Archives for 2023

SRINAGAR:  Ahead of the start of the annual Amarnath Yatra, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has imposed a ban on serving halwa poori, samosas, jalebi, gulab jamun, pizza, dosa, fried roti and “other junk and unhealthy food” to yatris during the two-month long pilgrimage to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.

For the first time, SASB has released a food menu for the yatris performing the pilgrimage to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas. The 62-day yatra begins on July 1 from both the traditional Pahalgam route in south Kashmir and the shortest Baltal track in central Kashmir. The yatra will culminate on Raksha Bandhan on August 31.

As per the food menu, heavy pulav, fried rice, poori, bathura, pizza, burger, stuffed parantha, dosa and fried roti, bread with butter, cream-based foods, pickle, chutney, fried papad, chowmein and all other fried/fast food would not be served to the yatris by the community kitchens (langars) set up by the SASB this year.

The SASB has set up about 120 langars for pilgrims along the twin yatra routes of Pahalgam and Baltal. The board has also banned the serving of cold drinks, halwa, jalebi, gulab jamun, laddu khoya burfi, rasgulla and all such items, crunchy snacks (high in fat and salts) chips, matthi, namkeen mixture, pakora, samosa, fried dry fruits and all other deep fried items to the yatris during the yatra.

Besides, there is also a ban on serving non-vegetarian food, alcohol, tobacco, gutka, pan masala, cigarettes, and other intoxicants to the yatris. An SASB official said this is not the first time that the ban has been imposed on serving junk and unhealthy food. This kind of advisory, he said, is being issued every year for pilgrims intending to perform the yatra.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Tuesday placed a full-page advertisement in many newspapers titled ‘Modi for India, Shinde for Maharashtra’, quoting a survey where Shinde is shown as more preferred for the top post than BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.

The advertisement carries Sena’s bow-and-arrow symbol and images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Shinde. It has no image or photo of Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray, a noticeable departure going by its earlier publicity materials.

“For the chief minister’s position, 26. 1 per cent of the people in Maharashtra desire Eknath Shinde and 23. 2 per cent of the people wish to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister,” reads the advertisement.

Thus, it is undeniable proof that 49.3 per cent of the people in Maharashtra wish to see a strong alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena for their state’s leadership, it said.

The figures and claims in the advertisement have been attributed to a Zee TV-Matrize survey.

“According to the election surveys, 30.2 per cent of citizens of Maharashtra prefer Bharatiya Janata Party, while 16.2 per cent of citizens prefer the Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde). These numbers show that a total of 46.4 per cent of people in Maharashtra trust the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena alliance for the development of the state,” the advertisement said.

Responding to the advertisement, Sanjay Raut of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) said, “It was Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena earlier, but the advertisement has cleared the air. It has now become Modi-Shah’s Shiv Sena. Where is the image or photo of the late Balasaheb Thackeray in the advertisement?” 

State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, however, tried to downplay the advertisement.

“It is always the election result that decides which party or leader is more acceptable to the voters. Shinde as a cabinet minister was popular earlier and now his acceptance has increased as the chief minister. People of the state have lots of expectations from Fadnavis, Shinde and Modi.”

As a state-level leader, the people of Maharashtra have given preference to Fadnavis twice, he said.

“There is no comparison between the Shiv Sena and BJP about who is a bigger or smaller party,” added Bawankule.

Chief spokesperson of the Maharashtra unit of Congress Atul Londhe called it a “false” survey that he said Shinde has used to promote himself.

“Once the election is over, Maha Vikas Aghadi will win more than 42 Lok Sabha seats (in Maharashtra) and 200 seats in the assembly for sure. A new story would be written about him (Shinde) as ‘once upon a time, there was Shinde’,” he said.

Maharashtra has 48 Lok Sabha seats and 288 Assembly constituencies.

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners — Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP — have asserted that they will fight the polls with maximum coordination.

Bharat Gogawale, chief whip of the Shinde-led Sena said, “We never manage anyone to get a favourable survey. He (Shinde) is even accessible to people and visits all parts of the state. We have not asked any media house to conduct a survey for us.” 

WASHINGTON: The Biden family is planning to host an intimate dinner for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 21, a day before the much-in-demand State Dinner at the White House, a senior administration official has said.

Modi has been invited by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for an official state visit.

“We will have a very substantial arrival ceremony on the White House lawn. The night before, I expect the Prime Minister and President Biden and the Biden family to have some moments of intimacy where they really have a chance to sit down together,” the official told PTI.

The venue of the intimate dinner has not been disclosed.

According to the White House schedule released last week, Biden is scheduled to travel to California from June 19 to 21.

The Prime Minister is expected to arrive in Washington DC from New York on June 21 after attending the International Yoga Day celebrations at the United Nations headquarters.

The day of hectic activities on June 22 would conclude with a State Dinner, for which a tent is likely to be pitched on the South Lawn of the White House to accommodate the large number of guests who have been invited for it.

The guest list is normally released on the evening of the state dinner. The attendees are expected to be the stakeholders of this relationship from across the United States and also from India.

“I think the State Dinner will be really a celebration of the US-India relations with supporters and advocates coming from India, but also around the United States. We have a saying…it’s a very hot ticket. Hardly a day goes by when I haven’t received requests from people to get the last tickets to the state dinner. I believe it will be a wonderful celebration,” said the official.

According to the official, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, on June 23, there will be a lunch at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and the Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“There will be a number of events while the Prime Minister is here celebrating various elements in the relationship, technology, education, and training. Basically, the Prime Minister has asked for an extremely robust schedule, and that’s what we’ve done. We have essentially given him almost a full slate of events that, in many respects, makes clear why we think the US-India relationship is so important,” said the official.

Responding to a question, the senior administration official said the details of the dinner and other activities would be released by the White House in the coming days.

“But I will tell you, it’s very special. It has been curated in a way to appeal to the prime minister. It will be a nice and appropriate gesture of a close partnership between the two leaders,” said the official.

While the number of guests invited for the State Dinner remains a closely guarded secret, the official confirmed that it is much larger than the 120 that can be accommodated in the State Dining Room of the White House, the traditional venue of the State Dinner.

“Yes (pitching the tent on the South Lawns of the White House). It will be extraordinarily glittery, wonderful, and with great entertainment. And I think it will be a wonderful celebration. We’ll have many dimensions to it. And everyone is quite excited,” said the official.

Meanwhile, there is great enthusiasm among Indian-Americans about Modi’s visit. Hundreds of people from across the country are preparing to travel to Washington DC next week to participate in various events related to the visit. This has resulted in a sudden jump in the prices of hotel rooms and flight tickets.

While no one knows the exact number, several thousands of Indian-Americans are planning to be part of the historic welcome ceremony at the White House on the morning of June 22.

Several community organisations like the Federation of Indian Associations have organised special bus services that would bring community members from the New York and New Jersey areas.

Buses would leave several cities in New York and New Jersey early on June 22 so that they could be at the White House in time for the morning welcome ceremony.

On June 21, hundreds of Indian-Americans have planned to gather at Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House to welcome Modi with a cultural extravaganza that would be reflective of India’s cultural diversity.

And on June 23, the community will organise a dinner reception for the Prime Minister at the Ronald Reagan Building.

In addition, a large number of Indian-Americans are planning to have a glimpse of their popular leaders when he arrives at the hotel in Washington DC and at the airport.

NEW DELHI:  Signalling an organisational reshuffle ahead of the 2024 elections, the Congress on Friday appointed Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil as the new Gujarat PCC president. “The Congress president has appointed Shaktisinh Gohil as the new Gujarat PCC president and V Vaithilingam, MP, as the new Puducherry PCC president,” said the party in official communication.

The appointment of Gohil as the new Gujarat PCC chief assumes significance as the grand old party put up the worst-ever performance in the last assembly elections.

Gohil has replaced Jagdish Thakor, who had resigned after the party registered its lowest-ever tally in the assembly polls. Gohil was a former leader of the Opposition in Gujarat during PM Narendra Modi’s tenure as chief minister of the state.

By appointing Gohil, who is considered close to Rahul Gandhi, the party is seeking to strengthen the organization in the home state of PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The Congress has remained out of power in Gujarat for over two-and-a-half decades.

The party said that Deepak Babaria will replace Gohil as the AICC in charge of Haryana and Delhi. “The Congress president has appointed Deepak Babaria as AICC in-charge of Haryana and Delhi with immediate effect,” said a statement.

The appointments may be a precursor to the new Congress Working Committee (CWC), which has been pending for months.  Top leaders said that the CWC will be announced after the Karnataka Assembly election. At the plenary session of the party in Raipur in February, the Steering Committee authorized party president Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate his new team instead of holding elections to CWC.

The party had also effected changes in poll-bound Telangana with the Congress chief appointing Mansoor Ali Khan as secretary, AICC attached to the AICC in charge of Telangana with immediate effect. Besides, P C Vishnunadh, secretary, of AICC is relieved from his current responsibility in Karnataka and is now attached to the AICC in charge of Telangana. “The party appreciates the contributions of N S Boseraju and Nadeem Javed and relieves them of their responsibilities as secretaries of AICC,” the party said.

NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday welcomed the inauguration of the new parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said it is a matter of pride and immense happiness for the entire country.

In her message at the inauguration, the president said the inauguration of the new Parliament building will be written in golden words in the country’s history

Her message was read out by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh.

Noting the parliament is a guiding light for the country, President Murmu said the new Parliament building “is an important milestone in our democratic journey”.

“The occasion of the inauguration of the new parliament building will be written in golden words in the history of India,” Murmu said.

RAIPUR: The obsession with cows in Indian politics is nothing new. In Chhattisgarh, where the polls are scheduled for later this year, the issue seems to have taken centre stage with the BJP targeting the Congress-led state government’s flagship programme on gauthans (premises to house cows).

The leaders and cadres of the saffron party have launched a statewide campaign called ‘Chalbo gauthan, kholbo pol’ (Visit gauthan, expose irregularities). It claimed that the implementation of the Gauthan scheme is not just in disarray but the programme is being run allegedly through fraudulent means by diverting the funds of Central schemes like MGNREGA and that of panchayats.

“It’s a fraud being committed in the name of cows. The scale of corruption is around Rs 1,300 crore,” said Arun Sao, state BJP president, who led his party cadres to inspect such cattle shed units located in the Mungeli district.

In Chhattisgarh, there are 8412 villages with such units operating under the Suraji Gaon Yojana, which is said to have given a boost to rural economic activities across the state. BJP leaders claimed that they found the arrangement of water, fodder, sheds etc inadequate and that cows were missing in some of the gauthans.

The Congress denied the BJP’s allegations, saying it was an attempt to defame the scheme aimed at serving the cows and had got universal appreciation.

“As the elections are approaching, the BJP has begun thinking about gauthans. What were they doing during the last three years when the programme had been initiated? They should better give constructive suggestions that we can follow and improve upon the working of gauthans,” said Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.