News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Will Ram Navami processions be taken out in Pakistan, asks Union minister Giriraj Singh

    By PTI

    KATIHAR (Bihar): Union minister Giriraj Singh has alleged that the recent attacks on Ram Navami processions at a number of places across the country flew in the face of the “claims of Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb” (composite culture of India).

    The firebrand BJP leader said the country did not object to the construction of new mosques post-Independence and “multifold rise in the population of Muslims” in the country despite large-scale demolition of temples in Pakistan where Hindus faced near-extinction, and warned that “now, patience is running out”.

    Singh made the provocative remarks while talking to reporters in this north Bihar district late Monday night.

    He was venting his spleen over remarks of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and “secular politicians with Jinnah’s DNA” that Hindus should avoid venturing into Muslim-dominated localities to avoid communal flare-ups while taking out religious processions.

    “Where will Ram Navami processions taken out if not in this country? In Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan? Had processions of any other faith been attacked leaders like Rahul Gandhi and the ailing (RJD president) Lalu Prasad would have hit the streets for their political tourism,” said the Union minister who remains in news for his acerbic utterances.

    Singh, the MP from Bihar’s Begusarai, expressed outrage over incidents like attacks on police officials at Hubli in Karnataka and at Jahangirpuri in Delhi which have witnessed communal violence recently.

    He said he was aghast at the incident in Gorakhpur where an IIT graduate charged into the Gorakhdham peeth, a religious institution headed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and attacked security personnel before getting arrested and booked under the UAPA.

    “The country was partitioned in 1947. We must not commit the same mistake again by talking in terms of Hindu-dominated or Muslim-dominated areas. Don’t Hindus heartily take part in Tazia processions during Muharram,” Singh asked.

  • Congress, BJP spar a day before re-launch of pilgrimage scheme

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL:  The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress were engaged in a war of words over the re-launch of the Mukya Mantri Teerth Darshan Yojana in Madhya Pradesh. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had on Friday chaired a meeting where it was decided the scheme would be re-launched on the April 19. During the first journey, trains will leave with 974 elderly pilgrims from seven districts for Kashi.

    On Monday, BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma put up hoardings in Bhopal, praising the re-launch of the government’s flagship pilgrimage scheme. Without naming Congress, the hoarding mentioned that those who got the scheme closed were also welcome to travel to Kashi for the inaugural leg of the scheme.

    Medical education minister Vishvas Sarang also accused the erstwhile Kamal Nath government of dumping the scheme during its 15-month stint in power. ‘‘Under the Yojana, the Madhya Pradesh government is playing the role of Shravan Kumar for all the elderly people above 60 who were deprived of pilgrimage due to financial constraints,’’ the minister said.

     Soon, Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja tweeted that during the Kamal Nath government’s rule, more trains were run under the pilgrimage scheme than that in the five years of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Saluja also posted several photos to bolster his claim. 

    “During the Kamal Nath government, many new pilgrimages were added to the list of existing pilgrimages under the scheme. The new pilgrimage included the shrines of Sikhs and the Ajmer Sharif,” he said.  The Congress spokesperson accused the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of dumping the scheme during the Covid pandemic.

  • BJP, associates trying to create ‘communal situation’ in country: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The BJP and its associates are trying to create “communal situation” in the country, NCP chief Sharad Pawar alleged on Monday, comments coming in the backdrop of violence in several states during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations and the issue of loudspeakers atop mosques raging in Maharashtra.

    “On the other hand, the NCP, a constituent of the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in the state, was at the forefront of creating an atmosphere of harmony among people,” he said. In a series of tweets, Pawar said spread of communal ideology is a “matter of concern” and added the NCP will also flag issues relating to common citizens such as rise in prices of petrol, diesel, gas and edible oil.

    “The BJP and its associates are trying to create communal situation in the country. We are taking part in works of creating awareness among the people and creating atmosphere to ensure harmony among them,” Pawar tweeted in Marathi.

    यासोबतच जे राष्ट्रीय प्रश्न आहेत, उदाहरणार्थ सांप्रदायिक विचारांची होणारी वाढ हा चिंताजनक विषय आहे. तसेच पेट्रोल, डिझेल, गॅस, खाद्यतेल यांच्या किमती वाढत आहेत त्या सामान्य माणसाला त्रासदायक आहेत. आज त्याही प्रश्नावर जनमत तयार करावे, ही आमची भावना आहे.
    — Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) April 18, 2022
    States like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Jharkhand saw violence during Ram Navami, while clashes broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in the Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area on Saturday in which nine policemen and a civilian were injured.

    In Maharashtra, MNS chief Raj Thackeray has asked the MVA government to remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3, citing noise pollution, and threatened to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques in a higher volume if his demand was not met.

    The BJP has supported Raj Thackeray’s demand. Without naming anyone, the former Union Agriculture minister also said on the micro-blogging site that many leaders have expressed a wish to bring together parties opposed to the BJP.

    He said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has informed him about it in writing. “She is expecting (Maharashtra) Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and me to take initiative in this regard. We will make the final decision after speaking to other leaders. But no date has been fixed yet (for such a meeting),” he added.

    Pawar, who visited Bengaluru on Monday, said the NCP is building its organisation at the national-level and noted Karnataka, where assembly polls are due in 2023, is one of the states where the party’s base is weak.

    Pawar added he or his party colleagues will visit the BJP-ruled southern state in between over the next year to expand its activities and base there.

  • Why is PM Narendra Modi silent on communal violence, incidents of hatred: Congress

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Hitting back at BJP president JP Nadda over his attack on opposition parties, the Congress on Monday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the recent communal violence in some parts of the country and asked why he has not yet denounced the incidents of hatred.

    Congress general secretary and party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also asked why “perpetrators of hate were getting political patronage”. Accusing the BJP of launching a vicious attack on the Constitution and its ethos, and the institutions built to safeguard democracy, he said that it and its government are at war with its own people.

    Surjewala’s attack came after Nadda, in an open letter to Indians, accused the opposition of waging a “direct onslaught on the spirit of our nation and casting aspersions on our hardworking citizens”. The letter was in response to leaders of rival parties issuing a joint statement attacking the government over incidents of hate speech and communal violence in the country.

    ALSO READ| Jahangirpuri clashes: VHP, Bajrang Dal members booked for taking out religious procession, one held

    Nadda said the opposition parties “tried, tested, or I should say dusted and rusted approach of vote bank politics, divisive politics, and selective politics is no longer working”.

    Unfortunately, this thrust towards development politics is being bitterly resisted by the rejected and dejected parties which are once again taking refuge in vote bank and divisive politics, the BJP chief said in his letter.

    Responding to the open letter, Surjewala accused the BJP government of systematically weakening the Indian Constitution. “Your party and government continue to feed the masses the opium of communal polarisation by inciting violence and hatred. You actually do so to distract people away from the main issues that threaten their existence – price rise, unemployment and a shattered hope for the future,” he said attacking Nadda.

    “While parts of India are ravaged by riots and violence why is the prime minister so conspicuously silent? Why does he not denounce hatred no matter where it comes from? Why do perpetrators of hate get political patronage? Why are those who incite violence rewarded and most of all why are youth being incentivised to attack and abuse,” he asked in a statement.

    ALSO READ| MP Ram Navami violence: First victim is a Muslim youth brutally murdered by miscreants

    Accusing the BJP of “distorting the nation’s fabric, he said, “Your attempts to perpetuate hate, stoke communal tension and divide are dangerous for our nation and our people.”

    Surjewala claimed that the “lies” of the BJP chief stood exposed as its quest to seek revenge against India’s glorious history and hard fought freedom by “half truths and post truths” cannot be the bedrock of a nation aspiring to lead in the 21st century.

    “The last eight years will be marked in India’s history for a vicious attack against the Constitution, its ethos and every institution built to safeguard our democracy. The BJP and its government have been and are at war with its own people, be it the youth, the women, the poor, the scheduled tribes, the scheduled castes, backwards and the minorities,” he said.

    Noting that there has been an “abysmal decline in core indices” under the eight years of the Modi government, the Congress leader claimed that there is growing income inequality in the country with the income of 84 per cent Indians declining.

    He said that there has been a 53 per cent drop in income for the 15 crore poorest households and in contrast, the wealth of the 100 richest Indians has surged from Rs 23 lakh crore to Rs 57 lakh crore in two years.

    Surjewala also attacked Nadda over the issue of rising inflation and said Wholesale Inflation (WPI) is raging at over 14.5 per cent and prices of daily items are breaking the back of the people. The Modi government has “robbed”people of Rs 26 lakh crore through fuel taxes, he alleged.

    Alleging that there are over 8.7 lakh vacancies in the central government alone and over 30 lakh in states and the centre combined, he said, “Your government is turning India’s demographic dividend into a disaster. And, it is these unemployed youths who are being drawn into violence and hate by the lunatic fringe elements.”

    Surjewala also accused the BJP government of “cheating” farmers, saying Prime Minister Modi had promised to double their income by 2022 but their production cost only got doubled and the average income of farmers got reduced to a paltry Rs 27 per day.

    The Congress leader also attacked Nadda over the silence of the prime minister on the border issue with China and said he refused to even name China while addressing the opposition. He also attacked the BJP government of “compromising” national security and claimed there has been a rise in terrorist attacks in the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir, under its rule.

    Alleging that the BJP had an “anti-Dalit mindset”, the Congress leader said of the 17 BJP chief ministers not one was a Dalit and accused it of having reduced the budget for Dalits as the percentage of targeted schemes for scheduled castes out of the total central schemes and centrally-sponsored schemes was just 4.4 per cent.

    “Why has your government not released the OBC report, which would benefit them? Why are minorities under constant attack. Your hollow, empty promises and blatant lies continue to haunt our people. The country awaits Rs 15 lakh in every Indian’s bank account, 16 crore jobs over the last eight years with two crore annual jobs, doubling farmer incomes by 2022 and MSP at cost +50 per cent, 100 smart cities by 2022 and a house for everyone by 2022,” he said.

  • INS Vikrant: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya quizzed for three hours in cheating case

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Monday quizzed BJP leader Kirit Somaiya for almost three hours in connection with the INS Vikrant funds misappropriation case, an official said.

    Somaiya reached the Police Commissioner’s office in south Mumbai at 11 AM.

    He left the commissioner’s office shortly after 2 PM during which the EOW recorded his statement.

    The official said that the EOW may call Somaiya again for questioning.

    Somaiya had denied the allegations of misappropriating the money raised to save the decommissioned aircraft carrier from being scrapped in 2014.

    Earlier, the EOW had issued summons to Somaiya and his son Neil Somaiya, a day after the Somaiya senior’s pre-arrest bail plea was rejected by the Mumbai sessions court on April 11.

    Based on a complaint lodged by an ex-serviceman, the Trombay police on April 7 registered an FIR against the Somaiyas for allegedly misappropriating about Rs 57 crore collected through crowdfunding to save decommissioned INS Vikrant from being scrapped and converted into a museum.

    The Bombay High Court on April 13 granted interim protection from arrest to Kirit Somaiya.

    A single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudessai had directed Kirit Somaiya to cooperate with the police’s probe into the case and asked him to “report to the investigation officer in the case for four days, beginning from April 18, between 11 am and 2 pm.”

  • Bengal bypolls: Shah to meet leaders over debacle

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  Upset with the party’s poor show in Asansol, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will meet party functionaries both in north and south Bengal. BJP insiders said Shah was unhappy with the defeat in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, which was earlier with the party for two previous consecutive terms, and the party candidate’s losing security deposit in Ballygunge.

    With the defeat in the coal belt, the BJP’s number of MPs from Bengal has come down to 17 in the Lok Sabha. Worse, the BJP is seeing discontent among its state organisation, with two BJP MLAs announcing on Sunday their decision to step down from party hierarchy.  

    Shah, who was to visit Bengal this month, will now reach the state in the first week of May. “Though his programme schedules are yet to be finalised, we are told that Shah will meet the leadership of the party’s nine organisational districts in north Bengal. He is likely to return to Kolkata the same day and meet the leaders from south Bengal in Salt Lake,’’ said a senior leader.

    Sources said the central leadership has instructed the Bengal unit to prepare a report pinpointing the reasons for the disastrous performance in the bypolls. ‘’’The findings will be discussed in the meetings with Shah. The party’s organisational pitfalls will also get top priority in the meetings,’’ said the leader.  

    On Sunday, Murshidabad MLA Gaurishankar Ghosh resigned from the post of BJP state secretary and Behrampur MLA Kanchan Moitra announced his decision to step down from the state committee. Both the leaders alleged that incompetent leaders were being given priority in the party. The duo said the lack of experience of the state leadership led to the poor electoral show.

  • ‘Appeasement’ reason for communal clashes: BJP

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: A day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi and leaders of 13 opposition parties issued a joint statement against the communal clashed happening in various parts of the country, the BJP on Sunday said the “ideology of appeasement” pursued over the last 70 years is responsible for the communal riots across the country.

    Taking on opposition leaders over their joint statement, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said this “selective politics” of opposition is harmful for the country.  Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Patra said the clashes in the north-west Delhi locality on Saturday night are under investigation and all should wait for the outcome.

    “But, at the same time, we would like to say that a joint statement was issued by Sonia Gandhi along with other opposition leaders yesterday. This selective politics of some opposition leaders is not appropriate for the country, it is harmful for the country,” he said.

    “Sonia Gandhi in this letter talked about the ideology today, question arises which ideology leads to such riots in the country. There is only one ideology from the last seventy years, and its name is ideology of appeasement,” Patra said, adding “this policy and politics of appeasement” is very unfortunate. 

  • BJP MP Varun Gandhi targets party again over unemployment

    By PTI

    PILIBHIT (UTTAR PRADESH): BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday said although 1.5 crore posts are lying vacant in the country, unemployed youths are roaming around on empty stomach. Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to his constituency here, questioned his own party-led government over the unemployment issue, and said crores of unemployed do not know what will happen to them next.

    In a statement issued by his spokesperson MR Malik, Gandhi stated, “Our fight is for employment and economic equality, our constitution says everyone should get equal economic opportunities. That is possible when there is work with everyone. No one got money in his bank account and 2 crore jobs (as promised) were not given. The farmer’s income which was to be doubled also did not happen.”

    The local MP also referred to the Anna Hazare movement and the farmers agitation. “I was the first MP to support the Anna Hazare movement and sat with the agitators. When the farmers’ movement took place, I called the officers and instructed them to look into the protesters’ demands,” he said.

    Gandhi was accorded a grand welcome at the Khamaria bridge here as thousands of party workers turned up to listen to his speech. Addressing a gathering of workers, the BJP MP said politics is “a tool to build the country”.

    “The real fight of our country is the fight against unemployment and corruption. Political parties and leaders should leave their rivalry and think for the future of the country. The future of the nation is not made by speeches, or by winning and losing elections, but by true service to the country. I am worried for the future of the country. Here dreams are big and resources are limited. When privatisation happens, jobs will also be limited and unemployment will increase further,” he said.

  • Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma promises improved infrastructure ahead of Guwahati municipal polls

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday started his campaign for Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections, promising improved infrastructure for people. Sarma addressed several rallies in different parts of the city, including Narengi and Chandmari areas.

    After addressing a meeting, he tweeted: “Kicked off my campaign for candidates of @BJP4Assam-led alliance in #GMCElection by addressing a rally at Narangi. In next 4 years, we promise to set up Govt hospitals, provide drinking water to maximum households, and improve other infrastructure facilities in the GMC wards.”

    This evening, Ganeshpara looks so overwhelmingly delightful. At the #GMCElections rally, people turned up in large numbers, showering their abundant affection. Your faith in us keeps us going.Please vote for @BJP4Assam-led alliance candidates for continued development of Ghy. pic.twitter.com/elK5cVqSmY
    — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 17, 2022
    He also assured of adequate government funds for undertaking the developmental works. “There’ll be no dearth of funds for devp work in the wards. To decongest the city, Govt offices will be shifted to Betkuchi,” the chief minister wrote.

    Expressing satisfaction at the public turnout at his rally in Chandmari, Sarma wrote, “I am confident that all the candidates of @BJP4Assam-led alliance will sweep the polls to be held on April 22.”

    Election for all 60 wards of GMC is scheduled on April 22 and the counting of votes will be undertaken on April 24, the Assam State Election Commission had announced earlier. A total of 7,96,829 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in 789 polling stations.

    The Commission has decided to use EVMs in the election.

  • BJP leader JJ Singh criticises Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann over meeting with ‘pro-separatist’ UK MP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: BJP leader and former Army chief JJ Singh on Sunday lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over his meeting with UK MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and said the AAP should clarify if it endorses the “pro-separatist and anti-India” views of the British lawmaker.

    Dhesi, a Labour Party MP, met Mann along with AAP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha last week and reportedly raised several issues, including blacklisting of several Sikhs. “It is very unfortunate that AAP government in Punjab…is going the extra mile to welcome Labour Party MP Dhesi whose views are pro-separatist and anti-India. AAP owes an clarification to the country whether it supports his views on Kashmir and other matters which are against our country,” Singh said.

    The BJP leader further said Mann should disclose what transpired in the meeting with Dhesi and what commitments the AAP government in Punjab has given to him. Dhesi had criticised the Indian government’s revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.