India

Hyderabad, Sep 19 (IANS) Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao has asked IndiGo to respect local languages after a woman was allegedly made to shift from her seat on a flight because she understood only Telugu.

Rama Rao was reacting to an incident which occurred on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad IndiGo flight on September 16.

Devasmita Chakraverty, an assistant professor of education at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad tweeted that the woman aboard IndiGo 6E 7297 was originally sitting in 2A (XL seat, exit row) was forced to shift to seat 3C because she understood only Telugu, not English/Hindi. The attendant said it was a security issue

Devasmita Chakraverthy, who posted a photograph with her tweet, called the incident a discrimination. Reacting to her tweet, TRS leader and Telangana minister Rama Rao requested IndiGo management to start respecting local languages and passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi in regional routes.

"Dear @IndiGo6E Management, I request you to start respecting local languages & passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi In regional routes, recruit more staff who can speak the local language like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada etc. This will be a win-win solution," wrote KTR, as the minister is popularly known.

KTR received support from Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. "Short haul European flights ex London all have attendants who are native language speakers," she tweeted.

The minister's tweet sparked a debate. Some Twitter users agreed with him while others found fault for turning it into a language issue.

"This is because the persons in the exit row seats need to be extra vigilant and support in an emergency by opening the door, communicating with others etc. It is unfair to showcase it as a language issue," wrote a Twitter user Subbaraju.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) A court here on Monday stayed the trial court proceedings and bail hearings of arrested Delhi minister Satyendar Jain and others in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Hearing the September 15 application moved by the ED for the transfer of the bail plea of Jain from the present court, the District Judge of Rouse Avenue Court also issued notice in the matter.

Earlier, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the ED, submitted that he has instructions to move an application for transfer of the bail application (of Jain) and he has requested a short adjournment for the same.

Jain, whose bail has been denied in various hearings since his arrest in the PMLA case on May 30, is presently lodged in Tihar jail.

As per the earlier submissions of the ED, Jain was in de facto control of shell companies used for alleged money laundering, and co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain were just dummies.

On the other hand, Jain's counsel argued that the alleged role attributed to him doesn't fall in the ambit of Section 45 of the PMLA.

Earlier, the CBI had accused Jain, his wife, and others of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act. On March 31, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by the minister.

On June 6, the ED conducted raids at multiple locations belonging to Jain, his wife and his accomplices, who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering. A recovery of Rs 2.85 crore in cash and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg was made during the raid.

--IANS
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Rajkot, Sep 19 (IANS) Two 'bahubali netas' (musclemen-turned-politicians) of the BJP from the Rajput community are fighting to get tickets for their sons from Gujarat's Gondal Assembly constituency.

However, this fight has made the politicians in the Rajkot district worry about the political tug of war between the two bahubalis that can disturb the social fabric which was settled after a long struggle.

BJP's former MLA Jayrajsinh Jadeja wishes the party nominates his son Ganeshsinh this time, instead of his wife Gayatriba, who is the sitting MLA from the Gondal seat. Whereas Anirudhsinh Jadeja, another bahubali wants the BJP to nominate either his son Rajdeepsinh or the candidate of his choice from the same seat.

Jayrajsinh Jadeja was convicted in Nilesh Rayani's murder case of 2004 and Anirudhsinh Jadeja was convicted in Congress party's sitting MLA Popatlal Sorathiya's murder case of 1998. Political sources say that both are considered big power brokers, and unofficial arbitrators in land disputes.

The political war between the two Jadeja families broke out after Jayrajsinh defeated Anirudhsinh's father Mahipatsinh Jadeja in the 1998 Assembly elections. Jayrajsinh had contested on a BJP ticket and Mahipatsinh was contesting as an independent candidate. Mahipatsinh was a two-term MLA from the constituency as an independent MLA in 1990 and 1995.

Jayrajsinh represented the seat from 1998, 2002 and 2012, in 2017 his wife Gayatriba got elected to the Assembly seat on the BJP symbol.

The Gondal Assembly constituency has a total 2,35,000 voters, one lakh Patidar voters, 10,000 Kshtriya Rajputs and the rest 1,20,000 of other communities.

"It becomes difficult for the local leaders, when two bahubalis are in race, but as a district BJP Committee, our job is simply to send a panel of aspiring candidates to the parliamentary board to finalise the candidate. But when a sensitive matter comes, then Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi take a call," said Mansukh Khachariya, president of the Rajkot District BJP Committee.

"Both families are trying for the ticket of the BJP, if either fails to get a ticket and if the candidate has a good track record, for such candidates gates of Congress are always open," said Arjun Khatariya, Rajkot District Congress Committee.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) Samajwadi Party MLAs on Monday held a dummy Vidhan Sabha on Vikramaditya Marg where they were staging a dharna in protest against not being allowed to march to the state Assembly.

The SP MLAs sang "Vande Mataram" and then read out an obituary resolution to condole the demise of BJP MLA Arvind Giri.

They observed a two-minute silence before calling off the dharna.

A similar agenda was followed in the UP Assembly where the proceedings were adjourned for the day after condoling the demise of the BJP MLA.

--IANS
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Bhopal, Sep 19 (IANS) Newly appointed in-charge for Madhya Pradesh Congress Jai Prakash Agarwal, during his three-day visit here, chaired a series of meetings with party leaders and workers to take stock of the preparedness for the upcoming Assembly elections in 2023.

Besides, the senior party leaders or MPCC members, Agarwal also met the members of different cells of the party, including youth and women wing.

"During the meeting, he (Agarwal) inquired about our preparations. After giving a patient hearing, he advised us on how to proceed and expand the party's base in the state. He shared different ideas for different age group people," said a senior member of the women wing of the Congress.

Known for making effective reconciliation among the warring section/faction, the veteran began his operation during his first visit to the state. As an in-charge of the party, Agarwal not only chaired meetings at Congress headquarters, he also reached out to senior party members at their residences in Bhopal. He visited the party leaders, who have expressed their disappointment on some issues within the party.

Meanwhile, in a major development in the state Congress, a proposal was passed at the meeting in which AICC president Sonia Gandhi was given responsibility to appoint Madhya Pradesh Congress president.

The meeting, held at the MP Congress Committee office on Saturday, was chaired by the newly appointed state in-charge Agarwal and organisational election in charge R.C. Khutia.

Notably, Agarwal who was appointment as in-charge of MP Congress, has replaced outgoing MP Congress in-charge Mukul Vasnik, who was given the role in 2020 after the Kamal Nath-led Congress government was dissolved due to shifting of over 20 Congress MLAs to the BJP, along with Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The development came just 15 months before the 2023 Assembly elections in the state and the Congress has started gearing up for its preparations.

He has been given a role in the party after a long gap and especially at the time when the Congress is struggling to revive the grand-old-party.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) Rashes that do not itch, swollen eyes, burning sensation in lips and sore throat could be symptoms of severe adverse drug reaction (ADR).

Prof A.K. Sachan, head, pharmacology department, King George's Medical University (KGMU) said that 137 ADR cases had been reported at KGMU's different departments since February.

The highest 34 cases were reported from the skin department followed by radiotherapy (26) and pulmonary critical care (11).

In some cases, even cardiac issues and liver diseases were caused due to drug reactions.

"Drugs can cause serious implications, so patients should share all his clinical history, previous and current health issues. They should state allergy from any drug in the past," said Dr Sachan.

"Diabetes patients should not be given hypertensive drugs as they mask the symptoms that can be fatal. Often such cases get revealed when any patient faints due to low blood sugar," he added.

Coordinator, pharmacovigilance programme, KGMU, Prof Anuradha Nischal, said, "Patients must report any unintended reactions known or unknown, serious or non-serious, due to medicines as soon as they encounter them. There were various medications withdrawn from the market after notable side-effects were reported."

Citing the instance of a 65-year-old man who was brought to the trauma centre of King George's Medical University (KGMU) with progressive rashes that did not itch, the doctor said that the rashes started on his face and spread over other parts of body, affecting more than 30 per cent of total body surface area.

"He had swollen eyes and lips with a burning sensation. These symptoms lasted for two weeks with manifestations of fever, malaise and sore throat. Investigation revealed that he had been on medication for seizures for a month prior to developing rashes that had caused toxic epidermal necrolysis, which is a rare, life-threatening skin reaction," said Dr Swastika Superia, faculty at skin department, KGMU.

"Though the man was saved, cases of ADR are common because people ignore initial drug reactions due to lack of awareness," she added.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) A 14-year-old mentally unsound child, who went missing in the national capital, when found, told the police that he was going to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Chandan Chowdhary said a PCR call regarding a teenage boy being found near Pushpa Bhawan was received at the Ambedkar Nagar police station around 9.45 p.m. on Sunday.

When the police reached the spot and tried to enquire from the child, he was not able to tell about his parents, name and address, except his own name.

"He was also looking with a bit of an unsound mind as on enquiry he said that he was going to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the DCP said.

However, the police made an inquiry in the Dakshinpuri area and finally the parents of the child were traced out.

On inquiry, the father of the child stated that his son was having an unsound mind and had been twice operated for the illness.

"The child went missing on Sunday evening and even the parents were trying to trace him," the senior police official said.

The teenager was later handed over to his parents under Operation Milap.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) The iconic Burlington Crossing in Lucknow has been named after Ashok Singhal, the former international working president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The executive committee of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has renamed six places, including roads, parks and a stadium after Hindu ideologues, freedom fighters, soldiers, late politicians, and social workers hailing from the city and outside.

According to official sources, the road leading to Meena Bakery Crossing in Rajajipuram has been renamed after noted Shia cleric Maulana Mirza Mohammad Athar, who was the founder president of All India Shia Personal Law Board.

The trisection near the statue of Maharaja Suheldev Rajbhar at Lalbagh has been named after the Suheldev Rajbhar, the legendary king of the medieval India, who ruled in Shravasti and fought with the Muslim invaders.

Incidentally Suheldev Rajbhar is the ideologue of the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), a former ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

It has also been decided to rename a park in Azad Nagar Colony after a freedom fighter, though the name has not been finalised yet. The mayor will choose from the names of 1857 revolt heroes Mangal Pandey, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Babu Kunwar Singh.

A road in Aliganj area will be named after freedom fighter Sohan Lal Saxena, street near the Amiruddaula Public Library after artist Prof Sukhvir Sanghal, Alambagh Teripulia Trisection as Khalsa Chowk, a park in Sanjay Gandhi Puram Colony after Chandra Shekhar Azad, the street near Ashiana Power House as Digambar Jain Temple Marg.

The decision to rename the streets comes barely weeks before the municipal polls are scheduled in Lucknow.

--IANS
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Lucknow, Sep 19 (IANS) The parents of a man who kidnapped and killed a 21-year-old woman, have been arrested for helping their son, a jilted lover, in hiding and disposing of the body.

Harshit Shukla, arrested on Saturday, had forcibly taken the woman to his house on pretext of an outing and strangulated her to death when she refused to submit to his wishes.

Harshit's parents, Prem Chand Shukla, 60, and Madhuri Shukla, 57, were arrested from their residence in Pandit Khera locality in Krishna Nagar.

ADCP, Central Zone, Rajesh Srivastava said that the accused kept the body in his room on the first floor of his residence and locked it from outside.

After two days, a foul smell started emanating from the first floor and Madhuri came to know about the murder of the girl.

ADCP said that Madhuri then informed her husband about the same and the three of them tied the body in a blanket and then stuffed it in a plastic sack which they dumped near the tube well near their residence.

A day later, the body was recovered by the locals and police were informed about the same. The parents of the woman had also lodged a missing complaint in the case.

It mentioned that Harshit was harassing their daughter and that she had distanced herself from him about 10 months ago.

The woman had lodged a complaint against Harshit with the police in May after which he was arrested and released after seven days. The man started harassing the woman again in September following which she lodged another complaint on the day she had gone missing.

--IANS
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By Yashwant Raj
Washington, Sep 18 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar begins his 10-day tour of the United States on Sunday that will be marked by another attempt to infuse new life into the stalled UN Security Council reforms process and steady bilateral ties with the US rocked by differences over Ukraine and a massive upkeep package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter aircraft.


Jaishankar will spend the first and longer part of the visit in New York, attending the annual high-level meetings of the UN General Assembly and meeting counterparts in bilaterals and multilaterals such as the BRICS (with Brazil, China and South Africa), G-4 (with Japan, German and Brazil), IBSA (with Brazil and South Africa) and SAARC (with all other south Asian countries).

The minister will head out to Washington DC on September 25 for the second and last leg of the tour for bilateral meetings, including with his counterpart Antony Blinken and other senior officials of the Joe Biden administration. He will also meet industry leaders and Indian Americans, some of whom have felt disappointed by New Delhi's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The highlights of Jaishankar's UNGA meetings will be his address to a group of developing countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Small Island called L69, which is focussed on the reform of the UN Security Council.

The meeting will be based on the theme "Reinvigorating Multilateralism and Achieving Comprehensive Reform of the UN Security Council".

The UNSC reforms process has moved at a snail's pace since formal discussions started as Intergovernmental Negotiations. The last expansion of the elite club took place in 1965 with the addition of four non-permanent seats, taking the total to 15 -- five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members.

India, which is now serving its eighth two-year term as a non-permanent member, wants a permanent berth in the expanded council, but it has watched the process drag with mounting irritation, which shows through the stronger language used by its leaders to demand progress.

The United States is planning to put its weight behind the process at UNGA.

"We will be having discussions with our P3 colleagues (with the other two permanent members France and the United Kingdom) as well as others on the way forward," US Ambassador to UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had told reporters last week, adding, "The President will present a bit more on this in his speech. Secretary Blinken will also be engaging this week on the commitments we've made and how we see the process moving forward."

Jaishankar may also meet for the first time — or, as is most likely — not meet his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto at the conference of SAARC ministers. The annual ritual is marked by Pakistan's efforts to stage a showdown with the Indian delegation and minister.

In Washington, Jaishankar is scheduled to meet his counterpart Blinken and others in the backdrop of the recent differences over Ukraine and the proposed US aid package of $450 million to Pakistan to furbish its F-16s.

The US had pressed India to condemn the Russian invasion and not increase its oil purchase from Russia so as to not allow Moscow any relief from the severe economic sanctions the West has imposed.

India had done neither, not until later, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly told Russian President Vladimir Putin during their recent meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, "Today's era is not of war."

The remarks, which were noted approvingly by the US media, may pre-empt some of the tough discussions -- "frank" exchanges, as they are invariably noted in press communiques -- that could have taken place otherwise.

The Ukraine war has added an unforeseen and unwelcome wrinkle to a relationship that's seen remarkable progress in recent years. Strategic cooperation -- considered central to the relationship -- has seen a sharp upswing with quick and frequent meetings of the Quad.

A US package of $450 million for Pakistan's F-16s was seen unkindly by New Delhi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had conveyed the government's concern in a telephone call to his counterpart Lloyd Austin. The US took no note of it in its readout of the call.

Jaishankar is a veteran of India's ties with the US as former Ambassador to this country, and may have authored large parts of it. The next 10 days may prove to be another masterclass in diplomacy from India's top diplomat.

--IANS
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