New Delhi, Dec 11,2020: The Ministry of Home Affairs has summoned West Bengal Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) over the security lapses of BJP president JP Nadda’s visit to the state on Thursday.
The top two officials of the state have been summoned here on December 14 over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, a senior Home Ministry official said.
Taking a strong view on the security mess up in the state, the Union Home Ministry has also sought a report from the State Government and from the State Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday.
A Home Ministry source said that the Governor has sent its report to the Centre.
On Thursday, Mr Nadda’s convoy was attacked with stones and sticks by a mob allegedly by the Trinamool supporters on its way to Diamond Harbour, the parliamentary constituency of the Chief Minister’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
As per the State BJP leaders, during that incident, the BJP national Chief was escaped narrowly but the other leaders along with him Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy were hurt.
Taking to twitter, the Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said “Bengal has descended into an era of tyranny, anarchy and darkness under the Trinamool rule. The manner in which political violence has been institutionalised and brought to the extreme within West Bengal under TMC rule is sad and worrying for all those who believe in democratic values”.
Mr Nadda was on a two-day tour to Kolkata, as part of the 120-day tour of the state of West Bengal, where the Assembly election is due next year.
New Delhi, Dec 9,2020: With the Centre-farmer talks ending in a stalemate, thousands of farmers stayed put at Delhi borders on Wednesday to press for repeal of the agri marketing laws.
A meeting called by Home Minister Amit Shah ended in failure on Tuesday night as farmer leaders rejected the government’s offer to amend new farm laws, saying they would settle for nothing less than the scrapping of the legislations.
The sixth round of talks between the government and farmer unions to end the protests on Delhi’s various borders, which was scheduled on Wednesday, has been cancelled.
This comes after many farm leaders had threatened to boycott the talks.
As the protests continued, traffic was disrupted at border points with farmers agitating on the the Singhu, TIkri and Ghazipur borders of Delhi.
Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police alerted commuters about that the Tikri, Jharoda, Dhansa Borders are closed for any traffic movement. However, Jhatikara border is open only for two wheelers and pedestrian movement.
It also said that those travelling to Haryana can take Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai, Rajokri NH 8, Bijwasan/Bajghera, Palam Vihar and Dundahera Borders.
“Singhu, Auchandi, Piao Maniyari, Mangesh borders are closed. NH-44 is closed on both sides. Take alternate routes via Lampur, Safiabad, Saboli, NH8/Bhopra /Apsara borders /Peripheral expressway, the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted.
It also said that the traffic has been diverted from Mukarba and GTK road and suggested commuters to avoid Outer Ring Road, GTK road, NH-44.
Farmer leaders have been firm on their demand for repeal of three new farm laws enacted in September.
Gangtok, Dec 9 ,2020: Sikkim has been accorded recognition as the most improved small State in Governance, and also the best-performing State in cleanliness, by the India today in their e-State of States conclave, held virtually.
Chief Minister, PS Tamang accepting the award virtually, expressed great pleasure at the recognition. He attributed the honour to the public of Sikkim and the concerned Departments, including Health, Sanitation, Rural & Urban Development and of course Municipal Corporation with Panchayats.
‘I have been deeply impressed by the Prime Minister’s nationwide campaigns. Swachch Bharat, minimum Govt and maximum Governance, a very inspiring programme is being followed here. For us in Hills Good Governance means delivering basic services like Health, Education, Agriculture, roads, water and more,’ said CM Tamang in his Award acceptance speech.
He said the State has all the transparency and has been involving people from grassroots in programmes. Efforts for equitable distribution of resources are on. Environment and cultural security are being maintained. He expressed gratitude for the recognition.
Agra, Dec 8,2020: Describing Metro rail in the Taj city as a modern value addition to the historical city of Agra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday virtually inaugurated the construction work of Agra metro in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The PM, on the occasion, said that this historical city is now matching its steps with the progress and growth of the 21st century. UP Governor Anandi Ben Patel was also marked by her virtual presence while the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (independent charge ) Hardeep Singh Puri was present in Agra. The foundation stone of the project was laid by the PM through a virtual programme in May 2019.
Thanking the Prime Minister, CM Yogi Adityanath said it will herald a new era of public transport in the Taj City. Congratulating the people of Taj City for Agra Metro Rail Project (AMRP), he said that besides benefiting the 26 lakh odd locals of the Taj city, the metro will also prove to be a better option for movement to over 60 lakh tourists who visit Agra every year.
New Delhi, Dec 6,2020: The fifth round of talks between government and farmers’ representatives here on Saturday also ended in a stalemate with both sides agreeing to meet for the sixth round on December nine.
Farmers leaders stuck to their demand of repeal of the three farm laws.
They said they would go ahead with the December eight Bharat Bandh announced earlier.
The meeting on Saturday began at 1430 Hrs and ended at 1700 Hrs.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters after the meeting that the government had assured the farmers that MSP would remain.
He said the government had told the farmers that they expected concrete suggestions from them and it would be easier for the government to come to an amicable solution.
He reiterated the central government’s commitment to farmers’ welfare and their interests and said there would be no letup in that.
The Minister appealed to the farmers to send their elderly and children who are participating in the agitation, to their homes because of severe cold and Covid pandemic.
Some farmers leaders said after the meeting that ‘on the request of all stakeholders’ it was decided that the next round of talks would be held on December nine.
They said the government wanted to bring in amendments to the three laws but the farmers want nothing less than repeal of the laws.
‘The Ministers left for ten minutes and came back saying they want some more time to consult their seniors. It was decided that they would meet again on December nine and that day they would go back with a clear yes or no.’
They said the Ministers would send a ‘concrete proposal’ on December nine. The proposal would be discussed by the farmers leaders after which a meeting would be held.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait said the government will prepare a draft and give to the farmers. This draft would be discussed by the Kisan leaders with other states also. He said discussions were also held on Minimum Support Price (MSP).
The farmers’ leaders said they had made it clear to the government that the laws would not benefit farmers but would help corporates.
Mumbai, Dec5,2020: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said that the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, used for large value transactions, will be made available round-the-clock in the next few days.
‘With this enablement, it is proposed to reduce settlement and default risk in the system by facilitating settlement of AePS, IMPS, NETC, NFS, RuPay, UPI transactions on all days of the week instead of five days earlier. This will make the payment ecosystem more efficient” he added.
Currently, RTGS is available for customers from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm on all working days of a week, except second and fourth Saturdays of every month.
RTGS is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers, while NEFT is used for fund transfers of up to Rs 2 lakh.
In December 2019, the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system was made available on a 24x7x365 basis.
Earlier, from July 2019 RBI stopped levying charges on transactions through NEFT and with an aim to promote digital transactions in the country.
In order to expand adoption of digital payment in a safe and secure manner, he said, it has been decided to enhance the limits for contactless card transactions and e-mandates for recurring transactions through cards and UPI from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 from January 1, 2021.
This will depend on mandate and discretion of customers, he said.
Contactless card transactions and e-mandates on cards (and UPI) for recurring transactions have enhanced customer convenience in general while benefitting from increased use of technology, the statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.
These are also well-suited to make payments in a safe and secure manner, especially during the current pandemic, it said, adding that the recent instructions on disablement of contactless feature on cards and empowering customers to control the limits on their cards have also brought in added safety for users.
Operational instructions will be issued separately.