Page 26 - Uttar Pradesh Government

Over 800 mn get free ration in India while Pak fights hunger: CM Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath invoked Pakistan at a political rally on Friday and said while those in the neighbouring country are fighting hunger, "80 crore people in India are getting free ration". Addressing a poll rally in Amroha in western Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also said the "phir ek baar Modi sarkar" slogan of the saffron party is reverberating across the country. Adityanath spoke before Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the rally that was organised in support of Kanwar Singh Tanwar, the BJP candidate from the Amroha constituency in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. "Pakistan, which has a population of hardly 23-24 crore, was formed after the partition in 1947 and is suffering from hunger today. This is also an example -- on one side, there is Pakistan, and on the other side, there is the promise of free ration to more than 80 crore people," the chief minister said. The BJP, in its Lok Sabha poll manifesto, has promised to continue to

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Voting begins in 8 LS seats in Uttar Pradesh

Polling for the first round of Lok Sabha elections in eight constituencies of western Uttar Pradesh began at 7 am on Friday. The seats include Saharanpur, Bijnor, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Nagina (reserved), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit. These fall in the Jat and sugarcane belt of the state. Among the prominent candidates are BJP's Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Union minister Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad from Nagina. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has joined hands with the Rashtriya Lok Dal while the Samajwadi Party has allied with the Congress for the election. The Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to go solo. A total of 80 candidates -- 73 men and seven women -- are in the fray in the first phase of polling. The Election Commission (EC) said, 1.43 crore people are eligible to cast their votes in the first phase. Of them, 76.23 lakh are men, 67.14 lakh are women and 824 are transgender persons. According to data compiled by ..

Small businesses in Uttar Pradesh happy with GST; timely payments a concern

Apart from payment delays, the rising cost of raw materials was a worry for a brass and iron manufacturer in the city

Worry takes root even as hope grows in fields of western Uttar Pradesh

Sugarcane farmers, whom Business Standard spoke to, shared that conditions have improved over the last decade; however, there are still unfulfilled needs

Friendship with Ansari, Atiq Ahmed undid Samajwadi Party: UP Dy CM Maurya

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday claimed that it was the Samajwadi Party's "friendship" with Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari that led to its debacle in the state. Maurya told reporters at party headquarters here, "Akhilesh Yadav has three friends Azam Khan, Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar. Two of them are not alive anymore. But this friendship led to the wiping out of Samajwadi Party." Gangster-Politician Atiq Ahmed was gunned down in police custody in Prayagraj last year while Mukhtar Ahmed died of cardiac arrest in hospital in Banda last month. Former cabinet minister Azam Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail after being convicted in multiple cases. Maurya said SP and Congress refused the invitation for the inauguration ceremony of Ram temple and the public now will now refuse them their votes. "It was surprising that even when speaker of Legislative assembly Satish Maahan invited all assembly members to accompany him to visit the Ram Temp

If work getting done without speaking, better to stay silent: Lakhimpur MP

As Pradan Baruah seeks a third consecutive term from Assam's Lakhimpur, the BJP leader puts up a brave face to the sobriquet of being a "silent MP", claiming that his constituency was on the fast-track of development, and "if by not even speaking in Parliament, so much is happening, it is better not to speak". Baruah claimed that even without using his "trump card" (of speaking in the House), he has ensured that core issues such as connectivity and flood control in the north bank of Brahmaputra, bordering Arunachal Pradesh, are being addressed. "It is only better if work is getting done without even speaking. I should save my trump card, then. Without even asking, we are getting everything. What can be better than that?" Baruah said in an interview with PTI here. According to data shared by non-profit organisation PRS Legislative Research in February this year, Baruah was among nine MPs in the outgoing Lok Sabha who did not participate in any debate or discussion during the entire .

LS polls: Swami Prasad Maurya extends support to Chandrashekhar Azad

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who left the Samajwadi Party and formed the Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party in February, on Friday extended support to the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) candidate Chandrashekhar from the Nagina Lok Sabha seat. In a post on the social media platform 'X', Maurya said, "The Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party (RSSP) extends support to Chandrashekhar Azad, the candidate of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) from the Lok Sabha constituency number-5, Nagina (reserved). " Maurya also appealed to the people of the Nagina constituency to elect Azad with an overwhelming majority. Maurya has been a five-time member of the Legislative Assembly, a minister in governments led by Mayawati and Yogi Adityanath. Recently, Maurya had hit headlines with his controversial remarks on the Ramayana and the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Azad, a prominent leader of the scheduled caste who founded the Bhim Army, has formed a political party nam

LS elections: Mayawati to kickstart campaign in western UP from April 14

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is set to launch her Lok Sabha election campaign in western Uttar Pradesh with a rally here on April 14, after a gap of seven years to shore up electoral support for the party. Mayawati would be holding rallies from April 14 to April 23 to seek votes for BSP candidates in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Rampur, Moradabad, Bijnor, Nagina, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Amroha, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Meerut and Hapur constituencies. Western UP's Bijnor, Nagina, Saharanpur, and Amroha constituencies are among the 10 seats on which the BSP candidates had emerged victorious in 2019. The seats going to polls in the first phase of elections this year have a sizable chunk of Dalit and minority community voters. Party workers, busy in preparations for 'Behen ji's' programmes, said they believe the rallies are going to be "historic" and "the atmosphere on the ground would change" after April 14. "On April 14, our national president will hold a programme at the

At Rs 3.1K crore, revenue mop-up of top local bodies of UP soars 33%

According to a former UP Chief Secretary, the rising tax and non-tax revenue from the local bodies augurs well for the urbanisation agenda of the Yogi Adityanath government

LS polls: Situation 'serious' in UP, CM Yogi should stay back, says Raut

Ahead of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's rally in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region on Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the CM should stay back in UP, claiming the situation there is "serious". Five Lok Sabha seats in the Vidarbha region, including Nagpur from where Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari is contesting, will go to polls in the first phase of parliamentary elections on April 19. Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Raut said, "Yogi Adityanath should stay back in UP as the situation is serious there. In UP, the situation is more serious than it looks. I am well aware of it. The party (BJP) has to seek votes in the country even after being in power for 10 years." PM Modi is also scheduled to address a public meeting later in the day in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, which is in the Vidarbha region. Targeting the PM, Rajya Sabha member Raut claimed, "Modi is campaigning using government money. It is a violation of the code of condu

New India knows how to protect its borders, keep people safe: CM Adityanath

The new India knows how to protect its borders and safeguard its people, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said during an election rally in Rajasthan on Sunday and asked people if it was wrong to kill terrorists. Adityanath was referring to a report by British newspaper 'The Guardian' that claimed Indian intelligence agencies were involved in targeted killings in Pakistan as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019. Addressing a rally in Bharatpur, the senior BJP leader said, "Three days ago, a reputed newspaper of the UK said that 20 deadly terrorists have been killed inside Pakistan and it was possible that India might have killed them. Those who gave shelter to those terrorists till yesterday are now not daring to say anything against India due to the fear of air strike." "We do not know what is the basis and the source of the report but this is the new India, which knows how to provide security to its people and protect its borders," he ...

SC imposes interim stay on HC order on UP Board of Madarsa Education Act

The Supreme Court on Friday imposed an interim stay on an order of the Allahabad High Court that declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud issued notices to the Centre, Uttar Pradesh government and others on the pleas against the high court order. "The object and purpose of Madarsa board is regulatory in nature and the Allahabad HC is not prima facie correct that establishment of board will breach secularism," the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. The top court said HC has misconstrued provisions of the 2004 act as it does not provide for religious instruction and the purpose and character of the statute is regulatory in nature. The high court on March 22 declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, "unconstitutional" and violative of the principle of secularism, and asked the state

175 candidates file nomination papers in UP for 2nd phase of LS election

A total of 175 candidates have filed their nomination papers from the eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where polling will be held on April 26, a senior election official said here on Thursday. Thursday, which was the last day for filing nominations, saw 94 candidates file their papers. Till Wednesday, 81 nominations had been filed. The highest number of nominations were filed from Ghaziabad at 35 and the lowest from Bulandshahr at 10, said Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa. He said 21 nominations were filed from Amroha, 22 from Meerut, 16 from Baghpat, 34 from Gautam Budh Nagar, 21 from Aligarh and 16 from Mathura. Prominent among those who filed their nominations on Thursday are BJP MP Hema Malini, who is seeking a third term from Mathura, and her Congress rival Mukesh Dhangar. Congress' Amroha candidate Kunwar Danish Ali, BJP's Ghaziabad candidate Atul Garg, and BJP's Gautam Buddha Nagar nominee Mahesh Sharma are among the other prominent candidates. Scrutiny

Uttar Pradesh govt buys 5,500 million power units to brace for deficit

Power banking is a bilateral arrangement between two power utilities/states to trade energy to match their respective seasonal variations of surplus-deficit matrix

States have full control over industrial alcohol regulation: UP govt to SC

States' power to legislate to regulate industrial alcohol is untrammeled and complete, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday. Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, told a nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that "liquor" has always been in the legislative sphere of the States and the Centre does not have any jurisdiction with regard to industrial alcohol. Excise, liquor and spirit have always been part of State jurisdiction, including industrial alcohol, he said. "The Central government has not issued any order to regulate industrial alcohol as per Section 18G of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. Therefore, there cannot be a case of conflict or occupied field. The field is unoccupied and the States' power to legislate to regulate industrial alcohol is untrammeled and complete," Dwivedi told the bench. The bench, which also comprises Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, B V Nagarathna, J

UP cops suspended over social media posts in favour of Mukhtar Ansari

Action has been taken against two Uttar Pradesh police constables for allegedly posting comments on social media in favour of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari who died last week, officials said on Wednesday. Ansari, a five-time MLA, died last week at Rani Durgawati Medical College after being taken there from Banda jail when his health deteriorated. He was laid to rest in Ghazipur amid a blanket of security. A day after Ansari's burial, police constable Faiyaz Khan, posted at a police station in Lucknow, allegedly made certain comments in favour of the gangster-politician on his WhatsApp status and also raised doubts over his death. According to officials, after the WhatsApp status went viral, local authorities removed the constable from his current posting and sent him to the police lines. "As the model code of conduct is in force, permission has been sought from the Election Commission for his suspension," a senior officer said. In Chandauli, constable Aftab Alam, posted at th

Lok Sabha polls: PM-Modi led NDA to win most votes in UP, shows survey

PM Modi is banking on strong economic progress and Hindu nationalist policies to return to power for a record third term

Lok Sabha polls, phase 1: 7 women among 80 candidates in Uttar Pradesh

Among the 80 candidates in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, just seven or 8.75 per cent are women, according to official data. The figure is lower than the first phase of the 2019 general elections when 12 of the 91 contenders or 13.18 per cent were women. However, none of those female candidates were victorious. Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- will go to polls in the first phase on April 19. Kairana, Moradabad and Saharanpur have two female candidates each and Muzaffarnagar has one. Bijnor, Pilibhit, Rampur and Nagina do not have any female contenders, the Election Commission website showed. In Kairana, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Iqra Choudhary while Priti Kashyap is representing the Rashtriya Mazdoor Ekta Party. Ruchi Vira is the Samajwadi Party nominee and Sadhna Singh is an Independent candidate in Moradabad. In Saharanpur, .

Part of under-construction bridge over Ganga collapses in UP's Bulandshahr

Three slabs of an under-construction bridge over the Ganga river in Gajraula village of this Uttar Pradesh district have collapsed, officials said on Saturday. However, no casualty was reported, a senior official said. Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav pulled up the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident, accusing it of playing with people's lives by compromising with the quality of projects. A committee led by the chief development officer (CDO) has been formed to investigate the matter, District Magistrate (DM) Chandra Prakash Singh said. According to the DM, the bridge is being built over the Ganga to connect Bulandshahr with Amroha. Three slabs that were laid on Friday night got damaged and collapsed, he said. No loss of life was reported in the incident, the DM said, adding that the work got over around 11 pm on Friday after which the weather turned bad and the slabs got damaged. There was no one around the bridge at the time of the incident, he ...

Amid tight security, Mukhtar Ansari laid to rest in UP's Ghazipur

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari was laid to rest at the Kali Bagh burial ground in Ghazipur on Saturday. The body was brought to the family's ancestral burial ground, about half a km from their residence, where a grave was dug on Friday. The local administration made elaborate security arrangements outside Ansari's residence and the burial ground. Ansari died due to a cardiac arrest on Thursday. His body was brought to his hometown around midnight on Friday, family sources said, adding the burial rituals took place at the residence. The body was taken to the Kali Bagh burial ground in a procession led by family members, including his son Umar Ansari and brother Afzal Ansari. A large crowd accompanied the procession and some also raised slogans. Police faced a tough time in managing the crowd who tried to force their way into the burial ground where entry was restricted. Security personnel, including that of the paramilitary, were deployed at strength around the Ansari ...