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As nation celebrates Eid, riot-hit Assam on high alert

August 20, 2012

assam_high_alert

New Delhi, August 20: As the nation celebrates Eid on Monday, riot-hit Assam is on high alert. Security has been stepped up across the state, especially in the sensitive districts of Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Chirang that witnessed a spate of clashes between the Bodo tribal groups and Muslims at the end of last month.

While the actual reason for the sudden breakout of violence in the lower regions of Assam is unknown, the state government is not taking any chances as sporadic violence continues.

One hundred companies of security forces have been deployed in the Muslim-dominated sensitive zones of the Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts ahead of Eid.

Authorities have appealed to Muslims living in relief camps to either offer their Eid prayers within the relief camps or go to the nearest Idgah.
Police authorities will also be monitoring the Khudba speeches made by the Imams and religious personalities after the namaz.
Eight companies of additional forces have been deployed between Srirampur near the Assam-Bangladesh border and Guwahati.
In Bangalore, which witnessed a mass exodus by Northeast Indians in the past three days following SMSes warning of retaliatory attacks against them, heavy security is in place. Nearly 17,000 policemen, 3 CRPF companies and 3 Rapid Action Force platoons are spread across the city.


Guilty must be punished: Sonia Gandhi

UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday warned of swift action against people behind the violence in Assam and those "spoiling" harmony in the wake of the exodus of Northeast Indians in some states. "What is happening to Northeast Indians is shameful. The guilty should be punished," she said.

Sonia said the country belonged to all Indians and that they have a right to live in any part of the country. She also expressed concern on Assam violence and said, "Whatever happened in Assam is a matter of great sorrow and concern. Legal action should happen swiftly against those responsible for the incident, whoever they are."

Panic subsides, fear still remains

The panic among Indians from Northeast seems to have subsided as the sale of train and air tickets for destinations there has drastically come down.

Lesser crowds have been seen in the Guwahati-bound trains from Mumbai and Bangalore. Officials in Mumbai say there were a few empty seats in the Guwahati Express.

The Bangalore railway station also saw lesser crowds. However, over 30,000 Indians from the Northeast have already left the city after rumours of retaliatory attacks after Assam violence spread in the city.

The Karnataka government is keeping a close watch on the law and order situation in the state. Five companies of paramilitary force and the state police conducted flag march in areas where Northeast Indians are in majority - Austin Town, Audugodi and Koramangala.

Pakistan remains defiant, demands proof

Home Secretary RK Singh on Saturday had said that the morphed images of Assam violence that were circulated online for creating panic among Northeast Indians in some southern states originated in Pakistan.

Pakistan, however, rejected the allegations saying RK Singh's statement was "careless."

On Sunday, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde called up Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik and sought his cooperation in checking the misuse of social networking sites hurting communal sentiments in India.

Malik in response said that if India can produce evidence proving the rumours originated in Pakistan, they will surely take action.


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Agencies
August 5,2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Ayodhya to lay the foundation of the Ram temple. He participated in the bhoomi poojan rituals at the temple site and offered prayers. He will shortly lay the foundation of the temple with a sliver brick.

From Varanasi to Tamil Nadu, many devotees have sent gifts for the ceremony, like silver bricks and coins.

Special prayers were started on Monday and will culminate with the PM laying the foundation stone for the temple. The city has been decorated with paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana. The Uttar Pradesh government has also made elaborate security arrangement for the event.

Apart from the state police, the NSG commandos have also been kept on stand-by. The invitations for the ceremony have been kept limited due to the coronavirus pandemic. Veteran BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi will witness the event from New Delhi via video-conferencing.

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News Network
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that malls, restaurants and religious places in the national capital would open from Monday after more than two months since the coronavirus-induced lockdown was imposed, but banquet halls and hotels would remain closed.

At an online briefing on Sunday, Kejriwal said hotels and banquet halls might be converted into hospitals in the coming days to treat coronavirus patients and therefore, they would remain shut.

"Malls, restaurants and religious places will be opening from Monday in Delhi in accordance with the Centre's guidelines," he said.

The city government will comply with the instructions of the Centre and its experts like maintaining social distancing and wearing of masks at these places, Kejriwal said.

"In view of the rising number of coronavirus cases, we might attach hotels and banquet halls with hospitals and convert them into hospitals. Hotels and banquet halls will not be opened for now," he said.

The Centre had said on May 30 that "Unlock-1" would be initiated in the country from June 8 and the lockdown would be relaxed to a great extent.

The Delhi government also issued an order allowing opening of restaurants, shopping malls and places of worship except in the COVID-19 containment zones, "subject to compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare".

Kejriwal urged the elderly people, who are at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus, to confine themselves in a room and not to interact with even the family members in order to protect themselves.

Delhi has so far registered over 27,500 coronavirus cases, including 761 deaths.

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Agencies
July 20,2020

New Delhi, Jul 20: Reiterating that China has still occupied India's territory, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has fabricated a fake strongman image to come to power which has now become India's biggest weakness as he has to protect the idea of 'Chhapan Inch'.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress leader posted a video message and wrote, "PM fabricated a fake strongman image to come to power. It was his biggest strength. It is now India's biggest weakness."

In the video message, speaking on "China's Strategic Game Plan" the Congress leader said: "What is China's strategic and tactical game plan? It is simply not a border issue. The worry I have is that the Chinese are sitting in our territory today. Chinese don't do anything without thinking about it strategically."

"In their mind, they have mapped out the world and they are trying to shape the world. That's the scale of what they are doing. That's what Gwadar is, that is what belt and road is. It is a restructuring of the planet. So when you are thinking about the Chinese you have to understand that that is the level at which they are thinking," he added.

Now at the tactical level, they're trying to improve their position. Whether it is Galwan, whether it's Demchok or whether it is Pangong Lake. The idea is to position themselves, he said.

"They are disturbed by our highway they want to make our highway redundant and if they are thinking larger scale, they want to do something with Pakistan in Kashmir. So it is not simply a border issue. It is a border issue designed to put pressure on the Prime Minister of India," the Congress leader said.

"And they are thinking of putting pressure in a very particular way. And what they are doing, is that they are attacking his image. They understand that it in order for Mr Narendra Modi to be an effective politician; in order for Mr Narendra Modi to survive as a politician, he has to protect the idea of--Chhapan Inch. And this the real idea the Chinese are attacking. They are basically telling Mr Narendra Modi that if you do not do what we say, we will destroy the idea of Mr Narendra Modi as a strong leader," he added.

Gandhi continued saying, now the question is, how will PM Narendra Modi react. Will he take them on? Will he take on the challenge and say absolutely not, I'm the Prime Minister of India. I do not care about my image I'm going to take you on. Or will he succumb to them?

"The worry I have so far is that the Prime Minister has succumbed. The worry I have is, the Chinese are sitting in our territory today and the Prime Minister has said publicly they are not, which to me tells me that is worried about his image and defending his image," said Gandhi.

"And if he allows the Chinese to understand that they can manipulate him because of his image, the Indian Prime Minister will no longer be worth anything for India," he added.

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