Archives for 2023

NEW DELHI:  After sealing an alliance with the CPM in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Tripura, the Congress is looking to revive its fortunes in the other two poll-bound states, Meghalaya and Nagaland, where it has been relegated to the margins.

The assembly elections to the three North-Eastern states Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland are slated to be held from mid-February to March this year. The elections to the three states will be crucial for the grand-old party as it will be the first state elections to be held after the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra concludes on January 30. Though the Congress claims that the yatra was not associated with elections, the results will be seen as a referendum on the political impact of Rahul’s walkathon.

To combat the mighty BJP, the Congress has made a strategic move this time — to ally with old rival CPI(M) in Tripura.  In 2018 assembly polls, the Congress’ vote share plummeted to less than two per cent from 37 per cent in 2013.

Speaking to TNIE, AICC Tripura in charge Dr. Ajoy Kumar said that the party is confident of winning the election and forming a government. “Our talks with CPM on seat sharing are underway. The ruling BJP is on the back foot and it’s evident from the way BJP president J P Nadda attacked us. Incidents of political violence and anti-incumbency will work against them,” said Kumar, adding that both Congress and CPM are negotiating with Pradyot Kishore Debbarma-led TIPRA Motha party for an alliance.

In Meghalaya, the party faces an uphill task. Though Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the 2018 state elections, securing 21 of the 60 assembly seats, the BJP outplayed the Congress and formed a government with the help of the National People’s Party (NPP) and others. Since then, a series of desertions of its legislators to TMC and NPP has left the party with zero members.

However, MP and Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Vincent Pala is hopeful that the party will return to power despite the setbacks. “I admit that senior leaders have jumped the shift to other parties. But people are watching. They won’t elect them back,” he told this newspaper.  Pala claimed that the 2018 crisis was brought about by former Congress veteran Mukul Sangma, who was hostile toward the idea of allying with regional parties.

Twelve MLAs, led by former CM Mukul Sangma joined  the TMC last year, while some of them switched to  other parties. Analysts say that the Congress High Command failed to act upon the frosty working relationship between Sangma and Pala. A dominant force in the past, the Congress in Nagaland is now decimated without a single member in the 60-member assembly.  

The state Committee Congress (NPCC) president K Therie said that the party’s campaign will focus on the failure of the ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party- BJP combine to deliver a political solution to the Naga conflict. “The party will tie up with like-minded political parties to form a secular front,” he said

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response of the Centre on a batch of petitions pertaining to the criminalisation of marital rape.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked the Union government to file its response on the issue by February 15 and the final hearing on the pleas would commence from March 21.

One of pleas has been filed in relation to the Delhi High Court’s split verdict on the issue. This appeal has been filed by Khushboo Saifi, one of the petitioners before the Delhi High Court.

The Delhi High Court on May 11, last year had delivered a split verdict on the issue. However, both the judges — Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C Hari Shankar –on the bench concurred with each other for granting a certificate of leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in the matter as it involves substantial questions of law which requires a decision from the top court.

While Justice Shakdher, who headed the division bench, favoured striking down the marital rape exception for being “unconstitutional” and said it would be “tragic if a married woman’s call for justice is not heard even after 162 years” since the enactment of the IPC, Justice Shankar said the exception under the rape law is not “unconstitutional and was based on an intelligible differentia”.

Another plea has been filed by a man against the Karnataka High Court verdict which had paved way for his prosecution for allegedly raping his wife.

The Karnataka High Court had on March 23, last year said exempting a husband from the allegation of rape and unnatural sex with his wife runs against Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution.

A few other pleas have also been filed in the apex court on the issue.

Some petitioners have challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under Section 375 IPC (rape) on grounds that it discriminated against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands.

Under the exception given in Section 375 of the IPC, sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being minor, is not rape.

NEW DELHI: Five Indian nationals died after a Yeti Airways aircraft carrying 72 passengers crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal’s resort city of Pokhara on Sunday.

SIXTY eight bodies have been recoverd while preliminary investigations suggest technical reasons behind the horrific accident. 

“Hopes of finding survivors from Nepal’s worst air disaster in decades are fading,” said the police as reported by BBC.

“Early indications point to a stall and VMC (visual meteorological conditions) roll. The VMC roll occurs primarily because a thrusting engine located on a wing decreases the stall speed significantly. Therefore, as airspeed decreases, a moment occurs when the wing with non-thrusting engines stalls, while the other wing continues to produce lift,” an aviation expert told this newspaper.

Of the five Indian victims, four were reportedly planning to go paragliding in Pokhara. They have been identified as Abhishekh Kushwaha (25), Bishal Sharma (22), Anil Kumar Rajbhar (27), Sonu Jaiswal (35) and Sanjaya Jaiswal. Four of them had arrived in Kathmandu on January 13. 

In fact, a cellphone had captured the disturbing moments of the crash and went viral on social media. Reports suggest that the video which went viral on social media was captured by Sonu Jaiswal. 

“These Indian men stayed in Gaushala near Pashupatinath Temple and then in Hotel Discovery of Thamel in Kathmandu before departing for Pokhara,” claimed a person who drove with them in Kathmandu. They were planning to return to India via Gorakhpur.

The other foreign nationals on board included four Russians, two Koreans and one Argentinian, Australian, Irish and French, the remaining 53 were Nepalese which included three children and three infants.

Nepal has declared a day of national mourning and a five-member committee will investigate the reasons for the crash.

“Pained by the tragic air crash in Nepal in which precious lives have been lost, including Indian nationals. In this hour of grief, my thoughts and wishes are with the bereaved families,” said PM Narendra Modi extending his condolences to Nepal’s newly appointed PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prachanda.

This is the second air crash in Nepal in less than one year. Tara Air 9NAET a twin-engine aircraft crashed in Kowang village of Mustang district after taking off from Pokhara in May 2022. All 22 onboard died which included four Indians of a family.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed grief over the air crash and said “our thoughts are with the affected families.”

“Deeply grieved on hearing about the air crash in Pokhara, Nepal. Our thoughts are with the affected families,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.

CHENNAI: Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Tuesday told DMK MLAs not to use any objectionable word against Governor RN Ravi and his activities during the current Assembly session. Stalin said this while chairing a consultative meeting for party MLAs at DMK headquarters.

According to sources, the MLAs were told to only speak about the government’s achievements and how their electorate benefited from government schemes. They can raise a demand for the welfare of their respective Assembly constituency.

Stalin also strictly instructed the MLAs not to cross swords with opposition members even if provoked. If need arose, the ministers would give fitting replies to such opposition members, the CM said.

KHAGARIA: A village in Bihar on Tuesday witnessed a mad scramble for petroleum, suddenly up for grabs from an oil pipeline extended up to Assam, which appeared to have developed leakage, said a senior police officer.

The proverbial gold rush, albeit unauthorized, was witnessed in Khagaria district, about 180 km from the state capital, confirmed the Superintendent of Police Amitesh Ravi.

“We have sealed the maize fields in Bakiya village where oil began oozing onto the surface in the morning. Villagers have been strictly warned against striking matches or engaging in any activity that could lead to a fire”, the SP said.

He added that officials of the Indian Oil Corporation have been informed about the incident and police personnel were on guard to restrain villagers who merrily ran to the fields with whatever type of containers they could lay hands on and purloin as much as they could.

The SP said a pipeline from the Barauni oil refinery in adjoining district of Begusarai passed underneath the ground in the village.

“The pipeline may have developed cracks.It will be known definitively once IOC officials inspect the site. Till then it will remain out of bounds for the public”, he added.

DHARWAD: A 58-year-old woman died after she was allegedly attacked by a pack of stray dogs in Uppin Betageri village of Dharwad district on Tuesday night. The deceased, Mabubi Nadaf, was mentally-ill and used to beg for a living in the village.

She was sleeping on the village outskirts when the dogs allegedly attacked her. Moula Saab, brother of the deceased, said his sister was mentally-ill and usually stayed away from the house. “We used to bring her home, but she would go back to begging.

She was under treatment for her illness, but she became a victim of stray dogs,” he said. Health Department officials, however, said they will not confirm the cause of death until the postmortem report is out. “The woman might have died and the dogs would have tried to eat her flesh or anything else could have happened.

We are waiting for the autopsy report to confirm the allegation made by her family and the villagers,” said an official. The villagers alleged that the number of stray dogs has increased, but authorities are not worried about it. “A majority of district officials use fourwheelers and they do not face the problem of being chased by stray dogs.

They listen to our issues, but forget them soon after leaving the village,” they alleged. “We have seen the victim sleeping on the outskirts of the village at night and she generally used to sleep in temples and other places but unfortunately dogs have bitten her. We called the police and covered the body after chasing away the dogs,” they added.

“Stray dog attacks have become quite common here and the authorities are not doing enough on the ground but for giving false assurances. The population of dogs is increasing every year instead of coming down despite several drives taken up by the authorities within the city limits and panchayat levels.

Dog bites and untoward incidents are a testimony to the namesake drives,” they said. A Health Department official said action will be taken and a meeting will be held with panchayat members and villagers at Uppina Betageri soon. A case has been registered.

Eight injured in stray dog attack in Gokak

Gokak:As many as eight persons were injured in a stray dog attackat Sangam Nagar and Satish nagar Bojgar plot in Gokak town on Tuesday morning. They were standing outside their houses when the stray dog all of a sudden attacked them, at about 6 am. It bit them on their legs. All the injured were immediately admitted to the Government Hospital at Gokak.

A team of Gokak municipal employees are searching for the dog. Shivannand Hiremath, Gokak CMC Commissioner said, “We have formed 4 expert teams to catch the dog. We will catch it as soon as possible.” Chidannand Gidnvar, resident, said that this was not the first time such an incident was reported in Gokak. “Earlier too many such incidents had taken place. I had urged the CMC to take serious action for tackling the menace of stray dogs. But CMC only takes temporary measures,” he said. 

CHANDIGARH: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday started the Punjab leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra with a visit to the Golden Temple. Sporting a Sikh turban, Rahul offered prayers at the gurudwara in Amritsar. 

The foot march entered Punjab from Haryana through the Shambhu border. Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at Rahul, calling him “anti-Sikh”. Rahul, who landed at the Amritsar airport in the afternoon, was accompanied to the Golden Temple by Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, local MP Gurjit Singh Aujla and other party leaders.

Earlier in the morning, he resumed the yatra from Shahpur in Ambala Cantt during which he was joined by party leader Raj Babbar. The rally on Wednesday will pass through Mandi Gobindgarh and halt for the night at Khanna. Rahul targeted the BJP-led Haryana government, saying the government has been dividing Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, farmers and non-farmers and people of different castes. 

A message issued by him read, “The people of Haryana are blessed with everything they need for a good life. However, their potential is being wasted. The farmers of Haryana led the historic movement against the three black farm laws, and many were martyred. Still, the agricultural crisis endures. In the land of doodh, dahi and gur, it is a tragedy that farmers’ children no longer want to be farmers.”

He added that the Haryana has the “highest youth unemployment rate and desperate youth look abroad for jobs”. Rahul also criticised GST and demonetisation, and pointed out that sports academies are being shut down in the state. “Not one person we met in Haryana could name a single step the BJP government has taken to solve these problems,” he stated. 

“Governments of past decades planted the seeds of development, which are yielding fruits now. Today’s government is busy building a nafrat ka bazaar.” Meanwhile, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said it was condemnable that Rahul Gandhi was leading the yatra in the state. “No one has damaged Punjab as much as the Gandhi family, which has a history of breaking India,” he said. 

“Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the attack on the Golden Temple using tanks which led to the destruction of Akal Takht Sahib,” Badal said, adding that Rajiv Gandhi engineered the 1984 genocide of Sikhs and even justified it by saying that when a big tree falls, the ground shakes. Sukhbir said that the Gandhi family is also responsible for robbing Punjab of its river waters and handing them over forcibly to Rajasthan.

The BJP’snational spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill too slammed Rahul, saying the Congress’ anti-Sikh sentiment has not been washed away. “It has only flourished and nourished as time has passed,” he said. On the other hand, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at the BJP for criticising former Army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor after he participated in the yatra in Haryana. Without taking any names, Ramesh said, “While there is diversity in our society, that is being misused so that society can be divided.”