The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The RSS chief, who is engaged in a campaign to increase contact with Muslims, on Thursday visited Masjid and madrassa in Delhi and met Chief Imam of All India Imam Organisation Dr Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, who called the RSS chief 'the Father of the Nation'.
Rajya Sabha member Raut questioned why Gandhi was raking up issues which touch the people's emotional chord and giving the Bharatiya Janata Party a chance on a platter to divert attention.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
Around 2,500 personnel from police and paramilitary have been deployed in the district this year a day before the yatra, police said.
Uttarakhand has cancelled the yatra this year citing the pandemic.
Yadav further accused the BJP of "using distractions" to avoid addressing real issues such as rising unemployment, inflation, lack of investment in Uttar Pradesh, and failing healthcare facilities.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday snubbed the Rashtriya Janata Dal, headed by his arch-rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, stating that he had forged alliances 'by mistake' with the opposition party which 'did nothing' while in power.
The yatra goes on till the first week of August and sees thousands of Shiva devotees called kanwariyas' travelling mostly on foot from neighbouring states, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to collect water from the Ganges in Haridwar.
He, however, said if at all the party rebels want to return, the doors of 'Matoshree' (the personal residence of Thackerays) are always open for them.
It is for the second consecutive year that the yatra is not being held due to the pandemic.
Haryana Police have arrested a "friend" of Congress worker Himani Narwal for allegedly strangling her after a fight at her home and later dumping her body in a suitcase. The accused, Sachin, hails from Jhajjar and was arrested in Delhi. Police say he strangled Narwal with a wired mobile phone charger and then took her jewellery, laptop, and ring before dumping her body in a suitcase and fleeing the scene. Narwal's body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Rohtak on Saturday, leading to the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the murder. Congress party members have expressed grief and demanded justice for Narwal, who was a dedicated party worker and also took part in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Rahul Gandhi has become a symbol of 'Bharat jodo' (unite India) and will be seen in a new avatar post the Congress' pan-India march, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh said.
He said the party has not extended an invitation to Singh to join the yatra.
The first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee under Mallikarjun Kharge's presidency will be held in Hyderabad on Saturday during which the party's top brass will deliberate on evolving a strategy for upcoming assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) has proposed a significant increase in User Development Fee (UDF) for international passengers, while domestic passengers will be charged a UDF for the first time. However, MIAL also proposed a 35% reduction in landing and parking charges, aiming to balance infrastructure development with cost-effective air travel for airlines. The new tariff structure is subject to approval by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who embarked on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari on Wednesday, will be staying in a container for the next 150 days.
The Opposition had dubbed the directives issued by the three states as divisive and discriminatory against Muslims, and the apex court's order effectively ensured that the Yatra was held without their orders being enforced.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday hoisted the national flag at the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' camp site in Srinagar and followed it with a fun snowball fight with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Route inspection for Kanwar Yatra and peace meetings with Hindu and Muslim community members came on instructions of police commissioner Alok Singh, according to a police statement
A dedicated commercial court for Bengaluru Urban District has directed micro-blogging site Twitter to block the handles of the Indian National Congress (INC) and its 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' till the next date of hearing.
Announcing this in Dehradun on Thursday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said conducting the yatra amid the raging pandemic is not possible.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
The annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp in Nunwan, Jammu-Kashmir, for the cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
'Walking is the loudest statement.' 'When someone says, I control everything and no one can oppose me, there are thousands of people on the streets saying no, we oppose you -- this is a very bold statement.'
On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, Head Priest Mahant Deependra Giri along with sadhus and devotees at the Amareshwar temple in Srinagar offered the traditional Chhari Pujan to the Chhari Mubarak or the holy silver mace of Lord Shiva before leaving for the Amarnath cave to conclude the annual Amarnath Yatra.
A tab was kept on visiting pilgrims through CCTV cameras to ensure there was no violation of COVID-19 protocol.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the 3,570km-long foot-march, expressed grief over the death of Seva Dal general secretary Krishna Kumar Pandey.
Sharing his experience of the yatra so far, the Congress leader said he felt sad while talking to farmers, youth, and tribals.
The judge who heard the divorce case adjourned the hearing to November 27, when the final verdict is most likely to be pronounced.
He said he would offer worship at the Ram temple only when the "shikhar" (topmost part) of the structure is fully constructed.
The Congress party may have its eyes firmly set on the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but it kept its fingers crossed as it waited for Thursday's counting of votes for the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Speaking at the concluding day of the three-day brainstorming session, Chintan Shivir, in Udaipur, Sonia Gandhi said, "We will launch a national Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra beginning on Gandhi Jayanti this year. All of us will participate in it."
"Objectively, it is only the Congress that has a footprint, shall we say, in eight to 12 states. So to have healthy democracy in which one party does not steamroll the Opposition, the kind that India experienced from the late 1970s till 2014, to revive that, to restore it, which I believe would be very good for all of us, it would depend a lot on the Congress becoming more competitive," he claimed.
An Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
The local, district and police administration are reaching out to meat traders to ensure this, officials said.
A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman referred to the statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that not "even a bit" of compromise can be made on COVID-19 containment and said the citizens were perplexed about the happenings in view of the fact that as the UP government has allowed the religious 'yatra' commencing from July 25.
Union Minister Raksha Khadse on Sunday lodged a police complaint regarding the harassment of her daughter and some of her friends by a group of boys at an event in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district.
Lifting the ban on the yatra, a division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma said the pilgrimage will start with restrictions like a daily limit on the number of devotees visiting the temples.
Haasan, addressing office bearers in Chennai, said he has been invited by Rahul Gandhi to participate in the Yatra.
