Uttar Pradesh government's love for saffron colour is no secret to anyone.
The accident occurred around 5.45 pm near Khatauli town, 40 km off Muzaffarnagar, leaving 23 people dead, the Uttar Pradesh police said.
In a show of strength in Jind by protesting farmers, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday warned the government that it could find it difficult to stay on in power if the new agri-marketing laws are not repealed.
A 17-member delegation of the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday left for a five-nation tour from Lucknow, drawing criticism from opposition parties for undertaking the visit at a time when Muzaffarnagar riot victims were living in difficult circumstances in relief camps.
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.
Journalist Siddique Kappan was arrested on October 5 while he was on his way to Hathras, home to the young Dalit woman who died after being allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men.
The 1,113 arrested include social activist and Congress worker Sadaf Jafar and noted theatre artist Deepak Kabir who are being kept in a Lucknow jail.
Against the backdrop of riots in Muzzafarnagar, Minorities Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan on Wednesday said the Centre would try to build consensus among political parties to get the Anti-riot Bill passed in Parliament.
In a scathing attack on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader and Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday accused him of being "masterly inactive" over Muzaffarnagar riots and adopting a "cynical strategy" of believing that it would divide voters.
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.
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 BSP, which fielded nearly 100 Muslim candidates, won only four out of the 77 assembly seats dominated by Muslim voters.
Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be over before any action would be taken against BJP president Amit Shah and MP Yogi Adityanath for their alleged hate speeches, says Sharat Pradhan
At least 28 people have so far lost their lives in rain related incidents in Uttar Pradesh whereas a population of five lakh in some 600 villages of the state has been affected because of it.
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.
Notwithstanding the claims and counterclaims of different political parties about riding the crest of a populatiry wave in Uttar Pradesh, Tuesday's results of the three bypolls out of the 403 state assembly seats have sprung surprises for all key political players.
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.
Survivors thanks almighty for saving them from the tragedy.
The attachment proceeding has been initiated against two absconders accused in a murder case during the Muzaffarnagar riots. Chief Judicial Magistrate Narender Kumar at the request of the police ordered attachment proceeding against two accused -- Kapil and Mintu -- under Section 83 of the CrPc, on Saturday.
In a veiled attack on the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said political forces were behind the recent Muzaffarnagar communal riots as they feel they cannot achieve electoral victory without creating such conflicts.
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 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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"We are confined to health issue. It is in the interest of the state also that the accused gets better treatment," the bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna observed.
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 Congress took out marches and observed bandh at several places on Saturday to protest against rising fuel prices.
