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.

New Delhi: Khalistani seperatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has issued a fresh warning, urging passengers to avoid flying Air India between November 1 and 19. The threat, according to Pannun, is linked to the 40th anniversary of the anti-Sikh riots.

Pannun, the founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), had made similar threats last year around the same time. His recent warning comes amid increased security concerns as airlines in India have been facing multiple hoax bomb threats in recent months.

This development coincides with the ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, following allegations by the Canadian government that India is targeting Khalistani elements within its borders. The diplomatic row intensified after the killing of Khalistani seperatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, an incident for which India has denied any involvement.

Pannun’s previous threats included a claim in November 2023 that Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport would be shut down on November 19, warning passengers to avoid flying Air India that day. He has also been involved in other high-profile threats, such as an alleged plan to attack the Indian Parliament in December last year.

Pannun, who holds dual citizenship in Canada and the US, has been designated a terrorist by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs since July 2020. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy and promoting enmity under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

In a related incident, on October 17, the United States charged a former officer of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly directing a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun, a claim India has dismissed as baseless.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (October 21) dismissed a petition seeking to replace the term ‘Hindutva’ with ‘Bharatiya Samvidhanatva’ (Indian Constitution).

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, heading the bench, refused to entertain the plea filed by Dr. SN Kundra, stating, “No sir, we will not entertain this.” When the petitioner attempted to make further submissions, the CJI responded, “This is a complete abuse of the process.”

The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed the petition.

Vancouver: India’s high commissioner to Canada has denied any involvement in the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader who was killed in British Columbia last year even though the Canadian government has named him as a person of interest in the assassination.

Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was expelled last Monday along with five other Indian diplomats, said in an interview on CTV’s Question Period Sunday that the allegations are politically motivated.

“Nothing at all,” Verma said when asked if he had any role in in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed outside a cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. “No evidence presented. Politically motivated.”

Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Nijjar’s murder and are awaiting trial.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their government back home. They said top Indian officials were then passing that information to Indian organized crime groups who were targeting the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortions and even murder.

Verma denied the Indian government was targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.

“I, as high commissioner of India, have never done anything of that kind,” he said.

Any action taken by Indian officials in Canada was “overt,” said Verma.

In the interview Verma condemned Nijjar’s death.

“Any murder is wrong and bad,” he said. “I do condemn.”

Verma also pushed back on comments made by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly that compared India to Russia. She said Canada’s national police force has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, death threats and intimidation in Canada.

“Let me see the concrete evidence she’s talking about,” said Verma. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s talking politically.”

India has rejected the Canadian accusations as absurd, and its foreign ministry said it was expelling Canada’s acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.

Verma said “not a shred of evidence has been shared with us” about the Canadian allegations.

The RCMP has said attempts earlier this month to share evidence with Indian officials were unsuccessful.

Verma said the RCMP had not applied for the proper visas to visit India.

“A visa needs to be affixed,” he said. “For any government delegation to travel to another country, you need an agenda to go by. There was no agenda at all.”

Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The U.S. Justice Department announced criminal charges against an Indian government employee Thursday in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.

In the case announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the New York plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the United States and Canada.

“An indictment is not a conviction,” Verma said. “It will follow its judicial process.”

India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian government for being soft on supporters of what is known as the Khalistan movement, which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.

The Khalistan movement supports the establishment of an independent Sikh state in India.

The Nijjar killing in Canada has soured India-Canada ties for more than a year, but Verma doesn’t expect this will impact business relations between the two countries.

“I don’t see much impact on non-political bilateral relations,” he said.

Nasheman news

Maid arrested for mixing urine in dough after being caught on camera by employer in Shanti Nagar

Ghaziabad (UP): A maid working for a real estate businessman for eight years has been arrested for allegedly mixing urine in the dough used to make rotis, police said.

The maid, identified as Reena (32) from Shanti Nagar Colony here, was caught on camera committing the alleged act, police said.

The incident came to light when Rupam, house owner Nitin Gautam’s wife, noticed her family members experiencing liver problems. Suspecting a foul play, she began monitoring the maid’s activities in the kitchen. Gautam secretly recorded a video using his mobile phone, which captured the maid allegedly mixing urine in the flour.

Based on the complaint and evidence filed by the family, police lodged an FIR regarding the matter on Monday and arrested Reena on Tuesday.

“During interrogation, the maid initially denied the allegations. However, upon being confronted with the video, she confessed to her actions. The maid claimed she was motivated by revenge after being frequently scolded by her employer for minor mistakes,” said ACP Wave City Lipi Nagaich.

Reena has been booked under Section 272 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the BNS, said the officer.

Similar incidents of human waste, including urine and spit, being added to food items have been reported from several places in the state.

In wake of such incidents, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday announced it will soon introduce a new law against sellers who “hide their identity” and mix human waste or inedible material in food items and beverages.