Page 265 - Bjp

Newly-elected Chandigarh mayor Sonkar resigns amid poll rigging allegations

Newly elected Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigned from the post on Sunday, amid allegations that the January 30 mayoral polls were rigged, according to sources. This comes a day before the matter is to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court. Mayor Manoj Sonkar has submitted his resignation to the municipal commissioner, sources said. The BJP had swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls, in a setback to the Congress-AAP alliance that alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had rapped the returning officer who conducted the mayoral polls, observing that it was obvious that he defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted, adding that his action amounted to "murder and mockery" of democracy. The court had also ordered preservation of ballots and the video of the poll proceedings besides seeking the returning officer's personal appearance during the next hearing in the case on February 19.

Ram Rajya for the next 1,000 years: BJP national council resolution

Modi urged BJP workers to devote themselves for the next hundred days to ensure the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wins 400 Lok Sabha seats

PM Modi likely to address women's rally near Sandeshkhali on March 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address a women's rally in Barasat in West Bengal on March 7, amid a political row over allegations of sexual assault of women by members of the state's ruling Trinamool Congress in Sandeshkhali, BJP leaders said on Sunday. The scheduled rally at the headquarters of North 24-Parganas district, where Sandeshkhali is located, will be held a day before International Women's Day, they said. West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, who was here to attend the party's national convention, said the prime minister is likely to visit Barasat on March 7 to address a women's rally. Majumdar had to be hospitalised with injuries last week as BJP workers clashed with police personnel after being stopped from going to Sandeshkhali. The state BJP president, other party leaders and a central fact-finding team of the party have been stopped by police from visiting the area. Sandeshkhali has been tense with a large number of women in the locality accusing

Several Cong MLAs loyal to Kamal Nath reach Delhi amid talk of joining BJP

Around half a dozen Madhya Pradesh MLAs loyal to senior Congress leader Kamal Nath reached Delhi on Sunday amid speculation that he and his MP son Nakul Nath are set to join the ruling BJP. Three of these MLAs are from Chhindwara, while another three from the region are set to leave for Delhi, sources close to the veteran leader said. Nath, a nine-time MP from Chhindwara and currently MLA from the seat, is a former chief minister who was removed as the party's state president following the Congress' dismal performance in the November Assembly polls. These MLAs were not answering calls, with some Congress insiders claiming Nath loyalist and former state minister Lakhan Ghangoriya was also camping with them in Delhi. Deepak Saxena, former MP minister and Nath loyalist told reporters in Chhindwara he was hurt by the way the latter was removed as state unit chief following the Assembly debacle. "We want out leader to be accorded all respect. Whatever decision he takes, we will be with

Rahul Gandhi, Smriti Irani to visit UP's Amethi on Monday for public events

Union minister Smriti Irani will pay a four-day visit to her parliamentary constituency of Amethi beginning Monday, on a day Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is set to enter the Uttar Pradesh town. Gandhi had represented Amethi in the Lok Sabha for 15 years before he was defeated by Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This will perhaps be the only second time since 2019 that the two leaders will be in Amethi at the same time. They had been in the town at the same time in February 2022 to attend different campaign events in the run-up to the assembly polls. Irani's representative Vijay Gupta said the minister will be in her constituency for four days, during which she will hold interactions with residents of several villages and attend her house-warming ceremony on February 22. Prior to her election from Amethi, she had promised the electorate that she would build a house in the town and become a resident. According to Congress leaders, the Bharat Jodo Nyay

Not seeking a third term for political gains, but for benefit of India: PM

Addressing the BJP national convention here, Modi said the nation will now have to dream big and make big resolutions to make India a developed country by 2047

After Kamal Nath, reports claim Manish Tewari giving thought to BJP switch

A source close to Manish Tiwari said the speculations linking the Congress old-timer to the BJP were all 'rubbish' as he was busy working for the people of his constituency

BJP not confident of winning more than 200 LS seats, alleges Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party was running a "political brothel" in Maharashtra and was solely responsible for polluting the state's culture. In his column 'Rokthok' in the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit's mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Rajya Sabha MP said the BJP was not confident of winning more than 200 Lok Saha seats and cited the induction of leaders like Ashok Chavan, a former Congress chief minister. "Maharashtra was once famed for the staunch support for progressive and modern thoughts in politics. BJP is solely responsible for changing the image of the state, which is now known for political switch overs, and decline in its culture,"Raut alleged. "BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis and (former MP) Kirit Somaiya were once harsh critics of Chavan. They levelled serious allegations against him. But now Fadnavis was present when Chavan joined the BJP. Fadnavis had once called Chavan a 'dealer'. Now, the state's deputy chief minister has to

Ram temple heralds establishment of 'Ram Rajya' for next 1,000 years: BJP

The BJP's national convention on Sunday passed a resolution on the Ram temple in Ayodhya, asserting that this heralds the establishment of "Ram Rajya" in India for the next 1,000 years. "The construction of a grand and divine temple of Lord Shri Ram at his birthplace in the ancient holy city of Ayodhya is a historic and glorious achievement for the country," the resolution said. This convention heartily congratulates the leadership of the prime minister, it said. It is noteworthy that Lord Shri Ram, Sita and Ramayana are present in every aspect of Indian civilization and culture, it said. Our Constitution, dedicated to our democratic values and justice for all, has been inspired by the ideals of Ram Rajya, it said. "Even in the original copy of the Constitution of India, on the section of fundamental rights, the picture of Lord Shri Ram, Mother Sita and Lakshman ji after returning to Ayodhya after the victory is a proof of the fact that Lord Shri Ram is the source of inspiration f

Country has made up its mind that PM Modi to be at helm for 3rd term: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday likened the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to the Mahabharata war, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the BJP-led camp working for the country's development while "INDI alliance" under the Congress is full of family-run parties and corruption. In his address at the BJP's national convention here, Shah lashed out at the opposition INDIA bloc for its promotion of dynastic and appeasement politics. He was speaking on the resolution "BJP: Desh ki aasha, vipaksha ki hatasha" (BJP: Country's hope, opposition's despair). He said the opposition is full of "2G, 3G and 4G" parties, a reference to the second, third and fourth generation of families running these parties. He said the prime minister has worked for the development of all sections of society and enhanced the country's global standing. Shah asserted there is no doubt in people's mind that the prime minister will retain power for a third term. While PM Modi thinks of the poor and the

Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at Ayodhya ushered in new era, says JP Nadda

The ongoing brainstorming sessions at the national concention are aimed at firming up the party's strategy and charge up cadres ahead of the Lok Sabha elections that are likely to be notified soon

Double engine govt means double blow to unemployed: Rahul Gandhi slams BJP

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the BJP over the issue of unemployment in Uttar Pradesh, saying double engine government means "double blow" to the unemployed. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi claimed that today every third youth of Uttar Pradesh is suffering from the "disease of unemployment". "Where more than 1.5 lakh government posts are vacant, graduates, post graduates and PhD holders are standing in line even for the posts that require minimum qualification," the former Congress chief said. "Double engine government means double blow to the unemployed!" he said. "First of all, the coming out of recruitment possibilities is a dream and even if the recruitment is being done then the paper gets leaked, if the paper happens then the result is not known and even when the result comes after a long wait, one often has to go to the court for ensuring joining," he said. Lakhs of students have become overage after waiting for years for recruitments from the Army to Rail

Another prime accused arrested in Sandeshkhali land grab, sexual abuse case

One of the prime accused in the case of alleged land grab and sexual harassment of women in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district was arrested on Saturday, police said. Local TMC leader Shibaprasad Hazra, who has been named in police complaints along with party colleagues and other two prime accused Shajahan Sheikh and Uttam Sardar, was nabbed from a hideout in Sandeshkhali. He will be produced before a local court on Sunday. "We have arrested Shibaprasad Hazra from Sandeshkhali this evening. He will be produced before the court tomorrow," an officer of Nazat Police Station told PTI. Earlier, police have also arrested Uttam Sardar but Shajahan Sheikh remains absconding. With the fresh arrest, two of the three prime accused have been nabbed. A total of 18 people have been arrested in the case so far. Meanwhile, the police added IPC sections 376D (gangrape) and 307 (attempt to murder) in the case after a survivor recorded her statement under Section 164 of Code o

Highlights of the day: Investments are inclined towards India, says FM

From Bihar govt launching a probe into Tejashwi Yadav's dept to Intel discussing financial support with US govt, catch all the latest updates from around the world

BJP winning 370 seats will be true tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked BJP members to build the party's Lok Sabha poll campaign around its pro-poor work and the country's development and enhanced standing globally, asserting that winning 370 seats will be a true tribute to its key ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Mookerjee was a strident opponent of Article 370, which granted Jammu and Kashmir special rights. The Modi government scrapped the article in August 2019. Addressing a meeting of the BJP's national office-bearers ahead of the start of the party's convention, he said every booth worker should now focus on polling booths and ensure at least 370 more votes for the party at each in the upcoming polls than in 2019. Briefing reporters on Modi's speech, BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde said the prime minister told the meeting that the opposition will raise "unnecessary and emotional issues" during the polls but party members should stick to the issues of development, pro-poor policies and the country's

Nadda hails Modi's leadership for BJP's big rise, says will score hat trick

BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday underlined the party's meteoric rise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office and lauded his leadership in the past decade that has been full of new achievements for the organisation. The Modi government will score a hat-trick and retain power for a third straight term after the Lok Sabha polls, expected in April-May, he told nearly 11,500 party delegates who have assembled at Bharat Mandapam here for the two-day national convention. "We have to cross 370 seats and the NDA has to cross 400," he said in his inaugural address, exhorting party members to put all their energy in achieving the target so that the party breaks its previous records. Thousands of party delegates from across the country rose to cheer Modi when Nadda made a mention of the women's reservation law and the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya while citing the highlights of the prime minister's tenure. In his speech, Nadda noted that the BJP ruled only around five ..

If BJP does not lose LS polls, will make India BJP free in 2029: Kejriwal

He said AAP became a national party in a short span of time and now the party has governments in Delhi and Punjab. AAP won the trust vote in the Assembly

Cong's Kamal Nath arrives in Delhi amid speculation over switch to BJP

Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath arrived in the national capital Saturday afternoon amid speculation that he could cross over to the BJP. Over the past few days, Nath had been on a tour of his bastion Chhindwara, from where he had been an MP for nine terms. His son Nakul Nath won the seat in the 2019 polls, even as the BJP swept the remaining 28 seats in the state. Asked about the speculation that Nath could cross over to the BJP, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in Jabalpur earlier in the day, "I spoke to Kamal Nath at 10.30 pm yesterday, he is in Chhindwara." "A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail by the Janata party, do you think such a person will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?" Singh said. Kamal Nath is said to be disgruntled over not getting a Rajya Sabha berth and also Rahul Gandhi being opposed to him since the party lost the assem

Assam's electorate registers 11% jump to 24.3 mn from 21.8 mn in 2019

Assam's electorate has risen to 24.3 mn which is a jump of 11 per cent from 21.8 mn in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announces hike in MSP for milk

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday presented the annual Budget of Rs 58,444 crore for 2024-25 with focus on the agriculture sector, and announced an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for milk. Presenting his second state Budget, Sukhu, who also holds the finance portfolio, hiked the MSP of cow milk from Rs 38 to Rs 45 per litre and buffalo milk from Rs 38 to Rs 55 per litre. Himachal is the first state to give MSP on milk, he said. He said liabilities of all milk cooperative societies will be waived off and Rs 150 crore will be spent on strengthening infrastructure for milk procurement and its processing. The CM announced Rajiv Gandhi Prakriyat Kheti Yojna, under which 36,000 farmers -- 10 farmers from every panchayat -- will be trained in natural farming techniques. Sukhu further said universal cartons will be introduced for apple packaging and horticulture tourism will be encouraged. He reiterated the state government's resolve to make