The BJP on Thursday accused the Congress of “demeaning” President Draupadi Murmu and demanded its apology after its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called her “rashtrapatni”.
Union minister Smriti Irani said Chowdhury used the term knowing well that it demeans Murmu and her office and is against India’s values.
The Congress should apologize to the President and the country, she told reporters.
“A tribal woman from a poor family who created history is being continuously demeaned by the Congress,” she told reporters.
Chowdhury is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and used the remark while talking to the media during his party’s protests over a host of issues.
Irani alleged that the Congress has been targeting her “maliciously” ever since the BJP-led NDA named Murmu its presidential candidate, and said she was called a “puppet” and a “symbol of evil” by its leaders.
The attacks do not seem to stop even after her election to the highest constitutional office of the country, the BJP leader said.
Chowdhry’s comment is also demeaning to the rich tribal legacy she represents and to the poor who rise through hard work.
The President is called “rashtrapati” in Hindi.
Murmu, India’s first tribal President, had led a life of struggle and represented the country’s aspirations from panchayat to Parliament, Irani said and charged that the Congress under its president Sonia Gandhi has repeatedly targeted women.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed hope that the Chief Minister of Delhi upholds the trust reposed in him that forms the foundation of a representative democracy while appointing persons to lead the people.
The court’s observation came while passing a judgement dismissing a Public Interest Litigation that sought direction on suspension of Satyender Jain as a Cabinet minister of Delhi in the wake of his arrest in a money laundering case.
The Division Bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Wednesday said, “This court wholeheartedly agrees with the observations of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and hopes that the Chief Minister upholds the trust reposed in him that forms the foundation of a representative democracy while appointing persons to lead the people.”
It is pertinent to note at this juncture that while it is not for the Court to issue directions to the Chief Minister, it is the duty of the Court to remind these key duty holders about their role with regard to upholding the tenets of our Constitution.
The Chief Minister exercises his/her discretion in choosing the Members of Cabinet and formulating a policy pertaining to the appointment of the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers has a collective responsibility to sustain and uphold the integrity of the Constitution of India, and it is for the Chief Minister to act in the best interest of the state and consider whether a person who has a criminal background and/or has been charged with offences involving moral turpitude should be appointed and should be allowed to continue as a minister or not, the bench said in the order.
The court also said that good governance is only in the hands of good people. Even though the Court cannot sit in judgment of what is good or bad, it certainly can remind constitutional functionaries to preserve, protect and promote the ethos of our Constitution.
There is a presumption that the Chief Minister would be well advised and guided by such constitutional principles.
As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution had stated during the Constituent Assembly “…however, good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. The working of Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution…”
The Court was hearing a petition filed under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for issuance of direction to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for initiating appropriate proceedings for suspension of Health Minister of Delhi Satyender Jain, who has been in custody since May 30.
The petition stated that Satyender Jain, who has been in custody has been enjoying all the perks and privileges of a Cabinet Minister, despite facing allegations of serious financial irregularities, and that this is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India in as much as a Government Servant, who is in custody for more than 48 hours, is to be put under deemed suspension as per the practice which is being followed relating to the Public/Government Servants in terms of Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965 (hereinafter referred to as “CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965”). It is stated that Satyender Jain has also committed a breach of oath and he cannot be permitted to hold the office as a minister.
PV Sindhu to be India's flag bearer in Birmingham Commonwealth Games 4
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is delighted to announce shuttler Ms PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, as the Flagbearer of Team India at the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Alongside Sindhu, who medalled at the Rio 2016 Olympics and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, two other highly deserving athletes were considered to be Team India’s Flagbearer: weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who are both Olympic medallists.
A four-member committee, comprising IOA Acting President Anil Khanna, IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta, IOA Treasurer Anandeshwar Panday, and Team India Chef de Mission Rajesh Bhandari, shortlisted the three athletes. Eventually, Khanna and Mehta selected Sindhu as the Flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony.
Anil Khanna, IOA Acting President: “It is with great pleasure that we announce PV Sindhu as the Flagbearer for Team India. The other two athletes, Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain were immensely deserving, too, but we went ahead with Sindhu because she is a two-time Olympic medallist.
We expect that Sindhu will continue to do well and perform with excellence at these Games. “The 2022 edition of the Commonwealth Games has the largest contingent of female athletes in the history of the Games, so the IOA sensed fit that we spotlight our commitment to gender equity, in adherence to the spirit of the Olympic
Charter, by shortlisting three women athletes for the prestigious role of Team India’s Flagbearer at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
We hope that watching Sindhu lead Team India with the Indian flag in her hand at the Opening Ceremony will inspire millions of girls in India to take up sports.” Rajeev Mehta, IOA Secretary General: “We are very happy to select Sindhu as the Flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony.
We extend our congratulations to her and wish her, and the other athletes of Team India, the very best for the Commonwealth Games.” In addition, Rajesh Bhandari, Team India Chef de Mission, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, announced that a maximum of 164 participants can take part from the Indian contingent in the Parade of Nations in the Opening Ceremony, scheduled for July 28, 2022.
“The count of 164 will include athletes and team officials. The final list will be drawn up by this evening, gauging the availability of the athletes,” said Bhandari.
After the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) restricted Spicejet to operating only 50 per cent of flights for eight weeks, the airline on Wednesday said there will be absolutely no impact on the flight operation as other airlines had already rescheduled its flight.
Reviewing the reply of Spicejet on show cause notice, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday restricted the airline to operating only 50 per cent of flights for eight weeks.
In a letter to Spicejet, the Joint Director General of Civil Aviation mentioned that the reported incidents on aircraft operated by Spicejet from 1st April to 5th July, 2022 were reviewed and it was observed that on a number of occasions, the aircraft either turned back to its originating station or continued landing to the destination with degraded safety margins.
There is poor internal safety oversight and inadequate maintenance actions, which have resulted in the degradation of the safety margins.
Reacting to DGCA restriction, SpiceJet stated, “We are in receipt of the DGCA order and will act as per directions of the regulator. Due to the current lean travel season, SpiceJet like other airlines had already rescheduled its flight operations. Hence, there will be absolutely no impact on our flight operations.”
The airline further added, “We want to reassure our passengers and travel partners that our flights will operate as per schedule in the coming days and weeks. There will be no flight cancellation as a consequence of this order. DGCA’s observation that SpiceJet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents is very encouraging and we will continue to work under the close guidance of the regulator.”
A financial assessment carried out by DGCA in September 2021 has revealed that Spicejet is operating on cash and carry and suppliers approved vendors are not being paid on regular basis leading to the shortage of spares and frequent invoking of Minimum Equipment Lists (MELS).
Whereas from the above, it was deduced that Spicejet failed to establish a safe, efficient and reliable air transport service under the terms of rule 134 read with Schedule XI of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and accordingly, a show cause notice was issued on July 5, 2022, to the Accountable Manager of M/s Spicejet Ltd. to explain within three weeks of receipt of the notice as to why action should not be taken against the airline.
“On July 25, Spicejet submitted a reply to the show cause notice. The same has been reviewed at an appropriate level and it has been observed that Spicejet is taking measures for arresting the trend of incidents, however, the airline needs to sustain these efforts for safe and reliable air transport service,” the letter reads.
It further reads that in view of findings of various spot checks, inspections and the reply to the show cause notice submitted by Spicejet, for the continued sustenance of safe and reliable air transport service, the number of departures of Spicejet are hereby restricted to 50 per cent of the number of departures approved under Summer Schedule 2022 for a period of 8 weeks from the date of issue of this order, in accordance with powers conferred under rule 19A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937.
Any increase in the number of departures beyond 50 per cent of the number of departures approved under Summer Schedule 2022, during this period, shall be subject to the airline demonstrating to the satisfaction of DGCA that it has sufficient technical support and financial resource to safely and efficiently undertake such enhanced capacity.
During these eight weeks’ period, the airline shall be subjected to “Enhanced Surveillance” by DGCA Further decision in the matter shall be taken thereafter, it reads.
At least seven children were killed due to a cholera outbreak and 667 others were infected with the disease in less than a week in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, media reports citing doctors in the province stated on Wednesday.
“A total of 9,500 patients affected with diarrhoea have been taken to the healthcare centre, where 667 of them were diagnosed with cholera disease,” Mohammad Daud Ayubi as quoted by Xinhua News Agency said.
The doctor also confirmed that seven children have died of the disease over the past several days in the province.
According to reports, the cholera outbreak has earlier claimed the lives of 20 children in the neighbouring Helmand province, while hundreds of cases have been reported in Kandahar, Helmand and neighbouring Zabul, and thousands of cases in northern Jawzjan and Kunduz provinces.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, Sharafat Zaman had earlier said that over 100 cases of the disease have been recorded in the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and that more than 15 people have died as a result of severe cholera in Helmand province alone, Tolo News reported. Health officials said that this disease, which causes severe diarrhoea and nausea, has been spreading in the small villages of Dasht, Giro Joy, Tak, Shina, and other areas for the past week or so.
A health official in Daikundi province, Sayed Ishaq Hosseini said, “The cholera-like disease, which has severe diarrhoea and vomiting as symptoms, has spread from 6th July in the border region between the Baghran district in Helmand and Nawa Mesh district in Daikundi province.
In Helmand and Daikundi provinces, in central and southern Afghanistan, the cholera outbreak has recently killed 11 people in the districts of Nawa Mesh and Baghran.” Cholera is a highly infectious disease caused by consuming food or drinking water having certain bacteria.
It causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting, which causes dehydration and can lead to death within a few hours if left untreated.
According to the World Health Organisation, “Cholera remains a global threat to public health and is an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.”
The spread of cholera had earlier threatened the Afghan people who continued to deal with the aftermath of the recent 5.9-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan, and now the unknown disease has also become a concern.
Afghanistan is also grappling with a serious humanitarian crisis as according to international assessments, the country now has the highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world, with more than 23 million in need of assistance, and approximately 95 per cent of the population having insufficient food consumption.
In the latest update of ICC Men’s ODI Rankings, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed up to a joint 13th spot in the rankings and batter Shreyas Iyer also rose up 20 places, to climb to a joint 54th spot after the second ODI match against West Indies in the three-match ODI series.
In the thrilling first ODI game between India and West Indies, Shikhar Dhawan gave a match-winning performance scoring 97 runs in 99 balls.
His astonishing knock also earned him the man of match award. The opener helped India put on a massive score of 308 runs.
Shreyas Iyer scored a half-century with 54 runs off 57 balls. A yet another monumental performance from the top order of the Indian team helped them put on a huge total that West Indies could not chase.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj also climbed into the top 100 of the rankings. Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique and Sri Lanka spinner Prabath Jayasuriya continue to soar in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after splendid performances in the first Test of their ICC World Test Championship series in Galle.
Abdullah, who was declared Player of the Match for his second innings knock of 160 and has amassed 720 runs in his first six Tests, advanced 23 slots to reach 16th position with a Pakistan record of 671 rating points.
The previous best by a Pakistan batter after six Tests was Saeed Ahmed’s 614 rating points and only two batters have ever had more points after six Tests – Sunil Gavaskar (692) and Donald Bradman (687).
Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya, whose 21 wickets rank him joint-third in terms of most wickets after two Tests, has moved up 11 places to 44th position with 481 rating points, the fourth highest by any bowler after two Tests.
Narendra Hirwani (519), Alec Bedser (500) and Bob Massie (494) had higher rating points after two Tests.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s scores of 119 and 55 see him overtake Australia’s Steve Smith to reach a career high third ranking with a career best rating of 874 points.
Babar is currently top ranked in both ODIs and T20Is and remains the only batter in the top 10 of all three lists.
Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is another Pakistan player to gain in the latest weekly update, moving up one place to a career best-equaling third position after grabbing four wickets in the first innings.
Hasan Ali and Yasir Shah have gained a slot each to reach 13th and 32nd positions, respectively.
Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal has gained 11 slots to reach 18th position after scores of 76 and 94 not out while Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando too have made headway in the Test rankings.
In the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock has progressed two places to fourth after his 92 not out in the third match against England that was washed out by rain, ending the series at 1-1.
England fast bowler David Willey has moved up to 23rd position among bowlers.
For the West Indies, opener Shai Hope is up three places to 12th after his valiant 115 in the second match while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has gained two places to reach 16th position after grabbing two wickets each in both matches.
In the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, New Zealand players Glenn Phillips and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson have made notable progress, as have Ireland bowlers Mark Adair and Joshua Little, who are in 43rd and 44th positions, respectively.
While returning with Gangajal from Haridwar, Kanwariya pilgrims of Haryana killed a Jat Regiment jawan by attacking him with sticks and sharp-edged weapons.
Haridwar’s Superintendent of Police (SP), Dehat Pramendra Dobhal told the media agency that the police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against 20 Kanwariyas in this case and have arrested 6 Kanwariyas.
“Six nabbed, search on for others,” Dehat Pramendra Dobhal, SP Rural said. According to the police officer, the search for the rest is on.
The jawan, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, was also returning with Gangajal.
The 25-year-old deceased jawan was a resident of Sisoli in Muzaffarnagar and was presently posted in the Jat Regiment in Gujarat.
‘Kanwar Yatra’ is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Lord Shiva’s devotees in which devotees known as ‘Kanwariyas’ visit places like Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar to fetch the holy water of the Ganges and then worship the God with the same water.
The Kanwar Yatra has resumed this year after a gap of two years due to Covid-19 restrictions. Administrations of several areas are adopting necessary measures to avoid any untoward incidents during the holy pilgrimage.
More than three crore Shiva devotees have visited Haridwar till now to collect the holy Ganga water to be offered as ‘Jalabhishek’ to Lord Shiva, the district magistrate said on Tuesday.
The arrival of tea to the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) got reduced by around 8 million kilograms in June and July because of heavy rainfall in Assam this year.
According to the GTAC, 90.85 million kg and 103.24 million kg of the crop (tea) arrived here in June and July last year.
Dinesh Bihani, the Secretary of the Guwahati Tea Auction Buyer’s Association (GTABA) told ANI that the crop production has reduced by 20 per cent during the last two months as the state faced heavy rainfall.
“This means, we will be having a shortfall of around 39 million kg but by July, we will be having the total crop production similar to the year 2021 production. Till May 2022, we have seen around 38.90 million kg crop being in excess production,” Bihani said.
He further said that the Indian tea market is now having a better demand and the price of tea was also appreciated by Rs 15-20 on the good quality tea. “Now the situation has turned and there is a strong demand on orthodox grade teas where the auction prices have increased by more than Rs 50 from the price of the last year.
This is because of the strong demand for orthodox tea from exporters,” he added. He also mentioned that following the collapse of the Sri Lankan economy, foreign buyers have diverted their purchases to the Indian market.
“In recent times, we have seen a number of tea manufacturers diverting their production from CTC to orthodox and they are getting good prices for this change.
Sri Lanka produces 300 million kg of tea, of which they export 286 million kg which constitutes 95 per cent orthodox tea,” the GTABA secretary stated further. “India produces only 92.6 million kg out of which 33 million kg are produced in Assam.
It is now believed that the orthodox grade might see a better demand and fetch good prices in the upcoming season,” he added. The people of Assam have faced a severe flood situation after regular heavy downpours in various districts of the state.
In 2022, it's almost sure that BMC will slip out of Shiv Sena and BJP will take over 11
Fear of losing the bow and arrow and the authority over Shiv Sena has made Uddhav restless. He gave various statements to hide his insecurities, but his pain was very much visible. We can see how Sanjay Raut all alone fighting the battle and media trials for Shiv Sena. Aditya Thackeray is hell-bent on reviving the Shiv Sena. He greets people and attends rallies and meetings. While speaking to the media, Uddhav Thackeray asserted that his party would again get the post of the Maharashtra Chief minister.
Thackeray believes that the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is headed for two and a half years, was getting a lot of appreciation from people. In the interview conducted by Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Uddhav Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance experiment led by him was not wrong and people had welcomed it. In the second part of his interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Thackeray said he wants not just local body polls due in Maharashtra, but also the Assembly elections and claimed the Sena will have its CM once again for which he will tour the state to rejuvenate the party cadre.
The Shiv Sena had parted ways with the BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls over sharing the chief ministerial post. The Sena later tied up with the NCP and Congress as part of the MVA to form a government led by Thackeray. Last month, Sena MLA Eknath Shinde along with 39 other party legislators and some independents, revolted against the Sena leadership, leading to the collapse of the Thackeray-led MLA government. Without naming the present state CM Shinde, Thackeray claimed when the Shiv Sena was with the BJP, Shinde would say the BJP is harming the Sena.
Maharashtra politics is a national topic now; there is no certainty. Supreme Court is yet to decide on the disqualification of rebels; the election commission is yet to decide on the ownership of shiv sena and its bow and arrow symbol. Among all this mess, Shiv Sena is in a reviving mode. The state-wide tour of Aaditya is getting a suitable response. From August, Uddhav will also start touring the state. People are enrolling in the Shiv Sena in a big way. Meanwhile, BMC elections are approaching and most of the compotators are to support Eknath Shinde. This rising trend may show that BJP can rule BMC after the next election in 2022.
If re-election happens today, the biggest benefit would be the BJP as what the people got deprived of is having not given enough mandates to the BJP which, of course, they have realised and they would not be doing so again. The pact of Shiv Sena with UPA will surely hit its performance because the Shiv Sena voter & also many of the karyakartas on the ground level are furious. After all, their leader has joined. Udhav’s sudden turnaround only to teach a lesson to Modi, and BJP, may not be acceptable to the people. His popularity also has taken a beating because of these unpopular decisions of Shiv Sena. This unpopularity was visible even during the local body elections, where it is being convincingly vanquished in call corporations except the one in Thane and Mumbai. In all others, BJP made a clean sweep.
The people of Maharashtra have seen the corrupt rule of Congress and do not want the same government again. Hence, Congress had to lose in the assembly elections, many places lost deposits. No doubt Congress-NCP ruled Maharashtra for the longest period and it limited Shiv Sena to BMC. Shiv Sena never got people’s mandate, which is the reason they came to power only once. In 2014 it’s the Modi wave that got them to power being in an alliance. In 2019 also people voted for Sena considering the alliance with BJP. Somehow BJP missed the power and Shiv Sena joined hands with Congress and NCP. This betrayal was unacceptable for BJP, and sitting in the opposition, BJP gave a tough time to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the Maharashtrian vote for Shiv Sena in large numbers. People in Maharashtra do not hold this perception. Especially in Mumbai, the largest population is Gujarati and north Indians. They vote for BJP, earlier most of the rural votes were in Congress-NCP’s kitty. Unless you are referring to Maharashtrian living in Mumbai, Thane & Suburbs of Mumbai, apart from a few pockets of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena is largely a colossal failure as a party.
Shiv Sena controlled BMC which is the biggest municipal corporation in Asia. The budget of BMC which is a municipal corporation of Mumbai is much bigger than many of the smaller states of India. The share of tax contribution that the Central Government gets from Mumbai is the highest, that is the reason Mumbai is called the financial capital of India. Well! Let us come back to the major topic, who will hold the power in Maharashtra? It is going to be BJP and alliance but not Maha Vikas Aghadi again.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that “no Kashmiri Pandit has left the Kashmir Valley during 2022”. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai shared the input with the Upper House in a written reply to a query of Samajwadi Party MP Javed Ali Khan.
“As per the records, no Kashmiri Pandit has left the Kashmir Valley during 2022,” Rai replied when asked about the details of the Kashmiri Pandits who left Kashmir Valley during 2022.
The minister also shared data, mentioning that a total of 6,514 Kashmiri Pandits were residing in the Valley till July 20, 2022.
As per the data, maximum of 2,639 Kashmiri Pandits are residing in Kulgam district, followed by 1,204 in Budgam, 808 in Anantnag, 579 in Pulwama, 455 in Srinagar, 320 in Shopian, 294 in Baramulla, 130 in Ganderbal, 66 in Bandipora and 19 in Kupwara.
A separate data also stated that the number of Kashmiri Pandits residing in the Valley was 6,432 as on 2019.
The data shows that a total of 2,557 Kashmiri Pandits were then residing in the Valley followed by 1,204 in Budgam, 808 in Anantnag, 579 in Pulwama, 455 in Srinagar, 320 in Shopian, 294 in Baramulla, 130 in Ganderbal, 66 in Bandipora and 19 in Kupwara.
The information is significant at a time when several people, including many Kashmiri Pandits, have been a victim of targeted killings in the Valley since last year, and amid the reports of Kashmiri Pandits leaving the Union Territory.
In another data, the minister mentioned that a total of six Kashmiri Pandits were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Of them, one was killed in 2020, four in 2021 and one till July 20 this year. The minister in a separate reply to another MP also informed that nine government employees (excluding security forces) including one Kashmiri Pandit have lost their lives in terror-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.
He further said the government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir, and that it resulted in a substantial decline in terrorist attacks from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021.
In terms of the Jammu and Kashmir Kashmiri Migrants (Special Drive) Recruitment Rules, 2009 notified on December 30, 2009, the appointees shall have to work within Kashmir Valley and shall not be eligible for transfer outside the Valley under any circumstances.
However, the minister further said that the Kashmiri migrants have been posted at safer zones in various districts, tehsils, and headquarters within the Kashmir division.
“Besides, the government has taken several measures to ensure the safety of minorities in the valley. These include a robust security and intelligence grid, day and night area domination, patrolling and proactive operations against terrorists, round-the-clock checking at Nakas, deployment of security forces at strategic points to thwart any terrorist attack.”
