Month: March 2025

Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai slammed the DMK government over its fifth budget and claimed that the State budget presented offers nothing more than “empty announcements for publicity” and “commits thousands of crores of corruption” every year.

“It is no wonder that the budget released by the DMK every year is so empty, containing nothing but empty announcements for publicity, without fulfilling any election promises, and only committing thousands of crores of corruption,” posted Annamalai on X.

Annamalai’s post on X was accompanied by a photo showing empty chairs, symbolising what he described as the lack of substance and accountability in the DMK’s budget.

This comes after Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu presented the fifth budget of the DMK government.

Amidst the row over the implementation of the National Education Policy and the implementation of the third language, the state government announced that it would use its own funds for government schools.

Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, in his budget speech, made the announcement saying the State Government has allocated funds, including salaries of teachers, from its own resources to ensure that the education of Government school students remains unaffected, even in the slightest way.

Minister Thangam Thennarasu also mentioned that the Government is very strong in the two-language policy despite the challenging situation.

“Under the ‘Samagra Shiksha’ scheme, the State Government has been successfully implementing various student welfare schemes for the past seven years,” he said.

“However, this year the Union Government cheated us by not releasing 2,152 crores to the State for not accepting NEP, which encourages a three language system. Though the Union Government didn’t release the required funds, the State government allocated its funds for the welfare of government school students for teacher salary and other expenses. Even in the time of challenging situation after losing 2,000 crores, we stand beside CM on the two language policy,” the Finance Minister added.

“By unflinchingly following the bilingual policy, Tamil Nadu not only preserved the Tamil culture but also empowered its youth with English proficiency, to rise with strength on the global stage with their unquenchable thirst for knowledge and success,” he further added.

The Minister informed that initiatives such as the ‘Ennum Ezhuthum Thittam’ to ensure foundational literacy, special education for differently-abled children, transport allowances for students from remote areas, salary for teachers, guidance for higher education to shape students’ future, art festivals to nurture unique talents, educational tours and infrastructure development, including internet facilities in schools, are in progress. (ANI)

China, Russia and Iran have called for an end of all “illegal and unilateral sanctions” and urged for abandoning “threats of force” against Tehran, as per a joint statement, following talks between the three countries in Beijing on Friday.

The meeting between the three countries comes after Iran rejected the US proposal to restart nuclear negotiations.

In a joint statement released today, the three countries said diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on “mutual respect” were the “only effective and viable options” for addressing the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme.

“The three countries emphasised the need to end all illegal unilateral sanctions. Relevant parties should address root causes, abandon sanctions, pressure tactics and threats of force,” the statement released by Chinese state media Global Times read.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi participated in the talks.

“The parties emphasized the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2231 [in support of the Iran nuclear deal], including adherence to the outlined timeline, and called on the parties concerned to refrain from actions that could escalate the situation and instead create conditions conducive to diplomatic efforts,” Ma Zhaoxu, who chaired the meeting, said at a news conference as per a report in TASS.

A day before the trilateral meeting, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi and said, as per the Global Times, that China is willing to work with Iran to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the United States’ claim that it is ready to negotiate with Iran is aimed at deceiving world public opinion. Khamenei said Iran would not negotiate with the US because it would not help resolve any problems.

Earlier in a Fox News interview, US President Donald Trump said that he had personally written to Khamenei asking to talk.

On Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, in an interview with a local newspaper cited by state media IRNA, said that Tehran will demonstrate to Washington that its “maximum pressure” policy is ineffective and that Tehran seeks equal conditions for holding talks.

After assuming office as US president for the second time, Trump signed an executive order resuming the maximum pressure policy, saying he would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and will use military force if Tehran fails to make a deal on its nuclear program with Washington.

During his first term as president in 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of an international deal in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. Trump had then imposed new economic restrictions on Iran, to which Tehran responded a year later by violating the deal’s nuclear curbs.

The deal officially named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was clinched in 2015 after years of talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries namely the US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany.

On Wednesday, addressing students in Tehran, the Ayotollah responded to the US’s claims that it would not allow Iran to attain nuclear weapons.

“If we had intended to build nuclear weapons, America would not have been able to stop us,” the Iranian leader said, emphasizing that it is because of Iran’s own will to neither possess nor seek such weapons. (ANI)

Amidst Holi celebrations in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, Circle Officer Anuj Chowdhary led a flag march along with other police personnel to ensure the law and order situation in the district.

The circle officer Chaudhary said that the police are monitoring the situation through foot patrolling and drone surveillance. “We are conducting foot-patrolling and drone surveillance”, he told ANI on Friday.

Other than police, paramilitary forces also conducted a flag march in Sambhal, whereas the administration is using drones for proper monitoring of the situation in the district.

Earlier, Sambhal MP Zia ur Rehman Barq urged people of all the communities to maintain peace and harmony ahead of the Jumma and Holi celebrations.

He appealed to Hindus to celebrate Holi with enthusiasm while being mindful of mosques and requested Muslims to offer prayers at nearby mosques and avoid areas where the festival of colours is being celebrated if they prefer.

Posting his appeal on social media yesterday, Rehman wrote, “I request everyone that the holy month of Ramzan Sharif is going on, and tomorrow is Friday. It is also the festival of Holi. I request the Muslim brothers to offer prayers at the nearest mosque and avoid going to a place where colours are thrown. I also request the Hindu brothers to celebrate their festival with joy and enthusiasm while taking care of our mosques and people.”

Rehman emphasized that his call for peace was not out of fear of the police but to promote communal harmony and the progress of the city.

“I appeal to both communities not to do anything that hurts anyone’s sentiments. I am saying this not out of fear of the police, administration, or government but for the sake of mutual brotherhood, peace and the progress of the city, state and country,” he wrote. (ANI)

India has strongly denied suggestions made by the Pakistan foreign office that India had a hand in the Jaffar Express attack. 

MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We strongly reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan. The whole world knows where the epicenter of global terrorism lies. Pakistan should look inwards instead of pointing fingers and shifting the blame for its own internal problems and failures on to others.”

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan claimed that the rebels involved in the attack on the Jaffar Express were in contact with ring leaders in Afghanistan.

“India has been involved in terrorism in Pakistan. In the particular attack on Jaffar express, the terrorists had been in contact with their handlers and ring leaders in Afghanistan,” Shafqat Ali Khan said during his weekly press briefing.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad claiming that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.

The statement came after Pakistan security forces claimed that they had eliminated all 33 Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) rebels who had hijacked the Jaffar Express which was carrying more than 400 passengers.

The Pakistani Army have not released any photographs or video of the claimed “successful operation”. The rebel BLA on the other hand claims that the ISPR was covering up defeat.

Jeeyand Baloch, spokesperson for the BLA, insisted that “the battle is still ongoing across multiple fronts.

“Baloch claimed that the Pakistani army has “neither achieved victory on the battlefield nor managed to save its hostage personnel.”

He accused the state of “abandoning its own soldiers” and leaving them “to die as hostages.”

Released passengers who reached Quetta told Pakistani media that BLA fighters voluntarily freed women, children, and elderly individuals soon after seizing the train.

The BLA has also challenged Pakistani authorities to allow independent journalists and impartial observers into the conflict zone. The group contends the army’s reluctance to permit such access demonstrates its “defeat.” (ANI)

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Friday presented the fifth budget of the DMK government. Amidst the row over the implementation of the National Education Policy and implementation of third language, the state government announced that it would use its own funds for government schools.

Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, in his budget speech, made the announcement saying the State Government has allocated funds, including salaries of teachers, from its own resources to ensure that the education of Government school students remains unaffected, even in the slightest way.

Minister Thangam Thennarasu also mentioned that the Government is very strong in the two-language policy despite the challenging situation.

“Under the ‘Samagra Shiksha’ scheme, the State Government has been successfully implementing various student welfare schemes for the past seven years,” he said

“However this year Union Government cheated us by not releasing 2,152 crores to the State for not accepting NEP which encourages three language system. Though Union Government didn’t release required funds State government allocating its own funds for the welfare of government school students for teacher salary and other expenses. Even in the time of challenging situation after losing 2,000 crores we stand beside CM on the two language policy,” the Finance Minister added.

“By unflinchingly following the bilingual policy, Tamil Nadu not only preserved the Tamil culture but also empowered its youth with English proficiency, to rise with strength on the global stage with their unquenchable thirst for knowledge and success,” he further added.

The Minister informed that initiatives such as the ‘Ennum Ezhuthum Thittam’ to ensure foundational literacy, special education for differently-abled children, transport allowances for students from remote areas, salary for teachers, guidance for higher education to shape students’ future, art festivals to nurture unique talents, educational tours and infrastructure development, including internet facilities in schools, are in progress. (ANI)

Indian origin Astronaut Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are scheduled to leave the International Space station by March 19 at the earliest, said NASA. The American Space agency said that, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 now is targeting no earlier than 7: 03 PM on March 14 as the window for launch of the Transporter-13 mission.

The mission will launch four crew members to the International Space Station. Mission managers had earlier decided to wave off a launch attempt on Thursday, due to high winds and precipitation forecasted in the flight path of Dragon.

Launch teams also are working to address a hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

With a March 14 Crew-10 launch, the Crew-9 mission with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, would depart the space station no earlier than Wednesday, March 19, pending weather at the splashdown locations off the coast of Florida.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will remain in Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA Kennedy in Florida.

Crew-10 is the 10th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 11th flight with crew aboard, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

This will be the 13th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission which previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, and six Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9 will land on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Transporter-13 is a dedicated smallsat rideshare mission. There are 74 payloads on this flight. (ANI)

After Tamil Nadu introduced a new rupee ‘Ru’ symbol on its state budget, IIT Guwahati professor Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, the designer of the official Indian rupee symbol, expressed surprise over the debate surrounding the change.

Speaking to ANI, Dharmalingam said that he doesn’t have complete information about the reasons for this change, which he designed to represent India’s cultural and economic identity.

“I don’t have complete information behind the reasons of this change; probably, the state government has their own ways, views, and reasons to make the changes. I designed this 15 years ago when the Central government floated a competition and I won it, after which they implemented it and it’s being widely used. I am really happy about being the designer of this symbol, but I never expected such a debate to ever occur,” he said.

Dharmalingam, a professor at IIT Guwahati, designed the iconic Indian rupee symbol 15 years ago, in 2010. It was chosen from among 3,300 entries in a nationwide competition. The design, which combines the Devanagari letter “Ra” and the Roman letter “R,” has become an integral part of India’s currency and identity.

Notably, Kumar comes from a political background. His father, N Dharmalingam, was a former DMK MLA representing the Rishivandiyam constituency in Tamil Nadu.

“It just somehow took this turn, and now there are a lot of concerns going on about the symbol itself. There are reasons that they (Tamil Nadu government) might have,” Dharmalingam said.

The Tamil Nadu government’s introduction of the new rupee logo has sparked controversy. Earlier, Chief Minister MK Stalin released a video that showcased the logo for the Budget of 2025-26. In this logo, the national currency symbol has been substituted with the Tamil Alphabet ‘Ru’.

The 2025-26 budget is set to be presented in the Tamil Nadu assembly on March 14. The step from the Tamil Nadu government ignited criticism from the Opposition leaders. Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said that CM Stalin’s decision is not only condemnable but also laughable.

“In 2010, a Tamilian, Udaya Kumar’s design which was a combination of Latin and Devnagri script was selected in a nation-level design contest. He was appreciated by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, the then Tamil Nadu CM. His son, CM MK Stalin, has found fault with it. In 2025, they want to change it because they said that they are against the Devanagri script. His father accepted it and a Tamilian gave this symbol. I am sure that the DMK fellows did not even know that a Tamilian gave this, and Udaya Kumar also happens to be the son of a former DMK MLA,” he said.

Further sharpening his attacks, Annamalai said that the DMK has become a laughingstock across India.

“They are doing this to divert attention from other pressing public issues. Just now, ED conducted massive raids across TASMAC. They have found kickbacks of more than Rs 1000 crores. These are all major issues. These need to be discussed. DMK is hell-bent on discussing nonsensical issues. DMK is against Tamil interests; that is why they want to go against the design that a Tamil person gave…How will changing a symbol benefit all sections of Tamil society?” the state BJP Chief said.

Tamil Nadu BJP Vice President Narayanan Thirupathy hit out at Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin.

Speaking to ANI, Thirupathy said “This is a childish act by MK Stalin, it is foolish and nonsense… the Rupee note was designed by Tamilian who was a DMK MLA and it was praised and well honoured by late M Karunaidhi and now his son suddenly comes and says that they will not accept it.”

BJP leader CR Kesavan stated that the decision of the DMK government showed their anti-federal nature.

Speaking to ANI, Kesavan said, “This absurd drama and ridiculous stunt by the DMK today of dropping the national currency symbol from its Budget shows their anti-federal nature. The DMK has insulted Tamil sentiment and Tamil pride because this national currency symbol was designed by a distinguished academic who hails from Tamil Nadu. The drama and the double game of the DMK are totally exposed in front of the country.” (ANI)

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to make Delhi clean and pollution-free.

The Environment Minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, attended the meeting along with officials from the Environment Department, Delhi Police, CAQM, DDA, PWD, and Municipal Corporation.

All concerned departments were instructed to take concrete and effective steps to expedite pollution control.

दिल्ली को स्वच्छ और प्रदूषण मुक्त बनाने के लिए आज एक महत्वपूर्ण उच्चस्तरीय बैठक की अध्यक्षता की। बैठक में पर्यावरण मंत्री श्री @mssirsa जी समेत पर्यावरण विभाग, दिल्ली पुलिस, CAQM, DDA, PWD व नगर निगम के अधिकारी मौजूद रहे। सभी संबंधित विभागों को ठोस एवं प्रभावी कदम उठाने के… pic.twitter.com/peU79Qc5L3

— Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) March 13, 2025

Taking to X, Gupta posted on X, “Today, an important high-level meeting was chaired to make Delhi clean and pollution-free. Environment Minister Mr. @mssirsa ji along with officials from the Environment Department, Delhi Police, CAQM, DDA, PWD and Municipal Corporation were present in the meeting. All the concerned departments were instructed to take concrete and effective steps so that pollution control can be accelerated.”

The government is committed to working with all stakeholders to improve air quality, expand green areas, and create a clean, green, and healthy capital city with the cooperation of Delhi residents.

On Wednesday, she chaired a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority alongside Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to evaluate the national capital’s hazard vulnerability, risk assessment, and other related matters.

Delhi CM and LG also reviewed the earthquake preparedness plan, urban flooding, and extreme heat events and the related state heat action plan 2025.

The LG directed officials to make land available as soon as possible and requested the CM address the logistics issues that the previous government had neglected.

The NDMA was asked, and it agreed to provide all necessary technological support in renovating and restructuring the DDMA and setting up the CCC.

The issue of heat waves and the resultant hardships faced by the people, as well as flooding during monsoons, being taken up at the level of the DDMA itself, underlined the importance attached to these core infrastructural issues by the new regime at the helm.

Held much in advance of the forthcoming Summer and subsequent Monsoon seasons, the meeting deliberated upon preventive, curative, and emergent measures concerning various aspects that included water availability and distribution management, desilting of drains and sewer lines, drainage management, installation of requisite equipment, etc. as far as extreme heat and flooding were concerned.

Regarding the Summer Heat Action Plan 2025 and flood management, the LG and the CM asked officers to present a comprehensive plan of action within a month and have it ready for implementation well in advance. (ANI)

The much-awaited action drama Sikandar, starring Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna, is all set for its Eid release.

Ahead of the festival of Holi that is set to take place Friday, the makers have unveiled a brand-new poster featuring Salman in an intense look.

Salman, on Thursday, took to his Instagram account to share the poster along with a poster wishing fans a “Happy Holi.”

“#HappyHoli Milte hai Eid par! #SajidNadiadwala’s #Sikandar Directed by @a.r.murugadoss,” read the caption of the post.

The poster shows Salman Khan standing on top of a burning vehicle, surrounded by flames and smoke.

Ahead of Holi, the makers also released the song ‘Bam Bam Bhole’ on Tuesday.

The track features Salman and Rashmika dancing to a high-energy beat. The song, composed by Pritam and sung by Shaan, Dev Negi, and Antara Mitra, has a festive and vibrant feel.

Last month, Salman shared an intriguing teaser for his high-octane film. The one-minute and 21-second-long teaser introduced Salman’s character, named Sanjay, who is affectionately called Sikandar by his grandmother. Salman showcased his full massy avatar in the teaser, packed with high-octane action sequences and punchy, ‘paisa-vasool’ dialogues.

“Kayde mein raho fayde mein rahoge” and “Insaaf nahi hisab karne aaya hun” are some of the one-liners that Salman delivered with his trademark swag.

The film is directed by AR Murugadoss, renowned for his Tamil and Hindi blockbusters like Ghajini and Thuppakki. Sajid Nadiadwala has produced the project, marking Salman Khan’s reunion with him after their 2014 blockbuster, Kick.

Salman had also revealed a new poster for Sikandar, showing him deflecting an attack from a sharp object. Sikandar is set to release this Eid. Salman will also appear in Kick 2 in the coming months. (ANI)

Amid the Holi-Jumma row, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Thursday lashed out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath for “vitiating” the atmosphere in the state.

Mehboob Mufti recalled that Muslims and Hindus used to celebrate Holi and Eid together and lived in communal harmony. She also warned about the dire consequences of the “poison” being spread by the government.

“The atmosphere across the country is deteriorating. Earlier, Holi was celebrated happily, and Hindus & Muslims celebrated this together, like they celebrate Eid. Now, the atmosphere has been vitiated, especially by the UP CM. The kind of behaviour that is being meted out to the Muslims is very wrong. This country is used to be of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb and Hindus & Muslims lived together happily. But now, they are spreading poison. The impact would be very bad,” Mufti told reporters.

The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister cited the example of the communal atmosphere in Pakistan and expressed hope for sanity to prevail.

“Zia-ul-Haq created a similar communal atmosphere in Pakistan once, and their country has still not overcome that. They are sowing a similar poison here as well…I pray to God to give them wisdom so that they do not pit Hindus and Muslims against each other…”, Mufti added.

Meanwhile, Noida police on Wednesday conducted a flag march ahead of the upcoming festival of Holi and ‘Jumma Namaz’ (Friday prayers).

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ram Badan Singh emphasized that an action against “unruly elements” is underway, and they have deployed adequate force to prevent any mishaps.

“This time, the sensitivity of Holi has increased a bit because, on the same day, Jumma Namaz will also be performed, and keeping this in mind, a flag march has been carried out. We have made all possible arrangements to ensure that the festival is celebrated peacefully… Action against unruly elements is going on continuously, and we have deployed adequate force,” DCP Singh earlier told ANI. (ANI)