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Kangana Ranaut, Arun Govil, former Calcutta HC judge on BJP’s fifth list of candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

ANI
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Kangana Ranaut, Arun Govil, former Calcutta HC judge on BJP’s fifth list of candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its fifth list of 111 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, including 13 names from Uttar Pradesh and 19 from West Bengal.

The party has released the names of the candidates for the Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

The party has fielded veteran actor Arun Govil, who played the character of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut.

In UP, the BJP dropped Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and allotted the seat to former Congress leader Jitin Prasada.

Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has been once again fielded from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The party has fielded Raghav Lakhanpal from Saharanpur, Sarvesh Singh from Moradabad, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, Satish Gautam from Aligarh, Anoop Valmiki from Hathras, Survijay Singh Shakya from Badaun, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar from Bareily, Ramesh Awasthi from Kanpur, Rajrani Rawat from Barabanki and Arvind Gond from Bahraich.

Uttar Pradesh, which sends the maximum number of MPs, 80, to Parliament, will vote in all seven phases.

Voting for phases one and two will be held on April 19 and April 26. Next, the state will once again poll in phases three and four on May 7 and May 13.

The Uttar Pradesh electorate will also vote in phases five, six and seven on May 20, May 23 and June 1 respectively.

In West Bengal Tapas Roy is the candidate for Kolkata Uttar, Dilip Ghosh for Bardhaman-Durgapur, and Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who recently resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court, will contest from Tamluk.

Agnimitra Paul is all set to contest the Medinipur seat, while Ashim Kumar Darkar will contest from Bardhaman Purba.

Other names of the candidates from West Bengal include Jayanta Roy from Jalpaiguri, Raju Bista from Darjeeling, Kartivk Paul from Raiganj, Dhananjay Ghosh from Jangipur, Amrita Roy from Krishananagar and Arjun Singh.

The party has named Arup Kanti Digar from Arambagh, Kabir Shankar Bose from Sreerampur, Arun Uday Paul Chowdhury from Uluberia, Debashree Chaudhary from Kolkata Dakshin, Adhok Purkait from Mathurapur, Rekha Patra from Basirhat, Swpan Majumdar from Barasat and Shilbhadra Dutta from Dum Dum.

In Bihar, the party has fielded Union ministers RK Singh from Arrah, Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Former Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran, Radha Mohan Singh from Purvi Champaran, and Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra also figure on the list.

Sanjay Jaiswal will contest from Paschim Champaran, Ashok Kumar Yadav from Madhubani, Pradeep Kumar Singh from Araria, Gopal Jee Thakur from Darbhanga, Raj Bhushan Nishad from Muzaffarpur, Janardan Singh Sigriwal from Maharajganj, Mithilesh Tiwari from Buxar and Shivesh Ram will fight from Sasaram.

The party has fielded K Surendran against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi from Kerala’s Wayanad. TN Sarasu will contest Alathur, KS Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and G Krishnakumar from Kollam.

The BJP announced the names of its candidates for 18 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha while dropping four sitting MPs from the list. The nominees for Cuttack, Jajpur and Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituencies are yet to be named by the party.

The party has fielded Dharmendra Pradhan from the Sambalpur seat, and Baijayant Jay Panda has been fielded from Kendrapara. Similarly, the party has fielded Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, Jual Oram from Sundargarh, Sambit Patra from Puri, and Pratap Sarangi from Balasore.

The BJP which earlier announced going solo in Odisha, named Pradeep Purohit from Bargarh, Anant Nayak from Keonjhar, Naba Charan Majhi from Mayurbhanj, Avimanyu Sethi from Bhadrak, Rudra Narayan Pani from Dhenkanal, Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo from Bolangir, Malvika Keshari Deo from Kalahandi, Balabhadra Majhi from Nabarangpur, Bibhu Prasad Tarai from Jagatsinghpur, Anita Subhadarshini from Aska, Pradeep Panigrahy from Berhampur and Kaleram Majhi from Koraput.

Dempo Industries executive director Pallavi Dempo is the first woman candidate in BJP’s poll history in Goa who will contest Lok Sabha elections on the party ticket from South Goa.

The BJP had won this constituency only twice since 1962.

South Goa constituency, spread across 20 assembly segments, had changed hands among the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party, United Goans Party, and Indian National Congress. The BJP won this seat in the 1999 and 2014 elections but could not retain it.

Former Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal, who resigned from the grand old party earlier in the day will contest from the Kurukshetra constituency. In Haryana, Ranjit Chautala will contest Hisar while Mohan Lal Badoli from Sonipat and Arvind Kumar Sharma will fight from Rohtak.

The party also announced two names for Himachal Pradesh, naming Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut from Mandi and Rajeev Bharadwaj from Kangra.

The BJP had earlier nominated Union Minister Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur and Suresh Kashyap from Shimla as its candidates.

In the general elections of 2009, Virbhadra Singh, and in the by-elections of 2013 and 2021, Congress candidate Pratibha Singh was elected as the Member of Parliament from the Mandi seat.

In the parliamentary elections of 2014 and 2019, BJP emerged victorious with Ram Swaroop Sharma being elected as the Member of Parliament on both the times. However, in 2021, Ram Swaroop Sharma tragically passed away by suicide. Subsequently, in the 2021 by-elections, this seat went to Pratibha Singh of the Congress. Currently, out of the four Lok Sabha seats, BJP holds three.

In Rajasthan, Manju Sharma has been fielded from Jaipur, while Mahima Vishweswar Singh from Rajsamand, Bhagirath Chaudhary from Ajmer, Rao Rajendra Singh from Jaipur Rural, Shubkaran Choudhary from Jhunjhunu and Priyanka Balan from Ganganagar.

Dinesh Chandra Nepal will contest the Sikkim seat.

Aroori Ramesh will fight from Telangana’s Warangal while Tandra Vinod Rao from Khammam.

Vanlalhmuaka will contest from Mizoram.

The BJP announced three names for Maharashtra, naming Sunil Baburao Mendhe from Bhandara-Gondiya, Ashok Mahadev Rao Nete from Gadchiroli-Chimur and Ram Satpute from Solapur.

In Karnataka, Jagdish Shettar will fight from Belgaum, Raja Amareshwara Naik from Raichur, Vishweshwar Hedge Kageri from Uttara Kannada and K Sudhakar will contest from Chikkballapur.

The party has also dropped ex-Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde from Uttara Kannada constituency.

The BJP announced the names of three candidates in Jharkhand, including Sita Soren – former JMM MLA and sister-in-law of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren – from Dumka (ST) constituency.

The party on March 2 announced that sitting MP Sunil Soren, who had defeated JMM president Shibu Soren in the 2019 polls by a margin of 47,590 votes, will seek re-election from Dumka.

In a blow to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, three-term MLA and elder daughter-in-law of party patriarch Shibu Soren, Sita Soren joined the BJP on March 20 citing “isolation” and “neglect” by JMM since the death of her husband Durga Soren in 2009.

Kalicharan Singh will fight from Chatra, Dulu Mahato to go to polls from Dhanbad.

The BJP in its first list of Lok Sabha election candidates had named 11 nominees from Jharkhand including four new candidates – former Congress parliamentarian Geeta Kora (Singhbhum ST constituency), Rajya Sabha MP Samir Oraon, Tala Marandi and Manish Jaiswal.

There are 14 parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand and as per the seat-sharing arrangement between the BJP and the AJSU Party, the Giridih seat has been left for the AJSU Party.

BJP released its list of six Lok Sabha candidates contesting from Andhra Pradesh.

Former Chief Minister of composite Andhra Pradesh Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy will contest from Rajampet Lok Sabha seat, while BJP Andhra Pradesh State president Daggubati Purandeswari will contest from Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha seat. Similarly, Kothapalli Geeta will contest from the Araku (ST) LS seat, while Bhupatiraju Srinivasa Varma will contest from the Narsapuram Lok Sabha seat.

C.M. Ramesh, who switched loyalties from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to BJP soon after the 2019 elections, will contest from the Anakapalli LS seat. Velagapalli Vara Prasad Rao, will contest from Tirupati LS seat. Earlier, he won from the same constituency on the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) ticket in 2014. Later, he entered the Andhra Pradesh Assembly as YSRCP’s Gudur MLA. BJP A.P. office-bearer Srinivasa Varma will contest from the Narsapuram LS seat. Present Narsapuram MP Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju, who won on a YSRCP ticket in 2019, hoped that TDP, BJP or JSP would field him as a candidate for the seat. He, however, did not join any of these political parties but addressed the TDP-JSP meeting at Tadepalligudem.

From Gujarat’s Vadodara, Hemang Yogeshchandra Joshi will be the party candidate while Bharatbhai Manubhai Sutariya will contest Amreli. Rajesh Chudasama has been fielded from Junagadh, Chandubhai Chhaaganbhai Shihora from Surendranagar, Shobhnaben Mahebdrasinh Baraiya from Sabarkantha and Haribhai Patel from Mahesana.

The parliamentary elections for the 543 constituencies will be conducted in seven phases, commencing on April 19 and concluding on June 1. Vote counting is scheduled for June 4. (ANI)

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Video of new JNUSU President seeking release of anti-Hindu riot accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Video of new JNUSU President seeking release of anti-Hindu riot accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid goes viral

Hours after All India Students’ Association (AISA) member Dhananjay won the Presidential elections of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Sunday (24th March), a video of him seeking the release of Delhi riot accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid went viral on social media.

The original video was shared by the X (formerly Twitter) handle of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). In the video, Dhananjay was heard saying, “Our companions have been put in jail. I am here to demand their release.”

During the election speech, the AISA leader also said, “I am here to demand the release of Sharjeel Imam, and Umar Khalid from this stage.”

As per reports, Dhananjay won the elections by defeating ABVP’s Umesh Chandra Ajmeera by 922 votes.

For those unaware about Sharjeel Imam, he addressed a gathering at Aligarh and urged Muslims to cut off the Siliguri Corridor aka India’s chicken’s neck, which connects the seven northeastern states to the rest of India. He also advocated for the secession of Assam from the Union of India.

He had also earlier made provocative speeches where he had asked Muslims to come out and block roads in India and bring it to a standstill to get international media attention. Imam is a columnist at The Wire.

He has been charged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for being the masterminds of the February 2020 anti-Hindu riots in North-East Delhi, which killed 53 people and injured over 700 during anti-CAA protests.

Imam was also accused of making provocative speeches outside Jamia Milia Islamia University in December 2019 that led to violence outside the campus. 

He is a former student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and was one of the key members of the group that organised Shaheen Bagh protests against CAA. 

On 14th September 2020, Umar Khalid, former JNU student and son of an ex-SIMI member was arrested for his role in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots that broke out on the 24th of February. He, along with others, was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA and relative provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for being the masterminds of the riots.

Umar Khalid, son of Ilyas on the other hand admitted to the Delhi police that he was involved in organizing Muslim groups, instigating them, and preparing for the large-scale violence. He had mobilized the Muslims against the law, by asserting that the new law was ‘against Muslims’ and had also planned to involve women and children in the ‘Chakka Jam’ amid the visit of US President Trump to India. He had allegedly met the former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain and another accused Khalid Saifi to assure logistical support during the riots through his contacts in the PFI.

According to the reports, the agencies have been watching and warning about the nexus between Maoists whose front organization Khalid is aligned with, and hardline Islamists allegedly represented by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Welfare Party of India, and banned outfit SIMI. He had also repeated Pakistani talking points in Kashmir an claimed that the Indian Union territory was occupied by Indian forces.

Bengal: BJP fields Rekha Patra, woman who led protests against Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as Basirhat candidate in LS polls

ANI
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Bengal: BJP fields Rekha Patra, woman who led protests against Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali, as Basirhat candidate in LS polls

 The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced the names of 111 candidates in its fifth list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, including a woman who was a survivor of violence in the Sandeshkhali area of West Bengal.

BJP on Sunday released the list of 19 candidates for Bengal. BJP has fielded Rekha Patra from Basirhat, who is a resident of Sandeshkhali. It was she who first raised the voice of the women of Sandeshkhali and all three accused expelled TMC MLA Sheikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar are behind bars.

On her candidature from Basirhat, Rekha Patra says, “I want to thank PM Modi for the candidature (from Basirhat for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls). I will raise my voice for the Sandeshkhali victims…”

At the same time, the party has given a ticket to former judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who recently retired from Calcutta High Court, from Tamluk.

On the other hand, The Trinamool Congress has dropped MP Nusrat Jahan from contesting the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat amid the Sandeshkhali row. The party has fielded Nurul Islam in place of Nusrat Jahan

BJP leader Amit Malviya described the nomination of Rekha Patra as a powerful statement for the party, demonstrating that the West Bengal BJP stands with the women of Sandeshkhali and Bengal.

“The BJP has fielded Rekha Patra from Basirhat in Bengal. She is one of the victims of Sandeshkhali, who suffered at the hands of Sheikh Shahjahan. Let Mamata Banerjee wipe the tears of women like her, who are suffering in silence, and are subject to her apathy, before she asks for their vote. Strong statement that @BJP4Bengal stands with the women of Sandeshkhali and Bengal,” Malviya said in a post on X.

On Rekha being made the candidate, senior BJP leader BL Santosh said in a post on X, “Rekha Patra, BJP candidate from BASIRHAT which includes Sandeshkali. She was the first to raise her voice against atrocities of @AITCofficial leader Sheikh Jahan & his accomplices.”

The Lok Sabha elections in 42 Parliamentary Constituencies of West Bengal are scheduled to take place in seven phases, which will start on April 19 and conclude on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 22 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 18 out of the 42 parliamentary seats in the state. The Indian National Congress (INC) was limited to only two seats.

In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) had a stronger hold with 34 seats and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had only 2 seats. Communist Party Of India (MARXIST) CPI (M) won 2 seats. Indian National Congress (INC) secured 4 seats. 

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Congress withdraws its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma after trolls target him over Jaipur Dialogues

OpIndia Staff
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Congress withdraws its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma after trolls target him over Jaipur Dialogues

On Sunday (24th March), the Congress party released a new list announcing candidates for three Lok Sabha constituencies, two in Rajasthan and one in Maharashtra. Incidentally, the list showed that the party has replaced Sunil Sharma with Pratap Singh Khachariyawas as its Jaipur candidate. The decision comes following a backlash from its supporters over the selection of Sunil Sharma for his alleged right-wing links.

Earlier, following the announcement of Sharma’s candidacy from Jaipur on Congress’ ticket, Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair and others had lamented about his purported ‘links’ with a popular right-wing digital portal, ‘Jaipur Dialogues’. 

On 23rd March, Zubair, notorious for peddling fake news, tweeted, “Wow! So Congress has given a ticket to Sunil Sharma, Partner and Director of @JaipurDialogues”. In his post, Zubair further went on to accuse the portal of peddling “hate”. 

Quoting Zubair’s post, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, also raised questions about his colleague Sunil Sharma and his party for their choice. Taking a jibe at Sharma, Tharoor claimed that it must have been a ‘sudden realisation’ for Sharma, who is alleged to be a partner of Jaipur Dialogue, to contest on a Congress ticket, which is adversarial to the portal. Tharoor continued by attaching an old tweet from Jaipur Dialogue, stating that the portal has shared several tweets targeting him.

Using the Biblical concept of “Pauline epiphany” (loosely meant for sudden realisation of something), Tharoor wrote, “He must have undergone some sort of Pauline epiphany on the road to 24 Akbar! This is just one of several dozen tweets from his handle attacking me.”

Several Congress supporters also outraged against Sharma’s candidacy arguing that Congress should not field a ‘critic’ who support the right-wing portal, ‘Jaipur Dialogues’ while accusing it of vitiating the atmosphere. In an overdrive, Alt News’ Zubair, in a flurry of tweets, had claimed to “expose” continued ‘links’ of Sunil Sharma with Jaipur Dialogues.

Meanwhile, following the outrage, Sunil Sharma withdrew his candidature and addressed a presser. In the presser, he said that he had initially declined to contest elections despite repeated persuasion from senior Congress leaders from the Rajasthan unit. 

Regarding the persuasion, Sharma claimed that one MLA had insisted him to contest from Jaipur saying that not contesting for Congress in this dire time would mean that “you don’t love Rahul Gandhi”.

He said, “Since 2014, I have defended the Congress ideology at several forums including at occasions when I appeared on events of Jaipur Dialogue digital enterprise. He added that he has noting to do with the portal’s digital enterprise. But when people raised questions on my integrity, I was hurt and decided to withdraw my candidature”. Following his announcement, the Congress list made the confirmation of candidate replacement for Jaipur Lok Sabha seat.

Shiva and Shakti: European Space Agency astronomers discover two earliest building blocks of Milky Way galaxy, name them after the Hindu deities

OpIndia Staff
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Shiva and Shakti: European Space Agency astronomers discover two earliest building blocks of Milky Way galaxy, name them after the Hindu deities

The history of our galaxy has been further explained by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia (Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics) space telescope which has found two unforeseen streams of stars that formed and fused more than 12 billion years ago. Notably, the two streams have been named after the Hindu god ‘Shiva’ and goddess ‘Shakti’ and contributed to the formation of the early Milky Way. Given their extraordinary age, it is possible that they originated before the spiral arms and disc of our current galaxy.

Khyati Malhan of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany’s Heidelberg, who presided over the research stated, “When we visualised the orbits of all these stars, two new structures stood out from the rest among stars of a certain chemical composition. We named them Shakti and Shiva.” The researchers were able to ascertain the content and makeup of individual Milky Way stars as well as their orbits through the use of Gaia observations.

She mentioned, “What’s truly amazing is that we can detect these ancient structures at all. The Milky Way has changed so significantly since these stars were born that we wouldn’t expect to recognise them so clearly as a group – but the unprecedented data we’re getting from Gaia made it possible.”

The mass of each stream is equivalent to roughly 10 million Suns and the stars are between 12 and 13 billion years old, all of which are in relatively similar orbits and have comparable compositions. The distribution pattern points to the possibility that they originated as separate elements that early on in the Milky Way’s existence joined with it. Both streams are oriented toward the centre of the Milky Way. Using a technique known as “galactic archaeology,” Gaia investigated this region of the Milky Way in 2022 and discovered that it was home to the earliest stars in the entire galaxy, all of which were born before the Milky Way’s disc had even fully formed.

Co-author Hans-Walter Rix, who is also affiliated with MPIA and served as the primary “galactic archaeologist” for the 2022 study remarked, “The stars there are so ancient that they lack many of the heavier metal elements created later in the Universe’s lifetime. These heavy metals are those forged within stars and scattered through space when they die. The stars in our galaxy’s heart are metal-poor, so we dubbed this region the Milky Way’s ‘poor old heart’.”

He pointed out, “Until now, we had only recognised these very early fragments that came together to form the Milky Way’s ancient heart. With ‘Shakti’ and ‘Shiva,’ we now see the first pieces that seem comparably old but located further out. These signify the first steps of our galaxy’s growth towards its present size.”

The two streams are not the same, despite their close similarities. ‘Shiva’ stars revolve closer to the centre of the Milky Way whilst ‘Shakti’ stars orbit more circularly. The streams’ names are aptly inspired by a Hindu philosophical pair of deities who come together to form the universe (or macrocosm).

The Milky Way’s current tidy spiral pattern is considerably different from what it looked like around 12 billion years ago. Our galaxy is considered to have formed when several irregular, lengthy strands of gas and dust came together, created stars and wrapped around one another to initiate the formation of our galaxy. Shaki and Shiva appear to be two of these elements, further Gaia data releases could provide more information.

Additionally, leveraging Gaia data, Khyati and Hans-Walter created a dynamical map of additional known elements that were involved in the birth of our galaxy. Among them are Pontus, Arjuna/Sequoia/I’itoi, LMS1/Wukong and Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus. Gaia has spent the last ten years constructing the intricate family tree of the Milky Way, which includes all of these star clusters.

Timo Prusti, Project Scientist for Gaia at ESA conveyed, “Revealing more about our galaxy’s infancy is one of Gaia’s goals, and it’s certainly achieving it. We need to pinpoint the subtle yet crucial differences between stars in the Milky Way to understand how our galaxy formed and evolved. This requires incredibly precise data – and now, thanks to Gaia, we have that data. As we discover surprise parts of our galaxy like the ‘Shiva’ and ‘Shakti’ streams, we’re filling the gaps and painting a fuller picture of not only our current home but our earliest cosmic history.”

Meanwhile, the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved “Shiv-Shakti,” the landing site for the country’s lunar mission Chandrayaan 3. Six months have passed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the name of the location of the Vikram lander’s touchdown. Now, the spot has gained international recognition.

The gazzette read, “Compound word from Indian mythology that depicts the masculine (‘Shiva’) and feminine (‘Shakti’) duality of nature; Landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander.” “Shiva-Shakti” is a compound name in which ‘Shiva’ is the identified masculine consciousness and ‘Shakti’ is the identified feminine divine energy.

The International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has accepted the name Statio “Shiv-Shakti” for the landing site of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander, according to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, which offers comprehensive information regarding planetary names approved by the organisation.

McDonald’s shuts its stores in Sri Lanka, terminates agreement with local franchisee over poor hygiene case

OpIndia Staff
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McDonald’s shuts its stores in Sri Lanka, terminates agreement with local franchisee over poor hygiene case

American fast food chain McDonald’s has ended an agreement with its local partner, Abans, in Sri Lanka. It has also closed all 12 outlets in the country, an attorney for the US company said on Sunday (24th March). According to reports, the development comes after McDonald’s had launched a legal battle against its local partner Abans over allegations of “poor hygiene”.  

An attorney for McDonald’s, Sanath Wijewardane said, “The parent company decided to terminate the agreement with the franchisee due to standard issues.” He added, “They are not in business in the country. They may decide to return with a new franchisee.”

According to McDonald’s counsel, the deal was cancelled on Wednesday but the stores continued to operate for some days. While he declined to give details about the issues that led to the cancellation of their agreement with Abans, local media reported that McDonald’s went to court against Abans over allegations of poor hygiene.

According to a report in the Sri Lankan outlet Daily Mirror, the Colombo Commercial High Court issued an order on 24th March preventing Abans from using McDonald’s brand name in any manner possible. McDonald’s and Abans had entered into a Developmental Agreement on 21st August 1997.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for McDonald’s estranged local partner Abans declined to comment on these developments. 

The development in the court

The Commercial High Court of Colombo has mandated closures until 4th April when the hearing is scheduled to resume. The court ruling follows a plea by McDonald’s (parent company), which alleges that its estranged local franchise holder failed to uphold international hygiene standards.

A court official said, “The closure was ordered pending an investigation.”  

Lawyers for McDonald’s told the court that they had terminated a franchise agreement with local company Abans last week. 

The plaintiff states that it has terminated the right of the defendant to use the name McDonald’s or any name in any way or manner similar to the name McDonald’s and to use any name that would convey to the public that the said restaurant is in any way or manner connected to the McDonald’s, Sri Lankan outlet Daily Mirror reported.

As per the report, McDonald’s, in its plea has stated that the basis of the Development Agreement has ceased to exist due to the actions of the defendant. It adds that the plaintiff does not desire the defendant to be a franchisee and to operate any restaurant under the name McDonald’s.

Additionally, it has also sought a court ruling declaring that the defendant has no right to use the name McDonald’s and/or any name in any way or manner similar to the name McDonald’s.

Following the development, notices were spotted outside McDonald’s outlets in Sri Lanka on Sunday, stating they were “closed,” with no indication provided regarding a potential reopening.

ISIS module in IIT Guwahati? After arrest of student Tauseef Ali Farooqui, another student Sohail Ur Rahman questioned over suspected terror links

OpIndia Staff
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ISIS module in IIT Guwahati? After arrest of student Tauseef Ali Farooqui, another student Sohail Ur Rahman questioned over suspected terror links

After the arrest of IIT Guwahati student Tauseef Ali Farooqui for alleging support for ISIS and declaring his intention to join Islamic terror group, police launched a massive search operation in the IIT campus in North Guwahati. Assam Police STF suspects that more students in the premier institution can be linked to ISIS. During the searches, police zeroed in one student, and detained him for questioning.

This student is named Sohail Ur Rahman, and he is from Jammu. As per reports, Sohail is a resident of Lohit hostel of IIT Guwahati, and is a friend of arrested Tauseef. Sohail is being questioned by Assam police STF led by additional superintendent of police Kalyan Kumar Pathak.

However, as per latest reports, Sohail was being questioned in the hostel itself, and has not been taken to the police station. He could be arrested later after more information is gathered.

Notably, earlier in the day, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that another student was under the radar for suspected terror links, and would be arrested soon.

With a second student suspected of having links with ISIS, a possibility has grown that there could have been an attempt to form a module of ISIS in IIT Guwahati. Reportedly, several other students and even some teachers are under close surveillance over the matter.

In the meanwhile, Tauseef Ali Farooqui has been send to police custody of 10 days after he was presented before a court. It has been learnt that Tauseef is deeply religious, and performs daily five namaz as per Islam. He used to regularly study Quran in hostel.

Tauseef is a Biotechnology student and has already completed his course. He was on the campus to attend the convocation ceremony.

During the questioning, he said that he has not joined ISIS, but supports the group. Talking about him, CM Sarma said that from his answers it is clear that he is completely radicalised, and there could be others like him in the institution.

Parents of Tauseef reached Guwahati today after they were informed about the development by Assam Police.

Notably, Tauseef had gone missing after posting an open letter on LinkedIn expressing his support to ISIS on 23rd March. However, he was spotted waiving a black Islamic flag and chanting Islamic slogans in the Damdama area in Hajo near Guwahati in the evening yesterday. When he was questioned by Hindu Jagran Manch’ members, he revealed that he supports ISIS, after which he was caught and handed over to police.

AAP supporters share picture of Jagannath Puri’s Rath Yatra to claim massive public support for Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest

OpIndia Staff
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AAP supporters share picture of Jagannath Puri’s Rath Yatra to claim massive public support for Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest

Following Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, Aam Aadmi Party, its allies, and their supporters have claimed massive public support for the jailed leader. In line with the claim, a picture of a large gathering has been doing rounds on the internet. Several netizens, apparently AAP supporters, have shared the image asserting that the image reflects a significant surge in public backing for Arvind Kejriwal following his incarceration. However, the claims have been found to be misleading as it uses an old picture of a large religious gathering of Hindu devotees in Puri, Odisha.

Incidentally, apart from using the same picture, a large of X users have also copied exactly the same text to peddle the misleading claim. The text in these posts read, “This picture shows that the end of the dictator is certain…People are on the streets against Kejriwal’s arrest. (Emoji for Location) – Chennai.”

However, OpIndia found that the picture is an old image of a large religious gathering of Hindu devotees who had assembled for the festivities of Jagannath Ji’s Rath Yatra. Additionally, the image was captured in Puri, not in Chennai as falsely claimed in the misleading posts.

Further, it is being circulated with misleading claims that the crowd is of supporters who had gathered there to oppose the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in ED custody in connection with the Delhi Liquor policy scam case.

Conspicuously, social blogging site X’s community notes also flagged a post by an X handle named Jeetu Burdak. Below his post, which promoted the misleading claim of support for the jailed AAP leader, the community note highlighted that the image used in the post dates back to June 2023 and depicts the Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri.

The image of the large religious gathering has been circulating in the media and social media for more than a year before Kejriwal’s arrest. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik had also shared the picture of Jagannath Ji’s Rath Yatra on 20th June 2023.

It is evident that the image pertains to the religious gathering of Hindu devotees from June 2023 from Jagannath Puri, Odisha. While AAP supporters have recently made it viral again, it has nothing to do with the protests held to oppose Kejriwal’s arrest.

On 21st March, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal after questioning him and conducting a search at his house in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case. He was arrested after he ignored nine summons by the financial probing agency and his request for ‘no-coercive’ action was turned down by the Delhi High Court.  

West Bengal: BJP workers attacked in Canning, Suvendu Adhikari demands arrest of TMC goons and accused Hossain Sheikh

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: BJP workers attacked in Canning, Suvendu Adhikari demands arrest of TMC goons and accused Hossain Sheikh

On Sunday (24th March), a mob of Trinamool Congress goons attacked several BJP workers in Mather Dighi village in Canning subdivision in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

As per reports, four BJP workers were injured during the attack. Amid the violent clash, three TMC workers were also hurt. All those injured in the attack and counter-attack are now undergoing treatment at the Canning Sub Divisional Hospital.

It has come to light that the TMC goons thrashed the Mandal President of Canning Purba Mandal No 3, and several other karyakartas. According to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, the condition of BJP workers Bivas Mondal and Subrata Das remains critical.

In a tweet, he said, “Bloodshed Returns in Bengal Politics before Lok Sabha Elections…I request Election Commission, if they intend to prevent the repeat of 2021 Post Poll Violence and the bloodbath of 2023 WB Panchayat Elections, the time to act is now.”

Suvendu Adhikari has accused one Hossain Sheikh, who is said to be a close aide of TMC MLA Saokat Molla, of engineering the attack. He has requested the EC to act against Sheikh immediately.

“Kindly put people like Hossain Sheikh behind the bars and keep people like Saokat Molla under observation as he possesses the machinery to rig the polls. This is the only way to ensure free and fair polls,” he said in his tweet.

Local BJP leader Bikash Sardar said, “BJP had organised a party meeting in the Jibantala-Mather Dighi area with the permission of the government. But the TMC goons entered the meeting and created unrest.

TMC blames BJP, cops intervene into the matter

On the other hand, the TMC has accused the BJP of beating its party workers.

“Our party workers were returning home on motorbikes. During that time, the BJP workers abused them with the choicest of expletives. From there the chaos started. Some of our workers were also injured due to the attack,” TMC MLA Saokat Molla alleged.

On receiving information about the incident, Canning Sub-Divisional Police Officer Ramkumar Mandal reached the spot. A large team of police was deployed to avert any law and order situation. A probe has been initiated into the matter.

OpIndia has recentlyreported about 5 incidents of attacks on BJP workers, carried out by goons associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress party.

Delhi: Massive protest erupts after 34-year-old Arman rapes a 4-year-old girl in Pandav Nagar, accused arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi: Massive protest erupts after 34-year-old Arman rapes a 4-year-old girl in Pandav Nagar, accused arrested

A shocking incident has surfaced in the Pandav Nagar neighbourhood of East Delhi, where a 4-year-old girl was raped on 23rd March by a 34-year-old Muslim man named Appu alias Arman. The culprit has been arrested by cops from Mandwali Police Station. He is the brother of the victim’s tuition teacher.

The minor went to her tuition yesterday as usual. However, the accused sexually violated her under the guise of teaching because the tutor wasn’t present at home. Furthermore, he threatened the child not to tell anyone about his abhorrent act. However, she returned home in tears and confided in her parents about everything. Afterwards, a case against was filed at the Mandwali police station based on the family’s complaint and the perpetrator was taken into custody immediately. On the other hand, the girl was referred to the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) from Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital.

“Yesterday, the Mandawali Police Station received a complaint alleging that a 34-year-old male had sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl at her tuition location. The individual was taken into custody and we have filed a case. People congregated in the area when a rumour circulated that no action was taken in the matter, and we also learned about a few instances of vandalism. Police reached the spot and now the situation is peaceful. The girl is also safe,” informed Delhi Eastern Range’s Additional Commissioner of Police Sagar Singh Kalsi.

The locals became enraged as soon as they learned of the instance. Heavy police force was deployed in the area and police were dispersing the protestors in Pandav Nagar. According to East Delhi Deputy Commissioner Of Police Apoorva Gupta, a 4-year-old girl was brought to the hospital yesterday after reporting that her tutor had touched her private parts. The presence of swelling in the private area has been verified medically. The culprit has been apprehended. The role of his sister’s involvement in the occurrence is also being probed. People have been pacified at the moment.

The situation had gotten out of control. Locals went to the culprit’s home and committed many acts of vandalism. Several cars were vandalised in the area. His shop was also destroyed by the people who then moved all of his products to the location of Holika Dahan. The police arrived at the scene in considerable numbers after the furious crowd attacked the vehicles and autos in the street.

In the meanwhile, police have said that the girl’s condition is stable, saying that rumurs are being spread that her situation is critical. DCP East Apoorva Gupta said that the girl’s condition is normal and she is talking normally. She added that counsellors are talking to the child. Authorities have asked people of the area to maintain peace.

To control the situation, a heavy police deployment has been made in the area. The accused was arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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