'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Reliance Power's plans are to set up a 7,480-Mw project, which will be the largest gas-fired power project at a single location in the world.
The Congress said the ECI finally released the voter turnout data late last night after a completely unacceptable delay of 11 days for Phase I and 4 days for Phase 2.
The three MLAs -- Sombir Sangwan, Randhir Gollen and Dharampal Gonder -- also said that they have decided to extend support to the Congress during the elections.
Leading writers Nayantara Sahgal and Shashi Deshpande on Wednesday sought a strong condemnation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Dadri lynching incident and opposition to Ghulam Ali's concert.
District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar NP Singh has clamped Section 144 CrPC and issued prohibitory orders banning gathering of five or more persons in the district after Bishada villagers in Dadri announced panchayat for Monday and additional security personnel have been deployed in the village, officials said.
'They were very vocal on the defence of the Constitution, reservation, SC/ST Act and democratic rights.'
Reliance Energy on Thursday said it will invest more than Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) for setting up the Dadri power plant in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress on Monday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "break his silence" over the alleged "provocative" statements by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in connection with the Dadri lynching, saying that not doing so would suggest that they had his "approval".
The National Security Act is likely to be invoked against killers of the Mohammad Akhlaq, who was brutally beaten to death on Monday night after locals suspected him of storing and consuming beef.
Polling for 58 assembly seats spread across 11 districts in the western part of the state began in the morning.
According to the police, a Special Task Force team retaliated when the gangster, recently released from prison on bail, opened fire at them after being cornered. His car had crashed into a pole.
The government on Friday said allocation of natural gas to companies like Anil Ambani Group's RNRL will depend on availability of the fuel after supplying to already designated users.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
Demanding justice for his father, who was lynched by a mob over rumours in Dadri area of UP, his son Mohammad Sartaj on Monday appealed against politicising the issue.
'In Western UP, last time a lot of Dalits voted for the BJP.' 'This time, there is a rethink among Dalits about the extent of their support for the BJP.'
The former BJP MLA has been held guilty under IPC Section 188 (disobedience to orders duly promulgated by government officials) for violating CrPC Section 144 restrictions at Akhlaq's Bisahda village.
"This wasn't an attack over meat. He has been killed in the name of religion. This is a pre-planned, cold-blooded killing. It cannot be an accident," said Owaisi.
'Even if the media is partisan, the BJP, governing at the Centre, has the most to lose if India descends into widespread communal violence.' 'Fanning the flames either by vested political interests or by partisan reports only plays into the hands of those seek a conflagration.'
"Whatever he (Som) spoke has been videographed. I have asked legal experts to examine his statement....the statement he made in the village and the statement he made to the media persons. If any action is needed to be taken as per law, it will be taken," the District Magistrate N P Singh said.
'Today, the target of this rage are the weaker sections of society -- Muslims, Dalits, liberal thinkers/writers who challenge its ideology. But tomorrow, it could be anyone stepping out of a pub; reading a book or watching a movie by an artist considered an anti-Hindu/anti-national,' says Durba Dhyani.
'The reason I call Dadri a landmark turning point in our politics is the relatively muted response of the self-styled secular forces.' 'Top leaders of the Congress haven't even taken a padyatra to the village, just a 40 minute drive from Delhi. Lalu, Nitish, Mamata, all claimants to the secular vote, are afraid of messing with an issue involving the cow.' 'Holiness of the cow has now become as multi-partisan an issue as hostility to Pakistan,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Stirring the political cauldron, controversial BJP MLA Sangeet Som on Sunday visted Dadri where he attacked Samajwadi Party government, alleging it was appeasing the minority community and innocent people were being framed for lynching of a man over beef eating rumour.
The victim's mother Omvati alleged police harassment and said that her son was under immense pressure despite his name not being in the list of absconders.
'Mohammad Akhlaq's death isn't only about a Muslim being killed out of sheer communal bigotry, but also the denial of the Constitutional guarantees of "due process" under Article 21 and the freedom of choice,' says Shehzad Poonawalla, who has moved the National Commission for Minorities over the murder.
Senior officers admit the BJP's revival, and the mainstreaming of the Hindutva narrative that has accompanied this political shift, have complicated communal relations within the army.
PM Modi's statement on Wednesday led ally Shiv Sena to rake up his past when he was chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Polling started at 7 am and closed at 6 pm and there were reports of technical snags in EVMs at some places, but voting was peaceful, Election Commission officials said.
Naveen and Hussamuddin storm into pre-quarters at IBA World Boxing championships
National Commission for Minorities suspects there was "pre-meditated planning" behind the Dadri lynching incident and termed "disturbing" controversial statements by politicians to "make capital out of such outrages".
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh vice president Arvind Kumar Sharma will be reaching out to residents of western UP with public meetings in Noida, Greater Noida and Bulandshahr from Friday.
Yogi expands UP Cabinet in attempt to balance caste, regional aspirations head of the assembly polls early next year.
Constable Priti Rani was among the hundreds of police personnel deployed for Adityanath's visit.
A myth was nurtured for nearly three decades that any chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who visited Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district was doomed to go out of power.
The daughter of a tea-shop owner, Sudiksha Bhati died on Monday morning near Aurangabad when she was riding pillion on a motorcycle with her younger brother, a minor, they said. The two were en route to their maternal uncle's home in Bulandshahr's Khanpur area from their house at Deri Scanar village in Gautam Buddh Nagar's Dadri tehsil, the officials said.
Mohammed Sartaj, whose father Iqlakh was beaten to death and his 22-year-old brother Danish critically injured by a 200-strong mob, said the family has moved to Delhi on Tuesday night.
'While the government must be relentless in its efforts to curb unruly elements to ensure secular harmony and protect its goal of national development,it must not lose the moral high ground by giving in to the antics of the anti-nationalist lobby.' 'They must be countered and relegated to the dustbin of history,' says Vivek Gumaste.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building Sunday morning and installed the scared 'Sengol' in the Lok Sabha chamber, right next to the Speaker's chair, after performing a puja.
The UP government has deployed additional police, including over 1,000 personnel of anti-riot forces, and ordered multiple probes -- by SIT, ADG-Intelligence -- and a magisterial inquiry.
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