Party's decision not to give tickets to those above 75 years of age: Amit Shah
New Delhi, Apr 4: BJP president Amit Shah has said that it was his party's decision not to give Lok Sabha poll tickets to those above 75 years of age, leading to veteran leaders like L K Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi missing out.
Shah also said he wanted "direct mandate" from people to come to Parliament and that is why he decided to contest the general election.
He, however, played down speculation that he may join the government if the BJP retains power at the Centre, saying such a claim has no basis as one can become a minister even as a Rajya Sabha member.
He made these remarks in an interview to 'The Week'.
On the question of party veterans not given tickets, Shah said, "Only the media is pushing this issue. No one above 75 has been given tickets. This is the party's decision."
Talking about his own candidature from Gandhinagar, where he replaces Advani, Shah said, "I have been an MLA for 25 years. I am a political worker who stays among the people. When my assembly term ended, there was no Lok Sabha election. So, I went to Rajya Sabha. I wanted a direct mandate from the people to go to Parliament and the party agreed."
Underlining that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and national security are two major issues for the party in these elections, Shah said Modi brought the policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism to the fore.
"This policy has been successful. We had the surgical strikes and the air strikes. Through these two interventions, a message has gone to the world that apart from the United States and Israel, if there is any other country which can avenge the murder of members of its armed forces, it is India," he said.
On Balakot strikes, the BJP chief said even Pakistan's army and its prime minister accepted that they had suffered losses. They were even preparing for retaliation but even then opposition was asking for proof.
"I believe there cannot be a bigger disrespect to our armed forces. The opposition should not stoop so low for their vote-bank politics," he said.
When asked about BJP's sitting MPs facing anti-incumbency, Shah said it is Modi who is contesting election from every seat not these MPs.
"... Correct this misunderstanding that everyone is contesting parliamentary elections. Even Amit Shah is not contesting elections. From every seat, Narendra Modi is contesting. The country is voting to make Narendra Modi prime minister," he said.
When asked about not much movement on party's ideological issues such as Ram temple and Article 370, he said these require a "full majority" in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
"The Ram temple issue is pending in court. We will wait for the judgment. But our stand is that a grand temple should be built at the same spot as early as possible," he added.
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.
Karnataka plans 100-acre aqua park to boost fishing sector
Bengaluru: Karnataka is planning to set up a 100-acre integrated aqua park aimed at promoting fishing. The proposed park will offer end-to-end facilities, including fish farming, storage facilities and sports fishing.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Sunday, a senior official from the Karnataka Fisheries Department said the aqua park is part of a concept introduced by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The idea is to develop hubs that support the entire fishing value chain from fish seed production and feed to processing and market access.
According to the plan, the aqua park will include nine major facilities like farming of fish food, generating of fish seeds, development of fish seeds, fish farming, cold processing units, development of ornamental fish for aquariums, well-equipped market, fish transport facilities, and sports fishing.
ALSO READ:Lakshadweep hosts first-ever investors' meet to unlock fisheries, aquaculture potential
The fisheries department has shortlisted three locations for the project, Byndoor in Udupi, Malavalli in Mandya and Almatti in Bijapur. One of these locations will be finalised based on land availability, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and sent to the Union government for approval.
“We have received proposals for three locations. All of them have water bodies close by and hence there is a demand for fishing. However, space is the main criteria. If we are able to get 100 acres, we will go ahead and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the central ministry,” DH quoted Dinesh Kumar Kaller, director, Karnataka fisheries department as saying.
At Malavalli, near Gaganachukki, around 75 acres of land has been identified and a request has been sent to the Revenue Department. The revenue department has said that the land belongs to the forest department and talks are on. We are also looking at other locations, Kaller reportedly said.
As per the report, at present, only 11 states have an aqua park approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Karnataka is confident that its proposal would also be accepted soon.
