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Amid Congress’ Agnipath protests, Manish Tewari bats for defence reforms

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Going against his party line, Congress MP Manish Tewari has come in support of the Central government’s Agnipath scheme. This comes amid a major nationwide protest launched by the party, which is demanding its rollback.

Speaking to IANS, Tewari said, “The process of Defence reforms, including right sizing the military started in the US way back in 1975 when Donald Rumsfield was the Defence Secretary in the Ford Administration and every successive administration has seen it through.

“Rumsfeld initiated the conceptual basis of preparing the armed forces for future warfare as he could envision the changing nature of the battlefield.

“Even the Chinese started the process of right-sizing the PLA way back 1985.”

“PLA’s size was cut by 10 lakh in 1985; 500,000 in 1997; 200,000 in 2003; 300,000 in 2015 and from 2017 onwards the People’s Liberation Army of China is being further right sized from 20 to 10 lakh by 50 per cent.

“The defence reform is a part of a larger strategic horizon and not merely an act of internal reorganisation,” he said.

Tewari in his book ’10 Flashpoints 20 Years’ has mentioned about why the country urgently needs defence reforms. Out of every Rupee spent on defence in India 25 paisa goes towards pensions only. Salaries take away an additional substantive chunk leaving little room for capital expenditure on defence modernisation, Tewari said.

“The reforms now being implemented by the government were recommended by the Kargil review committee (KRC) in 1999 and the Group of Ministers constituted to vet the recommendations too had supported the reforms, including right sizing the armed Forces.

“Even the Naresh Chandra committee had also endorsed many of the recommendations of KRC and GOM that Defence Forces need to be leaner in their disposition,” he said.

Tewari’s remarks are in contrast to the official line of the Congress on the Agnipath system. Last week he said in a tweet, “I do empathise with youth who have concerns over Agnipath recruitment Process. Reality is India needs a younger armed force with lighter human footprint savvy on technology, equipped with state of art weaponry. Armed forces of Union shouldn’t be an employment guarantee programme.”

The MP from Anandpur Sahib has raised some concerns and tweeted, “As MP from a rural constituency I stand with Concerns /Fears of Youth desirous of joining Armed Forces, Politics apart-Rough calculation of impact of new recruitment paradigms on even largest employer Army shows issue not insurmountable if retirees are transitioned to CAPF’s/SPF’s.

“In ten years as a consequence of these new recruitment paradigms the size of the Army for example would only come down from the present 14 lakhs to 10,47,500 an attrition of 3,52,500 over ten years or 35,200 per year or to put it more simply 2933 per month. These many retirees that too after six years and not now can be easily accommodated in 10 CAPF’s or the 30 odd state police forces. It is not really such an insurmountable issue if you de- horse the politics.”

National News

Ugly Fight Breaks Out Between 2 Groups Of Women As They Hit Each Other With Sticks Over Playing Music In UP’s Baghpat

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A dispute over a seemingly trivial matter escalated into a chaotic clash between two groups of women in Uttar Pradesh’s Doghat on Thursday. 

As per reports, the altercation began over playing music but tensions in the area quickly intensified when two groups of women started thrashing each other with sticks and other objects. 

A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows around eight to ten women involved in a fierce brawl on a busy street. Bystanders can be seen watching in shock, with some attempting to intervene but retreating due to the intensity of the fight.

Several women were injured in the confrontation, and the footage has sparked outrage on social media. 

Reports suggest that local residents eventually managed to de-escalate the situation, but not before multiple women sustained injuries. 

Doghat police have initiated an investigation based on the video. As per reports, they are currently examining the video footage, and appropriate action will be taken following the investigation.

UP: Two burnt alive in truck collision in Fatehpur

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a truck driver and his helper were burnt alive when two trucks collided and caught fire in the Hussainganj area of Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred around midnight on Wednesday on the Fatehpur-Lucknow road, Additional SP Vijay Shankar Mishra said.

Vinay Shukla (35), the driver of one of the trucks, and his helper, Ramraj Yadav (23), were burnt alive in the blaze. The occupants of the other truck managed to jump out before the fire spread, Mishra added.

Both victims were residents of Kherwa village in the Shivratanganj police station area of Amethi district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem, Mishra said.

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National News

J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid’s Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

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J&K Assembly: Scuffle Breaks Out After Engineer Rashid's Brother Shows Article 370 Banner In House

Srinagar: The proceedings of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were disrupted after a scuffle broke out in the House between National Conference and BJP MLAs.

According to reports, the House proceedings were briefly adjourned after Engineer Rashid’s brother, MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh, displayed a banner about Article 370, which led to objections from BJP MLA Sunil Sharma.

Irfan Hafeez Lone displayed a banner on the restoration of Article 370 in the J&K Assembly. After a scuffle between Lone and BJP members, the House proceedings were adjourned for 15 minutes. BJP raised concerns over security, questioning how such actions were allowed.

Leader of the Opposition, Sunil Sharma, stated that under special status, some had built their own “palaces” and even cemeteries. This provoked anger from National Conference (NC) leaders. BJP members began chanting slogans in the House, while NC leaders also responded with their own slogans. The visuals of the incident have surfaced on the internet.

In the viral video, the lawmakers can be seen pushing each other on the floor of the house.

After the House resumed following the scuffle, several opposition MLAs causing disruption were physically removed by marshals and evicted from the Assembly.

Meanwhile, PDP moves a fresh resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seeking the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A. The BJP opposed the resolution demanding its withdrawal.

Amid uproar, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly has been adjourned till Friday. The UT assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue for “restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees” to the Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution was supported by all parties except the BJP.

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National News

J&K: One Terrorist Killed During Encounter In Bandipora’s Kaitsan, Operation Underway

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Bandipora (Jammu and Kashmir): Security forces have eliminated one terrorist in the ongoing Operation Kaitsan in Bandipora, the Army officials said on Wednesday.

According to Army officials, further operation is in progress.

“OP Kaitsan, Bandipora. One terrorist has been eliminated by the security forces in the ongoing Operation. Operation is in progress,” Indian Army’s Chinar Corps said on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police, and CRPF in the general area of Chuntawadi Kaitsan, Bandipora after an encounter broke out between Security Forces and terrorists.

“Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists in the general area of Kaitsan forest, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police, and CRPF in the general area of Chuntawadi Kaitsan, Bandipora. Contact was established and a firefight ensued. Operation is in progress,” Chinar Corps, Indian Army said on X.

One Terrorist Associate Apprehended

In another development on Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir police along with 22RR and 92 BN of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) apprehended one terrorist associate identified as Ashiq Hussain Wani who is a resident of Tujar Shareef in J-K’s Sopore, said police.

On November 3, twelve people, including one woman, were injured in a grenade attack at the Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) and weekly market in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar on Sunday, police said.

On November 2, two terrorists were killed by security forces during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The encounter broke out after security forces initiated an anti-terrorist operation in the Halkan Gali area.

On October 29, the security forces neutralised three terrorists in a high-stakes encounter in Akhnoor, Jammu, and Kashmir, following an attack on an Army convoy.

On October 20, a doctor and six construction workers were killed when terrorists attacked a tunnel construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in the Ganderbal district.

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