The Union government has ordered the complete withdrawal of the counter-terrorist commando force NSG from VIP security duties and handing over its nine "high-risk" VIPs to the CRPF by next month, official sources said Wednesday.
Among the bigwigs are Union ministers Amit Shah (Gandhinagar), Jyotiraditya Scindia (Guna), Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), Parshottam Rupala (Rajkot), Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and SP Singh Baghel (Agra).
Priyanka Gandhi's poser in a tweet came a day after the Uttar Pradesh police filed a murder case against Sengar and nine others following a complaint by the Unnao rape survivor's family, alleging "conspiracy" behind the Sunday's car crash in which the victim was severely injured and two of her family members were killed.
Asha Singh, the mother of the rape survivor, said she is contesting the polls to ensure justice for the victims of such a heinous crime.
The woman has lodged a complaint in Damoh on Thursday evening against one Omar Farooq and a police team from Damoh is leaving for Karnataka immediately to probe the case, MP home minister Narottam Mishra told reporters in Bhopal.
However, only five people will be allowed at a time, a top official said.
Reacting to his win, Sharma expressed his gratitude to the people of Amethi and the Congress party, saying the 18th Lok Sabha election in Amethi will be the biggest example of a strong and empowered democratic country.
Local residents have stressed that land acquisition for rehabilitation must be completed promptly, as it has been delayed after estate owners challenged it in the Kerala high court.
The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions.
'Because of the apprehension that I could be implicated in any other case by the Uttar Pradesh government, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had helped me on humanitarian grounds'
"Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi trust our words and reports. Why don't senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah or Dharmendra Pradhan visit Baran or anywhere in the state to know what actually is the ground reality," Gehlot told PTI.
The businessman has been grilled in this case four times in the past, the last being February 20.
The hoardings that came up in Allahabad declared Sonia Gandhi as unwell, Rahul Gandhi as overburdened, and urged Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest from the constituency of Phoolpur and help the party return to power for a third time
In a statement, the party said that the delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs was stopped by police around 1.5 kilometres from the victim's home.
Literally testing the waters in the politically crucial state, Priyanka Gandhi, who is in charge of eastern UP for the party, travelled about 100 kilometres on the Ganga over three days, ending Wednesday in Varanasi.
Celebrations had already begun at BJP headquarters before the full announcement of results.
There is "dictatorship" in India now with politicians not being allowed to visit Uttar Pradesh to meet the families of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, Rahul said.
Even though she always knows what's happening, this was the first time she reviewed plans with party veterans.
A day after 21 houses were set on fire in Bihar's Nawada district, a top state government official on Thursday said 15 people have been arrested in this connection.
The electoral battle in Varanasi, according to locals and political experts, is not about whether the PM will win for a third successive occasion, but if he will increase his share of the votes polled and his win margin.
The delegation demands the immediate dismissal of Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
The people of Amethi want to rectify their 'mistake' of 2019 and Congress workers as well as leaders are demanding that Rahul Gandhi contest from the constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party's Uttar Pradesh chief Ajay Rai said.
Vadra was directed by a Delhi court to cooperate with the investigation being carried out by the central probe agency after he knocked on its door seeking anticipatory bail in this case.
In a video message, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the party is taking back the 1,000 buses it had arranged if the Uttar Pradesh government didn't want to use them to help stranded migrant workers return home. Vadra said the buses will remain at the UP border till 4 pm, when it would be 24 hours since they were brought there.
"You take any section of society be it Dalits, weavers or Brahmins, everybody has been exploited. The administration of Yogi Adityanath ji is working completely against the 'vichaar' (thoughts) of Guru Gorakhnath," she said at a rally, taking a swipe at the BJP leader who is also the head of the prominent Mutt in Gorakhpur named after Saint Gorakhnath.
Living up to the party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's promise to give 40 per cent of the tickets to women candidates, the Congress fielded 148 of them, of which only one -- Congress Legislature leader Aradhana Mishra Mona -- secured victory.
'The Modi government's lack of foresight has compelled India to become an importer of vaccines today and even now, their "vaccine strategy is flawed and discriminatory'
In the past five years, UP's Opposition remained passive and defensive against the BJP, a trend that does not augur well for the impending battle.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Pandavapura, participating in a public event of the party after a long gap.
Chandrashekhar said he would ensure that PM Modi is not re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Varanasi.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav and ally RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary are unlikely to participate in the Yatra due to "preoccupation" with their party programmes, their party leaders said.
Authorities suspended two teachers, apparently in an immediate damage control exercise.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were among the top leaders who paid homage to former prime minister Manmohan Singh at his home in New Delhi on Friday.
He attributed the construction of the temple, "a historic work" to the decisive and strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Senior leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde and Mallikarju Kharge could be elected as next party chief.
More than 48 lakh candidates appeared in the examination conducted on February 17 and 18 across the state.
There is speculation that the Congress may bring Priyanka Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Randeep Surjewala and RPN Singh, among others, to the upper house.
The Congress on Wednesday criticized the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government for a stampede at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh, blaming mismanagement and a focus on VIP movement instead of common devotees for the tragic incident. Rahul Gandhi called for reining in "VIP culture" and improving arrangements for devotees. Congress leaders expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and demanded action to prevent such incidents in the future.
Ajay Kumar Lallu said the party has emerged as the main challenger to the "oppressive" UP government and the 'winds of change' were blowing in the state.
The renovation of the property is underway, encompassing painting of walls, cleaning, and other necessary repairs befitting the new entrant's stature and requirements. The bungalow, spread over about 1.5 acres, belongs to the family of veteran Congress leader the late Sheila Kaul, who was the sister-in-law of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
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