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Karnataka progressing under Congress rule: Siddaramaiah

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Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Asserting that Karnataka was rated as one of the most progressive states of India, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the ruling Congress gave equal importance to social and economic sectors.

“Karnataka has been appreciated as one of the most progressive states in the country with proactive industrial policy and welfare schemes for the benefit of the people,” Siddaramaiah said at ‘Meet the Press’ event, held to mark the completion of two years of his government.

Claiming that the state remained the most preferred destination for investments, the chief minister said his government had fulfilled 100 of the 160 promises it had made in the party manifesto before May 2013 assembly elections.

“Our pro-poor schemes such as cheaper foodgrain to poor people, free milk supply to students, interest-free loans to farmers and welfare schemes to other sections of society are benefiting the people across the state,” Siddaramaiah said.

Claiming that the Congress would do well in the gram panchayat polls later this month and the Bengaluru civic body elections in July, the chief minister said the people were intelligent and know whom to elect.

“I regret to say the (opposition) BJP and JD-S were more worried about their fate in the ensuing elections and indulging in making baseless allegations against our government and party,” Siddaramaiah said.

The chief minister, who also holds the finance portfolio, said in the three state budgets he presented so far, he had ensured proportionate allotment of resources to all sectors, especially, agriculture, irrigation, power, roads, education, healthcare and urban infrastructure, including in Bengaluru.

“By adding 3,000 MW over the next three years, the state will have surplus power. We have allotted Rs.13,000 crore in this fiscal budget to execute pending irrigation projects for increasing foodgrains production,” he said.

Defending the amendment bill to split the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and superseding it four days before its five-year term was to end on April 22, Siddaramaiah said as the city’s population exploded to 11 million, it was essential to trifurcate the civic body for administrating the city better and improving the infrastructure, including basic amenities.

“The civic body (BBMP) has been expanded by including seven city municipal councils, one town municipal council and 111 surrounding villages to increase its civic wards to 198 from 100 in 2007 by the then BJP-JD-S government. It has become unwieldy. We need to split it for all-round development of the city,” he added.

(Agencies)

Modi government not much different from UPA: Govindacharya

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File photo

File photo

New Delhi: Days after Arun Shourie criticised Narendra Modi Government, BJP’s former ideologue KN Govindacharya on Tuesday too questioned its performance, saying it was not much different from the UPA dispensation and the PM has to come up with “Made for India” policies.

Govindacharya, founder of outfit Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan, said people continue to witness the “same partial” and “corrupt” dispensation at the central level.

“The government has completed a year. But at this moment, we can’t see a ground to list their achievements, which is a matter of concern. On one hand, it is directionless (on policy issues). On the other, there are internal differences amongst ministries.

“People feel even though Modiji looks different from others…People will have their own assessments…. But (I) can’t see much of a difference in the (two) Governments. Same partiality, corruption is there,” he told reporters.

On the Government’s policies over land acquisition bill and concepts of Smart Cities and Make in India, he cautioned the Prime Minister Modi over his advisors in these matters.

“I don’t know who are the advisors of Narendra Modi… who unnecessarily (have) brought into his head this type of a problem of Land Acquisition bill in which the basic norms could not be followed.

“Therefore, I think, that a clever person like Narendra Mod…I think he should beware of his advisors,” he said.

Govindacharya advised the government to properly supplement the “Make in India” concept with “Make for India” and “Made by India” policies.

“Otherwise, it will just be a signboard that ‘India on Sale’, which won’t do any good to people of Bharat,” he said.

Shourie, a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had earlier this month hit out at the Modi Government saying its economic policy was “directionless” while the social climate was causing “great anxiety” among the minorities.

(PTI)

Asaduddin Owaisi: AIMIM will contest BBMP polls

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asaduddin-owaisi

Mysuru: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that his party would field candidates in the upcoming elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

The Hyderabad-based party had performed well in the elections to the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation held recently.

Owaisi, who is on a private visit to the city, hit out at the Congress and the state government for imposing a ban on his entry to Bengaluru city.

The emergence of AIMIM in Maharashtra has started to haunt the Congress, Owaisi said and added that the party (Congress) had not learnt a lesson from the poll debacle in Maharashtra.

In an interaction with media persons, he said that Muslims and dalits face common issues like poverty, high rate of school dropouts, less graduates and social discrimination.

Owaisi said that there was no law and order problem after he addressed a meeting near Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district.

Owaisi said that he has appealed in the High Court against the ban order.

“I can speak in the Indian Parliament, but not on the streets of Bengaluru… they are afraid of me,” the MP added.

“If they (Congress) have done so much (for dailts and Muslims), why is that in 2009 and 2014 elections not even a single Muslim was elected to the Parliament from Karnataka…How many Muslim MLAs are there in the Assembly…?” he asked.

He charged that successive state governments have failed to develop areas with a large Muslim population in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of the state like Kalaburagi, Bidar and other places.

(Agencies)

Congress seeks probe into TRAI releasing 1 mn e-mail IDs

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TRAI

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday asked the government to investigate as to why the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) put up on its website the names of over one million people who had written to it on net neutrality.

Raising the issue during zero hour in the Lok Sabha, Congress member Gaurav Gogoi said: “TRAI putting up the list of names and e-mail addresses of net activists on its website is akin to a bank making the account details of its customers public.”

“This will expose these net activists to hackers,” he said.

Gogoi asked the government to probe as to why and who in the TRAI had leaked the names.

TRAI on Tuesday released the names and email IDs of over one million people who gave their comments on the consultation paper on net neutrality.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had last week accused the government of floating a “trial balloon” on net neutrality even as Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said his regime was in favour of free and fair access to the World Wide Web.

Network neutrality, or open inter-working, means that in accessing the World Wide Web, one is in full control over how to go online, where to go and what to do as long as these are lawful.

It advocates that firms that provide internet services should treat all lawful internet content in a neutral manner.

(IANS)

Congress, BJP protest against farmer's suicide in Delhi

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farmers_suicide

New Delhi: A day after a farmer committed suicide at an AAP rally , Youth Congress workers today staged a demonstration at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence while BJP workers protested at Delhi Police headquarters demanding action against the rally organisers.

Scores of slogan shouting Youth Congress protesters, who were carrying placards demanding Kejriwal’s resignation , reached the Chief Minister’s Flagstaff Road residence at Civil Lines in North Delhi here around 10 AM.

After they were stopped by the police which had erected barricades, the protesters burnt an effigy of Kejriwal.

“They (AAP) should have stopped the rally and must have tried to save the farmer. The Chief Minister should resign from his post,” said one of the protesters.

The Delhi BJP, which had planned a protest march from ITO to Kejriwal’s residence around the same time, staged a protest at Delhi Police Headquarters in central Delhi where police used water canons to disperse them.

Delhi BJP Chief Satish Upadhyay alleged that there was a conspiracy behind the incident and demanded that the organisers of the rally be booked for murder.

BJP workers including Upadhyay and senior leader Jagdish Mukhi were detained by the police and taken to the nearby police station in a bus.

“It is not a suicide but a conspiracy. People there instigated him to commit suicide. He had joined AAP six months ago. Manish Sisodia had invited him here. One of the AAP MLAs tweeted a condolence message 20 minutes before his death,” Upadhyay alleged.

“You continued your rally for 45 minutes even after the death of the farmer. You did not stop your rally. This is a motivated murder and everybody responsible in this case should be booked under charges of murder,” he added.

(PTI)

 

Rahul Gandhi returns from sabbatical

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The return of Rahul Gandhi comes ahead of the party’s planned farmers’ rally on the contentious Land Bill issue which he is likely to address. Photo: Sandeep Saxena, The Hindu

The return of Rahul Gandhi comes ahead of the party’s planned farmers’ rally on the contentious Land Bill issue which he is likely to address. Photo: Sandeep Saxena, The Hindu

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday returned from his 56-day “unexplained” sabbatical that had raised a lot of questions over his leadership of the party at a time when Congress has been battered in elections repeatedly.

The Congress vice president arrived here at 11.15 am on a Thai Airways plane from Bangkok. The plane, which was scheduled to land at 10.35 am, was delayed by 40 minutes, sources said.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka reached the 12, Tughlaq Road residence of Rahul.

A day before the Budget session began on February 23, party sources had said that Mr. Gandhi had gone on leave.

The party had then said that he “requested Congress president Sonia Gandhi for some time to reflect on recent events and future course of the party“.

Ever since the announcement of his temporary break from political life, there has been speculation that he was unhappy for not getting a free hand to run the party, a contention which the party has officially denied.

Rahul’s leave had come amid talk of an AICC session, where he was expected to be elevated as Congress president.

During his absence, several party leaders came out in the open pitching for Sonia Gandhi to continue as president and raised questions over his leadership.

Congress leaders had announced that Rahul would be back by April 19 as he would be addressing a farmers’ rally on land bill issue at the Ramlila maidan here on that day.

The rally is being held on the eve of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament. Rahul had skipped the first phase which saw the Congress taking on the government over the land bill issue as he went on the sabbatical shortly before it commenced.

Congress has been performing badly at the hustings, starting with the Lok Sabha elections last year. It was followed by a string of electoral reverses in Assembly elections including in Delhi recently.

Sources also said that plans are underway to organise an interaction of Rahul Gandhi with a delegation of farmers on April 17 two days before he will address the Kisan-Khet Mazdoor rally of the party.

(PTI)

Sheila Dikshit questions Rahul Gandhi’s leadership

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Sheila Dikshit. Photo: IE

Sheila Dikshit. Photo: IE

New Delhi: Yet another Congress stalwart Tuesday voiced reservation over Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as party president, with former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit saying there was “scepticism” over his leadership qualities and pitched for continuance of Sonia Gandhi at the helm.

The 77—year—old veteran said under Sonia Gandhi there was a “comfort feeling” and that the party could rely on the incumbent president’s “overpowering and very successful” leadership for its revival.

“I will not be able to give any idea what will happen or what will not happen. He (Rahul) could succeed. There is another point we must understand that the overpowering and very successful leadership of Mrs Sonia Gandhi is there. So there is a comfort feeling with her,” Dikshit told PTI in an interview.

Dikshit said Rahul’s leadership qualities have not been fully tested yet and it would be good for the party if Sonia continues to lead it.

“I am yet to meet anybody who has any critical remarks to make about the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. I can say it with absolute confidence. Whereas (in case of) Rahul, of course, there is a question mark, there is scepticism because you have not seen him perform as yet,” Dikshit said.

Dikshit’s comments have come at a time when Congress appears divided on whether to anoint Rahul as president replacing his mother Sonia. Senior party leaders Amarinder Singh and Dikshit’s son Sandeep had come out strongly against Rahul’s elevation.

Dikshit’s son Sandeep had earlier this month said that Sonia was the “leader” for “99 per cent of partymen” and she was needed at the helm now more than ever. Singh had said Sonia should “retain” Congress presidentship and a generational change cannot be done “with a knife“.

(PTI)

Car theft racket: Congress MLA arrested

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File photo of Congress MLA Rumi Nath

File photo of Congress MLA Rumi Nath

Guwahati: Congress MLA Rumi Nath was today arrested in connection with her alleged links with a pan-India car theft racket.

“We have arrested her from the MLA hostel at around 7 AM. At present, she has been kept at Dispur Police Station. During the day, we’ll produce her in court and seek police remand,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Suprotive Lal Barua said.

She was arrested in connection with her alleged “links with a car theft gang” under sections 120(B), 420, 212 of the IPC, which stands for criminal conspiracy, cheating and harbouring offender, he said.

Yesterday, the Congress MLA had appeared before the press and said that she was not absconding.

“I am not absconding. I am innocent. Seeking anticipatory bail does not mean, I am guilty. If I am proved guilty, I am ready to go to prison”, she had said at the press conference.

Earlier, the Gauhati High Court had rejected her two anticipatory bail applications in connection with a case registered at Dispur police station and another at Azara police station.

She had filed for anticipatory bail on April 9 following the arrest of her estranged second husband Jacky Zakir.

Zakir was arrested on April 8 from his house in Badarpur in Karimganj district, while Nath’s Personal Security Officer (PSO) Bedabrata Barpatra Gohain was caught from the Special Branch headquarters in the state capital.

During investigations, it was found that the alleged car theft gang leader Anil Chauhan, who was arrested by Guwahati Police and was wanted in a number of cases in Delhi and Mumbai besides other states, was issued Assam Assembly car passes on the recommendation of Nath.

Following this, the Assembly Secretariat issued a notice asking her to explain why she recommended issuance of car passes to the alleged car lifter, to which Nath responded by saying that she had signed the car pass application form of Chauhan’s wife who is a Congress worker.

“I have no connection with Chauhan, but only know his wife who was also a Congress worker. This is just a political conspiracy to defame me… I have full faith in the law of the land and will cooperate with the police at every step,” Nath had said yesterday.

Assam Congress President Anjan Dutta too issued a showcause notice to Nath for her alleged involvement with the notorious car lifter.

(Agencies)

BJP will rule 10-20 years, party says at leadership meet

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karnataka-bjp

Bengaluru: The BJP, which stormed to power nationally last year, will rule India for 10-20 years, party president Amit Shah announced here on Friday as the party opened a meeting of its top leaders.

“This government has arrived,” Shah said to thunderous applause at the two-day meet, addressing 330 delegates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The BJP will be in power for the next 10-20 years.”

Speaking in chaste Hindi, Shah also listed out the achievements of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi’s government since May 2014 on various fronts, including economy and foreign policy.

He said the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had brought an end to the policy paralysis of the earlier Congress regime. “We have brought a new political culture.”

And after becoming the world’s largest political party, the BJP announced that it would train the over 15 lakh new members while further speeding up its nationwide membership drive.

Party leader Prakash Javadekar, who briefed the media about Shah’s comments, said the BJP had become the biggest party in the world with 9.25 crore members. “We will cross the 10 crore mark soon.”

Among those attending the meeting is party patriarch L.K. Advani.

As it was the executive’s first meeting after the BJP got a majority in the Lok Sabha, an upbeat mood marked the inaugural session at a star hotel in the city centre amidst tight security.

Javadekar pointed out that besides ruling world’s largest democracy, the BJP was in power in a dozen states — “including eight states where we are in power on our own and four in alliance with our partners”.

In his speech, Shah played down the BJP’s shock defeat in Delhi in February but quickly added the party’s Delhi unit needs to revive itself.

“The party president said we have had successes, and one failure in Delhi is not a big deal,” Javadekar quoted Shah as saying.

“He said such things happen. We should not get arrogant after victory and desperate after defeat.”

The Aam Aadmi Party routed the BJP in the February assembly election, winning 67 of the 70 seats. The BJP, which won 31 seats in 2013, could bag only three seats.

Talking about upcoming assembly polls in Bihar, Shah said the “jungle raj” was back in the state since the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) broke away from the BJP.

Riding high on becoming the world’s largest political party, the national executive began its meeting earlier to take stock of its 10-month rule and chalk out strategies to spread its wings in India.

The party’s Karnataka leaders honoured Advani, Modi, Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the local style by crowning them with the famous Mysore petha (headgear), draping a shawl and garlanding them.

Modi inaugurated the meeting by lighting a lamp with the other three leaders on the dais. The meet was not open to the media.

Shah heaped praise on Modi’s corruption-free government. “The economy is looking up and prices have been brought under control as evident from decline in inflation.

“A number of policy initiatives and administrative measures have been taken to revive growth and improve infrastructure.”

The meeting will deliberate over various issues, including the controversial land acquisition bill which was stalled by the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

The executive will also draw a plan to expand the party’s footprint in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and the north-east region where its presence is minimal.

“The meeting will also work out strategies to capture power in Bihar where elections are due this year,” a party source said.

(IANS)

Congress announces organisational poll schedule; Rahul may be anointed as party chief

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Rahul-Gandhi

New Delhi: Amid talks that Rahul Gandhi will be anointed as the party chief, AICC Thursday announced a new schedule for organisational elections in which the next Congress President will be elected by September 30.

A highlight of the new schedule is that for the first time, party polls will be held in two phases, first phase covering 18 states and Union territories and the second phase almost equal number of states and Union territories.

Interestingly, the party elections will be over by July 31 in 18 states including Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and a host of states in North-east in the first phase.

The second phase will cover Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Telangana.

The Congress chief will be elected by September 30. Sonia Gandhi has created a record of having the longest tenure at the helm of the oldest political party when she completed 17 years as Congress President on March 14.

She took the top party post amid a complete collapse in 1998 replacing the late Sitaram Kesri at a time when the party had faced a crisis with the BJP in the ascendence.

The organisational polls are being held at a time when the Congress has faced its worst debacle in the Lok Sabha polls in May 2014 after being at the top for a decade since coming to power in 2004. It could manage just 44 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Organisational elections are being held when the talk is growing in the party that sooner rather than later Sonia Gandhi will pass the mantle to her son Rahul Gandhi, who was made the Congress Vice President in January 2013 at the Jaipur Chintan Shivir.

The schedule which was finalised by the Central Election Authority of the party headed by senior leader Mullappally Ramachandran was released by AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi.

Under the new schedule, enrolment of members has been extended from March 31 to May 15 after which the District Congress Committees will publish the preliminary list of members by May 25.

In the states which will have party polls in the first phase, publication of final list of members as also the final list of eligible contestents will be done by July 5 after disposing of appeals at all levels.

Election of President and Executive of the Primary Committees will be completed between July 10 to 15.

In stage-II, the elections to the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Executive of the Block Congress Committees and election of six members of the DCC and one member of the Pradesh Congress Committee by the Block Congress Committees will be completed between 16 to 20 July.

It will be followed by election of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Executive Committee of the District Congress Committee will be held between July 20 and 25.

(PTI)

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