Minister for Home Affairs and the former BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday held a review meeting the core group of the party from West Bengal to take stock of the preparations for the Assembly elections. With the BJP eying high profile exodus from the ranks of the ruling TMC, Shah will be undertaking a tour of the state later this month to boost the morale of party workers.

    The West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, state in-charge and the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the party vice president Mukul Roy were among the senior functionaries who attended the review meeting with Shah. Shah, who’s closely monitoring the BJP’s poll preparations in West Bengal, has been taking a monthly review meeting to streamline the party’s campaign in the state.

    Sources said that the thrust of the meeting was to take stock of the ground feedback and sharpen the target to win 200 Assembly seats in the state. A senior BJP functionary said that the party’s bid to challenge the ruling TMC in the rural parts of the state was on the agenda of the review meeting as the saffron outfit has set out to hold 40,000 meetings in the rural habitations of the state.

    Shah is also learnt to be making a clear attempt to ensure that the ranks of the saffron outfit remains united in the state amid inflow the leaders and their followers from the ranks of the other parties. BJP chief J P Nadda had visited the state after recovering from the Covid-19 to kick off the rural outreach and ek mutthi chawal campaign to connect with the electorate in the villages.

    Villages in focusA senior functionary said that the party’s bid to challenge the ruling TMC in the rural parts of the state was on the agenda of the review meeting as the saffron outfit has set out to hold 40,000 meetings in the rural habitations of the state

  • Khattar, Chautala meet Amit Shah, say BJP-JJP govt in Haryana ‘strong’

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: With the Centre’s new farm laws threatening to rock the boat of the BJP-JJP alliance government in Haryana, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday took stock of the political situation in the state at a meeting with CM Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala. 

    While the BJP leaders sought to downplay the threat to the alliance, Shah, who had scripted the alliance after the fractured state poll mandate, turned the focus on the law and order situation and security at the meeting.

    “The government is strong and it will complete the full tenure. All aspects, including the stay by the Supreme Court and the formation of a committee of experts, were discussed with a focus on the preparations for the January 26 Republic Day celebrations,” Khattar told reporters after the meeting. Chautala, who has a strong vote base among the Jat agrarian community, also said there was no threat to the alliance government in the state. Haryana BJP chief O P Dhankar also attended the meeting. 

    In the House of 90 legislators, the BJP has 40 and the JJP 10 MLAs. A few of the JJP MLAs are learnt to have told the deputy CM that the alliance government may have to pay a heavy cost if the laws aren’t repealed. The Centre, incidentally, has stated on occasions that the laws will not be repealed. The Centre should rollback these laws as farmers of Haryana, Punjab and the country are up in arms against the legislations, JJP MLA Jogi Ram Sihag. “We will request Dushyant ji to convey our feelings to Amit Shah ji,” he said. “I have nothing to do with the JJP (meeting)… Not going to Delhi… The sentiment in Haryana is against the laws and it will cost the ruling alliance heavily,” JJP MLA Ram Kumar Gautam said.

  • Amit Shah to visit four states, including poll-bound Bengal, Assam, this month

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah will visit four states, including poll-bound West Bengal and Assam, in the next fortnight during which he will address public rallies and take part in roadshows, sources said on Tuesday.

    Shah will undertake a visit to West Bengal on January 30 and 31 and meet BJP leaders and workers.

    He will also take part in public meetings there, sources said.

    Shah will visit Assam on January 24 during which he will address a party rally.

    The home minister will visit Karnataka on January 16 and 17 where he will take part in a few government functions and interact with party leaders and workers.

    Shah will also visit Gujarat on January 14, the sources said.

    Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam, along with Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry, are due between April and May.

  • Pandemic slowed speed, but India will certainly become USD 5 trillion economy: Amit Shah

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Though the ongoing pandemic has slowed down the pace of realising USD 5 trillion economy, but India will certainly achieve it, said said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday.

    “Reforms have been done in many sectors including the pharma, infrastructure and space sectors during COVID-19. The pandemic may slow down the speed to realise the dream of becoming a USD 5 trillion economy but we will certainly achieve it,” Shah said.

    The Union Minister was speaking here during the launch of the ‘Single Window Clearance System’, an online platform to obtain clearances for smooth operationalisation of coal mines.

    He said the coal sector of the country needed transparency and utilisation of its full potential and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government the much-needed push was given to the sector.

    “The coal sector of the country needed transparency and utilisation of its maximum potential. Looking at the coal sector from a distance, there used to be a feeling that the contribution of the coal sector to the country’s economy is not getting even a third of its contribution.

    There were many hurdles, but policy changes started from the time the government was formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, which gave momentum to the sector,” Shah said.

    He explained that removing inconsistency in the coal sector and bringing transparency was the aim of PM Modi.

    Union Minister of Coal Pralhad Joshi was also present on the occasion. 

  • Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar expresses concern over security situation ahead of polls

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed concerns about the security scenario in the state in light of the upcoming Assembly elections and raised questions over the state administration’s role in maintaining law and order after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Saturday.

    The governor’s interaction with Shah comes days after his meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

    Dhankhar, who had been at loggerheads with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government ever since taking charge as the Bengal governor and criticised the Mamata Banerjee dispensation on several occasions, alleged on Saturday that the state has been “plagued with rampant violence”.

    “The law-and-order situation and the security environment in West Bengal is under threat. Al Qaeda is spreading, illegal bomb-making is rampant. I’d like to know what are they (state administration) doing?

    “The position of the director general of police in Bengal is an open secret. That’s why I say we have ‘political police’. Everyday I am hearing news of bomb blasts or bombs being found,” he claimed in a press briefing after meeting Shah in Delhi.

    The ongoing tiff between the West Bengal Governor and the ruling TMC reached a new high recently when a group of party leaders wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding Dhankar’s dismissal from the post.

    On Saturday, the West Bengal governor said, “It’s time for us to set an example by engaging in best practices so that every voter is in a position to express their franchise freely and fairly in a peaceful atmosphere.”

    The TMC has repeatedly targeted the BJP, saying it is controlled by “outsiders”.

    Chief Minister Banerjee has also labelled the BJP as a “party of outsiders”.

    “My heart pains when ignoring constitutional provisions, a child of ‘Maa Bharti’ is called an outsider in West Bengal because he doesn’t belong to the state. We’re all the children of ‘Maa Bharti’ and we believe in our unity. No person living in this land can be an outsider.

    “The year 2021 is a challenging year for West Bengal. It’s an opportunity for the state to engage in makeover of the image as elections in Bengal have been plagued with rampant violence, compromising basic rights of voters and role of bureaucracy,” he said.

    Dhankar, who had a meeting with Shah barely a month ago, spoke to the Union home minister for over an hour on Saturday.

    Tagging Mamata Banerjee in a tweet, he said, “Called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah today. Had more than an hour interaction as regards various facets of state of affairs @MamataOfficial. Traversed issues of concern.”

  • Agriculture minister Tomar meets Amit Shah before 8th round of talks with farmer unions

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday met senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah, just before the start of the eighth round of talks with protesting farmer unions on the three farm laws, sources said.

    The meeting continued for about an hour, they said, but what issues came up for discussion in the meeting could not be ascertained.

    Tomar is leading the talks with the representatives of around 40 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan to resolve the over-one-month deadlock over the three farm laws.

    Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash are also part of the discussions from the government side.

    On January 4, the seventh round of talks ended inconclusively as unions stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of the three farm laws, while the government wanted to discuss only “problematic” clauses or other alternatives to end the stalemate.

    Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various Delhi borders for over a month against the three laws despite cold weather.

    Enacted in September last year, the government has presented these laws as major farm reforms and aimed at increasing farmers’ income, but the protesting farmers have raised concerns that these legislations would weaken the minimum support price (MSP) and “mandi” (wholesale market) systems and leave them at the mercy of big corporations.

    The government has maintained that these apprehensions are misplaced and has ruled out repealing the laws.

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah on two-day visit to Mizoram from January 9

    By PTI
    AIZAWL: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a two-day visit to Mizoram from January 9, a state Home Department official said on Wednesday.

    He will arrive at Lengpui Airport on January 9, where he is expected to be received by Chief Minister Zoramthanga, he said.

    The Union home minister will inspect the land customs station at Zokhawthar village in Champhai district along the India-Myanmar border, the official said.

    Shah will leave for Delhi on January 10, he added.

  • Amit Shah likely to address Matuas to quell discontent ahead of West Bengal polls

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Union Home minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Thakurbari, the headquarters of the religious organisation of the Matuas at Bongaon in North 24 Parganas, to address the community comprising Hindu refugees from Bangladesh on the implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

    The Matuas have been insisting that Shah visit their headquarters and let them know by when their demands for citizenship can be met.

    Shantanu Thakur, the MP from Bongaon representing the Matuas, said the community is confused about when the CAA will be implemented and they will gain citizenship – a promise that the BJP had made before 2019 Lok Sabha elections and which had secured them the votebank of the Matuas.

    The confusion among the community was exacerbated after both Shah and BJP’s national president JP Nadda, during their Bengal visit, dodged questions related to the party’s citizenship promise for Hindu migrants from Bangladesh. Both the national leaders said the process of CAA’s implementation was getting delayed because of Covid-19 pandemic.

    Thakur, on several occasions in the recent past, expressed his discontent saying if his party doesn’t keep its promise before the upcoming Assembly elections, no one can say what the Matuas’ political alignment in the upcoming election will be. To pacify Thakur, senior BJP functionaries in Bengal had held a meeting with him.

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    “Matuas are waiting to hear from Shah as he played the key role to get the contentious act passed in both the houses of Parliament,” said Thakur.

    The BJP’s national leadership decided to send Shah to Bongaon as Matuas and Dalits, who also migrated from Bangladesh and do not belong to the community, have a strong presence in some of the pockets of the state and can change the political landscape in at least 55 Assembly seats.      

    In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Matua community voted en bloc for BJP candidates. Thakur bagged his win with a margin of more than one lakh and Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar won with a margin of more than two lakh votes. 

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    Eyeing the votebank, Trinamool Congress chief and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee addressed a rally in Bongaon and announced a slew of benefits and projects for the Matuas. 

  • Legislative Council polls: Amit Shah’s tough poser to Maharashtra BJP over poor outing

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: The central BJP leadership has sought a detailed report from the Maharashtra unit for its dismal show in recent the Graduate and Teacher State Legislative Council elections. Out of the six state legislative council seats, BJP bagged only one; Maha Vikas Aghadi secured four and one went to an independent candidate.

    According to sources, senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar was asked to submit the report on party’s poor outing in Nagpur and Amarawati, while former minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule was asked to submit report on Marathawada. BJP MLA Ravindra Chavan has been tasked with submitting a report on Pune region.

    Highly-placed source in BJP said, “The central BJP leadership, particularly Amit Shah, expressed displeasure over the performance of the Maharashtra BJP in Graduate and Teacher Legislative Council election and sought a detailed feedback report.” A miffed Shah is learnt to have asked the Maharashtra unit that at a time the party was faring well across India, why has it started lagging in Maharashtra.

    “Shah was not happy with the Maharashtra unit’s performance. He hinted that if there is no improvement, then major restructuring may happen,” said a source. The BJP lost the Nagpur seat to Congress after a long gap of 58 years, while its Pune seat fell into the kitty of NCP. Nagpur seat was once represented by central minister Nitin Gadkari, and Gangadhar Fadnavis, father of former CM Devendra Fadnavis. Pune seat was represented by BJP state president Chandrakant Patil and central minister Prakash Javdekar.