Gujarat confidential: PM’s 73rd Birthday

Leaders and workers of the BJP are known to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, falling on September 17, in different ways in Gujarat. On Modi’s 73rd birthday next week, the cultural cell of the state BJP has organised an exhibition of paintings made by various people, based on the poems written by the PM in his book ‘Aankh aa Dhanya Chhe’.

As per an office-bearer of the cell, under the initiative ‘Shabd-Rang’, they had invited people to make paintings on the 67 poems in the PM’s book. “We received 292 paintings from various people and 73 of them were selected for the exhibition to be held at an art gallery in Ahmedabad between September 15 and 17,” the office-bearer added.

Up In Arms

As the three-day Monsoon Session of the Gujarat Assembly nears, teaching and non-teaching staffers have been stepping up their protest across the state against the proposed Gujarat Common Universities Act, expected to be tabled during the session beginning September 13.

Terming the proposed Bill as a stepping stone in the way of “complete annihilation of autonomy of the university body”, several associations have been protesting outside various state universities, making written submissions to vice-chancellors. A few groups plan to protest by wearing black bands and submit representations to the district collectors on Monday.