Cyclone Michaung set for landfall; Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu & Odisha on alert | India News

As coastal districts in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha brace for heavy rain over the next two days, with Cyclone Michaung expected to make a landfall on south coast of Andhra on Tuesday, all three states as well as the Centre have revved up preparations to handle the situation.
A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal on Sunday intensified into the cyclonic storm that is likely to reach Tamil Nadu’s north coast on Monday, before crossing Andhra coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam during the forenoon of December 5, with a maximum wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
PM Modi, said he was in constant touch with the governments of states on the eastern coast to coordinate relief and rescue operations. He urged BJP workers in the three states as well as Puducherry to lend a helping hand in the relief and rescue efforts of the local administration.
In Tamil Nadu, the government has declared a public holiday in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Chengelpet and Tiruvallur on Monday as the IMD has issued a red alert for these districts, which are likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall.
A government release said as many as 121 multipurpose centres and 4,967 relief camps were ready in coastal regions and Cauvery delta areas. The National Disaster Response Force said it has deployed 21 teams in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and eight teams have been kept in reserve.
The Odisha government cancelled the leaves of field officers of agriculture department of five districts for the next five days.

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Internet Services: Barring stretches along conflict zones, internet restored in Manipur

GUWAHATI: The Manipur government restored internet services in the state on Sunday, barring 2 km stretches in conflict zones lying along the inter-district borders of nine districts.
The government said the decision has been taken considering the improvement in the law and order situation and “inconveniences faced by the general public due to the long duration of such suspension”.The government cautioned all internet users “to refrain from activities which may cause situations which will warrant suspension ofinternet services in future”.
The internet ban along 2 km stretches in areas between Chandel and Kakching, Churachandpur and Bishnupur, Churachandpur and Kakching, Kangpokpi and Imphal West, Kangpokpi and Imphal East, Kangpokpi and Thoubal and Tengnoupal and Kakching will remain till 7.45 pm on December
There was tension, meanwhile, in Waithou area of Thoubal district late Saturday when unidentified armed men shot at Manipur unit JD(U) youth president Bhaktaraj Thiyam who escaped unhurt.
Thiyam was going towards Imphal in his car after meeting a relative in Thoubal along NH-2 when a jeep chased and stopped him in the Waithou area at 8.15pm. “Three unknown armed persons alighted from the vehicle and asked me at gunpoint whether I am Bhaktaraj, Manipur unit youth president of JD(U). Sensing the critical situation, I replied in the negative,” Thiyam said.
“Before long, the men began searching my vehicle and took some money I had kept inside a black polythene bag. Soon after, they fired at the windshield and the rear of my car but I escaped unhurt.” The three men then sped away in their vehicle towards Thoubal, added Thiyam.
Earlier last month internet services were resumed in the district HQs of four Naga-inhabited districts which have not been affected by the strife.
Internet services were shut down in the state on May 3 immediately after violence broke out and restored on September 23, after 143 days, but had to be curbed again four days later when students clashed with security forces over images of the bodies of two missing youths.
Internet services were suspended to check the spread of fake news, propaganda and hate speech, particularly through mobile data. Several PILs were filed in the Manipur high court against the prolonged suspension of internet services in the state.

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INDIA allies' advice to a deflated Congress: Shed zamindari arrogance | India News

PATNA/LUCKNOW/KOLKATA: Congress’s electoral setback in three key states on Sunday spurred a volley of criticism from its regional allies within the INDIA bloc, ahead of a meeting of the opposition alliance in New Delhi on December 6. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar‘s JD(U) blamed Congress’s defeat on its “arrogance”, Trinamool Congress asked it to shed its “zamindari attitude”, while RJD and Samajwadi Party swiped at Congress’s reluctance to honour allies’ requests for seat-sharing.
With losses in the Hindi heartland states, Congress failed in its aim to strengthen its position within the 28-party INDIA bloc, formed this July to challenge BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. TMC advocated making Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee the face of the opposition alliance, emphasising that the elections results were “Congress’s loss, not BJP’s win”.
Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh remarked: “TMC is the party, which can provide the leadership in the battle to defeat the BJP in the country.” TMC asserted that Congress needs to “wake up from hibernation”, and “learn from its mistakes” before the 2024 general elections.
JD(U) accused Congress of sidelining its allies and attempting a solo fight against BJP, leading to counterproductive results. Bihar minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary urged INDIA bloc partners to take this as a lesson, highlighting the need for unity. “They (Congress) sidelined everyone – from SP and JD(U) to RJD. If Congress wants to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it will have to give more weight to the regional partners,” JD(U) MP Sunil Kumar Pintu said.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar expressed optimism, saying: “On Tuesday, we are meeting at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi, where we will do an analysis of the results and put forth our common view.”
RJD expressed disappointment over Congress not honouring allies’ requests for seat-sharing. “Had the Congress leadership engaged INDIA bloc leaders in poll campaigns, the results would have been different. None was invited,” RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said.
While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is yet to make an official statement, party leaders criticised Congress’s MP leadership’s “arrogance”, referencing the discord over seat-sharing ahead of the November 17 elections in the state. The fight intensified when former MP CM Kamal Nath said: “Let’s not discuss Akhilesh-Wakhilesh.”
(With inputs from Kolhapur)

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Results show Modi lives in people's hearts, new India votes for performance: Shah | India News

As BJP offices across the nation erupted in joy, celebrating the party’s triple triumph in the assembly polls, home minister Amit Shah said the results had shown that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lived in the hearts of people. “I salute the people of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan for this immense support. Many congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji for this grand victory of BJP,” Shahsaid in a series of posts on X, adding that the days of appeasement and caste politics were now over.”New India votes for politics of performance,” he added. “Heartfelt gratitude to the people of Rajasthan, the land of braveheart warriors, for blessing BJP led by Modi ji for the victory,” he said.
Shah further said the stellar performance in MP was a victory of people’s unwavering faith in the leadership of PM Modi. “This massive victory in Madhya Pradesh is the seal of people’s approval of the welfare policies and good governance delivered by the double-engine government led by Modi ji,” he said. He congratulated BJP president J P Nadda, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state unit president V D Sharma and all BJP workers.
On Chhattisgarh, he said “the tribals, the poor and the farmer sisters and brothers” have expressed full faith in Modi’s leaders-hip. On the Telangana results, Shah said, “Gratitude to the peo-ple for their encouraging support. Under Modi ji’s leadership, BJP will continue to work towards the development of Telangana. With people’s support, we will certainly make Telangana a prosperous state.” tnn

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Of BJP's 21 MPs in fray, only 11 manage wins

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Rahul Gandhi's failure to rein in old warhorses cost Congress dear

NEW DELHI: Congress was blindsided by all-round favourable feedback about its prospects in the election-going states and the party ignored visible gaps in its campaign in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The party is also ruing Rahul Gandhi‘s failure to prevail upon the veterans on candidate selection and poll feedback, which made the critical difference in the final outcome.
BJP was saddled with strong anti-incumbency in MP, so visible that it did not want to project CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the campaign. But Congress state president Kamal Nath was averse to drive home the advantage with an intensive localised campaign, and believed that resentment against the government over corruption, lack of employment and fatigue with the CM, will deliver the results. It is learnt that he was even against the “jan akrosh yatras” that the party eventually took out on seven routes/regions in September after the insistence of the party brass.
Three AICC in-charges were changed in MP in the run-up to the polls, with Mukul Wasnik and JP Aggarwal requesting to be moved out as they could not deal with a domineering Nath, before Randeep Surjewala was deputed to bring order. It did not matter much though.
Rahul could not rein in Nath, when he refused to allow pollster-in-chief Sunil Kanogulu to work in the state, and instead preferred to use his own agencies. The feedback from MP was completely misleading, with even the central leadership convinced that it was on its way to power.
Rahul also could not win the argument with CM Ashok Gehlot over candidate selection in Rajasthan. While he pushed for fresh faces against old names and those facing anti-incumbency in multiple surveys, Gehlot said the “loyal” MLAs who stood by him in the Sachin Pilot-led revolt should be repeated. Gehlot had his way. The wholesale defeat of ministers and veterans left many regretting the failure to replace old names, especially when the party managed to post its best performance in recent decades after five years in power.
While the Chhattisgarh defeat left the Congress brass shell-shocked as it had abided by the prescriptions of surveys to drop 22 MLAs out of 71, CM Bhupesh Baghel’s “over confidence” in his strategy is being blamed for the unexpected rout.
His belief that the government’s “farmer push” and party’s future “guarantees” would turn castes, otherwise susceptible to BJP’s overtures and polarisation attempts, to vote for Congress was suspect, but the party went by the CM’s assurance instead of projecting those communities specifically in the campaign. The warnings about these pitfalls were ignored.

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14 days to decide in which House to stay | India News

The immediate challenge for the MPs who have won the assembly polls will be to resign from one House within 14 days, otherwise their Parliament membership will turn void and they will continue as members of the state legislature. As their resignation as Lok Sabha MPs may not necessitate bypolls immediately since LS polls will be due in March-April, many of the winning MPs are likely to continue as state legislators and also take over as ministers, party sources said.

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ED, CBI now likely to step on the gas

PM Narendra Modi backs Centre’s anti-corruption drive, claiming voters’ support; warning to parties involved in corruption; ED and other agencies to continue their task; corruption charges against CMs and their family members dismissed as politically motivated; Delhi CM Kejriwal to expect fresh ED summons after elections; close confidants in jail, ex-minister out on bail; serious corruption charges against opposition leaders and their associates.

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A hat-trick for a hat-trick, bullish PM Modi predicts 2024 | India News

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that BJP‘s hat-trick in the state elections is an endorsement of the party’s agenda of development and good governance, which is a guarantee for a hat-trick in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters hours after it swept the elections in the heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the PM said, “Some people are saying that this hat-trick is a guarantee for hat-trick in 2024…The results show popular support for our battle against corruption.”
The victory speech saw Modi tearing into the INDIA blog by accusing the parties of seeking to divide people in the name of caste and warning against the dangers of appeasement, corruption, nepotism and hindrances to development.
In a tough riposte to the opposition parties raising the issue of caste census, something that BJP sees as ploy to thwart Hindu consciousness, Modi said efforts to divide the country have increased. He distinguished himself from the what he called the divisive alliance by saying “so far as I am concerned, it is women, farmers, youth and the poor who are the biggest castes in the country”.
“Today’s mandate has proved that people have zero tolerance for corruption, appeasement and dynastic politics. Today the country feels that only BJP is effective in ending these three evils,” Modi said amid cheers from the large crowd. He was joined by home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president J P Nadda on the dais.
With Modi being the front and centre of BJP’s campaign during the polls, the slogan on the backdrop of the dais highlighted his appeal: “Sapne nahi haqeeqat bunte hain, tabhi to sab Modi ko chunte hain” (we don’t sell dreams but reality, that’s why people choose Modi)”.
“The verdict is a clear warning to all those parties which try to shield and support corrupt people by giving different arguments. Such people have been trying to defame probe agencies. However, the verdict shows that the public mandate is in favour of the probe agencies’ campaign against corruption,” the PM said, making it clear that there will be no respite from ‘drive’ of the central agencies.
“The spirit of national service that should be there to win the hearts of people is not there in the ‘ghamandiya gathbandhan’,” Modi said, adding that the coming together of a few dynasty-dominated parties could be make good photos but not win the trust of the country.
Floating a new slogan, Gati Nai Hai, Sankalp Naya Hai (There is a new momentum, new pledge), the PM said the dreams of the people are his pledge and he will not leave any stone unturned to fulfil them. “Modi’s guarantee is for the country’s development. And Modi’s guarantee starts at a juncture where expectations from others come to an end,” he said.
The PM asked the opposition not to stand against development and welfare of the country. He also advised Congress and its allies not to engage in politics that “gives a boost to anti-national forces and works to divide and weaken the country”.

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Ranbir Kapoor celebrates 'Animal' success with Anil Kapoor and the whole team - Pics inside

Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Animal‘ has gone on to be one of the biggest hits this year. The film crossed the 100 crore mark just within the first two days of release. The Sunday numbers are even bigger! As the film is ringing the bell at the box office and how, the team of ‘Animal’ got together to celebrate the film’s success.
The entire team had a success party.Some inside pictures from the party were leaked online and were posted by Ranbir’s fan club. Ranbir looks dapper as he’s seen in spectacles and a black shirt with some team members. He is also seen striking a pose withAnil Kapoor and Bhushan Kumar.

Meanwhile, Bobby Deol was also seen arriving at the success party and he got emotional in his car when paps captured him. It’s after a while that Bobby is seeing this kind of success for a movie. Infact, he’s back onscreen after a while and one thing unanimously said by everyone is that there should have been more to Bobby’s character in the film. The audience wanted to see more of him in the movie.

The movie has also surrounded itself into controversies and many people are calling it misogynistic. Some reviews have also criticised the film for loopholes in the script and the way the story moves forward. There’s also immense violence in the movie but a section of the audience has loved the movie. The numbers also are a big proof of that.
Amidst all that, Ram Gopal Varma has reviewed the movie and gave it 4.5 stars. He also said that he wants to lick Ranbir’s feet after watching the film and kiss Sandeep Reddy Vanga for his genius with this one.

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'Exactly 20 years ago...will prepare for LS polls with hope, faith': Jairam Ramesh on assembly poll results

NEW DELHI: With Congress facing defeats in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the Assembly pollsparty leader Jairam Ramesh recalled that 20 years ago the party similarly lost in these three states but came back strong and emerged as the single largest party in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
“Exactly 20 years ago also, the Indian National Congresshad to face defeat in the assembly elections held in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.At that time we had won only in Delhi. But within a few months, Congress made a strong comeback and emerged as the largest party in the Lok Sabha elections and formed the government at the Centre,” Ramesh said in a post on ‘X’.
He also talked about the party being part of INDIA block which wants to come together to take on the BJP in the 2024 elections.
“With hope, faith, patience and determination the Indian National Congress will prepare for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. INDIA will win!” Ramesh added.
Congress suffered defeats at the hands of BJP in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in 2003. Congress won 145 seats in 2004 elections and formed the government at the Centre with the help of other parties.
BJP won 138 seats and sat in opposition.
The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP won in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in the results announced on Sunday. Congress won in Telangana.

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Ram Gopal Varma wants to lick Ranbir Kapoor's feet, and kiss Sandeep Reddy Vanga on his mouth after watching 'Animal'

Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Animal‘ has created a huge stir on social media and the reviews have become the talk of the town. Many people found this Sandeep Reddy Vanga film shocking, so much so, that most people think ‘Kabir Singh’ was a kids’ movie in comparison to ‘Animal’. Some have even thought that the movie is misogynistic. However, everyone has only good things to say about Ranbir Kapoor’s performance, calling it his best till date.
But wait for it! Here’s Ram Gopal Varma‘s review of ‘Animal’, which is quite entertaining on its own.RGV reviewed the movie on Bharadwaj Rangan’s blog. The director started off by saying, “ANIMAL will be fought over much after its box office run is over and I truly believe it can trigger a cultural switch in its bare naked honesty.”
The filmmaker has also given out many spoilers in his review. RGV compared an important pre-interval sequence in the film to Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’. He also appreciated Ranbir’s nude scene in the movie and said, “Another genius moment is when Vijay celebrates walking naked to make a statement on his perfectly regained health ..Fuckkkk!”
He further appreciated Sandeep Reddy Vanga and said, “Hey @imvangasandeep please send a photo of ur feet so that I can touch them for the following reasons 1. U completely shattered every rule of what all conventional film makers believed from the point of time , the professional camera was invented.”
RGV added, “From Alfred Hitchcock to Steven Spielberg to many directors of today , who believe that both film and scenes should be as short as possible to make a point , u took ur own sweet time and u cut their throats .. I loved every second of ur length (pun intended )”
He ended his review by saying, he wants to lick Ranbir’s feet and kiss Vanga. “Stars of all languages will aspire to have characters like this to perform and this will give rise to a completely new set of writers and directors which will expand and stretch the film horizons. And above all for the JUMP CUT from Anil’s last dialogue to the end titles camera zooming out shot showing Ranbir crying like a baby in Shakti Kapoor’s lap ,I want to kiss u on ur mouth and lick Ranbir Kapoor’s both feet 🙏💐😍🔥”
He also said he’s never seen such consistency in an actor’s performance in his entire career. “From the trailers , I was secretly worried about Ranbir going a little over the top , but this is the first time I both as a film maker and just a viewer , after watching the film I was completely not sure whether his performance is taking over the character , or the character is making the performance work ..But I have never ever seen more consistency in an actor’s portrayal of a character in my entire career expect for that one single scene where he asks the mole to lick his shoe,” said RGV.
Ram Gopal Varma also tweeted later and said, “After watching ANIMAL I realised that the difference between @imvangasandeep and other mass commercial directors is that THEY all believe that the audience are far below them, and HE believes that all the audience are exactly like him.”

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ZPM Chief ministerial face Lalduhoma says, "Confident of forming stable govt" ahead of poll results in Mizoram | India News

AIZAWL: Ahead of the counting of votes for the Mizoram assembly election, which will be held on December 4, the chief ministerial face of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) and party candidate of Serchhip constituency, Lalduhomaexpressed confidence in the party forming a “stable” government in the state.
Speaking to ahead of the counting of votes, Lalduhoma said, “We are confident of forming the government.”
He said that the exit poll predictions, released on Thursday, which were based on scientific methodology, “were most reliable.” “All the exit poll results point towards us.We do not need any other political party.”
“Right from the beginning, we have been saying that we are going to have a comfortable majority. We are going to form a stable government” Lalduhoma added.
On the number of seats, the ZPM is hoping to win, he said, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”(This means don’t rely too much on something that hasn’t actually happened yet.)
Meanwhile Aizawl Deputy Commissioner Nazuk Kumar said all arrangements and preparations for the counting of votes in Mizoram on December 4 have been completed.
“Our counting day will be Monday, which is December 4, so counting will begin at 8 am and all our preparations are in place because we were prepared for Sunday. We have 12 counting halls and six returning officers. In each hall, depending on the size of the hall and the number of polling stations, we’ll have a range of 14-7 tables. Then there will be a separate counting table for postal ballots,” Nazuk told ANI.
According to the exit polls, the two regional players–MNF and ZPM–are in the race to form government in Mizoram, with most predictions stating that the ruling party led by Chief Minister I’m sorry has an advantage in the northeastern state while there is also a possibility of a hung assembly.
In elections held on November 7 to the 40-member Mizoram assembly, the Mizo National Front (MNF) faces a challenge from the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM), Congress and BJP.
Following the postponement of the counting of votes for the Mizoram assembly elections, Chief Electoral Officer Madhup Vyas said that the Election Commission of India agreed to the request of social organisations and political parties as “Sunday was devoted to church duties and prayers.”

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