New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) The Yogi Adityanth-led government has introduced the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Assembly, which proposes harsher punishment, leading up to life imprisonment in ‘love jihad’ cases.

The proposed amendments have been welcomed by the BJP as a step in the right direction while the Samajwadi Party has termed it a ‘divisive’ move, aimed at creating ‘animosity’ in society.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who reached the Assembly, this morning told reporters that the legislation should be welcomed as this would act as a ‘deterrent’ against such practices.

BJP leader Mohsin Raza said that the law, when amended, will help greatly in tackling illegal religious conversions as many ‘love jihad’ cases have emerged where impersonators marry a girl by hiding their identity and then force her to convert.

“If any impersonator plays with the life of your daughter, why shouldn’t the culprit be held accountable? If an imposter marries any girl by hiding his identity and with malicious intent, why can’t such people be brought to book,” asked the BJP leader.

Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, slammed the Yogi Adityanath government for brining amendments in the existing laws regarding ‘love jihad’ and said that it nothing but negative politics and motivated by the BJP’s ‘aversion’ towards a particular community.

SP leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand in a video message said, “UP has already a law on love jihad. If someone traps someone in his/her love trap with some motive, then there is a law for it but the BJP only wants to do negative politics. It does not want to do anything about unemployment and paper leak.”

UP BJP leader Mohsin Raza also hit out at the Opposition parties for ‘smelling a conspiracy’ in the proposed law.

“A strict regulation is required to put an end to such practises. The BJP believes in ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas.’ It’s unfortunate that the Opposition finds it communal and discriminatory. Their opposition to the ordinance is driven by their appeasement policy towards a certain religion,” Mohsin Raza pointed out.

As per the existing law, the punishment for such cases of an imposter marrying someone with a concealed identity ranges from one to ten years while religious conversions done only for marriage are held invalid.

When the ‘revised’ law comes into force, the guilty will be subjected to life imprisonment. The amendment is likely to be passed in the Assembly by voice vote on August 2, as per reports.

— IANS

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Jammu, July 30 (IANS) After suspicious movement was noticed on Tuesday, the security forces started a search operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

Officials said that a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) was started after information was received about the movement of two terrorists in a remote village in the district.

The two armed suspects, reportedly dressed in black were seen moving in the Salampura village near Dehra Ki Gali late Monday night.

“Police assisted by the Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF launched a joint operation immediately after getting the information. The suspected militants were seen moving towards the lower Pangai area. The search operation is underway. But there has been no contact with the suspected terrorists so far,” officials said here.

“The security forces also launched a search operation at Sanai, Jangal, Pattan and adjoining villages in the Surankote area of Poonch, and the Bangar-Saroor forest in the Drabshalla area of Kishtwar district this morning,” the officials further said.

Army has already deployed over 4,000 soldiers, including highly trained elite commandos and those trained in mountain warfare, to eradicate terrorists from the hilly districts of the Jammu division.

The step was taken after reports of a group of 40-50 hardcore foreign terrorists operating in these districts got credibility through ambush attacks carried out in Kathua, Doda, Reasi, Poonch and Rajouri.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Slamming Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s reaction to the Union Budget, Union Commerce and Industry Minsiter Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the country has moved from “Fragile Five” under the UPA government to “Top Five” in the BJP-led NDA government.

Stressing that the UPA government never talked about uplifting the poor, the Union Minister said in the Parliament that the BJP-led NDA government “inherited one of the most fragile economies”.

Attacking Congress leader P. Chidambaram, Minister Goyal said that in 2004, the former Finance Minister had said he “inherited a strong economy”.

“At that time, the growth rate was over eight per cent, inflation was around four per cent, and foreign exchange reserves were robust, compared to the size of the economy at that point of time. What did the UPA do in the 10 years when they were in government?” asked the Commerce Minister.

Minister Goyal said he read 10 speeches of the UPA government and never “once has there been a mention of bringing in a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP)” for crops.

“Never once did they speak about trying to uplift the poor by giving them free homes,” the minister added.

India’s ascent from the ‘Fragile Five’ to the fastest-growing major economy has lessons for other developing countries.

The country is now being hailed as the emerging superpower of the 21st century.

India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy with GDP crossing $5 trillion, and the goal is now to reach a $30 trillion economy by 2047 with a per capita income of $18,000 per annum, according to a key NITI Aayog document.

–IANS

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Chennai, July 30 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government has stepped up vigil at the bathing ghats in delta districts of the state for the upcoming ‘Aadi Perukku’ as the water release from the Mettur dam has increased.

Aadi Perukku is a Tamil monsoon festival held on the 18th day of Tamil Aadi month, and this year it falls on Saturday (August 3).

The festival has several rituals to be done on the banks of the rivers.

The release of water from the Mettur dam is to affect the delta districts of Thanjavur, Myladuthurai, Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Ariyalur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.

The district administration has increased the police presence on the river banks to prevent devotees from taking a dip during the heavy flow of water in the rivers during the Aadi Perukku festival.

The Stanley Reservoir in Mettur was opened on Sunday after heavy rain in the catchment areas of the Cauvery river in Karnataka led to water flow into Metttur dam. On Monday, at 8 p.m., the water level in the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur stood at 118 ft, just 2 feet short of its maximum capacity of 120 ft.

As the water level crossed 118 feet at 8 p.m. on Monday, authorities increased the discharge for delta irrigation from 12,000 cusecs to 23,000 cusecs from Sunday evening.

However, the dam was not opened on the customary date of June 12 as the storage level was low.

Meanwhile, the farmers of these delta districts have urged officials to prioritise filling lakes and tanks before allowing excess water to flow into the Cauvery river and eventually into the sea.

P. Viswanathan, state president of the Tamil Nadu Tank and River Irrigation Farmers’ Association, in a statement on Tuesday, demanded that the 935 lakes in delta districts be filled first.

He emphasised the importance of using all water bodies for storing Cauvery water and ensuring the timely availability of quality paddy seeds.

The farmers’ leader also said that in 2023, heavy losses occurred due to poor-quality seeds sold by private agencies.

He said, “Officials should ensure that all farmers receive quality seeds and crop loans without having to run from pillar to post.”

Deputy secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, Kavandampatti R Subramanian, in a statement said that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has fixed a certain quantum of water that should be released into the Cauvery every month.

He came out strongly against the Karnataka government for “using Tamil Nadu as a drainage area” by releasing excess water into the river during flood-like situations, in addition to the mandatory monthly release.

The farmer leader said that the Tamil Nadu government should raise this issue with the Cauvery Water Management Committee (CWMC), insisting that the excess water should not be counted as part of the mandatory release.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal on Tuesday expressed his condolences to the families of the victims who died in Wayanad landslides.

Over 40 people were killed in a massive landslide that occurred at Churalpara in Kerala’s Wayanad on Tuesday at around 2 a.m.

Taking to the microblogging site X, the Congress MP said, “I am devastated by the news of landslides in Wayanad which have killed and injured so many people. My condolences to the families of the victims, and I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

“We are constantly monitoring the situation and urge all UDF workers to assist the authorities in relief efforts in full measure. LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ji has spoken to the Kerala CM and the Wayanad DC to address this at the earliest. We also spoke to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh ji, who has given us positive assurance about providing necessary relief assistance,” Venugopal added.

The Congress leader further said that they have also requested the Centre and the Kerala Government to ensure search and rescue operations are carried out on a war footing to prevent any further loss of life.

Earlier, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also conveyed his condolences to the families affected by the landslides.

In a post on his X handle, he said, “I am deeply anguished by the massive landslides near Meppadi in Wayanad. My heartfelt condolences go out to the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones. I hope those still trapped are brought to safety soon.”

–IANS

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