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Meghalaya elections: Congress meets governor, stakes claim to form government

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Meghalaya elections: Congress meets governor, stakes claim to form government

The major worry for Congress is that the BJP – which won only two seats – is rooting for an alliance with the regional parties to keep the Congress at bay.

Following the election results for the Meghalaya assembly polls 2018, the Congress – which won 21 seats, 10 short of the halfway mark at 31 – met the Governor Ganga Prasad late last night, stating that it should be invited to form government as the single largest party.

Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath – who along with colleague Ahmed Patel was rushed to state capital Shillong on Saturday since the results pointed towards a fractured verdict – said, “We told the Governor that we should be given the first shot at forming a government… There are clear guidelines in place that say single largest party should be called first.”

“We are confident of coming up with the numbers and if we are invited, we will put that on the table,” he added.

And while the Congress is yet to produce letters of support to show that it has the numbers, the major worry for the party is that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – which won only two seats – is rooting for an alliance with the regional parties to form a non-Congress government in the state.

While the Congress won 28 seats in the last assembly elections in Meghalaya, the party – which has ruled in the state for the last 10 years, with Mukul Sangma as the Chief Minister – could only bag 21 seats in this year’s assembly polls.

With regional parties keeping everyone guessing after elections in Meghalaya threw up a hung assembly, the United Democratic Party (UDP) – which won six seats and could get to decide on who forms the next government – stated that it would support the political formation that is able to provide “a stable government”.

Ahead of a crucial meeting of the party that is set to decide which alliance to support, Donkupar Roy, the president of United Democratic Party said, “We would like to ensure that we have stable government. That is priority number 1.”

Further indicating that regional parties may play hard to get as the Congress and the BJP strive to cobble up numbers, Roy said, “We haven’t decided who to support… have been in touch with both sides… not correct to say we are inclined towards the BJP.”

Meanwhile, the National People’s Party (NPP) – which is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and was founded by former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma and now led by his son and lawmaker Conrad Sangma – came a close second, having won 19 seats.

Following a meeting with Conrad Sangma and UDP chief Dr Donkupar Roy, BJP’s northeast strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma said that it would encourage regional parties to form government.

“All parties should come together, respect people’s mandate and form a government which is non-Congress,” said Sharma.

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Dera chief of Uttarakhand’s Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara shot dead within premises

Baba Tarsem Singh was hurried to a hospital in Khatima where he died during treatment.

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Dera chief of the Nanakmatta Sahib Gurudwara in Uttarakhand was shot dead within the premises of the shrine by two bike-borne assailants on Thursday. A CCTV footage showed the brutal killing of the dera chief of the Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara.

The footage shared by news agency PTI shows the dera chief sitting on a chair at around 6:30 am in the premises when two bike-borne assailants arrived and fired at him. Udham Singh Nagar, SSP, Manju Nath asserted that Baba Tarsem Singh was hurried to a hospital in Khatima where he died during treatment.

Notably, the Nanakmatta Sahib Gurdwara is a revered Sikh shrine situated on the Rudrapur-Tanakpur route in Udham Singh Nagar district of the state. Reportedly, the Uttarakhand Police has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the chilling murder. 

Furthermore, additional police personnel have been deployed in the Nanakmatta area of Udham Singh Nagar district to ensure peace. The police have also appealed to the Sikh community to maintain peace. The Police officials have also contacted central agencies to share useful input, and a massive search operation is underway to nab the culprits.

Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Abhinav Kumar said that they received information around 7 am on Thursday that between 6:15-6:30 am, two masked assailants entered Nanakmatta Gurdwara and shot Kar Seva Pramukh Baba Tarsem Singh. He added that the Dera chief was rushed to the hospital in Khatima, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The DGP mentioned that this is a very serious matter and that senior officials have reached the spot. He affirmed that DIG Kumaon will inspect the scene of the crime and speak to the locals. Furthermore, he will try to assess the situation there. Abhinav Kumar also mentioned that for investigation of the incident, Police Headquarters has formed an SIT, which will comprise officials of STF and local Police.

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US reiterates its call for fair, transparent, legal process for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, speaks on Congress frozen accounts

The US spokesperson said that they are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections.

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A day after India summoned an US diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated its call for fair, transparent, timely legal processes on Wednesday.

Responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that they will continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Notably, the meeting at the foreign ministry’s South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal.

Matthew Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party’s frozen bank accounts. The US spokesperson said that they are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. He added that the US encourages fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of the issues.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to the Delhi liquor policy scam. Earlier, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case.

The External Affairs Ministry had earlier stated that states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies, adding that it could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents.

The Ministry further emphasized that India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. It mentioned that casting aspersions on India’s legal procedure is unwarranted.

The United State’s remarks followed days after Germany’s Foreign Office stressed that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government labelled their remark as blatant interference in internal matters.

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Punjab: AAP leaders Sushil Kumar Rinku, MLA Sheetal Angural join BJP

Rinku said Aam Aadmi Party lagged behind in Jalandhar on the issue of its development. He said they had not fulfilled the promises which they had made during the byelection as the AAP government did not support him. He said he was impressed by the style of working of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

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The Aam Aadmi Party had a double setback in Punjab as its lone Lok Sabha MP, Sushil Kumar Rinku from Jalandhar, and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural joined the BJP in Delhi on Wednesday. BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde welcomed them in presence of Punjab BJP chief Sunil Kumar Jakhar and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Rinku said Aam Aadmi Party lagged behind in Jalandhar on the issue of its development. He said they had not fulfilled the promises which they had made during the byelection as the AAP government did not support him. He said he was impressed by the style of working of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. He added that whatever works related to Jalandhar he took to Delhi were granted and the Adampur airport was made operational.

Rinku said Jalandhar had been given a stop for the Vande Bharat train. He said the people of Jalandhar need over bridges in the city and in Adampur. He said he was seeing a ray of hope by joining BJP. He said he is conducting a new experiment. He said he did not have greed for himself but he had wishes for the people of Jalandhar.

The Aam Aadmi Party came to know about the joining of Rinku to BJP when he suddenly disappeared from the AAP’s election campaign after he was named the candidate. He was among the first 8 candidates announced by the Aam Aadmi Party.

 Sheetal Angural became a first time MLA in 2022. He is going to hand over his resignation from the assembly on Thursday. With his resignation, the Jalandhar (west) seat will go into elections. Angural defeated Rinku in 2022 Assembly elections when the latter was in Congress. Earlier on Tuesday BJP had poached Congress MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Bittu.

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