BJP's 'beef' ad fuels row, rivals complain, EC bans adverts

November 4, 2015

Patna/New Delhi, Nov 4: A controversial advertisement by BJP demanding explanation from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for beef-eating remarks by his "friends" today stirred Bihar's electoral cauldron, with the rival alliance complaining to the poll panel about attempts to "polarize" the election by "promoting communal hatred".beef ad

Though the BJP defended its action, saying there was "nothing wrong in it", the Election Commission this evening banned publication of advertisements by any party or candidate tomorrow when, when Bihar goes to poll in the fifth and final phase, without those being "pre-certified" by an empowered media panel.

The BJP advertisement questioning the "silence" of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over "repeated insult" to "revered" cow by his "friends" everyday appeared in vernacular newspapers in Kishanganj, Saharsa and other areas that will go to poll in in the fifth and final round of assembly election tomorrow.

The ad, with the photograph of a woman cuddling a cow, referred to the purported remarks of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, his party's vice president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over beef consumption and asked Kumar to "stop politics of vote bank and answer if he agrees with statements of his friends on beef."

The advertisement quoted Lalu Prasad's "Hindus also eat beef" remark and Singh's comment that "it is written in Vedas and Puranas that saints used to eat beef in ancient times."

It also quoted Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's comment that "if I want to eat beef nobody can stop me."

The advertisement in Hindi with word "beef" highlighted in red, concluded with: "jawab nahi vote nahi" (if there is no answer, no vote).

Reacting angrily to the advertisement, the grand alliance today approached the Election Commission seeking action against the BJP for trying to "polarize Bihar elections by promoting communal hatred".

The BJP, however, defended its action with senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi saying,"There is nothing wrong in our advertisement on beef issue. "We were not the first to raise the issue (of beef). It was Lalu who did. We have just responded."

However, the EC apparently felt otherwise when it said despite its advisory against publishing advertisements that have the potential of promoting ill-will, certain ads of "offending nature" have been brought to its notice which were published in today's newspapers in Bihar.

"In order that no such instance is repeated on the date of poll which is to take place tomorrow, and no untoward incident takes place because of any inflammatory or hate advertisements, the Commission...directs that no political party or candidate or any other organisation or person shall publish any advertisement in the newspapers tomorrow unless the contents proposed to be published are got pre-certified by them from the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC)," the EC said, invoking its Constitutional powers under Article 324

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Agencies
July 15,2020

Lucknow, Jul 15: As many as 122 alleged criminals were killed in over 6,000 encounters in Uttar Pradesh in the past three years, while 13 policemen also lost their lives during this period, a senior police official said.

He also said over 2,000 criminals were injured in police action, while over 13,000 of them have been arrested.

"Thirteen policemen have been killed in action in as many as 6,126 encounters (in UP), while as many as 122 criminals have been gunned down," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said while sharing details of police encounters from March 20, 2017, to July 10, 2020.

As many as 13,361 criminals have been arrested, while 2,296 criminals were injured in police encounters, he said, adding 909 policemen were also injured in these incidents.

Referring to the Kanpur ambush in which eight policemen were killed, Kumar said, "Of the 21 named accused in the incident, six have been killed and four arrested so far. A hunt is on to nab the 11 other accused."

Eight police personnel, including a DSP, were gunned down by the henchmen of gangster Vikas Dubey in Bikru village of Kanpur on July 3.

Seven others, including a civilian, were injured in the attack after the police team entered the village past July 2 midnight to arrest the gangster.

Dubey was later killed in an encounter on July 10 after police claimed that he tried to escape from the spot in the Bhauti area where the vehicle carrying him from Ujjain to Kanpur met with an accident.

Kumar said overall there has been a decline in the crime rate in the state this year compared to the last year.

"A total of 579 instances of loot took place in the state from January 1, 2020, to June 15, 2020. This is 44.17 per cent less compared to the crimes committed in the same period in 2019, the ADG (Law and Order) said.

He said 33 incidents of dacoity have been reported in the state this year so far. It is 37.74 per cent less compared to the crimes committed in the same period in 2019 .

Similarly, 2,604 instances of burglary have taken this year so far and is 30.97 per cent less compared to the crimes committed in the same period last year, Kumar added.

He said 1,019 dowry-related deaths have taken place this year, registering a 6.34 per cent decline compared to the previous year.

As many as 913 incidents of rape have been reported this year so far, a decline of 25.41 per cent compared to the last year, Kumar said.

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News Network
June 24,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 24: Kerala on Tuesday was among those honoured for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic when the United Nations celebrated the Public Service Day.

The function, held on a virtual platform, saw the participation of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and other top UN dignitaries who applauded all the leaders which included state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja for effectively tackling Covid-19.

Speaking on the occasion, Shailaja noted that the experiences of tackling Nipah virus and the two floods - 2018 and 2019 - where the health sector played a crucial role, all helped in tackling Covid-19 timely.

"Right from the time when Covid cases got reported in Wuhan, Kerala got into the track of the WHO and followed every standard operating protocols and international norms and hence, we have been able to keep the contact spread rate to below 12.5 per cent and the mortality rate to 0.6 per cent," she said.

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News Network
March 19,2020

New Delhi, Mar 19: Lawyer of Mukesh Singh, who is one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, on Thursday mentioned a petition before the Registrar of the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing in the matter.

Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, through the petition, sought directions to bring call record, documents and reports of his client through any probe agency and passed appropriate directions and measure to ensure justice in the matter.

The petition, however, has not sought a stay on the execution, which is scheduled for the morning of March 20. The petition is likely to be taken up for hearing today.

Earlier today, the apex court dismissed the curative petition of Pawan Gupta, another convict in the matter, who claimed juvenility at the time of the crime.

This comes as the four convicts -- Mukesh Singh, Akshay Singh Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta -- are scheduled to be hanged at 5.30 am on March 20.

Meanwhile, several other petitions are also pending in the matter in different courts.

The case pertains to the brutal gang-rape and killing of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in the national capital. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later.

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