Rohingyas are illegal immigrants, not refugees: Rajnath Singh

Kolkata, Jun 19: The nationwide clamour for boycott of Chinese goods is getting louder amid the Ladakh face-off, with traders urging the Centre to direct e-commerce firms to restrict the sale of items from the Dragonland, which imports products worth USD 74 billion to India annually.

Of the total import from China, retail traders sell goods worth around USD 17 billion, mostly comprising toys, household items, mobiles, electric and electronic goods and cosmetics among other things, which could possibly be replaced by Indian products, a national trading body said.

"We, at 'Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal', are advising our members to clear their stocks of Chinese products and refrain from placing fresh orders. We are also requesting the government to restrict e-commerce companies from selling Chinese products," V K Bansal, the association's general secretary, told PTI.

Sushil Poddar, the president of the Confederation of West Bengal Traders Association, said its members have been told to shun trading in Chinese goods as much as possible.

Another national traders' body, The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has decided to step up its movement against the boycott of Chinese goods, under its campaign 'Bhartiya Samaan-Hamara Abhimaan'.

It released a list of over 450 broad categories of commodities, comprising 3,000 Chinese products.

New Delhi, Feb 8: Arvind Kejriwal is set to return as Delhi chief minister and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will virtually sweep the assembly elections, exit polls predicted Saturday.

As polling came to a close at 6 pm, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) projecting a voter turnout at 60.24% (as of 9:50 pm), a poll of polls covering 10 exit polls gave 52 seats to AAP, 17 to the Bharatiya Janata Party and one to the Indian National Congress.

The polls, which are sample surveys conducted among voters exiting polling booths, signalled that the Delhi voter responded to AAP’s campaign that focused on “kaam”, or getting work done.

Kejriwal, a former civil servant and activist who stormed into electoral politics with an anti-corruption campaign in 2013, led a campaign focusing on the development work his government did in Delhi, especially in education and healthcare, as well as sops such as lower electricity bills and free bus rides for women.

The exit polls gave AAP between 47 and 68 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

They predicted an absolute rout for Congress, which ruled Delhi for three terms between 1998 and 2013. The maximum seats to AAP were given by India Today TV-Axis exit poll, which predicted 59-68 seats for the party, while giving 2-11 for the BJP and none to the Congress.

If these figures hold, the results will come as a disappointment for the BJP, which had hoped its sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 would reflect in the assembly polls.

Delhi’s voter turnout saw a sharp fall over the 2015 elections. According to the Election Commission of India, voter turnout till 9 pm was projected at 60.24% — lower than 67.12% in 2015.

Traditionally, a lower voter turnout is read as a vote for the incumbent.

The voter turnout in Delhi has been similar during the Congress regime under Sheila Dikshit, when she won consecutive terms. In 2003, when Delhi voted a second time for the Dikshit government, the voter turnout was 53.42%, and a comparable 57.58% was the turnout in 2008.

Later, in two consecutive elections — 2013 and 2015 — voters turned out in big numbers to vote Dikshit out of power. In 2013, 65.63% of Delhi turned out and the percentage increased further to 67.12% in 2015.

Across constituencies, Matia Mahal in Central Delhi registered the highest voter turnout of 68.36%, whereas Bawana assembly constituency in North district saw the lowest turnout at 41.95%. Among districts, North East district registered the highest (62.75%) voter turnout, while the lowest turnout was recorded in South East district (54.15%), according to the ECI app.

Puducherry, Jan 5: Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer, became the butt of Twitterati jokes on Saturday after she tweeted that NASA recording of the sound of the sun was in fact 'Om' chant. She wrote at @thekiranbedi: "NASA recorded sound of the sun -- Sun chants Om."

pic.twitter.com/ArRwljjDVE

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) January 4, 2020

The post got 5.6K retweets and 17.7K likes, and as many as 472.6K views.

One user remarked: "Wrong. The Sun said NaMo NaMo. You should've checked the UNESCO version along with the NASA version."

A post read: "And we thought you were intelligent."

One user posted a picture of Kiran Bedi with Sadhguru Jaggi who was trolled a few days ago after he posted his support on the Citizenship Amendment Act. He commented: "This picture can be provided."

A Twitter user reminded the former bureaucrat about the Indian Constitution's Fundamental Duties (Article 51A) that says that it shall be the duty of every citizens of India to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

Another wondered aloud: "We don't know how you cleared the Civil Services exams. We are ashamed...."

A user posted a clip of a well known stand-up comic who talked about the celestial hum which many claim to be Om chant.

A post read: "I consider this tweet by you as one of the best jokes of the millennium. The saffron brigade is successful in brainwashing learned people like you."
One user commented: "Once upon a time this lady was a hero to many. What a disgrace now!"