Rahul’s place beside Sonia, a message to dissenters?

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Rahul’s place beside Sonia, a message to dissenters?

In a clear message to party workers, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said that discipline is paramount, giving a subtle message to the dissenters. Sonia Gandhi in the meeting of Congress General Secretaries, State In Charges and State Presidents chalked out party’s future plans ahead of assembly polls in five states.

Seated beside Sonia Gandhi was Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress president, who is likely to be the next party chief, the elections of which are to be held next year.

On Tuesday, Sonia said clearly, “I would like to re-emphasise the paramount need for discipline and unity. What should matter to each and every one of us is the strengthening of the organisation. This must override personal ambitions. In this, lies both collective and individual success.”

The optics on Tuesday showed that Congress leaders and workers have to work with Rahul Gandhi and the message was specially for the dissenters, said an insider. In the CWC meet on October 16, Sonia Gandhi had made it clear that she is taking decisions in the party, saying she is the “full-time Congress President”.

“I am, if you will allow me to say so, a full-time and hands on Congress President,” she had said while addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting.

KCR unanimously re-elected TRS President

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KCR unanimously re-elected TRS President

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was on Monday unanimously re-elected as the President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

Rao was elected unopposed to the post for a ninth consecutive term.

TRS General Secretary M. Sreenivas Reddy, who was the election officer, announced Rao’s re-election at the party plenary attended by 6,000 delegates from across the state.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, was declared elected unopposed as no other nomination was received for the post.

His election was a mere formality after no other TRS leader filed nomination till Friday, the last day for filing papers.

In all, 18 nominations were filed by several TRS leaders, proposing the name of Chandrasekhar Rao as President. Ministers, party MPs, MLAs and other leaders had filed nominations on behalf of KCR.

The scrutiny of nomination papers was taken up on Saturday.

The plenary later passed a resolution congratulating KCR on his re-election. He thanked the leaders for electing him unanimously for another term.

KCR presided over the plenary. He highlighted the achievements of the party during last 20 years and the schemes taken up by the TRS government during the last seven years.

He had resigned from the Telugu Desam Party in 2001 to float TRS to revive the movement for statehood to Telangana.

The separate State was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

Kerala gives free homeopathy tablets to kids ahead of schools’ reopening

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Kerala gives free homeopathy tablets to kids ahead of schools’ reopening

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday inaugurated a state-level programme of distribution of free homeopathic preventive tablets to all school children as a precautionary measure against Covid-19 as all schools will be reopening from November 1.

Vijayan said the homeopathic medicines are proven and effective.

“Homeopathic preventive tablets will be made available through special kiosks and dispensaries. This has been proved to be very effective as well. A special helpline has also been opened for all queries,” he added.

Schools in the state have remained closed from the third week of March 2020.

The decision to distribute homoeopathic preventive tablets was first discussed between Education Minister V. Sivankutty and Health Minister Veena George and it decided to go ahead with it.

It has been decided that in the initial weeks of opening of schools that there will be no uniform and attendance will not be compulsory for school students.

The study curriculum in the first few weeks will be more of returning to schools and would centre around well-being and such related issues, with the regular curriculum being kept in abeyance for a while.

More decisions with regards on the exact nature of classes will be announced by an expert committee which is preparing the roadmap for it and for a while there will be only 25 per cent students attending classes with students coming to school in different shifts.

Modi launches pan-India health mission from Varanasi

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Modi launches pan-India health mission from Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) from his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi which will be one of the largest pan-India schemes to strengthen healthcare infrastructure.

The Prime Minister said that the scheme, estimated to cost Rs 64,000 crore, would make the health infrastructure self-reliant.

“Aarogya concept is needed in everyone’s life. We should invest the maximum in physical and mental wellness but, sadly this was not done in the post-Independence period. Due attention was not paid and those who were in power, kept the healthcare system deprived and lacking,” he said.

Modi said that the middle-class groups and the poor were worst sufferers in the absence of adequate facilities at the grassroots level.

“This mission will solve these problems. We are focusing on hill states like Uttarakhand and Himanchal Pradesh and also the northeast. We will address the gaps,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that special attention would be laid on early detection and 125 districts will have referral facilities.

Secondly, testing would also be stepped up and 730 districts will get integrated testing laboratories.

He said that research centres will also be upgraded and four new National Institute of Virology units would be set up so that the country can be ready to deal with new viral issues and the pandemic.

He said that as the health infrastructure developed, it would generate new employment opportunities too.

The Prime Minister also announced new development projects worth Rs 5,200 crore for Varanasi.

He said that in the past seven years, Kashi had undergone a change with building of roads, ghats, bridges, parking lots and cleaning of the Ganga and Varuna rivers.

“This could have been done earlier but the previous governments lacked political will,” he said.

Modi in UP to inaugurate medical colleges, launch mega health scheme

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Modi in UP to inaugurate medical colleges, launch mega health scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate nine medical colleges and launch several development projects in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

He will inaugurate medical colleges from Siddharth Nagar and will launch, later in Varanasi, the “Pradhan Mantri Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana”.

He will also inaugurate various developmental projects worth more than Rs 5,200 crore for his Lok Sabha constituency.

The Prime Minister Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY) will be one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure and will be in addition to the National Health Mission.

Its objective is to fill gaps in the public health infrastructure, especially in critical care facilities and primary care in both urban and rural areas. It will provide support for 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in 10 high focus states. Further, 11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be established in all the states.

The government spokesman said that critical care services will be available in all the districts of the country with more than five lakh population through exclusive critical care hospital blocks, while the remaining districts will be covered through referral services.

People will have access to a full range of diagnostic services in the public healthcare system through a network of laboratories across the country, and integrated public health labs will be set up in all the districts.

Modi quotes from Thirukkural to thank healthcare, frontline workers

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Modi quotes from Thirukkural to thank healthcare, frontline workers

Quoting a couplet from Thirukkural in Tamil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday thanked all healthcare and frontline workers for their selfless service during the Covid-19 pandemic, the state BJP unit said.

The party is distributing ‘thank you’ cards to doctors, nurses and other frontline workers across the state.

In his message, Modi quoted a couplet from Thirukkural which means “during troubled times, one should keep smiling without losing heart and there is nothing that can equal vanquishing that problem”.

Modi said that the Covid-19 pandemic spread like a storm across the world and threatened mankind.

“There is nothing comparable to your selfless service, putting your life at risk, forgetting your family and friends to save the people. It is your selfless service that has saved and continues to save the people,” he told them.

Fulfill poll promise relating to construction materials: Palaniswami to DMK

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Fulfill poll promise relating to construction materials: Palaniswami to DMK

Leader of Opposition and AIADMK Joint Coordinator K. Palaniswami on Saturday demanded that the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu include construction materials in essential commodities list and make them available to people at a fair price.

Citing the spiralling prices of cement, sand, blue metal, steel, among others soon after the DMK came to power in Tamil Nadu, Palaniswami said the incumbent government has failed to fulfil its poll promise.

The DMK had promised to bring construction materials under the essential commodities list so that people can avail them at fair prices, he added.

Tamil Nadu,he said, produces more cement than other states. But the retail price of cement is Rs 470 per bag as against Rs 370 sold before the DMK came to power.

Nowhere in the country is cement being sold at such a high rate. In Delhi, the retail price of a cement bag is Rs 350, Andhra Pradesh– Rs 370, Telangana– Rs 360 and Karnataka– Rs 380, Palaniswami added.

Similarly, the prices of M-sand have gone up to more than Rs 5,000 per unit (old price Rs 3,000), blue metal costs more than Rs 3,800 (old price Rs 2,000), one ton steel costs more than Rs 78,000 (old price Rs 48,000), bricks Rs 29,000 (old price Rs 18,000), among others, the AIADMK Joint Coordinator said.

According to him, the construction cost per sq.ft has gone up to Rs 3,100 from about Rs 2,200 at the start of 2021.

Stalin launches portals to monitor projects, increase govt-industy interaction

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Stalin launches portals to monitor projects, increase govt-industy interaction

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday launched two initiatives in the IT sector aimed at monitoring projects and increasing interaction between the government and industry, a statement from the Chief Minister’s office said.

He launched new web portal ‘e-Munnetram’ that provides the status of more than 200 infrastructure projects, costing around Rs 1 lakh crore, and the IT Nanban project. Both were developed by TN e-governance agency (TNeGA).

The statement said that the e-Munnetram project provides updates on the projects periodically and some details on a monthly basis, including date of agreement, start date, cost estimates, progress of the project on both financial and physical parameters on a monthly basis.

The location data and GIS layers as well as the photographs of the site would be provided periodically and allow the heads of departments to update the progress, the statement said.

The reasons for delay in the projects are also provided in the portal and the department heads will be able to even flag certain projects through the e-Munnetram portal.

The statement also said that the IT Nanban project provides all IT companies in Tamil Nadu a platform to interact with the state government and contribute to policymaking. Companies can assess all government orders, IT policies, and tenders issued by the IT Department, and will also be able to provide feedback on the latest policies of the government and flag issues that they are facing.

The IT Department will address the feedback and concerns raised by these IT companies.

It will also notify the companies periodically about all the latest news and the work done by the government. Details about emerging business opportunities will also be provided to these companies.

The official statement said that the exports from IT/ IT-enabled services (ITES) have been growing in Tamil Nadu at the rate of 10 per cent per year and that there was great potential to improve this further.

The Chief Minister also released two computing software with advanced features developed by the Tamil Virtual Academy.

According to an official statement, the Keezhadi-Thamizhinaiya keyboard will function with three types of keyboards – the Tamil’ 99 Keyboard, Phonetic Keyboard, and Old Typewriter Keyboard.

Punjab orders probe into Amarinder’s relations with Pak friend Aroosa

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Punjab orders probe into Amarinder’s relations with Pak friend Aroosa

The Punjab government on Friday ordered a probe into former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s relations with his Pakistani woman friend Aroosa Alam and her relation with the ISI.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa said the government would probe the ISI links of Aroosa Alam.

“Captain Amarinder Singh is now saying that there is a threat from the ISI. We will look into the woman’s connection with it. Captain kept raising drones issue coming from Pakistan for last four-five years,” Randhawa told the media.

“Captain Amarinder Singh kept raising the issue of drones coming over from Pakistan for the last four-and-a-half years. So Captain sahab first raised this issue and later got the BSF deployed in Punjab. So it seems a big plot which needs to be probed,” he said.

Randhawa, who also hold the Home portfolio, added he asked the Punjab Police chief to investigate the allegations.

In political circles, the decision to order probe by the government against its own party’s former Chief Minister is seen as a major embarrassment for Amarinder Singh, who on October 19 announced that he would soon announce the launch of his own political party to serve the interests of the people, including the farmers who’ve been fighting for their rights for over a year now.

The former Chief Minister also said he is hopeful of a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP for next year’s Assembly elections in the state, if the farmers’ issues are resolved in their interest.

TDP leader sent to jail for using abusive words against Andhra CM

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TDP leader sent to jail for using abusive words against Andhra CM

A city court on Thursday sent Telugu Desam Party (TDP) spokesman K. Pattabhi Ram to judicial custody for 14 days for allegedly using abusive words against Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Ram — arrested on Wednesday night, was produced in Third Additional Metropolitan Court, which remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks.

The opposition party leader was subsequently shifted to Machilipatnam Jail.

After the arrest from his house amid high drama, Ram was taken to Thotlavalluru Police Station.

The TDP leader’s lawyer moved the bail petition but the government’s counsel opposed the same citing several cases booked against him in the past. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the magistrate rejected the bail plea and sent him to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, Ram said he was not beaten up by police during the custody. He, however, denied that he used any abusive word against the chief minister or any other leader and said he was only highlighting the government’s failures.

Ram was arrested from his house by the police on Wednesday night, a day after his remarks triggered a huge backlash from alleged supporters of ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) who attacked the TDP’s central office at Mangalagiri in Amaravati and party offices in other parts of the state.

Pattabhi Ram’s house was also attacked by unidentified people on Tuesday.

Ram’s wife Chandra said he was arrested by policemen after breaking open the door. She said if anything happened to him, the government will be responsible.

According to police, the TDP leader was arrested in connection with a case booked against him at Governorpet Police Station. He was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 505 (2) (Statements conducing to public mischief), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) read with 120B (criminal conspiracy).

Feel proud when called Bihari: President Kovind

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Feel proud when called Bihari: President Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said he feels proud and exalted whenever anyone calls him ‘Bihari’.

“Rajendra Prasad — the first president of the country, belonged to Bihar. I am taking forward his inheritance. It is my honour and privilege to take forward his legacy,” he said here.

The President is on a three-day visit to Bihar. He reached Patna on Wednesday morning and attended the centenary event of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha as the chief guest.

“The soil of Bihar has produced many great personalities in the rank of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Sacchidanand Sinha, Shri Krishna Singh and others. The social structure of the state is equal which always creates social equality and egalitarian society,” Kovind said.

He also appreciated the work done in the state by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

“I was the governor of the state for two years and I got full cooperation from him. Now when I am the President of India, I am getting complete cooperation from him,” Kovind said.

Kovind also said that Bihar has a rich culture and the Chhath festival is a prime example of it.

“This festival is celebrated from Nawada to New Jersey and Begusarai to Boston. It also reflects the talent this soil has produced over the years,” the President said.

Earlier on Thursday, Nitish Kumar during his speech said that the current president of India had served as governor of Bihar for two years and he was elected as president of the country from here.

“He is a president of the entire country but we believe that he is Bihari and he has special attachment with this state. That is the reason why he is always eager to come to Bihar,” Kumar said.

Andhra CM asks police to maintain law and order without compromise

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Andhra CM asks police to maintain law and order without compromise

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday exhorted police to maintain law and order without any compromise.

At the Police Commemoration Day programme at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium here, he recalled the sacrifices made by police and paid tributes to the martyrs.

The Chief Minister presented financial assistance to the families of police martyrs besides releasing a book on sacrifices made by them.

As many as 377 police personnel across the country have laid down their lives in the line of duty in the last one year, out of which 11 were from the state, he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy claimed that Andhra Pradesh is the only state to introduce a weekly day-off system for police. However, it could not be implemented effectively due to the pandemic but will now be restored as the Covid cases are declining.

The state government, he said, has cleared the previous government’s pending arrears, increased honorarium to home guards, and recruited 16,000 women police. Massive recruitment will be undertaken to fill vacancies in the department, he added.

The police has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh each to families of police personnel who succumbed to Covid, and the government has sanctioned a matching grant of Rs 5 lakh and immediately handed the Rs 10 lakh cheque to the next of the kin.

Reddy said that he has directed the officials to immediately provide jobs to family members of the deceased police personnel on compassionate grounds by November 30.

Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha, Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas, Civil Supplies Minister Kodali Venkateswara Rao, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, DGP Gautam Sawang and others were present on the occasion.

100cr vaccination milestone belongs to Indian citizens: Modi

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100cr vaccination milestone belongs to Indian citizens: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the 100 crore vaccination milestone belongs to India and its citizens.

“Today is a historic day as India has crossed the 100 crore vaccine dose mark. To counter the largest pandemic in 100 years, the country now has a strong protective shield of 100 crore vaccine doses. This achievement belongs to India and its citizens,” the Prime Minister said.

India achieved the 100 crore vaccination milestone on Thursday morning.

Modi also inaugurated the Infosys Foundation Vishram Sadan at the National Cancer Institute in the Jhajjar (Haryana) campus of AIIMS New Delhi through a video conference on Thursday.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude on this occasion to all the vaccine manufacturing companies of the country, workers engaged in vaccine transportation and the health sector professionals engaged in vaccine development.

This Vishram Sadan, built in the National Cancer Institute, will reduce the worries of patients and their relatives, he said.

The Prime Minister praised Infosys Foundation for constructing the building of Vishram Sadan and AIIMS Jhajjar for providing the land, electricity and water. He expressed his gratitude to the AIIMS management and Sudha Murthy’s team for this service.

He said when the patient gets free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, an act of service is accomplished. It is this service motive that has made the government take steps to reduce the prices of about 400 cancer medicines, the Prime Minister said.

Chandrababu Naidu begins protest, seeks Centre’s intervention

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Chandrababu Naidu begins protest, seeks Centre’s intervention

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday began 36-hour long sit-in at party’s central office at Mangalagiri to protest Tuesday’s attacks on party offices and demanded the Centre’s intervention to save the people of Andhra Pradesh from what he called the drug mafia and the undemocratic and fascist regime.

The leader of opposition reiterated his demand for invoking Article 356, saying Andhra Pradesh in its present situation was a fit case for imposition of President’s rule.

He claimed that the TDP never made such a demand in the past and it was not in the habit of making such demands considering the need to overlook stray mistakes by some individuals. “But, the lapses of the Jaganmohan Reddy Government crossed all limits. The future of the whole State and the country is at stake now,” he said.

The former chief minister began the sit-in to protest Tuesday’s attacks on party offices and leaders by supporters of ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

The protest with the title ‘fight against state terrorism’ began 8 a.m. and will continue till 8 p.m. on Friday.

He alleged that Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy was growing impatient over the increasing public resentment against his Government’s atrocities, all round corruption and attacks on all constitutional institutions. Tuesday’s attack on TDP main office was not a sporadic, isolated incident but a culmination of two and half years of lawless, anarchic and oppressive regime, he said.

Addressing the party leaders and cadres, the TDP chief reminded the Centre that the dark activities of the Andhra Pradesh ganja mafia was not limited to the State but spread to Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and other States.

Stating that the menace of drugs poses a big threat to the nation, he alleged that cases were being booked against TDP leaders for demanding action against those supplying drugs.

Naidu deplored that the ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ was reaching new heights in the state. “A Member of Parliament became a victim of custodial torture. YSRCP’s own MP Raghu Rama Raju was taken into unlawful custody and beaten up. The Jagan regime made countless attacks on the autonomy of the courts, the Election Commission, opposition parties and general public. Dalit doctor Dr Sudhakar was put to psychological and financial torture till his death for demanding masks.”

Naidu said there was a complete breakdown of law and order in the state. He termed the attacks on TDP offices an attack on democracy. He claimed that the attacks were pre-planned and aimed at eliminating the party. He reiterated that he personally called the Director General of Police but he did not respond.

He said the TDP party leader Pattabhi Ram’s house was attacked and ransacked. There were attacks at several places including party offices at Visakhapatnam, Hindupur and Kadapa. He said TDP offices and leaders were targeted.

“They are saying that the language used by Pattabhi Ram was abusive. Are you ready for a debate on the kind of language used by Jagan and his ministers,” he asked the government.

He said though TDP offices and leaders were attacked, police booked cases against them. An intruder into TDP office was caught and handed over to police but a case was booked against TDP leaders.

Stating that TDP pays tributes to policemen on every police commemoration day, Naidu said the police department was getting a bad name because of few officers.

Pawan Kalyan to wrap up film shoots to concentrate on politics

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Pawan Kalyan to wrap up film shoots to concentrate on politics

Telugu ‘Power Star’ Pawan Kalyan, who is one of the most-loved actors from Tollywood is currently shooting for multiple movies. But the actor-turned-politician who is juggling between movies and politics seems to be keen on making his political party stronger and more efficient.

Pawan Kalyan’s Janasena party needs more public attention, and there are areas where his political followers need to be updated. It is reported that Pawan Kalyan, who met some of his followers and social media wing members recently, had discussed various internal matters.

As identified by the team, Pawan Kalyan is apparently gearing up for more public presence and involvement, so as to make Janasena stronger. So the actor is to wrap up all of his movie shootings before concentrating on his political work.

Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming movies include ‘Bheemla Nayak’, ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu’, and ‘Bhavadeeyudu Bhagat Singh’. With ‘Bheemla Nayak’ slated for its release during Sankranti 2022, ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu’ to get a wrap soon. Pawan’s movie under Harish Shankar’s direction titled ‘Bhavadeeyudu Bhagat Singh’ would get on the floors soon.

Pawan Kalyan is also rumoured to have signed another movie under Surender Reddy’s direction, but there is no official confirmation yet.

PM to interact with CEOs and experts of global oil and gas sector today (12:24)

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PM to interact with CEOs and experts of global oil and gas sector today (12:24)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with CEOs and Experts of Global Oil and Gas Sector on Wednesday evening.

This is sixth such annual interaction which began in 2016 and marks the participation of global leaders in the oil and gas sector, which deliberates upon key issues of the sector and explore potential areas of collaboration and investment with India.

The broad theme of the upcoming interaction is promotion of clean growth and sustainability. The interaction will focus on areas like encouraging exploration and production in hydrocarbon sector in India, energy independence, gas based economy, emissions reduction – through clean and energy efficient solutions, green hydrogen economy, enhancement of biofuels production and waste to wealth creation.

CEOs and Experts from leading multinational corporations and top international organizations will be participating in this exchange of ideas.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas will be present on the occasion.

BJP, Congress colluding in Huzurabad bypoll: KTR

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BJP, Congress colluding in Huzurabad bypoll: KTR

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are colluding in the upcoming by-elections in Huzurabad Assembly constituency.

He claimed that the Congress party fielded a ‘dummy’ candidate, who is a non-local, only to benefit the BJP.

While speaking to the media, Rao said the two parties had joined hands in Huzurabad like they had done in Nizamabad and Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituencies during the 2019 elections.

The BJP and the Congress had colluded in these two constituencies leading to the defeat of the TRS. Both the Lok Sabha constituencies were won by the BJP, he added.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, exuded confidence that despite the conspiracy of the Congress and the BJP, the TRS would win the Huzurabad bypoll scheduled on October 30.

He challenged state Congress President A. Revanth Reddy to save the deposit of his party candidate in Huzurabad. He wondered why the Congress leader was not campaigning in the bypoll.

KTR also announced that he would not campaign for the bypoll and said he had not campaigned in Dubbaka and Nagarjuna Sagar bypolls. He said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s tour to the Assembly constituency was not yet finalised.

KTR reiterated that Huzurabad bypoll is a minor election for the TRS. He said the victory of TRS was not news for the media as it was accustomed to the series of election victories of the TRS since 2018 Assembly polls.

The TRS would clearly win the Huzurabad seat, he added. “We defeated a senior leader like Congress veteran Jana Reddy in Nagarjuna Sagar bypoll. Is BJP’s Eatala Rajender a bigger leader than Jana Reddy,” he asked.

Rajender is contesting the bypoll as a BJP candidate. He resigned from the TRS and the Huzurabad Assembly seat after he was dropped from state Cabinet following allegations of land grabbing.

KTR said Rajender was not telling people why he resigned. He also claimed that Rajender and the BJP have not accepted each other.

God has decided who will win Goa Assembly polls: BJP leader

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God has decided who will win Goa Assembly polls: BJP leader

Amid a raging debate on the alleged denigration of indigenous deity Shantadurga in the politically charged atmosphere in Goa, a BJP leader has said that God has already decided who will be the victor and the vanquished in the upcoming 2022 state Assembly polls.

Goa BJP general secretary and spokesperson Damu Naik’s comments come at a time when politicians across party lines in the state, have been debating controversial utterances made by working president of the Goa Forward party Kiran Kandolkar, who recently compared West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to both Durga and her indigenous avataar Shantadurga.

“I urge them to not involve God in (politics). God will decide on whom it will save or sink. You will see it after the Assembly elections,” Naik said on Monday.

The BJP official also condemned Kandolkar’s statement.

“We condemn the statement made by the working president of the Goa Forward party. Every Goan woman worships Shantadurga. She is not calm, as people are being led to believe. Go to any temple, you will see Shantadurga with a sword and a shield,” Naik also said.

Earlier, Kandolkar, in an obvious, but unnamed reference to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that the ‘real Durga’ from Kolkata needed to be brought to Goa to destroy a government run by bhasmasura (demon).

“Anything can happen in the coming days. Navaratris are going on…I feel that we will have to get Durga to Goa. The Durga in Goa is referred to as Shantadurga. She is calm. We will have to get the real Durga from Kolkata to Goa to destroy this bhasmasur-like government.,” Kandolkar said.

Kandolkar’s party Goa Forward, is in talks with Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress for an alliance for the 2022 Assembly polls, with the sources even suggesting that the Goa-based party may even merge into the Trinamool Congress ahead of the polls.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has also weighed into the debate criticising Kandolkar.

“Devi Shantadurga is our prime deity. We worship Devi Shantadurga. Goans will not like Shantadurga being compared to someone, especially a human being. No one will accept it. Goans will not tolerate comparing Devi Shantadurga to a human being,” the Chief Minister said.

Another BJP MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar said while it was unfair to compare Banerjee with Shantadurga, he also said that the comparison of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lord Rama was also incorrect, when asked about former Uttarakhand’s BJP Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat’s comparison of Modi with Lord Rama.

“In Hindu mythology Ram is the avatar of God. Ram is not a man. So we cannot compare him with anyone,” Halarnkar said.

According to BJP’s Ports Minister Michael Lobo however, every woman in Goa resembles Durga.

“Every lady in Goa is a Durga. Every woman is a Durga in Goa. I believe in that way. When they want to stand for their rights, they can become Durga.

“Otherwise they are all calm, all peaceful, very loving and they take care of this beautiful state of Goa very well. We do not want a special Durga. I do not believe in that,” Lobo also added.

Shah chairs top security meet of DGPs, IGPs, intel officials

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Shah chairs top security meet of DGPs, IGPs, intel officials

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday presided over the National Security Strategy Conference (NSSC) through video conferencing to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country.

Top police sources said all the Director Generals of Police of states, Inspector Generals, selected field officers of the rank of Superintendents of Police and Inspector Generals, heads of Central Police Forces, intelligence agencies and police organisations are participating in this closed-door conference.

Apart from these police officials, the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Arvind Kumar and other officials of the IB, the DGPs of border guarding forces BSF, ITBP, and the SSB are also present at the NSSC along with the DG of CRPF, sources said.

According to the officials in the security agencies, during the meeting the prevailing security situation in the country is being discussed and strategy will be chalked out in view of the emerging new challenges threatening the national security.

They also said that the Kashmir situation will be discussed threadbare in the wake of recent individual killings of non-Kashmiris in the Valley and to discuss possible counter measures to effectively prevent these attacks.

The Maoist insurgency in the country will also be part of the discussion, sources added.

The crucial strategic conference gains significance amid several internal security challenges and it is expected that some new guidelines will be formulated to deal with these new challenges, including cross border crimes, drugs and issues threatening the national security at large.

Apart from the J&K issue, presentations prepared by the states on the emerging security challenges in their respective areas will also be discussed in details, a source in the security set up said, adding that many southern states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have received terror inputs by the central agencies, especially after the Taliban take over of Afghanistan in August this year.

The meeting started at 3 p.m. and is likely to continue till late evening, sources said.

BJP in UP makes a pitch for Muslim votes in every booth

TB Team
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BJP in UP makes a pitch for Muslim votes in every booth

Even as non-BJP parties in Uttar Pradesh make a pitch for soft Hindutva, the BJP is trying to woo Muslim minorities in every assembly constituency.

BJP workers have been given the target of ensuring support for the party from minority-dominated booths. Party workers up to booth level, have been assigned specific targets this time.

As per an estimate, out of over 1.63 lakh booths, approximately 50,000 are the ones where minority votes swing results.

The presidents of these booths and senior BJP minority cell members have been asked to convince at least 100 voters each from their respective booths to support BJP candidates.

Sources said that directives have been issued by the secretary of UP BJP organization, Sunil Bansal.

UP BJP minority cell president Basit Ali, claimed that the target to get at least 100 minority votes from each booth has been set this time.

“Nearly 30 per cent of the beneficiaries of various schemes, including free ration distribution and houses for all, are from the minority community. The idea is to tap support from these beneficiaries through various outreach programmes,” he said.

He added that programmes would also be organized to win over intellectuals among Muslims and other minority communities.

The party has minority cell structure at the grass roots which will play a key role in getting minority votes.

“This structure formation will help in reaching out to minority youths, women and beneficiaries of the schemes launched by Narendra Modi government at the Centre and Yogi Adityanath government in the state,” Basit Ali said.

The BJP is making efforts to end the division of votes on the basis of caste and religion.

The party is trying to win the support of all, irrespective of caste and religion, in the name of development and public welfare schemes. The party workers have also been asked to dispel the misinformation campaign being run by opposition parties.

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