BSP will rather fight alone than beg for seats in alliance: Mayawati
New Delhi, Oct 9: BSP supremo Mayawati asserted Tuesday that her party will rather fight elections on its own than "beg" for seats in any alliance.
Her comments assume significance as she had last week called off talks with the Congress to fight the upcoming assembly polls in three states together as it did not agree to part with as many seats for the BSP as she demanded.
A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) statement quoting her also lashed out at the Congress and the BJP, saying the BSP will never compromise with the self-respect of the Dalits, tribals, backwards, Muslims, other minorities and the upper castes' poor irrespective of the "malice and torture" of the governments run by these two parties.
That is why the BSP has put forth the condition of being given a "respectable number" of seats to enter into an electoral alliance, Mayawati said, according to the statement.
"What it clearly means that the BSP will not beg for seats in any alliance. If this (respectable number of seats) does not happen, then it will continue to fight polls on its own," she said.
Speaking on the occasion of the death anniversary of the BSP founder Kanshi Ram, she said neither the Congress nor the BJP works in the interests of the upper castes' poor and the remaining majority.
Mayawati, however, also added that her party will continue to strive to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party government, describing it as casteist, communal, arrogant, malicious and narrow-minded.
Amid protests by upper castes groups against the Narendra Modi government's decision to restore the original stringent provision of a law on atrocities against Dalits and tribals, she said her party never support misuse of any law.
The BSP had ensured that the law was not misused during its four terms in power in Uttar Pradesh, the statement said quoting her.
A likely alliance of BSP and Samajwadi Party bodes ill for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which elects 80 members of the Lok Sabha with the saffron party winning 71 of them in 2014.
The SP-BSP alliance has resulted in humiliating defeats for the BJP in three Lok Sabha seat bypolls. Experts are of the view that if the BSP fights on its own, then the BJP may again do very well in the state in 2019.
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Karnataka issues nutrition advisory for govt events; recommends millets, healthier options
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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.
The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."
The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.
Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.
According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.
It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.
If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.
In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.
It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.
The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.
It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.
“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.
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