Delhi polls 2015: An acerbic campaign where no one was spared

Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for the election battle by making a veiled reference to Arvind Kejriwal as an "anarchist" in the first BJP rally at Ramlila Maidan.

"We need development here, not anarchy. They are good at dharnas. We are good at running government," the Prime Minister said

After Kiran Bedi decided to make her political debut by joining the BJP, Congress came down hard on her terming it as "gross political opportunism".

Arvind Kejriwal welcomed his former comrades-in-arms with a politically correct tweet saying "I have been fond of Kiran Bediji. I always tried to convince her that she should join politics. I am happy she did it today".

However, the AAP niceties disappeared as soon as Shazia Ilmi followed Bedi and the verbal slugfest broke loose.

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Rajnath Singh briefs PM Modi over Matang arrest row

Singh apprised the Prime Minister on the issue after talking to Goswami and CBI Director Anil Sinha to get a factual picture about allegations that Goswami, a 1977 batch IAS officer from Jammu and Kashmir cadre, had interfered in CBI's work and made attempts to prevent arrest of Sinh on Saturday, official sources said.

The final decision will be taken by the Prime Minister who is now seized of the matter, they said.

Singh called the Home Secretary to his room in the morning and both of them remained closeted for nearly an hour.     

After the meeting, Goswami refused to take any questions from the media.

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PM Narendra Modi Lauds Scientists for Successful Test-Firing of Agni-V

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed scientists for the successful test-firing of 'Agni V' and said the missile is a prized asset for the country's forces.
  
"Successful test-firing of Agni V from a canister makes the missile a prized asset for our forces. I salute our scientists for their efforts," he tweeted.
  

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also lauded the efforts of scientists and engineers in successful test-firing of Agni-V, a nuclear-capable missile.

"Congrats! to the team of scientists and engineers for successfully test firing of Agni-V, the nuclear capable missile and making India proud," Arun Jaitley tweeted.

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PM Modi launches 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign from Haryana

The Prime Minister flagged off 72 campaign vehicles (raths) on the occasion that will make people aware about the need to save the girl child in areas where the sex ratio is adverse.

The campaign has been launched from Haryana as the state has the worst sex ratio (number of females per 1,000 males) and child sex ratio in the country. 

Out of the 100 worst districts in India for sex ratio, Haryana accounts for 12 districts.

The campaign, to be initiated in 100 worst districts in the country for sex ratio, will sensitize people about the safety and education of the girl child, skewed sex ratio, prevention of female foeticide and women empowerment.

The beginning of the campaign saw its brand ambassador actress Madhuri Dixit, and a number of Union Ministers, including J P  Nadda, Maneka Gandhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Birender Singh, Smriti Irani, Krishan Pal Gurjar and Rao Inderjit Singh, besides Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other leaders attending the event.

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Shock defeat of BJP in Cantonment Board polls in Varanasi, Lucknow

In Varanasi, the Lok Sabha seat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, all the seven seats were bagged by Independents.
  
BJP had for the first time fielded or supported candidates in Cantonment Board polls. In Lucknow, the home turf of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP lost on all eight seats to Independents.
  
Asked to comment on the party's poor performance in these elections, BJP state chief Laxmikant Bajpai said most of the candidates lost as they were not given official party symbol.
  
In Varanasi, the seven seats were won by Sangita, Shailendra Singh, Rajkumar Das, Masood Hussain, Chandra Keshav, Shahnawaz Ali and Shailja Srivastava – all Independents.
  
In Lucknow, Jagdish Prasad, Pramod Sharma, Rupa Devi, Swati Yadav, Amit Kumar Shukla, Anjum Aara, Sanjay Kumar Vaish and Reena Singhania -- all Independents -- bagged the eight seats.
  
In Agra too, the performance of BJP was not good as it won just one ward, with Independents romping home at seven seats. BJP had contested these seats on party symbol.
  
Polling was held on Sunday and results of Varanasi and Lucknow were declared on Monday. Commenting on BJP's rout, UP Cabinet Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Ambika Chowdhury said the results had proved BJP's tall claims hollow.

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Delhi Assembly Elections: Polling to be held on February 7, counting on February 10

Addressing a press conference in national capital here, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) V S Sampath said the notifications for the polls will be announced on January 14 while January 21 will be the last date for filing the notifications for the assembly elections.

The CEC said the scrutiny of the papers will be held on January 22 and the last date for withdrawing the nominations will be January 24.

Sampath said as per the latest list, there is 1.30 crore voters in Delhi.

He said altogether 11,763 polling stations will be made for the elections for 70 assembly constituencies
in the national capital.

In last assembly election held in 2013, the BJP had won 31 seats while AAP bagged 28 seats in its debut elections. Congress managed to win only eight seats while others bagged three seats.

Delhiites can now check their names in the voters' list and also know the polling officer of their area through their smartphone with the election office here launching an android app - 'Delhi Election'.

"People can find out their names in electoral roll by downloading 'Delhi Election' aap in their smartphones. Besides, they can also check application status and their constituency through this android app launched recently," said a senior official.

 

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PM pushes for improvement in efficiency of healthcare

Chairing a meeting on healthcare here, he instructed Health Ministry to establish mechanisms to ensure accountability among doctors and health officials in public sector.
  
He also called for institutionalising a comprehensive database, containing individual health records, which could be eventually linked to the Aadhar system.
  
Modi said that in order to achieve the desired goal of health for all, there is a need to substantially improve the efficiency of existing mechanisms and schemes, a PMO statement said.
  
Giving an example of insurance, he suggested establishing synergy in all schemes for the health sector being run by the central and state governments.
  
Reviewing progress of key health indicators such as under-5 mortality rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio, he asked for specific identification of worst-performing districts, and even within them, particular blocks which required maximum attention.
  
He said these areas should be targeted in a two-pronged approach – prioritised health intervention and appropriate social interventions to dispel local beliefs and customs that may be hindering progress.

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Niti Aayog being decked up to welcome top functionaries

Niti Aayog has replaced the 65-year old Planning Commission, a vestige of the socialist era.

The room of Panagariya, which was earlier occupied by his predecessor Montek Singh Ahluwalia is being refurbished for the new occupant.

The staff has even put the name plate of Panagariya on the door, though he is expected to take charge only in a couple of days.

The landmark sign board in front of Yojana Bhawan has already been repainted as Niti Aayog. The rooms to seat the other full time members of the Aayog is also being prepared before their joining.

The anxious staff of the Yojana Bhawan appeared to be heaving a sign of relief after the government announced formation of the Niti Aayog on January 1.

Government had announced the appointment of Noted economist, Panagariya as Vice-Chairman of the Niti Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) and its other members on Monday.

Economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO chief V K Saraswat were appointed as full-time members by the Prime Minister who is the formal head of the Aayog.

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Indian diaspora a 'great capital', opportunities await you: PM at Pravasi Divas

Reaching out to the expatriates, he recalled how once adversity, courage and urge to explore new avenues for livelihood motivated their ancestors to leave Indian shores but now the country had "risen with great strength" where "great opportunities" awaited them.

"My conviction is that Indian diaspora is a great capital for us in the global context. The more we nurture it, the more strong will be our presence globally," Modi said after formally inaugurating the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas at Mahatma Mandir which marked the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's return to the country from South Africa.

"After taking up my new responsibility, I have had the opportunity to meet the Heads of State of over 50 countries. We spoke with an open heart. I feel the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich nations are looking up to India. Such occasions are rare.

"A measure of love the world has for India was reflected when the United Nations accepted my proposal to observe the World Yoga Day. 177 of the 193-member UN co-sponsored that resolution, over 40 of them Islamic nations, and it was passed in just 100 days, a record of sorts when such resolutions normally take two years to pass," Modi said.

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Coal India struggles to produce half of normal output amid strike

Unionized miners at the world's top coal producer are protesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to allow private companies to mine and sell the fuel for the first time in 42 years. Modi's ministers have said that increasing competition is key to ending India's power shortage.

But miners fear this will lead to pay and job cuts at Coal India, which has come to be seen as an exemplar for deep-rooted inefficiency in state enterprise.


Union leaders met top Coal Ministry officials for three hours on Tuesday evening but did not reach an agreement, said SQ Zama, secretary general of the Indian National Mineworkers Federation.

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Modi rally serial blasts: NIA frames charges against eleven

Six persons were killed and over 100 injured in the blasts. The framing of charges marks the beginning of prosecution of the accused in the case.
   
NIA Special Judge Anil Kumar Singh also directed the prosecution to produce witnesses from January 19 onwards. The 11 accused in the case are - Haider Ali, Numan Ansari, Taufiq Ansari, Mujibullah Ansari, Umar Siddiqui, Azharuddin Qureshi, Iftekar Alam, Firoz Alam, Ahmad Hussain, Fakhruddin and a juvenile.

Charges including for murder, criminal conspiracy have been framed against them under Sections 109, 120B, 121, 171A, 302, 324, 326, 360, 441 and 468 of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Explosives Substances Act, and various section of Criminal Law Act.

All of them are alleged to be members of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The NIA has already filed charge sheet in the case, alleging that Hyder Ali, who was suspected to be SIMI in-charge of Jharkhand, conspired with others to target Modi, BJP Prime ministerial candidate at that time. Ali is also an accused in Bodh Gaya serial blasts in July, 2013.

According to the charge sheet, the accused wanted to target Modi as they thought it would be inimical to their interests if he became the Prime Minister, and in pursuance of their motive conducted recce of various rallies to take stock of security arrangements.
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NITI Aayog replaces Planning Commission; PM Modi to head new body

The inclusion of Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors in the Governing Council is a break with the past in the structuring of NITI Aayog, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described as a landmark change that will foster spirit of cooperative federalism.

The body will have a Vice Chairperson and a CEO in addition to five full-time members and two part-time members, while four union ministers would serve as ex-officio members.


The erstwhile command economy era body set up nearly 65 years ago by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had a Deputy Chairman and full-time members with a member secretary, an official, as a convener.

A PMO statement said the Centre-to-state one-way flow of policy, that was the hallmark of the Planning Commission era, is now sought to be replaced by a genuine and continuing partnership of states. It will put an end to "slow and tardy implementation of policy", it said.

Noted economist Arvind Panagariya is tipped to be the first Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog.

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Madan Mohan Malviya to be conferred with Bharat Ratna

The Centre's announcement came ahead of Vajpayee's birthday, who will turns 90 on Thursday and 153rd birth anniversary of Malviya.

"The President has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously) and to Atal Bihari Vajpayee," a press communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Vajpayee, who was Prime Minister from 1998 to 2004, and has faded from public life due to age-related illness, is lauded as a statesman and has been often described as the moderate face of BJP.

Vajpayee has been credited with taking bold initiatives, notable being the attempt to bridge Indo-Pak differences.

India's longest serving Prime Minister outside of Congress party, Vajpayee's detractors called him the "mask" of RSS but still always had good words for him.

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PM Modi hails Charan Singh on his birth anniversary

"A tall mass leader who dedicated his life to the welfare of farmers and the poor, I salute Chaudhary Charan Singhji on his birth anniversary," Modi said in a tweet.

Charan Singh, born in 1902 in Noorpur village of UP's Hapur District, was prime minister of the country from July 28, 1979 to January 14, 1980. He also served as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh government had few days ago declared December 23 as public holiday in the state to mark former prime minister Chowdhury Charan Singh's birth anniversary.

The ruling BJP at the Centre also decided to hold a week-long celebration marking the birthdays of late Charan Singh and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that fall on December 23 and 25, respectively.

Recently, the Rastriya Lok Dal (RLD) led by Ajit Singh, son of Charan Singh, has demanded Bharat Ratna for the former prime minister Charan Singh.

Ajit Singh had also demanded from Centre to convert the Tughlaq Road bungalow, formerly occupied by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief, in a memorial. 

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Make in India, Clean Ganga initiatives to be showcased at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

The 13th edition of the three-day annual event beginning from January 7 has a special significance this year as it will also commemorate the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the conclave on January 8 while President Pranab Mukherjee will confer Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards to distinguished overseas Indians on January 9.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said around 3,000 delegates from the diaspora community from across the world are likely to participate in the event being organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs along with Gujarat Government.

Swaraj said President of the Republic of Guyana Donald Ramotar will be Chief Guest of the event to which Foreign Minister of South Africa has also been invited because of commemoration of Gandhi's return from that country.     

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DoT set to remove hurdles of Digital India

The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has decided to launch a massive drive to remove obstacles in installing mobile towers. Under which, the department is going to launch an awareness campaign for dispelling misconceptions about radiation emitted by mobile towers.

The Union Cabinet-headed by Prime Minister approved the Digital India Campaign on August 27. According to which, the government will lay 5 lakh kilometer long optical fibre to connect around 2.5 lakh panchayats with broadband.

The government is working on the plan for setting up broadband network in the phased manner. The DoT is facing hurdles in installing mobile towers due to opposition by the common people.

Recently, the Gujarat High Court  directed the Gujarat government and the Centre to create public awareness that they have no reason to fear the emission of radio active waves from mobile tower.

Taking reference from the HC verdict, the DoT asked its all Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TIRM) units to launch awareness programme for removing misconceptions regarding radiation emitted by mobile towers. 

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Modi government to come out with six-month 'report card'

The six-month report, being prepared by different ministries, is expected to showcase policy initiatives like 'Jan Dhan Yojana', 'Make in India Campaign' and 'Kisan Vikas Patra' among others.
  
According to sources, the ministries have been given the month-end deadline to submit details of their achievements in the form of an e-booklet and a video clip.
  
Though the government has not yet decided how it would like to showcase its six months achievements before the nation, the emphasis would be to mass-scale publicity at the grass-root level.

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PM Modi condemns hostage crisis in Australia

"The incident in Sydney is disturbing. Such acts are inhuman & deeply unfortunate. I pray for everyone's safety," Modi tweeted.
  
Several people on Monday were taken hostage at a popular cafe in the heart of Sydney city in south-east Australia at least by one gunman, according to media reports.
  
An Islamic flag was also reportedly seen hanging from the window of the cafe. Witnesses claimed hearing loud bangs that sounded like gun shots.

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PM Modi wishes Sonia Gandhi on 68th birthday

"Best wishes to Congress president Smt. Sonia Gandhi on her birthday. May Almighty bless her with a long&healthy life," Modi tweeted.

Sonia, who turned 68 today, has decided not to celebrate her birthday in view of terror and Naxal attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh respectively.

"In solidarity with the martyred Army and police personnel there, Gandhi has asked Congresspersons not to celebrate her birthday," the party had said in a statement.

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Invoking Vajpayee, PM Modi promises development in Jammu and Kashmir

"What have you seen in Kashmir in the last 30 years? Either it was Congress government or father-son (National Conference) government or father-daughter (PDP) government. You have seen all three types of government.

"For themselves, they got everything but did nothing for you. Get rid of all three of them for once and give me one chance to serve you. I will make your dreams my own. I will put my entire government at your service," the Prime Minister said.

He said corruption had destroyed Jammu and Kashmir.

"Enough is enough corruption has destroyed Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorism has ended but corruption has not. The biggest challenge we face is to end corruption. Unless corruption ends, the common man in Kashmir cannot progress," he said.

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