Archives for 2023

An explosion tore through a cafe in Russia’s second-largest city Sunday, killing a prominent military blogger who had supported the fighting in Ukraine and was speaking at a patriotic discussion event

Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in the explosion at the Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe in St. Petersburg. Twenty-five people were wounded, and 19 of them were hospitalized, according to the regional governor, Alexander Beglov.

Russia media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public and that a woman presented him with a box containing a statuette that apparently exploded. A patriotic Russian group that organized the event said it had taken security precautions, but added that “regrettably, they proved insufficient.”

The reports did not mention any claim of responsibility. The Interior Ministry said everyone at the cafe at the time of the blast was being “checked for involvement.”

Since the fighting in Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022, various fires, explosions and apparent assassinations have occurred in Russia without any clear connection to the conflict.

Tatarsky had filed regular reports from Ukraine. Tatarsky is the pen name for Maxim Fomin who had accumulated more than 560,000 followers on his Telegram messaging app channel. He was known for his blustery pronouncements and ardent pro-war rhetoric.

After the Kremlin’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine last year, Tatarsky posted a video in which he vowed: “That’s it. We’ll defeat everybody, kill everybody, rob everybody we need to. It will all be the way we like it. God be with you.”

Many countries have condemned the annexation as illegal.

A top Ukrainian government official speculated that internal Russian opposition to the Kremlin’s invasion was behind the blast.

“Spiders are eating each other in a jar,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote in English on Twitter. “Question of when domestic terrorism would become an instrument of internal political fight was a matter of time.”

Last August, Darya Dugina, a 29-year-old commentator with a nationalist Russian TV channel, died when a remotely controlled explosive device planted in her SUV blew up as she was driving on the outskirts of Moscow. She and her father — a philosopher, writer and political theorist — strongly supported Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine.

Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the attack, but Kyiv denied involvement.

KOLKATA: Fresh violence broke out between two communities in the Hooghly district on Sunday evening during a Ram Navami procession. BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh and several MLAs were part of the procession.

The trouble started when the procession was passing in front of a place of worship belonging to a particular community.

BJP MLA from Pursura (Hooghly), Biman Ghosh and two other party functionaries were injured along with several others when stones were pelted during the clash. Ghosh was taken out of the area by the personnel of the central reserve police force, who was in charge of his security.

“During the course of the peaceful procession, stones were pelted from a particular place. Instead of taking action against the attackers, the police dispersed us. Tear gas shells were lobbed to bring the situation under control,’’ said Ghosh.

The incident took place in Hooghly’s Rishra under the Serampore sub-division. A large contingent of police personnel, led by the commissioner of police Amit Javalgi, rushed to the area. Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control. Several shops were vandalised and some cycle vans were set ablaze in the violence.

Reacting to the incident, West Bengal governor C. V. Ananda Bose said, “The lawbreakers will soon realise that they are playing with fire. Police personnel rushed to the spot. We are determined to put an end to this arson. The culprits will be booked and put behind the bars tonight itself.”

Tension prevailed in Howrah’s Shibpur last Thursday following a clash between the same two communities during a Ram Navami procession. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee hit out the BJP alleging the conspiracy behind the violence in Howrah was hatched a month ago and the procession took a route that was not permitted to them.

“In Rishra, stones were pelted at women and children during the procession. The state government is taking no action even after the Howrah violence. Several vehicles were vandalised in the attack,’’ said Ghosh.

BJP leader Amit Malviya claimed that the violence in Hooghly, following the unrest in Howrah, is a result of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s approval. “After Howrah, Serampore is burning. This has Mamata Banerjee’s approval,’’ Malviya tweeted.

BJP’s West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar wrote to Union Home minister Amit Shah on Sunday alleging the situation in the state is going out of control. ‘’The chief minister has failed to control the situation. The state needs the Centre’s intervention,’’ Majumdar alleged in her letter to Shah.

Following the violence in Howrah, Shah called the Bengal governor and inquired about the law and order situation.

The TMC, however, accused the BJP for the violence. “The violence was a fallout of the BJP’s provocation. When the Ram Navami occasion was over three days ago, what is the point of taking out a procession on the occasion,’’ said TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.

BENGALURU:  The Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) that meets in New Delhi on Tuesday is likely to release the party’s second list of candidates for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls ahead of former All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kolar on April 9. State Congress leaders are expected to camp in Delhi from Monday evening itself to get a ticket for themselves or for their aides.  

The Congress has already released the names of 124 candidates, including Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah who will fight from Varuna. The issue of Siddaramaiah contesting from a second seat — Kolar — and candidates for key seats, including Channapatna where there are rumours of former minister CP Yogeshwar quitting BJP to Congress, will be discussed at the meeting, informed sources told The New Indian Express.  

The party is likely to decide on its candidates for KR Pet, Yeshwantpur and KR Puram segments. The Congress has kept these seats vacant expecting that ministers KC Narayana Gowda, ST Somashekar and Byrathi Basavaraj will join the party ahead of the polls. “I will not talk about it… let their party decide,”

KPCC president DK Shivakumar said when asked about some ministers from the Bommai Cabinet joining the Congress. On chances of Siddaramaiah being fielded from two seats,  Shivakumar said the high command will take a call. He reiterated that despite many ticket aspirants, there was no confusion in the party.

“There is internal bickering in the BJP. That is the reason for them not releasing their candidate list. JDS too has a similar problem as many of its leaders have joined the Congress. The people will reject the BJP in the May 10 election,” he said.

According to sources, the Congress has finalised the second list except for 35 seats where there are two aspirants — one from the Siddaramaiah camp and the other from the Shivakumar camp. But for the remaining 65 seats, consensus candidates have already been decided.

Will Akhanda contest from  Pulikeshi Nagar? 
As Pulikeshi Nagar MLA R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy’s name did not figure in the Congress’ first list, there was speculation about him missing the bus even in the second list. Following this, his sympathisers, including former ministers Krishna Byregowda, Zameer Ahmed Khan and Dinesh Gundurao and Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad, called on Siddaramaiah along with Akhanda on Sunday.  Akhanda Srinivas Murthy’s name was not announced at first as minorities had expressed concern over his candidature after the 2020 DJ Halli riots, sources added.

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned in the pre-lunch session on Monday as MPs from the Congress and other opposition parties created a ruckus, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Probe into charges against the Adani Group.

Congress MPs came dressed in black clothes while TMC members sported black face masks.

They and other opposition MPs began shouting slogans as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called for laying of the listed official papers on the table of the House at the start of day’s proceedings.

No sooner had the papers been laid than Dhankhar adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

The opposition MPs wore black, considered as a mark of protest, to oppose the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha.

“Modi-Adani bhai-bhai,” they shouted, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MPs also raised slogans demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into allegations of corporate fraud and stock price manipulations against the Adani Group.

The Adani Group has denied all the charges.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Monday after obituary references to sitting MP Girish Bapat and former MP Innocent who passed away recently.

Bapat, who was a sitting BJP MP from Pune, passed away on March 29 while Innocent, a former independent MP from Chalakudy constituency in Thrissur, passed away on March 26.

Lok Sabha now adjourns for a few hours as mark of respect for a sitting member who has passed away.

Earlier, the House used to adjourn for the day after paying obituary to a sitting member who has passed away.

AHMEDABAD: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will file an appeal in the Surat sessions court on Monday against his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The plea is likely to come up for hearing on Monday, when the former Congress president will also be present in the court. 

On March 23, the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Varma convicted Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his remarks on Modi surname. It had held 52-year-old guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500.  The court had also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to enable him to appeal in a higher court. On March 24, Rahul was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

According to sources, the 168-page Surat court judgment has been translated by experts, and the petition is ready for filing. Rahul Gandhi will arrive at the sessions court to submit the appeal at 3 pm, his attorney Kirit Panwala said. He will be accompanied by a team of expert lawyers and Congress leaders. 

The defamation suit against Rahul Gandhi was filed by Purnesh Modi, a BJP MLA and former minister in Gujarat, for his comment: “How come all thieves have the common Modi surname?” which he had made while campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. 

According to the Congress, he was targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having the same surname as fugitive businessman Nirav Modi and former IPL chief Lalit Modi. Reacting to the news, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said: “This is a welcome step. Though delayed, the Congress has shown faith in the judicial system.”