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Archives for January 2018

Rahul Gandhi to lead from front in Karnataka polls: Dinesh Gundu Rao

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Hyderabad: Rahul Gandhi would lead from the front for the Congress in poll-bound Karnataka, launching the campaign with a three-day tour from February 10, a key state party leader said today.

Working President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, Dinesh Gundu Rao, also indicated that party MLAs facing anti-incumbency in their constituencies, may not get tickets in polls, due in May.

He added that joining hands with the JD(S) in case Congress fails to get majority is not being looked at as an option as his party is confident of coming to power on its own, and also that the H D Deve Gowda-led outfit is “not dependable”.

Speaking to PTI here, Gundu Rao said Gandhi is going to be a “very key” campaigner for the Congress in the state where, he noted, it also has “very powerful” state leaders like Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, M Mallikarjuna Kharge, G Parameshwara and D K Shivakumar.

“At the same time, I think Rahulji is getting resonance amongst people, and he is leading the campaign for us,” Gundu Rao, who was here to attend an event, said.

The Congress president is starting his campaign with a three-day tour of the state from February 10. He might visit again later next month and also in March.

“In the run-up to the elections, he will be spending lot more time, and he is definitely going to lead from the front for us”, he said.

“We have started our campaign from KPCC and the chief minister has also toured the state”, he said.

“Gandhi would be intensively campaigning and you can say more or less launch of the campaign for the Congress (with his February tour),” the Congress leader added.

He claimed there is no anti-incumbency on the government because out of 165 promises made in the election manifesto, it has implemented 155-156. In fact, Gundu Rao said the Congress is seeing pro-incumbency wave creeping in, adding, it would win more number of seats than the last time.

Gundu Rao, however, said that some Congress MLAs might have “built-up” anti-incumbency in their constituencies.

“That’s what we need to look out for. If they have not done well, we have to change then, that’s going to be the key thing,” he said.

Congress MLAs facing anti-incumbency will be “definitely changed”, as the party’s aim is to field “best available candidates”, he said.

On whether the Congress would look for an understanding with JD(S) in case it falls short on numbers in post-poll scenario, he said, “There is no question of us wanting an alliance because we are clearly in the race to get absolute majority.”

“But post-poll…what happens…who knows? I can’t predict right now. JD(S) is not dependable. They have been with BJP, they have formed government with us, they are not people who can be trusted because they don’t have ideology, don’t have fixed agenda, they can play anything; they are not dependable at all. So, I will not look at that option,” he added.

(PTI)

Pregnant woman gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh

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Badaun: A 32-year-old pregnant woman was allegedly raped by some unidentified men here when she had gone to relieve herself in the field in Kachula village, police said today.

The incident took place yesterday early at 5.00 am. The accused had allegedly tied her hands and feet and also stuffed a cloth in her mouth, Senior superintendent of police Chandraprakash said.

The SSP said that when the woman did not return home after a long time, her family members started searching for her.

Later, they found her from a nearby forest in an unconscious state, following which the family members informed the police and the woman was then admitted to a hospital, he said.

The woman was sent to Bareilly for treatment and her medical examination will also be conducted, the SSP said.

Her statement would be recorded today, he said, adding that the police have launched a search operation for the accused.

(PTI)

Reopening of Loya case inconvenient for BJP

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By Amulya Ganguli

The case relating to the death of B.H. Loya, the judge who was investigating an alleged extra-judicial killing in Gujarat in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah was implicated, is the second legal hurdle which the party is facing.

It crossed the first one with relative ease, but it remains to be seen whether the party will be able to do so this time. The first hurdle was posed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry into the incidents of mob violence during the Gujarat riots of 2002.

The SIT, headed by a former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director, R.K. Raghavan, and acting under the Supreme Court’s supervision, exonerated Narendra Modi, who was the state’s Chief Minister at the time of the outbreak.

However, a Vadodara resident, Prof. J.S. Bandukwala, a Muslim human rights activist, who was nearly killed in the riots, expressed doubts about the fairness of the acquittal while the court’s amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran, said that several “offences” could have been made out against Modi. Raghavan has recently been appointed High Commissioner to Cyprus.

In the latest case, too, Loya’s successor as a CBI judge exonerated Amit Shah. But the case hasn’t been closed like the earlier one because of the doubts that have been expressed about the factors that may have been responsible for the judge’s death of a heart attack. One of the factors is said to be the considerable stress which the judge was experiencing while handling the high-profile lawsuit.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Judge Loya’s death was one of the reasons behind the decision of four senior Supreme Court judges to go public with their various complaints against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, including one about the allocation of this particular litigation to a “junior” judge.

Dismayed over the imputation, the judge in question has now requested the Chief Justice to let another judge handle the case. But whoever hears it from now on, it will not only be a long-drawn process but also carried out in the full glare of publicity because of the huge public and media interest that has been aroused about it.

Judge Loya’s death had remained mostly in the background till a reference was made to it by one of the four dissenting judges and a report in a magazine a few days ago quoted one of the late judge’s relatives to suggest foul play in his sudden death at the relatively early age of 48. There was also talk about an offer of Rs 100 crore to him.

None of this is likely to be relished by the BJP. The reason is that, for one, the focus will continue to be relentlessly on its president, reputedly the second-most powerful man in the country, and, for another, at least two deaths will be closely scrutinised, especially by the prosecuting lawyers — those of Judge Loya in 2014 and of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, who died in the fake shootout nine years earlier. His wife and a companion also died unnatural deaths.

In the case about the latter’s death, Amit Shah was also an accused but was given a clean chit by then Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Sathasivam, who is now the Governor of Kerala.

Clearly, it is a messy situation which will be grist to the mills of both the media and of the BJP’s political opponents if only because, suddenly, out of the blue, the conditions in Gujarat in the aftermath of the riots will once again come into the limelight along with questions about the kind of pressure which Justice Loya may have faced since the staged shootouts, though not uncommon in India, are not a natural event.

For the BJP, the reopening of the case hasn’t come at a convenient time. The party is facing a series of elections during the year, including in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the anti-incumbency factor is likely to undermine its prospects. Having narrowly escaped defeat in Gujarat, the party will be nervous about the possibility of suffering further setbacks in the three states.

As is known, the party is heavily dependent on the Prime Minister to draw the crowds and on the party President to keep the organisational machine well oiled. If the latter’s reputation comes under a cloud, his clout is bound to be diminished.

That the Congress saw the opportunity to use the situation to gain political mileage was evident from Rahul Gandhi’s call for a high-level probe into Judge Loya’s death within hours of the press conference by the four judges.

While the BJP’s awareness of the damaging potential for the party of the developing situation has made it generally moderate its responses, the party’s myriad trolls have shown no such restraint, describing the dissenting judges as the “Gang of Four” and demanding their impeachment.

Surprisingly, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary has echoed the Hindutva netizens by describing what the judges did as a political conspiracy while the BJP’s uneasy ally, the Shiv Sena, has taken the opposite view by saying that the ruling party at the Centre wants the judiciary to be deaf and dumb. The scene could not be murkier.

(IANS)

Police bar people from wearing black at Amit Shah’s Varanasi rally

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Varanasi: People wearing black clothes were not allowed to attend a public rally here to be addressed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

According to a police officer, the move was to prevent any protests from “troublesome elements”.

The police, however, did not explain why even media persons were also stopped from entering the premises.

Shah and Adityanath are in Varanasi to attend an event named ‘Yuva Udghosh’ which is an attempt by the party to connect with 17,000 first time voters.

Angry youngsters said they found the move objectionable as they were humiliated and barred from attending the event.

Over thirty students have also been detained and barred from attending the event, an official confirmed.

State BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and State Organisational Secretary Sunil Bansal are also attending the high-profile event.

Heavy security arrangements have been made at the venue of the event as Congress workers are learnt to be preparing for a massive protest against the BJP leaders, accusing them of letting down the people of Varanasi.

Anti-BJP pamphlets were distributed by Congress workers on the Sigra square on Friday evening.

The pamphlet holds Shah responsible for Justice Loya’s death and also referred to him as a ‘tadipaar’ (Barred from entering the city).

Owing to the apprehensions of protests, massive security arrangements have already been made and 12 Assistant Superintendent rank officials, 35 Deputy Superintendents, seven SHO’s, 350 Sub Inspectors, 2,128 constables and nine companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed for the event.

(IANS)

Modi pitches for simultaneous parliament, assembly polls

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made a strong pitch for simultaneous parliament and assembly polls, as he slammed caste politics and decried the abundance of allegations in place of constructive criticism of his economic policy.

In a wide-ranging hour-long interview with Zee News television, PM Modi said the polls should be like festivals such as Holi — you throw colour and even mud on that day and forget about it until the next time.

Instead, “from logistical view, the country always seems to be in an election mode now,” he said. “One election finishes, the second starts.”

Having simultaneous parliament, assembly, civic and panchayat polls, once every five years and completed within a month or so, will save money, resources and manpower, given that a large section of security forces, bureaucracy and political machinery seems to be devoted for 100, 150 to 200 days every year on electioneering, he said.

“If the elections are held together the country will be free from such a big burden,” he said, adding “Otherwise we are spending so much resources, money.”

After the 2014 general election, which brought Narendra Modi to power, the country has witnessed a spate of assembly elections including in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh last year. Several more states will go to polls this year, before the next Parliament elections in 2019.

Asked if he will be able to achieve his goal of simultaneous elections, PM Modi said: “It is not one party’s, one person’s agenda; for the country’s benefit everyone should work together. Let there be a debate on it.”

PM Modi also spoke about the dangers of caste politics, saying it has been India’s misfortune to be afflicted with this phenomenon.

PM Modi was also asked about the criticism he faced when GDP growth came down.

He replied that “one should never feel bad about criticism. That’s the strength of democracy. Everything should be analysed. The good work should be praised and shortcomings should be criticised.”

“But sometimes criticism is almost non-existent and allegations are more. Still, it is good that the nation is discussing GDP, agricultural growth, industrial growth and (stock) market,” he said.

On expectations of a populist budget on Feb. 1, PM Modi said: “Whether there is budget or not, election or not, first budget or last budget, Modi has one mantra, BJP has one mantra ‘vikas, vikas, vikas: sabka saath sabka vikas.'”

“Whatever is needed for that we have been doing and we will continue to do it,” he said.

PM Modi also praised his government’s work, saying GST and demonetisation are not its only achievements. There are many others like financial inclusion, toilet construction and electrification that can be talked about for days together.

“If you consider only these two things (GST and demonetisation) as my government’s work, it will be a big injustice to me,” he said.

He listed bringing unbanked people into the banking network, construction of toilets in over four lakh schools, cooking gas connections to three crore families, electrification of left-out villages, ramping up of urea supply, low-cost insurance for poor, LED bulbs to save power bills and environment as the other areas his government has focused on.

“I am only talking about work done on the economic front. I can list so many things that Zee News will have to run my interview for the entire week,” PM Modi said.

To a question on job creation, he said just in the formal economy, 70 lakh people have enrolled in the provident fund scheme and 10 crore people have taken loans under the collateral-free Mudra Yojana, while a large number of jobs are also being created elsewhere.

Asked about whether he is confident of winning the 2019 elections, he said “I don’t waste time thinking about elections. I have to worry about 125 crore people.”

(PTI)

Pak raises Jadhav’s case in UNSC debate on Afghanistan

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United Nations: Pakistan raked up the issue of Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav in the UN Security Council after it was accused by India, the US and Afghanistan, for providing safe havens to terrorists.

Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Maleeha Lodhi was responding to Indian Ambassador to the UN Syed Akbaruddin who said Pakistan needs to change its “mindset” of differentiating between good and bad terrorists.

India urged the UN Security Council to focus on challenges posed by terrorism emanating from the safe havens from across the border.

In response to India, Lodhi said raked up the case of Jadhav, who was captured in March last year and sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, an accusation that India has dismissed as concocted.

“Those who talk of changing mindset need to look within, at their own record of subversion against my country as our capture of an Indian spy has proven beyond doubt,” Lodhi told the members of the UN Security Council, without naming Jadhav.

Earlier, the US told the UN Security Council that the status quo regarding continues terrorist safe havens in Pakistan is not acceptable.

The US has said that the status quo regarding continued terror safe havens in Pakistan is not acceptable and insisted that Islamabad join its efforts to bring a resolution to the conflict.

“We seek to work cohesively and effectively with Pakistan, but cannot be successful if the status quo, one where terrorist organisations are given sanctuary inside the countrys borders, is allowed to continue,” US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told the ministerial meeting.

And the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai reiterated the presence of terrorist safe haven across the border.

But Lodhi continued to be in denial.

“Indeed, with its safe havens inside the country and income from the narcotics trade, the insurgency does not really need any outside assistance or support centers to sustain its efforts,” Lodhi said during a ministerial debate on Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan and its partners, especially the United States therefore need to address these challenges inside Afghanistan rather than shifts the onus for ending the conflict on to others,” Lodhi said.

Afghanistan needed to address the challenges inside the country rather than shifting the onus for ending the conflict to others, she alleged.

“Those who imagine sanctuaries outside really need a reality check,” she said

But there were no takers for Lodhi’s claims that there are no terrorist safe havens inside Pakistan.

None of the more than two dozen speakers came out in support of the Pakistani argument in this regard.

(PTI)

Decapitated, bloodstained doll left at Amsterdam mosque

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The neck and the head of the doll were smeared with a red substance [AT5]

by Al Jazeera

A decapitated doll was left at a mosque in Amsterdam, police said, in an Islamophobic act that has shocked the Muslim community in the Netherlands.

The head was hung by a rope from a fence above the doll’s “bloodstained body”, pictures showed, and a note was left warning against “Islamisation” in the Netherlands.

An employee of Emir Sultan Mosque found the doll as he opened the place of worship on Thursday morning, and reported it to the police.

The note on the doll, apparently referencing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said: “Islam is inextricably linked with brutal beheadings. Islamisation must stop. No to the Diyanet mega-mosque in Amsterdam-Noord (north), which is connected to dictator Erdogan.”

The Emir Sultan Mosque serves a predominately Turkish community in the north of Amsterdam.

In a statement to Dutch media, the Emir Sultan Islamic Foundation called it a “cowardly and disgusting act”.

“Of course we are shocked and condemn this cowardly attack, but we do not let ourselves be intimidated and played against each other,” the statement said.

“We will continue to profile ourselves as part of society and continue to work for the preservation of peace and solidarity in Amsterdam-Noord. We request everyone to keep their cool and wait for the police investigation,” it added.

Kamber Sener, president of the mosque, wrote on Facebook, asking the community “not to worry about this incident”.

“I hope they will find the perpetrators as soon as they can,” he wrote, asking for the city to unite against such acts.

The act was claimed via Twitter by a right-wing group calling itself Rechts in Verzet, or Right in Opposition.

The group tweeted photos of the doll and the note to several Dutch news organisations, adding in the tweet: “Beheading! No mega mosque in Amsterdam-Noord. Protest.”

The person running the Twitter account was also under investigation, Amsterdam’s local TV channel AT5 reported.

The protest group had previously criticised the arrival of a mega-mosque in Amsterdam-Noord.

Qatari royal: Gulf crisis to seize Qatar’s wealth

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Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani was last seen in a wheelchair after arriving in Kuwait [Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

A member of the Qatari royal family, who was allegedly held against his will in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of orchestrating a months-long Gulf crisis in order to seize Qatar’s wealth, and threatened to commit suicide.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani has previously been portrayed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the main opposition figure to the Qatari government amid the major diplomatic dispute.

In an audio recording from January 15 obtained by Al Jazeera, Sheikh Abdullah said he was put under “tremendous pressures” which led him to decide to “put an end to his life”.

“The [Gulf] crisis is based on interests and the desire of both Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman to usurp the wealth and riches of Qatar,” Al Thani said, referring to the Abu Dhabi and Saudi crown princes respectively.

“I urge my fellow Qataris to defend your position, beware of them,” he added. “They may lure you with money to destroy your own country.”

On January 14, Sheikh Abdullah released a video statement, saying he was a “prisoner” in the UAE, and that if anything happened to him, “Sheikh Mohammed” is responsible.

While he did not specify, Abdullah appeared to be referring to Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Sheikh Abdullah was transferred to a hospital shortly after his arrival in a wheelchair in Kuwait on Wednesday.

Abdullah’s brother, Sheikh Khalid, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that his sibling’s health deteriorated due to exhaustion and pressure he was exposed to under Emirati authorities.

Sheikh Khalid had added that his brother was in stable condition and should be leaving the hospital soon.

In his audio message, threatening suicide, Sheikh Abdullah said: “Due to the pressures on me, my confinement, and inability to return home (Qatar) or join my family, namely my two daughters, I have decided to end my life with the aim of preventing any harm to others.”

After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar in June, Sheikh Abdullah appeared frequently on Saudi and UAE television programmes expressing his views in support of the measures against Doha.

Sheikh Abdullah was residing in Saudi Arabia since the blockade began.

Honda recalls 22,834 cars across various models in India

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New Delhi: Japanese auto major Honda is recalling 22,834 units of Accord, City and Jazz models in India as part of a global exercise to rectify faulty airbags. The latest exercise takes the overall number of recalled vehicles, equipped with airbags manufactured by Takata, by the company to 3.13 lakh units in India.

The company, which is present in India through a wholly-owned arm Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL), announced that the latest recall will impact models which were manufactured in 2013. “HCIL will voluntarily replace Takata passenger front airbag inflators of 22,834 vehicles of 2013 model of Accord, City and Jazz as part of Honda’s precautionary global recall campaign concerning Takata front airbag inflators,” HCIL said in a statement.

According to the company, the recall will affect 510 units of the premium sedan Accord, 22,084 units of City, and 240 units of Jazz. “The replacement will be carried out free of cost at HCIL dealerships across India in a phased manner starting immediately,” the company said. Last year in January, HCIL had recalled 41,580 units of previous generation of Accord, Civic, City and Jazz models in India as part of a global exercise to rectify faulty airbags.

In July 2016, the company had recalled 1,90,578 units of the previous generation of Accord, CR-V, Civic, City and Jazz models to rectify faulty airbags made by Takata. Millions of vehicles globally have been recalled due to defective safety airbag manufactured by Japan’s Takata Corp.

(PTI)

Bellandur river catches fire again

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Bengaluru: The Bellandur lake caught fire again. It was reported that the fire was first sighted at around 12 noon.

Fire teams rushed to the spot when the fire and found it difficult to douse the fire.

Officials from Bangalore Development Authority, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike are inspecting the site.

According to locals and officials, the lake caught fire because of the increase in the level of decomposed organic matter.

(Agencies)

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