Report Wire

Category: Politics

  • Lok Sabha session starts today; Speaker choice

    New Delhi: The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which will begin on Monday, will see oathtaking by newly elected members. The election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker will take place on Wednesday.

    With BJP lacking a majority in the House and Congress set to get the leader of the Opposition post, the Speaker’s role has become crucial for the BJPled NDA.

    In the 16th and 17th Lok Sabhas, BJP enjoyed absolute majority and there was no leader of the Opposition, which made it easier for the ruling party to get its legislative businesses passed.The row over appointment of BJP leader and seventerm MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as protem Speaker has cast shadow over the session. The move has drawn flak from the Opposition, which has alleged that the claim of Congress member K Suresh to the post was overlooked by the government. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that Mahtab has had seven uninterrupted terms as Lok Sabha member, making him eligible for the post. On Monday, President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Mahtab as protem Speaker of the Lok Sabha at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mahtab will then reach Parliament House and call the Lok Sabha to order at 11 am.The pro tem Speaker will then administer oath to a panel of chairpersons appointed by the President to assist him in carrying out the proceedings of the House till the election of the Speaker on Wednesday. The President has appointed Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), TR Baalu ​​(DMK), Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Trinamool) to assist Mahtab in administering the oath/affirmation to the newly elected members. of the Lok Sabha.After the panel of chairpersons, the protem Speaker will administer oath/affirmation as Lok Sabha members to the Union Council of Ministers. The members from states, in alphabetical order, will take oath or make affirmation over the next two days.

    The President is scheduled to address the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Thursday. The debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address will begin on Friday. Both the Houses are expected to go into a brief recess and reassemble on July 22 for the presentation of the Union Budget.

  • Beed protests: Want OBCs and Marathas to get separate reservation, says NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal

    On protests in Beed, Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on June 22 said that the demand was raised to get a separate reservation for the OBCs and Maratha people. “We just want to say that we are not against the Maratha people, we want OBCs and Maratha people to get a separate reservation. There should not be enmity between anyone. We should discuss things peacefully…Yesterday CM Eknath Shinde had a meeting with ministers and several people where it was decided that actions will be taken on the people who have taken a form for OBC certificates through false means. All the political parties will sit and take a decision on this. Devendra Fadnavis has also shown his support for caste based census,” said Chhagan Bhujbal.

  • Solution to Manipur crisis likely in 23 months: Biren Singh

    Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh on Friday that Manipur is a top priority for the Modi government and that a solution to the ongoing crisis in the state will likely be achieved within the next 23 months.

    Manipur is battling ethnic strife for more than a year now.

    Talking to media persons in Imphal on Friday, Singh said that violence continues in some areas due to a lack of security personnel, but the situation is improving as security forces which were taken out of the state for general election duties have come back and have been redeployed in vulnerable areas. “Now, the situation will be better,” he added. Singh said that there is a remarkable decrease in the violence across the state. “Though it is said that Manipur violence is 14 months old, the actual crisis persisted for only 67 months. Despite some incidents in a few places, schools and business establishments across the state have opened, indicating a return to normalcy. The actual The crisis occurred in only 67 months, suggesting that the other 7 months were peaceful as schools and business establishments were functioning,” he said. He stated, “The unrest in Northeast India is due to influx and drug menace from areas outside the region. Treating the situation will be easier once the route is identified.”

    Singh said that resolving the violence in Manipur is a top priority for the Narendra Modi 3.0 administration. Home Minister Amit Shah has been actively involved, holding highsecurity meetings and gathering necessary details to formulate an action plan. “I hope that a solution is achieved within 23 months,” he said.

    Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday chaired a highlevel meeting to review the security situation in Manipur and sought to increase central forces strategic deployment to restore peace in the state. The central forces were withdrawn from Manipur for deployment in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. With Jiribam district in Manipur continuing to be restive, additional CRPF troopers have been deployed in the interior areas of its Borobekra subdivision. Tension gripped the area after the killing of a 59yearold farmer on June 6.

  • Trinamool Congress booth leader attacked

    Kolkata: A Trinamool Congress booth level leader was allegedly attacked by BJP workers on Thursday in East Midnapore’s Bhupatinagar, in a postpoll violence incident. Just two days ago, a BJP worker’s father was allegedly beaten to death in Bhupatinagar.

    The Trinamool worker, who has been hospitalised, claimed that he was attacked with rods and sticks by the BJP miscreants. However, the BJP denied such allegations and claimed that the attack was a fallout of Trinamool’s internal feud. “We are not engaged in these kinds of attacks. We have a party ideology,” said a local BJP leader.

    Recently, in Bhupatinagar, BJP leader Sashanka Maity’s father Gourihari Maity was allegedly beaten to death by Trinamool miscreants, BJP sources said. The BJP has moved Calcutta HC on this issue along with other postpoll violence related cases. BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said, “We will hold a protest against the death of the postpoll violence victim in East Midnapore.”

  • Third Eye: Caught on wrong foot, handson minister & balance and flexibility

    Caught on wrong footMaharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole was in the news recently after a footage showed a party worker washing his dirty feet with his hands. Later, BJP leader Keshav Upadhyaye claimed that Patole might be floating in the air after Congress demonstration in the state and added that a famous dialogue might be going in Patole’s head: “Kabhi kabhi aisa lagta hain ke apunich bhagwan hai” (sometimes it feels like I am God).Handson ministerAs he took charge of the ministry of housing and urban affairs last week, former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal left no doubt that he will be a handson minister. In his first meeting with officers, Lal remarked he used to come to New Delhi and the ministry to get his state’s work done but now he would be expected to do the work. The next three days were spent in taking detailed presentations from all officers.Balance and flexibilityPreparations for International Yoga Day on June 21 is keeping the government and Union ministers on tenterhooks. Some ministers have even postponed routine meetings and felicitations to ensure everything is in order in districts/state capitals they will be present to participate in the morning session. First time ministers are especially enthusiastic. Even though all eyes will be on the PM’s Srinagar session, the big worry for others is that they should not be in the news for any faux pas or shortcoming.

  • Kalpana Soren: Jharkhand govt set for cabinet expansion; Kalpana Soren likely to be one of the inductees

    Five months ahead of assembly polls, the Champai Sorenled coalition government in Jharkhand may witness a Cabinet expansion in July. Jailed former CM Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren could be one of the inductees.

    There are two vacancies in the Champai Soren’s Cabinet and both may be filled to send a political message before assembly polls. Kalpana had won Gandey assembly byelection in May. In the runup to parliamentary elections, she emerged as the party’s star campaigner in the absence of Hemant, who has been lodged in jail since January in connection with a money laundering case linked with an alleged land grab.

    According to JMM sources, Kalpana may be inducted in the Cabinet to portray her as the party’s main face in the forthcoming polls. Sources close to her, however, denied this speculation, saying she won’t want to enter the government for less than six months. JMM may not want to risk replacing Champai with Kalpana in the CM’s chair as this could trigger an internal rebellion. In Jharkhand, there are 12 Cabinet ministers along with the CM. At present there are 10 ministers (seven from JMM, one from RJD and three from Congress). One vacancy (opened up due to a JMM minister’s death) is from JMM quota and another has been created with the resignation of Congress’ Alamgir Alam after his arrest in a money laundering case. According to sources, Congress’ Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari may be inducted into the Cabinet. Kalpana may fill the other vacancy. A source told ET: “The vacancy is for a candidate from the Scheduled Castes. It may also be a risk to fill it with a tribal. But it can be justified because Kalpana Soren is a tribal woman.”

    The JMMled alliance has 47 MLAs JMM’s 29, Congress’s 17 and RJD’s one. Sixty sevenyearold Champai was sworn in as the 12th CM of the state on February 2.

  • Mamata Banerjee hits out at Centre for lack of anticollision devices

    Kolkata: Following the rail accident on Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the Centre for the lack of anticollision devices in trains, the railway fare hike, lack of passenger amenities, negligence, lack of proper “care” for Railway employees and the absence of a Railway budget. Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw preferred to focus on passenger safety and restoration efforts.

    Banerjee said, “The Railways has become parentless and has lost its beauty and glory,” adding “passenger amenities have been reduced while polls are rigged.”

    “There is no Railway budget anymore. You can see Railways at the time of inaugurations. It has become a fashionstatement of sorts.” She claimed that during her regime as Railway Minister, anticollision devices were introduced and they were installed in the Konkan Railways.”

    The Railway Board said in New Delhi today ‘Kavach’ (an automatic train protection system) has been planned and it will be implemented in Bengal. “You can call it Kavach or give it any other name. Let them create people’s Kavach first,” she said, adding “North Bengal has become an accident spot.”

  • lok sabha speaker: Prerna Sthal: Statues shifted to other places before also, says Om Birla

    Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday inaugurated the newlyconstructed ‘Prerna Sthal’ in the Parliament complex, consisting of statues of leaders and freedom fighters.

    Prerna Sthal was constructed to install the statues of leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, at one place inside the Parliament House Complex.

    For building the Prerna Sthal, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which was near the new Parliament building has been shifted to another place inside the Parliament complex. That spot where the Gandhi statue was moved was used by the opposition MPs to protest against the government. Sharing the details of the project, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said an action plan has been made to make the life stories and messages of these great Indians available to visitors through new technology so that they could get inspiration from them. Birla said that even before, during the construction work of the new Parliament Building, the statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru and Chaudhary Devi Lal were shifted to other places in the complex.

    Statues of freedom fighters and national icons have been relocated to a new enclosure on its premises, Prerna Sthal, following discussions with different stakeholders, Birla said. Therefore, with the aim of installing these statues in one place inside the Parliament House Complex, the Prerna Sthal has been constructed so that dignitaries and other visitors coming to the Parliament House Complex could conveniently see and pay tribute to these statues in one place.

    Inaugurating the Prerna Sthal, Dhankhar said he got inspiration by coming to this place and it isn’t “any less than a religious place” for all Indians.

  • Karnataka fuel price hike: BJP’ BY Vijayendra says will organise protests, demands rollback

    Bengaluru (Karnataka), June 15 (ANI): After the Karnataka government hiked up prices of petrol and diesel in the state by approximately Rs 3 and Rs 3.05 respectively, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra, while speaking to media on June 15, said that They are going to organise protests across the state. “The Karnataka Congress government has been talking a lot about guarantee schemes. But, the situation of the state is such that there is not enough money to run the state. The decision taken by the state government to increase the price of petrol and diesel, BJP demands the CM to roll back the decision. On Monday, we are going to organise protests across Karnataka…” said BY Vijayendra.

  • HC allows Suvendu Adhikari to visit Raj Bhavan

    The Calcutta High Court on Friday allowed Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and alleged victims of postpoll violence to meet Governor CV Ananda Bose at Raj Bhavan, if granted permission by his office.

    Coming down heavily on Kolkata Police, the HC. wondered whether the Governor was under “house arrest”. “Is the Governor under house arrest? If not, why were these people not allowed to meet the Governor despite prior permission,” the court questioned. The police, in its response, said that Adhikari had gone to Raj Bhavan earlier also and he was never stopped. However, Adhikari did not inform about the total number of people accompanying him yesterday. Justice Amrita Sinha directed Adhikari to take fresh permission from Bose’s office and take the victims to the Raj Bhavan as yesterday’s permission had expired.

    It further directed that details of the number of vehicles and number of violenceaffected people should be given to the police. However, the court observed that identities of the victims cannot be documented as they may be harassed in future. One person, on behalf of Adhikari, will have to inform the police about the total number of victims (the BJP workers) who will be accompanying Adhikari, the court noted

    Adhikari moved the Calcutta HC today claiming that despite having written permission, police stopped him and 200 BJP workers affected by postpoll violence from entering the Raj Bhavan on Thursday.