NEW DELHI: Pakistan has not just used Congress’s Rahul Gandhi’s name in its letter to the United Nations, alleging massive human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. It has also referred to the ruling BJP; the document also names Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Vikram Saini, citing their remarks on Kashmiri women.

Under a section ‘Gender-based Violence as a weapon of war”, the letter from Pakistan mentions a video showing Mr Saini. “Muslim party workers should rejoice in the new provisions. They can now marry the white-skinned women of Kashmir,” the letter quoted him as saying.

Mr Khattar’s remarks, referring to similar comments, were also quoted. “Some people are now saying that as Kashmir is open, brides will be brought from there. But jokes apart, if (the gender) ratio is improved, then there will be right balance in society,” the letter quoted him as saying.

The BJP leaders’ remarks about Kashmiri women were severely criticised by the opposition and rights activists.

Mayawati had called Mr Khattar’s remarks an example of “mean mentality”. Rahul Gandhi had tweeted: “Haryana CM, Khattar’s comment on Kashmiri women is despicable and shows what years of RSS training does to the mind of a weak, insecure and pathetic man. Women are not assets to be owned by men.”

On Wednesday, the BJP shredded Rahul Gandhi, saying his comments on Kashmir shamed the nation and were “used” by Pakistan.

“The Pakistani application to the UN mentions remarks made by Rahul Gandhi. The application states that acts of violence have been acknowledged by mainstream party leaders such as Rahul Gandhi,” said union minister Prakash Javadekar.

Demanding an apology from Mr Gandhi and the Congress, Mr Javadekar added, “Rahul Gandhi said that things in Jammu and Kashmir were going wrong, there were reports of people dying in J&K. You were wrong, Rahul Gandhi. Things are fine in J&K, there is no violence as you imagined”.

The Congress has called Pakistan’s move a “mischievous” attempt to drag Mr Gandhi’s name into the matter. Mr Gandhi set the record straight in tweets, calling Pakistan a “prime supporter of terrorism”.

“I disagree with this Govt. on many issues. But, let me make this absolutely clear: Kashmir is India’s internal issue & there is no room for Pakistan or any other foreign country to interfere in it,” another tweet read.

courtesy: NDTV

Mumbai: Jailed media baron Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the killing of her daughter, on Thursday termed the arrest of former Union finance minister P Chidambaram in the INX media money laundering case as “good news”.

Chidambaram was arrested on August 21 by the CBI in the INX Media corruption and money laundering case. Indrani Mukerjea and her husband Peter Mukerjea are former promoters of the INX Media Group.

“His (Chidambaram) arrest is good news. He is now cornered from all sides,” Indrani Mukerjea told reporters in a sessions court where she was produced to attend trial in the case of killing of her daughter Sheena Bora.

She further said the bail granted to the former Union minister’s son Karti Chidambaram in the INX Media case should also be cancelled.

Indrani Mukerjea had earlier recorded her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), claiming she and her husband met P Chidambaram at the latter’s office in Delhi’s North Block.

She also claimed in her statement that the former Union minister had asked her to help his son Karti Chidambaram in his business and make overseas remittances in lieu of granting Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval to INX Media.

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 17 paise to 71.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, tracking weak domestic equity market and persistent foreign fund outflows.

Pessimism over US-China trade talks also put pressure on the domestic unit, forex dealers said. However, a weak dollar against other major currencies overseas and softening crude prices restricted the rupee’s fall, they added. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.96 and fell further to 72.05 against the US dollar. The domestic currency, however, pared some losses and was trading at 71.95.

The rupee fell 29 paise to close at 71.77 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The BSE Sensex was trading 215.51 points, or 0.58 per cent, lower at 37,236.33, while the broader Nifty fell 58.90 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 10,987.20 in early trade.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 935.27 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Meanwhile, investors remained edgy over concerns about developments in the China-US trade talks. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.63 per cent to USD 60.11 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02 per cent to 98.19. The 10-year government bond yield was up at 6.57 per cent in morning trade.

credit: Varthabharati

Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) officials on Thursday morning demolished an illegal building at Kankanady Junction after receiving Court orders for the same.

The demolition drive was done with the help police officials.

The building had vegetable and fruit shops. The building was in dispute with MCC from several years now and the officials had urged the vendors to move their shops elsewhere.

The vendors had then moved to court against MCC, where the Court delivered judgment in MCC’s favor and ordered demolition of building.

Video shows students cleaning school toilet ‘for marks’
Screen grab from the video

Khandwa: A video showing two students cleaning the toilet of a government school in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district went viral on Wednesday, with some reports claiming that they had been promised additional marks.

According to local sources, a family member of a student shot the video on Monday when he found two boys cleaning the toilet of the school at village Sihada near here.

One of the students reportedly told him that the school principal had asked them to clean the toilet, promising them additional five marks in the examination.

District Education Officer J S Raghuvanshi said an official has been sent to the village to conduct an inquiry.

District Collector Tanvi Soundriyal, however, said there was nothing wrong if students did such jobs.

“It would have been wrong if the teacher had asked students from a particular community to clean up the toilet.

There is nothing wrong if all the children are doing it,” she told reporters.

Kota: A 69-year old woman committed suicide by jumping into a river allegedly depressed over deaths of her three grandchildren due to multiple organs ailments.

According to the reports Belaku Poojarthi, went missing on August 25 and her body was found on Wednesday from Seethanadi near Nancharu village in Hebbarabettu.

A case has been registered at Kota Police Station.

GSTR 9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax.

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry on Monday said the last date for filing annual GST returns has been extended by three months to November 30 as taxpayers were facing technical problems in furnishing returns.

Earlier, GST taxpayers were to file required returns by August 31.

“It is hereby informed that the last date for furnishing of annual return in the Form GSTR-9 / Form GSTR-9A and reconciliation statement in the Form GSTR-9C for the financial year 2017-18 is extended from August 31, 2019 to November 30, 2019,” the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) said in a statement.

GSTR 9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

It consists of details regarding the outward and inward supplies made or received under different tax heads.

While extending the date, the CBIC said “certain technical problems are being faced” by the taxpayers as a result annual return for the period July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018 could not be furnished by persons registered under GST.

GSTR-9C is filed by those whose annual turnover exceeds Rs 2 crore.

It is a statement of reconciliation between GSTR-9 and the audited annual financial statement, while GSTR-9A is the annual return to be filed those who have opted for the Composition Scheme under GST.

The maximum number of 26 such cases have been registered in Meerut followed by Saharanpur and Shamli where 17 and 10 FIRs have been lodged respectively.

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a spurt in triple talaq cases, with 216 FIRs filed by Muslim women since the enactment of a law which makes the practice of instant divorce a punishable offence.

The maximum number of 26 such cases have been registered in Meerut followed by Saharanpur and Shamli where 17 and 10 FIRs have been lodged respectively, a senior police official told PTI on Tuesday.

These three places in western Uttar Pradesh have a sizeable Muslim population.

“In UP, women given triple talaq are coming out in large numbers to register FIRs against their husbands. Within three weeks (till August 21) of implementation of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, as many as 216 FIRs have been filed in the state so far,” he said.

In eastern Uttar Pradesh, the highest number of 10 FIRs were registered in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency – Varanasi.

The main causes of triple talaq are dowry, property dispute and domestic violence as per the FIRs lodged.

However, except in two-three cases, no arrest has so far been made in the over 200 cases lodged.

In a bid to ensure effective implementation of the Act, the Uttar Pradesh Police is contemplating to arrest the accused.

“To ensure that the Act is followed in letter and spirit and justice is given to Muslim women, we are examining as to why we should not arrest those involved in giving triple talaq. We will be doing that in some districts,” Director General of Police OP Singh told PTI.

He said very soon the police will also be going for “impact analysis” to ensure justice to Muslim women.

“Very soon, we will be calling a few sample cases to assess the impact to ensure justice to the victim women,” he said.

Some triple talaqs have been given over the phone, through SMS or directly to women.

In a case in Lucknow, a man allegedly gave triple talaq to his wife right inside civil court premises in the presence of her advocate after she refused to accept a chewing gum from him, police said.

30-year-old Simmi of Amrai village was divorced by her husband Syed Rashid where she had gone for the hearing of a case of dowry harassment she had lodged earlier against her in-laws.

The woman was talking to her advocate when her husband offered her a chewing gum which she refused, throwing Rashid into a fit of rage so much so that he divorced his wife, uttering talaq three times then and there itself.

In Banda, a woman was given triple talaq by her husband over the phone, while in Barabanki a woman was given triple talaq through SMS.

In another case, a man divorced his wife allegedly to escape from the responsibility of providing treatment to their physically challenged daughter.

In a separate case, a woman alleged that her husband had ended their two-year-old marriage by pronouncing triple talaq over the phone as she had a dark complexion.

In yet another case, a man allegedly divorced his wife in full public view in her village market in Unnao district using the outlawed custom and mocking at the new law that declares the oral diktat a penal offence.

The triple talaq law came into effect retrospectively from September 19, 2018, after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the legislation that makes giving instant oral triple talaq or talalq-e-biddat a criminal offence with provisions of jail term up to three years.

The new law makes void and illegal talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq having the effect of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim husband.

It also makes it illegal to pronounce talaq three times in spoken, written or through SMS or WhatsApp or any other electronic chat in one sitting.

The law says any Muslim husband who pronounces the illegal form of talaq upon his wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The aggrieved woman is entitled to demand maintenance from her husband for herself and her dependent children under the Act.

The woman said that her husband is lodged in jail since 2014 in connection with a murder case.

AMROHA (Uttar Pradesh): A woman from Amroha district claimed she was given triple talaq by her jailed husband because she failed to provide him with a new dress on the day of Bakrid.

“My husband, who is currently in jail, had asked me to get him a set of kurta-pyjama on the occasion of Bakrid. I failed to get the dress stitched as I could not arrange the money, which led to a quarrel between the two of us when I went to meet him and he gave me triple talaq. I then sent two of my family members to make him see reason but he gave me triple talaq in front of them too,” Murshida, the victim, said here on Monday.

The woman added that her husband is lodged in jail since 2014 in connection with a murder case.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vipin Tada said Murshida’s complaint has been registered and action is being taken against the accused.

“A woman lodged a complaint in the Gajrola police station here that she was given triple talaq by her husband, who is lodged in jail, during the meeting time with family members. The man again gave her triple talaq in front of her family members who had gone there to get the matter resolved,” Tada told ANI.

“A case under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act has been registered and the strict action is being taken. This is probably the eighth case from the district after the triple talaq law came into force,” he added.

The woman is also planning to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him about the issue and seek justice.

On August 1, President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), Bill, 2019, which criminalises instant talaq and provides for a jail term of three years for the husband. 

The Prime Minister could not attend the funeral of the former finance minister as he was away from the country on a three-nation visit to France-UAE-Bahrain.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the family members of former Union minister Arun Jaitley at his residence here on Tuesday and offered floral tributes to a portrait of the departed leader.

Jaitley (66) passed away at the All Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Saturday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Jaitley’s residence earlier and received the prime minister along with Rohan Jaitley, the former Union finance minister’s son.

Other family members were also present when Modi walked in and spoke to Jaitley’s wife and children.

The prime minister spent about 20-25 minutes at Jaitley’s residence.

Modi was on a three-nation tour when the senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed away.

He had spoken with Jaitley’s wife Sangeeta and son Rohan on Saturday.

Addressing a gathering in Bahrain, the prime minister had said: “I cannot imagine that I am here in Bahrain, while my dear friend Arun Jaitley is no more. Some days ago, we lost our former external affairs minister behen Sushma (Swaraj) Ji. Today, my dear friend Arun went away.”

Modi returned to India early Tuesday morning.

Rohan immersed his father’s ashes in the Ganga in Haridwar on Monday.