BJP confident of Modi attending Mumbai conclave

May 18, 2012

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Mumbai, May 18: There are indications that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi may skip the BJP's national executive meeting to be held in Mumbai later this month, but the party's Mumbai unit has expressed confidence that Mr Modi would come.

The meeting is scheduled to take place on May 24 and 25.

"Modi is the member of the national executive and all the members have been invited. He is our esteemed leader and we are confident that he will come," Mumbai BJP president Raj Purohit said on Thursday.

He said the two-day event will be a 'no-frills' affair due to severe drought situation in Maharashtra. Earlier, national executive meetings in Mumbai were held in five-star hotels.

Mr Modi is reportedly upset about the reinduction of Sanjay Joshi, a long-time rival, into the party and his presence at the party meet. Despite Mr Modi's objections, Mr Joshi played a large role in the party's planning for the UP elections earlier this year. Mr Modi refused to campaign in UP, saying he had his own yatras to finish in election-bound Gujarat. Even when those finished, Mr Modi did not head to UP. The BJP placed a poor third.

If Mr Modi does not attend, it will be the second time he will skip a national executive meeting seemingly because of Mr Joshi's presence. He had refused to attend one held in New Delhi in October last year; his excuse then was that he did not go out of Gujarat during the Navratra festival.

But, sources say, there are other more core issues. Mr Modi, they say, is opposed to a second term for Nitin Gadkari as BJP president and staying away from the party meet would record his displeasure at RSS moves in this direction. Mr Modi's own ambition to move to a national role in the party could be tied in with this, the party sources say.

The conclave will be held this time at the Yeshwantrao Chavan Pratisthan, which is headed by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in South Mumbai.

Mr Purohit said issues like corruption, inflation, national security, drought and "inefficiency" of the UPA government will be discussed at the conclave.

Nearly 500 delegates are expected to attend the meeting, apart from the chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states, including Mr Modi, who will stay at the state-owned Sahaydri guest house.

The two-day event will culminate in a public rally to be organised at the Babu Genu Kamgar Maidan in Central Mumbai, and will be addressed by party president Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley among others.

Mr Purohit said that senior leader LK Advani will not attend the rally since he has some prior engagements in Delhi.

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News Network
May 24,2020

New Delhi, May 24: Overwhelmed by the donations that poured in from the society for his help, Phool Mia, the fruit seller in north Delhi's Jagatpuri area whose mangoes were looted by the ordinary people, said that those who helped him have made his "Eid" and have shown that "humanity is still alive".

Video footage that went viral on social media, shows that scores of passers-by looted the unattended crates of mangoes of a fruit seller after a fight broke out in the neighbourhood. The incident took place on Wednesday.

"My stock of mangoes worth Rs 30,000 was kept there. Some persons were fighting with each other fearing which I left the place to avoid any sort of altercation. When I returned, I saw that they were looting the mangoes kept there. There were 50-100 people who were involved in this act," Phool Mia, narrated the ordeal.

"A video got viral about the incident after which people donated to me on a portal. They empathised with me when I was ruined. I thank the media and all those people who have donated from the bottom of my heart as they made my Eid. Now, I would be able to celebrate Eid with my children. This shows humanity is still alive," he added.

However, four people have been arrested on the basis of video footage, Delhi Police said.

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Agencies
May 5,2020

Jammu and Kashmir, May 5: Awarding the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to three Indian photographers, the Pulitzer Board at Columbia University claimed that it was for their work in Kashmir as "India revoked its independence".

The award to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin in the feature photography category for their pictures for the Associated Press was announced on Monday.

The prizes, considered the most prestigious for US journalism, are associated with the university's Graduate School of Journalism where the judging is done and is announced, although this year it was done remotely.

Besides a certificate, the prizes carry a cash award of $15,000, except the public service category for which a gold medal is awarded.

The public service prize went to The Anchorage Daily News for a series that dealt with policing in Alaska state.

In making the award to the three, the Board said on its website that it was "for striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout".

Besides making the false claim about "independence" of Kashmir being "revoked", the board that includes several leading journalists did not explain how their photographs could have reached the AP within hours of the incidents recorded "through a communication blackout".

India's Central government only revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and it was not independent.

Indian journalists were allowed to operate in Kashmir, while only non-Indian journalists were barred.

The wording of the award announcement calls into question the credibility of the Pulitzer Board that gives out what are considered prestigious journalism awards.

The portfolio of pictures by the three on the Pulitzer web site included one of a masked person attacking a police vehicle and another of masked people with variants of the Kashmir flag, besides photos of mourners and protesters.

One of the finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism was a reporter of Indian descent at The Los Angeles Times, Swetha Kannan, who was nominated for her work with two colleagues on the seas rising due to climate change.

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News Network
January 29,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 29: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of creating a conflict between Hindu and Muslim communities in the country, former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar has said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was adding fuel to the fire.

He was speaking at a rally held on Tuesday at Pathri in Parbhani district of Maharashtra against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). It was organised by NCP MLC Abdullah Durrani.

"Modi and Shah used to create conflicts between Hindus and Muslims during the Gujarat elections. Now they are adopting the same strategy in the country," Kumar alleged.

Citizens should keep the religious conflicts aside and question the present government about unemployment and the poor state of the economy, he said.

"Through the CAA, the government is adding fuel to the fire, which is already raging in the country," he alleged.

When anyone questions the government about the problems existing in the country, it in turn asks him about his citizenship, the former JNUSU leader alleged.

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