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“Meant opinion poll”: Mamata Banerjee after referendum remark backfires

A day after challenging the BJP to have “UN-monitored referendum on the new Citizenship law”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her statement was “misinterpreted” and she only meant an “opinion poll

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West Bengal CM and TMC head Mamata Banerjee

A day after challenging the BJP to have “UN-monitored referendum on the new Citizenship law”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her statement was “misinterpreted” and she only meant an “opinion poll”.

The BJP demanded an apology from the Trinamool Congress chief for her statement. Union minister Smriti Irani described Banerjee’s remark as “an insult to the Parliament”.

“Who is the UN body to monitor the referendum? This is an insult to the 130 crore people of the country and their mandate,” Union minister Prakash Javadekar said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman questioned Banerjee’s faith in institutions of India. “We never wanted a 3rd party or international fora’s interference in our affairs. On a completely domestic matter she has chosen to ask for UN. Does she have no faith in institutions of India?”, asked the FM.

“I did not say referendum. I said gana vote. I meant an opinion poll overseen by experts like the Human Rights Commission. I have full faith on my country and its people. I want an opinion poll on CAA and NRC”, Banerjee said at a press conference in Kolkata.

Attacking the BJP-ruled government on the citizenship law which she said was discriminatory, the Bengal chief minister had suggested that “an impartial organisation like United Nations or Human Rights Commission form a committee to see how many people are in favour or against”.

“If BJP has guts, it should go for a UN-monitored referendum on the amended Citizenship Act and NRC. If the BJP loses this mass vote, then it should step down from the government,” she had said.

A referendum is an exercise in which people belonging to a country or an area are asked to give their opinion on or decide an important political or social question. It is used by local citizens to determine territorial ownership and leadership choices.

The citizenship law has been described as “unconstituional” by opposition parties and Human Rights activists who claim that it excludes Muslims from being a part of the law that provides citizenship to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The Trinamool chief has been leading protests against the law and the National Register of Citizens since Monday across Kolkata.

“CAA is about inclusion and not exclusion. They are talking the language of Pakistan. There are some elements who are causing confusion. We are trying to reach out to people with the right approach,” Javadekar said.

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BJP calls Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation announcement a PR stunt, says he wants his wife as CM

“The emotional and PR cards that he is playing is aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did,” the BJP leader charged.

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The BJP on Sunday called the announcement of resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the next two or three days a PR stunt saying his decision is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita the CM.

BJP national spokesperson Shezad Poonwalla claimed that Kejriwal is enacting the resignation drama because the court did not acquit him in the excise policy scam case and instead granted him a conditional bail, which turned him into a ceremonial minister from the chief minister.

The AAP national convenor on Sunday announced that he will he resign as the Delhi CM in next two days and would demand early polls in Delhi. Kejriwal vowed not to sit in CM’s chair till people give him a certificate of honesty.

In a scathing attack, Poonwalla alleged that the AAP national convenor’s announcement is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal the Chief Minister. “Arvind Kejriwal has done a PhD on how to make a virtue out of necessity,” he added.

While addressing party workers in Delhi today, Kejriwal said he would hold a meeting of AAP MLAs in the next couple of days and a party leader would take over as chief minister.

Hitting out at the Delhi Chief Minister, Poonwalla said, “He has taken two days’ time because his entire plan is to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal chief minister of Delhi in his place.”

“The emotional and PR cards that he is playing is aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did,” the BJP leader charged.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, people ensured the defeat of the AAP and the Congress in all seven seats despite the Kejriwal-led party’s ‘jail ka badla vote campaign’, he added.

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In Jharkhand, PM Modi says development of tribals, poor, youth, women is Centre’s priority

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted the central government’s commitment to the development of tribals, poor, Dalits, women, and youths, highlighting the launch of several schemes aimed at benefiting these groups.

He expressed optimism about Jharkhand’s rapid growth through the implementation of these projects, noting that the state, which had been lagging in development, is now set to progress.

While virtually addressing the audience gathered at Tatanagar for the inauguration of Vande Bharat trains and multiple initiatives, the Prime Minister acknowledged the impact of the bad weather which prevented his arrival in Tatanagar by apologizing for not being able to reach the location.

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

Modi highlighted the increased investment by the Centre for the development of Jharkhand, citing an allocation of Rs 7,000 crore for railway infrastructure development, which marked a 16-fold increase compared to the budget of the past 10 years.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Jharkhand has achieved 100% electrification of its railway network and mentioned the transformation of over 50 railway stations in the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Yojana.

Additionally, six Vande Bharat trains for Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh were virtually flagged off by the Prime Minister at Ranchi, with the presence of Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Annapurna Devi, Sanjay Seth, and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar at the Tatanagar station.

Meanwhile, Congress slammed PM Modi and said, “Why are people of Jamshedpur still facing the problem of poor connectivity?” Despite being an industrial hub, Jamshedpur suffers from poor transport connectivity, it added.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the number of trains running to major cities like Bhagalpur, Bengaluru and Delhi is not adequate. The city had a functional airport till 2016 but despite joining the UDAN scheme in 2018, the plan for a new airport did not materialise, he added.

“An MoU was signed between the Jharkhand government and the Airports Authority of India in January 2019 to build the Dhalbhumgarh airport by December 2022. This will give a good boost to MSMEs in Adityapur, including major players in the industrial sector like Tata. When the work did not happen by the December 2022 deadline, the BJP’s own MPs were forced to raise the issue in Parliament,” he charged.

On February 27, 2023, the Union Civil Aviation Minister responded and confirmed that the project had been abandoned, Ramesh said. “Now, after a lot of hard work, environmental clearances seem to be coming. Why did the central government ignore such a vital infrastructure in Jharkhand? What happened to “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”?” he asked.

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After Kejriwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia leaves it to people to decide on his honesty

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

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After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Sunday asserted that he will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister only if the public approves his honesty.

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

“I have also decided that I will go to the public court along with Arvind Kejriwal ji and ask whether the public considers me honest or not,” Sisodia said in his post on X.

In a major move on Sunday, Kejriwal announced that he will resign as the Delhi Chief Minister in the next two or three days and asserted that he won’t hold the position of CM, until the people of Delhi declare him honest.

Joining AAP supremo in his honesty test, Sisodia said that he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education. “For 10 years, I worked honestly as Delhi’s Education Minister and built schools and new universities,” Sisodia said.

As the Education Minister of Delhi, Sisodia said, he worked with the mantra that India cannot become a developed nation without providing the best education in government schools.

The result of ten years of hard work is visible that today even in the government schools of Delhi, children are studying brilliantly and topping exams like IIT, JEE, NEET, the senior AAP leader said.

After being in jail for 17 months in the money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam, Sisodia said that despite being honest attempts were made to prove him dishonest by making false allegations against him under petty politics.

“After two years of legal process, now even the country’s top court has told me to go and do my work. But I will not sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister right now”, he said.

The AAP leader said that he did not join politics for the greed of chairs and posts, instead, he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education.

“Elections are to be held in three to four months. Only if the public approves my honesty, I will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister and work for education,” AAP leader Sisodia said.

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