News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP Bihar unit chief questions Nitish Kumar govt’s logic behind imposing night curfew in state

    Express News Service
    PATNA: The Bihar government’s decision to impose a night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am is being questioned not only by the opposition RJD but also by the key ally of the NDA- the BJP. 

    Bihar BJP chief Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal expressed his dismay on Facebook. “How will the night curfew contain the pandemic,” he asked further blaming China for being the source of this catastrophe.

    “From doctors to the common man, there is a discussion over new mutants from the UK, Africa. But no one is talking about the Chinese virus which ruined the whole world,” he alleged urging the whole world to come together to oppose China. 

    “Bihar government has taken many decisions which are very essential. I am no expert but these are all very good decisions. However, I am unable to understand how the night curfew will stop the spread of coronavirus,” Jaiswal wrote. 

    ALSO READ: RJD, other parties will support Bihar govt if lockdown re-imposed 

    He further advised that if the spread of the virus can be controlled if the lockdown is from Friday evening to Monday morning. Jaiswal had made this suggestion at the all-party meeting on Saturday. On his Facebook post, he re-emphasised that the 62-hour long lockdown will keep people in their homes and the spread of the virus can be controlled to some extent. 

    The situation in Bihar will become like that of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh if the strict curfew is not imposed, he cautioned. 

    Besides Jaiswal, a majority of the state’s population is mocking the night curfew imposition dubbing it as the worst impractical and imprudent decision ever.

    “COVID spreads in crowded places during daytime. The night curfew is from 9 pm to 5 am. It is a known fact that only two percent of people venture out after 9 pm. This government is following an illogical and impractical suggestion of some bureaucrats without assessing its merit, ” said Satyendra Kumar, a youth activist. 

    Several bureaucrats, medical professionals, and NDA leaders have expressed their dismay over this decision as Bihar’s condition is going from bad to worse with an alarming rise in the daily number of deaths and infections. 

    On Monday morning, Dr. Mewa Lal Choudhary, a JDU MLA from Tarapur passed away due to the virus. 

    Meanwhile, an RJD MLA Bachha Pandey has tested positive for COVID-19. 

    Several key doctors from the state, including Dr. Vinod Bihari Verma, have succumbed to COVID-19 in the last few days, besides dozens of civil and police officials getting infected. 

    The state tally stands at 44090 with a reduced recovery rate.  

  • National security jeopardised by govt’s wasteful talks: Rahul Gandhi on China

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the government of jeopardising India’s national security, and termed its talks with China as “wasteful”.

    “Chinese occupation of Gogra-Hot Springs and Depsang plains is a direct threat to India’s strategic interests including the DBO airstrip,” he said on Twitter “National security massively jeopardised by GOI’s wasteful talks. Our nation deserves better,” he said.

    His remarks come after reports that China has refused to pull back its troops from Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.

    ALSO READ: ‘Standoff in Ladakh is for long haul, no de-escalation in sight’

    The Congress on Sunday asked the government to explain why disengagement talks with China have “not yielded results” in other friction points in eastern Ladakh.

    Citing media reports about China’s refusal to withdraw its troops, senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken asked the government to come clean on the issue.

    “Why has the disengagement talks as promised by the Defence Minister on remaining friction points not yielded any results for India,” he said.

    There has been no visible forward movement at the latest round of military talks between the two countries early this month.

    The Indian Army had said in a statement that both sides held a detailed deliberation on disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points of Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground, avoid any new incidents and resolve outstanding issues in an “expeditious manner”.

  • Will put coronavirus in Fadnavis’ mouth if I find it, says Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad

    By PTI
    BULDHANA: Amid the row over Remdesivir supply, Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad has said if he would have found the coronavirus, he would have it into the mouth of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, sparking protests by the opposition party here in Maharashtra.

    Former chief minister Fadnavis is being targeted by the ruling parties in Maharashtra for objecting to Mumbai police’s grilling of a pharma company’s top executive over alleged stocking of vials of Remdesivir, which is in high demand for treating COVID-19 patients.

    Talking to reporters here on Saturday, Gaikwad, who is an MLA from Buldhana, asked what would Fadnavis have done if he was the chief minister at this time of the pandemic.

    Rather than supporting the state ministers, BJP leaders are mocking them and looking at how this government (comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) fails, he said.

    ALSO READ: Maha fight over ‘seizure’ of Remdesivir amidst COVID crisis

    “Hence, if I would have found the coronavirus, I would have put it into the mouth of Devendra Fadnavis,” he said.

    Gaikwad alleged that Fadnavis, and BJP leaders Pravin Darekar and Chandrakant Patil were doing petty politics over the pandemic and distribution of Remdesivir injections.

    The Centre asked Remdesivir manufacturing companies in Maharashtra not to supply the drug to the state.

    They are also not providing the required medical oxygen to Maharashtra, Gaikwad claimed.

    ALSO READ: Shiv Sena alleges bid to disturb law and health order

    They are providing Remdesivir injections to Gujarat and supplying 50,000 vials of the drug to that state free of cost from a BJP office in Maharashtra, while people are dying in Maharashtra, he charged.

    “Such low and petty politics is being done by the central government and Fadnavis,” he claimed.

    Is this the time to do politics? The Centre and Fadnavis should be shameful of their acts, he said.

    Following Gaikwad’s remarks, BJP workers staged protests at various places in Buldhana on Sunday and burnt the MLA’s effigies.

    Fadnavis on Sunday said he has not done anything wrong and was not afraid of any inquiry against him.

  • Remdesivir row: Shiv Sena alleges bid to disturb law and health order

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar for objecting to Mumbai police’s grilling of a pharma firm’s top executive over alleged stocking of Remdesivir vials, and wondered if there was a conspiracy to disturb the law and health order.

    An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ accused the BJP of having a clear agenda that the Maharashtra government should fail in handling the COVID-19 situation, and charged it with making persistent efforts in that direction with the help of the Centre.

    It said the Maharashtra government and the opposition should be unanimous at least on the issue of saving lives of people and no one should seek political mileage out of pyres of people dying for want of the drug, which is in high demand for treating COVID-19 patients.

    Mumbai police questioned a pharma company director on Saturday following information that thousands of vials of Remdesivir were to be flown out of the country, despite a ban on its export.

    On learning that the company director was being questioned, former chief minister Fadnavis and another state BJP leader Darekar had rushed to the police station.

    ALSO READ: NSA to be invoked for illegal Remdesivir trade in Madhya Pradesh

    They said the BJP was reaching out to pharma companies due to the shortage of Remdesivir in the state.

    Fadnavis said it was their sincere attempt to get Remdesivar for Maharashtra.

    However, the editorial in ‘Saamana’ on Monday alleged that politics is being played on the issue of supply of oxygen and Remdesivir injections for treating COVID-19 patients.

    It said the Maharashtra government was not getting the Remdesivir injections, but BJP leaders were purchasing them unilaterally from pharma companies.

    It never happened in Maharashtra earlier that the Leader of Opposition advocated for a pharma company official instead of the state, the Sena said.

    “Isn’t there a conspiracy to trouble the law and health order?” it asked.

    The Sena claimed it is a “crime” on part of the companies to make available stock of the injections to the BJP unilaterally.

    It also questioned the BJP’s criticism of the government after the police exposed hoarding and black marketing by the companies.

    “What can the opposition leaders in the Assembly and Council rushing to a police station mid-night to seek release of a pharma company official be called?” the Shiv Sena asked.

    ALSO READ: Maha fight over ‘seizure’ of Remdesivir amidst COVID crisis

    The COVID-19 patients in Maharashtra and the country are feeling suffocated due to lack of oxygen and funeral pyres have been lit for the want of Remdesivir, it said.

    “Nobody should heat up (their) political pans on these pyres.

    The government and the opposition should behave unanimously at least on this issue,” the Marathi daily said.

    Union minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said Maharashtra has so far received the highest quantity of oxygen in India and the Centre is in regular touch with state governments to assess their needs.

    Referring to it, the Shiv Sena asked whether the Centre was doing any favour to Maharashtra by giving the highest quantity of oxygen.

    Maharashtra is making the highest contribution to the Centre’s coffers, the editorial said, adding that Delhi (the central government) will need oxygen support if this supply (of tax payment) is stopped (from the state).

    “When Maharashtra is facing a crisis, the Union minister is troubling Maharashtra by giving an account of how much has been given and taken (to the state). This is sort of staining the humanity,” it alleged.

  • Politics before pandemic: Maha fight over ‘seizure’ of Remdesivir amidst COVID crisis

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Discovery of a large stock of Remdesivir injections from a pharmaceutical company has become the latest flashpoint between the government of Maharashtra and the opposition led by BJP. While Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders alleged that BJP was hoarding the drug given to Covid-19 patients in serious conditions, saffron party officials claimed they had bought this to donate it to the state government. 

    This happened on a day when Maharashtra recorded its highest-ever daily tally of 68,631  new cases.Mumbai Police got information that around 60,000 vials of Remdesivir was stocked by the company. “The stock could not be exported due to the ban by government of India. The director of this company was called for questioning at BKC Police Station,” said a police statement. After hearing the news, Devendra Fadanivs and other BJP leaders rushed to the police station and asked why the director of Bruck Pharmaceutical was being questioned. The director was released after questioning.

    Incidentally, two technical directors of Bruck Pharmaceutical – Manish Singh and Varun Kundra – were arrested in Gujarat a few days ago on charges of selling Remdesivir at an inflated price in the black market.Fadnavis claimed they had taken necessary steps to arrange this stock. “Four days ago, we had requested Bruck Pharma to supply a stock of Remdesivir vials to Maharashtra.

    ALSO READ: NSA to be invoked for illegal Remdesivir trade in Madhya Pradesh

    They said they couldn’t until permissions were given. I spoke with Union Minister Mansukh Mandviya and got permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” said Fadnavis, a former Maharashtra chief minister. He maintained that the intention was to donate it to the state government, which has reported an acute short of Remdesivir.

    The other parties were not buying this. They accused BJP of hoarding the drug, which is in heavy demand all over the country. “Why is BJP desperate to save the Bruck Pharma director? Police is investigating. In Gujarat, the state BJP president distributed 50,000 doses of Remdesivir and distributed it at the party offices. Fadanvis wanted to do the same in Maharashtra by violating all norms,” said NCP minister Nawab Malik.

    ‘Janata Curfew not working, state needs Complete lockdown to curb cases’ As there is no sign of a break in Covid load despite Janata Curfew, Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders are now asking Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to impose a complete lockdown for breaking the surge of infection. Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said that the Covid 19 positive cases are surging speedily despite Janta Curfew. “People are not following the Covid 19 protocol seriously.

    They are still going ours without any valid reason. We have to reduce the crowd in vegetable markets and other essential shops. If the Covid 19 positive did not come down, then we have no option but to impose the complete lockdown,” Tope said. Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal,  who is also guardian minister of Nasik said, that in Nasik, per million the positive cases are high. “I got a phone call from several people including BJP MLAs demanding complete lockdown. This Janta Curfew is not working,” he asserted. 

  • BJP seeks FIR against Nawab Malik for ‘false’ charges on blocking Remdesivir supply to Maharashtra

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: A day after NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik alleged that the Centre was blocking the supply of Remdesivir medicine to the state, the BJP called for registration of an FIR against him for “spreading panic through false information”.

    The opposition party said the state government should file a case against Malik under the Disaster Management Act.

    Addressing a press conference, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar slammed the minister for claiming that the Centre was not allowing export companies to supply Remdesivir to Maharashtra.

    Remdesivir is considered a key anti-viral drug in the fight against COVID-19, especially in the patients with severe complications.

    Mungantiwar said Malik has made an unsuccessful attempt to create panic situation through his allegations.

    “Under section 54 of the Disaster Management Act-2005, this is punishable with one-year imprisonment. The state government should file an FIR against him,” the former state minister said. He said that Malik is minority affairs minister with skill development portfolio as well.

    “He has the skill of maligning the Central government and creating panic through false statements,” he added.

    “On the one hand, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says that nobody should indulge in politics during the pandemic, while on the other, his ministers make baseless charges,” Mungantiwar said.

    He also demanded a white paper on the assistance provided by the Centre to the state government in the last one year in terms of medical equipment,food supplies, grants in aid, centrally-sponsored schemes and GST refund.

    He said the BJP will submit a memorandum of these demands tothe chief minister and will also urge Governor B S Koshyari to look into them.

    Mungantiwar said Malik was a guardian minister of Gondia district, where many coronavirus patients died due to lack of oxygen.

    “Instead of offering condolences to the bereaved families, he was maligning the central government.

    The allegations that the Centre was not allowing Remdesivir to Maharashtra were not made by the health minister or the FDA minister, but by Malik who does not know anything about it,” the BJP leader alleged.

    Taking to Twitter, Malik had on Saturday said, “It is sad and shocking that when Government of Maharashtra asked 16 export companies for Remdesivir, we were told that the Central government has asked them not to supply the medicine to Maharashtra. These companies were warned, if they did, their license will be cancelled.”

    “This was a dangerous precedent and under these circumstances, the state government will have no choice but to seize the stock of Remdesivir from these exporters and supply it to the needy,” he had said in another tweet.

  • Bengal polls: EC imposes 24-hour campaign ban on BJP’s Sayantan Basu, TMC’s Sujata Mondal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Sunday imposed a 24-hour campaign ban on BJP leader Sayantan Basu and Sujata Mondal of the Trinamool Congress for their controversial remarks during the ongoing assembly polls in West Bengal.

    The bar on campaigning by the leaders will be in force from 7 PM on April 18 to 7 PM on April 19.

    In an order, the poll panel said it had carefully considered Mondal’s reply to it notice which does not justify the relevant portions of her statement “denigrating the Scheduled Caste community in West Bengal”.

    “Now, therefore, the Commission hereby sternly warns Sujata Mondal and advises her to desist from using such statement while making public utterances during the period when the Model Code of Conduct is in force,” according to the order.

    Basu was issued a notice for his remarks that “if you kill one we will kill four of you.”

    The order on Basu said the Commission “sternly warns and condemns Sayantan Basu and strongly advised him to desist from using such statement while making public utterances during the period when the Model Code of Conduct is in force.”

    Besides warning the leaders against making such statements, the poll panel imposed a ban on campaigning by them.

  • Indore: Two nephews of late BJP leader Kushabhau Thakre die of COVID within span of three days

    By PTI
    INDORE: Two nephews of late BJP president Kushabhau Thakre died here within a span of three days while undergoing treatment for coronavirus, a family member said.

    While Kushabhau’s one nephew Shirish Thakre (59) died in the city’s Maharaja Tukojirao Hospital (MTH) on Sunday morning, another nephew Shailesh Thakre (62) breathed his last three days ago at another city-based hospital, Prasanna Pradhan of the Thakre family told PTI.

    MTH in-charge Dr Pramendra Thakur said that Shirish Thakre was on oxygen support and his condition had suddenly become critical.

  • BJP biggest enemy, TMC helped its rise in Bengal: CPM state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said the BJP is the biggest “enemy and threat to the nation.

    However, Mishra, whose party ruled West Bengal for 34 -long years, also claimed BJPs rise has been helped by the ruling Trinamool Congress, with which the saffron party is locked in a bitter electoral contest in West Bengal.

    Declining to give a direct reply on whether the CPI(M) is open to aligning with the TMC in case of a hung assembly, Mishra said: “only a concrete situation can have a concrete answer”.

    Refuting criticism that the CPI (M)s secular credentials were dented by aligning with Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front (ISF), he said “those who themselves practise communal politics are apprehensive of the Left-ISF-Congress alliance”.

    Accusing the BJP and the TMC of trying to communalise the elections, Mishra speculated the TMC and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) may join hands if both the parties fell short of a majority in the assembly.

    “BJP is our biggest enemy. BJP is not only the biggest enemy but also a threat to the idea of India as also to Bengal. It has to be stopped, and only Left and secular forces can do that. No other bourgeois political party can be compared with the BJP, not even the TMC, said Mishra in an interview to PTI.

    “He added But BJP and communal politics have found a foothold in West Bengal because of the TMC government and its policies.”

    When asked whether CPI(M) would support the TMC in case of a fractured mandate since it has identified the BJP as its biggest enemy, the veteran politician declined to give a direct reply.

    “Many people want us to say something. But we don’t comment on hypothetical questions. Only in case of a concrete situation we can take a concrete decision,” he said.

    On a question on whether refusal by the Congress and Left to support TMC could help BJP, Mishra said: “We are rather apprehensive (that) in such a scenario (fractured mandate), you will see the TMC and the BJP joining hands to form the government.”

    “Both are old alliance partners. That is why we have asked people to ensure that seat tally of both the parties are low enough to ensure the two parties could not join hands to gain a majority, he said. In the 294-member state assembly, 148 is the magic figure to be able to form a government.

    “BJP-RSS didn’t gain ground during the Left or the Congress rule. It is during her (Mamata Banerjees) tenure that RSS gained ground. On various occasions, we have seen how TMC has helped BJP by staging a walkout in parliament,” he said.

    When asked whether a grand opposition alliance can be formed in Bengal without the ruling TMC in it, Mishra referred to the political somersault by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2017 and said, “just like Nitish Kumar, she too lacks credibility in the fight against BJP”.

    “We all know what happened in Bihar after RJD and Congress joined hands with the JD (U) and defeated the BJP in 2015.

    Within two years, Nitish Kumar was back with the BJP. They lack credibility. It is the same for the TMC,” he said.

    Refuting criticism that the CPI (M)-led Left Front compromised its ideology by joining hands with the ISF, Mishra said “The ISF is not a communal force. It is a secular party. He added Go through its candidate list, and you will see it has SCs, STs and Brahmins along with minorities as its nominees.”

    The CPI (M) leader, who is also on the partys politburo, said, ‘The Left parties have performed a historic responsibility in the present circumstances by forming the grand alliance with Congress and ISF.

    It is an irony that those who themselves are communal and pointing fingers at others and are questioning us’.

    Expressing happiness over the “massive response” that the Sanjukta Morcha has received during the campaign, the 71- year-old leader said that despite efforts by TMC and BJP, a triangular contest is being witnessed in the elections and not a bipolar one.

    “This time, the alliance is well-grounded and nicely stitched, unlike 2016 when the Left-Congress alliance was half-hearted.

    I had said then that if we are unable to bring together secular and democratic forces, BJP will gain ground.

    That has happened in Bengal,” he said.

    Speaking of BJP’s electoral rise at the expense of Left’s dwindling vote share, Mihra said it has happened due to sharp communal polarisation.

    “It is a worldwide phenomenon wherever the communal and fascist forces gain ground the Left and the progressive forces lose support.

    Thats why it is necessary to bring all secular and democratic forces together,” he said.

    Replying to a slogan allegedly being given by some: “21 e Ram, 26 e Baam (BJP in 2021 and Left in 2026)”, Mishra said the party doesn’t support such a stand as it would be “akin to jumping from a frying pan to a fire.”

    Mishra also questioned the Election Commission’s impartiality and said “the role of EC is not beyond question.

    The EC is slowly losing credibility as they are not providing a level playing field for all parties,” he said.

  • Bengal polls: BJP member found dead at Chakdah, saffron party alleges Trinamool hand

    By PTI
    CHAKDAH: The body of a BJP member was found at Chakdah in West Bengal’s Nadia district in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

    After the body of Dilip Kirtania (31) was found, BJP activists in the area started protest demonstrations staging roadblocks alleging that he was murdered by miscreants belonging to the rival TMC, the police said.

    Kirtania’s family members alleged that he had gone out in the night to attend to nature’s call, but did not return home, police said quoting the complaint lodged.

    “As he did not return home for a long time they started a search and found him lying injured a few metres away from his residence. Doctors declared him brought dead when he was rushed to Chakdah state General hospital. He had several injuries in his private parts,” a police officer added.

    BJP party activists started protests as the news of Kirtania’s death spread in the area.

    Demanding arrests of those behind the murder, the BJP activists also staged protests putting up a blockade on NH 34, police said.

    Polling for the Chakdah seat was held on Saturday during the fifth phase of the West Bengal Assembly election.

    Police had arrested one Independent candidate Koushik Bhowmick for carrying a country-made pistol outside a polling booth during Saturday’s polling.