Amaravati: The ruling YSR Congress made a clean sweep of the mandal and zilla parishads elections in Andhra Pradesh, routing the opposition Telugu Desam Party in almost all of the 13 districts.

Till 7.30 PM on Sunday, the YSRC bagged 385 out of 515 zilla parishad territorial constituencies and 5,565 of the 7,221 mandal parishad territorial constituencies for which elections were conducted on April 8.

The TDP ‘boycotted’ the elections but technically its candidates remained in the fray as the ballots were printed before the party announced its decision.

The election process for the MPTCs and ZPTCs, the second and the third tiers of the Panchayat Raj system began in March 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent legal battles stretched it this far.

There are a total of 659 ZPTCs of which the ruling party bagged 126 unanimously.

It also won 2,271 MPTCs unopposed. The TDP won 100 MPTCs unanimously.

Eleven unanimous winners in ZPTCs and 81 in MPTCs died since March 2020 even before the poll process ended. Elections in eight ZPTCs and 355 MPTCs were withheld for different reasons.

TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu faced humiliation as the YSRC won all the four ZPTC seats in Kuppam Assembly constituency represented by him. Also, the YSRC clinched 17 of the 19 MPTC seats in Kuppam.

In Chandrababu Naidu’s native village Naravaripalli, too, the ruling party won the MPTC seat by a margin of 1,000 votes.

In Chittoor district, the TDP chief’s native, the YSRC clinched all the 33 ZPTCs for which elections were held. It had also won the remaining 32 but two of the winners subsequently died.

Same was the case in SPS Nellore, Anantapuramu, Krishna, Prakasam, Vizianagaram and Kurnool districts where the YSRC held its sway.

Overall, the TDP managed to win only four ZPTC seats out of the total 659 while the CPI(M) managed one so far.

In the MPTCs, the TDP bagged 733, Jana Sena 110, BJP 24, CPI(M) 15 and CPI eight. Interestingly, the Congress managed to win four MPTCs two in Visakhapatnam district and one each in East Godavari and SPS Nellore.

Independents have so far won 145 MPTC seats, according to information released by the Information and Public Relations Department.

Meanwhile, the State Election Commission issued a notification fixing September 24 as the date for the indirect election (by the elected members) of the president and vice-president of the mandal parishads.

The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the zilla parishads will be elected on the September 25.

Jammu: Accusing the BJP of playing politics over the issues of Taliban, Afghanistan and Pakistan to garner votes, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday alleged that the seven-year-rule of the saffron party has brought miseries to the people of the country and left Jammu and Kashmir destroyed.

She claimed that it is not Hindus but the democracy and India which are in danger under the BJP rule, which has undone all the good work of the past 70 years of the Congress and started selling national resources and raising the prices of essentials to fill its coffers to buy or intimidate opposition legislators.

The former chief minister taunted her critics and said the mere mention of Taliban or the party’s vision of self-rule makes her anti-national and triggers debates and discussions even as the focus should have been the ongoing agitation of the farmers, inflation and other issues of public importance.

Jammu and Kashmir is in trouble and so is the entire country they say Hindus are in danger but they are not in danger and in fact it is India and the democracy which are in danger because of them (BJP), Mehbooba said addressing a rally organised by the youth wing of her party here.

Mehbooba reached Jammu late on Saturday after a five-day tour of Poonch and Rajouri districts, facing a small protest by a group of Rashtriya Bajrang Dal activists whose attempt to stop her cavalcade near Dogra chowk in the city was foiled by police.

As the elections in different states come nearer, the BJP will start cashing on the god-given opportunity of Taliban and Afghanistan and if it would not work, they will bring Pakistan and drones into picture, the Peoples Democratic Party chief said.

They will not talk about China which has intruded into Ladakh because they do not get votes by talking about that country. If you want to frighten people, talk about Taliban, Afghanistan and Pakistan and do something here and there and seek votes, she said.

Referring to the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Mehbooba alleged that the BJP’s incumbent state chief minister failed to provide jobs, roads and schools, while as the river Ganga which is considered sacred by the people of the country was made a dumping ground for human corpses because people do not have money to perform the last rites of their relatives.

They do not have anything to sell to the people and therefore they will use Pakistan and J-K to garner votes. They have destroyed J-K and are using sticks to oppress the people who are not allowed to speak openly for their rights, she said.

Mehbooba said the BJP is watching what she is saying to trigger a debate in media.

The farmers’ agitation, growing unemployment, inflation and other issues facing the country should have been the focus of our debates but there is no discussion on these important issues. Since the elections in UP are drawing closer, there will be more discussion on Taliban and Afghanistan, she said.

She alleged that the BJP government is using crores of rupees on the self-projection and taxing people by raising petrol and diesel prices to fill its coffers and use the money to buy MLAs of other parties and use government agencies to intimidate those who reject its offer .

Mehbooba said there are debates on the oppressive measures adopted by the Taliban against women in Afghanistan but nobody is talking about the women of India who are facing rapes and dowry deaths.

I know unemployment is such that we cannot provide jobs to everyone. Mufti had a plan to address this problem but if I name the plan which is self-rule, I will be dubbed as anti-national and it will trigger debates and discussions, she said.

Explaining self-rule, she said Jammu and Kashmir is holding a strategic position and can be a gateway to central Asia if all the cross-border traditional routes are opened and all the neighbouring countries allowed to open bank branches which will generate employment.

Mehbooba said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have lost their hope with the BJP government which smashed the protective shield of the erstwhile state by abrogating Article 370.

She said the Muslim majority state would have never joined India if BJP would have been at the helm during partition.

During our recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, I told him that you have destroyed J-K where nobody is allowed to speak openly. The problem is now the same everywhere in the country, where activists and actors like Sonu Sood who does a wonderful job during lockdown crises are facing enforcement directorate raids, Mehbooba said.

In an apparent reference to the one-day strike call given by Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jammu for September 22 against alleged attempts to finish local trade by allowing big corporate chains to open their outlets, she said this is the fallout of the abrogation of Article 370 and the people of Jammu have understood it.

Raipur: Seven persons were killed and nine others injured after an autorickshaw collided with a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in Chhattisgarh’s Kondagaon district on Sunday, police said.

The accident took place near Borgaon turn under Farasgaon police station limits when the occupants of the autorickshaw were returning after attending a funeral in the nearby village, an official said.

“The autorickshaw collided with the SUV that was coming from Jagdalpur. Seven occupants of the rickshaw died on the spot, which is located over 200 km away from the capital Raipur,” he said.

Nine others, who were travelling in both the vehicles, have suffered injuries and were admitted to a local hospital, he said.

As per the preliminary information, all the deceased belonged to the same family, but it was yet to be confirmed. Their bodies were taken to the hospital for post-mortem, he said, adding that further investigation was underway.

New Delhi: Amid a decline in Covid cases in the country, India may soon reopen its doors for foreign tourists for the first time in one-and-a-half years, officials said.

First five lakh foreign tourists will be issued visas free of cost in an attempt to revive the tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was announced.

Top Union Home Ministry officials are deliberating with all stakeholders on the expected date and modalities for opening up of the country for foreign tourists.

A formal announcement allowing foreign tourists to visit India may come within the next 10 days, an official from the Home Ministry said.

The decision is being taken in view of the declining number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

On Sunday, 30,773 new cases were reported while active cases had come down to 3.32 lakh.

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has also crossed 80 crore as on Saturday.

The free visa to the tourists will be issued till March 31, 2022 or the issuance of five lakh visa, whichever is earlier. The total financial implication for this would be Rs 100 crore.

The free visa move is expected to incentivise short-term tourists visiting India, the official said.

The cost for a month-long e-tourist visa is country specific but is around USD 25. A year-long multiple entry e-tourists visa charge is around USD 40.

The e-tourist visa has been suspended since March 2020.

The Home Ministry officials said they are still deliberating whether the entry of foreign tourists will be allowed with certain conditions like limiting it to only vaccinated travellers for now and having a negative list of countries where COVID-19 cases remain a concern.

The opening up is also expected to be phase-wise to see the response and implications, another official said.

Many countries, including some of those in Europe, have already opened up for tourism.

Chandigarh: The Congress announced on Sunday that Charanjit Singh Channi has been elected as the leader of the Punjab Congress Legislative Party (CLP), paving the way for his appointment as the chief minister.

The development comes a day after Congress veteran Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister amid a bitter power tussle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu with less than five months to go for the Assembly polls.

It gives me immense pleasure to announce that Sh. #CharanjitSinghChanni has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said in a tweet.

BENGALURU: The Karnataka Assembly on Friday passed the Identification of Prisoners (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2021, which allows the authorities concerned to collect blood, DNA, voice and iris scan samples of convicts imprisoned for over a month which will become part of the database at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Bengaluru. This is being done for better surveillance.

Calling the Bill a “breakthrough in criminal tracking system”, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said a similar system was already in practice at the Central-level and now will be adopted in Karnataka.
The Bill, when it becomes a law, will empower the Superintendent of Police (SP) or Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP) to order for collection of the aforementioned samples.  Hitherto, the power was vested only with the judicial magistrate first class. After a period of 10 years, the authorities can order for destruction of the data.

BJP Chief Whip and MLA Satish Reddy said the new system will be useful for cities like Bengaluru which see a heavy inflow of foreigners. Congress MLA Priyank Kharge sought to know whether necessary infrastructure was in place to store the database. “When M B Patil and Dr G Parameshwara were Home Ministers in past governments, they had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking grants under the Nirbhaya Fund to create infrastructure which could be followed up now,” he suggested.  

Meanwhile, a Bill to constitute a Prison Development Board was passed in the Assembly to ensure that prisons in the state generate revenue by utilising the available human resources — the inmates. “States like Haryana are generating revenue of about Rs 600 crore annually from prisons. Manpower at prisons should not go waste,” Jnanendra said, adding that in Karnataka, Rs 350 crore was spent on prisons.

“The new board will also help inmates get involved in various activities and help them earn. This will ensure that once they are released from prisons, they will have cash to restart their lives,” he said. The Board will have the prisons ministers as its chairman and officials of various departments as members. There will be a separate advisory committee consisting of social activists, media persons among others, but not any politicians, the minister clarified.

NEW DELHI: The Congress is set to spring a BJP-style coup in Punjab with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh asked to step down by the party high command after a majority of 40 state MLAs demanded change of guard in the state ahead of assembly election next year. A new leader is expected to be decided following a meeting of party MLAs this evening.

Congress sources said that the change was required and a letter from 40 Punjab Congress MLAs to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi triggered the move. While names of former Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa are in the mix, sources clarified that Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu is out of the race.  

“The message has been clearly delivered to Amarinder Singh that he will have to step down as he has lost the confidence of party MLAs. He is trying to keep his flock intact ahead of the meeting of party MLAs. He does not have numbers on his side to pressure to national leadership. Final decision on the name of  the CM will be cleared by Congress high command,” said a senior party leader.  

Amarinder has called a meeting of MLAs from his camp at 2 pm but the party high command has issued a directive that they should not attend it.

Amidst reports that he has threatened to quit the party, sources said that it looks unlikely as of now.

Late night, AICC incharge for Punjab Harish Rawat tweeted that the Congress Legislature Party has been called Saturday. He was rushed to Punjab along with AICC general secretary Ajay Maken by the party to settle the issue “one for all”.  

“The AICC has received a representation from a large number of MLAs from the Congress party, requesting to immediately convene a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party of Punjab. Accordingly, a meeting of the CLP has been convened at 5:00 PM on 18th September at Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee office. AICC directs the PPCC to facilitate this meeting. All Congress MLAs of Punjab are requested to kindly attend this meeting,” he tweeted.

There has been ongoing power tussle between Sidhu and Amarinder Singh and the central leadership has failed to settle it. Despite objections by the Punjab CM, Sidhu was elevated as Congress chief and since then he has been attacking the CM over policies of the state government.

Based on the MLAs demands, Amarinder Singh was given an 18 point action plan to follow ahead of the assembly election.  

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray

Aurangabad:Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday addressed the leaders including Union minister Raosaheb Danve at a function here as former and possible “future colleagues”, leading to speculation as to whether a political realignment was in the offing in the state.

The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP after the 2019 Assembly polls and formed government with the NCP and Congress.

Addressing the dignitaries on the dais at a function, Thackeray said, “My former, current, and if we come together, future colleagues.” Danve, a BJP leader from Maharashtra, was present, so was senior state minister Balasaheb Thorat of Congress.

Later, speaking to reporters at another event, Thackeray clarified that he said former and current colleagues because there were leaders from all parties on the dais. “If everybody comes together, they can become future colleagues too. Time will tell,” he added cryptically.

Notably, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil had said earlier this week that he should be no longer called a ‘former state minister’ as things will change in the next couple of days.

Reacting to Thackeray’s remarks, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis told reporters elsewhere that he must have realized that the state was suffering because of the Sena’s “unnatural alliance” with the NCP and Congress.

“He must have expressed his thoughts after realizing what kind of people he is working with….Everything is possible in politics, but the state BJP is not eyeing power. We are an efficient opposition party and will continue our work,” the former chief minister added.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut sought to downplay Thackeray’s comments, stating that Danve was everybody’s friend.

“When he was state BJP chief, all was well. There is nothing earth-shaking in the comment. Those who want to come with us can join and become future colleagues. Don’t read too much into this,” Raut added.

He also claimed that he had learnt that Chandrakant Patil was offered the post of Nagaland governor by the BJP.

Speaking to reporters later, Union minister Danve said Thackeray must have had some experience after working with the NCP and Congress for the last two years, making him rethink his decision to sever ties with the BJP.

“Shiv Sena and BJP were in alliance for 25-30 years. All of a sudden the Sena left us and joined the Congress and NCP. Actually the mandate was for the Shiv Sena and BJP alliance,” he said.

“This government has completed two years and the chief minister might have had some experience. Out of this experience he might have spoken such things,” the BJP leader said.

When asked if there were any indications that the saffron alliance may be revived, Danve said “some churning” will take place after such public statements.

New Delhi The government on Friday extended by six months till March 2022 the deadline to link PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar.

In a statement, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said to address the hardship being faced by various stakeholders on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline has been extended which will ease compliance.

“Time limit for intimation of Aadhaar number to the Income tax Department for linking of PAN with Aadhaar has been extended from 30th September, 2021 to 31st March, 2022,” it said.

Also, the due date for completion of penalty proceedings under the I-T Act has been extended from September 30, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Further, the time limit for issuance of notice and passing of order by the Adjudicating Authority under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 has been extended to March 2022.