BJP leaders' language reflects dictatorial attitude: Prakash Ambedkar
Aurangabad: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar has alleged that the language being used by BJP leaders during the election campaigns shows their "dictatorial" attitude which doesn't suit the democracy.
He also charged the BJP-led government of being involved in "corrupt practices", but said its way of grabbing money was different from the previous Congress and NCP-led dispensations.
Addressing an election rally in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district on Monday, he appealed to the Muslim community to support secular forces and start a "new chapter of friendship with VBA".
He said BJP leaders were claiming that they will win around 240 Assembly seats out of total 288 in the state.
"They think they will never go out of power, but they should remember that it is the voters who decide the government, not the political parties," he said.
"The language being used by BJP leaders in their campaign is of dictatorship and doesn't suit the democracy," the Dalit leader said.
Hitting out at the BJP-led government, Ambedkar alleged that it was following the "same corrupt practices of the previous government".
"The only difference is their way of grabbing money is different," he added.
He claimed several projects undertaken for expanding the road network served as a medium of grabbing money for the government. The rates which the sub-contractors get for making roads were quite less, compared to what the head contractors were getting, he said.
Ambedkar said the welfare schemes which the BJP-led government was trying to implement were available during the tenure of previous dispensations also.
Hitting out further at the government, he said malnutrition was not just limited to tribal-dominated villages, but was spreading in other areas also. "But, the government doesn't want to address this issue," he said.
On the problem of scarcity in some parts of western Maharashtra, he said if 40 TMC of water going to some private power projects there is reserved for drinking and agricultural purposes, it will end water woes in 50 per cent of the drought-prone areas.
Ambedkar also hit out at the All India Majlis-e- Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), which snapped ties with his party last month.
"The Muslim ward members in Auragabad were elected on Muslim votes in 2015, but they voted for the Shiv Sena in the state Legislative Council elections held a couple of months back," he added.
The AIMIM-VBA alliance did well in the April-May Lok Sabha polls in terms of votes received, but their ties broke ahead of the state Assembly polls.
Earlier, the VBA-AIMIM managed to hurt the Congress- NCP in several seats in the Lok Sabha polls, prompting the opposition combine to call the former as the "B team" of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena.
Polling for all 288 Assembly seats in the state will be held on October 21 and counting of votes will take place on October 24.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Govt launches 2 special categories visas for international students
New Delhi (PTI): India has launched two special category visa for international students intending to pursue higher education in academic institutions in the country.
The 'e-student visa' and 'e-student-x' visa have been introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs and all applicants will have to use the 'Study in India' (SII) portal launched by the government, officials said.
The e-student visa facility can be availed by eligible foreign students registered on the SII portal while e-student-x visa is offered to the dependents of those holding e-student visas, they said.
The SII portal facilitates the admission process of international students who wish to pursue either long-term or short-term courses in India.
Students will need to apply for a visa separately on the portal https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/ but the authenticity of their application will be checked by SII ID.
Hence it is mandatory for students to apply to Indian higher educational institutions through SII website, the officials said.
Students may apply for the visa after receiving an admission offer letter from any of the SII partner institutes.
The e-student visa will be granted to such foreign nationals who obtain admission to studying in India and who wish to pursue such studies, regular, full-time, courses of under graduate, post graduation, PhD and such other formal programmes at educational institutes duly recognised by the statutory and regulatory body in India, the officials said.
Student visas are issued for up to five years, depending on the duration of the course. They can also be extended in India.
Further, those having valid e-student visas can enter India from any desired port of immigration check post, the officials said.
The SII is a flagship project of the Ministry of Education which hosts international students seeking higher education through its 600+ partner institutes offering more than 8000+ diverse courses in disciplines such as engineering & technology, management, agriculture, sciences, arts and humanities, language studies, commerce, law, paramedical sciences covering pharmacy, nursing, and select niche courses like Buddhist Studies, Yoga, etc.
Furthermore, they are available in different levels, from Undergraduate (Bachelors), Post-graduate (Masters), Doctoral level (PhD) and certification-based courses.
Due to the availability of an array of options (in courses), the students have the flexibility to choose the course of their interest and study in premier Indian institutes.
Furthermore, the process to get on board with SII is relatively easy and can be done through its online application submission, seeking admission to students' choice of programmes and further processing of applications for seeking admission, the officials said.
Students can get started right away by completing the first step to apply, i.e. registration, by clicking on the 'Register Now' tab.
The students are required to fill in simple details such as name, country, date of birth, mobile number and email ID.
Every student aspiring to complete their higher education in India and applying to study in India must have their unique student SII ID as this ID is what will help them to access their dashboard, track the progress of college and course applications, visa/e-visa, and other higher education in India-related processes.
No student SII ID means no chance of studying or moving to India, the officials added.
