Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, Maharashtra, on March 30, marking his first visit since assuming office in 2014. During his visit, Modi will lay the foundation stone for an expansion project at Madhav Netralaya Eye Institute & Research Centre, an RSS-backed institution. The meeting between Modi and Sangh leaders assumes significance as the BJP is set to get a new national president soon, who would lead the party into the next round of state elections, starting this year. Relations between the BJP and RSS have been strained since the general election, where Modi’s slogan, “Abki baar chaar sau paar” (This time, over 400 seats), was seen as overconfident. The BJP fell short of a majority. Since then, efforts have been made to mend ties. The BJP leadership held several meetings with the RSS ahead of elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi, where coordinated efforts contributed to victories. In recent days, the PM has made a point of praising the RSS, lauding its commitment to national causes and the dedication of its volunteers. According to sources, Modi’s remarks could be a signal to secure support for a BJP president of his choice.
CONGRESS CRITICISES AAP FOR PUNJAB POLICE’S ANTI-FARMER CRACKDOWN
The differences in the relations between key INDIA bloc parties, Congress and AAP, have broadened in the wake of the Punjab police’s crackdown on protesting farmers, with the Congress going all out to put the AAP-led Punjab government in the dock along with the BJP-ruled Centre over it. Many farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, were detained in Mohali while returning from a meeting with a central delegation. Punjab Police evicted farmers from Shambhu and Khanauri protest sites, which had been blocked for over a year. The Congress and the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Thursday alleged that the AAP and the BJP had joined hands against farmers after several agrarian leaders were detained. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X: “It appears that two anti-farmer parties have joined hands against the country’s food providers.”
WITH AMIT SHAH SOON HEADING TO PATNA, BIHAR POLITICS HEATS UP
The political scenario in Patna is heating up as Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Bihar at the end of this month to meet NDA leaders in the state. The meeting is likely to emphasize on preparing a strategy for the assembly elections due in October-November of this year. Shah will also meet a select band of state BJP leaders and workers. The visit of Amit Shah assumes massive significance in the wake of his recent announcement that he will camp in Bihar and will personally monitor the election campaign.
THAROOR’S PRAISE OF MODI’S RUSSIA STANCE LEAVES CONGRESS RED-FACED
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s appreciation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indeed left the Congress and Rahul Gandhi in an embarrassing spot with the BJP quick to take pot shots at the Congress and its leadership. During an interactive session titled “Waging Peace: Looking Back to Look Ahead” at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on Tuesday, Tharoor said: “I am still wiping the egg off my face because I am one person in the parliamentary debate who actually criticised the Indian position at the time back in February 2022.” Earlier, Tharoor had condemned Russia’s actions and argued that India should have denounced the aggression for violating the UN charter, the inviolability of borders and the sovereignty of Ukraine. Now Tharoor has once again praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Tharoor said India had positioned itself in a unique way, aiming for lasting peace. Meanwhile, the Congress in the state has a history of internal factionalism. Ahead of the assembly elections in Kerala next year, Tharoor perhaps aspires a greater say in the party’s affairs in the state which the state Congress leaders may be resisting. His remarks in praise of PM Modi may perhaps be a message to the party leadership to ensure that he receives his rightful due in the state unit.
RAHUL MEETS OBC PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES, PLEDGES SUPPORT
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday interacted with a delegation of a federation that represents OBC public sector employees and asserted that he would continue to fight for the prosperity and for better and rightful share of backward classes. Gandhi met a delegation of the National Confederation of OBC Employees’ Welfare Associations (NCOBC) in his office in the Parliament House. During the meeting, the delegation expressed concern over the challenges related to Other Backward Classes (OBC) representation in the Central Government and the public sector. (IPA Service)
Trump, Putin And Zelensky Engaged In A Bizarre Game Of Brinkmanship 