J&K: Viksit Bharat Youth Parliament organised in Rajouri, sees impressive turnout

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Jammu, Feb 26 (IANS) In a major step towards nurturing informed, responsible and visionary youth leadership, MY Bharat (Mera Yuva Bharat), on Thursday, organised a district round of the Viksit Bharat Youth Parliament at the Government PG College in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri.

The event focused on providing a vibrant democratic platform where young minds could articulate ideas, debate critical issues, and reflect on India’s constitutional journey.

The participants passionately spoke on the theme “50 Years of Emergency: Lessons for Indian Democracy”.

Through powerful speeches and thoughtful arguments, students revisited one of the most significant chapters in India’s political history, emphasising the importance of safeguarding democratic institutions, protecting fundamental rights, and strengthening participatory governance.

The programme was coordinated by Nitin Hangloo, Deputy Director of MY Bharat Rajouri, and Khaleeq Ahmed, NSS Probationary Officer of Government PG College Rajouri.

Anwer Shah, Government PG College Rajouri Principal, attended the occasion as the Chief Guest.

The distinguished jury panel included Mehmood Bajjar (Retired Medical Superintendent of Government Medical College and Associated Hospitals Rajouri), Bashir Ahmed (Retired Principal of Government Degree College Budhal), Sandeep Sharma (District Statistics and Evaluation Officer Rajouri), Vikrant Sharma (Youth Awardee), and Sofia Shaheen (Head of Department at the District Institute of Education and Training Rajouri), who evaluated the participants on content, clarity, confidence, and understanding of democratic values.

The top 10 qualifiers from the district round will now advance to the state level round, and the top three performers at the state level will compete at the national round to be held in the Indian Parliament, offering them a prestigious opportunity to represent their region on a national stage and contribute to the vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Notably, the ‘MY Bharat’ initiative aims to introduce new features and initiatives to further enhance its impact.

The platform is keen on expanding its offerings in emerging sectors and deepening its engagement with educational institutions and youth organisations.

–IANS

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Bihar final electoral roll: Bogus voters removed, says BJP’s Naqvi as Cong alleges mass exclusion

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The release of the final voter list for Bihar following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has triggered a political storm, with the BJP and Congress offering sharply contrasting narratives. While the BJP claims the process was aimed at cleaning up the rolls by removing fake voters, the Congress alleges mass voter exclusion, particularly of the poor and marginalised communities.

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi defended the SIR exercise, emphasising that it is part of a routine democratic process.

“The main objective is to protect bona fide voters and to review and remove bogus voters. This is not the first time such an exercise has been carried out in the country. Since the beginning of the electoral process, voter lists have been reviewed multiple times, and necessary changes have been made,” Naqvi said.

On the other hand, Congress leaders have raised serious concerns. Uttar Pradesh Congress state president Ajay Rai criticised the Election Commission, alleging that genuine voters were being excluded without proper justification.

“In Bihar, the issue of voter exclusion raised by Rahul Gandhi is very serious. The manner in which poor and ordinary people have been deprived of their right to vote by the Election Commission is unacceptable. They should not be excluded; instead, they must be included. The Aadhaar card should be recognised as a valid document, and the names of such people should be added to the voter list,” Rai said.

The Election Commission announced the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and published the final list, which includes 7.42 crore electors.

Congress leader Udit Raj alleged a nationwide pattern of manipulation. He stated, “If the opposition had not protested and taken the matter to the Supreme Court, the 2.1 million new voters whose names have now been added would still be missing. Whether any manipulation has occurred among them remains to be seen.”

“There is a model being followed across states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, where fake voters are added while opposition supporters are removed from the rolls. The updated voter list was released yesterday. Our party is studying it in detail. The matter is already before the Supreme Court, and our further strategy will be announced soon,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission declared the successful conclusion of the SIR process. According to official figures, 7.89 crore voters were on the list as of June 24.

–IANS

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Venugopal slams BJP for filing FIR against Rahul over Parliament scuffle

New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS) Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal on Thursday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after some of its MPs led by Anurag Thakur submitted a complaint with the police against the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, in connection with the scuffle on the Parliament premises during which two BJP MPs sustained injuries.

Terming the move by the BJP a diversionary tactic, Venugopal wrote on social media platform X: “The FIR against @RahulGandhi ji is nothing but a diversionary tactic in response to his staunch protest against the Home Minister.”

“A case against him for defending Babasaheb’s legacy is a badge of honour. And in any case, Rahul Ji is already facing 26 FIRs due to the BJP’s political vendetta and this latest FIR will not stop him or the Congress from standing up against the casteist RSS-BJP regime.”

The senior Congress leader also added: “At the same time, why has the Delhi Police not acted on the FIRs filed by women MPs of INC against the BJP leaders who physically assaulted them?”

Former Union Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur, along with fellow MPs Bansuri Swaraj and Hemang Joshi, on Thursday submitted an attempt to murder police complaint against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for allegedly pushing and injuring BJP MPs on the Parliament premises.

The complaint was filed at Sansad Marg police station under penal provisions related to criminal intimidation, endangering human life due to negligence, voluntarily causing hurt, use of criminal force, including Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 109, 115, 117, 125, 131 and 351.

The incident, causing injury to BJP MPs, followed a heated confrontation on the Parliament premises during a protest by Opposition MPs alleging disrespect towards B.R. Ambedkar.

“Today, we have filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi for assault and provocation where we have mentioned in detail the incident that happened today outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament House, where NDA MPs were protesting peacefully, and Rahul Gandhi pushed them and injured them, due to which two BJP MPs are hospitalised,” Anurag Thakur said.

Calling it a “very unfortunate incident”, Thakur said the Congress and Rahul Gandhi have a habit of violating law, and “arrogant” Rahul Gandhi considers himself above the law.

Accusing Rahul Gandhi of irresponsible behaviour, Thakur said: “The Congress has repeatedly insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar. Congress and other allies have been protesting every day but when BJP MPs tried to hold a protest today, Rahul Gandhi and his MPs forcibly marched towards the protestors, injuring two of them.

“Mukesh Rajput fell on his head in that push, Pratap Chandra Sarangi was also injured on the head due to the action of Rahul Gandhi, who used force and did not follow the path suggested to him by security personnel to avoid a physical confrontation,” Thakur said.

Soon after the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inquired about the well-being of two BJP MPs injured during the commotion at the Parliament entrance.

PM Modi personally called up BJP MPs Sarangi and Rajput to inquire about their health after they sustained injuries. He also assured them of full support.

–IANS

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Opposition creating panic among farmers over urea shortage, says Telangana minister

Hyderabad, Aug 25 (IANS) Amid the ongoing urea shortage in Telangana, State Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Monday accused the opposition parties of creating panic among farmers.

In an open letter to farmers, the minister clarified that the present shortage is due to the Centre’s inefficiency and global disruptions.

“Our government, under CM Revanth Reddy, is fighting relentlessly to secure the state’s rightful allocation. Farmers should not be misled by BRS’s politically motivated agitations or the BJP’s blame game. Telangana Government assures that farmers will not be betrayed — we will fight until every bag of urea due to our farmers is supplied,” said the minister.

The minister said that opposition parties are blaming the state government and creating panic among farmers by staging protests, spreading false propaganda, and politicising the issue.

Nageswara Rao said as Agriculture Minister, he was writing the open letter to place the facts before Telangana farmers. He said that import disruptions due to global geopolitical developments led to a urea shortage.

Telangana was allocated 3.94 lakh tonnes of imported urea by the Centre for April-August 2025. Due to Russia–Ukraine war, Iran–Israel conflict, and shipping disruptions in the Red Sea, much of the allocated stock did not arrive, he explained. Out of 3.96 lakh tonnes allocated, only 2.10 lakh tonnes have been supplied so far.

The minister also cited domestic production issues as another reason for the urea shortage. The Centre mainly allocated domestic urea from Ramagundam Fertiliser Corporation Ltd (RFCL) to Telangana. Out of 1.69 lakh tonnes allocated, only 1.06 lakh tonnes have been supplied till August. RFCL has faced a shutdown for 78 days since May, causing a 62,000-tonne shortfall.

These two factors — import delays and domestic underproduction — created a nationwide urea shortage, not just in Telangana. Even BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are facing protests, explained the minister.

For Kharif 2025, the total urea allocation by the Centre for Telangana was 9.80 lakh tonnes. Till August, 8.30 lakh tonnes were allocated, but only 5.72 lakh tonnes were supplied, leaving a shortfall of 2.58 lakh tonnes. “Thus, the shortage is mainly due to the Centre’s failure in timely imports and inadequate supply from RFCL,” he said.

Nageswara Rao said that BJP leaders in Telangana are hiding facts and blaming the State Government, while even BJP-ruled states are struggling. BRS is staging “drama protests” — making farmers stand in queues with slippers, staging birthday-event skits, distributing fake urea bags, and spreading falsehoods on social media to defame the government led by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. These theatrics don’t help farmers but deepen their distress, he added.

The agriculture minister gave details of the steps taken by the State Government to tackle the situation. Anticipating import disruptions, the state repeatedly requested the Centre to allocate more domestic urea instead of import-dependent stocks. It wrote 7 letters to the Centre, with CM Revanth Reddy himself raising the issue with the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers.

Telangana MPs protested in Delhi and met Union Ministers. Due to this pressure, the Centre promised 50,000 tonnes, of which 35,000 tonnes have just arrived.

Suggesting alternatives and long-term solutions, he said the Nano Urea usage should be encouraged as it is eco-friendly, cost-effective, and soil-friendly. He said the price gap between urea and complex fertilisers should be reduced (currently Rs 250 per urea bag vs. Rs 1,500+ for complex fertilisers). This will balance usage and reduce over-dependence on urea.

He demanded the Centre to strengthen domestic urea production to match national demand.

–IANS

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