Modi’s praise for Gehlot triggers row
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s praise for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at a rally seems to have resurrected the Gehlot-Pilot tussle. Former deputy CM Sachin Pilot found it strange and he went to the extent of comparing Gehlot with Ghulam Nabi Azad, who too was praised by the PM, and later left the Congress. Observers feel that Pilot has shown haste in attacking Gehlot just like he led Congress into an intra-party revolt two years ago. With Gehlot likely to meet party chief Mallikarjun Kharge soon, the tussle is once again taking centre stage. Besides, AAP state in-charge Vinay Mishra said that Gehlot will be the next Amarinder Singh.
World’s tallest Shiva statue at Nathdwara
If you travel on the Udaipur-Rajsamand highway, you will see a tall Lord Shiva on the horizon. The world’s tallest Shiva statue – the Statue of Belief – was erected at Nathdwara on October 29. The statue is so huge that the hall built under it can house 1,000 people. It was inaugurated by spiritual leader Murari Bapu. The Statue of Belief or Vishwas Swaroopam took 10 years to build with over 50,000 people’s hard work behind it. One can catch an expansive bird’s eye view of Nathdwara town from the top of the statue, which has been constructed on a 51-bigha piece of land. The statue can be seen from 20km away.
Job cards for beggars under new scheme
The Gehlot government is all set to set in motion another novel scheme with the introduction of job cards for beggars. All district collectors have been instructed to make the state ‘free of begging’ by January 26, 2023, and have been asked to rehabilitate all beggars in three months. The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment will also initiate skilling of beggars by engaging them in food creation under the Indira Rasoi Yojana and other schemes. They will be shifted to night shelters as well as rehabilitation centres. Of course, it’s a different matter that the government wages for labour may be far less than what beggars earn at traffic signals in most cities.