National
Andhra Assembly polls: Will NTR's son Balayya hold on to TDP fortress Hindupur?
Amaravati, May 10 (IANS) Two of Tollywood’s leading actors are in the fray for the May 13 Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.
While Pawan Kalyan, who heads the Jana Sena Party, is trying once again for his maiden electoral victory, Nandamuri Balakrishna is aiming to score a hat-trick.
Pawan Kalyan, who lost both the Assembly seats he contested in 2019, is testing his fortunes this time from Pithapuram in Kakinada district in coastal Andhra.
Balakrishna, son of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder and former chief minister N. T. Rama Rao (NTR), is seeking re-election from Hindupur in Sri Sathya Sai district in Rayalaseema region.
Glamour has been a part of every election in Andhra Pradesh since 1983 when legendary actor NTR took a plunge into politics, altering the political scene of the region.
Balayya, as Balakrishna is popularly known, faces a tough battle this time from Hindupur, which was once represented by his father.
Like in 2014 and 2019, he is locked in a direct fight with the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate. This time the ruling party has fielded a woman candidate — Tippegowda Narayana Deepika.
He made his cinematic debut at the age of 14 with the 1974 Telugu film ‘Tatamma Kala’. The 63-year-old has acted in more than 100 movies.
Balayya, who is the brother-in-law of TDP president and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, made his electoral debut on a winning note from Hindupur in 2014. He defeated his nearest rival B. Naveen Nischal of YSRCP by 16,196 votes.
In 2019, despite the YSRCP wave across the state, Balayya retained the seat, defeating Shaik Mohammed Iqbal, a retired police officer, by 18,028 votes.
Iqbal, who was later made a member of the Legislative Council by YSRCP, recently joined TDP.
This time Congress party has fielded Mohammad Hussain Inayatullah. However, the contest is likely to be between Balayya and Deepika.
Deepika is from the backward class and the wife of YSRCP leader Venugopal. YSRCP’s Rayalaseema coordinator and state minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy is guiding her in the campaign.
As BC and Muslim voters are considered a deciding factor in more than 2.10 lakh voters, the YSRCP is trying to garner the support of both sections.
Since TDP has an alliance with the Jana Sena Party and Bharatiya Janata Party, the TDP camp is confident that Balayya will retain the seat with a comfortable margin.
Balakrishna, a Kamma, is also banking on the support from BCs and Muslims. His wife and daughters are also campaigning for him.
Hindupur is one of the key Assembly seats being targeted by YSRCP. Deepika hopes that the welfare schemes of the YSRCP government will give the party its first victory in Hindupur, which has remained a fortress of TDP since 1983. TDP never lost an election from here ever since P. Ranganayukulu was elected from here in 1983.
NTR had a special bond with Hindupur. He won the seat thrice, became chief minister twice and served as leader of the opposition once.
In 1985, he contested three seats (one each in coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana) and was elected from all three. He vacated two others and represented Hindupur.
In 1989, NTR contested again from Hindupur and retained the seat. He won for a third consecutive term from Hindupur in 1994, when he led TDP back to power with a landslide victory.
NTR’s death in 1996, a few months after his son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu led the revolt to become the chief minister, resulted in the by-election and his eldest son Nandamuri Harikrishna was elected as TDP candidate. Though NTR’s family members did not contest the 1999, 2004 and 2009 elections, the party retained the seat.
NTR and his wife Basvatarakam had seven sons and four daughters. However, none of them could become his political successor and it was NTR’s son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu who took up the mantle and successfully owned the political legacy of the TDP founder.
NTR had named his fourth son Balakrishna as his political heir but he had confined himself to campaigning for the party. Like most of his siblings, Balakrishna had backed Naidu in the coup against NTR in 1995 citing the growing interference of NTR’s second wife Lakshmi Parvathi in party affairs and administration.
Ever since the TDP’s formation, Balakrishna always campaigned for it in every election but never entered the electoral battle. He finally took a plunge into electoral politics in 2014 from Hindupur.
Balakrishna is also the father-in-law of Chandrababu Naidu’s only son Nara Lokesh.
–IANS
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National
PM Modi to give certificates to 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis; roll out Rs 2,500 crore fund
New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give certificates to 11 lakh new ‘Lakhpati Didis’ at a special function to be held at Jalgaon in Maharashtra on August 25 (Sunday).
The programme will have nationwide participation through the virtual mode.
The Prime Minister will release a revolving Community Investment Fund of Rs 2,500 crore, which will benefit about 48 lakh members of 4.3 lakh women Self Help Groups (SHGs), Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
PM Modi will also release a bank loan of Rs 5,000 crore, which will benefit 25.8 lakh members of 2,35,400 Self Help Groups (SHGs).
Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said that people from about 30,000 places across 34 states and union territories including state capitals and district headquarters will join this program through the virtual route.
He said that Lakhpati Didis are women who earn Rs 1 lakh or more per annum. These Lakhpati Didis have not only pulled their families out of poverty but are also becoming role models for the rest of society, the Union Minister said.
“The Rural Development Ministry has already created 1 crore Lakhpati Didis. Now our target is to create 3 crore Lakhpati Didis in the next 3 years. It is heartening to note that one of these community resource persons has created 95 Lakhpati Didis,” Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
He further explained that the Ministry has adopted a structured process to enable the SHG families to earn an annual income of Rs 1 lakh or more.
This includes capacitating National Resource Persons and developing Master Trainers in each state.
These Master Trainers further train the Community Resource Persons on business planning, financing and convergence process.
The cadre of 3 lakh Community Resource Persons, who have been specially trained in business planning and the skilling of SHG members, are doing a great service in this regard, the minister added.
Some of these community resource persons will also be facilitated.
As of now, the Ministry of Rural Development has formed 15 lakh Lakhpati Didis during the first 100 days which has succeeded the 11 lakh target for the period, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
–IANS
sps/pgh
National
Tripura flood death toll rises to 12, more NDRF teams deployed (Lead)
Agartala, Aug 22 (IANS) The flood situation in Tripura, which has been lashed by heavy rains for the last four days, remained grim on Thursday and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) retained its ‘Red alert’ for all eight districts, officials said.
They added that more National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed as the rains and floods continue to play havoc.
Till Thursday, 12 deaths, including that of a 12-year-old girl and a woman were reported from South Tripura, Gomati, and Khowai districts and two persons were also said to be missing.
A Disaster Management Department official said that two more fresh casualties due to the floods were reported from south Tripura and Gomati districts, while around 65,500 people are taking shelter in 450 relief camps in all eight districts.
He said that 17 lakh people were affected in the entire state, which witnessed the monsoon flood in such a catastrophic manner for the first time in several decades.
Chief Minister Manik Saha, who is supervising the disaster management work, spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the second day on Thursday and apprised him of the prevailing scenario.
Home Minister Shah said in a post on X, “Spoke with CM Tripura, Dr Manik Saha, and took stock of the flood situation in the state. The Centre is rushing teams of NDRF, apart from boats and helicopters, to the state to assist the local government in relief and rescue operations. Assured of all possible assistance from the Centre as and when required. The Modi government firmly stands with our sisters and brothers in Tripura during this hour of crisis.”
Later, the Chief Minister while expressing gratitude to the Home Minister said that HM Shah informed him that 11 NDRF teams would be sent to Tripura from different locations in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
He said arrangements would also be made for choppers to airlift stranded people in the flood-affected areas.
“More number of boats would also be sent along with the NDRF teams. The entire state government machinery has been working round the clock to tackle the unprecedented natural calamity. I thank public representatives, social workers and the people at large for cooperating with the state government in this hour of crisis,” CM Saha said.
The central government has provided two helicopters for airlifting stranded people in Gomati and South Tripura districts.
Following the directions of the state government, due to the heavy rain and flooding, all educational institutions remained closed.
An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said that though a ‘heavy’ to ‘very heavy’ rainfall alert has been continued and a ‘Red alert’ has been sounded in all eight districts, the rain is likely to reduce slightly from Thursday evening.
“The low pressure area over north Bangladesh and neighbourhood persisted over the same region on Thursday. The associated cyclonic circulation now extends up to 9.4 km above mean sea level. It is likely to move nearly westwards across West Bengal during the next 48 hours. Additionally, a cyclonic circulation is likely to form over North Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood on August 24,” the official said.
The IMD recorded 233 mm rainfall in Agartala from 8.30 A.M. on August 21 to till 8.30 A.M. on Thursday.
According to Disaster Management Department officials over 1,055 houses were damaged either fully or partially and hundreds of trees were uprooted blocking many important highways.
Landslides occurred in 2,032 places across the state, out of which 1,789 locations were cleared by Thursday evening.
As per preliminary estimates, around 5,000 hectares of vegetable farms and 1.20 lakh hectares of other crop lands are still submerged.
Water Resource Department officials said that most of the prominent rivers in Tripura were either flowing above ‘critical’ or ‘danger’ levels while the state’s main river Gomati has crossed the ‘extreme danger’ level in many places of Gomati and Sepahijala districts, as rainfall has continued.
The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has cancelled 10 local trains in Tripura.
An NFR spokesman said that due to heavy rain railway tracks were damaged in Gomati district, forcing the authorities to cancel these trains.
A Defence spokesman said that following the requisition from state administrations, four columns of Assam Rifles were deployed in different districts and they were working in close coordination with the civil administration to rescue civilians stranded due to floods.
First aid and essential items have been distributed by the Assam Rifles to hundreds of stranded people and those in relief camps.
–IANS
sc/rad
National
Waqf Amendment Bill is unconstitutional, undemocratic & unfair: Maulana Madani
New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) The Muslim organisation on Thursday criticised the Union government over the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, calling it unconstitutional, undemocratic and unfair as it goes against the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution.
“Amendment bill being brought to Waqf is unconstitutional, undemocratic and unfair. The proposed amendments to the Waqf Act are also against the freedom of religion provided by the Constitution and also violates articles 14-15 and 25 of the Constitution,” said Jamiat-i-Ulama Hind, President, Maulana Arshad Madani while addressing a joint press conference of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and Muslim Personal Law Board at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.
He added that the amendment bill is also the government’s interference in religious matters which Muslims will not accept.
“Under the guise of the amending bill, an attempt is being made to deprive the Muslims of this great country and of its heritage which our forefathers have left in the form of Waqf for the betterment of the poor, destitute and needy people of the country,” said Maulana Arshad Madani.
He said that amendments have been made in the bill without consulting the Muslim religious figures and taking the Muslims into confidence while Waqf is a purely religious and Shariah matter because once the Waqf is applied.
“The donor does not remain the owner of the property rather that property is transferred to the ownership of Allah,” he explained.
Maulana Madani said that while presenting the Amendment Bill in the parliament, it was claimed that it would bring transparency to the work and would benefit the weak and needy people of the Muslim society.
“This bill is proof of the malicious intent of the government and its dangerous plans. If this bill is passed not only the protection of Waqf properties across the country may be in danger but also a door of new conflicts will be opened and the status of those mosques, tombs, buildings, imam badas and lands which are Waqf properties or which are located on Waqf land will be made doubtful,” Maulana Madani said.
He added that instead of the Waqf Tribunal and Waqf Commissioners, all powers under this bill will be transferred to District Collectors.
“By increasing the number of members of the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, their status is also being changed and the door is being opened to appoint non-Muslims in it as well. This bill will also remove the requirement of being Muslim for officers and members,” he said.
Maulana Madani said that this is not a Hindu-Muslim issue but a constitutional problem and this bill is also against Muslim religious freedom.
He said that the Shrine Board, which was formed for the maintenance and protection of Hindu religious places, had a clear explanation that Jains, Sikhs or Buddhists would not be its members.
He questioned that if Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists cannot be members of the Shrine Board, how can the nomination and appointment of non-Muslims be justified in the Waqf Board?
“While Jainism and Buddhism are not considered separate from Hinduism, they are considered a separate sect. If they cannot participate in the shrine board even if they are Hindus on the basis of being a sect, then why is the nomination and appointment of non-Muslims in the Waqf boards made mandatory?” Maulana Madani asked.
He said that there are laws in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. that those who manage the affairs of the Hindu religion’s property must be Hindus.
“Just as no other religious group can interfere in the religious affairs of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in the same way, the management of Waqf properties should also be done only by Muslims. We do not accept any such proposal in the endowment system,” he added.
He said that it is clear that the intention of the government is not pure and through this bill, its purpose is not to bring transparency in the work and to benefit the Muslim community but to deprive Muslims of their Waqf properties and to weaken the claim of Muslims from the Waqf properties.
Maulana Madani said that an endless series of new conflicts can start in this way and taking advantage of the weak legal status of Muslims in the amendment bill may make it easier to occupy Waqf properties.
He added that we are not talking about one or two amendments but most of the amendments in the bill are unconstitutional and dangerous and destructive for the Waqf.
“This bill is also an attack on the constitutional powers given to Muslims. If the Constitution has given religious freedom and equal rights to every citizen then some special powers have also been given to the minorities living in the country. And the amendment bill negates all these powers completely,” he said.
Maulana Madani added that under the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, it has been suggested that Section 40 of the current Act should be removed while the 2006 Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf and Justice Sachar Committee reported that a large number of Waqf properties are illegally occupied while the incumbent government is also referring to the same Sachar Committee report.
“Despite this, it has been suggested in the 2024 bill that the State Waqf Board shall not be empowered to identify properties which are illegally occupied and to try to recover them. This proposal of the government is very harmful to the existence of endowments,” he said.
He added that during the last ten years, the minorities of the country, especially the Muslims, were put on the margins, and to make them believe that now, as citizens, they have no rights and powers, many laws have been forcibly brought and implemented.
“This Waqf Amendment Bill is also one of them by passing it in any way there is a conspiracy to forcefully apply it on Muslims, which we cannot accept,” he said.
–IANS
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National
Calcutta HC questions Bengal govt's 'late realisation' to probe financial irregularities at RG Kar
Kolkata, Aug 22 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the decision of the West Bengal government to set up a special investigation team to probe the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata when the controversial former principal Sandip Ghosh was in charge of the institution, even as the state health department was informed about the irregularities last year.
A single-judge bench of Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj made this observation while hearing a petition by the whistle-blower in the matter — former deputy medical superintendent of RG Kar — Akhtar Ali, who had sought the High Court’s intervention to seek protection in anticipation of security threat for being vocal against Sandip Ghosh.
On Wednesday, Ali also filed a public interest litigation seeking a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar.
During the hearing, Justice Bhardwaj observed that “from the inclusion of senior police officers in the special investigation team, it is evident that the matter is serious, and wondered why the team was constituted a year after the matter was brought to the notice of the state government”.
The state government counsel argued that the petition has been deliberately filed at this moment amid the recent incident of the rape and murder of a woman doctor in the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital.
The state government counsel also questioned why the petitioner remained silent for one year after the complaint was not acted upon as claimed by him.
The Calcutta High Court also directed the state government counsel to present a detailed argument on the formation of SIT on Friday.
The West Bengal government earlier this week announced the formation of a special investigation team comprising four senior IPS officers and headed by an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police to prove the allegation of financial irregularities at RG Kar since 2021, when Sandip Ghosh was the principal there.
Opposition parties have already claimed that the formation of SIT by the state government was nothing but an eyewash, and it had been created not with the intention of revealing the truth behind the financial irregularities, but rather with the motive of destroying evidence in the matter.
–IANS
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National
Odisha: RDC-level probe to be launched soon into spurious liquor deaths
Bhubaneswar, Aug 22 (IANS) Amid the furore over two deaths caused by the consumption of spurious liquor in Ganjam district, Odisha Excise Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan announced on Thursday that a probe by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner into the hooch tragedy will be initiated soon.
At least 23 persons from Moundpur, Jenapur, and Karabalua in Chikiti block had consumed country liquor from an unlicensed shop on Monday evening. They later fell ill and were admitted to a nearby hospital, where two of them died during treatment on Wednesday, prompting Harichandan to direct the officials to take all necessary steps to stop the illegal trade of liquor in the state.
Speaking to mediapersons, Harichandan said, “An RDC-level probe will be launched in this matter within the next couple of days. Action will be taken based on its report which will be submitted within two months. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will soon take the decision in this regard.”
He also vowed that the network of illegal liquor trade in the state will be completely destroyed within a year.
“As many as 217 illegal liquor manufacturing units have been identified in the state which will be demolished soon. Instructions have already been issued in this regard. Around 117 persons have so far been arrested following raids in different districts,” Harichandan.
He also assured the people that no illegal liquor unit will remain in existence in the state.
The Minister said the Excise Superintendent in Berhampur, Pradip Panigrahi, has been transferred for negligence in duty on Wednesday, while the government has also suspended Excise Inspector Ramesh Chandara Mohanty and Sub-inspector Prasanna Kumar Jali for similar lapses.
The deceased have been identified as Jura Behera and Lokanath Behera from Jenapur village, who died at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
The opposition BJD has also the issue in the state Assembly on Thursday, demanding resignation of the Excise Minister.
–IANS
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