New Delhi, Mar 26 : Slamming the BJP and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for terming the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) scheme proposed by the Congress as a ‘bluff scheme ‘, the party on Tuesday charged the BJP of misleading people on the scheme.

Addressing a press conference here, AICC media incharge Randeep Surjewala said that all the existing schemes would continue,

”The BJP and their ‘Blog Minister’ are resorting to a false propaganda. The Congress president had stated on Monday and I am repeating that no existing scheme would be scrapped nor would any subsidy be removed.

This scheme is not a replacement of MGNREGA or any other scheme,”he said.

Giving details of the scheme, announced by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday, Mr Surjewala said, ”
It is a women-centric scheme. The money will be transferred to the accounts of homemakers.”

Clarifying that it was not a top-up scheme, Mr Surjewala said, ”20 per cent poor families will receive Rs 72,000 every year. This scheme will be implemented for both urban and rural poor. Congress governments reduced India’s poverty from 70 per cent during independence to 22 per cent . We will work for removing the 22 per cent remaining poverty in India.?

”This is the world’s biggest scheme for eradicating poverty,” Mr Surjewala said.

Slamming the BJP and Finance Minister Arun jaitley for describing the scheme as a ‘bluff announcement’, Mr Surjewala described the Narendra Modi governemt as ‘anti-poor’,

”Hypocrite Modi can forgive Rs 3,50,000 crore of handful of businessmen but giving Rs 72,000 for India’s poor is troublesome for him. Why is BJP opposing this scheme? When Mr Modi can spend Rs 5,000 Cr for his publicity and advertisements, why is he opposing Rs 72,000 for a poor family? It is very clear that being anti-poor is in the DNA of Modi and BJP,”he said.

Pointing out that Mr Narendra Modi opposed MNREGA, a scheme that eradicated poverty, Mr Surjewala said, ?In his very first speech in Parliament after becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi opposed MNREGA, a scheme that eradicated poverty. NSSO data reveals that since Modi became PM, 4 crore jobs are lost in the country. Mr Modi’s GST destroyed small businesses in the country. Modi government is anti-poor.?

Patna, March 26 (Nasheman News) Supporters of senior BJP leaders — Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajya Sabha member R.K. Sinha — clashed outside the Patna airport on Tuesday after the party decided to field Prasad from the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat.

According to police officials, violence erupted soon after Prasad arrived from Delhi and his supporters were welcoming him.

Sinha’s supporters showed him black flags and shouted slogan against him. Police and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel dispersed the mob.

Prasad refused to comment on the incident. He will contest from the seat which was held by dissident BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha.

A senior BJP leader said that Sinha was keen to contest from Patna Sahib.

The BJP is contesting from 17 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar as part of the NDA.

Karnataka goes to polls in two phases on April 18 and April 23. As a resident of the state, if you have not registered to vote or if you have found that your name is not on the electoral rolls, then you have only a few days left to register and fill appropriate forms. 

If you are registered to vote in Udupi-Chikkamagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru-Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru North, Chickkaballapur or Kolar, you need to register your vote before March 16. The last date for voter registration is 10 days before the last date for filing nominations. These regions go to polls on April 18 and the last date for filing nominations is March 26. Hence, it is important to finish filling the form within three days as the election commission takes 10 days to process one application. 

Chikkodi, Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Gulbarga, Raichur, Bidar, Koppal, Ballari, Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davangere and Shivamogga go to polls on April 23. The last date for filing nominations for the candidates contesting polls in on April 8. The last date for voter registration is March 29. 

How to register to vote?

• Those who want to register to vote, change their address or look if their names are on the electoral roll, you can visit the National Voter Service Portal (sometimes the website takes time to load. Try opening on desktop not on mobile. Please be patient.)
• New voters must fill Form 6 in order to register themselves as voters. The form is available on the NVSP portal. You will need a passport sized photo and proof of age and residence.
• There may be cases, where people who are alive appear as deceased on the electoral roll. Age of person or spelling of name may be incorrect. To update or correct the details on the electoral roll, one must fill Form 8.
• If you have relocated to a different location within the constituency, use Form 8A.
• If you wish to delete your name from the voters’ list from any constituency and relocate to a new constituency, Form 6 must be filled along with Form 7. Form 6 is to register to vote in a new constituency and by filling Form 7, your name will be deleted from the voters’ list in the old constituency.  
• You can also collect two copies of the above mentioned forms from the Electoral Registration Office, Assistant Electoral Office and Booth Level Offices located in your constituency. You will have to fill the form and submit hard copies of age and address proof to the said office itself. 

“People have to follow the deadlines. Last date for south Karnataka voters to register is March 16 and last date for north Karnataka voters is March 29. The electoral rolls are updated till the last date of nominations. Voters must adhere to the deadlines as the process takes 10 days to get the voter ID. Once you get the voter ID, voters must check electoral rolls and see if their names have appeared. If their names are not there, they will not be able to vote,” Surya Sen, Joint ECO of the Karnataka Election Commission told TNM.

What is an electoral roll?

An electoral roll is a list of names prepared by the Election Commission of India. This includes the names of all the people, aged 18 years and above, who have voter ID cards. Basically, all the people who will be able to vote for the upcoming elections.

If your already have a voter ID card, then ideally, your name should appear on the electoral roll. However, sometimes this is not the case – many people have realised only when they reach the polling booth that their name is not on the electoral roll, despite the fact that they have a voter ID. Hence, it is crucial to check if your name appears on the voter list ahead of the polls. You can check whether your name is on the electoral roll here (sometimes the website takes time to load). If you cannot access the website, you can log on to the National Voter Service Portal. On the left hand side of the home page, you can search for your name on the electoral roll in the search bar.

Agencies

Bengaluru, the tech city, will hold the Lok Sabha elections on April 18. The polling date, however, is wedged between holidays — Mahaveer Jayanti on April 17 and Good Friday on April 19. It is a long weekend too.

Despite the election commission’s awareness campaigns to bring more voters to polling booths, the city is known for its poor voter turnout during elections.  In the 2018 assembly election, only 54.76% of residents voted in the city.

Now, the election commission will be creating awareness among people, so that the residents avoid going away on long picnics, therefore ensuring they do not skip the voting. 

“The whole country is going to an election in seven phases and the dates have been fixed accordingly. To improve voter turnout, we will be conducting various awareness programmes and campaigns,” BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad, the district election officer.

“We have planned radio talk shows, TV shows and street plays to create awareness including a demonstration on voting to encourage the public to participate in the electoral process,” he added.

Veenapani, member of the Voters Forum said: “During these dates, there are school holidays. There is a chance of people planning picnics. This will affect the voter turnout in the city.”

There are 88,81,066 voters in Bengaluru, said Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner, N Manjunath Prasad. The commissioner, who is also the district election officer (DEO), told reporters that out of the total voters in the city, 46,32,900 are male and 42,48,166 are female.

The commissioner, who is also the district election officer (DEO), told reporters that out of the total voters in the city, 46,32,900 are male and 42,48,166 are female.

Three Lok Sabha constituencies – Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, and Bengaluru South comes under the ambit of the DEO. “The polling in the three constituencies will be held on April 18. The residents can enroll themselves till March 16,” Prasad a…

“Citizens can call toll-free number ‘1959’ regarding any issue relating to the election,” he added. The city police will monitor the law and order. “We have taken action against 400 rowdy sheeters so far. Licensed firearms should be deposited at the police stations soon. We had registered 300 cases in the last election and 299 cases have been disposed of,” said T Suneel Kumar, city police commissioner.

Agencies

A total of 600 polling booths out of the 58,186 voting stations to be set up for the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka on April 18 and 23 will be managed by women personnel, an election official said on Monday.

“As part of ensuring gender equality and constructive participation of women in the electoral process, the Commission has directed to set up ‘all-women managed polling stations’,” said a statement from the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar’s office.

These booths will have women as polling staff, police and security personnel.

The state will have 58,186 voting stations for election to the 28 Lok Sabha seats in two phases — on April 18 for 14 seats and on April 23 for another 14 seats. Vote count will be held on May 23.

The southern state has a total of 5.03 crore registered voters.

The number of voting stations to be set up has been increased by 7%, from 54,265 polling booths in 2014 general elections, the statement said.

While this initiative has been taken to ensure participation of women in the electoral process, it should be noted that not many have been actively engaged in politics. Seeking reforms to the way political parties distribute seats, women from the state had taken to protests at Freedom Park on Friday demanding that political parties be mandated to reserve 50% of seats for women candidates. The protest was organised by ‘Shakti’ a non-partisan political collective, created to empower and enable more women to foray into politics.

The women took to sitting on one knee during the protest to highlight the lack of female representation in parliament, with several noting that women do not have 50% representation. 

The Principal, Staff and students of Baldwin Women’s Methodist College held a silent demonstration by forming a “Human Chain” around the college campus. This was collectively done to show solidarity to the valiant soldiers at the borders and also to condemn the heinous attack on the CRPF soldiers at Pulwama.

Around 600 students along with the Principal, Manager and Faculty members formed a human chain holding placards to emphasise vehemently the grief over the loss of CRPF personnel, to stand by the bereaved family and to condemn the cowardly attack on the CRPF soldiers by the terrorists. The principal addressed the students urging them to spread the message of peace and acceptance, to uphold one’s patriotism and to honour the efforts of the brave soldiers who risk their lives to keep the nation safe.

The entire program was orchestrated by the student leaders and supported by Principal of Baldwin Women’s Methodist College, Mrs. Lydia. P. Samuel, Manager Pastor. David Livingstone and the faculty members.

Nasheman News :  A highway in Rajasthan was blocked on Tuesday by villagers demanding compensation for the families of 11 people who were killed in an accident.

According to the police, the accident took place near Pratapgarh on Monday night when a speeding truck rammed into a marriage procession of over 100 people. The driver fled shortly after the mishap.

The victims belonged to the Chhoti Sadri village. 

Anguished villagers have refused to collect the bodies and have blocked the National Highway 113 demanding for compensation.

In order to ease the blockade, an ex-gratia of Rs 1.75 lakh was announced for each of the victims’ families, said Pratapgarh Additional District Magistrate Hemendra Nagar. 

Nineteen people were also injured, of which two were said to be critical, he added.

Nasheman News :  Thousands of Muslims on Friday hit the roads in south Mumbai’s minority-dominated Bhendi Bazaar area, spontaneous shutdowns were observed in different parts of the city, and several groups and political parties protested against Thursday’s Pulwama terror attack which left close to 50 CRPF troopers dead.

Muslims led by leaders of several NGOs took out a procession on Mohammed Ali Road — south Mumbai’s trading hub — carrying the Indian Tricolour, banners, placards and raising anti-Pakistan and anti-terror slogans this afternoon.

The entire area observed a total shutdown and reverberated with slogans of “Pakistan Murdabad”, “LeT Murdabad”, “Down with Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed” and “JeM Murdabad” as thousands peacefully staged protest marches in Saifee Jubilee Street, Handiwala Mosque and Sunni Bilal Mosque here.

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the families of two troopers from Maharashtra martyred in the Pulwama attacks.

“We have announced Rs 50 lakh for the kin of the martyred jawans and the Maharashtra government will take responsibility of their rehabilitation. 125 crore Indians are their family members,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said condemning the attack.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) units in Mumbai led by Raj Purohit, Ram Kadam and other leaders organised demonstrations in the city and suburbs against Pakistan and flayed the terror strikes.

Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan and Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam organised a special condolence meeting at the party headquarters and other cities in the state condemning Pakistan and demanded strict action against the terror groups by India.

Both Chavan and Nirupam said the government must ensure that the sacrifices of the troopers do not go in vain and added that as per Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s statement, the party would fully support all endeavours of the government in this regard.

The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists burnt Pakistan flags, the Nationalist Congress Party and others organised similar protests and demonstrations at various locations in Mumbai and other parts of the state.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray demanded immediate retaliation and said the government should “hit back with full force”.

“Alliances, elections — all this can continue, but don’t spare Pakistan. Now a surgical strike is needed inside Pakistan. The entire country is united to give a befitting answer to the Jaish-e-Mohammed and teach a lesson to Pakistan it will never forget,” Thackeray said.

The Sena has also demanded convening a special Parliament session to discuss the Pulwama crisis and the future course of action.

The Bharat Diamond Bourse, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council and Mumbai Diamond Merchants Association organised a joint condolence meeting for the martyred troopers at the BDB Complex in Bandra Kurla.

Many private and government offices arranged a two-minute silence to mourn the victims, and protests were held at major railway stations on the Mumbai suburban sector with lakhs of home-bound commuters joining to raise slogans in solidarity with the CRPF troopers.

Nasheman News : Noted actress Shabana Azmi has been diagnosed with swine flu during a routine check-up for cough and cold. She is recuperating in the hospital.

However, she is using the time for productive pursuits. “Rarely, do I get a chance to lie back and introspect. This is an enforced break for me,” said Shabana.

“I have not been in contact with any swine whatsoever. But I am in hospital recovering fast,” she said.