The special investigation team had not conducted any probe on the alleged larger conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots and there was an effort to 'protect' and ensure that people from the Bajrang Dal, police, bureaucracy and others are not prosecuted, Zakia Jafri told the Supreme Court on Thursday.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has released a draft to amend the Indian Ports Act, 1908, which aims to bring in sweeping reforms in the sector by bringing non-major ports into the national fold, creating a new mechanism for resolution of disputes, and empowering maritime state development council (MSDC). The draft bill will see comments from stakeholders before being tabled in Parliament. "The Indian Ports Act, 1908 is more than 110 years old. It has become imperative that the Act is revamped to reflect the present-day frameworks, incorporate India's international obligations, address emerging environmental concerns, and aid the consultative development of the ports sector in the national interest," the shipping ministry said.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Medical seats for under-graduates and post-graduates remaining vacant in the NEET era, together with the Centre 'freezing' the number of medical colleges and seats in (Dravidian) Tamil Nadu and the launch of the PM's 'Vishwakarma Scheme' for the nation's craftsmen, are all seen as a bid to further reverse the state's progressive socio-economic agenda of and its achievements of the past hundred-plus years, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP has nothing to lose after a point. For the DMK it is a difficult choice, as it would not want to give too much of space to a 'national party' lest the 'Dravidian duel' of the past decades should be lost forever, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The meeting also decided to strengthen the security measures to monitor the local fishing boats and crews, intensify checking of passenger boats and vessels reaching the islands and strengthen the ship berthing points and helibase by installing CCTV cameras.
The apex court also pulled up the Gujarat government for extending the deadline till July next year for hospitals to rectify the building by-laws violations, and said the "carte blanche" notification was in teeth of its order of December 18 last year and people will continue to die in fire incidents.
Wailing relatives of coronavirus patients who perished in the blaze at a Bharuch hospital in Gujarat gathered outside the building in the wee hours on Saturday, blaming the facility administration for the tragedy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states to carve a niche for their governments in some or other sector of governance and called for giving topmost priority to 'ease of living' of people.
Poor governance and mediocre short-sighted politics are destroying the paradise that Goa was as its environment, water table, culture and way of life is drastically threatened by tourism and migration, points out Ramesh Menon.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has started preparing the ground to rescue Indians who are expected to be deported from Saudi Arabia as it goes ahead with its new job law, Nitaqat. Sheela Bhatt reports
'Just keep telling people that we have fixed the Muslims, and they will not be bothered about their empty stomachs or empty wallets.'
While Karnataka reported five new cases, Delhi and Telangana reported four each, and Gujarat reported one fresh case of the Omicron variant.
'Initially, Gift City was just another real estate project, but all that changed with Modi moving to New Delhi,' notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India witnessed religiously motivated killings, arrests, riots and coerced religious conversions and the police in some cases failed to respond effectively to communal violence, according to the US State Department report on International Religious Freedom.
From the many large communal riots across decades to the six-hour mass cull of Muslims in Nellie, 1983; Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere, 1984; Kashmiri Pandits, 1990; selective massacres of Hindus in Punjab, 1983-93; and Gujarat, 2002, we have failed to bring perpetrators of our biggest tragedies to account, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
It said Naisar Kothari, a resident of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, was arrested under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he has been sent to the ED custody till December 22 by a court.
As we get used to a long haul of isolation to curb the spread of COVID-19, the police's new avatar in many places is a far cry from that of the high-handed enforcer of law and order.
'The suppression is mounting and people may react.'
Opposition parties in Lakshadweep and Kerala are up in arms against various measures initiated by the Administrator of the group of islands, terming them as 'anti-people' and have sought his recall.
None of them had anything to do with the violence at Bhima Koregaon, where they were not even present, points out Aakar Patel.
This divisiveness is upsetting social cohesion and can throw the bright young people thronging to Bengaluru with billion dollar ideas in their creative minds off balance, warns Shekhar Gupta.
The study also found that most GM foods did not disclose the fact on the label. "A few also made false claims of being GM-free," the study by CSE said.
'The operation was planned in a manner so as not to alert the terrorists.' 'Every precaution was taken to keep it low-key so as not to alert the terrorists and surprise them and arrest them.'
Hospital authorities said of the deceased at the GTB, at least nine received gun shots. One of the deceased is also a woman, they said.
The Supreme Court had last week paved the way for the nationwide release of Padmaavat, by staying the ban on its screening in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The police in Noida has prohibited any religious activity, including offering of Friday prayers by Muslims, in a public park.
Amid an all-out attack by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Election Commission on Friday said permission to Narendra Modi's rally in Varanasi city was denied after the Gujarat police said the venue was not suitable but regretted the "delay" in conveying the decision to the party concerned.
Tariff cap offers Ola relief in battle with Uber. Though it might hurt their earnings, Ola believes the Karnataka High Court's judgement levels the playing field with Uber.
The home ministry said the West Bengal government is not cooperating with the central teams visiting the state to assess the ground situation and are specifically restraining them from interacting with health workers and touring the affected areas.
To believe that the key job of his senior ministers is to ensure that his image be kept intact whatever be the outcome of his policies is to expect too much even of someone as ambitious as Narendra Modi, asserts Rashme Sehgal.
Drones are being used for carrying out a host of tasks like surveillance to ensure that people are maintaining social distancing, spreading awareness about COVID-19 in densely populated areas, spraying disinfectants and checking people's temperature
'The Post's coverage is not an authentic public discourse guided by unbiased Western intellectuals, but a slanted doomsday propaganda orchestrated by Indians and expatriate Indians,' argues Vivek Gumaste.
'The UPA was the gang that couldn't shoot straight. The NDA is the gang that can't stop shooting. They (the Modi government) are shooting at anybody, everybody, all directions, shooting themselves in the foot.'
'Most Hindus believe in living in peace with their Muslim neighbours and vice versa.' 'It is this India we have to preserve.'
Defying prohibitory orders, protests were held in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and several other cities. Protesters, mostly students and activists, were detained on a large scale in national capital and other places.
'If Mr Modi continues growing as a Hindu Hriday Samrat, better that it is done by restoring ancient temples than demolishing medieval mosques,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The Goa-based marine engineer booked for anti-Narendra Modi remarks on Facebook on Saturday said his post was a reaction to BJP inducting controversial right wing leader Pramod Muthalik into the party, and maintained the issue had been blown out of proportion.
Hardik Patel, who was leading the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, demanding Other Backward Class reservation for the Patel community, has been detained by the police in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. He was later released.
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