Uddhav & Raj Thackeray Reunite at Mega ‘Maha Marathi' Rally in Mumbai - The Economic Times Video
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Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Insistence on Marathi natural, but also respect Indian languages: Fadnavis
New Delhi, Amid a language war in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted on Thursday that language cannot be a means of discord and a Marathi person can never be narrow-minded on such issues. Insistence on Marathi natural, but also respect Indian languages: Fadnavis Addressing a function at the Jawaharlal Nehru University here, Fadnavis said his government's policy has been Marathi along with other Indian languages, even as parts of Mumbai were rocked by violent protests against the "imposition of Hindi" in Maharashtra. "Language is a means of communication, but never of discord. Mother tongue is important. Every Marathi person is proud of the Marathi language. Insistence on Marathi is natural and justified, but we should also respect other Indian languages," he said. Fadnavis was speaking at a function to inaugurate the Kusumagraj Special Centre for Marathi Language, Literature and Culture and the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Special Centre for Security and Strategic Studies at the JNU. "The debate is not Marathi versus Hindi. There is no alternative to Marathi. A Marathi person has to accept Marathi. But our policy is Marathi along with other Indian languages. We should learn Marathi and also know other languages," he said. "I say time and again, a Marathi person can never be narrow-minded. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never taught us to be narrow-minded. Sant Dyaneshwar prayed for the welfare of the entire world and not just his followers," the chief minister added. Fadnavis said a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji will also be installed at the JNU campus and Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit has agreed to a proposal of his government in this regard. The Maharashtra government's decision to introduce a three-language formula in primary schools led to protests by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena over the "imposition of Hindi". The state government rolled back its decision, but the issue united the estranged Thackeray cousins, who claimed to have joined hands for the cause of Marathi. Earlier, Fadnavis faced protests on the JNU campus from a group of Students' Federation of India activists. The Kusumagraj Special Centre will focus on Marathi language, literature and cultural traditions and is named after the iconic Marathi poet and Jnanpith awardee. It will offer postgraduate and certificate-level programmes to promote multilingualism and cultural understanding. The Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Special Centre for Security and Strategic Studies will explore indigenous strategic traditions based on the Maratha empire. The centre is envisioned to become a hub for military history, strategy and future policy development rooted in India's past. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘First 30 years it was Cong, then BJP; time for change': Kejriwal tells people to prepare for BJP's exit
'Samay ka chakra ghoomta hai…pehla tees saal Congress, phir tees saal BJP. Ab BJP ke jaane ka time aa gaya. Bye bye BJP. (The wheel of time turns…first 30 years of Congress, then 30 years of BJP. Now the time has come for BJP to go),' Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal trained his guns at the two national parties while addressing a rally along with Punjab Chief Minister Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in support of party's arrested Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava. Vasava was arrested on July 5 in an alleged attempted murder case after a brawl with Dediapada taluka BJP president Sanjay Vasava during a meeting at the Dediapada Prant office. On Thursday, the two AAP leaders also talked about the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scam and paper leaks apart from discussing issues of employment, education, healthcare and road infrastructure during the rally in Narmada district's Dediapada. Criticising both the BJP and the Congress, Kejriwal and Mann termed party leader Gopal Italia's recent victory from Visavadar as 'a positive sign' for the AAP in the upcoming elections. Punjab CM Mann said, 'Aam public hai, chup rahe toh paanch saal, seene pe pathar rakh le dus saal, aankhein band kar le pandrah saal, jeeb ko taala laga le pachees saal, kuch bina bole tees saal… par tees saal ke baad jab janta jaagti hai toh tees saal ka hisaab tees minute me le leti hai (The common public remained silent for five years, endured for 10 years, shut their eyes for 15 years, locked their pockets for 25 years, didn't say anything for 30 years…but after 30 years when the public awakens… they will ask for accountability in 30 minutes). Kejriwal added, 'Samay ka chakra ghoomta hai…pehla tees saal Congress, phir tees saal BJP. Ab BJP ke jaane ka time aa gaya. Bye bye BJP (The wheel of time turns…first 30 years of Congress, then 30 years of BJP. Now the time has come for BJP to go).' Kejriwal and Mann, who were on a two-day visit to Gujarat, had attended the Mahapanchayat of cattle herders in Modasa on Wednesday. 'In 2022, an Adivasi man, Chaitar Vasava, fought the elections. He is an educated member of the tribal community and an honest man… so you made him your MLA. Since Vasava has become an MLA, he has raised the issues of the public regarding schools, hospitals, electricity, jal, jungle, jameen, roads… Then Chaitar began getting government records. He saw that the government money sent for school, hospitals and roads were going into these people's pockets. One small neta of theirs becomes MLA and from cycle he has now 10 big cars… from a small house, he has a palace, from where? From stealing your money. Chaitar began exposing their secrets and became the voice of the Adivasi community,' said Kejriwal. He added, 'The BJP government got scared that if Chaitar keeps speaking up for the Adivasis, they won't vote for them. Then Chaitar looked into the MGNREGA scheme, where you get a minimum wage for 100 days. Who goes to work for minimum wage? The poorest of the poor. These BJP people are so 'gande and neech' (bad and selfish), that they even stole that money. Chaitar exposed corruption in MGNREGA first in the Vidhan Sabha, then in front of the media and then on the roads'. 'The minister didn't resign but both his sons went to jail,' he said while taking a dig at Gujarat minister Bachu Khabad. Meanwhile, Vasava's wives, Varsha and Shakuntala, were also present at the gathering and the former read a message from the jailed MLA to his constituents, who in turn, raised the slogan 'jail ke tale tutenge, Chaitar Vasava chhootenge' (The jail locks will break, Chaitar Vasava will be free). Thanking the people for their support, Varsha read Vasava's message saying, 'After becoming MLA, I haven't stayed at home for a single day. My people have faced injustice by the government and I have fought against that, and so the government has falsely put me in jail. The truth is that where the meeting was held, no such incident took place. It is a made up story and the police made the CCTV footage disappear…they are trying to implicate me in a false case. When I went to file an FIR, the police made me sit for 3 to 4 hours and didn't let me speak to the media…the police are working with the government.' Varsha further read out, 'The Rs 2,500 crore MGNREGA scam was done by Bachhu Khabad and his sons are out on bail and the one who exposed them is in jail. Isn't this a political conspiracy? If anything happens to me or my family, the police will be responsible for it.' Speaking in favour of Vasava, Kejriwal said: 'They keep sending AAP leaders to jail. Last year, they kept me in jail for a year. They put Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Sanjay Singh in jail, they thought we would get scared, that this would break our party but our party became stronger. We are not going to be scared. There are still two years for the next election. You just see, they will send Gopal Italia and Isudan Gadhvi to jail as well.' Meanwhile, Punjab CM Mann said, 'They think the poor people can be controlled.. they have corruption money and can purchase the administration. I say collect how much money, diamonds and pearls you want, but a coffin doesn't have pockets. Chaitar hasn't been jailed for the first time. Last time, when the administration came to crush a farmer's crops under a tractor, Chaitarbhai stood in front of the tractor. He went to jail then also.' Saying that AAP gives tickets to the 'Aam Aadmi', Kejriwal exhorted the youth to step forward to take part in the upcoming Taluka Panchayat, Zilla and Nagarpalika elections. Slamming the Congress, Kejriwal added, 'Beware of the Congress. Gujarat doesn't have a BJP government. It has a Congress-BJP alliance government. They loot the people together. Till now, there was no opposition in Gujarat. Now there is. We will fight with you but you have to take responsibility.' Hitting back at Kejriwal for his remarks, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said, 'His habit of lying is still going on. Whether it is Delhi, Haryana or Punjab, or (during) Gujarat 2022 elections, if you see any poll results, it is clear they have helped the BJP. AAP should stop misleading the people of the country and stop cheating the public of Gujarat. Kejriwal is working to damage the Congress and help the BJP win.'
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Himachal BJP leaders meet Shah, discuss state's condition following rain-related disasters
A delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from Himachal Pradesh met Union Home Minister Amit Shah under the leadership of BJP national president and Union Minister for Health, Jagat Prakash Nadda, to discuss the issue of disaster management in the state on Thursday. The delegation included Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, State BJP chief Dr Rajeev Bindal, former Union minister and MP Anurag Thakur, Lok Sabha MP Suresh Kashyap, Dr Rajeev Bhardwaj, actor-cum-MP Kangana Ranaut, Rajya Sabha MP Indu Goswami, Dr Sikander Kumar, Harsh Mahajan, MLAs Vinod Kumar, Hans Raj, and Deep Raj. During the meeting, Nadda and the BJP leaders briefed Shah on the disaster situation in Himachal Pradesh and urged him to visit the disaster-affected areas. They also requested greater support for the rehabilitation of affected people and the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure. They expressed their gratitude on behalf of the people of Himachal Pradesh to the Union Home Minister, who extended full cooperation during the disaster relief and rescue operations. The NDRF, ITBP, Army, and Air Force helicopters were made available immediately. At their request, Shah dispatched an inter-ministerial central team within 20 days to assess the damage caused by the disaster. Responding to their demand for a study on the causes of the disaster, a high-level expert team was also constituted. Nadda said that under the chairmanship of the Union Home Minister, a high-level committee had already approved a funding package of Rs 2,006.40 crore for Himachal Pradesh for rehabilitation and reconstruction in areas affected by floods, landslides, and cloudbursts in 2023. The first instalment of Rs 451.44 crore was released on July 7. The Centre also provided all logistical support, including the deployment of national disaster response teams, army units, and air force personnel, to Himachal and other states as required. A total of 13 NDRF teams are currently deployed for rescue and relief work in Himachal. Nadda further said that at the BJP's request, Shah had directed the formation of a multi-disciplinary central team in view of the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters in Himachal. Ranaut, in a post on X, also mentioned the neet, saying that the central government stands firmly with Himachal Pradesh in this hour of crisis. 'Expressing deep condolences, the minister (Shah) assured that all affected families will be provided with every possible assistance and prompt rehabilitation. The central government stands firmly with Himachal in this hour of crisis,' the MP wrote. According to the news agency PTI, since the onset of the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 22, at least 76 people have died and 34 have gone missing in rain-related incidents across the state. The state has also experienced 40 flash floods, 23 cloudbursts and 25 landslides this monsoon season, resulting in losses of approximately Rs 1,247 crore, the State Emergency Operation Centre said.
