New Delhi, Feb 15 (ANI): Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur holding a press conference on Cabinet Decisions, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI Photo/PIB)
The Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur alleged on Friday that The New York Times was disseminating falsehoods about India, characterizing an opinion article published by the newspaper on press freedom in Kashmir as deceptive and imaginary.
“New York Times had long back dropped all pretensions of neutrality while publishing anything about India. NYT‘s so-called opinion piece on freedom of press in Kashmir is mischievous and fictitious, published with a sole motive to spread a propaganda about India and its democratic institutions and values,” Thakur posted on Twitter.
“This is in continuation with what NYT and a few other link-minded foreign media have been spreading lies about India and our democratically elected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Such lies can’t last long,” the minister added
Thakur’s was reacting to the publication of an op-ed in The New York Times, written by Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of The Kashmir Times, which spoke about restrictions on the free flow of information in Kashmir.
Bhasin argues that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s repressive media policies are destroying Kashmiri journalism, creating an information vacuum in a region of about 13 million people.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momenon has said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi would jointly open the maiden cross-border oil pipeline on March 18 for diesel transportation to Bangladesh.
“The good news is India will send us diesel… the (Oil) pipeline has been completed, ” he confirmed to media on Thursday night, adding that the two premiers will inaugurate the pipeline on March 18 through video conferencing.
According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) officials, India would export diesel through the 130-km India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL), built at a cost of around Rs 3.46 billion drawn from the Indian line of credit (LoC).
The pipeline stretches 125-km inside Bangladesh territory and 5-km inside India.
The two premiers attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the IBFPL in September 2018 through video conferencing.
Bangladesh so far used to import diesel from India through railway carriages.
Momen’s announcement came a week after he held talks with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting last week. Momen said that India gave “high respect” to Bangladesh delegation throughout the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting reflecting the “excellent” Dhaka-Delhi bilateral relations
The five-member dedicated OBC commission that was set up to look into the issue of reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs) in the Uttar Pradesh urban local bodies’ polls, has submitted its 350-page report to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The report has been submitted about three weeks ahead of the Supreme Court stipulated deadline of March 31.
According to a government spokesman, on the basis of this report, the OBC reservation for the civic polls would be done afresh in all the 75 districts of the state, paving the way for the much-delayed civic polls.
All the five members of the OBC commission met Yogi Adityanath at his official residence on Thursday evening to submit the report.
The panel is headed by Justice Ram Avtar Singh, a retired High Court judge. Its members include Chob Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar, both retired IAS officers, Santosh Kumar Vishwakarma, former additional legal advisor, and Brajesh Kumar Soni, former additional district judge.
Delhi : Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials have reached Tihar Jail to once again question former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam case.
According to the probe agency sources, they have permission to quiz Sisodia for three days.
Earlier, the ED had interrogated the AAP leader on the alleged kickbacks of Rs 100 crore which the party/leaders received through hawala channel from the South Group.
He was also asked about Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Pillai and K. Kavitha — daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Sisodia was arrested on February 26 by the CBI and later remanded in judicial custody by Rouse Avenue District Courts.
His bail plea is pending before the court which will be taken up on March 10.
Amritsar: President Draupadi Murmu paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple here today amidst thick security blanket .
This is her first visit in the Punjab” Amritsar after assuming the office as President of India.
After reaching Golden Temple, she was escorted to sanctum sanctorum in a human chain created by the Punjab police officials.
After paying obeisance, she sat in the VIP corridor of the Golden Temple where she listened to ‘KIRTAN’ with rapt attention for five minutes. She also took Karah Parshad (Holy Communion).
During her Golden Temple visit, State Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Member Parliament Amritsar Gurjeet Singh Aujla and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami were also accompanying her.
After paying obeisance she went to Langar Hall (community kitchen of the Golden Temple) where she took food passionately, thereafter she watched the food cooking process and utensil cleaning section.
Afterwards she went to the Information Centre of the Golden Temple where she was presented set of Sikh religious books, replica of Golden Temple, and set of woolen shawls. She was also given two memorandums by SGPC about the non-release of Sikh prisoners and controversial issues of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Committee where eminent Sikh shrines were snatched from the SGPC by the ad hoc Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
Before leaving the Information Centre, she wrote in the visitor book of the Golden Temple “I am happy to visit Sri Harmandar Sahib and pay obeisance at the holy temple. This holy place with beautiful architecture and divine serenity around it evokes feelings of calmness and harmony. I prayed for peace, progress and prosperity of the country. It was great to see the volunteers working tirelessly in the spirit of service and devotion especially during langar. May the teachings of Sikh Gurus continue to inspire us to practice brotherhood and unity”.
She also visited historic Jallianwalla Bagh where she paid floral tribute to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of nation. She wrote in the visitor book “Today, I visited the pious land and paid noble tribute to the martyrs. I humbly salute to all the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during unfortunate genocide of 1919. The whole nation would always remember the martyrs who scarified everything for the nation. This memorial will always remember to our coming generation about the importance of freedom for the nation and sacrifice of brave freedom fighters besides motivating the coming generation to make contribution for nation building”.
Later she also paid obeisance at the famous Durgiana Temple where she was honored with robe of honor by the management Committee of the Temple. On reaching Durgiana Temple she was received and welcome by the senior State BJP leader and president of the Management Committee Lakshmi Kanta Chawla. State chief minister Bhagwant Mann and MP Gurjeet Aujla were also accompanying her.
She concluded her day-long visit by paying obeisance at Bhagwan Vlamik Sthal at Ram Tirath.
Earlier on reaching Shri Guru Ramdas international Airport where she was received and welcomed by the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Governor Punjab
Nadia:West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addresses an administrative meeting at Ranaghat in Nadia District on Thursday November 10,2022.(Photo:IANS)
Trinamool Congress is all set to corner the Centre in the upcoming Parliament session on several issues, including investments by SBI and LIC in private entities besides the recent hike in the cooking gas price.
According to sources, the decision was taken at a closed-door meeting here on Wednesday evening. Chaired by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the meeting saw participation of party’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee and the party leaders in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha — Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien.
Although there was no official briefing on the proceedings of the meeting, one of the party Lok Sabha members said on condition of anonymity that the chief minister directed the party leaders in both houses to brief the respective MPs to debate on investments made by LIC and SBI in private entities.
“The second major issue that we have been asked to focus on during the three-day Parliament session that gets underway on March 13, is how the Union government arbitrarily resorted to hike in the price of the cooking gas immediately after the polls for the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, ” the Lok Sabha member added.
If time and situation permit, he added, the party MPs have also been asked to be vocal on other issues like denial of central dues to the state government and purported actions of the Union government that are contrary to the federal democratic system of the country. “The Women’s Reservation Bill is yet another issue that we have been asked to raise, ” the party MP said.
However, Chief Minister Banerjee has given strict instructions to the party MPs not to voluntarily raise the issue of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) taking Anubrata Mondol to New Delhi in connection to the cattle-smuggling scam.
Sources said that the party leadership has for the time being decided to take a low- key approach in the matter, at least in public domain.
Delhi : Leaders of Congress on Thursday while defending Rahul Gandhi’s lectures in the UK attacked the BJP, saying that the party was rattled.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “It is embarrassing to see the entire BJP machinery including senior ministers, media channels and unofficial spokespersons getting rattled by a series of lectures by @RahulGandhi. All the Indians living in the UK who have attended these events have been extremely positive.”
The BJP has continued its attack on Rahul Gandhi while Congress has defended his statement on every issue.
ShashiTharoor has too defended Rahul Gandhi’s statement on foreign policy, “What’s wrong w/what @rahulGandhi said? That foreign policy must serve national self-interest; our overriding priority is the domestic transformation the nation is undergoing, so our foreign policy should support that. That’s essentially one of my own arguments in “PaxIndica”, ” he said in a tweet.
Ravi Shankar Prasad slammied Rahul Gandhi during a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, had said, “What happens to you when you visit abroad? All dignity, all decency, democratic shame, you forget everything. Now, when the people of the country neither listen to you nor understand you, you go abroad and lament that India’s democracy is in danger.
Prasad further stated, “Rahul Gandhi is saying that speaking is not allowed in India but he kept on speaking a lot in Bharat JodoYatra, abusing the PM. He gave a long speech in the Parliament itself. Now what can be done in this that the people of India neither listen to him nor understand him.”
During his recent visit to London, Rahul Gandhi said at an event that the “US and Europe are not doing enough to restore democracy in India” as they are “getting trade and money” from the country.
India slammed Pakistan on Tuesday after its foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at a Security Council debate on women, peace and security.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj termed his statement as “baseless and politically motivated”. She said it was “unworthy” to even respond to such “malicious and false propaganda”.
“Rather, our focus is where it shall always be – positive and forward-looking. Today’s discussion is critically important to strengthen our collective efforts to accelerate the full implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. We respect the topic of the debate and recognise the importance of time. As such, our focus shall remain on the topic,” she said.
Earlier, Pakistan Foreign Minister Zardari referred to Jammu and Kashmir in his remarks to the Council debate held under Mozambique’s Presidency for this month, on the eve of International Women’s Day.
India has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan, while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.
The relations between two countries deteriorated after India in August 2019 announced the withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated of the erstwhile state into Union Territories.
Aligarh: In keeping with the practice adopted few years ago, a mosque in Aligarh has been covered with tarpaulin before the festival of Holi, in order to ensure it is not smeared with colour.
The police administration ensures this to maintain peace and order.
The Abdul Karim Masjid at Aligarh’s most sensitive crossroad the ‘Halwaiyan’ is covered with a tarpaulin at night so that hoodlums do not smear the mosque with colours during Holi.
This has been the practice since the past few years.
Haji Mohammad Iqbal, Mutawalli-Masjid Halwaiyan said, “On the instructions of the administration, we cover the mosque with tarpaulin so that no one can throw colour or dirt in the mosque.”
“Ever since the Yogi Adityanath government has come to power in Uttar Pradesh, the mosque is being covered during Holi, ” he added.
New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday will interrogate former deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in Tihar Jail as part of its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy case.
The ED has taken the necessary permissions from the authorities concerned and a team will be in the jail at 11 a.m.
There are possibilities that the ED might arrest Sisodia after the questioning.
The ED will question him in connection with the alleged kickbacks of Rs 100 crore which the AAP party/leaders allegedly received through hawala channels from a South Group.
Sisodia was arrested by the CBI and later remanded to judicial custody by Rouse Avenue District Courts. His bail plea is also pending before the court which will hear it on March 10. The ED has filed two charge sheets, a main and a supplementary charge sheet, in the case and has made 11 arrests so far.
