News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP will have only one engine ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls: Fadnavis on pre-poll alliance with MNS

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Suspense over any possibility of an alliance between the BJP and Raj Thackeray-led MNS deepened on Saturday with senior leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra unit president Chandrakant Patil evading a direct reply.

    While Patil is in New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders, Leader of Opposition Fadnavis cryptically said the saffron party will have only one engine to contest the 2024 general elections.

    The railway engine is the poll symbol of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

    Speaking to reporters in Pune, Fadnavis said, “Patil has already clarified his position and the party’s stand regarding a possible pre-poll alliance with the MNS. However, the BJP is going to have only one engine ahead of the 2024 (general) polls.”

    Fadnavis, a former chief minister, did not elaborate whether he meant joining hands with the MNS or going solo in the general polls.

    Responding to a query on speculations that Patil might be replaced as state BJP chief, Fadnavis said, “The party is doing fine under the leadership of Patil in the state and all leaders are with him. There are no talks of changing leadership in the state at the moment”.

    After meeting the MNS chief at the latter’s residence in Mumbai on Friday, Patil said the alliance was not on the cards at the moment.

    The meeting, however, triggered speculation about a possible tie-up as elections to the Mumbai civic body are due next year.

    “Raj told me that he does not hold any grudge against the non-Marathi people living in Mumbai.

    We still have some political differences and there is no proposal to join hands ahead of the polls at this moment,” Patil had said.

    On Saturday, Patil told reporters in Delhi, “I am here to apprise senior party leaders about the meeting with Raj Thackeray. Any decision will be taken by these leaders. Senior leaders will have to consider the national interest as well”.

    Before Patil, Fadnavis and former Mumbai unit BJP president Ashish Shelar had separately held meetings with senior BJP leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    When asked about these meetings, Patil said, “It is common in the party that leaders pay a visit to Delhi separately. There is nothing to read too much into it.”

    Patil is accompanied by other leaders from Maharashtra including Ram Shinde, Jaykumar Rawal, Shrikant Bharatiya and Sanjay Kute.

    The BJP has maintained that it was not allergic to any party as far as forging a pre-poll alliance is concerned but with a condition that their political stands should match.

    Some leaders in the BJP are of the view that the MNS is not untouchable provided it mellows down its anti-migrant stand.

    The Shiv Sena has been in power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for over three decades.

    In the 2017 Mumbai civic polls, the BJP contested separately and won 82 of the total 227 seats.

    The MNS had won seven seats but six of its corporators later joined the Shiv Sena.

    The Sena won 97 seats and Congress 31.

    Speaking to the media in Pune recently, Raj Thackeray, who took a strident anti-North Indian line after leaving the Shiv Sena over 15 years ago, had said he was not going to change his political stand for electoral benefits.

  • Farmers feel harassed under BJP, its defeat certain in Uttar Pradesh polls: Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday attacked the BJP, alleging farmers feel harassed under its rule, and said the party’s defeat is certain in the state polls next year.

    He also reiterated the SP is preparing to win 400 out of the total 403 seats in the elections.

    “There is huge anger towards the BJP, and the defeat of the BJP is certain in the Assembly elections,” he said.

    He said the BJP had promised that farmers’ income will be doubled by 2022 but it looks improbable.

    “The farmers and the people of Uttar Pradesh want to know from the BJP what the farmers’ income today is? Today, there is price rise, and the prices of fertiliser have also gone up. The promise was made to double the income of the farmers by 2022. When will this happen?” he asked.

    ALSO READ | Kisan Sansad passes ‘no-confidence’ motion against govt for not repealing farm laws

    Addressing a press conference at the party office here, he said despite BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre farmers are facing a lot of problem.

    “Farmers are not against development, but today they are agitating.

    Once the Samajwadi Party is voted to power, the farmers will get appropriate compensation for their land,” he said.

    He also said a number of schemes was made for the dairy sector and promises were made, but none fulfilled.

    On the issue of payments to sugarcane farmers, he said, “The question is not of payment, the question is that of pending dues. The voice of the farmers does not reach the chief minister.”

    The SP chief also said, “Yogi Adityanath must exercise restraint over his language. Yesterday, I was watching his interview on a news channel. We can have a fight over issues, but if you are saying anything about my father, then be prepared, I will also say something about your father. Hence, the chief minister must exercise restraint over his language.”

    On BJP chief JP Nadda addressing a meeting of the newly-elected chairpersons of zila panchayats and block panchayats on his first day of his two-day Lucknow visit, Yadav alleged the saffron party looted “democracy” in the local body polls in which they were elected.

    “Money was openly given for the post of zila panchayat chairpersons. There is no bigger sin in a democracy. District magistrates and superintendents of the police made the BJP win these elections,” he alleged.

  • COVID restrictions in Pune should be eased, says BJP leader Fadnavis

    By PTI

    PUNE: Restrictions on account of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pune should be relaxed as they are affecting businesses and commerce, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said here on Saturday.

    The trader community in the city and even employees of shopping malls have been demanding that shops and other establishments be allowed to remain open till 8 pm instead of 4 pm.

    “There should be strict restrictions in the cities where the infection positivity rate is above five per cent. But for the last one month, Pune’s positivity rate is below five per cent. The state government should relax restrictions. Businesses are already suffering losses,” the former chief minister told reporters here.

    Fadnavis, who visited the ongoing Metro construction work in the city, said around 60 per cent work has been completed.

    “Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) work is a critical part of a Metro project. Pune metro has completed almost 100 per cent of three TBM works. I am hopeful that soon the entire work will be finished in time,” he said.

    On Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar flagging off a trial run of the Kothrud corridor of Metro, Fadnavis said he had no objection to that as Pawar is deputy CM and guardian minister of Pune.

    “But I hope that the inauguration of Pune Metro would take place at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I am confident that Pawar will agree with me,” he said.

    The Pune Municipal Corporation has proposed a Neo Metro project too, Fadnavis said.

    “We can get around 80 per cent of funding for the project from the Union government. The PMC should send a proposal to the state government. We will secure funding from the Centre,” he said.

    About reports that Chandrakant Patil would be removed as state BJP chief, Fadnavis said these were baseless rumors and the party was happy with Patil’s work.

  • BJP hits out at Congress over infighting in Rajasthan unit

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: The BJP on Saturday alleged that the people of Rajasthan are suffering due to the infighting in the ruling Congress.

    “How can a government take care of the people of the state if it is not able to satisfy even its MLAs,” BJP national general secretary and state in-charge Arun Singh said, citing the tussle in the Congress over the issue of Cabinet expansion.

    The BJP is preparing for a mass movement in the state to corner the government over farm loan waiver, unemployment allowance, pending recruitment and “deteriorating” law and order, Singh said He claimed that the Gehlot government is trying to save itself by “delaying” cabinet expansion.

    “Gehlot government has no concern for the people. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot does not even leave his house. Now, the Gehlot government is trying to save itself by delaying the changes in the cabinet.

    “Within no time, the entire cabinet in Karnataka was changed but the Rajasthan government is giving excuses,” Singh said a press conference.

    He said that the people of the state are bearing the brunt of the infighting in the Congress and political leaders from other states are forced to come here to resolve disputes.

    Recently, Haryana Congress President Kumari Selja and later Karnataka Congress president D.

    K Shivakumar had met Chief Minister Gehlot, leading to speculation that they had come with a message from the party high command.

    Singh also claimed Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot have personal differences.

    “The people of the state are feeling cheated due to the flawed policies of this government,” he said, adding the BJP workers will work to oust the Congress government in the next Assembly elections.

  • How people with narrow mindset will lead Uttar Pradesh: BJP chief Nadda attacks Opposition

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: BJP president JP Nadda, who arrived here Saturday on a two-day visit, attacked the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh saying people with “narrow mindset” should not be elected to power.

    Nadda’s visit comes at a time Uttar Pradesh prepares itself for the next year’s assembly polls in which the ruling BJP will be pitted against the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress among other regional fronts.

    Addressing a meeting of the newly-elected chairpersons of zila panchayats and block panchayats on the first day of his visit, Nadda praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the vaccination drive.

    “On April 20, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modiji constituted a task force and he gave the country two vaccines (against coronavirus) in nine months,” he said.

    “It is a separate matter (that the Opposition said) we will not get vaccinated. This is a vaccine of the BJP. Now, you have been vaccinated with the BJP vaccine. This tells the mindset of the leaders. Those who have narrow mindset, how will they lead UP? This is something to think upon,” he said, without naming any leader or party.

    ALSO READ: Challenges galore before Priyanka Gandhi as she gears up to revive Congress prospects

    Just as the vaccine was being rolled out in the country in January, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had called it the “vaccine of the BJP” and said he would not take the shot.

    “How can I trust the vaccine, which will be used for vaccination by the BJP? We cannot get vaccinated by the BJP’s vaccine,” he had said.

    Nadda also said the world sought India’s vaccines and jabs were provided to various countries under Vaccine Maitri.

    “Today, there is no shortage of vaccines, and by December, the industrialists of India will prepare 135 crore (doses of) vaccines,” Nadda said.

    BJP’s national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, Uttar Pradesh in-charge Radha Mohan Singh, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma and state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh were present during the occasion.

  • PM Modi ensured pace of development continues even during COVID-19 pandemic: Amit Shah

    By PTI

    AHEMDABAD: India did not let the pace of development slow down even during the pandemic that affected the entire world, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday and added that the country has won the fight against coronavirus.

    “When the wheel of development came to a halt across the world, in India, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the pace of development continued.

    “We fought strongly against coronavirus and even won the fight, and at the same time, carried on with the development,” the Union home minister said in his address delivered virtually to mark the completion of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s five years in office, which is being celebrated as ‘Vikas Divas’.

    Shah also virtually inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects collectively worth Rs 5,300 crore.

    Shah said projects worth around Rs 900 crore (of the total project cost of Rs 5,300 crore) are taken up in his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency while projects worth Rs 630 crore were inaugurated and foundation stones were laid for other projects worth Rs 241 crore.

    “The fact that the projects worth Rs 3,322 crore related to roads, bridges, water and electric supply, houses for the poor etc., being inaugurated today means that they were constructed and completed entirely during the coronavirus pandemic period.

    “In Gujarat, the inauguration of projects worth Rs 3,322 crore and (launching) many such projects in the last ten days shows that even during the coronavirus pandemic period, Gujarat ensured that the development never stops,” said Shah, who also holds the Cooperation Ministry.

    Rupani and Nitin Patel had sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively, of Gujarat on August 7, 2016.

    They assumed office once more in December 2017 after the BJP won again in the Assembly elections.

    He said the people of Gujarat fought against the pandemic well under the leadership of PM Modi, CM Rupani and Deputy CM Patel, and with the unforgettable contribution of BJP workers.

    “We have crossed both the first and second waves (of the coronavirus pandemic) once again to continue on the path of development,” he said.

    Shah said Gujarat is either ranked first or is on its way to get top ranking in different areas.

    He praised the leadership of Rupani and Patel for ensuring that even after Modi became prime minister (for the first time in 2014), the development works in Gujarat continued without interruption.

    He also hailed the CM and the deputy CM for the COVID-19 vaccination work in Gujarat.

    “Narendrabhai has started a new system in the country’s democracy so that even when a leader is not serving as the chief minister, the development work continues on its own.

    “I am proud that Narendrabhai started a system in Gujarat where even after he went (to the Centre as PM), the development work continued, and Vijaybhai (Rupani) and Nitinbhai (Patel) added momentum to development on the path shown by Narendra Modi.

    They have ensured peace, safety in Gujarat and are working for all-around development,” he said.

    Shah thanked his cabinet colleague Nitin Gadkari, who heads the Road Transport and Highways ministry, for the construction of five over-bridges, two of which were inaugurated on Saturday, on the road connecting Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar.

    Shah appealed to Gujaratis settled outside the state to participate in the “Vatan Prem Yojana” under which they can make a monetary contribution for the development of their native villages or districts, with the state government making 40 per cent contribution.

    The Yojana was launched by the Gujarat government at the function on Saturday.

    He also slammed the Opposition for questioning the feasibility of the Sujalam Sufalam Yojana which was proposed by Modi when was chief minister of Gujarat.

    Under the Yojana, various works such as deepening of lakes, desilting and repairing of existing water bodies, cleaning of water canals are being carried out.

    “The Opposition had criticised that scheme saying will the pipes carry air? I would like to say to my friends in Opposition that the water from these pipelines has reached Banaskantha, and to every village in the Saurashtra region. The work to rid the state of ‘tanker raaj’ started by Modi is almost complete today,” he said.

  • BJP, Sangh affiliate spar over new taxation bill

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 without discussion. But outside Parliament, Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), struck a discordant note and challenged BJP leader Vijay Chauthaiwale for a debate while sparring on social media over the merits of the new legislation.

    The bill seeking to bury the contentious provision of retro-tax, brought before the Parliament by former President Pranab Mukherjee when he was finance minister, sailed through the lower House, sparing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the rigours of Parliamentary scrutiny. With the legislative proposal being a money bill, Rajya Sabha’s nod is not necessary.

    SJM convenor Ashwani Mahajan vented out the building discomfort in the RSS ranks over a number of legislations passed without wider consultation, including the likes of the labour codes, Defence Essential Services Bill and Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill.

    Chauthaiwale, who heads BJP’s foreign cell, asked Mahajan: “So you’re demanding total ban on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment).” Mahajan responded, asking “is it a crime to talk about advantages and disadvantages of a policy?” Chauthaiwale replied. “Everything that is not criminal may not be in larger national interest, a point you repeatedly fail to acknowledge,” he said in an apparent reference to the SJM’s stand that FDI leads to gross outflow of Indian wealth.

    Mahajan then challenged Chauthaiwale to a debate. Chauthaiwale, when approached by this newspaper, said he has nothing more to add. Whatever I had to say, I have tweeted”. Mahajan said that he has had consistent views on FDI policy and in the context of the present situation, an open challenge to Chauthaiwale to take him on in a debate over this matter.

  • Former Goa BJP legislator Mahadev Naik joins AAP

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Ahead of the next year’s election in Goa, former BJP legislator Mahadev Naik joined the AAP on Friday. Naik, who served as the Social Welfare Minister in the Manohar Parrikar government from 2012 to 2017, is a known face in Goa. Other than being a seasoned politician in Goa, he has been an active part of the community initiatives undertaken by the Bhandari Samaj.

    “The BJP government in Goa does nothing for the people. Unemployment has increased in Goa. Under Arvind Kejriwal’s vision, we have to work on how we can improve the future of Goan youths. In the coming times, Goa will have an AAP government and I have no doubt about that,” said Naik.

    The AAP is trying to make inroads in Goa where it made debut in the 2017 elections. It has taken the stand of being the ‘alternative’ option for the electorate instead of the the Congress and the ruling BJP. The AAP has announced that it will provide 300 units of free electricity if it comes to power in Goa.

    Senior AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Atishi welcomed Naik to the party fold at the party office. AAP’s Goa convenor Rahul Mhambre was also present at the event. Later, Kejriwal also welcoming Naik into the party. “We will work together to serve the people of Goa and give them a better quality of life,” he tweeted.

  • Be active on social media to counter negativity by opposition: Uttar Pradesh CM to BJP workers

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday asked BJP workers to be active on social media to take on those who are allegedly painting a negative picture of the central and state governments.

    Addressing a workshop of the IT and social media department of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Uttar Pradesh unit, Adityanath asked them to highlight the achievements of the BJP-led governments.

    “We do not try to bring the truth in front of people and this is our shortcoming. The opposition takes advantage of it,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Kisan Sansad passes ‘no-confidence’ motion against govt for not repealing farm laws

    We will have to move forward positively in a professional manner and with a strategy that will force the opposition to go on the back foot, he added.

    The chief minister said if anyone discusses the issue of farmers on social media, BJP workers should highlight that more than Rs 1.40 lakh crore has been paid to 45 lakh sugarcane farmers.

    We must tell the people about the achievements of the governments, he said.

    Being active on social media should be part of everyone’s daily routine, he told the gathering.

    The media industry has undergone vast changes in the last two decades and today, we cannot separate ourselves from it.

    Hence, it must be used in an effective way to influence lives positively, he said.

  • Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil meets Raj Thackeray amid talks of poll tie-up

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Friday met MNS president Raj Thackeray, giving rise to speculation about a possible tie-up as elections to the Mumbai civic body are due next year.

    Speaking to reporters after meeting Thackeray at the latter’s residence here, Patil said the alliance was not on the cards at the moment.

    “Raj told me that he does not hold any grudge against the non-Marathi people living in Mumbai. We still have some political differences and there is no proposal to join hands ahead of the polls at this moment,” the BJP leader said.

    To a question, Patil said, “I have told Raj Thackeray that the people of this state want you to be their leader, but you ought to change their perception of you. MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said he can not disclose what transpired during the meeting, but “we will be happy if the two parties joined hands.”

    The Shiv Sena, headed by Raj’s estranged cousin and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, has been controlling the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for over three decades.

    The MNS had won seven seats in the last BMC polls but six of its corporators later joined the Shiv Sena. The Sena won 97 seats while the BJP won 82 and Congress 31.

    Speaking to the media in Pune recently, Raj Thackeray, who took a strident anti-North Indian line after leaving the Shiv Sena over 15 years ago, had said he was not going to change his political stand for electoral benefits. “We (his party and the BJP) could agree on a non-aggression pact,” he had said.

    (With agency inputs)