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Sonia meets PM as UPA inches closer to final decision on Telangana

July 30, 2013
New Delhi, Jul 30: In the midst of mounting pressure from both pro and anti-Telangana leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday ahead of the crucial UPA and CWC meetings to take a final decision on the separate statehood issue.
Man
The meeting came as leaders from both groups continued with their pressure tactics even as the leadership was veering towards a decision for creation of a separate state.
MPs and union ministers from the Andhra region including HRD minister MM Pallam Raju, JD Seelam, D Purandeshwari and Panabaka Laxmi met AICC general secretary in charge for Andhra Pradesh Digvijaya Singh to register their protest over creation of Telangana.
"I think the core committee has discussed the matter at length. And they are all worried about it that whatever decision that they may take is going to have a long-term implication on Andhra Pradesh. And that is exactly what we come to express our apprehension about with the general secretary," Raju, who hails from Seemandhra region, said after the meeting.
Seelam said whatever information has come about the creation of Telangana is in the media and a decision is yet to be announced officially and hence they have expressed their concerns to the general secretary in charge about it.
At the same time, he said there was no question of leaving the Congress and "we will abide by the decision."
In another development, 10 Congress ministers from the state belonging to Telangana region have landed in Delhi and are expected to meet a number of party leaders.
The have also sought an appointment with the Congress president to press for their demand.
Asked about Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's opposition to the bifurcation of the state, state information minister DK Aruna, who hails from Telangana region said, Reddy is taking the decisions.
"This is a UPA government and Sonia Gandhi will take a final decision," she said, expressing hope that the 50 year struggle will bear fruit.
Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde, P Chidambaram amd Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was the earlier AICC general secretary in charge for Andhra Pradesh, and party leaders Digvijaya Singh and Ahmed Patel had a meeting with the Congress president at her residence after Gandhi's meeting with the Prime Minister.
Situation in Andhra Pradesh fine: Home minister
With a decision on the Telangana issue imminent, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Tuesday the situation in Andhra Pradesh is peaceful.
"Law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh is absolutely fine," he told reporters here after a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders and Union ministers.
The meeting is understood to have discussed the Telangana issue.
Yesterday, the Centre had rushed additional 1,000 paramilitary personnel to Andhra Pradesh to deal with any situation arising out of a decision on Telangana.
The additional forces, along with the existing 1,200 paramilitary personnel, are expected to be deployed in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, where protests may erupt if the Centre takes a decision in favour of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh for creation of Telangana state.
Sources said apart from the central forces, 200 personnel of Karnataka Armed Police and 100 personnel of Tamil Nadu Armed Police are stationed in Hyderabad and its adjoining areas to assist the state police in maintaining the law and order.
Home ministry officials are in regular touch with state government officials and have asked them to ensure peace in the state as the Centre is inching closer to a decision on Telangana.
Last week, Andhra Pradesh chief secretary P K Mohanty and director general of police V Dinesh Reddy were summoned to the capital where Shinde and home secretary Anil Goswami held an hour-long closed door meeting with them and reviewed the situation there.

Sonia meets PM as UPA inches closer to final decision on Telangana
New Delhi, Jul 30: In the midst of mounting pressure from both pro and anti-Telangana leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday ahead of the crucial UPA and CWC meetings to take a final decision on the separate statehood issue.The meeting came as leaders from both groups continued with their pressure tactics even as the leadership was veering towards a decision for creation of a separate state.MPs and union ministers from the Andhra region including HRD minister MM Pallam Raju, JD Seelam, D Purandeshwari and Panabaka Laxmi met AICC general secretary in charge for Andhra Pradesh Digvijaya Singh to register their protest over creation of Telangana."I think the core committee has discussed the matter at length. And they are all worried about it that whatever decision that they may take is going to have a long-term implication on Andhra Pradesh. And that is exactly what we come to express our apprehension about with the general secretary," Raju, who hails from Seemandhra region, said after the meeting.Seelam said whatever information has come about the creation of Telangana is in the media and a decision is yet to be announced officially and hence they have expressed their concerns to the general secretary in charge about it.At the same time, he said there was no question of leaving the Congress and "we will abide by the decision."In another development, 10 Congress ministers from the state belonging to Telangana region have landed in Delhi and are expected to meet a number of party leaders.The have also sought an appointment with the Congress president to press for their demand.Asked about Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy's opposition to the bifurcation of the state, state information minister DK Aruna, who hails from Telangana region said, Reddy is taking the decisions."This is a UPA government and Sonia Gandhi will take a final decision," she said, expressing hope that the 50 year struggle will bear fruit.Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde, P Chidambaram amd Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was the earlier AICC general secretary in charge for Andhra Pradesh, and party leaders Digvijaya Singh and Ahmed Patel had a meeting with the Congress president at her residence after Gandhi's meeting with the Prime Minister.
Situation in Andhra Pradesh fine: Home minister
With a decision on the Telangana issue imminent, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Tuesday the situation in Andhra Pradesh is peaceful."Law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh is absolutely fine," he told reporters here after a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders and Union ministers.The meeting is understood to have discussed the Telangana issue.Yesterday, the Centre had rushed additional 1,000 paramilitary personnel to Andhra Pradesh to deal with any situation arising out of a decision on Telangana.The additional forces, along with the existing 1,200 paramilitary personnel, are expected to be deployed in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, where protests may erupt if the Centre takes a decision in favour of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh for creation of Telangana state.Sources said apart from the central forces, 200 personnel of Karnataka Armed Police and 100 personnel of Tamil Nadu Armed Police are stationed in Hyderabad and its adjoining areas to assist the state police in maintaining the law and order.Home ministry officials are in regular touch with state government officials and have asked them to ensure peace in the state as the Centre is inching closer to a decision on Telangana.Last week, Andhra Pradesh chief secretary P K Mohanty and director general of police V Dinesh Reddy were summoned to the capital where Shinde and home secretary Anil Goswami held an hour-long closed door meeting with them and reviewed the situation there.

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News Network
August 3,2020

Aug 3: Iqbal Ansari, who was a litigant in the Ayodhya land dispute case, has decided to gift a 'Ram nami' stole and a copy of the Ramcharitmanas to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he attends the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Ram temple here on Wednesday.

"Yes, I have received the invitation from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the bhoomi pujan ceremony. I will certainly attend it. The dispute is over now after the court's verdict," Ansari, 69, told .

"Our Prime Minister is coming. I will meet him and give him a 'Ramnami' stole (with Ram's name written on it) and Ramcharitmanas as a present," Ansari said.

His father Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi land dispute case, died at the age of 95 in 2016 after which the son started pursuing the case in the court.

Talking about Wednesday's ground-breaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the construction of a grand Ram temple here, Ansari said, "I belong to Ayodhya. All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities".

He further said, "I respect sadhus and saints. I am happy to have received the invitation for the ceremony. I think it is Lord Ram's will that I attend it".

When asked what he would have done had the court decided the case in his favour, Ansari said he had wanted the construction of a school and a hospital on the disputed land.

"I feel the city needs development. The future of our children should be safe and secure and they should get employment. Dispute in the name of religion should end now and we should let the city witness a new beginning," he said.

The Supreme Court had in November last year paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a Trust at the disputed site of the Babri Masjid's demolition in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

The state government has allotted a five-acre land in Dhannipur village in Sohaval Tehsil of Ayodhya for the mosque's construction.

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News Network
March 2,2020

New Delhi, Mar 2: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his comments that no one from the minority community will be affected by amended Citizenship Act and asked why then was the community excluded from the law in the first place.

Addressing a rally in Kolkata, Shah assured people of the minority community that not a single person will lose citizenship due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

"The Home Minister says that no minority will be affected by CAA. If this is correct, they should tell the country who would be affected by CAA. If no one would be affected by CAA, as it currently is, why did the government pass the law?

"If the CAA aims to benefit all minorities (no one will be affected, says HM), then why are Muslims excluded from the list of minorities mentioned in the Act?," the former finance minister asked in a post on Twitter.

At his first public rally in Kolkata after the 2019 general elections, Shah said, "The opposition is terrorising the minorities. I assure every person from the minority community that the CAA only provides citizenship, does not take it away. It won't affect your citizenship."

"The opposition parties are spreading canards that refugees will have to show papers but this is absolutely false. You don't have to show any paper. We will not stop until all refugees are granted citizenship," Shah told the public.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

New Delhi, Feb 5: Over five crore farmers were yet to get the third instalment of money under the Centre's ambitious PM-Kisan scheme, aimed at providing direct support of Rs 6,000 annually to them, according to the latest Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare data.

The total amount of the scheme, which came into effect on December 1, 2018, is to be paid in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months.

The data showed about 2.51 crore farmers have not got even the second instalment and 5.16 crore of them were yet to get the third instalment.

Over 9 crore farmers have registered themselves under the scheme between December 2018 and November 2019, it said.

Of these, 7.62 crore or 84 per cent of farmers have received the first instalment.

The money through the second instalment was given to nearly 6.5 crore farmers and the amount under the third instalment was given to 3.85 crore beneficiaries, according to the data received in response to an RTI query filed by this PTI journalist.

The agriculture ministry, in its response, gave three sets of data mentioning the benefits given to farmers under the scheme between December 2018 and November 2019.

It said 4.74 crore farmers were registered between December 2018 and March 2019.

Of them, 4.22 crore received the first instalment, 4.02 crore the second and 3.85 crore the third.

There was no mention why nearly 50 lakh, 70 lakh and 90 lakh registered farmers during this period did not get the first, second and third instalment respectively.

There was no registered beneficiary in West Bengal and Sikkim, hence no amount was disbursed during this period, according to the data.

Giving details of the 3.08 crore farmers registered between April and July last year, it said 2.66 crore and 2.47 crore beneficiaries have got their first and second instalments respectively.

The RTI reply did no mention why around 40 lakh and 61 lakh registered farmers during this period did not get their first and second instalment respectively.

"The beneficiaries are eligible for the instalment for the period in which he/she gets registered and subsequent periods, thereafter. Therefore, the third instalment is not due for the beneficiaries registered in the period April 2019-July 2019," the ministry said.

There was no registered beneficiary during this period in West Bengal, Punjab and Chandigarh and therefore nobody was paid first and second instalments.

The ministry said around 1.19 crore beneficiaries were registered between August and November 30, 2019, of these nearly 73.66 lakh farmers have been given the first instalment.

There was no mention of payment of first instalment to over 45 lakh eligible beneficiaries during the period.

"The beneficiaries are eligible for the instalment for the period in which he/she gets registered and subsequent periods, thereafter. Therefore, the second and third instalments are not due for the beneficiaries registered in the period August 2019 to November 2019," it said.

The ministry was asked to provide the total number of farmers, state-wise, and the amount received by them under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan scheme.

"PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme has been implemented from December 1, 2018. It is stated that PM-Kisan is a continuous and ongoing scheme, in which the financial benefits are transferred to the bank accounts of the identified beneficiaries as and when their correct and verified data is uploaded by the concerned states/union territories on PM-Kisan web portal," the ministry said in the RTI response vide its letter dated December 26, 2019.

The data of beneficiaries so uploaded by them undergoes a multi-level verification, including by banks, and only then the amount is released to the beneficiary, it said, adding that www.pmkisan.gov.in website can be accessed to get more details on the operational guidelines of the scheme.

According to the data updated on the website on February 3, around 8.82 crore farmers have been registered and 8.41 crore have received the first installment, 7.56 crore the second instalment, 6.19 crore the third and 3.03 crore have received the fourth installment.

In Assam, out of 16.97 lakh farmers registered during this period, 14.02 lakh got the first instalment, 13.72 lakh received the second and 9.87 lakh the third.

Of the 42.34 lakh registered beneficiaries in Maharashtra, 36.98 lakh got the first instalment, 31.53 lakh the second and 27.67 lakh got the third instalment.

As many as 23.83 lakh farmers in Kerala received their first instalment, 18.79 lakh got the second and 18.43 lakh the third. A total of 26.13 lakh beneficiaries were registered in the state between December 2018 and March 2019.

There was no beneficiary registered during the period from West Bengal, which has refused to implement the scheme, according to the ministry's response.

In Uttar Pradesh, nearly 9.57 lakh out of 19.64 lakh farmers have got the first instalment. In Gujarat, nearly 1.22 lakh out of 1.98 lakh registered farmers got the first instalment.

Around 9.78 lakh farmers out of the 17.18 lakh registered beneficiaries have received the first instalment in Madhya Pradesh. In Odisha, only 5,507 farmers out of 5.6 lakh registered farmers have got the first instalment, the ministry said.

None of the 7,326 farmers registered in Sikkim was paid the first instalment, according to the ministry's reply. In Delhi, 1,447 farmers out of 1,734 have got the first instalment.

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