Covid-19 pandemic has hardly spared any sector of life. While most sectors have started to resume with covid-19 cases and deaths ebbing, the children continue to find themselves stuck in hours of emptiness. The pandemic is upending the lives of children. It has impacted relationships and social interactions among children and adolescents the most. Experts blame the lack of social interaction that makes children feel caged up at home. Even babies and toddlers are keenly feeling the effects of their parents’ mental breakdowns, the experts underline.
Many studies on the effect of the covid-19 on children portend a distressing future for them. Some had to already bear the loss of parents, many continue to put up with parental job losses, deaths of family members, educational disruptions, domestic violence, forced home confinement, excessive digital exposure and warped human interactions. The situation has plunged the children into an almost insurmountable crisis.
A UNICEF report said that the number of children who are hungry, isolated, abused, anxious, living in poverty and forced into marriage has increased. At the same time, their access to education, socialisation and essential services, including health, nutrition and protection, has decreased, the report said. The signs that children will bear the scars of the pandemic for years to come are unmistakable, the report highlights.
The second wave has been much more relentless and took many by surprise because it came just as people felt things were returning to normal. A number of people also feel culpable for not being able to support those around them adequately while a large population is yet to recover from fiscal and personal losses of last year. Together, these factors are gravely impacting people’s confidence, and resilience to cope with situations. The present round of the pandemic also impacted the vulnerable sections more since they have much less access to mental health professionals.
As put by an expert, it is essential to overcome the fear psychosis with a positive mind that “the pandemic phase is temporary and this shall pass too.”
The situation also demands pro-activeness and applying of mind on how to deal with the crisis. Equally, medical professionals must find innovative ways of offering care and therapy at this juncture. At the same time, organizations, and families must come together to offer solidarity and support those who require immediate attention. Parents need to engage their wards in various activities.
Covid-19 Upending Lives Of Children
After flip-flop, political parties meet Delimitation Commission
PDP boycotts meeting, shoots letter to panel
By: Amjad Hussain
Srinagar: Delimitation Commission Tuesday arrived in Srinagar as part of its four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to seek opinion from the representatives of different political parties and other stakeholders vis-à-vis mega exercise to carve out new constituencies in the Union Territory.
The five-member panel led by Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai after arriving in Srinagar this afternoon right away drove to Hotel Grand Lalit at Gupkar Road to meet the representatives of various regional and national political parties to gather firsthand information about the ongoing exercise.
Others in the panel include Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra, and Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan.
The commission upon its arrival in Srinagar met the representatives of several registered political parties including Congress, National Conference, Bharatiya Janata Party, Apni Party, Peoples Conference, Communist Party of India Marxist, National Panthers Party and others.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, refused to meet the panel alleging that the exercise is ‘pre-planned’ to further harm the interests of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Awami National Conference (ANC) has also boycotted the meeting.
As per the details available, the panel had a twenty minute brief discussion with the representatives of each political party. The visiting panel would also have deliberations with the District Election Officers of 20 districts.
It may be in place to mention that New Delhi after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A began the mega exercise of redrawing Assembly Constituencies in the newly carved out Union Territory.
The panel began its maiden trip days after an All Party Meeting (APM) of political parties from Jammu and Kashmir was convened by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in New Delhi. PM had assured the attendees that elections will be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir as soon as exercise is done.
Process of meetings with the political parties lasted for three and half hours from 3:30 pm till 7pm in the evening. The leaders put forth their suggestions before the panel which is on four day visit to the Union Territory.
PDP termed the All Party Meeting (APM) convened by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in New Delhi as ‘fruitless’ saying there was no outcome of the meeting.
“We refused to attend the meeting and sent a letter to the Delimitation Commission stating there was no outcome of the demands vis-à-vis Article 370, release of prisoners, arrest spree and harassment of masses put forth by our party President during the meeting with the PM in New Delhi on June 24,” said PDP General Secretary, Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura told reporters.
Abdul Rahim Rather led five member panel of National Conference presented a detailed memorandum to the commission asserting that redrawing boundaries of Assembly could be a credible once statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to reporters after meeting with the panel, NC provincial president, Nasir Aslam Wani said they told them that the reorganization act of 2019 was unconstitutional.
“We told them that the reorganization Act 2019 was unconstitutional. We have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of India and the matter is sub-judice at present. We told the commission that you should have waited till SC would announce its verdict,” said Wani.
He also said that they informed the commission that people have lost their faith from the institutions hence the exercise of redrawing assembly boundaries should be transparent so that people won’t feel betrayed.
PCC president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the party decided to meet visiting commission after thorough deliberations with other party colleagues. He said the Congress representatives put forth their viewpoint before the commission.
“Since they have a limited role of delimitation, we told them that exercise is the outcome of August 5, 2019 decision otherwise it has been decided in the Parliament that Delimitation exercise will take place in 2026. On one hand PM shouts loud slogans of one nation and one constitution while on the other present dispensation modified the same. Why the exercise was held in J&K before five years,” he added.
Peoples Conference leader, Khurshid Alam while talking to media said he told the panel it’s the people who need representation and not deserts and stones. He said that he informed the visiting delegation that the report should be complied as per 2011 census.
Apni Party leader, Rafi Ahmad Mir said the Delimitation Commission assured them that suggestion of everyone will be seriously pondered upon.
“I told the delegation that people being apprehensive think that it is a time buying exercise as the commission has already taken a decision, however they assured us that people’s apprehensions will be taken care of and the suggestions put forth by the political leaders will be accordingly considered,” Mir told reporters.
. Secretary BOTE under CB radar for 10-yr-old ‘Fraud’
By: Sameer Showkin Lone
Srinagar: The recently appointed Secretary Board Of Technical Education (BOTE) Firdous Ahmed Yatoo has come under Crime Branch scanner for “Salary Fraud” which he has done during his tenure as Principal Govt Polytechnic College Ganderbal during 2012-2013.
The documents in possession with The Precious Kashmir reveal that Yatoo has credited money (salary) in the favour of eight employees from the Official bank Account of Govt Polytechnic College Ganderbal during his tenure as Principal in the college.
As per the documents, the officer in question has made numerous communications with the J&K Bank Branch Ganderbal wherein the details of salary and other transactions are mentioned that have raised eyebrows.
Accordingly, the Crime Branch Kashmir (CBK) has started investigation and registered a case under FIR number 11/2018 under sections 420, 468, 471 RPC.
During the investigation it has been found that all the eight persons who are not the employees of Polytechnic College but have managed to get salaries from the Institution.
“No record of LOA is available in the institution for these transactions made in favour of one Mudasir Nazir. However, J&K bank has provided the necessary details of the transactions duly signed by the Yatoo,” reads a document.
The current Principal Govt Polytechnic Ganderbal Shaista Shamim said they had received the letter from the Crime Branch that sought details about the whole investigation. “We got all the details from the bank since there was no record left in the College. As per the records, these people had never been employees of the College. We have forwarded all the details to the Crime Branch. It has been over one month but there seems to be no action from any side. In fact I had sent the file to the Directorate,” she told Precious Kashmir.
Joint Director Skill Development Kashmir Muhammad Shafi Bhat said the Crime Branch has sent a letter to Ganderbal Polytechnic College. “The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) has addressed the College and they have sent one copy to my office. That is the only thing I know about this case. I don’t know the present status of the case,” he said.
WB extends deadline of Rs 1500 cr project by one year
By: Ibni Maqbool
Srinagar: The World Bank (WB) has extended deadline for completion of Rs 1500 crore “Jehlum- Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP)” by one year and agreed to give extension of six more months upon achieving satisfactory progress on an action plan agreed by the project implementing entity.
Documents in possession of The Precious Kashmir reveal that the multilateral financial institution has extended deadline for completion of the project to June 30, 2022 as majority of critical infrastructure planned under it was not completed by June 30, 2021.
“Since the majority of the critical infrastructure planned is not likely to be completed by the current closing date of June 30, 2021, a two-phase extension of the closing date has been granted to extend the closing date by 12-months initially and, upon achieving satisfactory progress on an action plan, by an additional 6 months thereafter,” reads the documents.
This is the second such extension of the project whose original closing date was June 30, 2020.
According to documents, the subsequent extension till December 31, 2022 will be dependent upon the outcome of a joint performance review by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and the Bank.
The joint review, will be scheduled in the first week of June 2022 and would assess the progress of an action plan greed between the Project Implementing Entity and the Bank.
It is worthwhile to mention that the WB sanctioned Rs 1500 crore for reconstruction of infrastructure hit by 2014 floods and strengthening State’s disaster management capabilities.
After the floods, a team of WB visited the affected areas of the State between February 1-6, 2015, to carry out a multi-sectoral assessment report of the damages and needs.
J&K moving ahead on path of development: LG
Says Article 370 gave separatism, militancy, large scale corruption to UT
Srinagar: Remembering the immense contributions of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee as the Architect of fully integrated & Modern India, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Tuesday addressed a National Webinar to mark the birth anniversary celebrations of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee as part of Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, here at Raj Bhavan.
Paying rich tributes and respect to Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his birth anniversary, the Lt Governor said that Dr. Mookerjee had made immense contributions to the Constitution of India, India’s politics, education and modern industries.
“I believe Dr. Mookerjee’s arrival in Jammu and Kashmir, 68 years ago, in May 1953, was the first Swadeshi movement of the country after independence. And today his Tapobhoomi is illuminated with development as his dream turned into reality many years after his arrival”, the Lt Governor noted.
Remembering Dr. Mookerjee’s role in Nation building, the Lt Governor said that he had such integrity and dedication for nation building that he didn’t rest until the challenge at his hand was resolved. He believed that the basic element of good governance, nationalism, change, prosperity of the society, is wholesome policy and even the most complex problems can be solved with the righteous approach.
Steadfastly working to realize the goal of “Ek Vidhaan, Ek Pradhaan, Ek Nishaan”, Dr. Mookerjee’s struggle in J&K was a revolution and he sacrificed his life while fighting for it. His actions and words had brought a possibility of revolution and change. He wanted to see Jammu and Kashmir like other states of India, with same rights to the people in Jammu and Kashmir, which were enjoyed in the rest of India.
Today on his birth anniversary, while expressing my sincere tributes to Dr. Mookerjee from Srinagar, I want to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister for fulfilling his dream on August 5, 2019, leading to the complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the country, said the Lt Governor.
Illustrating the immense contribution of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the Lt Governor said that after independence, socio-economic changes took place at many levels, but Dr. Mookerjee lit the spark of national unity.
The Lt Governor said that the lamp which Dr. Mookerjee had lit with the supreme sacrifice of his life for the unity of the country, empowering the deprived people, ending discrimination, establishing social equality, harmony, and development, has brought a new dawn in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I strongly believe that national integration is the first step in the development of citizens and Dr. Mookerjee knew that this unity was incomplete without the complete integration of J&K with rest of the country. Due to Article 370, constitutional reforms and hundreds of acts which would have been helpful in raising the quality of life of people and bringing a surge of development in the region were not implemented in J&K”, he added.
The Lt Governor continued that it was the only region in the country where there was no Minority Commission, no law to stop child marriage, no Forest Rights Act, no reservation for the poor sections, and Right to Education Act was not implemented. The three-tier Panchayati Raj system was not allowed to be implemented, but last year the 73rd and 74th Amendments have led to successful, fair and violence-free elections for DDCs. Under the guise of 370, people did not allow any industry to come up in J&K for seven decades.
The deprived classes who served Jammu and Kashmir since 1957 were not given Permanent Resident Certificate. The West Pakistani refugee and Gurkha community were denied their rights, Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor said that Article 370 and 35A gave only separatism, militancy, nepotism and large scale corruption to J&K. There was not a single provision in it that would connect J&K to the mainstream development.
The Lt Governor added that Article 370 also provided that the Indian flag would be flown only on two occasions but today, the flag of India is being hoisted proudly on every government building of Jammu and Kashmir, in every school. All 890 central laws are now applicable here.
“The rule of only a handful didn’t give leadership opportunities to any young citizen of Jammu and Kashmir, but today the youth of J&K are not only making successful political debut but are also marching towards development”, Lt Governor remarked.
I believe that the country became independent in 1947, but its political consciousness and political sense was found due to Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, he added.
The Lt Governor said that only six years after the Independence, a new national consciousness was born due to Dr. Mookerjee, which strengthened the concept of Akhand Bharat.
The Lt Governor said that whether it was the debate on partition in the Constituent Assembly, the matter of making Hindi the national language or the matter of foreign policy of India, Dr. Mookerjee always gave a new direction to the whole country with his political consciousness, philosophy, creative, scientific and historical point of view.
The Lt Governor said that Dr. Mookerjee best defined the principle of ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’, world peace and the spirit of harmony.
Dr. Mookerjee with his way of thinking tried to awaken truth in the general public, shunning the feelings of particular creed, sect, party, opinion, Lt Governor mentioned in his address.
The Lt Governor said that the views of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s on J&K issue, relations with neighboring countries and reforms in elections were like the fragrance of spirituality in Indian politics. “Being a spiritual- politician in this country was not easy but Dr. Mookerjee came to the land of Jammu and Kashmir with full strength and courage and changed its history forever”, he added
The Lt Governor said that today, if J&K is moving ahead on the path of development, then it is only because of two personalities, one Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee and the other is Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dr. Mookerjee gave us a new meaning of politics and that was to bring social freedom and equality to the common people through creative programs and to find new ways for their development. There are very few political personalities in the country who have attained perfection in that and he was one of them.
“I bow down to Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee for their steadfast efforts, amazing valor and supreme sacrifice to get justice. And today Jammu and Kashmir has been fully integrated with India and taking along the crown jewel of India, we have to move forward for the development of the country with full faith, determination”, concluded the Lt Governor.
The webinar was organized by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and was attended by Arif Mohammed Khan, Governor of Kerala; Droupadi Murmu, Governor of Jharkhand; Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Ram Bahadur Rai, Chairman, IGNCA; Dr. Anirban Ganguly, Director, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation and Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA, besides other dignitaries.
Education catalyst for nation’s growth, development: LG
‘J&K tops country under NISHTHA programme’
Srinagar: With an aim to bring a paradigm shift in the school education ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today called for constituting Educational Reforms Committee of Teachers at various levels for developing scientific temper in students, besides providing them with quality education.
The Lt Governor was chairing a review meeting of School Education Department here at Civil Secretariat.
The Lt Governor asked the School Education Department to identify High-Performer Teachers who shall work as a member of this Special Task Force.
This new initiative will develop a sense of empowerment amongst teachers; making them more responsible and accountable towards their duty, besides improving student’s enrolment and performance. The committee shall also aim towards integrating secular and democratic values in teachers as well as students, added the Lt Governor.
Terming Education as a catalyst for the growth and development of the Nation, the Lt Governor underlined the importance of making new educational reforms so that no one remains deprived of education.
We are working to bring reformative improvements in the education sector to achieve the bigger goal i.e “Education for All”. The government is taking comprehensive measures to bridge the Social and Gender Gaps in School Education, besides ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels to improve J&K’s Literacy Rate, observed the Lt Governor.
The meeting was informed that J&K topped the country under National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) programme with 80600 Elementary Teachers Trained through online mode using DIKSHA portal.
Emphasizing on for Capacity Building of teachers, the Lt Governor asked the School Education Department to rationalize Pupil-Teacher ratio, besides conducting regular training of teachers in order to make them acquainted with the know-how of the modern educational tools which will go a long way in improving the quality of education and enhancing learning outcomes.
The Lt Governor further stressed on giving a dedicated focus on Competency-based learning so that students can develop a better understanding of concepts that can be implemented in real situation.
During the meeting, the Lt Governor sought the status of implementation of key features of National Educational Policy-2020.
The chair directed the department to include digital and financial literacy components in the school education curriculum.
Take requisite measures to strengthen the Pre-primary education ecosystem in the UT. Incorporate students’ feedback to make qualitative improvements in the assessment of the students’ feedback system for evaluating the performances of teachers, the Lt Governor asked the officials.
The Lt Governor directed the School Education Department to ensure that the benefits under Prime Minister’s “PM CARES for Children” and J&K Government’s ‘SASCM’ scheme, reached every child affected due to Covid pandemic.
Underscoring the significance of sports and other extra-curricular activities for holistic development of students, the Lt Governor directed the concerned department to ensure playgrounds and eco-clubs in schools across the UT.
Work in collaboration with Department of Youth, Services and Sports to engage students in sports activities in various disciplines, the Lt Governor added.
Reiterating directions passed previously, the Lt Governor asked the School Education Department to include stories of real heroes of J&K in textbooks to make the new generation aware about their life history.
He passed the necessary directions pertaining to effective implementation of centrally sponsored schemes; ensuring Water, electricity and sanitation facilities, besides attendance in every school.
The Lt Governor also took stock of the functioning of vocational labs, Centres for seasonal migratory students and Community Schooling in the UT.
Bishwajit Kumar Singh, Administrative Secretary to Government, School Education Department briefed the chair about Category-Wise Schools & Gender-Wise Enrolment; Educational Indicators; Teaching Learning during COVID time; “Aao School Chalein” Enrolment Drive.
He further informed about various initiatives to promote digital education through “e-Vidalaya/ e-Gash” initiative; Implementation of digital education programmes (e-resources) of Ministry of Education GoI, at National level: “Anytime Anywhere Learning”, major initiatives under Samagra Shiksha etc.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Prof. Veena Pandita, Chairperson JKBOSE and other concerned officers attended the meeting.
Union Home Secy reviews J&K situation with top security officials
New Delhi: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Tuesday held a high-level security review meeting with top officials in the intelligence agencies, senior officials of the paramilitary forces and Jammu and Kashmir Police.
During the meeting with the Home Ministry top official, the J&K Police, led by their Director General Dilbag Singh, made a presentation on the prevailing situation in the Union Territory (UT) and all the steps taken to strengthen the security set up there.
On his part the Home Secretary, while taking stock of the situation in J&K, especially reviewed the measures taken to foil any future attempt of drone attack, the sources said.
Besides J&K Police officials, the meeting was also attended by IB chief Arvind Kumar and DG of CRPF Kuldip Singh and CISF’s Additional DG Sudhir Kumar Saxena who is holding the charge of DG, the sources said.
The meeting, which took place nearly a fortnight after a drone attack on an air force station in Jammu, was a follow up of the high-level meeting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired in June, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
The ongoing counter militancy operations, radicalisation inside jails in the UT were other issues which figured in the meeting, they said.
It was a first instance when the Pakistan-based militants deploying drones to strike vital installations, two bombs were dropped at the IAF station in Jammu in the early hours of June 27, causing minor injuries to two airmen.
As the case has been handed over to the NIA for investigation and the NIA sleuths have been trying to determine the flight path of the drones that dropped the bombs as they scanned the CCTV footage, including from cameras installed on the boundary walls of the military aviation facility. (UNI)
Barring weekends, Sgr admin orders opening of public parks
Srinagar: Authorities on Tuesday ordered reopening of all paid and unpaid parks in Srinagar on week days except Saturdays and Sundays for visitors who are either vaccinated or carrying a valid negative RT-PCR within 48 hours. Those not falling in both categories would have to undergo rapid test before entry.
“Significant improvement has been observed in the daily/weekly positivity rate in district Srinagar since past few weeks,” Deputy Commissioner Srinagar said in an order.
Also, he said, a series of meetings with Department of Tourism, Department of Floriculture, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, in-charge of all historical gardens and other stakeholders regarding the opening of the parks was done.
“After a threadbare discussion it was decided that all paid/unpaid parks of district Srinagar shall be allowed to open on week days except Saturdays and Sundays (owing to weekend Curfew), subject to following conditions…that the entry shall be permitted only to vaccinated persons or to a person carrying COVID negative test report within 48 hours prior to entry or on spot test (if a person is not vaccinated),” the order reads.
There shall be strict compliance to COVID-19 guidelines/SOPs issued by State Executive Committee and COVID appropriate behavior, the order reads further.
“The departments concerned shall ensure strict adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour like wearing of face masks, social distancing, proper hand sanitation etc. inside the park/garden by the visitors”.
The Deputy Commissioner has also asked District Floriculture Officer and in-charge officials of parks and gardens to ensure availability of multiple Counters for registering the visitors in order to avoid congestion. “Chief Medical Officer, Srinagar shall deploy dedicated teams for on-spot testing/Vaccination,” the order added. (GNS)
ED summons Mehbooba’s mother on July 14
Srinagar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday summoned Gulshan Nazir, the mother of former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, for a personal appearance in Srinagar on July 14.
Confirming the news, Mehbooba Mufti said that the Enforcement Directorate has summoned her mother Gulshan Nazir to appear in person in Srinagar on July 14, and linked it to PDP’s decision not to meet with the Delimitation Commission.
“On the day the PDP chose not to meet the Delimitation Commission, the ED sent a summon to my mother to appear in person for unknown charges.
“In its attempts to intimidate political opponents, the government of India doesn’t even spare senior citizens. Agencies like NIA and ED are now its tools to settle scores,” Mehbooba said in a tweet.
She also shared the summon issued by the Assistant Director of ED, Sunil Kumar, to Gulshan Nazir, the wife of the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a former Chief Minister of J&K and ex-Home Minister of India. Nazir has been asked to appear before the ED office at Rajbagh in Srinagar on July 14. (IANS)
Stage set for Union Cabinet expansion soon
Sonowal, Scindia likely to be inducted
New Delhi: The stage appears to be set for the expansion and reshuffle of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with names of leaders like Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Varun Gandhi are doing around as possible inductees.
Although, the speculation has been there for last two days, it got some credence following appointment and rejig of Governors announced on Tuesday.
In today’s announcement, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot was moved out of the Cabinet and appointed as the Governor of Karnataka.
At present, many Union Ministers like Railway and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri have additional responsibilities of other Ministries too.
Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who agreed to give up the Chief Minister’s post in Assam for Himanta Biswa Sarma after the BJP’s re-election in the state while it was well speculated that Jyotiraditya Scindia will be inducted to the Cabinet from the day he joined BJP. He was also Union Minister of States in the Manmohan Singh led UPA Governmnet.
At present, there are 21 Cabinet ministers, nine MoS (minister of state) with independent charge, and 29 ministers of state besides PM Modi.
It is believed that the BJP’s allies like JD(U) and Apna Dal can also get representation in the forthcoming reshuffle and it is expected that two are from Janata Dal (United), one from Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Pashupati Kumar Paras group may find berth in the expansion.
In view of impending Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, names of Varun Gandhi, Rita Bahuguna Joshi are being speculated for the cabinet birth.
Former Bihar Deputy CM and now Rajya Sabha Member Sushil Modi is also seen as strong contenders while Maharashtra BJP leader Narayan Rane is also expected to be inducted into the Union Cabinet.
Apart from these, Member of Parliament from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Locket Chatterjee from West Bengal, Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh’s names are doing rounds for the possible induction in the Union Cabinet. (UNI)
