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Protestors Demand Naming Of Navi Mumbai Airport After Activist D B Patil

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Thousands of people staged protests in Navi Mumbai over naming of the international airport.

Mumbai: Thousands of people from local Agri and fishing communities along with some politicians staged a protest against the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in Navi Mumbai on Thursday to press for their demand to name the upcoming international airport there after late activist D B Patil.

The protesters raised slogans against the CIDCO administration and asked the corporation to cancel its proposal to name the airport after late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and instead, name it after D B Patil before August 15.

They threatened to stop the airport construction work if their demand was not met.

While local leaders had earlier given a call to “gherao” the CIDCO Bhavan at CBD Belapur, the protesters were on Thursday stopped a kilometre away from the building on a heavily-barricaded road.

Considering the large gathering of protesters, the Navi Mumbai police had made adequate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident, an official said.

More than 5,000 police personnel, 500 officers and Reserve Police Force units were deployed on roads leading to the CIDCO office, he said.

Vehicular traffic on various arterial roads, including the Palm Beach Road, was diverted in the wake of the agitation, the official said.

A delegation of the protesters later went to meet CIDCO”s managing director and submit their written demand to name the airport after Patil.

Addressing the protesters, former MP Ramsheth Thakur said the CIDCO should name the airport after D B Patil by August 15, or the construction of the airport will be stopped.

Apart from Thakur, Communist leader Dashrath Patil, Congress leader Hussain Dalwai, politician Sanjeev Naik, former MLA Jagannath Patil and MNS legislator Raju Patil also participated in the protest.

The Maharashtra government and the CIDCO had earlier announced to name the greenfield airport after Bal Thackeray, but local leaders are demanding that it be renamed after D B Patil, who fought for the rights of Project Affected People.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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On Plea Challenging new IT rules, Madras High Court Says No Action Now

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The petition challenged the new IT rules, contending they will be used to take coercive action.

Chennai: No action will be taken for now regarding portions of the new IT rules, the Madras High Court said today in response to a petition challenging it by the Digital News Publishers Association. The court, however, said the petitioner can approach it in case the government takes action against them under the new rules.

The petition had challenged the new rules, contending that they would be used to take coercive action against media houses.

No action has been initiated against petitioners as of now under rules 12, 14 and 16 of the new IT Act, the court said, refusing to pass any interim order.

The new rules mandate compliance with “code of ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media”.

Rules 13 – 15 gives the government powers to decide on complaints by any consumer and take action against such publishers which they are concerned should lie with judiciary and not the executive as there could be misuse.

Rule 16 also confers emergency powers to even pass interim orders blocking any content published by a publisher without providing an opportunity for hearing.

“No omnibus order is made at this stage,” said Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, and asked the Union Government to file a response within two weeks.

In the petition, the Digital News Publishers Association had expressed concern that the new rules could suppress freedom of expression, independence of news and violate equality guaranteed by the Article 14 of the Constitution.

The intention of the IT Act 2000 was to provide legal recognition to electronic communication and documents, the petition said. The amendments made to the law cannot enlarge its scope under any circumstance.

Media outlets have also expressed concern about the government’s move to categorise print media that made the same content available on a digital platform under the new rules.

This, they said, doesn’t recognise the series of legislations, codes, rules, bodies and regulations put in place to regulate the content published by legacy media houses.

The court also tagged a similar petition filed by well-known Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna.

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Sanitisation, Head Shave For BJP Recruits Rushing Back To Trinamool

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BJP workers switching back to the Trinamool were sprayed with sanitiser in Bengal’s Birbhum.

Kolkata: From having to shave their heads to being doused in sanitiser, it’s a literal walk of shame for BJP workers in West Bengal who are trying to switch back to their old party Trinamool Congress following the state election results in May.

While the ride back was smoother for the likes of Mukul Roy, a top Trinamool lieutenant who switched to the BJP before the 2019 general elections, it’s an entirely different experience for many of the party’s foot soldiers.

Those being accepted back in have been seen undergoing egregious tests of loyalty and prostrating to please the powers that be.

Recently, six BJP workers shaved off their hair when they swapped party flags in Hooghly.

The move drew condemnation from BJP Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, who managed to secure a seat back in the upper house of parliament after an unsuccessful run in the state elections.

The public humiliation was reminiscent of 1960’s China, he said.

Many will recall the horrors of China’s Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s: mass denunciations, self-criticism & other forms of public humiliation of people by Red Guards, and destruction of shrines. These scenes are now being re-enacted across W.Bengal against BJP workers.

— Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55) June 23, 2021

Today, in the Birhum district, 150 BJP workers were thoroughly sprayed with sanitiser before being handed the Trinamool flag.

The local party leader who organised the switchover event said he “wanted to sanitise the BJP bug out of these people”.

After boldly declaring that it would win more than 200 of West Bengal’s 294 constituencies, the BJP was constricted to less than 80 seats in the March-April elections by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.

Since then, several Trinamool defectors have expressed their interest in returning to Mamata Banerjee’s team, besides Mukul Roy.

Though the Trinamool has been slow and selective in letting the turncoats back in, at Mr Roy’s homecoming ceremony, Mamata Banerjee, somewhat cryptically said, “More will come.”

The Trinamool, sources have said, is eager to “strike while the iron is hot” and break a chunk off the BJP, preferably a bigger one than the section that left the Trinamool before the election.

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No Salary Cuts: What Nita Ambani Said At Reliance AGM

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Reliance Foundation’s founder and chairperson Nita Ambani the pandemic is a humanitarian crisis.

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) did not cut salaries, bonuses, or any other compensation of its employees throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation’s founder and chairperson, said today.

At the 44th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of RIL, Nita Ambani said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is a humanitarian crisis. It has tested the very spirit of humanity. But even in the darkest hour, our spirit has shone brightly. We as a people have come together and fought this battle. We did not cut salaries, bonuses, or any other compensation for our employees throughout the Covid situation.”

She also talked about how Reliance has contributed to India’s fight against COVID-19.

“India faced an acute shortage of oxygen as soon as Covid cases began to surge earlier this year. Reliance swung into action on a war footing immediately. Traditionally, we have never produced medical-grade liquid oxygen. Yet when the need arose, we repurposed our Jamnagar refinery within days, to produce high-purity medical grade liquid oxygen and, within two weeks, we ramped up production to a massive 1100 Metric Tonnes per day,” she added.

Ms Ambani said that RIL’s Mission Vaccine Suraksha is one of India’s largest corporate vaccination drives, to vaccinate 20 lakh people, including retired employees, partner company employees, and their families free of cost.

Reliance Industries Limited, the largest company in India by market capitalisation, held its 44th annual general meeting today.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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PM Modi Meets J&K Leaders In Big Outreach, Parties Firm On Demands: 10 Points

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14 Jammu and Kashmir leaders from eight partis were invited for the meet with PM Modi

New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting with political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir in his first such outreach after the scrapping of special status under Article 370 in 2019.

Here’s your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:

The meeting is aimed at setting on course the political process in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been under President’s Rule since 2018 when the ruling coalition collapsed after the BJP snapped ties with then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Jammu and Kashmir parties are expected to be sounded out on delimitation or redrawing of constituencies as the first step towards assembly polls after Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories. The government says while restoration of statehood will be considered at an appropriate time, that time has not come yet.
Fourteen leaders from eight political parties — including Ms Mufti’s PDP and the National Conference — have been invited. The Gupkar Alliance of Ms Mufti and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah – a seven-party conglomeration formed to push for restoration of statehood and special status – had decided to join the meet to press for full statehood.
“I am going to the meeting. I will keep the demands there and then I will talk to you,” Farooq Abdullah told reporters before the meeting.
The meeting is the Centre’s first major outreach to political leaders of the Union Territory since August 2019, when the Centre scrapped special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution. Several political leaders, including Ms Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, were detained amid massive security restrictions to prevent any violent protests over the sweeping changes.
On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and top security and intelligence officers.
Home ministry officials have said with terrorism at a low in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, the timing is right to begin the political process.
There was expectation that assembly elections will be held along with the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
But the Election Commission flagged concerns about security expressed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
In December, local body elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir, in which Gupkar Alliance won more than 100 seats and the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 74 seats.

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Commuters Block Tracks In Bengal, Seek Permission To Board Special Trains

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Only staff special trains are running for people involved in essential services (Representational)

Kolkata: A section of commuters blocked railway tracks at several stations in West Bengal for about three hours on Thursday, demanding they be allowed to board staff special trains, amid the current COVID-19 restrictions, police said.

Demonstrations were held at Mallickpur, Baruipur, Sonarpur, Ghutiari Sharif and Diamond Harbour stations in the Sealdah South Division of the Eastern Railway.

Commuters assembled at these stations, alleging that they have been facing hardships to reach their places of work with no availability of public transport, a senior police officer said.

They started agitating at the stations when they were not allowed to board staff special trains without valid document by the Railway Protection Force personnel, he said.

The agitators also threw stones at a vehicle of GRP at Mallickpur station in the Sealdah-Baruipur section, while hundreds of protesters refused to vacate the railway tracks at Ghutiari Sharif in the Sealdah-Canning segment, disrupting the movement of staff special trains there, the officer said.

Following the requests of the Government Railway Police personnel, the blockade was lifted after about three hours in the morning, he said.

The movement of local trains has been stopped since the imposition of COVID restrictions in May to contain the spread of the disease.

Only staff special trains are running for people involved in essential services.

“We have urged the state government to allow us to run more trains with COVID-19 protocols and are ready for it,” a spokesman of the Eastern Railway said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Delhi High Court Allows Man Convicted In Child Sex Abuse Case To Attend Wedding

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Delhi High Court allowed a man serving a 10-year jail term in a POCSO case, to attend a wedding

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has allowed a man, serving a 10-year rigorous jail term in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case, to attend the wedding ceremony of his elder brother.

A vacation bench of Justice Anup J Bhambhani directed that the applicant be taken in custody by jail or police officers in plain clothes to let him attend the marriage function of his elder brother from 11 am till 11 pm today.

Advocate Aishwarya Rao, the counsel appearing for the applicant, told the high court that though this application was moved earlier, it has been listed now since the applicant has approached the court through the jail-visiting counsel of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee.

The additional public prosecutor contended that although a pre-verification of the ground cited for interim suspension of the sentence was made and it stands confirmed that the applicant’s elder brother is scheduled to be married on June 24, further verification from the to-be bride’s family could not be completed.

He told the court that the convict’s father dissuaded the police officer from conducting verification from the bride’s family, saying if her family finds out that the applicant is in prison, they may not go ahead with the marriage.

Noting the submissions, the high court in its June 23 order said, “Considering that the marriage is scheduled for June 24, Ms Rao submits that applicant may be sent in custody to attend the marriage. Mr Sharma has no objection to this course of action.

“Accordingly, it is directed that the applicant be taken in custody by jail/police officers in plain clothes, to attend the marriage of his elder brother from 11 am till 11 pm tomorrow 24.06.2021 and be brought back to the prison on the same date i.e. on 24.06.2021.”

The man has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, for two years under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) and for 3 years under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code.

He is yet to serve 7 years and 8 months jail term. The high court had earlier dismissed his interim bail application on the ground that he had furnished wrong information.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Ajit Doval Meets Russian National Security Adviser In Tajikistan: Report

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National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev in Tajikistan (File)

New Delhi: National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Tajikistan during which they discussed plans for the Russia-India interaction in the security sphere and cooperation among the security and law-enforcement agencies, according to a media report.

The two leaders also exchanged their opinions on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and the Asia-Pacific region during the meeting, Russian news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

Ajit Doval is in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting of national security chiefs.

Mr Patrushev, the Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and Doval discussed in detail “further plans of the Russia-India interaction in the security sphere, cooperation among the security and law-enforcement agencies,” the report quoted Mr Patrushev’s office as saying, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Tajikistan, the current president of the SCO, is hosting the meeting of the top national security officials of the eight-nation grouping on June 23 and 24.

According to the press service of the Russian Security Council’s office, the annual meeting of secretaries of SCO on Wednesday focused on the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath.

“It was stressed that the social and economic consequences of the novel coronavirus infection pandemic may catalyse the spread of threats of terrorism, extremism, drug trade and organised crime,” the press service said in a statement.

The Beijing-based SCO is an eight-member economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China and the four Central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Petrol Price Nears Rs 99 A Litre In Chennai After Rates Hiked Again

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The price of petrol was hiked by 26 paise per litre and that of diesel by 27 paise a litre

New Delhi: Petrol price in Chennai neared the Rs 99-a-litre mark today after fuel prices were increased again on firming international oil rates.

The price of petrol was hiked by 26 paise per litre and that of diesel by 27 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

The increase took rates across the country to fresh highs.

In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 97.76 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 88.30 per litre.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.

And, for this reason, petrol has crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in nine states and Union territories – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, and Ladakh.

Among metro cities, petrol is already above Rs 100 in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. And now rates are inching closer to that mark in Chennai.

Petrol in Chennai now costs Rs 98.88 per litre. Diesel in the city is priced at Rs 92.89 a litre.

In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 103.89 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 95.79.

Rates of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, had crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan earlier this month. Now, they have crossed the same mark in a couple of places in Odisha.

The hike on Thursday is the 29th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

In 29 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 7.36 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.77 a litre.

Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15 days, and foreign exchange rates.

International oil prices have firmed up in recent weeks in anticipation of demand recovery following the rollout of vaccination programmes by various countries.

Oil prices climbed on Thursday after a sharp drawdown in US stocks reinforced optimism of a quick recovery in fuel demand and on doubts about the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that could end US sanctions on Iranian crude exports.

Brent crude soared past the USD 75 per barrel mark, the first time since April 2019.

Also, the rupee has weakened against the US dollar, making imports costlier.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Kabir Jayanti 2021: Quotes, Kabir’s Dohas, Images To Share And Celebrate

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Kabir Das Jayanti is being celebrated today.

Today is Kabir Jayanti. The birth anniversary of Sant Kabir is celebrated on Jyeshtha Purnima. Poet-saint Kabir is famous for his verses, known as Kabir’s dohas. His pholosophy and words of wisdom have inspired people across generations. Kabir’s dohas, devotional poems and songs of love reflect his humanism and ideals of harmony and brotherhood in society. Born in the 15th Century in Varanasi, Kabir is equally revered by Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. Kabir did not believe in the caste system or idol worship, and rituals and customs. His philosophy is based on complete devotion in one God and his verses are simple, rich in compassion and love for fellow human beings. A number of his dohas speak about the oneness of Ram, Rahim, Govind, Allah, Khuda, etc. Celebrate Kabir Jayanti today and share his dohas and songs.

Kabir Jayanti 2021: Quotes of the poet- saint Kabir

“The river that flows in you also flows in me” – Kabir
“If you want the truth,
I’ll tell you the truth: Listen to the secret sound, the real sound, which is inside you” – Kabir
“… What is God? He is the breath inside the breath” – Kabir
“Love does not grow on trees or bought in the market, but if one wants to be ‘loved’ one must first know how to give love…” – Kabir
“The sun is within me and so is the moon” – Kabir

Kabir Jayanti 2021: Dohas of Kabir you can share

Bada hua to kya hua, jaise ped khajoor,
Panthi ko chhaya nahi, fal laage ati duur.
(Being big is no good if it is not helpful. Even a palm tree, which is huge, is of no use as it neither provides shade, nor fruit to the weary traveler.)

Dukh mein sumiran sab kare, sukh mein kare na koi,
Jo such mein sumiran kare, to dukh kaahe ko hoye.
(Everyone prays to God when in sorrow, none does in joy. One who remembers God in joy will never experience sorrow.)

Dheere dheere re mann, dheere sab kuch hoye,
Maali seenche sau ghara, ritu aaye phal hoye
(Slow down, O Mind! Everything happens at its natural pace. Even if you water a plant a 100 times, it will only bear fruit when the season comes.)

Kabir Jayanti 2021: Images you can share

Kabir Jayanti

Kabir Jayanti

Kabir Jayanti

Happy Kabir Jayanti!

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