RIVANCH

Belthangady (Karnataka): Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief DK Shivakumar said that the BJP is now a “divided house” as “fed-up” leaders have been defecting to its party ahead of keenly watched Karnataka polls. “No matter what BJP does, we will come to power. I have advised the party workers to bring Congress to power. Even some people from BJP are fed up with BJP. Now the BJP is a divided house,” Shivakumar told reporters. In the past few weeks, a few BJP leaders have left the party to join Congress over the denial of tickets. The most phenomenal exit has been of Jagadish Shettar, the former chief minister of the state and a six-time BJP MLA. Shettar was denied a ticket from the Hubbali-Dharwad Central Assembly constituency. Shettar, a prominent Lingayat leader later joined Congress and is set to contest from his home turf. Similarly, former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi also quit BJP to join hands with Congress and will now contest from the Athani constitue

Moga (Punjab):  Ending a month-long manhunt, the Punjab Police has arrested radical preacher and Khalistan supporter Amritpal Singh from Moga. The arrest comes a day after Home Minister Amit Shah was asked about the ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief’s arrest. “It may happen sometime. Earlier he used to roam freely, but now he cannot carry on with his activities,” Shah said. The Punjab Police has urged citizens to maintain peace in the state following Singh’s arrest. #AmritpalSingh arrested in Moga, Punjab. Further details will be shared by #PunjabPolice Urge citizens to maintain peace and harmony, Don’t share any fake news, always verify and share. — Punjab Police India (@PunjabPoliceInd) April 23, 2023 According to a report by  Times of India , Singh had reached his village of Rode last night where he even spoke to some people and held prayers today morning. Earlier this week, two more aides of Amritpal Singh were arrested from Punjab’s Mohali in a joint operation carried out by Pu

A village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district has decided not to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr today (22 April), as per reports. Sangiote village was the destination of a terror attack on an Indian Army truck carrying six soldiers on Thursday. The ambush left five jawans of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) unit dead, while one was seriously injured. According to a PTI report, at least 12 people were detained for questioning on Friday in connection with the attack. Why are residents of Sangiote village giving Eid celebrations a miss this year? How was the Army truck ambushed and who is behind the terror attack? Let’s take a closer look. ‘Pall of gloom’ According to an Indian Express report, the Army truck was carrying fruits and other items for an iftar gathering slated to be held in Sangiote, which has a population of 4,000 people, on Thursday evening. Several people from the village were invited for the 7 pm iftar for which the arrangements were being made by the Rashtriya Rifles unit, the

Bengaluru:  Basavraj Bommai’s office has been accused of calling the returning officers of various districts and instructing them to deliberately find defects in the nominations filed by the Congress Party and rectify the mistakes in the filings of BJP candidates contesting the Assembly election. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief D K Shivakumar demanded that the Election Commission should investigate the matter and summon the call details of the CMO to ascertain the truth. Congress’s Karnataka unit chief said in a press conference, “A major conspiracy is going on to reject the applications of the Congress candidates.” He claimed that the applications of some BJP candidates like that of in the Saundatti Yellamma constituency are defective but the CMO “directly called the officer and directed him to make changes.” The chief added, “There is no need to elaborate how a big team is trying to reject (my) application. You all have been informed about it.” Furthermore, Sh

New Delhi:  The Indian division of Al-Qaeda (AQIS) has threatened to avenge the death of slain mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother, calling them “martyrs”. AQIS issued a seven-page magazine to deliver its message on Eid-ul-Fitr where it also vowed to “liberate Muslims.” “We shall stay in the hand of the oppressor— be it in the White House or the prime minister’s house in Delhi or GHQ in Rawalpindi. From Texas to Tihar to Adyala — we shall liberate all Muslim brothers and sisters from their shackles,” the magazine read. “We shall strap bombs to the bodies of our children to protect honour of our prophet. What a calamity it is.. To Allah we belong and we shall return,” it added. Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead on live television by three men posing as reporters. Both men were interacting with the media while police personnel was escorting them for a checkup at the Prayagraj hospital. Meanwhile, The incumbent BJP government in the poll-bound state of Karnata

New Delhi:  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to people on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. “Greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr. May the spirit of harmony and compassion be furthered in our society. I also pray for everyone’s wonderful health and well-being. Eid Mubarak!” the prime minister tweeted. Greetings on Eid-ul-Fitr. May the spirit of harmony and compassion be furthered in our society. I also pray for everyone’s wonderful health and well-being. Eid Mubarak! — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2023 People across India are celebrating Eid today. Visuals from Delhi were a sight to behold. People hugged each other after offering namaz at Delhi’s Jama Masjid on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr. “I extend my wishes to the entire country on the occasion of Eid. This is a very important occasion after 30 days of fasting. We are happy right now and special arrangements are made for the morning namaz. Delicious food items will be made in our houses today,” a man told  A

Rajkot, Gujarat: Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, attended a Chintan Shivir, a technical textiles brainstorming session. According to Goyal, “India can emerge as a key player in the global technical textiles market.” Darshana Vikram Jardosh, the Union Minister of State for Textiles, also attended the Chintan Shivir. The session, which included participation from more than 50 major industries in the application areas of home textiles and cloth textiles like Industrial Sewing threads, Adhesive Tapes, Labels and Batches, Furniture and Coated Fabrics, Mosquito Nets, Fibrefill, Filter Fabrics, Household wipes, Stuffed Toys, was jointly organised by the Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) and Indian Technical Textiles Association (ITTA). The Conference brought together industry leaders, manufacturers, researchers, line Ministries and user Departments of Central and State governments on a single platform to exchange ideas and deliberate on

The aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has launched an investigation into an incident involving an Air India pilot who allegedly allowed a female friend into the cockpit of a Dubai-Delhi flight on 27 February. Simultaneously, Air India is also conducting an independent probe after taking cognisance of the matter, as told by officials to media outlets. An Air India spokesperson on Friday, 21 April stated that the airline has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to the safety and well-being of passengers, and appropriate action will be taken regarding the incident. A complaint was filed by a cabin member of the Dubai-Delhi flight with DGCA, and an official from DGCA confirmed that an investigation is ongoing. The pilot of the flight allegedly permitted a female friend to enter the cockpit, which is against regulations as unauthorised individuals are not allowed in the cockpit. Such kind of action may be a violation of norms. News agency ANI also took t

New Delhi: In big relief for lakhs of pilgrims planning a trip to the Char Dham this year, the Uttarakhand government on Friday withdrew its earlier decision on capping the total number of pilgrims headed for the hill state. Earlier this year, the Uttarakhand government had made registration of pilgrims mandatory and had also fixed the daily number of pilgrims that each holy destination of the Char Dham could allow keeping in mind the capacity of the region, resulting in trade losses for numerous hotel owners. The annual pilgrimage to the Char Dham usually starts from the last week of April. Pilgrimage sites of Yamunotri and Gangotri Dhams will be opened for pilgrims on Saturday, 22 April, 2023 while the more famous Kedarnath will throw open its doors on Tuesday and Badrinath will open for pilgrims on next Thursday, on 27 April. The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand is one of the most sought after Hindu pilgrimages in the country This pilgrimage is a tour of four holy sites – Badrinat

News Delhi : The government system should support the aspirations of common people for a developed India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing bureaucrats on the occasion of 16th ‘Civil Services Day’ at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Friday. Addressing the gathering of civil servants, the Prime Minister said that the government servants that there are two approaches to life, first, getting things done and second letting things happen. “The first is an active attitude and the second reflects a passive attitude. People with faith in getting things done take ownership in a proactive manner and become the driving force of their teams,” he said. “By this burning desire to bring change in the lives of the people you will be able to leave a memorable legacy. You will not be judged by what you have done for yourself but by what changes have you brought in the lives of the people”, he said. Giving examples of Aspirational districts that are performing better than other districts

Dilip Surana, the Managing Director (MD) and chairman of Micro Labs, a healthcare company, has purchased a bungalow in Bengaluru for Rs 66 crore. This is considered to be among the most expensive property deals in the city. The development was notified by the real estate data analytics firm CRE Matrix, as per media reports. The bungalow, along with the land it sits on, measures 8,373.99 sq. ft. It is located in Fair Field layout along Devaraj Urs Road, formerly known as Race Course Road, with a total area of 12,043 sq. ft., as per the sale deed. On 8 March, a stamp duty of Rs 3.36 crore was paid for the registration of the deal, as per the sale deed, which identifies Dilip Surana and his wife Archana Surana as the buyers. Two decades ago, the Surana family resided in rented homes in Bengaluru, as they chose to live frugally in accordance with the belief of their father, GC Surana. He believed in reinvesting every earned rupee back into the company, prioritising the growth of his busi

Bengaluru: A total of 5,102 nominations have been filed by more than 3,600 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2023. The last date of filing the papers was 20 April. The documents will be scrutinised by the state election commission on Friday. Of the total nominations, 4,710 were filed by 3,327 male candidates and 391 nominations were by 304 female candidates. A statement issued by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka on Thursday night stated that one nomination has been filed by an “other gender” candidate. A report by PTI mentioned officials saying that one candidate may file up to four nominations. As many as 707 nominations were filed by candidates who identified themselves with the BJP, 651 Congress and 455 JD(S). Rest were from other smaller parties and Independents. Don’t Miss: Karnataka election: State wants BJP star campaigner Yogi Adityanath on multiple rallies after Atiq Ahmed’s son encounter On Thursday, which was the sixth and last da

Maya Kodnani must be finally heaving a sigh of relief. A special Ahmedabad court on Thursday (20 April) acquitted all 68 accused, including her, of murder, criminal conspiracy and rioting in the Naroda Gam riots that took place 21 years ago in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Naroda Gam case was among the nine major riots in Gujarat following the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra on 27 February 2002. A day after the burning of the train, 11 Muslims were burnt to death after mobs set their houses on fire in a locality known as Muslim Maholla, Kumbhar Vas, in the Naroda Gam area of Ahmedabad. But how does Maya Kodnani, a gynaecologist by profession and a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and minister, fit into this? We trace the rise and fall of Kodnani. The rise of Maya Kodnani The 67-year-old Maya Kodnani was brought up in a small town, Deesa, between Ahmedabad and a popular pilgrimage spot Ambaji in Banaskantha district. She studied in a Gujarati-medium sch

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation must stop producing operational space systems, according to the new Indian Space Policy, which was made public on Thursday. Instead, it should concentrate its efforts on conducting research and development in cutting-edge technology. Non-government entities (NGEs) are also permitted to provide national and international space-based communication services through self-owned, purchased, or leased geostationary orbit (GSO) and non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) satellite systems, according to the Indian Space Policy-2023, which was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on 6 April. NGSO refers to satellites that are located in low- or medium-earth orbits that deliver high-speed internet from space. The policy also encourages NGEs to establish and operate ground facilities for space objects operations, such as telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) Earth Stations and Satellite Control Centres (SCCs). It also allows NGE

Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his delegation will attend the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers meeting that will be held in the western Indian state of Goa on 4 and 5 May. “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will be leading the Pakistan delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) being held on May 4-5, 2023, in Goa, India,” said Pakistan foreign ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during a weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday. She further said that Bilawal Bhutto would be attending the SCO meeting at the invitation of the current chairman of SCO CFM, Minister for External Affairs of India Dr S Jaishankar. “​Our participation in the meeting reflects Pakistan’s commitment to the SCO Charter and processes and the importance that Pakistan accords to the region in its foreign policy priorities,” Baloch said. “Pakistan continues to participate in SCO meetings in keeping with our longstanding commitment to SCO,” s

Surat : In a major setback for Rahul Gandhi, a court here on Thursday rejected the Congress leader’s application for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark. The court of additional sessions judge RP Mogera rejected Rahul Gandhi’s application filed for a relief pending his appeal against a lower court’s order sentencing him to two years in jail in the case, PTI reported. Key Takeaways 1) On April 3, the Congress leader approached the sessions court for appeal against the lower court’s order. A stay on conviction by the sessions court could have paved the way for his reinstatement as the Member of Parliament. 2) He approached the sessions court for appeal after the lower court sentenced him to two years in jail while convicting him for criminal defamation over his remark, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019. 3) Rahul Gandhi’s lawyers had filed two

New Delhi: Indian climber Anurag Maloo, who went missing earlier this week after falling into a deep crevasse on Mount Annapurna in Nepal, has been found alive in critical condition by rescuers. He is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital. “He is found alive. He has been taken to the hospital in critical condition, but he is still alive,” news agency PTI quoted Maloo’s brother, Sudhir, as saying. “We will have to shift our focus towards the medical side now,” he added. #AnuragMaloo Alive! But we need to pray for his recovery. Pls pray 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ynqp9AKV2F — Yashraj Akashi (YSA) (@yashrajx) April 20, 2023 The 34-year-old climber from Kishangarh city in northern Indian state of Rajasthan went missing on Monday. He was on a trekking expedition with the Seven Summit Treks when he disappeared while descending from Camp III of Mount Annapurna, Mingma Sherpa, the chairman of the group told earlier this week. He fell from around 6,000 metres while descending from C

New Delhi: Early on Thursday morning, the Congress unveiled its sixth and final list of five candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. The list features names of Mohammed Shalem, who has been fielded from Raichur, BV Rajeev Gowda from Sidlaghatta, S Anand Kumar from C V Raman Nagar (SC), HP Sridhar Gowda from Arkalgud, and Inayath Ali who has been fielded from Mangalore City North. On Wednesday, the party nominated Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan in place of Mohammed Yousuf Savanur to represent the Shiggaon constituency in Karnataka, which is now led by Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai. Bommai had defeated Congress candidates Sayed Azeempeer Khadri Shiggaon in the 2018 elections. With the sixth list, the Congress has announced 223 candidates, marking one seat in the 224-member Assembly for Sarvodaya Karnataka Party, a regional outfit. The party released its fifth list on Wednesday of three new candidates, fielding B C Muddugangadhar from the Mulbagal (SC) seat, D K Mohan fr

New Delhi: On Wednesday, Nobel laureate and social activist Kailash Satyarthi stressed the value of compassion in addressing the prevention and management of alcohol misuse in society. At the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), he was giving a speech. The ILBS on Wednesday launched a campaign called PLAY-SAFE (‘Protecting Liver From Alcohol Use In Youth Enhancing Societal and Familial Awareness’) in honour of World Liver Day, which is celebrated annually on 19 April and aims to increase public awareness of liver illnesses and their prevention. The ILBS stated in a statement that the event included a series of speeches and an interactive panel discussion that underlined the significance of societal and familial awareness for battling alcohol-related liver disorders. While citing a few real-life examples, Satyarthi, guest of honour at the event,  emphasised the “importance of compassion” in dealing with the prevention and control of alcohol abuse in society. He promised

New Delhi : Congress youth wing’s national president Srinivas BV has sent a defamation notice to Assam Youth Congress chief Dr Angkita Dutta. In a press statement issued by IYC national media in-charge Varun Pandey on Tuesday, the IYC accused Dutta of using “utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words” against Srinivas BV. The entire exercise of “publically maligning and defaming” Srinivas BV is politically motivated, and is absolutely false and baseless, the statement said. “Dr Dutta has resorted to using utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words against Srinivas BV and has levelled totally sexist, chauvinistic, false, frivolous allegations against him. The IYC legal cell has taken a strong, stringent legal action and therefore IYC National President Srinivas BV has sent a Criminal Defamation notice to Dr Angkita Dutta in view of the same,” the release stated. IYC Legal Cell National Chairman Roopesh Singh Bhadauria stated that Dutta w

It’s hot… hotter than hot in India and unfortunately there’s no relief coming our way. Heatwave conditions prevailed in most parts of the country, with some cities recording temperatures over the 40 degrees Celsius-mark. India’s weatherman, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), has issued heatwave alerts for states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. On Tuesday, Bundi in Rajasthan registered the maximum temperature at 45.2 degrees Celsius, the first of the season for the country, stated a Skymet weather report. Similarly, Prayagraj and Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh were the hottest at 44.2 degrees Celsius. The heat is also sparking concerns about blackouts across nation, potentially exposing millions of people to heat exhaustion or a deadly heat stroke. In Maharashtra’s Kharghar , 13 people already died during a government award function after suffering a sunstroke. What is a heatwave? The word, heatwave, has become a part of c

New Delhi: With 2.9 million more people than China, India has become the world’s most populous country. According to the UN world population dashboard, India has 1,428.6 million people, while China’s population stood at 1,425.7 million. For the first time since 1960, China’s population shrank last year, after which Beijing had to end its strict “one-child policy”, imposed in the 1980s. In 2021, it started letting couples have three children. Apart from a plunge in birth rates, the country has been also facing problem of ageing workforce. The latest figures were given under the category of ‘Demographic Indicators’ in the UNFPA’s ‘The State of World Population Report, 2023’ released on Wednesday. It is the first time since 1950 that India’s population has overtaken China’s. It was in 1950, the UN began to collect and release population data. India’s population to peak at 165 crore As per the latest report by UNFPA, 25 per cent of India’s population is in the age group of 0-14 year

Will India join the small but growing list of nations to legalise same-sex marriage? All eyes are on the Supreme Court, which is hearing petitions seeking legal recognition of homosexual couples. A favourable decision would make India the first country (and the second place) in Asia to allow marriage equality – Taiwan’s parliament became the first in the continent to legalise same-sex unions. A five-judge Constitution bench, presided by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, said that it would “steer clear of personal laws” and can examine if the right can be conferred under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954. The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, indicated that it may only confine to the interpretation of the Special Marriage Act (SMA) to include the term “person” instead of man and woman. “We are not willing to go into personal law issues. Remit will thus have to be restricted only to the extent we are willing to consider the i