150

#UCC Is BJP’s Commitment, Happy to Have Introduced Private Member’s Bill in Parliament, Says MP Kirodi Lal

The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena, who introduced the private member’s bill on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in parliament on Friday, said the party leadership had approved of him moving the bill and he believed that the central government had every intention of going through with it in letter and spirit.

Meena said the BJP was committed to its agenda of implementing the UCC, and he was happy that his bill was introduced with a majority and with the “consent of the leadership”.

149

#PoliticalCulture: PM Slams Parties For ‘Politics Of Short Cut’, "Waste Of Tax Money"

PM Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at his opponents for following “politics of short cut” by wasting money, including that of banks, for narrow political gains and described them as the biggest enemy of taxpayers.

“Political parties which adopt short-term tactics are the biggest enemy of taxpayers. Those whose only goal is to come to power, making false promises to grab power, can never build a nation. At a time when the nation is working towards achieving its goals over the next 25 years, some political parties are out to ruin the economy for their gains,” he said in Nagpur, while inaugurating 11 infrastructure projects for Nagpur and Vidarbha.

148

#KarnatakaAssemblyPolls: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge Calls Meeting of Congress Leaders in Delhi

As assembly elections in Karnataka are due in the next few months, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the party's senior leaders from the state on Monday in New Delhi, to discuss the preparations and the strategy for the polls.

According to a party functionary, 14 leaders from the state, including Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar, and state Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, among others will be attending the meeting at the AICC office in the national capital.

130

#Congress: Party Revival Begins From Himachal, Says Party Leader Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, one of the top contenders for the CM face in Himachal Pradesh, said no ideology could be finished so soon. The statement comes a day after the Congress stormed into power in the Himachal Assembly elections.

The party won 40 assembly constituencies in the 68-member state Assembly, keeping the tendency of the state to repeat the alternative party government. The leader further added that the party revival had begun with the win in the hill state.

Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) the Congress leader said, "It is important for the Congress to exist as the main opposition party and the ruling party for unity and integrity of the country. Time will tell if those who wanted to make it (opposition) 'Congress mukt' are themselves becoming mukt."

129

#PM Narendra Modi Helping YSRC To Back Andhra Pradesh-Telangana Union, Says TRS

YSR Congress will oppose the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh during the hearing in the Supreme Court, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, Andhra Pradesh government adviser, said on Thursday, sparking angry protests from the TRS leadership.

The apex court is hearing cases on AP capital city Amaravati and a petition against the division of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, filed by former MP, Vundavalli Arun Kumar, who challenged the AP State Reorganization Act. Under the act, AP was bifurcated in June 2014, carving out a separate state, Telangana.

Reacting sharply to Ramakrishna Reddy’s remarks made in Vijayawada on Thursday, TRS veteran and MLC, Palla Rajeshwara Reddy, accused Ramakrishna ofspewing venom against Telangana at the “behest” of the BJP central leadership.