CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday said the people of the country are facing a “rightist onslaught” from the NDA government and RSS who are going ahead “with an agenda of forming a Hindu state.”
A parliamentary committee on Wednesday rejected the government’s proposal to try as adults juveniles between 16 and 18 years involved in heinous cases such as rape, saying the move is “in conflict with law” and should be “reviewed”.
Giving its observation on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD said children below 18 years are amenable and should be treated in the same manner and “differential treatment” for children above 16 years of age “should not arise”.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh dismissed speculation that Rahul Gandhi could “run away” from politics and maintained that he is made of “sterner staff” and will return to lead the party.
The AICC general secretary at the same felt that the Congress Vice President is encountering resistance from within in implementing his ideas because some leaders feel that they would lose their clout they enjoy today if Gandhi’s ideas are implemented.
Rahul Gandhi’s sudden sabbatical to reflect upon the future course of the party may be a prelude to his elevation as Congress President.
There are indications that Gandhi, who is currently the Vice President, could be made the party chief later this year as the tenure of Congress President Sonia Gandhi comes to an end in September.
Mild tremors were felt in Prakasam district and parts of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh this morning.
The quake, with a magnitude of 4 on the Richter Scale was felt at 6.09 am, and its epicentre was near Ongole in Prakasam district, according to the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) observatory here.
“The tremors were felt in the distance of around 60-70 km area from its epicentre. It was a low intensity quake and the area is seismically active with small magnitude earthquake it is nothing to worry,” NGRI chief scientist R K Chaddha said.
An officer of a state-run power utility has been trapped by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 50,000.
D Adinarayana, Assistant Divisional Engineer at Eastern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh (APEDCL), was caught by ACB sleuths when he accepted a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a person doing an official favour, an ACB release said here today.
Further investigation is on.
–PTI
Inviting global IT majors to come and set shop in Hyderabad, Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao today said the city has the potential to replace Bengaluru as the top IT destination of the country.
“Hyderabad like Bengaluru is also known as an Information Technology investment region. The reason I have mentioned this is because I don’t think there is a city in India right now which offers a greater value for money than Hyderabad,” he told reporters here.
Social activist Anna Hazare today said he could not heed to the invitation extended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to visit the Delhi secretariat as he was “pre-occupied” and had meetings the whole day.
Hazare said that he would visit the Secretariat the next time he visits the national capital.
Kejriwal, who met his “guru” yesterday after a gap of almost two years at the Jantar Mantar yesterday, had invited the Gandhian activist to visit the Delhi secretariat and address the officials.
The death toll from the blast at the premises of Gulf Oil Corporation Ltd at Kukatpally here rose to three today with the death of a 61-year-old man.
Madhusudan Reddy, who had suffered 96 per cent burns and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, died at 4 pm, Chandrakant, Inspector of the local police station, said.
The condition of four of the 13 injured, aged between 56 and 60, who had suffered burn injuries in the range of 45 per cent to 82 per cent, was serious, he said.
A 29-year-old woman, who works at a beauty parlour, was allegedly gang-raped by two auto drivers near Chintal area here, police said today.
The woman boarded an autorickshaw last night from Qutbullapur towards Chintal when the duo, identified as Srikant and Suresh, threatened her on the way and took her to some bushes where they allegedly sexually assaulted her, ACP (Balanagar Division) N Narasimha Reddy said.
Elated over the response to the membership drive, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi has decided to strengthen its base in the Old City of Hyderabad by turning more aggressive.
The Government of Telangana conducted an Investment Promotion Road show in Bangalore on Wednesday.
“The focus of the Information and Networking session has been to interact with ICT and Electronics manufacturing companies based in Bangalore and invite them to setup their operations in Hyderabad.
This is in line with the Government of Telangana’s vision to make Telangana the most preferred Technology Investment destination in the country,” said IT Secretary Harpreet Singh.
The South Central Railway will impose line block for deep screening works between Putalapattu and Chittoor stations on Tirupati – Katpadi Section on Guntakal Division for 33 days from 27th February onwards.
The Telangana Government has handed over all the roads falling with the GHMC limits to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation for further maintenance.
The roads, spread across 240.87 Kilometres, including 32 KM of State Highways and 209.07 KM of Major District Roads, were under the control of Roads and Buildings Department. As a follow up to the decision taken by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao during a review meeting held on December 26, 2014, the State Government has handed over all the roads, other than National Highway stretches, to the GHMC.
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BSP President Mayawati today dismissed the Uttar Pradesh budget as merely a “paper exercise” and targeted Samajwadi Party government, saying a regime occupied with one “family, and uncles and nephews” cannot be expected to serve the people.
She said, in a statement issued here, the measures announced by Akhilesh Yadav government in the budget tabled yesterday are unlikely to be of any help to people as corruption ruled the state while budget money was often left unspent.
Prof G. Ram Reddy Centre for Distance Education of Osmania University announced that the last date for all Post Graduate courses in MA/ M.Sc / M.Com is extended upto 6th March.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday vowed to fulfill all the promises made to the people of Delhi as his government slashed power tariff by 50 percent for consumption up to 400 units per month and 20,000 litres of free water per household every month.
Kejriwal tweeted that he has fulfilled the promises made to the people. The Delhi Chief Minister further said in his tweet that all other promises will be fulfilled too and sought the support of the public.
A special trial court is likely to pronounce verdict this week in the case related to killing of three British nationals at Prantij town in Himmatnagar district during the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.
Principal district judge I C Shah of Himmatnagar court is likely to deliver the verdict on February 27, prosecution sources said.
The Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team had charged six persons with the killing of four persons including three Indian-origin Britons.
The suspense over Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) president Sharad Pawar contesting the Cricket Board’s election on March 2 is likely to end on February 27, according to MCA sources.
“Indications are he will contest (for the president-ship of BCCI). He’s expected to decide on February 27 whether he will contest and attend the BCCI AGM,” the sources told PTI.
This time it’s the turn of East Zone affiliates of the BCCI to propose and second the name of the president.
CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat today said the people of the country are facing a “rightist onslaught” from the NDA government and RSS who are going ahead “with an agenda of forming a Hindu state.”
“On one hand the Narendra Modi government is creating good days for the rich and the RSS is trying to divide the country along communal line on the other.
Pakistan’s chief selector Moin Khan today apologised to the country’s cricket fans for his casino visit on the eve of a crucial World Cup match for which he has been sent back home from the 50-over showpiece event.
Moin, who had clarified that he had only gone to the casino for a dinner outing, accepted his “inappropriate” choice of venue and said sorry for his actions that has offended millions of Pakistan cricket lovers.
As many as 6,443 Indians are detained in jails in 71 countries for various offences and 74 missing defence personnel, including 54 prisoners of war, are believed to be in Pakistani jails since 1971, Lok Sabha was informed today.
While the maximum number of 1,534 Indians are detained in Saudi Arabia followed by 833 in UAE, as many as 352 of them are in Pakistan and 73 in Sri Lanka.
“6,443 Indian nationals are detained in jails in 71 countries,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
A man, convicted of raping a widow after trespassing her house, has been awarded seven years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court which relied on the victim’s statement.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhatt handed down the jail term to Delhi resident Ranjeet while holding him guilty of the offences of rape and house-trespass under sections 376 and 451 of the IPC respectively.
The court said that prosecution successfully established that it was the accused who had gained forcible entry into the woman’s flat when she was sleeping and committed the offence.
Congress leader Shobha Oza on Wednesday said that all leaders and bureaucrats involved in the Vyapam scam must resign, and added that there are many big fishes yet to be trapped in this case.
“There are many big fishes to be trapped in the case yet. Those involved have exploited many innocent futures,” Oza said.
“I truly believe that all the people involved in this scam will be exposed soon. It is a big scam and guilty should be strictly punished,” she added.
The Congress leader had earlier demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Vyapam scam.
Iraqi security forces are planning an imminent major offensive against Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern central province of Salahudin, a provincial security source said Wednesday.
Artillery bombardment began late Tuesday night on the militants-held areas, including the provincial capital city of Tikrit and nearby towns of Alam and Dowr, in addition to areas north of Shia shrine city of Samarra, some 120 km north of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.
“The offensive could be launched within the coming 72 hours,” the source said.