BJP leader CT Ravi addresses a press conference on his arrest, in Bengaluru, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Alleging that there was a “plot to murder” him using the police, BJP MLC C.T. Ravi on Saturday (December 21, 2024) demanded a judicial probe into the case filed against him and the way the police “misbehaved” with him taking him across several villages all through the night.

Mr. Ravi had been arrested at Balagavi on Thursday for allegedly using a derogatory word against Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar inside the Legislative Council. However, the High Court of Karnataka, on Friday evening, directed the police to immediately release him from custody.

Addressing presspersons in the BJP office a day after the release, Mr. Ravi alleged that the police’s action was nothing but “mental and physical torture.” “I have a strong suspicion that Deputy Chief Minister D.K.  Shivakumar and Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar have planned something against me. My life is still under threat and I demand a judicial probe into this,” he said.

‘Phone tapped’

Alleging that his phone was being tapped, Mr. Ravi said, “I want the government to provide adequate security for me. If something happens to me, the government will have to take responsibility.”

Narrating the alleged police action, the BJP MLC claimed the police took him across several districts and in the sugarcane fields during the night. “I suspect they had directions to finish me off or get me attacked. Thankfully the media and our party workers followed us and nothing happened. There was someone constantly calling the police and giving directions on the route. Someone was asking the police to snatch my phone. Police call records need to be investigated as this will give details about where all they have taken me. A judicial probe will reveal everything,” he said.

‘Banana republic?’

He further claimed his phone being tracked needs to be investigated. “The Deputy Chief Minister Belagavi is Ms. Hebbalkar’s area and I was fortune to be let go. What does he think, is Belagavi a Banana Republic?” he asked

A student receiving her graduation certificate at the convocation ceremony of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (IECD) in Tiruchi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A total of 129 students studying certificate and diploma courses conducted by Bharathidasan University’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (IECD) in association with Trinity Music School received their certification at a ceremony held at the university’s Khajamalai campus in Tiruchi on Saturday.

The convocation ceremony for 2023-24 batch was inaugurated by BDU vice-chancellor M. Selvam. Vibin Baskar, film music director, and A. Robert Lourdusamy, principal of Montfort School, were present.

Among the graduates, 68 students completed certificate courses (49 in keyboard, 13 in drums and six in Guitar); 61 students completed diploma courses (53 in keyboard and eight in drums), said an official statement.

In his address, Mr. Selvam said that the roots of music could be found in Vedic culture. Music could not only enhance worship, but also motivate it. IECD director E. Ramganesh spoke.

Congress chief and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party’s MP’s K.C. Venugopal during a news conference, at AICC Headquarters, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Stepping up its campaign against Home Minister Amit Shah for his comment that it has become a “fashion” to take Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar’s name, the Congress on Saturday (December 21, 2024) announced a plan to hold countrywide press conferences and Ambedkar samman (respect) marches in the next few days.

“We will fight to protect Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy against the Manusmriti worshippers! INC will mark the upcoming week as Dr. Ambedkar Samman Saptah,” party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal announced in a post on X.

Congress Members of Parliament, members of the party’s working committee, and senior party leaders will hold 150 press conferences in their constituencies and home districts on Sunday and Monday.

“On 24 December, all across the country, we will hold Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman Marches and submit a memorandum to President of India through District Collectors demanding Amit Shah’s resignation,” Mr. Venugopal added.

The speed with which the party has reacted to Mr. Shah’s remarks is unusual, but it is clearly aimed at reviving the political narrative that the BJP is out to end reservations in government jobs and educational institutions.

This narrative, combined with the BJP’s call for 400 paar (beyond 400 seats), proved to be a potent weapon during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But it seemed to have run its course, as was evident during the recent Assembly elections, where the BJP scored impressive victories.

So, Mr. Shah’s comment was the opening the Congress was looking for in order to revive its BJP-will-end reservations narrative. The text may have been Dr. Ambedkar but the subtext is reservation.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said Mr. Shah’s comment reflected the “anti-reservation mindset”.

“They [BJP] were always saying that they would change the Constitution. They are against the Constitution, against Ambedkarji, his ideology. Their entire focus is to finish Ambedkarji’s contribution,” Mr. Gandhi had said on Wednesday.

In a less than 24 hours since Mr. Shah made the remark in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Congress MPs carrying photos and portraits of Ambedkar were seeking an apology from him and demanding his resignation.

Revival of organisation

The principal Opposition party surely knew that the second most powerful Minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet will not resign over his off the cuff remark. But Mr. Venugopal sent out directives that on December 18 State units should gherao Raj Bhavans — a symbol of the Centre in a State — across the country over the alleged insult to the architect of the Constitution.

After the successive losses in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, the morale of the cadre has hit a low and the losses have also put a pause to the perception that the Congress is on a revival path.

Against this backdrop, the party would draw some satisfaction that it compelled the Home Minister to clarify his comment through a press conference by the evening. “No matter what Amit Shah does, those 12 seconds will haunt him,” Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said on Friday.

Bring allies together

Importantly, the protests and the face-off with NDA MPs in Parliament over the alleged insult to Ambedkar and, subsequently, BJP MPs getting a first information report registered against Mr. Gandhi for allegedly pushing two of their colleagues allowed members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance to join ranks with the Congress.

The Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the National Conference were among allies who defended Mr. Gandhi. This would give the Congress some reprieves as not long ago, most of these constituents of the Opposition bloc were questioning the Congress’ claim to be the leader of the bloc.

Bait for NDA allies

Last, but perhaps the most important, calculation, is to make BJP allies uncomfortable. With Assembly election in Bihar scheduled next year, any narrative that seeks to question BJP’s “commitment” to reservation will hurt both the ruling party as well as its ally Janata Dal (United).

The Telugu Desam Party and the Shiv Sena also can hardly ignore the political implications, if the Opposition can carry its narrative on reservation the same way it did in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Robin Uthappa and his family now live in Dubai. File
| Photo Credit: V.V. Subrahmanyam

An arrest warrant has been issued against former India cricketer Robin Uthappa in an alleged Provident Fund (PF) cheating case.

The warrant was issued by PF Regional Commissioner Shadakshari Gopal Reddy, who has asked the jurisdictional Pulakeshinagar police to take necessary action. “The warrant which was executed on December 4 has been returned after Mr. Uthappa was found not to be at the Pulakeshinagar residence,” officials said. However, it is well known that the cricketer and his family now live in Dubai.

Mr. Uthappa, who is associated with Centuries Lifestyle Brand Private Limited, is accused of deducting PF contributions from employee salaries but allegedly failing to deposit the funds into their respective accounts.

“In this connection it is kindly requested to arrest the employer under Rule 73 of IInd Schedule to Income Tax Act 1961 and Income Tax (CP) Rule 1962 and Section 8B of Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, and produce him before the undersigned on or before 27.12.2024 for further proceedings through your official.”

The order stated, “In exercise of the power conferred on me under section 8B of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952,…command you to arrest the said defaulter and bring him before the undersigned as soon as practicable and in any event within 24 hours of his arrest [exclusive of the time required for the journey] unless the defaulter pays the said amount of ₹23,36,602 and ₹5,000 for the cost of executing this process.”

However, a senior police officer said, “The address mentioned in the arrest warrant issued by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner is an old one and the concerned person does not stay at this address anymore. Our team had gone to the given address and verified. As per information, he vacated the mentioned address over a year ago. We have informed the same to the concerned officer. Further decision will be taken by the concerned authority which issued the arrest warrant.”

(with inputs from PTI)

Mortal remains of former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala being brought to his residence, in Sirsa, on December 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala was cremated on Saturday (December 21, 2024) with full state honours in Teja Khera village in his native Sirsa district.

Chautala, who was a five-time chief minister, died in Gurugram on Friday. He was 89.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal reached Teja Khera to attend the last rites of the departed leader.

Also Read | Om Prakash Chautala: A political career marked by ups and downs

Many Haryana Ministers, State Assembly Speaker Harvinder Kalyan, former Union Minister Venod Sharma, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, BJP’s Manpreet Badal and Manjinder Singh Sirsa and several other leaders also reached Teja Khera to pay their last respects.

Political leaders cutting across parties laid floral wreaths to pay their last respects to the departed leader.

Earlier, Chautala’s mortal remains were on Saturday (December 21, 2024) kept at the family’s Teja Khera farmhouse here for people to pay their last respects to the departed Indian National Lok Dal chief. His body was wrapped in the Indian Tricolour and decked with garlands.

An INLD spokesperson said Chautala was rushed to a hospital after his health worsened on Friday.

Om Prakash Chautala’s younger son Abhay Singh Chautala, an INLD leader, elder son Ajay Singh Chautala, who heads the JJP party, and other family members, including former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, ex-CM Chautala’s brother Ranjit Chautala, were present in Teja Khera.

The funeral pyre was lit amid chants of Vedic hymns by priests.

Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kumari Selja had reached the Chautala farmhouse in the morning to pay their last respects to the five-time chief minister.

Common people also gathered in the village in large numbers to attend the cremation.

The Haryana government declared a three-day state mourning on Friday. It has also declared Saturday a public holiday in all its offices as a mark of respect.

Shortly after laying a wreath, Dhankhar, who was seated next to Chautala’s younger son Abhay Chautala and SAD leader Sukhbir Badal, said, “Yesterday I got the news (of the demise). Five days back, I spoke to Chaudhary sahib and he was inquiring about my health. He was more concerned about me”.

“Whenever I got the chance, I got his blessings,” he said.

The vice president added that farmers’ issues and development of villages was Chautala’s priority.

He made it clear the country’s development, peace and progress is linked to the development of farmers and villages, Dhankar said.

Such an outspoken and a bold person, Chautala was dedicated to the rural system, he added.

Representational image only. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Incessant rains caused untold miseries for paddy farmers with the lack of storage facilities for the crops in Vizianagaram district. Thousands of farmers are in distress with the financial loss owing to the damage to the standing crop with the change in its colour. The district received 2698 mm rainfall, across all the 27 mandals, as against the normal rainfall 99 mm in the last three days.

Untimely, rains and inclement weather forced the farmers to keep the crop in fields with the absence of storage facility. A majority of them don’t have even quality tarpaulins to protect the grains near the fields.

Rythu Coolie Sangham of Andhra Pradesh State Secretary Dantuluri Varma alleged that the government authorities had failed to instill confidence among the farmers who were worried over protection of the grains kept in field after completion of cutting process. He said the labourers would also be in trouble as the farmers would not be in a position to clear the wage dues with the delay in selling of paddy crop to the government authorities. He asked the government to buy the crops in the fields so that there would not be further damage to the paddy.

The district farmers produced nearly 2.10 lakh metric tonnes of paddy this year. The government claimed that it had already bought 1.83 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. Collector B.R. Ambedkar said the agriculture officials were directed to meet farmers and explain about the techniques for the protection of the standing crop. He said 1,600 tarpaulins were supplied to nearly 800 farmers while promising to buy the 22,502 metric tonnes of left over paddy from farmers within a few days by offering Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Madan B. Lokur, Judge in the Supreme Court of Fiji and former judge at Supreme Court India. PHOTO: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap/The Hindu

Former Supreme Court judge Madan B. Lokur has been appointed as chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council for a term ending on November 12, 2028.

In a communication to Justice Lokur, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the retired top court judge would head the council which also comprises other distinguished jurists.

“I have the pleasure to appoint you, with immediate effect, as a member of the Internal Justice Council, in the capacity of chairperson, for a term ending on 12 November 2028,” the communication dated December 19 said.

“The other members of the Council (in alphabetical order) are: Ms. Carmen Artigas (Uruguay), distinguished external jurist nominated by staff; Ms. Rosalie Balkin (Australia), distinguished external jurist nominated by management; Mr. Stefan Brezina (Austria), staff representative; and Mr. Jay Pozenel (United States of America), management representative,” it added.

Born in 1953, Justice Lokur was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court on June 4, 2012. He demitted office on December 30, 2018, upon attaining the age of superannuation.

In 2019, Justice Lokur was appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a judge of its non-resident panel. He was the first Indian judge to be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court of another country.

In a gory road mishap, four persons of the same family were killed on the spot, and ten others received grievous injuries, four of them critically, when a 12-seater tempo vehicle collided with a parked lorry at Bullasamudram village of Madakasira mandal of Sri Sathya Sai district on the NH-44 in the early hours of Saturday (December 21, 2024).

According to the Madakasira police, a group of people from a village from K.N. Palle village of Gudibanda mandal of the district were returning from Tirumala after darshan. Around 5:30 a.m., their vehicle hit the rear of a parked lorry at a high speed. Ironically, their native place was about 40 km from the accident site.

The deceased were identified as Ratnamma (69), her daughter Prem Kumari (30), her son-in-law Manoj (30 – driver), and her granddaughter Antarva (2).

The ten injured, all related to each other, were rushed to the Government Hospital at Madakasira and were later shifted to private hospitals in Hindupur and Bengaluru. Four of them were said to be in critical condition.

The police suspect that the driver might have caused the accident due to sleepiness.

Minister S. Savitha, who hails from Sri Sathya Sai district, spoke to the police and district officials about the accident and directed the concerned officials to extend quality medical care to the injured.

Superintendent of Police V. Ratna and senior police officials rushed to the spot and later called on the injured at the hospital in Madakasira.

The police registered a case and took up further investigation.

An Indigo flight. Image used for representational purposes only
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

Private airline IndiGo began its first Chennai-Penang flight on Saturday (December 21, 2024), with 165 passengers on board the 3.5-hour service that left Chennai at 2.15 a.m.

An aviation source, who is associated with the launch, said the daily flight will have connections with 38 cities across India. It is also being marketed as a Madurai-Penang service (6E7253/7515), with the connecting point at Chennai, and passengers having a through connection. A 78-seat ATR-72 will operate on the Madurai-Chennai sector, landing in the city at 10.25 p.m., while a 186-seat A320N will fly the Chennai-Penang sector (6E1045/1046). Saturday’s flight had 20 passengers connecting from Madurai.

The official said Penang has a historical link with Madurai and the airline is expecting passenger feed from Madurai, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram, Sivakasi, and Karaikudi. With Penang as a gateway to north Malaysia, the airline will cater to leisure traffic, visiting friends and relatives (VFR), the trader community, and religious tourism (Sabarimala). The State, which is a four-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur, is a major electronics hub — Lenovo and Dell have centres there — and the airline will serve corporate traffic.

He said some passengers could take the ferry service from Penang to Langkawi and connect to the airline’s Langkawi-Bengaluru flight. He said the airline has strengthened its air links between South India and Malaysia, with A320 flights on the Chennai-Kuala Lumpur (daily), Bengaluru-Kuala Lumpur, Bengaluru-Langkawi, and now, Chennai-Penang sectors.

नई द‍िल्‍ली. लावा ने इसी सप्ताह कंपनी का लेटेस्ट डुअल डिस्प्ले फोन Blaze Duo लॉन्च किया है और कंपनी ने इसकी सेल भी शुरू कर दी है. पहली सेल के साथ कंपनी कई लॉन्च ऑफर्स दे रही है. ये फोन 5जी फोन है इसमें दो स्‍क्रीन हैं.

Lava Blaze Duo 5G दो रंगों में लॉन्‍च हुआ है, एक सेलेस्‍ट‍ियल ब्‍लू आर दूसरा आर्कट‍िक वाइट. 6GB रैम और 128GB स्‍टोरेज मॉडल की कीमत 16,999 रुपये है जबक‍ि 8GB + 128GB वर्जन की कीमत 17,999 रुपये है. आप अगर इसे खरीदना चाहते हैं तो Amazon.in से खरीद सकते हैं.

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ऑफर और ड‍िस्‍काउंट
अगर आपके पास एचडीएफसी का डेब‍िट कार्ड या क्र‍ेड‍िट कार्ड है तो आप इस फोन की खरीद पर 2000 रुपये की इंस्‍टैंट छूट पा सकते हैं. लेक‍िन ये ऑफर बहुत ही सीम‍ित समय के ल‍िए है. आप इस ऑफर का लाभ स‍िर्फ 20 से 22 द‍िसंबर तक उठा सकते हैं. 2000 रुपये का ड‍िस्‍काउंट पाने के बाद आप इसे 14,999 रुपये में खरीद सकते हैं.

14,999 रुपये की शुरुआती कीमत पर यूजर्स को बेहतरीन फीचर से लैस फोन म‍िल रहा है. फोन का ड‍िजाइन प्रीमि‍यम लुक देता है और फोन में पीछे की तरफ द‍िया गया ड‍िस्‍प्‍ले भी AMOLED है.

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Blaze Duo 5G में MediaTek Dimensity 7025 च‍िपसेट है. फोन के बारे में कहा जा रहा है क‍ि इसे 500 से ऊपर AnTuTu स्‍कोर म‍िला है, ज‍िससे ये पता चलता है क‍ि फोन हाई परफॉर्मेंस देगा. फोन Android 14 पर चलता है और इसे Android 15 का अपडेट भी म‍िलेगा.

ये हैं खास बातें :
Blaze Duo 5G में 4.02 सेमी का एक सेकेंडरी AMOLED डिस्प्ले भी द‍िया गया है. यूजर मेन स्‍क्रीन को एक्‍ट‍िव किए बिना ही रियर कैमरे का उपयोग करके नोटिफ‍िकेशन देख सकते हैं, म्‍यूज‍िक कंट्रोल कर सकते हैं और सेल्फी भी ले सकते हैं. प्राइमरी डिस्प्ले 6.67-इंच FHD+ 3D कर्व्ड AMOLED पैनल है जिसमें 120Hz रिफ्रेश रेट है.

फोटोग्राफी के शौकीनों के लिए, Blaze Duo 5G में 64MP सोनी सेंसर प्राइमरी कैमरा के साथ 2MP मैक्रो लेंस और 16MP फ्रंट-फेसिंग कैमरा द‍िया गया है. इसमें 5,000mAh की बैटरी है जो 33W फास्ट चार्जिंग को सपोर्ट करती है. सिर्फ 36 मिनट में ये फोन 50% चार्ज हो जाता है.