A powerful IED blast damaged a key bridge along the NH 2 in Manipur, leaving over 150 trucks taking essential commodities to the state capital Imphal stranded in the Senapati district on Wednesday.Unidentified miscreants triggered the powerful IED explosion which damaged the bridge between Koubru Leikha and Saparmeina in Kangpokpi district at around 12.45 am, an officer said.No casualties were reported in the blast which formed three craters in the middle portion of the bridge in the ethnic violence-affected state.The Manipur government suspended the movement of heavy vehicles between Saparmeina and Koubru Leikha along NH 2 "with immediate effect to avoid any untoward incidents".According to the order issued by the Kangpokpi District Magistrate, "Light unloaded and light passenger vehicles may pass through strict regulation for the moment."The superintendent of police of Kangpokpi shall regulate the traffic until an alternate route is found, it said."Over 150 trucks were stranded because of the blast. The trucks were carrying essential items on NH-2," an official said.The highway connects landlocked Manipur and its capital Imphal with Nagaland's Dimapur and is the major lifeline of the state.Security personnel have cordoned off the bridge, he said, adding that an investigation into the IED blast has been initiated.The IED explosion occurred hours after gunfights broke out between village volunteers of the two warring communities in Imphal West district.Over 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence in Manipur between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjacent hills-based Kukis since May last year. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 April,2024 11:18 PM IST | Imphal | ANIAs many as 18 Naxalites, including a militia platoon section commander and three women, surrendered on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada, a senior police officer said. Hidma Oyam (34) was working as the Hurrepal Panchayat Militia Platoon (HPMP) section commander, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai. The three women are identified as Sambati Oyam (23) who was working as a deputy commander of HPMP, Gangi Madkam (28), the vice president of Kakadi Panchayat Krantikari Mahila Adivasi Sangthan (KAMS) of the banned CPI (Maoist), and Hungi Oyam (20), a member of Chetna Natya Mandli, the cultural wing of CPI (Maoists). "The 18 Naxals laid down arms in front of police and CRPF officials. They were part of Bhairamgarh, and Malanger area committees of the Maoists in south Bastar," Rai said. He said the Naxals surrendered themselves as they were impressed by the police's rehabilitation drive 'Lon Varratu' and disappointed with the hollow Maoist ideology. "These cadres were tasked with digging roads, felling trees to block roads and putting up posters and banners during shutdowns called by Naxalites. They will be provided facilities as per the government's surrender and rehabilitation policy," the SP added. With this, 738 Naxalites, including 177 of them carrying rewards on their heads, have so far joined the mainstream in Dantewada district, officials said. Security forces have launched a crackdown on Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-hit districts. Naxalites suffered the highest number of fatalities in a single encounter in the history of the state's fight against LWE on April 16 when security forces gunned down 29 Naxals in Kanker district. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 April,2024 10:18 PM IST | Dantewada | PTIUnion minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday fainted while speaking at an election rally in eastern Maharashtra's Yavatmal district. The BJP leader was campaigning at Pusad which comes under the Yavatmal-Washim Lok Sabha constituency. VIDEO | Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari fainted during an election rally in Maharashtra's Yavatmal earlier today.Gadkari later shared on X (formerly Twitter) that he was fine and was leaving for Warud, Maharashtra to address another rally.… pic.twitter.com/FwaW3uL3DM — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 24, 2024 As he suffered a fainting fit, the security personnel accompanying him carried him off-stage. The minister, however, recovered after a few minutes and completed his speech. पुसद, महाराष्ट्र में रैली के दौरान गर्मी की वजह से असहज महसूस किया। लेकिन अब पूरी तरह से स्वस्थ हूँ और अगली सभा में सम्मिलित होने के लिए वरूड के लिए निकल रहा हूँ। आपके स्नेह और शुभकामनाओं के लिए धन्यवाद। — Nitin Gadkari (मोदी का परिवार) (@nitin_gadkari) April 24, 2024 "Felt uneasy due to heat at a rally at Pusad, Maharashtra. But now I am completely alright and on my way to Warud to take part in the next rally," the 66-year-old leader said in a post on X. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 April,2024 09:25 PM IST | Yavatmal | PTIThe Supreme Court on Wednesday sought answers to some queries from the Election Commission of India while hearing a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta queried an Election Commission official related to the functioning of the EVMs, including whether the microcontrollers fitted in them are reprogrammable.The bench among other issues sought clarity from the ECI official on whether the microcontroller is installed in the controlling unit or the VVPAT and the flash memory of the microcontrollers in EVMs cannot be reprogrammed.The official response was, "All three units, ballot units, VVPAT and the chip... all have their microcontrollers and these microcontrollers are housed in a secured unauthorised access detection module and it cannot be accessed. All the microcontrollers are one-time programmable. It is burned when inserted so can never be changed. For symbol loading we have two manufacturers, one is ECI and Bharat Electronics."The top court said that it would consider passing directions to strengthen the EVM system since going back to ballot paper was out of the question."Let us see what can be done if any safeguards are needed we will see what is needed to strengthen the current system (EVMs)," said the bench.In the morning, the bench had said it needed clarification on certain aspects as there was some confusion over the answers given by the ECI to 'frequently asked questions' (FAQs) about EVMs and officials to be present in court at 2 pm to clear its queries.The petitions sought cross-verification by the voters of votes cast by them as "counted as recorded" in the EVMs with VVPAT.Currently, VVPAT slips of five randomly selected EVMs in every Assembly segment are verified.The apex court was hearing a plea seeking more extensive verification of EVM data against VVPAT records.The requirement of the voters verifying that their votes have been "recorded as cast" is somewhat met when the VVPAT slip is displayed for about seven seconds after pressing the button on the EVM through a transparent window for the voters to verify that their vote has been recorded on the internally printed VVPAT slip before the slip falls into the 'ballot box', the plea stated.It said that however, there is a complete vacuum in law as the poll panel has provided no procedure for the voter to verify that his/ her vote has been 'counted as recorded' which is an indispensable part of voter verifiability. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 April,2024 09:22 PM IST | Delhi | ANICongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made an unscheduled halt in Latur city of central Maharashtra as there is no night-landing facility at the local airport, party sources said. Earlier, Gandhi arrived at the Latur airport around 3 pm from Amravati and flew to Solapur in a helicopter for a campaign rally in support of party candidate Praniti Shinde. He returned to Latur around 6 pm but could not fly back to Delhi as per his schedule as planes can not land at the local airport at night, sources said. Gandhi then proceeded to the Grand Hotel in the city for an overnight stay. He would be returning to Delhi in the morning. He met Congress MLA and former state minister Amit Deshmukh and discussed the political situation in Maharashtra with him, sources said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
24 April,2024 09:19 PM IST | Latur | PTIDuring a rally for Lok Sabha Elections 2024, in Maharashtra's Amravati district, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi made various promises, including that if the INDIA alliance is elected, it will bring prosperity to millions of people and undertake critical surveys. Gandhi criticised the Narendra Modi regime, claiming that his policies benefited only a few people while harming the bulk of the nation. He stated that the INDIA alliance would strive towards producing millions of 'lakhpatis', considerably enhancing the country's economic landscape, reported PTI. The Gandhi scion, during his speech at the rally for Lok Sabha Elections 2024, highlighted the importance of the Constitution, claiming that no power could alter it. Gandhi emphasised the importance of conducting a caste census and an "economic survey" to properly address the problems of diverse socioeconomic groups. The Congress party's manifesto included measures such as the Mahalaxmi plan, which attempts to provide financial assistance to women in need, and the right to apprenticeship, which strives to empower graduates and diploma holders. Gandhi believes that these actions will benefit the nation's development and lift millions of people from poverty, the news agency report stated. "The 10 years of PM Modi's rule saw 22-25 persons becoming 'arabpatis' (billionaires). If voted to power, the INDIA alliance will create crores of 'lakhpatis'," Gandhi said, per the PTI report. "The Mahalaxmi scheme, aiming to provide Rs 1 lakh every year to poor women, and the right to apprenticeship, which aims to enable graduates and diploma holders to get a one-year job as apprentices and provide Rs 1 lakh in their bank accounts, will change the face of the country and make crores of 'lakhpatis'," Gandhi said during the rally for Lok Sabha Elections 2024. He accused the BJP of ignoring the interests of marginalised communities and aiming to subvert the Constitution. In contrast, Gandhi proclaimed his commitment to upholding democracy and promoting fairness for all members of society, the news agency report further stated. Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying, "The Constitution is not just a book, but a weapon of the poor. 22-25 persons were helping Modi to destroy it and whenever I talk about this, Modi diverts the issue with the Pakistan and China narrative. The poor, Dalits, backwards, minorities, poor from the general category, Adivasis comprise 90 per cent of the population and they do not have a representation in the corporate, government and media fields. There are 15 per cent Dalits, 8 per cent Adivasis, 50 per cent OBCs, 15 per cent minorities, and five per cent poor from the general category. Since they do not have a representation, issues related to them are not highlighted as they should be." According to the report, Gandhi said, "The INDI alliance is working towards saving the Constitution whereas Modi, BJP, and RSS are working towards finishing the Constitution and democracy. I want to give the message to Maharashtra and the entire country that no force in the world can change our Constitution." The report further stated Gandhi as saying, "Modi only helped his 22 industrialist friends and did nothing for the common people. He implemented the note ban and brought farm laws and GST. How much loan of the poor, students and farmers has he waived while granting a Rs 16 lakh crore loan waiver to his 22 industrialist friends." Gandhi also promised to solve farmers' concerns by waiving loans and establishing an agricultural commission. He also campaigned for greater representation of women in government and public sector jobs, as well as financial assistance for frontline workers such as Aasha and Aanganwadi workers. "Our government will waive farm loans and will set up a farmers commission which will waive loans when the need arises," the Congress leader said and added that the tribal community was the "first owners of Hindustan" while alleging that the Modi government did not invite President Droupadi Murmu for either consecration of Ayodhya Ram Temple and inauguration of new Parliament building. "Our government will conduct a caste-based Census and the economic survey which will be a revolutionary step in the national interest," Gandhi said.
24 April,2024 07:09 PM IST | Amravati | mid-day online correspondentShiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday hit out the BJP, saying that by inducting former Congress leader Ashok Chavan, the ruling party has also become a part of the multi-crore Adarsh Society scam now, reported news agency PTI. Earlier, the BJP used to target Chavan saying the families of martyrs were fooled in the Adarsh Society scam, but now the same party is involved in fooling them, he alleged. Thackeray was addressing a press conference at Nanded in Maharashtra, where he arrived to campaign for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate Vasant Chavan from the Nanded Lok Sabha constituency. Ashok Chavan, a former Maharashtra chief minister, is an accused in the Adarsh Society scam wherein a 31-storey posh building in south Mumbai was constructed allegedly on land owned by the Defence Ministry without getting the requisite permissions and clearances. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014 sought to delete Chavan's name from the case but this was rejected both by the special CBI court and later by the Bombay High Court in 2015. The matter is pending before the Supreme Court which in 2018 stayed proceedings in the case. Chavan joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in February this year and was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha after being fielded by the party. At the time of joining the ruling party, Chavan termed the Adarsh case as a "political mishap" and said he considered it a "non-issue" now. Thackeray said, "The Adarsh Society scam case is yet to be decided by the court. Now, BJP has inducted Ashok Chavan into the party fold and made him a Rajya Sabha member. So this way, BJP is also involved in the Adarsh Society scam now," reported PTI. "There are videos (of BJP leaders) saying that Adarsh Society was formed and the families of martyrs were fooled. But after Chavan joined the BJP, he was also praised on stage," he said. Earlier the BJP leaders used to say that families of martyrs were fooled in the Adarsh scam, Thackeray said. "Now it is my allegation that BJP is also involved in fooling the martyrs' families," he said, reported PTI. Thackeray also said that after Chavan quit the Congress, several new faces came up in the partyLok Sabha elections 2024, reported PTI. "Congress has received a fresh fillip after Ashok Chavan's departure. The barriers in the path of new leaders are now gone. The 'subhedari' in our party also crumbled," he said, apparently referring to the Eknath Shinde-led camp. On the state government's decision to provide a Y-plus security cover to Parth Pawar, the son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Sena (UBT) president said, "I have heard that rocket launchers and tanks are also being deployed for his security. People working at the residences of those who betrayed are being provided security, but common people are not secure. Firing took place in front of actor Salman Khan's residence." "But the people who are with them (those in power) are given security. Who is paying for their security is the question. They (government) are collecting taxes from people, who are not safe, and providing security to the traitors," Thackeray alleged. (With inputs from PTI)
24 April,2024 01:49 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondentCongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of waiving off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore of his billionaire friends, and said the country will never forgive him for this "crime". In a post in Hindi on X, he said this money could have been used to cure the pain of Indians but was spent on creating hype for the ilk of those like 'Adanis'. "Narendra Modi has waived off the loans of his billionaire friends amounting to Rs 1,60,00,00,00,00,000 i.e. 16 lakh crore rupees. With this much money: 16 crore youth could have got jobs of Rs 1 lakh per year, by giving Rs 1 lakh per year to 16 crore women, the lives of their families could have been changed. Countless suicides could have been prevented by waiving off the loans of 10 crore farmer families," he said. "The entire country could have been provided gas cylinders for just Rs 400 for 20 years. The entire expenses of the Indian Army could have been borne for 3 years. Education up to graduation could have been made free for every youth from Dalit, tribal and backward society," the former Congress chief said in his post. Charging that the "money which could have been used to cure the pain of 'Indians' was spent on creating hype for those like the 'Adanis'," he said the country will never forgive Narendra Modi for this crime. "Now the situation will change - Congress will run the government for the progress of every Indian," Gandhi said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
24 April,2024 01:19 PM IST | New Delhi | PTICongress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had panicked after seeing the Congress' "revolutionary" manifesto. "So did you like the Congress manifesto? You must have seen that the Prime Minister has panicked. It is a revolutionary manifesto," Rahul Gandhi said while speaking at Social Justice conclave organised by the Congress in Delhi. Rahul Gandhi alleged that Narendra Modi government at the Centre transferred crores of rupees to the few billionaires and said that Congress manifesto talks about returning a small amount of that money to the people who are at the bottom pyramid of income and wealth distribution. " There is mention of x-ray (caste census) and income inequality created by Modi ji. The Congress will return a small amount of money to 90% of the people of the country from the Rs 16 lakh crore given to the 22 people by Narendra Modi," he said His comment was in the backdrop of Prime Minister Modi's criticism that Congress manifesto smacks of appeasement and that if it came to power, it would redistribute people's wealth and also give reservations to Muslims from the quota for SC, ST, and OCB communities. Rahul claimed that there is no one from Other Backward Classes community in the India's rich people's list. "Prime Minister Modi has been saying for the ten years that he is an OBC but when I talked about caste census, Modi said that there is no caste. If there is no caste how are you OBC. Then he said that in India there is only two castes poor and rich. All right if you agree that there are rich and poor people in India, then bring out the lists of poor and rich in India. Then you will find OBCs and Dalits, Adivasis in poor people's list, and see no Dalits, Adivasis and backwards in the rich list," he said. He said that ensuring social justice to the 90 percent of Indians who are at the bottom of the pyramid is his life mission and there is compromise on it. "Caste census is not politics for me, it is my life's mission, and I will not leave it. No power can stop the caste census. As soon as the Congress government comes, we will first conduct caste census. This is my guarantee," Rahul Gandhi said. "They say I'm not serious, I'm not interested in politics. Land Acquisition Bill, MNREGA, Niyamgiri, Bhatta Parsaul are not serious. When people talk about the larger population they call us non-serious. When you don't have the loud speaker in hand, everything that you say is non-serious," he further added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
24 April,2024 12:59 PM IST | New Delhi | ANICongress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said as the first round of voting of the Lok Sabha polls was over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of invisible voters and that's why he is always criticising the Congress party, reported news agency PTI. If the Congress is nothing, why is the Prime Minister bothered about the grand old party, Kharge asked at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram. He said he had travelled to nearly 10-12 states and that the party was getting a very good response from voters there. "I hope the undercurrent, that I can say, is not visible but Modiji is afraid of these invisible voters, and that's why he is always criticising the Congress," Kharge said at the press conference, reported PTI. Accusing the Prime Minister of acting like a "petty politician," the AICC president also wanted him to read more about this country's history and learn how to keep the nation united. Meanwhile, campaigning has peaked for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 on April 26 with opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc hitting out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Prime Minister's "mangalsutra" remark, over the BJP's Surat MP winning unopposed with Congress leaders reiterating promise to conduct a caste census, reported ANI. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that her party is committed to conducting a caste survey if it is elected to power at the Centre and the Kadugolla community in Karnataka will be included among Scheduled Tribes (ST). Addressing a Lok Sabha elections 2024 rally in Karnataka's Chitradurga, she said that Congress will pass a constitutional amendment to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs. "For Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and OBC like my brother (Rahul Gandhi) says everywhere, a complete count will be done in the entire country as to who belongs to which caste and how much is their population and who is earning how much and then new policies will be made under that. The reservation limit will be increased from 50 per cent and the SC, ST sub-plan will be implemented. A special budget will be issued for SC, ST, and the Kadugolla community will be given ST status," she said, reported ANI. Later, at a public meeting in Bengaluru, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "Mangalsutra" comments saying that the latter does not understand the struggles of women and her mother, Sonia Gandhi's mangalsutra was sacrificed for the country. "In the last two days, they are discussing that the Congress party wants to rob you of your mangal sutra, your gold. It has been 70 years since the country gained independence. The Congress has been in power for around 55 years. Has anyone taken off your gold, your mangal sutra? When we were at war, Indira Gandhi gave off her gold to the country. My mother's (Sonia Gandhi) mangalsutra was sacrificed for this country," Gandhi said speaking at a public meeting in Bengaluru, reported ANI. The Lok Sabha elections 2024 are being held in India in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1 to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. While the first phase of the elections have concluded, the second phase of polling will be held on Friday. (With inputs from PTI and ANI)
24 April,2024 12:44 PM IST | Thiruvananthapuram | mid-day online correspondentPolice have arrested seven persons for allegedly killing a 38-year-old man over an enmity in Maharashtra's Gondia district, officials said, reported news agency PTI. The incident took place on Monday night when the man, Rohit alias Golu Hariprasad Tiwari was going on his two-wheeler towards Kudwa Chowk, the officials said on Tuesday, reported PTI. The accused, who were riding two motorcycles, followed him. One of them allegedly opened fire at Tiwari, an official said, reported PTI. The bullet pierced through the man's chest. On getting information, his brother and some other persons rushed him to a hospital where he succumbed during treatment, the police said, reported PTI. Based on a complaint filed by the deceased's brother, the police registered a case and arrested the seven accused, reported PTI. They were booked under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and other relevant provisions, the police added. In another case, a 61-year-old murder accused who had been on the run for 34 years was arrested from Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday, reported PTI. Based on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and apprehended the accused, Jahangir Dinmohammad Sheikh, from the western suburb of Andheri in neighbouring Mumbai on Monday evening, an official said, reported PTI. The accused was involved in a murder that took place in a residential building in Mira Road in December 1990, assistant commissioner of police (Crime) Madan Ballal of the MBVV police said. Sheikh is one of the six accused involved in stabbing and killing the victim, Gabrial alias Sudhakar Kristan Amanna (22), during a party, he said, reported PTI. The police had earlier arrested five accused in the case while Sheikh had remained absconding since, the official said. (With inputs from PTI)
24 April,2024 11:59 AM IST | Gondia | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
