SUNDAY FEATURE

As the BJP begins preparations for next year's Assembly elections in Rajasthan, the party's central leadership on Tuesday asked its state leaders to put the house in order – the state unit should be seen as united. The state leaders were told that they should work together forgetting their differences, and refrain from making public statements against each other.

A crucial meeting of the state leaders with the national leaders also indicated that the BJP is likely to go to elections without announcing a chief ministerial candidate, sources said, adding that the leader can be chosen after the elections. However, the central leadership may consider the demand for changes in the state unit, they said.

Army Vice Lieutenant General Manoj Pande was appointed as the new chief of the Indian Army on Monday as incumbent Army Chief General MM Naravane is being seen as the frontrunner for the Chief of Defence Staff’s post. Pande is the first engineer to hold the top military post.

Naravane is due to retire by the end of this month. Pande is the seniormost after Naravane.

CDS General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 12 armed personnel were killed in a chopper crash on December 8, 2021.

Pande became the seniormost after a few top officers retired over the past three months. The incumbent Lt Gen Raj Shukla, who was commanding Army’s training command (ARTRAC), retired on March 31. A few other senior leaders retired by the end of January. Lt Gen CP Mohanty and Lt Gen YK Joshi retired on January 31.

Music maestro Ilayaraja is known for his compositions that transcend time but the 78-year-old’s popularity across generations did not shield him from an online backlash over the weekend for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and comparing him to Dr BR Ambedkar.

In the foreword for Ambedkar & Modi — Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementations, published by Delhi-based Bluecraft Digital Foundation, Ilayaraja wrote, “Both these striking personalities succeeded against odds that people from socially disempowered sections of the society face. Both saw poverty and stifling social structures from close quarters and worked to dismantle them, but both are also practical men who believe in action rather than mere thought exercises.”

Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw during his visit to Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh, announced the operationalisation of the Vande Bharat Express train between Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district and Delhi. 

The Minister said that two rake points have been approved at Chattarpur and Khajuraho. Along with this, he also informed that rail tickets can now be obtained from 45,000 post offices. 

"Soon Rail Over Bridge /Road Under Bridge (ROB/RUB) will be constructed at important places," he said while mentioning the operation of Bharat Gaurav trains like Ramayana Express, the electrification of which is to be completed by August. 

CPI (M) politburo member Brinda Karat today wrote a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on the Jehangirpuri communal violence and asked if the police had given permission to Bajrang Dal youth wing members to carry arms while walking in a procession on 16 April.

Karat said there was video evidence of members of the procession having flaunted their arms. “It is also unclear from your statement whether there is an investigation into the role of the police,” she said.

“Who is accountable for allowing an armed procession to stop in front of a mosque shouting provocative and aggressive slogans at the exact time when the prayers to break the Roza fast were scheduled to begin,” she said.