Jalpaiguri (WB), Oct 6 (PTI) Search and rescue operations are being carried out in full swing on Thursday for people swept away in flash floods in the Mal river in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.

Eight bodies have so far been recovered, an official said.

Jalpaiguri police superintendent Debarshi Dutta said that during idol immersion in the river on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami as is the practice every year, flash floods occurred at around 8.30 pm on Wednesday, sweeping away some people.

“Search and rescue operations are on for the missing people,” he told reporters.

The deceased persons included an eight-year-old boy and a girl, aged 13, the official said, adding that among the other six were three women.

Despite light rain occurring in the area, search and rescue operations have begun in the early morning after remaining halted for some hours during the night owing to low visibility, he said.

Idol immersion of several community Durga pujas at Malbazar in Dooars area was being held in Mal river when the tragic incident happened.

Fifteen people, who received injuries, were admitted to a nearby hospital, the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident.

“Anguished by the mishap during Durga Puja festivities in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Twitter.

State Backward Class Welfare Minister Bulu Chik Baraik, who is the MLA from the Mal Assembly constituency, feared that the death toll may increase.

Though there has been little rain in the area for the last few days, downpour has been reported in the higher reaches and in the Bhutan hills.

Mal river originates in the hills, and the water accumulated in the higher reaches owing to the heavy rain there caused the flash floods, sources said. It merges with the Teesta river in the region. PTI 

 United Nations, 

The United Nations peacekeeping chief is undertaking a visit to India, among the largest troop contributing countries for its operations.

Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix will visit India, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Japan. The multi-nation trip starts on Thursday and will continue until October 15.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Wednesday that in New Delhi, Lacroix will participate in a two-day meeting organised by the Challenges Forum, which brings together leading policymakers, practitioners and academics on key issues linked to peace operations.

The head of the UN peacekeeping will then travel to Abu Dhabi, Islamabad and Tokyo.

Dujarric said the purpose of Lacroix’s visit is to thank the countries for their contributions and support to UN peacekeeping as well as to update on progress enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping.

During his trip, Lacroix will meet senior government officials.

According to information on the website of Challenges Forum, the event CAF22 will “gather partners and key stakeholders” on October 6-7 to “discuss how future peace operations can remain relevant in a world of growing geopolitical friction”.

The CAF22 will be co-hosted by the organisation’s Indian partner the United Service Institution of India (USI).

Under the overarching theme “Future of Peace Operations”, the three sub-themes for the forum are “Place for Preventive Deployment in Diplomacy”, “Protection of Civilians in Peace Operation” and “Protecting the Protectors”.

India is one of the largest troop and police contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions and more than 5,700 Indian peacekeepers are deployed in nine out of 12 UN peacekeeping missions at present.

Since 1950s, India has cumulatively deployed more than 260,000 troops to the missions. Through the years, 177 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice, the highest from any troop-contributing country.

Muzaffarnagar, October 6

A 13-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by a teenager here last week has been rescued from Rajasthan, police said on Thursday.

On Sunday, the 17-year-old boy allegedly kidnapped the girl on the pretext of marriage, Station House Officer (New Mandi) Sushil Kumar Saini said.

The teenager's father is a manager of a private school where the girl studied in Class 7, he said, adding the boy used to teach in the same school.         

A case has been filed against the boy on the complaint of the minor's parents, police said, adding he has been detained and sent to a juvenile home.

MANDYA (KARNATAKA): Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday morning joined the party's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Mandya in Karnataka.
Sonia, who had reached in Mysuru on Monday afternoon, arrived at the starting point of the padyatra, which resumed on Thursday after a two-day break for Dussehra. The Yatra entered its Karnataka leg on September 30.
The Congress supremo was seen walking in the company of her son and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders.
She had earlier visited the Bheemanakolli Temple in Begur village and offered prayers on Wednesday.
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar today said that it was a matter of pride for veteran Sonia Gandhi to walk on the streets.
"After Vijayadashami, there will be Vijaya in Karnataka. We are proud that Sonia Gandhi has come to walk on the streets of Karnataka. We are coming to power in the state, and BJP is on the way to shutting its shop," said DK Shivakumar.
Day 29 of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' began with flag hoisting at 5.30am at Exhibition Grounds, Mysuru, where Bharat Yatris joined in Dasara celebrations.
"The march resumed after an hour's bus ride to padayatra start point near Mandya. Congress President will join around 800 am," tweeted senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday morning.
The Padyatra (march) is covering a distance of 25 km every day. The march was aimed to cover as many as 12 states in five months. It will be in Karnataka for 21 days before moving north.
According to Congress, the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is being held to combat the divisive politics of the BJP-led Centre and to awaken the people of the country to the dangers of economic inequalities, social polarisation and political centralisation.
Notably, all the party MPs, leaders and workers along with Rahul Gandhi are staying in containers. Sleeping beds, toilets and ACs are also installed in some of the containers.
The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles. 

New Delhi: Manohar Lal Khattar is doing good work in Haryana but it’s still early to say whether he will be Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) chief ministerial face for a third time, said BJP parliamentary board member Dr Sudha Yadav. In an interview with ThePrint, she also spoke about the future of the BJP’s alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), adding that it will depend on “samay aur samikaran” (time and equation).

“M.L. Khattar is our current CM, he has delivered transparent governance and cut down on corruption in government jobs, but it is too soon to talk about him being the face of the government in the next assembly elections,” said the former Member of Parliament from Mahendragarh. 

Yadav, who hails from Haryana’s Rewari, was inducted into the BJP’s top decision-making body in August — the only woman in the 11-member parliamentary board, as was the case with former Union minister late Sushma Swaraj.

“Nobody knows which member of the party will get what responsibility but many party workers get various responsibilities while working, so I am grateful to the senior leadership for showing faith in me,” she said.

Yadav added that the BJP has always given priority to women leaders and that while the appointment is made by the President, more women governors have assumed office during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure. The PM is sensitive about the issue, she said.

On the BJP-JJP alliance in Haryana, she said her party does not leave its allies behind but will strive for a majority on its own in the 2024 assembly polls. “We need to strengthen the party, expand its reach and do better in constituencies where we could not do well last time,” Yadav said.

Falling short of the halfway mark in the 90-member assembly, the BJP (with 40 seats) had entered into a post-poll alliance with the JJP (with 10 seats) to form a government in Haryana in 2019.

 Shimla, October 4

The official communication by Bilaspur district police asking for character verification of mediapersons for coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bilaspur on October 5 has been withdrawn on the pretext that the letter was inadvertently issued.

Realising that it could boomerang, the Bilaspur police turned a volte face and clarified that the letter stood withdrawn and said that passes would be issued to all those recommended by the DPR and the DPRO.

“All journalists are most welcome to cover Prime Minister’s visit to Himachal Pradesh on October 5. Himachal Pradesh Police will facilitate their coverage. Any inconvenience is regretted,” tweeted DGP Sanjay Kundu.

The letter seeking character verification from mediapersons of print, digital and television besides state-run media, including the All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan on September 29, had sparked a controversy and there were spate of queries from the mediapersons.

The notification asked the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) to supply a list of all press correspondents, photographers, videographers, and teams of Doordarshan and AIR along with “a certificate of their character verification” following which the DPRO, Bilapsur, had reportedly refused to accept the official identify cards of journalists.

"The certificate of character verification may be supplied to the office of Deputy Superintendent of Police, CID, Bilaspur by October 1, 2022, positively. Their access within the rally or meeting will be decided by this office," the notification said.

The normal practice in vogue was that passes are issued by the police on the recommendation of the DPR and DPRO for covering VVIP programmes and it was for the first time that character certificates were asked. PM Narendra Modi will visit Bilaspur and Kullu tomorrow.

 New Delhi, October 4

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said the Indian Air Force had taken appropriate "non-escalatory" measures to deal with Chinese activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, he said the recent developments at the global stage showed the need for a strong military to ward off any challenge.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said the IAF had been preparing for all kinds of security challenges, including "worst-case scenario", and asserted that it is fully ready to face any situation.

"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding that the IAF continued to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.

When asked about the recent incidents of Chinese fighter jets flying close to the LAC, he said appropriate non-escalatory measures had been taken and a message was sent to the neighbouring country.

Our overall preparation is a continuous process irrespective of Chinese belligerence, he said.

To a question, he said the benchmark for the situation to return to normal in eastern Ladakh would be to return to status quo ante and completion of disengagement in all friction points.

Referring to the ambitious theaterisation plan, the Air Chief Marshal said the IAF understands imperatives of joint planning and execution with sister forces for future wars.

“We are not opposed to tri-services integration; our reservations relate to only certain structures, he said.

The Chief of Air Staff also said that the IAF is in sync with the government on self-reliance in defence production. 

 New Delhi, October 4

The light combat helicopter (LCH) inducted into the Indian Air Force at Jodhpur on Monday will make its public display at Chandigarh where the IAF is conducting its Airforce Day parade and air display.

The IAF announced that three LCHs from the 143 Helicopter Unit, Jodhpur, will take off to Chandigarh to take part in the display to be conducted over the Sukhna Lake in the afternoon of October 8.

The number of aircrafts on display could be around 90 planes to mark the IAF's anniversary.

Apart from the LCH, the IAF will display its might with jets like Rafale, the Sukhoi 30 MKI, the MiG 29, Mirage 2000 and MiG 21 also being a part of the flypast.

Helicopters like Mi35, Mi17 and ALH will also be at the flypast along with special operations planes like the C17 and C130.

The Surya Kiran aerobatics team will also do a display.

 New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s comments highlighting India’s poverty, unemployment and inequality at a Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) event Sunday have created a stir, as they seem to “target the BJP-led central government”.

While BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said the party “does not have a particular stance on what Hosabale said, but he has underlined some of the challenges which are common”, some leaders from the Congress — which is holding a Bharat Jodo Yatra against the rising inflation and unemployment — took the remarks as an opportunity to attack the Centre over the state of the economy.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communication Jairam Ramesh tweeted in Hindi:  “Look at the effect of BharatJodoYatra. Those who break the country and spread poison in the society, today they are raising the issue of poverty, unemployment and inequality to increase their reach [sic].”

Political experts were divided on the significance of the statement made by the senior leader of the RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP.

Political analyst Rahul Verma, a fellow at Centre for Policy Research, does not consider it as criticism of the BJP government. “The RSS has often acted as the conscience keeper of the BJP. Even during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the RSS and affiliated organisations like Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh used to make demands and protest against government policies,” he said.

But, another political analyst Rasheed Kidwai pointed out that “what Hosabale has said is something very obvious, but the open-ended question can be whether a section of RSS or BJP leaders are at variance”.

At a webinar hosted by the SJM, Hosabale had compared poverty to a demon which has to be slayed.

“Over 20 crore people who live here are below the below poverty line. Around 23 crore people are having an income of Rs 375 per day. Unemployment rate is also very distressing at 7.6 per cent. There is poverty, unemployment in the country but we also need to discuss the rising inequality,” he asserted.

“Even when India has managed to be among the top six economies in the world, we can’t say all is well. One percentage of the population in India holds 20 per cent of the country’s wealth, while 50 per cent has 13 per cent of wealth,” the RSS general secretary said. “We must do something about this economic inequality.”

In January, the Sangh-affiliated SJM, along with seven other right-wing organisations, had launched the ‘Swavalambi Bharat Abhiyan’ (SBA), which aims to make India unemployment-free by 2030. Sunday’s event, ‘Swawalamban ka Shankhnaad’, was part of a series of events being organised under the SBA banner.

On its part, the SJM has often raised issues relating to unemployment but links it to the country’s colonial past and alleged failure of the previous governments.