Two Union Ministers including Agriculture Minister Tomar quit Parliament : Eight other BJP MPs-turned-MLAs also resign

BJP’s MPs-turned-MLAs quit Parliament.... Between Agriculture Minister Narenda Singh Tomar and Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, one of them could be surprise pick as new Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister.  

In Rajasthan, there is uncertainty over the possibility of Vasundhara Raje becoming CM again. Raje, who is a national vice-president of BJP, has been the chief minister twice from 2003 to 2008 and 2013 to 2018. But this time the BJP decided to go to polls without projecting any leader for the top post. They had the same policy even in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. 

Ms Raje arrived Delhi on Wednesday night and is likely to meet BJP president J P Nadda. 

Besides incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, names doing the rounds in Madhya Pradesh also include Jyotiraditya Scindia. The former Congress leader was roped in by the saffron party in 2020 and he was 'reportedly' assured being rewarded suitably. Scindia, son of late Congress veteran Madhavrao holds strong support base in Gwalior region and was instrumental in bringing down Kamal Nath government in March 2020. 

Scindia is a Kshatriya by caste and Patel hail from the Lodhi community, and hence it will be an interesting move. Around 50 per cent of state’s population belong to OBC. BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, considered close to Amit Shah, may also walk away with the crown. 

For BJP, a big challenge may be in Jaipur as former CM Vasundhara Raje, incidentally an aunt of Jyotiraditya Scindia, is still in the race and about 60 MLAs have reportedly pledged their loyalty to her. But in BJP's scheme of things, the decision of the party leadership and the role(s) decided by PM Narendra Modi will be crucial.

It's true, Rajasthan has the longest list of contenders and they include Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal, party veteran Kirori Lal Meena and state BJP chief CP Joshi.

MPs who quit Parliament will be going to states 

In Chhattisgarh, besides former CM Raman Singh, state BJP president Arun Kumar Sao, leader of the opposition Dharamlal Kaushik and former IAS officer O P Chaudhary are being considered.  

For their part it is understood, Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh and four-time Chief Minister Chouhan have left the decision to the Central leadership and the Prime Minister in particular. 

Three states send 65 MPs to Lok Sabha and in the present House, the saffron party has 62 members.  BJP sources say PM Modi is himself applying his yardsticks to decide the chief ministers and he is in favour of picking up a tribal for Chhattisgarh, an Other Backward Class (OBC) in Madhya Pradesh and a Rajput in Rajasthan. 

Chouhan is an OBC nevertheless. But it is also being presumed that Chouhan could be given a big responsibility in the party organisation vis-a-vis Lok Sabha polls or accommodated in the union cabinet as PM is likely to conduct a minor reshuffle this month.  

On 'what basis', Nehru recognised Tibet as an independent nation...and India is paying a price: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey

BJP lawmaker from Jharkhand Nishikant Dubey made a blistering attack on the Congress party and country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for 'recognizing' Tibet as an independent nation.

Participating in the debate in Lok Sabha on Bills pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir, Dubey said, "kis adhaar par apney Tibet ko ek desh ke roop mein manya ta de di (On what basis did you give Tibet the recognition as an independent nation)".  

The vocal MP representing Godda constituency in Jharkhand says, "Nehru created such a situation that we are being destroyed....(tabah ho rahen haen)".

Dubey also said, "I have copies of CIA report and the papers exchanged between CIA and Zhou Enlai".  The Member of Parliament recalled that it was decided by Govt of India under British, China and also Russia that Tibet, along with Bhutan and Nepal would remain as "buffer states", there was no justification to alter from the position. 

"Moroever, Zhou Enlai kept on insisting that Tibet is an integral part of China, on what basis you recognised Tibet as an independent nation," he said adding "aur aaj pura ka pura Kashmir, pura ka pura desh tabah hae in cheezo se (Today, Kashmir and also the rest of India are suffering due to such policies".

"Today, we are fighting with China and also Pakistan; and they are saying Nehru has not committed any gross blunder".  

He referred to the 1950 Indo-Pak war of 1965 wherein the then Gujarat Chief Minister Balwantrai Mehta’s plane travelling from Ahmedabad to Mithapur was "mistaken" for an IAF aircraft by Pakistani forces. "And when the Congress Chief Minister to Russia, they did not even have 'words' to condemn the incident. 

"This is the same Congress party, which did not think about own Chief Minister, and is now talking about the ice.

"There is no statue of  Balwantrai Mehta. No scholarship in his name, he has been completely forgotten".   

Hope For Terror-Free J&K By 2026: Amit Shah In Parliament

The Home Minister said in Lok Sabha, "Our focus is to end terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir... I believe the Modi govt will return to power in 2024 and by 2026 I hope there will be no terror incident in J-K". 

Lok Sabha nods the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill,

The Lower House of Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, following which the Opposition members staged a walk out.

Piloting the Bills, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that one seat in Jammu and Kashmir assembly is to be reserved for those displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Earlier, he said that the two Bills will bring justice to those who have been deprived of their rights for the past 70 years. He said he is glad that no one opposed the Bills while deliberating upon them.  

The House witnessed a brief uproar over DMK MP, N V Senthilkumar’s remarks on Hindi heartland states calling them "Gau-mutra states".

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal demanded an apology from DMK’s T R Balu over his colleague’s “divisive” comments. Reacting to the flak in Lok Sabha, Senthilkumar expressed regrets over the issue and said “if it (the remarks) hurt sentiments, I withdraw them,”.

Under pressure, the DMK leader had on Tuesday (Dec 4) apologised for his remarks in a post on X.

Nostalgic: Old Parliament Building Blogger

  

Union minister Jitendra Singh said "whenever the EC announces it (election in Jammu and Kashmir), we are ready".

He said the Congress should be grateful to Prime Minister Modi for the abrogation of Article 370 that gave a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)

Jammu and Kashmir has suffered immensely due to "two blunders" committed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru — first, by announcing ceasefire and then by taking Kashmir issue to the United Nations, said Home Minister Amit Shah. 

"Had Jawaharlal Nehru taken right steps, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been part of India now; it was historic blunder," Shah said. He also said that about 45,000 people have lost their lives due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir so far.

The Modi government has planned to have "zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir force for 3 years. It will be successful by 2026". 

One of the two bills on Jammu and Kashmir seeks to nominate two Kashmiri Migrant community members, including a woman, to the assembly, he said.

Cong has done 'greatest harm' to OBCs: Amit Shah alleges in LS

Taking a jibe at Congress, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleged that the grand old has done "greatest harm" to Other Backward Classes, OBCs. 

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working relentlessly for welfare of backward classes. "I believe Modi govt will return to power in 2024 and by 2026, I hope there will be no terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir....Our focus is to end terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir".

Shah also said that one seat in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly is to be reserved for those displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

"Had terrorism been tackled at beginning without considering vote-bank politics, Kashmiri Pandits wouldn't have had to leave valley," he said. 

Shah asserted that the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill will ensure justice to those who have been deprived of their rights for the past 70 years.