NEW DELHI: In an apparent attack on opposition parties Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said confusion is being spread about the budget decision to fix MSP for crops at least 1.5 times the production cost and assured farmers that all major costs incurred will be included while declaring the support price. The Centre is already working with state governments to ensure that farmers get the benefit of the declared Minimum Support Price (MSP) he said. Addressing a three-day Krishi Unnati Mela 2018 here PM Modi also appealed to farmers not to burn crop residues so as to curb pollution. Besides he asked farmers to grow more oilseeds to reduce dependence on import of cooking oil as also to cut urea consumption by at least half by 2022. In the Union Budget 2018-19 the government took a decision to ensure right prices to farmers for their produce he said. It has decided that for all notified crops MSP will be at least one and a half times the cost Modi said. Many people are spreading confusion and creating an atmosphere of despair regarding the government s MSP decision he said while sharing the detail of components to be considered while determining the cost of production for fixing the support price. The cost of production will include elements such as hired labour expenses on their own or rented machinery as well as livestock cost of seeds and fertilisers expenses on irrigation revenue being given to state government interest on working capital and rent of leased land among others he said. It will also include labour put by farmers and their family he said. This is an important decision related to the income of hardworking farmers. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the government will consider A2 FL which includes paid out costs on inputs and imputed value of family labour. However a section of farmers organisations have been demanding the comprehensive cost (C2) that also includes imputed rent and interest on owned land and capital over and above A2 FL. After the Prime Minister s speech today when contacted Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said What the PM talked about was A2 FL. He shared the components of the cost. It is a comprehensive subject and not many people know about it. The PM tried to explain in detail. Stating that the government is working to strengthen agri-marketing in a big way Modi said the efforts are being made to link rural mandis to APMC wholesale markets to the global market to enhance farmers income. In the recent Budget Grameen Retail Agriculture Markets have been envisaged. 22 000 rural haats will be upgraded with the necessary infrastructure and integrated with APMC and the e-NAM platform he said. Farmers can market their produce in a better way through Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) which has been exempted from income tax on the lines of cooperative societies in the Budget he added. Modi who also launched e-marketing portal for organic products said this platform is a new chapter in agri-marketing reform. This will be a huge benefit to farmers. To reduce input costs the government has taken various steps like soil health card and neem coating of urea besides completing pending irrigation projects with an outlay of Rs 80 000 crore. Stating that the farm sector is facing challenges affecting farmers income he said the government is working with a holistic approach to deal with these challenges and is committed to double farmers income by 2022 and making their lives easier. He pitched for beekeeping solar farming organic farming bamboo cultivation and biowaste management to supplement income and also appealed farmers to stop crop burning by adopting farm machinery. For the farmers welfare Modi said that the centre has framed many model acts and urged the states to implement them. Government is making all out efforts to ensure that farmers get latest seeds required electricity do not face any problem in market access and get right prices for their produce Modi said. He inaugurated the Jaivik Kheti (organic farming) portal and laid the foundation stone of 25 KVKs (Krishi Vigyan Kendras) taking the total centres to 700 in India. He also conferred the Krishi Karman Award and Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhaya Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puruskar. More than 800 stalls have been set up by the central and state governments and various other organisations in this fair. The fair is showcasing ways to enhance farmers income through theme pavilions like micro irrigation neem-coated urea soil check/health card reducing input costs through less use of fertiliser the effectiveness of crop insurance scheme and new dimensions of income generation such as animal husbandry bee keeping and poultry farming.
NEW DELHI: Days after TDP pulled out of NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday reached out to the people of Andhra Pradesh by greeting them on the eve of Ugadi the Telegu and Kannada new year saying it marks a a new beginning. Addressing a programme to mark Ugadi in Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh) via video conferencing the PM said Ugadi means the beginning of an era. Ugadi is the festival of the beginning of human life. It is the festival of the creation of the world. Talking about the importance of the Srisailam temple he quoted Maharshi Ved Vyas to say People who visit here get rid of all kinds of bondage . There were numerous attempts to hurt our culture and traditions when India was chained to slavery. It tolerated everything and kept going ahead. What was it that kept it going? Saints like you the PM said addressing the priests of the famous temple where Ugadi celebrations are performed over five days. The PM also exhorted the saints to sensitise people about racism black money and corruption. He also outlined the government s initiatives like Ayushman Bharat the national health protection scheme- and its philosophy of Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas .
The AICC plenary session started on Saturday with the main Opposition party making clear its twin political-electoral strategy - to project the RSS-BJP combine as a divisive force out to create social divisions and sabotage Constitutional provisions position the Congeess as the only uniting force even while indicating party s willingness for strategic electoral tie-ups with like-minded parties to fight Modi-led BJP in the next general elections. While they (RSS-BJP) divide we the Congress unite the people and the nation. Only Congress hand symbol unite the people and take the nation to the path of peace harmony and development said Rahul Gandhi in his inaugural address. Gandhi also said while the youth will shape the future leadership of Congress the party also needs the wealth of experienced senior leaders. The political resolution moved at AICC spends maximum focus on attacking the RSS and Modi-led Government at the centre. The RSS-BJP is misrepresenting distorting and misusing religion to exploit the sentiments of the people and capture political power. it said. The Congress resolution also asserted distinction between RSS-BJP Hindutva and Indian ethoes and true Hinduism. The Indian tradition and the essence of Hinduism has always been encompassing....It is distinct and must not be confused with the Hindutva which is essentially a political ideology . Accusing the Modi government of creating economic and social disharmony for all social segments and voeing that the Congress will lead the fight back the resolution tactially said Congress will adopt a pragmatic approach for co-operation with all like-minded parties and evolve a common workable programme to defeat BJP in 2019 . As expected many speakers asserted Congress will come back to power and hailed Rahul Gandhi as future prime minister.
New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to specify exactly when he was going to fulfil his promise of fixing the minimum support price for crops at 1.5 times the production cost.In a tweet after PM Modi at an event said confusion was being spread about the budget decision to fix the MSP for farmers Mr Gandhi took a dig at the Prime Minister asking him to forget about the PR dazzle of government machinery in his speech at Krishi Unnati Mela 2018. Modiji can you please tell the farmers when will you increase the minimum support price to increase their profits by 50 per cent and thousands of farmers do not have to commit suicides? You have made this promise in 2014. Do you remember this promise? The Congress also accused the BJP-led NDA government of making hollow promises to farmers about doubling their income by 2022. The Congress notes with concern that having failed to deliver on their lofty promises the BJP government is duping the farmers by making empty noises of doubling farm incomes by 2022 said the political resolution adopted at the party s two-day plenary here. It also alleged that the crop insurance scheme of the government had benefited private insurance companies more than the farmers as money was taken away from the bank accounts of farmers without their consent.It also expressed deep concern over the unprecedented agrarian crisis staring the country because of flawed and deliberate anti-farmer policies of the government. The anti-farmer mindset of the BJP stands exposed as agricultural growth under the NDA II (2014-18) as well as during NDA I (1998-2004) has fallen to half of growth levels achieved during the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government headed by Monmohan Singh. CommentsThe party resolved to bring in a farmer centric paradigm shift in Indian agriculture and restore profitability taking a humanitarian and compassionate approach to enhance farmers incomes ensuring dignity to farmers good education to their children healthcare to their families and financial and social security through pensions to farmers and farm workers. It also said that the party would bring a loan waiver scheme for all small and marginal farmers in the country on the pattern of the farm loan waiver programme of the UPA government in 2009 benefiting 3.2 crore farmers.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi today launched an all-out attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that his pre-poll promises of combating corruption and ensuring inclusive development were only dramebazi and a trick to grab power. Gandhi in her address at the 84th Congress Plenary Session gave a clarion call to the partymen to be ready for any kind of sacrifice to strengthen the party and to make the county free from discrimination vendetta politics and arrogance. She called upon them to forcefully fight against the challenges posed by the present dispensation and asked them to mount a struggle to free the country from the fear of power. The slogans of sab ka saath sab ka vikas and na khaoonga na khaane doonga are only and only dramebazi (drama) and a trick to grab power she said referring to Modi s promises of inclusive development and corruption-free governance. She said that the Congress was fighting the tyrannical Modi government and the people have begun to realise that the promises made by the BJP in 2014 were hollow. Under the leadership of former PM Manmohan Singh the economy of this country flourished. Our government formed policies which lifted millions of people from poverty. And today the Modi government is weakening these policies she said. Gandhi said the present dispensation was using all means to be in power. But the Congress has and will never bow before the power of arrogance of this government which has launched vendetta against its opponents she said. The Congress parliamentary party chief said the party was exposing the frauds of the Modi government with proof. The party she said was making efforts to win back the trust of the people and would work with like-minded parties to oust the BJP. Those who want to throw the very identity of the Congress party out of the country do not know how much people love them. There is only one priority today and that is how to make Congress party stronger. Congress is not just a party but an idea several years ahead of its time Gandhi said. She also urged the partymen to extend all support to the new party chief and her son Rahul Gandhi who had taken over the reigns in such difficult times .
.story-content span .story-content p .story-content div color:#000!important;font-family: open sans Arial!important;font-size:15px!important ALSO READ Rahul Gandhi s Congress campaign taking a leaf out of Trump s US prez bid? If the Congress returns to power in 2019 can P Chidambaram be PM? Sonia dinner: 20 Opposition leaders weigh Modi threat; top 10 developments Modi s One Nation One Election : Death knell for cooperative federalism? span.p-content div id = div-gpt line-height:0;font-size:0 Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi today launched an all-out attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that his pre-poll promises of combating corruption and ensuring inclusive development were only dramebazi and a trick to grab power. Gandhi in her address at the 84th Congress Plenary Session gave a clarion call to the partymen to be ready for any kind of sacrifice to strengthen the party and to make the county free from discrimination vendetta politics and arrogance. She called upon them to forcefully fight against the challenges posed by the present dispensation and asked them to mount a struggle to free the country from the fear of power. The slogans of sab ka saath sab ka vikas and na khaoonga na khaane doonga are only and only dramebazi (drama) and a trick to grab power she said referring to Modi s promises of inclusive development and corruption-free governance. She said that the Congress was fighting the tyrannical Modi government and the people have begun to realise that the promises made by the BJP in 2014 were hollow. Under the leadership of former PM Manmohan Singh the economy of this country flourished. Our government formed policies which lifted millions of people from poverty. And today the Modi government is weakening these policies she said. Gandhi said the present dispensation was using all means to be in power. But the Congress has and will never bow before the power of arrogance of this government which has launched vendetta against its opponents she said. The Congress parliamentary party chief said the party was exposing the frauds of the Modi government with proof. 40 years back Indira s Ji s stunning victory in Chikmagalur turned around Indian politics once again our party must give a similar performance: Sonia Gandhi at #CongressPlenarySession pic.twitter.com/daIgWLcBh2 ANI (@ANI) March 17 2018 ALSO READ: Modi paying Rs 11 bn extra per Rafale jet while army begs for money: Rahul 1. Sachin Pilot says under Rahul Congress will win 2019 polls To those who challenge us I would say... as of now we have won by-polls under leadership of Rahul Gandhi soon you ll see us winning states and in 2019 Congress will win the elections: Sachin Pilot at Congress Plenary Session 2. Rahul Gandhi says only Congress can unite India This is the only symbol (Congress party symbol) that can unite the nation and take it forward: Rahul Gandhi at Congress Plenary Session in Delhi. They (BJP) uses anger we use love but one thing that I want to say is that this country belongs to everyone and whatever Congress will do will be for the benefit for all: Rahul Gandhi. The nation is tired and looking for a way out only Congress can show the way ahead: Rahul Gandhi Visuals from Congress Plenary Session underway at #Delhi s Indira Gandhi Stadium. pic.twitter.com/FjK3u987Y2 ANI (@ANI) March 17 2018 3. With your (party members & workers) blessings and cooperation we will once again win Karnataka your help is needed the way BJP and RSS workers go door-to-door the same way you also help us in Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge at Congress Plenary Session. Congress president Rahul Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Manmohan Singh and other Congress leaders at 84th Plenary session of Indian National Congress in New Delhi: BS Photo by Sanjay K Sharma 4. Topics of discussion during plenary session This plenary will decide the vision and direction and the way forward of the Congress for the next five years Randeep Singh Surjewala said adding that agriculture employment poverty alleviation national security foreign policy and economy will be discussed. What is the present condition what is the future what is Congress s vision on these issues. How the party will solve the problems of the farmers how to generate employment new steps for poverty alleviation how to improve the economic condition he said. Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi & Manmohan Singh at #Delhi s Indira Gandhi Stadium for Congress plenary session. pic.twitter.com/0QtEdWENym ANI (@ANI) March 17 2018 5. The subjects committee comprises of the members of party s steering committee Congress legislative party leaders state Congress chiefs office-bearers of the parliamentary party chiefs of frontal organisations and heads of sub-committees that have formulated the plenary resolutions. Welcome delegates and distinguished guests to the #CongressPlenary. Over the next two days I look forward to interacting with you and to sharing experiences and perspectives that will together help us build a stronger more vibrant Congress party. Jai Hind. Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 17 2018 ALSO READ: India is rising against you Rahul tells Modi 6. India is rising against you Rahul tells Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi who spoke at the Rising India Summit here saying the country was rising against him . Modiji those were some fancy power point slides. A quick word of advice: You re right about Rising India. One small issue - it s rising against you Gandhi said in a tweet. Modi Ji those were some fancy power point slides. A quick word of advice: You re right about Rising India. One small issue - it s rising against you. #News18RisingIndia Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 16 2018 7. Who will Modi target next asks Rahul Rahul Gandhi attacked the Narendra Modi government for targeting opposition leaders including RJD leader Lalu Prasad using the CBI to intimidate and harass them and asked who the next target will be. The BJP government uses the CBI to target key opposition politicians to intimidate and harass them. Now a news report reveals how the CBI was pressured to file a case against @laluprasadrjd ignoring the advice of its own legal team. Who will Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) target next? tweeted Gandhi adding hashtag #VendettaPolitics. ALSO READ: For Modi recent bypoll verdict is bad news but so it is for Rahul as well 8. Randeep Singh Surjewala backs Rahul Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that his party unequivocally condemns any act of political vendetta indulged by the Modi government. Now that the BJP has only few months left in power it should count its days and be ready to face the people s wrath he said adding that denigrating the credibility of institutions by misusing them to target political opponents is the sole agenda of the Modi government . Media reports suggest that the Directorate of Prosecution which is the CBI s legal wing and the Economic Offences Division of the CBI have different opinions on filing an FIR in a case against former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad. This chasm within the CBI has surfaced when the Modi government has left no stone unturned to file series of cases against their political opponents. CBI clearly has become a Captive Bureau of Investigation in the hands of the Modi government he added. 9. Opposition parties united to pass no-confidence motion against Modi government An overwhelming majority of opposition parties have extended tactical support to the Andhra Pradesh rivals YSR Congress and TDP who are together pushing for a no-confidence motion against the Modi government over the non-implementation of the promised special category status for the post-bifurcation Andhra Pradesh. Even Congress which has no love lost for the YSR Congress and TDP the two parties that have reduced the Grand Old Party to a corner in its once political fortress of Andhra Pradesh was more vociferous than others in extending support to the move for a no-confidence motion. 10. Although the opposition parties are fully aware of the Modi government s numerical strength in the House they feel that the government will be compelled to take action. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee who is eyeing regional parties for a federal front tweeted I welcome the TDP s decision to leave the NDA. The current situation warrants such action to save the country from disaster.
PATNA: The family of a BJP supporter who had renamed Bhadwa Chowk as Narendra Modi Chowk almost a couple of years back was attacked by at least a dozen armed miscreants at village Balha under Sadar police station in Darbhanga district on Thursday night resulting into death of his father Ramchandra Yadav (70). Three accused involved in the incident were arrested by police till Saturday evening. Sources said Tej Narayan Yadav (41) and his family members were involved in a land dispute with some of their relatives who are allegedly RJD supporters and the attack took place due to land dispute going on for last several years. Sadar https://www.edocr.com/user/d4interactivebng police station SHO Ravishankar Prasad said that Tej s wife Shushila Devi has lodged an FIR against Dilip Mahto (32) Devendra Kumar Yadav (22) and Ramsevak Yadav (45) and some other unknown persons in connection with the attack with the Sadar police station. All three named accused were arrested till wee hours of Saturday. Raids were on to nab the other suspects involved in the attack and killing of Tej s father the SHO said. He said that Tej who runs a tea stall at Bhadwa Chowk renamed by him as Narendra Modi Chowk had an heated argument with four youths near his shop at around 8pm on Thursday. Late in the night at least one dozen suspects armed with hockey sticks and iron rods attacked his house in the village. Tej and his four brothers were trying to defend themselves when the father also came out and received a fatal blow on his head the SHO said. He said Ramchandra was rushed to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where he died during treatment. The body was handed over to family after conducting a post-mortem SHO Prasad said. He said the complainant Sushila has mentioned in her FIR that that they were attacked due to land dispute. The complainant has alleged nothing on whether the attack was linked with renaming of Chowk the SHO said adding raids were on to nab other suspect.
