Jolt for Congress, Akhilesh Yadav says alliance talks a waste of time

Agencies
January 10, 2018

Lucknow, Jan 10: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his priority was strengthening the party organisation and he was not thinking of an alliance ahead of the "crucial" 2019 general elections.

Terming the process of talks and seat negotiations a waste of time, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who had tied up with the Congress for the assembly elections in 2017, ruled out alliances "as of now".

"The 2019 election is certainly crucial as the message from Uttar Pradesh will go out to the entire country. As of now, I am not thinking of an alliance with any party. It (alliance talks and seat negotiations) wastes a lot of time and I don't want to be in confusion (over seats)," Yadav told PTI in an exclusive interview.

Yadav said he was working on strengthening the party's vote bank.

Suggesting that the party could bargain at a later stage if an alliance materialises, he said his style of politics is different and he is open to "friendships" with like minded parties. However, his priority at present was to strengthen the organisation of the party.

The SP-Congress combine was trounced in the 2017 state elections, with the BJP and its allies winning 325 seats in the 403-member House. While SP got 47 seats, the Congress won seven.

"There is time before the elections. The Lok Sabha polls are in 2019. We are presently working on each seat, going through local equations for selection of candidates," he said.

Yadav also announced that the SP would contest the Lok Sabha polls where its organisation was strong.

"We have a strong organisational base in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. We are also working in Uttarakhand and Rajasthan," he said.

Discussing the defeat of his party in the 2017 assembly polls despite claims of good development, Yadav said the BJP had succeeded in fooling the people.

"It was not our vote bank but that of the Bahujan Samaj Party that shifted... The people still remember my regime and are now realising their mistake."

He added that the people gave BJP a chance but the party had fulfilled none of its tall promises.

"The Yogi Adityanath government has failed... They are just carrying forward our work by putting their plaques," he alleged.

In his view, the Adityanath government should demand a big package from the Centre in the budget instead of fooling the people.

"Out of 80 seats, the state has given them 73 MPs (including that of Apna Dal). It's high time the Yogi governent demands a big package from the Centre as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be presenting his last budget next month.

"After the budget, nothing can be done. If you don't have funds, you can't work," he said.

The former chief minister said he would be taking out a "rath yatra" across the state to mobilise party workers.

"The route and plan is being chalked out. I will be hitting the road again. People have expectations from us as SP is the only party which can stop the BJP."

Yadav also spoke on the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

"We demand that before the Lok Sabha polls, the two by- elections of Gorakhpur and Phulpur be held using ballot papers. Doubts about the machine should be cleared."

On the much touted UP investor summit, preparation for which is underway, Yadav taunted the government and said it should first purchase chairs for the venue, the JP international centre, which was constructed during his regime.

"Will they ask delegate to sit on chairs borrowed from a tent house?" he asked.

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Agencies
February 8,2020

New Delhi, Feb 8: A 26-year-old woman sub-inspector (SI) of the Delhi Police was shot dead near Rohini East Metro station on Friday night, officials said.

The SI, Preeti Ahlawat, was posted in Patparganj Industrial Area Police Station, police said.

A call about the incident was received around 9.30 pm, they said, adding she received gunshot wounds on her head.

"We have identified the suspects and CCTV footage of the area has been collected," said SD Mishra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Rohini).

Three empty cartridges were found from the spot, the officer said, adding a case has been registered and a probe is on.

Personal enmity is suspected to be the reason behind the killing, the officer said.

Ahlawat joined the Delhi Police in 2018.

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News Network
January 29,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 29: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of creating a conflict between Hindu and Muslim communities in the country, former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar has said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was adding fuel to the fire.

He was speaking at a rally held on Tuesday at Pathri in Parbhani district of Maharashtra against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). It was organised by NCP MLC Abdullah Durrani.

"Modi and Shah used to create conflicts between Hindus and Muslims during the Gujarat elections. Now they are adopting the same strategy in the country," Kumar alleged.

Citizens should keep the religious conflicts aside and question the present government about unemployment and the poor state of the economy, he said.

"Through the CAA, the government is adding fuel to the fire, which is already raging in the country," he alleged.

When anyone questions the government about the problems existing in the country, it in turn asks him about his citizenship, the former JNUSU leader alleged.

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Agencies
May 4,2020

Mumbai, May 4: Days after Facebook, private equity firm Silver Lake said it will invest 56.56 billion rupees ($746.74 million) in Reliance Industries's digital arm, giving it a valuation of 4.90 trillion rupees. Silver Lake on Monday agreed to pay Rs 5,655.75 crore to buy 1.15 per cent stake in the firm that houses billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm Jio.

The investment in Jio Platforms comes within days of Facebook investing USD 5.7 billion to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. The investment is at a premium of 12.5 per cent to the Facebook deal.

"This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.90 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.15 lakh crore and represents a 12.5 per cent premium to the equity valuation of the Facebook investment announced on April 22, 2020," Reliance said in a statement.

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