News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Rahul Gandhi becoming ‘doomsday man’ for India, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  In a scathing counter-attack on Rahul Gandhi for his relentless targeting of the government over the farm laws and the LAC standoff with China, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on Saturday dubbed the former Congress president “doomsday man for India”.

    During her reply to the Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the former Congress chief was constantly insulting constitutional functionaries and institutions and creating fake narratives on various issues, betraying a lack of belief in a democratically elected parliamentary system.

    Responding to the allegations of the government promoting ‘crony capitalism’, the minister asserted that the “Hum Do, Hamare Do” jibe that Gandhi had been taking on the government was more apt for his family.

    “In banks, you did phone banking and left huge NPAs. This is one tendency, create institutions and use them for ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’ and at the end of the day keep accusing others. Who are our cronies? Our cronies are the common people of this country… Where are the cronies? They’re hiding probably in the shadow of that party which has been rejected by the people,” said a combative Sitharaman.

    The minister added that the Congress “makes allegations, use abusive language, but when under parliamentary procedure they have to respond to… they only shout and walk out”.  The Congress strongly objected to some of the remarks made by the minister indirectly referring to Gandhi’s family members which were later expunged by the Chair.

    A Congress MP also moved a breach of privilege notice over the “doomsday man” remark. Sitharaman said the Congress leader has been in the habit of insulting the institution of the prime minister, recalling that he had torn off a copy of an ordinance promulgated by his own party’s government led by the then PM Manmohan Singh.

    “I wanted to know from the Congress why it took a U-turn on the farm laws but no reply came,” she said. She said that Gandhi did not say why Congress governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh did not waive farm loans as promised in their manifesto.

    ‘HE DEMEANED INDIA DURING LAC CRISIS’

    The Finance Minister alleged that Gandhi’s policy was to constantly say things that will demean and insult India. “When there was a crisis on the border, instead of  talking to us, they were talking to the (Chinese) Embassy and inquiring about the border,” she said.

    CONGRESS MP TN PRATHAPAN​ MOVES PRIVILEGE NOTICE

    Congress MP TN Prathapan has submitted a notice of breach of privilege against the finance minister for insulting the party leader. The notice said Sitharaman accused Gandhi of having joined fringe elements and demeaning the country.

  • Shiv Sena urges Centre to recall Maharashtra Governor

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena, which is in power in Maharashtra, on Saturday accused state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari of toeing the BJP’s line, and said that if the Centre wants the Constitution to be upheld, it should recall him.

    The party also asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation is stable and strong, and added that the Centre cannot use the governor’s shoulders to take aim at the state government.

    “Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is back in news again. He has been in politics for the last many years. He was a Union minister and also the chief minister of Uttarakhand.

    “However, ever since he became the Maharashtra governor, he has always remained in news or landed in controversy,” the Sena said in an editorial in mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

    “Why he is always landing in controversy is a question. Recently, he is in news over the use of a state government’s plane. The governor wanted to go to Dehradun using the state aircraft. But the government denied permission to it.

    “He sat in the aircraft on Thursday morning, but as the plane did not have approval to fly, he had to disembark and take a commercial flight to Dehradun,” it said.

    The opposition BJP is creating an issue out of it.

    But why did the governor sit in the plane even as the government had not given its approval for it to fly, the party asked.

    It was a private tour of the governor and as per the law, not only the governor, but even the chief minister cannot use a state plane for such purposes.

    The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has acted in accordance with law, it said.

    “But Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis accused the state government of being egoistic. The country knows who is indulging in politics of ego. Despite the death of over 200 farmers during the ongoing protest on Delhi borders over the three farm laws, the government is not ready to withdraw them. Isn’t that ego?” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party asked.

    A governor should pursue the agenda of the government of the day and not that of the opposition, it added.

    The Sena also criticised the delay in governor’s approval of 12 names recommended by the state cabinet for their nomination to the Legislative Council from his quota.

    “The governor is acting like a puppet,” it alleged.

    The governor of Maharashtra is an honourable person.

    But it is also his own responsibility to keep the prestige of the position that he occupies.

    However, he is being forced to dance to the BJP’s tunes, it said.

    “If the Union Home Ministry wants the Constitution, laws and norms to be upheld, it should recall the governor,” it said.

  • Intensify social media slugfest, send 50 lakh messages per hour: Amit Shah to Bengal BJP

    Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Home Minister Amit Shah has instructed BJP’s social media workers to intensify the online slugfest ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, asking them to send 50 lakh contents per hour. Inaugurating a new App titled Modi Para (Modi locality), Shah set up a target of 2 crore people and asked the party workers to include them in cyber activities.

    He also directed the workers to divide the saffron camp’s cyber soldiers in Bengal into four groups to carry out activities of preparing content, spreading it on social media platforms, analyzing the content politically, and study people’s reactions.

    The BJP’s Bengal chapter has an incomparable social media wing comprising 60 lakh-strong manpower and 40,000 WhatsApp groups. While addressing the social media workers, Shah said, “You will have to take the Centre’s projects and BJP’s ideology to the booth level. Keep yourself busy carrying out this task, instead of chitchatting with your friends on WhatsApp.

    “Build up such a strong network on WhatsApp so that you can circulate 50 lakh messages in an hour.”

    The BJP in Bengal has been aggressively campaigning on social media. On several occasions in the recent past, CM Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of using its social media network to circulate fake contents.

  • Lok Sabha: Three BJP MPs give breach of privilege notice against Rahul Gandhi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Three BJP members in Lok Sabha on Friday moved a breach of privilege notice against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying by asking members to observe silence to mourn death of farmers during agitation without the permission of the Chair was a contempt of the House.

    In a dramatic move, Gandhi on Thursday led his party members and those from the TMC and the DMK to observe a two-minute silence by standing to mourn the death of farmers during the ongoing agitation.

    Claiming that “200 farmers” have died during protests, he had said he was doing this as the government has not paid tributes to them.

    This was perhaps for the first time in recent history that some members stood in silence to mourn deaths without being asked to do so by the Chair.

    BJP MPs Sanjay Jaiswal, Rakesh Singh and P P Chaudhary moved notice against Gandhi.

    Jaiswal said that Gandhi directed his party members to observe silence without taking permission from the Speaker.

    The House should take action against him, he said.

    Singh alleged that Gandhi has shown an unparliamentary behaviour and that has impacted the dignity of Parliament.

    He alleged that Gandhi works against the rules of Parliament.

    Sharing similar views, Chaudhary said that: “It is gross misconduct and it is a serious breach of privilege”.

  • Akhilesh Yadav alleges ‘corruption’, ‘lack’ of development under BJP rule in Uttar Pradesh

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh on Friday over “corruption” and “lack of development”, citing a ruling party MLA’s statement and a news report.

    “On one hand, without electricity, metres were handed over (to people) and on the other, a BJP MLA is saying that policemen are running spurious liquor factories,” Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.

    Yadav also tagged a news report in which women were seen holding electricity meters without electricity.

    He alleged that there is corruption and lack of development in the state.

    The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister referred to the statement of BJP MLA Surendra Singh who on Thursday alleged that illicit liquor trade was going on in the Revati area of the Ballia district under the police patronage and he had complained about it to senior police officials but to no avail.

    Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada had said Bairia MLA’s allegations will be probed.

  • TMC was unaware if Dinesh Trivedi had issues, his resignation not a setback: Spokesperson

    Gupta also said Trivedi #39;s resignation was not a setback for the TMC and will not affect the party #39;s poll campaign in the state.

  • Farmers’ protest to go on for indefinite period, warns Rakesh Tikait

    By ANI
    GHAZIABAD: Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait on Friday said the ongoing farmers’ protest will go on for indefinite period as there is no planning regarding the duration yet.

    “Farmers’ protest will go on for indefinite period as there is no plan currently. It might continue till October,” Tikait told ANI.

    He said this in response to the statement of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leader Gurnam Singh Charni that the farmers’ protest will continue till October.

    Tikait had earlier warned the farmers’ agitation will not conclude unless government repeals the three newly enacted agriculture laws and it may go on till October.

    On Friday he mentioned that the farmers do a protest every year on October 2 at the Ghazipur border.

    “Tear shells and bullets were fired at the farmers on October 2, 2018, at the Ghazipur border. Every year we do a programme here at the Ghazipur border and will also do it this year,” he said.

    Asked about the debates in the Parliament on the farmers’ issues, Tikait said it is good that the issue is being raised and debated in the Parliament.

    ALSO READ: ‘Hum do hamare do’ – Rahul Gandhi tears into Modi govt on farm laws

    He further said there must be a genuine reason that the country’s farmers are protesting for so long.

    “The entire nation’s farmers are on streets protesting, there must be a reason to it. If the farm laws are not accepted by the farmers, then what is the compulsion of not repealing them?” Tikait asked.

    He agreed with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remark of ‘Hum do hamare do’ as he believed that it truly seemed like only four people are running the country.

    Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

  • Cong realises Nehru’s blunder of gifting land to China: Another BJP leader takes dig at Rahul Gandhi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP took a dig at Rahul Gandhi on Friday for his allegation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ceded Indian territory to China, saying it was an acknowledgment of the realisation in the Congress that Jawaharlal Nehru had made a “Himalayan blunder” by “gifting” over 38,000 square kilometres of land to the neighbouring country.

    “I am glad that the Congress has finally realised that PM Nehru created a ‘Himalayan Blunder’ by gifting 38,000 sq km land to China. Will it also question its co-owner, the coward Rahul Gandhi for making baseless allegations against PM Modi?” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary C T Ravi said in a tweet.

    ​ALSO READ | Ask your grandfather who gave up Indian territory to China: MoS Kishan Reddy to Rahul Gandhi

    Gandhi questioned the government on Friday over its agreement with China on troops disengagement in eastern Ladakh and alleged that Modi has “ceded” Indian territory to the Chinese.

    The former Congress chief’s attack on the government came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured Parliament that India has not conceded anything in the sustained talks with China and it will not allow even an inch of its territory to be taken away by anyone.

    The two countries have been engaged in a stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since April-May last year. While China began amassing massive military strength along the LAC, India responded with a befitting build-up.

  • We value consensus, don’t believe in political untouchability: PM Modi

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that the BJP does not believe in political untouchability and values consensus in running the country, as he noted that his government has bestowed state honours on even the ruling party’s political rivals to acknowledge their service to the nation.

    Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs at an event here to mark the 53rd death anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay, a party ideologue who had founded its progenitor Jana Sangh, Modi said the saffron party always puts “rashtraneeti” above “rajneeti” and gives respect to even its political rivals.

    In this context, he said the current government has honoured former president and Congress stalwart Pranab Mukherjee with Bharat Ratna and noted that Padma awards were given to former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and former Nagaland chief minister S C Jamir, both from the grand old party.

    Modi noted that he had said in Parliament that a government may run with majority but the nation runs with consensus.

    He also cited his government’s tributes to national icons like Subhas Chandra Bose, B R Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and observed that any other dispensation would not have done it.

    Upadhyay’s ideals of “antyodya” (empowering the most downtrodden) and integral humanism are the inspiration behind the government’s welfare works and the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) programme to boost the economy, the prime minister said, adding that India has followed the principle of “nation first” in its external policy as well, without being influenced by any pressure.

    He urged the BJP units across the country to undertake 75 works for social welfare as the country approaches its 75th year of independence.

    Modi also suggested to the party MPs and other leaders to make a list of products they use in their daily lives and see if they can get rid of foreign stuff and instead, use their Indian alternatives.

    PTI KR RC 02111248 NNNN

  • Mahabharata continues to dominate between two BJP leaders

    The Mahabharata of supremacy between two veteran BJP leaders continues. With the announcement of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha state executive, the names of the district heads of 19 districts have been announced. But Raipur city district president’s name has not yet been agreed. If party sources are to be believed, there is a struggle between the two veteran leaders to make their supporters district president in the city. Explain that the announcement of Raipur city, Durg and other districts including Jagdalpur is yet to be announced. It will now be seen who finally gets the command of Raipur City District President.