By PTI
MUMBAI: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil Somaiya have been summoned on Saturday to join the probe in a case lodged in connection with collection of funds to turn aircraft carrier Vikrant into a museum, a police official said.
The father-son duo has been asked to remain present before the investigating officer in Trombay police station, he said.
“Police had gone to issue summons to them at their home in Mulund East, but it was locked,” he added.
By PTI
LUCKNOW: Following a resounding victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the BJP has set its eye on becoming the single-largest party in the state Legislative Council as well by winning a majority of the 36 Upper House seats going to polls on Saturday.
These seats are spread across 35 local authorities’ constituencies.
The biennial poll was earlier planned on two dates but now it will be conducted together on April 9.
Counting will take place on April 12.
It is an opportunity for the saffron party to enjoy a majority in both the Houses of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature.
Ninety-five candidates are in the fray.
Voting will take place from 8 am to 4 pm at 739 polling centres with 1,20,657 voters expected to exercise their franchise, the chief electoral officer of Uttar Pradesh said.
The voters in this biennial election are village pradhans, members and chairman of block development councils, members and chairman of Zila panchayat, and corporators in urban areas.
MLAs and MPs are also voters in this poll.
Adityanath, an MLA from Gorakhpur Urban, will cast his vote in Gorakhpur on Saturday at the polling booth in the municipal corporation, official sources said.
Nine MLCs from eight local authorities’ constituencies have been elected unopposed.
These seats are Budaun, Hardoi, Kheri, Mirzapur-Sonbhadra, Banda-Hamirpur, Aligarh, Bulandshahr and Mathura-Etah-Mainpuri.
Two MLCs were elected unopposed from Mathura-Etah-Mainpuri local authorities’ constituency, while from the rest of the constituencies, one MLC each was elected unopposed.
In the 100-member Legislative Council, the BJP has 34 MLCs, the Samajwadi Party 17 and the Bahujan Samaj Party four.
The Congress, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party have one member each in the House.
The Teachers’ group has two MLCs, while the independent group (‘Nirdal Samooh’) and Independents have one MLC each.
As many as 37 seats are vacant at present.
Addressing BJP workers a week ago, Chief Minister Adityanath said it was important for the party to win the 36 seats to advance his government’s growth agenda without any hurdle.
“Of these 36 seats, the BJP has won nine unopposed. If the party wins all the 36 seats, you can assume that it will have a two-third majority in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and have no problem in taking forward the development schemes expeditiously.”
The Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party have not fielded any candidate in the legislative council polls, making it a straight fight between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, the principal opposition in the state Assembly.
Some independent candidates are also in the fray.
Of the 36 BJP candidates, five are former Samajwadi Party leaders who joined the saffron camp on the eve of the February-March state polls.
They are Shailendra Pratap Singh from Sultanpur local authority constituency, C P Chand from the Gorakhpur-Maharajganj local authorities, Ravishankar Singh ‘Pappu’, the grandson of former prime minister Chandrasekhar, from Ballia local authorities, Rama Niranjan from Jhansi-Jalaun-Lalitpur local authorities and Narendra Bhati from Bulandshahr local authorities.
The Samajwadi Party has declared its candidates for 34 seats, leaving the Meerut-Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr constituencies for its ally the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Prominent among those who have been fielded are Dr Kafeel Khan from Deoria, Mashkoor Ahmad from Rampur-Bareilly, sitting MLCs Sunil Kumar Sajan, Rajesh Kumar and Udayveer Singh from Lucknow-Unnao, Barabanki, and Mathura-Etah-Mainpuri seats respectively.
Adityanath has recently quit the Legislative Council seat after getting elected as an MLA from Gorakhpur Urban seat.
With the death of Leader of the Opposition in the Council Ahmad Hasan on February 19 after a prolonged illness, the Samajwadi Party has named Sanjay Lathar to the post.
In the recently-concluded Assembly elections, the BJP has won 255 seats, while its allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and NISHAD party have won 12 and six seats respectively.
The Samajwadi Party has won 111 seats while its ally the Rashtriya Lok Dal has won eight.
SBSP, another ally of the Samajwadi Party, has won six seats.
The Congress has won two seats, while the BSP has won one seat.
By PTI
JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that the Centre is taking the country towards a Sri Lanka-like economic breakdown with its brand of nationalism.
“In Sri Lanka today, people do not have food because there too attention was diverted in the name of nationalism and opposition towards minorities. Modi government is trying to take India in the same direction,” Gehlot said in a tweet.
He said that BJP is confident that no matter how much inflation rises, it will win elections through religious polarisation.
“But all of you should prepare to give a befitting reply to BJP in Rajasthan in 2023 and Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The BJP has to be defeated in Rajasthan,” he said.
Gehlot said that patriotism is in the heart of every Indian.
He said that people have reposed faith in the Nehru-Gandhi family because of the “sacrifices” made by the family.
He said that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, country’s first Prime Minister, was imprisoned for more than 10 years for the independence of the country.
“Indira ji and Rajiv ji sacrificed their lives for this country. No person from Gandhi-Nehru family has held any constitutional post in last 30 years. Congress President Sonia Gandhi also relinquished the post of Prime Minister in 2004,” he said.
Congress party believes in the leadership of the Gandhi-Nehru family and if the sitting Prime Minister takes a dig at this, it is against the dignity of the post of prime minister.
“He tries to insult Nehruji, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not utter a word on the contribution made by former prime ministers and their martyrdom. The whole country knows this,” Gehlot said.
The CM said that from “Achhe din aayenge” the time has come when people have started asking “Where did the good days go?” Before 2014 election, BJP leaders used to ask people to vote for it as inflation was high but now petrol, diesel, cooking gas, vegetables, oil, clothes, milk, medicine, mobile-TV recharge, highway toll tax have all become expensive under the BJP rule, Gehlot said.
He said that the country’s debt has increased two-and-a-half times in seven years of the Modi government.
In 2014, there was a debt of about Rs 57 lakh crores, which increased to Rs 136 lakh crores in 2022, he pointed out.
He also criticised the government over the rising unemployment and crime.
Gehlot highlighted his work saying that in Rajasthan, the government has made medicines, treatment free, contrasting it with situation in other states, saying that there “people are not even able to buy medicines”.
Petrol has become costlier by Rs 27 and diesel by Rs 25 in the state in last one year.
By PTI
KANNAUJ: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday took a dig at BJP leaders for wearing caps at an event, recalling how they used to earlier comment on the headgear worn by his party members.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders were seen wearing saffron caps at the party’s foundation day programme on Wednesday.
The red cap worn by members of the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party had come under severe criticism during the recently held Assembly polls, with PM Narendra Modi equating it with “red alert”.
In a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, Modi had alleged that those wearing red caps “want power to commit scams, fill their coffers, indulge in illegal grabbing (of resources) and to give complete freedom to the mafia”.
“Those who used to say all sorts of things about red caps of the Samajwadi Party are today sitting with caps on,” Yadav told reporters here after pictures emerged with BJP leaders and PM Modi wearing caps at their party’s 42nd foundation day.
Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Taking it as an issue of prestige to have a majority in both houses of the state legislature, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), after creating history by returning to power in UP for a second consecutive term, is making an all-out effort to sweep the upcoming council polls scheduled for April 9. The results will be declared on April 12.
In fact, 36 council seats were up for election but the ruling party has already won nine of them unanimously. Voting for the remaining 27 seats will take place on Saturday.
At present, in the UP Legislative Council of 100 members, the BJP has 35 members, the main opposition Samajwadi Party has 17, BSP 4, Congress one and the BJP allies Apna Dal (S) and Nishad Party have one member each. Moreover, two members belong to the teachers’ group (non-political) and two are Independent. Thus in the upper house of state legislature, 37 positions are vacant, but the election will be held for 36 seats, where elected representatives of local bodies will cast their votes. The remaining one seat is lying vacant due to the demise of SP MLC and leader of opposition Ahmad Hassan after a prolonged illness during the Assembly polls.
The BJP, which is said to be always in poll mode, is leaving no stone unturned to win all the seats of the Council. In order to shore up the prospects of the party, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been convening virtual meetings with the party’s elected representatives. Last week, he had convened a meeting in the presence of his deputies and Cabinet Ministers for the Urban Development and Panchayati Raj departments.
As per highly-placed party sources, the newly-appointed ministers, MLAs and party MPs have been asked to reach out to the voters to ensure an impressive victory for the party in the council polls as well. Even the party’s organisational secretary, Sunil Bansal and his team are keeping a close eye on the day-to-day preparations for the council polls.
In the meeting which was convened by CM Yogi, around 32,000 people were virtually connected. The CM appealed to MLAs, Zila Panchayat members, Block Development Council members, mayors, Nagar Palika chairpersons, village pradhans, corporators and even the MPs to work for the victory of the party’s council poll candidates.
To attain a majority in the council, any party needs to have at least 51 candidates. The ruling BJP is short of a majority by seven members which it is sure to get in the upcoming elections.
Though the ruling party may not find it difficult to gain a majority in the upper house, a clean sweep will consolidate its political position further in the state legislature after a convincing win in the Assembly polls. A BJP leader explained by saying that in 2017, when the BJP had formed the government in the state, the SP had over 60 seats in the council. “If the BJP gets a majority in both Houses of the state, it will be easier for it to get important bills and proposals passed and cement its position as a more formidable political force psychologically also in the state.”
According to party sources, the BJP leadership has directed its district units to contact voters as there is not enough time and the candidate may not be able to contact each and everyone personally.
BJP is keeping its hopes of winning a majority in the council alive because 67 of the 75 Zila Panchayat chairmen, over 600 of the total 825 block heads, and 14 of the 17 mayors are supported by the party.
In the present composition of the UP council, 10 members are nominated by the state Governor, 38 by the UP MLAs, 36 by elected local bodies, eight by the teachers constituency and the remaining eight by the graduate constituency.
In the council elections, only the SP has emerged as the main rival of the BJP as the BSP has decided to keep itself away from the contest.
By PTI
MANDI: AAP leader Satyendar Jain on Tuesday projected his party a viable alternative to the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress in Himachal Pradesh, just a day ahead of a roadshow by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann here.
Mandi is the home district of Himachal Pradesh CM Jai Ram Thakur and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) through the roadshow is looking to project itself as a major contended for the state Assembly polls, which are scheduled to be held later this year.
AAP is a better option for Himachal Pradesh as both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have looted the hill state, alleged Delhi Health Minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain.
Talking to the media here, Jain claimed that the main contest in Himachal Pradesh in the coming Assembly elections will be between the BJP and AAP.
The Congress has lost its ground and AAP has sufficient experience of defeating it, he said apparently referring to the recently held Punjab Assembly polls, in which Jain’s party stormed to power.
Jain said his party’s membership drive has been successful in the hill state as three lakh people joined AAP in the last fortnight.
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Terming the party’s performance in recent elections as “shocking and painful”, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said on Tuesday that the road ahead is more challenging than ever before and unity at all levels of the organisation is paramount.
Addressing the party MPs in the Central Hall of Parliament, Gandhi said that she is determined to do whatever is needed to ensure that the party stays united.
Gandhi, who has become very active recently in handling party affairs, said: “I am very well aware how disappointed you are at the recent election results. They have been both shocking and painful. The CWC has met once to review our performance. I have met with other colleagues too.”
“I have received many suggestions on how to strengthen our organization. Many are pertinent and I am working on them. Holding a Shivir is also very necessary. That is where the views of a larger number of colleagues and party representatives will be heard. They will contribute to putting forward a clear roadmap on the urgent steps to be taken by our Party on how best to meet the challenges we are confronted with,” she said in her address.
Cautioning party lawmakers that the road ahead is more challenging than ever before, she said: “Our dedication and determination, our spirit of resilience is under severe test. Unity at all levels of our vast organisation is of paramount importance and speaking for myself, I am determined to do whatever is needed to ensure it. Our revival is not just a matter of importance to us alone—it is, in fact, essential for our democracy itself and indeed for our society as well.”
Attacking the Centre over inflation, she said prices of cooking gas and oil, petrol, diesel, fertilizers and other essential commodities have risen to an unbearable limit and continue to rise.
“A few days back, our party launched a nationwide Mehngai-mukt Bharat campaign in which many of you took part. This must be sustained.”
By PTI
BARMER: A day after communal clashes broke out in Rajasthan’s Karauli district, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday alleged that an environment of religious polarisation had been created in the country after the BJP-led NDA came to power at the Centre and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should appeal to people to shun this unfair division.
He said peace, brotherhood and harmony are important for development.
“(In view of) the atmosphere which has been created in the country after the NDA government came to power, I believe that the prime minister himself should appeal to the people of the country that this polarisation in the name of religion and caste is not justified and is not in the interests of the country,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the incident that happened yesterday in Karauli and even today, there was a fight in Beawar over a small issue and one person was killed. If religions (of the persons involved) are different then in the name of religion, people polarise and make it an issue,” he told reporters in Barmer.
Gehlot also targeted the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, saying fake encounters took place there. He said doing fake encounters is easy but the country will progress when the rule of law is established. “Only then justice will be done,” he said.
On the Karauli violence, Gehlot said he was worried since Saturday evening when he came to know about the incident. “I have directed the DGP to take stern action against all those who were involved in the matter, they may be from any community or any religion. A message should go to them that the rule of law will be established in Rajasthan, this is my belief.”
Incidents of arson and vandalism were reported on Saturday after stones were pelted at a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate the Hindu New Year when it was passing through a Muslim-dominated locality, according to police. At least 35 people were injured in the violence.
The chief minister said that inflation and unemployment are key challenges today. Targeting the Centre over inflation and increasing fuel prices, he said that such a big deception never happened in the country.
He said that prices were not increased during elections in five states and now the fuel prices have started increasing. “The people of the country should understand their governance model,” he said.
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Delhi unit of the Congress on Sunday staged a protest in east Delhi’s Trilokpuri area against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for constant rise in fuel and gas prices.
The protest, part of the opposition party’s “Mahangai Mukt Bharat” campaign, was led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Chaudhary Anil Kumar.
The protesters raised slogans against the central government, holding it responsible for “sharp” increase in the prices of oil and natural gas.
Kumar said the Centre has increased prices of petrol, diesel, CNG, PNG and even the domestic gas cylinder just after the polls in five states were over.
“Spike in fuel prices has also led to inflation among other daily commodities. The government should reduce fuel prices to give breather to people,” he said.
In the protest, agitators mocked the central government by garlanding cylinders and motorcycles.
Congress supporters, who participated in the protest, said it was becoming tough for common people to survive amid “such inflation”.
“Constant increase in fuel and natural gas prices broke the backbone of the public. Rates of petrol, diesel are being raised everyday having a cascading effect on other commodities as well, which is making daily consumables costlier,” a Congress protester said.
By Express News Service
PATNA: Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the election to be held in 24 local authorities constituencies of the Bihar legislative council on April 4.
The voting will start at 8 am on 534 polling booths and conclude at 4 pm. Around 1,34,106 electors will decide the fate of 186 contestants in the fray. The counting of polled votes will be conducted on April 7.The campaigning came to an end at 4 pm on Saturday. The polling process has to be completed by April 11 as per the instructions issued by the state election commission on March 2.
The highest 14 candidates are in the fray from Saharsa-Madhepura-Supaul constituency followed by Munger-Jamui-Lakhisarai-Sheikhpura (13), Katihar (08),Bhagalpur-Banka (07) and Purnea-Araria-Kishanganj (07), respectively.
While BJP is contesting 12 seats, its ally JDU on 11 and one seat has been left for Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) of union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras.
While RJD, on the other side, has fielded candidates in 23 seats, one seat has been offered to its left ally-CPI. Mukesh Sahani led Viakssheel Insaan Party has fielded candidates in seven seats.
Sahani was sacked from the Nitish Kumar cabinet following political differences with BJP early this week. What has come as a severe jolt to the BJP is that Sahani declared to extend his support to the seats being contested by the JDU.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan is also trying its luck in the election. The RJD’s old ally Congress is also contesting the election solo. The grand old party has fielded 15 candidates. The alliance with the RJD discontinued ever since the RJD and the Congress contested by-polls to Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly seat held last year.
In 2015, when sitting MLCs were elected to legislative council, JDU and RJD were a part of Grand Alliance (GA). The JDU broke out from GA in 2017 and formed the government with BJP.