Mamata Banerjee plans to launch a campaign 'remove BJP, save country'

Mamata's offensive

 

The Trinamool Congress in West Bengal is planning to launch a campaign — “Remove BJP, save country” — on August 15 and organise a mega rally in the state on January 2019 that, said state chief minister Mamata Banerjee, will be attended by all India leaders from across the country. “They will see Bengal is ready,” she said. Banerjee was speaking at an annual rally in the heart of Kolkata to commemorate the 1993 firing outside Victoria House that killed 13 Youth Congress workers. She kicked off her aggressive pitch against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and announced the January rally against the backdrop of a soft campaign largely on social media that aims to position her as the prime minister-in-waiting.

 

All over again?

 

Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (pictured), has said that his party will move a no-confidence motion against the Nitish Kumar government in the state just like the one the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had moved against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha. The main Opposition party in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), is considering moving the motion in the monsoon session that started on Friday. While the TDP motion was over alleged reneging of promises made to Andhra Pradesh, that of the RJD would be over the deteriorating law and order and growing corruption in the state. Yadav asserted that a no-confidence motion is not just about bringing down a government but also to make it responsible towards the people who have voted it to power.

 

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Prashant Jain, chief investment officer, HDFC Asset Management Company, is considered one of the best investment minds in the country. A reporter put him in a spot when he asked what Jain thought of the valuation of HDFC AMC, which is going public. Taken aback at first, Jain regained composure quickly and managed to sidestep the question with practised ease. “None of the schemes of HDFC AMC are allowed to invest in their own company. I therefore don't have to give my view on the valuation,” he said.

 

Keep safe distance

 

Looks like Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was not particularly impressed by Congress President Rahul Gandhi's impromptu embrace of the Prime Minister during the no-confidence debate in Parliament on Friday. On Saturday he tweeted, "Koi haath bhi na milayega jo gale miloge tapaak se; yeh naye mizaj ka shehr hai zara fasle se mila karo (no one would even like to shake hands with you if you jump to hug someone with such warmth; maintain a little distance when you greet someone)", quoting legendary Urdu poet Bashir Badr. Just the day before, Yadav had avoided a direct reply when asked whether he fancied himself or Rahul Gandhi as prime minister. "The country wants to see a new government at the Centre. People want to see a new prime minister. You will see a new prime minister after the elections." he had said.