Delhi CM Rekha Gupta flags off 105 new DEVI e-buses, inaugurates Narela depot
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Friday flagged off 105 new orange-coloured electric buses under the DEVI (Delhi EV Inter-connector) scheme and inaugurated a newly constructed bus depot in Narela, calling the developments a step towards cleaner and more efficient public transport in the capital.
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Speaking at the event, Gupta said the Sector A9 depot was completed within 90 days and described it as a reflection of the BJP government's commitment to delivering on promises made to Delhi's residents.
She also used the occasion to criticise the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing it of mismanaging the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and fostering corruption.
'Buses are Delhi's lifeline. But under the previous government, routes were cut, buses reduced, and corruption seeped in,' she said.
Citing a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Ms Gupta claimed that DTC had suffered losses amounting to Rs 65,000 crore during the earlier regime.
She further alleged that the free bus ride scheme for women had been plagued by corruption, and added that panic buttons in older buses were 'installed just for show'.
Gupta highlighted several features of the new nine-metre-long electric buses, which include air conditioning, panic buttons, and real-time monitoring systems.
She defended the government's recent shift from paper tickets to smart cards, saying, 'When we removed paper tickets and moved to cards, AAP spread lies that women would no longer travel for free. But the move was only to curb corruption.'
Delhi transport minister Pankaj Singh, who was also present, accused the previous government of delaying the rollout of better public transport.
'These buses should have arrived by last monsoon, but the former government failed to deliver.
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Today, the BJP is fulfilling that promise,' he said.
He added that while earlier DEVI buses were green, this is the first time an entire fleet of orange-coloured electric buses has been introduced.
'This adds more vibrancy, and we will continue increasing their numbers, as we have been doing since the launch of the DEVI buses,' Singh said.
Delhi BJP leader Yogender Chandolia rejected AAP's claim that the initiative was merely a rebranding effort.
'If these were AAP's buses, they would have been on the roads months ago. These are new buses, purchased and brought in under the BJP. AAP never procured small electric buses – they reused old ones,' he said.
Chandolia also pointed out that the compact design of the new buses, with seating for 23 and standing room for 17 passengers, made them suitable for navigating Delhi's narrower roads. 'This is the real Rekha Gupta Model – clean, modern, and efficient public transport,' he said.
Currently, Delhi operates around 2,000 electric buses. Transport department officials said that the number is expected to rise further, with a target of 100% electrification of the bus fleet by 2027.
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Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Assault on Constitution's soul: Opposition slams RSS' view on Preamble
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale Several opposition parties on Friday denounced RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's call to review the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble, terming it a "deliberate assault" on the soul of the Constitution. The attack came a day after the RSS proposed reviewing the two words, saying they were included during the Emergency and were never part of the Constitution drafted by B R Ambedkar. While the Congress saw it as a "deliberate assault" on the soul of the Constitution and claimed the RSS-BJP had never accepted Ambedkar's Constitution, the CPI(M) said the demand exposes the RSS' long-standing objective of subverting leader Rahul Gandhi said the mask of the RSS has come off again as they want 'Manusmriti'. "The Constitution irks them because it speaks of equality, secularism, and justice," he said in a post in Hindi on X."The RSS-BJP doesn't want the Constitution; they want 'Manusmriti'. They aim to strip the marginalized and the poor of their rights and enslave them again. Snatching a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them is their real agenda," he alleged. "The RSS should stop dreaming... we will never let them succeed. Every patriotic Indian will defend the Constitution until their last breath," the former Congress chief leader and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Hosabale's call is a "brazen attempt to dismantle the core ideals of our Republic"."Invoking the Emergency to discredit these principles is a deceitful move, especially when the RSS colluded with the Indira Gandhi government during that time for its own survival. To use that period now to undermine the Constitution reflects sheer hypocrisy and political opportunism."Secularism and socialism are not additions; they define India. Every citizen who believes in democracy must raise their voice against this communal agenda," Vijayan said on Left parties and RJD alleged that Hosabale's proposal was part of a conspiracy to change the general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the BJP/RSS attacked Ambedkar, Nehru, and others involved in the framing of the Constitution from November 30, 1949, onwards. "In the RSS' own words, the Constitution was not inspired by Manusmriti," he said in a post on X."The RSS and the BJP have repeatedly given the call for a new Constitution. This was Mr (Narendra) Modi's campaign cry during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The people of India decisively rejected this cry. Yet the demands for changing the basic structure of the Constitution continue to be made by the RSS ecosystem," Ramesh said. Sharing the Supreme Court's November 25, 2024, judgment on the issue, he said, "Would it be asking too much to request him to take the trouble to read it?" In a post on X from its official handle, the Congress alleged the RSS-BJP's ideology stands in direct opposition to the Indian Constitution."RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has openly called for the removal of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble. This is not just a suggestion -- it is a deliberate assault on the soul of our Constitution," it said."It is part of a long-standing conspiracy to dismantle Babasaheb Ambedkar's vision for a just, inclusive and democratic India -- something the RSS-BJP has always been plotting. Let us not forget: when the Constitution was adopted, the RSS rejected it. They didn't just oppose it, they burnt it." The Congress said the people saw through their agenda and gave them a resounding answer."Now, they have returned to their old playbook. But let it be known: The Congress will stand as an unbreakable wall against any attempt to undermine the Constitution. Jai Samvidhan," it General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal mounted a scathing attack on the RSS and the BJP, saying, "The RSS' single-minded focus to destroy the Constitution is never hidden for too long. Beyond the BJP's lip service to the Constitution, their hidden agenda has always been to distort and destroy our Constitution -- because it stands against the core fascist beliefs of the RSS-BJP." "A senior RSS member surely knows that the Supreme Court declared socialism and secularism to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution. Yet, to take this stand is a clear insult to the Constitution, a rejection of its values, and a direct attack on the Supreme Court of India as well," he said on X. The MP from Kerala's Alappuzha added that the people of India were very much aware of the "devious means deployed by the RSS to spread poison and divide this country". "We will never let them succeed in this mission, and will defend the Constitution to the hilt," he stressed. Congress deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, "Once again, the truth slipped out. The hidden agenda of the BJP and RSS is now out in the open. They want to remove the core values of secularism and socialism from the Constitution." The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing it of being behind all the violations of India's Constitution since Independence and asked the party to apologise for its Emergency-era atrocities on people instead of resorting to issue before the country is the violation of people's fundamental rights by the Congress government during the Emergency, said BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu other opposition parties, RJD president Lalu Prasad, who claimed that social justice and communal harmony are his guiding principles, voiced his anguish on X by terming the RSS a "casteist" RJD supremo also said, "They do not have the guts to cast an evil eye on the Constitution and reservations provided therein. Why are people with an unjust character so full of hatred for democracy and Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution?" Party MP Manoj Kumar Jha said, "Perhaps he (Hosabale) hasn't read it; I would advise him to seriously read the Constituent Assembly debates. Socialism and secularism were integral parts of our Constitution." In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said the inclusion of 'socialism' and 'secularism' in the Preamble is not an arbitrary addition and reflects the core values for which freedom fighters sacrificed their lives. "The Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly denounces the proposal made by the RSS general secretary to remove the words 'socialist' and 'secular' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. This proposal exposes the RSS's long-standing objective of subverting the Constitution and its intent to transform India into a Hindu Rashtra, in pursuit of its Hindutva project." "It is the height of hypocrisy for the RSS, which played no role in the freedom movement, to now advocate for the removal of these foundational principles. That it cannot tolerate the values cherished by our martyrs betrays its reactionary, anti-people, and divisive ideology," the Left party "firmly" opposed "any attempt to alter the core values enshrined in our Constitution. We appeal to the people to remain vigilant and resolutely resist all such efforts by the RSS and its protege BJP." CPI General Secretary D Raja said everyone knows what RSS wants. "Everyone knows it is opposed to constitution/why they spoke of '400-paar' and that is why defending constitution became the central issue for opposition parties." Hosabale, while addressing an event on the Emergency, said on Thursday that "the preamble of the Constitution Baba Saheb Ambedkar made never had these words." "During the Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not work, and judiciary became lame, then these words were added." The RSS leader said discussions were held on this issue later but no effort was made to remove them from the Preamble. "So whether they should remain in the Preamble should be considered," he had added. Union Minister Jitendra Singh, however, sought to defend Hosabale's call, saying any right-thinking citizen would endorse it because everybody knows that these words were not part of the original Constitution written by Ambedkar. PTI
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Shivraj seconds Hosabale's call for review of insertion of secularism, socialism in Preamble
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The Print
an hour ago
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BJP ally AIADMK distances itself from Amit Shah's remark that Tamil Nadu will get ‘coalition govt'
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It is not the first time that Amit Shah has declared that Tamil Nadu will get a coalition government. On 11 April 2025, when he was in Chennai to revive the AIADMK-BJP ties, he said, 'A coalition government will be formed after the elections,' adding that Edappadi K. Palaniswami will be leading the fight in the upcoming polls. To the Daily Thanthi Group, Amit Shah also said that the BJP was not going to create a narrative that the current government in Tamil Nadu was working against the interests of the Hindus. 'We need not make an issue here. If you speak against any ideology, you spontaneously antagonise people. We need not do anything. The people of Tamil Nadu will make them pay for their sins,' he told the newspaper. Also Read: Keezhadi excavator's transfer to Greater Noida won't affect findings—'Only he can submit report' TN will not accept coalition: AIADMK Amit Shah's comments reiterating the formation of a coalition government have sparked tensions as Opposition AIADMK is against power-sharing arrangements. The AIADMK has consistently claimed it will form the government independently. The contradiction has created friction within the BJP-AIADMK alliance, particularly since Amit Shah has avoided naming Edappadi K. Palaniswami as the CM candidate. Speaking to ThePrint, AIADMK spokesperson and ex-minister Vaigaichelvan said the people of the state would not be in favour of a coalition government. He also recalled how such a stand in the past failed in Tamil Nadu. 'In the 1980 assembly election, DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Congress shared an equal number of seats, proposing a coalition government. 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In the 2006 assembly election, the DMK contested as many as 132 seats, and its alliance partners, including Congress, PMK, and Communist parties, contested the remaining seats. DMK won just 96 seats—way below the majority mark—but formed a minority government then, with the external support of its alliance partners. According to political analysts, the state has never been in favour of coalition governments since the Dravidian parties entered the electoral foray in the 1960s. Political analyst N. Sathiyamoorthy told ThePrint that the collective mindset of the state was to have a stable government without any chaos. 'Dravidian parties came to the electoral foray against the national parties. Every time the Dravidian parties came to power, their alliances remained intact and stable. However, whenever an internal feud breaks out in the alliance over sharing power, it is shown the door,' Sathiyamoorthy told ThePrint. 'The state has been witnessing it since the death of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran (MGR). Until the Dravidian parties are strong enough to get a single majority, there is no scope for a coalition government.' Keezhadi pride of country: Amit Shah On the possibility of actor-turned-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) joining the BJP-AIADMK alliance, Amit Shah told the Daily Thanthi Group that there was still enough time before the election. 'Everything will be clear at the right time,' he said. He also said that the political plank of the BJP-AIADMK alliance will be the failure of the DMK government, as well as the success of the Modi government. 'If you analyse the results of the Lok Sabha polls from the prism of the NDA, you will find that the NDA was winning,' he said. Amit Shah, speaking about the Dravidian politics and the social justice and state autonomy ideas of the DMK, clarified that the BJP stance was clear—it never opposed the vision of a prosperous Tamil Nadu, Tamil language, and Tamil culture. Responding to the accusation slapped by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on the Centre—it is trying to obliterate the ancient civilisation in Keezhadi by rejecting a report of archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna on his excavations in the Sivaganga district—Amit Shah told the newspaper that an ancient civilisation excavated in any part of India is a matter of pride for the entire country. 'But the world will only accept the existence of the civilisation only if there is evidence, according to the international parameters. I hope the Tamil Nadu government will cooperate. Everyone is proud, and nobody has a problem,' he said. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Sun TV Network, Maran brothers & an old feud. 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