KOLKATA, (PTI): The West Bengal Police arrested TMC leader Ajit Maiti from the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on the charges of land grabbing from villagers, an officer said on Monday.

Maiti, considered a close aide of absconding TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh, was detained on Sunday evening from the residence of a civic volunteer where he had locked himself for over four hours after being chased by villagers, he said.

”We have arrested him after getting complaints from villagers regarding land grabbing. We will produce him in the court later in the day,” the police officer told PTI.

After getting over 70 complaints, the police lodged an FIR against Shajahan Shiekh, he said.

Most of the complainants claimed that Shajahan was actively involved in the forcible acquisition of their land and torturing of local women, the police officer said.

Angry villagers had attacked Maiti a couple of days back for his alleged ties with Shajahan and his group, accused of land grabbing and sexual assault on local women.

The police action comes after a TMC delegation visited the restive Sandeshkhali for the second consecutive day on Sunday and heard the grievances of villagers who have been protesting against alleged atrocities by local leaders of the ruling party.

The riverine Sandeshkhali area — situated on the borders of the Sunderbans, about 100 kilometres from Kolkata — has been on the boil for more than a month with protests against Shahjahan, who is absconding, and his supporters. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and said under his leadership, an attempt is being made to destroy the country.

In a speech in the Delhi Assembly, he also accused Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena of obstructing the work of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

”I want to tell BJP people that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, an attempt is being made to destroy the country. Those who want to destroy the country should be in BJP and those who want to save the country should leave BJP,” he said.

There was an uproar in the Assembly when Kejriwal spoke about the prime minister.

Referring to the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha, Kejriwal targeted the central government and said ”they are scared”.

Gandhi was disqualification from the Lok Sabha upon his conviction and sentencing in a criminal defamation case.

Kejriwal asked LG Saxena to work together with the government for the development of Delhi.

”I want to tell LG sahab, ‘You have come from Gujarat. You are our guest’. I don’t think he would be knowing even the names of Delhi roads. But we don’t want fights. We want to work together. What will future generations say? They were fighting. We have to take sewer connections to every household, buy new buses, improve traffic situation…let’s do it together.

”We will work with you. It is not India-Pakistan war. When CM and LG start working together, it will actually be a double engine government,” he said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the ‘One World TB Summit’ in Varanasi on March 24 and launch projects worth over Rs 1,780 crore during the visit to his parliamentary constituency.

On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, Modi will address the One World TB Summit being organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and Stop TB Partnership, a United Nations-hosted organisation that amplifies the voices of people, communities and countries affected by the disease, a statement said.

He will launch various initiatives, including the TB-free panchayat initiative, official rollout of a shorter TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) countrywide and a family-centric care model for TB, and release India’s Annual TB Report 2023. The prime minister will also award select states, Union Territories and districts for their progress towards ending the disease.

In March 2018 during the ”End TB” summit held in the national capital, Modi had called for the country to achieve TB-related sustainable development goals targets by 2025, five years ahead of the stipulated time. The statement said the One World TB Summit will provide an opportunity to further deliberate upon the targets as the country moves forward to meet its objectives. Highlighting the upcoming development initiatives, the statement said Modi has put a special focus on transforming the landscape of Varanasi and enhancing ease of living for the people living in the city and its adjoining areas in the last nine years. Taking another step in this direction, he will dedicate and lay the foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 1,780 crore during a programme at the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground.

He will lay the foundation stone of the passenger ropeway from Varanasi Cantt station to Godowlia. The cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 645 crore. The ropeway system will be 3.75-km in length with five stations. This will facilitate ease of movement for the tourists, pilgrims and residents of Varanasi, it said.

He will also lay the foundation stone of a 55 MLD sewage treatment plant at Bhagwanpur under the Namami Ganga Scheme and it will be built at cost of more than Rs 300 crore. Under the Khelo India Scheme, the foundation stone of Phase 2 and 3 of redevelopment work of the Sigra Stadium will be laid by the prime minister.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the prime minister will dedicate 19 drinking water schemes, which will benefit more than three lakh people of 63 panchayats. To further strengthen the rural drinking water system, he will also lay the foundation stone of 59 drinking water schemes under the mission. Several other development initiatives will also be launched by Modi. (PTI)

NADIA, (PTI): BJP national president J P Nadda on Thursday accused the ruling TMC in Bengal of siphoning off funds meant for MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojna, describing allegations of the Centre stopping grants to the state as baseless.

Nadda, who is on his first visit to the state after getting an extension as party president, also advised West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to work as per constitutional norms or face public wrath.

“Central funds for PM Awas Yojna and MGNREGA have been siphoned off in West Bengal by the ruling TMC. It is now blaming the Centre for stopping funds to the state as a probe has been launched,” the senior BJP leader said.

Referring to agitation by lawyers at the Calcutta High Court against certain judgments, Nadda said, “It is shameful that the TMC is protesting against the judiciary as some of the verdicts have not gone in their favour.” (PTI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI): Former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal joined the BJP Wednesday and slammed the Congress, which he quit before starting his new political innings, for factionalism.

The Congress took a swipe at the former Punjab finance minister, saying ”clouds (badal) over the Punjab Congress have cleared”. The five-time MLA lauded the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, saying India has emerged strong, including diplomatically and economically, under their nearly nine-year rule.

”Prime Minister Modi bent over backwards to appease the farmers of Punjab. Believe me, if the farmers’ agitation didn’t have a Punjab element in it no way the (farm) bills would have been withdrawn,” he claimed. Voicing concern over the state of affairs in Punjab, he said the state is ”slipping” and the BJP is the only party which can meet the challenges facing it.

On his decision to quit the Congress, he said how can one operate in a party which is at ”war with itself”. ”Not only in Punjab but in many states, the party is full of factions,” Badal said.

In his resignation letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Badal claimed that far from being acknowledged or appreciated for his efforts to garner funds for the state exchequer, he was ”vilified” in the Punjab Congress ”for failing to display what can only be described as fiscal recklessness”.

Union minister Piyush Goyal, who was present during his joining ceremony at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, was effusive in his praise of Badal. Badal is erudite, simple and experienced and was also guided by larger national interest during the GST council meeting when he represented Punjab as its finance minister, Goyal said.

It is a golden day and his joining the BJP will further strengthen its bond with Sikhs, the senior BJP leader said.

In the resignation letter, which he also posted on Twitter, Badal said that he was ”disillusioned” with the Congress.

”I devoted every ounce of energy to every office I have had the honour of holding, both in the party and the government. I thank you for having provided me with these opportunities and for the kindness and courtesy you have shown me in the past,” he said in the letter addressing Rahul Gandhi.

”Regretfully, given the prevailing culture within the party and the defiant desire in the present course, I no longer wish to be a part of the Indian National Congress,” he said.

Badal, who served as the finance minister in the previous Congress government, said, ”Seven years ago, I merged the People’s Party of Punjab with your party. I did so with immense hope and an expectation of being integrated into an organisation with a rich history that would allow me to serve both the people of Punjab and its interests to the best of my ability.” ”Initial enthusiasm gradually gave way to disappointing disillusionment,” he added.

The nephew of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal joined the Congress in 2016. Last year, former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar, among other leaders, joined the BJP.

Badal, in his resignation letter, said, ”The task of the finance minister of Punjab is never easy. I inherited an exchequer in shambles. It was truly on the brink of a total collapse.” ”I could either choose to continue to ignore numerical realities and pursue populist policies that would unequivocally exacerbate Punjab’s problems to the point where a financial emergency would be imminent or I could accept the fact that difficult decisions were desperately needed and assiduously adhere to fiscal discipline. I chose the latter,” he wrote.

”In doing so, I convincingly pleaded Punjab’s case to the 15th Finance Commission and the GST Council and prevailed upon them to treat the state favourably. I do not believe I am exaggerating in saying that I almost single-handedly succeeded in garnering an additional Rs 50,000 crore for the state exchequer which would not ordinarily have been acquired,” Badal said.

He claimed the way the Congress has conducted its affairs and taken decisions, especially concerning Punjab, ”has been disheartening, to say the least.” ”The coterie of men entrusted with the authority to dictate Delhi’s writ to the Punjab unit of the Congress are far from sound. Instead of striving to reduce internal disagreement in an already divided house, these men acted to further increase factionalism and almost as a matter of policy strengthened the very worst elements within the party,” he wrote.

After joining the BJP, Badal said, ”Employees of the Congress leadership’s employees are running the party. It has become very difficult to meet the party’s top leadership.” He termed the BJP a ”very inclusive party” and exuded confidence that and next election in Punjab would be between the AAP and the BJP. Like in West Bengal, the Congress has also become irrelevant in Punjab, Badal claimed.

After Badal lost the Bathinda Urban seat in the 2022 state assembly polls, he was not visible in the party’s meetings. The differences between him and the Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring were known in the party circles.

He had been with the Shiromani Akali Dal earlier and had also been the finance minister in the erstwhile SAD-BJP regime. Taking a swipe at Badal, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter, ”A man who left the Akali Dal to make his own party and then joined the Congress, was made finance minister for five years, then lost by a record margin of over 60,000 and thereafter went into hibernation now joins BJP.” ”Punjab Congress par se badal chhat gaye hain (clouds over the Punjab Congress have cleared),” Ramesh said in Hindi.

Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring dubbed Badal’s resignation from the party as ”good riddance” and termed him ”congenitally power hungry”. Manpreet Badal started his political career in 1995 by winning the Gidderbaha by-election. In his three-decade-long political career, he has been in four parties, including the one he founded.

HOSHIRPUR, (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he has huge respect for the Sikh community and added India would not be India had it not been for their contribution.

His remarks came in the backdrop of opposition parties in Punjab targeting the Congress and seeking Gandhi’s apology over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

When asked that opposition parties like Shiromani Akali Dal are raising questions on his visit and want him to apologise for the 1984 Operation Bluestar and the anti-Sikh riots months later, Gandhi replied that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the floor of the Parliament had made his and the Congress party’s position very clear.

”Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has also done that and I fully endorse what (former) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ji and Sonia Gandhi ji said. I have also made my stance abundantly clear in the past,” he told a press conference here on the sidelines of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Replying to a question that he appeared to be attempting a ”reconciliation” in Punjab, the Congress MP said, ”I have tremendous affection and I would go even further and say I have tremendous love and affection for the people of Punjab, and in particular the Sikh community. So, reconciliation is a small word.” ”I have love and affection for the people of this state and I have huge respect for the Sikh community for what they have done and for what they are going to do in future,” he said.

”It is an emotional statement. I think India would not be India, had it not been for the Sikh community. You play a central role here and in many ways, you are the part of the backbone of this country and that is something I value tremendously,” said Gandhi.

Replying to a question on infighting in the Punjab Congress during last assembly polls, Gandhi said his party lost the poll because of a lot of anti-incumbency.

”There had been issues between the leadership but these are manageable issues and in coming time, these issues will not be there. There is no such problem and everybody is walking together,” he said.

He further said it has to be accepted that there was an anti-incumbency against the previous Congress government.

”It is a truth and its result was that the AAP won the elections. But now, I feel that the anti-incumbency against the Congress has vanished and now the Congress is to be built and I feel that we will form the next government easily here,” he said.

He slammed the AAP government in Punjab, saying it failed to give a vision to the people of the state.

On a question about Congress leaders joining the BJP and if that has led to a leadership crisis in the party, and the role of Navjot Singh Sidhu once he is out of jail, Gandhi said, ”My experience is pretty much, anybody who goes to the BJP, goes there because of a particular type of pressure.

”It is a hidden pressure you can call it. It is generally a result of pressure from the CBI, pressure from the ED, pressure from cases. So, we are quite happy that these types of people are not in the party anymore and I think, as far as the party is concerned, what I have seen on the streets is tremendous enthusiasm, extremely dynamic workers and a mix of senior and young leaders,” he said.

”So, what I see in the Congress Party is extremely capable leadership all the way from the top to the worker level. So, I am not worried about that. In fact, I am quite happy that some of this sort of riff-raff has gone somewhere else. Everybody will have a role to play. We are a democratic party. We like to involve all people and function together,” he said.

Replying to a question on a man rushing him to hug him during the yatra in Hoshiarpur, Gandhi said, ”I do not know why you are calling that a (security) lapse. I think the person was checked by the security people, he was a bit over-excited. (PTI)

”There is quite a lot of enthusiasm in the Yatra, many people get over-excited and that was the case where he was a bit extra charged up, so there is no problem in that. It has happened many a time before. I wouldn’t call that a security lapse,” said Gandhi.

On the way forward after the yatra culminates in the Jammu and Kashmir later this month, he said, ”For me, the yatra is a way of thinking. It is a way of acting. So, for me personally, it will carry on. For me, walking across this country has been an extremely humbling experience.”

KATHMANDU, (PTI): The black box of the crashed Yeti Airlines’ aircraft with 72 people, including five Indians, on board was recovered on Monday, as rescue workers retrieved 69 bodies from the accident site in Nepal’s resort city of Pokhara.

Officials said 41 bodies out of 69 recovered so far have been identified as Nepal observed a national day of mourning on Monday. Three missing persons are believed to be dead and rescuers will resume their operation on Tuesday to retrieve the bodies.

Both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered as search and rescue teams rappelled down a 300-metre gorge to continue their efforts, which were suspended overnight, officials said.

The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) records radio transmissions and other sounds in the cockpit, such as conversations between the pilots, and engine noises. The flight data recorder (FDR) records more than 80 different types of information such as speed, altitude and direction, as well as pilot actions and performance of important systems.

According to Kathmandu airport officials, the boxes were recovered from the site of the accident, a day after Yeti Airlines’ 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport minutes before landing.

The boxes were handed over to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), said Sudarshan Bartaula, a spokesperson of the Yeti Airlines.

The boxes could offer vital clues about Sunday’s crash – Nepal’s deadliest aviation accident in over 30 years.

Rescue workers recovered one more body on Monday. So far, 69 bodies have been recovered. Rescuers struggled to recover the remaining three bodies from the crash site due to the difficult terrain.

”It’s very difficult to recover the bodies from the 300 metres deep gorge which is very narrow as well. We have been using all available equipment to make the mission successful,” Tek Bahadur KC, chief district officer of Kaski, was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post. The operation will resume on Tuesday to recover the bodies, he said.

Nepal’s civil aviation body said that 41 of the 69 bodies have been identified so far.

The five Indians, all reportedly from Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal.

According to sources, the families of Indian victims will help identify the bodies in Kathmandu.

The district administration of Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, is facilitating the movement of bereaved families to Kathmandu, sources told PTI.

Of the five Indians, four were planning to participate in paragliding activities in the tourist hub of Pokhara, said a local resident, who travelled with them to Nepal.

A medical team has been airlifted from the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu. In a statement, the Yeti Airlines said that a Nepali Army helicopter has been in Pokhara to airlift bodies of the foreign nationals, crew members and of those whose identity has not been established to Kathmandu for forensic examination to establish their identities.

As the accident site lies in a deep gorge of Seti river, it was very difficult for search operations, the Army sources said.

The plane commanded by Captain Kamal KC, an instructor pilot, made the first contact with the Pokhara control tower from nearly 110 kilometres away.

”The weather was clear. We allocated Runway 30 which is the eastern end. Everything was fine,” Anup Joshi, spokesperson for Pokhara International Airport, was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post newspaper.

He added that no problems had been reported.

The flight captain later asked for permission to switch to Runway 12 which is the western end.

”We were not sure why. Permission was granted, and accordingly, the aircraft started its descent,” said Joshi, who is also a senior air traffic controller.

”At 10:32 am, the plane took off from Kathmandu. It was scheduled to land at Pokhara at 10:58 am. Was in continuous contact with Pokhara Tower. The landing clearance of that plane had also been obtained. The weather was also fine. Everything was fine then how the accident happened is a matter of investigation,” said Premnath Thakur, General Manager, Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.

”A high-level investigation team has been formed. Any conclusion can be drawn by checking its voice recorder and other circumstances,” Thakur said.

The team will submit its report within 45 days.

Pokhara, the tourist hot-spot lies between two rivers – the Bijayapur and the Seti – which makes it a perfect habitat for birds. Excellent for sightseers, of course, but a terror for pilots.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 claimed that the crashed aircraft was 15 years old and equipped with an ‘old transponder with unreliable data’.

According to Nepal’s civil aviation body, 914 people have died in air crashes in the country since the first disaster was recorded in August 1955. The tragedy in Pokhara on Sunday is the 104th crash in Nepali skies and the third biggest in terms of casualties.

The only incidents in which more people were killed took place in July and September 1992. Those crashes involved aircraft of Thai Airways and Pakistan International Airlines and left 113 and 167 people dead, respectively.

The last major air accident in Nepal happened on May 29 when all 22 people onboard, including four members of an Indian family, were killed as a Tara Air plane crashed in Nepal’s mountainous Mustang district.

Nepal has had a fraught record of aviation accidents, partly due to its sudden weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear on January 20 a plea against the Bihar government’s decision to conduct a caste census in the state.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after advocate Barun Kumar Sinha appearing for the petitioner mentioned the matter. The apex court noted that a similar matter had been posted for hearing on January 20.

The top court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to restrain the authorities from conducting the caste survey in the state.

The petitioner, Akhilesh Kumar, has sought quashing of the notification dated June 6, 2022 issued by the Bihar government to conduct a caste survey in the state. The plea contended that the subject of the census falls in List 1 of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution and only the Centre has the power to hold the exercise.

The PIL has alleged that the notification violated Article 14 of the Constitution which provides for equality before law and equal protection under the law, adding that the notification was illegal, arbitrary, irrational, and unconstitutional.

”If the proclaimed purpose of the caste-based survey is to accommodate the people of State suffering caste persecution, the distinction on the basis of caste and country of origin is irrational and unjustified.

”None of these distinctions correspond with the ostensible purpose of the law,” the petition said. (PTI)