Iddenesa Mullick, mother of three daughters and one son, lives in a small house off the NH-6 where the protesters put up a roadblock. “There were massive protests in our area. I was worried when the administration clamped Section 144. I had no way out other than postponing my daughter Pakiza’s marriage which was scheduled on Sunday. But my Hindu neighbours came forward and assured me that they would take care of everything,” said Iddenesa.

Iddenesa’s neighbours Tapas Kodali, Lakhikanta Kayal and Uttam Dolui took all responsibilities of the marriage. “We grew up in the same village together. We stood beside each other always. When the mother of Pakiza was worried, we decided to be her helping hands,” said Kodali.

The three went to the police station and obtained permission for the assembly on the occasion of the marriage as Section 144 of CrPC was clamped. Iddenesa lost her husband eight years ago. “The mother and her children participate in all the events organised by the local club. It was our duty as a citizen to stand beside her,’’ said Kayal.

Iddenesa had invited around 300 guests for her daughter’s marriage. “But only 150 turned up. My Hindu neighbours welcomed them and took care of food and other comforts. They also helped me to rent a car so that Pakiza could go to her in-laws’ house safely. I will be grateful to them for rest of my life,’’ she said.

Surprise welcome

Sheikh Mokkabir, the newly-wed groom, said that he was pleasantly surprised that he was warmly welcomed by the Hindu neighbours. “It is because of them, the entire ceremony was conducted so smoothly,” he said

“Never before was such a blatant attempt made by a political family to hold an investigation to ransom into a mega corruption case. It has been done to protect the ill-gotten assets worth `2,000 crore for which Rahul Gandhi has been summoned,” Irani said.

Irani alleged that the protests were engineered by the Congress as part of a strategy to exert pressure on the investigating agency. “Shockingly as well as shamefully, it was aimed at supporting corruption. But nobody is above law”, she said, asking Rahul Gandhi to explain his family’s ties to the Dotex Merchandise Company.

She described Dotex Merchandise as a hawala operator, whose transactions were flagged by the Financial Intelligence Unit. “The nation wants to know from Rahul Gandhi about his family’s relation with the Dotex Merchandise. The Gandhi family had floated the Young India purportedly to grab the assets, worth `2000 crore, of Associated Journals Limited, which publishes the National Herald,” she said.

Quoting details, the minister said over 5,000 freedom fighters had shares in the newspaper when it started out. She alleged that Young India was formed with an aim devoted to charity in 2010. “But it admitted in 2016 that not a single charity work was conducted by it… It served not society but the Gandhi family,” Irani said.

The active cases comprise 0.12 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.67 per cent, the data updated at 8 am stated.

An increase of 2,553 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.05 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 2.32 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,26,61,370, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 195.35 crore.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

Recently, the state BJP constituted a selection panel of senior leaders for selecting party’s candidates for the next month’s urban local body elections. The committees were constituted for seven divisions, including Gwalior-Chambal, Sagar, Shahdol-Rewa, Indore, Ujjain, Bhopal-Narmadapuram and Jabalpur divisions.

For the Bhopal-Narmadapuram division (which comprises three Lok Sabha seats, Bhopal, Vidisha and Hoshangabad), a nine-member strong committee was constituted to select the candidates for the urban local body polls slated to be held in two phases on July 6 and 13.

The nine committee members included first time MP from Vidisha Ramakant Bhargava (considered close to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) and third-time sitting MP from Hoshangabad Uday Pratap Singh. But, the third Lok Sabha member of the division, the first time MP from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, wasn’t included in the panel.

The development happened the same day when Thakur had defended suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. Reacting to the party not considering her in the panel, Thakur tweeted “One reply to all questions is I respect the party organisation’s decision not to include me in the committee for selecting candidates.”

Sharma has been granted time and will not appear before the Bhiwandi police on Monday, he said. The official did not specify how much time Sharma has been granted.

The Bhiwandi police in Thane district had registered a case against Sharma over her remarks about the Prophet during a TV debate, following a complaint lodged by a representative of the Raza Academy on May 30, he said.

They had also registered a case against expelled BJP functionary Naveen Kumar Jindal over his alleged controversial tweets against Prophet Mohammad and asked him to record his statement on June 15, an official earlier said.

The Bhiwandi police on Sunday detained a 19-year-old Muslim man for allegedly posting a derogatory remark on Prophet Mohammad and showing support to Nupur Sharma over her controversial comments, a senior official earlier said.

The accused was taken into custody by the police after a tense situation prevailed in the town over his viral social media post, which angered members of the Muslim community, he said.

The man has apologised, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-II, Bhiwandi, Yogesh Chavan said on Sunday night, adding that an offence was registered against him under Indian Penal Code Section 153A (promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups).

Chavan appealed to citizens of the town not to believe in rumours and help the police in maintaining law and order. Earlier, the Mumbra police in Thane asked Sharma to appear before them on June 22 to record her statement over her remarks.

The Mumbai Police have also summoned her to record a statement on June 25 in connection with her remarks about the Prophet during a TV debate that triggered a huge controversy. The police had asked for a video of the debate from the news channel concerned.

The BJP had on June 5 suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi BJP media head Jindal after their alleged derogatory remarks against the Prophet led to an outrage in India and Gulf countries.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd James Austin

Singapore: China is continuing to harden its position along the borders with India, US Defence Secretary Lloyd James Austin said on Saturday, stressing that America stands by its friends as they uphold their rights as Beijing adopts the “war coercive” and “aggressive approach” to its territorial claims.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin noted that China is taking aggressive and illegal approaches to the territories it claims in the South China Sea and advancing its illegal maritime plans.

Further to the West, we see Beijing continuing to harden the position along the borders it shares with India, he said.

The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when a violent clash between the two sides erupted in the Pangong lake area.

China has also been building bridges and constructing other infrastructure such as roads and residential units in the border areas with India.

China also has maritime border disputes with various countries in the Indo-Pacific region such as Vietnam and Japan.

We remain unwavering in our mutual defence commitments,” Austin assured.

His comments came days after a top US General said some of the defence infrastructure that is being created by China near its border with India in Ladakh is “alarming”, calling the Chinese activity in that region as “eye-opening”.

Flagging concerns over the Chinese infra build-up, the US Army’s Pacific Commanding General Charles A Flynn, who was on a visit to India on Wednesday, also said the “destabilising and corrosive” behaviour of the Chinese Communist Party in the Indo-Pacific region is simply not helpful.

Austin also told the defence delegates at the Singapore dialogue the importance of joint exercises conducted by the USS Theodore Roosevelt with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force in the Indian Ocean last spring.

Stressing that the US remains open and fully prepared to deter and defeat future aggression, he said, We also stand by our friends as they uphold their rights that is especially important as the People’s Republic of China adopts the war coercive and aggressive approach to its territorial claims.

He said the US believes that India’s “growing military capability and technological prowess can be a stabilising force in the region.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.

Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.

The South China Sea and the East China Sea are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources. They are also vital to global trade.

On the Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, he pointed out that last month’s summit in Tokyo had brought together the world’s largest producers of prosperity and security.

The Quad leaders are eager to work with ASEAN and the Pacific Islands to advance our shared goals , said Austin.

He underlined that Australia, India and Japan have been holding security dialogues about maritime security cooperation since 2015.

In the past few months, Japan and the Philippines launched a new 2+2 dialogue and so did Australia and India, noted the defence secretary.

We are also working together to make the security architecture transparent and more inclusive, he informed the delegates.

Ujjain: Spurred by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s promise that his ministry would allot Rs 1,000 crore for development works in his constituency for each kilogram of weight he lost, Anil Firojiya, Lok Sabha Member from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, has claimed he is now lighter by 15 kilograms.

The challenge to lose weight started in February this year after Gadkari made the “funds for flab” promise while addressing an event here in which the foundation stones of a few projects were laid.

Firojiya, a first time MP, told PTI on Saturday that he weighed 127 kilograms in February.

“Gadkari had made this announcement in February to motivate me to get fit. He had said he would allocate Rs 1,000 crore for development works per kilogram of weight I lost. I accepted his command and have lost 15 kilograms in the past four months.” Firojiya said.

“I am achieving this by adopting a fitness regime that comprises adhering to a diet plan and indulging in physical exercise, cycling and yoga. I was 127 kilograms earlier. Now, I am entitled to ask for Rs 15,000 crore for development works in my constituency as I have lost 15 kilograms,” the LS MP asserted.

He said he would continue to shed weight so that his Lok Sabha area can get more funds for development.

Incidentally, during his speech in February, Gadkari had also spoken about his own weight loss journey and had hoped it would motivate Firojiya.

Kuldeep Bishnoi

New Delhi: A day after losing the Rajya Sabha election in Haryana due to cross-voting, the Congress cracked the whip and expelled its legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi from all party positions.

The Haryana Congress has alleged that Bishnoi, an MLA from the Adampur constituency in Hisar, did not vote for the party candidate Ajay Maken and cross-voted in favour of Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, who was supported by the ruling BJP-JJP combine.

The Congress had 31 MLA and needed as many votes to win the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana, but one of its legislators cross-voted and another’s vote was cancelled.

“The Congress president has expelled Kuldeep Bishnoi from all his present party positions, including the post of special invitee of the Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect,” a statement from AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said.

Bishnoi had not attended any of the party meetings of its legislators and had said that he has voted as per his conscience.