Haj stampede: Death toll of Indians killed rises to 18

September 26, 2015

Mina, Sep 26: The death toll of Indian pilgrims has risen to 18 in the grisly stampede at the Haj which has so far claimed the lives of 717 people, the worst tragedy to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in 25 years.

Haj stampede

"18 Indian Hajis are now confirmed dead," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup said yesterday. Of the 18 Indian victims, nine hailed from Gujarat, three from Tamil Nadu and one each from Telangana and Kerala. Four others are yet to be identified.

At least 13 Indians were also among the over 800 people injured in the tragedy.

As Muslim pilgrims somberly resumed the final rites of Haj yesterday, Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered a safety review and a "revision" of the Haj organisation.

Leading the criticism against Saudi Arabia, its regional rival Iran expressed indignation at the deaths of 131 of its nationals at the world's largest annual gathering of people and suggesting Riyadh was incapable of managing the event.

As the blame game erupted, Saudi Arabia on its part suggested pilgrims ignoring crowd control rules bore some blame for the stampede. At least 863 pilgrims were also injured in the mishap in Mina during the Haj's last major ritual.

The stampede "was perhaps because some pilgrims moved without following instructions by the relevant authorities," Saudi Health Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement.

King Salman ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the incident during the five-day pilgrimage in which around two million people from more than 180 countries took part. The pilgrimage in which 1.5 lakh pilgrims from India also took part ends today.

Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable. The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different direction at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone walls. It occurred at the intersection of two streets leading to Jamarat, about five km from Makkah.

It was the second major accident this year for pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, killing 109 people, including many foreigners.

The Saudi civil defence authority said 717 pilgrims from different nationalities were killed and 863 others were injured in the stampede.

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June 5,2020

New Delhi, Jun 5: Shares of Reliance Industries on Friday gained over 2 per cent to hit their one-year high level after the company announced sale of 1.85 per cent stake in its digital unit, Jio Platforms, to Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala.

On BSE, the heavyweight stock jumped 2.38 per cent to Rs 1,617.70 -- its 52-week high.

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Earlier in the day, Reliance Industries announced the sale of 1.85 per cent stake in its digital unit to Mubadala for Rs 9,093.60 crore, the sixth deal in as many weeks that will inject a combined Rs 87,655.35 crore in the oil-to-telecom conglomerate to help it pare debt.

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March 7,2020

New Delhi, Mar 7: No country in the world says everybody is welcome, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, hitting out at those criticising India over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Jaishankar criticised the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for its criticism on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, saying its director had been wrong previously too and one should look at the UN body's past record on handling the Kashmir issue.

"We have tried to reduce the number of stateless people through this legislation. That should be appreciated," he said when asked about the CAA at the ET Global Business Summit. "We have done it in a way that we do not create a bigger problem for ourselves."

"Everybody, when they look at citizenship, have a context and has a criterion. Show me a country in the world which says everybody in the world is welcome. Nobody says that," the minister said.

The external affairs minister said moving out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was in the interest of India's business.

Asked about the UNHRC director not agreeing with India on the Kashmir issue, Jaishankar said: "UNHRC director has been wrong before.

"UNHRC skirts around cross-border terrorism as if it has nothing to do with country next door. Please understand where they are coming from; look at UNHRC's record how they handled Kashmir issue in past," he added.

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July 22,2020

New Delhi, Jul 22: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday urged the newly elected members of the House to uphold rules and procedures of the House while discharging their duties as the lawmakers for the country.

"In his remarks at the end of the administration of oath/affirmation to the new members of Rajya Sabha in the Chamber of the House today, Shri Naidu urged them to hold themselves to account with regard to their conduct both within and outside the House, so as to enhance the standing of the institution in the eyes of the people," read a press note.

The note further read that Naidu suggested the members to "question themselves if they had acted to enhance the dignity of the institution or to the contrary at the end of each day during the session and if their conduct was ethical during the inter-session period".

He said, "Answers to these simple questions would guide you on the right path."

He further stressed, "Ensuring rule of law is the spirit of our law of the land (Constitution). It shall begin with your compliance with the rules and procedures of this House."

Of the 61 members elected to Rajya Sabha from 20 States in the recent biennial and bye-polls, 45 made oath/affirmation today including 36 who have been elected for the first time. 12 sitting members have been re-elected which include Sharad Pawar, Digvijaya Singh, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Prem Chand Gupta, Harivansh and Ramdas Athawale, who took oath today.

Those elected for the first time to Rajya Sabha include Mallikarjun Kharge, Jyotiraditya M Scindia and KC Venugopal who have vast legislative experience and taken oath today. Those members who could not make oath/affirmation will do so during the ensuing Monsoon Session.

"Members including three women made oath/affirmation in 10 languages viz., Telugu, Bodo, Kannada, Manipuri, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Bengali, Hindi and English," the note read further.

"Today's oath-taking has been organized to enable the newly elected members to participate in the committee meetings which are underway at once and in the monsoon session which is to follow. I hope to nominate all of you on different committees in a day or two. #RajyaSabha," the Vice President's official handle tweeted earlier on Wednesday.

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