Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the Cabinet Secretary to prepare “dossiers” of delayed projects within one week to identify the officers and agencies responsible for the delays, Swarajya has reported.
According to sources, PM Modi issued directions for fixing responsibility during the 37th PRAGATI meeting held on Wednesday to review the infrastructure projects and the government’s flagship programmes.
The Prime Minister had on early occasions asked the government departments to fix responsibility for delays in project execution resulting in cost and time overrun.
As per sources, PM Modi has set the one week timeline for preparing the dossiers after reviewing two railway projects – a new railway line connecting Bhanupuli, Bilaspur and Bari and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC).
A release issued by the PMO said, “The Prime Minister stressed on the significance of timely completion of these projects.” It said the eight projects, which were reviewed, have a cumulative cost of Rs 1.26 lakh cr concerning 14 states. While reviewing the second phase of Urban Extension Road (UER-II) in Delhi, which is coming up as the third Ring Road, Modi set August 15, 2023 as deadline for completion of the project.
“The message was for every Central and state government department that now they will be held responsible for delays. The PM emphasised on the dossiers twice,” the source quoted saying in Swarajya.
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Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav today formally launched e-Shram portal and handed it over to the States/UTs in the presence of the Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Labour &Employment and Petroleum & Natural Gas.
“For the first time in the History of India, a system is being made to register 38 crore Unorganised Workers. It will not only register them but would also be helpful in delivering of various social security schemes being implemented by the Central and State Governments”, said the Labour Minister emphasising that it is another key milestone towards furthering the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi towards the welfare of the unorganized workers, who are the nation builders of India.
On this occasion, Shri Bhupender Yadav also thanked the Prime Minister for sanctioning of Rs 2.0 Lakh Accidental Insurance cover to every registered unorganised worker on eSHRAM Portal. If a worker is registered on the eSHRAM portal and meets with an accident, he will be eligible for Rs 2.0 Lakh on death or permanent disability and Rs 1.0 lakh on partial disability and government is always committed for the welfare of the workers.
Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Labour & Employment and Petroleum & Natural gas while highlighting the features of the e-SHRAM Portal, which inter-alia are creation of a National database of all unorganized workers ,also appealed to the people of the country to be part of this campaign and get all unorganized workers registered on the E-Shram portal and become a partner in fulfilling the much-needed goal of the Government of India: “छूटेगा नहीं कोई कामगार, योजनाएं पहुचेंगी सबके द्वार.”
On this occasion, both Ministers also interacted with the workers from Ajmer, Dibrugarh, Chennai and Varanasi who virtually connected from the Common Service Centreswho shared their experiences and expectations. Shri Yadav and Shri Teli also briefed them about accidental Insurance Schemes and explained benefits for registering on the portal.
Stating that the portal is going to be major turning point and game changer in the history of the country, Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Labour Ministry said that more than 38 Crore unorganised workers (UW) in the country, will be registered under one portal and the registration under the e-SHRAM portal is totally free and workers do not have to pay anything for his or her registration at Common Service Centres(CSCs) or anywhere.
Shri Chandra further informed that upon registration the workers shall be issued a eSHRAM card with unique Universal Account Number (UAN) and will be able to access the benefits of the various social security schemes through this Card anywhere anytime.
All the leaders of the Central Trade Unions expressed that this will be a game changer for the well-being of unorganized workers who are the nation builders of the country and told in clear terms thatall the Central Trade Unions and their field formations in the States will give its unflinching support to the honorable cause of registering unorganized workers in the e-SHRAM portal.
The Taliban which has taken control of Afghanistan stopped 140 Afghan Sikh pilgrims who were scheduled to arrive in Delhi on Thursday (26 August) to attend the celebrations marking the 400th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur, were stopped to board a flight from Kabul.
140 #Afghan Hindus Sikhs scheduled to arrive later today at Delhi on annual pilgrimage tour to attend celebrations to commemorate 400th Birth Anniv of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur turned back by #Taliban security at Kabul airport after waiting 15hours in their convoys-Indian World Forum
“A kirtan darbar is scheduled to be held on Sunday. Community members from various parts of the world are arriving here. Unfortunately the Taliban denied the 140 pilgrims access to the Kabul airport,” said Afghan national Partap Singh, President of the Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji gurdwara in New Mahavir Nagar.
“We had requested the Indian government to facilitate their attendance at the mega celebrations. Regret to note that last night these law abiding pilgrims were turned back by Taliban security forces from the airport after waiting for more than 15 hours in their convoys,” said Afghan-origin Guljeet Singh, president of the Guru Nanak Sahib ji gurudwara in Vikaspuri.
Puneet Singh who is the president of the Indian World Forum also appealed to the Taliban to facilitate an early departure of the Afghan Hindu and Sikh pilgrims in the interest of humanity.
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As thousands of Afghans are trying to flee the country, a new security implication has emerged as several Afghan passports with Indian visas were stolen at a private travel agency in Kabul, reports news18.com
This incident occurred after the place was raided by an armed group of Urdu-speaking men backed by Pakistan ISI between August 15 and 16 after Kabul to the Taliban.
“We are still trying to access how many passports have been stolen. The Ministry of External Affairs and security agencies are looking into it. All those Afghan passports had Indian visas on it and could be misused by terror groups”, sources familiar with the development revealed.
This theft has taken place when India launched a massive evacuation mission with the Indian Air Force and Air India working closely with security agencies as the security of Kabul has been taken over by Haqqani Network which is the number one Pakistan proxy working alongside the Taliban.
meanwhile, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has cancelled all old Indian visas of Afghan nationals because of the security situation.
“Owing to the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and streamlining of the visa process by introduction of the e-Emergency X-Misc visa, it has been decided that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa,” Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
“Keeping in view some reports that certain passports of Afghan nationals have been misplaced, previously issued visas to all Afghan nationals, who are presently not in India, stand invalidated with immediate effect. Afghan nationals wishing to travel to India may apply for e-Visa at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in,” the statement further said.
It must be noted that the Al Qaeda suicide bombers managed to get close to anti-Taliban resistance fighter Ahmad Shah Masood after they got their hands on several stolen Dutch passports.
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In the Congress-ruled state of Rajasthan, controversy has erupted after a team came to play the annual Aladin Hhan Memorial Cricket trophy in Jaisalmer under the name of Taliban clubs, reports jaipurnewstoday.
People came to know about the name of the team, when the scoreboard started showing the name and it suddenly started creating controversy.
However, the organisers of the cricket tournament said they were unaware of this and swung into action after seeing all the outrage in the Social Media. They were grounded by the many trollers on social media platforms and apologised for this oversite.
Ismail Khan, the organiser of the cricket trophy, said “we were not aware of the team. The applications were invited online, so we have not paid attention to them. We had thrown out the team when this matter came to our notice through social media and other means. Sorry about this whole incident, and we are deeply sorry”.
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The Srithalasayana Perumal Temple is located in the heart of Mamallapuram near the ancient site of Arjuna’s Penance. The temple is considered to be the 63rd of the 108 Divyadesams. The temple attracts a large number of devotees from the suburbs and the nearby regions. There is an ancient well in the temple premises and a drinking trough near it.
In this situation, a tender was issued on behalf of the municipal administration for ₹5 lakhs to build 6 toilets.
Gravel, M-sand and bricks have come to the site and the construction of the toilets have begun just close to the shrine. Devotees have raised concerns that having the toilet there would lead to stench inconveniencing those who visit the temple. They have also said that the temple is just close to the well and drinking trough. The trees in the premises have also been cut.
Therefore, locals have demanded that Chengalpattu District Collector Rahul Nath personally inspect the construction site of the toilet and select a secluded site to take steps to build the toilet there.
Clad in a white veshti and a red shawl around his body with a forehead smeared in vibhudhi (sacred ash), this man with a child-like smile gave the propagandists of the Dravidian ideology a run for their money. At a time when the anti-Hindu propaganda spearheaded by Dravidian dimwits was at its zenith, Thirumuruga Kirubanandha Variyar was the God-given antidote to all the venom spewed about the Hindu faith. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him an incarnation of the Tamil God Murugan himself who had made it his mission to arrest the ‘black fungus’ that had started spreading across the divine land.
Variyar was Hindu spiritual teacher whose discourses on Hindu epics and Puranas echoed the streets and penetrated into Tamil people’s homes. As noted columnist Aravindan Neelakandan puts it, Variyar Swamigal would explain the complex aspects of Saiva Siddhantham in a way that could be understood both by a child and a scholar.
Variyar took the atheistic principles espoused by anti-Hindu Dravidian ideologues and politicians head on. He gave the perfect and stinging rebuttal to all the pseudo-rationalistic barbs of the Dravidian leaders who otherwise swayed crowds with their oratorical skills.
Variyar was the fourth child born to Sivathiru. Malliyadas Bhagavathar and Smt. Kanagavalli of the eleven, and had trained himself to be a spiritual discourser through his father. He learnt classical musical and even knew to play the Veena. The prodigy he was, Variyar Swamigal became well versed with Hindu literature and turned into a spiritual discourser by age 18.
An ardent devotee of Lord Murgan, had learned the Thirupukazh from Madurai Thirupukazh Swamy Iyer. His Deeksha Guru was Siddhanta Sarabam Issana Siavcharya Swamigal. He ran the Monday magazine ‘Tirupukal Amutham’ and has authored over 500 spiritual essays and 150 books.
Variyar Swamigal had the God-given ability of what to say and how to say it. Once during a discourse, he saw some of the audience at the back leaving the hall. He stopped whatever he was saying and quipped “Do you know why people call as ‘Sollin Selvar’? Even I didn’t realize back then. Now I am realizing”, taking a jibe at himself.
While there have been Hindu spiritual discoursers before and after Variyar Swamigal, he was different because of the humour that he infused along with the rich knowledge. His teachings would be laden with wit and quite often made subtle commentaries on contemporary social and political issues. In fact, he was the one who gave the sobriquet ‘Ponmanachemmal’ (gold hearted person) to the late AIADMK founder and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr. M. G. Ramachandran as he was impressed by the innumerable philanthropic work and his ability to emerge as a people’s leader.
Here is a video of Kirubananda Variyar that seems to be relevant to the present turmoil that Tamil Nadu faces.
He says that the archakar (temple priest) in a temple should be pious and austere. A politician should be honest like Lal Bahadur Sastri and Kamaraj. He had also once made a sly reference to Annadurai’s death saying that even American doctors could not save him for which DMK goons attacked Variyar and his Murugan idol. The same people later returned to him apologizing for their act. Variyar just blessed them and gave them vibhudi. Such was his compassion even towards those who harbored ill-will towards him.
Though Variyar Swamigal was a Tamil scholar, he did not drive a wedge between Tamil and Sanskrit unlike the neo-Nazi racists and demagogues currently dominating the political space in Tamil Nadu.
Variyar was also social reformer as he advocated for women’s education. During his Detroit discourse, he proposed that women’s name should also be added as an initial to the child’s name. With just the power of his speech, he was able to convince people to give up animal sacrifices in temples. He also fought against social evils like untouchability.
If not for this great man, this great Tamil land would have been poisoned fully with the hate mongers of Hinduism. Hence, it is the duty of every Tamil person to ensure that the stories and spiritual discourses are passed on to the next generation so that he may continue to guide us on the path of truth.
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The Tamil Nadu government headed by Chief Minister MK Stalin, the son of the late DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi is all set to build a massive memorial for his father in Marina Beach, Chennai where he has been laid to rest.
This announcement comes just two weeks after Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan released a white paper claiming that the state’s finances are in shambles.
The Kalaignar Karunanidhi Memorial will be coming up on the prominent landmark of Chennai spread over 2.21 acres of land with modern pictorial representations of Karunanidhi.
While even the rival AIADMK has welcomed the move, many on social media have questioned the high amount allocated to the memorial while allocating only a meagre ₹5 crores for the works at Keezhadi.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that RSS workers from other states are coming to Uttar Pradesh “for creating trouble at election booths” and to hinder the electoral process as India’s most populous state heads for the state election in 2022.
The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh claimed that the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh has made fairness and transparency of the Election Commission “questionable”. However, according to Yadav, “In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP will surely be wiped out with the support of the people.”
Akhilesh Yadav who took the rains of the party started by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav said in a statement in Lucknow: “The BJP is busy creating conspiracies at the (election) booths. The party does not respect the Constitution. It is conspiring to cheat democracy by adopting unfair practices during elections. RSS workers from other States are being sent to villages to create trouble at booth level.”
He also claimed that the Samajwadi Party enjoys massive support in Uttar Pradesh and the “BJP is afraid and wants to destroy the sanctity of the democratic system” in the state and said the BJP government has created anarchy in the state and “has committed a great sin by hindering the development of the state.”
He also said that the leaders and workers of the Opposition are being constantly harassed by the state government and earlier Yadav had earlier criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led government in the state during the local body polls.
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During a news broadcast, one of the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has admitted to the Pakistan military’s close ties with the Taliban and how the Taliban will get in Kashmir.
During an on-air television show, Neelam Irshad Sheikh, a senior leader of the Imran Khan-led PTI government, openly admitted the Pakistan military’s close ties with the Taliban. He added that the Taliban will win Kashmir and hand it over to Pakistan.
“The Taliban are saying that they are with us and they will help us in Kashmir,” Sheikh said during the show.
Pak PM Imran Khan’s close aide & his party spokeswoman Neelam Irshad Sheikh saying-“Taliban has agreed to support Pak Army to liberate Kashmir” @ImranKhanPTI Kashmir is little far ..before that Taliban will break Pakistan.@OfficialDGISPR Why don’t you try to liberate Kashmir😀 pic.twitter.com/ojVrMAtkvr
The news host, alarmed by the PTI leader’s statement, said, “Do you realise what you’ve said, Madam? You are completely unaware of what you have said. For God’s sake ma’am, this show will be broadcast all over the world. In India, this will be seen.”
However, Sheikh was unconcerned of any blowback and continued, “Taliban will help us because they have been mistreated.”
The elected Afghan government has always maintained that Pakistan and its intelligence arm have supported the Taliban by providing them with sanctuary, training, and logistics support.
It must also be noted that Imran Khan – popularly known as ‘Taliban’ Khan – said that the Taliban have broken the “shackles of slavery” when it captured Kabul last week.
When the Taliban took power in 1996, Pakistan along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recognised this puritanical Islamic regime and gave aid and support. However, a lot has changed in the last twenty years and it remains to be seen how the oil-rich Arab kingdom and the Emirates deal with the new regime in Afghanistan.
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