National
Will Ashok Chavan's exit queer Congress pitch for Maharashtra RS seat?
New Delhi, Feb 14 (IANS) With the race for Rajya Sabha poll heating up, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced names of many political heavyweights for their election to the Upper House.
BJP fielded party President JP Nadda as its candidate for the upcoming biennial elections to Rajya Sabha from Gujarat while named Congress turncoat Ashok Chavan from Maharashtra.
The nomination of former Maharashtra CM on BJP ticket has put the Congress party on a sticky wicket as the latter risks losing its only one seat from the state.
Ashok Chavan, despite his exit from Congress which he served for 38 years, retains a strong support base in the grand old party and there are strong undercurrents of some of his ‘loyalist legislators’ crossing over to the saffron camp.
Though, Maharasthra Congress has strongly refuted chances of such ‘upheaval’ but insiders claim that cross-voting for Chavan, now a BJP candidate, from the Congress camp is high likely, even if don’t switch sides.
Till now, Congress was slated to comfortably win one Rajya Sabha seat from Maharasthra but Chavan’s sudden exit has cast a shadow on party’s prospects. Political watchers don’t rule out a ‘surprise shock’ for Congress in the Upper House polls from the state.
A total of six Rajya Sabha seats are to be filled from the state. Out of these, the BJP, with highest number of 105 legislators is set to send three MPs on its own while Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are expected to send one each.
Notably, NCP and Shiv Sena, the two key allies of Congress in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), are in shambles today after witnessing vertical splits in the respective parties.
Congress was expected to lay claim over the sixth RS seat, owing to its biggest Opposition party status with 44 MLAs in the House but Chavan’s departure has led to cloud over its chances. Many believe that Chavan’s clout within the party is strong and couple of his loyalists are much likely to do ‘cross-voting’ for him in the biennial elections.
What adds credence to the cross-voting speculation is a previous precedent, in which Ashok Chavan and 10 other Congress MLAs voted against the alliance’s decision.
In August 2022, when Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena formed a new party after rebellion and formed BJP-Sena alliance government in the state, Chavan and some Congress MLAs gave a jolt to the alliance. While the new govt was facing floor test, Chavan and 10 other Congress MLAs skipped the House proceedings citing traffic jam. This resulted in MVA’s truncated strength to 99, despite winning a total of 154 seats together in the 2019 Assembly elections.
–IANS
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National
Defence Ministry: Year 2025 will be year of reforms
On Wednesday, the Defence Ministry announced that 2025 will be designated as the “Year of Reforms,” with a primary focus on establishing integrated theatre commands to enhance collaboration among the three branches of the military.
These reforms are aimed at transforming the armed forces into a technologically advanced, combat-ready force capable of executing multi-domain integrated operations, the ministry stated.
The initiative will emphasize emerging domains such as cyber and space, alongside cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, hypersonics, and robotics.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the “Year of Reforms” as a pivotal milestone in the modernization of the armed forces.
“It will set the stage for significant advancements in the nation’s defense capabilities, ensuring the security and sovereignty of India in the face of 21st-century challenges,” he said.
National
A 3.2 magnitude tremor struck Gujarat’s Kutch district on Wednesday morning
A 3.2 magnitude tremor struck Gujarat’s Kutch district on Wednesday morning, according to the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR).
The district administration reported no casualties or property damage following the quake.
The tremor occurred at 10:24 am, with its epicenter located 23 kilometers north-northeast (NNE) of Bhachau, as per the Gandhinagar-based ISR.
Last month, the region experienced four seismic events exceeding a magnitude of 3, including a 3.2 magnitude tremor just three days ago, with its epicenter also near Bhachau.
Earlier tremors in the area included a 3.7 magnitude earthquake on December 23 and a 3.2 magnitude event on December 7, according to ISR reports.
Kutch was also jolted by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake on November 18, 2024. On November 15, a 4.2 magnitude quake hit Patan in north Gujarat, based on ISR data.
Gujarat is considered a high-risk earthquake zone, having experienced nine major earthquakes over the past 200 years, according to the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA). The 2001 earthquake in Kutch, which occurred on January 26, was the third-largest and second-most destructive in India in the last two centuries, according to the GSDMA.
National
Diljit Dosanjh faces legal action over concert songs
Singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh’s much-anticipated New Year’s Eve concert in Ludhiana faced legal hurdles after a complaint was filed by Punditrao Dharenavar, an assistant professor from Chandigarh.
Following the complaint, the Deputy Director of the Women and Child Department, Government of Punjab, issued a formal notice to Ludhiana’s District Commissioner, urging them to prohibit Dosanjh from performing specific songs during his live show on December 31, 2024.
The notice specifically targets songs accused of promoting alcohol, including Patiala Peg, 5 Tara Theke, and Case (Jeeb Vicho Feem Labbiya), even if the lyrics are slightly modified. The complaint points to previous warnings issued to Dosanjh by various commissions advising against performing these controversial tracks.
Despite these warnings, the singer allegedly continues to perform the songs with minor alterations. Dharenavar raised serious concerns about the influence of such music on young audiences, especially when minors are present at live events.
Adding to the controversy, Dharenavar referenced a 2019 Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling, which directed law enforcement to ensure that songs promoting alcohol, drugs, or violence are not played at public events, including concerts. This ruling underscores the legal basis for the complaint and has further intensified the scrutiny surrounding the event.
National
UP Minister’s convoy overturns, 5 person injured
Five people sustained injuries when a vehicle in the convoy of Uttar Pradesh Minister and Nishad Party chief Sanjay Nishad overturned into a ditch near Januan village in the Khejuri Police Station area of Ballia district late last night.
Sanjay Nishad shared details of the incident, stating that the accident injured five party workers, including four women.
“I was traveling with the convoy to participate in the Constitutional Rights Yatra organized by the party on Tuesday night. Near Januan village in the Khejuri area, one of the vehicles following the convoy lost control while trying to avoid an animal and overturned into a ditch,” Nishad explained.
The injured individuals have been identified as Rakesh Nishad, Ramrati, Usha, Geeta, and Iravati Nishad.
Senior police and administrative officials quickly arrived at the scene following the incident to oversee the situation.
National
Suchir Balaji’s mother alleges Murder
The mother of Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher found dead after accusing the company of copyright violations, has alleged that her son was “murdered” and called for a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe.
Poornima Rao, Suchir’s mother, claimed her son’s death was a “cold-blooded murder” that authorities wrongly ruled as suicide. She further disclosed that a private autopsy report conflicted with the findings of the initial police investigation.
Rao alleged that her son’s apartment had been “ransacked” and cited evidence of a struggle in the bathroom, including bloodstains that suggested he had been assaulted.
“We hired a private investigator and conducted a second autopsy to uncover the truth. The private autopsy does not confirm the cause of death stated by the police. Suchir’s apartment was ransacked, there were signs of a struggle in the bathroom, and it appears he was hit based on blood spots. This is a cold-blooded murder being misclassified as a suicide. Lobbying in San Francisco won’t deter us from seeking justice. We demand an FBI investigation,” Rao wrote on X.
Elon Musk reacted to Rao’s post, commenting, “This doesn’t seem like a suicide.”
Balaji was discovered dead in his San Francisco apartment months after accusing OpenAI of violating copyright laws during the development of ChatGPT, as reported by Fox News. Despite these claims, the San Francisco Police Department found no evidence of foul play and ruled the death a suicide.
On October 24, shortly before his death, Balaji voiced doubts about the “fair use” defense in generative artificial intelligence. “I recently participated in a NYT story about fair use and generative AI, and why I’m skeptical ‘fair use’ would be a plausible defense for a lot of generative AI products,” he wrote on X.
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