BJP open to alliances, cherishes old friends: PM Modi in Tamil Nadu

Agencies
January 10, 2019

Chennai, Jan 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday the BJP is open to alliances and cherished its old friends, in a hint that it was looking to strengthen the NDA in Tamil Nadu ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2019.

In an interaction with party booth-level workers from five districts in Tamil Nadu through video conferencing, he recalled the "successful coalition politics" ushered in by former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the 1990s and said the BJP's doors were "always open".

"...20 years ago the visionary leader Atal ji brought in a new culture in Indian politics, that of successful coalition politics. He gave utmost importance to regional aspirations... BJP has followed the way Atal ji has shown us," Modi said.

The Prime Minister, in the fourth interaction with the party workers in the state, was responding to questions from a worker whether the BJP would ally with the AIADMK, the DMK or Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, who is yet to form his political party.

The BJP had fought the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu leading a six-party alliance comprising smaller parties, including the DMDK, the PMK and Vaiko-led MDMK, and won two of the 39 seats -- one each by the saffron party and PMK.

However, all five parties snapped ties with the BJP later.

The prime minister said a strong NDA was "an article of faith for us".

"It is not a compulsion. Even when the BJP won a strong majority on its own, we preferred to run the government with our allies. We cherish our old friends and our doors are always open for parties," Modi said.

Lashing out at the Congress for "ill-treating" regional parties, he said, "What Atal ji did was in direct contrast to the Congress which has never cared for regional aspirations.

"Congress ill-treated regional political parties, aspirations and people because they felt they alone have the right to be in power," Modi said.

The Prime Minister also stressed on the importance of connecting with people, saying more than all the political issues, the winning alliance was an alliance with the people.

"The strongest alliance is one with common citizens. More than alliances we have to focus on remaining connected with people," he said.

BJP workers from Arakkonam, Cuddalore, Krishnagiri, Erode, Cuddalore and Dharmapuri took part in the exercise on Thursday.

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Agencies
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured audit of donations made to the PM-CARES Fund, and to share the details and the money spent with the people.

"The PM-CARES Fund has received huge contributions from PSUs and major public utilities like the Railways. It's important that the Prime Minister ensure the fund is audited and that the record of money received and spent is available to the public," he tweeted.

The #PmCares fund has received huge contributions from PSUs & major public utilities like the Railways.

It’s important that PM ensures the fund is audited & that the record of money received and spent is available to the public.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 9, 2020
His remarks came amid reports that the central government is accumulating a huge sum of money in the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund set up as a corpus to fight novel coronavirus and that the amount spent will not be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The CAG office had clarified that since the fund is based on donations, it has no right to audit a charitable organisation.

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi told the media that the PM-CARES Fund should be audited and people of the country should know about the donors and the donations made.

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Supreme Court while hearing petitions challenging restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday stated that the right to access the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

"It is no doubt that freedom of speech is an essential tool in a democratic setup. The freedom of Internet access is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," a two-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana stated while reading out the judgment.

The top court said that Kashmir has seen a lot of violence and that it will try to maintain a balance between human rights and freedoms with the issue of security.

It also directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review the restrictive orders imposed in the region within a week. “The citizens should be provided highest security and liberty,” the apex court added.

The top court made observations and issued directions while pronouncing the verdict on a number of petitions challenging the restrictions and internet blockade imposed in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.

The Supreme Court had on November 27 reserved the judgment on a batch of petitions challenging restrictions imposed on communication, media and telephone services in Jammu and Kashmir pursuant to revocation of Article 370.

The court heard the petitions filed by various petitioners including Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin.

The petitions were filed after the central government scrapped Article 370 in August and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following this, phone lines and the internet were blocked in the region.

The government had, however, contended that it has progressively eased restrictions.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has won from New Delhi assembly seat. He polled 46,758 votes, which is 61.1 per cent of total votes polled in the high profile constituency.

Kejriwal defeated Sunil Kumar Yadav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who polled 25,061 votes, which is 32.75 per cent of total votes polled. Congress candidate Romesh Sabhawarl could get only 3,220 votes.

So far, the AAP has won 55 seats and is leading on seven seats. The BJP has won seven seats and is leading on two. The Congress is nowhere in the reckoning.

As per the details on the website of Election Commission of India at 8.27 pm on Tuesday, the AAP has secured 53.60 per cent votes, BJP 38.49 per cent, BSP 0.71 per cent, CPI 0.02 per cent, CPI-M 0.01 per cent, Congress 4.27 per cent, JDU 0.90 per cent, LJP 0.35 per cent, NCP 0.02 per cent, and NOTA 0.46 per cent.

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