Kavitha, Raja Singh comments prove BRS, BJP secret partners: TPCC chief
Hyderabad:
Telangana Congress
president B Mahesh Kumar Goud on Friday said the allegations of BRS MLC K
Kavitha
and later by BJP senior MLA T Raja Singh on BJP-BRS merger efforts vindicated the Congress' stand that BRS and BJP are secret partners, and the pink party helped the BJP in the Lok Sabha and MLC elections.
Mahesh Goud also demanded that Union minister G Kishan Reddy reply to allegations made by Raja Singh that some leaders in the saffron party were ready to support BRS-BJP merger in return for a "big package".
Alleging that former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao has revived ties with former BRS miniter Eatala Rajender, now a BJP MP, in the backdrop of notices in the Kaleshwaram irrigation probe, the TPCC chief said: "It is learnt that BRS MLA and former irrigation minister T Harish Rao met Rajender at a farmhouse, following which KCR spoke to Eatala over phone."
He accused Eatala of working for the BRS while being in BJP and asked him to make his stand clear if that was not the case.
The TPCC president said that even if the BRS and BJP merged, there would be no impact on the Congress.
"The BRS already scored a zero in Lok Sabha elections and the BJP tally of 8 MPs will remain the same even if there was a merger. The Congress is enjoying the confidence of the people due to its welfare schemes," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
38 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Congress fought for freedom, will now fight to protect Constitution: Balbir Sidhu
Former Punjab health minister and senior Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu led a 'Save the Constitution' rally in Sector 78, Mohali, on Saturday. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former speaker Rana KP Singh, Punjab Congress co-incharge Ravindra Dalvi, Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Dera Bassi in-charge Deepinder Dhillon, Mohali mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu, and other senior leaders were also present in the rally. Throwing an open challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Warring said the Congress is raising its voice against the murder of democracy and the Constitution. Sidhu said, 'The soul of the nation—our Constitution, our democracy, and our harmony—is under threat today. But the Congress, as the only true national force which fought for the country's freedom in the past, is now fighting to protect it. We will never allow the dictatorship of the BJP and RSS to prevail.' Dalvi said, 'The BJP and RSS are trying to divide the country in the name of religion and snatch people's freedom, employment, and rights.' Rana KP Singh attacked AAP stating, 'AAP has become the B-team of the BJP. From Delhi to Punjab, their silence and collusion with the BJP has become a threat to our nation and Constitution. Those who came to power with slogans of change are now suppressing the voice of the people. But the Congress is fighting against this and receiving the support of people.'
Mint
41 minutes ago
- Mint
Sharmistha Panoli case: Law student sent to judicial custody for 14 days
Kolkata Police arrested Sharmistha Panoli, 22, an influencer and a law student in Pune, from Gurugram on Friday night over allegations of hurting religious sentiments. She is a resident of Kolkata's Anandapur area. The Kolkata court, yesterday, remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days. Multiple attempts were made to serve legal notices to Panoli and her family, but these efforts were unsuccessful as they had absconded. As a result, the court issued an arrest warrant, leading to her subsequent arrest, the Kolkata Police said. The Kolkata Police on Saturday stated, "The case relates to an Instagram video by a lady named Sharmishta Panoli that hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community. FIR was lodged in Garden Reach Police Station. Attempts to serve notice as per law couldn't be successful since the accused, with her family absconded. Subsequently, warrant of arrest was issued by the court of law, based on which she was arrested from Gurgaon yesterday." 2. The case originated after Panoli posted a video on Instagram on 14 May, in response to a question from a Pakistani follower regarding India's military action following the Pahalgam terror attack. In the video, she allegedly made derogatory comments about Islam and Prophet Muhammad, and also criticised Bollywood actors for their silence on the issue. 3. On May 15, Panoli had deleted the video and made an apology after receiving death threats as the video went viral. She mentioned, 'I do hereby tender my UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY whatever was put are my personal feelings and I never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody so if anybody is hurt I'm sorry for the same. I expect co-operation and understanding. Henceforth, I will be cautious in my public post. Again please accept my apologies.' 4. She went on to clarify that her remarks were made in response to threats from 'radical Pakistani terrorists,' stating, 'Mere liye mera desh pehle aata hai' (For me, my country comes first). 5. Her advocate said, 'We moved our bail application before the court, citing that the articles that have been allegedly stated by the prosecution to have been used, the mobile phone and the laptop, have already been seized. Subsequently, the court heard our prayer." 6. 'The police custody prayer was sought by the prosecution, which was turned down and rejected. The accused has been remanded to judicial custody till 13th of June, 2025,' the advocate added. 7. Kolkata Police dismissed the "factually incorrect" and "misleading" certain social media narratives indicating that the arrest of the law student was 'unlawful.' 8. 'FIR was filed against Mahua Moitra also. She made derogatory comments about Goddess Kali. Was any action taken? What did their (TMC) MP, Saayoni Ghosh, post regarding Mahadev? Was any action taken? There have been so many FIRs against Firhad Hakim, but there has been no action,' West Bengal Assembly LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari slammed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the arrest of Panoli, alleging that action is taken only against 'Sanatanis'. He added, 'The action is only taken against Sanatanis. Everyone here has a licence to abuse Sanatana... This is appeasement politics. A certain community is their vote bank and this is for appeasement. Mahua Moitra used derogatory language against Goddess Kali in a talk show, 200 FIRs were registered. No action was taken...' 9. On Saturday, she was produced before Alipore Court in Kolkata. The court remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days. 10. 'Blasphemy must be condemned, always! Secularism isn't a shield for some and a sword for others. It must be a two-way street. West Bengal Police, the nation is watching. Act justly for all,' Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan stated on X. He added, 'She owned her mistake, deleted the video and apologized. The WB (West Bengal) Police swiftly acted, taking action against Sharmishta."
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Mahayuti reverses pre-election hike in crop loss compensation to farmers
MUMBAI: The Mahayuti government, which had hiked the compensation for crop losses before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, cancelled this on Friday and restored a 2023 order which will leave farmers with reduced compensation. With this, the government will save the money it would have had to shell out to farmers for the damages they suffered on account of heavy rains in the past few days. Following the rains, the administration began a survey of the damage to crops and on Friday, a government resolution (GR) was issued. 'The state cabinet has decided to give compensation to farmers as per the criteria decided by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDRF). So from Kharif 2025, the compensation criteria would be followed as per the order dated March 27, 2023 and the order issued in this regard on January 1, 2024 has been cancelled,' states the GR. Compensation for farmers is calculated on the basis of crop loss. A particular amount is decided for per-hectare loss based on the type of farming, besides which a limit is put on compensation. The limit, which was two hectares or five acres in the March 2023 order, was hiked to three hectares (or 7.5 acres) by the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government in January 2024. Through the GR issued on Friday, the limit was reversed to two hectares. The GR also reduced the compensation on different types of farmland: non-irrigated, irrigated and horticulture. The January 2024 GR had hiked the compensation rate for non-irrigated crops from ₹8,500 per hectare to ₹13,600. For crops on irrigated land, it was increased from ₹17,000 per hectare to ₹27,000. For cash crops and fruits, it was hiked to ₹22,500 to ₹36,000 per hectare. All this stands to be reversed now. The losses to farmers are significant. For example, a farmer owning non-irrigated land would have got up to ₹40,800 in compensation for crop loss on three hectares. Now he will get a maximum of ₹17,000. After the unseasonal rains in 2023, the then Mahayuti government under chief minister Eknath Shinde, with an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls that year, had issued the increased compensation order on January 1, 2024. Farmer leader and former MP Raju Shetti said that the Mahayuti government had betrayed farmers by cancelling the additional compensation after winning the elections and getting the farmers' votes. 'The Mahayuti government came to power by offering various sops to different sectors,' he said. 'But after winning the elections, it has betrayed all those who voted for it on the strength of sops like Ladki Bahin. This cancellation of additional aid given to farmers in 2024 is another example. This government is a cheat.' As per the economic survey of Maharashtra, the average agricultural land holding in Maharashtra is 1.34 hectare (3.35 acres) but in areas like Vidarbha (where farmers are already under stress) it is above five acres.
