Digvijaya slams Scindia for joining ‘enemies’

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Digvijaya slams Scindia for joining ‘enemies’

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on erstwhile party colleague Jyotiraditya Scindia for joining hands with the BJP which he dubbed as ‘enemy’.

Speaking to reporters in Shivpuri, Digvijaya said that the BJP had ensured Scindia’s defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, yet he shook hands with the same party.

During the tour here, Digvijaya faced opposition from BJP workers in Renaud as they raised slogans against him and tried to stop his convoy while on way to Khod village where he had gone to condole the death of Professor APS Chauhan.

Pilot, Scindia careerist netas, not tied to ideology: Hariprasad

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Pilot, Scindia careerist netas, not tied to ideology: Hariprasad

With Jyotiraditya Scindia parting ways with the Congress and Sachin Pilot ousted as Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and PCC chief, senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad has lashed out at them and dubbed them “careerist politicians who had nothing to do with ideology”.

“These so-called young politicians are here to make careers (in politics) but don’t have any inclination towards any party ideology,” Hari Prasad told IANS.

Hariprasad is a former Congress General Secretary who was in charge of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh affairs of the party.

Hariprasad, a former member of Parliament who represented Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, added: “Ditching the party when the country is facing a serious problem is very unfortunate. No doubt, both Scindia and Pilot are talented, but their loyalty has been for the chair (power) and not for the party or its ideology.”

He recalled that in 1998 when Ashok Gehlot was the Congress state unit President, then party stalwarts like Hardev Joshi, Natwar Singh, Shiv Charan Mathur, and Parasram Madrena had accepted Gehlot to be the Chief Minister as the majority of MLAs supported Gehlot.

“The same thing happened in 2018 too after the Assembly elections. Even Nawal Kishore Sharma did not rebel because all those leaders were with a party for a cause,” the Congress leader remarked.

Giving an example of how much the Congress cared for Pilot’s political career, he said that during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections — Pilot’s debut electoral contest — Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had personally stationed him in Rajasthan to manage Pilot’s campaigning.

“‘See BK that things are alright in Dausa’,” he recalled Sonia telling him.

In 2004, Mohsina Kidwai was the General Secretary in charge while Hariprasad was Secretary in charge of Rajasthan.

Hariprasad said that in 2010 — when he was in charge of Madhya Pradesh affairs — he personally went to Scindia and asked him to become the party President which Scindia refused despite a consent from then-senior party leader Arjun Singh, since deceased.

Hariprasad claimed that Scindia told him that he was willing to take over six months ahead of the general elections held in 2014.

Hariprasad was a member of Sonia Gandhi’s core team and has been in charge of MP, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand affairs of the party at various points in time. He was removed as party General Secretary after Rahul Gandhi took over as party president but has since been drafted to Karnataka state politics and member of the Legislative Council.

NZ opposition leader resigns

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NZ opposition leader resigns

New Zealand’s opposition party leader Todd Muller resigned on Tuesday after less than two months in the role.

“It has become clear to me that I am not the best person to be the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party at this critical time for New Zealand,” he said in a statement.

He said the decision is “effective immediately”, reports Xinhua news agency.

“The role has taken a heavy toll on me personally, and on my family, and this has become untenable from a health perspective.”

Deputy leader Nikki Kaye has been confirmed as the acting leader after Muller’s resignation, with the party holding an emergency caucus meeting Tuesday morning, local media reported.

Muller’s announcement comes after the National Party was trapped by a scandal of leaking private information of COVID-19 patients over the last week.

He was elected as the leader of the New Zealand National on May 22, while Kaye was named his deputy.

They were scheduled to lead the New Zealand National Party to the general elections on September 19.

Sharad Pawar should join NDA, says Athawale

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Sharad Pawar should join NDA, says Athawale

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale has urged Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar to join the NDA. Athawale said that this is necessary for the development of both the country and Maharashtra.

A grand alliance consisting of the BJP, the NCP, and the RPI (Athawale’s party) can be formed in Maharashtra if Pawar decides to walk over to the NDA camp.

Athawale told IANS, ‘The NCP gains nothing by supporting Shiv Sena. In order for Maharashtra to get more funds from the Centre, Pawar should seriously consider joining the NDA. If this happens then there will be a ‘Mahayuti’ (grand alliance) of BJP, NCP, and RPI in Maharashtra.”

Athawale said, “Sharad Pawar is a senior leader of Maharashtra. He is aware of the problems of farmers, Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs. He has been the agriculture minister of the country. I urge him to join hands with Narendra Modi for the sake of the development of the country. This is my personal wish.”

The BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra had fought the 2019 Assembly elections together. The BJP won 105 seats while the Sena got 56 seats. But the Shiv Sena broke away from the BJP on the issue of the post of the chief minister and formed the government with the support of the Congress and the NCP.

UP Assembly’s monsoon session from August 20

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UP Assembly’s monsoon session from August 20

The monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly will be held from August 20, official sources said on Monday.

The session is expected to have around four sittings in which the first supplementary budget of the current fiscal 2020-21 and around a dozen bills, for which ordinances have been promulgated when the Houses were not in session, will be passed.

The session will be held by observing social distancing and other health protocols.

Assembly officials said that the new norms and guidelines to be followed will be approved at an all-party meeting.

Legislators will be seated at a sufficient distance, and some may even be shifted to the visitors’ gallery.

Passes for the press galleries will also be curtailed for this session.

The state government is under a constitutional obligation to hold the monsoon session since there cannot be a gap of six months or more between two sessions of the Assembly.

The Assembly’s Budget Session was adjourned sine die on February 28 and hence the next session will have to be called before August 28.

Last month, Speaker Hriday Narain Dikshit had indicated that the monsoon session could be held through videoconference. He had, however, ruled out the possibility of holding a ‘hybrid session’ on the lines of the British Parliament.

In such a session, half of the members attend the House while the rest join the proceedings through videoconference.

“Due to technical reasons, such a session will not be possible. We will have a normal session, but with restrictions,” said an official.

Priyanka slams UP government on increasing corona cases

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Priyanka slams UP government on increasing corona cases

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over the ‘rising’ numbers of coronavirus cases in the state.

She reeled out statistics to say that the number of cases was 1,347 on July 10, 1,403 on July 11 and 1,388 on July 12.

“To hide its failure, the government is playing while the disease is growing,” said the Congress leader.

Uttar Pradesh on Sunday had 35,092 coronavirus cases, including 11,490 active cases. As many as 22,689 patients have recovered while 913 deaths have been reported due to coronavirus.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to introduce a ‘mini-lockdown’ in the state on weekends to check the spread of coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh.

A government release said that all offices, markets and commercial establishments will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays. “Sanitization of these places will take place on the weekdays and people will be required to follow all safety protocols.

One more Congress leader dies of Covid-19 in Hyderabad

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One more Congress leader dies of Covid-19 in Hyderabad

Yet another leader of the opposition Congress party in Telangana died of Coronavirus on Monday.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) secretary G. Narendra Yadav succumbed to the virus at a private hospital in Hyderabad, where he was admitted a few days ago.

Yadav had recently participated in various programs to distribute aid among poor hit hard by the lockdown.

Yadav’s family members were tested for COVID-19. As the leader had participated in the party programs held at party headquarters Gandhi Bhavan in recent days, efforts were on to trace those who had come in contact with him.

“It is shocking and saddening that one of our active senior leaders Narendra Yadav died due to COVID-19. May his soul rest in peace and condolences to his family and friends… His death is a great loss to the party,” tweeted party spokesman Dr. Sravan Dasoju.

Yadav is the second party leader to die of COVID-19 in a week. Earlier, former chairman of minority cell of a party in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Mohammed Sirajuddin succumbed to the virus.

He died while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at a private hospital in Hyderabad on July 6.

His wife and brother had also tested positive for the virus.

COVID-19 had earlier claimed the life of a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Bhasker Mudiraj, party president of the Mettuguda division in Hyderabad, succumbed to the infection at government-run Fever hospital.

His family had alleged that he was taken to many private hospitals but they refused to admit him as his test reports were awaited.

Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Deputy Speaker of Telangana Assembly Padma Rao, and three other legislators of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had recently tested positive for COVID-19. All of them have recovered.

Bengal BJP MLA found mysteriously hanging in his village

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Bengal BJP MLA found mysteriously hanging in his village

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Legislator in West Bengal was found hanging in his village in North Dinajpur district on Monday.

The incident happened at Bindal in Hemtabad area. MLA Debendra Nath Ray, who had joined the BJP in 2019, was found mysteriously hanging a few meters away from his home near a local market.

Earlier, he was elected on a CPI-M ticket in 2016. The family members of Ray, however, alleged that he was murdered for his political affiliation and have demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

State BJP leaders said that people are of the clear opinion that he was first killed and then hung in his village. “His crime was that he joined the BJP in 2019,” West Bengal BJP tweeted.

Senior state BJP leader Sayantan Basu said: “If an elected MLA is not safe in Bengal, what will be the safety for common people here? We will demand a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter. There is no law and order in the state.”

North Dinajpur district Trinamool Congress leader Amal Acharya dubbed it as a ‘sad incident’. “I came to know about it this morning. I am deeply saddened. He was a good man. I would urge the police administration to investigate the matter and punish the real perpetrators. This is absolutely uncalled for and whoever is guilty should be immediately punished, irrespective of any political color,” Acharya said.

Condemning the incident, BJP national General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya twitted, saying: “Ray was killed”. Vijayvargiya also raised the question of Ray’s political affiliation behind the killing.

All eyes on Congress meeting in Jaipur

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All eyes on Congress meeting in Jaipur

Amid the political turmoil in Rajasthan, senior leaders of the Congress are keeping an eye on the legislature party meeting to be held in Jaipur on Monday.

The Senior Congress leaders are calling MLAs personally to have full attendance during the meet. The party has dispatched two leaders from Delhi, Ajay Maken, and Randeep Singh Surjewala, to report back the exact situation to the party high command.

Sources close to the Ashok Gehlot camp said that the numbers are with the Chief Minister, however, his Deputy Sachin Pilot in a late-night statement claimed that the government in Rajasthan has been in the minority after 30 MLAs promised allegiance to him.

The Congress leaders are anxious about the outcome and many hoped an amicable solution will be worked out to pacify Pilot. The Deputy Chief Minister is in Delhi after police served him a notice to investigate a complaint filed by the Congress under sedition charges.

Dubey killed to cover up his links: Kapil Sibal

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Dubey killed to cover up his links: Kapil Sibal

Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday said that the encounter killing of gangster Vikas Dubey was predicted by many persons and questioned if it was done to cover up his alleged political links.

“Killed in an encounter. Predicted by many, wilful incompetence. Or, is it a conspiracy to destroy evidence linking Vikas to certain parties and individuals?”

“Commission to investigate politician-police-criminal nexus in UP,” the Supreme Court lawyer added.

Dubey was being transferred from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain when he was killed by police after he tried to flee from their custody in the Bhauti area near Kanpur on Friday morning. He was wanted for the killing of eight police officials on July 3 in Bikru village in Kanpur district.

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