Archives for March 2024

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar (Courtesy: PTI)

Jammu: The Election Commission has received details from the State Bank of India (SBI) related to the electoral bonds and will share all relevant information in time, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said here on Wednesday.

The assertion comes in the wake of the Supreme Court directing the SBI to submit the details of the electoral bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the EC.

SBI is the authorised financial institution to issue the electoral bonds.

“The SBI was supposed to submit the data by March 12. They have given to us the details in time. I will go back and look at the data (and) would definitely disclose it in time,” Kumar told reporters here.

Kumar reached here on Wednesday to review preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We are ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. We will ensure free and fair elections across the country. We request voters across the country including Jammu and Kashmir to enthusiastically take part in the ‘festival of democracy,” the CEC said.

He said social media cell will be established in all districts in order to respond to fake news in real time.

“Adequate security to be provided to all candidates and central forces will be deployed,” he added.

Kumar said strict vigil will be maintained on online cash transfers through wallets in Jammu and Kashmir.

People above 85 years and those with disability will be provided voting at home facility in J-K, he added.

Hassan: Deputy Commissioner Sathyabhama C ordered a temporary closure of the Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway stretch in the district as a precautionary measure against mishaps, as a gas tanker overturned on the road in the Shiradi Ghat area on Wednesday, resulting in a gas leak too.

The tanker reportedly toppled as the driver failed to control the vehicle at a double turn in the road in Sakleshpur taluk. The fire brigade as well as the policemen were called and are working at prevention of any sort of fire mishap due to the gas leak.

The DC has issued the order closing the highway for vehicles till Wednesday midnight and the drivers on the Bengaluru-Hassan-Mangaluru stretch are being directed by police officers to use alternate routes.

The DC has said in her order that vehicles traveling from Sakleshpur to Mangaluru should take the Sakleshpur-Hanubalu-Moodigere route to reach Mangaluru. Vehicles traveling from Bengaluru to Mangaluru have to use the Hassan-Boovanahalli Cross-Belur route and people traveling from Mangaluru to Bengaluru should use the Sullia-Sampaje route, she has added.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram(PTI): Amid escalating protests in Kerala against implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Wednesday decided to pursue legal measures aligned with the state government’s stance against the contentious law.

According to an official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the Advocate General has been tasked with initiating legal proceedings in the matter, further to the original suit that is before the Supreme court.

“The state government has already filed an original suit before the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution. As the central government has proceeded with the notification of rules under the CAA, the state is preparing for additional legal action through the Supreme Court,” it said.

The statement also affirmed the government’s position that the Citizenship Amendment Act will not be enforced in Kerala.

Kerala has been witnessing widespread protests by the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and the opposition Congress-led UDF against the law ever since the Centre notified the act, which seeks to grant citizenship to undocumented migrants — who are not Muslims — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 201

New Delhi: The BJP has released its second list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The list of 72 names includes senior leaders Nitin Gadkari, ML Khattar and Piyush Goyal. The fresh face is in the race to Lok Sabha is Manohar Lal Khattar, who was pulled out of the Haryana Chief Minister’s post yesterday.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari retains his Nagpur seat after there was a little uncertainly as his name did not feature in the first list of the candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

In Karnataka, the party is fielding around 10 new faces.

Sitting MP Shobha Karandlaje on Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat from Coastal Karnataka, has been replaced by Kota Srinivas Poojary. Karandlaje will now contest from Bengaluru North constituency. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar of erstwhile Mysore royal family replaced Pratap Simha in Mysore seat.

Similarly on the Dakshina Kannada seat, the saffron party snubbed Nalin Kumar Kateel and has given ticket to Capt. Brijesh Chowta on the seat.

Haveri, where senior BJP leader Eshwarappa was anticipating seat for his son was allotted to former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai.

The remarkable mentions in the 2nd list are Ashok Tanwar (Sirsa), Manohar Lal Khattar (Karnal), Chaudhary Dharambir Singh (Bhiwani-Mahendragarh), Rao Inderjit Singh Yadav (Gurgaon), Anurag Singh Thakur (Hamirpur), BY Raghavendra (Shimoga), Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) Shobha Karandlaje (Bangalore North), Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South), Bharati Pravin Pawar (Dindori), Pankaja Munde (Beed), DK Aruna (Mahbubnagar), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Hardwar), Anil Baluni (Garhwal) Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North).

New Delhi: The BJP has released its second list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The list of 72 names includes senior leaders Nitin Gadkari, ML Khattar and Piyush Goyal. The fresh face is in the race to Lok Sabha is Manohar Lal Khattar, who was pulled out of the Haryana Chief Minister’s post yesterday.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari retains his Nagpur seat after there was a little uncertainly as his name did not feature in the first list of the candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

In Karnataka, the party is fielding around 10 new faces.

Sitting MP Shobha Karandlaje on Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat from Coastal Karnataka, has been replaced by Kota Srinivas Poojary. Karandlaje will now contest from Bengaluru North constituency. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar of erstwhile Mysore royal family replaced Pratap Simha in Mysore seat.

Similarly on the Dakshina Kannada seat, the saffron party snubbed Nalin Kumar Kateel and has given ticket to Capt. Brijesh Chowta on the seat.

Haveri, where senior BJP leader Eshwarappa was anticipating seat for his son was allotted to former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai.

The remarkable mentions in the 2nd list are Ashok Tanwar (Sirsa), Manohar Lal Khattar (Karnal), Chaudhary Dharambir Singh (Bhiwani-Mahendragarh), Rao Inderjit Singh Yadav (Gurgaon), Anurag Singh Thakur (Hamirpur), BY Raghavendra (Shimoga), Basavaraj Bommai (Haveri) Shobha Karandlaje (Bangalore North), Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South), Bharati Pravin Pawar (Dindori), Pankaja Munde (Beed), DK Aruna (Mahbubnagar), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Hardwar), Anil Baluni (Garhwal) Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Piyush Goyal (Mumbai North).

Udhagamandalam : A migrant worker was killed and another sustained injuries after soil caved in on them here on Wednesday while they were constructing a ‘retaining wall’, police said.

The deceased was identified as Rizwan (22).

Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled Rizwan’s death and said the state government would make arrangements to send his body to his native place. He announced Rs two lakh as ex-gratia to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the other worker undergoing treatment.

Rizwan and his co-worker were rescued from the spot and rushed to the local government hospital. Doctors, upon examination, declared Rizwan dead.

A total of four workers, all from Jharkhand, were engaged in the construction of the wall meant to prevent landslips, when the incident occurred, officials added.

Personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services and local people rescued the trapped workers after a nearly 90-minute struggle.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

Nahan: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday said it’s been 15 months since the people of the state rejected the BJP, but it was still struggling to digest the defeat and trying to capture the reins of power through money power.

Addressing a public meeting in Shillai area of Sirmaur district, the CM blamed the BJP for the ongoing political crisis in the state and alleged that the BJP was trying to murder the democracy.

He made the remarks after inaugurating or laying foundation stones of development projects worth Rs 110 crore in Shillai assembly constituency

Sukhu said such unethical practices were never witnessed in Himachal’s politics and the people will not forgive the forces who were trying to make the state unstable.

“No conspiracy of BJP will be allowed to be succeeded and the Congress government will complete its five-year term comfortably,”he said.

Expressing his resolve to fight the ongoing political crisis in the state Congress, Sukhu said he has 35 years of experience in active politics which were full of struggle.

“I am not a power hungry person. I was offered a ministerial berth in Himachal Pradesh by former chief minister Virbhadra Singh many times, but I chose to be in the organisation and struggle for the improvement of the party throughout my career,” he said.

“For the welfare of the state, I will fight in every situation with my full ability, I won’t give up so easily,” he added.

Sukhu said that the six Congress rebel MLAs are regretting their act of backstabbing the party. They will never be forgiven by the people, he said.

These MLAs broke the trust reposed in them by the thousands of voters and betrayed the values of ‘Devbhumi’ Himachal Pradesh, which is unacceptable to its people, he said.

Accusing the BJP for financial is management, Sukhu said that when he took over the coffers were empty and there was no money to run even the day-to-day expenses of the government.

After struggling for the past 15 months to save the money, plugging all routes of corruption, the state government has earned an additional Rs 2,200 crore which are now being used in giving pension to women, improving health services, and education and running several welfare activities in the state, Sukhu said.

Assam Congress leader Suruj Dehingia joins BJP

Guwahati: Assam Congress leader Suruj Dehingia on Wednesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being denied ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Dehingia wanted to contest the polls from the Jorhat constituency, from where the Congress on Tuesday named its Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi.

The Congress also expelled Dehingia, a state general secretary.

He defected to the saffron party at BJP’s state headquarters here in presence of Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita, several local ministers and MLAs.

Almost simultaneously, the Assam Congress issued an order expelling Dehingia with immediate effect, but did not cite any reason.

“Hon’ble President Assam PCC, Shri Bhupen Kumar Borah has expelled Shri Suruj Dehingia, General Secretary, APCC from Indian National Congress with immediate effect,” the order signed by APCC General Secretary (Organisation) Bipul Gogoi said.

Gaurav Gogoi is a Lok Sabha MP from Kaliabor, which has been rechristened as Kaziranga after the delimitation exercise last year.

This time, he will contest against incumbent BJP MP Topon Kumar Gogoi in the neighbouring prestigious Jorhat seat.

Out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, the Congress announced candidates for 12 seats. It has offered Dibrugarh seat to alliance partner Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), while no decision has been taken yet on Lakhimpur constituency.

The BJP named 11 Lok Sabha candidates from Assam. The remaining three seats are left for allies — two for AGP and one for United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).

The BJP has nine MPs in the current Lok Sabha from the state, while its allies AGP and UPPL have no representation. The Congress holds three seats and the AIUDF one, while another is an Independent candidate.

New Delhi: The central government has directed states to ban the sale and breeding of 23 breeds of ferocious dogs, including Pitbull Terrier, American Bulldog, Rottweiler and Mastiffs, amid rising instances of people dying due to pet dog attacks.

The directive issued to states and Union Territories bars people from keeping as many as 23 breeds of dogs as pets.

In a letter dated March 12 to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying also said that these breeds of dogs, which have already been kept as pets, should be sterilised to prevent further breeding.

Flagging serious recent issues of death of human beings due to dog bites by some ferocious breeds of dogs kept as pets, the department said it has received representations from citizens, citizen forums and Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) to ban some of the breeds of dogs from keeping them as pets and other purposes.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying had set up an expert committee under the chairmanship of the Animal Husbandry Commissioner with members from various stakeholder organisations and experts in view of the representations.

The panel has identified 23 breeds of dogs, including mixed and cross breeds, as ferocious and also dangerous for human lives.

Pitbull Terrier, Tosa Inu, American Staffordshire Terrier, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, American Bulldog, Boerboel Kangal, Central Asian Shepherd Dog and Caucasian Shepherd Dog are among the breeds sought to be banned from the Centre.

Other breeds include South Russian Shepherd Dog, Tornjak, Sarplaninac, Japanese Tosa and Akita, Mastiffs, Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wolf Dogs, Canario, Akbash Dog, Moscow Guard Dog, Cane Corso and Bandog.

“…the above dog breeds, including crossbreeds, shall be prohibited for import, breedings, selling as pet dogs and other purposes,” the letter said, quoting the recommendations of the expert panel.

The Centre’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has asked local bodies and state-level departments of animal husbandry not to issue any license or permit for the sale and breeding of banned dog breeds.

The Centre has published the Prevention of Cruelty to the Animal (Dog Breeding and Marketing) rules, 2017 and the Prevent of Cruelty to Animal (pet shop) rules, 2018.

In the letter, Joint Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying O P Chaudhary said implementation of the rules is vested in local bodies and state animal welfare boards as well as the Department of Animal Husbandry.

Mumbai A 27-year-old man allegedly hanged himself from a tree inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) here on Wednesday morning, a police official said.

The deceased, Amir Tawaf Khan, lived at Khindi Pada, which falls within the limits of the Mulund and Bhandup suburbs.

The body was handed over to the man’s family for final rites after post-mortem and other legal formalities, he said.

As the news of the man’s death spread, many morning walkers and nature enthusiasts sought to know if it was the result of an animal attack, said Pawan Sharma, who is the honorary wildlife warden with the state Forest Department.