Why is Cong jittery about probe against ED: Vijayan

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Why is Cong jittery about probe against ED: Vijayan

A day after Kerala Chief Minister decided to order a judicial probe against the Enforcement Directorate following a complaint, Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday wanted to know why the Congress and its Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala have been acting “jittery”.

The chief minister’s decision of the probe came after complaints by two policewomen that they overheard ED officers pressuring prime accused, Swapna Suresh, in the gold smuggling case, asking her loaded questions to name Vijayan.

“We had taken sound legal advice on this and the government will never do anything like this if we did not get the advice of going forward to launch a judicial probe. What I fail to understand is why is Chennithala jittery over this,” asked Vijayan.

This new judicial probe will be headed by Justice (rtd) V.K. Mohan and the terms of reference also have been given.

“This judicial probe is not against anyone, it’s meant to find out the truth.

“Certain central agencies’ officials have been pressuring certain accused to say certain things and there were complaints about this from more than one place. What they did is against the Constitution and also a challenge to the legal system,” added Vijayan.

Incidentally, this probe will become a reality only if the Election Commission gives the green signal, for which the Vijayan government has sought their clearance.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan described Vijayan’s move as “the biggest joke of the century”.

Former state BJP president and candidate in the April 6 assembly polls, P.K. Krishnadas said this is against the basic tenants of the Constitution and has no legal standing and never heard of in the history of our country.

The Congress-led UDF leaders also have expressed surprise at this move and have described it as “nothing but a gimmick” by Vijayan to delay any move by the central agencies in the gold and dollar smuggling cases in which Vijayan’s name has figured.

Also Read: 2.1 million Covid vaccines to arrive in Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan

7.72% polling in Bengal in first two hours

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7.72% polling in Bengal in first two hours

There has been 7.72 percent voter turnout recorded till 9 a.m., in the first phase of polling for the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly, said the Election Commission on Saturday.

More than 73 lakh voters will exercise their franchise polling for 30 seats with 191 candidates in the fray. The first phase includes those seats from the Jungal Mahal area in the south-western fringes that are considered sensitive as voting began at 7 a.m.

Of the five assembly elections, West Bengal has the maximum number of seats and highest phases staggered into eight.

Seven seats in Purba Medinipur — Patashpur, Kanthi Uttar, Bhagabanpur, Khejuri, Kanthi Dakshin, Ramnagar, and Egra — are ticked off as sensitive.

The polls are being closely watched because of prestige battles between Suvendu Adhikari, a former Trinamool Congressman, who is now facing his erstwhile supremo Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram.

Trinamool has complained to the Election Commission that they apprehend voters to be threatened in Nandigram. Raising concerns about voter safety in the state and the party approached the EC on Friday saying electorates were already being intimidated in Nandigram, Bhagwanpur, and Haripur.

Media reports showed an election vehicle being set on fire in Purulia’s Bandwan, hours before the polling began. There was tension reported from Tulsidi village where the fire incident took place. Security forces are keeping a close vigil in the area, surrounded by forests that were once Maoist hideouts.

Trinamool MPs Derek O’Brien and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar have visited the EC office in Kolkata to raise the issue. “Many people with criminal records are living in Nandigram, Bhagwanpur, and Haripur — are not voters of the constituency. Voters are being scared and threatened. The Election Commission should ensure voters’ safety,” Dastidar said.

O’Brien tweeted: On May 2, Trinamool will win Bengal”, and posted a chequered flag emoji highlighting three main points — Bengal’s daughter (Mamata Banerjee) will defeat Bengal’s traitor (Adhikari) in his ‘backyard’ in Nandigram.

He slammed Modi and Shah calling them members of the Tourist Gang, and, adding that “Women in Bengal will continue to wear saris any way they want.”

Reports of EVM malfunction were reported from two polling booths in Kharagpur. The EVMs in booth number 98, 99 had stopped working temporarily due to a technical glitch, reports in the media said. The people said they waited for over two hours to cast their votes.

In Purulia, allegations were raised by the BJP against the former minister and Trinamool candidate of purportedly distributing cash among the voters. The BJP has filed a complaint with the poll body.

The BJP workers also complained about Trinamool workers “unleashing terror” in poll-bound districts in collusion with a section of the state police.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters in a tweet: “Today, Phase 1 of the West Bengal Assembly elections begin. I would request all those who are voters in the seat polling today to exercise their franchise in record numbers”, just before polling got underway in the state around 7 a.m.

Vijayan orders judicial probe against ED

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Vijayan orders judicial probe against ED

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday decided to order a judicial probe against the Enforcement Directorate following a complaint by two women police officials that they heard the ED officers pressuring the prime accused in the Gold smuggling case Swapna Suresh and asking her loaded questions to name Vijayan.

This new judicial probe will be headed by Justice (rtd) V.K. Mohan and the terms of reference also have been given.

To make this a reality, the Vijayan government has to get the approval of the Election Commission, the procedures for that have also commenced.

Incidentally, this judicial probe comes close on the heels after Vijayan ordered the Crime Branch wing of the Kerala Police to register a case against the ED officials who were responsible for this.

An FIR has been filed before a court in Kochi against Kochi ED officials on charges which include conspiracy and other non-bailable offenses.

This new move comes a few days after the ED officials approached the Kerala High Court to quash the FIR registered against them and sought a CBI probe into this.

All this is happening at a time when Kerala goes to the polls on April 6 to elect a new 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly.

And ever since Vijayan took over the election campaign, practically every day he makes it a point to say that the government under him was of a different breed and it has always taken on the Centre. This was especially so when it became the first state in the country to announce that the CAA won’t be implemented there.

He also raised the way ‘the Central probe agencies are out to tarnish the image of the government, whose only agenda is the development of the state’.

Meanwhile, senior Congress legislator and a former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said there was nothing but a ploy by Vijayan to thwart any new move by the Central agencies in the various cases that they are probing in Kerala.

“Vijayan just wants to stall any fresh move till April 6 and for that, he will go to any extent,” said Radhakrishnan.

Bharat Bandh takes off in Andhra with govt support

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Bharat Bandh takes off in Andhra with govt support

Amaravati, March 26 (Telugu Bullet)  The Bharat Bandh called by the agitating farmers on Friday took off in Andhra Pradesh with most political parties coming in support including the state government.

Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Left parties and others extended their support to the Bandh called by the farmers across the country.

Commercial establishments remained closed even in small towns.

“Communist Party leaders came in the morning and told us not to open the shops till at least 1 p.m. in the afternoon,” said Srinu, a shopkeeper in West Godavari district told IANS.

He said even the auto-rickshaws which replenish their goods were not plying on Friday.

Andhra Pradesh Information and Public Relations Minister Perni Venkatramaiah had already announced that the state government will extend support to the Bandh call.

“AP government extends complete support to the farmers’ Bandh and the Visakhapatnam steel plant agitation,” said Venkatramaiah.

He called on the people to protest peacefully and said that everybody should participate voluntarily till 1 p.m. on Friday.

“Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government has also decided not to run the APSRTC buses till 1 p.m. on Friday,” he said.

However, the road transport corporation buses will resume services after 1 p.m. so that public life will not get completely paralysed.

On Wednesday, the Left parties took out a rally in Visakhapatnam to make the Bandh a success and those party leaders called on the Central government to take back the decision of privatizing the port city’s steel plant.

“Narendra Modi should stop privatization efforts and immediately end the process of privatizing public sector companies. We will not just watch the steel plant getting privatized which we procured after a great struggle,” said the Left leader.

He also called for the immediate cancellation of the farm laws which will harm the farmers and demanded a price control on petrol, diesel, and LPG.

Rahul Gandhi extends support to Bharat Bandh

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Rahul Gandhi extends support to Bharat Bandh

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has extended support to the Bharat Bandh and said that ‘Satyagraha’ was the way to oppose these laws and hoped that the protest will be peaceful.

In a tweet in Hindi on Friday, Rahul Gandhi said (loosely translated), “History is witness that through Satyagraha injustice, arrogance and exploitation ends and the agitation should be in the interest of the country and should be peaceful.”

The Congress has been opposing the farm laws and is in support of the agitating farmers. Rahul Gandhi even participated and led the tractor Yatra in Punjab and Rajasthan. The party has been organizing protests across the country in support of the farmers.

Meanwhile, hundreds of farmers on Friday blocked the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh Ghazipur border here as part of their 12-hour Bharat Bandh on the completion of four months of protest over the three contentious farm laws.

The farmers blocked the National Highway 24 that connects Delhi with Ghaziabad. The farmers sat on the highway demanding the repeal of the three farm laws.

Delhi Traffic Police in a tweet said: “Traffic movement is closed on Ghazipur Border NH-24 (Both carriageway), Kindly avoid the stretch.”

On Thursday, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) said that all shops, malls, markets, and commercial establishments will remain shut on Friday in view of its ‘Bharat Bandh’ call on completion of four months of farmers’ protest at Delhi’s borders against the Centre’s three new farm laws.

According to the SKM, the 12-hour bandh will be observed between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. However, ambulances and other essential services will be allowed.

The Bharat Bandh called by SKM is being supported by the representatives of various farmer organizations, trade unions, student groups, lawyer associations, political parties, and state governments.

Crime against women on the rise in UP: Mayawati

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Crime against women on the rise in UP: Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati has targeted the Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh over increasing crime against women.

She said in a tweet that crime against women in Uttar Pradesh was on the rise and the state government should take steps to control the situation.

“It is a matter of concern that women are feeling insecure. Incidents in Pilibhit, Gonda, police atrocities in Etah, and the Jhansi incident where nuns were targeted are a matter of concern and shame,” she tweeted.

She urged the state government to take cognisance of the situation.

IT raids DMK leader Velu’s home, other locations

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IT raids DMK leader Velu’s home, other locations

On a day when DMK President M.K. Stalin was campaigning in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai for party’s senior leader E.V.Velu for the April 6 assembly polls, Income Tax officials searched the candidate’s home and several other locations.

The former minister is seeking reelection from the Tiruvannamalai constituency.

Completing his campaign, Stalin and others returned to the guest house located in Velu’s engineering college in the district.

Reacting to the searches, DMK Treasurer Duraimuragan said that the raids were done with a political motive.

“The searches are being carried out as the DMK cannot be defeated in the polls,” he said.

India-B’desh borders to be sealed to check infiltration: Modi

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India-B’desh borders to be sealed to check infiltration: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that India-Bangladesh borders would be sealed to check infiltration, as he accused the Congress of aligning with the forces which are patronizing the infiltrators.

Addressing an election rally at Bihpuria under Lakhimpur district in eastern Assam, the Prime Minister said that India-Bangladesh borders with western Assam’s Dhubri have been sealed and works are going on at a fast pace to seal the remaining patches of the international borders with Bangladesh.

Five Indian states — West Bengal (2,216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km), and Assam ( 263 km) — share 4,096 km borders with Bangladesh.

Without naming the Congress’ electoral ally, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Modi said that in order to protect its vote bank, the Congress is ready to join hands with any forces, and in Assam, it forged an alliance with a party that is patronizing the infiltrators.

“Congress has no leaders, policy, or ideology. The party forged an alliance with the Left parties in Assam and West Bengal, but it is fighting against them in Kerala,” the Prime Minister said.

Modi also said that the Congress did nothing for the lakhs of tea garden workers when it was in power in Assam.

“In five years, the BJP government has increased the daily wage of tea garden workers twice to over Rs 200. In this year’s Budget, a Rs 1,000 crore package was announced for the welfare of lakhs of tea garden workers,” the Prime Minister said.

Appreciating BJP’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ for the upcoming Assam elections, Modi said the manifesto is the roadmap to further develop the state.

BJP President J.P. Nadda had on Tuesday released the party’s manifesto, focusing on flood management, protection and development of the Assamese culture, empowerment of youth and women, correction of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and checking infiltration.

Modi said that despite being in power in Assam for 15 years (2001-2016), the Congress did nothing to protect and promote the Assamese traditions and culture, instead, it backed the poachers involved in killing the state’s famed one-horn rhinos.

“In 70 years, 13,000 km rural roads were constructed in Assam, but the BJP government built 15,000 km of rural roads in the state in just five years. Efforts are also on to market Assam’s crops outside the state, including organic crops,” the Prime Minister said.

Accompanied by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the Prime Minister’s rally in Bihpuria was his fourth public meeting in six days in the poll-bound state.

Later on Wednesday, Modi is scheduled to address another rally in the Sipajhar Darrang district.

The Prime Minister would visit the BJP-ruled state three more times till April 3 to address several election rallies.

The 126-member Assam Assembly will go to the polls in three phases on March 27 (47 seats), April 1 (39 seats), and April 6 (40 seats). The results will be declared on May 2.

Vizag plant Andhra’s heirloom, don’t privatise it: YSRCP MP

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Vizag plant Andhra’s heirloom, don’t privatise it: YSRCP MP

YSRCP Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy on Wednesday said that the Centre’s decision to sell off PSUs is not the solution as he came out strongly against the proposed privatization of the Vizag Steel Plant (VSP).

“Rather than selling PSUs formed over the years, I urge the government to look at the alternative resources for revenue generation such as widening the tax base, etc..,” he said in a speech in the upper house of Parliament.

Pleading with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to refrain from VSP’s privatization, he likened the steel plant to a gold heirloom of Andhra Pradesh.

“Madam (Sitharaman) is the daughter-in-law of AP and madam knows the sentiment of AP. I request the Finance Minister to kindly reconsider the privatization of VSP,” he said.

Referring to the tradition of South Indian women who generally seldom sell their heirloom gold, Reddy said the steel plant is equal to gold for the Telugu people.

“South Indian women particularly won’t sell the gold. They won’t sell the family gold. In fact, madam (Sitharaman) has decided to sell the gold of AP, that is a navaratana PSU, which is very unfortunate,” he said.

Opportunist Congress forging alliances with communal forces: Nadda

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Opportunist Congress forging alliances with communal forces: Nadda

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President J.P.Nadda on Monday said that the Congress is doing politics of opportunism and destruction and its only objective is to win elections, instead of developing the state and the country.

Addressing three election rallies at Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and Biswanath Chariali in northern and eastern Assam, the BJP chief said that the Congress is forging alliances with the Muslim League and fighting against Left parties in Kerala even as the party embraces both Left parties and Furfura Sharif (Indian Secular Front) in West Bengal.

“In Assam, the same Congress forged an electoral alliance with another communal force, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). It is doing opportunistic and destructive politics and the BJP is doing the development. The BJP governments at the Centre and the state have scripted a new chapter of development in Assam.”

The BJP leader said that the Congress is talking about Assam and its tea but using the photographs of Sri Lanka and Taiwan.

“The Congress has damaged Assam’s culture and never gave importance to security. During the Bodoland protests, thousands of civilians and security personnel were killed and kidnapped. But, with the surrender of over 2,000 militants, peace has been restored in Assam,” he pointed out.

Alleging that infiltration had increased during the governance of Congress, but the BJP government not only checked this but also electronically and digitally put up surveillance along the borders where the fencing could not be erected.

Nadda said that despite former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh representing Assam in Parliament, he did not sanction the pending gas royalty to Assam but Narendra Modi, within a week of becoming Prime Minister, sanctioned Assam’s due gas royalty to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore.

He said: “To give the due rights and respect to indigenous people, the BJP government has already issued ‘Patta’ (land rights) to over 3.50 lakh people.”

Modifying the British era forest act, will boost the bamboo-based industry and empower lakhs of artisans across the northeastern region, said Nadda.

“By making 7,000 toilets in Assam out of 11 crores in the entire country, the BJP government not only made Assam an open-defecation-free state but also restored the respect of lakhs of rural women who used to defecate in open fields and prevent disease,” added the BJP President.

Nadda, accompanied by other party leaders, is scheduled to release BJP’s election manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam on Tuesday.

Elections for the 126-seat Assam assembly would take place in three phases on March 27, April 1, and April 6.

The results will be announced on May 2.

CM KCR conveys World Water Day greetings

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CM KCR conveys World Water Day greetings

Hyderabad,(Telugu Bullet):  Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao extended greetings to the people of Telangana State on the occasion of World Water Day. He said conservation of natural resources does not only maintain equilibrium in nature but also accumulates valuable wealth terms that could be passed on to the next generations.

In a statement here on Monday, the Chief Minister said in Telangana, the State government was implementing several schemes and projects to supply water for irrigation and also drinking water purposes as well as making efforts to revive the groundwater levels.

“Through Mission Kakatiya and mega irrigation projects like Kaleswaram, efforts are on to increase the groundwater levels as well as make water available for the crop cultivation. With the implementation of Mission Bhagiratha, safe and pure drinking water has been made available to every household through pipelines and taps which in turn eradicated the fluoride problem permanently,” he said.

Chandrashekhar Rao said the State government was taking several measures for the past six and half years which brought in a qualitative change in the water resources management. It is a moment of pride for all of us that experts across the world, as well as the Central government, appreciated the initiatives of the Telangana government, he added.

For a change Pinarayi Vijayan turns media friendly

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For a change Pinarayi Vijayan turns media friendly

Kerala (Telugu Bullet)  With the April 6 Assembly polls approaching fast, Pinarayi Vijayan nowadays appears to be easily available to the media in contrast to his earlier image of being one of the most inaccessible Chiefs Ministers in Kerala.

All those who have been following Vijayan, right from the time he assumed office in May 2016, he went into the record books by becoming the first Chief Minister of the state to cancel the weekly post-cabinet media briefing, and he made it crystal clear that he will speak only when he wanted to and not when the media sought him.

Then came his classic act of chasing away the media by literally shouting, “Kadeku purethu” (get out) when the media came to cover a peace meeting in the state capital.

However, this tough posture against the media at times came in handy for even the media-friendly Congress-led UDF top leaders, who used to taunt the media and escape replying by saying: “Why don’t you ask like this to Vijayan. All know you are afraid of him.”

A media critic on the condition of anonymity said Vijayan has always been like this and whenever he needs the support of the media, he is liberal in giving interviews.

“Even though Vijayan and his team are claiming that they would become the first government to retain power, they have sensed that things are not rosy as they think, and hence this is the latest game plan of the Vijayan think-tank to reach out to the media as quickly and be as polite as possible. Just ahead of the 2016 Assembly polls, also his PR team was chasing the media and was giving interviews at will during the course of his statewide Yatra then. For the media, memory is short-lived and for them, it’s only the TRP that matters and that’s also known to Vijayan, and hence he is the winner,” said the critic, who did not wish to be identified.

Incidentally, on Sunday, an agitated Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the government was influencing the media by giving advertisements worth crores of rupees.

“The recent pre-poll surveys appear to be heavily biased towards the Left and the media have been campaigning against the Congress-led UDF. The government has spent by now Rs 200 crore for advertisements. In a democracy, the opposition also has to be given time and space by the media and none should forget that the Vijayan government had to backtrack on a number of schemes, after we raised strong objections. The same company has partnered with three different media organizations to do the pre-poll survey and it should also be noted that the Vijayan government has given advertisements to newspapers in Gujarat also,” said Chennithala.

With two more weeks left for the polls, the Congress-led opposition is leaving nothing to chance and starting Monday, they feel that with the arrival of Rahul Gandhi and later Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, things will definitely change for the better.

TRAC develops plant growth monitoring system

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TRAC develops plant growth monitoring system

Hyderabad, March 19 (Telugu Bullet) The Telangana Remote Sensing Application Centre (TRAC) has developed a plant growth monitoring system.

The system was presented to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other senior officials during a meeting on plantationS on Friday.

The system facilitates in identifying potential avenue, block and individual sites for plantations through high-resolution satellite data. The TRAC has also created a portal through which potential plantation site information can be accessed through mobile. A dashboard containing total information about the plantation was also developed.

The Chief Secretary congratulated the TRAC team headed by Srinivas Reddy for doing an excellent job and observed that this can usher in real change in the field. He observed that this system will be a game-changer, is very timely and in sync with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s vision of making the state green.

It would help the officials to focus on multi-layer avenue plantation, inch by inch plantation along the lakes, roads and scattered lands so as to ensure that no area is left vacant, he added.

Special Chief Secretary, Forest, Shanti Kumari, Principal Secretary, MA & UD, Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, IT, Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, PR&RD, Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, R. Sobha, Principal Secretary, Finance, Ronald Rose, and other officials attended the meeting.

Khadi ‘Mujeeb Jackets’ to add sheen during PM’s B’desh visit

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Khadi ‘Mujeeb Jackets’ to add sheen during PM’s B’desh visit

New Delhi, March 20 (Telugu Bullet)  Khadi “Mujeeb Jackets” will be the centre of attraction during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Dhaka next week with dignitaries at the Indian High Commission wearing the signature garment honouring Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has supplied 100 such custom-designed “Mujeeb Jackets” to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

The garment will be the key attire of dignitaries during Prime Minister Modi’s diplomatic visit to the nation on March 26-27.

“As Bangladesh celebrates ‘Mujib Borsho’, the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Cultural Centre of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, had placed an order for 100 Mujeeb Jackets, ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit,” KVIC Chairman, Vinai Kumar Saxena said.

The “Mujeeb jacket” is an immensely popular outfit in Bangladesh.

For the older generation, it is symbolic of the ideology of their great leader, while it has increasingly become a fashion statement for the youth of Bangladesh.

Modi has always been particular about Khadi and its heritage and cultural value to strengthen diplomatic ties with foreign countries.

In 2016, the BRICS leaders, which also includes Modi, had attended the summit in Khadi jackets in Goa.

“The Prime Minister always accorded top priority to Khadi during his diplomatic visits. This is to carry forward the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi who always carried Khadi products specially a Khadi handkerchief with him and presented it to dignitaries during his foreign visits,” Saxena said.

The specially designed “Mujeeb Jackets” have been made of high-quality handcrafted Khadi fabric. The black Mujeeb Jackets have been designed with six buttons, two pockets on the lower half and a front pocket on the left, as worn by Rahman.

In keeping with the eco-friendly nature of the fabric, the zip-covers for these jackets to have been made of black cotton fabric with “Khadi India” logo embroidered over it.

These jackets will be carried in specially designed white coloured waste plastic-mixed carry bags made at KVIC’s Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI) in Jaipur.

“Mujeeb Jacket” is historically significant in Bangladesh and it is a matter of great pride that these jackets made of Khadi fabric be adorned during the Bangladesh visit of Prime Minister Modi who is the biggest brand ambassador of Khadi, Saxena said.

“Mujeeb jackets made of Khadi will add significantly to the historical and cultural values of the celebrations,” he said, adding, this will also promote Khadi on the global and diplomatic platform in a big way.

Since the jackets were meant for diplomatic purposes, KVIC accorded top priority to it and delivered the consignment before time.

Earlier KVIC sent its high-quality cotton and silk masks to various countries.

If there is any party Bangla in true sense, it is BJP: Modi

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If there is any party Bangla in true sense, it is BJP: Modi

Countering West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s sustained attacks at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dubbing it an ‘outsider party’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a massive public rally on Saturday in West Midnapore’s Kharagpur said “if there is a Bengal party in the true sense, then it is the BJP”.

“The father of the Jana Sangh was the son of this Bengal. The BJP’s DNA has the ethics, thoughts, and values of Ashutosh Mukherjee and Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. With these features, we want to take Bengal to the next level in terms of development and make the future bright for the people of the state,” Modi said.

Urging people to vote for the saffron camp, he said that the people of West Bengal have seen the political regimes of all other parties in Bengal, except for the BJP.

People gave an opportunity of 10 years to Mamata to bring development to the state. But she gave them 10 years of “plunder, corruption, and misrule”.

“Just give us one chance to come to power in Bengal for 5 years. I promise you that the BJP will work towards the direction of making the state a ‘Sonar Bangla’ (Golden Bengal), the region which has been lagging behind almost for 70-years… The BJP will bring a change to the destruction caused by these parties in the last 70 years in the state…

“Arrey Didi, Bengal gave you 10-years for governance… We not only want to bloom lotus in Bengal but also want to make the future of the people of Bengal bright,” he pointed out.

The Prime Minister said that last night, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram were down for 50-55 minutes which left everyone worried.

“But here in Bengal, development, belief and dreams of the young people have been down for 50-55 years,” he said, adding that “Bangal mein is bar BJP sarkar (It will be a BJP government this time in Bengal)”.

He said that people of West Bengal are getting impatient to bring in “ashol poriborton” (real change) to Bengal.

Braving the scorching sun, thousands of people came to attend PM Modi’s rally on Saturday at Kharagpur. Armed with banners and placards, people were also seen sloganeering in favor of Modi ahead of the Prime Minister’s address at the rally.

Modi recalled the names of revolutions that started from West Midnapore and bowed to the land saying he is “fortunate” to address such a huge rally at Kharagpur.

He praised BJP’s West Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh for his relentless effort to consolidate the party’s organization in West Bengal.

“I am proud that we have a party state unit president like Dilip Ghosh who took the organization to such a height despite regular attacks by Mamata Banerjee’s party. He never refrained from working for the betterment of West Bengal,” Modi said.

Harping on the theory of “double-engine government” PM Modi said that wherever there are BJP governments in the states, the Central and BJP-led state governments are engaged in the services towards the people with “the power of a double engine”.

“We are working with the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’,” he said.

Modi said that if the BJP government comes to power in the state — agriculture, irrigation, and cold storage facilities will be made better. This will benefit the potato farmers in the region.

“Improvement drives would be carried out in areas of healthcare, drinking water facilities, and rural roads too. We’re committed to all-round development,” he said.

Campaign on welfare, development for Tirupati by-poll: Jagan

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Campaign on welfare, development for Tirupati by-poll: Jagan

Amaravati, March 20(Telugu Bullet) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) founder Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday instructed his party leaders to rely on promoting the government’s development and welfare activities as the poll strategy for the forthcoming Tirupati by-election on April 17.

“Take the development and welfare activities of the state government to the people and chalk out a strategy so that the results of the by-election should ensure that the nation looks towards Andhra Pradesh,” said Reddy.

During the by-poll preparedness review meeting, he introduced YSRCP’s candidate, M. Gurumoorthy, to the leaders at his camp office.

Reddy called on the leaders to canvass how the state is transparently implementing welfare schemes irrespective of caste, religion, and political affiliation without corruption and bias.

The Chief Minister instructed the party leaders to visit each and every house in the Parliamentary constituency and explain the government’s activities.

He also called on them to publicize the commitment of the state government towards benefiting and empowering women.

“YSRCP won a landslide in the local body elections by God’s grace and the whole country will be observing Tirupati by-election and the result of this by-poll should be a message. One minister will be appointed for each Assembly segment as in-charge in addition to an MLA,” the Chief Minister noted.

He cautioned the party leaders not to be overconfident and told them to work with coordination to ensure Gurumoorthy’s victory with a good majority.

Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy, Balineni Srinivas Reddy, Perni Venkatramaiah and a host of other ministers and leaders attended the review meeting.

Meanwhile, the four-week stay by the High Court in the CID probe against Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo Nara Chandrababu Naidu can be seen as a lifeline for the party to focus on the Tirupati by-election for which TDP was the first party to declare a candidate, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Vijayan’s anti-globalisation stand is laughable: Congress

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Vijayan’s anti-globalisation stand is laughable: Congress

Barely a few hours after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attacked the globalization and liberalization policies of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said it is laughable to hear the Chief Minister make such a comment.

“We were all laughing hearing Vijayan speaking to the media on the ill-effects of globalization and liberalization and then claiming to be the only state in the country which is fighting it. This could well go down as the biggest joke during the election time,” said Chennithala.

Earlier in the day, Vijayan said, “Today there is a ‘Kerala Model’ tie-up between the Congress and the BJP which is now spreading canards against the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The Left has taken an alternate route for overall development which is not what these two outfits did after the Congress started with the liberalization policies and now followed by the BJP. We have taken a different route and hence these people are spreading canards against us, but the people of Kerala have seen what has happened in the past five years under our government.”

Chennithala said if one looks into the various actions by Vijayan, one can really find out what Vijayan is. One of the misdeeds committed by him was to reveal all the health data of the people of Kerala to a US-based marketing firm ‘Sprinklr’ and all the rules are applicable in a court of law in the US only.

“He was getting ready to allow the opening of an office of multinational consulting company Price WaterhouseCooper (PwC) in the state. Then he went to the London Stock Exchange and rang the bell for the listing a masala bond of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) which was followed by the literal sale of Kerala seas to a US firm,” the Congress leader added.

“It’s indeed laughable to hear Vijayan say his government is fighting globalization and liberalization by engaging in the above acts which are completely against the Communist ideology. On the eve of the elections, Vijayan is taking people for a ride,” said Chennithala.

Uttarakhand CM trolled for remarks on ripped jeans, equating PM with Lord Ram

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Uttarakhand CM trolled for remarks on ripped jeans, equating PM with Lord Ram

Days within taking over as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat has been trolled for commenting on women who wear ripped jeans and equating PM Narendra Modi with Lord Ram. Not just this, he was also questioned by his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat for easing Covid norms at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

On March 10, Tirath Singh Rawat has sworn in as chief minister of the hill state. The Uttarakhand CM announced that pilgrims need not possess Covid-19 negative reports of tests conducted 72 hours prior to their arrival in Haridwar even, as his predecessor urged the government to exercise caution amid rising cases in the country.

Even as former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat questioned the easing of norms for Covid-19, netizens, including political opponents, trolled Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat for two of his controversial comments: One which equated Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Lord Ram and the other which criticized women who wear ripped jeans.

Senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said that praising your leader (Modi) was understandable but it wasn’t correct for the Chief Minister to equate a human being with Lord Rama or Lord Krishna.

In Haridwar, Tirath Singh Rawat said that for the good work he has done for people, Prime Minister Modi would be worshipped like Lord Ram.

Trolling Rawat for his ripped jeans comment, women from all age groups flooded social media with pictures of them wearing ripped jeans.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Rawat, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has tweeted pictures of various BJP leaders including Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in half pants. “Oh my God!!! Their knees are showing,” she tweeted.

Wearing ripped jeans, Shiv Sena leaders and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted, “The country’s ‘Sanskriti and ‘sanskaar’ are impacted by men who sit and judge women and their choices. Soch badlo Mukhyamantri Rawat ji, tabhi desh badlega. (Change your thinking Chief Minister Rawat, only then will the country change). #RippedJeansTwitter.”

On Friday, the Delhi Congress women’s wing is organizing a protest in the national capital asking participants to wear ripped jeans. Appealing to participants to join the protest, Delhi Congress women’s wing chief Amrita Dhawan tweeted, “You want to live with ripped jeans or ripped mindset?”.

Even a BJP leader said Chief Minister Rawat should have avoided making such unwanted comments.

“Chief Minister Rawat must set his priority right a year before assembly elections. He must focus on governance and controlling resentment within the party which forced the removal of Trivendra Singh Rawat from the office,” a senior saffron party leader suggested.

But another BJP leader, while defending the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, said that both the comments equating PM Modi with Lord Ram and the one on ripped jeans have been blown out of proportion.

Rs 22,724 cr tax-free deficit Budget presented in Tripura

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Rs 22,724 cr tax-free deficit Budget presented in Tripura

Tripura Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma on Friday presented a Rs 22,724.50 crore tax-free Budget for 2021-22, containing several new plans including for ‘Atmanirbhar state’, for agriculture and farmers, children and students besides for rural areas.

The fourth budget of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government shows a Rs 773.43 crore defeat against Rs 511.41 crore deficit of the current year (2020-21).

Tabling the Budget on the first day of the weeklong Assembly session, Dev Varma, who holds the Finance portfolio, said no new tax is proposed in the budget and the deficit would be covered by better fiscal management, tax compliance, transparency, austerity besides smart tax collections.

He said that the government in the budget has given thrust in five key sectors – tourism, information technology, agriculture, and allied, health and education sectors.

“Emphasis is also given on sustainable development and green technology. More than 15,000 hectares of areas would be brought under organic farming as against 6,000 hectares of the existing area. Based on green technology, ten new bio-villages are proposed,” he said.

A new scheme, “Chief Minister’s Swanirbhar Parivar Yojna” has been proposed for “Atmanirbhar Tripura”.

Noting that a National Law University proposed to be set up in Agartala, Dev Varma said several other new schemes and missions including “Rubber Mission” were also to be undertaken in the new financial year.

“Under the Rubber Mission scheme, the state government has planned to take up rubber plantations in new 30,000 hectare areas in the next five years for rapid economic development and proper utilization of land,” he said.

Tripura is the second largest natural rubber-producing state in the country after Kerala, currently cultivating natural rubber in 85,500 hectares and producing 62,000 tonnes annually.

“Doubling the farmers’ income by 2022 was the motto of the present government. The state government has taken up a three-year plan for the purpose,” Dev Varma told the house, adding that for the dissemination of the latest technology in agriculture, 19 ‘Krishak Bandhu Kendra’s have been opened under the different agricultural subdivisions.

Later, the Deputy Chief Minister told the media that in spite of difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, the state government has managed its finances well in such a situation when some state governments have given lesser salaries to their employees and stopped giving dearness allowances and dearness relief, Tripura announced DA to the state government employees and pensioners with effect from March 1.

Centre has put ration doorstep delivery scheme on hold: Delhi govt

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Centre has put ration doorstep delivery scheme on hold: Delhi govt

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has accused the Centre of putting its flagship doorstep ration delivery scheme on hold, the office of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told IANS on Friday.

This came as the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been at loggerheads for the last few weeks especially after the Centre presented the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) Bill (Amendment) 2021 in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to give more powers to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.

“The BJP ruled Centre has put Delhi government’s doorstep delivery scheme on hold. Delhi government’s flagship scheme is to provide food grains for the people of the national capital at their doorstep,” said a source in the Delhi government.

The Kejriwal government had notified the scheme for the doorstep delivery of rations, which as per the earlier announcement was supposed to roll out by March-end this year. Kejriwal had announced the scheme during his Republic Day speech at the Delhi Secretariat.

The scheme announced under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna’ (MMGGRY) under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) of the National Food Security Act, 2013, was notified by the government on February 20. The MMGGRY involves the delivery of packed wheat flour and rice to beneficiaries at their doorstep.

IANS has learned that the Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation has prepared a list of beneficiaries, their quota, and biometric specifications according to which they will have to pay a processing charge along with the cost of subsidized food grains.

Kejriwal mentioned in his Republic Day address that all beneficiaries in the Capital who have a ration card can avail the benefits of the scheme. The scheme will be optional and existing TPDS beneficiaries will have to specify to enroll under it. Delhi has nearly 17 lakh PDS beneficiaries.

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