2020 Challenging For BJP
The year 2020 may be a challenging year for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The outcome of two major electoral battles, Delhi and Bihar, may set the country’s mood as well as of the party for the years to come. The BJP is going to face several other fronts also like the Rajya Sabha where the NDA is hoping to get a majority by November. Around 72 seats will fall vacant this year. The BJP has 82 members in the 245-member Upper House. It is aiming to retain these and is hoping to get extra strength to pass key legislation without having to depend upon non-NDA/friendly Opposition parties.
The BJP is also expecting to have a new president this year. Working president J.P. Nadda is expected to replace party president and Home Minister Amit Shah in an exercise that may happen along with the Delhi elections in February. The BJP is facing a tough challenge in Bihar where after the CAA issue its relations with ally JDU may be entering a rough phase.
BJP insiders say that the leadership is finding it difficult to decide on a suitable Chief Minister face to take on Arvind Kejriwal. Will it be Harshvardhan, currently Union Health Minister? Or Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari? Or someone else? It is not clear, although PM Modi, in his recent rally at Ramlila Maidan had takenHarshvardhan’s name first before starting his speech.
VP releases RS calendar
Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu released the Rajya Sabha Calendar 2020 in Parliament House on New Year’s Eve. The calendar is dedicated to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary. Naidu said that it was “our responsibility to take forward the legacy of Gandhiji for the welfare of the country and the world.”
The main theme of the calendar is “Mahatma Gandhi: The Man and His Message”. The calendar captures various themes based on Gandhi’s life and works such as Swaraj (Freedom in the real sense), Swacchta (Cleanliness and Sanitation), Satyagraha (Truth and Non-violence), Sarvodaya (Uplift of all), Samarasata (Harmony and Peace), Swadeshi (Self-Reliance), Gram Rajya (Rural Upliftment), Removal of Untouchability, Tradition and Modernity, Nayee Talim (Education for life), Seva (Spirit of Service) and Leadership and Public Service. Also present on the occasion were Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Harivansh, Leader of the House, Thaawarchand Gehlot, and Desh Deepak Verma, Secretary-General.
Passport Office creates ‘CAA-NRC Scare’ In Ambala
Two sisters, Heena and Santosh, living in Ambala (Haryana) were recently refused passport by the regional passport authority in Chandigarh on the grounds that “their appearance was not Indian”. They were shocked as they were ordered “to prove their nationality” despite the fact that they had all the required documents, including Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence etc.
The girls’ family, with roots in Nepal, has been living in India for over 50 years. Their father, Bhagat Bahadur (54), was born in India. As the girls looked Nepalese, the passport authorities wanted them to prove their nationality. The girls complained to the Deputy Commissioner, Ambala. He has now directed the passport officials “not to confuse this issue with the Citizenship Amendment Act and issue passports on the basis of normal documents required by any Indian citizen”.
The DC, Ashok Sharma told The Sunday Guardian that the passport office job is to check the required documents and issue the passport accordingly. They shouldn’t mislead people on an issue related to the Citizenship Amendment Act or the NRC issue.”
Bhagat Bahadur , a resident of Ambala City, has claimed that his father had come to Ambala from Nepal before his birth to settle there. Bhagat Bahadur has four daughters, Meera, Santosh, Heena and Komal. Meera already has an Indian passport.
Honour For Rafi’s Fans
A Netherlands-based NGO, “Peace to Total Peace” has conferred “Angels of Peace” award on “The Rafians”, another NGO, which has been celebrating singer Mohammad Rafi’s birth anniversary on 24 December for a long time. The Indian NGO has also been observing the singer’s death anniversary on 31 July for the past two years at his birthplace in Kotla Sultan Singh in Amritsar. The NGO chief Kapil Kalra could not go to Netherlands to receive the award, but he joined the award ceremony through video-conferencing. Hundreds of music lovers remembered the renowned singer on his 95th birth anniversary. The Rafians had made arrangements to webcast the programme live.