logo
Give tender contracts to SCs, demands Vidasam

Give tender contracts to SCs, demands Vidasam

The Hindu2 days ago

Vistruta Dalit Sanghams (VIDASAM) State convener Busi Venkata Rao has demanded that the tenders for supply of material for residential schools, hostels, rural water supply, panchayat raj and others being executed with the SC Sub-Plans funds be given to the SCs only.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, Mr. Venkata Rao said the government had allocated ₹20,281 crore for SC Sub-Plan, and of this, ₹9,000 crore has been allocated to social security pensions and other schemes. The remaining ₹11,000 crore has been allocated to various projects intended to benefit SCs, he said, adding that the works of these projects should be given to SCs only.
Works like laying of roads, water tanks, water pipelines and electricity lines should be given to SCs, he demanded. He said the government spends ₹150 crore on the supply of various commodities such as vegetables, eggs, pulses and others for providing meals to more than 1.04 lakh students in 750 social welfare hostels and 50 residential schools in the State, but not a single contract was given to the SCs.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Amid Bihar's shifting sands in twilight of Nitish, Chirag Paswan eyes centrestage
Amid Bihar's shifting sands in twilight of Nitish, Chirag Paswan eyes centrestage

Indian Express

time8 hours ago

  • Indian Express

Amid Bihar's shifting sands in twilight of Nitish, Chirag Paswan eyes centrestage

Suddenly, Bihar is back in the news. After all, it was from Bihar's Madhubani that the Prime Minister first chose to declare that India would track down to the ends of the earth those responsible for the killings of 26 innocent men in Pahalgam. Narendra Modi gave an all-party meeting called by the government on April 24 – two days after the Pahalgam terror attack – a miss to attend the Madhubani rally, for which he was criticised by the Opposition. Bihar clearly holds its own importance for Modi and his party. The BJP and the RSS would like to lead a government in the state, which has so far eluded them. It is early days yet to conclude whether nationalistic fervour would inform the Bihar Assembly elections slated for this year-end, or it would be fought on 'hyper-local' issues as many believe. Interestingly, it is Chirag Paswan who has begun to stir the election pot. The Union Minister for Food Processing Industries heads a small Bihar-centric party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The undivided LJP – which split in 2021 following the demise of the party founder and Chirag's father Ram Vilas Paswan – had contested the 2020 Bihar polls on its own. But the party came a cropper with only one seat to its credit. Chirag returned to the NDA fold ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections which saw his party winning all five seats it contested in Bihar. In his government 3.0, Modi inducted the LJP(RV) chief as a Cabinet minister, and there were photographs going viral of the PM and Chirag together that reflected their chemistry. Today, Chirag has emerged as a symbol of the changes that are underway in Bihar. Clearly, he has his eyes set on the Pataliputra gaddi— as he gets set to contest the Assembly polls despite being an MP. His party has passed a resolution that he will take up 'bhavishya ki zimmedari'(responsibility of the future)— in other words, the chief ministerial role, without declaring it in so many words. The NDA will be contesting the elections under incumbent CM and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar's leadership, though. The LJP(RV)'s pitch for his 'future role' is aimed at projecting Chirag as the Dalit leadership's face – he is already considered a hero among Dalit youth – and expand his base among the Scheduled Castes (SCs), which constitute over 19% of Bihar's population. There was a split in the SCs in the state after Nitish categorised 21 of its 22 sub-castes as Mahadalits (or the more marginalised among them) who needed special government assistance, excluding just the Paswan group from it to which Chirag belongs. This created a cleavage between Paswans and Mahadalits. The Paswan community could determine the outcome of the polls in about 30 Assembly seats out of the state's 243. Chirag was said to be of the view earlier that his real challenge lay in enthusing his cadre to work with the NDA under Nitish's leadership since they were opposed to his rule. Mahadalits are part of Nitish's support base, along with Kurmis, Koeris, Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Pasmanda Muslims (backward Muslims), which have always stood him in good stead on the electoral front. When he joined hands with the upper castes-backed BJP, they won successive polls. When he aligned with the Mahagathbandhan led by Lalu Prasad's RJD, they emerged victorious too. However, despite playing a key role in government-formation in all elections since 2005, Nitish's party put up a poor performance in the 2020 polls, when its tally dipped to 43 seats – much below the BJP's 74 – from 71 seats in 2015. One of the reasons for the JD(U)'s dismal showing was the damage caused to it by Chirag in as many as 40 seats. In about 26 seats, the LJP(RV) polled more votes than the JD(U)'s defeat margin. With the NDA's seat-sharing exercise yet to begin, Chirag is already upping the ante to stake his claim for all those seats where his party was seen to be a factor even if it did not win those seats. Significantly, he is also keen to contest from a 'general' seat in a bid to push his base beyond Dalits. This has prompted a question whether Chirag is trying to take Nitish's place by replicating his base amid a weakening JD(U). What is apparent is that he has decided to join the race, even if it may turn out to be a marathon, for the Bihar crown, which always eluded his father. The late Ram Vilas had worked with six PMs, from VP Singh to Narendra Modi, serving as a Union minister seven times. VP Singh saw him as a potential PM in the future—and openly spoke about it. Many believe that the 2025 elections may mark the end of the Nitish Kumar era. Although the NDA is fighting the Bihar polls under Nitish's leadership so as not to rock the boat, the CM's growing health problems will make it difficult for him to continue in his position. The BJP may keep him going as the CM for a short spell if the NDA wins the polls, following which it would want to take the helm itself. The BJP is already dealing with the JD(U) mainly through its other leaders like Sanjay Jha, who was named as the head of one of the seven multi-party delegations constituted by the Centre to mobilise global support in favour of India's position in the wake of Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor. The RJD, which came close to the finishing line in 2020, has so far not been able to add to its MY (Muslim-Yadav) base by getting the support of the EBCs, which the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP managed to do in UP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when the latter got the better of the BJP. There has also been a rumbling in the RJD's first family, with Lalu recently disowning—and expelling from the party – his elder son Tej Pratap. A new factor in the Bihar polls this time would be the Jan Suraaj led by Prashant Kishor. The election strategist-turned-politician launched his party after undertaking a two-year padyatra across the state and has created a buzz. He has repeatedly called for Bihar to move beyond the politics of 'jaati and dharma' (caste and religion) in view of the state's perennial backwardness. It is to be seen how Jan Suraaj would impact the outcome of the Bihar polls. In the Hindi heartland states, the call to go beyond caste has usually had an appeal for the middle classes and upper castes, which are seen to be the BJP's supporters in Bihar. The 'social justice' parties like the RJD and the JD(U) have their own caste-based line-ups. Chirag knows only too well that if there was something that distinguished his father from other leaders of his time— it was his ability to remain relevant despite leading a small outfit. Another thing is getting clearer: The era of Lalu and Nitish is coming to an end. On the rise are young players like Tejeshawi Yadav of the RJD, Chirag and Prashant. What is going to prove decisive ultimately will be their ability to stay the course. (Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 11 Lok Sabha elections. She is the author of 'How Prime Ministers Decide')

How China's Strengthening Navy Matters And Why The World Should Worry
How China's Strengthening Navy Matters And Why The World Should Worry

India.com

time15 hours ago

  • India.com

How China's Strengthening Navy Matters And Why The World Should Worry

New Delhi: Forget the days when China was just a continental giant. Today, it is dreaming in deep blue. From rusted Soviet leftovers to high-tech steel beasts, the dragons' navy is undergoing a transformation – one that is setting off alarm bells from Washington to Tokyo. It started quietly, almost like a bluff. An old Soviet carrier, the Varyag, bought from Ukraine under the pretense of turning it into a floating casino. Fast-forward to today, that same ship, renamed Liaoning, is the pride of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Add the Shandong, its second carrier, and now whispers of four more, including nuclear-powered ones. The message is loud and clear – China is not playing games anymore. A fleet of six carriers by the 2030s is not a naval vanity project, it is a geopolitical weapon. This is not only about flags on decks. It is about full-spectrum control in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. As ex-PLA Navy officer Wang Yunfei revealed, this setup allows China to have at least two carriers deployed at all times while others undergo refits or training. From Taiwan Strait standoffs to South China Sea flashpoints, Beijing could soon launch multi-theater operations simultaneously even without blinking. These floating fortresses will let the country flex military muscle thousands of miles from home, without needing foreign bases. Aircraft carriers are only as good as the jets they launch. China knows this, and it is going stealth. Meet the J-35B – a sleek and folding-wing stealth fighter that eerily mirrors America's F-35. The aging J-15s will soon be sidelined. The future is stealthy, silent and lethal. The J-35B can carry more fuel, more firepower and vanish from radar. It is a flying middle finger to the West's naval dominance. Add to that China's expanding anti-ship missile network and rapidly advancing drone capabilities. China is not merely strengthening its navy, it is building a nightmare for its rivals. Not About Defense But Control China says its carriers are for 'regional stability'. But history tells a different story. Aircraft carriers are offensive tools. They are about power projection, global presence and strategic dominance. From the Persian Gulf to the Horn of Africa, Beijing is quietly expanding naval bases and port deals. Djibouti was just the beginning. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Cambodia, they all are pieces of a bigger puzzle – which is maritime encirclement with Chinese characteristics. What Will the West Do? The United States still boasts the world's largest carrier fleet. But China is catching up fast, and it is not waiting for permission. While Washington debates budgets, Beijing builds hulls. If unchecked, China's carrier fleet could soon be parked near global chokepoints, patrolling trade routes and rewriting the rules of naval warfare. So, the real question is not whether China can dominate the oceans. It is whether anyone will stop them before they do.

15 sent to jail for imposing social boycott on Dalit family
15 sent to jail for imposing social boycott on Dalit family

Time of India

time2 days ago

  • Time of India

15 sent to jail for imposing social boycott on Dalit family

1 2 3 Hyderabad: A special court in Nizamabad on Tuesday sentenced 15 individuals to imprisonment in connection with a social boycott imposed on a Dalit family by members of a so-called village development committee (VDC) in Kolipaka village of Jakranpally mandal. The special judge for SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act cases and II additional district and sessions judge pronounced the verdict, convicting eight individuals to five years in jail with a fine of ₹5,200 each, while seven others received three years' imprisonment along with a fine of ₹4,200 each. It was in April 2020, when Errolla Hanumandlu and his family lodged a complaint with the Jakranpally police, alleging that the VDC had issued a social boycott order against them. It all began when Mekala Bablu and his family objected to Hanumandlu's family using a tractor in front of their house. Bablu later took the matter to the VDC, which demanded a monetary fine from Hanumandlu. When the family refused to pay, the VDC allegedly enforced a social boycott. Acting on the complaint, police registered a case under section 3(1)(zc) of the SCs/STs Act, various sections of the Indian Penal Code (341, 323, 290, 506, 248 r/w 34), and section 4 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. Those who were sentenced to five years' imprisonment include Golla Boddu Thirupathi, Ravutla Bakkanna, Papai Gangadhar, Boddu Naveen, Kalakadi Muthenna, Bolli Ranjeeth, Wadla Srikanth and Arepalli Esthari. Among those sentenced to three years' imprisonment were Mekala Bablu, Mekala Kavitha, Muvvala Poshanna, Mala Chinna Rajanna, Dasari Surender, and Vankayala Gangadhar.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store