Category: News

Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke strongly in the assembly on Monday against the Samajwadi Party regarding the Maha Kumbh festival. He pointed out that during the 2013 Kumbh Mela, the then Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, put someone who wasn’t a true Hindu in charge of the festival.

Yogi said, “You (the opposition) claimed that a person from a certain caste was stopped from joining the Kumbh. We allowed everyone with good intentions to come, but if someone came with bad motives, they faced trouble. Unlike the Samajwadi Party, we did not play with people’s religious feelings.”

Adityanath boasted about the number of attendees this year, saying that around 63 crore (630 million) people had come to the Maha Kumbh, and he expected the number to go above 65 crore by the end of the festival on February 26.

He recalled that the 2013 Kumbh was messy with problems like overcrowding and pollution. He mentioned how the water wasn’t clean for bathing. For example, the Prime Minister of Mauritius refused to bathe in the Kumbh that year.

Yogi declared the current Maha Kumbh to be very successful, highlighting visits from the President, Prime Minister, Vice President, and the King of Bhutan, along with representatives from 74 different countries.

However, it wasn’t without tragedy, as 30 people sadly died during a stampede at the event in January. Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the government did not provide the true number of those who died, which the BJP party denied.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joined in, criticizing those who mock religion and aim to divide the people. He stressed the importance of unity and respecting the Hindu faith, culture, and traditions.

A tragic accident happened in Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal, where a 27-year-old woman lost her life while trying to escape from rude harassers. The woman worked in event management and lived in a place called Chinsurah, Hooghly. She was on her way to Gaya with three friends for a function when the accident occurred in Panagarh at around 9:30 PM on Sunday.

According to the police, after filling gas at a petrol station, the woman and her friends noticed a white car with five men following them. When they got on the highway, the men started making inappropriate comments and driving dangerously close to their car. The men then purposely blocked the woman’s car, causing it to flip over. Sadly, she was sitting in the front seat and suffered serious injuries.

They quickly took her to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead upon arrival. The men in the other car fled the scene after the crash.

The police have taken both cars involved in the incident and filed a report at the Kanksa police station. They believe the five men were drunk while driving, as they found empty alcohol glasses in their car. Authorities have identified the owner of the car, and a search is underway to find the suspects. The victim’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination

A serious accident has happened in Telangana, where a tunnel for the SLBC project has collapsed. The local minister, J. Krishna Rao, shared that rescue teams tried calling out the names of eight workers trapped inside but didn’t hear any replies. He mentioned that the chances of anyone surviving are “very, very remote.”

When he visited the site, he found that thick mud has piled up in the collapsed area of the tunnel. Although the tunnel is large, about 9 meters wide, nearly 30 feet of mud has blocked most of it. “When we shouted their names, there was no answer, so there seems to be no hope,” he said.

Rescue efforts are being led by a special team of “rat miners,” who successfully saved workers trapped in a similar incident in Uttarakhand earlier this year. However, the conditions inside the tunnel are difficult, and it may take rescuers three to four days to reach the trapped workers because of all the mud and debris.

The teams are also trying to pump oxygen inside the tunnel and remove water. The minister expressed concerns about how the trapped workers can breathe, as the air supply seems limited. The Indian Army, along with other rescue teams, has been helping since Saturday. Sadly, those trapped have been identified as individuals from different states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in the world for the foreseeable future. He highlighted that the World Bank believes in India’s positive growth.

Speaking in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, during the opening of the ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh – Global Investors Summit-2025,’ PM Modi mentioned that the World Bank’s recent report predicts India will remain the fastest-growing major economy for the next two years.

In 2022, India became the fifth-largest economy, surpassing the United Kingdom, and it now comes after the United States, China, Germany, and Japan. PM Modi, who started his third term in June, is confident that India will become the third-largest economy globally.

He also called Madhya Pradesh a ‘preferred business destination’ and introduced 18 new policies to boost business in the state. According to him, Madhya Pradesh is strong in talent and industries, making it a great place for business.

“The speed of development in Madhya Pradesh has doubled since we have the same party in power both in the state and the center,” he said, referring to his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He also mentioned that Madhya Pradesh is playing a big role in India’s electric vehicle growth.

In New York, Norah Jones, a 23-year-old singer from Texas with a jazz background, had a fantastic night at the 45th annual Grammy Awards. She won big awards, including best pop vocal album, best female pop vocal performance, album of the year, record of the year, and best new artist! Her first album, Come Away With Me, won three more awards too.

Jones, the daughter of famous sitar player Ravi Shankar, was shocked by her wins. “I never thought the music I created would be so popular, so this is incredible!” she shared. Her song “Don’t Know Why” won song of the year.

Country singer Faith Hill praised Jones, saying, “Her album is always playing in my house and car!” Other artists like Eminem, Coldplay, India.Arie, and Nelly also won awards.

The Grammys had a new style this year; there was no single host. Instead, famous people from New York, like Willem Dafoe and Ed Bradley, took turns leading the show. Although Ravi Shankar’s other daughter, Anoushka, was nominated for best world album, the award went to Ruben Blades for his album Mundo.

Jones is the type of artist that the Grammy board loves—she’s talented and humble. In an online chat, she said, “I’m lucky to have people around me who support me and don’t want to take advantage of my success. Many artists don’t have that.”

Music producer Arif Mardin said, “Her beautiful voice hits the listener’s heart like a laser beam. It’s amazing how quickly her music became popular.” And now, Norah Jones has the Grammys to prove her talent!

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bihar today, Tejashwi Yadav, a leader from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, spoke out about the failures of the central and state governments to keep their promises. Talking to ANI, Yadav pointed out that there won’t be any elections in Bihar this year except for the important upcoming assembly election.

He mentioned that Bihar has been governed by a “double-engine government” — with the same party in power both in the state and the center — for 20 years, but the state is still struggling with low incomes, high unemployment, and widespread poverty. “Bihar ranks at the bottom for income and investments, and has the highest unemployment and migration rates,” he said.

Yadav critiqued Modi for frequently visiting Bihar during election seasons, accusing him of making empty promises. He specifically mentioned past commitments to reopen sugar mills in Champaran, which have not been fulfilled.

“Bihar’s farmers are suffering,” Yadav exclaimed, noting how they are struggling with inflation and have not seen their promised income doubled. He expressed concern over the real issues affecting farmers, like sharecropping, saying, “Farmers are in dire straits, and nothing has been done for them.”

Bihar is set to hold its Legislative Assembly election later this year, likely in October or November, after the last elections were conducted in late 2020.

The Odisha High Court recently raised important questions about the idea of making it a crime for someone to have sex by promising to marry the other person. The judge, Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi, explained that thinking a woman only has sex with a man to get married is an old-fashioned, “patriarchal” idea.

The case involved a man who was accused of being intimate with a woman for over nine years while claiming he would marry her. The judge argued that sex should not automatically mean a promise of marriage. He emphasized that women have the right to make their own choices about their bodies and relationships.

Justice Panigrahi made it clear that marriage should be a choice made by two people and recognized by law, not just a reward for having sex. He referenced the famous philosopher Simone de Beauvoir to support his point that women should control their own bodies and the choices around them.

In his comments, the judge stressed that the law should not assume that a woman engages in sexual activities only because she plans to marry. He said this way of thinking is outdated and keeps women from making their own decisions about their love lives. He pointed out that sometimes, women might agree to things not because they really want to, but due to social pressures they feel.

The judge called for changing these traditional beliefs to acknowledge that women have the right to make their own choices. He stated, “If the law wants to be fair, it needs to change, recognizing that a woman’s body, choices, and future belong solely to her.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has expressed worries about the potential decrease in the number of parliamentary seats for the state. At a wedding in Kolathur, he mentioned that this situation is happening because Tamil Nadu has effectively followed family planning programs over the years. The state currently has 39 Lok Sabha seats, and many people are concerned about losing any of them in the upcoming delimitation process.

In October last year, Stalin had encouraged families in Tamil Nadu to consider having more children. He pointed out that with fewer births, the state might lose representation in Parliament. He said, “While we usually wish for happy, small families, we have to rethink when it comes to our representation.”

In 2023, Stalin described the delimitation process as a “Damocles sword,” urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reassure southern states that their representation won’t be cut down. He argued that this would be unfair since they have followed government policies to control population growth. He called on everyone to work together to oppose any efforts that might reduce their political representation. “We must protect the interests of Tamil Nadu,” he stated.