No outsiders: Assam Cong leaders want CM to be one from the winning MLAs

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No outsiders: Assam Cong leaders want CM to be one from the winning MLAs

Ahead of the election results for Assam Assembly polls, the Congress is hopeful of victory but there is a churning in the party with state leaders insisting in informal conversations that the next Chief Minister must be chosen from one of the winning MLAs.

Since the Congress has a number of chief ministerial aspirants including Gaurav Gogoi, who is close to Rahul Gandhi, party leaders are wary of him being parachuted from Delhi at the final moment.

Other leaders who are frontrunners for the top post include state President Ripun Bora and Debabrata Saikia, former leader of opposition in the assembly. Both these leaders have a long political career behind them and are also contesting for the assembly polls.

While the Congress has not declared anybody as the chief-ministerial face and fought unitedly, the final call is likely to be taken by the party’s high command. The convention within the Congress has been to take the opinion from the MLAs and then the top leader nominating the Chief Minister. In the 2018 assembly elections, for instance, Sachin Pilot lost in the last lap to Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and Jyotiraditya Scindia to Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh.

In Assam, the leaders are tight-lipped and say that the high command will decide but insist that the CM should be from the MLAs, and leaders who have fought the BJP day in and day out must be given a chance and not somebody who stays outside the state.

Congress leaders in the state are counting on the support of MLAs but party insiders say that it cannot be predicted whom Sonia Gandhi is likely to choose after the results.

Still, if the party performs well in upper Assam, which is a BJP stronghold, Saikia’s claim will be stronger. Bora, who was close to Tarun Gogoi, is also one of the top contenders. Still, given Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh’s close ties with the Hiteshwar Saikia family, his son could become the top choice for Congress.

To take on the ruling BJP in the elections, the Congress, which governed Assam for 15 consecutive years (2001-2016), formed a 10-party ‘Mahajot’ (grand alliance) with three Left parties — the CPI (M), the CPI, and the CPI (ML) — and six regional and local parties — the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the Anchalik Gana Morcha, the BPF, the RJD, the Jimochayan (Deori) People’s Party and the Adivasi National Party.

The results of the Assam Assembly polls will be declared on May 2.

Exporter of vaccine to importer, Priyanka taks dig at govt

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Exporter of vaccine to importer, Priyanka taks dig at govt

Amid an unprecedented surge in Covid cases, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday attacked the government for exporting vaccines without having sufficient stock for the people of the country. She said the present dispensation has undone 70 years of effort.

“Shocking that while COVID ravages India, from being a vaccine exporter, it has been compelled to become a vaccine importer undoing 70 years of govt effort, @narendramodi: the pilot who had his photo plastered on boarding passes only to press the eject button during an emergency,” she tweeted on Saturday.

She sarcastically gave credit to the efforts of the Congress rule of 70 years which had been ridiculed by the current regime often.

India reported 2,34,692 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the biggest single-day spike ever, taking the overall tally to 1,45,26,609 cases on Saturday, according to the Health Ministry data.

This is the third consecutive day that the country has registered over 2 lakh cases. India had on Friday reported 2,17,353 new cases and 2,00,739 on Thursday.

Also in the last 24 hours, there were 1,341 new Covid-19 fatalities, the third consecutive day with over a thousand deaths.

Vijayan is the last word as Brittas, Sivadasan get RS nominations

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Vijayan is the last word as Brittas, Sivadasan get RS nominations

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday once again proved that he is the last word in the CPI-M when two of his close aides John Brittas, managing director of Kairali TV, the party backed TV channel and V. Sivadasan, were cleared by the party-state secretariat which met here, as the nominees for the two Rajya Sabha seats.

Like Vijayan, the two also hail from Kannur. Brittas, till Kairali TV channel was launched in the late nineties, was the bureau chief of the party organ — Deshabhimani and was posted in Delhi.

For a short while, Brittas left Kairali TV to join its arch-rival — Asianet TV, only to return after a while.

Brittas was appointed media advisor to Vijayan soon after the latter became the chief minister in 2016 and he quit the post just before the notification for the April 6 Assembly polls, giving signals that he might be a candidate from a CPI-M bastion in Kannur, but it did not happen.

Likewise, Sivadasan is also a close confidant of Vijayan and he rose to the party through student politics. Sivadasan was a previous national president of the Students Federation of India and is presently a member of the powerful State Committee of the CPI-M and works from the state party headquarters, here.

The last date of filing of nominations is April 20 and the last date of withdrawal is April 23 with April 30th the polling day.

The three fresh vacancies arose as the term of three members from Kerala — Congress veteran Vayalar Ravi, Indian Union Muslim League leader P.V. Abdul Wahab and CPI-M leader K.K. Rajesh — ends on April 21.

There was speculation that Raghesh, who is also close to Vijayan, might get a second term and so would former Congress leader Cherian Phillip, but it failed to materialize and the decision was taken on Friday to field Brittas and Sivadasan.

The Congress-led UDF has decided to field Wahab again, who filed his nomination papers on Friday.

With just three seats and three contestants, there is unlikely to be a poll.

Incidentally, the Election Commission after initially announcing the dates of the poll decided to cancel it as a new Kerala Assembly would be there soon after May 2 when the counting of votes happens. The Kerala unit of the CPI-M known for its perseverance in fighting out legal battles, finally emerged victorious after the Election Commission was forced to admit in the Kerala High Court that they will conduct the Rajya Sabha poll to fill in three seats from Kerala which will fall vacant on April 21.

UP all set for Panchayat elections

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UP all set for Panchayat elections

The much-awaited Panchayat polls in Uttar Pradesh will begin on Thursday with the first phase of polling in 18 districts.

The Panchayat elections will be held through ballot papers and more than 3.33 lakh candidates are in the fray in over 2.21 lakh seats in the first phase for the posts of Zila Panchayat (district council) members, kshetra (block) Panchayat members, village Panchayat heads and wards.

The districts that will go to the polls on Thursday are Ayodhya, Agra, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Jhansi, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Bhadohi, Mahoba, Rampur, Rae Bareli, Shravasti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Saharanpur, Hardoi, and Hathras.

For the post of Zila Panchayat members, 11,442 candidates are in the fray from 779 wards, while as many as 81,747 candidates are contesting in 19,313 wards of kshetra Panchayats.

For the Gram Panchayat, there are 1,14,142 candidates for 14,789 posts. And, for the Gram Panchayat wards, there are 1,26,613 candidates for 1,86,583 seats.

Apart from parties like the BJP, BSP, Samajwadi Party, and the Congress, smaller parties like the AIMIM, Aam Aadmi Party, and Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar’s Azad Samaj Party, are making their debut in the elections.

The AIMIM will contest polls with the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party.

The candidates will, however, contest on ‘free symbols’ given by the Election Commission.

Congress state spokesperson Ashok Singh said the Panchayat elections would spring a surprise in the state as Congress would perform ‘brilliantly’ in the state.

“People who are virtually fed up with the misrule and misgovernance of the four-year-old BJP government in UP are looking towards the Congress with hope in their eyes,” he said.

BJP state media convener Navin Srivastava said, “The manner in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have worked for the villagers, poor and farmers, it is evident that the BJP will sweep the Panchayat polls.”

In view of the coronavirus situation, the State Election Commission (SEC) had said in March that not more than five people would be allowed to accompany a candidate during door-to-door campaigning for the Panchayat elections.

Additional Election Commissioner Ved Prakash Verma said a three-member team has been formed under the additional district magistrates to ensure the directives issued by the SEC are being followed.

During polling, the voters will have to put up a mask and maintain social distancing.

Verma said Covid protocols would also be followed during the counting of votes and PPE kits would also be arranged as per requirement.

Modi reaches out to weaker sections at Bengal rally

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Modi reaches out to weaker sections at Bengal rally

In an effort to reach out to the Scheduled Castes and Matuas that constitute more than 15 percent of the electorate of the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra and at the same time criticized the Trinamool Congress for equating them with beggars.

Speaking at a rally in Matua-dominated Kalyani in the Nadia district Modi said, “Didi did not like my going to Orakandi in Bangladesh where the founder of the Matua sect and social reformer Harichand Thakur was born. She raised questions over my visit…I have come to assure you today that all refugees will get all facilities due to them, they will get justice. For the BJP, providing justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra brothers, is also an emotional commitment.”

Modi not only assured justice, at the same time he castigated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over a TMC leader and candidate’s comments against the Scheduled Castes comparing them with beggars.

“Didi calls herself a Royal Bengal Tiger. You tell me is it possible for someone to say such things without her permission? Such comments hurt the soul of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. Such a seriously objectionable comment has been made but Didi hasn’t condemned it or apologized for it.

“You have committed the biggest mistake, the biggest sin by insulting Dalits, Didi,” Modi said in a separate rally in Barasat in North 24 Parganas on the same day.

The prime minister alleged Banerjee”s appeasement politics hurt the Matua and Namsudra communities and they had to pay commission to “TMC’s extortionists” even to obtain scheduled caste certificates.

Earlier on Monday addressing an election rally in Bardhaman district Modi said, ‘Didi’s anger, bitterness, fussiness is rising’ as she has realized that her party has failed to gain a majority in the four phases of polling in the West Bengal election 2021. He said that the people of Bengal have hit so many fours and sixes in the first four phases of the assembly polls that the BJP has already completed its century and the TMC is on course to be wiped out.

“People of Bengal have clean bowled Didi in Nandigram and have asked her entire team to leave the field,” he told an election rally in Bardhaman.

Coming down hard on the chief minister, Modi said Didi ruled in Bengal for 10 years in the name of ‘Ma Mati Manush’ but she keeps saying ‘Modi, Modi, Modi’ in rallies these days. Didi has only created a mess in the name of governance.

Mocking the “Ma, Mati, Manush” slogan, the prime minister said, “Tormenting “Ma”, looting “Mati” (motherland) and bloodshed of “Manush” (people) is its reality. BJP’s agenda is sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas…TMC’s path is ‘Maa ko satao’, ‘Mati ko looto’ and bloodshed of people.”

Modi alleged that Mamata Banerjee instigated people against the central forces on election duty in the state.

Sharmila leaves for Khammam to unveil political plans

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Sharmila leaves for Khammam to unveil political plans

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s sister Y.S. Sharmila left Hyderabad for Khammam on Friday in a big convoy of vehicles to address a public meeting, where she is likely to announce her political plans.

Sharmila, daughter of former chief minister of combined Andhra Pradesh Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy began the journey from her residence Lotus Ponds in Banjara Hills along with dozens of vehicles of her supporters.

She stopped at Panjagutta in the city to garland the statue of YSR, as her late father was popularly known. YSR loyalists have planned a grand welcome to Sharmila at eight places en route Khammam.

She will reach the venue of the meeting in a huge rally in the evening. She is expected to announce the name of her political party and future plans at the meeting titled ‘Sankalpa Sabha’.

The police have given permission for conducting the meeting on the condition that the organizers will ensure adherence to Covid-19 rules.

Sharmila’s mother Y.S. Vijayamma will also attend the meeting. Her participation will be significant as Jagan Mohan Reddy is not in favor of his sister floating a political party in Telangana.

YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) led by Jagan Mohan Reddy has already admitted that there is a difference of opinion between the brother and sister over the latter’s political ambitions in Telangana.

‘Sankalpa Sabha’ will be the first public meeting of Sharmila ever since she announced that she plans to float a political party in Telangana.

For more than a month, Sharmila has been holding meetings with YSR loyalists from various districts in Telangana to take their feedback before announcing her political plans.

She vowed to try to bring back ‘Rajanna Rajyam’ (a reference to the pro-poor and welfare regime of YSR) in Telangana.

YSR loyalists believed that the Khammam meeting will prove to be a turning point in Telangana’s politics as Sharmila is expected to make some key announcements.

Composite Khammam district is considered politically significant. Sharmila had extensively toured the district during her “Maro Praja Prasthanam”, a state-wide walkathon, in 2013 to mobilize support for her brother who was then in jail in a disproportionate assets case.

YSRCP had won one MP and three MLA seats in the old undivided Khammam district in the maiden assembly elections in Telangana in 2014.

However, YSRCP became inactive in Telangana after its MP and all three MLAs joined the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Jagan Mohan Reddy, who led YSRCP to power in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, decided to stay away from Telangana politics. His party did not contest the 2018 Assembly elections and subsequent polls in Telangana.

‘Arhtiyas’ to get interest on dues: Haryana CM

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‘Arhtiyas’ to get interest on dues: Haryana CM

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said all those ‘arhtiyas’ whose commission and labor wage dues have been pending since the last procurement season would get interested in them for the delayed amount.

“The process of payment of interest will start from today and the ‘arhtiyas’ have been asked to get their accounts verified. Necessary directions in this regard have been issued to the Food and Civil Supplies Department,” an official statement quoting Khattar said.

He said while presiding over a virtual review meeting of the crop procurement in which all Deputy Commissioners and officers concerned were present.

Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Agriculture Minister were also present.

The Chief Minister said recently a meeting with ‘arhtiyas’ or commission agents was held during which important issues were discussed and the government had assured them that they would not face any problem during the current wheat procurement season.

At the meeting, the Deputy Commissioners were told that regular talks should be held with the ‘arhtiyas’ so as to ensure that they do not face any problems.

For the farmers, there should be hassle-free procurement that commenced on April 1.

This season the state has announced that there would be 100 percent direct online transfer of minimum support price (MSP) in the accounts of the farmers.

Last year, the state had transferred over 50 percent of the payments directly to the accounts of the farmers, and the rest was made through ‘Artigas.

Earlier, the government was transferring the amount into the accounts of ‘arhtiyas’, which would later be released to farmers.

‘Arhtiyas’, who were charging 2.5 percent as commission earlier, will no longer be the recipient of the money in the present scenario.

PM hails social service by Sikhs, calls for proper research

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PM hails social service by Sikhs, calls for proper research

Hailing the social service by the Sikh community and Gurudwaras all over the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed the need to do “proper research and documentation” on this aspect of the Sikh tradition.

The Prime Minister expressed his views while chairing the meeting of the High-Level Committee to commemorate the 400th Birth Anniversary (Prakash Purab) of Guru Tegh Bahadur–the ninth of the ten Gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the head of the followers of Sikhism from 1665 until his beheading in 1675.

Addressing the meeting via video conferencing, the Prime Minister highlighted that it is important to make the younger generation understand the teaching and lessons from the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and noted that through digital means, it is easier to reach out to the younger generation world over to spread the message.

Elaborating on the discussions in the meeting, the Prime Minister said that to connect more and more people to commemorate the 400th Prakash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, various activities will be organized throughout the year.

Modi said that the organization of activities should be such that not only the life and teachings of Guru Tegh Bahadur but of the entire Guru Tradition is propagated the world over.

He later hailed the social service by the Sikh community and Gurudwaras all over the world and said that “proper research and documentation on this aspect of the Sikh tradition should be done”.

Prime Minister said that the Sikh Guru tradition is a complete life philosophy in itself. It is the privilege and good fortune of the government that it has got the opportunity to celebrate the 550th Prakash Purab of Guru Nanak Dev, the 400th Prakash Purab of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the 350th Prakash Purab of Guru Gobind Singh.

The meeting was attended by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh; Union Home Minister Amit Shah; Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh; Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge; Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar; Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh; Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot; President, Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar, Bibi Jagir Kaur; MPs Sukhbir Singh Badal and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa; Former MP Tarlochan Singh; MD Amul R. S. Sodhi; and Eminent Scholar Amarjit Singh Grewal among others.

The Home Minister said that collective efforts should be made to ensure that the message of Guru Tegh Bahadur reaches out to all.

Culture Secretary gave a presentation on suggestions outlined till now for the commemoration.

The High-Level Committee was constituted by the Central government on October 24 last year to approve policies, plans, and programs related to the commemoration of the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur along with supervision of the events.

The High-Level Committee has 70 members including the Prime Minister as Chairman.

Keep focusing on fighting Covid: PM

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Keep focusing on fighting Covid: PM

On World Health Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday urged citizens to keep focusing on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic by adopting all safety measures like wearing masks and washing hands.

“The government of India is taking numerous measures including Ayushman Bharat and PM Janaushadhi Yojana to ensure people get access to top quality and affordable healthcare. India is also conducting the world’s largest vaccination drive to strengthen the fight against Covid-19,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

“On World Health Day, let us keep the focus on fighting Covid-19 by taking all possible precautions including wearing a mask, regularly washing hands, and following the other protocols.”

At the same time, the Prime Minister advised taking all possible steps to boost immunity and stay fit.

He said that World Health Day is a day to reaffirm our gratitude and appreciation to all those who work day and night to keep our planet healthy.

“It’s also a day to reiterate our commitment to supporting research and innovation in healthcare.”

World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on April 7 under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO) as well as other related organizations.

In 1948, the WHO held the First World Health Assembly.

Modi’s coins ‘Chalo Paltai’ slogan, says Trinamool will fade away

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Modi’s coins ‘Chalo Paltai’ slogan, says Trinamool will fade away

Referring to a new audiotape that the BJP had released a few days back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s defeat is on the cards, as he coined a new slogan — ‘Chalo Paltai’ (let us make the change) — and urged the people to vote for the saffron party in the ongoing Assembly elections for a new and better government.

Modi was perhaps referring to the three tapes that had surfaced in relation to the coal smuggling in which money was allegedly being received (up to Rs 35 crore) by Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee every month as part of ‘cut money via a syndicate racket.

In the alleged audiotapes, a conversation between Ganesh Bagadiya, who is said to be a close aide of one Anup Majhi, an accused in the coal smuggling case, and a government official is claimed to be heard.

Addressing a public meeting in Cooch Behar, the Prime Minister said, “For 10 years, women, Dalits, backward classes, farmers and tea garden workers were subjected to injustices, but ‘Didi’ (Mamata Banerjee), you were just an onlooker. There is a new tax that has started in Bengal — ‘Bhaipo Service Tax’! When the women have to struggle for their food, when a youth has to struggle for a penny here, Rs 35-40 crore is coming every month. For this reason, today a voice is coming from every corner of the state — ‘Chalo Paltai, Chalo Paltai’.”

“When your party announces that Didi will now contest from Varanasi, then anyone can easily understand that Trinamool is going to fade away. Every day you have to say that you are winning Nandigram. But after the game you played on the polling day in Nandigram, the entire country got to know that you have lost. Didi, your anger, your resentment, your behavior, and your speech describe that you have lost the elections,” Modi said.

Taking a jibe at Banerjee, the Prime Minister said, “I heard that Didi is asking questions these days about whether the BJP is God so that it comes to know about the big victory in the first two phases. Oh, Didi…We are ordinary people, and with the blessings of God, we are committed to serving the nation.

“There is no need to trouble God to find out who is losing in the elections and who is winning. ‘Janata Janardhana’ (public) in the form of God. On seeing the temperament of the people, one can gauge which way the wind is blowing.”

Rationalizing Banerjee’s defeat, the Prime Minister said, “When she says ‘Sab Muslim Ek ho jao’ (All Muslims should come together), it proves that the vote-bank which she considered as hers is no more with her. This proves that she is going to lose the elections.

“Just come to think of it, had I said that all Hindus should come together and vote for the BJP, it would have not only made headlines, but the Election Commission would have sent me a notice for violation of model code of conduct. She is abusing the Election Commission every day, but it has not even sent her a notice for this,” he added.

“In the first two phases of polling, Didi’s departure has already been confirmed. People in huge numbers have come out and voted in our favor. The wave of the BJP in Bengal has cornered Didi’s goons and her nephew,” the Prime Minister said.

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