News Analysis India

Tag: Bihar

  • JDU launches party mouth piece ‘JDU-Sandhan’ in Hindi, English

    By Express News Service
    PATNA: Bihar’s ruling JDU seems to toeing the lines of Shiv Sena as it has started a party mouth piece with the inaugural edition released on Monday.

    Janata Dal (United) national president RCP Singh released the inaugural edition of the party’s monthly mouthpiece titled “JDU- Sandhan” in Patna for the dissemination of party’s views and ideologies across the state.

    On this occasion, RCP Singh said that the stronger the edge of thought, the stronger the party.  

    Through the monthly mouthpiece, the party will respond to allegations and counter the propaganda of its opponents every month both in Hindi and English.

    The JDU has inaugurated the paper on the lines of Maharashtra Sena’s Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana. 

    Currently, this monthly letter of JDU will be released in both Hindi and English languages. RCP Singh said that in the coming days, along with Hindi and English, the main papers will also be published in Bhojpuri, Maithli and Angika.

    The mouthpiece in Hindi is being edited by Dr. Varun while in English it is being edited by Dr. Vimalendu.

  • Now, sharing ‘defamatory’ social media posts on Bihar govt, MPs, MLAs can land you in jail

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Now, sharing ‘defamatory’ posts against the Bihar government, legislators, MPs and bureaucrats on social media can land you in jail.

    The state economic offence wing, which is also the nodal office to deal with cyber crimes, issued an order to all department heads to take legal action after proper investigation against anyone who posts such false posts through social media. It is pertinent to recall that CM Nitish Kumar had recently held social media responsible for propagating fake news. Kumar had asked officials to share information on development work done by the government to counter the false allegations on social media. He also admitted that wrong information about the party during the assembly elections had led to disastrous consequences. Nitish Kumar has been requesting his supporters not to trust social media posts. In his public meetings, be it in government or party forums, he has described social media posts as misleading and full of false information against his government.

    N H Khan, Additional Director General of Police (ADG) of the economic offence wing of the state, who issued the official circular on Thursday, could not be contacted.

    Meanwhile, leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav attacked the Nitish Kumar-led government dubbing this an attack on the freedom of speech of the public.

    Taking to Twitter, Tejashwi dubbed the CM the “weak head of the immoral and illegal” government and the “bhisma pitamah” of corruption.

    He challenged the government to arrest him under the order.

  • Tejashwi Yadav hits out at Nitish Kumar govt, launches farmers awareness week

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Announcing to observe the ‘Kissan Jagrukta Saptah’ (Farmers Awareness Week), leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav accused the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government of hatching a conspiracy to reduce the budget session by 2-3 days.

    “But it was due to my strong intervention the government had to defer its decision,” Tejashwi Yadav claimed on Thursday at a media interface.

    Lashing out at the Nitish Kumar government, he said that the government had now agreed to extend the budget session for about 22 days without reducing it by 2-3 days.

    Expressing solidarity to the agitation of farmers against the agriculture laws, Tejashwi Yadav said that the RJD will hold the ‘Kissan Jagrukta Saptah” between January 24 and January 30 to create awareness among farmers on the pernicious side effects of farm laws implemented by the Modi government.

    “We will inform the farmers of Bihar as how the new farm bills have been designed to benefit the corporate and harm the agriculture prospects of farmers. A consensus will be built against the farm laws among Bihar’s farmers also,” he added. 

    He also alleged that crimes and corruption in the state have gone beyond control and left the people at the crossroad of helplessness.

    On Wednesday, Tejashwi Yadav had staged a dharna along with striking contractual teachers.

    He slammed the state government for not issuing the appointments letters to 94000 teachers despite of the order of high court.

    “For the last 16 years, Nitish Kumar and BJP have exploited the human resources of state in the name of planning and left crores of unemployed youths at their mercy of god,” he taunted.

  • Vaccination: Indian Oil Corporation to provide cold chain equipments for Bihar

    By Express News Service
    PATNA: Now, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited will provide cold chain equipments, required to run the corona vaccination smoothly, under its corporate social responsibility to the Bihar State Health committee.

    On Thursday, officials of Indian Oil Corporation Limited of Bihar unit signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state health committee.

    According to official communication of health department, the MoU was signed in presence of Manoj Kumar-the executive director of state health committee and Vibhash Kumar -the director of Oil Corporation Limited at Patna.

    As per official communication, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited will provide 43 ice line refrigerators,14 Deep Freezers,1 Walk In cooler and 1Walk in Freezer ,total worth RS 83.35 lakhs.

    The Indian Oil Corporation Limited will provide all the cold chain equipments by February-March.

  • Bihar IAS officer enters India Book of Records for biggest walkathon on voter awareness

    Express News Service
    PATNA: If there is a will, there’s a way. Proving the old saying right, former district magistrate of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur Dr Chandrashekhar Singh figured in the latest edition of the India Book of Records for organising the biggest walkathon on voter awareness in 2020 during the assembly elections.

    According to the office of the chief electoral officer, Dr Singh, now the Patna district magistrate, ensured that a record number of 5,33,588 people took part in the walkathon across Muzaffarpur district on October 30 for an hour.

    The walkathon had created massive awareness among the voters leading to a rise in the polling percentage in the assembly elections.

    The IAS officer not only created awareness but also educated the electorate on their voting rights and the importance of their participation in the Bihar assembly elections amid the strict adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols.

    Lakhs of people, who had participated in the walkathon, had followed social distancing and worn face masks.

    Chief editor of the India Book of Records Dr Biswaroop Roy Choudhury has issued the certificate for ensuring maximum participation in a voter awareness walkathon.

    Expressing thanks to the India Book of Records, Dr Singh said that the credit also goes to the dedicated and motivated team of Muzaffarpur who ensured the success of the walkathon in 2020.

  • Syed Shahnawaz Hussain rewarded for J&K work, gets MLC ticket in Bihar

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Former Union minister and BJP’s national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain was named by the party on Saturday its MLC candidate from Bihar. Hussain appears to have finally been able to find favours with the BJP leadership after he campaigned in DDC elections in the Kashmir valley. The term for the two seats vacated by the BJP leaders Sushil Kumar Modi and Vinod Narayan Jha will be completing on July 21, 2022. Hussain will be a nominee for the remaining term of the seat in the Bihar legislative council.

    Known to be the youngest Cabinet minister of India when Hussain was elevated as Union Minister for Civil Aviation in the council of the ministers headed by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he was seen on the margins of the saffron outfit, with the party denying him Lok Sabha nominations in the 2019 general elect ions af ter Bhagalpur constituency had gone into the kitty of JD(U).

    While Hussain was the Muslim face of the BJP in the Vajpayee Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi filled the role with the Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Even while Hussain wasn’t considered for the Rajya Sabha nominations, he continued putting forth party’s view points as a spokesperson, while taking the role of a campaigner in state elections.

    Hussain had campaigned in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, and he recently camped in the Kashmir valley for the District Development Council (DDC) polls, with the saffron outfit bagging three seats there. Hussain had made his debut in the Lok Sabha in 1999, winning the Kishanganj Lok Sabha, and afterwards he shifted base to Bhagalpur, while representing the constituency after 2006 bypoll on the seat and 2009. He had lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

  • Will meet President over law and order situation in Bihar: Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav

    Express News Service
    PATNA:   The RJD-led opposition parties in the state have taken up the recent murder of an airline official to slam the NDA government in Bihar. Indigo airline’s Patna airport head Rupesh Kumar Singh was shot dead near his house by unidentified men on last Tuesday.

    Addressing a hurriedly called press meeting on Saturday, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said if the government fails to control crimes in the state in next one month, the entire Opposition, led by the RJD, would go to Delhi and lodge a complaint with the President of India.

    Slamming the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government, Yadav alleged that crimes like murder, loot, kidnap and rape have increased to an “unprecedented extent” in Bihar but the state government has refused to accept the “alarming” law and order problem.

    “Bihar is becoming the crime capital of the country but the state government has failed to check it. What to speak about the plight of common people. The state government does not hear even the people’s representatives. Government officials are not picking the calls from anyone including media,” Yadav alleged, adding that if crimes are not checked within next month, the Opposition will meet the President to apprise him of the state government’s failure in maintaining the law and order.

    Citing social media posts, he alleged that hand of influential ministers and other leaders in the murder cannot be ruled out.

  • Bihar to recruit transgenders up to ASI level

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Bihar will soon recruit transgenders in the state police force up to the level of Assistant Sub- Inspector (ASI). The Nitish Kumar government issued a notification on Thursday facilitating such appointments based on population of the community. As per the 2011 Census, there are 40,287 transgenders among 10.41 crore people of the state.

    According to the resolution of the state government, DIG rank police officers will be empowered to recruit eligible transgenders in the rank of ASI and constable through set norms of appointments.

    According to ADG (HQ) Jitendra Kumar, against the sanctioned strength of 1,30,243 police personnel, appointments of 51 transgenders will be made to the posts of ASI and the constables in the ratio of 0.039% of their population.

    As per the ratio-chart, 41 transgenders will be appointed directly to the post of ASI and 10 of the constable. Like other candidates appearing in exam for jobs in the state police, the transgender aspirants, too, will have to qualify in the written and physical exam. The posts will be reserved for the transgenders in the upcoming police recruitment.

    C’garh was the pioneerChhattisgarh was the first state to allow transgenders in the police in 2018, though K Prithika Yashini in Tamil Nadu was the first transgender to be inducted In in 2017 

  • Over 5 lakh truckers’ to go on indefinite strike in Bihar; supply of essential commodities may suffer

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Bihar may face a shortage of essential commodities as the supply chain may be affected following an indefinite strike by the truckers from Friday midnight.

    The Bihar Truck Owners’ Association has threatened to take trucks off the road for an indefinite period in protest against the ban imposed by the transport department on the transportation of sand and stone chips by the tricks of 14 to 22 wheels.

    The department had recently passed an order directing the truckers not to raise the height of the body of trucks of 6 to 10 wheels above three feet.

    Irked at this, the Association has called for an indefinite strike of the main mode of transportation of commodities.

    Bhanu Shekhar Pd Singh-the president of the association told The New Indian Express: “Around 5lakh trucks will go off the roads from Friday midnight crippling the supply chain of commodities, sand and stone chips in the state. The trucks will remain off the road till our demands are met.”

    Singh alleged that the truckers are harried a lot financially on roads and had suffered a colossal loss during the lockdown.

    “When normalcy began to resume, the department has unnecessarily imposed a ban that carries no logic now,” Singh said.

    Banty Kumar, owner of a truck, said that the department has the right to conduct random checks to curb overloading but that must be applicable for all commercial vehicles and not just truckers.

    As per sources, if the strike continues for more than a week, Bihar may be hit with inflation. 

    According to a rough estimate, over 50,000 tons of commodities are transported across the state via trucks.

  • JD-U to RJD: Cross-defection fears drive Bihar’s political parties into a frenzy

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Despite the end of ‘kharmas’ (a period under which no auspicious work is done as per Hindu calendar) on Makar Sankranti, the fear of cross ‘defection’ continues to plague all political parties in Bihar.

    On Thursday, state’s JD-U chief Umesh Kushwaha dropped a bombshell predicting a major breakup within the RJD-led Grand Alliance in the next few days.

    Recently, an ex-MLA from Congress, Bharat Singh, had also expressed worry that 11 out of 19 MLAs could switch over to the saffron side.

    Senior RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari however denied any possibility of distress in the party and claimed that many from the ruling alliance instead were keen on jumping ship after being disgruntled with the state of affairs. 

    Shyam Rajak also claimed that 17 MLAs of the ruling party were hobnobbing with him to switch over to RJD after January 14, a claim JD-U quashed.

    The NDA has formed the government under the leadership of Nitish Kumar with a thin majority and support of two smaller allies – with 4 MLAs from VIP, another 4 from HAM, and 1 independent.

    Concerns over defection, both in the NDA and opposition, gained momentum after the Arunachal Pradesh incident, and have since caught the parties by a frenzy. 

    For RJD in particular, fear of a split has intensified in the wake of JDU MP of Lok Sabha Rajiv Ranjan Singh’s (alias Lallan Singh) support to Bhupendra Yadav’s claim about major desertion of MLAs from RJD.

    Inside sources from both GA and NDA however claim that all parties are treading with caution.