states diary
Mulayam Snubs Congress , Turn Down Alliance PK ’ s Alliance Offer
The Samajwadi Party is open to mergers , but will have no pre-election alliances in Uttar Pradesh , party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said in Lucknow scotching rumours about a Bihar-like “ Grand Alliance ” to take on the BJP . Yadav ’ s categorical no to alliances came only days after he had met the Congress ’ chief strategist in UP Prashant Kishor over several hours , triggering speculation that they discussed a partnership . Kishor had also met Mulayam Singh ’ s son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav two days ago .
“ There will be no alliance . If anyone wants to merge with us they can , but there will be no alliance ,” Mulayam Singh said . Sources close to Mr Kishor , who has earlier designed winning election campaigns for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar , have said the discussion with Mulayam Singh merely touched upon the possible merits of a “ Grand Alliance .”
Nitish Government Doubles Ex-gratia for Martyrs from Bihar
Arvind Kejriwal Asserts Goa Assembly Poll AAP-BJP Fight
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal asserted that the real fight in the upcoming Goa Assembly polls would be between AAP and the ruling BJP , claiming Congress would not be able to win even a single seat in the 40-member House .
He alleged that BJP wants to win Goa just “ to make money ,” and in the upcoming polls , people of Goa will vote in favour of AAP . Talking to reporters took a potshot at BJP saying that since the saffron party is afraid of losing Goa , its chief Amit Shah held a public meeting here instead of going to Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh . “ Congress would be completely wiped out from Goa and would not win even a single seat . The straight fight is between BJP and AAP ,” Kejriwal said while appealing people not to “ waste ” their vote by supporting Congress .
The Bihar government has raised the ex-gratia amount payable to the kins of martyrs from the state from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 11 lakh . The state government had earlier announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh for the kins of each martyr . But a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday took a policy decision that the state government would pay an ex gratia of Rs 11 lakh to army personnel hailing from the state getting killed in war or war-like situations .
“ This decision , one of the total 13 approved in the cabinet meeting , also includes the commitment that the state government would bear the expenditure incurred on the creation or performance of last rites of soldiers hailing from the state ,” said Brajesh Mehrotra , principal secretary of the cabinet department .
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The Dayafter November 16-30 , 2016