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Akhilesh is daydreaming, says UP Dy CM

The lotus will bloom again in the state and BJP will form the next government with a huge majority… Keshav Prasad Maurya speaks with Santosh Kumar Pathak.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has said that Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is day dreaming of coming to power in the state. He said that the BJP will again get more than 300 seats in the next Assembly polls in the state.

Here are excerpts of the interview:

You met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament House. What did you discuss with him?

I had requested a meeting with the Prime Minister, which he accepted. I had a pleasant meeting with him at his office in the Parliament House, got blessings and also some tips for the 2022 Assembly polls. Just like PM Modi again formed a government at the Centre in 2019, we will also do it in 2022.

Whether it is the poll preparations or other political programs in Varanasi, what is the message BJP is trying to give through the holy city?

Kashi is the city of Baba Vishwanath. As the PM had said, he was called by mother Ganga, the people of Kashi blessed him and chose him as their MP twice. Under his leadership, the country is progressing fast, Uttar Pradesh is also developing and Kashi too is also on the path of development. The development of Kashi should also be on religious and spiritual lines. We are proud that the grand corridor of Baba Vishwanath is ready in Kashi and the Prime Minister will dedicate this to the nation on December 13. This could be possible due to the double engine government, otherwise, the city would have fallen prey to appeasement politics.

You are claiming to form the government again in 2022, but so is the claim of Akhilesh Yadav?

Akhilesh Yadav is daydreaming. In 2017, he claimed to win more than 300 seats, but he was reduced to 47. In 2019, the ‘bua-babua’ (aunt-nephew) formed an alliance, but despite that, we won 64 Lok Sabha seats. The reality is — the return of SP, BSP or Congress is not possible in the state.

But this time Akhilesh Yadav is following the strategy of grand alliance on caste basis, as you did in 2017?

He has no answer to what he did to these castes when he came to power in 2012. If he had given importance to these people at that time, then surely they would have stood with him. Now only those leaders are going to him who have no mass base. People in the state are happy with the double engine government of Modi-Yogi and in 2022, like 2017, the BJP is going to form the government with more than 300 seats.

BSP chief Mayawati is also claiming that she will form the government.

Look, everyone is making claims, but they know the reality. Those who do not have workers left at the booth level also claim to win. Tell me, why should the public listen to her, why give her an opportunity? To gain the trust and confidence of the public, one has to work hard.

You are repeatedly talking about the double engine government, but in recent times, your statement about the leadership in UP has raised many questions.

In UP, the BJP is contesting the elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and will win the elections only under his leadership. The lotus will bloom again in the state and BJP will form the next government with a huge majority.

In 2022, on which issues are you going to the public to get the mandate again?

Good governance, development, law and order, curbing corruption, 24 hours electricity, network of roads, expressway… we have so many issues. In fact, the opposition is without issue, it has no issue at all.

But the opposition parties are targeting you even on the issue of law and order.

Today the law and order of the state is fine. Goons, criminals have either been eliminated or put behind bars. Now, no one has to migrate from UP out of fear of mafia or criminals. No one can dare to cause a riot. We are number one in terms of law and order. I appeal to the people of the state to once again give blessings to the BJP to form the government in 2022 because we want to take UP to even greater heights.

Recently your tweet about Mathura was the talk of the town.

I only meant to say that the way rapid development work is being done in Ayodhya and Kashi, similar work should also be done in Mathura too.

Finally, how many seats are you expecting this time?

As of now, elections have not been announced, but let me tell you right now that you can expect the same election results in 2022 as in 2017. We will form the government again with more than 300 seats in the state.

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DMK, allies open new front against Centre over Dam Safety Bill

Stalin said the BJP government at the Centre did not adhere to the demand raised by the DMK leaders in the Parliament and ruthlessly passed the Bill without referring it to the select committee …writes Arun Lakshman

The statement of DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday that the Centre had used its brute majority in the Parliament to pass the Dam Safety Bill is considered as a new war front being opened in Tamil Nadu against the Union government’s policy.

The DMK government in Tamil Nadu had earlier come out strongly against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and had even appointed a commission to study the ‘flaws’ in the national examination for selection of students to MBBS and allied courses in the country.

The passage of the Dam Safety Bill is being taken up in a similar manner by the DMK, with Stalin openly stating that even the AIADMK had supported the demand made by DMK MP, TKS Elangovan, that the bill be sent to a select committee of the Parliament.

Stalin said the BJP government at the Centre did not adhere to the demand raised by the DMK leaders in the Parliament and ruthlessly passed the Bill without referring it to the select committee, which he termed as murder of democracy.

DMK MP, Tiruchi Siva, while speaking in the Parliament during the debate on the Dam Safety Bill, had said that the Bill would infringe on the basic rights and powers vested with the state government.

The DMK leader also said that the Bill was violative of Article 252-1 of the Constitution and that the protection of state powers itself has become a question mark in the country.

The statements of Stalin, and the DMK Parliamentarians, are clear indicators that the party would move politically in the state against the Central government over the Dam Safety Bill and it will get the support of all the political parties in the state, except maybe of the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP.

It may be noted that the Central government had presented the Dam Safety Bill, 2018 as there are 5,200 large dams in the country while 450 dams are under construction.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu are opposed to the Bill as they allege that it contains clauses that violate the rights of the state, especially with respect to dams like Mullaperiyar, which is geographically located in Kerala but maintained and managed by Tamil Nadu.

There are some other dams also that were constructed by Tamil Nadu in other states and the main concern is about retaining its power in controlling them.

It was AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, late J. Jayalalithaa, who had in 2016 raised concerns over the clause on the National Dam Safety Authority.

The Dam Safety Bill passed in both the Houses of the Parliament will lead to the formation of a National Committee on Dam Safety with a three-year tenure. The committee will comprise the Chairman of the Central Water Commission, a maximum of 10 representatives from the Central government in the rank of joint secretary, a maximum of seven representatives from the state governments, and three experts.

Interestingly, most of the dams in India are constructed and maintained by the states.

MDMK MP Vaiko had also expressed his strong reservation against the Bill while speaking in the Parliament during the discussion on the Bill on Thursday.

He had said that the Dam Safety Bill will not protect the dams, but instead will lead to major disasters for which Tamil Nadu would suffer.

He said that states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are throttling the neck of Tamil Nadu and that if the Dam Safety Bill is passed, Tamil Nadu would be the one state that would be affected in a bad way.

In the speech, a copy of which was made available, Vaiko said that all the neigbhouring states are proposing new dams and that this would indirectly affect the water sources of Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly had also passed an unanimous resolution during the tenure of the previous AIADMK government against the passing of the Dam Safety Bill, claiming that it would lead to unrest in the state.

With political parties like DMK and MDMK having grass-roots cadre strength coming out against the Dam Safety Bill, the situation can get out of hand in the days to come.

The DMK is buoyed by the fact that the main opposition, AIADMK, is also against the passage of the Bill and it was Jayalalithaa who had raised her concern against the Dam Safety Bill.

R. Padmanabhan, Director, Socio Economic Development Foundation, a think-tank based out of Madurai said, “The Dam Safety Bill was passed in urgency in the Parliament without any proper consultation with the state governments. Tamil Nadu will face the brunt of this decision and as Vaiko rightly pointed out, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka are in their own ways throttling Tamil Nadu and the people of the state cannot sit idle if the government at the Centre passes a Bill without properly consulting the state governments.”

A senior leader of the AIADMK said on condition of anonymity, “If AIADMK had opposed the Bill, it was due to the fact that the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu were not taken care of. It was Jayalalithaa who had pointed out to the then commission that the Bill would be against the interests of the state, and we may even join hands with the DMK against this.”

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Is govt’s face-off with Opposition a well thought out strategy?

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said, “The opposition leaders are making provocative statements and have refused to apologise on the serious issue even though I have offered an apology on small issues.”…reports Asian lite News

The face-off over the suspension of 12 MPs who allegedly created a ruckus during the monsoon session of Parliament could be a well thought out strategy of the government to engage the opposition on an issue which could have been a non-issue. Otherwise, the government could have had to face tough question on inflation, Chinese intrusion, compensation to farmers and Covid deaths.

The government has been demanding an apology from the suspended MPs but the opposition is firm on not tendering an apology. Meanwhile the suspended MPs have been sitting on protest in Parliament; MPs of the ruling BJP too protested against them on Friday.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said, “The opposition leaders are making provocative statements and have refused to apologise on the serious issue even though I have offered an apology on small issues.”

“When they are not willing to apologise, how can the matter be resolved?”

The statement itself is a manifestation that the government is not interested in resolving the matter despite the Chair suggesting that both sides sit and discuss the issue.

The government has been able to push the Dam safety bill in the week just ended with the opposition participating in the discussion.

In these circumstances the opposition has of late got the sense that the government’s strategy is of confrontation and not resolution and then they started pushing for issues like inflation and farmers’ compensation. The MPs are moving the suspension of business notice under rule 267 on a daily basis which is being rejected by the Chair.

On Friday also the Chairman rejected various notices of the opposition leaders under rule 267. One of the notices was given by Congress MP Deepender Hooda in which he demanded compensation for the families of those farmers who lost their lives during the agitation going on since last year.

On Thursday the opposition parties resorted to sloganeering after the Rajya Sabha assembled for Question Hour and later walked out of the House after they were denied permission for a discussion on inflation.

Congress MP K.C. Venugopal had given a suspension of business notice under rule 267 to discuss the rising prices of essential commodities, which the chair did not permit.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge urged the Chair, “it is an important issue.”

The whole week has passed but the opposition in the Upper House could not raise the issues it wanted as the entire focus was on the suspension of the MPs.

The suspended MPs are from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI, CPI-M and Shiv Sena.

They are Syed Naseer Hussain, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Phulo Devi Netam, Chhaya Verma, Ripun Bora and Rajmani Patel of the Congress, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena, Elamaram Kareem of the CPI-M, Binoy Viswam of the CPI and Dola Sen and Shanta Chhetri of the Trinamool.

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Rajya Sabha passes Dam Safety Bill with amendment

Summing up the debate, Shekhawat tried to answer all the issues raised by the opposition and assured that the Centre did not want to encroach on States’ powers…reports Asian Lite News.

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Dam Safety Bill 2019 that provides for surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of certain specified dams across the country with a provision of imprisonment up to two years, or a fine, or both, for an offence under it.

The Bill was passed with an amendment – exact wordings for which would be available when the proceedings are finalised and put on records – and therefore, the Bill that was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha on August 2, 2019, will now go back to the Lok Sabha again.

It was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat amid din by opposition leaders. However, before any further discussion or vote could happen, the House was adjourned.

On Thursday, initiating the debate again, Shekhawat elaborated how and why the Bill was necessary.

More than a dozen members from the opposition benches – many of whom had come with a black ribbon on their right elbow protesting suspension of 12 MPs – demanded the Bill be referred to the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha.

Summing up the debate, Shekhawat tried to answer all the issues raised by the opposition and assured that the Centre did not want to encroach on States’ powers.

Deputy Chair Bhubaneshwar Kalita, who was in chair through the entire debate, took up, for voice vote, the motion moved by DMK’s Tiruchi Siva to send the Bill to the Select Committee. When it did not yield a clear result, the division was demanded. However, the motion was negative.

The Bill was later passed with an amendment by voice vote.

Data as on June 2019 (a month ahead of the time when the Bill was presented in the Lok Sabha) shows that India has 5,745 large dams (includes dams under construction). Of these, 5,675 large dams are operated by states, 40 by central public sector undertakings, and five by private agencies. Over 75 per cent of these dams are more than 20 years old and about 220 dams are more than 100 years old. Most of these large dams are in Maharashtra (2,394), Madhya Pradesh (906), and Gujarat (632).

The Bill envisages the constitution of two national level bodies and two at the state level. The National Committee on Dam Safety will help in evolving policies and recommending regulations regarding dam safety standards while the National Dam Safety Authority will implement the policies and provide technical assistance to the state bodies.

The State Committee on Dam Safety and the State Dam Safety Organisation will have similar roles to that of national bodies but with jurisdiction restricted to their respective states.

The Bill applies to all specified dams in the country. These are dams with height more than 15 metres, or height between 10 metres to 15 metres with certain design and structural conditions and includes dams built on both inter- and intra-state rivers.

The government has introduced a provision of putting a person in jail in connection with dam safety. Among others is a provision where, if the offence leads to loss of lives, the term of imprisonment may be extended up to two years.

As per provisions, dam owners will be responsible for the safe construction, operation, maintenance and supervision of a dam. Apart from regular monitoring, the functions of dam owners include preparing an emergency action plan, carrying out risk assessment studies at specified regular intervals, and preparing a comprehensive dam safety evaluation through a panel of experts.

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War of words intensifies between Akhilesh and Yogi

It began with the Chief Minister slamming the ‘parivarvad’ or dynastic politics at a news conclave and then going on to refer to veteran SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav as ‘abbajaan’….reports Asian Lite News

It began with two leaders blaming each other for governance, or rather the lack of it, and then as the days rolled by, it hurtled into a full-blown war of words.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav have been taking pot shots at each other at an alarming frequency, and election campaigning in Uttar Pradesh has already turned into a political slugfest.

It began with the Chief Minister slamming the ‘parivarvad’ or dynastic politics at a news conclave and then going on to refer to veteran SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav as ‘abbajaan’.

The Chief Minister repeatedly said, “My family is the state’s 25 crore people, while for some their own clan was the state. Some have worked only for the welfare of their family, while we have worked for the welfare of the entire state.”

Akhilesh has now taken potshots at Adityanath, saying that “those who have no family, cannot care for the people”.

Akhilesh also reacted strongly to the ‘abbajaan’ jibe, and told Adityanath not to get personal or else he would get a taste of his own medicine soon.

The ‘abbajaan’ remark was apparently aimed at the alleged Muslim appeasement policies of SP since ‘abbajaan’ is a term used mainly by Muslims.

While the BJP and the SP battled over the propriety of ‘abbajaan’, the two leaders went a step ahead.

Adityanath took a dig at the SP-BSP alliance of 2019 by referring to Akhilesh and Mayawati as ‘Bua-Babua’ — Babua being a term of endearment for son in eastern UP.

Akhilesh returned the fire by saying that it was time to say ‘bye bye’ to ‘Baba’ — a term used for saints.

‘Baba’ and ‘Bua-Babua’ are now terms frequently used by the two parties and their leaders.

“Babua yeh Twitter hi vote dega,” said the Chief Minister referring to Akhilesh’s tweets.

After Akhilesh made a statement on Jinnah, Adityanath grabbed the opportunity to refer to the Samajwadi Party as ‘Jinnah-wadi Party’.

In between, references to ‘Kabristan’ and ‘Shamshaan’ also sneaked in to add a sinister angle to the state’s politics.

Akhilesh has blamed the Adityanath government for taking the credit for projects launched during his regime. Adityanath has responded by saying that “some people build castles in the air and are day dreaming”.

Akhilesh then mounted an attack on BJP’s saffron policies and said that while the BJP knows only one colour, his palette has various colours — a reference to different parties which are in alliance with the SP.

As the countdown for next year’s Assembly elections begins, the war of words between the ruling party and the SP, which is emerging as a major challenger, is intensifying.

Real and core issues related to development are, unfortunately, taking a back seat in Uttar Pradesh.

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Law on MSP ‘unlikely’, says Haryana CM

The remark is being considered as a “major statement” as despite the government’s announcement of repealing the three agricultural laws, the agitation by farmers’ organisations is still going on….reports Asian Lite News

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal has said that “it is not possible” to make a law on MSP (Minimum Support Prices).

Talking to the media after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday, the Haryana Chief Minister, citing the opinion of experts, said that it is “not possible to make a law on MSP as doing so will put pressure on the government to buy all the crops, which is not possible”.

The remark is being considered as a “major statement” as despite the government’s announcement of repealing the three agricultural laws, the agitation by farmers’ organisations is still going on.

Farmers’ organisations are demanding the Union government to make a law on MSP.

Manohar Lal said that the Prime Minister was worried that the farmers need to go back. He said that the announcement to repeal the laws has “sent a good message” and farmers will “definitely return to their homes” after the law is withdrawn during the winter session of the Parliament.

The Haryana Chief Minister said that many other issues including pollution, stubble burning, cleanliness, ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ were discussed with the Prime Minister. During the meeting, the Manohar Lal also extended an invitation to the Prime Minister for the Gita Mahotsav and also urged him to lay the foundation stone for the Orbiter Rail Corridor.

Reacting to the opposition’s allegations regarding an alleged scam in the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC), the Chief Minister said that there is “no need to shot in the dark, if the opposition has any solid information, then give it to us, we will bring it under investigation”.

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Johnson’s ratings hit record low

There are also signs tensions between Johnson and Rishi Sunak are at risk of boiling over, with Treasury sources hitting out at Johnson for ‘blowing’ announcements including a huge £96billion rail upgrade, reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saw his personal ratings slump to a record low on Wednesday. The premier suffered another blow as a Savanta ComRes poll suggested the chaos is cutting through to voters, with his net favourability score dropping to minus 14. That was down from minus nine last month, and worse than during the bleak second coronavirus surge last autumn.

The research also showed Labour hanging on to the lead in overall support, although the advantage has narrowed from six points last week to two.

The findings emerged as Conservatives tried to bulldoze through the problems this afternoon by cheering Johnson to the rafters as he got to his feet for the weekly Commons clashes.

The baiting came after No10 was forced to insist the PM is ‘well’ following his rambling address to business leaders on Monday, and with claims a dozen MPs have sent no-confidence letters to the powerful 1922 committee, the report said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. (Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street)

There are also signs tensions between Johnson and Rishi Sunak are at risk of boiling over, with Treasury sources hitting out at Johnson for ‘blowing’ announcements including a huge £96billion rail upgrade.

Senior Conservatives have been venting fury at a series of self-inflicted setbacks, demanding he brings in experienced big beasts to sharpen up his Downing Street team, the report added.

Rising discontent

Meanwhile, conservative MPs are increasingly worried about Boris Johnson’s competence and drive after he gave a rambling speech to business leaders and was accused of losing his grip over a series of key policies from social care to rail.

Senior members of his own party said they needed Johnson to get the government back on track after a disastrous two weeks amid dismay about his performance at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, where he lost his place in his speech for about 20 seconds and diverted into a lengthy tangent about Peppa Pig, The Guardian reported.

The prime minister was also facing a substantial rebellion over his social care proposals, anger at the decision to scale back rail improvements for the north and frustration over the government’s failure to keep its promises on small boats crossing the Channel.

It caps a difficult fortnight for the prime minister after he admitted he “crashed the car into a ditch” in his handling of the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal, the report said.

Nervousness among Tory MPs about No 10 intensified after one Downing Street source told the BBC there was “a lot of concern inside the building about the PM — it’s just not working”, adding that the “cabinet needs to wake up and demand serious changes otherwise it’ll keep getting worse”.

A former cabinet minister also told the Guardian that there was “an accumulation of things building up, really relating to his competence and that is beginning to look very shaky” after a “pretty bad bloody fortnight”.
He said it was unlikely to result in a leadership challenge while the polls were still fairly even between the Tories and Labour, but it could be “problematic for him” if that changes when an election is looming.

Another senior backbencher said Johnson’s CBI speech had been a “mess” while a third Tory MP said: “Someone needs to get a grip. He is losing the confidence of the party.”

Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Credits: No 10)

Speaking to the CBI conference, the PM also quoted Lenin and performed an impression of a car. Halting his speech led to an awkward 21 seconds of apologies and paper shuffling from the Tory leader.

Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, called the speech “shambolic”. She added: “No one was laughing, because the joke’s not funny anymore.”
A senior Downing Street source told the BBC: “Business was really looking for leadership today and it was shambolic.”

They added there was “a lot of concern inside the building” about Johnson. “Cabinet needs to wake up and demand serious changes otherwise it’ll keep getting worse. If they don’t insist, he just won’t do anything about it.”

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BJP outlines strategy to select candidates for Assembly polls

On the basis of the analysis of these situations, the BJP will choose its candidates and decide whether to give tickets to the sitting MLAs again or not…reports Asian Lite News.

The BJP is likely to begin the process of selecting its candidates from December for the upcoming Assembly polls in five states.

A senior BJP leader associated with the party’s election management said that while selecting the party candidates, the BJP will take into account the strength of the opposition parties on a particular Assembly seat as well as consider all caste equations.

The BJP will select the candidates by adopting a two-pronged strategy.

The BJP leader said that while on many seats there will be a direct fight with the opposition parties, on many seats the contest will be triangular or multi-cornered. On the basis of the analysis of these situations, the BJP will choose its candidates and decide whether to give tickets to the sitting MLAs again or not.

He said while adopting the party’s mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas’, the BJP would keep in view the social engineering equations of the particular region during the selection of candidates.

Speaking about Uttar Pradesh, on the basis of the current caste equations, it is expected that there will be a direct political fight between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP) on the majority of seats in the state.

The BJP candidates must get 40 to 45 per cent votes to win these seats. In seats where the BJP will compete with the candidates of SP, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress or other opposition parties, its candidates can win even by securing 30 to 35 per cent votes.

In Goa, the BJP will be involved in a direct fight with the Congress, although regional parties such as the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party will pose a tough political challenge to the BJP on some Assembly seats.

But now with parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress and the Shiv Sena entering the electoral fray in Goa, it is likely that the contest in many seats could be multi-cornered. The BJP is preparing an in-depth analysis of the strength of the opposition parties.

Despite the entry of the AAP in Uttarakhand, the BJP is assuming that it will have a direct fight with the Congress in the state. The BJP will follow a similar two-pronged strategy while selecting candidates in poll-bound Punjab and Manipur.

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Varun Gandhi leaves BJP?

Varun, earlier, has spoken in support of the agitating farmers and even tweeted a short clip of a speech made by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in support of farmers…writes speaks with Amita Verma.

With his recent statements that are not necessarily in consonance with the BJP, Varun Gandhi is leaving his party leaders guessing.

His latest tweet against Padma Shri awardee Kangana Ranaut –whose statement on Independence has already created a political storm-may has embarrassed the BJP but it has surprisingly won him support from the BJP cadre.

A local BJP leader from Sultanpur, a constituency that he represented in 2014, said, “The Padma Shri award to Kangana Ranaut, in any case, was a major embarrassment for us because of her earlier statements and behaviour. Her Independence statement was rightly snubbed by Varun Gandhi. We fully support him though we may not be able to declare this from the rooftops.”

Varun, earlier, has spoken in support of the agitating farmers and even tweeted a short clip of a speech made by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in support of farmers.

Last month, he was seen taking a stand against the Union Minister of state for home Ajay Misra Teni and his son Ashish Misra whose vehicles allegedly mowed down four protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.

Varun tweeted a video of the incident and wrote, “The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer.”

Varun’s statements have not been officially countered by the BJP but the party made its displeasure clear by dropping him from the party’s national executive.

While senior leaders are unable to understand why the youngest Gandhi scion is determined to create trouble, the party cadre is buzzing with speculation about Varun’s next move.

“A Gandhi in the BJP cannot be acceptable beyond a point and Varun’s growth as a political leader has been stunted in the party. I would not be surprised if he moves over to greener pastures in the coming days,” said a senior party leader who had once seen Varun ‘as the leader of tomorrow.’

There has also been talking of Varun moving over to the Congress but he has already dismissed any such possibility.

The Congress workers, however, are secretly thrilled at the very idea of Varun joining the party.

“He is a grassroots leader. We have seen his connect with the party workers in Sultanpur and Pilibhit. He is politically shrewd and adequately aggressive – just what we need to revive the Congress. Most importantly he is not dependent on any coterie in politics,” said a veteran expelled Congress leader.

Meanwhile, as Varun Gandhi ups the ante with his statements, BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh are wary of the damage that the party may have to suffer ahead of the state Assembly elections.

As a senior BJP MLA said on condition of anonymity, “There is no doubt that Varun Gandhi is more than just another party MP and his words will undoubtedly have an impact on the people. We are waiting for his next move and also waiting to see the party’s reaction.”

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Rajiv Pratap Rudy Confident Over Party Win

That is his party’s agenda and I can’t comment on it. Let’s see what will be his position in Delhi and other states…Rajiv Pratap Rudy speaks with Shashi Bhushan

Ahead of next year’s Goa assembly polls, former union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy has said that the opposition is visionless and the BJP will register a huge victory in the forthcoming polls.

In an interview , Rudy, also the former BJP Goa in-charge, said that the party is not seeing any fight with any political party in the assembly election. Taking a dig at Mamata Banerjee’s announcement to contest the Goa assembly polls, Rudy said that there are too many shops (political parties) in the state and he has heard that a few more shops are opening in Goa. Excerpts from the interview:

What would you say about the Goa election scheduled early next year. The BJP is contesting the polls for the first time after the death of the party’s tallest leader in Goa, Manohar Parrikar?

Definitely Manohar Parrikar was the tallest leader of Goa. Parrikar has created a generation of leaders and party workers here. Today, the BJP is firmly moving towards a big majority in next year’s assembly polls. The Opposition is visionless and they are creating adopted opposition. Contesting elections by creating adopted opposition is not logical. A Deshbhakt (patriot) of Goa knows the history of the state and people here are smart and intelligent and I am confident that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP will register a huge victory.

What would you say about the multi-cornered contest in next year’s Goa assembly polls?

I don’t see any fight with any political party. They (opposition) are fragmented and there are too many shops (parties) in the state and I heard a few more shops are opening in Goa. But the BJP is firmly esconced in Goa and is coming back to power for a third term also. The BJP government served the people of the state and continuously worked for the welfare of the people.

Who is your main opponent in Goa – Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or the Trinamool Congress?

Rudy: I don’t see any opposition, you tell me who is our opposition. More parties may also be waiting to come to Goa. We are working for people and will continue to do the same.

Big hoardings of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Benerjee and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal are seen across the state. Do you think of them as challengers?

If elections can be won by putting up hoardings, then there are many people in the country who can put up more hoardings. Hoardings and posters do not ensure victory and elections can be won only by working for the people and making their life better.

Do you think Mamata Banerjee is a challenge?

I only talk about the BJP and the BJP is working on the ground for the development of the state.

Do you think the freebies announced by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will have an impact on the polls?

That is his party’s agenda and I can’t comment on it. Let’s see what will be his position in Delhi and other states.

What are the achievements of Pramod Sawant’s government?

The Pramod Sawant government has completed all the infrastructure projects started by late Manohar Parrikar and connected the state government with the government at the Centre. Several new infrastructure projects like construction of new airports or road projects are going on which will be completed soon. Governance has improved in the state under the BJP government. Benefits of central schemes are visible on the ground. Goa is moving ahead on a positive note.

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