Amit Shah reaches Varanasi to chair Central Zonal Council meeting
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary and top officials welcomed Shah at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport.
Tuesday's meeting will be attended by chief ministers of four states – Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) and Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh).
In an X post in Hindi, Adityanath said, 'Hearty welcome to the Honourable Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri AmitShah ji in the holy city of Kashi, the abode of Devadidev Mahadev!'
From the airport, Shah, accompanied by Adityanath, headed to the Kaal Bhairav Temple where the two leaders offered prayers amid the chanting of Vedic mantras. Thereafter, Shah met the BJP workers waiting for him outside the temple.
The party workers showered flowers on Shah's convoy on the route from the airport to the Kaal Bhairav temple and from there to the hotel. Drums were also played at various locations. City unit BJP president Pradeep Agrahari led the party workers.
Later, Adityanath hosted a dinner for Shah, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai and Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a prominent city hotel. A team of about 140 officials was also present at the dinner.
The Central Zonal Council meeting will begin at 11am and conclude at 2pm on Tuesday.
Tight security arrangements have been made across the city with special focus in and around the venue, said deputy commissioner of police (Crime) Saravanan T and added that 10 companies of PAC have been deployed.
Geo fencing has been done around the Kashi Vishwanath Temple area in order that no drone can enter the locality.
The Central Zonal Council comprises the states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The meeting will also be attended by two senior ministers from each state. The chief secretaries of the state governments and other senior officials, as well as senior officials from the Central Government, will also participate in the meeting.
The Central Zonal Council meeting is being organised by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the Union ministry of home affairs in collaboration with the government of Uttar Pradesh.
The Zonal Councils discuss broad issues of national importance, including the speedy investigation of cases of sexual offences against women and children and the implementation of Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) for their swift disposal.
The council is also likely to deliberate on providing brick-and-mortar banking facilities within the designated area of every village; implementation of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112) and various regional-level common interest issues such as strengthening nutrition, education, health, electricity, urban planning, and the cooperative system.
Five Zonal Councils were established under Sections 15 to 22 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
The Union home minister is the chairperson of these five Zonal Councils. The chief ministers/lieutenant governors/administrators of the member states and Union Territories are their members.
Among these members, the chief minister of one member state (rotating every year) acts as the vice-chairperson.
Each Zonal Council has also formed a permanent committee at the level of chief secretaries. Issues proposed by the states are initially presented to the permanent committee of the Zonal Council for discussion. After consideration by the committee, the remaining issues are then presented to the Zonal Council meeting for further deliberation, according to an official press statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised the need to leverage cooperative and competitive federalism for the all-round development of the country, the statement added.
The role of the Zonal Councils is advisory.
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