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With the nationwide transportation strike entering its second day on Tuesday, vehicles lined up outside petrol pumps as fuel supply was impacted in cities across the country. The three-day strike was launched by truck, bus and tanker drivers to protest against the stringent jail and fine regulations under the newly-launched Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for hit-and-run cases.

 

In Maharashtra, the state government has requested police to ensure an uninterrupted supply of petrol and diesel. Meanwhile, commuters in Madhya Pradesh encountered travel inconvenience on Tuesday due to ongoing strikes.

 

Since Monday, protestors have blockaded roads and highways across states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and MP. Concerned locals hurried to petrol pumps in various cities, fearing disruptions in fuel supply due to the agitation.

 

Under the new law, which replaced the colonial era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing the police or any official from the administration can face punishment of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

 

A video circulating on social media from Bhopal this morning captured commuters expressing frustration over the inability to find buses or taxis for travel to Indore after waiting for 1-1.5 hours.

 

Meanwhile, lengthy queues formed at petrol pumps in Himachal’s Dharamshala and Nagpur, Maharashtra, as drivers associated with the Transport Association protested against the new hit-and-run law on Tuesday

 

 

Protesters obstructed highways in several districts of Gujarat, including Kheda, Valsad, Gir Somnath, Bharuch, and Mehsana, by parking vehicles and setting up blockades on Monday. They temporarily blocked major routes like the Mehsana-Ambaji and Ahmedabad-Indore highways with burning tires, causing disruptions.

Tapan Sharma, a former president of the Ahmedabad Motor Transport Association in Gujarat, told PTI that the protests occurred spontaneously. “The association has not called for a strike. Drivers are acting independently due to concerns about the new law. They protest briefly and then move on. However, these sporadic demonstrations have caused delays in the delivery of goods,” Sharma explained.

He added that business operations had not yet been significantly affected as drivers continued their work despite protests.

In Maharashtra, the Food and Civil Supply Department urged the police to take necessary measures to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel, kerosene, and LPG cylinders.

In an interview with PTI, C L Mukati, chairman of the transport committee of All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), said, “Before introducing stringent provisions in hit-and-run accident cases akin to laws in other countries, the government should prioritize improving road and transportation systems, similar to those seen in foreign nations.”

The operation of roadway buses in Rajasthan faced disruption on Monday but resumed following police intervention. In various locations like the Mumbai-Agra National Highway and certain roads in Indore, drivers staged blockades, impacting vehicle movement and the distribution of essential commodities.

 

 

Over the past few days, senior BJP leaders — including national general secretary Sunil Bansal, CM Mohan Yadav, state president V D Sharma, and general secretaries and presidents of various morchas — have held marathon meetings to chalk out the election game plan. The party has settled on conducting mass outreach programmes to target welfare beneficiaries, strengthening booth-level workers and celebrating the Ram Mandir consecration, to drive home the message of “Modi Guarantees”.

 

The BJP will divide the state into seven clusters, each with an election office and war room. The IT Cell and party workers will “target beneficiaries of central and state schemes through its massive outreach programmes”, a BJP insider said, adding that beneficiary outreach by booth workers had helped the party secure 163 seats in the Assembly elections. “Clusters will be formed based on geographical regions such as Gwalior-Chambal, Bundelkhand, and Vindhya, ensuring localised campaign strategies,” said a BJP leader.

 

The party’s senior leaders have also been tasked with ensuring that the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, a government initiative to raise awareness about flagship central schemes, is a success.

 

“Every day, a van reaches two gram panchayats and stops for about four hours and provides information about the schemes for the welfare of the poor. BJP district presidents and district in-charges have been asked to contact the nodal officer of the Sankalp Yatra in the district and ensure that benefits reach every eligible person so that not a single eligible person is deprived. All leaders have been asked to remain visible,” said a BJP functionary.

 

In the coming days, the party also aims to take advantage of the Ram Mandir idol consecration ceremony. Party workers have been asked to decorate their village temples on January 22 and organise prayers and feasts. Booth workers have been asked to ensure that at least 11 lamps are lit outside every home to celebrate the ceremony.

 

“We will be carrying the message to the people that the BJP has fulfilled its mission, and ensure the people know that the Modi Guarantees will work for them,” said a party worker.

 

BJP workers have also been encouraged to join the NaMo app, update their profiles, become “Vikas Bharat Ambassadors”, and connect at least 10 non-party members to the app. The party has also been busy assigning responsibilities to the youth, women, OBC, minority, and IT wings to mobilise their constituencies. These organisations have been asked to increase public participation in government events and “increase activity in the seats the BJP lost in the Assembly elections”.

 

“It was these frontal organisations that ran their campaigns during the Assembly elections much before the official campaign began. They have been asked to maintain constant contact with women, the poor, farmers, and the youth. They are currently coming up with a list of programmes for the respective community and caste,” said a BJP leader.

 

State BJP secretary Rajneesh Aggarwal told The Indian Express, “Most of the focus will be on the PM Vishwakarma Yojana and other such schemes. The party workers will be a bridge between the people and the government. We will also completely reorient our Assembly election booth-level management to the Lok Sabha elections and that process is underway. We have got a booth-level analysis of how we did in every booth, we are changing our strategy to get 60% votes in every Lok Sabha seat.”

 

The BJP won 28 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and missed out on Chhindwara that former Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath won by 37,536 votes. The BJP will now focus its might to wrest this seat from the Congress. Despite the drubbing, the Opposition party won all seven Assembly seats in Chhindwara in the Assembly polls.

 

“Our leaders who lost in the Assembly elections have largely said they lost as Kamal Nath was projected as CM and Chhindwara voted for him. In the Lok Sabha polls, that is not a factor and the leaders have been asked to throw their might at securing this seat,” said a senior leader.

 

Aggarwal said, “All assembly seats are important. But this time, the Congress does not have the same advantages it enjoyed in 2019, when Kamal Nath was CM. Now people know they can be defeated, we worked on Chhindwara for two to three years. We will use our organisation and welfare schemes and ensure Nakul Nath is defeated.

 

THE ARREST of three men for the alleged sexual assault of an IIT-BHU student on campus premises was at the centre of a political firestorm on Monday as the Congress shared purported photos of the accused with the Prime Minister and BJP leaders.

 

The BJP, meanwhile, distanced itself from the men — whose social media profiles suggest they are part of the party’s IT cell in Varanasi — and said the police response to this case is in stark contrast to what would happen under previous governments.

 

Varanasi police had on Saturday arrested Kunal Pandey (28), Saksham Patel (20) and Abhishek Chauhan (22) for the incident, which took place on the night of November 1. According to police, Chauhan was booked in 2022 too on charges of physical assault, threatening and rioting in Varanasi.

 

On their Facebook profiles, Pandey and Patel state that they are associated with the BJP — the former as the party’s Varanasi (Mahanagar) IT cell coordinator and the latter as co-coordinator.

 

The two have posted several purported photographs with senior BJP leaders, mostly in the last three years. Pandey’s account has photographs purportedly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CM Brijesh Pathak, and other party leaders. Patel has photographs purportedly with the CM, Deputy CM, and Union Minister Anurag Thakur.

 

Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi, however, said the photographs were nothing more than people posing with public figures, and added that as soon as the party learned of their arrest, they were expelled. “Had this kind of incident occurred during the Samajwadi Party’s regime, action would have not been taken. Our government took action in the case,” said Tripathi.

 

At a press conference, Mahila Congress chief Netta D’Souza displayed photos of the men with BJP leaders, and said that while the party trumpets the slogan “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”, it has become “Balatkaari (rapist) Janata Party”.

 

“In your (Prime Minister’s) own parliamentary constituency, a girl student was gangraped and the accused turned out to be BJP IT cell members. It took 60 days to arrest them because these rapists were campaigning for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh elections,” she claimed.

 

The BJP state unit in Madhya Pradesh denied that the accused were part of the election campaign. “They have no connection to Madhya Pradesh. I cannot confirm if they worked for the BJP during the elections in Madhya Pradesh; as far as I know, they had nothing to do with the state unit. Criminals don’t have a religion or party affiliation. Our government is tough on crime and we don’t entertain criminals or give them posts,” said Narender Saluja, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson.

 

However, a BJP source in the state unit said the accused were part of the social media team during the polls. “They were not given any posts but were part of a local social media team. Many youngsters are hired, who are part of a series of campaigns in the elections for any state. They are not part of the BJP unit of Madhya Pradesh,” said a party source.

 

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said party workers would gherao the PM’s constituency office in Varanasi on Tuesday.

 

On Sunday, Samajwadi Party president and Leader of Opposition in the UP Assembly Akhilesh Yadav had said, “This is the new crop of BJP leaders, who have patronage from the senior leadership of the BJP.”

 

 

 

Days after the Election Commission responded to concerns raised by the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that specific concerns “remained unaddressed”, and sought a meeting with members of the EC. He called the clarification issued by the EC “generic”, adding that “no hearing or meeting was provided to the INDIA parties’ delegation despite repeated requests”.

 

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Ramesh wrote that the INDIA bloc has been unsuccessful in meeting members of the EC to put forth its suggestions on the use of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. “On December 20, 2023, we requested for an appointment with the ECI to ‘discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs’ based on a resolution passed at meeting of leaders of INDIA parties held the previous day. We have been trying to meet with the ECI to hand over a copy of this resolution and have a discussion but have not been successful so far in doing so,” Ramesh wrote.

 

On December 19, the INDIA bloc of parties had passed a resolution, noting that INDIA parties have submitted a detailed memorandum to the ECI with “several specific questions on the design and operation of the EVMs”. “Unfortunately, the ECI has been reluctant to meet an INDIA delegation on this memorandum,” the resolution stated.

 

“Our suggestion is simple: Instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done,” the resolution read.

 

“I once again make a request for an opportunity for a 3-4 member team of INDIA party leaders to meet with you and your colleagues and take a few minutes to put forward our point of view on VVPATs. Surely, this is put forward is a perfectly reasonable and legitimate,” Ramesh said.

 

This comes after a series of requests by the INDIA bloc to meet members of the EC, according to Ramesh.

 

“On August 9, 2023, a memorandum had been submitted to the ECI on EVM- related concerns of INDIA parties. This was supported with several requests – on August 9, 2023, August 10, 2023, August 16, 2023, August 18, 2023, and August 23, 2023, – for a meeting of an INDIA Parties’ delegation with the ECI. On August 23, 2023, ECI issued a clarification to our counsel on the memorandum,” he stated.

 

The EC has revised and expanded its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page to address the doubts raised — including how Indian EVMs are different from the ones banned in Germany; if VVPATs have a programmable memory; and if EVM manufacturers share software with foreign microchip-makers. As The Indian Express had reported earlier, the EC had responded to the alliance over its concerns, citing the revised FAQs on EVMs uploaded in August.

 

Ramesh, in his letter, stated, “This clarification was generic in nature and (1) directed us to refer to the standard FAQs on EVMS available on the ECI website; (ii) explained the legal backing for EVMs through Section 61A of the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1951; (iii) summarised the judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court on the issue of EVMs; (iv) provided a chart of assembly and parliamentary election results since 2004 to show that the political party winning the maximum number of seats changed several times. However, there was no meeting or hearing provided to the INDIA Parties delegation despite repeated requests.”

 

The Congress leader added that “no response was received” on a follow-up representation sent on October 2, 2023, by the INDIA bloc over specific concerns that “remained unaddressed”.

 

 

 

The brewing tension between the old guard and the new in the Trinamool Congress spilled into the open on its foundation day Monday, with the usually recalcitrant state president Subrata Bakshi weighing in and being attacked by the other side.

 

After other leaders joined the debate, in favour of either TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on one side and her nephew and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on the other, the day ended with him calling on her. TMC sources insisted that it was a courtesy call by Abhishek on the New Year to Mamata’s residence.

 

Unfurling the TMC flag at the ceremony to mark the setting up of the party on this day in 1998, Bakshi first raised the issue. Not heard during the recent war of words within the party, which has included a recommendation that there be an upper age limit for leaders, Bakshi said: “Abhishek Banerjee is our all-India general secretary… Swabhabikbhabei, ei nirbachone jodi lorai koren, ta hole Mamata Banerjee ke saamne rekhei lorai korben, loraier maidan theke pichhiye jaben na (Naturally, if he fights in the coming election, Mamata Banerjee will be in the forefront and surely he will not back off from the battle field).”

 

Senior TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay (speaking at another rally commemorating the party foundation day) seconded Bakshi, declaring that without Mamata, the TMC would not exist.

 

Kunal Ghosh, the TMC state secretary and Abhishek loyalist, who has been the most vocal against the old guard in the party, countered by accusing a “section of the senior leaders” of showing “pseudo-loyalty” to Mamata.

 

Ghosh first said the same at a foundation day programme near his neighbourhood and repeated it at a press conference at his home. “I respect our state president, but I have reservations regarding his sentence construction. It is not acceptable. Abhishek Banerjee is very much at the forefront, what he is doing is for the good of the party. He (Bakshi) is basically tarnishing the image of Abhishek Banerjee, making these off-the-cuff remarks, which are not good for the party.”

 

Ghosh also attacked Bandopadhyay, saying: “He saw the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee at the recent agitation in Delhi (against the state’s pending dues vis-a-vis the Centre). All these statements are creating division within the party. We want seniors to remain at the top, but by our side, we need a new generation.”

 

Ghosh further said, “Our senior leaders and ministers are with Mamata Banerjee, they are in different posts, but at a difficult time for the party, they are just saving themselves.”

 

Before the 2021 Assembly elections, Abhishek had suggested that those holding party posts not get a ticket. However, Mamata had not conceded this, nor has she endorsed the argument of the Abhishek camp that senior members of the party retire from politics.

 

Earlier, Ghosh had asked why the picture of Abhishek, considered virtually TMC No. 2, was not present next to Mamata’s at a party programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium on November 23.

 

Days later, on December 4, Abhishek, 36, said there should be a maximum age limit in every field, including politics. While veteran leaders were needed in every party for their experience, he said, “their productivity does fall with age”.

 

Incidentally, at one of the party events Monday, Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said: “We openly admit that a section of our party has been involved in corruption. The TMC is a family, but that does not mean that we are all corrupt. Nobody in my constituency can say that Firhad Hakim is corrupt or has taken bribes from anyone.”

 

In a reference to the school job recruitment scam, in which former education minister Partha Chatterjee is under arrest, Hakim said: “Taking money to give a job is the same thing as cutting flesh from a mother’s body.”

 

In her message on the foundation day, Mamata said: “Our main objectives have been to honour the motherland, uphold the interests of our state, and to work relentlessly for protection of the democratic rights of our people. Even today, each worker and supporter of our party is committed and pledged to these objectives.”

 

(INPUT FROM AGENCY)