
AICC demands white paper on BJP's poll promises in Puducherry
Addressing reporters at the Congress party office here, Sharma described the BJP-AINRC alliance as a 'factory of fake promises' and accused the government of operating as a 'betrayal machine' rather than one focused on public welfare. 'What have you promised, and what have you delivered?' she asked, challenging the administration to account for its performance over the past four years.
She alleged that the government was functioning under the remote control of the Centre, sidelining the voices and concerns of Puducherry's residents. 'There is no government here—only deception and betrayal. Corruption is widespread across departments, and even temple lands are reportedly being encroached upon, with some BJP leaders allegedly involved,' Sharma charged.
Calling for an immediate audit of central funds sanctioned under schemes such as Smart City and PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana), she questioned whether there had been any tangible benefits for the public. 'Roads remain in poor condition, and drainage systems have seen no major improvement. Only contractors with proximity to BJP leaders seem to have gained,' she said, dubbing the Smart City initiative a 'smart scam'.
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Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar likens attacks on non-Marathi speakers in Mumbai to Pahalgam massacre
Maharashtra BJP minister Ashish Shelar has compared recent attacks on non-Marathi speaking migrants in Mumbai to the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir, suggesting that the victims in both cases were 'Hindus'. 'In Pahalgam, people were killed because of their religion. Here in Maharashtra, Hindus are being assaulted only because of the language they speak. What's the difference?' Shelar said at a press conference in Mumbai. The remark comes amid heightened tensions following multiple incidents in Mumbai where workers of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) attacked shopkeepers and migrant workers allegedly for speaking Hindi instead of Marathi. The BJP leader also called the recent coming together of former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and his cousin Raj Thackeray an 'opportunistic alliance'. 'Uddhav cannot survive without power. He left the BJP when he didn't get the CM's chair and now seeks a BMC seat by any means necessary,' he alleged. Shelar said the BJP would protect the interests of both Marathi speakers and Hindus but would do so through 'development politics, not hatred'. The Pahalgam massacre claimed 26 lives on April 22.


Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
Uddhav cribbed about losing power, Raj's statement absurd: Maha minister's swipe at joint rally
Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar dismissed the speeches of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray during their joint rally on Saturday as irrelevant, diversionary and vague. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the Mumbai BJP chief also took a swipe at the Thackeray brothers for trying to hard sell their own agenda and narrative under the premise of opposing 'imposition' of Hindi language in the state. 'Thackeray brothers boasted and bragged about their coming together for the Marathi pride, but the real purpose was to sell their own narrative and further their own political agenda,' Ashish Shelar said. He added that the speeches of the two leaders at the joint rally were more of political posturing than substance. "The things that Raj Thackeray mentioned in his speech were incomplete and irrelevant. He was trying to set his own narrative of browbeating the immigrants from other states and also justifying it while Uddhav was seen complaining and crying about being ousted from power," Shelar stated. Taking exception to Raj Thackeray's statement that non-Marathi-speaking people should be beaten up but a video of it should not be made, the BJP called it absolutely absurd and reprehensible. "Such statements are very painful. I am very hurt by such utterances," he said. Ashish Shelar further lent support to the Centre's three-language policy and said that such politicking must be avoided on issues of national importance. 'They ask that in which states the three-language formula was implemented. I want to tell them that 20 states have adopted the three-language formula. Raj Thackeray opposes it for the children of Mumbai, but he never opposed it for his own children. This is injustice," he remarked. He said that the three-language policy facilitates children to study in their mother tongue, but these leaders want to deprive them of this opportunity. On the reunion of the Thackeray brothers, he said that it was good to see two brothers coming together, and their families would also be happy with this development; however, it's for them to decide whether they will contest elections together or separately.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
BJP reconsiders possibility of SAD alliance after Patna Sahib's ‘tankhaiya' tag for Sukhbir Singh Badal
Amritsar: With its political standing in Punjab on the uptick, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is getting averse to the idea of having a political alliance with a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) headed by Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was declared a 'takhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by Takht Patna Sahib on Saturday. Takht Patna Sahib is the second Sikh authority, after Akal Takht in Aug last year, to declare Sukhbir a tankhaiya. BJP leadership is debating whether it can align with a party whose leader faces such serious religious flak. BJP Punjab spokesperson Sarchand Singh said the BJP-SAD alliance of the 1990s was rooted in a desire to promote Sikh-Hindu communal harmony, not just political power. He added that with the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple and Sikh genocide after Indira Gandhi's killing, Congress sowed deep distrust between the two communities. "Under those circumstances, BJP recognised SAD as the legitimate Sikh political voice, and together they attempted to heal Punjab through shared governance," he said. Sarchand said SAD had lost the moral mandate to represent the panth (Sikh community). "Sukhbir's political base is rapidly collapsing and his image as a panthic leader has been severely hit, especially after being declared tankhaiya by two takhts," he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo The BJP spokesperson, who was earlier a spokesperson of Sikhs seminary Damdami Taksal, said the BJP still acknowledged that SAD is historically a representative of the Sikh community, but the Dec 2, 2024 decision by Akal Takht weakened that legitimacy, as it declared the party's present leadership unfit. Sarchand said there appeared to be no viable possibility of BJP aligning with the SAD led by Sukhbir in near future. BJP is no longer in the same position as it was during the alliance era of the 1990s. "In the 2022 Punjab assembly elections, BJP secured less than 6% of the vote. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this share rose to 18.5%, becoming the third-largest party in the state, while SAD slipped to 13%," Sarchand said. He added the recent byelection had only worsened SAD's standing, with repeated defeats and forfeiture of security deposits. "The once-dominant party failed to even field a candidate in the Jalandhar West bypoll and its candidate lost his security deposit in Ludhiana West. Now SAD chief has once again been declared tankhaiya, which has only led to declining moral and political authority of its top leadership," he said. BOX The SAD saga On Dec 2, 2024, Sikh high priests constituted a seven-member committee under the chairmanship of SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. The other members of the committee comprised Kripal Singh Badungar, Iqbal Singh Jhunda, Gurpartap Singh Wadala, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Santa Singh Umaidpuri, and Bibi Satwant Kaur. The Sikh clergy specifically mandated the committee to initiate the enrollment process for the reorganisation of SAD. However, later, Dhami and Badungar, former SGPC president, resigned and distanced themselves from the committee, reducing it to a five-member panel. The rest of the five members claimed that the SAD they are reorganizing is the original one in the light of the Dec 2 edict. According to sources, BJP could consider having an alliance with a SAD faction that has religious sanctity.