Archives for September 2022

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit the party recently, saying “climate change” has taken place and he has become a “loyal soldier” of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh tagged a tweet of a video clip of Azad, in which the former Congress leader is heard saying that he opposes the government’s policies but does not abuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi like Rahul Gandhi.

“Climate change ho gaya hai aur ab yeh janab BJP ke wafadaar sipahi ban gaye hain (climate change has taken place and this gentleman has become a loyal soldier of the BJP),” Ramesh tweeted.

Azad ended his five-decade association with the Congress last month, saying the party was comprehensively destroyed and lashing out at Rahul Gandhi for “demolishing” its entire consultative mechanism.

The Congress had slammed Azad, alleging that his DNA had been “Modi-fied”.

The opposition party had also linked his resignation to the end of his Rajya Sabha tenure.

The Congress slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday over his remarks at the world dairy summit, saying the “white revolution” was entirely because of Tribhuvandas Patel, V Kurien and the great cooperative institutions they created.

Speaking after inaugurating the International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS) 2022 on Monday, Modi had said since 2014, “our government has worked relentlessly to enhance the potential of India’s dairy sector”.

“Today, its result is visible in terms of milk production as well as the increased income of farmers. In 2014, India produced 146 million tonnes of milk. Now, it has increased to 210 million tonnes. That is, an increase of about 44 per cent,” the prime minister had said.

“Jagadguru of Jhoot is now claiming to have made India the world’s largest milk producer, which it became in 1998,” Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet, in an apparent reference to Modi’s remarks at the summit.

“The White Revolution was entirely because of Tribhuvandas Patel, Dr.V. Kurien and the great cooperative institutions they created,” the former Union minister added.

In his remarks at the summit, Modi had said milk production is growing at the rate of 2 per cent in the world, whereas in India, its growth rate is more than 6 per cent.

“The per capita availability of milk in India is much higher than the world average. In the last three-four years, our government has directly transferred about Rs 2 lakh crore to the bank accounts of small farmers,” he had said.

A large part of this amount was credited to the bank accounts of the farmers associated with the dairy sector, he had said.

Due to the hard work of small farmers and their livestock, India is currently the largest milk-producing country in the world, the prime minister had said.

CHANDIGARH: Traditional logic in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh could indicate that the state is low-hanging fruit for the Congress – no party in the past has won consecutively.-ADVERTISEMENT-Ads by 

The reality, however, is no music for the badly divided party banking on freebies. And then, an aggressive AAP is knocking on the doors of power after a landslide in neighbouring Punjab.

The ruling BJP is emboldened enough to claim a repeat performance. The party is organizing itself at a micro-level with the slogan ‘Mission Repeat’ under the leadership of the PM, who is due to address a rally in the state on Sept 24.

The AAP has announced 10 ‘guarantees’ for the people. Some of these include Rs 1,000 per month to every woman, an unemployment allowance, and free pilgrimage for the elderly. The party believes its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has enough of charisma to counter both the BJP and Congress.

Congress continues to play up the legacy politics. New state party chief Pratibha Singh banks on her late husband, former Virbhadra Singh. She has announced a string of sops — five lakh jobs, Rs 1,500 allowance to women and 300 units of free power.

In the last assembly polls, the BJP won 44 of the 68 assembly seats with a vote share of 48.8%, improving the party’s vote share from 38.47% in 2012.

The 2017 polls saw the best-ever performance by the saffron party in terms of vote share since it first contested elections in the state in 1982.

In terms of seats, the party put up the second-best performance: in 1990, it had won 46 seats.

Congress won 21 of the 68 seats with a vote share of 41.7%, slightly down from 42.81% in 2012. The state in the last assembly polls recorded the highest voter turnout of 74.61% breaking the previous record of 74.51% in 2003.

Both the Congress and BJP have taken turns to rule the state since 1985.

Political analysts believe that it will not be easy for AAP to create much impact in Himachal given the entrenched two-party system in the state.

The Congress on Tuesday dubbed the AAP as “B team of BJP” and said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is trying to mislead the voters of Himachal Pradesh by making false promises in the name of pre-poll guarantees.

Congress spokesperson Alka Lamba told the media here that there would be a direct contest between the ruling BJP and the Congress in the hill state in the coming assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.

The Himachal bypolls have proved that only Congress is in a position to defeat the “double engine” government of BJP, she said, adding that the coming assembly polls would be fought on the issues of unemployment, inflation, apple orchardists and women security.

Congress defeated BJP in HP bypolls to Mandi Lok Sabha seat and three assembly seats of Fatehpur, Arki and Jubbal-Kotkhai held in October last year.

The AAP, “BJP’s B team”, is making “false promises” in the name of poll guarantees in an effort to mislead the electors of the hill state, she added.

Congress was in direct contest with BJP in Uttarakhand and Goa polls but AAP contested elections in both the states to “ensure” BJP’s victory, Lamba alleged.

AAP is “B team of BJP” and it is evident from the fact that AAP’s CM candidate in Uttarakhand joined BJP after losing his security deposit, she said.

Lamba further stated that the entire AAP unit of Himachal Pradesh had also joined BJP overnight in the presence of its national president J P Nadda.

At the press conference, Punjab Youth Congress president Barinder Singh Dhillon claimed that the voters of Punjab have fed up with the AAP government within a few months as it failed to maintain the law and order situation.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP will take suggestions from at least 50,000 people to prepare its manifesto for the upcoming polls, state BJP president Suresh Kashyap said.

Kashyap told the media here that the party had taken suggestions from 7,000 people for its manifesto during the last Assembly elections.

Now, the BJP will take suggestions from at least 50,000 people to prepare its “vision document”, he added.

The BJP has made 21 sub-committees and is also sending letters to all sections of society to seek their suggestions, he added.

It has also launched its web portal, Bjphpsankalpatra2022.org, for getting suggestions online, he said, adding that a WhatsApp number will also be released.

The “vision document” will target the common man to improve their quality of life, he added.

Over 20 lakh people of the state have been directly benefitted from various schemes launched by the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government, he said, adding most initiatives were started on the basis of the promises made in the vision document.

BENGALURU: Both Houses of the Legislature, which are in session from Monday, will discuss floods and related woes across the state, especially in Bengaluru, for two to three days from Tuesday and in the end, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will give the government’s reply on Thursday.

On Monday, Opposition Congress members demanded at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) that the government allow the discussion on floods. The government agreed for two days of discussion with a possible extension of one more day if more legislators want to present their views.

While Congress has slammed the government for its failure to prevent flooding in Bengaluru by clearing encroachments on stormwater drains, BJP has hit back saying it was during the Siddaramaiah government that constructions on storm water drains were allowed.

During the session, the government is proposing to table 15 bills, while opposition members said that not more than two pieces of legislation should be tabled and enough time should be allotted for proper discussions. The Karnataka Land Revenue Act, establishment of Bengaluru transport authority, amendment to the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Bill are among the bills that are likely to be moved.

Congress leaders, meanwhile, are gearing up to attack the state government on irregularities in police sub-inspector recruitment, 40 per cent commission as alleged by the Contractors’ Association and failure to give succour to people in flood-affected areas.

HYDERABAD: With the death toll increasing to eight including women, two are pronounced critical injured at the fire accident that took place in Ruby Hotel on late Monday

Police and fire tenders still continuing to clean up the spot, identified victims from the spot are said to be belonging to Delhi, Chennai, Bihar including Andhra Pradesh.

Dead bodies of the victims are currently placed in Gandhi Hospital for postmortem and the respective families were informed.

Initial investigation revealed that one of the bikes or generator possibly exploded. Locals along with police and fire departments worked hand in hand to rescue the inmates that were stuck in the hotel.

At the time of the accident, there were 25 occupants in the hotel, which is located close to the Passport Office.

Most of the victims were asphyxiated.

The death toll is likely to increase, official sources said. Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said it was suspected that either an e-bike or a generator placed in the Ruby Motors showroom exploded leading to the fire.

The flames leapt up the staircase and soon engulfed the cellar, ground, first and second floors of the building. More than the fire, it was the smoke that suffocated the inmates.

The thick smoke kept billowing out several hours after Fire Department officials rushed to the spot and started rescue operations. A few locals who were nearby also joined in and helped rescue precious lives.

The fire and smoke from the showroom engulfed Hotel Ruby Pride situated above the showroom killing the victims.

“It appears there are 23 rooms in all four floors in the hotel. The smoke traversed through the staircase from the bottom up to the top floor and completely engulfed all floors.”

“Some people who were sleeping in the first and second floors came to the corridor through the thick smoke and died due to asphyxiation,” Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand who visited the spot told reporters.

Exact reasons for fire, whether it is due to short circuit or charging of batteries in the cellar or in the first floor where the scooter showroom is located, will be known after the Fire Department’s investigation, he said.

“The cellar which usually should be used for parking–obviously they are doing something else. That is a matter of inquiry,” the official added.

About 24 people were said to be staying in the hotel at the time of the incident.

Firefighters rushed to the spot and rescued seven guests, who were trapped in the multi-storeyed building.

Fire Department DG Sanjay Jain said two fire tenders were pressed into service after the fire broke out at 9.20 pm. The injured were rushed to Gandhi Hospital and Yashoda Hospital.

The hotel has 23 rooms and roughly 50 per cent of the rooms were occupied when the fire broke out.

Cinematography Minister and Sanathnagar MLA Talasani Srinivas Yadav also reached the spot to supervise rescue operations.

As there was no emergency exit in the ground+four-storeyed building, seven persons jumped off from different floors to save themselves. Some of the occupants tried to climb down the pipeline.

The Fire Department rescued four persons using a hydraulic elevator. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished for a quick recovery of those who were injured. 

The prime minister’s office tweeted that Rs 2 lakh would be paid to the family members of each of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 to the injured. 

“Saddened by the loss of lives due to a fire in Secunderabad, Telangana. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be paid to the next of kin of each deceased. Rs. 50,000 would be paid to the injured,” he tweeted.

The ex-gratia is being paid through the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the families of each of the deceased on behalf of the State government. 

Fire sprinklers out of order at Ruby Pride Hotel: Cop

Speaking to the media, both Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand and Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav said that the rescue operations were on and investigations would reveal what actually caused the explosion and fire.

The building has fire sprinklers but they did not function at the time, said DG Fire, Sanjay Jain.
A fire distress call was made at 9.37 pm and fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot.

There are several vehicles parked in the building’s cellar as well.

CV Anand said: “There were some 20 to 23 people in the building. Most of the residents were business people and seem to be north Indians. The smoke engulfed the building through the staircase. Some of them seemed to have died because of asphyxiation caused by the smoke. Four persons died in Gandhi and one in Yashoda. A woman has also succumbed.”

Bhubaneswar: Claiming that the Kohinoor diamond belonged to Lord Jagannath, a socio-cultural organisation of Odisha has sought the intervention of President Droupadi Murmu so that the United Kingdom returns it to the famous Puri temple.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her son Prince Charles has become the King and, as per norms, the 105-carat diamond will go to his wife Duchess of Cornwall Camilla, who has now become the Queen consort.

Shree Jagannath Sena, a Puri-based outfit, submitted a memorandum with the President seeking her intervention to facilitate the process of bringing back the Kohinoor diamond, which is steeped in history, to the 12th-century shrine.

The Kohinoor diamond belongs to Sri Jagannath Bhagban. It is now with the Queen of England. Kindly request our Prime Minister to take steps to bring it to India for Lord Jagannath as Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated it to God Jagannath in his will, Sena convener Priya Darsan Pattnaik said in the memorandum.

Pattnaik claimed that Maharaja of Punjab Ranjit Singh had donated the diamond to the Puri Lord after he won a battle against Nadir Shah of Afghanistan.

However, it was not handed over immediately. Ranjit Singh died in 1839 and, 10 years later, the British took the Kohinoor away from his son, Duleep Singh, though they were aware that it was bequeathed to Lord Jagannath at Puri, historian and researcher Anil Dhir.

Pattnaik asserted that after he sent a letter to the Queen in this regard, he received a communication from Buckingham Palace on October 19, 2016, asking him to appeal directly to the United Kingdom government as her Majesty acts on the advice of her Ministers and remains strictly non-political at all times.

A copy of that letter was attached to the memorandum to the President, he said.

Asked why he was silent on the issue for six years, Pattnaik said he was denied a Visa to visit England due to which he could not take up the matter further with the UK government.

Sena’s claim is justified though there are several claimants like Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s heirs, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dhir said.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s will before his death stated that he donated the Kohinoor to Lord Jagannath. The document was certified by a British Army officer, the proof of which was available at the National Archives in Delhi, said the historian.

Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Bhupinder Singh had raised the issue of bringing the diamond back in Rajya Sabha in 2016.

The BJP MLA of Puri, Jayant Sarangi, said he would raise the matter in the Odisha Assembly.

The Kohinoor diamond was “surrendered” by the Maharaja of Lahore to the then Queen of England and “not handed over” to the British nearly 170 years ago, the Archaeological Survey of India replied to an RTI query a few years ago.

Author and historian William Dalrymple noted in his book, “Kohinoor” that child Sikh heir Duleep Singh regretted having surrendered the jewel to Queen Victoria. However, he also wished to give it to the Queen as a man.

The Indian government’s stand in the Supreme Court was that the diamond, estimated to cost over USD 200 million, was neither stolen nor “forcibly” taken by British rulers but given to East India Company by erstwhile rulers of Punjab.

Considered to be one of the world’s most precious gems, the Kohinoor was reportedly found in India in the 14th century during coal mining in the Kollur mine in South India during the reign of the Kaaktiya Dynasty.

As Kohinoor diamond is said to bring bad luck to men, only women have been wearing it since it got into British hands.

New Delhi: Air India on Monday said it will progressively induct 30 new aircraft, including 5 wide-body Boeing planes, from December this year, as the Tatas-owned airline looks to boost its domestic and international services.

The airline has signed leases and letters of intent for inducting 5 wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months.

“These new aircraft, which will enter service from late 2022, will increase the airline’s fleet by over 25 per cent. Not counting the 10 long-grounded narrow-body and 6 wide-body aircraft that have been returned to service in recent months, these new aircraft mark the first major fleet expansion since Air India’s acquisition by the Tata Group earlier this year,” it said in a release.

The planes being leased include 21 Airbus A320 neos, 4 Airbus A321 neos and 5 Boeing B777-200LRs.

The B777-200LRs will join the fleet between December 2022 and March 2023. They will be deployed on routes from Indian metro cities to the US.

“Mumbai will see the addition of flights to San Francisco as well as to both of the New York area’s international airports, Newark Liberty and John F Kennedy, while Bangalore will receive a 3x weekly service to San Francisco.

“These aircraft will result in Air India offering Premium Economy haul flights for the first time,” the statement said.

According to the release, the 4 A321 neo aircraft are expected to join the fleet in the first quarter of calendar year 2023, while the 21 A320 neos will be inducted in the second half of 2023.

These aircraft will be deployed on domestic sectors as well as for short-haul international destinations.

“After a long time without significant growth, Air India is delighted to resume expanding its fleet and global footprint. These new aircraft, together with existing aircraft being returned to service, address an immediate need for more capacity and connectivity, and mark a strong step forward,” Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson said.

Currently, the airline’s narrow-body fleet stands at 70 aircraft. Out of them, 54 are in service and the remaining 16 aircraft will progressively return to service by early 2023.

Air India’s wide-body fleet stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. The rest will return to service by early 2023.

Jitendra Narayan Tyagi

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Jitendra Narayan Tyagi, an accused in the Haridwar Dharma Sansad case related to alleged inflammatory speeches made against Muslims.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna directed Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, to furnish an undertaking before the trial court that he will not address electronic media or social media and shall not indulge in such alleged activities anymore, directly or indirectly.

“The petitioner may be produced before the Trial Court within three days and shall be released on post-arrest bail subject to such terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the concerned trial Court and furnishing undertaking in above terms before the trial Court.

“If the petitioner violates or commits a breach of any of the conditions on which bail has been granted to him, the respondents/prosecution is at liberty to move an application seeking cancellation of bail,” the bench said.

The top court on August 29 refused to extend the interim bail granted earlier on medical grounds and directed Tyagi to surrender.

The apex court on May 17 granted three months of interim bail to Tyagi on medical grounds and directed him to give an undertaking that he would not indulge in hate speech and not give any statement on electronic or digital or social media.

Tyagi had approached the top court after the Uttarakhand High Court dismissed his bail plea in March this year.

The case against him and others had been lodged on the complaint of Nadeem Ali, a resident of Jwalapur Haridwar at Haridwar Kotwali on January 2 this year.

He had alleged in his complaint that Dharma Sansad or religious Parliament was organised in Haridwar by Hindu sages from December 17 to 19 last year and in the garb of this event, the participants were instigated to wage a war against Muslims.

Objectionable words were allegedly used against the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammad, Ali had said in his complaint, adding these provocative statements had later gone viral on social media.

These videos were circulated by Tyagi, Yati Narsinghanand, and others, he had alleged.

The FIR also alleged that an attempt was made by Prabodhanand Giri to spread violence against the people living in Haridwar’s mosques.

On Ali’s complaint, Narsindhanand Giri, Sagar Sindhu Maharaj, Dharamdas Maharaj, Parmanand Maharaj, Sadhvi Annapurna, Swami Anand Swaroop, Ashwani Upadhyay, Suresh Chavan along with Swami Prabodhanand Giri, Jitendra Narayan were booked under various sections of the IPC for allegedly delivering hate speeches in the name of religion at the conclave.

Bhopal: An NGO in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal that had planned to organise a ceremony for 18 men who were granted divorce after long-drawn legal battles and paying hefty alimony to end bad marriages have cancelled the event after protests.

The event, called ‘Vivah Vichchhedan Samaroh’ or marriage dissolution function was being organised by Bhai Welfare Society, an NGO registered since 2014, which runs a helpline for men seeking divorce.

It was to be held on September 18 at a resort located on the outskirts of Bhopal, a functionary from the NGO had said earlier.

“The society has decided not to hold this event after the booking of the venue was cancelled by the owner over protests by some organisations,” the organisation’s convener Zaki Ahmed told PTI on Sunday evening.

“We don’t want any controversy as our main work is to provide legal help and help people overcome crises,” he added.

He had earlier said it was a get-together but the invitation of the event meant for a small group went viral on social media.

“I am now receiving calls from people who are opposing it, claiming it is against Indian culture,” he had said.

People in the group were already celebrating their divorce, after long-drawn battles and paying huge alimony to get out of bad marriages, he said.

“We don’t support divorce, but a bad marriage leads to harassment and sometimes suicide. We want to stop it. Our organisation gives free legal help,” Ahmed said.

The invite for the event had said the Bhai Welfare Society was holding the first such programme in the country after winning “cases of dowry harassment, CrPC 125 (the case if husband has contracted marriage with another woman or keeps a mistress), Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005”.

He had claimed engineers, doctors and other working professionals, who have been victims of such cases, are members of the society.