NEW DELHI, (PTI): Chief ministers of non-BJP-ruled states on Wednesday said the Union Budget was ”disappointing” and ”discriminatory” and had failed to address the country’s economic concerns, while those from the saffron party hailed it as visionary and benefiting all sections of society.

West Bengal: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it was a ”dark budget” that offers no ray of hope and has been prepared with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

”This Union Budget is not futuristic, totally opportunistic, anti-people and anti-poor. It will benefit only one class of people. This Budget will not help address the country’s unemployment issue. It has been prepared with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” the Trinamool Congress leader said.

”The changes in the income tax slabs will not help anyone. There is no ray of hope in this Budget — it is a dark budget,” she added.

Kerala: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Budget does not attempt to solve the growing economic disparities in the country and it was disappointing that the long-sought demands of Kerala for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and rail development projects in the state found no mention.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal said allocations in major schemes including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and food subsidies were cut down drastically.

Uttarakhand: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said it is an inclusive budget touching all sections and also reflects a grand vision for building a new India.

The BJP leader praised the special provisions for the states and its thrust on start-ups in the agricultural sector, boosting tourism and development of border areas, saying it will play a significant role in making Uttarakhand one of the leading states by 2025.

Uttar Pradesh: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Budget has a vision for ‘New India’ and the country’s prosperity and aims to serve 130 crore Indians ”The budget will fulfil the expectations and aspirations of all sections of society, including the poor, farmers, youth and women. Undoubtedly, this budget will prove to be a milestone in making India an economic superpower,” the BJP leader added.

UP’s finance minister Suresh Khanna said that the Union Budget has something for every section of society.

”This is a holistic budget. The income tax provisions in the budget are a relief to the middle class, and it will also help in increasing the purchasing power of the people,” Khanna said.

Opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, however, said that the Union Budget has given ”nirasha” (despair) instead of ”asha” (hope) to the people of the country and will only benefit the rich.

He also claimed that the budget will further increase inflation and unemployment.

”The BJP is completing a decade of its budgets, but when it did not give anything to the public earlier, what will it give now?” Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati said it would be better if the budget is for the country rather than for the party.

Haryana: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the seven priorities of the government towards the country and the society mentioned by the finance minister in the budget will benefit every section.

“This budget is inclusive and futuristic, keeping in mind the empowerment of job professionals, youth, women and farmers.

”Special focus has been laid on infrastructure development, health, employment generation, housing, social welfare, farmers welfare, higher education, innovation and research, which will also be beneficial for Haryana,” the BJP leader said.

The announcement of the Indian Institute of Millet for coarse grains, promotion of fisheries and horticulture sector and connecting one crore farmers with natural farming are many such decisions that will further strengthen our agriculture system, he added.

He further said that a lot of provisions have been made in the budget to connect ‘New India’ with technology.

Himachal Pradesh: Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said it was a ”pro-rich” budget and the Union Government has lost its only opportunity to fulfill its promises to people.

”It is silent on rising inflation and unemployment. The hopes of people waiting for the ‘Achhe Din’ as lured by the BJP in 2014 have been dashed,” the Congress leader said.

In a statement, Sukhu said that the budget lacks the vision for the employment sector and there was no addition to MNREGA allocation thereby completely ignoring the rural employment avenues.

Nothing has been projected for Himachal Pradesh in the Union Budget. There is no allocation for the expansion of the rail infrastructure and for the National Highways, he alleged.

He lamented that no special grant has been announced for the states under debt burden.

”We have inherited the debt burden of around Rs 75000 crore from the previous government… There was no mention of reimbursement of GST since June 2022 in the Budget to the small hill states,” he said.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Chief Pratibha Singh said the budget was directionless.

”She said that an unsuccessful attempt has been made to woo the employees by giving tax exemption of up to Rs 7 lakhs which should have been increased to at least Rs 12 lakh,” she said.

Rajasthan: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the Budget was ”disappointing” for Rajasthan.

”The people of the state are disappointed because the central government did not accept our just demand of giving national status to the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project, an important project related to the development of Rajasthan,” the Congress leader said.

He said the reduction in allocation for schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act proves the Centre is against the interests of poor, landless farmers and common people.

Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Budget was nothing but a ‘jumla’ and said it would add a debt of Rs 15 lakh crore.

”We all know that the BJP has made terms like ‘acche din’ a jumla. The budget by BJP-led Centre is nothing but a jumla. We have heard many such jumlas in the past — like introduction of bullet trains or the promise of doubling farmers’ income or creating 60 lakh jobs,” he said.

Karnataka: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai hailed the Rs 5,300 crore assistance for the Upper Bhadra project in Karnataka Several ruling BJP leaders, including National General Secretary C T Ravi and state party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel, praised the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha, calling it ”farsighted and pro-poor”.

Pointing to the finance minister announcing a hike in the capital expenditure by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure development, Kateel said, this will also help in generating more jobs.

Gujarat: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the Budget fulfils the hopes and expectations of the country’s poor, the deprived, and the middle class by giving them innovative opportunities for development.

“Prioritising seven aspects – ‘Saptarishi’ – inclusive growth, last-mile delivery, infrastructure and investment, green growth, youth power, financial sector and unleashing the potential of the countrymen, this budget will take India’s development to new heights,” the BJP leader said in a message in Gujarati on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Maharashtra: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also said the Budget has taken the interests of all sections of society, including farmers, tribals, women, youth and the middle class into consideration.

“The income tax exemptions up to Rs 7 lakh will help the lower middle class. At the same time income tax limit of Rs 1.5 lakh for income up to Rs 15 lakh will provide a huge relief to the middle class,” the BJP leader said.

Madhya Pradesh: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan welcomed the income tax relief which he said would ensure more savings for the middle class.

Chouhan termed ”revolutionary” the Budgetary announcement to recruit more than 38,000 teaching and supporting staff for residential Eklavya Model Schools, which he said will improve the talents of the tribal society.

Opposition Congress president Kamal Nath termed the Budget a cover-up of unfulfilled old promises by ”jumlas” (rhetoric).

”We expected the FM will throw light on the announcements that were to be completed in 2022,” he said.

”The income of farmers was to be doubled by 2022, housing was to be available to every poor by 2022, the bullet train was to run in the country by 2022. But the Finance Minister neither gave any reason for the non-fulfilment of these announcements nor apologised to the people of the country,” he said.

The former chief minister said the Budget shows the government intends to divert ”the attention of people from the present complex situation by showing hollow dreams for the future”.

Chhattisgarh: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said the Budget was cruel and lacks provisions to double the income of farmers, create employment opportunities and control inflation.

“It (Budget) can be called ‘nirmam’ budget of Nirmala ji. It neither has anything for youths, nor for women. It has no provision to double the income of farmers and for the welfare of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities. This budget is drafted only eyeing elections,” said the Congress leader.(PTI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI0: The Supreme Court on Tuesday castigated the Bar Council of India (BCI) over the delay in coming up with a concrete plan for preventing lawyers in states from going on strikes and asked it to strengthen the rules of professional etiquette.

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela M Trivedi was hearing a contempt petition filed by NGO ‘Common Cause’ over alleged violation of the apex court order against strikes by lawyers. The Supreme Court has been asking the BCI for quite some time to submit a concrete proposal about putting an end to agitations by lawyers.

Upset over an agitation by lawyers in Odisha’s Sambalpur last year, the top court had warned of dispatching central forces to tackle the situation if the local police failed to bring things under control.

The court had taken strong exception to a report by the registrar general of the state high court and videos showing how the protesting lawyers forcibly entered the chambers of a district judge and other judicial officers. The agitators were seeking a high court bench in western Odisha. The SC had then asked the BCI to take action and suspend the licences of the agitating lawyers.

”For how long will the deliberations go on? If the Bar Council of India can’t expedite the things which are needed to be done by itself, who else will do it? We need specific, concrete preventive measures. This is not a process that we can allow at your own leisurely pace,” the bench said.

Advocate Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad, appearing for the BCI, submitted the stakeholders are all state bar councils with whom the Bar Council of India is in deliberation. He said the deliberations will take some time before they are concluded.

Prasad acknowledged the need for the state bar councils and other bar bodies to be sensitised on the issue.

”You need to strengthen the rules of professional etiquette. It appears you are not doing things…you need to take it seriously,” the bench said.

Justice Trivedi orally observed that all state bar councils and bar associations are already sensitised but they don’t want to follow the rules.

The top court asked the BCI lawyer to come up with concrete steps to be taken to tackle the issue and posted the matter for resumed hearing on March 16. (PTI)

AMRITSAR, (PTI): Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma on Sunday said the party is going to launch a campaign against the drug menace in the state from March.

To make the youth and the people of the state aware of the scourge of drugs, the campaign will be rolled out at political and social levels in order to make Punjab a drug-free state, he added.

Under this campaign, a yatra will be taken out in March, which will continue till August and visit every Lok Sabha constituency in Punjab for 18 days, Sharma said.

The BJP leader was speaking during the party’s two-day state executive meeting which began here.

BJP national vice-president Saudan Singh, the party’s Punjab in-charge and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, co-in-charge of state unit Narinder Singh Raina were present in the meeting.

Sharma further said BJP president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Punjab next month.

He exhorted BJP workers to take pro-people schemes of the central government to each and every rural household.

Sharma further said that the BJP will contest all the upcoming civic elections on its own in the state. (PTI)

MUMBAI: Reliable sources have claimed that after Tunisha Sharma’s death and Sheezan Khan’s incarceration in jail, the show Ali Baba: Daastan-E-Kabul may be wound up and the otherwise popular show may be eventually shut down – at least for a few months.

Tunisha Sharma ’s tragic death and the subsequent arrest of her co-star and ex-boyfriend Sheezan Khan has inevitably landed the makers of their show Ali Baba: Daastan-E-Kabul in a tight spot. While Tunisha is no more, Sheezan is not likely to be out of jail for another 5 to 20 days, depending on the evidence that comes up in these intervening days.

While news reports claimed the makers of the show have managed to find a replacement for Sheezan Khan, it is very unlikely with the situation at hand the producers may want to continue the show.

News reports claimed actor Abhishek Nigam who had earlier worked with Tunisha Sharma in the show Hero Gayab Mode may be roped in to play the main lead. But our source said the show may not be continued further and may be wound down with a few episodes. They may use the exsiting episode bank and wind it up, our source said, because finding a replacement for Tunisha’s role as Shehzadi Mariam may be easier said than done.

The makers are also not sure how audiences will react and accept the new couple on the show, our source revealed.

SHIMLA, (PTI): Guru Gobind Singh was saint, warrior, poet and philosopher who founded the Khalsa Panth and also made immense contributions towards humanity, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said Thursday, paying tribute to the 10th Sikh Guru on his birth anniversary.

Sukhu visited the Shri Gurdwara Sahib Shimla to pay obeisance on the occasion of Parkash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh.

He said Guru Gobind Singh fought valiantly against Mughal tyranny.

The chief minister said his government would consider sympathetically the demand of charging domestic tariff on electric meters in all religious places instead of commercial rates as these places were serving humanity.

He also donated Rs 11,000 from his discretionary fund for Langar Sewa, a statement issued here said. (PTI)

JAIPUR: In a shocking disclosure, a ‘friend’ of Bigg Boss 16 contestant Priyanka Chahar Choudhary has alleged that the popular Tv actor is faking her name, age and various other things.

The ‘friend’ who hails from Jaipur and claims to know Priyanka Chahar Choudhary since her childhood told this website that Priyanka Chahar Choudhary is lying about several things and has a ‘serious boyfriend’ in Jaipur but is feigning a relationship and ‘liking’ for co-contestant Ankit Gupta just to get mileage and hog footage on the show.

The ‘friend’ alleged that Priyanka Chahar Choudhary is born in 1992, but she has wrongly claimed that she is born in 1996 and is only 26 years old. “She is actually nearly 30 years old,” the ‘friend’ told this reporter.

We are not able to independently verify the claims made by Priyanka Chahar Choudhary’s so-called Jaipur ‘friend’ and will wait for her to come out of the Bigg Boss house and clarify about the allegations.

Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, who is presently a participant in the Salman Khan-hosted reality show Bigg Boss 16 on Colors Tv, was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

She made her acting debut in 2016 and appeared in a number of music videos and other modeling and ramp assignments.

She first appeared on a Tv show Gathbandhan in 2018 and got noticed for her acting skills. Her portrayal as Tejo Sandhu in the TV show Udaariyaan in 2021 won her fame as they show gained popularity. She has done cameos in Parineeti, Yeh Hai Chahetein and other TV shows and appeared in other projects as well.

She has openly confessed her liking for Bigg Boss 16 co-contestant Ankit Gupta but some several fans claim its a publicity stunt.

She claimed on the show that she started working at a young age to financially support her family.

SHILLONG, (PTI): Lt Gen K C Panchanathan, the general officer commanding of 101 Area here has died due a heart attack, officials said on Wednesday.

Panchanathan was 57.

According to Army officials, Lt Gen Pachanathan was rushed to North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences here and died at around 8:30 pm Tuesday night.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma condoled the death of the Defence officer. ”The very jovial and energetic Lt Gen K C Panchanathan, GOC 101 Area left for his heavenly abode last night. Deeply saddened by his untimely demise. He would often visit me with suggestions on how @easterncomd can strengthen their relationship with the people of the NE,” he tweeted.

The officer had served the Indian Army in various capacity before taking charge of the 101 Army base here, the Army officials said.

MUMBAI, (PTI): Akshay Kumar, Manoj Bajpayee, and Raveena Tandon were among the stars of Indian cinema who on Saturday remembered veteran actor Vikram Gokhale, who died at a Pune hospital.

Gokhale, is known for several Marathi and Bollywood films including the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer ”Agneepath” (1990), ”Bhool Bhulaiyaa” (2007), ”Natsamrat” (2015), and ”Mission Mangal” (2019), passed away at Pune’s Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital where he had been undergoing treatment for the last couple of weeks. He was 77.

Kumar said he learned a lot from the veteran actor when he worked with him in movies such as ”Bhool Bhulaiyaa” and ”Mission Mangal”.

”Very sad to know of the demise of Vikram Gokhale ji. Worked with him in films like Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Mission Mangal, and had so much to learn from him. Om Shanti,” he tweeted.

Indian cinema lost a gem of an actor, said Bajpayee.

”Had the privilege of working with him in ‘Aiyaary’ and shared a few great moments with him on the set! Saddened to hear about Shri Vikram Gokhale ji’s demise. My thoughts & prayers are with the family,” the actor said.

Chef and actor Ranveer Brar tweeted, ”Loss of a supremely amazing artist.. Om Shanti RIP #VikramGokhale” Sharing a post about Gokhale’s death, Tandon tweeted, ”Om Shanti”.

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit called Gokhale’s death a huge loss to the film industry.

”Respected king of Marathi theatre, TV, and cinema #VikramGokhale ji is no more with us! This is a huge loss for the industry! I pay tribute to his family on our behalf of us! om Shanti!” he wrote on Twitter.

Actor Rahul Dev, who worked with Gokhale in the 2000 movie ”Champion”, remembered him as a ”true gentleman and a complete actor”.

”His craft lent dignity to all his roles. Fortunate to have worked with him. My sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. Shine on Sir. #legend” he wrote.

Gokhale’s mortal remains will be kept at the Balgandharva Auditorium in the city and the last rites will be performed at the Vaikunth crematorium in the evening. The actor is survived by wife and two daughters. (PTI)