- BJP Agriculture Minister Asks Farmers To Chant Mantra For Better Crops
Goa Agriculture Minister Vijay Sardesai on Tuesday asked farmers to chant ‘Om rom jum sah’ for at least 20 minutes every day to yield better crops. Sardesai inaugurated a project named “Shiv Yog Cosmic Farming” which preaches farmers to sit and meditate, while channelling “cosmic energy through the third eye, similar to Lord Shiva.” Read more here.
- Is Modi That Bad? A Viral Twitter Thread Rips Apart This Government’s Foreign Policy
PM Narendra Modi has clearly failed to build a strong relationship with other countries and today we are “irrelevant in our own neighbourhood”. The performance of the government is very disappointing in the foreign policy front. A Twitter thread explains the problems. Read more here.
- NSUI Files Police Complaints Against Amit Shah Across India
Congress student wing activists today filed police complaints across the country against BJP president Amit Shah, alleging that he was abusing his power as the head of the ruling party to “subvert the rule of law”. National Students Union of India members filed the complaints in 100 districts of 28 states, Ruchi Gupta, joint-secretary of All India Congress Committee and NSUI in-charge, said. Read more here.
- Mumbai: Not Invited For Inauguration, Shiv Sena Leader Shuts Down School; 230 Students Suffer
Shiv Sena leader Rajul Patel has used her influence to shut down a school only two days after it was opened last month in Oshiwara, Mumbai. The Sena corporator took the step as she was not invited for the inauguration ceremony. Patel told Mumbai Mirror, “This is my fourth term (as corporator) in office. I should’ve been informed about the school’s opening, but they (school authorities) didn’t feel the need to do so.” Read more here.
- Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje Withdraws Cases Of Rioting Against Rajputs
The Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan has decided to withdraw 24 cases against Rajputs on Tuesday. In July last year, the community had demonstrated a protest against the police encounter of Anandpal Singh, a Rajput who was charged with several criminal cases. The protest resulted in violence at Sanwrad village in Nagaur district, after which the police charged the protesters with rioting, wrongful confinement and inciting a mob. Read more here.
- Lekhi’s Comments Show Callous Mindset Of Govt: Women Activists
Women activists today slammed BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi for her “insensitive” comments on the growing incidents of violence against women in India. Lekhi had rejected as “fake” the findings of a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts, which found India the world’s most dangerous country for women. She had claimed that “far worse” cases were happening abroad and that New York, not New Delhi, was the world’s “rape capital”. Read more here.
- BJP-AAP ‘Blame Game’ Ends, They Should Start Development Of Delhi: Ajay Maken
The Supreme Court verdict on the power tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre had done away with all the possibilities of a “blame game” between the BJP and the AAP and the two parties should now ensure that the development of the national capital, which was “stalled” for years, started again, the Congress said today. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court today held that Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal did not have independent decision-making powers and that he was bound to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. Read more here.
- Madhya Pradesh: 19-Year-Old Lured With Promise Of Job, Gang-Raped
Four men allegedly raped a 19-year-old woman, who was lured on the pretext of being provided a job, in a forest here, police said today. A man and a woman, who had called the victim to Dewas promising her a job, were arrested, Kotwali police station in-charge M S Parmar said. The victim, who hailed from Khargone district, reached Dewas on Monday around 9.30 pm and called the accused woman who sent Manoj alias Sunny Gurjar to pick her up, he said. Read more here.
- A PM Needs Someone Who Can Tell Truth, Like Note-Ban Is Tughalaqian Decision: Jairam Ramesh
A prime minister needs someone who can tell the truth, such as demonetisation is a “Tughalaqian” decision, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said today. The former Union minister said this during the launch of his book ‘Intertwined Lives: P N Haksar and Indira Gandhi’, a biography of P N Haksar, the principal secretary to prime minister Indira Gandhi between 1967 and 1973. Read more here.
- Those With ‘Approach’ Get Better Postings: Rajasthan BJP Minister Caught On Tape
Days after two Rajasthan ministers reportedly had a heated argument over the transfer of government employees, a remark by the state’s health minister has led to more embarrassment for the Vasundhara Raje government. A video clip now shows Health Minister Kalicharan Saraf virtually admitting that employees who have connections with influential people are more likely to be transferred to posts of their choice. Read more here.
- Shiv Sena Asks Goa Minister To Reveal Name Of Drug Trade ‘Godfather’
The Shiv Sena today appealed to Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar to disclose the name of the “godfather” of narcotics trade in the coastal state. Conceding the existence of drugs trade, Ajgaonkar had yesterday said there is an “unknown” godfather of drug activities and accused the police of not taking action. “Entire Goa wants to know the name of this godfather now,” Sena’s Goa spokesman Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik said in a statement. Read more here.