NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged leaders of all parties to make collective efforts to make Parliament’s winter session more productive.

Speaking to media ahead of the session’s start, he said parliamentarians, including from the opposition, have told him that disruption and adjournment in Parliament are not good and this also denies younger MPs an opportunity to learn.

He also said that India hosting the G20 summit, which will be held next year, is not merely a diplomatic event but also a chance to showcase the country’s capabilities before the world.

The prime minister said he had a cordial discussion with leaders of different parties recently at an all-party meeting on G20 and expressed hope that it will be reflected in Parliament as well.

HYDERABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation team will record TRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha’s statement on December 11 at 11 am at her Hyderabad residence in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam probe. The CBI communicated the date and time for recording the statement on Tuesday to which Kavitha gave her consent through an e-mail.

The first notice from the CBI was issued to Kavitha on December 3 saying they would like to examine her on December 6. Kavitha had on Monday intimated to the CBI that she was “preoccupied” on the given date and cited four alternate dates of December 11, 12, 14 and 15 for her examination (under Section 160 of CrPC) as a witness in the case. The mail was sent to Raghavendra Vatsa, Head of Branch/DIG of CBI, ACB, Delhi.

The legislator had planned to go to Jagtial where she is in-charge of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s public meeting on December 7. Responding to Tuesday’s mail, Kavitha wrote back saying she would be available on December 11 for the examination at her Banjara Hills residence.

“Please refer to the trail mail dated 06.12.2022. I will be available at my residence on 11.12.2022 at 11.00 hours in connection with your investigation,” Kavitha said in her e-mail.

CHENNAI: India on Tuesday remembered the demolition of Babri Masjid by a mob of Kar Sevaks at Ayodhya 30 years ago.

Dr Audrey Truschke, Associate Prof of South Asian history at Rutgers University-Newark noted in a tweet that, “A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.

A special CBI court in Lucknow on September 30, 2020 had acquitted all those, including prominent BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, who were accused of conspiracy in the case. The court ruled out the conspiracy theories in the demolition of the Mughal era monument.

On the 30th anniversary of the demolition, Muslim women organised a protest in Hyderabad and raised black flags in Saidabad area on Monday, reports said.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter to state that December 6 would remain a black day for Indian democracy. “The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too,” he added.

In Kolkata, the civil society, including political personalities, teachers, and renowned journalists, reportedly recollected the fateful day in Indian history.  The left parties took out a rally on Tuesday, NewsClick reported.

In a report, NewsClick quoted journalist and editor of the national daily Times of India, Sougata Roy, as saying that December 6 was an assault on the secular fabric of the country, and the danger persists even today.

“Those who did it, didn’t only demolish a mosque but attacked the very premises of the Constitution. Also, it is a fact that the Supreme Court later allowed the construction of Ram Mandir in the same place. What surprised me on that day (December 6, 1992) was how a city, which was otherwise accommodative and friendly to all religions, changed overnight, showing communal shades in the society,” he said. 

The report also quoted poet Mandakranta Sen as saying that December 6 is a black day for democracy in the country, and every December 6, “we double our resolves to fight against the communal hate mongers.”

He said, “The fundamentalists eat, drink and make merry with religions. December 6 is a day to realise not to damage any place of worship but to take everybody along towards the goal of people being able to sleep with a full belly at night.”

A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had on November 9, 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. Following this, a Bhoomi puja was held for the construction of the Ram temple at the Babri Masjid demolition site.

NEW DELHI: With an eye on the next Lok Sabha polls in 2024, BJP president J P Nadda on Tuesday asked party leaders to launch a “house to house” campaign to reach out to people and build an “emotional connect” with them.

Addressing the party’s office-bearers from across the country, he said all state units will launch the exercise and said it should not be limited to handing over some party literature to people

Party members should discuss issues with people, understand their problems and help them in addressing their concerns, he said, according to a party statement.

In the meeting, intensive discussions were also held on a number of assembly elections in 2023, including in Tripura, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and presentations were made, it said.

The highlight of Nadda’s address on the last day of the two-day meeting was his emphasis on connecting with people.

“BJP workers should build direct contact with every home through the ‘house to house’ campaign so that they are seen as members of the households, standing with them in most difficult times,” he said.

India’s G-20 presidency also came in for a discussion with leaders stressing that people should be informed about this “global achievement” of the country.

Nadda also noted that various welfare measures of the Modi government have uplifted the living standards of over 60 crore people and said the BJP should reach out to them.

BHOPAL: A six-year-old boy fell into a borewell at a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, officials said

The local police and the administration were informed about the incident, following which a rescue operation was launched which is presently underway.

Betul District Collector Amanveer Singh Bains said a camera has been inserted into the borewell to monitor the child’s movement.

Provisions have been made for oxygen supply in the borewell and a tunnel is being dug parallel to the borewell with the help of two JCB machines.

Besides the District Collector, SP Simala Prasad along with other officials are monitring the situation.

The Chief Minister’s Office informed that CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is personaly monitoring the situation and taking review form the Collector.

The rescue operation was underway till the time of filing this report.

BARGARH: Setting an example for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), a 38-year-old man living in Oman for more than a decade, came back to his hometown Padampur to exercise his franchise in the bypoll on Monday.An engineer by profession, Umesh Panigrahi of Padampur town arrived at his native place on Sunday. After casting his vote, he left for Oman on Monday evening. Panigrahi has been working at a smelter in Oman for the last 12 years.y 

“I became eligible to vote 20 years back but could not exercise my franchise during my stay here. Later, I went to Oman to work. I tried coming back to participate in the past elections but circumstances weren’t favourable. When I came to know that by-election is being held in my hometown, I tried my best to make it this time. I applied for an emergency leave and was lucky to get flight tickets on time. Fortunately, everything worked out in my favour and I could exercise my franchise for the first time,” said a visibly-elated Panigrahi.

For Panigrahi, the whole experience of going to the polling booth and voting for his choice of candidate was new and different. “More than a constitutional right, voting should be seen as a responsibility. I was following all the updates on the by-election. With my limited knowledge about the background of the candidates in poll fray, I exercised my franchise. As a voter, I want the civic problems of Padampur to be addressed. The schools and colleges of the region should also be developed,” he added.