India News
Ambedkar Jayanti: PM, other politicians pay tribute, day marked by Dalit protest
Amid attacks from opposition and trying hard to combat the anti-Dalit image of the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and other party leaders made a beeline to pay tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar on his 127th birth anniversary on Saturday, April 14.
PM Modi said in a statement: “Pujya Babasaheb gave hope to lakhs of people belonging to the poorest and marginalised sections of society. We remain indebted to him for his efforts towards the making of our Constitution.”
President Ram Nath Kovind greeted the nation to say: “Homage to Dr B.R. Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. An icon of our nation, Dr Ambedkar was a multifaceted personality who waged a life-long struggle for a modern India free of caste and other prejudices, ensuring equal rights to women and for the disadvantaged.”
BJP chief Amit Shah paid tribute to Ambedkar at the party office in Delhi.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “His life and thoughts about equality, humanity, brotherhood, social justice give us inspiration to carry on the struggle.”
The day was marked also by protests from Dalits. In Delhi, some people from the community “cleansed” BR Ambedkar’s statue soon after Union Minister Maneka Gandhi and BJP leaders paid floral tributes to the Dalit icon. Members of the Dalit community claimed that the presence of BJP leaders had ‘polluted’ the atmosphere.
A group of Sikhs too protested against alleged atrocities perpetrated against minority communities in India during the commemoration of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary at the United Nation’s headquarters.
Modi government and BJP, tried to reach out to Dalits in the aftermath of their violent protests, asserting that at every juncture they stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the community and accused the Congress of fuelling tension in the society with an eye on elections.
Earlier this month, Modi had blasted opposition parties for politicising Ambedkar’s legacy, blaming the previous governments for not paying due respects to the Dalit icon.
The Congress hit back, accusing the BJP of ‘eroding’ the legacy of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and said PM Modi was merely paying him lip service as his party and the RSS have an ‘anti-Dalit mindset’. Congress leader Selja charged the prime minister with doing politics over the legacy of the Dalit icon.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the BJP’s overdrive to cultivate Dalits with the help of optics won’t cut ice with the community.
“I want to tell Modi ji and his government that commemorating places related to Babasaheb’s life and inaugurating schemes in his name, will in no way lead to development of Dalits,” said Mayawati.
In Ahmedabad, five men including members of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, were detained when they tried to protest garlanding of Ambedkar’s statue at Sarngpur in Ahmedabad by BJP MP Kirit Solanki.
Alleging that BJP is anti-dalit, convener of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani had given call to prevent BJP members from paying tribute to Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. But events led by Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar and BJP president Jitu Vaghani in Surat did not see any protest.
In western Uttar Pradesh, Meerut, which witnessed widespread protests by Dalits during the nationwide protests on April 2, was on high alert. The security measures taken include blocking of internet services from 9 pm on Friday to 8 pm on Saturday, an official at the district magistrate’s office said.
Punjab’s Phagwara was tense after a communal clash broke out between a Dalit and a Hindu outfit over renaming of a traffic intersection in a bid to pay tribute to Ambedkar late Friday night.
Before the nation commemorated the birth anniversary of the Dalit icon, a statue of BR Ambedkar in Richhpal Garhi village of Bisrakh in Greater Noida was found damaged. The incident came to light Thursday morning when the villagers spotted the statue of Ambedkar damaged. Heavy police force was deployed in view of the tense situation. According to media reports, Suniti Singh, SP (rural), said a case was registered against unknown persons for vandalism and that the guilty would not be spared. A large number of people from nearby villages had gathered after news of the vandalism spread. Police, however, contained the mob. Singh said that the damaged statue was being replaced with a new one.
On Friday, Dalits took strong objection to the painting of the upper part of an under-construction Ambedkar memorial in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur in saffron. The protesters, however, said a private jewellery firm had undertaken the painting work as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) project and “the government had nothing to do with it”.
Chandrashekhar, the president of a local Dalit group, said, “They would have painted the entire memorial saffron had we not protested.” “The jewellery firm agreed to our demand to re-paint it in white and used red paint to write “Ambedkar Chauraha” on it. The government wasn’t involved in this,” he said.
India News
Goa child rights body serves notice to Education department after worms found in mid day meals
Peter F Borges, Chairperson Goa state commission for protection of child rights said this shocking, sheer, neglect and outrageous that the meal had been consumed by children. He added the MDM scheme has elaborate monitoring systems in state, district and local levels.
The Goa state Commission for Protection of Child Rights served notice to the state Education department as worms were found in mid day meals served to children. Officials of the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration on Tuseday took food samples from three schools. This came in response to a complaint from schools in Priol said worms were found in Soya Chunks Pulao which was served as the mid day meal.
Peter F Borges, Chairperson Goa state commission for protection of child rights said this shocking, sheer, neglect and outrageous that the meal had been consumed by children. He added the MDM scheme has elaborate monitoring systems in state, district and local levels.
He said the school management committee (SMC)s are responsible for continuously monitoring the wholesomeness of the midday meal served to the schoolchildren. They are responsible for the hygiene standards and the service of the meal and the timeliness of good quality ingredients on a daily basis.
The commission has called for investigation in the incident and an enquiry so that necessary action can be taken against those found responsible for the incident. It has further sent directives to the education department to file status of all mechanisms at various levels in place.
Director of Education Shailesh Zingade told the media after the complaints were received the food and Drugs administration officials were summoned. They also collected the food samples and a report was awaited. He said the supplier has been told to stop the supply till the issue is cleared. According to reports the education department will take action against the self help group supplying the mid day meal. The mid day meal is served to students from Class I to Class VIII. The food is served to 160 lakh students of 1400 aided and government schools.
Bihar news
Nitish Kumar on ‘digital library’ inauguration in Bihar’s Banka asks officials to change signboard language to Hindi | Watch video
The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday, went to inaugurate a ‘digital library’ in Banka district where he noticed the language of the signboard of the newly established ‘digital library’.
The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar on Wednesday, went to inaugurate a ‘digital library’ in Banka district where he noticed the language of the signboard of the newly established ‘digital library’ and asked the officials to change the signboard as the information was written in the English language.
CM Kumar said he respects the English language but Hindi is a part of the tradition. He further schooled the officials saying you are ending the importance of the Hindi language, adding that it is our language. Officials present at the moment were asked to change the board by CM Kumar.
In March, Kumar made headlines for ridiculing a farmer who used English words in his speech at an event, demonstrating his consistent disapproval of the use of English in public settings.
Nitish Kumar reminded the farmer that using smartphones during COVID-19 was causing people to distance themselves from their own language in Bharat, Bihar.
Look at what has happened to people. They are distancing themselves from their language, Kumar interrupted, when people learn words through smartphones. Is it England, Kumar questioned the farmer. Your language should be used since you have been conversing with farmers in Bihar and Bharat, Nitish Kumar said.
As per the reports, the Chief Minister of Bihar carried out unannounced inspections at several government offices and discovered that a considerable number of ministers from his cabinet were missing in action. The observations revealed that while the majority of the ministers belonging to his party, JD(U), were present, a significant number of ministers from his alliance party, RJD, were found to be absent, the reports added.
According to reports, the development occurred amidst speculations that CM Kumar may switch alliances and join the BJP.
During the G20 event, the Prime Minister cordially introduced Nitish Kumar to none other than the esteemed US President Joe Biden.
It was worth noting that this was the initial encounter between PM Modi and Nitish Kumar following the latter’s party, JD(U), ending its affiliation with the BJP last year. Instead, they joined the Mahagathbandhan and formed a government with RJD and other opposition parties.
India News
Watch: Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Ashish Patel injured in road accident
The minister suffered injuries because the air bags of the car did not open after the collision of the vehicles. Principal of Trauma centre Dr Sunil Singh and Dr RB Kamal said everything is normal in the X ray.
UP Cabinet Minister Ashish Patel received injuries when his car rammed into another vehicle in his convoy. The accident took place on the Mirzapur Prayagraj highway near Meja road. According to reports emergency brakes were applied by the vehicle leading the convoy to prevent an accident with a motorcycle. The minister received injuries on his chest and legs due to the accident of the vehicles in the convoy.
Immediately a police team with senior district officers reached the area of the accident. The minster was taken to a hospital. He is receiving treatment in the trauma centre. In the video it can be seen the car of Minister Ashish Patel is completely damaged in the accident. A crowd of people have gathered around the damaged vehicle.
The minister suffered injuries because the air bags of the car did not open after the collision of the vehicles. Principal of Trauma centre Dr Sunil Singh and Dr RB Kamal said everything is normal in the X ray. Ashish Patel is also the husband of Anupriya Patel. She is the Union minister of State for Commerce and state in the Indian government. She is also the president of Apna Dal (Sonelal) Party. She is the daughter of ApnaDal founder Sonelal Patel
Ashish Patel is an MLC in the UP assembly and the technical education minister in the Uttar Pradesh government. Patel is undergoing treatment at the Mirzapur Trauma Centre. In the video doctors can be seen attending the minister. It was the 14th wedding anniversary of the politician couple.
Anupriya Patel had also posted about her marriage anniversary on X (formerly Twitter). She wrote walking on the irregular path of life facing the ups and downs , the couple lost something and got something. In another post she said they were just characters on the stage of life.
