Members in Rajya Sabha today expressed concern over India’s premier university BHU imposing restrictions on eating of non-vegetarian food and using internet in hostels, saying it reflected the “high- handed” attitude against students in central universities.
Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Ali Anwar Ansari (JD-U) said nine students were suspended by BHU who had a year ago demanded round-the-clock access to cyber library and had sat on protest dharna.
FIRs were lodged against the students who had protested against the Vice Chanellor denying permission to cyber library when two group of students clashed on the university campus, he alleged.
While boys can eat non-vegetarian food in the hostels, girls were barred from doing so, he said listing out the restrictions placed on girls including returning to the hostel by 8 pm and banning the use of mobile phones after 9 pm.
Internet access is allowed for boys for 24 hours a day but girls are barred from the same, he alleged, saying the University’s orders were “Trump-like.”
He said similar high-handedness was being witnessed in JNU also where 15 students were suspended for protests.
Students at JNU are protesting against UGC notification of PHD admissions based on performance in interviews only, without giving weightage to written exams.
While Tapan Sen (CPI-M) said central universities are new grounds of “experiments”, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said government should be seriously take note of the arbitrary rule changes.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government does not interfere in day-to-day functioning of universities and the issue should not be politicised.
He said if there were any specific incident, it can be brought to the notice of the government and the concerned minister will be intimated.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the member has raised a specific issue and the HRD Minister should see if there is any discrimination.
Anand Sharma (Cong) said this was not a small matter and the concerns should be conveyed to the HRD Minister. Also, the autonomy of the central universities should be protected, he added.
दिल्ली। "बहुत हुई महँगाई की मार अबकी बार मोदी सरकार " जैसे नारे के साथ जब भाजपा चुनाव प्रचार कर रही थी , उस वक़्त युवाओं को लगा था की शायद अब उनके लिए रोजगार के दरवाजे खुल जाएंगे । पर हुआ उसके उलट प्रधानमन्त्री मोदी के दिखाए सपने की हवा निकल गयी। नोटबंदी ने तो हालात और भी बुरी कर दी है। हाल में आयी तमाम रिपोर्ट्स बताती हैं की रोजगार के अवसर लगातार काम होता जा रहा है और बेरोजगार युवाओं की फ़ौज लगातार बढ़ती जा रही है।
हाल ही में हुए एक सरकारी सर्वे में सामने आया है कि देश में वर्तमान में रोजगार वृद्धि की दर पिछले 7 सालों के मुकाबले सबसे निचले स्तर पर आ चुकी है। सर्वे का सबसेे चौंकाने वाला तथ्य यह है कि पिछले एक साल में ही देश में बेरोजगारों की संख्या में लगभग 2 करोड़ की बढ़ोतरी हुई। केंद्र की सत्ता में आने से पहले पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी ने देश में करोड़ों रोजगार पैदा करने का वादा जोर शोर किया था, लेकिन उनका यह वादा धरा ही नहीं रह गया बल्कि आज की स्थिति तो वादे से बिलकुल उलटी हो गई।
सर्वे यह भी कहता है कि बेरोजगारी की सबसे ज्यादा मार पढ़े-लिखे युवाओं पर पड़ी है। जिनको रोजगार के संकट का सामना करना पड़ रहा है उनमें 25 फीसदी युवा 20 से 24 वर्ष के हैं, तो 17 फीसदी 25 से 29 वर्ष के युवा हैं। बेरोजगारी के साथ साथ देश में महंगाई भी चरम पर है। दालें लोकसभा चुनाव से पहले 50-60 रुपये के आसपास थीं, दो साल होते-होते 150-200 के आसपास पहुंच गई हैं। राेजमर्रा के खाद़य उत्पादों के दामों में भी बेतरतीब बढ़ोतरी हो चुकी है
Villagers near Muzaffarnagar seem set to break all easy assumptions about caste and community in this election.
It started with a murder in August 2015. A dispute between Shias and Sunnis in the village of Khirwa Jalal, about 20 km from Meerut city in western Uttar Pradesh, led to the death of a man called Zahid. The police believe that the murder was the result of a political dispute between the two groups. After Zahid’s nephew filed a complaint, the police rounded up several people, including Mohammed Irfan, the man who was tipped to be the next village pradhan, or chief.
A few months later, when the panchayat elections were held, Irfan’s wife Begum Nayyer won the polls hands down. However, she is just a rubber-stamp authority. Irfan’s brother, Mohammed Irshad, is pradhan by proxy, and takes all the decisions, which his sister-in-law then signs off on.
Khirwa Jalal is a Muslim-dominated village in this part of western Uttar Pradesh. It is part of Siwalkhas Assembly constituency, which, in turn comes under Baghpat Lok Sabha constituency. Of the village population, while Sunnis have about 3,500 votes, Shias have 800 and Jats and Dalits have approximately 1,800 and 500 votes respectively.
The composition of this village is representative of the complexity of elections in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh. This is especially apparent in the western part of the state, is considered to be a distinct political entity as compared to other parts. Jats are a distinct and numerically significant community in several districts this area – the Baghpat-Baraut-Muzaffarnagar-Shamli-Meerut belt. Most residents here are either landowning farmers, or work in farms.
This region goes to the polls on February 11, the first phase of the seven-phase Assembly elections.
Overcoming assumptions
Like elsewhere in India, each community in Khirwa Jalal village has certain assumptions about the other. For instance, Jats view Muslims as a single, homogenous entity. They believe Muslims will only vote for a Muslim candidate. However, it is not as simple as that.
The divide between Sunnis and Shias in this village because of the 2015 murder has meant that the Sunni community has decided to support Yashvir Singh, a Jat candidate of the Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate, who is also supported by the Jats of the village.
This is because Sunnis perceive the Shias to be close to sitting MLA Ghulam Mohammed of the Samajwadi Party who is up for reelection.
Thus both Jat and the majority of Muslim voters here are consolidating behind the Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal was founded in 1996 by Ajit Singh, the political heir of Chaudhry Charan Singh, one of the tallest Jat leaders, who briefly served as prime minister between July 1979 and January 1980. The party had a strong presence in Jat-dominated districts of western Uttar Pradesh because of the loyalty of Jats towards Singh and his successors. In past elections, the Rashtriya Lok Dal was a strong contender in every constituency in this region, either winning the seat or emerging a close second.
But the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots changed things.
As the ruling Samajwadi Party scrambled to contain the riots and arrested several Jat leaders, Ajit Singh’s silence on the matter angered Jats. This, coupled with the “Modi wave” of the 2014 general elections, saw Jat-dominated areas in this region turn away from the Rashtriya Lok Dal and vote for the BJP en masse.
Anger at BJP
But things are no longer the same. The furious messages being sent across by BJP workers via WhatsApp to woo Jat voters in the region indicates that the party is aware that it is losing the community’s support.
In village after village in this region, the Jats are angry at the BJP.
“What has the BJP done for the farmers since it won the elections in 2014?” asked Rajendra Singh of Bijrol village on a cold February evening. “No one other than the RLD has ever thought about the farmers. Before 2014, we did not believe in any divisions between Jats and the Muslims. We were all farmers with the same problems. The BJP came and divided us and we are paying a heavy price for it.”
This statement is repeated in other Jat villages.
Nearer Muzaffarnagar, in the village of Sohram, Balyans, the dominant sub-caste of the Jats, are also keen to back the Rashtriya Lok Dal because they feel betrayed by the BJP.
“This village saw a lot of firing during the riots,” said Dariyo Singh Balyan, sitting under a giant photograph of the old farmer leader Mahindra Singh Tikait, who stormed and occupied Delhi’s Boat Club in the 1980s, seeking assurances for farmers from the Congress government at the Centre.
Dariyo Singh Balyan of Sohram. (Photo credit: Saikat Datta)
Farming costs up
The farmers here alternately grow sugarcane and wheat. With input costs for farming like fertilisers, electricity and seeds having escalated, most farmers here feel that the procurement price of sugarcane is no longer remunerative. At the same time, payments from sugar mills have been delayed due to demonetisation.
“Modi tells us that he has sent us money but Akhilesh [Yadav] is delaying the payments,” said an elderly Jat farmer in Sohram village, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim during election rallies that the Samajwadi Party government was not delivering central grants to its beneficiaries. “But what stops Modi from sending the payments directly to our bank accounts? After all, if he can start Jan Dhan Bank accounts and send money directly, why can’t he send out money to us as well.”
The farmer added: “The BJP used the riots to gain ascendancy here, and now that our people are facing cases, they have pushed off and left us to our fate. We never fought the Muslims until 2013.”
The procurement price for sugarcane is a sore point.
Most Jat and Muslim farmers recollect that the only time the price went up was during Mayawati’s reign as chief minister from 2007 to 2012.
“She raised it by Rs 40 per quintal,” said Rajendra Singh. “No leader has ever done so much. That is why we must support the RLD [Rashtriya Lok Dal]. Ajit Singh may not become chief minister, but like his father [Charan Singh] he will speak for us and he is one of our own. We must ensure his people win.”
But in that case, why not support Mayawati instead?
The response is that the Dalit leader raises none of the issues important to them.
Remember Haryana
One of the WhatsApp messages being forwarded to the Jat community speaks about how the Samajwadi Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal abandoned them after the 2013 riots, and of how the BJP stood by them.
But that argument finds few takers.
The BJP’s radio jingles also holds up the Muzaffarnagar riots as an example of the abysmal law and order situation in the Samajwadi Party-ruled state.
But most people here smirk at such messages.
“We all know who created the riots,” said Amit N, a young Jat, who lives in Baraut, Baghpat, while preparing to head to the fields to tend to his crop. “In 2014, our fathers were very angry with us for abandoning the RLD, Some even stood with lathis [wooden sticks] at home, ready to hit us for voting for the BJP instead of RLD. But many of us won’t make that mistake any more.”
The other refrain among the old and the young is to forget Muzaffarnagar and remember BJP-ruled Haryana, which saw riots last year by Jats demanding that they be included in the Other Backward Classes category, and thus be eligible for reservations in government jobs.
A Jat mahapanchayat held in Kharad village in Muzaffarnagar district on January 8 decided that the community would not vote for the BJP this time, and the khaps, or village councils, have been entrusted with the task of ensuring that the message reaches all members of the community before the elections.
A video of a BJP leader asking all other Hindu castes to isolate Jats is also doing the rounds on WhatsApp. This counters all the forwards being sent by the BJP in one stroke.
The fact that the BJP has fielded complete outsiders like Avtar Singh Bhadana, a former Congress MP from Haryana, as a candidate in Mirapur constituency in Muzaffarnagar district, has led to further anger against the saffron party. “We will teach the BJP a lesson,” mutter many young Jats quietly in village after village.
Another refrain in the villages in this area is: “Where is Satyapal Singh [the MP from Baghpat]”. Many allege that Singh, former Mumbai police commissioner, has not been visible in the constituency.
All this is an indication that though different consolidations are taking place, none of them seem to favour the BJP right now.
Dalits divided
Back in Khirwa Jalal, these consolidations throw up more surprises. Take Dalits, the majority of whom belong to the chamar sub-caste in this village. Many were once dedicated supporters of the Bahujan Samaj Party. But this time, they are a divided lot.
“Look at our corner in the village,” said Sewa Ram, as he gathered around Jats sitting on a wooden cot discussing politics. “Mayawati has not managed to do anything for us. Instead, many of us are with the BJP.”
“Or with the RLD,” piped up Lal Sigh, also a Dalit, who has moved away from the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Back at the village chief’s house, Mohammed Irshad is using his position as as proxy pradhan to pick households that will be the next beneficiaries of the Union government’s ambitious toilet-construction programme under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Under this scheme, the government has sanctioned Rs 12,000 per beneficiary to enable them to construct a toilet in their homes.
Irshad had a village voters list to guide him.
“Look at the list of people I am ensuring get toilets,” said Irshad. “They are not only Muslims but also harijans [Dalits].”
Ask him who he is supporting, and he mentions Yashvir Singh, the Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate. The defacto pradhan of Khirwa Jalal village, Mohammed Irshad. (Photo credit: Saikat Datta).
KS Dhatwalia, the Additional Director General of PIB in MHA, was once again in news on Sunday after his invitation to media persons for Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s election rally raised plenty of eyebrows.
The senior civil servant texted the media invite through mobile text, which read, “Shri Rajnath Singh will address meetings in Uttarakhand today, 05 February, at Badshahpur, Haridwar Rural at 3.30 PM at Bahadrabad. FYIP. KS Dhatwalia. ADG PIB.”
The invite left several media representatives stumped as they found it in violation of election code of conduct.
A serving bureaucrat is not expected to work to promote the election campaign of the ruling political party as the action severely undermines of integrity of fair election process thereby causing disadvantages for the rival parties.
When contacted, Dhatwalia, told Janta Ka Reporter that he had sent the media invite in his personal capacity after some journalists contacted him to inquire about Singh’s movement.
He said, “Few journalists contacted me to inquire about the programme to which I replied to in a personal group. It was not at all an official message. I am well aware of my responsibilities.”
This is not the first time Dhatwalia has been accused of throwing the service rules out of the window while allegedly serving as a political representative for the ruling party.
The function in question was the event organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch belonging to the RSS. The outfit, loosely termed as the Muslim wing of the RSS is headed by the senior Sangh functionary Indresh Kumar.
Promoting political event is not one of the core responsibilities of the PIB.
On its website, the PIB extensively dwells upon its roles and functions but nowhere does the website states promoting the events organised by either the ruling party or its ideological mentor as one of its defined duties.
The PIB’s website states, “…In any case, there is a crying need for an agency to inform and interpret the policies and actions of the Government to the people who are the ultimate masters. In the absence of a better agency, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), is the best suited to perform that task through the media. One cannot visualise a better link than the PIB between the Government and the media.”
उत्तर प्रदेश में विधानसभा चुनाव के नजदीक आते ही विवादित और भड़काऊ बयानबाजियों का दौर शुरू हो गया है। इस क्रम में भाजपा के फायर-ब्रांड नेता विनय कटियार ने एक बार फिर विवादित बयान देकर प्रदेश के सियासी गलियारे में नए विवाद को जन्म दे दिया है।
कटियार ने अयोध्या के फैजाबाद में एक चुनावी रैली को संबोधित करते हुए कहा कि जैसे बाबरी मस्जिद को गिराया गया था, ठीक वैसे ही ये सरकार राम मंदिर भी बनवाएगी। इस दौरान कटियार ने जनता से अपील करते हुए कहा कि आप भाजपा को वोट देकर सत्ता में लाइए।
मीडिया रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, कटियार ने कहा कि राम मंदिर बनाना है तो यूपी में बीजेपी की सरकार बनाना जरूरी है। तभी राज्यसभा में बीजेपी का बहुमत होगा और पूरी ताकत से राम मंदिर का निर्माण हो सकेगा। उन्होंने कहा कि राम मंदिर तीन तरीके से बन सकता है। पहला अदालत के माध्यम से, दूसरा बातचीत और तीसरा संसद में कानून बनाकर।
साथ ही बीजेपी नेता ने दावा किया कि मोदी के कार्यकाल में ही मंदिर बनेगा। आपको बता दें कि कटियार से पहले गोरखपुर से बीजेपी सांसद और फायरब्रांड नेता योगी आदित्यनाथ ने भी रायपुर में एक समारोह के दौरान कहा था कि अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण कार्य जल्द शुरू होगा।
नई दिल्ली। उत्तराखंड भाजपा में इन दिनों खलबली मची हुयी है। भाजपा के अंदरखाने की खलबली अब दिखने लगी है। उत्तराखंड में नेतृत्व के संकट से जूझ रही भाजपा इन दिनों अतंर्कलह से जूझ रही है। उत्तराखंड में विधानसभा चुनाव से ठीक 10 दिन पहले बीजेपी ने अपने 33 नेताओं को पार्टी से निकाल दिया है।
पार्टी विरोधी गतिविधियों में शामिल होने के आरोप में बीजेपी ने इन नेताओं को छह साल के लिए पार्टी से बाहर कर दिया है।बीजेपी के प्रदेश महासचिव नरेश बंसल ने इस खबर की पुष्टि की है। पार्टी के प्रदेश अध्यक्ष अजय भट्ट ने इन नेताओं को अति महत्वाकांक्षी बताते हुए कहा कि इन नेताओं के जाने से आने वाले चुनाव में कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा।
उल्लेखनीय है कि 17 नेताओं को पहले निकाला गया था। अब तक 50 नेताओं को निकाला गया है। कई सीटों पर बीजेपी के बागी उम्मीदवार चुनाव मैदान में हैं, उन्हें मनाने की कोशिशें नाकाम हो गई थीं। कांग्रेस से लाकर नेताओं को चुनाव लड़ाने से 13 सीटों पर बगावत भड़क गई थी, क्योंकि बीजेपी ने कांग्रेस नेताओं को टिकट दे दिए थे।
गौरतलब है कि पीएम मोदी की उत्तराखंड में 4 रैलियां हैं। 10 फरवरी को हरिद्वार में, 11 फरवरी को पिथौरागढ़ में, 12 फरवरी श्रीनगर, गढ़वाल और रूद्रपुर में। पीएम मोदी ही बीजेपी का सबसे बड़ा चेहरा हैं। उत्तराखंड में कोई सीएम उम्मीदवार नहीं है।
नई दिल्ली। राजस्थान के पुष्कर स्थित विश्वविख्यात ब्रह्मा मंदिर के महंत सोमपुरी के बक्सों में लाखों रुपये, चांदी के बर्तन, आभूषण के साथ कारतूस और कुछ जमीनों के कागजात निकले हैं। सोमपुरी की सड़क दुर्घटना में मौत के बाद प्रशासन द्वारा सील किए गए तीनों कमरों को अब खोला गया है।
इनमें एक से लेकर दस रुपये के लाखों रुपए के सिक्के, आठ लाख रुपये से अधिक के नोट, तीन लाख से अधिक रुपये के चांदी के बर्तन व आभूषण, बंदूक के 18 कारतूस व लाखों रुपए की जमीनों के कागजात निकले हैं। मंदिर में चर्चा है कि महंत के कक्षों से इतना सब कुछ निकला है, तो जरूर देवस्थान विभाग की मिलीभगत के साथ चढ़ावे में हेराफेरी हो रही थी। देवस्थान विभाग के अधिकारी चढ़ावे पर निगरानी करते हैं।
जानकारी के अनुसार प्रशासन ने शुक्रवार को तीसरा मुख्य कक्ष भी खोल दिया, जिसमें लाखों रुपए की रेजगारी मिली। महंत सोमपुरी के कमरों में रखे सभी लोहे के बक्से खोले दिए गए हैं। वर्तमान में ब्रह्मा मंदिर का प्रबंधन जिला कलेक्टर की अध्यक्षता वाली पांच सदस्य समिति कर रही है। इस बीच प्रबंधन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष कलेक्टर गौरव गोयल ने सभी श्रद्धालुओं से अपील की है कि वे दान पेटियों में ही चढ़ावा डालें। प्राप्त चढ़ावे का इस्तेमाल मंदिर के विकास के लिए किया जाएगा।
नकारों ने बताया कि सोमपुरी से पहले के महंत लहरपुरी के पास बंदूक थी। ये उसी समय के कारतूस हैं। अब जांच होगी कि लहरपुरी के निधन के बाद सोमपुरी ने इन कारतूसों की जानकारी थाने में क्यों नहीं दी। जमीन के कागजातों में एक प्लाट सोमपुरी ने श्रीमती सीमा रांकावत से खरीदा है।
Lucknow, Feb 5 (PTI) The Centre is committed to ending the "evil social practice" of triple talaq, Union law minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said today and asked Samajwadi Party, Congress and BSP to make their stand clear on the contentious issue.
"The government respects faith but worship and social evil cannot coexist," he said.
"I want Akhilesh Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Mayawati to clarify their stand on the issue of triple talaq. Our (BJP's) stand is very clear. The issue is not related to religion but involves respect and dignity of women," Prasad said at a press conference here.
"We are the only party which respects women. Neither do other parties offer a good place to women nor do they respect them," the BJP leader claimed.
Speaking at a press conference in Ghaziabad yesterday, he had said the Centre might take appropriate steps to ban triple talaq after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections as the tradition denies respect to women.
Prasad had said, "every pernicious practice" cannot be part of a religion and the Centre would raise the issue in the Supreme Court on three points — justice, equality and dignity of women.
Referring to the SP-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh, he said, "This is an alliance of desperation between two dynastic parties… alliance of desperation between crime, criminals and corruption."
Ridiculing the pre-poll tie-up, he claimed the "confluence of Ganga and Yamuna" will end up with one party merging with the other after the polls.
"Which party will merge with which party will be seen after the polls. This is nothing but a theatre of the absurd," the BJP leader said.
He also touched upon the salient features of BJP's manifesto and the Union Budget and explained how it would help the poor.
Yesterday, while speaking to mediapersons in Ghaziabad, Prasad had alleged that Samajwadi Party and Congress have entered an alliance as both parties "indulge in corruption, crime and loot".
"Both parties are opportunist and have tied-up with each other just to stop the landslide victory of BJP," he claimed.
Not a single big industry was established in Uttar Pradesh during the tenure of Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government, the BJP leader alleged, adding the funds sanctioned by the Centre for the development of the state has not just due to the feud within the Yadav family.
