Bulldozing does not pay dividends as BJP realizes on meat ban in Maharashtra

#BJP #MeatBan #Paryushan #DevendraFadnavis BJP is realizing that bulldozing does not always pay dividends as the Shiv Sena, MNS, Congress and NCP slam the decision of the BMC to a four-day shutdown of the Deonar abattoir during Paryushan – this is a week long period of penance for the Jain community. BJP finds itself isolated on the issue.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 September 2015.

Political observers feels this is a method of appeasing the Jain community for political reasons and, MNS chief Raj Thackeray has urged the party not to "play politics" on the veg-non veg issue. In his opinion, no community should be appeased on the question of dietary preferences.
The BJP had made fresh attempts to extend the abattoir ban to four extra days to cover the entire stretch of Paryushan but it was opposed by the other parties.
Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Sanjay Nirupam has termed this action of determining the dietary preferences of citizens as impolite and that the BJP has encroached on the citizens' personal space.
However, the decision to shut the Deonar abattoir for four days (September 10, 13, 17 and 180 had been taken by the civic administration and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had nothing to do with the decision. This clarification has been given by the local BJP leaders.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Desperate Mamata Banerjee ropes in Sourav Ganguli to promote industries in Bengal

Mamata Banerjee is desperate to show some positives in the field of industrialization of Bengal. Already four years have passed and, in spite of her journeys to foreign locations like Singapore and London to invite industries, she has achieved very little. Therefore, she has now roped in Sourav Ganguli to try something new. Sourav is a darling of Bengalis and has already made a mark in reality TV shows through ‘Dadagiri’. Hence, Mamata feels Sourav can perform a miracle.
This has been reported in dnaindia.com dated 7 September 2015.

There have been reports in the media that BJP is trying to get Sourav into their camp and be the face of the party in West Bengal. Therefore, Mamata is at her wits end.
The reality show named Egiye Bangla- aapni jokhon entrepreneur will be on a private TV channel and will be sponsored by the government of West Bengal. It would target young entrepreneurs who have unique business ideas and help them to achieve their dreams.
It is understood that there would be established entrepreneurs and a number of industry experts on the show to share the mantra of their success. These entrepreneurs will be expected to help start-ups in establishing themselves in the state.
It remains to be seen how far this strategy would succeed given the problems related to availability of land, the terribly poor infrastructure and the prevalent syndicate raj of the different groups of the Trinamool Congress.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Mamata Banerjee in team of Narendra Modi headed for Bangladesh

Politics is a profession where nothing is predictable and where sworn enemies can become fast friends overnight. The blow-hot, blow-cold relationship between Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Narendra Modi, is well known. But, of late, there appears to be a thaw and Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to accompany Narendra Modi on his visit to Dhaka on June 6.
It may be recalled that she had snubbed the earlier Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the same issue four years back – she had skipped a similar tour. In September 2011, she had suddenly pulled out at the last minute. The signing of the Teesta water-sharing treaty was on top of the agenda. The Chief Minister had refused to give her assent to the sharing the Teesta waters with Bangladesh.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 29 May 2015.

It seems the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had called up the Chief Minister and requested her to join the delegation travelling with the Prime Minister.
His camaraderie between Mamata and Modi has taken everyone, including BJP leaders associated with West Bengal, by surprise. Tongues of the opposition were wagging following a few recent incidents and, the BJP leaders are also surprised.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Rajya Sabha adjourned again on issue of religious conversion – opposition wants Modi to speak

#BolModiBol Yes, the opposition wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the issue of conversions but that is not happening and the speaker had to adjourn the House once again. Bol Modi Bol is the cry.
Incidentally, this was the third day in a row that, a united opposition led by the Congress party continued its demand for a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on recent forced religious conversions.
The Congress along with the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Janata Dal (United), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Trinamool Congress have been demanding the presence of Modi in the Rajya Sabha to inform the members of the House on the steps that the government is taking over such conversions.
It may be recalled that BJP MP Yogi Adityanath has justified such programs terming the conversions are an ongoing process that will continue to happen. In his words, this 'ghar-wapsi' programme has been happening for ages.
Since the BJP is not having the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the opposition is a force to reckon with.
The BJP government is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha with just 57 MPs while the opposition of the six parties have a total of 126 members of parliament in the 245 member house.
Since there ae several important bills in the House waiting for approval, such disruption in proceedings are proving costly because there are only three days left in this session. It remains to be seen whether Modi will take heed of the Bol Modi Bol demand.

Delhi polls on the anvil - can Arvind Kejriwal rise like the Phoenix from the ashes

It is now official – New Delhi will go to the polls once again because neither the BJP nor the AAP has the numbers and, there were apprehensions that there would horse trading.
As per reports, Congress leader Haroon Yusuf had met Delhi LG Najeeb Jung and requested him to announce fresh elections in the capital because his party has been demanding elections from day one and also confirmed that Party's high-command holds the same opinion.
The suggestion put forth by Yusuf was to dissolve the Delhi assembly and hold elections along with assembly elections in J & K and Jharkhand that are scheduled for November-December 2014.
As far as the BJP is concerned, unlike the Parliamentary elections where the saffron brigade projected its leader as Narendra Modi in advance there would not be any face projected as such for Delhi. In fact, some quarters feel that the Modi magic may not have the desired effect to turn the voters around in Delhi which has been without any government for a long time.
Shiela Dixit had ruled Delhi for three terms for 15 years and does not want another stint. Congress MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely has indicated that the Congress party is not bereft of leaders and there would not be any problem to form a government. In fact, his party had been demanding repolls.
It may be noted that the Congress had fared miserably in recent polls and had faced a drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections apart from the recent Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections but, in Delhi it would be different. That is the opinion of Lovely. His logic is - Delhi has been without a government for a year, hence the question on anti-incumbency against Congress does not arise. The residents have already witnessed so many problems like price rise, inflation, and increase in water and power bills, security issue and would take a proper decision.
Incidentally, the AAP could have been in power but its leader Arvind Kejriwal had other ideas and, in the bargain, he lost his support base and inner party differences ended what would have been a bed of roses – in reality, it turned into a bed of thorns. The five mistakes that he made, as seen by others, have been summarized wonderfully through caricatures.

Trinamool Congress feels the heat as BJP, CPM and Congress gang up

In order to ensure that information about the trouble in Parui in Birbhum district of West Bengal does not reach the outside world, the ruling party of Trinamool Congress are taking every conceivable measure ibnlive.in.com. It may be recalled that three persons were killed and as many injured when Trinamool Congress and BJP supporters fought a gun battle at Makra when Prohibitory Orders under Section 144 CrPC was clamped in the area.
The latest round of clashes between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress workers in Birbhum has become a hotbed of unrest and a political arena. And, after the BJP and the Left, a Congress delegation on Saturday had gone to Birbhum to visit the affected villages but was stopped by the police.
The Congress party was demanding that the police lift Section 144 imposed in the area citing the difficulties which has resulted in the villagers having to face lockdown and associated problems.
Reports indicate that the State Pradesh Congress President Adhir Chowdhury had reached Parui but was stopped by the police on grounds that section 144 was in place in the region. There followed hectic negotiations with the police top brass, and Adhir Chowdhury had to retreat after being assured that the prohibitive section would be lifted in the next 2-4 days.
Of course, Adhir Choudhury has indicated that in case the police do not keep their promise, his Congress party would return after a week with a much larger force and break all the police barriers and violate all laws. Obviously, with the gradual emergence of the BJP as a party that can turn the tables on the TMC, the political equation in West Bengal is likely to change – whether for better or for worse is anybody’s guess.

BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rahul Sinha arrested in Birbhum

The Trinamool Congress leaders are feeling the heat as the BJP is breathing down their necks following the discovery of a large number of terror modules scattered across the countryside of West Bengal indianexpress.com.
It seems senior BJP leaders, including national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and state party Chief Rahul Sinha, were arrested when they tried to enter a village in Birbhum where section 144 has been imposed since Friday.
Naqvi had minced no words when he termed the police action as “death of democracy” and said the “West Bengal government has become a government of terrorists and criminals”.
It seems Naqvi and other BJP leaders, including party MPs Kirti Azad and Udit Raj, had also got involved in a brief, but violent spat with police and jawans of RAF at the adjoining Choumandalpur village. They were told that there has been an order from the “top authority” not to allow any political party inside the village.
Incidentally, the BJP leaders wanted to send a three-member central team to the village “without violating the provision of section 144”.
It seems three persons were killed in clashes in the village - they were one BJP and two Trinamool supporters. The police team had gone there after reports surfaced of bombs hidden at a health centre.

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.