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Himanta Biswa Sarma sworn in as Assam’s new Chief Minister

After long-drawn speculations on who would lead the new government in Assam, BJP’s legislature party on Sunday announced that Himanta Biswa Sarma would succeed Sarbananda Sonowal as the next chief minister of the state.

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Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

After long-drawn speculation on who would lead the new government in Assam, BJP’s legislature party on Sunday declared Himanta Biswa Sarma would succeed Sarbananda Sonowal as the next chief minister.

Succeeding Sonowal, the BJP’s Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday was sworn in as the 15th Chief Minister of Assam, along with 13 members of his cabinet in the presence of Governor Jagdish Mukhi, BJP President JP Nadda and other leaders. Urkhao Gwra Brahma, the chief of BJP ally United People’s Party Liberal, also took oath amid Covid restrictions at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.

According to party sources, Sarma’s name was proposed by Sonowal

What did PM Modi tweet?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sarma and said he was confident this team will add momentum to the development journey of Assam.

In another tweet, PM Modi thanked Sonowal for his contribution towards Assam’s progress and strengthening the party in the state. He said Sonowal was at the helm of a pro-people and pro-development administration over the last five years. His contribution towards Assam’s progress and strengthening the party in the state is immense.

Why was Himanta Biswa Sarma chosen to be Assam CM ?

Sarma is no stranger to controversies. In the run-up to the elections, he was criticised for his polarising comments, in which he often targeted the Bengali-origin Muslim community of the state, especially perfume baron and MP Badruddin Ajmal, who leads the AIUDF, a party known for its strong base among minorities and a Congress ally.

In April, the Election Commission had banned Sarma from campaigning for 48 hours for threatening to put Hagrama Mohilary, the chief of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), another Congress ally, behind bars by filing a case with the NIA.

Soon after the EC relaxed the ban, Sarma resumed his campaigning duties. There have also been allegations of corruption against Sarma in the Saradha and Louis Berger scams.

Sarma, BJP’s trouble-shooter and the go-to man in the Northeast, was instrumental in the party’s two consecutive victories. Sarma enjoys the support of a majority of BJP legislators besides its allies, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the tribal United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

Had the BJP top brass allowed Sonowal to continue as CM, it could have sparked an internal feud in the party’s Assam unit, something Modi-Shah cannot afford after the West Bengal rout.

How did the BJP do in the polls?

In the results announced for the 126-member Assam Assembly on May 2, the BJP won 60 seats while its alliance partners AGP got 9 seats and UPPL 6. In Assam, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has secured 75 seats while the ‘grand alliance’ led by the Congress bagged 50.

Read Also: Maharashtra gets only 36,000 Covaxin doses in response to states health minister demand of around 5.5 lakh Covid second dose

In the 2016 Assembly polls, the BJP had projected Sonowal as its chief ministerial candidate and won, forming its first government in the northeast. This time, the party had maintained that it would decide who would be the next chief minister after the elections. Sarma’s defection to the BJP from the Congress put paid to the grand old party’s chances even with late Tarun Gogoi leading it.

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Delhi air pollution: GRAP 3 invoked in capital, construction halted

The construction work, except the projects needed for national security, healthcare, and certain public infrastructure work, will be banned.

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To prevent further deterioration of air quality in the national capital region, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Thursday decided to invoke Stage III of the GRAP in Delhi NCR with effect from 8:OO am on November 15 in addition to all actions under Stage I and II.

According to the statement released by CAQM, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) will not permit BS-III and below diesel-operated LCVs (goods carriers) registered outside Delhi, to enter Delhi, except those carrying essential commodities providing essential services.

The construction work, except the projects needed for national security, healthcare, and certain public infrastructure work, will be banned.

The GRAP III measures to mitigate the effects of air pollution in Delhi NCR include intensifying the frequency of mechanised sweeping of roads, daily water sprinkling along with dust suppressants, before peak traffic hours, on roads and right of ways including hotspots, heavy traffic corridors and proper disposal of the collected dust in designated sites/ landfills.

All demolition works, earthwork for excavation and filling including boring and drilling works, and any transportation of demolition waste are banned with the implementation of GRAP III measures to fight air pollution.

With the implementation of Stage 3, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi may decide on discontinuing physical classes in schools for children up to Class V and conducting classes in an online mode following the implementation of the  GRAP III.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the third phase of the Graded Response Action (GRAP 3) will not be imposed for now. He said that for the first time, the Air Quality Index has gone above 400 in Delhi.

Pointing out the reason behind severe category air quality after poor and very poor AQI since October 14, the Environment Minister said that meteorologists have reported that due to snowfall in the mountains, a drop in the temperature of Delhi has been recorded. Owing to this, dry conditions have been created in the morning and evening in the entirety of North India, he said. 

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In Maharashtra, Congress chief Kharge says PM Modi’s ideologues worship Gandhi’s murderer Godse

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

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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.”

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Madhya Pradesh post-poll violence: Dalit village set on fire, BJP, Congress blame each other

Jitu Patwari, Congress state president and BJP state president VD Sharma sat on a dharna near the ECI’s office in Bhopal, accusing each other’s party of fake voting and booth capturing.

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Madhya Pradesh post-poll violence: Dalit village set on fire, BJP, Congress blame each other

In an horrifying incident following the byelection in Vijaypur Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, some people reportedly set fire to a Dalit village. The incident took place in Gohta village after voting concluded late on Wednesday.

Reports said that the accused created a ruckus in the village, pelted stones and vandalised properties. Several terrified villagers took shelter at a local police station. It is alleged that despite the severity of the situation, the police have not taken any action against the perpetrators of the crime.

However, Vijaypur police station in-charge Pappu Singh Yadav asserted that police teams reached the spot and brought the situation under control. The Police station-in-charge added that violence occurred following conflict between two groups. Reportedly, the byelection in the aforesaid constituency was conducted amid mild violence, protests and allegations of booth capturing on Wednesday.

Following the ruckus between two groups, nearly three people were injured in the Veerpur area in Vijaypur. The fight broke out over the denial of voting rights. The candidates of both ruling and Opposition (BJP’s Ramniwas Rawat and Congress’ nominee Mukesh Malhotra) for Vijapur by-polls were put up at a guest house during the election owing to security reasons.

The chaos in Vijaypur unfolded two days before the byelections when a group of criminals opened fire at villagers, injuring three residents. Additionally, few back-to-back incidents of violence sparked outrage and calls for immediate intervention to ascertain justice and security for the affected families.

The byelections in this constituency under the Morena Lok Sabha constituency of Gwalior-Chambal region were necessitated after sitting Congress MLA Ramniwas Rawat resigned from the party and state Assembly. Later, he joined the ruling BJP and was elevated as state forest minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s Cabinet. On Wednesday, Vijaypur recorded 75 per cent voter turnout.

The tussle between BJP and Congress workers began with the start of the voting, and continued till the end. Furthermore, Jitu Patwari, Congress state president and BJP state president VD Sharma sat on a dharna near the ECI’s office in Bhopal, accusing each other’s party of fake voting and booth capturing.

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