Latest news with #Netam
Indian Express
28 minutes ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Today in Politics: PM Modi to launch project to restore degraded land in Aravalli range
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch a massive project to restore degraded land in the Aravalli mountain range on Thursday, Environment Ministry sources said on Tuesday. Modi will plant saplings in the ridge area in South Delhi, a part of the mountain range stretching 700 km from Gujarat to the national capital, the sources said. The CMs of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat will participate in the launch of the project. Sources said around 1,000 nurseries will be developed in 29 districts falling in the Aravalli range as part of the project. The Aravallis, India's oldest mountain range, are the source of important rivers such as the Chambal, Sabarmati and the Luni. Its forests, grasslands and wetlands support endangered plant and animal species. Tribal leader Netam to attend RSS event Veteran tribal leader Arvind Netam, who served in the Cabinets of former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao, will be the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's volunteer training camp in Nagpur on Thursday. The 25-day training camp — Karyakarta Vikas Varg – Dwitiya — in which 840 volunteers from across the country are participating, began on May 12. It is currently underway on the premises of Dr Hedgewar Smriti Mandir located in Reshimbag area of Nagpur. While Netam, who hails from Chhattisgarh, will be the chief guest of the closing ceremony, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the gathering, a functionary of the organisation said. Telangana Cabinet meeting The Telangana government on Sunday decided to conduct a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday to discuss crucial issues, including implementation of Indiramma housing scheme and preparedness for rainy season agricultural crops, government sources said. Sources said discussions regarding the implementation of Rajiv Yuva Vikasam self-employment scheme would also be held. Fadnavis to inaugurate final stretch of Samruddhi highway Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will inaugurate the fourth and final phase of the 701km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg on Thursday (June 5), the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) said on Wednesday. Currently, 625km of the expressway is operational, and nearly two crore vehicles have utilised it so far. The maximum speed limit on the expressway is 100 km/h in ghat sections and 120 km/h on flat terrain, it said. The state-owned corporation said once the final 76km stretch between Igatpuri in Nashik district and Amane in Thane district (part of Mumbai metropolitan region) opens for traffic, the journey between the two cities can be completed in just eight hours. Dhankhar to visit Himachal Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will visit Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh from Thursday, his office said on Tuesday. During his visit, Dhankhar will also interact with students and faculty of Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in Solan. – With PTI inputs
The Print
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Print
Veteran Chhattisgarh tribal leader Arvind Netam to address RSS volunteers
The 25-day training camp — 'Karyakarta Vikas Varg – Dwitiya,' is currently underway at the Dr Hedgewar Smriti Mandir at Nagpur, with 840 volunteers from across the country participating. The invitation to the 83-year-old tribal leader has raised some eyebrows in political circles given the role his political party had played during the 2023 polls in swinging crucial tribal votes in Chhattisgarh. Nagpur, June 4 (PTI) Veteran tribal leader Arvind Netam, who was a cabinet minister in the governments of Indira Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao, will be the chief guest at the ceremony of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's volunteer training camp in Nagpur on Thursday. During the function, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the participants at the event which marks the completion of the training period for 'swayamsevaks' (volunteers). Former President Pranab Mukherjee had attended the concluding ceremony in 2018, drawing criticism from some sections of the Congress party. The presence of Netam, a prominent voice on tribal issues, is heightened by his political background and influence, particularly in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. This invitation comes six months after Netam had met the RSS chief in Raipur to discuss tribal concerns. The former Union Minister, who hails from Bastar, had quit the Congress party before the 2023 Assembly elections and floated the Hamar Raj party, carved out of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS)- an umbrella group of tribal organisations. According to political analysts, Hamar Raj affected Congress's performance in at least two assembly constituencies in the 2023 assembly elections, and the Kanker parliamentary seat during the Lok Sabha polls. PTI CLS NP SKL NSK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Print
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Print
Ex-Congress minister who worked with Indira, Narasimha Rao, heads to RSS HQ to ‘bridge Sangh-tribals gap'
Speaking to ThePrint, the 83-year-old criticised the Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress, which expressed surprise over the tribal leader's acceptance of the RSS invite. Netam, an influential tribal voice in Chhattisgarh politics who served in the cabinets of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao, had quit the Congress ahead of the 2023 Chhattisgarh assembly elections, accusing the party of sidelining tribal leaders and ignoring tribal issues. He later launched the Hamar Raj Party, which has so far performed poorly in polls. New Delhi: On his way to Nagpur to attend a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh event, former Congress leader and Union minister Arvind Netam Tuesday said that initiating dialogue with the Sangh, 'which works for the national cause', is essential to bridging the gap between the organisation and indigenous communities. 'On what grounds are they commenting on my decision? The state Congress unit is neck deep in corruption. Are they working for the upliftment of the nation? Had they been doing so, I would have gone with them, too. I will naturally engage with those who are involved in ideological discussions and debates,' Netam said. 'Take the issue of conversion. Where does the Congress stand? Why did the Congress not properly implement the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act? Then, there is the issue of displacement.' Netam is slated to speak at the Sangh's 'Karyakarta Vikas Varg-Dwithiya Samapan Samaroh'—essentially the closing ceremony of the organisation's second-level training camp—on 5 June as the chief guest. Former president Pranab Mukherjee's decision to attend the same event in 2018 had upset the Congress high command. The leader said that he had first met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat around four months ago. He added that he has distanced himself from politics over the last few years. 'I am not going to join the Sangh. I work for society. And we know the situation our society finds itself in ever since the liberalisation process took place. I felt it was necessary to establish a dialogue with the Sangh, keeping that concern in mind,' he told ThePrint. 'Only dialogue and exchange of ideas may help bridge the gap that exists between RSS and indigenous communities. And it will be beneficial for the society at large, too. After all, the Sangh works for nation and social development.' Netam further said that during his visit, he plans to raise the demand for a separate code for tribals in the next population census—an issue on which the Sangh has a different view. 'I know they have reservations, but how does one make efforts to resolve the differences of opinion unless there is a dialogue?' It has been a long standing demand of various tribal communities, which do not consider themselves as members of organised religion like Hinduism, Islam or Christianity, to have a provision for enlisting themselves as 'Others' in the decennial census. However, the RSS, whose affiliate Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram works among tribals, considers indigenous communities as part of the larger fold of the Sanatan Dharma. Netam's Hamar Raj party may have failed so far to make any electoral splash, but its candidate polled more votes than the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory margin over the Congress in the Kanker parliamentary seat, which Netam represented in the past, in the 2024 general elections. 'Look, I have retired from politics, and am no longer heading the party. But setting up a regional party is also one way to raise societal consciousness and awareness. National parties cannot do that. Only regional outfits can. It's an experiment that has happened across the country. The Congress should realise that it lost due to its sins,' he remarked. The Congress had swept to power in the 2018 assembly elections, based on a strong showing in the state's seats reserved for tribals. The party had won 25 of the 29 seats for Scheduled Tribes in the 2018 elections, only to register a steep drop in its tally in the 2023 polls, winning only 11 reserved seats. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Even as INDIA bloc pushes for Parliament session on Pahalgam & Op Sindoor, fault lines evident
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
As Chhattisgarh tribal leader Arvind Netam heads for RSS event, why it isn't good news for Congress
In Chhattisgarh's political terrain, where tribal votes are a decisive factor, an RSS invitation to senior tribal leader Arvind Netam to an annual event at its Nagpur headquarters has sparked intense speculation. The former Union Minister in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet, who is from the Bastar region, will be the chief guest at the Sangh's 'Karyakarta Vikas Varg-Dwithiya Samapan Samaroh' on June 5. It marks the end of the three-year training period for swayamsevaks, or the Sangh cadre. It is the same event that former President Pranab Mukherjee attended in 2018, leading to criticism from some sections of the Congress. With the invitation leading to questions about political motives, the 83-year-old tribal leader said he planned to attend to maintain good ties with the Sangh and further the cause of tribal rights in Bastar. 'I am going to the RSS event as I want strong communication with the RSS to make them understand tribal issues. The biggest issue right now in Bastar is conversion. I believe if the RSS supports us, then the BJP government will pay heed to our demands. We are the ones who first invited RSS leaders to our tribal event in December last year. Also, months ago, I met Mohan Bhagwat in Raipur and discussed tribal issues,' Netam told The Indian Express. Netam said he would also discuss the need for a separate code for tribals in the Census. 'We have our own culture and religious practices. We do not want to be defined under any religion; we want our code. Due to talks, gradual changes are taking place. They (the RSS) are gradually calling us Adivasi and not Vanvasi,' he said. An influential tribal leader in Bastar, Netam still retains a lot of political heft. Months before the Assembly elections in 2023, he had quit the Congress. This came after he floated his political party, Hamar Raj, which he carved out of the Sarva Adivasi Samaj (SAS), an umbrella group of tribal organisations. At the time, Netam had said the formation of Hamar Raj was similar to that of the Sangh that has '50-odd independent groups under it, including the BJP'. In the elections, the Hamar Raj appeared to have hurt the Congress in at least two Assembly constituencies and is also estimated to have damaged the Congress's chances in the Kanker parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha elections. Netam's apparent move towards the Sangh comes when the Congress is already struggling to regain tribal votes. When the party had stormed to power in 2018, it had swept the Scheduled Tribe (ST)-reserved constituencies, winning 25 of the 29 seats while the BJP had got three. However, failure to effectively address tribal issues led to it losing ground among Adivasis and in 2023, the Congress saw its tally of ST seats drop to 11 while the BJP bagged 17. The Congress, however, argues that even if Netam moves to the BJP, it won't have any adverse effect on its political fortunes. 'He (Netam) took a different political route and left the party. He is a big tribal leader, but we know the RSS's view of tribals. The RSS terms tribals as vanvasi (forest dwellers) and not Adivasi (the oldest inhabitants). So, does Netam agree with this? Politically, it will make no difference in elections … Bastar's public does not support him,' said the party's state communications chief Sushil Anand Shukla. RSS's state media cell in-charge Sanjay Tiwari said Netam was doing 'good work' for tribals and opposed conversions. 'We invite even those who are our critics,' he added. 'Thousands will be attending the event. Many who want to understand the Sangh will also be there.' BJP spokesperson Kedar Gupta said the RSS invitation should not be seen through the political lens. 'There is no political discrimination in the RSS. Before this, Pranab Mukherjee ji was invited and he graced the event. It is a nationalistic organisation that believes in working together with every section of society.'
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Raipur Diary: RSS invites Bastar tribal leader to Nagpur event
RSS invites Bastar tribal leader to Nagpur event Arvind Netam, a veteran tribal leader from Bastar and former Union Minister, has been invited to a national-level function of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at its headquarters in Nagpur on June 5, leading political analysts to speculate if the move is a form of 'tribal outreach' by the saffron organisation. Though Netam parted ways with the Congress party in August 2023 in protest against the Bhupesh Baghel-led state government of the day, he has remained vocal about issues confronting the tribal community. It remains to be seen if the invitation is an attempt to court him and persuade him to join the BJP. 295 cops promoted for helping combat Maoists As many as 295 police personnel in Chhattisgarh have been promoted out of turn for showing bravery in combating Maoists. The state director general of police, AD Gautam, recognised their valour and determination during the operations. Among those elevated are low- as well as middle-rank officials from the district police, special task force and intelligence units. As many as 206 constables will now take charge as head constables, and 37 head constables will take on the role of assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs). Further, 15 ASIs have been made sub-inspectors (SIs), and 16 SIs are inspectors now. 3 babus accused in coal levy scam walk out of jail Three bureaucrats, including two suspended IAS officers, and three others accused in the Chhattisgarh coal levy scam were recently granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. IAS Ranu Sahu and Sameer Vishnoi as well as Saumya Chaurasia — who served as Deputy Secretary to CM Bhupesh Baghel — and others walked out of the Raipur Central Jail following the apex court relief. They were arrested by the ED in the money laundering case around two years ago, wherein a syndicate of government servants and private persons were accused of illegally levying money for the movement of coal. Two others accused in the case remain in judicial custody. Ejaz Kaiser Our correspondent in Chhattisgarh ejaz@
