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MP bypoll results: Congress retains both Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly seats

Agencies
March 1, 2018

Mumbai, Mar 1: Results of three assembly bypolls on Wednesday brought cheer to the opposition Congress party in Madhya Pradesh and the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha.

The Congress retained the Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. In Odisha, the BJD retained the Bijepur assembly seat.

All three Odisha and MP bypolls were necessitated by the death of sitting legislators from the Congress and BJD.

The Congress in Madhya Pradesh and the ruling BJD in Odisha described the results as an indication of things to come in Madhya Pradesh elections later this year and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress said the defeat of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates proved that chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s popularity was on the wane and the Congress was on the comeback trail.

In Mungaoli assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, Congress candidate Brajendra Singh Yadav defeated his BJP rival Bai Saab Yadav by 2,124 votes. The BJP candidate, however, managed to reduce the Congress lead of 20,765 votes in the 2013 elections.

In the Kolaras seat, Congress candidate Mahendra Singh Yadav won by over 8,086 votes after 22 rounds of counting. Here too, in the 2013 assembly polls, Congress nominee Ram Singh Yadav had won by a comfortable margin of nearly 25,000 votes.

The victory comes as a shot in the arm for Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia. Both Mungaoli and Kolaras assembly segments fall within his Guna Lok Sabha constituency and Scindia led his party’s campaign in the MP bypolls. For the BJP, Chouhan led from the front and also deployed a host of state cabinet ministers for the campaign.

In the process, the MP bypolls triggered a Chouhan versus Scindia face-off as the Congress member of parliament is widely seen as the party’s potential chief ministerial candidate in the November 2018 Madhya Pradesh elections.

Talking to reporters, senior Congress leader Ajay Singh, who is the leader of opposition in the Madhya Pradesh assembly, conceded Scindia’s influence in the constituency but said the Congress did not have “a tradition of projecting a chief ministerial candidate”.

“The BJP has given a slogan: ‘Ab Ki Baar, 200 Paar’ (This time around, 200-plus seats) for the 2018 assembly elections. But our slogan is ‘Ab Ki Baar, Congress Ki Sarkar’. Our target is to reduce the BJP to a two-digit tally in the assembly elections and the winds of change demonstrated by the victory in bypolls will turn into a cyclone by November 2018 that will sweep the BJP away,” Singh said.

In Odisha’s Bijepur bypoll, BJD nominee Rita Sahu defeated her BJP rival Ashok Panigrahi by 41,933 votes.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik hailed the outcome and said it would have an impact on the general elections in 2019. “Such an enormous victory with a margin of over 40,000 votes will have an impact on future elections,” Patnaik told reporters while thanking the people of Bijepur for their overwhelming support.

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Washington, Aug 7: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) signed executive orders halting all transactions with Chinese applications TikTok and WeChat within 45 days, citing national security concerns, further escalating the tensions between Beijing and Washington.

"WeChat, a messaging, social media, and electronic payment application owned by the Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd., reportedly has over one billion users worldwide, including users in the United States. Like TikTok, WeChat automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users. 

This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) access to Americans' personal and proprietary information," Trump said in a statement.

Citing reasons for the ban on WeChat, the US President said that the application captures the personal and proprietary information of Chinese nationals visiting the US, thereby providing the CCP a mechanism to keep tabs on the Chinese citizens who may be "enjoying the benefits of a free society for the first time in their lives".

"In March 2019, a researcher reportedly discovered a Chinese database containing billions of WeChat messages sent from users in not only China but also the United States, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia. WeChat, like TikTok, also reportedly censors content that the CCP deems politically sensitive and may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the CCP. 

These risks have led other countries, including Australia and India, to begin restricting or banning the use of WeChat. The US must take aggressive action against the owner of WeChat to protect our national security," he added.

Earlier, Trump had issued an order banning TikTok as it "reportedly censors content that the CCP deems politically sensitive, such as content concerning protests in Hong Kong and China's treatment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities. 

TikTok may also be used for disinformation campaigns that benefit the CCP."
US politicians have repeatedly criticised TikTok, owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance, of being a threat to national security because of its ties to China.

The development comes as China and the US are at loggerheads on a variety of issues including Hong Kong national security law, the South China Sea, the novel coronavirus and trade.

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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on hailed accredited social health activists, auxiliary nurse and midwives and anganwadi workers for their role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying they are "true patriots" who toil to keep communities safe in the midst of this grave crisis.

In an environment where fear and misinformation pose a bigger danger than the virus itself, community workers have a key role to play in educating people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the manner in which it is transmitted, Gandhi said.

In a message for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives (ANMs) and Anganwadi Workers, he said they are working with dedication and courage, putting their lives at risk, on the frontlines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The greatest form of patriotism is to serve our country in her hour of need. Our community workers are true patriots, our unsung heroes, who toil tirelessly away from the limelight, to keep our communities safe in the midst of this grave crisis," the former Congress chief said.

"As a nation, we owe them and their families a huge debt of gratitude for the tremendous personal sacrifices each of them is making. I hope that when this crisis is over their exemplary service will serve as a catalyst for deep-rooted change in their conditions of work," he said.

Gandhi said he salutes each and every community worker for their service to the nation and prays that they and their families will remain safe during this pandemic.

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News Network
June 17,2020

Jaipur, Jun 17: Police have registered an FIR against a television news anchor for allegedly making an objectionable comment on Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The FIR was lodged after a complaint against News 18 India anchor Amish Devgan by a "khadim" at the saint's dargah in Ajmer on Tuesday night.

"He is running a communal agenda against the Muslim community. The dargah of Sufi saint is visited not only by Muslims but by people of all religions and his comments have hurt the sentiments of all," Syed Sarwar Chishti said.

The anchor later apologised on Twitter. "In 1 of my debates, I inadvertently referred to 'Khilji' as Chishti. I sincerely apologise for this grave error and the anguish it may hv caused to followers of the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, whom I revere. I have in the past sought blessings at his dargah. I regret this error," Devgan tweeted.

Dargah SHO Hem Raj said a case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act for outraging religious feelings.

Another complaint was lodged by activist Muzaffar Bharti at the office of Ajmer's Superintendent of Police.

He accused Devgan and his team of trying to incite riots through "misleading and objectionable debates on communal issues".

He said Devgan made highly objectionable remarks on the revered saint, which shall not be tolerated.

"The dargah of Moinuddin Chishti is the symbol of brotherhood and harmony and crores of people of different religions all over the world have deep love and faith in the saint," he said.

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