Union Home Minister Amit Shah will meet Tollywood actor Jr NTR on Sunday at a public meeting scheduled to be held in Munugodu during his one-day visit to Telangana.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address the massive public rally at around 5 pm in the Munugodu assembly constituency of Telangana.
Shah also met with different farmer groups at Begumpet airport.
Munugodu assembly bypoll comes after sitting Congress MLA Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy resigned from his post in the party recently and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to the sources, film producer Ramoji Rao invited Shah to Ramoji Film City, where Shah will meet Ramoji Rao.
Shah is further scheduled to meet Telugu superstar Jr NTR at a hotel in Hyderabad.
The party’s national general secretary Tarun Chugh said, “We are working hard to bring all the safety and security in the state. Amit Shah will address a rally in Munugodu ahead of the bypoll elections. There will be big joinings. We will definitely win there.” He said that the people of Telangana want a change in the state.
Speaking to Agencies, Chugh said, “People are unhappy with the K Chandrashekar Rao government. Atrocities and violence are all over the state and people are scared in such an environment. They want a change which only BJP will bring”.
Maharashtra BJP leader and Union Minister Narayan Rane’s son Nilesh Rane on Sunday apologised to people protesting against the proposed oil refinery in Ratnagiri for alleged mistreatment by his supporters.
Nilesh Rane visited Barsu village in Rajapur tehsil during the day to support an ongoing survey for the proposed oil refinery project in the area.
Ahead of the visit, villagers staged a protest against officials who came for the survey, while Rane’s supporters gathered at the site and allegedly verbally abused the protestors, including women.
The BJP leader later apologised to the villagers for the misbehaviour of his supporters. Locals from Barsu and surrounding villages have been protesting against the $60 billion project, which was earlier planned at Nanar village in the same district, but there was opposition from local groups and the Shiv Sena at the time.
NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) will look for redemption against Army Green here at the Indira Gandhi Athletic stadium while the city of Kolkata gears up for an exciting Sunday evening duel between local giants Mohammedan Sporting and Jamshedpur FC at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK), as the Durand Cup enters Matchday 6 in the Group stages.
NEUFC were humbled 6-0 by a strong Odhisa FC in their first Group D game on August 17 and they do well to shrug that off mentally and believe that they can come back to winning ways against an Army Green side with plenty of new faces from last year.
However they will have to play at their best and do well to remember that the Greens had beaten Jamshedpur last time so any opportunity provided, the Greens have the ability to take them on their day.
Sochin Chhetri was one of the scorers for them that day and he is still in the squad along with the likes of midfielders Alan Thapa and Roel Lepcha among others.
Their keeper Roluah Puia has also been a stable influence over the years. The Highlanders have quality in their Durand Cup side with players like Emil Benny and Jithin MS, their newest recruits from Gokulam Kerala FC, yet to get a look in. Mashoor Shareif is an experienced leader in defence and Nikhil Deka had a great game under the bar against Odhisa although the score line does not suggest that.
All in all, it should be a competitive game of football with both sides looking to notch up wins to progress. The Black and White brigade of Kolkata’s Mohammedan Sporting club will be up against Indian Super League (ISL) side Jamshedpur FC at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK) on Sunday evening in what promises to be a rollicking encounter.
Mohammedan ticked all boxes in their 3-1 opening day win over champions FC Goa with new recruit Faslu Rahman bagging the man of the match with a fine display, along with a goal to boot.
That would somewhat eclipse from the fan’s memories, the value home-grown Faisal, now with Bengaluru FC (BFC), used to bring on the wings for the Black & White.
Talisman striker Marcus Joseph of Trinidad also got on the scoresheet in that game, ensuring a packed turnout come Sunday.
Jamshedpur looked a bit undercooked in their 1-2 opening game loss against BFC but Rishi’s strike from a wonderfully executed set-piece underlined the potential they have in their squad.
If the weather and underfoot conditions hold, get set for Sunday evening showtime at the KBK.
Congress party faces another big blow as veteran leader Anand Sharma on Sunday resigned from the post of steering committee chairman for the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls.
He has written a letter to Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi and submitted his resignation from the post.
He was feeling ignored and sidelined for the decisions regarding the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls, sources close to Anand Sharma said, adding that he will continue to work as a CWC member and another post for the party.
This came days before the Himachal Pradesh state assembly elections.
This is the second blow for Congress in recent days as before this Gulam Nabi Azad resigned as the campaign commit chairman after writing a three-page note to Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi.
According to sources, Azad, in his resignation letter had written that some other important person should be given the post of campaign committee chairman as he was upset due to some appointments in the PCC and other committees for the Jammu and Kashmir polls.
However, some people say that Azad refused to assume the post of Campaign Committee chairman of Jammu and Kashmir due to health reasons.
The recent developments have again rung the bell for the Congress Party that the G23 camp — members who are critical of the party — may again become a problem for the record, Congress on Tuesday constituted the campaign committee, political affairs committee, coordination committee, manifesto committee, publicity and publication committee, disciplinary committee and Pradesh election committee for Jammu and Kashmir.
Its eyes fixed on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is likely to continue with changes at key positions in its several state units to address organizational issues and emerging political challenges.
The recent revamp of its apex organisational body, Parliamentary Board, may have made more news for its omissions of Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but the BJP has also made it more socially and regionally representative. For the first time, non-upper castes are in a majority in the board, as the party continues with its outreach to traditionally weaker and backward sections of society.
Before that, the BJP top brass had effected changes in several states and is now likely to appoint a new president of its Uttar Pradesh unit and bring in some new faces in Bihar where its traditional calculation has been upended after the JD(U) dumped it and joined hands with the RJD-Congress-Left combine.
In the last few weeks, the BJP has appointed state presidents in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh and shuffled people manning crucial positions in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal.
The ruling party had reaped a bumper harvest in most of these states in 2019 and made major gains in Bengal and Telangana.
There has also been speculation about the fate of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Critics have questioned his leadership abilities in a state where the opposition Congress remains a strong force but the BJP has so far ruled out any change.
Its decision to include B S Yediyurappa, the ageing but still-powerful Lingayat leader, in the Parliamentary Board though highlights its continuing attempt to sharpen its social outreach in its lone southern stronghold
Giving Sunil Bansal, its high profile UP general secretary in charge of the organisation, a national role is as much an acknowledgment of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s pre-eminence in the state’s affairs as of its faith in Bansal’s abilities amid talks of differences between the two leaders on several issues.
Sources said regional and caste calculations will be the driving force in the party’s choice for the replacement of Swatantra Dev Singh, a minister in the state Cabinet, as its Uttar Pradesh chief. A party leader said the BJP remains dominant in Uttar Pradesh and added that its national leadership has always given primacy to strong coordination between the party’s organisational machinery and governments in states for electoral success.
With Adityanath’s stock rising following the BJP’s empathic win in the 2021 assembly polls, the party is looking to maintain its dominance over its divided rivals in India’s largest state which has been central to its big wins in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Bansal has been now made in-charge of Telangana, West Bengal and Odisha, three states ruled by different regional parties and marked by the BJP for its next round of expansion Realignment of political forces in Maharashtra and Bihar have necessitated changes in these states for the BJP.
The challenge for the party is stiff in Bihar where the ruling NDA had won 31 and 39 of its 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 2019 respectively. However, the combined might of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD has sent the party to the drawing board as its rivals’ core support base appears stronger on paper.
BJP sources said the party will have to make major outreach to backward classes and scheduled castes while keeping its traditional base, which includes upper castes, in good humour. Likely changes in the state, including a new president and leaders in the both Houses of the state legislature, will be reflective of that, they added.
At a meeting of state BJP leaders with Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda, a target of winning 35 seats in 2024 was set.
The BJP recently changed its president and the leader of opposition in Chhattisgarh in what was largely seen as an exercise aimed at reshuffling its cards in the Congress-ruled state where it has been suffering losses in bypolls and local elections.
Even neighbouring Madhya Pradesh has often figured among the states where the BJP is expected to make some changes at important positions.
After its success in toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, the BJP replaced its president Chandrakant Patil, a Maratha, with Chandrashekhar Bawankule, an OBC, considered a traditional support base of the party.
Though the Sena has weakened after the split, but there is a view that its alliance with the NCP-Congress combine may still pose a potent challenge in the elections.
BJP president J P Nadda had last month made key organisational appointments in some state units, drafting the RSS’ Rajesh G V as general secretary (organisation) in Karnataka. Rajesh G V replaces Arun Kumar, who has returned to the RSS, considered the ideological mentor of the BJP.
Ajay Jamwal, who was the regional general secretary (organisation) in charge of northeastern states, now looks after Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh units of the party in the same position while Manthri Srinivasulu was moved from Telangana to Punjab as general secretary (organisation).
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) saved 17 more Bangladeshi fishermen on Sunday after rescuing 10 fishermen earlier today.
A total of 27 Bangladeshi fishermen have been rescued in three separate operations on a single day amidst extreme challenging conditions and rough seas. “@IndiaCoastGuard Ship Anmol rescued 10 Bangladeshi fishermen found in water (#BayOfBengal) today.
Search for the remaining 02 missing Bangladeshi fishermen is in progress by #ICG ships and aircraft” Indian Coast Guard tweeted yesterday.
Meanwhile, on August 18, the Indian Coast Guard launched a Chetak Helicopter from Daman and rescued 14 stranded fishermen of Fishing Boat (FB) Tulsi Devi off Valsad coast.
Earlier on Wednesday, at about 11:30 am Coast Guard Air Station Daman was tasked to render rescue assistance to stranded FB Tulsi Devi which had sailed from Krishnapur fishing harbour Valsad on August 16, Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) read.
The increasing perilous conditions with the swell height of 5-6 meters, strong gusty winds of 20-25 knots and sea state 5 in the area precluded rescue by ship or boats in the area.
Displaying unmatched resilience, the aircraft successfully rescued all crew members of the distressed FB and safely airlifted them to Coast Guard Air Station Daman.
On arrival, a preliminary medical examination was undertaken and the fishermen were provided with first aid. All survivors were conveyed to their next of kin.
An intruder was shot at and got injured when he was trying to come near the Line of Control (LOC) in the Nowshera Sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri, SSP Rajouri Mohd Aslam informed on Sunday.
More details are awaited in the case.
Earlier on Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists in Budgam who were involved in a grenade attack that injured a civilian on August 15.
Amid the uproar over the death of a Dalit school boy in Rajasthan after being beaten up by a teacher, senior Congress leader Meira Kumar on Sunday stressed on completely eradicating the “illness” of caste system and adopting a “zero tolerance” approach against prejudice.
In an interview with agencies, the former Union minister also said one should not get into which particular regime or political party is responsible in the wake of incidents of atrocities on the basis of caste as it takes the focus away from the main question that the caste system must be abolished.
The former Lok Sabha speaker asserted that over the years the caste system has neither been diluted nor has been eradicated. Her remarks come days after Indra Kumar (9) was beaten up by a teacher allegedly for touching a drinking water pot at a school in Rajasthan’s Jalore district on July 20.
100 वर्ष पहले मेरे पिताजी बाबू जगजीवन राम को स्कूल में सवर्णो के घड़े से पानी पीने से रोका गया था। किसी तरह उनकी जान बच गई।
आज, इसी वजह से एक 9 वर्ष के #दलित बच्चे को मार दिया गया।
आज़ादी के 75 वर्षों के बाद भी #जातिवाद हमारा सबसे बड़ा शत्रु है। कलंक है।
He died during treatment in Ahmedabad earlier this month. The accused, Chail Singh, has been arrested.
The Congress government in Rajasthan is facing heat over the death of the Dalit school boy. Asked if there has been lacuna on the part of the Congress government on the front of Dalit atrocities, Kumar said, “This is something everyone asks me. It is not that I am defending anybody or accusing anybody. I just want to say that yes the political class is responsible to some extent but the issue is social. Politics is a reflection of society.” “To say that this particular regime is responsible, this particular party is responsible and that it has happened in this state, these are the statistics, in other states statistics are different because the party there is different, we should not really get into all this because then it diverts attention from the main issue,” she said. When people start talking about political angles then it dilutes the issue, said Kumar.
Every time an atrocity takes place eventually it gets entangled into whose fault it is, the former minister of social justice and empowerment said. Talking about ways to move forward on eradicating the caste system, Kumar said there is a need for social will. “Society must come forward. This is a problem rooted in religion so what are the religious leaders saying…the young people, they always want change, they should come forward. Women, they are mothers, they have a major role in shaping the attitude of the child right from the moment the child is born,” she said.
The Congress leader called for talking about “zero prejudice”. Prejudice on the basis of caste, religion, skin colour, economic background needs to be done away with, said Kumar who had recently tweeted and recalled that 100 years ago her father Babu Jagjivan Ram was prohibited from drinking water in school from the pitcher meant for Savarna Hindus.
“There are so many prejudices. Right from childhood we should start, and have a slogan ‘zero prejudice’ like we have zero tolerance for terrorism. I have not heard anyone say, ‘zero tolerance for any kind of prejudice’,” the 77-year-old leader said.
Atrocities related to caste often lead to the “crippling of the soul”, she said. Kumar said incidents of physical harm were just symptoms while the “illness” was the caste system.
She said caste system is an illness and unless that goes, atrocities cannot stop. Attention has to be on completely eradicating the caste system, she added.
Asked about the coming to power of the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar headed by JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar after he dumped the BJP to join hands with the RJD, the Congress and other parties, Meira Kumar said it was a “welcome” development and a “positive sign”.
“I hope this is followed in other states also,” the former MP from Bihar’s Sasaram said. On suggestions from certain quarters that the Congress had gotten a raw deal with two ministerial berths in the Bihar government, she said, “I think we should examine the positive aspects of it. Be positive about it.”
On whether the formation of the Mahagathbandhan government holds out hope for 2024 general elections, Kumar said, “Yes. But one cannot be very categorical, we have to build on it. Give it time to strengthen it, nurture it, and then it will spread all over.” Asked if the Congress should be the fulcrum of an Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in 2024 general elections, she answered in the affirmative.
To a question on the buzz that Bihar Chief Minister Kumar could emerge as a prime ministerial candidate, the Congress leader said, “I have heard this from various quarters, let us see who is there, the Opposition has a number of stalwarts, at an appropriate time the parties will decide.”
She also accused the Centre of indulging in “vendetta politics” with the Enforcement Directorate questioning a host of Opposition leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
“When you are in the Opposition, there are so many charges against you, and so many who have shifted their loyalties from the Congress to the ruling party, suddenly they have no charges against them. We have seen this happening,” she said.
The BJP on Sunday alleged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the ”kingpin” of the excise policy ”scam” and said handcuffs are getting close to him as nodes of corruption are being unravelled.
Addressing a press conference here, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged Kejriwal was busy indulging in corruption when Covid-affected people needed his help.
Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, who also addressed the press conference, said, ”Delhi’s excise policy has proved to be a corrupt one. Arvind Kejriwal is the kingpin of this entire scam.” Bhatia said when it was time to help Covid-affected people, Kejriwal was busy indulging in corruption by signing the excise policy.
”Roots of the excise policy ‘scam’ lead to the doorstep of corrupt Kejriwal. No one is above law and no corrupt person will be spared,” he said.
On the AAP’s claim that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be a direct fight between Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP spokesperson said everyone knows what happened in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa polls.
The public will give the AAP a reply, he said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday raided 31 locations, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s residence, in connection with the irregularities in the Delhi government’s Excise Policy 2021-22.
Shiv Sena MLA and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray has sought to know what did the rebel legislators achieve by “backstabbing” the party leadership when it supported them in every possible way.
He made the remarks on Saturday at a public rally in Jalgaon, the Assembly constituency of rebel Sena leader and present state minister Gulabrao Patil.
In June this year, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators revolted against the party leadership, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which comprised the Sena, NCP and Congress. Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30 along with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. CM Shinde recently expanded his cabinet, inducting nine ministers each from the Sena and the BJP.
“We gave them tickets, made efforts to get them elected and supported them in every possible way. Why did they backstab us? What did they achieve by being traitors?” Aaditya Thackeray asked. “Whatever they have got, they got it for themselves. They have not given anything back to the people,” claimed the MLA, who is the son of former CM Uddhav Thackeray.
In the Shinde-led ministry, Gulabrao Patil has retained charge of the water supply and sanitation department, which he held in the previous MVA government.
