Category: Politics

On Friday morning, Sonia Gandhi, a leader from the Congress party, was discharged from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. She had gone to the hospital for a routine check-up on Thursday morning. Doctors kept a close eye on her health during her stay, but now she is healthy and back home.

A report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) shows that most of the new ministers in Delhi, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, have criminal cases against them. Out of the seven ministers, five (about 71%) are involved in these cases. One minister, Ashish Sood, has serious charges.

In terms of wealth, two ministers are billionaires. The richest, Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden, has assets worth Rs 248.85 crore. The minister with the least money, Kapil Mishra from Karawal Nagar, has Rs 1.06 crore. On average, each minister has Rs 56.03 crore. They also have debts, with Parvesh Sahib Singh from New Delhi having the most at Rs 74.36 crore.

Educationally, six out of seven ministers (86%) have at least a college degree. One minister only completed 12th grade.

As for their age, five ministers (71%) are between 41 and 50 years old, while two (29%) are between 51 and 60. There is only one woman minister in the new cabinet, which is the Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

In Maharashtra, a program called the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’ helps many women by giving them monthly money. This program has already given support to about 2.5 crore women, which helped the ruling political alliance in winning the elections in November 2024.

The program gives married, divorced, widowed, or destitute women between the ages of 21 to 65 a monthly aid of Rs 1,500 if their family earns less than Rs 2,50,000 a year. Unmarried women can also receive this aid, with one unmarried woman allowed per family.

According to officials, most beneficiaries—83%—are married women. Unmarried women make up 11.8%, while widows represent 4.7%. Women who are divorced, deserted, or in tough situations make up less than 1%.

The majority of the women who benefit fall in the age group of 30-39 years (29%), followed by those aged 21-29 (25.5%) and 40-49 (23.6%). Only a small number (5%) of beneficiaries are between 60 and 65 years old.

The districts with the most applicants for the scheme are Pune, Nashik, and Ahmednagar, while Sindhudurg and Gadchiroli have the least. The program was started in July last year.

Before the elections, the ruling alliance promised to increase the monthly aid to Rs 2,100. Since taking power, the new government is reviewing the list of beneficiaries, and so far, they’ve removed about five lakh women who no longer qualify. They plan to check more and might cut around 15 lakh women from the program. Women who own cars, work for the government, or receive more than Rs 1,500 from other programs cannot get this aid.

When it started, the program was expected to cost the government Rs 46,000 crore a year and has faced some issues related to dishonesty and political tricks.

Assam’s Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has spoken out about a controversy involving Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and his British wife, Elizabeth Colburn. Sarma insists he is not targeting Gogoi but is focused on national security. He strongly defended his actions, saying, “You will be shocked in the coming months. This is not a witch hunt. I promise to protect our country’s safety.”

Sarma and the BJP have been questioning Gogoi about his wife’s supposed links to Pakistan’s ISI agency. Sarma emphasized that his duty is higher than politics and personal relationships. He takes an oath to safeguard India’s security and sovereignty.

Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi reacted to Sarma’s statements, saying that the people of Assam won’t believe the government’s claims. He promised that they will respond to what he called “political tricks” soon.

Gogoi, who is also concerned about losing the upcoming assembly elections, criticized Sarma’s actions and said they are extreme. Recently, Assam Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into comments made by a Pakistani national, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who discussed Assam’s and India’s internal matters on social media. Sheikh was charged under various laws.

Despite earlier tensions, the Assam Cabinet decided not to file any charges against Gogoi or his wife but asked the Director General of Police to take action against Sheikh.

Sarma has softened his stance on Gogoi, suggesting that he might be under pressure in a larger plot against India. He also mentioned serious accusations against Gogoi, saying he has raised questions in Parliament on sensitive defense issues after marrying Colburn.

Gogoi dismissed the allegations about his wife’s connections with ISI as ridiculous and said he and his family are facing unfair defamation by the BJP. He vowed to take legal action against these claims.

Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) chairman Sam Pitroda has sparked a political uproar with his recent comments about China. His remarks led to criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), prompting Congress to clarify that Pitroda’s views do not reflect the party’s official position.

In a recent interview, Pitroda questioned why many people see China as a threat to India. He said, “I don’t know what the threat from China is,” adding that people often blow things out of proportion, influenced by the United States, which likes to label enemies. He suggested that India should stop being confrontational and instead focus on working together and communicating with China.

The BJP quickly condemned Pitroda’s comments, with party spokesman Sudhanshu Trivedi saying they showed Congress’s cozy ties with China. He called Pitroda’s statements damaging to India’s identity and sovereignty, and he demanded that Congress clarify its stance. Another BJP leader, Ajay Alok, linked Pitroda’s views to Congress’s historical relationships with China, alleging that even Rahul Gandhi had a “secret treaty” with the Chinese army.

Congress responded firmly, with General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stating that Pitroda’s comments do not represent the party’s views. He emphasized that the Indian National Congress has long been concerned about the Modi government’s approach to China. Ramesh noted, “China is a serious challenge for India in terms of foreign policy, security, and economy.”

Congress leader Raashid Alvi also reaffirmed that China is an enemy and mentioned that Rahul Gandhi often speaks about China occupying Indian land. He pointed out, “If someone says otherwise, it means there’s more trouble within than from outside.”

This isn’t the first time Pitroda’s comments have put Congress in a tough spot. His earlier views on wealth distribution and inheritance tax also led to accusations from the BJP that Congress was trying to take advantage of the public.

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke out on Sunday about the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, which happened the day before. He criticized the government for not sharing clear information about how many people died or got hurt and who is still missing. Kharge said, “We want to know the truth and the exact numbers right away.”

He emphasized that the first priority should be to help the injured and support the families of those affected. “We are very sorry for the families who lost loved ones. The injured must get medical help quickly,” Kharge said in a post online.

Kharge accused the government of trying to hide the facts about what happened and insisted that those responsible must be held accountable. He found it shameful that the government was not being open about the event at the railway station. The videos coming from the station are really heartbreaking.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also stressed that better crowd management could have prevented the stampede, especially since a large number of people were at the station for the Kumbh event. He noted that around 15 people died and many others were injured. Reports said about 1,500 general tickets were sold, creating overcrowding on platforms 12, 13, and 14 where the Prayagraj Express was parked.

Deputy Commissioner of Police KPS Malhotra explained that crowds gathered quickly when train departures were delayed, causing the situation to become dangerous. He said, “We saw the crowd coming, but it built up really fast.” The Railways has promised a thorough investigation into what caused this tragic event.

In Karnataka, there’s a heated debate between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister of State V Somanna about the Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide clean drinking water to every household.

Siddaramaiah accused the Central government of holding back money that Karnataka deserves. He said that the Centre has only given Karnataka about ₹11,760 crore of the ₹26,119 crore they promised, which is only 45% of its commitment. Meanwhile, he pointed out that the Karnataka government has spent ₹20,442 crore, which is 88.3% of what it promised. He declared, “Every rupee released by the Centre has been fully utilized by Karnataka! Yet, the Modi government continues to block funds!”

For the fiscal year 2024-2025, the Centre promised ₹3,804 crore, but only gave ₹570 crore. In contrast, Karnataka managed to spend around ₹4,977 crore from its budget against an allocation of ₹7,652 crore. Siddaramaiah said despite writing many letters, no further money was released. He criticized the Modi government for hurting the Jal Jeevan Mission while people like Somanna spread lies.

Somanna responded with his own set of figures, saying Karnataka is ranked 22nd out of 34 states and union territories involved in the Jal Jeevan Mission. He said the state has only completed 52.16% of its targets for the year and managed to connect only 2,430 homes to water daily, while it should be connecting 9,744. According to him, the central government allocated ₹28,623 crore from 2019-2020 to 2024-2025, but Karnataka has only used ₹11,760 crore of it, which means there’s still ₹16,863 crore left unclaimed.

Somanna criticized Siddaramaiah for his comments, calling them political and unfair. He claimed that the state hasn’t acted quickly enough to get its share of the money and failed to submit important reports on time. He urged the Chief Minister to focus on resolving these issues instead of making things political.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, recently criticized the Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, for firing government employees based on claims that they have links to terrorism. He emphasized that the law states every person is innocent until proven guilty. The Lt Governor used a specific rule, Article 311 (2) (c) of the Constitution, to let go of three employees. Over the last few years, more than 70 workers have been dismissed for similar reasons.

Omar Abdullah told reporters that if there is proof against these employees and they were given a chance to respond to the accusations, then it’s acceptable. However, if dismissals happen without a fair hearing, it goes against the principle of innocence until proven guilty.

He also commented on Punjab’s Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, who expressed concern about American deportees landing in Amritsar. Abdullah supported Mann’s concerns, noting that many people from different states, not just Punjab, are being deported, but flights are landing in Punjab.

Lastly, Abdullah spoke about his disappointment with the recent Waqf bill, saying it harms Muslims in the country. When asked about his upcoming budget, he said it’s better to wait for the assembly session on March 3, where the budget is expected to be presented on March 7.

New Delhi: A heated argument is going on between Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi. This started when Sarma questioned Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth, about her alleged connections to Pakistan. Sarma asked if it was true that Elizabeth worked in Pakistan, if she has Indian citizenship, and whether Gogoi visited Pakistan and met with the Pakistan ambassador without permission from the Indian government. He stated, “How can the ISI (Pakistan’s intelligence agency) and R&AW (India’s intelligence agency) live together?”

Gaurav Gogoi responded to the Chief Minister’s claims, saying they were ridiculous. He joked that if his wife were an ISI agent, then he must be an R&AW agent. Gogoi suggested that Sarma was just trying to divert attention from his own problems. This argument is getting bigger, especially with important state elections coming up next year.