Archives for 2024

Chandigarh: Two days after quitting the Congress party, former Haryana minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav on Saturday took a U-turn and said he was a “Congressman by birth” and would remain one “till his last breath”.

Yadav said he was “prevailed upon” by his son and former MLA Chiranjeev Rao to “forget the past” and work for the party.

Yadav quit the party on Thursday alleging shabby treatment after Sonia Gandhi left the post of party president. He also resigned as chairman of the All India Congress Committee’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) Department.

In a series of posts on X, the 65-year-old leader said he has served the Congress for 38 years and gave his best to the party. He said his family had an “association of more than 70 years” with the Nehru-Gandhi clan.

“I worked with my leader late Rajiv Gandhi ji and Sonia Gandhi and cannot forget their affection towards me… I am a Congressman by birth and would remain a Congressman till my last breath,” said Yadav.

“I was upset that my hard work done for the OBC department was not being appreciated by the high command and some harsh words made me take this drastic step. But with a cool mind I have decided to strengthen the Congress party, especially my mentor and leader Sonia Gandhi ji,” he said in another post.

“I am especially indebted to my leader and mentor Sonia Gandhi ji and can never think of hurting her feelings,” he said.

Chiranjeev Rao lost from Rewari in the recently concluded Haryana Assembly polls.

Yadav had earlier said the party should introspect to find the reasons for its failure in southern Haryana, especially Gurugram, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Faridabad where it won just one seat as against 10 by the BJP.

New Delhi: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk along with his supporters continued their fast for the 15th day on Sunday. Several others who wanted to join the group for a ‘maun vrat’ (vow of silence) were not allowed to assemble and were detained by the Delhi Police.

Heavy barricading was done around Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan where the activist is sitting on an indefinite fast.

Wangchuk, in a post on X, said it is a “maun vrat’ and not a protest.

“Please understand. It’s a moun vrat not a protest call,” Wangchuk said in his post.

“It’s sad to see that our call for a silent fast or Moun Vrat this Sunday has been presented as a Protest Call by some elements. Please understand we are calling for a peaceful upvaas in support of our own future,” he said.

“On this eco-upvaas please abstain not only from food but also from mindless consumerism. Please use minimum electricity, water, machines, plastic etc,” he added.

The activist had called upon people to observe a day long fast on Sunday, where they give up on consumerism to save the environment.

Wangchuk also urged people in Delhi to join him at Ladakh Bhawan on Sunday for a ‘maun vrat’ for saving Himalayas and the environment.

Around 25 people from Ladakh have been sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan since October 6, demanding a meeting with top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to discuss their demands.

Wangchuk with his supporters marched to Delhi from Leh demanding the inclusion of Ladakh in the sixth schedule Constitution, which he said would enable locals to participate in decision-making and conserving the environment in the eco-sensitive Ladakh.

They were detained at the national capital’s Singhu border on September 30 by Delhi Police and released on the night of October 2.

The sixth schedule of the Constitution includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in northeast India. It establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.

The protesters are also demanding statehood, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.

The march to Delhi was organised by the Leh Apex Body, which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance, has been spearheading the agitation.

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday took a swipe at Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over his remarks that going abroad had become the “new disease” afflicting students, saying it is not a disease but merely a symptom of a “diseased education system, one that is getting worse by political interference”.

Speaking in Rajasthan’s Sikar, Dhankhar had said on Saturday that going abroad is the new disease afflicting the children of the country. He had described it as both a “forex drain and brain drain”.

Tagging a media report on Dhankhar’s remarks, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on X, “The Honourable Vice President has lamented that going abroad has become a new disease for students.

“Actually, it is an old disease that has afflicted students for many decades. I too contracted this virus in 1975, but recovered in time to come back to India in 1980,” Ramesh said.

Students go abroad now for many reasons. The CUET drives many youngsters away. The gaps in the quality of education and professional opportunities are all too apparent. The way many of these institutions are run is a turn off, the Congress leader said.

“Students going abroad is not the disease, it’s merely a symptom of a diseased education system, one that is getting worse by political interference,” Ramesh said.

In his remarks, Dhankhar said, “There is another new disease among children – of going abroad. The child enthusiastically wants to go abroad, he sees a new dream; but there is no assessment of which institution he is going to, which country he is going to.”

“It is estimated that in 2024, about 13 lakh students went abroad. What will happen to their future is being assessed, people are now understanding how bright their future would have been if they had studied here,” he had said.

They have created a hole of USD 6 billion in our foreign exchange, he said.

“Imagine, if 6 billion US dollars are funnelled into improving the infrastructure of educational institutions, where will we stand! I call this a forex drain and brain drain,” Dhankhar said.

New Delhi: In what could be called his first public comments following the murder of his close friend and NCP leader Baba Siddique, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan said he has to handle quarrels between “Bigg Boss 18” contestants at a time when he is “going through” a certain phase in his life.

Siddique, the former Maharashtra minister known for his starry iftar parties and Bollywood connections, was gunned down on October 12 outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s Mumbai office.

According to police, Siddique may have been targeted by gangster Lawrence Bishnoi because of his proximity to Khan.

On Saturday’s Weekend ka Vaar episode of “Bigg Boss 18”, on which the actor serves as the host, Khan said he wanted to give the popular reality series a miss.

“Yaar, qasam khuda ki what all I am going through in my life and I have to come and handle this (arguments between housemates)… I feel that I shouldn’t have come here today. But you have to do what you have to do,” Khan can be seen saying as per several videos circulating on social media.

“Mere par bhi bahut saare laanchan lagaye gaye hain (I have been accused of many things). I know what my parents go through,” he added in another clip.

It could not be immediately confirmed whether this episode was filmed before or after Siddique’s killing.

Though Khan didn’t share a post condoling Siddique’s passing on social media, he visited the slain politician’s Bandra residence last Sunday hours before his burial service.

The Mumbai traffic police received a threat message demanding Rs 5 crore from the Bollywood actor, following which the Crime Branch began a probe an official said on Friday.

A case was registered at Worli police under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for threat and extortion after the city’s traffic control room received the message on its WhatsApp helpline on Thursday afternoon, he said.

Khan had earlier received death threats from the Bishnoi gang whose members had also opened fire outside the actor’s Bandra home in April.

Tapi: A woman taluka panchayat member was thrashed and her hair chopped off by a group of people over an alleged affair in Gujarat’s Tapi district following which police arrested one person, an official said on Sunday.

Urmila Gamit of Songadh taluka panchayat was attacked by a woman and three men and beaten with a hockey stick on Saturday evening. The assaulters also cut her hair, said the official from Songadh police station.

The woman was targeted in a public place when she was going home on a two-wheeler with her daughter, the police official said. One of the attackers, identified as Sobhna Gamit, accused Urmila of having illicit relations with her husband.

The men who accompanied Sobhna, including her son, hit Urmila with a hockey stick, causing a fracture in her left arm and injuries in her waist and head, the police said. They also snatched her gold pendant and fled, the police said.

Urmila was taken to a local hospital. On her complaint, police registered an FIR and arrested one accused, the official added.

Thrissur (Kerala): The Left government in Kerala has taken strong exception to the recent gazette notification issued by the Centre stipulating certain conditions for conducting fireworks, contending that these would be detrimental to the smooth conduct of the iconic Thrissur Pooram festival.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, State Revenue Minister K Rajan expressed that the notification issued by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on October 11 has brought “utter disappointment” to Pooram enthusiasts, for whom fireworks are an “integral part” of the festival.

He sought the prime minister’s personal intervention to amend the rules in order to allow the Thrissur Pooram to proceed with all its festivities and rituals.

Among other stipulations, Condition No 2 requires that the licensed magazine be located at least 200 metres away from the display site.

Noting that under the Explosive Rules of 2008, the prescribed distance had been 45 metres, the letter stated that the increase in this regard is “quite unnecessary and illogical.”

Rajan told PTI that this condition would make it impossible to hold fireworks displays.

He further pointed out that Condition No. 6 of the notification requires the assembly shed to be at least 100 metres away from the display site. As the assembly shed will be empty during the display, he argued that there is no logic in enforcing this distance limit.

The letter also mentioned that Condition No 4 demands a 100-metre distance between spectators and the display area.

“If the condition that the audience must be kept 100 metres away from the barricades of the fire line is enforced, it would make it difficult for spectators to enjoy the fireworks,” Rajan said.

He suggested that modifying the distance to 50-70 metres from start to finish would be sufficient.

Speaking to reporters in Thrissur, Rajan alleged that there was an attempt to sabotage the Thrissur Pooram festival and the issue will be brought to the attention of relevant officials in the central government, including those from Thrissur.

Rajan also said that steps will be taken to initiate official communication with the Centre under the leadership of the chief minister on this matter.

The BJP on Sunday, citing an unverified inventory, alleged that crores of rupees were spent on state-of-the-art household goods including a “missing” hi-tech toilet seat in the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow which was occupied for over nine years by the AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi chief minister.

Kejriwal after stepping down as the Delhi chief minister vacated the Flagstaff Road bungalow earlier this month.

No immediate reaction was available from the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government which owns and allots the bungalow, on the inventory of items shared by the BJP.

The bungalow was allotted to Kejriwal’s successor Atishi who has yet to take its possession.

Atishi in a press conference replying to the charges of the saffron party said “BJP can keep the house and allot it to any of its leaders. We don’t care about the house, bungalow or car. We will work for the people of Delhi, even if we have to work from the street.”

BJP national IT department head Amit Malviya in a post on X shared the list saying “Here is the list of electric appliances and gadgets installed in Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Sheeshmahal’. But here is the surprise. Fully automatic, sensor-equipped TOTO smart toilet seats with features like automatic open-close seat, heated seat, wireless remote deodorizer and automatic flushing, installed for the comfort ….go missing.”

He claimed the cost of one such toilet ranged between Rs 10-12 lakh.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva in a statement said the chief minister’s residence should be equipped with modern amenities but wasting public money on extravagance under the guise of comfort is condemnable.

Earlier, the BJP ran a campaign against Kejriwal, alleging irregularities in the reconstruction of the Flagstaff Road bungalow dubbing it “Sheeshmahal” for costly interiors and household goods.

A probe was already underway over the alleged violations of rules in the reconstruction of the bungalow.