NEWS
DIGEST, EVENING
06 May 2019:
30 Shaban 1440:Vol: 11, No:194
INDIA
SC in-house committee finds 'no substance' in
allegations against CJI Gogoi
New Delhi:The Supreme Court’s in-house
committee has cleared CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment allegations raised
by a former employee, saying it found “no substance” in woman’s complaint.The
committee, comprising SX judges Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice Indu Malhotra and
Justice Indira Banerjee, said it submitted its report on Sunday. A copy was
sent to the next senior judge, after Justice Bobde, who is competent to receive
the report and also to the Chief Justice.Citing a Supreme Court judgment from
2003, the committee said that the report is not liable to be made
public.35-year-old woman who levelled the allegations against CJI deposed
before the committee twice before walking out, citing a lack of ‘sensitivity’
on the part of the panel. “I had hoped that the approach of committee towards
me would be sensitive and not one that would cause me further fear, anxiety and
trauma,” she said on May 1. On Sunday, Indian Express reported that Justice
D.Y. Chandrachud, wrote to the committee on May 2, urging it to not proceed with
the inquiry ex-parte as it could damage the court’s reputation.The paper also
reported that Justice Chandrachud met the committee in person. Though the SC
issued a statement denying that the judge met the committee, it did not
explicitly deny the claim that Justice Chandrachud wrote a letter to the three
judges.On the same day that Justice Chandrachud wrote the letter, CJI Ranjan
Gogoi deposed before the committee, which decided to proceed ex-parte.The SC today
agreed to hear a plea seeking direction to CBI to lodge an FIR into the alleged
conspiracy to “fix” CJI Gogoi in a “concocted, false sexual harassment” case
and said the matter would come up for hearing in “due course”.The matter was
mentioned for urgent listing before a bench comprising Justices S.A. Bobde and
S.A. Nazeer. Advocate M.L. Sharma, who filed the petition, urged the bench to
list his plea for hearing on May 8.The Wire
Sexual harassment case: Justice Chandrachud
met Justice Bobde, calls for full court
SC junks plea challenging J&K highway
curbs
The Supreme Court today disposed of plea
challenging restrictions imposed on civilian movement along the National
Highway between Srinagar and Baramulla after J&K government said the
restrictions are in place only till May 31. J&K government had partially
relaxed the twice-a-week ban on civilian traffic on April 20. It said the
traffic along Srinagar-Baramulla stretch will be restricted only on Sundays
while the two-day curb will remain in force on the stretch between Srinagar and
Udhampur. After facing criticism, the J&K government said that patients,
students, government employees and those in “emergencies” will be allowed to
use the national highway during the ban. Indianexpress
Rafale review petition hearing adjourned till
May 10, to be heard with contempt plea against Rahul
New Delhi:The Supreme Court is expected to
take up the Rafale contempt case on Monday a week after Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi offered to file a fresh affidavit for attributing his political slogan
“Chowkidar chor hai” to the top court. This would be Gandhi’s third affidavit
in the contempt case BJP lawmaker Meenakshi Lekhi has filed against him for
incorrectly attributing the slogan. Lekhi had asked the court to initiate
criminal contempt action against Gandhi for having twisted the top court’s
April 10 judgment to claim that the court declared PM guilty of corrupt
practices in purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft.The SC will also take up review
petitions of ex Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie and advocate
Prashant Bhushan in the Rafale case claiming the December 18 verdict in the
case contained errors and relied on the government’s incorrect claims in an
unsigned note given in a sealed cover.HT
A changed Rafale order of April 30 leaves the
CJI 'completely perplexed'
Poll code violations by Modi, Shah: SC adjourns
hearing to May 8
The Supreme Court today adjourned until May 8
the hearing on allegations of violation of Model Code of Conduct by PM Narendra
Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. The matter was adjourned after Senior
Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for the petitioner, told the court
he wanted to submit additional documents. The petitioner, Congress MP Sushmita
Dev, has listed 11 alleged violations by Modi and Shah, and sought direction to
the Election Commission to act on them. During the last hearing, the apex court
directed the EC to decide by today the complaints filed against the two BJP
leaders — the poll panel has so far given Modi four clean chits and cleared
Shah’s name in two cases.In court Monday, Singhvi, referring to reports of
dissent within the EC regarding the poll code violations, said the SC should
lay down guidelines to decide similar complaints in the future. Indianexpress
Ex-BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav moves SC
over nomination from Varanasi being rejected
Former BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav, who
was seeking to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi against PM
Narendra Modi, moved the Supreme Court Monday against his nomination papers
being rejected by RO. Yadav is contesting on a ticket from Opposition alliance
in UP , comprising of Samajwadi Party, BSP and RLD.Advocate Prashant Bhushan is
likely to represent Yadav. The matter will reportedly be mentioned before the
SC registrar for urgent listing. Varanasi votes in the last phase of elections
on May 19. The Election Commission has sought Yadav’s reply by
Wednesday.indianexpress
Swami Agnivesh appeals for ban on burqa. Then
calls it ‘odd and scary’
Bhopal:Taking his cue from Sri Lanka banning
face veils in the wake of Easter bombings, social activist Swami Agnivesh on
Sunday made unusual remarks about the burqa, calling it odd and scary.
Agnivesh, who was in Bhopal to support Congress candidate and former chief
minister Digvijaya Singh, said, “Both burqa and ghoonghat needed to be banned.
Muslim women should come forward to ban it not in India but across the world.
At least a reform should start after the Sri Lanka episode.”He added, “Burqa
mein koi koi esa lagta hai jaise koi aur jantu ho. Ajeeb sa lagta hai, dekhne
se dar lagta hai(Some women in Burqa look like another creature.It looks odd
and scary).”Agnivesh then narrated his field visit experiences from Rajasthan
and Haryana and explained how he urged the women there to give up on veil.“When
I go to Rajasthan and Haryana, I meet sarpanchs in the veil. I ask them to shun
the veil because they sit in the veil and their husbands use power,” said Agnivesh.
HT
‘No record to suggest Sri Lank bombers visited
J&K’: Police
Srinagar:J&K Police chief Dilbag Singh Sunday said there
was no record to suggest that any of the suicide bombers, who carried out the
Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, had visited Kashmir as claimed by the Army
chief of the island nation.Singh said they have not received any information
from the Island nation through diplomatic channel but the persons whose names
appeared on social media have not travelled to Kashmir. “There is no
information about them having visited here,” Singh said, adding immigration
records were revisited after the attacks and none of the bombers had visited
Kashmir.His comments have come a day after Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake,
Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, claimed “they (the suspects) have gone to
India, they’ve gone to Kashmir, they’ve travelled to Kerala state.” Singh said
the army chief of Sri Lanka should send evidence, through diplomatic channels,
and that he would look into it.PTI
Police arrest around 200 men, women from rave
party in Noida
Noida:As many as 161 men and 31 women were
arrested from a rave party being held illegally at a farmhouse in Noida, police
said. Accused were held late Saturday night from the venue in Sector 135 where
alcohol and other intoxicants were being served illegally, a senior police
officer said.SSP, Vaibhav Krishna said,
“key organisers have been identified as Amit Tyagi, Pankaj Sharma, Adnan Ahmed,
Balesh Kohli, all four from Delhi, and Kapil Singh Bhati, from Ghaziabad.” PTI
Police raids a resort near Mamallapuram,
arrests over 150 for rave party
Over 153 persons, including seven young women,
were arrested from a rave party held at a resort near Mamallapuram in Chennai today.
Accused were held from a private resort where alcohol and other intoxicants
were being served illegally, police source said.Most of those arrested are
college students and techies from the city,police said. They had assembled for
the party after registering online with the organiser.thehindu
8 security personnel, 4 civilians killed
during Ramzan truce last year; 23 ultras eliminated: MHA
Jammu:8 security men and 4 civilians were
killed in militancy-related incidents while 23 militants were gunned down
during a month-long halt in operations in Kashmir announced by Centre in the
month of Ramzan last year, Home Ministry has said. Centre had in May last year
directed security forces not to launch operations in J&K during Ramzan to
help Muslims observe the holy month in a “peaceful environment”.PTI
Hyderabad: 8, including 4 cops, hurt in
clashes over construction of tin shed at mosque
Hyderabad: 8 persons, an inspector, 3
constables, and 4 civilians, were injured when stone pelting broke out to
protest the construction of a tin shed at the place where an abandoned mosque
was demolished on May 1. Officials said Masjid-e-Ek-Khana land had been
acquired by the GHMC after paying compensation to those staying there
illegally. MIM MLA Pasha Quadri had accompanied community members and the
workers to check on the progress in the construction of the tin shed. The
makeshift arrangement was to make up for the absence of masjid.MLA Raja Singh
also arrived at the scene and was taken into police custody.While the
demolition of the masjid had created tension in the area on Thursday and
Friday, the situation escalated on Sunday when civilians noticed that a tin
shed was being constructed in its place.Meanwhile, according to a preliminary
report from GHMC, mosque managing trustee M.Maqbool connived with the town
planning officers of the corporation and received a compensation of `6 crore
for the mosque.Home minister Mahmood Ali said, “We are going to conduct an
inquiry to find out what actually led to the demolition.”Deccan Chronicle
Tension prevails at Amberpet after 2 groups
clash over Masjid land, BJP MLA Raja Singh arrested
Hyderabad Municipal Corporation paid Rs 2.5
crore ex gratia to masjid area encroachers: Waqf Board
Hyderabad: Telangana Waqf Board has raised
objection to the GHMC allegedly paying Rs 2.5 crore in compensation to those
encroaching land around Masjid-e-Ek Khana which was demolished recently as part
of road widening activities in Amberpet. Waqf Board chief executive officer
Shanawaz Qasim in a letter to the GHMC commissioner alleged the Greater
Hyderabad Municipal Corporation acquired Waqf property including the masjid
without issuing notice to the board. “Four structures have been affected by the
road widening project. Authorities took up the demolition of Masjid-e-Ek Khana
and mulgies without informing the Waqf Board. The compensation was paid to
encroachers,” said Shanawaz in the letter. The Waqf Board had written a letter
regarding the matter to the assistant city planner on 24 May, 2018. “Even after
this office filed a claim, compensation was paid to private individuals without
considering the Waqf record,” said Shanawaz. TOI
A mosque in Kerala gave shelter to NEET 2019
candidates parents
The management of a mosque near the town of
Aluva in Kerala is winning hearts for it’s empathetic and humane approach
during the conduct of NEET test on Sunday. The nationwide examination
determines the qualification of students for MBBS/ BDS courses in government
and private medical/ dental colleges.During NEET 2019 test, it’s common to
witness parents and guardians of students who write the exam waiting patiently
and often nervously around the exam centre in the hot sun for hours. Over the
years, there have been complaints that no proper arrangements are made by
organisers of the examination to even provide drinking water to them. But in
Sreemoolanagaram, located close to Aluva, management of Hira Juma Masjid are
showing the way on how it’s done.On Sunday morning, when parents of NEET
applicants jostled around Al-Ameen Public School, which was the test-centre,management
of the Masjid, located adjacently, came out in full force to help them out.If
some students didn’t have required documents like an additional photograph or a
photocopy, mosque would aid them in getting them done.indianexpress
Dalit youth thrashed for sitting on a chair,
eating at wedding, dies
Dehradun:A 21-year-old Dalit man was allegedly
beaten to death by upper-caste men for having his dinner while sitting on a
chair in front of them at a wedding in Shrikot area of Tehri Garhwal.The
incident happened on the night of April 26. The next day when the young man
fell ill, he was taken for treatment to a hospital, where he succumbed to his
injuries, police said. According to the police, deceased was identified as one
Jitendra Das, a resident of Baasan village in Tehri Garhwal. A case was already
registered on April 29 against 7 accused, also residents of the same area,
after his sister lodged a complaint against them.HT
Maharashtra: Couple set on fire for
inter-caste marriage, woman dead
Over opposition to their inter-caste love
marriage, a family in Ahmednagar allegedly set ablaze their daughter and her
husband in Ahmednagar last week in a case of honour killing. Rukmini Ransingh,19,
who sustained 70 per cent burn injuries, succumbed Sunday night. Her husband,
Mangesh Ransigh, 23, is being treated for 50 per cent burn injuries at Sasoon
General Hospital in Pune.The girl was from the Lohar community, while her
husband belongs to Pasi community. Rukmini’s two uncles Surendra Bhartiy and
Ghansham Saroj have been arrested by the Ahmednagar police. A search is on for
her father Rama Bhartiy who is absconding. The investigation is based on the
statements given by the couple while under treatment and other family members. According
to the police, the incident took place in Nighoj village of Parnar taluka on
May 1. Rukmini’s family, which had opposed their marriage last year, had been
threatening to harm the couple.indianexpress
Udupi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Hoode branch
donates house to poor Dalit family
Udupi:Hoode branch of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
built a good quality house and donated the same to a poor Dalit, Bhaskara, who
was living in a dilapidated house in Padukudru of Tonse village.In a simple
programme, that was held on Saturday, May 4, the key of the new house was
handed over to Bhaskara by Akbar Ali, member of state advisory committee of
Jamaat. Out of the total cost of Rs 5,92,000 for the house, Jamaat contributed
Rs 4,42,000 and an aid of Rs 1,50,000 was given by the government under its
housing scheme. Shyamaraj Birti, district convener of committee for Oppressed
Dalits said, "Jamaat has reached the lowest person in the society through
their noble deed. This is the real worship and not donating golden crown to God
in temples." daijiworld
Assam: Hindu family donates land to Muslim
burial ground in Lakhimpur
In an exemplary move towards inter-faith
amity, a Hindu family in North Lakhimpur of Assam donated a land for a Muslim
burial ground.The family members of late Karunakanta Bhuyan of Garehaga donated
a land measuring one bigha two katha and 19 lechas to Nahar Pukhuri Kabarstan
near North Lakhimpur railway station on Sunday.A meeting was organized by the
governing body of Nahar Pukhuri Kabarstan Committee where family members of
late Karunakanta Bhuyan were felicitated for that occasion.Chaired by retired
professor Dr Hamidur Rahman, the body felicitated Jayanta Kumar Dutta, Dibakar
Dutta, Anjan Kumar Bhuyan, Deba Pratim Dutta and Pranab Dutta.nenow.in
Mizoram:12 people,suspected to be Rohingya,
held
Aizwal:A total of 12 people, suspected to be
Rohingya Muslims from Bangladesh, were arrested in Mizoram for entering the
State without valid travel documents, a police officer said.8 women and 4 boys
from Bangladesh were taken from a house to Bawngkawn police station here on
Sunday, DIG of Police Lalbiakthanga
Khiangte said.It is suspected that they might be victims of human trafficking. Khiangte
said the arrested people had mobile phones without sim cards in their
possession. Investigation is on to find out their identities. 12 people were
found in the residence of a woman who claimed that her cousin who lived at
Tahan in Myanmar had asked for her a favour to keep the ‘guests’ before they
were taken to the neighbouring country.thehindu
GENERAL ELECTIONS
5th phase of Lok Sabha polls: EVM
malfunctioning disrupt voting in W.Bengal,Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan
Nearly nine crore voters are casting their
votes in 51 Lok Sabha seats spread across seven states. However, as expected,
complaints of EVM malfunctioning have once again marred the voting process in
several states including West Bengal, Bihar, UP , Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh.EVM and VVPAT were reported to have malfunctioned in Amethi and Rae
Bareli with problems being detected in EVMs in at least 5 polling booths in Rae
Bareli and VVPATs not functioning at two polling booths in Amethi, where
Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting from. EVM glitches were also
being reported from UP ’s Gonda and Lucknow constituencies.VVPAT machines had
stopped working at the polling booth in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, where Union
Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was casting his vote.Polling was delayed in
West Bengal’s Barrackpore and Howrah districts because of glitches in EVMs.
News agency reported that at 7.38 am polling was yet to begin in booths 289/
291/292 in Howrah because of EVM and VVPAT glitches.In Bihar’s Saran, according
to Zee News, polling was delayed at booth number 26 and 27 due to EVM glitches
at Middle School polling centre. BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy was there to cast his
vote at the polling booth.In Madhya Pradesh, where seven seats are going for
polls, minor EVM glitches were being reported at some booths, reported PTI.jantakareporter
Phase 5 LIVE: 60.8% voter turnout till 6 pm
Ramadan:EX rejects plea to reschedule poll
timings
The Election Commission has rejected a plea
seeking to reschedule timings of the last three phases of elections that fall
during the Holy month of Ramadan. The plea had asked the national poll body to
reschedule the voting from 7 am to 4.30/5 am.Rejecting the plea, the Election
Commission said that it did not ‘find it feasible to alter the existing hours
of poll for the 5th, 6th and 7th phase of general elections to the Lok Sabha,
2019.’The petitions were filed by two advocates Mohammed Nizamuddin Pasha and
Asad Hayat. Muslims across India will be observing fasts during the Holy month
of Ramadan for one month. While Muslims in Dakshina Kannada, Kerala and Udupi
districts of Karnataka will fast from Monday, people in rest of India are
expected to observe fast from Tuesday.jantakareporter
BJP may fall short of majority in Lok Sabha:
BJP’s Ram Madhav concedes in interview
The BJP appears to have finally conceded that
it may not be able to secure a majority on its own in this year’s Lok Sabha
polls. BJP’s Ram Madhav said in a recent interview that his party may have to
rely on coalition partners to prove majority in the parliament.Bloomberg, which
interviewed Ram Madhav, reported that the conservative forecast by Ram Madhav,
the BJP’s national general secretary, is just short of a clear majority in 543-seat
parliament, and is far below what other party leaders including finance
minister Arun Jaitley and party chief Amit Shah have publicly claimed.PM
Narendra Modi and his party’s chief, have been predicting a bigger win in 2019
than what the BJP achieved in 2014. “If we get 271 seats on our own, we will be
very happy,”Madhav said in an interview with Bloomberg. “With NDA we will have
a comfortable majority,” he said referring to NDA.jantakareporter
Will need NDA’s support to form next govt:
BJP’s Ram Madhav
Lok Sabha elections : Given ‘raw deal’,
surrendered J&K militant feels cheated
Jammu:Almost 20 years after he laid down arms,
Abdul Munaf Malik, a former ‘commander’ of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen,
is a disillusioned man. He says many other militants like him, who shunned
violence to join the national mainstream, are also feeling cheated. Malik, 49,
is sore over what he calls a “raw deal” given to him and other militants who
surrendered.He claims that surrender-cum-rehabilitation policies of successive
regimes in J&K are “cruel joke” on
them.“I remained a militant from 1994 to 1999, initially as the district
commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and then as divisional commander of
Tehreek-ul-Jihad for Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur districts,” he says.Malik
says he had undergone an 11-month training at Kotli in PoK and Manshera
district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province before heading to Afghanistan to become
a “hardened” guerrilla fighter.Ex-militant commander claims he survived over a
dozen encounters and escaped several cordons during that period.Malik, who was
also known as ‘Inqualabi’ and ‘Aslam Malik’, says as the commander of Hizbul
Mujahideen he headed a team of 39 militants. “Some of them were eliminated in
encounters and some others escaped to Pakistan. Seven to eight others were
convinced by me to surrender,” he says.“After being persuaded by my mother to
quit militancy, I surrendered before then senior , Rajouri, Hemant Kumar Lohia
in April 1999. Thereafter, I worked for almost eight years as a special police
officer,” he says. “As a special police officer, I helped security forces in
eliminating over 40 insurgents. But my services were terminated on Sept.17,
2008 after some local politicians, jealous of my work, connived against me,” he
adds.Malik says he had to pay a heavy price for his decision to quit
militancy.“Infuriated over my decision, militants torched my house and those of
my father and brother at Topa village in Rajouri district. They broke legs of
my younger brother Abdul Qauf with a hammer. Today, he cannot move an inch
without crutches. My sister was also beaten up,” he says.“My daughter, who has
done B Sc in nursing, and my son, an M Sc degree holder, are today called names
by people. Where will I marry off my daughter? Whenever any police verification
is required, they specifically mention surrendered militant on papers,” he
says. Malik says Rs 18,000 is all that he received for returning to the
mainstream. hindustantimes
Grenade attack on polling station in Pulwama
Militants on Monday lobbed a grenade towards a
polling station in Pulwama district of J&K where polling is underway for the Anantnag Lok
Sabha constituency, police said.A grenade was lobbed towards Rohmoo polling
station in Pulwama but there were no reports of any casualties in the the
blast, a police official said.He said security forces have cordoned off the
area.Polling is being held in Pulwama and Shopian districts of Anantnag Lok
Sabha constituency which also includes Anantnag and Kulgam districts as well.HT
Shadow of cow vigilante killings looms over
Alwar
A peculiar silence hangs over Alwar, which
votes today, also coincidentally the start of Ramzan. 3 killings in two years
by 'gau rakshaks' brought notoriety not seen before to the largely rural
district. Though hardly any locals will talk of the subject, the undercurrents
run deep. If, in Behror, an assembly segment in this parliamentary seat, a
Congress poster is placed on the Jaipur-Delhi highway at the spot where Pehlu
Khan was lynched by a mob of cow vigilantes in 2017, on another stretch off the
highway between Behror and Alwar, a billboard reads, 'Be proud of being a gau
rakshak. Ostracise Congress for trampling Hindu interests.' Congress' Jitendra
Singh, former Union minister, is up against BJP's Mahant Balak Nath, head of
the Asthal Bohar Math in Rohtak. Congress won the Lok Sabha bypoll for the seat
by almost 2 lakh votes after BJP's sitting MP, Chandnath, passed away; the
saffron-robed Balak Nath is Chandnath's disciple. The third candidate is BSP's
Imran Khan, a civil engineer. Some 'gau rakshaks' are still around. A saffron
scarf around his neck, Phool Singh Choudhary races on his bike over a dirt
track in Lalwandi, where 31-year-old Rakbar Khan was killed last year. Singh
says his bike has taken him to many zones where cows needed rescuing. TOI
Install jammers at EVM strongrooms to curb
tampering: Ashok Chavan
Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan
Monday demanded installation of "network jammers" in and around
strongrooms where EVMs used for polling are kept.Addressing a press conference
after meeting the chief electoral officer on the issue,Chavan claimed
electronic voting machines can be tampered using wireless networks like mobile
phone towers, wi-fi networks and hence such jammers were required. "These
jammers should be installed during the counting process as well. We demand that
such network jammers be installed immediately in all Lok Sabha seats in the
state," Chavan said.He informed that the Congress had requested CEO to
declare the result sheet of each round of counting only after it is duly
prepared and signed by the returning officer and provided to all parties.PTI
Jharkhand: RSS, BJP following a two-pronged
communalism strategy to keep society divided
Communalism is deepening the chasm in
Jharkhand. Here RSS, BJP and its acolytes have been following a two-pronged
communalism strategy to keep the society divided. On one hand they have been
able to wedge suspicion between Hindus and Muslims and on the other, the Sangh
Parivar has been attempting to widen the chasm between the tribals, who became
Christians, and Sarnas, who worship nature. Here too, the attempt is to
politicise tribal identity on religious lines. While the Sarna tribals of
Jharkhand have long been demanding to be counted as a Sarna, the members of the
Sangh Parivar believe they are simply backward Hindus.“When we were growing up
in Ranchi, the normal greeting was ‘namaskar’ or ‘namaste’, but now it has
become ‘Jai Shri Ram’. That is reflective of the society one lives in. Now,
communal elements have increased. All of this began just before the arrival of
Modi – a sort of laying the ground to ensure he was voted to power,” explains a
young Right To Food activist.“Even the administration is to blame. Earlier, if
Dusshera used to happen around the same time as Eid or Muharram, both would get
to carry out their procession, but now Muslims hardly hold any such processions
and the administration isn’t doing enough to protect them and encourage them,”
adds the activist.Jharkhand has seen 18 lynchings ever since the BJP government
has come to power of which 11 victims died and in fact, union minister Jayant
Sinha garlanded a few alleged mob lynchers after they were granted bail by a
court.nationalheraldindia
Country Won’t Forgive Modi for Rajiv
Remarks:Raj Thackeray
MUMBAI:MNS chief Raj Thackeray has strongly
condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modis utterances on late Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi, saying the “country will not forgive him for the remarks”.Referring to
Modi’s statement that Rajiv Gandhi was called “Mr. Clean” by his courtiers but
died as “Bhrashtachari No. 1”, Thackeray said on Sunday: “Hatred, endless lying
and absolutely no qualms in transgressing the decorum of public life are the
three characteristics that mark the term of Narendra Modi.“This stands
intensified with his latest statements against the late Rajiv Gandhi and the
nation will definitely not pardon it,” said Thackeray.Thackeray joins the ranks
of several prominent opposition leaders across the country who criticized
Modi’s statements on Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by a Sri Lankan Tamil
suicide bomber on May 21, 1991.IANS
Vote for someone who sends your kids to Oxford
not Ayodhya: Mevani
New Delhi:Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani has
campaigned for AAP’s East Delhi candidate Atishi and urged people to choose a
leader who will send their children to Oxford or Cambridge University, and not
Ayodhya or Kumbh. Campaigning for her in Old Seemapuri area of East Delhi, he
claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to send poor children to Ayodhya due
to Hindu-Muslim politics.“I want to tell you that we do not want to send our
next generation to Kumbh or Ayodhya, but to Oxford from where Atishi studied
and Cambridge. Her work in the education sector has created a model, something
which cannot be seen anywhere in Gujarat,”Mevani said with Atishi by his side. Kafeel
Khan, whose name surfaced in the death case of 63 children at Gorakhpur’s BRD
Medical College, also campaigned for AAP candidate in Nizamuddin. The party
claims Khan was hailed as a “hero” for arranging jumbo oxygen cylinders to save
dying kids.PTI
WORLD
Israel,Gaza reach ceasefire deal amid tense
calm
Palestinian officials say a ceasefire
agreement has been reached with Israel to end a surge of violence in the Gaza
Strip and southern Israel that has led to the deaths of at least 25
Palestinians and four Israelis.Gaza officials confirmed to Al Jazeera that a
deal was reached at 1:30 GMT, and no Israeli air raids on the Palestinian
territory have been reported since the deal came into effect.The officials said
Egypt and Qatar helped mediate an end to days of attacks between Gaza and
Israel.There was no confirmation from the Israeli side. However, the Israeli
army early on Monday lifted all protective restrictions imposed near the Gaza
area during the weekend's flare-up.Home Front Command instructed residents of
the south to return to their routines. Israeli Transportation Ministry
announced that all public bus routes in the south would return to full and
normal operation. The railway line between the cities of Ashkelon and Beersheba
was also set to resume later in the morning.An Islamic Jihad official, on
condition of anonymity, said the truce agreement was based on Israel easing its
blockade of Gaza Strip.Among the steps, he said, were the easing of limits on
the fishing zone to 12 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza and improvements in
Gaza's electricity and fuel situation.An Egyptian official also confirmed the
deal on condition of anonymity.A 34-year-old Hamas commander was killed on
Sunday in what the Israeli military described as a targeted strike.An army
statement accused Hamad al-Khodori of "transferring large sums of
money" from Iran to armed factions in Gaza.Other Palestinian victims
included two pregnant women and two infants. A 12-year-old boy, Abdelrahman Abu
al-Jadyan, was also killed in the same attack. The bodies of his parents, Talal
and Raghda, were recovered under the rubble on Monday, bringing the death toll
in the Gaza Strip to 25 killed.In the Israeli city of Ashkelon, a 58-year-old
Israeli man was killed after being struck by shrapnel from a rocket attack. 2
other Israelis, critically wounded in a separate rocket attack on a factory on
Sunday afternoon, later died.aljazeera
Trump backs Israel '100%' amid airstrikes on
Gaza
US President Donald Trump threw his support
behind Israel amid ongoing airstrikes in the blockaded Gaza Strip."Once
again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by Hamas and Islamic
Jihad. We support Israel 100%in its defense of its citizens,"he tweeted.
Israel strikes 320 sites in blockaded Gaza
Strip
Some 320 sites across the blockaded Gaza Strip
were targeted since Saturday by the Israeli army, according to a statement. Israeli
army claimed that reconnaissance points, underground warehouses and military
centers of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were targeted. Anadolu
Hamas: 'Calm can be restored only after
stopping Israeli' attacks
Calm can be restored in the blockaded Gaza
Strip only after stopping the Israeli attacks against Palestinian protestors,
Hamas leader said."We stress that the more atrocious the Israeli attacks
on the Palestinian civilians are, the stronger the Palestinian response will
be,"Ismail Haniyeh said."Hamas stresses that calm can be restored
only after stopping the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and
implementing ceasefire understandings by the Israeli occupation," Haniyeh
added. " Palestinian people besieged in Gaza Strip for more than 12 years
demand their basic rights only, as per all international laws and
conventions,"according to statement.Anadolu
US may review ties with countries deemed
anti-Israel -envoy
US may review its ties with countries it deems
as being anti-Israel after what a US envoy said on Sunday was a shift in policy
towards equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, Reuters reports.US Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo said in a March speech that anti-Zionism – opposition to
Israel’s existence as a homeland for the Jewish people – was a form of
anti-Semitism, or hostility toward Jews, that was on the rise worldwide and
that Washington would “fight it relentlessly”.State Dept’s special envoy for
monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, Elan Carr, said this US position could
spell reviews of ties with foreign governments or leaders.“The United States is
willing to review its relationship with any country, and certainly
anti-Semitism on the part of a country with whom we have relations is a deep
concern,” he told Reuters during a visit to Israel.“I will be raising that
issue in bilateral meetings that I am undertaking all over the world,” he said.
“That is something we are going to have frank and candid conversations about –
behind closed doors.”middleeastmonitor
NSA Bolton: US deploying bombers to Middle
East in warning to Iran
US is deploying a carrier strike group and a
bomber task force to the Middle East to send a clear message to Iran that any
attack on US interests or its allies will be met with "unrelenting
force".Amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, US NSA John
Bolton said on Sunday that the deployment of USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike
Group to US Central Command region was a response "to a number of
troubling and escalatory indications and warnings"."US is not seeking
war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any
attack, whether by proxy,Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or regular Iranian
forces," Bolton said.Al Jazeera's Washington reporter, said move was an
"unusual one" especially because of the statement by Bolton."There
are more questions than answers in that short statement," he
said."It's not unusual for aircraft carriers to be deployed to the Middle
East to be a deterrent to Iran. But what makes this different is Bolton putting
out a statement specifying Iran. It's almost a provocation."That's unusual
for US to do that when they deploy big military assets like these." Washington
has said it will stop waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, in an attempt
to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. It has also blacklisted Iran's elite
Revolutionary Guard Corps.In response, Iran said it has mobilised all its
resources to sell oil in a "grey market". Amir Hossein Zamaninia,
Iran's deputy oil minister, said that Iran would continue to export oil despite
US sanctions, which he said were neither just nor legitimate. "We have
mobilised all of the country's resources and are selling oil in 'grey
market'," he said.aljazeera
China slams US warships operation in S. China
Sea
Two US warships sailed near islands claimed by
China in the South China Sea on Monday, the US military said, in a move
condemned by Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world's two
biggest economies. US guided-missile destroyers Preble and Chung Hoon travelled
within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs in the Spratly Islands, a
US military spokesperson told Reuters news agency.Commander Clay Doss, a
spokesman for the Seventh Fleet, said that the "innocent passage" was
"to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the
waterways as governed by international law.""Chinese side expresses
strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the operation that took
place near two reefs in the Spratly Islands, foreign ministry spokesman Geng
Shuang said at a press briefing on Monday.aljazeera
UN gets access to vital grain in Yemen’s Hodeidah
A United Nations team has regained access to
grain in Yemen that could feed more than 3.7 million people for a month, in a
country "gripped with the world's largest humanitarian crisis" but the
cereal is partially infested and must first be fumigated, UN officials say. The
team reached the grain store on Sunday. It is in the Red Sea Mills silos just
outside the port town of Hodeidah near a front line area in Yemen's 4-year-old
civil war."We lost access to this mill in September of last year,"
Stephen Anderson, the World Food Programme (WFP) Yemen country director told Al
Jazeera from Djibouti. aljazeera
Idlib: At least 9 civilians killed in govt-led
air raids
At least 9 civilians were killed in Syrian government
air raids in northwest Idlib province as its forces and their Russian allies
continued bombarding the last rebel-held stronghold for a sixth consecutive
day.The attacks on Sunday took place in the towns of Kafr Nabl and Khan
Sheikhoun, according to Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White
Helmets.aljazeera
Sri Lanka expels 200 Muslim clerics after bombings
Sri Lanka has expelled over 600 foreign
nationals, including around 200 Islamic clerics, since the Easter suicide
bombings blamed on a local jihadi group, a minister said.Home Affairs Minister
Vajira Abeywardena said the clerics had entered the country legally, but amid a
security crackdown after the attacks were found to have overstayed their visas,
for which fines were imposed and they were expelled from the island. "Considering
the current situation in the country, we have reviewed the visas system and
took a decision to tighten visa restrictions for religious teachers,"
Abeywardena said."Out of those who were sent out, about 200 were Islamic
preachers." The minister did not give the nationalities of those who have
been expelled, but police have said many foreigners who have overstayed their
visas since Easter attacks were from Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Pakistan."There
are religious institutions which have been getting down foreign preachers for
decades," Abeywardena said. "We have no issues with them, but there
are some which mushroomed recently.We will pay more attention to them." AFP
Sri Lanka blocks social media platforms after
Sinhalese-Muslim clashes
Sri Lankan on Monday temporarily blocked
Facebook, WhatsApp and some social media platforms as a precautionary measure
to prevent the spread of false information a day after clashes broke out
between ethnic Sinhalese group and minority Muslims."Access to social
media applications, Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber etc. has been temporarily
suspended," the Sri Lanka Information Department said.Meanwhile, curfew
imposed in Negombo after tensions between communities erupted, has been lifted,
reported Colombo Page. Police spokesman, SP Ruwan Gunasekara, said the curfew
in Negombo was lifted at 7 am today after the situation was brought under
control.ANI
Christian-Muslim clashes rock Easter attacks
town in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's Roman Catholic Church appealed for
calm and an alcohol ban Monday after clashes between Christians and Muslims in
a town scarred by the Easter suicide attacks. Hundreds of security forces
entered Negombo to impose a curfew after dozens of Muslim-owned shops, homes and
vehicles were attacked. St.Sebastian's church in town near Colombo was one of
three churches and 3 hotels hit by bombers on April. "I appeal to all
Catholic and Christian brothers and sisters not to hurt even a single Muslim
person because they are our brothers, because they are part of our religious
culture," said Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo.
"Therefore please avoid hurting them and try to create a better spirit of
understanding and good relations between all the communities of Sri
Lanka," he said in a video message to the country. AFP
Won't enforce death penalty for gay sex:Brunei
Brunei has backtracked on enforcing laws
introduced last month that would have made sex between men and adultery
punishable by stoning to death.Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on Sunday extended a
moratorium on the death penalty to cover the new legislation.The rethink
follows global outcry over the laws, including boycotts and celebrity
protests.While still on the statute books for some crimes, no executions have
been carried out in Brunei since 1957. Last month Brunei rolled out a strict
new interpretation of Islamic laws, or Sharia.In a speech, the sultan said he
was aware there had been "many questions and misperceptions"
regarding implementation of the legislation, called Syariah Penal Code Order.BBC
Sudan protesters vow to continue sit-in during
Ramadan
Thousands of Sudanese protesters are preparing
to fast during the month of Ramadan in front of the army headquarters.They say
they will continue their sit-in until the military council which ousted
President Omar al-Bashir hands over power to a civilian govt.aljazeera
Aeroflot plane crash: 41 killed on Russian jet
41 people died after a Russian plane made an
emergency landing and burst into flames just after takeoff from Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport.Dramatic video shows passengers using emergency exit
slides to escape the burning Aeroflot aircraft.Survivors suggest the plane was
struck by lightning, but Russia's national carrier said only that it returned
to the airport for technical reasons.2 children are among the dead. The jet had
73 passengers and five crew.Initial reports suggested the plane had landed on
fire, but sources quoted by Russian news agency Interfax said the jet caught
fire after a very bumpy landing.BBC
Month of Ramadan fasting begins in Southeast
Asian, Middle East countries
Dubai: Muslims in Southeast Asian countries
like Indonesia and Malaysia, and much of the Middle East, including Egypt, Iraq
and Saudi Arabia, will fast on Monday for the start of the month of
Ramadan.Millions more, however, in India, Pakistan and Iran, will likely be marking
the start of the lunar month on Tuesday based on moon sightings there.Muslims
follow a lunar calendar, and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different
countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.While Muslims
around the world welcomed the start of Ramadan with traditional greetings and
messages of peace, the start of the Muslim holy month in the Gaza Strip was
marked by sounds of outgoing Palestinian rockets and incoming Israeli
airstrikes.AP
Flash: views & NEWS
Legacy of a Different CEC: When J.M. Lyngdoh
Stood up to Modi:Monobina Gupta
In case against CJI, SC should address
disquiet expressed by a senior judge:Editorial, indian express
Statements during 2019 campaign go against
principle of universal franchise: Seema Chishti
Justice Is Dead, Long Live the Justices:Shruti
Rajagopalan
Congress and BJP: How Different Are Their
Attitudes Towards Muslims? — Saeed Naqvi
Why Hindu temples don’t change their
architectures unlike churches and mosques: TOI
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 7:16 PM)
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