News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • West Bengal’s TMC government appropriating central schemes: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari

    By PTI
    PURULIA: Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday accused the Mamata Banerjee dispensation of appropriating central projects, and said only three to four people in the state government call the shots, with the rest functioning as rubber stamps.

    Maintaining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already said that three crore health workers and 27 crore people above the age of 50 years will be administered the vaccine for free across the country, Adhikari claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, despite the announcement, wrote to all COVID warriors and stated that her government would not charge anything for the inoculation.

    Earlier in the day, Banerjee said that arrangements were being made to provide COVID-19 vaccines for free to all the people of the state, and not just the COVID-19 warriors. She also clarified that frontline workers would be given priority over others.

    Alleging that the TMC government was changing names of central projects to claim those to be its own, the former state minister said, “The name of Centre’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan project has been changed to Nirmal Bangla mission.”

    Adhikari, during a public meeting here, also contended that natural resources of Purulia, including coal and other minerals, were being looted by organised gangs, with the state government doing nothing about it.

    The former MLA, during his speech at an adivasi- dominated district, further said that the ‘Ol Chiki’ language of Santhalis was given recognition in the eighth schedule of the Constitution by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the TMC government did not provide any book or teaching facility to promote it.

    He also claimed that the TMC has ceased to be a political party and functions as a private limited company, with “three or four persons from south Kolkata running the government with 20 of 30 departments in their hands”.

    Asserting that the rural areas of the state have long been neglected by the TMC leadership, he said that the “fight is between the villages and a few privileged persons from south Kolkata”. He also said that the district-level service commissions for recruitment of school teachers have been replaced by a centralised system based in Kolkata, thereby reducing job opportunities for youths.

  • What’s the reason behind mass exodus from TMC, asks BJP chief JP Nadda

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Why is there a sudden exodus from the ruling Trinamool Congress to the saffron camp, BJP national president sought to know from party functionaries on Saturday. At BJP’s core committee meeting in Burdwan, JP Nadda asked the reason for this migration from TMC.

    Sources in the BJP have said that the saffron camp’s high chances in the crucial 2021 assembly election were the reason behind this exodus. Though the national president did not take the issue forward but made it clear that he realised that the turncoats are power-hungry and shifting sides eyeing berths in the party BJP’s hierarchy.

    A section of BJP leaders in Bengal has opposed the decision of welcoming TMC turncoats saying it might trigger an intra-party feud as several clashes between the old BJP workers and newcomers have already taken place in the recent past. Two of the BJP’s state functionaries were also issued showcause notice after they opposed entry of TMC MLA Jitendra Tiwari.

     “During the course of Saturday’s conversation with the core committee members, Naddaji realised that many TMC leaders are joining the BJP with the hope to get tickets to contest in the upcoming Assembly elections and their followers are aspiring to get berths in the party’s hierarchy. BJP’s high-command instructed us to welcome all of those who are defecting from the TMC and the party’s state functionaries have no role to play in this induction process,’’ said a senior BJP leader in Kolkata.

    The recent exodus to the BJP from the TMC might change the saffron camp’s intra-party fabric ahead of the Assembly elections, said another BJP leader. “The BJP made deep inroads riding the change in the CPI(M) supporters’ political alignment who were against the TMC and considered the saffron camp as a platform to combat. The recent migration from the TMC has irked the CPI(M)-turned BJP workers as they are finding their rival faces sitting on the same bench,’’ the leader said.

    The discontent surfaced two days ago in front of BJP’s state president Dilip Ghosh and Bengal observer Kailash Vijayvargiya at a rally in Nandigram, East Midnapore. The saffron camp announced a mega joining session and when the TMC turncoats arrived, BJP workers attacked them with plastic chairs and bricks. Ghosh had to stop his speech and asked the workers to be disciplined. Former TMC strongman, Suvendu Adhikari, who joined the BJP last month, could not address the rally, and as a result, the joining session did not take place. 

  • TMC-BJP clashes rock parts of West Bengal, few injured

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling TMC and the BJP in several areas of East and West Midnapore districts of Bengal on Sunday, leaving a few of them injured, sources in the two parties said.

    Maintaining that the TMC launched an attack on the activists of his party, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said such harassment would only help the saffron camp grow from strength to strength.

    “With every attack on our party workers, more people would come out in our support,” Adhikari, who quit the Mamata Banerjee camp to join the BJP last month, told reporters during a roadshow in Purulia.

    Workers of the two parties also crossed swords at Bhajachauli in Kanthi area of East Midnapore district, the sources said.

    Local BJP leaders alleged that a few of its workers sustained injuries in the attack, even as the TMC claimed that infighting in the saffron camp led to the clashes.

    Violence was also reported from Marishda in East Midnapore district.

    At Keshpur in West Midnapore, activists of the two parties allegedly fought each other with bricks and sticks.

    Denying the BJP’s allegation, TMC East Midnapore district president Ajit Maity said that his party, in fact, had been “showing restraint in the face of provocation by saffron party supporters”.

  • Protesting farmers ransack venue of CM Khattar’s meet to explain ‘benefits’ of farm laws; police use teargas shells

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Protesting farmers on Sunday took control and ransacked the venue of ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ programme at Kaimla village in Haryana’s Karnal district where Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was to address people to highlight the “benefits” of the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

    Earlier, Haryana Police used water cannons and lobbed teargas shells to prevent farmers from marching towards the village.

    However, farmers reached the venue and disrupted the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ programme.

    They damaged the stage and broke chairs, tables and flower pots at the venue.

    The farmers also took control over a makeshift helipad where chief minister’s helicopter was to land.

    The programme was cancelled due to an unruly act by farmers at the behest of BKU leader Gurnam Singh Charuni, BJP leader Raman Mallik said.

    Police had made elaborate security arrangements for the chief minister’s visit to the village where he was to speak to people to highlight the “benefits” of the Centre’s three farm laws.

    Karnal: Protesting farmers assemble in Kaimla village where Haryana CM @mlkhattar will hold Kisan Mahapanchayat shortly.Police use tear gas to disperse protestors. pic.twitter.com/nTPqt4wR1m
    — Prasar Bharati News Services पी.बी.एन.एस. (@PBNS_India) January 10, 2021

    Under the banner of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni), farmers, who have been demanding that the laws be repealed, had earlier announced to oppose the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’.

    Farmers were carrying black flags and shouting slogans against the BJP-led government as they attempted to march towards Kaimla village.

    Police had put up barricades at the entry points of the village to prevent protesting farmers from reaching the programme venue.

    The situation turned tense as farmers were adamant that they would not allow the chief minister to hold the programme.

    Policemen were seen trying to pacify the agitating farmers but they went ahead to take control of the stage.

    “We will not allow the government to hold this programme,” a protester said.

    Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala slammed Chief Minister Khattar for using water cannons and teargas shells against farmers.

  • Maharashtra govt slashes security cover of Fadnavis, Raj Thackeray

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has reduced the security of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and his family, former UP governor Ram Naik and MNS president Raj Thackeray, and withdrawn the security cover of state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil.

    State BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhye termed it as “vendetta politics”, while former chief minister Fadnavis said this would not impact his plans to travel and meet people.

    As per a government notification issued on January 8, Fadnavis will now get ‘Y-plus security with escort’, instead of the ‘Z-plus’ cover.

    The security of his wife Amruta Fadnavis and daughter Divija has been downgraded from ‘Y-plus with escort’ to ‘X’ category.

    Former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik will now get ‘Y’ cover instead of ‘Y-plus’.

    MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s security cover has been downgraded from ‘Z’ to ‘Y plus with escort’.

    The security covers of BJP leader and former CM Narayan Rane, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and senior party leader Sudhir Mungantiwar have been withdrawn.

    Rane had ‘Y-plus’ security.

    Besides, the security of state Lokayukta M L Tahiliani has been downgraded from ‘Z’ to ‘Y’.

    The government, as per the notification, has upgraded the security of two persons, downgraded of 11, withdrawn of 16, while 13 new people have got security cover.

    Prominent among the new persons to get security are Sunetra Pawar, wife of state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and Varun Sardesai, secretary of the Yuva Sena and nephew of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray.

    Both have been given ‘X’ security cover.

    Union minister Ramdas Athawale will get only ‘wireless’ instead of the ‘Y-plus with escort’, while central minister Raosaheb Danve’s ‘Y-plus’ cover has been withdrawn.

    The government has also withdrawn the security cover of former minister Rajkumar Badole, BJP MLAs Prasad Lad and Ram Kadam, and former speaker and BJP legislator Haribhau Bagde.

    The state has also withdrawn the ‘X’ category security of former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh, who quit the party, andBJP’s former minister Shobhatai Fadnavis, an aunt of Devendra Fadnavis.

    Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam’s ‘Y-plus with escort’ cover has been upgraded to ‘Z’, while film actor and Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha’s ‘Y-plus’ cover has been upgraded to ‘Y-plus with escort’.

    The security of BJP’s former minister Ashish Shelar has been downgraded from ‘Y-plus’ to ‘Y’.

    State Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkarand Relief and Rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar will get ‘Y-plus with escort’, while Shiv Sena MLA Vaibhav Naik, who had defeated Narayan Rane in the 2014 Assembly polls, will get ‘X’ security cover.

    Current state ministers Sandeepan Bhumre, Sunil Kedar, Dilip Walse Patil and Abdul Sattar, Leader of Opposition in the Council Pravin Darekar and state Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Narhari Zhirwal have been given ‘Y’ cover.

    Meanwhile, state BJP spokesman Keshav Upadhye alleged that the security of Fadnavis and other BJP leaders was downgraded out of “political vendetta”.

    “The decision shows what kind of a mindset the government has, and it is unfortunate. During the COVID-19 lockdown period, Fadnavis was travelling to the nook and corner of the state, while Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was sitting at home,” he claimed.

    Upadhye said Fadnavis was the first to reach Bhandara where 10 babies died in fire at a hospital on Saturday.

    “Even if the entire security cover is removed, he (Fadnavis) would continue to travel in the state and highlight the voice of the people,” the BJP leader said.

    Reacting to the government’s decision, Fadnavis said he had no complaints or worry.

    “I am a people’s person and this doesn’t impact my travel (schedules) to meet people,” he said.

    Narayan Rane said he was given security by Mumbai police because he had a threat from terrorists.

    “I have no complaints. If anything happens to me, the state government is to be blamed,” he said.

    Sudhir Mungantiwar said he was given security due to Naxal threat.

    “I thank the government for withdrawing my security cover. This means the Naxal threat doesn’t exist. Our aim to highlight people’s voice will be more stronger,” he said.

  • Punjab CM Amarinder Singh acting like BJP agent: AAP leader Raghav Chadha

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: AAP leader Raghav Chadha here on Saturday accused Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of acting like a “BJP agent” and advised him to “officially join” the saffron party.

    He further alleged that the Punjab chief minister was “helpless” and “bound to appease” the Centre to “save” his son who is facing the ED investigation.

    The AAP leader further claimed that the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government, which was part of the high-powered committee formed by the Centre on its three contentious farm ordinances earlier, had given its approval.

    Amarinder Singh is “acting like a BJP agent”, Chadha alleged while addressing the media.

    “My unsolicited advice to the CM is that you should formally join the BJP. My advice to you is please join the BJP officially. Then all cases against your relatives being probed by the ED, the CBI or corruption matters will be buried,” he said.

    “And then you can also work openly for the BJP.”

    He criticised the chief minister for approaching the President to seek scrapping of the farm laws instead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    Chadha alleged that the CM did not come out of his residence to stand with farmers when they were facing water cannons and teargas shells on their way to Delhi.

    Amarinder Singh had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah but did not bother to travel a few extra kilometres to meet the agitating farmers, the AAP leader said.

    Chadha said the Congress-led dispensation has opposed the decision of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which had said that the apex gurdwara body would not invite the prime minister for the upcoming 400th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

    “Captain Sahib, his minister and his party are opposing the SGPC decision and are saying Modi should be invited. It proves that to save his son, Captain Sahib is behaving like an agent of BJP,” he alleged.

    The AAP leader claimed his party is providing legal assistance to the aggrieved farmers, who are moving courts against some BJP leaders for their alleged defamatory remarks against them.

    Meanwhile, Punhab cabinet minister and Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa slammed Chadha and termed as “unfortunate” the politicking being indulged by him over religious issues.

    In a statement here, Randhawa outrightly rejected the allegations levelled by the AAP leader of him being ‘hand in glove” with the BJP because of disagreeing over the issue of SGPC for not inviting the Prime Minister for the 400th ‘Prakash Purb’ of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

    “Politics must be kept separate from the matters concerning religion,” he said adding, “the ‘B’ team of the BJP has no moral right to dole out certificates to the Congressmen over opposition to the saffron party.

    ” He said the Congress party has always opposed the BJP in the political circles whereas the Aam Aadmi Party has always “acted as the ‘B’ team of BJP”.

  • US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account suspension dangerous precedent: BJP leaders

    BJP leaders expressed concern on Saturday over the permanent suspension of US President Donald Trump #39;s Twitter account.

  • BJP will stage a demonstration on January 13

    On January 13, a BJP-level sit-in demonstration will be organized by the BJP over the failure of the state government in procuring paddy. There will be a sit-in demonstration in every assembly along with 2000 farmer brothers and a memorandum will be given to the President and the Governor. Similarly, there will be a sit-in at all the district headquarters on 22 January. There will be a sit-in demonstration in the presence of 5000 farmers and workers. On Saturday, a meeting was held with the booth level workers with the workers of Darbha, Nangur, Nagarnar and Jagdalpur divisions to prepare for this. The meeting was held at the community building at Sargud in Nangur division. BJP General Secretary Kiran Dev said that Bhupesh government is engaged in reducing the area of ​​farmers. Farmers are being forced to commit suicide. The Bhupesh government is constantly misleading the farmers in the state and coming to power and cheating the farmers. A dharna will be organized at the state level against injustice to farmers.

    This demonstration will be on every assembly in the state from 12 noon to 4 on Wednesday, January 13. Nagarnar Mandal president Subroto Biswas said that in the name of Girdawari, the government has been making efforts to procure less paddy from the farmers. Paddy procurement started from late one month. Last year’s 2500 rupees could not be found till date. Where is going to bring half the gunny farmers who are being given only Rs 15 while the market price is Rs 30. Today the farmer is upset. On this occasion, District General Ministers Dwy Ramashray Singh and Ved Prakash Pandey, Vice President Raghuvansh Srivastava, Ministers Narsing Rao, District Panchayat members Dui Dharamu Mandavi and Sita Nag, Mahesh Kashyap, Sanjay Pandey, Deepti Pandey, Suresh Gupta, Satish Sethia, Bhola Shrivastava, Padlam Nag, Arjun Sethia, Shiv Lal Sethia, Neetu Bhadoria, Sangram Singh Rana, Aryendra Singh Arya, Manohar Dutt Tiwari, Rajesh Shrivastava, Manish Parikh, Prakash Jha, Ganesh Kale, Rakesh Tiwari, Abhay Dixit, Radheshyam Padre, Rajpal Kaser and other activists was present.

  • JP Nadda to kick off BJP’s rural outreach in West Bengal

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  BJP chief J P Nadda will kick off his party’s rural outreach in the poll bound West Bengal by addressing the first of the planned 40,000 meetings on Saturday in the state ahead of the Assembly elections.    

    “The BJP chief will reach Jagdanandpur village at Katwa in East Bardhaman on Saturday where he will address Krishok Surokkha Gram Sabha which will mark the beginning of 40,000 such meetings to be held by the party across West Bengal before the Assembly elections,” said Anil Baluni, the BJP’s media head in a statement. He stated that Nadda will kick-start door to door rice collection Ek Mutthi Chawal Sangrah campaign from Jagdanandpur also.

    The Ek Mutthi Chawal Sangrah campaign of the BJP is to reassert the party and its government’s commitment and conviction towards the growth, progress and prosperity of farmers, he added. Baluni also stated that the BJP ahead of the Assembly elections will reach out to the homes of all the 73 lakh villagers across the state. Nadda will also take lunch at a farmer’s house in the Jagdanandpur village. Nadda will also hold a core committee meeting of the party in Burdwan on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Friday said that the saffron party, if voted to power in West Bengal, will ensure that each farmer of the state gets `18,000 in arrears under the PM Kisan scheme.

    The assertion of Vijayvargiya, the BJP’s West Bengal in-charge, came days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee indicated that she was agreeable to implement the central scheme in the state, under which farmers get Rs 6,000 a year in three equal instalments. The move of the Trinamool Congress supremo, made months before the assembly election, is being seen as an attempt to blunt the BJP’s accusation that her party is preventing farmers of the state from getting benefits of the scheme.

    “Farmers of Bengal will get their due after the Mamata Banerjee government goes and the BJP government comes to power,” Vijayvargiya said, while addressing a party rally at Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. The mafia controls coal and sand mining in the state and indulges in cattle smuggling, he alleged, asserting that those involved in such rackets will be driven out by the BJP. Describing the TMC as a virus, the BJP’s West Bengal president Dilip Ghosh said that his party is its vaccine which will make the TMC leave the state.

  • Defections depleting Maharashtra BJP ranks

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Thrown out of power in Maharashtra by the unprecedented alliance of traditional rivals Shiv Sena and the Congress-NCP combine, the BJP has been facing an uphill task of keeping its flock together in the state. For the saffron party’s state leadership, every alternate day has been dawning with some or the other leader joining either the NCP or the Sena.

    The party is also feeling the vacuum left behind by mass leaders like Gopinath Munde and Pramod Mahajan. Veteran politician Eknath Khadse, who recently crossed over to the NCP, said the BJP was no more a party of honest workers. “I spent almost 40 years in the BJP and helped it expand in every nook and corner of the state. There were days when no one wanted to join the BJP and people used to criticise us as a ‘Brahmin-Baniya party’. I worked hard along with my leaders Munde and Mahajan to change the party’s image. But, I was humiliated and saw no future in the party,” Khadse said.

    “The present leadership cannot keep the flock together for a long time. Sooner or later, people will leave the party.” State minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik said, “Every day we get calls from BJP leaders and workers showing their willingness to join the NCP. Our Maha Vikas Aghadi is more stable and secured now.” A senior BJP leader admitted that the MVA government is unlikely to fall anytime soon. “Our leadership tried but could not succeed.

    Now, the NCP and the Sena will fight the next assembly elections together. Therefore, everyone who had joined the BJP for power is suddenly seeing a dim future,” said the leader. Many BJP leaders have become restless after they started receiving notices for old cases, he added. The state police had filed an FIR against BJP MLA and former minister Girish Mahajan in connection with an extortion case. He is known to be close to former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

    MLC Prasad Lad received a notice from state’s Economic Offense Wing for alleged fraud in BMC in 2014. The Opposition leader in the legislative council Pravin Darekar is facing inquiry in a bank fraud case. Another BJP leader said the party’s future in the state is now dependent on PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

    Cong, Sena rift over Aurangabad widensMumbai: The rift in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra over renaming Aurangabad city has widened after the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) mentioned the city as Sambhaji Nagar in a tweet even as the Congress strongly opposed the move. Shiv Sena, which heads the three-party alliance in the state, has been at loggerheads with Congress, which says that renaming does not figure in the common minimum programme of the alliance. Replying to the tweet, State Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat reiterated his party’s opposition.