Category: Politics

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

NCP(SP) vows Rs 1 lakh/year dole to poor women, jobless youth

A like amount shall be given as a stipend to the educated jobless youth, who will be provided free training and skilling in the government or private sector for a year and prepare them to take up jobs of their choice…reports Asian Lite News

The Nationalist Congress Party(SP) President Sharad Pawar here on Thursday released the party’s 2024 Election Manifesto with a slew of promises to attract the poor, women, farmers, the unemployed, the depressed sections of society and other backward groups for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Sharad Pawar, along with state President Jayant Patil and other senior functionaries disclosed the salient aspects of the Manifesto which include an aid of Rs 1 lakh per year to a woman from all the poor families in the country under the Mahalakshmi Scheme, and help make crores of women as ‘lakhpatis’.

A like amount shall be given as a stipend to the educated jobless youth, who will be provided free training and skilling in the government or private sector for a year and prepare them to take up jobs of their choice.

Similar to the INDIA bloc proposal, the NCP(SP) will also amend the laws to hike the quotas’ ceiling and provide for reservations to more categories, set up a special farmers’ commission to advise, streamline and recommend loan waivers to the peasantry, among other things, Pawar and Patil said.

The NCP(SP) also proposes to double the income of unorganised daily workers to at least Rs 400 per day, better sops for Anganwadi women workers, throwing open the government sector’s 30 lakh jobs currently lying vacant to the unemployed youth, and other assurances for various other sections of the populace if and after the INDIA bloc comes to power.

The NCP (SP) is contesting 10 of the state’s 48 LS constituencies, with many falling in the ‘tough fight’ category, along with support from the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies like Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).

Last week, the Congress and SS(UBT) leaders indicated that if the need arises, they might issue an MVA’s joint manifesto in the coming days.

Shiv Sena, BJP slam manifesto

 Shiv Sena spokesperson Susiben Shah said the announcement of Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) in its manifesto ‘Shapathnama’ with regards to minimum support price (MSP) for farmers is to “deceive” and “allure” them.

“It is important to note that he was the Union Agricultural Minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014. During his tenure, he did nothing for the farmers. The MSP announcement in the manifesto is simply an attempt to deceive and allure the farmers,” said Shah here.

“They have also shown a dangling carrot of 50 per cent reservation for women. However, the manifesto falls short in countering in leaps taken for women empowerment under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde,” said Shah.

Offering cheap gas cylinders, and giving poor women Rs 1 lakh every year, are nothing but fake promises, she claimed.

“It is high time Sharad Pawar’s National Corrupt Party stopped cheating people and making such promises,” she said.

 The BJP claimed on Thursday that the manifesto (‘Shapathnama’) released by the NCP (SP) is the biggest fraud in the world.

In Sharad Pawar’s life, a dagger is more important than the oath, said Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule in his reaction. Due to this manifesto, the voters will not vote for the Pawar-led party, he added.

“In Maharashtra, an oath is more important than life,” he said.

“Whenever Pawar was in power, he practiced vote politics and used power to make money and again used the same money to gain power. Maharashtra never benefited due to his politics,” claimed Bawankule.

Bawankule said that Modi’s Sankalp Patra (manifesto) is for the welfare of the country. On the other hand, in the INDIA Alliance manifesto the Congress talks about the abolition of Sanatan Dharma and also on redistribution of wealth among a particular community.

Bawankuke explained the importance of oath and Sharad Pawar’s political journey. On April 26, 1645 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took the oath of Hindvi Swarajya along with his Malvas and fulfilled his oath. In 1977, the Congress party split after the Emergency. Sharad Pawar left the Indira Gandhi led Congress and joined the Congress led by Brahmanand Reddy.

He added that in 1978, Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil’s government was ousted by stabbing him in the back. In 1980, the PDF government was formed after 40 legislators rebelled and Sharad Pawar became the chief minister

According to Bawankule, in 1988, Sharad Pawar rejoined the Congress and In 1999 Sharad Pawar fell out with the Congress and formed the NCP.

In 2019, Sharad Powar gave the word to Ajit Pawar (of joining the BJP) but later overturned it. Thereafter, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed in 2019.

“Really tell me, do Sharad Pawar and oath have any connection,” he asked.

The Nationalist Congress Party(SP) President Sharad Pawar here on Thursday released the party’s 2024 Election Manifesto with a slew of promises to attract the poor, women, farmers, the unemployed, the depressed sections of society and other backward groups for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Sharad Pawar, along with state President Jayant Patil and other senior functionaries disclosed the salient aspects of the Manifesto which include an aid of Rs 1 lakh per year to a woman from all the poor families in the country under the Mahalakshmi Scheme, and help make crores of women as ‘lakhpatis’.

A like amount shall be given as a stipend to the educated jobless youth, who will be provided free training and skilling in the government or private sector for a year and prepare them to take up jobs of their choice.

Similar to the INDIA bloc proposal, the NCP(SP) will also amend the laws to hike the quotas’ ceiling and provide for reservations to more categories, set up a special farmers’ commission to advise, streamline and recommend loan waivers to the peasantry, among other things, Pawar and Patil said.

The NCP(SP) also proposes to double the income of unorganised daily workers to at least Rs 400 per day, better sops for Anganwadi women workers, throwing open the government sector’s 30 lakh jobs currently lying vacant to the unemployed youth, and other assurances for various other sections of the populace if and after the INDIA bloc comes to power.

The NCP (SP) is contesting 10 of the state’s 48 LS constituencies, with many falling in the ‘tough fight’ category, along with support from the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies like Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT).

Last week, the Congress and SS(UBT) leaders indicated that if the need arises, they might issue an MVA’s joint manifesto in the coming days.

Shiv Sena, BJP slam manifesto

 Shiv Sena spokesperson Susiben Shah said the announcement of Sharad Pawar-led NCP(SP) in its manifesto ‘Shapathnama’ with regards to minimum support price (MSP) for farmers is to “deceive” and “allure” them.

“It is important to note that he was the Union Agricultural Minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014. During his tenure, he did nothing for the farmers. The MSP announcement in the manifesto is simply an attempt to deceive and allure the farmers,” said Shah here.

“They have also shown a dangling carrot of 50 per cent reservation for women. However, the manifesto falls short in countering in leaps taken for women empowerment under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde,” said Shah.

Offering cheap gas cylinders, and giving poor women Rs 1 lakh every year, are nothing but fake promises, she claimed.

“It is high time Sharad Pawar’s National Corrupt Party stopped cheating people and making such promises,” she said.

 The BJP claimed on Thursday that the manifesto (‘Shapathnama’) released by the NCP (SP) is the biggest fraud in the world.

In Sharad Pawar’s life, a dagger is more important than the oath, said Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule in his reaction. Due to this manifesto, the voters will not vote for the Pawar-led party, he added.

“In Maharashtra, an oath is more important than life,” he said.

“Whenever Pawar was in power, he practiced vote politics and used power to make money and again used the same money to gain power. Maharashtra never benefited due to his politics,” claimed Bawankule.

Bawankule said that Modi’s Sankalp Patra (manifesto) is for the welfare of the country. On the other hand, in the INDIA Alliance manifesto the Congress talks about the abolition of Sanatan Dharma and also on redistribution of wealth among a particular community.

Bawankuke explained the importance of oath and Sharad Pawar’s political journey. On April 26, 1645 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took the oath of Hindvi Swarajya along with his Malvas and fulfilled his oath. In 1977, the Congress party split after the Emergency. Sharad Pawar left the Indira Gandhi led Congress and joined the Congress led by Brahmanand Reddy.

He added that in 1978, Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil’s government was ousted by stabbing him in the back. In 1980, the PDF government was formed after 40 legislators rebelled and Sharad Pawar became the chief minister

According to Bawankule, in 1988, Sharad Pawar rejoined the Congress and In 1999 Sharad Pawar fell out with the Congress and formed the NCP.

In 2019, Sharad Powar gave the word to Ajit Pawar (of joining the BJP) but later overturned it. Thereafter, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed in 2019.

“Really tell me, do Sharad Pawar and oath have any connection,” he asked.

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India News Politics

Pink booth set up in Bangalore Rural constituency

Bangalore South and Mysuru stand as other pivotal constituencies going to the polls on April 26…reports Asian Lite News

As Bengaluru prepares for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26, a pink booth model has been set up in the Ramnagar district of Bangalore Rural constituency for women voters, decorated with balloons, banners and chairs with pink colour etc.

Polling in Karnataka for the 28 seats in the 18th Lok Sabha will be held on April 26 and May 7 in the second and third phases, respectively.

Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and JDS party Leader HD Kumaraswamy, Anitha Kumaraswamy, and Nikhil Kumaraswamy will cast their vote here.

Karnataka, which contributes 28 seats in 543-member Parliament, will witness polling in two phases in which voting will be held on 14 seats on Friday – Udupi Chikamagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikballapur, Kolar.

Karnataka, saw the BJP securing 25 seats out of 28 seats in the 2019 elections. This time, the BJP is contesting in 25 seats, with its state ally JDS vying for the remaining 3 seats. The three constituencies contested by JDS are part of the second phase – Hassan, Mandya, and Kolar.

Bangalore South and Mysuru stand as other pivotal constituencies going to the polls on April 26.

From Bengaluru Rural, sitting MP Congress’ DK Suresh is pitted against BJP’s Cholenahalli Nanjappa Manjunath, son-in-law of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.

Voting will begin at 7 am on Friday and will conclude at 6 pm. The Lok Sabha election is being held in seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.

The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election, the world’s largest electoral exercise, was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout registered was over 62 per cent. The third phase election will be held on May 7. (ANI)

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Kerala Politics

Stage set for Karnataka battle, BJP keen to open account in Kerala

Several opposition parties have come together to form the INDIA bloc to put up common candidates against the BJP…reports Asian Lite News

The stage is set for a high-octane political battle in the southern state of Kerala and Karnataka as prominent leaders from main political parties like Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V Muraleedharan, KC Venugopal, Annie Raja, Tejasvi Surya, DK Suresh, K Surendran and HD Kumaraswamy, entered the fray for the Lok Sabha Elections in phase 2 on April 26.

Kerala will decide the fate of 194 candidates as polling on all 20 parliamentary constituencies will be held in the second phase on Friday – Kasaragod, Kannur, Vatakara, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Ponnani, Palakkad, Alathur, Thrissur, Chalakudy, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Mavelikkara, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram

Karnataka, which contributes 28 seats in 543-member Parliament, will witness polling in two phases in which voting will be held on 14 seats tomorrow – Udupi Chikamagalur, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South, Chikballapur, Kolar.

The bypoll will be held in Surpur (Shorapur) constituency located in the Yadgir district.

Several opposition parties have come together to form the INDIA bloc to put up common candidates against the BJP.

India will go for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections tomorrow in a high-stakes battle across 13 States and Union Territories with the campaign marked by sharp jibes by the leaders of BJP as also by Congress and other opposition parties.

The second phase of polling was to be held on 89 seats but it has been deferred to May 7 in Betul in Madhya Pradesh due to the death of a BSP candidate.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is re-contesting from Kerala’s Wayanad. In Thiruvananthapuram, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor is seeking a fourth successive term. DK Suresh from Bangalore Rural, and Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South.

According to the Election Commission, Kerala has over 2.75 crore voters. In Kerala, a total of 194 candidates across 20 Lok Sabha seats are competing for voters’ support as the state heads to the polls on Friday.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said that 25,231 polling booths which are ready to welcome all the voters tomorrow morning at 7 am.

“We have 25,231 polling booths which are ready to welcome all the voters tomorrow morning at 7 am. 70% of the polling parties have reached the booths today… We have made elaborate arrangements for the comfort of the voters who come there. There will be an orderly queue management system. We will have volunteers managing the queues. There will be separate queues for elderly people. There is drinking water and toilet facilities. For our friends who are physically challenged, we have ramps on all the booths. We have wheelchairs. We expect it to be a little warm tomorrow, we have shaded areas wherever the booths do not have permanent shaded structures… We are ready as far as security is concerned. Police forces also have been deployed… There are about 1700 vulnerable and critical booths spread across all the statistics in the state… Vulnerable and critical booths, we have special facilities… We have the cameras both inside and outside the booth… We have central parametric forces deployed,” he said.

Of the 20 constituencies in Kerala going to polls, two seats -Alathur and Mavelikara- are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.

The key candidates in Kerala are, Wayanad: Congress leader and sitting MP Rahul Gandhi is recontesting against Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Both of them are part of the national INDIA alliance but are rivals in Kerala. Congress has been winning in Wayanad since 2009 general elections. BJP, which is yet to open its account in the state, has fielded its state president K Surendran in the constituency, Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor won this seat in the 2009, 2014 and 2019 general elections. The former UN diplomat is contesting against BJP leader and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and CPI’s Pannyan Raveendran, Thrissur: K Muraleedharan of Congress is pitted against VS Sunil Kumar of CPI and actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi of BJP, Attingal: Sitting MP Adoor Prakash of Congress is contesting against V Joy of CPM and V Muraleedharan of BJP.

Pathanamthitta: Congress’ Anto Antony is competing against Thomas Issac from the CPI(M) and Anil K Antony of the BJP, Kannur: Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran is contesting against CPI(M)’s MV Jayarajan and NDA candidate C Raghunath, who had joined the BJP from Congress, Kozhikode: Congress’ MK Raghavan, the UDF candidate, is running against CPI(M)’s Elamaram Kareemm, the LDF candidate, and BJP’s MT Ramesh.

Kottayam: Thushar Vellappalli from Bharath Dharma Jana Sena is contesting against K Francis George of Kerala Congress and Thomas Chazhikadan of Kerala Congress (M), Alappuzha: KC Venugopal from Congress, Shobha Surendran from Bharatiya Janata Party and AM Ariff from Communist Party of India (Marxist) are in the fray. Ariff is the sitting MP from the seat.

In 2019, the Congress party registered victory on 19 out of the 20 seats while CPI-M could only win one seat. The BJP failed to open its account.

Karnataka, saw the BJP securing 25 seats out of 28 seats in the 2019 elections. This time, the BJP is contesting in 25 seats, with its state ally JDS vying for the remaining 3 seats. The three constituencies contested by JDS are part of the second phase – Hassan, Mandya, and Kolar.

Bangalore South and Mysuru stand as other pivotal constituencies going to the polls on April 26.

The key candidates in Karnataka are Mandya: Former Chief Minister and JD(S)’ HD Kumaraswamy is pitted against Congress’s Venkataramane Gowda (Star Chandru), Mysuru: BJP’s Yaduveer Wadiyar is contested against Congress’s M Lakshman, Bengaluru Rural: Sitting MP Congress’ DK Suresh is pitted against BJP’s Cholenahalli Nanjappa Manjunath, son-in-law of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Bengaluru North: BJP’s Shobha Karandlaje is contesting against Congress’ MV Rajeev Gowda, Bengaluru Central: BJP’s PC Mohan is contesting against Congress’ Mansoor Ali Khan and Bengaluru South: Sitting MP Tejasvi Surva is pitted against Congress candidate Sowmya Reddy.

The election campaigning centred around various issues, including the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), allegations of ‘love jihad'(Murder of Congress corporator’s daughter Neha Hiremath in Hubballi), controversies surrounding the movie ‘The Kerala Story’, the Manipur violence incident and Rahul Gandhi’s candidature in Wayanad against Annie Raja.

Moreover, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar exuded confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party “picking up many more” seats in the southern States in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Jaishankar asserted that a “new level of energy and enthusiasm” is seen across South India.

“I think what you are seeing in South India is really a very new level of energy and enthusiasm. I could see that in Telangana, where I was, but in other southern states as well. So I think there’s a genuine possibility, a serious possibility this time that the BJP would actually pick up many more seats in all the southern states,” Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar earlier on Wednesday campaigned for BJP’s candidate from Telangana’s Bhuvanagiri Lok Sabha seat.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that the BJP’s vote share in the South would increase this time compared to the previous parliamentary polls.

In an interview with Asianet News Network on April 21, PM Modi said, “You see Telangana, where our vote share has doubled. In the 2019 parliamentary elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the South. The BJP has the highest number of MPs. I believe that in 2024 (the Lok Sabha elections), the vote share is going to increase compared to the previous elections. Seats will also increase.”

The second phase has 88 Lok Sabha constituencies including all 20 seats in Kerala, 14 in Karnataka, 13 in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, five each in Assam and Bihar, six in Madhya Pradesh, three each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal and one each in Tripura, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.

Voting will begin at 7 am tomorrow and will conclude at 6 pm. The Lok Sabha election is being held in seven phases till June 1 and votes will be counted on June 4.

The first phase of voting for the seven-phased Lok Sabha election, the world’s largest electoral exercise, was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies across 21 states and UTs. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout registered was over 62 per cent. The third phase election will be held on May 7. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Blistering two-month campaign comes to a close in Kerala

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

BJP, Shiv Sena Deadlock Over Maharashtra Lok Sabha Seats

Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray released its election manifesto on Thursday…reports Asian Lite News

The Shiv Sena (UBT) released its election manifesto on Thursday, promising ‘dignity’ to all states and opposition to mega-projects like the world’s two biggest ventures — the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant at Madban, and the Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemical Ltd at Barsu — both in Maharashtra.

Releasing the manifesto, Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that though the party has published its independent ‘vachan-nama’, it would remain duty-bound to follow the INDIA bloc constituents’ manifestos released earlier.

Treading sensitive territory, Thackeray said that the SS (UBT) would strongly oppose the two upcoming mega projects — the JNPP at Madban village and the RRPL at Barsu village — both in the coastal Ratnagiri district.

“In the past, there have been several agitations opposing these projects and also the Vadhavan Port in Palghar, as they could destroy the state’s ecology… If the local people don’t want such projects that can damage the environment, we shall respect their sentiments and say ‘no’ to these ventures,” declared Thackeray.

While farmers remain the focal point of the SS (UBT) manifesto, Thackeray assured that all other sections of the society, including women, youth, the unemployed, and the deprived classes, shall also be treated with equality and given their due.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party has systematically looted business and investments from Maharashtra… When the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was ruling the state, the Centre did not help us in any way. When the INDIA bloc comes to power, we shall treat all states, including those ruled by the BJP, with dignity,” Thackeray said.

He also said that the INDIA bloc government would resolve all the problems created by the BJP-NDA regime by disregarding the country’s federal structure.

The SS (UBT) will ensure that all the farming inputs like seeds, fertilisers, or equipment, shall be removed from the GST ambit to make the peasants debt-free, ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all farm produce, improve the lives of the farmers as recommended by the M.S. Swaminathan Commission Report, and put an end to the malaise of widespread farmer suicides.

If voted to power, the new regime will open up 30 lakh government vacancies for the youth and give them all the other benefits as promised in the manifestos issued by the INDIA bloc constituents.

The party will have similar policies to empower women, ensure their safety and security, and other benefits that are committed in the national opposition’s ‘vachan-nama’, said Thackeray.

“When the MVA was in power in Maharashtra, we had frozen the prices of five essential commodities for five years… We shall propose the same on an all-India basis. If it could succeed in Maharashtra, why can’t it be implemented in other states? It would benefit the poor masses in a big way,” Thackeray claimed.

The Congress released its manifesto a fortnight ago in Delhi, while the MVA allies — Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and SS (UBT) — published their policy documents in Pune and Mumbai on Thursday, respectively.

Shinde compares Uddhav Thackeray to a chameleon

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Thursday made a scathing attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s swift shifts in political stance, comparing it with the rapid colour changes of a chameleon.

Eknath Shinde made the remarks during a rally organised in support of MahaYuti candidate Sandipan Bhumre who is contesting from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Lok Sabha constituency.

“Uddhav Thackeray was singing hymns in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he was in the alliance. But now, Maharashtra has witnessed a lizard changing colour swiftly, with stones being thrown…,” he said.

Eknath Shinde emphasised the necessity for a united front against such political flip-flopping.

“Maharashtra has observed a significant political metamorphosis, reminiscent of a lizard swiftly changing its hues,” he said while denouncing the opportunistic nature of recent political maneuvers.

“I firmly believe that the upcoming election will usher in a victory for unity and progress,” the Maharashtra CM said, underscoring the importance of the ongoing developments under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“PM Modi’s initiatives, such as providing free ration to 80 crore underprivileged individuals, transcend religious boundaries,” asserted Shinde, urging a departure from divisive rhetoric, and bringing the focus on constructive dialogue.

“The ballot box, not vitriol, shall be the arbiter of our political landscape,” he said, calling upon the voters to exercise their franchise wisely.

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Economy India News Politics

‘India Aims to Lead Chip Industry by 2029’

Union Minister said that in the coming years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation for the further growth of the industry that will create thousands of jobs….reports Asian Lite News

India has commissioned four semiconductor manufacturing units and in the next five years, the country will become one of the biggest semiconductor hubs in the world, Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said.

In a wide-ranging interview with IANS, the Union Minister said that in the coming years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation for the further growth of the industry that will create thousands of jobs.

“There is a clear policy on bringing state-of-the-art technologies to India — be it Artificial Intelligence, Electric Vehicles or semiconductors. Such policies have been made so that the youth of the country can get more employment options and domestic startups can be benefitted,” Ashwini Vaishnaw noted.

Semiconductor manufacturing remained only a dream since 1960 and PM Modi finally fulfilled that dream.

“Four (chip) units have been commissioned today. Technology is developing. Construction is going on fast. There is complete preparation to release the first chip from Micron’s Sanand plant in December itself,” said the Union Minister.

Moreover, the plant that is being set up in Assam will use the chips made there in the world’s biggest EVs, Ashwini Vaishnaw informed.

“In a way, India has a huge potential because we are very strong in semiconductor design. In this spirit, PM Modi has taken a pledge to bring semiconductor manufacturing to India and in the next five years, India will become one of the biggest semiconductor hubs in the world,” the IT Minister elaborated.

“The biggest semiconductor hub will be built in the country. We will work for that effort with the same determination,” he said.

In March, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of three semiconductor projects worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

The chip fabrication facility at the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat is being set up by Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) with a total investment of more than Rs 91,000 crore.

The Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Morigaon, Assam is being set up by TEPL for Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP), with a total investment of about Rs 27,000 crore.

The OSAT facility in Sanand, Gujarat is being set up by CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited for Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) with a total investment of about Rs 7,500 crore.

The first ‘Make in India’ chip is all set to arrive in December, from the Rs 22,500 crore Micron semiconductor plant in Gujarat that started work late last year.

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-Top News China Politics

China’s Claim Game

China has been raising irredentist claims on territories and resources of its neighbours on one pretext or another in order to finally grab them, writes Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli

China’s leadership is following what its communist party founder Mao Zedong used to say – “do not let your neighbour sleep normally.”  Hence, following this dictum, China has been raising irredentist claims and upsetting most of its neighbours on one pretext or another in order to lay claim or even grab unilaterally territories and resources.


This has been the case with the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea islands. China’s arrogance is also more prominently displayed on the India-China border areas. When China’s economic growth rates were meagre, the then Premier Zhou Enlai was willing to acknowledge during his visit to Delhi in 1960 that South of the McMahon Line (the current day Arunachal Pradesh) as a part of India in lieu of getting Aksai Chin region.


Now the dragon is wagging its tail vigorously after becoming the second largest economy in the world. It has no bounds to observe. Previously, China considered the India-China boundary areas as “disputed” in nature that needs talks to resolve rather than war. However, that tone has changed and Beijing is increasingly using coercive diplomatic postures or even war preparations to resolve the dispute.


China’s shrewd move on Arunachal Pradesh


While China has been eyeing for Arunachal Pradesh since 1986, when its foreign ministry think tank published an article by Jing Hui claiming this region as “more important” for his country, in recent times China has been pushing the angle of sovereignty more vigorously, even on the verge of mounting thousands of troops on the borders with India.


At least since 2003, Beijing has been configuring Arunachal Pradesh as “southern Tibet” (Zangnan). With Tibet defined as its “core interest” by the then State Councillor Dai Bingguo, by extension, the so-called “southern Tibet” has also now become China’s core interest to be defended by its military.


In November 2006, a day before President Hu Jintao visited New Delhi, the then China’s envoy Sun Yuxi for the first time claimed the “entire area” south of McMahon line as “disputed” territory. Since then, China began claiming the whole area as its own. China’s propaganda machinery went full steam to dish out the new “line” to raise nationalism.


However, as India had developed and consolidated the region since 1951, and the costs of any military escalation proved high for China since the Samdurong Chu incident in 1987, China began intensive “three warfares” viz., media, psychological and legal warfare techniques against India.


China’s game of renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh


Firstly, China began renaming place names in Arunachal Pradesh. China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs renamed over 50 place names in Arunachal Pradesh four times – 6 place names on April 18, 2017, 15 on December 29, 2021, 11 on April 2, 2023 and 30 places on March 30, 2024.


Since February 2010, a Chinese researcher Hao Xiaoguang, at Institute of Surveying and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has been publishing articles based on his research on the geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh with the intention to change the place names as the 2002 map of China hardly had 6 Chinese names for the entire Arunachal Pradesh.

What is different now about the China-India Tawang faceoff?


It is said that after Hao’s 15 years of research, fieldwork, cartography, toponymy, geography, surveying, ethnography, and history a comprehensive method was evolved to change the place names in Arunachal Pradesh. The initial intention was to provide alternative names to the places as the existing Chinese maps were devoid of any names.


On April 2, 2023, China renamed 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. In this round, China intended to “upgrade” the administrative hierarchy for “easier control.” Thus, two country level administrative units in India were “upgraded” by China to city level organisations. 


A commentator in “Tibet Online” stated on April 23, 2023 that “If the Indian government continues to go further and further down the wrong path, it will end up in the end of “stealing the chicken but losing the rice”.”


The last round of renaming occurred on March 30, 2024, when 30 places were targeted – including about 11 places where people have been living and voting in the Indian elections.


China controlled areas, needless to say, have never held popular and competitive elections. Commenting on this round of renaming, a commentator “Korolev” argued that China’s actions are “a direct declaration of sovereignty.”


In addition, by renaming places, as a long-term measure, “China is already making more adequate preparations to regain what was lost.”


Commenting on these 4 times renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh, coinciding with the Dokhlam crisis in 2017, Galwan in 2020 and other border incidents, Sun Xuwen argued that this is a “step-by-step and planned approach to the issue of recovering the southern Tibetan region, rather than a one-on-one approach like India.”


Further, terming the US as the “primary contradiction” for China to resolve now, Sun suggests that “The heat [exerted by China on India] must not be too great, causing secondary conflicts to escalate into major conflicts. Therefore, on this issue, it is more appropriate to respond with supplementary naming. In a word, with the outcome of the game between China and the United States still undecided, the United States continues to maintain a high-pressure posture against China in the Asia-Pacific region. If the geopolitical situation in South Asia further deteriorates, it will put China in a very passive position.”


On the question of why China did not resolve the issue by military means rather than attempting a “soft approach,” a commentator argued that “The claims of territorial disputes between the two neighboring countries will inevitably lead to a conflict of force between the two sides. The medium- and long-term national policies are: first, focusing on the southeast direction to complete the great cause of reunification; second, there are two centenary goals to complete the great rejuvenation of the nation. Therefore, instead of supporting this radical southwest policy, we can only make solid preparations in the early stage, including negotiations, and occupy the moral high ground internationally. Negotiations are the front stage, and the backstage relies on national strength, especially military power, to wait for favorable conditions. Timing, one or more clever moves to recover!”


Conclusion


China’s intentions on renaming places already under effective jurisdiction of India, are thus clear. To counter China’s antics and harassment, while strengthening conventional and strategic deterrence capabilities, India should explore international legal regimes, organise bilateral and multilateral meetings with China’s neighbours in distress, share border management practices and data related to border transgressions and evolve counter-measures to effectively address on any impending border skirmishes.
 
(The writer is Professor in Chinese Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University; views expressed here are his own) – India News Network

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India News Kerala Politics

Blistering two-month campaign comes to a close in Kerala

Three-way poll battles in the real sense will be witnessed in Thiruvananthapuram, Trissur, Attingal and even in Alappuzha and Palakkad…reports Asian Lite News

With just one day left for the electorate to cast their votes, the over two-month-long blistering Lok Sabha poll campaign in Kerala comes to a close on Wednesday evening.

Kerala goes to the polls on Friday to elect 20 new Lok Sabha members.

In the 2019 polls the Congress-led UDF which won 19 seats secured a vote share of 47.48 per cent, the CPI(M)-led Left Front which bagged just one seat got 36.29 per cent votes and the BJP managed a mere 15.64 per cent vote share.

Thursday will be a day for silent campaigning by all the candidates making the one last call which they think will turn the tide towards them.

Wednesday saw all the candidates and their workers trying to reach as many places as possible and each and every candidate from the three political fronts was heard claiming that they were “winning” and thanking the voters for hearing them out.

With campaigning now coming to a close, calculators are out and the calculations have begun.

Even though there are three main political fronts, one thing that has emerged is there is not going to be a tough triangular contest in all the 20 seats.

Three-way poll battles in the real sense will be witnessed in Thiruvananthapuram, Trissur, Attingal and even in Alappuzha and Palakkad.

In the remaining 15 constituencies it is a straight fight between the traditional rivals and the only question that requires an answer is who will stand to gain if the BJP gets more votes in these constituencies.

This time things might be different and the general norm that if the BJP gets more votes it will benefit the Left, might not hold good.

This is visible at Kottayam, Idukki, and Chalakudy and it is good news for the UDF.

While in seats at Kasargod, Kannur, Mavelikera, Vadakara, Kozhikode and Alathur, the battle has turned out to be a very close one between the Left and the UDF but in seats like Kollam, Ernakulam, Ponnani, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Wayanad, the UDF has a clear edge.

A political analyst on condition of anonymity pointed out that the campaign has been very intense and hence in constituencies where there is a tight fight, a minor swing to any one side can see either the Left or the UDF scrape through.

“The votes of minority communities have also become crucial and could well decide who the winner is,” said the analyst.

Airborne on adjacent cranes on the final day of poll campaigning for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor and BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar who are in the fray from Thiruvananthapuram parliamentary constituency wrapped up their poll campaigning on Wednesday.

Both candidates were seen waving to the crowds at Peroorkada atop cranes adorned with their respective party flags.

Thousands of workers of the UDF, LDF, and NDA started gathering in the tiny town in the afternoon.

Shashi Tharoor, accompanied by Achu Oommen, daughter of former CM Oomen Chandy, climbed atop a crane first. On the other hand, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Chandrasekhar along with BJP district president VV Rajesh, too was seen on an adjacent crane.

With two popular faces taking on each other, the Thiruvananthapuram seat in Kerala has hogged the spotlight again ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. BJP has fielded Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar against incumbent Congress’ Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram.

Tharoor, who has held the seat since 2009, is facing a challenge as the BJP has named a strong face against him. Chandrashekhar has served as the MoS for Electronics, Entrepreneurship and Information Technology.

Chandrashekhar has put up his vision document for Kerala’s capital city and has said that it will speed up the development of the constituency and will cover every segment of society. He also said that Tharoor and former Raveendran have done nothing for Thiruvananthapuram.

He has also said the constituency has been deprived of development for the last 15-20 years and people here are “craving” for jobs and development.

Chandrashekhar also said that the Muslim and Christian communities in the state are made “fearful” of the BJP through a “false narrative”.

Tharoor on the other hand, said that BJP’s message is “not well received” in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and the party has very little hope from southern India.

Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul, has however cautioned all the political parties to strictly adhere to the code of conduct.

During the last 48 hours, only silent campaigning is permissible, and any gathering of people or organizing of public meetings will be dealt with under Criminal Procedure Code Section 144, said the official.

The use of loudspeakers and organizing of rallies and processions are prohibited. No kind of performance (like cinema, television shows, advertisements, music events, dramas, and other similar displays, opinion polls, poll surveys, and exit polls) that could influence the election outcome is allowed.

Violators could face imprisonment, fines, or both. Exit polls are prohibited until half an hour after the last phase of voting is completed.

Police and enforcement agencies will continue stringent checks to prevent illegal activities.

Actions like the illegal transfer of money, offering freebies and gifts, and distribution of alcohol, if found, will lead to severe legal action. A dry day has been declared for the 48 hours until the completion of voting, banning the distribution and sale of alcohol.

ALSO READ-Rahul is not a serious politician, says Kerala CM

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

TMC slams BJP over alleged assassination attempt on Abhishek

Hooghly : TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee speaks during Lok Sabha constituency's election committee meeting, in Hooghly on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Photo: IANS/@AITCofficial)

Ghosh stated that such attacks are tactics employed by those unable to defeat Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, and the TMC….reports Asian Lite News

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh on Wednesday reacted sharply to the alleged assassination attempt on TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, saying that “BJP has a history of mass killing and murder.”

Speaking to ANI, Kunal Ghosh said, “BJP has a history of mass killing and murder so they can’t show themselves as clean by throwing mud at some other party. There have been attacks against Mamata Banerjee earlier and to attack Abhishek Banerjee one person had come here but Kolkata police caught him.”

Alleging political rivalry in the case, Ghosh stated that such attacks are tactics employed by those unable to defeat Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, and the TMC.

“This is not a matter of politics. Those who can’t win against Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, and TMC, are finding another way to attack. The man who has been arrested has hinted towards a bigger conspiracy,” he said.

Earlier on April 24, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed a BJP leader wanted to kill her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

“One of the Gaddars (TMC turncoats) in the BJP said they would lob an explosive. If you hold a grudge against me, bomb me all you want. But you tried to kill Abhishek. However, we came to know of it in advance,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said at a public meeting at Birbhum.

The TMC supremo further claimed that the BJP would have shot her nephew if the latter had given them an appointment.

“They (BJP) even conducted a recce at his house, called him, asking for an appointment. Had Abhishek given him time, he would have shot and fled,” Mamata said.

On April 22, Kolkata Police claimed to have apprehended a person associated with the 2008 Mumbai attacks, who was reportedly conducting surveillance of the residence and office of Abhishek Banerjee. (ANI)

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

Ahluwalia set to take on Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol

Ahluwalia’s name was among the nine in the tenth Lok Sabha candidates list announced by the BJP….reports Asian Lite News

Former Union Minister Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday filed his nomination as the BJP candidate for West Bengal’s Asansol Lok Sabha constituency.

Ahluwalia’s name was among the nine in the tenth Lok Sabha candidates list announced by the BJP.

Earlier, the party had fielded Pawan Singh from Asansol, but he subsequently withdrew his candidature without specifying any reason and is set to contest the polls as an independent candidate from Bihar’s Karakat.

Ahluwalia, the sitting MP from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency will take on Trinamool Congress (TMC) heavyweight Satrughan Sinha.

Ahluwalia won the 2019 election with a margin of 2,439 votes, securing 5,98,376 votes, defeating Mamtaz Sanghamita of the TMC, who got 5,95,937 votes.

Ahluwalia served as Minister of State for Urban Affairs and Employment (Department of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation) and Parliamentary Affairs in the P V Narasimha Rao cabinet from September 15, 1995, to May 16, 1996. He was also deputy opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha from June 2010 to May 2012.

From 1986 to 2012, he was a Rajya Sabha MP representing Bihar and Jharkhand. In 1999, he joined the BJP, and in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he won from the Darjeeling constituency with the active support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha.

Earlier the party had named Bhojpuri singer Pawan Singh from the Asansol Lok Sabha seat whose candidature, later faced massive criticism from the TMC. The ruling party alleged that many of his songs were derogatory towards women and Pawan Singh announced his withdrawal from the electoral race.

Notably, polling in the 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal will be held across all seven phases: April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.

Asansol will go to the polls on May 13. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

Chandigarh seat

 INDIA bloc partners, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday, for the first time, chalked out a joint strategy for the Chandigarh parliamentary constituency.

A strategy meeting of INDIA bloc partners was held here, which was, among others, attended by the INDIA candidate and former Union Minister Manish Tewari, AAP in charge for Chandigarh Jarnail Singh, Chandigarh Congress President H.S. Lucky, and Chandigarh AAP President Sunny Ahluwalia.

Leaders said there was total unanimity and consensus between the two parties that this election was important not just from the local reasons, but from the national perspective also.

They said each and every vote and seat would count and thus, the INDIA bloc was not leaving anything to chance.

Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh assured full support of AAP for joint candidate Tewari, saying all the AAP workers and leaders in the Union Territory were committed to ensuring his victory.

“It is not Tewari’s personal or individual election, but that of the alliance together,” he said.

Tewari expressed gratitude to the workers and leaders of the Congress and the AAP for their support, saying that he was feeling overwhelmed with the support he was getting from the cadres of the two parties in the city.

The Congress leader appreciated the mutual understanding between the leaders and workers of the two parties, which was reflected in the tireless hard work everyone was putting in to ensure the victory of the INDIA candidate in the election.

He said everybody had realised how important this election was going to be not just for the two parties or their leaders but also for the common man across the country.

The BJP has fielded Sanjay Tandon, dropping two-term MP and actor-turned-politician Kirron Kher, while Shiromani Akali Dal has pitted three-time city councillor Hardeep Singh Saini, 41, as its candidate, making the election a three-cornered contest. In the previous Lok Sabha polls, the SAD had been allied with the BJP.

Chandigarh will go to the polls for its sole Lok Sabha seat on June 1. (ANI/IANS)

ALSO READ: 74% turnout in Arunachal repolling

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INDIA 2024 India News Politics

BJP Minority Morcha leader criticises PM, expelled

Ghani highlighted the challenges encountered while seeking votes from the Muslim community due to the Prime Minister’s remarks. …reports Asian Lite News

Usman Ghani, the Bikaner BJP Minority Morcha district president, faced expulsion from the party for his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks in Rajasthan, deemed detrimental to the party’s reputation. Ghani’s dissent, aired during an interview with a news channel in New Delhi, included predictions of BJP losses in three to four Lok Sabha seats out of Rajasthan’s 25, and condemnation of PM Modi’s statements about Muslims during election rallies.

Expressing disappointment as a Muslim BJP representative, Ghani highlighted the challenges encountered while seeking votes from the Muslim community due to the Prime Minister’s remarks. He also cited discontent within the Jat community towards the BJP in certain constituencies like Churu.

Despite potential repercussions, Ghani stood firm in his statements, indicating his willingness to face any action from the party. However, after a video of Ghani’s interview circulated on social media, BJP’s state disciplinary committee chairman, Onkar Singh Lakhawat, accused him of attempting to tarnish the party’s image in the media. Consequently, Ghani was expelled from the party for six years for breaching disciplinary norms.

This incident unfolded against the backdrop of PM Modi’s controversial remarks during a rally in Banswara, Rajasthan, where he alleged that the Congress plans to redistribute wealth to Muslims if they come to power. These comments drew criticism from several opposition parties, contributing to the ongoing political discourse in the region.

ALSO READ: 74% turnout in Arunachal repolling