Bimal Gurung of Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha with his 150 leaders are in New Delhi marking protests for Gorkhaland, a seperate state of the Darjeeling Hills for the Gorkhas.
Prime Minister Modi during his election campaign had addressed in Darjeeling that he would “sympathetically consider” the demand for a Gorkhaland. With this assurance Gorkha Jana Mukti had supported BJP canditate Mr S.S. Ahluwalia who now is the MP form Darjeeling.
As per the assurance and coperation the Gorkhas now want a dialouge with the Central Government.

The Gorkhaland movement was long started in the mid 80s by Subash Ghising. A bloody agitation took place with many loss of lives and many homeless. Unfortunately nothing much materliased with Late Ghising compromising with a mere Gorkha Hill Council which now under Gurung’s regime is known as Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

The Darjeeling Hills which is the center spot for tourists and also renowned for Darjeeling Tea and the prestigious English Schools that was established during the British era. After from hefty revenues generated West Bengal has done the least for the development of the Darjeeling Hills. As a result unemployment, lack of proper infrastructre is eveident with the poor roads, electricity and Hospital conditions. The people of hills demand an equal right as citizens of India.
The local parties of the hills have now realized the protests within the hills will not result to any concrete results therefore Jantar Mantar in New Delhi is the appropriate venue for protests. A lot of public sympathy from the public is also expected to build pressure on the central Government.

BJP has always been in favour of smaller states and was also advocated by Pratap Rudy in the past. Now it is be seen how this favour is reciprocated by the Central Government.

MUMBAI: The unexpected BJP-Shiv Sena rapprochement has set off alarm bells within the NCP, with leaders facing serious corruption charges fearing CM Devendra Fadnavis will not hesitate to grant permission to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to start probes against them.

“Indeed, alliance between BJP and Shiv Sena is a bad development for the NCP. All proposals pertaining to open probe against NCP leaders are pending on Fadnavis’ table. We will not be surprised if the CM clears all the proposals,” a senior NCP leader said.
The ACB has sought permission for “open inquiry” against then irrigation ministers Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare for their dubious role in granting contracts for major irrigation projects in the Konkan region, against then PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal for irregularities in construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi and redevelopment of Bandra colony on the state government land, and Harshvardhan Patil for cooperative bank irregularities.
The NCP believed that in view of the sharp differences between BJP and Sena, they will never form the government together and it could maintain an upper hand in state politics by being a deciding factor as long as the BJP remained a minority government. “Then our aim was to marginalize the Shiv Sena, which had secured 63 seats against 42 won by Congress and 41 by the NCP,” the leader said.
So, the party extended unconditional support even before the BJP had staked claim to power after the elections. Subsequently, during the election of the speaker and voting on the confidence motion, NCP acted in a way that would benefit the BJP. But its strategy has failed, and the Sena is steps away from joining the government.

The NCP, however, has put up a brave front. Not only Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal, but even Sharad Pawar has said on several occasions that NCP leaders were prepared for any probe. “Don’t give us just warnings. If the government is serious, it should complete the probe as early as possible,” Ajit Pawar recently said in Pune

In the first display of opposition unity against the Modi government, leaders of 14 political parties led by Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday marched from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan against amendments to the land acquisition act and pledged to continue their “do or die” battle.
A delegation of 26 leaders including former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Deve Gowda met President Pranab Mukherjee and urged him to protect the farmers’ interests by impressing upon the Modi government “not to go ahead with the amendments in the Rajya Sabha” saying they were aimed at promoting “divisions and social disharmony”.

This is the first time opposition parties have come together in such large numbers against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government since the Lok Sabha election defeat last year.
“We have come together to oppose the Narendra Modi government’s amendments to the right of fair compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation resettlement Act 2013.

“All the progressive, secular, democratic and forward looking forces are determined to defeat the Modi government’s design to promote divisions and social disharmony.

“We have come to the President to request him to intervene to protect the interest of our farmers and to impress upon Modi government not to go ahead with the amendments in the Rajya Sabha. These are some of the reasons for which we have come here,” Gandhi told the media after the delegation met the President.
Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav, coordinator for the march, declared that it will be a fight to finish as the bill “is not only anti-farmer but also anti India”.

Earlier, over 100 Opposition MPs belonging to major political parties including JD-U, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India-Marxist, Nationalist Congress Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Indian National Lok Dal marched a distance of one km over the Raisina Hill to the Presidential Estate.
Earlier Delhi police objected to the march citing imposition of regulatory orders in the area but later relented when the leaders insisted on the march.
The land acquisition law, the brain child of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council during the United Progressive Alliance regime had stringent provisions against acquisition of farmers’ land.

But the Modi government has amended some of the provisions to ease acquisition of land for industrialisation through an ordinance. The government is facing problems in ensuring its passage in Rajya Sabha where it does not have the numbers.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress Leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Ramgopal Yadav from the Samajwadi Party, Sitaram Yechury of the CPI-M, D Raja of the CPI, Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool, Kanimozhi of the DMK were among the leaders, who met the President.

Earlier during the march, the leaders shouted anti-government slogans resolving to continue their opposition till the Modi government drops changes in the 2013 bill.

In the memorandum, the party said the amendments to the ordinance have been approved by the Lok Sabha because the BJP has a majority there.

They now await consideration of the Rajya Sabha but the amendments should have been first considered by the Standing Committee.

“That did not happen since the Modi sarkar is intent on destroying the institutions of Standing Committees and Select Committees itself,” the leaders said.

The memorandum said that the amendments do away with pre-notification social impact assessment (SIA), which is an essential safeguard to prevent diversion of acquired land, to prevent acquisition of excess land and to ensure that acquisition of multi-crop irrigated land would only be a demonstrable last resort, if at all.

The SIA to be carried out in no more than six months would also identify livelihood losers entitled to compensation and relief and rehabilitation benefits, it said.
PTI

NEW DELHI: Workers and supporters of the Congress clashed with the police in Delhi today as the party held a massive protest against the land bill. The police used water cannons to control the protesters, who stormed the barricades, insisting on marching towards Parliament.

The protest was a culmination of the march that started earlier this month from Bhatta-Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh — the flashpoint of the 2011 farmer protests.

The march reached Rajghat this morning, from where the party supporters and Youth Congress members walked for about a 4 km stretch to Parliament Street, via Jantar Mantar, where senior leaders addressed the gathering.
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On the way, they were joined by senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Ahmed Patel and Randeep Surjewala. Jairam Ramesh, who had flagged off the march at Parsaul, was also present on the occasion.

“We do not want any change to the 2013 land bill,” said Mr Azad, reiterating the party stand.

The Congress, which helped pass the insurance bill in Rajya Sabha, where the government is in minority, has refused to back the land bill.

The party said it can only support the 2013 version of the bill, which was formulated with a broad consensus of all parties, including the BJP. Else, the current version of the bill should be sent to a parliamentary committee, the party had demanded.

On March 10, the bill was passed in Lok Sabha after the government incorporated nine amendments and two clauses to rid the bill of the “anti-farmer” tag. Union minister Birendra Singh said the government was willing to factor in suggestions from opposition parties that were in the interest of farmers.

A failure to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha will lead to a lapse of the current land ordinance or executive order when the Parliament session ends. The government can re-promulgate the ordinance or convene a rare joint session of Parliament — where his coalition will have a majority on paper — to pass the bill.

The entire top Congress leadership including Sonia Gandhi on Thursday took to the streets to express solidarity with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been summoned as accused in a coal scam case, with the party President calling it “outrageous”.

Sonia Gandhi chaired a meeting of the CWC at Congress headquarters early in the morning and immediately led a march to Singh’s residence about half a km away in the heart of the capital in which several of Singh’s cabinet colleagues P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni, Veerappa Moily and K Rehman Khan were present.

The Congress leaders also attacked the government accusing it of maintaining a “studied silence” after the CBI had told the court that there was no criminality involved in the allocation of Talabira coal blocks II to Hindalco company of Aditya Birla group in Odisha in 2005 when Singh also held the portfolio of coal. Gandhi declared that they would fight the case with all legal means at their command

“I was outraged at the news that summons had been served to Manmohan Singh,” the Congress president said.
The former Prime Minister is known not only in our country but throughout the world as being a person of integrity and probity. We are here to offer our unstinted support, our solidarity. The Congress party is fully behind him. We shall fight this legally and with all our means at our command. We are sure, we are convinced that he will be vindicated,” she told reporters at Singh’s residence.

Singh, accompanied by his wife, received the leaders at the porch of his residence. The leaders greeted him warmly. The former Prime Minister had yesterday expressed confidence that he will prove his innocence in a fair trial.

“Of course, I am upset but this is part of life. I have always said I am open for legal scrutiny. I am sure the truth will prevail and I will get a chance to put forward my case with all the facts,” Singh had said.

A special court had summoned Singh along with industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-coal secretary P C Parakh and three others as accused in a case pertaining to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005 and asked them to appear before it on April 8.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sonia-gandhi-marches-to-manmohan-singh-residence-coal-scam/1/423392.html

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sonia-gandhi-marches-to-manmohan-singh-residence-coal-scam/1/423392.html

amna editorial on Wednesday said J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed should be arrested and tried for releasing separatist leader Mashrat Alam. Releasing Alam is akin to assisting terrorists, Saamna stated.

Also, the Pakistan high commissioner who keeps meeting separatist leaders and provokes them to fight against India should be “kicked out” . “But, do we have the spunk (to do this)?” Saamna asked.

In a scathing leader comment, Saamna accused the J&K chief minister of running the state government in consultation with Pakistan. “Considering the mindset which has assumed office in Jammu and Kashmir on the BJP’s support, the problem (in J&K) will exacerbate instead of being resolved amicably,” said Saamna, adding, “The J&K CM is pushing India into deeper crisis.”
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s recent move to release separatist leader Mashrat Alam sent the BJP, the PDP’s ally in J&K, into a tizzy. The Saamna editorial will please the hawks in the Sangh parivaar which is miffed with the BJP central leadership for cosying up to the PDP, political experts said

A week after senior AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were shunted out of the party’s political affairs committee, a majority of the party’s 67 Delhi MLAs now seek their expulsion from the party, reports indicate.
In a letter addressed to national convener Arvind Kejriwal, several MLAs have reportedly raised grievances in connection with ‘anti-party’ activities of the two leaders and want their removal from the party.
(Read: AAP slams Yadav, Bhushan on record, sets up their exit from top panel)
Kapil Mishra, a party MLA from Karawal Nagar, told news agency ANI that the lawmakers are signing the letter on their own accord.

Darjeeling district of West Bengal have been demanding a seperate state for the past 50 years. With the majority inhabitants The Gorkhas development has been at the brink under the State government of West Bengal.
The Gorkhas who have been safeguarding the international frontiers are looking forward to an overall development in different fields.
With many efforts from the local political parties nothing has been much achieved other than long strikes and bandhs.
For Gorkhaland GJMM to stage dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi with GTA members’ salaries – The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha today said it will stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to press for its demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland.
The party has, however, not yet announced the dates for the Delhi protest programme. GJMM leaders have been time and again saying that the party will raise the demand directly with the Centre, and not in the Darjeeling Hills in the state, especially after last year’s statehood agitation and the strikes that had paralysed the Hill economy and the education sector. The announcement of the dharna in Delhi is being seen as a routine process of the party to pressurise the central government on the Gorkhaland demand.
In December last year, the GJMM had staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar where the party’s top leaders and supporters from various corners of the country had participated.
The party today said the GJMM leader and the chief of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), Bimal Gurung, has directing the elected GTA members to contribute two months’ salary to raise funds for the planned dharna.
“We will soon fix the dates. The party chief has directed all the elected members of the GTA to contribute their two months’ salary,” said party general secretary Roshan Giri.
He added that supporters from the Hills and those living in various parts of the country will be urged to take part in the dharna.
“It will be a two-day programme at Jantar Mantar and a meeting will be held on the third day,” Mr Giri said.
He was speaking after the party convened a central committee meeting today, led by Mr Gurung at the Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan here.
The GTA has 45 elected members, and one member draws Rs 25,000 a month. A GTA executive Sabha
member draws Rs 30,000 a month, while the deputy chairman draws Rs 35,000 as salary.
The chairman’s monthly pay cheque comes to Rs 40,000, while the deputy chief and the chief of the GTA draw Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively.(sns)

With the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance doing well in Bihar, winning tomorrow’s confidence vote seems to be a mere formality for the Nitish Kumar government.

Kumar, who was sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for the fourth time on February 22, had been directed by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi to seek a trust vote on March 11.

The JD-U has issued a whip to all its 110 members in the Assembly, excluding Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, to vote for the trust motion, Parliamentary Affairs minister and JD(U) Chief Whip Shrawan Kumar told PTI today.

Kumar said as per provisions of the 10th schedule of the Constitution which is related to anti-defection laws, a whip has also been issued to outgoing CM Jitan Ram Manjhi and a handful of other dissidents siding with him.

“Manjhi has been declared an unattached member but his membership of the party has not yet been terminated, hence as per provisions of anti-defection law he has to obey the whip or invite disqualification,” Kumar, a close confidante of the CM, said.

Asked if Manjhi and other rebel JD(U) MLAs decide to “absent” themselves during voting, Kumar said even that would be considered violation of whip and action would be taken.

Nitish Kumar is all set to draw support from RJD and Congress which have stood with him throughout the political turmoil triggered by Manjhi’s rebellion.

RJD Chief Whip and Maner MLA Bhai Virendra said, “We have decided to support Nitish Kumar and JD-U during the trust vote. Our 24 MLAs are united. A whip will be issued to all of them in the evening, asking them to support the confidence motion.”

Congress Legispature Party (CLP) leader Sadanand Singh said the five MLAs belonging to his party will be with Kumar during the floor test and added, “We have already issued a whip to all our MLAs to support Kumar”.

Though the BJP having 87 MLAs said it would decide its strategy during its legislature party meeting in the evening, indications are that it would abstain from voting, aware of the inevitable outcome.

The Bihar Assembly at present has an effective strength of 233 with 10 vacancies. The magic figure is 117. With 110 JD(U) members, 24 RJD, 5 Congress, 1 CPI and some Independents among five, Nitish Kumar seems confident of sailing through.

Mumbai: Newly-appointed Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan on Monday said his party will be a formidable opposition to the BJP-led state government and take to streets on the issues of scrapping of Muslim reservation and controversial Land ordinance.

Addressing workers after assuming the charge at the party headquarters, former chief minister appealed for cooperation from them to help him steer the unit as “challenges for the Congress were difficult but not impossible to achieve.”

Interestingly, Prithviraj Chavan who had replaced Ashok Chavan as CM, and the senior leader Narayan Rane did not attend the event.

However, party general secretary Sharad Ranpise said Prithviraj Chavan was out of the country and has conveyed his wishes to the new Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief.

There was no mention about absence of Rane who had earlier objected to Chavan’s appointment, saying senior leaders like him were not consulted on the issue.

Chavan said he had asked the party legislators to take on the BJP-led government in the Legislature on the issue of scrapping of Muslim reservation in jobs.

“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says the ordinance (on Muslim reservation issued by erstwhile Congress-NCP government) has lapsed. But why did government allow it to lapse,” Chavan asked.

He said the BJP government at Centre may get the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill passed in Lok Sabha on the basis of its numerical strength but the Congress will take to the streets to oppose the proposed law.

Chavan said reviving the Congress in Maharashtra, wherein it had been decimated both in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, cannot be done by him alone.

“It will be a collective effort and a full time job for

party workers. We have to see how we failed to feel the pulse of the people (though) we worked a lot while in government but failed to create a (positive) perception in minds of people,” Chavan said.

He said it was important to highlight “facts” because what is seen is more important in present times.

“This programme is going on well but if I close my eyes for a second, cameras will capture only that and say Ashok Chavan was sleeping. What is seen is more important in present times..So we have to highlight what are the facts,” he said.

On the occasion, he appealed to Congress workers not to indulge in factionalism.

“For me, Congress party is my group. I will ensure that meritorious and result-oriented workers are encouraged,” Chavan said, adding that upholding secular values and fighting attempts to polarise society is also the main job of Congress.

PTI