News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • Terrorists sitting at farmers’ protest sites, says BJP MP; kicks up row in Rajasthan

    By PTI
    JAIPUR: A BJP legislator triggered a row in Rajasthan on Wednesday by calling some protesters taking part in the farmers’ agitation ”terrorists”, with the party’s state unit justifying her comments.

    In a video clip on social media, Dausa MP Jaskaur Meena is heard purportedly referring to the new agri-marketing laws and the protest over them by farmers camping at Delhi’s border.

    “Terrorists are sitting there and the terrorists have AK-47s with them. They have pitched the Khalistan flag,” she is heard saying.

    The MP was unavailable on phone for comment.

    Meena’s statement drew criticism from the ruling Congress in the state, which said people in Rajasthan are “ashamed” that they voted for her.

    State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said the BJP’s vision was limited to getting into power, alleging that its veterans did not even want to liberate India from the British.

    “The BJP has always been an anti-farmer party,” he claimed.

    In an apparent reference to strikes against Pakistan after terror attacks in India, he said, “In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP leaders won due to the valour of the army.”

    “Now, people of Rajasthan are feeling ashamed that they voted for a leader with such a narrow mindset,” he added, apparently referring to Meena’s victory.

    But state BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma justified her comment.

    “MP Meena’s feelings were not wrong. She wanted to say that the kind of flags and slogans being raised at the farmers’ protest is wrong. Some people have entered the protest in the name of farmers,” he claimed.

    He said the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is concerned about the welfare of farmers and is holding talks with them to resolve the issue.

    Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been camping at Delhi’s border for weeks seeking the repeal of the central laws enacted last September.

    Farmer unions claim that the laws weaken the minimum support price (MSP) system.

    But the government says they provide more options for farmers to sell their crops.

  • Will celebrate Republic Day with farmers, expose BJP: Akhilesh Yadav

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Backing the agitation against the Centre’s farm laws, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party will celebrate the Republic Day with farmers and “expose” the BJP.

    “On January 26, the Samajwadi Party will celebrate the Republic Day with farmers and expose the BJP, which has become a puppet in the hands of big capitalists,” Yadav said a statement here.

    “Farmers are holding a peaceful dharna for their just demands. Their non-violent movement has become historic. The Republic Day is a national festival. On this day, our ‘annadata’,who is revered deserves the respect of all of us and should not be humiliated,” he added.

    Stating that farmers should not be ignored, Yadav said by accepting their demands, the pride of the nation will increase.

    “The BJP leadership and the government should also keep their language restrained. Do not make unwarranted and baseless allegations against farmers. The main demand of farmers is that agriculture laws should be rollbacked,” he said “We are in full support of farmers. They have made India self-reliant. The party organised a kisan yatra and other programmes in support of farmers,” he said.

  • TMC’s Arindam Bhattacharya joins BJP

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Another Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Arindam Bhattacharya joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi on Wednesday ahead of West Bengal Assembly polls this year.

    Bhattacharya, from Nadia’s Santipur constituency, arrived in Delhi earlier today and met BJP’s national general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya. He joined the BJP at the party’s national headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.

    Bhattacharya was elected Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) on Congress ticket and later joined TMC.

    “I was elected on Congress symbol but extended support to TMC so that development happens but it didn’t,” Bhattacharya said.

    West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday said he is aiming to wipe out Trinamool Congress (TMC) Party from West Bengal in the upcoming state Assembly elections.

    About a month ago, in a major setback to TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, former party leader Suvendu Adhikari joined Bharatiya Janata Party here on December 19 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Midnapore College ground along with several other party members. 

  • BJP will encircle the collectorate on January 22 on the problems of farmers

    State BJP Working Committee member Kedar Gupta reached Gariaband on Wednesday. Discussed the problem of farmers with reporters here. In this, he told that the farmer of Chhattisgarh is very upset. The Bharatiya Janata Party will lay siege to the collectorate on 22 January, staging a sit-in at all district headquarters in Chhattisgarh. Gariaband headquarters will also make arrests after mass demonstrations. Gupta said that the Congress government of Chhattisgarh is anti-farmer. This state is continuously doing injustice to the farmers. The state has taken a loan of 27 thousand crores in 2 years, which is falling on the common citizens. It can be assumed that this government is taking a loan of 1 thousand crores per month and today this state, which is called the rice bowl, has completely sunk in debt. Asked about this, farmers are opposing the policy of the Center. If the bill has been brought against the farmers of the central government, they say that the problems and problems that the farmers are facing, they support all things. They want that the problem of the farmers in the center too should be resolved as soon as possible and for this, it has been talked up to the Supreme Court that a decision will come in the interests of some farmers, which we should wait for. Regarding the rising rate of petrol diesel, he said that it depends on the price of petrol diesel based on the international market. On the matter of giving benefit to some industrialists, they say that the industrialist is not the present industrialist, already they are industrialists and their work is already going on, it is not that they do not have any new work. They say on the vacant space and the representation of terrorists regarding the peasant movement. Gupta said that the state government is harassing the farmers by making an excuse for gunny bags. As per the government promise, the farmers have not received the entire bonus till now. It is sad that on January 22, the BJP will encircle the collectorate by organizing a massive agitation on these issues.

  • Congress wants to derail government-farmers talks: BJP 

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The BJP on Tuesday accused the Congress of working to derail the ongoing talks between the Centre and farmers’ unions, hitting back at Opposition party’s leader Rahul Gandhi over his attack on the Narendra Modi government over farm laws and national security.        

    Senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said the Congress does not want the talks to succeed and has resorted to obstructive tactics. 

    “The Congress is adopting the strategy of protest-obstacle. The presser of Gandhi shows the desperation of the Congress. The talks with the farmers continue and we are confident that it will succeed,” said the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting at the BJP headquarters. 

    ALSO READ: Not scared of PM Narendra Modi, will continue to oppose three farm laws, says Rahul Gandhi

    BJP chief J P Nadda had early in the day posted a series of questions to Gandhi after the latter addressed a press conference to attack the government.

    “When is the Rahul Gandhi and the Congress stop spreading falsehood on matters related to China? Can he refute that thousands of kms of areas, including the place stated by him in Arunachala Pradesh was gifted to China by none other than (former PM Jawahar Lal) Nehru?” asked Nadda in his tweets. 

    Both Nadda and Javadekar reiterated that the Congress had promised in the party manifesto of steps to reform the agricultural marketing. Reacting to the unveiling of the book ‘Kheti ka khoon’ by Gandhi, Javadekar charged that the Congress has an apparent love for the word ‘khoon (blood)’. 

    ALSO READ: Farmers have constitutional right to take out rally – Unions

    “Weren’t the 1984 riots and the consequent massacre of Sikhs across the country khoon ki kheti (harvest of blood),” asked Javadekar. 

    ‘No change in our route of tractor rally on R-Day’  

    CHANDIGARH: Farm union leaders have told the Delhi Police that a peaceful tractor march and tableux depicting the lives of farmers will be taken out on the Outer Ring Road in the national capital.

    The unions said the police ited traffic and security constraints on the Outer Ring Road to request them for choosing an alternative route, but the proposal was turned down.

    ALSO READ: Supreme Court panel to meet farmer leaders on Thursday

    “We told the police not to waste our time. We will carry out our tractor rally as per schedule. But we assured them that it will be peaceful and we will return to our demonstration sites,’’ a farm leader said. A large number of tableuxs depicting the culture of  different states will form the part of the parade and we are under construction,’’ he said.

    Similarly, Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav said the tractor parade will be taken out on the route which has already been planned before. 

  • Proposed changes to ‘Tandav’ only a step forward: BJP MP Manoj Kotak

    The Mumbai North-East seat on January 16 wrote to Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, seeking a ban on quot;Tandav quot; alleging it ridiculed Hindu deities.

  • Mamata should contest from Nandigram alone: Suvendu Adhikari’s challenge to TMC chief

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday dared West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to contest the upcoming assembly polls only from Nandigram, the seat held by him before he switched over to the BJP.

    Adhikari, during a rally at Khejuri in Purba Midnapore, said it’s not fair on the part of the Trinamool Congress supremo to contest from two seats.

    Banerjee sprang a surprise on Monday when she declared that she will contest the assembly elections from Nandigram.

    “If possible, I will contest from both Bhawanipore and Nandigram. Nandigram is my elder sister and Bhawanipore is my younger sister. I will give a strong candidate from Bhawanipore also, in case I don’t fight from that seat,” she had said.

    Adhikari said the TMC is like a private limited company run by two people, referring to Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek.

    “Didi, you have to contest from only one seat, Nandigram. You cannot fight from two seats, that is not going to happen,” he asserted.

    Nandigram was the scene of massive public protest against “forcible” land acquisition by the erstwhile Left Front government for the creation of a special economic zone.

    During another public meeting on Monday, Adhikari had said he will defeat Banerjee her by a margin of “at least 50,000 votes” if fielded from Nandigram.

    Adhikari also alleged that many BJP workers were attacked by the TMC earlier in the day.

    “There have been attacks at five places. The police was busy ensuring a smooth passage for the CM’s convoy for her rally at Purulia in the afternoon,” he claimed.

    The political heavyweight from Bengal also said while Banerjee specialises in telling lies, her nephew is an “extortionist”.

    “Her (Mamata’s) days are numbered as the chief minister. She should be ready with a letterhead that reads former CM,” Adhikari said.

  • Who is he? I’m not answerable to him: Rahul Gandhi on Nadda’s posers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: After BJP president J P Nadda posed several questions to him on the issues of farmers and national security, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he was not answerable to him and asserted that it was not Nadda but he who has stood up for farmers.

    “Is J P Nadda my professor that I am answerable to him. Who is he? Is he a professor or teacher of India? Why should I answer him? “I answer the country, I answer the farmers who can ask me anything,” Gandhi said at a press conference when asked about Nadda’s tweets criticizing him and posing several questions to him.

    Hitting back at the BJP chief for his tweets earlier in the day, the Congress leader claimed it was an “attempted distraction”.

    The farmers know that it was Rahul Gandhi who stood up for them in Bhatta Parsaul and over the land acquisition issue, not BJP leader Nadda, he said.

    Earlier in the day, Nadda lashed out at Gandhi for his barb on the Modi government over national security and also targeted the Congress leader over a host of issues, including agriculture and COVID-19.

    “When will Rahul Gandhi, his dynasty and Congress stop lying on China. Can he deny that thousands of kms, including the one in Arunachal Pradesh he is referring to was gifted by none other than Pandit Nehru to the Chinese? Time and again, why does Congress surrender to China?” Nadda tweeted.

    The BJP chief also accused Gandhi of “provoking and misleading” farmers and asked why did the Congress-led UPA government “stall” the Swaminathan Commission report for years and did not increase the minimum support price (MSP).

    Nadda said now that Gandhi has returned from his “monthly vacation”, he would like to ask him some questions and posted several posers for the former Congress chief.

  • Lord Ram’s banners taken away in garbage vehicle in Aurangabad, alleges BJP

    By PTI
    AURANGABAD: The BJP has approached the police here in Maharashtra seeking action against some contractors appointed by Aurangabad civic body claiming that they have removed banners of Lord Ram and carried them in a garbage collection vehicle.

    Local leaders of the BJP alleged that these banners appealing donation for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya were installed in Hindu Rashtra Chowk, Malhar chowk and other parts of the city.

    The banners were removed by the contractors appointed for garbage collection work by the city municipal corporation, and were taken in a vehicle which is used for garbage collection, the BJP said in its complaint application.

    “Nothing provocative was mentioned on these banners which would have created any controversy,” the BJP leaders said in a memorandum.

    They said this action of the civic administration has hurt feelings of citizens.

    When contacted, Pundalik Nagar police station Assistant Inspector Ghanshyam Sonawane confirmed to PTI that the complaint application has been received.

    “Facts will be checked and action will be taken as per guidance of higher officials,” he said.

  • Bihar cabinet expansion likely soon, assures CM Nitish Kumar

    By PTI
    PATNA: Decks have been cleared for expansion of the recently formed cabinet in Bihar and the same would take place in near future, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said here on Monday.

    He, however, debunked speculations in a section of the media during the course of the day that it was likely to take place on Tuesday.

    “Not tomorrow. you do not worry we would duly inform people in advance. I cannot say whether it will take place after two days or ten days. But, it will be sooner rather than later”, Kumar told reporters who approached him with frenetic queries about cabinet expansion.

    The state cabinet can have up to 36 members and at present it has only 13, besides the Chief Minister.

    Kumar had been maintaining that the same did not take place for want of a “prastaav” (proposal) from the BJP which has the largest number of MLAs in the ruling NDA.

    NDA sources say that there had been a tussle between Kumar and the BJP over the issue of representation of his JD(U) and the saffron party.

    While the BJP is said to have been demanding a lions share, Kumar is said to have been keen on a formula in which the saffron party and the JD(U) had equal representation.

    It has been the contention of the JD(U), which had been the senior coalition partner in the state until the assembly elections, that it has not lost its support base as evident from its vote share and that the steep decline in its tally was to be blamed on the rebellion from LJP headed by Chirag Paswan whom the BJP failed to rein in.

    On Sunday evening, state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal, accompanied by Deputy CMs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi both from his party had called on Kumar at his official residence where the differences over the issue appear to have been ironed out.

    The formula agreed upon by the two parties was, however, not known.

    The NDA in Bihar has altogether four constituents BJP, JD(U), former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Bollywood set designer turned politician Mukesh Sahnis Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).

    At present, the BJP has seven members in the cabinet, including the two Deputy CMs while the JD(U) has only four, besides the Chief Minister.

    Manjhis son has been accommodated from HAM while Sahni has been made a minister despite having lost his seat in assembly polls.

    The BJP has given Sahni the legislative council seat vacated by former state minister Binod Narayan Jha, who has now become an MLA.

    Sahni filed his nomination for the council seat during the day.

    Speculations are rife in the political circles that BJP national spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, who has been fieleded by the party in the by-poll on the legislative council seat vacated by former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, could get a berth in the state cabinet.

    When a question in this regard was posed to Hussain by the media persons, he refused to make any direct comment and merely said as a disciplined soldier of the BJP he has always been obeying party’s order.