PM Modi sad for tweet by 22-yr-old woman, but not for flood-hit people in Assam: Priyanka Gandhi
Jorhat/Nazira/Khumtai (Assam), Mar 21: Launching a frontal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday alleged he is sad about a tweet by a 22-year-old woman but not for the flood-ravaged people of Assam.
A day after Modi raised the toolkit issue and alleged Congress conspiracy in it at a poll rally in Chabua in Assam, the daughter of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, lamented that Modi was silent about people's suffering in perennial flood and "attack on culture" by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Last year's flooding of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries during the pandemic affected some 2.8 million people in Assam.
"I was listening to the Prime Minister's speech yesterday. He very seriously said that he was very sad about a development. I thought he would speak about Assam's development or how BJP worked in Assam.
"But I was shocked to hear that the PM was talking about a tweet by a 22-year-old woman. He said Congress conspired to finish the tea industry of Assam. He was also sad about Congress mistakenly putting two wrong pictures on social media," Vadra said.
During his speech on Saturday, the prime minister apparently referred to Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg's controversial toolkit, which she tweeted and then deleted, outlining ways in which people can participate in the farmers protest.
One of the points reportedly mentioned there was to "disrupt yoga and chai image of India in general".
While addressing poll meetings at Jorhat, Nazira and Khumtai, she questioned Modi why he was not sad for the people affected by the miseries of tea garden workers, flood and the anti-CAA movement, in which five youths were killed.
"Why didn't you come to Assam when people were drowning? Why were you not sad when all the big promises by BJP were not fulfilled? Did you go to tea gardens and talk to workers about their problems?" she asked of Modi.
Vadra on March 2 visited a tea garden in Biswanath of Assam to interact with the workers and also tried her hands in plucking tea leaves, which was termed as "theatrics and drama" by the BJP leadership.
Talking about her visit to a tea garden during her last trip to Assam, the Congress general secretary said she came to know a lot about their lifestyle then and realised that "the tea garden sisters are the protectors of culture and identity".
On the prime minister's frequently uttered statement of "double-engine" government in Assam, Vadra made fun of it saying the state currently has "two chief ministers", in an apparent reference to rumours of powerful minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal acting as rival power centres.
"The PM said you have a double-engine government but Assam has two CMs. I don't know which fuel runs which engine.
The Assam government is not run in Assam. Even the Asom Gana Parishad (an ally of the ruling BJP) is now Delhi Gana Parishad as it can't work without Delhi's permission... God save you!
"The Assam government is currently run by remote control. If you elect them again, you will be hurt. So, elect a Congress government and have your own chief minister," she added.
The Congress leader also alleged that all segments of the society, including youths, farmers and tea garden workers, have been cheated by the BJP government as it did not fulfil any of its promises made five years ago.
"Today, I think I will not speak about big issues, but the small problems of my sisters. You carry the biggest responsibility of the society. You run the home, bring up the children and also earn for the household.
"It is your life's problems and realities. I don't know them. My leaders don't know them. You are my sister. So, please take a decision carefully for your future," she appealed to the crowd, consisting mostly of women.
Vadra pointed out the BJP's promises of 2016 such as 25 lakh jobs, protection of culture, implementation of Assam Accord and minimum wages to tea gardens, and alleged that none of these have been fulfilled.
Vadra said that three lakh government jobs are lying vacant at present, while there are 40 lakh unemployed youths in Assam.
Continuing her tirade against Modi, she said, "The PM also said the Congress insulted Assamese culture and people won't forgive us. Now, is it not an insult to former CM Tarun Gogoi, who is no more today? Gogoi lived for Assam and worked for people till his last breath."
She also slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for allegedly insulting 15th-16th century Vaishnavite scholar Srimanta Sankardeva by stating that he drew attention towards infiltration.
Vadra alleged the BJP's sole aim is to "hand over" prime properties, including land near Kaziranga National Park, the state electricity board, Numaligarh Refinery and ONGC, to Modi's 2-3 close businessmen friends.
"The BJP wanted to hand over farmers land in Nagaon to a corporate. When protests took place, a pregnant woman was attacked and farmers were jailed. They also brought an ordinance to sell land to anyone from outside without any permission," she added.
The AICC general secretary also slammed the ruling party for "giving" two black panthers of Assam to the "son of his (Modi's) businessman friend", a reference to shifting of the two animals from Guwahati Zoo to a private zoo owned by industrialist Mukesh Ambani's son in Gujarat.
Vadra said Assam has a huge unemployment problem, while several big scams have surfaced in the last five years.
"How can you trust them (BJP)? You have seen what you have got in five years. Tarun Gogoi might have committed some mistakes, but he never cheated you. He did not bring the CAA and attacked your culture and identity," she added.
Vadra also alleged that the BJP government is running syndicates in every item and "destroyed" the state instead of progress.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
