'BJP's defeat in Bihar elections will impact national politics'

June 11, 2015

Bhubaneswar, Jun 11: Accusing NDA of "undermining" Parliamentary democracy and concentrating all powers in the Prime Minister's hands, the CPI on Wednesday said BJP must be defeated in Bihar assembly polls.

Bihar elections"Ever since BJP-led NDA came to power, Parliamentary democracy has been considerably undermined while all powers are concentrated with Prime Minister...this is dangerous," CPI National Secretary D Raja told reporters.

Asking BJP to remember that India does not have Presidential form of government, Raja charged NDA government of patronising corporates at the cost of poor farmers and being dictated by 'Sangh Parivar' outfits.

"BJP appears to have become a political arm of RSS. As a result, the social and secular fabric of the country is threatened and there seems to be a challenge to the Constitution," he claimed.

Under these circumstances, there is a need to stop and defeat BJP in the Bihar assembly election as it would have considerable impact on national politics, Raja said.

CPI, which has taken cognisance of the coming together of some political parties for Bihar polls, would consult other Left outfits on the issue before taking a decision, he said.

Stating that the first priority is to strengthen unity and coordination among all Left Parties, he said CPI national council is slated to meet towards the end of the month and a decision on joining the alliance of JD(U) and RJD could be taken then.

Before that, the party would analyse the situation and see what kind of adjustments the other political parties are interested in, Raja said.

On the question of Congress becoming a part of a secular front, the CPI National Secretary said Congress should review its neo-liberal economic policies which, he said, were responsible for soaring inflation and hitting common people hard.

"Congress must change its economic policies," he said.

Slamming Narendra Modi-Government for making tall claims about its one-year rule, Raja claimed it has done little for the poor and farmers and its promises of ensuring good days (achche din) and bringing back black money from abroad have been proved hollow.

"Where are the good days? When will they come? Infact nobody knows. BJP had promised to retrieve black money and stated that every citizen would get Rs 15 lakh. However, no

such thing has happened so far," he said.

Claiming that a major achievement of NDA rule was that corporate houses have become very powerful as they dictate and influence policies, Raja said Modi government is patronising corporates by way of many concessions and exemptions.

Corporate tax was reduced from 30 per cent to 25 per cent in the budget, he said

Mounting a scathing attack on the BJP government, Raja said support to social sector was substantially slashed particularly in areas like education, health, welfare and

similar other activities.

Describing the Modi government as anti-poor and anti-farmer, the CPI leader said farmers are highly distressed in the absence of remunerative prices for their produce and in the midst of heavy debt burden.

Despite its loud claims, the NDA government has done everything to weaken economic federalism. Funds for several schemes have been stopped, curtailing the economic powers of the states and their share, he added.

Claiming that Modi government is desperate about the land bill in its bid to favour the corporates, Raja said there was no need for bringing an ordinance when the land bill has been referred to Joint Committee of Parliament.

"The move is definitely a challenge to Parliament," he said, adding, CPI would intensify its fight against the "anti-farmer" measure.

Hitting out on NDA on foreign policy, Raja said nothing has been initiated by Modi Government and whatever is being done is only part of an ongoing process.

The PM's visits to countries like China, Canada and Australia were routine, he said, adding, while visiting Israel, the Prime Minister should not ignore the Palestinian cause.

The CPI leader also slammed the Centre for its 'silence' over fishermen issue in Sri Lanka.

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Agencies
May 5,2020

Jammu and Kashmir, May 5: Awarding the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to three Indian photographers, the Pulitzer Board at Columbia University claimed that it was for their work in Kashmir as "India revoked its independence".

The award to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin in the feature photography category for their pictures for the Associated Press was announced on Monday.

The prizes, considered the most prestigious for US journalism, are associated with the university's Graduate School of Journalism where the judging is done and is announced, although this year it was done remotely.

Besides a certificate, the prizes carry a cash award of $15,000, except the public service category for which a gold medal is awarded.

The public service prize went to The Anchorage Daily News for a series that dealt with policing in Alaska state.

In making the award to the three, the Board said on its website that it was "for striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout".

Besides making the false claim about "independence" of Kashmir being "revoked", the board that includes several leading journalists did not explain how their photographs could have reached the AP within hours of the incidents recorded "through a communication blackout".

India's Central government only revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and it was not independent.

Indian journalists were allowed to operate in Kashmir, while only non-Indian journalists were barred.

The wording of the award announcement calls into question the credibility of the Pulitzer Board that gives out what are considered prestigious journalism awards.

The portfolio of pictures by the three on the Pulitzer web site included one of a masked person attacking a police vehicle and another of masked people with variants of the Kashmir flag, besides photos of mourners and protesters.

One of the finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism was a reporter of Indian descent at The Los Angeles Times, Swetha Kannan, who was nominated for her work with two colleagues on the seas rising due to climate change.

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News Network
July 22,2020

New Delhi, Jul 22: Congress leader Sachin Pilot has served a legal notice to party MLA Giriraj Malinga, for claiming that the former had offered him money to join the BJP.

"Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot has served a legal notice to Congress MLA Giriraj Malinga for his Rs 35 crore bribery allegation," a source close to Pilot said.
P
Earlier, addressing a press conference, Malinga said, "Those MLAs who are stuck either in Haryana or Jaipur, are running after money. To say, they are not, are false claims. Even I was offered the same by Pilot, which I had refused. Came to this party knowing BJP and Congress do not accept money to give tickets."

When asked by the reporters whether he was offered Rs 35 crore, he claimed by saying, "Yes, 35." The MLA claimed he was himself the prove when the reporters asked for the same.

The political situation in Rajasthan is in turmoil after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sacked his then-deputy Sachin Pilot and the latter's confidants from his council of ministers. The Congress has also claimed that BJP was trying to buy its party MLAs.

On Monday, the Rajasthan High Court had said that it would hear the petition filed by Pilot and 18 of his loyalist MLAs on July 24, against the disqualification notices issued against them, a lawyer said.

"The arguments in the matter have been concluded. The court has heard the arguments from all the parties. The High Court has slated the matter for orders on July 24," Advocate Prateek Kasliwal told reporters after the hearing. 

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News Network
July 19,2020

Lucknow, Jul 19: The animal markets, which are usually bustling with activity ahead of Bakrid, are desolate this year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shorn all festivals of public celebrations, and people are apprehensive that the tradition of animal sacrifice may be affected due to social distancing norms.

Also there is a massive drop in demand for sacrificial animals due to the financial impact of the crisis.

Chairman of All India Jamiat-ul-Quresh Sirajuddin Qureshi urged the government to come out with guidelines for carrying out the celebrations in the traditional way.

The festival will fall on July 31 or August 1. Buyers and sellers start thronging the animal markets almost two weeks ahead of the festival. But this year only a negligible number of buyers have turned up in animal markets in old Lucknow areas including Nakkhas, according to traders.

"It is very difficult to say as to what the government is thinking. 'Qurbani' is a matter of faith for the Muslims. We appeal to the government to deliberate and find a solution. This is a national problem, and our office bearers are speaking to different state governments," Qureshi said.

In the absence of guidelines, not many madrassas are buying animals for sacrifice, he said.

"The madrasas where collective 'qurbani' is done, are also not coming forward. In Bakrid, along with goats, buffaloes are also sacrificed. The government should ensure that people who are transporting the animals are not harassed by the police," Qureshi said.

Prominent Muslim cleric Khalid Rasheed Farang Mahali said he had raised the issue with the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

"I have recently met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting him to issue guidelines for Bakrid. I am hopeful that the guidelines will be released soon," he said.

Rahat Ali, a goat trader from Rajasthan said, thousands of people will be affected due to the reduced demand for animals.

"The animal trade works in a chain involving farmers who rear animals, small traders and big traders.

"The traders buy the animals from the farmers. These are then sent to various states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. In the absence of demand, I did not purchase animals this year," he said.

Sajid, who supplies goats to various districts in western Uttar Pradesh, said the lockdown has affected the livelihood of people and not many have the money to buy animals for sacrifice.

"The lockdown has drained the people of their money. As a result, the animals are not getting sold," he said.

The Maharashtra government has come out with guidelines for Eid al-Adha, also known as Bakrid or Id-ul-Zuha, noting that there is a ban in place on all religious programmes and people should offer "namaz" in their homes and not in mosques.

It also said sacrificial animals should be bought online or over the phone as markets dealing with them will be closed, adding that "qurbani" should preferably be symbolic.

There will be no relaxation in restrictions for Eid in containment zones, and people are directed not to congregate in public places on the day of the festival, it added. 

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