Union Home Minister Amit Shah

New Delhi : A group of more than 200 alumni of the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya here have written to its management objecting to an invitation to Union Home Minister Amit Shah as chief guest at a school event.

 The group said the invite goes against the ethos of the school and will make it vulnerable to criticism in the current “climate of polarisation”.

Shah is slated to address a gathering at Sardar Patel Jayanti celebrations at the school on Monday.

“In the current climate of polarisation, inviting a political figure of his ilk will make the school vulnerable to criticism and will undermine its ethos that stands for the Constitution and pluralism,” the alumni said in the letter.

“This current climate of hate and violence spewing through the country has been responsible for the fragrant disregard of the constitutional values. We are a school that encourages questioning, democratic ideals of dissent, argument and debate,” the group said.

The group asserted that as a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Shah stands in opposition to the ideals of Sardar Patel, that have been inculcated in them by the school.

“Despite attempts by the BJP to appropriate Patel in recent years, it would be prudent to remember that he had banned the RSS in 1948 after Gandhi’s assassination while he was the home minister,” the letter said.

“The politics of the current ruling party represented by Amit Shah is at complete variance with the ideology of Sardar Patel and therefore goes against very ethos of what this school and country stand for. The choice of chief guest undermines the spirit of the school,” it said.

The National Unity Day or Rashtriya Ekta Diwas is celebrated every year on October 31 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister.

Subramanian Swamy

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Monday raised several eyebrows with a tweet questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah if they were repeating a “Haren Pandeya” on him.

He also added Shah and Modi had bluffed even those among the highest authority in the RSS, BJP’s parent organization.

“I hope Modi & Shah are not planning a Haren Pandeya on me. If so I may have to alert my friends.” Swamy wrote in the tweet.

“Remember I give as good as I get. The duo have even bluffed those in the highest authority in RSS.” He added in the tweet.

Haren  Pandeya was former Home Minister of Gujarat who was assassinated in Ahmedabad in 2003. Several users also questioned if Swamy was accusing Modi-Shah of killing Pandeya.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it is unfortunate that the practice of the “two-finger test” to examine rape survivors is still prevalent in society, and asked the Centre and the states to ensure it is not conducted.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli overturned a decision of the Jharkhand High Court acquitting a rape and murder convict, and upheld a decision of a trial court holding him guilty.

The bench said a decade-old decision of the top court had held the invasive “two-finger test” as a violation of a woman’s dignity and privacy.

“It is unfortunate that the practice is still prevalent even today The procedure which tests vaginal laxity is an upfront on women’s dignity. It cannot be said that a sexually active woman cannot be raped,” the bench said.

It issued a slew of directions to the Centre and state government authorities and asked the DGPs and health secretaries of the states to ensure that the “two-finger test” is not conducted.

The top court said that any individual conducting the two-finger test will be held guilty of misconduct.

It directed the Centre and the health secretaries of the state to take steps to remove the study materials on two-finger tests from the curriculum of government and private medical colleges.

Rescue operation underway after an old suspension bridge over the Machchhu river collapsed, in Morbi district

Morbi: The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi that collapsed on Sunday evening killing at least 60 people was reopened for the public just four days back after seven months of repair work by a private firm, but had not received the municipality’s “fitness certificate”, an official said.

The more than a century-old bridge in Morbi city caved in around 6.30 pm when it was crammed with people.

“The bridge was given to Oreva company for operation and maintenance for 15 years. In March this year, it was closed for the public for renovation. It reopened after renovation on the Gujarati New Year day celebrated on October 26,” said Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality Sandeepsinh Zala.

“It was opened to the public after the completion of the renovation work. But the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate (after the renovation work),” he said.

An “engineering marvel” built at the turn of the 19th century, the suspension bridge was said to reflect “the progressive and scientific nature of the rulers of Morbi,” as per its description on the district collectorate website.

Sir Waghji Thakor, who ruled Morbi till 1922, was inspired by the Colonial influence and decided to construct the bridge, an “artistic and technological marvel” of that period, to connect Darbargadh Palace with Nazarbag Palace (the residences of the then royalty).

The bridge was 1.25 metres wide and spanned 233 metres, and was meant to give a unique identity to Morbi using the latest technology available in those days in Europe, as per the collectorate website.

Morbi: The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi that collapsed on Sunday evening killing at least 60 people was reopened for the public just four days back after seven months of repair work by a private firm, but had not received the municipality’s “fitness certificate”, an official said.

The more than a century-old bridge in Morbi city caved in around 6.30 pm when it was crammed with people.

“The bridge was given to Oreva company for operation and maintenance for 15 years. In March this year, it was closed for the public for renovation. It reopened after renovation on the Gujarati New Year day celebrated on October 26,” said Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality Sandeepsinh Zala.

“It was opened to the public after the completion of the renovation work. But the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate (after the renovation work),” he said.

An “engineering marvel” built at the turn of the 19th century, the suspension bridge was said to reflect “the progressive and scientific nature of the rulers of Morbi,” as per its description on the district collectorate website.

Sir Waghji Thakor, who ruled Morbi till 1922, was inspired by the Colonial influence and decided to construct the bridge, an “artistic and technological marvel” of that period, to connect Darbargadh Palace with Nazarbag Palace (the residences of the then royalty).

The bridge was 1.25 metres wide and spanned 233 metres, and was meant to give a unique identity to Morbi using the latest technology available in those days in Europe, as per the collectorate website.

Bhopal: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday asked if the collapse of the suspension bridge on Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi district, in which at least 60 persons have died, was an “act of God or an act of fraud”.

Singh, who issued several tweets on the incident, was playing on the phrase that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reportedly used at a rally while lampooning the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal after the Vivekananda Road flyover collapsed in Kolkata on March 31, 2016, killing many.

“Modi ji, is the Morbi bridge accident an Act of God or Act of Fraud?” Singh tweeted while quoting a 2016 news report.

He said the bridge was under repair for six months but collapsed five days after it was reopened.

In Gujarat, where the Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power for 27 years, the Narmada canal broke during the first day’s testing at village Bidra in Kutch district in July this year, while an overbridge in Bhuj, which took 8-9 years to build, had to be repaired within a year of commissioning, Singh claimed.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP president VD Sharma and State Congress Chief Kamal Nath expressed grief over the incident.

Sidhu Moose Wala’s father Balkaur Singh speaks at an event.

Chandigarh: Sidhu Moosewala’s father on Sunday threatened to withdraw the FIR in his son’s murder case and leave the country if the slain singer was linked with gangsters.

Giving an ultimatum to the state machinery till November 25 to hear him out, an emotional Balkaur Singh claimed that his son was killed under a well-planned conspiracy and said he was not ready to accept the allegations that the singer was killed as part of a gang rivalry.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29.

Singh said the family had been cooperating very well with the administration in probing the case, but this was perhaps considered as their “weakness”.

“It has been five months (since the death of Sidhu Moosewala). We are counting days and time is passing by,” he said addressing a gathering at Moosa village in Mansa.

Singh said he was against holding any dharna but wanted the officers concerned to hear his appeal. “My son was killed under a well-planned conspiracy,” he claimed.

“I want to tell the government through the media that if you make my son part of gangsters, I will make things easy for you and will take back the FIR on November 25.

“I promise that I will wait for a month. I have sought time from the (Punjab) DGP to hear me out. After that, if you say, I will take back the FIR. I will leave the country even if that means I get to settle in Bangladesh,” Singh said.

He said he had stopped expecting justice and sought to know why investigating agencies had not summoned the “B-team of (jailed gangster) Lawrence Bishnoi” gang yet.

The Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for the murder.

Moosewala’s father also slammed police officer Pritpal Singh for allegedly providing support to the gangsters. He has been dismissed from service.

Deepak Tinu, one of the accused in the Moosewala murder case, had escaped the Mansa police’s Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) custody.

Pritpal Singh was the CIA incharge in Mansa. He was arrested on charges of helping Tinu escape the custody. But the Delhi Police arrested the gangster later.

Moosewala was killed on May 29 when he along with his friend and cousin was travelling in a jeep to Jawahar Ke village in Mansa. Six shooters waylaid his vehicle and pumped bullets into him.

Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, said he was behind the murder.

The Punjab Police had filed a first 1850-page chargesheet against 24 accused in a Mansa court in August.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Shadnagar (Telangana): Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “price rise and unemployment” in the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asked as to why the Prime Minister is not addressing the issues.

Speaking at a meeting as a part of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ Gandhi alleged that government schools, colleges and universities in Telangana are being privatised by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS government.

“Narendra Modiji, say something. Gas cylinder’s cost is now Rs 1,000. Petrol price used to be Rs 70 (per litre). Narendra Modi used to mention in every speech that petrol cost has gone up to Rs 70. Now, it has crossed Rs 100. Diesel used to be Rs 56 (per litre). Now, it has become Rs 100, but Narendra Modi does not say anything on that,” Gandhi charged.

Alleging that BJP and TRS are trying to suppress people’s voices, the Congress leader said his ongoing march replicates true India wherein public concerns are heard.

Gandhi alleged that BJP toppled governments in Goa and other States by using money power.

Describing BJP and TRS are the same and create drama during elections, he claimed that both spend hundreds of crores during polls.
He alleged that Modi ensures that his three or four industrialist-friends get all the business.

The Gandhi scion said no force can stop his yatra from reaching Kashmir.

He said Telangana students have informed him that schools, colleges and universities in the State are being privatised and assured that if Congress comes to power here, it would stop the privatisation and more funds would be pumped into government educational institutions.

According to him, demonetisation in 2016 and goods and services tax (GST) negatively impacted small and medium-scale businesses.

Alleging that Dharani, Telangana’s integrated land records management system, is faulty, Gandhi said when his party comes into power the problems would be solved.

Health and education are neglected in the State and all the money spent on Dharani and irrigation projects so that KCR family gets good commission, he further alleged.

He said both BJP and TRS work in tandem.

Morbi: At least 60 people died after a century-old suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi city collapsed on Sunday evening, officials said.

The bridge, which reopened four days ago after extensive repairs and renovation, was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm, officials said.

“At least 60 persons have died in the tragedy,” Gujarat minister Brijesh Merja said.

Eyewitnesses said there were several women and children on the British era “hanging bridge” when it snapped, plunging them into the water below.

Some people were seen jumping on the bridge and pulling its big wires, an eyewitness said. The bridge may have collapsed due to the “huge crowd” on it, he added.

People fell over each other when the bridge collapsed, he said.

Due to the Diwali vacation and being a Sunday, there was a rush of tourists on the bridge, a major tourist attraction.

A private operator had carried out the repair work of the bridge for nearly six months before it was reopened to the public on the Gujarati New Year day on October 26.

A fire department official said that boats were being used to rescue people from the river.

“We are carrying out rescue work using boats. There are around 40-50 people in the river,” the official said.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said he was saddened by the tragedy.

“Relief and rescue operations by the administration are going on. The administration has been instructed to arrange immediate treatment for the injured. I am in constant contact with the district administration in this regard,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a tweet that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Gujarat, spoke to Patel and officials.

Modi sought urgent mobilisation of teams for rescue ops, the PMO said, adding the PM has asked that the situation be closely and continuously monitored, and all possible help be extended to those affected.