Agnipath: Data shows veterans fail to find govt jobs after retirement

 Between 32 Central ministries, only 1.60% of the 22,168 positions reserved for veterans have been filled

A meagre 2.4 per cent of ex-servicemen who applied for a job could get one as state and central governments have been unable to recruit against the reserved quota. Public sector utilities (PSUs), ministries and officials of Sainik boards have blamed it on the lack of skill among ex-servicemen. They contend that veterans’ inability to qualify in selection exams and non-recognition of qualifications obtained from the military are reasons why their recruitment has remained significantly low, pushing them toward low-skill jobs.

As protests over the Agnipath scheme rage across the country, the government has announced reservations in job vacancies across sectors for around 34,000 “Agniveers” who will retire after four years of service. However, data from Director General Resettlement- the nodal body responsible for rehabilitating retired military personnel, shows that states, central public sector units, including defence PSUs, and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have failed to recruit against the vacancies reserved for veterans.

Goa elections: Cong leading in 15 seats, BJP in 13, MGP ahead in 6

 The Congress was leading in 15 Assembly seats of Goa, while the BJP was ahead in 13, as per the latest trends available of 38 out of the 40 seats in the state.

The Congress was leading in 15 Assembly seats of Goa, while the BJP was ahead in 13, as per the latest trends available of 38 out of the 40 seats in the state.

The counting of votes is underway for the Assembly elections 2022 held in the state’s 40 seats on February 14. The ruling BJP is seeking a third straight term in power in the coastal state, while the opposition Congress is hoping for a clear mandate to avoid the fiasco of 2017.

Besides, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) was leading in six seats and independents were ahead in two seats. The Goa Forward Party and the Aam Aadmi Party were leading in one seat each, as per the Election Commission of India’s website….

After Muslims, Christians target of Hindutva brigade: Chidambaram

 Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday claimed that after Muslims, Christians were the new target of the Hindutva brigade

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday claimed that after Muslims, Christians were the new target of the Hindutva brigade, citing the government’s refusal to renew the FCRA registration for the Missionaries of Charity.Chidambaram, who is senior election observer of the Congress for Goa, also claimed that the mainstream media had banished the story of Home Ministry’s action related to Missionaries of Charity (MoC) from its pages and termed it “sad and shameful”.

“The rejection of renewal to MoC is a direct attack on NGOs who are doing yeoman service for the ‘poor and wretched’ of India,” he said on Twitter.”In the case of MoC, it reveals bias and prejudice against Christian charity work. After Muslims, Christians are the new target of the Hindutva brigade,” Chidambaram said.

Hindus follow path of truth, Hindutva loots under guise of religion: Rahul

 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday drew a comparison between Hinduism and Hindutva saying Hindus follow the path of truth whereas Hindutva loots under the guise of religion.

Refering to a news report claiming a rush to buy land around Ram Janmbhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday drew a comparison between Hinduism and Hindutva saying Hindus follow the path of truth whereas Hindutva loots under the guise of religion.

Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, “Hindus follow the path of truth. Hindutva loots under the guise of religion.” The Congress leader also shared the news report that claimed many BJP leaders and some officials of the Uttar Pradesh government have bought land around the under-construction Ram Janmbhoomi Temple in Ayodhya at throwaway prices.

Following the report, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered an inquiry after names of relatives of several state ministers and officials appear in Ayodhya land deals. Special Secretary Revenue will investigate the matter and present a report to the government in a week.

Lalu flouting rules, has set up court in prison hospital: Jharkhand BJP

Taking to Facebook, Shahdeo posted a photo of Lalu Yadav alleging that the latter was"openly violating the jail manual"\

Current Affair: Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo on Sunday alleged that veteran RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav who is currently lodged at RIMS Hospital in Ranchi is violating the jail manual by setting up a 'darbar' there.

Taking to Facebook, Shahdeo posted a photo of Lalu Yadav alleging that the latter was"openly violating the jail manual". "Openly violating Jail Manual. The darbar of former (Bihar) Chief Minister Lalu Prasad has been adorned even during the Corona period. The excuse - he had to see the Health Minister Banna Gupta ji. He is also talking on mobile. Take action Honorable Chief Minister." Shahdeo captioned the post in Hindi.

The photograph also shows State health minister. Lalu Prasad has been convicted in four fodder scam cases and was awarded up to 14 years of imprisonment. Imprisoned for corruption in Jharkhand, he has spent a large part of his sentence undergoing treatment at the RIMS...

Signal from PM Modi to CMs: Covid-19 lockdown may continue beyond May 3

Green zones may see more relaxations; states divided on how to end curbs

The nationwide lockdown is all set to be extended beyond May 3, at least until the middle of the month in the red zones of the country, as many states told Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video-conference meeting on Monday that it’s not the time yet to lift the curbs.This means more activities may be allowed to resume in green zones of the country. Most Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states support extending the lockdown, but will wait and abide by the Centre’s fresh guidelines. Telangana has already extended the lockdown until May 7, and will take a decision on further extension on May 5.

ALSO READ: CRISIL pegs India’s FY21 economic growth rate at 1.8% from 3.5%

Odisha, Meghalaya and some others support extending it by a month. Congress-led governments want the lockdown to be lifted in areas other than hotpots or containment zones.Delhi will take a call by April 30.Maharashtra will also decide by the end of the month, but will not lift the lockdown in urban centres like Mumbai and Pune, which are in red zones, while allowing economic activity in green zones. Mindful of the economic challenges, the government is preparing a detailed exit strategy that would give states more space in deciding their respective plans, sources said after the three-hour meeting.

ALSO READ: Govt likely to pledge Rs 3-trn in loans to MSMEs amid Covid-19 outbreak

All CMs, except Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, who sent his chief secretary, participated in the meeting. Nine CMs spoke while the rest sent in their suggestions. The PM indicated that Covid-19 is here for a long haul and that people need to learn to live with it. He said masks and face covers would become part of our lives in the days ahead and reiterated the mantra of ‘do gaz doori’ or social distancing…

Modi govt stops funding of Rajiv Gandhi’s dream pilot training institute

The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy hasn’t received any grants from the government since 2015-16, reveal documents

The Narendra Modi-led government has not released any money to Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA), India’s only central government-owned pilot training institute, since 2015-16. The institute was established in 1985 by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Fursatganj in the Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh.

Currently held by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Smriti Irani, the Amethi constituency was represented in Parliament by Rajiv Gandhi from 1981 until his death in 1991. Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi represented it from 1999 to 2004, and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi from 2004 to 2019. Rahul Gandhi has also served as a member of the IGRUA governing council in the past.

IGRUA’s financial statements show that the last grant (Rs 5 crore) it received from the government was in 2014-15. According to Budget documents, the government made token provisions for the institutions but never released the money. For instance, in 2017-18, it made a nominal allocation of Rs 10 lakh for “creation of capital assets”. The money was never released. A similar provision was made in the previous Budget, too…

Houston: Modi endorses Trump to Indian Americans ahead of 2020 US Prez race

Indians form about a fifth of 20 million Asian Americans and are often more educated and earn more than other immigrant groups

International News: President Donald Trump received the endorsement of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they shared a stage in Houston, walking hand in hand in a rock-star-like show to address more than 50,000 Indian Americans — an influential voter base.

Modi said Trump told him the first time they met that India has a “true friend” in the White House, and the U.S. leader’s presence at the Texas event is proof of that. He also praised Trump on his efforts to drive the US economy and taking ties between the two nations to a new level.

“I admire him for something more: his sense of leadership,” Modi told the gathering at the home of the National Football League’s Houston Texans — branded as “Howdy Modi!” In his speech, he echoed Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan, saying that “he has already made the American economy strong again.”

Indians form about a fifth of 20 million Asian Americans and are often more educated and earn more than other immigrant groups, the Washington-based Pew Research Center found. About 65% of Indian Americans were Democrats or leaned toward the Democrats, according to a 2014 Pew Research paper. That didn’t stop the Republican president from getting loud cheers in the arena, especially when he addressed issues such as security….

In victory for govt, Rajya Sabha passes Bill to ban instant triple talaq

On paper, as many as 136 members should have opposed the Bill in a House of 241 members

Politics News:  With the Rajya Sabha passing the Bill on Tuesday evening, Parliament has affirmed a law to make moment triple talaq a criminal offense. Under the proposed law, which the restriction as well as two of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP’s) partners contradicted, guilty parties will get a three-year prison term.

The feature of the day, be that as it may, was the Narendra Modi government dealing with the numbers in help of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The administration would have endured a humiliating thrashing if every single ideological group who contradicted the Bill had strolled the discussion.

The test before the BJP’s floor strategists was more troublesome than it had confronted a week ago when the Rajya Sabha had taken up a Bill to change the Right to Information (RTI) law. In contrast to the prior case, its partners the Janata Dal (United) and the AIADMK contradicted the Triple Talaq Bill. Gatherings that had either bolstered the legislature or exited during the discussion on the RTI Bill, especially the YSR Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, additionally restricted the Bill. On paper, upwards of 136 individuals ought to have restricted the Bill in a House of 241 individuals. The Bill was passed with 99 to 84 cast a ballot.

With Home Minister Amit Shah present in the House, BJP’s Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, CM Ramesh and Pralhad Joshi contacted resistance groups and MPs. Some were persuaded to missing themselves, others to arrange a walkout. The AIADMK and JD(U) individuals exited subsequent to stating they restricted the Bill.

SP-BSP honeymoon over as Mayawati hints at dumping ‘mahagathbandhan’

BSP likely to fight coming UP bypolls on 11 seats independently

In the wake of confronting a virtual defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha surveys because of the decision Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Monday alluded to dumping the ‘mahagathbandhan’ (terrific collusion) including BSP and the Samajwadi Party.

The collusion was declared on January 12, 2019, in the keep running up to the general decisions and was touted as an imposing challenger to counter the romping race hardware of BJP in UP, which chooses 80 Lok Sabha individuals, and is critical to government arrangement at the Center. In the scenery of BSP’s terrible execution in UP, Mayawati today gathered a gathering of senior gathering functionaries in Delhi to talk about the components behind the defeat. Mayawati, at the gathering, saw that the terrific union had neglected to convey for the BSP, since the union accomplices had neglected to guarantee an exchange of their separate vote banks, even as she admonished party pioneers to electrify units for challenging the forthcoming races autonomously without falling back upon any coalition.

As indicated by sources, she underlined that SP president Akhilesh Yadav couldn’t encourage the triumph of his significant other Dimple Yadav from the gathering’s turf of Kannauj, where she was vanquished by BJP chosen one Subrat Pathak by an edge of more than 12,000 votes, in spite of the Congress not handling its applicant in her help.

She also noted that Akhilesh had failed to prevent the division of Yadav votes. She alleged that Akhilesh’s estranged uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, who had floated Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL), had managed to transfer Yadav votes to the BJP and thus hurt the grand alliance in the state. Under the alliance, BSP and SP had fought 38 and 37 seats, respectively, in UP, while leaving 2 and 3 seats for Congress (Rae Bareli and Amethi) and ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), respectively..

After pitched battle with BJP, Mamata to skip Modi’s oath-taking ceremony

Apparently, the BJP has invited the kin of dead BJP workers who lost their lives in the alleged political violence in Bengal, as special invitees, to Modi’s oath-taking ceremony

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided not to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in on Thursday. She had earlier said she would attend the event as “constitutional duty and courtesy”. Her U-turn comes after the BJP’s claim of political violence in Bengal, which she has refuted. She had skipped the ceremony in 2014 as well.

“Congratulations, new prime minister Narendra Modi Ji. It was my plan to accept the Constitutional invitation and attend the oath-taking ceremony. However, in the last one hour, I am seeing media reports that the BJP is claiming 54 people have been murdered in political violence in Bengal. This is completely untrue”, her statement on a social media platform said. It added, “So, I am sorry, Narendra Modi Ji, this has compelled me not to attend the ceremony”.

Mamata Banerjee affirmed, “There have been no political murders in Bengal. These deaths may have occurred due to enmity, family quarrels and other disputes; nothing related to politics. There is no record with us”. Modi, in his address in Varanasi, on Tuesday, had claimed that BJP workers are being killed in the state for their ideology. According to reports, the BJP has invited kin of BJP workers, who allegedly lost their lives in political violence in Bengal, as special invitees, in Modi’s oath-taking ceremony.

Banerjee said such a ceremony was an “august occasion to celebrate democracy” and it should not be used to “score political points”. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections witnessed a pitched battle between the BJP and the TMC, not only via the democratic process of polling, but numerous incidents of violence and voter intimidation…

Controversial BJP-sponsored NaMo TV vanishes after Lok Sabha Poll

A BJP pioneer, mentioning obscurity, stated, “NaMo TV was intended to be a device of BJP crusade for the Lok Sabha decision. With the surveys over, it is never again required

NaMo TV, a BJP-supported channel that plugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s encourages and other survey messages, has gone off air, party sources said They said it went off air on May 17 when all crusades for the Lok Sabha race arrived at an end.

A BJP pioneer, mentioning secrecy, stated, “NaMo TV was implied as an apparatus of BJP crusade for the Lok Sabha race. With the surveys over, it is never again required, so successfully from May 17, when all battle has finished, it has likewise gone off air.” The direct was buried in contention as far back as it went on air. The boss discretionary officer of Delhi had sent a notice to the BJP for “airing decision related substance” on NaMo TV even after the quiet time frame started, however the gathering had said they didn’t disregard the model set of principles.

In April, after the Election Commission had coordinated that every recorded program showed on NaMo TV be pre-affirmed, the Delhi survey body asked the BJP not to air any substance on the stage without its affirmation.

The boss constituent office in Delhi had additionally said since NaMo TV was supported by the BJP, every single recorded program showed on the stage be pre-confirmed by media accreditation and observing council of Delhi and all political attention substance showed without pre-confirmation be evacuated right away…

Click Here: Lok Sabha Elections 2019 

Alarming lessons from Facebook’s effort to stop fake news in India

Particularly challenging for would-be fact-checkers, from Facebook Inc. to Google, is the country’s 23 official languages

Companies News: The world’s biggest decision has moved toward becoming something of an experiment in how innovation monsters handle counterfeit news following quite a while of outrage. It’s not working out so well. India has upwards of 900 million voters in a race that finishes this week, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision alliance set out toward obvious triumph.

Especially trying for would-be actuality checkers, from Facebook Inc. to Google, is the nation’s 23 official dialects. Facebook has employed contractual workers to confirm content in 10 of those dialects, however those staff members are spread slender and posts in excess of twelve different dialects – Sindhi, Odia and Kannada among them – are totally unvetted.

Mishra has seen the size of the test direct. The chief at Vishvas News, Facebook‘s biggest Indian-language reality checking contractual worker, went through about fourteen days as of late chatting with web clients in little urban communities. She found a great many people are so new to web based life they have no idea about false substance. They share stories unpredictably, with stunning rate. “Being the ‘first’ to share things in their circles gave them a surge,” she says.

Facebook, Twitter Inc. furthermore, Google parent Alphabet Inc. are finding the brutal reality that disinformation and despise discourse are much more testing in developing markets than in spots like the U.S. or then again Europe. Another classification of clients, as of late computerized, accept practically whatever they get – particularly in the event that it originates from family or companions. Several millions read in dialects the American tech mammoths haven’t started to screen..

BJP manifesto highlights: Rs 25-trn agri push, pension for small traders

BJP manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha elections promises Rs 25-trillion expenditure on rural economy. Small traders to be given pension benefits after 60 years of age

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its poll manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections 2019. BJP president Amit Shah highlighted the government’s achievements while Home Minister Rajnath Singh read out the key promises in the manifesto. He also headed the committee that drafted it.

Here are the key takeaways of the BJP’s manifesto for Lok Sabha elections 2019:

• Agri loans available on credit cards up to Rs 1 lakh at zero per cent rate of interest
• Collateral-free credit up to Rs 50 lakh for entrepreneurs
• Promotion of Startups through creation of a ‘Seed Startup Fund’ of Rs 20,000 crore.
• 10 per cent material procurement for the government by MSMEs having at least 50 per cent women in their workforce
• Micro, small and medium enterprises to given Rs 1 trillion worth of credit by 2024.
• A pucca house to every family who are either living in a kuchha house or have no access to housing by 2022.
• Expand Ayushman Bharat to include all Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers
• ‘Jal Jivan Mission’ to be launched to ensure piped water supply to every household in India by 2024
• Double the number of MBBS doctors by 2024
• Expenditure of up to Rs 25 trillion on rural economy
• BJP manifesto says it is committed to ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and state Assemblies through a constitutional amendment.
• Every Gram Panchayat to be connected through a high speed optical fibre network by 2022.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM KISAN) that provides Rs 6,000 a year to landholding farmers owning up to 2 hectares of land will be extended to all land-owning farmers irrespective of their landholdings.
• BJP manifesto also reiterates the party’s position for the abrogation of Article 370. Committed to scrap Article 35A

Read Full Story: BJP manifesto highlights

Lok Sabha elections: Bankers cold to Modi’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign

This is out of the blue that the IBA has proposed execution connected pay for specific evaluations in PSBs

Executive Narendra Modi, in an ongoing tweet, had encouraged specialists, legal advisors, engineers, instructors, IT experts and brokers to join the Main Bhi Chowkidar crusade. Not every person has slurped up the thought.

The All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), the biggest association of open part bank (PSB) officers, in a letter to the Prime Minister, has said the legislature ought not anticipate that the financial crew should “join the political battle of #MainBhiChowkidar“ except if issues identified with merger of banks, compensation modification and staff enrollment, among others, are tended to. A duplicate to the letter has been sent to the division of money related administrations (DFS) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). AIBOC involves around 320,000 officers in PSBs, speaking to around 85 percent of the officers in the banks.

“Without tending to the certified issues of one million bank officers and representatives, alongside the whole financial crew, for which they are bothered against the strategies of your administration, you can’t expect the cooperation of the financial brotherhood to join your political crusade of #MainBhiChowkidar,” the letter said.

One of the issues with financiers is the stern resistance to the merger of Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda. AIBOC has just documented a writ appeal against the amalgamation in Delhi High Court. Another sore point is identified with the bipartite settlement for compensation dealings. The IBA had proposed to connect pay rates of more elevated amount officials (grades six and seven) with the exhibitions of banks, which the officers have contradicted….

Click Here for more news: Lok Sabha Election 2019

LS polls candidate list: Amit Shah makes debut, PM to contest from Varanasi

All incumbent MPs from Karnataka have been retained by BJP, while Amit Shah has replaced L K Advani. Aparna Yadav has not been named by Samajwadi Party yet

Lok sabha elections 2019: With the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 looming ahead, parties have started announcing their list of candidates. The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday announced a list of 184 candidates for 20 states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be contesting from Varanasi.

In a surprise move, BJP chief Amit Shah will be contesting from Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Shah is making is Lok Sabha debut with this elections. It is notable that Gandhinagar is the seat of veteran BJP politician L K Advani. Before this, Advani had vacated the Gandhinagar seat just once for Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1996. The western UP candidates of BJP from 2014 elections have been retained. Raj Nath Singh, Hema Malini, V K Singh, Smriti Irani, Mahesh Sharma, Satya Pal Singh have been given tickets. Nitin Gadkari will be contesting from Nagpur.

Kiren Rijiju will be contesting from Arunachal East, while Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore will be contesting from Jaipur Rural. It is interesting to note that BJP has not dropped a single winning candidate from Karnataka. Many BJP leaders who are above the age of 75, have voluntarily declined to contest the elections. This includes Kalraj Mishra.

For the state Andhra Pradesh, the Congress has fielded Ramana Kumari Pedada from Vishakhapatnam, Narahrasetti Narasimha Rao from Vijayawada, and J Lakshmi Narasimha Yadav from Nandyal. With this, the Congress has named its candidates for all the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. The total number of Lok Sabha candidates declared by the Congress so far stands at 149.

Did Andhra govt sanction Rs 11 cr for Naidu’s Delhi protest? TDP differs

Chandrababu Naidu protested at Delhi’s Andhra Bhavan demanding that the Centre fulfil all promises made during Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation in 2014 and grant a special category status to the state

Current Affairs: If the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s one-day long hunger strike in Delhi did indeed cause the state exchequer a whopping Rs 11 crore, protests are becoming an expensive affair. The state government reportedly released an order on February 6 allocating Rs 11.12 crore as part of the protest expenditure. The state government booked two special trains with twenty coaches each to ferry those attending the protest. The government reportedly sanctioned Rs 1.2 crore for the same and released another Rs 10 crore for “meeting the expenditure of the one-day protest in New Delhi.” Around 1100 rooms were also booked for those attending the protest.

“Government of Andhra Pradesh has decided to hire two special trains with 20 compartments each from South Central Railways, Secunderabad, i.e., starting one (1) train from Ananthapuramu and another from Srikakulam to reach New Delhi by 10.02.2019 to transport interested Political parties, organisations, NGOs associations, etc.. to participate in one day Deeksha (Protest) at New Delhi on 11.02.2019 to be led by the chief minister,” stated the government release.

The government order stated that the money was to be spent on “transportation of participants from different regions of Andhra Pradesh” and “payments of other bills”.However, according to India Today, the ruling Telugu Desam Party on Tuesday clarified that only Rs 2 crore was spent for the protest and that the Budget Release Order refers to the provision of Rs 8 crore for other state functions. It also said that the party has been organising ‘Dharma Porata Deeksha’ across the state since 2017 demanding a special category status, therefore, the protest was not a political function…Read More

BJP says CBI has proof against Kolkata police chief, to address press today

CBI interim director M Nageshwar Rao has said that the CBI will approach the Supreme Court on Monday accusing the Bengal government of impeding the investigation of a court-ordered probe into the chit

Politics News: The Bharatiya Janata Party will address a press conference on Tuesday over the ongoing tussle between the Central Bureau of Investigation and state Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, said Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries Babul Supriyo.

Speaking to ANI, Babul said, “Rajiv has earlier headed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the CBI has the proof that he had tampered electronic and paper evidence in the chit fund scam. All papers state that Rajeev has been absconding and not cooperating with the CBI. The CBI has a right to conduct surprise raids because warrant may breach secrecy,” he added.

Also Read: Rishi Kumar Shukla takes charge as CBI director amid Bengal drama

The Union Minister earlier took the Twitter and wrote, “The desperation & fear of the TMC & Mamata Banerjee are clearly visible in this decision. The state govt is trying 2 block every programme of BJP, be it a rally, yatra or the landing of Yogi Adityanath Ji’s chopper. This shows the undemocratic attitude of the government.”

A full-blown face-off between West Bengal government and the Centre erupted as a CBI team moved to arrest Kumar, which in turn were unceremoniously denied entry to Kolkata Police chief’s residence and then detained. Escalating her confrontation with the Centre, Banerjee started a sit-in on Sunday night to protest, in what her Trinamool Congress party called a “coup” by the Modi government. Extending support to Mamata, her party workers also staged a ‘rail roko protest’ in Rishra and Asansol over the ongoing issue. The TMC workers have also burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Asansol…

Click Here: Mamata vs CBI

Kolkata Police-CBI clash: Mamata sits on dharna, attacks PM Modi over raids

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former PM H D Devegowda, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati came out in Banerjee’s support

Latest News: High drama unfolded in Kolkata on Sunday in a CBI vs city police face-off, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stage a dharna at the Metro Channel. Around 6pm, 40 CBI officers reached Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence over alleged involvement in chit fund scams linked to Saradha and Rose Valley.

The Kolkata Police is believed to have sought a search warrant. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers’ failure to produce one led the police to detain some officers, who were whisked away in jeeps. There are contradictory reports on whether they were arrested. In a retaliatory move, Kolkata Police also landed at the CGO Complex, the CBI headquarters in the state.

Banerjee rushed to Loudon Street, the Commissioner’s residence, to take stock of the situation and threw her weight behind Kumar.“This has happened a day after (PM) Modi was here,” she said, addressing the media. She also said Ajit Doval (National Security Advisor) was implementing Modi’s agenda and he was giving instruction to the CBI.

“Whenever an election comes, there is some issue around chit fund,” said Banerjee, challenging that Kumar’s link with chit fund be proved. Kumar was leading the SIT probe in the Saradha scam.Banerjee left for the Metro Channel where she would lead an indefinite “dharna to save the Constitution”. Commissioner Kumar was also seen at the location. The last time she took to the Metro Channel was in 2007 when she was on an indefinite hunger strike to protest the land acquisition movement in Singur.

Read More:  Mamata Banerjee Dharna 

Modi govt falls short of target: 1 million homes continue to be in the dark

Ahead this year’s Lok Sabha elections, achieving full energy access has been one of Modi’s key reforms for outreach to rural communities, where BJP is challenged by dissatisfaction and joblessness

Business Standard: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government missed a self-imposed target to electrify every home, delaying the success of the marquee $2.3-billion development goal that his party plans to showcase before national elections early this year.

After bringing electricity connections to 23.9 million households across 25 states, about 1.05 million homes in four states still lack power, the government’s Press Information Bureau said in a statement Monday, the year-end deadline. Power Minister R K Singh reaffirmed as recently as late November that the government would meet its December 31 target, which had earlier been moved up by three months.

Achieving full energy access has been one of Modi’s key reforms amid his outreach to rural communities, where his Bharatiya Janata Party has been challenged by dissatisfaction and joblessness. Electrification success would be a political boon for Modi and the BJP as they face national elections in the coming months.

The central government has set several milestones for its rural electrification plan since Modi came to power in 2014 — bringing connections to all villages by May 1, then to all homes by the end 2018. After full electrification is achieved, the next goal will be to ensure reliable uninterrupted supplies by March 31.

Modi’s government in September 2017 set out to electrify nearly 40 million homes, a target that has been shrinking and shifting along the way…Read Source: BS