News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Ramanagar’s BJP MLA ‘missing’ amid COVID crisis, claim posters in UP’s Barabanki

    By PTI
    BARABANKI: Some posters surfaced here claiming that the BJP’s Ramnagar MLA has gone missing amid the coronavirus crisis and announced a reward of Rs 1,000 in cash if someone tells about his whereabouts.

    BJP MLA Sharad Awasthi dismissed the allegations levelled against him in the posters that surfaced at Adra village and blamed the Samajwadi Party for it.

    The posters read that anyone providing information about the MLA will be given Rs 1,000 in cash.

    The posters also said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLA did not help people at Adra village.

    The village is facing a number of problems and when villagers went to meet the MLA at his residence, he did not meet them, the posters said.

    Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, the MLA claimed that he has visited his constituency 10 times after the Lok Sabha elections.

    On the posters, Awasthi said some days ago, a dispute had taken place over the construction of a drain at Adra village.

    Owing to his engagement in the COVID relief work, he could not reach the spot and people out of anger put up posters against him.

  • Modi government harrassing IYC chief Srinivas BV for helping those in need: Congress

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of resorting to “raid raaj” after police questioned its youth wing chief Srinivas B V on distribution of oxygen and medicines to COVID-19 affected, even as the BJP insisted that activists across parties were being questioned due to a court order.

    The Delhi Police’s Crime Branch questioned Srinivas about the assistance being provided by him, and a senior official said it was done as per a May 4 Delhi High Court order.

    The court had directed police to examine instances of politicians allegedly procuring and distributing Remdesivir here and take steps for lodging of FIR in case of offence.

    As the Congress questioned the police action, BJP’s Amit Malviya said, “Delhi Crime Branch, pursuant to a court order, is questioning activists across parties, who were arranging help for people in need, on the source of supplies when citizens, even some hospitals were struggling.

    Only those with a history of hoarding and bootlegging are complaining.

    ” Earlier, the Congress had termed as political drama the questioning of Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas and asked the Modi government to fulfil “raaj dharma” instead of resorting to “raid raaj”.

    “The one who saves is always greater than the one takes it,” former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi using the hashtag ‘IStandWithIYC’.

    Its chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference that the Congress will neither be “cowed down” nor “bow down”, and will continue to serve and help people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “This is clearly a political drama, which is aimed at threatening and stopping all those who are trying to help others in need.

    It is the duty of all Indians today to oppose such raids,” he told reporters.

    Surjewala said at a time when people are craving for help all over the country, the government is wasting its time by indulging in “raid raaj” instead of helping the people.

    “By raiding the IYC chief, PM (Narendra) Modi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah have done a shameful act,” he said, asserting that “even foreign embassies are asking for oxygen and help from the IYC”.

    Taking a jibe at the government over its duties towards people, IYC president Srinivas tweeted, “Their (IYC) work is to spread love where ever it reaches.”

    BJP sources said its MP Gautam Gambhir was also approached by police.

    In a tweet, Gambhir said, “Opposition should not indulge in needless politicisation of due process.

    Delhi Police has asked for a reply from us and we have provided all details.

    I will keep serving Delhi and its people to the best of my abilities always!” The Congress, though, was categorical in blaming the government.

    The entire country is congratulating the works done by the Congress, but this “cruel” government is trying to strangle those who are helping others, Surjewala said.

    “When IYC is helping people, Modi and Shah are misusing the Delhi Police by raiding the IYC and is snatching away the help offered by it to those in need. Does the Delhi Police not want that people be helped by the Congress,” he asked.

    The government has shown its dangerous face by “raiding” Indian Youth Congress workers and its chief Srinivas, he said.

    “This is not raj dharma, this is raid dharma that Modi-Shah, and their puppet police are raiding and harassing Congress and youth Congress workers,” the spokesperson said.

    “If helping others and providing life-saving medicines is an offence, we will do this offence again and again and are ready to go to jail,” Surejwala asserted.

    Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted, “Was it a crime to help people when people were losing their lives because of lack of oxygen, hospital beds and medicines.”

    “It is our religion to help the people of the country in difficult times and this also the ideology of the country. I am proud of our youth wing,” she said.

    “If helping someone in need is now a crime, I will commit it again and again.

    To my mind it’s a far greater crime to silently watch and do nothing while people die desperately searching for medicine and gasping for air,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

    Surjewala asked whether the high court had asked for registering an FIR or raid the premises of the IYC.

    The Congress leader also questioned if the Delhi Police has conducted similar raids on BJP or RSS workers and their offices.

    Surjewala said the police could have given a notice of investigation, but not raid the premises without permission.

    “This is a conspiracy to humiliate them and I strongly condemn it,” he said, asking whose job is it to stop black marketing of essential drugs and medicines.

    Surjewala also said the Congress will go to people’s court rather than the high court as it has not committed any crime.

  • Dhankhar vs Trinamool: Bengal Governor visits Assam camp sheltering people affected by post-poll violence

    By PTI
    DHUBRI: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday visited a camp in Assam’s Ranpagli, where several families claiming to be BJP supporters have taken shelter after they had allegedly faced atrocities at the hands of ruling Trinamool Congress workers following the assembly elections.

    Accompanied by Nisith Pramanik, the BJP MP from Cooch Behar in north Bengal, Dhankhar went to the camp in Assam’s Dhubri district and interacted with the people, including women and children, who have taken refuge there.

    People at the shelter claimed to have fled their homes in Bengal after the poll results were out on May 2.

    They also alleged that their houses were “ransacked by Trinamool Congress goons”.

    The West Bengal governor travelled to the camp at Ranpagli by road from Cooch Behar as his helicopter could not take off owing to bad weather condition.

    Dhankhar had on Thursday visited various places in Cooch Behar and met people who were allegedly affected by the post-poll violence.

    He was shown black flags at Sitalkuchi, where four villagers died after firing by central forces during the elections, while “go back” slogans were raised at Dinhata during his visit to the district.

    The run-up to his visit was marked by a war of words between the governor and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

    The chief minister on Wednesday wrote to him claiming that his visit to the post-poll violence-affected Cooch Behar district violates norms, while Dhankhar hit back saying he was discharging duties mandated by the Constitution.

    He wrote back saying that he has been following the Constitution since taking oath as the governor and his visit to Cooch Behar was to share the pain and agony of the people suffering from the post-poll violence.

  • Politics during pandemic: War of words between Congress, BJP over Rajasthan’s COVID situation

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Thursday said COVID-19 vaccination in the state is being affected due to the shortage of doses.

    He said the state government had placed an order for about 3.75 crore doses with the Serum Institute of India (SII) but had only received 6.75 lakh in the first 12 days of the month.

    Sharma said Rajasthan needs 20 lakh doses for immediate immunisation.

    Vaccination of people in the 18-44 age group and those above 45 years is being affected due to the shortage of doses, he said.

    About 2.09 crore people in the state are above 45 years.

    Accordingly, more than 4 crore doses are required.

    If there is 10 per cent vaccine wastage, then about 4.5 crore doses are needed for this age group, he said.

    However, due to the erratic supply of vaccines, the health minister said, only 1.45 crore people across age groups have been inoculated in the state.

    This number includes both first and second doses.

    Sharma said Rajasthan has developed the capacity to administer up to seven lakh vaccines per day.

    As a result, 80 per cent of the people above 60 years have been given the first dose and about 33 per cent have been given the second dose.

    In the 45-60 age group, 64.4 per cent of the people have been given the first dose and 27.4 per cent have been given the second dose.

    The Centre is fully responsible for the vaccination of people over 45 years.

    However, the vaccine supply is not being expedited even for this age group, he alleged.

    Sharma said there are more than 3 crore people in the 18-44 age group in the state.

    Therefore, an order for about 3.75 crore doses has been placed with the SII.

    In the first 12 days of May, only 6.5 lakh vaccine doses were received from the SII.

    Due to this, the pace of vaccination is slow at most of the vaccination sites in the state, he said.

    The health department has again spoken to the company officials for the delivery of more than 8 lakh doses but the situation is not clear so far, he added.

    Sharma said that Bharat Biotech has also been approached by the government but it is also unable to supply vaccine doses.

    The minister also expressed concern over the rising number of black fungus cases among COVID-19 patients recovering from the disease.

    Sharma said the state government is cautious about it and instructions have been issued for the purchase of injections used for the treatment of the infection.

    The black fungus infection, also known as mucormycosis, is caused by a fungus called mucor.

    Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday demanded the Union Health Ministry thoroughly investigate the purchase of defective ventilators made available through the PM CARES Fund.

    “The Centre had made 1,900 ventilators available to the state from the PM Cares Fund. It was responsible for the installation and maintenance of these ventilators. According to doctors, many of these ventilators have technical shortcomings due to which using them can prove to be dangerous for patients,” Gehlot said in a statement.

    He further said, “The doctors said that there is a pressure drop problem in these ventilators. These ventilators shut down after working for 1-2 hours continuously. There is a problem of sudden decrease in PIO2, failure of oxygen sensor and compressor.”

    He said Dr Lakhan Poswal, Principal of Medical College, Udaipur, had also raised the problem posed by these ventilators in the COVID review meeting held on April 5.

    Apart from Rajasthan, different problems in these ventilators have also been reported in the media in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

    The Chief Minister said two letters were written by the Government of Rajasthan at the secretary level and one letter at the ministerial level to the Centre to make them aware of the problem of these ventilators and to get them fixed at the earliest.

    He said that for the maintenance of all ventilators in Rajasthan, the company appointed by the Centre had informed they would send 11 members, but only 6 people are working here.

    They went to fix ventilators on the complaint but due to lack of experience, they are unable to fix it and doctors are not satisfied, the CM lamented.

    He said the Union Health Ministry should investigate how such poor ventilators were procured as these can threaten the lives of patients.

    He also expressed concern over the occurrence of black fungus infection among recovered COVID-19 patients and said the Centre should take it seriously.

    The black fungus infection, also known as mucormycosis, is caused by a fungus called mucor.

    “It is very worrying to see cases of mucormycosis disease among patients who have recovered from coronavirus in various states of the country, including Rajasthan. It has been learnt that this disease is affecting diabetics who have recovered from coronavirus more,” Gehlot said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

    “The Centre should take it seriously and conduct research to prevent it. Also, medicines and injections needed for the prevention and treatment of this disease such as amphotericin should be arranged so that there is no shortage,” he said.

    Earlier this month, Niti Aayog member (health) V K Paul had ruled out an outbreak of COVID-triggered mucormycosis and said that the situation was being monitored.

    In another tweet, Gehlot said instead of states, the Centre should have issued global tenders for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines amid a shortage in India.

    “So far, 11 states have issued global tenders to purchase vaccines owing to the shortage of vaccines in the country. Due to this, states will get vaccines at different prices,” the chief minister said.

    It would have been good if the Centre had issued global tenders and made vaccines available to the states in a planned manner, he said.

    Hitting back at Gehlot, Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia on Thursday accused Congress government in the state of mismanagement during the COVID-19 crisis.

    “The Congress government has been long trying to hide its shortcomings, weaknesses and incapabilities by blaming the Centre,” he said in a virtual press conference.

    “The Centre is ready to develop all facilities in Rajasthan, from oxygen to Remdesivir injections to ventilator. and is doing so. Despite this, Congress leaders are weakening people’s morale through their blatant statements,” he said.

    Poonia requested Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to “follow the spirit of cooperative federalism” in the fight against corona.

    Referring to a letter written by BJP National President JP Nadda to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, he said that during the pandemic, the opposition should have played a positive role in the country, by building confidence and boosting people’s morale.

    He further said that through the helplines run by BJP, people and the government were getting help with oxygen and Remdesivir injections.

    The pandemic on Thursday claimed 159 lives in Rajasthan which registered 15,867 more coronavirus positive cases, taking the total fatality toll to 6,317 and infections to 8,21,525.

    Jaipur reported the highest number of 47 deaths followed by Jodhpur where as many as 15 people died, an official health bulletin said on Thursday.

    Bikaner reported 13 deaths followed by Udaipur (12), Sikar (11), Alwar (10), the statement said, adding fatalities were also reported from other districts of the state.

    Of the fresh positive cases, a maximum of 4,099 cases was reported from Jaipur while 1,074 and 997 persons tested positive in Udaipur and Jodhpur respectively.

    A total of 6,03,319 persons have recovered from infection and the number of active cases at present is 2,11,889.

  • Visva-Bharati announces lecture on reasons of BJP’s defeat in Bengal polls, cancels later

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: A virtual lecture on the reasons behind the BJP’s setback in the West Bengal assembly polls, to be organised by Visva-Bharati university next week, was cancelled hours after it was announced on Wednesday, varsity sources said.

    The lecture, “Why BJP failed to win West Bengal Assembly Elections” by Niti Aayog Joint Advisor Prof Sanjay Kumar, was part of the Visva-Bharati Lecture Series and Vice- Chancellor Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty was scheduled to preside over the programme.

    A notice inviting people to attend the lecture to be held at 4 pm on May 18 via Zoom platform was posted on the central university’s website earlier in the day.

    However, the authorities withdrew the notice, a copy of which is with PTI, from the website in the afternoon, sources said.

    A brief message – “Due to some unavoidable circumstances, this 35th lecture is treated to be as cancelled for the time being” – had been later added to the notice which is also not available on the website now.

    Visva-Bharati officials are not available for comment on the issue.

    The decision to hold a lecture on such a political issue by the university founded by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore did not go down well with a section of the ashramites and the faculty.

    Veteran ashramite and Tagore family descendant Supriyo Tagore said, “Such blatantly political discourse should not be held in an institution like Visva Bharati associated with the ideals of Rabindranath.”

    Tagore founded Visva-Bharati in 1921 and it became a central university in 1951, 10 years after the bard’s death.

    A member of Left-leaning Visva Bharati University Faculty Association said, “The lecture on finding the reasons behind the BJP’s defeat by a Niti Aayog official would have compromised Visva-Bharati’s image as a liberal, independent institution.”

    The lecture showed the political leanings of the present management of the university, he claimed, saying that it is good that the programme was cancelled.

    In the West Bengal assembly election, the BJP bagged 77 seats while the Trinamool Congress secured a landslide victory winning 213 of the 292 constituencies that went to polls.

    Election was countermanded in two seats due to the death of candidates.

  • BJP trying to make COVID issue political to hide its failures: Congress

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday hit back at BJP chief JP Nadda for accusing the party of playing politics on COVID-19 and said it is the BJP which is trying to make the issue political to hide its failures.

    Congress senior spokesperson Ajay Maken said it is not just the Congress which is attacking the government over its handling of the pandemic, but leading journals and experts have also criticised it.

    He said this issue is not political, and it is not a Congress versus BJP issue but a government versus opposition one.

    Nadda earlier wrote to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and accused the party of playing politics, misleading people and creating false panic in the fight against COVID-19.

    Nadda in his four-page letter to Gandhi also alleged that the conduct of its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, during the pandemic will be remembered for “duplicity and pettiness”.

    Hitting back, Maken said the top Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, and Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, have been giving constructive and positive suggestions to the government in letters to the prime minister.

    “What we are doing is not political. The former prime minister, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have given constructive suggestions to the PM. This is not a political issue, it is a government versus opposition issue and not one party versus the other one.

    ALSO READ | BJP leaders pass the buck to states to save ‘Brand Modi’ from pandemic fury

    “The BJP is trying to make this entire thing political as they are trying to divert attention from their failures. Government of India has completely failed in managing the pandemic,” he told reporters at a virtual press conference. Maken said the manner in which the BJP president wrote to Sonia Gandhi was shameful and full of arrogance, while noting that they expected their suggestions to be taken care of.

    “Unfortunately, Nadda’s reply is full of arrogance. It does not behove of him to write like this,” he said.

    Maken cited ‘The Lancet’ which said the Modi government has to own up its failures and termed it a self-inflicted catastrophe.

    @INCIndia Covid relief task force constituted under @ghulamnazad to coordinate relief work @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/iloyQqXzwz
    — richa sharma (@richa_TNIE) May 11, 2021

    He said that ‘The Nature’ journal and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have given suggestions similar to the ones given by Congress leaders.

    “When Nadda ji accuses the Congress, is he also accusing the Lancet, IMA and other experts who have criticised the Modi government on the pandemic? Please shed this arrogance and wake up after admitting your mistakes.

    We want you to help people and save their lives in the pandemic,” Maken said.

    “The question is you are doing politics, not us, because not just the opposition parties but also science journals, IMA and experts are accusing you,” he said.

    Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge in a tweet said, “Sri @JPNadda ji, I am not surprised that you still haven’t got out of the habit of blaming @INCIndia for everything, inspite of @BJP4India being at helm of affairs for over 7 years.”

    “Nadda ji, @INCIndia state governments have already announced free vaccines for everyone above 18 years of age. However, it is disheartening that the BJP government isn’t using the Rs 35k allocated by Parliament to make vaccines free for all. People have the right to know,” he said.

    Kharge said India won’t forget that while people struggled to breathe, the prime minister was busy with rallies and building a palace for himself and added that “Nadda ji, instead of writing letters to the @INCIndia president, please tender an apology to India and lend an ear to their pleas!” He said that instead of channelling resources to bring India out of the deep crisis, the BJP government exported vaccines, refused to club election phases and allowed super-spreader events.

    The Congress leader claimed that damage control was done, not to save people but to save BJP’s image.

    Congress leader P Chidambaram also said, “Instead of writing an ill-informed letter to the Congress president, BJP president JP Nadda may read the guest column in the New York Times on May 6, 2021.”

    “The authors are not Congress members. Their names may ring a bell in JP Nadda. Dr Abhijit Banerjee and Dr Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize winners,” he said, citing their article ‘India’s coronavirus problem is now the world’s problem’ in New York Times.

    Maken said the Congress was trying to put the government on the right path, but it was ridiculing senior Congress leaders who were giving suggestions.

    Asked what an all-party meeting would achieve, he said going by Congress’ vast administrative experience, they would be able to put their suggestions on the table.

    The Congress leader also questioned the prime minister and the BJP chief on the bodies found floating in the Ganga river.

    He alleged that the BJP government still did not repent the manner in which they handled the pandemic and failed the people of the country.

    Maken also said that with only over 12 lakh people vaccinated in the last 24 hours, it would still take three years and eight months to vaccinate all 90 crore adults in the country.

    He said the UK has already given an order of 6 crore doses by June 2020, US for 10 crore doses in July 2020, and added that India gave its first order as late as in January 2021, while it continued to export 6 crore doses abroad.

    “I want to ask PM Modi, JP Nadda, the BJP and its government whether the country will remain under lockdown till 3.8 years when all will be vaccinated. Is this the preparation you have done for vaccination,” he asked.

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  • BJP MP Varun Gandhi donates 100 oxygen cylinders to Pilibhit administration

    By PTI
    PILIBHIT: BJP’s Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi on Tuesday handed over 100 oxygen cylinders to the district administration, a statement issued here said.

    In the statement, Varun also claimed that he is willing to pledge his property to help the people suffering due to the COVID pandemic.

    Gandhi said a few days ago, he had promised the people of Pilibhit that he would send 100 big cylinders to help them and he fulfilled his promise.

    This consignment of oxygen was arranged through his own efforts and was funded by him, the statement said.

    The MP said people of Pilibhit district are his family and he will put in his all strength in the fight against the pandemic.

    “I am ready to pledge my property to help people in this crisis,” he said.

    With Telangana deciding to impose #lockdown from May 12, here’s the updated list of states that have implemented complete to partial lockdown to curb #COVID19. @gsvasu_TNIE pic.twitter.com/WpY7dV2HXN
    — The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) May 11, 2021

  • Testing lab should be in local level, BJP demands from Chief Minister

    After investigation of Kovid-19 in the city and village, Raipur is sent for test. Due to this there is a delay in coming the investigation report and the rates of infection and death are increasing. Because during the period of the test report, positive incoming patient comes in contact with many people and the infection gets progressed further. Drawing attention to the same problem, BJP leader and former Municipal Corporation Chairman Rajendra Sharma and BJP District Treasurer Chetan Hinduja have demanded Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Health Minister TS Sihdev. He said that testing lab should be made available at the local level, which will also be convenient for the nearby connectivity districts and will also be the initial and ground preparation for possible corona infection. Rajendra Sharma said that if the system will be provided by developing any place in the city, then it will definitely be free from the pressure of testing and reliance there in the Raipur Rajdhani, with quick report transition as well as time saving economic burden Will be less. Chetan Hinduja said that the rapid availability of testing reports is the only strong and meaningful initiative to curb the rising incidence of infection. Significantly, positive messages are being received after many patients are severely afflicted and after death, which is an important wall to prevent Kovid-19 infection.

  • ‘Congress misleading people, will be remembered for duplicity and pettiness’: Nadda hits out at Sonia

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday accused the Congress of misleading people and creating false panic in the fight against COVID-19, and alleged that the conduct of its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, during the pandemic will be remembered for “duplicity and pettiness”.

    Nadda wrote a four-page letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a day after the Congress Working Committee, the apex body of the opposition party, hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the handling of the coronavirus crisis.

    The BJP president also accused Congress leaders, including a chief minister, of trying to actively create vaccine hesitancy during the “once-in-a-century” pandemic.

    Lauding the work of healthcare personnel, he said, “You must ask yourselves – in times as these, is your party’s (Congress) conduct weakening the morale of these COVID-warriors? Deliberately or otherwise, are your actions trying to weaken this fight against COVID-19? Deliberately or otherwise, are your actions trying to weaken this fight against COVID-19?” Under Modi, the fight against the pandemic is driven by unwavering belief in science, support to innovation, trust in COVID warriors and cooperative federalism, he said.

    Nadda said he is saddened but not surprised by the conduct of the Congress during these challenging times.

    The CWC had said that Modi must “atone for his mistakes” and serve the people instead of carrying on with his “personal agenda” oblivious to the sufferings all around.

    The BJP president also hit back over the criticism of his party for holding big poll rallies in April even as COVID cases surged across the nation and also of the ongoing construction of the Central Vista project.

    The Congress is doing no favours to itself by opposing lockdowns and then demanding it, he said, accusing it of “ignoring” the Centre’s advisories on the second wave of COVID-19.

    Congress leaders, he said, held massive election rallies in Kerala causing a spike in the COVID cases and are now “grandstanding” about poll rallies elsewhere.

    “Even when the second wave was on the rise, your party leaders were happier being seen in super spreader political events in north India, where there was no regard for masks or social distancing. This is not the era when such information can be erased from public memory,” he said.

    Hitting back at the Congress over the CWC criticism that the Centre had abdicated its responsibility on the vaccination and left the matter to states, Nadda wondered if there is so much gap between the party and its leaders in power in some states as he noted that its top functionaries in April had called for decentralisation of the inoculation programme.

    The Centre has so far distributed 16 crore vaccines to states and 50 per cent of them are being provided even now free of cost, he said, and asked Gandhi if the states where her party is in power will also give free jabs to people as those ruled by the BJP and its allies have done.

    The Modi government has engaged with all stakeholders, including chief Ministers, in fighting the pandemic and former prime minister Deve Gowda has also acknowledged that, he said.

    The poor have been Modi’s priority with the Centre ensuring food and DBT (direct benefit transfer) distribution, he said.

    While acknowledging that a few Congress members are doing commendable work in helping people like other several other selfless citizens, Nadda said their hardwork gets eclipsed by the consistent negativity spread by the more senior members of the opposition party.

    “One would wish that while India is fighting COVID+19 with utmost courage, the top echelons of the Congress would stop misleading people, creating false panic and even contradicting their stands just based on political considerations,” he said.

    With the Congress blaming the BJP government for mishandling the crisis, Nadda wrote to Gandhi, “There are other aspects that also need greater thought. For instance, the data from February and March would reveal which states failed to track the rising cases. Why are mortality rates in states such as Punjab so high? These are questions you must ask your own Chief Ministers.”

    Defending the ongoing Central Vista project, he said there is a “new trend” in the Congress to put all the blame on this.

    The need for a new Parliament building was raised during the Congress-led UPA time with the then Speaker Meira Kumar underscoring the need for this, he said, noting that Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has addressed queries regarding it.

    “Yet, the Congress does not believe in facts. People are also contrasting the Congress’ stand on Central Vista with the Chhattisgarh Government going ahead to build a new assembly complex,” Nadda added.

  • Former Tripura CM Manik Sarkar alleges attack on CPM delegates by BJP hooligans

    By PTI
    AGARTALA: Leader of the Opposition in Tripura Manik Sarkar on Monday alleged that hooligans patronised by the ruling BJP in the state had attacked CPI-M delegates when they visited the house of party supporters at Shantirbazar in South Tripura district.

    The police, however, claimed that unidentified youths had thrown stones but none was injured.

    Sarkar, also CPI-M Politburo member and former chief minister, said the delegates had gone to the houses of party supporters who were allegedly attacked by BJP goons on Wednesday when they were celebrating the birth anniversary of social thinker Karl Marx before a CPI-M party office.

    The delegates were led by Sarkar and the others were the Deputy Leader of opposition, Badal Chowdhury and others.

    The BJP hoodlums showed them black flags and chanted slogans ‘Go back Sarkar’.

    The police allegedly asked the delegates to return in view of the situation.

    When the delegates were returning to the main roads , the attackers brickbatted them, he said.

    Nirupam Datta, the subdivisional police officer of Shantirbazar said none was injured in the incident and the police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the attackers and provide protection to the CPI-M delegates.

    Sarkar alleged that the state director general of police was informed of the CPI-M leaders’ visit in advance but still they were attacked.

    “It was a pre-planned attack, which could not have been possible without the indulgence from the state leadership.

    The law and order had collapsed in the state and attacks on CPI-M party workers are increasing day by day, he said.

    Tripura Education Minister and cabinet spokesperson, Ratan Lal Nath that the attackers were not BJP workers.

    They are former CPI-M activists, who were deprived and exploited during the 25 year-long misrule of CPI-M.

    They attacked their party leaders in revenge, Nath, who is also a prominent BJP leader told reporters.

    The CPI-M is trying to create panic and “fish in troubled water,” he added.