Archives for 2024

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk

New Delhi: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and 150 other protestors from Ladakh who are under detention on Wednesday continued their indefinite fast, saying they find their rights “trampled upon” on Gandhi Jayanti, a day that symbolizes peace and democracy.

Wangchuk was leading ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’, which began from Leh a month ago. They were detained on Monday night.

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, Jigmat Paljor, Coordinator Apex Body, said their detention, which is continuing for over 24 hours, is illegal.

“We, the ‘padyatris’, find ourselves in an alarming situation. We have been detained for over 24 hours. This detention is illegal, as the 24-hour period has elapsed, and we must be produced before a magistrate,” Paljor said.

“Some groups have been released after just under 24 hours, only to be returned to the police station. Last night, the police attempted to forcibly relocate us to an unknown location, but we stood our ground in resistance,” he added.

“Our phones have been confiscated at the Bawana Police Station, leaving us cut off from the outside world,” Paljor said in the statement.

Delhi Police, however, said that the ‘padyatris’ were released last night and detained again.

Wangchuk and other detained Ladakhis were allowed to go on Tuesday night but they were adamant to march towards the central part of Delhi, therefore, they were detained again, a senior police officer told PTI.

The ‘padyatris’, who started from Leh on September 1, marched all the way, except upon entering poll bound Haryana where they boarded buses. They were detained at Delhi’s Singhu border on Monday night and taken to different police stations, where they started an indefinite fast.

“Also all the ‘padyatris’ are on ‘anshan’ since 36 hours. Today, October 2nd, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, we had intended to visit Gandhi Samadhi to pay our respects. Instead, we find our rights trampled upon on a day that symbolizes peace and democracy,” Paljor said.

“This situation raises serious concerns about the state of our democracy. We call upon everyone to stand in solidarity with us during this critical time,” he added.

The march was organised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB), which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has been spearheading an agitation for the past four years to demand statehood for Ladakh, seek its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, early recruitment process along with a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.

Wangchuk has been kept at the Bawana police station along with few others while others have been kept at Narela Industrial Area, Alipur and Kanjhawala police stations, he added.

Nasheman news

Actor Govinda

Mumbai: Actor Govinda sustained leg injuries on Tuesday after his revolver accidentally went off at his Mumbai residence, while he was about to leave for the airport, police said.

Govinda, 60, later issued a statement, informing his fans that doctors have removed the bullet and he was alright due to his fans’ affection and god’s blessings.

The actor, who was hospitalized after the accident, is out of danger and recuperating at his home, a Mumbai police official said.

Govinda’s manager Shashi Sinha said that as Govinda was about to leave his home at 4.45 am for the airport to catch a 6 am flight to Kolkata for a show, the trigger of his licensed revolver was accidentally pushed as he was keeping it in the cupboard.

The gun misfired and a bullet hit his leg, police said.

The injured actor was admitted to the nearby Criti Care Hospital for treatment. No one has lodged any complaint in this matter, police said, adding they have begun an investigation into the matter.

Govind Arun Ahuja, better known by his stage name Govinda, is a popular actor, comedian, dancer and singer who has appeared in more than 165 Hindi-language films.

In March, a month before the Lok Sabha elections, Govinda joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

This marked Govinda’s re-entry into the political landscape after nearly two decades. The actor won the 2004 poll battle from the Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency on a Congress ticket before stepping away from politics in 2008.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has granted an interim stay on the FIR filed against BJP leaders, including Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in connection with extortion allegations involving thousands of crores of rupees related to election bonds.

The court heard the petition filed by Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, Naleen Kumar Kateel, JP Nadda, and Vijayendra, seeking cancellation of the FIR, providing a major relief to the accused.

The next hearing has been scheduled for October 22.

Karkala: Four members of the same family died on the spot after a mini lorry collided with a two-wheeler they were travelling on, on the Karkala-Dharmasthala highway near Hosmaru Pajegudde on Monday afternoon.

A husband, his wife and three children were plying on the bike.

The deceased have been identified as Suresh Acharya (36) and his three children Samiksha (7), Sushmita (5), and Sushant (2).

Meanwhile, Suresh’s wife Meenakshi Acharya (32) was seriously injured in the accident and is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

The incident was reported under the Karkala Rural Police station limits.

Chandigarh: In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party in Haryana, its Faridabad candidate Pravesh Mehta joined the ruling BJP on Saturday.

Mehta, 69, joined the BJP in Faridabad in the presence of Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar, who is the BJP MP from Faridabad, and senior Haryana BJP leader Vipul Goel.

Goel is BJP’s candidate from Faridabad in the Assemby election.

“Today, during a huge public meeting organised at Purani Anaj Mandi, Old Faridabad, in the presence of Hon’ble Union Minister of State Krishan Pal Gurjar ji, Aam Aadmi Party candidate from Faridabad Assembly Pravesh Mehta ji, along with thousands of his supporters, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“I heartily welcome and congratulate Pravesh Mehta Ji in the BJP family,” Goel posted on X in Hindi.

Goel said Mehta’s joining the BJP fold will strengthen the saffron outfit in Faridabad.

“The love, trust and enthusiasm of the people towards the BJP makes it clear that a historic victory is certain from Faridabad and the BJP will form the government in the state for the third time,” said Goel.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls on its own.

Patna: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that the state government was being “run by four retired bureaucrats” and the CM was in the “grip of these former babus”.

Addressing a press conference here, three days ahead of floating his own political party, Kishor vowed to dislodge the JD(U) president from power.

He charged the longest-serving CM of Bihar with running his government through a handful of “retired bureaucrats”.

He also claimed that the 2025 Bihar assembly polls would be fought on the issue of ‘three S’, that is ‘sarab’ (liquor), ‘survey’ (land) and ‘smart meter’, and asserted that these issues would prove to be the “final nail in the coffin for the current regime”.

“The Nitish Kumar government is being run by four retired bureaucrats. The CM is in the grip of these babus. Neither Kumar nor these bureaucrats are aware of the problems being faced by the people. Kumar has changed now. He has lost his morality and is only interested in securing the chief minister’s chair,” Kishor alleged.

His ‘Jan Suraj’ initiative will become a political party on October 2.

“When we form the government after the 2025 assembly polls in Bihar, we will end the liquor ban within one hour,” he said, adding that “the existing prohibition law in the state is fake”.

The state has been incurring a “loss of nearly Rs 20,000 crore every year”, while the “liquor mafia and officials continue to make money from illegal trade”, Kishor said.

The Jan Suraj chief said he would continue to speak against the policy and was not afraid of losing votes of women.

“Whether I get votes of women or not, I will continue speaking against the liquor ban since it is not in the interest of Bihar,” he said.

Kishor also said Kumar was holding on to power as if he had applied adhesive on his chair and that the BJP, as his ally, bore the brunt of his “misrule” just like Congress was also “responsible for Lalu’s jungle raj”.

“If RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar are responsible for the destruction of Bihar, the Congress and the BJP are to be equally blamed for the same. Both parties have been supporting Lalu and Nitish respectively for the last few years.

“It seems that the link between Nitish Kumar and the chair of the CM is unbreakable – be it any alliance. Kumar has applied Fevicol on the CM’s chair that keeps him intact to it,” said Kishor.

Kishor claimed that he had advised Kumar not to become CM when his party had won only 42 seats in the last assembly polls.

“But Nitish Kumar accepted the offer and became the CM. This is the bond he has with the chair of CM,” he said.

He criticised both the RJD and Kumar’s JD(U) for “harming the interests” of Bihar.

“The people of Bihar have witnessed both of them for 30 years. Now, I am confident that we will win in Bihar in the next year’s assembly polls. We will have a comprehensive victory…If our party touches a mere majority figure in the 243-member assembly or gets 10-15 seats more than the majority, it will be a defeat for us. I will accept my defeat. We want a comprehensive victory”, he said.

Kishor said the BJP would face a “humiliating defeat in the coming polls as the saffron party is witnessing a leadership crisis in Bihar”.

“People don’t know who is the present state BJP chief. Not even ten per cent of citizens can recognise him by face,” he added.

Grammy award winner Ricky Kej has raised concerns about Air India’s services by citing two recent incidents and the airline has said that corrective steps will be taken where necessary.

In a series of posts on X on Sunday, Kej mentioned about his experience at the Delhi airport before taking an Air India flight to Bengaluru on September 14.

The incident was related to payment for excess baggage.

The musician also wrote about an incident onboard the Mumbai-San Francisco flight on September 20 wherein initially flight attendants did not respond to a passenger’s repeated call for service.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has taken the feedback seriously and will take “corrective steps where necessary so that such incidents are not repeated”.

While mentioning about the two incidents, Kej also said, “I am certain a few people will troll me, asking me why do I keep doing this to myself… travel through such a terrible airline, but I will continuously give them chances and criticize them for errors, till they improve”.

While regretting the inconvenience caused, the Air India spokesperson in the statement also said such isolated incidents are not representative of the commitment of its staff towards service excellence.