Directs for speedy, target-based execution of Works Plan at all major Shrines and sub-units
Srinagar, Apr 25 (GNS): In an effort to make the best use of upcoming working season and to gear up Engineering Wing for execution of a large number of major and minor works across the Shrines and Sub Units of J&K UT, Chairperson J&K Waqf Board, Dr Darakhshan Andrabi, Tuesday chaired a review meeting of Engineering Wing of the Waqf Board.
Dr. Andrabi on the occasion issued strict instructions regarding expeditious and time bound execution of all major and minor civil works.
Chairperson Waqf expressed strong disappointment over neglect of all major shrines over the years by erstwhile Waqf authorities and issued directions for immediate course correction and speedy execution of works to improve facilities for devotees at all Shrines.
Dr. Andrabi also reviewed the progress achieved so far & was apprised by the Engineering Wing about limitations in achieving targets because of the winter season & high altitude location of some major shrines.
Major focus of discussion remained the execution of works at shrines with large footfall of devotees, like, Aasar-e-Shareef Hazratbal Srinagar, Makhdoom Sahib (R.A) Shrine, Dastageer Sahib (R.A) Khanyar, Ziyarat Baba Reshi (R.A), Aishmuqam Shrine, Charar-i-Sharif Shrine and several other shrines where people offer significant donations for execution of works & improvement of facilities.
Pertinently, Waqf, under the leadership of Dr Andrabi has adopted the policy of making expenditures at shrines strictly as per income of the shrines and has stopped the practice of diverting donations from one shrine to another. The meeting was attended by Tehsildar and Executive Engineer Waqf Board, all Junior Engineers and Supervisors of Waqf.(GNS)
Unlike in Republican presidential primaries past, just two candidates — Pence, the former Catholic turned evangelical, and Scott, who speaks of finding a “God Solution” to the country’s racial divide — stand alone in making explicit appeals to Evangelical voters. Trump and DeSantis, meanwhile, are relying solely on their reputations as brute-force brawlers in the culture wars.
Their success — and the difficulties Pence and Scott are having courting voters, according to recent polls — reflects a major change in the evangelical bloc of the GOP electorate in the Trump era. When five GOP presidential candidates take the stage at Iowa’s Faith & Freedom Coalition in Clive on Saturday, vowing to take on the woke left will likely mean more than reciting the Apostles’ Creed.
“Evangelicals have changed and have become more populist and more renegade and wanting to fight more and engage in Christian culture,” said David Brody, the chief political analyst for Christian Broadcasting Network, who wrote the “The Faith of Donald J. Trump.” “Trump has a following who wants to fight because they see culture going to hell in a handbasket, and that’s what’s winning the day in politics. And that’s why he is winning with them.”
Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a historian at evangelical Calvin University in Michigan and the author of “Jesus and John Wayne,” referenced DeSantis’ “God Made a Fighter” ad as an example of the shifting evangelical soil.
“That’s what evangelicals are looking for now — any personal testimony is kind of a bonus, but not necessary,” Du Mez said. “What matters to evangelicals is they are looking for the best candidate to further their agenda.”
In previous presidential campaigns, GOP candidates like George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson made explicit appeals to values voters. They regaled them with their personal testimonies and, in the case of Cruz, worked stages in the style of a megachurch pastor.
Though evangelicals were initially skeptical of Trump, he slowly gained their trust. His running mate in 2016, Pence, gave them permission to look past his crude remarks and reputation for philandering, among other concerns, and embrace Trump as an unlikely but effective champion of their top moral causes.
With Trump’s election as someone only glancingly familiar with the faith, evangelicals no longer rely on kicking a candidate’s theological tires.
“Evangelicals support Trump because of his policies. He doesn’t pretend to be pious, which is refreshing. He doesn’t pretend to be something he is not, but he has been the most pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-Israel president in history,” said Robert Jeffress, pastor at the First Baptist Church in Dallas and an evangelical ally of Trump who is in regular contact with the ex-president.
Trump has the critical Republican voting bloc of white evangelical Christians — about 14 percent of the voting population — to thank for propelling him to the White House in 2016. In 2020, eight of 10 evangelical voters cast a ballot for Trump.
And the church-going crowd is largely still standing with him, polling shows. A Monmouth University survey last month — in a four-way matchup between Trump, DeSantis, Pence and former U.N. Ambassador NikkiHaley — found Trump with 47 percent support among self-described evangelicals, compared to DeSantis with 35 percent. Pence and Haley registered in the single digits.
But Trump’s relationship with evangelical voters has largely been transactional. He promised to stack the Supreme Court with conservative judges who would topple Roe v. Wade and protect religious liberties — and it happened. After the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights, Trump lashed out at Christian leaders who weren’t automatically lining up for him in 2024.
“There’s great disloyalty in the world of politics, and that’s a sign of disloyalty because nobody … has ever done more for ‘right to life’ than Donald Trump,” he told the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Despite the occasional tensions between some evangelical leaders and Trump, Jeffress predicted that evangelical voters will coalesce around the former president again in 2024.
“I don’t see anyone who has announced so far who has a chance of capturing the vote of evangelicals other than Trump,” he said.
“No Republican can win the primary without self-identified evangelicals,” said Michael Wear, the former evangelical outreach adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign and founder, CEO and president of the Center for Christianity & Public Life. “What Trump showed is that there are ways to get self-identified evangelicals that do not include directly Christian appeals, particularly the kind of the kind of extensive offering of one’s personal testimony that was so important to George W. Bush’s rise.”
Following Saturday’s forum, Pence will head south to Atlanta, where he’ll speak at The Church of The Apostles. He’s expected to release his second book later this year, which will center on his faith journey. For two decades as an elected official, he kept a copy of the Bible and Constitution on his desk and held prayer meetings while in the White House.
“Evangelical leaders appreciate him and his sincerity,” Du Mez said of Pence, “And at the same time, they would prefer him not to be in charge of the country.”
Scott regularly talks about his personal Bible studies — including in a video featured Wednesday on the Christian Broadcasting Network, a tribute to the late Rev. Charles Stanley, a giant of the Southern Baptist Convention. Scott advisers told POLITICO his strategy involves making a direct appeal to evangelical voters in Iowa.
Besides DeSantis, Haley is another notable name sitting out this weekend’s faith forum in Iowa. Rather than convening ministers and church groups, the former governor has instead organized meetings in Iowa with farmers and women’s groups, a sign that Haley is counting less on the evangelical vote.
Despite not making as overt an appeal to evangelicals, DeSantis and Haley are still being embraced by parts of the Christian right. Each has been tapped to give speeches at two of the country’s top evangelical colleges — DeSantis last week at a Liberty University convocation, and Haley early next month at Regent University’s convocation.
Bob Vander Plaats, Huckabee’s former 2008 campaign chair and president and CEO of The Family Leader, an influential conservative Christian organization in Iowa, said some of his constituents support DeSantis, who grew up in a Catholic family and writes in his memoir that it was “nonnegotiable that I would have my rear end in church every Sunday morning.”
“He’s very much your constitutional conservative who is a man of deep faith, but that’s not what he’s going to reference as he’s applying it to leadership,” Vander Plaats said. “He’s going to go back to basic conservative principles and constitutional foundations versus inserting a lot of Scripture.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
New Delhi: Wing Commander Deepika Misra on Thursday became the first woman officer in the Indian Air Force to be presented a gallantry award.
According to an IAF spokesperson, Misra, a helicopter pilot hailing from Rajasthan, was conferred a Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) for an act of “exceptional courage” displayed during a flood relief operation in Madhya Pradesh.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari presented the Yudh Seva Medal and other awards to several officers and air warriors at an Investiture Ceremony held at the Air Force Auditorium in Subroto Park here.
While two IAF officers were awarded Yudh Seva Medal, 13 officers and air warriors received Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry), 13 officers Vayu Sena Medal and 30 got Vishisht Seva Medal, the spokesperson said.
A total of 58 people — 57 from the IAF and one from the Army — received the awards, he said.
Talking about Wing Commander Misra, he said she is the first woman officer of the Indian Air Force to get a gallantry award in the history of the IAF.
For devotion to service, women from the IAF have received awards in the past, but this is the first time that a gallantry award has been conferred on a woman officer of the IAF, he added.
According to information shared by the IAF, Misra was “detailed to undertake humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in response to flash floods” in northern Madhya Pradesh in August 2021.
The rescue operation that included low hover pick-ups and winching lasted for an exhaustive eight days and she saved lives of 47 people, including women and children.
Her efforts of bravery and courage not only saved precious lives in a natural calamity but also instilled a sense of safety amongst the common populace in the flood-affected area, officials added.
Personnel from IAF’s Garud unit, who had taken part in a rescue operation after the at Trikut Hills ropeway accident in Jharkhand’s Deoghar, considered one of the toughest rescue operations, were also among the awardees, as also those personnel who had taken part in anti-insurgency operations in Kashmir valley.
Among the 30 who got Vishisht Seva Medal, 29 are from the IAF and one from the Army, officials said.
Brig G Muthukumar from the Corps of Engineers received a Vishisht Seva Medal for his services for the IAF.
“I was earlier working the chief engineer for a couple of years, with the IAF at its South Western Air Command. I am glad the Army gave me opportunity to work with the Air Force, and IAF recognised my services. I feel very proud,” he told PTI.
Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar was also presented with a Vishisht Seva Medal for his services to the force.
The IAF officer has led the contingent for more than 15 years and has participated in Republic Day celebrations on Rajpath (now Kartavya Path) for the past 27 years.
This year the IAF band contingent was also led by Warrant Officer Kumar.
“I am feeling humbled and proud to receive this award. I must thank my family, especially my wife for supporting my journey with the IAF,” the officer told PTI.
Family member and spouses of various awardees were also present on the occasion.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea moved by the Popular Front of India’s (PFI) student wing leader, K.A. Rauf Sherif, seeking a transfer of a money-laundering case lodged against him from Lucknow to Kerala’s Ernakulam.
A bench of Justices V. Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal said: “We find no legally valid and justifiable grounds to order this transfer. Therefore, this transfer petition is dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, stands disposed of accordingly.”
The bench noted that the fact that the petitioner was sent to custody by the special judge at Ernakulam under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and that, therefore, the filing of the complaint at Lucknow is impermissible, is not legally well-founded.
The petitioner was arrested on December 12, 2020, in Kerala and he was produced before the magistrate on December 13, 2020, who sent him to judicial custody till December 24, 2020. “Therefore, the NIA moved an application under Section 167 of the Code before the Principal Sessions Judge, Ernakulam for the grant of Enforcement Directorate custody for a period of 14 days. An order under Section 167(2) of the Code had to be passed necessarily by the magistrate to whom an accused person is forwarded. In fact, Section 167(2) contains the words whether he has or has not jurisdiction to try the case. Therefore, the argument revolving around Section 167(2) of the Code also fails,” said the bench.
It stressed that a special court in Lucknow dealing with cases lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot be said to be lacking in territorial jurisdiction to entertain the complaint. “In any case, the lack of jurisdiction of a court to entertain a complaint can be no ground to order its transfer. A congenital defect of lack of jurisdiction, assuming that it exists, inures to the benefit of the accused and hence it need not be cured at the instance of the accused to his detriment. Therefore, the first ground on which transfer is sought, is liable to be rejected,” it said.
The bench noted that the second ground on which transfer is sought is that 7 out of 10 accused persons are residents of Kerala. “But this can hardly be a ground for ordering the transfer of investigation. Similarly, the third ground that a majority of witnesses are also from Kerala/south India is also no ground to order the transfer of the complaint,” it held.
The ED had contended that Sherif had received huge amounts of money in his bank accounts through suspicious transactions.
The Lucknow court had framed charges against Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan and six others in the PMLA case in December 2022. In October 2020, Kappan was arrested with three others on their way to Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras to report on the alleged gang rape and killing of a 19-year-old woman.
Besides Kappan, the other accused in the case is Sherif and others. Sherif claimed that he was the General Secretary of Campus Front of India, which is now banned as an unlawful association, vide notification issued by the Union of India, Ministry of Home Affairs dated September 27, 2021 under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
Hyderabad: A cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) awareness programme was organised by the Telangana branch of the Indian Red Cross Society in collaboration with the Press Club of Hyderabad on Monday.
Live demonstration on the dos and don’ts while performing CPR was carried out at the program that saw attendees including the chairman of the Indian Red Cross Society, Telangana, Ajay Misra, head of the Emergency Medicine Department at NIMS, Dr Ashima Sharma.
The chief guest for the event was Ajay Misra, chairman of the Indian Red Cross Society-Telangana. The keynote address was delivered by Dr Ashima Sharma, head of the Emergency Medicine Department at NIMS, Hyderabad.
Ajay Misra while speaking as the chief guest of the event said, “Today, every 60 seconds, about 112 cardiac arrests take place, out of which 80 percent of them take place outside hospital settings where immediate medical help is not available.”
“Less than 2 percent of the people are aware about the concept of CPR, out of this number also, a small percentage of them can give effective CPR treatment to the patient,” he added.
The Telangana chapter of the Indian Red Cross Society in the coming months will be organising at least one CPR programme in every district of Telangana.
Dr Ashima Sharma, while delivering her keynote address said, “Training people is important because we need a large number of first responders so that the golden hour of survival can be utilised before medical help reaches the patient.”
“The first job is to dial 108 and ask for an ambulance and then perform CPR after identifying if the person is conscious or not as the procedure only works if the person is unconscious, do not bother and waste time checking the pulse, that is the doctor’s job,” she added.
Hyderabad: Ahead of festivals such as Holi, Shab-E-Barat, Ramzan, Sri Rama Navami, and Hanuman Jayanthi, city commissioner CV Anand instructed the city police to ‘bind over’ communal and rowdy elements. “Instate new peace committees with more youngsters on board,” he said.
The Commissioner held a long high-level review meeting with all addl DCP and above-rank officers to discuss a range of important matters related to public safety and security & other administrative issues.
The review was done on all the crimes pending for want of arrests, investigation, fsl reports, charge sheets, and DCPs were asked to specifically focus on them.
There was discussion on the reorganisation of Hyderabad City Police and the new accommodation which is required, the several CCTV projects,the working status of the cameras, and targets set for each SHO and DCP to install new cameras.
A new wing called D-CAMO (Drones & Cameras Maintenance Organisation) is now instated to deal with all CCTV camera & Drone repairs, projects, and execution which will be headed by an Addl.DCP/ACP rank officer which is further structured into 4 sub-wings. An independent third-party audit will be carried out across the city to identify the grey spots lacking CCTV coverage & to check the working condition of the existing cameras, a press note informed.
“ Let us sensitize the public on the significance of CCTVs in crime prevention & detection,” Anand said.
CP Anand expressed satisfaction with the overwhelming response to the online amusement license system, which received over 1183 applications in the past few weeks. Taking a cue from this, the IT cell was tasked to bring in more police services like the issue of Arms licenses online for the convenience of the public.
He also instructed his deputies to initiate more programs towards health and wellness through the FitCop program, and to support the homes of the fallen heroes of the force, the need for CPR education in light of the death of a young and fit constable recently.
Furthermore, the meeting delved into detail about the performance of patrols and blue colts, the effective functioning of the night round system, progress of 2023 action plans. All the DCPs were directed to closely monitor the station functioning and were told to adhere to protocols in lock-up custodies. HCSC activities, E-office implementation, and other issues were discussed during the meeting.
Vikram Singh Mann IPS Addl.CP L &O, G.sudheer Babu IPS Addl.CP Traffic, AR.Srinivas IPS Addl.CP crimes, B.Parimala Hana Nutan IPS Jt.CP Admin, MSrinivasulu IPS Jt.CP CAR hqtr Hyd and other DCPs attended the meeting.
Chennai: The AIADMK on Wednesday alleged that the Election Commission is acting like DMK’s poll wing and that the police and all other departments are under the control of the DMK.
AIADMK MP CVe Shanmugham alleged that the DMK had erected temporary sheds at all the booth areas in East Erode — where Assembly bypoll will be held on February 27 — and voters are confined in these sheds all through the day. He also claimed that food is being served to the voters along distribution of cash.
AIADMK leaders are being prevented from meeting the voters, he claimed.
Shanmugham also demanded that the Chief Electoral Officer and the District Election officer should intervene and get the people released.
Shanmugham, who was the Law Minister in the previous AIADMK government, said that party leaders and functionaries are being intercepted by the police under the guise of vehicle checks.
He claimed the police are doing this deliberately to prevent the crowd from gathering at the public rallies of AIADMK interim General Secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
Jaipur: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Dattatreya Hosabale on Wednesday said the organisation works in the interest of the nation without any political inclination. “We are neither right wing nor left wing. We are nationalist. The Sangh is only going to work in the interest of the nation,” Hosabale said.
He was speaking on the topic ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’ organised by the Ekatm Manavdarshan Anusandhan Evam Vikas Pratishthan at the Birla Auditorium her.
He said all the people living in India are Hindus because their forefathers were Hindus. “Their methods of worship may be different, but they all have the same DNA.” He said India can lead the world by becoming a ‘Vishwa Guru’ only with collective efforts of all.
He said the Sangh considers all religions and sects of India as one. “People can do organisation’s work while retaining their sect. The Sangh is not rigid. It is flexible,” he added.
He also spoke on the Constitution, and said even a good Constitution cannot do anything if those in charge of implementing are bad.
Hosabale said the RSS played a role in the establishment of democracy in the country which finds mention in the write-ups of foreign journalists. Former chief minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje, former BJP state president Mahesh Chandra Sharma, Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria were also present in the programme.
Kolkata: Despite the CPI-M being reduced to zero in terms of presence in the West Bengal Assembly, its youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has witnessed an increased inflow of new members in the state in the recent past, its state chief said on Tuesday.
“Between 2019 and 2022, the number of active members of DYFI in West Bengal has increased by over three lakh. As of December 31, 2022, the total number of members of the youth wing stands at 30,03,720. During the last one year only, the number increased by 1.17 lakh,” DYFI state President Minakshi Mukherjee told media persons.
She also said that the maximum increase in membership has been witnessed in Kolkata and Malda district. According to her, the number of subscribers of the DYFI’s organ in Bengali, ‘Yuvashakti’ has more than doubled from 7,000 to 18,000 during the last one year.
According to her, the youths are spontaneously approaching the youth wing these days expressing eagerness to its members. “This is because the DYFI is leading the movement against corruption on the streets. We are increasingly winning the confidence of the youths,” she said.
Mukherjee also said that the members of the DYFI will be within and outside the polling booths during the forthcoming elections for the three-tier panchayat system in the state to resist attempts to unleash violence.
“We will try our best that the people are able to cast their votes without fear and intimidation,” she said.
She also said that before the rural civic body polls, the DYFI will set up panchayat-wise committees.
“I am confident that the contest in the forthcoming rural civic body polls will not be a bipolar one between Trinamool Congress and BJP as it happened in the last few elections. Our party will be a strong contender this time,” she added.
Thiruvananthapuram: DYFI, the youth wing of the ruling CPIM in Kerala, on Tuesday announced that the controversial BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” would be shown in the state.
The announcement, on its Facebook page, by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) comes in the wake of the Centre’s directions to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary.
The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of that state, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a “propaganda piece” that lacked objectivity and reflected a “colonial mindset”.
The directions on blocking access were understood to have been issued by Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021.
The central government’s move has received sharp criticism from opposition parties like the Congress and the TMC for imposing “censorship”.
At the same time a group of 302 former judges, ex-bureaucrats and veterans slammed the BBC documentary as a “motivated charge sheet against our leader, a fellow Indian and a patriot” and a reflection of “dyed-in-the-wool negativity and unrelenting prejudice”.
