UP CM's Rs 80 crore gift fails to enthuse rivals

July 3, 2012

akhilesh

New Delhi, July 3: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's largesse to the MLAs failed to get the anticipated support from the political parties with his bitter rivals - the BJP and the BSP - rejecting the proposal that the legislators can use Constituency Development Funds to buy personal vehicles.

Akhilesh said each of the 403 MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly can use up to Rs 20 lakh out of the Rs 5 crore allotted during a five-year tenure to buy vehicles. If all the MLAs buy a vehicle worth Rs 20 lakh, the cost to the state exchequer would be more than Rs 80 crore.

However, the BJP and the BSP strongly objected to Akhilesh’s proposal saying the decision would send a wrong signal to the people of the state; the Samajwadi Party defended it saying that it's not obligatory to but a personal vehicle using the fund.

BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya said, "Giving car through this order is completely wrong. It gives wrong impression. No BSP MLA will take any car through this order." BJP leader Lakshmi Narayan, said, "This decision is completely wrong and it gives wrong impression. No BJP MLA will take any car through this order."

The SP has defended the decision of Akhilesh Yadav. Senior SP leader Azam Khan said, "This order came out after the increase in MLA fund for those who are not able to afford it and it is not compulsory that they should buy it. They will only become owner when they pay in full."

Earlier, as promised in its party manifesto, the SP government entitled MLAs to purchase four-wheelers worth upto Rs 20 lakh from their local area development fund, which was also increased by Rs 25 lakh.

"Despite a financial crisis, the SP government has fulfilled all the promises it made in the party manifesto in the budget. We entitle MLAs to purchase vehicles upto Rs 20 lakh from their local area development fund", Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav announced in the state Assembly.

He said that value of the vehicle will be depreciated per year and after the end of five years the MLAs could deposit the depreciated amount and hand over their vehicle.

"This will help MLAs, who did not have money to buy the vehicle", Akhilesh said adding that the government would not give any amount for maintenance of the vehicles.

The decision, however, was not appreciated by the opposition, which termed that it would send a wrong message as the money for development was spend on the vehicle.

"The decision to buy vehicles will not send a good message to the electorate. Even, MLAs buying vehicles on their own money would look as if they used public money for the purpose. We, BJP members, will not purchase vehicles from the development fund", BJP leader Hukum Singh said.

BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya also said that the decision would not send a good message to the public and added that separate arrangements would be made for the purpose of purchasing vehicles.

"BSP members will not be utilising their development fund for vehicles", Maurya said.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari aired the same view and said that Akhilesh should increase the MLA area development fund and reminded him about the announcement made by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in the House in 2007.

"Your father had announced to increase MLA fund by Rs 25 lakh in 2007 but could not do so. Now you have to rid you father of this 'karj' (obligation)", Tiwari said.

Following this, the Chief Minister later announced to increase the MLA fund by Rs 25 lakh--from 1.25 crore to Rs 1.5 crore.

The Chief Minister earlier informed the House and sought its support for importing coal, if it was not made available by the Centre.

"The state is not getting coal links to run 10 thermal power plants. We want support to run them on imported coal. The state government will ensure that power thus generated would be on competitive rates", Yadav said while the members supported the move.

The CM also announced that two Lohia villages would be selected for development on advise of concerned MLAs and demanded by them while Parliamentary minister assured piped water supply in two villages on request of MLAs.

Akhilesh also announced honorarium of Rs five thousand to Vidhan Sabha staff besides providing torch, cycle and uniform to chowkidars in all the districts.

As per law, Constituency Development Funds are to be used for development work and not for personal benefits.


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News Network
June 30,2020

New Delhi, Jun 30: Amid calls for boycotting Chinese products after India-China face-off in eastern Ladakh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government claiming that imports from China have increased under the NDA regime.

"Facts don't lie. BJP says: Make in India. BJP does: Buy from China," Gandhi tweeted along with a graphic of the percentage of imports from China during the UPA rule and the NDA government.

The graphic claims that imports from China were at 12-13 per cent when the Congress-led UPA government vacated office in 2014 but now stood at 17-18 per cent in 2020.

The Congress leader has been vehemently targeting the Centre on the India-China border situation after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan valley earlier this month.

Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties, including dead and seriously injured, in the face-off.

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News Network
May 30,2020

May 30: A Delhi court on Saturday granted interim bail for 10 days to former municipal councillor from the Congress Ishrat Jahan, who has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, to get married.

She has been booked under the anti-terror law in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi in February.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana granted the interim relief from June 10 to June 19 to Jahan on furnishing two sureties of Rs 1 lakh.

The court directed her not to tamper with any evidence or influence the witnesses in the case.

According to the interim bail plea, filed through advocates S K Sharma and Lalit Valeecha, Jahan's marriage was fixed in 2018 for June 12, 2020.

The plea further said that Jahan would not tamper with any evidence or influence the witnesses if granted bail.

The petition, also filed through advocates Tushar Anand and Manu Prabhakar, claimed that Jahan has been falsely implicated in the case.

It alleged that upon bare perusal of the contents of the FIR, no incident of violence can be attributed to her and the wild and baseless allegations made against her were not only irresponsible and false, but also caused serious harm to her reputation.

Jahan, who is also an advocate, was only a supporter of ongoing peaceful protests and it was one of the fundamental rights of the citizens to protest and register their dissent against any unreasonable measure of the government, the plea said.

Besides Jahan, Jamia Millia Islamia University students Asif Iqbal Tanha, Gulfisha Khatoon, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, president of Jamia Alumni Association Shifa-Ur-Rehman, suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, activist Khalid Safi, JNU student Natasha Narwal and former student leader Umar Khalid have also been booked under the anti-terror law in the case.

The police had claimed in the FIR that Khalid and his associates had instigated people to start riots in the area and it was a "premeditated conspiracy".

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

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News Network
July 5,2020

New Delhi, Jul 5: World's largest, 10,000-bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital (SPCCCH) at Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Chhatarpur area of the national capital has made operational on Sunday.

Inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, the facility has been created on an emergency basis by the South Delhi District Administration with support of the Ministry of Home Affairs in a record time of 10 days.
Notably, this coronavirus treatment centre which is set up in Chhatarpur area of the national capital is said to be the "largest" of its kind in the world.
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"The Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital has been developed to help the citizens of Delhi and NCR who are affected by the coronavirus. Our team of doctors and medical staffs will take care of this facility. Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital will have 10 per cent of beds with oxygen facility," the Delhi LG said after the inaugural.
Talking about the facilities at the new coronavirus centre, Baijal further stated, "We have counsellors for mentally traumatised patients. We have a team of good psychiatrists and specialists in medicine."

The facility will function as an isolation centre for mild and asymptomatic COVID positive patients. 10 per cent of the beds will have oxygen facility in case the patient develops severe breathlessness and requires tertiary hospital care, read a statement.

Operationally, the facility has been linked to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital. The referral tertiary care hospitals are Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital.

ITBP will be running the first 2,000 beds with their 170 doctors/specialists and more than 700 nurses and paramedics, the statement added.
Most of the basic infrastructure such as beds, mattresses and linen has been donated by various civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations. 

A recreational centre has been made available to the patients along with a library, board games and skipping ropes. People admitted to the facility will be provided five healthy meals a day along with immunity-boosting chawanprash, juices and hot kadha, the statement added.

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