Modi's poll pitch in Delhi; targets Kejriwal

January 10, 2015

New Delhi, Jan 10: Kickstarting BJP's poll campaign for Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wooed voters with a host of promises as he singled outAAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for attack and asked people to punish him for "wasting" one year.

Anarchist Kejriwal

Without naming Kejriwal or his party, Modi said at a rally here that if the AAP leader wants to be an "anarchist" as he has claimed to be, he should go to jungles to join naxals as Delhi cannot have anarchy. Kejriwal had said about a year ago that he is an "anarchist".

During the 30-minute address, he suggested that Kejriwal has "mastery" in "lies" and dharnas and protests and should be given that role only and that power should be given to BJP which has "mastery" in administration.

At the rally at Ramlila Ground attended by all three new BJP Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, Modi sought a clear mandate for his party to ensure allround development and create a "new" Delhi.

Delhi, which is under President's Rule, is expected to have Assembly polls next month.

Promising to take Delhi to new heights of development, the Prime Minister said people here will be given an option of choosing their power service provider on the lines of mobile number portability and pledged to make Delhi slum-free by 2022.

He also promised to usher in a corruption-free system, saying it has been started at the top and gradually it will reach down to colonies.

In a apparent reference to Kejriwal's comment made almost a year back that he was an anarchist, Modi said "if somebody is an anarchist, he should go to the jungles and join the naxals. Do not allow Delhi's pride to be affected by anarchy. Delhi will not benefit from it."

Apparently referring to resignation by Kejriwal government on February 14 last year after being in power for 49 days, he said, "people should punish those because of whom one year of Delhi was wasted."

Committing to provide a corruption-free society, Modi said he already commenced the cleansing from the top and asked if anyone has heard any complaint about him ever since he took over as Prime Minister some seven months back.

"Trust me, I will clean up the system. I have started from the top and I will take it to the bottom. People take money from auto drivers, shopkeeper, the poor people...It will all stop," the Prime Minister said.

Reaching out to the vast slum population, he promised to replace the slums with concrete houses by 2022, saying "your dream is my dream." He said steps have already been initiated in this regard by the Urban Development Ministry.

While talking about schemes benefitting the poor, he referred to Jan Dhan and said bankers, who earlier used to be reluctant to open accounts of the people from lower economic strata, are now going house-to-house to open zero-balance accounts.

"So far 11 crore accounts have been opened as against the target of 7 crore by January 26," he said adding though people had an option of opening zero-balance accounts, Rs 8,500 crore were deposited by them. In Delhi alone, 19.50 lakh accounts were opened under the scheme," he said.

Taking a dig at the Congress over its claim of standing by the poor, he said "who was running government for the rich and who is running government for the poor has been proved by the Jan Dhan scheme."

Promising 24 hour power supply to Delhi, Modi said he will rid the city of generators which will also ensure a cleaner environment. "We will shut the voice of generators in Delhi. It will also help clean up the air by reducing poisonous gases."

He said BJP was all set to take some "revolutionary steps" in Delhi which no one can even think of and talked about portability of choosing power service providers on the line of mobile number portability.

Assuring to end water woes in Delhi, he said BJP-ruled Haryana has promised to provide more water to Delhi after Central intervention.

He also hailed people of Jammu and Kashmir for coming out in large numbers and defeat the separatist forces.

Modi termed Amit Shah as the "most successful" party president as under his leadership party has achieved unprecedented success in various states.

Without naming anybody, the Prime Minister said a "factory of lies" has come up in the city and rumours are being spread that if BJP comes to power, the retirement age of government employees will be reduced from the current 60 to 58 years.

He said those spreading lies cannot be defeated by anybody except the people and asked the voters to do so.

"The government never thought about it and never spoke about it. And still a lie is being spread. Every day a new lie is being manufactured. Spreading lies is their job and their politics. Modi can never back stab anyone...Elect a good government in Delhi. Give us a clear mandate," he told the gathering.

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News Network
December 16,2025

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, during which the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, with the Prime Minister outlining an eight-point vision covering key areas of cooperation.

Describing the meeting as “productive”, PM Modi said he shared a roadmap focused on trade and economy, fertilisers and agriculture, information technology, healthcare, infrastructure, critical and strategic minerals, civil nuclear cooperation, and people-to-people ties.

In a post on social media platform X, the Prime Minister praised King Abdullah II’s personal commitment to advancing India–Jordan relations, particularly as both countries mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

“Held productive discussions with His Majesty King Abdullah II in Amman. His personal commitment towards vibrant India-Jordan relations is noteworthy. This year, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic relations,” PM Modi said.

The meeting took place at the Al Husseiniya Palace, where the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, defence and security, counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation, fertilisers and agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and heritage.

The MEA said both leaders reaffirmed their united stand against terrorism.

PM Modi arrived in Amman earlier on Monday and was received by Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, who accorded him a formal welcome. Following the talks, King Abdullah II hosted a banquet dinner in honour of the Prime Minister, reflecting the warmth of bilateral ties.

Jordan is the first leg of PM Modi’s three-nation tour. From Amman, the Prime Minister will travel to Ethiopia at the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, marking his first official visit to the African nation. The tour will conclude with a visit to Oman.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
December 16,2025

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The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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