Mamata Banerjee Announces Rs. 28 Crore Grant For Durga Puja Organisers

Of 28,000 pujas, 3,000 are held in Kolkata, the rest in the districts. The total spend 

for 28,000 pujas in the state will be Rs. 28 crore.

 

In a very generous first, 28,000 Durga Puja committees across Bengal will get a grant of Rs. 10,000 each this festive season "for community development programmes," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday.

Of 28,000 Pujas, 3,000 are held in Kolkata, the rest in the districts. The total expenditure for 28,000 Pujas in the state will be Rs. 28 crore.

But critics are already questioning the largesse at a time when she herself claims the state is strapped for cash.

"She is trying to balance Imam bhata," said a tweet by a social media user. "Imam Bhata" is the stipend Ms Banerjee had announced for Imams and muezzins at mosques soon after coming to power in 2011. The move had drawn the charge of minority appeasement and was stopped by court.

At a meeting with representatives of Durga Puja organising committees in Kolkata on Monday, Ms Banerjee also announced plans for the second edition of the 'Bishorjon Carnival'.

"Durga Pujo immersions will be held from October 19 to 22. We will organise Durga Pujo Bishorjon Carnival at Red Road on October 23 at 4 PM. Last year, 55 clubs participated, this year, 75 clubs will participate," she said.

Last year, because Bishorjon or the date for immersion of the idols coincided with Muharram, the immersion had been stopped on one day - something for which Mamata Banerjee had been criticised, again for minority appeasement. 

But on Monday, Ms Banerjee took the issue up head on. "Do not pay heed to inciting propaganda. One communal political party wants to polarise people on religious lines," she said. 

"Some people make tall claims. Can they organise Bakr-Eid and Durga Puja at the same time? No. Last year we had to stop Bishorjon for one day because of Muharram, and because of that a lot of propaganda was carried out on social media.

"Few days ago, a fake news was spread that we are prohibiting Durga Pujo. Can you believe it? Will you believe if I told you that Eid and Christmas have been banned? These are tactics to spread communal discord. It is easy to incite riots, but not easy to douse the fire. We will not allow anyone to play with fire," she added.

1 COMMENT

Ms Banerjee has penned a song on the theme 'Jaago Durga' for the Pujas which begin on October 16 this year.

Rahul Gandhi Mishandling Alliances Will Cost Opposition Heavily

Rahul Gandhi has finally decided to hit the streets on the issue of petrol prices. Petrol prices in the last few months have sky-rocketed and are now ready to score a century. Petroleum prices always have a cascading effect on the economy but for reasons unknown, the Congress president was not enthused till today to give this issue some serious attention.

The 2019 elections are eight months away and in all likelihood, Modi will try to project it as a two-horse race between himself and Rahul as the challenger. There is an understanding in the saffron camp that this fight suits Modi and the Hindutva Brigade. It is argued within the RSS fold that Rahul isn't enough of a suitable boy to combat the charisma, energy, confidence, strategy and acumen and cunningness that Modi brings. And so Modi, despite a poor report card, will shine in comparison and people will be left with no option but to vote for him. Sceptics also believe that a burst of Rahul Gandhi on TV screens is part of the scheme to ensure that no other strong leader from the opposition camp who is capable of overshadowing Modi gets a shot at the spotlight - so Modi's champu-media is deliberately giving him air space and trying to project Rahul as the prime ministerial candidate of a joint opposition. 

There is no doubt that Rahul since the Gujarat elections has been trying to change his image and narrative including with his temple-hopping. Visiting Mansarovar is an endeavour to get rid of the tag that Congress is a Muslim party and the Nehru-Gandhi family indulges in Muslim appeasement. But as of now, his attempt looks feeble. Nor does his name inspire the confidence that he can replace Modi as a competent, decisive and powerful leader. There is anger for sure against Modi and people are looking for an alternative. But Modi can be confident of the 'TINA' factor - There Is No Alternative - working in his favour.

And for this, Rahul himself is to be blamed. Politics is about the right chemistry and arithmetic. Modi's unprecedented success lies in his unmatched talent to connect with the people. He speaks with them in a language that resonates but the same can't be said about Rahul. He is not a natural with crowds. He also does not feel comfortable in the company of senior leaders of opposition; in fact, even within his own team, he is decidedly not at ease with seniors who worked closely with his mother. But a bigger failing than his chemistry is his math. The Congress has to stitch alliances with regional parties. The index of opposition unity will play a very important role if a robust fight is planned to unseat Modi and dislodge the BJP. But as of now, strategic coherence is lacking. Different leaders are talking in different tones. The opposition seems to have failed in presenting an alternative narrative and structure to Modi.

In 1989 and 1996, the opposition moved faster. It had many stalwarts. If in 1989, Devi Lal, L K Advani, Jyoti Basu and NTR played a pivotal role, then in 1996, Harkishan Singh Surjeet andChandrababu Naidu were the moving force. Similarly, Surjeet was equally influential in 2004's post-poll alliances. Now, Rahul has to take up that role. He is the leader of the biggest party and it is his responsibility to talk to everybody, keep them in loop about every development and future planning. But that is not the case. Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee are active but don't seem to be coordinating with Rahul, whose own team looks clueless as it tweets photos from foreign countries rather than focusing on relationship-building at home.

Similarly, whether Rahul likes it or not, AAP is the dominant party in Delhi. It has occupied the space which once was unquestionably the Congress's. If AAP and Congress decide to come together in the national capital, they can win all seven Lok Sabha seats. The alliance could be equally productive in Punjab where AAP is the main opposition party. Despite the factionalism in AAP in Punjab, the Congress should ignore it at its own peril. Punjab and Delhi together have 20 seats. At a time when every seat counts, 20 seats can prove to be huge in making or breaking a government in 2019. But Rahul seems to be governed by the whims of local leaders who have ulterior motives in keeping AAP away from Congress. In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has been the biggest critic of Modi since he became Prime Minister. The Sena should have been lured into breaking away by now to join the combined opposition. But the Congress is worried that this might annoy Muslims voters. Rahul has forgotten that to defeat his father, Rajiv Gandhi, the CPM-CPI and BJP decided to take the same path. V P Singh's government was supported by both the BJP and the Left. Why can't Rahul find a way to rope in the Shiv Sena? 

Rahul should not forget that no other member of the Nehru-Gandhi family has gone through such a deep crisis. Indira had suffered during the Janta regime but if the Congress does not gain substantially on its paltry 44 Lok Sabha seats, Rahul could be well on his way to political irrelevance except within the Congress. It's time for him to show the will for battle and nerves of steel.

PM's Office Rejects RTI On Alleged Corruption In Madhya Pradesh E-Tenders ?

The Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh had in July written the letter to PM Modi

 asking him to conduct an enquiry into the e-tendering scam of Madhya Pradesh either

 by the CBI or under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has declined to share action taken on a letter written by Congress leader Ajay Singh to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging large scale corruption through e-tendering in Madhya Pradesh citing a provision of RTI Act that bars disclosure of "third party" information.

The Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh had in July written the letter to PM Modi asking him to conduct an enquiry into the e-tendering scam of Madhya Pradesh either by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Anti-corruption activist Ajay Dubey had sought details of action taken report by the PMO on the Congress party leader's letter.

"It is stated that the information sought by you attracts the provisions of Section 11 of the RTI Act," it said in reply to the RTI query filed by the activist.

The PMO said that the response will be provided after due process as envisaged in the Section 11 of the Act is completed, it said.

The Section 11 mandates that if a Central Public Information Officer of a department concerned intends to disclose the information, to invite the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information should be disclosed, and such submission of the third party shall be kept in view while taking a decision about disclosure of information.

The Congress leader had claimed that e-tendering scam is bigger than the 'Vyapam', referring to massive irregularities in state government jobs recruitment and selection in medical courses done by Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or 'Vyapam' in Hindi.

In his letter, the Congress leader has alleged that electronic bidding process was manipulated to allow select firms, contractors or individuals to get the government works several crores in lieu of "benefits".

He claimed that some senior officials of the state government including those at the level of principal secretary, secretary, chief engineer and tender opening authority are involved in the scam.

"The e-tendering scam is referred to massive irregularities in grant of state government procurement and other works through a website developed by Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) and Antares system. Massive irregularities are suspected through internal rigging of confidential data in the scam," Mr Dubey said.

He claimed senior state government officials are allegedly involved in the scam and doing cover up.

1 COMMENT

The scam, came to light in May this year, after the Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation, which hosts the online platform, officials said the BJP-ruled state government had in June recommended a probe by Economic Offences Wing into the irregularities. 

On Day 1 Of Arvind Kejriwal's Doorstep Delivery, 21,000 Calls, But...

Of the 20,000-plus people who called, only 1,200 were able to get through to the call

 centre, and of them, 369 appointments were fixed.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's "home delivery" of 40 government services did not reach every doorstep on the day of launch. Of the 20,000-plus people who called, only 1,200 were able to get through to the call centre, and of them, 369 appointments were fixed, revealed government data released at the end of the day. The team was able to collect documents for different services for 7 residents of Delhi, the government said. 

For the government, the takeaways were the need for more phone lines and operators - a matter it expects to address on Day 2. 

"There were as many as 21,000 attempted calls on the helpline number 1076 which were unable to connect due to heavy traffic," the government said, adding that the callers who got through but failed to speak to anyone will receive a callback.

Applauding the massive response to the flagship programme, the government said Chief 

Minister Arvind Kejriwal is personally monitoring the service "and looking at the data every hour", revealed a statement.

From Tuesday, the government is planning to increase the number of operators from 40 to 80 and the number of phone lines from 50 to 120. It also expects the number of calls to drop, saying it was likely that many called out of curiosity.

The curiosity factor was whipped up early this morning, with full-page advertisements by the Delhi government in all leading dailies. The ad detailed the services provided - delivery of certificate, documents, identity cards or any other services including welfare schemes and water  and sewer lines - and asked the citizens to dial 1076 and place a request. The people, it said, will be informed of the documents they need and executive will visit and help with the job at a charge of Rs. 50.

53 COMMENTS

The government has enlisted a private company, VFS Global, to facilitate the services. The firm said for now, they have five executives for each of Delhi's 11 districts. "We plan to have 25,000 such facilitators," said Debkumar Bandopadhyay of VFS.

PM Modi, Sheikh Hasina Launch 3 Key Projects In Bangladesh Via Video Link

The projects are 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh

 through the existing Bheramara (Bangladesh)-Baharampur (India) interconnection;

 Akhaura-Agartala rail link; and rehabilitation of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur section

 of Bangladesh Railways.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday leaders from neighbouring countries should have relations like neighbours who are not bound by protocol.

He made these remarks at the joint inauguration of three infrastructure projects in Bangladesh via video conferencing.

The three projects were jointly inaugurated by PM Modi, his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina and chief ministers of West Bengal and Tripura, Mamata Banerjee and Biplab Deb respectively.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Bangladesh counterpart were also present on the occasion.

The projects are 500 MW additional power supply from India to Bangladesh through the existing Bheramara (Bangladesh)-Baharampur (India) interconnection; Akhaura-Agartala rail link; and rehabilitation of the Kulaura-Shahbazpur section of Bangladesh Railways.

PM Modi recalled that he had met Sheikh Hasina several times in the recent past, including at the BIMSTEC meeting in Kathmandu, in Shanti Niketan, and during the Commonwealth Summit in London.

He said leaders of neighbouring countries should have a relationship like neighbours, talking and visiting frequently, without getting bogged down by protocol.

He said this closeness is evident in the frequent interactions between him and the Bangladesh prime minister.

Prime Minister Modi recalled Sheikh Hasina's vision of restoring connectivity between the countries the way it was before 1965.

He said he is happy that in the past a few years, there has been steady progress towards this goal.

He also said when projects are launched via video link then they don't get bogged down by timings of VIP visits.

"Today, we have increased our power connectivity, and started two projects to increase our railway connectivity," he pointed out.

He recalled that during his visit to Bangladesh in 2015, it was decided that India will supply an additional 500 MW power to Bangladesh. He said this is being done using the transmission link between West Bengal and Bangladesh, and thanked CM Banerjee for her help in completion of this work.

He said with the completion of this project, 1.16 gigawatts of power is now being supplied from India to Bangladesh. He said this quantum jump from megawatts to gigawatts is symbolic of a "golden era" in the relations between India and Bangladesh.

PM Modi said Akhaura-Agartala rail link will provide another cross-border connectivity system between the two countries.

COMMENT

Appreciating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's development goals of transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, and a developed country by 2041, PM Modi said closer relations and people-to-people ties between the two countries would take their development and prosperity to newer heights. 

Government Extends Due Date To File GST Return Using Form GSTR-1

The number of taxpayers who have filed form GSTR-3B is higher than the

 number of taxpayers who have furnished form GSTR-1, said the release.

The government on Monday extended the due date for furnishing form GSTR-1 (Goods and Services Tax Return) for the period from July 2017 to September 2018 till October 31, 2018. "It has been observed that the number of taxpayers who have filed form GSTR-3B is substantially higher than the number of taxpayers who have furnished form GSTR-1. Non-furnishing of Form GSTR-1 is liable to late fee and penalty as per the provisions of the GST law,'' the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

It also announced a one-time waiver of late fees.

"In this regard, the due date for furnishing form GSTR-1 for the period from July, 2017 to September, 2018 has been extended till 31st October, 2018 for all registered persons having aggregate turnover above Rs. 1.5 crores including the registered persons in Kerala, or whose principal place of business is in Kodagu (Karnataka) and Mahe (Puducherry)," according to the release.

However, for registered persons having aggregate turnover up to Rs. 1.5 crore in Kerala, or whose principal place of business is in Kodagu (Karnataka) and Mahe (Puducherry), the due date for furnishing Form GSTR-1 for the quarter July, 2018 to September, 2018 would continue to remain as November 15, 2018.

Further, for those taxpayers who will now be migrating to GST, the last date for furnishing the details of outward supplies of goods or services or both in form GSTR-1 and for filing the return in form GSTR-3B for the months of July, 2017 to November, 2018 has also been extended till December 31, 2018.

Form GSTR-1 is applicable to all assessees making outward supplies of goods and/or services and contains details of outward supplies. GSTR-1 needs to be filed even if there is no business activity in the tax period

Barack Obama Recalls Moment He Was Kicked Out Of Disneyland

Former US President Barack Obama recalled the incident while addressing a rally in

 California on Saturday.

Turns out, the former US President Barack Obama was once kicked out of Disneyland for smoking while aboard an amusement ride.

The 44th US President recalled this significant episode while addressing a rally in California on Saturday, reported E! Online.

Obama said that the incident happened when he visited Disneyland for the second time during his college time and started smoking while taking a 'Gondola ride' at the amusement park.