Shooting for Prophet film in Rajasthan hangs in the balance

New Delhi, Feb 11: Senior Delhi Congress leader and national spokesperson of the party Sharmishtha Mukherjee alleged delay in decision making and lack of strategy and unity at the state level for the party's humiliating performance reflected in the Assembly poll results on Tuesday.

Mukherjee, president of Delhi Mahila Congress, stated that it was high time that the party takes some action. She added that she too was responsible for the Congress' poor show.

The Congress is on the verge of drawing blank again in the Assembly polls as all its candidates were way far behind their AAP and BJP opponents on all the 70 seats. In the 2015 Assembly elections too, Congress failed to win any seat.

"We r again decimated in Delhi. Enuf of introspection, time 4 action now. Inordinate delay in decision making at the top, lack of strategy & unity at state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect-all r factors. Being part of d system, I too take my share of responsibility (sic)," Mukherjee tweeted as the results came out.

She also accused the BJP of playing divisive politics while crediting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for playing "smart politics" as the results showed a clean sweep by the AAP to return to power.

"BJP playing divisive politics, Kejriwal playing ‘smart politics’ & what r we doing? Can we honestly say that we’ve done all 2 put our house in order? We r busy capturing Congress whereas other parties are capturing India. If we r 2 survive, time 2 come out of exalted echo chambers! (sic)," she said in another tweet.

The Congress contested the Delhi polls in alliance with the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), fielding candidates on 66 seats and leaving four to its partner.

New Delhi, Feb 25: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday told a meeting of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders that "professional assessment" is that the violence in north-east Delhi has been "spontaneous".

He also said adequate forces have been already deployed in affected areas even as he urged political parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation and desist from rumour-mongering. He also instructed Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik to re-activate local peace committees. 

"Shah noted that the professional assessment is that the violence in the capital has been spontaneous. He expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control," a statement issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.

However, on Monday, government sources had claimed that violence in the national capital "appeared to be orchestrated" to coincide with the high-profile visit. A PTI report from Hyderabad on Tuesday also quoted Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy as saying that the violence in Delhi has been perpetrated intentionally and the Narendra Modi government would not tolerate such incidents. 

While Shah said adequate forces have been deployed, there were also reports that the Delhi Police Commissioner told MHA top brass that it did not have adequate forces to control the violence that erupted in north-east Delhi. However, Delhi Police later tweeted that the Commissioner has denied that "no such information was given to MHA" and such reports were "totally baseless". 

Urging parties to avoid provocative speeches and statements which could flare up the situation, the statement said, Shah expressed confidence in Delhi Police and said that the force has shown maximum restraint to get the situation under control.

Appealing to all to maintain restraint and desist from rumour-mongering while instructing the Delhi Police Commissioner to re-activate local peace committees, Shah said Delhi's borders with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have been under surveillance for the last three days. 

Shah also urged parties to ask their local leaders to hold meetings in sensitive areas and instructed senior police officers to visit vulnerable police stations at the earliest

Muscat, May 18: An Air India special flight left for Hyderabad with a total of 182 stranded Indians from Oman on Monday.

"IX 818 departed for Hyderabad with total 182 passengers. We again express our gratitude to Omani & Indian authorities and wish all the passengers, safe journey home," Indian embassy in Oman said in a tweet.

Under the Vande Bharat Mission, Air India operated repatriation flight from Oman on Sunday to Kerala. It had brought back 183 Indians.

The phased evacuation is being done under the Centre's 'Vande Bharat' mission whose second phase started from May 16.

In order to facilitate the return of stranded Indian nationals in Oman, the Indian government has decided to operate more special flights to Bangalore, Calicut, Delhi, Kannur, Kochi, and Gaya on May 20, 21, 22 and 23.

Under the second phase, a total of 149 flights, including feeder flights, are expected to be operated to bring back stranded Indians from 40 countries.