Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Mamata-Modi bonhomie on display in Kolkata

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

KOLKATA: An unexpected bonhomie between Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and prime minister Narendra Modi was on display on the PM’s maiden visit to Bengal where he officially unveiled three social welfare schemes.

In a moment of his customary wit, Modi also remarked that the chief minister was placing problems of poor banking coverage in Bengal districts as she was sure that if anybody could deliver, it was he.

Both shared an unschedule­d 30-minute one-on-one meeting at the green room of Nazrul Manch, an auditorium in Kolkata.

“Bengal chief minister has faith in me as she knows that what ever should be done would be done my me,” said Modi.

Mamata Banerjee on the other hand was heard saying, “Centre night.

Police sought to downplay the incident, saying the rebels took the villagers away only to protest the constructi­on of a bridge.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Chhattisga­rh chief minister Raman Singh said efforts were on to free the hostages. Raman Singh said about 200 to 250 people were taken captive though some media reports had put the figure at more than 500.

The Prime Minister also initiated several schemes worth `24,000 crore for the violencehi­t Bastar region, including an ultra mega steel plant, the second phase of the RowghatJag­dalpur railway line, a slurry pipeline and a plant. and state shoulder to shoulder should work together.”

As Mamata Banerjee highlighte­d 34 years (Left Front) of misrule in Bengal, Modi was process in which some strata become detached. “Fault” is a gently curved fracture, while “strike” is the direction of a line formed by fault or other features.

It’s not just the discovery of all these features that made the team predict a large Uttarakhan­d quake. It’s time the fault has been taking to rupture — about 700 years — that makes a devastatin­g quake in Uttarakhan­d overdue, Rajendran said.

“It can’t go on accommodat­ing strain. We can’t say when this will happen but our analysis shows a big quake is now looming,” he said.

With quake-resistant planning all but missing in much of India’s Himalayan states and elsewhere, portends are ominous. “There are multistori­ed buildings in even highaltitu­de towns. Mussoorie is three times bigger now than it was in 90s. It’s a nightmare people don’t realise,” said Kaushal Rawat, the secretary of Madhya Himalaya Sangraksha­n Samiti, an NGO. quick to emphasise on 60 years rule (of Congress).

Stating the success of central schemes Modi said, “`15,800 crore has already been accumulate­d through the Jan Dhan initiative. Poor need empowermen­t and not our support, this is what I believe in.”

The Prime Minister unveiled Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana.

“I had watched a film and remembered its dialogue which says that one cannot get ‘Kafan’ (robe to cover the dead) with `12. But today, I say that one can get `2 lakh insurance by only `12 periodical­ly. I ask all to help out their drivers, maids and others in this schemes. They will never leave you,” said Modi. & Analysis Wing said.

On being asked if the depanelled officers would get redeployed, he said, “I have said what I did. I don’t need to say anything more.”

The agency employs officers and personnel in permanent, contract-based and casual capacity. While the nature of the jobs remains the same, the difference­s lie in the pay scales and how many days of a month they work.

Opposition leaders started alleging that it was a display of political give-and-take.

“After Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with the prime minister in Delhi, the CBI probe in Saradha has slowed down significan­tly. Trinamool too has given its support to a few important Bills,” said Abdul Mannan, a senior Congress leader.

“It is unfortunat­e that both the PM and the CM ridiculed the Congress rule in the country. They have forgotten the contributi­on of UPA I and UPA II regimes. The schemes that were announced today were old schemes of LIC. The Atal pension scheme is just existing scheme that has been renamed, a fact known to both of them,” remarked former Pradesh Congress chief, Manas Bhuniya.

THE PRIME MINISTER ALSO INITIATED SEVERAL SCHEMES WORTH `24,000 CRORE FOR

THE VIOLENCE-HIT BASTAR REGION

and urbanisati­on that India adopts will have a significan­t impact on the world’s warming and its own health status. Already, 13 of the world’s 20 most-polluted cities are in India.

India’s stance at various conference­s, including the Climate Change Conference in Lima in 2014, has been that it was unfair to demand emissions cuts from developing countries. The argument being that these economies were still growing compared to the developed world, and that such emission levels would be unavoidabl­e if they want to catch up.

However, PM Modi has set India on an ambitious programme of using nuclear and renewable energy to power its industrial­isation, as it attempts to move some of roughly 600 million people working on farms to factories.

“I think if you look at the whole world, and the whole issue of climate change, if there is one part of the world which can provide natural leadership on this particular cause, it is this part of the world,” Modi said in an interview to TIME magazine.

India may take an uncompromi­sing position globally to protect its own interests, but it’s difficult to ignore the warning signs from Mauna Loa.

 ??  ?? PM Modi with West Bengal governor KN Tripathi (left) and finance minister Amit Mitra at NSCBI Airport in Kolkata on Saturday. PTI
PM Modi with West Bengal governor KN Tripathi (left) and finance minister Amit Mitra at NSCBI Airport in Kolkata on Saturday. PTI

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