Why Your Physical Health Must Come First
I had this conversation with my personal trainer this week, explaining one of the primary reasons I am training every day.If you don’t feel well physically, then all of the other areas of your life will suffer. This is why it is critical to put your physical health and well-being first.Physical Energy: If you don’t feel well, you will lack the energy to be your best self. Whether you are sick, tired and run down, injured, or simply out of shape, your physical being affects every other area of your life. You can lack the physical energy you need when you don’t get enough sleep or when you are simply dehydrated. Without the physical energy you need, you won’t be your best in any other area, even if you can show up and plow through.Attitudinal Fitness: When you don’t well physically, your attitude suffers. You don’t have the energy to deal with challenges, nor do you have the stamina to maintain a resourceful state. Feeling bad, regardless of whether it is a health issue or a lack of sleep makes it easy to be pessimistic, negative, and cynical. A positive, optimistic attitude is easier to maintain when you feel well. That starts with how your body feels.Mental Stamina: Thinking is hard work. Have you ever felt so poor that you couldn’t concentrate? Have you been ill, under the weather, or tired and had trouble dealing with some problem that should have been easy but for the fact that you felt bad. The better you feel physically, the more mental stamina you have to deal with big, challenging, strategic issues.Emotional Fitness: The root cause of a lot of people’s short tempers and foul attitudes stem from their feeling bad physically. Because they don’t really feel well, their emotional state can be terrible. Your bad mood can cause you to do and say things that damage important relationships. Your emotional fitness starts with your physical fitness.It’s important to take care of your physical health. Your brain lives in your body, and if you don’t feel well, then your brain, your mind, and your emotions don’t work as well as they should.If you want to produce the best results you are capable of, then you have to start with your physical health and well-being. Everything else depends on it.
Essential Reading! Get my first book: The Only Sale Guide You’ll Ever Need “The USA Today bestseller by the star sales speaker and author of The Sales Blog that reveals how all salespeople can attain huge sales success through strategies backed by extensive research and experience.” Buy Now The world punishes some behaviors while rewarding others, even though the behaviors that are punished are sometimes more common than those rewarded.The world doesn’t seem to think too much of laziness, preferring to confer its benefits to industriousness instead. While laziness produces a lack of result, industriousness is rewarded with increased monetary compensation, increased recognition, and growth.Integrity and character are also rewarded while a lack of these things is almost always punished. One who is dishonest may succeed in getting what they want over the short term, but over the longer term, the world ostracizes those who do things that are illegal and immoral. The world rewards honesty, integrity, and character with relationships that last a lifetime, trust in business and personal dealings, and the reward that comes to those who have a clear conscience.Giving up is often punished while persistence and determination receive what may seem like an unfair bounty. This last week I wrote a post where I suggested that given enough time, energy, and resources, all obstacles yield. A reader suggested that I was incorrect, that he would never be able to play in the Masters or carry a baby to term. I believe he is wrong, that he is short on time, energy, and resources . . . and a passionate desire to have these things (something I should have added). Giving up is punished with a lack of having whatever it was that you were pursuing, something that someone else with greater intestinal fortitude will surely have as their reward.The world doesn’t reward pessimism or cynicism in any of their varieties. The underlying negative mindset produces a negative lens through which the world looks like a dark and difficult place. Most of the time, this negative mindset is used to protect the holder from being hurt or disappointed, while also absolving them of the responsibility to do something, especially pouring their heart and soul into something. People who are optimistic, empowered, and future-oriented reap the benefits of seeing a world that is full of unlimited possibility and potential.The first half of The Only Sales Guide is a list of attributes that the world favors. Things like self-discipline, optimism, caring, competitiveness, determination, resourcefulness, initiative, communication skills, and accountability.Reality is extremely persistent. It isn’t swayed by opinions, and it doesn’t seem to take into account any individual’s preferences. If what you are doing isn’t producing the result you want, it is likely that the root cause may be that you are acting in opposition to what the world rewards.You can have anything you want, provided you are willing to pay the price to have it, and provided you pay the price in full.
Hours after allegations that a voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machine linked to an EVM in Madhya Pradesh dispensed only slips with the BJP symbol, the Election Commission on Saturday decided to send a team of officials to the State. It sought a report from the poll authorities in the State, where bypolls are due on April 9.Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal was appointed to supervise the Ater and Bandhavgarh Assembly bypolls.The team for the implementation of administrative and security protocols will include a Senior Principal Secretary and a Principal Secretary. Technical experts have also been deployed to ensure the correct functioning of the machines.“The integrity of EVMs and VVPATs to be used in the poll will be demonstrated to the complete satisfaction of all stakeholders….these teams will remain in the Assembly constituency till the counting is over,” said the EC, on complaints from the Congress party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which raised doubts about the fairness of the machines in view of the incident.The said incident took place in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind on Friday, ahead of the Ater Assembly by-polls, during a mock test in the presence of local journalists. Irrespective of which button was being pressed, a VVPAT was dispensing only slips of the BJP symbol.Expressing serious concern, the Congress and the AAP petitioned the Commission on Saturday.
Vijay Bahadur Chauhan has endured a long train journey from Rasra in Ballia, more than 350 km away on the eastern fringes of Uttar Pradesh, to find himself outside 5, Kalidas Marg, the official residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. On a recent morning, he was hoping to get an audience with the Chief Minister.Mr. Chauhan has come with his son, Chote Lal, 17. Struck by polio, Chote Lal is sitting on a wheelchair on which are engraved the Hindi words: “Ek parivar ke char bachhe viklang” — In one family, four children are crippled. Four of Mr. Chauhan’s six children — three sons and a daughter — are stricken with polio and immobile.What draws Mr. Chauhan to the Chief Minister’s residence is not the hope of financial help. He has a specific request. A labourer from the backward classes, he is seeking a toilet since he does not have one in his house or anywhere close. “We have to carry them out to the fields each time they want to relieve themselves. It is time consuming and stressful. Sometimes we are unable to do that, which creates fights with neighbours, who scold us. If a toilet is built, it will save a lot of trouble for us,” says Mr. Chauhan.Mr. Chauhan is not alone. Almost every day, a few hundred people from the far-flung corners of UP come to Mr. Yogi’s residence in Lucknow, leaving behind their daily routine, in search of justice or redressal of grievances. The CM, when present, hears them out in his janata darshan sessions and directs officials to take necessary action.Also Read The complaints could span the whole range: financial help, agricultural plots, power supply, drinking water, housing, land grabbing, pension delays, irregularities in land records, medical assistance, and wedding assistance. If a Bareily resident recently sought help for his kidney ailment, a woman from Lucknow requested free education and pension due to the untimely death of her husband, while a labourer from Sambhal complained against his employer for non-payment of wages.Mr. Chauhan’s journey to the CM’s residence to get a toilet built depicts the failure of the local administration to address the grievances of the people. “There is no other recourse for the poor. That’s why we have to come all the way here,” says Suresh Chandra, a Dalit, who sells scrap for a living.Given the run-aroundAlong with two colleagues, Mr. Chandra has just exited the CM’s house after submitting his petition. A resident of Hathras, more than 385 km away, near Agra, Mr. Chandra claims that the police in his district have falsely implicated his son and three others, including two women relatives, on charges of kidnapping the minor daughter of an influential local. He wants a fair probe in the case. “They arrested my son even without a probe. They are not even investigating the disappearance of the girl. We went to the SP but his diwan asked us to wait. Even after four hours we got no hearing,” says Mr. Chandra. “Hang us if we are guilty. If we were guilty we would not dare come here,” he says as he sits down to eat a meal of rotis and pickle in the shade. Along with scores of other aggrieved people, he had waited for his turn from 6.30 a.m.As afternoon approaches, the complainants and the aggrieved start to trickle out from the CM’s complex. Ram Daras Yadav, holding a bunch of papers, is one of them. A resident of Gorakhpur, Mr. Adityanath’s stronghold, Mr. Yadav alleges that a local BJP leader was illegally obstructing the construction of an RCC road to his house in his village under the Jnaneshwar Mishra scheme. The existing kutcha road was affecting his mobility.“The DM sent me to the SDM Bansgaon, who directed me to the CDO. But nothing happened. The tehsildar did not show up at the site. I didn’t know where I would get justice. Villagers then advised me to come here,” said Mr. Yadav, a farmer.While a meeting with the CM or any senior minister fills the aggrieved with hope, some say the assurances they are given are hollow. After 10 years of service, Snehlata Jaiswal, an anganwadi worker, was suspended in 2013 for alleged corruption. She claims she was falsely implicated and wants her job to be restored. This is her second attempt to get a hearing from the CM — she earlier visited during Akhilesh Yadav’s time. She also paid two visits to the Gorakhnath Mutt but without success. “There is no use coming here. I came with hope but nothing happens. I have two kids to feed. I dont’t know what I will do,” a distraught Ms. Jaiswal said, as she walked out from Kalidas Marg, the power boulevard of UP.Promises to returnOn the day Mr. Chauhan came to Kalidas Marg to plead for a toilet in his house, Mr. Yogi was not there to meet him. Mr. Chauhan even sat on a dharna with his four children to draw the administration’s attention.On the day of Holi, this year, he attended the janata durbar of influential Rasra MLA Uma Shankar Singh, of the BSP, with petitions. “I was disheartened to find the papers ending up in the trash box. All the officials ever say is, ‘Your work will be done.’ But they do nothing. I am tired of running around,” says Mr. Chauhan, who says he will return another day to meet the CM. Adityanath highlights govt.’s achievements in 100 days of assuming office 
As the Rashtriya Janata Dal made it clear that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav would not resign despite raids by investigating agencies, BJP State president Nityanand Rai said on Monday that his party could consider extending outside support to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Rai said: “If Mr. Nitish Kumar breaks the alliance with the RJD and the Congress, the BJP will extend outside support to the Janata Dal(U) so as to ensure that governance is restored in the State.”Mr. Rai said Mr. Nitish Kumar would have to take a decision soon on corruption charges against Mr. Tejaswi Yadav and Mr. Tej Pratap Yadav, sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. “Bihar deserves a government free of graft, and Mr. Nitish Kumar’s silence is not helping … We will extend outside support. There are many reasons we will not join the government,” he said. “We do not want the people of Bihar to suffer another election too soon, hence our stand.” Sushil Kumar Modi, senior BJP leader in the State, has been urging Mr. Nitish Kumar to act against the Ministers facing corruption charges, a suggestion which many feel may lead to a breach in the grand alliance of the RJD, the JD(U) and the Congress, and leave some space for the BJP to enter the equation. However, some leaders in the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance are wary of any sudden embrace of Mr. Nitish Kumar. “For us, Mr. Nitish Kumar who ditched us before the 2014 election is a bigger threat than Mr. Lalu Prasad. If we support him, it will be giving his political career a new lease of life when his own alliance is hastening it to an end,” said a senior office-bearer of the party. Kushwaha’s standUnion Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha is another detractor of Mr. Kumar, against whom he rebelled and then formed Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, which joined the NDA before the 2014 elections. “Who needs enemies if you have friends like Mr. Nitish Kumar,” he asked. “The Central government is being unnecessarily blamed for the action of enforcement agencies. Lalu Prasad would be well advised to search closer to home for enemies,” he said. Amid all this, Mr. Kumar has maintained a stoic silence, avoiding Tuesday’s Opposition meeting to select a common candidate for the vice-presidential election. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav will attend it.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s car was attacked on Friday by unknown persons, who threw stones that hit the car and broke windowpanes of the rear seat of a private SUV in Gujarat’s flood-hit Banaskantha district. In the incident, a SPG guard received minor injuries while Mr. Gandhi sitting in the front seat escaped unhurt.After the incident, Mr. Gandhi took to Twitter to lash out at the BJP governments at the Centre and the State and stressed that he will not step back because of stones or black flags that he was shown by crowds while he visited flood affected Dhanera area of the state.“Narendra Modi Ji ke naaron se, kale jhandon se aur patharon se hum peechhe hatne wale nahi hai, hum apni puri takat logon ki madad karne mein lagayenge,” Mr Gandhi posted on Twitter.Following the incident that attracted widespread condemnation, Gujarat’s Deputy CM Nitin Patel said the police would lodge an FIR and added that Mr. Gandhi had refused to use a bulletproof car offered by the state and instead preferred to travel in a private SUV.After a series of tweets accusing the Congress leader of photo opportunity with flood affected people, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also condemned the attack and said, ‘I condemn the unfortunate attack on Rahul Gandhi’s convoy. I have instructed officers to take strict action against those responsible.”Earlier, Mr. Rupani described the Congress leader as a “perpetual tourist” and asked why Congress legislators were away in a resort in Bengaluru when people of their constituencies were hit by the worst floods.Meanwhile, the incident triggered strong reactions from the Congress leaders, who blamed the state BJP government for lapse in Mr Gandhi’s security during his brief visit to meet the flood affected people in the district.“Political violence has no place in a functioning democracy,” said former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, condemning the attack on Mr. Gandhi’s car.According to sources, untoward incidents during Mr. Gandhi’s visit were anticipated as the BJP government and party leaders have been cashing in on the absence of five Congress legislators, who are away in Bengaluru. The party has taken all its MLAs to Bengaluru ahead of the high-stake Rajya Sabha battle in which party stalwart Ahmed Patel is a nominee. “To hide their failures, the BJP leaders including ministers had been trying to instigate people against the Congress party MLAs, who had to leave the state to escape BJP’s money and muscle power,” said Gujarat Congress President Bharatsinh Solanki. Images of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s car after being pelted with stones. Photos courtesy: Twitter/@INCIndia
Quick thinking by loco pilotThe Central Railways lauded the loco pilot for quickly applying the emergency breaks to avoid the landslip.Pradeep Kate, who was travelling to Vashi from Nagpur in coach B3 said he was awake at the time of the accident and he felt two or three severe jerks after which coaches jumped the tracks. “We walked on the tracks till Asangaon and then to the highway and have now taken a taxi to go to our home in Vashi. There were no major injuries witnessed at the site. The passengers took precautions before jumping from the trains,” said Mr. Kate.Third derailment in 10 daysThis is the third train derailment in the country in a period of 10 days.Fourteen coaches of the Utkal Express jumped the tracks on August 19, with one of them crashing into a house adjacent to the track near Khatauli in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, claiming 23 lives and injuring over 60.On August 25, Six coaches of an Andheri-bound local train derailed in Mumbai, injuring six passengers. At least seven coaches of Duronto Express derail near Titwala The engine and nine coaches of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duranto Express derailed between Vasind and Asangaon in Mumbai on Tuesday morning.No one was reported to be injured in the incident, officials from the Central Railways said. Stranded passengers were sent to their destination by bus and accident relief vans. The cause of the derailment is said to be a landslip. According to preliminary information, the accident took place at 6.30 am. Though the officials said there were no injuries, passengers said many sustained minor injuries. The Railways have sent ambulances and doctors to the accident site and rescue operations were on.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Ritabrata Banerjee, who is at the centre of a controversy for use of expensive accessories, has taken refuge in the Supreme Court’s recent verdict declaring right to privacy as a fundamental right.In a series of social media posts recently, Mr. Banerjee indirectly accused the CPI(M) leadership of digging out information about his bank account without his permission.Serious charges“Is getting hold of one’s bank statement an attack on his/her privacy& (and) denies one of d [the] right 2 [two] personal liberty guaranteed by d [the] Constitution,” stated Mr. Banerjee in a recent social media post.In another post, he took a dig at the CPI(M) leadership and wondered whether the right to privacy applied to the party leaders. “Right 2 [to] Privacy is a fundamental right. I would love to believe it applies for my ‘big’ leaders who fight for it at least ‘publicly’!” said Mr. Banerjee.As for the controversy, the MP in a reply to one of his posts said “almost all” CPI(M) MPs use such gadgets.“Almost all CPI(M) MPs use iPhones and iPads which they buy from the fund allotted for buying accessories from d [the] Parliament,” said Mr. Banerjee.While CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Mohammed Salim refused to comment on the matter, Rabin Deb, a member of the party’s State secretariat, the highest decision making body in the State, told The Hindu,“We will look into it.” Mr. Banerjee’s comments come at a time when the State leadership has sent its recommendation about Mr. Banerjee to the Central Committee
Opposition will have to set aside its differences: Tejashwi Yadav “People will also be told to teach a hard lesson to the Patlturam [Nitish Kumar] who betrayed not only me but the mandate of their mandate”, said Mr. Prasad, adding that Mr. Kumar had left Patna on Sunday out of fear given the large turnout in the rally.“Those top leaders who cannot reach the rally for some urgent work have sent their representatives in the rally”, said Mr. Prasad. “Gandhi Maidan se yehi pukar, desh se bhagao BJP sarkar(this is the clarion call from Gandhi Maidan, oust BJP the government from the country).”Mr. Prasad dismissed the charge that any inconvenience had been caused to the citizens due to the rally. “I’ve called my rally on Sunday as all schools, offices and businesses will be closed on this day”, he said.Meanwhile, Tejaswi Yadav, the younger son of Mr. Prasad and former Deputy Chief Minister, tweeted that Gandhi Maidan has been filled with the party supporters.All 80 RJD MLAs and other leaders have ensured they would bring more supporters from their constituency to participate in the rally.The district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the rally. Over 60 CCTV cameras have been installed inside and outside the venue and over 5000 police personnel have been pressed into service and over 1,000 magistrates have been deployed to meet any untoward incidents.Meanwhile, the BJP has charged Mr. Prasad for being “insensitive” to call a rally when a large part of the State has been reeling under floods.However, a large number of RJD supporters from the flood-hit areas of the State too could be seen attending the rally. “It’s a call of our leader Lalu Prasad. How come we would not have come…if he will be strengthened, we’ll get everything”, echoed a group of rally-goers at Patna’s Dak Bungalow thoroughfare. A sea of people have taken to the roads of Patna, leading to the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) BJP bhagao, Desh bachao (Oust BJP, save the country) rally at the Bihar capital’s historic Gandhi Maidan.The RJD supporters expressed anger against the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] President and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for betraying the grand alliance in the State.The drum and cymbal-beating supporters of RJD have come from all parts of the State and even from the neighbouring State of Jharkhand. A large number of women too are attending the rally.Leaders of as many as 21 political parties are participating in the anti-BJP rally.“Nitish Kumar ne dhokha diya hai..Laluji ko..Tejaswi Yadavji ko…unko BJP ke saath jana tha aur Laluji ka use kiya last election mein (Nitish Kumar has betrayed Laluji and Tejaswi Yadavji…he has to go with the BJP and he used Laluji in the last assembly poll),” said Samrendra Yadav, leading a troop of supporters from Jehanabad.RJD chief Lalu Prasad, meanwhile, told media persons that this rally would be “unprecedented and historic”. “From this rally, I’ll appeal to the people of the State to take a pledge to chase out BJP and Nitish Kumar in the upcoming 2019 Parliamentary poll”, said Mr Prasad.A large number of RJD supporters have gathered outside the gate of Mr. Prasad’s residence 10, Circular Road with drums and cymbals.Also Read
The name of Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Kumar is not on the list of suspended officers maintained by the Union Home Ministry, even a month after Haryana acted against him for issuing a defective prohibitory order that led to crowd build-up and violence by Dera Sacha Sauda followers on August 25. In reply to an application filed under the Right to Information Act by a lawyer, Hemant Kumar, the Ministry on September 22 supplied a list of 15 suspended IPS officers. The list, updated till September 20, does not include the name of Mr. Ashok Kumar. In December 2015, the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, were amended, stipulating that a copy of a suspension order, along with reasons for suspension, shall be communicated to the cadre-controlling authority (the Union Home Ministry) within 48 hours. Next, a detailed report on the suspension shall be forwarded to the Centre within 15 days. A suspension order passed by the State is valid only for 30 days from the date of issuance, and in 30 more days, it requires confirmation by the Centre. “It’s surprising that so far no copy of the suspension order is available,” Mr. Kumar said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons asking Tejashwi Yadav, son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad, to appear before it on November 13 in connection with its money laundering probe in the railway hotels allotment corruption case, officials sources said on Friday.The fresh date has been issued after the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister skipped similar summons of appearance for October 31, they said. The fresh date for his appearance is November 13 now, they added. The agency had registered a case against Lalu Prasad, his family members and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) sometime back.Tejashwi’s mother and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri has already been asked by the ED to appear before it on November 7, for questioning in the case.Tejashwi has been once grilled by the ED for over nine hours in connection with the case but he later skipped four summonses to appear again. Rabri Devi too has skipped the ED summonses at least five times. In July, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a First Information Report (FIR) and conducted multiple searches on the properties of Lalu Prasad, who is also a former Bihar Chief Minister, and others. The CBI FIR has alleged that Lalu Prasad during his tenure as the railway minister handed over the maintenance of two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels to a company in 2004 after receiving a bribe in the form of a prime land in Patna through a ‘benami’ company owned by Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Chand Gupta, a former Union minister. The ED had registered a criminal case against his family members and others under the PMLA, based on the CBI FIR. The CBI also recently recorded the statements of Tejashwi and Lalu Prasad in this case. The ED is investigating the alleged “proceeds of crime” generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to officials. Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director P K Goel. The CBI FIR was registered on July 5 in connection with favours allegedly extended to Sujata Hotels in awarding a contract for the upkeep of the hotels in Ranchi and Puri and receiving premium land as ‘quid pro quo’.
Nagpur: The state government’s inaction against erring officials of Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, who issued and approved tenders worth ₹150 crore despite a Supreme Court order to float fresh tenders since the existing ones were found to be in violation of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, was raised in the Assembly on Monday.The matter was reported in The Hindu in September. Minister for Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection, Food and Drug Administration, Girish Bapat said he has written to the Chief Secretary and an inquiry has been initiated. Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday questioned why no action was taken against officers involved in the tender process despite a court observation.“The SC order is very clear on a fact that CVC guidelines were not followed in the process. What action has the state taken against the concerned authorities regarding the same,” Mr. Chavan asked.Mr. Bapat responded that “the SC order does not mention any action be taken against the related authorities. Despite that, I have personally written a letter to the Chief Secretary seeking inquiry in this matter. Once the report comes in, we will initiate action.”In its order dated July 27, the SC ordered that fresh tenders be issued for supply of bulk drugs including Monovalent Bulk of Poliomyelitis Type 1 (Oral) Sabin Strain and Monovalent Bulk of Poliomyelitis Type 3 (Oral) Sabin Strain used by Haffkine to prepare oral polio vaccine.On January 20, 2016, Haffkine issued a tender for the supply of bulk drugs, including above mentioned drugs. The first part was the techno-commercial bid and the second part was price bid. The techno-commercial bid was to be opened on February 10, 2016 at 4.30 p.m. and the date for opening of the price bid was to be fixed thereafter. Among the two bidders, Nirlac alleged that the tender of Bionet Asia — which won the contract – was not opened in their presence. The Bombay High Court ruled in favour of Nirlac. Haffkine and Bionet Asia approached SC against the verdict.In its order, the SC observed that Haffkine had violated CVC guidelines by not opening the bid in the presence of all bidders or their representatives.
After days of silence over the brutal rape and murder of an eight-year-old tribal girl in Jammu and attempts by lawyers to block the case, the Congress and the BJP spoke out on Thursday condemning the incident, after public outrage had mounted through the day. In the first reaction in days from a BJP Minister, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. (Retd.) V.K. Singh tweeted: “With what happened to the eight-year-old girl in Kathua, it seems being a human is an insult, and animals are better. The criminals should be punished so severely that we can make an example of them for generations.”Expressing distress over the tragedy Mr. Singh said, “We have failed her as humans.”Speaking to The Hindu, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, party in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir, said the party was “fully with the State government on its action in the case.” He dismissed any suggestion that the party had supported obstruction of justice in the case. “We passed a resolution in the State executive meeting of the BJP last week itself that we want the culprits to be punished, justice to be done to the girl, and innocents not to be harassed,” Mr. Madhav said.Sources in the Jammu BJP also said that last week, Mr. Madhav had made a flying visit to the area. Following the visit, Vijay Sharma, a State party secretary, who heads the Hindu Ekta Manch in the area which has been demanding a CBI enquiry into the case and leading protests in favour of the accused, has been removed from the party.Rahul tweetsAfter days of silence, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also tweeted on Thursday: “How can anyone protect the culprits of such evil? What happened at #Kathua is a crime against humanity. It cannot go unpunished. What have we become if we allow politics to interfere with such unimaginable brutality perpetrated?”‘Debar lawyers’Sushmita Dev, chief of the Congress’ women’s wing, also spoke on the issue on her way to Lucknow to attend a dharna against the Yogi Adityanath government’s handling of the Unnao gangrape of a minor. “More shocking is the fact that lawyers are obstructing legal action. They should be debarred,” Ms. Dev said. However, the Congress, like the Jammu Bar Association has demanded a CBI enquiry into the case but says none has the right to obstruct the processes of law.
The Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday witnessed noisy scenes after the Opposition took umbrage at BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar terming “vague” the topic of discussion on the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial in the Arabian Sea. The din forced the Speaker to adjourn the House four times.Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan led the Opposition’s charge on the issue. He claimed that the height of the statue had been lowered by 7.5 m and the sword’s height raised by the same length. Mr. Chavan said the government was reducing the height of the statue to reduce expenses. He said: “We will not tolerate any changes in the height of the statue.” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Mr. Chavan was misleading the House. He said: “The Congress-NCP government did not act when they were in power for 15 years. The height of the statue has not been reduced in any way. We are committed to construct the world’s tallest statue.”Mr. Fadnavis clarified that the first design of the statue sent to the Environment Ministry was a “schematic” one to get clearance. He said the consultants later worked out a design that would enable the statue “withstand the pressures of the gutsy sea wind and waves”.Mr. Bhatkhalkar then objected to Mr. Chavan’s statement and raised a point of order against it. He alleged that Mr. Chavan was raising a “vague” issue to sidetrack the business of the House. The Opposition members strongly objected to Mr. Bhatkhalkar’s remarks. Leader of the Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said, “Mr. Bhatkhalkar should apologise and be suspended for calling the issue vague.” Mr. Bhatkhalkar said he did not intend to talk about Chhatrapati Shivaji. He said, “I only used the word bhalatach [any random issue]. It was relating to Mr. Chavan. I did not even name Shivaji Maharaj. But keeping in mind the sentiments of members of the House, I apologise to the House and entire Maharashtra. Despite this explanation, if anyone’s feelings are hurt, then I take my words back.”
A former national vice-president of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Jai Prakash Singh, who was expelled for his anti-party activities earlier this year, was booked on Sunday for misusing the name of party supremo Mayawati to collect funds. Complaint filedFollowing a complaint by BSP Ghaziabad district president Vinod Pradhan, an FIR was registered against Mr. Singh at the Vijay Nagar police station. Mr. Singh was expelled from the party in July for his remarks that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was unfit to become the Prime Minister of the country. Mr. Singh had later reportedly joined the Bhim Army. The Ghaziabad police said Mr. Singh had used Mayawati’s photographs to lure party supporters and collect funds. Road campaign According to Mr. Pradhan, Mr. Singh had kicked off a road campaign on Sunday that was to cover Meerut, Bijnor, Khurja, Gonda, Lakhimpur Kheri and other parts of Uttar Pradesh. It was to culminate in Delhi on November 10. “We caught him using BSP chief Mayawati’s photographs while campaigning. We immediately swung into action and lodged a police complaint. We fear that he planned to collect money from BSP’s hardcore supporters,” alleged Mr. Pradhan.
Kartarpur Sahib inauguration: Harsimrat Kaur, Hardeep Singh Puri to represent India Citing continued killing of Indian soldiers and terror attacks in the State, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday declined Pakistan’s invitation to the ground-breaking ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor. But his Cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu has accepted the invite.Pakistan hinted at its annoyance with the negative note from the Chief Minister, in a tweet by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain.Also Read Capt. Amarinder, however, said he hopes to visit the shrine across the border once normalcy between the two countries is restored.Mr. Hussain tweeted, “Pakistan through its conduct has once again showed who stands for peace in South Asia and which force is not sincere. PM @ImranKhanPTI has clearly shown Pakistan stands for peace — KartarpurBorderOpening is history in the making, history will judge those who stood on wrong side.”Capt. Amarinder, in a letter to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, wrote, “…My reasons for declining your invitation are twofold. Firstly, not a single day passes when Indian soldiers are not killed or injured on the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir. Rather than moving towards normalcy these incidents are increasing.”“..Secondly the ISI has started its nefarious activities within my State. Since my government was sworn in, in March 2017, we have neutralised 17 modules handled-controlled by the ISI and its associates, apprehended 81 terrorists…the last attack was in Amritsar last Sunday on a peaceful religious congregation, in which 3 men were killed.”Mr. Qureshi had invited Capt. Amarinder and Mr. Sidhu to the ground-breaking ceremony on November 28. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will be inaugurating the ceremony.Mr. Sidhu, meanwhile, in a letter to Mr. Qureshi wrote, “’It is with great honour and unalloyed joy that I accept your invitation to attend the ground-breaking ceremony…I look forward to meeting you on this historic occasion.”His application to attend is now lodged with the Ministry of External Affairs, he added.
Demolition of the Muzaffarpur shelter home, where 34 minor girls were sexually abused, began on Thursday under magisterial supervision. Earlier, the illegally constructed top two floors of the four-storey shelter home were vacated by the Muzaffarpur civic bodies.“A five-member committee has been constituted for demolition work of the illegally constructed portions of the shelter home…we’re taking all necessary precautions in the demolition work as the building is located in a narrow space surrounded by dense population,” Commissioner of the Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation Sanjay Dubey told local journalists. The demolition work started on Thursday under the supervision of an engineer-cum-magistrate Suresh Kumar. “We cannot use JCB or other heavy machines to demolish it as the area is densely populated…we’ve to do it manually and we’ve began the process from roof of the top floor,” said Mr. Kumar. The demolition work may go on for the next two months, he added.Sexual abuseThe State funded shelter home “Balika Grih” was being managed by an NGO “Seva Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti” run by Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the sexual abuse case. Brajesh Thakur is currently lodged in the Jalandhar jail of Punjab. Of late, his family members had informed the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the case, that he was not keeping well in the jail.
The prime accused in the murder of Trinamool Congress MLA Satyajit Biswas was arrested by the West Bengal Police on Monday. Abhijeet Pundari was missing since February 9, the day the MLA was shot dead. He was apprehended from Radhamohanpur Railway Station in Paschim Medinipur district.With his arrest the number of persons apprehended in the case has gone up to five. The police had nabbed Sujit Mondal and Kartik Mondal on the night of the incident, while Kalipada Mondal and Nirmal Ghosh were arrested a few days later from Nadia district. Biswas, MLA from Krishnaganj constituency, was killed in full public view at a Saraswati Puja event in Fulbari area on February 9. He was descending from the stage when he was shot from point-blank range. A number of senior TMC leaders, including newly inducted Minister Ratna Ghosh, were present at the event when the incident happened.BJP leader Mukul Roy was among those named in the FIR in connection with the murder. The Calcutta High Court had on February 13 directed the State police to not arrest Mr. Roy till March 7.
A tiger has been spotted at Goa’s only national park, Bhagwan Mahaveer National Park in South Goa, the State forest department said in a statement on Saturday.“The camera has recorded the presence of a tiger in Bhagwan Mahaveer National Park for the first time on May 14. This indicates that level of protection, quality of wildlife habitat and wildlife management practices in the national park are of high levels,” the statement by Range Forest Officer Paresh Porob said.It said that the forest department staffers were trying to track down the elusive cat for over a year at the park, which is spread over 240 sq km. Mr. Porob said on Saturday that the exploration was part of scientific documentation of the national park.“The tiger was recorded in the core area of the national park. High-level protection has provided ideal habitat for the monitoring of big cat being conducted by the field staff,” said Mr. Porob.This is the second major tiger spotting in the State. Tiger presence was earlier recorded in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary in North Goa.Late chief minister Manohar Parrikar had told the Goa Legislative Assembly last year that no “final decision” had been taken as far as setting up a tiger reserve in the State was concerned, even though National Tiger Conservation Authority had mooted a proposal for constitution of tiger reserve in Goa after the All-India Tiger Estimation survey in 2014.
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday demanded that the Haryana government give compensation of at least ₹2,500 per acre for crop residue management to small and marginal farmers who did not burn stubble. If Punjab can give ₹2,500 per acre as compensation to small and marginal farmers who refrained from burning crop residue, why can’t Haryana do the same, the senior Congress leader asked. Speaking in his home town, Rohtak, Mr. Hooda said the State government’s announcement of giving ₹1,000 per acre as operational charge for managing crop residue would not be enough. The Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly also suggested the government to fix a minimum support price for crop residue and purchase it from farmers the same way it procures crops. “The government should fix MSP and purchase the crop residue, which can be put to use in various industries, including in power plants,” he said. Regarding pollution levels increasing due to stubble burning, the 72-year-old opined that blaming farmers who set fire to crop residue was not going to solve the problem as various stakeholders need to find a solution to the issue.‘Various factors’ “There are various factors that cause pollution. Burning stubble is only one of them. There is pollution caused by vehicle fumes, industries, construction activities and several other factors that are responsible for it. Just putting the blame on farmers is not the right thing to do,” Mr. Hooda said. Notably, burning of crop residue by farmers in Haryana and Punjab is being stated to be one of the major reasons behind the severe pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.