Saha seeks Shah intervention to resolve problems faced by Brus
Manik Saha
on Monday said he has written to Union home minister
Amit Shah
, seeking his intervention to resolve several problems being faced by members of the Bru community in the state.
Addressing a gathering during the district-level mega campaign under the Dharti Aaba Jan Bhagidari Abhiyan at Jirania sub-division in West Tripura, Saha said, "I recently met with people from the Bru community and learned about the challenges they are still facing. Accordingly, I have written to the home minister to ensure their issues are addressed at the earliest."
The chief minister accused the previous Left govt of neglecting the Bru Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and emphasised the BJP-led govt's continued efforts since 2018 to improve their condition.
Saha underlined the importance of inclusive development, saying, "Unless we uplift the backward communities, the country cannot progress. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working tirelessly for the welfare of Janajati communities since 2014."
He added that India today takes pride in its inclusive leadership, mentioning that the President of India hails from a Janajati background, and that the governor of Telangana is also from a Janajati community and belongs to Tripura's royal family. "These developments have been made possible due to Prime Minister Modi's commitment to empowering indigenous communities. What he promises, he delivers," Saha said.
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Business Standard
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- Business Standard
INDIA bloc holds meeting ahead of discussion on Operation Sindoor in LS
The floor leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Monday held a meeting to discuss the strategy for the second week of the monsoon session and the issues that need to be raised. This meeting comes as the Lok Sabha gears up for a 16-hour-long discussion on Operation Sindoor today. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has appealed to the opposition not to use language reminiscent of Pakistan. He said that there was a need to be mindful and maintain the dignity of the Indian armed forces. "I request the opposition, especially the Congress, not to do anything to harm India's interests and not speak Pakistan's language. We have to be mindful. We have to maintain the dignity of the Indian armed forces," Rijiju told ANI. The Union Minister stated that the opposition, including the Congress, should refrain from making any statements that could harm national interests. "The Congress and the Opposition should not say anything that could harm the national interests. Whatever they speak against India is used by the Pakistanis and India's enemies outside," Rijiju said, adding, "It was the wish of the people of India that the PM decided to launch Operation Sindoor through the Indian Army. Today, the Lok Sabha will take up the discussion on the Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to address the Lok Sabha at around noon. Lok Sabha is set to hold a special discussion on 'Operation Sindoor', India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. A fiery debate is expected to unfold in Parliament between top leaders from the ruling alliance and the opposition. Lok Sabha's listing for the Business for Monday, "Special Discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive 'Operation Sindoor' in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam". Twenty-six civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Even since the monsoon session began on July 21, the Parliament has witnessed constant adjourments amid uproar over the demands of the opposition to push for a debate on issues of public importance, including the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack and the ongoing SIR exercise being carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The opposition has also demanded that PM Modi respond to the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump of initiating a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor. The first week of the Monsoon session of Parliament was marked by major disruptions, including the surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President.
The Print
22 minutes ago
- The Print
Dhankhar's resignation: How Modi-Shah's ‘capable' BJP has served another strong message to RSS
Preparing to vacate the Vice President's Enclave barely three km from there, Jagdeep Dhankhar would have been bemused had he heard the BJP leader's assertions about the party's ideological moorings and priorities. The last time I visited the old VP House, his wife, Sudesh Dhankhar, wasn't very keen on moving to the new official residence that was under construction then. 'Almost two years are already gone. Why to move to a new place (for the remaining tenure)?' she had told me over breakfast. It wasn't going to be their choice, obviously. In hindsight, her reluctance turned out to be a sort of premonition. Their daughter and her family never shifted to the VP House and preferred to stay put in Gurgaon. These facts give us a glimpse of how the Dhankhar family was always practical and modest, and harboured no vaulting ambitions. The Congress, said the above-mentioned BJP functionary, is a leader-driven political party with the sole objective to attain power. 'We are not a political party. We are a cadre-driven ideological party,' he said. If someone felt a pinch of salt in the chaat, it was deliberate. To validate his point, the BJP leader narrated the story of the demolition of Ayodhya's Babri mosque in 1992. Only two persons knew about the plan — Moropant Pingle and Ashok Singhal. Even LK Advani and Kalyan Singh had no idea about it, he said. Pingle was 'very clear' that the mosque had to go even if it meant the BJP not coming to power for 500 years. 'So, you see, ours is an ideology-driven party,' the BJP MP summed up. At Shashi Tharoor's 'mango and chaat' party last Thursday, a BJP spokesman and parliamentarian — a brainy, erudite one, not one of those peddlers of banality — was holding forth on how his party was different. A few Congress politicians from Kerala had sneaked in and out, noticing the conspicuous absence of senior leaders. BJP leaders could, therefore, relish the succulent mangoes and talk about the virtues of their party without having to care about any spoilsport lurking around. The 'reasons' Jagdeep Dhankhar would know why he was suddenly in the BJP's crosshairs. His 'ouster' had much to do with the party's ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and what JP Nadda would call the BJP's 'sakshamta' or capability. I will come to it a bit later. Let's first look at the reasons for Dhankhar's resignation. Nobody is buying the medical reason as mentioned in his resignation letter. That he quit under duress is an open secret. Let's examine the reasons that BJP leaders have been giving on the condition of anonymity. First, that the Narendra Modi-led government was uneasy about his diatribe against the judiciary. Really! The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 was one of the first legislations brought by the Modi-led government. Remember the 'tyranny of the unelected' remark by then-finance minister Arun Jaitley when the Supreme Court struck it down? Senior ministers and BJP leaders have been attacking the highest judiciary since then. In April, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said that the Supreme Court was responsible for 'inciting religious wars' and then-Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna for 'civil wars' in India. Now compare their scathing remarks about the judiciary with those of ex-VP Dhankhar. Do you still think that the VP's criticism of the judiciary could be one of the reasons for his ouster? No way. In 2018, a few weeks after four Supreme Court judges had addressed a press conference, triggering a huge controversy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a few journalists from a prominent English newspaper. I have it from authoritative sources that when they asked him about the judges' presser, he told them, 'You should know that a handful of families control the entire judiciary — just 60. But you media people don't write about it.' As a brilliant investigation done by my colleague, Apoorva Mandhani, early this year, PM Modi's figure was a bit exaggerated but he was right about the prevalence of dynasties and nepotism in the judiciary. Apoorva found out that 60 per cent of the SC judges were from lawyer or judge families. And one in three High Court judges were related to judges, ex-judges or lawyers. These figures vindicate Modi whose government has perpetually been at odds with the Supreme Court collegium over judicial appointments. In this backdrop, one has to be incredibly credulous to buy BJP spin masters' argument that the government got rid of VP Dhankhar for harmonious relationship with the judiciary. Another explanation offered by them is that Dhankhar had started embarrassing the government by publicly criticising it. They offer just one instance — when Dhankhar had, in the presence of Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, questioned the government for not fulfilling its promises to farmers. 'How could he say that to Shivraj Chouhan?' — is the usual refrain of spin masters. Their sympathy is touching given how Chouhan was denied CMship even after leading his party to a historic victory in Madhya Pradesh in the last Assembly election. Also, Dhankhar had prefaced his sympathy for farmers with dollops of praise for the government. 'For the first time, I have seen India changing…India was never at such great heights…when this is happening, why are farmers suffering?' he had said. As it was, Dhankhar seemed to be playing to the gallery. Besides, that was the only time he said something that might be construed as remotely critical of the government. The spin masters would have us believe that the BJP top brass remembered Shivraj Singh Chouhan's pain seven months later and decided to oust the VP. I am not sure if Chouhan is shedding copious tears of joy to see the party high command's sudden love and respect for him. For all we know, he may be dismayed. Yet another reason being offered by spin masters is that Dhankhar, without consulting the government, presented the Opposition's motion to remove Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma in the Rajya Sabha. The government wanted to move the motion, supported by all parties, in the Lok Sabha. What's the big deal? Dhankhar had only spoken about the Opposition's motion, as any chairperson should ideally do. He had not admitted their motion yet. That's why the government has now declared that they will first go ahead with the motion in the Lok Sabha. The government could have done the same even without throwing Dhankhar under the bus. They just needed to visit Dhankhar in his chamber and ask him not to admit it. Yet another reason being cited is that he was dusting off the Opposition's pending motion to remove Justice Shekhar Yadav for his alleged hate speech case. But how could he have kept mum about one motion against one judge when a similar motion against another judge that was moved later was being taken up by both Houses of Parliament? Also read: Jagdeep Dhankhar's abrupt exit says three things about the Modi govt Dhankhar and the RSS If you have heard of or read more explanations from the government and the party's spin masters for Dhankhar's resignation — nay, removal — just put them through a test of logic and reason. They all sound ludicrous. Just think of the above-mentioned explanations. Are these spin masters listening to what they are saying? Because their explanations project the Modi-led government as so dictatorial and insecure that it won't allow the occupant of the second-highest Constitutional office in India to use his discretion even in routine matters in the Rajya Sabha. Those spin doctors suggest that top BJP leadership has become so arrogant that they can boot out the Vice President of India for acting without taking their permission even in trivial matters. That would be a bigger cause of worry for us. Thankfully, those are not the exact reasons for Dhankhar's ouster. It's a message to the RSS. To be precise, it serves as a response to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's reference to the 75-year ceiling. We often heard Dhankhar singing paeans of the RSS inside and outside the Rajya Sabha. Given that Dhankhar's ideological moorings were not in the RSS, his effusive praise of the Sangh was seen as an outreach to the BJP's ideological patron. The fact is that Dhankhar had grown close to RSS top functionaries over the years and was in constant touch with them. The Sangh was using his legal advice on different issues, including in the Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi case. They grew only closer when he, as the West Bengal Governor, went after the Mamata Banerjee government. Its failure to govern Syama Prasad Mookerjee's home state has always been a sore point for the Sangh. The RSS was instrumental in getting Dhankhar into the Vice President's House. They could only watch in silence as the BJP sent him packing without consulting the Sangh. The chain of events leading to Dhankhar's resignation last Monday had started with Leader of the Rajya Sabha JP Nadda snubbing Dhankhar by skipping the Rajya Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting called by the latter at 4:30 pm. It must be a coincidence that it was Nadda who had declared last year that the BJP was saksham or capable now and could manage its own affairs without the RSS' interference. Amid the stalemate over the choice of the next BJP president, Dhankhar's sudden ouster is another message to the RSS that the BJP is saksham now and can manage its own affairs. DK Singh is Political Editor at ThePrint. He tweets @dksingh73. Views are personal. (Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)
Hans India
22 minutes ago
- Hans India
YSRCP to launch mass movement against Vizag land scam
Visakhapatnam: Former minister and YSRCP Anakapalli district president Gudivada Amarnath pointed out that the NDA government is behaving like a real estate agency by distributing public lands at throwaway prices to the party followers and supporters. At a media conference organised in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, he stated that the lands were given away to favouring companies and real estate groups, ignoring public interest. Criticising that the government has failed in keeping its election promises, Amarnath said the TDP-led coalition government has been involved in massive irregularities in land allocations in Visakhapatnam over the past 15 months. He pointed out that while the previous YSRCP government planned to develop Visakhapatnam into a major IT destination on par with Hyderabad, the present government is diverting valuable lands to companies with no track record. Citing examples, he stated that prime lands worth thousands of crores of rupees were handed over to companies at rates as low as Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore per acre. Amarnath said this allocation had failed to generate even a single IT job for the youth in the state. The former minister stated that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh were supervising these shady land deals, and that public land was being looted to benefit their associates and supporters. 'Why similar land allocations are not being made in Amaravati and why the TDP was not drawing investments there,' he questioned, criticising Naidu's frequent Singapore visits aimed at renewing old ties. Amarnath announced that YSRCP would launch a mass movement against the land scam and hold the coalition government accountable for diverting public wealth for personal gain.
