Days before Eid ul Adha, former captain of the Pakistani cricket team wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal made it to headlines for the reason he would not solicit. In a theft that took place at Kamran Akmal’s residential home at a private housing society in Lahore, one the sacrificial goats that he had purchased for the upcoming Eid ul Adha was stolen on 7th July 2022 late in the night.
The event happened after the Akmal family of Lahore purchased six goats for sacrifice a day before and tied them all together in front of their residence. The incident may have occurred about three in the morning when a servant asked to guard the goats, who was supposed to be awake, fell asleep.
The missing sacrifice goat, according to Akmal’s father, was the best in the purchased lot and cost about Rs 90,000. According to a report by the Crictracker, Kamran Akmal’s father said, “The thieves have taken away the best of them which was bought at the price of Rs 90,000.” The housing society’s security has assured the cricketer’s family that the goat would be found and the thieves will be arrested.
Eid ul Adha is scheduled to take place on 10th July, in which devote Muslims make sacrifices of animals and other items. The festival honours the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail as per Allah’s command. As part of the festival, animals are ritually slaughtered. Part of the meat of the slaughtered animals is consumed by the family that sacrificed it, while the rest is distributed to the poor.
40-year-old Kamran Akmal is playing domestic cricket in Pakistan after a 15-year-long career in international cricket that ended in 2017. Eid ul Adha is a Muslim festival that will be celebrated this year on July 10. Muslims often sacrifice some animal, commonly goats, on this occasion. The incident of theft at Kamran Akmal’s residence in Lahore occurred just two days before the annual festival.
On Tuesday (July 5), a man named Akbar barged into his son’s school with a sword over the alleged non-receipt of dues for books and school uniforms.
As per reports, the incident took place in Jokihaat block, which falls under the Bhagwanpur panchayat in the Aaria district of Bihar.
In a video that has now surfaced on social media, a bare-chested Akbar could be seen yelling at the teachers. While reprimanding the school headmaster for not receiving funds on time, he intimidated everyone with his sword.
The incident took everyone by both shock and surprise. Several children, present at the school at that time, were witnesses to the disturbing situation. Many of them even started crying for help.
Akbar then warned the school administration that he would return the following day if his grievance remained unaddressed. The teachers informed that the accused tried to solicit an additional sum of money from them.
Reportedly, the school headmaster had briefed Jokihat Block Development Officer (BDO) about the incident. Although the school administration did not file a written complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged in the case.
While speaking about the development, Jokihat Station Station House Officer (SHO) remarked, “The father reached his child’s school with a sword and threatened teachers allegedly after he didn’t get money for school uniform in Araria.”
Miscreants attack Lakshmi Narayan temple, unfurl Islamic flag in Araria
Last month, a group of unidentified persons attacked the Lakshmi Narayan temple in the Araria district of Bihar and vandalised the temple idol. The group that attacked the temple and damaged the idol also hoisted an Islamic flag inside the temple premises.
As per reports, the incident took place in a village in the Rampur Kodarkatti panchayat area. The miscreants also vandalised the idol of ‘Sheshnag’ and hoisted the Islamic flag, which was later taken down.
The Chief Representative of the Panchayat Rajesh Kumar Singh said that people were shocked to see the damaged temple. He stated that the attackers had malicious intent behind damaging the Hindu religious symbol and the temple idol.
In Ghaziabad, the police arrested an accused named Parvez Ali for issuing death threats to Bharatiya Vyapar Mandal’s state-level office-bearer, Devendra Dhaka. Parvez Ali reeportedly intended to trap his neighbour, so he sent a threatening letter to the Hindu businessman Devendra Dhaka in his name.
Parvez Ali wrote a threat letter to Devendra Dhaka but pretended to be Sadar Pathan. Image Source: Dainik Bhaskar
In this threat letter, Parvez Ali wrote, “Devendra Dhaka, be ready to die after Kanhaiya Lal of Udaipur. You share so many posts against Muslims. I will openly challenge you and kill you. After that, I may be martyred or I may get arrested. But we Pathans never attack covertly. Start the countdown of yourself and your son Rachit from today. I have studied from Jamia, and against you, I have formed a whole army there. You now note my name and number too. There is a reason I am called crazy. Your Death, Sadar Pathan, son of Shahid, Khekda, Uparkot.”
The in-charge of the Loni border police station Yogendra Singh Panwar said, “Business leader Devendra Dhaka received the letter by post at home on the evening of July 4. The letter threatened to kill Devendra Dhaka and his son. The name of Sadar Pathan was mentioned on the envelope of the letter. Police registered a case of threatening against the unidentified person and started an investigation.”
अपने पडोसी व्यक्ति “सदर पठान” के नाम से स्पीड पोस्ट के माध्यम से देवेन्द्र ढाका नामक व्यक्ति को जान से मारने की धमकी देने एवं साम्प्रदायिक सौहार्द बिगाडने की कोशिश करने वाले अभियुक्त परवेज अली को थाना लोनी बोर्डर पुलिस टीम द्वारा गिरफ्तार किया गया हैं।
— GHAZIABAD POLICE (@ghaziabadpolice) July 7, 2022
The Superintendent of Police (Ghaziabad Rural) Iraj Raja said, “Devendra Dhaka, a resident of the Loni Border police station area, received a death threat through a letter that was sent to him via speed post. The letter threatened to kill him. Taking immediate cognizance of the letter, we provided necessary security to Devendra Dhaka. Many teams were formed and directed to solve this case. A person named Parvez Ali lives in the Loni Border police station area. He wrote this fake threat letter to trap his neighbor Sadar Pathan so that an FIR is lodged against him and police take an action against him. But our teams worked very well in this case. Tracking the speed post, checking the CCTV footage of the corresponding post office, and other electronic evidence, we found that the threat letter is sent by Parvez Ali and not by Sadar Pathan. Parvez Ali intended to trap Sadar Pathan. Parvez Ali is arrested and sent to jail.”
According to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, the arrested accused Parvez Ali told during the investigation that Sadar Khan Pathan whose name is mentioned on the envelope of that threat letter is his neighbour. Some days ago, both of them had an argument over some issue. Therefore, Parvez Ali conspired to trap Sadar Pathan. Parvez Ali was looking for a chance to trap Sadar Pathan in some matter. As Parvez Ali realized that people are being threatened over supporting Nupur Sharma in the last few weeks, he wrote a threat letter to businessman Devendra Dhaka pretending to be Sadar Khan Pathan so that Sadar Pathan gets arrested.
On Friday, July 8, the radical Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) extended its support to TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who had recently waded into the Kaali poster row with her contentious remark on the Hindu Goddess Maa Kali. The extremist Islamic outfit, that has been involved in serious acts of violence across India, called the TMC MP ‘courageous’ for taking a principled stand against Hindutva. The PFI’s support for the TMC leader came after the party distanced itself from her comments.
Anis Ahmed, the General Secretary of the Popular Front of India Tweeted on July 7, “It takes a lot of courage to be firm on our stand when even people who believe in our stand ask us to be silent. @MahuaMoitra has always taken a principled stand against Hindutva and the RSS attempt to hijack Hinduism. Surely the Sanghis are rattled by her stand and courage.”
It takes a lot of courage to be firm on our stand when even people who believe in our stand ask us to be silent. @MahuaMoitra has always taken a principled stand against Hindutva and the RSS attempt to hijack Hinduism.
— Anis Ahmed (Gen. Secretary, PFI) (@AnisPFI) July 7, 2022
Notably, Anis Ahmed is the same PFI leader who was booked last year for his hate speech during the Ram Mandir donation drive. Anis Ahmed had warned Muslims against donating to Ram Mandir’s construction. Speaking at a PFI rally in Ullal, Karnataka, the PFI leader asked Muslims to mark the Hindu activists, especially RSS and BJP workers, residing in their locality. Anis Ahmad had said that the Hindu nationalist organisation was the country’s real enemy and claimed that the RSS was more dangerous than cancer. He further said that RSS should be confronted and not appeased.
Mamata Banerjee defends her MP Mahua Moitra
PFI’s remark came on the day, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee too came out in defence of her MP. “We make mistakes while working but they can be rectified,” said Mamata Banerjee while addressing a students’ credit cards distribution event in Kolkata where she tried to vindicate Moitra, facing flak for her disparaging remark against the Hindu deity.
TMC condemns comments on Goddess Kaali by its own MP Mahua Moitra
Prior to this, TMC had condemned the remarks made by party Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Goddess Kaali during the India Today Conclave East 2022. Distancing itself from Mahua’s controversial comments, the party said that the comments were made by Mahua Moitra in her personal capacity and were not endorsed by TMC.
TMC MP’s remark on Maa Kali
On July 5, while responding to a question at the media event, Mahua Moitra said, “You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. To me, Kaali is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy.”
Mahua Moitra was speaking in support of the Canadian Canada-based filmmaker Leena Manimekali who has come under fire for using a poster with a cigarette-smoking image of Maa Kaali to promote her upcoming film.
After receiving widespread criticism on social media, Mahua Moitra Tweeted, “To all you sanghis- lying will NOT make you better hindus. I NEVER backed any film or poster or mentioned the word smoking.” She also asked people to visit Maa Kali in Tarapith to see what food & drink is offered as bhog at that temple.
I’m an 18 year old student from a privileged family. I consider myself a progressive woman. But I no longer support Pride Month.
Since I’ve known about Pride, it has always been in the context of love, freedom and equality. Like anyone with a moral compass, I stood for LGBTQ rights and as a matter of fact, I still do. The thought of participating in a Pride parade seemed perfectly okay because I believed it was a march for equality. It was a natural way to stand up for a marginalised section of our society. I still support equality and dignity for all. I have LGBTQ friends and I will continue to be friends with them.
But from my first participation in Pride, fast forward a few years, and this illusion of Pride Month has fallen apart. As I peel through the layers, needless to say, I am baffled by the turn it took. I realised that one doesn’t have to be the most perceptive person in the world to realise that what is happening now under the label of Pride Month is not about rights.
The Woke madness
The Woke madness
I came across an Instagram reel recently (image above) of a kid dancing with a drag queen in India and my mind instantly drew a parallel with the image on the right. That image is from a ‘children-friendly’ drag show in the USA this month. Literally 2 minutes ago such extremely sexualised exposure to children was not part of Pride but now it is commonplace. In our slide down this slippery slope, the image on the right will be what Pride organisers will want to next recreate in India. This is not about LGBTQ rights; this is the thinly veiled grooming of children by exposing them to nudity and sexually explicit behaviour. This used to be unethical and illegal only yesterday, but now it is everywhere. And the argument put forth by these groomers that kids love drag queens holds no merit. Kids also love eating sand, which doesn’t necessarily mean what kids like is good for them. Exposing vulnerable children to explicit visuals like those of drag shows is bound to leave a lasting negative impact on their minds. The demand to expose kids to drag culture is not only ridiculous but harmful as well.
I did bring this up with a few of my ‘woke’ friends, and the popular response I got was “it’s 2022 bro, you should do better”, what connection does this virtue-signalling statement have with the indoctrination of kids? A lot of people also told me that this is just “my prejudiced opinion”. I’m certain that even a semi-intelligent person can tell the difference between documented incidents and opinions.
As for the few rational friends who agree that pride has been hijacked and is no longer about a genuine struggle for rights and representation refuse to say so out loud because it comes with a 99% chance of being cancelled and called every ‘ist’ and ‘phobe’ in the dictionary. This often leaves me wondering how 18-year-olds in our country got so radical?
Since Pride Month has been imported from the west, looking at the developments around indoctrination of kids in the U.S would mean looking at a fortune-telling crystal ball for us.
What started as a seemingly well-intentioned argument to educate and sensitize children about LGBTQ individuals, so they grow up seeing it as a natural phenomenon has snowballed into absolute lunacy. Stories of teachers discussing their sexual orientation and identity in classrooms have become increasingly common and a fair worry for parents. This blew out of proportion with puberty blockers and gender identity becoming common classroom topics.
Some parents continued objecting and subsequently, Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the ‘HB 1557 Parental rights in Education Bill’ informally known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill’. Amongst other things, the bill has been mainly contentious for prohibiting “classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students”.
Read that again, grade 3! It took a House Bill to establish that teachers should not have inappropriate sexual conversations about sexual orientation with children as young as kindergarten to grade 3. One would hope to see this as a sign of sanity making a comeback in schools, but the horror show continues. Here’s a clip of a teacher talking about how to make a switch to ‘subtle’ propaganda after the passing of this bill.
Queer teacher explains how to subtly let students know that you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community pic.twitter.com/ElvC1bWYZO
It wouldn’t be far-fetched to ask how far are we from letting this culture influence schools in India. Only last year NCERT’s gender studies department had made an effective attempt to give an opening to gender identity politics through its “Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap”. The manual was subsequently removed after backlash.
For someone who genuinely supports LGBTQ rights, it’s important to establish the stark difference between advocating for rights and grooming children. Why should I be compelled to pretend that exposing kids to a sexualised environment is going to benefit them?
This derailing of pride spells disaster for all, as much as this will harm children it will also harm the progress we’ve made with LGBTQ acceptance and advocacy. The original demand to treat LGBTQ rights as Human rights will take a back seat. As a rational ally, I feel that prominent LGBTQ personalities and activists should lead the charge in this to prevent pride month from being stigmatised and interchangeably used with the grooming of children.
Silence is compliance.
(NOTE: This article has been written by an 18-year-old girl who wants to be anonymous because she fears being ostracised by her woke social circle after this article).
Islamists across the country continue to issue beheading threats to people for supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. After the killing of Umesh Kolhe in Amravati in Maharashtra and Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur in Rajasthan, two more people in Rajasthan has received threats of ‘sar tan se juda’. On Wednesday, two notes were handed over to an ambulance driver in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, with threats to two people from his village.
On July 6, when ambulance driver Mukesh Kumar was going to the Pahadi area in Bharatpur, two people on a two-wheeler without number plate stopped the ambulance and threw in two notes asking to deliver them his village. They also brandished a dagger and threatened him of dire consequences if he approaches the police.
When Mukesh Kumar opened the notes, he saw the words ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ written on them, each addressed to two names, Satish Chand and Pramod. The notes said that both will be beheaded with 10 days. Satish is a grocery store owner and Pramod is a govt school teacher. There were cross signs on the names in the notes. The ambulance driver and the two persons named in the notes are the residents of Ranph village in Bharatpur.
Mukesh went to the village after seeing the threat and informed the two persons about it and gave them the notes. He also approached police and lodged a complaint in the matter. Satish and Pramod also approached the police and handed over the notes. The police have provided security to the two persons following this threat. Policemen in plainclothes have been deployed in front of both the houses.
While the threat comes amid numerous threats by Islamists for supporting Nupur Sharma, the exact reason of this threat is not known yet. Satish Chand’s son Mohit Khandelwal said that his father is a simple man and is not social media, and he has not shared any post on any social media platform. Similarly, teacher Pramod also does not have any social media presence.
Reportedly, ambulance driver Mukesh was so scared after seeing the notes that he started to feel ill, and he went straight to the hospital. From there he called his friend Sukhpal and narrated him the entire incident. After that both them went to the village, met the two persons and gave them the notes.
Japan’s Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in the city of Nara today while he was delivering a speech at a campaign event. The attacker in his 40s shot twice at the former leader in the western part of Japan. While the world leaders are mourning his death, PM Modi has announced one-day national mourning on Saturday ie the 9th of July. Here we recall Shinzo Abe’s ties with India and Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Breaking: Indian PM Modi announces one day national mourning on Saturday (9th July) on demise of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
India has had and always has maintained good, positive, and developing relations with the country of Japan since the very beginning. Former PM Shinzo Abe was small when he used to listen to potential of India-Japan ties from his maternal grandfather, the then Japanese PM Nobusuke Kishi who had visited India in 1957.
Delivering a speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in the year 2011, Abe remembering the old ties had quoted that “a strong India is in the best interest of Japan, and a strong Japan is in the best interest of India.”
Reportedly, the India-Japan economic and strategic ties went on to become so strong that Japan to date has supported around 100 infrastructure projects in India in the sector of power, transportation, shipping, railways, renewable energy, and more. While deepened old ties between the two countries formed a steady base for the overall strategic development, the expansion of the bilateral association was furthered only when Abe took over as the Prime Minister of the country.
Serving two terms as the prime minister of Japan, Abe sought to upgrade the strategic Japan–India relationship by introducing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) between Japan, the United States, Australia, and India.
Shinzo Abe proposed the idea of Quad to India’s Parliament in 2007
Back in the year 2007, when Abe was the Prime Minister of Japan for a year, he visited India and addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament. Delivering the speech ‘the Confluence of the Two Seas’, Abe proposed to promote the concept of ‘the Arc of Freedom and Prosperity’ that would be formed along the outer rim of the Eurasian continent.
Putting forth the idea of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue on the table, Abe then said, “By Japan and India coming together in this way, this ‘broader Asia’ will evolve into an immense network spanning the entirety of the Pacific Ocean, incorporating the United States of America and Australia. Open and transparent, this network will allow people, goods, capital, and knowledge to flow freely”.
The then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe addressing the Indian Parliament (Image source- Wikipedia commons)
Further quoting the book ‘Confluence of the Two Seas’ written by the Mughal Prince Dara Shikoh in 1655, the former leader said that ‘the different streams, having their sources in different places, all mingle their water in the sea’. He also emphasized the importance of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean and their confluence and reiterated the idea of ‘broader Asia’ to form a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The idea was seeded in the year 2004 after the United States asked the four countries to form a group for a joint humanitarian relief operation following the Indonesian tsunami.
India under Congress rule was hesitant to revive Quad amid China concerns
Later, this group which was formed for the international relief operation turned vigorous to become a forcibly robust countering clout against the muscular rise of China in the Indo-Pacific. The rise of China disturbed the Quad equation in the year 2007 after Australia reassured China that ‘so-called quadrilateral dialogue’ with India was not something that the country was pursuing. Also, the then Indian PM Manmohan Singh had mentioned in 2008 that the initiative ‘never got going’. Reports mention that India before 2014 has been hesitant about reviving the quadrilateral for a number of reasons, the rise of China being one of those.
Notably, after former Gujarat CM Narendra Modi assumed the office of Prime Minister of India in the year 2014, he first visited Japan in the month of September to upgrade the bilateral relationship to a special strategic and global partnership. Under the leadership of PM Modi, the India-Japan relationship encompassed issues from civilian nuclear energy to maritime security, bullet trains to quality infrastructure, Act East policy to Indo-Pacific strategy. The group which was almost terminated and later rose in prominence over the years gained new traction following deadly border clashes between India and China in 2020.
PM Modi had shared a close personal friendship with Shinzo Abe. As PM, Abe visited India in 2017 with his wife. His graceful acceptance of India’s culture and his call to highlight the strategic potential of the bilateral partnership were received well by the Indian government.
Shinzo Abe in Ahmedabad in September 2017
In the year 2021, the Quad leaders including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, PM Narendra Modi, Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga, and US President Joe Biden participated in the first physical Quad meeting and issued a joint statement on a wide range of topics from the security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region to partnership on Covid-19 response and relief. The leaders stated that they were dedicated to achieving security and peace in the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. They also assured to extend cooperation in the matters of Science and Technology, cyberspace, Climate change, and cooperation on critical and emerging technologies.
The first QUAD meeting in the White House
In the second Quad summit that was held in Tokyo this year, India emphasized developing and strengthening bilateral strategic relations with each of the Quad member countries and pressed to focus on skill development. The summit meanwhile also shaped the agenda for more comprehensive economic cooperation and enhanced security collaborations among the member nations.
‘Without PM Modi, Quad could not have flown’
Recently, Tomohiko Taniguchi, the former Special Advisor to Japan’s then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed PM Narendra Modi for his contribution to restoring the focus back to the Indo-Pacific region. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, Taniguchi stated that without India, and without PM Narendra Modi, the Quad could not have flown. “There was a degree of hesitancy among the elite community members of Delhi, about India joining a largely US-led camp. It took the courage and straightforwardness of Narendra Modi to have overcome the legacy of non-alignment”, he noted.
He added that the primary reason why Shinzo Abe expanded the geographic horizon from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific was that he wanted to include India, being aware that the Indian Ocean would be the industrial highway for the 21st century. “Narendra Modi is fully aware of that concept, and has demonstrated vividly to the rest of the Quad member nations that India is very much a responsible partner of the Quad arrangement”, he was quoted.
PM Modi and former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe (Source- Firstpost)
India and Japan are truly natural partners in Asia. Their 70-years-old ties have deep civilization roots, an increasingly shared vision of a Rising Asia and a strong commitment to democratic values. This joint vision of the two countries and their potential to bring peace, prosperity and stability to ‘broader Asia’ was a belief that Shinzo Abe held firm. He truly believed in India’s capabilities when not many were willing to do so. In Shinzo Abe, India had a dear friend.
PM Modi has announced one day of national mourning on 9 July 2022 in honour of the former Japanese PM, Padma Vibhushan Shinzo Abe. A nation remains grateful to its friend from far away in the Pacific.
On Thursday, 7th July 2022, the Uttarakhand High Court allowed the slaughter of animals for Eid al-Adha on July 10 at a slaughterhouse in the Manglaur municipality of the Haridwar district staying a state government notification designating the whole district of Haridwar as a ‘slaughter-free zone’.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice RC Khulbe ordered that during Eid al-Adha, animals can be slaughtered only at the Manglaur municipality’s legally compliant slaughterhouse built through a public-private partnership and urged the municipality to publish the court ruling. They also ordered the petitioner who challenged the government’s decision to guarantee that no slaughtering occurs elsewhere in the district.
Uttarakhand High Court permits animal slaughter for Bakri Eid in Manglaur
On 3 March 2021, the Uttarakhand state government designated Haridwar district’s urban local bodies including two municipal corporations, two municipalities, and five Nagar Panchayats ‘slaughterhouse-free regions’, and terminated permits to operate slaughterhouses. The notification from the urban development department came ahead of the Kumbh Mela. Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from the area wrote to then-chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, urging that slaughterhouses be prohibited in a ‘religious city like Haridwar’.
Faisal Hussain, a Haridwar resident, petitioned the high court, claiming that animal slaughter was an essential religious practice in Islam and that for the Eid al-Adha festival, animal slaughtering should be permitted at the Manglaur slaughterhouse, which was built last year but could not function due to the district’s blanket ban on animal slaughter.
He contended that Muslims constitute 87.45% of the Manglaur municipality’s population. The location is around 45 kilometres from Haridwar, and if animal slaughtering is permitted in a slaughterhouse in Manglaur, Hindu religious sentiments would not be harmed.
In Mahabubnagar, Telangana, a private school bus got trapped at an underpass after the whole route had become completely submerged in rainfall due to the monsoon. The incident occurred on Friday morning when the school bus travelled between the villages of Machannapally and Kodur in the Mahbubnagar district.
#WATCH | Telangana: A school bus, carrying 30 students, was partially submerged in a flooded street in Mahbubnagar today. The students were rescued by the locals. The bus was later brought out of the spot. pic.twitter.com/7OOUm8as0v
However, with the assistance of residents, all of the children were safely evacuated off the school bus. Children were being picked up by the Bhashyam School bus from Ramchandrapur, Machanpally, and Sugurgaddafi Thanda as it travelled to the Bhashyam Technology School in Mahabubnagar Town. Locals stated that the bus driver crossed the underpass when the water level was high.
Telangana is expected to get severe to extremely heavy rainfall in the coming days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). A three-day monsoon prediction for the state has been released, showing heavy to very heavy rainfall in a few districts such as Jagtial, Rajanna Sircilla, Karimnagar, Peddapalli, Warangal (Rural), and Warangal (Urban).
For the past two days, heavy rains have been reported in the Mahbubnagar area. With the monsoon active across the state, various areas have received heavy rainfall. Other districts that got significant rain were Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Yadadri-Bhongir, Kamareddy, Jangaon, Rajanna Sircilla, and Jagtial.
The Northwest Bay of Bengal and its surrounding areas are also under the influence of a cyclonic circulation, according to the India Meteorological Department. Telangana is anticipated to see severe to extremely heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and lightning until Sunday, July 10. On Friday, July 8 and Saturday, July 9, the state is also anticipated to see strong gusts and isolated heavy rainfall.
Nearly ten days after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the CM and the state’s Maha Vikas Aghadi Govt, crumbled, Congress’s senior leader Rahul Gandhi awakened from his deep slumber and realised that he is “very upset” with his party in Maharashtra. Reportedly, the Gandhi scion has now decided to appoint an observer to take stock of the political situation in Maharashtra.
The decision came a day after Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole met Sonia Gandhi on Thursday. He approached the party’s national president with complaints against some leaders, including former chief minister Ashok Chavan, for being absent during the floor test sought by the now Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and cross-voting during the Legislative Council elections.
Notably, as many as 11 Congress MLAs abstained from the floor test on July 4, in which Eknath Shinde received the backing of 164 legislators, while the ousted Maha Vikas Aghadi, of which Congress was also a part, got only 99 votes.
Patole, according to sources, also informed Gandhi about the cross-voting by seven Congress MLAs during the June 20 Legislative Council elections, where the party’s official candidate Chandrakant Handore, a well-known Dalit leader, had to suffer a humiliating loss.
Reportedly, Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal were also present at Sonia Gandhi’s residence when Patole met her.
Sources said that the Congress supremos were stunned by the absence of 11 Congress MLAs during the trust vote. Moreover, they were also upset at Maharashtra leaders for not following directives to oppose the renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar during the last Cabinet meeting chaired by the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Rahul Gandhi expressed his displeasure about the state of affairs in the state and appointed an observer who would visit the state and assess the political situation in Maharashtra.
Notably, while the Shiv Sena party was struggling to sort the political crisis in Maharashtra, the NCP and the Congress who were in coalition with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had deliberately kept away from the surging heat. The NCP supremo had stated that the ongoing political crisis was an internal matter of the Shiv Sena party and not the NCP. Meanwhile, the Congress party was also busy glorifying the perky and playful facial expressions of its leader Rahul Gandhi who was being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case then.
Interestingly, the Congress drama was happening when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra was in the middle of a grim crisis, inching towards collapse. Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on June 21 rebelled against the MVA government and demanded a re-alliance of Shiv Sena and BJP. He stated that Shiv Sena was stepping far away from its policies of Hindutva and that it was disrespecting the ideologies of party supremo Balasaheb Thackeray. He also added that the Shiv Sena formed by Balasaheb Thackeray was different from the one that is led by CM Uddhav Thackeray.
On June 29, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the state’s chief minister and a member of the MLC live on social media, hours before the no-confidence motion on that day. The floor test was cancelled owing to Thackeray’s exit, and the administration was taken over by Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister and Devendra Fadnavis as Deputy Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra.
