Page 373 - Bjp

Fight against corruption in BJD govt: Amit Shah asks Odisha BJP leaders

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday held closed-door meetings with BJP leaders in Odisha and urged them to "expose corruption and irregularities" in the Naveen Patnaik government in the state, a saffron party functionary said. Shah's appeal to his party leaders comes hours after he praised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, hailing him for becoming the CM five times in a row. His message to the BJP leaders also comes days after Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal said it would support the bill replacing the Delhi services ordinance and oppose the no-confidence motion proposed by various opposition parties against the NDA government at the Centre. The home minister urged BJP leaders in Odisha to strengthen the party's organisation at the booth level and to "expose corruption and irregularities" in the state government, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal told reporters here. Shah also advised the party leaders to take up local issues and remain connected with the people to solve their ...

BJP MP from Etawah gets 2 yr jail for thrashing Torrent staff, disqualified

An local court on Saturday sentenced BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria to two years' jail for thrashing staff of a private power firm in 2011. The former Minister of State for Human Resource Development was also levied with a fine of Rs 50,000. The lawmaker from UP's Etawah was booked for thrashing officials and staff of Torrent Power Limited in Agra in 2011, when the state was governed by the Bahujan Samaj Party. Katheria was booked at Hariparwat Police Station in Agra under section 147 (riots) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt to people). On Saturday, Special Magistrate MP/MLA Court Anuj held Katheria guilty of the charges he was accused of and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment. Talking to reporters after the judgment, Katheria said, "I respect the court order, but I will use my right to appeal in the higher court." Recounting the incident that took place on November 16, 2011, Katheria said, "It was a matter related to an SC woman, who irons clothes on the Shamsabad road in Ag

BJP gen secy in Gujarat, Pradeepsinh Vaghela resigns on 'personal grounds'

Pradipsinh Vaghela, one of the four general secretaries of BJP in Gujarat, has resigned on personal grounds, his party colleague said on Saturday and added the resignation has been accepted. BJP general secretary Rajni Patel also said no complaint was received against Vaghela and he remains a party worker. Patel dismissed as "baseless" some reports claiming that Vaghela has been barred from entering the BJP's state headquarters 'Kamalam'. "Pradipsinh Vaghela worked actively as a state general secretary. He resigned due to personal reasons and his resignation has been accepted," Patel said. Vaghela was holding the post of general secretary since 2016 and was the in-charge of the south zone, Ahmedabad city and district, and the state BJP headquarters. The development comes at a time when the Surat crime branch arrested three persons for allegedly circulating a defamatory letter containing accusations against Vaghela and some other leaders.

Freedom of speech cannot be used as armour for abuse: Naqvi salms Rahul

A day after the Supreme Court stayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took a swipe at him on Saturday, saying freedom of speech cannot be used as an "armour for abuse". Gandhi on Friday got a huge relief from the Supreme Court after it stayed his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark and paved the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. The stay which will also enable Gandhi, 53, to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was given on the grounds the the trial court in Surat in Gujarat failed to explain why he deserved the maximum two-year punishment upon his conviction that led to his disqualification from the Lower House of Parliament. Speaking with reporters here, Naqvi said those notorious for nuisance should not misuse their freedom of speech as an armour for abuse. Some people are celebrating even as their leader has made his freedom of voice a "license for freestyle ..

BJP appoints firebrand leader Kapil Mishra Delhi unit vice-president

Nearly four years after he switched to the BJP, former AAP minister and firebrand leader Kapil Mishra was on Saturday appointed as vice-president in the party's Delhi unit. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Mishra's name was on the list of the new office-bearers of the party announced earlier this week but it could not be declared due to some reason. Mishra was formerly a minister in the AAP government here, but he joined the BJP in August 2019 after his differences with party supremo Arvind Kejriwal became public. Known for his "fiery" speeches on Hindutva ideology, his name had also surfaced in connection with the northeast Delhi riots for allegedly making hate speeches. He was accused of "instigating" people by asking them to forcibly remove those sitting in protest at Jafrabad against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Over 50 people were killed and hundreds injured in the February 2020 riots. Mishra was not given any organisational responsibility in the Delhi BJP since h

BJP using 'Hindutva' to divide society, grab power: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday accused the BJP of employing its own version of 'Hindutva' to "divide" society and grab power, and asserted there is a need to save the "true Hindutva". He also accused the BJP government of conducting "fake encounters", and said people will "encounter the BJP government in 2024" which "is necessary for saving the Constitution". Yadav also claimed opposition alliance INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) will uproot the "divisive" BJP government in 2024 with the support of the PDA (Pichhade, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) in Uttar Pradesh. "They (the BJP) have done a lot of fake encounters. Now people will encounter the BJP government in 2024," Yadav told PTI in an interview when he was asked how the INDIA bloc and the SP will counter the BJP challenge in the Lok Sabha polls. About the future of opposition alliance in the state, Yadav said, "The SP is there. More parties that are willing to join the INDIA alliance are welcom

J-K: BJP celebrates 4th years to Article 370 abrogation; Cong, PDP protest

The BJP on Saturday celebrated the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 by holding a public meeting in Srinagar, while its rivals staged protests, with the Congress calling it a "black day". The Centre on this day in 2019 had revoked Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Several leaders and workers of the BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit, led by general secretary organisation, J-K, Ashok Koul, participated in the meeting at Jawahar Nagar. This programme was held to open the eyes of those leaders who are trying to "provoke" the people in the name of Article 370, party spokesperson Thakur Abhijeet Jasrotia told reporters in Srinagar. "These leaders are propagating lies, but the common people and the poor want development...Today, people have risen above dynastic politics, and they do not want any Abdullah or Mufti to befool them," he said in an apparent .

Companies competing with Adani for prized assets faced CBI, ED raids: Cong

The Congress on Saturday cited the takeover of a cement company to allege that probe agencies were being misused by the BJP government to "enrich" a select few crony capitalists. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that in sectors such as airports, ports and cement, companies competing with the Adani Group for prized assets have faced CBI, ED and Income Tax raids "that have dissuaded them from proceeding with their bids, and the assets have ultimately gone to Adani". "In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors," he said in a statement. "The latest episode involves the takeover of Sanghi Industries by the Adani-owned Ambuja Cements," Ramesh said. "Aap chronology samjhiye: April 28, 2023: India's third-largest cement producer Shree Cement is reported to b

Amit Shah praises CM Patnaik for containing naxal violence in Odisha

In the backdrop of Odisha's ruling BJD announcing its opposition to the no-confidence motion against the NDA government at the Centre, BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday called Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as "popular" and hailed him for becoming the CM for five times in a row. Shah, who in 2019 had referred the BJD government as a "jala hua transformer" (burnt out transformer), while sharing dais with Patnaik in an official programme said, "Patnaik has created the record of becoming the chief minister of Odisha for five times in a row. He is a popular chief minister." Shah, who is considered as the No. 2 in the central government as well as in the ruling BJP, apparently missed no opportunity to praise Patnaik. The Union minister also praised the chief minister and the BJD government for the decline in naxal violence and Maoist influence in the state. "Odisha government and Naveen Babu have always supported the Centre to combat naxals," Shah said, adding th

BJP leader Kapil Mishra appointed vice-president of party's Delhi unit

After a long wait of nearly four years, firebrand BJP leader Kapil Mishra was on Saturday appointed a vice-president of the party's Delhi unit. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, who appointed Mishra, said his name was on the list of the new office bearers of the party announced earlier this week but it could not be declared due to some reason. Mishra, a former minister in the AAP government here, joined the Delhi BJP in August 2019 after his differences with party supremo Arvind Kejriwal became public. Known for his "fiery" speeches on Hindutva ideology, Mishra was not given any organisational responsibility in the Delhi BJP since his joining. He contested the 2020 Delhi Assembly election from the Model Town constituency on a BJP ticket but lost to the AAP's Akhilesh Pati Tripathi. Mishra's name had also surfaced in connection with the northeast Delhi riots in which over 50 people were killed and hundreds injured in 2020.

HM Shah, CM Patnaik launch national highway projects in Odisha

Paying rich tributes to freedom fighter and Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi on his death anniversary, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday inaugurated the much awaited four-laning of Kamakshyanagar-Duburi section of National Highway-53 on EPC (Procurement and Construction) mode here in presence of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Shah, who was here on a two-day tour to this eastern state, started his programme with a tribute to Bordoloi and credited him as the person for whom the entire northeast region is now part of India. Bordoloi, who was the first chief minister of Assam, made immense contribution to keep the northeast region as an integral part of India, Shah said. While thanking the state government and Odisha's popular chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the Union home minister said the Centre has spent Rs 761 crore for four-laning the 51km national highway connecting Kamakshyanagar and Duburi. "This road will link the mineral rich Angul and Dhenkanal districts

PM Narendra Modi congratulates World Archery Championships gold medallists

India had won 11 medals at the World Archery Championships, including nine silver and two silver

UP CM extends greetings on completion of 4 years of Article 370 abrogation

5-judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court had on Wednesday begun hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir

J'khand CM lashes out at BJP in state Assembly calls it 'anti-tribal'

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Friday lashed out at BJP in the state Assembly calling it 'anti-tribal'. He said that not only Manipur but the entire northeast is undergoing a phase similar to it. In the ongoing monsoon session of Lok Sabha the Centre has made amendments in the Forest Conservation Act that will deprive tribals of their forest rights too. They (BJP) talk about tribals, but they are most anti-tribal. What happened in Manipur is not hidden. It is not just Manipur, but the entire hill areas of the northeast are going through a similar phase ... The tribal society is being oppressed in Manipur and the (BJP) government there is watching the spectacle as a mute spectator ... ," he said. Ethnic violence which broke out in Manipur in May this year has continued sporadically to plague Manipur for the last three months and has claimed more than 160 lives. Soren also raised the issue of communal tension-affected Haryana and lambasted the BJP for creating uproarious scen

INDIA coalition's next meet likely on Aug 31-Sept 1 in Mumbai: Reports

Opposition bloc INDIA is likely to hold its next meeting on August 31 and September 1 in Mumbai, sources said on Friday. They said it would be held on the format of the Bengaluru meeting with leaders first confabulating in an informal setting on August 31 before their main meeting the next day. "The opposition meeting will be a two-day affair and will take place on August 31 and September 1 with all leaders approving the dates," a source said. The likely venue would be a hotel in Pawai and there will be a press conference on September 1 evening, the source said. There have been several dates that have been talked about earlier but those did not work out as all leaders were not available on those dates. The third meeting of the bloc is being hosted jointly by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction, with support from the Congress -- the three constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. The MVA constituents had been holding parleys to schedule the meeting. The I

We are very serious about middle path solution: Jairam Ramesh on RS logjam

The Congress on Friday accused the Modi government of not being serious in finding a solution to the logjam in Rajya Sabha, saying the INDIA opposition bloc had offered a "middle path" solution and that a debate on Manipur under a mutually negotiated motion should have ideally taken place today or "very soon". Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) offered a "middle path" solution to the Modi government to enable the smooth functioning of the Rajya Sabha. "We said let us have a mutually negotiated Motion on Manipur under Rule 167 and start a discussion on it. Modi government appeared to agree but indicated that the earliest that the discussion could take place was only on Friday, August 11th. This shows the government is not serious," he alleged in a tweet. "The discussion should ideally have taken place today for which INDIA parties were ready or very soon on Monday or Tuesday. We are very serious about

SC sets aside Calcutta HC order on registration of FIR against Suvendu

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside an order of the Calcutta High Court which had said that the West Bengal Police can register an FIR against BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, if they are satisfied that offence was made out, on a complaint accusing him of promoting enmity between different groups. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud observed that it would have been appropriate for the high court to grant an opportunity to Adhikari to file a counter affidavit in the matter before issuing the interim direction in its July 20 order. "We request the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to hear afresh and to facilitate that, the order of July 20 shall stand set aside," the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. The top court passed the order on an appeal filed by Adhikari challenging the July 20 order passed by a division bench of the high court. Earlier, a single judge of the high court, in its orders passed in September 2021 and December 202

Kharge lashes out at BJP, says only 1.2 mn formal jobs added in 5 years

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday claimed that India under the Modi government has added only 12.2 lakh formal jobs in the past five years, and said that for the survival of the poor and middle class, the BJP needs to be "thrown out of power". Kharge charged that the BJP has "miserably failed" to provide employment. "India under Modi Govt has added ONLY 12.2 Lakh Formal Jobs in past 5 years! That means an average of JUST 24,400 Jobs per year!" he said in a tweet. "We are not inventing this figure. It is the Modi government which created this narrative that EPF Regular Contributors = Creation of Formal Jobs! The EPF data corroborates this," Kharge said. The BJP promised two crore jobs per year which means 18 crore jobs could have been created in nine years, the Congress president said. "Our youth is staring at a dark future," he claimed. "No wonder, there is anger and violence on the streets. The BJP has miserably failed to provide Employment! Unimaginable unemploym

Amit Shah to visit Odisha, to hold meetings on left-wing extremism

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to Odisha from Friday, during which he will attend official meetings. Shah will reach the Biju Patnaik International Airport here at 10.40 pm on Friday and launch a national highway project the next day, officials said. He is also slated to attend meetings on left-wing extremism and disaster management on Saturday. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to attend the meeting, they said. There is, however, no official confirmation about a possible meeting between Shah and Patnaik. But Shah is scheduled to attend a meeting at the airport lounge before leaving for the national capital on Saturday evening, the officials said but did not specify who would be present in it. The union minister's sudden visit and his review meetings on left-wing extremism and disaster management assume significance as these will take place after the ruling BJD announced its support to the Delhi Ordinance Bill and its

Cong MP moves adjournment notice in LS, seeks discussion on China border

The Parliament has been witnessing a logjam over a number of issues, including the violence in Manipur, since the beginning of the Monsoon Session on July 20