Author: LokMarg

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, along with other top Congress party colleagues Adhir Ranjan Chaudhari and KC Venugopal were among those detained on Monday as party leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office here today for questioning in the National Herald money laundering case.

Delhi Police on Monday detained Congress workers including Adhir Ranjan Chaudhari, KC Venugopal, Deepender Hooda and Jairam Ramesh among other MPs who joined a huge protest by Congress workers who shouted slogans against the central government.

According to sources, Venugopal’s health is not well and he was taken to Tughlaq Road police station.

Deepender Hooda, Gehlot and other Congress leaders were detained and they were taken to Fatehpur police station in buses.

Congress leaders Rajni Patil, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, L Hanumanthaiah and Su Thirunavukkarasar were detained at Mandir Marg Police Station.

Soon after they were detained, Rajya Sabha MPs Rajni Patil and L Hanumanthaiah said they will move a privilege motion in both Houses of Parliament against their undemocratic detention.

Several Congress workers are protesting at various points near party headquarters.

On Sunday Delhi Police had cited “law and order situation” denied permission to the Congress protest march and had imposed prohibitory orders near the Congress headquarters.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrived at the AICC headquarters here and marched towards the ED office.

Earlier today Congress workers staged a protest holding placards and amidst massive sloganeering in support of Rahul Gandhi. ‘Rahul Gandhi zindabad, zindabad’ song resonated at Congress party headquarters here.

Addressing media persons earlier this morning Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the party’s ‘Satyagraha’ march will continue despite the Delhi Police denying permission to the party to hold protests.

Slamming the Centre for denying permission to Congress to hold its “Satyagraha march” in the national capital, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala addressing media persons said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has imposed an “undeclared emergency” in the entire central Delhi area.

“We will hold a peaceful protest march to the ED office under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. We are the protectors of the Constitution, we will not bow down or be scared. By deploying a large police force, it has been proven that the Modi government is shaken by Congress.”

Rahul Gandhi was summoned by the ED to join the investigation on June 13. He was earlier summoned to join the investigation but he was out of the country and later he was given a fresh date of June 13 to join the probe.

On Friday the ED also issued a fresh summons to Sonia Gandhi asking her to appear on June 23 for questioning in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.

Congress has alleged that it is a “political vendetta” and the case has no grounds for investigation.

The ED has earlier questioned senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year as part of its investigation.

The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL). While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL.

The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of the AJL and YIL.

The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)

With an aim to connect the youth with more opportunities for on-ground training within corporates and further a chance to get employment, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be organising the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela every month now on.

On June 13, 2022, the mela will be organised from 9 AM to 5 PM. The PM National Apprenticeship Mela will take place across 200+ locations in India, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship informed in a statement.
More than 1000 companies from across 36+ sectors will be participating in the Mela providing opportunities of being hired as an apprentice within companies. Individuals having a 5th-12th-grade pass certificate, a skill training certificate, an ITI Diploma, or a graduate degree can apply for an interview across these trades/opportunities. The candidates will be given a choice of 500+ trades, including welders, electricians, housekeepers, beauticians, mechanics, and others.

The primary goal of this programme is to encourage the hiring of apprentices from these cities, as well as to assist employers in identifying and developing their potential through training and practical skillsets bringing value to their workplace.

Candidates will also receive Apprenticeship certificates recognised by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) at the end of their training period, which will give them industry recognition.

Participating organisations in the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Melas have the opportunity to meet potential apprentices on a common platform and select candidates on the spot. Furthermore, small-scale industries with at least four employees can hire apprentices at the event. A credit bank concept will also be introduced soon, with a depositary of various credits accumulated by learners that can be used for future academic pathways.

Expressing his views on the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela, Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said that following the success of the previous apprenticeship mela held in April, we have decided to organize the Pradhan Mantri National Apprenticeship Mela (PMNAM) every month.

“We hope both the candidate and the establishments will benefit from this model of skill development. We aim to engage over one million youth as apprentices through these melas. This will not only give the candidates hands-on experience on the shop floors but also address the challenge of migration at a local level,” he added. (ANI)

AAP leader and Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been sent to 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case by Rouse Avenue court.

Jain was arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate last month. The investigation has been underway since 2017 and the Minister was arrested on May 30.
Notably, during the search conducted on June 7, the ED has said it seized various incriminating documents and digital records.

The ED said that the total movable assets were seized from an “unexplained source” and were “found to be secreted” in the raided premises.

More than Rs 2 crore in cash and gold weighing 1.8 kg were seized by the ED after raids against Jain and those linked to him, in a money laundering case. The ED has submitted that Jain was not cooperating in the interrogation.

On the other hand, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and N Hariharan opposed the extension of the remand saying that the recoveries are not connected with Jain. “ED has not asked any question about the gold and jewellery in the last two days,” they submitted.

Earlier, he was sent to ED custody from May 31 till June 9. He was arrested in a money laundering case connected with Disproportionate Asset (DA) case registered by CBI. (ANI)

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accompanied by his sister and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday arrived at Congress headquarters here, ahead of his appearance before Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case. The pair joined Congress workers in marching to the ED office from here.

Earlier today Congress workers staged a protest holding placards and amidst massive sloganeering in support of Rahul Gandhi. ‘Rahul Gandhi zindabad, zindabad’ song resonated at Congress party headquarters in the national capital.
Several Congress workers were detained near the party headquarters as they raised slogans against the Central government.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala today said that the party’s ‘Satyagraha’ march will continue despite the Delhi Police denying permission to the party to hold protests.

Slamming the Centre for denying permission to Congress to hold its “Satyagraha march” in the national capital, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala addressing media persons said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has imposed an “undeclared emergency” in the entire central Delhi area.

“We will hold a peaceful protest march to the ED office under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. We are the protectors of the Constitution, we will not bow down or be scared. By deploying a large police force, it has been proven that the Modi government is shaken by Congress.”

Speaking to ANI, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that they are here in the national capital from various parts of India to show solidarity with our party leadership and show the nation the blatant misuse of ED.

“We are here from various parts of India to show solidarity with our party leadership&show the nation the blatant misuse of ED. All cases of ED are bogus. I have got ED notices the maximum times, so I am the resident expert in Congress in the matters of ED,” said Chidambaram.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Congress believe in peaceful protest and not instigating riots like BJP.

“We want to go along, it’s not a crime. They are deliberately not giving us permission. We urged Amit Shah to allow us but to no avail. We believe in peaceful protest & not instigating riots like BJP,” he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is also in Delhi said, “What is wrong with holding a peaceful protest march against the misuse of central agencies by the ruling government?”

Huge police deployment was seen outside the Enforcement Directorate office on this morning with some Congress workers getting detained outside party headquarters.

According to sources, Congress MPs, and Congress Working Committee (CWC) members have also been asked to be present in Delhi on Monday for the rally.

Delhi Police, however, had denied permission to a Congress rally. The Delhi police cited law and order behind the denial of the permission for the rally.

Police have been deployed outside Rahul Gandhi’s residence additional security forces have been also deployed outside the Enforcement Directorate office in the national capital.

Rahul Gandhi has been summoned to join the investigation on June 13. He was earlier summoned to join the investigation but he was out of the country and later he was given a fresh date of June 13 to join the probe.

ED on Friday issued a fresh summons to Sonia Gandhi asking her to appear on June 23 for questioning in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.

Congress has alleged that it is a “political vendetta” and the case has no grounds for investigation.

The ED also questioned senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case.

The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL). While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL.

The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of the AJL and YIL.

The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)

Ahead of the upcoming England tour, former India skipper Virat Kohli is off for a vacation.

Taking to his Twitter, Virat posted a picture of him, sitting on a beach and relaxing.
Virat was rested for the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, following his lean patch in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

Team India will be touring England for the rescheduled fifth Test match, which got postponed in 2021 due to COVID-19. The fifth Test will be played on July 1 which will be followed by a three-match T20I and ODI series.

India are currently leading the Test series by 2-1 and a win or a draw will help them win the first Test series on English soil after 15 years. It will be a historic game for Team India as they had previously won a Test series in England in 2007.

Interestingly, Team India played under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy in 2007 and now he is the head coach of the Indian team. Virat Kohli was the captain of the team when India toured England in 2021 but now the team will be led by Rohit Sharma. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor’s brother Siddhanth Kapoor has been detained by Bengaluru Police for allegedly consuming drugs at a party in the city on Sunday night, Bengaluru City police’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (east) Bheemashankar S Guled said on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a hotel on MG Road in the city on Sunday night where a party was hosted.
Samples of people suspected of having consumed drugs were sent for medical tests and Siddhanth’s sample was among six that turned positive.

Police sources said that police was acting on a tipoff when it raided the private hotel.”

“Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor’s brother has been detained by police. As of now as his samples have come positive for drugs. He’s one among six people to have consumed drugs,” police sources said.

Police said it was unclear whether they had consumed drugs at the hotel or had come to the party after taking drugs outside.

As of now, the son of actor Shakti Kapoor, who is also the brother of actress Shraddha Kapoor is in police custody.

In 2020, Shraddha Kapoor was among those who were questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau in actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case over alleged possession of drugs. (ANI)

Devotees at the Batsagaan temple in Gandan Monastery of Ulaanbataar are eagerly awaiting to get a glimpse of Lord Buddha’s holy relics that arrived here from India on Monday.

The sacred ‘Kapilvastu relics’ were brought in two special bulletproof caskets on board an Indian Air Force aircraft and will be displayed for 11 days at the Ganden Tegchenling Monastery.
The relics of Lord Buddha which are returning to Mongolia after 29 years are considered as one of the most sacred relics of Buddhism.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju who led an Indian delegation accompanying the relics, said it is a historic milestone in the India-Mongolia relations aimed at further boosting cultural and spiritual relations between the two countries.

India’s relations with Mongolia got a boost after the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mongolia in 2015. He had visited the Ganden Monastery, where the relics will now be displayed for the common people.

“This will give a message of peace to the world. The friendship between India and Mongolia is very old. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Mongolia in 2015, the bond between both countries have become very strong,” Rijiju earlier said.

Recalling the visit of the Prime Minister to Mongolia in 2015, the Union Minister added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first-ever Prime Minister of India to visit Mongolia, and taking the relics to Mongolia is an extension of the vision of the PM to revive the relations with the countries with whom India had cultural and spiritual ties since centuries ago.

The relics are part of the collection on display at the National Museum in New Delhi. They will be displayed in Mongolia in an 11-day exposition as part of celebrations of the Mongolian Buddh Purnima falling on June 14.

While Rijiju will return to India on June 16 after attending the Buddha Purnima celebrations on June 14, a team of officials from the National Museum will remain in Mongolia through the 11-day period during which the relics will be on display and will bring them back to India. (ANI)

Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban has claimed that its forces have killed the commander of terrorist group ISIS (ISIL) and captured and another member in an operation conducted in the Bagrami district of Kabul province.

TOLO News reported on Monday citing Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson said that these main key figures had attacked mosques, monasteries, and electricity pylons in Kabul and other provinces.
The Taliban faces a severe security threat from the Khorasan branch of ISIS, which has been active in Afghanistan since 2014.

Earlier, in May, ISIL claimed responsibility for a series of explosions in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which killed 9 people and left 15 others injured, according to the statement posted on the group’s Aamaq news agency.

Three explosions rocked the capital of Balkh province on May 25, leaving at least 9 people killed and 15 others injured, Khaama Press reported. Meanwhile, on the same day, a blast at Masjid Sharif Hazrat Zakaria mosque in Kabul City left at least two worshippers dead, according to officials, Al Jazeera reported.

In response to the attacks in Balkh and Kabul, the US Special Envoy for Women and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Rina Amiri said that the Taliban must ensure people’s security and prevent similar atrocities.

“The heinous attacks in Mazar & Kabul serve no purpose but to inflict further devastation on innocent Afghans who have suffered enough,” Amiri tweeted.

“Preventing these horrid attacks and addressing the security & needs of all Afghans should be what the Taliban focus on,” she added.

The first two explosions in Balkh province targeted passenger vehicles in the Hazara neighborhood, Khaama Press reported citing local sources.

Additionally, an explosion at a traffic square in Kabul’s fourth police district killed at least 30 people and injured others at the Hazrat Zekriya Mosque.

The Emergency hospital said that 22 people had been injured and that 5 of them had died on their way before reaching the hospital. No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the blast in Hazrat Zakariya, according to Khaama Press. (ANI)

Members of the fishing community from several coastal areas of India on Sunday protested against the World Trade Organization (WTO) proposal to curb fishery subsidies as it was not responsive to the demands of the developing nations.

“If subsidy stops for traditional fishermen, their lives and livelihood will be stopped. So this should not be against the traditional fishermen, if the subsidy discipline is required it should be for industrial fishermen. This is our main demand,” said Biman Jana, from West Bengal.

The draft does not adequately address the concerns on food security and livelihood of small fishers while including provisions that could help advanced countries perpetuate their huge dole for long-distance fishing.

During the 12th World Trade Organisation ministerial meet that began on June 12, fishermen from across India assembled outside the United Nations Office, Geneva and protested against the proposed cut and explained how huge fishing giants from Europe and China are responsible for the depletion of marine resources.

To protect the interest of the Indian fisher population a group of 34 fishers from India has arrived at Geneva, representing Gujarat (5), Maharashtra (6), Goa (1), Karnataka (2), Kerala (6), Tamil Nadu (5), Andhra Pradesh (4) and West Bengal (5) states of India.

“I am a ninth-generation fisherman and my family has been involved in fishing for ages. The fishing boats from developed nations like China and Europe catch thousands of tonnes of fish, freeze them on the boat and they take it away,” said a protesting fisherman from Maharashtra.

Indian fishermen need this subsidy for their survival. India has an 8,118 KM coastline with an Exclusive Economic Zone of 2.08 Million SqKm.

According to the CMFRI Census 2016, the total marine fisher folk population is 3.77 million comprising 0.90 million families. They reside in 3,202 fishing villages (DoF, GoI Statistics Data).

Nearly 67.3 per cent of the fishermen’s families were under the BPL category. The average family size was 4.63 and the overall sex ratio was 928 females per 1000 males.

“I am fishermen’s family. There are more women in fishing across our country. If this subsidy is taken away, women will be affected the most. If the subsidy is gone our ‘kutumb’ will be gone too”, said Jyotibua, a fisherwoman from Maharashtra.

India is in favour of stopping IUU (illegal, unreported, unregulated) fishing and supporting sustainable fishing by checking harmful subsidies.

Another Indian fisherman protesting said that they pick up plastic from the sea as plastic pollution leads to depletion of fisheries. He said that no other country does this (picking up plastics).

However, the text is tilted heavily towards advanced fishing nations letting them maintain their subsidies for high-sea fishing.

At the same time, developing countries are denied adequate carve-outs that could hurt both livelihood and food security interests.

“If this subsidy is taken away, it will be a matter of life and death for us. We treat the sea as our father and respect it so much that we do not even go fishing on the night of ‘amavasya’. We will not be able to survive if this subsidy is taken away,” said a fisherman from Gujarat.

In the ongoing talks on curbing fishery subsidies, negotiations are taking place under three categories — IUU, over-fished (where stock is already declared as overfished) and over-fishing and over-capacity.

As the standards are set by advanced fishing countries, it is easy for them to follow. Developing nations, on the other hand, may not be in a position to immediately show those standards.

Traditional fisheries involve fishing households (as opposed to commercial companies), using a relatively small amount of capital and energy, relatively small fishing vessels usually about 20 meters in overall length, making short fishing trips, close to shore. It is also called small-scale fisheries.

The marine fishery in India is small-scale and provides food security to millions of people.

There is no industrial fishing in India. Industrial fishing by developed nations involves large fishing vessels conducting fishing activities in High Seas beyond EEZ and also within EEZ and is detrimental to fish stock.

There are around 2 lakh fishing crafts in Indian waters of which 59,000 (37 per cent) are mechanised and the remaining are non-motorized fishing crafts.

The Indian boat type ranges from the traditional catamarans, masula boats, plank-built boats, dug-out canoes, machwas, dhonis to the present-day motorized fibre-glass boats, mechanized trawlers and gillnetters.

The traditional and sustainable fishing practices by Indian fishers are being practised for thousands of years and it is only subsistence fishing.

The Indian fisheries’ resources are conserved and protected well by the fishers by their traditional and cultural beliefs.

Sustainable fisheries are supported by the Government by means of a declaration of fishing holidays for a period of 61 days and implementation of fisheries regulation act by the concerned states.

India is not a major fishery subsidy provider. Meanwhile, China, the EU and the US offer an annual fishery subsidy of USD 7.3 billion, USD 3.8 billion and USD 3.4 billion, respectively, India offered just USD 277 million in subsidies in 2018 to small fishers.

Subsidy assistance to fishers helps them to venture into fishing for supporting their livelihood and protection of their family. The stoppage of subsidy assistance to fishers in India will ultimately affect millions of fishers and their families and will lead to poverty. (ANI)

Slamming the Centre for denying permission to Congress to hold its “Satyagraha march” in the national capital, party general secretary Randeep Surjewala on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has imposed an “undeclared emergency” in the entire central Delhi area.

Addressing a press conference here he said, “We will hold a peaceful protest march to the ED office under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. We are the protectors of the Constitution, we will not bow down or be scared. By deploying a large police force, it has been proven that the Modi government is shaken by Congress.”

Huge police deployment was seen outside the Enforcement Directorate office on this morning with some Congress workers getting detained outside party headquarters.

“Modi government has imposed an undeclared emergency in the entire central Delhi area. thousands of barricades have come up. Thousands of Congress workers have been arrested since last night. Congress will continue raising the issues of people. National Herald is a heritage of the country. We are determined to protect the national heritage. We will continue raising voice against inflation and unemployment. We will expose the government,” Surjewala told mediapersons.

He said the Centre cannot suppress the movement of Congress.

“Satya ka Sangram will continue under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. Even the British could not suppress the voice of Congress during the freedom struggle, then how can this ruling government?” Surjewala told ANI.

The party had earlier announced that it has planned a march from party headquarters to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office and will hold ‘satyagrahas’ outside the ED offices in states in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi.

According to sources, Congress MPs, and Congress Working Committee (CWC) members have also been asked to be present in Delhi on Monday for the rally.

Delhi Police, however, had denied permission to a Congress rally. The Delhi police cited law and order behind the denial of the permission for the rally.

Police have been deployed outside Rahul Gandhi’s residence additional security forces have been also deployed outside the Enforcement Directorate office in the national capital.

Rahul Gandhi has been summoned to join the investigation on June 13. He was earlier summoned to join the investigation but he was out of the country and later he was given a fresh date of June 13 to join the probe.

ED on Friday issued a fresh summons to Sonia Gandhi asking her to appear on June 23 for questioning in connection with the National Herald money laundering case.

Congress has alleged that it is a “political vendetta” and the case has no grounds for investigation.

The ED also questioned senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Treasurer Pawan Bansal in April this year in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the National Herald case.

The agency then recorded the statements of both the Congress leaders under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Private Limited (YIL). While Kharge is the CEO of YIL, Bansal is the Managing Director of AJL.

The ED is currently investigating the shareholding pattern and financial transactions as well as the role of party functionaries in the functioning of the AJL and YIL.

The YIL promoters include Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. (ANI)