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Congress fields Ajay Rai against Narendra Modi in Varanasi

April 8, 2014

New Delhi, Apr 8: The Congress will field local man Ajai Rai against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi in what is already the most watched contest in these general elections.

Ajay_Modi_contestMr Rai, a legislator in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, will take on not only Mr Modi, but also but also Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Announcing Mr Rai's candidacy on Tuesday evening, the Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "Ajay Rai is connected with grassroots, has fought a number of elections successfully, is currently a sitting Congress MLA and is, in the party's opinion, the best candidate in Varanasi."

There had been much speculation on who the Congress would pick to contest against Mr Modi; the name of general secretary Digvijaya Singh did the rounds and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma had said he would happily contest against Mr Modi.

The party was also assessing all along whether to field a strong local candidate who can actually garner support and make it a tough fight, and Mr Rai was seen as the forerunner.

"The party has taken a comprehensive view and chosen a grassroots leader," Mr Surjewala said today.

Mr Rai is a former BJP man, who had contested the Lok Sabha election in 2009 as a Samajwadi Party candidate against the BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi, who won. Mr Rai had come in third behind the BSP's Mukhtar Ansari.

He later contested the UP elections as a Congressman and is the sitting MLA from the Pindra seat in Varanasi.

The Congress has fielded Madhusudan Mistry, a senior party leader seen as close to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, against Mr Modi in the second seat he is contesting - Vadodara in Gujarat.

But it is the Varanasi contest that is grabbing most attention, not least because of Mr Kejriwal's dramatic declaration that he will fight to defeat Mr Modi there.

Varanasi votes on May 12, the last of nine phases of polling in these general elections. The first phase was held yesterday.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Jan 30: BJP leader and West Bengal party head, Dilip Ghosh has yet again made a controversial statement. He said that one has to go to jail in order to gain respect or become a political leader.

"You will not be a leader if you don't go to jail, if Police don't take you, then you must go there yourself. If they don't give you any scope, you do something to go to jail, only then will people respect you. There is no place for soft people in politics," ANI quoted Ghosh as saying.

Earlier, Ghosh had triggered a controversy by saying that anti-CAA protestors in Assam and Uttar Pradesh were shot dead "like dogs", and similar punishment should be given to protestors in Bengal.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

New Delhi, Jan 11: Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday met JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) President Aishe Ghosh here at Kerala House on Saturday.

This meeting comes at the backdrop masked mob violence by miscreants who entered the university campus recently and attacked the students and professors with sticks and rods.

"I thank the Kerela government for standing by us and extending solidarity. Its fight Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) shows how standing is standing for its secular ethos. Students Union takes the inspiration from this struggle," said Students' Union President in a statement after meeting Kerala CM.

She also thanked "the youth and comrades of Kerela" and quoted Pinarayi as saying, "go on we will take this fight ahead."

More than 30 students, including Ghosh, were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

The Delhi Police Crime Branch investigating the case of violence in JNU had identified and released photographs of nine suspects, including that of Aishe Ghosh.

Earlier on Monday, Kerala CM had said that the "Nazi-style attack" on the students and faculty is an appalling display of intolerance running amok.

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News Network
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: The government has decided to rename National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad, as Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Set up in 1993 as a registered society under the Department of Expenditure, NIFM trains officers of Finance and Accounts Services recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as also officers of Indian Cost Accounts Service. The Union Finance Minister is the President of the NIFM Society.

"Aligning the vision and aspiration of the Institute for the future with the vision and contribution of late Arun Jaitley, the Government has decided to rename National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) as the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management(AJNIFM)," the statement said.

NIFM has become a premier resource centre to meet the training needs of the central government for senior and middle level of management in the fields of public policy, financial management, public procurement and other governance issues for promoting highest standards of professional competence and practice.

Padma Vibhushan awardee Jaitley was the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs during May 26, 2014 to May 30, 2019.

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