Month: June 2022

In wake of Congress protests over Enforcement Directorate’s summon to Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Traffic Police on Tuesday issued a fresh advisory for commuters.

“Due to special traffic arrangements, inwards movement of buses will be restricted in New Delhi beyond Gol Dak Khana Junction, Patel Chowk, Windsor Place, Teen Murti Chowk, Prithviraj Road,” said Delhi Traffic Police.
The Traffic Police asked commuters to avoid Motilal Nehru Marg, Akbar Road, Janpath, Gol Methi junction, Tughlak Road Junction, Claridges Junction, Q-point Junction, Sunehri Masjid Junction, Maulana Azad Road Junction and Man Singh Road between 7 am and 12 pm.

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“Due to special arrangements, traffic movement will not be possible on these roads,” the advisory said.

Delhi Traffic Police further asked to avoid SP Marg, Dhaula Kuan Flyover and Gurgaon road between 10.45 am and 11.15 am due to special traffic arrangements.

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Meanwhile, section 144 of CrPC has been imposed around Akbar Road in central Delhi.

A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over 10 hours by the ED in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper, he will appear before the central probe agency again on Tuesday.

Former Congress President appeared before ED for the first time for questioning on Monday. He left the ED office around 11 pm after questioning on Monday.

The interrogation began at 11 am on Monday morning. The first round of questioning concluded at around 2.15 pm for a lunch break. The Congress leader returned to his residence followed by his visit to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital where his mother and party interim president Sonia Gandhi is admitted due to COVID-related issues.

Rahul Gandhi’s questioning resumed the probe for the second round at around 3.45 pm on Monday.

On Monday, Gandhi arrived at the ED’s office in the national capital with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, amid a huge march by the party workers along with him to the office.

Congress leaders and workers have staged protests holding placards at AICC headquarters in New Delhi over the summons. Various leaders, including Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, took part in the party’s Satyagraha march.

Following the day-long protest, the Congress party said that senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram suffered a fracture in his left rib after he was pushed away by Delhi Police during the party’s protest in support of Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)

Four persons were buried alive following a massive landslide that took place at Nizarapar area near Boragaon area in Assam’s capital city Guwahati on Tuesday.

The landslide happened due to heavy rainfall since Monday night.

Following the incident, police and Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) teams rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies of four persons from under the debris.

Police said that the persons were living in a rented house in the area and they were engaged in building construction work.

Nandini Kakati, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said that after receiving the information about the incident, they immediately rushed to the spot.

“We come to know from the nearby locals that four labourers were living in the house and maybe they were not aware of the incident while they were sleeping at night. The wall of the house had broken down and the soil of hills entered the house and the labourers were trapped in the debris. Till now, we come to know that four persons are trapped in the debris and our search and rescue operation are on. Out of four, three hail from Dhubri and one from Kokrajhar. They were living in the rented house and were engaged in building construction work,” the police officer said.

On the other hand, Nabaneet Mahanta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) of Guwahati city police, told ANI that all four persons died and their bodies have been recovered. (ANI)

After a student from Jammu and Kashmir, who met with a car accident in Dhaka, was airlifted to Delhi, his father thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his personal intervention in airlifting the student from the Bangladeshi capital.

Shoaib Lone, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri, studies MBBS at Barind Medical College in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He met with a car accident while travelling with four other people. Shoaib was seriously injured and was undergoing treatment at a Bangladesh hospital.
The accident in Bangladesh was very serious and two co-passengers of Shoaib had died.

Shoaib has been brought to India by an air ambulance on Monday and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre in New Delhi under a team of specialist doctors.

Narrating his ordeal after the accident, Shoaib’s father Mohammad Aslam Lone said Shoaib was taken to hospital by locals and the family reached Dhaka after some delay due to efforts in arranging visa and other documents.

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On reaching Dhaka, the family faced problems including “language barrier” and “high cost of treatment”.

He said the hospital in Bangladesh incurred expenses of Rs 12 lakh for a 10-day stay in the hospital and “there was not much improvement in condition”.

“We were in great difficulty,” Aslam Lone said.

He said that Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ravinder Raina visited Rajouri and the problem was posed to him by people known to them. The BJP leader promised to apprise the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) of the matter.

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“I am very grateful to Modiji. It is said that giving thanks lessens the value of the deed done but I do not want to be ungrateful. I salute him by standing on one leg. If a country has a leader like this, like the leader we have in Hindustan, where there are such good (leaders) to take care of, people should not be afraid. I say thanks to PM one crore times. I also thank Rainaji and all those who helped us,” Aslam Lone told ANI.

He said Shoaib is admitted to AIIMS trauma centre due to “PM’s intervention”.

“It was a quick response from the PMO who helped the common man of the country,” he said.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also shared the story of Sohaib.

Taking to Twitter, he said, “An emotional father thanks PM Narendra Modi ji, on whose personal intervention, his son who met with an accident in Dhaka was airlifted to Delhi. Saluting the PM, he said that any country which has a PM like Modi Ji should not worry about anything.” (ANI)

India made a strong pitch for protecting the interests of the developing and under-developed countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal on Monday did some plain speaking at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Geneva.
He raised concerns about the “skewed” WTO reforms proposal, the imperative need to retain the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) provisions for the developing world, global inequities in COVID vaccination and Public Stockholding of food grains, read Ministry of Commerce & Industry press statement.

“Current proposals for WTO Reform could fundamentally change its institutional architecture, skewing the system against the interests of developing countries,” said Goyal.

“We need to move ahead preserving the core principles of consensus and ensuring S&DT, with people and development being at the core of WTO’s future agenda,” he added.

“Friends, those who question the need for S&DT provisions are aware that the per capita GDP of the developed countries is 20 to 50 times that of the developing countries. Even India is at the lower end of the per capita GDP supporting 1.4 billion people. I believe the developing world aspires to work for a better future. Is it humane, fair or even equitable that the developing world takes the same obligations as the developed nations?” he added.

He also highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic that exposed the inability of the world to promptly respond to any crisis, whether on food security or health, economic well-being or open supply chains.

“When the world was desperately looking for relief, the WTO was found wanting. As an example, vaccine inequity persists even two years after COVID. When people in LDCs and several developing countries are yet to be vaccinated, there are some countries who have already administered the 3rd or 4th dose,” he said, adding, “This is a collective failure of global governance and we need to introspect. Those responsible need to seriously reflect deep within their hearts, it will help us craft a more equitable, fair and prosperous future for every citizen of the world and finally achieve the Sustainable Development Goals we had all collectively agreed upon,” said the release.

To rebuild trust and credibility, Goyal said, we must first address mandated issues, like the permanent solution to public stockholding agreed nearly a decade ago, the release added.

“The current global food crisis is a reminder to us that we act now! Can we risk the lives of millions of people dependent on food stocks maintained for the poor and vulnerable?” asked Goyal.

“During the pandemic, India alone distributed 100 million tonnes of food grain-free of charge to 800 million Indians at a cost of nearly USD 50 billion. This was over and above the food grain distributed as a part of our National Food Security Programme thus ensuring that nobody ever slept hungry,” he said.

Goyal argued that while negotiating the fisheries subsidies, the livelihood of traditional fishermen cannot be compromised, said the release.

“We cannot institutionalize the privileges of a few countries and take away the right to progress for those who are working for the vulnerable marginalized sections of society. Particularly for those countries, that are not engaged in harmful deep sea fishing, we need to have different views. Otherwise, we may have a similar situation like the Agreement on Agriculture, where inequities & asymmetries persist, causing several countries to still depend on food aid,” he said.

Goyal also proposed adopting environmentally-conscious lifestyles, more sustainable lifestyles, based on the 3Ps of “Pro Planet People” to tackle climate change, said the release.

“The WTO needs to rebuild trust. It is time to demonstrate goodness, concern for people, more sensitivity to the poor and vulnerable sections of society in the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, which we believe in India as “The World is one Family”,” he said. (ANI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been asked to rejoin the investigation of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case tomorrow, said sources on Monday.

The Wayanad MP was interrogated by the federal agency today amid protests by Congress workers across the country.

The interrogation began at 11 am in the morning today. The first round of questioning concluded at around 2.15 pm for a lunch break. The Congress leader returned to his residence followed by his visit to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in the national capital where his mother and party interim president Sonia Gandhi is admitted due to COVID-related issues.

Rahul Gandhi’s questioning resumed after he rejoined the probe for the second round at around 3.45 pm.

Speaking on the matter, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is also in Delhi to extend support to Gandhi, said, “This kind of behaviour is not good, people will not like it. Nobody should have any objection if the law will take its own course. But we object to the misuse of ED, CBI and IT that is being done.”

“We should follow the course of law, only then will the nation function. Law should be equal for everyone. But the targetted summons being sent to leaders, in poll-bound states, Income Tax, ED, and Central Bureau of Investigation raids take place. That is wrong,” he added.

Earlier today, Gandhi arrived at the ED office in the national capital with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, amid a huge march by the party workers along with him to the office.

Congress leaders and workers have staged protests holding placards at AICC headquarters in New Delhi over the summons. Various leaders including Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot took part in the party’s Satyagraha march.

Following the day-long protest, the Congress party said that senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram suffered a fracture in his left rib after he was pushed away by Delhi Police during the party’s protest in support of Rahul Gandhi.

“When three big, burly policemen crash into you, you are lucky to get away with a suspected hairline crack! Doctors have said that if there is a hairline crack, it will heal by itself in about 10 days. I am fine and I will go about my work tomorrow,” Chidambaram tweeted.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur hit back at Congress, saying that the country now knows Congress party supports corruption.

“Congress’s real face has come to light. Why is Rahul Gandhi scared? If he’s not done anything wrong, he should let ED do its job. Would the law change for 1 party and 1 family? The country now knows Congress party supports corruption,” he said. (ANI)

In wake of the recent violent incidents that broke out in various parts of the country over the controversial remarks, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday said that people sitting in power “instigating people in the name of religion” and said that the people in power are “not worried about the public”.

The remarks of the Chief Minister came while addressing the media along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on the day when Rahul Gandhi has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with the National Herald case.

“People sitting in power are so arrogant that they are not worried about the public, they are only instigating people in the name of religion and they are also succeeding in that, but they also have a limit,” Gehlot said.

Mentioning the violence taking place in various parts of the country lately, the Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should appeal to the people to maintain peace during such times.

“Riots are taking place in the country, there is fire, tension and quarrels are taking place in the country, the government is not worried about it. The Opposition is constantly saying that Prime Minister Modi should appeal to the whole country that people should maintain mutual brotherhood, but they are hesitant in saying even this,” he alleged.

“If modern India is made today in 76 years, then it is the gift of Congress. The sacrifices made by Congress leaders before and after independence, PM Modi never remembers it. He never remembered the martyrdom of Indira Gandhi,” Gehlot added.

Talking about the National Herald newspaper that was shut down in 2008 after it suffered losses, Gehlot said that the BJP presented the help that the Congress party extended to the organisation to recover itself as a “case”.

“The National Herald newspaper was established in 1937 and since then the Congress Party has been supporting it. Media people know what is the condition of print media where it is published, it mostly runs in the loss. And the National Herald newspaper became very weak after independence, its condition had become very bad, after which the Congress party helped them. Ever since BJP came to power, it has been presented as a case,” he said.

Baghel also slammed the Central government over the registration of cases against the Opposition leaders stating that it is the misuse of the agencies to suppress them.

“For the last 8 years, central agencies have continuously registered cases against leaders in Opposition… there is a continuous misuse of central agencies to suppress us… this cannot happen under democracy which is getting strangled; we oppose this,” he said.

“Thousands of workers protested country-wide over the way our party leader was summoned in the National Herald case today,” Baghel added.

Earlier today, Gandhi arrived at the ED office in the national capital with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, amid a huge march by the party workers along with him to the office.

Congress leaders and workers have staged protests holding placards at AICC headquarters in New Delhi over the summons. Various leaders including Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot took part in the party’s Satyagraha march. (ANI)

Kajal Aggarwal, who is enjoying the phase of motherhood, shared an adorable picture with her baby boy Neil on social media.

The ‘Singham’ actor took to her Instagram handle and shared a cute click where she can be seen holding Neil in her arms, who is looking cute in an all-white outfit.

She captioned the post, “#NeilKitchlu The love of my life. #heartbeat.”

As soon as she shared the post, celebrities from the film industry and netizens showered love on the newborn baby.

Keerthy Suresh wrote, “Omg” while Raashi Khanna dropped heart emoticons in the comments section.

Kajal Aggarwal and Gautam Kitchlu welcomed their baby on April 19, 2022. Announcing the birth of their baby, Gautam shared a post on his Instagram handle and captioned it as, “Our hearts are full and we are full of gratitude. Thank you everyone for your love and blessings”.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kajal was last seen in the romantic tale, ‘Hey Sinamika’. (ANI)

Amid China’s growing quest for control over Indo-Pacific, the superpower rivals China and the US continue to support their positions as speakers at this weekend’s Shangri-La Dialogue security summit, Nikkei Asia reported.

The 19th Shangri-La Dialogue was held in Singapore from Friday to Sunday after a two-year suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing mainly on security in the Asia-Pacific region and viable solutions.

During the summit, the delegates from more than 40 countries or regions exchanged views on regional and global security issues.

The Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during their first face-to-face meeting sparred over the issue of Taiwan on Friday with Washington saying Beijing is trying to change the status quo over the island and Beijing condemning the arms sales to Taipei.

Austin has repeatedly described China as the “pacing challenge” for the Defense Department and said that the Indo-Pacific region is the priority for the United States, as China is seeking a regional agreement with Pacific island nations that would expand its role in policing maritime cooperation, and cybersecurity.

Biden and Ardern also opposed unlawful maritime claims and activities in the South China Sea that run counter to the rules-based international order, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They reaffirmed support for freedom of navigation and overflight, in the South China Sea and beyond.

Moreover, the already tensed relationship between Washington and Beijing boiled over when a US congressional delegation visited Taiwan recently.

Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades, reported Nikkei Asia.

Taipei, on the other hand, has countered the Chinese aggression by increasing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.

It is to be noted that China on Monday also sent 30 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone, the highest daily figure in four months. (ANI)

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday called on Israelis in Turkey to leave the country as soon as possible and others to cancel planned visits, citing fears of Iranian attacks against Israelis.

“We call on Israelis not to fly to Istanbul. Unless you have a critical need — do not fly to Turkey,” Lapid said at the start of a meeting of his Yesh Atid party. “If you are already in Istanbul, return to Israel as soon as possible.”

“This is a real and immediate danger,” the minister said, adding the warning follows “a situation assessment” that found out attempts from “Iranian forces” to kidnap or kill Israeli nationals in Turkey.

Lapid thanked the Turkish government for “the effort they are making to protect the lives of Israeli citizens.”

“Tourism to Turkey is important to both countries, but they too understand that there are risks that must not be taken,” he said.

He also sent a warning message to Iran, saying “whoever harms Israelis will not be left unharmed. Israel’s long arm will get them no matter where they are.”

Lapid’s warning comes a day after Israeli officials said Turkish authorities had thwarted an “Iranian plot” to attack Israelis in Turkey last month.

Iran did not immediately comment on the Israeli allegations. In late May, Israel’s National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned that Iran might plan to attack Israeli tourists in Turkey and warned the Israelis against travelling to the country.

Iran has accused Israel of killing on May 22 Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps colonel, and has vowed to avenge his death. Khodaei was shot and killed by two motorcyclists in the east of Tehran, Iran’s capital. (ANI/Xinhua)

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the authorities that the Kalkaji Temple’s redevelopment can be carried out without dispossessing the priests from the premises where they are presently residing.

A vacation bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Vikram Nath asked the authorities to not dispossess the priests and also issued notice to the Centre and other parties on the plea.
The appeal was filed by temple priests challenging the order of the Delhi High Court of June 1 directing priests and unauthorized occupants in Kalkaji Temple to vacate the premises by June 6.

The apex court tagged the matter along with a similar pending petition.

The top court in its order stated, “In the meanwhile, there shall be no impediment for carrying out the re-development as directed by High Court of Delhi through the orders impugned herein but such re-development shall be without dispossessing the petitioners from the premises wherein they are stated to be residing at present.”

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the temple priests apprised the bench that they have all the revenue records which show they are in possession of such property for years which is also evident from the report of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.

It is a historical fact that priests of the temple normally used to reside in the vicinity of the temple and this is how it has been in this case also, it was argued, adding that priests are not against the re-development plan of the temple but their Dharamshalas and houses should not be demolished in the name of the redevelopment plan.

On April 27, the apex court had refused to grant status quo on an appeal challenging the High Court’s order which has passed some directions relating to the administration and maintenance of Kalkaji Temple in South Delhi here.

The top court on March 25 refused to interfere with the High Court order directing the removal of encroachments and unauthorised occupants and shopkeepers, who do not have any valid legal rights to occupy the shops, in Kalkaji Temple.

The High Court on September 27 last year had also directed the removal of encroachments and unauthorised occupants and shopkeepers, who do not have any valid legal rights to occupy the shops, in Kalkaji Temple and said the action be taken within five days keeping in view the forthcoming Navratri festival. (ANI)