Jaitley takes oath as Rajya Sabha member for new term
New Delhi, April 15: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, re-elected to the Rajya Sabha last month, on Sunday took oath for a new six-year term.
"Took oath of office as Rajya Sabha member representing Uttar Pradesh," Jaitley tweeted, attaching pictures of the oath-taking ceremony held in Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu's chamber in Parliament House here.
Union Ministers Ananth Kumar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, Hardeep S. Puri, Vijay Goel and Shiv Pratap Shukla were present.
Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Ghulam Nabi Azad and several senior BJP leaders, including MPs Bhupender Yadav, Jagadambika Pal, Conrad Sangma and Karnataka's former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa were also there.
Jaitley was appointed Leader of the House on April 2 but could not take oath as a Rajya Sabha member for the fourth term earlier due to ill-health.
Suffering from a kidney problem, he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here on April 6.
He was slated to undergo a kidney transplant but was discharged after dialysis for three days since the donor's organ "did not match".
While he was earlier elected to the Upper House for three consecutive terms from Gujarat, this time he has been elected from Uttar Pradesh.
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Adityanath govt has completely failed to maintain Taj Mahal, alleges Akhilesh
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday raised questions over maintenance of the Taj Mahal in Agra and attacked the Yogi Adityanath government saying it should be a "living and active" example, not just a "monument".
Yadav, who shared a viral video in which a plant could be seen sprouting from the dome of the Taj Mahal, said the monument might develop cracks due to the roots.
In a post on X, he said, "The BJP government and its dormant departments have completely failed to maintain the Taj Mahal, the wonder that attracts tourists from all over the world."
Yadav went on to say, "There is a possibility of rusting of the metal of the urn on the main dome. Water is dripping from the main dome. There is news of plants growing in the dome. If the roots of trees like these grow, then the Taj Mahal may crack."
He also highlighted problems of monkey menace and water logging in the Taj Mahal complex.
"The Taj Mahal complex has become a sanctuary for monkeys. There is a problem of waterlogging in the Taj Mahal complex. The tourists are worried whether they should admire the Taj Mahal or deal with the problems," Yadav said, adding due to all these reasons, the country's image is tarnished at the global level.
Last week, the main dome of the Taj witnessed water seepage due to incessant rains but officials said there was no damage to the arched roof.
Yadav asked where crores of rupees of funds that come for the maintenance of Taj Mahal are going.
"The government should be a living and active example, not just a monument," he added.
