Firing by Pakistan should be retaliated by 'rain-of-firing': UP minister
Terming Pakistan a "nasur" (ulcer), UP Minister Srikant Sharma said India should rain bullets if its soldiers are fired upon by troops of the neighboring country. "Pakistan is a "nasur". Soldiers have been instructed to maintain restraint. However, if firing starts from the other side, there should be a rain of firing till the enemy is forced to take shelter in bunkers," he said.
The AIUVM program will be extended: the minister
While speaking at a conclave in Mathura organized by an all-India traders' body, the UP power minister said the All India Udyog Vyapaar Mandal's (AIUVM) trader identification program, which was started in 2006, would also be expanded. Under the program, shopkeepers, vendors and traders are given identity cards, which Sharma said "instills a sense of safety" among members of the business community.
Traders and shopkeepers are safe in BJP-ruled states: Sharma
"In previous government's ruling, the magnitude of corruption was so high that traders felt insecure. Also, then power-brokers were engaged in kidnapping for ransom," Sharma alleged. But traders and shopkeepers are safe in BJP-ruled states, he asserted. AIUVM's UP Vice President Murari Agrawal said the program is currently limited to only four districts, but now efforts are being made to take it to all.
Minister also slammed recent incident of violence during Bharat Bandh
The minister also condemned the recent incidents of violence during 'Bharat Bandh,' which was called by Dalit outfits against the alleged dilution in the provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court. On another note, Sharma assured that electricity supply infrastructure in Mathura was being improved so that pilgrims coming here do not face problems.
