Anna Hazare reminds Modi of 'unfulfilled promises'
Ralegan-Siddhi (Maharashtra), July 5 : Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "unfulfilled promises" and warned that if these were not implemented by October 2, he would resort to a fresh agitation.
Hazare said in the past four years he had written several times to Modi but did not receive an acknowledgement.
In his latest directive to Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh, he listed seven major unfulfilled or partly fulfilled promises made by the Centre after his week-long hunger strike in New Delhi in March.
While conceding that the main issue of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farm produce has been accepted, he said that owing to the interference by the Central Agriculture Department, the recommendations sent by the State Agriculture Prices Commission were slashed.
Demanding the implementation of promised "autonomy" for the Agricultural Prices Commission, Hazare said this would ensure that farmers get the MSP based on the actual cost of cultivation.
Dwelling on the assurances of electoral reforms, he referred to the proposals of treating a candidate's photograph as his/her election symbol, the Right to Reject and if the votes in None of the Above (NOTA) were higher than the number of candidates, then re-elections, candidates securing less votes be debarred from contesting elections in future, and Right To Recall, which the government promised to forward to the Election Commission.
The next was the government's assurance that farmers aged over 60 years of age would be given a pension of Rs 5,000 per month, for which a committee would be constituted and its recommendations would be implemented, Hazare said.
He listed the long-pending promise on the appointments of Lokpal and Lokayukta for which a Selection Committee meeting headed by Modi was held on March 1 and after discussing the criterias, it decided to meet soon.
"Even the Supreme Court had reprimanded the government on the appointment of Lokpal, Lokayukta, which bodes ill for the government's image, and now the apex court has again directed it to file an affidavit in 10 days. If the government does not abide by these directives, it's a contempt of the Supreme Court," Hazare said.
He also called for immediate consultations on the amendment of Section 63 and Section 44 that weakens the Lokpal, which the government had assured would be done.
"After breaking my fast, I have sent two reminders on all these assurances and the action taken to fulfil them, this is the third reminder. If these are not implemented by October 2, I shall be compelled to start an agitation in my village," Hazare declared.
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NDA leaders including Amit Shah, Chandrababu Naidu meet at BJP chief's residence
New Delhi, Dec 25: Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including Home Minister Amit Shah and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, met here at BJP president J P Nadda's residence on Wednesday on the birth centenary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Sources said NDA leaders discussed the Congress' recent political attack on the ruling alliance and emphasised to speak in a united voice to counter "fake narrative".
The Congress has attacked Shah alleging insult of B R Ambedkar, with the home minister accusing the opposition party of using a short clip of his speech to distort his remarks.
Shah and Nadda said the ruling alliance's focus should remain on good governance and people's welfare, which have brought it support from the masses, they added.
Besides Shah and Naidu, JD(U) leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Apna Dal (S) president and Union minister Anupriya Patel, as well as JD (S) leader and Union minister H D Kumaraswamy, were present at the meeting. With the NDA putting in a broad mechanism to boost coordination, it was noted that its members will continue to consult over key issues, with ministers and other senior leaders meeting the MPs regularly.
Bihar’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, also a minister in the Modi government, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Thushar Vellappally, president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, were also present at the meeting.
Though there was no official word on the agenda of the meeting, sources said good governance and political issues were discussed.
Good governance was a key theme of the Vajpayee government.
It was decided to hold a meeting of the alliance on the birth anniversary of the BJP stalwart, who is credited with successfully running the first coalition government for its full term.
"Attended the NDA leaders' meeting in New Delhi today. Under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India is achieving unprecedented milestones and has positioned itself as a global superpower," Nadda said in a post on X after the meeting.
"The NDA government remains steadfast in its pursuit of the vision of 'Viksit Bharat@2047', ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for all," he added.
Uttar Pradesh's NISHAD Party chief Sanjay Nishad said it was an “informal" meeting of the NDA leaders on the occasion of the birth centenary of Vajpayee.
“Our future strategy is to move forward together. We have to show unity in all the upcoming elections...everyone congratulated (the BJP leaders) in the meeting for the victory in Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls,” he told reporters when asked about the meeting.
Nishad said the meeting also discussed coalition strategy to ensure that “all the work” done by Prime Minister Modi reaches the ground and “promises made to people during elections” are fulfilled.
The issue of giving reservation to the fishing community was also raised at the meeting, he said.
“I gave 30-37 page evidence on the issue of giving reservation to the fishing community since it was a poll promise. They will call (us) after a week and discuss it,” Nishad said.
Asked if issue of Shah's remarks on Ambedkar came up at the meeting, the NISHAD Party chief said, "...We have come for people's welfare. How to get success in that, energy needs to be spent on that."
"There is no need to respond to their narrative and negative thoughts," he added in an apparent reference to the Congress and other opposition parties who are up in arms against Shah over his remarks.
The NDA meeting comes amid the alliance's focus on simultaneous elections, with all constituents lending support to the proposal.
A Joint Committee of Parliament, constituted to scrutinise two bills for simultaneous polls, is expected to meet on January 8.
Attended the NDA leaders' meeting in New Delhi today. Under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, India is achieving unprecedented milestones and has positioned itself as a global superpower. The NDA government remains steadfast in its pursuit of the… pic.twitter.com/G4IxjRRMlx
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) December 25, 2024
