News Analysis India

Tag: BJP

  • BJP government ‘hero’ in publicity, we were ‘zero’ as Congress failed to publicise its work: Ghulam Nabi Azad

    By PTI

    NAGPUR: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said the BJP government is “hero” in publicity, while his party and the dispensation led by it were “zero” on that front as they “failed to publicise” their work and achievements.

    He was speaking at the Lokmat Times Excellence in Healthcare Awards 2021 here.

    Azad said his 42 years as an elected representative, his tenure as the chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state and as the Union health minister gave him the “biggest job satisfaction”, wherein he undertook several innovations and implemented new ideas for the welfare of the people.

    He recalled that he had asked the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allot him health portfolio when he was made a union minister, to which Singh said that ministry was too small for an experienced leader like him.

    “But I was lucky enough as I was made a health minister. I told the PM that I want to do something for the country, want to work in health sector and bring my ideas into execution,” he said.

    Azad said he brought a basic paradigm shift in the country’s health care sector and introduced major changes in land use for building medical colleges, for increasing the age for medical teaching faculty.

    Taking the name of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who was on present on the dais, Azad said, “Their government is hero in publicity, but we were zero in publicity…completely zero…It is good, I appreciate them and I blame myself, my government and my party that we failed miserably whatever we did we could not publicise.”

    The veteran Congress leader said the most basic thing that India and the world should work on is improving health and education.

    Azad praised Indian doctors, who he said are hailed across the world for their experience.

    Chairman of the editorial board of Lokmat Media Group, Vijay Darda, appreciated the work done by the people in the health care sector during the pandemic and stressed the need to improve health services in rural areas.

    Darda hailed Azad for improving the health care services in Jammu and Kashmir during his tenure as the chief minister there, and the work done by him for women’s health when he was the Union health minister.

    Fadnavis and Maharashtra energy minister Nitin Raut were awarded ‘Excellence in Healthcare Award 2021’ in the category of ‘Outstanding Service to Society During Covid Pandemic’ at the hands of Azad.

    The two leaders from Maharashtra also spoke on the occasion.

  • Amid crisis in state BJP, Amit Shah to visit Bengal on May 5-6

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a tour of West Bengal on Thursday and Friday during which he will visit forward areas along the Indo-Bangladesh border, address a public rally, and interact with MPs, MLAs, and BJP office bearers of the state, officials said on Wednesday.

    Shah will also attend a cultural event, Mukti-Matrika, organised by the Ministry of Culture to celebrate the inscription of the Durga Puja in the UNESCO list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ to be held at Kolkata’s iconic Victoria Memorial on Friday.

    The home minister will flag-off a boat ambulance at a floating Border Out Post (BOP) at Sutluj in the state on Thursday morning, the home ministry officials said.

    He will lay the foundation stone of Maitri Museum and Prahari Sammelan at Haridaspur BOP.

    On Thursday evening, Shah will address a public meeting to be held at Railway institute sports ground in Siliguri.

    On Friday, the home minister will visit Teen Bigha and interact with the BSF personnel at Jhikabari BOP in Cooch-Behar district.

    After returning to Kolkata, he will meet the MPs, MLAs and state office bearers of the BJP West Bengal unit, the officials said.

  • There will be direct contest between AAP and BJP in Himachal polls: Jain

    At a press conference, he said, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Himachal Pradesh) head and advocate, Anender Singh Nauti, along with his thirty associates have joined the AAP.

  • ‘No one should teach Hindutva to Shiv Sena’: Sanjay Raut hits back at Raj Thackeray

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday asserted that there was no violation of loudspeaker guidelines in Maharashtra and said no one should teach Hindutva to his party.

    Without taking names of the BJP and MNS, Raut told reporters that people do not take cognisance of people who, with the support of “pseudo Hindutvawadis”, conspire against the Shiv Sena.

    Notably, MNS chief Raj Thackeray has been targeting the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and has given a call for “silencing” loudspeakers atop mosques.

    Raut said, “There is no violation of loudspeakers (guidelines) in Maharashtra. The state is working according to the guidelines on loudspeakers laid down by the Supreme Court. If anyone is violating the law, then the government is capable of (tackling) it.”

    “The situation has not reached a level where an agitation (on the loudspeaker issue) is needed in Mumbai or Maharashtra. All mosques have taken permission for the use of loudspeakers,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

    His remarks came after the MNS chief on Wednesday tweeted an old video of late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, in which the latter was seen saying the day his party comes to power, offering namaz on roads will be stopped and loudspeakers from mosques will be removed.

    To this, Raut said, “We have not stooped that low. We still run on his principles. Balasaheb had taken a stand on loudspeakers and offering of namaz on road. He stopped it after coming to power. No one should teach Hindutva to the Shiv Sena.”

    The Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson, without naming Raj Thackeray said the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government (comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) was running as per law and not on anyone’s ultimatum.

    “Maharashtra has a Thackeray government. Even if the state has a Maha Vikas Aghadi government, it is helmed by Uddhav Thackeray. He is the Sena chief, son of Hinduhriday Samrat Bal Thackeray. So, he doesn’t have to take advice on praying on roads during namaz and illegal loudspeakers on masjids,” Raut said.

    Asked about MNS workers playing the Hanuman Chalisa near some mosques, he said, “I have not seen any agitation. If there are no unauthorised loudspeakers, then you have to decide whether you are staging a protest or doing an illegal act.”

    Meanwhile, trouble mounted for Raj Thackeray after the Aurangabad police on Tuesday registered an offence against him over his “provocative” speech on loudspeakers atop mosques two days ago, while the Maharashtra DGP said appropriate legal action will be taken against him over the issue.

    In related developments, a court in western Maharashtra’s Sangli district has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Raj Thackeray in connection with a 14-year-old case, while the Mumbai police served him a notice under a CrPC section related to prevention of cognizable offences.

    Sending out a blunt message to the MNS president over his May 3 deadline for removal of loudspeakers from mosques, the ruling Shiv Sena said the state does not run on ultimatums and that the rule of law prevails here even as some MNS leaders warned they will hit the streets in case of further action against their leader.

    The police in Aurangabad, located more than 350km from Mumbai in central Maharashtra, on Tuesday registered a case against Raj Thackeray, two days after he called for “silencing” loudspeakers atop mosques from May 4, an official said.

    The 53-year-old politician was booked under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 116 (abetment of an offence punishable with imprisonment if the offence be not committed) and 117 (abetting commission of the offence by the public or by more than 10 persons) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, the official told reporters.

    In the Aurangabad rally on May 1, the MNS chief had asked people to play the Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques from May 4 if loudspeakers there were not removed.

    Unfazed by registration of the case, Raj Thackeray in the evening urged people to play the Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers on Wednesday wherever they hear loudspeakers “blaring azaan (Islamic prayer call)”.

    In an open letter, he asked people to lodge complaint with the police by dialing 100 if they are distributed by the sound of ‘azaan’.

    “One must complain daily,” the MNS leader said.

    “I appeal to all Hindus that tomorrow, the 4th of May, if you hear the loudspeaker blaring with azaan; in those places, play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers. That’s when they will realise the hindrance of these loudspeakers,” Raj Thackeray said in the letter.

    Late in the evening, the Mumbai police served a notice to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief under CrPC section 149 related to preventing cognizable offences, an official said.

    The Shivaji Park police station official said the notice has been served as a precautionary measure.

    The police have issued precautionary notices under various sections of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) to more than 300 people in the Central Mumbai region, including prominent MNS leaders, he said.

    Notices under section 149 of the CrPC are served to prevent cognisable offences.

    Cognizable offences are those in which the police can arrest someone without any warrant.

    Earlier in the day, Maharashtra DGP Rajnish Seth said the Aurangabad police commissioner will take appropriate legal action against Raj Thackeray over his speech against loudspeakers atop mosques.

    “The Aurangabad CP is looking into the speech. He will take whatever legal action that is needed today itself,” the DGP told reporters in Mumbai.

    Notices under section 149 of the CrPC have been issued to over 13,000 people, Seth said.

    Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Seth and senior police officials reviewed the law-and-order situation in the state in the backdrop of the MNS chief’s deadline on the removal of loudspeakers.

    “The Maharashtra police are capable of handling any kind of law-and-order situation. SRPF and Home Guards have been deployed in the state,” Seth said.

    The leaves of all police personnel have been cancelled, the DGP said.

    A court in Sangli district has issued a non-bailable warrant against the MNS chief in connection with a 14-year-old case.

    In 2008, Raj Thackeray was booked under sections 109 and 117 (abetment of offence) of IPC for allegedly making inflammatory speeches.

    While issuing the non-bailable warrant on April 6, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, at Shirala in Sangli district asked the Mumbai police commissioner to arrest the MNS chief and present him before the court.

    The judge issued the warrant against Raj Thackeray and another MNS leader Shirish Parkar through the Mumbai police commissioner and the Kherwadi police station, respectively, as they failed to appear before the court during the case proceeding, said assistant public prosecutor Jyoti Patil.

    She said the court has asked the police to implement the warrant before June 8 and produce both the leaders before the court.

    In 2008, MNS workers staged a protest in Shirala against the arrest of Raj Thackeray in an agitation seeking priority for local youth in jobs.

    Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Shiv Sena MP and the party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said suitable action will follow if someone gives inflammatory speeches.

    “The government does not run on an ultimatum. There is rule of law in the state,” Raut said.

    MNS leaders warned they will hit the streets in case of further action against their party head.

    The party’s Thane district president, Avinash Jadhav, criticised Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the issue of the removal of loudspeakers from mosques.

    Jadhav claimed it was Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray who had first demanded the removal of loudspeakers from mosques, but his son (Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray) has booked Raj Thackeray for making a similar demand.

  • BJP tweets Rahul’s video at Nepal club, Cong says he is in Himalayan nation for friend’s wedding

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday tweeted a video of Rahul Gandhi apparently at a nightclub in Nepal, inviting a strong response from the Congress which said he was in the friendly country to attend the marriage function of a journalist friend and that it is not a crime to attend weddings of family and friends.

    BJP’s social media department head Amit Malviya tweeted Gandhi’s video that went viral on social media.

    “Rahul Gandhi was at a nightclub when Mumbai was under seize(sic). He is at a nightclub at a time when his party is exploding. He is consistent. Interestingly, soon after the Congress refused to outsource their presidency, hit jobs have begun on their Prime Ministerial candidate,” Malviya said in the tweet.

    Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back, saying Gandhi was in Nepal for a private wedding and has not gone there uninvited.

    “Rahul Gandhi has not gone as an uninvited guest like Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to Pakistan to celebrate the birthday and cut cakes for the then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. Rahul Gandhi has gone to a friendly country Nepal to participate in a private marriage function of a friend. By chance, the friend also happens to be a journalist,” he said.

    Surjewala also hit out at the RSS, saying it is not a crime to attend weddings of family and friends as it is part of our culture, unlike the RSS.

    “Last when I checked, having a family in this country and having friends, attending marriage and engagement ceremonies is a matter of our culture and civilisation. It has still not become a crime in this country to be married, to be friends with someone or to attend their marriage celebration. Maybe after today, Prime Minister Modi or the BJP may decide that it is illegal to attend a marriage. They may say it is a crime to have friends or participate in family functions,” he said.

    “But, do let me know so that we all change our status and habits and civilisational practices of attending marriages of friends, as also family members,” Surjewala also said.

    Gandhi arrived in Nepal on Monday on a five-day private visit to the country.

    According to The Kathmandu Post newspaper, the Congress leader is in Kathmandu to attend the wedding of his Nepali friend Sumnima Udas.

    “We had extended an invitation to Gandhi to attend the wedding of my daughter,” said Bhim Udas, Sumnima’s father who also served as Nepal’s Ambassador to Myanmar.

    Sumnima, a former CNN correspondent, is getting married to Nima Martin Sherpa, the report had said.

    The marriage function is planned for Tuesday and a reception will be held on May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bauddha, the bride’s father Bhim said.

  • Ahmedabad Diary

    Express News Service

    Who is stopping Hardik Patel’s saffron camp entry?Recently, Congress working president and Patidar leader Hardik Patel changed his tone and tenor against his leadership, signalling that he would join the BJP. The misfortune of Congress is that from the ward level, the state leaders are threatening to join the BJP. Interestingly, there exists another group in the party which firmly believes against Hardik joining BJP. According to sources, former CM Anandiben Patel and her camp is strongly irked with Hardik’s entry into the BJP. Now, if Hardik has to join BJP he has to line up with Narendra Modi. Back in 2016, the Patidar agitation spearheaded by Hardik had unsettled affairs of the then Anandiben Patel government – eventually leading to her resignation. 

    Defectors insecure as BJP mulls ‘no-repeat’ theory Lobbying by leaders vying for candidature for the Assembly elections of the BJP has begun in full swing. However, Congress defectors to the BJP are in a catch-22 situation for it’s very difficult to get a BJP ticket because of the party’s plan for a ‘no-repeat theory’. If this happens then many veteran leaders of BJP will have to take a step back. According to the source, the tickets of more than 100 leaders who are currently BJP MLAs will be cut. If this happens then their political career is doomed. With less chances of repatriation of such leaders, may are also considering joining the Aam Aadmi Party if the grand old party refuses to welcome them back. 

    Cong’s Ashwin Kotwal likely to join BJPGujarat Congress is in for another setback in the run up to the Assembly polls. According to sources, Khedbrahma’s Congress MLA Ashwin Kotwal will leave the party and join the BJP on May 3. Tribal leader Ashwin Kotwal has been an MLA for 3 consecutive terms. If Ashwin Kotwal leaves Congress, the party could suffer huge losses in the tribal belt. However, he has been upset with the Congress ever since tribal leader Sukhram Rathwa was elevated as opposition leader. Earlier, Ashwin Kotwal had met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Kotwal was absent from Congress’ Adivasi Satyagraha programme despite being a tribal leader. He was also inactive in assembly sessions. 

    Dilip Singh KshatriyaOur correspondent in Gujarat [email protected]

  • Prashant Kishor responsible for our defeat in Goa: State TMC chief Kiran Kandolkar as he resigns

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Goa Trinamool Congress chief Kiran Kandolkar resigned on Wednesday and alleged that political strategist Prashant Kishor was responsible for the “humiliating” defeat of the Mamata Banerjee-led party in the recent state Assembly polls who also tried to “blackmail” the Congress.

    Addressing a press conference, Kandolkar claimed that Kishor ended up helping BJP to form the government after the polls.

    The resignation of Kandolkar and two other leaders, who had contested on the TMC symbol, came as another setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led party which is struggling to retain its flock in Goa since the poll debacle.

    The TMC drew a blank in its maiden electoral outing in Goa.

    “Prashant Kishor was responsible for the TMC’s humiliating defeat in Goa polls. He was in Goa to blackmail the Congress and eventually ended up helping the BJP to form the government again,” Kandolkar alleged.

    He, however, didn’t elaborate on the “blackmail” charge against Kishor, who recently declined to join Congress.

    Kandolkar, along with Tarak Arolkar, and Sandeep Vazarkar have resigned from the primary membership of the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

    Days earlier, Kandolkar’s wife Kavita Kandolkar had also quit the TMC, owing to “pressure” from her supporters.

    Soon after Kavita Kandolkar’s resignation move, the Goa TMC tweeted that the party was restructuring the entire AITC Goa State Committee with immediate effect.

    Kiran Kandolkar had quit as the working president of the Goa Forward Party to join the TMC in the run-up to the polls held in February this year.

    Kandolkar and his wife had contested on TMC tickets from Aldona and Thivim constituencies, respectively, but lost.

    “We did what we felt right at that time. It’s human to commit a mistake. We did commit a mistake,” Kandolkar said when asked if joining the TMC was a mistake.

    Calling for all the Opposition parties to unite to defeat the BJP, Kandolkar conceded that the split of votes went in favour of the BJP.

    Kandolkar said he would neither join any political party nor float a new one.

    “I don’t want to split anti-BJP votes further,” he added.

    The BJP won 20 seats in the 40-member House and returned to power with the support of two MLAs of MGP and three Independents.

  • Punjab opposition parties hit out at CM Mann over agreement with Delhi

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Opposition parties in Punjab on Tuesday slammed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for signing a knowledge-sharing agreement with his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of “surrendering his authority” and “institutionalising interference” in the border state.

    A knowledge-sharing agreement was signed on Tuesday between the two chief ministers with Mann saying that 117 schools and mohalla clinics will be developed in Punjab.

    Reacting to the agreement, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa termed it “complete abrogation of responsibility” on behalf of the state government towards its people while SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said it was a “black day” for Punjab.

    Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring took a swipe at Mann and asked him to admit that Kejriwal would now run Punjab from Delhi.

    Bajwa in a tweet said, “The proposed agreement between @PunjabGovtIndia and Delhi Govt is akin to inviting the British to ‘safeguard’ the Maharajah as requested by the Lahore Durbar in 1846. It is a complete abrogation of responsibility on behalf of the Govt of Punjab to its people. Such an agreement will ensure that Punjab Govt is essentially a colony outpost of @ArvindKejriwal ji.”

    “No transparency, no accountability and a complete selling off Punjab to Delhi in perpetuity,” alleged Bajwa in another tweet.

    Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira slammed Mann for allegedly surrendering his authority to Kejriwal.

    “Compromising PB (Punjab) Govt departments with Delhi Govt and making agreements amounts to abject & complete surrender of authority by @BhagwantMann before @ArvindKejriwal. How will PB defend its waters,language etc if we submit ourselves to another state!,” tweeted Khaira, who is an MLA from Bholath seat.

    Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal also expressed displeasure over the development, saying, “Black Day for Punjab: CM @BhagwantMann institutionalises Delhi Govt interference in Punjab by signing MoU today.”

    Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma too slammed Mann, saying it was not a memorandum of understanding but a “memorandum of surrender.”

    After signing the agreement, Mann, who was on a two-day visit to the national capital, said education, health and power are the priorities for his government and Punjab can learn from Delhi where a lot of work has been done in these fields.

  • More desertions from Congress in poll-bound Gujarat

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD:  With the poll fever in Gujarat rising every day, the season of switching loyalties is also peaking. Political leaders are busy exploring options and looking for greener pastures keeping the electoral prospects of various parties in mind. The latest to jump the ship are Manilal Vaghela and Kailash Gadhvi, both from the Congress, who have decamped to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), respectively.

    Vaghela, a former Congress MLA whom the party had denied ticket in the 2017 Assembly elections in favour of Independent candidate Jignesh Mevani, joined the BJP on Sunday along with several of his supporters. State BJP president CR Patil welcomed him to the party fold at the ‘Vijay Vishwas Sammelan’ in Vadgam town of Banaskantha district.

    Vaghela, who was among the senior-most Congress leaders in the state and was associated with the party right from the beginning of his political career, had resigned from the party in November last year. With Mevani, Vadgam’s current MLA, arrested in Assam and Vaghela now in the BJP, it will interesting to see the how the poll battle will be poised in the constituency that has been a Congress bastion.

    Since being thrown out of Vadgam, the veteran had nursed a grievance and said as much in his letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He had pointed out  that injustice was done to him despite his loyalty to the party during Ahmed Patel’s Rajya Sabha election in 2017, when around 15 party MLAs resigned. 

    Vaghela had earlier this month met PM Narendra Modi in Delhi. According to BJP sources, his induction is part of the party’s strategy to increase its presence on seats which are considered Congress strongholds. The party is eying the seats where it has traditionally been weak so as to offset any losses it may face in seats it had won last time.

    Gadhvi, the longstanding spokesperson of Congress, also left the party on Sunday. “I do not think that the party (Congress) has the energy or the will to fight and conquer the ruling BJP. AAP has the power to fight evil and raise people’s issues and resolve them,” he said. 

  • BJP leaders meet as party gears up to mark Modi govt’s anniversary 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A team of senior BJP leaders, including Union minister Anurag Thakur, met here on Monday as the party plans a big outreach to mark the third anniversary of the Modi government in its second term after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 ruled out any major public event during the first two anniversaries.

    Members of a committee formed by the BJP to decide the modalities of the programme discussed various suggestions at a meeting held at the party headquarters.

    Union minister Thakur, BJP general secretaries Arun Singh, C T Ravi and D Purandareswari and chief spokesperson Anil Baluni, among others, are part of the panel.

    A party source said that as of now a draft has been prepared, and the list of programmes and activities will be finalised in the coming days to highlight various achievements of the government.

    The committee members also include Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar, MPs Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Rajdeep Roy and Aparajita Sarangi besides other organisation leaders like Shiv Prakash and Lal Singh Arya.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken oath for a second term on May 30, 2019, after leading the BJP to an unprecedented 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

    His second term has been marked by the government fulfilling several of its core ideological projects, including the nullification of Article 370 and the beginning of the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya following a Supreme Court verdict, with the BJP continuing to notch up impressive poll feats in several states.

    However, the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 followed by stringent lockdown and a graver second wave the next year meant that the party could not launch any public programme in a major way to celebrate its two anniversaries.

    With the Covid now mostly under control despite a recent uptick in its numbers in a few states and public activities back to normal for all practical purposes, the ruling party hopes that it can finally mark the government’s eighth anniversary, including Modi’s first term, at a much grander scale.