India News
Maya Kodnani acquitted by Gujarat High Court in 2002 Naroda Patiya case
Former BJP minister in Gujarat government was on Friday, April 20,acquitted by the Gujarat High Court in the Naroda Patiya massacre in which 97 persons were killed during the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
She was sentenced in 2012 to 28 years in jail in the case. The High Court, while acquitting her giving her the benefit of doubt, upheld former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi’s conviction but commuted his sentence from imprisonment till death to 21 years in prison.
The High Court held that none of the witnesses were reliable. The court held that no criminal conspiracy could be established against Maya Kodnani and that of the 11 witnesses that were examined, none named Maya Kodnani when the case was being registered, reported The Indian Express (IE).
The division bench of justices Harsha Devani and AS Supehiya of Gujarat High Court had reserved the order in August 2017.
The accused had challenged the Special Investigation Team (SIT) court’s order which had sentenced 32 people, including Kodnani and acquitted 29 others. Kodnani was awarded a 28-year jail term and Bajrangi was awarded imprisonment till his last breath. Ten persons were sentenced to prison for 31 years, while the rest were handed down 24-year imprisonment by special judge Jyotsna Yagnik, reported The Times of India (TOI). The SIT court had handed out enhanced life imprisonment to seven accused out of the 32 total accused while giving the remaining accused simple life imprisonment, said the TOI report.
Naroda Patiya massacre happened right after the incident of Godhra train burning on February 27, 2002, in which 59 kar sevaks lost their lives. The riots saw loss of lives of 97 people comprising mainly of women and children.
The SIT court had contended that Kodnani was spotted by witnesses inciting mobs at the Naroda Patiya. Witnesses have said that she was seen handing out swords and urging her people to go and murder, while she herself once fired a pistol in the air.
Kodnani however had claimed that she was never involved in the activities as she was with former BJP home minister of Gujarat Amit Shah, now BJP President, in Gujarat assembly and thereafter at government-run Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.
Kodnani is also accused in the Naroda Gram riots case in which 11 Muslims lost their lives. Kodnani was granted bail in 2014 on health grounds.
India News
Video: PM Modi, CM Yogi attend cultural event at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre in Varanasi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a cultural event at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre in Varanasi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday evening attended a cultural event at Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre in Varanasi.
After laying the foundation stone of the International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi’s Ganjari, PM Modi and CM Yogi attended the cultural event where the artists were performing to celebrate the evening.
At the occasion of the International Cricket Stadium, the cricket fraternities were also witnessed including big names like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Madan Lal, Gundappa Viswanath, and Gopal Sharma.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath also interacted with school students after inaugurating the 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya in Varanasi.
To provide the best quality education, 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya, which is basically built for the children of labourers, construction workers and those orphaned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was also inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The project has been developed at the cost of Rs 1,100 crore with an aim to make quality education accessible for these children and support their holistic development.
Every school under this scheme has been constructed in an area of 10-15 acres with a classroom, recreational area, sports grounds, mess, a mini auditorium, hotel complex, and residential flats for the staff members. Such facilities will help children get quality education.
Addressing the event in Varanasi, PM Modi said that the portal of ‘Kashi Sansad Khel Pratiyogita’ was also launched. This is the beginning of new legacies in Kashi, he added.
PM Modi further added by saying even today, people from across the world come to Kashi to learn Sanskrit. Keeping that in mind, we inaugurated ‘Atal Awasiya Vidyalayas’ today, built at a cost of about Rs 1,100 crore, the Prime Minister said.
He also interacted with the people who helped in making the G20 Summit successful. PM Modi was listening to the concerns of people who served to achieve the successful completion of the G20 Summit.
India News
ABVP wins 3 seats in Delhi University elections, NSUI bags Vice President post
ABVP won three out of four seats in Delhi University elections.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won three out of four seats in Delhi University elections.
The University of Delhi on Saturday announced the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election results. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) won three out of four central panel posts in the elections while the National Students Union (NSUI) bagged the Vice-President Post.
Tushar Dedha from the ABVP has secured the President post whereas the Vice President post has been won by Abhi Dahiya of NSUI. Aparajita, an ABVP candidate won the Secretary post in the DUSU elections. Sachin Baisla from ABVP has won the panel post of Joint Secretary.
ABVP supporters celebrated the win as their organisation won three central panel posts in Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections.
The DUSU election was held on September 22. There were 24 candidates in the race for the four central panel posts.
The elections were conducted through EVMs at 52 colleges and departments for the four posts. The paper ballot was used for the college union elections. The total turnout of voters was 42 percent.
The vote sharing in the Delhi University Student Union elections was quite surprising. The ABVP candidate for the President post Tushar Dedha got 23,460 votes while Hitesh Gulia, an opponent candidate from NSUI received a total of 20,345 votes for the President post.
For the post of Vice President, NSUI’s candidate Abhi Dahiya surpassed ABVP’s Sushant Dhankhar with 22,331 votes meanwhile ABVP candidate got 20,502 votes for the post.
Arpita from ABVP got a total of 24,534 votes while NSUI’s candidate Yakshna Sharma received 11,597 votes for the post of Secretary in the DUSU elections.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad candidate won the seat with a total of 24,955 votes meanwhile candidate from the National Students Union Shubham Kumar got 14,960 votes in the elections.
After a big win of the ABVP candidates on three seats of the central panel, the Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshana Jadosh extended her congratulations to the right-wing allies for their victory in the DUSU elections.
The Bharatiya Janata Party President, JP Nadda extended his congratulations to the ABVP for their victory in the DUSU elections.
Inspired by the ideals of Swami Vivekananda, ABVP has always kindled a flame of nationalism and selfless service in the hearts of our youth, the BJP President said. He congratulated all the Karyakartas of ABVP for their emphatic victory in Delhi University Elections 2023. This triumph shows the ubiquitous acceptance of the ideology of ‘nation first’ among our young generation, who will shape our nation’s tomorrow, Nadda added.
India News
PM Modi lays foundation stone of International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi, Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, others present on occasion
Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri among others were present on the occasion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 23 laid the foundation stone of the International Cricket Stadium in Varanasi’s Ganjari, Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present for the occasion in Varanasi.
Varanasi, PM Modi’s parliamentary constituency also witnessed big names from the cricket fraternity on the occasion. The names include Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Madan Lal, Gundappa Viswanath, and Gopal Sharma.
Roger Binny, BCCI President and Vice President Rajiv Shukla and Secretary Jay Shah were also present for the event in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Sachin Tendulkar also visited religious places in Varanasi. Take a look.
PM Modi also reached Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre where he participated in the closing ceremony of Kashi Sansad Sanskritik Mahotsav 2023.
PM Modi also inaugurated 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya built across Uttar Pradesh, during the programme.
The Varanasi International Cricket Stadium is a step towards realising PM Modi’s vision to develop a modern and world-class sports infrastructure.
As per the reports, the International Cricket Stadium will be built in Ganjari, Rajatalab. This will be developed at the cost of Rs 450 crore and will be in more than 30 acres of area.
It has been revealed that the world-class stadium will take inspiration from Lord Shiva for its thematic architecture. The designs will be developed for crescent-shaped roof covers, trident-shaped floodlights and ghat steps-based seating arrangements for the attendees.
According to the government statement, the total capacity of the stadium to accommodate people will be 30,000 spectators.
To provide the best quality education, 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya, which is basically built for the children of labourers, construction workers and those orphaned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was also inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The project has been developed at the cost of Rs 1,100 crore with an aim to make quality education accessible for these children and support their holistic development.
