Archives for September 2024

Chandigarh: In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party in Haryana, its Faridabad candidate Pravesh Mehta joined the ruling BJP on Saturday.

Mehta, 69, joined the BJP in Faridabad in the presence of Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar, who is the BJP MP from Faridabad, and senior Haryana BJP leader Vipul Goel.

Goel is BJP’s candidate from Faridabad in the Assemby election.

“Today, during a huge public meeting organised at Purani Anaj Mandi, Old Faridabad, in the presence of Hon’ble Union Minister of State Krishan Pal Gurjar ji, Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Faridabad Assembly Pravesh Mehta ji, along with thousands of his supporters, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“I heartily welcome and congratulate Pravesh Mehta Ji in the BJP family,” Goel posted on X in Hindi.

Goel said Mehta’s joining the BJP fold will strengthen the saffron outfit in Faridabad.

“The love, trust and enthusiasm of the people towards the BJP makes it clear that a historic victory is certain from Faridabad and the BJP will form the government in the state for the third time,” said Goel.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls on its own.

Patna: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that the state government was being “run by four retired bureaucrats” and the CM was in the “grip of these former babus”.

Addressing a press conference here, three days ahead of floating his own political party, Kishor vowed to dislodge the JD(U) president from power.

He charged the longest-serving CM of Bihar with running his government through a handful of “retired bureaucrats”.

He also claimed that the 2025 Bihar assembly polls would be fought on the issue of ‘three S’, that is ‘sarab’ (liquor), ‘survey’ (land) and ‘smart meter’, and asserted that these issues would prove to be the “final nail in the coffin for the current regime”.

“The Nitish Kumar government is being run by four retired bureaucrats. The CM is in the grip of these babus. Neither Kumar nor these bureaucrats are aware of the problems being faced by the people. Kumar has changed now. He has lost his morality and is only interested in securing the chief minister’s chair,” Kishor alleged.

His ‘Jan Suraj’ initiative will become a political party on October 2.

“When we form the government after the 2025 assembly polls in Bihar, we will end the liquor ban within one hour,” he said, adding that “the existing prohibition law in the state is fake”.

The state has been incurring a “loss of nearly Rs 20,000 crore every year”, while the “liquor mafia and officials continue to make money from illegal trade”, Kishor said.

The Jan Suraj chief said he would continue to speak against the policy and was not afraid of losing votes of women.

“Whether I get votes of women or not, I will continue speaking against the liquor ban since it is not in the interest of Bihar,” he said.

Kishor also said Kumar was holding on to power as if he had applied adhesive on his chair and that the BJP, as his ally, bore the brunt of his “misrule” just like Congress was also “responsible for Lalu’s jungle raj”.

“If RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar are responsible for the destruction of Bihar, the Congress and the BJP are to be equally blamed for the same. Both parties have been supporting Lalu and Nitish respectively for the last few years.

“It seems that the link between Nitish Kumar and the chair of the CM is unbreakable – be it any alliance. Kumar has applied Fevicol on the CM’s chair that keeps him intact to it,” said Kishor.

Kishor claimed that he had advised Kumar not to become CM when his party had won only 42 seats in the last assembly polls.

“But Nitish Kumar accepted the offer and became the CM. This is the bond he has with the chair of CM,” he said.

He criticised both the RJD and Kumar’s JD(U) for “harming the interests” of Bihar.

“The people of Bihar have witnessed both of them for 30 years. Now, I am confident that we will win in Bihar in the next year’s assembly polls. We will have a comprehensive victory…If our party touches a mere majority figure in the 243-member assembly or gets 10-15 seats more than the majority, it will be a defeat for us. I will accept my defeat. We want a comprehensive victory”, he said.

Kishor said the BJP would face a “humiliating defeat in the coming polls as the saffron party is witnessing a leadership crisis in Bihar”.

“People don’t know who is the present state BJP chief. Not even ten per cent of citizens can recognise him by face,” he added.

Grammy award winner Ricky Kej has raised concerns about Air India’s services by citing two recent incidents and the airline has said that corrective steps will be taken where necessary.

In a series of posts on X on Sunday, Kej mentioned about his experience at the Delhi airport before taking an Air India flight to Bengaluru on September 14.

The incident was related to payment for excess baggage.

The musician also wrote about an incident onboard the Mumbai-San Francisco flight on September 20 wherein initially flight attendants did not respond to a passenger’s repeated call for service.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has taken the feedback seriously and will take “corrective steps where necessary so that such incidents are not repeated”.

While mentioning about the two incidents, Kej also said, “I am certain a few people will troll me, asking me why do I keep doing this to myself… travel through such a terrible airline, but I will continuously give them chances and criticize them for errors, till they improve”.

While regretting the inconvenience caused, the Air India spokesperson in the statement also said such isolated incidents are not representative of the commitment of its staff towards service excellence.

Jaipur: In a disturbing incident of alleged hate crime, a man identified as Anshul Dadhich was arrested after a video surfaced on social media showing him assaulting a Muslim vegetable vendor, Shahroz, in Jaipur’s Hawamahal Assembly constituency. The incident reportedly took place on Saturday under the Brahmpuri police station limits.

The viral video shows Dadhich, appearing fueled by extremist views, grabbing Shahroz by the collar and slapping him multiple times while verbally abusing him. A woman off-camera can be heard questioning Dadhich, asking, “Why are you beating him?” to which he replies, “Mulla hai, Bangladeshi.”

As the assault continues, Shahroz is seen pleading for mercy, asserting his nationality by saying, “I am Indian.” In response, Dadhich demands proof of citizenship, asking him to “pull down his pants” to verify his identity. Onlookers in the video can be heard asking for Shahroz’s identity card, but none intervened to stop the attack.

Following widespread outrage and social media backlash, the police took cognizance of the incident and apprehended Dadhich. He later apologized for his actions, attributing the assault to being “sleep-deprived” at the time.

However, many netizens expressed frustration, accusing the police of not taking stricter legal action against Dadhich. Photos surfaced online showing him with BJP MLA Swami Balmukund Acharya, a politician known for his controversial speeches and for allegedly inciting communal tensions. This connection fueled further public anger, with many accusing political leaders of fostering an environment of hate.

“These goons only act boldly in mobs, especially against defenseless vendors, beggars, or physically disabled people. While Anshul has been arrested, don’t expect strict action from the police. He has close ties with BJP MLA @BMacharyaBJP, and reportedly acted on the MLA’s orders,” a social media user commented.

Another user shared the photo of Dadhich and Acharya together, writing, “Look, people have given proof… see the picture of both terrorists together.”

All India Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also condemned the incident, accusing the BJP of encouraging communal hatred for political gains. In a post on X, she wrote, “This is what you get when you vote in a BJP state government. Beware, Haryana, beware. Make sure the ideology that produces these sick criminals finds no place in your state.”

Ministry of Mines secretary V L Kantha Rao

New Delhi: Names of 10 geological sites, sent to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for inclusion in the list of world heritage sites, are under scrutiny, the government has said.

There are about 100 geo-heritage sites, out of which 32 have been recognised as National Geological Monuments. Unlike archaeological sites, there is no legislation to protect geo-heritage sites. But the Geo Heritage Sites and Geo-relics Bill, 2022, which aims to protect India’s geological heritage, is under process, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao said.

Speaking at an event here, Rao said that there are about 1,200 world heritage sites in the world, out of which 42 are in India and none of these are geological sites.

“We need to work together,” the secretary said and stressed on the recognition of at least two geoparks in coming years in India, Geological Survey of India (GSI) said in a statement.

India, Rao said, has excellent geo-heritage sites like Lunar crater in Maharashtra, Bhedaghat in Madhya Pradesh, Gandikota gorge in Andhra Pradesh. But these are known mostly as tourism sites and people are not aware of their geological importance.

There is another global designation known as International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) sites and some of the sites have been recognised in Sikkim, he said.

All these recognitions should lead to benefits for common people and he requested UNESCO to provide support in getting recognition to some of the Indian sites as UNESCO Global Geopark.

The UNESCO Global Geopark is the most recent UNESCO site designation that recognises sites that showcase not only the earth’s geological past, but celebrate cultural connections to the land, becoming hubs of pride and economic growth for the people who call them home.

Adopted under the International Geopark Programme (IGGP) in 2015, UNESCO Global Geoparks recognise and preserve geological heritage of international significance, promoting sustainable development and enhancing local community engagement through geo-tourism and education. At present, there are 213 UNESCO Global Geoparks in 48 countries. PTI SID HVA

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India would have given a larger bailout package to Pakistan than sought by Islamabad from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had the neighbouring nation maintained friendly relations with New Delhi.

Addressing an election rally in Gurez assembly segment of Bandipora district, Singh referred to the prime minister’s development package for Jammu and Kashmir announced in 2014-15 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Modi ji in 2014-15 announced a special package for development of Jammu and Kashmir which has now reached Rs 90,000 crore. The amount is much bigger than what Pakistan was seeking from the IMF (as bailout package),” the senior BJP leader said.

Singh referred to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous statement that “we can change friends but we cannot change the neighbours”.

“I said, my Pakistani friends, why have strained relations, we are neighbours. If we had good relations, we would have given more money than the IMF,” he added.

Singh said the Centre gives money to Jammu and Kashmir for development while Pakistan has been misusing financial aid for a long time.

“It seeks money from other countries to run a terrorism factory on its soil,” he added.

The defence minister said Kashmir will again become a paradise on earth when Vajpayee’s dream of restoring “Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat” in the valley is achieved.

Singh said Pakistan, which has used terrorism as a tool against India, has been isolated at the international forums with some of its trusted allies also stepping back.

“Whenever we have investigated terrorism, we have found Pakistani involvement. Our successive governments have tried to make Pakistan understand that they should stop terror camps but to no avail. Pakistan is frustrated after revocation of Article 370 and is making attempts to revive terror. They do not want democracy to take roots here. (But) India is strong enough that it can take on Pakistan on its soil. If anyone in Pakistan carries out an attack on India, we can crossover and respond,” he added.

Singh said Pakistan has been isolated now.

“Even Turkey, which used to support Pakistan, has not made mention of Kashmir at the UNGA,” he added.

The BJP leader said since his party’s government came to power at the Centre, peace has returned to Jammu and Kashmir.

“The business of terrorism is not going to last very long now,” he added.

Reiterating the promises made in the BJP’s election manifesto, Singh said, “As the defence minister, I assure you that if (BJP candidate) Faqeer Mohammad Khan wins, more people from Gurez will be recruited in the Indian Army.”

He said the biggest demand put forth from Gurez is construction of a tunnel through the Razdan pass that will establish all-weather connectivity with the rest of the country.

Electricity is supplied round the clock, internet towers have been installed. Roads have become better and they will be further improved, he added.

“As the defence minister of the country, I assure you that after polls I will bring the concerned minister here to discuss it,” he said.

Muzaffarnagar (UP): Hundreds of Hindu activists on Sunday, staged dharna outside a nonveg hotel and demanded closure of all such hotels and restaurants near temples at Thanabhawan town in Shamli district.

The protest led by Mahant Swami Yashvir Maharaj of Yog Sadhan Ashram Bhagra was later postponed for one week on the assurance of district authorities on the matter.

The Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Hamid Husain said that district authorities have given assurance to take steps within one week after considering legal aspects.

Licencing authorities of nonveg hotels have been asked to report about such hotels running near temples.

Hindu activists have been demanding the closing of nonveg hotels which are located within a hundred meters of temples in the Thanabhawan town.

Former Haryana minister Ranjit Singh Chautala

Chandigarh: Former Haryana minister Ranjit Singh Chautala and seven other leaders were expelled by the BJP for six years on Sunday, after they decided to contest the October 5 state Assembly polls as independent candidates.

The Haryana BJP said its chief Mohan Lal Badoli has expelled these leaders for a period of six years with immediate effect.

Besides Chautala, Sandeep Garg (contesting the polls from Ladwa), Zile Ram Sharma (Assandh), Devender Kadian (Ganaur), Bachan Singh Arya (Safidon), Radha Ahlawat (Meham), Naveen Goel (Gurugram) and Kehar Singh Rawat (Hathin) have been expelled from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Chautala decided to quit the saffron party after he was denied the poll ticket from Rania, the seat he represented in the Assembly when he was an independent MLA.

Chautala quit the membership of the Assembly before joining the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls held earlier in the year. He had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary polls from Hisar.

The 90-member Haryana Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on October 5 and the counting of votes will be taken up on October 8. The BJP is eyeing to return to power in the state for a third consecutive term.

The Haryana Congress expelled 13 leaders on Friday for “anti-party activities” over their decision to contest the polls as independent candidates.

Several leaders of both the BJP and the Congress were upset over being denied tickets to contest the Assembly polls, but the parties have managed to pacify most of them.