Congress-led government cancelled the deal with Dassault as the French company did not accept one of Vadra’s firm as “middleman”: Gajendra Shekhawat

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The Congress has been accusing massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government.

Firing fresh salvo at the Congress party and its president Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader and Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat on Monday alleged that the opposition leader was being part of an “international conspiracy” to sabotage the Rafale fighter jet deal to benefit his brother-in-law Robert Vadra.

The minister also claimed that Vadra had links with arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. He said the Congress-led government cancelled the deal with Dassault as the French company did not accept one of Vadra’s firm as “middleman”.

“They (Vadra and Bhandari) represent themselves as middlemen at many defence expos but they have not got a big breakthrough yet. The then government wanted that the French firm should accept it (Vadra’s company) as the middleman. But since it did not materialise, the deal with Dassault was cancelled,” the minister said.

Referring to former French president Francois Hollande, who stirred controversy about the Rafale fighter jet deal with India last week, Shekhawat said, “How Rahul Gandhi and he (Hollande) are linked as a part of nexus, and are trying to sabotage the deal needs to be understood.”

Accusing the opposition of messing with national security, the minister said the Congress party was weakening the Army’s morale by keeping the nation’s interest on the business interests of its son-in-law (Robert Vadra).

Hollande, who left office in May last year, said on Friday during a trip to India that French jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation had been given no choice about its local partner in a 2016 deal with the Indian administration.

Hollande’s announcement that Dassault “did not have a say in it” added fuel to claims from India’s opposition that the New Delhi government had intervened to help Ambani.

The Congress has been accusing massive irregularities in the deal, alleging that the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government when it was negotiating procurement of 126 Rafale jets.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi went on the offensive. He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the reports of French media and said that the PM Modi personally negotiated and changed the Rafale deal behind closed doors.

“An ex-president of France is calling him (the prime minister of India) a thief. It’s a question of the dignity of the office of the prime minister,” he told a news conference in New Delhi.

PM Modi announced the purchase of 36 Rafale fighters after talks with Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris.

Maoist killed a sitting and one former MLA From Telugudesham at Vishakhapatnam

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TDP MLAs S. Somma (left) and K. Sarveswara Rao.

K. Sarveswara Rao and S. Soma of TDP were reportedly ambushed by a group of 50-60 Maoists

In the first major strike in many years in Andhra Pradesh, the outlawed CPI (Maoists) on Sunday shot dead a sitting MLA and a former MLA, both from the ruling TDP, in Araku area in Vishakhapatnam district, police said.

The incident occurred at Lippitiputta village under Dambriguda mandal when Araku sitting MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma went to take part in a ‘grama darsini’ (village visit) programme, they said.

“A group of Maoists came along with the villagers and blocked the MLA’s car. As the personal security officers of the legislator and the ex-legislator got down, they snatched the AK-47 rifles from them and shot Sarveswara Rao and Soma dead,” Visakhapatnam Range Deputy Inspector General of Police Ch Srikanth said.

He said the exact number of Maoists involved in the attack and the reasons for shooting down the legislator were being ascertained.

Police sources, however, suspect that a group of about 50-60 outlaws led by Maoists Andhra-Odisha Border Committee secretary Ramakrishna could be involved in the deadly attack. They reportedly engaged the MLA in a conversation for some time before shooting them dead, the sources added.

As Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is currently flying to New York, officials in the Chief Minister’s Office spoke to Visakhapatnam district collector and superintendent of police seeking details of the incident, a CMO spokesperson said. Deputy Chief Minister (Home) N. China Rajappa, and DGP (in charge) Harish Kumar Gupta have rushed to the spot, it said.

Sarveswara Rao won as the YSR Congress candidate in 2014, but he later voted to the TDP.

Quran prevails over constitution: Siddiqullah Chowdhury

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Siddiqullah-Chowdhury

Siddiqullah Chowdhury, a Minister in West Bengal government, took the protest against the Centre’s ordinance on triple talaq to another level by saying that the Constitution is subservient to the Quran.

Siddiqullah Chowdhury, a Minister in West Bengal government, took the protest against the Centre’s ordinance on triple talaq to another level by saying that the Constitution is subservient to the Quran.

Chowdhury is the Minister of Mass Education and Library in the government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He is also the state president of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.

According to a report in The Indian Express, Chowdhury said that the Quran will prevail over the Constitution if any constitutional provision or law contradicts the Quran.

“For us, our holy scripture, the Quran Sharif, is supreme and if any constitutional provision or any law contradicts the Quran, then our scripture will prevail and not the law or Constitution,” Chowdhury was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Interestingly, Chowdhury accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of playing the religion card and toying with the Constitution.

Referring to the Ordinance introduced on Wednesday that made the practice of triple talaq a penal offence, Chowdhury said that it will “have no effect on Muslims”.

“No one will adhere to it, but will follow the religion and the holy book,” he said.

Drawing attention to the rising cases of violence against women, he said that the Centre is doing nothing to protect the women but “are hurting the sentiments of Muslims for cheap vote bank politics”.

This is not the first time that the controversial minister has lashed out against the triple talaq. In August 2017, he had vehemently countered the Supreme Court’s ruling banning the triple talaq calling the decision “unconstitutional”.

According to reports, he had then said that the ban on triple talaq is “a design of the BJP government”. At the time he had defended his party stating that his views are personal.

Chowdhury is not the only Muslim leader to oppose the triple talaq ordinance.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi had protested the passing of the Ordinance calling it “unconstitutional”.

Owaisi, a Lok Sabha MP from Telangana’s Hyderabad, said on Wednesday that All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and women organisations should challenge the ordinance in the Supreme Court.

“This ordinance is against the Muslim women. This ordinance will not provide justice to the Muslim women,” Owaisi quoted.

“In Islam, marriage is a civil contract and bringing penal provisions in it is wrong,” said Owaisi

Triple Talaq now a penal offence, Ordinance cleared

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The ‘Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill’ was cleared by the Lok Sabha and is pending in the Rajya Sabha where the government lacks numbers

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an ordinance making triple talaq a penal offence. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad gave the information to the media after the cabinet meeting.

The ‘Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill’ was cleared by the Lok Sabha and is pending in the Rajya Sabha where the government lacks numbers.

“I have said this before, the issue of triple talaq has nothing to do with faith, mode of worship or religion. It is a pure issue of gender justice, gender dignity and gender equality,” Prasad told reporters after the meet.

“Twenty two countries regulated triple talaq, but gender justice was given complete go-by in India due to vote bank politics. Such a barbaric inhuman, triple talaq curse was not allowed to be ended by a Parliamentary law because of ambiguity and vacillation of the Congress party for pure vote bank politics,” he added.

The minister urged the leaders of other parties to help in passage of triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha.

“Appeal to Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati and Mamata Banerjee to help in passage of triple talaq bill in name of gender justice. There was urgency, compelling necessity for ordinance on triple talaq as practice was continuing unabated,” he said.

In 2017, the Supreme Court had banned the practice, in which Muslim men could get instant divorce by saying the word “talaq” thrice.

पेट्रोल 55 और डीजल 50 रुपए लीटर मिलेगा: गडकरी

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केंद्रीय मंत्री ने कहा, ‘हमारा पेट्रोलियम मंत्रालय एथेनॉल बनाने के लिए पांच प्लांट लगा रहा है, एथेनॉल लकड़ी और नगर निगम के कचरे से बनाया जाएगा’

पेट्रोल और डीजल की बढ़ती कीमतों के बीच सड़क और परिवहन मंत्री नितिन गडकरी ने बायोफ्यूल के उपयोग का तरीका सुझाया है. गडकरी ने कहा, मैं 15 वर्षों से कह रहा हूं कि किसान और आदिवासी बायोफ्यूल बना सकते हैं. जिससे हवाई जहाज तक उड़ सकता है. हमारी नई तकनीक से बनी गाड़ियां किसानों और आदिवासियों द्वारा बनाए गए एथेनॉल से चल सकती हैं.

इसी के साथ उन्होंने पेट्रोल और डीजल के बढ़ते दामों का भी जिक्र किया. सोमवार को एक सभा को संबोधित करते हुए नितिन गडकरी ने कहा, हम पेट्रोल और डीजल के आयात पर 8 लाख करोड़ रुपए खर्च करते हैं. पेट्रोल की कीमत में लगातार बढ़ोतरी हो रही है. डॉलर की तुलना में रुपए की कीमत घट रही है.’

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ANI

 

एथेनॉल है पेट्रोल-डीजल का विकल्प

केंद्रीय मंत्री ने कहा, ‘हमारा पेट्रोलियम मंत्रालय एथेनॉल बनाने के लिए पांच प्लांट लगा रहा है. एथेनॉल लकड़ी और नगर निगम के कचरे से बनाया जाएगा. इसके बाद डीजल की कीमत 50 रुपए प्रति लीटर और पेट्रोल का विकल्प 55 रुपए प्रति लीटर पर उपलब्ध होगा.’

दरअसल पिछले कुछ दिनों से पेट्रोल और डीजल की कीमतों में लगातार वृद्धि हुई है. और फिलहाल पेट्रोल और डीजल के दाम अब तक के सबसे उच्चतम कीमत पर पहुंच गए हैं. इसके चलते सोमवार को कांग्रेस ने बंद का आयोजन भी किया था.

CEC condemns CM Telangana’s remarks over election schedule

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Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier stated that the State would go to polls in November

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) O.P. Rawat on Friday condemned the remarks by caretaker Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao about the scheduling of fresh pools in the State. He said an EC team will be visiting the State on September 11 to assess the ground situation.

“The Commission strongly condemns the way the Chief Minister of Telangana announced the supposed schedule. It is uncalled for,” said Mr. Rawat, also denying that he had recently interacted with Mr. Rao or any State government official on the issue.

On Thursday, Mr. Rao had said: “The election notification is expected in the first week of October, polls in November and results in December”. The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee had objected to it.

Following a government notification on the dissolution of the House, the Commission had sought a report from the State Chief Electoral Officer, which was discussed at the EC’s regular meeting on Friday.

“No decision has been taken on the poll schedule yet,” said Mr. Rawat. The EC is sending a team of officials headed by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha to assess the ground situation in the State. Further action will be taken on the basis of its report.

“Whenever a House is dissolved prematurely, as per the Supreme Court guidelines laid down in 2002, the ECI is required to initiate immediate steps for holding elections for constituting the Legislative Assembly on the first occasion and in any case, within six months from the date of premature dissolution of the Assembly,” said Mr. Rawat.

Given that circumstances, the Commission is faced with two possible scenarios. In case the EC receives a report confirming full preparedness, the election may be conducted along with those in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram by December 15. However, if more arrangements are to be made, it may be held in January next year, ensuring that its results do not influence the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

While the revision of the voters’ list in Telangana is also an issue before the EC, the electoral body is confident that it will not prove to be a hindrance. The process had been initiated on September 1.

The EC is also awaiting a corrigendum to be published by the Union Home Ministry on the transfer of seven “mandals” from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh and three from Andhra Pradesh to Telangana, under the reorganisation law. “We have been told that it would be done in a few days. The Ministry had earlier issued a corrigendum, but it had some flaws,” said Mr. Rawat.

तेलंगाना की राजनीति के लिए कल का दिन अहम

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राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री चंद्रशेखर राव तेलंगाना विधानसभा को गुरुवार को भंग करने की घोषणा कर सकते हैं.

तेलंगाना में जल्द विधानसभा चुनावों की घोषणा हो सकती है. क्योंकि राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री चंद्रशेखर राव तेलंगाना विधानसभा को गुरुवार को भंग करने की घोषणा कर सकते हैं. एनडीटीवी पर छपी खबर के मुताबिक, सूत्रों ने बताया है कि 6 सितंबर, 2018 को सुबह 6.45 बजे विधानसभा भंग करने का ऐलान किया जा सकता है. बताया जा रहा है कि समय और तारीख में ‘6’ नंबर इसलिए जोड़ा गया है, क्योंकि ये सीएम केसीआर का लकी नंबर है.

काफी दिनों से चल रही हैं खबरें

तेलंगाना में समय से पहले चुनाव कराने की खबरें काफी दिनों से चल रही हैं. मुख्यमंत्री और उनकी पार्टी के नेता कई बार इसके संकेत भी दे चुके हैं. आपको बता दें कि वैसे टीआरएस सरकार का कार्यकाल मई 2019 में खत्म होना है. मिली जानकारी के अनुसार मुख्यमंत्री रंगा रेड्डी जिले में बड़ी रैली कर विधानसभा भंग करने का ऐलान कर सकते हैं.

पीएम मोदी से पिछले हफ्ते ही मिले थे केसीआर

केसीआर जल्द चुनाव कराने को लेकर कह चुके हैं कि मैं इसपर जल्द फैसला लूंगा और अगर फिर से टीआरएस की सरकार बनती है तब मैं घोषणा करूंगा कि मैं क्या करने वाला हूं. पिछले हफ्ते केसीआर दिल्ली गए थे और यहां उन्होंने प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी, गृह मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह समेत कई अन्य नेताओं से मुलाकात भी की थी. वहीं बीजेपी अध्यक्ष अमित शाह ने भी पार्टी नेताओं को साफ कर दिया है कि राज्य में साल के अंत में विधानसभा चुनाव हो सकते हैं, ऐसे में चुनाव के लिए तैयार रहें.

Two Indian Mujahideen cadre convicted in the 2007 Hyderabad twin blast case

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Two of the five accused in the twin bombing case of 2007 in Hyderabad were convicted by a special court in Cherlapally central prison here on Tuesday. The blasts claimed 44 lives, while 68 were left injured.

Anique Shafique Syeed and  Mohammed Akbar Ismail Choudhury, associates of Mohammed Riyaz Bhatkal and his elder brother Mohammed Iqbal Bhatkal  were held guilty. They were Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives.

The Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Court operating from Cherlapally central prison convicted the duo under Section 302 (murder) and other relevant provisions of the IPC and sections of the Explosive Substances Act. The verdict was pronounced by Justice T. Srinivas Rao.

The quantum of punishment will be announced on Monday.

Two other accused, Farooq Sharfuddin Tarkash and Mohammed Sadiq Israr Ahmed Shaik were acquitted, while judgment against Tarik Anjum will be pronounced on Monday.

The trial against them was shifted to court hall in the Cherlapally prison from a court located in Nampally court complex in June this year owing to security reasons.

The Telangana Police’s Counter Intelligence Cell had filed three separate charge-sheets against seven accused persons. Other three accused, Riyaz Bhatkal, his brother Iqbal Bhatkal and Amir Raza Khan are still at large.

The IM operatives planted three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the city on August 25, 2007, of which two went off at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar and one unexploded bomb placed under a foot-over-bridge at Dilsukhnagar was recovered by the police.

Over 160 witnesses were examined and cross-examined during the trials.

क्या मुख्यमंत्री चंद्रशेखर राव 6 सितंबर को विधानसभा को भंग कर सकते हैं?

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अटकलें लगाई जा रही हैं कि ज्‍योतिषियों की सलाह पर चंद्रशेखर राव विधानसभा को भंग कर नवंबर-दिसंबर में चुनाव की मांग कर सकते हैं

कयास लगाए जा रहे हैं कि तेलंगाना के मुख्यमंत्री चंद्रशेखर राव 6 सितंबर को विधानसभा को भंग कर सकते हैं. इसी के साथ वह अपने ज्योतिषियों की सलाह पर राज्य में जल्द चुनाव कराने की मांग करेंगे.

हालांकि तेलंगाना में मई 2019 में विधानसभा चुनाव कराए जाने हैं. इसका सत्र भी आगामी 2019 लोकसभा के साथ खत्म हो जाएगा. लेकिन अटकलें लगाई जा रही हैं कि चंद्रशेखर राव विधानसभा को भंग कर नवंबर-दिसंबर में चुनाव की मांग कर सकते हैं. इसी दौरान मध्यप्रदेश, छत्तीसगढ़, राजस्थान और मिज़ोरम में भी चुनाव होने हैं.

हैदराबाद में रविवार को चंद्रशेखर राव की रैली को इसी दिशा में उठाया गया कदम माना जा रहा है. इससे पहले रविवार को राज्‍य की कैबिनेट बैठक बुलाई गई थी लेकिन इसमें जल्‍द चुनाव को लेकर कोई फैसला नहीं हुआ. अब छह सितंबर को फिर से कैबिनेट बैठक बुलाई गई है.

छह है केसीआर का लकी नंबर

ज्‍योतिषियों का कहना है कि के चंद्रशेखर राव का शभ नंबर छह है. मालूम हो कि चंद्रशेखर ज्‍योतिष और वास्‍तु में काफी यकीन करते हैं. वह भरोसे के ज्‍योतिषियों और वास्‍तु के जानकारों से सलाह मशविरा करने से पहले कोई फैसला नहीं लेंगे.

उनके एक करीबी ने बताया कि यदि ज्‍योतिषियों ने मुख्‍यमंत्री को मना लिया तो वह जल्‍दी चुनाव करा सकते हैं. हालांकि केसीआर के करीबी लोग इस मसले पर बंटे हुए हैं. कुछ का कहना है कि लोकसभा चुनाव से अलग समय पर विधानसभा के चुनाव कराने से पार्टी को सत्‍ता में बने रहने में मदद मिलेगी. उन्‍हें डर है कि एक साथ चुनाव टीआरएस के खिलाफ जा सकते हैं क्‍योंकि इनके लिए कांग्रेस तैयार होगी.

Sudha Bhardwaj denies Maharashtra police’s claims, terms letter “concocted”, “fabricated”

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Sudha-Bhardwaj

At a press conference in Mumbai on Friday, the Maharashtra Police said that Bharadwaj had written a letter to a certain “Comrade Prakash”.

Activist Sudha Bharadwaj, who was arrested along with four others on 28 August, rejected the Maharashtra Police’s accusation that the accused had “clear links” with Maoists. In a hand-written statement issued on 1 September, Bharadwaj, who is currently under house arrest, said the police had “totally concocted” a letter to implicate her.

“It is a totally concocted letter fabricated to criminalise me and other human rights lawyers, activists and organisations,” the letter read.

Bharadwaj’s statement was shared through her lawyer Vrinda Grover.

At a press conference in Mumbai on Friday, the Maharashtra Police said that Bharadwaj had written a letter to a certain “Comrade Prakash”. The police had also read out passages from seized letters allegedly establishing the links between the Naxals and those arrested.

Bharadwaj, a visiting professor of Law-Poverty and tribal rights at the National Law University (NLU), Delhi, said that the purported letter shown by the police is a “mixture of innocuous”.

She claimed a number of human rights lawyers, activists and organisations were deliberately named to cast a stigma over them, obstruct their work and incite hatred against them.

“I categorically state that I have never given Rs 50,000 to hold any programme in Moga. Nor do I know any Comrade Ankit who is in touch with Kashmiri separatists,” she wrote.

The activist, who is also the general secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in Chhattisgarh, said that she knows Gautam Navlakha as “a senior and respected human rights activist whose name has been mentioned in a manner to criminalise and incite hatred against him”.

Navlakha is journalist and civil rights activist who is also involved with PUCL. He has also served as a convener for International People’s Tribunal for Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir. He was picked up by the Pune Police from New Delhi on the same day as the other four.

Early this week, the police raided the homes of activists and lawyers from five states – Varavara Roa in Hyderabad, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, Bharadwaj in Fariadabad and Navalakha in Delhi. All five were arrested.

Lawyers of the arrested activists slammed the Pune Police for trying to indulge in media trial by publicly sharing sensitive information that is part of investigation.

“What police has done today in the press conference is wrong. Even defence lawyers do not have access to these documents, which the police claim as evidence against accused persons. It is clear that the police is indulging in media trial to put pressure on the judiciary,” Rohan Nahar, lawyer for P Varavara Rao, was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

Vernon Gonsalves’ lawyer Tosif Shaikh, too, backed the “media trial” claim stating that the police does not have strong evidence to prove allegations.

On Friday, ADG (Law and Order), Maharashtra Police, Parambir Singh said at a press conference in Mumbai that the arrests were made only after “we were confident that clear links have been established”.

“Evidence clearly establishes their roles with Maoists,” he said adding that letters exchanged between the activists point to the plotting of a “Rajiv Gandhi-like” incident