NATIONAL NEWS
Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Farmers block trains in Punjab, Haryana
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana squatted on rail tracks on Monday morning as part of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) six-hour ‘rail roko’ protest demanding the dismissal and arrest of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The six-hour ‘rail roko’ protest affected 130 locations in the Northern Railway zone and hindered the running of 50 trains, said its chief public relation officer (CPRO). In the North Western Railway (NWR), rail traffic was affected in some sections in Rajasthan and Haryana with two trains cancelled, 13 partially cancelled, and one diverted due to the protest. Farmers have claimed that Ashish Mishra was in one of the vehicles at the time of violence, an allegation denied by him and Ajay Mishra who say they can produce evidence to prove he was at an event at that time. Ashish Mishra was arrested in the case on October 9. Protests were held at many places, including Punjab’s Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Moga, Patiala and Ferozepur and Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri, Sonipat, Kurukshetra, Jind, Karnal and Hisar. Protesting farmers, including women, raised slogans against the BJP-led government and demanded the arrest of Ajay Mishra. Security was deployed at railway stations in the wake of the ‘rail roko’ protest. Farmers sat on rail tracks in several sections, including the Ferozepur-Fazilka section in Ferozepur city and the Ferozepur-Ludhiana section at Ajitwal in Moga, officials said. In a statement, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the Centre’s three agri laws, had said protests will be intensified until justice is secured in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. Meanwhile, the police have arrested one more of the key witnesses/accused, a BJP worker who had escaped from Ashish Mishra’s jeep moments after it mowed down farmers.
No jobs in Bihar, workers forced to face bullets: RJD
Opposition RJD has blamed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the death of the State’s migrant workers in Jammu and Kashmir. Leader of Opposition and party leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday said people were forced to migrate since there were no jobs in the State. Daily wage workers Raja Reshi Dev and Joginder Reshi Dev were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, while another migrant, Chunchun Reshi Dev, was grievously injured. A total of 11 civilians have died in targeted shooting in the Union Territory. Kumar has spoken to Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and announced a compensation of ₹2lakh each to the families of the victims. Double engine government’s double whammy, won’t provide employment in Bihar and if you go out to earn a living you will be killed, Yadav tweeted. The cost of a Bihari’s life, he alleged, was pegged at mere ₹2 lakh. Nitish Kumar and his incompetent government are also equally guilty of the brutal murder of Biharis. If the NDA government had really done anything seriously on employment generation as per their claim of ‘good governance’ in the last 16 years, then crores of Biharis would not have been forced to migrate and die every year, he stated. The RJD has demanded that all the migrant workers from Bihar who are living under distress in J&K should be brought back. They should also be paid ₹ 10,000 a month to compensate them for loss of livelihood. RJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Manoj K Jha observed, The Chief Minister’s silence speaks volumes. What stops him from speaking out against the union government. Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) president Chirag Paswan too sought to corner Kumar on the issue. He remarked, My question to Nitish ji is that if there were ample job opportunities in Bihar, would the sons of Bihar be forced to face terrorists’ bullets in Kashmir? The Janata Dal (U) shot back, saying J&K was not under the jurisdiction of Kumar. Party secretary general K.C. Tyagi accused the RJD of politicising a sensitive issue to divert the attention from its own family feud. The Chief Minister has spoken to the Lt Governor. All the migrant workers from Bihar and U.P. have been directly connected to the local police stations. The Bihar government is doing all that it could do within its powers, he added.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 4 others get life term in 19-year-old murder case
A special CBI court on Monday sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others to life imprisonment in the 19-year-old murder case of sect manager Ranjit Singh. The court in Panchkula had convicted Ram Rahim and four others — Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh and Sabdil — in the murder case on October 8. The court has sentenced five to life imprisonment, said CBI special prosecutor H.P.S. Verma. Gurmeet Ram Rahim is currently lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail. Former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, who was also a follower of the sect, was shot dead on July 10, 2002 at Khanpur Kolian village in Haryana’s Kurukshetra. He was murdered for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter, which narrated how women were allegedly being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters. According to the CBI charge sheet, the Dera chief believed that Ranjit Singh was behind the circulation of the anonymous letter and hatched a conspiracy to kill him. In 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for raping two disciples. He is currently lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail.
Casteist remarks: Yuvraj Singh arrested, released on bail
Cricket Yuvraj Singh was on October 17 arrested by the Haryana Police and released on interim bail as per a High Court order in a case pertaining to offensive remarks against the Scheduled Castes on a social media platform. Confirming the arrest, Nitika Gahlaut, Hansi Superintendent of Police, said that the cricketer was arrested and released on bail as per a High Court order. A First Information Report was registered against Singh on February 14 at Hansi’s City Police Station for allegedly making offensive remarks against the Scheduled Castes on a social media platform during a live video chat with fellow cricket players. The case was registered under Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, among others, on the complaint of Rajat Kansal, a Dalit rights activist. Kansal had then told The Hindu that Singh had made unsavoury comments against the Scheduled Castes talking about fellow cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal in June 2020. He said the video went viral on the social media platforms and crores of people across the world watched it. Singh had expressed regret for the comments after the controversy and apologised for unintentionally hurting public sentiments. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed that in case Singh was arrested on joining the probe, he should be released on interim bail on furnishing bail and surety bonds. Kansal, however, alleged that the cricketer was given VIP treatment by the police during interrogation. He said that he had made an appeal before the Supreme Court against the grant of interim bail to the cricketer by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
77% of consumers surveyed want to travel within the next year
The United Airlines said on Monday that its trans-Atlantic bookings for November had surpassed 2019 levels for the first time since the pandemic, following the US government announcement to allow fully vaccinated foreign visitors. This indicates not only a pent-up demand for travel, but the need for simplified travel rules in order to boost demand. A survey conducted by global travel technology company Amadeus among 9,074 consumers across France, Germany, India, Spain, Russia, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the US showed that nearly 77% of travelers surveyed agreed that they were eager to travel and intended to do so in the next year. As many as 50% of the respondents said they will be traveling for business before the end of the year. Of these, 72% of Indian travelers said they wanted to travel in the next one year. The study also found that 35% of the respondents agreed that the current international restrictions and guidelines around where and how to travel were confusing and unclear, thereby making them less likely to book and travel, and another 27% said they will not be traveling because of these reasons. 37% of travelers in India and 40% of those in Singapore felt the same. But most are likely to travel domestically or to short-haul international destinations, rather than flying to a far-flung country. For example, Spanish (64%), British (56%) and German (62%) respondents said they expect to travel to Europe for leisure. Similarly, Singaporean travelers surveyed were the most likely to travel within Asia (excluding the Middle East) for leisure (55%) in the next year and US travelers surveyed were likely to travel within North America for leisure (53%). Technology and innovation seem to be key in building travel confidence and the recovery of the travel industry, found the survey. Only 3% of respondents said their decision to plan a holiday wouldn’t be influenced by technology. The top five technologies that would boost confidence to travel in the next 12 months included : mobile applications that provide on-trip notifications and alerts (44%), self-service check-in (41%), contactless mobile payments (41%), automated and flexible cancellation policies (40%), and mobile boarding (40%).
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell dies of COVID-19 complications
Colin Powell, the first black United States’ Secretary of State and top military officer, died on Monday at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, his family said in a statement. He was fully vaccinated, Powell’s family said. As a four-star Army general, he was chairman of the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush during the 1991 Gulf War in which U.S.-led forces expelled Iraqi troops from neighboring Kuwait. Powell, a moderate Republican and a pragmatist, later served as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.
Kushinagar airport: Sri Lankan delegation of over 100 people to land first
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Kushinagar International airport, which has been built as part of efforts to connect Buddhist pilgrimage sites. An inaugural flight from Colombo carrying a Sri Lankan delegation of over 100 people, including Buddhist monks and five ministers, and holy Buddha relics will land in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate an international airport there on Wednesday. The airport has been built as part of efforts to connect Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Modi will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of 12 development projects worth over ₹180 crore in the poll-bound state. In a tweet, Modi said, Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a special day for our infrastructure and civil aviation sector. The Kushinagar International Airport will be inaugurated, with the inaugural flight landing from Colombo, whose passengers include a group of respected monks. This airport will benefit UP (Uttar Pradesh) and Bihar. Kushinagar is a sacred Buddhist site where Lord Buddha is believed to have delivered his last sermon and attained salvation or Mahaparinirvana. Modi will also participate in an event marking Abhidhamma Day at the Mahaparinirvana Temple there, pay his respects to the reclining statue of Lord Buddha and plant a Bodhi tree sapling. Abhidhamma Day symbolises the end of three-month rainy retreat—varshavaas or vassa—for the Buddhist monks. The monks stay at one place in vihara and monastery and pray during this period. The highlight of the event is the Exposition of Holy Buddha Relic being brought from Waskaduwa Sri Subuddhi Rajvihara Temple, Sri Lanka by the Mahanayaka of the temple. In 1898, Archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India excavated a large mound in the estate of British landowner, William Claxton Peppe in Piprahwa, Sidharthnagar district U.P (Uttar Pradesh). It is 160 km from Kushinagar, a culture ministry statement said.
