Rahul as Cong chief will be 'achhe din for BJP': Smriti Irani

June 2, 2016

Smriti
New Delhi, Jun 2: HRD minister Smriti Z Irani tells Akshaya Mukul the reason she gets into scraps on social media is because she gives back whenever she is attacked personally. She also says Rahul Gandhi becoming Congress president would be achhe din for BJP, and speaks about her policy initiatives.

How have you done in two years?

There was a bit of apprehension as to what is it that I will bring to the fore as HRD minister. Much has been done since then. The school system was plagued with a lack of data. The challenge was how to apply a solution to the last mile, to the last student or to the teacher with regard to training and remedial measures to enhance learning outcomes. That is the kind of measures we have rolled out in the past two years.

But flagship programmes are facing fund problems.

For too long in our country and especially since the last NDA government, when we started SSA, there is a huge system of building infrastructure. Once you have given funds to build the infrastructure, then you need addition-al funds to either maintain them or if you have totally collapsing infrastructure, th-en you need to give money to rebuild it. Most of the interaction between the Centre and states has been on the basis of block data. That is why budgeting is also looked from a block perspective. There has to be an honest course correction. The legacy of the UPA government was legacy of announcements that we resist. This government has shown how governance can impact.

In the last one year, you and the ministry have been involved in various controve-rsies. In retrospect, do you think the Hyderabad University issue could have been handled differently?

We as a government do not intervene in daily administration of any university, let alone Hyderabad University. I was very clear that when I presented my speech in Parliament I present every paper to back every sentence that came out of my mouth. .

What about JNU?

If a college or university thinks it has a law-and-order challenge, should I say you call police at your political convenience? It is the decision of the administration, which has nothing to do with the government of India. There have been challenges in JNU before. In 2009, there was a lathicharge. How come there was no Rahul Gandhi in JNU then?

JNU issue created acrimony in and outside Parliament, a privilege motion was moved against you.

No privilege was moved.

But Sitaram Yechury did move it.

Yechury misled the press. Deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha came out and said there was no privilege motion moved against me. I think it is a sad day when you see political legends fall this low.

There are accusations that you want to change the character of institutions.

Anybody who is HRD or culture minister will get attacked whenever BJP is in power. That is the nature of the beast. It is not a political atta-ck, it is an ideological attack by those who have been steeped in the system for too long, demonizing the right wing. So, it is an expected attack. One needs to just take it with a pinch of salt and move on.

Is RSS interfering in education?

No.

Will there will consensus on National Education Policy or confrontation? Should it not be discussed by Parliament?

Consensus has been built even before the process has been completed by the committee. Every block, every district, every state was taken on board. 1.1 lakh villages gave in writing what kind of policy they want, 5000 blocks and 500 districts came forward. It is unprecedented. Even children were consulted. Every voice possible was consulted including Unesco and Unicef. As for Parliament discussion, the entire process is not over yet.

Will it get into political entanglements?

I don't think so. Everybody is very keen that quality increases, that curriculum is updated, especially in higher education. Everybody is keen that there is some responsibility and accountability that is infused with autonomy in the system.

What changes do we expect in the next three years?

Fundamentally, by 2019, you will see the change absent in Indian education system in the last 30-40 years.

There is talk of you as BJP's UP CM candidate.

You want me out of the ministry?

Why do you attack Rahul Gandhi so much?

I am asked by journalists, so I say.

He is being elevated as party president

It is achche din for us.

Why do you get into scraps with people regularly on social media?

There will be expected attack on anyone who becomes HRD minister in this government. During UPA, no ideological attack was made by inte-llectuals who were concerned about the state of education. Nobody spoke about the fact that the RTE Act of 2009 gave 25% reservation to poor chil-dren in private schools but there was no financial provision. Under this government, we facilitated entry of poor children into private schools.

This cannot be the sole reason.

I get attacked because I give it back.

Comments

SHAMSHUDDIN MOHAMMED
 - 
Thursday, 2 Jun 2016

Dear smrithi , when will we Indian Citizens Get Acche Din ? After BJP Regime

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News Network
March 17,2024

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New Delhi: The Election Commission on Sunday made public fresh data on electoral bonds, which it had submitted in sealed covers to the Supreme Court and was later asked to put it in public domain.

These details are believed to be pertaining to the period before April 12, 2019. Electoral bond details after this date was made public by the poll panel last week.

The BJP encashed electoral bonds totalling Rs 6,986.5 crore; maximum Rs 2,555 crore received in 2019-20, as per the EC data.

The Trinamool Congress received Rs 1,397 crore through electoral bonds, second largest recipient after BJP, as per the EC data.

On the other hand, the Congress redeemed a total of Rs 1,334.35 crore through electoral bonds.

DMK received Rs 656.5 crore through electoral bonds, including Rs 509 crore from lottery king Santiago Martin's Future Gaming.

BJD encashed electoral bonds worth Rs 944.5 crore, YSR Congress Rs 442.8 crore, TDP Rs 181.35 crore.

Political parties had filed data on electoral bonds in sealed cover as directed by the Supreme Court's interim order dated April 12, 2019, the poll panel said in a statement.

"Data so received from political parties was deposited in the Supreme Court without opening sealed covers. In pursuance of the Supreme Court's order dated March 15, 2024, the Registry of the Supreme Court has returned physical copies along with a digitized record of the same in a pen drive in sealed cover. The Election Commission of India has today uploaded the data received in the digitized form from the registry of the Supreme Court on electoral bonds on its website," EC said.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 27: The government has objected strongly to remarks by a US State Department spokesperson on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest last week in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

The External Affairs Ministry summoned Gloria Berbena, the US' Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, to a 40-minute meet at its office in Delhi on Wednesday afternoon. In a brief statement released shortly afterwards, the MEA warned of "unhealthy precedents and against "unwarranted aspersions".

"States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the External Affairs Ministry said.

"India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted," the statement stressed.

On Tuesday the US State Department said it is monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal's arrest, and called on New Delhi to ensure "a fair and timely legal process" for the jailed Aam Aadmi Party leader.

The US State Department's comments came, in turn, days after Germany's Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal, like any other Indian citizen facing charges, is entitled to a fair and impartial trial.

The Indian government reacted strongly to the comment, summoning the German envoy and labelling the Foreign Office spokesperson's remark "blatant interference in internal matters".

"We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary," the External Affairs Ministry said, "Biased assumptions are most unwarranted."

Asked about India's protest to Germany, the State Department spokesperson told Reuters, "We refer you to the German Foreign Ministry for comment on their discussions with the Indian government."

Earlier this month the Modi government also took exception to comments by its counterpart on the changes to the citizenship law, calling them out as "misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted".

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam that has roiled his AAP and provoked furious protests from the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Mr Kejriwal was this week sent to jail till March 28.

The Enforcement Directorate believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers. Of the latter, six per cent - over ₹ 600 crore - were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP's poll campaigns.

The ED has labelled the Chief Minister as a key conspirator in this case, but Mr Kejriwal and party colleagues arrested in this matter - ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and former Health Minister Satyendar Jain - have all denied the charges.

The AAP and the opposition have hit out at the BJP-led central government for using central agencies, like the ED, to target rivals and critics before the general election. The AAP has criticised Mr Kejriwal's arrest on grounds it was timed to interfere with his plans to campaign for the party.

The BJP has dismissed claims it uses central agencies as described by the opposition.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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New Delhi, Mar 21: Election Commission (EC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of Narendra Modi-led government to put an end to bulk WhatsApp messages labelled 'Viksit Bharat Sampark.' It has also sought a compliance report immediately from the ministry.

EC had received several complaints that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones despite the announcement of Lok Sabha elections and the model code of conduct (MCC) entering into force.

In response, the govt informed the commission that although the letters were sent out before MCC came into force, some of them could have possibly been delivered to recipients with a delay because of systemic and network limitations.

In the past few days, several WhatsApp users have received messages from 'Viksit Bharat Sampark' seeking feedback and suggestions from the public. 

The message comes with a PDF that has a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, Matru Vandana Yojana, etc, and seeking suggestions from the citizens over government initiatives and schemes.

The letter which addresses users as 'my dear family members' had sparked political controversy. Congress has called the PDF file attached with the message a ‘political propaganda’.

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