Priyanka slams AAP for not curbing air pollution in Delhi

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Priyanka slams AAP for not curbing air pollution in Delhi

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party for not being able to tackle the air pollution issue in the national capital, while accusing the BJP government in Goa of working only for the interests of a few rich businessmen and ignoring the people of the coastal state.

“There are a lot of parties which have come here from elsewhere. There are new parties today. What have they done in their respective states. Have they ushered in progress? I am from Delhi. AAP is from Delhi. There is so much pollution in Delhi that you cannot breathe,” she said during an interaction with members of the tribal community in Morpirla village in South Goa.

Priyanka Gandhi is on a one-day visit to the state, which goes to polls in February next year.

“You have to opt for development by preserving your environment, because you have to preserve the environment, the forests here, the farms, the water, the sea. You have to think which party will do this for you and who will listen to you. It is only the Congress party which will strike this balance. I hope you will think and cast your vote and ensure that the Congress wins. Elect a government which works for you,” she said in her poll pitch.

The Congress leader also lambasted the BJP-led coalition government in Goa, which she said, ignored the basic issues concerning the local population.

“The government in Goa today is not the kind which works for the people. The government is working for itself. It wants to hold on to power in any condition, therefore they bestow favours on their industrialist friends. They started coal mining here too,” she said.

“We are working hard to give a kind of government in Goa which works for the people of Goa and delivers the state to its people,” she said, accusing the BJP government of having “exploited local resources, and harmed environment to give benefit to a few of its friends while depriving the local people”.

PM to inaugurate Saryu Nahar National Project in Balrampur, UP on Dec 11

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PM to inaugurate Saryu Nahar National Project in Balrampur, UP on Dec 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 43-year-old Saryu Nahar National project in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur distict on Saturday.

The project will provide assured water for irrigation of over 14 lakh hectares of land and benefit about 29 lakh farmers of over 6,200 villages of Eastern UP.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, “The work on the project started in 1978 but due to lack of continuity of budgetary support, interdepartmental coordination and adequate monitoring, it got delayed and was not completed even after nearly four decades.”

The PMO pointed out that the Prime Minister’s vision for farmer welfare and empowerment, and his commitment to prioritise long pending projects of national importance, brought much needed focus on the project.

“Consequently in 2016, the project was brought under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana with the target to complete it in a time-bound manner. In this endeavour, innovative solutions were found for new land acquisition to construct new canals and fill the critical gaps in the project, and also for resolving the pending litigation related to the previous land acquisitions. The renewed focus on the project has resulted in the project being completed in only about four years,” the PMO said.

The Saryu Nahar National Project has been built with a total cost of more than Rs 9,800 crore, of which more than Rs 4,600 crore was provisioned in the last four years. The project also involves interlinking of five rivers – Ghaghara, Saryu, Rapti, Banganga and Rohini to ensure optimum usage of water resources of the region.

It will benefit nine districts of Eastern Uttar Pradesh namely – Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Gonda, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Gorakhpur and Maharajganj. “The farmers of the region, who were the worst sufferers of the inordinate delay in the project, will now immensely benefit from the upgraded irrigation potential. They will now be able to grow crops on a larger scale and maximise the agri-potential of the region,” the PMO added.

Polling underway for six seats of Telangana Legislative Council

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Polling underway for six seats of Telangana Legislative Council

Polling was underway amid tight security on Friday for biennial elections to six seats of Telangana Legislative Council from local authority constituencies.

Local body representatives including corporators, councilors, ZPTC and MPTC members were casting their votes in five undivided districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Medak and Nalgonda.

The polling was on for two seats in Karimnagar district and one each in the remaining four districts.

According to poll officials, a total of 5,326 voters will decide the political fortunes of 26 candidates.

The polling, which began at 8 a.m. at all 37 polling stations in the six constituencies, will continue till 4 p.m. Counting of votes will be taken up on December 14.

State Chief Electoral Officer Shashank Goel said all arrangements were made to ensure free and fair polling. He was monitoring the poll process from Hyderabad. District collectors, police commissioners, superintendents of police and other officials were supervising the arrangements in their respective districts.

The officials were also taking steps to ensure strict adherence to Covid-19 protocol during the polling. They banned mobile phones and cameras in the polling centres.

Facing rebel trouble, ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) had shifted its local body members to Bengaluru, Goa, Delhi and other places to prevent the opposition parties from poaching its voters. They were brought to a resort on the outskirts of Hyderabad on Thursday and left for their respective districts on Friday morning.

TRS rebel candidate and former Karimnagar mayor Sardar Ravinder Singh is contesting from one of the seats in Karimnagar district. The BJP is supporting him. Congress candidates are in the fray in Medak, Khammam and Adilabad.

The Election Commission of India had last month issued notification for election to six seats of the Council from local authority constituencies.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K. Kavitha and five other candidates of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) were declared elected unanimously.

Kavitha was elected from Nizamabad constituency. The others who were elected to upper house of the state legislature are Patnam Mahender Reddy, Shambipur Raju (both from Rangareddy district), Pochampally Srinivas Reddy (Warangal), Kasireddy Narayana Reddy and Kuchumalla Damodar Reddy(both from Mahabubnagar district).

Polling begins for 25 seats of K’taka Legislative Council

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Polling begins for 25 seats of K’taka Legislative Council

Polling began on Friday for 25 seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council. As many as 90 candidates are in the fray.

Voting is scheduled between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Of the 90 candidates trying their luck, 89 are male and the lone female contender is Congress’ Gayathri Shanthe Gowda.

About 99,062 voters will exercise their franchise. Among these, 47,205 are male and 51,854 are female voters.

The state’s ruling BJP and the Congress have fielded candidates in 20 constituencies, while the JD (S) is contesting in six and the AAP in three constituencies.

While, there is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress in 13 constituencies, the stage is set for a triangle battle in eight seats.

Strong independent candidates are in the fray in Belagavi and Dharwad constituencies.

The results will be announced on December 14 and it is regarded as a precursor for the 2023 state Assembly elections.

Friday’s elections are crucial for the ruling BJP to attain a majority in the 75-member Upper House. The party won seven seats in the last polls.

While, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has announced that the BJP would win at least 15 seats, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Siddaramaiah has claimed that the saffron party is in for a defeat as the people are fed up of its policies.

The JD(S) has rejected the offer of alliance by the BJP and expressed confidence of winning all six seats it is contesting.

Mamata Banerjee’s sister-in-law has property worth crores

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Mamata Banerjee’s sister-in-law has property worth crores

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has occasionally said that she owns nothing but perhaps that is not the case with her other family members. A recent declaration by her sister-in-law, Kajari Banerjee, shows that she and her husband — Samir Banerjee have a cumulative property worth nearly Rs five crore.

Kajari Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress candidate for ward No. 73, in her affidavit announced that she has a moveable property worth more than Rs 2.45 crore and an immovable property worth Rs 1.5 crore. On the other hand, the Chief Minister’s brother Samir Banerjee has moveable property worth nearly Rs 29 lakh and immovable property worth Rs 70 lakh, which cumulatively is around Rs 5 crore.

Giving a detail of the property Kajari Banerjee in her affidavit mentioned that she is the owner of nine plots of land, including plots in Birbhum, Kolkata and even at Puri and Talcher in Odisha. Not only Kajari but her husband also owns five properties, including one residential building in Kalighat. She also has gold ornaments of around 400 grams worth nearly Rs 20 lakh.

Both 53-year-old Kajari and her husband, who has declared themselves as social workers, have an annual income of Rs 25.7 lakh and 17.8 lakh respectively.

Interestingly enough the West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s net worth assets have gone down in the last 5 years. In her self-sworn affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India, Mamata declared that her net worth is Rs 16.72 lakh which is 48 per cent less compared to her 2016 assets. The 66-year-old leader’s total movable assets were worth Rs 30.45 lakh before the Assembly election in 2016.

The Trinamool Congress supremo, who contested from the Nandigram Assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur district, doesn’t own any vehicle or property. Her income for the year 2019-20 was Rs 10,34,370.

CMs, Governors of Telugu states shocked over death of CDS

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CMs, Governors of Telugu states shocked over death of CDS

Chief Ministers and Governors of both the Telugu states on Wednesday expressed shock and anguish over the death of Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat in a helicopter crash.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said that the death of Gen Rawat, his wife, and several Army personnel has disturbed him. Recalling the services rendered by Gen Rawat to the defence sector in the country, the CM expressed his condolences to members of the bereaved family.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed shock and anguish over the crash of helicopter carrying the Chief of Defence Staff at Coonoor, Tamil Nadu.

“Words fail to describe the incident that befell on the serving Defence Chief and the state of Andhra Pradesh stands with the nation in this hour of shock and expresses its resolute solidarity,” he said.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed deep shock and anguish at the deaths of Gen Rawat, his wife, and other army personnel in the helicopter crash.

She said that she was deeply saddened at the unfortunate demise of Gen Rawat, who is known for his exemplary services to the nation’s security and Indian Army.

Paying rich tributes to his exemplary services and memory, the Governor said that his role and contribution in modernising the Indian military and shaping it as one of the strongest in the world are invaluable.

She said that her thoughts are with all the bereaved families as she expressed her deep condolences to the members.

Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan expressed deep anguish and sadness over the demise of Gen Rawat, his wife, and 11 defence personnel in the helicopter crash, and termed it a great loss for the nation.

“I pray for eternal peace to their souls and offer my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members,” he said.

Telangana Governor visits paddy procurement centres

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Telangana Governor visits paddy procurement centres

Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Wednesday visited a couple of paddy procurement centres in Nalgonda district.

She visited the paddy procurement centres at Duppalapally and Arjalabavi villages and interacted with the farmers and officials on procurement procedure, progress, and facilities.

The Governor also enquired about the facilities provided for the farmers and the procedure being followed for the procurement. She also asked them about the progress in the procurement and other aspects.

She asked the farmers about the yield they were getting and the availability of the bags for packing.

The officials explained to her about the progress in the procurement process and the facilities provided for the farmers at the IKP procurement centres.

The farmers were surprised by the sudden visit of the Governor and the women took a group photograph with her.

The Governor’s visit to procurement centres come at a time when the opposition BJP and Congress have been targeting the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government over sluggish pace of procurement during the ongoing Kharif season and the TRS is slamming the BJP government at the Centre for escaping from its responsibility to lift the paddy from the state.

The TRS has decided to boycott remainder of the winter session of Parliament stating that justice is not being done to farmers of the state by the Centre, particularly in the matter of paddy procurement.

Last month, a delegation of TRS leaders led by state Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy had called on the Governor and urged her to impress upon the Union government to direct the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure paddy from Telangana.

Last week, Congress leaders had requested the Governor to visit marketyards to better understand the suffering of farmers and put pressure on the state and Central governments to help them.

Cabinet approves continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin

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Cabinet approves continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin

To ensure housing for all in rural areas, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) till March 2024.

The Union Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of the department of Rural Development for continuation of PMAY-G beyond March 2021 wherein financial assistance is to be provided for the construction of the remaining 1.55 crore houses, as on March 31, 2021 under the scheme within total target of 2.95 crore houses.

The total financial implication for construction of the remaining 1.55 crore houses is Rs 2,17,257 crore (Central share Rs1,25,106 crore and state share Rs 73,475 crore) for achieving cumulative targets of 2.95 crore houses in rural areas under the PMAY-G and an additional requirement of Rs 18,676 crore towards the interest repayment to NABARD.

The continuation of the scheme till March 2024 ensures that the remaining 155.75 lakh households within the overall target of 2.95 crore houses under PMAY-G would be provided assistance for construction of ‘Pucca’ houses with basic amenities to achieve the objective of ‘Housing for All’ in rural areas.

As on November 29, 1.65 crore PMAY-G houses have been constructed out of the total target of 2.95 crore.

It is estimated that 2.02 crore houses, which is almost equal to SECC 2011 database based Permanent Wait List, will be completed by the deadline of August 15, 2022.

Therefore, to achieve the total target of 2.95 crore houses, the scheme needs to be continued till March, 2024.

The phasing out of EBR and provision of entire scheme funding through Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) shall be decided in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.

Release of additional Rs 45 lakh administrative funds annually from the Central share of Administrative funds (0.3 per cent out of total administrative fund of two per cent) to each smaller state Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand, the northeastern states except for Assam and Tripura, and all UTs except Jammu and Kashmir over and above 1.70 per cent administrative funds released to said States/UTs.

‘Maitree Divas’ marks India-Bangladesh friendship

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‘Maitree Divas’ marks India-Bangladesh friendship

Braving day-long incessant rain, around 2,000 pro-liberation campaigners on Tuesday held rallies across Bangladesh, marking the “Maitree Divas” as a shining testament to the historic bond between Bangladesh and India.

Commemorating the official recognition by India on December 6, during the Liberation War in 1971, One Bangladesh, a platform led by university teachers and professionals, organised this event in a total of 23 districts with much enthusiasm and zeal.

Themed on “Friendship between Bangladesh and India based on shared sacrifices”, participants, including free thinkers, carried banners and posters and placards during the rally.

Photos of Pakistan’s historic surrender on December 16, 1971, historic news clippings of India’s recognition to Bangladesh, wreckage of Pakistani naval ships bombed by fearless commandos were also displayed at the rallies.

“India trained daring naval commandos of Bangladesh”, “India sheltered 10 million refugees”, “India trained and armed freedom fighters”, “Together India and Bangladesh crushed Pak army in 13 days”, “Over 18000 Indians deceased and injured during the liberation war”, reads some of the posters.

While most super-powers turned their back on us and the geopolitic situation was against us, India drummed up support for Bangladesh across the world. They sheltered our refugees, allied with us, and helped us drive out the occupation army, said one of the speakers at the event.

With much vigour, the participants staged rallies at the base of central Shaheed Minars and on University campuses in 23 districts including Rangamati, Rangpur, Kustia, Chittagong, Jamalpur, Pabna, Thakurgaon, Joypurhat, Sherpur, Sylhet and Chandpur among others. Floral wreaths were placed at the portrait of Bangabandhu at Dhanmondi 32 of Dhaka.

“We placed floral tributes to the founding Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as he led the struggle for our independence,” a person who took part in the event said.

Modi warns BJP MPs: Bring change in your behaviour, otherwise change will happen

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Modi warns BJP MPs: Bring change in your behaviour, otherwise change will happen

In a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked all the party MPs to regularly attend the Parliament sessions and actively participate in the legislative work. As per sources, the Prime Minister cautioned the MPs to ‘bring a change in their behaviour as otherwise changes will happen’.

According to sources, while directing all the MPs to ensure their presence in the Parliament, he said, “It is not right to repeatedly tell the same thing to you like children…you bring a change in your behaviour, otherwise change will happen.”

At the meeting, BJP National President J.P. Nadda asked all MPs to visit their respective constituencies after the Winter Session and communicate with the district chiefs and mandal chiefs and call them for discussion over tea. Prime Minister Modi was quick to add that he will also invite the district presidents and divisional presidents for tea on December 14 when he will be visiting in Varanasi.

Talking about the discussions held at the Parliamentary Party meeting, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said that the Prime Minister has told all the MPs to organise sports competitions, children fitness competitions and Surya Namaskar competitions.

Joshi added that Modi also directed them to remain in touch with the Padma awardees residing in their respective areas and to interact with them frequently.

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