Maharashtra minister compares soldier sacrifice with tree cutting for progress, faces flak
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Environment Minister Pankaja Munde has drawn a parallel between the sacrifice of soldiers at the border and the cutting of trees, including mangroves, for development, triggering sharp reactions on social media.
Activist Anjali Damania posted the viral clip on social media platform X on Saturday, saying she felt sorry for the minister's "intelligence" over the comparison.
Defending the rationale behind felling trees for development during an interaction at Mumbai Climate Week, Munde said, "The way a mother brings up her son and then has the audacity or guts to send him to the border to fight for the country, similarly, if we grow trees, we may have to cut them, but we can plant them somewhere else.
"You cannot say no to progress because we have to preserve trees. If we have to cut five trees for progress, we can grow 10 more trees. That is the only way," she added.
Munde said trees, like soldiers, protect people while they are alive and even when removed, contribute to development.
"Think of those trees as soldiers. Till the time they are living, they are protecting us, and if they are taken off, they are still working for development," the BJP leader added.
The remarks come amid ongoing debates over mangrove cutting and urban infrastructure projects in Mumbai.
"While people discuss climate issues in comfort, soldiers stand in snow and deserts risking their lives for the country. We are sitting here in a five-star hotel talking about Mumbai Climate Week, having tea, coffee and cookies, but somebody is standing in the snow and the desert, playing with their lives for us.
"They are sacrificing, so how are we thankful to them? That way, I treat those trees. These are my personal opinions," the minister added.
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Nitish Kumar's son Nishant among 32 to take oath as Bihar ministers
Patna (PTI): In a major expansion of the Cabinet of Bihar's first BJP-led government, JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar and 31 others took oath as ministers on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Altogether 32 leaders, drawn from all constituents of the five-party NDA in the state, were administered the oath of office by Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain at a grand ceremony that was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister J P Nadda and BJP president Nitin Nabin.
Prominent inductees included Nishant Kumar, the son of JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who stepped down as chief minister last month to enter the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP, which is the single largest party in the 243-member assembly with 89 MLAs, has 15 ministers, who took oath on Thursday.
Most of the inductees were those who were part of the Nitish Kumar cabinet formed in November last year after the NDA stormed back to power in the assembly polls.
The JD(U) is represented by a total of 15 ministers, 13 of whom took the oath at the Gandhi Maidan on Thursday. Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav had taken oath in April along with Samrat Choudhary and were designated as deputy chief ministers.
Sanjay Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar Paswan, both from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan, are back as ministers, and so are Santosh Kumar Suman and Deepak Prakash, sons of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, respectively.
