I do not have the kind of money to contest Lok Sabha elections: Nirmala Sitharaman
New Delhi, Mar 27: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said she declined the offer of the BJP to contest elections pleading that she did not have the 'kind of funds' required for fighting the Lok Sabha polls.
The minister said that the BJP President (J P Nadda) gave her the option to contest either from Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu.
"After thinking over a week or ten days, I just went back to say... maybe not. I do not have that kind of money to contest. I also have a problem whether it is Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. It's also going to be a question of various other winnability criteria that they use...Are you from this community or are you from that religion? Are you from this? I said no, I do not think I am going to able to do it," she said.
Sitharaman was speaking at the TIMES NOW Summit 2024 here.
"I am very grateful that they accepted my argument...So I am not contesting," she added.
When asked why even the finance minister of the country does not have enough funds to fight Lok Sabha elections, she said that the Consolidated Fund of India does not belong to her.
She said, "My salary, my earnings, my savings are mine and not the Consolidated Fund of India".
The ruling BJP has fielded several existing Rajya Sabha members in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, beginning April 19.
These include Piyush Goyal, Bhupender Yadav, Rajiv Chandrasekhar, Mansukh Mandaviya, and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka.
The minister said that she will be campaigning for different candidates.
"I will also be attending a lot of media events. And going with the candidates like tomorrow I will be going for Rajiv Chandrasekhar campaign and so yes, I'll be on the campaign trail," she added.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
