Proposal of identity cards for citizens a priority: Govt
New Delhi: The issue of national identity cards for citizens has been prioritised by the government which on Wednesday asked officials to bring proposals in this regard for approval at the earliest. This will enable the National Population Register project be brought to logical conclusion, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said. Singh gave the directions after meeting C Chandramouli, Registrar General of Citizen Registration, who gave a presentation on the project outlining its importance for national security. “The present status of the project and further course of action were also discussed. The Home Minister directed that effective steps be taken to take the project to its logical conclusion which is the creation of the National Register of Indian Citizens,” a Home Ministry statement said. It said the minister instructed that all necessary proposals including the updating of the database through linkages with the birth and death registration system and the issuance of national identity cards to citizens be brought for approval at the earliest. Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Home Secretary Anil Goswami attended the discussions. (PTI)
Akhilesh should evaluate himself: BJP
Lucknow: A day after Akhilesh Yadav sacked a junior minister and changed the portfolios of 11 ministers, BJP on Wednesday said the CM, who holds major portfolios, should also evaluate himself as he is “responsible” for problems in the department he heads. “Poor law and order, power crisis, non-payment of the dues of cane farmers and unemployment are the four major issues in the state. All these portfolios are with Akhilesh,” BJP state president Laxmi Kant Bajpai said. “Why the CM does not evaluate himself? Akhilesh is responsible for the problems related to these departments and not his ministers,” Bajpai alleged.
Two days before the budget session of UP Vidhan Sabha is scheduled to start, Akhilesh on Tuesday night sacked a junior minister and changed the portfolios of 11 ministers including nine of cabinet rank in a major reshuffle of his council of ministers. Yadav removed Minister of State for Entertainment Tax Taj Narain Pandey, an official statement said. (PTI)
MP govt approves Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir link project
Bhopal: After successfully connecting Kshipra river with Narmada, Madhya Pradesh government has approved Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link Project with an estimated cost of Rs 2,143 crore. The project was approved during a meeting of Narmada Control Board chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday, an official release said. The Board sanctioned Rs 2,143 crore for the Narmada-Malwa-Gambhir Link project which will provide irrigation facility in 158 villages covering 50,000 hectares area in Indore and Ujjain districts, it said. Indore’s Yashwant Sagar lake can also be filled up whenever needed through this project. The project will not need any re-settlement and rehabilitation, it said. Chouhan said that linking rivers of Malwa region with Narmada is the best option for supply of water in the area. He also said that he met the Prime Minister and urged him to declare Narmada-Malwa Link Project as a national project, it said. The Chief Minister said Narmada-Malwa Link Project is also important for utilising Madhya Pradesh’s share in Narmada water before 2024, it said. Through these projects, water will be available for irrigation, industries and drinking in Malwa region. (PTI)
BJP leader Yashwant Sinha gets bail
Ranchi: Senior BJP leader and former union minister Yashwant Sinha was granted bail by a Hazaribagh court in Jharkhand, an official said Wednesday. Sinha moved the bail petition Tuesday, but arguments in the case were deferred till Wednesday as top party leader L.K. Advani was scheduled to meet him Tuesday. After meeting Sinha in jail Tuesday, Advani did not rule out the possibility of a larger role for him in the state. Advani had also appealed him to seek bail and lead the agitation in the state. Sinha was arrested June 2 while he was leading a demonstration against the state’s poor power scenario and had locked up officials of the electricity board. He was presented before the court June 3 where he refused to seek bail and was sent to judicial custody. On Monday, Sinha’s judicial custody was extended till June 28. Fifity-seven Bharatiya Janata Party workers, who had also refused to seek bail, were also granted bail along with Sinha Wednesday. BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shahnawaz Hussain met Sinha in jail last week. (IANS)