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Minister J Scindia Named For Lok Sabha Seat He Lost To BJP In 2019 Polls

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Minister J Scindia Named For Lok Sabha Seat He Lost To BJP In 2019 Polls

Jyotiraditya Scindia has been fielded by the BJP from the Guna Lok Sabha seat.

New Delhi:

Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, the seat he lost to the BJP in the 2019 elections. Mr Scindia has a deep-rooted connection with this region and his 2019 loss was seen as a marked shift from the Guna’s historical loyalty to the Scindias.

The Guna Lok Sabha seat was traditionally represented by the Scindias since 1957. In 2001, Jyotiraditya Scindia entered politics after the death of his father and former Union minister, Madhavrao Scindia, in a plane crash. The next year, he contested from the Guna Lok Sabha seat.

In 2019, he was defeated by the BJP’s KP Yadav.

The political landscape in Madhya Pradesh changed soon after Mr Scindia’s defeat as a coup led by him led to the collapse of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government in 2020.

Mr Scindia – once close to the Gandhi family – resigned from the Congress in March 2020 after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and shortly after his exit, 21 Congress MLAs loyal to him also quit.

His switch to the BJP, co-founded by his grandmother Vijaya Raje Scindia, soon after was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha seat and a berth in the Union Cabinet. His two aunts – Vasundhara Raje and Yashodhara Raje – are also in the BJP.

In a much-anticipated announcement, the BJP this evening released the first list of 195 candidates. The list includes PM Modi from his constituency Varanasi and 34 ministers from the Centre and states.

The party has finalised 24 names for Madhya Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections. Senior BJP leader Shivraj Chouhan, who was replaced by the party leadership as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister with Mohan Yadav after assembly elections last year, has been fielded from Vidisha constituency. This is being seen as a win for Mr Chouhan who, sources say, was offered the Bhopal seat which he rejected and conveyed his desire to fight from Vidisha.

The list comes days after the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) met on Thursday night to deliberate on the Lok Sabha candidates.

In the last general elections, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the Congress behind at 52 seats.

Hyderabad

Half-day schools in Telangana from March 15

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Irrespective of the management, the schools will work half-day till the last working day of the academic year i.e., April 23

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 08:54 PM


Half-day schools in Telangana from March 15

File Photo

Hyderabad: With the early onset of summer season in the State, the Education department has decided on half-day schools, which will commence from March 15. Irrespective of the management, the schools will work half-day till the last working day of the academic year i.e., April 23.

As part of the half-day schools, the classes will be conducted from 8 am to 12.30 pm.

Students in the government schools will be served the mid-day meal after the classwork. However, in schools that have been designated as SSC Public Exams centres, mid-day meal is provided first followed by classes in the afternoon. Special classes will be conducted for those appearing for the SSC Public Examinations 2024 post lunch.

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In Thiruvananthapuram, Stage Set For Rajeev Chandrasekhar-Shashi Tharoor Contest?

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In Thiruvananthapuram, Stage Set For Rajeev Chandrasekhar-Shashi Tharoor Contest?

Mr Chandrasekhar is an MP from the Rajya Sabha

Setting up a possible mouth-watering contest in a state where it had failed to win even a single seat in 2019, the BJP has fielded Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, a constituency held by senior Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor for three straight terms.

This will be the first Lok Sabha contest for Mr Chandrasekhar, who is the Minister of State for Information Technology and Skill Development, and is currently an MP from the Rajya Sabha.

The choice of the Union Minister for the Thiruvananthapuram seat is an indication of the BJP’s focus on the southern states, where it had failed to make a significant dent in 2019, winning only 29 of the 129 seats (130 including Puducherry). At 25, most of these came from Karnataka and the remaining from Telangana. Both of those states are now ruled by the Congress. 

In a sign of the uphill battle that Mr Chandrasekhar is likely to face, veteran BJP leader O Rajagopal had heaped praise on Mr Tharoor in January and said that it would be difficult to defeat the Congress leader in the Kerala capital as he has been able to “sway the minds of the people”. 

“That is why he has been winning again and again from Thiruvananthapuram. I doubt anyone else will get an opportunity to win from there in the near future,” he had said, before backtracking a day later. 

Having set itself a target of winning 370 seats on its own in the Lok Sabha polls – up from the 303 it had won in 2019 – the BJP is looking at the southern states to help it get to this number. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Tamil Nadu and Kerala for a two-day visit just this week. 

At 39, Tamil Nadu sends the fifth-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, while Kerala accounts for 20. The BJP had not won even a single seat in either of the states in 2019.

In the list of 195 names released by the BJP on Saturday, 12 names were announced for Kerala. 

Hyderabad

Con artist dupes jeweler in Film Nagar, walks away with Rs 23 lakh worth jewelry

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Both were in contact over phone since then and Sikandar came to the shop and ordered few gold ornaments in 2022.

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 08:49 PM


Con artist dupes jeweler in Film Nagar, walks away with Rs 23 lakh worth jewelry

Representational Image.

Hyderabad: A con artist duped a city-based jeweler and walked away with Rs 23 lakh worth of jewelry in Film Nagar. Syed Saleemuddin who runs a waraka Nagar in Shaikpet, was approached by one Sikandar, who claimed to be a businessman from the United States of America running many chemical companies in various locations in India and abroad.

Both were in contact over phone since then and Sikandar came to the shop and ordered few gold ornaments in 2022.

According to the police, during their conversations, Sikandar gained the trust and confidence of Syed Saleemuddin.

In December last year, Sikandar called Syed over the phone and informed that his wife and children had come to India to attend the wedding of a family member and requested if he could borrow some jewelry for them so they could wear it for the function.

Believing him, the gold trader lent jewelry worth Rs 23.1 lakh. However, Sikandar later promised to pay for the jewelry, but cheated. Based on a complaint, the Film Nagar police booked a case and took up investigation..

World

Iran, Turkey sign MOU on scientific, industrial fields

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According to a report by the Iran’s Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology representing the Iranian body signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU ) to emphasize the importance of science, industry, technology, and innovation in the development of the national economy and promoting scientific and industrial cooperation and technology based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit.

The exchange of scientists, researchers, academics, and experts in the fields of science and technology, holding conferences, symposiums, workshops, and other joint meetings and exhibitions related to science and technology are among the cooperation programs in this memorandum of understanding.

The two sides are also committed to encouraging and facilitating the development of communication and direct cooperation between government institutions, universities, research centers, and other institutions and organizations of the two countries.

The parties will encourage and support scientific and technological cooperation within the framework of the MoU through issuing calls for joint scientific research, development and innovation projects between the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey and the Researchers and Technologists Support Fund of Iran which is part of the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF). ​

SD/6043845

Middle East

‘Not a walk in the park’: Lebanon warns Israeli attack to ignite regional war

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Lebanon has warned Israel against launching a military offensive against the country, stressing that any such measure would “not be a walk in the park” for the Tel Aviv regime and would spill over into a regional conflict.

“Any Israeli attack on our territories will not be a walk in the park and will lead to a regional war,” Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said in a Friday interview with Doha-based Al Jazeera television news network. 

Bou Habib emphasized that Lebanon “is ready for a war with Israel,” noting that the caretaker government is “consulting with Hezbollah [resistance movement] and with other key players in Lebanon” on the matter “as Lebanon is a diverse country.”

“We have to consult with all actors in the country, and this consultation does not imply a final decision.

“Foreign envoys have conveyed to us Israel’s threat and our response was that they (the Israelis) must withdraw from our territories,” the top Lebanese diplomat explained.

Israeli strikes kill 5 Hezbollah fighters

Meanwhile, an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern coastal border town of Naqoura killed three Hezbollah fighters on Saturday, shortly after the resistance group said it had conducted a drone strike against an Israeli command base in Liman, around seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from Lebanon’s border.

Hezbollah also mourned two more fighters and claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Israeli troops near the Jal al-Allam outpost.

Israeli artillery units, on the other hand, targeted Aita al-Shaab, Majdal Zoun, Tayr Harfa, al-Jibbayn, Tallet al-Hamames, al-Wazzani, Alma al-Shaab, Dhayra, Naqoura al-Labbouneh villages in southern Lebanon, as an Israeli airstrike targeted the border town of al-Labbouneh.

The Israeli regime has been attacking southern Lebanon off and on since October 7, when it launched the devastating campaign of death and destruction in Gaza.

In retaliation, Hezbollah has mounted near-daily rocket attacks on Israeli positions.

At least 280 people have been killed on the Lebanese border, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also 44 civilians. 

Israel says at least ten of its troopers and six settlers have been killed in the area.

The fighting has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands from the northern part of the occupied territories, which have been pummeled by rocket fire and shelling carried out by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian groups.

Hezbollah has urged residents in southern Lebanon to take their CCTV camera systems offline to prevent Israel from hacking into those devices installed outside homes and shops in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has already fought off two Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The resistance forced the regime to retreat in both conflicts.

India

NIA arrests key conspirator in RSS leader’s murder case from Mumbai airport

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Ghouse Nayazi, who was on the run since 2016, was arrested by a special team at the Mumbai International Airport on Friday soon after his arrival from Dar-e-Salaam, Tanzania,

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 08:31 PM


NIA arrests key conspirator in RSS leader’s murder case from Mumbai airport


New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency has arrested a PFI member, who was allegedly the key conspirator in an eight-year-old murder case of RSS leader R Rudresh, from Mumbai airport on his return from abroad, an official said on Saturday.

Ghouse Nayazi, who was on the run since 2016, was arrested by a special team at the Mumbai International Airport on Friday soon after his arrival from Dar-e-Salaam, Tanzania, a spokesperson of the federal agency said. Rudresh, a prominent RSS leader of Shivajinagar area of Bengaluru, was hacked to death by four members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) in Karnataka on October 16, 2016.

The spokesperson said investigations into the case had revealed that the murder was part of a larger conspiracy hatched by Nayazi, president of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Hebbal Assembly constituency, and one Asim Sheriff.

“The duo had persuaded the other four accused to kill Rudresh with an intention to strike terror among the members of the RSS and the society. The killers were made to believe that the fight against the RSS was a holy war,” the official said.

With the arrest of Nayazi, all the accused in the case have been arrested. The trial against the other accused is going on in the NIA Special Court, Bengaluru.

Top News

Thiruvananthapuram May See A Rajeev Chandrasekhar-Shashi Tharoor Contest

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In Thiruvananthapuram, Stage Set For Rajeev Chandrasekhar-Shashi Tharoor Contest?

Mr Chandrasekhar is an MP from the Rajya Sabha

Setting up a possible mouth-watering contest in a state where it had failed to win even a single seat in 2019, the BJP has fielded Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, a constituency held by senior Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor for three straight terms.

This will be the first Lok Sabha contest for Mr Chandrasekhar, who is the Minister of State for Information Technology and Skill Development, and is currently an MP from the Rajya Sabha.

The choice of the Union Minister for the Thiruvananthapuram seat is an indication of the BJP’s focus on the southern states, where it had failed to make a significant dent in 2019, winning only 29 of the 129 seats (130 including Puducherry). At 25, most of these came from Karnataka and the remaining from Telangana. Both of those states are now ruled by the Congress. 

In a sign of the uphill battle that Mr Chandrasekhar is likely to face, veteran BJP leader O Rajagopal had heaped praise on Mr Tharoor in January and said that it would be difficult to defeat the Congress leader in the Kerala capital as he has been able to “sway the minds of the people”. 

“That is why he has been winning again and again from Thiruvananthapuram. I doubt anyone else will get an opportunity to win from there in the near future,” he had said, before backtracking a day later. 

Having set itself a target of winning 370 seats on its own in the Lok Sabha polls – up from the 303 it had won in 2019 – the BJP is looking at the southern states to help it get to this number. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Tamil Nadu and Kerala for a two-day visit just this week. 

At 39, Tamil Nadu sends the fifth-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, while Kerala accounts for 20. The BJP had not won even a single seat in either of the states in 2019.

In the list of 195 names released by the BJP on Saturday, 12 names were announced for Kerala. 

Hyderabad

Telangana Govt to launch Indiramma Housing Scheme from March 11

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The first phase to see 3,500 houses being approved in each Assembly constituency in Telangana

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 08:38 PM


Telangana Govt to launch Indiramma Housing Scheme from March 11

File Photo

Hyderabad: The State government will launch the Indiramma Housing Scheme from March 11 with the first phase to see 3,500 houses being approved in each Assembly constituency.

A decision to this effect was taken by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy during a meeting with Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and other senior officials here on Saturday.

The Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that poor and eligible people, who do not own a house, get benefited under the scheme. Modalities should be prepared accordingly and priority should be given to the eligible people who registered their names during the Praja Palana programme, he said.

Under the Indiramma Housing Scheme, those who own a plot of land will be given Rs.5 lakh for building a new house in the plot. Homeless poor will be given Rs.5 lakh along with a house plot.

The Chief Minister instructed the officials to prepare guidelines for releasing funds at different stages of construction. Strict guidelines should be prepared to prevent any misuse of funds to be received by the beneficiaries under the scheme, he said.

Officials were directed to prepare different types of house models and designs, which would be useful for those, who build a house. Though, beneficiaries were free to construct the houses as per their aspirations and requirements, officials were asked to ensure that houses were equipped with a kitchen and toilet.

Responsibility of monitoring the house constructions should be entrusted to engineering departments in different departments under the respective District Collectors’ limits, he added.

Install surveillance cameras at Anganwadi centres

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister reviewed the functioning of Anganwadi centres in the State and officials were directed to install surveillance cameras and biometric systems for strict monitoring. This apart, they have been directed to take steps to ensure that pregnant women and infants get nutritional food at Anganwadi centres. Measures should be taken to ensure that nutritional food being supplied through Anganwadis was not misused and reaches the beneficiaries, he said.

The Chief Minister also wanted officials to take steps for constructing own buildings for Anganwadi centres that were being operated in rented buildings apart from checking the possibilities of establishing mobile Anganwadi centres under the GHMC limits.