Was Vajpayee's death announced late to avoid disrupting Narendra Modi's I-Day speech
Questions Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut
Mumbai, August 26: Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday questioned whether former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee died on 16 August or if his death was announced that day to ensure that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence day speech was not disrupted.
Raut, a Rajya Sabha member who is also the editor of the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamna', gave no explanation or reason for questioning the day of Vajpayee's death that was announced by AIIMS, which also gave his time of death on 16 August.
"Rather than our people, our rulers should first understand what is 'swarajya' (self-rule). Vajpayee died on 16 August, but from 12-13 August, his condition was deteriorating. To avoid national mourning and lowering of flag to half-mast on Independence Day, and also (because) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to make his elaborate speech from the Red Fort, Vajpayee left this world on 16 August (or his death was announced)," Raut said.
The article in Marathi is titled "What is swarajya?".
Though Shiv Sena is an alliance partner of the BJP at the Centre as well as in Maharashtra, it has been taking swipes at the saffron party and Modi.
Raut, in the article, said National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah shouted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai"and "Jai Hind" at a condolence meeting for Vajpayee, and for this reason, he was manhandled in Srinagar.
"And the government shielded the culprits. This new kind of freedom has now emerged," the Sena MP wrote.
"When it is learnt that police have captured terrorists who had planned to carry out attacks in Delhi, it tells you that Independence Day is nearing. This tradition continued this year too. Ten terrorists who wanted to sabotage Independence Day celebrations were arrested. A huge cache of arms was seized. So (afterwards), the prime minister celebrated Independence Day fearlessly," Raut added.
"Prime Minister Modi made several announcements for the poor (in his Independence day speech). The tone of his speech suggested that previous governments did nothing, and so freedom (until now) had been wasted," Raut wrote.
He said though the prime minister says people who take bribes are facing action, bribery has not decreased.
"..It is true that welfare schemes are run on the taxes which honest people pay. It is also true that the prime minister's foreign tours are funded by the same money, and thousands of crores are spent on advertisements from the same money. This is how the new 'swarajya' is functioning," the Sena leader wrote.
Courtesy: www.firstpost.com
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Karnataka govt formulating civil aviation policy: Minister Patil
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil on Friday said that the state government is formulating a civil aviation policy of its own, covering various aspects of the sector.
He also said that a meeting of public representatives from Ballari, Vijayanagara and Koppal districts will be held soon under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's chairmanship, regarding the airport in the region, as he stressed that both feasibility and viability should be considered while determining the location for airports.
The minister was replying to a question about Ballari airport, raised by Gangavathi MLA G Janardhana Reddy in the Legislative Assembly.
"We build airports, but after three years they get shut down. The situation is not only in our state, but it is across the country. We don't know the future of district airports. So I met the Union Civil Aviation Minister along with the Chief Minister with a request that the UDAN scheme be extended from three years to five years, and that for the subsequent five years the Centre and the state should jointly support operations in a 50:50 ratio," Patil said.
"The issue is there across the country and they (Centre) are also thinking on these lines...We are also bringing a policy on civil aviation from the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD). Two other states have done it --Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. That policy will have things like state's share, bulk amount sought by international airlines, among other things," he said, adding that work is on regarding this policy.
Noting that the proposed Ballari airport should benefit not only Ballari district but also the people of Koppal and Vijayanagara districts, the minister said in this regard, a meeting of public representatives from the three districts will soon be convened under the chairmanship of the chief minister to deliberate on the merits and challenges of the project.
There is little use if an airport becomes inactive after construction. "Keeping this in mind, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has identified two new sites in Ballari district measuring about 800 acres and 1,200 acres for the proposed airport," he said.
If the airport were to be constructed at the previously identified site in Ballari, it would require the construction of an eight-lane greenfield highway and involve several other issues, the minister said.
"Land acquisition and compensation alone would cost nearly as much as the airport project itself. Therefore, that option is not practically feasible. The matter will ultimately be finalised at the meeting to be held under the chairmanship of the CM," he added.
Stating that airports must be planned with foresight, otherwise, the same mistakes seen in Hubballi, Belagavi and Vijayapura would be repeated, Patil pointed out that the distance between Belagavi and Hubballi airports is only about 70 km.
"If an airport had been constructed at a location between the two districts to serve both regions, it might have been declared an international airport based on passenger traffic," he said.
A similar mistake has been made in Vijayapura as well. "The airport that is now ready for inauguration has been constructed on the Kalaburagi road. If it had been located towards Almatti instead, it would have benefited places such as Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Bagalkote, all of which have tourist attractions," he said.
Highlighting that airports located in district and divisional headquarters across the country are facing challenges, the minister said Bidar and Kalaburagi airports are also experiencing difficulties.
"At present, Bidar airport is functioning with the support of the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB). There has also been a demand to resume operations at Kalaburagi airport, and steps will be taken in that direction," he added.
