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Poll battleground gets ready in MP prior to by-polls with personal attacks, cash schemes, and farm loan waivers

The political melodrama war over farm loan waivers has escalated as the by-election for 28 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh draw closer. This has led to personal attacks among the political leaders with new cash scheme being introduced by the Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Mukhya Mantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana

Recently, the CM of Madhya Pradesh has announced a new cash benefit scheme for the farmers. This Mukhya Mantri Kisan Kalyan Yojana aims at providing the farmers with two annual installments worth Rs. 2,000. The overall cost of this scheme is expected to be Rs. 3,000 crores as there are around 77 lakh such farmers in the state.

This scheme is a venture which is additional to the existing PM-Kisan income support scheme. As a combination of two schemes, the farmers will now receive Rs. 6,000 from the Union Government and Rs. 4,000 from the State.

Escalating political battle over the farmer loan waiver schemes

Heated words have been exchanged between the ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress over the loan waiver schemes for farmers. Congress claims that the current CM of MP, Shivraj Singh Chouhan should apologize to the citizens for the alleged falsification of information, to which the BJP has replied that Congress should not make such accusations based on incomplete evidence and partial knowledge over the topic.

The allegation was made by Congress with regards to the BJP government with the former stating that 26 lakh farmers were provided with Rs.11,646 crores under the farm loan waiver scheme introduced by the former government led by Kamal Nath. Applications for waiving loans of Rs. 7,492 crores from almost 5.9 lakh farmers are still pending which are expected  to be cleared by the current BJP government.

Kamal Nath demanded that the BJP government should start the process of waiving loans for the pending applicants, slamming Chouhan’s panel of ministers for not keeping up with the scheme. He said that Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jyotiraditya Scindia were always peddling lies on the loan waiver. Kamal Nath added that Chouhan government has itself exposed the politics of lies of BJP by its admission in the assembly. He asked assertively that both Chouhan and Scindia should apologize to people.

In addition to this, in the same context, Rahul Gandhi, the former Congress president tweeted earlier yesterday that Congress has kept its promises and BJP had given false hopes to the people.

Personal attacks and exchange of statements between BJP and Congress ministers

Suresh Raje, all set to contest in the upcoming elections representing Congress in MP’s Gwalior-Chambal region from Dabra constituency is standing up against Imrati Devi, the State Minister for Woman and Child Development (WCD).  Raje has been accused of making personal comments against the state minister and her family members.

BJP and Devi had filed a complaint against Suresh Raje from which he backed off and has denied all allegations of ever making such a statement.

Usha Thakur, the State Minister for culture, tourism, and Adhyatam called out at the Jay Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) describing them as an anti-national outfit in her assembly constituency on Saturday. She later regretted making this statement as the JAYS organisation demanded her resignation from the post of a state minister.

Thakur made a statement apologising to the people stating that she respects all such organizations that are working for the upliftment of the tribal people. She asserted that her statement stemmed from her pain and anguish that she claims to have undergone. She explained in her apology statement that her anguish was due to certain elements making attempts to mislead tribals and convert them to other faiths while creating hurdles in the way of her public welfare work. It clearly seems that BJP is trying to play the religious victimization card prior to the bypolls.

In addition to this, Kamal Nath and Shivraj Singh Chouhan are involved in a continuous politically heated spat over waiving off the farmer loans in MP.

At an election rally few days back in Gwalior, Kamal Nath made a statement accusing the CM of being incapable of handling this issue of farmer’s loans. He said that the CM says Congress did not waive farmers’ loans in 10 days without knowing or trying to know the details.  Kamal Nath asked the CM to look up in the state records for the loan waiver action taken by the congress government. Nath added that it was for the first time in the state that not only the current loans but also those of the defaulters were waived off by the then congress government.

The current CM replied to this in a rally to the public. In the rally he stated that it would be the public who would ultimately decide who is incapable and who is not. Throwing an open challenge to Nath, the CM said that he has no objection if Kamal Nath wants to indulge in mudslinging. He said that it would be the public that would decide who is capable and who is not. The CM added that Nath should think about the capability quotient. The CM in his challenge stated that his government had done better work for poor, framed better laws for farmers and ensured upliftment of the girl child.

The author is a student member of Amity Center of Happiness.

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Former political brothers & young governors of INC to square off on a crusade route in MP by-polls

Not that long ago, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot were comrades-in-arms as youthful governors in the Congress party. But in the forthcoming by-elections for 28 seats in Madhya Pradesh assembly, they are put to square off on the crusade highway.

Although the bypoll dates have not been published yet, the INC has sounded out to Pilot that he will have to crusade in the Gwalior-Chambal belt. This is a region of Scindia’s significance, where 16 of the 28 seats up for grabs are positioned.

Congress sources told the Print that there are at least six to seven seats with a significant Gurjar public, where Pilot could whirl votes as he hails from the community,. They said that Pilot has already been provided permission to crusade in the ‘by polls’ as and when they are declared.

MP Congress spokesman Bhupendra Gupta said in appreciation of Pilot that he is among the wizard campaigners of the party and has regions of impact. Gupta further added that Sachin has campaigned earlier also, like his father Rajesh Pilot.

Another INC leader under the condition of anonymity claimed that the former CM Kamal Nath fiddled a position in beating back political disaster in Rajasthan, and recouped Pilot from buying the axe. The leader added that given Nath’s seniority, Pilot will have no choice but to crusade irrespective of whether he is inclined or not.

Scindia and Pilot have taken related paths to political achievement, as a matter of birthright, as scions of their fathers, Madhavrao Scindia and Rajesh Pilot respectively. Like their fathers, Scindia and Pilot juniors have been ministers in the central government and were seen as the next era of Congress supervision alongside Rahul Gandhi.

When in March, Scindia revolted against the Congress and enlisted in BJP, the MLA’s who supported him followed the suit. It overthrew the Kamal Nath-led INC government in the procedure.  Pilot was one of the rare vocalists to provide a calming remark.

Three more Congress legislators also resigned in the last few months and joined into BJP. The poll fight between Pilot Jr. and Scindia Jr. will be worth observing in the upcoming MP by polls.

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Mallikarjun Kharge slams the new National Education Policy 2020

On Wednesday, September 16, 2020, the Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge in a Rajya Sabha meeting described the new National Education Policy 2020 as a ‘backward-looking document’.

This issue was raised in the zero-hour mention in the Rajya Sabha. Kharge said that the NEP document looks 2,000 years back instead of planning and preparing our children for the future. He added that the Higher education cannot be based on ancient cultural values. State-run as well as state-aided institutions were always meant to be kept separate from religious institutions.

In his statement, he also raised the concerns for drop-out students in which the majority belonged to the backward classes of the society. He also added that the NEP does not address some key issues such as the dropout rate in schools with nearly 50 percent of students dropping out after Class X. Kharge pointed out that out of the dropouts, 33 percent are Dalits, 35 percent minorities, and 16 percent tribals. He stated that the government has not developed any plan to address this issue.

Another important question raised by Kharge was the division in urban and rural education policy. He said that by 2035, India will lose the advantage of its young population. It is time to look at the future within a short time period of 15 years. He stressed that priority should be on Maths, Science and English if the country has to provide opportunity of development to children of rural and backward areas.

He also spoke about the teachers who are already overloaded with other responsibilities. He stated that the teachers are already burdened with several duties like elections, census, vaccination drives, among others. All these make it difficult for them to concentrate on teaching and it hence becomes impossible for them to improve the quality of education.

Vandana Chavan, MP of the Congress also raised the issue about upgrading the infrastructure for a better digital education system in India, focusing mainly on the rural areas where students have limited access to the internet and other essential gadgets.

She said that in the month of July, during the lockdown, the death of Adarsh Harale from the district tehsil of Sangli had made headlines in the state of Maharashtra. Adarsh was a 10th standard student who committed suicide when his father, a marginal farmer with meagre means, was not able to buy him a mobile phone for his online classes. Vandana emphatically added that Adarsh is a telling example of many such cases of deprivation and frustration of a large section of the student population all across our country.

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Congress moved an adjournment motion to discuss the matter of surveillance by China based organization

On Tuesday, an adjournment motion notice has been submitted in the Lok Sabha by the congress over the surveillance carried out by a China-based organization on key Indian personalities, including the President and Prime Minister, as reported by Indian Express on Monday.

Congress leader of the House, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and MP Manickam Tagore moved the notice by calling it a matter of urgent importance. Tagore solicited an adjournment to discuss how China’s agencies have been watching Indian political leaders and over 10,000 Indians, entities from politics to business, judiciary to media, even those accused of crimes.

The government had been asked by the opposition on Monday to step in and order a probe into the monitoring of over 10,000 people in India by the Shenzhen-based Zhenua Data Information Technology Co. Ltd.

The Congress said in the Indian Express report that the “Chinese digital surveillance” was quite disturbing, and that it was necessary to know the extent of it, and if there was more to it than collating data. The party said that the development had huge implications for national security and privacy of citizens.

On Monday, an adjournment motion on the issue was moved by the Lok Sabha member from TMC, Saugata Roy. He stated that this was an extremely serious matter that a Chinese agency, controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government, is farming data information on all top political leaders, senior officials, Army staff and top scientists in India. He added that it was nothing sort of invading the data privacy of Indian leaders and the entire country. He stressed that the Indian government needs to raise this concern with the Chinese government.

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Attack on federal structure- Opposition blames the government for misusing the Presidential powers

On Monday as the first day of the monsoon session was scheduled, opposition parties objected to the government’s attempts on “coercive federalism” and “misuse of Presidential powers on issuing ordinances” forcefully.

The MPs from the opposition parties, including a congress member and MPs from TMC objected to the government’s decision to do away with Question Hour and the issuing of ordinances during the lockdown period.

In the face of opposition, Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, decided to withdraw the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill. N K Premachandran of Revolutionary Socialist Party pointed out that the Bill was introduced in the House on March 3, but an ordinance related to it was promulgated on June 26.

N K Premachandran pointed out that normally an ordinance is promulgated only in extraordinary situation. He stated that when the government makes a legislative proposal, the long-term interest of society has to be taken into account. NKP further added that the FM brought the Bill without applying any legislative wisdom. He blamed the government for lack of seriousness in legislative process. He further argued that presidential powers had been taken for granted by the government.

Sitharaman stressed her point by saying that the ordinance was brought in as several cooperative banks were facing stress during the pandemic. She stated that what the government is bringing, after withdrawing that Bill (which came in the form of an ordinance), is essentially what the Bill of March 2020 had, together with a few things added such as giving Reserve Bank (of India) a chance to be able to restructure any distressed cooperative banks in case they are in severe distress.

Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi opposed the introduction of Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill. He said that it deregulates certain commodities, depriving state governments of the control. He said that this deprivation of this essential responsibility comes without any consultation with states. This infringement on state powers without any consultation renders the Bill ultra vires of federalism.

TMC’s Sougata Roy termed the action by GOI as coercive federalism by the Centre. He pointed out that states had the power to regulate stocks. He added that it was necessary for avoiding hoarding and black-marketing or seasonal shortages due to floods or droughts. This power was wholly within the reach of state government. He added that this power is being taken over by the Central Government, and that the powers of state governments to regulate have been circumscribed.

The move to introduce Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill was resisted by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. He said that it violated basic tenets of federalism because agriculture falls in the state list.

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Bundle of Falsehood- BJP Accused Congress

The Congress on Friday announced names of 15 candidates for the upcoming by-elections to 27 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh.

The party has fielded Ravindra Singh Tomar (Dimani), Satyprakash Shekharwar (Ambah, SC), Mevaram Jatav (Gohad, SC), Sunil Sharma (Gwalior), Suresh Raje (Dabra, SC), Phul Singh Baraiya (Bhander, SC), Pragilal Jatav (Karera), Kanhaiyalal Agrawal (Bamori), Asha Dohre (Ashok Nagar, SC), Vishwanath Singh Kunjam (Anuppur, ST), Madanlal Choudhary Ahirwar (Sanchi, SC), Vipin Wankhede (Agar, SC), Rajveer Singh Baghel (Hatpipalya), Ram Kishan Patel (Nepanagar, ST) and Premchand Guddu (Sanver, Sc), state Congress spokesman Narendra Saluja said.

This referred to a survey reportedly conducted by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP to argue that the opposition party will win 22 out of 27 seats up for by-polls in the state.

The BJP which has to win a minimum of 9 of the 27 seats to continue with it’s government, has however called the Congress’s claim a “BUNDLE OF FALSEHOOD”.

This claim comes on the eve of the four-day joint by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia of the Gwalior Chambal region, wherein they will supervise foundation-laying processions for various developmental projects and works.

This all results with a series of tweets by the MP Congress holding local media reports on the survey to say that the people have decided to teach BJP a lesson. They have declared that Congress will win 22 seats according to RSS survey and this will be the win of the masses.

They have also said that the BJP has begun discovering excuses to deny tickets to Congress ex-MLA’s who switched over to the BJP through this survey.
The RSS has reportedly proposed that some of the ex-MLA’s should not be fielded to diffuse the negativity among public.

Meanwhile, during the series of meeting clasped on Wednesday, the national organising general secretary of BJP,B.L.Santosh has said that the ministers in charge of the 27 constituencies will be held personally accountable for the result on these seats and thus they should put in all efforts to assure their party wind.

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Demonetization was only meant to help the billionaires: Rahul Gandhi

Demonetization was an “attack on India’s poor, farmers, workers, and small shop owners,” says Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in his video series on the Indian economy. On Thursday, he claimed that the note ban was done with the sole purpose of harming the informal sector of the country, that survives on the liquid cash.

The hidden agenda behind this policy, he says was to “clear the ground”, where all the ₹500 and ₹1,000 were discarded in 2016.

He also added in his video “Our informal sector works on cash. Small shopkeepers and workers survive on cash. The second target of demonetization was to take out money from the informal sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the nation that he wants a cashless India. If India goes cashless, small shopkeepers, farmers, and workers will be finished.” More than 95% of the workforce in India, is involved in the informal sector which contributes to the egalitarian growth of the country.

To reach to a larger group of audience on the social media platform, Gandhi is using the means of these video series as a new communication tool. Before the demonetization issue, he had also talked about the informal sector of the country in the time of pandemic and the Indo-China conflict in his videos.

The latest series of his videos focus on the downfall of India’s economy by 23.9% in the first quarter of Apr-Jun of the financial year 2020-21. It reflects the impact of lockdown in the country that lasted for 68 days.

The Congress leader also narrated the misery of millions of Indians during demonetization “What did the poor Indians benefit? Nothing. So, who all benefitted? Only the country’s billionaires” he said.

The black money issue has not been resolved yet which was the driving force behind the note ban policy, he claims. “The government used your money to write off the loans of the billionaires.”- included Rahul in his statement.

As for now, no comments have been made by the opposition ruling party- Bharatiya Janata Party, regarding the allegations made by Gandhi.

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Congress at its historic low, needs a revival, says Kapil Sibal

Congress is facing leadership crisis is evident from the letter sent to interim party president Sonia Gandhi on August 7 that called for a “visible”, “effective” and “full-time” leader.

In the light of the above, Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that the party needs the leader working 24×7. A total of 23 leaders, including Sibal, wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding a change of leadership in the Congress. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Kapil Sibal reiterated that Congress now needs a full-time leader.

The letter was not sent to offend anyone, including the Gandhi family. We are proud of the leadership and work of the Gandhi family so far. He said that Congress should stand against the government which has broken the basic ideals of the Indian Republic.

our goal is to save the Congress party. We also need to revive the Congress. We have a duty to the party’s constitution and the tradition of the Congress. The Congress is currently in a historic collapse. This is reflected in the 2014 and 2019 elections.

Had the letter been received by the members of the Working Committee, it would have been clear that our position was to revive and strengthen the party, but many people in the meeting called us traitors.

“I have some knowledge about Congress’s constitution and the various elements provided by it, but it is not currently implemented. The main point we made in the letter was that it should be implemented. But because of this, we are attacked from many quarters. But we are not afraid. We are Congressmen at heart. It will continue forever, ”said Kapil Sibal.

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BJP gears up to face Oppn in Parliament

The Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to face an aggressive opposition that will try to surround the government on issues ranging from the covid-19 epidemic to the Facing between Indian and Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh. It is likely to be on 14 September when the Parliament will reorganize for the monsoon session.

The opposition, mainly Congress, has been attacking the government over the response to the epidemic and accused the government of not doing enough to stabilize the economic recession following the nationwide lockdown n March.

The Congress has accused the government of not allowing 20 soldiers to be transparent, citing the details of the Galwan clash. A BJP official said, “The questions raised by the opposition regarding China and the epidemic have already been answered and they are only using these issues for petty politics.”

According to the party official, 10 ordinances were passed this year and came up for consideration after the last session in March.

In December 2019, the Data Protection Bill, 2019, introduced in the Winter Session, deals with data collection and sharing rules, and defines rights to citizens on their personal information.

The Official said, “The government hopes that all four codes will implement wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions.”

Occupational Safety, Health and Work Conditions Code, 2019; The Code of Industrial Relations, 2019, and the Social Security Code have all been referred to parliamentary committees.

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Sonia Gandhi determined to resign, Rahul Gandhi not willing take Congress top post

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi, the Congress’s Member of parliament, quit the party top post last year, is not willing to accept the post again. On the other hand, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also denies to take on a bigger role but to remain as a general secretary.

The Congress Working Committee, the party’s top decision-making body, will be meeting today amid a massive controversy over a letter by more than 20 top party leaders calling for sweeping reforms, introspection and “a full-time, visible leadership”.

Minister Amarinder Singh and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel pledged support to Sonia Gandhi, the interim chief of the party when she said she would resign.

This was “not the time to raise such an issue, given the need for strong opposition against BJP-led NDA that was out to destroy country’s constitutional ethos and democratic principles,” said Amarinder Singh.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, tweeted, “If she has made up her mind — I believe Rahul Gandhi should come ahead and be the Congress President as the country faces the biggest challenge to save our Constitution – Democracy.”

Rahul Gandhi, before the Abandonment of the top post last year after the party’s second consecutive defeat in general elections, said the party should search for a new leader outside the Gandhi family. He has specifically said his mother and sister should not be roped in.

Sonia Gandhi, who took a backseat over the last few years owing to her health issues, grudgingly took charge of the party after repeated requests from the party leaders.

Now she is 73, and is speculated that she may announce her resignation or may give a deadline today in the meeting.