Archives for 2019

Hyderabad, Apr 29 : A group of about 50 turmeric farmers from Nizamabad district on Monday will file their nominations from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections to highlight their long pending demand of setting up a separate welfare board that would look into their issues and resolve them.

The farmers claimed that their problems were not addressed under either of the ruling government. “This was not solved during UPA’s tenure too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the same. We are not against him or campaigning against anyone,” he said.

Turmeric farmers across the country are facing hardships due to lack of minimum support price for the last three to four years. This year, turmeric prices have fallen to Rs 3,200 per quintal from Rs 5,200 per quintal.

Farmers have alleged that the local administration and Bharatiya Janta Party cadre have expressed disapproval of their decision. The group of 50, despite the objection, have decided to campaign for themselves along with conducting a meeting with other local farmers to discuss their issues.

A similar group of farmers from Tamil Nadu have decided to stand in solidarity with Telangana turmeric farmers.

Sinha, who was till recently a member and sitting MP of the BJP from Patna Sahib, had joined the Congress earlier this month and is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad of the BJP.

Shatrughan Sinha, Congress’s candidate from Patna Sahib, Bihar, has landed in trouble with a statement he made about Pakistan’s founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah, when he said that Jinnah was part of the Congress family, further praising him for his role in India’s independence movement and development.

Sinha was addressing a public rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Sausar on Friday when he said that the Congress belonged to great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi.

“These leaders had played the most important role in the development and freedom of the country. This is the reason why I have come here,” he said.

Sinha, who was till recently a member and sitting MP of the BJP from Patna Sahib, had joined the Congress earlier this month and is pitted against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad of the BJP.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, on Saturday, declined to comment on the development, saying that he has not heard Sinha’s speech.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain, while addressing the media on Saturday, strongly criticized Sinha for his remark.

Senior Congress leader and former union minister P Chidambaram was more vocal. He said, “Whatever his (Shatrughan Sinha’s) views are, he must explain. But a few days ago, he was part of the BJP, so let BJP explain why he was a part of BJP for so many years. I don’t have to explain statement of every member of the Congress. I can only speak for the party’s official position.”

Meanwhile, Sinha issued a clarification.

“Whatever I said yesterday (on Friday) was a slip of tongue. I wanted to say Maulana Azad but uttered Muhammad Ali Jinnah and a few media houses just grabbed on the slip-up and made a big issue out of it. Congress has given the most dynamic leaders and world class prime ministers like Indira Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh who are held in high esteem across the world,” said Sinha.

Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) minister Krishna Byre Gowda has accused the Election Commission of not allowing him to discharge his duty even as the state is reeling under drought and faces drinking water problem.

“Several taluks are reeling under severe drought. The EC, though, will not allow me to discharge my duty as the RDPR minister and conduct meetings with the Zilla Parishad CEOs to review critical drinking water and employment programmes. Why?” Gowda asked in a tweet.

Karnataka went to polls on April 18 and April 23 in two phases of the Lok Sabha election. “Elections are over in Karnataka. Aren’t laws and rules meant to aid better governance and not stymie legitimate efforts to safeguard citizens?” Gowda added. 

Consecutive drought years and rapid depletion of groundwater levels have resulted in a severe shortage of drinking water in many parts of the state. Data shows that a total of 1,112 villages are being supplied tanker water as nearby water sources have dried up.

The Election Commission relaxed the model code of conduct for Karnataka to the extent of allowing the government to inviting, finalizing tender and issue work orders for infrastructure, development works, procurement of goods and services after April 23, the last day of Lok Sabha polls in the state, instead of May 23, the day election results will be out. 

The BJP has objected to relaxation of the code of conduct in Karnataka. “Even if it is assumed that elections in Karnataka are over, the decisions of the state government on various projects will have their ramifications in other states where elections are under progress,” BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa wrote in his letter to the Election Commission.

Agencies

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