Power surcharge on farmers waived off: Adityanath
Lucknow, April 26: Surcharge on power for farmers has been waived off with immediate effect, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Thursday evening.
Spending the night at a village in Amroha under the Bharatiya Janata Party's Gram Swarajya outreach to villagers, he urged the farmers to cooperate with the state government and in turn get the best from it.
Also announcing the one-time settlement scheme for farmers, the Chief Minister also detailed various schemes of the Central and state BJP governments aimed at benefitting the villages and farmers.
Adding that mass marriages will be conducted by the state government across the state, he also said that the state government was working on an action plan under which closed factories, projects and industries would be revived so that they can usher in development and create employment.
At a point, during his address, some youths carrying placards demanded that Urdu teachers be regularized. While police and officials got jitters at this sudden protest, the Chief Minister himself handled the matter, assuring the youth that he was here to address their problems only and hence there was no need to protest. The youth then withdrew their protest.
Pointing out the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to develop villages, Adityanath said that since his government was taken over, many works had been initiated in this direction.
Underlining how he had given free hand to police to bring criminals to justice and to ensure safety and security to the people, he said that the rule of law had been established in the state and that all-round prosperity would soon be seen by the people.
The Chief Minister also assured the youth present in the gathering that the state government would soon enroll 1.62 lakh people in the police and 1.32 lakh teachers will also be recruited. He announced that the crackdown on graft and corrupt officials will continue and added that properties and assets of such corrupt officials and government employees will be confiscated.
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'War no solution, terrorists must be hunted down': Raj Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said war was not a solution to the problem of terrorism, and the government should give priority to finding the perpetrators of terror attacks.
On a day Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, he said the government must be questioned about why a terror attack could take place in Pahalgam in the first place.
"War is no answer to a terrorist attack. In the US, they (terrorists) toppled the Twin Towers, attacked the Pentagon. The US did not wage a war. They killed those terrorists," said the MNS chief, speaking to reporters here.
"You have not found the terrorists who attacked (tourists in Pahalgam). Why there was no security in a place where thousands of tourists are going for the last many years? It is more important to carry out a combing operation inside our country and find them out. The airstrike, distracting people....this, war can not be the solution," he added.
Instead of Wednesday's planned mock drill of Civil Defence, a "combing operation" should be carried out all over the country, Thackeray further said.
Criticizing what he called a misplaced show of strength, Thackeray said, "There seems to be a desire to create a war-like situation in another country. Now we see mock drills and sirens (going off). But we need to ask the fundamental question, why did this (attack in Pahalgam on April 22 in which 26 civilians were killed) happen in the first place?"
He also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his itinerary in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack. "The prime minister was in Saudi Arabia when this (terror attack) happened, and he returned early, only to go to Bihar for campaigning. That was not necessary. He went to Kerala for the inauguration of Adani's port and later came to Mumbai for the WAVES function. If the situation was so grave, all this could have been avoided," said the MNS chief who had backed Modi during the 2024 general elections.
The government's failures need to be pointed out, Thackeray said, adding the country does not need a symbolic response. "Find the terrorists, dismantle their networks, and tackle the drug menace that is spreading through our streets," he said.
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