“Thousand Times Better…”: Delhi Lt Governor's Surprise For AAP's Atishi

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 22, 2024 | top-stories

New Delhi:

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena – for so long at odds with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party – suddenly offered words of praise for Chief Minister Atishi Friday, calling her “a thousands times better” than her predecessor and AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal, with whom the Lieutenant Governor has had several tempestuous run-ins – on legal, administrative, and governance issues – over the past months.

Speaking at the convocation of the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women this afternoon, Mr Saxena said he is pleased that the current Chief Minister is a woman.

“… and I can confidently say she is a thousand times better than her predecessor,” Mr Saxena said, throwing a glance at the Chief Minister, on stage with him, as he did so.

Atishi was sworn in on September 21 after a brief tussle within the AAP over who would replace Mr Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal resigned days earlier – a statement move after securing bail in the controversial and alleged liquor policy scam case and before the next year’s election.

Mr Kejriwal declared he would seek a “certificate of honesty” from the people of Delhi.

READ | Arvind Kejriwal Resigns After Choosing Atishi As His Replacement

Mr Saxena didn’t always have kind words for Atishi.

In April, while Mr Kejriwal was in jail, he ripped into her and party colleague Saurabh Bhardwaj for “a lack of seriousness” when summoned to his office to discuss “routine works of governance”.

READ | “Lame Excuses”: Delhi LG Slams AAP After Ministers Snub Meetings Call

Also on the LG’s firing list on that occasion was former Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot; Mr Gahlot, who was on the shortlist to succeed Mr Kejriwal, has since jumped to the BJP.

READ | BJP, With Kailash Gahlot At Fore, Launches ‘Sheeshmahal‘ Protest

As recently as last month the Lieutenant-Governor slammed Mr Kejriwal for not implementing the centre’s flagship health insurance scheme – the Ayushman Bharat – during his term as Chief Minister.

Dismissing the Delhi government’s own scheme – which he called “a web of illusion” – Mr Saxena also accused Mr Kejriwal of suppressing reports by central auditors.

The two also traded multiple barbs while Mr Kejriwal was jailed on corruption charges connected to the liquor policy case; this included battles over the nomination of aldermen to the Municipal Corporation and claims Mr Saxena was “stalling” the budget for no reason.

In fact, Mr Kejriwal’s government has long argued the BJP, in power at the centre, has a stranglehold on Delhi via the Lieutenant Governor, who was nominated by that party.

READ | AAP “Fishing In Congress’ Waters” As Arvind Kejriwal Plots Re-Election Bid

The AAP is widely seen as facing as stern test to win a third consecutive Assembly election, particularly after persistent attacks from the BJP (and on-paper allies Congress) over issues like the air quality crisis and the ‘sheeshmahal‘ controversy swirling around the ex-Chief Minister.

With input from PTI

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Indian Student In US Accidentally Shoots Himself Dead While Celebrating Birthday

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 22, 2024 | top-stories

A 23-year-old student from India died in the US after he accidentally fired his hunting gun and shot himself on his birthday. The incident took place on November 13, when the student, Aryan Reddy, was celebrating his birthday with his friends at his home in Atlanta, Georgia.

During the celebration, Reddy reportedly took out his new hunting gun to clean it. However, he ended up accidentally firing a bullet that hit his chest, officials said.

On hearing the gunshot, Reddy’s friends – who were in another room – rushed to his room and found their friend in a pool of blood, officials said.

They immediately rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he was declared dead.

Reddy was a second-year student at Kansas State University, Atlanta, studying Master of Science. He was from Telangana’s Bhuvanagiri district but his family currently lives in the Uppal district.

Aryan Reddy’s body will be flown to his hometown later tonight, the officials said.

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Drugs, Mega Land Deal: Ahmedabad Builder Duped Of Rs 1 Crore In 'Digital Arrest' Scam

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 21, 2024 | top-stories

Police officials said the fraudsters appeared to have been keeping tabs on the builder.

Ahmedabad:

A builder in Ahmedabad lost Rs 1 crore after he fell prey to a ‘digital arrest’ scam in which some people posing to be from the police and the Narcotics Control Bureau told him that 550 grams of a drug was found in a parcel in his name.

Police officials said the fraudsters appeared to have been keeping tabs on the builder and also cited a Rs 50-crore land deal concluded by him to gain his confidence.

On July 3, the builder got a call from a man who claimed to be a representative of a popular international courier company. The man told the builder that 550 grams of the drug MD were recovered from a parcel in his name and said he was transferring the call to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which had registered a case against him.

In his police complaint, filed recently, the builder said he then got a video call from a man wearing a police uniform, who claimed to be an NCB officer and asked him to record a statement online. The ‘officer’ also pointed to alleged suspicious transactions in the builder’s bank accounts and threatened that agencies like the police, CBI, Enforcement Directorate and NCB would investigate him.

Officials said that, after sufficiently scaring the builder, the man convinced him to transfer Rs 1 crore, returnable in 10 days, to avoid being prosecuted. The scammer also spoke about a recent Rs 50-crore land deal in which the builder was involved to make him believe that he was speaking to someone in law enforcement.

The scammers made no contact with the builder after that and, when his attempts to reach them failed, he realised that he had been conned. He approached the Ahmedabad cyber crime cell recently, over four months later, to file a complaint.

Ahmedabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Lavina Sinha said a case has been registered and also laid out a list of steps that people can take to avoid falling for such frauds.

“The police or any other agency will always carry out a physical arrest. There is no provision for digital arrest under Indian law. To prevent such frauds, people should follow this three-step process: Stop, think and then take action. If anyone asks for money to be transferred, one must stop and think whether the call is authentic and only then take action. And if money is transferred to fraudsters, people should call 1930 immediately and lodge a complaint,” she added.

(With inputs from Mahendra Prasad)

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As Automaker Jaguar Rebrands Itself With New Logo, Netizens Unimpressed

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 20, 2024 | top-stories

Prior to its relaunch as an electric-only brand, luxury car manufacturer Jaguar announced its ‘new era ‘ by unveiling its new logo and branding. The Tata Motors-owned British vehicle maker on Tuesday revealed a new bespoke logo, written as JaGUar, alongside a new prancing “leaper” cat design and marketing slogans like ‘delete ordinary’, ‘live vivid’ and ‘copy nothing’.

The new logo emphasized the brand’s posh English pronunciation “Jag-you-are” instead of the American “Jag-wahr.” The company said the new branding “seamlessly blended upper and lower case characters in visual harmony.”

The 102-year-old luxury automaker announced its transition to electric vehicles in 2021. The brand is reportedly set to launch three new electric cars by 2026 after it took new cars off-sale over a year ago to focus on reinventing itself.

“This is a reimagining that recaptures the essence of Jaguar, returning it to the values that once made it so loved, but making it relevant for a contemporary audience,” said Gerry McGovern, Jaguar Land Rover’s chief creative officer, in a press release.

As per a report by Car and Driver, the pouncing cat logo called ‘the Leaper’, which has adorned Jaguar cars for decades, is being eliminated in favour of the badge.

Jaguar’s Managing Director Rawdon Glover called the rebranding as the “biggest step change” in the company’s history.

“A new era begins for Jaguar. This is an incredibly exciting time for the whole team. To re-imagine such a globally renowned brand really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Today, Jaguar unveils its new brand identity, recapturing its ethos to “Copy Nothing” that can trace its roots back to the words of our founder, Sir William Lyons,” he posted on LinkedIn.

How the new branding will look on the cars will be unveiled at a Miami Art Week event on December 2.

“Watch out for the global unveiling of the first physical manifestation of our brand reinvention in Miami on December 2, where Jaguar will champion true originality, as a creator and advocate of artistic expression, in all its forms,” Mr Glover said.

However, the social media reactions to the rebranding have not been very reassuring. Replying to the relaunch video posted by Jaguar on X, one internet user wrote: “Umm where are the cars in this ad? Is this for fashion?” To this, the brand replied, “Think of this as a declaration of intent.”

Copy nothing. #Jaguar pic.twitter.com/BfVhc3l09B

— Jaguar (@Jaguar) November 19, 2024

Another user wrote, “Jaguar took a year off for this? This is how companies fail.” Replying to this, the brand said, “This is not the end. This is the new beginning.”

Jaguar took a year off for this?

This is how companies fail.

— BitS (@BotintheShell) November 19, 2024

Tesla chief Elon Musk also joined the cacophony to express his confusion over the rebranding and wrote: “Do you sell cars?” To this, Jaguar’s official X account responded: “Yes. We’d love to show you. Join us for a cuppa in Miami on 2nd December?”

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“Rama Krishna Hari”: Supriya Sule On Cousin Ajit Pawar's Bitcoin Row Remark

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 20, 2024 | top-stories

Ajit Pawar has said probe will reveal the truth, Surpiya Sule has denied the allegations

Mumbai:

The Maharashtra government will order a probe and truth will come out, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said today when asked about allegations of bitcoin fraud against his cousin and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule. “An inquiry will be done and the truth will come in front of the people,” Mr Pawar, who is contesting the Assembly polls from Baramati, said this morning.

“Whatever audio clip is being shown, I just know that I have worked with both of them. One of them is my sister and the other is someone with whom I have worked a lot. The audio clip has their voices, I can figure out from their tone. An inquiry will be done and everything will be clear,” he added.

The remarks play out against the rivalry between the two camps of NCP — one led by veteran politician and party founder Sharad Pawar and Ms Sule and the other by Ajit Pawar. An Ajit Pawar-led mutiny split the NCP in 2023, following which the junior Pawar joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government in the state. This election is also a fight between two factions of NCP to prove who has the people’s support.

What Are The Allegations

Ravindranath Patil, a retired IPS officer, has accused Ms Sule and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole of being involved in a fraud involving cryptocurrency dating back to 2018. These funds, he has alleged, have been used in the assembly election campaign.

The BJP latched on to the retired officer’s remark and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi accused Ms Sule and Mr Patole of using illegal bitcoin transactions to influence election results.

“An accused dealer contacts a former police officer, who has been jailed previously, and tells him that he (the dealer) wants to conduct bitcoin transactions in cash. The officer declines the request. However, the dealer tries to convince him, claiming that a few ‘big people’ are involved, allegedly naming Nana Patole and Supriya Sule. When the officer expresses doubt, the dealer sends him the audio clips,” Mr Trivedi said in a press meet yesterday.

“According to the dealer’s claims, the audio clips mention the need for money for elections. We now have five questions for the Congress Party: first, are you involved in bitcoin transactions? second, are you in contact with individuals named Gaurav Gupta or Mehta? third, are the chats in question those of your leaders? fourth, is the audio in the clips authentic? fifth, who are the ‘big people’ referred to?” Mr Pawar added.

What Has Supriya Sule Said

Ms Sule has trashed the allegations and challenged the BJP to a debate on the issue. “I deny all the allegations levelled against me by Sudhanshu Trivedi. All this is conjecture and innuendo, and I am ready for a debate with any representative of the BJP at a time and date of their choice, in a public forum,” she posted on X.

She has said it is appalling that Mr Trivedi made “such baseless” allegations. “…yet not surprising as it’s a clear case of spreading false information, the night before elections. My lawyer will be issuing a criminal and civil defamation notice against Sudhanshu Trivedi for making outrightly false allegations with an intent to deceive the public at large,” Ms Sule has said. This morning, the NCP (SP) leader said she has sent a criminal defamation to Mr Trivedi. “He has asked me five questions. I am ready to respond wherever he wants, whenever he wants. These are all lies.”

Asked about Ajit Pawar’s charge that the voice on a viral audio clip is hers, Ms Sule replied with a smile, “He is Ajit Pawar, he can say anything. Rama Krishna Hari.”

The five-time MP has also filed a complaint with the Election Commission and the Cyber Cell in Pune.

Ms Sule’s father and NCP founder Sharad Pawar said, “…The person who made the allegations was in jail for several months. Taking that person along and making false allegations, only BJP can do this.”

Mr Patole, too, trashed the allegations and alleged a political conspiracy by the BJP. “We will file a complaint,” he said.

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Emergency Landing, Fliers Stuck For 3 Days In Phuket; Air India Responds

by Hansraj Agrawal | Nov 19, 2024 | top-stories

Over 100 New Delhi-bound passengers of an Air India flight have been stranded in Thailand’s Phuket for over 80 hours now after several delays due to technical faults, according to multiple posts put out by passengers on social media.

According to the passengers, the flight was scheduled to take off for Delhi on the night of November 16. But the airline’s representatives informed the passengers of a six-hour delay due to a technical fault. The passengers allege that after being made to wait for hours at the airport, they were asked to board the plane, only to be deboarded an hour later. The flight was cancelled.

Air India, while regretting the inconvenience to passengers, said the November 16 flight was “cancelled due to a technical issue”. The airline insisted that the staff on the ground made efforts to minimise passengers’ inconvenience, providing all on-ground assistance including hotel accommodations and meals.

“Some of the guests were also accommodated on alternatively available flights. Passengers were also offered options for full refunds on cancellation and complimentary rescheduling. At Air India, the safety and security of our passengers and crew is a top priority,” it added.

The passengers included elderly and children. The next the plane was prepped for a flight. The passengers say they were told that it was the same plane, but the fault had been fixed. The plane took off and about two-and-a-half hours after take-off, it landed back at Phuket and the passengers were again told that there was a technical fault. Since then, the passengers have been stuck at Phuket.

The plane’s trajectory, as captured by tracking app FlightRadar, shows its two-hour flight before it returned to Phhuket.

Social media posts allege that passengers are not getting any satisfactory response from airline representatives.

Earlier, the airline source said, “Several passengers have been sent back. About 40 are still in Phuket, they would be sent back this evening.”

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