QBullet: BJP Resists RSS in Ministry, Fear Grips B’desh Eid & More

Read the top stories of the day from QBullet.

  RSS activists hold bamboo sticks as they take part in a march in Bhopal February 23, 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

1. BJP Trying to Resist RSS in the Ministry

Modi had earlier discussed the cabinet reshuffle with BJP President Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. (Photo: 

The removal of Smriti Irani’s junior minister, Ram Shankar Katheria, following her exit from the MHRD is being viewed as a bid to “scale down” the RSS involvement in certain areas of governance.

While both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP Chief Amit Shah knew that they would have to appease RSS in the recent reshuffling of the cabinet, sources told The Telegraph that they also simultaneously wanted to resist the Sangh’s “takeover”

What “riled” Modi and Shah according to BJP sources, was Irani’s growing tendency to consult the Sangh about the ministry’s policies and decision-making.

The leaders feared the Sangh might use or rather misuse the HRD ministry as an instrument to damage and dilute their authority.

BJP Sources to <i>The Telegraph</i>

Read the full story on The Telegraph.

Also Read: Cabinet Reshuffle Shows Modi, Shah in Full Control of Govt & Party

2. Fear Paralyses Bangladesh’s Eid Celebration Amidst Warning of Fresh Attacks from ISIS

Bangladeshi soldiers come out of an area housing a restaurant popular with foreigners after heavily armed militants attacked it. (Photo: AP)

A purported ISIS video was released on Wednesday warning of more attacks in Bangladesh, is keeping the country on the edge, with people fearing the disappearance of at least 100-odd youths missing from various regions.

Eid celebrations witnessed mostly deserted malls and eateries, unlike the gusto that marked the previous celebrations of the festival, said The Telegraph.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the government was collecting details about the missing youths in the country from their parents, friends and neighbours.

Read the full report on The Telegraph.

Also Read: ISIS Says Dhaka Cafe Slaughter a Glimpse of What’s Coming

3. Javadekar Offers Olive Branch on First Day as HRD Minister

New Minister of Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar. (Photo: PTI)

The new Minister of Human Resource Development – Prakash Javadekar – started his first day with talks of peace in university campuses.

Identifying himself as a product of student’s politics, he told The Hindustan Times:

I am a product of students’ agitation. I was part of the Jai Prakash Narayan movement; we went to jail fighting it out for students’ rights and other educational problems. I will ensure that we have a good dialogue with students so that everyone becomes a partner in progress.

President of JNU student’s Union Kanhaiya Kumar, however, kept his fingers crossed about Smriti Irani’s successor.

Read the full story on The Hindustan Times.

Also Read: Education is Not a Subject of “Party Politics”: Prakash Javadekar

4. NDA Says AMU is Not a Minority Institution

Aligarh Muslim University. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

The Centre, on Wednesday, withdrew an appeal filed in the Supreme Court by the previous UPA government to retain the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University.

The NDA government also withdrew all letters issued by the MHRD by the previous government which allowed AMU to reserve 50 percent of its seats for Muslims in the faculty of medicine

For the BJP, AMU’s minority status is an example of Muslim appeasement at the cost of the rights of SC, ST and OBC classes.

The three judge SC-bench has allowed the university to respond to the government.

Read the full story on The Hindustan Times.

5. Bangladesh to Probe Zakir Naik’s Speeches

Dr Zakir Naik (R) receiving the King Faisal International Prize from the King of Saudi Arabia. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@zakirnaikirf)

Televangelist Zakir Naik doesn’t seem to be a favourite in Bangladesh, with the country saying that it has received several complains against the Mumbai-based preacher, whose sermons supposedly inspired one of the Dhaka terrorists.

According to The Times of India, Even MoS for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, voiced similar sentiments saying that his speech is a “matter of concern”

Bangladeshi Information Minister Hassanul Haq Inu said the Hasina government would request that India take action if Naik’s preachings were found to have instigated the attack.

Read the full story on The Times of India.

Also Read: Zakir Naik On Islamic State, Dhaka Attack and Osama Bin-Laden

6. Anupriya Patel: BJP’s Kurmi Card in Upcoming UP Polls

Anupriya Patel, a first time MP, was allotted the ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (Photo: The Quint)

Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel’s Kurmi background could be very significant for the BJP in the upcoming UP Assembly Polls, The Hindu reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opponents were of the opinion that handing out two seats – Mirzapur and Pratapgarh to Apna Dal, which is a BJP ally, was merely to “cement his position in Varanasi, which abuts Mirzapur, Ms Patel’s constituency.”

Last week, when BJP chief Amit Shah addressed a rally in Varanasi to mark the 67th birth anniversary of Sone Lal Patel – Anupriya’s deceased father and founding member of BSP – he had also pitched the idea that the BJP-Apna Dal alliance would trounce its opponents in 2017.

Read the full story on The Hindu.

Also Read: Anupriya Patel Distances Herself From Anti-Muslim Tweets: Report

7. Delhi Fails to Make the Best of Waste

Delhi has only three waste treatment plants at Bhalswa, Okhla and Narela, which together processes only 500 tonnes of biodegradable waste daily. (Photo: iStockPhoto)

When disposal of solid waste is concerned, Delhi is not a model city, according to a survey carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

In Delhi, the three landfill sites are saturated, and contracts with private concessionaires cost about Rs 700 per tonne for collection and transportation of 8,000 tonnes of waste.

On top of that, Delhi has only three waste treatment plants at Bhalswa, Okhla and Narela, which together process only 500 tonnes of biodegradable waste daily.

Swati Singh Sambyal, programme officer at CSE, said:

No new technology, whether its bio-methanation or waste-to-energy , will work unless waste is segregated. Also, in all the best cities, the informal sector has been involved actively, unlike in Delhi.

Read the full story on The Times of India.

8. Search Operations Continue in a Washed Out Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand cloudburst. (Photo: ANI)

JCB vehicles have been working relentlessly on Uttarakhand’s Bastarai village, which has been washed away in a cloudburst. They continue their search for eight missing persons, including two children aged eight and ten, The Indian Express reported.

Some survivors are also determined to find their life savings, which had also been washed away. In certain cases, silver jewellery was found and handed over to the rightful owners.

Superintendent of Police, Pithoragarh, RL Sharma, said the priority was to find missing people and that rescue work will stop only when the villagers are satisfied.

Read the full report on The Indian Express.

Also Read: QRant: Can We End the Animal Cruelty Already?

9. Islam Not a Religion, But a Political Aggression: Women’s Wing of RSS

The women’s branch of the RSS claimed that “Islam is not a religion” but a “political aggression” that create problems wherever Muslims are in the majority, The Indian Express reported.

Asha Sharma, who’s the Akhil Bhartiya Sahkaryavahika of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti also said that Islam has thrived due to the absence of education, whereas Christianity has spread due to poverty.

She added that the Samiti had taken up the take of fighting terrorism and its mentality.

Read the full story on The Indian Express.

Also Read: For Bangladesh, Denying Islamic State’s Presence Will Not Help

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