Tag: Ladakh News

Twin blasts leave nine injured in Jammu two days ahead of Rahul-led Yatra’s arrival

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Jammu: Just two days before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to reach Jammu, two back-to-back explosions rocked a busy locality on the outskirts of the city on Saturday, leaving nine people injured, officials said.
Police suspect that IEDs were used to carry out the twin explosions in an SUV parked in a repair shop and in a vehicle at a nearby junkyard at Transport Nagar area of Narwal.
The terror attack comes at a time when security agencies in the region are on high alert in the wake of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress and the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha strongly condemned the incident and directed agencies to take urgent steps to nab the culprits .
“A blast occurred in an old, parked Bolero (Sports Utility Vehicle) around 11 am resulting in injuries to five people who were standing nearby. They were evacuated to hospital and their condition is stable,” Additional Director General of Police, Mukesh Singh told reporters near the scene of the explosion.
He said the whole area was immediately cleared of the people but in the meantime another blast occurred 50 metres away, causing minor injuries to one more person who was also shifted to hospital.
“Further investigation is on,” the officer said.
However, a total of nine persons were brought with splinter injuries to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital following the blasts.

“We have received nine patients with one having abdominal injuries and two others fractured legs. The condition of all of them is stable,” a doctor at the hospital said.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra entered J-K’s Kathua district on Thursday evening via Punjab and is camping in Chadwal, about 70 km from here. After a day’s break on Saturday, the yatra, which commenced from Kanyakumari on September 7, is scheduled to resume from Hiranagar on Sunday and reach Jammu on January 23.
An official identified the injured as Suhail Iqbal, Vishav Partap, Vinod Kumar, Arjun Kumar, Amit Kumar, Rajesh Kumar and Aneesh all residents of Jammu – and Sushil Kumar of Doda.
Early this month, two cousins – aged four and 16 – were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Dangri village in Jammu’s Rajouri area, 14 hours after terrorists had shot dead four people there.
The terrorists, locals had claimed, had planted the IED on the day of the shooting and it was missed during the scanning by police and security officials who had cordoned off the area.
The officials on Saturday said the whole area was cordoned off by joint teams of police and CRPF immediately after the first explosion which was followed by another blast 15 minutes later.
A thorough sanitisation operation was carried out and forensic experts, bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs were also pressed into service to look for clues, they said.
Jaswinder Singh, an eyewitness, said the first blast occurred in a vehicle that was at a workshop for repair.
About 15 minutes later, another explosion took place in the area littered with damaged parts and garbage, said Singh, president of the Motor Spare Parts Association.
Raj Kumar said he was working on another vehicle when the blast ripped apart another parked vehicle.
“We initially thought that the petrol tank of some vehicle exploded but the blast was so powerful that it blew up the vehicle,” he said.
An official spokesman said senior police officials have briefed the Lt Governor.
“Such dastardly acts highlight the desperation and cowardice of those responsible. Take immediate and firm action. No efforts should be spared to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the Lt Governor said.
Sinha also announced assistance of Rs 50,000 to the injured. The Lt Governor said that the administration would ensure the best possible treatment and extend every help required by the families.
Congress MP and AICC incharge of Jammu and Kashmir Rajani Patil strongly condemned the twin blasts. The CPI and AAP alleged that the incident reflected the “failure” of the BJP’s policy in the Union Territory.
“Jammu blasts reveal once again the failure of BJP’s J-K Policy. Abrogation of Art.370 and demonetisation adventures misfired.Terrorism is on the increase,” CPI MP Binoy Viswam said on Twitter.
The BJP’s policy of “communal hatred has badly affected the country’s unity,” he alleged.
“The day the BJP government took over, the situation in J-K is getting from bad to worse. Terrorism is increasing with each passing day and is returning to 1990s,” chairman of Jammu and Kashmir AAP state coordination committee Harsh Dev Singh alleged.
“They were stating that not a bird was killed after the abrogation of Article 370 but the reality is that innocent men, women and children are getting killed. The BJP has to give answers not only to J-K but to the entire nation,” he told reporters.
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#Twin #blasts #leave #injured #Jammu #days #ahead #Rahulled #Yatras #arrival
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Amit Shah to attend BJP farmers’ convention in Patna next month

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Patna: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Patna to attend a farmers’ conclave organised by the Bihar BJP on February 22, the birth anniversary of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati who was an ascetic and a peasant leader, party leaders said here.
They also described Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as “anti-farmer”, referring to the violence on January 11 in Buxar where a peasants’ protest over compensation demand for acquired land for a thermal power project turned violent.
At a joint press conference, state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur said that Shah will attend the party’s farmers’ convention on February 22.
To a query, Jaiswal denied that Swami Sahajanand Saraswati’s birth anniversary was being celebrated as a strategy to consolidate the party’s upper caste support base.
“Swami Sahajanand Saraswati’s contributions have been acknowledged by historians around the world. Please do not view him through a narrow prism,” said Jaiswal.
The Swami, who was born in Uttar Pradesh in 1889, had set up an ashram at Bihta in Bihar where he got involved in peasant activism.
His social and political activities focused initially on Bihar, and gradually spread to the rest of India with the formation of the All India Kisan Sabha. He was an iconic figure for the influential Bhumihar community, largely seen as BJP supporters whom the RJD has of late been trying to win over.
“It is because of the lacklustre attitude of the state government, Saraswati is a less-known personality in Bihar. The state government must hand over the defunct Bihta Bazar Samiti and its land to the central government so that it can be developed into an advanced farmers’ facilitation centre to be named after Sahajanand Saraswati,” said Thakur.

On the Buxar incident, he claimed that beating up protesting farmers by security forces exposed the “inhuman, anti-farmer and anti-poor” face of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“Farmers were protesting for compensation for their land acquired for establishing a thermal power plant at Chausa. Several farmers suffered severe injuries following police lathi charge,” Thakur said.
When the CM recently visited Buxar during his Samadhan Yatra, he did not bother to meet the affected farmers, the BJP leader said.
Amid speculations that senior JD (U) leader and former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha may join the BJP, Jaiswal said, “All those leaders inclined towards the politics of development and nationalism are welcome to join our party. Besides, all those who fought against the jungle-raj in Bihar are welcome”.
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#Amit #Shah #attend #BJP #farmers #convention #Patna #month
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Telangana legislative assembly to begin on Feb 3

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Hyderabad: The secretary of state legislature V Narasimha Charyulu said on Saturday that the second state legislative assembly would start at 12 pm on February 3.
In a statement released this will be the fourth meeting of the eighth sessions conducted in the Telangana Legislative Assembly.
The Legislative council session is scheduled to begin at the same time on the same day.
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#Telangana #legislative #assembly #Feb
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Rajasthan govt fulfilling dream of 26/11 victim to have home of her own: Rahul

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New Delhi: The Congress government in Rajasthan is fulfilling the dream of a woman, who was injured in the 26/11 terror attack and then became a witness, to have a house of her own, Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday.
In a tweet, the former Congress chief said that at the age of nine, Devika Rotavan was injured in the 26/11 terror attack and then became a witness for ensuring justice for the country.
Recently, she also participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
“Honouring her patriotism, the government of Rajasthan is fulfilling his dream of having her own home. Proud of you, Devika!” he said.
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#Rajasthan #govt #fulfilling #dream #victim #home #Rahul
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Azam Khan sworn in as caretaker CM of Pak’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Peshawar: Former bureaucrat Muhammad Azam Khan was sworn in as the caretaker chief minister of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at a ceremony held here on Saturday.
Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali administered oath to Khan, whose name for the role was finalised after talks between outgoing chief minister Mahmood Khan and leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Governor House in Peshawar and was attended by civil and military officials. Earlier on Saturday, Ali formally appointed Khan as the caretaker chief minister of the province in the interim set-up.
Khan has previously served as the finance minister of the province. He was also the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 1990 to July 1993.
Khan’s name was announced at a joint press conference by outgoing chief minister Khan and Durrani.
“We decided on Azam Khan’s name after consultation with our leader,” Khan said.
“We agreed on Azam Khan as our consensus candidate. We have chosen a person who is acceptable to all,” Durrani was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune newspaper.
He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former defence minister Pervez Khattak played an important role in reaching the consensus.

Talking to reporters after the appointment, Khan vowed to extend “complete cooperation” to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding “free and fair elections” in the province.
He said that efforts would be made to further strengthen the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and control inflation in the province, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly stood dissolved on Wednesday after the governor signed and approved the chief minister’s summary on the orders of PTI chief and ex-premier of Pakistan Imran Khan for the dissolution of the provincial legislature.
The government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday sent a summary to the governor for the approval of the dissolution of the provincial assembly before midnight, a move aimed at forcing the federal government to announce snap polls.
“In pursuance of provisions of Article 112(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan, I do hereby forward my advice for dissolution of the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 17th January 2023,” outgoing chief minister Khan said in a statement.
The KP Assembly was dissolved almost months before the expiry of its mandated period. The current assembly was to expire on August 13 this year.
On January 14, the Punjab Assembly was dissolved despite the Punjab governor’s refusal to sign the summary for the provincial assembly’s dissolution.
Former premier Khan in a bid to force the government to hold early general elections ordered the dissolution of provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Political pundits believe that the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in no mood to succumb to pressure from Khan whatsoever for holding general elections in the country before the expiry of the scheduled time in August this year.
The federal government will straight away go for holding elections in two provinces – Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – after the dissolution of the assemblies.
Federal Information Minister Maryum Aurangzeb has clearly stated that general elections as per the constitution of the country will be held in October this year.
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#Azam #Khan #sworn #caretaker #Paks #Khyber #Pakhtunkhwa
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Telangana: TSRTC drivers stage protest in Karimnagar district

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Hyderabad: Several drivers of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation ( TSRTC) held a flash strike at Karimnagar bus stand on Saturday alleging indifference on part of officials towards their issues.
Drivers working in Karimnagar depot-I and II staged a flash strike in front of Depot-I and continued through the day. The sudden protest triggered problems for regular commuters. About 70 hired buses are off the roads on account of the strike.
The drivers alleged they were being discriminated and harassed by RTC officials. All of them refused to withdraw the protest till they got a clear assurance from RTC authorities on increase of salaries and other demands, they said they would stage protests in all 11 depots of Karimnagar region, if they failed to get an assurance from officials.
CITU has extended its support to the agitating drivers.
TSRTC officials held a dialogue with the drivers and asked them to call of their strike assuring to look into their issues.
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#Telangana #TSRTC #drivers #stage #protest #Karimnagar #district

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Telangana unit Cong in-charge stresses need for unity in view of polls

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Hyderabad: Aiming to end the infighting and forge unity in the Congress party in Telangana ahead of this year’s Assembly elections, the new in-charge for the party in the state Manikrao Thakare made it clear on Saturday that he neither is in anyone’s favour nor against someone.
He asked the party’s state unit leaders to work with unity and if they are any issues bring them to his notice. He advised them not to speak on the internal issues before the media as this would damage the party’s interests.
Addressing the extended executive meeting of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) in Hyderabad, the in-charge told the leaders that his duty is to act as per the orders of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
He asked the party leaders to make the ‘Hath Se Hath Jodo’ programme in the state a huge success like Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.
Thakare directed the party leaders and cadres to work with unity to take the programme to every village and every street. He told the participants in the meeting that Rahul Gandhi undertook the nation-wide yatra in a bone-chilling cold and it is ‘our responsibility to take the message of the yatra’ to every house.
The AICC in-charge said TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy will undertake yatra in at least 50 Assembly constituencies in the state and asked senior leaders to cover another 20-30 constituencies.
Thakare said everyone in the party should work hard to make the yatra successful in view of the coming Assembly elections. “If all of us work together, the Congress party will definitely win the election and come to power,” he said.
Revanth Reddy said Hath Se Hath Jodo Yatra in Telangana will begin on February 6 and will continue for two months. He said a resolution was passed during the meeting, appealing to the central leadership to arrange a day’s visit to Telangana by Priyanka Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi.

He said the yatra would be formally launched from Bhadrachalam on January 26.
The meeting was attended by Revanth Reddy, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former PCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy, three AICC incharge secretaries and other leaders.
Manikrao Thakare also had meetings with the Campaign Committee, Election Management Committee and AICC Program Implementation Committee Chairman regarding expansion of these committees and their work.
The AICC on January 4 appointed Thakare as the new in-charge amid infighting in the party’s state unit.
Thakare, a senior leader from Maharashtra replaced Manickam Tagore, who was shifted to Goa following complaints by a section of senior leaders he had been supporting Revanth Reddy and taking unilateral decisions.
A section of senior leaders had last month slammed Revanth Reddy for packing the party panels with his loyalists.
They had also announced to save Congress in Telangana movement, terming it a fight between what they called real Congress and the leaders who came from other parties. This was an open attack on Revanth Reddy and others who quit Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to join Congress a few years ago.
A day after senior leaders raised the banner of revolt, 13 loyalists of Revanth Reddy had announced resignations from party posts.
The crisis had forced the high command to send senior leader Digvijay Singh to Hyderabad. He individually met the leaders from both the groups and based on the feedback received submitted a report to the high command.
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#Telangana #unit #Cong #incharge #stresses #unity #view #polls
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann launches ‘Schools of Eminence’ project

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Mohali: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Saturday launched his government’s ambitious project Schools of Eminence, saying it is a “revolutionary” step in ensuring a golden future for the students and also a giant leap towards becoming a real frontrunner in education.
A budget of Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for the Schools of Eminence project.
The project aims at reimagining education in government schools envisioning holistic development of students and preparing them to be responsible citizens. Its five pillars are state-of-the-art infrastructure, academics, human resource management, sports and co-curricular activities and community engagement, a senior official said.
Under the Schools of Eminence project, 117 government schools in 23 districts will be upgraded with a special emphasis on classes 9 to 12.
The official said besides career-related counselling, Innovative teaching practices will be followed and guidance for professional exams will also be provided to students.
Mann said these schools are being set up to cherish the aspirations of the freedom fighters which will groom students for futuristic needs and help Punjab emerge as a role model in the education sector.
The day is not far when these government schools will provide a better education than the private schools, he said.
“Such schools have already revolutionised the education sector in Delhi. Now it is the turn of Punjab where this model will be implemented successfully,” Mann said.

Describing teachers as nation builders, the chief minister said they have to play a pivotal role in bringing qualitative change in the education sector.
About his government’s decision to send 36 teachers to Singapore for training, he said it will help them learn the advanced practices prevailing around the globe.
He alleged the previous governments ignored the education sector and that several students were forced to leave their education in between.
“Those leaders wanted to give a push to their political career while compromising with the future of the students from weaker and underprivileged sections of society. Due to regressive policies of these leaders, the state lagged in fields of health and education thereby jeopardising the progress of youth,” Mann alleged.
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#Punjab #Bhagwant #Mann #launches #Schools #Eminence #project
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Rishi Sunak scores as UK vote winner over Boris Johnson in new survey

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London: British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak is seen as more trustworthy, more economically competent and more likely to win votes than his former boss, Boris Johnson, in a new survey of voting intentions that was released on Saturday.
The Savanta ComRes survey for The Independent’ newspaper found that Johnson’s perceived popularity as the Conservative Party leader who won a big mandate in the 2019 general election does not necessarily translate among British voters ahead of the next polls expected in 2024.
The survey finds that 63 percent are opposed to Johnson, 58, trying to lead the country again with only 24 percent in favour of the idea.
At the same time, around 41 percent of voters believe Sunak, 42, can “improve” the reputation of the Tory party, with only 19 percent saying the same of Johnson.
“The former Prime Minister’s backers believe he has electoral magic’ but the results show that Mr Sunak is deemed more trustworthy, more economically competent and more likely to win their vote,” the survey findings in the newspaper reveal.
“Mr Johnson’s allies are keen for the former PM to return from the wilderness, replace Rishi Sunak and lead the Tory party into the general election expected in 2024. But 63 percent are opposed to Mr Johnson trying to lead the country again with only 24 percent in favour of the idea,” it notes.
A clear majority of voters (58 per cent) believe Johnson should have to resign his Uxbridge and Ruislip seat as a Tory MP in London if he is found to have lied over Partygate at the parliamentary inquiry, set to begin by next month.
Although both Johnson and Sunak were fined in the scandal for attending a birthday party at No.10 Downing Street in violation of COVID curbs, around 39 percent of the British public blame the former prime minister for Partygate, while only 9 percent blame Sunak.

Only 14 percent of voters think Johnson can be trusted to tell the truth, while 39 percent believe the same of Indian-origin Sunak.
On the economy, only 19 percent trust Johnson to manage the nation’s finances versus 44 percent for the current Tory leader.
Chris Hopkins, director of Savanta, said the survey numbers showed that discussions by some Tories about bringing back Johnson “should come with serious health warnings”.
“Boris Johnson, and to some extent Liz Truss, are responsible for the Conservatives dire polling numbers,” he warned.
The Savanta ComRes survey comprised of 2,064 adults was carried out between January 13 and January 15 in the UK.
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#Rishi #Sunak #scores #vote #winner #Boris #Johnson #survey
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023
Centre open to views on new education policy: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

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Coimbatore: The National Education Policy (NEP) is not a document containing few pages but has lot of new features for the benefit of students, said Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan here on Saturday.
Though education is in the concurrent list of the States, the Centre expects Tamil Nadu to accept NEP, he said.
The Union government is open to ideas and new methods when it comes to NEP, Pradhan said while addressing the 34th convocation of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women in the city.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphatically said that all should learn mother tongue and the NEP will help to learn, read and write in mother tongue in foundational years, he said and added that the government has asked the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to publish books in all Indian languages from this academic year onwards.
The holistic development of the children will be better if they study in mother tongue and India’s education focuses on employability, empowerment and enlightenment, he said.
Stating that technology was new disrupter, the Union Minister said millions of people use mobile phones. “Internet and smart phones are basic requirements and we were dependent on foreign technologies like android or ios. However, IIT Madras has developed technology for the indigenous 5G a few days ago,” he pointed out.
Referring to COVID-19 vaccines, Pradhan said, “Indians have taken the vaccine, but no one in the world got certificate within a few seconds after taking it like our country. It is such type of technology we are developing in India.”
Highlighting about women empowerment, the Union Minister said, “Tamil Nadu is much more ahead of rest of the country and the State has highest number of working women in the country. India is the mother of democracy and Tamil Nadu the epicenter.”
During India’s G20 Presidency this year, “I expect discussion and deliberation takes place about it in the university,” he said.

Later, replying to a question on decreased budget allocation for NEP, the Union Minister said that it was a wrong information. “The government and Finance Ministry were extending full support to the new education policy and in the next budget more funds will be allocated,” he said.
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#Centre #open #views #education #policy #Union #Minister #Dharmendra #Pradhan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023