Hyderabad: Telangana finance minister T Harish Rao shot a letter to the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urging the privatisation of Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) be rolled back.
The minister, on Friday, asked the Centre to upgrade the factory machinery and initiate measures to enhance the skills of manpower.
He referred to the representation by the Ayudha Karmagara Telangana Udyodula Samakhya calling the privatisation an ‘arbitrary and unilateral decision of Government of India’.
Harish Rao reiterated the employee unions’ opinion that the decision was made ‘without convincing the stakeholders and 74,000 central government employees’.
The letter further states, “Due to corporatisation of the seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU), competition will emerge affecting the development of new warfare items, as a result, the concept of Make in India will be defeated automatically.”
Harish Rao said that a sufficient workload was available for the year 2022-23 due to which the Ordnance Factory Medak has achieved the target of Rs 930 crores.
“There is no sufficient workload for the year 2023-24. Due to this situation, a threat of declaring the sole ordinance factory located in Telangana as a sick industry in coming years will impact the livelihood of 2,500 direct employees, 5,000 indirect beneficiaries and approximately 25,000 individuals’ future,” the letter stated said.
The Telangana minister urged the Union Government to strengthen the research and development organisations and upgrade machinery at OFB.
His letter added to initiate measures to enhance the skills of manpower, simplify the purchase and administrative procedures, ensure sufficient workload to increase productivity as well as ensure the service of employees in government as was done in the case of Prasara Bharathi.
Bengaluru: Withdrawal of 4 per cent reservation for Muslim community by the ruling BJP government is likely to snowball into a crisis-situation in the poll-bound Karnataka.
As the major political parties engage in a war of words over the issue, members of the Muslim community came out in the open on Tuesday to protest against the BJP government’s decision.
The ruling BJP had withdrawn reservation of Muslims under 2B category and sent a proposal to the Centre. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has announced that the 4 per cent quota for Muslim will be given to Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
Chief Minister Bommai maintained that the reservation quota for Muslims will be intact as they will be moved to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
Muslim groups and political parties have come to the streets lately demanding that their quota should remain untouched. The protests have been staged in Belagavi, Chitradurga and Mandya cities of Karnataka.
The Minority Unit of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and Muslim community members had taken out a protest march in Belagavi. The agitators raised slogans against the ruling BJP party. They had also submitted a memorandum to the District Commissioner’s office.
Members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) staged a protest on the road in Chitradurga raising slogans against the government. SDPI had built a platform near DC Circle for the protest. As the police denied permission, the protest was staged on the road.
Various Muslim organisations and SDPI staged a protest against withdrawal of reservation. The protest was staged near the Vishveshvaraya statue in Mandya.
Former CM and JD (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy raised a concern that what if Muslim community takes to the streets like the Banjara community? Who will be responsible for the consequences?
“I appreciate the conduct of Muslim community at this hour. The BJP government had taken decisions as per whims and fancies. If Muslim community members had come to streets angered by withdrawal of their 4 per cent reservation, innocent people would have lost their lives,” he reiterated.
Kumaraswamy further stated that the national parties should not indulge in creating conflicting situations between castes. Both parties are indulging in this, he added.
The protest by Banjara community members over a new reservation decision by the BJP government turned violent in Shikaripura of Shivamogga district. The agitators had pelted stones on former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s residence and even attacked police.
Democrats insist the effort turned to their advantage, since plenty of their incumbents welcomed the chance to distance themselves from President Joe Biden. Still, Wednesday’s vote ends weeks of Democratic angst over D.C.’s liberal crime bill, a particularly potent subject after their party’s humiliating losses in deep blue New York that ultimately cost them control of the House last November.
In the initial House vote in February, the vast majority of the House Democrats stuck with Biden — only to have him reverse his position, with Senate Democrats lining up behind him. And even as Senate Democrats emphasize that the circumstances surrounding the D.C. bill are unique, they’re also resigned to the reality that there are more disapproval votes to come.
“Unfortunately, the agenda on the Republican side is to just look for division and have investigations,” said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the No. 3 Senate Democrat. “I would expect them to continue to look for ways to divide people and play politics.”
They won’t have to wait long. Republicans plan to use the same playbook to symbolically reject other Biden administration moves — including a vote this week on a wonky water rule that would cement broad authority for federal agencies to regulate streams and wetlands, an extremely unpopular policy in farm-heavy states.
For much of the House GOP conference, it’s seen as a win-win: A chance to declare their policy position, while putting vulnerable Senate Democrats on the spot in a campaign cycle that heavily favors the GOP. Unlike most bills, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer can’t block GOP-led policy statements from reaching the floor and they require only a simple majority for passage. That means the chamber’s Republicans only need two Democrats to join them to send it to Biden’s desk under full attendance.
On the water rule, for instance, several Republicans have been eagerly predicting they’ll win over Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), two of the most endangered senators up this cycle who both hail from rural states. Manchin, who has not yet said whether he’s running for reelection, has already indicated he’ll support the measure, while Tester said Monday he is undecided.
With Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) out due to a medical issue and Manchin a “yes” vote, it’s expected to pass the Senate next week, assuming full GOP attendance. And this time, Biden has threatened to whip out his veto pen, after declining to do so on the crime bill.
“Our farmers and ranchers will be pissed about that,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). Summing up the GOP approach generally, he added: “It’s an area that we can have some success. I don’t think it can be our only strategy. But we’re happy.”
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said she is optimistic about her chamber passing the water resolution, even if it won’t have the degree of Democratic support that the D.C. crime bill disapproval resolution is expected to garner.
“I would expect Democratic support, I wouldn’t expect it as a lot,” she said.
And there are more disapproval resolutions in the works. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) have introduced a resolution that would repeal a recent rule from the Department of Veterans Affairs that offered abortion counseling and services in certain cases. Manchin has already signed onto that effort as well.
Manchin and Tester were also the only two Senate Democrats to support a resolution disapproving of a Biden administration policy that enables managers to consider climate change and social goals in retirement investing decisions. But it’s the D.C. crime bill that has drawn the most ire within the Democratic Party.
Biden’s surprise decision to go along with the GOP’s push infuriated many House Democrats who voted against the repeal, some of whom will almost certainly face soft-on-crime attacks from Republicans in their reelection cycles. And it’s prompted some in the caucus to wonder if they should support future GOP-led measures even if the White House opposes them.
“Like in any house, in any office, and any household, there can always be better communication,” Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) told reporters, though he stressed an otherwise “unified” relationship with the White House. Democrats had to “navigate what is a hostile environment” with Republican control of the House, he added, noting the potential political potency of the legislation undoing Biden administration policy.
Still, it’s clear some are still feeling burned by the White House.
When House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) brought up the Biden administration’s threat to veto the Obama-era water rule measure during a closed-door meeting Wednesday, there were some audible groans in the room, according to two people familiar with the situation.
Across the Capitol, many Senate Democrats largely blame the discord between the D.C. Council and the city’s mayor for the dramatic back-and-forth. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the measure, only to have the city council override the veto — and then attempt to withdraw its plan earlier this week, in the face of congressional backlash.
“The mayor and the police chief both opposed it, the head of the D.C. Council said, ‘OK guys, don’t vote on it, we’ll go back to the drawing board,’” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “So, unfortunately, the whole process has been flawed.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
“At a time when working families are dealing with higher costs, from health care to housing, we need to be focused on ensuring Montanans’ retirement savings are on the strongest footing possible,” Tester said in a statement. “I’m opposing this Biden Administration rule because I believe it undermines retirement accounts for working Montanans and is wrong for my state.”
The fact that Republicans are poised to push the measure through a divided Congress underscores the growing political momentum behind their crusade against what they deride as “woke” business practices. Conservative officials at the state and federal level are increasingly attacking big corporations for embracing social and environmental causes. It’s a push that Democrats in red states and swing districts are finding they’re unable to ignore.
The Biden administration said in its veto threat this week that the rollback move would “unnecessarily limit the options available to retirement plan participants and investors.”
The president’s threat in a way gives moderate Democrats a free pass to distance themselves from the president because they don’t face the risk of the rollback actually being implemented.
Asked whether Democratic leadership had pressured him to vote “no,” Tester told reporters that they gave a presentation to the broader caucus Tuesday. But “it wasn’t like, pestering.”
The 2024 election “hasn’t been my focus, but that ought to be their focus,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who sponsored the measure, told reporters. “I just tried to make the merits of the case out there understandable to everyone listening.”
Manchin took to the Senate floor to blast the Biden DOL rule as “just another example of how our administration prioritizes a liberal policy agenda over protecting and growing the retirement accounts of 150 million Americans.”
Republicans are taking advantage of procedures under the Congressional Review Act that allow lawmakers to nullify recently issued rules with simple majority votes, avoiding the Senate filibuster.
The Labor Department rule at issue doesn’t require investment managers to focus on environmental, social and governance factors in retirement accounts, but instead clarifies that they’re free to do so.
ESG investing has been a big focus for money managers for years, partly in response to consumer demand for sustainable investment products.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a Wall Street Journal op-ed blasted the GOP rollback effort, accusing Republicans of sacrificing their free market ideals in favor of “forcing their own views down the throats of every company and investor.”
“The whole anti-ESG operation is a fake, cooked up by the fossil fuel industry,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said in an interview.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Tuesday decried the notification regarding the imposition of property tax in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the notification smacks of arbitrariness.
Responding to the notification, party’s State Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir have been at the receiving end economically since 2019 due to the losses suffered by Aug 05 2019 lockdown and then the successive Covid lock downs. Imposition of the property tax will further push the people to the wall. Such decisions will make the situation even worse.”
Questioning the haste in which such decisions are taken in absence of a democratically elected government , Imran said, “Such matters should be left to an elected government. The people’s representatives must be given an opportunity to discuss these issues. Unfortunately such important issues don’t face public scrutiny in the current bureaucratic set up. It has become a habit of those in power in Delhi to issue orders, irrespective of their impact or public opinion.”
He termed this decision anti-people and a grave injustice and demanded its immediate rollback. “Such revenue generation measures must be left to a democratically elected government in J&K,” he added.
