BJP preparing for 2019 Lok Sabha polls as scheduled
New Delhi, Aug 29 : Notwithstanding the push for simultaneous polls, the BJP appears to be in no hurry to go for parliamentary elections along with a round of Assembly elections due this year end.
The party is said to be preparing for Lok Sabha elections to be held on schedule in the summer of next year, reliable sources in BJP told IANS.
The party's current strategy on the Lok Sabha polls assumes significance in the context of speculation that the Lok Sabha polls could be advanced to be held along with the elections to the assemblies of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and Mizoram this year end.
They said that at their meeting held here on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah asked Chief Ministers of states ruled by the BJP to be ready by February-end on the government and organisational fronts for the Lok Sabha polls next summer.
They also said that Chief Ministers had been told to achieve the new targets regarding implementation of major welfare schemes of the central and the state governments by February 2019.
Amit Shah has directed the Chief Ministers to hold a conferences of beneficiaries across their state from mandal to district level.
At such conferences, the beneficiaries of Centre's and state government schemes would be invited and the focus would be to make them BJP voters. Shah has also given a 22-point agenda for implementation at the booth level.
The meeting was attended by 14 BJP Chief Ministers and seven Deputy Chief Ministers including those of Bihar, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
The meeting resolved to make Modi the Prime Minister again in 2019 by getting a bigger majority than achieved in the 2014 elections.
Several union ministers including Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj attended the meeting.
A senior BJP leader present at the meeting said the Chief Ministers were asked to come for the Tuesday meeting with a road map for the Lok Sabha elections.
The Chief Ministers presented a report card about targets achieved against goals set and their plans to set new targets to be achieved by February 2019 in implementing Centre's six major welfare schemes including Ujjawala, Aawas Yojana, Swachha Bharat Abhiyan and Ayushmaan Bharat.
The Prime Minister and the BJP President have asked the BJP Chief Ministers to get ready for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls at a time when there is an ongoing discussion on holding simultaneous polls to Parliament and state Assemblies.
Simultaneous elections from panchayat to Parliament was the main theme during the last meeting of the BJP Chief Ministers' Council meeting held in Delhi in February 2018. The issue did not come up on Tuesday.
According to sources, the Chief Ministers have also been asked to be in touch with smaller regional parties in their states so that the possibility of alliances could be explored for the elections.
In 2014, the Election Commission announced the poll dates on March 5. Balloting took place in nine phases between April 7 and May 12. The vote count took place on May 16.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
