Category: INDIA

Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies later praised Amit Shah’s speech while Congress leaders slammed it.
BJP MP Dr Laxmikant Bajpai said Amit Shah “showed a mirror to the leaders” of Congress during the debate on Constitution.

Accusing the Congress of being “anti-reservation,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that the Congress does not want the welfare of OBCs but wants to give quota to Muslims by increasing the limit beyond 50 per cent.
Concluding the two-day discussion in Rajya Sabha on 75 years of the Constitution, Amit Shah accused the Congress of “appeasement, dynastic politics and corruption”.

He said the Congress is learnt to be introspecting its reverses in recent assembly polls and said if the opposition party wants to get the support of the people, it should leave “appeasement, dynastic politics and corruption”.

Shah asserted that the BJP will not allow reservation in the country on the basis of religion.

“Today, I want to tell you how the Congress party is actually anti-reservation. Their words and actions are completely contradictory. In 1995, the Kaka Saheb Kalelkar Commission was formed to provide reservations to OBCs. Where is its report? It was forgotten because OBCs would have received reservations. Any report that comes has to be appeared before the Cabinet, but instead of bringing it to Parliament, they kept it in the archives. If the Kaka Saheb Kalelkar report had been accepted, the Mandal Commission report of 1980 would not have been necessary,” he said.

“I want to tell the people of the country that reservation on the basis of religion exists in two states of the country… which is unconstitutional. It has been made clear in the Constitution that there will be no reservation on the basis of religion. But when Congress was in power in both states, reservation was given on the basis of religion. Congress wants to give reservations to Muslims by increasing the quota limit beyond 50 per cent. But today I once again say with responsibility in this House that as long as there is even a single BJP MP, we will not allow reservation on the basis of religion,” he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly said that the party wants to increase reservation beyond the existing ceiling of 50 per cent. He has also repeatedly talked of a caste census.

Shah attacked the Congress over the Emergency imposed in 1975.

“Lakhs of people were jailed. Media was censored. Every child should be told about Emergency so that no one dares to impose it again.”

Coming down heavily on the Opposition over its earlier stance concerning the abrogation of Article 370, he said the Kashmir valley is witnessing unprecedented growth.

“When Narendra Modi became the PM of the country again in 2019, we abrogated Article 370 and Article 35A in Parliament. They used to say that rivers of blood would flow in Jammu and Kashmir, but no one dared to even throw stones… For the first time, 35,000 members of Panchayat were elected. After the abrogation of Article 370, more than two lakh tourists came to Jammu and Kashmir, terrorist activities were reduced by 92 per cent, people of Pahari, Gujjar and Bakarwal communities got reservations, the national flag is flying at Lal Chowk, the highest railway arch bridge is being built on Chenab river… After the abrogation of Article 370, your (Congress) shop of appeasement politics has closed,” Shah said.

Shah also responded to Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Savarkar.

Highlighting Veer Savarkar’s sacrifice, Shah said that in the struggle for freedom, no one else was sentenced to two life terms.

“If anyone had the courage to leap into the ocean for the country’s freedom, it was Veer Savarkar. In the same prison, two brothers served the sentence of kaala paani (cellular prison). For 10 years, the two brothers did not even see each other…,” Shah said.

Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies later praised Amit Shah’s speech while Congress leaders slammed it.
BJP MP Dr Laxmikant Bajpai said Amit Shah “showed a mirror to the leaders” of Congress during the debate on Constitution.

Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary alleged that there have been many such instances when Congress party misused power
“The nation will never forget it (Emergency). There was a very good discussion on the protection of constitutional values. The Union Home Minister explained things in detail. A lot of information that was not in the public domain was also made available.”

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said Amit Shah other BJP leaders were trying to divert attention of people from pressing issues.

“Today whatever Home Minister said is far from truth, it’s lie for example Ambedkar statue, was it built during their (BJP) tenure?…everything is a lie…they are trying to divert people through lies and this won’t go for long…he came to the Parliament just to praise PM Modi,” Kharge said.

Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said that Amit Shah’s speech was basically an attack on Congress.

“Union Minister Amit Shah spoke for 90 minutes in the Rajya Sabha and other BJP leaders also spoke. In Lok Sabha ‘One Nation One Election’ has been introduced and in the Rajya Sabha it was ‘One Speech Many Speakers’…Union Minister Amit Shah lied for 90 minutes…This was just an attack on the Congress Party, this was not a speech,” Jairam Ramesh said.

BJD MP Sasmit Patra said that for the last two days, the Constitution of India has been discussed in the Rajya Sabha.

“It was a very positive discussion. Leaders of the ruling party and the opposition put forth their views… The Constitution is a living document and we all should move forward following the ideals of the Constitution of India,” Patra said.

The two-day marathon debate in Rajya Sabha on the 75 years of the Constitution started on Monday.

The Lok Sabha held a two-day discussion last week. The winter session of Parliament will continue till December 20.

The city’s newest Zoroarastrian fire temple, the Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi Agiary at Godrej Baug, Nepean Sea Road, is celebrating its 25th anniversary

The fire temple, built by the Jokhi family, serves more than 500 families staying at Godrej Baug, one of the newest Parsi colonies in the city.

The fire enshrined at the temple was brought to Mumbai in December 1999 from Navsari in Gujarat where it was worshipped after being shifted from a closed shrine in Tavri village in the 1960s. The night-time ceremony from the Khareghat Colony agiary, Hughes Road, where the fire rested for a day, to the new shrine on Malabar Hill, had not been witnessed for generations.

Viraf Mehta, Chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP), the apex community trust that manages Godrej Baug and the Jokhi fire temple, remembers joining the procession that brought the sacred fire from the Vatcha Gandhi agiary at Khareghat Colony to the new shrine near the Tower of Silence cemetery.

“I was in college and my father (Dinshaw Mehta) was a sitting trustee (in the BPP). We walked in a procession of between 4000 and 5000 people. It was night and the street lights had been switched off by the BMC as a mark of respect to the fire. It was a beautiful ceremony; it was surreal,” said Mehta.

Fires at Zoroastrian shrines are consecrated after elaborate ceremonies and can never be extinguished. When a fire temple is shut down or renovated, the fire is shifted to another shrine or merged with another fire. The Jokhi temple fire was originally enshrined at an agiary in Tavri and was moved to Navsari, the hometown of the Tata family. Thus, there were two fires at the Navsari fire temple and it was decided to bring one of the fires to the new temple in Mumbai.

According to Zoroastrian religious customs, sacred fires can be moved only at night. So a convoy carrying the fire travelled from Navsari to Mumbai after sunset to protect the flame from exposure to the sun. Accompanying the van was a convoy of cars carrying priests and community members. “Priests accompanied the fire, constantly tending to it. As the sacred fire always has to be connected to the earth, a metal chain touching the road ensured that its connection to the earth was unbroken,” said Mehta.Shahrukh Bilimoria, General Secretary of the Godrej Baug Residents Welfare Association, said they had a religious celebration on Saturday.

“We had the trustees of the BPP and the Jokhi family who donated magnanimously to get the fire here and build the fire temple,” said Bilimoria.Godrej Baug, which provides community housing for Parsi-Zoroastrians, was built in the 1980s.

Dr Viraf Kapadia, a resident of Godrej Baug, said that before the Jokhi fire temple was built, residents had to go to agiaries in Walkeshwar, Fort, Grant Road, or Hughes Road for prayers. To mark the occasion, a commemorative silver coin embossed with an image of the fire temple was released on the day.

Chandigarh: Farmers blocked train routes at several places in Punjab on Wednesday as part of their three-hour ‘Rail Roko’ protest to press the Centre into accepting their various demands, including a legally binding minimum support price for crops.

The call for the ‘rail roko’ has been given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha.

Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers have been squatting on rail tracks at many places from 12 noon and will continue to be there till 3 pm.

The places where the protest was supposed to be held included Moga, Faridkot, Kadian and Batala in Gurdaspur; Phillaur in Jalandhar; Tanda, Dasuya, Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur; Makhu, Talwandi Bhai in Ferozepur; Sahnewal in Ludhiana; Shambhu in Patiala; Mohali, and Sunam and Lehra in Sangrur.

Farmers under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.

For the past three weeks, Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops.

A “jatha” (group) of 101 farmers made three attempts to enter Delhi on foot on December 6, December 8 and again on December 14. Haryana security personnel did not allow them to proceed.

Besides a legal guarantee on MSP for crops, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands.

Jaipur: Political rivals, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and his Deputy Sachin Pilot, were seen together after a long time on Wednesday. Both the leaders attended the demonstration called by the Congress against the Central Government, although the distance between the two was visible here too.

The call for demonstration by Congress was on issues including investigation into the alleged bribery scandal going on in America against industrialist Gautam Adani and unrest in Manipur.

Along with Gehlot and Pilot, all the senior leaders of Rajasthan Congress participated in the demonstration and this was the first time in the last several years that both the senior leaders attended such a party event. Earlier, during its regime in the state, the demonstrations against the central government or any other party activity, the two leaders were hardly seen together.

When Sachin Pilot was asked about this, he said that leave aside everything. We are all one, will fight together and bring the party back in power after four years.

Regarding the protest, Sachin Pilot said that all the states of India where Adani has committed corruption should be exposed. Congress party is against the misuse of power. “ We are not against industrialists, but public property is being given to private individuals at throwaway prices, and we are against this. The BJP government is giving loans from banks to these selected people,” said Sachin.

While addressing the party workers, Gehlot said that the leaders who come forward in time of crisis are the real and loyal soldiers of the Congress.

On the issue of Gautam Adani, Gehlot said “Congress is not against the capitalists, but giving everything to just one person is wrong.”

Gehlot said Manipur is burning. PM Narendra Modi does not have time to go there. This incident is not trivial.

After the dharna, when the Congress leaders marched towards the Governor House, but the police used water cannon to stop them. The Congress leaders raised slogans against the government and demanded action on their demands.

A notice about the eighth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) has been issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The official announcement for the same may be seen on CBSE’s official website, cbse.gov.in. In January 2025, the Hon. Prime Minister will host the eighth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC), a program that engages students, educators, and parents. The event will take place at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

The main event will feature about 2,500 chosen pupils. The Ministry of Education will provide a PPC Kit to each chosen participant.

MCQ competition underway

The board has announced that the online multiple-choice question (MCQ) competition is being held at innovateindia1.mygov.in, per the official announcement. The competition, which is open to students in grades 6 through 12, as well as their instructors and parents, started on December 14 and ends on January 14.

The winners will have the chance to meet the Prime Minister face-to-face at the Pariksha Pe Charcha event. As a symbol of appreciation, each winner will get a certificate that has been specifically created.

Official notice

The official notice reads, ”This competition is the mode through which students, parents and teachers are invited to frame their questions to be addressed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister. Shortlisted questions may feature in the programme. The participants who asked questions in the previous editions of Pariksha Pe Charcha, are invited by media channels to appear in their programmes. Along the same lines, this year’s chosen few may get an opportunity to interact with the media.”

The Army and local law enforcement agencies remain steadfast in their commitment to thwart subversive activities in the state of Manipur, it added.

Acting on specific intelligence of the presence of explosives in the general area of Maphitel Ridge in Manipur’s Imphal East district, the Indian Army and Manipur Police on Tuesday launched a search operation and recovered five Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), weighing 21.5 kilograms at multiple locations, PRO Defence Guwahati said in a release.

As per the release, Eva, the explosive detection dog and bomb disposal squad of the Army played a crucial role in the detection and recovery of these IEDs.

This critical recovery prevented a major threat saving innocent lives. The operation marks the synergy between the forces and is a significant achievement.

The Army and local law enforcement agencies remain steadfast in their commitment to thwart subversive activities in the state of Manipur, it added.

Earlier on December 12, the Assam Rifles carried out a robust Area Domination Patrol (ADP) and search operation in the general areas of Narayanpur, Madhopur, and Gotaikhal of Jiribam District, Manipur.

This meticulously planned operation was to ensure the safety and security of the region, reaffirming Assam Rifles’ commitment to maintaining peace and stability.

The operation employed an Explosive Detection (ED) dog to enhance search capabilities in detecting potential threats, thereby bolstering the safety of troops and residents.

During the operation, a road blockade at Gotaikhal, which was disrupting movement and inconveniencing the local population, was successfully cleared. This action restored normalcy and facilitated unhindered movement in the area.

Additionally, an unauthorized structure in Gotaikhal was identified and dismantled to prevent its misuse for unlawful activities and to maintain law and order.

The operation was conducted with precision and professionalism, without any untoward incidents, reflecting the dedication and expertise of the troops involved.

While hearing a plea of Alt News co-founder and editor Mohammed Zubair, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, December 18, questioned the fact checker on choosing to post his concern on social media over approaching the police.

The case was being heard by a division bench headed by Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra who were reviewing Zubair’s plea to quash an FIR registered against him over an X post regarding a hate speech delivered by far-right Ghaziabad’s Dasna temple head priest Yati Narsinghanand.

“If this person (referring to Yati Narsinhanand) is acting funny, then instead of going to the police, will you act more funny? Have you lodged an FIR against him? I will look at your conduct. If you don’t like his (Yati) speech, face, you should file an FIR against him,” the division bench orally remarked.

Senior counsel appearing for Mohammed Zubair argued that his client had exercised his right to freedom of speech by highlighting Yati’s conduct. The counsel stated that many had tweeted about the alleged speech in question and Zubair had not said anything different.

Unimpressed by Zubair’s counsel, the bench stated that he should have approached the police instead of choosing social media platforms to voice his concern.

“Come to the court then…you will go to social media handle… create social disharmony?…Whatever he (Yati) says, you cannot go to social media…Who denies that Twitter cannot be used, but you cannot use it to instigate unrest.. glancing at the tweet shows that you are trying to create unrest,” the bench remarked.

Questioning the Additional Advocate General (AAG), representing the State, the bench asked why Section 152 of the BNS was charged against Mohammed Zubair.

It should be noted that Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhitha (BNS) addresses actions that threaten the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

Responding, the AAG claimed that freedom of speech is not absolute and can be curtailed under Article 19(2) of the Indian Consitution.

The next hearing is scheduled to take place on December 20.

What is Mohammed Zubair vs Yati Narsinghanand case

On September 29, Yati Narsinghanand delivered a speech where he told his followers to burn effigies of Prophet Muhammad instead of the demon king Ravana.

His remarks created widespread uproar amongst the Muslim community with FIRs being lodged in Ghaziabad, Maharashtra and Hyderabad.

Mohammed Zubair had tweeted about the video questioning Yati Narsinghanand’s intentions and accused him of repeatedly making derogatory remarks against Muslims and provoking a riot-like situation.

Subsequently, an FIR was lodged on October 7 by Udita Tyagi, general secretary of the Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati Foundation. 

Tyagi alleged that Mohammed Zubair had shared the video with the intention of inciting communal disharmony. The FIR also mentioned the principal of Darul Uloom Deobandv Maulana Arshad Madani and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

The Ghaziabad police then charged Zubair under Sections 196 (promoting enmity on religious grounds), 228 (fabricating false evidence), 299 (outraging religious feelings by insulting religion or religious beliefs), 356(3) (defamation), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS.

Mahakumbh Nagar, December 18: With only a few weeks remaining for the grand Mahakumbh 2025 festival in Prayagraj, the Yogi government is accelerating preparations to ensure seamless arrangements.

The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department, along with the Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Limited (UPSTDC), is actively setting up tent cities across various locations in the Mela area to accommodate pilgrims and tourists.

As part of this initiative, UPSTDC is set to enhance its tent-based deluxe accommodation facilities by establishing a 300-bed deluxe dormitory within the Mahakumbh Mela area. This large-scale project will soon gain momentum and aims to provide premium lodging options for visitors.

The 300-bed deluxe dormitory will feature a total of 50 tents, categorized as follows: 20 tents with 4 beds each, 10 tents with 6 beds each, and 20 tents with 8 beds each.

In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s vision, the tent cities being constructed and operated in the Mahakumbh Mela area are designed to meet the needs of international tourists, VIPs, and general pilgrims.

Each tent in this deluxe dormitory will range in size from 250 to 400 square feet. These tents will be developed and operated to the same high standards as the villas and super deluxe tents already established by UPSTDC in Arail. with the same standards as the villas and super deluxe tents already set up by UPSTDC in Arail.

This ensures that groups of tourists and pilgrims staying in these tents can experience world-class facilities while enjoying a comfortable stay together in the Mahakumbh area.

The deluxe tents in the Mahakumbh Mela area will offer a host of premium amenities, including air conditioning, double beds with mattresses, sofa sets, customized interiors, writing desks, geysers, fire extinguishers, quilts and blankets, mosquito nets, Wi-Fi, a dining area, common sitting areas, a waiting lounge, and a meeting lounge. Guests will also enjoy serene views of the river, creating a delightful and immersive experience.

In addition to accommodation, the UPSTDC will provide a variety of activity packages. These include Sangam boat rides, sofa boat rides, banana boat rides, cruise rides, and arrangements for religious rituals at the Prayagraj Sangam. Visitors can also explore Prayagraj’s rich religious and mythological heritage through curated tours.

The culinary offerings will feature a diverse menu, including toast, milk with cornflakes, sweetened curd, sprouts, fresh-cut fruits, hot chocolate shakes, puri-sabzi, South Indian cuisine, an array of parathas, thalis with vegetables, and beverages like green tea, masala chai, regular tea, and coffee.

Guests will also have access to yoga sessions and cultural event information as part of the packages. The deluxe tents will primarily operate between January 13 and February 26.

Bookings, package details, and additional information about these tent dormitories will soon be available on the UPSTDC website and the Mahakumbh Mela app.

On Tuesday, Girls Will Be Girls co-producer Richa Chadha and executive producer Ali Fazal hosted a special screening in Mumbai, attended by Dia Mirza, Tisca Chopra, Konkona Sensharma, Anjum Sharma, Rasika Dugal, Vijay Varma, Shweta Tripathi with husband Chaitanya Sharma, Priyanshu Painyuli, Aditi Rao Hydari, and several other notable celebrities.

An inside video from the screening is going viral, which shows Konkana breaking down in tears after watching the Indo-French coming-of-age drama, Girls Will Be Girls. She was also seen hugging co-producer Richa Chadha. Meanwhile, Dia appeared emotional as well and praised the film’s lead actor, Kesav Binoy Kiron.

Check out the video: