News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Amid protest threat, BJP’s Fadnavis meets Anna Hazare in Ralegan Siddhi

    By PTI
    PUNE: Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday met anti-corruption crusader and social activist Anna Hazare in Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar, some 120 kilometres from here, and said the latter’s views and demands on the farm sector will be communicated to the Centre.

    Hazare has written to the Centre and said he will sit on a fast in Delhi from January 30 over a host of agricultural demands.

    Fadnavis said the Union agriculture minister had asked him to speak to Hazare, adding that a solution to the demands would arrive at soon.

    Speaking to reporters, Hazare said the Centre’s new farm laws were undemocratic and added people’s participation was necessary in drafting laws.

    One of his demands is the implementation of M S Swaminathan Committee’s recommendations on agriculture.

  • Expelled from Trinamool, disgruntled MLA Baishali Dalmiya maintains suspense over next move

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal on Friday expelled disgruntled MLA Baishali Dalmiya from the party for anti-party activities, sources said.

    The legislator from Bally said she felt relieved by the decision of the TMC leadership but asserted that her expulsion proved that “rotten elements” are calling the shots in the party.

    Dalmiya, who has been publicly speaking against a section of the TMC leadership, maintained suspense over whether she will join the BJP.

    She had earlier also claimed that there is no place for “honest and sincere people in the party”.

    In a statement, the TMC said that its disciplinary committee met on Friday and decided to expel Dalmiya from the party.

    “Indiscipline won’t be tolerated and stern action would be taken against those leaders who are trying to publically harass the party,” it said.

    Her expulsion came hours after senior TMC leader Rajib Banerjee resigned from the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, joining the growing list of dissenters who have put the ruling camp in a tight spot ahead of the assembly election.

    “The decision to expel me shows that rotten elements are calling the shots in the party. I am answerable to the people of my constituency. If I can’t work for them, if I can’t speak for them, there is no use being part of such a party,” Dalmiya told reporters.

    “I had spoken out against the corruption of a section of leaders after the cyclone Amphan,” she said.

    Protests were held in various parts of West Bengal over alleged lapses in the distribution of monetary compensation to those whose houses were damaged in the cyclone that ravaged the state in May last year.

    A section of the victims and opposition parties had alleged that many TMC leaders and their relatives received compensation though their houses were not damaged in the cyclone.

    When asked whether she would join the BJP in the days to come, Dalmiya said, “Let’s see, only time will say (about it).”

    The state BJP leadership said if Dalmiya wants to join the party, it would be looked into.

    The daughter of late cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya made her poll debut as TMC candidate in 2016 from the Bally assembly seat.

    The TMC Howrah district chief and minister Arup Roy, known to be a detractor of Dalmiya, said that the party did the right thing by expelling her.

    “More the people like her leave the party, the better. No one is above the party discipline. She would have never been an MLA had the TMC and Mamata Banerjee not supported her,” he said.

  • Farmer unions’ ‘obdurate’ stand shows vested interests at play: BJP leaders on agri laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Farmer unions’ rejection of the government’s latest offer to put the three contentious agriculture laws on hold and their insistence that they will agree to nothing short of a complete repeal seems to have muddied the political waters for the BJP, but some party leaders feel their “obdurate” stand makes it clear that they may be playing in the hands of vested interests.

    Several party leaders said that protesting farmers’ “all-or-nothing” approach and their warning to further intensify the agitation may actually help the government in the battle of perceptions, especially when it has become clear that the Centre made a big climbdown by offering to put the laws on hold for up to two years and when the Supreme Court has also formed a panel to resolve the crisis.

    ALSO READ | Punjab, Haryana farmers to set out for tractor parade in Delhi on Saturday

    A party leader said it would have been better if the farmer unions had agreed to call off their stir and allowed a normal dialogue around the three laws to progress, as continuing agitation on Delhi borders has a nationwide resonance.

    Politically, there is some concern in the BJP about its poll prospects in northern states, especially Punjab, where assembly polls are scheduled for early next year.

    Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will also go to the polls with Punjab.

    The recent local body poll results in Haryana saw the BJP performing below-par, an indication that its prospect was hit by these protests and its bid to tag protestors as overwhelmingly better-off Sikh farmers from Punjab was not working on the ground.

    A senior BJP leader, however, asserted that if farmer unions maintained an “obdurate” position, then the message that they are playing in the hands of “vested interests” will be strengthened.

    ALSO READ | Singer Daler Mehndi says celeb appearances at farmers’ protest won’t help

    “The government has shown the maximum flexibility due to its regard for farmers’ concerns. But it has made unions only more hard-headed. They have also shown a similar disregard for the Supreme Court’s bid to defuse the crisis. More and more people will realise that they are interested in protests for the sake of it,” he said.

    When the Supreme Court had already put the implementation of the laws on hold and the government has agreed to put them on the backburner for up to two years, then what stops these unions from agreeing to end the stir and continue with talks, he asked.

    After the government’s talks with farmer unions hit a roadblock, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters that some “forces” definitely want protests to continue for their own personal and political motives and no resolution is possible when the sanctity of agitation is lost.

    The minister said the farmer unions have been asked to revert till Saturday if they agree to the government’s proposal for putting the laws on hold and forming a  joint committee to reach a solution, after which the talks can continue.

    On whether he saw any division among the union leaders on the government proposal, Tomar did not give a direct reply but said, “We thanked all farmer leaders, including those who support our proposal and those who are against it.”

    There have been reports that some unions were in support of the government’s proposal, but they decided to go with the majority view to reject the offer.

    Taking a hardline position, the minister said some external force was definitely trying to ensure that the agitation continues and those were obviously against the interests of farmers.

    “Govt gave many proposals to end the protest, but no resolution is possible when the sanctity of an agitation is lost,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Punjab government to give job to kin of farmers who died during stir against agri laws

    Tomar said the three farm reform bills were passed in Parliament for farmers’ benefit and will increase their income.

    The ongoing agitation is mainly by those from Punjab and some from a few other states, he added.

    Tomar said the talks between the government and farmers are continuing since October 14 and there have been 11 rounds so far, including one with officials and others with the ministers.

    Unlike the last 10 rounds of talks, the 11th round could not even reach a decision on the next date for the meeting as the government also hardened its position saying it is ready to meet again only after the unions agree to discuss the suspension proposal.

    This followed a big climbdown made by the Centre during the last round when they offered to suspend the laws and form a joint committee to find solutions.

    Farmer leaders said they will intensify their agitation now and alleged that the government’s approach was not right during the meeting.

    They also said their tractor rally will go ahead as per the plans on January 26 and unions have told the police that it is the government’s responsibility to maintain peace.

    While the meeting lasted for almost five hours, the two sides sat face to face for less than 30 minutes.

    In the very beginning, the farmer leaders informed the government that they have decided to reject the proposal made by the government in the last round of talks on Wednesday.

    ALSO READ | Government-farmers talks hit roadblock; Unions threaten to intensify agitation

    After internal consultations on Thursday, the farmer unions had decided to reject the offer and stick to their two major demands — the repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP).

    Some leaders expressed apprehensions that the movement will lose its momentum once the farmers go away from Delhi borders.

    Harpal Singh, President of Bhartiya Kisan Union — Asli Arajnaitik (Real Apolitical), said, “Even if we accept the government’s offer, our fellow brothers sitting at Delhi borders will not accept anything other than a repeal of the laws. They will not spare us. What achievement will we show to them?” He also questioned the government’s credibility, alleging it was difficult to believe that they will keep their word on putting the laws on hold for 18 months.

    “We will die here but we will not return without getting the laws repealed,” Singh said.

    Along with Union Agriculture Minister Tomar, Railways, Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash also participated in the talks with representatives of 41 farmer unions at the Vigyan Bhawan here.

    Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three laws.

    Farmer groups have alleged these laws will end the mandi and MSP procurement systems and leave the farmers at the mercy of big corporates, even as the government has rejected these apprehensions as misplaced.

    ALSO READ | Those supporting farmer protests being vilified: Sukhbir Badal on case against Manjinder Sirsa

    On January 11, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three laws till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.

    Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann had recused himself from the committee appointed by the apex court.

    Shetkari Sanghatana (Maharashtra) president Anil Ghanwat and agriculture economists Pramod Kumar Joshi and Ashok Gulati, the other three members on the panel, started the consultation process with stakeholders on Thursday.

  • Unlike other political parties, BJP has ‘neta’ and ‘niyat’ to take it forward: JP Nadda

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: BJP president JP Nadda here on Friday said his party has a leader and the intention to take it forward unlike other political outfits, which he accused of being dynastic.

    He said “parivarvaad” (dynastic politics) can be found in all political parties except the BJP, in which an ordinary person can become a prime minister, defence minister or home minister. The BJP chief was speaking at the party’s “Booth President Conference” here.

    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also attended the event. “We have ‘neta’ (leader), ‘niyat’ (intention), ‘niti’ (policy), ‘karyakarta’ (workers) and ‘karyakram’ (programme). We have no reason to stop,” Nadda told party workers.

    He said ”parivarvaad” exists in all political parties, with the baton being passed on to the son by the father. “But it is in the BJP that an ordinary person can become a prime minister, defence minister or home minister,” he said.

    Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nadda said, “Even the US was fighting against it, but what happened? It could not decide between the options of ‘arth’ (economy) and ‘swasthya’ (health). As a result, it was a political issue, an electoral issue and there was an electoral loss. They had a better health system than us.”

    “Spain and Italy had better health system than us, but all of this collapsed because the leadership did not take the decision at the appropriate time. Here, Modiji took the decision at the right time, imposed a lockdown with timely intervention and bold decision, and saved the country,” he added.

    He added that at the time of the imposition of the lockdown, the testing capacity was 150 samples per day and today it is 10 lakh per day and in UP, it is over 1.5 lakh per day. “At the onset of the lockdown, PPE kits were imported and today over 5 lakh PPE kits per day are being made,” he said.

    “India has the best recovery rate and lowest mortality rate. Today, our recovery rate is above 97 per cent and it is increasing every day. UP’s population is 24 crore and the population of the US is (nearly) 33 crore. There, the number of people who have died is four lakh. Every life is important. Here, it is 8,000. We have to understand this difference,” the BJP chief said.

    Nadda said the image of India has changed due to the ‘swachhta abhiyan’ and the toilets constructed in various households are not merely toilets, they are “izzat ghar for women”. “The Ujjawla Yojana was not merely a scheme, it empowered the women,” he said, adding that UP bothered about every migrant labourer, which passed through the state during the nationwide lockdown.

    He urged the party workers to link every farmer with the FPO (farmer producer organisation) and told them to implement social harmony in letter and spirit.

    Speaking at the event, Adityanath said the BJP has set new standards for political parties. Dynastic politics, casteism, regionalism and linguistic divisions weaken democracy and challenge the unity and integrity of the country, Adityanath said.

    Today, the world is looking towards India with hope, the chief minister said. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma were also present at the event.

  • BJP state in-charge D Purandeswari visits Chhattisgarh canceled, co-in-charge Nitin Naveen will lead the movement

    BJP state in-charge D Purandeswari’s visit to Chhattisgarh has been canceled. D. Purandeswari will not be involved in the BJP’s performance in the capital Raipur today.
    BJP state in-charge D Purandeswari’s visit to Chhattisgarh has been canceled due to important meeting in Delhi.
    In the absence of D. Purandeswari, Chhattisgarh co-incharge Nitin Naveen will lead the movement. BJP media in-charge Nalinesh Thokane has given this information.

  • Names of Rohingyas figure in Bengal voter list, urged EC to intervene: Dilip Ghosh

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Thursday said he has urged the Election Commission (EC) to facilitate a scrutiny of the voters’ list in Bengal as names of Rohingya Muslims have been included in it.

    Ghosh told reporters that the EC has been requested to look into allegations of irregularities in the process of updating the list.

    The full bench of the Election Commission of India, led by Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Sunil Arora, arrived in the state on Wednesday on a three-day visit to review poll preparedness.

    “I have urged the CEC to look into reports suggesting that names of Rohingyas have been included in the voters’ list in certain parts of state, including the border areas. I have called upon the EC to scrutinise the list to detect all such irregularities,” Ghosh said.

    The BJP leader had told reporters on Wednesday that three to four lakh names of infiltrators figure in the electoral list, including a large number of Rohingya Muslims.

    Ghosh further appealed to the CEC to deploy paramilitary forces in Bengal “possibly from now to instil confidence among people and avert intimidation.”

    “We want free, fair and peaceful polls in the state,” he said.

  • Ahead of PM’s visit to poll-bound Assam, Congress poses 24 questions for him

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: The Congress in Assam on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 24 questions on issues such as enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the governments “failure” to deport Bangladeshis illegally living in the state and “creating hurdles” in development of industry.

    State Congress president Ripun Bora posed these questions in a press conference ahead of the prime ministers visit to the poll-bound state on Saturday.

    The prime minister has endangered the existence of the indigenous Assamese people by imposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on them, Bora alleged.

    The CAA says that members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 facing religious persecution in those countries will not be treated as illegal immigrants but will be given Indian citizenship.

    Many groups in Assam are afraid that CAA would lead to an influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, which in turn would harm the interests of indigenous people.

    The Congress leader questioned Modi how can he claim to be a well-wisher of the state when he has totally disregarded the Assam Accord which pledges protection the indigenous population in the state.

    Clause Six of the Assam Accord, 1985, says that constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

    Bora said that the BJP had announced before the last assembly elections in 2016 that there will not be a single illegal Bangladeshi in the state.

    “How many Bangladeshis have been deported by Modi? Why did they (the BJP) have to impose the CAA on us and bring in more Bangladeshis in the state?” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

    He also asked whether the BJP government has been successful in sealing the Indo-Bangladesh border.

    During his recent visit to the state, BJP president JP Nadda had claimed that six communities — tea tribes, Koch- Rajbongshi, Moran, Muttock, Chutia and Tai-Ahom — have been granted Scheduled Tribe status, but they have not yet got it, the state Congress president said.

    After coming to power in 2014, the prime minister abolished the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion policy, creating hurdles in the way of industrial development of Assam, he claimed.

    In August 2017, the prime minister had announced a financial package to control floods in the region but the promise remained unfulfilled, Bora alleged.

    Guwahati has not become a smart city as promised by the BJP which also sold off 27 oilfields in Upper Assam to private companies, the Congress leader claimed.

    The prime minister on Saturday will launch a special programme of the Assam government to distribute land ‘patta’ or land allotment certificates to over one lakh landless indigenous people.

  • AIMIM exposed after Bihar polls, would not be a factor in Bengal: Mamata

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM would not be a factor in the upcoming assembly polls in the state as its role as “B team of the BJP” has been exposed in the Bihar elections.

    During a meeting in Murshidabad, a Muslim-dominated district, Banerjee urged party leaders to put up a united fight against the BJP and the other divisive forces.

    “During the core committee meeting, Mamata di assured us that AIMIM would not be a factor in Murshidabad district. She told us that Owaisi’s party was exposed after the Bihar polls,” a local TMC leader said.

    Murshidabad district comprises 22 assembly seats.

    In the recently concluded Bihar elections, the AIMIM won five seats in the Muslims-dominated Seemanchal region on the border of West Bengal.

    Earlier this month, Owaisi had met Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui of Hooghly district’s Furfura Sharif to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement.

    The AIMIM chief has already expressed his desire to fight the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

    The TMC had dubbed the AIMIM’s entry in the state as an attempt to split the Muslim votes in the state and help the BJP.

    The AIMIM has termed the allegation as “baseless” and “motivated”.

    A deciding factor in nearly 100-110 seats in the state, Muslims, who constitute 30 per cent of the population, till 2019, have acted as a bulwark of the TMC against its rivals, with most of them voting in favour of the party, considering it to be a “credible” force that can resist the saffron surge.

    In a development that might upset several political equations in election-bound state, Siddiqui on Thursday floated a new political outfit, contending that he wishes to be the kingmaker after the polls.

    The influential Muslim cleric said his new outfit — Indian Secular Front (ISF) – plans to contest the elections from all 294 assembly seats in the state.

    Elections to the Bengal assembly are likely to be held in April-May.

  • Trinamool MLA Debasree Roy cheated people who voted for her: Sovan Chatterjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP leader Sovan Chatterjee on Thursday came down heavily on his former colleague in the TMC and Raidighi MLA Debasree Roy, claiming that the actor- turned-politician has made false promises and cheated the people of her constituency in South 24 Parganas district.

    Chatterjee, during a public meeting in Raidighi, said that he regrets having campaigned for the once-popular Bengali film actress in 2016.

    “Instead of serving the people who elected her, she cheated them, made false promises. If she is fielded again, I will ensure she gets defeated,” Chatterjee, once a key member of Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet, said.

    The former state minister also claimed Roy had turned up at the BJP office in Delhi in 2019 as she wanted to join the saffron camp, but after “coming to know about it, I ensured she was not inducted”.

    Responding to Chatterjee’s comments, Roy said she “did not even steal 10 paisa”, while working for the people of Raidighi.

    “I don’t have that sick mindset. I dont cheat the poor to get rich,” Roy stated.

    “I would not want to criticise any individual, but Chatterjees remarks reflect his mentality. Please don’t force me to open my mouth,” she said.

    Countering claims that she wanted to join the BJP, the MLA said, “I fell victim to a conspiracy. I was framed.”

  • Shahnawaz Hussain, Mukesh Sahni elected unopposed to Bihar legislative council

    By PTI
    PATNA: BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and Bihar minister Mukesh Sahni were on Thursday declared elected unopposed to the Bihar legislative council, an official said here.

    Hussain and Sahni were handed over their certificates by Patna Divisional Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal, who had been designated as the returning officer for by-elections to the two seats.

    Hussain has been elected on the seat vacated by former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, the term of which expires in 2024.

    Modi has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from the seat which fell vacant upon the death of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

    Sahni, the founding president of NDA partner Vikassheel Insaan Party, has been elected from the seat vacated by former minister and BJP leader Binod Narayan Jha, who is now a member of the assembly.

    Both Hussain, who has been in politics for more than 20 years, and Sahni who is a greenhorn, have made their debut in the state legislature.

    Hussain, who is one of the national spokespersons of the BJP, had burst on the political scene in 1999 Lok Sabha polls when he wrested Muslim-dominated Kishanganj seat from RJD strongman Taslimuddin.

    He earned a berth in the Union council of ministers headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

    He lost Kishanganj five years later, but got re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur in a by-election necessitated by resignation of Sushil Kumar Modi who took up the new assignment in Bihar after the NDA grabbed power in the state.

    Speculations are rife that Hussain may be in for a key assignment in the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has hinted that an expansion would take place shortly.