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United over Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Oppn finds an issue to counter BJP

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha following the Surat court verdict that convicted him in a criminal defamation case has given new hope to Opposition parties in Bihar to corner the BJP.

The fear of central probe agencies is being considered as the reason for this “unprecedented” unity among opposition parties over the Rahul Gandhi issue. The family of Bihar’s former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is continuously under the radar of central agencies.

When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and disqualification, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav said: “We are watching everything, and will answer (the BJP) in the best way when the time comes.”

With his remarks, Tejashwi made it a loud and clear message that he is ready to fight against BJP.

“BJP keeps the Opposition busy in court cases and uses the Hindutva card to win elections. But now, Rahul Gandhi has given a clear message that they (Opposition) do not fear court cases and investigation agencies. And, the Hindutva card of the BJP will be countered through the caste combination,” a Congress leader said.

Bihar is crucial for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as this is the state where BJP is not in power. Moreover, the caste equation is also not ideal for the BJP in the state.

When it comes to the caste equation here, Muslims have more than 18 per cent vote share followed by Yadavs (16 per cent), Kushwaha (12 per cent) and upper castes comprising Bhumihar, Brahmins, Rajput and Kayasth have around 15 per cent votes. These are estimated figures and the exact numbers would be revealed after the completion of caste-based census in the state, which is currently underway and the state government has announced that it will be completed in 11 months.

The political parties in the state strongly believe that caste equations are the only weapon to counter the Hindutva politics of the BJP.

Muslims and Yadavs are the core voters of RJD and Luv (Kurmi having 4 per cent voters)-Kush (Kushwaha having around 12 per cent voters) is the core voters of JD-U. On the other hand, the upper caste voters in the state are tilted towards BJP. Now, as BJP leaders are aware that they cannot easily penetrate into the MY (Muslim-Yadav) equation of the RJD, they go for weakening the JD-U vote bank. The voters of Kushwaha community are on the target list of the saffron party in the state.

The way Upendra Kushwaha formed a new party – Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD) – by leaving the JD-U and now openly supporting the BJP is an indication that the BJP would hurt the Kushwaha vote bank of Nitish Kumar.

Upendra Kushwaha has openly announced that “there is no leader who could challenge Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections”.

To strenghthen its hold over the Kushwaha community, the saffron party has even made Samrat Chaudhary – who belongs to Kushwaha community – the party’s state president. The idea is to give a message to the voters of Kushwaha community that Nitish Kumar is not their leader.

To counter the strategy of BJP, JD-U prepared jumbo jet teams, keeping in mind the caste equations.

The national team comprising 32 leaders is led by party’s national President Lalan Singh, while the state team with 252 leaders in it is being led by party’s state chief Umesh Kushwaha.

JD-U, to keep Kushwaha vote bank intact, has given the responsibility to two Kushwaha leaders to lead Rohtas and Muzaffarpur districts. The idea is to make up for the loss of Kushwaha votes after Upendra Kushwaha left the party. Further, it has appointed Mangni Lal Mandal as national vice president of the party to make a substitute of Upendra Kushwaha.

JD-U has given space to five leaders of Muslim community in the national team. Besides them, four leaders belong to upper castes, eight leaders of Lav-Kush community, two leaders of Yadav community, six leaders of EBC and two Mahadalit leaders are also given space in the national team.

Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats and will play crucial role in deciding the fate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In 2019, BJP-led NDA that also had support of JD-U in Bihar had won 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats. However, the situation has changed now; in 2024, BJP is in the Opposition and has to contest against an alliance of seven parties headed by Nitish Kumar. It has to face the might of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jitan Ram Manjhi and left parties leaders. After the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and the issue of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification has given new life to the Congress in Bihar.

This is the reason why BJP’s ‘Chanakya’ and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is making frequent visits to Bihar to strengthen his party’s position.

Reacting on Shah’s visit, RJD senior leader and MLA Bhai Virendra said: “The visit of Amit Shah will not have much impact in Bihar. People are aware that the BJP means ‘Badka Jhutha Party’. It had come into power with many promises and none of them were fulfilled. Unemployment, price rise, farmers issues still haunt the state and the country… The Mahagathbandhan will win all 40 seats in the state.”

Crime

Accused in air hostess sexual assault case was porn addict: Gurugram Police

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Gurugram, April 19: Gurugram Police said on Saturday that the accused in the air hostess sexual assault case was a porn addict, an official said.

Gurugram Police Spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said that the accused used to watch porn videos habitually, which was also confirmed from the mobile phone recovered from him.

He said that during police interrogation, it was found that the accused has a B.Sc. (OT) degree from a private institute from the years 2019-2022, and he was an average student in studies.

“For the last five months, he was working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital. The accused going to the victim at the time of the incident was confirmed from the CCTV cameras installed in the hospital,” he said.

The Spokesperson said that during interrogation of the accused, it was also found that he had watched porn videos before the incident and even after committing the crime.

“Which is also being confirmed from the search history of the accused’s mobile phone. He was produced before the court on Saturday, from where he was sent to judicial custody for further proceedings,” he said.

Meanwhile, the SIT on Friday nabbed the accused, after analysing at least 800 CCTV cameras installed inside and outside of the hospital, who sexually assaulted the woman when she was on a ventilator.

The accused was identified as Deepak (25), a native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The accused had been working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital for the past five months and was arrested in the Sadar police station area on Friday.

An official privy to the investigation said that the accused has confessed to his crime in the matter.

“While investigating the incident, eight police teams checked the footage of 800 CCTV cameras installed in the hospital, and around 50 hospital staff, including doctors, were questioned about the incident. Keeping in mind the seriousness of the incident, the police teams investigated from every angle and collected a lot of information related to the incident, as a result of which the police got great success in identifying the accused who committed the crime,” said Arpit Jain, DCP (Headquarters).

On Thursday, Vikas Kumar Arora, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, had constituted an SIT and ordered the identification and arrest of the accused.

As per the order of the Police Commissioner, an SIT was constituted under the leadership of Arpit Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Headquarters, Gurugram, in which a total of eight different police teams were given special directions and deployed to collect information and evidence related to the incident.

Dr. Sanjay Durani, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said in a statement that: “We have been informed that the police have identified a suspect who has been taken into custody in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning allegations of sexual assault on a patient. On the basis of information provided to us by the police, we have suspended the suspect employee. As we await the final outcome of the investigation, we will continue to provide full support to the police.”

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Business

FM Sitharaman to showcase India’s economic dynamism during US, Peru visit

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New Delhi, April 19: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to embark on an official visit to the US and Peru, beginning April 20, where she is slated to participate in multilateral dialogues to showcase India’s economic dynamism, as the country prepares a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US, it was announced on Saturday.

During her visit to the US, the Finance Minister will visit San Francisco and Washington, DC, from April 20-25, according to a Ministry of Finance statement.

In San Francisco, FM Sitharaman would deliver a keynote address at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, titled ‘Laying the foundations of Viksit Bharat 2047,’ followed by a fireside chat session.

The Finance Minister will also interact with top CEOs from prominent fund management firms during a roundtable meeting with investors, besides holding bilateral meetings with CEOs from top information technology (IT) firms based in San Francisco.

She will also participate in an event featuring the Indian diaspora in San Francisco and interact with the Indian community settled there, said the ministry.

In Washington, DC, FM Sitharaman will participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meetings, the Development Committee Plenary, IMFC Plenary, and Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting.

On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, she will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from several countries, including Argentina, Bahrain, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, and the US; besides meeting EU Commissioner for Financial Services; President, Asian Development Bank (ADB); President, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB); United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA); and First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

During her maiden visit to Peru from April 26-30, the Finance Minister will lead an Indian delegation of officials from the Ministry of Finance and business leaders, highlighting the strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations between the two nations.

Beginning her visit in Lima, she is expected to call on the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, and Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, besides holding bilateral meetings with the Peruvian Ministers of Finance and Economy, Defence, Energy and Mines, and also holding interaction with local public representatives.

The Finance Minister will chair the India-Peru Business Forum meeting with prominent business representatives in attendance from both India and Peru.

FM Sitharaman will also hold an interaction with the Indian investors and businesses currently operating in Peru, as well as the Indian business delegation visiting Peru. The Finance Minister will also participate in a community event in Lima, where she will interact with the Indian diaspora living in Peru, according to the ministry statement.

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National News

We can’t live like this: Women break down before NCW chief in riot-hit Murshidabad

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Kolkata, April 19: Women in Dhuliyan, one of the worst-affected areas in West Bengal’s minority-dominated Murshidabad district, have urged the Centre to set up permanent Border Security Force (BSF) camps in violence-hit pockets to ensure their safety following recent communal unrest over protests against the Waqf Act.

On Saturday, a delegation from the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by its chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, visited Dhuliyan to meet those affected by last week’s violence, most of whom are Hindus.

Several women broke down during their interaction with the delegation and pleaded for the permanent deployment of central forces.

“We won’t survive without permanent BSF camps here. If needed, we are ready to offer our own land and homes for setting them up,” said a woman, sobbing and touching the feet of a delegation member.

The NCW team assured locals that their concerns would be conveyed to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

“We are here to stand with you in this moment of crisis. The whole country is watching and supporting you. We will submit a detailed report to the Centre and include the demand for permanent BSF presence in this region,” a delegation member told the women.

Even before Saturday’s visit, NCW member Archana Majumdar had stressed the need for permanent Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) camps in the region.

“The women victims in Murshidabad have clearly expressed the need for permanent CAPF deployment to ensure their dignity and safety. We will raise the issue with the Union government,” Majumdar said on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Murshidabad district administration has prepared a preliminary report on property damage. According to initial estimates, over 250 houses and 100 shops — mostly owned by Hindus — were vandalized during the unrest.

“This is just the initial estimate. The actual figure may rise as we complete the detailed assessment,” said a senior district official.

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