AKHIL DEBUT

MODI CABINET EXPANDED

Manohar Parrikar, tipped to get Defence portfolio, and former Shiv Sainik Suresh Prabhu were today inducted into the Union Cabinet as Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought in 21 new faces into his Council of Ministers but Shiv Sena stuck a jarring note holding back a senior leader from joining the government. The already-strained BJP-Sena ties further dipped today when Prabhu, Power minister in Vajpayee government, deserted the Sena and joined BJP this morning to take oath as a Cabinet minister.
Senior BJP leader J P Nadda and Jat leader from Haryana Birender Singh, who joined BJP ahead of recent Assembly elections also took oath as Cabinet ministers.
Bandaru Dattatreya and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who were ministers in Vajpayee government, and Mahesh Sharma, newly-elected MP from Gautam Buddh Nagar bordering Delhi, were sworn-in as Ministers of State with Independent Charge. 14 other Ministers of State were sworn-in. They are Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Ram Kripal Yadav, Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, Sanwar Lal Jat and Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya Giriraj Singh, Hansraj Ahir, Ram Shankar Katheria, Jayant Sinha, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Babul Supriyo, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Vijay Sampla (all BJP) and Y S Chowdary, a Rajya Sabha member from TDP. This is the first expansion of his ministry by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he assumed power in May. Parrikar is all set to be given Defence portfolio, which is held as additional charge by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 

On a day of dramatic developments, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray kept the door open saying BJP should come clear on whether it wants to take NCP's support in Maharashtra in two or three days.
"If BJP wants to go with NCP, then our path will be different. We are prepared to sit in the Opposition," Thackeray told the media after a meeting with party leaders late in the evening. The new BJP government in Maharashtra is to face a trial of strength on Tuesday after which the Sena would finalise its strategy vis a vis BJP.
Sena's Rajya Sabha member, Anil Desai, who was tipped to become a minister, was ordered to return to Mumbai from the airport here just hours before the swearing in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which said he was not available "for the purpose".
Against Sena's demand for two more Cabinet berths, the party was reportedly told by BJP President Amit Shah that only one post of the Minister of State was possible for Desai. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray then decided to call it off.
The party is also said to be planning to withdraw Anant Geete, Heavy Industry Minister, from the Modi government and sit in the opposition in Maharashtra Assembly. Significantly, Naqvi, BJP Vice President and a minister in the Vajpayee government, was only made a Minister of State, and Rudy became MoS with Independent Charge but eyebrows went up when Mahesh Sharma, a first time member of Lok Sabha, was made Minister of State with Independent Charge. Ahir was rewarded for his relentless campaign as a whistle-blower in the coal block allocation scam.
Among those rewarded with ministerial berths were Giriraj Singh, Lok Sabha member from Bihar who had made a controversial statement that the place for Muslims who do not like Modi is in Pakistan and Ram Kripal Yadav, a former RJD leader who defeated Lalu Prasad's daughter in Patliputra on BJP ticket. The induction of Rudy, who defeated Lalu's wife Rabri Devi in Saran, Giriraj Singh and Yadav is seen as an attempt to woo various caste groups in Bihar which will go to Assembly polls next year.

The strength of the Union Council of Ministers goes up from 45 to 66. Of this, 27 including the Prime Minister are of Cabinet rank, 13 Ministers of State with Independent Charge and 26 Ministers of State.
One-third of today's induction and overall strength of the ministry comes from heartland Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The swearing-in ceremony was attended among others by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson P J Kurien, Modi and his Cabinet colleagues, BJP President Amit Shah and L K Advani. Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states Vasundhara Raje, Raman Singh, Devendra Fadnavis and Manohar Lal Khattar and
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of TDP were also present while none from Congress attended the ceremony.
Ahead of the swearing-in, the new ministers had a breakfast meeting with Modi at his Race Course residence. An IIT graduate, 58-year-old Parrikar shares an excellent rapport with Modi and has a reputation for probity and administrative skills. Prabhu also earned his reputation as a skillful operator and reformer as Power minister in Vajpayee government but was suddenly pulled out of the ministry by Shiv Sena. Ever since has has not been seen as an active Sainik. Dattatreya's inclusion gives representation to the new Telangana state in the Union ministry while Rudy makes a comeback into the government. All the other Ministers of State are newcomers and first-time MPs except Naqvi, Rudy and Yadav, who had been a Member of Parliament either of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. 

HARYANA NEW CM KHATTAR

BJP TO WIN MAHA, HARYANA

Exit polls project BJP as largest party in Maha, Haryana New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) BJP was today projected in exit polls to emerge as the largest party in both Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections stopping short of majority.
The Congress and NCP, which were ruling Maharashtra for 15 years before they split ahead of the elections, were projected to lose heavily while Shiv Sena was predicted to emerge as the second largest party.
One exit poll conducted by 'Today's Chanakya', however, gave a clear majority for BJP in both Maharashtra and Haryana.
Maharashtra, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned extensively addressing 27 rallies, appears to be heading for a BJP government for the first time in the state's history.
According to C-voter exit poll telecast on Times Now and Zee News channels, BJP was projected to get 129 out of 288 seats. Its erstwhile ally Shiv Sena was projected to get 56 seats while Congress was predicted to bag 43, NCP 36, MNS 12 and others 12. For a majority, a party has to get 145 seats.
In the outgoing assembly, BJP had 47 seats while Shiv Sena had 45. Congress had 82 seats, NCP 62 and MNS had 12.
Exit poll conducted by AC Nielson for ABP channel gave BJP 127 seats, Shiv Sena 77, Congress 40, NCP 34 and MNS 5.
An exit poll telecast on India TV gave BJP between 124 and 134 seats, Shiv Sena 51-61, Congress 38-48, NCP 31-41 and MNS and others 9-15 each.
Today's Chanakya exit poll telecast on News24 channel gave BJP a clear majority with 151 seats while Shiv Sena was given 71. Congress was given 27 while NCP 28. MNS was projected to get 11.
The same pollster projected clear majority for BJP in Haryana, giving it 52 of the 90 seats. INLD comes second with 23 seats, Congress 10 and others 5.
In the outgoing Assembly, Congress had 40 seats, BJP had only four, INLD 31 and HJC 6. Others had 9.

SENA BJP SEEKS CHANGE

Political parties in Maharashtra formally got into poll-mode as the date for Assembly elections was announced today with ruling Congress-NCP banking on their "development" record while the Opposition pushed for "change". Congress and NCP, ruling the state for 15 years, said they have put behind the Lok Sabha election debacle and were confident of defying the anti-incumbency factor to pull off a fourth straight win at the hustings. Buoyed by the success in Parliamentary polls, the Shiv Sena-BJP-led combine is making a determined bid to capture power after being in Opposition since 1999. Congress and NCP, whose seat-sharing talks are deadlocked over the number of seats each of them would be fighting in the 288-member Assembly, have already started their election campaign separately. State Congress president Manikrao Thakre and NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said the seat-sharing formula is likely to be announced in 2-3 days. "We are focusing on the development works done by the state government in the last 15 years. We will also tell people how the tall promises made by Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha campaign have remained a pipe dream," they said. "Congress is positive about continuing its alliance with NCP," Thakre maintained, while Malik said a decision on the poll pact would be arrived at by Monday. Malik said NCP will formally kick-start its election campaign from Kolhapur on September 16. Congress will once again bank on its star campaigners like party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi. It will also invite other Central leaders. Thakre said a campaign strategy is being finalised and the party is likely to invite leaders like Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mallikarjun Kharge for poll rallies. Malik said NCP president Sharad Pawar would share stage with Sonia Gandhi at rallies, while the party's youth brigade would address joint rallies with Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, state BJP president Devendra Fadanvis said the state is ready for "parivartan" (change). "The Sena-BJP-led 'Mahayuti' (grand alliance) is confident of wresting power from the Congress-NCP and we would achieve this goal with help of the people of Maharashtra." Fadanvis expressed confidence that seat-sharing talks for the October 15 elections with 'Mahayuti' allies will be completed in 2-3 days. Neelam Gorhe, Shiv Sena spokesperson, said time has come to bring a change in the state which has seen "poor governance" in the last one-and-a-half decade.

MAHARASTRA & HARYANA GO TO POLLS

Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra and Haryana in a single phase on October 15 that may well be the first for the 'Modi wave' after the Lok Sabha polls.
Counting of votes in the two states will take place on October 19, the Election Commission announced today.
Giving details of the poll chedule, Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said apart from the elections in the two states, bye-elections will also be held on the same day in five assembly seats in five states--Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Bye-elections to two Lok Sabha constituencies of Beed in Maharashtra and Kandhamal in Odisha will also be held on October 15 and counting of votes in all the seats will also take place on October 19.
Haryana is now ruled by Congress while Congress-NCP coalition runs the Maharashtra government.
The BJP and its allies in the NDA did very well in both the states in the May Lok Sabha elections. In Maharashtra, the NDA won 42 of the 48 seats while in Haryana the BJP won 7 of the 10 seats.
However, in the Assembly bye-elections in Bihar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, the BJP suffered a jolt, especially in Bihar, where the JD(U)-RJD alliance got the better of the saffron party.
Tomorrow, another round of by elections is being held in three Lok Sabha and 33 Assembly seats in 10 states.
The Beed Lok Sabha seat fell vacant following the death of senior BJP leader Union minister Gopinath Munde in a road accident here in June and the Kandhamal seat following the demise of BJP MP Hemendra Chandra Singh a few days ago.
The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately in Maharashtra and Haryana and in all the districts where bypolls are being held, Sampath said.
Notification for polls will be issued on September 20 and last date for filing nomination is September 27 for all seats except Kandhamal for which the notification will be on September 19 and last date of nomination is September 26.
Asked about elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which is witnessing worst-ever floods, Sampath said the Commission was watching the situation very closely and "a decision will be taken after things come to some shape".
The term of 90-member Haryana assembly expires on October 27 while that of Maharashtra, which has 288 seats, ends on November 8.
"We still have time for Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
The term of the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly ends on January 3 next year, while that of the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly expires on January 19.

VIJAYAWADA...CAPITAL OF AP

Putting an end to months of suspense, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today announced that the new capital of the state would be located "around Vijayawada". Making a statement in the Legislative Assembly amid a din caused by opposition YSR Congress, Naidu said, "The Cabinet met on September 1 and resolved to locate the capital city in a central place of the state, around Vijayawada, and go for decentralised development of the state with three mega cities and 14 smart cities. "It is proposed to go for land pooling system to be worked out by a Cabinet sub-committee," he said. "This decision of the Cabinet is a reflection of the popular sentiment, and is affirmed by views expressed in the representations received by the Sivaramakrishnan Committee (appointed by the Centre)," he said. "Nearly 50 per cent of the representations received by the Committee favoured Vijayawada-Guntur region as the best location for the capital area," Chandrababu said. The state government, as resolved by the Cabinet, was of the opinion that the interests of the entire state and its balanced development could be best served by locating the capital city at a central place around Vijayawada. This would enable equal access to people from all regions of the state, he observed.

TO REGAIN GLORY

With Vijayawada being announced as the capital city of residuary Andhra Pradesh today by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, this historical and cultural hub is all set to regain its glory and pre-eminent position. Vijayawada in Krishna district of coastal Andhra Pradesh has traditionally occupied a prominent place in the history of Telugus. Krishna district gets its name from Krishna, the third largest river that flows in India. The holy river originates near Mahabaleswar (Maharashtra) and joins the Bay of Bengal near Hamsaladevi Village in the district. Krishna is considered the kernel of Telugu culture and is the birth place of the famous Indian classical dance form - Kuchipudi. The dialect of Telugu spoken in Krishna is often considered to be the standard form of Telugu. A commercial hub, the Vijayawada region, is also known for the contribution of its freedom fighters, entrepreneurial spirit and strides in the cultural field. Dharanikota in present day Guntur district, neighbouring Vijayawada, was the first capital of Simukha, the founder of Satavahana dynasty in 3rd century BC, according to official records of Andhra Pradesh government. The present Nagarjunakonda in Guntur district, which was known as Sriparvata and Vijayapuri, was the capital of Ikshvaku kings. After the Ikshvakus, a part of the Andhra region north of the river Krishna was ruled over by Jayavarma of Brihatphalayana 'gotra'. Salankayanas ruled over a part the East Coast with Vengi (near Eluru around 60 kms from Vijayawada) as their capital. After the Salankayanas, next to rule were Vishnukundins who occupied the territory between the Krishna and Godavari. The Vishnukundins extended patronage to architecture and sculpture.

The cave temples at Mogalrajapuram and Undavalli near Vijayawada bear testimony to their artistic taste. The ruins of the fort at Kondapalli in Krishna district hail back to Reddy Kingdom. Subsequently, the area came under the Vijayanagara Empire. The temple in Srikakulam village in Krishna district was built by the Vijayanagara Kings. The area then passed on to the Qutub Shahis and later to the Nizams. The office of the two important ministers during the Qutub Shahi rule – Madanna and Akkana –was in Vijayawada due to their reverence towards Goddess Kanaka Durga, the famous temple in Vijayawada. The rulers from Golconda were the first to patronise European traders to establish themselves in Masulipatnam (now Machilipatnam, the administrative capital of Krishna district). The Portuguese may have been the earliest, followed by the Dutch and the English. In 1611, the English founded their settlement at Masulipatnam, which was their headquarters until they finally moved to Madras (Chennai) in 1641. In 1761, in return for supporting Nizam Ali Khan in his succession to Golconda, the English secured their first division at Masulipatnam from the Nizams. Initially, the division was administered by a Chief and a Council at Masulipatnam. In 1794, Collectors, directly responsible to the Board of Revenue were appointed at Masulipatnam, making Krishna Collectorate, one among the oldest collectorates in the country.

KCR NAIDU DISCUSSED THE ISSUES BETWEEN STATES

Putting aside their differences, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao today met in presence of Governor ESL Narasimhan to sort out differences between the two states on various issues.
Both the chief ministers told reporters after the meeting here that the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and with "give and take" approach.
During the meet, issues related to employees distribution and entrusting responsibilities to the chief secretaries of both the states, were discussed.
Earlier, Governor Narasimhan had brought Naidu and Rao together on the occasion 'At Home' hosted at the Raj Bhavan on Independence Day.
The Governor also had a closed door meeting with the two leaders and their senior officials, an attempt seen as a move by the governor to break the ice between the two chief ministers.
Speaking to reporters, Rao said the discussion was held on three key issues -- on legislature accommodation (sharing of legislature buildings), distribution of employees and sharing of state-level educational institutions.
"Issue of legislators' accommodation has been resolved. On distribution of employees, Kamalanathan committee has been set up. The committee is looking into distribution of 67,000 employees belonging to the state cadre, of which 22,000 vacancies are there. And only 45,000 employees are to be divided. We have told chief secretaries to sit and discuss the issue...they will sort out that problem," Chandrasekhar Rao said.
The Telangana Chief Minister termed the talks as "fruitful" and said they sought to move ahead with the same spirit of cooperation, because the two states are mutually dependent.

Telangana being a land locked state may need to get its imports from Machilipatnam port in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrasekhar Rao said.
On issue of educational institutes, he said, "Institutions will finally go to the state where they are presently located."
On the request of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has agreed to conclude Budget session of its Assembly, beginning tomorrow, by September 7 to avoid clash with the Budget session of Telangana assembly, Rao said.
Meanwhile, Naidu described the talks between the two governments as a positive development.
"Bitterness has cropped up between the two sides. These discussions would reduce that. It is good for people. Give and take is needed. We need to move ahead in a spirit of cooperation. This meeting would help towards sorting out those issues," he said.
To a query, Rao said the next meeting between the two chief ministers would take place as per requirement and in a spirit of cordiality.
Naidu and Rao have been bitter political rivals for long, though Rao was a TDP leader and serious differences have cropped up between the two states over issues like sharing of power, water, admissions to engineering and other professional courses.

CONGRESS FACE REVOLT IN ASSAM AND MAHARASTRA

Revolt erupted in Congress' backyard in Maharashtra and Assam when two senior ministers today quit the party governments opposing their chief ministers.
Sulking senior Congress minister in Maharashtra Narayan Rane today met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, gave his resignation and later slammed his for "slackness" in decision-making. He does not want to be a "partner in defeat" in the assembly elections due later this year, he said.
Similarly, another senior Congress minister in the Assam government Himanta Biswas Sarma met the state Governor and submitted his resignation. He claimed he met the Governor along with 38 MLAs and expressed non confidence in the Chief Minister. Assam goes to polls in less than two years.
Coming two months after Congress debacle in the Lok Sabha elections in both the states have raised questions on the strategy the Congress high command and Rahul Gandhi propose to adopt to stem dissidence.
Congress leaders in Delhi, however, ruled out suggestions that it was a revolt by state leaders against the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
Both the ministers had resigned once earlier recently but were persuaded to withdraw it. Sarma said this time he would not withdraw the resignation and made it clear that he would not contest elections under Gogoi's leadership.

SPEND TIME IN LIBRARY

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said legislators should develop a habit of visiting Assembly and Parliament libraries and also pressed that they should maintain decorum of the House. "It is very essential for the members of the House to visit Assembly library and read records of old debates on any issue which they wanted to raise on the floor of the House," Mahajan said, addressing the concluding programme of the two-day lecture here organised by the Madhya Pradesh Assembly. She said visiting library will help leaders attain knowledge of proper language (words) to be used and also raise issues effectively. An eight-time MP from Indore, Mahajan said an MLA is a bridge between his voters, Assembly and the government and has to solve the problems of the people. "Those who (MLAs) address people's problems ccessfully by coordinating with local officials, civic bodies and other institutions, become popular among voters," she said. The Speaker on the occasion also advised legislators to behave in a decent manner in the House, take part in Question Hour and attend committee meetings actively. "By merely raising any issue in a noisy manner won't serve the purpose. One has to be sincere in approach and I must tell you that sincerity always pays," Mahajan said. The Lok Sabha Speaker also praised Madhya Pradesh Assembly for its glorious historic past, specially for passing laws like Public Service Guarantee Act. In a reference to Mahajan's address, it could be noted that former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma had advised legislators to travel across the country and devote maximum time in reading. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker, Dr Sitasharan Sharma and Leader of Opposition, Satyadev Katare also spoke on the occasion. Katare also advised the legislators not to waste time of the House by stalling its proceedings.

LESSONS FROM EMERGENCY TAUGHT MORE

Terming the Emergency as the worst post-independence chapter of Indian democracy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it gave him the best political education of his life as it taught him that some compromises are "just not possible". The senior BJP leader, who was President of Delhi University Students Union when the Emergency was imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 and was detained for 19 months, also said that it displayed the weakness of the Indian constitutional order where press could be silenced and judiciary "made pliable". "For many like me who underwent Emergency experience in Delhi and successfully fought against it, this became a turning point in our lives. The Emergency was perhaps the best political education of my life. It taught me that some compromises were just not possible," he said, in an article on the 39th anniversary of the 1975-77 Emergency which falls tomorrow. Jaitley, who is also the Defence Minister, said June 26 marks the 39th anniversary of the Emergency whose oppressive phase lasted 19 months (excluding two months of election) and said "this monstrosity" is perhaps the "worst" post Independence chapter of the Indian democracy. Recalling some of his personal memories on the Emergency, he said he received a midnight knock at his residence past 2 AM when he escaped from the backdoor to a friend's house in the neighbourhood. Jaitley said with no newspapers and the entire opposition political leadership including Jai Prakash Narain, Morarji Desai, Choudhury Charan Singh, Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani arrested, he along with his co-ABVP workers organised a protest at Delhi University campus next morning. "This was the only protest against the Emergency which took place that day in the whole country...I requested my colleagues to quietly disappear since I had been surrounded by the police. I courted arrest. I was also taken to the Timarpur Police Station where I was handed over a detention order under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA)," he said.

Jaitley said he was taken to Tihar jail and lodged there for eight days before being transferred to Ambala Jail in Haryana where he was kept for about three months. "I had been detained for 19 months in prison under preventive detention. Needless to say I was deprived of my right to continue my education in Delhi," he said. Jaitley said Indira Gandhi began to rethink on Emergency after pressure of international opinion but "miscalculated" and decided to hold elections in which people vent out their anger against Emergency and Congress was trounced with both Gandhi and her son Sanjay defeated from Rae Bareli and Amethi. Critical of the Judiciary at the time, he said, "The Supreme Court in perhaps the worst amongst post independence judgments, in the habeas corpus case, ruled that even though political detainees have been illegally detained, they have no right to approach the court and seek the relief." Jaitley said High Courts in the country "showed some courage" in giving relief to the detainees, but the "extremely pliable Supreme Court overturned each and every favourable order of the High Court." He said the Representation of People Act was amended retrospectively to "legitimise and validate the invalid election" of Indira Gandhi. "The Constitution was amended to make the election of Prime Minister as non-justiciable. The proclamation of emergency was made non-justiciable," he said, adding that opposition party governments in states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu were dismissed and President's rule imposed.

PURSE IS EMPTY

After the drubbing in the recent general elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today proposed no new taxes in the budget for this year, but made no allocation for his pet schemes such as free laptops for students and allowances for the unemployed. Yadav, who holds the finance portfolio, presented a Rs 4,132 crore deficit budget for 2014-15 in the UP assembly. At Rs 2,74,705 crore, the budget is 24 per cent higher than the level of Rs 2,21,201 crore in the previous financial year. While no new taxes were proposed in the budget, no allocation was made for the ambitious free laptop scheme for students, kanya vidyadhan and unemployment allowance that were promised by the ruling Samajwadi Party in its manifesto during the assembly elections in 2012. The UP government has given a thrust to infrastructural facilities such as roads, bridges, irrigation and power, making a provision of Rs 49,108 crore, about 82 per cent higher than last time. The chief minister stated in his budget speech that in the first phase, the government had started programmes such as unemployment allowance, laptop distribution and kanya vidyadhan for the youth. He said in the second phase, the government would focus on providing basic facilities in rural areas and slums. Allocations have also been made to promote investment and increase employment opportunities. There is, however, a provision of Rs 2,424 crore for the government's ambitious Samajwadi Pension scheme that targets 40 lakh families and Rs 7,625 crore for agriculture and associated services, 15 per cent more than last time. While Rs 41,538 crore has been provided for education, the government increased the allocation for medical health and family welfare by 34 per cent to Rs 14,377 crore. Besides, a provision of Rs 25,522 crore has been made under the head of SC/ST, backward, handicapped and minorities welfare and Rs 50 crore for a rural road scheme named after the ruling party's late leader Ram Saran Das. The BJP boycotted the proceedings, saying a notice given earlier in the day was not considered.

CONGRATULATIONS CHANDRABABU

ANDHRA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER CHANDRABABU NAIDU OFFERING PRAYERS BEFORE ENTERING HIS NEWLY ESTABLISHED CAMP OFFICE

NO "DELAY" IN MODI's DICTIONARY

"Consider that the word 'delay' has been deleted." This was the message articulated today by Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Minister and Environment, as he sought to assure all concerned that the Narendra Modi government would ensure speedy implementation of tasks. Javadekar, while addressing a meeting of CEOs of Media and Entertainment industry, said that if earlier a file was kept pending for four months, in the new dispensation it will not be held back even for four weeks. After the meeting, he tweeted, "There is no word 'Delay'in our Government. 'Delay' is deleted".
The tweet by Javadekar, who is also holds the charge of the Environment and Forest ministry, assumes significance in the context of the industries complaining about delay in the grant of green clearances for infrastructure projects. At the meeting Javadekar told captains of the Media and Entertainment industry that the government would not be detrimental to the development but would be a partner in development and progress. He said that "a stable policy regime with transparency and time-bound mechanism is a priority of the government." Earlier, I&B secretary Bimal Julka said the ministry is making attempts to establish single window clearances for permissions. He said the security clearances for channels at times took 18 months to over two years and efforts are being made to make the process simpler. In another tweet after his interaction at the event, Javadekar also said that his government would attempt to make Doordarshan the most popular channel for viewers. "We will make Doordarshan be the first choice of the viewers in this competitive environment," he said.

AP ASSEMBLY SESSION FROM JUNE 19

The first session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, after the creation of Telangana, will be held for five days beginning June 19.
It will have five working days from June 19 to 24, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu told reporters here today.
On the first day, the newly-elected members will be administered oath, while on the second day elections will be held for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
On June 21 -- Governor ESL Narasimhan will address the joint session. On June 23 and 24 there will be debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Governor's address.
Senior TDP leader and former Minister Pathivada Narayana Swamy Naidu is likely to be the Protem Speaker of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana came into existence as the 29th state of India on June 2 capping the decades-old struggle in the region for carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.
The session will be held in the old Assembly building here.

SHAME SHAMEIS THIS THE TREATMENT FOR A FORMER CM?

IS THIS THE TREATMENT FOR A FORMER CM?

NCP DEMAND MORE SEATS IN MAHA ASSEMBLY ELECTION

With the Lok Sabha polls leaving Congress in a bad shape, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP wants its alliance partner to cede more seats to it to contest in the state Assembly polls due in four months. This was the refrain from party leaders at a meeting addressed by Pawar here this afternoon. The NCP chief reviewed the party's preparedness for the upcoming polls as the Congress-NCP alliance readies to retain power for the fourth consecutive term. "We want more seats to contest in the Assembly polls based on our showing in the recent Lok Sabha polls," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik told PTI after the meeting. "A meeting of the two parties should be convened soon to discuss seat sharing. We feel we should get seat share based on our strength," Malik said. NCP won four Lok Sabha seats whereas Congress got just two in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls. During the last Assembly polls in 2009, the NCP had contested in 114 seats and Congress in 174 in the 288-member House. NCP also wants Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to take quick decisions on issues like reservations for Marathas (in government jobs and educational institutions) and LBT. "We feel the (Chavan) government should take fast decisions as we have to face elections based on our performance," Malik said, adding that the Congress should also take into account NCP's increased strength in the local bodies' polls in the state.

200 CRORE TREE PLANTATIONS ALONG NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

The government plans to plant 200 crore trees along the entire 1 lakh km National Highways network across the country to employ jobless youth.
"The length of National Highways in the country is one lakh kilometre. I have asked officials to come out with a plan to plant 200 crore trees along these stretches which in turn would create jobs for the unemployed on the one hand and protect the environment on the other," Road Transport, Highways, Shipping and Rural Development Minister Nitin Jairam Gadkari said here today.
A similar scheme could be implemented under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act) along the village and district roads and state highways. That has the potential to employ 30 lakh youth, he said while inaugurating a conference on "Regeneration of Rivers".
Gadkari said Gram Panchayats will be taken into confidence and the unemployed youth could be assigned 50 trees each which could fetch livelihood for them from the produce.
He also stressed upon the need for water conservation stating that if even 15 per cent of rainwater could be tapped out of the 60 per cent that goes to the sea, the water- scarcity could be avoided and people can be supplied with potable water besides irrigation of agriculture land.
The government will lay stress on building check-dams instead of mega projects, he said, adding that the biggest impediment in way of water schemes is lack of electricity and steps were on to improve the power situation by fixing accountability and regular auditing.
He said measures were also on to save Rs 6 lakh crore on imports of petrol, diesel and gas by way of promoting bio-fuels.
He added that his departments in coordination with others are preparing roadmaps for cleanliness of Ganga and Yamuna rivers and developing waterways in the country for environment -friendly and quick movement of cargo and passenger traffic.
Gadkari also said that the project monitoring committee was looking into realignment of National Highways in calamity torn Kedarnath region, which faced flash floods last year that killed and displaced thousands of people.

LS, RS ADJOURNED SINE DIE

Both Houses of the Parliament were today adjourned sine die by the respective presiding officers after adopting the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
While the first session of the 16th Lok Sabha was convened on June 4, the Rajya Sabha was convened on June 9 with the joint address by the President in Central Hall of Parliament.
The Lok Sabha adjourned sine die after an eight-day session and a debate on the Motion of Thanks of President's address. The Rajya Sabha was adjourned after a three-day session.
The Lok Sabha also saw all the newly-elected members taking oath and the election of new Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
A conciliatory Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reached out to the opposition urging it to join him in "collective decision-making" for development of the country and all sections of people, including Muslims.
Replying to the debate in his maiden address to the two Houses of Parliament, Modi, fresh from a massive mandate, promised not to work on the basis of numbers but "on the basis of collective decision-making".