'We have a situation where the BJP, with less than 2 per cent vote share, has 10 MLAs.'
With 20 more bodies recovered in quake hit Sikkim on Tuesday night, the toll mounted to 73 on Wednesday amidst fears that the casualty figure could go up significantly as the rescue party were yet to reach 15 major villages.
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The IMD had said the Southwest Monsoon would hit parts of north India including Delhi on July 10, but it had not occurred till Sunday evening.
Torrential rains pounded the tiny Himalayan state of Sikkim and the tea growing region of North Bengal, causing landslides that cut off National Highway-10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country.
The military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the evolving situation in eastern Ladakh, though officials maintained that the agenda of the pre-scheduled meeting was to discuss the ambitious military reforms and ways to boost India's combat prowess.
In underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers, New Delhi is following China's example in Tibet.
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At least 11 people were killed -- six in India and five in Nepal -- after a powerful earthquake with a 6.8 magnitude rocked Sikkim and other parts in the northeast on Sunday leaving. In, India around fifty people have been injured and there has been extensive damage to property. The quake also jolted Bangladesh, sparking panic among the people, though there was no immediate report of any casualty.
At least seven people have been killed and 22 others injured in Tibet as the earthquake that hit Sikkim and other North Eastern states in India also rocked the Chinese autonomous province leaving trail of destruction.
'The Weather Channel argues that India faces the gravest challenge: Climate change-induced health vulnerability.' 'This is an issue often neglected, alerts Claude Arpi: "Prolonged summers, unpredictable rains, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels are the harsh realities of climate change in the country. These factors increase the frequency and severity of illnesses, pushing people into poverty, and forcing migration".'
Earthquake on 6.9 on the richter scale rocked Sikkim on Sunday evening.
While confirming this, Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor on Tuesday sought to downplay the survey, saying there was nothing unusual about it as 'we are carrying out such exercises in other places'. The report comes days after the government has asked the Survey of India to carry out a fresh survey of the northern plateau in Sikkim using latest methods to validate India's position.
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Tata Electronics on Saturday began the construction of its Rs 27,000-crore chip assembly plant in Assam, which is expected to become operational next year and create 27,000 jobs initially. The plant will produce 4.83 crore chips per day using indigenously-developed technologies. The plant's Bhumi Pujan (foundation stone laying) ceremony was held at the project site at Jagiroad in Morigaon district in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran.
The Indian Army has been matching up to the Chinese build up in both Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley, the two locations in Ladakh which have witnessed major reinforcement of troops in the last two weeks, sources said. There was very little chance of easing of tension anytime soon as both sides are aggressively holding onto their respective positions, they said.
It is learnt that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to top military brass that there was no need for reviewing the implementation of any of the key projects along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand or in Arunachal Pradesh in view of the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops in several sensitive areas.
The Chinese action followed 'India's recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region', a write-up in the state-run Global Times tabloid said, quoting unnamed military sources.
The international community must be clear that such a behaviour is unacceptable, a top US senator said.
Twelve stranded foreigners were rescued from the North district as relief teams battled hard to reach remote quake-hit areas with landslides blocking roads as the toll in Sunday's powerful temblor rose to 117, including 74 in the Himalayan state.
The southwest monsoon over the country is likely to be normal in July, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday in its forecast for the month.
India has received 20 per cent less rainfall since the start of the monsoon period on June 1, with the rain-bearing system making no significant progress between June 12 and 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The BJP, which rules the Centre, is in power in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and is all set to get Madhya Pradesh back and snatch Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the Congress after today's vote count.
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Indian troops were maintaining their "posture" along the border with China while infrastructure development in the frontier areas was on track, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Thursday, days after personnel of the two countries were locked in two separate incidents of violent face-offs. Gen Naravane said the incidents in Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim involved aggressive behaviour by Chinese and Indian troops resulting in minor injuries to personnel from both the sides.
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Sources said the Indian troops resolutely confronted the Chinese PLA soldiers.
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Amidst reports of tension on the Sino-India border in north Sikkim, the army border personnel of the two countries held a meeting at the famous Bum La pass in Arunachal Pradesh to maintain tranquility on the frontier. Senior officers from both the armies met "in an atmosphere of cordiality" to discuss "functional issues", a defence ministry spokesman said in Delhi on Monday.
As the military standoff between India and China drags on along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the talks between the two sides are going on well and indicated hope for a resolution of the lingering row.
India and Chinese troops on Saturday exchanged sweets and greetings at 10 border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in eastern Ladakh to mark the New Year, officials said.
Army chief General Naravane said the ongoing dialogue will sort out all the perceived differences between the two countries.
The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections began on Friday, covering seven constituencies in four states where over half-a-crore voters decide the fate of 74 candidates.
China on Wednesday accused India of "trampling" on the Panchsheel principles and asked New Delhi to "correct its mistakes" as soon as possible by pulling back troops.
The Centre would give Rs 50 crore immediately as grant for relief and rehabilitation work in quake-ravaged Sikkim where nine villages are still cut off in the North district, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India will bear the entire cost of the cash-strapped North Eastern states' Ranji Trophy debut, which has been mandated by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee, a couple of whom will play their home games at neutral venues due to lack of infrastructure.
Friends from India's north-east living on the US west coast as well Tibetans attended the funeral of Tshering Bhutia who was killed in a college shootout last week. Ritu Jha reports
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