Bihar BJP workers in Patna burn Rahul Gandhi’s effigy after Congress protest at AI Summit

New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in Patna on Sunday drew massive crowds, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders calling it one of the biggest political gatherings witnessed in the state capital.

The event comes ahead of the high-stakes Bihar elections scheduled for November 6 and 11 .

Speaking to IANS, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal said the enthusiasm on the streets reflected public confidence in the Prime Minister.

“Today’s roadshow was truly amazing. I have never seen such a massive turnout. PM Modi appealed to people not to allow the “Jungle Raj” of the RJD-led alliance to return in Bihar,” he added.

BJP MP and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad described the event as historic, highlighting the overwhelming participation of women.

“Lakhs of women were there, many performing aarti and showering flowers. We were emotional seeing the respect people have for the Prime Minister,” he said.

Union Minister and senior JD-U leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh added, “Women cheering from rooftops shows PM Modi’s unmatched popularity across households in Bihar. Today’s roadshow in Patna was massive, and it shows the strength of NDA and the popularity of PM Modi.”

Commenting on Prime Minister’s welcome in Patna, PM Modi travelled in a flower-decorated vehicle for the roadshow.

Union Minister Lalan Singh and BJP leader Dilip Jaiswal accompanied PM Modi in the vehicle.

Large crowds had gathered along the route to see the Prime Minister.

People were seen watching from rooftops, while some women performed Aarti.

Supporters raised “Modi-Modi” slogans as the motorcade passed.

Several NDA leaders also participated, including Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, and local MLA and candidate Nitin Nabin, along with NDA candidates from Patna city.

After the roadshow, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Takht Shri Harimandir Gurudwara in Patna City to offer prayers.

The event took place amid an intense electoral contest in the state.

BJP workers described the presence of senior alliance leaders together as a message of unity to the people of Bihar.

Political observers said the roadshow is likely to make an impact in the Patna region ahead of polling.

–IANS

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Kolkata, July 3 (IANS) The family of the law college student, who became a victim of gang-rape within her college at Kasba in South Kolkata last week, has moved the Calcutta High Court, petitioning to be made parrty in the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.

The first hearing on the PIL will be conducted at a division bench of the court later on Thursday.

The petitioners filing the public interest litigation, mostly advocates practising with the Calcutta High Court, did not make the victim’s family members parties in the case. The petitioners argued that since in their petition, they have nothing to hold or argue against the law college student, who is a victim in the matter, she or her family members were not made parties in the petition.

The argument of the victim’s family behind seeking to be a party in the PIL is that since the victim in this case is a member of the family they too have their right to present their argument in the matter and hence they want to be a party in the case to present their arguments in the matter.

As far as the latest information is available, the victim’s family prefers to keep faith in the investigation by Kolkata Police for some time instead of rushing for a CBI probe at this stage.

On Wednesday, the charge of the investigation in the case was handed over to the Detective Department of Kolkata Police.

The investigation was initiated by the local Kasba Police station, whose cops also arrested the three prime accused in the case within 24 hours of the time of lodging of a complaint by the victim on June 25 evening.

Later, a special investigating team (SIT) headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police-level officer was also constituted to probe the matter. However, on Wednesday, the higher authorities of the city police decided to hand over the charge of the probe to the Detective Department.

The PIL seeking a CBI probe in the matter was filed at the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das on June 30.

The petitioners also sought a fast-track hearing in the matter. The division bench of Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Smita Das, on June 30, directed the petitioners to send notices to the other parties in the matter. Thereafter, notices were sent by the petitioners to all parties concerned except the family members of the victim.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) The target of $100 billion in agricultural exports by 2030 is achievable with clear and bolder steps, said experts. Closing the policy gaps and providing vital linkages for agricultural commodities can deliver better incomes to India’s farmers.

The experts said these at a recent roundtable on Boosting India’s Agri Exports by Transforming Infrastructure organised in Delhi by the newly launched Centre for Agri Infrastructure Research and Action (CAIRA), an initiative of The Infravision Foundation.

Several key public sector leaders addressed the roundtable, among them Subrata Gupta, Secretary of Food Processing; Santosh Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade; Siraj Chaudhry, Country Chairman, SATS India; Abhishek Dev, Chairman, APEDA; and Siraj Hussain, former Union Agriculture Secretary.

The speakers recommended that existing agri infrastructure needs improvement to enable large-scale adoption of resilient farming practices and align India’s exports with changing requirements of the global market.

The transition from a producer-centric approach, focused on food security, to a customer-oriented policy focused on demand, is an imperative for agri exports.

This necessitates a stable and coherent policy environment and a unified vision that matches the targeted commodities and quantities of production for exports with the preferences and demands of receiving countries and markets, the experts said.

Agriculture contributes 18.2 per cent to India’s GDP and provides livelihoods for over 42 per cent of the population, making it a cornerstone of the nation’s economy.

Despite being the world’s 8th largest exporter of agri commodities, the Indian farmer faces several challenges due to gaps and shortages in infrastructure and market access. While India is a market leader in certain categories of exports, its productivity is far lower than global standards.

The experts called on to create conducive ecosystems for agri and marine exports to flourish.

This requires a unified vision across ministries, a stable export policy environment, upgrading of cold chain, storage and logistics infrastructure, and a balance between cultivating large clusters of land.

The event also witnessed the presentation of CAIRA’s first Background Paper, which highlighted the urgent need for infrastructure transformation to support global supply chains originating in India.

The paper provided actionable recommendations to modernise ports, enhance cold chain networks, and adopt cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and IoT to reduce post-harvest losses and improve supply chain transparency.

The roundtable participants emphasised the seminal role of the public sector but also cautioned against its overreach.

Public solutions for private challenges should use government intervention sparingly and precisely. Public attention should be directed towards the mindset changes required to transform agri exports; importantly, the embrace of policy clustering that fosters collaboration among various government and industry stakeholders.

CAIRA is an initiative of The Infravision Foundation (TIF) designed to transform India’s agri-export landscape through research, policy advocacy and real-world solutions.

–IANS

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