BENGALURU: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, during the meeting in Mumbai of the high-powered committee on the boundary dispute with Karnataka, said that they will fight the case in the Supreme Court for the interest of the Marathi-speaking population residing in the border areas in Karnataka. Shinde said that two Cabinet ministers — Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai — will be assigned to bolster its ongoing legal tussle with Karnataka. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Prithviraj Chavan, leaders of MES, among others were present during the meeting. Senior legal expert Vaidyanathan will represent Maharashtra during the hearing, he added.

Meanwhile, hitting out at the state government, Kannada leader Ashok Chandargi from Belagavi said that they are still in deep slumber. “Karnataka has not appointed a minister for the border row since 2018.

There is no high-powered committee for the issues, and the state’s Border Protection Committee has been lying defunct over the last three years. CM Basavaraj Bommai should appoint a minister in-charge for the issue,” he said.

NEW DELHI: Under the Rozgar Mela, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday will distribute about 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits. On the occasion, PM  Modi also launched Karmayogi Prarambh module, an online orientation course for all new appointees. The PM will also address the appointees through the video conferencing, Prime Minister Office said in a statement on Monday.

The Rozgar Mela is a step towards fulfillment of the commitment of the PM to accord highest priority to employment generation. The Rozgar Mela is expected to act as a catalyst in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in national development directly.

Earlier in October, appointment letters were handed over to 75,000 newly inducted appointees under Rozgar Mela. The physical copies of the appointment letters to the new appointees will be handed over at 45 locations across the country (except Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh). In addition to the categories of posts filled earlier, posts of teachers, lecturers, nurses, nursing officers, doctors, pharmacists, Radiographers and other technical and paramedical posts are also being filled. A significant number of posts are being filled by the Ministry of Home Affairs in various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

“Prime Minister will also launch the Karmayogi Prarambh module – an online orientation course for all new appointees in various government departments. It will include code of conduct for government servants, workplace ethics and integrity, human resource policies and other benefits and allowances that will help them to get acclimatized to the policies and transition smoothly into the new roles,” said the statement.

 They will also get an opportunity to explore other courses on igotkarmayogi.gov.in platform to enhance their knowledge, skills and competencies, it also added. In June, the PM asked various government departments and ministries to initiate the recruitment of 10 lakh people on a ‘mission mode’ in the next year and a half.

NEW DELHI: The masseur who was seen in is not a physiotherapist but an inmate who is lodged in the Tihar Jail in a rape case, sources said on Tuesday.

The claims come days after the Aam Aadmi Party, which had drawn flak over the videos, asserted that Jain was receiving physiotherapy in the jail, where he is in judicial custody for the past five months over money-laundering charges.

Jain could be seen in the purported videos getting back and foot massages in his cell, reading some documents and talking to visitors while lying on a bed.

Mineral water bottles and a remote are also seen. In one video, he was seen getting a head massage while sitting on a chair.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had claimed that following a spinal injury and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing “cheap” politics on health issues by illegally leaking CCTV footage.

However, sources claimed that the man, who was seen giving Jain a massage in the videos, was a prisoner named Rinku.

“He is lodged in the prison in connection with a rape case and sections of the Pocso Act. Rinku is not a physiotherapist,” the sources said.

AAP leader Gopal Rai alleged that the BJP was highlighting matters related to Sisodia and Jain and other sting operations since it does not have any election issues related to Municipal Corporation of Delhi election.

On Jain apparently getting special treatment inside jail, he said: “Amit Shah was in Gujarat jail and at that time, there was a special jail for him. The kind of treatment he got nobody can get ever. This is available on record.”

“The issue is not of him (Jain) getting treatment, but the issue is that what treatment will Delhi people give the BJP on December 4,” Rai said.

He alleged that the BJP’s only agenda was just to tarnish the image of Kejriwal.

“In Delhi, for the last 10 days, there are two parties that are campaigning, while Congress is not part of the battle,” Rai said.

“On one side are those who are campaigning on the basis of their work. On the other hand there are those who just want to indulge in mudslinging,” he said.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari slammed the ruling party.

“Shameful @ArvindKejriwal Doctors have confirmed that it is not physiotherapy and moreover the person giving massage to Saryendra Jain in Tihar Jail is a rapist, accused under the POCSO, and not a physiotherapist as claimed and endorsed by you!” Tiwari tweeted.

The Enforcement Directorate had claimed in a court that Jain was getting special treatment, including massage and special food, in the jail.

It provided CCTV footage to substantiate the claim.

Earlier this month, a Tihar jail superintendent was suspended for alleged involvement in providing a special treatment to Jain in the prison.

SRINAGAR:  Senior politician and former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is all set to rename his recently floated Democratic Azad Party (DAP) after the Election Commission of India (ECI) has raised objections over its name.

The ECI had raised objections over the name saying the party with the same name already exists in UP. Former minister and DAP general secretary R S said ECI had suggested Progressive Azad Party as an alternative name for the party but the party has told the commission that it is not comfortable with this name and would suggest new names.

“We have told the ECI that we are not in agreement with the name suggested by the commission,” he said. The founding member of DAP Salman Nizami said the party after consulting all party leaders has given four more names to the ECI and the commission is yet to approve any one of them. He, however, said whatever be the name of the party, Azad party will definitely be there in the new name.

NEW DELHI:  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Cambodia during November 22-23. During his two-day tour, he will be attending the ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus (ADMM Plus) meeting. 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Sunday said, “Rajnath Singh will be addressing the Association of South-East Asian Nations Defence Ministers Plus meeting on November 23. He will also call on the Prime Minister of Cambodia.” The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN

Apart from the ADMM-Plus meeting and India-ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting, the Defence Minister will hold bilateral discussions with Defence Ministers of the participating countries. During the talks, Rajnath Singh will discuss defence cooperation matters and ways to further strengthen the mutually beneficial engagements.

Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus (ADMM Plus) meeting and is hosting the 9th annual meeting. “India and Cambodia will co-chair the maiden India-ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting on November 22, presided over by Rajnath Singh. Various initiatives to boost India-ASEAN partnership are planned to be announced during the meeting,” added the MoD. 

India-ASEAN are commemorating 30 years of relations. India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to further the dialogue.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in a road accident in Bihar’s Vaishali and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.ADVERTISEMENTAds by 

At least 12 people, including women and children, were killed when a speeding truck rammed into a religious procession in the state, officials said on Sunday.

“The accident in Vaishali, Bihar is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.

“An ex-gratia of Rs.2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs.50,000,” he said.

The incident took place around 9 PM in Vaishali district, about 30 km from state capital Patna, and local RJD MLA Mukesh Roushan, who had rushed to the spot, said “12 people died”.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea of the Maharashtra government challenging a Bombay High Court’s 2020 order by which it had suspended a probe into two FIRs filed against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for allegedly making inflammatory comments.

The FIRs pertain to Goswami’s comments during his TV programmes about the Palghar lynching incident and migrants gathering in large numbers in Mumbai’s Bandra area during the Covid-induced lockdown.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli will hear the appeal filed by the Maharashtra government.

On October 26, 2020, the top court observed that some people are targeted with “greater intensity” and need more protection.

The Maharashtra government, which was then ruled by Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi, had opposed the high court’s decision to stay the police probe against Goswami.

The top court had sought a response from Goswami and others on the appeal filed by the state government.

In its June 30, 2020 order, the high court noted that while Goswami’s comments targeted Congress and its president, Sonia Gandhi, he did not make any statement that would cause public disharmony or incite violence between different religious groups.

Citing observations made by the Supreme Court that India’s freedom will rest safe as long as journalists can speak to power without being chilled by a threat of reprisal, the high court had said in its order that free citizens cannot exist when the news media is chained to adhere to any one position.

While admitting for final hearing of the petition filed by Goswami seeking to quash the two FIRs, the high court had directed the police not to take any coercive action until the disposal of the plea.

Two FIRs were filed against Goswami — one in Nagpur, which was later transferred to N M Joshi Marg police station in Mumbai following directions from the Supreme Court and another at Pydhonie police station.

The one filed in Nagpur was about a news show aired on the channel on April 21 about the Palghar incident where two religious leaders and their driver were lynched.

The Pydhonie case followed a show aired by Republic TV on April 29 where Goswami had referred to migrants gathering near a mosque outside the Bandra railway terminus during the lockdown.