NEW DELHI:Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the upcoming State capital Amravati would be the “innovation hub’’ of India. Addressing a gathering of investors and businessmen here, Mr Naidu explained the steps his government is taking to make Andhra Pradesh as the number one to live and do business. He said Andhra Pradesh tops all States in the country in ease of doing business index. Â“We are committed to make AP the best state to work and live in the country. We will make it the innovation valley. Amravati will be the hub of this innovation which will comprise nine cities – Media City, Government City, Justice City, Finance City, Knowledge City, Tourism City, Electronics City and Sports City,’’ he said.
“The crucial part of Amravati will be the Amravati Media City (AMC), which will focus on media, entertainment, social media and other cutting edge technologies. This city will act as its hub,” Mr Naidu said at the workshop – “Andhra Pradesh: The Emerging Hub of Indian Media”, organised by the Centre for Strategy and Leadership.
“Our hardships have posed as obstacles, but have not distracted us from taking our minds off our single-minded goal of developing Andhra Pradesh. We have grown significantly at around 10-11% per annum with significant increase in per capita income”.
The Chief Minister stressed that his government is constructing nine cities and the vision is to make them not just the best cities in terms of technology and services, but as ‘Happy Cities’ with a perfect work-life balance for its residents.
“No compromises will be made. These cities will not just be sustainable and state-of-the-art, but will bring out the best in people as these cities will strive to help its residents find a perfect work-life balance so that they can commit themselves to being out the best in themselves,” he said.
On Media City, Mr Naidu said it will act as the hub for four elements — Films and Television, Animation, VFX and Gaming, Digital Advertising and Social Media and Telecom.
“Amravati will be India’s first future city that will fuel the growth of India.  . Amravati will compete with world’s top global cities. It will be hub of all major activities in India. It will also attract other countries and organisations to associate and invest with Amravati. Amravati is already creating a buzz in India and abroad,” said Vikas Sharma, Director, Centre for Strategy and Leadership.
Vision 2036 for Media City at Amaravati is to develop it into a world class media hub with a long term vision to host International events like Cannes Film festival and Grammy awards.
Media City at Amaravati will create around 60,000-65,000 direct jobs by 2036, more than Sangam Media City (Seoul, South Korea), which currently has 40,000 direct jobs and Dubai Media City that currently has 64,000 direct jobs.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday took everyone in the Lok Sabha by surprise when he went and hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi after tearing into the BJP-led government during the no confidence motion.

“I have not an iota of hatred or hard feelings against you. You hate me, I maybe ‘Pappu’ for you. But I love you and respect you because I am the Congress,” Gandhi said at the end of his fiery speech.

He then walked across to the ruling benches and hugged Modi who was also taken by surprise.

The Prime Minister, a little taken aback at first, called Gandhi back and shook hands with him with a pat on his back. The two exchanged some words.

As the opposition members gave Gandhi a standing ovation and thumped their desks, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said such conduct was against the rules of the House. 

Rahul Gandhi said French President Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no secrecy pact with India on the Rafale jet deal, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had lied to the nation about it.

“I personally met the French President and asked him if there was a secrecy pact with India. He told me that no such pact was signed between the two countries. He said he had no hesitation in saying this and that I can tell this to my country,” Gandhi thundered in the Lok Sabha.

Gandhi said the price per plane during the UPA regime was Rs 520 crore but when Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to France and “with some magic” powers, the price per plane increased to Rs 1,600 crore.

“Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is here. She said she would reveal the price. But after that she said clearly she cannot because the French and Indian governments have a secrecy pact.

“The Prime Minister has lied to the country. Sitharaman under pressure from the Prime Minister has lied to the country. They must tell the nation. The Prime Minister and the Defence Minister must tell the nation.”

The mention of the Rafale deal triggered noisy protests from the ruling party MPs.

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly hit out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi accusing him of arrogance, negativity, childish conduct and a burning desire to become PM.  Modi said he was extending best wishes to the Congress and other opposition parties to bring another no-confidence motion in 2024.     Modi replied to the debate on no-confidence motion, moved by TDP’s Jayadev Galla, against the government in the Lok Sabha,  said the Congress lacked self-confidence and had no faith in Chief Justice of India, Election Commission, Electronic Voting Machines, Reserve Bank of India and programmes like Swachh Bharat.  The motion was defeated by 325 votes to 126.  Modi highlighted the work done by his government for different sections including farmers, youth, women and weaker sections to boost BJP’s prospects in the state elections later this year and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.    Replying to barbs of Gandhi, Modi said he is “kaamdar” and “not a naamdar” and could not see him in the eye.  “They have confidence in nothing. Today the nation has seen the negativity expressed by some members. India saw how some people are so deeply opposed to development. What we saw among members of the opposition was sheer arrogance. The only thing they have to say-remove Modi. To remove one Modi, see who all they are trying to bring together,” he said.  Modi, who was loudly cheered by treasury benches, attacked Gandhi over his remarks on Doklam stand off with China and the Rafale fighter jet deal with France.  “One of the leaders spoke about Doklam. The same leader, who believed the Chinese Ambassador over our forces. What have we come to? Everything does not merit a childish conduct. Due to one careless allegation in the House on Rafale, both nations had to release statements. My appeal to the Congress is please do not bring politics in national security,” the Prime Minister said.   He alleged the Congress had described the surgical strike of 2016 as “jumla strike”. “We have seen how the Army chief was insulted by their leaders. You have called surgical strike a jumla strike, the country will not forgive you. You can abuse Modi but not the forces. Stop insulting the jawans of India,” he said.   Modi, who spoke for nearly 90 minutes alos attacked UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi over her remarks on Wednesday that the opposition had the numbers in the no-confidence vote.  “See her arrogance. I was reminded about 1999 when she stood outside Rashtrapati Bhavan and said-we have 272 and more are joining us. She destabilized Atal Ji’s government and never formed one herself,” he said.   He blamed the Congress for the huge non-performing assets of banks, saying that loans disbursed had increased to Rs 52 lakh crore during UPA rule.  “I want to tell you about the NPA problem. Much before Internet Banking, Congress Party invented Phone Banking and this caused the NPA mess. A phone call would get loans for their cronies and the nation suffered,” he said.    Referring to the triple talaq bill, Modi said the government stands with the Muslim women in their quest for justice.   He also condemned mob lynchings and said any instance of violence brings shame to the nation. “I will once again urge the state governments to punish those who indulge in violence.”  Modi said India is seeing the record pace of work in various sectors such as roads and railways.
 “We are here because we have the blessings of 125 crore Indians.”  Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi over winking to a party colleague after hugging him, Modi said: “The entire nation saw what the eyes did. It is clear in front of everyone. In the morning, the voting was not over, the debate was also not over one member comes running to me saying – Utho Utho Utho…   “What is his hurry to come to power? Let me tell this member it is the people who elected us. That is how we have come here,” he said referring to Gandhi coming to hug him.   Countering Gandhi’s jibe that Modi was not a “chowkidar” but a “bhagidaar” in the gains of corporates, Modi said he was a bhagidar in the march of poor for development, but not a “saudagar” or “thekedar” like the Congress.   He also accused the Congress of practicing the politics of “emotional blackmailing Dalits and the deprived”.   “There is a conspiracy to push the country towards violence. These were the people who made fun of Baba Ambedkar but are now singing his praises. Whoever came in front of the dreams and aspirations of one family was pushed to the sidelines.”  He blamed the Congress for partition between India and Pakistan and said the country was still suffering because of that.   He slammed Congress over the way it had bifurcated Andhra Pradesh and said the government was committed towards its development as also of Telangana.  

Israel’s parliament on Thursday passed into law a controversial bill that defines the country as an exclusively Jewish state.

The “Jewish nation state” bill downgrades Arabic as an official language and says advancing Jewish settlement is a national interest. It also states that the “whole and united” Jerusalem is its capital, BBC reported.

Israeli Arab MPs condemned the legislation but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised it as a “defining moment”.

The bill, backed by the country’s right-wing government, says that “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it”.

It was passed after a stormy session in the Knesset that lasted more than eight hours. Sixty-two MPs voted for the bill, with 55 against.

However some clauses were dropped following objections by Israel’s president and attorney-general, including a clause that would have enshrined in law the creation of Jewish-only communities.

Israeli Arabs make up about 20 per cent of the Israel’s population of about nine million people.

They have equal rights under the law, but have long complained of being treated as second class citizens and say they face discrimination and worse provision of services such as education, health and housing.

Arab MP Ahmed Tibi said the bill’s passing represented the “death of democracy”.

Adalah, an Arab rights NGO, said the law was an attempt to advance “ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies”.

Last week, Netanyahu defended the law, saying: “We will keep ensuring civil rights in Israel’s democracy but the majority also has rights and the majority decides.”

A survey has shown that adolescent girls continue to have limited choice in who and when they marry and that sex education in schools is failing young people. Although girls who marry in early adolescence are particularly vulnerable, marrying over the age of 18 does not guarantee improved freedoms and choices in marital and fertility decision-making.

While adolescent girls and their spouses enter marital life with limited knowledge about modern contraceptive choices, contraceptive options are not reaching the young married couples who want or need them, according to the latest data released under Young Lives India survey. 

Contraceptive use is very low among young married couples and sterilisation of women in their early twenties is common after they have had children, the survey added. Boys and young men are marginalised from sexual and reproductive health services.

Dr. Renu Singh, Country Director, Young Lives India said: “This report highlights the mutually reinforcing influences of families, service providers, economic circumstances, and gendered cultural and social expectations that shaped and constrained the agency and choices of girls and young women as they moved from being ‘daughters’ to ‘daughters-in-law’, ‘wives’ and first-time ‘mothers’. 

“It is critical for society to not look at talking about sexual reproductive health as taboo and we need to create safe spaces where young adolescent girls and boys are able to access both information and services in the community. Making secondary education a fundamental right is critical to prevent child marriage as well as building skills amongst young adolescents that is needed for carving a better future,” she added. 

Young Lives India is a collaboration between CESS (Hyderabad), SPMVV (Tirupati), Save the Children, and University of Oxford (UK). Young Lives is funded by UK aid from the Department for International Development (DFID). 

Young Lives is an international study of childhood poverty, following the lives of 12,000 children in four countries (Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam) over fifteen years. Young Lives conducts research in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, which collectively have almost 85 million inhabitants which is 7% of the Indian population.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are among the top States reporting high adolescent fertility: 12 and 11 per cent of young women in the age group of 15-19 years in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, respectively, were already mothers or pregnant when a survey was carried out in 2015/16

The objectives of the study were to deepen the understanding of the influencers of fertility decisions among young married couples, ascertain the services and support available to married young women and couples and produce research findings for use by policy makers.

The research was carried out as part of Young Lives, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty that, in India, traced the life trajectories of 3,000 children (in two age groups) and their households located in the two states, over a 15-year period. By age 18, around 28 per cent of girls in the Young Lives study had married, and 23 per cent of these married girls had also become mothers.

Think twice before handing over a smartphone to your teenager as new research warns that adolescents who frequently use digital devices are more likely to develop symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Teenagers who are heavy users of digital devices are twice as likely as infrequent users to show symptoms of ADHD, showed the findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

ADHD is a brain disorder with symptoms that include a pattern of inattention, hyperactive behavior and impulsiveness that interferes with functioning or development.

“New, mobile technologies can provide fast, high-intensity stimulation accessible all day, which has increased digital media exposure far beyond what’s been studied before,” said Adam Leventhal, Professor at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in the US. 

“We can say with confidence that teens who were exposed to higher levels of digital media were significantly more likely to develop ADHD symptoms in the future,” Leventhal added.

The study focused on the impact of digital diversions, including social media, streaming video, text messaging, music downloads and online chatrooms, among others, on the mental health of the adolescents.

The team analysed data from 2,587 teenagers for two years who were asked to report how frequently did they use, 14 popular digital media platforms, included for the study.

The investigators sorted media use frequency into three categories — no use, medium use and high use.

Then, they monitored the students every six months during the study period. They sought to determine if digital media use in grade 10 was associated with ADHD symptoms tracked through grade 12.

The results showed that, nine and a half per cent of the 114 children who used at least half of the media platforms frequently and 10.5 per cent of the 51 kids who used all 14 platforms frequently showed new ADHD symptoms.

Contrastingly, 4.6 per cent of the 495 students who were not frequent users of any digital platforms, showed ADHD symptoms, approximate to background rates of the disorder in the general population.

An innovative approach is underway in this Bihar district to make contaminated water potable — with the active participation of private players in coordination with state agencies.

Facing a water crisis which becomes acute during summer, the district is also affected by arsenic contamination in the falling ground water table.

Branded “Sulabh Jal”, the ambitious project began on Saturday from a small pond here with the use of French technology aiming at purification of contaminated water and making it safe drinking water at only 50 paisa per litre.

“This is the first time in the world that we have succeeded in producing pure drinking water at a very nominal cost by this new technology and villagers may get direct benefits,” Sulabh International founder Bindeshwari Pathak said while laying the foundation of the project at Haribol Pond in the presence of Darbhanga MLA Sanjay Saraogi and District Magistrate Chandrasekhar Prasad Singh.

The pilot project, to be implemented in coordination with civic authorities, will later be replicated in other parts of the state.

The project aims to provide the cheapest drinking water using the innovative model of purification at various stages from any water bodies like rivers or ponds, Pathak said.

The experiment was started earlier by Sulabh, which had introduced “Sulabh Jal” in arsenic prone villages of the three districts of North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad and Nadia in West Bengal. It had been jointly established three years ago by Sulabh along with the French organisation and and trial run proved successful.

The new water purification process can produce 8,000 litres of potable water per day at nominal cost.

“It will be made available at 50 paise on charity basis. Sulabh will install plants on the banks of Haribol tank here which would be operated on a no-profit basis. It would be managed by the self-help group (SHG) of the Darbhanga Nagar Nigam,” Pathak added.

The installation cost of the machine comes to Rs 20 lakh, which was shared between the French organisation, Sulabh and the villagers.

The local people and NGOs will maintain the facility.

It is a self-sustainable cost-efective project with active participation from the community and will generate employment, Pathak said.

The ground water in many districts of northern Bihar boarding Nepal is estimated to have been severely affected by arsenic and other chemical contamination.

According to WHO, drinking arsenic-rich water over a long period results in various health hazards, including skin problems, skin cancer, cancer of the bladder, kidney and lungs, besides other diseases.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, on his “Zero” co-star Katrina Kaif’s birthday on Monday, treated her fans to her first look from the upcoming film — and pointed out how she has been brave enough to flaunt a different avatar.

“It’s Katrina Kaif’s birthday and we all at ‘Zero’ miss her!!! Maybe I should put a picture of her from the film and send out a loud Happy Birthday wherever she is,” Shah Rukh tweeted.

While Katrina is in London to celebrated her 35th birthday with her family members, SRK ensured he wrote a little note to introduce her new avatar. The actress sports kohl smudged eyes and an intense look as she is seen surrounded by people.

“There are so many lovely pictures of her, but this one speaks to me beyond my friend’s beauty….hope you all also give it love,” SRK added.

Apart from the photograph, Shah Rukh put out another note: “We know she is beautiful. We know she has set our hearts fluttering. She has never been hurt. She dances like nobody’s watching here. She has lived like it’s heaven on earth.

“But us actors wait for the moment when we can sink our teeth into a character deeper than beauty and its trappings.Here’s my friend on her birthday braving to enthrall us in a new avatar.A You may ask ‘why so serious….?’ Hmmm….

“‘Aapka pata nahi, mujhe toh gusse mein yeh aur bhi haseen lagti hai (I don’t know about you, but I find her beautiful even when she is angry).”

He wished the “brave and beautiful” Katrina the very best.

“Zero” is directed by Aanand L. Rai, and features Shah Rukh as a vertically challenged man. The film, releasing on December 21, also stars Anushka Sharma.

Shock discovery of Pakistani intruders occupying the strategic heights of Kargil and its aftermath was as forceful a reminder as any of the necessity of keeping a constant vigil on the country’s borders. It was also clear that the then available means of surveillance (mainly army patrols and occasional aerial reconnaissance) were grossly inadequate for the onerous task. Consequently ideas of employing unmanned platforms to keep an eye on the long land borders and shores which had been brewing for sometime took on fresh urgency.

Even while guns were still blazing in Kargil, plans began to be laid to integrate UAVs in border surveillance plans. In the two decades that have followed, Indian armed forces have acquired more than 200 UAVs mostly of Israeli origin. DRDO which had been dabbling with UAV design for some time also got in the act and working in collaboration with Indian industry has made some progress in creating indigenous capacity. Perceived necessity of close surveillance was the original purpose of UAVs. However, sensing enhanced possibilities with maturing of relevant technologies at home, Indian armed forces have widened their horizons to include them for kinetic action against suitable targets. Therefore, it is quite possible that a future surgical strike across the LOC may well be a precision missile attack executed by employing UAVs.

Current Status

Besides a small number of IAF’s HAROP Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) designed to neutralise radiating targets, currently Indian armed forces have some 200+ Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Searcher and Heron UAVs of Israeli origin. Searcher, the smaller of the two is limited both in pay load capacity (150 lbs) as well as operational ceiling of (20,000ft.). However, with its abilities to stay aloft for up to 18 hours and carry a variety of sensors, it has rendered yeoman’s service along the Western borders and Indian shores. Heron, the larger of the two MALE UAVs is more versatile. With a take- off weight of 1,150 Kg, it can carry a 250 Kg. payload of sensors, stay aloft up to 52 hours (depending on the chosen flight profile) and with operating ceiling of 32,000 ft, it has proven to be an extremely useful surveillance tool along the mountainous Northern borders.

On the acquisition horizon there are a number of other systems which when inducted would give a quantum leap in capability. From Israel, India’s dependable supplier of choice there is Heron TP, an upgraded version of Heron. Israel was inhibited in sale of this system because of its voluntary moratorium on selling dual use strategic assets to parties not signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Following India’s entry into MTCR in 2016, agreement has been reached for purchase of 10 Heron TPs.

India has also been keen to acquire both armed as well as unarmed Predators from the United States. Indian Navy’s request for 22 Guardian UAVs (maritime variant of Predator MQ-9) has already been approved by the US Govt. IAF’s request for 100 Predator C Avenger drones appears to be in the process. Sale of armed UAVs has been a matter of discussion between the US and India. It is believed that it would have been one of the deliverables from the recently postponed July two + two dialogue.

Indigenous Effort

While Indian security needs have necessitated import of a large number of UAVs, DRDO has also been gearing up to meet the huge future demand. It was an early entrant in the field of design and development of unmanned systems and off and on there were glimpses of promise too. However the record thus far has been patchy. It designed ‘Nishant’ – a 340 Kg catapult launched, compact mobile system for day and night battlefield surveillance, reconnaissance, target designation, artillery fire direction and damage assessment. After decades of development and trials, It was delivered to the Indian Army in 2013. By 2015 all four Nishants thus far supplied had crashed and reports suggest that no fresh inductions are planned. Notwithstanding the setbacks, DRDO in collaboration with Indian industry now appears to be coming of age in this highly sophisticated and competitive field. Poster child of its labours is the ongoing design and development of Rustom series of UAVs which merit more than just passing mention and also some praise.Rustom 1, Rustom H and Rustom 2 comprise the Rustom family. They are MALE UAVs which would complement the Heron inventory of the Indian armed forces. Rustom 1 resembles Burt Rutan light aircraft design. It features a rear mounted main wing appendages and a canard wing assembly at front. The power plant (Lycoming o-320) developing 150 hp is contained in the aft section of the fuselage and drives a two bladed propeller. Empty frame weighs 1,560 lbs and it can carry a payload up to 165 lbs. With a ceiling of 26,000ft, it could stay aloft for up to 12 hoursRustom H – the High altitude version. Although said to be belonging to the Rustom family, it bears little resemblance with Rustom 1. It is much larger at 4,000 lbs empty weight and its pay load capacity at 770 lbs is also much greater. In appearance it has mid-set straight wings, a bulbous nose section and a retractable undercarriage. The tail unit is T shaped with a high mounted horizontal tail plane. Two NPO Saturn 36 MT turboprops developing 100 hp each drive 3 bladed propellers. Its range is estimated to be 625 miles and operating altitude 35,000 ft. Endurance could be of the order of 24 hours.

Rustom 2 (Redesignated Tapas 201). Similar in appearance to Rustom H this fully featured combat capable UAV often draws comparison with American Predator. Its payloads include state of the art ELINT and COMINT suites, Synthetic Aperture Radar and other medium and long range electro optical sensors to capture imagery. It underwent successful testing in user configuration on February 25, 2018. DRDO plans to produce 10 TAPAS 201 prototypes in order to fast track development work on all variants as requested by the three services.

Vulnerabilities

In December 2011 Iranian military way laid an American RQ – 170 Sentinel drone and made it to land near the city of Kashmar in Northeastern Iran. Earlier in 2008 militants in Iraq using cheap off the shelf software had succeeded in tapping into the feed of American UAVs transmitting sensitive data to control centers. By the very nature of their functioning UAVs constantly receive and stream large amounts of data. These windows of information exchange create opportunities for interference. Although robust system design takes into account steps to insulate operating integrity of the vehicle and its systems from external threats, risk assessment and countermeasures must remain an ongoing process if loss or compromise of sensitive information is to be forestalled.

Future

Indian army plans to induct 5,000 UAVs over the next 10 years. Even if the stated numbers appear somewhat optimistic yet they suggest the depth to which Indian armed forces are planning to integrate UAVs in every aspect of their operational philosophy. UAVs’ roles have thus far been limited to C4ISTAR functions. Future inductions would undoubtedly enable plugging of the remaining loopholes and bolster these capabilities even further. In addition, armed UAVs would also almost certainly become a significant component of Indian military’s offensive capabilities. Work is already underway to integrate HELINA anti-tank missile with Rustom H. Once operational it could also be used for strikes of the scope and genre as Indian army’s surgical strike across the LOC in September 2016. Essential elements to enable kinetic UAV strikes at longer ranges are also being steadily put in place.

GAGAN Indian satellite based augmentation system (SBAS) necessary for enhancement of SATNAV signals for accurate navigation is already operational. Additional satellites exclusively for military communication would furnish the additional bandwidth required for operation at extended ranges. Rustom 2 with its heavier frame, greater payload capacity and endurance of up to 30 hours is likely to be the indigenous platform of choice for an Indian armed UAV fleet. In the more distant future AURA, a stealthy UCAV being developed by DRDO would add another club in the bag. Not quite visible yet but UAVs are clearly set to become a major component in the combat capability of the Indian armed forces.

Courtesy – www.indiastrategic.in

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday patted his government in the back for raising the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of crops, while lambasting West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee regime for “forming a nexus with syndicates” and murdering Dalit political activists, even as 90 people sustained injuries following a canopy collapse at a BJP rally here.

Indicating that the government’s recent measures to woo the farmers would be a major campaign issue in coming state assembly and Lok Sabha polls, he blamed previous governments for failing to hike the MSP of crops despite farmers’ demands and expert panels’ recommendations.

“The demand for raising the MSP was placed before every government. Many commissions and committees were formed. But every time it was stalled. Files kept on piling,” the Prime Minister told a farmers’ rally in Midnapore town.

“The farmers went on demanding and agitating… but neither the state governments nor those in power in Delhi heard them..”.

The centre recently approved an MSP, providing farmers a profit of 50 per cent or more over “cost of production” for Kharif crops for 2018-19.

Reiterating his commitment to farmers, Modi said the government was working to double farmers’ income by 2022, and highlighted the decision to consider bamboo as a grass that paved the way for peasants to produce, cut and sell bamboo.

Listing his government’s policy initiatives for farmers, he said: “”My government is your government and it is a pro-farmer government.”

While Modi utilised the first part of his speech to endear himself to the agrarian constituency, which so long seemed upset with his government, the latter half of his address contained an all out attack on Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress dispensation, accusing it of having no faith in democracy, the Indian constitution or the electoral process.

“Those who don’t believe in democracy or the process of election, or the Constitution and the government that has to be reprimanded by High Court and Supreme Court, should be careful. This is Bengal, none of them will be spared,” warned the Prime Minister, who started his speech in Bengali amid tumultuous applause and high-decibel chants of “Modi, Modi”.

Asking didi (elder sister, as Banerjee is called) to take note of “the strength and discipline” of the people at the rally, Modi urged the people and the workers of BJP to “think together and bravely” to shake the “foundation of the syndicate” as was done in Tripura – where the BJP won the assembly polls earlier this year by ending 25 years of Left Front rule.

Refering to the 34 years of Left Front rule in West Bengal that ended in 2011 when the Trinamool was came to power, he said while it took time to vote out the communists, it won’t take long this time around.

“Now Bengal will once again free itself of the wrongdoings and crimes within months. Bengal is waiting for its chance. People of Bengal are waiting for their opportunity.”

Taking a swipe at the state administration, the Prime Minister claimed that the syndicates are controlling everything in Bengal starting from construction to education.

“These are the syndicate for snatching away the profit of the farmers, for conspiring to murder the political opposition, for torturing the poor and for maintaining their own vote banks to cling to power,” he said.

Turning to the killings centring the recent state rural body elections, Modi congratulated the BJP activists for “standing firm” against the ruling party’s attack in spite of several of them being killed and said the victory of the saffron outfit in a number of seats was an indication of Bengal’s “bright future”.

However, in a tragic incident, 90 people – 24 of them women – had to be taken to hospital after a canopy caved in soon after Modi started his speech.

Modi stopped for a few minutes when the structure collapsed to urge the audience to be careful, get off the stage and move to a safer area and also instructed officials to make arrangements for treatment of the victims.

After the rally, Modi visited the injured in the hospital and talked to the attending doctors.

The rally was organised by the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh later said: “if it is found that the mishap happened due to any intentional mistake on anybody’s part, then proper action will be taken”.