New Delhi: At a time when Delhi residents are seeking a 10-year report card from the AAP government, both Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Atishi are evading questions on the city’s poisonous air and polluted Yamuna, said BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday.
“Rather than giving answers to people who have been suffering due to toxic air, both Kejriwal and the Chief Minister are ducking questions, ” he said.
The main culprit responsible for rising pollution in Delhi is Arvind Kejriwal, he said. “Kejriwal needs to tell the people why he wasted the past 10 years. Can he showcase even a single measure taken in the past 10 years to counter pollution?” he asked.
“Delhi has been reduced to a gas chamber. The AQI has hit a very dangerous and high level but neither Kejriwal is offering any answers nor is the current Chief Minister Atishi, ” Chugh said.
Instead of presenting their report card before the approaching elections, the AAP leaders are shirking responsibility, blaming others and themselves fielding questions over the issue of polluted air and contaminated Yamuna, he said.
Earlier on October 20, CM Atishi blamed BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for the growing air and water pollution in the national capital. She supposedly gave a clean chit to AAP-ruled Punjab and blamed paddy stubble burning, diesel buses and brick kilns in BJP-ruled Haryana for the poor air quality in Delhi.
On the recent terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Chugh said Pakistan is unable to accept the restoration of democracy in the Union Territory. “Pakistan is indulging in a conspiracy to foment trouble but all its attempts will be foiled by our security agencies, ” he said.
Reiterating the party’s commitment to restore peace in J&K, he said, “Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, heavy polling took place during Assembly polls, marking a victory for democracy. Development and peace have also been restored but this is causing discomfort to Pakistan.”
Chandigarh : Reacting to Captain Amarinder Singh’s visit to Khanna grain market, senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that Captain Amarinder Singh often meets with Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but why has he never raised the issues of Punjab’s farmers and commission agents in front of them?
Cheema stated that Captain’s political career has ended. Since the public has rejected him, he is now pretending to show sympathy for farmers by visiting the mandis. He mentioned that the people of Punjab know that the entire problem has been created by the central government. The central government has not lifted rice from warehouses on time and has not listened to the concerns of the millers and commission agents, causing distress to farmers and arhtiyas in Punjab.
Captain Amarinder Singh’s party (BJP) hates Punjab. They hate the farmers and commission agents of Punjab, and that is why they are deliberately harassing them. He added that Captain knows that the central government has withheld thousands of crores from various funds meant for Punjab. The central government has been holding back RDP, MDF, and NHM funds for years, but Captain has never raised these issues before the center.
Moreover, when the Modi government introduced the three controversial farm laws, Captain Amarinder Singh was supporting the center. At that time, the Aam Aadmi Party was in opposition, and we repeatedly stated that Captain was acting more as an agent of the BJP than as a Chief Minister of Punjab. That is why, as soon as he stepped down as Chief Minister, he joined the BJP. Even when he was in office, he never spoke about the farmers, millers, or commission agents of Punjab. Now, out of desperation to stay relevant, he is putting on this act.
New Delhi: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at the PM’s official residence, Lok Kalyan Marg, ahead of their participation in the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK 2024).
PM Modi and the German Chancellor will inaugurate the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 on Friday.
The event, which gathers around 650 business leaders and CEOs from Germany, India, and other nations, aims to bolster trade and investment relations between Germany and the Indo-Pacific region.
After that, there will be a joint plenary session for all participants in government consultations chaired by the heads of government.
“Both leaders will hold bilateral talks to discuss enhanced security and Defence cooperation, greater opportunities for mobility of talent, deeper economic cooperation, Green and Sustainable Development Partnership and collaboration in the area of emerging and strategic technologies. Discussions will also focus on important regional and global developments, ” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) detailed, earlier this week.
The German Chancellor will then travel to Goa on Saturday where the German naval frigate ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and combat support ship ‘Frankfurt am Main’ are making a scheduled port call as part of Germany’s Indo-Pacific deployment.
“India and Germany have had a strategic partnership since 2000. Over the years, this partnership has deepened and diversified across various sectors. The two countries are celebrating 50 years of Science and Technology collaboration this year. As we enter the 25th year of strategic partnership, the visit of Chancellor Scholz will pave the way for further strengthening of our bilateral ties, ” the MEA stated.
During his 2023 visits, Scholz was quite impressed by India as a high-tech nation with great expertise in digitalisation and software development.
“We want to and must take advantage of the potential that exists here, which, among other things, will help us to boost the resilience of our own economy, ” he said following his business meetings in Bengaluru.
He has also emphasised Germany’s great interest in collaborating with India in other economic sectors such as renewable energies, wind power, solar energy, and biomass.
New Delhi : The Centre on Thursday cleared the appointment of Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI).
“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from 11 November 2024, ” a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice said.
Incumbent CJI D.Y. Chandrachud is due to retire on November 10 on attainment of the age of 65 years. He had recommended Justice Khanna as his successor earlier this month.
Justice Khanna will be the 51st CJI and will have around 6 month tenure in office.
He held the post of Chairman, Supreme Court Legal Service Committee. He is presently the Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority and a member of the Governing Counsel of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal.
Before elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Khanna served as a judge in the Delhi High Court till January 2019. As a judge of the Delhi HC, he held the position of Chairman/Judge-in-charge, Delhi Judicial Academy, Delhi International Arbitration Centre, and the District Court Mediation Centres.
Justice Khanna, born in May 1960, obtained his law degree from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University. He enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983 and primarily practised taxation, arbitration, commercial law, environmental law, medical negligence law, and company law in the Delhi High Court. He had a long tenure as the Senior Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department. In 2004, he was appointed as the Standing Counsel (Civil) for the Delhi government. He had also appeared and argued in a number of criminal cases at the Delhi High Court as an Additional Public Prosecutor and as an amicus curie (friend of the court).
New Delhi: As Cyclone Dana made landfall in Odisha early on Friday, leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi took to social media to address the situation.
Cyclone Dana struck the northern coast of Odisha at 5:30 A.M., impacting areas near Dhamara and Bhitarkanika.
In a Facebook post, Rahul Gandhi cautioned about the cyclone’s potential for severe impact on Odisha, West Bengal, and other eastern coastal states.
He urged residents in affected areas to stay safe and follow government guidelines, emphasising the need for the Central government to provide full support to those in crisis. “Every possible effort should be made to protect lives and property, ” he stated, calling for Congress members to assist in relief efforts.
Mallikarjun Kharge echoed these sentiments in a post on X, highlighting the need for preparedness and prompt action in response to the cyclone’s landfall. He called on the Union Government to extend comprehensive support to affected states and encouraged Congress workers to aid those in need.
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the state’s cyclone preparedness with Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, assuring him of central assistance.
Odisha has taken extensive measures, setting up 5, 209 cyclone shelters and evacuating over 362, 000 residents from vulnerable areas, including 3, 654 pregnant women being relocated to hospitals.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued alerts for heavy rain and strong winds in neighbouring states like Bihar and Jharkhand. As Dana moves inland, cloud cover has increased across 34 districts in Bihar, with temperatures dropping by 1-6 degrees Celsius.
IMD predicts that Cyclone Dana will weaken into a storm as it progresses over land later on Friday. The effects of the cyclone are expected to intensify throughout the day, highlighting the urgent need for community readiness and response efforts.
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved two railway projects with an estimated cost of Rs 6,798 crore.
The projects will be completed in five years to provide connectivity, facilitate ease of travelling, minimise logistics costs, reduce oil imports, and lower CO2 emissions, said the CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The approved projects are the doubling of the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur Sections covering 256 km, and the construction of a new line between Errupalem and Namburu via Amaravati covering 57 km. The projects will generate direct employment for about 106 lakh human-days.
Covering eight districts in three states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar, the new rail projects will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 313 km.
“These will improve logistical efficiency connecting the unconnected areas, increase the existing line capacity and enhance transportation networks, resulting in streamlined supply chains and accelerated economic growth, ” according to the Cabinet.
The doubling of the Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamarhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhi-Muzaffarpur Sections will boost the connectivity to Nepal, northeast India and border areas, while facilitating the movement of passenger trains, along with goods trains, resulting in the socio-economic growth of the region. The multi-tracking project would enhance connectivity to two aspirational districts (Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur), serving 388 villages and about 9 lakh population.
“These are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as agriculture products, fertilizer, coal, iron ore, steel, cement, etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 31 MTPA (million tonnes per annum), ” said the CCEA.
The Errupalem-Amaravati-Namburu rail line project traverses through NTR Vijayawada and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh and Khammam district of Telangana. The new line project will provide connectivity to 168 villages and nearly 12 lakh people with nine new stations. “The new line proposal will provide direct connectivity to Amaravati, the proposed Capital of Andhra Pradesh and improve mobility for industries and the population, providing enhanced efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways, ” the Cabinet said.
A CCTV image showing a Pheran-clad individual, believed to be involved in the recent Gagangir terror attack, has surfaced, but authorities are still determining the accuracy of the footage, reports said..
The attack, which occurred on October 20 in Jammu and Kashmir, resulted in the deaths of seven people, including six non-local laborers and a doctor.
The video captures the suspect entering a prefabricated hut at the construction site of the Gagangir tunnel.
However, security officials are working to verify the image’s authenticity. The footage displays a date stamp of “January 27,” which investigators believe may be due to a technical malfunction in the camera settings. The assailant is seen carrying an AK rifle, which has a distinctive blue marking on the muzzle, a feature previously reported in attacks against security forces in the Pir Panjal region, approximately 200 kilometers from the attack site.
Despite the clarity of the footage, survivors of the incident reported that the attackers had their faces covered, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the identity of the individual in the image.
New Delhi : The national capital’s air quality remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday as per the latest available data.
The air quality index (AQI) was 336 at 7.30 a.m., according to Central Pollution Control Board data (CPCB).
Various monitoring stations across the national capital recorded the air quality in the ‘very poor’ category — between 301 and 400.
These locations include ITO, Mandir Marg, Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Vivek Vihar, Anand Vihar, Burari Crossing, Wazirpur, Pusa, Nehru Nagar, Jahangirpuri, R K Puram, Loni and Sirifort.
During the day, the air quality might drop to the ‘severe’ category at places where the AQI is near 400.
An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe, ‘ as per the CPCB.
On Wednesday, a layer of smog enveloped the Delhi-NCR as the air quality index (AQI) continued to be ‘very poor’. The AQI was recorded at 349, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
The pollution levels remain grim despite the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoking stage two of the anti-pollution plan GRAP.
On Tuesday also, the 24-hour AQI was 327 (very poor) at 4 p.m. in the national capital, up from 310 (very poor) a day earlier, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) daily official bulletin.
A higher value of AQI means an increase in air pollution.
The national capital has been under heavy air pollution for the past few days, forcing the authorities on Tuesday to impose Grap Stage 2 or the Graded Response Action Plan.
Under the second stage of the Graded Response Action Plan, the use of coal and firewood — including in hotels, restaurants, and open eateries — and diesel generator sets (except for emergency and essential services) are banned.
GRAP is a set of measures to fight air pollution in Delhi and nearby areas, based on how bad the situation is.
The national capital witnesses increasing pollution levels, particularly as winter approaches and the annual smog season sets in.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav has said that the candidates of the INDIA bloc are set to contest all nine Assembly seats in the upcoming bypolls in the state on his party’s election symbol, ‘cycle’.
He claimed that the opposition bloc’s pursuit of victory, not any seat-sharing calculations, guided its decision.
“Congress and the Samajwadi Party are united and stand shoulder to shoulder for a big victory. The INDIA bloc is going to write a new chapter of victory in this by-election, ” Yadav said in a post on X.
“With this unprecedented cooperation and support, every worker of ‘INDIA bloc’ on all nine Assembly seats is filled with new energy with the resolve to win, ” he added.
“It is not about seats but about winning. Under this strategy, the joint candidates of the INDIA bloc will contest all the nine seats on the Samajwadi Party’s election symbol ‘cycle’.”
“Congress and Samajwadi Party are united and standing shoulder to shoulder for a big victory. INDIA bloc is going to write a new chapter of victory in the Uttar Pradesh by-election, the SP President wrote on X.
“Samajwadi Party’s strength has increased manifold with the support of Congress party’s top leadership and booth level workers. With this unprecedented cooperation and support, every worker of the INDIA bloc in all the 9 Assembly seats has been filled with new energy with the resolve to win.”
“This is an election to save the country’s constitution, harmony and the honour of the PDA. That is why our appeal to everyone is: not even a single vote should be reduced, not even a single vote should be divided, ” Yadav further wrote on X.
This unity and solidarity of the INDIA bloc filled with harmony in the interest of the country will write new history today and tomorrow as well, he added.
Speaking about the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister asserted that the upcoming election will be fought for the protection of the country’s Constitution, peace, and the honour of “Pichchde (backwards), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (Minorities)”.
Bypolls in Uttar Pradesh will be held on November 13 on nine seats: Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Kundarki (Moradabad).
Eight of these seats in the state fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha, while a bypoll was held on the Sisamau seat following the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.
The Election Commission has announced a by-election on nine seats, leaving out Milkipur (Ayodhya). The last date for filing nominations is October 25. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.
The SP has already declared its candidates from Karhal, Sisamau, Phulpur, Milkipur, Katehari, Majahawan, and Meerapur.
Wayanad: Navya Haridas, the BJP candidate from Wayanad, on Thursday, expressed confidence in winning the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll, asserting that the people of the constituency are “not ready to accept” Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as their representative.
Navya Haridas (39), BJP parliamentary party leader and a two-time councillor in Kozhikode Corporation, also serves as the state General Secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha.
Speaking to media, she emphasised that this election holds significant importance for both her and the BJP.
“I am fighting to win this very important election. The BJP is giving considerable attention to this contest, ” Haridas said.
“This is my first time contesting for the Lok Sabha. Before this, I participated in the corporation elections and legislative Assembly elections. I feel fortunate to have been given such an opportunity, ” she added.
Slamming Congress for promoting dynastic politics, the BJP candidate said, “Priyanka Gandhi filed her nomination yesterday, accompanied by her family — her mother, brother, husband, and son. This clearly shows family domination.”
“The Nehru family is trying to capture a seat in Wayanad, but the people here are not ready to accept this, ” she added.
Notably, Priyanka Gandhi’s nomination affidavit reveals liabilities totalling Rs 15.75 lakh, connected to a reassessment proceeding initiated by the Income Tax Department for the year 2012-13. This case is still pending with the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).
Reacting to this, Haridas said, “This is why the AICC revolves around one family. The Nehru family wants every member of Parliament to avoid internal conflicts within Congress. They are trying to retain every seat in the Lok Sabha by ensuring a family member is the candidate.”
She also referred to the allegations against Priyanka Gandhi’s husband, Robert Vadra.
“There are numerous allegations against Robert Vadra. I don’t believe everything has been disclosed in her nomination form, ” she claimed.
Further criticising the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Haridas said, “He was absent during the floods. He only visited Wayanad four days after the disaster. The people of Wayanad felt abandoned without a proper representative.”
Haridas highlighted that warnings from the disaster management team to evacuate landslide-prone areas were ignored, and no action was taken by any representatives.
“Rahul Gandhi, as the MP for the last five years, never raised these issues in Parliament in favour of the people of Wayanad, ” she added.
Haridas also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s decision to prioritise Rae Bareli over Wayanad in the upcoming elections.
“Wayanad has always leaned towards Congress, voting for the symbol rather than the candidate. This is why Rahul Gandhi chose Wayanad last time, believing he wouldn’t win any seats in North India. But this time, he is focused on retaining Rae Bareli, leaving the people of Wayanad behind.”
Commenting on the Congress alliance with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Haridas said, “This alliance won’t work. In the last Lok Sabha elections, we saw internal fights and splits wherever this alliance existed. It’s not a viable strategy.”
Haridas accused Congress of engaging in caste- and religion-based politics, following a “divide and rule” policy. In contrast, she said, the BJP is focused on “politics of development”.
“Wayanad requires significant development in health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure. Compared to other states and districts, Wayanad is lagging behind. There’s a clear communication gap between the representatives and the people, and their real needs have never been addressed in Parliament, ” Haridas said.
She also mentioned that for any progress to be made in Wayanad, a political change is necessary. “There must be BJP for development to happen in Wayanad, ” she added.
The bypoll in Wayanad will be held on November 13 and the counting of votes will be done on November 23.
