New Delhi, Jan 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday remotely flagged off the inaugural journey of the Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special tourist train for the Indian diaspora.

The train will travel to various tourism and religious destinations across India over three weeks. This initiative is part of the Pravasi Teertha Darshan Yojana of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Express is a special state-of-the-art tourist train, exclusively designed and built for the Indian diaspora, and that too for the age group between 45 and 65 years.

Starting from its launch day, January 9, the train will travel to multiple destinations across the nation, including prominent tourist and religious places, for three weeks.

The date for flagging off the special train has also been deliberately chosen by the Modi-led government. The date January 9, 2025, commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on this date in the year 1915.

The departure of the train is from Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi and the route is – New Delhi – Ayodhya – Patna- Gaya – Varanasi – Mahabalipuram – Rameswaram – Madurai – Kochi – Goa – Ekta Nagar (Kevadia) – Ajmer – Pushkar – Agra. The train can accommodate 156 passengers.

To connect the Indian diaspora to their roots, this tour is being organised under the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Indian Embassies across the world had invited applications from participants, giving a preference to Persons of Indian Origins (PIOs) belonging to the low-income category who would otherwise not be able to afford to visit India on their own.

A statement of the ministry said that it will bear all expenses for the aforesaid conducted train tour besides also bearing 90 per cent of the return airfares for the eligible people from their countries of origin to India. The participants need to bear only 10 per cent of their return airfares. The travellers will be accommodated at 4-star or similar category hotels as per the tour itinerary.

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.