Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday set a target for the BJP to win 35 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in next year's election and claimed that the Mamata Banerjee government in the state won't survive beyond 2025 if the goal is achieved. Asserting that Narendra Modi would again be the country's prime minister in 2024, Shah said that leaders like Mamata Banerjee can never give a befitting reply to Pakistan or fight militancy in Kashmir. Shah's comments drew sharp reactions from the TMC, which asked how a union minister could "openly threaten to topple an elected government". While the party's virtual number two Abhishek Banerjee, whom Shah had targeted in his speech, chipped in to say in a tweet that he would quit politics if the home minister released the Rs 1.15 lakh crore rightfully due to my state. "Let me make it very clear that in 2024, Narendra Modi will again be the country's Prime Minister. The people of Bengal have given us great responsibility by giving us
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit four states in the three days from Friday as he spearheads the BJP's drive to tone up its organisation machinery and boost public outreach in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls next year. Party leaders said Shah will visit Birbhum in West Bengal on Friday followed by Bharatpur in Rajasthan on Saturday and Maharashtra and Goa on Sunday. He will lay the foundation stone of a party office and address a rally in Birbhum and address a meeting of booth presidents in Rajasthan, they said. In Maharashtra, Shah is scheduled to attend an event in Raigarh, where 'Maharashtra Bhushan' award will be given to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. He will address a public meeting in south Goa on Sunday, BJP leaders added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday urged people to visit Kibithoo -- "India's first village" -- in Arunachal Pradesh to enjoy its natural beauty and take inspiration from its history. Shah visited and stayed overnight in Kibithoo, which is India's eastern most forward post, along the border with China, on April 10. Posting a video showing the snow-clad mountains, waterfalls, river and valleys in the village, Shah wrote on Twitter: "Captured the beautiful landscapes during my visit to Kibithoo, India's first village. Arunachal Pradesh is blessed with immense natural beauty. I urge all to visit Arunachal Pradesh, especially Kibithoo, to be inspired by its history and stunned by nature's marvels". During his trip, the home minister had said that Kibithoo should not be termed as India's last village but first village as the Sun's rays fall first in this village in the country. The area also has a military history as Kibithoo and neighbouring Walong had witnessed a fierce battle
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, sources said. Shah will be given a detailed presentation on the prevailing law and order situation in J-K by security officials of the central government and the union territory administration. The situation along the Line of Control and International Border, infiltration bids from across the border and attempts to target minority community members are expected to be discussed at the meeting in Delhi, sources said. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh and other senior officials will attend the meeting. There were several targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir in the last three years. The government had informed Parliament that as many as 118 civilians, including five Kashmiri Pandits and 16 other Hindus and Sikhs, were killed in J-K since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 till July 2022.
India on Tuesday firmly rejected China's objection to Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state "was, is and will" always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the reality. The home minister visited Arunachal Pradesh on Monday during which he launched the ambitious 'Vibrant Villages Programme' that is aimed at improving the standard of living of the people in villages in frontier areas. "We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India," Bagchi said. "Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality," he said. Bagchi was responding to media quer
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that the BJP will win more than 300 Lok Sabha seats across the country in next year's general elections and return to power with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm. Addressing a rally in Dibrugarh, the senior BJP leader exuded confidence that the saffron party will win 12 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the northeastern state. Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Shah said, "Northeast was once considered a fortress of the Congress but despite Rahul Gandhi's yatra (Bharat Jodo Yatra), the party failed to perform well in the recent assembly elections in three states in the region." Assembly elections were held in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland. The BJP formed the government in Tripura, and came in power as alliance partners in the other two states. Alluding to Rahul Gandhi's controversial remarks during his visit to United Kingdom, Shah said, "He (Gandhi) insulted India from foreign soil. If he continues like this, ...
Amit Shah is all set to visit West Bengal on April 14-15 as a part of the ongoing preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha election
In view of the magnitude of the event, Shinde called upon the civic bodies of Panvel and Navi Mumbai, and even the health authorities to ensure full precautions for the mega-function
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The era when anyone could encroach on India's land has passed and no one can dare to eye its border, Home Minister Amit Shah said here on Monday. Launching the Vibrant Villages programme in the border village of Kibithoo in Arunachal Pradesh, India's easternmost place, Shah said the valour of army and ITBP personnel ensures that no one can encroach even an inch of India's land. He said border areas are the top priority of the Modi Government, pointing to the infrastructure and other development works carried out in the Northeast. "The era is gone when anyone could encroach on our lands. Now, not even land equal to 'sui ki nook' (inch of land) can be encroached...," the minister said. Paying homage to the martyrs of Kibithoo who laid down their lives during the 1962 war, Shah said they fought with indomitable spirit despite the lack of resources. Shah said no one says 'Namaste' in Arunachal Pradesh as people greet each other with 'Jai Hind' that "fills our hearts with patriotism".
China on Monday criticised Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, stating that it violated Chinese sovereignty over the area, a claim outrightly dismissed by India. Home Minister Shah on Monday launched Vibrant Villages Programme' from Kibithoo, the border village of Arunachal Pradesh and India's easternmost place. "Zangnan, (the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) is China's territory," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here while answering a question on Shah's visit to the area. "Indian officials' activities in this area violate China's sovereignty and (are) not conducive to peace and tranquility in the border regions. We firmly oppose it," he said. India last week outrightly rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of India and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality. India's reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 11 more plac
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, a core committee member, attended the meet. The BJP leader said the ruling party is also gearing up for polls to Sankhalim (North Goa) and Ponda municipal councils in May
Amit Shah will launch the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' (VVP) in Kibithoo, a border village in Arunachal Pradesh
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Arunachal Pradesh on April 10 and 11 where he will launch the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' in Kibithoo, a village along the India-China border. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government of India has approved the 'Vibrant Villages Programme' (VVP) with central components of Rs 4,800 crore, including Rs 2,500 crore exclusively for road connectivity for the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26, a home ministry statement said on Saturday. The VVP is a centrally sponsored scheme under which 2,967 villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Ladakh have been identified for comprehensive development. In the first phase, 662 villages, including 455 in Andhra Pradesh, have been identified for priority coverage. The VVP will help in improving the quality of life of people living in identified border village
: Minister K T Rama Rao on Friday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah demanding that the test for the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) be conducted in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and other official languages as well, other than English and Hindi. As per the notification, the Computer-based test will be conducted only in English and Hindi, a press release from KTR said. Rama Rao said the test put students who did not study in English medium or are not from Hindi-speaking states at a disadvantage. The Minister reminded Shah that the National Recruitment Agency had decided to facilitate a Common Eligibility Test (NRA-CET) to replace multiple examinations, and to conduct these in 12 Indian languages. "However, it's not being implemented properly, including in the CRPF recruitment notification," he said in the letter. Rama Rao also said that conducting competitive exams only in Hindi went against the spirit of the Constitution as there were several official languages in ...
Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeted opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, recalling the terror tag attached to Azamgarh and claiming that rural UP got 24-hour electricity only during Ramzan when they were in power. Speaking after laying the foundation stone of the Harihar music college, Shah said Azamgarh was known for terrorism during SP, BSP and Congress rule, but it is witnessing development under the BJP government. "I want to congratulate Yogi ji (CM Yogi Adityanath). In Azamgarh, which was considered the centre of terror across the country, he got the foundation of a music college laid to give respect to its heritage," he said, adding, "Azamgarh was known for Harihar 'gharana' of music, that image was spoiled by SP and BSP." Shah said Azamgarh used to face law and order problems in the past but the double-engine government of BJP has made it a centre of development. "I was the home minister of Gujarat when there were bomb blasts in Ahmedabad. The police had caught
The Trinamool Congress on Friday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of adopting "double standards" while addressing incidents of violence during Ram Navami in various states. Ram Navami was celebrated across the country last week with grand processions and special pujas, but the festivities were marred by the deaths of 14 people in separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and clashes and arson in some parts of the country. Prohibitory orders were imposed in West Bengal's Hooghly and Howrah districts, where clashes broke out between two groups when processions were taken out to celebrate Ram Navami. HM@AmitShah shows DOUBLE STANDARD in addressing Ram Navami violence: Goes all ballistic on Opposition-ruled states: West Bengal & Bihar. Takes no actions against @BJP4India& Allies-ruled states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, & UP. Rules for thee but not for me, much? TMC posted on its official Twitter handle. Shah had said that if the BJP comes to power in Bihar,
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday mounted a blistering attack on the Congress saying "not democracy but autocracy of one family is in danger."
In a move expected to decongest the prisons, the Centre has decided to launch a special scheme to provide financial support to poor people languishing in jails as they are unable to afford the penalty or the bail amount. "This will enable poor prisoners, majority of whom belong to socially disadvantaged or marginalised groups with lower education and income level, to get out of prison, the Home Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The broad contours of the scheme - Support for Poor Prisoners - have been finalised in consultation with stakeholders, it said. To ensure the benefits of the scheme reach the poor prisoners, technology-driven solutions will be put in place, E-prisons platform will be reinforced and District Legal Services Authority will be strengthen, besides stakeholders will be sensitised and stress will be given on capacity building. Providing financial support to poor prisoners who are unable to afford their penalties or bail amounts was one of the announcements ..
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that people would not forgive the opposition parties for disrupting Parliament proceedings over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha based on a legislation brought by the Congress-led UPA government. Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the Kaushambi Mahotsav, he exhorted people to elect Narendra Modi as prime minister once again in 2024 for the all-around welfare of all sections of society. "The country will not forgive opposition parties for disrupting Parliament proceedings over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification... Democracy is not in danger, it is casteism and dynastic politics ('parivarwad') which are in danger," Shah said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and state BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhry also attended the event. In a big blow to the Congress, its leader Rahul Gandhi was on March 24 disqualified from Lok Sabha, nearly 24 hours after