RIVANCH

New Delhi: Barely a day after he was disqualified from the Indian Parliament, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday had a very public spat with a journalist who questioned him on his recent conviction in a defamation case. The Congress leader allegedly insulted the journalist during his first media interaction after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha. During the press briefing, when a journalist questioned him on his conviction in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case, Gandhi lashed out at the reporter and said, “Don’t pretend to be a journalist…Kyun hawa nikal gayi?” But what exactly was it that irked an already visibly combative Gandhi? The journalist allegedly drew a reference to Gandhi having earlier insulted the entire OBC community. He also claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was mulling media interactions across the country to highlight Gandhi’s conviction in the defamation case and subsequent disqualification from Parliament. “See, your first attempt was from t

New Delhi: Lauded for creating a truly India-centric retail space and steering the growth of Reliance Retail Ventures, industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s daughter and a well-known entrepreneur in her own right, Isha Ambani on Friday won the prestigious ‘Gennext Entrepreneur’ award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards 2023, which recognises resilient leaders of the country and their outstanding contribution to usher in change to an ever-growing and evolving society. A leading player in India’s 800-billion-dollar retail market, Isha Ambani strives to dominate every aspect of the country’s retail space and works to make the most of opportunities to take Reliance Retail’s digital commerce initiative AJIO.com, a fashion and lifestyle brand popular with the youth to greater heights. The brand is known for being an ultimate fashion destination flaunting affordable handpicked apparel and is currently the market leader in terms of revenue in the domestic online space. Dedicating her win to her

New Delhi: “The word global pandemic is intimidating in itself and can rattle even the strongest of minds,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he narrated leading India’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic which not only broke spirits across the world but brought it to a standstill — economically, physically and emotionally. Experiences such as these make up History TV18 ’s latest offering ‘The Vial – India’s Vaccine Story’ —  a documentary detailing the untold story of India’s grit and determination to ensure the Covid-19 vaccine reaches every citizen in the remotest parts of the country. Narrated by actor Manoj Bajpayee, the 60-minute documentary that aired at 8 pm on Friday (24 March) traces India’s journey from deciding to develop a vaccine on its own to becoming the world’s saviour by providing the jabs to several countries. In a first, PM Modi talks about how his government decided to end red-tapism and empower people to take decisions that would hasten the vaccine process

New Delhi: It seemed like a war that India would never be able to tackle, let alone conquer. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world, many estimated that a country as large and diverse as India would be at the mercy of the virus that had brought several developed and wealthy nations to their knees. But turning a deaf ear to fears of never-seen-before destruction, one man had begun charting out the course for his country to not only fight the Covid-19 pandemic but also emerge victorious. Sharing his experience of battling an invisible enemy in History TV18 ’s brand new documentary ‘The Vial – India’s Vaccine Story’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said till people were educated, brought together and given the onus of saving themselves and their families from the virus, results could never be seen. “Our available health infrastructure was for a normal situation. But in a situation where the whole country is battling a pandemic, the resources would fall short. Considering this, to br

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of parliament, a day after a court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted him in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his alleged remarks on the “Modi surname”. As per an NDTV report, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has also declared his Wayanad constituency vacant. “Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad parliamentary constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction ie 23 March 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification today (24 March). The Election Commission can now call for a special election for the Wayanad seat. Congress has denounced the disqualification and called it a “conspiracy” to silence Gandhi, who has raised questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his alleged ties to billionaire in

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha elections of 2024 are not the question; that mark stands pushed a decade away to 2034 because that’s when Congress scion Rahul Gandhi will be able to contest a seat in the Lok Sabha if his conviction by a Surat court in a defamation case from 2019 stands appeal in a higher court. The conviction carries a jail term of two years, but Rahul Gandhi will not go to a prison immediately as he has been given bail for 30 days to appeal against the verdict. He stands disqualified from membership of the Lok Sabha with effect from the date of conviction. This is in line with the Representation of People Act. Also, the law lays down that he remains disqualified for another six years after serving his time, in this case two years. Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification, therefore, stands for eight years. Again, legally speaking Gandhi is surely move a higher court against his conviction. He will have to get the conviction stayed or overturned to save his membership. It is then

New Delhi: Hours after Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a 2019 defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark, the Congress Wayanad MP was disqualified from the Lok Sabha with effective from 23 March. In a notification dated 24 March, Lok Sabha Secretariat said: “Consequent upon his conviction by the Court of Chief of Judicial Magistrate, Surat in C.C./18712/2019, Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provision of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.” On Thursday, a Surat court held Rahul Gandhi guilty and sentenced him to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case for his remarks over the ‘Modi surname’. The same court granted the Congress scion bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow hi

New Delhi: Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, MD, Medanta hospital has expressed concern over the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the Delhi NCR region and has urged people to take the required precautions. #WATCH | Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman, MD, Medanta hospital says, "Worrying that we're seeing rising cases of COVID…Measures we used as COVID-apt behaviour must be practised…Wear a mask where there is likely to be a crowd. Isolate for 4-5 days if you have a cold and cough…" pic.twitter.com/9DKYwT9ADd — ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2023 "Worrying that we're seeing rising cases of COVID...Measures we used as COVID-apt behaviour must be practised. Wear a mask where there is likely to be a crowd. Isolate for 4-5 days if you have a cold and cough," Dr Naresh Trehan was quoted as saying by ANI. “People with comorbidities have to be doubly responsible and doubly protected. They should not go into crowded places, if it is very urgent - all with an N95 mask and spend a

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Gujarat’s Surat today (23 March) in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his remarks about the “Modi surname”. However, the court granted him bail immediately and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal the decision. Gandhi’s conviction has evoked reactions across the political spectrum, with Congress and other Opposition parties attacking the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). What is the defamation case and what have the reactions to the verdict been? What does the conviction mean for Rahul Gandhi? Let’s take a closer look. The 2019 defamation case BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a case against Rahul Gandhi over his statement about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname during a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad had allegedly said: “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Mo

New Delhi: Leader of India’s Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, was held guilty and sentenced to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case for his remarks over the ‘Modi surname’. As per the Indian Supreme Court, two-year imprisonment technically attracts his disqualification from the Indian parliament. As per the apex court’s rule, lawmakers including MPs, automatically lose their membership if convicted for a minimum of two years. The Congress scion, however, retains his membership of the Indian parliament as the court in Gujarat’s Surat that convicted him has suspended his sentence for 30 days. This saves him from immediate disqualification and also gives him option to move a higher court to challenge the verdict. Why Rahul Gandhi faces immediate disqualification? As per the Indian Supreme Court’s landmark Lily Thomas vs Union of India judgement of 10 July, 2013, Rahul faces “immediate disqualification”. In its judgement in the case, the apex court ruled that any member

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), is the only Indian to feature in the list of the world’s top 10 billionaires, according to Hurun Global Rich List. The report compiled by research platform Hurun in coordination with real-estate group M3M, mentioned that the RIL chief occupied ninth rank globally with a net worth of $82 billion, despite a 20 per cent decline in wealth. Ambani has also retained the wealthiest Asian title for the third consecutive year. With a 35 per cent year-on-year decline in wealth, Gautam Adani slipped to the second spot. His net worth stood at $53 billion. As per Hurun, Adani lost Rs 3,000 crore every week over the last year. Adani Group lost the second-richest Asian title to China’s Zhong Shanshan. In January, following a report by US short-seller Hindenburg, Adani’s wealth nosedived by more than 60 per cent from his peak. Just before the report, Adani was briefly the world’s second richest person. Among other I

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a high-level meeting to review the COVID and influenza-related situation and public health preparedness as India recorded the highest number of cases since November 2022. According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, both influenza and COVID cases have seen a spike in the last two weeks. PM Modi directed officials to enhance the Whole Genome Sequencing of Positive Samples with the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories to help track newer variants, the statement added. #PrimeMinister #NarendraModi held a high-level meeting to review the #COVID19 , #Influenza -related situation and public health preparedness #PMModi pic.twitter.com/X4rlopuxRy — Firstpost (@firstpost) March 22, 2023 Here are the meeting’s key highlights- The PM emphasised COVID-appropriate behaviour including wearing masks on hospital premises. He also stressed that wearing masks is advisable when senior citizens and those with co-morbidit

New Delhi: India has been once again witnessing rise in fresh cases of Covid-19. Amid this, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to review the public health preparedness in the country. The rise in Covid-19 cases come at a time when the H3N2 influenza is making several people ill across the country. The India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in its health bulletin on Wednesday morning said that the country logged 1,134 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. There are now 7,026 active Covid-19 cases in India. At least five people died of Covid-19 in the country on Tuesday, the health ministry data said. One death each has been reported by Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, while one fatality was reconciled by Kerala. #PrimeMinister #NarendraModi held a high-level meeting to review the #COVID19 , #Influenza -related situation and public health preparedness #PMModi pic.twitter.com/X4rlopuxRy — Firstpost (@firstpost) March

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of various projects worth more than Rs 1780 crores at Varanasi’s Sampurnanand Sanskrit University grounds on Friday. The prime minister will also address the ‘One World TB Summit’ at the Rudrakash Convention Centre during a visit to his parliamentary constituency. To mark the World Tuberculosis Day, Prime Minister Modi will address the ‘One World TB Summit’. The summit is being organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Stop TB Partnership. Set up in 2001, the Stop TB Partnership is a United Nations backed organisation that amplifies the voices of the people, communities, and countries affected by the disease. As part of the event, the prime minister will launch various initiatives including the TB-Mukt Panchayat initiative; an official pan-India rollout of a shorter TB Preventive Treatment (TPT); a family-centric care model for TB and also release India’s annual TB Report 2023. PM Modi wil

New Delhi: A massive earthquake jolted large parts of northern India including the Delhi NCR region late on Tuesday evening. According to the National Centre for Seismology, the epicenter of the earthquake was 133 kilometres from Fayzabad in Afghanistan. The earthquake was measured at 6.6 on the Richter Scale. #WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: People rush out of their houses in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad as strong earthquake tremors felt in several parts of north India. pic.twitter.com/wg4MWB0QdX — ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2023 Apart from India and Afghanistan, the other affected countries include Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan. In India, strong earthquake tremors were felt in the national capital Delhi and adjoining areas on Tuesday evening. Many people came to open spaces in residential buildings as tremors were felt for a while. "Many of the residents of our building came to the common ground area. People were checking their phones con

We all have seen news bloopers where news anchors and reporters get into embarrassing situations. These instances always turn out to be hilarious, unintentionally. One such news blooper from South Africa has attracted the attention of Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group. He recently shared a news clip where a news anchor can be heard fumbling as he tries to spell out the name of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. He continues to fumble as he announces the name of cabinet ministers. Toward the end of the video, he says that the words are very difficult to pronounce and that they will need to take a short break. Anand Mahindra wrote in the caption, “Can someone PLEASE tell me this is a comedy show and not a real news bulletin. Either way, I wish our TV was this entertaining…” Have a look at this video here: Can someone PLEASE tell me this is a comedy show and not a real news bulletin. Either way, I wish our TV was this entertaining… pic.twitter.com/8BadD9xXui — anand ma

The stringent National Security Act has been invoked against Amritpal Singh, the Punjab government on Tuesday told the high court which rapped it over the intelligence failure that led to the pro-Khalistan preacher giving police the slip. The Punjab and Haryana High Court was hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by advocate Imaan Singh Khara. In his plea Khara alleged that “Singh’s in police custody.” Justice NS Shekhawat asked Punjab Advocate General Vinod Ghai how Amritpal Singh gave police the slip when the whole operation was meticulously planned, and called it an intelligence failure, PTI quoted a lawyer as saying. “You have 80,000 cops. What were they doing? How did Amritpal Singh escape?,” the HC asked the Punjab government. Police on Saturday had launched a major crackdown against Amritpal Singh and members of his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De.’ The elusive preacher himself, however, gave the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalan

It was a day full of diplomacy and Indian delicacies as Indian PM Narendra Modi hosted his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in New Delhi on Monday. The duo discussed boosting India-Japan ties in defence, healthcare, technology, and other sectors. On a lighter note, PM Modi and Kishida were also seen enjoying famous Indian delicacies like golgappas , lassi and aam panna in the capital’s Buddha Jayanti Park. Videos and pictures of the duo have gone viral on social media. PM Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida tries golgappes in New Delhi’s Buddha Jayanti Park on 20 March 2023. PM Modi also shared a video of the experience of Facebook. Japan PM Fumio Kishida enjoys a taste of India as he relishes delicious golgappas! pic.twitter.com/2odktWSrHw — Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) March 20, 2023 The park was developed to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of Gautam Buddha’s birth. My friend PM @kishida230 enjoyed Indian snacks including Golgappas.