National News
Delhi MCD 2022 polls: Cong begins process for selecting candidates

The Congress in Delhi on Friday began the process of selecting candidates for the forthcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls. The party has asked its district observers to meet all stakeholders in the wards and prepare a report.
Shaktisinh Gohil, Delhi Congress state in-charge, told IANS, “The process begins on Friday and will go on till September 9. Afterwards the observers will sit with the party’s State Vice-President and later the party State President and prepare the list of probable candidates.”
He said after receiving the reports from them, he will sit along with the party state president and the district observers concerned to prepare the final list and send it to the Congress high command.
The observers will sit at the District Congress offices and meet all stakeholders at stipulated time and date. The observers are the Congress MLAs from Haryana and have been assigned the responsibility of each district.
The MCD polls are scheduled in 2022 but the Congress has started preparing a year ahead of the polls.
The MCD is divided into three zones and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ruling the local civic body in all the three zones. The MCD polls are indicators of the electorate’s mood in the next major Lok Sabha elections. Right now the BJP has the largest number with 181 seats followed by the AAP at 49 and Congress with 31 seats.
Ahead of the process, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi met the Delhi Congress team and advised them to work as a unit and assured them to participate in the party’s outreach programmes.
The Delhi Congress is coming up with a major outreach programme to reach out to every household in each ward to collect information on the issues there and gather people’s feedback on the Delhi as well as Union government’s role during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Delhi Congress President Anil Kumar Chaudhary said, “The party volunteers are visiting each household and getting feedback of the people and the governments’ role during the pandemic, be it the Union government, Delhi government or the MCD as many hospitals are being run in Delhi by the MCD.”
During the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, the ruling government at the Centre and the state failed and due to the mismanagement people suffered in the pandemic, Chaudhary added. He said only Congress volunteers were present on the roads.
Parvez Alam Khan, who contested the last local body elections on a Congress ticket in South MCD but lost to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said, “I have visited more than 300 households in my ward and am trying to sort out the problems in the area such as waterlogging caused by rain and bad sewage system which the local councillor has ignored.”
The Congress has been losing elections after elections in the national capital. At present, the party has zero seats in the Lok Sabha, Delhi Assembly and the Rajya Sabha after ruling Delhi for three successive terms.
National News
5 terrorists killed, 2 Army soldiers injured in J&K gunfight

Srinagar, Dec 19: Five terrorists were killed and 2 Army soldiers injured on Thursday in a fierce gunfight in J&K’s Kulgam district.
Officials said that five terrorists were killed and two soldiers injured in a fierce encounter between the joint forces and holed up terrorists in Kadder village of Behibagh area of Kulgam district today.
This is the largest number of terrorists killed in a single operation by the security forces in J&K in 2024.
“Joint forces including 34 Rashtriya Rifles, police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Kadder village after receiving information about a group of terrorists hiding inside the village.
“As the joint forces closed on the hiding terrorists, the ultras fired triggering an encounter in which five terrorists were killed and two Army soldiers injured.
“The identity of the slain terrorists is being ascertained. The injured soldiers have been evacuated to hospital for treatment. Search operation now continues in the area”, officials said.
Security forces say that the killing of five terrorists in Kulgam is a major success for the joint forces in their relentless pursuit to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.
Security forces have started an aggressive campaign against terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers in order to dismantle the terror ecosystem in J&K.
Properties worth multiples of crores belonging to drug smugglers and peddlers have been attached in Kashmir Valley after obtaining requisite orders from the competent authority.
LG Manoj Sinha has been chairing top level security meetings. During these meetings he has given clear orders to the security forces to go all-out against the terror ecosystem.
Union Home Minister, Amit Shah is chairing a top level security review meeting regarding J&K today in Delhi.
Chiefs of Intelligence agencies, police, CAPFs and others connected with the anti-terrorist grid in J&K will attend the meeting.
National News
Shinde takes a dig at Uddhav Thackeray over his meeting with CM Fadnavis

Nagpur, Dec 18: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday took a dig at Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray over his meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, saying it was like “meet this one, meet that one and go home next day.”
He thereby downplayed the meeting between Thackeray and Fadnavis.
“Anyone can meet the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the head of the state. The opposition party also meets him. The leaders of other parties of the opposition party also meet him. I see a radical change in those who criticised him severely, talked about ending him, and talked about putting him in jail. It is not wrong to meet Devendra Fadnavis,” said Shinde.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena legislator and former minister Deepak Kesarkar said “If Uddhav Thackeray had held such a meeting earlier (with Devendra Fadnavis), Shiv Sena would not have been divided into two.”
“Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray had not even responded to Devendra Fadnavis’ telephonic calls. Uddhav Thackeray abandoned Balasaheb Thackeray’s idea of Hindutva for the post of Chief Minister. Eknath Shinde had no other demand. Eknath Shinde’s only demand was that we should go with the idea of Hindutva. We should not go with the Congress. But if Uddhav Thackeray had met Devendra Fadnavis then, all this would not have happened. Devendra Fadnavis called Uddhav Thackeray many times in 2019. But now it is too late. Now the MahaYuti government has come back to power again,” said Kesarkar.
Meanwhile, Shinde slammed the opposition for their campaign against EVMs, saying that “When the poll results go against them, allegations are made against EVMs.”
“When the results are in favour of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, then EVMs are good. For them, the Election Commission is good. The Supreme Court and the High Court are also good. When the results are against them, then they start blaming EVMs. The opposition has been doing this for the last few days. In 2004 and 2009, voting was done on EVMs and the Congress won. When you win, you praise that system,” he added.
“Even the Supreme Court said that when you win, you don’t come to us and when you lose, you come to us. This is a double standard. After winning the Lok Sabha elections, you (the opposition) didn’t talk about EVMs. Omar Abdullah has also slammed the Congress,” said Eknath Shinde.
He said that Congress should not insult the mandate otherwise the people will make them sit at home. Shinde also ridiculed Uddhav Thackeray for his demand that the appointment of Election Commissioner be made through election.
National News
Commuters inconvenienced with ‘rail roko’ protest by farmers in Punjab

Chandigarh, Dec 18: Railway commuters faced inconvenience in Punjab on Wednesday after farmers squatted on rail tracks in support of their long-pending demands, including the legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
However, no untoward incident was reported in the state. The protest, at the call of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha, was carried out at over 100 locations in the state, badly impacting the railway services.
Kisan Mazdoor Morcha leader Sarwan Singh Pandher claimed that the three-hour “rail roko” call got a good response in the state.
The impact of the protest was more viable in Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Batala, Qadian, Phillaur, Tanda, Dasuya, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Sunam towns.
Farmers of both outfits have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces.
While hearing a petition, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the court’s doors were “always open” to the demands and suggestions of protesting farmers, after they refused to engage with the Punjab government-formed committee.
The Punjab government told the apex court that despite several meetings with fasting farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, the farmers had rejected interactions with the state’s high-powered committee.
Protesting farmers, whose bid to enter Haryana in support of their long-pending demands was foiled thrice, halted the trains to lodge their protest and press their demands.
The 70-year-old cancer patient Dallewal has been fasting at Khanauri, the border point between Punjab and Haryana, since November 26 in support of their demands that included loan waiver and reforms to improve conditions in the agricultural sector.
-
Maharashtra2 months ago
Mumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Crime2 years ago
Class 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra3 months ago
False photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News2 months ago
Ministry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra2 months ago
Mumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Crime2 months ago
Baba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
-
Maharashtra1 month ago
Maharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News3 months ago
J&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface