Archives for August 2024

New Delhi : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had to yet again address that one big question — when will he get married? The place this time was Srinagar and the keen questioners were Kashmiri women students.

In his interaction, shared on his YouTube channel on Monday, Gandhi is seen asking them about the pressure to get married and they in turn question him right back. “I have outlasted that pressure for 20-30 years,” the 54-year-old leader responds smilingly.

Gandhi, whose wedding plans or the lack thereof have been the subject of endless speculation, was in Jammu and Kashmir last week.

In the freewheeling chat, the discussion veers towards marriage.

Asked if he plans to get married, Gandhi says, “I don’t plan it but if it happens…”

“Please do invite us,” the women tell him almost in a chorus.

“I will,” he replies to much laughter around him.

The issue had come up during a rally in Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency for the first time after his nomination in May this year.

Priyanka Gandhi, who was there at the gathering, had then told him to answer the question somebody from the crowd had asked.

Kolkata: Student organisation ‘Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj’ and the ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ are set to hold their ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally on Tuesday, despite the administration’s declaration of the event as illegal.

The rally to the state secretariat is focused on demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the arrest of those involved in the alleged rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj is an unregistered student group, while Sangrami Joutha Mancha represents state government employees who are advocating for their Dearness Allowance (DA) to be aligned with that of Central government employees.

The state police have termed the rally “illegal” and “unauthorized,” citing concerns over potential violence and public disorder.

ADG (Law and Order) Manoj Verma indicated that there is credible intelligence suggesting attempts by miscreants to incite chaos during the protest. Consequently, the government has imposed prohibitory orders near Nabanna (state secretariat) under Section 163 of BNSS, restricting gatherings of five or more people.

The Trinamool Congress has denounced the rally as a “conspiracy” to create public disorder, releasing videos that purportedly show BJP leaders from Ghatal, Paschim Medinipur district, planning to provoke violence. The persons shown in the videos have been detained for questioning.

In response to the anticipated disruptions, several educational institutions have opted to conduct online classes or declared a holiday for Tuesday. Governor CV Ananda Bose has urged the state government to refrain from using force to prevent the rally, advocating for the students’ right to protest.

Mumbai: Police in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district have registered a case against the contractor and the structural consultant in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, officials said on Tuesday.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century Maratha warrior king, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg on Navy Day (December 4) last year, collapsed around 1 pm on Monday.

The incident caused embarrassment to the Eknath Shinde-led state government and invited criticism from the opposition parties. CM Shinde said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.

A complaint was lodged by an assistant engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) at Malvan police station on Monday evening. As per the complainant, the artist and the consultant were responsible for the collapse of the statue, an official said.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil over the statue collapse incident, he said.

They were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections of attempt to commit culpable homicide, act endangering life or personal safety of others, attempt to murder and cheating was registered along with section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (mischief causing damage to public property), he said.

Imphal : Security forces arrested six cadres of proscribed outfit Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup (KYKL) from Manipur’s Imphal West district, a police statement said.

The six KYKL cadres were arrested from Awang Potsangbam area of the district on Monday, it said.

Security forces recovered three gun topping lenses (scope), military fatigues, ammunition and a four-wheeler from their possession, the statement said.

In the follow-up action, police raided some locations and recovered one single-barrel gun, one double-barrel gun, three loaded magazines of AK-47 with 75 live rounds, 230 assorted live rounds, seven wireless walkie-talkie sets, and other miscellaneous items.

Imphal : Security forces arrested six cadres of proscribed outfit Kanglei Yawol Kanba Lup (KYKL) from Manipur’s Imphal West district, a police statement said.

The six KYKL cadres were arrested from Awang Potsangbam area of the district on Monday, it said.

Security forces recovered three gun topping lenses (scope), military fatigues, ammunition and a four-wheeler from their possession, the statement said.

In the follow-up action, police raided some locations and recovered one single-barrel gun, one double-barrel gun, three loaded magazines of AK-47 with 75 live rounds, 230 assorted live rounds, seven wireless walkie-talkie sets, and other miscellaneous items.

New Delhi: The Congress slammed the BJP over Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut’s remarks on the farmers agitation, with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi saying the “shameful anti-farmer” comments are a “grave insult” to the farmers of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab as well as the entire country.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also lashed out at the BJP over the actor-politician’s remarks and said this “shameful and highly reprehensible anti-farmer ideology is the DNA of the Modi government”.

The Congress said if the ruling party disagrees with Ranaut’s comments then it should expel her from the party.

The opposition party’s reaction came after the Mandi MP had posted a clip of her interview with Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar in which she suggested that a “Bangladesh-like situation” could have erupted in India but for the country’s strong leadership. She then alleged that bodies were hanging and rapes were taking place during the farmers’ protest against the now-repealed three farm laws.

She alleged the involvement of China and the US in the “conspiracy”.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “The propaganda machinery of the Modi government, which has failed to fulfill the promises made to the farmers, is constantly engaged in insulting the farmers.” The BJP MP calling the farmers, who sacrificed 700 of their own people during the 378-day marathon struggle, rapists and representatives of foreign forces is another proof of the party’s anti-farmer policy and intentions, the former Congress chief said.

“These shameful anti-farmer comments are a grave insult to the farmers of western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab as well as the entire country, which cannot be accepted under any circumstances,” Gandhi said.

The government committee formed at the time when the farmers’ movement was being withdrawn is still in cold storage, the government has not been able to clarify its stand on MSP till date, the families of the martyred farmers have not been given any relief and on top of that their character assassination is going on continuously, he said.

“The Modi government’s betrayal of the farmers cannot be hidden by disrespecting the food providers and attacking their dignity,” Gandhi said.

“No matter how much conspiracy Narendra Modi and BJP indulge in. INDIA will ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee of MSP,” he added.

Congress president Kharge also hit out at the BJP over the issue.

“Prime Minister Modi himself had insulted the farmers by calling them ‘andolanjeevi” and ‘parjeevi (parasites’ in Parliament, he even refused to observe two minutes of silence for the martyred farmers in Parliament,” he alleged.

“Modi ji had also made a false promise of forming a committee on MSP and doubling the income of farmers. When Modi ji can do all this himself, then what else does the country expect from his supporters except insulting the martyred farmers!” Kharge said.

“This shameful and highly reprehensible anti-farmer ideology is the DNA of the Modi government,” he said.

Congress’ social media head and spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said the government should also clarify on the actor-politician’s claim that the US and China were conspiring to create instability within the country.

Shrinate said at a press conference here, “No leader till date has used the words Kangana Ranaut has used against the farmers. When Kangana’s statement created outrage, the BJP was asked about its official stand.”

“Haryana elections are near and it is known that the BJP is going to lose. In such a situation, a statement came from the BJP in which disagreement was expressed with Kangana’s comments,” she said.

The Congress spokesperson said if this is not the BJP’s opinion then Kangana should be expelled from the party.

“The one who has said this about the farmers does not have the right to sit in Parliament. Tell Kangana to apologise to the farmers or the BJP should apologise,” Shrinate said.

“Your (BJP) MP is saying that two foreign powers, America and China, were conspiring to create instability and unrest in India. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry should tell whether this is true? If this is not true then the government should state that it is not so,” the Congress leader said.

Shrinate said the government should give an explanation. If foreign powers are creating unrest in the country then the Narendra Modi government is weak, she said.

Earlier, the BJP in a statement said, “The statement made by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut in the context of the farmers’ movement is not the opinion of the party. The Bharatiya Janata Party expresses its disagreement with the statement made by Kangana Ranaut.” On behalf of the BJP, Ranaut is neither permitted nor authorised to make statements on the party’s policy issues, it said.

“On behalf of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kangana Ranaut has been directed not to make any such statements in future… The Bharatiya Janata Party is committed to follow the principles of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ and social harmony,” it added.

 Actor Namitha on Monday complained that she was asked to furnish proof of being a Hindu during her visit to the renowned Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai, and expressed disappointment over the alleged rude behaviour of temple officials.

The actor, who is a BJP state executive member, alleged that a temple official prevented her from having darshan and demanded proof of being a Hindu.

“They asked for a certificate to prove that I am a Hindu and also my caste certificate. I never underwent such an ordeal in any temple that I visited in the country,” she told reporters later.

Namitha said it was a known fact that she was born a Hindu and that her marriage was solemnised in Tirupati and her son was named after Lord Krishna. “This being the case they spoke rudely and arrogantly and demanded a certificate to prove my caste and my faith,” she said.

A senior official at the temple denied the allegations and said they stopped Namitha and her husband who were wearing masks to enquire if they were Hindus and explained the tradition at the temple.

“After the clarification from them, she was anointed with kumkum on her forehead and taken inside the temple for a darshan of Goddess Meenakshi,” he said.

When asked about this, the actress replied that she was allowed for darshan only after clarification of her faith and applying kumkum on her forehead.

She said her visit to Madurai was spiritual and she had come to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami at ISKCON.

“There’s a way of asking. I was made to wait for 20 minutes in a corner. We had informed the police about our visit on Sunday,” she said.

The actress said she wore a mask as she did not want to disturb devotees who might recognise her. 

Earlier in the day, she put out a video message to Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu on her predicament and requested him to take action on the “rude” temple official.

Mumbai: A man was detained on Monday for allegedly raping and murdering a 70-year-old woman in Maharashtra’s Latur district, a police official said.

The incident came to light after a foul odour started emanating from the house of 35-year-old Mansur Shaikh in Bheta in Ausa tehsil this morning and neighbours alerted police, he said.

“Our probe has found she was sexually assaulted and then strangled. Since the body has begun to decompose, we believe she was raped and murdered two days ago. Shaikh was staying in the house with the body all this while,” the official said.

“The woman was a resident of Borgaon, some 10 kilometres from Bheta, and was staying in the village for the past few days. Shaikh took her home, raped her and then killed her. He stayed alone after his wife and mother left him. He is reportedly mentally unstable,” the official added.

The process of registration of a case of rape and murder was underway at Bheta police station and Shaikh, who has been detained, will be placed under arrest, the official informed.

Dehradun: The proposed construction of a replica of Kedarnath in Delhi which had created a controversy recently has been withdrawn.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had attended the foundation stone laying ceremony of the temple in Burari.

“We decided not to construct the temple as some people from Uttarakhand objected to it and we realised that it would hurt religious sentiments,” Suman Mittal, president of the Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust, which was to build the temple in Burari, said in a press release.

“We are constructing no temple with that name now,” she said.

The Trust has also stopped accepting online donations for the construction of the temple through a QR code, she said.

The priests of the Himalayan temple located in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district had opposed its construction saying it was one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ in the country and replicating it anywhere else meant showing disrespect to the centuries old temple.

The opposition Congress had taken out a march (padyatra) from Har Ki Pairi in Haridwar to the temple to protest its construction but had to call it off on the tenth day after reaching Sitapur a day ahead of its conclusion when heavy rain on the night of July 31 caused extensive damage to the Kedarnath trek route.

Srinagar: The National Conference (NC) and the Congress Monday agreed to contest 51 and 32 seats respectively for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the allies announced at a joint press conference at NC president Farooq Abdullah’s residence here after day-long negotiations.

According to their seat-sharing formula, the NC will contest 51 seats in J-K and the Congress 32.

They also said there will be a “friendly contest” on five seats of the Union Territory.

The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued later.

The NC president said the alliance is up for a fight against the powers “who are dividing the people not just in this state, but across the country.”

“The INDIA bloc was made with an aim to fight those forces who are trying to create a communal divide in the country. Today, I am happy that the negotiations (over the alliance) have been concluded. They took place in a cordial atmosphere,” Abdullah said.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, said the two parties are aiming to protect the “soul” of J-K and the country.

“The BJP is trying to destroy the soul of J-K. Our INDIA alliance aims to save the soul of J-K. That is why the Congress and NC are coming together to form a government in J-K which is totally friendly with the people of J-K,” he said.

Venugopal also said the BJP has no moral right to criticise the NC manifesto, as it had earlier done.

“BJP had an alliance with NC earlier, they also had an alliance with the PDP. The same old NC is still NC and the same old PDP is still PDP. They had alliances with both the parties with the same programme,” he said.

“Every political party has their programme, manifesto and promises. We have our own promises and manifesto. When we will form the government, there will be a common minimum programme,” he added.

The politician said the people of J-K have been “cheated” by the BJP.

“We have never seen a state being downgraded to a UT. That is why the people want a BJP-free government in J-K. people are suffering because of their divisive agenda and policies, unemployment. Their only agenda is to divide the people.

“We believe in unity, in the progress of the people, employment of the youth,” the Congress general secretary said.