"I am told that this is the first case where the rule has been amended."

DUBAI: In a first, the UAE government issue a birth certificate to a nine-month old girl born to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother.

According to Khaleej Times report, Anamta Aceline Kiran, was born in July 2018 to Sharjah-based expat Kiran Babu and Sanam Saboo Siddique.

The couple, both Indian expats got married in Kerala in 2016 but faced the unusual situation when kiran was born.

As per the marriage rules for expatriates in UAE, a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman but a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man.

“I have an Abu Dhabi visa. I get my insurance coverage there and got my wife admitted to Medeor 24X7 Hospital in the emirate. But after the baby’s delivery, the birth certificate was rejected as I am a Hindu,” Babu said, the Khaleej Times reported.

“I, then applied for a no-objection certificate through the court. The trial went on for four months but my case was rejected,” he added.

Keeping its marriage rules for expatriates aside, “the judicial department made my case an exception” and finally the UAE government provided a legal birth certificate to Kiran on April 14.

“I am told that this is the first case where the rule has been amended.”

The poster with threat of action, released on Thursday night reads "Shighroi Aschhe [coming soon], Inshallah..."

NEW DELHI: “SHIGHROI ASCHHE [coming soon]” – these were the only two words in a Bengali poster released by a pro-IS Telegram channel indicating an ominous warningthat the pro-Islamic groups could be a planning attacks either in Bangladesh or West Bengal.

According to Times Of India reports, the poster with threat of action, released on Thursday night reads “Shighroi Aschhe [coming soon], Inshallah…” and has the logo of a group named Al-Mursalat.

As per sources in the intelligence agency, it has confirmed the publication of such a poster (in fact doing the rounds on the internet) and taken it seriously following the eight deadly bombings in Sri Lanka that killed over 350 people and wounded 500 others.

Days after the serial blasts in Sri Lanka that targeted churches and hotels, and foreign nationals, IS claimed responsibility for the attack.

A little-known organisation called the National Thawheed Jama’ath (NTJ) came under scanner for possibly carrying out serial bombings on Easter Sunday.

Earlier, Ruwan Wijewardene, the Sri Lankan State Minister of Defence had earlier said the NTJ had close links with the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India unit, of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB, may have had a role in Sunday’s bombings.

She asked residents to “make AAP win with a huge margin”.

NEW DELHI: Narrow lanes of Muslim dominated Jamia Nagar could not house the sea of supporters that followed the Aam Aadmi Party’s East Delhi candidate Atishi.

As Atishi goes door-to-door on Saturday evening through the congested lanes of Batla House in Jamia Nagar to drum up support, scores of supporters of the 37-year-old candidate are hopeful that Atishi’s AAP would be able to sail through as she started early in the constituency.

Sporting the AAP’s trademark white cap, an Oxford University graduate, Atishi was welcomed in Jamia Nagar with rose petals at several points, as “chowkidar chor hai” slogans were raised in the air.

Supporters also raise slogans such as ‘Congress, BJP dhoka hai, desh bacha lo mauka hai (vote for AAP to save country from Congress, BJP)’, as per Hindustan Times reports.

Jamia Nagar— a part of the Okhla assembly constituency has 3.6 lakh voters of whom around 2 lakh are Muslims.

She asked residents to “make AAP win with a huge margin”.

The AAP candidate is pitted against Congress Arvinder Singh Lovely, a former education minister and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir of the BJP.

The development has generated sharp reactions both within the political parties and among the community leaders.

RANCHI: The electoral marginalization of Muslim in India has become a new trend and Muslims in Jhakhand are facing the worst of it .The community constitute nearly 12 per cent of the state population and can sway the poll results in a few seats including Godda, Giridih, Koderma and Dhanbad but none of the mainstream political parties, both ruling and opposition, have put up a Muslim candidate in 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Moreover Jharkhand witnessed maximum no of lynching cases during last five years.

While BJP never had the history of fielding any Muslim candidiate in the state, not a single partner of the opposition grand alliance including Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and RJD have fielded a minority candidate.

Initially, the congress had made up its mind to nominate former MP Furqan Ansari from Godda seat. However, the seat went to the JVM-P as part of seat adjustment in the grand alliance. This generated debate within the congress and among other political parties in the fold of the grand alliance.

Furqan had camped in Delhi for several days and attempted to apprise the apex leaders about the “consequences” but returned empty handed. His son and congress legislator from Jamtara Irfan Ansari said it (the decision of fielding not a single minority candidate) would impact a few neighbouring seats.

Peeved at the decision Ansari’s daughter Shabana Khatun has decided to enter the fray from Godda on Trinamool Congress’ ticket. The party was yet to put seal on her endeavour till date.

The development has generated sharp reactions both within the political parties and among the community leaders.

To pacify the disgruntled leaders, the grand alliance has dangled the carrot that a minority leader will be their unanimous candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls next year.

Congress state media coordinator Rajesh Thakur pointed out that the congress is contesting seven seats out of which four are general. He said the minority votes influences results in Giridih, Godda and Koderma and mentioned that Koderma and Godda has gone to the JVM-P and Giridih to JMM.

“Congress is a national party and has fielded several minority candidates in the country unlike the BJP. We are confident that the minorities would vote for congress,” he added.

He said the congress would give weightage to the minorities candidates in the assembly polls due in December. He also underlined that the party has three minority MLAs in the assembly as of now.

The JMM is also convinced that the minorities will vote for their candidates. Party general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya exuded confidence that the minorities, including Muslims, will vote for the JMM. He said to defeat the BJP is the first priority of the alliance.

“The JMM is contesting from four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand out of which two are reserved for the scheduled tribes and the other two are general seats. Moreover, the JMM do not have a minority leader who could ensure victory in those seats,” he said.

JVM (P) spokesperson Yogendra Yadav said the minorities will go with the party that will protect their interest.

JMM leader and former principal of Marwari College Jawed Ahmed, however, expressed concern saying the “disenchant” minorities could be reluctant to vote that might influence poll results in three to four seats.

“I raised the matter in JMM central committee meeting held last month and mentioned not to ignore the minorities,” he said.

On the present context where the possibilities of a minority candidate appears remote (as nominations are still underway for the fifth, sixth and seventh phase), Ahmed said the minorities have left with no other way but to tolerate and live with hopes in the assembly and biennial elections.

State minority commission chairman and BJP leader Kamal Khan rebuffed the concept that the minorities are reluctant to vote and they will vote for the party.

“There are lots of schemes and programmes for the minorities in the state and there are reasons the Muslims would like to see a repeat of the BJP led government at the Centre. There are 186 Madrasas in Jharkhand and those fulfilling the norms are getting regular government aids,” he said.

“This election is a war between Hinduism and Hindutva, so raising such issue is not proper time for it. We should vote for those candidates who can defeat Hindutva forces, this should be the priority in this election ” said S.M. Anwar Hussain , the ex-president of AMUSU.

“Muslims are the mental slave of ‘secularism’, there is no difference Congress and JMM, all political parties blackmail Muslims in the name of secularism.” said Shahid Shakil Khan head of Bahujan Mukti Party, Jharkhand.

The credentials of the 56-year-old Krishnam are not known to many. In fact, his persona remains wrapped in intrigue.

LUCKNOW: With a long white flowing beard, white robes and a red tilak on the forehead, Acharya Pramod Krishnam looks more like a godman and less like a politician, who is set to take on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on May 6 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress’s Lucknow candidate is garnering Shia support with praise of Hazrat Ali (RA).

An ardent follower of Hazrat Ali (RA), son-in-law of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), the last Prophet of Islam, Acharya Krishnam passionately recites verses in praise of Hazrat Ali (RA) and enjoys massive popularity among members of the Shia community.

There are several videos on YouTube that have over a million views wherein Krishnam can be seen praising Ali.

Youngsters watching Krishnam reciting the eulogy on the video, too, admire the fact that a “non-Muslim is praising Maula Ali”.

News18 speaks with few youngsters. Naved Abdi, tells the channel, “He is probably the first non-Muslim I have seen who has such deep knowledge of Islam and Hazrat Ali.”

Kashif nods in affirmation who was sitting next to him. “We are happy that such people exist in our society who don’t mind speaking good about a religion that they don’t themselves follow,” Kashif says.

Senior Congress leader Zishan Haider proposed Krishnam’s candidature.

Speaking to News18, Haider, who also hails from the Shia community said, “All the religious leaders Acharya Pramod ji has met till now are unhappy with the ‘Ali and Bajrangbali’ jibe by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. The entire community got upset when our beloved Maula Ali was dragged into petty politics by CM Yogi. The BJP will lose elections here just the way it lost state elections in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh last year.”

The credentials of the 56-year-old Krishnam are not known to many. In fact, his persona remains wrapped in intrigue.

Born on January 4, 1965, in a Brahmin family in Bihar He founded the Shri Kalki Foundation in Sambhal and is also the Peethadhishwar of the Kalki Dham.

The Acharya, say his supporters, has been giving lectures on Islam and humanity and his knowledge on these subjects is appreciable.

With agency inputs

Tehran: Iran’s top general warned Sunday Tehran could close the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping route if it faces more “hostility”, news agency ISNA said, as the US tightens up sanctions.

“We are not after closing the Strait of Hormuz but if the hostility of enemies increase, we will be able to do so,” armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri told semi-official ISNA.

“Also if our oil does not go through the strait, other countries’ oil will certainly not cross the strait, too,” he added.

The statement came after Washington said on Monday it would start imposing sanctions on countries such as India, China and Turkey that buy Iranian oil.

Eight countries were initially given six-month reprieves after the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in November, following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear accord.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned the Islamic republic could shut down the strait, a vital shipping lane for international oil supplies, should it find its national interests or security threatened.

“We believe Iran will continue to sell its oil … (and) use the Strait of Hormuz. But if the United States takes the crazy measure of trying to prevent us from doing that, then it should be prepared for the consequences,” foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday.

“It is in our vital national security interest to keep the Persian Gulf open, to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. We have done that in the past and we will continue to do that in the future,” he added.

Hyderabad: In a crime which took place in broad daylight, a 23-year-old man was murdered in the Old City of Hyderabad.

According to the report published in Times of India, this incident took place on Friday in Moghalpura. The deceased is identified as Mohammed Amir Khan.

As per the details, Amir Khan, a cloth merchant was driving his bike when the attack took place. Two persons have stabbed him to death.

Later, the deceased’s family approached police station to lodge a complaint against Syed Shahid and Syed Aijaz. The accused persons have surrendered before the police.

During the investigation, police found that financial dispute is the reason behind the crime.

Hyderabad: EAMCET ranks will be announced after the completion of re-verification and re-valuation by Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE).

According to the report published in The Hans India, Prof. T. Papi Reddy, Telangana State Council Higher Education (TSCHE) said that intermediate marks will be given weightage in finalizing the EAMCET ranks.

It may be mentioned that EAMCET will be held from 3rd to 9th May.

Kasaragod (Kerala): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out searches at the houses of three suspects in the 2016 ISIS Kasaragod module case.

Two searches were carried out in Kasaragod and one in Palakkad.

NIA is questioning all the three suspects who allegedly have links with some accused in the 2016 case who left India to join terrorist organisation ISIS/Daish.

Last month, the NIA filed supplementary charge sheet against one Nashidul Hamzafar who is accused of hatching a conspiracy along with others with the intention of joining and furthering the objective of the proscribed terrorist organisation

Hyderabad: Two students of Mechatronics from Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology (MGIT) have developed a smart and versatile cleaner which sweep, mop and also cut the grass in the garden. The machine is solar powered and comes mounted with a 360 degree camera.

The three-in-one machine can be controlled remotely and it can adopt to different conditions. It mops the floor, collects dust and waste into a bin attached to it. Later, it can be put to mopping and a choice could be made for either a dry mop or a wet mop – Telangana Today report.

The two students, Charanlal and Anil Kumar said: “We developed this smart and versatile machine as part of final year project work. Firstly, it cleans the floor and if there are any stains on it, wet mopping can be used. There is also a provision for dry mopping. Users need not collect dust and waste on the floor as machine itself does the job.”

The three-in-one machine is mounted with a 360 degree Wi-Fi camera which aids in remote navigation and monitoring of operations.
“We spent around Rs 1 lakh for putting together this machine. The cost can be reduced to Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 when produced in bulk and also depending on user requirements, the machine can be customized,” added Charanlal.

The young innovators were guided by their HoD of Mechatronics, Sudhakar Reddy, and faculty, Sreenivasulu Reddy and P Chandrasekhar, in the project to designed the machine in such a way that sweeping and mopping parts are re-attachable.

Hyderabad: In order to spread the message of peace, Muslims of Hyderabad visited churches.

They not only condemned Sri Lank terror attacks but also said that terrorism has no religion. They also said that no religion in the world supports terrorism.

In the video, Muslims can be seen holding placards with messages, “United against all terror”, “We condemn the terrorist attack “, “We stand with you in your grief” etc.

It may be mentioned that in the bombing which took place in Sri Lanka, hundreds of people died on Easter Sunday.

Dhaka: A Bangladesh court Sunday sentenced three Rohingya extremists of a now defunct militant group to 10 years in jail for possessing bomb-making materials, a prosecutor said.

The trio were arrested in 2014 in Dhaka with materials to be used for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs), said Salahuddin Howlader, a prosecutor at the Metropolitan Special Tribunal in the capital.

They were found guilty and sentenced immediately under the country’s explosives laws, the prosecutor said, adding one of them was sentenced in absentia as he was on the run.

“They were involved with several international militant outfits including the RSO,” he told AFP, referring to the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, a small militant group that was active in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state in the 1980s and 1990s.

Local media, citing the police charge-sheet on the case, said the three men were suspects in the 2014 Burdwan blast in the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal that killed at least two people and wounded several while they were allegedly making IEDs.

“The charge-sheet read the accused admitted planning sabotage in Bangladesh with the assistance of international Islamist extremist outfits,” the online edition of the mass circulation Bengali daily Prothom Alo said.

In recent years, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army has emerged as the main Rohingya militant group operating in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state that borders Bangladesh’s southeast.

In August 2017, ARSA attacked several police posts in Rakhine prompting a massive military crackdown that forced some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh, where they are housed in squalid refugee camps.

The refugees joined some 300,000 Rohingya who have been living in the camps for years and even decades.

Bangladeshi security officials say no extremist groups such as ARSA or RSO operate in the camps, but this week the International Crisis Group said militants were increasing their grip on the settlements and were responsible for the murder of at least one Rohingya camp leader.

The conflict research group has urged Bangladesh to step up its police presence in the camps, saying gangs and extremist groups were now operating openly in the settlements.

Threats from extremists had left Rohingya leaders fearful for their lives and frequent murders were rarely investigated, the group said.

Bangladesh police said the creation of seven new police posts, the deployment of armed officers and better intelligence had improved security.

New Delhi: Polling for the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha polls began on Monday in 71 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across nine states.

Over 12.79 crore voters will decide the fate of 945 candidates today.

Appealing voters to turn out in large numbers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on his Twitter handle: “Another phase of the General Elections begins today. I hope those voting today do so in large numbers and break the voting records of the previous three phases. A special appeal to young voters to head to the polling booth and exercise their franchise.”

As per the election schedule, polling is underway in five seats in Bihar, one in Jammu and Kashmir, three in Jharkhand, six in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha each, 17 in Maharashtra, 13 in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh each, and eight in West Bengal.

Apart from these, polling is being held for 42 Assembly constituencies in Odisha. The voting will continue till 6 pm for most of the constituencies.

In Bihar, polling has begun for five Lok Sabha constituencies — Darbhanga, Ujiarpur, Samastipur, Begusarai, and Munger. A total of sixty-six candidates are in the fray for these five seats. Voting is being been held at 8,834 polling stations where around 87,02,313 voters are casting their votes.

All eyes are on Begusarai seat from where CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar is up against Union Minister Giriraj Singh and RJD’s Tanveer Hassan. Several prominent Bollywood personalities including Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Swara Bhaskar, and Prakash Raj have campaigned for the former JNU Students Union president.

In Jammu and Kashmir, polling is underway in Anantnag Lok Sabha seat. Polling is being held at 433 polling booths where 3,44,224 people are expected to cast their votes.

In Jharkhand, Rajmahal, Dumka, and Godda seats are voting. Here, 59 candidates are in the fray. Polling is underway at 3,013 polling stations where 45,26,693 are expected to exercise their right to franchise.

In Madhya Pradesh, polling is underway in Sidhi, Shahdol, Jabalpur, Mandla, Balaghat, and Chhindwara. Around 108 candidates are contesting. As many as 1,05,55,689 voters are likely to exercise their franchise at 13,491 polling stations.

Chhindwara is being keenly watched from where Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath is contesting on the Congress ticket. The election is being seen as a test to Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s popularity.
Kamal Nath has represented this seat for 40 years before he was appointed the state Chief Minister in December last year.

In Maharashtra, 17 seats — Nandurbar, Dhule, Dindori, Nashik, Palghar, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South–Central, Mumbai South, Maval, Shiru, and Shirdi are witnessing polling.

Voting is being held at 33,314 polling stations where 3,11,92,823 people will decide the fate of 323 candidates.
Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora, Congress leader Milind Deora and Priya Dutt are some of the high-profile candidates whose fate is sealed in the EVMs today.

Special wheelchair compatible taxis are arranged by the election commission to ferry specially abled voters from their houses to polling booths in Mumbai

In Odisha, polling is underway in Mayurbhanj, Balashore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, and Jagatsinghpur. Here, 52 candidates are in the fray. Polling is taking place at 10,792 booths and 95,14,883 voters are expected to cast their vote their franchise.

Former BJD leader and presently BJP vice president Baijayanta Panda is contesting from Kendrapada.

A total of 336 candidates are also contesting from 42 Assembly constituencies.

“Special attention will be given on Kendrapara Lok Sabha constituency and additional police force has been deployed,” Odisha Chief Electoral Officer Surendra Kumar had said on Sunday.

In Rajasthan, 115 candidates are in the fray from these 13 seats — Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Kota, and Jhalawar-Baran. A total of 2,57,76,993 voters are expected to cast their votes.

In Uttar Pradesh, pooling is being held in Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Hardoi, Misrikh, Unnao, Farrukhabad, Etawah, Kannauj, Kanpur, Akbarpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, and Hamirpur.

Here, the fate of 154 candidates is being decided by 2,38,88,367 voters at 27,513 polling stations.

Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav who is also the wife of party president Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Kannauj while BJP has retained Sakshi Maharaj from Unnao seat.

In West Bengal, polling has begun on eight seats — Baharampur, Krishnanagar, Ranaghat, Bardhaman Purba, Bardhaman–Durgapur, Asansol, Bolpur, and Birbhum.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo is contesting from Asansol seat against Trinamool Congress’ Moon Moon Sen.

The seven-phased Lok Sabha polls began on April 11. The first phase recorded 69.45 per cent voter turnout across the country. The second phase of polling took place on April 18, which logged 69.43 per cent voting. The third phase of elections held on April 23 witnessed a turnout of 66 per cent.

The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

Colombo [Sri Lanka]: The Sri Lankan government on Sunday took necessary measures to impose a complete ban on all types of burqas and face covers in the wake of the horrific terror bombings that rattled the entire country on Easter Sunday, claiming lives of more than 250 people and injuring hundreds.

Colombo Page quoted the Prime Minister’s Office as saying in a statement that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has stated that since the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), the organisation of Muslim clerics in Sri Lanka has proposed to ban the burqa, the Minister of Justice will discuss with the council and draft the necessary legislation.

The decision to ban burqas across the country came just days after a Sri Lankan parliamentarian MP Ashu Marasinghe had submitted a Private Member’s Motion to ban the burqa on security grounds post the Easter Sunday blasts.

Marasinghe, in his motion submitted to parliament, said the burka is not a part of traditional Muslim attire and is used to around the world by men to hide behind and carry out acts of terrorism, Colombo Page reported.

“Our Muslim leaders have also accepted that Burka is not a traditional Muslim attire and some places even have notices to remove the Burka before entering,” he said in his motion,” the motion said.

“Accordingly, considering the national security I propose to ban the burka,” he added.

Eight explosions rattled various churches and high-end hotels located across Sri Lankan cities of Colombo, Negombo, Kochchikede and Batticaloa as the Christian community celebrated Easter on April 21.

More than 500 people were injured in the serial blasts, claimed responsibility by the Islamic State. Out of the deceased, around 40 people have been identified as foreigners, including 11 Indians, three Danes, two each from China and Turkey and one each from the Netherlands and Portugal.

Foreign countries, including the United States, India and the United Kingdom have issued travel advisories for their people who intend to travel to Sri Lanka anytime soon. The advisories have cautioned people to stay away from crowded and religious places stating such places could have higher risks of “possible attacks”.

Quoting defence sources, The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) had reported that the lone female perpetrator of the massacre had escaped from a Dematagoda apartment complex wearing burqas.

Officers were questioning a suspect in the building hours after the initial attacks when they set off a suicide bomb, killing three police officers. Three suspects were detained there.

Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene last week said that two different local Islamist groups, including the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), and the splinter group Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI), were to blame for the coordinated blasts. The two terror outfits are said to be affiliates of the Islamic States or Daesh.

Kolkata [India]: Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians by 34 runs in the ongoing Indian Premier League here on Sunday after they posted this season’s highest total, 232 runs.
Chasing a mammoth target of 233 runs, Mumbai had a substandard start as they lost wickets of both of their openers, Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock, in the first four overs.

Then Evin Lewis and Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat and formed a 20-run partnership before Lewis gave away his wicket. Soon after Lewis Yadav too followed him back to the pavilion.

Keiron Pollard and Hardik Pandya then took the field and gave their side a crucial momentum. Hardik Pandya scored the fastest half-century in this season of IPL as he scored his half-century in just 17 balls and both the players formed a 63-run partnership.

Sunil Narine got hold of Pollard (20) which brought Krunal Pandya to the field. Hardik Pandya, however, kept on smashing regular boundaries and sixes and formed a 64-run partnership with Krunal Pandya,

As Mumbai was getting closer to chasing down the target, Hardik Pandya gave away an easy catch to Russell which ended his 91-run inning.

After Hardik Pandya’s dismissal, Mumbai’s batting line-up crumbled and faced a 34-run defeat.

Earlier, KKR were sent to bat first and they had a brilliant start as both the openers, Shubman Gill and Chris Lynn, struck regular boundaries. Both the players stitched a 96-run partnership and gave their side an outstanding start.

Gill and Lynn both struck their half-century, scoring 76 and 54 runs respectively. Mumbai Indians bowler Rahul Chahar provided his team with their first breakthrough in the name of Lynn.

Lynn’s wicket brought KKR’s most destructive batsman Andre Russell to bat and Russell did not disappoint his side as he smashed eight maximums during his inning.

Gill formed an amazing 62-run partnership with Russell as well before the former was sent back to the pavilion by Hardik Pandya.

Then skipper Dinesh Karthik came out to bat. However, Russell stole the show in the final overs as he hammered regular boundaries. Russell scored unbeaten 80 runs off just 40 balls which propelled KKR to post the highest ever total of 232 runs in this season of IPL.

KKR will now visit Punjab to face Kings XI Punjab on May 3 while Mumbai will host Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 2.

Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders (Andre Russell 80*, Shubman Gill 76, Hardik Pandya 1-31) defeated Mumbai Indians (Hardik Pandya 91, Suryakumar Yadav 24, Andre Russell 2-25) by 24 runs.

Hyderabad: Police raided the farmhouse in the vicinity of Hyderabad City and busted the rave party. It arrested 16 youths and freed two girls.

According to the report of the police, the arrested persons are Engineering students. They belong to Mehdipatnam, Muradnagar, Tolichowki, Gulshan Colony, Surya Nagar, Masab Tank, Mallepally, Aghapura, Liberty, Humayun Nagar and Shah Ali Banda. They had assembled at MSR Qureshi Farm House located at Srisailam Highway to celebrate the birthday party of their friend.

ACP of Vanasthalipuram, Mr. G. Narayana informed that police raided the farmhouse on receiving a tip and arrested 16 youths and freed two girls.

Police also seized Hookah apparatus, four motor cars, two motorcycles, cellphones and 200 gram Ganja.

Bhongir: Yet another girl became the victim of sexual crime. A 14-year-old girl, student of class IX was raped and later murdered. This crime took place when she was returning home after attending the special class.

This incident took place on Thursday in Bhongir District of Telangana State.

Later, the body of the girl was found in a dry well.

Postmortem report confirmed that the girl was raped and then murdered.

Angry villagers alleged that police did not take immediate action. They also staged dharna in front of police station.

They withdrew their protest after getting assurance from Cyberabad Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat.

Begusarai: We had taken a delegation of students to Kashmir, to bridge the gap between the young people. About 80 young people from Delhi’s universities interacted for three days with the Kashmiri youth in Srinagar, in an attempt to dent the alienation, to understand that the one was not exclusive to the other, and that they all spoke a similar language. A young man from Jawaharlal Nehru University kept coming up to say he would like to speak at a conference organised there, and finally got a chance. He spoke for ten minutes, an obscure student by the name of Kanhaiya Kumar. And within a minute had the students from Delhi and Kashmir mesmerised as despite this being his first visit to the Valley, he understood the finer nuances that often escaped senior politicians and intellectuals on a trip to Jammu and Kashmir, and while acknowledging the alienation spoke of a solution within the bonding of youth. And the Constitution. He got a standing applause.

We kept in touch, but in Delhi it can at best be desultory, until he won the students union elections in JNU as the sole All India Students Federation candidate cutting through the monopoly of the other groups. The BJP came to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, mounted a campaign and an attack on JNU, arrested Kanhaiya along with other students, and locked him in jail on charges of sedition. It was a period of fear, as the political parties had retreated to basements, civil society was in shock, and the students and faculty of JNU terrorised. The fight back began, but the fear of the ‘unknown’ that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been able to create, dominated.

Until the fateful day when Kanhaiya was released after a long legal battle. Along with others of course. No one knew what he would do. What impact the terrible ordeal had had on him, with lawyers in the courts actually attacking him within the court premises. Fake news, lies, threats, abuse had all become the order of the day with the JNU students and supporters being referred to then, as indeed now, as the ‘tukre tukre’ gang. People who wanted to dismember India, while those who are indeed dividing and weakening the country with hate and abuse emerged as the ‘nationalists’. The media was playing a dirty role.

Would he emerge from jail compromised? Would he go back home? Would he cower in fear like many senior politicians at the time, and intellectuals who gagged themselves along with the media? No one really knew. Until that night. When this young man, a union president who often felt alone, a student who was a good orator but had yet to prove himself to be a fighter, literally broke all shackles, jumped across hurdles with a scintillating speech that launched him as a national figure.

The Citizen wrote :

https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/1/7039/A-LEADER-IS-BORN. And indeed a leader was born.

The rest is history. Kanhaiya Kumar is now fighting the Lok Sabha elections as the CPI candidate from Begusarai, Bihar. His home town.

For him nothing has been easy. His arrest, his release, his struggle since. And hence nor was the candidature as at the last moment the grand alliance led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress in Bihar refused to give up the seat for him. Kanhaiya himself did not then want to contest, but the CPI insisted. And from a hesitant beginning he has built a campaign that is not just dynamic, but is perhaps the only campaign in India where communal frenzy is being directly hit with secular determination. It is a campaign that should teach lessons to all the senior, honourable non-BJP leaders in the fray as it carries in it a true alternative discourse, a counter narrative that alone can stop communal divisiveness in its tracks. The tragedy is that Begusarai is just one of 500 odd parliamentary constituencies, for had it been the norm instead of the exception India would have emerged from the five year trial, whole, complete, and vibrant.

Kanhaiya Kumar has built a campaign that is direct, straightforward, bold, courageous and yet draws heavily on the local dialect and analogies where complex issues of secularism are explained in simple, relatable language. After former Prime Minister V.P.Singh he is the first to relate directly with the people, and punctures the BJP campaign with his engaging smile and words as simple as “we are not scared, you cannot scare us.” His famous ‘leh kar rahenge azadi’ from poverty, from communalism, from fear, from greed has the crowds of Begusarai delirious, as he is one of them not an outsider.

Why is it important he win? Because it is. Kanhaiya Kumar must win this Lok Sabha election from Begusarai, Bihar.

For just three reasons:

He is the symbol of the fight back. He started the counter, and in his election all who have been targeted, harassed, threatened have come together. Not in person but in mind. His victory will be a testimony to the fight against the politics of fear and terror, of injustice and impunity. He is the one leader who emerged from the harrowing days post 2014 to embody a resistance that has grown and matured with time. As he reminds in almost every other speech, ““Saari duniya ki nazar Begusarai pe hai. Sab dekh rahe hain ke nafrat jeetegi ya asli mudde, sach jeetega ya jhooth” (will truth win or lies.

He is the youth. A new leader. A young man who can lead the next generation outside Parliament of course. But will be even more effective, if inside Parliament as well. In his victory lies the voice of those lynched, beaten, attacked. As in his campaign—unlike that of the secular worthies contesting the elections all around—Kanhaiya Kumar does not hesitate to mention this but places it in the perspective of equality, rights and justice. That we are all one— if you find a Rs 2000 note lying on the street you will pick it up. You will not see who last held it, a Dalit, a Muslim, a Brahmin who—-, that those who seek to divide communities and castes are doing so for just greed for themselves and their corporate friends.

He is an Indian. So it is futile really to argue that in his victory the Lok Sabha will lose a Muslim candidate in Tanweer Hasan (RJD). A good socialist no doubt, but he is not Kanhaiya Kumar whose contribution to Parliament will be legendary. He is clearly not a man to be easily tamed, and will bring into the Lok Sabha a voice of integrity, courage and passion. We need to hear that, as Parliament lacks this dynamism altogether. And embodies a certain cynicism and tiredness that helps the dispensation that is attacking the foundation of democracy. Voters in Begusarai have started recognising him for what he represents, “he speaks the truth”.
There are many reasons but suffice it to say he is the son of the soil. He has not been dropped from above. He does not have to make up lies for a past that is already his, of struggle. He does not have to make tea, to prove he is from humble origin. He does not have to visit his mother to prove that he has a mother. He is what you see. Simple, honest, dynamic, brilliant. A candidate all would rush to embrace, across caste, community, gender.

The rest is statistics. Muslims will be divided between him and Hasan, Bhumiyars between him and BJP. All meaningless in this election, in the campaign Kanhaiya and the multitude of supporters who have descended on this one sleepy town to campaign for him have built. As he is not addressing bits and pieces of castes and communities, he is campaigning for the truth against the lie, for democracy against authoritarianism, for an Idea of India. His every speech is a pull out from history and the Constitution of India. He seems gentle, but he is not. He has not allowed the campaign to drift, he has followed a straight line, and managed a difficult time yet again with the grace of the born leader.

By Ms. Seema Mustafa

Hyderabad: Before Lok Sabha elections, TRS Supremo, Mr. KCR had declared more than once that his party will form a non-Congress and non-BJP Federal Front.

Now that votes have been cast in Telangana and AP and four phases of polling have been completed, the situation seems to be changing. A strong hope is being developed that TRS might support BJP-led NDA Government in case it needs the support of a few MPs to attain the magic number.

It is also likely that TRS might extend its support from outside the government. If NDA gets 273 Lok Sabha seats, Federal Front will not be forged.

CM of TS, Mr. KCR has always been claiming that TRS party will form a non-BJP and non-Congress Federal Front but its chances are getting bleak now.

A senior TRS leader, on the condition of anonymity told that in the past, TRS has given its support to BJP.

It may be mentioned that so far, KCR was able to muster support only from YSR Congress Chief, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Although, he had contacted BSP Supremo, Ms. Mayawati, SP Chief, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress President, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, President of Janta Dal (S) and former PM, Mr. Deve Gowda, no one supported his proposal of forging Federal Front.

In case, TRS extends its support to BJP, a situation might be created in which MIM will be in a perplexed position since MP of Hyderabad, Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi has been a critique of the policies of BJP and a staunch opponent of Mr. Narendra Modi.

In Telangana, TRS and MIM have been continuing their affinity without any formal compromise. In Assembly elections of 2018 and Lok Sabha elections of 2019, MIM had appealed its supporters to vote in favour of TRS.

A senior member of MIM, on the condition of anonymity told that he is confident that Mr. KCR won’t extend his support to BJP-led NDA Govt. at any cost.

Another senior political analyst, Mr. P. Raghavendra Reddy told that if the role of TRS during the past five years is reviewed, it may not be surprising that TRS would support NDA.

This situation will change if KCR formally becomes part of NDA. MIM then might reconsider continuing its relations with TRS.

Hyderabad: Telangana Board of Intermediate, which is at the centre of a row over goof-up in declaring results of Intermediate examination, suspended a teacher and imposed fine on another for giving a student ‘0’ marks instead of ’99’ on Sunday.

A day after three-member committee submitted its report to the government, Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) began action against those found guilty of dereliction of duty.

BIE announced late Sunday that it has imposed Rs. 5,000 fine against Uma Devi, a teacher of a private school who evaluated Telugu paper of Navya, a 12th standard student but instead of giving ’99’ marks gave her ‘0’ marks. Uma Devi has also been sacked by her school management.

BIE also suspended Vijay Kumar, a teacher of a tribal welfare school, who had served as scrutiniser but failed to notice the blunder.

The goof-up by the Board has triggered a spate of suicide by students and protests by parents, student bodies and opposition parties. They are demanding action against the higher-ups in the Board and the Globarena Technologies, an IT company, which was allegedly found guilty of the massive bungling.

Suicide by 20 students and massive protests forced the government to announce free re-verification of answer sheets of over 3 lakh students, who were declared failed in the examination.