Farmers in western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have been protesting since last one year against the three new farm laws passed by the Centre…reports Asian Lite News.
Amid the ongoing farmers unrest in poll-bound states, the BJP Kisan Morcha will hold its national executive meeting on October 30 in Delhi.
BJP chief J.P. Nadda will address the meet.
The BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will also attend the meeting, presided over by the BJP’s Kisan Morcha national president and MP Rajkumar Chahar.
Farmers in western Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have been protesting since last one year against the three new farm laws passed by the Centre.
The meeting holds importance post the October 3 violence in Lakhimpur Kheri which claimed nine lives, including four farmers.
“In the meeting, plans to reach out farmers in poll-bound states will be discussed and a special campaign will be finalised to expose political rivals who are politicising the farmers’ issue and misleading them,” a party functionary said.
Assembly polls will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur in February-March 2022.
Another party leader said that plans to explain to people how farmers have benefited in the last seven years of the Narendra Modi government will also be discussed.
“The Modi government is working continuously for doubling the farmers income,” he said.
The BJP leadership has asked all its morchas to conclude their national executive meetings by October.
Amid the ongoing #farmers unrest in poll-bound states, the #BJP Kisan Morcha will hold its national executive meeting on October 30 in #Delhi.
BJP chief J.P. Nadda (@JPNadda) will address the meet.
A two-day executive meeting of the Scheduled Caste (SC) Morcha was held in Varanasi and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) Morcha organised its national executive on September 23-24 in Ranchi.
The BJP Mahila Morcha held its national executive in Dehradun on September 26-27. The Saffron party youth wing held its national executive meet on October 5.
Saffron party minority Morcha will also hold its national executive on October 24.
The constituency management plan is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s preparations for the assembly polls…reports Shashi Bhushan
The BJP in Madhya Pradesh has implemented a ‘special constituency management plan’ for those assembly constituencies which the saffron party has frequently lost since 2013. There are around 35 such seats and the BJP has decided to pay special attention to these constituencies through its special management plan ahead of the next assembly election.
Party Madhya Pradesh in-charge P Murlidhar Rao told IANS that a special plan has been formulated for around 35 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh which the BJP has frequently lost since 2013. “In other words, these seats are difficult ones and to win these 35 seats we have started a special constituency management plan,” Rao said.
Explaining the plan, Rao said that a separate team has been looking after party work to strengthen the organization in these constituencies. An in-charge has been appointed and workers have been identified to take the fight ahead.
The constituency management plan is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s preparations for the assembly polls. “We have started preparing for the next assembly polls in 2023 and the 2024 general elections. We are working on territorial expansion of the party and focusing on increasing the vote share to 51 per cent. In the 2008 assembly polls, the BJP had got a 38 per cent vote share. In the last assembly polls in 2018, our vote share increased to 41 percent and now we are targeting to get 51 percent in 2023,” Rao said.
From December, the BJP Madhya Pradesh unit is launching a ‘vistarak’ campaign in which over 20,000 workers of the party state unit will collectively work for two lakh hours among the people at the booth level for organizational expansion.
“Each vistarak will work to strengthen the party at ground level by spending 10 hours per day for 10 days. In total 20,000 vistaraks will together work for two lakh hours for the party,” Rao added.
The Madhya Pradesh assembly elections will be held in November-December 2023. Since 2003, the saffron party has been in power in the state, except for 15 months between December 2018 to March 2020 when Congress leader Kamal Nath was Chief Minister.
In March 2020, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was again sworn as chief minister after the fall of the Kamal Nath led Congress government.
Varun Gandhi has been quite vocal through his tweets on the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, demanding action….reports Asian Lite News
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka have been dropped from the saffron party’s national executive whose team was reconstituted on Thursday by party president JP Nadda. Union Minister Smriti Irani, however, has made a comeback to the executive team.
Maneka Gandhi had been a Union minister in the first tenure (2014-19) of the Narendra Modi-led government and she is currently a Lok Sabha MP from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Her son Varun Gandhi is Lok Sabha MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
Varun Gandhi has been quite vocal through his tweets on the October 3 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, demanding action.
In a letter written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Varun Gandhi alleged that the farmers were killed, and sought action on the issue.
Sharing a video on Twitter, he wrote that the protesters cannot be silenced through murder and accountability should be fixed.
His stance on the Lakhimpur Kheri issue is being seen as a reason behind his removal from the BJP’s executive committee.
Nadda’s new team sees the return of Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, who defeated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi. Irani has been given a place in the National Executive as a member.
Apart from film actor Mithun Chakraborty, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Shubhendu Adhikari, and many leaders from other parties (who switched over to BJP) have also been included.
A BJP leader said this time around 30 per cent new leaders have been included in the executive team.
The meeting of this newly formed team will be held in the national capital on November 7.
Sources said that both the leaders discussed several issues, including national security, farmers’ agitation and the current political situation in Punjab…reports Asian Lite News.
Amid speculation of him joining the BJP, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday evening. The meeting lasted for around an hour at Shah’s official residence here.
However, Singh’s media advisor Raveen Thukral had then denied the former meeting Shah and BJP chief J.P. Nadda, saying he’s on a personal visit to Delhi to meet ‘some friends’.
On Wednesday, Singh tweeted after the meeting with Shah: “Met Union Home Minister @AmitShah in Delhi. Discussed the prolonged farmers’ agitation against #FarmLaws & urged him to resolve the crisis urgently with repeal of the laws & guarantee MSP, besides supporting Punjab in crop diversification.”
Sources said that both the leaders discussed several issues, including national security, farmers’ agitation and the current political situation in Punjab.
There is also speculation that Singh, who was recently asked to resign as Punjab Chief Minister by the Congress leadership, may join the saffron party or float his own outfit. The BJP is ready to welcome him, saying Singh is a nationalist and all nationalists are welcomed in the party.
“Amarinder Singh is nationalist to the core and he always stood for nationalist issues. Apart from his political agenda, he always stood for nationalist issues. All nationalists are welcome to meet the Home Minister. On one hand, the Congress has insulted a nationalist solider and on the other, it inducted a member of ‘tukde tukde gang’. Our doors are open for all the nationalists,” BJP national spokesperson R.P. Singh said.
The BJP leaders, however, are tightlipped about Singh joining the party. A party leader said that the decision, if any, will be taken by the central leadership and it will be communicated to everyone at an appropriate time.
When asked whether Singh will join the BJP, the party’s national general secretary and Punjab in-charge Dusyant Gautam said, “Let’s see. All those who talk in the national interest are welcome to join the party.”
Sources said that the main agenda of discussion during Wednesday’s meeting was the ongoing farmers’ protest in the Punjab.
“Singh can play an important role in pacifying the farmers, who are protesting for almost a year against the three farm laws. He can also convince them to end the ongoing protest,” the sources said.
The BJP leaders in some poll-bound states believe that these people will help the party at the ground level, besides weakening the opposition camps…reports Asian Lite News.
In the run up to next year’s Assembly polls in five states, the BJP has planned to induct local influential leaders of other political parties to boost its campaign.
As per the plan, the BJP will try to induct influential leaders from the opposition camps, both at the Assembly and block levels.
Five states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur — are scheduled to go to the polls next year.
A senior BJP leader aware of the development pointed out that there are many influential leaders in the opposition camps at the Assembly and block levels who are unhappy with their current organisation due to different reasons.
“We are approaching these disgruntled leaders with a request to join us to serve the people. Those who are ready to serve the people and agree to follow the ideology of the BJP are welcome. There will not be any pre-condition like ticket or other promises for joining the party,” he said.
The BJP is also approaching influential individuals with an offer to join the party.
“We can find many influential individuals at the local level. Many of them are not interested in electoral politics, but are willing to work for the society. We will ask them to join us to serve the people and the society in a better way,” a party leader said.
The BJP leaders in some poll-bound states believe that these people will help the party at the ground level, besides weakening the opposition camps.
A party insider said that feedback will be taken from the local BJP leadership before allowing anyone to join the saffron camp.
AIADMK, BJP wooing PMK to remain in NDA fold
The opposition AIADMK and the BJP are reaching out to the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) to remain in the NDA fold after the latter announced to go solo in the rural local body polls.
The PMK on Tuesday announced that it would contest the ensuing rural local body elections, to be held on October 6 and October 9, alone.
The PMK is the political arm of the powerful Vanniyar community and the previous AIADMK government had ordered 10.5 per cent reservation for the community from within the Most Backward Caste (MBC) fold, a long pending demand of the PMK and its founder leader, Dr S. Ramadoss.
Edappadi K. Palaniswami (left) & O. Panneerselvam (right), Former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu (Wikipedia)
However, after the DMK government came to power, it announced a Government Order for the 10.5 per cent reservation for the Vanniyar community as well as a memorial for the 21 Vanniyars who were shot dead by the police during the regime of AIADMK leader M.G. Ramachandran on September 17, 1987.
Political observers are of the opinion that the DMK was trying to woo the Vanniyar community to get a stronghold in North Tamil Nadu where the community is strong. The announcement by the state president of the party and also an MLA G.K. Mani that the PMK would contest the rural local body polls alone was a shocker for the AIADMK-BJP combine. and hence the firefighting operation began quickly.
Sources in the BJP said that senior leaders of the party in New Delhi have already communicated to the PMK youth wing leader Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, who was a minister in the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government, to stay back in the NDA fold in Tamil Nadu.
The BJP claimed that the Trinamool, its office-bearers, ministers and other senior functionaries are now preparing to abuse the state’s resources in support of Banerjee…reports Asian Lite News.
The BJP on Wednesday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to deploy a minimum of 90 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for the bypolls to three Assembly constituencies in West Bengal scheduled on September 30.
A BJP delegation submitted a memorandum to the poll panel demanding the deployment of at least 40 companies of CAPF in Bhabanipur from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting, and at least 25 companies in each of the other two Assembly constituencies in Samserganj and Jangipur.
BJP
BJP national General Secretary Arun Singh, MPs Swapan Dasgupta and Locket Chatterjee, and party leaders Sanjay Mayukh, Om Pathak, Shishir Bajoria and Neeraj signed the memorandum.
“A CAPF deployment of only 15 companies per Assembly constituency has been sent, which is grossly inadequate, especially in Bhabanipur where unelected Chief Minister Banerjee is contesting for survival. The Trinamool Congress has deployed its entire strength of hooligans,” the BJP memorandum said.
The BJP claimed that the Trinamool, its office-bearers, ministers and other senior functionaries are now preparing to abuse the state’s resources in support of Banerjee.
The BJP also alleged that the officials who were shifted out by the Commission, either for completing three years in a post or for being found unfit for conducting free and fair polls, have been brought back in the three Constituencies by the Trinamool, demanding that they should be immediately transferred out of the Kolkata district.
“Hoardings, posters and banners with photos of Chief Minister Banerjee should immediately be removed from all government and municipal sites from the KMC area,” the BJP demanded.
Citing Covid, the BJP urged the ECI that the presence of the agents of the candidates inside the polling booths should be restricted only to the national parties, while all other polling agents should be seated outside the booths.
“Firhad Hakim, a state minister and administrator of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), who is a close confidante and an undeclared election agent of Banerjee, should be debarred from participating in the poll process in any form and be relieved from his charge of KMC until the conclusion of the elections in Bhabanipur, an area falling within the limits of KMC,” the BJP further demanded.
EC sends notice to BJP candidate Priyanka Tibrewal
The Election Commission has issued a show-cause notice to the BJP candidate for Bhabanipur bypolls, Priyanka Tibrewal, for alleged violation of Covid protocols by gathering a large number of supporters while filing her nomination paper.
On Tuesday, the BJP had objected to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nomination for the same bypolls, on the ground that she suppressed information in her affidavit.
The Trinamool Congress in its complaint alleged that Tibrewal violated the Model Code of Conduct and the Covid-related guidelines by gathering “an unruly mob” of not less than 500 without any prior permission.
She even performed a ‘Dhunuchi Nach’ (traditional Bengali dance, generally performed during Durga Puja) at places on the way to file her nomination, the Trinamool claimed.
The notice issued by the returning officer also referred to a report submitted by the officer-in-charge of the Bhabanipur police station where he mentioned traffic congestion following a big assembly of BJP supporters on Sambhunath Pandit Street and other places.
Tibrewal, however, denied the allegation and said, “The Election Commission has sent me a letter after the Trinamool filed a complaint alleging that I had taken a huge number of people when I had gone to file my nomination and thus violated the Model Code of Conduct as well as the Covid-19 protocols. I will reply with whatever will be my answer,” she said.
“I would also like to say that Suvendu Adhikari was alone in my vehicle. There was no one else. Arjun Singh and Dinesh Trivedi came in their own vehicle. So how did I violate the poll code? There was no flag in my vehicle either,” Tibrewal added.
On the allegation of carrying supporters along with her, the BJP leader said, “I had not led any crowd. It’s not my duty to see who was on the roads on bikes and four-wheelers. It’s the job of the police and the local administration,” she added.
Tibrewal is up against Banerjee and CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas in the bypoll scheduled to be held on September 30. The votes will be counted on October 3.
Banerjee echoed Abhishek Banerjee when she said, “They can silence the Congress with agencies’ fear…reports Asian Lite News.
Lashing out at the BJP in her first election campaign for the bypolls to the Bhowanipur Assembly constituency where she is a candidate, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that the saffron brigade is using the central agencies to thwart the voices of the opposition.
She also told the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo that this might work well against other political parties, but it will not have any effect on Trinamool Congress.
Speaking at a party workers’ meet in Chetla in south Kolkata, Banerjee said, “They have interrogated Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew) for nine hours and again they are asking him to come. Is it possible to go to Delhi every day? Why did they shift the case from Kolkata?”
“Nothing has been found against him, but he will have to go and prove that he is a thief,” Banerjee said, adding: “Now they have summoned Partha Chatterjee. Whenever an election is announced, the central agencies start to dance. I don’t blame them because they are also under pressure and the pressure is from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”
On Wednesday, state Commerce and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee was asked to appear before the CBI in connection with the I-Core chit fund scam. He has been asked to appear before the CBI on September 13.
Banerjee echoed Abhishek Banerjee when she said, “They can silence the Congress with agencies’ fear. They can silence Mulayum Singh, Akhilesh and Sharad Pawar in the same way, but they cannot stop us. We will fight till the end.”
It should be mentioned here that after being interrogated by the ED in connection with a money laundering case related to the coal scam in New Delhi for nine hours, Abhishek Banerjee had said, “I shall die but I shall not bow my head. They can stop the Congress but they can stop us. We will go to all the places where democracy is being killed.”
Speaking on the Nandigram election where she was defeated by the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, the Chief Minister said, “I was defeated in Nandigram, but I have filed a case and if there is nothing in the case, it would not have been admitted by the court.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoZoTw7yRFo
Banerjee needs to win the bypoll from Bhowanipur to continue as the Chief Minister of Bengal.
“A lot of things happened in Nandigram. The VVPATs were not counted. Lots of machines were broken. I had to campaign with an injured leg. There were lots of conspiracies that were hatched against me. The case is sub-judice and so I shall not say much,” she said.
“We only know how we fought against all the odds to win the Assembly polls. The BJP brought in goons from other states during the Assembly elections. I have to contest this bypoll as a conspiracy was hatched against me (in Nandigram),” she added.
“As the number of MLAs of the BJP is higher than the JD-U, we have more responsibility to run the government smoothly than the JD-U,” Hussain said…reports Asian Lite News.
Bihar Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on Thursday admitted that differences have arisen between his Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal-United in the state, but there was no threat to the government.
“There are differences in the Bihar NDA. The leaders of the BJP and the JD-U have differences of opinion on several issues, though both the parties are committed for better future of Bihar. The Nitish Kumar government will complete the tenure of 5 years,” he said while interacting with reporters in Muzaffarpur.
“As the number of MLAs of the BJP is higher than the JD-U, we have more responsibility to run the government smoothly than the JD-U,” Hussain said.
While Hussain was cautious on criticising the Nitish Kumar-led JDU, PWD Minister Nitin Navin openly said that the policies of Nitish Kumar, especially on the population control law, was not good.
“I believe that population control law should be implemented in Bihar. It will help to bring a strong and healthy society. Population control policy is not one subject. If it is implemented in the country, everyone will come under this law. The awareness can come after the implementation of laws,” he said.
Nitish Kumar has a clear stand on population control law, saying that the population can be control only after education and awareness of females in the society.
They were also provided a Personal Security Officer (PSO) who however was found absent from duty at the time of incident. The said PSO has been placed under suspension…reports Asian Lite News.
BJP’s Kulgam Kisan Morcha chief and sarpach and his wife were shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Monday, police said.
Police said at about 4 p.m., Anantnag police received information about a terror crime incident at Lalchowk area of the district where terrorists had fired upon BJP Sarpanch and his wife, a Panch.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that terrorists barged inside the rented accommodation of BJP Sarpanch Ghulam Rasool Dar, son of Ghulam Hassan Dar, resident of Redwani Kulgam at Lalchowk, Anantnag and fired indiscriminately from pistols. In this terror crime, BJP Sarpanch and his wife Jawhara Begum received critical gunshot injuries, and were immediately shifted to hospital, where both were declared brought dead,” a police officer said.
Police said although the couple were provided secured accommodation at Snow Cap Hotel in Kulgam and had stayed there for a short period but they had been continuously insisting to stay at their house at Anantnag town and also submitted an undertaking in this regard.
They were also provided a Personal Security Officer (PSO) who however was found absent from duty at the time of incident. The said PSO has been placed under suspension.
Police has registered a case in this regard under relevant sections of law.
IGP, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that two-bike borne terrorists of LeT outfit were involved in this barbaric terror incident.
BJP J&K spokesperson Altaf Thakur has strongly condemned the killing of Ghulam Rasool Dar and his wife.
Terming the killings barbaric and cowardly, Thakur said attacking and killing innocent people will lead to nowhere and the acts reflect the frustration on the part of the terrorists.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has strongly condemned the killings.
“I strongly condemn brutal terrorist attack on the Sarpanch GH Rasool Dar and his wife Jawhara Banoo of Redwani Bala, Kulgam.
“This is an act of cowardice and perpetrators of violence will be brought to justice very soon. My deepest condolences to bereaved family in this time of grief,” his office said in a tweet.
The union minister said that the BJP does not work for any particular caste or family but works for the poorest of the poor….reports Asian Lite News
Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the BJP would return to power with a massive majority in the next assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and asked the opposition leaders to prepare for their defeat.
Speaking at the ‘bhumi pujan’ ceremony of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science (UPSIFS) that is coming up in Sarojini Nagar locality in Lucknow, Shah said that under the leadership of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the state has emerged as a leader.
“Yogi Adityanath has turned Uttar Pradesh into a number one state in implementation of 44 welfare schemes. He has improved the law-and-order situation that is now inviting investments and has also checked corruption. During the Covid pandemic, Yogi ji and his team did excellent work. Opposition leaders will now come out because elections are approaching but people must not be misled by them. Where were they when there was the land mafia, riots were taking place, crime against women was at a high and families did not have toilets?” he asked.
The union minister said that the BJP does not work for any particular caste or family but works for the poorest of the poor.
Talking about the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science, Amit Shah said that this would be affiliated to the forensic institute in Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
“This institute will not only enable youth to get a new career for themselves but will help in improving law and order. The institute will have a DNA centre for which Rs 15 crore has been earmarked. The conviction rate of criminals will also go up as investigations become more professional and scientific and the crime rate will automatically go down,” he said.
Shah said that policing had changed over the years with the advent of problems related to fake currency, cybercrime, narco terrorism etc. The police force needs to be better trained and we need a special manpower for investigations, he said.
Amit Shah further pointed out that police is blamed for either inaction or extreme action. “The police need to focus on just action,” he added.
Spread over 50 acres in Piparsand locality of Sarojini Nagar, the institute will offer studies in the field of police administration and forensic science. A Centre of Excellence is being set up by NFSU to provide modern infrastructure and technology in scientific crime investigation, which will be a separate unit on 5-acre land on the campus.
