Srinagar, Oct 17: A group of people, including social activists, staged a protest outside the Hurriyat Conference office here on Monday against the killing of Kashmiri Pandit farmer Puran Krishan Bhat by terrorists last week, officials said.
The protesters assembled outside the office of the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat at Rajbagh here and held a protest. They held the Hurriyat responsible for the bloodshed in Kashmir Valley.
The protesters daubed “India” on the main gate of the Hurriyat’s central building and brought down the signboard of the separatist amalgam, the officials said.
The gate was locked.
The protesters included social activists, municipal corporators and Kashmiri Pandits, the officials added.
One of the protestors said the Hurriyat office will be closed down soon and an orphanage will be run from the building.
Another protestor, a Kashmiri Pandit, said the people of Kashmir have realised that they want peace and not bloodshed.
Bhat was gunned down by terrorists on Saturday outside his ancestral house in the Chowdhary Gund area of south Kashmir’ Shopian district, where he had gone to look after his orchards. Bhat was cremated in Jammu on Sunday.
Candlelight marches were held on Sunday evening across the valley against the killing. (Agencies)
Protest outside Hurriyat office in Srinagar against killing of Kashmiri Pandit
J&K Opposition parties to hold protests on issue of inclusion of non-local voters in electoral rolls
JAMMU, Oct 16: A committee formed by opposition parties against the inclusion of non-locals in the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday decided to hold protests to mobilise public support on the issue.
The panel, which included all the five constituents of the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) and several other political parties like the Congress and the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party (DSSP) met her for the first time since it was constituted on October 8.
“After discussions, we have decided to go to the people and inform them about the dangers posed by the inclusion of non-locals as voters in J&K.
”Our protests on the roads will be peaceful and in accordance with our constitutional rights,” senior National Conference leader and MP Hasnain Masoodi told reporters after the meeting at the residence of PAGD chairperson and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah here.
Flanked by members of the committee including former minister Lal Singh of DSSP, Awami National Conference president Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, and former MP Sheikh Abdul Rehman, Masoodi said the final decision to start the public outreach programme will be taken after consultation with senior leaders.
“We will put forth the panel’s view before the senior leadership and they will take a final call on the timing of the start of the campaign,” he said, adding “this will be done very soon.” One of the leaders attending the meeting said all members of the panel were present except former minister and DSS president Gulchain Singh Charak due to a ”death in his family”.
However, three more representatives of different religious and social groups attended the meeting after they were included in the panel, he said.
Masoodi said all the participants are against giving voting rights to non-locals as “it will be tantamount to the disenfranchisement of the local voters”.
Responding to a question about the mode of the public outreach programme, he said “We will be on the roads as per our rights given by the Constitution… . We will get the people together as we are all united on this issue.” The National Conference leader criticised the now-revoked order of the Deputy Commissioner of Jammu authorising tehsildars (revenue officials) to issue certificates of residence to those residing in the winter capital for more than one year to facilitate their entry in the ongoing special summary revision of electoral rolls.
“The order of the DC Jammu has reportedly been withdrawn but where is its replacement? The senior leaders are of the view that the government is deliberately keeping the people uninformed while carrying out the exercise,” he said.
He alleged deliberate attempts are being made to divide the people of the two regions – Kashmir and Jammu – and simultaneously both are the ”targets of disempowerment”.
Masoodi cautioned the government against any move to include non-locals in the voter list and said “only the state subjects (of J&K. have the right to vote in the assembly elections in accordance with our own J&K representation of Peoples Act 1957.” “The case related to the abrogation of Article 370 is before the Supreme Court which has yet to decide on the issue.
”The government instead of making any changes should conduct the elections in accordance with the 1957 Act till the final decision of the apex court,” he said.
PAGD, an amalgam of five political parties – National Conference, PDP, CPI(M), CPM and Awami National Conference – is campaigning for the restoration of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Constitution.
Hardening its stand on the issue of inclusion of non-locals as voters in Jammu and Kashmir despite clarification by the administration, PAGD had held two meetings – the first in Srinagar on August 22 and the second in Jammu on September 10.
The issue surfaced when the then chief electoral officer Hirdesh Kumar in August said Jammu and Kashmir is likely to get around 25 lakh additional voters, including outsiders, after the special summary revision of electoral rolls being held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Following an outcry, the Union Territory administration later clarified that “this revision of electoral rolls will cover existing residents of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the increase in numbers will be of the voters who have attained the age of 18 years as of October 1, 2022, or earlier”. (Agencies)
Dr Jitendra inaugurates ‘Great Khali’ Academy, lauds spirit of philanthropy
KARNAL (Haryana), October 17 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances,Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated the Wellness Centre set up by WWE fame “The Great Khali” alias Dalip Singh Rana near here.
The Centre has been named as “The Great Khali” Academy.
Spread over 10 acres of prime land, the campus has, among other things, a Fitness Centre, gymnasium, sports complex, wrestling enclave and restaurant, which will mainly cater to the youth.
The restaurant has been named as “The Great Khali” Dhaba and is a part of the overall comprehensive complex.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said, Khali’s wellness centre is a tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship schemes of “Fit India” and “Khelo India” initiatives. Fit India Mission encourages people to become part of Fit India Movement by inculcating at least 30-60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Lauding the spirit of philanthropy and The Great Khali’s decision to set up the Centre, Dr Jitendra Singh said, it is praiseworthy that he has chosen to give back to the society what he had received.
The Minister said, Khali had earned international glory for India through his wrestling profession and was one of the highest paid performers in the world, but in spite of all this, he has chosen to come back to India and spend the money and resources earned by him for the benefit of the next generation.
Khali’s gesture, said Dr Jitendra Singh, should also inspire and motivate others to spend in philanthropy and in investment which would contribute to the task of nation building.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, Great Khali brought glory to India after he made his professional wrestling debut in 2000. Before embarking on his professional wrestling career, he was an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Punjab Police.
Dr Jitendra Singh lauded the efforts and initiatives of Khali and praised him for the noble cause of opening the wellness centre. The Minister said, the philanthropy of the great wrestler will inspire others also to take up such pro-people measures.
The Great Khali informed the Minister that there is a lot of enthusiasm among youth for physical activity and he has decided to provide them a platform for it.
Mamata bats for Saurav Ganguly, request PM to consider for ICC candidature
Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Monday argued in favour of former Indian cricket team captain and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and requested Prime Minister Modi to look into his case as ICC contestant. Saurav Ganguly was removed from BCCI recently.
Speaking to the reporters at Kolkata Airport, CM Banerjee said, “Sourav is our Gourav (pride). He is being deprived. I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take care of it and do the needful so that he can contest ICC elections”.
“Once Jagmohan Dalmia from India represented ICC. Sourav is competent enough and he deserves to represent ICC. Only two to three persons in India are entitled to contest and Sourav is one of them,” Ms Banerjee said, adding,
“ So it is my humble request to Prime Minister to take care of it so that he can contest ICC elections.”
She also said : “ Sourav was the BCCI president. Court ordered for three years term for both Sourav and Amit Shah’s son. Sourav has been removed unfairly but not Amit’s son. Why ? What is the reason behind it . What is Sourav’s fault. Everybody wants to know. Don’t do anything politically, vindictively. Sourav is not a political man. He is the pride of our country. So on behalf of Bengal, as he is a Bengali Dada, our country and cricket lovers of the world I request India government to take the decision in the interest of sports for the country.”
Highly infectious new Omicron sub variant BF.7 detected in India
Oct 17: With a declining trajectory of fresh Covid cases, a new Omicron sub variant, however, is posing a new threat in the country.
According to some reports, the first case of BF.7 has been detected by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research centre. This new Omicron variant is also considered to be highly infectious and has a greater transmissibility.
Omicron sub-variants — BA.5.1.7 and BF.7 — after emerging from a region of Mongolia in China are now making their way to other parts and posing fresh threats.
Reportedly, Omicron variants BF.7 and BA.5.1.7 are behind the recent surge in the Covid-19 cases in China. However, experts have advised precaution and Covid appropriate behaviour ahead of the upcoming festive season.
Meanwhile, the active caseload of the country presently stands at 26,834 cases, accounting for 0.06 per cent of the country’s total positive cases.
India’s daily positivity rate was reported to be 1.86 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate currently stands at 1.02 per cent on Monday.
A total of 2,060 fresh Covid cases was detected in the last 24 hours against 2,401 reported on the previous day, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday morning.
Cong Prez Poll: Dr Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi & Priyanka Gandhi casts their vote
While Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi have cast their vote at the polling booth set up at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi cast his vote for the party presidential election from the Sanganakallu village in Karnataka’s Ballari district.
Besides, former Prime Minister and veteran leader Dr Manmohan also cast his vote for the Congress Presidential post.
On October 19 the counting of votes will start and the result will be declared as soon as the counting gets over.
Congress Central Election Authority (CEA) Chairman had assured the voters of the secrecy of the ballot.
While issuing standard protocol for the voting till the counting of the votes, Chairman, CEA, Madhusudan Mistry said that there was no numbering on the papers and only counterfoil with detail will be kept with the Election Authority while the ballot boxes will be sealed and unsealed in front of election agents.
More than 9,000 delegates across the country will exercise their franchise to elect the new president.
Voting for the post of Congress President has started at 10 am which will continue till 4 pm.
Gandhi, who is leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, cast his vote in a booth specially arranged for the polling purpose. Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar also cast his vote at Sanganakallu.
PM Modi releases 12th installment of Rs 16,000 crore to eligible farmers under PM-KISAN
Oct 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released the 12th instalment of financial benefit worth Rs 16,000 crore to over 11 crore eligible farmers under the flagship PM-KISAN scheme, ahead of Diwali and ongoing rabi sowing.
With this, the total amount transferred to the beneficiaries is expected to cross Rs 2.16 lakh crore.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months. The fund is directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.
The scheme was launched in February 2019 but is being implemented with effect from December 2018.
The Prime Minister released the 12th instalment at a two-day event “PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022” being held at the Pusa campus in the national capital.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chemicals & Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya were also present at the programme.
More than 13,500 farmers from across the country and around 1,500 Agri-startups are participating in the event.
Researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders too are attending the event.
PM-KISAN is a central sector scheme with 100 per cent funding from the Central Government. The State Government and UT administration identify the farmer families that are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines. (Agencies)
After 22 years, contest for Congress prez post today
The Opposition Congress is all set to witness a contest for the president post after 22 years on Monday with senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor pitted against each other and this time no member of the Gandhi family is contesting for the post of President.
The voting will be done between 10 am and 4 pm, with the results will be declared on October 19.
For the Congress presidential polls, party leader Rahul Gandhi voted at a Bharat Jodo Yatra campsite in Karnataka’s Ballari while the outgoing interim president, Sonia Gandhi voted at the party headquarters in the national capital.
Congress General Secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said, “There’ve been queries on where @RahulGandhi will cast his vote tomorrow for Congress Presidential election. There should be no speculation. He will be voting at the #BharatJodoYatra campsite in Sanganakallu, Ballari along with around 40 other Bharat Yatris who are PCC delegates.”
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also cast his vote at the party headquarters here.
For the October 17 polls, 67 booths have been set up in all the states, the party’s central election authority (CEA) said.
Madhusudan Mistry, Chairman of the CEA, said, “In AICC also there will be a booth, especially for all the senior leaders, working committee members and all those whose identity card is from a different state but are staying in Delhi. If they write to us that they want to vote in Delhi then we will make arrangements here as well, they can also vote here in AICC.”
A camp booth has been set up for Rahul Gandhi and others who are participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The vote will be by the secret ballot. All the ballet boxes will be brought to the AICC headquarters here and then, on October 19 the counting of votes will start and the result will be declared as soon as the counting gets over.
Congress Central Election Authority (CEA) Chairman had assured the voters of the secrecy of the ballot.
While issuing standard protocol for the voting till the counting of the votes, Madhusudan Mistry said that there was no numbering on the papers and only counterfoil with detail will be kept with the Election Authority while the ballot boxes will be sealed and unsealed in front of election agents. Ahead of the counting of votes, all the ballot papers will be mixed so that no one would know how many votes the candidate got from a particular state.
“The delegates from all states will vote at their respective polling stations with a ‘tick’ mark for the candidate they support. Arrangements have been made for smooth polling,” said Central Election Authority Chairman of Congress Madhusudan Mistry.
“Ballot boxes will reach Delhi on Oct 18 & counting of votes will be done on October 19. Polling booth set up at AICC as well, where over 50 people will vote. The whole polling process will be fair & free, no doubt about that,’ he added.
It is not the first time that a non-Gandhi leader is contesting for the party presidency post-Independence, Jitendra Prasad contested for the post of president about 22 years ago against Sonia Gandhi in which Sonia emerged as a winner holding the mantle of the party for 20 years.
Sonia Gandhi is the longest-serving president of the party, having held the office for over twenty years from 1998 to 2017 and since 2019.
This is the sixth time in its nearly 137-year-old history that polls will be held to elect the President of the party. In the 2017 elections, Rahul Gandhi became the president unopposed.
“There’s no problem with our ideology but I want to bring a change in our way of work… Mallikarjun Kharge is an experienced leader, if he wins, we’ll work in cooperation naturally,” Congress Presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor said ahead of the polls tomorrow.
Kharge, “It’s my duty to strengthen the org & fight vindictive policies of BJP-RSS, they’re dividing the country on basis of religion; they’re dividing the backwards, scheduled castes, minorities. They see everything through an election point of view.”
“We’ve to fight from parliament to street. It’s difficult as unemployment& inflation are there, GDP growth is falling, value of rupee is going down, petrol-diesel & essential commodities’ prices are going up,’ he added.
More than nine thousand delegates will vote in this election.The state from which the delegate belongs will have to go to the Congress headquarters of that state and vote.
Apart from the Congress headquarters in the states, the voting facilities will also be available at the party’s central headquarters at 24 Akbar Road.
Karan Singh demands early elections in J&K
Oct 17: Senior Congress leader Dr Karan Singh on Monday demanded early assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir and said that he was glad to see the world famous Dal Lake cleaned for the first time.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the AICC presidential voting at party’s Srinagar headquarters, Singh said that democracy cannot be ensured without the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, so all parties here have been demanding immediate conduct of the polls, news agency KNO reported.
“We have been hearing that the elections will be conducted in March next year, but there is no official confirmation yet. Congress and other parties have been demanding early polls and they should be held at an earliest,” he said.
About the inclusion of non-local voters in J&K, he said that there is confusion over it and the things are not clear, so he cannot comment anything on the issue.
Singh said the government has been making claims about the developmental progress in the Union Territory, but on ground it may take some time to see the impact. “Dal Lake for the first time is cleaned. I am happy to see Dal Lake clean as I have personally witnessed this development,” he said.
“This will never stop until justice is served….,” Farooq Abdullah on targetted killings in J&K
October 17: National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Monday alleged that incidents of targeted killings by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir are not going to stop “until justice is served.”
“This will never stop until justice is served. Earlier they said such killings happening due to Article370, but it’s abrogated now, so why such killings haven’t stopped? Who’s responsible?” National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, an all-party meeting is being held at the residence of Abdullah in Jammu on the electoral roll revision, ahead of the assembly elections likely to be held next year.
Earlier on Saturday, Puran Krishan Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit succumbed to his injuries after militants opened fire at him while he was on his way to an orchard in Shopian.
Bhat was rushed to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. (AGENCIES)