Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Birsa Munda’s 150th birth anniversary in Bihar’s Jamui. He tried his hand at playing traditional tribal instruments for the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas celebrations.

A video shows the Prime Minister enthusiastically beating a traditional dhol, engaging with the local tribal customs as part of the 150th birth anniversary year commemoration of Bhagwan Birsa Munda. He also received a traditional tribal welcome, during which he participated by playing a indigenous musical instrument.

Furthermore, PM Narendra Modi also unveiled a commemorative coin and postal stamp in honor of the revered tribal freedom fighter, acknowledging his legacy and contributions to India’s independence.

In a major boost to development in Bihar, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 6,640 crore. Reportedly, these initiatives are aimed at driving infrastructure and socio-economic growth across the state. He also virtually took part in the Grih Pravesh ceremony for 11,000 tribal family dwellings constructed under the PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).

In a bid to strengthen healthcare facilities in distant tribal regions, he launched 23 mobile medical units (MMUs) as part of PM-JANMAN, alongside 30 additional MMUs under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA). Reports said that the inauguration included 10 Eklavya Model Residential Schools and 300 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, designed to support enterprise development and enhance living standards.

He also inaugurated two Tribal Freedom Fighters’ Museums situated in Chhindwara and Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and two Tribal Research Institutes in Srinagar and Gangtok, dedicated to preserving tribal community heritage.

Additionally, he also laid the foundation for 500 km of fresh roadways and 100 multi-purpose centres serving as community facilities in tribal areas. PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for construction of 25,000 new residences under PM-JANMAN, 1.16 lakh houses under DAJGUA, and 370 accommodation facilities for tribal students.

Retorting sharply on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he accused the grand old party of spreading lies, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said Modi’s ideologues praise and worship Godse, the murderer of Mahatma Gandhi.

Addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Igatpuri, Kharge said Modi accuses the Congress of lying, which has sacrificed for the independence of the country and led the country on the path of development.

He said PM Modi who used to talk about a Congress-free India, about crossing 400 marks in Lok Sabha elections, now even to stand his government he needed two legs – Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, and Bihar Chief Minister and J(D)U head Nitish Kumar.

“Hey… Modiji, your people praise and worship Godse, the murderer of Mahatma Gandhi, and you say bad things about Congress?” Kharge said.

He accused BJP of recovering the money from the public it spent to form the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra. “This government could not do anything for the poor for whom it had promised to work. All BJP leaders including Narendra Modi and Amit Shah lie. Therefore, the people of Maharashtra have decided that this time they will form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government here.”

On BJP’s accusition of the guarantees of the Congress government a lie, Kharge said his party is fulfilling its promises everywhere.

Underlining the numbers of promises made by PM Modi including black money, 15 lakh rupees in everyone’s account, 2 crore jobs every year and farmers’ double income, the Congress chief said nothing was done, which means all the promises of Modi were nothing but a lie.

Addressing a press conference in Pune, Kharge said: “What are they going to give to Pune, what will they give to the farmers of the state, the discussion should be on that. The discussion in the elections should be on work. But the BJP government has no focus on controlling inflation, providing employment and investment.”

Kharge alleged that the investment coming to Maharashtra is being shifted to other states, which is not right. “On this, I believe that the projects that should go to Maharashtra should be given here and the projects that are meant for Gujarat should go to them.”

The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) today agreed to the demands of the protesting aspirants, announcing that it will conduct the PCS preliminary exam in a single day. This decision follows days after massive protests by the students in Prayagraj who demanded that the exams be held in one day and a single shift.

Notably, the PCS exam was to be held in two shifts on December 7 and 8. The Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) preliminary examination was to be held in three shifts on December 22 and 23 and has been postponed. Furthermore, a decision on fixing a fresh date for the RO-ARO exam will be taken once the UPPSC submits a report.

Ashok Kumar, UPPSC Commission Secretary made the announcement in front of the students in Prayagraj, who have been protesting against the exam schedule for the past four days. He said that multiple paper leak issues in competitive exams have come to light from different parts of the country in the last few months, in which some institutions were found to be involved. Therefore, to ensure the sanctity and transparency of competitive exams, the state government had planned to hold exams with over five lakh aspirants in multiple shifts, he continued.

The UPPSC Commission Secretary mentioned that as a part of this, the state exam body announced to PCS exam 2024, proposed to be held in December and ARO exam 2023, in multiple shifts. He added that the demand raised by some students over the past few days was taken into cognisance by the Chief Minister, who directed the commission to maintain dialogue with the students and take a decision. Ashok Kumar said that the commission will hold the exam in a single shift.

Earlier on November 5, the UPPSC announced that the RO-ARO and the PCS exams were in three and two shifts, respectively. The move to conduct the exams on separate dates drew widespread criticism, while the aspirants argued that it caused unnecessary confusion and hardship. Meanwhile, the Opposition also criticised the BJP over the UPPSC’s exam schedule.