by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : With the BJP continuing its attack on Rahul Gandhi for his reported remark that the Congress was a party of Muslims, historian S. Irfan Habib, a participant in the July 11 meeting, on Monday denied that the Congress President made any such reference.
“He (Rahul) didn’t say that at all. I didn’t hear it. Nobody will say that. BJP, a majoritarian party, will never say that. No party would ever say that,” Syed Irfan Habib, an Indian historian of science and a well-known intellectual, told IANS.
“…he (Rahul) spoke about the poor sections of society, which have been the strength of the Congress all these years,” Habib added.
He said Rahul agreed that the Congress “got weakened” after losing the support of the poor sections, and that it needed to bring them back to the fold.
“What Congress party has to do, according to him (Rahul), is to win back those sections — minorities and Dalits,” he said.
“He spoke about the Muslims along with other sections. He said ‘we have to take corrective measures’ to bring these sections back to the party, be more accommodative. Nobody is talking about it,” said Habib.
A news report in an Urdu Daily Inquilab had said that Congress’ minority unit chief Nadeem Javed had confirmed that Rahul Gandhi did say that “Congress is a Muslim party” during his meeting with Muslim intellectuals.
Those who met Rahul for their feedback on various issues and for a discussion on “public policy” included M.S. Farooqui, Amir Mohammad, Syeda Hameed, Ilyas Malik, Rakhshanda Jalil, Junaid Rehman, Farah Naqvi and others.
Earlier in the day, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala compared the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government with the East India Company and rejected Inquilab’s report, saying Javed was “misquoted”.
Inquilab Bureau Chief Mumtaz Ali Rizvi told a news channel: “Questions are being raised on their leadership. I challenge that Rahul-ji should tweet to say what I have written in the newspaper was not told by him.” He said Congress should come out and say that it is not a party of the Muslims. “In one rhetoric, it will be clear. I will leave journalism,” he said.
Surjewala, however, questioned if a particular newspaper or its representative was present in the meeting that was attended by a select group of individuals. “That’s the first question to be asked and the answer is in the negative,” he said.
On Javed’s interview to the newspaper, the Congress leader said: “I took the liberty of trying to read even the misquoted interview that has appeared and I tried to write it in Hindi because I can’t read Urdu, except a few words.”
“What he said was this and let me quote: ‘yaad rakhiye kisi bhi mulk ki taraqqi, kisi ek tabqe, yaani warg ki taraqqi se nahi ho sakti. Balki har tabqe ki taraqqui se mulk taraqqui karega (remember that no country can develop with the development of just one community. Development of all communities can lead to the development of the country).'” “This is what Rahul Gandhi had said,” Surjewala quoted Javed as saying.
“The BJP and PM Modi are now dependent upon only polarization. Like the East India Company, they follow the principle of division,” he said.
Javed later told a news channel: “To say that Congress is only the party of Muslims is a very stupid thing to say. The Congress President can’t say this. No mature politician would say this. Propably, the editor failed to understand what I said,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray
Pune : Launching a fresh salvo at ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asked if the demonetization decision could be taken so quickly, why is the decision on building Ram Temple in Ayodhya still pending.
“The demonetization decision was taken instantly, but the work on Ram Mandir has yet to begun. They (BJP) had said it would happen before the elections – which elections, 2019 or 2050?” Thackeray asked sarcastically.
Talking to media persons here on a pre-election preparatory visit, the Sena chief said the same was the status of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s other major policies like Uniform Civil Code, or abrogation of the Constitution’s Article 370.
“There is no discussion on these important issues now, they are almost forgotten. You have the majority and should have implemented these… what happened?” he asked.
To a question on the recent controversy over distribution of the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita to students in 100 select colleges in Mumbai, Thackeray said “this was being done to hide the mess prevailing in the University of Mumbai”.
“The students need to be given education relevant to modern times. The university is ridden with mismanagement, there are paper leaks, examination results are being delayed and other major problems. Instead of concentrating and solving all these issues, the education department wants to distribute Bhagavad Gita,” Thackeray said.
Targetting Saudi Aramco’s proposed Rs 3 trillion oil refinery and integrated petrochemicals complex coming up in Nanar, Ratnagiri, he reiterated his party’s opposition to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ pet project.
“The CM has assured that it will not be imposed if the locals are opposed to it. Whatever he may say, we are with the people of the Konkan region who do not want the project. We shall not allow it to come up,” Thackeray declared.
Earlier, meeting with the Sena’s Pune party office-bearers, he conceded that the Pune and western Maharashtra region was being ignored, “but that would not happen anymore”.
“I have directed all the party leaders to pay special attention to Pune and they will work with renewed vigour. I shall also come here regularly to monitor the progress,” he assured.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews, News, Politics
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh
By Sujeet Kumar,
Raipur : Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh says there is no anti-incumbency against his government despite being in power for over 14 years and that the ruling BJP is poised for a fourth successive victory in Assembly polls later this year.
“The BJP is in power since December 2003 and there is still no anti-incumbency. I have travelled widely to urban pockets and rural belts this year during various public interaction programmes and clearly saw in people’s eyes that they wish to see the BJP regime to continue,” Raman Singh, the longest-serving BJP Chief Minister, told IANS in an interview.
“Everyone, even the opposition Congress, knows in the state that anti-incumbency is nonexistent. People had some grievances in certain areas against local officials, not against the state government. The government has reached out to these people through public interaction drives such as Lok Suraj Abhiyan, Gram Suraj Abhiyan and Vikas Yatra.
“It’s people’s desire in Chhattisgarh that the BJP deserves a fourth successive term. It speaks volumes about the development works and the kind of governance I have delivered in the state,” the ayurvedic doctor-turned-politician said.
Raman Singh predicted 65-plus seats for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 90-member Assembly in the upcoming polls in the mineral-rich state.
“The state has witnessed a sea change during the BJP regime. You will find a network of quality roads in all 27 districts. Schools and hospitals have been opened even in forested areas,” the 66-year-old politician said.
He revealed that his government would be launching the world’s largest free mobile smart phones distribution scheme in a month to women and college going students under Sanchar Kranti Yojana (SKY).
Chhattisgarh has a history of bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress. In the last Assembly polls held in 2013, the BJP won 49 seats while the Congress bagged 39. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and an independent got one seat each.
But the vote percentage difference between the BJP and the Congress was less than one per cent and the overall vote difference was just 92,000 in the entire state.
Chhattisgarh is now set to witness triangular contests this year as the state’s first Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has deserted the Congress and floated his own outfit to nurture his dream of becoming the H.D. Kumaraswamy of Chhattisgarh if there is a hung verdict.
Raman Singh acknowledged that there would a three-way fight in the state on certain seats in 2018 and the third player’s entry into the electoral fray could spice up poll battle.
Political analysts say that the wheelchair-bound Jogi has developed some closeness with the BJP in recent months as he has a pathological hatred for Chhattisgarh Congress President and potential Congress Chief Ministerial candidate Bhupesh Baghel.
The Jogi-led Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) is said to have the capability to walk away with considerable percentage of traditional Congress votes in at least 20-22 Assembly segments.
Some analysts say he could away with 5 to 6 per cent of all votes, primarily that of the Congress. Knowing his abilities, BSP leader Mayawati has opened talks with him. But the BSP is also being wooed by the Congress which is desperate to end the BJP innings.
(Sujeet Kumar can be contacted at sujeet.k@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews, News, Politics
Amartya Sen
New Delhi : Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen said the lack of attention on social sectors had taken a “quantum jump in the wrong direction” since the BJP came to power and that despite the visible prominence of backwardness in India, the political dispensation was diverting attention from the core issues.
“Things have gone pretty badly wrong. Even previously before this government, we did not do enough on education and health. But it has taken a quantum jump in the wrong direction since 2014,” Amartya Sen said on Saturday during a discussion on his new book “Bharat Aur Uske Virodhabhas” (India and its Contradictions), co-authored with economist Jean Dreze.
Pointing out the contradiction in India getting backward while also being the fastest growing economy in the world, the Nobel Laureate said: “Twenty years ago, of the six countries in this region, India was the second best after Sri Lanka. Now it is the second worst.”
“And because of Pakistan’s problems, Pakistan has managed to shield us from being the worst,” he said.
He added that while people should take pride in the things that India has, they must be critical of those things of which they have reason to be ashamed.
“Despite the easy prominence of backwardness in India… now if you try to draw attention to that, the way to deflect it is to say: now think about the great pride of India,” Sen said.
He said despite the enormous inequalities, it was possible to distract attention.
“A great writer who I admire, V.S. Naipaul, who wrote such a novel like ‘A House for Mr Biswas’, could also write that what happened after the 13th century was destruction of Hindu temples and Hindu civilisation, overlooking that this is also when new ideas were coming in.
“If you can distract V.S. Naipaul’s attention then you can distract the attention of most intelligent people,” the Nobel Laureate said.
“The result is that there has been deflection. When there has been this deflection, we have to do something anti-deflection,” he added.
Dreze, who co-authored the book, said while India, in the last few years, had got some success in its quest to become the fastest growing economy — “helped partly by slowdown in China’s growth and partly by some jugglery of numbers” — there is a significant difference between growth and development.
“While development is the goal, economic growth is the medium to achieve that goal. And it’s something to think about that despite 7 per cent GDP growth, the income of the rural labourer has remained the same and yet no one speaks about it,” he said.
He added that while economic growth can help in achieving development, it needs to be accompanied by public action.
“If we talk about health, India is way behind even Bangladesh despite being economically ahead of it. And that is because of lack of public action in India compared to Bangladesh.
“Similarly public action is crucial for education, nutrition, social security, ensuring equality, and environmental protection,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : The opposition parties on Saturday slammed Union Minister Jayant Sinha for allegedly honouring Ramgarh lynching convicts after they were released on bail even as the Minister defended his action, saying he had full faith in the judicial system.
Sinha had welcomed by hugging and garlanding the eight men convicted in the Ramgarh lynching case in Jharkhand after they were released on bail on Thursday.
According to reports, the life sentences of the convicts were suspended by the High Court and after getting bail they headed to Sinha’s residence, led by a local BJP leader.
Condemning Sinha’s action, the Congress slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused it of fanning communal tension.
“It is only in ‘New India’, where those who are supposed to get the noose are instead being garlanded,” the Congress said in a tweet.
“The Minister of the BJP-led Central government, which honours those accused of riots, is now garlanding convicts of lynching. Is Modi government encouraging social unstability,” it added.
CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also attacked the BJP for “tearing India’s social fabric” and promoting politics of hate.
“We don’t need to look far to see who or which ideology is tearing our social fabric apart: when union ministers patronise those convicted of lynching,” he said in a tweet.
Swaraj India founder and renowned advocate Prashant Bhushan also slammed the Minister and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah of patronising “lumpen thugs”.
“Jayant Sinha hugs and garlands Ramgarh lynching convicts as they come out on bail. Obviously the junior minister is keen to remain in the good books of his bosses, Modi and Shah, who patronise these lumpen thugs,” he said.
However, Sinha defended his actions and said he had full faith in India’s judicial system and the rule of law. He said while he unequivocally condemned all acts of violence and rejected any type of vigilantism, he had misgivings about the Fast-Track Court judgment sentencing each accused to life imprisonment.
“The rule of law is supreme in India’s constitutional democracy and any unlawful act, particularly those that violate the rights of any citizen, should be punished with the full force of the law.
“Unfortunately, irresponsible statements are being made about my actions when all that I am doing is honouring the due process of law. Those who are innocent will be spared and the guilty will be appropriately punished,” he said in a series of tweets.
Sinha added: “I have repeatedly expressed my misgivings about the Fast-Track Court judgment sentencing each accused to life imprisonment. I am pleased that the High Court will hear the matter as a statutory court of appeal to test the correctness of the Fast-Track Court order.
“In the Ramgarh case, the Ranchi High Court, which is the first court of appeal, has suspended the sentence of the accused and released them on bail while admitting their case. The case will once again be re-heard.”
—IANS
