'The Amit Shah Show' in Jaipur
Jaipur, July 21 : With its plush interiors and latest Bollywood flicks, the city's Raj Mandir is as popular as any other tourist place.
On Saturday, instead of running Sanjay Dutt's biopic "Sanju", it hosted a different performance: the Amit Shah Show. The BJP chief came in along with an array of state BJP leaders. At the centre of attention were the party's social media volunteers.
Adorned with party flags, the hall brimmed over with around 5,000 volunteers who came from different parts of Rajasthan for tips on fighting the election battle in the state later this year.
"Since the city's auditoriums cannot accommodate so many volunteers, we zeroed in Raj Mandir," said a state party leader.
Amit Shah called upon the 'cyber warriors' to ensure that public welfare schemes reach every person of the state. "The aim for all of us is Mission 180 (winning that many seats in the 200-member Assembly)", he said. Sharing his winning tips with them, he said that "fake claims" of the Opposition should be given a befitting reply on social media platforms.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia also reposed her trust in the social media warriors.
For local party leaders, it was nothing short of a thrill.
Bhawarlal Mali, chairman, municipal corporation, Jalore, said Shah has infused a new life in the party members. "The party chief has told us to stay united and win these elections," he said.
Mukesh Rajpurohit, an ABVP member from Jalore, found Shah's advice quite encouraging. "Shah told us to seek help from our cyber warriors to win the Assembly elections. We will try to work on it," he said.
Anjana Sharma, corporator and BJP vice-president-Nagore rural, said Shah's visit to Jaipur and Modi's address in Lok Sabha on Friday have motivated the BJP workers. "Today, instead of watching reel-time heroes, we saw the real hero in Shah," she said.
BJP sources said Raj Mandir was booked for a day. The IT department's workshop for state working committee started at 11 a.m. and the cinema hall turned into a political venue.
After the culmination of IT department's workshop, the social media volunteers meeting continued in this iconic cinema hall which was addressed by Amit Shah. Other prominent leaders seen were national vice-president and Rajasthan in charge Avinash Rai Khanna, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and other senior BJP leaders like V. Satish, Bhupendra Yadav, Chandrashekhar, Muralidhar Rao and Ramlal.
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Ensure paid holiday for postal staff on polling day in Kerala: John Brittas writes to Scindia
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Sunday wrote to Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, seeking his urgent intervention to ensure that postal employees in Kerala are granted a statutory paid holiday on April 9 for the Assembly elections in the southern state.
In his letter, Brittas expressed serious concern over the Kerala Postal Circle’s instructions to treat all postal employees as “absentee voters in essential services (AVES)”, directing them to opt for a postal ballot within an “extremely limited” timeframe.
The Department of Posts operates under the Ministry of Communications. Along with the Department of Telecommunications, it is one of the two main sections within the ministry headed by Scindia.
In his letter, Brittas pointed out that the circular dated March 19 required the collection of Form 12D by March 20 (Eid al-Fitr), and submission of the compiled details at the respective collectorates by March 22 (Sunday), both holidays in Kerala, making meaningful compliance difficult and raising apprehensions about the “arbitrary” nature of the directions.
The CPI(M) leader also pointed out that the Election Commission, in a communication dated March 16, reiterated the requirement under Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, that every person employed in any establishment and entitled to vote shall be granted a paid holiday on the polling day, without any deduction or abatement of wages.
He said even where certain services are treated as essential, the long-standing administrative practice has been to maintain only minimal required operations on polling day, without denying employees the opportunity to vote in person.
Brittas argued that in some other states going to polls this month, including Assam, most postal employees have been granted a holiday on polling day, in accordance with the statutory provisions.
During the 2021 Kerala polls, postal establishments had observed a holiday on polling day, subject only to limited essential arrangements, he claimed.
The present deviation, Brittas said, raises concerns about inconsistency in the application of law and the avoidable curtailment of the democratic rights of employees.
Stating that the right to vote lies at the core of India's democratic framework, Brittas urged Scindia to examine the matter urgently.
“Given the proximity of the polling date, I earnestly seek your kind indulgence to have the matter examined on priority, and to issue urgent directions to the postal authorities in Kerala to ensure that the statutory entitlement of postal employees in Kerala to a paid holiday on the day of polling is duly ensured,” Brittas said in the letter.
The 140 seats in the Kerala Assembly will go to polls on April 9, and the results will be out on May 4.
