'The 2014 general elections were estimated to be India’s most expensive—and the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) broke the bank on the way to its biggest ever election victory. In all, the BJP spent Rs714.28 crore ($115 million) on the 2014 general election campaign, according to the contribution report it filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Jan 12.
'In India, leaders campaign in talk mode, but they prefer to govern in silent mode. For years, former prime minister Manmohan Singh was bitterly attacked for being too silent, a trait that eventually became a metaphor for his ineffective leadership. Many called his 10-year rule "a decade of official silence." But it was going to be vastly different with the new prime minister, Narendra Modi. During his four-month-long campaign this year, Modi spoke breathlessly on almost every national and local issue. He gave stump speeches, blogged, tweeted, Facebooked.
"The Manickpur police arrested the Vasai taluka chief of the BJP on Tuesday after the Election Commission (EC) cracked its whip against the organizer of Narendra Modi's 3D rally for not taking adequate permissions to erect a pandal on government-owned land in April. Uttamkumar Bhaskar Nair, the BJP president in Vasai, was arrested under IPC Section 171(h) for making illegal payments in connection with an election, and sections 37(3) and 145 of the Bombay Police Act. He was granted bail the same afternoon by the Vasai court, said sub-inspector Vijaykumar Dhumal of the Manickpur police.
'The Right to Food Campaign is flummoxed with the resounding silence of the Finance Minister on the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, in his Budget Speech for 2014-2015 presented in the Lok Sabha on 10th July, 2014. This is in sharp contrast to the BJP’s pre-election manifesto, which clearly committed, “BJP has always held that ‘universal food security’ is integral to national security. BJP will take steps to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach the common man and that the right to food does not remain an act on paper or a political rhetoric.”
'AFTER all its grandstanding about upholding high standards of propriety and morality, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finds itself in a tight spot as far as Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihal Chand Meghwal is concerned. There has been a growing outcry for the Minister’s resignation after a Jaipur court summoned him and 17 others in a sexual assault case. The case relates to the complaint by a 20-year-old woman from Sirsa in Haryana accusing her husband and 17 others, including the Minister, of raping her over several months in 2011.
' Narendra Modi’s barbs at the UPA government in the last one year and his poll-time rhetoric have become the core of the Congress’ ammunition to take him on. The party on Monday hurled back at Prime Minister Modi some of his statements attacking the UPA in the context of price rise and Chinese incursion into Indian territory in Ladakh.
"Industrialist Aditya Birla, who came under investigation by the CBI in the coal allocation case, was the largest contributor to BJP donating Rs 7.50 crore through his General Electoral Trust in 2012-2013. The Trust had donated Rs 26.6 crore to the BJP between 2004-2005 and 2011-2012. Incidentally, Birla's name came up for investigation during the last months of the UPA regime. The Birla group did not make any contribution to Congress in the last financial year after being its top donor with a donation of Rs 36.4 crore between 2004-2005 and 2011-2012.
'A month after the Narendra Modi-led BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls on the plank of 'Acche Din Aane Wale Hain', a city-based organization has dragged the Prime Minister and the party to court over "broken promises". A PIL has been filed in the Bombay high court by the All India Anti Corruption and Citizens Welfare Core Committee and its founder, advocate M V Holmagi, alleging "criminal breach of trust" by the new government over the increase in the prices of railway tickets and other commodities.
'Attacking the Narendra Modi government over sugar price hike, Congress today said people are wondering whether the promised good days will come only in 2019, when the next Lok Sabhs polls are scheduled.
'India will raise its import duty on sugar to 40 percent from 15 percent, as the government tries to revive business at mills that owe farmers around $1.84 billion, the food minister said on Monday.
The climb in import duty will make overseas purchases nearly unviable for refiners in the world's biggest consumer of the sweetener, hitting shipments from suppliers such as Brazil, Thailand and Pakistan.
"We have reached a consensus to raise the import duty to 40 percent," Ram Vilas Paswan said after meeting senior government officials.
