Very light rains and thundershowers occurred at isolated places in Uttar Pradesh though, and a fresh warning of heavy showers was issued in Himachal Pradesh as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely in several parts of the country, including the northern region, over the next six-seven days.
Survivors thanks almighty for saving them from the tragedy.
BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's key aide Amit Shah was booked on Sunday by the Bijnore district administration for allegedly inciting the public through his controversial "revenge" remark.
BJP leaders from a dominant farming community in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh held separate meetings on Wednesday to chalk up an outreach to members of the Jat community and caste councils (khaps) to counter the narrative against the Centre's three farm laws.
The first phase of UP polls in 73 assembly constituencies on Saturday witnessed an "exemplary" 64.22 per cent voter turnout.
73 constituencies will vote on Saturday.
A controversy erupted on Monday over reported moves by the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw cases against Muslim leaders in connection with Muzaffarnagar riots even as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said only some information has been sought and this did not mean cases were being dropped.
With a controversy erupting over the two arrested alleged Lashkar-e-Tayiba operatives and their connection with Muzaffarnagar region, both the accused on Thursday wrote to the Union home minister urging him to transfer the case to the National Investigation Agency for "fair" investigation.
Noting that Muzaffarnagar riots have underlined inadequacies in existing laws to deal with such clashes, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan on Monday pitched for introduction of the Communal Violence Bill in Winter Session of Parliament.
The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the country, on Friday took serious note of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's claim that an intelligence officer had told him that 'people from Pakistan were talking to the relatives of Muslims killed in the August 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.
District authorities in Agra have cancelled the permission granted to the Bharatiya Janata Party for holding a farmers' rally led by party leaders L K Advani and Varun Gandhi in Akola village on Sunday on the grounds that it could disturb the law and order situation there.
The minister said he would not reveal the nature of the action by the armed forces but asked people at an event here Friday to trust him on this.
Kappan was arrested on October 5, 2020 while he was on his way to Hathras, home to the 19-year-old Dalit woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men on September 14.
Emotions ran high as the farmers performed ardas (prayers) and havan to thank the almighty and started their 'victory march' from Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur protest sites to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in convoys of tractors, bedecked with colourful flowers and lights and blaring songs of jubilation.
The FIR claimed that police recovered pamphlets "Justice for Hathras victim", six mobiles and a laptop from them, and during the initial probe it was found that they were going to Hathras with an intention "to breach the peace" as part of a "conspiracy".
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Saturday asked the Centre to explain to farmers why it does not want to repeal the three farm laws, while promising it that they 'will not let the government bow its head' before the world.
'The spread of barbarity in Muzaffarnagar's villages makes administrative complicity so very evident that your government is rightly alleged to be imitating what the Modi-led administration did in Gujarat in 2002,' Mohammad Sajjad tells UP Minister Azam Khan.
Almost all states and Union Territories have extended the curbs which they first started imposing in mid-April as the second COVID wave hit the country.
Janata Dal-United leader Ali Anwar on Sunday said that the Bihari community knows how to get rid of communal forces.
"Our daughters go to schools and colleges. They (Muslims) do not believe in sending their girls to schools. Our daughters, therefore, are vulnerable to filthy remarks, unwanted advances and eve-teasing. We have to fight for our izzat (honour)," said Uday Veer. One comes across different versions of the same narrative in Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Meerut. It cuts across caste lines and made class differences redundant.
Taking strong exception to Gujarat Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addressing Rahul Gandhi as shehzada, the Congress on Saturday did some tough talking, threatening that its workers were capable of stopping such "undignified" language but were restrained due to their respect for laws and the Model Code.
The Centre on Monday came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government for its alleged failure to prevent riots in Muzaffarnagar and said people of the state have lost complete faith in the Samajwadi Party dispensation.
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Under fire over the handling of the communal flare-up in Muzaffarnagar, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh on Tuesday defended the Akhilesh Yadav government, saying it took stern measures and the situation was brought under control in two days.
The new candidates fielded from these constituencies by the BJP are: SP Singh Baghel (Agra), Parameshwar Lal Saini (Sambhal), Raj Kumar Chaher (Fatehpur Sikri), Jai Prakash Rawat (Hardoi-SC), Ashok Rawat (Misrikh-SC) and Arun Sagar (Shahjahanpur-SC).
The first substantial round of polling in the Lok Sabha elections began on Thursday, involving nearly 11 crore voters in 92 seats spread across 11 states, including Delhi and the national capital region and the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar. This will be the third round in the nine-phased elections which began on April 7 and will conclude on May 12. Thursday's round will also cover three Union Territories. We present some photographs:
According to the police, overall, 1,818 people have been arrested so far in 400 cases in connection with the riots. They said 342 charge sheets have been filed by Delhi Police by the end of 2020, out of which the trial court has taken cognizance 250 cases.
Facing criticism over his remarks about deaths at riot relief camps in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Narad Rai on Sunday said death cannot be averted and people died at the camp despite all arrangements by the government.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader leader Shahnawaz Hussain on Friday demanded an apology from Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for his statement that he was briefed by an "intelligence official" on the Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence having 'contacted' 10-15 youth whose kin were killed in the Muzaffarnagar riots, for potential recruitment.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted protection from coercive action to AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in alleged hate speech cases lodged against him in UP.
"We state that the most precious fundamental 'right to life' unconditionally embraces even an undertrial. The consideration made herein is keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case.
Finding itself in the dock after the report of a committee on death of children in relief camps, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said those living in the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli camps will be shifted to vacant government buildings and blankets and bonfires will also be arranged for them.
All this is clearly needed. But before we can bring in smart technology, we need to know what to do with it.
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the bench that "shocking findings" have emerged in the investigation so far in the case in which Kappan was arrested on his way to Hathras.
Lashing out at Mulayam Singh Yadav over the handling of the situation in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh on Thursday said the Samajwadi Party chief has become the 'Narendra Modi' of Uttar Pradesh.
The Government Railway Police have given a clean chit to two Railway Protection Force personnel, accused of pushing a woman out of a moving train leading to her death, in the final report of the case submitted by it before a local court in Muzaffarnagar.
The Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that "shocking findings" have emerged in the investigation so far in the case in which Kerala-based scribe Sidhique Kappan was arrested on his way to Hathras, where a young Dalit woman had died after allegedly being gang-raped, in October.
'We cannot forget 2002. We cannot forget Modi's approach nor can we believe him.' 'The Sachar Committee says the lives of Muslims in India are even worse than that of the Dalits. Since the Congress has ruled for 50 of the 66 years, who is responsible for this?' 'When the Samajwadi Party got the opportunity, they gave us the gift of Muzaffarnagar. In some ways, this has been one of the worst riots ever.' Varanasi's Muslim-dominated weaver community is disillusioned with the Congress and Samajawadi Party and far from being impressed with Modi. Savera R Someshwar/Rediff.com listens in.
The focus on non-issues like 'love jihad' has dragged radicals like Vijaykant Chauhan from the fringes to the mainstream in Uttar Pradesh
The Congress took out marches and observed bandh at several places on Saturday to protest against rising fuel prices.
