Suresh Joshi, popularly known as Bhaiyaji Joshi was re-elected as General Secretary or the RSS Sarkaryavah by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha at Nagpur on Saturday. 70-year-old Joshi was re-elected for a fourth term as the sarkaryavah of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for a period of 3 years from 2018 to 2021. Earlier, it was V Seshadri who had held the post for 13 years since 1987. Joshi was first chosen Sarkaryawah in 2008 with Mohan Bhagwat taking over as Sarsanghchalak. The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the highest body for decision making and policy formulation for the RSS. Addressing a press conference outside the RSS Smriti Mandir in Nagpur the RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh (communication in charge), Manmohan Vaidya made the announcement. The announcement was also made on the official Twitter handle of RSS. Maananeeya Sri Suresh ( Bhaiyaji) Joshi re-elected as #RSS Sarkaryavah ( General Secretary ) for a period of 3 years (2018-2021) by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha at Nagpur. #RSSABPS, it said. Maananeeya Sri Suresh ( Bhaiyaji) Joshi re-elected as #RSS Sarkaryavah ( General Secretary ) for a period of 3 years (2018-2021) by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha at Nagpur. #RSSABPS pic.twitter.com\/e8ul1iqhyr The announcement…
Month: December 2018
Stephen Hawking said Vedas superior to Einstein’s theory of relativity, claims Union Minister Harsh Vardhan
Just days after the death of Stephen Hawking, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan today claimed that the renowned cosmetologist had said that Vedas have a theory that is superior to Albert Einstein Vardhan gave this statement while addressing the 105th Indian Science Congress in Imphal. We recently lost a renowned scientist, cosmologist Stephen Hawking. He also emphatically said on record that our Vedas might have a theory which is superior to the Einstein However, Harsh Vardhan dodged the question about the source of the information. He told the reporters to find out the source instead. You find the source. He had on record said that there is a possibility that Vedas have a better formula than the one given by Einstein. You also work a bit on this (to find this source), he said. Harsh Vardhan also said that he has revealed this in an open forum, and the reporters can get back to him in Delhi if they failed in their research. Harsh Vardhan said Hawking needs to be remembered on this occasion. As per PTI, a Google search on Stephen Hawking and Vedas throws open several links, one of which, , makes the claim. This comes to…
Sealing Drive: Delhi BJP leaders to attend all-party meeting today
Delhi BJP leaders will attend an all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with the members of the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee over the ongoing sealing drive against illegal commercial properties at the secretariat today. BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta has confirmed his participation in the meeting. I will go to the meeting. The Delhi unit of our party will also send its representatives, he said. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said he was ready to go to the meeting, even though he had not received a formal invitation. I am preparing to go (to the meeting), though there is no formal invite, he said. The BJP did not attend an all-party meeting called by Kejriwal at his residence earlier this month. A delegation of the party, including Tiwari, had alleged that they were assaulted by AAP workers during their visit to the chief ministers residence for a discussion on sealing last month. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said a three-member team of the party would attend the meeting. Maken will not attend it. He was present at the first all-party meeting on the issue. Civic bodies have undertaken the sealing drive…
Uttar Pradesh by-elections: More than just support, BSP goes door to door for Samajwadi Party
Gorakhpur, Phulpur by-elections: The upcoming by-elections in Uttar Pradeshs Gorakhpur and Phulpur are significant for a number of reasons. On one hand, it would serve as a test case for future alliance between arch rivals Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party, which is also one of the most keenly watched experiment ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019. On the other, it is a battle of prestige for BJP as both seats were earlier held by current UP Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. SP and BSP have so far refrained from coming together on one stage in both constituencies. The leaders, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav, too have avoided taking each others name. However, situation on the ground is different. The Indian Express reported today that BSPs Phulpur unit has decided to run a door-to-door campaign and appeal their supporters to vote for the SP candidate. On the other hand, SP is also keen to get the BSPs votes. Both the parties have already started uniting their vote bank which comprises Dalits, Yadavs and Muslims. While Gorakhpur is a BJP bastion, Phulpur has seen constant shift of power. Once a SP stronghold, particularly due to presence of strongman Atiq Ahmed, it…
ED raids its ex-officer Gurnam Singh, two others in Rs 600 cr ponzi scam case
The ED today searched the premises of its ex-Deputy Director and others in connection with the money laundering probe in a Rs 600 crore alleged ponzi scam case. The ED officials said the house of its former officer Gurnam Singh, advocate Puneet Sharma and an another person in Chandigarh and Mohali are being raided since morning, under provisions of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Singh has been the investigating officer of the said ponzi case and was relieved from the central probe agency by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarter in Delhi last year in January. Officials claimed that the ex-Deputy Director of the EDs Chandigarh zone was allegedly taking bribes, to the tune of about 4-6 crore, in purported connivance with Sharma in this case. The raids have been launched to gather more evidence in this context, they said. ED Director Karnal Singh had issued stern directives in the agency that instances of corruption in the organisation will be prosecuted even if it is their own staffers. The agency had conducted multiple searches in this case last year and it had also arrested the absconding agent of the alleged chit fund firm under scanner- Kamal K Bakshi-…
From ‘it never happened’ to moral teachings on Facebook: Kolkata Metro’s flip-flop on thrashing of couple is an embarrassment
Under fire for not being able to provide adequate safety to passengers, Kolkata Metro Rail seemed unsure of its official stand in the recent incident of a couple being thrashed allegedly by co-passengers for standing too close. It all began on Monday when reports claimed that a couple travelling on the Kolkata Metro was thrashed for alleged public display of affection. Pictures of the same went viral the next day. When FinancialExpress.com contacted Kolkata Metro officials, Indira Banerjee, the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), said that the CCTV footage of the station premises did not show any untoward incident, practically denying any such incident taking place on the Dum Dum station. It shows that as soon as the train stopped, the passengers deboarded the train and went out of the exit door. We have not seen any untoward incident. We want to probe the incident but without any complaint on the matter we can Dear commuters, we are trying to enquire into an incident which has allegedly taken place yday at Dumdum Metro stn. No complaint has been lodged by anyone as yet .However we are trying to get to the bottom of it… But we would like to make…
H1B visa: Premium processing suspended temporarily, here is the reason
Donald Trump administration has decided to suspend the H-1B visas premium processing temporarily. The H-1B visa is popular among Indian IT professionals but the US government has decided to suspend it for some time the petitions for the fiscal year 2019, which begins on October 1, 2018. The decision comes less than two weeks before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins accepting applications. The suspension will last until September 10. Here are the things to keep in mind:- * H1-B visa premium processing allows applicants to fast-track the visa granting process, from the usual three to six months to 15 days, for an additional fee of $1,225 (approx Rs 79880). * Although the USCIS has suspended the H1-B visa premium process they will still accept requests for petitions that are not for FY19. * The United States government had earlier notified an annual cap for H-1B category at 65,000. Not all H-1B non-immigrant visas are subject to this annual cap, the agency states on its website. * We will notify the public before resuming premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions or making any other premium processing updates, USCIS said. * Until the time the suspension stands, the…
BJP appoints MP Shwet Malik as Punjab state president
Bharatiya Janata Party has appointed a new face to represent the state of Punjab. BJP has picked up the name of Rajya Sabha MP Shwet Malik to be the State President of Punjab for the party reports ANI. Earlier in the month, BJP nominated him as the party nominee for Rajya Sabha from Punjab. This was done as the term of the current member Avinash Rai Khanna was coming to an end. Malik will be presiding MP Vijay Sampla who headed the state so far. It was last year on April 25 when Shwet Malik took the oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. BJP is reportedly said to be in works to change heads of many states and they have stated the work with Punjab. Shwet Maliks name is said to be floated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as well. Malik holds a strong position in the state and has served as the mayor of Amritsar as well. Other state leaders in the race for the post were national secretary BJP Tarun Chugh and former minister Manoranjan Kalia. In 2017, BJP was denounced by the Congress in the Punjab Assembly elections. Congress got as many as 77 seats out of…
Rahul Gandhi has no moral right to talk about Dalit issues, says Ram Vilas Paswan
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan today hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying he had no moral right to attack the BJP over Dalit issues as his party did nothing for the community or its icon B R Ambedkar while the present government, he asserted, had done a lot. With opposition parties targeting the BJP after a Supreme Court order on a law for atrocities against Dalits, he strongly defended the saffron party and praised the government for filing a review plea against the verdict within two weeks. At a press conference, the Dalit leader and Lok Janshakti Party chief also dismissed speculation about his future move, saying he was in the BJP-led NDA and would continue to strengthen it. He claimed that it would come back to power again after the Lok Sabha polls next year. Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had recently claimed that Paswan was in touch with the opposition and he could leave the NDA. Nobody takes him seriously. Does he know about his future? Does he consider Tejashwi Yadav his leader? Paswan said, lashing out at Singh. Hitting out at the Congress over its attack on the central government on the Dalit issue,…
MP Police Recruitment shocker: Male candidates stripped half-naked in same room with female candidates
In a shocking incident, a number of female and male candidates were made to a undergo a physical test in the same room in Madhya Pradeshs Bhind district. In a video, allegedly recorded at the clinic, the male candidates were seen stripped to a half-naked state, while the female candidates were seen giving measurements to male officials, NDTV and CNN News 18 reported. No women doctors or nurses were seen present in the room where the female applicants were undergoing tests. A probe has been ordered into the matter and the inquiry officer has also been asked to check whether the female nurses were available there or not. The incident comes two days after photos of police job aspirants with SC\/ST written on their chest went viral on social media. In the pictures, the aspirants were seen marked with SC (Scheduled Caste), ST (Scheduled Tribe) and G (General) with sketch pens on their chests as they queued up to appear for their medical examination. The incident triggered a massive debate on social media and led to the suspension of two officials. The incident occurred in Madhya Pradeshs Dhar district. Speaking to media, Superintendent of Police Virendra Singh said he had…
Singapore Indian chamber mulls to join China’s One Belt One Road Initiative
The Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) plans to work with its Chinese counterpart on Chinas multi-billion dollar One Belt One Road Initiative (BRI), its newly-appointed chairman has said. The SICCI will work very closely with the Chinese Chamber on the One Belt One Road Initiative for the benefit of its members, said Dr T Chandroo, the business groups newly-elected chairman, after holding its annual general meeting here yesterday. He said the SICCI will also help members benefit from international businesses through the Trans Pacific Partnership signed earlier this year. Leveraging on Singapore chairmanship of Asean 2018, we will partner with other chambers with a view to form working relations with them, said Chandroo, who is also chairman and chief executive officer of Modern Montessori International, a regional education institute with schools in India. He also listed out plans to help the SICCI members adopt fintech and innovation. We plan to encourage members in the brick and mortar business to embrace e-commerce and digital media and increasingly internationalise themselves, he said. The SICCI, Chandroo said, will also continue to work on the development of small enterprises and increasing women participation in the business and corporate world. The Chamber…
Kerala shocker! Pinarayi woman allegedly poisoned parents, daughter over four months
For 28-year-old Soumya, her parents and daughter were the biggest hurdles in her hope to lead a progressive life. But who would have thought that this could lead this woman from Keralas Pinarayi village to end the lives of her entire family. Soumya was arrested on Tuesday after she confessed to these gruesome murders of her parents and her nine-year-old daughter by poisoning them in a gap of four months this year, cops said. Police cracked the crime after a 13-hour-long questioning of Soumya. According to TOI, the police team led by crime branch DSP Raghu Raman detained Soumya earlier on Tuesday. Police claimed that Soumya has confessed to killing her 76-year-old father Kunhikannan, 68-year-old mother V Kamala and her 9-month-old daughter Aishwarya, all residents of Padannakkara in Pinarayi. According to police, Soumya, however, denied any role in the death of her one-year-old daughter Keerthana in 2012. Soumya was taken for questioning when she was convalescing at a state-run hospital near here after being admitted for nausea and indigestion – incidentally, the same symptoms that her parents and her elder daughter suffered before they died. While her mother died on March 7, her father passed away on April 13, her…
J Dey murder case: , Chhota Rajan and 7 others sentenced to life imprisonment , Journalist Jigna Vora among two acquitted
A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Mumbai on Wednesday sentenced Earlier in the day, the court The court also found gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others guilty for the murder of 56-year-old journalist. Both Vora and Rajan are currently lodged in the high-security Tihar Central Jail in Delhi. Jyotirmoy Dey, 56, was shot dead in a broad daylight on June 11, 2017 near his Powai residence in Mumbai, sending shockwaves in media circles. The case was initially probed by police but was later handed over to the Crime Branch due to ramifications. The case took a sensational turn when Vora was arrested by police in November same year. Vora was Deputy Bureau Chief of The Asian Age. Investigators had claimed that Vora was in regular touch with Rajan and it was she who provoked him to kill Dey. According to media reports, Rajan was angry with Dey for using the word chindi to refer to gangsters in his book. After Rajans arrest, the CBI had taken over the probe and filed a supplementary chargesheet in which it had named him as an accused. A total of 10 high-profile accused including Vora are presently lodged in…
Shiv Sena leader Sachin Sawant shot dead in Mumbai, personal rivalry suspected
Shiv Sena leader Sachin Sawant was shot dead tonight allegedly by two motorbike-borne assailants in suburban Kandivali in Mumbai, police said. Udaykumar Rajeshirke, senior police inspector at the Kurar police station, said the incident happened around 8 PM when the 40-year-old leader was travelling in his car. The two unidentified assailants stopped his vehicle and fired four rounds at Sawant, an up-shakha pramukh (deputy branch head of Shiv Sena), in Gokul Nagar area, a police official said. The incident occurred around 8 PM when two persons riding a motorcycle allegedly fired four rounds at Sawant, an upa-shakha pramukh (deputy branch head of Shiv Sena), in Gokul Nagar area, a police official said. As per the initial reports, personal rivalry is suspected. Sawant was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead, he said. Rajeshirke said the police were in the process of filing a case and investigations are underway. Senior police officers refused to divulge details. The Kurar Police are investigating the matter. More details coming.
Narendra Modi’s Sweden visit gets Twitter attention for a ‘curious’ reason: Can you answer this?
Prime Minister Narendra Modis Sweden visit has got the attention for an unusual reason. After reaching Sweden, PM Modi was greeted by an excited group of people. The prime minister shared a number of pictures of his arrival from his official Twitter handle. While Modi looks happy being greeted by the people, the face of a particular man has become the talking point on social media. The man seems to appear in two images shared by Modi – one wearing a cap and the second without it. The matter came to light after comedian Jose Covaco noticed the man in two images and tweeted a valid question: Did this guy run ahead and put a cap on to disguise himself so he could shake Modijis hand twice? PM @narendramodi reached Stockholm a short while ago, where he was welcomed by @SwedishPM Mr. Stefan L Here are some pictures from the warm welcome for PM Modi by the Indian community in Stockholm. pic.twitter.com\/C992DsaXd0 twitter.com\/LQEeXF4uSb One of the users tweeted the man may be twinning, another user said, I just thought its the roadies twins. A user named Vinay joked: Booth capturing in Sweden as well. The comedian later reacted to responses…
Kolkata shocker! Teen dies after mechanic poses as doctor, fails to give treatment in ambulance
In a shocking incident, the Kolkata police, on Friday, arrested a fake doctor and an ambulance driver following the death of a 16-year-old boy during his transfer from one hospital to another. The arrests were made based on the complaint filed by the boy Das alleged that when his son was being transferred from one hospital to other, a mechanic who was posing as a doctor failed to operate the life support system in the ambulance. In his complaint, Das said that his son was suffering from high fever and back pain and was admitted at Annapurna Nursing Home in Burdwan on Thursday after being referred from Rampurhat Sadar Hospital. As his son showed no signs of improvement, he wanted to shift him to a super speciality hospital in Kolkata. At that time, the authority of Annapurna Nursing Home allegedly arranged for an ICCU Ambulance (WB 41G\/9587) along with a fake doctor namely Sarfarajuddin (25), resident of Memari under East Burdwan, and forced to shift the patient from Burdwan to Kolkata. The ambulance driver has been identified as Tara Babu Sha (26 ), a police officer said. The officer added that during this journey, the patients condition deteriorated allegedly due…
Anantnag encounter: Three terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir
Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir today, the army said. An anti-militancy operation was launched in Hakura area of Anantnag district late last night following information about the presence of militants in the area, an army official said. He said three militants were killed in the pre-dawn encounter with security forces. A police spokesman said two of the slain militants were identified as Eesa Fazli of Srinagar and Syed Owais of Kokernag in Anantnag. The identity of the third militant was being ascertained. In the process, arms and ammunition which include AK 47 rifles, pistols, hand-grenades, etc. were recovered from the encounter site. There was no collateral damage during the operation, the spokesman said. He said one of the slain militants was involved in a recent attack on a police guard post at Soura in the city, in which one police constable had been killed. Meanwhile, authorities ordered closure of schools and other educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Kashmir University has suspended classes for the day and postponed examinations as well. A spokesperson of the university said the revised date for examinations scheduled for today will be announced…
PMLA case: ED questions Satyendar Jain for second time
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today questioned Delhi Health and Power Minister Satyendar Jain for the second time in connection with a money laundering case registered against him and others. Officials said Jain arrived at the ED office here this morning for the second round of questioning. He was first questioned in the case last week. They said his statement was being recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the investigating officer of the case. The PMLA case was registered by the ED in August last year on the basis of a CBI FIR. The ED probe will focus if the minister and other accused in the case created illegal assets by laundering the alleged tainted funds. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complaint had said Jain could not explain the source of funds received by four companies in which he was a shareholder. It had registered a case against him, his wife and four others on charges of money laundering. The CBI has also questioned him in the case earlier. It had said that Rs 4.63 crore was allegedly received through Prayas Info Solutions, Akinchan Developers, Managalyatan Projects and Indo-Metal Impex Pvt Limited in 2015-16. They had…
‘Had no other legal option’, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh defends govt stand in Navjot Singh Sidhu case
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has defended the state government decision to In an official press release issued on Friday, Singh said that the government had taken only legal option available before it. He pointed out that the government could not have taken a different stand other than taken during the trial and also in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He said that had the government taken a different stand, Singh, however, expressed hope that the court will take Sidhus contribution to the society into account while delivering the final verdict. He also rejected charges of not liking the minister, saying, The government had submitted that was no evidence to suggest that Gurnam Singh (65) had died of cardiac arrest and trial court verdict was rightly set aside by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case dates to December 27, 1988, when Sidhu and his cousin had thrashed a man in what was described as a road rage case. The trial court at Patiala had acquitted Sidhu and his cousin for beating up the victim and two others. The lower court had said that medical report stated victim died of a heart attack. However, in 1999, the High…
Eminent scholar and Marxist economist Ashok Mitra dead
Eminent scholar and Marxist economist Ashok Mitra, who also served as the finance minister of West Bengal and chief economic adviser to the Government of India, passed away this morning after protracted illness. He was 90 and his wife predeceased him ten years ago. Born in Bangladesh, Mitra taught at the Lucknow University after completing master in economics from Benares Hindu University. He got his Ph.D from Netherlands. He worked for the World Bank, taught at the Delhi School of Economics and IIM Calcutta. Mitra was finance minister of West Bengal from 197787 when Jyoti Basu was the chief minister. In the mid-1990s he became a member of the Rajya Sabha and was chairman of the Parliaments Standing Committee on Industry and Commerce. He was the Chief Economic Adviser to the government of India from 1970 to 1972 when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister. Mitra was also associated with the prestigious Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) journal in its formative years. Besides writing several books, he penned several columns in newspapers and was known for his scathing analysis of contemporary economics and socio-political issue. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the death of Mitra. She tweeted, Saddened at…
President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Narendra Modi extend Buddha Purnima greetings
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday extended greetings on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. On Buddha Purnima, greetings to fellow citizens and to the global Buddhist community. Lord Buddhas message of non-violence, love and compassion provides us the strength to work for the welfare of others. May his teachings guide us towards universal fraternity, the President said. Modi said: The teachings of Lord Buddha are extremely relevant in the 21st century. His was a life devoted to alleviating suffering and removing injustice from society. His compassion has endeared him to millions. Buddha Purnima greetings to everyone. Buddha Purnima is traditionally celebrated in majority of East Asia to commemorate the birth of Gautam Buddha, who later became the founder of Buddhism.
SC to hear Aadhaar-voter ID link PIL after verdict on pleas challenging Aadhaar
The Supreme Court today said that it will hear a petition seeking linking of Aadhaar cards with voter identity cards and property documents after it verdict on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 12-digit unique identification number. The plea, filed by advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, has sought a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take appropriate steps to implement an Aadhaar-based election-voting system to ensure maximum participation in polls and curtail fake, bogus and duplicate voting in the spirit of section 17-18 of the Representation of People Act, 1950. We will list the petition for hearing after the Aadhaar judgment, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said while hearing the plea which also claimed that the linking of Aadhaar with voter ID cards and property documents will help to prevent benami transactions. The court will list it for hearing after it decides the constitutional validity of Aadhaar scheme and the law, the bench also comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said. The petition has asked for a direction to the Centre through the Ministry of Law and Justice to take appropriate steps to link movable and immovable property…
Tripura CM cow-rearing suggestion: Amul MD sees potential in Biplab Deb’s statement; here’s what he said
Days after Biplab Deb invited criticism from across the country for suggesting that people of the state should open paan shops or rear cows instead of looking for government jobs, the Tripura chief minister got the backing of none other than Amul managing director RS Sodhi. Responding to the CMs statement, Sodhi tweeted, Very practical and logical suggestion as Tripura is milk deficit state and importing crores of rupees milk. A youth in Tripura can earn 6-7 lacs per annum with 10 cows. Tripura is importing crores of Rs milk from other states including Gujarat. A youth can earn Rs 6-7 lacs per annum by rearing 10 cows or buff by taking the loan from banks, in Gujarat more than 8000 such farms, he said in another tweet. Last week at a seminar, the CM said, Here milk sells for Rs 50 a litre. Had a graduate who has been searching for employment in the last 10 years reared a cow, then their bank balance would have been Rs 10 lakh by now, Earlier, the chief minister had said that the internet was invented lakhs of years back and satellites and technology were present during the Mahabharata period.
Cauvery issue: All Tamil Nadu ministers barring CM, deputy CM to take part in fast
The entire AIADMK cabinet barring Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam will participate in the April 3 fast to be observed by the party seeking formation of the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). According to the list released by the party, senior Ministers Dindigul C Sreenivasan (Forest), K A Sengottaiyan (School Education), P Thangamani (Electricity), D Jayakumar (Fisheries) and SP Velumani (Municipal Administration) among others will head the fast organised at different locations across the state. The party nominated seven functionaries from Puducherry including MLAs to observe fast in the neighbouring union territory on the issue. Senior party leaders, heads of various wings, MPs and MLAs were also named in the list released by the party. The protest will be held in all 32 districts of Tamil Nadu, besides in Puducherry, urging the Centre to constitute CMB and Central Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC). With the Cauvery issue appearing to be snowballing into an embarrassment for the ruling AIADMK which has largely been friendly with the Centre, the party on Friday made an announcement on observing the hunger strike next week. AIADMK coordinator Panneerselvam made the announcement while chairing a mass wedding function organised by the party at Madurai…
BJP’s reputation on the line? PM Modi under fire as $2 billion PNB fraud hits anti-graft image
Shortly after a $2 billion bank fraud was uncovered last month at India The photo showed Modi posing at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 23 with a large business delegation that included billionaire jeweler Nirav Modi, who is at the center of the unfolding scandal. That was enough for opponents and even one of Modi Government officials said the jeweler was just part of a separate, non-official business delegation, and that the prime minister had only stopped by for a photo. Still, the scandal may already be having an impact: On March 14, Modi While investigations continue into India Riding to power on a pledge to unearth unaccounted wealth, Modi justified a move to ban 86 percent of the country This case could well deliver a blow to the Modi administrationC. The government Nirav Modi, who The bank alleges the duo and their associates worked with some rogue employees and used fake guarantees to obtain loans from abroad. Both deny the allegations. Though Nirav Modi shares the same surname as the prime minister, the two aren In addition to the photo, critics are also looking to undermine the government with a video from 2015 of the prime…
Whistleblower Christopher Wylie shares list of Cambridge Analytica’s projects in Indian elections, puts Nitish Kumar in dock
Christopher Wylie, a former employee of Cambridge Analytica turned whistleblower, has revealed several projects including elections in which the tainted firm was involved in India. Wylie, in a Twitter post, said that Cambridge Analytica, or its India wing, SCL, had an involvement in 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, 2009 National Elections, 2010 Bihar state elections, 2003 Madhya Pradesh elections and the 2007 polls in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Jharkhand. While Wylie refrained from naming any political party – restricting himself to a state party or a national patrty – that SCL worked with during other elections, he did categorically mention that CA worked for Nitish Kumars Janata Dal (United) in the year 2010. On Twitter, Wylie also shared a map of the addresses of companys offices in India. As per Wylies claim, the company has its offices in the cities of Ghaziabad, Bengaluru, Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore and Kolkata. The tweet which puts Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United in the dock, read: SCL india was asked to provide electoral research and strategy for the 2010 State Elections for the Janata Dal (United). SCL undertook a behavioural research programme targeting over 75% of households to assist the…
Arizona plane crash: Indian-American entrepreneur Anand Patel among six dead
A young Indian-American entrepreneur was among six people killed in a plane crash in a suburb of Phoenix in Arizona, authorities said today. They identified him as Anand Patel, 26, the founder of Whats Happy Clothing. The plane Piper PA-24 Comanche which was headed to Las Vegas crashed Monday night onto a Scottsdale golf course, some 15 minutes after takeoff from the city airport. On hitting the ground, the plane burst into flames, killing all the six passengers on board. The age of all of them ranged from 22 to 28 years. Anand Patel, popular among his friends by the name of happy, came to the US along with his twin brother Akash Patel in 2009 for studies. He co-founded the clothing line and worked as an event promoter, flying coast to coast with friends and clients on trips that often included stops in Scottsdale, local Republic news paper reported. Anand Patel was an entrepreneur with lots of energy and lots of charisma, Akash Patel told the daily. The plane crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board with help from the Federal Aviation Administration.
CBI books former CMD of UCO Bank in Rs 621-crore fraud case
The CBI has booked former chairman-cum-managing director of UCO Bank Arun Kaul and others in connection with an alleged Rs 621-crore loan fraud which has caused a loss of over Rs 737 crore to the bank, officials said today. The agency carried out searches at 10 locations today, they said here. Besides Kaul, the CBI booked Era Engineering Infra India Ltd. (EEIL), its CMD Hem Singh Bharana, two chartered accountants – Pankaj Jain and Vandna Sharda – and Pawan Bansal of Altius Finserve Pvt. Ltd. among others, they said. It is alleged that the accused persons in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy defrauded the UCO Bank to the tune of about Rs 621 crore by diversion and siphoning of the bank loans, they said. Kaul, who was the CMD of a Kolkata-based bank between 2010 and 2015, allegedly facilitated the accused company in obtaining the loan, they said. The loan was secured by producing false end-use certificates issued by the chartered accountant and by fabricating business data. The loan was not utilized for the sanctioned purpose, the CBI alleged. Searches are being conducted at 10 places (8 in Delhi and 2 in Mumbai) including the office premises of the companies,…
Who owns the Taj Mahal? To Wakf Board’s claim, SC says bring documents signed by Shah Jahan first
The Supreme Court today ordered the Sunni Wakf Board to produce documents to attest to its claim that Shah Jahan had declared that the Taj Mahal as a property of the board. The board is currently engaged in a legal battle with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over the ownership of the Taj Mahal. The apex court bench of CJI Dipak Misra asked the Sunni Wakf Board to submit documents signed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to support its claim. The apex court made this observation while hearing a petition filed by the ASI against the boards 2005 order to register the white marble monument as the property of the Sunni Wakf Board. The ASI had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2010. Shah Jahan had died in 1666, almost 18 years after he had built the Taj Mahal in the memory of his late wife Mumtaz Mahal. Arguing on behalf of the board, counsel VV Giri said that Shah Jahan had executed a wakf nama (inalienable charitable under the Islamic law) in favour of the board. To this, the CJI directed the board to show the original deed to the court with Shah Jahans signature. The…
‘Congress have blood on its hands’: Salman Khurshid on anti-Muslim riots during party’s rule
In a telling remark on the moral high ground that the Congress takes over rival BJP on the issue of riots and violence against the minorities, senior Congress leader and former Law minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said that Congress hem is tainted by blood stains of Muslims. Speaking at an event in Aligarh Muslim University, Khurshid said that one should learn from history. Asked what he has to say on anti-Muslim riots and Babri Mosque demolition under Congress rule, Khurshid said, Our hem is tainted by blood stains. and that is why you are telling me that we shouldnt stop if someone attacks you.. (but) we will show these stains, that you understand that if you attack these people, the stains will ultimately stain you., Khurshid added. He furher suggested that one should learn from Congress history, (you should) learn something from our history and understand, dont meet the same fate. that you visit the Aligarh university after 10 years and meet no one like you (the one who posed the question) to ask a question. (Hamare Daaman mein khoon ke dhabbe hain, aur isis vageh se aap ye hamse keh rahe hain ki ab agar aap par koi…