Month: May 2015

In a strong response to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘suit boot ki sarkar’ jibe, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said “Suit boot is definitely more acceptable than suitcase.”

He also said that the contentious Land Acquisition Bill is not “a matter of life or death for me” and that he was prepared to accept any suggestions.

“Suit boot is definitely more acceptable than suitcase. After ruling for 60 years, the Congress has suddenly remembered the poor. People of this country have suffered and remained poor due to shortsighted policies of the Congress,” he told ANI.

The onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala has been delayed from the date forecast by the Met department due to its “sluggish” pace.

The normal date for onset of monsoon over Kerela is June 1. It also marks the official onset on rains in the country. This year, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that it will hit the southern state on May 30.

Fares for First Class and AC classes in passenger trains besides freight charges will go up by 0.5 per cent from June 1 as new service tax will come into effect.

“Currently, 3.7 per cent service tax is levied on train fares for AC Class, First Class and freight. This will go up to 4.2 per cent from June which means the rise is only 0.5 per cent,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.

If the AC fare is Rs 1,000, then you will be charged Rs 10 more. Increase in service tax will be applicable on tickets purchased on June 1 and onwards, he added.

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today said he had written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting ways to bring the black money back, and the present measures were not enough.

“I have written a letter to the Prime Minister on how we can bring it back. But our Finance Minister (Arun Jaitely) is a lawyer who says this is not right or that is not right,” Swamy said, speaking at an event organised by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) here.

The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) gave good tidings about the holy month. The first third of this Holy Ramadan contains days of mercy for all people, the second ten days are the days of forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and the last one-third is when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala frees the believers from Hell.

The Prophet (SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) gave good tidings about the holy month. The first third of this Holy Ramadan contains days of mercy for all people, the second ten days are the days of forgiveness of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and the last one-third is when Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala frees the believers from Hell.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for the repromulgation of the Land Bill, adding that his party will fight for the rights of the farmers.

The official twitter account of Gandhi`s office shared the Congress vice president`s thoughts on the issue.

“Modi ji in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost. A 3rd attempt at pushing the anti farmer Land Ordinance!” it posted.

“Congress Party will continue to fight for the rights of the kisan and mazdoor against this #suitbootkisarkar,” it added.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Saturday Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has failed to usher in “acche din” but is still on “top gear”.

“If the Modi government thinks it is on top gear let them pat themselves on the back,” Gogoi tweeted.

“A dream has come true for the state government with the laying of foundation stone of permanent campus of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Gogoi said.

Efforts are on for a consensus among political parties to pass the land acquisition bill in Parliament’s next session, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.

“Our efforts are on for a consensus. We will try to pass the bill in next session of Parliament,” he said at a press conference here.

The Home Minister was replying to a question on why the government is forced to promulgate the land acquisition ordinance for the third time.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that development of Maoist affected areas is one of the priorities of the NDA government, and praised the Chhattisgarh Government for working towards achieving this goal.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that the government is in the process of finalising schemes to develop 500 smart cities and towns by implementing comprehensive development plans.

President Pranab Mukherjee will begin a five-day state visit to Sweden and Belarus from Sunday. During the first leg of his visit, Mukherjee will arrive in Sweden, where, he will meet with King Carl Gustaf, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament.

Expressing serious concerns over the recent statements made by the Indian leadership, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday that all possible measures would be taken to counter any “anti-Pakistan” acts from across the border.

The All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) on Saturday called for a nation-wide strike on June 24 in support of various demands of the State Sector Bank Employees Association (SSBEA).

SSBEA, under its umbrella, has various unions of associate banks of SBI like State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Mysore and the like, which are also associated with AIBEA.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she would visit Bangladesh on June 5 and come back on June 6 after the signing of the Land Boundary Agreement.

On May 28, the state’s Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Partha Chatterjee, first broke the news that Mamata would accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Dhaka trip. The Chief Minister today confirmed it.

Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said she was a “straight talker” who had ruffled many feathers.

“When status quo is challenged some feathers are bound to get ruffled. Till now, there were people with entrenched interests who turned the education field into an arena of profit making,” Irani said in a programme named `Talkathon`, organised by the information and broadcasting ministry.

“But they are not liking this straight talker. If the government has given you a responsibility, the government will ask you questions,” she said.

Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi over his “suit-boot ki sarkar” jibe, BJP on Thursday said such criticism shows that Congress has become “direction-less” even as it claimed that it had never commented on the clothes which former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru chose to wear.

Union minister Smriti Irani on Saturday said the Narendra Modi government is people-oriented with all its departments working in coordination with each other while its predecessor UPA regime was just the opposite.

Participating in an interactive programme – Talkathon, telecast on Doordarshan – the minister for human resource development (HRD) said various departments of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government did not know what the other one was doing.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today underlined the need to build new cities for turning India into a developed country.

“If we want to develop the country industrially and economically, new cities are needed,” Jaitley said, after inaugurating a logistics hub and a farmers’ convention here.

The country’s economic growth had made a mark in the world, he said, adding that “if we continue to make such rapid progress, we will be numero uno in the world”.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) today seized four kg of gold worth Rs 1.11 crore from inside the toilets of an Air India flight which landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) here.

A packet each containing several gold biscuits and a gold bar were recovered from two rear toilets of the plane which arrived here from Muscat at 3.30 am, a senior DRI officer said.

The flight was on its way to Bengaluru.

Kicking up another controversy, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain today asked Muslims to demand ban on sale of beef in their states to “promote communal harmony”.

“Decisions are taken by the government based on public sentiments. Each government wants that public sentiments should not be hurt. The Maharashtra government too has banned the sale of beef after taking public sentiments into account,” Hussain told reporters here.

Taking a sudden U-turn on the issue, Home Minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy made it clear that the State Government has no plans to acquire the lands belonging to Osmania University

Just two days before the MLC polls, the Telugu Desam Party suffered another jolt on Saturday when its MLA Madhavaram Krishna Rao joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao himself admitted Krishna Rao into the party by offering him a pink scarf (khandwa). Ministers Jagadish Reddy, Tummala Nageshwara Rao and TRS Greater Hyderabad president M Hanumantha Rao were also present on the occasion. (INN)

Telangana State Legislature Secretary S Raja Sadaram on Saturday reviewed the arrangements for MLC elections which are scheduled to be held on June 1.

The Secretary interacted with the officials of police and legislature department on various aspects of polling booths, security, parking and other related issues. He directed them to make fool-proof arrangements for the smooth conduct of MLC elections. (INN)

Congress senior leader and former MP Ponnam Prabhakar has accused Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of treating the MLAs like sheep and trying to ‘purchase’ them by fixing a price.