India

india-can-change-world-history

Sun May 26 20:54:10 IST 2024

I have visualised the emergence of India as a modern industrial giant, like the USA or China, in the next 10-15 years or so after a historical revolutionary struggle.

This event will change world history. Let me explain.

The world is largely ruled by a small group of powerful nations which dominate over others. After the end of the Second World War in 1945 the United Nations was set up, which reflected this situation. A Security Council was created making five powerful nations alone its permanent members with veto powers, relegating other countries to inferior status.

India too, despite its huge population, was treated as one of such inferiors, and so it will remain as long as it is poor and relatively backward.

But an earth-shaking transformation of India, which I foresee, into a modern industrial giant, despite stiff opposition from powerful countries, will radically alter all this.

Now India will no longer be largely irrelevant on the world stage and instead will become a frontline player.

This will change the course of world history in the following ways:

1. At present two alliances of powerful nations exist in the world: the USA-Europe alliance and the China-Russia alliance. Though they are restrained from direct conflict by the existence of nuclear weapons, which all have, their hostility to each other is nevertheless a great potential danger to world peace.

In this situation, the historic rise of India as a mighty industrial nation will play a crucial role in preserving world peace. India will not ally itself with either of these two alliances but will stand as a buffer between them, cooling down the situation, and working for world peace.

2. While the countries of the present two alliances care only for their own interests, and not for the interests of the underdeveloped countries, the new modern highly industrialised India will do the opposite. It will take it as among its historic tasks not only abolishing poverty, unemployment, hunger, etc., in India but also helping underdeveloped countries become developed and prosperous, realising that unless that happens there can be no peace in the world.

The new India will not use its massive industry to exploit poor countries like an imperialist power but instead use it to help them in every way.

For instance, it will not patent its medical discoveries to make profits (as all rich countries do) but will make them freely available all over the world, realising that medical care is the right of all human beings, and cannot be made a business.

3. At present, the developed countries oppose tooth and nail the transformation of underdeveloped countries into developed countries, fearing that with their cheap labour, the latter will destroy the former's industries if they too get industrialised, throwing tens of millions of people of the developed countries out of employment.

But the new modern highly industrialised India will want the whole world to become highly industrialised and prosperous, and not keep people of the underdeveloped countries as ''hewers of wood and drawers of water” as they were in colonial times.

To attain this end, it will exert all its newly found might.

The 21st century will be characterised as the century in which the historic peoples’ struggles all over the world will be fought out to a conclusion, resulting in the creation of a new world order, free of these evils.

India will be giving leadership to the world in this century. Let me explain.

Before the Industrial Revolution in England in the first half of the 18th century, the world was dominated by feudal agricultural societies. Their methods of production were backward and primitive.

For instance, the bullock was used for tilling the land in India, the buffalo in Thailand, Vietnam, etc, and the horse in Europe. There were no tractors or other modern machinery.

Consequently, little wealth could be generated. Only a handful of people such as kings, aristocrats, landlords, etc, could be rich, while over 95 per cent of the people had to be poor. When the cake was itself small, very few people could partake of it.

This drastically changed after the Industrial Revolution. Now, modern industry has become so powerful and so big that enough wealth can be generated to give a decent life to everyone in the world, and no one needs to be poor.

Yet, despite this, about 75 per cent of the global population especially in underdeveloped countries, remains poor, many without employment, proper food and healthcare, and good education.

This world is really two worlds: One comprising developed countries like the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and now China and the second, underdeveloped countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The aim of the underdeveloped countries must be to break into the ranks of the developed countries by rapid industrialisation, for only if they create a massive industry can they abolish the evils of poverty, unemployment, malnourishment, lack of healthcare, etc.

India is the most developed of the underdeveloped countries. It has a huge pool of technical talent (Indian IT engineers are largely manning Silicon Valley in California, and there are many Indian professors in American universities in the Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical departments). India also has immense natural resources.

It is therefore potentially an industrial giant, like the US or China, and our goal must be to break into the ranks of the developed countries as China did.

Following our lead, other underdeveloped countries will do the same, resulting in the whole world being developed.

Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

is-it-the-elections-army-chief-gets-one-month-extension

Sun May 26 20:51:53 IST 2024

In a rare development in the annals of the Indian Army’s history, six days before he was to retire, Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande’s service has been extended by a month up to June 30, 2024.

A press release issued by the defence ministry on Sunday evening said: “The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, on May 26, 2024, approved the extension in service of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj C Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC for a period of one month, beyond his normal age of superannuation (May 31, 2024), i.e. up to June 30, 2024, under Rule 16 A (4) of the Army Rules 1954.”

Usually, a new Army chief is announced weeks ahead of the officer taking charge as the head of India’s 13-lakh-strong Army.

General Pande was appointed as the COAS on April 30, 2022.

Commissioned in December 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers), Gen Pande had held the appointment of Vice Chief of the Army Staff before taking over as the COAS.

While no reason was offered on the extension, it may be plausible that with the all-important parliamentary elections ongoing and matters of governance in a flux, it may not be very conducive to bring in a new chief on June 1 while the election results are to be declared on June 4.

In the past, the services of Sam Manekshaw as the Army chief was extended by a period of six months “in recognition of outstanding services to the Armed Forces and the nation” though he was to retire in June 1972. On January 1, 1973, Manekshaw was promoted to the rank of field marshal.

maliwal-slams-dhruv-rathee-facing-extreme-abuses-rape-threats-after-youtubers-one-sided-video

Sun May 26 16:02:59 IST 2024

Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal alleged she is facing extreme rape threats and abuses after YouTuber Dhruv Rathee posted a video against her, based on her alleged assault case against Delhi Chief Minister Arvid Kejriwal’s aide Bhibav Kumar.

Maliwal tweeted, “After the leaders and volunteers of my party i.e. AAP orchestrated a campaign of character assassination, victim shaming and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats. This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided video against me.” The AAP MP alleged, “It is shameful that people like him (Rathee), who claim to be independent journalists, could act like other AAP spokespersons and victim shame me to the extent that I am now facing extreme abuses and threats.”

Maliwal charged that the party leadership is trying to intimidate her into withdrawing the police complaint against Bhibhav Kumar. She said, “I tried my best to reach out to him, to tell him my version, but he ignored my calls and messages.”

Questioning Rathee’s video, Maliwal said, “Facts that he failed to mention in his 2.5-minute video against me - Party took a U-turn on its stand after accepting the incident has happened; MLC report that reveals injuries due to the assault; Selected part of the video was released and then phone of the accused was formatted?; The accused was arrested from the crime scene (CM house). Why was he allowed to enter the place again? For tampering of evidence?; How a woman who always stood for the right issues, even went to Manipur alone without security could be bought over by the BJP?”

Maliwal charged the stand of party leadership and its supporters on her issue “speaks volumes on their stand on women's issues”. Maliwal added she will be reporting the threats to Delhi police for further action.

On May 13, Maliwal alleged that she was attacked by Delhi CM Kejriwal’s aide Bhibhav Kumar at the former’s residence. Based on her complaint, police arrested Kumar and he has been remanded to judicial custody.

do-not-press-the-result-button-until-kapil-sibal-issues-checklist-for-ls-polls-counting

Sun May 26 12:49:36 IST 2024

Former union minister and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal issued a checklist for Lok Sabha polls candidates and counting agents, to check whether the electronic voting machine (EVM) has been tampered with.

Sibal told presspersons, “Voting results will be out on June 4. I want to make the public and the political parties aware of what you should do when the machines (EVMs) open. So I have made a chart for all the parties and all the counting agents. In this chart, the CU (control unit) number, BU (ballot unit) number and VVPAT ID will be present. The third column is very important- June 4 is written in the third column and the time when the machine will be opened is written below. If there is any difference in this time then you will know that the machine has already been opened somewhere.”

Sibal added, “The serial number of the control unit will also come here in written format, you have to match that too. When the total votes polled comes, then look at it carefully so that when there are more votes in the counting, the problem may come again. Keep in mind two things, do not press the result button until the verification is done in the above column and if there is a difference between that timing and the timing of the result, then there is something wrong.”

The former Congress leader said he did so to ensure there is no possibility of tampering. “There are a lot of people who are saying that these EVMs are possibly tampered with. We want to make sure that there is no possibility of tampering. We are neither saying that they are tampered with nor that they are not tampered.”

The counting of votes for Lok Sabha polls will be conducted on June 4. Six phases of polls have been completed and the last phase of polling will be held on June 1. As many as 57 constituencies goes to polls in the last phase.

-with inputs from ANI.

uttar-pradesh-11-devotees-dead-in-shahjahanpur-as-truck-full-of-gravel-overturns-on-their-bus

Sun May 26 11:49:30 IST 2024

At least 11 devotees headed to Purnagiri temple were killed and 10 others were seriously injured when a dumper truck overturned on their bus, a senior police official said on Sunday.

Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena told PTI the incident happened Saturday night at Hajiyapur under the Khutar police station when the bus had halted at a roadside restaurant on its way to the temple. “As the devotees from Sitapur waited inside the bus, a dumper truck carrying gravel lost control and overturned on the vehicle,” he said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and directed the district administration to ensure the treatment of the injured.

aiadmk-sasikala-fume-at-annamalais-jaya-a-superior-hindutva-leader-remark

Sat May 25 23:20:28 IST 2024

Senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar on Saturday condemned BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai for his "Jayalalithaa was a far superior Hindutva leader" remark and said the late party supremo 'Amma' had been a leader of people belonging to all faiths.

Confidante of Jayalalithaa, V K Sasikala, said Annamalai's comment showed his 'ignorance' and his 'flawed understanding' of the former chief minister.

Jayakumar, a former minister during the previous AIADMK regime, said Jayalalithaa equally regarded people belonging to all religions and she had been a leader of people of all faiths.

The AIADMK leader condemned Annamalai, alleging the BJP leader made that comment eyeing political mileage and to create an identity for himself in Tamil Nadu by adding a Hindutva tag to Amma and this was a wanton act to bring disrepute to her.

When Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, Jayalalithaa, as Chief Minister ensured peace and implemented a slew of schemes for the welfare of minorities, such as free rice to mosques during the fasting month of Ramzan and financial assistance to Christians in order to support them to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Jayakumar said in a statement.

"She had been firm in making no comprosmises in respecting the religious beliefs of people belonging to all faiths and in protecting them all." Amma's legacy of being an unparalleled leader of people belonging to all religions will continue to be part of Tamil Nadu's history, Jayakumar added.

Sasikala said Jayalalithaa transcended barriers of castes and religions and she was a great leader who was respected by all sections of the society. She was the only leader who was regarded as their own by all the people, be it Hindus, Muslims or Christians and such a tall leader cannot be brought under a specific, narrow tag, she said in a post on 'X'.

On May 23, in an interview to PTI, Annamalai had said, "...till Jayalalithaaji was alive, she was a far superior Hindutva leader than anybody in Tamil Nadu. Pre-2014, when you have a party like the BJP and Jayalalithaa as a leader the natural choice of a Hindu voter would be Jayalalithaa, who displayed her Hindu identity openly."

The BJP is filling the void in Tamil Nadu politics left by the death of AIADMK supremo and former chief minister Jayalalithaa, Annamalai had said.

west-bengal-on-high-alert-as-cyclone-remal-to-make-landfall-by-sunday-night

Sun May 26 19:28:34 IST 2024

Severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' is likely to make a landfall between Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts by midnight of Sunday with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 km per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.

The coastal districts of West Bengal are likely to witnesses extremely heavy rainfall on May 27 and 28.

“Remal is very likely to move nearly northwards, intensify further and cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts between Sagar Island and Khepupara, close to southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country, by Sunday midnight as a severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph,” the IMD said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meting to review the preparedness of states and central ministries and agencies concerned to deal with the situation. Modi directed officials to take every possible measure to ensure that people are safely evacuated and to ensure maintenance of all essential services.

In a post on X, Union Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju informed that cyclone has a maximum wind speed of 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph and is expected to intensify further.

“It is very likely to continue to move nearly northwards, intensify further and cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts between Sagar Island and Khepupara, close to southwest of Mongla (Bangladesh) by midnight of today, the 26th May 2024 as a Severe Cyclonic Storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph," the minister said.

The IMD has warned of localised flooding and major damage to vulnerable structures, power and communication lines, kutcha roads, crops and orchards in South and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal. People in the affected areas have been asked to remain indoors and vacate vulnerable structures.

Somnath Dutta, eastern regional head of IMD, however, said cyclone Remal will cause lesser damage than what happened in the wake of super cyclone Amphan which had caused widespread destruction in Kolkata, South and North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Nadia.

The IMD has warned heavy to very heavy rainfall in north Odisha and northeastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura on May 27 and 28.

The authorities of Kolkata airport have decided to suspend flight operations for 21 hours from Sunday noon in view of the possible impact of cyclone Remal.

A total of 394 flights, arrival and departure, in both international and domestic sectors would not operate to and fro the airport during the flight suspension period, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said.

West Bengal on alert

The Indian Coast Guard's North East Region authorities have taken all pre-emptive measures to ensure there is no loss of life or property at sea.

ICG's remote operating stations at Haldia and Paradip were alerting fishing vessels and merchant ships through very high frequency broadcasts.

Nine disaster relief teams have also been kept on standby at Haldia, Fraserganj in West Bengal and Paradip and Gopalpur in Odisha.

A control room has been set up at the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar to coordinate state agency effort.

Ten police teams have been deployed across ten police divisions of Kolkata city.

NDRF has deployed teams with equipment across several districts including Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Howrah and Hooghly.

i-will-act-as-a-bridge-between-centre-international-investors-for-amritsar

Sat May 25 19:47:14 IST 2024

The entry of former US ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu into electoral politics as a BJP candidate from the prestigious Amritsar seat in Punjab has created a buzz. Amritsar, like other seats in Punjab, is witnessing a four-cornered contest. It’s an intense battle in the holy city, as the BJP could not secure a win during the last two polls.

A 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Sandhu served as the US ambassador for four years apart from his previous three postings in the country. He won accolades in transforming the relations between the two countries.

Rushing headlong into the fractious 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Sandhu has his task cut out. He wants to use his connections to bring investments to Amritsar. His family's deep connections to the border city also bolster his candidacy. His grandfather, Teja Singh Samundri, was a founding member of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee, the premier body managing Sikh institutions, and his father was the founding vice chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University.

Sandhu says he wants to act as a bridge between the Centre and international investors for Amritsar to create employment opportunities. He lists the worsening law and order problems, including the drug menace, as major issues in the area. As he starts his second innings as a politician, he can be the Sikh face for the BJP which the party has been desperately looking for.

He spoke to THE WEEK amidst his hectic campaign. Here are the edited excerpts.

You joined the BJP two months ago. What has been your key learning so far? How has been your transition from a diplomat to a politician ?

I was doing public service in an another way in the last 36 years. My approach is that politics, especially in Amritsar, is a service. The development of Amritsar is in a very bad shape, therefore, I am taking it more as a focused zeal.

What issues you are raising in Amritsar during the campaign?

Despite it being 2024, Amritsar is still lost in some of the very old problems. Law and order is a big issue here. There are extortion calls, threats, incidents of chain snatching and robberies. Secondly, drugs menace is a major issue here. Third, sanitation. People are getting poisonous water and it is a major issue. Environment pollution is another issue. A big dump got fire, three to four months ago.

Then, there is a problem of low productivity, low income and increasing unemployment.

What are you promising them?

I come with a stress on delivery as an ambassador of India to the United States and that relationship has transformed into partnership. A lot of investments are coming to India which is leading to job creation and development. For Amritsar, all these can bring development, particularly connectivity, increasing incomes in both agriculture and industry. Similarly in education, not for the sake of degree, but education that leads to skills which can transform this environment very swiftly.

You come from an illustrious family which had links with Amritsar. How does it resonate with the people?

It is a fact that my family had more than 100 years of history. My grandfather (Teja Singh Samundri) was a freedom fighter and leader of the Gurudwara reform movement. He also brought in 1917, education reforms by opening two schools, one of them for girls, which are still functioning. He talked of women empowerment way back.

My father, who got education in one of those schools, later became principal of Khalsa College, Amritsar, and founding vice chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, which serves the border area. My father’s (Bishan Singh Samundri) contribution to education was immense. My Mother (Jagjit Kaur Sandhu), who did her doctorate in the US, returned to India to teach in the government college for women and later became its principal. This is the tradition which I carry and my focus will be on the issues I mentioned including education.

Punjab, including Amritsar, is facing a four-cornered contest. Does it make the BJP's campaign tough this time? Is your election tough in Amritsar?

There has been lots of political analysis. But I have focused only on the development of Amritsar. I have noticed that all the candidates, who were earlier throwing mud at me, are now talking about development and what they are contributing. But people know the situation that existed. At least the debate has come on development.

Historically, the BJP and the Akali Dal had fought elections together. The alliance was seen in national interest. Do you see at any point that they both can come together?

Politics is an art of doing impossible. But I don't see. This is a situation where BJP is contesting alone and in my district I am very clear that the focus is on development. People are taking note of that. There are always challenges but they are opportunities, too.

In the past years, we have seen Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading a massive outreach towards the Sikhs. How is it resonating in Punjab?

A lot of politics is being played in all this (protests against the BJP). If you look at what Prime Minister Modi has done for the Sikhs in particular... I personally know as Ambassador in the United States, and earlier as the deputy Ambassador. An unprecedented pruning of the black list was taken up. The percentage increase in the MSP is much more than what it was during the Congress tenure. Other important initiatives have been taken up like Kartarpur Corridor, the removal of GST (on Langar), the celebrations organised for the Sikh events, and commemoration of martyrdom of four sons of Guru Gobind Singh through Veer Baal Diwas. This has been taken note across the world. If you look at his approach, the kind of respect he has brought to most of the Gurudwaras...

There is also the history of Congress – the 1984 riots, and Amritsar. We have Congress MPs and governments. But it was the BJP who punished those responsible for the riots.

Due to the farmer agitation, a big section of voters have turned against the BJP. So how are your addressing their concerns ?

Again there is politics here. One needs to view it that these protests are politically motivated. One doesn’t find solutions on the road, one needs to discuss. MSP is a very complicated issue which takes into cost, the selling price, the environmental factors and international obligations.

It's important to involve the experts and to hold serious discussion. I have been speaking about the increase in incomes of the farmers. I've spoken about different products. Even if it is rice, value needs to be added in that. Amritsar grows vegetables and fruits for which international markets exist, be it Dubai or Europe. They need to be tapped. Look at the prices of fruits and vegetables in Amritsar and Dubai and London. You will see the difference. We have cargo facility here of which 20 percent is utilised. In addition, if we bring our stuff to middle east, they will push Pakistan to open up transit route.

The waste products like parali need not be burned. Some companies turn them into aviation fuel. I talk about these things (to people in Amritsar). I have gone around in villages and people are responsive.

People outside Punjab get worried about certain hardline voices emerging from the state and even foreign countries. How do you react to this?

Those are dangerous but they don’t represent the people. Its just that they present facts in a manipulative way.

How would you rate Aam Admi Party government led by Bhagwant Mann in Punjab?

It is for people to rate. But look at the situation in Amritsar. It has only gone worse, be it law and order or drugs problem. I mentioned productivity and employment. Do they talk about the situation?

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was also here in Amritsar for the campaign. Do you see any impact?

What is he bringing to the state. He is just taking the facilities of Punjab government. He needs to address the real issues. I want the Punjab government focuses on delivering on promises to the people.

How did you come to join politics?

I was inspired and encouraged. I worked for 10 years with the prime minister. My focus

is very clear. The situation in Amritsar is very grave. Somebody needs to be a good bridge between the Centre for its schemes and internationally for the investments to come here.

prajwal-revanna-sex-video-case-parameshwara-asks-why-no-response-to-cms-may-1-letter

Sun May 26 15:33:00 IST 2024

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Sunday said the Centre has not officially responded to the state's request seeking cancellation of Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna's diplomatic passport.

Prajwal who is facing charges of raping and sexually harassing women fled to Germany on April 27 after the second phase of elections. Prajwal's uncle and former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy earlier urged the MP to face probe if he's innocent while his grandfather and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda said he has not objection to action taken against his grandson if he is found guilty.

Slamming External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for saying the Centre received the request from state only on May 21, Minister Parameshwara asked what happened to the Chief Minister's May 1 letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"As far as I know, we have not got any information or letter so far . I have seen that the External Affairs Minister has told the media that they are taking action and in a couple of days they will cancel it , but we have not got any written communication on this," Parameshwara said.

"Where is the (response for) first (CM's) letter? When a Chief Minister writes a letter to the Prime Minister's Office, it has to get its due respect. That did not happen. The External Affairs Minister is saying that they got the letter from the state on May 21, so we have to ask where did the first letter go? They are taking action, it is good, let them take, but him saying that we (state) have sent a letter now and not earlier, is not right," he added.

However, the foreign ministry has already served a show-cause notice to Prajwal, asking him why his diplomatic passport should not be cancelled.

This came days after the Special Investigation Team probing the sex assault case wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs, urging it to cancel Prajwal's diplomatic passport. Earlier, the Special Court of Elected Representatives in Bengaluru issued an arrest warrent against Prajwal.

The SIT had issued look-out circulars and sent a request via CBI to the Interpol, which in turn issued a blue corner notice, seeking Prajwal's whereabouts. Reports have said that the SIT is now preparing a dossier to convert its blue corner notice into a red corner notice once Prajwal Revanna's passport is cancelled.

An Indian citizen with a diplomatic passport is required surrender their regular blue passport. If the Centre cancels Prajwal's diplomatic passport, he will lose his privilege, following which the SIT can request the Interpol to issue of a red corner notice via CBI.

The sexual abuse cases against Prajwal came to light after pen drives allegedly containing explicit videos involving the JD(S) scion were circulated in Hassan ahead of the elections in the constituency on April 26.

opinion-by-justice-markandey-katju-a-mighty-industrial-state-for-the-indian-subcontinent

Sat May 25 16:19:50 IST 2024

The basic problems of the Indian subcontinent are the abject poverty of our vast masses, the rising unemployment, the appalling level of child malnutrition, the skyrocketing prices of food and other essential commodities, and the almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses.

I have repeatedly said that to abolish these great evils, it requires a mighty historical people's revolution, and thereafter, the creation of a powerful modern industrial state in the Indian subcontinent. And that it cannot be achieved within the framework of a parliamentary democracy that runs largely on the basis of caste and communal vote banks.

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Features and characteristics of the modern industrial state we will create:

1. Central feature

The central feature will be that it will be a welfare state, tasked with the object of destroying the great socio-economic evils mentioned above, which have plagued us for centuries. Our generation and our previous generations suffered terribly thereby, but we owe it to our children, grandchildren and succeeding generations that they too do not suffer similarly, but instead enjoy a high standard of living and lead decent lives.

Such a welfare state cannot be created without a high level of industrialisation, because only large-scale modern industry can create the wealth we require for the welfare of our people.

Without creating such a welfare state for our people, all other objectives are useless.

2. Its leaders

Its leaders will be genuinely patriotic, selfless, modern-minded persons determined to rapidly industrialise and modernise our country.

Many people ask me where those leaders are. It is true that most political leaders in India, of all political parties, are a bunch of selfish, slippery, shifty, rogues, rascals, scoundrels, charlatans, looters, deceivers and mafiosi, who have no genuine love for the country, but only seek power and pelf. They are experts in polarising society on caste and communal lines, and inciting hatred, to get votes.

So I am not talking of these tricksters, swindlers, knaves and scallywags. I am talking of quite another breed.

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Nature does not like a vacuum. Historical experience shows that in the darkest periods of the history of many nations great leaders arose, e.g. in the great English, French, American, Russian and Chinese Revolutions. I am confident the same will happen in the Indian subcontinent, too.

3. Internal policies of the new government

Since India is a country of great diversity, with numerous religions, castes, languages, races, etc., the government will not tolerate attempts by anyone to create discord and hatred among our communities and give harsh and severe punishment to the offenders. The state will be secular. Secularism does not mean one cannot practise one’s religion. It means that religion is one's private affair, and the state will have nothing to do with it. The state will uphold religious freedom, but will not tolerate religious extremism and bigotry. It will be guided by the policy of 'suleh-e-kul' of the great Moghul emperor Akbar, the real father of the Indian nation.

As regards economic policies, the state will be pragmatic. Realising the value of capitalism, it will not seek its elimination, but its regulation in the public interest and welfare. We certainly will not tolerate a state of affairs in which a handful of big businessmen, who have become billionaires, own wealth equal to that of 70 per cent of India's 1400 million population.

The new state shall prepare and implement five-year plans for India's economic growth, taking the help of technical, economic and administrative experts. The plans will assess the anticipated requirements of food, clothing, fuel, etc., of the masses, and ensure that these are met.

As regards education and healthcare, these will be totally free for all.

4. External policy

The state will try to promote peace and good relations among all nations. However, it will not hesitate in condemning powerful nations which oppress weaker ones. We will have a strong army, equipped with the latest weapons (made by our own industries, not foreigners), but it will only be used for our defence, not offence.

5. Reunification of India

One of the cardinal objectives of our new state will be the undoing of that British swindle called Partition of 1947 on the basis of the bogus two-nation theory.

On this, there will be no compromise. We must reunite, under a secular state, whatever the cost, otherwise we will keep wasting our precious resources and energy in hostility with each other. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are really one country, sharing the same culture, which were one from the time of emperor Akbar and were only temporarily and artificially separated by a British fraud.

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Later, if other neighbouring countries wish to voluntarily join our Union, they will be welcomed (with the right to secede whenever they wish).

6. Language policy

All languages of the Indian subcontinent will be given equal respect, and no attempt will be made to impose Hindi or any other language on anyone. On the other hand, state support will be given to all regional languages, and even to dialects, to prevent them from dying out (as indeed many have done).

These are the broad outlines, though of course, they have to be supplemented.

Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

got-to-know-through-media-flash-visited-spot-alone-health-min-saurabh-bharadwaj-on-delhi-newborn-babies-death

Sun May 26 13:57:51 IST 2024

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the health secretary is yet to respond to his calls or messages regarding the fire at a children's hospital which led to the death of seven newborns. Issuing a note to the health secretary, the minister asked to initiate an inquiry and ensure free treatment for rescued children.

In the note, Bharadwaj said, “A very unfortunate and tragic incident occurred due to fire at a Baby Care Centre in Vivek Vihar, Delhi. Though the incident occurred around 11.30pm on May 25, I got to know about this incident through a media flash. I have tried calling Secretary (Health) multiple times and left him many WhatsApp images but he has not responded yet. Therefore, I visited the incident spot alone.”

Bharadwaj added, “As I am not able to communicate with Secretary (Health) who heads the Department of Health, I am sending this note with a copy to Chief Secretary so that quick enquiry can be launched in this matter.”

Besides ensuring enquiry, Bharadwaj advised the secretary to ensure and provide “names and designations of officers or private people responsible for this negligence; Ensure free treatment of rescued children in best private hospitals (under Farishtey scheme); Compensation to families of deceased and injured; and expedite the arrests of who were running the Centre.”

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has deployed a team to probe the fire incident. In a post on X, NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said the commission has taken cognisance of the fire incident and the newborns' deaths. “An NCPCR team will visit the hospital to investigate the incident,” he said.

rajkot-fire-game-zone-operated-without-noc-stored-2000-litres-of-petrol-on-site-says-report

Sun May 26 13:00:37 IST 2024

The TRP game zone in Gujarat's Rajkot city, which caught fire on Saturday evening resulting in the death of 27 people, lacked necessary safety precautions, according to reports. A primary investigation into the incident suggests negligence by the management.

Not only was the TRP game zone operating without the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) but also functioning illegally in a residential area for four years, IANS quoted unnamed sources.

The building had a flimsy and shed-like structure and it is unclear whether it had a stability certificate. The Road and Building Department officials are currently untraceable, and so are officials responsible for issuing stability certificates.

The game zone managers allegedly expanded the facility to three stories by obtaining a ride certificate. Though they secured permission from the police for the amusement park and sought approval for rides, many comprehensive safety evaluations were reportedly side-stepped.

There are also concerns about the way management and safety protocols were observed at the game zone.

The report added that over 2, 000 litres of petrol were stored on-site. Welding activities were going on and tyres were also kept in the area without safety regulations.

Rajkot Mayor Nayna Pedhadiya confirmed the absence of a fire NOC. Pedhadiya said a probe will be launched as to how such a big game zone was functioning without a fire NOC. "No politics will be allowed over this issue," Pedhadiya told reporters.

The place also had just one emergency exit, according to NDTV. A fire official also said how people got trapped as a temporary structure at the facility collapsed near the entrance.

Meanwhile, Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vinayak Patel said 27 bodies were recovered from the incident site and taken to the city civil hospital. "Three persons were injured in the incident and their health condition was stable," he said.

"The bodies are charred beyond recognition, and we have completed the process of collecting the DNA samples of the bodies and the relatives who have claimed them so that the identity of the deceased can be established. The death toll is not likely to rise any further," he said.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the fire incident at TRP Game Zone in Rajkot. The issue will be heard in the Gujarat High Court on Monday.

cyber-fraudster-impersonates-maharashtra-hc-judge-dupes-district-judge-of-rs-50000

Sat May 25 15:07:51 IST 2024

A district judge from Maharashtra's Solapur was allegedly duped of Rs 50,000 by an unidentified person who used the photo of a judge from the Bombay High Court as a WhatsApp display picture (DP) to ask for the money, police said on Saturday.

The Mumbai police on Friday registered a first information report (FIR) under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act based on a complaint lodged by the high court's registrar, an official said.

As per the complaint, the district judge received a WhatsApp message on Friday from a phone number with the photograph of a high court judge as the DP, he said. He was acquainted with the HC judge, and the sender of the message asked for Rs 50,000, which he said he would return at the end of the day, the official said.

Without verifying anything further, the district judge transferred the sum but got suspicious when he got another message with more demands, he said. The district judge then contacted the registrar's office at the high court and learnt that the judge whose photo was used had never asked for money, the official said.

ls-polls-nearly-60-polling-in-6th-phase-bengals-jangal-mahal-region-logs-7827

Sat May 25 22:50:31 IST 2024

An estimated voter turnout of 59.92 per cent was recorded in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories with the polling percentage in the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal touching 78.27.

Incidents of violence, including an alleged assault on a BJP candidate, minor clashes and protests were reported from West Bengal while there were instances of EVM malfunctioning at some places, including Delhi.

Jharkhand recorded a turnout of 63.30 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 54.03 per cent, Bihar 55.24 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 53.38 per cent, Haryana 59.43 per cent, Odisha 61.44 and Delhi 56.12 per cent, according to the figures updated at 10.30 pm by the EC on its voter turnout app.

The EC said polling percentage in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir is the highest in 40 years.

With the conclusion of this phase, polling is now complete in 486 seats in 28 states and Union territories. The last of the seven phases of polling in 57 seats is scheduled on June 1 and counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

With large parts of India sweltering under a heatwave, arrangements for cold water, coolers, fans and tents were made at several polling stations. Wheelchairs were also kept for the assistance of elderly voters.

The EC had directed election officials and state machineries to take adequate measures to manage the adverse impact of hot weather.

Over 11.13 crore voters - 5.84 crore male, 5.29 crore female and 5120 third gender - were eligible to exercise their franchise in this phase. The Election Commission (EC) deployed around 11.4 lakh polling officials at 1.14 lakh polling stations.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir, staged a sit-in outside Bijbehara police station on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in Anantnag district against alleged detention of her party workers and polling agents. She also claimed outgoing calls on her mobile number were suspended.

Police, however, said those detained were overground workers and the action was taken to ensure smooth conduct of elections.

Mehbooba's daughter and PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged polling was deliberately slowed down at a booth in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, a charge denied by the administration.

In the national capital, President Droupadi Murmu, Union ministers S Jaishankar and Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi minister Atishi and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were among those who cast their votes.

CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat alleged she had to wait for almost an hour to cast her vote as the battery of the EVM control unit at her polling booth "drained out". The District Election Officer later said the battery was replaced within 15 minutes.

Besides all the seven seats of Delhi, polling was held in 14 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats in Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir.

Simultaneously, polling was being held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha and the Karnal assembly bypoll in Haryana.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kejriwal and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged voters to exercise their right to franchise in the penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections in large numbers.

In Haryana, BJP's Karnal Lok Sabha seat candidate Manohar Lal Khattar and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is contesting the Karnal assembly bypoll, were among the first to cast their votes at their respective booths.

Saini, accompanied by his family members, cast his vote in his native Mirjapur Majra village in Ambala district's Naraingarh. Khattar exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Karnal's Prem Nagar.

In West Bengal, voting was held in the tribal belt Jangal Mahal region, spanning five districts. A hotspot for identity politics, the region sends eight representatives to Lok Sabha from Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur seats. Out of the eight seats, the BJP won five and TMC bagged three in the 2019 polls.

BJP's Jhargram candidate Pranat Tudu claimed his convoy was attacked in Garbeta area of Paschim Medinipur district, following which security personnel escorting him were injured and had to be hospitalised. Tudu also received injuries on his forehead, which needed medical attention.

Minor clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling TMC and BJP in the Ghatal constituency over stopping polling agents from entering the booths.

In the Midnapore constituency, BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul faced "go back" slogans from TMC activists. Subsequently, a scuffle broke out between BJP and TMC activists, following which central forces reached the spot to disperse the mob.

A group of people shouted slogans against BJP candidate and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay when he reached the polling booth in Tamluk.

In Uttar Pradesh, polling was held for Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi seats.

Around 82.16 lakh voters, including 40.09 lakh females, were eligible to exercise their franchise in Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur constituencies of Jharkhand.

In a bid to increase polling percentage in urban booths of Ranchi, the district administration tied up with a bike-taxi aggregator to provide free pick-and-drop facilities to voters.

In Bihar, 86 candidates are in the fray in the eight seats of Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purbi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali.

Officials said 107 people were arrested or detained in the state for causing disruptions and attempting to hinder the voting process. Security forces seized Rs 2.86 crore in cash and 3.53 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 9.46 crore from various locations within the eight seats during the day.

rajkot-fire-four-children-among-27-killed-in-blaze-sit-arrests-game-zone-owner-manager

Sun May 26 09:00:49 IST 2024

The death toll in the Rajkot fire incident rose to 27 on Sunday. This includes four children, all of who are below 12. Assistant Commissioner of Police Radhika Bharai told reporters that the bodies were charred beyond recognition, making their identification difficult.

The deceased included four children, all of whom were playing inside the zone when the blaze caused the metal and fibre structure to collapse. Officials said the death toll is likely to go up.

Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi, who visited the zone in the early hours of Sunday, said that one person is still missing after the tragic incident. "As per the information, one person is still missing and we are looking. We are deploying maximum teams for that," Sanghvi told reporters.

The government has handed over the investigation to a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Director General of Police Subhash Trivedi. "We will conduct a complete probe. We will go into the root of the matter, including who is responsible for the incident and the mistakes that led to the incident. We will also discuss how to prevent such incidents from happening in the future," Trivedi told ANI.

The SIT also includes Commissioner, Technical Education, BN Pani; Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Gandhinagar, HP Sanghvi; Chief Fire Officer, Ahmedabad, JN Khadia; and Superintending Engineer, Roads and Buildings Department, MB Desai.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said several people, including children, were inside the game zone, located on Nana-Mava Road when the tragedy struck. The fire caused the collapse of the structure, which affected the rescue operations. The fire tenders had to clear the debris before finding the bodies. However, the exact cause of the massive fire is not known.

Owner, manager arrested

The owner and the manager of the game zone were detained and taken to the police station for questioning.

The Gujarat Director General of Police has also instructed the officials to inspect all game zones in the state and to close the game zones running without fire safety permission. The DGP instructed that this procedure be carried out in coordination with the fire officers of the municipalities and municipalities and the local system.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi visited the accident scene on Sunday. Patel also visited injured people in the hospital. The government has also convened a meeting of heads of all departments who oversaw the game zone construction. The meeting will begin at Rajkot Collector's office by 3 pm.

delhi-newborn-babies-death-heartbreaking-responsible-will-not-be-spared-says-kejriwal

Sun May 26 11:13:44 IST 2024

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled the death of newborn babies in the fire at a children’s hospital in the national capital and said the guilty won’t be spared.

Reacting to the incident, Kejriwal tweeted, “Incident of fire in a children's hospital is heartbreaking. We all stand with those who lost their innocent children in this accident. Government and administration officials are busy providing treatment to the injured at the spot.” The Delhi chief minister added probe is progressing and those involved will be punished. “The causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared,” he added.

According to police, the owner of the hospital, Naveen Kichi, is at large case has been registered against him under sections 336 and 304A. At least seven newborns died after a massive fire broke out at a children's hospital in the Vivek Vihar area in East Delhi on Saturday night. Though rescuers managed to evacuate 12 children, six died while undergoing treatment. One is on the ventilator and five others are admitted to East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital. Besides the hospital building, two floors of a residential building on the right side also caught fire. The fire was extinguished by Sunday morning.

President Droupadi Murmual also condoled the death of the children and said, “The news of the death of many children due to a fire in a hospital in Vivek Vihar, Delhi is heart-rending. May God give strength to the bereaved parents and relatives to bear this shock. I pray for the speedy recovery of other children injured in this incident.”

A senior police officer told PTI that a fire broke out at the Baby Care New Born Hospital and its adjacent building at around 11:30pm on Saturday. “The babies were rescued from the hospital with the help of other people and shifted to another hospital. While six babies were declared brought dead, one died during treatment,” the officer said. The bodies have been shifted to the GTB Hospital for post-mortem, police said.

Delhi Fire Department Director Atul Garg said the fire spread due to blast in the oxygen cylinder.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said all the newborns died due to suffocation. "I tried calling the health secretary but he is not picking up. We will take such strict action that none of the officials commit such negligence in future. We are with the families who have lost their babies. I'll talk to the DCP regarding this," he said.

cyclone-remal-see-visuals-from-sundarbans-south-24-parganas-in-west-bengal-as-state-braces-for-storm

Sun May 26 10:29:22 IST 2024

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has alerted that Cyclone Remal, which has intensified into a Severe Cyclonic Storm, will cross Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts on Sunday midnight, with a maximum wind speed of 110-120 kmph.

The cyclone will likely make its landfall between West Bengal's Sagar Island and Bangladesh's Khepupara on Sunday night, the IMD said, adding that the cyclone is centred approximately 290 km south-southeast of Khepupara and 270 km south-southeast of Sagar Island.

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.

The weather department has also warned of extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha. A storm surge of up to 1.5 metres is expected to inundate low-lying areas of coastal West Bengal and Bangladesh at the time of landfall.

A red alert is in place in the coastal districts of South and North 24 Parganas in West Bengal on Sunday and an orange alert is in place for Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia, and Purba Medinipur districts. A warning of wind speeds of 80 to 90 kmph, gusting to 100 kmph, and heavy to very heavy rainfall is also at places on Sunday and Monday.

In north Odisha, the coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, and Kendrapara will receive heavy rains on May 26-27, while heavy precipitation is likely in Mayurbhanj on May 27.

The IMD has warned of localised flooding and significant damage to vulnerable structures, power and communication lines, kutcha roads, crops, and orchards in South and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.

NDRF deployed

A team of NDRF has been deployed in the state. NDRF Inspector Zaheer Abbas said the team is fully prepared to handle every kind of disaster. "We are fully prepared for the cyclone, including rescue operations," Abbas told ANI.

Meanwhile, IMD Agartala Director Partha Roy told ANI though the cyclone warning is till Monday, it can be extended. "The impact of the cyclone will seen at the lowland areas," he said.

To affect Sundarbans

The cyclone is likely to impact the Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the largest in the world, renowned for its diverse fauna, including 260 bird species, the Bengal tiger, and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.

In the past, cyclones like Bulbul and Fani have severely impacted the habitat and highly sensitive ecosystem of the great mangrove forest.

6-newborns-die-in-a-massive-fire-at-a-childrens-hospital-in-delhi

Sun May 26 12:11:14 IST 2024

At least seven newborns died after a massive fire broke out at a children's hospital in the Vivek Vihar area in East Delhi on Saturday night, said reports.

According to Delhi Fire Services, it received a call at 11.32 pm and nine fire tenders were rushed to the site. Though rescuers managed to evacuate 12 children, six died while undergoing treatment. One is on the ventilator and five others have been admitted to East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital.

The police said that the children were rescued from the upper floors of the three-storey building, which was completely gutted.

DFS chief Atul Garg told PTI that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. "A fire call from Baby Care Centre, near ITI, Block B of Vivek Vihar area was received. A total of nine fire tenders were dispatched," Garg said.

Calling the operation a tough one, Garg said the personnel were made into two teams. "One team started firefighting because there was a blast of cylinders, a chain blast. We had to save ourselves too. The other team started the rescue operations for babies. Unfortunately, we could not save all the children," he said.

Besides the hospital building, two floors of a residential building on the right side also caught fire. The fire was extinguished by Sunday morning.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to X to condole the deaths. "This incident of fire in a children's hospital is heartbreaking. We all stand with those who lost their innocent children in this accident. Government and administration officials are busy providing treatment to the injured on the spot. The causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared," he posted.

Police said action is being initiated against the owner of the hospital identified as Naveen Kichi. The resident of Paschim Vihar is still absconding.

President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said the death of children due to a fire in a hospital in Delhi is heart-rending and prayed for strength to the bereaved parents.

"The news of death of many children due to fire in a hospital in Vivek Vihar, Delhi is heart-rending. May God give strength to the bereaved parents and relatives to bear this shock. I pray for the speedy recovery of other children injured in this incident," the president said in a post on X in Hindi.

chinese-and-pak-cyber-attacks-in-kerala-cooperative-banks-hospitals-chit-funds-prime-targets

Sat May 25 22:34:54 IST 2024

Kerala’s cooperative banks, hospitals and chit funds have become prime targets of cyber-attacks for data from foreign countries, warn cyber intelligence experts. A reliable source told THE WEEK that there have already been a slew of attacks and data thefts in many institutions, though they remain unaware of these breaches.

“Many of these institutions, especially cooperative banks and chit funds, have major IT infrastructure vulnerabilities compared to nationalised or major private banks. Additionally, most of these institutions are outsourcing their IT operations to cheap but incapable groups. Hackers, particularly those from China and Pakistan, are exploiting these security weaknesses to steal data, which they later put on the dark web or use for ransom or other cybercrimes,” said the source.

The cooperative movement in Kerala is more than a century old. The state has over 12,000 active cooperative societies, with over 4,000 being credit societies or banks. There are also state-backed and private chit funds.

“Recently, there was a cyber-attack on a major private chit fund,” said the source. “SQL injection, one of the most common hacking techniques, has been used in many cases. This technique allows hackers to obtain the data they seek from the poorly managed IT infra of such institutions”.

SQL injection is a type of cyber-attack in which a hacker inserts their own code into a website to breach its security measures and extract data.

Hospital data is another segment targeted by hackers. “SQL injection has been used to hack into patient data stored by many mid-level hospitals,” said the source.

The premium hospitals are also not free from cyber-attacks. On April 28, the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram, the state-owned premium cancer care hospital and research centre, faced a cyber-attack. According to an FIR filed in the case, the attacker even attempted to control the radiation treatment and critical patient care systems of the RCC. It is unclear whether there was a major data breach during the attack.

lok-sabha-polls-high-voter-turnout-in-west-bengal-jharkhand-and-up-till-noon

Sat May 25 14:22:04 IST 2024

High voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal and Jharkhand till 1 pm on Saturday as the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections progressed. Overall, 39.13 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 1 pm.

Around 54.8 per cent turnout was reported in West Bengal till 11 am while it was around 42.54 per cent in Jharkhand and 37.23 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. Bihar recorded 36.48 per cent, Haryana 36.48 per cent, Odisha 35.37 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 35.22 per cent and Delhi 34.37 per cent.

A total of 58 Lok Sabha constituencies in six states and two Union territories witnessed elections in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday. More than 11.3 crore voters will decide the fate of 889 candidates in the sixth phase. These include 5.84 crore men, 5.29 crore women and 5,120 third gender voters.

Simultaneously, elections were being held across 42 assembly segments in Odisha and the Karnal assembly byelection in Haryana.

Key parliamentary seats going to polls in the sixth phase include all seven seats in Delhi as well as Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri, where elections where postponed to Saturday.

The results of the Lok Sabha and the simultaneous assembly polls will be released on June 4.

cyclone-remal-to-make-landfall-on-sunday-night-kolkata-airport-to-suspend-operations-for-9-hrs

Sat May 25 22:40:58 IST 2024

A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm ‘Remal’ and is likely to make landfall on May 26 night along the adjoining coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh, the Meteorological Department has said.

The cyclone is likely to make landfall with a wind speed of 110-120 km per hour, gusting to 135 kmph. The Met office has warned of extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha on May 26-27.

The Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata will suspend flight operations for nine hours from Sunday midnight in view of cyclone Remal's landafall.

"In view of cyclone Remal's impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, a meeting was held with the stakeholders and it has been decided to suspend flight operations from 1200 IST on May 26 to 0900 IST on May 27 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata," NSCBI airport director C. Pattabhi said in a statement.

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season and will be named Remal, given by Oman, according to a system of naming cyclones in the north Indian Ocean region.

The Met Office has issued an orange alert for Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia and Purba Medinipur districts.

“The weather system - a deep depression situated over the east-central Bay of Bengal, about 380 kms south of Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district is likely to concentrate into a cyclonic storm by Saturday evening and move northwards,” it said in a bulletin.

In north Odisha, the coastal districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara will receive heavy rain on May 26-27, while heavy precipitation is likely in Mayurbhanj on May 27.

ls-polls-anantnag-rajouri-constituency-records-58-per-cent-turnout-highest-in-35-years

Sat May 25 21:25:41 IST 2024

The Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency recorded a 53 per cent turnout on Saturday, the highest in 35 years. In 1996, the constituency recorded a turnout of 50 per cent.

With the completion of the election in Anantnag-Rajouri, where NC’s Mian Altaf and PDP’s Mehbooba are the main contenders, the election on five Lok Sabha seats- Udhanpur, Jammu, Srinagar, Budgam, Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri- in Jammu and Kashmir has been completed with a combined turnout of 58 per cent exceeding the 49.58 per cent recorded in 2014 and 47.99 per cent in 1996.

Addressing a press conference, CEO Pole expressed gratitude to the voters, polling staff, security personnel and candidates for their roles in achieving the record turnout.

"The credit goes to the voters for making the new records," he said. “It’s the collective effort that made the electoral process a success.”

The 53 per cent turnout in Anantnag-Rajouri is a significant increase from the 9 per cent seen in 2019.

The highest turnout in the constituency was witnessed in the Surankote area of Poonch at 68 per cent. Kulgam and Anantnag saw lower participation with 32 per cent and 33 per cent respectively. Migrant polling booths recorded over 50 per cent turnout, including 9,000 postal ballots.

Around 9,000 polling staff were deployed in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency to facilitate the voting.

Voting began at 7 a.m. on Saturday in the newly delimited Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat, amid stringent security measures. The Election Commission implemented robust arrangements, including satellite phones and special equipment at polling stations with poor mobile signals, to counter threats and contingencies, especially potential cross-border shelling in border regions.

The four other constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, including Baramulla, recorded 59.10 per cent, Srinagar at 39 per cent, Udhampur at 68 per cent and Jammu at 72.22 per cent.

However, significant security challenges occurred in some villages in Jammu and Kashmir due to the recent terrorist incidents in the Rajouri-Poonch area. The election officials assured that comprehensive measures had been taken to ensure free, fair, and peaceful voting. The constituency spanned 18 assembly segments, with the Election Commission establishing 2,338 polling stations to accommodate over 18.36 lakh voters.

Out of 542 polling stations in Rajouri district, 278 were categorised as sensitive. Additionally, 45 polling stations were within the direct firing range from across the Line of Control (LoC). In Poonch district, 55 out of 171 polling stations are located along the LoC. To safeguard voters in critical areas, the district administration devised contingency plans. The Rajouri DC confirmed that five villages, where the security challenges occurred, lie between the LoC and the fencing.

several-dead-as-huge-fire-breaks-out-at-gaming-zone-in-gujarats-rajkot

Sat May 25 23:18:06 IST 2024

At least 22 people, including children, lost their lives as a massive fire broke out at a gaming zone in Gujarat's Rajkot city on Saturday evening. Efforts are still on to rescue those trapped inside.

According to reports, the temporary structure at the TRP game zone came crashing down, making it difficult for fire department officials to carry out the dousing operation.

"So far we have confirmed the death of 22 persons in the fire incident. The bodies are completely charred and it is difficult to identify them," said Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vinayak Patel.

The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained. Rajkot Police Commissioner Raju Bhargav said the fire has been brought under control, but the effort to rescue those trapped inside is still on.

He said the gaming zone is owned by a person called Yuvraj Singh Solanki and that a case has been filed against him.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed deep anguish over the loss of lives in the fire accident.

"Extremely distressed by the fire mishap in Rajkot. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. Prayers for the injured. The local administration is working to provide all possible assistance to those affected," Modi said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said instructions have been given to the Municipal Corporation and the administration for immediate rescue and relief operations.

“It has also instructed to prioritize arrangements for immediate treatment of the injured,” he wrote on X.

The state government has assigned the investigation to a Special Investigation Team (SIT). It has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each injured.

bjp-will-win-from-us-political-scientist-to-psephologist-yogendra-yadav-predictions-favour-bjp

Sat May 25 13:03:20 IST 2024

Psephologist-turned-politician Yogendra Yadav becomes the latest poll analyst, after American poll expert Ian Bremmer and political scientist Prashant Kishor, to predict the BJP's victory in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

According to Yogendra Yadav, however, the saffron party may not be able to replicate its performance in the previous polls when it won 303 polls in 2019. The party may win around 240-260 seats and the NDA allies will win about 35-45 seats, predicted Yadav.

He expects the Congress to improve its tally this time around, from 52 in 2019 to 85-100.

Yogendra Yadav isn't buying BJP's claim of winning over 400 seats as he said in a tweet: "forget 400 or 303, BJP will not cross 272. If the wind blows more strongly, it is possible that even NDA may not get majority."

Yadav has been suggesting in several of his interviews that the BJP will not be able to repeat its performance in the previous polls and may even fall short of the 272 majority mark.

Prashant Kishor agrees

Kishor, who earlier predicted that the saffron party would win over 300 seats, backed Yadav calling him "a trusted face among those who understand elections and socio-political issues in the country."

"According to Yogendra ji, in these elections, BJP may get 240-260 seats and NDA allies may get 35-45 seats. Meaning BJP / NDA may get 275-305 seats.

272 seats are required to form a government in the country and BJP/NDA has 303/323 seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha. (Shiv Sena won 18 seats as part of NDA but is no longer with them)

Now you can judge for yourself whose government is being formed. You will know on 4 June who is talking about whom," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

It is to be noted that both of these analysts have not come up with granular data to substantiate their claims.

Kishore had, in a recent interview to NDTV, pointed out that the two things that can dislodge a government—"widespread anger among the voters to remove the incumbent or...a clamour to bring a new government to power"—are missing on the ground, and this would mean that the BJP would be back in power.

305±10 seats for BJP

According to American political scientist Ian Bremmer, the BJP would get 305±10 seats. "Prediction for elections for Eurasia group is 305±10 seats. Really not much of a change from what we saw five years ago," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

"Modi is almost certainly going to win a third term on the back of pretty strong economic performance and consistent reform (and) that, in the grand scheme, is a very stabilising message," he told NDTV.

crime-news-bangladesh-mp-anwarul-azim-anar-s-murder-mastermind-who-paid-killers-to-woman-who-honey-trapped-him-all-names-knowns-so-far

Fri May 24 19:54:18 IST 2024

The gruesome details of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar's murder in India by a group sent shockwaves across the two countries. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police arrested a butcher involved in the crime on Friday and revealed more details about the people involved in the brutal crime. The butcher, hailing from Bangladesh, allegedly helped the accused to dispose of Anar’s body parts at different locations after getting it dismembered.

Along with the horrific details of Anwarul Azim Anar's murder, the names of the people involved and their alleged role in the crime have also come to the fore. From the man responsible for chopping up the MP's body to the suspected kingpin who paid the killers, here are all the names revealed by the investigation team so far.

READ HERE | West Bengal police nab butcher who chopped Anwarul Azim Anar’s body

Anwarul Azim Anar: The victim, a member of the Bangladesh Parliament. The 56-year-old Bangladeshi Awami League politician represented the Jhenaidah-4 constituency.

Gopal Biswas: A friend of the victim in Kolkata with whom he staying since his arrival on May 12 until going missing.

Jihad Hawladar: An illegal migrant from Bangladesh, who was residing in India. A butcher by profession, Jiad was hired by Anwarul Azim Anar's killers to get rid of his body without sounding any alarm. Hawaldar was arrested from the Bongaon area in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. He reportedly admitted during interrogation that he had helped the other accused in chopping the victim's body before disposing the parts in different locations. He skinned the victim's body and chopped his body into parts to be put in plastic bags.

Jihad Hawladar was called to Kolkata a couple of months back as a part of the plan to kill Anar. He has admitted that he was an accomplice to the four men who murdered the politician inside the flat and helped them in skinning and chopping the body, a police officer told PTI.

Shilasti Rahman: The woman in the centre of the shocking crime. Police teams in both Dhaka and Kolkata believe she was an acquaintance of one of the killers. Her role was to honeytrapped Anwarul Azim Anar and bring him to the killers, NDTV said in a report. She convinced Anar to accompany her to the Kolkata flat, where the killers waited for him, the report said. CCTV footage confirmed the slain man entering the with a woman -- likely Rahman.

Shilasti Rahman has been detained by Dhaka Police, NDTV said.

Akhtaruzzaman: The suspected mastermind behind the crime, who reportedly paid the MP's murderers a sum of Rs 5 crore to commit the crime. Although of Bangladeshi origin, Akhtaruzzaman is a US citizen, NDTV said. His motive as well as location remains unknown during the time of compiling this report.

Another man reportedly involved in the incident is a friend of Akhtaruzzaman, who is a Kolkata-based state government employee. According to reports, it was at this friend's flat that Anwarul Azim Anar was killed and his body skinned and dismembered for disposal.

prajwal-revanna-sex-videos-case-siddaramaiah-claims-deve-gowda-sent-his-grandson-abroad

Fri May 24 13:57:28 IST 2024

After suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna's grandfather Deve Gowda issued a "stern warning", asking his grandson to come home and face the case of alleged sexual abuse of several women, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that it was in fact former prime minister who sent Prajwal Revanna abroad.

Siddaramaiah took a dig at the JD(S) patriarch, saying, "I think Deve Gowda himself sent Prajwal (abroad). The letter now written by him is only for public consumption."

Siddaramaiah had written a second time to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna be cancelled. In his letter to Modi, the chief minister said it was "shameful that Prajwal, a Member of Parliament from Hassan constituency, who is also contesting for re-election in the present general elections, and who is the grandson of a former Prime Minister, fled the country, the 27th of April, 2024 to Germany using his diplomatic passport...shortly after news of his heinous actions emerged and just a few hours before the first FIR was filed against him."

Reiterating that his grandson should be given the harshest punishment under the law "if found guilty", Deve Gowda had written: "At this juncture, I can do only one thing; I can issue a stern warning to Prajwal and ask him to return from wherever he is and surrender before the police. He should subject himself to the legal process."

"If he does not heed this warning, he will have to face my anger and anger of all his family members. The law will take care of the accusations against him, but not listening to the family will ensure his total isolation. If he has any respect left for me, he has to return immediately," Gowda added.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar reacted to the letter by Deve Gowda, saying it is a family matter and he does not want to comment on it.

narendra-modi-mysuru-stay-hotel-warns-legal-action-over-rs-806-lakh-unpaid-bill

Sat May 25 15:08:16 IST 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed in Radisson Blu Plaza in Mysuru during his April 2023 visit to the city. Now a report has claimed that the hotel is mulling legal action over his unpaid bills worth Rs 80.6 lakh.

The PM came to Mysuru to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger. The state forest department held the event from April 9 to 11 at a cost of Rs 3 crore, which was to be funded by the Centre, reported The Hindu.

However, the expense soared to Rs 6.33 crore, following further arrangements that were done as per instructions by officials of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The Centre had initially paid only Rs 3 crore and the remaining Rs 3.33 crore was pending.

According to The Hindu, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) first raised the issue to the NTCA in September last year. However, in February 2024. the authority said the state government should bear the expenses.

The issue was again raised by the new Principal Chief Conservator in March this year, following which the hotel officials sought payment of the remaining amount earlier this month. However, bills worth Rs 80.6 lakh is still unpaid, the report said.

The hotel reportedly threatened legal action if the pending dues are not settled by June 1.

unemployment-price-rise-biggest-issues-undercurrent-in-favour-of-india-bloc-priyanka-gandhi

Sat May 25 13:41:07 IST 2024

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Saturday, said unemployment and price rise are the "biggest issues" in the country and exuded confidence that the INDIA bloc will emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha elections, with an undercurrent in its favour.

Priyanka Gandhi made the remarks after casting her ballot in the morning.

Exuding confidence that the opposition INDIA bloc will emerge victorious in the elections, she said price rise and unemployment are the "biggest issues" for everyone in the country.

Asked about Congress leaders voting for AAP candidates and vice versa, she said, "Setting aside our differences, we are voting for our Constitution and democracy. I am proud of it."

Later, she told reporters that there is an undercurrent and people have the feeling that their concerns have not been looked into.

"BJP leaders talk about all kinds of things but do not discuss the main issues of unemployment and price rise. People are fed up now," the Congress general secretary said.

Asked what is working in favour of the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi said, "We are talking about people's issues since the beginning and this is what we have been campaigning on and our manifesto also talks about."

Priyanka Gandhi's husband Robert Vadra, their daughter Miraya Vadra and son Raihan Vadra also cast their ballots.

"I want people to come and vote, that's my only message," Miraya Vadra said after casting her vote for the first time.

Voting for the sixth and penultimate phase of the Lok Sabha elections are being held on Saturday in 58 constituencies in six states and two Union Territories, including all seven seats in Delhi and the Jangal Mahal region of West Bengal.

kejriwal-slams-pak-leader-india-will-not-tolerate-interference-from-sponsors-of-terrorism

Sat May 25 13:59:25 IST 2024

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at Pakistan leader Fawad Hussain and said Lok Sabha polls are India’s internal matter and the country is fully capable of handling its issues. The jibe comes after the Pakistan politician replied to Kejriwal’s tweet after voting in Delhi on Saturday.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader on Saturday posted a photograph of him with family after voting in Lok Sabha polls in Delhi on X and said, “I voted today with my father, wife and children. My mother is very ill. She could not go. I voted against dictatorship, unemployment and inflation. You too must go and vote.” Replying to the tweet, Pakistan leader Hussain said, “May peace and harmony defeat forces of hate and extremism.”

However, Kejriwal was quick to retort to the Pakistan leader’s remarks and tweeted, “Chaudhary Sahib, I and the people of my country are fully capable of handling our issues. Your tweet is not needed. The situation in Pakistan is very bad right now. You take care of your country.” The AAP leader added, “The elections taking place in India are our internal matter. India will not tolerate interference from the biggest sponsors of terrorism.”

Polling for the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls is underway at 58 Lok Sabha constituencies across seven states and a Union Territory. Voting is underway at all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the national capital.

kerala-rains-how-google-maps-led-4-hyderabad-tourists-into-overflowing-canal

Sat May 25 13:22:29 IST 2024

A group of tourists from Hyderabad escaped narrowly on Friday night as they drove their SUV into a flooded canal on after they followed a route shown by Google Maps.

Heading to Alappuzha, the driver of the Ford Endeavour took a left turn as shown on the navigation app when they reached Kuruppanthara in Kottayam district. The road was waterlogged and the tourists thought that they were still on road when they drove into the canal.

There were four people in the SUV and one of them managed to escape soon after vehicle plunged into the water. He sought help from local residents to rescue the remaining passengers trapped in the car. Eventually, the trio -- a woman and two men -- were rescued with the help of police and fire force personnel.

All four were unharmed. Later, the vehicle was pulled out of the canal.

In a similar incident in October 2023, two doctors died after they drove into a river as they followed the directions on Google Maps.

thane-boiler-blast-police-register-fir-forms-5-special-teams-to-nab-accused

Fri May 24 13:27:29 IST 2024

The Thane police have formed five special teams to nab the owners of the private chemical factory who are at large after the death of nine persons in a boiler explosion in the plant. Police have registered an FIR against the owners and managerial staff of the plant for culpable homicide.

The Thane police said they have registered a case against Malti Pradeep Mehta and Malay Pradeep Mehta, owners of the chemical factory, other directors, administrators and managerial staff of the company under various sections of the Indian Penal Code in connection with the blast, ANI reported. According to police, the accused are absconding and five special teams have been formed to nab them.

As per the FIR, police charged the management did not take proper precautions regarding the chemical process and the storage of raw materials and final products, which led to chemical explosions. “These lapses led to the explosion on Thursday, resulting in deaths on the premises and companies around the factory,” the FIR said. “The impact of the blast was so severe that it shattered window panes of houses, and damaged cars, roads and electric poles in the factory's vicinity,” it said.

The FIR was registered by the Manpada police in Maharashtra's Thane district around 1.50am on Friday, nearly 12 hours after a blast ripped through the unit of Amudan Chemicals located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC area. According to the FIR, some more people might be buried under the rubble of the factory that collapsed due to a blast in its boiler.

The accused have been booked for culpable homicide (section 304), voluntarily causing hurt and negligent conduct with respect to combustible matter and explosive substances under the Indian Penal Code. Besides IPC, the police have also invoked charges under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Explosive Substances Act.

The affected chemical factory produced food colours and used peroxides that are highly reactive and unstable chemicals that can cause violent explosions under certain conditions, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which was involved in the rescue operations, had said on Thursday.

-with inputs from agencies.

norway-stands-with-people-of-palestine-ukraine-ambassador-may-eline-stener-tells-the-week

Fri May 24 10:15:00 IST 2024

In an interactive session with THE WEEK and Malayala Manorama on May 23, the Norwegian ambassador to India and Sri Lanka, May-Eline Stener, answered questions on a variety of issues, ranging from geopolitics and economics to sustainable development and sports.

The ambassador expressed her happiness to be in Kerala, explaining how she felt the southern Indian state and her motherland had a special connection, before moving on to more serious topics.

She talked about the Free Trade Agreement with India and the reasons for Norway looking at India for its development plans on renewable energy, maritime and fisheries resources. She also spoke about her visit to the Cochin Shipyard and about bringing forward a sustainable development model.

The ambassador answered questions about development efforts and India's collaborations with Norway. Using Kerala's long coastline as a valuable resource for business and the historical reasons for choosing Cochin Shipyard as a strategic partner were discussed in the process. Conversations were also held about how Kerala could learn from Norway's expertise in water sports.

On geopolitical issues, the first to come up was the Russia-Ukraine war. "For us, it is nothing else but being on the side of Ukraine,” the ambassador said.

When it came to the Israel-Palestine issue, Norwegian acceptance of Palestine's statehood was discussed and the ambassador made it clear that Norway stood with the innocent people of Palestine. She also answered questions on the Oslo Accords, the two-state solution and the need for female representation in bodies like the United Nations.

Norway’s perspective on wealth and the race of nations to become developed, the astonishingly low wage gaps in Norway and potential economic investments in India were also discussed.

cong-amended-laws-related-to-minority-institutions-overnight-to-make-their-vote-bank-happy-modi

Sat May 25 13:12:03 IST 2024

The Congress government changed laws related to minority institutions overnight to make their vote bank happy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi charged during a poll rally in Bihar on Saturday.

Addressing a poll campaign at Patliputra in Bihar, Modi said, “To make their vote bank happy, Congress changed the law related to minority institutions overnight. After this, thousands of institutions were declared minority institutions.” He charged, “Earlier, SC/ST and other backward classes used to get full reservations during admission to these institutions."

The prime minister said the Indian Constitution doesn’t allow reservation based on religion and added even Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar said there would be no reservation based on religion. “RJD-Congress want to give reservation to their vote bank based on religion by ending the quota of SC/ST and OBCs,” PM charged. “As long as I am alive, I will not allow the INDIA bloc to rob reservations of backward classes,” the prime minister said.

Modi said the INDIA bloc is busy abusing him as they have no work since the country fired them. “In this 2024 election, on one hand, there is Modi who is working hard for all of you 24 hours, and on the other hand, there is the INDI alliance who lies to you. On one hand, there is Modi, busy 24/7 in making India ‘Viksit Bharat' by 2047 and on the other hand, there is this INDI alliance, which has no work,” he said. Modi charged RJD's 'lantern' brings light to only one house, while the entire Bihar remains in dark.

bjp-had-won-9-of-14-up-lok-sabha-constituencies-going-to-polls-today

Sat May 25 09:14:24 IST 2024

Of the 14 Lok Sabha seats that are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, the BJP had won 9 in the previous elections. The next big winner was the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with four seats, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) managed to secure only one seat.

One of the most closely watched contests will be in Sultanpur where former Union minister Maneka Gandhi is looking for her ninth win to the Lok Sabha. She contested from Sultanpur in 2019 too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not campaign for her, but Chief Minister Yogi Aidtyanath did. Her son Varun Gadhi also chipped in. She is facing Rambhual Nishad of the SP in a constituency where his caste is present in significant numbers.

In Azamgarh, Bhojuri actor and singer Dinesh Yadav ‘Nirahua’ the incumbent MP from BJP is facing SP's Dharmendra Yadav. The contest has been squared by the BSP’s Mashud Ahmed. Nirhua is seeking votes in the name of Modi, as the electorate is miffed with him for not doing much for the constituency.

In Allahabad, there is a battle of the sons. Neeraj Tripathi (BJP), the son of former UP assembly speaker Keshari Nath Tripathi, is taking on Ujjawal Ram Singh, the son of Rewati Raman Singh. The senior Singh is one of the founding members of the SP. While Tripathi has no political experience, Singh is a two-time MLA.

Maharashtra’s former minister of state for home, Kripa Shankar Singh, is taking on the SP’s Babu Singh Kushwaha in Jaunpur. BJP's Singh seems headed for s sure victory as local strongman Dhananjay Singh – miffed at the taking back of his wife’s ticket by the BSP—has announced his support for the saffron party.

A shadow battle is on in Pratapgarh, where another strongman Raghuraj Pratap Singh (Raja bhaiyya) has announced his support for the BJP. The party candidate here is sitting MP Sangam Lal Gupta. The SP candidate, Shiv Pal Singh Patel is a Kurmi. Though the constituency has a substantial Kurmi vote, the contest could see the votes swing to the BJP as Apna Dal (S) president Anupriya Patel has hit out at Raja bhaiyya without naming him.

There are local issues dominating the polls such as unemployment, stray cattle, road maintenance, overhaul of sugar mills and control of flood waters. However, will these be able to trump brand Modi?

char-dham-yatra-over-95-lakh-pilgrims-visit-uttarakhand-both-tourist-numbers-and-deaths-hit-a-high

Sat May 25 11:53:35 IST 2024

More than twice the number of tourists have visited the Char Dham in Uttarakhand this year, where yatra started in May. Kedarnath, which like Gangotri and Yamunotri, started receiving pilgrims on May 10, leads with 4.24 lakh visitors. However, the number of deaths has also risen.

Till Friday, as per the state government's figures, 9.67 lakh pilgrims have visited and, as many as 52 persons, mostly aged above 60 years, died during this period due to heart attacks. Kedarnath leads here too with 23 deaths. In 2023, 23 people died on a single day in Kedarnath due to heavy snowfall. Last year, a total of 56 lakh persons took the yatra and 223 pilgrims died.

On Friday, a chopper en route to Kedarnath, carrying six pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, developed a fault in its hydraulic system but, there were no casualties.

Vinay Shankar Pandey, the Commissioner of Garhwal said, “We had to stop pilgrims from proceeding upwards for a week, but now things are streamlined." This, he said, was the result of people reaching Uttarakhand and then registering for the yatra. Rishikesh and Haridwar are the most popular starting points for the yatra. According to government orders, the concerned officers will be answerable if visitors reach the state before the allotted date of the yatra. For now, all registrations are on hold till May 31.

In addition, there have been incidents of fake registrations and FIRs have been registered against 10 tour operators.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has instructed that special attention be paid to cleanliness and sector magistrates are required to provide updates every two hours.

Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Mandir Samiti chairperson, Ajendra Ajay said, “The number of tourists has been beyond capacity. This led to some initial difficulties. Government measures have now smoothened things”.

pune-car-crash-police-arrest-juveniles-grandfather-for-threatening-driver

Sat May 25 12:14:02 IST 2024

The Pune police on Saturday arrested the grandfather of the juvenile who mowed down two techies in the road rage incident. The grandfather allegedly threatened the family driver and wrongfully confined him, police said.

According to the Pune Crime Branch, based on the driver Gangadhar’s complaint, a case has been registered against the juvenile’s father Vishal Agarwal and grandfather Surendra Agrawal under sections 342, 365, 368, 506 and 34 of IPC. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar had on Friday said the juvenile’s father and grandfather had tried to establish that the Porsche car was not driven by the minor. The driver Gangadhar was in the car, in the adjacent seat, when the accident occurred.

According to police, following the accident, both Vishal Agarwal and Surendra Agrawal allegedly snatched away Gangadhar’s phone and he was confined in a house on the premises of their bungalow from May 19 to May 20. The driver was later freed by his wife, police said.

Two techies were killed in the early hours of May 19 when a Porsche car hit them. A 17-year-old juvenile, who drove the car was taken into custody over the incident. The accident case was registered at the Yerwada police station following the car crash in the Kalyani Nagar area of the city and Crime Branch took over the probe. Pune police on Saturday suspended two cops for alleged lapses in their duty.

A local court in Pune on Friday remanded the six accused arrested in the case, including the teenager's father, in judicial custody. The teenager is in an observation home till June 5.

-with inputs from agencies.

not-able-to-make-any-calls-mehbooba-mufti-claims-outgoing-calls-on-her-mobile-number-suspended

Sat May 25 09:29:13 IST 2024

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, on Saturday, claimed that outgoing calls on her mobile number have been suspended without any explanation.

"I am not able to make any calls since morning. There is no explanation for this sudden suspension of services on the day of polling in the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency," Mehbooba told PTI.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency, where voting is currently underway.

The PDP also flagged the issue in a post on X.

"Just ahead of the polls, Ms. Mehbooba Mufti's @MehboobaMufti cellular phone service has been abruptly snapped. Yesterday evening and in the early hours today, scores of PDP workers and polling agents were detained across polling belt," it said.

On Friday, Mehbooba had written to the Election Commission claiming that PDP workers and polling agents were detained by police.

"Many of our PDP polling agents & workers are being detained just before voting. When the families went to the police stations they are being told that it's being done at the behest of SSP Anantnag & DIG South Kashmir. We've written to @ECISVEEP hoping for their timely intervention," the PDP chief had said in a post on X.

rajeev-chandrasekhar-trolled-for-claiming-many-dead-in-kerala-f

Thu May 23 21:40:29 IST 2024

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar found himself at the centre of widespread social media trolls on Thursday after he claimed that several people lost their lives due to “floods” in Kerala.

“Saddened to hear about the tragic loss of lives due to flood in Kerala. My condolences to the bereaved families. Hoping for a speedy recovery of those injured,” Chandrasekhar said in a Facebook post.

The minister, who is the NDA candidate from Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, later deleted the post after it drew criticism from various quarters.

State minister V. Shivankutty mocked that Chandrasekhar might have just watched the film ‘2018’ which is based on the massive flood in the state in 2018.

“He can save himself from losing his senses completely if he comes to the state frequently, other than during elections,” Sivankutty said in a post.

Several social media users pointed out that even though Kerala reels under heavy pre-monsoon rains, no flood-like situation has been reported from anywhere.

Rains continued to lash several parts of the state on Thursday, leading to waterlogging in the low-lying areas of major cities, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Thrissur. The IMD has issued a red alert in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts

At least four persons have lost their lives in rain-related incidents so far.

lok-sabha-elections-phase-6-polling-begins-in-58-seats-across-6-states-2-uts

Sat May 25 07:56:03 IST 2024

Polling began on Saturday in 58 Lok Sabha constituencies across Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir in the 6thphase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Uttar Pradesh

The Lok Sabha seats that are going to polls in UP are: are Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawasti, Domariyaganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machhlishahr and Bhadohi. This round of elections will seal the fate of several high-profile candidates in the state, including former Union minister Maneka Gandhi.

Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of MPs (80) to the Lok Sabha.

Haryana

Union ministers Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gurjar and Congress heavyweights Kumari Selja and Deepender Singh Hooda are among the contestants in Haryana where polling has began in 10 Lok Sabha seats.

In 2019, the ruling BJP had won all 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Haryana is witnessing a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on most seats. However, seats like Hisar are witnessing a multi-cornered contest.

West Bengal

Tamluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, and Bishnupur are the eight constituencies in the state going to polls in the sixth phase in West Bengal on Saturday.

Among the notable candidates in fray in this phase are Bengali actor Dev, who is seeking a third term as TMC MP from Ghatal, former Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, the BJP candidate in Tamluk, Union Minister Subhas Sarkar in Bankura, and fashion designer Agnimitra Paul, a BJP legislator, who is pitted against TMC MLA and actor June Malia in Medinipur.

Bihar

Over 1.49 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 86 candidates in Valmiki Nagar, Pashchim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Sheohar, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Vaishali constituencies in Bihar.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) is contesting four seats, including Sheohar which was won by the BJP in the previous Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP is contesting three of the eight seats, including Pashchim Champaran, where former state president Sanjay Jaiswal is aiming at a fourth consecutive win.

Delhi

All the seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi go to polls in this phase of Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP won all seven seats in Delhi in the 2014 and the 2019 general elections with huge margins and is aiming to replicate the same in these elections as well. The BJP candidates are Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, the only sitting MP from Delhi fielded by the party again; Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj from New Delhi, Harsh Deep Malhotra from East Delhi, Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk and Kamaljeet Sehrawat from West Delhi.

This is the first Lok Sabha election in Delhi in which AAP and the Congress have fielded joint candidates against the BJP. The AAP has fielded Kuldeep Kumar from the East Delhi seat, Mahabal Mishra from West Delhi, Somnath Bharti from New Delhi and Sahi Ram Pahalwan from South Delhi.

The Congress has nominated J P Agarwal from the Chandni Chowk seat, Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi and Udit Raj from the North West Delhi constituency.

Odisha

Polling began on Saturday for six Lok Sabha constituencies and 42 assembly seats in Odisha. Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri Lok Sabha seats along with 42 assembly segments that make up these Lok Sabha constituencies.

Sixty-four candidates are in the fray for the six Lok Sabha seats and 383 contestants for the 42 assembly segments. The prominent leaders contesting in this phase include Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJD organisational secretary and MLA Pranab Prakash Das and BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.

Jharkhand

Giridih, Dhanbad, Ranchi, and Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand are going to polls on Saturday.

In the Ranchi Lok Sabha seat, Congress's Yashaswini Sahay, daughter of former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay, is contesting against the BJP MP Sanjay Seth.

Dhanbad is witnessing a fight between BJP's Baghmara MLA Dulu Mahato and Congress's Anupama Singh, the wife of the party's Bermo legislator Kumar Jaimangal.

In Jamshedpur, BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato has been pitted against JMM's Baharagora MLA Samir Mohanty.

In Giridih, AJSU Party's Chandra Prakash Chaudhary is up against JMM's Tundi MLA Mathura Mahato.

Jammu and Kashmir

Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency where 20 candidates, including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, are in the fray goes to polls in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. As many as 2,338 polling stations have been set up across the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.

—With agency inputs

jaishankar-gambhir-sambit-patra-khattar-among-early-voters-make-your-vote-count-modi-tells-people

Sat May 25 08:46:19 IST 2024

As voting for the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections began on Saturday morning, several high-profile voters, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi, BJP leader Sambit Patra, former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and BJP East Delhi MP and former India Cricketer Gautam Gambhir turned up at polling booths early in the morning to exercise their franchise.

"We have just cast our vote and I was the first male voter in this booth. We want people to come out and cast their votes as this is a decisive moment for the country," said Jaishankar after casting his vote.

Gambhir too made an appeal to people to come out in large numbers and vote. "This is our power, this is our democracy. The Govt has worked for development in the last 10 years," he said.

Union minister Puri urged people to shed their apathy and come out to vote. "The issues are very clear; they are about development. But the issues that the opposition is framing, they try to create a false narrative in the process they score self-goals. They have lost it. We will have a hattrick in Delhi,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to request people to “make their vote count.”

"I urge all those who are voting in the 6th phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to vote in large numbers. Every vote counts, make yours count too! Democracy thrives when its people are engaged and active in the electoral process. I specially urge women voters and youth voters to vote in large numbers," the prime minister wrote.

pune-porsche-crash-case-2-cops-suspended-for-dereliction-of-duty

Fri May 24 22:12:31 IST 2024

Following the outrage over alleged lapses by the police after the Pune Porsche crash incident, an inspector and an assistant police inspector have been suspended. The case has also been transferred to the Pune Police Crime Branch.

The two police officers suspended were Rahul Jagdale and Vishwanath Todkari. Action was taken against them for not informing their superiors, who were in charge during the night of the accident. The cops were attached to the Yerwada police station, where the teenager was taken after the accident.

Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar had said earlier in the day that an internal inquiry pointed to lapses on the part of police officials while registering the case. He said there was a delay in collecting the blood samples of the juvenile, who had allegedly consumed alcohol before the accident.

While the accident took place around 3 am on Sunday, the blood samples were collected at 11 pm, the commissioner said.

Along with IPC 304 (A) (death caused by negligence), section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder was also added.

Meanwhile, Vishal Agarwal, the father of the juvenile was sent to judicial custody till June 7 on Friday. He was arrested on May 21.

delhi-court-convicts-activist-medha-patkar-in-defamation-case

Fri May 24 22:41:47 IST 2024

More than 23 years after the complaint was registered, a Delhi court on Friday convicted Narmada Bachao Andolan leader and activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case lodged against her by V K Saxena, the incumbent lieutenant governor, saying reputation is one of the most valuable assets and significantly impacts one's standing in society.

Holding Patkar's statements as defamatory per se and crafted to incite negative perceptions, Metropolitan Magistrate Raghav Sharma convicted the activist of the offence of criminal defamation under the IPC which entails a maximum punishment of simple imprisonment of up to two years or fine or both.

Saxena had filed the case in November 2000 when he was the president of the National Council of Civil Liberties over a "defamatory" press release issued against him by Patkar.

Reputation is one of the most valuable assets a person can possess, as it affects both personal and professional relationships and can significantly impact an individual's standing in society, the magistrate said in his 55-page judgment.

He said Patkar's statements calling Saxena a coward, not a patriot and alleging his involvement in hawala transactions were not only defamatory per se but also crafted to incite negative perceptions.

Also, the accusation that the complainant was mortgaging the people of Gujarat and their resources to foreign interests was a direct attack on his integrity and public service, the magistrate said.

The court said Saxena's testimony, supported by two court witnesses, showed Patkar falsely associated him with activities contrary to his public stance.

It said Patkar failed to provide any evidence to counter these claims or to show that she did not intend or foresee the harm caused by her statements.

The resulting inquiries and doubts raised among the complainant's acquaintances, as well as the shift in perception highlighted by the witnesses, underscore the significant damage to his (Saxena's) reputation, the court said.

It said it was clear that Patkar's actions were deliberate and malicious, aimed at tarnishing the complainant's good name, and indeed caused substantial harm to his standing and credit in the eyes of the public.

Noting the evidence before it, the court said it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that Patkar had published the statement knowing that it would harm Saxena's reputation.

The accused, therefore, committed an offence punishable under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC. She is hereby convicted of the same, it said.

The arguments on the quantum of sentence will be heard on May 30.

In its order, the court considered three questions-whether the press note was proved to have been issued by Patkar; whether the press note made certain imputations against Saxena; and whether the accused by publishing the imputations intended to harm his reputation.

It said there was no reason to believe Patkar's "bald averments and excuses" against having issued the statement and that the gravity and precision of the accusations highlighted that her action was deliberate and that her primary objective was to undermine Saxena's credibility and integrity in public.

Patkar and Saxena have been locked in a legal tussle since 2000 after she filed a suit against him for publishing advertisements against her and the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA).

Saxena had also filed two cases against her for making derogatory remarks against him on a TV channel and issuing a defamatory press statement.

ls-polls-phase-6-seven-delhi-seats-to-witness-intense-fight-litmus-test-for-aap-congress-alliance

Fri May 24 21:07:37 IST 2024

People of Delhi will vote on May 25 in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections to decide the fate of all seven parliamentary segments in the national capital. An intense battle is on the cards with the three main political parties wrapping up their high-voltage campaigns on Thursday.

The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) which won all seven seats in 2019 is against an alliance of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, both members of the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. This is a significant departure from the past when the city, which has a total of 1,52,01,936 voters, saw a three-cornered fight. While the AAP is contesting on four seats, the Congress has fielded candidates on three constituencies as per the seat-sharing arrangements between the two INDIA member parties.

During vigorous campaigning in the middle of a heatwave, both sides exuded confidence in winning all seven seats.

The AAP’s campaign got a shot in the arm after the release of Delhi chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. He was lodged in Tihar jail. Since his coming out of jail, Kejriwal has been tirelessly campaigning in the city and conducted rallies and roadshows across constituencies. In his interaction with the electorate, he accused the saffron party of a dictatorial attitude and using the investigating agencies to muzzle opposition.

In Kejriwal’s absence, his wife Sunita Kejriwal held roadshows for party candidates whereas senior party leaders Sanjay Singh, Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Gopal Rai steered the party and electioneering through a tumultuous phase. The AAP launched the ‘Jail ka Jawab Vote se’ campaign in their supreme leader’s absence in an apparent bid to win sympathy votes.

From the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself addressed two rallies in North East Delhi and West Delhi constituencies. Union ministers Amit Shah Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, and Piyush Goyal asked for votes on behalf of the party’s candidates reminding the electorate that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the centre is the only option for the country.

The BJP maintained throughout its campaign that the INDIA bloc partners in Delhi are “unnatural” allies and will fail to make any impact. The BJP attacked the AAP for not allowing the people of Delhi to benefit from the central government schemes such as Ayushman Bharat. The speeches of the BJP candidates reflected their dependence on the Modi factor to attract votes.

The Congress, which was pushed out of the Capital, ironically by the AAP about a decade ago, is trying to restore its support in Delhi by portraying that they are fighting a larger battle to save democracy and the Constitution. Hence, an alliance with the AAP. The Congress, however, got a setback when a section of its leaders including former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely announced his exit from the party over tickets to Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj from Northeast and Northwest constituencies.

The two constituencies which are expected to see an interesting battle are New Delhi and Northeast Delhi. In the former, the battle is between two lawyers – BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj, former union minister Sushma Swaraj’s daughter and AAP’s Somnath Bharti, three-time MLA from Malviya Nagar assembly segment. In the Northeast segment, singer-turned BJP incumbent Manoj Tiwari will take on Congress’s Kanhaiya Kumar.

When the city goes out to vote on Saturday, the battle in Delhi will be defined by a contest between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

pm-modi-accepted-that-there-is-no-evidence-in-delhi-excise-policy-case-kejriwal

Fri May 24 19:49:38 IST 2024

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that the PM has accepted that the liquor policy case is wrong and has no evidence in the case.

While addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the BJP has been screaming that there has been a scam but not even a penny was recovered.

"They have been screaming for two years that there is a liquor scam claiming it was to the tune of Rs 100 crore, but not even a penny has been recovered," said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal, who was arrested in the Delhi excise policy case is out on interim bail till June 1.

In an interview, PM Modi called the Delhi CM an "experienced thief" and said, "A former government official who knows how ED, CBI will progress in a case can cover up a lot." Replying to Modi’s remark, Kejriwal said that Modi accepted that there was no evidence in the case.

"Yesterday, the PM was asked in an interview that Kejriwal was saying that no evidence has been found in the case. The PM said no money was found because Kejriwal is an experienced thief. He accepted that no recovery was made," he added.

"To hide it, he said Kejriwal is an 'anubhavi chor'. This is just an excuse to prove the wrong arrests right. When you have accepted that excise scam is wrong, please release those who have been arrested," said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener.

centre-ready-to-cooperate-in-bringing-back-prajwal-revanna-pralhad-joshi

Thu May 23 15:34:00 IST 2024

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday said there is a process to cancel the diplomatic passport of suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of sexually harassing several women, and stated that the Centre is ready to cooperate in bringing him back to the country.

Hitting out at the state government, he questioned why they did not file a case and detain Prajwal before he left for abroad. The union minister also accused the Congress dispensation of trying to put the blame on the Centre and playing politics on the issue.

Joshi was reacting to a question on Chief Minister Siddarmaiah writing a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take "prompt and necessary" actions to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal. "There is a process to cancel diplomatic passports...so far Siddaramaiah, D.K. Shivakumar (Deputy CM) and Parameshwara (Home Minister) have not responded to my question,” the minister said.

"The first pen drive containing clipping (explicit clippings involving Prajwal) came out on April 21 and Prajwal Revanna left for abroad on April 27. Were they guarding donkeys for seven days? Why didn't you file an FIR and detain him?" Joshi asked.

Speaking to reporters at Kalaburagi, he said, "There is a process to get him (Prajwal) back from abroad and the Government of India is ready to extend cooperation to the state government by following necessary processes in accordance with the law." Joshi further said, "But this thing that as soon as we (CM or state government) write things should happen, or else put the blame on BJP (is not right). They (state government) did not take action in the pen drive case until the first phase of polls was over (on April 26) with an eye on Vokkkaliga votes. Now they are trying to put the blame on the Centre."

This is a serious case, Prajwal has to face the probe and will have to face punishment if found guilty. “There is no question about it,” he said, adding, "But the Karnataka government, more than probe, is trying to do politics in this case."

Siddaramaiah in his letter to PM Modi on Wednesday said it is "disheartening" that his previous letter regarding cancelling Prajwal's diplomatic passport, has not been acted upon, despite the gravity of the situation. The chief minister had earlier on May 1 written to Modi urging him to move the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs to take swift action to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is processing a request of the Karnataka government seeking cancellation of the diplomatic passport of Prajwal. Official sources said that the MEA has received a letter from the Karnataka government seeking the revocation of Prajwal's diplomatic passport.

The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H.D. Deve Gowda and is the NDA's candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women. Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27, a day after Hassan went to polls, and is still at large. A 'Blue Corner Notice' seeking information on his whereabouts has already been issued by Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant on May 18 against Prajwal, following an application moved by the SIT.

swati-maliwal-assault-case-delhi-court-remands-bibhav-kumar-to-four-day-judicial-custody

Fri May 24 17:52:01 IST 2024

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide Bibhav Kumar was sent to four-day judicial custody by the Delhi court on Friday. Kumar was arrested in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.

Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal allowed the prosecution's plea seeking Kumar's judicial custody for four days after police interrogation. Soon after the court order, Bibhav Kumar has moved a bail application. The court has asked Delhi police to file a reply and has listed the hearing on Monday.

It was alleged that Kumar had assaulted Maliwal at the CM's official residence on May 13.

Kumar's counsels have moved an application seeking to procure and preserve the CCTV footage and the DVRs.

"These CCTVs prove my case, they have searched various times and have taken CCTV footage, how much footage they have we don’t know. We are seeking for the footage to be preserved,” Kumar's counsel's argument was quoted by the Hindustan Times.

However, the prosecution argued that the application at this stage is not applicable as the matter is under investigation. "We moved an application under Section 165 to provide the list of search and seized items to the magistrate," said defence counsel advocate Rajiv Mohan. There is a provision in Section 165 to provide the list of all the items seized during the search, he added.

The prosecution also argued that the defence has not specified which CCTV footage they require as a copy of the same has also been given to the occupier.

"Initially we had asked for DVR, but they gave us a blank pen drive. Now they have given us an NVR which has been given to the expert for examination,” said the additional public prosecutor.

The Delhi Police had arrested Kumar on May 18.

After Maliwal's complaint, Kumar had accused the Rajya Sabha MP of gaining "unauthorised entry" into the CM's residence and started "verbally abusing" him.

In Maliwal's complaint, Kumar "slapped" her "at least seven to eight times" and "brutally dragged" her while "kicking" her in her "chest, stomach and pelvis area".

bangladesh-mp-murder-west-bengal-police-nab-butcher-who-chopped-anwarul-azim-anars-body

Fri May 24 15:12:02 IST 2024

The Criminal Investigation Department of West Bengal police arrested a butcher involved in connection with the murder of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar on Friday. The butcher allegedly helped the accused to dispose Anar’s body parts at different locations.

According to police, the butcher, Jihar Hawaldar, was arrested from the Bongaon area in North 24 Parganas district and he reportedly admitted during interrogation that he had helped the other accused in chopping the victim's body before disposing the parts in different locations, an officer told PTI.

The investigation into the suspected murder of the Bangladesh MP has revealed gory details which suggest he was honey-trapped before being strangulated and brutally dismembered.

Anwarul arrived in Kolkata on May 12 and stayed at his friend Gopal Biswas’s residence in the city’s Baranagar area for two days before going missing. He maintained communication with the family until May 14. On May 16, a call was made from the MP's phone to his personal assistant, Abdur Rauf. Unfortunately, Rauf missed the call, and subsequent attempts to call back were unsuccessful as the phone was switched off by then. Since then, the MP has remained unreachable.

Bengal Police confirmed the murder the Anar, an Awami League MP from Jhenaidah-4 segment in Bangladesh, on Wednesday, after the victim went missing from Kolkata on May 13.

State CID sleuths on Friday took Jihad Hawaldar to the Bhangar area where the chopped body parts were put in plastic bags and scattered across different places, the officer said.

"The accused is a Bangladeshi citizen and a butcher by profession. He had entered India illegally and was staying in Mumbai hiding his true identity. He was called to Kolkata a couple of months back as a part of the plan to kill Anar. He has admitted that he was an accomplice to the four men who murdered the politician inside the flat and helped them in skinning and chopping the body," the police officer told PTI.

The arrested accused would be produced at a court in Barasat later Friday while a team of CID officers were in the process of searching for the victim's body parts at the Krishnamati village in Bhangar, where the butcher had led them.

An initial probe also found out that the MP's close friend Akhtaruzzaman, a US citizen, had paid around Rs 5 crore to those involved in the crime, the senior police officer said.

A team of the West Bengal CID visited Bangladesh on Thursday to interrogate the three accused who were arrested by Bangladesh police in connection with the case. The trio were identified as Amanullah Aman, Shilasti Rahman and Faisal Ali.

According to police, the MP's friend has a flat in Kolkata, and is probably in the US at present. Circumstantial evidence indicated that the MP was first strangulated and killed after which his body was chopped into pieces, police claimed.

The search for the missing MP, who reportedly arrived in Kolkata on May 12 to undergo medical treatment, began after Gopal Biswas, a resident of Baranagar in north Kolkata and an acquaintance of the Bangladeshi politician, filed a complaint with the local police on May 18.

-with inputs from agencies.

explained-what-is-form-17c-and-why-voter-turnout-data-is-important-for-candidates

Fri May 24 16:07:05 IST 2024

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass an interim order on a petition seeking a direction to the Election Commission to publish on its website the Form 17C data, or the voter turnout data per polling station, within 48 hours of the voting coming to an end. The court said an interim order on the current plea would amount to granting relief in a similar petition filed by the petitioner, pending since 2019.

The petition
The Association for Democratic Reforms filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the EC to publish the Form 17C data on its website within 48 hours of conclusion of polling. The ADR emphasised the need to put the data out in the public domain, because of what is described as a substantial difference between the initial voter turnout figures released by the Commission and the final figures.

What is Form 17C?
The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 require the EC to maintain two forms- Forms 17A and 17C. Form 17A records the details of every voter who enters a polling booth and casts their vote. Form 17C contains the total number of votes cast.

Under rule 49S(2), the presiding officer has to provide a copy of the data entered in Form 17C to the polling agents of candidates at the time of the close of polling. The data recorded in Part I of Form 17C includes the unique ID number of the EVM used at a particular polling booth, the total number of voters enlisted at that booth, the total number of voters who entered the polling booth and whose details were validated on Form 17A, the number of voters who did not vote despite signing on the register, the number of voters who were not allowed to vote, the number of test votes, and the number of total votes recorded in the EVM. Part II of Form 17C is used to record the results of the election.

What makes Form 17C data important
The data in Form 17C is used by candidates to verify the details provided during counting, such as the ID number of the EVM and the number of votes polled per polling station. The candidates can challenge a result if there is a discrepancy between the data in Form 17C and the data emanating from the counting centre. They can also file petitions in the high court challenging the election result on the basis of the mismatch between the counting data and the figures in Form 17C.

Why the demand to make public Form 17C data
Opposition parties and civil society have objected to the Commission only releasing voting percentage, and not the total number of votes polled in a constituency. They have questioned why the Commission took 11 days after the completion of the first phase of voting and four days after the second phase to release the figures. It has also been pointed out by them that there is a sizeable difference between the initial voting percentage released by the EC and the final figure made public by it. They have demanded that the Form 17C data be made public to allay concerns regarding data on the total number of voters and the total number of voters who have cast their vote.

The Election Commission's response
The Commission maintained there is no legal mandate for it to make public the total number of votes cast in each polling station. It says copies of Form 17C are shared with the polling agents present immediately upon the close of polling. It says candidates are aware and in possession of the exact voter turnout data in absolute numbers even before it is known to the Commission.

On the issue of significant difference between the initial voter turnout percentage and the final figures, the Commission said voters continue to vote even after 6pm due to long queues at polling stations and that is added to the figures later.

porsche-car-crash-90-day-procedure-in-place-to-determine-trying-teen-as-adult-says-juveniles-lawyer

Thu May 23 13:30:54 IST 2024

Prashant Patil, lawyer of the juvenile involved in the Pune crash case said the Juvenile Justice Board has a 90-day procedure in place to determine whether to consider the 17-year-old as an adult.

Talking to presspersons, Patil said, “The Juvenile Justice Act has procedures to determine whether the juvenile should be considered as a minor or an adult. It takes almost 90 days to complete the procedure,” ANI reported.

Cancelling the teenager’s bail, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Wednesday remanded the teenager allegedly involved in a car accident that claimed two lives to an observation home till June 5. Two IT professionals, identified as Ashwini Koshta and Aneesh Awadhia, were killed in the accident.

Patil said once a juvenile is arrested, investigating agencies must file a chargesheet within 30 days. “After the chargesheet is filed, a two-month procedure follows, which includes psychological and social assessments along with a de-addiction test," Patil said.

Meanwhile, the sessions court Wednesday remanded Vishal Agarwal (50), the minor's father, and two employees of Hotel Black Club Nitesh Shevani and Jayesh Gavkar, in police custody till May 24. The teenager, before the accident, had allegedly consumed alcohol at Hotel Black Club. Police registered a case against his father under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and against the owner and employees of two bars which the boy had visited before Sunday's accident for `serving alcohol to an underage person.'

-With inputs from agencies.

politics-over-missing-keys-of-jagannath-temple-rages-what-is-the-row-about

Thu May 23 22:38:01 IST 2024

The BJP has been trying to corner the BJD in Odisha on the issue of missing keys of Ratnabhandar (temple treasury) of Sri Jagannath temple amid the ongoing elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, raked up this issue in one of his recent poll rallies.

In a veiled jibe at bureaucrat-turned-politician V.K. Pandian—a close aide of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik—Modi said the keys might have gone to Tamil Nadu. This evoked sharp reaction from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin who said Modi’s remarks were intended to foster enmity between the two states.

Stalin said the prime minister should exemplify ethical conduct in election campaigns by focusing on constructive criticism, and not by spreading hatred.

It seems the state BJP functionaries have not appraised Modi about the real status of the Ratnabhandar issue. A probe into the issue reveals a different story.

In February, following a directive of the high court to open the Ratnabhandar, the state government constituted a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Arijit Pashayat. Many noted personalities of the state like Dr R.K. Panda, former chairperson of Allahabad Bank Bidhubhusan Samal and chartered accountant A.K. Sabat were members of the panel along with the chief administrator of the temple, district magistrate, superintendent of police and temple MC members.

The committee decided to open the Ratnabhandar during the “absence of lord Jagannath” at the temple during the annual rath yatra.

The BJP asks why the treasury is not opened while the Temple Act says it should be opened in every three years to make a fresh inventory. The BJD responds that during the coalition government from 2000 to 2009, BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichadan handled the law portfolio and Sri Jagannath temple comes under this ministry.

In 2018, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), in response to a PIL, stated in the high court that Ratnabhandar needs urgent repairs as water seepage has been noticed from outside. The high court directed the state government to open the Ratnabhandar for repairs.

The state government had handed over this 12th century temple— considered as one of the four “Dhamas" of Hindu faith—to the ASI since 1976 for maintenance and repair.

The state government formed a panel comprising persons like Er. GC Mitra, the then ASI superintendent, temple officials, district police chief and the district magistrate to open the Ratnabhandra. The team abandoned their attempt as the district magistrate reported missing of the keys. The district magistrate informed that the keys were not with the government treasury.

As per the Temple Act-1960 rule 6, keys of the Ratnabhandar must be deposited with the government treasury after their use. The treasury records show that the keys were not returned after the Ratnabhandar was last opened in 1985 for repairs. There are two Ratna Bhandaras in the temple. One is used to store daily use valuables and ornaments of the deities called Bahar Bhandar. It is operated by a traditional Bhandar servitor called “Mekap”. Another is called Bhitar Ratnabhandar wherein precious ornaments and articles are stored.

During the regime of Gajapati, one key was handed over to Pattajoshi Mahapatra, the traditional chief administrator of the temple, and another with the king. The state government took over the temple management after a thirty year legal battle in the apex court and passed a legislation 1956-60 for its management known as “Sri Jagannath temple Act”.

After much hue and cry in the media and among devotees, the state government had appointed Justice Raghubir Das as a one-man judicial commission to assess the situation leading to the loss of keys and suggestion for its safe keeping. Justice Raghubir Das within a year submitted an inconclusive report to the state government. The same is yet to be tabled in the assembly.

The opposition political leaders moved the high court over the issue and the court directed the state government to open the treasury to conduct repairs and to make fresh inventory of the wealth of the deities. They demanded to tally the old and the new inventory lists to ascertain whether anything was missing.

Inventory of the articles in Ratnabhandar was last done in 1978 and a list of each ornament with their weight and description of precious jewels studded on the ornaments was made in the presence of district magistrate, treasury officer, temple administrator and superintendent of police. The detailed list was submitted to the state government.

As per the 1978 inventory, there are 362 items of gold ornaments weighing 250 kg that includes giant Tiaras, limbs like feet, earlobes (kundal) hands, insignias and forehead Chitta studded with precious stones like diamonds, ruby and emerald worth crores. It also contains 14 quintals of silver ornaments, as per the inventory list.