New Delhi:
After coming to power for the second term following a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha Elections, several MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Union Ministers of the Modi 2.0 government have reiterated that they are committed to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Stressing that there was no question of diluting or changing the party's stand, BJP leaders – who attended Hamari Sansad Sammelan organised by News Nation on Friday – said that they understand the sentiments of the people and will work accordingly.
As many BJP workers and Hindutva supporters intensify their demand for construction of Ram Mandir, BJP’s first-time MPs revealed the roadmap after the Supreme Court’s impending verdict. Making a big statement on the issue, Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, “If mediation doesn’t work and the Supreme Court’s order doesn’t come in our favour, we will go for other constitutional measures.”
Joining the Ram Mandir chorus, Tejasvi Surya said, “We will soon build a great Ram Temple. The issue is before the Supreme Court. Both the Centre and state government are trying to clear legal hurdles through affidavit and the Attorney General.”
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, one of the key speakers at Hamari Sansad Sammelan, said that no one can stop the construction of Ram Temple. Similarly, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Ram is part of Indian culture and saying 'Jai Shri Ram' not communal.
Here are the highlights of all the sessions of Hamari Sansad Sammelan:
Session 1:
From Bihar’s Encephalitis deaths to black money issue, News Nation’s prestigious Hamari Sansad Sammelan witnessed a fiery start. The Session 1 of Hamari Sansad, moderated by News Nation’s Ajay Kumar, saw a powerful debate between BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain and RJD’s Raghuvansh Prasad Singh. Hussain was seen fiercely defending NDA ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over Encephalitis deaths. “How can Nitish Kumar’s resignation resolve the issue? He can only change things if he is in the government,” Hussain told News nation’s Ajay Kumar. On black money, Hussain said that he can’t divulge the details but huge amount of black money has returned to India.
However, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh countered the BJP leader and said that, "chowkidar ke naak ke niche se bhag gaye Nirav Modi aur Vijay Mallya." Talking about the bumper verdict, Shahnawaz Hussain said that, “for the first time, people didn’t consider Opposition even for its Opposition leader, let aside the government.” On jobs, the BJP spokesperson said that, “we changed the definition of employment. First only government jobs used to be considered ‘real’ jobs. But now, jobs in private sector are growing. We will fill all the pending vacancies soon.”
Session 2:
The newly-elected, first-time MPs gave a fresh outlook on political discourse of ‘New India’ during the second session of News Nation’s prestigious Hamari Sansad Sammelan. During the one-of-its conclave after the Lok Sabha Elections, the eminent politicians spoke about how they view various issues. Shankar Lalwani, Rajkumar Chahar, Tejaswi Surya, Rita Bahugana Joshi and Navneet Kaur Rana debated on key topics during session 2 of Hamari Sansad, which was moderated by News Nation’s Peenaz Tyagi.
As many BJP workers and Hindutva supporters intensify their demand for Ram Mandir, BJP’s first-time MPs revealed the roadmap after the Supreme Court’s impending verdict. Making a big statement on the issue, Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, “if mediation doesn’t work and the Supreme Court’s order doesn’t come in our favour, we will go for other constitutional measures.” Joining the Ram Mandir chorus, BJP’s Tejasvi Surya said, “We will soon build a great Ram Temple. The issue is before Supreme Court. Both Centre and state government are trying to clear legal hurdles through affidavit and Attorney General.”
READ | Hamari Sansad Sammelan: Session 5 – What’s Modi Sarkar 2.0’s path for ‘sabka vishwas’?
Navneet Kaur Rana came down heavily on those chanting slogans in the Lok Sabha. She said that the sloganeering is not right. However, Surya said that chanting such slogans is not wrong as Constitution gives the leaders the rights to do so. On issue of women’s reservation, Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that the Modi government will bring the women’s reservation bill as the Prime Minister has brought focus on issues related to women.
Session 3:
How long India's politics will be dominated by dynasty? Despite being a flourishing democracy for more than six decades, why Indian politics is still very much a family business? At Session 3 of News Nation's prestigious Hamari Sansad Sammelan, BJP Lok Sabha MPs Parvesh Verma and Ashok Kumar Yadav will talk about the ongoing dynasty politics in Parliament.
READ | Hamari Sansad Sammelan: Session 2 – BJP's first-time MPs reveal Ram Mandir roadmap
In the run-up of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, political dynasty had become a key issue, with all the mainstream political parties, including the BJP and the Congress accusing each other of giving casteism and dynasty politics to the country. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress' dynastic politics have always impacted the Constitution of India, leading to "institutional insult", the grand old party gave it back, saying the PM himself comes from the Sangh Parivar without whose blessings no one in the country can occupy any public position.
However, most dynasts in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana had suffered a major setback in this general elections, except for a few political scions like Akhilesh Yadav and Prajwal Revanna. While Congress president Rahul Gandhi lost his family bastion Amethi to Union Minister Smriti Irani, Manvendra Singh, son of Jaswant Singh, witnessed an embarrasing defeat against BJP's Kailash Chaudhary from Barmer-Jaisalmer.
Still, out of the total 539 winners analysed in Lok Sabha Elections 2019, over 150 belong to some powerful political families of India. How tough or easy it was for those political heirs to make it to the politics? Watch News Nation's Hamari Sansad Sammelan 2019 to know what Parvesh Verma and Ashok Kumar Yadav have to say about the same.
READ | Hamari Sansad Sammelan: Session 4 – How Modi govt will tackle farm distress?
Interestingly, both Verma and Yadav, two of the prominent speakers of our sammelan, too have a strong dynastic background. While Parvesh is the son of senior BJP politician and former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, Yadav was born to Hukmdev Narayan Yadav, once a tall leader of the BJP.
Session 4:
Jaya Prada, the yesteryear’s movie star and politician, who lost her Lok Sabha battle to Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur made stunning revelations about her struggles as a woman in Indian politics. Talking to News Nation’s Ajay Kumar during the session 4 of the Hamari Sansad Sammelan, Jaya Prada spoke about her political battles. Jaya Prada broke down as she recalled her struggles with the moment when she wanted to commit suicide. Jaya Prada revealed that her then party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav “never bothered to call even once.”
“I called Mulayam Singh Yadav at 3 am. I told him that my morphed pictured are being circulated. I even called Ram Gopal Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav. No one helped,” Jaya Prada said. She also revealed how Amar Singh came to her rescue. “I am alive because of Amar Singh. I told him I don’t want to live anymore. It was only him, who helped me out.” On the bitter battle between her and SP’s Azam Khan during the Lok Sabha Elections, Jaya Prada said that, “I want to ask the patriarchal society when will we achieve gender equality in our society.” Lauding Hamari Sansad, Jaya Prada said that, “I have come on a TV show for the first time after polls. Feeling proud to be on News Nation.”
Session 5:
Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi spoke on a wide range of topics especially on how his ministry will work with the mantra of "sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas", in a conversation with News Nation at our prestigious Hamari Sansad Sammelan 2019 today. Being asked about the Modi government's developmental agenda for the minority communities, Naqvi said, in a first, we have to stop considering them as a different part of the society. The Union Minister said the cases of mob lynching in differnt parts of the country are no doubnt shameful and condemning, but have been represented to the netizens in a more horror way.
On BJP's key slogan 'Jai Shri Ram', Naqvi said that there is nothing communal in it and that Lord Rama is a part of Indian culture. Naqvi, who took oath as a Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second term on May 30, held the same portfolio in the previous BJP government and won the hearts of minorities.
Under the Modi Cabinet 2.0's "sabka vishwas", priority will be given to "3Es" -- education, employment and empowerment -- for development of minorities. A nationwide awareness campaign is also in pipeline to reduce the school dropout rate among minorities, especially Muslim girls. Hunar Haat, which has been proved to be an effective measure to provide employment and employment opportunities to master artisans, will be organised across the country in the coming days.
Session 6:
Speaking at News Nation's prestigious Hamari Sansad Sammelan, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday vowed to work for the welfare and development of the farmers in India. Tomar said while the government is working hard to eradicate farmers' distress at the earliest, the peasants also need to understand the climate conditions of the country. Interacting with News Nation's Deepak Chaurasia, the senior BJP leader also termed agriculture as the backbone of Indian economy.
Tomar's remark at Hamari Sansad Sammelan comes at a time when the entire country is wondering on what will be the path of Modi Sarkar 2.0? From farmers' distress to economic slowdown, the second term of Modi government has to tackle issues at massive scale.
Tomar, a three-time MP who was made to the Union Cabinet for the second time, has come a long way in politics after starting as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing leader in the early 80s. It was Tomar who conducted the ceremony in the Central Hall of Parliament when Narendra Modi was unanimously elected by the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) constituent parties as their leader. In 2014, Tomar won the Lok Sabha election from Gwalior and was made a cabinet minister, heading several ministries including mines, steel, labour and employment and rural development and panchayati raj. He returned to Morena in the 2019 election, winning by a margin of over 1.13 lakh votes.
READ | Hamari Sansad Sammelan: Session 9 – Yoga tweet shows Rahul's 'neech soch', says Smriti Irani
Doubling farmers' income:
In 2016, the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development released a report on how this could be done. The Niti Aayog followed up with its own report in 2017. Yet, in real terms, farm income growth in the October to December 2018 quarter was at its lowest in 14 years. According to agriculture expert and Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand, for farmers' income to double, the government should register an annual growth of 10.41 percent till 2022/23.
The Modi 2.0 government in its first cabinet meeting had approved a pension scheme for farmers with an aim to cover 5 crore beneficiaries in the first three years, which would cost the exchequer Rs 10,774.5 crore per annum. Tomar urged the states to start enrolling farmers in the age group of 18-40 years besides taking measures to create awareness about the scheme.
Besides, farmers will have to contribute Rs 100 per month under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana that seeks to provide a minimum fixed monthly pension of Rs 3,000 on the attainment of 60 years.The central government will also contribute an equal amount to the pension fund to be managed by the LIC, which will be responsible for the pension payout, it said.
Session 7:
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar today trashed the reports of job crisis in India. Instead, he raised concerns on the data sampling techniques. Talking to News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia during Hamari Sansad Sammelan’s Session 7, Javadekar said that India will be the fourth leading economy in the world. The statement comes at a time when there are reports coming in that Modi government has set up two Cabinet committees to deal with the two crucial issues. It is perhaps for the first time that the Cabinet committees on the two issues have been set up. A formal notification by the Cabinet Secretariat was issued earlier this month. Both the panels, respectively on Investment and Growth and on Employment and Skill Development, is being headed by the Prime Minister.
It should be noted that the unemployment rate in 2017-18 was 6.1 per cent, corroborating the pre-election leaked report that had claimed joblessness at a 45-year high. On the contentious issue of delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir, Javadekar that, “Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewing situation in Jammu and Kashmir.” 'Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai', said Javadekar on abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is under President’s rule since June 2018. “If delimitation is implemented in Jammu and Kashmir, it will automatically lead to an increase in the number of seats from the Jammu region. The move may open the door for a Hindu chief minister,” said an official attached to the Jammu and Kashmir division of the Union home ministry. The state has so far had only Muslim chief ministers.
Session 8:
On session 8 of News Nation's prestigious Hamari Sansad Sammelan, BJP winners Hans Raj Hans and Ravi Kishan spoke about what exactly is Modi magic and how it worked for them in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Hans Raj Hans, the noted Sufi singer, who registered a stunning victory from the North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat, said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's affable way that inspired him. Hans Raj said it was Modi who helped him to celebrate his humble background.
Echoing the similar view, Bhojpuri star- turned- politician Ravi Kishan said that when the prime minister of the country says that he is a chaiwalah, it inspires everyone. It helps people like him to get over inferiority complex. On movie front, Ravi Kishan revealed his future plans to make biopics on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swami Vivekananda.
Another key factor, the duo spoke about is - how well star-power clicked in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. In the recently conlcuded General lections, celebrity politics took centre stage with political parties banking on film stars and cricketers, who too tried their luck in the arena of politics.
Riding on their celebrity power, several film and TV celebrities also managed to win seats to the 17th Lok Sabha. While Hans Raj won the North West Delhi constituency by over 8.4 lakh votes, Kishan bagged the Gorakhpur seat with an impressive margin of two lakh votes. However, some new star entrants like Prakash Raj and Urmila Matondkar, who contested on Congress tickets, suffered big defeats as well.
Session 9:
Union Minister Smriti Irani, one of the biggest winners of the Lok Sabha Elections, today said that Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s ‘yoga’ tweets shows his ‘neech soch’. Talking to News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia during the grand finale of the Hamari Sansad Sammelan, Irani said that the BJP convinced Amethi about true path of development. She said that people of Amethi realised that BJP works even after poll loss in the district. Gandhi tweeted a photo of Indian Army dogs and their handlers performing exercises on the occasion of International Yoga Day, saying “New India.” Soon after that, several BJP leaders, including Tejasvi Surya, hit back at Gandhi. "Ok. He still hasn't learnt his lessons. In one go, he has insulted our Army, brave Jawans, the incredible dog unit, Yoga tradition & our country. I feel really sad for all the young Congress workers (if there are any left) that they have to deal with this man as their leader," Surya tweeted.
Irani said that, “his (Rahul Gandhi’s ) tweet shows his hatred for Indian forces, Indian culture. It showed his sanskars (values). As there were defence personnel as well along with the dogs.” She quipped that, “I think he has made his mind to fight the next elections from Sri Lanka.” She added that, Gandhi is so lost in trying to prove Modi ji wrong that sometimes he loses his mental balance. On Gandhi fiddling with his phone during President’s joint session at Parliament, Irani said that, “it again showed his sanskars.” Talking about her spectacular success in Amethi, Irani said that, “Amethi ki janta jeeti, Smriti Irani nahi.”
It was 2014. It was what was known as a predictable verdict. Rahul Gandhi winning from Amethi, a pocket borough of the Congress. Cut to 2019. After ever-changing counting trends, the Uttar Pradesh town gave the most stunning victory to the BJP. Smriti Irani, yesteryear's TV star-turned-politician defeated Gandhi from Amethi by a staggering margin of over 55,000 votes.
