News Analysis India

Tag: Janata Dal

  • Power Games: Nitish wants to reunite old Janata Dal splinters

    Express News Service

    Mission 2024Nitish wants to reunite old Janata Dal splinters

    Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been in touch with the leaders of the erstwhile Janata Dal’s splinters to try and unite them before the next Lok Sabha elections. The four breakaway parties of the old Janata Dal had recently come together on one platform at a public meeting organised by Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Sources close to Kumar said that he wants a merger of his Janata Dal (United), Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) and the INLD. This, he feels, will provide an all-India alternative to the BJP in the 2024 general elections. Nitish Kumar wants this united Janata Dal to ally with the Congress to challenge the might of the BJP which appears assured of a victory in the absence of a credible national alternative. Nitish had recently met Congress president Sonia Gandhi along with Lalu Yadav where he had raised the issue of alliance. Sonia asked him to discuss the issue with the new party president after the conclusion of the party’s organisational elections.

    Rise of RupeeIndia to sign rupee trade deal with UAE, Nigeria

    India is close to signing a deal with the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria to facilitate trade in rupee with the two countries. Sources said that the deals with the two countries will be on the lines of the Indo-Russian rupee-rouble deal. The trade with the two countries will reportedly be conducted using the US dollar as the benchmark for the exchange rate. India has of late been facing trouble in making payments for the Russian oil. Payment for Russian oil in Emirati Dirham has been stopped after US reportedly tightened screws on UAE’s Mashrek Bank which was handling these payments for the Indian companies. With the US sanctions making it difficult for India to make payments for the Russian oil, India now plans to buy oil from UAE and Nigeria by making payment in rupee once the deal comes through. Indian officials have been working with their counterparts in UAE and Nigeria and the deal is likely to be announced in October 2022.

    Legal NotesWhy Rohatgi refused to head govt’s legal team

    More than the appointment of R Venkataramani as the new Attorney General, the legal fraternity has been talking about Mukul  Rohatgi’s refusal to take up the post of government’s top law officer. Sources said the top-notch senior advocate was all set to take up the job. A message was reportedly conveyed to him about the appointment, and he had given his consent. Rohatgi had handled the responsibility in 2014, when the Narendra Modi government first came to power, and an encore was considered a smooth affair. Arrangements were being finalised for the crowning and news of the impending appointment was splashed all over the media. But Rohatgi suddenly declined the offer and R Venkataramani was appointed as the Attorney General. The reason as to why he refused the offer has been a subject of hot debates among the black gowns. Sources said that Rohatgi was told by his friends that 2022 is not 2014, and Kiren Rijiju is not Arun Jaitley! Rohatgi was told that a law officer, who holds an important position in the central government’s legal team, wields all the power in the current regime as he enjoys the same level of confidence among the top Union ministers as Rohatgi enjoyed during Jaitley’s tenure. As a result, his tenure may not be as smooth as the previous one, he was told. Rohatgi reportedly found merit in the input and decided to stay away from the A-G’s post.

    Mission 2024
    Nitish wants to reunite old Janata Dal splinters

    Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been in touch with the leaders of the erstwhile Janata Dal’s splinters to try and unite them before the next Lok Sabha elections. The four breakaway parties of the old Janata Dal had recently come together on one platform at a public meeting organised by Om Prakash Chautala’s Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Sources close to Kumar said that he wants a merger of his Janata Dal (United), Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) and the INLD. This, he feels, will provide an all-India alternative to the BJP in the 2024 general elections. Nitish Kumar wants this united Janata Dal to ally with the Congress to challenge the might of the BJP which appears assured of a victory in the absence of a credible national alternative. Nitish had recently met Congress president Sonia Gandhi along with Lalu Yadav where he had raised the issue of alliance. Sonia asked him to discuss the issue with the new party president after the conclusion of the party’s organisational elections.

    Rise of Rupee
    India to sign rupee trade deal with UAE, Nigeria

    India is close to signing a deal with the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria to facilitate trade in rupee with the two countries. Sources said that the deals with the two countries will be on the lines of the Indo-Russian rupee-rouble deal. The trade with the two countries will reportedly be conducted using the US dollar as the benchmark for the exchange rate. India has of late been facing trouble in making payments for the Russian oil. Payment for Russian oil in Emirati Dirham has been stopped after US reportedly tightened screws on UAE’s Mashrek Bank which was handling these payments for the Indian companies. With the US sanctions making it difficult for India to make payments for the Russian oil, India now plans to buy oil from UAE and Nigeria by making payment in rupee once the deal comes through. Indian officials have been working with their counterparts in UAE and Nigeria and the deal is likely to be announced in October 2022.

    Legal Notes
    Why Rohatgi refused to head govt’s legal team

    More than the appointment of R Venkataramani as the new Attorney General, the legal fraternity has been talking about Mukul  Rohatgi’s refusal to take up the post of government’s top law officer. Sources said the top-notch senior advocate was all set to take up the job. A message was reportedly conveyed to him about the appointment, and he had given his consent. Rohatgi had handled the responsibility in 2014, when the Narendra Modi government first came to power, and an encore was considered a smooth affair. Arrangements were being finalised for the crowning and news of the impending appointment was splashed all over the media. But Rohatgi suddenly declined the offer and R Venkataramani was appointed as the Attorney General. The reason as to why he refused the offer has been a subject of hot debates among the black gowns. Sources said that Rohatgi was told by his friends that 2022 is not 2014, and Kiren Rijiju is not Arun Jaitley! Rohatgi was told that a law officer, who holds an important position in the central government’s legal team, wields all the power in the current regime as he enjoys the same level of confidence among the top Union ministers as Rohatgi enjoyed during Jaitley’s tenure. As a result, his tenure may not be as smooth as the previous one, he was told. Rohatgi reportedly found merit in the input and decided to stay away from the A-G’s post.

  • RJD claims reservation within party structure is implemented

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Days after the patch-up with Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) claimed on Sunday to have become the first party in the country to implement ‘reservation’ in its organizational structure. This has been done at a time almost national and regional parties, especially in Bihar BJP included, are working on this equation to create a strong vote-bank on the basis of social engineering ahead of the 2024 LS and the 2025 assembly elections. 

    This reservation roster in the organisational elections of RJD will continue in effect further with an aim to make what RJD chief calls-‘samata-mulak samaj’.(egalitarian society).

    Sharing details with this newspaper here, Chittaranjan Gagan- assistant national chief electoral officer of RJD, said that reservation has been implemented in the party for organisational structure with the purpose of giving special representation to the most backward and scheduled castes and tribes in the organizational structure.

    “A provision has been made for special reservation for these classes in the constitution of RJD.  According to the constitutional provisions of the party, 28 per cent of posts of party office bearers at the block and district levels including the party district presidents have been reserved for the most backward classes and 17 per cent for the scheduled castes and tribes now”, he claimed.

    He further elaborated that the same roster of reservations has been implemented in the organizational election year 2022-2025, which was earlier implemented in the organizational election year 2019-2022.

    The category, for which the posts of block president and district president were reserved in the last organizational year, would continue same for the same category in this organizational year also. “There has been no change in the previous roster”, he said.

    At present, the RJD has around 50 organizational district units in Bihar. “Among these units, 17 district units, the party president post has been reserved for the most backward classes whereas in 7 district units, the president’s post has been reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

    Sharing details, he said that  Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Darbhanga,Samastipur, Begusarai , Supaul, Saharsa, Purnia, Purnia , Munger, Bhagalpur , Banka, Biharsharif , Jehanabad and Patna Mahanagar(metropolis) have been reserved for the most backward, whereas  Navgachia, Arwal, Kaimur, Nalanda, Araria, Siwan and Bagaha have been reserved for SC and ST.

    “Along with this, provision has been made for co-opted members to ensure proper representation of special interests in the organization.  Under which, out of the total co-opted members at various levels, except the initial unit, the participation of minimum of 25 per cent women, 25 per cent minorities, 30 per cent scheduled castes/tribes and the remaining 20 per cent of those sections which have not got representation will be ensured”, he added.  In the primary unit, one member of the SC/ST will be represented as a ‘sahvarit’ (co-opted) member.

    NEW DELHI: Days after the patch-up with Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) claimed on Sunday to have become the first party in the country to implement ‘reservation’ in its organizational structure. This has been done at a time almost national and regional parties, especially in Bihar BJP included, are working on this equation to create a strong vote-bank on the basis of social engineering ahead of the 2024 LS and the 2025 assembly elections. 

    This reservation roster in the organisational elections of RJD will continue in effect further with an aim to make what RJD chief calls-‘samata-mulak samaj’.(egalitarian society).

    Sharing details with this newspaper here, Chittaranjan Gagan- assistant national chief electoral officer of RJD, said that reservation has been implemented in the party for organisational structure with the purpose of giving special representation to the most backward and scheduled castes and tribes in the organizational structure.

    “A provision has been made for special reservation for these classes in the constitution of RJD.  According to the constitutional provisions of the party, 28 per cent of posts of party office bearers at the block and district levels including the party district presidents have been reserved for the most backward classes and 17 per cent for the scheduled castes and tribes now”, he claimed.

    He further elaborated that the same roster of reservations has been implemented in the organizational election year 2022-2025, which was earlier implemented in the organizational election year 2019-2022.

    The category, for which the posts of block president and district president were reserved in the last organizational year, would continue same for the same category in this organizational year also. “There has been no change in the previous roster”, he said.

    At present, the RJD has around 50 organizational district units in Bihar. “Among these units, 17 district units, the party president post has been reserved for the most backward classes whereas in 7 district units, the president’s post has been reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

    Sharing details, he said that  Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani, Darbhanga,Samastipur, Begusarai , Supaul, Saharsa, Purnia, Purnia , Munger, Bhagalpur , Banka, Biharsharif , Jehanabad and Patna Mahanagar(metropolis) have been reserved for the most backward, whereas  Navgachia, Arwal, Kaimur, Nalanda, Araria, Siwan and Bagaha have been reserved for SC and ST.

    “Along with this, provision has been made for co-opted members to ensure proper representation of special interests in the organization.  Under which, out of the total co-opted members at various levels, except the initial unit, the participation of minimum of 25 per cent women, 25 per cent minorities, 30 per cent scheduled castes/tribes and the remaining 20 per cent of those sections which have not got representation will be ensured”, he added.  In the primary unit, one member of the SC/ST will be represented as a ‘sahvarit’ (co-opted) member.

  • Nitish won’t attend Jind programme, his hands are full: JD(U)

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) on Saturday made it clear that the leader will not attend a function in Haryana later this month, where he could have ended up sharing the stage with a host of political bigwigs opposed to the NDA.

    A statement to the effect was made here by the party’s national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, who said the chief minister’s hands were full so he will not be able to visit Jind on September 25, though the JD(U) will be sending national secretary general K C Tyagi as its representative.

    “The function is being held on the occasion of birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal for whom the chief minister has deepest personal regard,” said Lalan.

    “But, the situation in the state is fraught with challenges. Preparations are to be made for a possible third wave of COVID-19. Flood relief is to be undertaken. Affliction of children, on a large scale, by viral fever has to be tackled,” the JD(U) chief said.

    He said under the prevailing circumstances, Kumar could “ill afford to go out of the state. He might, at most, make short trips to the national capital if the situation warrants”.

    INLD leader Abhay Chautala, along with his father and former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala, is organising the ‘Kisan Panchayat’ where leaders like Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, former PM H D Deve Gowda and Siromani Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal are expected to be present.

    Chautala had initially claimed that Nitish Kumar had “confirmed” his presence for the meeting, which had led to a political storm in Bihar since the JD(U) is the biggest constituent of the NDA after the BJP.

    It was being speculated that the JD(U) strongman, whose party had been given a short shrift by the BJP in the recent Union cabinet expansion, might have decided to attend the Jind programme to express his disgruntlement.