"BJP Has The Upper Hand, Everyone Knows It": PM To NDTV On 2024 Polls

"Hamara palda bahut bhari hai (The scales are tilted in our favour)," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told NDTV in an exclusive interview, projecting confidence in his ability to secure a third straight term for his party, BJP, in the Lok Sabha elections.

Four rounds are over in the marathon six-week general election, the second biggest since the general election of 1951-52. Three more rounds remain. The votes will be counted on June 4.  

"Itna bada desh. Aap jisko (vote) dene jaa rahe ho, jaante ho kya, uska naam pata hai kya, uska anubhav pata hai kya. Toh ye desh ki janta dekhti hai. Koi party apne naam bataaye ya na bataaye woh tolti hai (It is such a big country. Do you know whom you want to give your vote to? Their name, their experience? The nation sees everything. Whether the party names the person or not, the voters assess them)," PM Modi said in an interview with NDTV's Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Pugalia.  

"Aur hamara palda bahut bhari hai usme mujhe kuch kehne ki jaroorat nahi hai. Hamara palda bhaari hai, har koi jaanta hai (The scales are heavily tilted in our favour. I don't have to say anything about that. We have the upper hand. And everyone knows it)," the Prime Minister, 73, told the channel.

The Congress, attenuated by poll losses and a string of defections, is part of the Opposition bloc INDIA taking on the BJP.

The Prime Minister, who has tasked his ministers to come up with an action plan for the first 100 days of his new government, told NDTV the route to success - stressing on scope, scale, speed and skill.

"The scope should be very big, it shouldn't be in parts, and the second thing is scale, which should also be large. The speed should be in sync with these two. So, scope, scale and speed, and then there should be skill. If we can get these four things together, I believe, we achieve a lot," said the Prime Minister, who is contesting from Varanasi.

The BJP swept the politically prized state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends most number of MPs (80) to Lok Sabha, in 2014 and 2019, winning 71 and 62 seats, respectively.

Congress, the principal opposition party, is contesting 17 seats in the state. It is in alliance with Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi party, which is contesting on 63 seats.

Rahul Gandhi, 53, is contesting from the family stronghold of Raebareli, a seat represented by his mother Sonia Gandhi five times. Akhilesh Yadav, too, took the poll plunge and is contesting from Kannauj.

Tune in tomorrow at 8 pm to watch the interview, which will be aired across the NDTV network.

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Rs 40 Crore "Unaccounted" Cash Found In Raids On Agra Shoe Trader

The Income Tax department on Saturday recovered about Rs 40 crore "unaccounted" cash during raids against some Agra-based shoe businesses, official sources said.

The cash is still being counted and the figure may go up, the sources said.

They said a shoe trader in Uttar Pradesh's Agra and his linked entities were raided in the afternoon and cash to the tune of Rs 40 crore has been recovered till now.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Gujarat School Principal Thrashed For Doing Survey Of Madrasa, 2 Arrested

The principal of a government school was thrashed by a group of people when he went to survey a madrasa in Ahmedabad on Saturday, police said.

The police have arrested two men after a case was registered against five to seven persons for unlawful assembly, rioting and voluntarily causing hurt, robbery and criminal intimidation, a police official said.

Sandeep Patel, principal of Shruti Higher Secondary School, went to the madrasa in the Dariyapur locality of the city to collect details, including the number of students there and about its infrastructure, as part of a government exercise, the official said.

Finding the premises closed, he began taking photos of it from outside. Just then, a group of people approached him and demanded to know what he was doing.

Despite explaining to the group that he was a school principal and taking the pictures as per a government order, they thrashed him and snatched away his mobile phone and documents.

The group also threatened to kill him, Mr Patel said in his complaint, adding that he somehow escaped from the spot. "We have arrested two persons in this connection. Further investigation is underway," the Dariyapur police station official said.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) education committee officer Labdhir Desai said several such premises were surveyed as per the government order.

"We conducted a survey on 175 madrasas and each team consisted of two members. We received support during the exercise," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Rush Him To Hospital: Mamata Banerjee Stops Speech As Man Faints At Rally

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered immediate arrangement of medical treatment for a person who fell ill during her speech at an election rally in Bankura district on a hot Saturday afternoon.

While addressing the gathering, the TMC chief found someone collapsing to the ground in front rows and fainting.

She stopped her speech midway and told party workers: "Sprinkle water on his face, make an ambulance ready to rush him to a nearby hospital." Ms Banerjee waited patiently while he was being attended to.

As the ailing person regained composure and was back on his feet, she directed that he be taken to his residence in an ambulance.

"Such oppressive heat, it is obvious someone could fall sick in such hot and humid conditions. Please ensure he is checked by a doctor," Ms Banerjee asked health department officials and trauma care personnel present there.

Ms Banerjee then resumed her speech.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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At 43.2 Degrees, Himachal's Una Records Hottest Day Of The Season So Far

With the temperature soaring in the lower and mid hills of Himachal, Una experienced the hottest day of the season as the mercury touched 43.2 degrees Celsius on Friday, the MeT office said.

Neri in Hamirpur recorded 43.1 degrees, and Dhaulakuan and Bilaspur recorded a high of 41.7 degrees. Key summer tourist destinations of Shimla, Dharamsala and Manali were warmer, with day temperatures rising to 29.4 degrees, 34.9 degrees and 27.5 degrees, 4.4 degrees, 3.7 degrees and 2.5 degrees above normal.

Rising temperatures in Una and Hamirpur districts where Lok Sabha and four assembly by-elections for Gagret, Kutlehar, Barsar and Sujanpur assembly seats, are scheduled for June 1, the political parties and candidates are facing problems in campaigning as people are avoiding coming out during the day under the scorching sun.

The temperatures will gradually rise in the lower areas and Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Solan, Sirmaur, parts of Kangra and Mandi could witness heat waves in the coming days, Director, Shimla MeT Office Surender Paul told the PTI.

While thunderstorms could not be ruled out at higher reaches, the weather would remain mainly dry in low hills. However, there is a possibility of rain and snow at isolated places in higher reaches in the next four days till May 21, he said.

The weather remained dry throughout the state in the past 24 hours. Kukumseri in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded a night temperature of 5.3 degrees Celsius. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Bus Carrying Uttarakhand Pilgrims Catches Fire In Madhya Pradesh, None Hurt

Pilgrims travelling to Uttarakhand for 'Char Dham Yatra' in a private bus from Maharashtra's Buldhana town had a providential escape when their vehicle suddenly caught fire on Friday here in Madhya Pradesh and was completely gutted, officials said.

No one was injured in the incident which took place in the afternoon as passengers quickly came out of the bus, which was totally gutted, a police official said.

A total of 30 passengers, including eight children, were on-board the ill-fated bus when it caught fire near Kolaras town in Shivpuri district, Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Vijay Yadav said.

As soon as the travellers noticed smoke emanating in the bus, they immediately came out, a woman passenger said.

Later, the bus was engulfed in flames which were doused by a fire tender, Yadav said, adding it appears the blaze was caused by an electrical short-circuit.

The luggage of the passengers bound for Uttarakhand was damaged in the fire, the official added.

A total of 60 passengers in two private buses had left from Buldhana town on May 15 for the popular pilgrimage to four sacred Hindu sites located in the Himalayas, he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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मोदी सरकार की नीतियों का असर, NSO के आंकड़ों में महिला बेरोजगारी दर में आई गिरावट

देश में जनवरी से मार्च की अवधि के बीच महिला बेरोजगारी दर में बड़ी गिरावट हुई है. राष्ट्रीय सांख्यिकी कार्यालय (एनएसओ) द्वारा गुरुवार को जारी किए गए आवधिक श्रम बल सर्वेक्षण (पीएलएफस) से यह जानकारी मिली. आवधिक श्रम बल सर्वेक्षण में बताया गया कि 2024 की मार्च तिमाही में महिला बेरोजगारी दर घटकर 8.5 प्रतिशत रह गई है, जो कि पिछले साल समान अवधि में 9.2 प्रतिशत थी. इसके अलावा जनवरी से मार्च के बीच कुल बेरोजगारी दर में भी कमी देखने को मिली है. यह घटकर 6.7 प्रतिशत पर रह गई है, जो पहले 6.8 प्रतिशत थी.

जनवरी से मार्च 2024 के बीच श्रम बल भागीदारी दर (एलएफपीआर) बढ़कर 50.2 प्रतिशत हो गई है, जो कि पिछले वर्ष 48.5 प्रतिशत थी. महिला श्रम बल भागीदारी दर 2024 की मार्च तिमाही में बढ़कर 25.6 प्रतिशत हो गई है. पिछले साल मार्च तिमाही में यह 22.7 प्रतिशत थी.

शहरी इलाकों में महिला श्रमिक जनसंख्या अनुपात भी 2024 की मार्च तिमाही में बढ़कर 23.4 प्रतिशत हो गया है, जो कि पिछले वर्ष समान अवधि में 20.6 प्रतिशत था. पिछले 10 वर्षों में मोदी सरकार की ओर से महिलाओं की संख्या श्रम भागीदारी में बढ़ाने को लेकर कई कदम उठाए गए हैं. मोदी सरकार द्वारा 2017 में मातृत्व छुट्टी के फायदे को 12 हफ्ते से बढ़ाकर 26 हफ्ते कर दिया गया. वहीं, बच्चा गोद लेने वाली महिलाओं के लिए मातृत्व छुट्टी 12 हफ्तों की कर दी गई.

प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने उस समय कहा था कि इस कदम के जरिए सरकार की कोशिश है कि शिशु को जन्म के बाद एक अच्छी देखभाल मिले. 50 से ज्यादा कर्मचारी वाली संस्थाओं के लिए शिशुगृह बनाना अनिवार्य कर दिया गया. साथ ही वर्क फ्रॉम होम का भी प्रावधान सरकार द्वारा किया गया.

सरकार ने नाइट शिफ्ट में काम करने वाली महिलाओं की सुविधा को ध्यान में रखते हुए भी नियमों में बदलाव किया है. अब नाइट शिफ्ट करने वाली महिलाओं को नियोक्ताओं द्वारा पिक-अप और ड्रॉप-ऑफ सुविधा उपलब्ध कराना जरूरी है.

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