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Wither railway security: 4 train accidents within 12 hours on Friday left 7 dead

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The past year has seen a sharp increase in train derailments and accidents; a majority of them have been reported from Uttar Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have hastily replaced Suresh Prabhu with his close confidante, Piyush Goyal, as the Union railway minister in September this year following two major rail derailments that rocked India in quick succession, yet the change of guard has done little to prevent more tragedies from hitting Indian railway- the world’s largest railway network.

Between Thursday evening and Friday – in a span of just 12 hours – four train accidents left seven people dead and injured at least 11 others. Three of these accidents were reported from Uttar Pradesh – the state which has accounted for the maximum number of train derailment incidents this year – while one was reported from Odisha. There were two derailments, including the much publicised incident of the Vasco Da Gama Express near Manikpur station in Uttar Pradesh’s Chitrakoot district that killed three people early Friday morning, one incident of an engine decoupling from the wagon and a train hitting a car at an unmanned crossing.

The spate of accidents began at 7.19 pm on Thursday when a local train hit a Bolero vehicle at an unmanned crossing near Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, killing four people and injuring as many. The vehicle, packed with people belonging to a marriage party, was hit at Matha Bhusunda village under the Musafirkhana police station.

Then, at 4.18 am, 13 coaches of the Vasco Da Gama-Patna Express derailed near Manikpur in Uttar Pradesh, killing three people, including a six-year-old boy and his father, and injuring nine other passengers. The Patna-bound passenger train, which derailed soon after leaving the Manikpur Railway Station in Chitrakoot district, was moving slowly as a result of which casualties were less, officials said.

Then, less than two hours after the Manikpur derailment, a Paradeep-Cuttack goods train jumped the rails between Goraknath and Raghunathpur in Odisha at 5.55 am. While no deaths were reported, the down line was disrupted tillSaturday.

In the fourth incident, the engine of Jammu-Patna Archana Express separated from the train near Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. This happened twice. The engine first decoupled at around 2.35 am and was re-coupled within an hour following which railway personnel gave the train clearance for its onward journey at around 3.17 am. However, the engine and the first coach (same as earlier) separated again at around 5.25 am and were reattached at 6.05 am.

“After re-examination by staff and senior officials it was decided that the train should be given a new locomotive to ensure that such problem does not happen again,” a spokesperson for North Central Railway told news agency PTI. The train finally left at 7.25 am after security clearances were received. The official said some mail express trains and goods trains were delayed due to the incident.

The year 2017 has witnessed a series of train derailments, mostly having occurred in Uttar Pradesh, although in most cases incidents of passenger deaths were not reported.

On August 19, the derailment of the Utkal Express near Muzaffarnagar in UP had claimed 22 lives and left over 150 injured while over 100 people were injured when the Kaifiyat Express derailed in Auraiya district on August 23.

The two train tragedies had paved the exit of then Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu who Prime Minister Narendra Modi replaced with Piyush Goyal during a reshuffle of his council of ministers on September 3.

However, a mere change of guard in the railway top brass has not prevented rail derailments from continuing unabated at a time when the Prime Minister and the BJP are busy trying to showcase the proposed Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project in poll-bound Gujarat.

Under Goyal’s watch as railway minister, this is possibly the fourth derailment – the first in which passenger deaths have been reported. On September 7, the Ranchi-Delhi Rajdhani Express had derailed near Minto Bridge in New Delhi while seven coaches of the Shaktipunj Express had derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district. No casualties were reported in either of these mishaps that happened within hours of each other. On September 14, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, one coach of the Jammu-New Delhi Rajdhani Express had derailed at the New Delhi railway station.

In November last year, the Indore-Patna Express had derailed in Pokhrayan near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, killing over 150 people.

-With inputs from PTI[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Parliament Winter Session to be held from November 25 to December 20

Kiren Rijiju, Parliamentary Affairs Minister affirmed that the government’s proposal to convene both Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) during this period was sanctioned by President Droupadi Murmu.

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Parliament Winter Session to be held from November 25 to December 20

The Parliament Winter Session will commence from November 25 and will conclude on December 20. The winter session will take place two days after the announcement of Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly election results.

Kiren Rijiju, Parliamentary Affairs Minister affirmed that the government’s proposal to convene both Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) during this period was sanctioned by President Droupadi Murmu.

Notably, the upcoming Winter Session will be the observance of Constitution Day on November 26, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution. Reportedly, the event will be celebrated in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan in New Delhi, with members of both Houses gathering to honour the country’s foundational document.

Taking to X, Kiren Rijiju said that the President, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Winter Session, 2024 from 25th November to 20th December, 2024 (subject to exigencies of parliamentary business). The Union Minister added that on 26th November, 2024 (Constitution Day), 75th Anniversary of the adoption of Constitution, the event would be celebrated in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan.

In this session, raging discussions are expected to be held around two key legislative proposals: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and One Nation, One Election.

Previously, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had stressed on the importance of the Waqf (Amendment Bill), asserting that it would be addressed in the winter session. Addressing an election rally in Gurugram, the Home Minister said that they will resolve The Waqf Board law in the next session of the Parliament.

At present, a Joint Parliamentary Committee(JPC) is holding marathon meetings across various states to engage with stakeholders and address their concerns and build a consensus on the contentious bill.

Reportedly, the Centre might also look to introduce One Nation One Election Bill which will ensure simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Unity Day speech in Gujarat, said that the One Nation, One Election proposal, which aims to synchronise all elections in the country either on a single day or within a specific time frame, will be cleared soon and will become a reality.

The Prime Minister said that they are now working towards One Nation One Election, which will strengthen India’s democracy, give the optimum outcome of India’s resources and the country will gain new momentum in achieving the dream of a developed India.

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Kerala High Court quashes charges against director Sreekumar Menon in complaint filed by actor Manju Warrier

The court also noted a significant delay in the actor’s report of the alleged incident involving obscene language.

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Kerala High Court quashes charges against film director Sreekumar Menon in complaint filed by actor Manju Warrier

In a significant development, the Kerala High Court has quashed all charges against film director Sreekumar Menon in a case filed by renowned South Indian actress Manju Warrier. The criminal case lodged in 2019, alleged stalking and harassment by Sreekumar Menon against Manju Warrier.

Justice S. Manu, who presided over the case, found insufficient evidence to support the charges pressed against the film director. The charges included stalking under Section 354D of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), using obscene language under Section 294(b) of the IPC, and criminal intimidation under Section 509 of the IPC.

The Kerala High Court also noted a significant delay in the actor’s report of the alleged incident involving obscene language. The complaint, which was filed in 2019, mentioned an altercation that supposedly occurred in Dubai in December 2018. Furthermore, the Court pointed out that Section 188 of the CrPC mandates seeking Central Government permission for prosecuting offenses committed outside India.

The final report also included a charge under Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act. However, the High Court observed that this offense is non-cognizable, meaning the police cannot initiate a case without specific permission. Since the other charges were deemed unsustainable, the Kerala High Court ruled that prosecution solely under this section would not hold validity.

The case stemmed from a petition filed by Manju Warrier with the Kerala State Police Chief in 2019. The petition alleged stalking and harassment by Sreekumar Menon. Subsequently, the petition led to the registration of an FIR at the Thrissur East Police Station. 

Both film director Sreekumar Warrier and actor Manju Menon have enjoyed successful careers in the Malayalam film industry. Their collaboration on the film Odiyan, starring Mohanlal, marked Sreekumar Menon’s directorial debut. 

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Will not contest any election in future, have to stop somewhere: Sharad Pawar hints at retirement

The NCP leader said that he is not in power, and his tenure in the Rajya Sabha has one-and-a-half years left.

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Will not contest any election in future, have to stop somewhere: Sharad Pawar hints at retirement

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) senior leader Sharad Pawar, 83, today hinted at retirement as he said he may not contest any more elections after his Rajya Sabha term ends in 18 months.

Sharad Pawar who formed the NCP in 1999 is widely regarded as the grand old man of Maharashtra politics. The veteran politician was speaking at his family stronghold of Baramati in western Maharashtra, which will see a Pawar vs Pawar contest in the November 20 Assembly election.

Addressing a rally, the NCP leader said that he is not in power, and his tenure in the Rajya Sabha has one-and-a-half years left. He continued that he will not contest any election in future, and that he will have to stop somewhere. He also thanked the voters of Baramati for making him an MP and MLA a staggering 14 times overall. Notably, a potential close of a nearly six-decade-long political career comes as the NCP and its allies – the Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena group – contest this month’s election.

In this election, the fight for Baramati is being seen as a referendum on Sharad Pawar’s continuing influence over voters, since it sees his grandnephew, Yugendra Pawar, do battle against his nephew Ajit Pawar, whose led the rebellion last year that forced the NCP to split.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar is a five-time MLA from Baramati but, in each of his earlier wins, he had the backing of his uncle’s party. This will be the first assembly election in which he contests under his own banner.

The result of the election for the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, where the people voted overwhelmingly for Sharad Pawar’s candidate, his daughter Supriya Sule, underlines Ajit Pawar’s task at hand.

Speaking at Baramati, Sharad Pawar said that he holds no grudge against Ajit Pawar, adding that he led the people there for 30 years. However, he also said that it is time for him to prepare a young and dynamic leadership, which can take over for the next 30 years, apparently referring to Yugendra Pawar’s future position.

The veteran politician continued that he is not seeking votes, acknowledging that voters have always been magnanimous with all Pawar family members. He added that however, now they have to look ahead at the future.  

Notably, Sharad Pawar’s retirement from electoral politics has been circulating for some time now, and was raked up again in January by nephew Ajit Pawar, who had fought against and forced a split of his uncle’s party, leading the rebels into an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and a faction of the Shiv Sena that had earlier broken away from Uddhav Thackeray.

At that time, Ajit Pawar hit out at Sharad Pawar for not sticking to a 2023 resolution to step down from the party’s top post. He said that some people simply refuse to retire. He continued that people should stop after reaching a certain age, but some are not ready, even after turning 80. Referring to his uncle, Ajit Pawar said that this person is not ready to retire.

Responding to this jab, Sharad Pawar said that he is neither tired nor retired, echoing late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s remarks. He questioned who they were to tell him to retire, adding that he can still work.

Last year in May, while the NCP was battling its internal crisis, Sharad Pawar announced his resignation as party boss. However, the announcement was unanimously rejected by top leaders. A few days later, he withdrew his resignation.

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