BJP's attack on Rahul Gandhi likely to get sharper

AHMEDABAD: The Somnath temple visit controversy may be the latest to flare up but is not the first instance where BJP has attacked Rahul Gandhi since the Gujarat election campaigning picked up pace. The ruling party has gone beyond making fun of the Congress VP now to raking up old issues posing questions on his nationalism stating that he is visiting temples for electoral gains and even raising eyebrows about why he has not visited a mosque. In the past BJP targeted the Congress leader mainly to take jibes at him and brand him as a naive and reluctant politician. There is an ostensible change in the BJP strategy in the Gujarat election where he is the primary focus of the party s attack. This move has been visible since Gandhi s address at Berkeley US and serious campaigning in Gujarat subsequently. His imminent elevation to the post of Congress president may also be a trigger. BJP has been flying down Union ministers to Ahmedabad to hold press interactions mainly aimed at slamming Gandhi. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman came down to pose five questions to the Congress leader. These pertained to the National Herald case the Doklam standoff and his meeting with the Chinese ambassador and the Congress calling the surgical strike khoon ki dalaali . Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad held a press conference in Ahmedabad on November 28 where he raked up Gandhi s purported statement in 2009 to the then US ambassador Timothy Roemer that Hindu terror was a bigger worry than LeT. After the surgical strike last year Prasad said Gandhi had asked for proof. PM Modi who in the past elections took jibes at Rahul calling him Shehzada and BJP chief Amit Shah have also gone beyond rhetoric and questioned the Congress leader s stand on certain issues. BJP began its campaign against Gandhi during the Gujarat polls by raising eyebrows about his visit to temples. It sought to emphasise that he was doing so only for electoral benefits. Prasad even said Rahul Gandhi did not know how to perform aarti in a temple. BJP has been closely watching Gandhi s yatras speeches and the response to his rallies. His criticism of GST which he termed as gabbar singh tax and his charge that there had been no conspicuous development in Gujarat got wide publicity leading Union ministers and even the PM to counter it. BJP did not face any worthwhile challenge from Gandhi before the Gujarat elections as he would make a splash and then go off the radar. His frequent holidaying gave ample space to the ruling party to breathe easy. He left many agitations like the farmers protest in Mandsaur in MP a few months back when they were gathering momentum. However the Congress VP has been consistent in the Gujarat elections till now. His new social media team has taken on BJP effectively and there have been few faux pas too. His newfound seriousness in campaigning the traction his Navsarjan Yatra received his refusal to get drawn into efforts to polarise the election his visit to temples have all been a matter of concern for BJP. This augurs well for Gandhi in the run-up to his elevation as the Congress president. The Somnath controversy has turned out to be a spin by Rahul baiters. As the Gujarat election campaign peaks the attacks on the Congress VP both on social media and through BJP leaders are likely to get more vicious. AMRELI/ VADODARA: Congress VC Rahul Gandhi hit out at the controversy over his being registered as non-Hindu in Somnath Temple on Thursday insisting that he does not need to show any certificate of his religion. My grandmother and my family are Shiv bhakts...We do not speak of such things because we think our religion is our personal affair said Gandhi in Amreli while addressing a small gathering of traders the video of which went viral later on Thursday. Our faith is our personal matter. We are not required to show a certificate to anybody in this regard. Hum is cheez ki dalali nahi karna chahte (we re not brokers of religion). We do not want to use it politically said Rahul. A row had erupted after Rahul s name was registered as non-Hindu along with Sonia Gandhi s political secretary Ahmed Patel in Somnath temple s register during his two-day visit to Gujarat on Wednesday. At a rally in Bhavnagar he promised if Congress comes to power a loan waiver for farmers would be announced in 10 days. He promised college fees would be cut by 80% . Amreli: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi clarifying on Somnath Temple register controversy has said he and his family members are Shiv bhakts (devotees of Lord Shiva) and he does not use his faith for political mileage.Gandhi also said that he did not sign on the (non-Hindu) register. I didn t sign on the register... BJP s people had done that. I just signed on the visitors book he said.File image of Rahul Gandhi. PTI My grandmother my family... we are devotees of Lord Shiva and we don t need any certificate from others. Faith is a personal matter we don t want to do dalali (brokerage) on our faith... Don t want to use our faith for political mileage of it said Gandhi on Thursday while addressing a meeting in Amreli in Gujarat. These issues are personal and usually kept in private. We don t want any certificates on our faith from anyone he said.A major controversy broke out on Wednesday over the Congress vice-president s visit to Somnath Temple with the BJP questioning his faith while the Congress hit back accusing the BJP of playing dirty politics and maintained Rahul Gandhi was a devout Hindu .The controversy arose over Gandhi s media coordinator Manoj Tyagi signing the register meant for non-Hindus which the Congress claimed was manipulated later by adding the names of Rahul Gandhi and Ahmed Patel.Moments after his visit the social media was abuzz with pictures of a register showing the signature of Manoj Tyagi with names of Gandhi and Patel on the left side.Tyagi issued a statement that he had just signed the register in order to take media personnel inside the temple and not entered Rahul Gandhi or Ahmed Patel s names. These would have been added later he said in the statement.Click here for detailed coverage of Gujarat Assembly Election 2017 The Big Story: Touching faithOn the face of it there is little in common between Zahid Hamid who was Pakistan s Federal Law Minister until Monday and Rahul Gandhi vice-president of India s largest Opposition party.Yet in a curious coincidence political debate in their countries walked the same path this fortnight as both these figures were accused of concealing their true religious identities for political gain. Hamid was attacked for going soft on the Ahmadis a religious group whose members identify as Muslim even as Pakistani law refuses to accept them as such. They are have frequently been the target of vicious violence from other Muslims in Pakistan who see the Ahmedi creed as heretical. This resulted in a siege Islamabad last week as clerics demanded Hamid s resignation suggesting that he was Ahmedi himself. Alarmed the minister released a video message denouncing the Ahmedi creed. He resigned a little while later. Meanwhile in Gujarat the Bharatiya Janata Party jumped up to accuse Rahul Gandhi of not being Hindu. This claim was based on an allegation that Gandhi had registered as a non-Hindu when he visited the Somnath temple on Wednesday. Amit Malviya the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party s Information and Technology cell accused both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of not being Hindus asking rhetorically Gandhis lying about their faith? Large parts of the media took the BJP s cue to make this a major news point on Wednesday. Zee News asked if Rahul Gandhi is not proud to be a Hindu and Times Now conducted its prime time debates with the hashtag #RaGaSomnathSelfGoal. Republic TV bluntly asked #RahulGandhiHinduorCatholic even as the Times of India ran with the story on their front page on Thursday. Amidst this an anchor on CNN News 18 declared categorically that he was a proud Brahim and proud Hindu .Alarmed at this charge the Congress refuted the allegation on social media and even held a press conference. Like Hamid a few weeks earlier the Congress sought to reassure people about Gandhi s faith and even his caste. A senior Congress leader said that not only was Gandhi a Hindu but a janeu dhari a Hindu who wore the sacred thread that would mark him out as a Brahmin.The accusation that Gandhi had registered as a non-Hindu was later found to be false a fact backed up even by the temple.That of course is hardly the point. The real concern is how easily controversies about religious heresy and excommunication have come to find takers in India. This phenomenon is witnessed frequently across the border but is new for India. While religion has been part of Indian politics for some time the manufactured controversy around Rahul Gandhi s faith represents a new level of cynicism: even the personal religious beliefs of leaders have now become fodder for their rivals.Centering politics around religious hysteria has few benefits as Pakistan s experience shows quite clearly. The BJP is pulling out all stops to win this month s Gujarat election. But its decision to infuse debates about religious heresy and personal faith into mainstream politics will have an impact that will go far beyond just one election.Subscribe to The Daily Fix by either downloading Scroll s Android app or opting for it to be delivered to your mailbox. For the rest of the day s headlines do click here.If you have any concerns about our coverage of particular issues please write to the Readers Editor at readerseditor@scroll.inPunditryPakistan s original sin: It is its treatment of Ahmedis. It needs to overcome that anxiety to liberate itself on several fronts writes Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express.India s reticence on the Rohingya crisis undermines its democracy and global standing argues Suhasini Haidar in the Hindu.Do Gujarati Patidars constitutionally qualify for reservation asks Alok Prasanna Kumar in Bloomberg Quint.Giggle #Sohrabuddin pic.twitter.com/kiLwhfZb89 R Prasad (@rprasad66) November 30 2017 Don t MissIn Assam a massive eviction drive throws new light on old pressures on land reports Arunabh Saikia. What further complicated things according to Sarmah was the discovery of Assam s tea-growing potential. Since there was so much free land available the colonial government in the 1840s declared vast tracts of Upper Assam as wasteland and gave them to British tea planters almost free of cost.But since so much land was occupied by non-agriculturists Assam faced a food crisis in the 1880s. Sarmah said: The British realised that that the food deficit problem had to addressed so they started promoting the migration of cheap Bengali Muslim labour from across the border. They were given huge plots of land and with documents in exchange for money of course. These are the people who are often unfairly referred to as illegal migrants. LATHI (GUJ): Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today tried to woo farmers in Gujarat amid a high- stakes poll battle promising that their loans would be waived if his party forms government in the state. Calling Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani a rubber stamp he alleged that BJP president Amit Shah was remote- controlling the government in the western state. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji waived loans worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore of his five-ten industrialists friends but Modiji and (Finance Minister Arun) Jaitleyji say that it is not their policy to waive loans of farmers when they ask for it Gandhi claimed. He was campaigning here in the Patidar-dominated Amreli district on the second day of his two-day tour of Gujarat. Modiji talked for 22 years about farmers but you have not got anything your land has been taken away your water is diverted to industrialists and you do not get crop insurance he told a poll meeting. We make this promise to you that we will frame a policy within 10 days of forming government in Gujarat to waive your loans he said. Gandhi said for the first time he has seen that all sections of the society in the state were protesting whether it was the Patidars Dalits anganwadi workers or farmers. Only five-ten persons are not protesting. They fly in chartered planes and are Modiji s friends he said alleging that some of them get Rs 33 000 crore (loan) to make Nano car . If you ask questions whether you are Patidar farmer Dalit they will fire at you beat you up and will beat up women. But if five-ten people will ask for your land electricity water Modiji will immediately sign for them he said. Earlier Modiji used to do so. Now Amit Shah does the same. I have not taken the name of Rupaniji because he runs on remote control. Shahji can change the channel whenever he likes Gandhi said attacking the BJP leadership. He said the previous UPA government allocated Rs 35 000 crore in MNREGA and waived loans worth Rs 70 000 crore of farmers of the entire country. The amount of money that I put in MNREGA was given by Narendra Modiji to Tata Nano car factory. You lost your land it was snatched from you and given to Nano factory he said. Breaking its silence over Gandhi s charge that the BJP- led Gujarat government extended undue favours of Rs 33 000 crore to it for its car manufacturing facility at Sanand Tata Motors said it got Rs 584.8 crore as loan and not grant. The investor-friendly environment created by the Gujarat government encouraged Tata Motors to set up its manufacturing plant in Sanand with a long-term vision to make it one of the leading automotive hubs further enabling the state to contribute to the prosperity and growth of India the company said in a statement. At the election rally Gandhi said You will not get Narmada water when you ask for it but Modiji s friends will get it immediately. They get 14 hours power supply while you get it for a few hours. He also said that the farmers were not getting the minimum support price for their produce inspite of the promise by Modi to provide them a high MSP. A massive controversy erupted on social media when reports suggested that Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on his visit to the Somnath temple in Gujarat registered as a non- Hindu during his visit. This news was originally published by Zee Gujarati after it was tweeted by their journalist Tejash Modi. The tweet by Tejash Modi claimed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the Somnath temple. Signed the temple trust register for non-Hindus. Ahmed Patel also registered. Amit Malviya the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party s Information and Technology cell latched on to this tweet and in no time many other Twitter handles who support the BJP made this viral.Ambassador Meera Shankar UPA s representative in US had referred to Sonia Gandhi as a Christian leader. The reference was soon deleted. Now Rahul Gandhi declares he is a non-Hindu but their election affidavits claim that they are Hindus. Gandhis lying about their faith? pic.twitter.com/iFE4AhVnRM Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) November 29 2017 TV news channels played along. Zee News ran the story with the title Rahul ko Hindu hone ka garv nahi? with the hashtag #RahulHinduVivad whereas Republic TV ran the hashtag #RahulHinduorCatholic and asked questions such as: When you were 27-years-old the NYT listed you as a Catholic. Did you correct them? and Did you despite accepting the NYT description as a Roman Catholic call yourself a Brahmin in 2012? Different descriptions for different geographies? Times Now conducted a prime time debate at 8 pm and 9 pm with the hashtag #RagaSomnathSelfGoal. The Times of India made this story the front page lead on Thursday.Handwriting analysisThe easiest way to ascertain whether a piece of text was written by a person or not is by doing some handwriting analysis. It is a technique that is used widely by forensic organisations around the world. Considering that Rahul Gandhi has represented Congress at various events a simple search on Google throws up many of his handwritten notes. Let us take a couple of these samples and compare it with the entry from Somnath Register being passed around.The image above clearly shows that the samples of Rahul Gandhi s handwriting available on public websites doesn t match the handwriting in the register which is being claimed to be his entry while visiting Somnath Temple.Moreover if the handwriting of the two consecutive lines corresponding to the entries of Rahul GandhiJi and Ahemad Patel are compared they appear to the written by the same person.Also Ahmed Patel s name has been misspelled as Ahamed Patel while Rahul Gandhi has been written as Rahul Gandhiji . It is highly unlikely that Ahmed Patel would misspell his own name or the Congress vice president would put down his name as Rahul Gandhiji .Some simple hand-writing analysis makes it obvious that it wasn t Rahul Gandhi who himself put in his name. While Malviya has an agenda considering that he s representing a party and has been caught peddling misinformation multiple times (1 2 3 4 5) what stopped the various news organisations from doing this simple analysis?Congress party s standThe Congress party was swift to react. In a press conference Congress spokespersons produced the original document that has the signature of Rahul Gandhi in the visitor s book of the Somnath temple. They also claimed that Rahul Gandhi was never given the register in which it is claimed he signed himself as a non-Hindu .Rahul ji made an entry into the visitor s book The signature which is being talked of is different neither it is the signature of Rahul Gandhi nor was this register ever given to him: RS Surjewala Congress pic.twitter.com/8w6hkKxRHQ ANI (@ANI) November 29 2017 Congress party tweeted the following from their official Twitter handle.Clarification: There is only one visitor s book at Somnath Temple that was signed by Congress VP Rahul Gandhi. Any other image being circulated is fabricated. Desperate times call for desperate measures? pic.twitter.com/KOokFOH83z Congress (@INCIndia) November 29 2017 Alt News spoke with Divya Spandana who heads Social Media and Digital Communication of the Congress Party. She suggested that Manoj Tyagi who is a media co-ordinator in the Congress party was asked to sign the register so that media personnel who were accompanying the Congress troupe could enter the premises of the temple. She also stated that the entries corresponding to Rahul GandhiJi and Ahamed Patel were not present when Tyagi signed the register and that they were added later. Alt News tried to reach Tyagi multiple times to confirm this assertion but he was unreachable.Further Handwriting AnalysisDoes the handwriting in the visitor book that Congress party is claiming to be Rahul Gandhi s actual entry match his publicly available handwritten samples? We juxtaposed images of the latest and previous samples and we found that they do match.The assertion by Divya Spandana that the names Rahul Gandhiji and Ahamed Patel were not written by Tyagi himself is corroborated by the differing style of writing numerals in the date section of the entry and the mobile phone number which was put in by Tyagi under his signature.Media follow-upFirstpost spoke with Somnath temple trust s secretary PK Laheri who stated that Rahul Gandhi only signed the visitor book and nowhere else an assertion which is line with the Congress Party s defence.In the months leading up to the Gujarat elections it has been witnessed that a brazen effort is underway to shape the popular narrative away from the real issues facing the state while trivial issues take centre stage. There also seems to be an organised attempt to polarise the electorate on communal lines through constant reference to religion. Sections of mainstream media and electronic media in particular have been complicit through their unrelenting coverage on such topics. The controversy over Rahul Gandhi s entry in the Somnath temple register comes across as yet another attempt to distract public opinion and is a sad commentary on the nature of political discourse in India.This article first appeared on Alt News. NEW DELHI: Congress will roll out the process for election of party president on Friday in what will mark the start of the much-awaited exercise which will see Rahul Gandhi take the reins of the party within a fortnight. The notification announcing the election process will be issued on Friday morning with aspirants allowed to file nominations by December 4. The papers will be scrutinised on December 5 and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is December 11. Rahul is likely to submit his papers on the last day of nomination. According to party officials Rahul will visit his office at the Akbar Road headquarters in Delhi where he will sign multiple sets of papers. Much drama is awaited during the nomination as presidents of state units and key party leaders CWC members and AICC office-bearers including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh A K Antony Ahmed Patel would visit the office to file papers for the heir imminent. Chief returning officer for the election and senior Congress MP Mullapally Ramachandran will oversee the process. While Rahul is likely to be elected unopposed AICC may want to go through the process before announcing the outcome. Mumbai: A day after Congress Maharashtra activist Shehzad Poonawalla asked the party s national vice president Rahul Gandhi to resign before contesting the elections for party president the state unit and his family members virtually disowned him on Thursday.State Congress president Ashok Chavan said Poonawalla s remarks were aimed at getting cheap publicity to which the party gives no importance.Questioning Poonawalla s locus standi he said there is no truth in his allegations nor is Poonawalla a representative or leader of the party has remained inactive since the past couple of years and done nothing for the party.File image of Shehzad Poonawalla. Twitter Moreover the newly-elected Pradesh Congress Committee representatives (delegates) have unanimously adopted a resolution asking Rahul Gandhi to contest the Congress President s election Chavan pointed out.He condemned Poonawalla for his reckless utterances when the election process is underway in a free and transparent manner and said it was aimed at deriving media attention.Shahzad s brother Tehseen Poonawalla who is also with the state Congress quickly declared that he officially ended all relationship with (Shehzad) . I have never been this hurt. We needed to defeat the BJP. This is unacceptable. I m very very hurt today. Been stabbed in the back and how Tehseen said in a tweet.Tehseen s wife Monicka Vadera-Poonawalla followed suit and also expressed full support to her husband and all his statements in the matter which has snowballed into a raging controversy. My family and I neither have any relation association nor wish to comment on the issue or the said individual Shehzad Poonawalla. Please refrain from tweeting/contacting me for the same Monicka declared in her tweet.I stand by & support my husband @tehseenp & all of his statements. My family & I neither have any relation association nor wish to comment on the issue or the said individual Shehzad Poonawalla. Please refrain from tweeting/contacting me for the same. Monicka Vadera (@mvadera) November 30 2017State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Poonawalla was not even a primary member of the party so where was the question of him being a leader or a PCC representative. In reality he is a self-proclaimed person using the name of Rahulji for drawing public attention he said.Maharashtra Youth Congress vice president Satyajeet Tambe said every time he sees Shehzad Poonawalla representing the party on television debates I feel ashamed of myself . I have been working in the Congress party for the past 17 years and have been loyal. Only because (such) people can speak a few words in English better it doesn t make them great leaders... Congress should learn and keep such people away he said.Late on Wednesday night Shehzad Poonawalla created a ruckus when he questioned the process to elect the Congress Party President terming it rigged and calling upon Rahul Gandhi to first quit his post before contesting for the top post.He also indicated his desire to contest for the top post if the election was conducted in a genuine manner and wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi in this connection.Firstpost s Sanjay Singh spoke to Poonawalla earlier this week and you can watch the interview below:

8 Dead, 80 Fishermen Missing As Cyclone Ockhi Nears Lakshadweep: 10 Facts

10:16 (IST)Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan directs district creditors to coordinate executive rescue operationsResponding to the heavy rains lashing the country Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday advised district collectors to be on alert and coordinate workings of government agencies worried in the rescue operations. District creditors of Thiruvananthapuram Kollam Alappuzha Idukki and Ernakulam also informed Vijayan about the losses due to rains. The leader minister has asked them to shift people away from disaster prone regions. On account of the havoc caused by torrential rains and winds in southern Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has advised the district creditors to be on alert and asked them to coordinate the working of all authorities businesses Colombo nine:43 pm A fallen tree blocks the street in Colombo Sri Lanka. (Sourcec: REUTERS) Related News Cyclone wreaks havoc in Bangladesh refugee camps for Myanmar s RohingyasCyclone Vardah to hit Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh: Here is all you need to knowCM Naidu opinions scenario as heavy rains lash Andhra PradeshA powerful hurricane coupled with heavy rains hit numerous components of Sri Lanka killing at least seven folks and affecting almost 20 000 people government said these days. The hurricane additionally disrupted air traffic and different critical offerings. The schools inside the Central Western and Southern provinces were closed. Many homes had been in part damaged especially within the imperative hill districts and energy components have been hit. At least seven people were killed due to heavy rains and gusty winds which swept through maximum elements of the island closing night time police said. Nearly 20 000 affected and five humans are lacking as of this afternoon following the heavy rains. The Colombo National Hospital officers stated as a minimum 15 people were dealt with for accidents. Addressing Parliament Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that he had directed officials to pay every family stricken by bad climate rupees 10 000 as emergency help. Heavy rains Gusty strong winds approximately 60-70 kms in keeping with hour may be predicted over the island and hard seas may be expected similarly within the deep and shallow sea regions round then island too a assertion from the meteorological branch stated. The army has been deployed to help inside the rescue and healing operations. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the affected families may be given compensation. The severe climate become brought about due to a despair within the south-western regions which became later developed right into a deep melancholy. It was positioned 2 hundred kms far from capital Colombo. It is probable to develop in to a cyclonic storm within next few hours and flow in addition far from the island. As a result its consequences at the united states is predicted to reduce regularly by using tomorrow. In the landslide susceptible imperative hill regions measures were taken to evacuate humans catastrophe control officers stated. The public has been requested to remain vigilant as the water ranges in the rivers have been growing. For all of the state-of-the-art World News down load Indian Express App More Related News Cyclone-devastated Fiji eyes more useful resource as dying toll hits 44 Cyclone Winston: Fiji storm loss of life toll reaches 29 after island leveled Tags: cyclone MADURAI: The Southern Railway on Thursday announced partial cancellation of educate offerings among Nagercoil and Kanyakumari Nagercoil and Thiruvananthapuram and Nagercoil and Tirunelveli due to heavy rain because of Cyclone Ockhi. Number 56715 Punalur - Kanniyakumari passenger train can be partially cancelled between Neyyatinkara and Kanyakumari on Thursday. Number 16724 Kollam - Chennai Egmore Ananthapuri Express can be in part cancelled among Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. Number 16723 Chennai Egmore - Kollam Ananthapuri Express will be partly cancelled between Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam. Numbers 22627/22628 Tiruchchirappalli -Thiruvananthapuram - Tiruchchirappalli Intercity Express could be partly cancelled among Tirunelveli and Thiruvannthapuram on Thursday. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan ordered all district creditors to adopt on the spot relief measures by using coordinating all the government organizations. In the emergency video conference convened on Thursday the chief minister asked all of the district creditors to be on high alert. The district collectors of Thiruvananthapuram Kollam Alappuzha Idukki Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam explained the scenario in their respective districts that came about due to the heavy rains. The most destruction has been pronounced from the capital district. The leader minister requested the collectors to shift human beings from prone areas. The district creditors have additionally been requested to take the assist of navy air pressure and coast defend if required. While lifting the shutters of dams human beings inside the banks have to be alerted earlier through numerous media. The respective local bodies additionally need to be informed earlier the leader minister told. The collectors additionally defined numerous measures undertaken of their respective districts. The assembly turned into attended with the aid of revenue minister E Chandrasekharan chief secretary K M Abraham additional leader secretary (revenue) P H Kurien and different senior officers On Tuesday meteorological branch officials stated a low pressure system became forming inside the Bay of Bengal that could turn into a cyclonic typhoon and hit the u . S . A . S east coast with the aid of December 4. Tamil Nadu is bracing for the storm to hit its northern coast though it is unclear as of now if it's going to achieve this or move further up to southern Andhra Pradesh. So some distance we anticipate a low stress machine to shape inside the Andaman sea within the following few days stated SB Thampi head of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai. He stated a trough a location of low atmospheric strain had already fashioned over south-western Bay of Bengal and the adjoining areas of southern Sri Lanka. In the next few days it'll circulate closer to the Bay of Bengal and is possibly to come toward Chennai and take a northerly flip he stated. Whether it's going to reach cyclone depth or now not it can't be said at this point in time. We will need to be patient. According to private weather offerings organization Skymet this would be the fourth low pressure area to be formed within the Bay of Bengal in the course of the North-East Monsoon that could have an effect on the climate over Tamil Nadu.The southern state is presently in the middle of the North-East Monsoon cycle which sets in at the stop of October and debts for around forty eight% of its annual rainfall. Rainfall distribution across the kingdom has been uneven up to now and the cyclone if it lands should widen the imbalance through drenching the rain-fed northern coastal districts. A storm alert for Tamil Nadu round this time of the year is not unusual. Two cyclones had struck the state s coastal regions in December ultimate yr. Cyclone Nada had landed close to Puducherry weakening into a melancholy because it neared the coast. The extra powerful of the 2 cyclones Vardah had made landfall in North Chennai and became observed by means of effective winds that delivered down timber and electricity lines. Many components of the city had no power smartphone or internet services for round every week.Normal rainfallThis 12 months s North-East Monsoon has visible a rainfall deficit of around 17% in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. However meteorological branch officers stated they nonetheless anticipated a regular monsoon. A deficit as much as 18% is considered regular Thampi explained. We wish that inside the coming days the departure from normal rainfall amount will come down. This graph represents ordinary rainfall received by way of the southern peninsula inside the beyond months. Credit: India Meteorological DepartmentThe graph under indicates that there have been spikes of heavy rainfall in the beyond two months. But climate blogger Pradeep John says that is a regular feature of the North-East Monsoon. Unlike the South-West Monsoon the North-East Monsoon is erratic he stated. You see excellent rainfall sooner or later after which a damage for a while. Credit: India Meteorological DepartmentUnequal distributionThe above ordinary rainfall experienced at the end of October and within the first week of November as shown in the graph above changed into caused by low pressure systems. They introduced heavy showers to the northern coastal belt of Tamil Nadu. The districts of Thiruvallur Chennai Kancheepuram and Nagapattinam recorded excess rainfall.Meanwhile pre-monsoon rain in early October added showers to the interior districts of Krishnagiri and Vellore which generally do now not receive a whole lot rainfall.But for most of the monsoon season the vital and southern districts have now not received a whole lot rainfall. Ramanathapuram district especially has had very poor rain. The southern districts are sooner or later seeing some showers because of a third low stress machine in the Bay of Bengal. As the low in the south-west Bay actions into Comorin sea in an afternoon or two maximum of the motion will be in South Tamil Nadu and the delta belt John wrote on his Facebook web page. Let them get the a great deal wanted rains. The fourth low stress gadget that is nevertheless forming is predicted to bring rain to northern Tamil Nadu even https://www.eetimes.com/profile.asp?piddl_userid=129742 though it isn't yet clean how close it'll get to the coast. Whether it brings rain over the land area or the ocean we're but to see said Thampi.Satellite picture of weather conditions on November 28. (Credit: India Meteorological Department) ALAPPUZHA: District collector TV Anupama stated that she has directed all of the departments worried to maintain vigilant as the district were given alert for excessive climate - heavy or extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds. Speaking to TOI Anupama said that Alappuzha is not facing a scenario that prevails in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts. However we've got taken all the viable steps for ensuring the safety of human beings. We have also contacted the district administration of different neighbouring districts like Pathanamthitta for making sure the protection of Kuttanad human beings. If rainfall is high in Pathanamthitta and different neighbouring hilly districts the water level will cross high in Kuttanad. So we are maintaining in touch with the district administration of our neighbouring districts. I even have spoken to my counterpart in Pathanathitta and we are taking all of the feasible steps for the safety of people. Irrigation department has been directed to take steps to ensure the safety of Kuttanad people Anupama said. Now we don t need to evacuate the humans from the coastal belt and the state of affairs is below control Anupama stated. We have cautioned fishermen no longer to challenge into the sea and urged travelers and people residing along coastal regions to remain vigilant. I actually have additionally convened a assembly of individuals of district disaster management committee and took stock of the scenario she said.

Uttar Pradesh tops the list on crimes against women in 2016

10:20 (IST)BJP leading in KanpurAccording to Times Now the BJP is leading in Kanpur the biggest city in Uttar Pradesh. Counting for the Uttar Pradesh local body polls began today in all the districts amid tight security. The elections coming eight months after the BJP s landslide victory in the UP Assembly polls are being seen as the first popularity test for the Yogi Adityanath government. The counting of ballots has started in all districts on a peaceful note. The results are likely by afternoon State Election Commission said here. The counting was going on for 16 nagar nigam 198 nagar palika parishad and 438 nagar panchayats it said. In 2012 BJP had a mayor in 12 municipal corporations. The Yogi Adityanath government after assuming office constituted two municipal corporations of Ayodhya and Vrindavan-Mathura. The polling percentage of the third phase on November 29 in 26 districts of the state witnessed a voter turnout of 53 per cent. The previous two phases of polling on November 22 and 26 had recorded a turnout of 52.59 and 49.3 respectively taking the average of all the three phases to 52.5 per cent. The overall percentage recorded an improvement from 46.2 per cent in 2012 to 52.5 per cent this time. The election campaign generated a lot of political heat with the ruling BJP leaving nothing to chance. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath criss-crossed the state to woo voters in the name of development while opposition SP BSP and Congress campaigns were comparatively low key. Both SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati did not campaign for their candidates. A journalist working for a Hindi daily was shot dead on Thursday by unidentified bike-borne assailants near the nagar palika market in Billhaur Uttar Pradesh Police said.Navin Gupta was fired with bullets when he came out of a public toilet Superintendent of Police (Rural) Jai Prakash said.Gupta who was in his 30s succumbed to injuries while being rushed to a hospital. He worked for Hindustan as its local reporter from Bilhaur.#UttarPradesh Spot visuals where journalist Naveen Srivastava was shot at by 3-4 bike borne assailants in Kanpur pic.twitter.com/Th1FYv2Kb3 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 30 2017As the news of the killing spread senior police officials rushed to the spot.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences and directed the state DGP Sulkhan Singh to immediately follow up on the investigations to nab the culprits Principal Secretary (Information) Awanish Awasthi said in Lucknow.The district magistrate and senior superintendent of police rushed to the spot he added. Forensic experts were called to gather evidence that could be helpful in cracking the case.The police were trying to figure out the motive behind the killing. Old enmity was one possible motive that was being looked at officials said.Representational image. AFPThey added that an FIR would be registered once the aggrieved family submitted a written complaint.Meanwhile a manhunt was launched to nab the assailants who fled the scene immediately after the killing. No arrest was however made till Thursday evening.Local mediapersons and office bearers of journalists unions held an emergency meeting and expressed serious concern over the scribe s killing and the law and order situation.This is the second killing of a journalist in the state in just over a month. In October RSS activist and Dainik Jagran stringer Rajesh Mishra was shot dead in the state s Ghazipur district.Earlier Uttar Pradesh-based journalist Jagendra Singh was killed in June 2015 in Shahjahanpur district allegedly for his exposes on illegal sand mining and other such activities.He was allegedly set on fire. Singh had worked for Hindi language media for 15 years.In October 2015 45-year-old journalist Hemant Yadav was shot dead by motorcycle-borne gunmen in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh. He worked with a local news channel.In another incident a part-time reporter of a Hindi daily in Bareilly district Sanjay Pathak was killed allegedly by two persons in August 2015.Pathak 42 was hit several times on the head with some heavy object and died of excessive bleeding.Another journalist was attacked allegedly by the mining mafia in Chitrakoot district in 2015 while in yet another shocking incident a journalist was dragged on the road by goons after tying him to a motor bike in Pilibhit district the same year.With inputs from agencies KANPUR: A 38-year-old journalist - Naveen Gupta working with a national Hindi daily was shot dead in Billhaur area of the district on Thursday evening. Police have registered a case of murder against unidentified men and rounded up nearly half-a-dozen suspects for an early breakthrough superintendent of police (rural) GP Singh told TOI. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the state DGP to follow up the investigation into the murder. The incident occurred at a market near Billhaur Nagar Palika around 5:30 pm when three persons on a two-wheeler arrived at the family shop where Naveen was sitting. It was after he came out of the shop the assailants whipped out firearms and sprayed bullets on him a police official at Billhaur Kotwali police station said. The trio fled the spot on their motorcycle soon after committing the crime he said. Gupta was rushed to a nearby hospital by family members and local shopkeepers who reached the spot after hearing gunshot sound. He was declared brought dead by doctors at the hospital the police official said. Senior police officials including SSP Akhilesh Kumar Meena besides a forensic team experts reached the site and launched an investigation in this regard. Gupta was a social person and he used to help people in his capacity said local sources further. On the motive behind the crime SP (rural) GP Singh said police is trying to speak to his family members in this regard. Five bullets each hit Naveen in his vital body parts. We have rounded up few persons and investigation is on SP (rural) GP Singh said without elaborating. Lucknow: Bizarre news is not something new to Uttar Pradesh. On Monday the district jail in Orai was witness to a unique sight as eight donkeys incarcerated for the last four days in the prison were let off after a recommendation from a local BJP leader.These donkeys had been sent behind the bars by jail superintendent Sita Ram Sharma who lost his cool on the four-legged animals after they chewed up costly plants brought by the prison authorities for plantation inside the jail premises.Representational image. ReutersThe owner of the donkeys apparently made many requests to prison authorities to let the donkeys go but to no avail.He then did what most commoners do in Uttar Pradesh petition the politician.Here he made a fervent appeal to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shakti Gahoi who then went to the jailer and asked him to let the donkeys go.With a ruling party leader making the request the prison official immediately signed the release orders .Locals apparently were amused to the hilt to see donkeys walk out of the prison gates rather than men which is usually a common sight.But then this is Uttar Pradesh and anything and everything is possible here! Electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be closely watched as results of the Uttar Pradesh civic polls are declared on December 1. While elections to 16 nagar nigams are being held through EVMs ballot papers are being used for simultaneous polls to 198 nagar palika parishads and 439 nagar panchayats. Second phase of the three-phase polls concluded on Sunday with some incidents of EVM malfunctioning being reported. Our apprehension is that wherever elections are being held through EVMs (in nagar nigams) BJP will win while wherever elections are being held by paper ballots BJP will lose badly. The December 1 results will expose EVMs Samajwadi Party spokesperson and a close Akhilesh Yadav aide Sunil Singh Yadav told ET. If the BJP is winning in the cities on EVMs in nagar nigams it should also win on the ballot papers. If there is a BJP wave it should be everywhere. If the BJP wins by as big a margin on ballot papers as on EVMs we will admit your popularity. But I m sure the December 1 results will trigger a big debate in the country over EVMs Yadav said. While 1.53 crore people will vote in the nagar nigam polls 1.23 crore people will vote for 198 nagar palika parishad polls and 57 lakh people will vote in 439 nagar panchayat elections. The BJP scoffed at these allegations saying the Samajwadi Party was already conceding defeat in the 16 nagar nigams. The Opposition is disillusioned and dispirited and hence putting forward such unfounded allegations on EVMs. The SP and the Congress have lost their connection with the people - especially after the public supported the government on GST and demonetisation. We are confident of winning all three elections UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi told ET. He however added that nagar panchayat polls are elections at very low level and in many such contests parties had not even floated candidates. It would not be proper to draw a conclusion from just the nagar panchayat elections. In the Amethi nagar panchayat in Rahul Gandhi s constituency the Congress has not even put up a candidate. Nagar nigam polls are being fought by all parties on their symbols - why is the Opposition scared of those results already? Tripathi asked. State election commissioner in UP SK Agarwal conceded that EVMs being used in nagar nigam polls are M1 type -manufactured till 2006 -- and the Election Commission of India is in the process of phasing them out when they complete their 15-year lifecycle. He however cited just four cases of EVM malfunctioning in the first phase of polls. The M2 model of EVMs produced after 2006 and up to 2012 have dynamic coding of key codes thereby enabling transfer of the key - press message from Ballot Unit to Control Unit in an encrypted form as an additional security feature. EC earlier threw an open challenge to test EVMs including M1 type to prove they are non-hackable. But no political party participated in the challenge. Former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had questioned EVMs after the 2017 assembly election loss.

Unearthing the IT potential of Kerala

NEW DELHI: The Kerala cricket team has made history by reaching the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time joining defending champions Gujarat from Group B of the ongoing tournament. From Group C Madhya Pradesh grabbed the second available spot after Mumbai crushed Tripura by ten wickets while from Group A it was Bengal and Vidarbha who marched into the final eight. Karnataka and Delhi emerged easily from a lop-sided Group A. @Paytm The quarterfinal line-up of the @paytm Ranji Trophy 2017-18 is as below: 1. Gujarat v Bengal - Jaipur 2. De... https://t.co/gH9NSigm1N BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) 1511874874000 Here s a roundup of the action from the final round of league matches. Group B Kerala became the first team from Group B to progress into the knockouts with an innings victory over Haryana away from home. Their latest win gave Kerala - this season coached by Dav Whatmore - 31 points from six games. Group leaders Gujarat beat Jharkhand by 10 wickets to end the league stage on 34 points courtesy five wins out of six. Victorious Kerala team over the moon. https://t.co/CcUYrhzKc3 Narayanan S (@narayanantweaks) 1511852037000 Haryana s campaign ended with their fourth defeat leaving them with nine points from six games. Jharkhand limped out with eight points from six matches winning a solitary fixture. A draw with Rajasthan has meant that Saurashtra have to wait to gain passage into the quarter-finals. In six matches Saurashtra claimed 26 points while Rajasthan s winless run in the tournament saw them finish with just six points from six matches. The final team Jammu & Kashmir did not feature in the final round of matches; they ended fourth in Group B with nine points. Group C A seven-wicket win for Indore at home over Odisha spurred on by leg spinner Mihir Hirwani has pushed MP them into the knockouts. This put them level with Mumbai on 21 points but second on the table because Mumbai had more outright wins. Andhra finished at third place with 19 points. Baroda and Tamil Nadu both out of the reckoning for a knockout berth once Mumbai hammered Tripura played out a draw at the Motibaug Cricket Ground. Baroda finished at fourth place in Group C with 16 points ahead of Tamil Nadu with 11 points meaning this was the first time since 1955-56 that the southern state team did not manage a single outright win. Tripura finished bottom of Group C with four points behind Odisha with six. Tamil Nadu in #RanjiTrophy 2017/18: Played - 6 Won - 0 Lost - 1 Drawn - 5 For the first time since 1955/56 Tamil... https://t.co/q5AdxRYqOO Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) 1511861058000 Group D Vidarbha s strong season continued with a draw against Himachal Pradesh which gave them three points to claim top spot in the group. Spurred by captain Faiz Fazal s 206 Vidarbha were set up for the first-innings lead and though they could not complete victory they finished eight point clear of Bengal with 31 from six matches. A draw with Goa at home secured Bengal s place in the quarter-finals. They finished second with 23 points ahead of Punjab (18) Himachal (14) Chhattisgharh (13) Services (10) and Goa (6). Group A Karnataka topped the group following a 209-run win over Railways with the red-hot opener Mayank Agarwal recording his fifth century of the season and second in the match and K Gowtham spinning his way to seven wickets. This was Karnataka s fourth outright win. Agarwal passed 1000 runs for the season as his second century ground Railways down. Fantastic victory boys @CricketKsca ! #RLWvKAR #RanjiTrophy @BCCIdomestic Manish Pandey (@im_manishpandey) 1511867735000 Delhi were unable to snuff out Hyderabad for a full six points but having already qualified for the quarter-finals Gautam Gambhir s team pocketed second place with 27 points. Maharashtra signed off with a seven-wicket win over Assam joint on 16 points with Hyderabad in Group A. Railways (14) Uttar Pradesh (5) and Assam (2) were already out of the reckoning. Kerala government s counsel V Giri said on Tuesday that the state had not changed its stand on the National Investigation Agency inquiry into the Hadiya conversion case. In an affidavit to the Supreme Court in October the Kerala government had rejected the NIA s claims that the Hadiya case was part of a pattern of religious conversions and radicalisation happening in the state. In the affidavit the state had said that there was no need for an NIA inquiry.Twenty-four-year-old Hadiya who was known as Akhila before her conversion to Islam told the court on Monday that she wanted freedom and wanted to see her husband Shafin Jahan. However the court ordered that Hadiya could complete her degree in homeopathy at a medical college in Salem.Hadiya had to wait for a few hours to depose as senior lawyers engaged in heated arguments on Monday. Shyam Diwan the lawyer representing Hadiya s father and Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh representing the NIA asked the bench to postpone its interaction with Hadiya.Hadiya s conversion from Hinduism to Islam and marriage to a Muslim man led to a controversy and allegations of forced conversion. The Kerala High Court had annulled their marriage in May and had sent Hadiya to her father s house where she was confined so far. In August Jahan had moved the Supreme Court against the High Court s decision. The Supreme Court however ordered the National Investigation Agency to look into the case of the woman s alleged conversion. Weeks later Justice Dipak Misra took over as chief justice of India from Justice JS Khehar. On October 3 the new bench this time led by Misra changed its stance by questioning the NIA investigation. Media reports said that Giri supported the NIA when it pressed the Supreme Court to peruse its confidential report before listening to Hadiya indicating a change in the Kerala government s earlier stand. Giri said the idea was to not continue Hadiya s custody but to ensure that her right to lead a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution was protected.Media interpreted it as Kerala government s support for the NIA investigation but Giri denied this to Scroll.in. The counsel said he had merely suggested that the bench should look into the new material submitted to the court. I didn t specifically mention that the court should peruse the NIA report he said. Apart from NIA report the materials included a few affidavits too. The government hasn t changed its stand on the NIA investigation .Kerala Law Minister AK Balan told Scroll.in that he does not possess the details of proceedings in the Supreme Court. I can comment only after getting the details he said. LAHLI: The odds were stacked against them when Kerala were grouped along with defending champions Gujarat and Saurashtra. However the team led by Sachin Baby exceeded all expectations and sealed Kerala s first-ever Ranji Trophy quarterfinal berth by registering their fifth win in six matches at Lahli Haryana on Tuesday afternoon. The knockouts entry marks the coming together of a bunch of hungry cricketers who have lived upto their potential at last. While the core of the Kerala team remained the same from the last few seasons they seemed to have acquired a killer-instinct to be ruthless and win matches. Under coach Dav Whatmore and captain Sachin Baby this team has managed to do something no other team from the state was able to do in the past. Kerala dominated all their matches this season except against Gujarat which they lost. However the team regrouped quickly and went on to win the next four matches on the trot. The margins of victories read: by 9 wickets against Jharkhand by 131 runs against Rajasthan by 158 runs against Jammu & Kashmir by 309 runs against Saurashtra and by an innings and eight runs against Haryana. The figures suggest that they have kept getting better as the tournament progressed. Even when we were beaten by Gujarat we had the belief we could qualify. We had a young team and our motive was to keep enjoying the game and the results followed. Now we have to follow the same processes in the knockouts captain Sachin Baby said. The allround brilliance of Jalaj Saxena (38 wickets and 482 runs) whom Sachin calls his trump card and Sanju Samson s exploits with the bat (577 runs) stand out. That said the qualification is down to a team-effort as different players have stepped up. While the seamers came to the party in the last match at Lahli it was the spinners who did the job when Kerala played at home. Jalaj Saxena spun the team to win against Jharkhand and Rajasthan while Sijomon Joesph and Akshay KC two left-arm spinners playing their first season showed no nerves and were instrumental in the wins over Jammu and Kashmir and Saurashtra. What was noticeable is that Kerala were not afraid to adopt a horses-for-courses strategy. The decision to play a quartet of fast bowlers in Lalhi at the expense of in-form spinners worked as Kerala quashed doubts about their versatility on seaming tracks. Our fast bowlers have been bowling well. Sometimes the results come a bit late said bowling coach Tinu Yohannan. There s an all-for-one and one-for-all attitude in the Kerala camp. Every time batsmen return to the dressing room after a session their teammates and the support staff receive them with a pat on their back and few encouraging words. A lot of it is down to the team bonding sessions. Whatmore is a fantastic team coach. He knows how to make a team work. The bonding sessions we have had with various fun games. It might look silly from the outside like the musical chair we had before this game. They make all the players closer to each other and that reflected on their performance on the field said Kerala s fielding coach Mazar Moidu. The team looked fitter than most other state teams and it reflected on their fielding. The fitness coach Rajesh Chauhan who keeps the players not only fit but also in good spirits cracking jokes has been a valuable addition to the mix. Now that the team has reached uncharted territory the challenges will be higher but they have shown they have the ammunition in them and it will be a matter of carrying on the good work. Defending champions Gujarat will face Bengal while 41-time winners Mumbai will lock horns with the season s from team Karnataka in the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy. The line-up for the knockouts which will be played from December 7-11 was finalised after the conclusion of the league matches across various venues on Tuesday. The match between Mumbai and Karnataka will be telecast live.Quarter-finals line-up: Gujarat v Bengal in Jaipur Delhi v MPCA in Vijaywada Kerala v Vidarbha in Surat Karnataka v Mumbai in Nagpur.Delhi earn 3 points against HyderabadDelhi entered the Ranji Trophy knockouts as the second best team from Group A after their last league match against Hyderabad ended in a draw on Tuesday. Delhi picked up three points from the game by virtue of taking the first innings lead at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Delhi will take on Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals while Group A topper Karnataka will lock horns with Group C runners-up Mumbai in their last-eight clash. Karnataka thrashed Railways by 209 runs after off-spinner K Gowtham returning figures of 7 for 72. Delhi drew the match against the hosts after being made to bowl over 150 overs in the second innings. Forced to follow on after conceding a lead of 210 Hyderabad s batsmen came good in the second innings with Akshath Reddy (107) Rohit Rayudu (103) and B Sandeep (93) helping them to 442 for eight at stumps. Delhi used nine bowlers through the second innings with the left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra picking up his fifth five- wicket haul. He took four wickets on the final day including those of the set batsmen Rayudu and Sandeep. Hyderabad finished fourth in the group with 16 points after having their first two matches washed out. Delhi finished second with 27 points. In another Group A game in Pune Maharashtra won by seven wickets after overhauling Assam s victory target of 216/3 in 47.4 overs on Monday.Brief scores (Group A): Delhi 415 drew with Hyderabad 205 & 442/8 (PA Reddy 107 K Rohit Rayudu 103 BP Sandeep 93; Vikas Mishra 5/116). Gujarat 411 & 16/0 beat Jharkhand 242 & 183 f/o (K Deobrat 53 Virat Singh 52; CT Gaja 3/37 HP Patel 4/9).Bengal join Vidarbha in last eightAnustup Majumdar struck a second century in the match as Bengal drew their Group D match against Goa to advance to the quarter-finals. Resuming at 108 for three Bengal who had a first innings lead of 69 runs lost Abhimanyu Easwaran (21) and Shreevats Goswami (20) cheaply. But Majumdar held fort and followed up his first innings century with an unbeaten 108 (183 balls; 11x4) while Writtick Chatterjee also matched his partner with a 102 not out as Bengal declared their second innings for 334 for five. Chasing an impossible 404 target on the final day Goa were 86 for two in their second essay at close. With the drawn result Bengal progressed to the quarterfinals on the basis of their first innings lead with 23 points from six matches. Brief Scores (Group D): Bengal: 379 & 334/5 decl (Anustup Majumdar 108 Writtick Chatterjee 102 ) drew with Goa: 310 & 86/2 (Snehal Kauthankar 53 ; Ashoke Dinda 2/13). Punjab 645/6 decl & 94/5 (Sachidanand Pandey 3/26) drew with Services 315 & 458 (Rahul Singh Gahlaut 124 Ravi Chauhan 112; Siddharth Kaul 3/96). Himachal Pradesh 353 & 323/8 decl (NR Gangta 101 SL Verma 59 Rishi Dhawan 53; Aditya Sarvate 6/75) drew with Vidarbha 456.Kerala reach first ever Ranji quartersIn Rohtak Kerala picked up an innings-and-eight-run win against Haryana to join Gujarat in the quarterfinals from Group B. Kerala were in the drivers seat after taking a 181-run first innings lead and having reduced to Haryana to 83 for 5 by the third evening. They needed just five wickets for a win on the fourth and final day today and they did that in style with seamer MD Nidheesh grabbing three wickets to earn Kerala a bonus-point win. Kerala finished second on the Group B table with 31 points while Haryana s season ended with their fourth loss in six matches. This was the first time Kerala entered the quarterfinals since the introduction of the tier system in the Ranji Trophy format. Brief scores (Group B: Haryana 208 & 173 lost to Kerala 389 (Jalaj Saxena 3/37 M Nidheesh 3/27) by inns & 8 runs. Saurashtra 534 drew with Rajasthan 275 & 394/7 f/o (AV Gautam 100 C Bist 109 R Bishnoi 103 ; A Jadeja 5/167).Gujarat 411 & 16/0 beat Jharkhand 242 & 183 f/o (K Deobrat 53 Virat Singh 52; CT Gaja 3/37 HP Patel 4/9) by 10 wkts.Tamil Nadu exitTamil Nadu ended it s campaign by losing its final Group C match to Baroda by 102 runs. Requiring 233 for a win the visiting team was all out for 130 in 65.5 overs on the final day on Tuesday. Baba Aparajith was the only one to offer resistance scoring 60. For Baroda Lukman Meriwala and all-rounder Swapnil K Singh took four wickets each. Tamil Nadu thus finished the Ranji season with 11 points from six games having failed to even win a match. It was an abject surrender by the Tamil Nadu batsmen on the final day as none showed the inclination to fight. Meriwala ripped the Tamil Nadu top-order apart removing captain Abhinav Mukund N Jagadeesan and B Indrajith to leave them tottering at 16 for 3. It was downhill for TN as wickets kept falling at regular intervals with only Aparajith and V Yomahesh (23) hanging on for a significant period. Madhya Pradesh which outclassed Odisha in another game at Indore by seven wickets qualified for the quarterfinals along with Mumbai. MP s win knocked out Andhra Pradesh which finished with 19 points. Brief scores (Group C): Baroda 309 and 197 beat Tamil Nadu 274 and 130 all out (B Aparajith 60 N Meriwala 4 for 22 Swapnil K Singh 4 for 21) by 102 runs. Odisha 147 and 350 all out in 138.2 overs (Subhransu Senapati 125 Mihir Hirwani 5 for 97) lost to Madhya Pradesh 388 and 111 for 3 in 37 overs (Devendra Bundela 50 not out) by seven wickets. General physicians cardiologists neurologists and doctors of other specialties in our State today have a peculiar problem at hand. To convince many of their patients that their abnormal palpitations frequent headaches and unexplainable body aches need the help of a mental health practitioner not a physician. But it is often after visiting three or more doctors that the patient finally visits a psychologist and realises that he or she is suffering from an anxiety disorder. While a lot of people are aware of the symptoms of depression and seek treatment for it anxiety disorders can also be equally debilitating and take away productive years but are left untreated say doctors. And like with every other mental disease Kerala tops the list of Indian states when it comes to anxiety disorders according to a recent study published by the medical journal Lancet. Mental health practitioners in Kerala agree and reveal that they get countless patients with anxiety disorders on a daily basis of all age groups but mostly teenagers and young adults and more women than men. What exactly is an anxiety disorder and what is making Malayalis more anxious than the rest of India? Why is it that Kerala which has much better health indicators than the other states lags behind when it comes to mental health? It s not a digestion problem but your anxiety speaking A 45-year-old man once approached a psychologist in Kochi. For two years he had been suffering from severe digestion problems and acidity. He had visited every doctor possible and had been prescribed digestion medication which only relieved the symptoms; until a doctor suggested that he consult a psychologist. In another instance a 14-year-old boy was brought to a psychiatrist by his parents. Every morning before going to school he would throw up and so refuse food. After returning from school he would feel voraciously hungry and wolf down food. He also suffered from hyper acidity sleep problems and migraines. His grades had plummeted over the course of a few months. In both cases the patients had only physical symptoms to talk about but the underlying problem was found to be severe anxiety. In the case of the former the patient had generalised anxiety disorder while the child was constantly worried about how he would perform in his exams. People are actually relieved when they realise what causes their physical symptoms. Because all other tests would have been negative says Dr Philip John psychiatrist. While anxiety is a normal emotion it becomes a disorder when you cannot cope with the emotion points out Dr Philip. At a psychological level it feels like a constant sense of foreboding of impending danger. For instance all of us anticipate certain scenarios before going for an interview but when the sole emotion is fear it becomes a disorder he says. At a physical level symptoms range from dryness of mouth blurring of vision and a choking sensation to palpitations and acidity. You also get aches and pains and feel like visiting the toilet more. Because the same neurocircuits which control anxiety trigger these body functions says Dr Philip. Literacy and education = more anxiety? And what is it about God s Own Country which is making its people anxious? The Lancet study found that the more literate the State the more the incidence of anxiety disorders. So does literacy and education lead to more stress? It certainly leads to more abstract thoughts according to Dr SD Singh psychiatrist. The general public are more aware of their rights and the law than anyone else and are constantly frustrated about not getting what they think they deserve he says. Malayalis are also a bundle of contradictions according to the doctors. While they have less tolerance levels and are more aggressive when something is denied to them they are socially withdrawn as well. We don t stand up and talk in a crowd. And our mindset is such that however disturbed we are internally we put up a strong front before society. In our neighbouring Tamil Nadu for example they are more expressive about their problems says Dr Gitanjali Natarajan HOD Dept of Clinical Psychology AIMS Kochi. And more education also means more competition which has increased in our State over the years. There is practically no job which is not stressful today unlike with the previous generation. The competitive spirit intensifies as you move from the north of Kerala towards the south and in addition parental anxiety reflects in their children says Dr Gitanjali. Dr SD Singh agrees. In the average Malayali family the entire atmosphere is tense during the children s exams. An excessive sense of morality also puts pressure on young people he says citing the example of a 16-year-old girl who was brought to him by her parents. She had insomnia body aches and other classic symptoms of anxiety. The parents argued that they took away her phone because they felt she might be talking to boys. They wanted to watch every move of hers. The student on the other hand said she was just a normal girl and felt distressed that her parents didn t trust her. I had to counsel both he says. Malayalis alcohol dependence only adds to their anxiety in the long run even though the substance is considered to relieve stress. According to Dr Philip though it could also be that Malayalis consult doctors more for anxiety-related disorders. In other states they consult a doctor only for major psychiatric disorders while a Malayali will hop doctors until he understands exactly what is wrong with him he says. There s a huge amount of understanding here about diseases from health magazines and the internet and consequently greater reporting of anxiety disorders. Do we have access to the right kind of treatment? While psychiatrists say that anxiety disorders might need medication at times psychologists feel that many of them can be cured by therapeutic intervention. But is treatment accessible to all? Anxiety disorders can affect the quality of life and eventually make a patient housebound. Each individual requires a different kind of treatment says Dr Gitanjali. However therapy is neither cheap nor easily available she admits. We have a tendency to medicalise all anxiety disorders here. In a government hospital which a common man walks into he will be immediately directed to a psychiatrist not a psychologist even if the issue can be resolved by counselling. The system is extremely regressive. At the same time in a private hospital you might get the right kind of therapy but not everyone might be able to afford it. Mental health care should ideally be state funded. She also warns about the psychology clinics that have mushroomed all over especially in a city like Kochi. Consult only a licensed doctor where the registration is exhibited prominently she says. Athira G a 30-year-old recalls how she went through a severe anxiety episode during her divorce and had no clue where to seek help from. At one point I was so frustrated I randomly walked into a clinic. The person there listened to me but the moment 45 minutes was up she said I have to leave as another patient was waiting. I paid 750 back in 2013 but there was no promise of a cure no comments at all. Many of these clinics function solely as profit-making enterprises she says. Psychologists and psychiatrists unanimously say that while over-the-counter medication is as dangerous as it is illegal tried and tested methods like yoga and regular exercise can help symptoms. Not everyone might get a complete cure especially in instances of generalised anxiety disorder but with treatment you can learn to control it says Dr Somnath. What all does anxiety affect? Light admitted in your eyes Rate and force of heartbeat Rate of respiration Amount of acid secreted in stomach for digestion Movements of the intestine Rate of passing stools and urine Temperature of the body Muscle tension from head to toe Depression vs anxiety Symptoms of depression: loss of energy loss of interest in things in general negative thoughts pessimism Symptoms of anxiety: a sense of foreboding constant worry about what will happen Anxiety and depression are not exclusive and can occur together or as a consequence of the other says Dr Somanath Children and adults in the 30-40 age group are most susceptible to anxiety while older people are more vulnerable towards depression Kinds of anxiety disorders Generalised anxiety disorder Obsessive compulsive disorder Dissociative disorder LAHLI: On a sedate day of cricket Kerala have reinforced their upperhand against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy Group B game despite their batting looking painstakingly slow from the outside. Kerala closed the second day at 205 for the loss of three wickets three runs behind Haryana s first-innings score of 208 at Lahli on Sunday. Jalaj Saxena (91 off 205 balls; 4x10) and Rohan Prem (79 not out off 273 balls; 9x4) shared a 172-run third wicket partnership but crucially it came in almost 75 overs and at various times it looked they could have accelerated a bit more. However the stand might turn out to be the pivotal point in the match as it has virtually shut the door down on Haryana who would know any deficit of over 100 would be tricky for them in their second innings. Sending back Sanju Samson (16) for cheaply late in the day would have given Haryana some respite for he had looked in touch and could have inflicted major damage on the third morning. Saxena and Rohan came together at the fall of Arun Karthik who was bowled by Ashish Hooda in the second over and batted till late into the final session. Both Saxena and Rohan recorded their third half-centuries of the season and frustrated the Haryana bowlers who were not able to extract much out of an untypical Lahli wicket. Apart from a few tight singles which required them to pull out desperate dives to makes the crease the pair was hardly troubled in the first session as Kerala went for lunch at 67 for one. The Haryana seamers did not seem to have learned from the lengths the Kerala bowlers were bowling to reap benefits towards the end of the first day. They kept banging in short and were duly punished by Saxena a natural puller. Even as the part-timers were brought in the Kerala duo was not willing to chance their arms and it led to an idle second session win which only 82 runs came in 34 overs. Haryana skipper Mishra finally got Saxena out with a googly which went through the gate to bowl him robbing the batsman of a second century this season. Sanju Samson (16) who had had a long wait near the boundary lines at times with a book in his hand came in and injected some momentum into the innings. He took on Mishra and lofted him straight out of the park and hit a couple of more crisp boundaries. However Sanju s innings was cut short by an in-dipper by promising young seamer Ajit Chahal. Basil Thampi came on as a nightwatchman and saw out the day without further damage. At the end of the day s play Kerala captain Sachin Baby said it was the perfect day for his team. Everything went right for us. Jalaj and Rohan batted brilliantly. We are almost level with their total. We have stroke-makers waiting to come in. So a lead of 150 would be a huge on this wicket said Sachin. Scoreboard Haryana 1st innings : o/n: 207/9 A Mishra not out 32; A Hooda c Karthik b Thampi 0; Extras: (nb 8 b 5 lb 1) 14; Total: (All out in 81.3 overs) 208; Bowling: Warrier 18-4-50-4 Nidheesh 18-4-40-1 V Kumar 19-7-40-2 B Thampi 11.3-0-39-2 Saxena 15-2-33-1. Kerala 1st innings: A Karthik b Hooda 3 J Saxena b Mishra 91 R Prem batting 79 S Samson lbw b Chahal 16 B Thampi batting 0; Extras: (nb 3 w 2 b 6 lb 3) 14; Total (For 3 wkts in 85 overs) 205; FoW: 1/5 2/177 3/198; Bowling: H Patel 11-1-30-0 Hooda 14-2-25-1 Chahal 14-3-47-1 Mehta 18-6-35-0 Mishra 16-3-33-1 Bishnoi 8-3-14-0. Shillong: Shillong Lajong face an unknown quantity in Gokulam Kerala FC when the two sides take on each other in their season opening match of the I-League in Shillong on Monday.Shillong Lajong have been in the I-League for some time while Gokulam are the first club from Kerala taking part in this top tier after a hiatus of six years.Gokulam FC set to make their I-League debut away to Shillong Lajong. Image Courtesy: I-LeagueHome side assistant coach Alison Kharsyntiew said the first match of any league would be hard and Shillong Lajong will give their best. They (Gokulam) are a good team George is a good coach and we have to be mentally prepared for them said Alison. There is one thing evident that this match is going to be a really competitive and energetic one and also that the viewers will always be biting their nails in anticipation of miracles the players do on the field. He said Gokulam would give their hundred per cent since they would be playing their first match.Alison said his players have been trained to be able to work in defence as well as in offence. My advice to the players is that play as a unit and give it all you have he said.Talking about team coordination he said the senior and junior players got along well as it was a key aspect to any team s performance The senior players guide the juniors and it is also expected of the juniors to be respectful towards their seniors he said.

Hadiya back in college, dean says she'll study under Hindu name

New Delhi: Hadiya who grew up as Akhila Ashokan in Kerala married a Muslim man Shafin Jahan remaining 12 months. Hadiya will testify before the Supreme Court nowadays after her own family alleged that she was abducted and compelled to transform to Islam for the reason of terror recruitment. The Hadiya case has been dubbed as love jihad a practice wherein prone Hindu girls are allegedly lured by Muslim men who are sellers of terrorist organizations. Mr Jahan who had returned to Kerala from the Middle East had appealed towards the annulment of their marriage via the Kerala High Court. The Hadiya case turned into then passed over to the National Investigation Agency. The 25-yr-old is predicted to tell the judges today if she married Mr Jahan a yr in the past of her own free will.Here s a whole timeline of events in Hadiya case:May 2017: Kerala High Court Annuls Hadiya s MarriageThe case got here into the limelight after Hadiya s father KM Ashokan contested in Kerala High Court and alleged that Shafin Jahan whom Hadiya married final year changed into trying to recruit her for terror and take her to Syria. On his petition the wedding was cancelled by using the Kerala High Court. Since then Hadiya has been dwelling at her father s home in Kerala s Kottayam and has been avoided contacting outsiders with out her father s approval.Her husband appealed against the annulment of their marriage and said it become no longer love jihad case.August 2017: Supreme Court Orders NIA Probe in Hadiya CaseAfter asking the Kerala government to produce all of the files related to the Hadiya case the Supreme Court on August 16 ordered a probe by using the National Investigation Agency. Will I Live Like This Asks Hadiya On CameraActivist Rahul Easwar met Hadiya at her home and shot a video along with her permission. He instructed NDTV that Hadiya were dwelling in only a room and one-toilet for the remaining three months and became not allowed to go out everywhere. The woman says she wants to maintain and die as a Muslim Mr Easwar had said.October 30 2017: Bring Hadiya Here: Supreme Court To Father In Kerala Love Jihad CaseOn October 30 the Supreme Court said that Hadiya s case might be heard on November 27. The apex courtroom had said that when you consider that Hadiya turned into 24 years antique her consent as an adult changed into high and her version of the way and why she married a Muslim guy could be heard.Activist Says It s Not Love Jihad caseActivist Rahul Easwar who had met her in August said that for the reason that Hadiya converted first and married a yr and a half of later this is not love jihad case.October 27 2017: I Am Going To Die Hadiya Says On CameraActivist Rahul Easwar launched a video to the media in which Hadiya is heard pleading. Get me out of right here. Today or tomorrow I am going to die. I am sure about this. My father is getting angry I can make out. He pushes me stamps at me Hadiya changed into heard pronouncing within the video recorded in August.November 6: Love Jihad Case: National Commission For Women Meets HadiyaNational Commission for Women met Hadiya at her home and suggested that she become safe and changed into no longer subjected to any abuse. I just met Akhila or Hadiya as the NCW become involved approximately her well-being. She is in accurate health isn't being overwhelmed up she is ingesting changed into smiling and is happy National Commission for Women leader Rekha Sharma had stated.November 14: Hadiya can not meet Kerala Women s Commission says her fatherHadiya s father denied permission to the Kerala Women s Commission to meet Hadiya. The girls s body then approached the police to talk to him and give an explanation for why he banned the consultation.November 15 2017: Husband Approaches Police To Seek Hadiya s SafetyHadiya s husband Shafin Jahan approached the police to are trying to find Hadiya s protection. He advised the media that trendy clips display that her fitness has deteriorated and a train adventure to Delhi may also take a toll on her fitness and chance her safety too.November 21 2017: Hadiya s Father Tells Supreme Court Hadiya Must Not Testify About Her Marriage In A Public HearingHadiya s father KM Ashokan advised the Supreme Court that Hadiya s proper to privateness ought to be maintained and she or he have to not testify approximately her marriage in a public hearing. He alleged that the case will become a reality display. Prior to this Hadiya s husband Shafin Jahan changed into interrogated for six hours via the National Investigation Agency or NIA.The Kerala Women s Commission stated that it was again denied permission to go to meet Hadiya.November 24 2017: Married At Free Will Says HadiyaBefore taking a flight to Delhi from Kochi Hadiya stated that she changed into now not forcefully transformed or married to Shafin Jahan. I married him out of my own will and I need to live with my husband she said.November 26 2017: Hadiya Does Not Have An Independent Mind Says Her Father s LawyerHadiya s father argued in courtroom that her testimony can not be relied upon as she does no longer have an independent mind and has been brainwashed .November 27 2017: Hadiya to Testify in Supreme CourtHadiya will testify inside the Supreme Court these days on why and beneath what situations did she marry Shafin Jahan. Hadiya is 24 years antique. She isn t sixteen or 14 she isn t a minor who has been kidnapped. She is an adult.It does now not rely whether she changed into born a Hindu or Christian or that she has now changed her religion. In the eyes of the Indian regulation she is no extraordinary from an AR Rahman or a Kamala Das. What subjects is that she is an person who now takes place to comply with the Islam religion.You may not love it however love is a many splendoured aspect and who's every body to impeach it? In reality Hadiya is not below the safety of her parents via any prison fiat and there is no motive why she should now not pass live with her husband if she so wants. Why all this search and rescue grandstanding?In reality not handiest need to she have the freedom of now not residing with her parents they should additionally be positioned on observe with a restraining order or be charged with intimidation.Hadiya is a 24-yr-old person not a minor toddler. ReutersBut ironically the National Council for Women which till closing week changed into hissing its indignation over a stupid little tweet with the aid of Shashi Tharoor playing at the name of Miss World Manushi Chillar has now done little or no to protest the shrieking male chauvinism in the back of the fashion over Hadiya s right to convert her religion or her proper to marry and stay with the man she loves.The Supreme Court has completed the proper aspect in pulling her out of her mother and father residence however the simplest person who has the proper to protect defend and aid her is her husband Shafin Jahan and it is the couple s choice not the law s whether or not she need to look at for medicinal drug or now not.What if she makes a decision before her route is over to stop analyzing? Is she going towards the apex court docket? Can a courtroom of regulation supersede the rights of a husband?There is also confusion about their fame as a couple with Hadiya s father s attorney claiming there's no marriage. This declaration creates 3 options: Married annulled unmarried. Why became this popularity not given readability is inexplicable.If she says she is married to this man and he says she is his spouse how is it all and sundry else s enterprise to refute it? Besides how hard is it to prove her marital popularity?Also at the same time as it sounds salutary to % her off to hostel with cautions to the university dean and police officers to offer her safety you can still simplest hope that it s no longer replacing one captivity for some other. From being constrained to the home of her dad and mom to being below defend on campus does no longer appear to be a extraordinary blow for freedom.Then we come to all this witch physician stuff and the involvement of hypnotism in her conversion which is definitely why this contemporary and weird derivative of Romeo and Juliet is making the front page news. Since the National Intelligence Agency has come into the mix and suspects a fear hyperlink thru indoctrination and mindgames this transfer to university is a smart manner to hold an eye fixed at the woman.The cutting-edge one hundred-web page file shows consistent with NIA sources that there are trained people who use hypnosis to influence prone ladies . These non-Muslim ladies are then drifted off to an altered nation of thoughts wherein they're made to accept as true with in doing what the counsellors wish .Is this alteration everlasting or does it put on off? Surely some deeper expertise on this problem is called for but ought to ipso facto be delinked from her marital country? Surely hypnotism could had been significantly dented in the months she changed into limited to her dad and mom domestic best to get replaced through rage and defiance.If no longer for that each one this commotion is unnecessary. She has made a decision and he or she should stay with it. Who is a hazard to her? Her parents? Just study them the rebellion act there are laws for this in India. Stay away or get locked up. Her husband? He loves her and is on foot thru hellfire for her so bargain him. Her in-legal guidelines? Probably wondering who desires this publicity and if their son couldn t have observed himself a nice Muslim lady.What approximately a few nascent misguided terror organization who would possibly need to shut her up so she is not de-hypnotised and spills the beans at the method? Or the dean who has been made chargeable for her protection and need to be thinking if there isn t every other scientific college in India. Some angry Hindutva group who sees this as a blot on their honour? Or some indignant Muslim institution who sees this as a blot on their honour?But regardless of the chance the operative sentiment is that Hadiya is in a university room and ensuring her safety on this environment is scarcely failsafe. Actually it's miles as porous as a slice of Swiss cheese. KOCHI: Police right here have beefed up protection for a central authority pleader who appeared in Hadiya case on the Kerala high courtroom after he filed a complaint alleging hazard to his existence. In a grievance addressed to the state police chief P Narayanan senior authorities pleader to recommend general alleged that threats had been made towards his lifestyles in a Facebook publish through a consumer named Key Cee Naseer Nasi by using alleging that he colluded with the RSS attorney who represented Hadiya s father KM Asokan earlier than the excessive courtroom. The Facebook put up stated On the day of bad luck when Hadiya changed into requested to go with her father authorities pleader Narayanan came out of court docket number four ran via the verandah in the direction of the RSS attorney displaying thumbs up gesture and then shook his hand to proportion the happiness in sending a girl named Haidya to torture. Yes he s no longer a nominee of BJP-RSS on the excessive courtroom. He s an authentic CPM nominee who hails from Kannur. Narayanan s complaint to police said According to the stated post a person reading the instructions forwarded via the police to me for the case and the judgement within the case could no longer be capable of sleep without filling my mouth with dust. As consistent with the excessive court docket s judgement in Hadiya case the government pleader had submitted that the wedding among Hadiya and Shefin Jahan was a pressured marriage and turned into a ploy to defeat the court docket s complaints inside the habeas corpus case filed by means of the daddy. The judgement had also said that the government pleader had submitted that it is a case of forcible conversion and that Hadiya isn't capable of taking an knowledgeable selection on her personal. The judgement stated According to the learned senior authorities pleader Ms.Akhila has been influenced with the aid of feeding her with picture details of hell and the torments that sinners are subjected to of their life after dying. She has additionally been made to believe that which will break out from the torments of hell popularity of the Islamic religion became the simplest way. In any other element the judgment cited The Senior Government Pleader who represents respondents 1 to 4 (police officials) normally supports the contentions recommend through the counsel for the petitioner. A day after Supreme Court delcared that Hadiya has the constiutuional proper to make his personal selections a similair case with a twist was witnessed in Jodhpur. Puja Joshi Brahmin female eloped with a Muslim boy named Moshin. The couple went to Bikaner and sought the help of the nearby police to get married as each are primary. However while the local police sought facts from Jodhpur they came to recognise that a document approximately Puja s disappearance has already been filed at Mahamandir police station. So when the couple become introduced returned to Jodhpur leaders of the BJP Vishwa Hindu Parishad and different right-wing Hindu businesses reached the Mahamandir police station. Calling it any other case of affection jihad they created a rukus outdoor the police station and tried to conquer Mohsion who became saved with the aid of the police. After recording statements of Puja and Moshin below Section 161 of Cr.P.C. Before the Justice of the Peace the police sent them to their respective homes. According to police Puja in her statement has noted one situation that if Mohsin converts to Hinduism she can marry him.

Nestle India, distributors fined in Uttar Pradesh

The district administration in Uttar Pradesh s Shahjahanpur has fined Nestlé India Rs 45 lakh after its quality tests found the Maggi packets being sold in the area to be sub-standard The Hindu reported. The administration has also asked six company distributors to pay a fine of Rs 17 lakh. Shahjahanpur Additional District Magistrate Jitendra Kumar Sharma said there were seven cases where the product was found to be sub-standard. The samples were tested by the Food and Safety department of the district Sharma told The Hindu.A Nestlé India spokesperson however said the test results appears to be a case of application of incorrect standards and maintained that the popular product was safe to consume. According to the makers the samples tested were collected by the district administration in 2015 after the product was relaunched following a nationwide ban over safety standards. We have been informed that the samples are from 2015 and the issue pertains to ash content in Noodles the spokesperson told The Hindu. The spokesperson said that in 2015 Nestlé India and a few other companies had asked authorities to set specific standards for instant noodles. The standards were introduced and our product complies with these new standards the spokesperson said.The district administration said the fine was being imposed nearly two years later as it was hearing representations from Nestlé officials and distributors NDTV reported.The company said it was yet to receive a notice from the administration but will file an appeal once it does PTI reported. Voting for the third and final phase of civic bodies polls in Uttar Pradesh will take place on Wednesday in 26 districts amid tight security arrangements. The State Election Commissioner SK Agarwal said that 5 Nagar Nigams 76 Nagar Palikas and 152 Nagar Panchayats will go to polls to elect their mayors and representatives. Tight security arrangements have been made for the final phase of polling. Additional security forces have been deployed in sensitive districts and drone cameras would keep an eye on the sensitive polling booths said the SEC. Districts where polling will be held include Saharnpur Moradabad Bulandshahr Baghpat Sambhal Etah Bareilly Ferozabad Oraiyya Kannauj Jhansi Kanpur Dehat Mahoba Sitapur Rae Bareilly Lakhimpur Kheri Balrampur Bara Banki Maharajganj Siddharthnagar Kushinagar Mau Mirzapur and Chandauli. For the first time all major political parties including the ruling BJP Samajwadi Party BSP and the Congress are contesting polls on their party symbols. The BSP is contesting local bodies polls on party symbols after 17 years. ALSO READ Low turnout marks phase 2 of UP civic polls Generally the Chief Ministers avoid campaigning for the ruling party candidates in local bodies polls but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a whirlwind tour of the state holding more than 40 rallies in support of BJP candidates. For Yogi Adityanath results of local bodies polls will be a referendum on his eight-month rule in the state and it may also impact crucial Gujarat Assembly polls. ALSO READ UP Civic Polls Phase 2: Rajnath s lotus pic at poll booth causes outrage low voter turn-out recorded The counting of votes will take place on December 1 and results would be declared the same day. A day after reports said that the police in Uttar Pradesh had detained four donkeys for four days and then released them the state police department has denied it. Uttar Pradesh Police has nothing to do with their arrest or custody the department said in a tweet on Tuesday.Dear @ndtv #uppolice has nothing to do with their arrest or custody.We request you to check your facts with us next time. https://t.co/6i9wN0nGZN UP POLICE (@Uppolice) November 28 2017 On Monday reports had said that the animals were detained at the Urai district jail complex for four days for eating expensive plants in the facility.The animals were held after their owner Kamlesh let them loose despite being warned that a senior officer was planning to plant some expensive plants RK Mishra the head constable at Urai jail had told ANI. The plants were reportedly worth Rs 5 lakh.After the police denied Kamlesh s request to free the animals he had sought local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shakti Gahoi s help reported India Today. Gahoi had then gone to the police along with Kamlesh and persuaded them to let the animals go. The animals not only ate plants they ruined the entire garden and injured the children of the colony Jail Superintendent Sitaram Sharma told PTI. We called the owners several times and each time they said the animals didn t belong to them. Another jail official said that they had made all arrangements for the donkeys and had even fed them two times a day.#WATCH Police release a herd of donkeys from district jail in UP s Jalaun. They had been detained for destroying plants outside jail pic.twitter.com/RkV8Hng0k2 ANI (@ANI) November 27 2017 New Delhi: Security agencies have arrested a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh for planning a terrorist strike in the city and carrying out reconnaissance of vital installations like Army camps and power projects in Jammu and Kashmir an official said on Tuesday.The alleged terrorist identified as Abdul Naeem Sheikh was arrested two weeks ago in a joint operation conducted by the security agencies along with state police an official said adding that he was being tailed by the security agencies for a few months.Representational image. AFPA number of videos and photographs of vital installations of Army camps and power projects in Jammu and Kashmir have been recovered from Sheikh s possession which proved that he did recce of these places the official said.Other officials close to the case claimed that Sheikh had also done recce of Kasol in Himachal Pradesh as well as some nearby areas which are frequently visited by Israeli nationals and other foreign tourists.The security agencies have dubbed Sheikh as David Coleman Headley as he had been working on his footprints and did recce of the same areas. Headley a Pakistan-American is serving a prison sentence of 35 years in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.Officials close to the case said that Sheikh was wanted by security agencies in various cases including the Mumbai train attacks of 2006-2007. Sheikh was nabbed by the security agencies at that time and was under trial. In August 2014 he managed to give the slip to security agencies and escaped when he was being taken from Dum Dum Central jail (Kolkata) to Mumbai to appear in court. He fled while the train was passing through the deep forests in Chhattisgarh the official said.After fleeing from custody Sheikh established a new sleeper cell under instruction from his LeT handler Amjad the official said. Sheikh then had done a number of reconnaissance operations in Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh following the instructions of Amjad. He had targeted high profile tourist sites including Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh. The case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for further probe added the official. On Wednesday a Muslim cleric and his two relative were assaulted and stabbed on a train in western Uttar Pradesh. This was a hate crime the victims were picked out for their religion. Mohammad Israr one of the victims who had received stab wounds from an ice pick on his back head and hands said that their Muslim appearance with namaaz caps and scarves had irked the attackers. While the men were being assaulted the attackers said repeatedly You wear caps? We will teach you to wear caps. This is not the only incident of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh becoming the focus because of their clothing. On November 21 a Muslim woman was instructed to remove her burqa by the police in a rally by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath. A couple of days after this the Bharatiya Janata Party made a formal demand to the Election Commission of India asking for special verification of voters in burqas. Women sporting the veil should be verified if needed the BJP said. For this women security personnel or women election officers should be deployed at booths. From these incidents it would almost seem that there is an attempt to erase from public view the typical dress of North Indian Muslims kurta-pyjama and caps for men burquas for women. It s as if Hindutva forces want to create a public sphere that if not literally devoid of Muslims is certainly devoid of Muslimness.Hindutva risingThe issue of looking Muslim is not a new one or for that matter only confined to Uttar Pradesh. In 2015 for example a Muslim man s beard was pulled even as he was assaulted and robbed on a train in western Uttar Pradesh. Like the namaaz cap and kurta the beard is also a prominent symbol of Muslimness.In 2014 a Muslim man Mohsin Shaikh was lynched in Pune by around 25 members of a group called the Hindu Rashtra Sena. The members of the Hindu Rashtra Sena were angry about morphed images they had seen circulating on social media. When they stepped out they spotted Shaikh who had a beard and was wearing a green Pathan suit slotting him as Muslim. In June this year a 15-year old boy named Junaid was singled out as Muslim for the cap he was wearing and stabbed to death in a train in Haryana. In Junaid s village in Faridabad a district in Haryana that borders Uttar Pradesh men are trying to look less Muslim dropping obvious articles of clothing such as namaaz caps or shaving off their beard. The Telegraph found that symbols of Muslimness are now found less visible on the train route on which Junaid was murdered. Muslims think it too risky to wear their namaaz caps while commuting.Airbrushing realityIn his 2004 essay On representing the Musalman historian Shahid Amin deftly critiques the Nehruvian Unity in diversity dictum that represented Muslims and other minorities using blunt stereotypes. In government unity in diversity posters Muslims are represented by a man wearing a fez cap.Thirteen years after this essay things have moved from bad to worse. Earlier Muslims were stereotyped yet small mercies they were still part of government propaganda. Yet now with Hindutva rising there is pressure for Muslims to remove markers that are visually distinct. This trend is particularly acute in Uttar Pradesh. Looking Muslim has resulted in a range of penalties ranging from chastisement by the police to outright assault. This behaviour is backed up by the administration led by a chief minister who is not only accused of communal rioting but has gone on record claiming that secularism a constitutional principle is a lie.Two Nation theoryThis airbrushing of Muslims from the public sphere is not unexpected. Vinayak Savarkar the man who coined the word Hindutva was a firm believer in the Two-Nation Theory and postulated that in India Muslims must subordinate themselves to Hindus.The expectation that Muslims should be made politically irrelevant in India finds deep resonance with the BJP charge of vote banks the notion that minority communities are pandered to by politians for electoral gain. But the fact of Indians voting as groups is a banal reality: voting along caste geographical or gender lines is a common way for groups to pressure leaders to act. Patels in Gujarat might vote for reservations or a village for a new tubewell. None of this attracts censure till the group in question happens to be members of minority communities.Vote banksAs a result the BJP rarely courts Muslims preferring to rely solely on Hindu votes. In the March landslide in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections for example the BJP stitched together a remarkable multi-caste Hindu alliance winning 40% of the vote.Even when the BJP desires Muslim votes its methods don t rely on the quid pro quo that characterises India s transactional democracy. For example in one recent case civic polls in Uttar Pradesh saw a BJP leader threaten Muslims to vote for the BJP. Even while asking for their votes the BJP does not see Muslims as legitimate players in the political space. While other voters could ask for say roads or water works in return for their ballots Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are not worthy of even such a transaction.So successful has the BJP s pitch been on this score than even some Muslim leaders now agree that it would be better if Muslims strategically excused themselves from the political space given that it would polarise society . By: Express News Service | Noida | Updated: November 29 2017 8:48 am A 32-year-old man from Greater Noida was arrested for allegedly providing bank accounts for transfer of money (Representational Image) Top News Uber hacking scandal could force loyalists to other ride-hailing servicesUC Browser app with updated settings now back on Google Play StoreAmazon Echo Plus and Amazon Alexa review: The smartest speaker aroundIn an effort to crack the nexus through which online financial fraud takes place the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) arrested a 32-year-old man from Greater Noida for allegedly providing bank accounts for transfer of money collected by duping banks and insurance policy customers police said. The accused has been identified as Rahul Singh. We have seized mobile phones and documents including letter pads under BIOLO Services and other documents relating to this company. Singh used to live in Ecotech area of Gautam Buddh Nagar district. During questioning he revealed that he has been providing bank accounts to various call centres in Noida Ghaziabad and Delhi for a few years. Investigation till now has revealed that Rs 1.5 crore is deposited across five bank accounts. The accounts were used for money transfers said Triveni Singh SP UP STF. The incident came to light in March this year when a retired Lt. Colonel based in Fatehpur district approached the police with a complaint. The complainant had been duped of Rs 86 77 010. On the promise of a bonus in a life insurance policy that had reached the maturity date as well as the maturity amount they duped him of this money. BIOLO Services was among the companies which were behind the fraud. The accused would charge 10-20 per cent for every transaction from those running the fake call centres Singh said. Explaining the modus operandi of the alleged nexus Singh said The entire process of online fraud is such that criminals largely remain anonymous. The nexus starts with people who hack database which has customers details such as insurance policies bank account details etc. This information is then sold to people who run fake call centres and who use this information to dupe people through phone calls. For all the latest City Others News download Indian Express App More Top News Samsung working to integrate devices appliances through IoT Cloud platform Cop who alleged preferential treatment to Sasikala in jail faces Rs 20 cr defamation suit