Tag: odishanews

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that the highest level of the BJP leadership was indulging in the worst kind of political vendetta.

Taking to her Twitter handle, Ms Banerjee said, “The highest levels of the BJP leadership are doing the worst kind of political vendetta. Not only are political parties their targets, they are misusing power to take control of the police and destroy all
institutions. We condemn this.”

In another tweet, she said, “The Kolkata Police Commissioner is among the best in the world. His integrity, bravery and honesty are unquestioned. He is working 24×7, and was on leave for only one day recently. When you spread lies, the lies will always remain lies.”

The Central Bureau of Investigation claimed on Saturday that Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar, is “absconding” and is “being looked for” for his role in going slow or diluting the SIT probe in multi-crore Saradha and Rose Valley Ponzi scams.

Earlier on Thursday, the Election Commissioner of India has taken exception to the absence of the Kolkata Police  commissioner from a meeting it had called in the city, where the poll panel discussed election preparations with senior officials.

An 1989-batch IPS officer, Mr Kumar replaced Surajit Kar Purkayastha as Kolkata commissioner in January 2016.

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan revealed that she has hermonal problem as she worked more, she put on. She said when people tell her why not she workout she tell them f…k you. ‘I had to work out hard to get my baby’ the actress said in response to questions.

Inmates in the US federal jail cry for help banging windows for help from outsiders as they face below freezing cold in the cells. Authorities have said that adequate water and medical preparedness is kept in the cells to meet with the abnormal fall in temperature.

The BJP’s Schedule Tribe Morcha on Sunday lauded Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma for taking ‘very bold and fearless initiative’ against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 and successfully ‘stalling/thwarting’ the Bill in Rajya Sabha.

In a press statement, BJP’s Schedule Tribe Morcha (STM), National Secretary Hayithung Bill Lotha unanimously and overwhelmingly’ hailed Sangma as an ‘iconic North East Hero’.

“Even before passing of the Bill in Lok Sabha on January 8 last, Sangma and AGP leaders were relentlessly meeting central leaders against the bill,” Lotha said. He said Sangma chaired a ‘historic meeting’ of 11 political parties to oppose the Bill on January 29 in Guwahati.

“Due to Sangma’s relentless hard work, the BJP-led NDA government has not officially listed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha agenda list in the current budget session, he added.

Meanwhile, BJP’s ally Janata Dal-United (JD-U) claimed that due to opposition from the party, the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was not tabled in the ongoing Rajya Sabha session.

JD-U general secretary in-charge for Northeast Ahmad Khan said that due his party’s opposition, the NDA government was pressurized not to bring the bill in the ongoing last session of the Rajya Sabha. (UNI)

Father of Army man Aurangzeb, who was abducted and killed by terrorists in June last year by the terrorists in Pulwama and a retired Army General on Sunday joined BJP in the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.
PM Modi is on a day-long visit to all the three regions of the state to lay foundations and inaugurate developmental projects worth crores.
Mohammad Haneef, father of Aurangzeb, joined the BJP along with Lt Gen (retd) Rakesh Kumar Sharma in the presence of the Prime Minister.
Haneef on Saturday said that he liked the ideology of the BJP, which is working for the welfare of poor.
They were welcomed by the BJP State president Ravinder Raina and Senior BJP leader and in-charge J&K affairs Avinash Rai Khanna.
Haneef also said that he was impressed by the vision of Mr Modi.
He also said that he is proud of his son, who sacrificed his life for the country and he wanted that every youth of Jammu and Kashmir should stand by the nation.

Union Home Minister and BJP’s newly appointed chairman of the Manifesto Committee Rajnath Singh on Sunday committed a minor faux when he addressed Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the ‘mukhya mantri -incumbent CM’ of Madhya Pradesh and corrected himself however saying soon he will get back the post.
Mr Singh referred to  Chouhan, who was recently ousted from Madhya Pradesh citadel of power, as ‘mukhya mantri’ when he said the former Chief Minister will be the convenor for the party to interact with citizens and other stake holders on farmers welfare and agrarian issue.
Speaking at the party function for the launch of party’s hyped campaign ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat – Modi Ke Saath’ here,   Singh corrected himself quickly saying, “after all he was there as Chief Minister for 15 long years, so we are fixed at calling him Chief Minister”.
“…..phir se ho jayenge (He will again get back his post),”   Singh referred albeit in a lighter sense.(UNI)

A day after a mammoth public rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee-led government has denied permission for chopper landing of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s rally in the state on Sunday.

UP Chief Minister Office on Sunday said in a statement that the West Bengal government has denied permission for chopper landing of Mr Adityanath’s rally in West Bengal without any prior notice.
Yogi Adityanath was scheduled to address a rally in south and north Dinajpur, West Bengal, on Sunday.

The Trinamool Congress government refused to give chopper landing permission during his visit to Balurghat in south Dinajpur and Raniganj in North Dinajpur, officials here confirmed.
Meanwhile, BJP in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya in a statement here has condemned WB CM Mamta Banerjee for denying permission for helicopter landing of Yogi Aditynath.

“In Democracy such act is condemnable and it shows how afraid is the Trinmool Congress after PM’s rally in West Bengal,” he said in a statement.
The BJP said that three days back permission were sought for the rally and chopper permission for both the rallies. Though the permission for the rallies were given but chopper permission by the district authorities were not given.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed two rallies in West Bengal – one in Thakurganj and one in Durgapur, drawing huge crowd. (UNI)

The ruling BJP on Sunday kicked off its much ambitious Mission 2019 – a month long ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat – Modi Ke Saath’ – to enlist views of at least 10 crore families to

prepare the road map for drafting of party’s manifesto in order to ensure a progressive and prosperous India.

“It will be a people oriented programme and not merely a party programme. This campaign and people’s feedback will help ensure a strong and prosperous India,”  Shah said at a function here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also tweeted seeking people’s suggestions and wrote: “What you all share will form the blueprint of our ‘Sankalp Patra’ for the 2019 election”.

The function was attended among others by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the chairman of the party’s Sankalp Patra Committee and several Union Ministers and key party leaders.

BJP leaders Bhupender Yadav, Ram Madhav and union ministers Prakash Javadekar, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Smriti Irani also attended the function.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to micro blogging site and tweeted simultaneously even when   Shah’s speech was on.

“Participative democracy is an article of faith for our party. We have always worked to be an effective voice for rights and well-being of each and every Indian and to build a strong and prosperous India,” tweeted Prime Minister Modi, who is on a day long visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Your voice is of utmost importance. Urging you all to take part in ‘Bharat ke Mann ki Baat, Modi ke Saath’, a unique effort by BJP to get citizen feedback,” the Prime Minister wrote seeking people’s suggestions and views in making of a strong India.

“What you all share will form the blueprint of our ‘Sankalp Patra’ for the 2019 election,”   Modi tweeted.

In his speech at the Delhi meet,   Shah also said the efforts by over 11 crore BJP members and leaders would go a long way in making of ‘manifesto’ a serious matter in Indian political system.

“The campaign ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat – Modi Ke Saath’ is aimed at taking people’s suggestions to ensure safety and security and improve the living conditions of the poor people and to make a New India,”   Shah said.

Speaking on the occasion,   Singh said suggestions and views would be enlisted from the people cutting across all divisions on some major broad subjects like agriculture, welfare of youths and inclusive development and inclusive growth.

“This is a gigantic and unique effort at the global level,” he said.

There will be 12 core issues from which suggestions will be enlisted from people include – farmers’ concern and that they get right price for their produces.

He also listed out several welfare measures undertaken by the government during last four-and-half years and said “our works have actually enhanced people’s expectations”.

Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday visited Rangapahar Military Station to review operational preparedness of Army Formations in the region.

Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lieutenant General MM Naravane received the army chief.

General Officer Commanding Spear Corps Lieutenant General Rajeev Sirohi briefed him on his arrival on a two-day visit.

The Spear Corps, besides undertaking extensive Counter Insurgency operations in North Eastern states is also responsible for operations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Army Chief expressed satisfaction with the operational preparedness along the LAC and appreciated the conduct of people friendly Counter Insurgency operations by the Spear Corps, a defence PRO said.

He complimented the troops for ensuring peace and tranquility in the region by their dedicated hard work in difficult terrain and operational conditions.

He interacted with the officers and troops of Spear Corps and asked them to work tirelessly and in a professional manner to accomplish their task.

The Army Chief is also scheduled to visit Kohima and Itanagar.(UNI)

Thirtieth National Road Safety Week will be inaugurated on Monday which

will include a motorcar rally, among several other events, which would be flagged off to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari, and Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya will inaugurate the Week, here.

The event, which will take place at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan, Rajghat, will be attended by a host of school children, NGOs, and stakeholders in road safety from Government and industry.

Various programmes will be held during the Road Safety Week, including seminars and workshops on Emerging Trends in Safety, Road Safety Engineering, Motor Vehicle Insurance, Emergency care (Protection of Good Samaritan & First Responder Training), Role of Youth, and Industry/ Corporate Conclave on Role of Corporate in Road Safety.

These will be attended by representatives of OEMs, ACMA, test agencies, road engineers, auditors and road construction companies, corporates, NGOs, insurance companies, medical staff, and college students. School Bus Driver Refresher Training session will also be held at IDTR, Sarai Kale Khan, where bus drivers from private schools will be imparted training on road safety.

A car rally will also be flagged off on the occasion to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

It will travel through places historically associated with Gandhiji, both in India, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar. It will connect the places of significance in Gandhiji’s life, and simultaneously take up advocacy on Road Safety concerns, an official statement said here.

The rally will pass through Sabarmati, Porbandar, Dandi, Yerwada, Sewagram, Jabalpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Chauri Chaura, Champaran, Shantiniketan and Kolkata in India before travelling to Dhaka in Bangladesh. It will conclude at Yangon in Myanmar on February 24.

It will cover around 7,250 km to reach Yangon. This is part of the year-long celebrations to commemorate the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi in India and across the globe, initiated by the Union Government on October 2 last year.(UNI)

In an apparent jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the appointment of Rishi Kumar Shukla as the New director of the Central bureau of Investigation, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday compared it with choice of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner in the Rafale deal.
”Merit according to Modi,” Rahul said in a tweet in which he posted a news report which said that the Rafale deal is a lifeline to Reliance group which is now promised a massive infusion of funds through defence holdings.
It is seen as a reference to the appointment of Shukla as the New CBI director by the Appointments committee of the cabinet, from the panel of names recommended by the three member selection committee, comprising the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Chief Justice of India justice Ranjan Gogoi.
The tweet by Rahul came after Congress leader and leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge recorded his dissent on the appointment of Shukla as the CBI director, contending that an officer without any experience in the field of anti-corruption should not be appointed for the post.
In his dissent note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Kharge said that Mr Shukla, who had been appointed for the post had no experience of investigation in anti-corruption cases, as laid down by the Supreme Court observation in the Vineet Narain judgement.
In his dissent note, Mr Kharge alleged that the PM-led committee diluted the required criteria for the selection of the CBI director, thus violating the spirit of the Delhi special police establishment act and the Supreme court guidelines.(UNI)

India on Saturday issued a ‘demarche’ to the US Embassy here on the ‘detention’ of Indian students in America in the “pay-and-stay” university visa scam.

The government of India also sought immediate consular access to them, an MEA statement said here.

“A demarche was made to the Embassy of the United States in New Delhi by the Ministry of External Affairs. Our concern over the dignity and well-being of the detained students and the need for immediate consular access for Indian officials to the detainees was reiterated,” the statement said.

The government also insisted that “….students, who may have been duped into enrolling in the ‘University’ should be treated differently from those recruiters who have duped them”.

“We have urged the US side to share full details and regular updates of the students with the Government, to release them from detention at the earliest and not to resort to deportation against their will,” the statement said.

The Government of India continues to closely monitor and take proactive measures to address the situation arising out of the detention of several Indian students in connection with their enrollment in a fraudulent university in the United States, the foreign ministry said.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made the arrests on Wednesday.

The India mission and consulates have visited several detention centres throughout the US to extend consular assistance to the detained students, the MEA said.

“So far, about 30 Indian students have been contacted by our consular officers. Efforts to contact the remaining Indian students are continuing,” the statement said.

The ministry said a 24/7 helpline has been established in the Indian Embassy in Washington for assistance and queries related to the detention of Indian students.

The university in Detroit’s Farmington Hills was part of an undercover operation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designed to expose ‘immigration fraud’, according to federal prosecutors who announced charges in the case.

The Helpline numbers 202-322-1190 and 202-340-2590 would be manned by senior embassy officials round the clock, sources said.(UNI)

Former Univarta journalist and editor Banarasi Singh passed away here on Saturday.

He was 85.

Singh was ill since past one week and was admitted to Yashoda Hospital, Ghaziabad, where he breathed his last. He is survived by his wife and four sons.

Banarasi was born on July 9, 1933 in a family of farmers in Gogavan Jalalpur village of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. His acquired his primary education in Nijibabad, Bijnor and MA degree from Moradabad.

He took the journalism plunge with “Veer Arjun” newspaper in 1960 and wrote independently during the Emergency.

Later in 1982, he joined Univarta and retired as news editor in August 1993.

While in Univarta, his weekly feature ‘Paas Pados’ ,based on the politics of neighbouring countries became very popular.

Singh had also penned many books. As many as ten of his books have been published, among which ‘San sattavan ke bhoole shaheed’ and ‘London mein goli’ are primary.

India were today ousted from Davis Cup after 1-3 loss to Italy in the 5-match

Qualifiers tie at South Club here on Sunday.

Indian duo Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won the only doubles in the fixture but their mates Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan lost their singles to Italian rivals and thus went out from the tournament.

Andreas Seppi won the opening singles against Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-2 and debutante Matteo Berrettini beat Prajneseh Gunneswaran 6-4,6-3 in the other singles on opening Friday. But Indian duo Bopanna and Sharan had revived some hopes for the countrymen after they defeated Italy’s Matteo Berrettini and Simone Bolelli 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first match of the day.

But in the reverse singles of the day Andreas Seppi beat Gunneswaran 6-1,6-4 to win the rubbers in the 5-match tie and move for the Madrid finals to be held in

Demanding opening of all routes, including Kargil-Skardu, with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said such initiatives will not only open up Jammu and Kashmir to the world, but also serve the cause of peace beyond boundaries.
Meanwhile, after Ms Mufti and National Conference (NC) Vice-President Omar Abdullah, chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Omar Farooq also supported the demand of people of Kargil in Ladakh region, to open road to Skardu in PoK.
Ms Mufti, who resigned as Chief Minister in June last year after BJP pulled out from the coalition government, said opening of all routes with PoK was one of the points envisaged in the ‘Self Rule’ document of PDP.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, she said ”PDP envisaged through #SelfRule not only opening of #KargilSkardu, but other routes too, to let people explore & increase contacts across borders. Such initiatives will not only open up jk to the world around us, but also serve the cause of peace beyond boundaries @jkpdp.”
In a similar tweet, chairman of moderate HC Mirwaiz said ”Support People’s march in #Kargil demanding reopening of old Kargil-Skardu route which is just 120 kms apart ! All natural routes of divided state of J&K should be opened and people allowed to connect to their loved ones, have access to essentials in harsh weather conditions.
Former CM Omar Abdullah also supported the people of Kargil, who took to streets on Friday, demanding opening of the road to Skardu.
Presently, people of Jammu and Kashmir are crossing over to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) at two places- Srinagar-Muzaffarabad, PoK capital and Poonch in Jammu region-Rawlakote.
Both the routes have helped thousand of families divided due to partition in 1947, to meet each.(UNI)

Family members of a 22-year-old youth who has reportedly joined Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) militant outfit, has appealed him to return home.
Danish Haneef Wani, a commerce graduate, resident of Natipora, Srinagar, went missing on December 30 when he left home for prayers in a nearby mosque.
However, his family lodged a missing report at police station Sadder on the next day without making any breakthrough.
However, on Saturday a picture of Danish, alias Abu Duhjahna, holding a gun in his hand surfaced on social media.
According to the picture,he joined LeT militant group on January 8.

Police said they were verifying the authenticity of the photograph.
Meanwhile, in a message on social media, mother of Danish made a passionate appeal to him to return home since entire family is very disturbed and are in a state of shock.(UNI)

Professor Surya Sethi, UNESCO Chair and Professor for Climate Science & Policy, TERI School of Advanced Studies, has said the message of the Interim Budget 2019-20 is that “Ache Din” are still on the horizon.

Reacting to the Interim Budget on Friday, Prof Sethi said, ‘And even though there is no evidence to show that on-account budgets affect election outcomes, the tone of the budget does raise the odds on continuation of Modi and his policies.’

“Projecting such stability in the policy landscape is a positive development for the markets,” he added.

A support scheme for farmers to supplement their income and a major tax bonanza for the middle class and unveiling of the Developmental agenda for the years to come, formed the highlights of the Interim Budget 2019-20, presented in Parliament on Friday by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.

Besides the farmers’ income support scheme aimed at benefitting 12 crore small and marginal farmers

with direct income support, a path breaking pension initiative for 10 crore unorganised sector workers and exempting income up to Rs 5 lakh from Income Tax, are some of the major highlights of the Budget.

Among the other features of the Budget are reforms in stamp duty, highest ever budgetary allocation of Rs 3 lakh crore for Defence, record allocation of funds at Rs 58,166 crore for North Eastern Areas, a new AIIMS for Haryana and single window clearance for Indian film makers at par with foreigners and higher budgetary allocations for Education, Health, Infrastructure and for the welfare of weaker sections, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.(UNI)

Staying ahead of others the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee(OPCC) has put its cards on the mats.The OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik has issued orders to district party presidents to suggest three names taking the clues from the zonal presidents taking care of each candidate’s   winning prospects. After which the names shall be sent to the party’s national president Rahul Gnadhi, Patnaik said talking to the media today.

Amid possibilities of a huge crowd thronging the Kumbh fair on the pious occasion of ‘Mauni Amavasya’ which is also the day of the second ‘shahi snan’ on February 4, important directions regarding the efficient arrangement of crowd and traffic control were given to officials from various departments by the district administration.
Holding a meeting with the Kumbh fair administration, railway officials, roadways officers and other concerned officials in the ICCC auditorium of Prayagraj Mela Authority, Commissioner Dr Ashish Kumar Goyal on Friday gave important directions to maintain better traffic system for the safe return of pilgrims and devotees after taking a holy dip on the occasion of ‘Mauni Amavasya.’
The departments concerned were given directions for putting up more signages at various places for the ease of passengers.
Stressing on the significance of ease of travel, the Commissioner directed that continuous announcements related to the operation of trains should be made to ensure that the pilgrims are aware of the directions from where they have to leave for reaching their destinations.
Dr Goyal instructed the senior officials of the departments concerned to conduct a ground inspection compulsorily on Saturday, while ensuring all the important facilities related to their department.
The Commissioner also stressed on the deployment of experienced and knowledgeable officials in the control room so that they provide the people with precise information about the operations of trains, buses and other related matters.
Focusing on other aspects, the Commissioner asked the officials of the railway department to remain persistently active in regard to railway hospital, adding that enough ambulance facilities should be present at hospitals and other allotted places.
Dr Goyal also said the ambulance drivers should be informed about alternate routes to other hospitals in the city, while adding that enough security forces should be present at stations and other sites.
On this occasion, NCR Railway General Manager Rajiv Chaudhary gave detailed information about train operations and the ways of managing crowd on railway stations.(UNI)

Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam apologised after his 1984 medical yearbook page emerged, showing a photo featuring men in racist costumes.

Ralph Northam confirmed that he was in a racist yearbook photo showing one person dressed in blackface and another in the KKK’s signature white hood and robes, and apologised for ‘the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.”

Black politicians in Virginia called the image “disgusting” and Republicans urged the Democrat to resign, a report in BBC said.

The picture showed a man in blackface and another man in Ku Klux Klan robes.

It appeared on a page with other photos of Mr Northam as well as personal details about him.

He did not elaborate on which costume he was wearing, but said he appeared in a photograph that was “clearly racist and offensive”.

“This behaviour is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment,” the governor said in a statement after the image was made public.

He further said “I recognise that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their governor.”(UNI)