Goa BJP News

'PM Modi's car crashing as he looks in rear-view mirror': Rahul Gandhi in US
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night (GMT) and alleged that the BJP and RSS are “incapable of looking at the future” and can only talk about the past.Addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora in the Javits Centre in New York, Gandhi said, “He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is trying to drive the car…the Indian car and he looks in the rear-view mirror. Then he does not understand why this car is crashing, not moving forward. And it’s the same idea with the BJP, with the RSS. All of them. You listen to the ministers, you listen to the Prime Minister. You will never find them talking about the future. They only talk about the past”.Gandhi asserted that the BJP and RSS speak only about the past and always “blame somebody else for the past”. In India, there is a fight going on back between two ideologies — one represented by the Congress and the other by the BJP and the RSS, the former MP said.“The simplest way to describe this fight is that on one side you have Mahatma Gandhi and on the other side, Nathuram Godse,” he said.On the Odisha train accident, which claimed 275 lives and left over 1,000 injured, Gandhi said that during the Congress tenure, if train mishaps happened, ministers used to take responsibilities for their actions and “we accepted our mistakes”.“I remember a train accident when the Congress was in power. The Congress did not get up and say ‘now it is the fault of the British that the train has crashed’. The Congress minister said ‘it’s my responsibility and I’m resigning’. So this is the problem we have back home, we make excuses and we are not accepting the reality we are faced with,” Gandhi said.A one-minute silence was also observed to pay respect to the people who died in the accident.During his 40-minute long speech, Gandhi also praised the Indian-American community for the way they have lived in the US. “All the giants that have emerged from India, you can see that there were certain qualities that all of them possessed. Firstly, they searched for, represented and fought for the truth. Secondly, all these people were humble, and there was no arrogance in them. That is how Indians have worked in the US, and that’s why Indians are successful here. I respect and honour you for that.”Gandhi is on a six-day, three-city tour to the United States. He has visited California, the Bay area, Washington and New York to interact with the Indian communities, think tanks and the press.Earlier last week, Gandhi also said the RSS and the BJP are controlling all the instruments of politics in India. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul said, “I think if you sat Modi ji down next to god, Modi ji would start explaining to god how the universe works. And god would get confused that what have I created.”— With PTI inputs

'PM Modi's car crashing as he looks in rear-view mirror': Rahul Gandhi in US
Amit Shah meets team of wrestlers, they ask for early chargesheet
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

DAYS AFTER they threatened to throw their medals into the Ganga, and the night before their five-day deadline for action against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh expired, a delegation of the protesting wrestlers met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his official residence in the Capital late Saturday.The meeting, which is learnt to have lasted for over two hours and ended after midnight, was attended by Olympic medalists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik along with several coaches. “We had a meeting with the Home Minister. I can’t comment further,” Bajrang told The Indian Express.Bajrang and Sakshi, along with World Championship medalist Vinesh Phogat, have been at the forefront of the protests against Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by seven female wrestlers, including a minor.The Delhi Police registered two FIRs against Singh on April 28 that, as reported by The Indian Express Friday, have at least two instances of demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance; close to 15 incidents of sexual harassment that include 10 episodes of inappropriate touching, molestation that includes running hands over breasts, touching the navel; several instances of intimidation including stalking.The Indian Express also reported that one Olympian, a Commonwealth gold medallist, an international referee and a state-level coach are learnt to have corroborated the allegations of at least three female wrestlers, and are among the 125 potential witnesses across four states whose statements have been recorded by Delhi Police.The status of the investigation into these allegations against Singh was the key issue raised by the wrestlers at their meeting with Shah, The Indian Express has learnt. The wrestlers underlined their demand for a strong chargesheet to be filed quickly. The Home Minister is learnt to have said that the due process needs to be followed.Earlier, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur too had urged the wrestlers to “fully cooperate with a fair investigation” and let “the law take its own course”.The last high-level meeting between the protesting wrestlers and government representatives was held on May 27, on the eve of the new Parliament’s inauguration. As the talks were inconclusive, the wrestlers, along with their supporters, went ahead with their plans to march to the new Parliament. They were stopped on the way, manhandled and detained by the Delhi Police. The police also filed an FIR against them under multiple sections, including rioting.In response to the treatment meted out to them, which was condemned by international sports bodies and athletes in India, the wrestlers decided to “immerse” their medals in the Ganga last Tuesday. They went to Haridwar but did a rethink at the last minute, after a phone call from a BJP leader who asked for some time, and pressure from their families.Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) president Naresh Tikait, who also reached Haridwar, asked the wrestlers to defer their decision by five days. On June 2, after Singh was forced to postpone his rally in Ayodhya, Tikait said at a khap panchayat that the government should be given “7 to 10 days” to take action against Singh.

Amit Shah meets team of wrestlers, they ask for early chargesheet
K Annamalai: 'PM, senior leadership don't believe in one country, one language'Premium Story
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

Arun Janardhanan: There was a story that when you decided to resign as an IPS officer, the original plan was to join Rajinikanth’s party, which was to launch in 2019-20. Because Rajnikanth cancelled the plan, you joined the BJP. Is that true?I did not resign to join any political party. I was very allergic to politicians. Being a cop for nine-and-a-half years, I was at the other end of the political spectrum. Joining politics immediately after quitting is something I was not very comfortable with, but I wanted to go back to my grassroots. In the spirit of service, I started a foundation called We The Leaders Foundation. The idea of joining the BJP came after I met some leaders and they convinced me that the foundation can have a life of its own, but through politics I can achieve certain goals and objectives very fast, especially for Tamil Nadu.I have met Rajinikanth sir a couple of times and he’s a great person but I never met him to join his party. Our conversation was about issues of common interest and even now we maintain a good friendship.Arun Janardhanan: When you look at yourself as an ex-IPS officer, how does your past influence your present?After losing my first assembly election in Aravakurichi, I spoke to a lot of people and asked them what I did wrong? Many felt that my journey as a police officer, who directly entered politics, was an impediment. People don’t want the same force of a policeman in politics because you’re always ramrod straight. Politics is much deeper. They also want to test whether you will stay in politics for five-10-15 years, or is it a passing thought for you. Even now, if anybody wants to criticise me, they say, ‘Oh, he’s behaving like a policeman… for Annamalai there’s always black and white’. On the positive side, being in the police for about nine-and-a-half years has given me a good insight into human behaviour.I would like to be in Tamil Nadu. I don’t personally want to contest the Lok Sabha elections because I don’t want to be a leader in Tamil Nadu who will go to Delhi and then come backArun Janardhanan: When we look at Tamil Nadu, the BJP is seen as a North Indian party, an upper caste party. In Tamil Nadu, there is Dravidianism, Tamil nationalism, too. How do you plan to make the BJP popular in Tamil Nadu?In Tamil Nadu, the national party always had a role to play. When Modiji was coming to power for the first time as the PM in 2014, we got 19 per cent votes. DMK was as low as 23 per cent. In Tamil Nadu, a national party should have a face, as people here look for a face. It’s a very peculiar political model because people want to travel with the leader for a long time. We have to create leaders in Tamil Nadu who stick with people for 20-30 years. After some time, if the party gives me some other assignment, I would like to be in Tamil Nadu. I personally don’t want to contest the Lok Sabha elections because I don’t want to be a leader in Tamil Nadu who will go to Delhi and then come back.Liz Mathew: The BJP’s disappointing Karnataka election results were attributed to excessive Delhi influence in campaigning. What was the reason for the debacle? Was it the local or national leadership that worked on the party’s election strategies?Karnataka’s political landscape is intricate. In 2013, BJP faced challenges due to Yediyurappa’s separate party, KJP (Karnataka Janata Paksha), and vote cutters like JD(S), resulting in Congress taking power. In 2018, despite Congress leading by 2.5 per cent in vote share, BJP outperformed in 24 seats, marking a shift.Each of the six regions of Karnataka has a distinct voting pattern. In south Karnataka, with 64 seats from Mysore to Ramanagara, JD(S) is a key player. BJP’s influence is growing in north Karnataka, and they dominated central Karnataka in 2018. Bellary, a strong area for BJP in the past two elections, saw a downturn this time. Coastal Karnataka usually favours the BJP, but the recent election was tougher.Any government that releases the caste census will be in trouble. In a democracy like ours, with so many caste and social groups, nobody is going to agree with the numbersA surprise was JD(S)’s unexpected five per cent vote share drop, despite an aggressive campaign. BJP’s vote share in south Karnataka increased from 16 per cent in 2018 to 23 per cent, but Congress came out victorious, gaining 18-20 seats in the region. Despite the increase in ST reservation from three per cent to seven per cent, BJP underperformed in Bellary, calling for introspection. In Bangalore, BJP saw an improvement, winning 17 seats compared to 11 in 2018.Overall, the BJP remains unperturbed after the Karnataka elections, as its vote share held steady. While Congress retained its candidates, BJP took risks, including a generational shift with Yediyurappa not contesting. The continuous change of three chief ministers in five years — HD Kumaraswamy, BS Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai — also unsettled the administration. Furthermore, ex-Congress members contested under BJP, adding to the dynamism. Yet, the BJP is optimistic about sweeping the 2024 Parliament election.I can tell you, 100 per cent, that the Delhi leadership never drove this election. The election was completely driven by the local leadership. Modiji attended more rallies because the local leadership wanted him to attend more rallies. The programme was made by them — the election co-convener Shobha Karandlaje, state President Nalin Kumar Kateel, the former CM Yediyurappa, the then CM Basavaraj Bommai. The “Ee baari nirdhara, bahumatada BJP” (This time, BJP majority government) slogan was made by the local leadership. People want Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath to come for campaigning. We acted as a facilitator: Dharmendra Pradhan as election in-charge, Mansukh Mandaviya and myself.Liz Mathew: Were the leaders united? Was the decision on a generational shift taken on time? How will you address these issues?There were issues but whenever you make a shift, it is always an issue. You have seen Jagadish Shettar. The party has collective wisdom. The senior five-six leaders of Karnataka felt a generational change was needed. The way the BJP works for me, as a karyakarta, is that after a certain point of time they believe that you are not fighting elections but you’re important to the party — we will take care of you. The party will not reject any single person. I can give severalexamples from Tamil Nadu of people sitting in different positions, and for many of them it was a surprise. I have taken the resignation letters of two BJP karyakartas from Tamil Nadu who have become governors. In case of Jagadish Shettar also, the party didn’t sideline him. Seniors have to make way, but in some places they have to still be there. For instance, in Chitradurga we have a 74-year-old fighting the election on a BJP ticket because the next level of leadership is developing. Each seat will go through a different module. No two individuals can be equated. In the case of Laxman Savadiji, he was given a seat to contest but not the seat he wanted. He was also assured of something else once the government comes to power. These are all micro issues.Liz Mathew: Given BJP’s limited success in Tamil Nadu, have you felt frustrated or considered quitting due to its slow progress?I have no intention of quitting; I never publicly declared such a thing. A party’s growth depends on its members’ election competency. I was pleased when, in the recent urban local body elections, around 5,900 BJP candidates stood independently across all bodies. Many were successful, others weren’t, but now they are effectively working on the ground. Constant alliances can weaken a party’s ability to contest elections independently and fearlessly.Each state’s political environment varies, and what transpires in Tamil Nadu affects Delhi, considering its 39 Lok Sabha MPs. While BJP’s independent fight might be beneficial for us, it may not be advantageous for the overall Delhi numbers due to vote division.To establish roots in Tamil Nadu, BJP needs the ethos of a regional party. Consider DMK or AIADMK; they always prioritise Tamil Nadu. Since the inception of BJP state leadership, we resolved to champion Tamil Nadu’s cause, even if it occasionally inconveniences the party. For instance, when Karnataka, governed by the BJP, planned to build the Mekedatu dam, Tamil Nadu BJP observed a one-day fast in Thanjavur to express local sentiments. National leadership can then address these concerns.Modiji gave Tamilians a great honour by placing our Sengol sceptre, symbolising Chola power transfer, in the new Parliament, continually reminding the Speaker of its significance.P Vaidyanathan Iyer: What were the BJP’s apprehensions about the recent labour law amendments in Tamil Nadu, given that similar changes were made nationally?BJP is in support of bringing in a new labour code that is realistic and (in line) with the market sentiment, new era of technology. We had a problem with the way it was communicated by the Tamil Nadu government. It seemed they were trying to squeeze the workers’ rights by trying to put them in a room. Second, we asked for certain safety mechanisms, a welfare board to take care of it. Even if there was a labour union, we wanted them to go one level up in terms of setting a proper communication channel which was not addressed in the Tamil Nadu order. We are there for increased working hours, flexible working hours, but with certain conditions that make sure that everybody is heard. We are not blanketly opposing anything, like other parties. In the new era, a lot of changes have to come, but I feel the central government order was more practical and communicative.P Vaidyanathan Iyer: What is the local BJP’s position on Tamil Nadu’s decision to stick with the New Pension System?The local BJP strongly supports the New Pension System over reverting to the old model, citing concerns over escalating government expenses. I was one of the earliest people who entered the New Pension Scheme and the model is fairly good. I found it beneficial, offering flexibility in investment choices. It’s crucial to communicate to Civil servants that they can influence where their pension contributions are invested.P Vaidyanathan Iyer: Regarding the temple management dispute in Tamil Nadu between BJP-RSS, spiritual leaders and the government, what’s your stance?The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act (TN HR&CE) faced initial opposition in the 1950s,assuaged by promises of undisturbed temple rituals, operations and properties. However, the Act’s execution is criticised today. Many temples lack Arukala puja and are deteriorating due to discord among stakeholders. Also, administrative costs exceed the stipulated 12 per cent of hundi collections, misappropriating funds meant for temple activities.The opposition to the current management is both ideological and administrative, with poor coordination adversely impacting temple operations.The BJP believes the TN HR&CE has outlived its usefulness and supports a new management method.For example, in the Kalikambal temple, trustees are publicly elected by the community. We propose a model where the temple community elects a board supervised by a reputable private individual. An overarching government authority should intervene only when norms are violated. This approach ensures community involvement while maintaining regulatory oversight.SHYAMLAL YADAV: Tamil Nadu has played a key role in the social justice movement and some parties in the state are demanding a nationwide caste census. In Karnataka, one reason for the BJP’s defeat is that the Congress very aggressively demanded a caste census. Shouldn’t there be a caste census?When there was the Congress government in Karnataka and Siddaramaiahji was the Chief Minister, from 2013-18, they conducted a caste census. That report never saw the light of the day. In several judgments, especially when the issues of caste and reservation came up, the Supreme Court has demanded for an empirical proof for giving data. The Karnataka Congress demanding for a caste census is like a kettle calling the pot black. They themselves are not releasing what they did. Any government that releases the caste census will be in trouble. In a democracy like ours, with so many caste and social groups, nobody is going to agree with the numbers. Let all the political parties fall in line. I’m not saying it won’t happen, it has to happen. But how it has to happen, what methodology, let us defer it to the wisdom of the senior political leadership.AMRITH LAL: How does BJP’s one India, one language and, to some extent, one faith agenda, work with the very strong regional linguistic nationalism of Tamil Nadu? Also, as early as 1982-1983 Hindu Munnani won a seat on its own in Padmanabhapuram, an assembly constituency. What is it that prevented the BJP from growing into a party that can win at least one seat in Tamil Nadu on its own?Our PM and the senior leadership, none of them believes in one country, one language. The new National Education Policy very clearly laid down the mandate saying it is not going to work.Let us have three languages. One is your mother tongue, one is English, one could be a regional language of your choice.You are right about the seat in Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari. Tomorrow if the BJP is standing alone, if it is a three-way division in Tamil Nadu, BJP will start with 40 seats. It is my strong answer to you as BJP State President. In 2016 we stood alone, but unfortunately there were some issues like lack of leadership, somebody went out, somebody came in, but post the assembly elections we are in a very good position in Kanyakumari, which you will also see in Lok Sabha.

K Annamalai: 'PM, senior leadership don't believe in one country, one language'Premium Story
Oppn’s June 12 meet deferred to ensure Kharge, Rahul Gandhi attendance
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

The first joint meeting of the Opposition parties scheduled for June 12 in Patna has been postponed after the Congress signalled its inability to send its top leaders to the conclave because of their prior commitments.The Congress wanted the meeting to take place after June 20 so that both party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on a tour of the United States, could attend it, but the Janata Dal (United) went ahead and announced the June 12 rally after holding consultations with some Opposition parties for whom this date was said to be “convenient”.Sources said the June 12 schedule was also not convenient for the DMK as well as the CPI(M). With the JD(U) unilaterally announcing the date, the Congress had indicated that Kharge may not attend the meeting and could send instead one of the party’s Chief Ministers to the Patna meet.Rahul, sources said, will return to India on June 18. A meeting of the anti-BJP parties to chalk out the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections without the top Congress leadership in attendance would have been bad optics.Sources said the JD(U) has now conveyed to the Opposition leaders that the conclave can now be held after June 20, preferably on June 23.Earlier, the Congress made it clear that the party will participate in the June 12 meeting but was yet to decide the level of its representation.Although the Congress still believes that it should be “rightfully” at the centre of the Opposition unity project given its status as the largest among the non-BJP parties, the party had let Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar do the groundwork for the meeting given that some of the Opposition parties are not keen to accept the primacy of the grand old party.Many of the Opposition parties are keen that they come together and field one joint candidate against the BJP in majority of the Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 polls. But the exercise is fraught with challenges.In fact, Rahul recently admitted that the discussions regarding Opposition unity would be a “complicated” affair. “The discussions are complicated because there are spaces where we are also competing with the Opposition. So a little bit of give and take is required, but I am confident that it will happen,” he said during one of his events in the US.

Oppn’s June 12 meet deferred to ensure Kharge, Rahul Gandhi attendance
Junglemahal faultlines flare as Kudmis up the ante in ST status stirPremium Story
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

Standing in front of her mud house in Khemasuli village in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district, 26-year-old Madhuri Mahato points to a scrawl on its outer wall alongside a picture of a girl with a bow and arrow, which read: “Party r Prachar Likhte Dibak Nai (We will not allow graffiti by any party).” A similar line is written across the mud wall of her neighbour’s home: “Hamder Kath Hamder Thak, Voter Prachar Bandho Thak (Let our wall be ours, let the campaign for votes stop).”In several villages in Paschim Medinipur and neighbouring Jhargram district, such messages have recently come up on the houses of Kudmis (Mahatos), forbidding political parties from using their walls for their campaigns. Not only this, several Kudmi leaders and workers of both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Opposition parties such as the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress, including panchayat members, have started quitting their parties or posts to join the community’s agitation demanding the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and inclusion of their Kudmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.This strategy of the Kudmi community is designed to put pressure on the political parties ahead of the panchayat elections, which are expected to be held in the coming months, and the Lok Sabha polls slated for next year.The Kudmi community, which is currently listed in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, plays a significant role in every election in the tribal-dominated Junglemahal districts of Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Bankura and Purulia. In the 2018 panchayat elections, the BJP had captured power in 100 panchayats and in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections won five out of the six parliamentary seats in the region dominated by Kudmis and tribals. But the BJP suffered a setback in the 2021 Assembly polls with the party winning only 16 of the 40 seats with the TMC establishing its upper hand in the region.The current escalation in Kudmis’ movement comes after months of their protests failed to yield any concession from either the BJP-led Centre or the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.In September last year, Kudmis staged a railway blockade at the Kustaur and Khemasuli stations in Purulia and Paschim Medinipur districts over their demand but lifted it after five days.They were back to squatting on the rail tracks at Kustaur and Khemsauli in April this year, even as they also partially blocked the national highway connecting Kolkata and Mumbai. Their protest lasted five days, ending again without any concrete government assurance about their demand.This time, however, the TMC government took note of the eruption of the Kudmi stir and on May 17 three representatives of the community met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah. At the meeting, the CM told the Kudmi leaders that her government would draft a proposal to grant ST status to the community and send it to the Centre. According to a senior official present at the meeting, it was also decided that a Kudmi Development Board would be set up for the welfare of the community.Nine days later, the apparent progress made at the meeting evaporated as the convoy of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, the CM’s nephew, was pelted with stones after it left Jhargram town following a roadshow. State minister Birbaha Hansda was injured in the attack. Since then, 10 Kudmi protesters have been arrested, including their leader Rajesh Mahato.The Kudmi community has alleged that it is a conspiracy to derail their movement and have demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident. But they are refusing to back down. “Most of the houses in my village have such writings on their walls. We will not allow any political activity in our village. Our walls cannot be used for political graffiti or campaigns, whichever party it may be,” says Madhuri.Not far from Madhuri’s home lives Sandip Mahato, the 33-year-old resident of Kantasol village, who was once a TMC booth president. “I was with TMC for many years, even during the Left rule. But I left the party on April 11. My samaj comes first. I am part of the agitation now. Neither the TMC nor any other party did anything for my samaj. This is our fight for Jati Satta (community identity),” says Sandip.Standing beside him at a sweet shop is Badal Chandra Mahato, 35, who was earlier the panchayat pradhan and the BJP’s area chairman. “I too left the BJP on April 11,” he says. Like them, Khodumeer village resident Pabitra Kumar Mahato, 47, who was earlier with the CPI(M), and former Congress worker Santanu Mahato, 47, have also given up their party affiliations to join the community’s agitation.“Samaj andolan (community movement) is going on. How can I turn my back on it? ST reservation is our right,” says Pabitra. Santanu says he was part of the rail blockade in Khemsauli. “When my children grow up they will ask me what I did for them. What will I say? Therefore, I am part of the movement,” he says.Kudmis’ mega Jhargram rallyWith no intention of backing down, Kudmis are now preparing to hold a mega rally in Jhargram on June 6 and are mobilising their community members in villages for their campaign. “It will not be easy for the state government, TMC or any other party to ignore us. On June 6, our leaders will show us the roadmap for attaining ST status,” says Adivasi Kudmi Samaj’s Paschim Medinipur district president Kamalesh Mahato.As he speaks with The Indian Express, standing by the road near Saotaldihi village in Jhargram’s Lodhasuli area, hundreds of Kudmis carrying the community’s traditional yellow flags and wearing yellow scarves are engaged in their outreach to villagers, with more than 100 motorbikes and two cars with loudspeakers being deployed for their campaign.Paschim Banga Kudmi Samaj leader Sandip Mahato, 47, says the community has adopted a “Ghagor Ghera (encircle from all sides)” strategy of confronting senior political leaders visiting the Junglemahal belts.Kudmis claim that during the British colonial rule they were considered a primitive tribe like Mundas, Oraons, and Santhals. But when the ST list was prepared after 1950, they lost out on the ST status and put in the OBC category.But the Kudmi agitation and the attack on Abhishek’s convoy have not gone down well with tribal groups and seem to have resulted in social fissures in the region. The United Adivasi Forum, a platform of 18 tribal organisations, has called a bandh on June 8. The tribal group Bharat Jakat Majhi Pargana Mahal’s leader Dilip Mandi says, “We are against ST status for Kudmis since they have been an empowered community from before Independence. They have land, education and money. They have always been associated with upper-caste people. Meanwhile, Santhali and Adivasi communities are extremely backward. If Kudmis get ST status, they will grab all the reservation benefits and the Adivasi communities will be further deprived.”Kamalesh Mahato denies Kudmis’ involvement in the attack on Abhishek’s convoy, pointing out that they have called for a CBI probe into the incident. Asked about the tribals’ opposition to his community’s demand, he says, “We have lived side by side for hundreds of years. It is also a part of a conspiracy to provoke them against us. Some of their leaders who live in cities are provoking the tribals and trying to create division and tension between us.”

Junglemahal faultlines flare as Kudmis up the ante in ST status stirPremium Story
BJP, Shiv Sena to jointly contest all future elections in state, including Lok Sabha: CM Eknath Shinde
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced Monday that the Shiv Sena and BJP have decided to jointly contest all elections including the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, state Assembly and local body polls. This was decided during a meeting between Shinde, Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, and Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.In a tweet, Shinde said, “It was also decided in this meeting that Shiv Sena and BJP will jointly contest all upcoming elections in the state (including elections to Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, local bodies)”.काल, रविवारी रात्री मी आणि उपमुख्यमंत्री @Dev_Fadnavis यांनी दिल्लीत केंद्रीय गृह आणि सहकार मंत्री @AmitShah यांची भेट घेतली.कृषि, सहकार विभागाशी संबंधित विविध बाबींवर आम्ही चर्चा केली. राज्यात शेतकरी, महिला सक्षमीकरण अशा विविध क्षेत्रात गतीने कामे सुरू असून अनेक रखडलेले… pic.twitter.com/MdLoqiPoy2— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) June 5, 2023Shinde said that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance for Maharashtra’s development is “strong”. “In the future, we will contest elections together and win with a majority to make Maharashtra the number one state in the country in all fields, to continue the race of development,” he added.Several issues of the state including agriculture and cooperation were discussed during the meeting with Shah. Shinde said that pending projects in the state have been streamlined now and they are on way to completion.“We have always received guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for various projects. We met Shah to discuss issues related to the cooperation sector,” the chief minister said.The visit comes ahead of the completion of one year of Shinde-Fadnavis led government in the state.

BJP, Shiv Sena to jointly contest all future elections in state, including Lok Sabha: CM Eknath Shinde
Post-Karnataka, BJP rejigs South strategy, talks with Chandrababu Naidu first step
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

“WE NEVER lose, either we win or we learn,” BJP spokesperson Aparajita Sarangi had said as the early trends in Karnataka poll results indicated a defeat for her party. And sure enough, before even the dust of the campaign had settled, and the extent of the loss in the only state under BJP rule in the south was becoming clear, top leaders were in a huddle to redraw the party’s southern strategy.A late Saturday evening meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu was part of this changed blueprint. The two parties are set to work out a partnership for both the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana elections.Whatever was discussed in the almost hour-long meeting on Saturday is expected to be endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM might have a meeting with Naidu in this regard.The TDP chief, who is seen as behind in the race to the ruling YSRCP of Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra, sees a chance of putting up a fight in an alliance with the BJP. The BJP is more interested in the gains that might accrue to it in Telangana, where it has been aggressively snapping at the heels of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and overshadowing the Congress in the main opposition space.An alliance with the TDP may also swing popular star Pawan Kalyan’s JanaSena Party by their side, and help the BJP diminish the Congress significantly in both states. According to party leaders, ensuring that the Congress does not make any more gains in the south after Karnataka is one of the main aims of this new strategy.In Telangana especially, the BJP has been growing by leaps and bounds, announcing the danger it poses to the BRS and Congress – the state’s two main parties – with local body election wins. While the 2018 Assembly polls saw the party get just 1 seat with a vote share of less than 7%, it dramatically took home 48 of the total 150 wards and got almost 35% of the votes in the 2020 elections to the prestigious Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. In the 2016 elections to the civic body, the BJP had won four wards and got 10% vote share.In the recent by-elections too, the BJP has signalled its growth in the state. While it won two of those, defeating the BRS, in a number of others, the Congress finished way behind the BJP.The TDP anyway was an ally of the BJP till Naidu pulled the plug in 2018 citing the unfulfilled demand of a special status for Andhra.He formed instead a Maha Kootami (Grand Alliance) with the Congress and Left in Telangana. However, the TDP’s humiliating performance in the 2018 state polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Telangana as part of this alliance has left it desperate for a rapprochement with the BJP.While in the 2014 Telangana elections, the TDP had won 15 of the 72 seats it contested out of total 118, and got 14.55% of the votes, in the 2018 state polls, it won only two of the 13 constituencies it contested and ended with a vote share of 3.5%.Most of its leaders in the state left for other parties following that, including for the BRS.However, the TDP – the last ruling party in Andhra before it was split into Andhra and Telangana – retains enough support base in Telangana to give the BJP an edge potentially over the Congress in a number of constituencies.In the 2018 Telangana polls, the BJP had won only one seat.While the Congress is seen as having got its house in order after Revanth Reddy took over as its state president, Naidu too has been trying to re-energize the TDP cadre in Telangana and has held multiple meetings and mass contact programmes.Sources in the BJP admit there was vehement opposition from the Telangana state unit to a tie-up with the TDP, particularly given Naidu’s diatribe against PM Modi in the run-up to the 2019 elections, but the national leadership is believed to have turned them around. They convinced state leaders to “rise above such things for larger gains of the party”, sources said.Over in Andhra Pradesh, it is Naidu who would be the more needy partner in any tie-up with the BJP, but the latter too has little to lose. Whichever way the results go, the BJP will have a stake as the YSRCP too has consistently ensured friendly ties with the BJP, and the national leadership has returned the gesture.Pawan Kalyan in the picture makes the TDP-BJP alliance a formidable one in Andhra, and while this might not pay off so much for the BJP, it would certainly be of advantage to it in the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held simultaneously.Sources said that making its presence felt in Andhra and Telangana is crucial for the BJP after the Karnataka loss as it has little chance as of now in the other southern states such as Tamil Nadu and the BJP.A tie-up with it will also help the BJP stop the TDP from considering any truck with a joint Opposition front. Significantly, in all the key state elections coming up later this year, the BJP is in direct conflict with the Congress, which is much rejuvenated following the Karnataka win. The Opposition hopes to reach a pact where they will ensure a one-on-one fight on every seat with the BJP.There also appears to be a rethink in the BJP over allies following the loss in Karnataka, where the BJP had a chance of entering into a formal pre-poll alliance with the JD(S) but didn’t.In an Idea Exchange with The Indian Express, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai, who was co in-charge of the Karnataka elections for the party, said “the surprise drop in JD(S) vote share” has cost the BJP dear in a number of seats.As the next step, both Shah and Nadda are expected to visit Andhra later this month. Shah is scheduled to address a public meeting in Visakhapatnam on June 8 while Nadda will be in Tirupati on June 10 for a public meeting.

Post-Karnataka, BJP rejigs South strategy, talks with Chandrababu Naidu first step
In the name of faith and state
The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | |
The Indian Express
14 hours ago | |

During the Karnataka election campaign, the Congress committed itself to banning organisations such as the Bajrang Dal if they indulged in illegal activities. This promise is very important given the growing role of Hindu vigilantes, who are often part of the Sangh Parivar.Vigilantism is inherent in the mission that the RSS assigned to itself from its inception. K B Hedgewar’s aim was, indeed, to defend the Hindus by endowing them with physical strength in order to resist other groups seen as posing a threat to them, starting with the Muslims. But the RSS only very rarely resorted to the use of force itself, preferring to rely on persuasion and outsourcing coercion through violence to some of its affiliates, including the Bajrang Dal.The Bajrang Dal was created in 1984 as the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s youth wing in the context of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. As early as the 1990s, it set up training camps at which its activists were put through gruelling physical exercises. Although guns made their first appearance in the Bajrang Dal in the 1980s, the outfit places greater importance on bladed and other melee weapons. Its preferred instrument is the trishul (trident), a weapon associated with Shiva.What did Bajrang Dal use this strike force against? It targeted artists first. In 1996, Bajrang Dal activists attacked M F Husain’s gallery in Ahmedabad and in 1998 they ransacked his apartment in Bombay in protest against his painting, “Sita Rescued”, which depicted the famous scene in the Ramayana where Sita is freed from Ravana’s clutches — allegedly because she was too scantily clad. Husain left the country a few years later and died far from his homeland. In 2000, Deepa Mehta was also a victim of this cultural policing when she made a film on the life of Hindu widows in Varanasi in the 1930s, when these women were condemned to enforced celibacy and begging. The VHP president immediately declared that the film insulted “ancient Indian culture and traditions”. The set built on the banks of the Ganges was ransacked by the Bajrang Dal and Mehta had to move away from UP.However, minorities have been the main casualties of vigilante groups, which started to work with the police in BJP-ruled states, including Gujarat in the 2000s and many others subsequently. This is well illustrated by the division of labour between vigilantes and the police in the context of the cow protection movement, especially in states where the BJP has passed “beef ban” laws. There, vigilantes patrol the highways and check trucks likely to carry bovines. When the driver happens to be a Muslim, they hand him over to the police — there are also instances of lynching.The collaboration between the vigilante groups and the police finds expression in a very material way: The former often use the van or the pick-ups of the latter. More importantly, they work in tandem with specific segments of the police like the Haryana “Cow Protection Task Force”, that was established by the Khattar government in 2021, along with the Gau Seva Aayog, which is in charge of cow protection and dominated by RSS leaders.In other words, Hindu nationalists stand at the interface of a continuum: At one end, officials, including from the government and police, represent the legal order, whereas at the other end, Hindu vigilantes implement their plans at the grass roots level. Their activities may be illegal, but they are seen as legitimate as they appear as the footsoldiers of Hinduism, and benefit from highly placed protection and patronage. Those at the top endow the movement with a façade of respectability, while those in charge of the dirty work epitomise what I call the “deeper” state.The deep state is made of members of the security apparatus who are not accountable to society. The “deeper” state is made of the activists who crisscross society at the very local level and perform cultural policing of society. Proud of defending their religion, they get a new self-esteem — and some money — in the process. They report to little known leaders who may not be elected, but whose influence embraces politicians with a mandate as well as them.In BJP-ruled states, RSS leaders control the government as well as the network of local activists, including Hindu vigilantes, making “their” state so deep that it penetrates society, not only via shakhas but also more intrusive branches of the Bajrang Dal, the Durga Vahini or the Gau Raksha Dal.In today’s India, minorities are the main targets of these vigilante groups, but there are others. The Bajrang Dal, for instance, tries to control the matrimonial market too, not only to avoid inter religious marriages in the name of anti “love jihad” activism, but also inter-caste marriages (one of the priorities of Babu Bajrangi in Gujarat in the 2000s). Parents who are anxious to dissuade their daughters and sons from contracting such marriages turn to the Bajrang Dal or other groups for fixing such issues.In the end, Hindu vigilantes add one societal layer to the usual power structure, with the blessings of the state: They enforce a Hindu view of society that is not legal, but that the police (and sometimes the judiciary) endorse because of its alignment with the orthodox — and therefore dominant — view of society. Will this making of a deeper state continue after the BJP loses power in Karnataka and elsewhere? Will political change translate into change at the grass roots — or has the Sangh Parivar taken over society? These questions arise from the very debates within the Karnataka Congress, whose government may not, in the end, fulfil this promise in its election manifesto.Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris, and professor of Indian Politics and Sociology at King’s India Institute, London

 In the name of faith and state
Protesting wrestlers from Haryana, but BJP-JJP ministers yet to take a stand
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | |
The Indian Express
1 day ago | |

THE HARYANA government is coming under increasing pressure to take a stand on the continuing protest by wrestlers, who belong to the state, demanding the arrest of BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations.Barring a few BJP leaders, the Manohar Lal Khattar government has largely stuck to the stance that law will take its course, even as the Opposition and Haryana’s powerful khaps have flocked to the wrestlers’ side.Khattar earlier said he did not support wrestlers resorting to protests, adding: “The issue is not related to Haryana. It is related to players’ teams and the Union government. The Supreme Court has already ordered registration of FIRs.”With FIR details now indicating the level of harassment the wrestlers were allegedly subjected to, The Indian Express called up the entire Haryana Council of Ministers to get their response.Overall, the ministers stuck to the official line. A few said the wrestlers should wait for the police’s probe findings, others said the protests were engineered by the Opposition, while several refused to comment.Here is what they said:“The allegations are very serious in nature. From what I have gathered from media reports, the Delhi Police needs to speed up its investigation into the matter. Everything is on the Delhi Police as of now… For me to say who is innocent or guilty, it is not possible, because it has all come out in the public what the FIRs state. It is up to the Delhi Police to expedite their investigation into the FIRs. If the allegations are substantiated by the probe, the strictest possible action should be taken… Although it is not a state (Haryana) subject, everybody from the state is with these girls.”“They (the wrestlers) should come out of the clutches of Opposition leaders and not allow themselves to be sacrificed for political interests. Somewhere there is a mahapanchayat or somewhere a dharna… They have the right to take part in an agitation, but players should come out of the clutches of these Opposition people soon. The government is listening to the players. They demanded a committee, registration of FIRs, that has been done… These players are our national heroes but the matter has got a little spoiled because they have got caught in the clutches of Opposition leaders.”(Earlier Vij had offered to raise the wrestlers’ issues with the highest level in the government.)“Both sides are giving their versions. I saw on social media that the complainant whom they (the wrestlers) said is a minor has three birth certificates in her name… What would have happened if he (Brij Bhushan) had got imprisoned under the POCSO Act on the basis of this (one of the FIRs against him is under the Act to prevent sexual assault against minors)! That is why an inquiry is required. Any action against anybody should only be taken after a thorough inquiry. Once the inquiry is completed, whoever is found guilty should be punished. Would it be called justice if, only on the basis of allegations, somebody is thrown into jail without an inquiry? A proper investigation is required to unveil the truth. Once the truth comes out, whoever is found guilty should be punished accordingly… What is happening is that one side is firm on its accusations, while the other side is vehemently opposing them. So, how will there be justice? That is why everybody should wait for the outcome of the ongoing inquiry.”“Our daughters are our pride, they are our honour. But, nobody should politicise this issue. A player should be seen as a player, also a player should not play into the hands of politicians. Otherwise, their sanctity will diminish. Doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani hona chahiye (the truth should come out). An impartial probe should be conducted… Yes, the way the Delhi Police treated our daughters (as they marched to the new Parliament building) needs to be condemned and action should be taken against them… (But) Brij Bhushan is giving his side of the version and it is for the courts of law and police to find the truth. We are all making efforts to resolve this ongoing standoff. Justice shall surely be given to our daughters.”“I don’t want to say anything on this. I have said earlier what I had to say.”(Last month, Ranjit Singh, who was earlier in the INLD and is the son of its late supremo Devi Lal, had supported the protesting wrestlers and said, “These wrestlers have brought pride to the country at the international level… It is not fair if sportspersons have to sit on dharna for their rights.” He had also said that the allegations against Brij Bhushan should be investigated at the earliest, and he should resign on moral grounds.)Dhanak promised to talk, but did not call back. Later, he could not be reached.“These wrestlers have brought laurels to our country and we are proud of them… Nobody is trying to save Brij Bhushan. Rather, FIRs have already been registered and an investigation is on.”Dalal did not respond to repeated calls.(Earlier, he had said: “As per the law, anybody and everybody has the right to carry out a peaceful protest. All legitimate demands shall be fulfilled as per the law. Be it farmers or sportspersons, all their legitimate demands shall be fulfilled as there is a BJP government, whose primary objective is to serve the people of this nation.”)Banwari Lal did not respond to repeated calls.(Earlier, he had said: “The wrestlers’ protest is being carried out at the behest of Opposition parties… They keep getting such protests orchestrated.”)Singh promised to call back but was later unavailable.(Singh is himself facing an FIR over sexual harassment charges levelled by a woman coach. He was removed as Sports Minister after much delay by the Khattar government, but continues to hold his Printing and Stationery portfolio.)Yadav could not be reached despite repeated calls and messages.(Speaking earlier this week to a few mediapersons, Yadav had feigned ignorance, saying he did not have much information about the incident and said only the Union government could speak on the matter as it pertained to it. He had also called the protesting wrestlers “nation’s heroes”.)Gupta could not be reached despite repeated attempts.The only woman in the Khattar Ministry, Dhanda did not respond to queries.

Protesting wrestlers from Haryana, but BJP-JJP ministers yet to take a stand
Naidu meets Shah amid talk of TDP interest in getting back to NDA fold
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | |
The Indian Express
1 day ago | |

Amid speculation over a regrouping in Andhra Pradesh, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have met Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah in the national capital on Saturday.BJP national president J P Nadda was also present in the meeting, which took place at the Home Minister’s residence here.In the meeting, which came in the backdrop of speculation over a possible alliance between BJP and its former alliance partner TDP, the leaders are learnt to have discussed the possibility of coming together in Andhra Pradesh, where Naidu’s party is the main opposition, as also in Telangana.The BJP leadership has made Telangana the party’s focus in its ‘Mission South’ and has been making inroads in local body elections in the state.Sources said although Naidu, who broke ties with BJP in 2018 over the demand for special status for post-bifurcation Andhra Pradesh, has been keen on an electoral pact with BJP. A section of leaders in BJP’s state unit has, however, opposed any alliance with Naidu, as relationship between the two parties soured over the last few years. These leaders cite Naidu’s criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign, and subsequently his warming up to the Congress.However, the debacle in Karnataka Assembly polls has made the BJP senior leadership focus on other states in South India, especially Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where the party does not want any leverage for the Congress.In the past, Shah had ruled out an alliance with TDP, but since last year Naidu has made multiple visits to Delhi to meet BJP leaders, including the Prim Minister. The TDP had also backed Droupadi Murmu, the NDA’s candidate for President’s election, last year.

Naidu meets Shah amid talk of TDP interest in getting back to NDA fold
Who’d quit spirituality worth crores for politics worth Rs 10: Self-styled guru
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | |
The Indian Express
1 day ago | |

Self-styled spiritual guru Dhirendra Krishna Shastri said Saturday he would not forgo ‘spirituality worth crores’ to make a ‘Rs 10 worth’ political career. He was in Vadodara for the grand Divya Darbar organised at the Navlakhi Ground in the city.Shastri , also known as ‘Bageshwar Baba’, who was speaking at a media interaction at the Laxmi Narayan resort, where he was put up ahead of the event, was fielding questions about his life and politics when he responded to a question on his political ambitions. Denying that he was looking at joining active politics, Shastri, who was constantly accompanied by BJP city unit President Vijay Shah, said, “Who would quit this adhyatma (spirituality) worth crores of rupees for politics that is worth only Rs 10…”Shastri also reiterated his stand on the creation of ‘Hindu Rashtra’, advocating for an amendment of the Constitution of India. He also explained that the controversy over his remark calling people of Gujarat ‘pagal’ had been “misunderstood”.“To my mind, the meaning of ‘pagal’ is not someone with ‘mental illness’. It is someone who is passionate about something… So, if the people of Gujarat are passionate about spirituality, I can call them pagal. Those who have a problem with the word can assume its meaning to be mental, too,” Shastri said.Later in the day, Shastri arrived at a packed Navlakhi Ground and addressed a gathering with several BJP leaders and prominent personalities of Vadodara in attendance.

Who’d quit spirituality worth crores for politics worth Rs 10: Self-styled guru
‘There are things bigger than politics… When you step outside the country, that’s important to remember’: EAM Jaishankar
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | |
The Indian Express
1 day ago | |

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he tries not to “do politics abroad” while on international trips, in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on foreign soil. Speaking in South Africa’s Cape Town, the minister was responding to a query on how he would react to “what some people who go to the US say”.“There are sometimes things bigger than politics. And when you step outside the country, I think that’s important to remember,” he said, without naming Rahul Gandhi. “So I may differ strongly with someone, but how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it, and watch me when I get back.”#WATCH | …”There are sometimes, things bigger than politics & when you step outside the country, that is important to remember…I differ with them but how I counter it, I would like to go home and do it. Watch me when I get back”: EAM S Jaishankar when asked about Congress… pic.twitter.com/7h0YutokpH— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023“I am perfectly prepared to argue very vigorously at home, so you will never find me wanting in that regard. But even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility… There is a national interest, there is a collective image,” Jaishankar added.Since last year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been attacking Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and interactions abroad which they claim are harmful to the country’s reputation. Most recently, the senior Congress leader’s remarks during his ongoing US tour drew the party’s ire, when he said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP are controlling all instruments of politics in India.Union Minister Anurag Thakur, while speaking to news agency ANI, said earlier, “Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips wants to insult the Prime Minister but ends up insulting the country. He doesn’t even consider India as a nation and calls it a Union of states. He raises questions over India’s progress. What does he want to achieve on his foreign visits? Is mud-slinging all that he has left to do?”

‘There are things bigger than politics… When you step outside the country, that’s important to remember’: EAM Jaishankar
  • 'There are things bigger than politics, when you step outside country, that's important to remember': Jaishankar
  • The Indian Express

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he tries not to “do politics abroad” while on international trips, in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on foreign soil. Speaking in South Africa’s Cape Town, the minister was responding to a query on how he would react to “what some people who go to the US say”.“There are sometimes things bigger than politics. And when you step outside the country, I think that’s important to remember,” he said, without naming Rahul Gandhi. “So I may differ strongly with someone, but how I counter it, I would like to go back home and do it, and watch me when I get back.”#WATCH | …”There are sometimes, things bigger than politics & when you step outside the country, that is important to remember…I differ with them but how I counter it, I would like to go home and do it. Watch me when I get back”: EAM S Jaishankar when asked about Congress… pic.twitter.com/7h0YutokpH— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023“I am perfectly prepared to argue very vigorously at home, so you will never find me wanting in that regard. But even a democratic culture has a certain collective responsibility… There is a national interest, there is a collective image,” Jaishankar added.Since last year, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been attacking Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and interactions abroad which they claim are harmful to the country’s reputation. Most recently, the senior Congress leader’s remarks during his ongoing US tour drew the party’s ire, when he said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP are controlling all instruments of politics in India.Union Minister Anurag Thakur, while speaking to news agency ANI, said earlier, “Rahul Gandhi on his foreign trips wants to insult the Prime Minister but ends up insulting the country. He doesn’t even consider India as a nation and calls it a Union of states. He raises questions over India’s progress. What does he want to achieve on his foreign visits? Is mud-slinging all that he has left to do?”

Wrestling troublesSign In to read
The Indian Express | 1 day ago | |
The Indian Express
1 day ago | |

While sitting in the front row during the Prime Minister’s speech in the new Parliament building, Amit Shah received a constant flow of messages from his office. The Home Ministry was giving him the latest updates on the Manipur situation and the Delhi Police’s ugly confrontation with protesting wrestlers, just a short distance from Parliament House.The wrestlers had attempted to break the police cordon and march to Parliament to press for their demand for the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, chief of the Wrestling Federation of India. Seemingly unperturbed by the mounting agitation against him, Singh was active inside Parliament taking selfies with all who would pose with him so that he could post it on social media. Several MPs discreetly moved away when they saw him approaching.BJP Jat MPs in particular kept their distance and were visibly uncomfortable with their party’s failure to act against Singh, as the campaign has gained much momentum in their community, which has produced many sports medalists. Jat mahapanchayats have started demonstrations outside houses of BJP Jat MPs. One Jat parliamentarian who was photographed with Singh was roundly abused as “a traitor”. His frantic explanation, that he was only trying to be polite by acknowledging Singh’s greetings, was found unacceptable.At the inauguration of the Parliament House building, the BJP’s ‘most successful BJP chief minister’, Yogi Adityanath, and its longest-serving, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, were seen engaging in a conversation. Chouhan assured Adityanath that contrary to rumours, the party is confident of a victory in Madhya Pradesh.But the soft-spoken Chouhan is conscious that he is on a sticky wicket in his state that is headed to the polls. He has to combat incumbency built up over 17 years in office and accommodate all factions in the state unit, including the newest BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia. Chouhan may have the edge among OBC voters, but has yet to win over the SCs and STs.In contrast to the nervousness in the BJP camp, there was cocky confidence at a meeting of the Congress Madhya Pradesh unit presided over by Rahul Gandhi on Monday. Gandhi noted approvingly that unlike every other pre-election state-level meeting, in Madhya Pradesh, there was only one name mentioned as Chief Minister and there were no internal differences. (His inference was that Kamal Nath’s name was unanimous.) The Congress in-house poll strategist, Sunil Kanugolu, has already predicted a victory for the party.The mood of triumph and jubilation at the new Parliament House inauguration was not marred by a few quibblers. Two BJP MPs asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi why so many random people had been invited. (It was to fill the empty spaces thanks to the Opposition boycott.) An aesthete winced at the shocking bright green and pink hues, the theme colours of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chambers. Most guests left uneaten the tacky cellophane-wrapped vegetarian sandwiches which were served to the guests. Some BJP MPs enviously questioned the major role given to deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh Narayan Singh, though his JD(U) boycotted the event and he is considered a political lightweight. Singh was actually standing in for Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who, like President Droupadi Murmu, outranks the PM in the official order of precedence, and hence discreetly stayed away.The Delightful Mr Daphtary, by Fali Nariman and Vinoo Bhagat, on C K Daphtary, the country’s second attorney general, provides insight into the legal giant’s craft and wit. For instance, Daphtary as Attorney General exercised his authority in ensuring correctness in the judicial process by asking Chief Justice of India P B Gajendragadkar to recuse himself from a land acquisition case because he had an indirect pecuniary interest in the matter.Daphtary insisted on upholding the great traditions of the bar, even though it actually went against his personal interest in the case. Another nugget is that Daphtary during the Emergency had the gumption to demand of Chief Justice of India A N Ray that the crucial bench to decide on the historic preventive detention cases should be based on seniority.A furious Ray questioned how anyone dared to suggest to a Chief Justice how to constitute a bench. Never at a loss for words, Daphtary claimed that Ray’s guru and mentor S R Dass had been requested in the past and not taken it badly. Taken aback, Ray acceded. The authors suggest mischievously that Daphtary had in fact invented the Dass anecdote to put pressure on Ray to feel he should follow Dass’s example. Unhappily, the two senior judges included as a consequence did not live up to Daphtary’s expectations.

Wrestling troublesSign In to read
'BJP won't say anything... Maybe idea is to drag out: ex-BJP Union minister Birender Singh
The Indian Express | 2 days ago | |
The Indian Express
2 days ago | |

WITH THE Haryana BJP largely maintaining silence over the issue of the protesting wrestlers, who belong to the state, the one consistent exception has been former Union minister Birender Singh. The ex-Congress leader had gone to Jantar Mantar to meet the wrestlers and has demanded action against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused by the athletes of sexual harassment. Birender Singh’s son Brijendra, the BJP MP from Hisar, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij and state party president O P Dhankar are the other three party leaders who have spoken on the issue, suggesting that a prompt solution should be found to the ongoing standoff.In an interview with The Indian Express, Birender Singh – who was a minister in the 2014-19 Narendra Modi government — questions the “slow pace” of the police probe against Brij Bhushan, and wonders if it is “deliberate”. Excerpts:SINGH: Actually, on the one hand they (the government) want to slow things down, delay it. That is the reason the police are also clearly showing that they do not want to do this quickly. On the other hand, they (the farmer union leaders) are trying to restart the agitation. In reality, both sides are not reaching anywhere. The agitators say that either you do this (arrest Brij Bhushan) or be prepared for the worst; the other side (the government) is delaying things so that these get sorted automatically. Maybe the government thinks that if the matter gets dragged out, it may not have much effect. During that time, many pressure tactics may follow.SINGH: See, the party is not going to say anything, nor is he interested in giving up. Rather, he is using it to earn glory for himself in that part of the country where he has some influence. He knows clearly that if he goes on speaking against these protesters (wrestlers and farmer union leaders), he may get the sympathy of at least his own community. When things are moving at a pace that is not appreciated by anybody, there may be a thought that let these be further slowed down so that something at least goes in his (Brij Bhushan’s) favour.SINGH: No, but someone in the party should get in touch with me too. All the time, I cannot be the one going to them and asking them to listen to me. Let them also heed my concerns. When they ask me, should there be some action, negotiation or no negotiation… at least some dialogue is there. Dialogue has to be there and should be there.SINGH: I met our party chief (J P Nadda) twice. Both times, I told him the party should not treat this as an issue concerning wrestlers from one state. It is a matter of grave concern and the party’s credibility is at stake. I requested him to intervene, talk to the Sports Ministry or whoever can resolve the issue amicably, at the earliest. I said we talk about women’s empowerment, so we should act on it. I also told the party president that even if it is perceived that they (the wrestlers) are working at the behest of some political party or have been instigated by someone, their voices need to be heard and should be heard. They are raising an issue that should be addressed.But, apparently they (the party) want the complete support of some section of society with this thing… in some particular area (Uttar Pradesh). When somebody speaks something, there will surely be a counter reaction. Let there be two opinions. One would be against another, and that’s about it.SINGH: In fact, that is my prime concern. Otherwise, I know the history and background of sports bodies in our country and how they function. The government should take a relook at these sports federations. Our federations are elected bodies, but if somebody takes over a federation at the central level, the person makes sure that every state is represented by people of his or her choice. That cannot be called an elected body. The problem lies with politicians, especially those in power, as well as industrialists and bureaucrats running such federations. The government should introduce reforms in the way sports federations are run.

'BJP won't say anything... Maybe idea is to drag out: ex-BJP Union minister Birender Singh
What Modi Govt doesn’t get: everyone believes wrestlers, everyone wants actionPremium Story
The Indian Express | 2 days ago | |
The Indian Express
2 days ago | |

“This is not like another demand,” said a wrestling coach in Chhara village in Jhajjar district of Haryana. “Yeh humari izzat aur maan samman ki ladai hai…Iske liye kuch bhi ho sakta hai.”The images on May 28 of the protesting wrestlers being pushed around, dragged, manhandled, and arrested by the police had disturbed — and angered — many across the country. Even more disturbing was the content of the FIRs by seven women wrestlers, including a minor, reported in The Indian Express, that they had allegedly been molested, sexually harassed, inappropriately touched and sexual favours sought from them by the head of the Wrestling Foundation of India, Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, also a BJP MP.Ironically, the wrestlers’ dharna has gathered momentum after the Delhi Police forced them to get out of Jantar Mantar.To get a sense of how this is echoing beyond the confines of the capital, I drove to Haryana, stopped in several villages, talked to those gathered at wayside tea shops, visited wrestling akhadas run for men and women, spoke to sarpanches of both Jat-dominated and “mixed” villages, inhabited by communities other than Jats.Two things ring loud and clear.There’s no one, not one voice, Jat or non Jat, pro-Congress or BJP-sympathetic, who did not ask for “immediate action” against accused Brij Bhushan Singh.“We want Brij Bhushan Singh to be immediately arrested,” said the young women wrestlers in Chhara village — “nahin toh aagey jaakar humare saath kya hoga.” So did the men wrestlers at a nearby akhara.“At the least, he should be divested of his positions for any independent inquiry to take place which is difficult enough given his money power and the fact that he is a Bahubali,” said the sarpanch of a non-Jat village in Gurgaon district, and he was a Yadav.The second thing which struck me was this: there’s no one I met who did not believe in the wrestlers’ story.It is not possible, they said, for so many women to make such a serious allegation which can bring them “badnami” without there being “some truth” in what they are saying. After all, they said, these are iconic figures who have achieved laurels for the country and who gain little by “conspiring” against Brij Bhushan Singh.Of course, the episode will have its political fallout when elections are held a year down the line for the Lok Sabha and a little later in 2024 for the Assembly. As it is, the BJP government headed by ML Khattar has been on the back foot.The popular upsurge against the Delhi rape in 2012 was by and large an urban phenomenon. But the Sakshi-Vinesh-Bajrang agitation can have its fallout in both urban and rural areas. As an ex-serviceman in Gurgaon said: “Nirbhaya led to the hanging of the accused; here you have not even arrested him despite damaging FIRs.”Had it been an Opposition MP, by now he would have been suspended and put in jail, many in Haryana said.Why no action against Brij Bhushan Singh?They themselves hazarded a guess — because UP is to BJP (80 Lok Sabha seats) more important than is Haryana (10 Lok Sabha seats). The UP vs Haryana conundrum –wrestler after wrestler told me how Brij Bhushan Singh has over the years tried to do downplay Haryana’s contribution to wrestling — has made the issue not just one about women’s safety but also imbued it with a sub-nationalism which can prove to be more emotive than the BJP may have bargained for.The non-action by the government is all the more tragic because it has set off deep anxieties amid parents of budding wrestlers in Haryana.Said an akhada trainer: “At least 20 guardians of girls have told me, ‘We can’t take this kind of a risk with our daughters…..Thoda thoda dar lagne laga hai.’” The fear is they may either pull them out of wrestling or shift them into other sports.This, when the medal winning women wrestlers had represented a social transformation unimagined even 20 years ago—in a state which had the worst sex ratio in the country in 2011 (830 women to 1000 men), a state which became known for honour killings when girls went out of line in the choice of their marriage partners.But today, instead of confining their girls to sit in front of the “choolha,” family after family is encouraging them to do higher studies, apply for civil services, and take to a sport like wrestling even though they have to be trained by men—and aspire to make their mark on the world stage.Vinesh and Sakshi are symbols of that change. Tears flowing, as they went to Haridwar to immerse their medals in the Ganga — this now is at risk. Fortunately, they held back.Despite the damage its policy of drift is doing the ruling party — even as it went through the motions of setting up a committee—it has really not acted. It is unfortunate that the BJP sees any dissenting voice as a conspiracy to delegitimize it.In 1998, when the Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Mahendra Singh Tikait had sat on a dharna against the rise in fertiliser prices, then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had immediately despatched his Agriculture Minister Som Pal to engage with Tikait. Vajpayee told Som Pal, “Asantosh barhta hai toh phir aasani se rukta nahin,”.Brij Bhushan Singh is undoubtedly a powerful Rajput leader in UP and has been a Lok Sabha MP for 28 years. He was in the Samajwadi Party and joined the BJP in 2014—and is supposedly able to influence the outcome in half a dozen Lok Sabha constituencies, right up to the border of Ayodhya.And the Ram mandir is an important showpiece in the BJP’s strategy with its inauguration in January 2024 in the run-up to the general elections. It is said that the BJP needs Brij Bhushan Singh more than he needs the BJP. There are, of course, those within the party who believe that he will have to be sacrificed but the party brass wants to do it, after showing him that they did all they could do to save him.The question then arises: Can the popular and all-powerful prime minister be held hostage by an MP, even though he may be a Bahubali, influential in 5-6 constituencies and from the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh which the PM has made his karmabhoomi?Particularly when there is another powerful constituency beyond UP: women, women, women. No party today can afford to forget that women are emerging as a new caste in India.For a moment, though, forget even that emerging reality. The fortunes of parties will ebb and rise, political leaders will come and go. But India can never become a confident, forward-looking nation unless its women can walk with their heads held high—and in safety.It is Narendra Modi who had encouraged sportspersons through his various “Mann ki baats”; he reached out to the downcast Indian women’s hockey team when they lost at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and told them to “stop crying…India is proud of you”. Women all over the country have voted for him in large numbers.Why, then, this silence now, Pradhan Mantriji?(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 10 Lok Sabha elections)

What Modi Govt doesn’t get: everyone believes wrestlers, everyone wants actionPremium Story
Kejriwal gets Soren’s backing on ordinance row
The Indian Express | 2 days ago | |
The Indian Express
2 days ago | |

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday met his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren in Ranchi as part of his opposition outreach and thanked him for his support against the Centre’s ordinance which effectively takes the control of services away from the Delhi government.Kejriwal said talks are underway to meet Congress leaders, and it is up to that party to decide if it will stand by democracy.At a press conference with Kejriwal, Soren said the Centre’s decision is an assault on federalism and the Constitution. He expressed his support to Kejriwal and said the issue must be tackled politically and legally.The Centre’s ordinance, promulgated on May 19, gives more powers to the Lieutenant Governor in the administration of Delhi. It creates a statutory authority that can make “recommendations” to the LG regarding “transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters.” On May 11, the SC had ruled that the Delhi government has legislative and executive powers over administrative services in the national capital.Kejriwal said: “This is disrespect towards the people of Delhi, and the rights have been snatched from them… This Ordinance will come in Parliament and although BJP has majority in Lok Sabha, they have only 93 of 238 seats in Rajya Sabha. If all non-BJP parties are united then this ordinance can be defeated.”“…Ye to ek tarah se Delhi ke logon ka apmaan hai. Delhi ke logon se adhikar chin liye gaye aur Delhi ke 2 crore logon ko bilkul ek jantantra ke andar bedakhal kar diya gaya. Ab ye jo adhyadesh jaari kiya gaya hai, ye sansad mein aayega, to BJP ke Lok Sabha mein to bahumat hai, lekin Rajya Sabha mein bahumat nahi hai, unke 93 seats hai 238 mein se. If non BJP saari party ikkhaathi ho jaye to is adhyadesh ko haraya ja sakta hai. (…This is disrespect towards the people of Delhi, and the rights have been snatched from them and they have made them an outcast in the democracy. This Ordinance will come in the Parliament and although BJP has majority in Lok Sabha, they have only 93 out 238 seats in Rajya Sabha. If all non-BJP parties are united then this ordinance can be defeated),” Kejriwal said.He added the fight is not just for Delhi, but for other states too. Kejriwal said: “…ye baat is desh ke jantanra ki hai, federal principles ki hai. Kal ye aisa adhyadesh Jharkhand ke liye laa sakte hain, Rajasthan, Bihar, Tamil Nadu ke laa sakte hain. Kisi bhi rajya ke upar kanoon paas karke , adhyadesh pass karke, unke haqon ko cheena jaa sakta hai. Ye to desh ki azaadi ki baat hai ki junta sarkar chunti hai, aur sarkar ke paas junta ke sapne poore karne ke liye, unke zaroorton ko poore karne ke liye unke saare adhikaar hone chahiye. Ye sambidhaan aur unke basic mulyon ke saath ched chaad kar rahe hain. Har hindustani ka farz hai ki is adhyadesh ka virodh kiye jaaye. (The issue is of the country’s democracy, its federal principles. Tomorrow (the BJP) can bring another law via ordinance for Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bihar etc. The rights of any states can be snatched upon by bringing such ordinance. This is about a country’s freedom: the people choose any government and that government should have the power to fulfil the dreams and needs of the people. They (BJP) are tampering with the constitution and its basic principles. It is every Indian’s duty to oppose this).”Along with Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Delhi Education Minister Atishi Marlen, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha were also present, and addressed a joint press conference with CM Hemant Soren. Punjab CM Mann said: “Like we recently saw the wrestlers who got international wins trying to immerse their medals in Haridwar, the same way if we don’t raise our voices now, the remains of democracy will be immersed in Haridwar.”Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren seconded Kejriwal and said that the Centre’s decision–and their acts in other states–are an assault on the structure of federalism and the constitution. He expressed his support to Kejriwal and said that the issue needs to be tackled politically and legally.“Kahin na kahin ye sirf sarkaroon par, jo gair bjp saashit sarkarein hai unpar prahaar nahi hai balki us rajya ke janata ke upar prahar hai. Is vishay ko lekar hum aur gehraayi se party ke andar charcha karenge, adarniya guruji ke saath bhi is vishay par au rkya vrihaat roop se loktantrik vyavashta ko majboot karne par aage badha jaaye is par kaam karenge (This is just not an assault on the non-BJP state governments, but upon their citizens too. We will deeply engage on this issue within our party and will also discuss this with Guruji (Rajya Sabha MP Shibu Soren)…This an attempt to make a joke of our forefathers who got us freedom and everyone has a role to play to save the democracy. It is needed to protect the constitution given by BR Ambedkar and others,” said Soren.

Kejriwal gets Soren’s backing on ordinance row
Can Cong and AAP be friends? Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit lead voices that say never
The Indian Express | 3 days ago | |
The Indian Express
3 days ago | |

As Arvind Kejriwal drums up support among Opposition leaders against the Centre’s ordinance that wrested control of ‘services’ from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the Capital, two former Delhi MPs have emerged as the voices and faces of the distrust the Congress continues to nurse against him.While other Delhi Congress leaders — who witnessed the AAP’s rapid rise in the city’s politics over the last decade and continue to smart from it — have maintained a low profile, Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit have been publicly and aggressively vocal in cautioning the Congress high command against the Delhi Chief Minister’s direct and indirect overtures.Days after the Delhi and Punjab units of the Congress called on the high command and told them to “keep Kejriwal at arm’s length” for “intra-party cohesion”,Dikshit and Maken sharpened their attack on the Delhi CM over the ordinance.“Kejriwal is well aware that he will be sent to jail for 8-10 years if he does not get control of the Vigilance Department,” Dikshit said, adding that he supported the ordinance against the AAP government.Maken joined the chorus, alleging that the AAP convenor’s “true motives” stood exposed, as he had openly sought “enhanced powers over services, aiming to take control over the Vigilance Department”, thus challenging decades of established governance norms. This is a point he has consistently argued since the ordinance was issued.“He conveniently downplays his true intentions. Investigations into scandals like Liquor gate, ‘Sheesh-mahal (Kejriwal’s Rs 171-crore residence…), power subsidy scam, bus purchases scam and others, will reveal the extent of corruption within his administration. And this is what he wants to stop,” Maken tweeted.Speaking to The Indian Express, Dikshit said: “Any Congressman will be chucked out of the party if they make any statement against its national leadership. Then how can the party think of allying with the AAP, whose leader Kejriwal has made more vile statements against the Congress’s national leadership than even PM Modi?”Both Maken and Dikshit also questioned the AAP over its “support of the BJP” on critical issues like Article 370. “What about the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP-led Centre, which he [Kejriwal] supported, or not signing the Congress’s impeachment motion against [former CJI] Dipak Misra, or not signing the no-confidence motion against the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson that immediately followed?” Dikshit added.A senior Congress leader said that following the duo’s example, other Delhi Congress leaders are “gradually emerging” with sharp criticism of Kejriwal, especially after the latter issued a public appeal to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking a meeting.According to Congress sources, there are two main prickly issues standing between the AAP and Congress. The first is what the Congress insiders describe as “unforgettable, patently false and malicious propaganda” against both its national and local [Delhi] leadership, “on the basis of which Kejriwal came to power”. The second is a Delhi Assembly resolution after the AAP formed its second successive government, demanding retraction of the Bharat Ratna conferred on former PM Rajiv Gandhi – neither of which, the insiders say, will “change or be forgotten”.While senior AAP leaders acknowledge that a united Opposition is key to defeating the BJP, the role that the Congress will play in it is still not clear. The AAP has shared stage with the Congress in the past, but an alliance has not come through since 2013, when the Congress had extended outside support to let the AAP form the government in the city. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, alliance talks between the two parties lasted for months, but ended in a deadlock.While Maken — a former Delhi and Union minister — has never minced his words regarding the AAP and its convenor, it is former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, the son of the late three-time Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, who had taken the first potshot, in March this year.On a day when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh marched to Parliament against the Centre, along with other Opposition leaders, on a host of issues, Dikshit and a group of former Delhi government ministers filed a complaint with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena against the AAP government and Kejriwal over the now-defunct Feed Back Unit (the AAP’s rivals claim it was used to spy on them). Alleging sedition, they demanded a trial under the UAPA, the anti-terror law.Afterwards, when the CBI summoned the Delhi CM for questioning in the alleged excise policy scam, Maken tweeted that Kejriwal “should not be shown any sympathy or support”, and asked his party colleagues who are lawyers not to represent Kejriwal or the Delhi government in the case.Regarding the ordinance, a senior Delhi Congress leader said the party believed the BJP would “somehow be able to push the legislation through”, so aligning with the AAP on this issue was “not worth it”.Another leader argued that Kejriwal was merely “using the ordinance as a bogey” to make it “appear as if he is the lone voice” fighting for the Constitution. “He wants to look like a self-styled saviour of the Constitution, because he is embroiled in corruption charges that have dented his image. It’s a trap. He is seeking vindication,” the leader alleged.At a meeting with Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and others on Monday on the issue, leaders of the Congress’s Delhi and Punjab units argued strongly against extending any support to the AAP. “Delhi Congress leaders spoke against supporting the AAP on the ordinance. However, former Delhi Congress chiefs Arvinder Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra held that supporting the ordinance was warranted, given the Congress’s previous demand for more administrative powers to an elected government in Delhi. However, both said the final decision was up to the high command,” a source said.On its part, not only did the AAP disparage Maken and Dikshit by questioning their current standing within the Congress, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused the duo of “misleading” their own leaders, given that Sheila Dikshit had herself introduced a motion as CM in the Delhi Assembly on September 11, 2002, demanding more powers for Delhi’s elected government compared to the LG.Bharadwaj also tweeted that the motion moved by Sheila Dikshit had made the exact same point that the AAP had made in the Supreme Court, saying, “Amendment in Rules or any order of the Centre cannot take away special status of Delhi which is provided by the Constitution under Art 239 AA. So why are Delhi Congress leaders misleading Mr @RahulGandhi?”Maken said he had never claimed that as Delhi CM, Sheila Dikshit hadn’t sought full statehood or more authority. Rather, he said, Kejriwal wants to gain “unique privileges previously denied to CMs like Sheila Dikshit, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj”.Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “This ordinance is a diversionary tactic by Kejriwal, whose public image has been severely dented after he was caught on the wrong foot on various scams. He is trying to divert public attention from these.”Sandeep Dikshit said, “Which political leader wouldn’t seek more power? But the fact is that when Mrs Dikshit did so, it was within the contours of the Constitution, just like her administration worked within the powers conferred upon her by the Constitution.”

Can Cong and AAP be friends? Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit lead voices that say never
  • Can Cong & AAP be friends? Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit lead voices that say never
  • The Indian Express

    As Arvind Kejriwal drums up support among Opposition leaders against the Centre’s ordinance that wrested control of ‘services’ from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the Capital, two former Delhi MPs have emerged as the voices and faces of the distrust the Congress continues to nurse against him.While other Delhi Congress leaders — who witnessed the AAP’s rapid rise in the city’s politics over the last decade and continue to smart from it — have maintained a low profile, Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit have been publicly and aggressively vocal in cautioning the Congress high command against the Delhi Chief Minister’s direct and indirect overtures.Days after the Delhi and Punjab units of the Congress called on the high command and told them to “keep Kejriwal at arm’s length” for “intra-party cohesion”,Dikshit and Maken sharpened their attack on the Delhi CM over the ordinance.“Kejriwal is well aware that he will be sent to jail for 8-10 years if he does not get control of the Vigilance Department,” Dikshit said, adding that he supported the ordinance against the AAP government.Maken joined the chorus, alleging that the AAP convenor’s “true motives” stood exposed, as he had openly sought “enhanced powers over services, aiming to take control over the Vigilance Department”, thus challenging decades of established governance norms. This is a point he has consistently argued since the ordinance was issued.“He conveniently downplays his true intentions. Investigations into scandals like Liquor gate, ‘Sheesh-mahal (Kejriwal’s Rs 171-crore residence…), power subsidy scam, bus purchases scam and others, will reveal the extent of corruption within his administration. And this is what he wants to stop,” Maken tweeted.Speaking to The Indian Express, Dikshit said: “Any Congressman will be chucked out of the party if they make any statement against its national leadership. Then how can the party think of allying with the AAP, whose leader Kejriwal has made more vile statements against the Congress’s national leadership than even PM Modi?”Both Maken and Dikshit also questioned the AAP over its “support of the BJP” on critical issues like Article 370. “What about the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP-led Centre, which he [Kejriwal] supported, or not signing the Congress’s impeachment motion against [former CJI] Dipak Misra, or not signing the no-confidence motion against the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson that immediately followed?” Dikshit added.A senior Congress leader said that following the duo’s example, other Delhi Congress leaders are “gradually emerging” with sharp criticism of Kejriwal, especially after the latter issued a public appeal to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking a meeting.According to Congress sources, there are two main prickly issues standing between the AAP and Congress. The first is what the Congress insiders describe as “unforgettable, patently false and malicious propaganda” against both its national and local [Delhi] leadership, “on the basis of which Kejriwal came to power”. The second is a Delhi Assembly resolution after the AAP formed its second successive government, demanding retraction of the Bharat Ratna conferred on former PM Rajiv Gandhi – neither of which, the insiders say, will “change or be forgotten”.While senior AAP leaders acknowledge that a united Opposition is key to defeating the BJP, the role that the Congress will play in it is still not clear. The AAP has shared stage with the Congress in the past, but an alliance has not come through since 2013, when the Congress had extended outside support to let the AAP form the government in the city. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, alliance talks between the two parties lasted for months, but ended in a deadlock.While Maken — a former Delhi and Union minister — has never minced his words regarding the AAP and its convenor, it is former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, the son of the late three-time Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, who had taken the first potshot, in March this year.On a day when Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh marched to Parliament against the Centre, along with other Opposition leaders, on a host of issues, Dikshit and a group of former Delhi government ministers filed a complaint with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena against the AAP government and Kejriwal over the now-defunct Feed Back Unit (the AAP’s rivals claim it was used to spy on them). Alleging sedition, they demanded a trial under the UAPA, the anti-terror law.Afterwards, when the CBI summoned the Delhi CM for questioning in the alleged excise policy scam, Maken tweeted that Kejriwal “should not be shown any sympathy or support”, and asked his party colleagues who are lawyers not to represent Kejriwal or the Delhi government in the case.Regarding the ordinance, a senior Delhi Congress leader said the party believed the BJP would “somehow be able to push the legislation through”, so aligning with the AAP on this issue was “not worth it”.Another leader argued that Kejriwal was merely “using the ordinance as a bogey” to make it “appear as if he is the lone voice” fighting for the Constitution. “He wants to look like a self-styled saviour of the Constitution, because he is embroiled in corruption charges that have dented his image. It’s a trap. He is seeking vindication,” the leader alleged.At a meeting with Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and others on Monday on the issue, leaders of the Congress’s Delhi and Punjab units argued strongly against extending any support to the AAP. “Delhi Congress leaders spoke against supporting the AAP on the ordinance. However, former Delhi Congress chiefs Arvinder Singh Lovely and Subhash Chopra held that supporting the ordinance was warranted, given the Congress’s previous demand for more administrative powers to an elected government in Delhi. However, both said the final decision was up to the high command,” a source said.On its part, not only did the AAP disparage Maken and Dikshit by questioning their current standing within the Congress, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused the duo of “misleading” their own leaders, given that Sheila Dikshit had herself introduced a motion as CM in the Delhi Assembly on September 11, 2002, demanding more powers for Delhi’s elected government compared to the LG.Bharadwaj also tweeted that the motion moved by Sheila Dikshit had made the exact same point that the AAP had made in the Supreme Court, saying, “Amendment in Rules or any order of the Centre cannot take away special status of Delhi which is provided by the Constitution under Art 239 AA. So why are Delhi Congress leaders misleading Mr @RahulGandhi?”Maken said he had never claimed that as Delhi CM, Sheila Dikshit hadn’t sought full statehood or more authority. Rather, he said, Kejriwal wants to gain “unique privileges previously denied to CMs like Sheila Dikshit, Madan Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma and Sushma Swaraj”.Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “This ordinance is a diversionary tactic by Kejriwal, whose public image has been severely dented after he was caught on the wrong foot on various scams. He is trying to divert public attention from these.”Sandeep Dikshit said, “Which political leader wouldn’t seek more power? But the fact is that when Mrs Dikshit did so, it was within the contours of the Constitution, just like her administration worked within the powers conferred upon her by the Constitution.”

'BJP didn't spare even god': MP Congress sees a windfall in Mahakal statue collapsePremium Story
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | |
The Indian Express
4 days ago | |

God and greed — the Congress believes it has the perfect formula to take on the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, as the toppling of statues to gusty winds in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government’s showpiece Mahakaleshwar temple corridor continues to raise dust.The Congress has quickly come up with a “50% commission” charge to claim corruption as the reason for the collapse of six of the seven idols built to portray Saptarishis or the seven big rishis (saints). The corridor has a total of 160 statues.For once ahead of the BJP in poll games, the Congress has a good example before it from Karnataka, where its “40% commission government” tag against the ruling BJP stuck, and struck gold.The first phase of the Mahakal Lok Corridor Project, as part of which the statues came up, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi only in October last year, amidst much fanfare. Not only is it fair to raise questions over the quality of the construction, the Congress believes, but also over how the BJP has hurt people’s “religious sentiments” in the process.On Tuesday, the Congress’s in-charge for Madhya Pradesh, J P Agarwal said the Chouhan government “had played with the faith of crores of Indians” by “indulging in corruption” while building the statues.बाबा महाकाल ने भी रोष प्रकट किया,— सड़क से संसद तक बीजेपी के महापाप; झूठ, लूट और फूट की सरकार के लिये अशुभ संकेत।शिवराज जी,अब आपकी उल्टी गिनती शुरू है। pic.twitter.com/G4RNVyIvca— MP Congress (@INCMP) May 29, 2023“In Karnataka, we gave the slogan of ‘40% sarkara’. A similar scam has come to light in Madhya Pradesh. That too in the Mahakal Mandir of Ujjain. The BJP didn’t keep even the sacred Mahakal away from its loot. There couldn’t have been bigger loot in the name of religion. Bhagwaan ko bhi nahin choda (They didn’t spare even god),” Agarwal said.Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, who will be the top contender for CM post if the party wins, set up a “fact-finding committee” over the statue collapse, which has submitted its report saying the idols were of “poor quality”.Former minister and MLA Sajjan Singh Verma, who was part of the committee, said Tuesday: “The statues were made of a weak material. Some nets had to be used as per the tender, but they are made in China and are of weak quality. The BJP keeps shouting at the top of its voice to not use Chinese products, but to make products related to our gods, they used such low-quality material.”Verma said they were not questioning the use of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) to make the statues, “but the material used to make the frames was of poor quality”. According to him, given the religious value of the site, statues should have been made of stone. “At a religious site, having broken idols is forbidden.”On the back foot, the BJP is trying to pin the blame on the previous Congress governments, including the short-lived Kamal Nath-led one, as the project has been on for long.Minister of Urban Development and Housing Bhupendra Singh told a press conference that the decision to have FRP idols was taken during the Congress regime, and that a work order for 100 FRP idols costing Rs 7.75 crore was issued on March 7, 2019. The government distributed documents to substantiate this.As much as Rs 96.97 crore had been spent on the project under their government, Singh said.“There is no corruption. The Congress is doing dirty politics. They have not given a single evidence of corruption. And if the Congress is making this allegation, the project was under it too and hence it is an acceptance by them that they did corruption.We did our work honestly and with high standards,” Singh said, adding that hurting religious sentiments “has been their (the Congress’s) character”.The minister added that FRP was commonly used to make idols as artwork “was only possible on such statues”, and that the Akshardham temple in Delhi and several other such projects all had FRP statues. “On statues made of other material, artwork is either not possible or can take a lot of time.”On the fate of the other idols, Singh said the agency that had built the statues had signed a three-year contract and will replace them.As for wind causing the idols to fall, the minister said that the Ujjain Commissioner had submitted a report that the storm that day had also caused “several buildings and trees” to fall in the area.The Mahalok corridor’s lead architect, Krishna Murari Sharma, and the sculptor of the Saptarishi statues, Vijay Podwal, said across India, FRP was used to make statues. Sharma said: “It helps in greatly reducing costs. You also need extremely skilled labour to make stone, bronze or copper sculptures.”He added that they had carried out all the technical checks needed.Podwal, who claims he worked for three years on the statues, said: “FRP is used in hi-tech industries like the aeronautical industry as well. The material is lightweight, it can be easily moved and is durable compared to metal and wood, which start to deteriorate over time. If we had made stone sculptures, it would have taken us more than a decade, at a cost five times the budget.”The Congress is also questioning the award of the contract to a Gujarat-based company.Just a week after the project had been inaugurated by the PM, Ujjain Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar had approached the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta alleging financial irregularities in the construction, following which notices were issued to 15 officials.Parmar says officials misused their position to give tender to Gujarat-based MP Babariya, ignoring tenders quoting lower prices, agreed to design alterations to benefit the contractors in crores, and cleared “undue invoices” without adequate verification.Parmar told The Indian Express that no action had been taken in the case after the Lokayukta notices, otherwise “today the officials involved in this corruption would have been investigated”. “Bhagwan Mahakal will not forgive these sinners.”Ironically, before the statues were gone with the wind, the tussle between the Congress and BJP was over credit for the temple corridor. Chouhan loses no chance to assert that it was his government that had conceptualised it, at a cost of Rs 95 crore. Kamal Nath says it was in August 2019 when he was CM that a sketch was finalised of the project, with Rs 300 crore set aside for it.The final budget is Rs 850 crore as per the PMO.

'BJP didn't spare even god': MP Congress sees a windfall in Mahakal statue collapsePremium Story
Looking beyond Shinde Sena, BJP mulls MNS booster for NDA
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | |
The Indian Express
4 days ago | |

As part of its strategy to get smaller parties to the fold of its NDA alliance in Maharashtra ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the ruling BJP has again set its eyes on the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).Officially, the BJP-MNS alliance talks have been kept under wraps, with both sides exercising caution not to make it public unless they finalise their pact. What is however evident is that the state BJP leadership is going all out to mend fences with Raj’s outfit.Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Raj’s residence in Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Monday night and had a one-on-one talk with him for over an hour. Confirming their meeting, Fadnavis said, “It was decided some time back we will meet. So, I finally visited Raj. It was an apolitical meeting.”Some BJP insiders however indicated that they discussed the current political situation.Significantly, Fadnavis met Raj shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the BJP CMs in Delhi.Following the BJP’s Karnataka election debacle, the party high command has urged its state units to start preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on a war footing. To expand the party’s support base and augment its vote bank, it has also directed the state units to identify and forge alliances with smaller parties so that they could achieve their ambitious targets.In Maharashtra, the BJP’s key ally is CM Eknath Shinde-headed Shiv Sena faction, with the two parties set to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together.The BJP-Shinde Sena coalition will face a formidable challenge in the 2024 polls from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which comprises of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP.Among the smaller parties, the Republican Party of India (RPI) headed by Union minister Ramdas Athavale is already a BJP ally, while Raju Shetti-led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, a former NDA ally, has decided to go solo in the coming polls.The BJP is keen to get the MNS on its side especially for the coming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Assembly polls, given that the outfit still has some support base in certain pockets of Mumbai, Nashik and Pune. The MNS might have shrunk considerably and has been struggling to regain its salience in the state, but the BJP still sees in it a counter to the Uddhav Sena in various ways.A senior BJP functionary said, “MNS is not a political force in Maharashtra and may not help in winning seats. But if BJP empowers it then MNS can become an alternative platform for those Uddhav Sena leaders and workers, who are disgruntled there or are denied tickets during the 2024 polls.”The BJP camp also feels that Raj is still a “charismatic leader” and that due to his remarkable oratorical skills, his rallies draw huge crowds. The party’s poll strategists recall how Raj had played a notable role in building up an anti-NDA atmosphere through his public rallies ahead of the 2019 polls, which had then “benefited” the Congress and NCP.Raj had floated the MNS after parting ways with the Shiv Sena on March 9, 2006. In the 2009 Assembly elections, the MNS won 13 of the state’s 288 seats. However, the party has been on a slide since then, winning only one seat in the 2019 polls. In the 2017 BMC elections, six MNS candidates were elected as the corporators, who later defected to the Sena.The MNS’s politics was initially centred on the “sons of the soil” theme, which later shifted to the Hindutva ideology. Over the last few years there has periodically been a buzz about a possible BJP-MNS tie-up with both parties signalling their growing closeness, but it could not be finalised.At his public rally in March this year, held on the occasion of Gudi Padwa ( Maharashtrian new year), at Shivaji Park, Raj attacked his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray. He charged, “I had never spoken about it. But there was a well orchestrated plot to ensure my exit from Shiv Sena,” claiming that it was done even after his bid to extend his support for Uddhav’s elevation as the Sena executive president in the presence of his uncle and Uddhav’s father Bal Thackeray, the Sena founder. After Bal Thackeray’s demise in 2012, Uddhav took over as the Sena president.Raj has charged that Uddhav was responsible for his exit from the Sena and that of several other senior Sena leaders’, including Union minister Narayan Rane.By throwing its weight behind the breakaway Shinde-led Sena faction, the BJP succeeded in toppling the Uddhav-led MVA government in June last year. The BJP’s immediate target now is to bring the Uddhav Sena’s dominance in the BMC to an end. The saffron party believes the MNS could be used to dent the Uddhav Sena’s Marathi vote base in several BMC wards, which could also be replicated in the Assembly polls in various belts of Mumbai, Nashik and Pune.A BJP strategist said, “If MNS can give tough fight to Uddhav Sena in 25-30 seats in BMC, it would boostthe Shinde-Fadnavis alliance’s prospects, which could be replicated in the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls too. After all, every ward or seat counts for BJP.”An MNS leader said, “What really transpired in the meeting between Fadnavis and Raj cannot be revealed. But every party ensures its own growth. And for an alliance both parties have to arrive at mutually acceptable consensus.”Tracking the BJP-MNS equations closely, an NCP leader said, “It is between BJP and MNS, so why should we comment. But everybody knows how Raj Thackeray had been critical of the Centre after the BJP’s Karnataka defeat, and over the RBI’s decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 note.”

Looking beyond Shinde Sena, BJP mulls MNS booster for NDA
Haryana BJP leaders admit party silence on wrestlers ringing too loud
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | |
The Indian Express
4 days ago | |

Unease is growing within the Haryana BJP as the wrestlers’ standoff with the Centre continues to stretch and gather momentum, especially in the light of the Lok Sabha and Haryana Assembly polls coming up next year. Although most of the state leaders have stayed clear of the protest, only giving measured statements, if any, a few have come out in open support of the wrestlers’ struggle to seek justice.All the three wrestlers spearheading the protests for over four months now — Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia — are natives of Haryana. Malik is from Mokhra village in Rohtak, Vinesh from Charkhi Dadri and Punia from Khudan village in Jhajjar.The BJP is already jittery over Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar facing protests and disruptions in his Jan Samvad (public connect) programmes. On a few occasions, Khattar even lost his temper.The wrestlers have got full support from the strong farmers’ unions in the state, which are talking of a mass protest against BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. There is already residual anger among the unions over the contentious farm laws that the Centre had scrapped but after farmers had sat in protest for a year on Delhi borders.The opposition Congress, meanwhile, that spots a golden opportunity in the wrestlers’ protest, has thrown its weight behind the wrestlers. Most of the wrestlers belong to the Jat community, and the Congress has a strong support base among them. The wrestlers also have the support of the INLD, also a Jat-centred party, and the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party.But despite these growing voices of support for the wrestlers, and the gravity of charges against Brij Bhushan, the Haryana BJP leadership has not blinked so far. The exceptions include Home Minister Anil Vij, who offered to convey the wrestlers’ demands to “the highest level within the party”, Hisar MP Brijendra Singh who said he “feels the pain and helplessness of our wrestlers”, and his father and former Union minister Birender Singh, who went to Jantar Mantar and met the wrestlers.Earlier this month, the wrestlers had even sought Khattar’s support and intervention in the matter. But the CM had washed his hands of, saying, “The issue is not related to Haryana… but to the players’ teams and the Union government. The Supreme Court has already ordered the registration of FIRs… An investigation shall follow.”Former Union minister Birender Singh told The Indian Express on Wednesday that he had raised the issue with BJP president J P Nadda and told him that “it would hurt the party’s credibility”. Singh said, “I met our party chief, twice. On both times, I told him the party should not treat this as an issue concerning wrestlers from one state. It is a matter of grave concern and the party’s credibility is at stake. I requested him [Nadda] to intervene, talk to the Sports Ministry or whoever can resolve the issue amicably, at the earliest. I said we talk about women’s empowerment, so we should act on it.”“I also told the party president that even if it is perceived that they [the wrestlers] are working at the behest of some political party or have been instigated by someone, their voices need to be heard and should be heard. They are raising an issue that should be addressed,” Singh added.He also raised questions regarding the control of sports federations, he said. “The problem lies with politicians, especially those in power, as well as industrialists and bureaucrats running such federations. The government should introduce reforms in the way sports federations are run.”Asked about the wrestlers’ protest, Haryana BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar said he had raised it with Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. “I emphasised that those protesting at Jantar Mantar are our daughters and they should get justice. The minister said they will surely get justice,” Dhankar said.Another senior BJP leader said, “There is no doubt the matter does not pertain to Haryana. But, that is the issue… the BJP is a cadre-based party and the CM can’t speak much on the matter.”Another BJP leader admitted the party’s silence on the matter might boomerang. “There are certain issues that need to be dealt with above party policies. One should have the courage not only to speak one’s minds, but also listen to and understand ground realities. Whatever the reason behind the protest may be, a delay in reaching a logical conclusion will change perceptions on the ground.”

Haryana BJP leaders admit party silence on wrestlers ringing too loud
'(Textbook) revisions by BJP have to be changed... hijab ban wasn't needed'Premium Story
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | |
The Indian Express
4 days ago | |

Madhu Bangarappa, MLA from Sorab constituency and School Education Minister in the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah, speaks with Sanath Prasad on the state government’s plans to revise school textbooks, the row over hijab, and the challenges that lie before the state’s education system. Madhu is son of former Karnataka chief minister S Bangarappa. Excerpts.Bangarappa: I have to get the statistics to really get my priorities. It is not even 48 hours since I have assumed office as Education Minister. I started my duties today by welcoming students back to school and keeping them comfortable.Bangarappa: The old textbooks have to be changed — we have already committed [that] in our manifesto. The revisions introduced by the BJP have to be changed, and it will be changed in the interest of the students. However, I don’t want to disclose what aspects will be changed. We already have a framework to make the changes, and (it) will be executed as early as possible.The required revision is already under way under the supervision of the Chief Minister. He (CM Siddaramiah) is being briefed on this regularly. In the interest of the future of the children, whatever has to be done to safeguard their education will be doneBangarappa: We can’t change the government order on hijab just like that. We have to go by the law. The Law Department will fight for it and they will make a decision. All these years everything was going fine, (but) suddenly imposing a ban on hijab was not needed. They (BJP) really messed it up by politicising (the issue). Since the matter is under the judiciary (sub judice), I don’t want to comment much on it.Bangarappa: Manpower in the department is good [adequate] but infrastructure needs to be improved. The department also has very good teachers. We have to give them trust and confidence to perform better. We also need funds to boost infrastructure. With our guarantees in place, how much I can infuse funds is a question, but I will fight for it.Bangarappa: Eggs will continue to be part of midday meals. I also have some expansion plans, (which are) under work. I will talk about it later.Bangarappa: It is true that a lot of schools are unauthorised and a lot of mishandling is taking place at the administration level. People are running from pillar to post to get things done. However, I don’t have much statistics on that (unauthorised schools) to talk about the issue (at present). I still need two months to settle down in the department.I will review all financial difficulties for the department and come up with a plan. I will try to make the education department better than what it is today.

'(Textbook) revisions by BJP have to be changed... hijab ban wasn't needed'Premium Story
‘85 per cent cut’: After Karnataka, PM targets Congress in Rajasthan
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | |
The Indian Express
4 days ago | |

Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again attacked the Congress on Wednesday over “85 per cent commission”, saying that if not for the BJP government in the last nine years, several central schemes would have taken decades more to reach every corner of the country.Addressing a rally in Rajasthan’s Ajmer to mark nine years of his government, the PM said, “People often wonder where Modi gets money for all the developmental works. Our nation never had a dearth of money when it comes to development. It is important that whatever money is sent by the government, all of it is employed in developmental works.”He said that former PM Rajiv Gandhi had publicly accepted that if the Congress government sends 100 paisa, 85 paisa is lost to corruption – something that he had also stated during the Karnataka elections, ostensibly to counter the Congress’s charge that there is large-scale corruption in the award of civil contracts in the state.Also Read | Hits and misses of 9 years of Narendra Modi government“In the last nine years, the BJP government has spent Rs 24 lakh crore on highways and railways alone. Going by what Rajiv Gandhi said, had there been a Congress government, 20 lakh crore out of Rs 24 lakh crore would have been looted,” he said.Similarly, Rs 24 lakh crore out of Rs 29 lakh crore under Direct Benefit Transfer; Rs 19,000 crore out of Rs 22,000 crore to tribal students for their education; Rs 3.15 lakh crore out of Rs 3.75 lakh crore for water facilities; and Rs 2 lakh crore out of Rs 2.25 lakh crore for homes for poor would have been looted in the middle, before they could reach the intended beneficiaries, he claimed, adding that “Congress does not discriminate when it comes to looting”.He accused the Congress of putting the lives of crores of women and children in danger, saying that the inoculation coverage was just around 60 per cent under Congress rule. He said that it would have taken Congress another 40 years to reach hundred per cent coverage, leading to an unimaginable number of poor women and children losing their lives.Express Opinion | Suhas Palshikar writes on nine years of BJP government: Failures, Modi-proofedHe said that even for a gas connection, people had to run from pillar to post under Congress rule. Hence, only 14 crore people had gas connection in 2014, and that it would have taken another 20 years for complete coverage, “meaning that another generation would have passed by without a gas connection. This was not acceptable to me. Hence, in the last nine years, the BJP government has given over 19 crore gas connections”.“Before 2014, there were over 18 crore families which did not get tap water. In the last three years, the BJP government has connected 9 crore families with water connection through pipelines. Had there been a Congress government, it would have taken it 20 more years to do the same,” the PM said.Also Read | Emergency documentary, showcasing development: BJP set to kickstart UP outreach to mark 9 years of Modi govtHe said that around 2 lakh former soldiers in Rajasthan have received benefits under the One Rank One Pension, while across the country, former soldiers have received about Rs 65,000 crore so far.The PM said that things have changed a lot since 2014. “Before 2014, across the nation, the public was on the streets against corruption, there were terrorist attacks in big cities every other day, Congress was scared to build roads on the border, and crimes against women were at a peak. There was a superpower above the Prime Minister and the Congress government was being run via remote control. There was indecision, policies failed, investors were disappointed, and the youth had darkness before them,” he said.Also Read | 9 years of Modi govt: Cong accuses BJP of ‘looting’ people, says life of poor didn’t improve“Today, India is being praised the world over. Today, big experts are saying that India is on the verge of eliminating extreme poverty. Friends, how did this change come about? The answer is sabka saath, sabka vikas, prioritising the deprived,” he said.With the Rajasthan government recently passing Right to Health, the PM said: “Congress’s habit of guarantee is not new, but old. Fifty years ago, Congress gave the nation a guarantee to end poverty, and this is the biggest betrayal of the poor by the Congress… to hide its failures, Congress has come up with a new formula of false guarantees.”He said that if these guarantees are implemented, they will not only bankrupt the state but the nation. “You are witnessing the condition of those countries which are going bankrupt, this is the vision and policy of Congress,” the PM said.He said that the people of Rajasthan gave a mandate to Congress five years ago, “and in return, Rajasthan got instability and anarchy. MLA, minister and the Chief Minister are busy fighting amongst themselves. The Congress government is kind to terrorists and busy in appeasing terrorists. The Rajasthan Congress government has given a free hand to those conspiring against our daughters. The Congress government does not care about the safety and the interests of daughters.”“I can say with immense satisfaction that BJP government has paid attention to all the problems faced by mothers, daughters and sisters,” the PM said, listing various schemes and measures which have benefited women, such as Matru Vandana Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Mudra Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, increasing maternity leave for women, paving the way for women wanting to join all three armed forces, sending money directly to bank accounts of women, starting a campaign to ensure a child is born in the hospital, building crores of toilets in schools, etc. The PM also listed several measures taken by his government towards farmer welfare.

‘85 per cent cut’: After Karnataka, PM targets Congress in Rajasthan
Nitish Kumar's final push: Why he sees himself as glue that binds OppositionPremium Story
The Indian Express | 4 days ago | |
The Indian Express
4 days ago | |

When the JD(U) was relegated to number three position in the 2020 Assembly elections with 43 seats, behind the RJD’s 75 seats and the BJP’s 74, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had said he wouldn’t lead the coalition government and that ally BJP should make someone else the CM. Many saw his statement for what it was – clever political posturing, a signature Nitish Kumar move considering he was well aware of his indispensability in the state. He, of course, went on to be CM for a record seventh term.Barely three years later, as he goes all out to bring as many non-BJP parties as he possibly can under the same roof – the first official meeting of Opposition parties takes place in Patna on June 12 – it’s a different Nitish and the circumstances vastly different. For one, he is now in the Mahagathbandhan camp and, though he has continued to keep his chair – largely through political acumen and some deft manoeuvring – he is well aware that the slide he and his party have witnessed since the high of the 2010 Assembly polls may be largely irreversible.Over the last few months, Nitish has been relentlessly working on building a non-BJP Opposition platform. In a camp with competing pulls and pressures, Nitish has, ahead of the 2024 polls, arguably succeeded in bringing about a semblance of Opposition unity, something that hasn’t happened before the last two Lok Sabha elections.While the JD(U)’s presence has made it easier for parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the AAP to sit together at the same table as the Congress, Nitish has also reached out to Orissa CM and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik. Though Patnaik has ruled out being part of any Opposition front, Nitish’s close aide and JD(U) chief spokesperson K C Tyagi had earlier said, “Navin Patnaik, KCR and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy are work in progress. So long as they are opposed to the BJP, we can hope that Nitish Kumar’s Mission 2024 of a mega Opposition unity is going to work.”As he goes about his new task, it’s also a different Nitish at work. He is not the grouchy man that occupies the CM seat, weighed down by the pulls and pressures of running a coalition at a time when he is a shrunken version of himself. Instead, he looks relaxed, willing to concede, ready to lead, secure in the awareness that he could just be the glue the Opposition needed.JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “He had to take the lead and rekindle the Opposition hopes of taking on a strong BJP. Nitish Kumar had tried to do this before 2017 as well, but the Congress didn’t back him then. Now things are going in the right direction”.The slideWith 118 seats, the JD(U) was the leading party in the 2010 election, ahead of then ally BJP’s 91 seats; by the next election, in 2015, the tide had changed, with the JD(U) pushed to the No 2 slot with 71 seats, behind ally RJD’s 80 seats.While it was the 2020 Assembly polls that sounded the alarm and underlined Nitish’s shrinking stock in the state, the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and the 2015 election too came with signals.In the three-cornered 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the JD(U), contesting on its own after parting ways with the BJP in 2013, was reduced to two seats from the 20 it won in 2009, when it fought in alliance with the BJP.Following the state elections in 2015, by which time he had switched over to the Mahagathbandhan camp, while Nitish continued to remain CM, it was clear that Lalu Prasad was a stronger force than Nitish in the event of their votes converging.While RJD continues to bank on its trusted Muslim-Yadav (MY) base, it has also carefully worked over the last few years to bring several Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) under its fold. In comparison, Nitish Kumar’s votebase of Mahadalits (Scheduled Castes), EBCs and Koeri-Kurmis has been displaying cracks, as was reflected in the last two Assembly bypolls – in Gopalganj (which the BJP retained) and Mokama (won by the RJD).Though Nitish has worked on keeping his Deputy CM Tejashwi in good humour – at a Nalanda function last year, he said Tejashwi would lead the 2025 Assembly poll campaign – he knows the young RJD leader is impatient to take over. Tejashwi has led his alliance to win 110 seats (the RJD won 75), only 12 short of a simple majority, in the last Assembly polls. For now, however, with central agencies closing in on Lalu Prasad’s family, including Tejashwi, over the land-for-jobs and IRCTC cases, the RJD leader has mellowed down. And with Nitish Kumar getting a key role in national politics, Tejashwi now seems to have reconciled to wait and watch than give the BJP any political advantage.But that leaves Nitish with a very small window within which he has to carve out a niche for himself.The next testNitish’s next big test is the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Though the seven-party alliance government that he leads is good on paper to showcase Opposition unity, their unity will be tested when it comes to seat-sharing ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.Of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha seats, the JD(U) and RJD would look to contest 13-15 seats each, leaving the rest for the Congress, CPM, CPI, CPI (ML-Liberation) and Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular. Nitish knows that even if the JD(U) wins 12-13 seats at best, it is not good enough for him to stake a claim at the national level.Meanwhile, the BJP has been trying hard to forge an alliance that can match the Mahagathbandhan in terms of social base and arithmetic. The BJP looks set to rope in smaller players such as the LJP (Ramvilas) led by Chirag Paswan, Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal led by former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha and Vikassheel Insaan Party led by former Bihar minister and EBC Mallah leader Mukesh Sahani.With BJP making OBC Kushwaha leader Samrat Choudhary its Bihar unit president, the JD(U) has been somewhat jittery over a split in Nitish’s core constituency of Koeri (Kushwaha)-Kurmi or Luv-Kush voters. Plus, party sources fear, a string of measures taken by the government — including discontinuing the Central post-matric scholarship and other state schemes for Dalits — may have distanced the Scheduled Caste voters away from the JD(U).If the seven parties that are part of the Mahagathbandhan have to come together for the 2024 polls, both Lalu and Nitish will need a bigger aura than they currently do. It’s here that Nitish’s national role – as the glue that will potentially bind disparate Opposition parties – is expected to come in handy and give the JD(U) more bargaining power in the state ahead of 2024, the party hopes. Party sources say he may set an example by ceding ground to smaller parties in Bihar and thus put pressure on the Congress and other parties to “replicate the Bihar model” at the Centre.For now, the JD(U), faced with a series of setbacks, including the court’s stay on the caste census, has to contend with a BJP that is banking on PM Modi’s personality and the Centre’s labharthi schemes, besides its core Hindutva agenda. The 2024 polls will prove to be a litmus test, more for Nitish than for Lalu or Tejashwi.The final pushIf the JD(U) fails to cross the two-digit mark in the next Lok Sabha polls, Nitish Kumar could lose his political relevance for the 2025 Assembly polls.It is a desperate situation for a man who harbourbed hopes of being the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate after leading the NDA to win 206 of 243 seats in Bihar in the 2010 state elections. Two years later, in an oblique reference to the possible projection of then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as the PM nominee for the 2014 polls, he said the PM candidate should have a “clean and secular” image.Nitish probably realises that he ended up frittering away his chance of becoming the nucleus of an anti-Narendra Modi front in 2014 (he contested the elections alone) and 2019 (when he was back with the NDA). And that now could be his big chance.After all, he has little to lose. If the anti-BJP front works, he will end up as a key national leader, if not a hero — his Deve Gowda or I K Gujral moment in the event of a muddled political situation. If he fails, he can take solace from the fact that he at least tried. And if the man who has made a dizzying number of U-turns ends up taking another one, there will be no surprises.

Nitish Kumar's final push: Why he sees himself as glue that binds OppositionPremium Story
Bad blood between Cong, TMC flares on heels of uneasy truce
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | |
The Indian Express
5 days ago | |

Days after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee extended an olive branch to the Congress while offering her support to the party in its strongholds for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the fraught relationship between the two parties got more strained after the Congress’s lone Bengal MLA Bayron Biswas crossed over to the TMC.On Tuesday, the Congress slammed the TMC, saying such “poaching” was not designed to strengthen Opposition unity and only served the BJP’s objectives.Three months after wresting the Muslim-dominated Sagardighi Assembly seat in Murshidabad in a bypoll from the TMC, the Congess MLA switched to the ruling party on Monday. Bayron’s defection comes at a time when efforts are on to forge Opposition unity to take on the BJP in the 2024 polls.In February, the TMC candidate’s defeat in Sagardighi had enraged Mamata, who had then said: “In 2024, we will see an alliance between the Trinamool and the people. We will not go with any of the other political parties. We will fight alone with people’s support. Those who want to defeat the BJP, I believe they will vote for us. The ones voting for CPI(M) and Congress are actually voting for BJP.”The TMC appeared to soften its stance towards the Congress after Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP following his conviction and sentencing over his 2019 Modi surname remark.In Bengal, the relations between the two parties have been strained for a long time. In the 2016 and 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress aligned with the CPM-led Left Front to take on the TMC, which swept both the polls.Recently, Bihar CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav visited Mamata in Kolkata, following which both Kumar and Mamata asserted that all anti-BJP forces should work together for Opposition unity for the 2024 elections. Many Opposition parties are going to have their first joint conclave in this regard in Patna on June 12.However, after Bayron joined the TMC in his presence, senior party leader and Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee said, “Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly stated that she has no problem supporting the Congress in order to defeat the BJP. However, Bengal PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is claiming that he will fight the Trinamool. This implies that he has no intention of defeating the BJP.”Abhishek said, “We don’t mind supporting Congress, but that doesn’t mean that in places where the TMC is strong, Congress would fight us to strengthen BJP. If Congress weakens Trinamool, the only party to gain will be BJP. We are ready to support the Congress in places where they are strong, but they should do the same thing in places where TMC remains the principal force to take on the BJP.”He also claimed, “Congress and Adhir expects the Opposition to support them, but in return, they don’t want to extend the same support to the other Opposition parties. If Adhir wants to break TMC, who benefits? Not Congress or CPM, but BJP. If I had to break the Congress, Bayron would have joined us back in Murshidabad itself. If we decide to break the Congress, 4 MPs (from other states) would join TMC at a moment’s notice. However, we don’t want to do the politics of breaking political parties, we want to defeat the BJP.”Slamming the TMC after Bayron’s switchover, Adhir said, “Our fight against TMC and BJP will continue.”CPM leader Tanmay Bhattacharya said, “Bayron Biswas won because people wanted to defeat TMC and BJP and that situation has not changed. If vote is again held in Sagardighi, then TMC and BJP will again be defeated.”Launching a scathing attack on the TMC, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, “Three months after he was elected as a Congress MLA in a historic victory Bayron Biswas has been lured away by the TMC in West Bengal. This is a complete betrayal of the mandate of the people of the Sagardighi Assembly constituency.”Ramesh also said, “Such poaching which has happened earlier in Goa, Meghalaya, Tripura and other states is not designed to strengthen Opposition unity and only serves the BJP’s objectives.”On her part, Mamata, during a press conference at the state secretariat Nabanna Tuesday, declined to comment on Bayron’s move. “Ask our local party. I do not know. I saw it on news,” she claimed.Mamata also charged, “Left, Congress and BJP never stop doing wrong things. They are the same and they will remain together. Let them remain together. They are three flowers of the same garland. They never think good things. So, I have no time for them.”On Ramesh’s allegation that the TMC had tried to hurt the Congress in other states too, Mamata said, “I think we are all together at the national level. At the state level, all parties should understand they have their own obligations. We have contested only Meghalaya and Goa. But when Congress contested Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal, Gujarat, Chhattishgarh, we never disrupted. Instead of disrupting, we supported them. That is why I don’t have any comments (about Ramesh’s remarks). Anybody can say anything.”The TMC chief also said, “If we don’t fight in other states, how will we become a national party. It is not for winning election, it is for vote percentage also so that we become a national party.”On the June 12 Opposition meeting, Mamata said, “It is happening, I told Nitishji to call a meeting in Patna. He asked me day before yesterday and I confirmed (my participation in the meeting).”Hitting back at Ramesh, TMC leader Derek O’Brien tweeted: “Despite Mamata Banerjee’s support Congress vows to fight Mamata Banerjee in Bengal” Statement from Congress two weeks ago. Congress breaches trust on Opposition unity and then expects bouquets of roses! And about strengthening BJP? Grow up please.”

Bad blood between Cong, TMC flares on heels of uneasy truce
ED arrests Abhishek Banerjee's aide after 12-hour questioning
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | |
The Indian Express
5 days ago | |

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Sujoy Krishna Bhadra, a Kolkata-based businessman and a close associate of Trinamool Congress second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, after questioning him for nearly 12 hours in connection with the school jobs scam in West Bengal.The ED officials said Bhadra was arrested as he was not cooperating with the investigators and dodged their questions. The agency claimed to have found his links with three companies and suspected that crores of rupees were being laundered through these entities. Also, the ED officials had recovered documents during raids at his house earlier.Bhadra’s lawyer Najmul Alam Sarkar said, “They (ED officials) are not communicating with us. I kept waiting for long outside the agency’s office but I wasn’t allowed in.”Earlier, the agency had asked Bhadra to appear in person at its office in CGO Complex in Salt Lake where he reached at 11am on Tuesday. This was the first time he appeared before the ED investigators even as he was summoned for questioning earlier also.The CBI has also summoned him twice.On May 20, the ED agency carried out a search in his flat and office in Behala. Earlier, the CBI had searched his flat on May 4. The businessman appeared before the CBI once in March but skipped the agency’s second summons and instead sent his lawyer.The businessman was first named in the recruitment scam by Tapas Mondal, one of the arrested agents allegedly involved in the scam.According to sources, Abhishek Banerjee’s mother is a director in a company run in the name of Bhadra who claims to be an employee in Banerjee’s office.It is alleged that the TMC leader is a partner in the company, Leaps & Bounds Private Limited, which is into manufacturing of packaged mineral drinking water.Also, the ED has written to state departments in the corruption probe seeking some details. The letters have been sent to the departments of Public Works, and Urban Development, and the Municipal Service Commission. The agency has enquired about the process under which recruitments have been made in the last eight years. The ED also wanted to know as how many people have been employed in these years.Bhadra, also known as Kalighat er Kaku (uncle from Kalighat) had earlier alleged that he was a victim of a politically motivated investigation.Interestingly, he had contested the Bhowanipore by-election in 2011 as an independent candidate against TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee (Chief Minister) and polled 809 votes.Time is ticking, says BJP; TMC hits backTaking a dig at the TMC leadership following Bhadra’s arrest, Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari tweeted, “The long arm of law is finally reaching towards the masterminds & the biggest beneficiaries. No one will be spared. The high and mighty will go to jail. Time is ticking.”He also shared pictures claiming Bhadra’s links with Abhishek Banerjee.Countering his claims, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Suvendu Adhikari is facing an FIR in the Narada case that is being probed by a central agency. Clearly, Bayron Biswas’ joining the TMC didn’t go down well with the BJP and the Congress. It was a planned effort to uplift the morale of their (BJP’s) workers. If he (Bhadra) has been arrested for something wrong, the party won’t stand by him. It is a politically motivated move.”Lok Sabha MP and West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, ” This is so funny that they are finding a link between Bayron Biswas and the ED probe. The TMC is a corrupt party. Technically speaking, Biswas is still a Congress MLA.”CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “I am surprised that if an employee of (Banerjee) can own three companies and have crores of rupees, I wonder how much property and money his employers have.”

ED arrests Abhishek Banerjee's aide after 12-hour questioning