Heavy rain lashes Delhi, minimum temperature dips to 23.8 degrees
In its forecast for Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted cloudy sky and light to moderate rain with thundershowers throughout the day.
"Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of isolated places of Delhi (Deramandi), NCR (Faridabad, Manesar, Ballabhgarh) Safidon, Jind, Panipat, Gohana, Rohtak, Mattanhail, Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Sohana, Rewari, Nuh (Haryana) Saharanpur, Deoband, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh), Bhiwari (Rajasthan)," the IMD said in a tweet at around 9 a.m.
"Light intensity rain/drizzle would occur over and adjoining areas of many places of Delhi , NCR (Loni Dehat, Hindon AF Station, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula, Noida, Dadri, Greater Noida) Kandhla, Sakoti Tanda, Hastinapur, Chandpur, Daurala, Bagpat, Meerut, Khekra, Modinagar, Kithor, Amroha, Garhmukteshwar, Pilakhua, Hapur, Gulaoti, Siyana, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahar, Shikarpur, Pahasu (Uttar Pradesh) Tizara, Khairthal (Rajasthan) during next 2 hours," the Department said in another tweet.
Meanwhile, the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 35 degrees Celsius during the day.
The relative humidity at 8.30 a.m. was recorded at 100 per cent.
The weather department has also said that in the next three days, light to moderate rainfall will be fairly widespread to widespread across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana.
--IANS
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PM Modi, Rahul greet people on Eid-ul-Adha
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Greetings on Eid-ul-Adha. May this day bring happiness and prosperity to everyone. May it also uphold the spirit of togetherness and harmony in our society. Eid Mubarak."
Kharge also took to Twitter and said, "The festival of Eid-al-Adha epitomises the noble values of sacrifice, trust and forgiveness. On this joyous occasion, let us all firmly resolve to strengthen the bonds of fraternity and build a peaceful, harmonious and progressive society. Eid Mubarak."
Rahul Gandhi also extended his wishes, and said, "Eid Mubarak. May this auspicious occasion bring peace, prosperity and happiness to all."
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "Hearty greetings on Eid. May this auspicious festival bring lot of happiness, blessings and peace in everyone's life."
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people in Delhi offered namaz at Jama Masjid. Eid-ul-Adha is also known as the festival of sacrifice and holds significant religious and cultural importance for Muslims. It falls on the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar.
--IANS
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Muslims across Himachal celebrate Eid
Large crowds were witnessed in the Muslim-dominated areas of Shimla, Chamba and Nahan towns.
The population of the Muslims in the hill state is less than two per cent of the total population of over 68 lakh.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu felicitated the people, particularly the Muslims on the auspicious occasion.
Extending greetings, the Chief Minister hoped this festival would further strengthen the bonds of peace, unity and brotherhood in the country.
He said the festival may spread the message of goodwill and go a long way in strengthening the unity and integrity of the country.
--IANS
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Delhi govt released Rs 100 cr for 12 DU colleges: Atishi
She further said that since the Arvind Kejriwal government came to power in Delhi, the budget allocated to these colleges had tripled.
"In the financial year 2023-24, an amount of Rs 400 crores has been allocated by the government. Out of this, the first quarter's allocation of Rs 100 crores is being released today," said Atishi.
"It is the vision of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to provide access to quality higher education to every child in Delhi. To ensure the same, the funds for these 12 colleges are being increased by the government every year," she added.
--IANS
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Giriraj Singh takes jibe on Nitish Kumar’s ‘aspirations’ to become Oppn’s PM face
Singh was hinting towards JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's "expectations" of becoming the convener of the Opposition front, for which RJD President Lalu Prasad put forward the name of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
He also said that Nitish Kumar should go for the 'Char Dham Yatra'.
“Nitish Kumar lost the opportunity twice to become the 'Dulha' (referring to theprime ministerial candidate). The first time when K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) came last year in Patna and Nitish Kumar was expecting that he would announce his name as a PM candidate while KCR was expecting the same for him from Nitish Kumar. The second time during the meeting of 15 parties held in Patna on June 23 when Nitish Kumar was expecting that all leaders will project him as a convener but Lalu Yadav smartly projected Rahul Gandhi as a 'Dulha' for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll,” Singh said.
“However, I want to say to Nitish Kumar and others that there is no vacancy for the PM post in 2024. No one could challenge PM Narendra Modi in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll,” Singh said.
Singh made the remarks in his home constituency in Begusarai while addressing an event related to the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
--IANS
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Manipur requires a political solution, not mere deployment of police-military: Surjewala
New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Hitting out at the Central government, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Saturday said that the violence-hit Manipur "requires a political solution, not a mere deployment of police-military to handle law and order".Surjewala's remark comes after former Army Chief Ved Prakash Malik and Lt General of Army L Nishikanta Singh (retired) dubbed the condition in Manipur as "stateless".
In a Twitter post, the Congress General Secretary said: "Manipur's destructive violence has left a long trail of blood, deaths, destruction, distrust in Govt forcing a Lt. General of Indian Army to call Manipur as 'stateless' & comparing it to Lebanon-Nigeria-Syria an Ex Chief of Indian Army to plead for action. IS ANYONE LISTENING?".
In the post, Surjewala noted that since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, "over 115 dead, over 50,000 displaced, over 121 churches of 15 denominations burnt down, more then 5,000 weapons looted (only 1,100 have been returned), home of even Union MOS for External Affairs has been burnt down, besides destroying large number of government buildings".
"The confusion in handling Manipur is best described in the statements of ruling BJP's CM and our Army General's perception of why is Manipur burning? Manipur BJP CM has described the violence as an act of terrorists.
"But our Army General, Anil Chauhan says it has, 'nothing to do with counterinsurgency and is primarily a clash between two ethnicities'. But PM Modi remains 'oblivious' to Manipur," he added.
Targeting the Prime Minister, Surjewala went on to say that the Modi has "neither visited Manipur (he found time to visit Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia and is now headed to US), nor once took stock by calling for a meeting or Chairing a meeting to review the situation in Manipur, nor once expressed dismay over violence or spoke about it in last 45 days since May 3".
Also hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Congress leader said: "HM, Amit Shah found time to visit Manipur only 27 days after the death and destruction. His solutions have yielded zero result and since then, he has completely ignored Manipur as if it is not his charge. BJP Chief Minister Biren Singh has definitely failed miserably to handle the situation and any semblance of government has crumbled in the state.
"BJP National President, J.P. Nadda maintains a 'stony silence' over Manipur as if nothing is happening. Everything has been dumped on the shoulders of our Army and police to maintain law and order and Modi government appears to have washed its hands off."
Firing salvos at the governkent, Surjewala added: "But will this work? Is this expected of PM Modi? Should PM not take initiative? Should PM and Union Government not initiate a fresh dialogue with both ethnic groups? Do the victims of violence not require a direct healing touch from PM and Union government assuring them of support and rehabilitation? Should PM not acknowledge that State BJP government has utterly failed to run the government in accordance with the Constitution?
"Should PM and Union government not ensure that raging violence and disruption comes to an end and normal political process is restored, instead of dumping its responsibility on our Army?."
He further said that question is same as raised by Nishikanta Singh. "Is Modi government even listening? Does PM even care? Is government even concerned? Time to act in National Interest."
The remarks by the Congress leader came after former Army Chief Malik said on Friday that the law and order situation in Manipur needs "urgent attention at highest level".
Gen Malik (retd), refferring to a tweet by Lt Gen L. Nishikanta Singh (retd), tweeted: "An extraordinarily sad call from a retired Lt Gen from Manipur. Law & order situation in Manipur needs urgent attention at the highest level."
Gen Malik, who served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff from September 30, 1997 to September 30, 2000, tagged Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Shah in his tweet.
Earlier, Lt Gen Singh (retd) tweeted: "I'm just an ordinary Indian from Manipur living a retired life. The state is now 'stateless'. Life and property can be destroyed anytime by anyone just like in Libya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria, etc. It appears Manipur has been left to stew in its own juice. Is anyone listening?"
The devastating ethnic violence began after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised by a tribal student body in the hill districts of the state to protest against the Meitei community's Scheduled Tribe status demand.
--IANS
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Religious pontiffs must call maha panchayat to save Hindu religion: C.T. Ravi
Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka), June 17 (IANS) Reacting strongly against the Karnataka government's move to drop the anti-conversion law, the BJP's national General Secretary C.T. Ravi on Saturday said that religious pontiffs must call for a maha panchayat to carry out re-conversions in order to save the Hindu religion.Addressing reporters here, he maintained that re-conversions should be carried out through convincing, donations, warnings and punishment.
"To save Hinduism inevitably, a maha panchayat should be called. The maha panchayat of religious pontiffs, community leaders, jagadgurus must be called. We should initiate steps to save ourselves and our country and our own strategy must be evolved. The religious pontiffs of different communities should take steps for re-conversions," he said.
"The Congress government is giving an opportunity by dropping the stringent law on religious conversions. Those who have gone away from Hinduism for different reasons must be brought back to the Hindu religion. The people should be converted back to Hindu religion.
"What is the stand of Congress to cancel the anti-conversion law? Is Congress for forceful conversions? There is prohibition on religious conversions in the form of by force, by lure and cheating. What is the stand of the Congress party over forceful conversions? Is Congress supporting forceful conversions?" Ravi questioned.
He further stated that "I assumed Congress hated Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. It also hates Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukh Dev. We will place our textbooks before the people and ask them what's wrong with the content. The lesson by author Chakravarthy Sulibele on these martyrs have been dropped. He had not written about himself. Congress opposed Ambedkar when he was alive, they defeated him in the elections and they insulted him when he died as well.
--IANS
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Cong slams Centre’s decision to rename Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday criticised the BJP-led Central government for changing the name of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) to the Prime Minister's Museum, saying "those who do not have own history are trying to wipe the history of others".In a tweet, Kharge said: "Those who don't have a history are now trying to erase the history of others. The ill-fated attempt to change the name of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cannot belittle the personality of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India and fearless watchdog of democracy.
"This only shows the low mentality and dictatorial attitude of BJP-RSS. The dwarf thinking of the Modi government cannot reduce the huge contribution of 'Jawahar of Hind' towards India," Kharge added.
Taking to Twitter, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "Pettiness and Vengeance, thy name is Modi. For over 59 years the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) has been a global intellectual landmark and treasure house of books and archives. It will henceforth be called Prime Ministers Museum and Society.
"What won't (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi do to distort, disparage and destroy the name and legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state. A small, small man overburdened by his insecurities is the self-styled Vishwaguru."
Even Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari also took a jibe at the government, and said: "I wish those who want to erase Jawahar Lal Nehru's contribution to freedom struggle and building of Modern India would once read Discovery of India and Glimpses of World History to fathom the depth of Nehru. Legacies don't get erased by renaming buildings."
Speaking to media here, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor criticised the government, saying: "Nehru Memorial Museum and Library is the original name but now you are changing it into a museum of all Prime Ministers, it's fine but you can still keep the name Nehru Memorial because he was the first and longest serving Prime Minister."
"Why can't we leave the past in the past and acknowledge what has happened and move on. The spirit of compromise seems to be missing, it is all about knocking things down," Tharoor added.
Even speaking to the media here at the party headquarters, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said that whatever the government does, the name of first Prime Minister Nehru cannot be wiped from the memory of the people.
"Nehru is responsible for the development of the country. It was his vision which has brought India this far, he led the industrial revolution after independence. And despite all your efforts to remove his name from the walls, you cannot remove his name from the memories of the people," Vallabh said.
One cannot become big by indulging into petty politics as Nehru is a towering figure, he added.
Vallabh further said that the Congress hails the role of all Prime Ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which they (BJP) want to erase.
The Congress leaders' remarks comes a day after the decision was taken at a special meeting of the NMML Society on Thursday, which was presided over by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the vice-president of the Society.
The Society has Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its chairman, and Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan, G. Kishan Reddy, Anurag Thakur, among its 29 members.
The museum was inaugurated at the Teen Murti complex last year in April, which served as the official residence of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru from 1948 till his death in 1964.
--IANS
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Congress makes ‘vishwayogi’ jibe at PM Modi over Manipur violence, questions his ‘maunasana’
New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to US, the Congress on Friday took a swipe at him with a 'vishwayogi' jibe, saying he has shared 'asanas' for his devotees to practice but has not indicated when he will come out of his 'maunasana' (silence) over the violence in Manipur.Congress General secretary Jairam Ramesh, in a tweet, said: "The self-anointed VishwaYogi has just shared various asanas for his devotees to practice. But when will he come out of his Maunasana as far as burning Manipur is concerned. His silence has gone beyond being pathetic. The Opposition parties from the state are still awaiting an audience with him."
Earlier in the day, Congress leaders slammed the Centre over the deteriorating law and order in violence-hit Manipur after a mob set Minister of State for External Affairs R.K. Ranjan Singh's house on fire in Imphal.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister for not speaking up on the issue, the party said the PM is too busy preparing for his US visit.
"Here is a Union Minister from Manipur lamenting the prevailing situation in his state. But the PM is still silent, too busy preparing for his visit to the US while Manipur continues to burn", Ramesh said.
His remarks came after Ranjan lamented the burning of his house and said that he was shocked as to how the law and order situation has deteriorated in Manipur.
The Union Minister's house at Kongba in Imphal was torched by a mob late on Thursday night.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said: "Manipur is burning. People are getting killed but the Prime Minister is too busy to talk on the issue.
"On one hand Manipur is burning but the Prime Minister is silent. We demand that the government take immediate action over the law and situation in the northeastern state. A government which cannot handle the situation has no right to remain in power."
The Union Minister's house was earlier targeted on May 25 when thousands of people attempted to assemble in front of the residence, but were prevented by security forces.
Police said the mob, which was demanding an early solution to the ethnic conflict, accused all the ministers and MLAs that they were not doing enough to end the crisis.
On Wednesday, in a fresh incident of violence, assailants burnt the official residence of Manipur's Industry Minister Nemcha Kipgen in the Lamphel area in Imphal West district.
Kipgen, the lone woman minister in the state, was not at home when the attackers burnt down her official bungalow.
At least 11 people were killed and 23 others injured after suspected militants attacked the Khamelock village in Imphal East district late on Tuesday night.
Officials said the death toll is likely to increase as several of the injured are said to be critical.
--IANS
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School recruitment case: Court raps CBI for not arresting those who got jobs against money
Kolkata, June 16 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigating the alleged multi-crore school recruitment scam in West Bengal faced the wrath of a special court on Friday for not arresting those who got teaching and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools by paying money.After the CBI presented expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the case, before the court on Friday, the judge observed that while Ghosh acted as an agent, by now the CBI should have arrested some of the individuals who got job against money.
"You have mentioned names of the recipients of the proceeds of crime in your charge sheet. But what about those who had paid money and got jobs? They are also equally guilty," the judge said.
He also said that while some people got jobs by paying money, some did not get jobs even after paying money.
"I can set aside those who did not get jobs. But why are you hesitating to name those who got jobs after paying money," the judge questioned.
The CBI counsel said that the number of people getting jobs after paying money is too high and the central agency is conducting further investigation into the matter.
The judge of the special court then asked the CBI to submit the detailed documents on this count to the court by June 23.
--IANS
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