News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma seeks time from CM Amarinder Singh over attacks on party leaders

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma has sought a meeting with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over the issue of alleged attacks on party leaders by people in the guise of farmers.

    Party’s state general secretary Jeevan Gupta on Sunday claimed many of the BJP leaders had faced “murderous attacks” in the last one year in the presence of police.

    In some cases, police even registered cases against unidentified people, lamented Gupta.

    Gupta also pointed out that on July 2, some people under the guise of farmers destroyed paddy transplanted on the farm owned by BJP leader Harjit Singh Grewal in Barnala.

    The BJP leader alleged that the law and order situation in the state had ‘collapsed’ under the Congress-led regime.

    Farmers, agitating against the Centre’s three agri laws, have been protesting against the BJP leaders and are not allowing them to attend any programme or meetings in Punjab.

    A few days ago, a group of farmers held a protest against Sharma in Hoshiarpur.

    Last year, Sharma’s vehicle too was attacked in Hoshiarpur.

    In March this year, party’s legislator from Abohar Arun Narang was thrashed and his clothes torn by a group of farmers at Malout in Muktsar.

  • BJP should transfer Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to Uttarakhand: Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Taking a dig at the BJP over the leadership change in Uttarakhand, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday urged the saffron party to transfer Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to the hill state.

    He said in this way, Uttarakhand will get rid of the ‘daily problem of leadership change’.

    Yadav was apparently referring to the change of guard in Uttarakhand after BJP leader Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as the state’s chief minister on Friday after holding the post for less than four months.

    He had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat in March.

    Pushkar Singh Dhami was sworn in as the new chief minister of the state following his election on Saturday as the leader of the BJP legislature party.

    In Uttar Pradesh, democracy has been ‘injured’ because of the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath), and in Uttarakhand, democracy has become a ‘victim of instability’.

    In this situation, it will be better that the BJP transfer the UP CM to Uttarakhand, so that the hill state gets free from the daily problem of change of leadership, the SP leader said in a statement.

    He also alleged that both the states were grappling with law and order problem, women security, unemployment, poor health services, among others.

    “There is a decline in the law and order situation in both the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. No investments are taking place in the states owing to political manipulation.

    “Unemployment, inflation and corruption is also on the rise since the BJP came to power in the states,” the statement said.

    The SP chief added that women are finding it difficult to live with honour and injustice is being done to farmers in both the states.

  • Shiv Sena and BJP not enemies; appropriate decision will be taken as per situation: Devendra Fadnavis

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said his party and former ally Shiv Sena are “not enemies” though there are differences of opinions on certain issues between them and added there are no “ifs and buts” in politics.

    Responding to a query on whether there is a possibility of the two former allies coming together again, Fadnavis said “appropriate decision” will be taken dependent on the situation.

    When asked about his recent meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the possibility of the BJP and Shiv Sena coming together again, Fadnavis said, “There are no ifs and buts in politics. Decisions are taken as per prevailing situations”.

    He was addressing a press conference on the eve of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature.

    “The BJP and the Shiv Sena are not enemies though there are differences of opinions. An appropriate decision will be taken as per situation,” the former chief minister said.

    Fadnavis said, “Our friend (read Shiv Sena) contested the 2019 Assembly elections with us. But after polls, they (Sena) joined hands with the very people (NCP and Congress) against whom we contested the polls”.

    Notably, the Sena and the BJP fell out after the elections over the issue of the chief minister’s post which the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had staked claim to.

    The Sena later joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government with Thackeray as the chief minister.

    In the same vein, Fadnavis said Central investigating agencies are probing various cases in Maharashtra on orders of the high court and there is no political pressure on them.

    Fadnavis’ statement comes against the backdrop of Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhdav Thackeray meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately during his visit to Delhi last month when he had led a delegation of state ministers.

    Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut tried to dismiss “rumours” about his meeting with BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Saturday.

    “The more such rumours spread, the stronger the MVA alliance will become. We may have political and ideological differences, but if we come face-to-face at public functions, we will cordially greet each other. I have had coffee with Shelar openly,” the Sena’s chief spokesperson had said.

    Meanwhile, Fadnavis expressed anguish over the suicide of an MPSC aspirant in Pune over the uncertainty of the final interview before he could get a government job.

    “Due to the apathetic attitude of the MPSC, no members were appointed and examinations and Interviews are not being held,” he said and demanded an overhaul of the state public service commission.

  • Don’t act as BJP lackey, TMC MP Derek O’Brien tells Solicitor General Tushar Mehta

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The TMC on Sunday continued its tirade against Solicitor General Tushar Mehta over his reported meeting with BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, as the ruling party’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said the senior advocate should not act as the saffron camps lackey.

    O’Brien, in a tweet, said Mehta should not represent or advise an accused in any case.

    Adhikari, once a TMC heavyweight, is an accused in Narada tapes case and Saradha chit fund scam.

    “Impropriety. Act in a fair manner. Not as a BJP lackey,” O’Brien said.

    Mehta, however, denied meeting Adhikari, and said the BJP leader had visited his residence unannounced.

    The Upper House leader, in a dig at the solicitor general, further stated, “You gave a post-facto explanation after story broke….”

    Pointing out that there was a “conflict of interest” he added, “Even a Public Prosecutor (leave alone high office of SG!) cannot represent or advise the accused.”

    O’Brien’s TMC colleague in Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, said he and Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra would meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday to press for the ouster of Mehta as the solicitor general.

    Roy had on Saturday said a letter demanding his removal has also been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The senior TMC leader, during a press meet, also slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre over the soaring fuel prices, and said the saffron party owes an explanation to the people of this country.

    “The price of LPG is set to touch the Rs 1,000-mark, but this BJP government appears to be unmoved by the plight of common people,” Roy added.

    He also demanded a “transparent probe” into the Rafale aircraft deal.

    “Why did the price of Rafale fighter aircraft go up thrice the initial bid? Why did the defence ministry still strike a deal? We want an answer,” the TMC MP added.

  • BJP stir to expose nexus between TMC leaders and vaccine scam mastermind: Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Stepping up its attack on the ruling TMC over the recent fake vaccination drive here, the BJP on Sunday said it would stick to its plan to take out a protest march to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters, despite the police asking the party to call off the programme in view of the COVID-19 situation.

    BJP state president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the ruling camp was trying to “hush up” the connection between Debanjan Deb, the alleged mastermind of the dubious drive, and a section of TMC leaders and KMC bosses, and his party will organise the demonstration on Monday to expose this “nexus”.

    The fake vaccines may have endangered lives of many people, he reasoned.

    “The administration, at the behest of the ruling party, is trying to force the BJP to withdraw its agitation as it does not want the issue to get highlighted. We will organise our protest with limited number of people following all COVID-19 guidelines. We have already informed the Kolkata Police about our plan. The police, however, are trying to stop us at the last minute,” Ghosh said.

    Deb, posing as the joint commissioner of the TMC-run civic body, had set up dubious vaccine camps in the city, which got busted after actor-turned-TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty, who had taken her jab at his Kasba centre, raised an alarm.

    Sources in the Kolkata Police said all gatherings are prohibited under the Disaster Management Act.

    They also said that the police came to know about the BJP programme from social media, and accordingly informed the party about the restrictions.

    Last week, student, youth and women’s organisations of the CPI(M) had staged a protest outside the KMC office, seeking immediate action against all those involved in the dubious drive.

    The agitators were bundled into police vehicles and moved from the protest site, triggering allegations of high- handedness by the TMC administration.

     

  • BJP should let Maharashtra monsoon session to function in people’s interest: Sanjay Raut

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the opposition BJP should allow the two-day monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature to function smoothly if it has the interest of the state’s people in mind.

    The two-day monsoon session of the state legislature will begin on Monday.

    Talking to reporters here, Raut said the opposition should allow the legislature proceedings to go on smoothly for the two days.

    “Pandemonium is not the way to corner the government. Such tactics can be adopted by the other side as well. This will not solve problems of vaccination (against coronavirus), COVID-19, unemployment and economy,” said Raut, whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.

    He said the Maharashtra government has several issues for discussion on problems being faced by people in the state.

    “If the BJP feels committed towards the welfare of the state, it will allow the legislature session to function. The people of the state want the two-day session not to be washed away in pandemonium,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

    On reports that he met BJP leader Ashish Shelar on Saturday, Raut said “the more such rumours spread, the stronger the MVA alliance will become”.

    “We may have political and ideological differences, but if we come face-to-face at public functions, we will cordially greet each other. I have had coffee with Shelar openly,” the Sena’s chief spokesperson said.

    To a query on the state government planning to bring a resolution in the legislature opposing three central farm laws, Raut said if the MVA is proposing such a resolution, it means all the three allies are in support of the resolution.

    NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik on Saturday said the state government will pass a resolution during the monsoon session against the three central farm laws.

    Farmers have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November 2020 with their demands that the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee minimum support price for crops.

  • District panchayat chief polls: Party-backed candidates won 67 of 75 seats, claims Uttar Pradesh BJP

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW:  The Uttar Pradesh BJP has claimed that the party-backed candidates won 67 of 75 seats of the district panchayat chief, the voting for which was held on Saturday.

    State BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh told reporters that the success of the party was due to the welfare policies initiated by its government and the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

    “The BJP+ (BJP and its allies) has won 67 out of 75 seats of zila panchayat chairpersons. For these unprecedented results, I thank the people of the state and hardworking party workers,” he said in a Hindi tweet.

    The polling for the seats had begun at 11 am and continued till 3 pm.

    Meanwhile, a video surfaced on social media, in which former Samajwadi Party MP from Chandauli Ramkishun Yadav can be seen falling at the feet of members of a zila panchayat, allegedly to seek votes for his nephew, prompting UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi to take a jibe at his party.

    In a Hindi tweet, Tripathi said, “Those (SP) who fled in the past elections were seen falling at the feet of voters and begging for votes. This took place on Friday night.”

    SP MLC Ashutosh Sinha said Yadav only touched the feet of independent voters.

    “Tej Narayan Yadav is the nephew of Ramkishun Yadav. Tej Narayan is supported by the SP for the post of the zila panchayat chairperson,” he told PTI.

    Chairpersons of 22 zila panchayats were declared elected unopposed on Tuesday.

    Of these, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed to have won 21 seats.

    ALSO READ: BSP’s decision to not contest in Zila Panchayat polls may help BJP in Uttar Pradesh

    The state Election Commission did not announce the party affiliation of the winning candidates.

    The panchayat polls or those for district panchayat chiefs are not held on a party symbol but candidates enjoy the tacit support of various parties.

    The districts where zila panchayat chairpersons won unopposed are Saharanpur, Bahraich, Etawah, Chitrakoot, Agra, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Moradabad, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Banda, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Mau, Varanasi, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur.

    Zila panchayat chiefs are elected from among the elected members of zila panchayats.

    The four-phase panchayat polls concluded in the state last month.

    On Monday, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati had said her party has decided not to contest the zila panchayat chief elections as it wants to channel its energy on strengthening the organisation before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls next year.

    The BSP president asserted that the people of the state want her party to form the next government.

    Once the BSP forms its government in the state, the majority of the zila panchayat chairman themselves will join the BSP as they cannot function without power.

    We have kept this fact in mind and so decided not to contest the election, she had said.

  • WATCH | In dig at govt, Opposition leaders share Vajpayee’s 1973 petrol price hike protest video

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: In an apparent dig at the Centre over the rising fuel prices, some Opposition leaders on Saturday shared video footage from 1973 in which then Jan Sangh leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee is seen arriving in Parliament on a bullock cart to “protest an increase of 7 paise in petrol prices”.

    Petrol price on Friday crossed the Rs 100-per-litre-mark in Chennai as well as in some places in Punjab and Kerala after fuel prices were hiked yet again.

    Petrol is priced at over Rs 99 a litre in Delhi and Kolkata — the only metro cities which haven’t seen the Rs 100 mark yet.

    ALSO READ: Petrol soars past record Rs 105 in Malkangiri as fuel prices skyrocket in Odisha

    Sharing Vajpayee’s footage from 1973 in which the former prime minister and then Jan Sangh leader is seen reaching the Parliament in a bullock cart, senior Congress leader Tharoor tweeted, “Rare footage from 1973 of an opposition protest when petrol prices were raised by seven Paise.”

    “Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived in Parliament on a bullock cart (which would not be possible today with the new security restrictions on vehicle entry into the complex!),” he said.

    Rare footage from 1973 of an opposition protest when petrol prices were raised by seven Paise. Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived in Parliament on a bullock cart (which would not be possible today with the new security restrictions on vehicle entry into the complex!) pic.twitter.com/1hd97kgoMG
    — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 3, 2021

    Sharing the same video which he said he received on WhatsApp, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien tweeted, “History. Ouch. When petrol prices were increased by a few paisa (7 paisa?) in 1973, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had travelled to #Parliament on a bullock cart in protest.”

    Aam Aadmi Party Delhi MLA Somnath Bharti said that in 1973, Vajpayee travelled in a bullock cart to Parliament to oppose an increase of 7 paise in petrol prices, and added “those were the days”.

    Petrol price was hiked by 35 paise per litre on Friday but there was no change in diesel rates, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

    Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.

    For this reason, petrol has crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in some places in Punjab and all over Kerala.

    Jalandhar in Punjab has the fuel priced at Rs 100.22 a litre while it costs Rs 101.14 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

  • ‘Blot on democracy’: TMC on BJP ruckus in Bengal Assembly during Governor’s address

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress hit out at the BJP on Saturday for creating ruckus during Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s inaugural address to the newly constituted assembly.

    Addressing a press conference, TMC’s Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said the opposition party’s actions in the House on Friday were a “blot on democracy”.

    “Listening to the governor’s address does not tantamount to one blindly supporting everything in it. It is courtesy. One can certainly vent his objection to the address in the reply speech,” he said.

    The opening session of the newly-constituted West Bengal assembly got off to a stormy start as the governor was forced to cut short his speech amid ruckus by the opposition BJP MLAs who took offence after finding “no mention” of post- poll violence in the address.

    Roy alleged that the BJP was conspiring to divide Bengal, urging people to thwart any such attempt.

    He also reiterated the demand for by-elections to the seven assembly seats in the state at the earliest.

    “The Election Commission went ahead with polling despite the spike in COVID-19 cases in April, and now that the positivity rate has gone down so much, why can’t the by- elections be held?” he asked.

    Roy said the Trinamool Congress would soon reach out to President Ramnath Kovind, demanding the dismissal of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta over his alleged meeting with the state’s Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

  • Rafale deal: Rahul Gandhi used as ‘pawn’ by rival firms, BJP alleges as Congress attacks govt

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP alleged on Saturday that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being used as a “pawn” by rival defence companies and claimed that he and his party keep raking up allegations of corruption in the Rafale deal in an attempt to “weaken” India.

    At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra also played down the appointment of a judge in France to lead a judicial investigation into the alleged corruption and favouritism in the Rs 59,000 crore deal, saying the development was outcome of a complaint by an NGO and should not be seen as a matter of corruption.

    This is akin to a competent authority in India writing down in a file that “please act accordingly” when a matter is brought before him, Patra said and accused the Congress of spreading lies and misconceptions over the issue.

    The Congress has become synonymous with spreading lies and misconceptions, he said.

    “The way Rahul Gandhi is behaving, it will not be an exaggeration to say that he is being used as a pawn by competing companies. He has been lying right from the beginning on the issue.

    “Probably, he is acting as an agent or some member of Gandhi family has been for a competing company,” Patra alleged.

    The Congress has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal, saying it is the only way forward to find the truth about “corruption” in the purchase of the fighter jets.

    The Congress’ demand came after French investigative website Mediapart reported that a French judge has been appointed to lead a “highly sensitive” judicial investigation into alleged “corruption and favouritism” in the Rs 59,000 crore Rafale fighter jet deal with India.

    Patra cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report and a Supreme Court (SC) verdict, both of which had found nothing wrong in the defence deal between the Indian and French governments, to reject allegations of the Congress.

    The government won a judicial verdict as well as an electoral verdict, he said in reference to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in which the BJP notched up a massive victory with the Congress making the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal as a key plank of its campaign against the Modi government.

    The BJP spokesperson noted that the Supreme Court had in its verdict in November 2019 said that there can’t be a roving and fishing enquiry pertaining to the Rafale allegations, and accused Gandhi of going on another “fishing expedition” with his party attacking the government.

    The SC had made these remarks while rejecting a plea to review its December 2018 decision to reject a plea for a court-monitored probe into the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft.

    Gandhi is trying to weaken India, Patra alleged.

    He also cited a number of allegations levelled by Gandhi, including his attributions to former French president Francois Hollande and incumbent Emmanuel Macron to back his charge of corruption against the Modi government, and noted that both French leaders had immediately denied making such comments.

    Gandhi also had to tender an apology to the Supreme Court for wrongly claiming that the top court has agreed that “chowkidar chor hai” (watchman is thief), a pet slogan of the Congress leader against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the 2019 polls.

    Patra alleged that as the Gandhi family had received no commission in the Rafale deal, its party had been levelling these allegations.

    The Congress is also using the issue to diver attention from political instability hitting its governments in Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, he claimed.