A S Kashyap

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi Saturday made a U-turn on his controversial remark that he would chop off the hands of doctors found neglecting poor patients.

Manjhi told the media here that he had used a Hindi proverb “hath kaat denge” (will chop off hands) to take a tough line with negligent doctors.

“I did not mean what it was made out of the popular proverb that I used to say something. I never meant to chop off hands of doctors for negligence in treatment of poor,” he said.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa was released from the central jail here after a Bangalore special court ordered her release Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court granted her bail.

“Jayalalithaa has left the jail… after completing the formalities,” Karnataka Inspector General of Prisons (IGP) K.V. Gagandeep told IANS.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Pannerselvam, a few cabinet ministers and the ruling AIADMK’s lawmakers were at the prison to receive her.

After Churchgate in downtown Mumbai, industrialist Anil Ambani Saturday took the Swachh Bharat campaign to Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, and appealed to the people to particularly keep India’s temple towns clean.

Ambani, who was among the nine people personally invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the clean India campaign and also prasied for such efforts, said there were two reasons that he was visiting the two holy towns.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa Saturday walked out of the central jail on the city’s outskirts after a special court here ordered her release.

“Jayalalithaa has left the jail a few minutes ago after completing the formalities,” Karnataka Inspector General of Prisons (IGP) K.V. Gagandeep told IANS.

The special court Saturday ordered her release from the jail a day after the Supreme Court granted her interim bail in a corruption case,

IANS

With destination weddings catching on amongst rich Indian families, China is targeting the lucrative segment in a big way, a Chinese official said here Saturday.

Impressed by the lavish Indian weddings, Chinese Consul General Wang Xuefeng said his country was aggressively marketing several of its cities like Kunming, Lijiang and Dali as attractive wedding destinations.

Mahadalits, the poorest of the socially marginalised in Bihar, have been targeted by powerful feudal forces which have the full support of opposition BJP to defame and destabilize the government led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, a Mahadalit himself, the head of the organisation meant for the community’s welfare has said.

Traders hit by the floods in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday held a peaceful protest march here against the alleged apathy of the state and central governments to provide relief to them.

Dozens of local traders shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly not allowing international relief to the flood-ravaged Kashmir Valley.

The local economic reconstruction forum, an amalgam of various trade, commerce and business establishments organized Saturday’s protest “to expose the government’s failure in undertaking relief and rehabilitation operations after the floods”.

If Haryana broke all previous voting records in Wednesday’s assembly elections, women voters had a significant, and almost equal, contribution as their male counterparts.

In four districts – Bhiwani, Jind, Kurukshetra and Mahendergarh – more women voted than men. It was a virtual dead heat in another six districts – Ambala, Kaithal, Sonipat, Yamunanagar, Fatehabad and Hisar. This means that women voters were either ahead or equal to men in almost half of the state.

Agreeing to resolve pending issues between both sides, the Canadian federal government and the Punjab government Friday agreed to fast track projects.

Canadian International Trade Minister Edward Fast, who met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here Friday, assured to resolve all pending bilateral issues of trade, commerce and agriculture related to Punjab on top priority.

Two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were arrested for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old tribal girl in Tripura, police said here Friday.

“Two BSF jawans molested a tribal girl Thursday at bordering village Simna. The girl lodged a complaint in this regard with us,” a police officer said.

Other BSF troopers posted at Simna border outpost (BOP) were transferred elsewhere, the officer said.

Agitated villagers gheraoed the BOP demanding punishment for the accused BSF personnel.

Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sukhvinder Sukhu Friday slammed the central government for failing to check price rise and said the BJP has failed to fulfil the promises made during the Lok Sabha election.

Addressing a meeting of party workers in the Karsog assembly constituency with All India Congress Committee secretary Raja Rampal Singh, he said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has always tried to show off.

“During the election, the BJP misled voters by promising to bring down inflation, provide jobs and bring back black money within 100 days in office,” Sukhu said.

Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung today appealed to the people of Delhi to make minimal use of such fire crackers on Diwali which make lot of noise and also pollute the environment.

“I appeal to the people of Delhi to not use such crackers that make lot of noise and pollute the environment,” said Najeeb Jung.

The appeal came a day after the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan urged Najeeb Jung to ensure that the national capital celebrates a ‘silent’ Diwali this year.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on the successful launch of the PSLV-C26, carrying IRNSS-1C.