News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • ‘Everyone will get chance’: Kesarkar to disgruntled rebel Sena MLAs as BJP eyes long innings with Shinde faction

    By PTI

    PUNE: Maharashtra minister Dipak Kesarkar on Friday said that “everyone” will get the opportunity in the next round of cabinet expansion.

    He was replying to a question about some rebel Shiv Sena MLAs in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction being disappointed over not getting ministerial berth.

    “We got nine ministerial berths in the recent cabinet expansion, and of them seven were ministers in the earlier government. In the second round, everybody will get the opportunity,” he said.

    Speaking about the disappointment of Bacchu Kadu, a minister of state in the earlier MVA government who is now part of the Shinde faction, Kesarkar said Kadu is a senior leader and also president of a political party, and “his prestige will be maintained” in the second round of expansion.

    Meanwhile, new Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday said the party will work towards winning 45-plus Lok Sabha seats and more than 200 Assembly segments in the 2024 polls in the state in alliance with the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

    Underlining his priorities after the appointment, Bawankule said he will strive to further strengthen the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, where the saffron outfit is in power in alliance with the Shiv Sena faction led by Shinde.

    Addressing a press conference in Amravati, the former minister said “I have been appointed to strengthen the organisation in Maharashtra and make the BJP No.1 party in the state.”

    He said the Maharashtra BJP, under the overall leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, will reach out to the last man in the society.

    The BJP leader said the state government was committed to the welfare of farmers and was working on a scheme to provide free electricity to cultivators.

    The BJP will work towards winning 45-plus Lok Sabha seats and more than 200 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra in the 2024 polls in alliance with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, said Bawankule, a member of the Legislative Council.

    Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after 80 in Uttar Pradesh.

    Assembly polls in the state, which has a 288-member House, are due in the second half of 2024.

    The MLC said the Shinde-BJP government will seek to remove financial and other backlogs of underdeveloped Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, which he claimed, suffered due to wrong policies of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration.

    Meanwhile, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday asked former party corporators to stay in constant touch with people as the crisis-hit outfit braces for the crucial elections to the Mumbai civic body.

    Former mayor Kishori Pednekar said Thackeray had called a meeting at Sena Bhavan in Dadar in central Mumbai which was attended by former party corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) whose term ended earlier this year.

    In the 2017 BMC polls, the Shiv Sena had won 84 seats in the 227-member House.

    Pednekar said 12 former corporators did not turn up for the meeting.

    Of these, nine had informed they were out of Mumbai, while two cited medical reasons for their absence.

    One corporator did not turn up after assuring that he would attend the meeting.

    Thackeray also spoke about the “uprising in Bihar” by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and slammed the BJP for vitiating the political environment in the country as well in Maharashtra.

    Earlier this week, Kumar’s Janta Dal United walked out of the alliance with the BJP and tied up with the Rashtriya Janta Dal to form a new government in Bihar.

    On Thursday, the Sena, in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, had heaped praise on Kumar for dumping the BJP.

    “He (Thackeray) advised us to remain in touch with people constantly. He said the monsoon is already halfway through and if there is no consistency in rainfall, this could result in a spike in vector-borne diseases. So focus has to be on trying to coordinate with agencies in curbing such outbreaks,” she said.

    The Sena president also asked former corporators to focus on increasing the party’s membership as his faction is at the loggerheads with rebel MLAs led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Pednekar said.

    The membership could prove to be crucial when the Election Commission of India decides on who controls the Shiv Sena.

    In June, the Shiv Sena faced its worst-ever crisis after 40 of the 55 MLAs revolted against the party leadership and aligned with rebel leader Eknath Shinde, who is now the CM.

    Of the 18 Lok Sabha MPs from Maharashtra, the Shinde-led faction of rebel legislators has the support of 12.

    Elections to the cash-rich BMC, which had been under the Sena control for more than two decades, are due later this year.

    PUNE: Maharashtra minister Dipak Kesarkar on Friday said that “everyone” will get the opportunity in the next round of cabinet expansion.

    He was replying to a question about some rebel Shiv Sena MLAs in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction being disappointed over not getting ministerial berth.

    “We got nine ministerial berths in the recent cabinet expansion, and of them seven were ministers in the earlier government. In the second round, everybody will get the opportunity,” he said.

    Speaking about the disappointment of Bacchu Kadu, a minister of state in the earlier MVA government who is now part of the Shinde faction, Kesarkar said Kadu is a senior leader and also president of a political party, and “his prestige will be maintained” in the second round of expansion.

    Meanwhile, new Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday said the party will work towards winning 45-plus Lok Sabha seats and more than 200 Assembly segments in the 2024 polls in the state in alliance with the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

    Underlining his priorities after the appointment, Bawankule said he will strive to further strengthen the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, where the saffron outfit is in power in alliance with the Shiv Sena faction led by Shinde.

    Addressing a press conference in Amravati, the former minister said “I have been appointed to strengthen the organisation in Maharashtra and make the BJP No.1 party in the state.”

    He said the Maharashtra BJP, under the overall leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, will reach out to the last man in the society.

    The BJP leader said the state government was committed to the welfare of farmers and was working on a scheme to provide free electricity to cultivators.

    The BJP will work towards winning 45-plus Lok Sabha seats and more than 200 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra in the 2024 polls in alliance with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, said Bawankule, a member of the Legislative Council.

    Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second highest after 80 in Uttar Pradesh.

    Assembly polls in the state, which has a 288-member House, are due in the second half of 2024.

    The MLC said the Shinde-BJP government will seek to remove financial and other backlogs of underdeveloped Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, which he claimed, suffered due to wrong policies of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration.

    Meanwhile, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday asked former party corporators to stay in constant touch with people as the crisis-hit outfit braces for the crucial elections to the Mumbai civic body.

    Former mayor Kishori Pednekar said Thackeray had called a meeting at Sena Bhavan in Dadar in central Mumbai which was attended by former party corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) whose term ended earlier this year.

    In the 2017 BMC polls, the Shiv Sena had won 84 seats in the 227-member House.

    Pednekar said 12 former corporators did not turn up for the meeting.

    Of these, nine had informed they were out of Mumbai, while two cited medical reasons for their absence.

    One corporator did not turn up after assuring that he would attend the meeting.

    Thackeray also spoke about the “uprising in Bihar” by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and slammed the BJP for vitiating the political environment in the country as well in Maharashtra.

    Earlier this week, Kumar’s Janta Dal United walked out of the alliance with the BJP and tied up with the Rashtriya Janta Dal to form a new government in Bihar.

    On Thursday, the Sena, in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, had heaped praise on Kumar for dumping the BJP.

    “He (Thackeray) advised us to remain in touch with people constantly. He said the monsoon is already halfway through and if there is no consistency in rainfall, this could result in a spike in vector-borne diseases. So focus has to be on trying to coordinate with agencies in curbing such outbreaks,” she said.

    The Sena president also asked former corporators to focus on increasing the party’s membership as his faction is at the loggerheads with rebel MLAs led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Pednekar said.

    The membership could prove to be crucial when the Election Commission of India decides on who controls the Shiv Sena.

    In June, the Shiv Sena faced its worst-ever crisis after 40 of the 55 MLAs revolted against the party leadership and aligned with rebel leader Eknath Shinde, who is now the CM.

    Of the 18 Lok Sabha MPs from Maharashtra, the Shinde-led faction of rebel legislators has the support of 12.

    Elections to the cash-rich BMC, which had been under the Sena control for more than two decades, are due later this year.

  • Chhattisgarh minister’s relative found dead near rail tracks; BJP seeks probe

    By PTI

    BILASPUR: Chhattisgarh minister TS Singh Deo’s relative Veerbhadra Pratap Singh (42), a Janpad panchayat representative, was found dead near railway tracks in Bilaspur district on Friday with police suspecting he might have fallen off accidentally from the Durg-Ambikapur Express train in which he was travelling.

    The body of Singh (42), vice-president of the Lundra Janpad Panchayat in Surguja district, was found near tracks between Salka and Belgahna railway stations under Kota police station area in the morning, police said.

    Singh alias Sachin Baba, a relative of state’s Health Minister TS Singh Deo, belonged to the Dhaulpur unit of the erstwhile Surguja royal family.

    The body was spotted by railway personnel who then informed the police, said Parul Mathur, Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

    After identifying the body, his family members were informed and a forensic team was sent to the spot for investigation, she said.

    “He was travelling to Ambikapur from Raipur by Durg-Ambikapur Express on Thursday night and prima facie it seems he fell accidentally from the moving train and died of injuries,” Mathur said, adding further investigation was underway.

    The body was handed over to his relatives after postmortem, she added.

    Meanwhile, the opposition BJP claimed Singh’s death occurred under suspicious circumstances and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

    “Sachin (as he was known), who was a close relative of minister Singh Deo, was arrested last year in connection with the alleged attack on the convoy of Congress MLA Brihaspat Singh (in July 2021). In the present circumstances it does not seem to be a normal incident and it could also be a political murder,” senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar said.

    He demanded that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel get the incident probed by a sitting judge of the High Court.

    “After the alleged attack on his convoy, Brihaspat Singh had claimed he had received a threat to his life from Singh Deo. The minister had walked out of the state Assembly (during last year’s monsoon session) disputing the (Congress) MLA’s claims. In such a situation, the matter requires a high-level inquiry,” Chandrakar said.

    BILASPUR: Chhattisgarh minister TS Singh Deo’s relative Veerbhadra Pratap Singh (42), a Janpad panchayat representative, was found dead near railway tracks in Bilaspur district on Friday with police suspecting he might have fallen off accidentally from the Durg-Ambikapur Express train in which he was travelling.

    The body of Singh (42), vice-president of the Lundra Janpad Panchayat in Surguja district, was found near tracks between Salka and Belgahna railway stations under Kota police station area in the morning, police said.

    Singh alias Sachin Baba, a relative of state’s Health Minister TS Singh Deo, belonged to the Dhaulpur unit of the erstwhile Surguja royal family.

    The body was spotted by railway personnel who then informed the police, said Parul Mathur, Bilaspur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

    After identifying the body, his family members were informed and a forensic team was sent to the spot for investigation, she said.

    “He was travelling to Ambikapur from Raipur by Durg-Ambikapur Express on Thursday night and prima facie it seems he fell accidentally from the moving train and died of injuries,” Mathur said, adding further investigation was underway.

    The body was handed over to his relatives after postmortem, she added.

    Meanwhile, the opposition BJP claimed Singh’s death occurred under suspicious circumstances and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

    “Sachin (as he was known), who was a close relative of minister Singh Deo, was arrested last year in connection with the alleged attack on the convoy of Congress MLA Brihaspat Singh (in July 2021). In the present circumstances it does not seem to be a normal incident and it could also be a political murder,” senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar said.

    He demanded that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel get the incident probed by a sitting judge of the High Court.

    “After the alleged attack on his convoy, Brihaspat Singh had claimed he had received a threat to his life from Singh Deo. The minister had walked out of the state Assembly (during last year’s monsoon session) disputing the (Congress) MLA’s claims. In such a situation, the matter requires a high-level inquiry,” Chandrakar said.

  • Arrests of Anubrata, Partha: BJP to take out march to Nabanna against ‘corrupt’ Mamata government

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Upping the ante in the fight against the TMC, following the arrest of two of its leaders, the Bengal BJP has given the call for march to ‘Nabanna’ – the state secretariat – on September 7 in protest against the “corrupt” TMC regime.

    Addressing a rally in Esplanade area here, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should “step down” following the arrest of senior minister Partha Chatterjee and party leader Anubrata Mondal in corruption cases.

    TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal was arrested by CBI for allegedly not cooperating in its probe in a cattle smuggling case on Thursday, just three weeks after the Enforcement Directorate picked up another heavyweight leader Partha Chatterjee in a school recruitment scam.

    “The state is presently witnessing the most corrupt government since independence. Senior minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in School Service Commission scam, and another TMC leader, Anubrata Mondal, was held in a cattle smuggling case. The chief minister, being the head of the government and the party, must step down immediately,” Majumdar said.

    Chatterjee, who was arrested on July 23 by the ED in a school recruitment scam, was stripped of his cabinet portfolios and party posts within five days of his arrest.

    He is presently in judicial custody.

    Mondal has been remanded in 10-day custody of the CBI.

    “We have decided to take out a march to Nabanna on September 7, seeking the resignation of the CM. The march will held in protest against the corrupt government of the state. Lakhs of people across the state will join the protest,” he said.

    Speaking at the programme, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said the day is not far when the cabinet meeting of the West Bengal government will be held inside the jail compound.

    “In near future, the top brass of the ruling TMC would be behind bars on corruption charges. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal is just the beginning; the party will lose many more wickets in the days to come,” he said.

    Reacting sharply to their comments, TMC MP Santanu Sen accused the saffron camp of trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state.

    “The BJP, out of frustration in Bengal, is now trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the state. Our party has made it very clear that it will not compromise on the issue of corruption or any wrongdoings,” he said.

    The TMC, during the day, took out protest rallies in various parts of the state, accusing the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) of acting as “frontal organizations” of the BJP at the Centre.

    KOLKATA: Upping the ante in the fight against the TMC, following the arrest of two of its leaders, the Bengal BJP has given the call for march to ‘Nabanna’ – the state secretariat – on September 7 in protest against the “corrupt” TMC regime.

    Addressing a rally in Esplanade area here, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should “step down” following the arrest of senior minister Partha Chatterjee and party leader Anubrata Mondal in corruption cases.

    TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal was arrested by CBI for allegedly not cooperating in its probe in a cattle smuggling case on Thursday, just three weeks after the Enforcement Directorate picked up another heavyweight leader Partha Chatterjee in a school recruitment scam.

    “The state is presently witnessing the most corrupt government since independence. Senior minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in School Service Commission scam, and another TMC leader, Anubrata Mondal, was held in a cattle smuggling case. The chief minister, being the head of the government and the party, must step down immediately,” Majumdar said.

    Chatterjee, who was arrested on July 23 by the ED in a school recruitment scam, was stripped of his cabinet portfolios and party posts within five days of his arrest.

    He is presently in judicial custody.

    Mondal has been remanded in 10-day custody of the CBI.

    “We have decided to take out a march to Nabanna on September 7, seeking the resignation of the CM. The march will held in protest against the corrupt government of the state. Lakhs of people across the state will join the protest,” he said.

    Speaking at the programme, BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said the day is not far when the cabinet meeting of the West Bengal government will be held inside the jail compound.

    “In near future, the top brass of the ruling TMC would be behind bars on corruption charges. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal is just the beginning; the party will lose many more wickets in the days to come,” he said.

    Reacting sharply to their comments, TMC MP Santanu Sen accused the saffron camp of trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state.

    “The BJP, out of frustration in Bengal, is now trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the state. Our party has made it very clear that it will not compromise on the issue of corruption or any wrongdoings,” he said.

    The TMC, during the day, took out protest rallies in various parts of the state, accusing the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) of acting as “frontal organizations” of the BJP at the Centre.

  • Nitish Kumar denies prime ministerial ambitions, says working for Opposition unity

    By ANI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who broke ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), said on Friday that he had no prime ministerial aspirations but was only working to bring the entire opposition together.

    “I say this with folded hands, I have no such thoughts. My work is to work for everyone. I will make an effort to see that all the Opposition parties walk and work together. If they do, it will be good,” Kumar told reporters here when asked whether he was a possible prime ministerial candidate of the opposition.

    Nitish Kumar was sworn chief minister for a record eighth time on Wednesday after he resigned from the post a day earlier and quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took an oath as deputy chief minister.

    The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar will go for a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly. The decision to hold the floor test on August 24 and make a suitable recommendation for convening the state assembly was taken at a cabinet meeting attended by Kumar and Yadav on Wednesday. Sources said that expansion of the cabinet is likely to take place on August 16 and RJD will have more ministers than the Janata Dal-United.

    Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance has the support of 164 members in the assembly.

    Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP for the second time in eight years on Tuesday before joining hands with RJD and other parties in the Mahagathbandhan including the Congress and Left parties. The Grand Alliance also has the support of Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), which has four MLAs in the Assembly.

    BJP has accused Nitish Kumar of “disrespecting” the mandate given by the people of Bihar. BJP and JD-U had fought the assembly polls together in 2020. Nitish Kumar was made Chief Minister though the BJP won more seats.

    Sources said that Congress is likely to have 2-3 representatives in the cabinet and HAM may get one berth.

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who broke ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), said on Friday that he had no prime ministerial aspirations but was only working to bring the entire opposition together.

    “I say this with folded hands, I have no such thoughts. My work is to work for everyone. I will make an effort to see that all the Opposition parties walk and work together. If they do, it will be good,” Kumar told reporters here when asked whether he was a possible prime ministerial candidate of the opposition.

    Nitish Kumar was sworn chief minister for a record eighth time on Wednesday after he resigned from the post a day earlier and quit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took an oath as deputy chief minister.

    The Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar will go for a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly. The decision to hold the floor test on August 24 and make a suitable recommendation for convening the state assembly was taken at a cabinet meeting attended by Kumar and Yadav on Wednesday. Sources said that expansion of the cabinet is likely to take place on August 16 and RJD will have more ministers than the Janata Dal-United.

    Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance has the support of 164 members in the assembly.

    Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP for the second time in eight years on Tuesday before joining hands with RJD and other parties in the Mahagathbandhan including the Congress and Left parties. The Grand Alliance also has the support of Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), which has four MLAs in the Assembly.

    BJP has accused Nitish Kumar of “disrespecting” the mandate given by the people of Bihar. BJP and JD-U had fought the assembly polls together in 2020. Nitish Kumar was made Chief Minister though the BJP won more seats.

    Sources said that Congress is likely to have 2-3 representatives in the cabinet and HAM may get one berth.

  • ‘He attended BJP events but abandoned by party now’: Shrikant Tyagi’s wife

    By PTI

    NOIDA: Shrikant Tyagi has been attending events of BJP but the party abandoned him since his spat with a woman last week, his wife Anu Tyagi has claimed.

    Anu, who has been twice detained by the police for questioning since last Friday, alleged she was mentally tortured and her family harassed during the whole episode.

    Noida Police involved in the investigation have denied the allegations.

    Tyagi identifies himself as national executive member of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha and national co-coordinator of its Yuva Samiti, but the party has maintained he was not its member.

    When asked about her husband’s association with the BJP, Anu Tyagi told PTI: “I have seen him attending programmes, events and rallies of the party. I wonder in what capacity he attended those events! Now he has been abandoned. I don’t know why and I can’t say why.”

    She said her husband has been into social work and has been active from Noida to Ghaziabad and Modi Nagar.

    “If he stopped over at a market in these areas, hundreds of people would gather there immediately. Such has been his social connection,” the housewife claimed.

    Tyagi was arrested on Tuesday from Meerut after being on the run for four days and since he got into a row with a woman in his housing society reportedly over the planting of trees.

    ALSO READ | Court reserves order on Shrikant Tyagi’s bail plea in cheating case; politician cries foul play

    A video of the incident that was circulated widely on social media showed the woman, a co-resident at Grand Omaxe society in Sector 93B, being abused and pushed around by Tyagi.

    He has been booked in three cases — assaulting and abusing the woman, cheating, and the Gangsters Act, according to officials.

    Anu Tyagi admitted that the language used by her husband was inappropriate but alleged that the argument was triggered by the complainant, the woman.

    “If we did not have any right to plant the trees, did she or other women of the society have the right to uproot any tree? They could have contacted the forest department, the local authorities for appropriate action,” she said.

    She alleged there was “politics” in the case right from the society level to higher levels.

    She said the woman who engaged in the spat lives four towers away from their flat while their next-door neighbours never had a complaint about them.

    “Some of the society’s residents had created so much pressure on the police and local authorities during the initial stages that fair investigation could not be carried out,” the wife claimed.

    Anu Tyagi alleged that she had been mentally tortured and her family been harassed during the whole investigation in the case.

    ALSO READ | ‘Shrikant Tyagi got MLA sticker for car from Swami Prasad Maurya, went to Delhi airport after fleeing Noida’: Cops

    Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Women Safety and Central Noida) Ankita Sharma trashed the allegations.

    “She has been treated with utmost dignity. No mistreatment was meted out to her during questioning or the family harassed,” the IPS officer said, adding she herself had questioned Anu.

    BJP’s Noida unit president Manoj Gupta and Gautam Buddh Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma, among others, have maintained that Tyagi was not a member of the ruling party.

    All the same, the Opposition has mounted an attack on the BJP over the issue, sharing pictures allegedly of Tyagi with senior saffron party leaders, including its national president J P Nadda.

    NOIDA: Shrikant Tyagi has been attending events of BJP but the party abandoned him since his spat with a woman last week, his wife Anu Tyagi has claimed.

    Anu, who has been twice detained by the police for questioning since last Friday, alleged she was mentally tortured and her family harassed during the whole episode.

    Noida Police involved in the investigation have denied the allegations.

    Tyagi identifies himself as national executive member of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha and national co-coordinator of its Yuva Samiti, but the party has maintained he was not its member.

    When asked about her husband’s association with the BJP, Anu Tyagi told PTI: “I have seen him attending programmes, events and rallies of the party. I wonder in what capacity he attended those events! Now he has been abandoned. I don’t know why and I can’t say why.”

    She said her husband has been into social work and has been active from Noida to Ghaziabad and Modi Nagar.

    “If he stopped over at a market in these areas, hundreds of people would gather there immediately. Such has been his social connection,” the housewife claimed.

    Tyagi was arrested on Tuesday from Meerut after being on the run for four days and since he got into a row with a woman in his housing society reportedly over the planting of trees.

    ALSO READ | Court reserves order on Shrikant Tyagi’s bail plea in cheating case; politician cries foul play

    A video of the incident that was circulated widely on social media showed the woman, a co-resident at Grand Omaxe society in Sector 93B, being abused and pushed around by Tyagi.

    He has been booked in three cases — assaulting and abusing the woman, cheating, and the Gangsters Act, according to officials.

    Anu Tyagi admitted that the language used by her husband was inappropriate but alleged that the argument was triggered by the complainant, the woman.

    “If we did not have any right to plant the trees, did she or other women of the society have the right to uproot any tree? They could have contacted the forest department, the local authorities for appropriate action,” she said.

    She alleged there was “politics” in the case right from the society level to higher levels.

    She said the woman who engaged in the spat lives four towers away from their flat while their next-door neighbours never had a complaint about them.

    “Some of the society’s residents had created so much pressure on the police and local authorities during the initial stages that fair investigation could not be carried out,” the wife claimed.

    Anu Tyagi alleged that she had been mentally tortured and her family been harassed during the whole investigation in the case.

    ALSO READ | ‘Shrikant Tyagi got MLA sticker for car from Swami Prasad Maurya, went to Delhi airport after fleeing Noida’: Cops

    Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Women Safety and Central Noida) Ankita Sharma trashed the allegations.

    “She has been treated with utmost dignity. No mistreatment was meted out to her during questioning or the family harassed,” the IPS officer said, adding she herself had questioned Anu.

    BJP’s Noida unit president Manoj Gupta and Gautam Buddh Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma, among others, have maintained that Tyagi was not a member of the ruling party.

    All the same, the Opposition has mounted an attack on the BJP over the issue, sharing pictures allegedly of Tyagi with senior saffron party leaders, including its national president J P Nadda.

  • ‘Kejriwal giving perverse twist to debate on freebies’: Sitharaman, BJP attack Delhi CM

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving a “perverse twist” to the debate on freebies, saying the AAP leader’s comments are an attempt to create fears in the minds of the poor.

    A day after Kejriwal joined the debate on freebies calling for a referendum on spending taxpayers’ money on healthcare and education, Sitharaman said that spending on these two has never been called or classified as freebies since Independence and to drag them now into the debate is to give a perverse twist.

    “Delhi Chief Minister has given perverse twist to the debate on freebies. Health and education have never been called freebies,” she told reporters here.

    “No Indian government has ever denied them since Independence. So, by classifying education and health as freebies, Kerjiwal is trying to bring in a sense of worry and fear in minds of poor,” she said.

    In recent days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit out at competitive populism of extending “rewaris” (freebies) which are not just wastage of taxpayers’ money but also an economic disaster that could hamper India’s drive to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant).

    His comments were seen directed at parties like AAP which have in the run-up to assembly elections in states like Punjab promised free electricity and water, among other things.

    Sitharaman said there has to be a genuine debate on the issue and everyone should participate in it.

    The BJP Thursday claimed that while the central government’s welfare policies empower different deprived sections of society with targeted schemes, some parties’ engage in ‘revdi’ culture by dishing out freebies for everyone for political gains.

    “Revdi culture is about dishing out lollipops for political gains and it makes no transformation to people’s lives. It misuses taxpayers’ money with the rich benefiting at the cost of the poor,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said as he targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his counter-offensive after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s denunciation of freebies.

    Modi named no one in his speeches but the AAP leader sprang to defend it due to his sense of guilt, Poonawalla told a press conference.

    He referred to Kejriwal’s promise of opening 500 new schools and claimed that two two dozen schools were shut in reality and accused him of giving people “free corruption, pollution, advertisements and liquor” instead of free education, water, health and electricity.

    Later addressing another press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that Kejriwal has made false allegations against the government.

    Bhatia said Kejriwal claims that the government has reduced the MGNREGA budget whereas it was increased by Rs 25,000 crore in the 2021-22 financial year in wake of the Covid pandemic.

    At the same time Bhatia said Kejriwal has again lied about state’s share in GST.

    The states continue to get 42 per cent of the taxes collected by the Centre, not 29 per cent as claimed by Kejriwal, Bhatia added.

    Poonawalla claimed more than 700 of the 1,027 schools the Delhi government runs do not have science and commerce teachers in Class 11 and 12 and over 745 schools have no principal.

    Nearly 418 schools have no vice principal and 40,000 seats meant for the economically weaker sections had not been filled according to the RTE act and the court had come down hard on this, he added.

    Alleging corruption in the AAP government, Poonawala accused Kejriwal of protecting his ministers Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia and Delhi Waqf Board head Amanatullah Khan against graft charges.

    He also cited the four CAG reports that were tabled “belatedly” by the AAP government and over which the LG had expressed serious concerns.

    Poonawalla alleged that huge corruption and mismanagement had taken place in the Delhi Jal Board.

    Tanker mafia was promoted instead and that is why these reports were suppressed, he alleged.

    He also accused the Delhi government of insulting “women and sportspersons” by allegedly targeting CWG medal-winner Divya Kakran.

    Poonawalla said the AAP social media team trolled Kakran and its leader Saurabh Bharadwaj “insultingly” asked her to show a certificate after she complained about not being given any financial benefits by the Kejriwal government.

    He said Kakran then produced a certificate regarding her representing Delhi and alleged that the AAP has a history of insulting those who raise the honour of the national flag whether soldiers or sportspersons.

    He asked Kejriwal to sack Bharadwaj from all positions in the party.

    NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving a “perverse twist” to the debate on freebies, saying the AAP leader’s comments are an attempt to create fears in the minds of the poor.

    A day after Kejriwal joined the debate on freebies calling for a referendum on spending taxpayers’ money on healthcare and education, Sitharaman said that spending on these two has never been called or classified as freebies since Independence and to drag them now into the debate is to give a perverse twist.

    “Delhi Chief Minister has given perverse twist to the debate on freebies. Health and education have never been called freebies,” she told reporters here.

    “No Indian government has ever denied them since Independence. So, by classifying education and health as freebies, Kerjiwal is trying to bring in a sense of worry and fear in minds of poor,” she said.

    In recent days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit out at competitive populism of extending “rewaris” (freebies) which are not just wastage of taxpayers’ money but also an economic disaster that could hamper India’s drive to become Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant).

    His comments were seen directed at parties like AAP which have in the run-up to assembly elections in states like Punjab promised free electricity and water, among other things.

    Sitharaman said there has to be a genuine debate on the issue and everyone should participate in it.

    The BJP Thursday claimed that while the central government’s welfare policies empower different deprived sections of society with targeted schemes, some parties’ engage in ‘revdi’ culture by dishing out freebies for everyone for political gains.

    “Revdi culture is about dishing out lollipops for political gains and it makes no transformation to people’s lives. It misuses taxpayers’ money with the rich benefiting at the cost of the poor,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said as he targeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his counter-offensive after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s denunciation of freebies.

    Modi named no one in his speeches but the AAP leader sprang to defend it due to his sense of guilt, Poonawalla told a press conference.

    He referred to Kejriwal’s promise of opening 500 new schools and claimed that two two dozen schools were shut in reality and accused him of giving people “free corruption, pollution, advertisements and liquor” instead of free education, water, health and electricity.

    Later addressing another press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that Kejriwal has made false allegations against the government.

    Bhatia said Kejriwal claims that the government has reduced the MGNREGA budget whereas it was increased by Rs 25,000 crore in the 2021-22 financial year in wake of the Covid pandemic.

    At the same time Bhatia said Kejriwal has again lied about state’s share in GST.

    The states continue to get 42 per cent of the taxes collected by the Centre, not 29 per cent as claimed by Kejriwal, Bhatia added.

    Poonawalla claimed more than 700 of the 1,027 schools the Delhi government runs do not have science and commerce teachers in Class 11 and 12 and over 745 schools have no principal.

    Nearly 418 schools have no vice principal and 40,000 seats meant for the economically weaker sections had not been filled according to the RTE act and the court had come down hard on this, he added.

    Alleging corruption in the AAP government, Poonawala accused Kejriwal of protecting his ministers Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia and Delhi Waqf Board head Amanatullah Khan against graft charges.

    He also cited the four CAG reports that were tabled “belatedly” by the AAP government and over which the LG had expressed serious concerns.

    Poonawalla alleged that huge corruption and mismanagement had taken place in the Delhi Jal Board.

    Tanker mafia was promoted instead and that is why these reports were suppressed, he alleged.

    He also accused the Delhi government of insulting “women and sportspersons” by allegedly targeting CWG medal-winner Divya Kakran.

    Poonawalla said the AAP social media team trolled Kakran and its leader Saurabh Bharadwaj “insultingly” asked her to show a certificate after she complained about not being given any financial benefits by the Kejriwal government.

    He said Kakran then produced a certificate regarding her representing Delhi and alleged that the AAP has a history of insulting those who raise the honour of the national flag whether soldiers or sportspersons.

    He asked Kejriwal to sack Bharadwaj from all positions in the party.

  • ‘Fall of BJP in Bihar will make ED, CBI also visit there, leading to reduce pressure on Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh’: Bhupesh Baghel

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Taking a jibe at BJP Government’s fall in Bihar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that it will ultimately reduce pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as ED and CBI will now also start visiting there. 

    Addressing a gathering of tribals from across the Country during the concluding ceremony of Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav in Ranchi on Wednesday, Baghel said that BJP was trying to put a bouncer in Jharkhand, but Hemant Soren Government played hook shot leading to fall of their government in Bihar.

    Jharkhand had organized Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, popularly known as World Tribal Day, for the first time on August 9-10, participated by the artists from tribal-dominated states, including the north-eastern states of India. Baghel was also invited there as chief guest for the closing ceremony.

    “I heard a few days back that some political crisis is being created here in Jharkhand. In terms of cricket, BJP was trying to put bouncer to topple the Hemant Soren Government, but they played a hook shot which led to the fall of their government in Bihar,” said Baghel. Now ED and CBI will also start visiting Bihar quite frequently, which will ultimately decrease the pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, he added.

    Referring to the green cover in the tribal-dominated states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, Baghel informed that they are not only fulfilling the oxygen requirement of the Country but also providing power requirements through large deposits of natural resources like coal and other minerals.

    Baghel further added that tribal-dominated states do not only provide oxygen but also provides power to the entire Country, further saying that the Central Government is trying to snatch the rights of tribal-dominated states.

    “We never disrupted its supply even in adverse situations but when it comes to our rights, whether the Central Government is able to help us,” questioned Chhattisgarh CM. He also warned the BJP not to judge tribal states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as weak states.

    “I just want to say that the tribal culture is one of the oldest cultures in this world, and it is our duty to conserve this primitive culture, which is capably being done by Jharkhand Government,” said Baghel. He also thanked Soren for celebrating World Tribal Day for two days and declaring a holiday on this day as done by him in Chhattisgarh.

    Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the other hand said that everywhere there are discussions about protecting the forests, hills and rivers, but there is no discussion about protecting the tribal community.

    “Therefore, August 9 is like a resolution day for us so that the tribal community could raise their voice to make them reach to the people sitting on the top of the hierarchy,” said Soren. The tribal community has to fight many more battles for their rights, he added.

    RANCHI: Taking a jibe at BJP Government’s fall in Bihar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that it will ultimately reduce pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as ED and CBI will now also start visiting there. 

    Addressing a gathering of tribals from across the Country during the concluding ceremony of Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav in Ranchi on Wednesday, Baghel said that BJP was trying to put a bouncer in Jharkhand, but Hemant Soren Government played hook shot leading to fall of their government in Bihar.

    Jharkhand had organized Jharkhand Janjatiya Mahotsav to mark International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, popularly known as World Tribal Day, for the first time on August 9-10, participated by the artists from tribal-dominated states, including the north-eastern states of India. Baghel was also invited there as chief guest for the closing ceremony.

    “I heard a few days back that some political crisis is being created here in Jharkhand. In terms of cricket, BJP was trying to put bouncer to topple the Hemant Soren Government, but they played a hook shot which led to the fall of their government in Bihar,” said Baghel. Now ED and CBI will also start visiting Bihar quite frequently, which will ultimately decrease the pressure on Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, he added.

    Referring to the green cover in the tribal-dominated states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, Baghel informed that they are not only fulfilling the oxygen requirement of the Country but also providing power requirements through large deposits of natural resources like coal and other minerals.

    Baghel further added that tribal-dominated states do not only provide oxygen but also provides power to the entire Country, further saying that the Central Government is trying to snatch the rights of tribal-dominated states.

    “We never disrupted its supply even in adverse situations but when it comes to our rights, whether the Central Government is able to help us,” questioned Chhattisgarh CM. He also warned the BJP not to judge tribal states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh as weak states.

    “I just want to say that the tribal culture is one of the oldest cultures in this world, and it is our duty to conserve this primitive culture, which is capably being done by Jharkhand Government,” said Baghel. 
    He also thanked Soren for celebrating World Tribal Day for two days and declaring a holiday on this day as done by him in Chhattisgarh.

    Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the other hand said that everywhere there are discussions about protecting the forests, hills and rivers, but there is no discussion about protecting the tribal community.

    “Therefore, August 9 is like a resolution day for us so that the tribal community could raise their voice to make them reach to the people sitting on the top of the hierarchy,” said Soren. The tribal community has to fight many more battles for their rights, he added.

  • Pawar accuses BJP of finishing off regional allies; Fadnavis hits back

    By PTI

    PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of finishing off its regional allies gradually, and supported Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to snap ties with the BJP.

    Speaking to reporters in Baramati town of Maharashtra’s Pune district, Pawar claimed the BJP was planning how to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Nitish Kumar had on Tuesday pulled the plug on his party JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP and resigned, and followed it up by staking claim to form a new government in Bihar with support of the opposition Grand Alliance.

    Notably, BJP national president J P Nadda recently said in the times to come only an ideology-driven party like the BJP will survive, while others ruled by families will perish.

    Pawar on Wednesday claimed that “the BJP national president in his address said regional parties do not have a future and they will not exist. He said it is only their party which will exist in the country.”

    “From this statement, one thing is clear, which was also the complaint of Nitish Kumar, that the BJP finishes off its allies gradually,” the NCP president said.

    Citing an example, Pawar said a party like the Akali Dal was with them (BJP).

    “Its leader Prakash Singh Badal was with them, but today the party is nearly finished in Punjab,” he said.

    In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena and BJP were together for several years, he pointed out.

    “Today, the BJP is planning how the Shiv Sena can be weakened by creating a division in the party, and (present Maharashtra CM) Eknath Shinde and others helped,” he added.

    In doing this, the Shiv Sena was attacked by the party which was once its ally, he said.

    A similar picture was being seen in Bihar.

    Nitish Kumar, of the JD(U), and the BJP contested the last Assembly elections together, he said.

    “One more speciality of the BJP is that it joins hands with a regional party at the time of elections, but ensures the ally wins fewer seats. It happened in Maharashtra also,” Pawar claimed.

    When a similar picture was being witnessed in Bihar, the CM of the state got cautious well in advance and took the decision to snap ties with the BJP, he said.

    “No matter how much BJP leaders criticise Nitish Kumar, but he has taken a wise step. He took the decision anticipating the crisis the BJP was planning to bring on. I think he took a wise decision for his state and party,” Pawar said.

    Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday took a swipe at Sharad Pawar, saying that there was “something else” that was hurting more to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president.

    Fadnavis made the comment in the wake of Pawar’s criticism of the BJP, in which he accused it of finishing off its regional allies gradually.

    Pawar also said that the BJP was planning to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    “There is something else that hurts Pawar more. Everyone knows it,” Fadnavis told reporters in Thane.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Fadnavis said, “In the last Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP had won more seats that the JD(U), but still Nitish Kumar was made chief minister. It is the BJP that takes care of its allies.”

    “If we are not in power in Bihar (now), we would be there tomorrow for sure,” he added.

    JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the eighth time, while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav was administered the oath of office as deputy chief minister.

    The ceremony took place a day after Kumar snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government.

    On the expansion of the Shinde-led cabinet in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “There has already been a lot of speculation about the cabinet expansion in media already. But the speculation is going to be completely false. Once the portfolios are allocated, you will realise it.”

    A day earlier, CM Shinde expanded his cabinet, 41 days after taking the oath of office.

    A total of 18 MLAs, including nine each from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the BJP, took oath as the cabinet ministers.

    PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of finishing off its regional allies gradually, and supported Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to snap ties with the BJP.

    Speaking to reporters in Baramati town of Maharashtra’s Pune district, Pawar claimed the BJP was planning how to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Nitish Kumar had on Tuesday pulled the plug on his party JD(U)’s alliance with the BJP and resigned, and followed it up by staking claim to form a new government in Bihar with support of the opposition Grand Alliance.

    Notably, BJP national president J P Nadda recently said in the times to come only an ideology-driven party like the BJP will survive, while others ruled by families will perish.

    Pawar on Wednesday claimed that “the BJP national president in his address said regional parties do not have a future and they will not exist. He said it is only their party which will exist in the country.”

    “From this statement, one thing is clear, which was also the complaint of Nitish Kumar, that the BJP finishes off its allies gradually,” the NCP president said.

    Citing an example, Pawar said a party like the Akali Dal was with them (BJP).

    “Its leader Prakash Singh Badal was with them, but today the party is nearly finished in Punjab,” he said.

    In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena and BJP were together for several years, he pointed out.

    “Today, the BJP is planning how the Shiv Sena can be weakened by creating a division in the party, and (present Maharashtra CM) Eknath Shinde and others helped,” he added.

    In doing this, the Shiv Sena was attacked by the party which was once its ally, he said.

    A similar picture was being seen in Bihar.

    Nitish Kumar, of the JD(U), and the BJP contested the last Assembly elections together, he said.

    “One more speciality of the BJP is that it joins hands with a regional party at the time of elections, but ensures the ally wins fewer seats. It happened in Maharashtra also,” Pawar claimed.

    When a similar picture was being witnessed in Bihar, the CM of the state got cautious well in advance and took the decision to snap ties with the BJP, he said.

    “No matter how much BJP leaders criticise Nitish Kumar, but he has taken a wise step. He took the decision anticipating the crisis the BJP was planning to bring on. I think he took a wise decision for his state and party,” Pawar said.

    Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday took a swipe at Sharad Pawar, saying that there was “something else” that was hurting more to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president.

    Fadnavis made the comment in the wake of Pawar’s criticism of the BJP, in which he accused it of finishing off its regional allies gradually.

    Pawar also said that the BJP was planning to weaken the Shiv Sena and create a division in the party.

    “There is something else that hurts Pawar more. Everyone knows it,” Fadnavis told reporters in Thane.

    Pawar’s party was a constituent of the previous Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators.

    Fadnavis said, “In the last Bihar Assembly elections, the BJP had won more seats that the JD(U), but still Nitish Kumar was made chief minister. It is the BJP that takes care of its allies.”

    “If we are not in power in Bihar (now), we would be there tomorrow for sure,” he added.

    JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the eighth time, while RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav was administered the oath of office as deputy chief minister.

    The ceremony took place a day after Kumar snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government.

    On the expansion of the Shinde-led cabinet in Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, “There has already been a lot of speculation about the cabinet expansion in media already. But the speculation is going to be completely false. Once the portfolios are allocated, you will realise it.”

    A day earlier, CM Shinde expanded his cabinet, 41 days after taking the oath of office.

    A total of 18 MLAs, including nine each from the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the BJP, took oath as the cabinet ministers.

  • ‘Nitish now in front row of Opposition camp along with Mamata’: Shatrughan Sinha

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stands in the “front row” of the opposition camp along with Mamata Banerjee and others to end the “Modi raj” in the country in the 2024 general election, former BJP leader and now Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha said on Wednesday.

    Sinha said the JD(U) leader has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine after it dislodged governments of opposition parties in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

    On who among Kumar and Banerjee could emerge as the opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next Lok Sabha poll, the actor-politician told PTI that the people of the country and leaders of the opposition parties would decide it at an “appropriate” time.

    Sinha, who had served as a cabinet minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has become a Lok Sabha member from Asansol in West Bengal recently from Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    Popularly called “Bihari Babu”, the actor-politician bid goodbye to the BJP after being denied a ticket from his native Patna Sahib seat in the 2019 general election.

    Before parting ways with the saffron party, Sinha had on several occasions targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah using the barb “one man party and two men army” against them.

    After leaving the BJP, Sinha had unsuccessfully contested from the Patna Sahib constituency on a Congress ticket in 2019.

    After lying low in the Congress, he switched over to Trinamool Congress and Banerjee chose him for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat vacated by Babul Supriyo.

    “Better late than never, Nitish Kumar has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine that it administered in Madhya Pradesh and now in Maharashtra using its money power,” Sinha alleged.

    He was in his native place Patna on the day Kumar took oath as chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time along with deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.

    “Due to his bold decision, Kumar today stands in the front row in the opposition camp along with Banerjee and others to lead the downfall of ‘Modi raj’ in the next Parliamentary election,” he said.

    Opposition parties have claimed the JD(U) breaking ranks with the BJP and joining hands with the RJD, Congress and others is an indication of the change in Indian politics, asserting that their vision to fight the saffron party and its “politics of intimidation” has gained momentum.

    Kumar, who has dumped the BJP for the second time after severing ties in 2013 and reconciling in 2017, is being talked about in the political circles as a probable opposition face against Modi in 2024 but many still view the JD(U) leader with suspicion citing his numerous ‘U-turns’.

    Also several other opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have hinted at prime ministerial ambitions.

    “The people of the country and the leaders of the opposition parties would decide who would be the face against Modi in the 2024 general election,” Sinha, who had earlier served as Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib twice and also as Rajya Sabha MP on two occasions from the saffron party, said.

    The newly elected TMC MP from Asansol praised Banerjee and reiterated she would be a “game changer” in the next general election.

    Talking about BJP forming its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra after defection in Congress and Shiv Sena respectively, Sinha said, “They (the BJP) had been indulging in the toppling game using money power”.

    “After khela (game) in West Bengal, the BJP has been cut to size following khela in Bihar,” he said using the famous punchline of the TMC during the West Bengal assembly polls in 2021.

    Sinha had served in the Vajpayee cabinet along with both Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee and had on several occasions highlighted his cordial relationship with both of them.

    The septuagenarian Parliamentarian had praised West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for fighting the BJP and defeating it comprehensively in the assembly polls in the eastern state in 2021.

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stands in the “front row” of the opposition camp along with Mamata Banerjee and others to end the “Modi raj” in the country in the 2024 general election, former BJP leader and now Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha said on Wednesday.

    Sinha said the JD(U) leader has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine after it dislodged governments of opposition parties in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

    On who among Kumar and Banerjee could emerge as the opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next Lok Sabha poll, the actor-politician told PTI that the people of the country and leaders of the opposition parties would decide it at an “appropriate” time.

    Sinha, who had served as a cabinet minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, has become a Lok Sabha member from Asansol in West Bengal recently from Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC).

    Popularly called “Bihari Babu”, the actor-politician bid goodbye to the BJP after being denied a ticket from his native Patna Sahib seat in the 2019 general election.

    Before parting ways with the saffron party, Sinha had on several occasions targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home minister Amit Shah using the barb “one man party and two men army” against them.

    After leaving the BJP, Sinha had unsuccessfully contested from the Patna Sahib constituency on a Congress ticket in 2019.

    After lying low in the Congress, he switched over to Trinamool Congress and Banerjee chose him for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat vacated by Babul Supriyo.

    “Better late than never, Nitish Kumar has given the BJP a taste of its own medicine that it administered in Madhya Pradesh and now in Maharashtra using its money power,” Sinha alleged.

    He was in his native place Patna on the day Kumar took oath as chief minister of Bihar for the eighth time along with deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.

    “Due to his bold decision, Kumar today stands in the front row in the opposition camp along with Banerjee and others to lead the downfall of ‘Modi raj’ in the next Parliamentary election,” he said.

    Opposition parties have claimed the JD(U) breaking ranks with the BJP and joining hands with the RJD, Congress and others is an indication of the change in Indian politics, asserting that their vision to fight the saffron party and its “politics of intimidation” has gained momentum.

    Kumar, who has dumped the BJP for the second time after severing ties in 2013 and reconciling in 2017, is being talked about in the political circles as a probable opposition face against Modi in 2024 but many still view the JD(U) leader with suspicion citing his numerous ‘U-turns’.

    Also several other opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have hinted at prime ministerial ambitions.

    “The people of the country and the leaders of the opposition parties would decide who would be the face against Modi in the 2024 general election,” Sinha, who had earlier served as Lok Sabha member from Patna Sahib twice and also as Rajya Sabha MP on two occasions from the saffron party, said.

    The newly elected TMC MP from Asansol praised Banerjee and reiterated she would be a “game changer” in the next general election.

    Talking about BJP forming its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra after defection in Congress and Shiv Sena respectively, Sinha said, “They (the BJP) had been indulging in the toppling game using money power”.

    “After khela (game) in West Bengal, the BJP has been cut to size following khela in Bihar,” he said using the famous punchline of the TMC during the West Bengal assembly polls in 2021.

    Sinha had served in the Vajpayee cabinet along with both Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee and had on several occasions highlighted his cordial relationship with both of them.

    The septuagenarian Parliamentarian had praised West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for fighting the BJP and defeating it comprehensively in the assembly polls in the eastern state in 2021.

  • JP movement to Advani rath yatra: How Bihar events have influenced national politics!

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Bihar is no stranger to being at the centre of a tectonic shift in national politics fuelled by turbulent regional forces.

    On Tuesday, a day filled with high drama, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed ties with ally BJP and embraced the Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance, bringing the spotlight on Bihar and its complex matrix of politics.

    From the landmark Bihar movement led by students in 1970s that emanated from Patna to stopping of Lal Krishna Advani’s Ayodhya rath yatra by then chief minister Lalu Yadav in Samastipur, these events have set off a chain of reactions that resulted in major ruptures in the realm of nation politics, throwing ruling parties out of seats of power or leading to rise of unexpected and at times unstable alliances.

    The Bihar movement, which eventually came to be known as the JP movement as veteran socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan spearheaded it, had a ripple effect from Patna to Delhi and the echoes of his fiery speeches at Gandhi Maidan in the Bihar capital had reverberations in Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.

    Narayan’s Bihar movement during the turbulent 70s eventually led to the Emergency from 1975-77.

    He exhorted college and university students in the state to throw themselves into what he had envisaged as a massive churn of Indian politics against corruption.

    Under the firebrand JP, the agitation in Bihar took the shape of a Sampoorna Kranti or total revolution and the initial demand for resignation of the then Ghafoor government in the state ultimately turned into a larger demand for dismissal of Indira Gandhi government.

    After the Emergency was over and general elections were held, Congress was ousted and a Janata Party-led government came into power with Morarji Desai as the prime minister.

    The JP movement has had such personal and emotional impact on many that Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sushil Kumar Modi and Sharad Yadav, all of whom were engrossed in students politics back then, often describe themselves as “product of JP movement”.

    Both Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, who perhaps bonded during the student movement, have had ‘friend-turned-foe-turned-friend’ moments in their careers, which also has impacted both regional and in turn national politics.

    RJD and JD(U), both descendants of the Janata Dal party, play a crucial role when it comes to stitching power alliances to form a government.

    And as Kumar returns to the Mahagathbandhan, from which he had walked out of in 2017 post the 2015 elections, many have also begun to speculate if the move will have ramifications on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    Many student leaders in Patna, PTI spoke to, concurred that “this type of political crisis being seen currently is not new to Bihar” and “this instability” has impacted both regional and national politics.

    Aman Lal, student activist from Patna University and a member of All India Student Federation which will mark its 86th foundation day on August 12, said, “leaving aside the tenure of Sri Krishna Singh in the initial days (till 1961) in Bihar after Independence, the chief ministers who succeeded him, could not complete their terms.

    Only Lalu Prasad in 90s could complete his term, and then Nitish Kumar is the longest-serving CM of Bihar since 2005.

    ” Experts feel that big political leaders from Bihar have had a national aura largely, and that is also perhaps a factor due to which “what happens in Bihar, impacts India”.

    Besides, Jayaprakash Narayan, K B Sahay, Karpoori Thakur, Daroga Prasad Rai, B P Mandal, all of these were state leaders but also national leaders.

    Mandal Commission set up in 1979, and chaired by B P Mandal, who briefly served as chief minister of Bihar in late 1960s, had a massive impact throughout India, and protests were held, and many even attempted self-immolation.

    But, perhaps the event that led to stopping of the rath yatra by Advani in 1990 is one of key moments in political history of both Bihar and India at large, given the significance and sensitivity of the Ram Temple issue.

    The BJP patriarch had started the yatra from Somnath in Gujarat and was to culminate at Ayodhya.

    His swanky vehicle entered Bihar through areas which now fall in Jharkhand, amid chants of ‘Mandir wahin banayege’.

    Sensing it might trigger disturbance in communal harmony, then chief minister Lalu Yadav ordered IAS officer R K Singh to arrest Advani.

    BJP was then propping up the V P Singh government and arresting Advani could have led to its fall and set off a chain of violence.

    Singh halted the rath yatra in Samastipur in north Bihar and arrested Advani, prompting the BJP to withdraw support to V P Singh’s National Front government and resulting in its collapse.

    The event paved the way for the emergence of the saffron party as a formidable force on the country’s political firmament.

    Ironically, he later became a joint secretary in the union home ministry when Advani headed it.

    Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the record eighth time at a no-frills ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Patna.

    Soon after being sworn in, he asserted that the NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to “worry” about its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    He also rubbished the BJP’s claim that the new government will not last its full term and said his former ally “will be back where they were after the 2015 assembly polls”.

    Poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Patna told TV channels that Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    How the current state of affairs in Bihar will play out in the long run, only time will tell.

    PTI KND ZMN 08101829 NNNN

    NEW DELHI: Bihar is no stranger to being at the centre of a tectonic shift in national politics fuelled by turbulent regional forces.

    On Tuesday, a day filled with high drama, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar severed ties with ally BJP and embraced the Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance, bringing the spotlight on Bihar and its complex matrix of politics.

    From the landmark Bihar movement led by students in 1970s that emanated from Patna to stopping of Lal Krishna Advani’s Ayodhya rath yatra by then chief minister Lalu Yadav in Samastipur, these events have set off a chain of reactions that resulted in major ruptures in the realm of nation politics, throwing ruling parties out of seats of power or leading to rise of unexpected and at times unstable alliances.

    The Bihar movement, which eventually came to be known as the JP movement as veteran socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan spearheaded it, had a ripple effect from Patna to Delhi and the echoes of his fiery speeches at Gandhi Maidan in the Bihar capital had reverberations in Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.

    Narayan’s Bihar movement during the turbulent 70s eventually led to the Emergency from 1975-77.

    He exhorted college and university students in the state to throw themselves into what he had envisaged as a massive churn of Indian politics against corruption.

    Under the firebrand JP, the agitation in Bihar took the shape of a Sampoorna Kranti or total revolution and the initial demand for resignation of the then Ghafoor government in the state ultimately turned into a larger demand for dismissal of Indira Gandhi government.

    After the Emergency was over and general elections were held, Congress was ousted and a Janata Party-led government came into power with Morarji Desai as the prime minister.

    The JP movement has had such personal and emotional impact on many that Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sushil Kumar Modi and Sharad Yadav, all of whom were engrossed in students politics back then, often describe themselves as “product of JP movement”.

    Both Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar, who perhaps bonded during the student movement, have had ‘friend-turned-foe-turned-friend’ moments in their careers, which also has impacted both regional and in turn national politics.

    RJD and JD(U), both descendants of the Janata Dal party, play a crucial role when it comes to stitching power alliances to form a government.

    And as Kumar returns to the Mahagathbandhan, from which he had walked out of in 2017 post the 2015 elections, many have also begun to speculate if the move will have ramifications on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

    Many student leaders in Patna, PTI spoke to, concurred that “this type of political crisis being seen currently is not new to Bihar” and “this instability” has impacted both regional and national politics.

    Aman Lal, student activist from Patna University and a member of All India Student Federation which will mark its 86th foundation day on August 12, said, “leaving aside the tenure of Sri Krishna Singh in the initial days (till 1961) in Bihar after Independence, the chief ministers who succeeded him, could not complete their terms.

    Only Lalu Prasad in 90s could complete his term, and then Nitish Kumar is the longest-serving CM of Bihar since 2005.

    ” Experts feel that big political leaders from Bihar have had a national aura largely, and that is also perhaps a factor due to which “what happens in Bihar, impacts India”.

    Besides, Jayaprakash Narayan, K B Sahay, Karpoori Thakur, Daroga Prasad Rai, B P Mandal, all of these were state leaders but also national leaders.

    Mandal Commission set up in 1979, and chaired by B P Mandal, who briefly served as chief minister of Bihar in late 1960s, had a massive impact throughout India, and protests were held, and many even attempted self-immolation.

    But, perhaps the event that led to stopping of the rath yatra by Advani in 1990 is one of key moments in political history of both Bihar and India at large, given the significance and sensitivity of the Ram Temple issue.

    The BJP patriarch had started the yatra from Somnath in Gujarat and was to culminate at Ayodhya.

    His swanky vehicle entered Bihar through areas which now fall in Jharkhand, amid chants of ‘Mandir wahin banayege’.

    Sensing it might trigger disturbance in communal harmony, then chief minister Lalu Yadav ordered IAS officer R K Singh to arrest Advani.

    BJP was then propping up the V P Singh government and arresting Advani could have led to its fall and set off a chain of violence.

    Singh halted the rath yatra in Samastipur in north Bihar and arrested Advani, prompting the BJP to withdraw support to V P Singh’s National Front government and resulting in its collapse.

    The event paved the way for the emergence of the saffron party as a formidable force on the country’s political firmament.

    Ironically, he later became a joint secretary in the union home ministry when Advani headed it.

    Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for the record eighth time at a no-frills ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Patna.

    Soon after being sworn in, he asserted that the NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to “worry” about its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

    He also rubbished the BJP’s claim that the new government will not last its full term and said his former ally “will be back where they were after the 2015 assembly polls”.

    Poll strategist Prashant Kishor in Patna told TV channels that Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    How the current state of affairs in Bihar will play out in the long run, only time will tell.

    PTI KND ZMN 08101829 NNNN