Kerala, Aug 29 (ANI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan extends his warm wishes on the occasion of the Onam festival, on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)
Kerala is the only state where government employees retire at the age of 56. …reports Asian Lite News
The Kerala government is mulling to increase the retirement age of government employees to 57 years.
Sources said that talks between various government stakeholders are underway and an announcement is likely to be made during the New Year when the state budget for the new fiscal will be presented in February by State Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal.
Kerala is the only state where government employees retire at the age of 56. During the tenure of Oommen Chandy (2011-16) to standardise the retirement age of all employees, it was decided to increase the retirement age from 55 to 56 years.
As per a recent study by a committee, the state government will be able to divert more than Rs 5,000 crores if the retirement age is increased by one year as the retirement benefits including gratuity and end-of-service benefits for capital spending.
If the state government is able to go ahead with the proposed plan for the government employees, it will be a major image booster for the CPI-M government as state government employees are unhappy with the Vijayan government on the issue of increase in DA arrears, which at present is around 19 per cent.
With the local bodies poll due in the second half of 2025 and the Assembly polls scheduled to take place in April 2026, the step is seen as a major step by Vijayan-led government.
Bypoll underway
A day after the high voltage campaign for bypolls to Kerala’s Palakkad Assembly seat ended, the three political fronts — LDF, NDA and UDF — on Tuesday claimed that victory will be theirs on November 23 when the votes are counted.
Incidentally, Palakkad is one of the very few Assembly constituencies among the 140 in the state, where the BJP finished second in the 2021 polls. The by-election campaign witnessed aggression from each side to outdo each other.
The election was forced upon the electorate after sitting Congress legislator Shafi Parambil contested the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency where he won after trouncing one of CPI(M)’s most popular faces, sitting legislator and former Health Minister K.K. Shailaja.
All three political fronts — Left Democratic Front (LDF), National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and United Democratic Front (UDF) — witnessed internal bickering over the candidate selection.
Of the blocks first was the Congress party which decided to field their popular face and Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkootathil, who is not from the district and soon came expression of displeasure from a few sections. The Congress lost its leader Dr P. Sarin who walked into the CPI(M) camp and was instantly fielded as the Left Independent candidate.
Things were no different in the BJP too. After a round of discussions and debate, much against the wishes of a section, the BJP decided to field a local leader and a familiar face during election time, Krishnakumar.
Churachandpur [Manipur], Nov 19 (ANI): Members of Kuki organisations hold a rally carrying mock 'coffins' in remembrance of the deceased members of their community who died during unrest in the Manipur, in Churachandpur on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)
Kharge in his letter emphasised that both the central and state governments have failed to restore peace and normalcy in the state …reports Asian Lite News
Amid the continued tension and unrest in Manipur, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, wherein he blamed the the “inordinate inaction” of both Centre and state governments towards restoring peace, and called for her intervention to ensure the protection of the lives and properties of the people of the state.
Kharge in his letter emphasised that both the central and state governments have failed to restore peace and normalcy in the state adding that the people of the state have lost confidence in both governments.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted Kharge’s letter on X, and said, “@INCIndiaPresident @kharge ji has just written to the President of India on the deteriorating situation in Manipur and the Union Govt’s abysmal failure there over the last eighteen months.”
Kharge in the letter said that more the 300 people have lost their last in Manipur for the last 18 months and nearly a lakh of the human population has been displaced.
“The country has been inflicted with a grave tragedy of extraordinary proportions due to the unprecedented turmoil in Manipur for the last 18 months, the ongoing turmoil has taken more than 300 human lives, including women, children and even small babies. It has internally displaced nearly a lakh of the human population rendering them homeless and forcing them to live in different relief camps. The agony of the people continues unabated,” the letter said.
Expressing concern over the deteriorating living conditions of the people of the state, the Congress chief added, “It has affected the economy of the state and the living conditions of its people with retail inflation going up to 10%. This has made the lives of the people of Manipur extremely difficult. Businesses are closed down, jobs are getting lost, professionals have left their own homes, essential food items, medicines, and essential commodities are in scarcity, national highways have been blocked since May of 2023, schools and educational institutions are shut down, and internally displaced persons are dying of suicide in relief camps. Manipur and its people are suffering silently, which in turn has taken a huge toll on the mental health of the entire population.”
“As both the Union Government and the State Government of Manipur have completely failed in restoring peace and normalcy in Manipur during the last 18 months, the people of the state have apparently lost confidence in both the governments and reasonably so. With every passing day, the people of Manipur are becoming insecure on their own soil – their home turf having witnessed their infants, babies, children and women getting mercilessly killed. With no succour coming from the governments involved, they have been finding themselves completely isolated and helpless for more than 540 days now,” the letter added.
Kharge further highlighted that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has visited Manipur three times in the last 18 months whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited even once.
Tribals hold ‘coffin rally’
Thousands of men and women on Tuesday took part in a ‘coffin rally’ in Manipur’s Churachandpur in solidarity with the 10 Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribal ‘Village Volunteers’, who were killed in a reported encounter with CRPF in Jiribam district on November 11.
Jointly organised by Zomi Students’ Federation, Kuki Students’ Organisation and Hmar Students’ Association, thousands of men and women wearing black attire symbolically carried 10 dummy coffins to pay homage to the 10 slain Village Volunteers as all the 10 bodies are still kept in the morgue of a local hospital.
The three tribal organisations on Monday urged the authorities of all schools and colleges in Churachandpur district and adjoining areas to close down their educational institutions and to send students from Class X and above to participate in Tuesday’s rally.
The three organisations also urged people from all walks of life to participate in the ‘coffin rally’ in large numbers. After the post-mortem of all ten bodies was conducted in Assam’s Silchar Medical College and Hospital, the bodies were airlifted on November 16 to Churachandpur, a Kuki-Zo-Hmar inhabited district.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), an apex body of the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur, earlier said that they have decided that the last rites of 10 Village Volunteers, would not be performed till their postmortem examination reports are handed over to the families. “We have not yet received the post-mortem reports. We would wait for autopsy reports of all the martyrs’ bodies. We would not bury the martyrs before that,” senior ITLF leader Ginza Vualzong told the media after Sunday’s meeting.
He said: “Our martyrs’ bodies would be placed in the district hospital morgue until post-mortem reports are available.” Vualzong said that after receiving the post-mortem reports of all 10 of them, an expert in this field would carefully review the autopsy reports for any irregularity.
Priyanka Gandhi filed three sets of nominations before the Wayanad District Collector on Wednesday…reports Asian Lite News
Details of assets owned by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who is contesting the Lok Sabha bypoll from Kerala’s Wayanad in her electoral debut, and her businessman husband Robert Vadra came out in the open on Wednesday, with the couple being worth Rs 88 crore.
Priyanka Gandhi filed three sets of nominations before the Wayanad District Collector on Wednesday, and the information about her and her husband’s assets came in the affidavit she filed, as per the mandatory requirement for every candidate who files a nomination to contest an election in the country.
The Congress-led UDF candidate, in her nomination affidavit, revealed that her assets worth nearly Rs 12 crore, comprise a 12,000 sq feet farmhouse near Shimla valued at Rs 5.64 crore besides a Honda CRV presently worth Rs 8 lakh. Among the other assets are mutual fund investments to the tune of Rs 2.24 crore besides jewellery worth Rs 1.16 crore. Then she co-owns agricultural land at Mehrauli worth Rs 2.10 crore along with her brother and former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi. Incidentally, she has declared an income of over Rs 46.39 lakh in the previous fiscal and this includes interest from banks and other investments besides rental income.
Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Vadra has movable assets worth over Rs 37.9 crore and immovable assets worth over Rs 27.64 crore. These include vehicles besides partnerships in a few companies.
Incidentally, this is the debut election of Priyanka Gandhi after her brother Rahul vacated the seat which he retained the seat at the April general elections. Days after that, he decided to vacate the Wayanad seat to retain the Gandhi family’s traditional Rae Bareli seat from here he was also elected. Soon after he vacated it, the Congress went into a huddle to select his replacement, and to keep up his promise that he would not desert Wayanad, decided to field Priyanka Gandhi as its candidate.
Addressing a gathering before filing her nomination, Priyanka Gandhi, who was accompanied by her mother and former party chief Sonia Gandhi, brother Rahul Gandhi, and top Congress leaders, said: “This is a new journey for me and you are my guides. For me, it’s my responsibility too. You are the symbol of trust between my family and you. I have been a mother of two children before entering politics. The one thing I want my children to know is what difficulty I faced, I was there with them whenever they needed me. You are also my family and I want you to know the same, I am there to fight for you and I will fight your battles and will not let you down. I thank you from the core of my heart for accepting me as the UDF candidate.”
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat will go to polls on November 13, along with the Palakkad and Chelakkara Assembly seats….reports Asian Lite News
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson and former party President, Sonia Gandhi, will campaign in Kerala’s Wayanad for her daughter and party General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi, who is contesting her first electoral battle.
Priyanka Gandhi will be contesting from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, where a by-election was necessitated after sitting MP Rahul Gandhi, who was also elected from UP’s Raebareli, vacated the seat to retain the family stronghold.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat will go to polls on November 13, along with the Palakkad and Chelakkara Assembly seats. Votes will be counted on November 23.
Sonia Gandhi is returning to Kerala after many years and will be joined by both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for a roadshow scheduled for Tuesday, according to state Congress leaders.
Rahul Gandhi had retained the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 3,64,422 votes over his nearest rival, Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India. This was, however, a dip against his 2019 performance when he won with a record majority of 4,31,770 votes over P. P. Suneer of the CPI.
After Rahul Gandhi vacated the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, the state Congress unit invited Priyanka Gandhi to contest and announced her as the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate from Wayanad.
Senior Congress leaders in Kerala are expecting a majority of more than five lakh votes for Priyanka Gandhi from the UDF stronghold of Wayanad.
Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal, who is also the MP from the state’s Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat, will be coordinating Priyanka Gandhi’s election campaign in Wayanad.
Meanwhile, Indian Union Muslim League leader P. K. Basheer, who is the MLA from Eranad – which forms part of the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, claimed in an election committee meeting that Congress workers in Wayanad were lethargic during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He mentioned that in Assembly constituencies led by Congress leaders, Rahul Gandhi could not secure a huge majority, while in constituencies led by Muslim League leaders, he achieved good leads.
He urged Congress leaders to be proactive in their constituencies and increase Priyanka Gandhi’s lead so that she secures a record-winning margin.
The CPI has fielded senior leader and former MLA Sathyan Mokeri, who criticised Rahul Gandhi for being unavailable for common voters, including tribals, after winning the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in both 2019 and 2024.
He predicted a similar situation in Wayanad if Priyanka Gandhi won, and urged the people to vote for him and help the Left Democratic Front (LDF) win the by-election in the Wayanad constituency.
The BJP has announced the candidature of Mahila Morcha State General Secretary, Navya Haridas, from Wayanad. State BJP President, K. Surendran, had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad.
In a stinging attack on the MahaYuti, Chennithala said that the unconstitutional ruling coalition has indulged in massive corruption and emptied the state coffers in the past two-and-half years in power…reports Asian Lite News
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA bloc allies asserted that they are ready for the Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled on November 20 and exuded confidence in ousting the ruling MahaYuti regime to capture power.
Leaders of the MVA-INDIA allies Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) said that they have finalised their seat-sharing arrangements, campaign material and other weapons in their political ordnance to clobber the alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party.
Moreover, several leaders including AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala, state president Nana Patole, Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar, SS (UBT)’s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve, Sanjay Raut, Sushma Andhare, NCP (SP)’s Working President Supriya Sule, state chief Jayant Patil and Anil Deshmukh, and others have said that “the people will not be swayed by the pre-poll gimmicks” of the MahaYuti government.
In a stinging attack on the MahaYuti, Chennithala said that the unconstitutional ruling coalition has indulged in massive corruption and emptied the state coffers in the past two-and-half years in power.
“Though there was no provision for funds, the state government has been making misleading announcements to fool the masses. We are confident that the people will not fall for their pre-election gimmicks and will vote for a change and the development of Maharashtra,” declared Chennithala.
Patole said that barely hours before the polls were announced the MahaYuti government scrapped tolls for light motor vehicles at five Mumbai entry points, indicating the desperation of the ruling alliance leaders.
“Why only Mumbai… Why not waive off tolls for all over Maharashtra? Are the people of the city and the state different… The MahaYuti and BJP have been looting the state since 2014 and resorting to mere sloganeering,” said Patole.
SS (UBT)’s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve said that the MVA is fully geared up for the polls and will give a massive push to remove the corrupt MahaYuti regime where law and order have completely collapsed.
Patil slammed the manner in which the MahaYuti has emptied the state treasury and the ECI finally announced the election schedule that was delayed.
“We shall contest all the 288 Assembly seats unitedly and expose the ruling alliance, their fake promises and assurances… We shall increase and streamline the money being given under the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme,” said Patil.
Andhare said that the MVA has never opposed the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme, warned the MahaYuti leaders for taking personal credit for the dole which is actually the tax-payers money, and raised objections at the hasty manner in which 7 MLCs nominated by the Governor’s quota in the Upper House were sworn-in today morning.
Patole and Wadettiwar assured that there is no dispute over ‘Big Brother or Small Brother’ with the sole goal of ‘saving Maharashtra’ from economic peril and insecurity owing to lawlessness, atrocities on women, blatant killings, etc.
They added that the people of the state will give a befitting reply to those who allegedly carried out corruption in making the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj which crashed down in barely eight months.
“When the MVA government had given the list of 12 nominees for the Governor quota MLCs, the former Governor (Bhagat Singh Koshyari) did not clear it, then the matter went to the court whose outcome is awaited, yet the MahaYuti went ahead and appointed 7 MLCs today,” said Patole, vowing to file an appeal.
Raut urged the ECI not to make Maharashtra elections go the Haryana style where many objections/doubts were raised on various counts.
“If the ECI claims it is independent – we don’t say so – then it should watch out for all kinds of machinations, the money power, muscle power, misuse of official apparatus, etc, which is rampant in Maharashtra,” urged Raut.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen state President Syed Imtyaz Jaleel rued that for a huge state like Maharashtra, it was expected that the ECI would hold a two-phased election, but “they paid heed to the demands of the ruling alliance.”
Vinesh stated that the symbol of ‘Hand’ will act as a slap and will strike the BJP government on October 5….reports Asian Lite News
Wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government ahead of the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.
Vinesh, a Congress candidate, filed her nomination from the Julana Assembly constituency last week. Vinesh took a jibe at the ruling BJP government before the Haryana Assembly elections, set to be held on October 5.
Vinesh used the Congress party’s symbol as a metaphor. She stated that the symbol of ‘Hand’ will act as a slap and will strike the BJP government on October 5.
“You know my party symbol; don’t press the wrong one. This time Congress’ symbol of hand will act as a slap. On October 5, this slap will strike in Delhi,” Vinesh said.
She went on to claim that the BJP government has failed to respect the people of Haryana. She questioned the need for the presence of such a government where the people are not respected.
“We have to take revenge for unemployment and your insult that has prevailed for the past 10 years. We are willing to put our lives on the line to protect our respect. But, the BJP government has not respected it. If our respect is taken away, then what shall we do with such a government,” Vinesh added.
Vinesh was one of the leading wrestlers during the protest launched against the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh last year over his alleged sexual harassment of several women wrestlers.
Vinesh joined the Congress party on September 6, along with Olympian wrestler Bajrang Punia, following her disqualification from the women’s 50kg final at the Paris Olympics.
She is pitted against BJP candidate Captain Yogesh Bairagi in Julana for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.
The counting of votes will be held on October 8. In the 2019 assembly polls, the BJP became the single-largest party with 40 seats, and Congress won 30 seats. (ANI)
Sources indicate that AAP has demanded 10 seats from Congress during talks between party leader Raghav Chadha and KC Venugopal
Congress and AAP have started seat-sharing talks for the Haryana assembly polls, which could lead to a continuation of the alliance they had in the state during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.
The Congress has formed a three-member committee, which includes the party’s screening committee chairman for the state, Ajay Maken, AICC in-charge of Haryana Deepak Babaria and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, for seat-sharing talks with Aam Aadmi Party and Samajwadi Party. Party general secretary KC Venugopal will oversee the work of the committee.
Congress sources said that the party is willing to give 3-5 seats to AAP and one to the Samajwadi Party in Haryana, which has a 90-member assembly.
They said the discussions with AAP follow the suggestion of party leader Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. The sources said that during the Congress Central Election Committee meeting, Rahul Gandhi discussed the possibilities of contesting elections as INDIA bloc and said that the party should make efforts to ensure that the votes of the alliance are not divided.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh later welcomed the suggestion and said that a final decision would be taken after consultations with party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
“We welcome it. Our priority is to defeat the BJP. Our Haryana in-charge Sandeep Pathak and Sushil Gupta will discuss it and take a final decision and inform Arvind Kejriwal about it, and a decision will be taken accordingly,” Sanjay Singh said.
Deepak Babaria told the media that talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regarding the alliance are in the preliminary stage.
“We are exploring it. If there is any further development in the next 2-3 days, we will let you know,” he said.
Congress sources also said that the party has formed a sub-committee to take a decision on the pending seats in Haryana.
The panel includes Madhusudan Mistri, Ajay Maken and Deepak Babaria and will hold separate talks with the party’s three senior leaders in Haryana – Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja.
The meetings with the three leaders are expected to take place on Thursday.
Party sources said that about 24 seats are in the pending list, and no agreement could be reached on these in the meeting of the Central Election Committee.
AAP sources said that there have been talks with Congress. They said that the party has demanded 10 seats from Congress. They said talks have been held between party leader Raghav Chadha and KC Venugopal. (ANI)
BJP expected to list of candidates soon
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release the first list of candidates for at least 50 seats on Wednesday in the run-up to the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections.
The party sources said that the first list of candidates is expected to be released tomorrow.
“We will release the first list tomorrow on maximum seats. Though discussion on all seats have been done but we will release the of list of around 50 candidates first and rest will be announced later,” the source said.
Earlier in the day, a key meeting was held at around 7.30 pm at former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s residence in Delhi. The meeting was attended by BJP Haryana Election incharge Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-incharge Biplab Dev, State incharge Satish Punia, and state co-incharge Surender Nagar among others.
On September 2, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national President JP Nadda, BJP Haryana Election incharge Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-incharge Biplab Dev, State incharge Satish Punia, State Co-incharge Surender Nagar and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar met and held talks regarding the candidates.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said a new report by a noted brokerage firm has once again shed light on the truth…reports Asian Lite News
The Congress on Sunday claimed that a combination of slow wage growth and “back-breaking” inflation has caused an unprecedented decline in real wages and said that like the “proverbial ostrich”, the government continues to remain blind to the most fundamental challenge faced by the Indian economy.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said a new report by a noted brokerage firm has once again shed light on the truth that the Union Government has consistently denied – real household incomes in India are facing a persistent decline.
“A combination of slow wage growth and back-breaking inflation has caused an unprecedented decline in real wages (wages adjusted for price rise) and therefore incomes,” he said in a statement.
Ramesh pointed out that several surveys and data sets – including the Annual Survey of Unregistered Enterprises (ASUSE), the Reserve Bank of India’s KLEMS data, and the Household Consumer Expenditure Survey (HCES) – have demonstrated financial distress among working class Indians.
Multiple data sources, including the government’s own official statistics, have even shown clear evidence that workers can buy less today than they could 10 years ago, he said.
“Labour Bureau’s Wage Rate Index (Government Data): Real wages for labourers stagnated between 2014-2023, and in fact declined between 2019-2024. Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Statistics at a Glance (Government Data): Under Dr Manmohan Singh, real wages for agricultural labourers grew at 6.8 per cent each year. Under Mr. Modi, real wages for agricultural labourers declined by minus 1.3 per cent each year,” he said.
Citing periodic labour force survey series, Ramesh said average real earnings over time have stagnated between 2017 and 2022 across all employment types – salaried workers, casual workers, and self-employed workers.
Citing Centre for Labour Research and Action data, he said real wages of brick kiln workers have stagnated or declined between 2014 and 2022.
Brick kilns involve intensive labour and are a low-paying work of last resort for India’s poorest, he added.
“In my intervention on the Finance Bill in the Rajya Sabha on August 8, 2024, I had asked four straight questions on the state of the economy,” he said.
“The non-biological PM hasn’t yet broken his silence on them, so they are worth repeating: Why does private investment continue to be sluggish? Why has the private sector’s share in overall investment declined to its lowest level in four years?” Ramesh said.
“Why is consumption growth so weak and why did private final consumption expenditure – the largest component of the GDP – grew at only around 4 per cent in FY24,” he asked.
Why are real wages and incomes stagnant or falling, Ramesh further asked.
“Why has manufacturing as percentage of GDP fallen from 16.5 per cent in UPA to 14.5 per cent? Why has this decline been particularly sharp in labour-intensive manufacturing like textiles? Why have India’s garment exports fallen from USD 15 billion in 2013-14 to USD 14.5 billion in 2023-2024?” the Congress leader said.
“The Union Budget has come and gone, but like the proverbial ostrich, the Government and the non-biological PM continue to remain blind to the most fundamental challenge faced by the Indian economy,” Ramesh said.
‘U’ in UPS stands for Modi govt’s U-turns, says Kharge
The Congress on Sunday took a jibe at the Centre over its announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme, saying the ‘U’ in UPS stands for the Modi government’s “U-turns”. The opposition party also alleged that the UPS appears to be an attack on Dalits, tribals and backward classes.
Taking a dig at the government, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The ‘U’ in UPS stands for Modi Govt’s U turns! Post June 4, the power of the people has prevailed over the arrogance of power of the Prime Minister. Rollback in the budget regarding Long Term Capital Gain/Indexation. Sending Waqf Bill to JPC. Rollback of Broadcast Bill. Rollback of Lateral Entry,” he said in a post on X.
“We will keep ensuring accountability and protect 140 crore Indians from this despotic government,” the Congress chief said.
The Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera alleged that the UPS appears to be an attack on Dalits, tribals and backward classes.
“In many states, the upper age limit for government jobs for reserved category is 40 years. In UPSC, this limit is 37 years. Under the unified pension scheme, it is mandatory to render 25 years of service to get a full pension,” Khera said.
In such a situation, how will Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes employees avail this facility, he asked.
“Now the government should tell whether it wants to end the upper age limit facility available to the underprivileged or wants to deprive them of full pension?” Khera said on X.
However, Professionals’ Congress chairman Praveen Chakravarty appeared to strike a divergent note from his party and said the introduction of the scheme was “welcome and prudent”.
“Pension for govt staff in India is inherently a tax on the majority poor to pay the elite minority. So, OPS was reformed to NPS in 2013. But NPS did not assure a minimum amount for retired families,” Chakravarty said in a post on X.
“Now, UPS does that UPS = NPS + Minimum guarantee. This is prudent & welcome,” he said.
Though Chakravarty’s X account is not verified, several top Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, follow it. The Union Cabinet on Saturday approved an assured pension of 50 per cent of salary for those who joined the service after January 1, 2004, under the National Pension System (NPS), fulfilling a long-pending demand of government employees ahead of assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
Employees opting for the UPS would be eligible for an assured pension of 50 per cent of the average basic pay drawn over the last 12 months before superannuation for a minimum qualifying service of 25 years.
This pay is to be proportionate for a lesser service period up to a minimum of 10 years of service, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The new pension scheme also guarantees an assured minimum pension of Rs 10,000 per month on superannuation after a minimum of 10 years of service.
This will benefit 23 lakh central government employees, Vaishnaw said, adding that the number would rise to 90 lakh if state governments want to join the scheme.
The MVA constituents have declared to contest the Maharashtra assembly polls together….reports Asian Lite News
A Congress leader on Sunday said winnability would be the main criteria for seat-sharing among the MVA constituents for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls and it will be worked out amicably at the earliest.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), is already in the poll and campaign mode, having held a joint meeting of their office-bearers on August 16, state Congress working president Naseem Khan said.
“Winnability would the basis for seat-sharing among the allies and it will be worked out amicably at the earliest,” he said.
“The Lok Sabha poll results will surely be replicated in the assembly elections,” Khan said, expressing confidence of the MVA’s victory.
He claimed that false promises and fake narrative of the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ (comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP) have been exposed.
“Development has reduced and corruption has increased during their tenure. The state government has worked to weaken Mumbai and Maharashtra, farmers suicides have gone up,” he charges.
The MVA constituents have declared to contest the Maharashtra assembly polls together.
A meeting of the MVA allies was held on August 16 in which Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray demanded the alliance declare its chief ministerial face in advance without waiting for the scorecard of each constituent in the assembly elections, due in October-November.
The MVA trounced the Mahayuti alliance in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year by bagging 30 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, with the BJP losing 14 constituencies of the 23 it won in 2019.
On August 20, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray will participate in a programme to be organised in Mumbai by the state Congress to mark the birth anniversary of former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will also attend the programme, to be held at the Shanmukhananda Hall here.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who was invited for the event, will not be able to attend it due to prior engagements, Khan said.
Mumbai is the birthplace of Rajiv Gandhi. He ushered in the IT and telecom revolution and lowered the voting age to 18 years, said Khan, who was recently nominated to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) as a special invitee.
Solapur, Jul 17 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addresses a gathering during the Ajanvriksha Jalarpan and release of the Information Leaflet, at Pandharpur, in Solapur on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)
Shinde opens up on split with Uddhav
Calling his decision to part ways with Uddhav Thackeray in 2022 as the right move, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Sunday that if he had stayed with him, then the party would have broken and even the symbol ‘Dhanushbaan’ would be destroyed.
Shinde said that it is the party head’s job to stand behind his workers as they are the one who strengthens the party.
On being asked whether he ever felt accused of his step, Shinde said, “Because the situation was created like that. If we had stayed there with them, then the party would have broken, the party would have ended. And even the symbol of Dhanushbaan would have destroyed. Because if the workers of the party are not there, then how will the party survive? If the head of the party has the responsibility to unite all of us, to advance our party, our policies should be such that people should benefit from the party.”
“The party workers strengthen the party. So when a worker is in trouble, then to stand behind him is the job of the party leader. So we saw that someone else was running the party and someone else was leading. And the incidents that I told you about, they were trying to finish us. If we had remained like this, what would we have done?” Shinde added.
The Maharashtra CM also mentioned that If the united Shiv Sena at that time had an alliance with the BJP, then their ideology would have been fine and they all would have been united.
Further, on being asked why he went to Guwahati after parting ways with Uddhav Thackeray, Eknath Shinde said that it was his strategy.
“That was our strategy. I went there openly. I didn’t hide. I went there while talking to them. I got Uddhavji’s call. I went there while talking to him. He challenged me a lot. He said, come and show me. You have to go from Worli to Mumbai. They will do this, lakhs of people will come, they will block the roads, bloodshed will happen, MLA people will not be allowed to go to Vidhan Bhawan. I said, look, I am also a worker of Balasaheb Thackeray. I have been a hard worker since my childhood. I have dedicated my life to party, party, party. So I don’t want all this,” he said.
Speaking on allying with Ajit Pawar-led NCP, Eknath Shinde said that after seeing the work of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ajit Pawar decided to join the Mahayuti Alliance.
“When I saw the work of PM Modi, the way PM Modi is moving the country forward, doing development, he is moving the developed India forward. So all this development, and seeing the development of the country, and the work of our government, today Ajit Pawar has come with us. Now he is working with us. What do people want? People want fast decisions. So we are the people who make fast decisions,” he said. (ANI)
Maha Vikas Aghadi parties are bracing for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. Congress also held a meeting of its state leaders on August 4…reports Asian Lite News
In line with the preparations for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief, Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday met Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi.
Uddhav was accompanied by his son, Aditya Thackeray, and the duo met Congress top brass in New Delhi.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut and Congress MP KC Venugopal were also present in the meeting.
On August 3, Sharad Pawar met Maharashtra CM Shinde at Varsha Bungalow and discussed the issues of the Maratha reservation, amongst others.
Maha Vikas Aghadi parties are bracing for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra. Congress also held a meeting of its state leaders on August 4.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Deputy Leader and Spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam on Tuesday criticized Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief, Uddhav Thackeray, claiming that he is bowing to the Congress High Command in Delhi purely out of a desire for power.
Speaking at a press conference held at Balasaheb Bhavan, he said, “Uddhav Thackeray’s current visit to Delhi exemplifies his helplessness.”
He mentioned that despite the improbability of their government forming, leaders such as Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, Jitendra Awhad, Anil Deshmukh, and Aaditya Thackeray are all vying for the top spot.
“Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to Delhi is an attempt to position himself as the chief contender for the Chief Ministership within the MVA,” he said.
However, Nirupam pointed out that Sharad Pawar is unlikely to endorse Uddhav Thackeray for the role, leading Thackeray to seek support from other leaders within the INDIA Alliance to exert pressure on Pawar.
The state is likely to go to poll for the 288-member legislative assembly later this year, as the tenure of the current government ends in 2024.
However, the Election Commission has yet to announce the dates.
The BJP dipped to nine seats in Maharashtra against 23 in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The vote share stood at 26.18 per cent. The Congress, on the other hand, marginally improved its seat share by securing 13 seats in the state.
The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won seven and one seats respectively, taking the total tally of the NDA to 17. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) got nine seats while the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar won eight seats. (ANI)
