AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on Wednesday hinted that a merger between the Congress and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) was a matter of time.
Digvijay said that “TRS has indicated merger with the Congress.” He added details of the planned merger are being worked out.
Digvijay had earlier also hinted that the TRS – the party which was born on the cause of creation of Telangana – will merge with the Congress. He had said that the consultation process between the two parties was over.
The TRS had earlier, however, denied any such headway. Party chief K Chandrasekhar Rao had said that nothing was finalised so far on alliance or merger talks with the Congress.
The remarks came on a day when the Centre was likely to decide on the next government in Andhra Pradesh.
Sources added that state leaders Chiranjeevi and Kanna Lakshminarayana are leading the race for CM’s post.
The central government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it will not execute 1993 Delhi blast convict Devender Pal Singh Bhullar on grounds of his health.
The decision was conveyed to the apex court after Bhullar’s wife filed a mercy petition, which is in the process of consideration.
The Centre has asked for 14 days time period from SC to convey the final decision in the matter. The next hearing in the case is scheduled on March 10.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had recommended commutation of his sentence on January 6.
Bhullar was convicted in 1993 bomb blasts at Youth Congress office in New Delhi which killed nine people. He was awarded a death penalty in 2001.
After his review petition was dismissed, he filed for mercy petition in 2003 which was dismissed in 2011.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday dismissed criticism of his remarks calling Narendra Modi “impotent”, saying the BJP had misconstrued his comments.
“If he (Modi) does not understand these words then I can send him a dictionary,” Khurshid said after the BJP reacted sharply to his remarks, saying the Union minister had lost his mental balance.
Clarifying his remarks on the BJP’s PM candidate for 2014 polls, Khurshid said, “You have another word for incapacity? For lack of strength? I talked about impotency in politics.”
“I am not his doctor; I didn’t physically examine him. I meant that he lacks strength to do what he could have done,” the Congress leader said further.
However, refusing to apologise for the choice of his words Khurshid asked: “Would I call him potent? No other word expressed my feeling better. He should accept what he did in 2002.”
Khurshid also targeted BJP chief Rajnath Singh for saying yesterday that he was ready to seek forgiveness for any mistakes committed in the past by the BJP.
“Rajnath Singh must be regretful; he is a man of character. He’s in a spot because his PM candidate isn’t accepting the blame,” Khurshid said.
“First he should accept; apologising comes later,” the minister suggested, adding “he is offering to apologise to Muslims. Why? He should apologise to the nation.”.
Reacting to Khurshid’s remarks yesterday, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain had tweeted this morning, “Filthy words used 4 political opponent, seems foreign education has taken away Indian values of ‘Tehzeeb’ & ‘Tameez’ frm Sh Salman Khurshid (sic).”
“Is the language used by Sh Salman Khurshid a reflection of the so called guidance being given to Congress leaders by Sh Rahul Gandhi? (sic)”
In a sensational disclosure, two persons arrested by the Tamil Nadu police on Tuesday in connection with the murder of a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) woman employee have confessed of sexually assaulting the victim, who went missing last week and was later found dead in Kanchipuram area, before stabbing her to death.
Police was investigating the suspected murder of Uma Maheswari as the post-mortem report revealed a deep wound.
Maheshwari, 24, was reported missing since February 13 evening after she left office at IT Park at Siruseri, 20 km from Chennai. A body, later found in a bush by passers-by, was identified as hers.
As per an English news channel, the state police today issued a press release, which says that the arrested persons have been identified as Ram Mandal and Utham Mandal.
“The accused have confessed that they sexually assaulted the victim and took away fer mobile phone and credit card,” the press release said further.
The accused will be now be reportedly produced before the court tomorrow.
Investigation in the case was on Sunday transferred to the Tamil Nadu Police Crime Branch-CID (CB-CID) after Kelambakkam Police Station Inspector Subbaiah was suspended for dereliction of duty. The officer reportedly did not file complaint or follow- up on the missing person’s case and failed to provide adequate security within the SIPCOT IT Park .
According to the company, she was employed in the accounts section for the past one year and was liked by her colleagues. Uma’s decomposed body was traced after passers-by alerted the police after getting a strong smell emanating from behind a bush in a desolate place near the office complex.
The office CCTV footage showed that Uma left alone half an hour early before her shift ends.
Earlier, the Kanchipuram district police had registered a case of suspicious death and were investigating the matter. The police said they did not rule out rape.
Uma went missing after she left the office at IT Park at Siruseri, 20 km from Chennai. Police then recovered the body and summoned Uma’s colleagues and father to identify the body since a missing person complaint was filed by the TCS.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he would rather make women travelling in a bus safe than have India being a superpower.
“Big statements are made about India being a superpower. What superpower? I will rather make a woman safe in a bus than (India) being a superpower,” Gandhi said in an interaction with students at the Don Bosco University here.
“Are you comfortable in a bus? Are you treated well on the streets when you walk?” he asked girl students.
“It is complete nonsense. There is no way this country can be a superpower if Kakoli (a student who asked him a question on respecting women) is feeling scared to go in a bus. How can we call ourselves a superpower if a young girl of this country is scared to go in a bus?” he asked.
“Fifty per cent of the country are women and if you are to ask any of them whether they feel comfortable in a bus, whether they can walk around comfortably, whether India treats them comfortably … Every single one will say no, they do not feel safe and are not represented in our political system,” the Congress leader said.
“And I think boys should think about this. It is at the end of the day that boys who treat women badly. This is a message to them … These women are 50 per cent of the country, these are mothers and sisters,” Gandhi said.
“Women go every day in a bus, go for an interview and are treated badly. When you go for an interview, I am sorry to say, but if you are a woman you can expect to be discriminated. You can also expect discrimination when you are working. Why don’t we talk about that?” Gandhi asked.
“In my mind I have 45 years of experience that women are at least smarter than men. They are more intelligent than men, more capable than men. Yet we spend our whole time in this country every day disrespecting them and we talk about super power,” the Congress leader said.
“Sorry to be angry, but I am emotional about this because I have been brought up in a family where women are treated well, they are powerful,” he said.
“My father (Rajiv Gandhi) treated my sister exactly as me. My grandmother (Indira Gandhi) was the boss of the family. My father listened to my grandmother. So that is the family where I come from,” he said.
“People focus when there is a rape case. The entire country gets up and focuses on the rape case. That is very important because these type of crimes should be punished. But what we don’t focus on is the everyday problem women face,” Gandhi said.
“How many women do you see in Parliament, in Vidhan Sabhas, business? So it’s not only about rape. Rape is the extreme manifestation. It is the suffering of the women every single day,” he said.
Skirting questions about a reported tie-up with the BJP for the national election, Bihar politician Ram Vilas Paswan said he was keeping his options open and was “forced to consider the alternative” due to a deadlock with the Congress and Lalu Prasad.
“Opinion in the Lok Janshakti Party is not against going with the BJP. Our options are open. In our party’s interest we need to take tough decisions,” said Mr. Paswan amid reports that he was inclined to revive his alliance with the BJP 12 years after he snapped ties with the party over the 2002 riots in Narendra Modi’s Gujarat.
Mr. Paswan quit Atal Behari Vajpayee’s BJP-led regime in April 2002, criticizing Mr. Modi for the handling of the communal violence that tore through Gujarat in the aftermath of the killing of Hindu train riders in Godhra.
His possible return to the BJP-led alliance would signal that political expediency can overrule the debate over the acceptability of its prime ministerial candidate, who is seen as a polarising figure in India.
Mr. Modi’s elevation had been the cause of the BJP’s bitter break-up with its 17-year ally Janata Dal-United last summer.
“It is strange, but true,” said Janata Dal-United leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. “You have to ask Ram Vilas Paswan on this change of mind on communal forces.”
Reports of a meeting between Mr. Paswan’s film actor-turned-politician son, Chirag and BJP president Rajnath Singh last week had fueled speculation about a possible realignment in Bihar.
Just last month, Mr. Paswan had announced that his party, along with the RJD and the Congress, will contest the next Lok Sabha elections jointly in Bihar. But Lalu Prasad’s RJD has since battled a split in the ranks and is seen as a losing bet.
Reports suggest that Mr. Paswan had asked for 12 of Bihar’s 40 seats, some of them for his relatives, but the BJP has offered only seven. The LJP leader commands the fierce loyalty of at least four per cent of Bihar’s electorate.
In an unusual case of cracking a murder mystery, Agra police were able to get breakthrough in the case only after a parrot named the killer.
Vijay Sharma’s wife Neelam and her pet dog were murdered earlier this month; however, the police had failed to get any leads in the case till Monday.
Being an animal lover, she had kept two pets – a parrot and a dog, who was very close to her, the family said.
The parrot stopped eating after Neelam’s death. Whenever Vijay’s nephew Ashu would come to the house, the parrot would get inside the cage looking scared and sit there for hours, unlike other days when it used to roam around freely in the house.
Two days ago, when Vijay returned home, he talked to the parrot but it did not respond to him. Seeing unusual behaviour of the parrot, Vijay sensed it was upset and might be able to give hints about the killers. He started taking name of suspects and asked the parrot to name his wife’s killer. The parrot listened to the names and finally, responded on Vijay’s nephew Ashu’s name saying ‘Usne mara, Usne mara’ (Ashu killed, Ashu killed), the report said.
Police had earlier also suspected Ashu of murdering Neelam. However, the family had confronted the police. After Vijay got the hint from the parrot, he informed police to take Ashu in custody and question him.
In the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that it was in fact Ashu who entered the house with his accomplices. As he was about to attack Neelam, the dog jumped on them and, even bit Ashu’s finger. They killed both Neelam and the pet dog, the police told.
A local court dismissed an application against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu’s son Narayan Sai charging him with hurting the sentiments of Sikh community by donning a turban to evade arrest in a sexual assault case.
President of local outfit ‘Yuva Sikh Morcha’, Gagandeep Singh Bhatia, had filed an application in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Manoj Kumar Ladia contending that by sporting a turban while he was absconding from Surat police searching for him, Sai had hurt the sentiments of Sikh community.
Gagandeep’s lawyer Indrajeet Singh Bhatia told reporters in Indore on Tuesday that the court, while dismissing the plea yesterday, ruled that there is no legal basis in the complaint for trial of the case against Narayan Sai as Indian constitution permits each and every Indian citizen to wear a dress of his/her choice.
The court also observed Sai’s wearing a turban does not prove that this has hurt the sentiments of Sikh community, he said.
Bhatia also said his client had mentioned in his complaint that in a bid to save himself from being arrested in a rape case, Sai had worn a turban thereby disguising himself as a Sikh, which hurt the religious sentiments of the community and this sent a wrong message among public about Sikhs.
Following a complaint of alleged rape against Sai by a Surat-based woman, Sai had been on the run and on December 4 was apprehended by police from Haryana-Delhi border. Police had caught 40-year-old Sai reportedly in the garb of a Sikh man sporting a red turban after evading arrest for 58 days.
The father-son duo are facing cases of sexual assault.
Farmer Devilal Meena’s dream came true on Tuesday when his son got his bride home in a helicopter.
A farmer in Hargaondhakhurd village of Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district, Devilal Meena always wanted his elder son’s marriage to be a lavish affair. He decided he wanted that her eldest daughter-in-law should be brought to her new house in a helicopter.
His son Dharmendra Singh Meena got married to Sharbat in Sawai Madhopur on Monday. On Tuesday, they boarded a private helicopter at 12:30 pm from Sawai Madhopur and crossed the 55-km distance to Sheopur in half an hour.
As they landed in Sheopur, huge crowd gathered near the helipad to witness the historic sight of one among them getting her bride in a helicopter.
Facebook which was struggling to enter the mobile messaging space has made the right decision to redeem itself by buying WhatApp for $19 billion. The landmark deal is one of the biggest in the history of social networking sites. Facebook which had succeeded in creating the biggest social networking platform was being addressed as a desktop based company. After the advent of smartphones and easy availability of data plans people started opting for mobile messaging services through their phones. It is being predicted that in future most of the people will access social networking sites through mobiles instead of desktops. Facebook was being criticised for its inability to design a profitable social mobile application. Three years back the social networking giant introduced the Facebook messenger service which was embedded with the mobiles but it failed to click with the users. Last year, the Facebook made an unsuccessful $3bn bid for SnapChat, a service that sends messages that erase themselves after a short period. The social networking site was being criticised by stakeholders for its inability to evolve with changing times.
It also tried to emulate twitter by introducing the trending feature and attempted to compete with Google by starting the graph search and email services. However, these initiatives failed to yield results as Facebook will be shutting down the email service due to poor user response. On the other hand, WhatsApp a newly found service established in the year 2009 has been growing at a faster pace and is adding around one million new users a day. The overall users of WhatsApp have increased to 450 million while Facebook has around 950 million active users. The valuation of a company rises on the growth rate achieved by it. Recently, it was reported that Facebook had lost some portion of its active users. Teenagers have been abandoning the social network to join the newer mobile messaging applications which are faster and offered better privacy options. On the other hand, many people have been abandoning Facebook due to the presence of large number of friends and irritating status updates. On the other hand, WhatsApp is clutter free and is fast.
Questions were being raised about the future of Facebook and how the company would survive in a rapidly changing world. There were two options for the social networking site either it could create its own mobile application or buy a popular social application. Facebook opted for the second option by purchasing WhatsApp for a whopping sum. Often it has been seen that big companies try to kill smaller firms by acquiring them as the latter poses a threat to their growth. Companies like Google and Facebook has been adopting this strategy to remain competitive in the online space. In the year 2012, Facebook had acquired the photo sharing site Instagram which too was becoming immensely popular.
By acquiring WhatsApp, Facebook has proved that it wants to be the leader in the mobile messaging space too. In future, the company could earn revenue by monetising the messaging service. Thus one can say that Facebook had panicked after the emergence of WhatsApp and insecurity led the social media giant to acquire a faster growing mobile application service. The application doesn’t have a proper revenue model but its impressive growth rate definitely made it a good buyout option for Facebook. Even though Facebook might have purchased WhatsApp but the company should focus on innovation and introduce new products instead of looking for inorganic growth through acquisition.
Skirting questions about a reported tie-up with the BJP for the national election, Bihar politician Ram Vilas Paswan said he was keeping his options open and was “forced to consider the alternative” due to a deadlock with the Congress and Lalu Prasad.