Congress will run a three-stage campaign against inflation from March 31 to April 7

The Congress on Saturday announced a three-phase campaign called “Mehangai-Free India Campaign” against the price hike, under which it will hold rallies and processions across the country from March 31 to April 7. Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a statement It was stated at the press conference here that in the first phase of the campaign, Congress workers and the general public will protest outside their homes and in public places on March 31.

He said people would wear garlands on LPG cylinders, drums and bells to raise the issue of inflation and “draw the attention of the deaf BJP government” against the irresistible rise in prices of cooking gas, petrol and diesel. “The Congress president, in consultation with the party general secretary and state functionaries, has decided to champion the people’s cause in a three-pronged program – the Mehangai-Free India Campaign,” Surjewala said.

From April 2 to April 4, Congress will organize dharnas and processions at district level across the country with NGOs, religious, social organizations and resident welfare organizations, he added. On April 7, the party, with the help of social and religious organizations, NGOs and the people, will hold a “Mehangai-free India” dharna and a procession at all state headquarters, Surjewala said.

“The people of India (Narendra Modi) have been deceived, deceived and deceived by the Modi government. After securing the prices of petrol, diesel, gas cylinders, piped natural gas (PNG) and CNG for 137 days to secure the people’s vote, the last one week has become a nightmare for every family, “he added. Petrol and diesel prices have been hiked by 80 paise per liter – the fourth increase in five days – a total of Rs 3.2 per liter.

“Apart from the daily increase in petrol and diesel prices, the complex rise in prices of gas cylinders, PNG and CNG has proved the Modi government’s message – ‘Blow people away, fill the coffers’,” he complained. The decision to launch the movement was taken at a meeting of Congress general secretary and state in-charges here on Saturday. The meeting also discussed the recruitment of party members and the current political situation in the country.

Congress General Secretary (Organization) Casey Venugopal presided over the meeting at the party headquarters here. The meeting was attended by party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Bhadra, Omen Chandy, Mukul Wasnik, Tariq Anwar, Surjewala, Ajay Maken and Treasurer Pawan Kumar Bansal.

The meeting comes in the wake of the party’s embarrassing defeat in the recent assembly elections in five states.

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The new Bhagwant Mann is a big push for the AAP-led government

With the rise in coal prices and the sudden rise in temperature, Punjab is once again facing an acute power crisis, which will pose a major challenge to the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state.

Since thermal power plants are a major contributor to Punjab’s electricity supply, the cost of production has increased due to the unprecedented increase in the cost of coal required to fuel these plants. State power companies are now considering cutting or shutting down power to overcome the growing crisis.

With the onset of paddy season in June, the power situation has alarmed the farmers. The AAP government needs to ensure regular supply to farmers in June and July.

Also read | Punjab urgently needs agricultural export policy. CM Bhagwant Mann has cut his work

Officials said that one unit of Mr. Goindwal’s GVK Power and another unit of Ropar’s Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant have been shut down. Also, two units of Talwandi Sabo Power Limited are reported to be running at low capacity due to coal shortage. Coal connections of private power plants are reported to be less than their established power generation capacity.

To make matters worse, State Coastal Gujarat Power Limited is not getting its share of 475 MW from the Tata Mundra plant, which has cut off power supply to the state. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials said that against the agreement to sell power to Punjab at Rs 2.90 per unit, they are demanding Rs 5.50-6 per unit, asking the state to share the increase in the cost of imported coal.

With the demand for electricity in the state increasing by an average of 1000 MW over the same period last year due to early summer, PSPCL is struggling to meet the demand. Over the last fortnight, the daily electricity demand in Punjab has varied from 7,395 MW to 8,490 MW.

Even the rate of electricity available for sale on the power exchange has increased by more than 400%.

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Development could happen without displacement or eviction of many, MoS said

Minister of State V Muralitharan on Saturday said development could take place without evicting or displacing so many people as he had met and contacted people affected by the Silverline project in Thiruvananthapuram.

Silverline is the proposed semi-high speed rail corridor between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod and is expected to reach from one end to the other within four hours.

After the conversation, Muralitharan told CNN-News18, “Many of these houses are newly built, people have saved all their money, their lives. When they are suddenly evicted, they have no place to go. People are scared, they don’t know what their future holds. “

The minister further said that he was in favor of development, but it was possible to do so without displacing so many people.

“I am convinced that development can happen without so many people being evicted and displaced. Why is the state government urging the people to evict? He asked.

MoS says after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Kerala Chief Minister has suggested that he should meet the Railway Minister.

Muralitharan said, “On the same day on the floor of Parliament, the Railway Minister said that the project is now an environmental disaster.”

The Minister further added that no such geotechnical research has been done so far and the detailed project report would have been meaningless without such research.

The minister added, “Kerala may have Bande Bharat train and with this we can reach from one end of Kerala to the other in three and a half hours. Of course, a technical upgrade is needed. “

The minister denied all allegations in Congress that there was a “compromise” between the Left and the BJP over the project.

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Digvijay Singh sentenced to one year in jail for clashing with BJYM workers

The court later granted bail to each convict on a bail of Rs 25,000. (File photo: PTI)

Judge Mukesh Nath Singh and former Ujjain MP Premchand Guddu were convicted under sections 325 (voluntary assault) and 109 (incitement to assault) of the Indian Penal Code.

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  • Latest version:March 27, 2022, 00:18 IST
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A court in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district on Saturday sentenced six people, including Congress leader Digvijay Singh, to one year rigorous imprisonment in connection with a 2011 clash with protesting Bharatiya Janata Youth Front (BJYM) activists. The court later granted bail All the convicts on bail of Rs 25,000.

Judge Mukesh Nath Singh and former Ujjain MP Premchand Guddu were convicted under sections 325 (voluntary assault) and 109 (incitement to assault) of the Indian Penal Code. Ananta Narayan, Jaysingh Darbar, Aslam Lala, and Dilip Chowdhury were convicted under section 325 of the IPC. Mahesh Parmar (Tarana Congress MLA), Mukesh Bhati and Hemant Chauhan were acquitted due to lack of evidence. The court also fined the convicts Tk 5,000 each. After being granted bail, Singh told reporters that he would appeal against his conviction.

“My name was not even mentioned as an accused in the original FIR. The police later added my name to the list of accused under political pressure,” he alleged. Singh and Guddu’s lawyer Rahul Sharma said they were accused of inciting others to beat up BJYM activist Ritesh Khabia. “Prosecution documents show that Khabia had an injury to his right hand, but the truth is that he had a broken bone in his left hand,” he said. According to police, BJYM activists tried to show a black flag to Singh on July 17, 2011, when his convoy was passing through the Jiwajiganj area of ​​Ujjain, causing a clash.

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Promod Sawant to be sworn in as Goa Chief Minister tomorrow; The BSP meeting ended under the chairmanship of Mayawati

Talegaon Stadium.

Sawant said he had sent invitations to all chief ministers, union ministers and all top nominated industrialists and missionaries. “It’s an open ceremony, I’m inviting everyone to the stadium before 10am. I will meet the public after 12 noon. Preparations are underway, people are happy, “he said.

State BJP chief Sadananda Shet Tanavade said people wearing black masks or black robes would not be allowed inside the swearing-in ceremony. “People wearing black masks and black clothes will not be allowed inside the venue. However, the event is open to all, ”he said. In the Assembly elections held on 14 February, the results of which were declared on 10 March, the BJP won 20 seats in the 40-member House, though it gained a comfortable majority with the support of some non-partisan and Maharashtrian Gomantak Party.

Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai has called a two-day session of the new assembly from March 29, during which Chief Minister-designate Promod Sawant, who will be sworn in on March 28, will have to seek a vote of confidence, officials said on Friday. A new speaker is expected to be elected during the session, which is expected to complete a range of legislation, including passing a bill and a vote-on-account (a practice to address the government’s short-term spending needs).

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As the political storm continued unabated, the CBI started an investigation as Bogtoi became a ghost

The village of Bagatui, near the town of Rampurhat in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, is in a state of terrible peace. Eight people were killed in the blaze Earlier this week, a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrived in the village on Saturday and began investigating the violence.

Unidentified men set fire to 10 houses in the village on March 21, killing at least eight people, including women and children. The CBI team comprising about 20 members went inside the house where the burnt bodies of seven people were found.

The Calcutta High Court passed the order on Friday The investigation into the Birbhum murder is with the CBI And set a deadline of April 7 for the submission of its progress report. Meanwhile, the political storm over the Birbhum killings continues, with the ruling TMC claiming that opposition leaders are engaging in “narrow politics with corpses” and accusing the BJP-led Mamata Banerjee-led party of trying to shield the culprits. .

Birbhum Violence Latest Update:

CBI brought Anarul Hussain and 9 others to the camp for questioning

The CBI has brought 10 other accused, including Anarul Hussain, to the CBI camp for questioning. I’m talking News18 Earlier, Anarul denied all allegations against him, saying it was a conspiracy. He claimed that arson could have been avoided if the police had been more active.

If CBI only obeys BJP, we will protest: Mamata

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the TMC would protest if the CBI acted as directed by the BJP. “I still think there is a conspiracy behind the Rampurhat incident. The CBI took charge. This is a good decision, but if they only follow the BJP’s lead, we are ready to protest, “he said.

The CBI started the investigation

A day after the Calcutta High Court handed over the Birbhum murder probe to the CBI and set a deadline of April 7 to submit its progress report, a CBI team Arriving at the village began the investigation. The CBI team is said to have done 3D imaging. “We are investigating today. “We have a meeting deadline and we have to conduct a war-based investigation,” the PTI quoted a CBI official as saying. A team from Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CSFL), a unit of the CBI, also visited the destroyed houses on Friday and started collecting samples.

Also read: CBI wants custody of 22 accused from Rampurhat station

The CBI team will go to the hospital today

The CBI team will visit the hospital today as part of its investigation and will also visit Bataspur where some villagers are staying.

More than 50 CCTVs have been installed in Bagatui

In addition to day and night police patrols, more than 50 CCTV cameras have been installed in Bagatui village since the incident. A temporary police camp has been set up at Bagatui village.

Deploy 35 CRPF personnel under the protection of CBI team

A team of 35 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel has been deployed in Rampurhat to protect the CBI team investigating the case.

Crude bomb recovered in Birbhum

Police recovered an unexploded bomb in a plastic bag near a football field in Sikandarpur village in Birbhum district on Sunday. The news agency ANI reported that a CID bomb squad was called in to defuse the bombs.

It is learned that after the Birbhum incident, operations are underway to seize arms and ammunition in different parts of the state. Eight live bombs, three firearms were recovered from Jagddal, Bijpur and Bhatpara areas on Saturday, police said, adding that five accused were arrested.

Political tensions are going on

Although the ruling TMC claims that the opposition leaders are “engaging in narrow-minded politics with corpses”, the BJP has accused the Mamata Banerjee-led party of trying to shield the culprits. On Saturday, TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh stressed that opposition parties were “trying to tarnish the image of the state government on the issue, even the administration is trying its best to bring justice” to the families of eight people killed in the violence at Bagatui village in Rampurhat town.

Also read: Buck stops with compassion, it’s a political, administrative failure

Meanwhile, BJP’s Shuvendu Adhikari, who is also the Leader of the Opposition, said the truth would come out automatically if the phone call lists of several TMC leaders were checked. Adhikari, who led the BJP protests on Saturday, alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was not concerned about keeping Bengal safe.

Residents fleeing Bagatui are afraid to return

There are many Bogtui residents Fled to a nearby village Fear in a sense of fear that violence may return. Most of the residents of Purbapara (Eastern area) where the killings took place on Tuesday morning have not left their homes in a hurry, but also the residents of the neighboring Paschimpara (West area) and the village Mayarpara (Mother area). Also escaped. The news agency PTI reported that the only state-run school in the area was also almost empty while the Anganwari was left empty with open doors.

Also read: The Rampurhat woman said they threatened to kill us if we were released on bail

On Sunday morning, some villagers said they were willing to return but would first agree to see if they could stay in the village and see if they could return in full.

(With PTI input)

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Despite the disappointing Punjab show, the division in the state Congress remains a factional lobby.

Even after the disappointing performance of the Congress in the Punjab Assembly elections, the factionalism within the state party has not abated.

A group of 25 Congress leaders held a luncheon at the residence of former MLA Navtej Chima in Sultanpur Lodhi on Saturday, as sources said, a possible candidate for the Leader of the Opposition. Among other leaders, former PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was also present at the meeting.

A section in the Congress is again trying to put pressure on Sukhpal Khaira as the Leader of the Opposition and Navjot Singh Sidhu as the PCC chief, sources said.

Apart from Kharia, the only other MLA who attended the meeting was BS Dhaliwal from Phagwara. Although the meeting was held in Doaba, only two MLAs from the region were present. Among those who avoided the meeting were Sidhu’s associate Pargat Singh of Jalandhar Cantt and Bawa Henry from Jalandhar North.

Among those present were former minister MS KP, former MLA Rakesh Pandey, Ashwani Sekhri, Sunil Dutt, Davinder Singh Guvaya, Sukhwinder Danny, Jagdev Singh Kamlu, Pirmal Singh and Rupinder Ruby.

According to party sources, the Leader of the Opposition and the PCC chief election has begun heated discussions. While a section of the team was trying to pitch Pratap Singh Bajwa for the LOP post, another lobby supporting Sidhu was trying to support Khaira.

“As a responsible opposition party, we need to create pressure. We can only be a small number of MLAs but the leader of the pack should be with a good track record. Khaira can meet, ”said one of the leaders who attended the meeting.

Sources said that more meetings of different groups are scheduled to be held in the coming days to lobby for the two posts.

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Naveen Patnaik’s BJD secures all mayoral posts in Orissa municipality, 76 councils

Continuing its winning streak, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) won Saturday’s municipal elections, occupying 76 of the 108 urban local bodies. In last month’s panchayat elections, the party won 766 of the 852 district council seats in 30 districts.

Besides, the ruling party has occupied the posts of mayor and chairperson in 6 organizations. With the recently amended municipal law, this is the first time that the people of Orissa can directly elect the mayor of the corporation, the municipality and the chairperson of the NAC in addition to the ward councilors.

Of the 105 municipalities and advertised area councils (NACs) in the state, the BJD has won 73, with the BJP winning only 16, followed by the Congress in seven. Nine urban local bodies were protected by individuals.

The party led by Naveen Patnaik has also registered victories in three municipal corporations in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur. Thanking the people for restoring confidence in his party, BJD president Naveen Patnaik said in a tweet: This victory is a reflection of the love for jbjd_odisha and the tireless work of thousands of party workers. #OdishaLovesBJD “

He congratulated all the winning BJD candidates and appreciated the hard work of the party workers.

BJD candidate Sulochana Das, who was elected mayor of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, expressed gratitude to the people in the state capital for her victory. As a BMC mayor from a journalist, he said, “I am fascinated by the love people have shown me despite being a newcomer to politics.

Similarly, veteran BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated all the winning BJP candidates and thanked those who voted for the BJP in the urban elections.

With input from PTI, IANS

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