You can choose time and place for action against terrorists: PM Modi to Forces

Agencies
February 15, 2019

Jhansi (UP), Feb 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday asserted the security forces have been given permission to choose the timing, place and nature of their response to the Pulwama terror attack, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead on Thursday.

Without naming Pakistan, he told a public meeting that the attack was an outcome of the neighbouring country's desperation as it is in a bad shape and has been forced to go to different countries with a "begging bowl" to meet even its daily expenses.

The prime minister was in the Uttar Pradesh town to lay the foundation stone of a defence corridor in the Bundelkhand region.

Pakistan thinks that it can force India into a bad shape as well, he said, asserting that it has been left behind in development due to policies it has adopted while India has been progressing day and night due to the path it had chosen.

A day after Jammu and Kashmir saw one of the worst terrorist attacks in the state, Modi said every Indian is in anger and he wanted to assure the 130 crore people of India that the sacrifices of CRPF soldiers will "not go in vain".

"Security forces have been given permission to take decisions about the timing, place and nature of their response... This is an India of new convention and policy," he said, drawing big response from the crowd.

He also dwelt at length about the development measures his government has taken for the state.

Modi had cancelled his political events in the wake of the terror attack but continued with government programmes, which included inaugurated of several development projects here and launch of Vande Bharat train in New Delhi.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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Hyderabad: The K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi faces big questions as shocking allegations of state police officers tapping the phones of then Opposition leaders in Telangana, including current Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, celebrities and businessmen come to the fore.

The surveillance, it is alleged, was also used to blackmail businessmen into contributing huge amounts to the BRS party fund.

The BRS is yet to respond to the allegations.

Three senior police officers have been arrested in this connection and a lookout notice issued against T Prabhakar Rao, former chief of the state intelligence bureau, who is reportedly in the US now.

Police have said two senior officers - Additional Superintendent of Police Bhujanga Rao and Additional Superintendent of Police Thirupathanna - have admitted to illegal surveillance and destruction of evidence.

According to reports, Ravi Paul, a technical consultant with the state intelligence bureau under the then BRS government, had allegedly helped import and set up phone-tapping equipment near the residence of Mr Reddy to listen in on his conversations.

The equipment, it is alleged, was imported from Israel using a software company as the front. No permission from the Centre - a must for such imports - was taken, it is learnt. With this setup, anything spoken within a range of 300 metres could be heard, reports say.

Ravi Paul, it is alleged, set up an office near Mr Reddy's residence and installed the device. Police are set to question him in this connection.

Lookout notices have also been issued for Sharvan Rao, who runs a Telugu TV channel I News, and Radha Kishan Rao, a police officer with the city task force.

The surveillance was not restricted to Opposition leaders. Top businessmen, including real estate dealers and jewellers, and celebrities were also under surveillance. In fact, the tapping of phone conversations led to the divorce of a celebrity couple, reports say.

To add to the BRS's troubles, Chief Minister Reddy has received a complaint from Sharan Chaudhary, a businessman and a BJP leader, alleging that senior police officers kidnapped him last year and forced him to sign off a plot of land to a relative of former minister and BRS leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao.

Mr Chaudhury has alleged that Radha Kishan Rao and senior police officer ACP Umamaheswara Rao kidnapped him on August 21 while he was on his way to office. He has alleged that he was illegally detained and forced to register his property in the name of Vijay, a close relative of the minister. He was also forced to pay ₹ 50 lakh before they let him go.

The businessman has said he had approached the High Court after the incident, but Uma Maheshwar Rao threatened to file false cases against him and forced him to withdraw the petition.

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News Network
March 25,2024

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will face Kerala BJP chief K Surendran in the high-profile Wayanand constituency this Lok Sabha election.

Wayanad, a Congress stronghold, has been with the party since 2009. Mr Gandhi won it in 2019 and retained his Lok Sabha membership, having lost his Amethi seat to Union Minister Smriti Irani.

His rival this time, Mr Surendran, has the significant task of challenging the Congress-Left binary in Kerala's political landscape. Both the Congress and the Left are in a national alliance though they remain rivals in this southern state.

Surendran has contested all three Lok Sabha elections since 2009 and also four Assembly elections. In 2021, he contested from Konni and Manjeshwar seats simultaneously. 

In 2019 general elections, Mr Surendran finished third in Pathanamthitta constituency behind the Congress and the Left. He had lost the 2016 assembly polls from Manjeswaram by merely 89 votes. He also contested a bypoll in 2019, but lost it as well.

He was appointed to head the BJP Kerala unit in 2020 and became the face of the protests against the entry of young women into Sabarimala years ago.

Mr Surendran, who is from Kozhikode, figured in the BJP's fifth candidates' list, which also named actor Kangana Ranaut and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay.

Wayanad is the second Kerala seat to see a battle of titans after Thiruvananthapuram, where Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will face the three-time Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The BJP has also fielded former vice-chancellor of Sree Sankara Sanskrit University K S Radhakrishnan from Ernakulam and actor-turned-politician G Krishnakumar from Kollam. T N Sarasu, a former educator, will contest from Alathur in Palakkad.

The highlight of the BJP's fifth list was the electoral debut of actor Kangana Ranaut from Mandi in her homestate Himachal Pradesh. The list, which named 111 candidates in 17 states, also featured new joinees like industrialist Naveen Jindal and Mr Gangopadhyay.

Mr Gangopadhyay, who joined the BJP recently after taking voluntary retirement, is the first former judge to join electoral politics. He has been fielded from Tamluk in Bengal and will face Trinamool's Debangshu Bhattacharya, a youth leader who had penned the party's "Khela Hobe" song.

Varun Gandhi, a sitting MP from Pilibhit, has been dropped and his seat has gone to Jitin Prasada, who switched to the BJP from the Congress in run-up to the election. His mother Maneka Gandhi has been fielded from her current seat, Sultanpur.

Actor Arun Govil, who played Ram in popular TV series Ramayan, will contest from Meerut. Union ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and General VK Singh too were part of the list.

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News Network
March 16,2024

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New Delhi: The 2024 general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar said today, announcing the largest democratic exercise in the world. Results will be announced on June 4.

The seven phases: 
April 19
April 26
May 7
May 13
May 20
May 25
June 1

Simultaneous election for Lok Sabha and assembly will be held in four states -- Sikkim, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra.  

By-elections will also be held for 26 assembly seats across multiple states, including Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Mr Kumar, announcing the dates, sent out a strong message on fake news on social media, saying political parties should ensure responsible social media behaviour -- "verify before you amplify".

"Fake news will be dealt with severely as per existent laws.. Section 79 (3)(B) of the IT Act empowers nodal officers in each state to remove unlawful content," he said.

The other strong message was on violation of model code in terms of hate speeches. "There should be issue-based campaign, no hate speeches, no speeches along caste or religious lines, no criticism of anyone's personal lives," he said.

The media must clarify when they carry political adverts, those cannot masquerade as news, he said. Individual messages regarding this would be sent to the candidates, he added.

The commission has employed 2,100 advisors to keep an eye on these issues and strong action will be taken regarding this, he said.

Voters above the age of 85 years and persons with disabilities, with 40 per cent disability can vote from home, Mr Kumar said. Around 82 lakh voter are above the age of 85, he said.

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