New Delhi: With an eye on the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, Congress on Wednesday announced ‘Jeevan Raksha Yojana’, promising to provide Rs 25 lakh health cover per family.

The announcement was made at a press conference by former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here.

Gehlot termed the scheme a “game changer” in Delhi “…We have given a lot of coverage to the health… ‘Jeevan Raksha Yojana’ of the Delhi government will be similar to ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana’ of the Rajasthan government…I am happy that I got the opportunity to launch this scheme here,” the senior congress leader told reporters later.

“…The health insurance scheme of Rajasthan has been very successful and in Delhi we will do the same. It provides benefit to all whereas Ayushman Bharat has its limitations…,” he told reporters.

He also expressed optimism about the state polls, “…The situation in Delhi has changed now. Congress is doing a better campaign and this time, the results will be different.” Later Delhi Congress unit reposted a tweet by Vaibhav Walia, Secretary Communications, Indian National Congress,” Congress launched the second guarantee for Delhi elections today.

Every Delhiite will get free medical insurance cover of Rs 25 lakhs when Congress comes to power.” https://x.com/vbwalia/status/1876912357265518712 “In recent elections across the country, the Congress has started a new model of governance which caters to the welfare of each and every citizen with a special focus on the underprivileged sections.,” it added.

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai claimed that the former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit had served the people of the National Capital, unlike her successor, Arvind Kejriwal.

Speaking on the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, Rai told media on Wednesday, “You have seen that in Delhi, Congress has always remained strong. Sheila Dikshit did so much work in Delhi, while Kejriwal did not do anything. This time we will see a change in Delhi which will be in favour of Congress…”

The Delhi assembly polls will be held in a single phase on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8.

The last date for filing nominations is January 17. The date for scrutiny of nominations is January 18. While last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20.

New Delhi, Jan 8: The political tension in Delhi escalated on Wednesday as the BJP intensified its attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the ongoing ‘bungalow for CM’ controversy. The BJP’s state president, Virendra Sachdeva, raised pointed questions directed at Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, sarcastically asking, “Toh aakhir iss devi ko kitne bungalow chahiye?”

Speaking to Media, Sachdeva demanded clarity on the issue, asking, “Whose bungalow is this? This government residence where ‘Atishi’ is written — whose bungalow is it?

“If it was allotted to her, why is she asking for ‘Sheesh Mahal’? If it was being given to her, why didn’t she accept it earlier? How many bungalows does a Chief Minister need in Delhi? She lives in Kalkaji, yet refuses to reveal who occupies this one. Even locals are tight-lipped, though posters outside point to its occupant. So how many bungalows does this ‘devi’ need? We want an answer.”

Sachdeva further reacted to BJP leaders’ calls to turn the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ into a museum, suggesting, “I have said that the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ should be declared a museum of corruption. If the BJP forms the government in Delhi, no BJP Chief Minister will stay in that Sheesh Mahal.”

As Delhi Assembly elections near, the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and ‘bungalow for CM’ controversy is becoming a central issue in the political debate.

The AAP has retaliated by dubbing the Prime Minister’s residence as the ‘Raj Mahal,’ accusing the BJP of overspending on it with a budget of Rs 2,700 crore.

This back-and-forth between ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and ‘Raj Mahal’ reflects the fierce political rivalry, with the AAP-led by Arvind Kejriwal, the BJP, and the Congress all gearing up for the February 5 elections.

The latest drama unfolded when AAP leaders, including Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj, were stopped by the police from entering the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence.

The AAP had invited the media to tour the premises in an effort to counter the BJP’s criticisms of the Chief Minister’s residence. With only a month left before the Delhi Assembly elections, the political war over ‘Sheesh Mahal’, ‘Raj Mahal,’ and the fight for the capital continues to heat up.

Kolkata, Jan 8: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Wednesday, directed the state police to provide 24-hour protection to the woman, who had earlier this week approached the court accusing the local cops of a lackadaisical investigation into her complaint of gang-rape against three men, including a local Trinamool Congress leader.

At the same time, the single judge bench of Justice Jay Sengupta also directed the local police station to submit a report in the form of an affidavit on the progress of the investigation into the woman’s complaint by January 12.

The state government counsel, on Wednesday, informed the court that there had been significant progress in the investigation of the matter and the process was on to file the charge sheet in the case. However, the victim’s counsel claimed that although the accused was constantly threatening her and her family members, there had been no action on the part of the local police.

Thereafter Justice Sengupta directed the state police to provide 24-hour police protection not only to the victim but the entire family besides asking the state police to file a progress report investigation.

In her petition, the victim alleged that the crime took place in May last year, and she and her family members approached the local police to act on the matter. She has now alleged that for all these months the cops have not moved an inch forward in the course of the investigation. At the same time, she and her family members are under pressure from the accused and their associates to withdraw the complaint at the local police station.

Among the three accused named one is Trinamool Congress’ block president in Sandeshkhali Dilip Mondal. Calcutta High Court had admitted the petition.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a yearend trip to Sandeshkhali on December 30, after avoiding such an initiative during the entire period of crisis there earlier this year following allegations of sexual harassment of local women and land grabbing of people by local Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan.

While addressing a public meeting at Sandeshkhali on that day, the Chief Minister hinted towards the “money game” influencing the movement by locals there earlier this year.

On that very day, leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhujari conducted a protest at the same place, defying the last-minute denial of police permission for the same. He drew a comparison between Mamata Banerjee and the chief of the caretaker government in neighbouring Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus.