Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP candidate from Kota constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Om Birla, slammed the Congress for spreading confusion within the Scheduled Castes by saying that the BJP wants to change the Constitution and curtail the rights of people. The BJP candidate assured that the Constitution can never be changed. Speaking to ANI here on Monday, Birla said, "Prime Minister Modi has clearly said that the Constitution can never be changed. No one is going to be fooled. The Congress is trying to spread false things and create confusion within the Scheduled Castes..." Replying to a query, he said, "If someone has secured and protected the rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Dalits, then it has been done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi." Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi said on Sunday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government wants to change the Constitution and curtail the rights of people. "Their (BJP) leaders are saying to everyone that they should get 400 seats and they will change the Constitution. On the other hand, Narendra Modi says - We will not change the Constitution. This is a conspiracy. The Constitution gives the right to equality to women, and the right to 'jal, Jungle' for Adivasis. This is the same Constitution for which the great men of the country sacrificed themselves. They want to change the Constitution because the PM only wants power. They want to weaken the rights of the people. They want to weaken the reservations," Priyanka Gandhi said at a rally in Rajnandgaon. Voting for Lok Sabha polls in Rajasthan is being held in two phases. Polling for 12 seats was held in the first phase on April 19 and voting for the remaining 13 seats will be contested in the second phase on April 26. The counting will take place on June 4. In 2019, the BJP registered a sweeping victory, winning 24 out of 25 seats. Rashtriya Loktrantrik Party's Hanuman Beniwal also won a seat. The first phase of voting for 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories was held on Friday with a voter turnout of nearly 64 per cent. In the first phase of LS polls, voting took place in the following states - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. Polling was also held in the following Union Territories - Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry. The Lok Sabha polls are being held in India in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1 to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. 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
23 April,2024 07:21 AM IST | Kota | ANICongress National President Mallikarjun Kharge slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "mangalsutra" remarks at Rajasthan's Banswara rally, saying this has always been his (PM Modi) tactic to divide. "This has always been his (PM Modi) tactic to divide. How to take the country forward is important. Leaving this aside, he is talking about Hindu-Muslim, Scheduled Caste, and Other Backward Caste. He is doing all this for votes, not for the benefit of the country," said Kharge. Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Congress wants to take away the gold and property of people and distribute it among "those having more children." While stressing the importance of 'Mangalsutra' (traditional Indian jewellery worn by married Indian women) for women, he said that no government has the power to snatch it away." When they (Congress) were in government, they said that Muslims have the first right over India's resources. So, they will distribute this wealth (property and gold) among those having more children, among illegal immigrants...this Urban Naxal thinking won't even spare your Mangalsutra," the PM said. Congress alleged that PM Modi and the BJP have deliberately and repeatedly invoked religion, religious symbols and religious sentiments in its election campaign and the same is being done without any impunity. Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Monday said that the party in its petition to the Election Commission of India has urged to take 'appropriate action' against Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'irrespective of the status of the person' over the PM's recent speech in Rajasthan's Banswara. Singhvi said that the Prime Minister's statement was 'seriously, ridiculously objectionable'. "I have had the privilege of leading the Congress delegation involving about 17 complaints to the ECI. Most important is the first one which deals with the extremely objectionable comments of no less than the Chief Executive of this government. We respect the office he holds. He is as much as our Prime Minister as he is yours and he is BJP's. Unfortunately, the statement we have quoted is seriously, ridiculously objectionable. We pray to him (PM Modi) with folded hands to withdraw this statement and to clarify. We have asked the Election Commission to state that this is the position in law, we will do in his respect, whatever we do with others," Singhvi said while talking to reporters after the delegation of Congress met with the Election Commission of India on Monday. "I am not going to quote what he has said. He has named a community, he has talked of religion blatantly, he has talked of communal and community blatantly. He has linked it with deprivation of resources of the majority and garnering and monopolisation of that resources by that minority. He has brought in Hindu imagery of no less than the Mangalsutra, therefore clearly violated Section 123, the basic principle of not allowing excitement and information of communal passions," the senior Congress leader said. He called the speech a "very serious, uncalled-for invasion" of the Constitution's basic structure and appealed to the ECI for action. "Several circulars of the ECI on the MCC, the latest being on March 1, 2024. The constitutional ethos and spirit that make secularism a basic structure in our Consitution, makes a level playing field and democracy itself a part of the basic structure. A basic structure means that a constitutional amendment cannot violate the basic structure. This is a very serious, uncalled-for invasion and we hope and trust because the ECI is itself on trial that irrespective of the status of the person who has done this appropriate action as in any other case will and must follow shortly," Singhvi said. Kharge also said that the Congress is going to get more seats in Karnataka. "Congress is going to get more number seats in Karnataka...The people of Karnataka have changed. This time they are not going to give him any seats (BJP)," he told reporters here on Tuesday. He was reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Mangalsutra" remarks at a public rally. The Lok Sabha polls are being held in India in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1 to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. 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
23 April,2024 07:11 AM IST | Bengaluru (Karnataka) | ANIThe Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered cancellation of all appointments made through the recruitment process of the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools, declaring it as ‘null and void’. A division bench comprising justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi also directed the CBI to undertake further investigation in respect of the appointment process, and submit a report within three months. The bench directed the West Bengal SSC to initiate a fresh recruitment process. Over 23 lakh candidates had appeared for the SLST-2016 for 24,640 vacant posts. A total of 25,753 appointment letters were issued against the vacancies, said Firdaus Shamim, a lawyer for some of the petitioners. Will challenge HC order: Mamata West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday termed as "illegal" the Calcutta High Court order cancelling all appointments made through a 2016 teacher recruitment test, and said her government will challenge the verdict. Banerjee, while addressing an election rally at Raiganj in North Bengal, also accused BJP leaders of influencing a section of the judiciary and judgments. Ex-HC judge calls for CM’s resignation Terming the Calcutta High Court order to cancel all appointments made through the recruitment process of the State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools as an “appropriate judgment”, former judge of the court Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Monday demanded “immediate resignation” of CM Mamata Banerjee. Will challenge HC order: SSC chief West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) Chairman Siddharth Majumder on Monday said it will challenge the Calcutta High Court order cancelling all appointments made through a 2016 teacher recruitment test. “The court has nullified about 24,000 jobs and we will approach the Supreme Court, after going through the complete high court order,” Majumder 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
23 April,2024 02:11 AM IST | Kolkata | AgenciesPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress of planning to redistribute people’s property if it is voted to power. Echoing the remarks made a day earlier in Rajasthan, Modi said at a poll rally here that the Congress planned to conduct a survey people’s possessions and redistribute them. He said the people of Aligarh had put a ‘lock’ on dynastic politics, corruption and ‘appeasement’ practised by the two ‘shahezade’, or princes. He was referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who are fighting the Lok Sabha elections as allies. Modi accused the Congress of following a policy of appeasement, and yet doing nothing to uplift the social and economic condition of Muslims. He cited the enactment of a law against instant triple talaq during the term of his government as a move that helped Muslim women. He also mentioned the increase in the Haj quota for Indian pilgrims. The Election Commission declined to comment on remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his poll speech in Rajasthan. “We decline comment,” a poll panel spokesperson said. PM has called a spade a spade: BJP PM Narendra Modi has called a spade a spade and has echoed people’s sentiments, the BJP asserted after the Opposition termed his remarks at a poll rally in Rajasthan as communally divisive. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told reporters that Opposition is in pain as Modi has showed them the mirror. Congress launches campaign Launching a strong campaign over the Prime Minister’s alleged communal remarks against its manifesto, the Congress said on Monday that the party chief Mallikarjun Kharge has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “educate him” about its poll promise document. 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
23 April,2024 02:08 AM IST | Aligarh | AgenciesThe BJP on Monday expelled rebel leader K S Eshwarappa for six years for violating party discipline and contesting Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate. The former deputy chief minister who had also served as the party's state unit president, has entered the poll fray, blaming state BJP president B Y Vijayendra and his father and veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa, for his son K E Kantesh being denied the ticket to contest from Haveri. Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has got BJP's Haveri ticket, while Vijayendra's brother and MP B Y Raghavendra is the BJP candidate from Shimoga. "Ignoring the party's directions, you are contesting as a rebel candidate from Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, causing embarrassment to the party. This is violation of party discipline," state disciplinary committee president Lingaraj Patil said in the expulsion order. It said, "so, you have been relieved from all the responsibilities and have been expelled from the party for six years, with immediate effect." The 75-year-old Eshwarappa, had remained steadfast in his decision to contest, spurning efforts by party leaders to pacify him. He had even filed his nomination as an independent candidate. The party's decision to expel the former Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, came on the last day for withdrawal of candidature for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka on May 7. Eshwarappa, along with Yediyurappa and the late H N Ananth Kumar, is widely credited for building the BJP from the grassroots in Karnataka. Claiming that the party in the state is in the clutches of its Parliamentary board member Yediyurappa and his family, with his one son as MP and other son Vijayendra as MLA and the state BJP president, Eshwarappa, has repeatedly accused Yediyurappa of sidelining those who espoused the cause of Hindutva like Nalin Kumar Kateel, Pratap Simha, C T Ravi and D V Sadananda Gowda. He has, however, stressed that he is not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ahead of the Assembly polls last year, opting out of the contest, he had asked the party's central leadership that he wished to retire from electoral politics and requested it to not consider fielding him from any constituency. Modi had then dialled Eshwarappa and spoke to him over a video call and expressed appreciation for his move to retire from poll politics, as per the instructions from the party. 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
22 April,2024 09:10 PM IST | Bengaluru | PTIThe Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Chandrakant Khaire and Maharashtra Minister Sandipan Bhumre on Monday filed their nomination papers from the Aurangabad seat for Lok Sabha elections 2024, reported the PTI. Former Maharashtra Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray took part in the procession taken out by Chandrakant Khaire before filing his nomination papers. Talking to reporters at Chikathana Airport, Aaditya Thackeray said that people of the country are with the INDIA alliance formed by the opposition parties. On the Election Commission's notice to his party for the removal of the words "Hindu" and "Jai Bhavani" from its new anthem, Aaditya Thackeray said, "We will not remove the words from the song. The EC should act against the BJP first," according to the PTI. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena candidate Sandeepan Bhumre also filed his nomination papers during the day in the presence of MLA Sanjay Shirsat and BJP district President Shirish Boralkar, as per the PTI. Polling for the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 13. Aurangabad had been a fortress of the undivided Shiv Sena six times since 1989. However, the Bal Thackeray-founded party suffered a setback when its veteran leader Khaire faced an unexpected defeat at the hands of AIMIM candidate Imtiaz Jaleel, who won by a narrow margin of less than 4,500 votes, the news agency reported on Monday. The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has fielded Afsar Khan, a former Congress corporator, and the AIMIM has announced the candidature of sitting MP Imtiaz Jaleel, who will file his nomination on Wednesday. Former MLA Harshawardhan Jadhav has also filed his nomination from the seat as an independent candidate. The Lok Sabha constituency comprises 30,52,724 voters, including 16,00,169 men, 14,52,415 women and 140 third-gender persons. Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday claimed the opposition INDIA bloc will win more than 300 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, reported the PTI. Addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Buldhana for Shiv Sena (UBT) nominee Narendra Khedekar, Uddhav Thackeray said that the ruling party (BJP) will be taught a lesson by the people for calling his party "nakli" Shiv Sena, as per the PTI. (with PTI inputs)
22 April,2024 08:57 PM IST | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | mid-day online correspondentCongress on Monday released a list of 38 candidates for the upcoming Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, scheduled to be held next month. Apart from new names, the list has several seats on which the party has changed its candidates. The party announced the candidature of Lakkaraju Rama Rao from Vishakapatnam North assembly seat. Tumman Kalyan Aszal Ali Khan will contest from Kadapa Assembly. From Guntur West, the party has fielded Rajachakkonda John Babu. Sunkara Padmasree will fight elections from Vijayawada East. The Congress party had earlier this month announced 114 candidates for the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. Andhra Pradesh has 175 assembly seats. The state will go for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections on May 13. Electioneering has picked up momentum in the state with less than a month left for campaigning. 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
22 April,2024 08:50 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIFormer vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak and a host of other prominent persons were conferred with Padma Awards by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremonial function held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Naidu, Pathak, who was given the award posthumously, and renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam were conferred with the Padma Vibhushan. Actor Mithun Chakraborty, singer Usha Uthup, former Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik and industrialist Sitaram Jindal were conferred with the Padma Bhushan. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, among others, were present at the function. Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian honours of the country, are conferred in three categories -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines or fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year. For 2024, the President had approved conferment of 132 Padma awards, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one). The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 110 Padma Shri awards. As many as 30 of the awardees are women and the list also includes eight people from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and nine posthumous awardees. While almost half of the awardees were conferred the awards on Monday, the remaining are likely to get them next week. 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
22 April,2024 07:03 PM IST | New Delhi | PTIAam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark on the redistribution of wealth to minorities shows that he has realised he is losing the Lok Sabha elections immediately after the first phase of the polls. Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Singh accused the BJP of "murdering" democracy and claimed that the party plans to change the Constitution if voted to power. During an election rally in Rajasthan on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi suggested that if the Congress came to power, it would redistribute the wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources. "They (BJP) have looted all of the country's resources and given it to one of his (Modi's) friends. How can you (PM) say this? Hence, I feel that immediately after the first phase, Prime Minister Modi has realised that he is losing very badly this time," Singh said. The BJP has "murdered" democracy and is planning to change the Constitution, he said, claiming that the party, if voted to power, will put a stop to reservations and end elections. Asked about the BJP's allegations against jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP leader said the party should first ask for the resignation of the chief minister of Manipur, where there has been bloodshed since last year. He also slammed the BJP for levelling allegations of corruption against the AAP government in Delhi over the fire at the landfill in Ghazipur. "The BJP is a corrupt party that has taken all corrupt leaders into its fold," he 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
22 April,2024 06:02 PM IST | Nagpur | PTIThe intense heatwave scorching large parts of east India will continue for another five days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday, reported the PTI. According to the PTI, the ongoing spell of heatwave which is the second this month, is broiling parts of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar. Heatwave conditions have been prevailing in Odisha since April 15 and the Gangetic West Bengal since April 17, according to the MeT department. The news agency reported, in a statement, the IMD said that the heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are expected in parts of West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand during the next five days. High humidity could add to people's inconvenience in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, West Bengal and Bihar, it said. Substantially high night temperatures are likely in east Madhya Pradesh on April 22 and April 23. High night temperatures are considered dangerous because the body doesn't get the chance to cool down, as per the PTI. Increasing nighttime heat is even more common in cities because of the urban heat island effect, in which metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings. The threshold for a heatwave is met when the maximum temperature of a weather station reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in the coastal areas and 30 degrees in the hilly regions, and the departure from normal is at least 4.5 notches. A severe heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature exceeds 6.4 notches. Concerns about heatwave vulnerability were raised when the IMD earlier issued a warning of high heat during the April–June timeframe, when approximately a billion people are expected to cast ballots in the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections 2024, despite the ongoing but waning El Nino conditions. April 19 was election day for the first round of voting. The date of the second round of voting is set for April 26. The Met office has said that atleast four to eight heatwave days are expected in different parts of the country in April against a normal of one to three days. Ten to 20 days of heatwave days are expected against a normal of four to eight in the entire April-June period, according to the PTI. The areas and regions predicted to witness a higher number of heatwave days are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Bihar and Jharkhand. Some places may record more than 20 heatwave days. The intense heat could strain power grids and result in water shortages in parts of India. Global weather agencies, including the IMD, are also expecting La Nina conditions to develop later in the year. El Nino conditions -- periodic warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean -- are associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India. La Nina conditions -- the antithesis of El Nino -- lead to plentiful rainfall during the monsoon season. In a mid-April update, the IMD said India would experience above-normal cumulative rainfall in the 2024 monsoon season with La Nina conditions, expected to set in by August-September, being the dominant factor. (with PTI inputs)
22 April,2024 05:46 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentThe Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday claimed that former prime ministers worked to make a new India but PM Narendra Modi only criticises others, according to the PTI. Sharad Pawar on Monday said that PM Modi does not speak about what his government had done for the people in the last ten years, as per the PTI. Addressing a campaign rally in Maharashtra's Amravati district for a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate, Sharad Pawar said that the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's contribution to the country cannot be questioned, the PTI reported. He claimed some BJP leaders had spoken publicly about changing the Constitution and appealed to the people to not allow autocracy to take shape in India. A high-profile poll battle is shaping up in the Amravati constituency for Lok Sabha elections 2024 where the BJP has fielded Navneet Rana, the sitting MP who won the 2019 polls as an Independent candidate, against Balwant Wankhede of Congress. Sharad Pawar alleged PM Modi was trying to create fear and emulating Russian President Vladamir Putin, the news agency reported on Monday. Sharad Pawar said he has come to apologise to the people of Amravati for the "mistake" he had committed in the 2019 elections by supporting the candidate (Navneet Rana). "In the last elections, I had sought the support of people and made an appeal (to elect Rana). People elected the candidate I had appealed for. Time has come to amend that mistake," he said, reported the PTI. Balwant Wankhede, who belongs to Congress, is contesting the election as a candidate of the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Congress. "After Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, I saw the working of almost all PMs ranging from Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Narasimha Rao to Manmohan Singh. Their efforts were to make a new India, but the incumbent PM only criticises," Sharad Pawar said, as per the news agency. He said that no one in history can forget the contribution of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru but the prime minister (Modi) continuously criticises him. "Instead of telling what the Central government did in the last ten years, he (Modi) keeps criticising others," Sharad Pawar added, the PTI reported. "We fear that a new Putin is in the making in India", he said. He hailed Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray for "shouldering the responsibility to protect the national interest" by working closely with the Congress and the NCP (SP) like in the past. (with PTI inputs)
22 April,2024 05:30 PM IST | Amravati | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
