News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • West Bengal moves SC, seeks universal vaccine drive

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: West Bengal government on Friday has approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to disband phase 3 of the Covid-19 vaccination policy and adopt and implement a uniform policy by doing away with the differential pricing mechanism.“The Government of India must take urgent steps on a war footing basis to ensure that Covid-19 vaccines are made available to the states for free decentralized distribution to the masses without any further delay,” the plea said. For ensuring the same, the Centre should place a single bulk order for Covid-19 vaccines from both domestic and foreign manufacturers to ensure universal coverage at the shortest possible time frame, it was contended.

    The State government further prayed that differential pricing mechanism for Covid-19 vaccines should be set aside and the price for Covid-19 vaccines should be capped at a uniform price of Rs 150 per dose. The current vaccination policy, the application alleged, will lead to an inequitable distribution of vaccines and defeat the very objective of universal coverage, which is crucial for achieving herd immunity. This is because States will be made to compete with each other for obtaining the vaccines. The state government said it had, on April 29, placed orders for 1 crore doses of Covishield vaccines and 1 crore doses of Covaxin to Bharat Biotech at prices of Rs 300 and Rs 600 per dose, respectively.

  • Question mark continues to hang over next Assam CM leaving BJP leaders embarrassed

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The BJP continues to face the chief ministerial conundrum in Assam.

    Five days after the Assembly election results were declared and the CMs of some states took their oath, Assam still does not know who is going to lead the government.

    The BJP has not been able to choose between incumbent CM Sarbananda Sonowal and party strongman Himanta Biswa Sarma. Party’s central leaders JP Nadda and Amit Shah had met in New Delhi on Thursday night, apparently to discuss the matter.

    The uncertainty has left the state leaders embarrassed. They are avoiding phone calls from journalists, for they have no idea when the new government will be installed or who will head it. For the past three days, they have been saying that it will be decided by the party’s Parliamentary Board.

    ALSO READ | Himanta Biswa Sarma: Man of the Match of the Assam elections

    Apart from Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, which is a Union Territory, went to polls. The new government has been installed in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It is delayed in Kerala due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Five days later, Sonowal appeared in public on Friday to monitor the Covid situation.

    Asked about the uncertainty, he told journalists, “It is not a big thing who will become the next CM. The big thing is the protection of the people of Assam from the Covid virus.”

    He said the party’s Parliamentary Board would meet in a day or two and decide the next CM.

    “There will definitely be a government. The Parliamentary Board is meeting in a day or two. It will take the final decision,” Sonowal said.

    However, party MP, Horen Sing Bey claimed the decision has been already made.

    “I learnt the Parliamentary Board has met and taken a decision on the next CM. One or two BJP central observers will visit Assam this evening or tomorrow,” Bey told journalists.

    Over a dozen BJP MLAs loyal to Sarma were seen visiting his residence on Friday. What transpired there was in the realms of speculation. Earlier, at least two BJP MLAs had said on record that one, who is the most efficient, should become the CM.

    The Congress criticised the BJP for allegedly pushing the people into a state of chaos.

    “We need a government which can work on a war-footing to fight Covid. The people of Assam gave them a clear mandate. Now when one minute is precious for us, there is chaos all over in the absence of a government. It is unfortunate that the BJP hasn’t been able to decide on its CM candidate,” state Congress chief Ripun Bora said.

    The BJP-led alliance had retained power by winning 75 of the 126 seats. 

  • Hardeep Puri hits back at Congress for attacking Modi government over Central Vista project

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday hit back at the Congress for attacking the government over its Central Vista redevelopment project, saying the party’s discourse is “bizarre” as its leaders themselves had supported the idea when the UPA was in power.

    The accusation comes hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Narendra Modi government for executing the project, terming it a “criminal wastage”, while asking the dispensation to focus on people’s lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Congress’s discourse on Central Vista is bizarre. Cost of Central Vista is about ?20,000 crore, over several years. GoI has allocated nearly twice that amount for vaccination! India’s healthcare budget for just this year was over Rs 3 lakh crore. We know our priorities,” Puri tweeted.

    In a series of tweets, the Union housing and urban affairs minister, whose ministry is executing the government’s ambitious project, said the Central Vista is not a new project and alleged that during the UPA government, Congress leaders had written about the need for a new parliament.

    “Congress doesn’t stop at hypocrisy. Look at their shameful double face. During UPA, Congress leaders wrote about the need for a new parliament. The Speaker in 2012 wrote a letter to Urban Development Ministry for the same. And now they have the gall to oppose the same project?,” he said.

    “They want to distract people from monumental governance failures in their states by spreading lies. So they indulge in cheap politics despite knowing this project creates direct & indirect employment for thousands of skilled, semi-skilled & unskilled workers in these times,” he alleged in another tweet.

    Puri also accused the Congress and its allies of splurging on reconstructing an MLA hostel in Maharashtra and building a new Legislative Assembly building in Chhattisgarh, adding that “If this is fine, what is the problem with Central Vista?.”

    Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged in a tweet: “Central Vista is criminal wastage. Put people’s lives at the centre- not your blind arrogance to get a new house!.”

    Puri said there are hundreds of projects being executed by various departments and added that governance has not come to a standstill, unlike the Congress’s times of policy paralysis.

    “Central Vista is just another ongoing project. It’s only the Congress that’s obsessed about it, nobody else” Puri said.

    Besides the new Parliament building, the redevelopment of the Central Vista, the nation’s power corridor, envisages a common central secretariat, revamping of the 3-km Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, new Prime Minister’s Residence and Prime Minister’s Office, and a new Vice-President Enclave.

    In another tweet, Puri said only projects for new Parliament building and rejuvenation of Central Vista Avenue have been awarded at an estimated cost of Rs 862 crore and Rs 477 crore respectively till now.

    He also said there are many components in Central Vista project which are spread over several years.

    The work on the new Parliament building and revamping the Rajpath has started.

    The government has set a target of holding the 2022 Republic Day parade on “modernised” Rajpath.

  • Post poll violence: HC asks Mamata government to file affidavit on law and order situation

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: A five-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, taking cognizance of a PIL that claimed life and liberty of people in Bengal are in danger owing to post-poll violence, asked the state government on Friday to file an affidavit in three days, apprising it of the present law and order situation.

    The bench directed advocate general for the state, Kishore Dutta, to specify in the affidavit the names of areas where violence broke out, and the steps taken to prevent or control the same.

    The PIL would be heard again on May 10.

    It was initially taken up by a division bench — comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arijit Banerjee — which then referred it to a larger bench for hearing after lunch recess.

    “Considering the importance (of the PIL) where life and liberty of the people in the state of West Bengal is at stake”, a larger bench comprising five judges was constituted to hear the plea.

    Petitioner Anindya Sundar Das, also a lawyer, has claimed in his plea that lives of people were in danger owing to alleged inaction of the state police force.

    A four-member team of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), tasked with looking into reasons for the post-poll violence in West Bengal, on Thursday held a meeting with top state government officials and visited families affected by the skirmishes, sources said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that 16 people have lost their lives in post-poll violence in various parts of the state.

    The BJP has alleged that TMC-backed goons have killed a number of its workers, attacked women members, vandalised houses and looted shops.

    Rejecting the charges, Banerjee said that violence and clashes were taking place in those areas where saffron party candidates emerged victorious in the assembly polls.

    Led by an additional secretary of the MHA, the team visited the state secretariat and held over an hour-long meeting with the chief secretary, home secretary and the director general of police, officials said.

    To assess the ground situation, the central team also visited places in South 24 Parganas district’s Sonarpur and Bhatpara in North 24 Parganas district, which witnessed post- poll violence.

    In Sonarpur, the team members spoke to family members of Haran Adhikari, who was killed in the violence, and local people, sources in the state police said.

    Afterwards, the team went to Bhatpara and took stock of the situation following the incidents of violence, they added.

    On Friday, the team would call on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and seek a report on the post-poll violence, officials said.

    The MHA has asked Dhankar to give a report on the law and order situation in the state, particularly the violence that took place following the election results on May 2.

    The ministry had earlier asked the state government to submit a detailed report on the violence, but is yet to receive it, officials said.

    The ministry had on Wednesday sent a terse reminder to the West Bengal government to submit the report.

    Senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim hit out at the Centre for sending teams instead of COVID-19 vaccines.

    “They should send vaccines first, that’s the responsibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are grieved that some people have died, and action will be taken against the culprits.”

    “But, what will happen to the inoculation process which is stalled because of the vaccine crisis?” Hakim said.

    Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan’s car was attacked at Panchkuri village in Paschim Medinipur district on Thursday while he was visiting the area in connection with alleged assault on saffron party workers after the election.

    Muraleedharan claimed in a tweet that the “TMC goons” were behind the attack on his convoy.

    The chief minister, without naming anyone, said that some central ministers are going to villages after the elections are over and accused them of instigating violence.

    Meanwhile, senior TMC leader Udayan Guha was injured in an attack allegedly by BJP activists at Dinhata in Cooch Behar district on Thursday.

    A 22-year-old man died on Wednesday night after alleged TMC workers assaulted him in Purba Bardhaman district when he tried to save his father from their attack on the night of May 4, police said on Thursday.

  • Homemaker stands out amid BJP drubbing in Bengal, readies for MLA stint

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The BJP might have fallen flat on its ambition to rule Bengal, but the party found the most unlikely winner in a 30-year-old homemaker of humble means who scripted a stunning victory, trouncing her nearest TMC rival by a margin of over 4,000 votes.

    A mother of three, newly elected Saltora MLA, Chandana Bauri, who followed in her husband’s footsteps and joined the saffron camp around five years ago, had never imagined she would ever be called upon to represent her constituency.

    As a party worker, she worked every day, cycling her way to various parts of the constituency from her home in Saltora, Bankura district, trying to “strengthen the organisation and ensuring that people in need get requisite help”.

    “I always thought contesting an election involved a lot of money, and that it wasn’t really a possibility, given the fact that we are not well-off.”

    “My husband is a mason, and the little that we save goes into funding my children’s education and meeting our daily expenses. However, when the local BJP leadership wanted to field me from Saltora, I realised that my work would speak for me,” Bauri said.

    Asked what prompted her to take the plunge into electoral politics, the newly elected MLA said “atrocities perpetrated by TMC activists” was a major reason behind her decision to contest the elections.

    “During the last panchayat elections, many from the BJP were not given a chance to file nomination, the legislator said.

    She alleged that party men and women were physically stopped from making an attempt to join the electoral fray and said, “I just wanted to do something to put an end to this anarchy.”

    She also stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welfare initiatives, such as measures taken under Swachh Bharat Mission, were other reasons for her joining the saffron camp.

    Born in a humble family in Barjora area of Bankura, Bauri lost her father just two days before her Class 10 board exams began.

    Her mother did odd jobs to feed the family.

    “My mother weathered many a storm, washed dishes, sold cow dung cakes to eke out a living. I have four more siblings, and she made sure none of us went to bed hungry. She happens to be my inspiration. Women are capable of doing great things. I have learnt that from my mother and grandmother,” she said.

    Bauri, who still lives in a one-room mud hut, also thanked her husband and in-laws for being supportive.

    “I would wake up early, cook food and leave for mandal committee work. My in-laws and relatives, who live nearby, took care of my household when I was away. There are so many people who have helped me in my journey and I cant be grateful enough to them,” she told PTI.

    The BJP MLA said she wanted her children two daughters and a son — to pursue higher education and find jobs that would not just benefit them but touch other people’s lives, too.

    Talking about her plans to develop Saltora, she pointed out that the place still lacks proper roads.

    “I will definitely work towards developing the infrastructure in Saltora. Proper roads and clean drinking water top my list of priorities,” the BJP MLA said.

  • BJP alleges Rs 300 crore scam in revamping of Manora MLA hostel in Mumbai

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Opposition BJP in Maharashtra on Friday alleged a Rs 300 crore scam in the redevelopment of Manora MLA hostel in south Mumbai, citing that the project cost had increased by 66 per cent in two years.

    In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, BJP legislator Atul Bhatkalkar demanded to know why the contract for redeveloping the hostel at Rs 600 crore was scrapped and reworked at Rs 900 crore.

    “How was there a cost escalation of Rs 300 crore in two years? Who is the beneficiary of this Rs 300 crore scam?” he asked.

    Bhatkalkar demanded that the contract be scrapped and a thorough probe be conducted in the entire matter.

    The BJP MLA also threatened to file a complaint in this regard with the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).

    The earlier Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra had signed an MoU with the Central government’s National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) for the project at Rs 600 crore, Bhatkalkar said.

    “If the government fails to scrap the project, the BJP will launch an agitation,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “Manora could have been repaired. However, under the Fadnavis government, the repair work was embroiled in scam. The decision to revamp the hostel was taken by the BJP government in 2018, and the NBCC appointed by them demolished the structure in 2019.”

    This delay had cost the state government more than Rs 700 crore, as each month around Rs 3.5 crore is being paid to MLAs, who don’t have a home in Mumbai (even BJP MLAs are paid Rs 1 lakh each), he said.

    The state government had last year entrusted the redevelopment of the hostel situated in Nariman Point to the Public Works Department.

  • ‘Lacked grace, degraded CM’s chair’: BJP slams Hemant Soren for his dig at PM Modi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: BJP leaders on Friday reacted angrily to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of lacking the basic courtesy expected of a person holding his office and lowering its dignity.

    Following Modi’s telephonic conversation with Soren over the COVID-19 situation in his state, the Jharkhand chief minister, in a tweet, Thursday night had taken a dig at the PM, saying he only spoke “Mann ki Baat” and that it would have been better if he had discussed business.

    Attacking the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh reacted to his tweet, “This is the level to which some politicians are stooping. PM calls & has detailed talk regarding COVID-19 crisis & this CM tweets so. Lacks minimum grace required for the position he holds.”

    BJP MP and party chief spokesperson Anil Baluni also targeted Soren, saying he has neither knowledge of the country’s federal structure nor does he appreciate basic courtesy.

    People should not suffer for your wrong policies, he said, adding that Soren may leave them to their fate but the Modi government is always with them.

    Assam BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said Soren’s tweet goes against the basic decorum and also mocks people’s suffering as Modi had called up to enquire about them.

    “You have behaved in a very petty way. You have lowered the dignity of the chief minister’s chair,” Sarma said.

    Modi had on Thursday spoken to the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana besides Jharkhand about the COVID-19 situation in their states.

    Soren later tweeted, “Today the respected Prime Minister called. He only spoke his ‘Mann Ki Baat’. It would have been better if he had talked business and heard the issues.”

    Jharkhand government sources said Soren was unhappy as he could not present the issues concerning his state before Modi and instead it was only the prime minister who talked about the situation.

  • BJP MLA in UP Dal Bahadur Kori dies of post-COVID complications

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: BJP MLA in Uttar Pradesh Dal Bahadur Kori died due to post-COVID complications at a private hospital here, family sources said on Friday.

    According to them, the 64-year-old legislator from Salon seat in Raebareli died late on Thursday night.

    Kori was admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow after he was tested positive for coronavirus.

    He was discharged when his test report came negative.

    Later, he was admitted to a private hospital with post-COVID complications and he died there, family sources said.

    Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assembly Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit and senior BJP leaders have condoled the death of Kori, terming it a loss for the party.

    He is among the four BJP MLAs who died due to coronavirus or post-COVID complications in the past fortnight.

    Earlier, BJP MLA from Nawabganj in Bareilly Kesar Singh Gangwar (64), died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Noida.

    Lucknow (West) legislator Suresh Kumar Srivastava and Auraiya MLA Ramesh Chandra Diwakar has also succumbed to the virus.

    During the first wave of the pandemic last year, two Uttar Pradesh ministers — Chetan Chauhan and Kamal Rani Varun — died of COVID complications.

  • BJP decides to take on breach of protocol, attempts by opposition CMs to politicise meetings with PM Modi

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to go on the offensive against Chief Ministers who breach protocol and make details of confidential meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi public.

    Sources stated that the party decided to nip these political moves in the bud after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted and claimed that the Prime Minister only did his “Mann ki Baat” during the conversation over the COVID-19 situation.

    Sources in the BJP stated that this is the second time in the past few days that details of calls between the Prime Minister and a Chief Minister have been made public with the intent to politicise the issues discussed during conversations.

    The party would use social media and other platforms to disseminate the right information and clarify any attempts at politicising such high level meetings, sources added.

    “Recently Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did a live telecast of a virtual meet with the PM Modi breaching protocol. Now, Jharkhand CM Soren dis something that can be termed breach of trust. This should be condemned,” stated a senior party leader.

    BL Santhosh, the party’s National General Secretary (Organisation), too took to Twitter to condemn the details put out by the Jharkhand CM regarding his telephonic conversation with PM Modi.

    “This is the level to which some politicians are stooping. PM called and has detailed talk regarding COVID-19 crisis and this CM tweeted so. He lacks minimum grace required for the position he holds,” Santhosh tweeted.

    Earlier, Soren had tweeted in Hindi, “The Prime Minister called today. He only delivered his ‘Mann ki Baat’ during the conversation. It would have been better if he had listened to and spoken on important matters.”

    Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio both criticised Soren for playing politics when PM Modi is extending help to combat COVID-19.

    “In my experience as a Chief Minister for several tenures, PM Modi has always been sensitive to the concerns of the states, particularly those of the Northeast. I disagree with the Jharkhand CM and hope he retracts his statement,” tweeted Rio.

    Union Minister Arjun Munda also took to social media to advise CM Soren to focus on how to deal with pandemic and not play petty politics that can demean his stature as Chief Minister of the state.

  • Mamata’s quarantine deterrent for Centre

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  The tense relations between the BJP-led Centre and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached another flashpoint on Thursday with the latter saying all visitors must produce a Covid-negative test report and stay in 14-day quarantine at their own cost. In other words, she sought to shoo off visiting Central teams.

    Responding to allegations that a Union minister’s vehicle was attacked in West Midnapore district, Mamata charged that he had come to stir up communal discord.  Alleging that Union minister V. Muraleedharan’s visit was aimed at instigating BJP supporters, Mamata said: “Their continuous visits in the past six months have resulted in a record spike in infections. Now that all political meetings and rallies have been banned in the state, why are they still coming here? They want to instigate their supporters.” 

    Stating that controlling the second wave was the priority, she said: “All visitors, including Union ministers, have to produce negative RT-PCR test report to enter the state. Rule is same for all. Even for me. If anyone comes in a special flight, they too will have to either produce a negative report or get the test done. If the report is negative, they will have to undergo 14-day quarantine at their own cost,’’ she said.      

    Earlier, a Home ministry team landed in Kolkata in the wake of the post-poll violence. Muraleedharan’s convoy was attacked and his vehicle was vandalised by alleged Trinamool Congress supporters at Pachkudi in West Midnapore district. In addition, a TMC candidate who stood for election in Dinhata was beaten up by alleged BJP supporters. 

    Though the minister escaped unhurt, the driver of his car was injured. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Union minister’s visit was unnecessary and BJP leaders are trying to create communal discord by instigating their supporters. The incident took place when Muraleedharan went to the area to meet the families  of those who were allegedly attacked by Trinamool Congress supporters during the recent post-poll violence. 

    “He, accompanied by BJP leader Rahul Sinha, got off his vehicle and started talking to villagers who were attacked by the alleged ruling party’s supporters. Suddenly, a group of villagers, armed with bamboo sticks and bricks, attacked the convoy parked on the road and vandalised the minister’s vehicle,’’ said a police officer in West Midnapore.

    In Dinhata, Cooch Behar, TMC candidate Udayan Guha, who lost by 57 votes to BJP’s candidate and sitting MP Nisith Pramanik, was attacked by alleged supporters of the saffron camp. Guha sustained fracture injury on his left arm. ‘’The attack on Guha took place when he was returning home from the party office. His security personnel were also injured,’’ said a police officer.

    Pay farmers their arrears: CM to ModiKolkata: Adding pressure on the BJP-led central government for the second consecutive day on Thursday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee shot a letter to PM Narendra Modi reminding him of his assurance made during election campaigns on releasing arrears of `18,000 to farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme. She also said in the letter that no fund has been received by either the state government or the farmers.