Month: January 2022

BJP which is seeking its second term in office in Manipur has announced tickets for candidates for all 60 assembly seats.
Sitting Chief Minister N Biren Singh will be contesting the election from Heingang. PWD minister in the government Thangom Biswajit Singh will contest from Thongju.

The party has given tickets to people cutting across sections of society including women doctors, IAS officers and sportspersons.

Former footballers N Biren Singh, Letpao Haokip and Somatai Shaiza have been fielded. Martial Arts player Yumnam Khemchand Singh has been given a ticket.

BJP has fielded three retired IAS officers Kh. Raghumani Singh, Yengkhom Surchandra Singh and Dinganglung Gangmei (Dipu) who has taken VRS recently.

The party which had given Manipur its first woman president namely Adhikarimayum Sharda Devi has fielded three women candidates, namely Soraisam Kebi Devi, SS Olish and Nemcha Kipgen.

Only tickets of two candidates, who were sitting MLAs, have been cut.

“When PM Narendra Modi came to Manipur, the people were so overjoyed and felt happy that PM Narendra Modi holds us so close in his heart. So, in return, the people of Manipur have now decided that they will keep PM Modi close to their hearts by electing the government with a two-third majority,” Sambit Patra, BJP Manipur incharge said.

The BJP has set itself a target of winning two-thirds majority with at least 40 seats out of 60 seats.

“BJP will contest all the 60 seats and will get a majority on its own. The Modi government has ensured that Manipur will get a stable government and will continue to ensure the development and peace of the region,” BJP’s Manipur election incharge Bhupendra Yadav announced.

Currently, the NDA, led by the BJP, is in majority in the assembly. This includes 30 BJP MLAs and three MLAs from NPP and four NDF and three independents.

Leading the NDA government, Biren Singh on March 15, 2017, formed the government in Manipur. It, however, got a major jolt in June 2020, when nine MLAs, including ministers, withdrew their support from the government, reducing it to a minority. An intervention by the central leadership within a week resulted in four NPP MLAs coming back to the NDA fold, thereby averting the fall of the government.

Manipur goes into polls in two phases-February 27 and March 3 for polling on 60 Assembly seats. Results will be announced on March 10.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the Central Government for the increasing unemployment rate in the country and said that because of this, students are compelled to protest.

Taking to Twitter, the Wayanad MP shared a media report which states, “Unemployment reached a record level: 3.03 crore youth in the country do not have work. The unemployment rate is more than during the lockdown period.”
The report further said that the number of unemployed youths in the country has increased to 1.26 crore in just four years.

“These statistics show why students are compelled to take up Satyagraha. An arrogant person is still sitting with his eyes closed! #StudentsProtest #Unemployment,” said the Congress leader in a tweet along with the media report.

This comes amid the students protest over the alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Board’s NTPC stage 1 exam results.

Students are protesting against the alleged irregularities in Railway Recruitment Board’s exam in Bihar.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the railway has also formed a high power committee to look into the concerns and doubts raised by job aspirants with regard to the results of the 1st Stage Computer Based Test (CBT) of Centralized Employment Notification (CEN) of Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) issued by Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) on January 14-15.

Candidates are given three weeks time up to February 16, to submit their concerns and the committee after examining these concerns will submit their recommendations by March 4.

Notably, the results of the RRB NTPC for the CBT-1 exam was released on January 15 for shortlisting the candidates for the CBT-2.

In view of the students’ agitation in the Railway Recruitment Board exam, the Railway Ministry has decided to suspend both the Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC) and Level 1 tests scheduled to be held on February 15 and February 23. (ANI)

A series of events will be hosted by the European Parliament from February 1st and 2nd to address and cast light on the extremely worrying situation for women in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s return to power last year.

The ‘Afghan Women Days’ will kick off with a high-level conference which will be attended by members of the EU parliament, prominent Afghan women who were finalists for Parliament’s 2021 Shakarov Prize, as well as activists, UN representatives and representatives from several other international organizations, TOLOnews quoted the EU as saying in a press release.
The bloc also expressed concerns over the situation of women in Afghanistan and stated that since the fall of the previous government in the Asian nation, women’s condition is worrying.

“The conference will feature interventions by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, former Afghan Minister of Women’s Affairs Sima Samar, Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR – recorded message), EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (recorded message) and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (recorded message),” the release read.

“It will be concluded with an address and musical appearance by Afghan singer and songwriter Aryana Sayeed, with her song “Lady of the Land of Fire,” the release added.

The future perspective of Afghan women is also expected to be discussed in the conference by attendees. (ANI)

National President of the Vikassheel Insaan Party, Mukesh Sahani, on Sunday, hit out at his NDA alliance parties, JD(U) and BJP in Bihar calling it “Hitlershahi” after they did not give his party even a single seat for contesting in the Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) election likely to be held in March-April this year.

Earlier on Saturday, the ruling alliance in Bihar Janata Dal (United) and Bharatiya Janata Party agreed on a seat-sharing formula for the upcoming MLC polls in which the BJP will contest on 13 seats, one of which the party has given to the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) led by Pasupati Kumar Paras while the JD(U) will field candidates on 11 seats.
Notably, no seats were given to the former Chief Minister of the state Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha- Secular (HAM-S) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).

Speaking to ANI, Sahani said, “The government in Bihar stands because of Manjhi-Sahani. JDU-BJP think they’re powerful and have taken the right decision. This is like Hitlershahi.”

Sahani announced that his party will contest on all the 24 seats on its own.

“We have decided to contest on all 24 seats on our own,” he said.

On the other hand, ahead of the Legislative Council elections, the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ of Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal is on the verge of a split as Tejashwi Yadav refused to contest the elections together, following which Congress said that the party is capable of contesting the polls on all 24 seats on its own.

Tejashwi had hinted on Saturday while speaking to the media that his party would contest the MLC polls on its own and RJD is in alliance with Congress in New Delhi. (ANI)

Ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday took a dig at Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia who are contesting against each other on Amritsar East seat by calling them “big political elephants” crushing common people’s issues.

Kejriwal metaphorically said, “These two are very big political elephants, under which the issues of common people are crushed. AAP candidate from Amritsar East constituency Jeevan Jot, who is raising common people’s issues will only win the seat.”
He further claimed that Sidhu has done nothing for the people while Majithia has nothing to do with Amritsar East and he has only come to defeat the Punjab Congress chief.

The AAP chief claimed that there are good people in other political parties who are feeling suffocated.

“There are good people in other parties also, who are feeling suffocated there. I am telling all the good people to come to our party. When I call Bhagwant Mann hard working and honest, the opponents feel bad because they are corrupt”, he claimed.

While speaking about the allegation of the AAP being part of the BJP, Kejriwal said, “Have I got ED raid on Channi Saheb by telling BJP? If I am so powerful then I should ask them to do more such ED raids.”

Kejriwal also stated that dirty politics is dominating the system even after 75 years of Indian independence.

“It has been 75 years since our country got independence and freedom was achieved after great struggle. We are forgetting the sacrifice made by the freedom fighters and dirty politics is dominating the system,” stated the AAP chief.

According to Kejriwal, any freedom fighters’ sacrifices should not be underestimated. “You cannot underestimate any freedom fighters’ sacrifice. There are two personalities who represent the Indian freedom movement- Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. We are not just devotees of Babasaheb but we worship him.”

The AAP convenor said that education is for all and it doesn’t depend on the cast. “Babasaheb’s struggle is unbelievable. I cannot believe that such a person had come on earth. He came from the Mahar caste, faced untouchability but despite that got two PhD degrees from America and London. He wrote the constitution of the country. He gave importance to education. His and Bhagat Singh’s paths were different, but the destination was the same”, said Kejriwal.

“In Delhi, we announced on January 26 that pictures of Babasaheb and Ambedkar would be installed in every office. Today, we are announcing that every government office will have pictures of Babasaheb and Bhagat Singh and not any other political leader if the government is formed in Punjab. So that every time they see Babasaheb and Bhagat Singh, their sacrifice will be remembered,” said Kejriwal.

He added that the Punjab government will follow their ideas after AAP comes to power. (ANI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that many veterans of the security forces wrote letters to him and appreciated the move to light the Amar Jawan Jyoti at National War Memorial.

Addressing the first episode of this year’s Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister said, “In the ‘National War Memorial’ the names of all the bravehearts of the country who have been martyred since independence are inscribed. Some former soldiers of the army have written to me saying that the ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ being lit in front of the memory of the martyrs is a symbol of the immortality of the martyrs”.”
“Truly, like ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’, our martyrs are an inspiration and their contribution are also immortal. I would tell all of you, whenever you get an opportunity, definitely visit the ‘National War Memorial’. The country is re-establishing its national symbols through these efforts. We saw that the ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’ near India Gate and the Jyoti lit at the ‘National War Memorial’ nearby were merged. There were tears in the eyes of many countrymen and families of those who lost their lives for the nation on this emotional occasion,” he said.

The Prime Minister said, “Many jawans of security forces wrote letters to him and appreciated the move to merge the flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti at the National War Memorial.”

The address comes on Martyrs’ Day which is observed on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi to honour his contribution towards the freedom of the country.

“Mann ki Baat” is the Prime Minister’s monthly radio address, which is broadcast on the last Sunday of every month. The programme will be broadcast on the entire network of AIR and Doordarshan and also on AIR News and mobile app.

The first episode of the programme was broadcast on October 3, 2014. (ANI)

A total of 332 candidates are in the fray for the forthcoming Assembly election in Goa this year.

The total nominations received for the Goa Assembly polls this year was 587.
The last date of withdrawal of candidature is January 31, 2022.

Goa will go to the assembly polls on February 14. The counting of votes will take place on March 10. (ANI)

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday informed that they have killed five terrorists including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Zahid Wani in dual encounters in the Kashmir valley in the last 12 hours.

The police informed that of the five terrorists, including Wani, four were killed in Pulwama and one was gunned down in Budgam.
Speaking exclusively to ANI over the phone, Director General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir, Dilbag Singh told ANI, ” In the last 12 hours, as many as five terrorists have been gunned down by security forces in Kashmir valley. Of these five terrorists, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Zahid Wani and a Pakistani terrorist have been killed.”

“Police and security forces are trying to neutralize terrorists who are involved in the civilian killings. In South Kashmir, near the Pulwama area, Wani of JeM was active for a long time. Yesterday on specific inputs, an operation was launched in Pulwama in which three of its associates were also gunned down including a Pakistani terrorist Kafil Alias Chota Pakistani,” he said.

“In South Kashmir, these terrorists were responsible for many terror-related incidents and after their death, we hope that people of the area will get relief from such incidents. Wani’s brother was arrested from an encounter at Toll Plaza in Jammu in January 2020,” he said.

“In Budgam, an encounter started in Charar-e-Sharif area in which one local terrorist has been neutralized. He had recently joined and was working for LeT and TRF,” he said.

DGP also said that police and security forces are working to create peace here in the valley. (ANI)

India has logged 2,34,281 new COVID-19 cases and 893 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.

There was a slight dip in fresh cases and rise in the number of people who succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours as compared to yesterday. On Saturday, India had reported 2,35,532 new COVID-19 cases and 871 deaths.
As per the government’s data, the daily positivity rate rose to 14.50 per cent from 13.39 per cent on Saturday. However, the weekly positivity rate slightly dipped to 16.40 per cent from 16.89 per cent yesterday.

India presently has 18,84,937, which account for 4.59 per cent of the total cases. With 3,52,784 recoveries in the last 24 hours, the total recoveries climbed to 3,87,13,494. Consequently, the recovery rate is at 94.21 per cent.

The death toll in India is 4,94,091. The case fatality rate is 1.20 per cent. In the last 24 hours, 16,15,993 tests were conducted for COVID-19.

In a remarkable achievement for India, over 75 per cent of the country’s adult population are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed on Sunday.

“With the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Prayas’, India has vaccinated 75 per cent of its adult population with both doses of the vaccine. We are getting stronger in the fight against Corona. We have to follow all the rules and administer the vaccine as soon as possible,” Mandaviya tweeted.

Meanwhile, in the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive against COVID-19, 165.70 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far. Notably, India’s vaccination drive commenced on January 16, 2021.

Earlier on Saturday, Mandaviya virtually interacted with State Health Ministers and Principal Secretaries of five eastern states of Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal to review the public health preparedness for containment and management of COVID-19. (ANI)