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India Today
6 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
So difficult to be patriotic, asks Salman Khurshid; veiled dig at Congress?
Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who is a part of one of the all-party delegations conveying the government's anti-terrorism message, said it was "distressing that people at home were calculating political allegiances". He questioned whether it was so difficult to "become patriotic" when such delegations were on a mission against terrorism."When on a mission against terrorism to carry India's message to the world, it's distressing that people at home are calculating political allegiances. Is it so difficult to be patriotic?" he remarks came days after he praised the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, which drew the ire of his own party, the Congress. It also came as he's part of a delegation led by JD(U)'s MP Sanjay Kumar Jha to highlight India's stance against terrorism following Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
JD(U) praises Nitish's efforts to uplift EBCs
Patna: The JD(U) on Sunday highlighted CM 's long-standing efforts to uplift the extremely backward classes (EBCs) during his two-decade tenure. Addressing a press conference at the party office, state president of the JD(U)'s EBC cell and former MP Chandeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi said, "The CM set up the extremely backward welfare department to prioritise the issues of this group in govt agendas. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now " He added, "The formation of the Extremely Backward Commission, the initiative for reservation in the judiciary and reservation in panchayati raj institutions have provided this group with a share in power, thereby strengthening social justice at the grassroots level." Chandravanshi said the CM had consistently urged the central govt to recognise the EBC category at the national level so the group could benefit from welfare schemes across the country. He added that over Rs 786 crore in scholarship funds were directly transferred to the accounts of more than 50 lakh OBC and EBC students. "In 2023-24 alone, more than 3 lakh students benefited under the CM Atipicchda Varg Medhavi Yojana," he said. Convener of cells Navin Arya Chandravanshi and party spokesperson Arvind Nishad also addressed the mediapersons.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
JD(U) neta urges CM to lift ban on toddy
Patna: CM Nitish Kumar was confronted with a bold demand to lift the ban on toddy during his visit to the JD(U) office on Monday with one party leader warning of electoral consequences if the matter is ignored. Munna Chaudhary, who identifies as vice-president of JD(U)'s scheduled caste cell, told reporters that the CM directed party's state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha to look into the issue and submit a detailed report. Munna urged Nitish to exclude toddy from the state's liquor prohibition law, arguing that it contains no liquor. "Toddy is not liquor. The Pasi community, which depends on toddy for livelihood, has suffered greatly since the blanket ban in 2016," he said. He added that over 500 Pasis have died from falls while tapping toddy, yet victim families have not received any compensation. "Toddy is an integral part of our community's life and livelihood. The govt must pay attention to our plight," he said. Nitish's impromptu visit to the party office surprised many and Munna seized the opportunity to hand over a letter outlining his demands. The issue has gained political traction with RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav promising to lift the toddy ban if elected to power. NDA ally and HAM(S) patron Jitan Ram Manjhi has also repeatedly called for relaxation of prohibition laws.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Global outreach teams to justify Indus treaty stand post-Operation Sindoor
NEW DELHI: The all-party delegations headed to different parts of the world as part of the outreach post-Operation Sindoor will apprise foreign capitals of the 'new normal' in India's approach to Pakistan's use of terrorism, including the decision to pause the Indus Waters Treaty . In a briefing to members of three delegations, foreign secretary Vikram Misri is learned to have said that Pakistan's nuclear blackmail would no longer allow terrorists to work with impunity and that the military establishment would pay a heavy price for any attempt to carry out attacks in India through its terror proxies. " Operation Sindoor is our new normal," a source quoted Misri as saying, showing that the anti-terror doctrine spelt out by PM Modi at Adampur on May 13 has been baked into foreign policy . Misri is also learned to have said India could not adhere to the existing terms of IWT. "The treaty was negotiated on the assumption of good neighbourliness... It has been belied by Pakistan's use of terrorism because of which we have not been able to realise even the share, inadequate as it was, allocated to us," one of the members of the delegation led by JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha told TOI. NC MP skips MEA briefing, no confirmation yet if he'd join tour Moreover, the challenge of climate change makes a relook at the technical design of dams and other projects an absolute necessity, one of the members of the delegation led by JDU's Sanjay Jha told TOI. The doctrine spelt out by PM Modi on May 13 in Adampur signalled India's lower tolerance threshold towards terror as well as its refusal to give in to Pakistan's nuke blackmail. Given the risk of appearing to be insensitive towards a lower riparian state, the boldness on IWT, as articulated by Misri, points to govt's determination to force a re-negotiation of the treaty. Members of the delegations headed by Jha, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde & DMK's Kanimozhi attended the briefings. However, Kanimozhi herself could not attend. NC MP Altaf Ahmed, who is on Kanimozhi's panel, skipped the meet and there was no confirmation till late evening on whether he would be going on the tour. While Tuesday's briefing was intended for the groups departing on May 21, 22 and 23, Misri will brief the remaining delegations on Friday, sharing with them the talking points that can be stressed to familiarise their interlocutors with what India sees as Pakistan's double-dealing on the issue of cross-border terrorism . While there has been some talk about India-Pakistan re-hyphenation, govt believes the vast gap in economic fundamentals between the two nations will ultimately prevail, leaving Pakistan far behind in the global imagination. While underscoring the need for the international community to call out Pakistan for its cross-border adventurism over past 40 years, Misri briefed the delegations about how the world asks the two countries to exercise restraint when there's a flare-up of tensions but does not seek accountability from Pakistan even when its role is obvious to all in perpetrating the most heinous acts of terrorism. He cited example of how there had not been enough pressure on Islamabad to bring the guilty to justice in cases like Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. An MP quoted Misri as saying that trusting Pakistan was like "trusting a chor (thief) to investigate the crime he had committed". Misri also briefed the delegations about India's decision to put IWT in abeyance till the time Pakistan acted irrevocably against cross-border terrorism. Unfazed by Pakistan's propaganda and its claim that it was an "act of war", the delegates are set to take a firm position in defence of govt suspending the treaty. The foreign secretary reiterated India's stand on the issue and urged the delegates to convey to the world that the unrelenting cross-border terrorism from Pakistan interfered with "our ability" to exploit the treaty as per its provisions. "It is only natural and well within India's right to hold the treaty in abeyance when the fundamental ground situations have changed," Misri is said to have told the delegates.
The Print
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
JD(U) suffers setback in Seemanchal as Mujahid Alam quits over endorsement of waqf act amendments
After the resignation of Mujahid Alam, the district JD(U) office, which had been operating out of his private property, was closed. Mujahid Alam's move comes amid a growing rebellion within the JD(U), starting with the resignation of party leader Mohammad Kasim Ansari. After Ansari, other prominent Muslim faces such as JD(U)'s minority cell state secretary Mohammad Shahnawaz Mallik, West Champaran vice president Nadeem Akhtar , minority cell state general secretary Mohammad Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, and Mohammad Dilshan Rayeen also resigned from the party . New Delhi: Nearly a fortnight after the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, came into effect, the law continues to haunt the Janata Dal (United). The party's face in Bihar's Muslim-dominated Seemanchal area—Mujahid Alam—has quit JD(U), accusing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of compromising on secularism. Mujahid Alam said the JD(U) leadership had assured leaders such as him that objections to the inclusion of non-Muslims in Central Waqf Council and state waqf boards would not be part of the final Act. 'However, the gazette notification had all the provisions that we had flagged to the party leadership, who then assured us of their removal,' Alam told ThePrint. 'When we had studied the bill moved by the government in August last year, I flagged my objections to the party leadership. With this law, more than four lakh properties belonging to the waqf will cease to be its properties,' Mujahid Alam said. 'All Muslim organisations and stakeholders received the [Nitish Kumar-led government's] assurance that our concerns had reached the central government and the joint parliamentary committee.' On the contrary, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the party had sought five amendments to the law, and the Centre and the joint parliamentary committee had accepted the same. 'JD(U) has never compromised on its secular credentials while running the government. It is not good to have a political comment on a personal decision taken by him [Mujahid Alam],' the spokesperson said. Mujahid Alam is the latest leader to quit Bihar's ruling party within three weeks of JD(U) supporting the waqf amendment law in Parliament. Hours after the bill's passage, Ansari ditched the party, with the other Muslim leaders following him over the next couple of days. While the party described earlier resignations as immaterial, considering the leaders were 'insignificant' leaders, spokesperson Neeraj Kumar conceded that Mujahid Alam was a 'considerably' important face in the party—specifically in the Seemanchal region. Mujahid Alam was the party's candidate from Kishanganj in the 2024 general elections, running against Mohammad Jawed of the Congress and Akhtarul Iman of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. He came second in the stiff triangular contest. Alam was also an MLA from the Kochadhaman assembly constituency between 2015 and 2020 before AIMIM leader Muhammad Izhar Asfi defeated him in the 2020 assembly election. The Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, introduced in Parliament in August 2024, was passed by both Houses earlier this month. The Ministry of Minority Affairs released a gazette notification on 8 April this year, making the bill a law. Then, the JD(U), with its Lok Sabha MPs, and three voting members in the Rajya Sabha, played a crucial role in helping the Narendra Modi-led coalition government pass the waqf bill in Parliament. 'Nitish 2010 is unidentifiable with Nitish 2025' A government school teacher for nearly 16 years after he qualified the Bihar Public Service Commission, Mujahid Alam quit to join the JD(U) at the peak of the party's might in 2010. Speaking to ThePrint, Mujahid Alam said Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had never compromised on his principles such as secularism in the past, but the CM ended that legacy by supporting the waqf amendment Act. In a reference to prove his point that Nitish Kumar earlier did not compromise, Mujahid Alam said the CM was strong enough to take action against ex-Union cabinet minister Ashwini Choubey's son after his alleged acts to challenge communal harmony in the state. Bihar Police arrested Choubey's son Arijit Shashwat over his alleged involvement in the March 2018 communal clashes in Bhagalpur. The CM purportedly paved the way for police to charge Shashwat for the violence, which left several injured in the intense stone pelting. 'Taking such strong action against a Union minister's son while being in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party was the reflection of Nitish not compromising on his principle of secularism and communal harmony at any cost,' Mujahid Alam said. 'This Nitish Kumar is unidentifiable from Nitish Kumar of old from 2010, when I had joined the party after quitting service,' Alam added. Countering his assertions, spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the track record of the Nitish Kumar-led government on the issue of waqf included a Rs 110 crore allocation after the constitution of the Waqf Development Board, and the work done for the development of waqf properties such as the Anjuman Islamia hall in Patna. 'Has he [Mujahid Alam] not contested the 2024 general elections from this JD(U) only? It was undoubtedly not the JD(U) of 2010. In the 2024 election, he secured over three lakh votes just for Nitish Kumar, who has given Alam respect and helped him win the 2015 elections,' Neeraj Kumar said. 'He can have his reasons to quit the party, but attributing it to a change in Nitish Kumar's credentials is grossly wrong.' (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: BJP's Ashwini Kumar Choubey bats for Deputy PM, NDA convener post for Nitish Kumar
