Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-time Member of Parliament, was sworn in as pro-tem Speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha today. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Cuttack. However, the Opposition slammed the Centre for Mr Mahtab’s appointment as the pro-tem Speaker and “overlooking” Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term Lok Sabha member, who apparently should have got the post as per the convention of naming the senior-most MP. They also alleged that Suresh was sidelined because “he belongs to the Dalit community”. 

Who is Bhartruhari Mahtab?

1. Born in 1957, Mr Mahtab is the son of Odisha’s first chief minister, the late Harekrushna Mahtab. After completing his schooling in Bhadrak, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts and later a Master’s Degree in English from Utkal University in 1978, according to his election affidavit.

2. After being a part of the former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) for a few decades, Mr Mahtab severed ties with the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He expressed displeasure over the party’s functioning in recent years. Subsequently, he joined the BJP, which later announced him as its candidate for the Cuttack seat. In 2024 polls, Mr Mahtab secured a historic seventh consecutive term from the seat, defeating his former party colleague Santrupt Misra by 57,077 votes.

3.  Mr Mahtab is a seven-term MP from the Cuttack parliamentary constituency in Odisha, making him one of the longest-serving parliamentarians in the 18th Lok Sabha. The 66-year-old has been representing the Cuttack seat in the Lower House of Parliament since 1998. He was on the panel of chairpersons in the 17th Lok Sabha.

4. The choice of Mr Mahtab to serve as the pro-tem Speaker comes after the BJP’s resounding victory in Odisha, where the party managed to dislodge Mr Patnaik’s 24-year regime. While the saffron party bagged 78 seats and formed a government in the state. The BJP also registered a win on 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

5. During his last term, he served as the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development. He was also appointed as the deputy chairperson of the Committee on Official Language, besides being a member of the Public Accounts Committee.  Mr Mahtab also serves as the owner and editor of The Prajatantra, an Odia daily that was founded by his father.

The announcement in the Interim Budget 2024 of providing rooftop solar power generation to one crore households has come as a response to multiple guarantees of free power by different political parties in different States, including in Delhi and Punjab by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress in others.
| Photo Credit: AP

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech on Thursday followed the norm of not announcing any new tax proposals as the country gets ready for the Lok Sabha election in a couple of months, but her political messaging was very clear — she asserted that the Modi government would return in July to present a full Budget, on the strength of its record, and that it did not need announcements of last minute sops to go into the polls. “Confidence over continuity,” as Prime Minister Narendra Modi put it in his post-Budget remarks.

Also Read | Budget 2024 live updates

“In the full Budget in July, Mr. Speaker, our government will present a detailed roadmap for the pursuit of ‘Vikasit Bharat’,” she said to table thumping by her parliamentary colleagues. Later Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav tweeted this portion of Ms. Sitharaman’s speech with the caption “In July 2024….” to reiterate the point. Almost two thirds of Ms. Sitharaman’s speech was based on achievements of the government in its 10-year tenure.

One of the most politically interesting announcements was on the programme to provide rooftop solar power generation to one crore households, as part of the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana. It has come as a response to multiple guarantees of free power by different political parties in different States, including in Delhi and Punjab by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress in others.

Also Read | Interim Budget 2024: Highlights

Mr. Modi has spoken out against the “rewri” or freebie culture and therefore, this announcement, of making provisions for free power, not by declaring it as free, but under a subsidy model for the initial installation of solar panels etc, and some outlay by the beneficiary themselves is a political-economy response to what is now a political and fiscal challenge in many States in India. “Imagine you have given free power without driving the State exchequer and power distribution companies bankrupt,” said a source in the government.

There was also an acknowledgement that subsidised housing under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana had continuing demand as more and more families have come under its ambit, and therefore an announcement that two crore more houses will be made was done.

Also Read: Puffed-up and poll-ready: Nirmala Sitharaman’s first Interim Budget

An interesting announcement with political ramifications was of setting up a committee to look at the whole issue of population and changes in demography. “Since it was announced by the Finance Minister, you can be sure that this committee will be looking at the question of population not just as a demographic issue but also economic, which will inform policies after that. Till now, the question of growing population or certain population trends was only a demographic question,” said a source in the government.

The Budget also saw the announcement that a White Paper to look at where the economy was in 2014, and where we it is now. “It is now appropriate to look at where we were then till 2014 and where we are now, only for the purpose of drawing lessons from the mismanagement of those years. The government will lay a White Paper on table of the House, Ms. Sitharaman said.

Also Read | Govt to take up next-generation reforms to facilitate growth: Sitharaman

“The White Paper is basically going to look at the change in the way the economy was handled under Prime Minister Modi, of growth generated by expenditure,” said a source.

As India prepares to go into the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP, if we go by Ms. Sitharaman’s speech is depending on its record for a third successive win.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Energy Minister Piyush Goyal and senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, near Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. File photo
| Photo Credit: A.M. Faruqui

Amid the debate over Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial face for the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal has said the ‘lotus’ is his party’s face in every election.

Political circles in Madhya Pradesh are abuzz with speculation about plans of the ruling BJP’s central leadership after it fielded a number of stalwarts including Union Ministers as candidates for the MP Assembly polls.

Also read: People’s choice will be CM face in Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath

Various statements made by BJP leaders also fuelled a debate over the party’s chief ministerial face.

Asked about the BJP’s chief ministerial face in Madhya Pradesh, Goyal, while talking to reporters in Neemuch on Sunday, said, “Lotus is our face in every election. Lotus is revered by all of us. We go among the people with lotus.”

“We all are workers and have a commitment to make India a developed country,” he said.

“We are committed to bring joy and enthusiasm in the life of every Indian, to fulfill all their aspirations, to serve for a bright future, welfare of the poor and good governance,” the Union Minister said, and expressed confidence that his party will emerge victorious in the upcoming polls.

A recent statement of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan prompted the main opposition Congress to claim that after being sidelined, he was trying to put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at a gathering in Dindori last week, Mr. Chouhan asked the public whether he is running a good government or a bad government.

“…So, should this government move ahead or not? Should ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle, as he is popularly called) become chief minister or not?” he asked.

Priyanka’s dig at BJP

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while addressing a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh on October 5, claimed Mr. Chouhan will not get the top post after the elections.

Reacting to Mr. Chouhan’s remarks made in Dindori, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath on Saturday claimed the CM was trying to put pressure on PM Modi.

Eight-term MLA and senior state cabinet minister Gopal Bhargava, speaking at a gathering earlier this month in his constituency Rehli in Sagar district, said he would be contesting his last election, and he also felt that in this election no one was being projected as the chief minister candidate.

“It is not being told who will be the chief minister….I felt he (his Guru) must have some wish, that the word has come from God,” Mr. Bhargava said.

Mr. Chouhan, the longest serving chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has been seen of late getting emotional at public events and rallies.

At an event held in his home-turf Budhni recently, he asked people if he should contest the election or not. During a rally, he told women that they would miss a “brother” when he is not around.

The BJP has so far announced candidates for 79 out of the total 230 assembly seats in the state. The candidates include Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel and Faggan Singh Kulaste as well as senior leader from Indore Kailash Vijayvargiya, all political heavyweights being seen as contenders for the chief minister’s post.

Last week, Mr. Vijayvargiya said he was contesting the election not to become just an MLA, and the party would give him some important responsibility.

In the 2018 MP assembly polls, the Congress won a maximum of 114 seats in the 230-member House, while the BJP bagged 109 seats.

The Congress formed a coalition government under Kamal Nath with the support of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and independent candidates.

The Nath government, however, collapsed after 15 months when a section of Congress MLAs, most of them loyal to Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, quit and joined the BJP.

The saffron party returned to power in March 2020 with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as Chief Minister once again.

New Delhi:

The BJP will rely on “collective leadership” and the “Modi factor” in five state polls due this year, sources have told NDTV, revealing details of plans to bounce back from the chastening loss in Karnataka in May and a 3-4 defeat – to the opposition INDIA bloc – in bypolls earlier this month.

Sources have also said the party will try not to project a chief ministerial candidate, particularly not in the majority Hindi-speaking states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, in an attempt to keep regional leaders’ ambitions and rivalries in check, and reinforce the “party above individual” maxim.

In simple terms, the BJP is hoping big-name candidates will secure seats in which it is weaker, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal will see the party win another round of elections, and that an open chief minister’s post will act as an incentive to encourage regional leaders to work harder.

The plan is to also curb nepotism and avoid “dynasty politics” jibes, particularly since the allegation is one the PM lays at the door of the Congress. The party will now give one ticket per family, sources said.

READ |BJP Won’t Project Chief Minister Faces In Hindi-Speaking States: Sources

A glimpse of these plans were on offer this week in Madhya Pradesh.

Four MPs, three union ministers, and national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya – will contest and there iis no place (yet) for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

BJP sources told NDTV talk Mr Chouhan will be denied a ticket are “wrong”, but the “any big leader can be CM post-election” caveat does not augur well for the 64-year-old’s immediate political future.

READ |Shivraj Chouhan Sidelined In Madhya Pradesh Campaign? What BJP Sources Say

In the context of the Madhya Pradesh polls prep, NDTV was told that fielding MPs and union ministers conveys the “collective leadership” message; that message was underlined today too, with sources saying the party hopes fielding its “best team” will give it an edge over the Congress.

Also, in each of these states veteran leaders will be tasked with flipping seats lost five years ago.

The BJP will use the same approach to dislodge the Congress from Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and in Telangana, where Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi awaits.

BJP’s Rajasthan Assembly Election Plans

In Rajasthan, possible chief minister faces include union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal, and possible candidates include Rajya Sabha MP Dr Kirodi Lal Meena and Lok Sabha MPs Diya Kumar, Rajyavardhan Rathore, and Sukhveer Singh Jaunpuria.

Vasundhara Raje, 70, a two-term Chief Minister and a member of the Scindia royal family, is unlikely to return, even if she is widely seen as the BJP’s tallest and most influential leader in the state.

How the party handles Ms Raje, who has maybe the most appeal to non-BJP voters, will be critical, since she will almost certainly not sit in the Assembly as a MLA under another chief minister.

The BJP’s first list – around 49 seats – for Rajasthan is expected soon, possibly after Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party boss JP Nadda’s meet in Jaipur this evening.

Baghel Vs Baghel In Chhattisgarh

The BJP has gone a different route in Chhattisgarh, where it has named Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s nephew, Vijay, as its candidate for the top post. And, in a predictable twist, the party will want family divides to play out in its favour, for it has planned a ‘Baghel Vs Baghel contest.

Vijay Baghel, who is also a Lok Sabha MP, will fight from Patan in the Durg district. The seat has flip-flopped between the two since 2003, with the Chief Minister winning the last two polls.

READ |A “Baghel vs Baghel” Fight In Chhattisgarh? BJP Pits Nephew Against Uncle

Other potential BJP candidates include Union Minister Renuka Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey. Significantly, the BJP hasn’t yet named former Chief Minister Raman Singh in its lists.

Battle For Telangana

The BJP’s tilt at Telangana is part of its ongoing ‘Mission South’ plan – to establish a government in South India, a part of the country that has frequently rejected its hardcore nationalist agenda.

The party did have Karnataka but its stuttering government was ousted by a dominant Congress earlier this year. Kerala remains completely immune to its charms, and Tamil Nadu has also rejected Prime Minister Modi’s party; on Tuesday the AIADMK walked out of the party-led NDA.

READ | “Happiest Moment”: AIADMK Ends Alliance With BJP, Exits NDA

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have also proven to be hard nuts to crack.

The former is due to vote in November and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy is a possible big-name candidate. Mr Reddy, who is from Telangana’s Thimmapur region, is also the party’s state boss.

There is talk Lok Sabha MPs Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Arvind Dharmapuri, both also from Telangana, may be fielded, as may the party’s OBC Front leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dr K Laxman.

The fifth state going to the polls this year is Mizoram, where the BJP faces a potentially different kind of challenge – the knock-on effect of ethnic violence in neighbouring Manipur.

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, is celebrating his 73rd birthday today, and BJP units all across India are observing his special day with diverse celebratory events. At Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan, devotees led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa prayed for him on this occasion.

Speaking on occasion the BJP leader said, “A historic occasion unfolded as prayers were held for PM Narendra Modi Ji across the border at Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib. Today morning, we crossed the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to offer prayers at the revered Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib. Our heartfelt prayers were dedicated to the well-being of all humanity and the peace and prosperity of our nation.”

It has been a blessed day as we crossed Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to pay obeisance at the sacred Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib, where our prayers resonated for the well-being of humanity, peace & prosperity of our nation.
We offered Rumala And Chandoya Sahib at the Gurdwara… pic.twitter.com/otBMdz9IQz

— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) September 17, 2023

The group of devotees presented Chandoa and Rumala Sahib sets at the Gurdwara Sahib and fervently prayed for the long, healthy life and continued prosperity of Prime Minister Modi. Mr Sirsa also praised the Prime Minister for his role in making the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor a reality.

“His instrumental role in making the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor a reality fulfils a longstanding wish of the Sikh community,” he added.

Head Granthi of Gurdwara Sahib S Giani Gobind Singh and Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee Member S Inderjit Singh extended their best wishes to Prime Minister Modi and presented him with a turban, a siropa (robe of honor), and prasad (sacred food) as a token of respect and goodwill.

In an earlier conversation with reporters, Sirsa called upon both the Indian and Pakistani governments to streamline the passport checking process, making it easier for pilgrims visiting Kartarpur Sahib.

“This corridor was an impossible task which was made possible by the blessings of Guru Nanak Dev…PM Modi made it possible so we request the Indian government and Pakistan government that the visit to Kartarpur Sahib should even further be simplified in terms of passport checking,” he said.

The Kartarpur Corridor is a 4.7-kilometre-long visa-free corridor that connects Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. The corridor was inaugurated in 2019 to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. This corridor allows Sikh pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.

The Kartarpur Corridor is a significant development for Sikh pilgrims, who have long desired to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib without having to go through a lengthy and complicated visa process.

(With inputs from ANI)

Gold medalist Neeraj Chopra of Team India celebrates with their gold medal on the podium after the Men’s Javelin Throw Final during day nine of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 27, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Neeraj emerges the king of the javelin

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra on Sunday scripted history yet again as he became the first Indian to win a gold medal in the World Athletics Championships with a best throw of 88.17m in the men’s javelin final in Budapest. The 25-year-old Chopra dominated the competition and achieved his best throw of the day in his second attempt. He had a foul to start with, but then got 88.17m, 86.32m, 84.64m, 87.73m and 83.98m.

Amit Shah urges police to adopt soft stance on tribal, student unrest

Listing tribal unrest and student protests among the key police challenges that could emerge in the near future, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is learnt to have told over 750 police officials at a conference last week to adopt a different and more “conciliatory” approach to such issues. A senior government official told The Hindu that Mr. Shah pointed out that policing is not the only solution for issues such as tribal unrest.

Spain can help India deal with illegal trafficking of cultural items: Spanish Culture Minister Iceta

Spain’s Culture Minister, Miquel Iceta spoke to The Hindu, describing India as a “cultural superpower” and expressed concern about illegal trafficking of cultural artefacts and destruction of heritage of in Ukraine. Spain holds the Presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2023.

Indian English poet Jayanta Mahapatra passes away in Cuttack

Jayanta Mahapatra, one of India’s best known English poets, passed away in the State-run SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack on August 27. The legendary poet has left an imprint in the Indian English poetry with his writings spanning over 50 years. He was conferred Sahitya Akademi Award for his poem Relationship in 1981, a rare recognition for an Indian English writer. 

Centre places further restrictions on the export of Basmati rice

By banning the export of Basmati rice valued at less than $1,200 per metric tonne (MT), the Union government on August 28 ensured additional safeguards for its export ban on non-Basmati white rice (by misclassifying it as Basmati rice). The export of non-Basmati white rice was prohibited on July 20, 2023, citing increasing domestic prices of rice.

After Chandrayaan-3, Space Physics Lab prepares to study solar wind

Scientists at the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) under the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here are getting ready to unravel the secrets of the solar wind as the Aditya-L1 mission, meant to study the sun, lifts off in September. S. Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said on Saturday that the mission would lift off from Sriharikota in the first week of September.

BJP feeling threatened due to INDIA’s unity, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Ahead of the third meeting of the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in Mumbai, Janata Dal (United) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on August 27 that BJP leaders are feeling threatened due to the unity of the Opposition. Mr. Kumar also said that some more political parties would be joining the Mumbai meeting.

Manipur tribal district to get essentials via alternative routes

The Manipur government will start transporting essential commodities to the hill district of Churachandpur from August 28, in coordination with the army and other central security forces. Supplies to the district, which is dominated by the tribal Kuki-Zo community, have been disrupted as critical highways have been blocked by women-led Meitei groups. Transporters in Imphal have refused to ply to the area, citing the risk to their personal safety.

Supreme Court to hear how far is far between liquor outlets and religious, educational institutions

The Supreme Court has sought the Centre’s response on a plea by a Puducherry-based liquor outlet to clear the haze on the minimum distance liquor vends need to maintain from religious or educational institutions in municipal areas. The Supreme Court has pronounced a series of judgments from 2016 on where liquor shops ought to be ideally located. It had continuously modified these judgments in later verdicts.

Dalit youth’s murder sparks political row in M.P.

A Dalit youth was beaten to death with sticks and batons, and his mother was allegedly stripped and assaulted, by a group of men in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district this past week. The murder and sexual assault, which took place in a district with a significant Dalit population, have sparked a backlash from Opposition parties. The Congress accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of making Madhya Pradesh “a laboratory of atrocities on Dalits”

Eight killed in explosion at illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in West Bengal

At least eight persons were killed when an explosion occurred on Sunday morning at an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in the Mochpol area under Duttapukur Police Station in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district.The two-storied house where the firecrackers were allegedly manufactured came crashing down. Several houses in the vicinity also suffered damage.

Poll-bound Rajasthan distributes smartphones for women

Around seven lakh women (as on August 24) have recieved smartphones in election-bound Rajasthan under the Indira Gandhi Smartphone scheme, which was launched by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on August 10. In the scheme’s first phase, the State’s Congress government plans to distribute 40 lakh smartphones to three categories of beneficiaries: those who receive pensions for widows, girl students, and women heads of families who have completed 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.

Two NEET aspirants die by suicide in a day in Rajasthan’s Kota, toll goes up to 22 this year

Within four hours, two NEET aspirants have died by suicide in two separate incidents in Rajasthan’s Kota on August 27, taking the total toll to 22 this year, police said. Fifteen coaching students died by suicide last year in the coaching hub, where around 3 laks students from across the country are currently preparing for various competitive exams in different institutes of the city.

Amit Shah vows to trounce BRS in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Telangana

Dubbing the Congress, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) as ‘family-led’ 4G (four generations), 2G AND 3G parties, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the BJP will come to power in Telangana by trouncing the ruling BRS in the upcoming Assembly polls. Mr Shah sounded the saffron party’s poll bugle for the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections in Khammam, the traditional Left stronghold, the constituency presently held by the ruling BRS.