POLITICS

Is weekly meeting between Chouhan and farmers not yielding any result?

Agriculture Minister is meeting farmers every Tuesday and listening to their grievances. This practice has been going on since October this year, but it seems his efforts are going in vain. Farmers have announced their Delhi March from December 6 in support of their demands, including legal guarantee of MSP.

BJP deploys more strategists for high-stake Ayodhya’s Milkipur Assembly constituency

The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) which intends to capitalise on its victory in the recently concluded bypolls, has deputed two more key organisational functionaries. The leaders are UP Minister JPS Rathore and MLC Dharmendra Singh - who led the party win in Kundarki (Moradabad) and Katehari (Ambedkarnagar) Assembly bypolls respectively, where the lotus bloomed after almost three decades. Both Rathore and Dharmendra Singh are mandated to work alongside State Ministers Surya Pratap Shahi, Mayankeshwar Singh, Girish Jatav, and Satish Sharma. The Allahabad High Court allowed the withdrawal of two petitions challenging the election of SP leader Awadhesh Prasad from Milkipur constituency in 2022 Assembly polls, paving the way for holding bypoll to the seat. The prime Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) has given ticket to Faizabad MP Awadhesh's son, Ajit Prasad, the BJP is yet to finalise its candidate. The BSP has already announced not to contest the bypolls, while Congress is likely to continue its support INDIA bloc partner SP. Rathore, a known strategist in the party, is an MLC and UP Cooperative Minister in the Yogi Cabinet. On the other hand, Dharmendra Singh has been a key organisational leader in the Gorakhpur region, the turf of Yogi Adityanath.

Restoration of OPS empties HP Govt’s coffer?

The restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), - a key election promise - is a significant burden to the state’s exchequer. Over 1.35 lakh employees benefit from OPS, but this move has strained resources further, as it eliminates the additional borrowing of Rs 1,500 crore that was earlier possible under the New Pension Scheme. According to experts, there is serious doubt over the Government’s ability to pay salaries and pensions on time in 2025. The cash-strapped Government has already reached its Rs 6,200 crore borrowing limit for 2024. Pensions for over 2.25 lakh retired employees still remain unpaid. Himachal requires Rs 2,000 crore every month to meet its committed expenses for salaries and pensions.