HYDERABAD: According to a Times of India report, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Friday released the first list of candidates for 36 Lok Sabha constituencies in the states of Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad, a seat won by him in 2019. Of the total 36 candidates announced, 15 are from Kerala, six each from Karnataka and Chhattisgarh, four from Telangana. two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland and Sikkim, TOI said.

Of the four names announced from Telangana, one is a woman. Patnam Sunitha Mahender Reddy will contest from Chevella Lok Sabha seat. She is the wife of former minister Patnam Mahender Reddy of the BRS. She will take on ex-MP Konda Vishveshwar Reddy of the BJP in this constituency.

K Raghuveer Reddy, son of Congress veteran K Jana Reddy has been announced from Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency. This is the second ticket to the family, with K Jaiveer Reddy, another son of Jana Reddy contesting and winning the Nagarjuna Sagar assembly seat in the 2023-election.

Former union minister Porika Balram Naik will contest from Mahbubabad (ST reserved) constituency and Suresh Kumar Shetkar from Zahirabad. Interestingly, CWC member and AICC secretary Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy’s name for Mahbubnagar constituency has been kept on hold, the TOI report stated.

KOCHI, (ANI): The life of human beings should be given preference over stray dogs, opined the Kerala High Court recently. The Kerala High Court also directed the State government to frame guidelines, schemes or rules to give licences to individuals interested in maintaining stray dogs so that dog lovers can protect the animals.

Students are afraid to go to school alone for fear of being attacked by stray dogs. The court also said that if the action is taken then the dog lovers will protest. The nuisance of stray dogs is increasing day by day. Dog lovers should also be aware of this, the court observed. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan stated that bonafide dog lovers, instead of writing in print and visual media should come forward to help the local government institutions to protect them.

Justice PV Kunjikrishnan also instructed the government to discuss with the central government and prepare a guideline or scheme if necessary. The court issued the order on a petition filed by residents of Muzhathadam in Kannur seeking action against Rajeev Krishnan, a resident, who had been keeping stray dogs on his property.

The court further directed that Rajeev Krishnan should apply for the license within a month and Kannur Corporation should issue the lines under the law with strict conditions. “It is also suggested that the corporation should take steps to remove stray dogs from the house premises if the license application is not submitted,” the court said.

Earlier in July last year, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights moved an application seeking to intervene as a party in the case and apprised the top court that the Commission has received many complaints about the nuisance of stray dogs and the plight of children who have been fatally bitten by them and the Commission has also take suo-motu case on several such incidents. Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, in its application, told the court that there are large numbers of dog bite incidents reported across the state, especially against children.

The commission mentioned that 5,794 stray dog attacks were reported in 2019, 3951 cases in 2020, 7927 cases in 2021, 11776 cases were reported in 2022 and 6276 cases were reported up to June 19, 2023. (ANI)

NEW DELHI: Member of Parliament and Union Minister for State, Shripad Naik’s name has been finalized for the North Goa Lok Sabha seat, by the BJP high command and an official announcement to this effect is likely to be made either today or tomorrow, sources in Delhi said.

Deliberations and discussions regarding the South Goa seat are still going on and the decision on the matter was differed for a second round of meetings. An official announcement regarding the South Goa seat will be made in the next 4-5 days, a senior BJP leader in Delhi who was part of the marathon meeting yesterday said. As we had reported earlier, the BJP was toying with the idea of a Catholic face and a section within the top echelons of the party wants to further explore the idea.

Meanwhile an elated Shripad Naik who also attended the earlier series of meetings in Delhi said, if the BJP gives him another chance, he will break the winning record in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Speaking to Goan media persons on Friday, Naik claimed that the BJP will win both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.

“The party is strengthened with the Congress MLAs joining the BJP and we will win with huge margins. I will try to double my winning margin if the party gives me one more chance,” he added.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a late-night meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee which was attended by several top BJP leaders. Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant was also part of the meeting that included Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda, besides Rajnath Singh and other senior members.

Union Minister of State for Tourism, Ports, and Waterways, Shripad Naik was finalized for North Goa and media reports claimed former Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar was neck to neck with NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar for the South Goa seat.

The meeting began at around 10 pm at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi and PM Modi joined the group around 11 pm after which he addressed the Chief Ministers of various states, followed by one-to-one meetings with various State groups that went on well past 4 am. Sources claimed the meeting went on till the early morning and another round will be held over the weekend to finalize the second list of candidates.

BENGALURU, (PTI): The ruling Congress in Karnataka won three seats and the BJP one in the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka on Tuesday.

Those who were elected to the Upper House are Ajay Maken, G C Chandrasekhar and Syed Naseer Hussain, all belonging to the Congress, and Narayansa K Bhandage of the BJP.

Five candidates were in the fray for the four seats in the elections, including JD(S) contestant D Kupendra Reddy.

The elections were marred by cross-voting. While one of the BJP MLAs, S T Somashekar, voted for the Congress’s Maken, the other, A Shivaram Hebbar, abstained. (PTI)

BHOPAL, (ANI): In what could be a big blow to the Congress party ahead of Lok Sabha elections, several congress leaders, including a former MLA Dinesh Ahirwar and Congress’ District President from Vidisha, Rakesh Katare joined the saffron party on Monday.

The Congress leaders took the membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of BJP state chief VD Sharma, and other senior leaders of BJP at party headquarters in the state capital Bhopal. Besides, several Congress workers joined the saffron party as well on the occasion.

BJP posted on X, “Congress District President from Vidisha Rakesh Katare, former Congress MLA from Jatara Constituency, Tikamgarh Dinesh Ahirwar and other Congress leaders and workers took the membership of the BJP in the presence of senior leaders at State BJP Office in Bhopal. They joined the party after being impressed by the public welfare schemes of the BJP government and the policies of the organisation.” Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, BJP state chief V D Sharma and others formally inaugurated the “Lok Sabha Election Management Office” in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state BJP office in the state capital on Monday.

State ministers, BJP officials and workers were also present on the occasion. CM Yadav posted on X, “Today, the state level Lok Sabha election office was inaugurated by performing puja according to the rituals at the state BJP office. The people of Madhya Pradesh have made up their mind to bless Prime Minister Narendra Modi with victory in all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Ab ki baar 400 paar, phir ek baar BJP Sarkar.”

Earlier , Mayor of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation Jagat Bahadur Singh joined the saffron party on February 7. Singh had taken the membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of BJP state chief VD Sharma, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and cabinet ministers Prahlad Patel, and Kailash Vijayvargiya at BJP headquarters in Bhopal.

Dindori district panchayat president Rudesh Paraste, Vice President Anju Beauhar, Congress’ ex-district president of Dindori Virendra Bihari Shukla and several other leaders had also joined the saffron party on that occasion. Addressing the occasion, BJP Chief Sharma said, “I congratulate all the leaders who joined the party today. Earlier, we had said before the assembly elections 2023 that ‘Modi is in the heart of Madhya Pradesh’ and now Modi has become popular even within the Congress. The Congress people who want to do something for the country and society are joining the BJP family.”

“I assure everyone who joined the party today that BJP is a family. All of you will feel that you have become a member of a family, it is not just a political party. Together we will create a golden Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav,” Sharma added. CM Yadav had also extended congratulations to the leaders who joined the party and said that the BJP family was growing. (ANI)

KOLKATA, (ANI): Veteran actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata on Saturday morning. Now the hospital has issued an official statement regarding the health of ‘The Kashmir Files’ actor.

Mithun has been diagnosed with an Ischemic Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke) of the brain. The statement mentioned that the actor was brought to the hospital with complaints of weakness in his right upper and lower limbs. He is currently receiving the necessary treatment and remains under the observation of a team of doctors.

The official statement reads, “Shri Mithun Chakraborty (73), National Award-winning actor, was brought to the Emergency Department of Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals, Kolkata, around 9.40 am with complaints of weakness in the right upper and lower limbs. Necessary laboratory and radiology investigations were carried out including an MRI of the brain. He has been diagnosed with an Ischemic Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke) of the brain. Presently, he is fully conscious, well-oriented and has consumed soft diet. Shri Chakraborty is being further evaluated by a team of doctors including a neuro-physician, cardiologist and a gastroenterologist.” Chakraborty was recently named as a recipient of the Padma Bhushan Awardees 2024.

Fondly called Mithun Da by his fans, the actor began his career with the Mrinal Sen-directed film ‘Mrigayaa’, which fetched him the National Film Award for Best Actor. ‘Disco Dancer’, ‘Agneepath’, ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’, ‘Jallad’ and ‘Pyaar Jhukta Nahin’ are some of his other popular films. Chakraborty joined the BJP party in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kolkata’s historic Brigade Parade Ground, commonly known as the “Maidan”, on March 7, 2021. (ANI)

MUMBAI: “Divya Pahuja was very helpful in Byculla jail,” revealed actor Gehana Vasisth who spent 5 months in the same complex at the Byculla Women’s jail in Mumbai, from February till June 2021 in the porn racket case.

Speaking exclusively to this website, Gehana Vasisth who was incarcerated at the Byculla jail after she was arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch in a porn case (in which celebrity businessman Raj Kundra was also behind bars) said she was in the same barrack as Divya Pahuja and found her very helpful.

“I first interacted with her when we wanted some writing paper and a pen to write to our advocates. Normally, one can purchase stationery items from the jail canteen, but at that time due to the Covid pandemic, we were not able to access the jail canteen facilities. As Divya was in the jail since a long time, she was “set” with all her requirements and myself and another accused went to her for the first time. She was very beautiful and helpful at the same time,” Gehana said, adding that she is shocked and shattered on hearing about her murder.

“Her mother was granted bail much earlier due to Covid, but Divya had to spend nearly 7 years before the High Court granted her bail. I am really shocked. She was a nice girl. She was very helpful. This extortion story is very shocking  and I cannot believe it. Whatever be the case, I do not want to comment on the allegations surrounding her murder and death. All I know is that she was very helpful to me at Byculla jail,” Gehana quipped,  adding that she never expected Divya to go away so soon.

“I thought she would turn a new leaf and start her life anew after getting released. In fact, after my release from Byculla jail after spending 5 months there, I thought about her several times and sincerely hoped that she would be released soon. It is so shocking that she is no more,” Gehana told this reporter.

Divya Pahuja was fatally shot at by by Abhijeet Singh, the owner of City Point Hotel in Gurugram on January 2, after she allegedly attempted to extort money from him.

The ex-model was also incarcerated for seven years at the Byculla prison in connection with a case related to the alleged fake encounter of Gurugram gangster Sandeep Gadoli who was shot dead in a Mumbai hotel by Haryana police at the behest of a rival gang.

MUMBAI: While the new Bills (which may soon become Acts) including the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, which seek to repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code 1860, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act 1872 have excluded the original Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which dealt with forced sexual acts between men, journalist and publicist Flynn Remedios has strongly expressed his disappointment with the development.

Speaking to this website, Remedios who has covered several beats, including Fashion and Entertainment in a career spanning over 25 years and worked for publications like the Times of India, The Economic Times, Asian Age, Free Press Journal and others, alleged that sodomy is common, if not rampant in Maharashtra’s jails.

“I have been a victim of attempted unnatural sexual acts during 2004 and 2006 at the Mumbai Central Prison, more popularly known as the Arthur Road Jail. I did not speak up about this till now because I did not want to increase my own problems. However, a recent trip to the same jail after nearly 20 years has forced me to come out in the open with these disclosures,” Remedios said.

According to Flynn who spoke to media persons in Mumbai today, he was arrested after a non-bailable warrant came to be issued by a magistrate in November this year, since he had failed to attend court hearings. “I was unwell and since I suffer from asthma, diabetes, hypertension and other cardiac ailments I could not attend court,” he said.

After his arrest he was remanded to judicial or magistrate custody and lodged at the Mumbai Central Prison at Saath Rastha, popularly known as the Arthur Road Jail, where he spent nearly a month.

“During my stay in the jail, there was one accused in my Circle, who was a victim of sodomy, but did not want to come out in the open. A month earlier, another under trial had complained to the authorities about being sodomised by the jawabdar of the circle he was lodged in. In my case, in the year 2004 and 2006, when I was lodged in Circle 6, Barrack 2 the jawabdar who was a Sri Lankan national and known as Malli attempted to forcibly sodomise me on several occasions. I had to fight him off and even complain to the Circle-in-charge. It was only because the Circle-in-Charge intervened and sternly warned Malli, that I was saved or else, I too would have been among the hundreds of males who are molested and sodomised on the jail premises. I have seen this happen both in the Thane and Arthur Road jails over the years. If Section 377 is removed, adult males have no protection against sexual assault,” Remedios lamented.

According to legal experts, even though a Parliamentary Committee had previously suggested keeping these rules, which criminalises sexual assault against men, this new Bill excludes them, making rape of men, transgender individuals, and animals not punishable by law.

According to Remedios, in its present form, without the provision for sexual abuse of animals, bestiality indirectly becomes legal in India and so does rape of men by men (or even women). The proposed law envisions no punishment for unnatural sexual offences against men, which is deplorable. Men also need protection against sexual assault, Remedios opined.