Gali Nagaraja

With Congress demanding the resignation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over ‘Lalitgate’, the Haryana unit of NSUI today held a protest in front of the house of her brother here.

Swaraj’s brother is Dr Gulshan, a private practitioner in Ambala Cantt, and at the time of the protest, he was inside the house.

The NSUI workers led by state president Intzaar Husain and former district president Himanshu raised slogans against the foreign minister and demanded her resignation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday joined an estimated 37,000 people on the Rajpath in performing yoga in record-breaking attempt to mark the International Yoga Day.

Rajpath – the ceremonial boulevard for march pasts and pomp and revellery on the Republic Day – on Sunday morning saw people taking part in synchronised yogic exercises and pranayams.

Students, government employees and citizens took up positions on neatly laid out mats to perform yoga for over 35 minutes. The “common yoga protocol” included various asanas as well as meditation.

TRS MP, Mr. B. Suman alleged Govt. of A.P. that by filing counter criminal cases against KCR is exerting pressure to stop investigations on Note-for-Vote case. He also expressed serious reaction the issue of notice to Telugu news channel. This channel has been targeted since it always exposed the conspiracies of Andhra rulers. He mentioned that this news channel had first exposed the Audio tape of the conversation between Mr. Chandrababu Naidu and Stephenson. By targeting TV news channel, Govt. of A.P. has given the proof that it is anti-Telangana.

Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao today slammed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for sending his police officials to serve a notice on Telangana Chanel at late night with regard to cash-for-vote episode.

BJP President of A.P., Mr. Kishan Reddy opposed the notice given by A.P. Govt. to Telangana news channel and said that it is an attempt to suppress the rights of media which BJP opposes. Mr. Kishan Reddy also told that BJP has always opposed to attacks by political parties on media. BJP is now opposing ban imposed on ABN Andhra Jyoti CVR by Govt. of A.P. It also opposes the attack on it and treats it as unconstitutional. He opposed the notice issued to TV channel by Govt. of A.P.

–Siasat News

Anjuman-e-Mahdavia is organizing Quran recitation program for women from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. from 5th to 14th Ramazan at Bahaduryar Jung Hall, Anjuman-e-Mahdavia premises, Chanchalguda. Ms. Syeda Shahla Banu, Ms. Syeda Ayesha will recite the Quran. Mr. Adil Mohammed Khan, President of Anjuman-e-Mahdavia and Ms. Syeda Sayeeda Banu, President, women’s wing have requested women to attend the program.

–Siasat News

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today cautioned leaders of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, engaged in war of words over cash-for-vote scandal, of making adverse remarks against the Governor.

The minister while addressing a function here advised the ministers to observe restraint and focus on development of their respective states.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who arrived at Rajpath on Sunday to take part in the celebration of the first International Yoga Day, has said that the discipline is good for mental concentration, adding that he has been practicing it from years.

“I have been practicing yoga for years. It is a good thing and everyone should do it, it is beneficial. One should not politicise it. It is good for mental concentration,” Kejriwal told the media here.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said terrorists do not lack knowledge and they are also “gyaani” (learned) and suggested that they should do yoga in order to channelise their knowledge towards constructive work in the society.

Speaking at a function organised here to share benefits of yoga, Singh said it helps in comprehensive and integrated development of human personality.

“Knowledge is very dangerous. Those who are involved in terrorist activities, they are also ‘gyaani’. They do not lack knowledge. There are many people in terrorism, they have knowledge too.

The UN on Saturday appealed for $1.6 billion to help millions of people in war-torn Yemen while warning of a “looming catastrophe”.

“The money is needed to address the “constantly increasing humanitarian needs in Yemen”, Gulf Daily news quoted Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian agency, as saying.

Laerke said more than 21 million people — 80 percent of the population — were in need of some form of humanitarian aid.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a strong proponent of yoga, will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi among thousands to mark the International Yoga Day here Sunday.

Accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Kejriwal will reach Rajpath at 6 a.m., said a Delhi government official.

Like Modi, Kejriwal has been practicing the regimen for a long time.

The chief minister finds it a great “stress buster, and has gone for yoga retreats.

In a fresh twist to the ongoing controversy over Lalit Modi, Mumbai Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria on Saturday confirmed that he had met the former IPL chief in London last year.

In a statement, Maria said Modi had sought security for himself and his family in London but he was asked to come back to Mumbai.

Maria, one of the leading anti-terror specialists in the country, said he was approached by a lawyer representing Modi, while he was attending a conference in London in July 2014.

A case was filed on Saturday against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ashwani Kumar Choubey for making offensive remarks about Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, a Bihar government lawyer said.

A Congress worker has filed the case against Choubey in Muzaffarpur district, about 70 km from here.

Choubey, an MP from Buxar, allegedly described Sonia Gandhi ‘Putna’ – the mythological demon woman sent by demon king ‘Kansa’ to kill the baby lord Krishna – and Rahul Gandhi a ‘videshi tota’ – a foreign parrot on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked people to make yoga an integral part of their lives.

“Greetings to people around the world on 1st International Day of Yoga! Lets pledge to make Yoga an integral part of our daily lives,” tweeted Modi on Sunday, a day being observed as International Day of Yoga.

“In some parts of the world, the 1st rays of the sun have already been welcomed by people practicing Yoga.This will continue across the world,” he said in another tweet.

–IANS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address elected heads of 500 civic bodies from across the country here on June 25, when he will launch the three flagship schemes for urban revamp, including smart cities and housing for all.

The three big ticket projects – Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Housing for All, now named as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), are worth Rs four lakh crore.

Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sunday expressed his country’s delight to be part of the International Yoga Day celebrations, adding that the discipline’s universal popularity demonstrates its appeal to people from all walks of life.

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday said practising yoga will bring ‘raj yog’ for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

“I feel that if Rahul Gandhi practices yoga then his ‘raj yog’ will get better,” he said.

“One who practices yoga, his ‘raj yog’ is good. Good days will surely come for those who practice yoga,” he added.

Ramdev had earlier lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance and urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to join the International Yoga Day celebrations at the Rajpath.

Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Saturday took a jibe at the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative over reports that Chinese mats would be used during the International Yoga Day celebrations.
“It is surprising that the one who raised slogans for ‘Make in India’, they will practise yoga on Chinese mats. Nothing could be more laughable than this. On one hand, slogans are raised about Make in India, preaches about yoga in the countries,” Alvi told ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all Indians to be part of the first International Yoga Day programmes on Sunday.

“Tomorrow (Sunday) the world will celebrate the first Yoga Day. I urge you all to be a part of it and inspire others to join as well,” he said in a statement here.

The national capital is all set to observe the International Yoga Day with all necessary arrangements in place at Rajpath for about 40,000 people, who will perform various yoga ‘asanas’ under the guidance of trained instructors.

The Madras High Court today held that a Hindu backward class (BC) person, who embraces Islam, shall be considered as BC Muslim.

Justice D Hariparanthaman passed the order and directed Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission to accept the application of R Ayesha, who embraced Islam in 2005 and applied for a typist’s post in 2014, as a BC Muslim candidate.

The stage is set for International Yoga Day celebrations tomorrow as India leads 191 countries to mark the day with over 35,000 participants expected to perform various yoga ‘asanas’ at a mega event on Rajpath here.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the gathering, diplomats from 152 foreign missions have been invited to take part in the event which will start at 7 am to 7.35 am.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday welcomed the state Election Commission’s decision to put a temporary stay on Nitish Kumar government’s ‘Bihar@2025’ campaign, saying it has exposed the negative message that the Janata Dal (United) leader was trying to propagate.

BJP leader Nitin Navin said the people of Bihar had understood Nitish’s gimmick in 2014 and added that they would give him a befitting reply this time.

Experts here on Saturday explored the possibilities of getting rid of traffic snarls in this city of the Taj Mahal and disciplining the virtual free-for-all situation prevailing on the roads.

The meet was organised by the Society for Preservation of Healthy Environment, Ecology and Heritage of Agra for the city which gets millions of tourists annually.

Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani will be in Himachal Pradesh to celebrate the International Yoga Day on Sunday.

Irani will be in state capital Shimla, while Advani is likely to attend an event in Palampur, Lok Sabha MP Shanta Kumar’s hometown.

The state government has directed all district ayurvedic officers to celebrate the day involving schools, colleges, universities, public, yoga institutions, police personnel, NCC cadets, NSS and Nehru Yuva Kendra.

–IANS

Heavy storms that swept through several southern Chinese provinces this past week have killed 18 people and left four more missing, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The storms have dumped more than 20 centimetres of rainfall in 48 hours on some towns, toppled thousands of homes, and dislocated tens of thousands of residents, the ministry said yesterday.

The deaths were caused by house collapses, landslides, drowning or lightning.