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BJP National Women’s Wing President has meal on footpath with cadres, wins hearts

On a sultry Saturday afternoon, BJP and AIADMK cadres flanked either sides of the GST road unmindful of the heat to put up a rousing welcome for Home Minister Amit Shah.

Home Minister Amith Shah arrived in Chennai on Saturday to inaugurate several developmental projects and also to interact with the BJP Tamil Nadu office bearers ahead of the State Assembly elections that will happen in a few months.

Several senior BJP and AIADMK leaders had assembled at the airport to receive Amit Shah.

However, Vanathi Srinivasan who recently became the National President of BJP’s Women’s Wing stood shoulder to shoulder with fellow women cadres of the party and even shared a meal by sitting on the footpath as they awaited Amit Shah’s convoy to pass through.

 

A picture of her having a simple meal with other woman cadres has been winning appreciations and is now going viral on social media.

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Just a day before, Vanathi Srinivasan upon assuming her role of National President of the party’s women’s wing had gone to her native Uppilipalayam in Coimbatore district where she sought blessings at a temple by prostrating before her village women who belonged to the Dalit community.

 

DMK IT wing head picks fight with ‘neutral’ political analyst, gets dissed

DMK IT wing head PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, a fourth generation dynast politician, got publicly insulted after he picked fight with ‘neutral’ political analyst Sumanth C Raman who tweeted that BJP and DMK are ‘two sides of the same coin’.

In a series of tweets Sumanth C Raman had stated that ‘BJP and DMK are two sides of the same coin’ as both the parties ‘seek an other as the enemy’ and say that ‘sins of ancestors must be paid for by their descendants’.

He said that for 80 years a divisive narrative was unchallenged which demonized a minority (Brahmin community) and abused a faith (Hindu faith).

“What the Brahmin was for decades the Muslim & Christian is now becoming. That is just wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right.” Sumanth said in his tweet.

He went on to say that he was ‘deeply secular’ and believed in an idea that India belongs to all equally that provides better life for all especially for those less fortunate. It is pertinent to note here that Sumanth C Raman opposed the CAA 2019 and abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, moves that paved way for a better life for the religiously persecuted minorities from the three neighbouring Islamic states living in camps in India and to the Dalits and women of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh respectively.

Sumanth said that he shares no animosity towards those accusing him of anti-BJP and anti-Modi. He continued further stating that DMK and the DK practices the same othering which he does not approve. “Social justice can be achieved without hate/abuse. Being demonized is no fun when you are the victim.”, Sumanth said.

“I want equality for all and yes that includes all castes as temple priests. I do not insult anyones faith. Why should my faith be insulted? If that sounds biased, good luck to you. We see things from which side of the fence we sit. The view from afar may be quite different.” Sumanth concluded his tweet.

In response to this series of tweets, DMK IT wing head Palanivel Thiagarajan who is also the Madurai Central MLA resorted to personal attacks and called Sumath C Raman a ‘pseudo-intellectual who is given space that far exceeds any vestige of competence’.

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Irked by this, Sumanth C Raman dissed the DMK IT wing head with a stinging rebuttal stating that generations of wealth, dynastic wealth and foreign education did not give him the grace of public discourse. The DMK IT wing head is known for being a heavy head who quite often keeps flaunting his dynastic privilege, his wealth and even his GRE/GMAT score.

“No wonder your own partymen say what they do about you. Maybe you should hear what they openly say behind your back. Arrogance is never a virtue.” Sumanth said.

 

28 food processing projects worth over ₹320 crores approved, to generate employment for over 10,000 people

28 projects, with project costs of ₹320.33 crores, supported with a grant of ₹107.42 Crores by MoFPI, were approved under the CEFPPC Scheme by the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meeting chaired by Shri, Union Minister, FPI. These projects spread over 10 states are likely to generate employment for nearly 10,000 people.

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chaired the IMAC meeting through video conference to consider projects under the Scheme of Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) (Unit Scheme) under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) for necessary Grants-in-aid. Shri Rameswar Teli, MoS FPI, was also present in the meeting. Promoters of the scheme attended the meeting virtually.

These 28 projects will create a processing capacity of 1237 MT daily and are spread across the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, J&K, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Manipur. These 28 projects include 6 projects of north Eastern states with project costs of ₹48.87 crores supported with a grant of ₹20.35 Crores by MoFPI.

(Published from PIB)

Vice President calls upon world community to come together and isolate nations that sponsor terror, pitches for reform in UN

The Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today called upon the world community to come together to isolate nations that sponsor terrorism and impose sanctions against them.

Expressing his concern over the increasing scourge of terrorism, the Vice President appealed to the United Nations to complete the deliberations and adopt India’s long-pending proposal of the ‘Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism’.

Observing that no country was safe from the scourge of terrorism, He said that the days of platitudes were over and it was time for concrete action. “There is also a need to reform the UN and create a more inclusive and equitable world order,” he added.

Virtually addressing the gathering at an event organised to present Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence 2020 to Smt. Sudha Murty, Chairperson of Infosys Foundation for her philanthropic work by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Shri Naidu stressed on the need for all the nations, particularly those in South Asia, to come together to promote peace, eradicate poverty, improve socio-economic conditions of the masses and wipe out the menace of terrorism.

The Vice President while paying rich tributes to Former Prime Minister of India, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, said that he was a great son of India who rose from a humble beginning to the pre-eminent position of the Prime Minister of India and yet he always maintained simplicity, humility and humanitarian outlook. “He displayed a statesman-like dignity, impeccable integrity and served the nation without ever compromising on high moral values,” he added.

Highlighting one of the important aspects of the personality of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Vice President said that he had the remarkable ability to communicate effectively and negotiate skillfully. “One of the secrets of his extraordinary success as a negotiator was his ability to see the other man’s point of view. He was always ready to make maximum allowance for another person’s feelings,” he added.

Shri Naidu said that it was due to former Prime Minister’s push to the green revolution and white revolution that the farmers were able to ensure food security and India became the largest producer of milk.

Complimenting the frontline warriors from various fields, the Vice President said, “In spite of the restrictions during the lockdown, our farmers acted as frontline warriors and rose to the occasion to produce enough food grains. Unmindful of the risk to their lives, doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, security forces, sanitation workers and media personnel too have been working with dedication in these testing times. My compliments to all of them!”

The Vice President said that while the centre and various state governments were taking a series of measures to help people, it was time that all Indians extended a helping hand to those who were adversely hit by the pandemic. “The concepts of ‘Sarvejanasukhninobhavantu’ and ‘share and care’ have underpinned Indian philosophy since ancient times and we should always remain committed to the larger humanitarian cause,” he emphasised.

Shri Naidu said that even the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ spoke of the importance of charity. He said the concept of “Daana” was ingrained in the Indian way of life and the ancient scriptures mention it too. “From kings to well-to-do landlords to individuals, communities to companies, there have been benevolent acts of charity, donations and taking up of projects for the public good,” he added.

Well-known philanthropist and prolific writer, Smt. Sudha Murty was awarded the 21st Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Philanthropic work. Shri Naidu congratulated her and the Insofys Foundation for the immense support they extend to underprivileged sections through various projects in healthcare, education, public hygiene and rural development, among others.

Conveying his appreciation to Smt. Sudha Murty, the Vice President said, “Smt. Sudha Murty richly deserves all the accolades, honours and awards that came her way as she is the moving force behind the Infosys Foundation. She inspires people by her exemplary service.”He further said that the felicitation of Smt. Sudha Murty is to inspire others. Describing her as a role model, he asked women to read and follow her life and teachings.

Emphasising on inculcating the ancient Indian values such as ‘share & care’ and ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’, Shri Naidu appealed to the youth to work for the welfare of the people. “Happiness doesn’t come from materialistic achievements alone, but it comes from  service”, he added.

The Vice President expressed his happiness that the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence, instituted by LBSIM upheld the vision of Shastri Ji and honoured people with outstanding accomplishments in various fields. “These awards are not only meant to acknowledge the excellent work done by various people but are also aimed at inspiring and motivating others to take up philanthropic work,” he added.

On this occasion, Shri Naidu also called upon the governments to make the life and teachings of great personalities such as Lal Bahadur Shastri part of school curriculum.

Smt. Sudha Murty, Chairman, Infosys Foundation, Shri Anil Shastri, Chairman of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management and the institute’s Director, Prof. D.K. Srivastava, eminent diplomats, faculty, staff, students of Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management were among those who participated in the virtual event.

‘Dynasty politics will come to an end in TN too’: HM Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Chennai on Saturday (November 21) to inaugurate various developmental projects and also to meet with the party’s Tamil Nadu unit office bearers ahead of the Assembly elections that is happen in a few months.

After listing out the achievement and the development work done by the Narendra Modi led NDA government at the Centre, Home Minister Amit Shah ventured into politics during his address.

“Friends.. I want to talk politics as I have come to Chennai after a long time.”, Amit Shah said and went on to target the DMK.

He said that after Narendra Modi entered national politics, he raised the banner against those who did corruption, dynastic politics, and casteist politics.

“I will talk about corruption and casteist politics later but would like to first talk about dynastic politics. Across the country, whenever elections have been held in different states, under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership we had fought elections and in every state those parties that have been doing dynastic politics had to face humiliating defeat.”, Amit Shah said.

“Now it is Tamil Nadu’s turn. Here too there exists one party that does not run on democratic values but only advance the family and does politics based on that.” Amit Shah added.

He said that in the coming elections dynastic forces would be finished and only democratic forces would come to power.

He then went on to lash out at the DMK asking what it has done for Tamil Nadu people when it was in power and also when it was in alliance with the Congress for 10 years.

“Those who swindled crores through 2G corruption.. what moral right do they have in talking about corruption?” he thundered.

“I would like to say only this much.. Before talking about corruption have a look at what has happened with your family and make a note of it. You won’t think of talking about corruption ever again”, Amit Shah said.

Amit Shah later went on to list the achievements of the Narendra Modi government and spoke about how Tamil fishermen who earlier used to get caught in Sri Lankan waters has now reduced and also stressed on the development works done for Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Home Minister will be staying at Hotel Leela Palace for the night and will depart for Delhi tomorrow morning at 10 AM.

Alliance with BJP will continue: OPS declares

Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam has declared that the AIADMK’s alliance with the BJP will continue for the Assembly Elections to be held in May 2021.

At a government function held in Kalaivanar Arangam, Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam who is also the AIADMK’s coordinator declared in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah that the party’s alliance with the BJP will continue for the upcoming elections.

“We shall come back to power for the third time. At the auspicious occassion, I would also like to state that at the national level the Bharathiya Janata Party under the leadership of Prime Minsiter Modi ji has been working tirelessly putting our nation on the path of development. I would like to take this occasion to declare that in the elections to come, the AIADMK and BJP victorious alliance will continue”.

More than 13 cr COVID tests done in India, Recovery Rate has improved to 93.67% 

india corona virus covishield price vaccine

India has crossed yet another landmark milestone in the fight against the global pandemic. Keeping in line with its commitment to conduct more than one million tests every day, 10,66,022 samples were tested in the last 24 hours which has increased India’s total cumulative tests to 13,06,57,808.

The last one crore tests were conducted in a span of just 10 days.

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Image Source: PIB

An average of more than 10 lakh tests conducted daily has ensured that the cumulative positivity rate is sustained at low levels and is presently following a downward trajectory. The cumulative national Positivity Rate stands at 6.93% today, less than the 7% mark.  The daily positivity rate yesterday was just 4.34%. Higher volumes of testing eventually lead to low Positivity rate.

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Image Source: PIB

In the last 24 hours, 46,232 persons were found to be infected with COVID.  The Daily Positivity Rate of 4.34% point out that a comparatively huge volume was tested to detect these cases from the population. With a continuous surge in daily cases in European and the American countries, India is taking all cautionary steps to bring the trajectory of the disease under control. In view of the increase in COVID cases of some of the north Indian States, the Centre has advised all states and UTs to ramp up testing.

24 States/UTs have a conducted more tests per million population than India as a whole.

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Image Source: PIB

12 States/UTs have lower tests per million than national average, and have been advised to substantially ramp up the levels of testing.

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Image Source: PIB

India’s present active caseload of 4,39,747 comprises 4.86% of India’s Total Positive Cases, and has been sustained below the 5% mark.

India has registered 49,715 new recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the total recovered cases to 84,78,124.  The Recovery Rate has improved to 93.67% today. The gap between Recovered cases and Active cases is steadily increasing and presently stands at 80,38,377.

78.19% of the new recovered cases is contributed by ten States/UTs.

Delhi saw 8,775 persons recovering from COVID. Maharashtra and Kerala reported 6,945 and 6,398 new recoveries, respectively.

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Ten States/UTs have contributed 77.69%of the new cases.

Delhi reported 6,608 cases in the last 24 hours. Kerala recorded 6,028 new cases while Maharashtra reported 5,640 daily cases yesterday.

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Image Source: PIB

82.62% of the 564 case fatalities that have been reported in the past 24 hours are from Ten States/UTs.

27.48% of new fatalities reported are from Maharashtra which reported 155 deaths. Delhi also saw a three figure fatality count of 118 contributing another 20.92% of the fatalities.

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DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin refuses ‘poorna kumbham’ honour and ‘vibhoodhi’ at Kailasanathar Temple

DMK Youth Wing Secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin had arrived in Trichy yesterday (November 20) to participate in various programs. He had come to the Kariyamanikkam Kailasanathar Temple where the party cadres had arranged for a ‘poorna kumbham’ honour for himwith Sivachariyars waiting to perform the honours and give the prasadam.

However, Udhayanidhi Stalin refused the ‘poorna kumbham’ honours and also did not allow the Sivachariyars to smear the vibhoodi (sacred ash) and vermilion (kum kum) on his forehead.

This incident had caused resentment among the DMK cadres and the public. The Sivachariyars who had come there took it upon as an insult meted out to them and the larger Hindu community.

Earlier his father MK Stalin had disrespected Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on Thevar Jayanthi by rubbing off  the vibhoodi prasadam from his hands without even applying it on his forehead in order to stick to his ‘rationalist’ credentials.

Following this, he had left for Thiruvarur district to launch the party’s election campaign titled ‘Vidiyalai Noki Stalin-in Kural’ (Stalin’s voice towards dawn) from Thirukuvalai, the hometown of late DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi. The campaign scheduled to run for 100 days in the wake of the Assembly elections was to be launched by Udhayanidhi Stalin.

However, he was arrested and later released as no permission was obtained to conduct the campaign.

Decoding Amit Shah’s TN visit

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is visiting Chennai today to inaugurate various developmental projects and also to meet with BJP Tamil Nadu office bearers.

His arrival has left the political parties in Tamil Nadu, perspiring and biting their nails about the turbulence it is about to create in the Tamil Nadu political scene.

Till now, only the visit of the Prime Minister or the leader of a national political party (BJP or Congress) triggers discussions in political circles and media leading to speculations about coalitions and electoral strategies. But after a long time, the visit of a Home Minister is being closely watched by Tamil Nadu political parties more than their own party affairs. This is the impact that Amit Shah has had through his strategies and manoeuvres.

Tamil Nadu is gearing up for the Assembly elections to be held in May 2021 and the absence of the matriarch and patriarch of Tamil Nadu politics has put the state at crossroads.

From this point, the course that Tamil Nadu takes will be the path for the next few decades.

In this context, Amit Shah’s visit is being seen as the arrival of the north-east monsoon cyclone which usually hits the state around this time, making its landfall in Chennai putting to test even the strongest and oldest trees (DMK and AIADMK).

The AIADMK government has been able to survive and has also managed to change the perception about its leadership over the past few years thanks to its good equation with the Centre.

On the other hand, the DMK has been struggling with its image of dynasty politics, corruption and more importantly Hindu hatred.

Those in the DMK who joined because of Karunanidhi and decided to spend the rest of their lives in the party are rethinking thanks to DMK chief MK Stalin’s son and ‘actor’ Udhayanidhi Stalin’s rise in the party. Even senior-most leaders have to bend their knee in front of the new prince of the DMK. This has led to unease even amongst several senior leaders of the party.

Any party’s strength is its ground level cadres. The DMK which has for a long time been a host to anti-national and anti-Hindu termites has now been weakened with rising Hindu consciousness among the masses in Tamil Nadu. Scores of members from the party including top leaders have joined the BJP ever since Dr. L. Murugan took over as President of the party’s state unit who has managed to turn tides in his favour by capitalizing on this rising Hindu consciousness.

Amidst this, it is expected that MK Alagiri who was sidelined by his father Karunanidhi and the party might get a new lease of life with him floating an outfit that will align with the BJP.  Amit Shah, upon touch down at the Chennai Airport today afternoon will be heading straight to Hotel Leela Palace where he will be meeting with some ‘important and prominent people’.  MK Alagiri could be one. Already, the ball has been rolled from Alagiri’s side. Former DMK MP K.P. Ramalingam who is considered close to Alagiri joined the BJP in the presence of Dr. L. Murugan and BJP leader C.T. Ravi who is in-charge of party affairs in Tamil Nadu.

It is to be noted that south Tamil Nadu, known as the MRT area (Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli) is key to electoral victories to the extent that it has the potential to determine the Chief Minister. Be it MGR’s move to field his first candidate in Dindigul or Jayalalithaa contesting from Bodinayakkanur, the southern region is considered as the first forte to be won to be successful in Tamil Nadu’s electoral politics. With MK Alagiri commanding a huge base in and around the regions of south Tamil Nadu especially Madurai, he could be the chip that the BJP will play.

It is to be noted that Home Minister Amit Shah will be paying respects to late leaders and former Chief Ministers from the AIADMK – Dr. M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa before inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for various development projects. His meeting with the BJP Tamil Nadu office bearers at 6 PM will at the maximum stretch to 8 PM.  He will be staying for the night in Chennai and is leaving for Delhi only at 10:15 AM tomorrow (November 22). Between these hours, no plans have been made to visit Karunanidhi’s memorial to pay tributes, who was also a former Chief Minister. This has sent across a subtle signal that the BJP will position itself against the DMK while it may be open to alliance with the AIADMK.

All said and done, we are not speculating about a normal politician here. The man here is Amit Shah. No one knows what he has in his mind. He will have his own calculations to chart victories. He is a man of surprises and hence one must always expect the unexpected.

Vice President calls for including a ‘child-centric’ approach to combat climate change

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu called for including a ‘child-centric’ approach in combating climate change while addressing an online webinar- ‘Climate Parliament with Children’. He called for interweaving child rights into key national climate change and adaptation strategies, policies and planning documents.

The ‘Parliamentarians Group for Children’ conducted on the occasion of World Children’s Day on Friday (November 20)  aims to facilitate interaction between the parliamentarians and children on the crucial topic of climate change.

He called for involving children in the conversation around climate change, recognizing that the children of today are far better informed than previous generations. He emphasized the need to raise awareness on climate change, its impacts and mitigation measures in schools and grassroots level to make the children change agents and transformational leaders of the future.

Citing World Health Organization data, the Vice Presindet said that climate change will cause lakhs of additional deaths every year and majority of these deaths will occur among the children who are more susceptible to illness, injuries and malnutrition.

“Children (0-14 year) form a quarter of the world’s population and they are one of the largest and most vulnerable groups that will be impacted by climate change”, he warned.

Referring to the increasing number of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, cyclones, wildfires, the Vice President said that continuous emission of greenhouse gases has done great damage to earth’s environment and its consequences threaten the very existence of humanity.

Describing the consequences of global warming such as increase in heat stress and vector-born diseases, the Vice President warned that changing climate will also threaten world’s food security leading to hunger and malnutrition adding that children would be the worst affected.

Recalling his childhood days, Shri. Venkaiah Naidu said that he had an opportunity to grow up in the clean air and a healthy environment which should not be denied to the kids today.

Stressing the need for sustainability, Venkaiah Naidu called for striking the necessary balance between development and environment and called for the preservation of scarce resources and care for the generations to come

Reiterating the expert view that we only have a decade or so to influence the course of climate change before its adverse impacts become irreversible, the Vice President called upon the policymakers, leaders, parents and grandparents to collectively work for addressing this dire situation and usher a healthier environment for our children. “We cannot allow apathy or inaction to jeopardize our future”, he added.

In this regard, he appreciated the Government for several initiatives for environmental protection such as- signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, focus on installation of renewable energy and reduction in India’s emission intensity among others.

Shri Naidu also expressed concerns over plastic pollution, especially in oceans, where nearly 50% of single-use plastic products end up, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. He asked everyone to support the Prime Minister’s call for eradicating single-use plastic from the country by 2022.

Calling for building a safer world for the children, The Vice President said that climate change is a direct threat to a child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive. He opined that children themselves can become the changemakers with support from peers, parents and society. “If you catch up with the children, you catch up with the society”, he said and cited the example of Swachh Bharat Mission where children are trying to bring the change.

Stressing the importance of ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ in one’s life, Shri Naidu said that we must be friendly with the nature and feel proud of our culture. “Our forefathers have given us great civilizational values such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, he said and called upon everyone to follow them. This value system should not be allowed to erode, he insisted.

Shri Naidu appreciated the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Irani for working hard to bring positive change in the lives of Indian women and children. He also complimented the Member of Parliament, Smt Vandana Chavan for raising the issues of children’s rights through the Parliamentarians’ Group for Children.

Smt. Smriti Irani, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Vandana Chavan, Convener of Parliamentarians’ Group for Children, Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF representative for India, several MPs, child rights activists and children were among those who participated in the virtual event.

(Source: PIB)