Election 2019

PM to hold mega roadshow in Varanasi in presence of top BJP leaders

PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a mega roadshow in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on Thursday, a show of strength that will include union ministers, state chief minister and other senior leaders of the BJP.

Modi, who will file his nomination papers for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat on Friday, is expected to start his roadshow by first garlanding the statue of Banaras Hindu University founder Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya.

The roadshow will stretch over six kilometres, going from the Lanka area to Dashashwamedh Ghat via Godoliya, party insiders said.

Top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman, as well as BJP president Amit Shah and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states are expected to accompany him.

JD(U) president Nitish Kumar and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will accompany Modi as he files his nomination around 11.30 am on Friday. Shiromani Akali Dal’s Parkash Singh Badal and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan will also be in attendance, the BJP said.

The party on Wednesday said the prime minister will participate in the Ganga arti at Dashashwamedh Ghat after the roadshow. At 8 pm, he will have a conversation with eminent personalities of Varanasi at Hotel De Paris.

On Friday, the PM will address booth heads and party workers at 9.30 am and go on to worship the city god Kal Bhairav at 11 am.

“At 11.30 am, PM will file his nomination for Varanasi Lok Sabha seat,” said the BJP.

“In this (nomination) program, Akali Dal’s senior leader and former chief minister (Punjab) Shri Parkash Singh Badal ji, Bihar chief minister and JDU chief Shri Nitish Kumar ji, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray ji, central minister and president of Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas Paswanji will be present,” the party press release had said.

The release added that leaders of AIADMK, Apna Dal and North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) will also be present.

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Activists urge Centre to intervene in PepsiCo’s case against Gujarat farmers

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Ahmedabad | Over 190 activists on Wednesday requested the Union government to ask food and beverages giant PepsiCo India to withdraw its “false” cases against Gujarat farmers for allegedly illegally growing a variety of potatoes “registered” by the company.

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been dragged to court by PepsiCo for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which it has claimed Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

The multinational giant has sought damages of Rs. 1 crore from each of four farmers in its suit at a court in Ahmedabad, and Rs. 20 lakh from each of the farmers sued at a district court in Modasa, activists said at a press conference.

The matter in Ahmedabad court will come up for hearing on April 26, they said.

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority Act, 2011 exempts farmers from PVP rights, said Kapil Shah, who heads Jatan, an organisation dedicated to organic farming.

“It is for the state government to ensure that farmers are not harassed. The company should immediately withdraw the case which is untenable,” said Sagar Rabari of the Gujarat Khedut Samaj.

In a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture, 194 signatories have sought financial aid and protection of rights of farmers who have been sued for growing and selling a potato variety called FC-5 potato, for which PepsiCo India Holdings claimed to have obtained “exclusive rights in the country in 2016”.

Reached for its reaction, a company spokesperson said that “given the issue is sub-judice, it would not be proper to offer detailed comments”

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