Archive For The “General” Category
Lucknow, Sep 26 : Apparently unnerved by the growing popularity of the Bhim Army among the Dalit youth, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has now decided to give maximum number of tickets to the youth in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The party has already given the responsibility of wooing Brahmin youth to Kapil Mishra, son of BSP MP Satish Chandra Mishra.
BSP President Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand will be given the responsibility of bringing in youth from Dalit communities.
In the past two years, when the Covid pandemic set in, the BSP has been absent from the ground.
Chandra Shekhar Azad, the Bhim Army chief, on the other hand, has been extensively touring the state during the pandemic.
He has been visiting every Dalit family that has been victimised or tormented in recent months.
He was seen actively supporting the Hathras family of the Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and later died.
The BSP leaders did not even visit the family to offer their support.
"The youth today is much more aware and smarter than it was 20 years ago.
They understand which leader and which party is working for them and standing by them. The BSP, under Mayawati, has stopped reaching out to people at the grassroot levels. One the other hand, Chandra Shekhar has been leading from the front and connecting with the youth. It is natural that the young generation feels disconnected from the BSP," a senior party said on the condition of anonymity.
Mayawati, meanwhile, has reportedly asked party coordinators to look for new and young faces for the assembly elections.
However, she has asked them to be sure of their loyalty towards the party before recommending their candidature.
"Who can take guarantee of someone else's loyalty in these times when even the father and son have different political choices," said a party zonal coordinator.
The biggest hurdle in reaching out to the Dalit youth that the BSP is facing, is the total absence of second rung Dalit leaders in the party.
While the majority have been thrown out of the party, the rest have left for greener pastures.
"The party does not have a Dalit leader of stature who can take a call in the absence of Mayawati.
In such a situation, newcomers feel uncomfortable because they do not know whom to rely upon," said a party MLA.
--IANS
amita/pgh/ksk/.
Source: IANS
The party has already given the responsibility of wooing Brahmin youth to Kapil Mishra, son of BSP MP Satish Chandra Mishra.
BSP President Mayawati's nephew Akash Anand will be given the responsibility of bringing in youth from Dalit communities.
In the past two years, when the Covid pandemic set in, the BSP has been absent from the ground.
Chandra Shekhar Azad, the Bhim Army chief, on the other hand, has been extensively touring the state during the pandemic.
He has been visiting every Dalit family that has been victimised or tormented in recent months.
He was seen actively supporting the Hathras family of the Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and later died.
The BSP leaders did not even visit the family to offer their support.
"The youth today is much more aware and smarter than it was 20 years ago.
They understand which leader and which party is working for them and standing by them. The BSP, under Mayawati, has stopped reaching out to people at the grassroot levels. One the other hand, Chandra Shekhar has been leading from the front and connecting with the youth. It is natural that the young generation feels disconnected from the BSP," a senior party said on the condition of anonymity.
Mayawati, meanwhile, has reportedly asked party coordinators to look for new and young faces for the assembly elections.
However, she has asked them to be sure of their loyalty towards the party before recommending their candidature.
"Who can take guarantee of someone else's loyalty in these times when even the father and son have different political choices," said a party zonal coordinator.
The biggest hurdle in reaching out to the Dalit youth that the BSP is facing, is the total absence of second rung Dalit leaders in the party.
While the majority have been thrown out of the party, the rest have left for greener pastures.
"The party does not have a Dalit leader of stature who can take a call in the absence of Mayawati.
In such a situation, newcomers feel uncomfortable because they do not know whom to rely upon," said a party MLA.
--IANS
amita/pgh/ksk/.
Source: IANS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not have used a better occasion than the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit hosted by Tajikistan on Sep 17 to present to the world, upfront, India's assessment of the threat of Islamic extremism and radicalisation emanating from the developments in Afghanistan that had culminated in the installation of the Taliban Emirate at Kabul a second time.
He underscored the danger posed to the region and to the world at large and called for a concerted global effort to counter the threat in time.
With exceptional clarity the Prime Minister pointed out that the new regime in Afghanistan was not inclusive, that it had been put in position without any discussions whatsoever and that it hardly qualified for getting any recognition from the world community.
He called for the right response from the members of SCO -- the forum that includes both China and Pakistan -- and thus drew attention implicitly to the support these two hostile neighbours of India had given to Islamic radicals who wrested power at Kabul.
The Prime Minister made a distinction between these extreme fundamentalists and the India-friendly moderate Afghans with whom this country had had friendly and affectionate bonds for a very long time.
India has rightly decided to work on Russia and Iran as also the Central Asian countries for giving out the message to the entire world that a new threat to geopolitical security and stability had arisen from the events in Kabul.
It has, by using the platform of SCO, exposed the 'villains of the piece' behind them and decisively moved towards flagging 'radicalisation' as the prime threat now for the democratic world.
It seems the US under President Biden is preparing for a course correction as far as the handling of Afghanistan was concerned.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has given first indications of this in his remarks on Pakistan at the House Foreign Affairs Committee briefing -- he clearly announced that US relations with that country were under review because of the latter's role in Afghanistan over these two decades.
That the world is beginning to look upon Pakistan as the harborer of terrorists is evident from the decision of New Zealand and England to cancel the visit of their national cricket teams to Pakistan on security grounds.
Interestingly, the president of Pakistan Cricket Board sees in this the 'ganging up of the West' against Pakistan -- he has only betrayed Pak sympathies for Islamic radicals in the process.
The Pak- Afghan belt is fomenting terrorism of a new kind that is particularly fierce and self-sustaining.
Terrorism is classically defined as resort to 'covert' violence for a perceived political 'cause' -- without such a cause terrorism would be just sheer criminality which everybody knows is not the case.
Now, whenever there is a 'cause' there is a 'commitment' and commitment is determined by the 'motivation'.
India has seen shades of terrorism where motivation was 'ideological' as in the case of Naxalism or assertion of 'ethnic identity' as in the case of Northeast insurgencies but 'radicalisation' provides the 'faith-based motivation' behind the new terror that was proving transformational in terms of its global spread and geopolitical implications.
It is linked to the success of the anti- Soviet armed campaign in Afghanistan that was run, with the backing of the USA-led West, on the war cry of Jehad.
This victory, however, paved the way for the subsequent rise of Islamic radicals there culminating in the installation of the first Taliban Emirate at Kabul in 1996.
Radicals had a historical legacy of considering the West as their prime enemy ever since they ran a failed Jehad -- against the Western occupation of Muslim lands -- in the first half of the Nineteenth century under the leading Ulema like Al Tijani of Algeria, Abdul Wahab of Arabia and Shah Waliullah of British India.
Later, during the Cold War, the West also played with Islamic militancy -- using it as an instrument of combat against the left-leaning Arab states of Egypt and Syria ruled then by Nasser and Hafez al-Assad, by encouraging Muslim Brotherhood.
This also happened on the Indian subcontinent where Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, an admirer of Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, established Jamaat-e-Islami at Lahore in 1941.
After Independence, the Jamaat continued to bolster Pakistan against India, particularly on the issue of Kashmir and received appreciation from the US-led West which had heavily tilted in favour of Pakistan and not taken kindly to the pro-Soviet leanings of India in the Cold War era.
The Jamaat expanded beyond the subcontinent and mobilised Islamic opinion against President Sukarno of Indonesia who had a pro-Soviet outlook.
The Pak-supported Islamic militants sprouting up during the Cold War remained on the right side of the West and earned the label of 'good terrorists' when seen against the radicals represented by the Al-Qaeda-Taliban combine that emerged on the scene after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan to establish the Emirate at Kabul in 1996.
The radical forces were imbued with 'revivalism' as a trait -- calling for the return to puritanic Islam of the first fifty years after the Prophet with its staunch fundamentalist values.
It is the lack of understanding of these deeply entrenched perspectives of a 'faith' which made no distinction between personal, social and political dimensions of life, that resulted in the American misreading of the Taliban's agenda in Afghanistan.
The Taliban belong to the same segment of Islamic spectrum as Al-Qaeda and ISIS and in Afghanistan this time around they managed to create an impression of 'reasonability' on the US under the deft counselling of Pakistan.
The unambiguous stand of Prime Minister Modi at SCO against Islamic extremists sets the record straight however, and will hopefully lead to a concerted approach by US and India against the global threat of radicalisation.
Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US and his first in-person meeting with President Biden would help to keep India and the US on the same page on the question of the terror threat from Islamic extremism and radicalisation brewing in the Pak-Afghan belt.
India needed a strong political will to launch a comprehensive strategy of countering this danger and Prime Minister Modi has provided that once again, notwithstanding the distractions caused by lobbies outside and forces inside the country for their own motives.
This threat cannot be trivialised by the opponents of the Modi regime by linking it to communal issues and minority questions on our domestic front.
The danger clearly is resulting from Pak ISI's plan of pushing up the level of violence in Kashmir and once again destabilising Punjab.
The huge surplus of automatic weapons and explosives left behind in Afghanistan by the Americans is evidently of great help to Pakistan in executing its anti-India designs.
Matters of national security have to be kept above party politics and a certain firmness is needed to curb domestic elements harming the cause of internal security.
A policy of 'zero tolerance' against terrorism has to be followed and our international relations guided by that approach as was clearly announced by Prime Minister Modi at the SCO summit.
India has stepped up its efforts to compare notes with Russia, Iran and other countries bordering Afghanistan on the threat of radicalisation beaming out of the Taliban controlled Kabul and sought convergence on an effective counterstrategy to contain the danger.
Prime Minister Modi has called for UN-led initiatives to deal with this new terror -- India's diplomatic thrust is on mobilising democratic countries to speak up at international forums against growing radicalisation and against the nefarious role of countries like Pakistan and China which were collaborating with Islamic extremists.
Under the Modi government, India has embarked upon a comprehensive strategy of defence and security against terrorism.
Both LAC and LOC are now closely guarded against any aggression or infiltration and our forces have been given the freedom to take to a deterrent response to put down any such attempted move of the adversary.
Modularisation of terrorism on our soil by way of creation of underground cells run by the masterminds operating from across our border and using social media clandestinely, is in the focus of our Intelligence infrastructure particularly in Kashmir.
Timely detection of drones coming in is a new challenge in both Kashmir and Punjab.
A combination of human and technological resources is being built by our agencies whose internal coordination is now at a new high.
In the border belt, administration also has to be now totally geared to the twin agenda of security and development with the detection of enemy agents on our own land acquiring prime importance.
In a state like Kashmir, the machinery of governance has to be freed of any such elements first. The message of peace with prosperity has to be constantly administered to the people.
Youth will require both encouragement and oversight and for this, schemes aiding start-ups and funding upskilling and reskilling programmes have to be floated on an adequate scale.
Their success will be determined in a great measure by the civil-military cooperation that is now built into the system of governance and security management.
The likely impact of the developments in the Pak-Afghan region on Kashmir and the adverse bearings of the Sino-Pak military alliance against India in general and the border states in particular, are being fully taken into account in our strategy formulation.
(The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)
--IANS
pathak/am.
Source: IANS
He underscored the danger posed to the region and to the world at large and called for a concerted global effort to counter the threat in time.
With exceptional clarity the Prime Minister pointed out that the new regime in Afghanistan was not inclusive, that it had been put in position without any discussions whatsoever and that it hardly qualified for getting any recognition from the world community.
He called for the right response from the members of SCO -- the forum that includes both China and Pakistan -- and thus drew attention implicitly to the support these two hostile neighbours of India had given to Islamic radicals who wrested power at Kabul.
The Prime Minister made a distinction between these extreme fundamentalists and the India-friendly moderate Afghans with whom this country had had friendly and affectionate bonds for a very long time.
India has rightly decided to work on Russia and Iran as also the Central Asian countries for giving out the message to the entire world that a new threat to geopolitical security and stability had arisen from the events in Kabul.
It has, by using the platform of SCO, exposed the 'villains of the piece' behind them and decisively moved towards flagging 'radicalisation' as the prime threat now for the democratic world.
It seems the US under President Biden is preparing for a course correction as far as the handling of Afghanistan was concerned.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has given first indications of this in his remarks on Pakistan at the House Foreign Affairs Committee briefing -- he clearly announced that US relations with that country were under review because of the latter's role in Afghanistan over these two decades.
That the world is beginning to look upon Pakistan as the harborer of terrorists is evident from the decision of New Zealand and England to cancel the visit of their national cricket teams to Pakistan on security grounds.
Interestingly, the president of Pakistan Cricket Board sees in this the 'ganging up of the West' against Pakistan -- he has only betrayed Pak sympathies for Islamic radicals in the process.
The Pak- Afghan belt is fomenting terrorism of a new kind that is particularly fierce and self-sustaining.
Terrorism is classically defined as resort to 'covert' violence for a perceived political 'cause' -- without such a cause terrorism would be just sheer criminality which everybody knows is not the case.
Now, whenever there is a 'cause' there is a 'commitment' and commitment is determined by the 'motivation'.
India has seen shades of terrorism where motivation was 'ideological' as in the case of Naxalism or assertion of 'ethnic identity' as in the case of Northeast insurgencies but 'radicalisation' provides the 'faith-based motivation' behind the new terror that was proving transformational in terms of its global spread and geopolitical implications.
It is linked to the success of the anti- Soviet armed campaign in Afghanistan that was run, with the backing of the USA-led West, on the war cry of Jehad.
This victory, however, paved the way for the subsequent rise of Islamic radicals there culminating in the installation of the first Taliban Emirate at Kabul in 1996.
Radicals had a historical legacy of considering the West as their prime enemy ever since they ran a failed Jehad -- against the Western occupation of Muslim lands -- in the first half of the Nineteenth century under the leading Ulema like Al Tijani of Algeria, Abdul Wahab of Arabia and Shah Waliullah of British India.
Later, during the Cold War, the West also played with Islamic militancy -- using it as an instrument of combat against the left-leaning Arab states of Egypt and Syria ruled then by Nasser and Hafez al-Assad, by encouraging Muslim Brotherhood.
This also happened on the Indian subcontinent where Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, an admirer of Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, established Jamaat-e-Islami at Lahore in 1941.
After Independence, the Jamaat continued to bolster Pakistan against India, particularly on the issue of Kashmir and received appreciation from the US-led West which had heavily tilted in favour of Pakistan and not taken kindly to the pro-Soviet leanings of India in the Cold War era.
The Jamaat expanded beyond the subcontinent and mobilised Islamic opinion against President Sukarno of Indonesia who had a pro-Soviet outlook.
The Pak-supported Islamic militants sprouting up during the Cold War remained on the right side of the West and earned the label of 'good terrorists' when seen against the radicals represented by the Al-Qaeda-Taliban combine that emerged on the scene after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan to establish the Emirate at Kabul in 1996.
The radical forces were imbued with 'revivalism' as a trait -- calling for the return to puritanic Islam of the first fifty years after the Prophet with its staunch fundamentalist values.
It is the lack of understanding of these deeply entrenched perspectives of a 'faith' which made no distinction between personal, social and political dimensions of life, that resulted in the American misreading of the Taliban's agenda in Afghanistan.
The Taliban belong to the same segment of Islamic spectrum as Al-Qaeda and ISIS and in Afghanistan this time around they managed to create an impression of 'reasonability' on the US under the deft counselling of Pakistan.
The unambiguous stand of Prime Minister Modi at SCO against Islamic extremists sets the record straight however, and will hopefully lead to a concerted approach by US and India against the global threat of radicalisation.
Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US and his first in-person meeting with President Biden would help to keep India and the US on the same page on the question of the terror threat from Islamic extremism and radicalisation brewing in the Pak-Afghan belt.
India needed a strong political will to launch a comprehensive strategy of countering this danger and Prime Minister Modi has provided that once again, notwithstanding the distractions caused by lobbies outside and forces inside the country for their own motives.
This threat cannot be trivialised by the opponents of the Modi regime by linking it to communal issues and minority questions on our domestic front.
The danger clearly is resulting from Pak ISI's plan of pushing up the level of violence in Kashmir and once again destabilising Punjab.
The huge surplus of automatic weapons and explosives left behind in Afghanistan by the Americans is evidently of great help to Pakistan in executing its anti-India designs.
Matters of national security have to be kept above party politics and a certain firmness is needed to curb domestic elements harming the cause of internal security.
A policy of 'zero tolerance' against terrorism has to be followed and our international relations guided by that approach as was clearly announced by Prime Minister Modi at the SCO summit.
India has stepped up its efforts to compare notes with Russia, Iran and other countries bordering Afghanistan on the threat of radicalisation beaming out of the Taliban controlled Kabul and sought convergence on an effective counterstrategy to contain the danger.
Prime Minister Modi has called for UN-led initiatives to deal with this new terror -- India's diplomatic thrust is on mobilising democratic countries to speak up at international forums against growing radicalisation and against the nefarious role of countries like Pakistan and China which were collaborating with Islamic extremists.
Under the Modi government, India has embarked upon a comprehensive strategy of defence and security against terrorism.
Both LAC and LOC are now closely guarded against any aggression or infiltration and our forces have been given the freedom to take to a deterrent response to put down any such attempted move of the adversary.
Modularisation of terrorism on our soil by way of creation of underground cells run by the masterminds operating from across our border and using social media clandestinely, is in the focus of our Intelligence infrastructure particularly in Kashmir.
Timely detection of drones coming in is a new challenge in both Kashmir and Punjab.
A combination of human and technological resources is being built by our agencies whose internal coordination is now at a new high.
In the border belt, administration also has to be now totally geared to the twin agenda of security and development with the detection of enemy agents on our own land acquiring prime importance.
In a state like Kashmir, the machinery of governance has to be freed of any such elements first. The message of peace with prosperity has to be constantly administered to the people.
Youth will require both encouragement and oversight and for this, schemes aiding start-ups and funding upskilling and reskilling programmes have to be floated on an adequate scale.
Their success will be determined in a great measure by the civil-military cooperation that is now built into the system of governance and security management.
The likely impact of the developments in the Pak-Afghan region on Kashmir and the adverse bearings of the Sino-Pak military alliance against India in general and the border states in particular, are being fully taken into account in our strategy formulation.
(The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)
--IANS
pathak/am.
Source: IANS
Varanasi, Sep 26 : The boat service between Varanasi and Chunar in Mirzapur, will soon be extended to Vindhyachal, after the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is completed and inaugurated, possibly in November.
The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor will be connected with Vindhyachal Corridor through Ro Ro boat (ship) service in the Ganga to promote religious tourism and employment opportunities.
Regional tourism officer, Keertiman Srivastava, said that the Varanasi tourism department had made a plan to connect the two corridors through the Ro Ro boat service.
Two Ro-Pax boats, MV Swami Vivekananda and MV Sam Manekshaw, which arrived in the city over 10 months ago, are already anchored in the Ganga here.
Both the ships have been introduced for Ro Ro boat service which has already been started up to Chunar in Mirzapur, which is around 70 km from Varanasi.
According to Srivastava, the extension of the cruise route will give a major boost to religious tourism.
"Devotional numbers will be played on the music system to create a devotional ambience on the ships during the journey.
It will also give an opportunity to the religious tourists or pilgrims to enjoy the panoramic view on either side of the Ganga between Varanasi and Vindhyachal," he said.
As the MV Vivekananda boat or MV Sam Manekshaw boat will reach Vindhyachal, it will be anchored at the ghat and pilgrims will go to the Vindhyachal Corridor where they will offer prayers to Maa Vindhyavasini and visit Kali Khoh and Maa Asthtbhuja Temple before boarding the boat for the return journey.
He said a tour package was being designed and would be ready soon.
There was a plan to offer snacks like fried potatoes, puri-sabji and fruits to the pilgrims during the journey, he said.
The RO-PAX (Roll-On-Roll-Off-Passenger-ship) boat is a double-ended ferry that sails at an average speed of 15-17 knots (31.48 kmph).
Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is a project worth over 900 crore and nearly 75 per cent of the work has already been completed.
Vindhyachal Corridor is another ambitious project of the Yogi Adityanath government.
The project, worth about Rs 128 crore, is likely to be completed in 2022 or in early 2023.
--IANS
amita/ksk/.
Source: IANS
The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor will be connected with Vindhyachal Corridor through Ro Ro boat (ship) service in the Ganga to promote religious tourism and employment opportunities.
Regional tourism officer, Keertiman Srivastava, said that the Varanasi tourism department had made a plan to connect the two corridors through the Ro Ro boat service.
Two Ro-Pax boats, MV Swami Vivekananda and MV Sam Manekshaw, which arrived in the city over 10 months ago, are already anchored in the Ganga here.
Both the ships have been introduced for Ro Ro boat service which has already been started up to Chunar in Mirzapur, which is around 70 km from Varanasi.
According to Srivastava, the extension of the cruise route will give a major boost to religious tourism.
"Devotional numbers will be played on the music system to create a devotional ambience on the ships during the journey.
It will also give an opportunity to the religious tourists or pilgrims to enjoy the panoramic view on either side of the Ganga between Varanasi and Vindhyachal," he said.
As the MV Vivekananda boat or MV Sam Manekshaw boat will reach Vindhyachal, it will be anchored at the ghat and pilgrims will go to the Vindhyachal Corridor where they will offer prayers to Maa Vindhyavasini and visit Kali Khoh and Maa Asthtbhuja Temple before boarding the boat for the return journey.
He said a tour package was being designed and would be ready soon.
There was a plan to offer snacks like fried potatoes, puri-sabji and fruits to the pilgrims during the journey, he said.
The RO-PAX (Roll-On-Roll-Off-Passenger-ship) boat is a double-ended ferry that sails at an average speed of 15-17 knots (31.48 kmph).
Kashi Vishwanath Corridor is a project worth over 900 crore and nearly 75 per cent of the work has already been completed.
Vindhyachal Corridor is another ambitious project of the Yogi Adityanath government.
The project, worth about Rs 128 crore, is likely to be completed in 2022 or in early 2023.
--IANS
amita/ksk/.
Source: IANS
Kolkata, Sep 25 : Hours after the union ministry of external affairs disallowed Mamata Banerjee to go to Rome to attend a programme organised by a non-governmental organisation, the chief minister came down heavily on the central government saying that she was stopped only out of 'jealousy'.
The controversy cropped up after the state government received a letter from the ministry of external affairs mentioning that the chief minister has been invited to an event in Rome which, the letter said was, "not conducive of participation for a state chief minister".
The event is scheduled to take place in Rome on October 6 and 7.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited to Rome by the Community of Sant' Egidio - a Catholic association dedicated to social service - to participate in the international event in Rome, the World Meeting for Peace "Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth", on 6 and 7 October this year where Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are likely to be present.
Mamata accepted the invitation.
It was decided that she would visit Rome after the by-election in Bhabanipur. Mamata was also preparing to go to Rome but this sudden letter from the central government has changed everything.
Speaking at a public rally in Bhabanipur, the chief minister didn't conceal her anger.
"The Prime Minister can go abroad. Why I shall be disallowed to attend a function abroad? I was stopped only out of jealousy," a furious Banerjee said.
Previously the chief minster was also disallowed to go to Chicago where she was supposed to address a gathering at Belur Math, the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, to mark 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of Religion, Chicago.
At that time also the chief minister had termed it as an 'unholy conspiracy'.
"No one can go to America or Britain with covaxin.
The World Health Organization has not given it recognition yet but the Prime Minister went with special permission.
There are many people who cannot go abroad because they have taken covaxin. The Prime Minister went and I don't have any problem with that but why was I not allowed to represent? I used to go there and represent Hinduism.
He speaks much about Hindutva but disallows me. This is nothing but jealousy," she added.
--IANS
sbg/bg.
Source: IANS
The controversy cropped up after the state government received a letter from the ministry of external affairs mentioning that the chief minister has been invited to an event in Rome which, the letter said was, "not conducive of participation for a state chief minister".
The event is scheduled to take place in Rome on October 6 and 7.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited to Rome by the Community of Sant' Egidio - a Catholic association dedicated to social service - to participate in the international event in Rome, the World Meeting for Peace "Peoples as Brothers, Future Earth", on 6 and 7 October this year where Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are likely to be present.
Mamata accepted the invitation.
It was decided that she would visit Rome after the by-election in Bhabanipur. Mamata was also preparing to go to Rome but this sudden letter from the central government has changed everything.
Speaking at a public rally in Bhabanipur, the chief minister didn't conceal her anger.
"The Prime Minister can go abroad. Why I shall be disallowed to attend a function abroad? I was stopped only out of jealousy," a furious Banerjee said.
Previously the chief minster was also disallowed to go to Chicago where she was supposed to address a gathering at Belur Math, the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, to mark 125 years of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of Religion, Chicago.
At that time also the chief minister had termed it as an 'unholy conspiracy'.
"No one can go to America or Britain with covaxin.
The World Health Organization has not given it recognition yet but the Prime Minister went with special permission.
There are many people who cannot go abroad because they have taken covaxin. The Prime Minister went and I don't have any problem with that but why was I not allowed to represent? I used to go there and represent Hinduism.
He speaks much about Hindutva but disallows me. This is nothing but jealousy," she added.
--IANS
sbg/bg.
Source: IANS
Guwahati, Sep 25 : The Assam government will confer the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Award for National Integration and National Contribution on Vice-President M.
Venkaiah Naidu during his proposed visit to the state on October 3, officials said here on Saturday.
According to the officials, the prize amount of the biennial award, which was named after Gopinath Bordoloi, a freedom fighter and the first Chief Minister of Assam after India's independence, was increased to Rs 5 lakh from Rs two lakh.
The award also carries a citation.
Bordoloi was called the architect of modern Assam and he was bestowed the Bharat Ratna for his contributions to the society in1999.
An official in the Assam Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the award had become irregular over the years and the cabinet in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday decided to scrupulously make the award a biennial affair.
The CMO official said that the cabinet also decided to change the names of the state's highest civilian awards, to be given in various fields.
Assam Ratna award from now onwards will be known as Asom Baibhav, Assam Vibhushan as Asom Saurav and Assam Bhusan and Assam Shree award as Asom Gaurav.
--IANS
sc/bg.
Source: IANS
Venkaiah Naidu during his proposed visit to the state on October 3, officials said here on Saturday.
According to the officials, the prize amount of the biennial award, which was named after Gopinath Bordoloi, a freedom fighter and the first Chief Minister of Assam after India's independence, was increased to Rs 5 lakh from Rs two lakh.
The award also carries a citation.
Bordoloi was called the architect of modern Assam and he was bestowed the Bharat Ratna for his contributions to the society in1999.
An official in the Assam Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that the award had become irregular over the years and the cabinet in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday decided to scrupulously make the award a biennial affair.
The CMO official said that the cabinet also decided to change the names of the state's highest civilian awards, to be given in various fields.
Assam Ratna award from now onwards will be known as Asom Baibhav, Assam Vibhushan as Asom Saurav and Assam Bhusan and Assam Shree award as Asom Gaurav.
--IANS
sc/bg.
Source: IANS
Chandigarh, Sep 25 : Marking the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya that is being celebrated as 'Samarpan Divas' on Saturday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the state's strategy for implementation of every scheme formulated for the welfare of the common man is guided by the principles of Antyodaya, meaning serving and uplifting the last person first.
"I have always believed the growth and economic progress of any state can never be measured through those who are at the top of the ladder, rather it can only be measured if it is ensured that those at the bottom of the pyramid are getting benefits of all the welfare schemes," Khattar told the media here.
He said in a bid to ensure that the benefits accruing from various welfare projects are well-targeted and reach eligible beneficiaries, it is important to improve governance and delivery of services and for this several revolutionary steps are being taken by the state government.
The Chief Minister said Pandit Deendayal always preached the philosophy of integral humanism and the concept of 'Antyodaya', which have always remained the key principles of the state before formulating any public welfare policy.
"This commitment can be seen in the slogan given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which says 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas' and now to this he has also added 'Sabka Prayas' which highlights the government's priority towards the upliftment of pro-poor and pro-farmer along with other sections of the society," he said.
He said along with Pandit Deendyal's birth anniversary, today is also the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal.
The Chief Minister said that like Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya had provided 'Antyodaya Darshan' for the upliftment of the last person standing in the row, similarly Chaudhary Devi Lal had started effective schemes like old-age pension and giving Re 1 scholarship per day to the children of nomadic castes to motivate them to pursue education.
--IANS
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Source: IANS
"I have always believed the growth and economic progress of any state can never be measured through those who are at the top of the ladder, rather it can only be measured if it is ensured that those at the bottom of the pyramid are getting benefits of all the welfare schemes," Khattar told the media here.
He said in a bid to ensure that the benefits accruing from various welfare projects are well-targeted and reach eligible beneficiaries, it is important to improve governance and delivery of services and for this several revolutionary steps are being taken by the state government.
The Chief Minister said Pandit Deendayal always preached the philosophy of integral humanism and the concept of 'Antyodaya', which have always remained the key principles of the state before formulating any public welfare policy.
"This commitment can be seen in the slogan given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which says 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas' and now to this he has also added 'Sabka Prayas' which highlights the government's priority towards the upliftment of pro-poor and pro-farmer along with other sections of the society," he said.
He said along with Pandit Deendyal's birth anniversary, today is also the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal.
The Chief Minister said that like Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya had provided 'Antyodaya Darshan' for the upliftment of the last person standing in the row, similarly Chaudhary Devi Lal had started effective schemes like old-age pension and giving Re 1 scholarship per day to the children of nomadic castes to motivate them to pursue education.
--IANS
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Source: IANS
Chennai, Sep 25 : Mixed views were expressed by experts on the Central government's idea to entrust the environmental clearance for nuclear power projects with the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
Welcoming the idea, a nuclear sector expert also said the Centre should reintroduce the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill alongside.
On the other hand, Poovulagin Nanbargal, a non-government organisation (NGO) here, said it would approach the courts if AERB is given the environmental clearance power for nuclear power projects.
According to a report, the Central government is planning to vest AERB with the power to accord the environmental clearance for nuclear power projects.
One of the reasons said for such a move is to prevent leakage of strategic information when the files move from one place to another.
Presently the environmental clearance for nuclear power projects and others are given by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The AERB is the sectoral regulator though technically not an independent one.
"Empowering AERB for giving environmental clearance to nuclear projects besides carrying out its present functions is a step in the right direction," K.S.
Parthasarathy, former Secretary of the AERB, told IANS.
Parthasarathy said as a Member of the Ministry of Environment expert committee for nuclear power projects from its inception to 2005 he had closely seen how the two agencies (AERB and Environment Ministry) function.
"With that background I fully endorse the decision to vest AERB with the responsibility for environmental clearance.
Vesting the authority in one agency will help speeding up our nuclear power programme," Parthasarathy said.
The AERB needs additional manpower with appropriate expertise in relevant disciplines when the site clearance responsibility is assigned to it, he said.
But how appropriate would it be to give the environmental clearance power to AERB which is technically not an independent statutory body but coming under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)?
"It is like one person being the umpire and the player.
It will be a great blunder to give the environmental clearance power for nuclear power projects to AERB," said G.
Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, an NGO working on socio-environmental issues.
"The AERB is a regulatory body.
A nuclear power plant has a huge impact on the environment. Hence the power to give the environment clearance should be with a separate body and not with AERB. Currently there are some checks and balances," Sundarrajan.
According to Sundarrajan, Poovulagin Nanbargal will approach the court if the Central government vests AERB with the environmental clearance power for nuclear power projects.
To that, Parthasarathy said: "It is appropriate to reintroduce the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill with the needed revision incorporating the suggestions from the Parliament committee and other agencies while delegating the environmental clearance functions to AERB."
He said enhancing the status of AERB as a separate statutory body is also the right step to improve its image in public's mind particularly when environmental clearance of nuclear projects which was being carried out by the Ministry of Environment, a separate agency, is also handed over to the AERB.
Former AERB Chairman, S.S.
Bajaj told IANS: "On technical matters AERB is totally independent. This has been endorsed by international bodies. As a sectoral regulator AERB has total autonomy."
He said while AERB decides on the technical aspects of a nuclear project like the seismological and other aspects of a site and other aspects, the Environment Ministry looks at the sociological and other issues.
Welcoming the move to give AERB the power to give the environmental clearance Bajaj also said the one area that is not properly done is the public hearing.
Bajaj said public hearing of nuclear power projects is now purely a political issue.
"To hijack the process of public hearing, people bring in some technical experts.
There should be an order in public hearing," he added.
According to him, AERB should take the views of experts on the issue of sociological impact of nuclear power projects.
The Central government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of 10 indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode.
Experts told IANS that the Centre's idea of giving AERB the environmental clearance power will certainly speed up the process.
According to the Central government, there are 10 reactors (including 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor, PFBR belonging to Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd-Bhavini, totaling 8,000 MW under construction at various stages.
On progressive completion of the projects under construction and accorded sanction, the total nuclear capacity is expected to reach 22,480 MW by 2031.
(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
--IANS
vj/ksk/.
Source: IANS
Welcoming the idea, a nuclear sector expert also said the Centre should reintroduce the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill alongside.
On the other hand, Poovulagin Nanbargal, a non-government organisation (NGO) here, said it would approach the courts if AERB is given the environmental clearance power for nuclear power projects.
According to a report, the Central government is planning to vest AERB with the power to accord the environmental clearance for nuclear power projects.
One of the reasons said for such a move is to prevent leakage of strategic information when the files move from one place to another.
Presently the environmental clearance for nuclear power projects and others are given by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The AERB is the sectoral regulator though technically not an independent one.
"Empowering AERB for giving environmental clearance to nuclear projects besides carrying out its present functions is a step in the right direction," K.S.
Parthasarathy, former Secretary of the AERB, told IANS.
Parthasarathy said as a Member of the Ministry of Environment expert committee for nuclear power projects from its inception to 2005 he had closely seen how the two agencies (AERB and Environment Ministry) function.
"With that background I fully endorse the decision to vest AERB with the responsibility for environmental clearance.
Vesting the authority in one agency will help speeding up our nuclear power programme," Parthasarathy said.
The AERB needs additional manpower with appropriate expertise in relevant disciplines when the site clearance responsibility is assigned to it, he said.
But how appropriate would it be to give the environmental clearance power to AERB which is technically not an independent statutory body but coming under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)?
"It is like one person being the umpire and the player.
It will be a great blunder to give the environmental clearance power for nuclear power projects to AERB," said G.
Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, an NGO working on socio-environmental issues.
"The AERB is a regulatory body.
A nuclear power plant has a huge impact on the environment. Hence the power to give the environment clearance should be with a separate body and not with AERB. Currently there are some checks and balances," Sundarrajan.
According to Sundarrajan, Poovulagin Nanbargal will approach the court if the Central government vests AERB with the environmental clearance power for nuclear power projects.
To that, Parthasarathy said: "It is appropriate to reintroduce the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill with the needed revision incorporating the suggestions from the Parliament committee and other agencies while delegating the environmental clearance functions to AERB."
He said enhancing the status of AERB as a separate statutory body is also the right step to improve its image in public's mind particularly when environmental clearance of nuclear projects which was being carried out by the Ministry of Environment, a separate agency, is also handed over to the AERB.
Former AERB Chairman, S.S.
Bajaj told IANS: "On technical matters AERB is totally independent. This has been endorsed by international bodies. As a sectoral regulator AERB has total autonomy."
He said while AERB decides on the technical aspects of a nuclear project like the seismological and other aspects of a site and other aspects, the Environment Ministry looks at the sociological and other issues.
Welcoming the move to give AERB the power to give the environmental clearance Bajaj also said the one area that is not properly done is the public hearing.
Bajaj said public hearing of nuclear power projects is now purely a political issue.
"To hijack the process of public hearing, people bring in some technical experts.
There should be an order in public hearing," he added.
According to him, AERB should take the views of experts on the issue of sociological impact of nuclear power projects.
The Central government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of 10 indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode.
Experts told IANS that the Centre's idea of giving AERB the environmental clearance power will certainly speed up the process.
According to the Central government, there are 10 reactors (including 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor, PFBR belonging to Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd-Bhavini, totaling 8,000 MW under construction at various stages.
On progressive completion of the projects under construction and accorded sanction, the total nuclear capacity is expected to reach 22,480 MW by 2031.
(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)
--IANS
vj/ksk/.
Source: IANS
Shimla, Sep 25 : Himachal Pradesh has been sanctioned a medical devices park, first in north India, by the Central government with the grant-in-aid of Rs 100 crore, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Thakur thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanctioning the park to be developed in Nalagarh in Solan district where land measuring 265 hectares has been identified.
The Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers had notified the guidelines of the Promotion of Medical Devices Park scheme that aimed to set up four medical devices parks in the country.
The Chief Minister said the estimated cost of this park would be Rs 266.95 crore and Rs 160.95 crore would be borne by the state government.
He said the state was expecting an investment of over Rs 5,000 crore with a turnover of Rs 20,000 crore and gainful employment for about 10,000 people.
The park will give big boost to the second stage of industrialization apart from producing consumer goods, Thakur said, adding that it would have industries producing capital goods such as plants and machinery, etc.
--IANS
vg/ksk/.
Source: IANS
Thakur thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanctioning the park to be developed in Nalagarh in Solan district where land measuring 265 hectares has been identified.
The Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers had notified the guidelines of the Promotion of Medical Devices Park scheme that aimed to set up four medical devices parks in the country.
The Chief Minister said the estimated cost of this park would be Rs 266.95 crore and Rs 160.95 crore would be borne by the state government.
He said the state was expecting an investment of over Rs 5,000 crore with a turnover of Rs 20,000 crore and gainful employment for about 10,000 people.
The park will give big boost to the second stage of industrialization apart from producing consumer goods, Thakur said, adding that it would have industries producing capital goods such as plants and machinery, etc.
--IANS
vg/ksk/.
Source: IANS
New Delhi, Sep 24 : Josh, Indias fastest growing and most engaged short-video app, made history on 9th September, 2021 by setting a new Guinness World Records title of creating the largest online video of people saluting the Indian National Anthem.
This feat was achieved during the #SaluteIndia campaign, organised by the app between 10th to 15th August, 2021, to mark Indias 75th year of Independence.
The #SaluteIndia campaign urged Indians to stand up and raise awareness around the evil societal practices such as discrimination, child labour, corruption, dowry among others.
Participants were required to create a minimum five-second-long video, using various filters available on the Josh app and take a stand on these issues, with the Indian National Anthem playing in the background.
Creators and users from all over the country united to mirror the platform's energy, power, passion and patriotism that resulted in a total of 29,529 video submissions.
With this, they broke the earlier record of 23,529 videos achieved by the Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Uttar Pradesh and District Administration, Gorakhpur, on 4th February 2021.
On achieving the commendable feat, Sunder Venketraman, Head of Creator and Content Ecosystem, Josh said, "We feel honoured and delighted to have set this new world record of the largest online video of people saluting.
Receiving a certification from the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS? gives us immense pride as it bears testimony to our ability and commitment in creating awareness among the masses to voice their opinion against the evil practices existing in our society.
We thank our creators, users and all the participants, who have played a key role in turning our vision into reality."
Neil Foster, VP EMEA APAC at Guinness World Records said, "We are delighted to announce Josh app as the Guinness World Records title holder for the 'largest online video of people saluting' to the Indian National Anthem.
We would like to congratulate each individual who has helped and contributed to the making of 29,529 videos and smash the record successfully.
We feel honoured to felicitate Josh App that has united people from all over the country digitally during the 75th Independence Day celebrations in India."
--IANS
san/bg.
Source: IANS
This feat was achieved during the #SaluteIndia campaign, organised by the app between 10th to 15th August, 2021, to mark Indias 75th year of Independence.
The #SaluteIndia campaign urged Indians to stand up and raise awareness around the evil societal practices such as discrimination, child labour, corruption, dowry among others.
Participants were required to create a minimum five-second-long video, using various filters available on the Josh app and take a stand on these issues, with the Indian National Anthem playing in the background.
Creators and users from all over the country united to mirror the platform's energy, power, passion and patriotism that resulted in a total of 29,529 video submissions.
With this, they broke the earlier record of 23,529 videos achieved by the Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Uttar Pradesh and District Administration, Gorakhpur, on 4th February 2021.
On achieving the commendable feat, Sunder Venketraman, Head of Creator and Content Ecosystem, Josh said, "We feel honoured and delighted to have set this new world record of the largest online video of people saluting.
Receiving a certification from the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS? gives us immense pride as it bears testimony to our ability and commitment in creating awareness among the masses to voice their opinion against the evil practices existing in our society.
We thank our creators, users and all the participants, who have played a key role in turning our vision into reality."
Neil Foster, VP EMEA APAC at Guinness World Records said, "We are delighted to announce Josh app as the Guinness World Records title holder for the 'largest online video of people saluting' to the Indian National Anthem.
We would like to congratulate each individual who has helped and contributed to the making of 29,529 videos and smash the record successfully.
We feel honoured to felicitate Josh App that has united people from all over the country digitally during the 75th Independence Day celebrations in India."
--IANS
san/bg.
Source: IANS
Panaji, Sep 24 : Amid the buzz of Trinamool Congress MPs arriving in Goa to scout for political talent and ticket aspirants for the 2022 Assembly polls in the coastal state, a popular Catholic priest, Fr.
Eremito Rebello, has recorded a video message for West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee to steer clear of "old dirty guys" from the Goa Congress.
Rebello, a Roman Catholic priest who has led several popular social agitations and civil society movements in the state over the last two decades, also said that roping in "rogues" from the Congress would lead to Trinamool's doom.
"This is a cry coming out from the depths of the heart of a genuine Goan who bleeds for Goa.
We are hearing that old dirty guys from the Congress and other parties are planning to join the Trinamool.
Madam Mamta and Mr. (Derek) O'Brien and all didis, girls and boys, please listen to what I am saying," Rebello said in the video uploaded on Facebook.
Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP O'Brien and Prasun Banerjee arrived in Goa on Thursday to meet ticket aspirants, political talent and eminent personalities from Goa to rope them into the West Bengal-based party.
"Your party can be a formidable alternative to the present ruling dispensation.
But please do not dirty yourself by accepting in your party those rogue dirty politicians who have ruined the future of Goa.
Right now what we are hearing is that many of such rogues are in touch with you. Just as they have destroyed the future of Congress party and the future of Goa and Goans, so will they destroy Trinamool Congress which has got such fame all over," Rebello said in his message.
Thirteen Congress MLAs in Goa have left the party to join the ruling BJP since 2017.
"I have high regard for you and I firmly believe that you can be a formidable alternative to the ruling dispensation.
You have very good capable leaders who can unite all the secular forces and come to power. I beg of you, please keep away from the rogues," Rebello said.
Several Congress leaders have been reached out to by the Trinamool workers as well as members of political strategist Prashant Kishor's outfit I-PAC over the last few weeks, with the prospects of kicking off the party's election campaign in Goa.
--IANS
maya/arm.
Source: IANS
Eremito Rebello, has recorded a video message for West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee to steer clear of "old dirty guys" from the Goa Congress.
Rebello, a Roman Catholic priest who has led several popular social agitations and civil society movements in the state over the last two decades, also said that roping in "rogues" from the Congress would lead to Trinamool's doom.
"This is a cry coming out from the depths of the heart of a genuine Goan who bleeds for Goa.
We are hearing that old dirty guys from the Congress and other parties are planning to join the Trinamool.
Madam Mamta and Mr. (Derek) O'Brien and all didis, girls and boys, please listen to what I am saying," Rebello said in the video uploaded on Facebook.
Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP O'Brien and Prasun Banerjee arrived in Goa on Thursday to meet ticket aspirants, political talent and eminent personalities from Goa to rope them into the West Bengal-based party.
"Your party can be a formidable alternative to the present ruling dispensation.
But please do not dirty yourself by accepting in your party those rogue dirty politicians who have ruined the future of Goa.
Right now what we are hearing is that many of such rogues are in touch with you. Just as they have destroyed the future of Congress party and the future of Goa and Goans, so will they destroy Trinamool Congress which has got such fame all over," Rebello said in his message.
Thirteen Congress MLAs in Goa have left the party to join the ruling BJP since 2017.
"I have high regard for you and I firmly believe that you can be a formidable alternative to the ruling dispensation.
You have very good capable leaders who can unite all the secular forces and come to power. I beg of you, please keep away from the rogues," Rebello said.
Several Congress leaders have been reached out to by the Trinamool workers as well as members of political strategist Prashant Kishor's outfit I-PAC over the last few weeks, with the prospects of kicking off the party's election campaign in Goa.
--IANS
maya/arm.
Source: IANS