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Declare ERCP National project, hike aids for centrally sponsored schemes: Gehlot to PM

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Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded that the Centre declare Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) a national project and increase financial assistance for various centrally sponsored schemes.

He was speaking at the seventh meeting of the Governing Council of the NITI Aayog at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday.

Gehlot has been indirectly attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “forgetting” the promises made to the state leading to verbal duals with Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on several occasions. This time, he pitched for his demand right in front of Modi.

In the meeting chaired by Modi, Gehlot strongly presented the issues related to his state and said that ERCP is an ambitious project of Rs 37,000 crore which will help augment irrigation facilities in an area of around 2 lakh hectares in 13 districts of Rajasthan.

He said that eastern Rajasthan is a leading area in the production of oilseeds. Besides, declaring it a national project will also solve the potable water problems in these districts.

Reminding the Prime Minister of his earlier promises of adopting a positive stance with regard to this project, the chief minister said that it will also help in successful implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission.

There is an additional financial burden on the states due to the changes made in financial participation pattern in various centrally sponsored schemes, he said. He demanded that the Centre extend the period of GST compensation by five years to June 2027 and release the GST compensation of approximately Rs 3,780 crore in a lump sum outstanding from 2017-18.

Gehlot said that Rajasthan has emgered as a model state in the field of providing free medical facilities to the general public. The entire treatment is being provided free of cost and all the tests are also being conducted free of cost in all the government hospitals under ‘Nirogi Rajasthan Yojana’.

‘Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana’ is the next step in this direction, in which 88 per cent of families in the state have been provided with insurance cover. Rajasthan tops the list in this sector in the entire country. Under the scheme, 1.34 crore families are getting free treatment in government and private hospitals.

Till now, more than Rs 2,202 crore has been spent on treating 18 lakh patients. The facility for liver, heart and kidney transplants is being provided under this scheme. He demanded that the Centre increase the ambit of ‘Ayushman Bharat Swasthya Bima Yojana’ on the lines of this scheme.

Gehlot also urged increase in assistance to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana

He said that the Rajasthan government is giving a benefit of Rs 1,000 per month as electricity subsidy to each farmer’s family and has implemented a separate agriculture budget. He said that the central government should increase its share to 75 percent on all the schemes related to agriculture.

The Chief Minister demanded a special grant for the colleges that have been opened in scheduled areas in the state like those given in North Eastern states and to open a Global University in Rajasthan. The Chief Minister in the meeting demanded to implement the recommendation of giving central assistance of Rs 400 crore to Digital University in Rajasthan by the 15th Finance Commission. He said that the State Government is ready to spend Rs 200 crore to build this Digital Fintech University in Jodhpur.

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‘Mantriji Haath Jeb Mein Se Bahar’: LS Speaker Om Birla Chides Minister For Putting Hand In Pocket Inside House

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'Mantriji Haath Jeb Mein Se Bahar': LS Speaker Om Birla Chides Minister For Putting Hand In Pocket Inside House

New Delhi, July 26: The Parliament’s Monsoon Session has seen its share of confrontations between the members of the ruling government and the Opposition. Even Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has not been immune to getting into an argument or chiding a member for inappropriate behaviour. A similar incident was witnessed in the lower house on Thursday when speaker Birla scolded a member of the ruling government in the house and a minister for putting “hands in pocket”.

A video that has now gone viral shows Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla telling the minister, “Mantriji haath jeb se bahar (Minister, hands out of the pocket please)”. After this, Birla requested all the members not to put their hands in pocket while being inside the house.

He also went on to instruct that if a member is speaking, the member sitting in front should not get up and in fact try to sit somewhere back so that the member speaking is not obstructed.

The video also caught the voice of a person trying to clarify after Birla’s remarks. However, the video did not show which minister was scolded by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

This is the second time in two days when the usually unflappable Lok Sabha speaker was seen trying to correct an MP inside the house. On June 24, the exchange between Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee had gone viral.

The video shows Om Birla asking TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee to not talk about past events while speaking on the budget and focus only on the current budget in his speech. Abhishek Banerjee retorted saying, “Then why do you have no problem when someone speaks on Nehru ji and talks about 60 years old things.” Banerjee then went on to say that if he speaks on demonetisation (which took place in 2016), then the speaker has problem.

The Union Budget and the first one of Modi 3.0 was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23. The Opposition criticised the budget calling it an exercise by the government to ensure that it keeps its alliance partners happy and alleged that the budget favoured several states and deliberately left out the other regions.

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Farah Khan’s Mother Menka Irani Passes Away At 79, Days After Undergoing Multiple Surgeries

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Menka Irani, the mother of filmmakers Farah Khan and Sajid Khan, passed away on July 26, Friday. The news was shared by Kamaal R Khan on his social media handle.

Farah’s mother was 79 when she breathed her last.

The heartbreaking news comes days after Farah had revealed in an Instagram post that her mother had undergone multiple surgeries. On her birthday on July 12, Farah had penned a heartfelt note for her mother and had lauded her strength.

“We all take our mothers for granted. especially me! This last month has been a revelation on how much I love my mom Menka.. she’s been the strongest, bravest person iv ever seen.. sense of humour intact even after multiple surgeries,” she wrote.

“Happy birthday mom! Today’s a good day to come back home. Can’t wait for you to get strong enough to start fighting with me again.. I love you,” she wrote.

Friends of Farah and Sajid were seen reaching their residence to extend their support and condolences.

Menka was the sister of former child actors Honey Irani, who later married Javed Akhtar, and Daisy Irani. She is survived by her two children — Farah and Sajid.

Not many know but Menka also acted in the film Bachpan in 1963, which starred Salman Khan’s father Salim Khan.

In an earlier interview, Farah had revealed how their mother brought Sajid and her up after their father lost all money and died due to alcohol addiction. “We’d lost all our money, dad’s film had flopped. We had a riches to rags story,” she had said.

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‘Pakistan Has Not Learned Any Lessons From History’: PM Modi Warns Neighbouring Country On Kargil Vijay Diwas

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'Pakistan Has Not Learned Any Lessons From History': PM Modi Warns Neighbouring Country On Kargil Vijay Diwas

As the country commemorates the 25th anniversary of the victory in the Kargil War, PM Modi on Friday paid tribute to the brave soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the country in the 1999 conflict.

On this occasion, PM Modi also warned the neighboring country, stating that Pakistan has not learned any lessons from history.

Speaking at the Kargil Vijay Diwas Shradhanjali Samaroh in Kargil, PM Modi said, “India was trying to establish peace at that time, in return, Pakistan once again showed its untrustworthy face. However, lies and terror were defeated by the truth. Every time Pakistan attempted something nefarious, it has received a befitting reply in the past. However, Pakistan has not taken any lessons from its own history. It is trying to keep itself relevant taking help of terrorism and proxy war.”

“Today, I am speaking from the very place where the masters of terrorism can hear me clearly! I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their sinister plans will never succeed,” added PM Modi.

“However, Pakistan has not taken any lessons from its own history. It is trying to keep itself relevant taking help of terrorism and proxy war,”

Paying tribute to the Indian soldiers who died in the war, PM Modi added, “Today, the majestic land of Ladakh marks a significant milestone – 25 years since the triumphant victory of Kargil. Kargil Vijay Diwas reminds us that the sacrifices made for our nation are eternal and forever remembered. As time passes, days turn into months, months into years, and years into centuries – the names of those who laid down their lives for the sake of national security remain etched in our collective memory, forever immortalised!”

Earlier today, PM laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memoria in Drass, Ladakh, on the occasion of the 25th Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan and all ranks of the armed forces also joined in remembering the supreme sacrifice made by the soldiers during the Kargil war.

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