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‘INDIA bloc will fight against injustice across country’: Rahul Gandhi during Bengal leg of yatra

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COOCH BEHAR: The Rahul Gandhi-led ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ on Thursday with the Congress leader exuding confidence that the opposition INDIA bloc will fight against injustice across the country.

Accusing the BJP and RSS of spreading hatred and violence, Gandhi said the word ‘Nyay’ (justice) has been attached with the yatra as “injustice is prevailing across the country.”

“We have attached the word ‘Nyay’ (justice) in the yatra as injustice is prevailing across the country. BJP and RSS are spreading hatred and violence. The INDIA bloc will fight against injustice across the country,” he said while addressing reporters here.

The Yatra left Assam on Thursday morning and entered West Bengal through Bakshirhat in Cooch Behar district in the northern part of the state. Rahul Gandhi was welcomed by state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury.

This marks Gandhi’s first visit to the state since the April-May 2021 assembly polls.

After the handover of the flag, the Yatra will head towards Khagrabari Chowk in Cooch Behar district, where Gandhi will address a public meeting.

After passing through Tufanganj and Cooch Behar town, Gandhi will conduct a padayatra from Maa Bhawani Chowk in Cooch Behar.

Rahul specialist batter, Dhruv or Bharat to take keeper’s slot

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HYDERABAD: A genteel late winter, early afternoon sun was beating down at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Tuesday. The strip to be used for the Test wasn’t covered (an indication of the strength of the sun). India were being put through their paces on the field, with both Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid overlooking proceedings. Even if it was an optional training session two days out from the beginning of the series, Jasprit Bumrah was the lone absentee.

Looking on from the outside, one big potential surprise was easy to miss. The hosts’ slip catching practice. Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were the designated catchers but the man with the gloves was Dhruv Jurel. Jurel, called up for the first-time, was at ease and pulled off several acrobatic saves. The 23-year-old UP lad, who did feature for India A against England Lions (he had made a 50) less than two weeks ago, is a late bolter and is now well in with a chance of making a debut at the first time of asking. Saying that, KS Bharat, the current incumbent in home conditions, did have an extended net session with the bat in the practice facility near the stadium’s entrance. Skipper Sharma, who was batting in the next net, also had a few words of advice for Bharat at one time.

That, in essence, was the big news to emerge from the Indian camp. Coach Dravid confirmed that one of Jurel or Bharat will keep as the management have decided to play KL Rahul as a specialist batter in this series. “Rahul will not be playing as a wicketkeeper in this series,” the coach said in a press conference. “Obviously Rahul did a fantastic job for us in South Africa and really played a big part in us drawing that series. But considering it’s five Test matches and playing in these conditions, we felt we would go with another keeping option, considering the weather, considering the conditions. So obviously it’s a selection toss-up between the two other keepers that we have.”

While Rahul kept wickets in South Africa, Bharat was the man behind the stumps against Australia last year. If Jurel does get the nod, he will do so on a what is likely to be a surface that will aid spin. With the caveat that a lot can change over two days, the surface had some dry spots, especially in a good length area for spinners on both sides. Interestingly, there were also some dark spots in the middle of the strip. “It looks a good one from what I’ve seen,” Dravid said. “May spin a little bit. How quickly and how fast, I’m not sure. But might spin a little bit certainly as the game goes on.” An insider this daily spoke to said there are chances of the match going into a fifth day but he didn’t sound too confident.

At one point during Joe Root’s net session in the morning, he turned around and hit the stumps with his bat. Visibly annoyed, he f-bombed himself. One of the Hyderabad U-19 bowlers had induced a false stroke and the visiting batter was not pleased with himself. He was in the middle of a torrid phase where his trademark sweep shots didn’t come off. One ball fizzed off the surface, beat his edge before uprooting the stumps. Another one found the edge. After the net bowlers made way, James Anderson went full tilt and Root finally managed to get some momentum. Elsewhere, Ben Stokes seemed to be moving freely enough while Mark Wood bowled from a shortened run-up.

After the session, Wood said they will continue to play the brand of cricket that has won them lots of followers . “We will adapt, we have got a captain that always wants to take the game forward so it should make for an entertaining series.”

Ambedkar statue desecrated, Kalaburagi flares up

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KALABURAGI: Violent protests broke out here on Tuesday after a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar was found to be desecrated at a village on the outskirts of Kalaburagi in the morning.

Though the protest started off peacefully, it turned violent towards noon with protesters throwing stones at shops, hotels and other business establishments at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Circle, Humnabad Base and Super Market areas.

The trouble started after members of Dalit organisations noticed the desecration of the statue at Kotnoor village. The activists blocked the state highway near Ram Mandir Circle early in the morning. Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanika Sukriwal rushed to the spot and tried to convince the agitators, but they refused to. The protesters made the DCP clean the statue and then garland it.

Deputy Commissioner Fouzia Tarannum, who too arrived at the spot, had to walk nearly half a kilometre as a huge crowd had gathered around the statue. When she requested the protesters to withdraw their agitation, they told her they would do so only after the perpetrators were arrested.

By afternoon, more roads were blocked and protesters threw stones at business establishments, breaking glass fronts. They went around forcing business owners to down shutters. Kalyan Karnataka Regional Development Board Chairman D Ajay Singh, who is also Jewargi MLA, condemned the incident and said the Congress government in the state has the utmost respect for Dr Ambedkar. Kalaburagi South MLA Dattatraya C Patil Revoor also condemned the incident.

BJP leaders too requested the agitators not to indulge in violence and maintain peace. Kalaburagi MP Dr Umesh Jadhav released a video appeal requesting the agitators not to indulge in violence.

Two fresh Covid deaths reported in country

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NEW DELHI: Two new deaths — one each from Karnataka and Kerala– have been reported in a span of 24 hours, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.

The number of daily cases had dropped to double-digits till December 5, 2023 but they again began to increase after emergence of a new variant and cold weather conditions.

A single day rise of 841 new cases were reported on December 31, 2023 which is 0.2 per cent of the peak cases reported in May 2021, official sources said.

Of the total active cases, a large majority of these (around 92 per cent) are recovering under home isolation.

“The currently available data suggests that the JN.1 variant is neither leading to an exponential rise in new cases nor a surge in hospitalisation and mortality,” the sources stated.

India has witnessed three waves of COVID-19 in the past with the peak incidence of daily new cases and deaths being reported in the Delta wave during April-June 2021.

Since the pandemic began in early 2020, more than 4.5 crore people have got infected and over 5.3 lakh people have died across the country due to the infection.

Rahul dares Assam Police to file more FIRs; says he won’t be intimidated

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaks with the media during the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', at Haibaragaon in Nagaon district, Assam, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.

BARPETA (Assam): A day after Guwahati Police filed a case against him and other Congress leaders for allegedly provoking crowd, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday dared the BJP-ruled state to file “as many cases as they can” but still he will not be intimidated.

Addressing his first public meeting on the 7th day of ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Barpeta district, the Congress leader slammed Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and termed him the “most corrupt CM” of the country with a series of allegations related to land and areca nut.

“I don’t know how Himanta Biswa Sarma got the idea that he can intimidate me by filing cases. File as many cases as you can. File 25 more cases, you can’t intimidate me. BJP-RSS can’t intimidate me”, he added.

“The BJP-RSS wants to wipe out the language, culture, and history of Assam. They want to run Assam from Nagpur, but we will not allow it. Assam will be run from Assam only”, Gandhi said.

Alleging that a series of corruption is taking place in Assam, the Congress leader termed Sarma as the “most corrupt CM” in the country.

“While he (Sarma) speaks to you, he steals your land. While you chew betel nut, he corners the supari business. He has taken land in Kaziranga National Park also”, Gandhi said.

The Congress MP also alleged that the hearts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Sarma are “filled with hatred”.

ED raids in north Indian states in HUDA refund ‘scam’ case probe

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CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided multiple locations in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula and a location in Himachal Pradesh as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged fake refund scam in the HUDA, official sources said.

Around 18 premises in these cities are being searched by the officials of the federal probe agency, they said.

A location in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district is also being covered.

The probe pertains to an ED case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), linked to an alleged Rs 70 crore fake refund scam in the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the sources said.

HUDA is now known as ‘Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran’.

The role of at least six officials of the HUDA is under the scanner of the agency.

Global South is about a mindset a solidarity and a self-reliance says Jaishankar in Nigeria

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LAGOS: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said Global South is about a “mindset, a solidarity and a self-reliance” and without the advancement of the Global South, the world is not going to see planetary progress.

Addressing the Nigerian Institute Of International Affairs (NIIA) here on India and the Global South, he said the global agenda today is on promoting rebalancing and multipolarity, thereby restoring the world to its natural diversity.

The global conversation today is focussing “on the advancement of the Global South because without the advancement of the Global South, we are not going to see planetary progress,” Jaishankar said.

However, this global conversation, the minister said, by its very nature is constantly distracted.

Some crisis happens, some big event happens, some other agenda comes in place. And the global conversation then boggles, it goes off track. People lose that sense of focus about what are the priorities, he said.

“So one of the big achievements of our (India’s) G20 presidency was that, after some experience with a very polarised divided world, which was very much, I would say, focused on one particular region…we were able to bring back the attention of the Global South,” the minister said.

Global South is about “a mindset, a solidarity and a self-reliance”, he said.

Jaishankar said, “Global South, most of all, is a mind set. Those who have it, will have it. Those who don’t have it, will never get it. It is a mind set, which has some core principles.”

“These are principles from our habits, from our political culture, from the way we have practised international relations…For example, non-intervention. For example, non-interference or being non-judgmental, or non-alliance,” he added.

Global South, the EAM said, is also about solidarity. “Global South means having a heart. Global South means willing to share,” Jaishankar said.

Elaborating, he said when India was still vaccinating people, it started supplying vaccines to 100 other countries in the world.

“And I compare it to Global North, where there were countries sitting on vaccines eight times the number of the population, and they won’t give it to a small island next to them. That is the difference between Global South and Global North,” Jaishankar said.

The transformation over the last decade, the minister said, has “enabled India to be an example, a partner and a contributor.”

The minister also said the simple principle that must guide global governance, conversations and debates, is a conviction that no one should be left behind.

“And when we speak about no one being left behind. I think the welfare of Africa is particularly important. In fact, I will say, the rise of Africa is even more crucial because in a changing global order, we have seen growth in continents, once they got decolonised, that growth over a period of time, created a rebalancing — of political rebalancing and economic rebalancing,” Jaishankar said.

“And that rebalancing today is creating a world of a multipolar nature, where middle powers and perhaps others to regional organisations would have a fairer and more equitable say in how the world is strong,” he added.

So the global agenda, the minister said, in many ways, today is about restoring the world to its natural diversity. Because the world was diverse, the world is diverse. It was distorted by the period of Western domination.

“And in a post colonial world today, restoring that natural diversity is actually our collective objective,” he said.

Jaishankar said contemporary challenges emanate from old forms of domination as well as new economic concentration.

Today, many of those who dominated the world for the last 200 to 300 years, continue to do so with new instruments, with new regimes, with different techniques, he said.

Jaishankar also said the old “world order continues obstinately because those who are in the driving seat, don’t want to create more seats for other people…”

Jaishankar arrived in Nigeria in the concluding leg of his two-nation tour to Uganda and Nigeria. He arrived in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Sunday after attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Uganda.

US, Britain launch new joint strikes on Yemen’s Houthis

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WASHINGTON: The United States and Britain launched new strikes on Yemen’s Houthis on Monday, saying their second round of joint military action against the Iran-backed rebels was in response to continued attacks on Red Sea shipping.

American and British forces carried out a first wave of strikes against the rebel group earlier this month, and the United States launched further air raids against missiles that Washington said posed imminent threats to both civilian and military vessels.

But the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks — just one part of a growing crisis in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war, which has raised tensions across the region as well as fears of a broader war directly involving Iran.

The latest US-UK strikes were against “eight Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the Houthis’ continued attacks against international and commercial shipping as well as naval vessels transiting the Red Sea,” Washington and London said in a joint statement with other countries that supported the military action.

They “specifically targeted a Houthi underground storage site and locations associated with the Houthis’ missile and air surveillance capabilities,” the statement said.

A senior US military official said the strikes were carried out using a combination of precision-guided munitions from American and British aircraft, and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

There were no concerns about civilian casualties at the sites that were hit, while Houthi losses are unknown at this time, the official told journalists.

“The targeting was very specific and… very deliberate to go after the capability that they are using to attack maritime vessels in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and Gulf of Aden. They were not intentionally selected for casualties — they were going after weapons systems,” the official added.

Yemen’s official Saba news agency said strikes hit the capital Sanaa and several other parts of the country, while Houthi TV outlet Al-Masirah said four strikes targeted the Al-Dailami military base north of the capital, which is under rebel control.

Earlier on Monday, Houthis claimed they fired on a US military cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, with their military spokesman Yahya Saree saying they “led a military operation targeting the American military cargo ship Ocean Jazz in the Gulf of Aden,” near the Red Sea, with missiles.

Asked about the claim, a US defense official told AFP: “We’re not seeing that at all on our end and believe that statement to be untrue.”

The Yemeni rebels began striking Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Hamas-Israel war.

The Houthis have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

In addition to military action, Washington is seeking to put diplomatic and financial pressure on the Houthis, re-designating them as a “terrorist” entity last week after dropping that label soon after President Joe Biden took office.

The rebels reiterated on Monday that they will “respond to any attack” on Yemen and continue to “prevent Israeli ships” from crossing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the end of the war in Gaza.

The latest round of the Israel-Hamas conflict began after an unprecedented October attack by the Palestinian militant group that resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel responded with relentless bombardment and a ground offensive that has killed at least 25,295 people, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Those deaths have sparked widespread anger across the region and stoked violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

India’s first Airbus A350 flies from Bengaluru to Mumbai

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BENGALURU: Air India on Monday commercially launched of India’s first Airbus A350 flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai carrying 297 passengers on board. Flight AI 589 departed from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) at 7.05 am and reached Mumbai at 8.50 am.

The Airbus A350 aircraft is part of Air India’s record setting order of 470 aircraft signed with Airbus and Boeing in June 2023. The first Airbus A350-900, registered as VT-JRA arrived at IGI Airport, New Delhi on December 23, 2023, said an official release. One aircraft will arrive every six days in 2024.

The configuration of the aircraft is 316 seats – 28 private business suites with full-flat beds, 24 premium economy seats with extra legroom and 264 spacious economy seats. The latest generation Panasonic (eX3) in-flight entertainment system and HD screens in them will offer a superior flying experience to flyers, it said. “Fitted with the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines, this aircraft is 20 percent more fuel efficient tan other similar aircraft,” it added.

Bengalurean Naveen, who flew on this spacious aircraft during one of its subsequent trips later on Monday from Bengaluru to Chennai told TNIE, “I have been waiting for long to travel by this magnificient aircraft. This model has been operated by international airlines to India and I have flown by them. But this is the first time that an Indian airline is operating one and that too on a domestic route.”

Asked what impressed him about this make, he said, “The entertainment systems available were impressive. Overall, it has more space than regular aircraft.”

AI 589 will operate from KIA on six days of the week barring Tuesdays to the same launch timings.

The release added, “Initially the aircraft will be deployed on domestic routes for crew familiarisation and regulatory compliance purposes. Passengers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai will have the opportunity to experience the unparalleled comfort and state-of-the-art technology of the A350 – part of the 470 new aircraft order that Air India placed less than a year ago. The aircraft will be later deployed for long-haul flights to destinations across continents, strengthening AI’s growing fleet of wide-body fleets, comprising its own and recently leased aircraft.”

I am not an atheist, declares CM siddaramaiah

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BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who did not declare a holiday for the consecration of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya on Monday, made a point that he is not an atheist. He inaugurated the Rama Sita Lakshmana Temple and the 33-ft monolithic Anjaneya Swamy statue at Hirandahalli village of Bidarahalli hobli in Mahadevapura in Bengaluru East.

Chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram!’ along with the public, he said the slogan is not someone’s private property, but belonged to every devotee of Lord Ram. He also participated in the Maha Kumbhabhisheka organised by the Sri Rama Temple Trust, which built the temple.

“God does not accept worship if you are unrighteous (adharma) and inhuman, and worship in a dramatic manner. The ideal of Sri Rama is that all people should live with equality and love,” he remarked.

“Rashtrakavi Kuvempu’s aspiration of Karnataka as a garden of peace for all races lies in the ideal and personality of Sri Rama. The message of Ramayana and Mahabharata is that man should not hate man. Valmiki, who belonged to a scheduled caste, wrote the Ramayana and gave it to the world. Basavanna said God is present in our soul and body,” the CM said, and cited ‘vachanas’.

Ministers Byrati Suresh and Eshwar Khandre, BJP MLA Manjula and her husband, former ministers Aravind Limbavali and HM Revanna, and CM’s political secretary Govindaraju were present.

CM Siddaramaiah said he condemns the propaganda that the Congress is against Sri Rama, and said the Ram Mandir should not be politicised as Sri Ramachandra is the god of all Hindus and not just the BJP. “We (Congress) are also devotees of Sri Ramachandra. BJP is trying to project that we are against Sri Rama and it is not right to slander us,” he told reporters here. “Mahatma Gandhi used to recite Raghupati Raghava Rajaram and even breathed his last, saying ‘Hey Ram’.

Replying to a query on a holiday for the Ram Lalla consecration, Siddaramaiah maintained that many states, including Delhi, Punjab, Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had not declared a holiday on Monday. “Building a Ram Rajya was our dream. Five guarantees implemented with the objective of realising it are successful today. Life will be meaningful if we follow Rama’s ideal, Hanuman’s loyalty. Best wishes for the inauguration of Sri Rama Mandir in Ayodhya,” DCM D K Shivakumar posted on ‘X’.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused the BJP of using the Ram temple as an election issue and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain to the people the status of the implementation of BJP’s election promises, including doubling farmers’ income. The CM mentioned “I Modi is a true devotee of Ram, he should tell people how many of the promises made to the people of this country through the BJP election manifesto were implemented and how many are yet to be implemented”. “In your election manifesto, you promised to double farmers’ income. But what did you do for this?” he questioned Modi. “You have not doubled the income of farmers, nor have you given drought relief to drought-stricken farmers. Similarly, you promised to build a cooperative union for the empowerment of all the states. But, today the states have also been robbed of their fair share. Along with this, you have increased cess and surcharges.”

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