22 dead, 35 injured in stampede at Mumbai’s Elphinstone Road station

MUMBAI, Sept 29: Twenty-two people were killed and another 35 injured in a stampede on a narrow foot-over bridge at Elphinstone Road station during the morning peak hours on Friday, in one of the worst commuter tragedies that Mumbai has seen.

The stampede occurred around 10.30 am as many commuters were standing huddled on the overcrowded FOB to escape the sudden heavy showers, and a few tripped and fell. The old, rickety FOB is usually bursting at the seams during peak hours, and it was even more packed on Friday morning because of the rain.

The Western Railway, who rushed officials to the accident site, blamed the incident on heavy rainfall and overcrowding. Mukul Jain, division railway manager, Western Railway, said: “During heavy rains, there was a stampede-like situation on the north FOB at Elphinstone Road station. The accident relief medical team provided medical assistance to the injured. Senior railway officers monitored relief work.”

An eyewitness, who was standing at the station platform when the incident occurred, said: “Commuters started panicking after somebody shouted that the bridge was collapsing and that there was a short circuit. People started pushing and those in the middle of the stairs fell. Many commuters who tried to escape through the railing got stuck.” A national disaster response team was also rushed to the spot.

While there are speculations on what triggered the stampede, Mumbaikars and railway experts said this was a tragedy just waiting to happen, and blame the Railways for not upgrading the old FOBs at railway stations across the city, particularly the ones at Elphinstone Road and Parel stations. With the development of mill land and central Mumbai becoming a major office hub, commuter traffic at Elphinstone, Parel and Lower Parel stations has seen a tremendous spike. These old railway stations, however, have not been rehauled to accommodate the rising number of commuters. The FOBs see a daily traffic of 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh commuters, which they are ill-equipped to handle.

“This accident will hopefully be a wake-up call for the minister and his officials. Instead of fancy bullet trains, they should first ensure that railway commuters don’t die horrible deaths like this because of their negligence,” said Leena Shirodkar, a Parel resident who commutes to Andheri every day for work.

The incident occurred just as Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal was to take a local train ride on the western line, to understand first-hand the troubles that the city’s 75 lakh train commuters face. Soon after, Goyal visited KEM hospital in Parel, where the injured have been admitted. The Elphinstone Road FOB will be expanded on immediate basis, the minister said after visiting the station. Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar also inspected the station soon after the incident.

Goyal was to inaugurate 60 new local train services for the Mumbai suburban network on Saturday, which is likely to be cancelled now.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased, and said that all medical expenses of the injured will be borne by the Maharashtra government. The CM has also promised that the state and the railway ministry will conduct an inquiry into the incident and take strict action.

Both President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted their anguish and condolences over the stampede deaths.

‘Economy in free fall but govt praising itself’: Yashwant Sinha

NEW DELHI, Sept 29: Former finance minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has hit out the Narendra Modi government again, saying it refused to acknowledge the downturn in the Indian economy and “kept singing praises of themselves, patting their backs”.

Sinha’s attack was the latest in his tirade against the government which has also seen his son and Union minister, Jayant Sinha, come out in defence of the Modi government and finance minister Arun Jaitley.

In a stinging rebuttal to Jaitley’s comments that Yashwant Sinha was a “job applicant at 80”, the former finance told Indian Express in a lengthy interview which appeared on Friday, “If I was a job applicant, he (Jaitley) would not be there in the first place”.

Yashwant Sinha’s criticism of the government came after official data showed India’s economic growth sliding to a three-year low in the last quarter, prompting the Opposition to criticise the government for disrupting business activity through demonetisation. Gross domestic product also grew at just 7% in April-June, its slowest pace since the January-March quarter 2014.

Sinha wrote a hard-hitting article in the Indian Express on Wednesday criticising the government’s economic policies, saying that demonetisation proved to be an “unmitigated economic disaster” and that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a “badly conceived and poorly implemented” havoc.

The next day, his son Jayant’s write-up appeared in the Times of India in which he appeared to be countering his father’s views, saying that “several articles...draw sweeping conclusions from a narrow set of facts, and quite simply miss the fundamental structural reforms that are transforming the economy”.

In his latest interview, Yashwant Sinha said the government “completely misread the situation and kept chipping away at the margins, instead of attacking the problem at its roots”.

“And that’s the reason why, year after year, even in this regime, bank NPAs (nonperforming assets) have been going up. In this situation, the first thing that should have been done was to stop the growth of bank NPAs and then deal with them,” he said.

He added that “40 months down the line, you cannot hide behind the (argument) that these are legacy issues”, an apparent reference to the Modi government’s frequent claims that some of the problems in the economy were due to alleged wrong policies of the previous Congress-led regime.

He also rubbished the government’s claims of “structural reforms” to shore up the economy.

“First, I don’t consider demonetisation as a reform at all...It was an administrative measure, and all the objectives of demonetisation — they appeared as having failed... The entire black money is back in the system. So demonetisation, apart from disrupting the economy, has made no other contribution,” he added.

In a question on how he foresaw the economy, Sinha said there was very little prospect of big changes before the general elections in 2019, which many expect will test Modi’s popularity after his overwhelming victory in 2014.

“They have one budget. Next year’s budget will be the last regular budget of this government, and the 2019 budget will only be vote-on-account. And whatever they do in the budget of next year will take its own time to produce results. So I don’t see results being produced before the election of 2019,” Sinha said.

“Employment is the most important thing . The economy must grow, private investment must come, the demand in the economy must go up to absorb the present capacity, leading to the creation of fresh capacity.”

He also asserted that his criticism was not a “father-son” fight in light of Jayant Sinha’s write-up.

“Putting Jayant against me is an attempt to obfuscate issues. I can also get personal. But I won’t fall into that trap,” he said.

“My simple reaction is that it is not a father-son issue, it is not a family issue with Jayant on one side and I on the other. That is not a national issue and, therefore, if anyone is trying to debase it or turn it into a family issue it should be condemned,” he added.

In reply to another question, the senior BJP leader said he was aware of the potential threat to his son’s political career.

“If it is a question of national interest, other interests become insignificant. And if there is a collateral damage to his career, so be it” he added.

Yashwant Sinha’s no-holds-barred criticism of the government has been welcomed by opposition parties which have been very critical of Modi and Jaitley over GST and last year’s demonetisation move when the government culled 500 and 1000-rupee notes. The exercise pulled out 86 of the currency notes in circulation at that time.

Last week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development scaled back its economic growth forecast for India to 6.7 percent for the 2018 fiscal year, down from 7.3 percent predicted earlier this year. Other organisations and banks have made similar downward revisions.

Economists say the country needs to maintain 8 percent growth to add enough jobs for some 12 million young people joining the work force every year.

Note ban a disaster, GST poorly conceived: Yashwant Sinha

NEW DELHI, Sept 27: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government’s economic policies,saying that the economy is headed for a downward spiral.

In an opinion piece for the Indian Express, Sinha lambasts the government’s decisions on the economic front. “I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy,” writes Sinha, adding that many within the BJP are aware of the situation, but fear speaking up.

In the no-holds barred piece, Sinha says demonetisation proved to be an “unmitigated economic disaster” and that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a “badly conceived and poorly implemented” havoc.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley comes in for the bulk of the criticism, as Sinha writes, “Arun Jaitley is considered to be the best and the brightest in this government. It was a foregone conclusion before the 2014 elections that he would be the finance minister in the new government.”

Sinha further took on BJP president Amit Shah for citing ‘technical’ reasons for slowdown in the GDP rate and wrote, “Even the SBI, the largest public sector bank of the country, has stated with unusual frankness that the slowdown is not transient or “technical”, it is here to stay and the slowdown in demand has only aggravated the situation. It has openly contradicted what the BJP president said just a few days ago that the slowdown in the last quarter was on account of “technical” reasons and will be corrected soon.”

In his scathing piece, Yashwant Sinha says demonetisation was an “unmitigated economic disaster” and GST was a “badly conceived and poorly implemented” havoc.

Sinha also said other people within the BJP were aware of the situation, but “fear” speaking up.

On that note, the figures of the first quarter of fiscal 2017-18, released last month, showed the GDP growth rate falling at 5.7 percent, while in the concurrent period last year, the GDP was soaring ahead at 7.6 per cent.

In his article, Sinha also took a jibe at raids conducted by Income Tax department, Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation and said that it has become “a new game to instill fear in the minds of people,” adding, “We protested against raid raj when we were in opposition. Today it has become the order of the day.”

He also ridiculed the “massive” loan waivers given to the farmers “varying from one paise to a few rupees.”

Sinha concluded his article by saying, “The prime minister claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters.”

Oppn Attacks BJP Govt

NEW DELHI, Sept 27: After senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha authored a critical piece on the state of the Indian economy in an op-ed for The Indian Express, various Congress leaders stressed on the alleged failure of the BJP-led NDA government in tackling the economic situation.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi compared the economy to a plane whose wings have fallen off. “Ladies & Gentlemen, this is your copilot & FM speaking. Plz fasten your seat belts & take brace position.The wings have fallen off our plane,” he tweeted in the morning.

Later in the day, Gandhi accused Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of destroying the economy. “Arun Jaitley has destroyed India’s economy. The whole country is going to suffer from severe losses,” he said, while addressing the last public meeting of his three-day Gujarat tour in Jetpur.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram backed Sinha in his analysis, questioning whether the government will finally come out and admit that the economy is in a bad shape. “Yashwant Sinha speaks truth to power. Will power now admit the truth that economy is sinking,” he tweeted in the morning.

In a statement given by him later in the day, Chidambaram said, “His (Yashwant Sinha’s) views are not very different from what Members of Parliament belonging to the BJP – and of course other parties – have told us for many months privately and in soft whispers. It is a sad commentary on our times that MPs are afraid to reflect what they see and hear around them, especially in their constituencies. Yet we call ourselves a free country.”

Chidambaram hit out at the government saying, “Congress has, for nearly 18 months, highlighted these very grave weaknesses in economy. We were told, in effect, to shut up.” Takinga dig at PM Modi’s slogan of ‘achhe din’, Chidambaram said, “I ask, how long will the government hide behind the rhetoric of the Prime Minister and the slogans of the party? It is a small mercy that we no longer hear the slogan “achhe din aanewale hai”. As I travel around the country, what I hear is “achhe din to aaye nahi, yeh burre din kab jaayenge?”

The former minister also urged reporters to write about the state of economy without being scared. “My appeal to all of you, and especially to those who are knowledgeable about the economy, is to speak and write without fear. Darr ko chhod do,” he said.

The Aam Aadmi Party also used Sinha’s article as a basis to state that those running the central government had “little understanding” of the economy. Addressing a press conference, Delhi’s Finance Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said all key indicators suggest that the economy is going through its worst phase in many years. “All key economic indicators show that the economy is going through its worst in many years. From being world’s fastest-growing major economy just one year ago, we have become a free-fall economy with slow growth, low investment and no jobs,” he said.

While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal described Sinha’s article as “hard-hitting”, Sisodia blamed Modi government for throwing the economy into “a free fall”.
“From the fastest growing economy, the Modi government has thrown the Indian economy into a free fall, which will have disastrous consequences for the country,” Sisodia said.

While the article by the former finance minister has served as ammunition for the Opposition, leaders of the government have taken a defensive position. Responding to the piece, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and it has been well documented.

“The whole world admits that India is the fastest growing economy in the world. No one should forget this fact. In the matter of economy, in the international arena, India’s credibility has been established,” he said.

Defending the government by saying that some uncertainty is bound to be there while “some transformative changes are made”, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal stated that Sinha is entitled to his opinion. “There is bound to be some uncertainty when some transformative changes are made. It (economy) may take some amount of time to absorb these changes but this will pass. Challenges come but we will stay the course. The government is steadfast in its resolve to end black money and corruption. It won’t flinch due to some criticism,” he said.

Narendra Modi dedicates Sardar Sarovar Dam to nation

GANDHINAGAR, Sept 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 138-metre Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river on Sunday, saying “no other project in the world has faced so many hurdles”.

Dedicating the dam to the nation on his 67th birthday, Modi said at Dabhoi, near the dam, that he would live and die for the dreams of the people of the country. “You know me, I can’t do small things. I don’t think small, don’t do small things. With 1.25 billion people with me, I can’t dream small.”

Remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Babasaheb Ambedkar, the prime minister said: “If they had lived even a few more years, the dam would have been completed in the 60s and 70s itself… India would have been on the path of progress much earlier. But it was our misfortune that we had to lose them.”

Recollecting the opposition to the construction of the dam, Modi said: “When the Word Bank stopped giving money, the temples of this state organised donations for the dam.” “I have knowledge (kacha chittha) of everyone who tried to stall this project, but I will not name them as I do not want to go on that route,” the PM said, adding: “I have always refrained from politicising the issue and wouldn’t do so even now.”

Modi said the project was an engineering marvel and should be part of the engineering curriculum. “The quantity of cement concrete that has been used to set up this dam is incredible. The material required to construct an eight km wide concrete road from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Kandla to Kohima has gone into putting this structure.”

Earlier in the day, Modi visited his mother Hiraba at her residence on the outskirts of capital Gandhinagar and sought her blessings on the occasion of his birthday.

Asaram, Ram Rahim, Rampal: The 14 fake babas put on boycott list

NEW DELHI, Sept 11: Prompted by recent controversies surrounding self-styled godmen, the apex body of Hindu sadhus -- the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad – has released a list of 14 ‘fake babas’ and demanded a crackdown on “rootless cult leaders” by bringing in a legislation.

Giving out the list, the parishad’s president Swami Narendra Giri said: “We appeal to even the common people to beware of such charlatans who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis.”

Here are the 14 fake babas on the parishad’s list:

Asaram Bapu (Asumal Sirumalani)

The 76-year-old white-bearded man was arrested in 2013 after a teenage devotee accused him of raping her at a religious event. Another female follower later also accused him of rape. He has been in jail since 2013 on charges of rape and criminal intimidation. Yet Asaram continues to have thousands of supporters flock to court when he appears for hearings.

Several local newspapers have reported on the mysterious killings of three witnesses in the criminal cases he faces.

Radhe Maa (Sukhwinder Kaur)

A Punjab resident, Sukhwinder Kaur later changed her name to Radhe Maa and moved to Mumbai. She hosts regular religious events at her Radhe Maa Bhawan located in Boriwali. The Punjab and Haryana high court recently issued a notice against a police official asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for failing to act on a complaint against Kaur.

A Phagwara-based man had lodged a complaint against her, seeking registration of a case in 2015 for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, threatening and other offences under the IPC.

Last year, Mumbai resident Niki Gupta filed a complaint, accusing Kaur of instigating her in-laws against her for dowry.

Sachchidanand Giri (Sachin Datta)

He is called ‘Builder Baba’ by many. Sachin Dutta alias Sachidanand Giri had been declared a proclaimed offender in a case registered with the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police and was later arrested from his house in Lucknow.

In 2015, a case of fraud had been registered at Sector 58, Noida against Dutta and seven others for allegedly mortgaging sold flats in an Indirapuram housing society to obtain bank loans. The case was subsequently transferred to the Indirapuram police station and the accused declared a proclaimed offender.

Gurmeet Singh

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh, known as the guru of bling for the bejeweled costumes he wears in self-produced films, was recently sentenced to 20 years’ jail after being convicted of raping two female followers. Hundreds of his followers went on the rampage when he was convicted, attacking train stations, buses and television vans.

Secret tunnels, including one which linked the jailed sect chief plush residence with female disciples’ hostel, an empty box of AK-47 cartridges, an illegal firecracker factory were among the detections made during a search at his sect headquarters.

Swami Omji (Vinodanand Jha)

In November 2008, an FIR was registered against Vinodanand Jha aka Swami Omji on a complaint by his younger brother Pramodh Jha, who accused him of breaking the lock of his bicycle shop in Lodhi Colony along with three men and stealing 11 bicycles, expensive spare parts, sale deed of the house and important documents.

The self-proclaimed godman also faces charges under the Arms Act, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act in other matters.

Nirmal Baba (Nirmaljeet Singh)

Nirmaljeet Singh Narula, better known as Nirmal Baba, has appeared on television as part of his show, ‘Third Eye of Nirmal Baba’. This Jharkhand-raised self-styled godman shot to fame through the controversy surrounding the donations and the charging of admission fees (Rs. 2,000 per person) to his ‘darbar’ sessions. He is estimated to be worth hundreds of crores and has a huge following despite dispensing advice bordering on the absurd. He even has an app on Facebook called ‘Live Darshan 24/7’. A polarising figure, Nirmal Baba has ardent devotees and vocal doubters.

Ichchadhari Bhimanand (Shivmurti Dwivedi)

Shivmurti Dwivedi was arrested in 2010 for allegedly running a sex racket. Dwivedi, alias Icchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot, was booked under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. “He has political ambitions. He did not want to join politics now but was gaining ground steadily. He wanted to use his followers as his vote bank,” a senior police officer had said after his arrest.

Swami Aseemanand

Right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand was recently acquitted along with six others in the 2007 Ajmer blast case by a special court. Judge Dinesh Gupta let off Swami Aseemanand and six others giving them “benefit of doubt”

Narayan Sai

Asaram’s son Narayan Sai is in jail for allegedly raping a Surat-based woman disciple of his father between 2002 and 2005. She was allegedly raped when she was living at Asaram’s ashram in Surat. Sai, 40, is also accused of having physical relations with eight other girls.

Rampal

In November 2014, five bodies were discovered by the police after they stormed the ashram of a self-styled godman, Rampal, in Haryana’s Hisar. Another of the man’s followers died in hospital. The police were seeking Rampal’s arrest after he refused court orders to appear to answer charges including conspiracy to murder, inciting mobs and contempt of court.

Rampal considers himself an incarnation of the 15th-century poet Kabir.

The ashram was guarded by hundreds of followers for several days. Police fired water cannon and lathi-charged the supporters who were armed with stones, petrol bombs among other weapons.

Some followers later came out of the ashram, saying they had been held at the ashram against their will.

Acharya Kushmuni

Acharya Kushmuni Swarup is national spokesperson Akhil Bhartiya Dandi Sanyasi Prabudh Samiti. After the list of fake babas, Kushmuni alleged most of the people in the akhada had criminal cases against them. He has in the past called for fake babas to be reprimanded.

Brahaspati Giri

Giri allegedly tried to gain control of temples of Alkhnath Trust in Uttar Pradesh.

The other two babas on the list are Om Namah Shivay Baba and Malkhan Singh.

Cabinet reshuffle 2017: PM infuses fresh blood in Cabinet; inducts 9 MoS, elevates four

New Delhi, Sept 3 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi today infused fresh blood in his Cabinet, inducting nine new faces from varied socio-economic background and rich administrative experience, ahead of Assembly elections in several states next year, and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Besides, the Prime Minister also rewarded the performers by elevating four ministers Nirmala Sitaraman, Piyush Goel, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Dharmendra Pradah to Cabinet rank.

The new faces inducted include Shiv Pratap Shukla, Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh; Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Buxar and Virendra Kumar, Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh's Tikamgah.

Others are Raj Kumar Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Arrah; Anantkumar Hegde, LS MP from Karnataka; Hardeep Singh Puri, a highly-decorated former IFS officer; Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan's Jodhpur; Satya Pal Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat and Alphons Kannanthanam, a distinguished former IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Kerala cadre.

All the nine have been given the rank of Minister of State.

Nirmala Sitharaman emerged as the biggest gainer of the cabinet reshuffle on Sunday as Prime Minister Modi gave her the heavyweight Defence portfolio, while Piyush Goyal replaced Suresh Prabhu in the Railway Ministry in a major rejig, which saw nine new faces being inducted

Sitharaman became the first woman Defence Minister of the country since Indira Gandhi held the charge

Sitharaman, who was holding the Commerce portfolio as a Minister of State, was elevated along with Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to the cabinet rank

As the Defence Minister, Sitharaman will be a member of the crucial Cabinet Committee on Security whose members include the Prime Minister, Home Minister, External Affairs Minister and the Finance Minister

Prabhu was shifted to the commerce and industry ministry, while Pradhan and Naqvi retained their portfolios of Oil and Gas and Minority Affairs respectively. Goyal will continue to head the Coal Ministry along with Railways

Modi stripped cabinet minister Uma Bharti of the charges of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation and handed them over to Nitin Gadkari

Bharti will take care of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Pradhan was given the additional charge of Skill Development Ministry

The Prime Minister also reposed faith in the administrative capabilities of three former government officials by giving them independent charge of crucial portfolios

Former diplomat Hardeep Puri and former IAS officer Alphons Kannanthanam have been made MoS (Independent charge) of Housing and Urban Development and Tourism respectively

R K Singh, former Home Secretary, was given charge of Power and New and Renewable Energy portfolios. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore replaced Vijay Goel in the Sports MInistry

Goel, who earlier held independent charge, has been shunted as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Afairs and Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Violence in the name of faith won’t be tolerated: Modi

NEW DELHI, Aug 27: Two days after the deadly rampage in Panchkula and Sirsa by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said violence in the name of faith will not be tolerated, and the guilty will be punished without fail. The death toll in the clashes triggered by Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s conviction of rape rose to 38 on Sunday evening.

“No one has the right to take the law into one’s own hands in the name of one’s beliefs,” the Prime Minister said in the 35th edition of his monthly radio address, Mann ki Baat, on Sunday.

“In the Constitution given to us by Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar there is every provision for ensuring justice for each and every person. I want to assure my countrymen that people who take the law into their own hands and are on the path of violent suppression — whether it is a person or a group — neither this country nor any government will tolerate it. Each and every person will have to abide by the law; the law will fix accountability and the guilty will unquestionably be punished,” Modi said, according to the official translation of his address on the Mann ki Baat web site.

The Prime Minister referred to the current season of festivals — Ganesh Chaturthi, Eid-ul-Zuha, Onam and the Jain Samvatsari Parva — and said it was only natural to be concerned “when, on the one hand, a sense of festivity pervades the land, and on the other, news of violence comes in from one part of the country”.

India, he said, “is the country of Buddha and Gandhi, it is the land of Sardar Patel who gave up his all for the unity of the nation. For centuries, our forefathers have imbibed community values, non-violence, mutual respect — these are inherent to us. We have been hearing and saying Ahimsa Parmo Dharmah from our childhood”.

The PM recalled that in his Independence Day speech, he had said that “violence in the name of faith will not be tolerated, whether it is communal belief systems, whether it is subscribing to political ideologies, whether it is allegiance to a person or customs and traditions”. His remarks on August 15 had come in the wake of violent cow vigilantism, which he had unequivocally condemned.

In his 31-minute address, Modi spoke at length on the rich diversity of Indian society, and lauded the contribution of a leading Muslim organisation in cleaning temples his home state Gujarat, which saw devastating floods recently.

“When the waters receded, there was so much filth everywhere. That is when, in Dhanera in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat, volunteers of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind cleaned twenty-two affected temples and two mosques in a phased manner. They came together and toiled collectively. The volunteers of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind set a fine, inspiring example of unity for cleanliness,” he said.

Thirty crore new families had been linked to the government’s financial inclusion scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, and bank accounts had been opened for them, Modi said. “This number is larger than the population of many countries… Today I feel a great sense of fulfilment, that within three years, the last man on the fringes of society has become a part of the mainstream economy of the country. His ways have changed, he has now started going to the bank. He has started saving his money. He feels financially secure… When a poor person sees a RuPay card in his pocket, he finds himself to be equal to the privileged… He feels a sense of dignity.”

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana completes three years on Monday.

Modi asked citizens to start a “Swachchata Hi Seva” (Cleanliness is Service) campaign at least 15-20 days ahead of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, “on the lines of the age-old belief, Jal Seva Yahi Prabhu Seva, Service to Water is Service to God”.

He also gave the slogan of “Teach to Transform” while paying tributes to S Radhakrishnan ahead of Teacher’s Day on September 5.

Emphasising the need for outdoor games at a time when children are often glued to play stations instead of the playground, Modi announced that the Sports Ministry is launching a Sports Talent Search Portal to search for, and groom sporting talent.
“Any talented child who has an achievement in sports, can upload his biodata or video on this portal,” he said.

The PM mentioned the FIFA Under-17 World Cup that will be held in India in October, and recalled his interaction with six young women from the Navy who will circumnavigate the globe in a small boat, INS Tarini.

High Court pulls up Modi, Khattar over violence in Panchkula; Toll 36

CHANDIGARH, Aug 26: The Punjab and Haryana High Court pulled up both the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the Manohar Lal Khattar government in the state on Saturday, as the death toll went up to 36 with 268 injured in the violence unleashed by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh after he was convicted of raping two women.

“National integration and law and order are above everything. We are one nation, not a party nation. Politicians need to understand that the nation is one. It is the Prime Minister of India, not BJP. It is the Chief Minister of the state, not BJP. He (Satya Pal Jain) is Additional Solicitor General of India, not of any party,” said a full Bench of the High Court at a special hearing on Saturday.

Stating that the Centre was treating Punjab and Haryana like a “colony”, the court said it should play a more active role. On Thursday, the court had noted that the Centre should not “abdicate or avoid its responsibility”.

The court observed that the Khattar government seemed to have “surrendered before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda for political considerations.” “This was a political surrender to allure vote bank,” it observed, adding that Khattar was “protecting” the Dera. “The Chief Minister is also the Home Minister. Why could you not prevent the crowd from gathering for the last seven days? They were all outsiders, but were allowed to enter Panchkula, stay there and occupy public place,” said the Bench.

“You have been misleading us. There has been a sea difference between administrative and political decisions. Administrative decisions were paralysed because of the political reasons,” it said.

Taking note of the suspension of Panchkula DCP Ashok Kumar, the court said a deeper probe was required to ascertain who was behind the flip-flop over the orders to impose Section 144. “It has strengthened our belief that it is all political,” said the bench. “You allowed the crowd to gather. A probe will expose it.” The court directed all the deputy commissioners of Punjab and Haryana to invite applications for claims regarding the damage caused to public and private properties during the violence, and ordered that no property of the Dera Sacha Sauda shall be “sold, transferred and encumbered” in any manner.

“The deputy commissioners in the States of Haryana and Punjab are directed to identify the assets and properties of Dera Sacha Sauda and submit a list of the same in this Court for attachment. The list should include assets, incomes, bank accounts and properties,” said the Bench. “The reports of interception of messages given by the Dera Sacha Sauda inciting violence shall be submitted in this Court in a sealed cover.”

The Advocate Generals of both the states have been directed to submit in sealed covers their strategies and plan for “preventing this kind of incidents of violence and arson in future and whether such planning includes the complete sensitisation of Dera Sacha Sauda”. The Bench said that “a status report of the persons killed in the mayhem be also submitted. The States of Punjab and Haryana shall also submit the details of the expenses incurred in making all types of arrangements at Panchkula and other parts of the states.”

The Haryana government told the Bench that 32 people, including 28 in Panchkula, were killed in the violence. “Arrests of as many as 524 persons have been made in Panchkula, 24 vehicles have been seized, five pistols with 79 rounds, besides, two rifles with 52 rounds, were recovered. Moreover, iron rods, ‘dandas’, hockey sticks and ten petrol bombs were also recovered,” the State Advocate General told the court.
The Punjab government told the High Court that “there have been as many as 51 incidents in Punjab and 39 FIRs have been registered; besides, 19 miscreants have been arrested, including one Gurdev Singh, who is a state-level office-bearer of Dera Sacha Sauda.”

‘Godman’ Gurmeet Ram Rahim held guilty of rape, supporters run riot, 30 killed and 200 injured in violence in Haryana

CHANDIGARH, Aug 25: At least 30 people were killed on Friday after followers of controversial “godman” Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh rampaged across Haryana and Punjab, clashing with police and setting fire to vehicles and railway stations to protest against his conviction in the 2002 rape of two women.

Police said most of the deaths occurred in Panchkula, where Singh, the head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, was convicted in a highly guarded CBI court earlier in the day. Two deaths were reported from Sirsa, the sect’s headquarters. At least 200 were injured.

Minutes after the verdict, the flashy guru’s hysterical followers, who had gathered in the thousands to protest his innocence, began targeting vehicles and offices with sticks and stones, turning the streets of Panchkula into a virtual war zone. They also set fire to a petrol pump, vandalised a five-star hotel and beat up journalists and damaged their vehicles and equipment. Plumes of smoke from burning vehicles and tear gas shells rose high above the town’s tree-lined streets.

Police first used batons and water cannons, and finally fired to disperse the followers of Singh, a burly man with black Santa Claus beard who has scripted and starred in his own films.

Vivek Bhadu, the chief medical officer at the civil hospital in Panchkula, said most of the deaths were from bullet wounds.

Violence was also reported from beyond Haryana. The railway stations in Malout and Balluanna in Punjab were partially burned down, police said. A power station near Mansa, also in Punjab, was attacked and two vehicles were torched there. In Rajasthan’s Ganganagar, a vehicle was burnt.

Arson was also reported from several places in Delhi, where the assembly of more than four people was prohibited.

As the clashes intensified, the Punjab and Haryana high court said the sect will have to compensate for the losses and sought a list of its properties. More than 1,000 Dera followers were arrested.

The CBI court will announce the quantum of punishment for Singh on August 28. Singh faces up to seven years’ in jail. He was taken into custody by the Haryana police, and was transferred to a jail in Rohtak in a chopper.

Late evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence (and) urge everyone to maintain peace.”

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also condemned “the rampage and lawlessness in Haryana” and called for peace.

Fears of mass unrest over Singh’s trial grew earlier this week after some 50,000 of his supporters gathered and stockpiled weapons at the cult’s headquarters in Sirsa, where he repeatedly raped two women followers 15 years ago.

Singh is the latest among several self-styled godmen accused of rape and other crimes. Another guru with millions of followers, Asaram, and his son are also in jail on rape charges.

Singh is also under investigation over allegations that he convinced 400 male followers to undergo castration so they could get closer to god, a charge he denies.

Right to Privacy fundamental right: SC

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled that the right to privacy was a fundamental right under the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar ruled that “right to privacy is an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 and entire Part III of the Constitution“.

The ruling on the highly contentious issue was to deal with a batch of petitions challenging the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing the benefits of various social welfare schemes.

India's Supreme Court strikes down triple talaq

NEW DELHI, Aug 22: The Supreme Court banned on Tuesday a controversial Islamic practice of instant divorce as arbitrary and unconstitutional, in a landmark verdict for gender justice that will stop Muslim men calling off a marriage on a whim.

In a split verdict, three of the five all-male judges on the case said the practice of saying “talaq”, or divorce, three times in one go – sometimes even over email and WhatsApp – violated women’s right to equality and was not integral to Islam.

The dissenting note came from Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and justice S Abdul Nazeer, who argued instant talaq should be suspended and the government asked to bring a law to regulate the practice within six months. The majority verdict overrides the minority view.

“What is bad in theology is bad in law as well,” said justice Kurian Joseph who was part of the majority view.

Debate over the law had pitted an unlikely coalition of Muslim women, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP which wanted the practice quashed, against some Muslim groups which contended the state had no right to interfere in religious matters.

Tuesday’s verdict comes as a shot in the arm of the BJP, which can showcase it to moderate voters as a vindication of the party’s stand on gender justice, as well as to counter accusations of Muslim groups that it was backing the issue only to malign Islam.

“This is a historic day for Muslim women. No Muslim women will have to go through the harassment that I suffered,” said Shayara Bano, a 35-year-old divorced Muslim woman whose petition two years ago helped end instant talaq.

“I am happy that my 11-year-old daughter will not have to face such regressive practice when she grows up.”

Muslim men in India can still divorce using two other forms of talaq that have a three-month cooling off period. Muslim women usually divorce using a practice called Khula. Instant talaq, or “talaq-e-biddat”, is banned in 22 Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, for being sinful and arbitrary.

Tuesday’s bench of five judges were from India’s major faiths -- Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

In rare agreement, top political and religious groups welcomed Tuesday’s verdict, which was described by Prime Minister Modi as historic and a “powerful measure for women empowerment”.

The opposition Congress called it “a progressive, secular judgment for equal rights of Muslim women in India”.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a non-governmental body that lobbies for the application of Islamic civil laws and opposes any ban on triple talaq, also welcomed the verdict, saying it “accords protection to Muslim personal laws”.

“As far as talaq-e-biddat is concerned we had already submitted to the court that the practice, though has basis in religious texts and belief, is not the best way of pronouncing talaq,” the board said in a statement.

“The Supreme Court verdict cannot be misused by the government to try to interfere with personal laws through legislation”.

Congress asks Rail Minister to resign for Utkal Express derailment

NEW DELHI, Aug 21: The Congress on Monday demanded the resignation of railway minister Suresh Prabhu taking moral responsibility for the Utkal Express derailment in Muzaffarnagar in which 23 people were killed.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said Prabhu should introspect and reflect on what has happened and that sending some officials on leave "mocks" the unfortunate deaths.

He also urged him to take a cue from Lal Bahadur Shastri and Madhavrao Scindia who put in their papers as railway minister and aviation minister, respectively, owing moral responsibility of such tragedies.

"The Congress demands that Suresh Prabhu, railway minister, should immediately resign from his position," he told reporters.

Tewari alleged that the present BJP government, ever since it assumed office in May 2014, underscored its complete insensitivity to railway safety and security.

Another party spokesperson Ajay Kumar said the BJP government has "completely failed" on providing safety and security to passengers, which should be the government's top priority.

Kumar also dubbed railway coaches as "death coaches", saying people were getting killed in the absence of safety and security.

He demanded compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and Rs 5 lakh to the seriously injured.

Tewari targeted the railway minister, alleging that functioning of the Railways suffered immensely under Prabhu and over 300 lives were lost in 27 rail accidents in the last three years.

"We would like Prabhu to reflect, we would like him to introspect that after all that has happened, does he have the moral right to continue in office. Should Suresh Prabhu remain the railway minister of India?

"We would like to demand, not that this government has an iota of morality in it, but we would still like to demand that in the wake of what has happened, in the latest railway tragedy which is entirely man-made, a tragedy of enormous proportions and as nobody has the right to play with innocent human lives," he said.

The government has already taken action, sending on leave its three top officials, including a secretary-level official, suspended four and transfered one in the wake of Saturday's accident.

The Congress spokesperson said there is something which is called the modicum of moral responsibility and politicians need to take moral responsibility without going too much into the past.

Kumar also said this government's priority has been to provide a "pizza to train passengers" and not their safety. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat model of governance.

He said that the hallmark of this government was "event management and managing news cycles" but losing human lives was far more serious.

Tewari said the tradition in public life in the Congress was that when such grave tragedies took place, ministers took moral responsibility.

He also said when Prabhu was brought in, he was touted as the "messiah" and the "magic bullet" who would transform the Railways and there was talk about bullet trains being introduced.

"All that was, of course, another myth like the Rs 15 lakh into the bank accounts of people but what has happened is something which is of extreme worry," he said, adding that the day to day functioning of Railways has suffered tremendously which is reflected in repeated accidents and tragedies of innocent human lives.

"We saw what happened in Gorakhpur. We saw the brazen response of the BJP. We saw finger pointing at the Opposition rather than introspecting and taking responsibility for what had happened, the death of innocent children because of lack of oxygen.

"Not a tear was shed by either the chief minister or the health minister of Uttar Pradesh who claims to be the inheritor of Lal Bahadur Shastri legacy and of course, the prime minister who tweets about everything in the world, but not a word of sympathy, not a word of empathy for the families of those who died in that tragedy," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha on Monday said there would be unprecedented action against those found guilty in the inquiry report of the Kalinga Utkal Express derailment.

The derailment in Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar district on Saturday evening killed 23 people and injured 156, 26 of whom are in a critical condition.

23 killed as train derails in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW, Aug 19: At least 23 people were killed and 40 injured when 14 coaches of the Kalinga Utkal Express derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district on Saturday, sending coaches ramming into each other as well as a house close to the tracks.

The train from Puri in Odisha was on its way to Haridwar in Uttarakhand. It derailed near Khatauli station around 5.45pm.

UP principal secretary (home), Arvind Kumar, said the train got derailed as the driver slammed the brakes suddenly. “There was (repair) work on the tracks but no flagging was done,” he added.

Railway sources denied the charge.

The driver “felt a jerk and realised that the derailment had happened. He couldn’t apply the brakes”, one of the sources said.

“According to him, either the soil beneath the tracks was loose because of the rain or the railways didn’t do periodic ultrasonic fault detection on the tracks,” the source added.

The train was travelling at 106kmph. It normally covers the distance between Puri and Haridwar in 36 hours.

The engine and five bogies apparently crossed the spot where the train derailed.

A team of UP’s anti-terrorist squad was sent to the site to investigate if it was a case of sabotage or not.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu ordered an inquiry and directed railway board chairman and other officials to oversee rescue and relief operations. “I am personally monitoring the situation,” he tweeted.

He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 3.5 lakh for the dead and Rs 50,000 for those with serious injuries.

Modi vows to build 'new India'

NEW DELHI, Aug 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged in his Independence Day speech Tuesday to wipe out corruption and usher in good governance, urging people to help him build a prosperous and united "new India".

In an hour-long speech to mark the anniversary of India's independence from British rule, Modi pledged to bring in transparency to end decades of graft.

"We may have grown up in despair, but now we have to move ahead with confidence," he said as he addressed the nation from the Red Fort, a sprawling 17th century fortress in the heart of New Delhi.

Modi hailed his government efforts in recent months to cut graft, including the surprise decision to withdraw large currency notes and an overhaul of taxes on goods and services that he said had brought billions of dollars of unaccounted money into the mainstream economy.

The prime minister's annual speech outlined his government's agenda in tackling the many problems faced by this country of 1.3 billion people.

Although his government has been pursuing a tough line in the Indian-controlled part of disputed Kashmir, Modi urged a more conciliatory approach toward Kashmiri people, saying rather than resort to abuse or bullets, efforts should be made to "embrace" the people and bring them into the mainstream of the country.

Referring to external threats to the country, he declared that India was capable of defending itself from all threats. Without naming its hostile neighbors, China and Pakistan, Modi said the country's security was a priority for his government.

"Internal security is our priority. Be it sea or borders, be it cyber or space, India is capable of tackling every security challenge," he said.

Modi also referred to internal threats to the country's unity, condemning the use of violence in the name of faith.

Since Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, fringe Hindu groups have carried out deadly attacks on Muslims accused of eating beef.

Many Hindus consider cows sacred and slaughtering cows or eating beef is illegal or restricted in much of the Hindu-majority country.

A large part of Modi's speech dealt with his government's efforts to end corruption and bureaucratic lethargy and cut red tape.

He said the withdrawal of large currency notes had hauled around $47 billion of illegal money into the formal banking system, although the currency transition caused difficulty for many people. Similarly, the mammoth task of overhauling the country's taxes on goods had been nothing short of "a technological miracle," he said.

Create an India that does not discriminate: President

NEW DELHI, Aug 14: President Ram Nath Kovind, in his first address to the nation on the eve of the 71st Independence Day, called for a partnership between citizens and the government to create a new India “that does not discriminate on gender or religious background.”

Spelling out his vision, President Kovind said when India completes 75 years of Independence by 2022, it should have a compassionate society.

“New India must include that integral humanist component that is in our DNA, and which has defined our country and our civilisation,” he said.

The President said the goal of creating a new India can be achieved only when disadvantaged sections like the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Other Backward Classes are part of the national development process.

President Kovind said senior citizens, the differently-abled, the poor and underprivileged should always be part of a compassionate “society’s thought and not an after thought”.

The President recalled the contribution made by the freedom fighters including Jawahar Lal Nehru and urged citizens to draw inspiration from them and invoke the same spirit for the task of nation building.

“The stress on the moral basis of policy and action, belief in unity and discipline, faith in a synthesis of heritage and science, and promotion of the rule of law and of education — all of it was located in a partnership between citizen and government,” said the President.

Praising initiatives like the Swach Bharat Mission, demonetisation, introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, President Kovind pointed out that the success of many of the flagship programmes depend on the citizen’s participation.

“The government is promoting the idea of Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao — but it is for each of us to ensure that our daughters are not discriminated against and get the best education. The government can frame laws and strengthen law enforcement – but it is for each of us to be a law-abiding citizen. And to build a law-abiding society,” he said.

Calling demonetization as a boost towards creating an honest society, the President praised citizens for their support.

“Your immense patience and understanding in the days following demonetisation — and your whole-hearted support in the battle against corruption and black money— reflected a responsible and enlightened society,” Mr. Kovind said.

Asserting that India occupies an admirable place on the global stage, President Kovind said, “the country is seen as a responsible global citizen, a growing economy, and a solution provider to various international challenges — such as climate change, disasters, conflicts, humanitarian crises, radicalism and terrorism.”

Urging citizens to display an ‘extra degree of selflessness” like soldiers, farmers or people who handle natural disasters, President Kovind said every citizen should help, at least, one underprivileged child to acquire education as “equipping the future generation is the single most critical factor in national building.”

Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Yasin Ittoo Among 3 Militants Killed in Shopian Encounter

SRINAGAR, Aug 13: Top Hizbul Mujahideeen commander Yasin Ittoo was among the three terrorists gunned down by the security forces in an overnight operation in Shopian district in south Kashmir.

Two Army men had lost their lives in the gunfight that started on Saturday evening and stretched till Sunday morning. Three soldiers had also been injured in the encounter.

Ittoo was on top of a list of militant targets released by the Army earlier this year. A resident of Nagam Chadoora in Budgam, he was famous as Mehmood Gaznavi. The news of his death was confirmed by the official handle of J&K Police's twitter handle.

Police said Ittoo, who was from Budgam district of central Kashmir, had a long association with Hizbul Mujahideen and was involved in keeping alive the prolonged unrest of 2016 following the killing of group's commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces, besides recruiting several young men into the outfit.

He was identified by his family members who were brought to the scene of the encounter by police from their residence in Budgam.

Often called a 'vintage militant' as he joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 1996, Ittoo had surrendered in 2007 and later released on parole in 2014. He joined the militant group again and was its self-styled chief operations commander.

In a video message posted online last month, Ittoo had warned of several attacks on the security forces. He was also believed to be behind the wave of bank robberies in Kashmir in the last few months as HM looked to ramp up its operations and induct more men for its attacks. The HM commander had also urged Kashmir policemen to join the terror outfit and offered support for stone-pelters.

Giving details about the encounter, a defence spokesman said that security forces had launched a cordon and search operation after receiving information about the presence of militants in Avneera village in Zainapora area of the district on Saturday.

As the forces were conducting searches, the militants opened fire on them which was retaliated by the law enforcement personnel, triggering a gunfight. Five soldiers were injured in the gunfight on Saturday and were evacuated to 92 Base Hospital of the Army for treatment. Two soldiers among them succumbed to their injuries on Saturday night.

The operation was halted for the night but the forces maintained cordon of the area to stop the militants from fleeing. The gunfight resumed on Sunday morning and the three militants were killed. The two other militants killed were identified as Irfan, a tech-savvy militant involved in online propaganda for the HM, and Umar, who was personal security man of Ittoo.

A defence spokesman identified the slain Army men as Sepoy Ilayaraja P, a resident of Tamil Nadu, and Sepoy Gawai Sumedh Waman, a resident of Maharashtra.

At least 46 dead in Himachal landslide

SHIMLA: A massive landslide buried two Himachal Pradesh roadways buses, killing at least 46 people and injuring several others at Kotpuri near Padhar on the Mandi-Pathankot national highway on Sunday, officials said.

Huge chunk of debris sliding down the hill washed away the two HRTC buses, some other vehicles and few houses besides a 250-meter stretch of Pathankot-Mandi national highway. Five people who were injured in the incident were shifted to a local hospital.

Officials fear that the toll could rise further as over 50 passengers were travelling in the two buses hit by the landslide, which was triggered by a cloud burst.

"Forty-six bodies have been recovered, and of these 23 have been identified," an official said.

30 children die in 48 hours in Gorakhpur hospital

GORAKHPUR, Aug 12: At least 30 children died in the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College here during the last 48 hours, district magistrate Rajeev Rautela said on Friday, but gave no reasons for such a large number of deaths. Rautela said that 17 children died in the neo-natal ward, five in the AES (acute encephalitis syndrome) ward and eight in the general ward.

Two more deaths were recorded in the hospital on Saturday morning.

State health minister Siddharth Nath Singh and minister for technical and medical education Ashutosh Tandon will meet chief minister Yogi Adityanath today in the wake of the incident. They will visit the hospital after their meeting.

An inquiry committee has been set up to ascertain the exact causes of the deaths and it has been asked to submit its report by tomorrow evening. Sources said the supply of oxygen to the hospital was stopped on Thursday night due to non-payment of dues to the firm engaged in supplying oxygen to the hospital. But officials said there was nothing extraordinary about the outstanding amount and the hospital, the biggest in Purvanchal, is not facing any fiancial crunch.

UP director general, medical education, K K Gupta said "Prima facie, the deaths did not take place due to problem in oxygen supply. Back up cylinders were available. The BRD Medical College is the biggest in Purvanchal, and six-seven deaths a day are normal during the peak encephalitis season, when the casualty rates are normally high."

When asked about the dues to the firm, he said, "Such dues are normal. There is no shortage of funds."

Minister for medical education Ashutosh Tandon ruled out disruption in oxygen supply as the reason behind the deaths. He said he had announced a magisterial probe into the deaths.

But, as per hospital sources unwilling to be named, there was a sudden drop in the oxygen supply pressure around 8pm on Thursday, and the situation worsened by 11.30pm same day. Around 1.30am Friday, the oxygen supply was resumed with the help of cylinders but it proved inadequate.

BJP picks Venkaiah Naidu to face Oppn candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi

NEW DELHI, July 17: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu is set to become India’s next vice president, having been named by the Bharatiya Janata Party as the ruling alliance’s candidate on Monday.

He will go into the August 5 election with a clear advantage over the opposition’s candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

The vice president is selected by an electoral college of 790 parliamentarians from both houses, where the National Democratic Alliance — the BJP and its partners — form a majority with 410 members.

“He is one of the most senior and experienced leaders across party lines,” BJP chief Amit Shah said after a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board that cleared his name. “He has more than 25 years of experience in public life.”

Late on Monday night, Naidu resigned from the urban development, housing and poverty alleviation, and information & broadcasting ministries in the Union government. He will also have to resign from the Upper House to run for the post of vice president.

“The BJP is my mother. I feel like I am leaving my mother,” said Naidu.

According to sources, Modi spoke to JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar for support. Kumar has already pledged support to Gandhi.

Two sets of nomination papers in support of Naidu’s candidature will be filed tomorrow — the last day of nomination. Prime Minister Modi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will propose Naidu’s name.

In addition to Naidu’s long legislative experience – he is a four-term member of Rajya Sabha –it is the BJP’s expansion plans for the Southern India that is understood to have influenced the decision in favour of the Andhra politician.

Opposition parties have managed to block several bills in the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority. The ruling alliance was, therefore, keen on nominating someone with experience who can help steer bills by building consensus in the Upper House.

The NDA’s relationship with current chairman Hamid Ansari was never warm.

The BJP will become the single largest party in Rajya Sabha next year when elections for 58 RS berths, including 10 from Uttar Pradesh, are held in May.

Before Monday’s meeting, Naidu met Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Shah in the morning and they communicated to him the party’s decision. A formal announcement was made after the BJP’s parliamentary board meeting.

The PM, sources said, told Naidu that letting him go was a personal loss, but the party wanted to benefit from his long legislative experience in the upper house of which he will become the chairman after being elected as the vice president.

The Andhra politician, sources said, was reluctant to take up the job that will mean an end to his active political career. But Modi eventually persuaded him, they said.

Naidu was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. A student of law in college, Naidu is the second BJP leader, after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to occupy the post of the vice president. He became the BJP’s president in 2003 at an early age of 54.

Naidu was associated with the RSS’s student wing in his early days, and served as the president of Andhra University Student’s Union. He was elected to the legislative assembly of Andhra Pradesh in 1978 and, again, in 1983.

Two Pakistanis among 4 terrorists involved in attack on Amarnath pilgrims: Government

NEW DELHI, July 12: Four terrorists, two of them Pakistanis, are suspected to have been involved in the attack on Amarnath pilgrims in which seven devotees were killed, home ministry officials said on Wednesday.

Quoting intelligence inputs, the officials said Pakistani national and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Ismail was the mastermind of Monday's attack and he was assisted by another Pakistani and two local militants.

A massive manhunt has been launched for the four terrorists, who are also believed to have used two motorcycles to escape from the scene after attacking the pilgrims bus, officials said.

They said the Gujarat-registered bus, which was attacked, reached Jammu on July 7 and got registered at Amarnath shrine facilitation centre.

Initially, the bus was part of the regular convoy of the pilgrims and travelled together till Baltal.

The pilgrims in the bus paid their obeisance at the cave shrine on July 8 and returned. On the way back, the pilgrims left the convoy and drove to Srinagar.
The Gujarati pilgrims stayed in Srinagar for two days as tourists. On July 10, around 4:30pm, they left Srinagar for Katra.

The vehicle got punctured at a place 10km away from Khanabal around 6:30pm. Then the passengers went down and had food at a roadside eatery.

When the bus resumed its journey, it came under attack from the terrorists at Khanabal around 8.17pm.

Facing the bullets, the driver of the bus, Salim Sheikh, charged past the area but had to face another group of terrorists after crossing just 75 metres.

The driver again did not stop the bus despite facing the terrorist attack for the second time in quick succession.

The bus was finally stopped at a police point after a few kilometres and the policemen on duty took the pilgrims to the Anantnag police line where the injured were given first aid before being shifted to a hospital, officials said.

Terrorists kill 7 Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, July 11: At least seven pilgrims returning from the remote Himalayan shrine of Amarnath were shot dead and several wounded when militants fired on their bus as well as a security vehicle in Anantnag district of Kashmir on Monday, police said.

All the victims were from Gujarat, state chief minister Vijay Rupani told reporters, pointing to a possible targeted strike against a chartered bus from that state. Five of the dead were women.

The attack occurred at Batengoo at about 8.20pm when 60-70 pilgrims were returning from Baltal, one of the base camps of the pilgrimage, to Jammu. Batengoo is 65 km south of Srinagar.

Officials said the bus was neither registered with the Amarnath shrine board nor part of a convoy. It was moving after sunset, which is not allowed because of security restrictions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack as cowardly, saying “India will never get bogged down by such cowardly attacks and evil designs of hate”.

In a series of tweets, he also said: “The attack deserves strongest condemnation from everyone.”

Just weeks ago, intelligence agencies had warned that militants were planning to target 100 policemen and as many Amarnath pilgrims to trigger communal violence, prompting the authorities to deploy more than 40,000 troops to protect the twin routes of the 40-day pilgrimage.

Police said the militants attacked a security check post before moving to target the pilgrims’ bus. They said the toll could rise as some of the 18 wounded were critical. The injured also included several policemen.

SDS Jamwal, inspector general of police in Jammu, said no decision has been taken yet to suspend the yatra from Jammu.

Reacting to the attack, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “This is a grave & unacceptable security lapse. The PM needs to accept responsibility and never allow it to happen again”.

State chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed deep shock and anguish over the killings. “It is a gruesome attack not only on unsuspecting guests but a brazen attack on Kashmir and Kashmiriyat and all of us shall have to rise against this scourge of violence..,” she said.

Kashmiri separatist leaders also condemned the killing. In a joint statement, they said the incident went against the very grain of Kashmiri ethos.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “The one thing we had all feared this year during the yatra. In spite of recent successes against militants and unprecedented force presence.”

This year, police used drone-mounted surveillance cameras, jammers, dog squads, bullet-proof bunkers, satellite tracking devices and other gadgets to secure the pilgrimage in view of increased militancy and violence in Kashmir.

The base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal are in Anantnag and Ganderbal districts. Situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of Lidder Valley, Amarnath shrine stands at 3,888 metres, 46km from Pahalgam and 14km from Baltal.

The Amarnath pilgrimage has come under attack by militants three times in the past, including the massacre of 30 people in Pahalgam on August 1, 2000. The government had held the Lashkar-e-Taiba responsible for that attack.