Archives for March 2022

KOLKATA: The BJP on Friday named fashion designer turned MLA Agnimitra Paul as the party candidate for the by-election to the Asansol Lok Sabha constituency to contest against Shatrughan Sinha of the Trinamool Congress.

The names were announced by the BJP central leadership in Delhi, the party’s West Bengal spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya told PTI. By-polls in both seats will be held on April 12 and votes will be counted on April 16.

Paul had been elected to the state assembly from the Asansol South seat in Paschim Bardhaman district last year on BJP ticket.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee nominated actor turned politician Shatrughan Sinha to contest from the industrial city of Asansol having a sizeable Hindi speaking population.

The Left Front fielded senior CPI(M) leader Partha Mukherjee as the candidate for the by-election in the Asansol Lok Sabha seat. It named Saira Shah Halim of the CPI(M) as its candidate for the bypoll in the Ballygunge assembly seat. She is a known face on prime time debate shows on national news channels.

The bypoll to Asansol was necessitated as Supriyo resigned as the BJP MP after joining the TMC in September last year.

The Ballygunge Assembly seat is going to the by-election as incumbent MLA and state minister Subrata Mukherjee died in November 2021. Paul could not be contacted for her comment as she did not reply to calls and text messages.

Keya Ghosh alleged that Supriyo had acted in the most unethical manner by switching loyalties. “Besides fighting against the TMC’s misrule and attack on democracy, my job will be to unmask Supriyo. He will be defeated in the by-poll,” she added.

JAGATSINGHPUR:  Irrespective of the high voltage campaigning by political parties, elections to the Jagatsinghpur municipality is likely to witness a fierce battle between BJD MLA Prasant Muduli  and Congress leader Chiranjib Biswal, both making desperate attempts to bag a majority through their respective candidates in the urban polls. 

As the date for the election inches closer, the political leaders have intensified their campaigns in all 23 Wards of the municipality. While Muduli is keen on continuing the winning streak of the party, Congress’ Biswal is aiming at reclaiming the party’s stature by winning seats like that of 2013 urban elections. 

For the chairperson post, the ruling party has fielded Rajashree Mohapatra, wife of BJD town unit president Priyabrata Mohapatra. Rajashree’s opponents are Archana Singh (Congress), Pankajini (BJP) and Jhilina Das (Independent). All the women contestants are reportedly new to politics though their family members have  been elected councillors many times.

Sources say, retaining the chairperson seat is now a matter of prestige for the Congress party, specially Biswal, given the party’s drubbing in Jagatsinghpur and Naugaon blocks. Both blocks come under Jagatsinghpur assembly seat where the former MLA was defeated by Muduli in the last assembly elections. 

Party leaders say after a series of defeat, strengthening the Congress hold in Jagatsinghpur municipality has been Biswal’s main agenda and he is leaving no stone unturned to woo voters in different Wards. The BJD too is on its toes.

Exuding confidence, BJD chairperson candidate Rajashree Mohapatra said, “I am hopeful to win my debut contest.  The MLA is visiting wards and inaugurating many development projects which will help us win a majority,” she hoped.

On the other hand, her Congress counterpart Archana Singh asserted that the party has a strong hold in the municipality. “Voters have expressed anger over corruption in government projects and this hopefully will work in our favour. Our leader Biswal is accompanying us to garner support,” she added.

Since Muduli and Biswal are not residents of Jagatsinghpur or Naugaon, political observers feel their career prospects in Jagatsinghpur assembly segment is uncertain. Hence, both are trying to not just win the urban polls but also strengthen their hold for the coming general elections.

BENGALURU: Taking a cue from Gujarat, Karnataka too is contemplating including chapters from the Bhagavad Gita as part of moral science education in school textbooks.

“It has come to my attention that Gujarat is planning to introduce moral sciences in phases, with the first phase being inclusion of texts and teachings from the Bhagavad Gita,” he said, adding that a meeting will be held with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the possibility of doing likewise in Karnataka.

The minister was responding to a question on whether the Bhagavad Gita will be included in textbooks from the next academic year, similar to the Gujarat model.

Nagesh said the inclusion of moral sciences will be considered seriously as cultural values have not been adequately instilled among children in schools. 

“If the government decides to go ahead with adding moral science to the syllabus, the content and extent of the study as part of the subject will be discussed with education experts,” he said, adding that the content could also include stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata as well as teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Gujarat government recently announced that the Bhagavad Gita will be included in schools as a way to cultivate an interest in the country’s traditions and culture as well as to generate a sense of pride. 

Responding to the minister’s statement, KPCC president D K Shivakumar said there is no need to glorify religious subjects as they have already been included in textbooks.

“It is good to learn about various religions, but this has already been included in textbooks,” he told reporters.

Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, while indirectly opposing the idea, said students want texts on how to lead better lives and a value-based education system. 

Speaking after attending a programme to inaugurate the newly constructed Nanjundeshwara temple in T Mayigowdanahalli village of Holenarasipur taluk, he said children learn culture at home, which includes the Bhagavad Gita.

He said political parties come up with such proposals only with an eye on votes.

The education scenario has changed, and the current education system has a series of lapses, so the focus should not be diverted by raising such issues, he added. 

Kumaraswamy also said a section of political leaders are making futile attempts to take political advantage of the hijab issue. 

LUCKNOW: The swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected BJP government in Uttar Pradesh will be held in the state capital on March 25, a senior government official said on Friday.

The ceremony will take place at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ikana stadium in Lucknow at 4 pm on March 25, he said.

Before the ceremony, Yogi Adityanath, who led the party to a thumping victory in the just concluded elections, will be elected as the leader of the House, party sources said. This is the second consecutive term of Adityanath.

Senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national president J P Nadda, are likely to attend the event, sources said.

Besides chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states are also expected to attend the function, they said, adding that top leaders of opposition parties will also be extended the invitations.

Massive preparations for the function have already started wherein beneficiaries of various schemes of the previous Yogi Adityanath government, including women, will be invited, they said.

The size of the ministry or who all will be taking oath on the day is not clear as of now, they added.

The BJP won 255 seats in the 403-member assembly and its allies won 18 seats, paving way for the saffron party to return to power for the second consecutive term.

Elections in the northern state were held in seven phases and the results were announced on March 10.

AURANGABAD: The AIMIM is willing to ally with NCP and Congress, which are constituents of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, party MP Imtiaz Jaleel said, adding the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party is not the ‘B’ team of BJP as alleged by mainstream parties.

Jaleel said he spoke about the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s willingness to tie up when state minister and NCP leader Rajesh Tope visited his residence on Friday.

“Tope visited me on Friday, days after lost my mother due to an illness. It is always alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party wins because of us (AIMIM- due to splitting of Muslim votes). To prove this allegation wrong I proposed to Tope that we are ready for an alliance. However, he didn’t say anything about my offer,” Jaleel, who heads the Maharashtra unit of AIMIM, told reporters on Friday night.

Now we want to see whether these are just allegations against AIMIM or they (Congress and NCP) are ready to join hands with us, he added.

Queried about the likely stand of Shiv Sena regarding AIMIM’s offer, the Aurangabad MP avoided a direct reply.

“The fact is that these parties want votes of Muslims. Why only NCP? The Congress also says they are secular and they also want votes of Muslims. We are ready to join hands with them too. The BJP has done the maximum damage to this country. We are ready to do everything to defeat them,” the AIMIM leader said.

He said the AIMIM had also spoken (about a tie-up) with the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh (polls), but they wanted votes of Muslims and not Asaduddin Owaisi, who heads the party.

“In Maharashtra also, these parties (Congress and NCP) want votes of Muslims but not the AIMIM. You blame us for BJP’s victory. I propose that then let us contest the elections together,” he said.

When asked whether the proposal for an alliance is limited for the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, Jaleel said that the future action depends upon the response AIMIM gets from NCP and Congress.

“Otherwise we can go alone. We are giving them a chance (to ally) as they call us the ‘B’ team (of BJP),” he said.

AIMIM had won two seats in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

On Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide’s recent remarks about Islam, Jaleel said the former can be compared with Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab.

“Kasab used a gun to weaken India and this man is using vitriol. No religion is bad. People who follow that religion can be good or bad. This person is not worth calling ‘Guruji’,” Jaleel said.

NEW DELHI: Ola Electric on Thursday said it will raise prices of S1 Pro scooter with effect from the next purchase window.

The Bengaluru-based firm is slated to commence the next purchase window on March 17-18, coinciding with the Holi festival.

“Thanks to all who’ve purchased S1 Pro already and special thanks to those who’ve bought their 2nd or 3rd S1 Pro! Last chance to get it for 1,29,999. We’ll be raising prices in the next window. This window ends 18th midnight!,” Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal said in a tweet.

The company said it is bringing exclusive special edition colour Gerua in a glossy finish. This colour will only be available for the two days of Holi on March 17 and 18.

The entirely digital payment process will be through the Ola app only, it had stated.

Ola Electric is currently ramping up the production and deliveries of the Ola S1 Pro scooter to meet customer demand.