Modi, Shah to meet BJP CMS, Dy CMS on Feb 28

NEW DELHI: A key meeting with all Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of Bjpruled States has been called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah on February 28 at its new party headquarters here.

BJP general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav has already dispatched a letter to the Chief Ministers and the Deputy Chief Ministers, where they have been asked to present the status of implementation of central schemes, especially pro-poor schemes like Jan-dhan, Mudra, Ujwala, housing etc.

BJP has 14 chief ministers and deputy chief ministers in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. In Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir the BJP is a coalition partner with the Janata Dalunited and People’s Democratic Party (PDP), respectively.

Meanwhile, many interpretations are in the round over the meeting. Political pundits claimed that the meeting is very crucial in view of the impending Lok Sabha election next year and BJP leaders are likely to brainstorm and to introspect the outcome in the saffron states during the meeting. But the party sources opined that it is a ‘yearly affair’ of the party.

Reportedly, those in the know of the development claimed that the letter by Yadav also mentioned to present details of booth level preparations. The participants have also been asked to form committees over “One Nation-one Election” under leadership of a senior leader either from government or organisation so that the issue can gain momentum in public discourse and PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah will also talk about the issue during the meeting. However, party sources completely denied such reports.

Interestingly, the meeting will take place on the day when the results for by-polls for two Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and one in Odisha will be announced and the budget will be presented by Madhya Pradesh government. The marathon meeting will be held from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm. BAGALKOTE: Continuing to target the Prime Minister in his campaign in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked why Narendra Modi, who had described himself as the country’s “chowkidar”, was “silent” on the PNB fraud.

He also asked Modi as to why he was not taking any action regarding the alleged sudden increase in turnover of a company owned by BJP president Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah.

“Modi ji comes to Karnataka and speaks about corruption. He had told the country not to make him Prime Minister but make him the chowkidar (watchman) of the country,” he said at party rallies in Vijapura and Bagalkote districts in north Karnataka.

Gandhi said, “On one side there is his party’s (former) chief minister (B S Yeddyurappa) who had gone to jail and on the other side are the other four former ministers of the BJP government who had gone to jail; sitting in between them, Modi speaks about corruption.”

“Shah’s son converts Rs 50,000 to Rs 80 crore in three months and the chowkidar of the country doesn’t get it enquired and doesn’t even utter a word,” he alleged.

The BJP chief has rejected allegations of corruption against his son Jay Shah, who has filed a criminal defamation suit against a news portal which claimed his business fortunes had zoomed after the BJP came to power in 2014.

Gandhi is on the second leg of his three-day tour of northern parts of Karnataka.

This is his second visit to the state in less than a fortnight.

Karnataka is slated to go to the polls in a few months.

At all rallies, Modi has remained the focal point of speeches by Gandhi, who, on the other hand, is projecting Siddaramaiah as party’s face to take on Modi in the state, on whom BJP is banking heavily to boost its electoral fortunes.

Hitting out at Modi on demonetisation, the Congress president said, “Modiji told the country to stand in line (queues at banks) for the fight against corruption.you would have not seen a single rich person or someone wearing suit-boot in the line.” He alleged that all the “thieves” in India had converted their black money into white with the help of Modi.

Attacking the Prime Minister on the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud issue involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi, Gandhi questioned his silence. “Nirav Modi has indulged in the theft of Rs 22,000 crore, he runs away from the country, but the chowkidar of this country does not even utter a word,” he said.

Breaking his silence over the Rs 11,400-crore fraud at India’s second-biggest PSU bank, Modi on Friday had warned of strict action against those involved in financial irregularities and said loot of public money would not be tolerated.

“Nudidante Nade” (practise as you preach),gandhi told Modi, invoking 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara from Karnataka.

Basaveshwara is revered by the dominant Lingayatveerashiva community,who are predominantly present in northern parts of the state and form a major support base for Bjp,which is projecting Lingayat strongman Yeddyurappa as its Chief Ministerial candidate. NEW DELHI: The vehicle that killed nine schoolchildren (six girls and three boys) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on Saturday belonged to a BJP leader from Sitamarhi, police officials said.

The BJP leader, Manoj Baitha, was reportedly inside the Bolero when the accident took place on NH 77 and escaped along with his driver after the incident, agency reported. The RJD was quick to pounce upon the ruling JD(U)-BJP combine and sought strict punishment for those behind the deaths.

The accident took place around 1.30 pm when school got over and students were crossing the highway to reach Dharampur village on the other side.

A truck coming from Muzaffarpur and going towards Sitamarhi first hit and injured a woman. The driver of a speeding Mahindra Bolero vehicle, coming from the opposite direction, lost control, probably to avoid running over the injured woman and hit the schoolchildren.

About a dozen other students were reportedly injured, and are being treated at Muzaffarpur’s Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital.

On Sunday, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav visited the injured and met the families of the victims. He alleged that the driver of the vehicle was drunk and asked why no arrests had been made so far.

“The vehicle has a BJP board attached to it and the driver was drunk at the time of the incident. BJP leaders are totally drunk in power,” he said.

The victims were children of either daily wage workers and marginal farmers and students and parents have been demanding relocation of the school owing to its location near the highway.

Protesting parents and local residents blocked traffic on the stretch for several hours after Saturday’s accident, while agencies reported that some people also vandalised the school and set ablaze the infrastructure.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed grief over the incident and announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each child killed in the accident.