A day after a Delhi court discharged Sharjeel Imam and 10 others in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said the criminal justice system that tolerates pre-trial incarceration is an affront to the Constitution and urged the Supreme Court to put an end to this “daily abuse of the law”.
A court on Saturday discharged 11 people, including student activists Imam and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who participated in anti-CAA protests, in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case, saying they were made “scapegoats” by police, and that dissent has to be encouraged, not stifled.
Reacting to the development, Chidambaram tweeted, asking whether there was even prima facie evidence against the accused.
“The Court’s conclusion: unequivocal no. Some accused have been lodged in jail for nearly three years. Some got bail after many months. This is pre-trial incarceration,” the former home minister said.
A Delhi trial court has held that Sharjeel Imam and 10 others were made "scapegoats" in a case connected with incidents of violence in Jamia Millia Islamia in 2019
Was there even prima facie evidence against the accused? The Court's conclusion: unequivocal no
“An inept police and overzealous prosecutors are responsible for keeping citizens in jail before trial. What action will be taken against them?” Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.
Who will give back the months or years that the accused spent in jail, he asked.
The SC must put an end to this daily abuse of the law. The sooner the better.
Bless the trial courts that push back against the abuse of the law and uphold liberty
“Our criminal justice system that tolerates pre-trial incarceration is an affront to the Constitution of India, especially Articles 19 and 21. The SC must put an end to this daily abuse of the law. The sooner the better,” Chidambaram said.
“Bless the trial courts that push back against the abuse of the law and uphold liberty,” he added.
Noting that the accused were merely present at the protest site and there was no incriminating evidence against them, the court said dissent is an extension of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, subject to reasonable restrictions.
An FIR was lodged in connection with the violence that erupted after a clash between police and people protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Jamia Nagar area in December 2019.
Imam was accused of instigating the riots by delivering a provocative speech at the Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 13, 2019. He will continue to remain in jail as he is an accused in the larger conspiracy case of the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Arul Varma said there were admittedly scores of protesters at the site and some anti-social elements within the crowd could have created an environment of disruption and havoc.
“However, the moot question remains — whether the accused persons herein were even prima facie complicit in taking part in that mayhem? The answer is an unequivocal no,” the judge said.
The US military has downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean and launched a mission to recover all the equipment from its debris, drawing a strong reaction from China which on Sunday warned of repercussions over America’s use of force against its civilian unmanned airship.
At the direction of President Joe Biden, the US military at 2.39 pm EST on Friday shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon in the Atlantic Ocean, some six miles (9.65 kms) away from the US shores in South Carolina, with no damage to the life and properties of Americans, a senior defence official told reporters in Washington.
Fighter aircraft from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia inspired a single missile into the balloon, causing it to crash into the ocean within the US territorial airspace, said the official, adding that as of now there are no indications that any people including US military personnel, civilian aircraft or maritime vessels were harmed in any way.
“I told them to shoot it down,” Biden told reporters in Hagerstown, Maryland.
“On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down as soon as possible. They decided — without doing damage to anyone on the ground — the best time to do that was as it got over water, outside within the 12-mile limit,” Biden said.
Responding to the downing of the balloon, China expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition towards the US use of force to attack China’s civilian unmanned airship, state-run Xinhua news agency cited a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry as saying on Sunday.
“The US insisting on the use of force is an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice. China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, at the same time, reserving the right to take further actions in response,” said the Foreign Ministry statement in Beijing.
The Chinese side has, after verification, repeatedly informed the US side of the civilian nature of the airship and conveyed that its entry into the United States due to force majeure was totally unexpected, the statement said, noting the Chinese side has clearly asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that at the direction of President Biden, fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command successfully brought down the high-altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace.
”The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters,” Austin said.
China has claimed that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course.
This action of downing the balloon the size of three buses was taken in coordination, and with the full support, of the Canadian government.
Defence officials told US media the debris landed in 14m of water – shallower than they had expected – near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The military is now trying to recover debris which is spread over seven miles (11 km).
The Pentagon official told reporters that they took immediate steps to protect against the balloon’s collection of sensitive information mitigating its intelligence value to China.
By shooting down the balloon, it addressed the surveillance threat posed to military installations and further neutralise any intelligence value it could have produced, preventing it from returning to China.
“In addition, shooting the balloon down could enable the US to recover sensitive PRC equipment. While we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC surveillance balloon collection of sensitive information of the surveillance balloons overflight of US territory, which was of intelligence value to us,” the official said without divulging much of the information.
“I can’t go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinise the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable. The Chinese officials have themselves acknowledged the high-altitude surveillance balloon which has been useful to the People’s Republic of China,” said the official.
Now that the balloon has been shot down, the focus has shifted to the recovery mission, which is already underway.
Multiple vessels are on the spot along with the divers, to go down if needed. The US has also deployed unmanned vessels that can go down to get the structure and lift it back up on the recovery ship, said the official.
FBI officials are also on board as well as other counterintelligence authorities to categorise and assess the platform itself.
According to the second senior defence official, the Pentagon has been tracking this high-altitude balloon for some time. It entered Alaska on January 28. It then entered into Canadian airspace on January 30 and re-entered US airspace over Northern Idaho on January 31.
“With confidence, the high-altitude balloon was a PRC surveillance balloon. We assessed that it did not pose a threat at any time to civilian air traffic because of the altitude of the balloons. We also assess it did not pose a military or kinetic threat to US people or property on the ground, although we were constantly updating both of those assessments and prepared to take it out if that threat profile changed,” said the official.
The Chinese authorities have denied it is a spying aircraft, and instead said it was a weather ship blown astray.
“We’re also looking at the intel value of the balloon throughout. We are going to learn more as we pick up the debris that was not likely to provide significant added value over and above other PRC intel capabilities such as satellites in low Earth orbit, for example,” said the official.
But nevertheless, this balloon was clearly crossing over sensitive sites, including sensitive military sites. As such, the Pentagon took additional precautions to make sure that whatever added intelligence value was minimised.
Through constant monitoring and surveillance, the US has learned technical things about this balloon and its surveillance capabilities. “I suspect if we are successful in recovering aspects of the debris we will learn even more,” said the official.
President Biden had been under pressure to shoot the balloon down since defence officials first announced they were tracking it on Thursday.
After the balloon was shot down, Biden said: ”They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it.” Senator Jack Reed, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that Biden made the right decision to shoot down this alleged Chinese spy balloon out of range of American civilians and infrastructure.
US First Lady Jill Biden described it as a moment of pride.
“I mean, I felt such a sense of pride about the effort and that our military, you know, shot down the balloon, how coordinated it was, how thoughtful it was, that it was decided to wait until it was over water so that civilians weren’t affected,” she said.
One senior military official told CNN the recovery of debris from the balloon should be ”fairly easy” and could take a ”relatively short time”. The official added that ”capable Navy divers” could be deployed to assist in the operation.
China has a fleet of these types of surveillance balloons, according to another senior defence official, including the one that was spotted flying over Venezuela and Colombia this week.
”These balloons are all part of a (People’s Republic of China) fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries. These kinds of activities are often undertaken at the direction of the People’s Liberation Army or PLA,” ABC news quoted the official as saying.
”Over the past several years, Chinese balloons have previously been spotted over countries across five continents, including in East Asia, South Asia and Europe.” The incident added new tension to the US-China relationship. The Pentagon called it an ”unacceptable violation” of US sovereignty.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Beijing it was ”an irresponsible act”, He also postponed his trip to China on February 5-6. But China sought to play down the cancellation of his visit, saying in a statement on Saturday that neither side had formally announced a plan for a trip.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister | Image : PTI
India’s economic image is not affected due to Adani Group’s recent decision to pull out Rs 20,000 crore FPO amid allegations of financial wrongdoings, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
The finance minister said there has been an accretion of USD 8 billion to the forex reserves in the last two days alone. “…our macroeconomic fundamentals or our economy’s image, none of which has been affected. Yes, FPOs (follow-on public offers) come in, and FIIs (foreign institutional investors) get out,” Sitharaman told reporters.
The minister said there are “fluctuations” in every market but the accretion over the last few days establishes the fact that the perception of both India and its inherent strengths is intact.
Answering a broader question on the allegations against Adani Group, she said the country’s independent financial sector regulators will be looking into the aspect and added that capital markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India has the wherewithal to ensure stability in markets.
“…for keeping the market and the markets regulated in prime condition, the Sebi is the authority. And it has the wherewithal to keep that prime condition,” she said. The finance minister also said that the RBI has already spoken out on the issue, referring to Friday’s statement, which said the banking sector is resilient and stable.
About ten days ago, US-based short seller Hindenberg Research made a slew of allegations on the corporate governance front against Adani Group. The Ahmedabad-based group has denied all the allegations and termed it as a calculated attack on India. It has cancelled the FPO even after managing subscriptions to it.
Finance Secretary TV Somanathan on Saturday stood by his comment on the controversy where he called it a storm in a teacup, clarifying that this is in the context of macroeconomic terms and the stability of India’s public financial institutions.
Meanwhile, on the decision to convert outstanding dues into equity at Vodafone Idea, Somanathan said the transaction is being done as a package for all telcos. He said the government share will be held by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) where the stake will be considered as a public shareholder.
DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said the price has been taken at Rs 10 despite the Vodafone Idea shares trading lower on bourses because, as per laws, preferential allotments have to happen at the face value of a share.
The finance ministry officials present at the meet also made it clear that the tweaks on taxation in the insurance front will not impact the policy agenda of deepening penetration and clarified that there was sufficient data to suggest that investments were masquerading as insurance premiums due to which a decision was taken to tax the same.
Sitharaman said there is no timeline which has been decided to end the old tax regime, and the government has only introduced a simpler new tax regime, which has the incentives of lower rates.
The officials also denied that this will impact the savings in the economy.
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said citizens are being given an expanded array of choices to determine what they want to do with their money. Answering a question on introducing the controversial p-notes for GIFT City, Somanathan said it competes with other international financial services centres due to which such provision has to be made and added that India always retains the right to mitigate any perceived risks.
Somanathan said the Rs 35,000 crore outlay for green initiatives will be primarily used for retrofitting petroleum refineries and augmenting strategic storage capacity.
“Some of the public sector refineries and other infrastructure facilities in the petroleum sector need retrofitting to meet our ambitious emissions and pollution targets,” he said.
On the roadmap to further fiscal consolidation, Somanathan said the government will focus on broadening revenues, avoiding needless expenditure and expanding the denominator by achieving higher GDP growth to meet the goals of having the number at 4.5 per cent by FY26. When asked about the FY23 budget’s decision to privatise two state-run lenders, Sitharaman said there is no update on that, which she can share.
Sai Resort case: Somaiya shares MoEF order seeking Rs 2.5 cr fine from Anil Parab 5
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice President Kirit Somaiya on Saturday shared a central government order that sought Rs 2.5 crore environmental compensation from Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab in the Sai Resort scam. The order dated January 12, was issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Coastal Regulation Zone) in which it notified the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board to realise environmental compensation from Sai Resort situated in Ratnagiri.
The order notified Parab to pay the environmental compensation within 15 days of the issue of that order, i.e. January 12.
The BJP leader Somaiya has shared the order today stating, “The government started attachments process of Anil Parab properties to recover Rs 2.5 crore (2,52,50,000) penalties for illegal construction of Sai Resort.”
In 2021, Somaiya has lodged a complaint with Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar against Maharashtra Minister Parab alleging his involvement in forgery, fraud and construction of Rs 10 crore illegal Sai Resort in Ratnagiri. “Anil Parab indulged into forgery, and fraud and constructed the Rs 10 crore illegal Sai Resort at Dapoli, Ratnagiri. Though the land is agricultural, construction was done during the covid-19 lockdown. V demand Criminal Action against Shivsena Minister Anil Parab,” Somaiya tweeted on May 19, 2021.
In a statement issued on May 19, the BJP leaders said, “Maharashtra Minister Anil Parab has constructed Rs 10 crore Sai resort at the seashore of Murud, Dapoli in district Ratnagiri. Somaiya visited the site on May 6 and lodged a complaint with the District Collector and Union Environment Minister.”
BJP lawmakers Gopal Shetty, Girish Bapat, and Manoj Kotak, also wrote to Javadekar requesting him to send a special environment team to see the violation under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The BJP alleged that Parab had not obtained any permission under the CRZ or any other legal permission for the construction.
“The state minister tried to get the resort legalised by forging the documents after May 11 after the expose of the issue. The resort was built during the 2020 covid-19 induced lockdown,” the BJP leaders added in the statement. The BJP leaders demanded action against the then Transport and Parliamentary Affairs Minister and immediate demolition of the resort.
The world we live in today has been through a lot of things from world wars to epidemics, but one thing which remained constant throughout was resilience and kindness. Kindness is being polite, compassionate and thoughtful. Every religion and faith teaches its followers to be kind. Even nature has its way of showing kindness. For instance, the trees grow fruits for us and provide us with shade. One must not see kindness as a core value but as a fundamental behavioural element. There is no doubt that kindness always wins and it has been proven time and again by people. Kindness has a lot of benefits which include increased happiness and a healthy heart. It slows down the ageing process and also enhances relationships and connections, which will indirectly boost your health. Kindness is spreading happiness to make others’ day better and by making them smile.
People who do not know you will begin to like you right away. Kindness is the most valuable characteristic that comes at no cost. Even someone who has no money and wears only a rag on his body might be generous to others. Everyone should be kind to others. Kindness encompasses a wide range of behaviours. Integrity, empathy, respect, and decency are all essential components. Being modest shows your humility and lays the groundwork for kindness. Generally, kind people are described as those who respect their elderly and younger people, who are soft-spoken and when they make big mistakes, they forgive people very easily. If a person finds a kind person, then he should respect him as if he respects his parents or other loved ones. Kindness gives us a lot of benefits in life.
Kindness can bring good health to you because doctors have approved that showing kindness towards everyone can help someone survive for many years without any disease. It can reduce the problem of stress, depression or any other anxiety you may have because kindness will make people happy and they will be happy, you will be automatically happy that your stress and many others Will reduce problems. Kindness can also bring us a good amount of customers. It is very clear that when an investor wants, he should be kind and this is how the investor gets affected and provides his money to your business. There are many reasons why kindness is important. First, it creates a positive ripple effect. When we are kind to others, they are more likely to be kind to us. Second, it builds strong relationships. When we show kindness to others, they feel appreciated and valued. This can lead to deeper and more meaningful relationships.
It is often called the golden rule because it asks us to treat others the way we want to be treated. Kindness is about helping others, even if there is nothing in it for us. It can make someone’s day, and it doesn’t cost a thing. playing amongst themselves.
Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. It is a basic good moral that we should all live by. Unfortunately, in today’s society, kindness seems to be in short supply. With all the violence, greed, and selfishness that we see on the news, it can be easy to forget that there are still good people in the world. All of us need to understand the value of kindness. Kindness affects our mentality and gives us internal peace. It reduces all stresses of life and brings smiles to our faces. Showing kindness and respect to others for a minute can keep you in the hearts of everyone for the rest of your life. Always remember, it does not cost anything to be kind. We must treat others with kindness without expecting reciprocation. It is important to be kind because it makes one feel good about oneself. When you do things for other people and help them with anything, it makes you feel warm and that you have accomplished something.
The government is likely to clear the names of three high court chief justices and two HC judges recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court, sources said.
On December 13 last year, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended to the government to appoint Justice Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, Rajasthan High Court; Justice Sanjay Karol, Chief Justice, Patna High Court; Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Chief Justice, Manipur High Court; Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah of Patna High Court; and Justice Manoj Misra of Allahabad High Court as apex court judges.
Sources aware of judicial appointments told PTI that the government is likely to clear their appointments.
Once the five take oath as judges of the top court, its working strength will go up to 32.
The sanctioned strength of the apex court is 34, including the Chief Justice of India. Its present working strength is 27.
On January 31, the Supreme Court collegium recommended two more names for elevation as top court judges — Justice Rajesh Bindal, Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court and Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat.
While recommending their names, the SC Collegium had said the names recommended by it on 13 December 2022 ”shall have precedence over the two names recommended presently for appointment to the Supreme Court”.
”Therefore, the appointments of five judges recommended on 13 December 2022 should be notified separately and earlier in point of time before the two judges recommended by this resolution,” it had told the Law Ministry.
On 30 January 2023, a suicide bombing took place inside a mosque in the Police Lines area of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The attacker entered the premises in a cop’s uniform and successfully breached security. They exploded the bomb during the midday Zuhr prayers, killing 101 people and injuring over 220 others, seven of whom are in critical condition. Omar Mukaram Khurasani, the current emir of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and a member of the Pakistani Taliban’s leadership council, claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Omar Mukaram Khurasani, the current commander of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and a member of the TTP’s leadership council, claimed his group carried out the attack to avenge the group’s previous emir, Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was killed in Afghanistan in Aug. 2022. Omar Khalid Khorasani died 7 August 2022 was a militant and one of the founding members of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In 2014, he formed his own splinter militant group called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and was ousted by the Mullah Fazlullah-led Taliban. The same year, JuA swore allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS), however, a year later JuA rejoined TTP.
On 7 March 2018, Khorasani was added to the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice wanted list with a bounty of up to $3 million. His name is also featured in the ‘Red Book of Most Wanted High Profile Terrorists’ published by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency. He was killed in a blast caused by a roadside mine on 7 August 2022 in Barmal District, Paktika province, Afghanistan.
In 2004, Islamist attacks intensified into a war between Islamist insurgents and the Pakistani government in northwest Pakistan. The war scaled down to a low-intensity conflict in 2017. Many insurgent attacks have been carried out in Peshawar, which is the capital of and largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in northwest Pakistan. These include the attacks at mosques in 2013, 2015, and 2022.
The mosque is located inside a high-security compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counter-terrorism department. The suicide bomber passed multiple barricades manned by the local police without being detected. Between 300 and 400 police officials were present in the mosque at the time to offer their Zuhr prayers. The bomber triggered the suicide vest while standing in the first row of those praying, causing a powerful blast which collapsed the mosque’s roof. A policeman who survived the attack said that he saw “a huge burst of flames” before he was surrounded by a plume of black dust. Over 100 were killed, and twice as many were injured; 90% of the casualties were police officers.
Following the attack, Omar Mukaram Khurasani, the current emir of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and a member of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) leadership council, claimed responsibility for the bombing. He also said that the bombing was carried out to avenge the death of Omar Khalid Khorasani, who was killed in Afghanistan in August 2022. Sarbakaf Mohmand from the TTP Mohamand chapter said that the attacker’s name was Huzaifa and he was 25 years old and that they will soon release the picture of the attacker with more details. Subsequently, the group, through its spokesperson, denied its involvement.
The TTP is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed terrorist groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Long War Journal notes that it is certainly possible that the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the TTP launched the suicide attack without the knowledge and approval of its parent organization but given the organization of the TTP, and the history of these two groups, it is more likely that the TTP was aware of the attack and is denying involvement regardless. Long War Journal further adds that TTP may be relying on the fact that the relationships between the TTP central leadership and its various factions are complex and often confusing. Shehbaz Sharif, the incumbent Pakistani Prime Minister, condemned the attack, stating that the attack is incompatible with Islam and that the entirety of Pakistan stands against the “menace of terrorism”.
The attack took place on Monday in Peshawar’s heavily fortified Police Lines and killed more than 100 people, all but three of them policemen. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, saying it was part of a revenge attack for slain TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan in August last. The police chief of the province where Peshawar is located said that authorities found bound ball bearings used in a suicide jacket from underneath the rubble yesterday.
He added that the police did not “check the attacker because they thought he was their own. The 50-year-old mosque at the Peshawar Police Lines did not have pillars … so when the bomb exploded, the walls and roof caved in. The suicide bomber who was present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers on Monday blew him up, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers, said a PTI report quoting security officials.
Adani Enterprises continue with losses, other group firms follow suit 10
Shares of Adani Group firms were still volatile on Thursday morning after the group’s chairman decided not to go ahead with its follow-on public offer yesterday. In Thursday’s morning trade, shares of Adani Group’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, were down 9.80 per cent to Rs 1,929.65 apiece. In five sessions, it has lost more than Rs 1,337.30 or declined over 40 per cent.
Adani Ports and SEZ lost Rs 21 or dropped 4.36 per cent to Rs 473.55 on Thursday morning. The firm’s shares had lost more than Rs 208 or 30.45 per cent in a period of five days. Adani Green’s shares dropped 10 per cent to Rs 1,039 apiece, while it lost Rs 588 36.15 per cent in just five days.
FMCG firm Adani Wilmar dropped 5 per cent to Rs 421 apiece on Thursday morning while it lost Rs 95 or dropped more than 18 per cent in a span of five days. Adani Transmission shares went down 10 per cent flat to Rs 1,551.15 apiece in the morning trade on Thursday. The firm had lost Rs 575 or dropped 27 per cent in just 5 days.
The volatility with Adani Group firms continued on Thursday after the Board of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) decided not to go ahead with the fully subscribed follow-on public offer (FPO). Yesterday, the company said that given the unprecedented situation and the current market volatility, it “aims to protect the interest of its investing community by returning the FPO proceeds and withdrawing the completed transaction”.
On Thursday, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said it would not be “morally correct” to go ahead with the Rs 20,000-crore share in the current market condition. “After a fully subscribed FPO, yesterday’s decision of its withdrawal would have surprised many. But considering the volatility of the market seen yesterday, the board strongly felt that it would not be morally correct to proceed with the FPO,” Adani said in his address to investors after the withdrawal of the fully subscribed FPO.
Adani said in his humble journey of over four decades as an entrepreneur, “I have been blessed to receive overwhelming support from all stakeholders, particularly the investor community. It is important for me to confess that whatever little I have achieved in life is due to the faith and trust reposed by them. I owe all my success to them.”
Speaking on Adani Group firms, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “The excessive volatility triggered by the crash in Adani stocks will die down after some time. FIIs (foreign institutional investors) will have to invest in India if they are to benefit from the India growth story.”
The BJP will contest on all 60 seats of the Meghalaya Assembly and fight the Nagaland elections in an alliance with the state’s ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, contesting on 20 of 60 seats.
BJP secretary and its northeast co-in-charge Rituraj Sinha told reporters on Thursday that the party will fight the Meghalaya polls under the campaign tagline of ”M-Power” (Modi power), asserting that people of the state have trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They believe Modi is the only person who can ensure a corruption-free government and fast-track development, he said.
Nagaland and Meghalaya BJP chiefs Temjen Imna Along and Ernest Mawrie, respectively also named party candidates approved by the party’s central election committee. Sinha claimed that people in the northeastern states are fed up with corruption and the slow pace of development, even though central government schemes have reached them. They, though, believe that their implementation could have been better, he said.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma-led National People’s Party is in power in Meghalaya. Though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a part of his government, the relations between the two parties have long been far from smooth. The BJP contested 47 seats in the 2018 assembly polls and won two.
Sinha expressed confidence that the saffron party will do well in the state polls and noted that Modi has visited the northeast region over 50 times in his term. This is more than the visits of all the previous prime ministers put together, he said, adding that Modi has always been to the region with some development package. The prime minister has converted the ‘Look East’ policy into an ‘act policy’. The central government has worked to execute the HIRA (highways, internet connectivity, roadways and airport) model in the region which has also witnessed an era of peace, Sinha said.
”In the true sense, Modi has married regional aspiration of the northeast with our national priorities,” he said.
Nain Kohli, BJP’s in-charge for Nagaland, said, ”We believe Modi’s work, focus on development and peace are the critical factors which will drive Nagaland’s voters.” Both states will go to polls on February 27 and the counting of votes is due on March 2.
Jharkhand High Court on Thursday ordered a time-bound fire safety audit across the state. The court hearing a suo-moto PIL in the Dhanbad fire incident which had claimed 14 lives also asked the state to file detailed report in this matter. “We will submit a time-bound fire safety audit report of the entire state,” Advocate General Jharkhand, Rajiv Ranjan told reporters.
“The Deputy Commissioner Dhanbad has constituted two committees. One is to find out the cause of the fire and also investigate whether all safety guidelines related to fire safety were fulfilled or not. The second committee will find out the structural damage to the building. We will submit these reports to the court,” said Advocate General Jharkhand, Rajiv Ranjan.
“The state government will also inform the court through affidavits about fire safety norms in the state, compliance with maps provided in building bylaws, and compliance with fire safety guidelines by urban municipal bodies,” he added.
The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the Dhanbad fire tragedy in which 14 people were charred to death. The next hearing will be on February 17.
On Tuesday evening, a massive fire had broken out at a residential apartment in Dhanbad which killed 14 people including 10 women, three men and one child while injuring several people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the devastating fire and announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next-of-kin of the deceased.
PM Modi also announced that an amount of Rs 50,000 each has also been sanctioned for the injured in the incident. SSP Dhanbad Sanjiv Kumar said several people had gathered in the apartment for a marriage function at the time of the blaze.
