ideasandinnovations-blog

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Yogi Adityanath to flag-off BJP’s ‘Ram Rajya Rath Yatra’ in February 2018)

Lucknow: With the BJP now seemingly determined to play the Hindutva card for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections; the party will launch a ‘Ram Rajya Rath Yatra’ from Ayodhya on February 13, 2018.The Yatra will be flagged off by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya and will travel to Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu where it will culminate on March 23.

According to sources, the Yatra will be taken out under the aegis of Shri Ramdas Universal Society, Maharashtra and representatives of BJP, VHP, RSS and others will participate in it.The Yatra will travel from UP, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and end in Tamil Nadu.The Yatra is designed to revive the Ram temple movement in time for the next Lok Sabha elections.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via U.P. CM Adityanath arrives in Agra, to visit Taj Mahal)

Uttar Pradesh : Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit the Taj Mahal on Thursday against the backdrop of various controversial statements made by some BJP leaders and Ministers against the 17th century monument.Over 14,000 policemen have been deployed across the city for the security of Mr. Adityanath, who arrived in Agra early on Thursday.Mr. Adityanath will be the first BJP CM of U.P. to visit the monument of love.

The Chief Minister, who landed in the city’s Kheria Airport, went to Nangla Paima village and visited the rubber check dam. He also visited Kachhpura village.A senior police officer told PTI that more than 14,000 policemen have been deployed across the city for the security of Mr. Adityanath.“The monument is open for tourists and the entry will be allowed as per the routine process. The security has been stepped up,” he said.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Don't need to stand up for anthem in cinema halls to prove patriotism: SC)

New Delhi: People do not need to stand up in the cinema halls to prove their patriotism, the Supreme Court said on Monday and asked the Centre to consider amending the rules for regulating playing of the national anthem in the theatres.The top court also observed that it cannot be assumed that if a person does not stand up for national anthem, then he is “less patriotic”.

Observing that the society did not need “moral policing”, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the next time, “the government will want people to stop wearing T-shirts and shorts to cinemas saying this would disrespect the national anthem.”It said it will not allow the government to “shoot from its shoulder” and asked it to take a call either way on the issue of regulating the playing the anthem.

The bench also indicated that it may modify its order of December 1, 2016, by which the playing of the anthem was made mandatory in the movie halls before the screening of a film, and it may replace the word “shall” with “may”.“People go to cinema halls for undiluted entertainment. Society needs entertainment. We cannot allow you (Centre) to shoot from our shoulders. People do not need to stand up in cinema halls to prove their patriotism,” the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Harassment drives family to self-immolation, 3 killed in Tamil Nadu)

Tirunelveli: ‘Kanduvetti’ (lending money at usurious interest rates) related family traumas made a shocking re-entry, on Monday, as three persons of a family of four including a woman and her two daughters succumbed to severe burn injuries they suffered in an open self-immolation at the Tirunelveli district collector’s office.

The family head Esakkimuthu, a daily wage worker, is undergoing treatment with third degree burns.While the family had resorted to this unbelievably self-tormenting step to protest the alleged lethargy of the police and the district administration towards his complaint against an usurer, the gruesome incident happened in broad daylight at around 11 am on Monday in front of the hall where the public grievances redressal meeting was on at the Collectorate.

Esakkimuthu (27), a daily wager from Kasidharmam village near Kadayanallur in Tirunelveli district along with his wife, Subbulakshmi and their two daugters, Mathisaranya (4) and Akshayabaraniya (2), came to the district collector’s office and were waiting under a tree in front of the public grievances day meeting hall when he suddenly doused himself, his wife and children with kerosene and set themselves on fire, tightly hugging his wife and children.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via IAF jets to land on Agra-Lucknow Expressway today)

The IAF’s touchdown exercise, in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh Government, will be the first official IAF exercise on the expressway, which was inaugurated in November last year. The jets will use the stretch during the day to hone pilots’ skills in using public roads in case of a war-like emergency. The exercise will take place near Bangarmau in Unnao and will be rehearsal for the defence forces.

“It is for the first time any transport aircraft will land and then take off from the expressway. The AN-32 are meant for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief during floods or any other natural calamity,” PRO, Defence (Central Command), Gargi Malik Sinha was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Note ban, GST ruined nation: Rahul)

Mr. Gandhi was addressing a gathering of supporters of OBC leader Alpesh Thakor, who had recently joined Congress.

A day after Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) requires a major rejig, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi stepped up attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dubbed the GST as “BJP’s Gabbar Singh Tax.”Addressing a rally here on Monday, Mr. Gandhi slammed the Centre for a ‘faulty tax regime’ that is destroying small businessmen and industries in the country.

“The government ignored all our suggestions on GST and introduced it with celebrations at midnight. In their GST, there is the highest 28% tax and three return forms that makes the GST Gabbar Singh Tax,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Demonetisation and GST together have ruined the economy, he charged. “With one stroke of demonetisation, Modiji ruined the economy but he did not stop there. He went ahead with GST, which has derailed the small businessmen and industries,” he said.The rally was organised by OBC leader Alpesh Thakor, who joined the Congress, giving a boost to the party ahead of the crucial Assembly polls to be held later this year.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Trump-Tillerson rope in India and Afghanistan to bring Pakistan to heel)

WASHINGTON: There was a time not so long ago when a US cabinet member or high official visiting Islamabad and New Delhi on the same trip to the region would have irked India and invited grumbling about American hyphenation of the two countries. But such is the rapidly evolving nature of ties between Washington and New Delhi, seen in some quarters as being just short of a formal alliance, that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is not only touching down in Islamabad on his way to New Delhi on Tuesday, he’s also tailing Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani in to the Indian capital after an unannounced stopover in Kabul+ for what could end up as a trilateral US-India-Afghanistan meeting aimed at bringing Pakistan to heel+ .

The schedule, and even more, statements preceding and accompanying his travels to the region, tell the story of the new American strategy for the region under President Trump, fairly transparently. The US, India, and Afghanistan want Pakistan and its terrorist proxies to butt out of the war-ravaged country; all three hold Pakistan and its military responsible for the decades-long crisis because of Islamabad’s neurotic search for strategic depth against India. And all three are working together to sideline Pakistan after its toxic role in the region, partly with Chinese help.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via US cops find body during search, 'most likely' of 3-year-old missing Indian girl)

HOUSTON: Police have discovered the body of a girl child, which they say is “most likely” of a three-year-old Indian girl who went missing two weeks ago when her foster father reportedly sent her outside alone late in the night as punishment for not finishing her milk. Sherin Mathews, who has developmental issues and limited verbal communication skills, was last seen outside her family’s backyard in Richardson, Dallas on October 7.

The Richardson Police on Sunday announced that they discovered the remains of a child in a tunnel beneath a road, expressing apprehension that it was “most likely” of Mathews. They, however, did not confirm the identityThe body was found about half a mile from Mathews’ house.As part of their search operation, the officers blocked off an area near Spring Valley and Bowser roads, east of Central Expressway.

The body was found in a culvert beneath a road around 11am with the help of search dogs. Police have not released any details about how the child died.They, however, indicated they had no reason to believe that the body of a different child had been found. The identification process was under way. The medical examiner was working to determine the cause of death.

Sherin’s foster father, Wesley Mathews, 37, was arrested on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child. A day later, he was released from custody after posting a $250,000 bond.As per an arrest-warrant affidavit, Mathews, said to be from Kerala, told police that he put Sherin outside and told her to stand next to a large tree at around 3am on Saturday (October 7).Mathews admitted to police that he knew coyotes had been seen in the alley, the affidavit said.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Don't destroy your image, Modi reportedly told Aung San Suu Kyi on Rohingya crisis)

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi not to “destroy” her image over her stance on the Rohingya issue as Myanmar’s military actions in Rakhine state sparked a global outrage.

Swaraj referred to Modi’s advice as she called on Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after joining the 4th Bangladesh-India Joint Consultative Commission meeting with her counterpart AH Mahmood Ali.”He (Modi) told her (Suu Kyi) ‘you have a very good international image, don’t destroy it’,” the Bangladesh premier’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim told PTI, quoting Swaraj as saying during her meeting with Hasina at her residence.

It is not clear when Modi made the comments, however, Bangladeshi media reports claimed he said this in September when he met Suu Kyi during his first bilateral visit to Myanmar.Karim said Swaraj extended her full support to Bangladesh’s stance that Myanmar must take back its nationals and must not punish innocent people while fighting terrorism.

“Myanmar may punish the terrorists, not innocent people,” he quoted Swaraj as saying.Swaraj appreciated Bangladesh’s stand on the Rohingya issue but described the exodus of forcibly displaced people as a “big burden for Bangladesh”.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via 'How Dare You?': Farhan Akhtar to BJP spokesperson on 'low IQ' remark)

Mumbai: Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar lashed out at BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao over his remarks that most Indian film stars have “very low IQ and very low general knowledge”.

“How dare you, sir?” Akhtar tweeted and tagged the BJP leader.”And to all film people in his ranks… Here’s what he thinks of you. Shame sir,” the actor wrote.

Akhtar’s comment was in reaction to an interview GVL Narasimha Rao gave to news channel Times Now over the ongoing controversy on Tamil film “Mersal” that has scenes critical of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ initiatives.

Since the day of its release, “Mersal”, is in the news after the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP demanded removal of specific dialogues, which take a dig at GST and ‘Digital India’.Hitting out at the references, state BJP state unit president Tamilisai Sounderrajan had told reporters in Chennai on Thursday that “Incorrect references have been made in ‘Mersal’ about GST … celebrities should desist from registering wrong information among people.”

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Was offered Rs 1 crore to join BJP: Hardik Patel aide's sensational claim)

Ahmedabad: Political developments are in full swing in Gujarat where polling will be held by the end of the year.A day after Congress extended its invitation to Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani to meet party vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his visit in Ahmedabad on Monday, a senior member of the Hardik Patel-led group, campaigning for reservations for the Patel community, has alleged that he was offered Rs 1 crore to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The claim came hours after Narendra Patel, flanked by prominent BJP leaders, announced Sunday evening that he was joining the BJP. “I was offered Rs 1 crore to join the Bharatiya Janata Party. I have already been given Rs 10 lakh advance,” Narendra Patel said. Narendra Patel further said that Varun Patel took him to a meeting where it was discussed that he will be given Rs 1 crore and received the money from his hands.

The charge has been denied by Varun Patel.”Varun Patel made a Rs 1 crore-deal with BJP for me. He gave 10 lakh rupees in advance. They are going to be give me Rs 90 lakh rupees tomorrow (Monday) but even if they give me the entire Reserve Bank (of India) they will not be able to buy me,” he said, dramatically spreading out the bundles of cash that he said were handed over to him, at a late-night press conference on Sunday.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via K Chandrasekhar Rao tells migrant weavers to return to Telangana)

Warangal: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao called upon local weavers who have migrated to other states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, to come back to Telangana as the state is going to have its own textile industry with the establishment of the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park.

The Chief Minister landed in Chinthalapalli village in Sangem mandal of Warangal rural district at 4.10 pm on Sunday and laid four foundation stones — for the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park, Warangal Outer Ring Road, Madikonda IT Incubation Centre and the Kazipet RoB.

He addressed a massive crowd later and said he is happy to announce that he was able to fulfil the promise given to the migrated weavers that they would be provided employment here. “These weavers who have migrated to other places have told me that they had no option as the state did not give them any kind of opportunity for employment.“These weavers who have migrated to other places have told me that they had no option as the state did not give them any kind of opportunity for employment. The Azam Jahi Mills in Warangal that used to be a source of employment was shut down. So I told them that I would establish an industry which is much bigger than the Azam Jahi Mills. Today the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park is going to fulfil my promise,” he said.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via India for safe return of Myanmar nationals, says Sushma Swaraj)

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday expressed deep concern at the spate of violence in Rakhine State of Myanmar and said India wanted the safe return of Rohingya to their homeland.Ms. Swaraj, who is in Dhaka on a two-day visit, was addressing a joint press conference after meeting Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali.

“India is deeply concerned at the spate of violence in Rakhine State of Myanmar. We have urged that the situation be handled with restraint, keeping in mind the welfare of the population. It is clear that normalcy will only be restored with the return of the displaced persons,” she said.

The Minister, however, did not use the word “Rohingya” and only referred to “displaced persons from the Rakhine State.”She said India also supports the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, headed by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The Commission has suggested a number of measures for a “peaceful, fair and prosperous future for the people of Rakhine.”Ms Swaraj said the only long-term solution to the situation in Rakhine is rapid socio-economic and infrastructure development that would have a positive impact on all the communities living in the state. India, for its part has committed to providing financial and technical assistance for specific projects to be undertaken in Rakhine in conjunction with the local authorities, she added.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Opposition has no authority to question EC, says Narendra Modi)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his third visit to poll-bound Gujarat this month on Sunday, slammed the Opposition for questioning the Election Commission’s motives in delaying the announcement of the Assembly poll schedule for the State.

“The Opposition parties have no authority to question the Election Commission over announcement of the poll schedule,” Mr. Modi said, addressing a gathering in Vadodara. The crucial polls are due later this year and the term of the Assembly ends on January 22, 2018.

In a veiled dig at Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who had criticised the EC, saying the EC had “authorised” the PM to announce the dates for Assembly polls at a rally in Gujarat, Mr. Modi said, “Someone who won during recounting is targeting the EC now.”

After the Election Commission announced the poll schedule for Himachal Pradesh, breaking the precedent of announcing polls for Gujarat and HP together, it came under sharp attack from Opposition parties. The Commission said it deferred the announcement for Gujarat as the State had sought time to complete rehabilitation work in the flood-hit northern region.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via 85% of Indians trust govt, 27% want a 'strong leader': Pew survey)

Washington: More than four-fifths of Indian citizens trust their government, but interestingly, a majority of Indians also support military rule and autocracy, a latest Pew survey said, on Monday.“In India, where the economy has grown on average by 6.9 per cent since 2012, 85 per cent (of people) trust their national government,” Pew Research said in a report based on its survey on governance and trust among key countries across the world.

Notably, in India, which has strong democratic credentials since the last seven decades, according to Pew, a majority (55 per cent) of its people support autocracy in one way or the other.In fact, more than one-fourth (27 per cent) of them want a strong leader.Nearly half of Russians (48 per cent) back governance by a strong leader, but rule by a strong leader is generally unpopular, it said.

A global median of 26 per cent say a system in which a strong leader can make decisions without interference from parliament or the courts would be a good way of governing.Roughly seven-in-10 (71 per cent) say it would be a bad type of governance.India is one of the three countries in the Asia Pacific region where people support technocracy.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via After nearly four years in jail on murder charge, Talwars walk free)

Rajesh Talwar’s brother Dinesh was among the family members who came to receive the couple.Rajesh and Nupur Talwar walked out of the district prison here on Monday evening, baggage in hand but looking forward.

Incarcerated for a little over three years and ten monthsfor the alleged murders of their teenaged daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj back in 2008, the dentist couple mellowed down for a few moments as they clasped Mr. Talwar’s brother, Dinesh, before sombrely walking onward to their collective freedom after their acquittal from the Allahabad High Court last week.

According to prison sources, their release order was delivered to the Dasna District Prison around 4.30 pm following which the other formalities related to their release such as the filling of a security bond, were undertaken.

As the formalities continued, Mr. Talwar’s brother, Dinesh, drove up to the prison with their legal counsel, Tanveer Ahmed Mir, in tow a little after 5:45 pm; precisely eleven minutes later, the Talwars emerged from the prison gate to managed a hurried exit wading through a frenzied media contingent under police protection, slip inside a silver Chevrolet Optra and drive off.

“Nothing can make us more happy. This wouldn’t have been possible without Dinesh Talwar and Rajesh’s and Nupur’s steadfast belief in their innocence,” Mr. Mir said.

[ideasandinnovations-blog]

(via Swaraj asks Indian mission to grant medical visa to Pakistan girl)

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has directed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to grant medical visa immediately to a five-year-old Pakistani girl, suffering from eye cancer, for treatment in India .The child’s parents had sought Ms. Swaraj’s help.“There is a request for medical visa for 5 year old child Anamta Farrukh who is suffering from eye cancer for her treatment in India. I have asked @IndiainPakistan to issue medical visa for treatment of the child in India immediately,” she said on Twitter yesterday.

She also said another Pakistani child requiring bone marrow transplant was being given visa for treatment in India.“We are giving medical visa for the bone marrow transplant surgery of your son in India. I pray for his early recovery here,” Ms. Swaraj said to the father of the boy, identified as Shehriyar.