News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Renaming of Motera Stadium: Centre, BJP defend move; Congress attacks PM

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Amid a controversy over a cricket stadium in Gujarat being renamed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government on Wednesday said the name change involves only the Motera stadium and the sports complex where it is located will continue to be named after Sardar Patel.

    Soon after President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, which will now be known as ‘Narendra Modi stadium’, social media was flooded with remarks including by some leaders of the Congress and other opposition parties who alleged that the renaming exercise amounted to an “insult” to Sardar Patel.

    Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad hit out at the Congress leaders, saying those who never respected Sardar Patel were objecting to the stadium being named after Modi.

    Asked about the allegations, Javadekar told reporters that only the Motera stadium has been renamed and the complex where it is located continues to be named after Vallabhbhai Patel.

    Prasad, who was present alongside Javadekar at the media briefing after a cabinet meeting, took a swipe at the Congress leaders, asking whether party chief Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi have so far praised the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel erected at Kevadiya in Gujarat.

    Javadekar said the two Congress leaders have not even visited the statue.

    Prasad continued, “I want to say this with full responsibility that a tourist place getting global praise has not been visited yet or praised by the two Congress leaders. What else is there to say?”

    Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “Maybe they just realised the stadium was named for a Home Minister who had banned their parent organisation! Or maybe this is advance booking to ensure the next visiting Head of State is hosted here, like Trump? Or is this the beginning of a legacy-creation-thru-labelling spree (sic)?”

    His party colleague Rajeev Satav said, “Renaming Motera cricket stadium from Sardar Patel to Narendra Modi is an absolute disgrace. This shows how narcissistic our PM has become. This is outrageous and a clear sign of autocratic dictatorship.”

    Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, without directly talking about the stadium, tweeted a Hindi quote of Sardar Patel, “There is something unique in this soil, which has always been the abode of great souls despite many obstacles.”

    ALSO READ | ‘Hum do humare do’: Rahul takes dig at renaming of Gujarat stadium, name of two ends after corporates

    Later, Information and Broadcasting Minister Javadekar tweeted, “The name of the Sports Complex is Sardar Patel Sports Enclave. Only the name of the cricket stadium, within the complex, has been named after Narendra Modi. Ironically, ‘The Family’, which never respected Sardar Patel, even after his death, is now making hue and cry.”

    A similar post was tweeted by Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports.

    Prasad, Minister for Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, also tweeted, “I want to ask Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi that while they have objection over renaming of Motera Stadium to Narendra Modi Stadium, Have they ever praised world’s tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Kevadia? Have they even visited it?”

    BJP’s National President J P Nadda said that naming the world’s largest stadium after Prime Minister Modi is a “humble attempt to honour his vision” to take India to the top-most position in the sports arena as well.

    The party’s IT cell head Amit Malviya said that “the usual suspects” have a problem just because the cricket stadium, one of the many facilities in the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, has been named after PM Narendra Modi.

    “Get used to it! Today, several people speak of India and PM Modi in the same breath,” he tweeted.

  • Speculations about possible cabinet expansion in Uttarakhand again

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: Speculations about a possible cabinet expansion in Uttarakhand started once again when Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Wednesday that there was nothing unnatural about such expectations in the given circumstances.

    In the last four years after the BJP stormed to power in Uttarakhand with a thumping majority in 2017, speculations about a cabinet expansion rose and died several times without reaching a logical conclusion.

    “There is nothing unnatural in this,” Rawat told reporters when asked whether a possible cabinet expansion was likely on his return from New Delhi after meeting senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda.

    “There are vacancies in the cabinet at present. Speculations about an expansion are only natural. I have met the prime minister, the party president and several other ministers, there is nothing unnatural if speculations are agog about it,” Rawat said.

     Asked whether a cabinet expansion could be expected he said, “Definitely”.

    The Trivendra Singh Rawat government assumed office on March 18, 2017 with only a 10-member cabinet against a stipulated size of 12 ministers.

    The two vacant cabinet berths were never filled after that.

    With the death of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant, who held several other key portfolios, in June 2019, the number of vacancies in the state cabinet rose to three.

    After Pant’s sudden death, political circles here were agog with speculations about a cabinet expansion but they died with Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik given the charge of Parliamentary Affairs in addition to his other responsibilities.

    Last year speculations about it began again when the chief minister said ministers were overburdened with a number of portfolios together and the need for filling the vacancies in the cabinet was being felt.

    However, nothing finally came out of all those speculations.

    Talks about a possible cabinet have begun again at a time when elections are due in the state next year.

  • Always been Congress’ position to respect electors irrespective of location: Sibal on Rahul’s ‘North-South’ remarks

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Congress’ position has and will always be to respect electors and their freedom of choice irrespective of their location, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday, even as he refused to comment specifically on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘North-South’ remarks.

    Sibal also slammed the BJP for accusing Congress of creating a divide, saying it was not only ludicrous and laughable but mischievous as well for a party to level such an allegation that has “perfected the art of dividing communities, dividing mindsets and polarizing societies”.

    His remarks came amid a political slugfest over Gandhi’s comment, with the BJP leaders accusing the former Congress chief of belittling North Indians and of speaking in different tones in different parts of the country.

    Asked about Gandhi’s remarks, Sibal told PTI, “I do not know the substance of the comment nor do I know the context of the comment. So I do not wish to comment on Rahul Gandhi’s statement at all.”

    “All that I need to say is as a Congressman, I respect every elector in this country, no matter where he or she is located.

    I respect his or her freedom of choice and wisdom when he or she exercises the right to vote,” he said.

    Sibal said he does not think any Congress person would ever believe that an elector in this country does not deserve respect.

    “That always has been the position of the Congress party and will continue to be the position of the Congress party,” asserted Sibal, who is among the ‘group of 23’ leaders who wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking large-scale party reforms.

    Sibal further said the BJP is a “political party that has perfected the art of dividing communities, dividing mindsets and polarizing societies”.

    They should not be heard to make that charge against the Congress party, he said.

    That charge is not only ludicrous and laughable but mischievous as well, the former Union minister added.

    Earlier, another G-23 leader Anand Sharma also reportedly said only Rahul Gandhi can clarify in what context he made that observation and asserted that the Congress has never disrespected any region.

    Reports also said G-23 members Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bhupinder Hooda and Sharma met at Azad’s house.

    While this particular meeting could not be confirmed immediately, party sources said such courtesy meetings among leaders are routine.

    Addressing a public gathering in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, Gandhi had said, “For the first 15 years, I was an MP in the north. I had got used to a different type of politics. For me, coming to Kerala was very refreshing as suddenly I found that people are interested in issues and not just superficially but going into detail in issues.”

    The comments triggered sharp reactions from several BJP leaders, including some senior ministers, who immediately accused the Congress of being an ‘opportunist’ and alleged that Gandhi belittled North Indians, despite him and his family members winning several elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the past.

    Reacting to the attack from BJP leaders, the Congress said Gandhi had given a clarion call to the people to question the government on real issues and the north-south divide was a “toolkit” being sold by the BJP to the public.

  • Nadda to launch BJP poll manifesto crowdsourcing campaign in Bengal on Thursday

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: BJP president J P Nadda will launch an election manifesto crowdsourcing campaign in West Bengal on Thursday and address a public rally, the party said in a statement.

    He will also address a conference of the intelligentsia, among his other engagements during a daylong stay in the poll-bound state, BJP’s national media in-charge Anil Baluni said.

    Nadda will reach West Bengal on Wednesday night and launch the “Lokkho Sonar Bangla Manifesto Crowdsourcing” programme on Thursday morning, Baluni said, referring to the party’s poll promise of rebuilding the state as “Sonar Bangla”.

    The BJP chief will also pay tributes to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the composer of Vande Mataram, at his residence and museum.

    Nadda’s programme schedule includes lunch at the house of a jute mill labourer and prayers at the Anandpuri Kalibari temple, followed by a “Parivartan Yatra” rally.

    In the evening, he will visit the ancestral home of renowned Bengali writer Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay to pay his tributes, followed by a visit to the West Bengal State Armed Police headquarters to pay homage to the martyr Mangal Pandey pillar, the statement said.

  • Gujarat municipal election results show beleaguered Congress yet to arrest poll slide

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Amidst internal turmoil and leadership issues, the Congress remains beset with the challenge of electoral slide as seen in Gujarat where the party gave tough fight to the BJP in 2017 Assembly elections. The infighting in the Gujarat Congress has eroded its electoral base with several MLAs crossing over to the BJP since 2017.

    The party even lost the hard fought Rajya Sabha seat of Ahmed Patel, who passed away last year, to the BJP. Many leaders questioned the ticket distribution and how various factions ensured that their aides bagged the seats over deserving candidates.

    ALSO READ: Elated with Gujarat debut, Aam Aadmi Party plans roadshow in Surat

    Calling it a worrying trend, a senior leader said at national level, the high command is struggling to firefight rebellion by some seniors seeking organisational elections and differences over leadership issues.

    All eyes will now be on the elections in Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.  The setback in Gujarat comes a day after the party’s government fell in Puducherry. 

    ALSO READ: Gujarat civic polls – PM Modi says results show people’s faith in politics of development

    In the past few months, the party won local body polls in Rajasthan and Punjab while it was pushed to fourth position behind the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the BJP and the AIMIM in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls in December last year.

    The underperformance by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), which is looking to form the government in Kerala, in the recently held local body elections is already worrying the state unit. 

    ALSO READ: AIMIM wins seven seats in Ahmedabad civic body on Gujarat poll debut

    In November last year, the Congress turned out to be weak link for the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. In 2020, the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh fell following rebellion by Jyotiraditya Scindia and party MLAs. It failed to perform better in the bypolls.       

    In Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot government was saved at the eleventh hour after the CM took control following a botched move by his deputy Sachin Pilot to topple the government on the lines of Madhya Pradesh. The party has failed to settle things between the two leaders.   

  • Gujarat civic polls: Modi says results show people’s faith in politics of development

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: With the BJP set to retain power in six Gujarat municipal corporations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday termed the results “very special” and said that for a party serving a state for over two decades to record such a phenomenal win is noteworthy.

    He said the results of municipal elections clearly show the unwavering faith people have in politics of development and good governance.

    The BJP appeared on course to retain power in the six municipal corporations, winning 409 of the 474 seats where results were declared till evening.

    “Thank you Gujarat! Results of municipal elections across the state clearly show the unwavering faith people have towards politics of development and good governance,” Modi said in a series of tweets.

    “Grateful to the people of the state for trusting BJP yet again. Always an honour to serve Gujarat,” he said.

    Modi also hailed the efforts of Gujarat BJP workers who reached out to people with the party’s vision for the state.

    The Gujarat government’s pro-people policies have positively impacted the entire state, he said.

    “Today’s win across Gujarat is very special. For a party that is serving in a state for over two decades to record such a phenomenal win is noteworthy. It is heartening to see widespread support from all sections of society, particularly the youth of Gujarat towards BJP,” he said.

    BJP chief J P Nadda congratulated CM Rupani and party’s state chief C R Patil for the electoral triumph in the civic polls.

    He said this “historic win” was the victory of people’s unbreakable trust in Prime Minister Modi’s politics of public welfare and development.

    Whether it is Bihar assembly elections, by-elections held in 11 states or local body polls in Assam, Arunachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, Rajasthan, Ladakh, Hyderabad and Gujarat, the country’s farmers, labourers, traders, youth and women have all given their support to the policies of the Modi government, Nadda said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

    In another tweet, Nadda also attacked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in Kerala on Tuesday, saying, “A few days back he was in the Northeast, spewing venom against the western part of India. Today in the South he is spewing venom against the North. Divide and rule politics won’t work, @RahulGandhi Ji! People have rejected this politics. See what happened in Gujarat today!” Polling for 576 seats in Ahmedabad and five other civic corporations was held on February 21.

    The counting of votes began this morning and is still underway.

    While the Congress has won 43 of the declared seats so far.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a new entrant in these elections, has made impressive inroads by winning 18 seats so far.

    Earlier, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had expressed their gratitude to the voters and BJP workers for the results.

  • Bengal drugs haul: BJP leader Rakesh Singh, sons arrested by Kolkata Police

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal police arrested BJP leader Rakesh Singh from Galsi in Purba Bardhaman district, about 130 km from Kolkata, on Tuesday night in connection with his alleged involvement in a drug seizure case, a senior officer said.

    His two sons were arrested by the narcotics section of the city police on charges of obstructing and stopping its personnel from entering the residence of the BJP state committee member in the port area of the city, he said.

    Singh was arrested at a nakapoint on the national highway at Galsi by the district police after being alerted by Kolkata Police.

    Singh was in a car in which he was travelling to an unknown destination along with CISF personnel provided as his security, the officer said.

    Earlier in the day, Singh had been summoned by Kolkata Police to appear before its narcotics department in connection with a drug case.

    He had then told the police that he had left the city for Delhi and will appear before them after returning.

    BJP state youth leader Pamela Goswami and two others had been arrested in connection with the case.

    “It seems he was trying to escape. He had switched to another vehicle probably sensing that we have already started looking for him. He was trying to evade arrest,” a top police Kolkata Police officer said.

    Singh had reportedly left his home in the city’s Kidderpore area in a SUV and later got into to a car.

    Police said that the BJP leader had switched off his mobile phone but had used it once to make a call following which sleuths spotted him trying to escape taking the national highway to Bardhaman.

    “All the districts’ police were alerted and finally he was stopped at a naka point at Galsi in Purba Bardhaman at around 8 PM. Our teams have left to bring him to the city and hopefully by tonight we will be able to bring him here,” he said.

    Singh had moved Calcutta High Court seeking a stay on and quashing of the notice by the police to appear before it on Tuesday as a witness in the case.

    The HC had dismissed Singh’s petition seeking the quashing of the notice by the police.

    Pamela Goswami, the state secretary of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), was arrested along with a friend and her personal security guard from New Alipore area of the city on February 19 after about 90 gm of cocaine was seized from her car.

    She had then alleged that it was a conspiracy by Singh.

  • Soram village clash pre-planned; happened after announcement from mosque: Balyan

    Three to four people were injured on Monday during the clash at Soram village where Balyan had gone to pay homage to a deceased local.

  • Pralhad Joshi slams Rahul, says he is trying to become an ‘actor on tractor’

    By PTI
    THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after Rahul Gandhi took out a tractor rally in Wayanad in solidarity with protesting farmers, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress leader, saying he was trying to become an “actor on tractor”.

    He also hit out at the poll-bound state’s two rival fronts, ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and opposition Congress-led UDF, saying they were “fighting ‘Kushti” in Kerala but have ‘Dosti’ in Delhi” and described it as “hypocricy”.

    “Rahul Gandhi is trying to become an actor on tractor,” Joshi, the BJP’s Kerala Assembly election incharge, told a press conference here.

    After taking out a tractor rally in his constituency on Monday in solidarity with the agitating farmers, Gandhi had said agriculture is the only business that belongs to “Bharat Mata” and called upon the people to “force” the government to take back the three farm laws.

    He alleged that the laws were designed to destroy the agriculture system in India and give the entire business to two to three friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Hitting out at the anti-BJP alliances at the centre and various states including poll-bound Kerala and West Bengal, Joshi said Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who is supporting the Congress in Delhi, was not ready to accommodate that party in her state as it was becoming a “liability” for her.

    “LDF and UDF are fighting ‘Kushti’ in Kerala but have ‘Dosti’ in Delhi.”

    “Mamata Banerjee is supporting Congress party in Delhi and she is not ready to accommodate that party (in West Bengal) because Congress party is becoming a liability in the whole country for various regional parties,” he said.

    “Do you believe in democracy or do you believe in hypocrisy. You are trying to mislead the people,” Joshi said.

    Later, addressing a party meeting here, he alleged that both the LDF and the UDF have ruined Kerala with corruption, nepotism, scam and favouritism.

    “LDF is lying Democratic Front. UDF is Ulta-pulta Democratic Front”, he said, taking a jibe at both the alliances in the state.

    Joshi also interacted with leaders of NDA in the state and discussed the BJP-led front’s strategy in the upcoming elections.

    In a tweet, he said Kerala and its people should benefit from the “double engine government” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

  • Smriti Irani buys land in Amethi, political experts term move significant

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Union Minister and BJP MP from Amethi Smriti Irani has decided to make an abode for herself in Amethi, her Parliamentary constituency. 

    Irani, on Monday, sealed the deal for 11 bighas (around 14850 sq ft) land for Rs 12.11 lakh in Gauriganj area of Amethi, fulfilling one of her commitments to her people. This makes Irani the third MP from Amethi to have a residence in the high-profile constituency.

    She had arrived in Amethi on Monday to complete the purchase from a local resident Phoolmati Devi. Irani got the registry of the land done by paying a stamp duty of Rs 50,800.

    In fact, the BJP MP had made this promise to the people of Tiloi area of Amethi soon after defeating the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his bastion in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by a margin of over 55,000 votes.

    Promising to invite people from Amethi and Rae Bareli to the ‘bhumi pujan’ ceremony of the residence that will be built shortly, Irani, after finalising the paperwork for the land, condemned at the Congress leadership for failing to strike a chord with the people of Amethi despite representing the constituency multiple times in the Lok Sabha. 

    ALSO READ | Bengaluru activist Disha Ravi granted bail in toolkit case

    “They (Gandhis) did not find it necessary to have a base among their people,” she said.

    “I have fulfilled my promise to my people of Amethi which has been my home since 2014. People feel the difference then and now after the exit of Gandhi scion. We have a long list of development works done in Amethi. Look at neighbouring Rae Bareli, its MP (Sonia Gandhi) is missing and no development work is taking place there,” commented the Union Minister.

    Irani’s decision makes her only the third MP from Amethi to also have a residence there. Interestingly, her 2019 Lok Sabha win from Amethi was also the third Congress defeat from this seat since it came into being. The other two MPs — Ravindra Pratap Singh of Janata Party and Dr Sanjay Sinh —  who chose to have a residence here were the only two non-Congress MPs to have held this seat. Ravindra Pratap Singh had won from Amethi post-emergency 1977 election, and Dr Sanjay Sinh had contested on a BJP ticket defeating Congress leader Captain Satish Sharma in the 1998 elections.

    “The people who have showered me with their love and affection wanted an MP who is available among them. During the pandemic, we connected with the people through e-chaupals and, before that, I reached out to them through programmes like Didi Aapke Dwar (Didi at your doorstep),” said Irani, who is fondly called ‘didi’ in her constituency.

    She added, “People always wondered if they will ever have an MP who would reach out to the villages. At least, I consider myself fortunate that I was able to fulfill this.”

    However, political experts feel Irani’s decision to buy land in Amethi, just two years after her win, shows the BJP’s intent to retain its grip on this Congress bastion that the saffron brigade wrested from them in 2019.