LIVE! World is saying BJP is dangerous: Akhilesh

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Sat, 11 May 2019

World is saying BJP is dangerous: Akhilesh

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21:27 World is saying BJP is dangerous: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday said the world has now started saying the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is dangerous for democracy.

"Today the world has started saying that the BJP is dangerous for democracy. The world's biggest magazine has written that these are the very people who have divided society," Yadav said, referring to the cover story of the Time magazine.

"BJP people were talking about 'achhe din', which did not come. The very foundation of BJP is based on lies and hatred and the alliance will rock it," he said.

Addressing rally for Ram Bhuwal Nishad, the alliance candidate from the prestigious Gorakhpur seat, Akhilesh said the BJP, which ran the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, has been wiped out off Uttar Pradesh by the people in the five phases of polling so far.

"Polling in Gorakhpur is slated for the seventh phase. This is the phase of the alliance. I do not see BJP opening its account," he said.

The SP president said the prime minister is charging the previous governments with encouraging terrorism and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister is also talking about the same. He wanted to know how can the government tackle terrorism, if the ruling party is scared of a dismissed jawan.

"If they save the people from stray cattle that would be a big thing. Leave alone terrorism," he said, claiming in the past two-three months, 11 people had lost their lives in Lucknow in stray bull attacks.

"There have been similar incidents in other parts of the state as well. The chief minister is responsible for it. For this, case needs to be lodged against the government," he said.

Attacking Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth, Akhilesh said, "He is calling me 'goondon ka sartaj' (king of goons) but it seems that he has not seen the copy of cases against him and his Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. -- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reported punishing work schedule and dared him to debate on it, claiming the latter would lose face in fifteen minutes.

Speaking at a rally in Khargone Lok Sabha seat, Gandhi said Modi's "balloon" would burst when the results are declared on May 23.

"Let him (Modi) organise a debate at any place -- in Parliament or Gujarat. I can guarantee to the youths of the country that after 15 minutes of debate, he wont be able to show his face to them," said Gandhi, reacting to statements of BJP leaders that the prime minister works up to 21 hours a day.

"When the world sleeps, Modi is awake. In the night he sends money to (businessman) Anil Ambani."

Gandhi said Modi, despite "working so much", was unable to answer simple questions, including that of alleged irregularities in the purchase of the Rafale fighter jets.

"You (Modi) work so much, then debate with me. When I raised questions on Rafale, he was unable to reply. Even after thinking for 21 hours, he is unable to reply to the four questions (on Rafale)," Gandhi said.

"Modi's balloon will burst with a deafening sound on May 23," he said.

Gandhi, earlier in the day, also addressed a rally in Amjhera in Dhar Lok Sabha constituency.

While Govind Mujalde is the Congress candidate from Khargone, the party's contestant from Dhar is Dinesh Girwal. -- PTI

20:18 Why award-wapsi gang silent on Alwar rape: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the opposition over a gangrape in Rajasthan's Alwar district, saying the crime was suppressed by the Congress government there as the state was going to the polls.

"This is the truth of the Congress 'nyay' (justice)," he said, in an apparent jibe at the income support scheme Nyay promised by the opposition party if it comes to power.

"The story of the gangrape of a Dalit daughter which took place two weeks ago is now coming out gradually, Modi said at an election rally in Ghazipur .

"Instead of arresting those involved in this heinous crime, Rajasthan's Congress government and the police got busy in hiding it as they did not want it to come out before the polling was over," he said.

"They wanted to suppress the news, save the accused for the sake of the vote bank," the prime minister said.

The rape had provoked protests across Rajasthan after the victim's husband alleged that the police did not act quickly because of the elections.

He claimed the woman was raped on April 26 and the police informed on April 30, but the FIR was filed only May 7.

Rajasthan voted in the Lok Sabha polls in two phases on April 29 and May 6.

"This is the truth of Congress nyay'. The Congress cannot give 'nyay' to either to the `beti' or `beta'. In the name of 'nyay', the Congress has always done injustice with the country," Modi said.

"I want to ask the 'award wapsi gang' why they are silent now? Are they sleeping?" he asked.

Earlier in the day, Bahujan Samaj Party supreme Mayawati made a similar charge against the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan.

She claimed the state government did not let the matter come to anyone's notice by "terrorising" the victim's family, till the polls were over in the state. -- PTI

Two of the SpiceJet's Boeing passenger planes- one from Mumbai and other from Bengaluru-suffered mid-air technical glitches, forcing their pilots to terminate journeys with one flight landing back in Mumbai and second diverted to Nagpur Saturday.

SpiceJet flight SG-611, which departed from Mumbai's Chhatrapapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for Chennai around 7.30 am, returned to the city airport due to a mid-air technical glitch after being airborne for about 16

minutes, a source said.

A SpiceJet spokesperson confirmed the return of its Chennai flight to Mumbai due to a "technical" issue.

"The aircraft has already departed back for its destination around 10 am after the the engineers rectified the glitch," the spokesperson said.

In a similar incident, the airline's New Delhi-bound flight SG 8720 from Bengaluru was diverted to Nagpur after the pilot reported some issue to the ATC and sought a diversion.

"SpiceJet flight SG 8720 operating on Bangalore-Delhi route was diverted to Nagpur due to a technical issue. Passengers were served refreshments at Nagpur. An alternative aircraft was sent to Nagpur and the passengers have now

boarded the flight to Delhi," the airline said in a statement.

The spokesperson, however, did not share the number of passengers on board the two Boeing 737 planes. -- PTI

The central deputation tenure of senior bureaucrat Gopal Krishan Gupta, who had sought complementary passes for IPL matches from Delhi cricket association, has been curtailed and he has been sent back to his cadre -- railway ministry.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved premature repatriation of Gupta with immediate effect, an order issued by the personnel ministry said without mentioning any reason.

Gupta, a 1987 batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), is posted as the Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

He had in March sought complementary passes of an IPL match from Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rajat Sharma's office, according to an official communique.

After not getting the desired response from the DDCA, Gupta wrote a letter to Sharma on April 3, giving the sequence of events.

Gupta mentioned telephonic discussion between Sharma's executive assistant Sapna Soni and his personal staff.

"I do not know whether this episode and the sequence of events as narrated above has been brought to your notice and whether your executive assistant had informed you about my call and my request for arrangement of passes," Gupta said in a letter to Sharma.

"May I request that your office staff may show courtesy in such matters and give timely feedback even if the response is not affirmative. I think, we must have mutual respect for the positions being held by us," his letter reads.

It is learnt that the ACC's decision on curtailing Gupta's tenure is taken after the copy of this letter was shared on a public platform. -- PTI

19:49 Actor-singer Arun Bakshi joins BJP

Actor and singer Arun Bakshi joined the BJP in New Delhi on Saturday in the presence of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh.

Bakshi has acted and sung in several films and tele-serials, including 'Mahabharat'.

He said he has always supported the BJP's ideology and expressed his admiration for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has been serving the nation diligently with hard work and honesty.

Bakshi said there was no one like Modi and the country had seen such a leader after Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1990s.

Singh said many actors and artistes in general have been voicing their support for the BJP. -- PTI

19:16 Terrorists storm 5-star hotel in Pak's Gwadar

Some armed terrorists on Saturday stormed a five-star hotel in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar in the restive Balochistan province, police said.

Firing was underway at the Peal Continental Hotel after three to four armed militants barged into the facility, Dawn news quoted Gwadar Station House Officer Aslam Bangulzai as saying.

There was no immediate reports casualties.

"At around 4:50 pm (local time) we got reports that there are three to four armed men in PC Hotel," the officer said. -- PTI

Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was like that new bride who puts on a pretence, rather than actually working, in her marital household.

The jibe comes a day after the Election Commission issued notice to Sidhu, a minister in the Congress government in Punjab, for making a derogatory statement about PM Modi and in the process violating the model code of conduct.

"Modi is like a new bride who prepares less rotis but clangs her bangles more to show the neighbourhood that she is neck deep in work. I'm asking the PM the umpteenth time to list one achievement of his in his five-year tenure," Sidhu

said in Indore.

Showing the latest edition of US news magazine 'Time', which has Modi on the cover with the caption 'Divider in Chief', Sidhu said the PM was not just that but also "liar in chief' and "Ambani and Adani's manager in chief".

He said Modi's campaign was harping on nationalism as it had nothing to show by way of governance.

He also attacked Modi for his statement during a poll rally in Punjab that a "historic mistake" on the part of the then Congress government ensured that Kartarpur Sahib, the final resting place of Sikh religion founder Guru Nanak, was

included in Pakistan rather than India.

"What does this statement have to do with the country's development, GST and the troubles of poor and farmers?" Sidhu asked.

Sidhu, however, did not comment on Congress leader Sam Pitroda's 'hua to hua' (whatever happened happened) statement on the 1984 Sikh riots.

The Election Commission had on Friday issued a fresh show cause notice Sidhu.

The poll panel had received a complaint from the BJP that Sidhu, during a rally in Madhya Pradesh on April 29, had reportedly accused the prime minister of "making money in the Rafale jet deal" as also "allowing" the rich to escape the

country after "robbing" nationalised banks. -- PTI

18:28 Cyclone Fani: Death toll mounts to 43

The death toll in Odisha due to Cyclone Fani mounted to 43 on Saturday, even as people staged a road blockade and assaulted a state official in protest against water shortage and power cuts in the coastal belt ravaged by the severe storm a week ago.

According to an official, two fresh deaths have been reported in Cuttack and Khurda districts of the state.

While the state government claimed to have restored power and drinking water supplies in urban pockets of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts, people Saturday blocked roads connecting Paradip and Cuttack, and the national highway linking Bhubaneswar with Puri, alleging lack of basic amenities.

Similar agitations were seen in parts of the state capital where power continued to remain elusive for the eighth consecutive day.

In the pilgrim town of Puri, worst hit in the storm, locals were leaving homes and shifting elsewhere temporarily, even as the state government claimed that it was undertaking relief work on war footing.

"We left Puri and moved to Koraput (500 km away) as there is no certainty on restoration of power and water supply. Bhubaneswar, too, has been severely hit by power and drinking water crisis.

"Add to that, hotel and guest house owners are charging more than the usual rate in view of the rush," Rathindra Mishra, a native of Mausima Lane in Puri, said.

A report from Jajpur district said angry people in Binjharpur tehsil area beat up a revenue department official for not getting relief as announced by the state government.

Jajpur District Collector R K Das said "stringent action" will be taken against those found guilty of assaulting the official.

In almost all electricity offices in the coastal districts, police personnel have been deployed to tackle people attempting to attack officials, according to senior officer in the state government.

Meanwhile, Special Relief Commissioner B P Sethi in a letter to the district collector of Khurda sought immediate distribution of relief material and cash to affected people.

Sethi said he has received letters alleging that relief packages were being denied to eligible beneficiaries.

The "extremely-severe" cyclone, one of the "rarest of rare", unleashed copious rain and windstorms that gusted up to 240 kmph on May 3, blowing away thatched houses and swamping towns and villages in Odisha. -- PTI

17:57 I belong to caste of the poor: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday came down heavily on the opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh for raising questions on his caste, asserting that he belongs to the caste of all poor countrymen.

Addressing an election rally in UP's Sonebhadra, Modi continued to attack the Congress over its leader Sam Pitroda's "hua to hua" (It happened, so what?) remark on the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.

National security also figured prominently. Modi accused a previous coalition government of weakening the intelligence agencies and recalled that the Pokhran nuclear tests took place on this day 21 years back.

"They have destroyed Uttar Pradesh and now the SP and the BJP have come together to save themselves from destruction," he said, calling their alliance "mahamilawati" or adulterated.

"They have started a new thing about my caste," he said, in an apparent reference to Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati's jibe that he is a "farzi backward" -- a "fake" OBC leader.

"I want to tell them that Modi belongs to just one caste - whatever caste the poor belong to, I belong to that caste," he said, listing the schemes that his government has launched for them.

He claimed that the country's intelligence agencies suffered when a third front government, which included the Samajwadi Party, was in power at the Centre.

"Our intelligence agencies were weakened by an earlier 'mahamilawati' government, but the (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee government set that right," he said.

"Many people connected with our security and intelligence agencies have written a lot about this. They have written how they had made the intelligence network hollow and the country had to bear its consequences for long," he said. -- PTI

At least 16 people, including six women, were injured Saturday when a private bus hit a stationary truck on Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Jammu district, police said.

The bus was on its way to Jammu from Udhampur when the accident took place at Jajjar Kotli after the bus driver lost control and rammed into the truck, they said.

The 16 injured, including six women, were taken to a government hospital for treatment, the police said.

Two passengers were stated to be in serious condition, the police added. -- PTI

The Congress on Saturday accused the Aam Aadmi Party of propagating "false" survey results through phone calls to voters during the 48-hour election silence period.

The Congress's Delhi unit has filed a complaint with the Election Commission alleging recorded phone calls are "being used to spread misinformation in an attempt to influence the electorate". The complaint was filed by Romila Dhawan, the election agent of the party's northeast Delhi candidate and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

The complaint does not name the Aam Aadmi Party but at a press conference Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that these were tactics adopted by the AAP since it knew it was losing in the polls as the battle is between the Congress and the BJP.

Khera claimed the AAP was using a call centre to make such calls to voters.

"These calls have gone to voters in seven parliamentary constituencies and started at 5.10 pm. Initially, when the call is received a recorded message is played asking voters which party will they vote for. After one-and-a-half-hours they again receive a call telling them the AAP is getting 40 per cent or 52 per cent votes," Khera told reporters.

He said the party has complained to the EC as well as Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi in the matter.

"This has never happened. When you know after 5 pm (when the campaigning ends) that you are nowhere in the contest, you resort to such tactics. We demand criminal action in the matter. These are serious allegations," he said.

He said this "kind of politics" has not been seen before and everybody knows their reality.

According to the complaint, members of the public have been receiving phone calls from various numbers, which when picked up, play an automated message purporting to be the result of a survey in which the person receiving the call has participated. -- PTI

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath Saturday tore into the SP-BSP alliance by likening SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to Aurangzeb, who had imprisoned his father emperor Shahjahan. He said the "'mahamilawatis' are behaving like snakes, frogs and scorpions who come together during floods. In a tweet in Hindi, the chief minister said, "The one who dethroned his father, like Aurangzeb, joined hands with the sworn enemy. After May 23, they will again abuse each other. These 'mahamilavati' people are behaving today like scorpions, frogs and snakes which come together during floods." Adityanath, who addressed an election meeting in Ballia on Saturday, said in another tweet, "When I and (Narendra) Modiji put lock on the shops of 'Bua' (Mayawati) and 'Babua' (Akhilesh), they opened another counter to sell 'mahamilavati' goods and cheat the people. "This counter will also be closed by the people on May 23 and they will again abuse each other. So do not waste your votes. Think, understand and get involved in the setting up a new and strong India." Adityanath had earlier called Akhilesh 'goondon ka sartaj' (king of goons) and has often accused him of taking development works and extending basic facilities on caste and communal lines. -- PTI

Shabana Azmi on Saturday slammed "fake news brigade" for attributing a false quote to her, which claimed the actor would leave the country "if Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister again."

The actor, who is often been trolled for holding anti-majoritarian views and questioning the establishment, took to Twitter and called the news "pure fabrication."

"I've never said this and I have no intentions of leaving the country. This is where I was born and this is where I'll die. I have nothing but contempt for The Fake News Brigade," Azmi said.

In a series of tweets, the veteran actor wrote that the "fake news brigade is pretty pathetic" and since they can't talk about issues, they repeatedly sell lies so that people believe them as truth.

"Their overdrive exposes their fear at losing out...But they are falling flat on their faces because there are enough brave voices exposing them."

Azmi, 68, said her father Kaifi Azmi taught her to never treat her opponents like enemies.

"Maturity lies in discrediting the argument with logic not discrediting the opponent by falsehood and innuendo. How I wish sane debate would prevail rather than the muck thats thrown on a daily basis." -- PTI

A fire broke out on Saturday in Bhubaneswar-bound Rajdhani Express between Balasore and Soro railway stations of Odisha, official sources said.

The fire broke out between 12.50 pm to 1 pm and severely damaged the power car in the rear of the train, but did not spread to any other coach, an official said.

All passengers of the train are safe, he said.

The official said the smoke was first detected in the power car of the 22812 down Rajdhani Express from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar. This is the only power car which supplies power to the train.

The incident occurred at Khantapada in Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railways, said an official of the East Coast Railway, adding that three fire tenders reached the spot and doused the blaze.

The power car was disconnected from the rest of the train and the overhead electric wires were switched off for safety reasons.

The train left Khantapada for Bhubaneswar at 2.59 pm with all the passenger coaches and one generator car, the official added. -- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hatred in their hearts for his family, but he would continue to hug the PM as hate could only be defeated by love.

He also said the ongoing election was a fight between two ideologies- that of the Congress, and of the BJP and the RSS on the other.

Gandhi was addressing an election rally in Shujalpur for Congress candidate and folk singer, Prahlad Tipaniya, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Dewas seat.

"The BJP, the RSS and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have hatred for my family and our job is to remove it. He (Modi) speaks with hatred and anger about my father, my grandmother and my great grandfather, but I go and give them a 'jhappi' (hug). You are a prime minister and you must remove hatred and work with love," Gandhi said.

"They should know that hatred can only conquered by love," he added.

Referring to Congress' poll promise 'NYAY' scheme, he said it would revive the country's economy as it will increase people's purchasing power.

He also said the Congress will provide 22 lakh government jobs after coming to power at the Centre.

Gandhi said the agriculture loans of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, including the kin of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, have been waived by the Congress government in the state.

The loan waiver was promised by Gandhi before the MP Assembly elections last year and it is widely believed to have played a key role in the party's victory in the state after a gap of 15 years. -- PTI

Veteran acting coach Roshan Taneja passed away Friday night after prolonged illness.

He was 87.

According to family sources, Taneja passed away at his residence in his sleep, "peacefully."

He was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Taneja's cremation will be held Saturday, 4.30 PM in Santacruz.

Taneja was the former head of acting department in the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Pune. He later started his own 'Roshan Taneja School of Acting', here.

He trained actors like Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rakesh Bedi among others.

Azmi took to Twitter to pay homage to her teacher.

"Late last night came the sad news that @RoshanTaneja passed away.He was my Guru at FTII and the only person whose feet I touched. I was privileged to be trained in Acting by him. Deepest condolences to Didi and the family. RIP Taneja Sir," she wrote.

Bedi also remembered Taneja and said he owed his career to the acting guru.

A very sad day for me. My guru Shri Roshan Taneja expired yesterday. I owe my career to him. RIP," he wrote alongside a picture of him with Taneja. -- PTI

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday dismissed as "absolutely incorrect" reports of differences between Attorney General K K Venugopal and the government with regard to the sexual harassment case against the Chief Justice.

Venugopal had written to all the Supreme Court judges to set up a committee of three retired judges of the apex court to look into allegations of sexual harassment made against CJI Ranjan Gogoi by a dismissed woman employee of the court.

The matter, however, was scrutinised by a panel of three sitting judges of the Supreme Court.

"The motivated news item of differences between the Attorney General and the government is absolutely incorrect. As one of the senior most members of the Bar, he (Venugopal) certainly has his views on some issues. The Government respects him for the objectivity of his advice," Jaitley said in a tweet.

Venugopal said he had written the letter on April 22, before the three-member in-house committee headed by Justice S A Bobde was set up to hold an inquiry into the allegations.

The three-judge panel has given CJI Gogoi a clean chit in the matter.

Clarifying on a news report, Venugopal Friday said: "I admit that I had written a letter before the appointment of an in-house inquiry committee seeking appointment of three retired judges of the Supreme Court."

The law officer also said he wrote a second letter clarifying his position that the earlier one was written in his personal capacity as a senior bar member having an experience of 65 years. -- PTI

Defence Research and Development Organisation chairman G Satheesh Reddy has said that most of the debris generated from the anti-satellite test conducted by India in March have decayed and rest of it will dissipate in a "short period of time".

He said this in response to a question after delivering a talk on 'Technology for National Security' on Friday at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a New Delhi-based think tank.

"As I had mentioned on April 6, the debris were to decay in a few weeks time. As per the information that we have already got, most of the debris have decayed. And, whatever, couple of pieces are there, they will be decaying in a short period of time," Reddy said.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation chief said the continuous information being received is monitored and "I don't think there are any issues".

"It is extremely difficult to predict as to how many days it would take...But, as I had said that day, that they would decay in a few weeks, and majority of them have decayed," he added.

On April 6 at a press conference at DRDO Bhawan here, Reddy had said India chose a much lower orbit of less than 300 km during 'Mission Shakti' for "capability demonstration" and to avoid threat of debris to global space assets.

His remark had come days after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) raised concerns about the spread of debris from India's anti-satellite test conducted on March 27.

India's ministry of external affairs, too, has said the test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris.

On another question on leakage of defence know how-related data, he said, "We haven't seen cases as such, but we are careful".

"There are no serious issues as such, but of late, because of the apprehensions of cyber attacks and cyber-related issues, we are sensitising people in the industry and also in our own laboratories on it," he said. -- PTI

Government jobs and financial compensation by the Trinamool Congress government has failed to heal the wounds of the kin of those who perished in the 2007 police firing during an anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram as the more than a dozen families are still waiting for the perpetrators to be brought to book.

Fourteen persons were killed in the firing on a demonstration against land acquisition on March 14, leading to a nationwide outrage and the Calcutta high court 'suo motu' ordering a CBI investigation.

The incident altered the state political landscape bringing an end to the 34-year-old Left regime and catapulting the firebrand Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee to power in West Bengal in 2011.

More than a decade later, the families are disenchanted with the TMC accusing it of giving promotions to the accused police officers and sheltering the guilty Communist Party of India-Marxist workers.

"The TMC government gave us jobs, compensation. Some of the family members even got government jobs. But compensation and jobs won't either bring back my father or peace of mind," said Rabin Mondal, a local who whose father Badal Mondal was killed in the police firing.

"What about justice, what about punishing the police officers and political leaders involved in the incident?" added Mondal, who has been visiting the martyrs memorial erected by the TMC government in the village every day, since the last ten years.

According to Bikas Das, cousin of Gobinda Das, who too was killed in the firing, none of the senior police officers were punished and some of the local CPI(M) leaders who were also behind the atrocities have either joined the ruling TMC or the main opposition BJP.

"It was promised that the accused police personnel would be brought to book, but nothing happened. The accused senior police personnel were not even touched rather they got promotions after TMC came to power," Das claimed.

"Senior CPI-M leaders are also roaming free. We don't know whether we will get justice or not?" he added.

Their views were corroborated by most of the family members of the 14 victims in the village.

"We have read reports that the CBI's efforts to name the guilty police officers in the charge sheet were initially thwarted by TMC government. Later on they gave in," said a relative of Rakhal Giri who was killed in the police firing. -- PTI

Continuing bitter criticism of the Congress party, BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday alleged that the party's government in Rajasthan attempted to suppress the case of gang-rape with a Dalit woman in Alwar till elections in the state.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also lashed out at the Election Commission stating that they are not taking appropriate action against politicians using derogatory language against women.

"The Election Commission is not taking appropriate and strict action against the big and small leaders of some political parties, who are using filthy, derogatory and abusive language against women," said Mayawati.

She added that the Supreme Court should take suo-moto cognizance of such matters and give strict punishment to leaders who cross the limit so as to set an example for the future.

Accusing the Rajasthan government the gang rape of Dalit girl for political gains, she said, "The Congress government suppressed the matter of gang rape for their politics. They didn't let it come to fore till elections were over and even threatened the victim's family. Our party had to struggle given the very little action the Congress government took in the case."

The BSP leader said her party believes the victim will not get justice under the Congress regime and demanded a Supreme Courtinquiry along with a death penalty for culprits.

"The Supreme Court should take a suo-moto cognizance and hear it in a fast track manner. All accused should be given death penalty and state government, police, and administration should also be held accountable for the delay and given strict punishment," she said.

A woman was allegedly gang-raped by five men while her husband was beaten up in Thanagaji area of Alwar district in Rajasthan on April 26.

A video was also shot by an alleged accused. -- ANI

Unted States aerospace major Boeing has handed over first of the 22 Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force, nearly three-and-half years after a multi-billion dollar deal for the choppers was sealed.

Senior IAF officials said the addition of AH-64E (I) Apache helicopter is a significant step towards modernisation of the force's chopper fleet. The helicopter has been customised to suit IAF's future requirements and would have significant capability in mountainous terrain, they said.

"The first AH-64E (I) - Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Mesa, Arizona, the US on May 10," IAF Spokesperson Group Captain Anupam Banerjee said.

The AH-64E Apache is a leading multi-role attack helicopter and is flown by the US Army.

The IAF had signed a multi-billion dollar contract with the US government and Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters. The first batch of these helicopters is scheduled to be shipped to India by Jul this year.

"Selected aircrew and ground crew have undergone training at the training facilities at US Army base Fort Rucker, Alabama. These personnel will lead the operationalisation of the Apache fleet in the IAF," the IAF said in a statement.

It said the helicopter has been customised to suit the IAF's future requirements and would have significant capability in mountainous terrain.

"The helicopter has the capability to carry out precision attacks at standoff ranges and operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground," the IAF said.

It said the ability of these helicopters, to transmit and receive the battlefield picture, to and from the weapon systems through data networking makes it a lethal acquisition.

"These attack helicopters will provide significant edge in any future joint operations in support of land forces," the IAF added.

Additionally, the Defence Ministry in 2017 approved the procurement of six Apache helicopters along with weapons systems from Boeing at a cost of Rs 4,168 crore for the Army. This will be its first fleet of attack choppers.

Fuselages for this Army order will be produced by Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, a joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems in Hyderabad. -- PTI

12:00 ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar passes away

Noted industry leader and ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar passed away Saturday morning after a brief illness, according to company sources.

Deveshwar, 72), who stepped down from executive role in 2017 but remained as a chairman in non-executive capacity, passed away this morning at a private hospital in Gurugram. -- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has told the Election Commission that he did not violate the poll code when he claimed that the Narendra Modi government had enacted a new law that allowed tribals to be shot at.

In his 11-page reply, Rahul Gandhi also told the Election Commission to be fair and non-discriminatory in dealing with complaints of poll code breach.

Rahul Gandhi's reply was in response to a show cause notice by the EC for the claim he made while addressing an election rally in Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh on April 23.

Rahul Gandhi told the poll panel that he had tried to summarise a proposed amendment to the Indian Forest Act in a simple language during his speech.

Rahul said his words, in Hindi, were used in a "free flow of a political speech" and there was no intention of "misleading, misrepresenting or stating false and non-existent facts".

He claimed there was no violation of the Model Code of Conduct by him during his speech and his criticism was confined to the policies and programmes and work of the Modi government.

The Congress chief said the complaint was lodged against him by the BJP only to distract him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections as he is the head of a political party and also its star campaigner.

Rahul Gandhi told the Election Commission that election is an "expression of popular will" and the "object of elections cannot be achieved" unless there is freedom of speech and the merits or demerits of a policy are exposed for people to judge.

Rahul Gandhi said the remarks made by him are part of present political rhetoric, confined to the BJP's "anti-tribal policies" and urged the commission to dismiss the complaint against him not initiate further action in the matter.

The Congress president also provided a set of documents pertaining to the issue in question as evidence along with his reply.

DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy has said that most of the debris generated from from the anti-satellite test conducted by India in March have decayed and rest of it will dissipate in a "short period of time".

He said this in response to a question after delivering a talk on 'Technology for National Security' on Friday at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a city-based think tank.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation chief said the continuous information being received is monitored and "I don't think there are any issues".

"It is extremely difficult to predict as to how many days it would take...But, as I had said that day, that they would decay in a few weeks, and majority of them have decayed," he added.

His remark had come days after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration raised concerns about the spread of debris from India's anti-satellite test conducted on March 27.

India's Ministry of External Affairs, too, has said the test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris.

-- PTI

President Ram Nath Kovind today tweeted to thank the country's scientific community on the 21st anniversary of the Pokhran-II nuclear bomb tests, which were conducted at the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district in May 1998.

A series of five nuclear explosions were conducted between May 11 and May 13, 1998, at the end of which the government led by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a full-fledged nuclear state.

"Greetings to our scientific community on National Technology Day, marking the anniversary of the Pokhran Tests of 1998. India is committed to using technology to accelerate the developmental process, and ensure a dignified existence for every citizen," President Kovind tweeted this morning.

May 11, the day of first of the five explosions during the Pokhran-II nuclear weapons testing, was officially declared as the National Technology Day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi credited the "patriotism and farsightedness of Atal Ji" for the success in the nuclear tests. "The patriotism and farsightedness of Atal Ji and his team have a major role to play in the success of tests of 1998. Atal Ji's unwavering faith in our scientists proved valuable during that crucial time. It also demonstrated the difference a strong political leadership makes," PM Modi said.

09:58 Mamata asks Oppn to meet after poll result

The oppositions mega meeting to strategise on government formation may not take place on May 21 as several regional leaders now wish to wait for the election results on May 23.

According to reports, PM hopeful and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reportedly told Andhra counterpart Chandrababu Naidu that the meeting can be held after the results and that current focus should be on keeping a close watch on EVMs and strongrooms.

Banerjee and Naidu held a closed-door discussion yesterday on future plans for the Mahagathbandhan. The meeting between Banerjee and Naidu took place for over 15 minutes, according to a well-placed source in the Trinamool Congress. On whether Banerjee will be attending the proposed meeting of the opposition parties, the TMC leader said that the date of the meeting was yet not decided.

While NCP chief Sharad Pawar, whose home is the preferred venue for the meeting, is learnt to have signalled his availability for the meeting, other leaders, including Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik, reportedly want to wait for the election results on May 23.

The Indian Air Force receives its first Apache Guardian attack helicopter at its production facility in Arizona, in the US.

India has signed a contract with the US, for 22 of these choppers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 11 million followers on Twitter. Amit Malviya, who heads the IT cell of the party, shared the news on the social media platform this morning.

The BJP is miles ahead of its political rival, the Congress, which has 5.14 million followers on Twitter.

With 47.2 million followers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the second most followed politician on Twitter. Former US President Barack Obama is the only politician that has him with over 106 million followers.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has 9.4 million followers on the social media platform.

09:07 'Pamphlet on Atishi won't influence our vote'

A day after the Aam Aadmi Party's East Delhi candidate, Atishi, broke into tears at a press conference called to condemn the circulation of a malicious pamphlet that slandered her, most residents of her constituency said that the pamphlet would not influence how they would vote.

"I am a woman and the pamphlet is very upsetting to me," said Anamika Gupta, a resident of Okhla. "Nobody will change their mind after reading the pamphlet. Elections are here so everyone will spread rumours. But this should not happen. My husband is telling me to vote for Modi but I will vote for Atishi."

Gupta said she did not receive the pamphlet personally but heard about it from her neighbours. Several other voters said they had not received the pamphlet but had heard about it on the news or from others.

A number of people spoke out against the pamphlet on social media, calling it a "misogynistic" and "toxic" attempt to defame Atishi ahead of May 12, when there will be polling for all of Delhi's seven Lok Sabha seats. Several people tweeted support, using the hashtag #IStandWithAtishi.

At the press conference on Thursday, AAP accused Atishi's rival, BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir, of generating and circulating the pamphlet.

Gambhir denied having any hand in it and alleged that AAP was behind the pamphlet to gain publicity.

Gambhir subsequently sent a defamation notice to Atishi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, accusing them of attempts to "illegally influence the minds of the voters and tarnish the pristine image" of Gambhir. He challenged them to prove that he was responsible for the pamphlet.

The Election Commission on Friday issued a fresh show cause notice to Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for prima facie violating the model code of conduct by making alleged disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He has been given a day to reply to the notice.

The poll panel had received a complaint from the BJP that Sidhu, during a rally in Madhya Pradesh on April 29, had made disparaging comments about PM Modi.

He had reportedly accused the prime minister of "making money in the Rafale jet deal" as also "allowing" the rich to escape the country after "robbing" nationalised banks.

The poll panel had in April censured Sidhu for allegedly warning the Muslim community that efforts were on to divide their votes in Bihar, and barred him from campaigning for 72 hours.

-- PTI

The Election Commission of India has declared "void", the polls held on May 6 at polling station no-116 in Barrackpur parliamentary constituency and polling station no-110 in Arambag parliamentary constituency of West Bengal.

Re-polling for these polling stations will be held on May 12 from 7 am to 6 pm, an order said.

"After taking all material circumstances into account, the Election Commission of India hereby declares under Sub-Sections (2) of Section 58 of clause (b) under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 that the poll taken on May 6, 2019, for the aforesaid election at following polling stations (polling station no-116 in Barrackpur and polling station no-110 in Arambag) to be void," EC said in its order to Chief Electoral Officer of the West Bengal.

The ECI directed the Officer to ensure that wide publicity is given in the polling areas. It also directed the official to inform political parties and contesting candidates about the fresh poll.

Prior to this, EC on May 09 had declared "void", the polls held at one polling station in Puducherry on April 18 and polls held at 168 polling stations in Tripura West parliamentary constituency on April 11 and ordered re-polling for all these polling stations to be held on May 12.

Seven seats of West Bengal went to polls in the fifth phase on May 6. The counting of votes will be held on May 23.

-- ANI

07:58 Days sans power, water, protests in Odisha

As power and water remained elusive in most cyclone-ravaged areas of coastal Odisha for the eighth day in a row despite the government's efforts to give restoration a push, protests broke out in several places to press for quick action.

Cyclone Fani battered the coastal districts on May 3 but only half of the over 4.5 lakh electricity consumers in Bhubaneswar have got power supply back at a time when the state is sizzled under intense heat wave.

Police said a large number of people staged a road blockade near Garage Chhak in the state capital demanding quick restoration of power supply which was severely hit due to uprooting of 1.56 lakh electric poles in the city alone.

Protesters also tried to attack an office of the Central Electricity Supply Utility, forcing the employees to lock themselves inside.

"We were scared as angry demonstrators threatened and tried to attack us. We have sought protection from the police," said N K Sahu, a CESU officer.

As similar incidents took place in some other places, police personnel have been deployed at the control room of the CESU and some of its major offices as a precautionary measure, an official said.

Chief Secretary A P Padhi, who held a video conference with Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha, said around 50 per cent of the consumers in Bhubaneswar are now getting electricity.

-- PTI

00:13 Lanka govt asks mosques to submit sermon tapes

The Sri Lankan government on Friday said the trustees of all the mosques in the country should not engage in or allow any gathering to promote or propagate hatred and also directed them to send the audio recordings of the sermons to authorities.

The government's move came after security forces recovered swords and other weapons from mosques during search operations following the April 21 bomb blasts in which over 250 people, including 44 foreigners 10 of whom were Indians, were killed and 500 others injured.

All trustees of Mosques should not engage in or permit any gathering to promote or propagate hatred or extremism in any form, doing so will result in the Board of Trustees being held fully responsible under may laws including the Penal Code, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Muslim Religious Affairs.

"In view of the prevailing situation in the country, the Trustees are directed hereby to send audio records all sermons of Jumma (Friday) or otherwise on their Masjids and to forward them to the ministry," said the statement signed by Muslim Religious Affairs Minister M H A Haleem.

Muslim theologists and civil society organisations have warned radicalisation of Muslims with support from mosques in some places, particularly in the island nation's eastern province.

Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21.

The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) for the bombings.

The victims included over 40 foreigners, 10 of whom were Indians. Mohamed Cassim Zahran, the mastermind of the blasts and NTJ leader, was running his own mosque in the eastern Kathankudi region, police said, adding that his extreme religious sermons had attracted followers.

Two weeks ago, Zahran's family members committed suicide by triggering a blast at a safe house in Sainthamuruthu area of Kathankudi following a gun-battle with the security forces.

Police on Friday recovered a stockpile of explosives, belonging to the suicide gang, hidden on the beach at Kathankudi. -- PTI

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