News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP to expand nationwide network with 512 new district party offices 

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to expand the network of party offices at the district level across the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working to set up 512 district offices to promote the party’s activities and outreach to the people living in the remotest parts of districts.

    BJP National president JP Nadda on Thursday after inaugurating a new party office in Gurugram said that out of 512 district party offices, 215 distinct party offices have already been set up in different districts of the country, while work is in progress to set up offices in the remaining districts.

    Lashing out at the previous Congress government in the country, Nadda said the previous non-BJP government did nothing for the empowerment of women, except giving mere statements and misleading the women on various issues. “It is the Modi government now and previous BJP government that had done a lot for women empowerment, and still the Modi government is working for the dignity of women by building 11 crore ‘ejjat-ghars’ (toilets) across the country”, Nadda said.

    He also claimed that the Ujjwala scheme, under which more than 10 crore poor women were given free LPG gas cylinders, has brought a drastic change in the lives of poor women who had been facing health hazards from cooking in the earthen ovens.

    Quoting Dr Bhimrao Babasaheb Ambedkar, Nadda further said: “Ambedkar had said that if women are empowered, society is empowered. If women are not empowered, the society is weak”. 

  • Country remembers Ambedkar, PM Modi says his ideas inspiration for government

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW/MUMBAI: Hailing B R Ambedkar’s contributions to the country’s progress, leaders from across political parties, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday paid tributes to the key architect of India’s Constitution on his 131st birth anniversary.

    Prime Minister Modi said Babasaheb Ambedkar’s ideas for the welfare of Dalits, the downtrodden and deprived sections of society are an inspiration for his government.

    Modi joined a host of dignitaries, including President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, in Parliament to pay floral tributes to Ambedkar.

    “Tributes to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his Jayanti. He has made indelible contributions to India’s progress. This is a day to reiterate our commitment to fulfil his dreams for our nation,” Modi said in a tweet.

    Born in a Dalit family in 1891, Ambedkar was a jurist and economist who played an important role in India’s freedom movement.

    The India’s first law minister championed the cause of the Dalit community which faced deep-rooted discrimination.

    Former Congress chief Gandhi said Dr Ambedkar gave India its strongest pillar of strength, the Constitution. “On the occasion of his 131st birth anniversary, my tributes to Babasaheb Dr B R Ambedkar, who gave India its strongest pillar of strength — our sacred Constitution,” Gandhi said in a tweet.

    On its official Twitter handle, the Congress said Babasaheb Ambedkar remains a champion of equality, human rights and social justice.

    After paying tributes to B R Ambedkar, Vice President Naidu said he was the voice of the socially oppressed and dedicated his life to the uplift of the marginalised sections of society.

    “My humble tributes to the architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary today. Babasaheb was a multi-faceted genius – a legal luminary, visionary statesman, outstanding constitutional expert, brilliant parliamentarian & social reformer,” the Vice President Secretariat tweeted, quoting Naidu.

    At Ambedkar’s birthplace in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, a large number of people paid tributes to him, where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced to include the town as a destination in the list of the ‘Teerth Darshan Yojna’.

    The Madhya Pradesh government has been running the Teerth Darshan scheme for some years to enable people and senior citizens to go on a pilgrimage free of cost at least once in their lifetime.

    Ambedkar’s followers from various parts of the country, especially Maharashtra’s Vidharba region, arrived in Mhow to pay their respects to him at his birthplace in Kali Paltan area of the town, where a grand memorial of Ambedkar has been built.

    Mhow has been renamed as Dr Ambedkar Nagar in his memory.

    In Lucknow, Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati used the occasion to lash out at her rivals, saying that Dalits who become MPs and MLAs through “casteist parties” such as the BJP and the Congress will only serve their interests rather than those of the community.

    If these leaders try to do something for their community, they are removed from the party and the government, Mayawati said at a programme at the party office on the occasion of the Ambedkar Jayanti.

    “It has always been clear in the country’s politics that even if casteist parties, especially the Congress and the BJP, make a Dalit MP, MLA, minister, deputy chief minister or even the president, that Dalit person can only ensure his progress and that of his family but cannot do anything for the progress of the neglected community,” a BSP statement quoted Mayawati as saying.

    Taking a dig at the various programmes organised by different political parties to pay tributes to Ambedkar, Mayawati said these parties, who have always neglected the ideals and struggles of Ambedkar, are competing to pay tributes to him out of “pure political selfishness”.

    In Mumbai, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said at a time when neighbouring Sri Lanka and Pakistan are facing instability, India continues to remain stable and united due to the Constitution given by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

    Pawar made the remarks at an event organised here to mark the birth anniversary of Ambedkar. Pawar said Ambedkar’s contribution towards the country is “indisputable” and the latter did the job of giving stability to India from a political point of view.

    “In neighbouring Sri Lanka, the situation is such that its democracy may glide into crisis. What is the situation in another neighbouring country of ours, Pakistan? There is no stability in our neighbouring countries. It gets disturbed many times,” the former Union minister noted.

    Meanwhile, the BJP accused the Congress of belittling B R Ambedkar and limiting his identity to just a Dalit leader.

    The Narendra Modi-led government recognised Ambedkar’s role in shaping modern India, and restored to him the credit of being a founding father of the independent nation, it said.

    The ruling BJP said the architect of the Constitution was given the country’s highest honour Bharat Ratna by a government which had support of the BJP in 1989.

    Addressing a press conference in New Delhi as part of the ‘Samajik Nyay Pakhwada’, BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam and Union Minister Virendra Kumar cited various initiatives taken by Modi government acknowledging the contribution of Ambedkar.

    Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, a statue of B R Ambedkar was found disfigured on Thursday, prompting police to launch a probe into the matter.

    The disfigured statue is located in Chhijarsi village under the Sector 63 police station limits and the incident was reported by locals in the morning, officials said.

    A police spokesperson said a new statue is being installed to replace the disfigured one with the help of residents.

    “Police force has been deployed in the area and the matter is being investigated. All angles are being probed and action will be taken accordingly,” the spokesperson said.

  • Congress limited BR Ambedkar’s identity to a Dalit leader: BJP

    The ruling BJP said the architect of the Constitution was given the country's highest honour Bharat Ratna by a government which had support of the BJP in 1989.

  • Dissent gets shriller in SP, party leader quits of apathy to Muslims

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Amid the growing discontent among the Muslim leadership in the Samajwadi Party, the first Muslim leader Salman Javed Raeen tendered his resignation from the party in protest against the alleged apathy of the party leadership towards the Muslim community.

    While writing a letter to party leadership, Raeen flagged the guarded silence by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav by quoting the instances of Azam Khan who, he claimed, was sent to jail along with his family, Kairana MLA Nahid Hasan had been languishing in jail and Shahzil Islam, SP MLA from Bhojipura assembly segment in Bareilly district, booked for hate speech and his petrol pump was demolished.

    The SP office-bearer from Sultanpur further added that if a coward leader could not raise the voice in support of his party men, how could he be expected to raise people’s issues. Raeen is not the first person to express his discontent with the attitude of SP chef towards Muslims, earlier, SP stalwart and party’s Rampur MLA Azam Khan’s media in-charge Fasahat Ali Shanu had also aired his anger and disappointment with the approach of Akhilesh Yadav towards Azam. 

    Shanu had claimed that Akhilesh did not reciprocate the gesture of Azam Khan who supported the candidature of both Akhilesh and Mulayam for the Chief Ministership, by appointing him as leader of the opposition in the 18th Assembly.

    Shanu had claimed at a meeting in the Rampur SP office that Akhilesh Yadav could win 125 seats with the overwhelming support of Muslims but he did not want to be seen with them. He had accused Akhilesh Yadav of visiting Azam Khan in jail just once during the last 26 months of his incarceration.

    Earlier, even SP MP from Sambhal, Shafiqur Rehman Barq had also expressed his dissatisfaction with the way SP was going about Muslims. Significantly, the state chief of Jayant Chaudhury led Rashtriya Lok Dal, Masood Ahmad was the first one to raise a red flag against the alliance leadership immediately after the Assembly elections accusing them of having a dictatorial attitude and having sold the tickets to candidates.

    On the other, in an interesting turn of events, a senior Muslim cleric Maulana Shahabuddin Rizvi, associated with the revered shrine of Ala Hazrat in Bareilly, advised the community to explore other options, even the BJP, to extend support. He even accused the SP chief of abhorring Muslims and that he failed to unite himself with the minority community. The cleric charged Akhilesh with pushing the prominent Muslim faces back during the election carrying the whole campaign alone. “There is a huge difference between the SP of Akhilesh and Mulayam Singh Yadav,” said the cleric.

  • Contractor death: Congress demands arrest of Karnataka minister Eshwarappa on murder charge

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Stepping up the ante against the BJP over the death of a civil contractor in Karnataka, the Congress on Wednesday said arresting minister K S Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to ensure justice.

    Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP president J P Nadda on the death of Santhosh Patil who had levelled bribery charges against the senior minister earlier.

    Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Eshwarappa has been booked for abetment of suicide based on a complaint from Prashanth Patil, the brother of the deceased.

    The 37-year-old contractor, who claimed to be a BJP worker, was found dead at a lodge in Udupi in a case of suspected suicide on Tuesday.

    “Arresting Minister Eshwarappa on murder and corruption charges is the only way to give justice to a BJP worker,” Surjewala said.

    “Why is PM silent? Why is CM mum? Why is BJP president quiet? The deafening silence of BJP points to complicity in corruption at the highest echelons of power,” the Congress leader said on Twitter. He also alleged that the BJP is mired in corruption in Karnataka and it is time to show them the door.

    “Top to bottom, the entire BJP Govt is mired in the muck of corruption. Time to show BJP the door in Karnataka,” Surjewala said, after the president of contractors’ association in Karnataka alleged that the chief minister’s office was involved in the matter.

    Surjewala also met the family of the deceased contractor in Belgaum and assured that the party would fight to ensure justice to them. He was accompanied by several state Congress leaders.

    “The pain, anguish and anger of family cannot be described in words. The Congress will fight for justice to Santosh Patil. Our demands are arrest Eshwarappa, add section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act to the FIR, release Rs 4 crore payment for contract and Rs 1 crore compensation to the family and a government job for his wife. The Congress will give Rs 11 lakh assistance to the family in this hour of grief,” he said.

    The death of the contractor triggered a huge political row with the Congress demanding the resignation of Eshwarappa or his dismissal from the Cabinet.

    The Congress also urged state Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to dismiss Eshwarappa from the Council of Ministers, even as the embattled BJP leader called for a probe into the “conspiracy” behind the death of Patil.

    While Chief Minister Bommai said the police would conduct a thorough and transparent investigation, Eshwarappa rejected the demand for his resignation.

    In his purported suicide note sent by WhatsApp to some media houses, Patil, who hails from Belagavi district, allegedly held Eshwarappa responsible for his death.

    A defiant Eshwarappa, however, maintained he was not at fault and said he had even filed a defamation suit against Patil after the contractor had alleged that the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR) Minister had demanded 40 per cent commission for some works.

    On March 30, Patil, who had claimed that he was a BJP worker, said he had executed a work in the RDPR department and wanted the payment due to him but Eshwarappa allegedly demanded 40 per cent commission in the Rs 4 crore work, prompting the opposition Congress to dub the BJP dispensation in Karnataka as a “40 per cent sarkar”.

  • Despite political differences, Priyanka Chaturvedi supported govt stand on oil purchasing from Russia

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Despite political differences, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi came out in support of India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar’s remark on the issue of oil purchasing from Russia given during the 2+2 ministerial talks at Washington.

    Jaishankar had categorically said, “If you are looking at (India’s) energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest your attention should be on Europe. We buy some energy necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at figures, purchase for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon.”

    Sharing these lines of Jaishankar’s remark through her Twitter handle, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi described the remark as ‘superb’ from External Affair Minister putting an emoji of applause.

    Jaishankar’s remarks came at a time when many countries including the US, have imposed multiple sanctions on Russia for being in a war against Ukraine.

    Speaking to this newspaper, Chaturvedi on late Tuesday evening said, “Party (Shiv Sena) stands by India at international forums. Country’s interest comes first for us in politics.” Giving thumbs-up to EAM for his brilliant remarks, she further said that the opposition has come together on this issue. “Remember, the opposition has come together on this issue as was obvious in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha discussions on the Ukraine crisis,” she added.

    She also said, “Our differences were with regards to the evacuation of the students stranded in war-hit Ukraine, but as far as the policy for energy security is needed, we are all aligned on the issue.”

  • Congress leader’s Sunday night meeting with Dhami fuels speculation

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: A meeting between Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and former leader of opposition in the state Assembly Pritam Singh has triggered the speculation of the Congress leader switching his allegiance to the ruling BJP in the near future.

    The meeting that took place at the chief minister’s residence late on Sunday night assumed significance as it came close on the heels of the Congress revamping its state unit in which Singh, a five-time MLA from Chakrata, was apparently sidelined by the party leadership.

    However, when contacted, Singh dismissed the speculation.

    Singh, who has held key positions like that of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president from 2017 to 2021 and the leader of opposition in the Assembly after the death of Indira Hridayesh last year, has not been assigned any major organisational responsibility in the latest revamp of the party’s state unit.

    Karan Mahra, who is said to be close to former chief minister and Singh’s bete noire Harish Rawat, has been made the PCC chief, senior party leader and Bajpur MLA Yashpal Arya has been appointed as the leader of opposition and Bhuwan Chandra Kapri, who defeated Dhami in the recently-held state Assembly polls from Khatima, is the deputy leader of opposition.

    Arya has held the posts of PCC president in the past. He is also a former speaker of the Assembly.

    The Uttarakhand Congress has long been divided into two factions — one led by Rawat and the other by Singh.

    As the Congress looks for factors that may have led to its failure to wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand, factionalism has emerged as a possible reason why its performance fell far short of the expectations.

    Congress’s poll observers Avinash Pandey and Devender Yadav prepared a report recently, attributing the party’s poll debacle in Uttarakhand to differences among its state leaders.

    Singh expressed his hurt on being accused of factionalism in the report, but refused to say anything on his meeting with the chief minister.

  • BJP activists demonstrate before Raj Bhavan demanding President Rule in Bengal

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: A group of BJP workers on Tuesday demonstrated before Raj Bhavan here to demand the imposition of President’s Rule in the state citing the “collapse of law and order” in the state.

    About 20 demonstrators, led by BJP leader and councillor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Sajal Ghosh, raised slogans ‘ei Trinamool aar noy’ (not this TMC-run government anymore), obilombe Rastrapatir Sashon jari korte hobey'(demand immediate imposition of President’s Rule), and also tried to squat on the road in front of the Main Gate of the Raj Bhavan before they were removed from the spot.

    The activists staged the agitation in front of the Raj Bhavan despite the issuance of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the high-security area.

    “From Anis Khan murder to the incident at Bogtui where nine people were burnt to death, gang rape and death of a 14-year- old girl in Hanskhali to the attack on Ram Navami processionists in Howrah, this government under Mamata Banerjee has miserably failed to prevent such incidents,” Ghosh claimed.

    Demanding Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s intervention, Ghosh said “Article 365 should be immediately promulgated in West Bengal to put an end to this lawlessness”.

    Under Article 365 of the Constitution, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional provisions, the Centre can take direct control of the State machinery.

    A police officer said around 20 BJP activists were taken to Lalbazar, Kolkata Police headquarters, for violating prohibitory orders. They were, however, released on personal bond.

    Trinamool Congress state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said “the BJP is yet to accept its humiliating defeat in the last assembly polls and is now conspiring against a democratically elected government.” However, the game plan of the saffron party will not succeed, he added.

  • INS Vikrant case: Kirit Somaiya deposited money with BJP, claims Sanjay Raut

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has said that he deposited money collected during the ‘Save INS Vikrant’ initiative with his party and hence, the government will have to decide whether that party should be made a co-accused in the “scam”, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut claimed on Monday.

    Interacting with media persons here, Raut said Somaiya and the latter’s son Neil will “definitely go to jail”, but the duo is holding the BJP’s hand “as the two are drowning”.

    Somaiya had denied allegations of “misappropriation” of funds collected to save the decommissioned naval aircraft carrier which was scrapped in November 2014.

    Raut demanded the Centre to withdraw security provided to Somaiya if it is feeling “ashamed” over the episode and has affection for soldiers.

    The Shiv Sena MP also claimed that Somaiya is hiding “in a BJP-ruled state, either in Gujarat or Goa”.

    In a dig, Raut said a film titled “Bhag Somaiya Bhag” should be produced and asked why Somaiya was running from law if he has not done anything wrong.

    Raut’s comments come in the wake of senior counsel Ashok Mundargi, appearing for Somaiya, arguing before a court here that the ‘Save Vikrant’ campaign was launched not only by the BJP but also the Congress and the Shiv Sena, who are now allies in the state’s ruling coalition.

    The senior counsel submitted that the campaign to save the decommissioned warship was launched by the political party to which the accused (Somaiya) belongs and hence, what happened with the collected funds was not his client’s concern.

    Somaiya and his son managed to collect Rs 11,000 as it was nearly impossible to mobilize Rs 57 crore during the door-to-door campaign, the senior counsel submitted.

    “I heard his (Somaiya’s) lawyer say that the money was deposited to his party (BJP). You sought money in the name of saving Vikrant. People gave the money because you said it will be deposited in the Raj Bhavan but you gave it to the party. I have been saying that he used the money for the election. He has committed this offence,” Raut alleged.

    The Rajya Sabha MP sought BJP’s explanation on the issue. “He (Somaiya) is saying now he deposited the money to the party. Were you sleeping for 13 years then? You are saying this now to save your skin when we exposed the matter. Should the BJP also be made an accused in this case along with Somaiya? This government will have to decide,” Raut said.

    He said Somaiya’s act was akin to “deshdroh” (treason).

    Raut said that the answers to questions like whether the BJP had receipts of the money, what it did with the fund collected and others will be known through a probe.

    “But Somaiya has tried to sink the BJP as well. He will drown, but will also sink the BJP. Crooks like these are of nobody,” Raut said. He charged Somaiya with garnering “hundreds of crores” by “blackmailing and threatening” people.

    “There are countless cases of his and all these cases are somewhere related to the BJP,” he alleged.

    Raut also said that the BJP will have to give an account of what it did with the money Somaiya allegedly deposited with it.

    The Shiv Sena leader said it was “unfortunate” that “a blackmailer” like Somaiya was provided security by the Centre.

    “Security of the absconding man, who engaged in a scam involving INS Vikrant, must be withdrawn if the Centre is feeling ashamed and has affection towards our soldiers,” Raut said.

    He added that the Centre or Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself should pay attention to the matter and find out the “main accused (Somaiya) in the INS Vikrant scam”.

    “Somaiya should be arrested and handed over to the Mumbai Police. I know where he is, I will inform the probe agencies,” Raut added.

    Raut also tweeted in Hindi saying that the Somaiyas will go to jail and will be lodged in a cell next to that of NCP leaders like Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik, who were jailed following actions by central agencies in separate cases.

    Earlier in the day, Raut had demanded issuing a lookout notice in the name of the Somaiya senior and his son, contending the duo may flee the country.

    The Shiv Sena leader has been accusing Somaiyas of misappropriation of over Rs 57 crore collected in the name of saving the ship.

    The Mumbai Police last week registered a case of cheating against the Somaiyas based on a complaint lodged by a former Army personnel.

    On Monday, a court in Mumbai rejected the anticipatory bail application of Kirit Somaiya in the case. The court is likely to pass an order on Neil Somaiya’s anticipatory bail application (ABA) on Tuesday.

  • AAP gets another major jolt after its women wing chief from Himachal Pradesh joins BJP

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Ahead of the assembly election, the  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Himachal Pradesh got another jolt on Monday, when its state chief of women’s wing Mamata Thakur, along with others, joined the ruling BJP in New Delhi, on Monday. 

    The joining was held at a time when the national president of BJP J Nadda was on a four-day visit to the state from April 9 to 12. Welcoming Mamata Thakur and others in the BJP, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the AAP has started facing an existential challenge in Himachal Pradesh because of its faulty policies and lack of internal democracy in the party.

    Taking a jibe at Arvind Kejariwal, he said, “Delhi CM and Chief of AAP Arvind Kejariwal will find it difficult to save his party’s organisation in Himachal Pradesh.” He also predicted that the process of joining of Aam Aadmi Party’s leaders from Himachal Pradesh would continue further giving an existential challenge to the AAP in Himachal Pradesh.

    “Overlooking workers has become a habit of AAP. As a result of this habit, its leaders are deserting the party adjoining the BJP,” he claimed.

    Ashish Kumar-vice president of IT Cell of Himachal Pradesh AAP also joined the BJP along with Mamata Thakur. As the AAP has decided to contest all assembly seats in the upcoming assembly in Himachal Pradesh, the desertion of its four prominent state leaders including the state president of Himachal Pradesh in the last four days has given a major jolt to its organisational strength ahead of assembly elections.

    Last Friday, Anup Keshari along with Satish Thakur and Una district chief Iqbal Singh were the first who joined the BJP, accusing the Delhi Chief Minister of being concerned and communicative to the state leaders of the party.

    Mamata Thakur after joining the BJP in New Delhi presence of senior leaders of BJP, including union minister Anurag Thakur, national generals secretary and LS MP Arun Singh, Minakshi Lekhi and Sanjay Mayukh lashed out at the AAP central leadership for ignoring the state leaders and indulging in the tarnishing the political character of those who have recently joined the BJP.