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…

Never used Shivaji or Indira Gandhi’s name for political gain: Shiv Sena

The leading constituent in Maharashtra’s ruling coalition said it had always respected Indira Gandhi, who it said, had a towering and strong personality

The Shiv Sena on Friday said it had never used Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s name for political gain. The party made certain observations in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ about gangster Karam Lala, saying he once headed an organisation of the Pathan community and drew inspiration from Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who is also called Frontier Gandhi.

The leading constituent in Maharashtra’s ruling coalition said it had always respected Indira Gandhi, who it said, had a towering and strong personality. Whenever there were attempts to malign her image, the Shiv Sena acted as a shield. She was a powerful leader who split Pakistan and avenged Partition, the Marathi daily said. The paper expressed surprise that those who want to erase Gandhis memories permanently are worried about her image now.

The editorial comes in the backdrop of a controversial statement by Sanjay Raut, the executive editor of ‘Saamana’. On Wednesday, Raut said in Pune that Indira Gandhi used to meet Lala during Mumbai visits, drawing sharp reaction from the Congress, which is also a part of the Shiv Sena-led government. On Thursday, Raut withdrew his comment. The opposition BJP latched on Raut’s comment to embarrass the Congress with the former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis wondering whether the party was “funded by Mumbai’s underworld”…

Sena has history of allying with Congress, ideologically opposite parties

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath Thursday evening at the historic Shivaji Park supported by the Congress and the NCP

Shiv Sena may have shared power with ideologically-opposite Congress for the first time, but the saffron party is known to have cosied up with it before and posters with old pictures of bonhomie between their leaders Bal Thackeray and Indira Gandhi taken in the seventies were put up in different parts of the city.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath Thursday evening at the historic Shivaji Park supported by the Congress and the NCP. Besides late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, NCP President Sharad Pawar also figured in the posters. Those aware of its past, the Shiv Sena, known for its firebrand Hindutva politics, seeking support of the Congress and the NCP does not come as a surprise.

From backing Congress candidates in presidential polls to not fielding any contender against Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule to even tying up with ideologically opposite Muslim League, the Shiv Sena has had a history of flirting with ‘frenemies’. In the assembly polls held last month, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena bagged 56, followed by the NCP (54) and the Congress (48) in the 288-member House. The Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966, in its more than five decades long journey has allied with the Congress, formally and informally.

In its initial days, it was often supported directly or indirectly by many Congress leaders and its different factions. Noted political analyst Suhas Palshikar in an article in the Economic and Political Weekly writes that senior state Congress leader Ramrao Adik was present at the first ever Shiv Sena rally…

Tributes pour in for ‘Iron Lady’ Indira Gandhi on 34th death anniversary

Congress President Rahul Gandhi also took to the micro-blogging site to remember his grandmother

BS | Top political leaders on Wednesday paid homage to India’s third prime minister Indira Gandhi to commemorate her 34th death anniversary.

“Tributes to our former Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress President Rahul Gandhi also took to the micro-blogging site to remember his grandmother “with a deep sense of happiness.”

“Remembering Dadi today with a deep sense of happiness. She taught me so much and gave me unending love. She gave so much of herself to her people. I am very proud of her,” his tweet read.|Latest News

The Congress President, along with his mother and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, also paid floral tributes to the ‘Iron Lady’ at her memorial Shakti Sthal.

Indira Gandhi, who was hailed as one of the tallest world leaders, was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards at her residence located in Akbar Road on October 31, 1984. This came after Operation Bluestar was executed at Amritsar’s Golden Temple, wherein Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to confront Sikh separatists who had taken shelter at the holy shrine.

Born on November 19, 1917, to India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru, she served as prime minister for three terms lasting almost 16 years.

Gandhi, who is the second longest serving Prime Minister, was well known for path-breaking economic and social reforms, including nationalisation of banks, copper, refining, cotton textiles and even insurance industries. She also abolished privy purses of the erstwhile princely states.

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