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Udit Raj hits out at BJP, says it wants Dalit votes but not Dalit leader

Agencies
April 24, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 24: Udit Raj, the BJP MP who on Wednesday jumped ship to the Congress, hit out at the saffron party, claiming that he was denied a ticket because he took stand on many issues against the party lines. He slammed the BJP saying that the party wanted Dalit votes but noa Dalit leader.

The sitting MP from North West Delhi was denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which fielded singer Hans Raj Hans from the reserved seat.

"Congress President Rahul Gandhi welcomes Udit Raj into the Congress party," the Congress tweeted.

Addressing a press conference at the party office after joining the Congress, Raj said: "The BJP carried out internal surveys by various agencies of all the seven seats in Delhi. And out of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies, the only positive feedback came from my seat.

"But I was denied a ticket as I took stand on issues against the party lines and because I was not deaf and dumb. I took a stand on the SC/ST Act and supported the Bharat Band called last year."

Raj also expressed his gratitude to Rahul Gandhi for allowing him to join the Congress.

Taking a potshot at the BJP, Raj said, "On May 20, 2014, (President) Ram Nath Kovind came to me with his bio-data. BJP's SC/ST Morcha leader Vivek Sonkar is a witness to that meeting. He (Kovind) had asked me to help him get a proper position in the party.

"The BJP did not think him fit though Kovind was planning to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. However, he was made the President as he remained silent. If I too remained silent, they (BJP) would have made me the Prime Minister some day."

Delhi Congress chief and three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that Raj joining the party would help the Congress in the elections on all the seven seats of the national capital.

Earlier in the day, in a series of tweets, Raj said: "It was nice to speak to senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra. He was saddened over denial of ticket to me."

Raj said he would not have felt so bad had he been informed about being denied the ticket. "Why did the party declare the name on the last day of filing nomination," he asked.

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Agencies
February 11,2020

Bhadohi, Feb 11: With just two days left for the State Budget Session, a widow from Uttar Pradesh''s Bhadohi district has accused BJP MLA Ravindranath Tripathi and six others of sexual harassment over the years, the police said.

The incident is likely to cause considerable embarrassment to the ruling Yogi Adityanath government.

Bhadohi Superintendent of Police (SP) Ram Badan Singh said: "The woman, whose husband died in 2007, met the BJP MLA Ravindranath Tripathi''s nephew in 2014. She said that she was physically exploited by him for many years on the pretext of marriage."

The complainant also said that the nephew then got her lodged in a Bhadohi hotel for about a month during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, "where she was raped by the MLA and his other family members".

The case has been handed over to the Additional Superintendent of Police for further investigations.

A case is yet to be registered.

The Uttar Pradesh Budget Session starts from Thursday.

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News Network
August 8,2020

Nagpur, Aug 8: "He was a great son and always the first one to help others in need. He sacrificed his life for the country," said Neela Sathe, the mother of late captain DV Sathe, who was flying the Air India flight that crash-landed at Kozhikode airport on Friday, claiming 18 lives.

Indian Army Retired Colonel Vasant Sathe and his wife Neela lost both their sons in line of duty. The couple is originally from Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Speaking to news agency, Neela broke into tears and said, "He was a great son and always the first one to help others in need. 

His teachers still appreciate him. During the Ahmedabad floods, he saved the children of the soldiers by lifting them in his arms. I wish God would have called us instead of him."

"Both our children sacrificed their lives for the country," she added.

Remembering DV Sathe's childhood, Neela talked about every that moment when he made his parents proud.

Neela told with great pride that Captain DV Sathe had received the Sword of Honor and had also won eight medals in the Air Force.

Neela last talked to DV Sathe over phone call a few days ago during which captain told her mother not to go out of the house amid COVID-19 crisis as if something happens to her, he won't be able to bear that.

Vasant, captain's father retired as a colonel after serving in the Army for 30 years, following the footsteps of their father, both his sons joined too the Army.

Their elder son Vikas, was in the Army, and at the age of 22, he was martyred in an accident in Ferozepur in 1981. Their younger son Deepak (DV Sathe), who served as a pilot in Air India after serving in the Indian Air Force, died in the plane crash on Friday.

An Air India Express plane carrying 190 passengers including 10 infants skidded while landing at Karipur Airport in Kozhikode on Friday evening.

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News Network
May 22,2020

Bengaluru, May 22: Amazon.com Inc’s India unit said it would hire 50,000 temporary workers to meet a surge in online shopping in the country, where customers have been stuck indoors for two months in a lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

E-commerce firms faced massive disruption in the initial days of the lockdown in India, but a slow easing of the stringent regulations has allowed them to resume large parts of their operations.

"We want to continue helping customers all over India get everything they need so they can continue to practice social distancing," Amazon senior executive Akhil Saxena said in a statement on the company's blog. (bit.ly/2A1Wv7O)

“(The move) will also keep as many people as possible working during this pandemic while providing a safe work environment for them,” said Saxena, Amazon’s VP for customer fulfillment operations in APAC, MENA & Latam.

The temporary hires will work in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and as part of its delivery network, the company said, making the announcement at a time when various other companies in the country have been forced to cut jobs as they try to tide over the health crisis.

Amazon itself has pushed its annual global Prime Day event, traditionally a summer affair, to September, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

In India, where the Jeff Bezos-led company faces stiff competition from Walmart Inc’s Flipkart, Amazon earlier said it plans to create 1 million jobs by 2025.

The company also said on Thursday it plans to enter the food delivery business in India, pitting itself against well-established startups such as Swiggy and Zomato.

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