Month: May 2022

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Shimla in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday to participate in the ‘Garib Kalyan Sammelan’ and release the 11th instalment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.

At around 11 AM, Prime Minister will participate in the ‘Garib Kalyan Sammelan’. This novel public programme marking the completion of eight years of the government led by the Prime Minister is being organized across the country at State Capitals, District Headquarters and Krishi Vigyan Kendras, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The Sammelan conceptualizes elected public representatives across the country directly interacting with the public in an endeavour to get feedback about the various welfare programmes being run by the government.

‘Garib Kalyan Sammelan’ will start at around 09:45 AM in the presence of Chief Ministers, Central Ministers, State Ministers, Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly and other elected public representatives wherein PM will be directly interacting with the public at their respective locations across the country. At about 11:00 AM, with the Prime Minister joining the programme, the various state and local level programmes will get coverage and make the Sammelan national. During the Sammelan, Prime Minister will directly interact with the beneficiaries of different programmes of nine Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

The freewheeling interaction being organized across the country is aimed to get free and frank feedback from the public, understand the impact of welfare schemes in people’s lives and explore convergence and saturation with regard to different government programmes. The endeavour is to make the reach and delivery of government programmes more efficient so as to improve the ease of living of the citizens of the country.

Prime Minister will also release the 11th instalment of financial benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. This will enable the transfer of an amount of around Rs. 21,000 crore to more than 10 crore beneficiary farmer families. On this occasion, Prime Minister will also interact with the beneficiaries of (PM-KISAN) across the country. (ANI)

The family of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead on May 29, took his body home for the last rites from the Mansa Civil Hospital on Tuesday.

The last rites of the singer will be held at his native village in Punjab, today.
The body was sent for a post-mortem to the hospital.

Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in the Mansa district of Punjab yesterday evening, a day after Punjab Police curtailed the security cover of 420 people, including the deceased singer.

On Monday, Punjab Police detained six people from Dehradun’s Peliyon Police Chowki area in connection with Moose Wala’s murder, said STF sources.

Uttarakhand STF and Punjab STF, in a joint operation with Dehradun Police, have detained six people who allegedly provided support to the assailants in killing Sidhu Moose Wala by cordoning off the Shimla bypass Naya Gaon outpost.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police has also begun questioning Lawrence Bishnoi in Tihar jail in connection with Sidhu Moose Wala’s murder case after Canada-based Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the murder. Brar is a close aide of Bishnoi, who is also said to be involved in the singer’s murder.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police in their preliminary investigation linked the murder to an inter-gang rivalry.

Punjab Police have registered an FIR against unknown persons after Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jawaharke village of Mansa district. The FIR has been registered under sections 302, 307, and 341 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act at City-1 at Mansa Police Station.

Amid the outrage over the death of the singer, Punjab High Court on Monday issued a notice to the state government, seeking a detailed report on the number of people whose security was reduced or withdrawn and the reason for the decision.

“Court has issued notice to Punjab government asking for a detailed report on the number of people whose security was taken away and reason for curtailing the security. Reply has to be filed by Punjab government on June 2,” Satya Pal Jain, Additional Solicitor General of India informed. (ANI)

Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel who recently quit Congress on Tuesday confirmed that he will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Patel told ANI that he would be joining the BJP on June 2.

Patel, after quitting Congress, had hit out at the party leadership for the derogatory and hateful remarks by the party leaders against “Hindus and Lord Ram”.

Patel slammed a former Gujarat Congress president who allegedly said dogs had urinated on bricks being used for building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“I had said earlier too that the Congress party works to hurt the sentiments of the people, always trying to damage the faith of the Hindu religion. Today, a former Union minister and Gujarat Congress leader made a statement that dogs urinate on the bricks of Ram temple,” Patel had tweeted.

He then questioned Congress, and its leaders, asking “what enmity do you have against Lord Shri Ram? Why hate Hindus so much? After centuries, a temple of Lord Shri Ram is also being built in Ayodhya, yet the leaders of Congress keep making statements against Lord Ram.”

On May 19, Patel resigned from the party and stated that Gujarat Congress leaders were least bothered to address real issues of the state but were more focussed on ensuring that the leaders who come from Delhi to Gujarat get “chicken sandwich” on time.

He had also alleged that Gujarat Congress leaders tried to disrupt his political effort “sitting in the AC chambers”.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Congress chief Jagdish Thakor has claimed that Patel decided to quit the party as he was afraid that he might have to go to jail in sedition cases registered against him.

The Gujarat Assembly elections are slated to be held this year. (ANI)

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday met IPL 2022 champions, Gujarat Titans.

After lifting the IPL title in their debut season, Gujarat Titans held a roadshow on Monday from the Usmanpura Riverfront to Vishwakunj Riverfront.
Bhupendra Patel met the players and congratulated them on clinching the title in their debut season. Apart from him, Gujarat’s Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi was also present at the occasion.

The Gujarat Titans won the IPL 2022 in their first go on with Hardik Pandya’s all-round performance of 34 runs and three wickets powering them to a seven-wicket win over inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals at Narendra Modi Stadium.

After posting a low-scoring target of 131, Rajasthan had to produce a special effort with the ball to get back in the game. The pace duo of Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna shone with the ball in the powerplay, reducing Gujarat to 31 for two with Wriddhiman Saha (5) and Matthew Wade (8) back to the pavilion.

Shubman Gill’s risk-free collection of runs and David Miller’s quickfire 32 not out powered Gujarat to romp home in the penultimate over. Opener Gill remained unbeaten on 45, sealing Gujarat’s victory with a six. (ANI)

US President Joe Biden said that Washington will not supply Kyiv with missile systems capable of striking Russian territory, a UK-based media reported on Monday, citing sources.

Last week, CNN reported, citing multiple US officials, that Washington may include advanced long-range systems in a new US military assistance package for Ukraine. Kyiv has been asking the United States to supply MLRS M270 and M142 HIMARS, the report said.
However, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said on Thursday that the US had not made the final decision on the supply of its MLRS to Ukraine.

The Biden administration has already provided Ukraine with 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems along with 5,500 Javelins since Russia’s special military operation began in February.

However, this aid falls short of what Ukraine has claimed it needs. In March, Kyiv requested 500 Javelins and 500 Stingers per day, although US officials told CNN the Pentagon believes Ukraine is inflating its requirements. (ANI/Sputnik)

Amid the ongoing Ukraine crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephonic talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday.

“Regional issues were discussed, such as the Russian operation in Ukraine, as well as Turkish-Russian relations,” Erdogan said, adding that steps were needed that will minimize the negative consequences of the war.
In order to strengthen confidence by quickly restoring the ground for peace between Russia and Ukraine, President Erdogan proposed holding meeting with Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations in Istanbul and play a role in a possible monitoring mechanism if both sides agree in principle.

This report comes amid warship Moskva sank in the Black Sea while being towed amid a storm as the warship was badly damaged, following detonation of ammunition.

Erdogan, furthermore stated during the talks that “attacks by the terrorist organization PKK/ YPG [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] against Turkey and the Syrian civilian population continue in Syria.”

Ukraine used the Turkish-made Bayraktar drones in its military operation against the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics in the southeast (Donbas) as Turkey wanted to be the mediator in Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The war in Ukraine has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with more than 5 million Ukrainian fleeing to neighbouring Western countries, according to the UNHCR data.

Notably, Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, which the West has termed an unwarranted war. As a result of this, the western countries have also imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow. (ANI)

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Delhi Health and Home Minister Satyendar Jain in connection with alleged hawala transactions related to a Kolkata-based company.

Jain was arrested after a special ED team raided his place in Delhi. Besides, Home and Health, Jain holds portfolios of Power, PWD, Industries, Urban Development and Flood and Irrigation and Water in the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government.

The action came after the ED in April this year attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore owned by companies named Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with the disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others.

It may be recalled that on August 25, 2017, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed an FIR against Jain in a money laundering case.

The ED had registered a criminal case against the AAP leader based on this FIR in which it had been alleged that Jain could not explain the source of funds received by four companies in which he was a shareholder.

Jain had reportedly floated or bought several shell companies in Delhi. He also allegedly laundered black money worth Rs 16.39 crore through 54 shell companies of three hawala operators of Kolkata.

Jain allegedly owned a large number of shares in companies named Prayas, Indo, and Akinchan. However, after becoming Minister in Kejriwal’s government, all his shares were transferred to his wife in 2015, as per reports.

These companies used to transfer cash payments to their Kolkata counterparts and these companies would later, under the ruse of buying shares, “route back the money” to Jain by employing legal means. The companies have reportedly laundered money to the tune of Rs 16.39 crores from 2010 to 2014 to Satyendra Jain.

As per government sources, when prosecuted by the I-T Department, Jain surrendered black money in form of cash of Rs 16.39 crore under Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS) 2016 on benami names of Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

In November 2019, the Home Ministry approved the prosecution of Jain in cases related to disproportionate assets and money laundering. (ANI)

Pakistan has been reeling under heavy economic turmoil and it is hoping that its all-weather ally China will come to its rescue however eminent economist differs, saying expectations from Beijing are highly misplaced.

By increasing petroleum prices, the Pakistan government hopes to dodge sovereign default, salvage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal and leverage the support of multilateral financial institutions and friendly nations to stabilise the economy. A Chinese package is said to be in the works, reported Dawn.

Talking to the media, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that he was optimistic about China’s help as the engagements of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with Chinese counterparts were both positive and productive.

However, an eminent economist argued that high expectations from China are misplaced and that hoping for a generous IMF deal without assurance to roll back CPEC is silly, reported Dawn.

“Who are we fooling? China signed deals under the CPEC on its own terms. Even if China does in the end roll over the repayment schedule and agree to extend some financial support it might buy us some time but economic stability and progress are hard to comprehend in absence of fiscal adjustments and structural reforms. We need our own economic doctors to fix it,” said the economist.

“It is very clear that the IMF suspects its money is used to settle Chinese bills. It is clearly unwilling to let its money land in the coffers of US rival China.”

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a body that tracks sovereign default risk, recently placed Pakistan’s scoring at 10 (indicating 50 per cent or higher chances of defaulting), equivalent to countries such as Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Russia, Venezuela, Argentina, Ghana, Tunisia. Some of these nations have already defaulted, reported Dawn.

The details of Pakistan’s profile on the CFR Index website show Pakistan’s current account at -4.5pc of GDP, external debt at 42pc of GDP, short term debt and current account at 107 pc of revenues, government’s debt at 68 pc of GDP, political instability index at -1.9 and credit default swap spread at 824 basis points.

On the CFR Index, the score of India is 1 and Bangladesh is 3. Sovereign risk implies that a government will default on their binding liabilities or impose foreign exchange regulations that hurt foreign exchange contract values. (ANI)

Punjab Police on Monday detained six people from Dehradun’s Peliyon Police Chowki area in connection with Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala’s murder, said STF sources.

According to the sources, Uttarakhand STF and Punjab STF, in a joint operation with Dehradun Police, have detained six people who helped in the killing of Sidhu Moose Wala by cordoning off the Shimla bypass Naya Gaon outpost.

All six detained persons are being questioned by Punjab Police.

Confirming the same, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar told ANI that he has been told by the Uttarakhand STF that some of the detained people have been taken by the Punjab Police for questioning.

Six persons were travelling to Punjab from Hemkund Sahib Yatra in a vehicle which was intercepted by Uttarakhand STF and local police following a tip-off.

According to the information, the person who helped the main accused in providing a vehicle and shelter has also been detained.

Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead yesterday by unidentified assailants as he drove past the Jawaharke village of Mansa district. The gruesome incident took place two days after Punjab Police withdrew the security cover of 424 persons including him.

Notably, the singer had joined the Congress party last year in December ahead of the Assembly elections.

Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for Moose Wala’s murder in a Facebook post on Sunday evening. Goldy Brar is a close aide of gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi, who is also said to be involved in the singer’s murder.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police in their preliminary investigation linked the murder with an inter-gang rivalry.

Punjab Police has registered an FIR against unknown persons after Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jawaharke village of Mansa district. The FIR has been registered under sections 302, 307, and 341 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act at City-1 at Mansa Police Station.

Additionally, Delhi Police Special Cell earlier today said that it will probe the role of those linked with gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, after Canada-based Brar claimed responsibility for the recent murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala.

Delhi Police said that it had been investigating Brar for allegedly planning several murders and attempts to murder from Canada.

However, Punjab BJP blamed the Bhagwant Mann-led government for the singer’s death and demanded an independent National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe. (ANI)