Regional

Kolkata, Dec 30 (IANS) A controversy erupted at the inauguration ceremony of West Bengal's first Vande Bharat Express on Friday morning as irked by 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans on her arrival Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to share the dais.

Instead, throughout the programme she sat on a chair adjacent to the dais. From here she expressed her condolences over the demise of Heeraben Modi, the mother of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As soon as the chief minister arrived at the inauguration venue at the Howrah Station on Friday morning, the BJP supporters present there raised 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans.

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who was present on the dais, then tried his best to control the BJP supporters and requested them to refrain from shouting slogans.

The chief minister however refused to come on the dais. The railways minister was seen pleading to her again and again to get on the dais, which she refused.

Soon the state governor, C.V. Ananda Bose reached the venue and was seen interacting with the chief minister. Initially, she even refused to deliver her speech on the occasion. However, following repeated requests from the governor she agreed to deliver the speech, which she did without getting on the dais.

This is not the first time that the chief minister has expressed her objection to raising the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans on her arrival. On January 23, 2021, on the occasion of celebrating the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, the BJP supporters shouted slogans. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union ministers were present on the occasion. Expressing her grievance over the development at that point of time, the chief minister said that any government programme should follow certain decorum. "It is unwise to insult any invited person at such a function. So, in protest I refuse to say anything here. Jai Hind. Jai Bangla," she said on that day.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest erupted over the development on Friday morning. State municipal affairs & urban development minister and the Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Firhad Hakim said, "Jai Shri Ram should be said in a temple or house with a pure mind. But the BJP supporters are using this slogan to irritate our chief minister. Had we wished we could have stopped them immediately. But we believe in political courtesy," he said.

The BJP Lok Sabha member, Locket Chatterjee said that the Jai Shri Ram slogans were raised when the Prime Minister appeared online to inaugurate Vande Bharat Express. "The slogans were not raised to irritate the chief minister," she said.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Dec 30 (IANS) Karnataka Police have booked three persons, including two women in connection with attempting forceful religious conversion in Bengaluru on the pretext of Christmas and New Year celebrations, police said on Friday.

According to police, the case has been booked under the Right to Freedom of Religion Act. Police said that Nelson, a resident of J.J. Nagar locality in Bengaluru invited people of the locality for the Christmas and the New Year celebrations and attempted conversion.

Nelson was aided by two women who came to his home as guests. One localite, Krishnamurthy lodged a complaint with the police alleging that the trio were attempting to convert people.

The police had summoned the accused persons and later questioned them. The accused have told police that they have not attempted to convert them and they just spoke about Jesus Christ.

The accused also maintained that they did not have anything to do with religious conversion. However, the complainant stated that it was a systematic conversion bid and the microphone was used to deliver speeches and convert people.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Dec 28 (IANS) Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday stepped out of the Arthur Road Central Jail here on bail after spending almost 14 months behind bars.

Deshmukh, 73, was released after the Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused a Central Bureau of Investigation plea to extend the stay on its order granting bail.

A single-judge vacation bench of Justice Santosh Chapalgaonkar declined to entertain the CBI plea against the backdrop of the regular court's previous order that no plea for further extension of custody will be entertained, thus paving the way for his release.

Hundreds of Nationalist Congress Party leaders and activists accorded a hero's welcome to Deshmukh who stepped out of the prison gates around 4.55 p.m.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Dec 25 (IANS) Breaking the suspense over his future plans, mining baron and former BJP leader Gali Janardhana Reddy, Sunday launched his political party, 'Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha'.

Describing the move as a new political episode, Reddy said he plans to serve the people of Kalyana Karnataka region comprising seven districts of the state.

Coming ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the development could have a serious impact on the ruling BJP's plans to return to power in the crucial south Indian state.

"It is not possible for political parties to gain dividends by dividing the state's people as the people have always remained united," he said.

The Assembly elections in Karnataka are scheduled for the first half of 2023 and most likely to be held in April-May.

Reddy, who was instrumental in the BJP's breakthrough performance in the Ballari region, stated that he would contest from Gangavati constituency in the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state.

The saffron party, which once groomed Reddy brothers to take shape as the force in the state as well as the undivided Andhra Pradesh state has been maintaining distance after Janardhana Reddy was embroiled in the mining scam. He was also jailed and restrictions imposed on his entry to his home district Ballari.

With Janardhana Reddy launching his political outfit, BJP's chances of winning in at least 20 Assembly seats would be affected, political observers feel.

--IANS
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Chennai, Dec 25 (IANS) Tamil Nadu's health department has said that the state has maximum XBB variants of Omicron and till now no variant of BF 7, which is causing the new wave of Covid-19 in many countries, has been detected in the state.

While speaking to media persons, P. Sampath, Joint Director, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said, "The state has more XBB variants as more than 75 per cent of the samples tested in the state have these variants detected. However till now no BF. 7 variant of Omicron has been detected in the state."

The BA.2, BA.5 and even Delta variants are present in the state but not the BF.7 variant in the state of Tamil Nadu, he added.

According to the health department officials, after the Union government announced 2 per cent random RT-PCR testing of passengers arriving from international destinations, 160 passengers have been tested for Covid-19 in symptomatic passengers.

There are four international airports in Tamil Nadu- Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi, but as there are no direct flights to these airports from China and other countries, which saw Covid-19 surge, there is not much testing at these airports except for the random RT-PCR testing for symptomatic passengers.

--IANS
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Chennai, Dec 25 (IANS) As predicted by weather department, heavy rains lashed Chennai and adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu. The IMD has predicted heavy rains in 13 districts of Tamil Nadu on December 25 and 26.

The IMD had predicted that the influence of depression over the Southwest Bay of Bengal will lead to heavy rains in Chennai and other districts for the next 48 hours.

The depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal has moved southwestward and lay centered on Sunday over southwest Bay of Bengal, off the Sri Lanka coast.

This is likely to move southwestwards over Sri Lanka coast across Sri Lanka coast around Trincomalee by Sunday noon and move west-southwestwards and will move continue to spell rains on Monday also.

Heavy rains are expected due to this weather system in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Chengalpattu and Cuddalore districts of Tamil Nadu.

However, the weather department has also predicted isolated light rains over Ranipet, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupathur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Kallakurichi, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Myladuthurai, Thiruvarur, Pudukottai, Tiruchi, Sivagangai, Tenkasi and Tirunelveli districts of the state.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has also predicted heavy rains with thunderstorms in these districts during the next 48 hours.

--IANS
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By Mohammed Shafeeq
Hyderabad, Dec 25 (IANS) Nara Chandrababu Naidu's efforts to revive his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Telangana have sparked a buzz about a political realignment for next year's Assembly elections.


The TDP chief last week addressed a public meeting in Khammam, triggering a new debate among political circles.

The good public response to the public meeting, the first in Telangana in four years, and Naidu's tone and tenor leaves no one in doubt that while he may be focusing on Andhra Pradesh, he has not given up on the hopes of a revival of TDP in its former stronghold.

Political analysts say that this development may further spice up Telangana politics ahead of 2023 elections, which are likely to see multiple players battling it out for power.

Almost a year before the state goes to polls, Naidu's renewed interest in Telangana also sparked a buzz of a grand alliance among BJP, TDP and Jana Sena Party (JSP) led by actor Pawan Kalyan.

While BJP is going aggressive to achieve its goal of coming to power in Telangana, Pawan Kalyan, who is an ally of the saffron party in Andhra Pradesh, has already declared his intention to contest a few seats in Telangana.

JSP leader, who has been working for TDP-BJP-JSP alliance in Andhra Pradesh for 2024 polls, is likely to play a key role in cobbling up the grand alliance in Telangana too.

Though the BJP has been projecting itself as the only alternative to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which has now become BRS, and may be reluctant at this stage for an alliance with TDP and JSP, political observers say that the saffron party may finally have to settle for it once it realises that such a combination alone can help it realise its dream.

Naidu may address more public meetings in Telangana, especially in Khammam and some other places where TDP is still believed to be enjoying good public support. "By doing so, Naidu will look to enhance his bargaining power," said political analyst Palvai Raghavendra Reddy.

Unlike in the past, when TDP was considered the dominant partner in the TDP-BJP alliance, today BJP appears to be stronger in Telangana. "Though BJP may not like to blink first, both Naidu and Pawan Kalyan would want it to blink," said the analyst.

Chandrababu Naidu has already expressed willingness to join hands with BJP again and is waiting for a green signal from the saffron party.

Some of the recent developments including Naidu and Pawan Kalyan's separate meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also set off speculations of an imminent alliance among the three parties.

Last month, the actor politician met Modi during latter's visit to Visakhapatnam. It was their first meeting in eight years.

Pawan Kalyan had backed TDP-BJP alliance in 2014 elections to state Assembly and Lok Sabha. Jana Sena had not contested the polls but the actor had campaigned for the alliance and addressed a few public meetings along with Modi and Chandrababu Naidu.

Though TDP and BJP formed a coalition government, Jana Sena parted ways with both the parties for not granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh as committed at the time of bifurcation of the state in 2014.

In 2019, Jana Sena had contested the elections in alliance with the Left parties and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but the party could win just one seat in the 175-member Assembly with Pawan himself losing in both the seats he contested.

TDP, too, had severed ties with BJP in 2018 over the issue of special category status and Naidu had become the biggest critic of Modi. Both the parties had contested the 2019 elections in Andhra Pradesh on their own. While TDP lost power to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), BJP drew a blank.

Chandrababu Naidu had admitted after the crushing defeat that parting ways with BJP was a mistake. Since then, he has been sending feelers to the saffron party.

Naidu met Modi during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav National Committee meeting held in New Delhi in August. This was their first meeting since TDP snapped ties with the BJP.

Last month, the TDP chief again attended a meeting presided over by Modi. The meeting of all parties was convened to discuss strategies to be adopted at the G-20 nations to be hosted by India next year.

In united Andhra Pradesh, Telangana was a strong base for TDP. As Naidu at his Khammam public meeting pointed out, TDP's policies under its founder and former chief minister N. T. Rama Rao immensely benefited Telangana. The backward classes were the biggest beneficiary of the policies of NTR, who is also remembered in the region for doing away with the Patel Patwari system.

However, Telangana agitation dealt a blow to TDP in Telangana and after formation of Telangana state, it came to be seen as a party from Andhra. TDP contested the 2014 elections in alliance with the BJP.

The TDP, which had fielded candidates in 72 constituencies out of total 119, won 15 seats while its ally bagged five seats. The BJP had clearly benefited from the alliance with TDP. This was proved as the saffron party could win only one seat in 2018 elections which it contested on its own.

The TDP, which had lost almost all its MLAs and many prominent leaders to TRS before elections, could secure only two seats in 2018 polls which it contested in alliance with Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Communist Party of India. The Maha Kutami as the alliance was known bite the dust as TRS retained power.

TDP's representation in Telangana Assembly came to an end after both the MLAs defected to TRS.

Naidu recently started focusing once again on Telangana. This comes in the wake of TRS becoming BRS to expand pan-India.

"Unlike in 2014 and 2018 when Telangana sentiment was strong and TRS countered Naidu by projecting him as a leader from Andhra trying to gain domination in Telangana, the situation this time will be different. The same argument will not hold as TRS has become BRS and it is also looking to expand in Andhra Pradesh," observed Raghavendra Reddy.

Pawan Kalyan has also gone on record that JSP will contest 35 Assembly seats in Telangana.

In 2020, Pawan Kalyan had backed BJP in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls. His decision not to contest has upset JSP cadres. The actor may not like to disappoint them again.

While for both Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, Andhra Pradesh will remain the first priority. They are likely to flex muscles in Telangana to increase their bargaining power and make the Assembly polls in Telangana a testing ground for a possible grand alliance.

--IANS
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Chennai, Dec 25 (IANS) The National Testing Agency (NTA), the body conducting the Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE), has allowed students of Tamil Nadu State Board, to write the entrance without marks.

This is following a request by the state government to the Union Education ministry for allowing the students of Tamil Nadu who have passed the tenth exam in 2021 to apply for the JEE.

The NTA stated that options of 'passing year' and 'school board' will be disabled and the associated fields for marks/CGPA will not be visible for Tamil Nadu State Board candidates who have passed their Class 10 exams in 2021.

There were widespread complaints as the students, who passed the Tamil Nadu boards in 2021, were not able to apply for the JEE.

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is the prestigious entrance examination for entering the premium engineering institutions of the country, including the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). While more than 10 lakh students apply for the JEE, there are only around 10,000 seats in the IITs of the country. The JEE scores can be used for admission to other engineering colleges in the country as well.

R.Balasubramanian, father of Amish Mohan, a Class 12 student eagerly preparing for JEE and hailing from Nagercoil, while speaking to IANS said, "It's a big relief as my son was in a depressed mood after he was not able to apply for the JEE after spending long grueling hours into preparing for the entrance. I do thank the Tamil Nadu government for having taken up the matter with the Union government and the NTA for allowing the students to apply without marks."

--IANS
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By Tanuj Dhar
Guwahati, Dec 25 (IANS) Politics in Assam in the year ahead seems to be moving along the polarising highway, political pundits in the state point out.


With Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma batting for the Uniform Civil Code and speaking up on love jihad and other polarising issues, understanding the signals do not require a high level of political acumen.

Although Assam does not have any major elections slated for next year, the political environment is hot with Sarma at the centre.

Three northeastern states -- Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland -- will go to the polls in early 2023. However, Assam will remain the epicentre of these state elections as Sarma, chairman of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), will be the primary pulling force for the BJP's election machinery in these states.

Meanwhile, Sarma is also eyeing to win at least 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in the N-E 2024. Assam has 14 LS seats, and in the last parliamentary election, the BJP won nine seats. This time the party leaders have set a target to win at least 12 seats, leaving one or two seats that have a large number of Muslim votes.

Sarma has formulated a strategy to achieve his target, which he tried and tested in the 2021 state election. He relies on the polarisation of votes. Assam has approximately 30% Muslim voters. The Chief Minister has stated unequivocally that he will not seek Muslim votes because they will not vote for the BJP anyway.

A clever politician like Himanta Biswa Sarma knows perfectly well that his provocative statements against the Muslim community will consolidate the Hindu vote bank. He will cultivate this further over the next year, and it may reach its peak before the Lok Sabha elections.

When in the Congress, Sarma was known for his liberal image. He enjoyed quite a good following among Muslim voters. Though he started his career with the All Assam Students Union (AASU), Sarma was never seen as an Assamese hardliner.

Rather, he was known to be soft towards the Bengali speaking community in Assam, which constitutes nearly one third of the population of the state.

Interestingly, in the run-up to the 2016 assembly elections in the state, Sarma garnered an image as a hard-core Assamese leader. He openly advocated for 1951 as the base year for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, which was a long pending demand from AASU and other organizations.

His statement caused a stir because, according to the Assam agreement, the NRC update process began with March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date

The Congress immediately condemned Sarma's remarks, but the statement helped the BJP gain votes in upper Assam, where the party performed exceptionally well. Sarma also sent a message that they would come down heavily on immigrant Bangladeshi Muslims, which helped to consolidate the Hindu vote bank in favour of the BJP.

Sarma further changed his position after the BJP swept to power in Assam. He began to present himself as a Hindu hardliner.

On the other hand, opposition unity is at stake in Assam. After breaking away from the grand alliance, the Congress and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) are locked in a tussle. State Congress president Bhupen Bora continues to maintain that they will stay away from the AIUDF. There will be no more alliances while he is president.

Even after the Congress abruptly left the grand alliance last year, AIUDF supremo Badruddin Ajmal insisted on fighting elections together to keep the BJP out of power.

After the Congress repeatedly rejected his offer, Ajmal has made up his mind to teach the Congress a lesson in the Lok Sabha elections. Ajmal may field strong candidates in minority-dominated seats across Assam, where the Muslim vote is a decisive factor.

If Ajmal sticks to his stand, then it will make the Congress' road more difficult in the Lok Sabha elections in Assam.

The state today has three Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha. Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav Gogoi is the MP from Kaliabor, while Pradyut Bordoloi and Abdul Khaleque won on Congress tickets from Nagaon and Barpeta the last time.

The AIUDF has warned that it will field strong candidates for each of these three seats. If this happens, the Congress may face a debacle in 2024.

The AIUDF at present has one Lok Sabha MP, Badruddin Ajmal. He contested the election from the minority-dominated Dhubri seat and may win it again in the next election. The BJP has already kept this seat out of their calculations.

Himanta Biswa Sarma wants to consolidate the Hindu votes in the BJP's favour, while he won't mind if Muslims vote heavily for the AIUDF. This might be the trend in the future in Assam, where these two parties will shine in the polls with their polarising politics.

--IANS
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By Sanjay Borkar
Panaji, Dec 25 (IANS) Unhappy with the decision of Goa Assembly Speaker to hold the winter session of Assembly for four days only, seven MLAs of four different parties in opposition have decided to meet on December 26 to discuss joint floor management strategies to grill the state government.



The Assembly session will be held from January 16 to 19.

Equation of the 40-member Assembly of Goa is in the favour of ruling BJP with its own 28 MLAs and support of other 5 MLAs, taking the number to 33 MLAs. The opposition has three MLAs from Congress, two MLAs from AAP and one each of Goa Forward Party and Revolutionary Goan Party.

According to Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, all opposition leaders will meet on December 26, which includes Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai, AAP MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, Revolutionary Goan Party MLA Viresh Borkar along with Congress' Carlos Alvares Ferreira and Altone D'Costa.

Earlier, during the monsoon session which was trimmed to mere ten days, the opposition MLAs had levelled several allegations against the BJP government for not giving enough time to discuss issues.

Monsoon session was scheduled from July 11 to August 12, for five weeks, but was later curtailed to two weeks, inviting wrath from the opposition.

Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar had clarified that it was curtailed to ten days on account of Panchayat elections then scheduled in the second week of August.

"Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during the Business Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday expressed concern that he government staff will be engaged in the Panchayat elections and hence they won't be able to manage both, along with the Assembly session," Tawadkar had said.

During the monsoon session the opposition MLAs had constantly complained that they were not getting enough time to discuss the issues pertaining to the state and were of the opinion that at least winter session should be of longer duration. However, it is now scheduled only for four days, making opposition MLAs unhappy.

Stating that the BJP government in Goa was scared of the opposition and hence has convened the winter session of Assembly for a mere four days, leader of opposition Yuri Alemao has said that the opposition MLAs will prepare a strategy to grill the state government.

"The 'coward' BJP government is trying to suppress the voice of the opposition and transform the proceedings of the House into a silent mode. But we, the seven opposition MLAs, are together and will grill the government on several issues," Alemao said.

"I have personally spoken to all the six MLAs from the opposition and they all have agreed to meet and prepare a strategy to grill the government. We will certainly make a difference," Alemao added.

"It is loud and clear that the BJP government is scared of the opposition," he claimed.

Alemao said that the government will not be in a position to silence the voice of the opposition MLAs.

"Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should realise that 67 per cent of Goans had voted against the BJP for its misrule over the last 10 years. The opposition has the mandate of the people of Goa," he said.

Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai also said that the government was afraid to face the opposition and hence the Assembly sessions were trimmed.

--IANS
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