Rahul Gandhi should learn from ex-PM Vajpayee as LoP, says MP CM

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Bhopal, Dec 25 (IANS) Reacting to a series of allegations against the Congress, especially on Nehru-Gandhi family, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Tuesday that Rahul Gandhi must learn from former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Leader of Opposition.

During a press briefing in Bhopal, CM Yadav also criticised the current leadership of Congress under Rahul Gandhi.

“Why should Amit Shah apologise when he did nothing wrong? His (Amit Shah) statement during Parliament address was misinterpreted and presented by Congress in an attempt to mislead people for vote bank,” the CM said.

Besides highlighting the historical facts (as claimed by BJP) about the bitter relationship between former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru and Ambedkar on various issues, including Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, CM Yadav criticised Congress MP and LoP in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

Citing the example of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said, “After Prime Minister, the LoP is the second highest post in Indian democracy. Rahul Gandhi should show some respect for his position. He should take a lesson from Atal ji, who led the Opposition (as LoP) under five Prime Ministers, and he earned respect for himself from the ruling side also.”

CM Yadav also asked: “What the Congress has done in respect of Ambedkar?”

He said the person, who defeated Ambedkar in the election, was felicitated with the highest civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’.

“Nehru-Gandhi family insulted Ambedkar even after his death. I want to ask Ambedkar deserves Bharat Ratna or not?” he asked.

Chief Minister Yadav also said, “Congress was in power in Madhya Pradesh for several decades, but didn’t establish a monument of Ambedkar at his birthplace in Mhow.”

“Rahul Gandhi visited Mhow during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, but when any Congress top leader visited Ambedkar’s birthplace,” he asked.

On the other side, Congress leaders, including former CM and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh participated in a march carried out in respect of Ambedkar in Bhopal.

Addressing the party workers, Digvijaya Singh said, “Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar were condemnable and the Opposition is demanding an apology from him. He should apologise and resign from the post on moral grounds, but he is being shielded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

–IANS

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Two youths killed as motorcycle rams into guardrail at flyover in Kolkata

Kolkata, Dec 22 (IANS) Two youths were killed as a motorcycle they were riding on rammed into a guardrail at a flyover in Kolkata on Sunday morning.

The deceased were identified as Anish Rana (19) and Danish Alam (18), residents of the Bowbazar area in Kolkata.

Eyewitnesses said that Alam was driving the motorcycle at a high speed on Maa Flyover, where accidents are quite frequent.

They also said that neither Rana nor Alam were wearing headgear and the speedily-driven motorcycle rammed into a guardrail at a curve on the flyover. The impact of the collision was such that both fell from the flyover and suffered severe head injuries.

Locals assembled there and informed the local police. The injured were immediately rushed to state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, where they were declared dead.

Sources in City police said that since accidents are quite frequent on Maa Flyover, the cops often conduct awareness drives on precautions while driving, especially for two-wheelers.

“The motorcyclists are specially alerted to use headgear and avoid over-speeding on the flyover. However, a section of motorcyclists, especially the youths, often ignore those notes of caution. Had the motorcycle’s speed this morning been within a reasonable limit while crossing the curve, the accident could have been avoided. Moreover, had the two deceased youths been using headgear, their lives could have been saved,” said an official from the City Police’s Traffic Department.

Besides over-speeding, he added, another reason for frequent motorcycle accidents on Maa Flyover was the motorcyclists getting entangled in stray and sharp Chinese kite strings. To prevent that, the city police have raised a wire fence four feet above Maa Flyover’s guard walls.

–IANS

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Priyank Kanoongo appointed as NHRC member

New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Priyank Kanoongo as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), an official statement said on Monday.

The appointment was made under the approval of President Murmu on Saturday, an official said.

Bhopal-based Kanoongo earlier served as a member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) from 2015-2018.

He served as Chairperson of the NCPCR from 2019-2024.

The Commission consists of a Chairperson, five full-time members and seven deemed members.

The statute lays down qualifications for the appointment of the Chairperson and members of the Commission.

The NHRC in the country was established on October 12, 1993.

The statute under which the NHRC is established is the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993, as amended by the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006.

It is in conformity with the Paris Principles, adopted at the first international workshop on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights held in Paris in October 1991, and endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations by its Regulations 48/134 of December 20, 1993.

Earlier on Monday, the NHRC organised an open house discussion on the rights of gig workers in hybrid mode in New Delhi.

The discussions were held in three technical sessions — ‘Informality of the Gig workers’ social security benefits and their legal ambiguity’, ‘Deprivation of health, mental health, safety and security of gig workers’, and ‘Gender disparity and financial instability for women gig workers’.

In her keynote address, NHRC Acting Chairperson Vijaya Bharathi Sayani said that there is a need for targeted efforts through regulatory frameworks to address gig worker’s challenges, including long working hours, financial strain, and physical exhaustion.

She said that more than 83 per cent of app-based drivers work more than 10 hours daily, which puts them under physical and mental strain, added by policies like “10-minute deliveries and unrealistic targets which also result in avoidable accidents”.

Women face additional challenges such as safety risks, erratic schedules, and physical demands, discouraging their participation and raising concerns about their well-being, said Sayani.

NHRC Secretary General Bharat Lal said that it is crucial to check the implementation of laws such as the Social Security Code 2020 and the various other labour laws in the country to ensure gig workers’ welfare.

He also noted that several states like Karnataka, Rajasthan and Jharkhand are focusing on providing social security to gig workers but more needs to be done to address their other major concerns relating to health insurance, minimum wages, stress-free working conditions protecting their dignity.

–IANS

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Two-year Congress rule in Himachal ‘black chapter’ in state’s history: BJP

Shimla, Dec 11 (IANS) A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation led by former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and exposed the “misdeeds” of the Congress-led state government on completing two years in the state.

“The two-year term of the Congress government will be known as a black chapter in the state’s history as the government is neck deep in corruption, brought the state to the brink of bankruptcy by unethically benefitting its friends, promoting wasteful expenditure and economic mismanagement, besides flouting the law and order,” Leader of Opposition Thakur told the media.

In its two-year stint, the Congress government has proved to be one of scams, he said.

“First, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has become a den of corruption. As soon as Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took over as the Chief Minister, an employee of the CMO wrote an anonymous letter to the Prime Minister’s Office, alleging that an officer working in the CMO was committing corruption in connivance with a senior officer of the state electricity board,” LoP Thakur added.

“Now this allegation seems to be true because the government is providing benefits to the said company through Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL) as it has extended its completion timeline for the second time at its board meeting. Instead of imposing a penalty of Rs 162 crore for not completing the project on time, the period was extended by 1,765 days,” he said.

Secondly, the loss-making company has been given a work of Rs 150 crore, which was increased to Rs 288 crore, he added.

“Not only this, the rate of debris removal was also increased from Rs 67 per cubic metre to Rs 88 per cubic metre and the quantity of debris has also increased from 1,74,000 cubic metres to 3,74,000 cubic metres, which is clear evidence of corruption.”

Pointing towards a liquor scam, LoP Thakur said the State Excise and Taxation Department has auctioned liquor contracts for February-March 2024 in which a scam took place.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action in the state and temporarily seized the immovable property worth Rs 9.31 crore of a liquor company based in Nalagarh.

“The ED has seized property worth Rs 5.31 crore, including an industrial plot with factory, of Kala Amb Distillery and Brewery Private Ltd. Nalagarh… It has taken this action under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in a case of illegal supply of liquor in Bihar. Liquor is also being brought illegally from outside states and sold in Himachal Pradesh, causing a huge loss to the government treasury,” the former Chief Minister said.

The Congress government is also accused of changing the liquor policy, he added.

“Now instead of writing the maximum retail price on the liquor bottle, the minimum sale price is being written. Taking advantage of this, liquor contractors are selling liquor at their desired prices,” he said, adding that due to this favoured contractors are getting benefits but the government treasury is being defrauded.

State BJP President Rajeev Bindal, Himachal BJP co-incharge Sanjay Tandon, Shimla Lok Sabha MP Suresh Kashyap, former Minister Suresh Bhardwaj and other party leaders accompanied Jai Ram Thakur while submitting the memorandum to the Governor.

–IANS

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