Heena Sharma Blog

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday conferred the " Global Goalkeeper " award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by his government. In a series of tweets in Hindi, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Modi lauded the countrymen for contributing to the grand success of the cleanliness mission, saying he shared the honour with them. "Getting the award in the year of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary is personally significant for me. When 130 crore people take a pledge, any challenge can be overcome," the prime minister said. He dedicated the award to those Indians who transformed the Swachh Bharat campaign into a "people's movement" and accorded topmost priority to cleanliness in their day-to-day lives. "No such campaign was seen or heard about in any other country in the recent past. It might have been launched by our government, but people took control of it,...

The US has welcomed the post-election statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on inclusivity, saying his re-election was a "clear" mandate for his vision of a strong, inclusive and prosperous India that plays a leading role on the global stage. Modi last week said that his government will now begin "a new journey to build a new India with new energy" and reached out to minorities, saying the ruling alliance must win their trust and work without any discrimination. "We certainly welcome Prime Minister Modi's post-election statements that have emphasised inclusivity that no one should be left behind, that there should be no distinction between Indian citizens, that the government should rule with the trust of everyone," a senior State Department official told a group of reporters hours after Modi was sworn in for the second five-year term in office. Prime Minister Modi was on Thursday administered the oath of office and secrecy by President...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his "why are all Modis thieves" barb, adding using derogatory language has become synonymous with the " naamdar " (dynast). Addressing a rally here, Modi said it has become a fashion for the "naamdar" to speak in derogatory terms. "Is this the language to speak? We have to throw out such people. Abusive language is the norm. The Sahu community here would have been called Modi in Gujarat. Are they all thieves," Modi said. Targeting the Congress, Modi said naxal influence in the area where BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi was killed by them, had been considerably reduced. "Why did this happen now," he said, referring to the naxal attack which claimed Mandavi's life. Mandavi and four security personnel were killed last Tuesday when their convoy was attacked by naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. Modi claimed that the Congress was "ha...

Did Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi break election rules by addressing the nation on an anti-satellite test recently? Is it right to have a channel dedicated to the leader? Can the country's armed forces be called "Modi's soldiers"? Ahead of a general election that starts next week, the Election Commission of India (ECI) says it is swamped with hundreds of thousands of such questions and complaints of alleged violation of election rules, known as the model code of conduct. Many are coming via ever expanding social media. Opposition parties have accused the ECI of being biased towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which they say is giving Modi an unfair advantage in the election. There is even a threat to jail commission officials if Modi is ousted. The BJP denies getting any special treatment from the ECI. The ECI - an autonomous constitutional body tasked with the smooth conduct of the world's biggest democratic exercise with as many ...

India has become the fourth country in the world to hit a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite in space, with Indian scientists using an anti-satellite missile to bring down an LEO satellite . The mission was completed in 3 minutes. "India has shot down an LEO satellite to make ' Mission Shakti ' a benchmark in the history of our country," said Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation on Wednesday. "Till now, only US, Russia and China had achieved this; India has become the fourth country to achieve this feat," the Prime Minister added. "Mission Shakti is a huge step forward! It will ensure our spy satellites will not be shot down by China in case of war." Article Source -> Business Standard

BSP supremo Mayawati Friday attacked the BJP using the 'chowkidar' jibe alleging while its leaders did not care about the Rafale files, they are shielding crucial data on unemployment and farmers' plight. In a series of tweets, she took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues for calling themselves 'chowkidar' (watchman) and alleged they are not bothered about Rafale files being "stolen", but are hiding data on "declining" employment rate, poverty and farmers' plight. Prime Minister Modi and his partymen have launched "Main bhi chowkidar (I too am a watchman) campaign to blunt Opposition's, especially the Congress', 'chowkidar chor hai (watchman is thief' slogan. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister further said while several BJP leaders and ministers declared themselves 'chowkidars' following the PM, CM Yogi Adityanath was not sure whether to announce himself as one or remain a p...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Shramyogi Mandhan Pension Yojana , a pension scheme for workers of the unorganised sector in Gujarat. Modi targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi over poverty, saying only those oblivious to sleeping hungry at night can think that it is a state of mind. For some, poverty is just an opportunity to click photos, Modi said, sharpening his attack on the Congress chief. "This scheme is aimed at uplift of the section of society which has been ignored and left at the mercy of God. They (Congress) gave slogans of garibi hatao (end poverty). Under this scheme, unorganised workers will get a pension of Rs 3000. I am told that over 14 lakh workers have been enrolled under the scheme, Modi said. Some projected themselves as messiah of workers. But during their tenure they did not launch such a scheme, he said. "They ruled the country for 55 years and collected votes in the name of poor," he said. "This...

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Monday termed the PM-KISAN scheme as "cash for votes" and said it was BJP's "desperate attempt" to placate debt-ridden farmers with "crumbs" of Rs 17 per day per family. The former finance minister also said the scheme showed that the BJP was living by the "truth that desperate times require desperate measures". The Rs 75,000 crore scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gorakhpur on Sunday by transferring the first instalment of Rs 2,000 each to over one crore farmers. The scheme was announced in this year's Interim budget whereby the central government announced that it will provide Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments to 12 crore small and marginal farmers holding cultivable land up to up to two hectares. "PM launches ' Cash for Votes ' scheme. After driving farmers into debt and acute distress, the BJP is desperately trying to placate them with crumbs of ...