BJP embarrassed as its own MP raises issue of corruption among party leaders

Within one year of being in office, the Narendra Modi government has been embarrassed by a number of revelations of corruption charges leveled against senior members of BJP and it has tried to play them down. During election meetings, Narendra Modi had said that ‘na khayenge, na hi khane denge’ (or words to that effect) meaning ‘we will not bribe others, neither will we accept bribe from others’.
But, one of its own MPs has now voiced his concerns to party president Amit Shah.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 21 July 2015.

The man who has embarrassed BJP is none other than Shanta Kumar – he has raised the issues of corruption that the party is facing in the states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra. In his opinion, such acts are affecting the morale of the party workers. He has also called for setting up an ethics committee to act as a Lokpal to keep a check on party leaders.
The irregularities relate to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and ex Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi's travel request, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje alleged help to Lalit Modi to get UK stay permit. Then there is the multi-crore Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh – the death of as many as 49 people are believed to be linked to this high-profile scam.
And, last but not least, the alleged chikki scam in Maharashtra in which the name of BJP MLA Pankaja Munde is coming up – she is being accused of a Rs 206 crore chikki scam and also of awarding a contract to build dam to a private company without tender.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -
You don’t need wads of money to travel like the moneyed – use an Uber-style phone app

Role reversal in Delhi - woman passenger tries to seduce auto driver

Gardeners and sweepers of NDMC will go to Singapore or Shanghai for training

Controversy over water cannons procured for London Police by Boris Johnson

FAO Schwarz, America’s oldest toy store, closes its doors in Manhattan


Egypt unsafe for British tourists – ISIS attacks patrol ship off coast of Sinai

Chinese police shoot dead three knife wielding Xinjiang terrorists

Police foil al-Qaeda terror plot in Britain – hold three men


Grandmothers doubled up as baby sitters and chaperons

Some Prime Ministers ride to office on bicycles, why not we?

Amit Shah’s foot-in-mouth comments ‘achhe din will take 25-years’ – BJP rushes in to clarify

Narendra Modi, during his aggressive campaign in the last Lok Sabha elections had promised the electorate that ‘achhe din’ or ‘good days’ will soon come for one and all. However, BJP President, while talking to his party workers in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh has said that the BJP will take 25 years to deliver "achhe din" that had been promised by the Prime Minister before the 2014 elections.
In his words - "achhe din aane mein 25 saal lagenge (It will take 25 years to bring achhe din).
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 14 July 2015.

The statement must have taken the BJP unawares and they have rushed in to defuse the situation and clarify what exactly Amit Shah had wanted to convey.
Clarifications given by BJP secretary and media cell in-charge Shrikant Sharma is that Amit Shah had said that the BJP government had curbed corruption and brought down inflation and is working to end corruption and create many jobs in five years. However, the dream of making India 'Vishwa guru (world leader) will take 25 years to realize.
Shrikant Sharma has gone on to explain that in its five-year term BJP will reduce inflation, ensure secure borders, make a strong foreign policy , achieve economic development, provide jobs and remove poverty.
In his words, BJP's concept of ' acche din' was far broader than fixing the ' bijli, pani & sadak issues'. In the eyes of the BJP, ' acche din' means restorig the glory that India enjoyed before the British occupation.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -
Revolution in the skies - Airbus flies electric plane E-Fan across the English Channel

CBSE to check cheating in AIPMT exams – examinees can wear only T-shirt and jeans

Nine-year-old boy of Philippines studies in the light from a McDonald’s restaurant

Drone hovering over TISS campus in Mumbai sets off alarms

Typhoon Chan-hom strikes eastern coast of China with wind speeds of 173-Kmph


Boko Haram going the way of ISIS – releases first beheading video

US drone strike has killed top ISIS leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan?

Parents of 14-year-old girl arrested for forcing her to live in the woods for eating Pop-Tart


Where are the stamp collectors and pen friends?

Religion on Indian television

Devendra Fadnavis takes over as Chief Minister Maharashtra

44-year-old Devendra Fadnavis has been sworn as the 27th chief minister of Maharashtra as the BJP formed its government for the first time on its own without reliance on any other party timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
The program was held at the Wankhede Stadium and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present on the occasion. Also in attendance were several of the PMs Cabinet colleagues, apart from chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and those governed by its allies.
There is a lot of curiosity about Devendra Fadnavis - he is the second youngest chief minister of Maharashtra after Sharad Pawar who became Chief Minister when he was 38. When he was just 21, Fadnavis had become the youngest corporator of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, he became Nagpur's youngest mayor at 27. That way, he was second youngest mayor elected in India.
Fadnavis holds a law degree from Law College, Nagpur, and also a post graduate diploma in Business Management and a diploma in Project Management from the DSE Foundation in Germany.
Unhappy with the treatment meted out to it by the BJP, former ally Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had decided to boycott but, he changed his mind after a last minute call by party President Amit Shah – this has set off speculations that a possible rapprochement between the two estranged Hindutva parties could be on the cards.
With BJP now both at the center as well as the state, expectations are high that development projects would get a boost because there would be no need to face the arm twisting tactics of allies. This had hampered innumerable development work in Maharashtra.