Home Minister Amit Shah described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “karmayoddha” while releasing a book, Karmayoddha Granth, on the life of the PM. According to Shah, a karmayoddha is a man “with a beating heart for people, a statesman, a hard task master, an able administrator and an ideal leader who leads by example”. Shah said the PM has “transformed into a global leader without accreting anything for himself…Modi is the epitome of selfless service to the nation”.
IB MONITORING SOCIAL MEDIA INCITING MUSLIMS
Intelligence agencies have noticed that in recent days there is a heavy traffic of messages in WhatsApp groups and on other social media platforms having mainly Muslim community members across the country. These messages are asking the Muslim community “not to sign any document and not give any information to any government employee coming to do survey regarding the National Population Register (NPR) or the recently passed Citizens Amendment Act (CAA)”.
These messages say that the CAA and NPR matter have now reached the Supreme Court. “Sign the digital petition addressed to the Chief Justice of India that we are against the CAA, NPR and proposed NCR,” the messages advice concluding that “even if over five crore Muslims are able to sign this petition, the apex court will declare the CAA unconstitutional and ban the NPR”.
Many messages are being sent with the photographs of prominent Muslim politicians and religious leaders, giving the impression that this was their appeal. Similar petitions are also being sent to the United Nations. A senior Intelligence Bureau officer told The Sunday Guardian that “these are deliberate rumours. The apex court does not make an Act passed by the Parliament unconstitutional merely on people’s digital petitions. We are smelling a bigger conspiracy to create widespread unrest across India…and there seems to be support coming from across the borders.” On 18 December, the SC had agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay its operation.
FARMER BUILDS TEMPLE FOR MODI
In Tamil Nadu’s Trichy district, a farmer and BJP party worker, P. Shankar has built a temple for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 10-acre agricultural land at a cost of over Rs 120,000, as an expression of his love for the PM. Shankar says since his school days he has been an admirer of Modi when the latter was Gujarat Chief Minister. “I had become a member of the BJP 10 years ago. And when he became the PM, he was more than a God to me,” says Shankar. He says the central government policies benefited people like him.” One day, I will surely meet my God,” he says.
At 94, She Is Entrepreneur of The Year
Chandigarh’s 94-year-old Harbhajan Kaur was called by industrialist Anand Mahindra “My Entrepreneur of the Year!” Recently, Kaur opened her brand “Harbhajan’s: Bachpan Yaad Aa Jaaye” to sell homemade sweets which has become popular among Chandigarh’s organic food buffs. Besan barfi is her top selling item. Her daughter Raveena Suri, who lives with her, told The Sunday Guardian that Kaur’s venture began “with an innocuous remark when she turned 90”. Suri says that her mother had a desire to earn money on her own and that she regretted the fact that she was never self-reliant. “I decided to help my mother, a great cook, to prepare and sell homemade sweets,” says Suri.
The first few boxes of Kaur’s besan barfi sold like hot cake at the Sector 18 weekly organic market in Chandigarh, when she was 90. Today, Kaur works from home on orders and mainly prepares sweets and marmalades, pickles and chutneys. Kaur says that her signature item remains besan barfi. “Life is all about evolving.” She is proud of her granddaughter who has designed the brand for her.
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra’s Twitter post read, “When you hear the word start-up, it brings to mind images of millennial in Silicon Valley or Bengaluru trying to build billion dollar unicorns. From now on, let us also include a 94-year-old woman who does not think it is too late to do a start-up. She is my entrepreneur of the year.”
Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday tweeted, “At 94, Harbhajan Kaur ji has shown that age is just a number for those who live life to the fullest…”
Surajkund Mela Ties Up With British Council
An MoU in the field of tourism and craft for three years was signed by the Surajkund Mela Authority (Faridabad, Haryana) and British Council on Wednesday. Union Tourism Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar, who is Lok Sabha MP from Faridabad, told this newspaper that this would strengthen India’s relations with the United Kingdom. At the Surajkund fair (1-16 February), British Council will organise programmes such as training of artisans, development of business models for artisans and display of women workers. Four UK craftsmen will participate in the fair each year.