Looking at building quality infrastructure of Rs 110 lakh cr: Modi

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Looking at building quality infrastructure of Rs 110 lakh cr: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who launched various new projects of central public sector organizations in Kerala’s Kochi on Sunday, announced that his government is looking at building infrastructure worth Rs 110 lakh crore to power India’s rise.

During his flying visit, amid tight security, to Kerala’s commercial capital, Modi who inaugurated the five new projects from a single venue, said the definition and scope of infrastructure have changed and it includes roads and connectivity.

“We are looking at quality and quantity infrastructure of Rs 110 lakh crore. India is embarking on broadband connectivity for all our villages. Likewise, India has given topmost importance to the ‘blue economy’… I call upon researchers and the fisheries sector for creating more infrastructure, which will be a great tribute to our fishermen,” he said.

Among the projects were the dedication of BPCL’s Rs 6,000-crore propylene derivatives petrochemicals project to the nation, the launch of Sagarika, the Cochin Port’s new Rs 25 crore international cruise terminal, laying the foundation stone for Cochin Port’s reconstruction of the south coal berth and a new knowledge center of Cochin Shipyard Ltd Vigyana Sagar among others.

Modi, who began his speech by saying that it is always wonderful to be back at Kochi- Queen of the Arabian Sea, touched on all these projects.

“We have gathered here to celebrate the development of Kerala and India through the wide-ranging sectors which will energize the growth trajectory of Kerala. The projects that have been dedicated will help increase foreign exchange, besides offering wide-ranging job opportunities,” he said, adding that economic growth requires augmenting existing capacities.

With the Assembly elections round the corner, Modi also sought to emphasize what his government has done for Kerala.

“This year’s budget has sufficient reasons for Kerala to be happy as the second phase of the Kochi Metro has been sanctioned,” he said.

He also took time to elaborate on the steps taken to bring back the diaspora from various Gulf countries.

“The year gone by saw several challenges especially the fight with Covid and we were considerate to the diaspora. We brought back 50 lakh Indians which included a good number of Keralites. In the last year, we saw several Gulf countries who have to be thanked for the release of prisoners. We (Centre) are always with you for your needs,” he said.

Noting India is standing at a historic point, he said: “Our actions of today will shape the growth trajectory of India and we all should work to create a strong Atma Nirbhar Bharat.”

Modi, who was earlier in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, arrived at the airport of the Southern Naval Command at around 3.15 p.m., about half an hour behind schedule.

The police and the SPG had taken over the entire place after reports surfaced that the Congress workers might stage a protest.

He was received at the airport by state PWD Minister G.Sudhakaran and others.

From the airport, he took a helicopter to the Rajagiri educational group’s ground and reached the inauguration venue by road. En route, he was greeted by a large number of BJP workers.

Timely action by the Special Protection Group (SPG) foiled an attempt by activists of the youth wing of the ruling CPI-M to stage a protest against Modi while he was driving down to the venue here.

Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists had planned to protest on the roadside along Modi’s route to the venue and were seen carrying 500 black balloons.

However, the SPG swung into action and took over the area where the protests were to be staged and banned all assembly. The activists had to move out and were seen standing a kilometer away from the route that Modi was traveling where they decided to continue their protest.

DYFI activists said that their protest was against ever-increasing oil prices and also the way public sector units are put up for disinvestment. “The main event of his on Sunday is the inauguration of BPCL’s Rs 6,000 crore propylene derivatives petrochemicals project and this is happening when all steps have started for the disinvestment of BPCL as talks are in the final stages with the Vedanta group which is eyeing its takeover,” an activist alleged.

Joining Modi’s motorcade to the inauguration venue were Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and others.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan also shared the stage with Modi.

After his program, Modi attended the core committee meeting of the state BJP unit, before his return to the national capital.

Corporates will grab Rs 80 lakh cr agribusiness: Rahul on farm laws

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Corporates will grab Rs 80 lakh cr agribusiness: Rahul on farm laws

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday claimed that the three new central farm laws will help corporates and rich people grab agribusiness worth Rs 80 lakh crore in India.

Addressing an impressive public gathering in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar, Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said nothing about the farmers’ interests in the Parliament despite the fact that they have been agitating for nearly three months now.

“The BJP-led central government has already ruined the Indian economy and the people across the country by introducing Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetization, and now it is trying to further dent the rural economy by these three laws,” he said.

Kick-starting the party’s campaign for the 2021 Assembly elections in Assam, the Congress leader said that India should not be “remote-controlled” from Nagpur.

“Every asset of the country is being sold for the interest of very few people,” he alleged.

He claimed that only Rs 167 was given to tea garden workers (as wages) but the entire tea garden was being handed over to Gujarat businessmen. “If the Congress returns to power, we will give Rs 365 as daily wages to tea garden workers.”

The Congress leader also promised that the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act would not be implemented in Assam or any part of the country at any cost.

Suggesting resolving the infiltration problem amicably and through dialogue, Gandhi said that if violence engulfed Assam, it would affect the entire country.

“Assam is a beautiful flower of India. For India, Assam’s unity and development are necessary, and for Assam, India’s growth is essential. The Congress brought the Assam Accord and established peace. The Congress will at any cost protect the historic Assam Accord.”

Gandhi along with all the senior leaders on the dais wore a ‘gamocha’ (Assamese scarf) on which symbolically the word CAA was crossed out.

He said: “Listen ‘hum do humare do’, we will never allow CAA to be implemented and so I am wearing this scarf which has crossed out the CAA written on it.”

The Congress leader sensing the opposition of CAA and the faulty NRC by the people of Assam tried to evoke the right chord in the state.

At the rally, Gandhi was flanked by local Congress leaders such as Akhil Gogoi and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.

Criticizing the announcement of the Padma Bhushan award posthumously to former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on the eve of 72nd Republic Day, Gandhi said that the award was also given to an official in the Prime Minister’s office.

“When Gogoi built Assam, united people, sacrificed his entire life for the cause of Assam and its people, he was equated with a bureaucrat posted in the PM’s Office,” he said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is one of the central observers for Assam, in his speech said that Congress built the country, constructed airports, oil-based industries, and other undertakings, but the BJP was selling all these iconic establishments.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Ripun Bora said that with the signing of the historic Assam Accord at the instance of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, long-lasting peace was established in Assam.

“From the flood havoc to terrorism, Congress leadership from Rajiv Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi have been always concerned with any issue related to Assam and they rush to the state in case of any crisis and problems,” Bora said.

Congress Legislature party leader Debabrata Saikia alleged that the Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are the “agents of Gujarat and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh”.

Lok Sabha MP and Congress Campaign Committee Chairman Pradyut Bordoloi, AICC General Secretary and party’s Assam affairs in-charge Jitendra Singh, Congress Manifesto Committee Chairman, and MP Gaurav Gogoi were also present on the occasion.

Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly are likely to be held along with polls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry in April-May 2021.

Andhra Pradesh holds Panchayat polls in disputed Kotia

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Andhra Pradesh holds Panchayat polls in disputed Kotia

Despite opposition from the Odisha government, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday held panchayat elections in disputed Kotia gram panchayat.

Elections were held in the Kotia area despite Koraput district Collector warning his Vizianagaram counterpart not to go ahead as the matter is currently sub-judice in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea on Andhra Pradesh invading Odisha’s territory on February 19.

Villagers of Patusineri under Kotia gram panchayat in Pottangi block were seen queuing up at polling booths in the morning to cast their votes even after efforts by Potangi BDO and Tehsildar to convince the villagers not to participate in the electoral process.

Police and poll officials from Andhra Pradesh were deployed in Kotia gram panchayat.

Pottangi block Chairman Jagatjyoti Pangi said Andhra Pradesh is holding rural polls on Saturday despite the opposition from the Odisha government.

On Friday, Koraput district Collector Abdaal Akhtar had written to his Vizianagaram counterpart M. Hari Jawaharlal appealing not to conduct the elections in the disputed region of Kotia.

“I am to bring to your attention that in Contempt Petition No. 172/2021 arising out of Original Suit No. 10/1968 (The State of Odisha Vs. M.Hari Jawaharlal and Others), the Honorable Supreme Court of India has been pleased to issue a notice to the State of Andhra Pradesh and post the case to Friday, the 19th February 2021. In its oral observations, the Court has also observed that should the State of Andhra Pradesh go ahead with its plans as regards the subject mentioned above, necessary consequences will follow,” said the Koraput collector.

“The same was pronounced in the presence of counsel for the State of Andhra Pradesh. A copy of the associated case documents have been handed over to the counsel for the State of Andhra Pradesh,” the Collector wrote in the letter.

“Considering that the sub-judice nature of the matter and Supreme Court’s oral observations, you may kindly desist from going ahead with any plan to allegedly conduct elections inside Kotia gram panchayat of Pottangi block of Koraput district,” Akhtar said.

On Friday, the apex court issued a notice to the Andhra Pradesh government to file its response on a contempt petition filed by Odisha, which has sought action against the neighboring state over its violation of the Supreme Court order in 1968 and 2006.

Andhra Pradesh is holding panchayat elections in three villages Talaganjeipadar, Patusineri, and Phagunseneri in Kotia gram panchayat. It has changed their names to Ganjeibadara, Pattuchennuru, and Pagluchennuru. The Kotia area has 21 villages.

Prime Minister has conceded land to China: Rahul Gandhi

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Prime Minister has conceded land to China: Rahul Gandhi

A day after the Defence Minister made a statement in Parliament about the disengagement process by India and China in eastern Ladakh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the government has conceded land to China.

Addressing a press conference here, Rahul Gandhi said, “Indian territory was up to finger 4 why the troops have been withdrawn to finger 3?”

Rahul Gandhi said the situation about the Depsang Plains, Gogra-Hot Springs is not clear.

He said the status quo ante prior to April 2020 should be restored and the Prime Minister should answer the country.

“It is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to protect the territory of this country. How he does it, is his problem, not mine,” said Rahul.

The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the forces will return to the command post and added: “Not an inch of land will be given and nothing has been lost since the face-off.”

“The sustained talks with China have led to the agreement on the disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake. After the agreement, India-China will remove forward deployments in a phased and coordinated manner.

“China will keep its troops to the east of the Finger 8 in the north of Pangong Lake. India will keep its troops at its permanent base near Finger 3,” said Rajnath Singh.

No peace and tranquillity sans status quo ante on LAC: Rahul

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No peace and tranquillity sans status quo ante on LAC: Rahul

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said on Thursday that there will be no peace and tranquillity if there is no status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, and questioned why the government is insulting the sacrifices made by the Indian soldiers.

“No status quo ante = No peace & tranquility. Why is the government of India insulting the sacrifice of our jawans and letting go of our territory,” Rahul Gandhi asked on Twitter.

The Congress leader’s remarks came soon after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave a statement in the Rajya Sabha, making it clear that India has not conceded anything during the talks with China.

Rajnath Singh said that India and China have reached an agreement on disengagement in the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh.

Chinese troops will move back to Finger 8 and Indian troops will pull back to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 on the north bank of Pangong Tso, Singh said, adding that there would be a temporary moratorium on military activities, including patrolling the traditional areas.

The mountain spur jutting into the lake is referred to as Finger in military parlance. The north bank of the lake is divided into 8 Fingers. India claims its territory till Finger 8 but China breached and came up till Finger 4.

Singh said: “The Chinese side will keep its troop presence in the north bank area to the east of Finger 8. Reciprocally, the Indian troops will be based at their permanent base in Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3.”

The minister said that both the countries have also agreed to have a temporary moratorium on military activities on both sides of the north bank, including patrolling the traditional areas.

BJP top brass to attend statewide Yatra in Kerala

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BJP top brass to attend statewide Yatra in Kerala

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend a public rally here on March 7, the concluding day of statewide Yatra of Bharatiya Janata Party said party leaders.

The Yatra, to be led by state BJP chief K.Surendran, will be flagged off by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Kasargode on February 21.

This is being seen as the launch of the BJP’s election campaign for the Assembly polls, likely to be held in April/May.

The state BJP leadership is upbeat about the Yatra as all the top national BJP leaders, including Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and others are expected to take part.

Among those who are expected to take part in the Yatra include national BJP president J.P. Nadda, Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Smrithi Irani, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Speaking to IANS, state general secretary M.T. Ramesh said the slogan of the Yatra with the polls on the anvil is ‘A New Kerala’ free from corruption.

“We are expecting a bevy of our top national leaders and confirmation of the visit of Modi is awaited. This Yatra is basically the curtain-raiser event to launch our election campaign. At the moment there is no talk of the list of candidates as it will be taken up at the appropriate time,” said Ramesh.

For the state unit of the BJP, the Assembly polls are going to be an acid test to see whether it is able to increase its tally from one seat in the 140-member Kerala Assembly.

Party veteran and former Union Minister O. Rajagopal stunned all when he won from the Nemom Assembly seat in the state capital and opened the account of the BJP in the 2016 polls.

Rajagopal, who is now 91-years-old, is most unlikely to be fielded and, hence it has added pressure to the state unit to produce results.

Mahesh Babu Released Sreekaram Movie Teaser

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Mahesh Babu Released Sreekaram Movie Teaser

For years with blockbuster movies that became collections at the box office, Sharwanand acted as a hero in Tollywood has been running as an excellent actor.

Sharwanand has signed for a few movies at present to entertain the audience.

Sreekaram, which is based on is an agricultural rural-based background. present movie of
Sharwanand.

Superstar Mahesh Babu released the teaser for the Sharwanand movie “Sreekaram” on social media. You can watch it here Sreekaram teaser.

Yogi annuls Akhilesh regime’s quota formula in Panchayats

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Yogi annuls Akhilesh regime’s quota formula in Panchayats

The Yogi Adityanath government has annulled the 2015 reservation order of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, which rendered null and void the prevailing rotational seat reservation in rural local bodies.

The decision was approved by the state cabinet on Tuesday evening.

According to the government spokesman, the then Samajwadi Party government had introduced the 10th amendment in the Panchayati Raj Rule to set aside reservations in seats. It had also conducted delimitation of the Gram Panchayats, Kshetra and Zila Panchayats in 71 districts, leaving four districts — Gonda, Moradabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Sambhal — out of the purview.

The Yogi cabinet has now mandated reservation of seats on a rotational basis which was in practice before 2015. The state cabinet has thus set the stage for a fresh rollout in the seat reservation.

The cabinet also approved the delimitation of four districts that were left untouched in 2015. “The state government decided to restore reservation in seats as the rotational quota is a continuous process and cannot be set aside,” the official said.

The order issued by the Panchayati Raj department notified reservations in all 75 districts.

Now, the state government would be seeking objections from respective districts before the quota rollout. The process, sources said, would take at least one month time.

Rahul, Priyanka to lead poll campaign in Kerala

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Rahul, Priyanka to lead poll campaign in Kerala

No government in Kerala has retained power so far but the current Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government is now aiming to change that after an impressive performance in the local body polls.

However, the Congress-led opposition is determined to fight it out and has drafted in Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as their star campaigners for the Assembly polls to be held in April-May.

A senior Congress leader, on condition of anonymity, told IANS, that the party high command views the Kerala Assembly polls with huge importance.

“Both the top leaders have in principle agreed to campaign extensively in Kerala and the first step for that would be the arrival of Rahul in the state capital, later this month to coincide with the conclusion of the present state-wide yatra led by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Rahul is expected to make a few important announcements,” said the top Congress leader.

Rahul, who is a Lok Sabha member from Wayanad constituency, continues to draw huge crowds whenever he visits his constituency, even with Covid protocols in place.

“Though Sonia Gandhi, the interim Congress president, is unlikely to campaign in the state, Priyanka is expected to arrive in the state as part of the election campaign and would be traveling across the state. Definitely, there will be a lot of interest generated by the visit of the duo,” added the leader.

Two-time former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also expected to arrive for a brief election campaign.

During the campaign of the two Gandhi siblings, the way they take on the ruling Vijayan government is going to be keenly observed as during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign Rahul saw to it that not a single word was spoken against the Vijayan government or the CPI-M.

Yogi reviews development projects in Varanasi

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Yogi reviews development projects in Varanasi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to ensure that all 123 projects in Varanasi are completed within the specified time, maintaining the quality and initiating all safety measures.

The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of projects worth Rs 9,175.77 crore at a meeting, late on Sunday evening, and said that new milestones of development were being set in Kashi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is now emerging fast on the global canvas.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that 10 projects worth Rs 137.87 crore have already been completed in January while 14 projects of Rs 201.69 crore will be completed by February end and 28 projects worth Rs 1,166.65 crores, including Rudraksha International Convention Centre being built with the cooperation of Japan, will complete by March-end.

The national highway widening projects, including the Varanasi-Jaunpur (part of Lucknow highway), Varanasi-Ghazipur, and Varanasi-Azamgarh will complete in June and July, while the rail overbridge on the Kapsethi-Bhadohi road will complete by June end.

The Chief Minister also sought details of progress in the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor project, which will be completed in August.

He sought information on other projects, including laying of lines for piped gas supply, CNG stations, parking zones, hospitals, hostels, residential, educational institutions buildings, and Ghat beautification.

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