Archives for April 2022

New Delhi: A special committee of Congress leaders constituted by party president Sonia Gandhi to suggest measures for strengthening the organisation and to make it ready for the next round of elections will submit its report in the next two-three days.

The committee on Wednesday met chief ministers of Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and held deliberations with them on the way forward and for evolving the party’s poll strategy.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also met Gandhi here and discussed the organisation’s strategy for the upcoming assembly and general elections.

The meeting was part of the deliberations being held to evolve a long-term strategy for the Congress and discuss the plan presented by poll strategist Prashant Kishor.

Gehlot and Baghel landed in the national capital on Wednesday morning and met the Congress chief at her residence where Kishor was also present.

During the meeting that lasted several hours, the two chief ministers discussed their poll plans for the respective states and asked Kishor to give his additional suggestions to be implemented there, sources said.

They are learnt to have discussed Kishor’s strategy and deliberated on it with other party leaders who are part of the committee.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters that the committee has been holding deliberations for the last two-three days and would submit its report in the next three days after completing deliberations.

“For the last three days, these deliberations have been held. We propose to conclude these deliberations over next 48 to 72 hours,” he told reporters after the five-hour meeting.

Asked on whether the committee will give its decision on the entry of Kishor in the Congress fold, Surjewala said, “The role of the committee is not to suggest whether a particular persons should be included in the Congress party or not and is to suggest measures to strengthen the organisation for contesting elections and prepare it for 2024 general elections and other state assembly elections.”

The committee has taken note of the suggestions given by Kishor and has been deliberating on them, he said.

Surjewala said the committee was set up by Gandhi to help strengthen the organisation and dwell on its future poll strategy and bring about organisational changes and help make the Congress policies to highlight the pain of people of the country.

“Those suggestions include the ways and means to strengthen the Congress organisation and connect it to the large amount of masses. Those suggestions also include gearing up of the Congress for upcoming elections leading up to 2024,both the state assembly and central elections,” he said.

“The Congress organisation must adapt to all these changes and that is why this committee has been holding deliberations for the last three days on the various suggestions given by Prashant Kishor as also by various seasoned leaders from time to time to Congress president,” he said.

Surjewala said since the two chief ministers have vast organisational and administrative experience, the committee thought it fit to request them to join the deliberations. “We have had a fruitful round of discussions with both Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel,” he said.

Gehlot also told reporters that Kishor has become a brand in the country, who was with Narendra Modi in 2014 Parliament elections and later with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and then with the Congress in Punjab and with many other leaders.

“It will be good if his experience is used in uniting the opposition and in fighting the NDA government of PM Modi and there is need to do so, as the manner in which there is violence during festivals and which way it will take the country towards,” Gehlot said, noting that this is not the first time the advice of experts like him is being taken.

A group of senior party leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Digvijaya Singh and Randeep Surjewala, are looking into Kishor’s plan and will present a report to the Congress president on it within the next two-three days.

The poll strategist had presented his plan before the top Congress leadership on Saturday and the party president had formed a panel to look into it and give its report.

The Congress is striving to strengthen the organisation and fight the BJP at the hustings after suffering a series of electoral losses in recent assembly polls. The party has admitted that it failed to impress upon the people about the “failures” of the BJP government.

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police on Tuesday arrested a person in connection with the attack on NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence during a protest by MSRTC workers here, an official said.

With this, the total number of persons arrested in the case has reached 118, he said.

Mudaliar had conducted a recce of Pawar’s residence ‘Silver Oak’ with an accomplice ahead of the attack that took place on April 8, he said.

The accused also took part in the meeting, which was allegedly held at the main accused lawyer Gunratna Sadavarte’s residence on April 7, the official said, adding that he also has knowledge of some financial transactions.

Earlier this morning, a team of Kolhapur police had reached Mumbai to take custody of Sadavarte in a case registered against him at Shahupuri police station, the official said.

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday responding to the queries related banning the entry of non-Hindus in the Char Dham shrines- Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri said that the state government will conduct a verification drive to check if people from outside of the state have encroached upon illegally.

“Ours state is a peaceful one and we should work towards preserving our religion and culture. We will conduct a verification drive to check if people from outside of Uttarakhand have encroached illegally,” said the CM. 

He further added that there is no space for ‘encrochers’. “There is no space for encroachers, spreaders of religion based frenzy. The law will take its own course in such matters,” said CM Dhami.  Last week, Swami Anand Swaroop, a seer who was part of Haridwar Dharam Sansad hate speech has written to Uttarakhand Chief Minister to ban entry of non-Hindu people in Char Dham shrines. 

He also warned the CM of increasing footprints of non-Hindus in the Himalayan state.  The seer had also warned that his ‘Kali Sena’ will teach a lesson to those non-Hindus who ‘violate the sanctity of the Char Dham’. Swami Anand Swaroop, one of the organizers of Dharam Sansad in Haridwar in December 2021 is also convenor of the Dharam Sansad core committee. 

Last year, intelligence aganecies had alerted authorities in Uttarakhand about ‘Demographic Changes’ in certain areas of the hill state warning about these changes, especially in border districts of Udham Singh Nagar, Champawat and Pithoragarh of Kumaon disvision of the state.

All three districts share border with Nepal. Officials from Uttarakhand government told that a report was sent to the union home ministry in January 2021 citing the situation in these districts as ‘sensitive’. 

In September 2021, the state government citing too much increase in population in certain areas of the state which is causing ‘Demographic Change’ resulting into ‘Migration of some communities from those areas’, issued directions to take steps to find the ‘solutuion of the problem’.

Release from the state government stated, “It has come to the notice of the government that in certain areas of the state due to too much increase in population demographic changes have occurred resulting in ‘migration by some communities from those areas’. No only this, there is also an apprehension of disturbance in communal harmony.”

However, the release did not name any community.  The release further stated that the director general of police of the state, all the district magistrates and district police chiefs to take steps to find solution of the problem. 

The state government had also issued instructions to form district level committees along with ‘Peace Committees. These committees will advise to find ‘solution’ of the ‘problem’ and meetings will be organized from time to time to maintain peace.

The directions had also been issued to identify people in every district of Uttarakhand who are from other states with criminal history living in the state and verify their documents as well as records. 

Directions also include taking action by authorities who have forged their documents including foreigners and keeping an eye on sale of properties to see if anyone is not selling the property out of pressure or fear.  Interestingly, union home ministry in an RTI reply had stated that threats to Hindus and Hinduism are ‘imaginary’ or ‘hypothetical’.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a status-quo on the demolition drive in Jahangirpuri, Delhi.

The matter was mentioned by Senior advocate Dushyant Dave before the bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana.

The drive is unconstitutional, unauthorized demolition is taking place in Jahangirpuri where riots took place. No notice was served so that reply is served in 10 days,” he said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also mentions the plea by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind seeking directions that residential accommodations or any commercial property cannot be demolished as a punitive measure. The petitioners have said in the plea that the administration in several states is employing bulldozers to raze down the houses of persons suspected to be involved in criminal incidents such as riots.

The petitioners have also prayed that police personnel to be provided specialised training in handling communal riots and situations where populations become restive.

The court will hear both matters tomorrow.