Heena Sharma Blog

  A case for sedition has been lodged against Congress leader Shyoraj Jivan, a Dalit, who was caught on camera trying to incite local people in Boolgarhi village where a 19-year-old was fatally assaulted by four men last month. The Congress leader was seen in the purported videos, admitting that Congress used the Hathras incident for furthering its politics as it had been devoid of issues for a long time. He is using provocative language to provoke Hathras rape and murder victim's family and the entire Valmiki community with an alleged intent to inflame caste violence in the district. Jivan is a former minister of state in the Union cabinet and national secretary of All India Congress Committee. The Hathras Police has booked Shyoraj Jivan under sedition charges and has asked him to present himself for interrogation. Read More

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday asked people not to panic over Centre's health team projections about a surge of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai, stating that the number of hot spots in the state had reduced to five from 14. He also said that the rate of doubling of cases in the state had improved to 7.01 days from 3.1 days earlier this month. "There is no need to panic over the central government's team projections that Mumbai might have 42,604 cases by April 30 and 6.50 lakh patients by May 15," Tope said in an online address to people. Read More

The final voter turnout in Delhi assembly polls was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015, the Election Commission announced on Sunday evening nearly 24 hours after the polling ended, while the Aam Aadmi Party questioned the "delay". Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh, however, said there was no unusual delay in announcing the final voter turnout as the returning officers were busy with scrutiny of data to ensure its accuracy. After elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly were held on Saturday, poll officials had said that there was a turnout of 61.46 per cent, subject to revision. However, as there was no final word from the EC till 4 pm on Sunday, AAP chief and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter saying it was "absolutely shocking" that the poll panel was not coming out with the voting figures. "What is EC doing? Why are they not releasing poll turnout figures, several hours after polling?" Kejriwal tweeted. Read

Wednesday attacked BJP leaders, saying their character can be defined by the kind of slogans they raise, and claimed that the AAP was copying former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's development model. She also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of being "hungry for publicity". "Slogans tell character. Those who worked in the nation's interest can be identified by their slogans. Our (Congress) slogans were 'Jai jawan, jai kisan', 'Mai yuva hoon', 'Mera ek sapna hai', 'Aaram haram hai', 'Roti, kapda, makaan'," the Congress leader said. "Their (BJP's) slogans are 'Goli maro; khoon se tilak karo, boli nahi goli. Ye desh jodne wale nare hain'? (Are these slogans in favour of bringing the country together)," she said at a poll rally in Chandni Chowk. The Congress general secretary also said that Dikshit during her tenure as chief minister ha

On the penultimate day of campaigning for the Delhi polls on Wednesday, the AAP, the Congress and the BJP slugged it out over issues ranging from citizenship law, appeasement politics and unemployment. The Congress fielded its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to attack the AAP and the BJP, even as war of words escalated between the BJP and the AAP which traded barbs over the Shaheen Bagh shooter. On Tuesday, police had said that Kapil Baisala, the man who opened fire at Shaheen Bagh protest site last week, was an AAP worker. Addressing a press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that if Baisala was even remotely connected to the his party then he should be given a "double punishment". "I am not aware of his (Baisala's ties) with the any political party. If he is even remotely connected to the AAP, he should be given double punishment. There should be no compromise on national security," he said. Read More

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 nomina

There was no breach in Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's security during her recent trip to Lucknow, the CRPF said on Monday, blaming her for "violations" for riding pillion on a scooter. The force, which provides armed commandos under the 'Z+' category of VIP security cover to her, said the Congress leader undertook "unscheduled movement without intimation". Therefore, an advanced security liaison (ASL) could not be conducted, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said in a statement issued here under the name of its Inspector General (Intelligence and VIP security) P K Singh. Priyanka Gandhi's office had written to Singh's office on December 28 with a complaint that a police circle officer (CO) in Lucknow had issued threats to her security personnel and warned of restricting her movements on the same day. The statement said "there was no breach in security by the official" who happens to be the CO of Hazartganj,

An estimated 28.56 per cent of over 4.7 million voters exercised their franchise till 11 am on Monday in the fourth phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections in 15 constituencies, Election Commission (EC) officials said. Polling, which began at 7 am, is going on peacefully, they said. Braving cold weather, voters, including women and senior citizens, are seen waiting in queues for their turn to cast their vote. Voting will end at 3 pm at Jamua, Bagodar, Giridih, Dumri and Tundi while the exercise will continue till 5 pm in the remaining seats, they said. The seats going for polls in this phase are Deoghar (SC), Jamua (SC), Chandankiyari (SC), Madhupur, Bagodar, Gandey, Giridih, Dumri, Bokaro, Sindri, Nirsa, Dhanbad, Jharia, Tundi and Baghmara spread across four districts. A total of 47,85,009 voters, including 22,44,134 women and 81 third-gender people, are eligible to decide the fate of 221 nominees in this phase. Read More

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will take oath as chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening at the Shivaji Park here. With the swearing-in of 59-year-old Thackeray, the state will have a chief minister from the Sena after 20 years. The oath taking ceremony will be held at the sprawling Shivaji Park, where his father and Sena founder Bal Thackeray addressed his famous Dussehra rallies. The last Sena man to occupy the chief minister's chair was Narayan Rane in 1999, after Manohar Joshi, who in 1995 became the first CM from the party. The swearing-in ceremony follows days of dramatic political developments, which included a three-day government formed by an unexpected support from NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who has since returned to the Sharad Pawar-led party fold. The Sena, along with the NCP and Congress constituted the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' to form a non-BJP government in the state. Read More

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the CBI's response on a plea of former finance minister P Chidambaram, lodged in Tihar Jail in the INX Media corruption case , seeking bail in the matter. Justice Suresh Kait issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Chidambaram's bail plea in which he has claimed that it was the case of "political vendetta". The 73-year old-Congress leader also withdrew from the high court his plea challenging the trial court's order remanding him to judicial custody till September 19. The court listed the matter for further hearing on September 23. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

Never since Indira Gandhi’s famous 1971 electoral triumph had an incumbent prime minister returned with a majority. Never since 1984 had a party crossed the 300-seat mark. On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first ever non-Congress prime minister to return to power after a full term, and also the first in 48 years to return with a majority. The BJP, at the time of filing this report, was leading in 303 seats, and in 353 seats along with its allies. The last time a party crossed the 300-seat mark was in 1984, when the Congress won more than 400 seats in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The scale and spread of the BJP’s victory are impressive. Apart from winning an unprecedented majority, the BJP vote share in 12 states is more than 50 per cent, including in big states such as Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh and Tripura, the BJP vote share is 49 per cent. The Congress, expected to challenge the BJP at least in

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has surged to a majority on his own in India’s general election, with his Bharatiya Janata Party establishing a commanding lead in vote counting. "India wins yet again," Modi said in a tweet. "Together we grow. Together we prosper. Together we will build a strong India." BJP supporters have begun celebrating in the streets as the party extended its lead in more than 299 seats -- easily ahead of the 272 seats needed to form government and more than the 282 the party won in 2014. The opposition Congress party is ahead in 51 seats, official election commission results show as of 2:46 pm local time. Follow our TOPLive blog coverage here. After the initial euphoria over the prospects of a landslide victory, gains in Indian assets are evaporating fast. The Sensex, the benchmark equity index, is close to erasing its climb to a record. The outcome is a validation of Modi’s hardline Hindu nationalism and populist economic policies,

India began counting hundreds of millions of votes in its general election on Thursday, with a coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party taking an early lead, TV channels and the Election Commission said. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is expected to surpass the 272 seats needed to command a majority in the Lok Sabha, six of seven exit polls showed on Sunday. The NDA led in 235 seats, with the opposition United Progressive Alliance ahead in 95, at 9 a.m. local time (0330 GMT), about an hour after the counting of about 600 million votes began, TV channel NDTV said. Official data from the Election Commission showed the BJP ahead in 101 seats, with the main opposition Congress Party ahead in 40. There are 542 seats available. Trends are expected to be known by noon and final results are due by Thursday evening. The NDA’s predicted margin of victory is larger than surveys indicated in the run-up to the vote, w

Congress leaders including from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh claimed that several surgical strikes were conducted by army during the previous UPA rule. “ Multiple surgical strikes took place during our tenure, too. For us, military operations were meant for strategic deterrence and giving a befitting reply to anti-India forces than to be used for vote garnering exercises, Singh had said in an interview to a newspaper. Congress leader Rajiv Shukla had told reporters at an AICC briefing last week that six surgical strikes were conducted during the period of Manmohan Singh government. PM Modi in a rally slammed the Congress for telling "lies" aand said the party does surgical strikes only "in video games". Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

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

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday took to Twitter to make public the negotiations for a pre-poll alliance for Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha seats between his party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which triggered a war of tweets between supporters of the two parties. “ An alliance between the Congress and AAP in Delhi would mean the rout of the BJP. The Congress is willing to give up four Delhi seats to the AAP to ensure this. But, Mr. (Arvind) Kejriwal has done yet another U turn! Our doors are still open, but the clock is running out,” Gandhi tweeted, with the hashtag that said the ball was in AAP’s court. Kejriwal, chief of AAP and Delhi chief minister, retorted wondering which “U turn” the Congress was referring to when negotiations were still on. “Your tweet proves that an alliance (in Delhi) is not your wish but for public consumption. I am saddened that you are indulging in such public recriminations. Today, the country needs to be saved from (Narendra) Modi and (Amit

Two opinion polls in lead up to the Lok Sabha elections 2019 predict that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will come back to power, while one says the ruling alliance will fall five seats short of the magic number of 272. Three days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, a survey by Time Now- VMR shows that the NDA will come back to power with 279 seats. It projects 149 seats for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and 115 for other parties and candidates. The BJP and its allies are expected to win 267 of the 543 parliament seats at stake, the CVoter polling agency said, just five short of the halfway mark required to rule. The latest estimate is down sharply from the alliance’s current tally of 330 seats secured when Modi swept to power in 2014, promising to transform India. “ In the immediate aftermath of the Balakot strikes the percentage of those strongly satisfied with the government rose to a recent all-time high of 52 per cent,”

BSP supremo Mayawati Wednesday termed the Congress manifesto as a "showoff" and an "illusion" and said there was no credibility of the promises made by the party due to its past. Congress and BJP are no different when it comes to non-fulfilment of promises, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in a tweet. Congress President Rahul Gandhi Tuesday released his party's manifesto for Lok Sabha polls, making jobs creation, addressing farm distress, bringing a single moderate rate of GST and giving Rs 72,000 per annum to poor families as key focus if the party comes to power. Claiming the BJP was afraid of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, Mayawati said, "They (BJP) are so afraid that instead of talking of issues, they indulge in unnecessary casteist statements on top leader of (alliance). Read More Article Source -> Business Standard

The Congress on Tuesday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, making a slew of promises, including giving Rs 72,000 each to five crore poor families under the 'Nyay' scheme, filling up 2.2 million government vacancies, bringing a separate budget for farmers and fixing a single moderate GST rate. The 55-page document titled ' Hum Nibhayenge ' (We will deliver) focused on addressing the issues of joblessness, farm distress, safety of women and boosting the rural economy, with stress on building a narrative on "real issues" faced by people. The manifesto was released by party president Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and senior leader P Chidambaram among others. For farmers, Congress promised to put them on the path from "Karz Maafi" (loan waiver), to "Karz Mukti" (freedom from loans). This will be done through remunerative prices, lower input costs, and assured access to

Some, including the NITI Aayog chief, have slammed the Congress party of fiscal imprudence in proposing minimum income guarantee, or NYAY , of Rs 6,000 per month to 20 per cent poorest households. The estimated Rs 3.6 trillion payout looks prohibitive. However, a closer inspection of the proposed scheme and current political dynamics make it eminently workable. To begin with, Congress does not intend to implement it as soon as it comes to power, that is if it does, on May 23, 2019. Experts in the party, which include Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, who were helped by its data analytics chief Praveen Chakravarty in putting together the scheme, have proposed a new committee that would be constituted to steer the implementation of the scheme. It is likely that former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian could head such a committee. Subramanian, as Chakravarty has acknowledged in his interviews, is closely involved in helping Congress with the details of the scheme. In the