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Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi interacts with children, sips tea at dhaba on first day

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Jhalawar. (Photo | PTI)

RAJASTHAN: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi began the Rajasthan leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra from Jhalawar district on Monday morning, with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot in attendance.

The 89th day of the yatra started from Kali Talai in Jhalrapatan, a rural area on the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border.

Gandhi set off the yatra at 6.10 am when the temperature was 13 degrees Celsius, but he was seemingly comfortable walking in a half sleeves T-shirt and trousers teamed with sports shoes, while the other leaders and workers were seen in jackets.

The other notable leaders who accompanied Gandhi were AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee chief Govind Singh Dotasra, senior leader Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.

During the yatra, Gandhi interacted with about half a dozen children and waved at a large number of people who participated in the yatra who called it a “fair”.

He sipped his morning tea at a dhaba.

During the yatra, former MP Raghuveer Meena felt uneasiness and he was taken to the district hospital in Jhalawar in an ambulance.

After covering about 14 km, the padayatra halted at Baliborda chauraha.

It will resume after lunch from Nahardi area at 3.30 pm.

The Congress party tweeted in Hindi asking its members and supporters not to slow down but deliver “something amazing”.

“Bharat Jodo Yatra has saluted the soil of bravery, and Rajasthan, which is a land of histories, will create another history,” the party tweeted.

The yatra entered Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh on Sunday evening.

While Gehlot shared pictures on Twitter, Pilot took to the micro-blogging platform to convey that the yatra in the state started with a resolve to fulfil hopes and expectations of the youth.

Dotasara tweeted, “The caravan of Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi to tie India in the thread of love, harmony and unity has now set out to create history in Rajasthan.”

Rajasthan is the only Congress-ruled state where the yatra has entered and will cover about 500 km passing through Jhalawar, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa and Alwar districts over 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21.

Gandhi will interact with farmers at Lalsot in Dausa on December 15 and address a public meeting at Malakheda in Alwar on December 19.

The yatra started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 and has so far covered the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana, and then traversed through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February 2023, covering 3,570 km in 150 days.

Gujarat Assembly polls: Amit Shah casts vote asks people to strengthen state’s ‘development model’

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AHMEDABAD: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday cast his vote in Ahmedabad during polling for the second phase of Gujarat Assembly elections and appealed to people to strengthen the state’s “development model” by coming out to vote in large numbers

Shah, who represents Gandhinagar seat in the Lok Sabha, reached the Naranpura sub-zonal office polling booth here along with his family members including wife Sonalben Shah and son Jay Shah.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader appealed to people to carry forward and strengthen Gujarat’s ‘development model’ through their votes.

“I urge all the voters, especially the first time voters, to exercise their franchise without fail to take ahead this two-and-a-half decades of journey of development, because Gujarat’s development is not limited to our state only. Gujarat’s development is a medium to bring development in the country,” Shah said.

The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for more than 25 years.

Shah said Gujarat’s development serves as the foundation for the development of the entire country.

The BJP leader said various achievements of the ‘Gujarat model’, such as high industrial investment, 100 per cent enrolment in schools, zero drop out and poverty alleviation schemes, have been attracting attention of the whole country.

“I urge the voters to come out in large numbers and vote for strengthening this development model,” said Shah.

Voting was underway on Monday for the second phase of polls in 93 out of the total 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat.

Earlier, polls in 89 Assembly seats were held on December 1. The counting of votes in all the seats will be taken up on December 8.

Bengaluru: Neighbour kills octogenarian, hides body in wardrobe

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BENGALURU: A woman allegedly murdered her octogenarian neighbour and escaped after hiding the body in a wardrobe. The incident took place in Attibele of Anekal taluk. Police said the deceased has been identified as Parvathamma (80), a resident of Neraluru village.

The police are on the lookout for the accused, Payal Khan (aged about 26). “Parvathamma had moved with her family to a rented house on the second floor of a building about nine months ago and the accused lived on the third floor of the building for 10 months. Parvathamma had left the house on Friday evening, informing family members that she was going out to buy betel leaf and would be back soon. However, she did not return and her family started searching for her,” police said.

On Saturday, her son, Ramesh, lodged a missing person complaint.  “Meanwhile, Ramesh’s wife informed him that Parvathamma had told her that the neighbour upstairs was inviting her home and they should check there once, but the house was locked on Saturday evening. As it was locked even on Sunday morning, Ramesh grew suspicious and informed the police.

When the house was searched, the body was found in a wardrobe,” the police said. The miscreant had smothered the elderly woman and hidden her body in the wardrobe after tying her limbs. “About 80 grams of gold the woman was wearing are missing. It appears to be a murder for gain. We are looking for the killer,” the police added.

Maharashtra CM Shinde postpones cabinet expansion, focuses on boards and corporations

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MUMBAI:  Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly winter session scheduled on December 19 in Nagpur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis have decided to postpone cabinet expansion and begin allocations of state boards and corporations.

Shinde held a meeting with Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, where they decided that rather than awaiting centre clearance for cabinet expansion, both the alliance partners can start allocations of state boards and corporations.

“The MLAs who supported Shinde in his revolt are desperate to get the ministerial hearth. Some of them have warned that if the cabinet is not expanded and if their names are not included, they may take a different call. The immediate issue before the CM is to pacify the disgruntled MLAs by allocations,” said a senior BJP leader who requested anonymity.  

The first cabinet expansion was carried out five months ago, however, majority of ministries are yet to be allocated. The chief minister and his deputy are burdened with the maximum portfolios. Besides, it also has an adverse cascading effect on the administration and implementation of government policies.

Meanwhile, the matter of disqualification of 16 MLAs including Shinde and prominent ministers are still pending in the Supreme Court. A negative result can jeopardise the government. Therefore, they are giving a lot of thought to delaying the expansions,” said a senior BJP leader who requested anonymity.

A source close to Shinde said that allocating the state boards with cabinet status will kill two birds with one stone. “The MLAs who were earlier demanding cream portfolios are now desperate and even ready to settle with boards. This will reduce competition. So later, it won’t be an issue for us to distribute the portfolios and expand the cabinet. This is a well-planned strategy,” he added.

BJP Maharashtra unit vice-president Prasad Lad has stoked another row over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj after he made an inaccurate statement about the birthplace of the Maratha king. Lad, who is a close aide of state Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, on Saturday said that Shivaji was born in Konkan while in fact he was born in Shivneri fort in Pune district. Prasad Lad made the error while addressing a gathering at the Konkan Mohatsav in Mumbai on Saturday.

Lad’s remark invited strong reactions from leaders across political parties in the estate. Later, he extended an apology and said, “I have huge respect for Shivaji. It came out while speaking about Shivaji and Konkan. Konkan was the work land of Shivaji and that is a fact we cannot deny,” he added.

Re-poll in two DDC constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir

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SRINAGAR: Polling was underway on Monday in two district development council (DDC) constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir where a re-poll was ordered by election authorities due to disputed qualification of candidates, officials said

The polling for the DDC seats of Hajin-A in Bandipora and Drugmulla in Kupwara started this morning.

The State Election Commissioner has appealed voters to come out and cast their votes without any fear and strengthen the democratic process by participating in large numbers, the officials said.

A mock poll was also conducted at all polling stations before the actual start to ensure free and transparent polling, they added.

The DDC elections took place in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2020.

However, the counting of votes was withheld in these two seats due to the disputed qualification of two candidates.

Later, the state election commission declared the polling to these constituencies as void, cancelling the candidature of Soomia Sadaf and Shazia Aslam, citing wrong information about the place of birth by the PoK-origin candidates.

Gujarat election phase 2: PM Modi, Shah and 69-year-old cancer survivor cast their vote

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93 Assembly segments which will go to polls on Monday are spread across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar and other districts.

In the second phase, voting will be held in the remaining 93 seats, for which 833 candidates are in the fray from 61 political parties, including the BJP, Congress and the new poll entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 51 of these seats, Congress 39, while three seats went to independent candidates.

In central Gujarat, the BJP had bagged 37 seats, outnumbering the Congress which got 22. But in north Gujarat, the Congress had won 17 seats while the saffron party got 14.

The high-voltage campaigning by different parties for the second phase of polls ended on Saturday evening.

The first phase of voting for 89 seats in Saurashtra, Kutch and south Gujarat regions was held on December 1, when an was recorded.

The Gujarat Assembly has a total of 182 seats.

The 93 Assembly segments which will go to polls on Monday are spread across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar and other districts.

Voting ended for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections in 89 seats across 19 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch and southern regions at 5 pm on Thursday. A low voter turnout of 59.24 per cent was recorded till 5 pm.

Govt will protect interest of Kannadigas everywhere: CM

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BELAGAVI: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the State Government is committed to protecting the interest of Kannadigas residing in any state of the country and across the world. Speaking after launching development works in Ramdurg near Belagavi, Bommai said that his government is working on developing 1,800-gram panchayats in Karnataka which are located on the borders of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Telangana, said Bommai.“For the overall development of North Karnataka, the government will soon announce a special project,’’ he added

The CM said that the government will also chalk out a special project to develop roads in border areas. Through the Kannada Development Authority, he said the State Government will release Rs 100 crore for the development of Kannada schools in border areas of neighbouring states.“All Kannadigas living on the other side of the border are our people. Since the neighbouring states have neglected Kannada schools there, the State Government will ensure that those schools get all facilities,’’ he added.

Bommai said that the State Government has set aside Rs 10 crore each for the construction of Kannada Bhavan in Solapur (Maharashtra) and Kasaragod (Kerala) and Goa.  Bommai assured that his government will ensure the overall development of Belagavi, and said that for the development of irrigation, industries and agriculture sectors in the border district, the government will extend all needed support.

He lauded the efforts of Ramadurg MLA Mahadevappa Yadwas for the development of Ramadurg and said the latter brought in Rs 2,900 crore for the development of his constituency. Earlier, Bommai unveiled the bronze statue of Lord Basaveshwara at Basaveshwara Circle in Ramadurg. He said that his government has taken an initiative to implement a drinking water supply project for Ramadurg taluk at an estimated cost of Rs 439 crore.

Maha mins’ visit to Belagavi not good: Bommai
In connection with the December 6 visit of two senior Maharashtra ministers to Belagavi amid the border row, CM Basavaraj Bommai took exception to the proposed visit saying the visit was not good.  Karnataka chief secretary has written to his Maharashtra counterpart stating that “it is not advisable for the two ministers to visit Belagavi at a time when the situation here is volatile”, Bommai said.   The two Ministers – Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai – were appointed to tackle the border issue with their legal team. They were likely to meet leaders of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti.

Assault on student: 4, including 3 minors, identified
The police have identified four people, including three minors, for their alleged role in connection with the assault of a student for displaying the Kannada flag during a function at KLS Gogte PU College in Belagavi on Friday. A police complaint was lodged by the injured student. The police have identified the accused and are conducting an inquiry.

Rebels play spoilsport for parties in battle for 34 central Gujarat seats

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AHMEDABAD:  Dissidents from both BJP and Congress can hurt the parties on 34 seats in central Gujarat, where BJP won only seven of the 28 seats in 1998 elections, but post-Godhra riots, it strengthened its position, bagging 23 seats in 2002.

Central Gujarat is seen as a BJP stronghold where polling is due in the second phase on December 5. However, this time senior BJP leaders like Madhushrivastav and Dinesh Patel filed their candidature as independents after failing to find a place on the party list.

That has put BJP under pressure. Vadodara city has been the party’s bastion for years, but this time it is facing trouble in neighbouring Savli, Padra, Waghodia, Dabhoi, and Karajan seats where former BJP MLAs are fighting as Independents.

How anxious the BJP is to save this stronghold can be seen from the fact that it has fielded 76-year-old Yogesh Patel from Manjalpur constituency in Vadodra in spite of state party chief CR Patil’s expressed caveat before the media that the party would not nominate those aged above 75 years. In Panchmahal district, the party is facing a tougher puzzle. Former BJP MP Prabhatsinh Chauhan, who recently quit the BJP, is contesting the Kalol seat as a Congress candidate.

Congress has its own fixed vote bank in central Gujarat. However, the party does not have an influential leader. In Narmada’s Dediapada seat, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) is also facing the problem posed by a rebel who has filed his papers as an AAP candidate from Dediapada seat.  Congress held the Chhota Udaipur seat in the north of Narmada for years, but this time, the BJP has inducted senior Congress leader and 11-time MLA Mohan Singh Rathawan, giving his son Rajendra Singh the ticket.

Karnataka Lokayukta BS Patil talks tough, tells cops to work with zeal

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BENGALURU: Talking tough with police officials working in the anti-corruption agency, Lokayukta Justice BS Patil said if there is rampant corruption and people are suffering because of it, it reflects the inefficiency of the Lokayukta police

Speaking after inaugurating a two-day workshop on conducting an effective investigation into cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Karnataka Lokayukta Act, Justice BS Patil said people’s expectations of the Lokayukta is very high, after the power to investigate cases under the PC Act was restored. It is the duty of all staff of the anti-corruption watchdog to work to meet these expectations.

“Investigations should be done with zeal. I am not bothered about how you (police officers) worked in the
past. But here, I need you to be completely motivated and focused. There is no limitation or pressure from elected representatives. But if anyone is found to be working against the goals of this institution, they will not continue even for a minute. There is an internal mechanism in place where I get reports on the performance of the staff,” Justice BS Patil added.

He said the agency will become a laughing stock if there is any wrongdoing by its staff. “We keep doing several operations. If any case of passing of information is found, all other investigation will be kept aside and a probe taken up to find out who leaked the information first,” the Lokayukta warned.

Meanwhile, he said a 25-point directive has been issued to police on investigation and prosecution, and some officers are doing a commendable work while others were not up to the mark in districts. “There is rampant corruption and people are crying because of that in your district, your action and inefficiency are the reasons for that,” Justice Patil said, asking officers to keep visiting government offices, hospitals and agricultural centres to know what’s happening there. Further, he added the conviction rate should be 85-90 per cent in corruption cases.

‘India is a part of me’: Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai

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Google CEO Sundar Picha.

WASHINGTON: “India is a part of me and I carry it with me wherever I go,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said, as he received the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from the Indian envoy to the US

Indian-American Pichai was awarded the Padma Bhushan for 2022 in the Trade and Industry category. The Madurai-born Pichai was named one of the 17 awardees earlier this year.

He received India’s third-highest civilian award in the presence of his close family members in San Francisco on Friday.

“I am deeply grateful to the Indian government and the people of India for this immense honour. It is incredibly meaningful to be honoured in this way by the country that shaped me,” 50-year-old Pichai said while accepting the award from India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

“India is a part of me. I carry it with me wherever I go. (Unlike this beautiful award which I will keep somewhere safe),” he said.

“I was fortunate to grow up in a family that cherished learning and knowledge, with parents who sacrificed a lot to make sure I had opportunities to explore my interests,” Pichai said.

India’s Consul General in San Francisco, T V Nagendra Prasad, was also present during the event.

Sandhu said that Pichai represented the limitless possibilities of technology for transformation.

“He has been making commendable efforts towards making digital tools, and skills accessible to across various segments of the society in different parts of the globe,” he said.

Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of technology that combines 3Ss – speed, simplicity and service, Sandhu hoped that Google would make full use of the digital revolution happening in India.

Pichai said that it had been amazing to return to India many times over the years to see the rapid pace of technological change.

The innovations created in India are benefitting people around the world – from digital payments to voice technology, he said.

“I look forward to continuing the great partnership between Google and India, as we work together to bring the benefits of technology to more people,” he said.

Businesses are seizing the opportunities for digital transformation, and more people have access to the internet than ever before, including in rural villages, Pichai said.

“Prime Minister Modi’s Digital India vision has certainly been an accelerator for that progress and I’m proud that Google continues to invest in India, partnering with governments, businesses, and communities over two transformative decades,” he said.

“Every new technology that arrived at our doorstep made our lives better. And that experience put me on a path to Google, and the chance to help build technology that improves the lives of people all over the world,” he said.

Pichai said he sees so much opportunity ahead.

On India taking over the G20 presidency, Pichai said: “It’s an amazing opportunity to build consensus on strengthening the global economy by advancing an internet that is open, connected, secure, and works for everyone. That’s a goal we share, and are committed to advancing with you.”

India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on Thursday. I am grateful for the opportunity to do this work together and bring the benefits of technology to more people,” Pichai said.

Google this year added 24 new languages to its translation service using a new advancement in machine learning.

Eight of them are languages native to India.

“It means so much to see how people can access information and knowledge in their preferred language, and see the world open up to them in new ways. That’s why I continue to be so optimistic about technology, and why I believe India can and must continue to lead,” he added.

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