In the hustle and bustle of the day, it is only natural to miss some of the biggest developments that impact the nation. The OpIndia Evening Dispatch will catch you up on the day’s event even if you have been busy thus far.
1. Bihar: Seemanchal Express derailment claims seven lives, relief and rescue operations on
As many as seven people have lost their lives in the Seemanchal Express derailment accident that took place in Bihar’s Sahadai Buzurg earlier this morning. Rescue and relief operations are currently underway and two teams of NDRF have reached the spot. Indian Railways has issued helpline numbers for Seemanchal Express derailment.
2. BJP sounds the poll bugle, launches the ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat’ campaign
With the high-stakes Lok Sabha elections just a few weeks away, the BJP today got into its campaign mode with the launch of ‘Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat’ campaign through which it plans to reach out to as many as 10 crore families across India to finalise the manifesto. The committee, headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, will finalise the manifesto which will be compiled after consultation with various stakeholders, which include state units of the party and its supporters. The manifesto is being called ‘Sankalp Patra’.
To compile the manifesto, BJP President Amit Shah flagged off a ‘Rath Yatra’ on Sunday, through which mobile vans will be sent across the country to collect the suggestions. There will also be as many as 7,500 physical kiosks to collect the same. Apart from soliciting and accepting such suggestions through social media, phone calls, WhatsApp, etc. The BJP aims to reach out to 10 crore families through various means for compiling the manifesto.
3. After being denied to enter West Bengal by Mamata government, Yogi Adityanath addresses rally via telephone
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a public rally at Balurghat in West Bengal’s district of South Dinajpur by telephone, after he was denied permission to address a public rally by Trinamool Congress government of the state. The West Bengal administration had denied permission for landing of UP CM’s helicopter earlier today.
4. Bangladesh: Mosque makes an announcement to save cows, two cow thieves get killed by locals
The grave issue of cow smuggling and illegal cow slaughter is not just a worry for India but also for the neighbouring country Bangladesh. Dhaka Tribune reports that two suspected cattle smugglers were allegedly killed by an angry mob at Kaliakair Upazila in Gazipur of Bangladesh.
As soon as an incident of cow theft occurred, an announcement was made through the local mosque microphone. An angry mob who spotted the cattle smugglers chased down two of them while the others got away. The two cattle smugglers were beaten up heavily after they were captured by the mob. Their bodies were recovered by police and sent to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College and Hospital in Gazipur for post-mortem.
5. Amit Shah asks opposition to clarify their stand on building Ram temple in Ayodhya
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah while addressing the Booth Adhyaksh Sammelan in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, reminded the booth workers the importance of 2019 general elections saying that the states of West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are yet to be won.
Speaking on the Ram Temple issue Shah assured the workers that the party is committed to building a Ram Temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya at the earliest. He blamed the Congress party for delaying the proceeding of the Ram Mandir case in the Supreme Court. Shah urged Congress President Rahul Gandhi to clarify before the elections whether he wants Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya or not. He even urged Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati to also make their stand clear on the issue.
6. Four months after ED froze their bank accounts, Greenpeace India shuts its Delhi and Patna office
Four months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) decided to freeze the accounts of the Greenpeace, the controversial NGO has decided to shut two of its regional offices in India and has asked its staff to leave due to a block on its bank account after accusations of illegal donations.
According to the reports, the centre had cancelled the registration of Greenpeace India under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, (FCRA) and froze foreign funding in 2015. Following that the Enforcement Directorate had accused them of receiving illegal donations while freezing its accounts. Greenpeace has decided to shut down its offices in Delhi and Patna, will also lay-off around 40 staffers. Reportedly, its campaigns and operations in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad were closed down in 2015.
7. Arvind Kejriwal moves on from ‘EVMs are rigged’ conspiracy, ‘your name is removed from voter list’ is the latest
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved on from ‘EVMs are rigged’ conspiracy to ‘your names are deleted from voter list’ conspiracy theory. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while addressing a public rally at Badarpur in Delhi on Saturday, said that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) hates Muslims and people from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. That is why he claimed their names are removed from the voter list.
In recent times, it has been found that the Aam Aadmi Party is indulging in a misinformation campaign against the BJP by calling people randomly on their phones and telling them that their names have been removed from the electoral rolls of New Delhi.
8. We will stand with all the people who were ever part of India: PM Modi pitches for passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill
Speaking at a rally in Vijaypur, Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for the passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to immigrants belonging to six minority religions —Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Prime Minister Modi said that people belonging to ‘Bharat’ who are residing in neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have been inflicted with severe torture and added that nobody in the past gave attention to address the plight of these people who are now seeking India’s refuge.
9. Bihar is centre for unemployment: Congress President Rahul Gandhi insults Bihar
While addressing a rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, Congress President Rahul Gandhi today said that Bihar is famous only for unemployment. “Bihar is centre for unemployment,” said the Congress President.
“Do you know what is Bihar a centre for? Unemployment. Bihar is a centre for unemployment. Go to any village in Bihar and ask the youth what they do, you will get the answer that they are not doing anything,” said Rahul Gandhi.
10. Unprecedented: High drama in Kolkata as CBI reaches top cop’s residence, CBI officers detained by Kolkata Police
Major drama took place in Kolkata as the CBI team which had reached Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s residence was detained. A showdown ensued as Kolkata Police took away some of CBI officers to Shakespeare Sarani Police Station amid the commotion. Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, a 1989 cadre IPS officer of West Bengal cadre, is being investigated in connection with the Saradha scam.
