Citizenship Act: Kanhaiya Kumar detained with several others in Bihar ahead of protest rally.

Source – scroll.in

Communist Party of India leader Kanhaiya Kumar and several others were detained on Thursday in Bettiah city in West Champaran district of Bihar, reported Republic. The Bihar Police swung into action just before Kumar was scheduled to begin a “Jan-Gana-Man yatra” against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens.

Speaking to reporters as the police took him away, Kumar said although the administration wants all Indians to show documentary proof of being citizens, the police would not show him the papers for his detention orders, reported News18. The protestors had gathered outside the Bhitiharwa Gandhi Ashram.

Kumar said the police had earlier granted permission for the protest march, but revoked it on Wednesday night. The month-long march was to start from Champaran on Thursday to coincide with Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary.

The former JNU student has held several protest rallies against the amended citizenship law. The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president had lashed out at the Centre over the arrests of prominent activists who organised protests. He had called the government a “coward and liar”.

Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act are continuing across the country, more than a month after it was passed in Parliament. The amendments, notified on January 10, provide citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. Twenty-six people died in last month’s protests against the law – all in the BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Assam.

The government’s critics and some protestors fear that the amended law and the National Register of Citizens will be misused to target Muslims since the Citizenship Act now has religion as a criterion. There are now fears that a nation-wide National Register of Citizens will be imposed. The Assam NRC had left out around 6% of the state’s population. Work has also begun on the National Population Register, which is the first step to creating an all-Indian NRC identifying undocumented migrants residing in India.

Jharkhand Forest Officials Apply ‘Archimedes’ Principle’ to Rescue Elephant from Well.

Source – news18.com

Forest Department officials in Jharkhand are being hailed for tactfully rescuing a stranded elephant by applying ‘Archimedes Principle’ on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the Amliya toli village of Gumla distric, where an elephant had fallen into a well and locals had to rope in forest department officials to run the rescue operation.

According to reports, the rescue operation started at 7 am and lasted for three hours where the team applied the scientific principle.

Applying Archimedes’ ‘upward buoyant force’ theory, the team first filled the well with water by using a motorised pump. Eventually the elephant floated up and the ramp was raised for it to climb out.

The video was shared by an IFS person Ramesh Pandey, who said, “Heartwarming pictures of how intelligently the team @dfogumla and villagers using Archimedes’s physical law of buoyancy save an elephant calf who had fell in a well. They pumped water into well to float the elephant to surface. Great work. “

The viral tweet went on to receive a lot of love and praise from netizens, who commended the rescue team’s efforts of applying science.

Jharkhand govt trying to cover up killings of tribals for opposing Pathalgarhi movement: BJP

Source – outlookindia.com

The BJP on Thursday accused the JMM-led government in Jharkhand of trying to cover up the killings of seven villagers in West Singhbhum district for allegedly opposing ”Pathalgarhi”, a self-rule movement.

Supporters of the movement had allegedly kidnapped seven villagers of Burugulikera in Guddi block on January 21 and killed them for opposing their stir. The mutilated bodies were recovered from a forest around 4 kilometres from the village the next day.

Following the incident, BJP president JP Nadda formed a party delegation to visit the West Singhbhum district. The delegation comprised Jaswant Singh Bhabhor (MP from Gujarat), Samir Oraon (MP from Jharkhand), Bharati Pawar (parliamentarian from Maharashtra), Gomti Saai (Chhattisgarh Lok Sabha member), Joan Barla (LS member from West Bengal) and former Jharkhand minister and MLA Nilkanth Singh Munda.

The delegation on Wednesday met Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah and submitted the report on the incident.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Oraon said the JMM-led Jharkhand government, of which the Congress is a part, “is trying to cover up the incident.”

“The state government got into action two days after the incident and is now trying to cover up the incident to safeguard the perpetrators of this heinous crime in which innocent tribals were killed,” he said.

Oraon said the incident took place after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that all cases against ”Pathalgarhi” activists will be taken back.

The Pathalgarhi movement is a name given to a tribal protest for autonomy to Gramsabha (village council). Its proponents want no laws of the land be applicable to the tribal people in the area and refuse to accept government”s rights over forests and rivers.

Its supporters carve their diktat on rocks in their areas of influence. The name ”Pathalgarhi” is derived from the practice of carving the edicts of the leaders of the movement on large stones called ”pathal” in local language, while garhi means carving.

The killings that took place days after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal coalition government assumed power in the state on December 29, triggered widespread outrage and CM Soren ordered an investigation by a special investigation team (SIT).

Sixteen people have been arrested in connection with the killings, according to police.

Jharkhand portfolio allocation: CM Hemant Soren keeps Home, Congress gets Health, Finance.

Source – indiatoday.in

Amonth after swearing-in as the Jharkhand chief minister, Hemant Soren on Wednesday allotted portfolio to his council of ministers. Speculations were rife that mounting pressure from Congress for key departments did not allow Hemant Soren to expand his cabinet and allot departments to his ministers.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had attacked Hemant Soren, alleging the chief minister was acting as a “puppet CM”. In a month, Hemant Soren had to travel to Delhi five times. RJD supporters are a disgruntled lot after being allocated just one department of labour and employment.

Their workers alleged that the party was given a peanut and Congress walked away with major departments like health, finance, commercial tax, agriculture, REO and rural department that always constitute the largest part of the annual budget.

Congress spokesperson Alok Dubey said it was not the opportune time to discuss who got the lion share and who were left high and dry. “Rather all the allies in mahagathbandhan should envisage how they would deliver and fulfill the promise made to the common people during elections,” the Congress spokesperson said.

“The government is ours. All the ministers should work with a strong belief and commitment towards people,” he said.

Bangalore Bus Conductor Clears UPSC Exams By Studying For 5 Hours Daily.

Source – news18.com

A 29-year-old bus conductor managed to do what many others fail to do, by clearing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) mains.

Madhu NC, a conductor with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), cleared the mains by studying for 5 hours every day before and after his 8-hour-long strenuous job as a conductor.

According to Bangalore Mirror, Madhu had cleared the prelims in June 2019 and the Mains exam in January 2020. He is preparing to appear for the interview on March 25.

Madhu is also the first in his family to go to school. Still, he had to start working at the tender age of 19 as a conductor. Later, he completed his graduation and post-graduation through distance learning. Originally from Malavalli in Mandya, Madhu has a Masters in Political Science.

The report added that Madhu received guidance from his boss, C Shikha, the managing director of BMTC. She is an IAS officer and is currently helping Madhu prepare for the interview.

Once he passes the interview, Madhu plans to give up his current job and become an IAS officer.

He has previously appeared for the Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) exams in 2014 but failed to soar clear. In 2018 also, he appeared for the UPSC exam unsuccessfully.

His subjects were Ethics, Political Science, Maths and Science. Interestingly, he did not take any coaching classes but decided to study on his own. He used to take guidance from his seniors at the BMTC head office and watched YouTube videos.

UPSC CDS 1 2020 Result declared at upsc.gov.in for OTA: Direct link, steps to check UPSC CDS exam result.

Source – indiatoday.in

The UPSC CDS 1 2020 Result has been declared today, January 29, and candidates who appeared for the examination for Officers Training Academy (OTA) can check the result on the official website of UPSC — upsc.gov.in. A total of 267 candidates qualified in the UPSC CDS exam final result along with the UPSC interview. The recruitment drive was to fill 225 posts of men and 15 posts of women in the Short Service Commission.

This UPSC CDS result lists the candidates who have finally qualified on the basis of the results of the Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2019 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and Interviews held by the Services Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence for admission to the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, for 111 th Short Service Commission Course (for Men); and to the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, 25th Short Service Commission Women (Non-Technical).

The Short Service Commission Course will start in April 2020.

The results of Medical Examination of candidates have not been taken into account in preparing this merit list. The candidature of all the candidates is Provisional.

Verification of date of birth and educational qualification of these candidates will be done by the army headquarter.

Marks of the candidates will be available within 15 days from the date of declaration of the UPSC CDS 1 2020 results on the Commission’s website for 30 days.

Candidates can check out more details on the official UPSC website.

Read on to know the steps to check the UPSC CDS exam result for 2020 and the direct link for the same.

UPSC CDS 1 2020 Result: Steps to check UPSC final result

Step 1: Go to the homepage of UPSC upsc.gov.in and on the right side, click on the link to check UPSC CDS 1 2020 Result titled Final Result: Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2019 (OTA)’.

Step 2: Check out the new pdf file that opens showing your result.

Step 3: Save the pdf file or print it for future reference.

Coronavirus outbreak: Medical camps in .

Source – newindianexpress.com

PATNA:  Seven Bihar districts, which share a border with Nepal, were directed to set up medical camps in coordination with the border authority to keep any suspected coronavirus cases in check.

Sitamarhi, Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, East Champaran and West Champaran share their borders with Nepal. According to principal health secretary Sanjay Kumar, district administration has been asked to set up medical camps at Jogvani, Farbisganj and Raxaul.

Polio teams have also been directed to remain on alert with ANMs health workers and Panchayat representatives.

The department reviewed the preparedness with civil surgeons of all districts through video conferencing with officials. Kumar said sufficient masks and medicines have been made available to all districts. 

After sacking of Kishor, is there a third force in the making in Bihar?

Source – business-standard.com

‘Third force’ in Bihar?

The Janata Dal (United) on Wed-nesday sacked party vice-president and election strategist Prashant Kishor (pictured) and former diplomat Pavan Varma from the primary membership of the party. It said the two had been making anti-party statements.

According to sources, Kishor is preparing in earnest for the Bihar Assembly polls, scheduled for September-October. Several senior leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are upset with Tejashwi Yadav. Allies, including Rashtriya Loktantrik Samata Party’s Upendra Kushwaha and others, could also be amenable to join a “third force” in Bihar politics that Kishor hopes to shape.

It could comprise RJD rebels, these smaller parties and the Left parties. Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Kanhaiya Kumar is set to start his whirlwind tour of Bihar in the coming days. With RJD chief Lalu Prasad unwell and in jail, the question now is whether the Congress will sever its alliance with Tejashwi-led RJD and lead such an alliance against Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) and Bharatiya Janata Party alliance.

Better interpretation

The Rajya Sabha currently has an interesting mix of interpreters within its ranks. It has expanded its pool of interpreters after Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu instructed officials to ensure that the House’s “simultaneous interpretation service” in all the 22 scheduled languages of the country operates smoothly.

A total of 32 consultant-interpreters have been hired for seven languages including Dogri, Konkani and Sindhi. Instead of recruiting full-time interpreters, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has experimented with hiring consultants to be engaged on a need to basis. Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Dipak Verma said this was a cost-effective way of meeting the simultaneous interpretation need.

Congress’ Shatru!

The bonhomie between maverick Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav continues to cause much consternation among Congressmen in Uttar Pradesh. Recently, Shatrughan Sinha and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha had shared the dais with Yadav at the SP headquarters in Lucknow.

The actor-turned-politician had quit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined Congress in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He contested from the Patna Sahib seat but lost, while his wife Poonam Sinha tasted defeat as the SP nominee from the Lucknow parliamentary seat.

Congress’ Lucknow Lok Sabha candidate Acharya Pramod Krishnam took to Twitter to hit out at Sinha over his alleged disloyalty towards the Congress. Other state Congress leaders also expressed dismay over the “conduct” of Sinha and demanded that such people should be shown the door.

Jharkhand cabinet expanded, 7 take oath as ministers.

Source – hindustantimes.com

The much-awaited expansion of the Hemant Soren cabinet took place on Tuesday, with Governor Draupadi Murmu administering oath to seven ministers — five from JMM and two from Congress — taking the total strength in the state government to 10. much-awaited expansion The much-awaited expansion of the Hemant Soren cabinet took place on Tuesday, with Governor Draupadi Murmu administering oath to seven ministers — five from JMM and two from Congress — taking the total strength in the state government to 10.

Besides the chief minister, the state could have 11 ministers. Hence, one berth is still vacant in the cabinet.

The coalition government, led by chief minister Hemant Soren, took oath on December 29 last year. Two legislators from Congress — Alamgir Alam and Rameshwar Oraon — and RJD’s Satyanand Bhokta were also sworn-in along with Soren.

“Congratulations to all my colleagues on behalf of people for taking oath as ministers. This is not merely a cabinet, but Team Jharkhand which would work to accelerate the pace of development and realise the dreams of every Jharkhandi. Let’s work together for prosperity of Jharkhand and the country,” Soren tweeted, soon after the ceremony. The chief minister is yet to distribute portfolios among his teammates though.

On Tuesday, the five JMM legislators who took oath, included party’s old guard Champai Soren, Jagarnath Mahto and Haji Hussain Ansari to first-time legislator Mithlesh Thakur. The party also inducted five-term legislator Joba Manji, the only woman to have made it into the cabinet till now.

Party veteran Stephen Marandi, a six-term legislator, ex-minister and a former Rajya Sabha member, surprisingly missed the bus. He was chosen protem speaker for the current assembly and was being considered a front runner.

“It’s the prerogative of the chief minister to choose his team. I have no hard feeling. I congratulate the new team and wish they work hard to deliver according to the mandate we received,” Marandi told reporters after the ceremony.

Congress on its part inducted two-term legislators, Banna Gupta and Badal Patralekh, into the cabinet, taking the total number of party ministers in the coalition government to four.

While both the new recruits are in their 40s, Badal at 43 now holds the distinction of being the youngest member of this cabinet. Earlier, the party had sworn-in party veterans Alamgir Alam, 69, and Rameshwar Oraon, 72, into the cabinet. “Since I am the youngest, I would request the chief minister to give me a department that needs maximum hard work,” said Patralekh.

Santhal, Kolhan get maximum representation

While it took a month for the government to expand its cabinet, both parties have tried to give representation to all major geographical regions and social groups. However, tribal-dominated Santhal Parganas and Kolhan division, which gave a decisive mandate in favour of the alliance, have got the lion’s share.

Besides the chief minister, Alam, Patralekh and Ansari represent assembly seats in Santhal Parganas. The next in line is Kolhan division that would have three ministers — Soren, Manjhi and Gupta.

North Chhota Nagpur comes next with two ministers Mahto and Bhokta. South Chhota Nagpur and Palamu division till now has only one representative each.

Socially, besides the chief minister, three ministers are tribals, two are Muslims, two each belong to the Other Backward Classes and general category, while one minister belongs to Scheduled Castes. Manjhi is the sole woman minister.