Nasheman News : Controversial hoardings portraying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the next prime minister and a ‘Kalyug ka Avtaar’ (reincarnation in Kali Yuga) were removed from many public places in Agra after the municipal corporation noticed them, an official said.

The hoardings put up by the Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena were placed under the ‘Yogi for PM’ campaign, triggering a flutter in political circles.

As the hoardings dotted the city landscape, Agra Mayor Naveen Jain ordered their immediate removal. The civic authorities have also ordered action against the advertising agency that put up the billboards. 

The hoardings carry a picture of Lord Ram and the monk-turned-politician thanking him for renaming of Faizabad district as Ayodhya. 

Hoardings portraying Adityanath as the future prime minister and a man of action had recently created controversy. These, too, were removed soon after they were put up. 

Those billboards were also put up by the UP Navnirman Sena.

Nasheman News : Seen as a slanted attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid growing unease in ties with the BJP, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said with various scams in the country, “it seems chowkidars have become thieves” — a takeaway from Congress slogan.

Referring to what he termed as “scams” in the defence and agriculture sectors besides ‘jumlas’ of other schemes such as Rs 15 lakh in every Indian’s bank account or the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Thackeray attacked the ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party on various fronts.

Addressing a much-anticipated rally in the temple town of Pandharpur, Solapur district, he hit out at the BJP for getting “possessed” by the spirits of gods in raking up the Ram temple before elections, but achieving nothing in the past over three decades.

“I went to Ayodhya (November) and have come to the holy land of Pandharpur. I want to wake up the sleeping Kumbhakarna — you exploited Ram temple to win elections and now you are in a slumber. We will not rest till the Ram temple is constructed,” Thackeray roared.

“The PM makes all kinds of promises which he says will be implemented by 2022 – this means people must vote for him in 2019. After that, he will again say everything was a ‘jumla’ to be said during elections,” Thackeray said.

He said when the BJP is questioned about the temple construction, it says the matter is “in courts”. “But was it not aware of this 30 years ago?” he asked.

Congratulating Janata Dal (U) chief Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan for their pacts with the BJP, Thackeray countered: “What is their stand on the Ram temple? Why are they silent on it?”

He demanded a parliamentary debate on the Ram temple and Hindutva issues, where “it will become clear who is with NDA and against.”

Dwelling on the farmers issues, he said the government has indulged in ‘jumlas’ such as doubling farmers’ incomes, but there is no such scheme. Despite tall claims, crop insurance and debt waiver have not reached the common peasantry, he said.

“There is a scam bigger than Rafale in the agriculture sector. Despite having four state-run insurance companies, the government has given out contracts to 12 companies who have nothing to do with crop insurance. The poor farmers may be debt-ridden, but they will not flee like Vijay Mallya or Nirav Mod-Mehul Choksi,” Thackeray said.

Touching upon Rafale, he said most questions raised on it have not been answered yet, but the government claims it has got a “clean chit’ from the courts. He alleged that “there are scams in defence purchases sector” undermining the crucial requirements for the country’s security.

“The government is now invading privacy of individual Indians and blaming Congress for everything. Tomorrow, they will impose Emergency and say even the Congress did it,” Thackeray said.

Barely a week after BJP President Amit Shah in Mumbai expressed “confidence” in working out an alliance with Sena for the 2019 elections, Thackeray hinted otherwise. “The Shiv Sena will form the next government. We are not interested in seat-sharing talks — that can go to hell. We want to first resolve the farmers issues and construct the Ram temple.”

However, probably leaving a small window open for negotiations, he added in the same breath that “the people of the state will decide whether to go for alliance”, but vowed to unfurl the Sena flag over the state.

Claiming that the defeat in the five state elections recently has “shattered the BJP’s arrogance”, he said the people of those states voted courageously without bothering about “options and alternatives” (to the BJP).

Referring to the drought situation in the state, he said recently a Central team came and carried out a hurried survey. “But now he (Thackeray) would go on a tour of all the drought-hit regions of Maharashtra in January and every Shiv Sena ‘shakha’ (branch) will act as relief centres for farmers.”

Meanwhile, BJP state President Raosaheb Patil-Danve, reacting to Thackeray’s hard-hitting speech, said the Rafale verdict has been given by the Supreme Court and said 90 per cent farmers have already got the benefit of the loan waiver announced in June 2017.

The loss of his home constituency of Chamundeshwari in Mysuru in the Karnataka assembly elections six months ago had left former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the back footing. Speculations were rife about a new wave in the Congress – one which put DK Shivakumar and Dr G Parameshwara, the Deputy CM of Karnataka, at the fore.

However, Siddaramaiah has once again proved his strength in the party: pulling the strings in the background, the leader proved his clout and support during the cabinet expansion, which took place on December 22.

Six out of eight ministerial berths were filled in by Siddaramaiah’s loyalists. As the Congress Legislature Party Chief, Siddaramaiah successfully had MB Patil inducted into the Cabinet. Two Kuruba leaders – CS Shivalli and MTB Nagaraju – who are known Siddaramaiah loyalists, were also given Cabinet berths.

Even Satish Jarkiholi, who had played a crucial role in Siddaramaiah’s victory in the Badami constituency, was inducted into the Cabinet during the expansion. Angered by the coalition’s move to not assign a ministerial portfolio during the first round, Satish Jarkiholi had openly rebelled against the party.

In order to reward the Ballari Congress leaders for the victory in the bye-elections, PT Parameshwar Naik and E Tukaram were given Cabinet seats in the expansion. Siddaramaiah’s move to include two strongmen from the Ballari region was also to ensure the Congress retains the Ballari Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections.

By influencing the cabinet expansion, Siddaramaiah proved that his connections with the party’s high command and senior leaders are still intact. Congress insiders say that Siddaramaiah’s proximity to Rahul Gandhi has helped him retain his strength within the party. “After the assembly elections, Siddaramaiah has spent time and and put effort in Badami. Even though he lost in Chamundeshwari, he shifted his focus to strengthen the party’s presence in the northern districts. He showed that the defeat did not affect him. The high command has always relied on his political acumen, which is why he is still powerful,” a Congress leader said.  

The rumblings of dissent

Soon after the names of the eight new ministers was announced, Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was dropped from the Cabinet in the expansion, has risen up in revolt. Ramesh Jarkiholi was benched pending good behaviour, especially after he openly threatened to quit the party earlier in October. Ramesh Jarkiholi had also held talks with the BJP, hoping he could negotiate a better deal with the Congress.

“When his brother (Satish) had rebelled openly, Ramesh Jarkiholi wanted to make his presence felt. He threatened to join the BJP and tried to get a good deal by making demands. The party’s high command did not want to set a bad precedent by giving in. He was sidelined for a reason,” a Congress leader said.

Meanwhile, Congress veteran and former Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy was also sidelined and not given a ministerial berth. Reddy has openly accused Siddaramaiah, Dr G Parameshwara and Law Minister Krishna Byre Gowda of colluding with each other to keep him out of the Cabinet.

Responding to his allegations, Dr G Parameshwara said that he had no role in Ramalinga Reddy’s name being rejected. “Of course every leader gets to suggest names. But the high command will take the ultimate decision. Krishna Byre Gowda and I were not involved in Ramalinga Reddy’s name being kept out of the Cabinet. After many rounds of discussions the names were selected. Dissent is common after the cabinet expansion and it will be quelled,” Deputy Chief Minister Parameshwara said on Monday.

Insiders in the Congress party, however, say that it was Siddaramaiah’s decision to not include Ramalinga Reddy. “Siddaramaiah wanted to solidify the Congress’ presence in North Karnataka. Hence, seven out of eight leaders inducted into the cabinet are from northern districts. Ramalinga Reddy is a veteran leader and has influence is in Bengaluru. It did not make sense to induct a leader from the city when the BJP was accusing us of not giving importance to the development of North Karnataka,” a Congress source said.

Ramesh Jarkiholi threatens to quit again

Ramesh Jarkiholi, in a conversation with a Kannada TV channel from Belagavi, said that he is “thinking of quitting” the Congress along with a few other disgruntled leaders.

“I will quit any time now. I won’t disclose the names and the number of leaders who are with me. I want to work for the betterment of the people of Belagavi,” Ramesh Jarkiholi said during the conversation.

However, sources in the Congress say that Ramesh Jarkiholi has been displeased with the recent goings-on in Belagavi’s political circles. Ramesh is allegedly disgruntled with the interference of other Congress leaders in his home turf and is trying to wrestle back the power he once held in the region.

“Ramesh Jarkiholi will be assigned the task of working to bring Congress to power in Belagavi’s Lok Sabha constituencies. Siddaramaiah already has a plan to pacify him. These words are just threats to show that he is powerful. Everything will be fine in the party in the next couple of weeks,” a Congress source said.

In an audio clip of Jarkiholi and five-time legislator from Gokak which has gone viral former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has stated that he has decided to resign as MLA.

A day after being dropped from the state cabinet Ramesh Jarkiholi in the clip said that he may resign as MLA in the next few days or it may take a week or two and he is still unclear about the number of legislators who will join him. 

It is gathered that two Congress MLAs from Belagavi district and five to six-party legislators from Ballari, Raichur and Koppal may hold a meeting in Bengaluru over the next few days before quitting as MLAs.

However, the bigwigs of the Congress Party informed that none of the legislators were quitting the party.

Addressing presspersons, in Belagavi on Sunday, December 23  President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Dinesh Gundu Rao said that it is impossible to include every MLA in the cabinet. He further informed that the party leaders are in touch with party MLA B C Patil and yet to meet Ramesh Jarkiholi.

This happened along with the Cabinet expansion, which was a means for the Congress to quell internal rebellion in the Cong-JD(S) coalition in power in the state.

The Congress party on Saturday released a list with the names of people who have been given positions in the state-run boards and corporations in Karnataka. This happened along with the Cabinet expansion, which was a means for the Congress to quell internal rebellion in the Congress-JD(S) coalition in power in the state.

This comes after the announcement of the first list in June this year, however, the Congress had not decided who to appoint as heads of the corporations and boards in the state. The recent list also has also appointed seven parliamentary secretaries.

While NA Haris has been appointed as the Chairman of the BMRTC, Belagavi rural constituency MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar has been given the the portfolio of Mysore Minerals Limited. Dr K Sudhakar, Chikkaballapura MLA, will hold the position of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Chairman. Yeshwantpura MLA ST Somashekar will be the Bangalore Development Authority Chairperson.

While former minister for energy and agriculture marketing and Shahapur constituency MLA Sharnabasappa Darshanapur has been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, V Muniyappa has been given the post of Political Secretary to Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

Here is the complete list of the names announced and the positions they will hold.

Earlier today, the Karnataka government also expanded the cabinet, six months after the Congress-JD(S) coalition came to power in the state. Six members were added to the Cabinet, with preference given to leaders from North Karnataka, after groups from the region protested demanding adequate representation.

The party has finalised that MLA CS Shivalli, Hosakote MLA MTB Nagaraju, Yemkanmardi MLA Satish Jarkiholi, Sandur MLA E Tukaram, Babaleshwar MLA MB Patil, Harappanahalli MLA PT Parameshwar Naik, Mudhol MLA RB Thimmapur and Bidar MLA Rahim Khan will be inducted into the Cabinet. Their portfolios are yet to be announced.

Nasheman News : The Indian and Pakistani armies on Monday traded heavy fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir prompting authorities to shut down schools in the vicinity.

The Pakistan Army were using automatics and mortars to target Indian military and civilian facilities, defence sources said. 

“Unprovoked firing and shelling from the Pakistani side started around 9.30 a.m. in Lam, Keri, Pukharni and Peer Badaser areas in Nowshera sector.

“Our troops retaliated strongly and effectively. Firing exchanges were still going when reports last came in,” the defence sources added.

Authorities in Rajouri district ordered closure of all schools within 5km area of Lam, Keri, Pusharni and Peer Dadaser villages as the heavy firing and shelling continued.

Nasheman News : Four persons, who were killed in a massive blaze that engulfed a garment factory in Kandivali slum area here, their bodies were recovered early on Monday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Disaster Control officials said.

The fire which broke out around 3.30 p.m. on Sunday had quickly spread to neighbouring areas, destroying several scores of adjoining hutments.

While the conflagration was brought under control around midnight, the Mumbai Fire Brigade and other rescuers could recover the four burnt bodies from the debris only on Monday. 

Although some persons were feared trapped in the ground-plus-one structure housing of the small garment manufacturing unit, the rescuers could not reach them in time.

Eye-witnesses said around a dozen gas cylinders in some homes also exploded as the Damu Nagar slum was rapidly engulfed by the inferno.

The deceased have been identified as: Raju R. Vishwakarma, 30, Rajesh C. Vishwakarma, 36, Bhavesh V. Parekh, 51, and Sudama L. Singh, 36.

A search operation was underway to retrieve any more bodies that might be trapped under the debris, the officials said.

Hundreds of families rendered homeless have been accommodated in a nearby garden and provided basic amenities and food with the help of BMC and some NGOs.