THE HEADLINES :
- Campaigning for remaining phases of Lok Sabha elections intensifies.
- President Droupadi Murmu to confer Padma Awards at second investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
- Tri-service Conference, ‘Parivartan Chintan’, chaired by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan to be held in New Delhi.
- Unrest erupts in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as Pakistan security forces deployed ahead of protests.
- IMD forecasts fresh spell of heat wave to continue over Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- In Table Tennis, Manika Batra reaches quarterfinals at Saudi Smash in Jeddah.
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Campaigning for the remaining phases of Lok Sabha elections has intensified. Voting in the fourth phase will take place on 13th of this month in 96 seats spread across ten states and union territory. As many as 1,717 candidates from 10 states and union territory are in the fray for this phase.
In Telangana, electioneering reached its peak in the state with only three days remaining for the campaigning before the May 13th polling. Top leaders of all major parties are making a beeline seeking support from the electors for their candidates.
BJP Senior Leader and Union Minister, Amit Shah will be taking part in electioneering in Bhongir Lok Sabha Constituency later this morning. He will be campaigning in support of party candidate Dr Boora Narsaiah Goud.
AICC senior leader, Rahul Gandhi will take part in electioneering in Telangana today and participate in Jana Jatara Sabha at Narsapur and attend a public meeting at Saroor Nagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad this evening. BRS Chief and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will hold a roadshow at Karimnagar later today.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed two public meetings yesterday in Karimnagar and Warangal Lok Sabha constituencies. Mr Modi said the bond between the Congress and the BRS was inseparable with regard to corruption. He alleged that the parties become a syndicate behind the screen though they criticise each other in the open.
BRS Chief and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the BJP was invoking Pakistan for its electoral gains and neglecting real issues concerning the nation. Addressing people at a roadshow held at Patancheru, he said the ruling party had also maligned the nation on international platforms through undemocratic decisions like the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apart from targeting whoever opposed it.
Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that unwavering public support has helped the BJP in implementing impactful schemes and projects at Centre. Addressing a public meeting in Delhi yesterday, in support of BJP candidate from South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Mr Gadkari said, the Union Government has spent over one lakh crore rupees in various projects over the past ten years that has transformed Delhi. He added that the government has also boosted water supply in the national capital and cleaning of Yamuna River.
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In Uttar Pradesh, hectic election campaigning is scheduled for today.
To make impeccable strategy for Raebareli elections, Senior BJP leader and party president Jagat Prakash Nadda will be in state capital Lucknow today evening. He will hold meeting of senior party functionaries of Lucknow, Unnao, Mohanlal Ganj and Raebareli Loksabha constituencies. He will also head a meeting of the MLAs and MLCs of the constituencies which are going for poll in fourth phase of election. Prior to the meetings he will address political rallies in Chitrakoot and Fatehpur districts. On the other hand Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav will campaign in Bahraich, Dhaurahra and Lakhimpur khiri constituencies. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also campaign in Raebareli constituency today. SUSHIL CHANDRA TIWARI AKASHVANI NEWS LUCKNOW
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In the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections, the nomination process has been completed for 13 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Polling on these seats will be held on the 13th of May. This also includes the important seat of Etawah, which is considered to be the stronghold of Samajwadi Party. BJP has been winning this seat for the last two Lok Sabha elections and this time the party has once again nominated sitting MP Ramshankar Katheria as its candidate. Jitendra Dohre from SP and former Hathras MP Sarika Singh Baghel from BSP are in the fray.
Five assembly constituencies of three districts Etawah, Auraiya and Kanpur Dehat come under Etawah Lok Sabha seat. This includes Etawah, Auraiya, Bharthana, Dibiyapur and Sikandra. Etawah got political recognition from the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was the head of the Samajwadi Party. Being the largest political family, Samajwadi Party has dominated the Etawah Lok Sabha seat. SP is the only party to win this seat three times in a row. SP had won from here in 1999, 2004 and 2009. After that, Ashok Dohre of BJP in 2014 and Ramshankar Katheria of BJP in 2019 became MP from here. BJP is trying to score a hattrick of victory on this seat by making Ramshankar Katheria its candidate. On the other hand, SP has fielded Jitendra Dohre to regain its seat. BSP candidate and former MP from Hathras, Sarika Singh Baghel is making the contest interesting. All parties have intensified campaigning in support of their candidates.Om Awasthi, Akashvani News, Lucknow.
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President Droupadi Murmu will present the Padma Awards at the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi today.
Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country are conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
Last month, the President presented three Padma Vibhushan, eight Padma Bhushan and 55 Padma Shri Awards on 22nd April.
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Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan will chair a two-day conference- ‘Parivartan Chintan-2’ on jointness and integration of Armed Forces in New Delhi beginning today. Parivartan Chintan is a pioneering conference for the heads of all Tri-services Institutes and aims at generating novel reformative ideas and initiatives.
Members from all the sub committees of the apex Chiefs of Staff Committee; the CDS as its permanent Chairman and the three Service Chiefs, shall review the progress made in multiple domains, and ideate on the necessary reforms to achieve the desired end state towards transformation through jointness and integration.
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External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has said that every political party in the country is committed to ensure that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), which is a part of India, returns to India. Interacting with the students at the Gargi College in New Delhi, Mr. Jaishankar said, the PoK issue has come to the front of people’s thinking after revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister said that people assumed Article 370 could not be changed as the politics of the day had driven it deeply into the public consciousness.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the deteriorating economic situation, tensions are rising in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) as the Pakistani administration has been deploying troops from Punjab Province to suppress the upcoming protest in the region on Saturday this week.
According to a joint statement issued by the UKPNP and JAAC, the demonstrators are protesting an unjustified taxation, high electricity bills, uncontrolled inflation, and severe shortages of essentials. Additionally, the people also demand ownership of local land and water resources and royalties to locals over the hydroelectric power produced in dams located in PoJK and Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit Baltistan.
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India’s Foreign Secretary, Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived in Dhaka on a short trip to Bangladesh, yesterday. In a social media post, Bangladesh Foreign Ministry shared details about Kwatra’s visit saying that he is expected to meet PM Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud and also hold meeting with the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, Masud Bin Momen today.
Recently, in February, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar extended a warm welcome to Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud when he arrived in India, emphasising that their discussions aim to fortify the enduring friendship between India and Bangladesh.
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In Punjab, wheat harvesting is going on at a rapid pace. The incidents of burning wheat residue after harvesting are also increasing day by day in various districts, due to which, the environment is being affected.
The number of incidents of wheat residue being set on fire in fields in various districts of the state has reached 2 thousand 612 as of yesterday evening. Out of it, the maximum number of 133 incidents has been reported in the border district of Firozpur. Apart from this, Fazilka, Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Mansa, Muktsar, Sangrur, and Tarn Taran are some of the districts where the number of these incidents is increasing rapidly. However, the authorities are also making farmers aware not to set the fire but despite this, these incidents are continuously increasing. Shishu Sharma Shantal, Akashvani News, Jalandhar
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In Kerala, many Air India Express flights to the GCC countries remain cancelled today as well, disrupting travel plans of many.
Flights from Kuwait, Ras Al Khaimah, Doha, Muscat and Sharjah to Kannur International Airport were cancelled by the airline. Flight services from the airport to Sharjah, Muscat, Dammam and Abu Dhabi also stand cancelled. Airport authorities have asked air travellers to first confirm the flight status before embarking on their journey.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that a fresh spell of heat wave will continue to prevail over Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh till tomorrow. The IMD said, hot and humid weather will prevail over coastal Gujarat during the next 5 days and over Kerala and Mahe till tomorrow. The weather department also predicted light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm, lightning and squally winds over North-East India till the 11th of this month.
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Star Indian table tennis player Manika Batra stormed into the quarterfinals of the Saudi Smash in Jeddah, beating world No. 14 Nina Mittelham of Germany. Batra defeated Mittelham 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 to seal her maiden last eight entry in the event. This is Batra’s first win over Mittelham in four attempts. Now the Indian will face another formidable rival world No. 5 Hina Hayata of Japan for a place in the semifinals, today.
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In IPL Cricket, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Lucknow Super Giants by ten wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad last night.
Today, Punjab Kings will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:
- War of words continue between contesting parties in the Lok Sabha polls. “Modi targets Congress in Ambani-Adani twist,” writes Hindustan Times while Business Standard headlines, “Why silent on Ambani-Adani? PM jibe at Rahul.” The Hindu writes, “After Modi’s Adani taunt, Rahul says PM is ‘scared’.”
- The Asian Age reports, “Supreme Court to deliver Kejriwal’s interim bail order on Friday.”
- “AstraZeneca recalls Covid vaccine amid side effects storm,” says The Pioneer.
- “Pull down Haryana Government: BJP’s ex-ally urges Congress,” writes Hindustan Times.
- “Crew on mass sick leave, 90 Air India Express flights grounded,” reports The Tribune while Hindustan Times also carries a picture of passengers waiting at airports after cancellations disrupted flight schedules.”
- “India-Canada ties on boil again over Nijjar’s death,” writes The Asian Age.
- And finally, With the move towards a cashless society, The Economic Times informs, “ePayment Riches Leave Circulation of Currency Poorer.”
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- Campaigning for remaining phases of Lok Sabha elections intensifies.
- President Droupadi Murmu to confer Padma Awards at second investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
- Tri-service Conference, ‘Parivartan Chintan’, chaired by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan to be held in New Delhi.
- Unrest erupts in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as Pakistan security forces deployed ahead of protests.
- IMD forecasts fresh spell of heat wave to continue over Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- In Table Tennis, Manika Batra reaches quarterfinals at Saudi Smash in Jeddah.
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