Among the diverse and excellent line-up of top Indian political leaders speaking at the India News Manch organized in the national capital on Thursday, was Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Food Processing, Industries, and Jal Shakti, who, throwing light on the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Centre, said that earlier, only 3.23 crore families had pipeline facility for fresh water, but with the successful implementation of the scheme, the number has now risen to 10 crores. He added how the major challenges on the front remain to be polluted water and lack of water sources, despite which, technology has been used to make sure that clean water is received by even the remote states of the country.
Talking about the state of Madhya Pradesh, in which Patel belongs, he stated that it is among the states where the BJP has a grass-roots approach and that there is no caste-based politics in the state of MP. When questioned about the cries of protest against certain ‘anti-Hindu’ actions on the part of Bollywood rising from Madhya Pradesh, he stated that the opposition surely would not have happened on irrelevant issues and that moral values are to be emphasised on. Discussing the move of alcohol ban in the state, Patel added that the government believes it to be a national issue and not just concerned with one particular state and therefore, the vision is to make a ‘Nasha-mukt Bharat’.
Touching upon the aspect of food processing in the country, he said that marketing and quality remain to be the major challenges in the field, and that the government is tirelessly working to overcome the same.
Patel also talked about the political playfield of MP and stated that only the BJP and the Congress are the major players in the state’s politics, and it is noteworthy that even in other states, a third party comes into power only when the BJP is not already in power and hence, the other party gets replaced by the third.
The next speaker at the event was Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State, Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, PP/DoPT, Atomic Energy, and Space. He mentioned how the 8.5 years of Modi as the PM of India have been a hallmark of ‘good governance’, as Modi, as both the CM of Gujarat and the PM of the country, gave the model of ‘sustainable governance’, technology-driven governance, which saves time and energy and brings in transparency. He added how India’s space technology has been developing because of the PM’s governance which is tapping into India’s talents.
When asked about the difference witnessed in Kashmir after the removal of Article 370, Singh stated that three aspects have been important- administration, development, and the change of mentality among the people, as earlier, political parties ruling Kashmir had vested interests and there was a nexus of political and businesses classes stalling the development of Kashmir.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari too, attended the event, and mentioned how PM Modi knows the problems the country is facing and how to find the solutions for the same.
On being asked about the controversies his statements about the opposition leaders stir, Tiwari said that he believes in humility and his statements do not mean to demean someone but raise the valid points which are necessary to be talked about. Talking about the work done by the BJP, he expressed that the party never says that everything is hunky dory, but the party has definitely worked on a number of major issues.
During his talk, Tiwari also accused Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal of playing dirty politics by not letting the Kendriya Vidyalayas, which were built by Tiwari, have a water connection, just because all the three schools were made by him. He alleged that Kejriwal has been asking for 1.82 crores per connection for the schools.
Following this, Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, thanked the people of Gujarat for the historic landslide victory of the BJP in the state, and commented that the AAP was indeed ‘over-confident’ in the Gujarat Assembly elections, and how presenting the Delhi model in Gujarat proved to be a boomerang for the party. Rupala then also denied the AAP’s role in Congress’ loss in the state, and remarked that the party’s loss was its own fault.
Digitally connecting with the event, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, thanked the people of Uttarakhand for supporting the BJP and PM Modi’s policies and breaking the ‘see-saw’ pattern in the state.
“We are working to develop the state and are following our pledges for the same”, Dhami stated, while adding that the Uniform Civil Code is an all-time necessity for Uttarakhand, and moving forward towards the same, a committee has been working for the implementation of the UCC and the draft is soon to be prepared, and the committee has been asking for the people’s feedback for the same.
Talking about the educational development in Uttarakhand, Dhami stated that books for all the students studying in classes from 9th to 12th will be free of cost and the government is working religiously for the betterment of the schools.
Pushkar also mentioned how the Char Dham Yatra, this time, was a challenge to be executed as all records were broken with the number of devotees reaching the state crossing the 50-lakh mark, and how the government has started working on all the remaining problems associated with the factors which need improvement, for the safe and easy travel of the devotees.
The event also saw a number of enthusiastic panel discussions among, firstly, BJP National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, Shiv Sena MP, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Congress MP Naseer Hussain, and Lok Sabha MP Malook Nagar. Secondly, among Ram Jadhav, Board of Governors, India Foundation, and Lok Sabha Congress MP, Manish Tewari. Thirdly, among Sudhanshu Trivedi, National Spokesperson of the BJP, and Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Pramod Tiwari. Fourthly, among BJP Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha. An intense debate on Indian culture and politics also took place between BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha and Congress Leader Acharya Pramod.
Other key political leaders who spoke at the event were Union Ministers Meenakshi Lekhi, Pralhad Joshi, SP Singh Baghel, and Kiren Rijiju, and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.
The conclave was also attended by actress Rakul Preet Singh, who talked about how 2022 was a successful year for her with 5 releases and how she would want all the upcoming years to be equally eventful.
