QBullet: Mayawati Slams Modi, Kejriwal Demands More Power And More
Read the latest news from across the country.
1. Mayawati Says Modi Doing ‘Natakbazi’, Woos Muslims
Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati accused the Narendra Modi government of doing “natakbazi” over India’s recent military operation against terrorists in PoK, while asking Muslims to support the BSP to stop the BJP from coming to power in next year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh.
She asked Muslims not to vote for either the ruling Samajwadi Party or the Congress, saying support to any of the two would only help the BJP. “There is infighting in the Samajwadi Party and the Congress lacks a base. If Muslims vote for these parties, they will be wasting their votes”, she said.
She was addressing a rally to mark the 10th death anniversary of BSP founder late Kanshi Ram in Lucknow. Two women were killed and at least 20 people injured in a stampede that took place after the rally got over at a memorial.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that this year’s Vijaya Dashami – a festival that marks the victory of good over evil – is “very special” for the country, in an apparent reference to India’s successful military action against terrorists in PoK. He said that a “very capable” armed force is a must for a strong nation.
2. Centre Sitting on Panel Report That Calls for More Power to Delhi Govt
As Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung fights a bitter battle with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for administrative control of Delhi, the Centre –the LG’s employer – is sitting on a panel report, which, if implemented, would give more powers to the CM.
Ironically, the panel, appointed by the Modi government and headed by former home secretary Madhukar Gupta, submitted its report to the Union Urban Development Ministry in October 2015, but the document is yet to be made public.
HT accessed the report that calls for the state government to be given greater control over land, a larger representation in the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) board and more powers to plan the city’s transport needs.
It also favours a state government-run housing board that will assess the requirement and build houses for different sections, a job entrusted to the DDA.
(Source: The Hindustan Times)
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3. Pressure to Stay Silent on SAD: Navjot Kaur
A day after resigning from the BJP, Navjot Kaur Sidhu said she had been under pressure not to speak against the Akali Dal and that RSS leader Late Brig Jagdish Gagneja was not in favour of the alliance.
I had the support of Gagneja to pursue the case with the Central leadership against the BJP’s alliance with the SAD in the state. He kept saying to me that he would force the top leadership of the BJP to snap ties with the SAD. It was his stand till the time I met him last, which was before the attack.Navjot Kaur
Gagneja died last month after being shot by two motorcycle-borne assailants in Jalandhar.
Navjot Kaur declined to comment on whether she suspected that Gagneja’s opposition to the alliance was the reason behind the attack. “I am no investigating agency to comment on it,” she said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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4. Despite Rains and Lower Rates, Dip in Fertiliser Sales
A significant drop in fertiliser sales – despite lower prices, a fairly good monsoon, and the Agriculture Ministry projecting an all-time-high kharif foodgrain and oilseeds production this year – has left both the industry and policy-makers stumped.
Fertiliser firms sold 143.71 lakh tonnes (lt) of urea during April-September, 7.2 percent below the 154.80 lt for the corresponding kharif season period of 2015.
But it isn’t only urea, the most-widely used fertiliser in India. Even sales of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and complexes (fertilisers with varying proportions of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and sulphur) have dipped – from 50.73 lt to 42.06 lt (17.1 percent) and from 43.08 to 39.97 lt (7.2 percent), respectively.
This is unprecedented, considering we have had a normal southwest monsoon this time, resulting in a higher kharif-sowing area of 3.7 million hectares over last year. And with the record output of kharif cereals (126.33 million tonnes), pulses (8.70 mt) and oilseeds (23.36 mt), it should have translated into increased fertiliser off-take.G Ravi Prasad, president (Corporate Affairs), Coromandel International Ltd
5. Kashmir Stir Enters Fourth Month, Return to Normalcy Seems a Distant Dream
The current unrest in Kashmir entered the fourth month on Saturday making it the longest period that the Valley has been shut down for in history.
At least 90 people have lost their lives in the bloody unrest so far triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter on 8 July.
Thousands others have been injured in crackdowns by security forces. At least 14 youth, including two teenagers, have died of pellet injuries in the past three months.
Thousands have also been jailed and hundreds, including human rights activist Khurram Pervez, have been booked under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA). The administration is not even allowing the religious processions of Shia community in the holy month of Muharram.
The separatist leadership, including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, continue to be either under house arrest or in custody.
But protests continue in many parts of the Valley. “The youth seem adamant not to let things return to normal. Even the separatists don’t seem to be in control,” said a senior police officer.
(Source: The Hindustan Times)
Also Read:
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6. Maharashtra Builds up Case for Providing Quotas to Marathas
Over 1,200 pieces of evidence have been meticulously culled from government and private archives and collections, along with exclusive and unpublished data from the caste census. A battery of eminent lawyers led by Harish Salve, who has agreed to argue the case free-of-cost, has joined the protest.
This is how the Maharashtra government is building up its legal case to establish before the Bombay High Court that an overwhelming majority of Marathas are socially and economically backward and, hence, deserving of quotas in jobs and education.
Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde, one of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) strong Maratha leaders and head of state government-appointed all-party action group on Maratha reservation, says the government will make “a solid, substantial, and legally fool-proof case” before the High Court.
(Source: Livemint)
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7. Expelled Youth Leaders Find Place in Office of Trust Headed by Akhilesh Yadav
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday inaugurated the office of Janeshwar Mishra Trust at Kalidas Marg, adjacent to the Samajwadi Party’s state headquarters and close to his own official residence in Lucknow.
Akhilesh, who is the chairman of the trust formed in 2013 “to propagate the socialist ideology of Jansehwar Mishra”, inaugurated the office in presence of youth leaders, who were expelled from the SP by state unit chief Shivpal Yadav last month for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Both Mulayam and Shivpal, who generally attend all events associated with Janeshwar Mishra, were not present at the event as they were not in Lucknow.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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8. History Repeats Itself in Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s prolonged hospitalisation and the resultant governmental crisis is not without parallels in Tamil Nadu. Thirty-two years ago, the State witnessed much more frenzied political activity when the then Chief Minister and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) was hospitalised.
On the night of 5 October 1984, MGR suddenly suffered breathlessness. His wife and personal physician rushed him in his official car from the Ramavaram Gardens on the outskirts of Chennai to Apollo Hospitals, which was inaugurated just the previous year.
Initially, MGR believed it would be a one-night stay and told his wife and officials not to allow news of his hospitalisation to spread and even sent away his pilot motorcycles and car.
Later, as he continued to be bed-ridden, the hospital became a hub of political activity with national and State leaders arriving one after the other to inquire about MGR’s health. The then health minister, HV Hande, issued regular updates on the treatment given to the Chief Minister.
In the first few days, the governmental work continued routinely as MGR was conscious. However, a week later on 13 October, his health suffered a serious setback. A stroke paralysed the right side of his body and impaired his speech. A CT scan revealed a tennis-ball sized clot in his brain. Doctors declared he would be out of action for long.
(Source: The Hindu)
9. JNU Defers Proposal on Certificate Courses in Yoga and Culture
Jawaharlal Nehru University will become the first university in India to teach and research all the 22 major Indian languages.
Its academic council on Friday approved a proposal to upgrade JNU's Centre of Indian languages to a full-fledged school. It's now an arm of the university's School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies.
The council, though, deferred a proposal from the university's Sanskrit Centre for the introduction of certificate courses in yoga and Indian culture. Most of the council members argued that a research university like JNU should avoid certificate courses.
Many of them also argued that both the proposed courses, in their current form, covered only a few aspects of their subjects. Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar asked the Sanskrit Centre to rework the proposals.
Launched in 1974, the Centre had initially offered master's and research programmes only in Urdu and Hindi. Over the past 10 years, it has been offering research programmes (MPhil and PhD) in Tamil, Kannada, Bangla, Odia and Marathi.
(Source: The Telegraph)
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