UP CM meets Sanjay Dutt for 'Sampark for Samarthan' campaign
Lucknow, June 9: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday met Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt to discuss 'Sampark for Samarthan' (contact for support), a personal outreach programme to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led government in the last four years.
Adityanath shared a photograph in which he is seen presenting a booklet featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on the cover.
"Thank you Yogi Adityanath Ji for making me a part of 'Sampark for Samarthan' initiative. It's indeed an honour," Sanjay tweeted.
The campaign is a part of the party's effort to reach out to maximum number of people ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
BJP launched the contact programme after completing four years of the NDA rule at the Centre.
About 4,000 senior party workers, including Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of states, are to carry out the campaign to meet more than one lakh well-known personalities.
Shah had earlier called on Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit-Nene and her doctor-husband Shriram Nene.
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'Warm and engaging atmosphere reigned', Shashi Tharoor on Putin banquet
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who on Friday attended a banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on Saturday described the atmosphere there as "warm" and "engaging", and said he enjoyed his conversations with many of the attendees.
Tharoo’s remarks came a day after President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet for the visiting Russian president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
“Attended the @rashtrapatibhvn banquet for President Putin last night. A warm and engaging atmosphere reigned. Enjoyed my conversations with many of the attendees, especially my dining companions from the Russian delegation!" Tharoor said in a social media post.
Murmu, while welcoming President Putin and his delegation at the banquet, had said that his visit marked an important milestone -- the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia strategic partnership, which was established in October 2000 during his first visit to the country as president.
Murmu also appreciated Putin's support and personal commitment to the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.
The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
The party’s media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
“There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” Khera said on Friday.
Asked about Tharoor accepting the invite for the banquet, Khera said, "Ask Mr Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable."
“We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.
Earlier, Tharoor had said that there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited, but that practice seems to have stopped some years ago.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the leader of opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks came hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
