BJP, Congress start back-channel talks to win over independents in Rajasthan | India News

JAIPUR: After the exit polls predicted a “very close” fight in Rajasthanboth BJP and Congress are bracing for last-minute manoeuvring. While Congress has started contacting winnable independents and party rebels, BJP is connecting with its rebel candidates in case they need their support to cross the halfway mark of 100. That apart, the saffron party has directed all its (would-be) MLAs to collect their certificates and reach Jaipur by Monday.
Elections were held for 199 out of 200 seats in the state as one Congress candidate died during the polls.
A Congress leader said, “We are contacting party rebels and independents as we are quite sure of edging past BJP and forming the government.”
Congressmen on Thursday thronged state party president Govind Singh Dotasra’s residence to congratulate him even before the results were out.
BJP functionaries, however, expressed confidence that the party would get an absolute majority. BJP’s election management committee convenor Narayan Panchariya targeted Congress politicians over their premature celebrations.
Panchariya termed Dotasra’s statement about Congress getting an absolute majority as “a misunderstanding”, especially in view of the massive voting by the people of the state.

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EC's new mantra: Preventive steps, not punitive action | India News

NEW DELHI: Between the announcement of polls in five states in October and the end of campaign on Tuesday, the EC issued 10 show-cause notices – including six to politicians, three to political parties and one to the Karnataka government – over different violations of the model code of conduct. However, what has intrigued some is the absence of the usual decision or action by EC thereafter – be it a warning to the errant politician to be more careful in future utterances, censure or imposition of campaign curbs for a limited or entire duration of the poll.
TOI has learnt that the EC’s silence on the outcome of its show-cause notices was not a coincidence but a conscious course of action defined by the poll panel firmly pointing out the alleged violations, letting things seep in as an explanation to the notice was prepared and exercising patience and restraint until the errant politician felt the nudge to make a course-correction.This is now a preferred alternative to any knee-jerk action, as per those in the know.
Sources said the commission’s preference of preventive approach over punitive action – helmed by CEC Rajiv Kumar through the 11 state polls he has presided over so far – is seen as successful in lifting the level of poll-time political discourse from the depths it had allegedly reached in 2019 general election and subsequent state polls like the one in West Bengal and one that has brought down the frequent attacks directed at the panel, be it by the parties, media or the courts, for not doing its job well.
The view in the commission, as per sources, is that a show-cause notice, issued with due publicity and widely covered in the media, itself serves the purpose of putting the respondent on the backfoot as it calls for an explanation for remarks or actions seen in violation of the model code of conduct or other laws.
“The idea is to encourage and nudge politicians to restore and maintain decency in public discourse. Already, this approach is having an impact with lesser clutter of complaints reaching the EC with each passing poll, fewer dirty/cuss words like “snake” being used in the heat of the campaign, and a conspicuous dip in appeals for votes along religious lines,” an EC functionary told TOI.
As per sources in EC, the commission takes care to frame its notices to send the intended message across to the parties and campaigners. For instance, the notice to Congress’s Rahul Gandhi on his “pickpocket” jibe against PM Modi emphasises on the need to maintain a balance between freedom of speech and one’s right to reputation, as does the notice regarding the redbus advertisements issued by Congress in Rajasthan that nuanced the play of politics through such advertisements while ensuring that the revenues of media ventures are safeguarded.

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Have learnt grassroots work from you, woman sarpanch tells PM | India News

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with beneficiaries of the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra via video conferencing.
Balveer Kaur, sarpanch of village Rangpur and a farmer from Arnia in Jammu district informed the Prime Minister that she has availed of the benefits of multiple government schemes namely Kisan Credit Card scheme, Farm Machinery Bank Scheme and Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna.
During the interaction as someone pushed her way to the seating row where the sarpanch was sitting, the PM, in a lighter vein, asked her to be mindful of her chair as people are coming in and new claimants are pushing. “Ab sarpanch wo hi ban jayengi (Now she will become the new sarpanch),” he joked.
Kaur said her village is located near the border. Modi congratulated her for being the owner of a tractor that was purchased using Kisan Credit Card. The Prime Minister said ‘you have a tractor, I do not even have a bicycle’.
He emphasised the need to create awareness about attaining saturation of government schemes and suggested Kaur reach out to ten neighbouring villages and spread the word. The PM underlined the belief that all the benefits reach the last person standing in the queue. When the Prime Minister complimented her on having data of her area on her finger tips, she replied “Aap se hi seekha hai grassroot par kaam karna. Kaam karti hoon aur bhoolti nahi hoon. (I have learnt from you to work at the grassroots and not forget details of the work)”.
Throwing light on the purpose of Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, the PM said that it aims to learn from the experiences of the existing beneficiaries and also encompass those who have not yet availed the benefits.
When she said that people from the border area do not tell lies, the PM quipped “In India not only border people but all Indians do not tell lies. Truth is in the nature of our nation. Only few stray people who have gone on wrong path resort to lies.”

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Blind girl raped by guard in MP

Blind girl raped by guard in MP

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Pak couldn't explain violation of truce that killed jawan: BSF | India News

HAZARIBAGH: Border Security Force (BSF) director general Nitin Agrawal on Thursday said Pakistani Rangers could not come up with a “convincing” explanation at a flag meeting held to discuss the November 9 ceasefire violation by the latter along the international border in Samba, in which a BSF jawan was martyred. Not only this, he alleged that Pakistani Rangers are in perpetual denial mode when confronted at flag meetings about the heightened drone activity from their side of the border, to smuggle drugs and weapons to Punjab.
Addressing a presser here at Meru in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh – a day before home minister Amit Shah presides over the BSF’s 59th Raising Day celebrations – Agrawal said the “jury is still out” on why the Pakistani Rangers broke their ceasefire pact agreed to in February 2021.
“When we had a flag meeting with them (after the unprovoked firing), they gave some XYZ explanation which was not convincing….they mentioned something just for the sake of it,” he told reporters.
While agreeing that Pakistan was preoccupied with a lot of internal issues, the BSF chief underlined that recent border truce violation had taken place along the IB and not the line of control (LoC). “That was not expected. But there is a history of (such) violations in the past,” he pointed out. At the same time, he sought to assure that the BSF personnel were absolutely alert and had fired back immediately.
“You can rest assured that both BSF personnel and the borders are absolutely secure,” Agrawal told reporters.
On drones carrying carrying narcotics and arms from Pakistan to the Indian side, essentially Punjab, Agrawal said a total of 90 drones, including 81 in Punjab and nine in Rajasthan, were recovered between November 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023. Also, heroin weighing almost 1,000 kg was seized on the western border in the past one year, as were 23,600 kg of other drugs on the western border.
Drone sightings have gone up to 300-400 in the past one year, with 90 drones shot down and many more recovered. With heightened surveillance, the smugglers transporting drug consignments from Pakistan are finding it difficult to give a slip to BSF, claimed an officer. They are forced to revise tactics, like using the Rajasthan route in the face of surveillance in Punjab but giving up after an intelligence leak led to seizure of four consignments in Rajasthan.

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Medanta parent's scrip soars, makes Trehan a billionaire | India News

Delhi/ Mumbai: Naresh Trehanthe renowned cardiovascular surgeon who earlier founded Delhi-based Escorts Heart Institute, is the latest to join the list of Indian billionaires after the share price of his company, Global Healththe operator of Medanta hospital chainmore than doubled in the last one year.
On Thursday, Global Health closed 4.3% higher on BSE at Rs 960.From its IPO price of Rs 336 a little over a year ago, the stock is now up an impressive 182%. In comparison, BSE’s healthcare index is up 30%.
At Thursday’s close, the company had a market capitalisation of Rs 25,764 crore. Trehan, who holds nearly 33.1% in the company, is worth about Rs 8,517 crore, translating to over $1 billion. Global Health scrip touched 52-week high of Rs 976.55 on Thursday.
Global Health, with revenue of over Rs 1,960 crore, is one of the largest private multi-specialty tertiary care providers operating in the north and east regions, running a network of five hospitals under the Medanta brand currently (Gurgaon, Indore, Ranchi, Lucknow, and Patna). The operational hospitals have 2,725 installed beds as on September 30, 2023, with one hospital under-construction in Noida.
Analysts say Medanta has exhibited healthy growth in international patient revenue, implying enhanced acceptability outside India as well. Interestingly, Medanta is on path to achieve the expected FY25 financial performance in FY24 itself. Further, the entity is actively expanding its capacity, having not only increased the bed numbers, but also adding clinical resources.

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T'Gana Turnout: Telangana turnout pegged at 70%, down from 73% in 2018 | India News

HYDERABAD: Flagging voter participation in what was billed as Telangana‘s closest electoral contest in its brief nine-year history saw the estimated turnout on Thursday dip to 70% from the 2018 figure of 73.4%, coinciding with several exit polls either predicting a hung assembly or BRS’s exit.
Hyderabad district reported just over 40% polling till 5pm, well below the state average and matching the trend set in the previous assembly polls, when less than half of the Greater Hyderabad electorate voted.
In contrast, Maoist-infested Bhadrachalam and Pinapaka in Bhadradri Kothagudem district recorded more than 80% voting despite the militants calling for a boycott. Two polling booths had a turnout of 91% even after Maoists torched a lorry in the vicinity.
Telangana’s chief electoral officer Vikas Raj said the state’s overall turnout was likely to rise, and maybe even surpass the 2018 numbers. “In urban areas, voting picked up in the evening. We are hoping for a better percentage this time.”
The districts that reported trouble included Janagaon, where BRS and BJP workers clashed. Bodhan in Nizamabad also saw tempers flare up at the Vijayamary polling booth, with Congress and BRS supporters going at each other.

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Silkyara has 2 corridors, doesn't need escape passage: Officials | India News

NEW DELHI: Amid reports raising questions on why the under construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi didn’t have a separate escape tunnel, officials said in this case there was no need for such provision as the single tube is divided into two inter-connected corridors by a partition wall. One part can function as an escape tunnel in case of any emergency as the divider wall would have ‘egress openings’ every 300 meters to move over to the other side.
The role of escape tunnel or escape passageused for getting out of vehicles and passengers in case of fire or any other emergency, comes into play once the operation starts, the officials said.”The provision of escape crossings at the divider of the tunnel is part of the project and these will be operational when the project gets completed and opened for traffic,” they added.
In the ‘detailed project report (DPR)’ prepared by Technocrats Advisory Services had proposed an ‘egress tunnel’, which is an enclosed exit access within the tunnel, for emergency escape and maintenance. The DPR had proposed emergency egress opening of four meters at every 300 meters interval. Sources said, the egress tunnel would have hardly served any purpose.
After detailed discussion during the pre-bid meeting for the project, it was recorded that the egress tunnel was not required, sources said. They added that this also increased the space available for traffic flow and emergency lay-bays.
While there have been three instances of significant collapses since 2019, sources claimed that the Silkyara project has been executed as per the approved plan, keeping in mind the geological conditions. The biggest incident occurred on Diwali, which resulted in 41 workers getting trapped inside the tunnel for 17 days. On earlier two occasions, the two minor collapses had impacted two and around 15 meters respectively, and no worker was trapped. These portions were restored after carrying out technical treatment.
Officials said the government will revive the Silkyara tunnel project, part of the Chardham road project, after conducting the audit and repairing the damaged portions, though it may take a few months.The officials added that a thorough probe will be conducted to identify what led to the collapse of the tunnel and the corrective measures that is to be taken.

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Minister Used As Tool: Minister used as tool, real pressure came from CMO, says governor | India News

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan reiterated his stand that the decision to reappoint historian Gopinath Ravindran as Kannur University vice-chancellor was forced upon him by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), though he had pointed out “illegalities”.
When he resisted Ravindran’s reappointment and questioned its legality, the CMO stood firm on its demand and he was forced to capitulate when the CM’s legal advisor and officer on special duty produced the advocate general’s legal opinion favouring the reappointment, said Khan, reacting to the Supreme Court order that quashed the reappointment.
Khan downplayed the interventions of higher education minister R Bindu, saying that she was used as a tool and the real pressure came from the CMO. Khan said CM Pinarayi Vijayan had placed the demand (reappointment of Ravindran) before him once and that he had agreed to give due weightage to the CM’s request during the course of the selection process. Later, the CMO wanted Raj Bhavan to abandon the selection process and consider Ravindran’s reappointment.
“I was fully aware of the illegality involved in the reappointment and I knew they would make more such illegal demands in future. That’s why I immediately wrote a letter to the CM, expressing my wish to relinquish the position of the university chancellor,” Khan said, adding that Bindu was a tool in the hands of CMO and the minister being the pro-chancellor of the university, kept contact with the chancellor on university matters.
Khan, however, said he did not wish to seek the resignation of the CM on account of the apex court verdict.

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NCPCR plans norms to de-stress students | India News

NEW DELHI: Apex child rights body – National Commission for Protection of Child Rights – is working on finalising within the next month a set of detailed guidelines on psychological counselling of children studying in coaching centres and residing in their hostels.
In 2023, Kota (Rajasthan) recorded 24 student suicides related to the pressure of competitive exams, the highest number in any year.
The draft guidelines highlights that suicide rates among students living away from home – in places like Kota, Vijaywada and Chandigarh, to prepare for competitive exams or in hostels/PGs – have been a matter of concern in recent years.
The guidelines, drafted by a working group of experts constituted by NCPCR, on the directions of Rajasthan High Court, once finalised, will be applicable to all coaching institutions where children (below 18 years) are studying and also living in hostels of these study centres. These guidelines have been drafted to support states and Union territories for planning interventions for psychological counselling of students.
NCPCR had sought comments and suggestions from all the stakeholders on the guidelines till October end. “We are studying the suggestions received and also consulting the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights on the issue. We will finalise the guidelines in December and submit them to the high court,” said NCPCR chief Priyank Kanoongo.
The draft guidelines cite that these coaching institutions aim to provide quality education and help students reach their goals, but they have also been associated with intense academic pressure and stress. “The students preparing for competitive exams such as NEET-UG, IIT-JEE, JEE Mains Advanced, NTSE, etc often opt for full time coaching at hotspots in places such as Kota, Vijaywada, Ranchi, Chandigarh and Delhi. The curriculum and the ambience of such centres target intensive training to crack the competitive exams. This often results in immense pressure on the students to score a good rank,” the draft says.
The draft calls for regulations for institutes to ensure they prioritise the well-being of students over profits.

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UP Higher Education Director: UP higher education director not fit to hold post: High court | India News

PRAYAGRAJ: UP director of higher education Brahmdeo is “not fit to hold such a post”, the Allahabad high court has said as it rebuked the official for sitting on a file related to gratuity and death benefits of a deceased professor.
“This court prima facie finds that the officer is not fit to hold such post as he sat over the file for six months and when the date in contempt proceedings was nearing, he has forwarded the request to state for making payment,” Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said.
The judge made the observations after Brahmdeo appeared in court on November 28 and said he had filed an affidavit saying he could not process the file “due to his busy schedule”.
The HC on May 24 ordered payment of the benefits to petitioner Ajay Kumar Mudgal, the husband of deceased professor Nupur Sisodia Mudgal, within a maximum of 90 days.When this wasn’t done, he moved to HC, which issued contempt notice to Brahmdeo. The official had moved the file on November 10.
“He (Brahmdeo) sat on the file for six months and when the date in contempt proceedings was nearing, he has forwarded the request to state for making payment This is a serious matter and senior officers of the state government, who are at the helm of affairs, need to re-introspect and find out the solution for dealing with such officers who are taking the institution so lightly and behaving in a very casual manner,” Justice said.

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7 workers killed in Surat plant fire | India News

SURAT: A massive fire that raged through the Aether Industries Ltd (AIL) plant in Surat’s Sachin GIDC has claimed the lives of 7 workers, whose bodies were recovered after the inferno was put out on Thursday. The workers were reported missing after the fire engulfed the plant premises following a blast around 1.50am on Wednesday.
AIL officials matched the list of employees on duty and found that seven people were missing, based on which it was confirmed that the bodies were of those missing.As many as 24 others are under treatment for burn injuries at four different hospitals.
“Following the recovery of the bodies, a case of accidental death has been registered at Sachin GIDC police station. Further action will be taken after getting inquiry reports from various departments,” said an officer from Sachin GIDC police station.
The deceased have been identified as Divyeshkumar Patel, Santosh Vishwakarma, Sanat Kumar Mishra, Dharmendra Kumar, Ganesh Prasad, Sunil Kumar and Abhishek Singh.

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Co constructing tunnel will bear cost of rescue operation | India News

DEHRADUN: Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd will bear expenses incurred in the 17-day rescue operation to save 41 workers trapped in the tunnel. The Hyderabad-based private construction company got the tender to construct the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel.
Anshu Manish Khalkhodirector (administration and finance), National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.(NHIDCL), told TOI, “We’re going to bill the expenses incurred in the rescue to Navayuga Engineering Ltd.”
Khalkho stated that multiple agencies worked tirelessly around the clock to rescue the workers, pumping crores of rupees into the operation. Asked about the total amount, Khalkho said, “We haven’t even started thinking about the money spent. There were hundreds of men and multiple agencies involved.”
Khalkho also told TOI the ministry of road transport and highways will come up with a standard operating procedure to fix responsibility in case such incidents happen again. The Union ministry has announced an inquiry into the collapse and safety audit of the project.

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