India

Lucknow, June 2 (IANS) Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has said that the country's image has been severely dented by the ruling BJP's blatant display of disrespect towards women wrestlers.

He said that this was a clear indicator of the party's feudal mindset which has come as a blot to the image of the democratic India in the world.

"News reports of exploitation, harassment and forcefully silencing voices of dissent are being published at the international level and are bringing a bad name to India before the world community. The BJP basically nurtures a feudal mindset where neither women are respected nor the common man. BJP has embarrassed democracy," he stated on Thursday.

Akhilesh quoted news reports about how the women wrestlers have accused a powerful official of sexual harassment and went to throw away their Olympic medals into Ganga and start a hunger strike after they were evicted from the protest site in New Delhi.

Earlier Akhilesh, who is the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly, had attacked the BJP over the handling of allegations of sexual harassment levelled by women wrestlers against outgoing Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is a BJP MP.

The wrestlers had lodged a police complaint and approached the Supreme Court to get an FIR lodged in the case. They were now demanding the arrest of the BJP MP who has repeatedly pleaded innocence.

"On one hand when elections are around the corner, the BJP talks of 'Beti Padao, Beti Bachao' and when these girls raise their voice against harassment and exploitation, the government treats them like this," Akhilesh said.

--IANS
amita/dpb

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), June 2 (IANS) The countdown to Maha Kumbh 2025 has officially begun with a hoarding announcing the dates of the main bathing festivals.

The hoarding has been put up near Hotel Rahi Ilavart premises outside the office of the state tourism department in Prayagraj.

According to a senior state tourism department official, the mega religious fair will be a 45-day event.

The official further said that the three 'Shahi Snas' will be held within the first 21 days of the fair itself.

Notably, the bathing festivals witness seers and saints of the 13 recognised ancient Hindu monastic orders of the country called 'Akharas'.

They arrive on the banks of the holy confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati in a royal procession attracting thousands of pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.

D.P. Singh, senior manager, Hotel Ilavart Rahi, said, "This hoarding has been put up by the hotel administration. The aim is to ensure as much publicity as possible for Maha Kumbh-2025 to attract people from across the world to be a part of this unique and most revered event. The dates of the bathing festivals would help pilgrims and tourists to better plan their visits."

Maha Kumbh 2025 is written in bold at the top of the hoarding. It is followed by a description that says 'The World's Largest Spiritual Gathering'.

The hoarding further mentions the bathing dates of Maha Kumbh-2025. Soon, such hoardings would be put up across the length and breadth of the country, said officials.

In 2025, the fair will kick-start with the bathing festival of Paush Purnima on January 13, 2025, followed by 'Makar Sankranti' Shahi Snan on January 14 and the Mauni Amavasya bathing festival on January 29.

The bathing festival of 'Basant Panchami', which would be the third and the final Shahi Snan of this fair, will take place on February 3, 2025.

The hoarding also specifies that 'Achala Saptami' bathing will take place on February 4, and 'Maghi Purnima' snan on February 12.

The last official bathing festival of Maha Shivratri would take place on February 26.

Tourism department officials conceded that this is for the first time, the promotion of the religious fair has begun many months in advance through the hoarding that sports a majestic photograph.

--IANS
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Washington, June 2 (IANS) After breaking his silence on his disqualification as a Member of Parliament, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted that it is an advantage to him as it allows him to redefine himself which the BJP is not realising.

"My disqualification in many ways is a advantage to me because it opens up completely new spaces for me, allows me to completely redefine myself. I think they have given me a gift frankly and they don't think they are realising it."

"Politics is not linear, it completely goes off in one direction, its asymmetric. So I think that they have given me a gift, its apparent right now... they have," the former Lok Sabha MP added.

Gandhi was disqualified as an MP in March this year after a Surat court convicted him in the Modi surname case.

On Wednesday, Gandhi while speaking at the Stanford University had said that he had "never imagined" that he would get maximum punishment in a defamation case and would be disqualified as an MP, but asserted that it has given him a lot of opportunity to work.

Referring to his introduction as a former MP, the Congress leader had said, "I heard in the introduction that I was a member of Parliament until I was... (disqualified)."

"I don't think when I joined politics in 2004, I ever imagined what I see going on in our country. It was way outside the way I imagined. To be the first person to be given the first maximum sentence on defamation and maximum sentence to get disqualified. I didn't imagine that something like this was possible," the former Wayanad Lok Sabha MP said.

He also has to vacate his official residence following the disqualification as an MP on April 22.

He will not be eligible to contest elections for eight years till the time a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

"But then I think it's actually given me a huge opportunity, a much bigger opportunity I would have in Parliament. That is the way politics works," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader is scheduled to meet several people during his visit to the US in coming days in Washington D.C. and New York.

--IANS
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Washington, June 2 (IANS) Former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi on Thursday once again launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led Central government, saying that the ruling party polarises society and are not inclusive and that is damaging India.

Addressing media here, Gandhi said, "They sought to generate a certain amount of hate, polarise society and they are not inclusive."

Criticising the BJP, he alleged, "They brace everybody and divide society and that's damaging India."

The former Lok Sabha MP said that India has a tradition of conversation of openness.

Citing examples of great leaders, spiritual and political personalities, he added that they (Congress) promoted peace, harmony and conversation.

"So its in our culture, tradition and history to bring people together and have these dialogues and I think it is the difference between us (Congress) and them (BJP). We feel that India should be allowed to express and we feel that political leaders should be comfortable when questioned and should learn from that question. It's just the difference," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader was responding to a query when asked that the BJP engages in hatred and violence.

To another query about the press freedom in India and the arrest of a senior journalist on charges of espionage, Gandhi said, "I think there is a weakening of press freedom and it is not hidden and it is apparent in India, the rest of the world can see it."

Asserting that press freedom is very important for India, he said, "One should be open to criticism and one should listen to criticism and that's the feedback that builds democracy. On multiple access there is a clampdown on institutions that allowed the Indian people to talk and negotiate. I view India as a negotiation between people, different languages, different cultures etc. and architectures that Mahatma Gandhi set up was to allow that negotiation to be carried out fairly and freely."

"And that structure that allows the negotiation between India's people is going under pressure," he added.

To another query on the Opposition unity, the Congress leader, who is on a six-day visit to the US, said, "The opposition is pretty well united, and its getting more and more united."

He noted that "we are having conversations with all the opposition".

"I think quite a lot of good work is happening there. Its a complicated discussion because there are spaces where we are competing with the opposition. So a bit of give and take is required. But I am confident it will happen," Gandhi said on the Opposition unity.

Asked about the Citizenship law, the former Congress Chief added that he thinks that all Indian people have a right to expression, religious freedom.

"All should feel free to express themselves. I don't differentiate between any community and any caste. I think India is a conversation and the freer and more open the conversation becomes, India will become more powerful," he noted.

Gandhi is also scheduled to participate in several programmes during his US tour.

He has already delivered a lecture at the Stanford University and also interacted with the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the party leaders on May 29 to discuss whether the party needs to support Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the Centre's ordinance to negate the Supreme Court judgement on placing 'services' under the control of the state government in the national capital.

According to party sources, Kharge has called a meeting of the party leaders to discuss the issue on May 29 at 10.30 a.m.

The meeting comes in the wake of the request from Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi over the ordinance issue.

In a tweet on Friday, Kejriwal said, "Sought time this morning to meet Congress President Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji to seek Congress support in Parliament against undemocratic and unconstitutional ordinance passed by BJP government and also to discuss general assault on federal structure and prevailing political situation."

After the request from the AAP leader, Congress sources on Friday said that the party is still considering his request.

On Monday night, Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said, "The Congress Party has not taken any decision on the issue of the Ordinance brought against the SC judgment on the powers of the Government of NCT of Delhi with respect to appointment of officers. It will consult its state units and other like-minded parties on the same. The Party believes in the Rule of Law and at the same time does not condone unnecessary confrontation, political witch-hunt and campaigns based on lies against political opponents by any political party."

Many Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab have opposed supporting Kejriwal over the issue. Senior COngress leaders like Ajay Maken, Sandeep Dikshit and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had already echoed that the party should not support AAP.

Kejriwal has already met Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal(U) leader Nitish Kumar along with his deputy and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on May 21. Both the leaders have announced to support the AAP over the ordinance issue.

On Tuesday, Kejriwal travelled to West Bengal to meet his counterpart and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and seek her support. Banerjee also announced her support to the AAP leader.

The AAP leaders also travelled to Maharashtra and met former chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar separately. Both the leaders have also extended their support to Kejriwal's party.

Kejriwal is also supposed to travel to Hyderabad to meet Bharath Rashtra Samithi leader and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao seeking his support over the issue on Saturday.

Kejriwal has last week urged the opposition parties to not let the Bill over ordinance to pass in Rajya Sabha for the people of Delhi.

The Central government has brought an ordinance to set up a permanent authority known as the National Capital Civil Service Authority whose chairperson will be Delhi chief minister, who, along with chief secretary, Delhi, Principal Secretary (Home), Delhi, will make recommendations to the Delhi L-G regarding matters concerning transfer posting, vigilance and other incidental matters. However, in case of difference of opinion, the decision of the L-G shall be final.

On May 11, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that it is ideal to hold that a democratically elected Delhi government should have control over its officers and the L-G is bound by the advice of the elected government in everything other than public order, police, and land. The top court stressed that if the government is not able to control and hold to account the officers posted in its service, then its responsibility towards the legislature as well as the public is diluted.

The ordinance came after the apex court gave the Delhi government control in services matters, including transfer and posting of officers.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday chaired meeting of the 8th Governing Council of the Niti Aayog here in which Chief Ministers of several states participated.

The meeting is currently underway at the newly constructed Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan.

It is being held under the theme of "Viksit Bharat @2047: Role of Team India".

Several Union Ministers including Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Amit Shah, Smriti Irani, Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal, Narendra Singh Tomar were in attendance.

The Chief Ministers present at the meeting are Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), Bhupesh Baghel (Chattisgarh), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh), Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), Manik Saha (Tripura), Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Bhupendra Patel (Gujarat), Pramod Sawant (Goa), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Eknath Shinde (Maharashtra), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh).

A total of eight Chief Ministers -- Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Bhagwant Mann (Punjab), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), K. Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana), M.K. Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan) and Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) -- chose not to participate.

--IANS
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By Atul Krishan
New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) In a latest development related to the Delhi Excise Policy scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has retrieved an audio recording from the mobile phone of AAP National Secretary Mahender Chaudhary in which he is allegedly directing accused Vijay Nair not to state the true facts before the probe agencies.


The ED has alleged that Durgesh Pathak, the AAP MLA, had directed Chaudhary to brief Nair on how to react before the probe agencies.

The sources said that this is the most crucial evidence which establishes that a deep rooted conspiracy was hatched by the accused.

"Chaudhary, the national secretary of AAP, allegedly had a telephone conversation with Nair, during which Chaudhary could be heard directing Nair not to disclose the true facts," the sources said, adding that the call was made on August 28, 2022, soon after Nair was asked to join the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"We will state true facts but only in those lines in which we have to. And if you (Nair) think that we should not disclose things, prepare your mind not to disclose. They (CBI/ED) might ask you twenty kinds of questions but don't state true facts, even we have to lie," the recordings say.

Chaudhary was also summoned in the matter, and his statement was recorded. His mobile phone was seized by the probe agencies, and later the recording was retrieved.

The ED's case is based on the FIR of the CBI.

The ED has as of now filed four charge sheets in the matter, a main charge sheet and three supplementary.

It is all set to file another supplementary charge sheet in the matter.

(Atul Krishan can be approached at atul.k@ians.in)

--IANS
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Patna, May 27 (IANS) Bihar government has decided not to attend the NITI Aayog meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday.

State Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary was scheduled to attend the event but cancelled it on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's direction.

Besides the Nitish Kumar government, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal CM Mamata Benerjee, Punjab CM Bhagwant Maan, Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin, Telangana CM K. Chandrashekher Rao also have expressed their inability to attend the meeting.

According to sources, these leaders are upset with the policies and decisions of the Narendra Modi government, especially the Centre's issuance of an ordinance against the Supreme Court's decision to give the transfer-posting power to the Delhi government.

The Modi government has organised the meeting of NITI Aayog with the tagline of 'India @ 2047'. The opposition leaders of 21 parties have already announced to boycott the inauguration of the new Parliament building on Sunday.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall lashed Delhi and its surrounding areas on Saturday morning, shrouding the National Capital Region (NCR) in a dense blanket of dark clouds.

As the tempestuous weather took hold, numerous areas experienced power outages, amplifying the challenges faced by residents.

In response to the inclement conditions, authorities also diverted six Delhi-bound flights to Jaipur, ensuring the safety of air travel amid the stormy atmosphere.

Meanwhile, trains heading towards the national capital encountered delays, with notable disruptions affecting the Poorva Express, which saw its schedule pushed back by more than three hours, according to an official statement.

"Latest Satellite Imagery/Delhi Radar Show intense convection over Northeast Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West UP & south Uttarakhand, rainfall/Thunderstorms, lightning/Gusty winds likely to continue during next 2-3 hours," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a tweet.

"Due to bad weather, flight operations are impacted at Delhi Airport. It is advisable to contact the airlines concerned for updated flight information," the Delhi airport's Twitter handle posted.

As a result of the heavy downpour, numerous areas in Delhi experienced significant waterlogging.

Earlier in the morning, the IMD had predicted that thunderstorms/duststorms with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 40-70 km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of the entire Delhi, NCR (Loni Dehat, Hindon AF Station, Bahadurgarh, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula, Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar, Ballabhgarh), Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Narwana, Karnal, Rajaund, Assandh, Safidon, Barwala, Panipat, Adampur, Hissar, Gohana, Gannaur, Siwani, Meham, Sonipat, Tosham, Rohtak, Kharkhoda, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar, Loharu, Farukhnagar, Kosali, Mahendargarh, Sohana, Rewari, Palwal, Narnaul, Bawal, Nuh, Aurangabad, Hodal (Haryana), Gangoh, Deoband, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Kandhla, Khatauli, Baraut, Daurala, Bagpat, Meerut, Khekra, Modinagar, Kithor, Garhmukteshwar, Pilakhua, Hapur, Gulaoti, Siyana, Sikandrabad, Bulandshahar, Jahangirabad, Khurja, Gabhana, Jattari (Uttar Pradesh) Sidhmukh, Pilani, Bhiwari, Jhunjunu, Tizara, Khairthal, Kotputli, Alwar, and Viratnagar (Rajasthan).

The weather department also predicted rain in Delhi for the next two to three days and no heat wave is predicted until May 30.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 27 (IANS) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday paid tributes to first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his 59 th death anniversary.

Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, party treasurer Pawan Bansal, and others paid floral tributes to Nehru at Shanti Van memorial here.

Remembering Nehru, Kharge took to Twitter and wrote one his quotes: "You don't change the course of history by turning the faces of portraits to the wall."

Paying tributes to the first Prime Minister, the Congress president said: "India of 21st century cannot be imagined without the contributions of Pandit Nehru. A fearless watchdog of democracy, his progressive ideas propelled India's social, political and economic development despite challenges. My tributes 'Jawahar of Hind'."

Even Venugopal took to Twitter and said: "A legendary freedom fighter. visionary Prime Minister. A democrat who laid the foundation of our Republic. statesman respected worldwide. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru set an example for all his successors to follow. Remembering Pandit ji on his death anniversary."

Nehru played a prominent role in India's freedom struggle. He also went on to become India's first Prime Minister after Independence in 1947. He was among the key leaders of the Indian National Congress (INC).

On May 27, 1964, the first Prime Minister of India took his last breath. He served for over 16 years from 1947 to 1964 till he died at the age of 74.

He had a great fondness for kids, and children use to call him Chacha Nehru and his birthday is celebrated as Children's Day every year.

--IANS
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