‘Vote chor’ NDA govt also ‘zameen chor’ in Bihar, alleges Cong leader Kanhaiya Kumar
Patna (PTI): Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Saturday alleged that the NDA government which was formed through “vote chori” is also a “zameen chor (land grabber)” in Bihar.
He was referring to the NDA government at the Centre providing more than 1000 acres of land to the Adani Group allegedly at a “throwaway price” for setting up a power plant in Bihar’s Bhagalpur.
“The government formed through vote chori is also 'zameen chor, munafa khor (profiteer) and bachat chor' (revenue thief),” Kumar alleged at a press conference here.
The NDA government in Bihar is hell bent on diverting Bihar’s resources to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friends, he claimed.
Kumar said that the state Congress has initiated a series, “20 Saal, 20 Sawaal” (20 years, 20 questions), under which party leaders will question and “expose” the government on various issues concerning the people of Bihar.
The opposition party is alluding to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s 20-year rule of the state.
On the first day of the campaign, Kanhaiya Kumar raised questions on the allotment of 1,000 acres of land, allegedly at a rate of Re 1 per acre in Bhagalpur, to the Adani group.
Kumar claimed, “The Central government has diverted Rs 21,000 crore, allotted for a power plant project in the state, towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friend Adani.”
The project, initiated by the UPA government, has been hijacked by the NDA, the Congress leader alleged.
Kumar claimed that the Rs 1 lakh crore revenue accruing from the project, which was meant to benefit the people of Bihar, will now be appropriated by a corporate house.
“Adani has been signing power plant contracts at the promise of offering electricity at Rs 3-3.5 per unit elsewhere in the country, but when it comes to Bihar, the cost has been fixed over Rs 6 per unit,” he claimed.
Kumar said, “Even if the price was fixed at Rs 5 per unit, Bihar would have saved Rs 56,000 crore. The irony is that the government took the land from people at an old rate and has offered it to a corporate house by agreeing to new rates for electricity”.
The entire episode, Kumar summed up, leaves people with three questions: “Why was the corporate house given the land at a throwaway price? Why has the profit of Rs 1 lakh crore been diverted from the Bihar people to the corporate house? Why has the cost of electricity been fixed so high in the state as part of the project deal?”
He alleged that the government is planning to grab people’s land in Bihar under the guise of conducting a land survey.
The Congress leader said, “The government is acting as a ‘lathaith’ (a person adept in using sticks); it uses the sticks of governance and administration to benefit corporates at the cost of the poor people.”
He wondered what the “sick, useless double-engine government” had done for the people of the state in the last 20 years.
The Congress leader also criticised the NDA government for allegedly organising an RSS event at Rajasthan University on September 30, using people’s money.
“The university is a government property and cannot be allowed to become a breeding ground of any particular ideology,” he asserted.
Kumar alleged that NSUI protestors, who opposed the event in the BJP-ruled state, were harassed by the police.
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Rupee falls 11 paise to 94.27 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 11 paise to 94.27 against US dollar in early trade on Monday driven by persistent dollar demand and a broader shift toward safe-haven assets.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee has hit a rough patch, falling for five consecutive sessions, weighed down by a combination of factors such as the RBI loosening its grip on currency rules and rising oil prices caused by global tensions.
Moreover, investors are becoming cautious again, with foreign institutions pulling money out of the market after a brief period of buying amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, then lost some ground and touched 94.27 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a fall of 11 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 94.16 against the American currency.
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Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.09 per cent at 98.44.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 1.16 per cent at USD 106.55 per barrel in futures trade.
A mix of softer economic signals and renewed, even if fragile, hopes of diplomacy pulled the dollar lower again, CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said, adding that for Rupee, on one hand, a softer dollar offers relief. On the other, uncertainty remains the dominant force.
Meanwhile, India’s forex reserves have crossed USD 703 billion as of April 17, reflecting a consistent build-up of buffers.
"For now, the rupee continues to lean toward gradual weakness. Uncertainty remains the dominant force, shaping both global flows and local reactions," Pabari said.
He further noted that any dips are likely to be bought into, with the 92.80–93.20 zone acting as a strong support. On the upside, 93.50 to 94.50 is expected to define the near-term range.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 518.96 points or 0.68 per cent higher at 77,183.17, while the broader Nifty was trading up 131.30 points or 0.55 per cent at 24,029.25.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 8,827.87 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
