News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • On day NYT prints his photo praising Delhi education model, CIB raids Sisodia’s house: Kejriwal

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s residence being raided by the CBI in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy on Friday morning prompted a series of backlash from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with Sisodia initially saying they investigative agency is “welcome” to do so. At the same time, the BJP has been protesting against the policy levelled corruption charges against the AAP-led government. 

    “We welcome CBI. Will give full cooperation in the investigation so that the truth can come out soon. Till now, many cases have been filed against me, but nothing has come out. Nothing will come out of it either. My work for a good education in the country cannot be stopped,” Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi. 

    He added, “It is very unfortunate that those who do good work in our country are harassed like this. That is why our country has not yet become No 1.” 

    Incidentally, the raid happened on a day when the New York Times published on the front page of its international edition of the overhaul of government schools in Delhi by the AAP government. 

    Delhi has made India proud. Delhi model is on the front page of the biggest newspaper of US. Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of independent India. pic.twitter.com/6erXmLB2be
    — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 19, 2022
    Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reacting to the CBI raid tweeted: “On a day when the Delhi education model is praised and Manish Sisodia’s picture is printed on the front page of America’s largest newspaper, NYT, the Centre sends CBI to his house.” 

    He further said that the good work being done by the Delhi government will not stop despite these hurdles being created by the Central government to halt this development works in the capital. 

    Outside Sisodia’s residence at Mathura Road, a beeline of press reporters, television channel vans and cabs could be seen right from the morning, as the news broke. 

    Also, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann pitched in to describe Sisodia as the best education minister of Independent India and that this CBI raid was a reward for the AAP government’s good governance receiving accolades across the globe.  

    “Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of Independent India. Today the largest US newspaper NYT printed his photo on the front page. And today Modi ji sent CBI to his house. How will India progress like this?” Mann said in a tweet in Hindi.

    सीबीआई आई है. उनका स्वागत है. हम कट्टर ईमानदार हैं . लाखों बच्चों का भविष्य बना रहे हैं.बहुत ही दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है कि हमारे देश में जो अच्छा काम करता है उसे इसी तरह परेशान किया जाता है. इसीलिए हमारा देश अभी तक नम्बर-1 नहीं बन पाया.
    — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 19, 2022
    Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress alleging big-time corruption in the liquor policy slammed the AAP for making”false” claims of honesty. 

    Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor in a statement said Aam Aadmi Party should stop diverting the issue and tell Delhi why it had to withdraw its Excise Policy if it was clean.?

    “AAP government has made thousands of crores through Excise Policy and now when time has come to rely on it Arvind Kejriwal & Company is trying to feign ignorance. Time has come for Manish Sisodia to share a room with Satyendra Jain in Tihar,” said Kapoor.

    Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said that the CBI has registered a case against Delhi deputy CM Sisodia in the liquor scam. “The Congress had fought from the road to the investigating agency to prevent Delhi from becoming a drug capital,” he said. 

    NEW DELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s residence being raided by the CBI in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy on Friday morning prompted a series of backlash from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with Sisodia initially saying they investigative agency is “welcome” to do so. At the same time, the BJP has been protesting against the policy levelled corruption charges against the AAP-led government. 

    “We welcome CBI. Will give full cooperation in the investigation so that the truth can come out soon. Till now, many cases have been filed against me, but nothing has come out. Nothing will come out of it either. My work for a good education in the country cannot be stopped,” Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi. 

    He added, “It is very unfortunate that those who do good work in our country are harassed like this. That is why our country has not yet become No 1.” 

    Incidentally, the raid happened on a day when the New York Times published on the front page of its international edition of the overhaul of government schools in Delhi by the AAP government. 

    Delhi has made India proud. Delhi model is on the front page of the biggest newspaper of US. Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of independent India. pic.twitter.com/6erXmLB2be
    — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 19, 2022
    Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reacting to the CBI raid tweeted: “On a day when the Delhi education model is praised and Manish Sisodia’s picture is printed on the front page of America’s largest newspaper, NYT, the Centre sends CBI to his house.” 

    He further said that the good work being done by the Delhi government will not stop despite these hurdles being created by the Central government to halt this development works in the capital. 

    Outside Sisodia’s residence at Mathura Road, a beeline of press reporters, television channel vans and cabs could be seen right from the morning, as the news broke. 

    Also, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann pitched in to describe Sisodia as the best education minister of Independent India and that this CBI raid was a reward for the AAP government’s good governance receiving accolades across the globe.  

    “Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of Independent India. Today the largest US newspaper NYT printed his photo on the front page. And today Modi ji sent CBI to his house. How will India progress like this?” Mann said in a tweet in Hindi.

    सीबीआई आई है. उनका स्वागत है. हम कट्टर ईमानदार हैं . लाखों बच्चों का भविष्य बना रहे हैं.
    बहुत ही दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है कि हमारे देश में जो अच्छा काम करता है उसे इसी तरह परेशान किया जाता है. इसीलिए हमारा देश अभी तक नम्बर-1 नहीं बन पाया.
    — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 19, 2022
    Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress alleging big-time corruption in the liquor policy slammed the AAP for making”false” claims of honesty. 

    Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor in a statement said Aam Aadmi Party should stop diverting the issue and tell Delhi why it had to withdraw its Excise Policy if it was clean.?

    “AAP government has made thousands of crores through Excise Policy and now when time has come to rely on it Arvind Kejriwal & Company is trying to feign ignorance. Time has come for Manish Sisodia to share a room with Satyendra Jain in Tihar,” said Kapoor.

    Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said that the CBI has registered a case against Delhi deputy CM Sisodia in the liquor scam. “The Congress had fought from the road to the investigating agency to prevent Delhi from becoming a drug capital,” he said. 

  • CBI raided Sisodia’s houses the day NYT praised him for Delhi education model: Kejriwal

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s residence being raided by the CBI in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy on Friday morning prompted a series of backlash from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with Sisodia initially saying the investigative agency is “welcome” to do so. At the same time, the BJP has been protesting against the policy levelled corruption charges against the AAP-led government. 

    “We welcome CBI. Will give full cooperation in the investigation so that the truth can come out soon. Till now, many cases have been filed against me, but nothing has come out. Nothing will come out of it either. My work for a good education in the country cannot be stopped,” Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi. 

    He added, “It is very unfortunate that those who do good work in our country are harassed like this. That is why our country has not yet become No 1.” 

    Incidentally, the raid happened on a day when the New York Times published on the front page of its international edition of the overhaul of government schools in Delhi by the AAP government. 

    Delhi has made India proud. Delhi model is on the front page of the biggest newspaper of US. Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of independent India. pic.twitter.com/6erXmLB2be
    — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 19, 2022
    Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reacting to the CBI raid tweeted: “On a day when the Delhi education model is praised and Manish Sisodia’s picture is printed on the front page of America’s largest newspaper, NYT, the Centre sends CBI to his house.” 

    He further said that the good work being done by the Delhi government will not stop despite these hurdles being created by the Central government to halt this development works in the capital. 

    Outside Sisodia’s residence at Mathura Road, a beeline of press reporters, television channel vans and cabs could be seen right from the morning, as the news broke. 

    Also, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann pitched in to describe Sisodia as the best education minister of Independent India and that this CBI raid was a reward for the AAP government’s good governance receiving accolades across the globe.  

    “Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of Independent India. Today the largest US newspaper NYT printed his photo on the front page. And today Modi ji sent CBI to his house. How will India progress like this?” Mann said in a tweet in Hindi.

    सीबीआई आई है. उनका स्वागत है. हम कट्टर ईमानदार हैं . लाखों बच्चों का भविष्य बना रहे हैं.बहुत ही दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है कि हमारे देश में जो अच्छा काम करता है उसे इसी तरह परेशान किया जाता है. इसीलिए हमारा देश अभी तक नम्बर-1 नहीं बन पाया.
    — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 19, 2022
    Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress alleging big-time corruption in the liquor policy slammed the AAP for making”false” claims of honesty. 

    Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor in a statement said Aam Aadmi Party should stop diverting the issue and tell Delhi why it had to withdraw its Excise Policy if it was clean.?

    “AAP government has made thousands of crores through Excise Policy and now when time has come to rely on it Arvind Kejriwal & Company is trying to feign ignorance. Time has come for Manish Sisodia to share a room with Satyendra Jain in Tihar,” said Kapoor.

    Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said that the CBI has registered a case against Delhi deputy CM Sisodia in the liquor scam. “The Congress had fought from the road to the investigating agency to prevent Delhi from becoming a drug capital,” he said. 

    NEW DELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s residence being raided by the CBI in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy on Friday morning prompted a series of backlash from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with Sisodia initially saying the investigative agency is “welcome” to do so. At the same time, the BJP has been protesting against the policy levelled corruption charges against the AAP-led government. 

    “We welcome CBI. Will give full cooperation in the investigation so that the truth can come out soon. Till now, many cases have been filed against me, but nothing has come out. Nothing will come out of it either. My work for a good education in the country cannot be stopped,” Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi. 

    He added, “It is very unfortunate that those who do good work in our country are harassed like this. That is why our country has not yet become No 1.” 

    Incidentally, the raid happened on a day when the New York Times published on the front page of its international edition of the overhaul of government schools in Delhi by the AAP government. 

    Delhi has made India proud. Delhi model is on the front page of the biggest newspaper of US. Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of independent India. pic.twitter.com/6erXmLB2be
    — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 19, 2022
    Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reacting to the CBI raid tweeted: “On a day when the Delhi education model is praised and Manish Sisodia’s picture is printed on the front page of America’s largest newspaper, NYT, the Centre sends CBI to his house.” 

    He further said that the good work being done by the Delhi government will not stop despite these hurdles being created by the Central government to halt this development works in the capital. 

    Outside Sisodia’s residence at Mathura Road, a beeline of press reporters, television channel vans and cabs could be seen right from the morning, as the news broke. 

    Also, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann pitched in to describe Sisodia as the best education minister of Independent India and that this CBI raid was a reward for the AAP government’s good governance receiving accolades across the globe.  

    “Manish Sisodia is the best education minister of Independent India. Today the largest US newspaper NYT printed his photo on the front page. And today Modi ji sent CBI to his house. How will India progress like this?” Mann said in a tweet in Hindi.

    सीबीआई आई है. उनका स्वागत है. हम कट्टर ईमानदार हैं . लाखों बच्चों का भविष्य बना रहे हैं.
    बहुत ही दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है कि हमारे देश में जो अच्छा काम करता है उसे इसी तरह परेशान किया जाता है. इसीलिए हमारा देश अभी तक नम्बर-1 नहीं बन पाया.
    — Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 19, 2022
    Meanwhile, the BJP and the Congress alleging big-time corruption in the liquor policy slammed the AAP for making”false” claims of honesty. 

    Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor in a statement said Aam Aadmi Party should stop diverting the issue and tell Delhi why it had to withdraw its Excise Policy if it was clean.?

    “AAP government has made thousands of crores through Excise Policy and now when time has come to rely on it Arvind Kejriwal & Company is trying to feign ignorance. Time has come for Manish Sisodia to share a room with Satyendra Jain in Tihar,” said Kapoor.

    Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said that the CBI has registered a case against Delhi deputy CM Sisodia in the liquor scam. “The Congress had fought from the road to the investigating agency to prevent Delhi from becoming a drug capital,” he said. 

  • Some convicts in Bilkis Bano case are ‘Brahmins with good sanskaar’, says Gujarat BJP MLA

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Some of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 Gujarat riots are “Brahmins” with good ‘sanskaar’ or values and it is possible they may have been fixed due to their past family activities, a BJP MLA, who was a part of the state government panel that recommended remission to all the 11 men found guilty, has said.

    C K Raulji, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Godhra, on Thursday said he does not know whether the convicts, released after spending more than 15 years in jail, were involved in the crime.

    On August 15, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 case of Bilkis Bano’s gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the communal riots walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the BJP government in Gujarat allowed their release under its remission policy.

    “We took the decision on the basis of a Supreme Court order. We were asked to look at their (convicts’) behaviour and decide (on their early release),” Raulji, who was one of the members of the government-appointed committee that recommended granting of remission to the convicts, told Mojo Story news portal.

    “We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison. Also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good ‘sanskaar’ (values),” said the ruling party legislator.

    The Gujarat government’s decision has invited sharp criticism from the opposition parties who have said the move was against the Centre’s guidelines. However, Raulji said the convicts may have been fixed.

    “It is possible that they (the convicts) might have been fixed in the case due to their past family activities. When such riots take place, it happens that those who are not involved are named. But I don’t know if they committed the crime, we decided (on remission) based on their behaviour,” he said.

    Asked about the welcome accorded to the 11 men after their release from prison, he said they had not welcomed them.

    The Gujarat government released the 11 convicts after the Supreme Court directed it to consider their plea for relief under the state’s 1992 remission policy.

    A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008, sentenced to life imprisonment all the 11 accused in the case for murder of seven family members of Bilkis Bano, a riots survivor, and her gang rape. Their conviction was later upheld by Bombay High Court.

    These convicts served more than 15 years in prison after which one of them approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release.

    The apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence as per its 1992 policy on the basis of the date of his conviction.

    Thereafter, the government formed a committee which took the decision to allow release of all the convicts.

    On March 3, 2002, Bilkis Bano’s family was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village in Limkheda taluka of Dahod district.

    Bilkis, who was five months pregnant at the time, was gang raped and seven members of her family were killed during the riots triggered by the Godhra train burning incident.

    AHMEDABAD: Some of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 Gujarat riots are “Brahmins” with good ‘sanskaar’ or values and it is possible they may have been fixed due to their past family activities, a BJP MLA, who was a part of the state government panel that recommended remission to all the 11 men found guilty, has said.

    C K Raulji, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Godhra, on Thursday said he does not know whether the convicts, released after spending more than 15 years in jail, were involved in the crime.

    On August 15, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 case of Bilkis Bano’s gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the communal riots walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the BJP government in Gujarat allowed their release under its remission policy.

    “We took the decision on the basis of a Supreme Court order. We were asked to look at their (convicts’) behaviour and decide (on their early release),” Raulji, who was one of the members of the government-appointed committee that recommended granting of remission to the convicts, told Mojo Story news portal.

    “We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison. Also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good ‘sanskaar’ (values),” said the ruling party legislator.

    The Gujarat government’s decision has invited sharp criticism from the opposition parties who have said the move was against the Centre’s guidelines. However, Raulji said the convicts may have been fixed.

    “It is possible that they (the convicts) might have been fixed in the case due to their past family activities. When such riots take place, it happens that those who are not involved are named. But I don’t know if they committed the crime, we decided (on remission) based on their behaviour,” he said.

    Asked about the welcome accorded to the 11 men after their release from prison, he said they had not welcomed them.

    The Gujarat government released the 11 convicts after the Supreme Court directed it to consider their plea for relief under the state’s 1992 remission policy.

    A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008, sentenced to life imprisonment all the 11 accused in the case for murder of seven family members of Bilkis Bano, a riots survivor, and her gang rape. Their conviction was later upheld by Bombay High Court.

    These convicts served more than 15 years in prison after which one of them approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release.

    The apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence as per its 1992 policy on the basis of the date of his conviction.

    Thereafter, the government formed a committee which took the decision to allow release of all the convicts.

    On March 3, 2002, Bilkis Bano’s family was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village in Limkheda taluka of Dahod district.

    Bilkis, who was five months pregnant at the time, was gang raped and seven members of her family were killed during the riots triggered by the Godhra train burning incident.

  • ‘You are minister at your home’: Council Deputy Chairperson tells Maharashtra Cabinet member

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Legislative Council on Thursday witnessed a verbal duel between Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe and state Cabinet member Gulabrao Patil, an interaction during which the former rebuked the latter, saying “you are a minister at your home”.

    Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Suresh Dhas of the ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later requested the deputy chairperson to expunge her remarks from Council records to which Gorhe said she will examine them.

    The verbal exchange occurred when School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar was responding to a question in the Upper House.

    The opposition was unsatisfied with Kesarkar’s reply despite an assurance that he will hold a meeting on the issue on Tuesday.

    “Then Gulabrao Patil intervened and started speaking from his seat,” Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande said.

    The intervention by Patil, the water supply and sanitation minister, further angered the opposition members who stormed into the Well of the House, leading to a brief adjournment.

    “The Education Minister was responding to a question. The Leader of Opposition said one minister (Patil) was bossing around. You please sit down. This question is not related to your department. This question is related to Kesarkar’s department,” Gorhe told Patil.

    Despite the Chair’s instruction to Patil to take his seat, chaos continued in the House.

    Later, Gorhe said, “Gulabrao Patil ji, I have, from time to time, warned you, requested you. Take your seat immediately. What kind of behaviour is this in the House? Parliamentary Affairs Minister, can’t you tell him (to behave).”

    Patil, a rebel Shiv Sena MLA who is part of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction, was also a minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray government.

    Seeking to reply, Patil said, “I am a minister” and added he should be given a chance to speak.

    Gorhe lost her cool and shot back, “What if you are a minister. You are a minister at your home. Take your seat.”

    This, however, did not go down well with Dhas, who raised the issue in the House.

    “I don’t want to guide you (Gorhe). I don’t have anything to say when you warned Gulabrao Patil. You told the parliamentary affairs minister to talk to him. I don’t have anything to say about that, too. But then Gulabrao Patil said he should be given a chance to speak. At that time, you inadvertently said ‘you are a minister at your home’. I request you to expunge those remarks,” Dhas told the Deputy Chairperson.

    On another occasion in the Upper House, Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, too, found himself at the receiving end of Gorhe’s anger.

    In response to an issue raised by NCP MLC Amol Mitkari, Gorhe told the minister not to laugh and give the reply with seriousness.

    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Legislative Council on Thursday witnessed a verbal duel between Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe and state Cabinet member Gulabrao Patil, an interaction during which the former rebuked the latter, saying “you are a minister at your home”.

    Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Suresh Dhas of the ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later requested the deputy chairperson to expunge her remarks from Council records to which Gorhe said she will examine them.

    The verbal exchange occurred when School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar was responding to a question in the Upper House.

    The opposition was unsatisfied with Kesarkar’s reply despite an assurance that he will hold a meeting on the issue on Tuesday.

    “Then Gulabrao Patil intervened and started speaking from his seat,” Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande said.

    The intervention by Patil, the water supply and sanitation minister, further angered the opposition members who stormed into the Well of the House, leading to a brief adjournment.

    “The Education Minister was responding to a question. The Leader of Opposition said one minister (Patil) was bossing around. You please sit down. This question is not related to your department. This question is related to Kesarkar’s department,” Gorhe told Patil.

    Despite the Chair’s instruction to Patil to take his seat, chaos continued in the House.

    Later, Gorhe said, “Gulabrao Patil ji, I have, from time to time, warned you, requested you. Take your seat immediately. What kind of behaviour is this in the House? Parliamentary Affairs Minister, can’t you tell him (to behave).”

    Patil, a rebel Shiv Sena MLA who is part of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction, was also a minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray government.

    Seeking to reply, Patil said, “I am a minister” and added he should be given a chance to speak.

    Gorhe lost her cool and shot back, “What if you are a minister. You are a minister at your home. Take your seat.”

    This, however, did not go down well with Dhas, who raised the issue in the House.

    “I don’t want to guide you (Gorhe). I don’t have anything to say when you warned Gulabrao Patil. You told the parliamentary affairs minister to talk to him. I don’t have anything to say about that, too. But then Gulabrao Patil said he should be given a chance to speak. At that time, you inadvertently said ‘you are a minister at your home’. I request you to expunge those remarks,” Dhas told the Deputy Chairperson.

    On another occasion in the Upper House, Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan, too, found himself at the receiving end of Gorhe’s anger.

    In response to an issue raised by NCP MLC Amol Mitkari, Gorhe told the minister not to laugh and give the reply with seriousness.

  • Goa government says ‘Har Ghar Jal’ coverage now 100 per cent; Congress calls it ‘blatant lie’

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Goa government on Thursday said 100 per cent of households in the rural parts of the state now have piped water connection, a claim mocked by the opposition Congress which alleged several taps under this scheme continued to run dry.

    A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said an event to provide a QR (quick response) code for water bill payment will be held in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and CM Pramod Sawant on August 19 here.

    It said the initiative is part of the Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, which is being implemented in the state by the Goa Public Works Department.

    Hitting out at the state government, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sankalp Amonkar said the claim of “Har Ghar Jal” was a blatant lie.

    “The claim of 100 per cent coverage of Har Ghar Jal in Goa by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is a blatant lie. The scheme is a failure in Mormugao (Amonkar’s Assembly seat). In most parts of the state, there are taps but no water supply,” the Congress leader said.

    “It is a shame the BJP has tweeted that Goa is the first state in the country to achieve 100 percent certification of Har Ghar Jal. This is the biggest joke on the people of Goa,” Amonkar alleged.

    PANAJI: The Goa government on Thursday said 100 per cent of households in the rural parts of the state now have piped water connection, a claim mocked by the opposition Congress which alleged several taps under this scheme continued to run dry.

    A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said an event to provide a QR (quick response) code for water bill payment will be held in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and CM Pramod Sawant on August 19 here.

    It said the initiative is part of the Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission, which is being implemented in the state by the Goa Public Works Department.

    Hitting out at the state government, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Sankalp Amonkar said the claim of “Har Ghar Jal” was a blatant lie.

    “The claim of 100 per cent coverage of Har Ghar Jal in Goa by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is a blatant lie. The scheme is a failure in Mormugao (Amonkar’s Assembly seat). In most parts of the state, there are taps but no water supply,” the Congress leader said.

    “It is a shame the BJP has tweeted that Goa is the first state in the country to achieve 100 percent certification of Har Ghar Jal. This is the biggest joke on the people of Goa,” Amonkar alleged.

  • Scams fallout: Trinamool to focus on maintaining clean image, to go all out against BJP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The “democracy-is-dead” refrain is unlikely to be effective in cornering the Narendra Modi dispensation, Trinamool Congress sources said on Thursday and added the party is drawing a list of 12 promises that the BJP made but failed to fulfil for its crusade against the government.

    Among the dozen promises that the Mamata Banerjee-led party plans to take up to corner the BJP government are the doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 and houses for all.

    “We have kept it simple. We want to remind the Modi government of the promises it made to the people and also show them how they have failed,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.

    TMC sources said it would be impossible to put the government on the backfoot through the “democracy is dead” platform and instead, the focus should be on questioning it on the promises it made to the general public but failed to implement on ground.

    Though the TMC sources did not mention the Congress, the target was apparent.

    ALSO READ | SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    Earlier this month, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged India is witnessing the “death of democracy” and anybody who raises people’s issues and stands against the onset of dictatorship is “viciously attacked” and put in jail.

    The Trinamool Congress said the government promised to rid the country of black money but in reality, it claimed, 99.3 per cent of such money stashed abroad came back to the country with a maximum of it returning to Gujarat.

    It also alleged the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sold Rs 2.1 lakh crore worth of PSUs and failed to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor.

    It has instead squandered away Rs 6.2 trillion in bad loans and Rs 1.22 lakh crore in bank frauds.

    The party also plans to raise the issue of the bullet train project, raising questions on land acquisition, and asked how the Railways accumulated a debt of Rs 7 lakh crore.

    The failure of the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana also will be highlighted by the party, the sources said.

    The TMC wants to gain some momentum before the next session of Parliament, which is expected in November, and will go all out against the government, they said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directed all her ministers to stop using pilot cars with red beacon anywhere in the state, except highways, and advised them to be very careful while signing any official document, a senior official here said.

    The fresh directives from Banerjee are being seen as an attempt to rebuild the image of her government which received back-to-back jolts following the arrests of senior leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.

    Addressing the first meeting of the state cabinet, following the recent reshuffle, Banerjee also stated that her department would fix separate tasks for the ministers of state, who till date had “very little responsibilities” to carry out.

    ALSO READ | TET row: HC recalls order asking Trinamool leader’s daughter, five others to appear before it

    “The chief minister at Thursday’s meeting asked her ministers to stop using pilot cars. Ministers can be escorted by pilot cars with red beacon at times when they are travelling on highways, but not anywhere else in the state,” the bureaucrat told PTI after the meeting.

    “She also advised cabinet ministers to go through any documents thoroughly before signing them,” he said.

    At Thursday’s meeting, Banerjee was learnt to have pulled up state forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick, pointing out that she had been receiving several complaints against him.

    She directed Mallick to maintain a “clean image”.

    Partha Chatterjee, who held the industry portfolio, was relieved of his ministerial responsibilities and suspended from the TMC following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in connection with the probe into a school recruitment scam.

    Notably, Thursday’s was the first cabinet meeting after Chatterjee’s removal from the ministry.

    NEW DELHI: The “democracy-is-dead” refrain is unlikely to be effective in cornering the Narendra Modi dispensation, Trinamool Congress sources said on Thursday and added the party is drawing a list of 12 promises that the BJP made but failed to fulfil for its crusade against the government.

    Among the dozen promises that the Mamata Banerjee-led party plans to take up to corner the BJP government are the doubling of farmers’ income by 2022 and houses for all.

    “We have kept it simple. We want to remind the Modi government of the promises it made to the people and also show them how they have failed,” TMC MP Derek O’Brien said.

    TMC sources said it would be impossible to put the government on the backfoot through the “democracy is dead” platform and instead, the focus should be on questioning it on the promises it made to the general public but failed to implement on ground.

    Though the TMC sources did not mention the Congress, the target was apparent.

    ALSO READ | SSC scam: HC extends former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee’s judicial remand by 14 days

    Earlier this month, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had alleged India is witnessing the “death of democracy” and anybody who raises people’s issues and stands against the onset of dictatorship is “viciously attacked” and put in jail.

    The Trinamool Congress said the government promised to rid the country of black money but in reality, it claimed, 99.3 per cent of such money stashed abroad came back to the country with a maximum of it returning to Gujarat.

    It also alleged the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sold Rs 2.1 lakh crore worth of PSUs and failed to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in bank accounts of the poor.

    It has instead squandered away Rs 6.2 trillion in bad loans and Rs 1.22 lakh crore in bank frauds.

    The party also plans to raise the issue of the bullet train project, raising questions on land acquisition, and asked how the Railways accumulated a debt of Rs 7 lakh crore.

    The failure of the government under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana also will be highlighted by the party, the sources said.

    The TMC wants to gain some momentum before the next session of Parliament, which is expected in November, and will go all out against the government, they said.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday directed all her ministers to stop using pilot cars with red beacon anywhere in the state, except highways, and advised them to be very careful while signing any official document, a senior official here said.

    The fresh directives from Banerjee are being seen as an attempt to rebuild the image of her government which received back-to-back jolts following the arrests of senior leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.

    Addressing the first meeting of the state cabinet, following the recent reshuffle, Banerjee also stated that her department would fix separate tasks for the ministers of state, who till date had “very little responsibilities” to carry out.

    ALSO READ | TET row: HC recalls order asking Trinamool leader’s daughter, five others to appear before it

    “The chief minister at Thursday’s meeting asked her ministers to stop using pilot cars. Ministers can be escorted by pilot cars with red beacon at times when they are travelling on highways, but not anywhere else in the state,” the bureaucrat told PTI after the meeting.

    “She also advised cabinet ministers to go through any documents thoroughly before signing them,” he said.

    At Thursday’s meeting, Banerjee was learnt to have pulled up state forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick, pointing out that she had been receiving several complaints against him.

    She directed Mallick to maintain a “clean image”.

    Partha Chatterjee, who held the industry portfolio, was relieved of his ministerial responsibilities and suspended from the TMC following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month in connection with the probe into a school recruitment scam.

    Notably, Thursday’s was the first cabinet meeting after Chatterjee’s removal from the ministry.

  • ‘All options open, including joining BJP’: RCP Singh amid verbal volleys between saffron party, Grand Alliance

    By PTI

    PATNA: Former JD(U) national president RCP Singh, who was in the eye of a political storm in Bihar, on Thursday said he was keeping “all options open”, including a formal entry into the BJP.

    The former Union minister also lashed out at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the latest political u-turn that saw the de facto JD(U) leader dumping the BJP and realigning with the “Mahagathbandhan” of the RJD, Congress and the Left.

    “I have all options open”, said Singh and when pointedly asked whether he would like to join the BJP, he quipped “why not?” The bureaucrat turned politician, who had to give up his ministerial berth upon denial of another Rajya Sabha term by the JD(U), maintained that Kumar, the de facto leader of the party, “will not become the prime minister even if he were to be reborn seven times”.

    “These are not times of political instability in the country when Chandra Shekhar, H D Deve Gowda, I K Gujaral etc. could enjoy brief stints as PM,” said Singh.

    The JD(U) accused Singh of having become a mole of the saffron camp.

    He denied allegations of having acted against the JD(U)’s interests at BJP’s behest in the last assembly polls of 2020, and a few months later, having become a Union minister without consent of the Bihar CM.

    ALSO READ | Developments in Bihar positive sign for national politics: Akhilesh Yadav

    “Why was the alliance not called off immediately after assembly polls if there was sabotage (bhitarghaat)? Why did senior party leaders congratulate me if my becoming a minister was an act of defiance?”, asked Singh.

    He alleged that Kumar “had made up his mind to betray the mandate of 2020 when people had voted the NDA back to power. I am just being used as an alibi to justify yet another volte-face. I wonder how many times can he switch sides”.

    Meanwhile, the BJP on Thursday cited recent cases of heinous crimes in Bihar and alleged involvement of some of the state ministers in criminal cases to claim that criminals have become “fearless” after the grand alliance came to power.

    Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad noted that two persons, a class 12 girl student and a solider, were shot in Patna, his Lok Sabha constituency, in the last 24 hours as he took a swipe at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    ALSO READ | Unease over cabinet portfolio choices in Bihar’s ‘Mahagathbandhan’ 

    These are no routine crimes and show how emboldened criminals have become in the state within days of the new government assuming office, he told reporters.

    If this is the situation in the state’s capital, one can well imagine where the state is heading, he said.

    “The state is returning to jungle raj,” he alleged.

    He also hit out at the government over the row over Bihar minister Kartikeya Singh’s suspected involvement in a kidnapping case and alleged the state’s agriculture minister was earlier linked to a rice scam.

    Singh’s lawyer has said the police investigation has found no evidence against him.

    Prasad refuted the claim and said the Patna High Court had in 2017 rejected the RJD leader’s plea for anticipatory bail by noting that the complaint’s statement highlights his role in the abduction.

    The court had asked him to surrender and to apply for regular bail, he said, accusing the police of trying to save him after the JD(U)-RJD-Congress formed the government.

    Kumar on Thursday dismissed allegations of “return of jungle raj” by the BJP and asserted that the controversy surrounding newly inducted minister and RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh was being “looked into” for suitable action.

    Asked about the BJP’s charge, he told reporters in Patna, “I will answer them at an appropriate time. They are speaking a lot. At this moment, I just need to assure people that the pace of development under the new dispensation will be greater than ever before.”

    Prasad said the police’s defence of Karikeya Singh has sent out the message to criminals that they can break the law and police will not act.

    The BJP leader said his party will take on the government and stand with the people over their issues.

    He also took a dig at JD(U) leader Kumar after one of his party MLAs, Bima Bharti, questioned him for the induction of Leshi Singh as a minister.

    Infighting has begun within the party, he said.

    Hitting back, Nitish asserted that the controversy surrounding the newly inducted minister and RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh was being “looked into” for suitable action.

    The JD(U) leader also reprimanded party MLA Bima Bharti for raising questions over re-induction of Leshi Singh, who has been a minister for many years, and said the rebellious legislator will be “properly briefed by the party”.

    Kumar, who now heads a government that includes, besides his party and RJD, the Congress and the Left extending support from outside, was talking to reporters at the IGIMS hospital here where he had gone to enquire about the well-being of Bijendra Prasad Yadav, the eldest member of his cabinet, who was admitted previous night after taking ill.

    Kumar was asked by journalists about the allegations of “return of jungle raj” by BJP leaders, who have been bombarding social media with incidents of crime and criminal cases involving ministers in the new cabinet, sore over loss of power.

    “I will answer them at an appropriate time. They are speaking a lot. At this moment, I just need to assure the people that the pace of development under the new dispensation will be greater than ever before”, said the chief minister.

    Asked about a criminal case involving Kartikeya Singh, the state’s law minister, Kumar said, “The matter is being looked into. Whatever is needed will be done.”

    The chief minister had on Wednesday said he had no information about the controversy surrounding Singh, known to be close to dreaded former Mokama MLA Anant Kumar Singh who was disqualified last month after conviction in a case relating to the recovery of explosives, arms and ammunition from his house.

    Kumar, the JD(U)’s de facto leader, reacted with obvious displeasure when he was asked about the outbursts of Bima Bharti, a former minister herself, who was livid over the re-induction of Leshi Singh.

    Both Singh and Bharti got elected from adjoining assembly segments of Purnea district.

    Singh’s late husband and Bharti’s spouse are said to have been rivals with a reputation for use of muscle power.

    “There is no problem with Leshi Singh,” Kumar stated about the minister for food and consumer protection, pointing out that she has been in the cabinet for a long.

    The CM also disapproved of Bharti “who has herself been made a minister in the past”, going public with her grievances.

    “She will be tackled at the party level. If she sees reason, fine, else she shall be free to chart her own course,” Kumar said curtly.

    ALSO READ | ‘Modi ko hatana hai’: Lalu’s first comments after NDA fallout in Bihar

    The CM was also asked about his meeting with RJD president Lalu Prasad, his arch rival whose younger son Tejashwi Yadav is back as his deputy while elder one Tej Pratap Yadav has also been given a cabinet berth.

    “He and I go a long way back. We may have treaded separate paths for some time, but you all know the relationship we share,” said Kumar about Prasad whom he has often called his “bada bhai” (elder brother) despite a fierce political rivalry.

    According to sources close to the ailing RJD supremo, the septuagenarian had on Wednesday night requested the chief minister to stay put and “guide” his children in their political journey.

    “Don’t go here and there anymore,” Prasad is said to have told Kumar in a jocular vein, in an oblique reference to the chief minister having made many a political about turn.

    Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Thursday alleged that BJP, “having got nothing else to do”, was trying to “defame” the new government in the state as it was “uncomfortable” with the ‘Mahagathbandhan’s pro-people stance.’

    About law minister and RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh, whose alleged criminal antecedents are being highlighted by the BJP, Yadav said the law will take its own course.

    “The BJP is now left with nothing to do. It is also uncomfortable over Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s announcement on job creation in his Independence Day speech. So it is trying to defame us,” said the RJD heir apparent.

    “We need not care about the BJP and a section of the media which is loyal towards them. We shall keep working for the people,” said the young leader.

    He pooh-poohed BJP’s claim that with RJD back in power, it was a “return of jungle raj in Bihar”, but added that Kartikeya Singh, whose induction is being criticized by the saffron party, was yet to be proven guilty of a crime by a court of law.

    He also rebuffed BJP’s claim that Singh got sworn in on the very day he was supposed to appear before a court which had issued a warrant following the RJD MLC’s failure to appear, despite summons, in a kidnapping case.

    “After the warrant, the court has granted interim protection against arrest. We will follow the court’s directions,” added Yadav.

    PATNA: Former JD(U) national president RCP Singh, who was in the eye of a political storm in Bihar, on Thursday said he was keeping “all options open”, including a formal entry into the BJP.

    The former Union minister also lashed out at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the latest political u-turn that saw the de facto JD(U) leader dumping the BJP and realigning with the “Mahagathbandhan” of the RJD, Congress and the Left.

    “I have all options open”, said Singh and when pointedly asked whether he would like to join the BJP, he quipped “why not?” The bureaucrat turned politician, who had to give up his ministerial berth upon denial of another Rajya Sabha term by the JD(U), maintained that Kumar, the de facto leader of the party, “will not become the prime minister even if he were to be reborn seven times”.

    “These are not times of political instability in the country when Chandra Shekhar, H D Deve Gowda, I K Gujaral etc. could enjoy brief stints as PM,” said Singh.

    The JD(U) accused Singh of having become a mole of the saffron camp.

    He denied allegations of having acted against the JD(U)’s interests at BJP’s behest in the last assembly polls of 2020, and a few months later, having become a Union minister without consent of the Bihar CM.

    ALSO READ | Developments in Bihar positive sign for national politics: Akhilesh Yadav

    “Why was the alliance not called off immediately after assembly polls if there was sabotage (bhitarghaat)? Why did senior party leaders congratulate me if my becoming a minister was an act of defiance?”, asked Singh.

    He alleged that Kumar “had made up his mind to betray the mandate of 2020 when people had voted the NDA back to power. I am just being used as an alibi to justify yet another volte-face. I wonder how many times can he switch sides”.

    Meanwhile, the BJP on Thursday cited recent cases of heinous crimes in Bihar and alleged involvement of some of the state ministers in criminal cases to claim that criminals have become “fearless” after the grand alliance came to power.

    Former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad noted that two persons, a class 12 girl student and a solider, were shot in Patna, his Lok Sabha constituency, in the last 24 hours as he took a swipe at Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

    ALSO READ | Unease over cabinet portfolio choices in Bihar’s ‘Mahagathbandhan’ 

    These are no routine crimes and show how emboldened criminals have become in the state within days of the new government assuming office, he told reporters.

    If this is the situation in the state’s capital, one can well imagine where the state is heading, he said.

    “The state is returning to jungle raj,” he alleged.

    He also hit out at the government over the row over Bihar minister Kartikeya Singh’s suspected involvement in a kidnapping case and alleged the state’s agriculture minister was earlier linked to a rice scam.

    Singh’s lawyer has said the police investigation has found no evidence against him.

    Prasad refuted the claim and said the Patna High Court had in 2017 rejected the RJD leader’s plea for anticipatory bail by noting that the complaint’s statement highlights his role in the abduction.

    The court had asked him to surrender and to apply for regular bail, he said, accusing the police of trying to save him after the JD(U)-RJD-Congress formed the government.

    Kumar on Thursday dismissed allegations of “return of jungle raj” by the BJP and asserted that the controversy surrounding newly inducted minister and RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh was being “looked into” for suitable action.

    Asked about the BJP’s charge, he told reporters in Patna, “I will answer them at an appropriate time. They are speaking a lot. At this moment, I just need to assure people that the pace of development under the new dispensation will be greater than ever before.”

    Prasad said the police’s defence of Karikeya Singh has sent out the message to criminals that they can break the law and police will not act.

    The BJP leader said his party will take on the government and stand with the people over their issues.

    He also took a dig at JD(U) leader Kumar after one of his party MLAs, Bima Bharti, questioned him for the induction of Leshi Singh as a minister.

    Infighting has begun within the party, he said.

    Hitting back, Nitish asserted that the controversy surrounding the newly inducted minister and RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh was being “looked into” for suitable action.

    The JD(U) leader also reprimanded party MLA Bima Bharti for raising questions over re-induction of Leshi Singh, who has been a minister for many years, and said the rebellious legislator will be “properly briefed by the party”.

    Kumar, who now heads a government that includes, besides his party and RJD, the Congress and the Left extending support from outside, was talking to reporters at the IGIMS hospital here where he had gone to enquire about the well-being of Bijendra Prasad Yadav, the eldest member of his cabinet, who was admitted previous night after taking ill.

    Kumar was asked by journalists about the allegations of “return of jungle raj” by BJP leaders, who have been bombarding social media with incidents of crime and criminal cases involving ministers in the new cabinet, sore over loss of power.

    “I will answer them at an appropriate time. They are speaking a lot. At this moment, I just need to assure the people that the pace of development under the new dispensation will be greater than ever before”, said the chief minister.

    Asked about a criminal case involving Kartikeya Singh, the state’s law minister, Kumar said, “The matter is being looked into. Whatever is needed will be done.”

    The chief minister had on Wednesday said he had no information about the controversy surrounding Singh, known to be close to dreaded former Mokama MLA Anant Kumar Singh who was disqualified last month after conviction in a case relating to the recovery of explosives, arms and ammunition from his house.

    Kumar, the JD(U)’s de facto leader, reacted with obvious displeasure when he was asked about the outbursts of Bima Bharti, a former minister herself, who was livid over the re-induction of Leshi Singh.

    Both Singh and Bharti got elected from adjoining assembly segments of Purnea district.

    Singh’s late husband and Bharti’s spouse are said to have been rivals with a reputation for use of muscle power.

    “There is no problem with Leshi Singh,” Kumar stated about the minister for food and consumer protection, pointing out that she has been in the cabinet for a long.

    The CM also disapproved of Bharti “who has herself been made a minister in the past”, going public with her grievances.

    “She will be tackled at the party level. If she sees reason, fine, else she shall be free to chart her own course,” Kumar said curtly.

    ALSO READ | ‘Modi ko hatana hai’: Lalu’s first comments after NDA fallout in Bihar

    The CM was also asked about his meeting with RJD president Lalu Prasad, his arch rival whose younger son Tejashwi Yadav is back as his deputy while elder one Tej Pratap Yadav has also been given a cabinet berth.

    “He and I go a long way back. We may have treaded separate paths for some time, but you all know the relationship we share,” said Kumar about Prasad whom he has often called his “bada bhai” (elder brother) despite a fierce political rivalry.

    According to sources close to the ailing RJD supremo, the septuagenarian had on Wednesday night requested the chief minister to stay put and “guide” his children in their political journey.

    “Don’t go here and there anymore,” Prasad is said to have told Kumar in a jocular vein, in an oblique reference to the chief minister having made many a political about turn.

    Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Thursday alleged that BJP, “having got nothing else to do”, was trying to “defame” the new government in the state as it was “uncomfortable” with the ‘Mahagathbandhan’s pro-people stance.’

    About law minister and RJD MLC Kartikeya Singh, whose alleged criminal antecedents are being highlighted by the BJP, Yadav said the law will take its own course.

    “The BJP is now left with nothing to do. It is also uncomfortable over Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s announcement on job creation in his Independence Day speech. So it is trying to defame us,” said the RJD heir apparent.

    “We need not care about the BJP and a section of the media which is loyal towards them. We shall keep working for the people,” said the young leader.

    He pooh-poohed BJP’s claim that with RJD back in power, it was a “return of jungle raj in Bihar”, but added that Kartikeya Singh, whose induction is being criticized by the saffron party, was yet to be proven guilty of a crime by a court of law.

    He also rebuffed BJP’s claim that Singh got sworn in on the very day he was supposed to appear before a court which had issued a warrant following the RJD MLC’s failure to appear, despite summons, in a kidnapping case.

    “After the warrant, the court has granted interim protection against arrest. We will follow the court’s directions,” added Yadav.

  • ‘Modi ko hatana hai’: Lalu’s first comments after NDA fallout in Bihar

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Wednesday slammed the BJP government at the Centre as “dictatorial” and vowed to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power in the 2024 general elections.

    He made the remarks when asked about the way forward for the 2024 polls.

    The comments are his first since the ‘Mahagathbandhan 2.0’ government came to power in Bihar after the JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar dumped the BJP and joined hands with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other parties.

    “We have to oust the dictatorial government (at the Centre). Modi ko hatana hai,” he told reporters here.

    Asked about BJP leader Sushil Modi’s allegations targeting the new ‘Mahagathbandhan’ alliance after the formation of the government, Lalu Prasad said, “Jhoontha aadmi hai (He is a liar). It’s all wrong.”

    Later in the day, Lalu Prasad’s daughter tweeted a picture of her along with Lalu Prasad in a plane and wrote, “Departing for Patna.”

    Lalu Prasad had been admitted in AIIMS here in early July after suffering multiple fractures due to a fall and was later discharged.

    He recuperated at the home of his daughter Misa Bharti here.

    Nitish Kumar took oath as chief minister along with Tejashwi Yadav, who has been designated deputy CM, last Wednesday, a day after the JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD, the Congress and some other parties to form the Mahagathbandhan’ government.

    NEW DELHI: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Wednesday slammed the BJP government at the Centre as “dictatorial” and vowed to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power in the 2024 general elections.

    He made the remarks when asked about the way forward for the 2024 polls.

    The comments are his first since the ‘Mahagathbandhan 2.0’ government came to power in Bihar after the JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar dumped the BJP and joined hands with Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other parties.

    “We have to oust the dictatorial government (at the Centre). Modi ko hatana hai,” he told reporters here.

    Asked about BJP leader Sushil Modi’s allegations targeting the new ‘Mahagathbandhan’ alliance after the formation of the government, Lalu Prasad said, “Jhoontha aadmi hai (He is a liar). It’s all wrong.”

    Later in the day, Lalu Prasad’s daughter tweeted a picture of her along with Lalu Prasad in a plane and wrote, “Departing for Patna.”

    Lalu Prasad had been admitted in AIIMS here in early July after suffering multiple fractures due to a fall and was later discharged.

    He recuperated at the home of his daughter Misa Bharti here.

    Nitish Kumar took oath as chief minister along with Tejashwi Yadav, who has been designated deputy CM, last Wednesday, a day after the JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD, the Congress and some other parties to form the Mahagathbandhan’ government.

  • ‘Rohingya migrants are threat to national security’: BJP on ‘flats for refugees’ row

    Puri put out a tweet saying India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country and all Rohingya refugees would be shifted to EWS flats in east Delhi's Bakkarwala area.

  • ‘Rajasthan setting new records in crime against women, Dalits’: Shekhawat attacks Gehlot

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday hit out at Congress saying its government in Rajasthan was setting “new records” in crimes against women, atrocities against Dalits, and religious vandalism and questioned the silence of the party’s top leaders.

    Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, citing the National Crime Records Bureau data, said, “Today Rajasthan is at number one in the cases of rape in the country, second in terms of trafficking of minor girls.”

    Shekhawat, a senior BJP leader from Rajasthan, said Congress’ top leaders such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra come to the state for vacation but never say anything about the deteriorating law and order situation there.

    “On August 15, when the country was celebrating Independence Day, a young man named Chiranjilal, who earned his livelihood by selling vegetables in a village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, was beaten to death by the members of Muslim community,” Shekhawat said.

    He said that in the last three years Rajasthan has set “new records in mob lynching, abuse against women, and crimes against the religion of a particular community.”

    “Where have Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and the champions of human rights been since such a big incident happened in Rajasthan?” he asked.

    Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who shed “crocodile tears” on incidents in Hathras and Unnao, should break their silence on the situation in Rajasthan too, Shekhawat said.

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday hit out at Congress saying its government in Rajasthan was setting “new records” in crimes against women, atrocities against Dalits, and religious vandalism and questioned the silence of the party’s top leaders.

    Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, citing the National Crime Records Bureau data, said, “Today Rajasthan is at number one in the cases of rape in the country, second in terms of trafficking of minor girls.”

    Shekhawat, a senior BJP leader from Rajasthan, said Congress’ top leaders such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra come to the state for vacation but never say anything about the deteriorating law and order situation there.

    “On August 15, when the country was celebrating Independence Day, a young man named Chiranjilal, who earned his livelihood by selling vegetables in a village in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, was beaten to death by the members of Muslim community,” Shekhawat said.

    He said that in the last three years Rajasthan has set “new records in mob lynching, abuse against women, and crimes against the religion of a particular community.”

    “Where have Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and the champions of human rights been since such a big incident happened in Rajasthan?” he asked.

    Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who shed “crocodile tears” on incidents in Hathras and Unnao, should break their silence on the situation in Rajasthan too, Shekhawat said.