BR Ambedkar row: Maha Oppn stages protests against HM Shah’s remarks

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Nagpur, Dec 19 (IANS) The Maharashtra Opposition on Thursday staged a noisy protest at the entrance of the Vidhan Bhavan here against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.

The Opposition legislators paid homage to BR Ambedkar at the Constitution Chowk and took out a morcha from there to Vidhan Bhavan where they raised slogans like “Jai Bhim, Jai Bhim” and “Ambedkar, Ambedkar.”

The Opposition was furious over HM Shah’s remarks on Tuesday in Rajya Sabha that Congress leaders would have got a place in heaven had they chanted the name of God rather than following the “fashion of repeating Ambedkar’s name.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator, Aaditya Thackeray led a scathing attack against HM Shah saying that he has not only insulted BR Ambedkar but also the Constitution and the people of the country.

“Will Ramdas Athawale, N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar remain with the BJP on this? They should make their stand clear. Will many legislators who claim themselves to be pro-Ambedkar, now resign?” he asked. He further said that these MahaYuti legislators should quit.

Aaditya claimed that HM Shah’s statement shows the BJP’s anger against the Constitution.

“BJP MLAs and Amit Shah will not tender an apology,” he said and added that there is a nationwide protest being organised against HM Shah’s statement.

Congress legislator Vishwajeet Kadam said that they would not tolerate an insult to BR Ambedkar.

Earlier, HM Shah had stated that his words were twisted while accusing the Congress of being anti-Ambedkar and anti-Constitution.

The Opposition on Thursday put up a show of strength in the premises of Vidhan Bhavan at a time when the MahaYuti legislators comprising Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sitting for a group photograph.

The MahaYuti legislators countered by raising slogans like ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ki Jai’, ‘Babasaheb Ambedkar Yana Pranam’.

Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray had criticised Amit Shah’s statement demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should either take action against the Home Minister or leave power.

–IANS

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MCG prepares to prevent fire incidents in Bandhwari landfill site

Gurugram, Dec 16 (IANS) The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) is ready to prevent fire incidents in the Bandhwari landfill site situated on Gurugram-Faridabad Road.

According to the MCG officials, arrangements have been made in the Bandhwari landfill site to deal with the fire. Six machines have been installed to detect methane gas.

With the help of CCTV cameras, the landfill site is being monitored 24 hours a day. Entry of any outsider in this garbage dump has been banned. Claiming to have made all necessary arrangements to deal with fire in future, Joint Commissioner of the MCG Akhilesh Yadav has filed an affidavit in the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Due to repeated incidents of fire in the Bandhwari garbage dump, NGT had sought answers from the Central Pollution Control Board, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Forest Department, District Deputy Commissioner and MCG in this matter.

At present, garbage from Gurugram and Faridabad is being dumped here. From October 22 last year to October 24 this year, nine fire incidents have been reported at this landfill site. Currently, over 13 lakh tonnes of garbage is lying in Bandhwari and private agencies are disposing it of.

Officials said to deal with the incidents, temporary pipes have been arranged to extinguish the fire. In case of fire, it can be controlled by spraying water and leaching water through this pipe and a fire brigade remains stationed at the site.

Apart from this, the civic body has made different arrangements to deal with the fire, which includes a detector machine installed to identify methane gas. CCTV cameras are used to monitor the garbage dump 24×7. Water is sprinkled after identifying areas with high temperatures.

Safety equipment like gloves, shoes etc have been provided to the staff. Entry of outsiders has been banned. Industrial waste like batteries and chemical waste is banned.

“Fire in the garbage heaps is caused by methane gas. Methane gas is formed under the garbage and when the temperature rises, the garbage catches fire as soon as the methane comes in contact with air. MCG is taking all necessary precautions to stop fire incidents at the landfill site,” Joint Commissioner of the MCG Akhilesh Yadav said.

–IANS

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Ex-PM Vajpayee’s dream of interlinking rives will come true now: MP CM

Bhopal, Dec 16 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Monday that the dream of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for linking rivers under the tripartite contract for the ambitious Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal link project will become reality soon.

This contract will be signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister said the much-awaited development, which has been pending for the last more than 20 years due to various reasons, will take concrete shape.

“The consensus on this project could not be made mainly because both states were ruled by different parties. Multiple meetings were held between the officials from both states (Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan).

Under the instructions from PM Modi all issues have been resolved now,” CM Yadav added.

He also said that the project will benefit 3,217 villages of Guna, Morena, Shivpuri, Bhind, Sheopur, Ujjain, Sehore, Mandsaur, Indore, Dhar, Agar Malwa, Shajapur and Rajgarh districts of the state.

“Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal link project will prove to be a boon for the farmers and citizens of both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. This will provide abundant water for irrigation to farmers and new doors of development will open,” he added.

The Chief Minister asserted that the project will bring prosperity to both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Farmers will be able to double their yield with the water obtained from the project, which will make the state prosperous along with their families, CM Yadav said.

He added that the project will cost around Rs 72,000, of which, Madhya Pradesh will spend Rs 35,000 crore, while Rajasthan will spend Rs 37,000 crore and the rest of the amount will be allocated by the Centre.

The total water-filling capacity of the project will be 1908.83 cubic metres.

As much as 172 million cubic metres of water will be reserved for drinking and industries.

As many as 21 dams will be constructed under the project.

After Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal, PM Modi is also scheduled to lay the foundation stone of another river interlining project (Ken-Betwa) between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh during his visit to Sagar on December 25.

The project will provide water for irrigation for more than 8.1 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region and another 2.5 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh.

The Chief Minister last week said that after these two projects started, several big rivers within the state will also be interconnected.

He said that PM Modi had instructed him to prepare a plan for this purpose.

–IANS

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Rajasthan CM announces special campaign to curb road accidents

Jaipur, Dec 21 (IANS) Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Friday announced the launch of a special campaign to address black spots on roads in an effort to reduce accidents across the state.

He emphasised the urgent identification and repair of accident-prone areas to minimise the loss of life and property due to vehicle collisions.

The Chief Minister instructed the Public Works Department (PWD) to prioritise quality in all repair works during the campaign and ensure their timely completion. He highlighted that the state is investing approximately Rs 2,350 crore to improve black spots and enhance road safety.

Strict action will be taken against those failing to adhere to prescribed standards in road construction and repair, the Chief Minister warned.

As per updates, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified 40 black spots in the state, with improvements underway at a cost of Rs 812.64 crore. Out of these, 13 spots have already been repaired, and work on the remaining spots is in progress.

NHAI is set to commence repairs on an additional 37 black spots, with an estimated cost of Rs 821.51 crore.

Collaborating with the PWD, work is ongoing to address 176 black spots across national highways at a cost of approximately Rs 650 crore.

The PWD plans to complete repairs on 117 identified black spots by March 31, 2025. The Rajasthan State Highway Authority is improving 30 black spots at a cost of Rs 21.72 crore, with completion targeted for January 2025. Additionally, safety improvements are being carried out on four key roads at a cost of Rs 20.34 crore.

This campaign underscores the state government’s commitment to enhancing road safety and reducing accidents through comprehensive and coordinated efforts, said officials.

–IANS

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