PTI, New Delhi, Jun 13, 2024 : Ajit Doval, one of India’s most celebrated spymasters, has been part of many key decisions taken by the Modi government in its first and second terms as the country’s National Security Adviser (NSA).
He was on Thursday re-appointed as the NSA for a record third term, the government said in an order. With more than 10 years in the job, he is the longest serving NSA.
Doval (79) holds over 33 years of extensive experience in the field including Northeast, Sikkim, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir region.
A master of spycraft, he spent over six years in Pakistan also, official sources said.
Doval spearheaded the operations wing of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) — the country’s internal security intelligence agency — for a long time.
He also founded the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), which came into force after the 2001 standoff with Pakistan. The MAC is a counterterrorism grid under the aegis of IB, they said.
A 1968-batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre, Doval retired as chief of Intelligence Bureau (IB) in 2005.
He was appointed as the NSA for the first time on May 30, 2014 and re-appointed for another term from May 31, 2019.
With this fresh term, Doval becomes the first NSA to be appointed for three consecutive terms.
During his first tenure, Doval is believed to have played a pivotal role in the 2016 surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Uri terror attack.
He has also been widely hailed for his contribution in the national security domain, including his role during the Balakot air strike after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019.
Doval, known as one of the best operational brains in intelligence circles, was one of the main negotiators from India with the hijackers of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar in 1999.
Born in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand on January 20, 1945, Doval received his education in Delhi, Ajmer and in Agra, they said.
Having the distinction of being the first police officer who received the Kirti Chakra, a military gallantry honour, Doval will be providing his deep insight about the threats faced by the country from within and outside.
He was awarded the honour in 1988 for conducting anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and bringing Mizo insurgent leader Laldenga to the negotiating table by winning over six of his seven commanders.
Doval had also clandestinely entered Myanmar and China to break the dominance of Mizo insurgent outfit, the sources said.
Widely recognised for his clear insight into and vision on Indian and global security issues, he has been actively participating at different fora at home and abroad on strengthening the Indian security apparatus and forging closer cooperation among security forces globally.
PTI, Gangtok, 14 June 2024 : At least six people were killed and 1,500-odd tourists stranded as massive landslides triggered by incessant rainfall caused devastation in northern Sikkim’s Mangan district, officials said on Thursday.
A newly-constructed bailey bridge at Sangkalang collapsed snapping the link between Mangan with Dzongu and Chungthang. Landslides blocked stretches of roads and several houses were inundated or damaged, while electricity poles were swept away, they said.
Towns such as Dzongu, Chungthang, Lachen, and Lachung in Mangan district known for popular tourist spots like Gurudongmar Lake and Yunthang Valley have now been cut off from the rest of the country.
Three persons each died in Pakshep and Ambhithang villages,” Mangan District Magistrate Hem Kumar Chettri said.
A number of houses were damaged in Geythang and Nampathang. A relief camp has been set up at Pakshep for the displaced people, Chettri said.
The district magistrate also held a meeting with other officials to take stock of the situation following the incessant rainfall in and around Mangan District since Wednesday night and instructed them to carryout rescue and relief works.
Mobile network services were affected in North Sikkim even as a request was made by the district administration to send an SDRF team with ration to Mangan, the officials said.
PTI, New Delhi, Jun 13, 2024 : Amid a raging row over the NEET-UG examination, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday it has cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses. They will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for loss of time.
Refusing to stall the counselling for NEET-UG, 2024, scheduled to commence from July 6, the top court made it clear that the admission of successful candidates to medical colleges and other institutions will be subject to the outcome of the petitions which have sought reliefs like cancellation of the examination held on May 5 on grounds of question paper leak and other malpractices.
A vacation bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta termed as “fairly reasonable” the decision to cancel the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates
on the recommendation of a panel set up to look into the grievances voiced by the petitioners.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the all India pre-medical entrance test.
At the outset, lawyer Kanu Agarwal, appearing for the Centre and the NTA, said the committee set up to look into the grievances decided on June 12 to “allay the fears of the students”. It was of the view that the grace marks be withdrawn and replaced with an option of re-test for these candidates which will be conducted on June 23. A notification to this effect will be issued during the day.
He said the committee was of the view that the award of grace marks on grounds of loss of time while taking the test resulted in a “skewed situation” as it had to be limited only to the questions that remained un-attempted.
After examining all aspects, the panel concluded that it would be appropriate to recommend cancellation of scorecards of these beneficiary candidates.
“According to the recommendations, it has been suggested that the score-cards of the affected 1563 candidates issued on June 4, 2024 will stand cancelled and withdrawn. These affected 1563 candidates will be informed of their actual scores without compensatory marks. Further, re-examination will be conducted for the affected 1563 candidates.
“The results of the affected candidates who do not wish to appear for the re-examination will be declared on their actual marks without compensation obtained by them in the examination held on May 5, 2024 and the marks obtained by the candidates who will appear in the retest will be considered and their marks based on the examination held on May 5, 2024 will be discarded,” the bench noted in the order.
The results of the re-test will be declared on June 30 and the counselling for admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other courses will start on July 6, the Centre said.
Lawyer J Sai Deepak, appearing for Alakh Pandey, the chief executive of EdTech firm ‘Physics Wallah’, assailed the random award of grace marks and said the option of re-test be given to all those students who could not approach the court alleging loss of time.
The bench declined the plea saying that it cannot expand the scope of the case to those who had not approached the court.
The bench issued notices to the Centre and the NTA on three petitions and tagged them with the pending pleas. It said they all will be taken up together on July 8 after the summer vacation.
Pandey has assailed the alleged random award of grace marks to over 1,500 candidates and urged the top court to set up an expert panel under its supervision to “enquire into the examination process and results of NEET (UG) 2024.”
He has, in his plea filed through lawyer Rohit Jain, the managing partner of law firm ‘Singhania & Co’, also sought a direction to the expert panel he has mooted “to come up with improvement in the process of conducting NEET examination and without hampering the interest of the other students”.
Another petition filed by Abdullah Mohammed Faiz and Dr. Shaik Roshan Mohiddin sought recall of the NEET-UG 2024 results and conduct of a fresh exam over allegations of paper leak and other malpractices.
The third plea, filed by NEET-UG aspirant Jaripiti Kartheek challenged the award of grace marks as compensation for alleged loss of time during the exam.
The examination was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates took it. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced on June 4, apparently because the evaluation of the answer sheets got completed earlier.
The allegations have led to protests in several cities and filing of cases in seven high courts as also the Supreme Court. Scores of students protested in Delhi on June 10 seeking a probe into alleged irregularities.
As many as 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA’s history, with six from a centre in Haryana’s Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about irregularities. It has been alleged that grace marks contributed to 67 students sharing the top rank.
The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
The parking lot, sources said, is coming up in the Ninth Mile area of Kalimpong town. It was taken up in 2013 with a project cost of ₹17 crore but remained unfinished for years because of encroachment. Till 2018, only the ground floor of the proposed three-storied structure had been built
Bireswar Banerjee, TT, Kalimpong, 13.06.24 : In Kalimpong, vehicles are parked on the roadside. As a result, four-wheelers move at a snail’s pace, particularly during rush hours.
In Kalimpong, vehicles are parked on the roadside. As a result, four-wheelers move at a snail’s pace, particularly during rush hours.: File picture
The Kalimpong civic administration has said the construction of a multi-level car parking arena here is almost complete and the facility will be inaugurated in a few months.
“As of now, construction of the ramps is in progress. It will end in a couple of months and we have plans to open the space in September. The parking area will accommodate around 200 four-wheelers and an equal number of two-wheelers,” Ravi Pradhan, the chairman of the board of administrators (BoA) at the Kalimpong municipality, said.
The parking lot, sources said, is coming up in the Ninth Mile area of Kalimpong town. It was taken up in 2013 with a project cost of ₹17 crore but remained unfinished for years because of encroachment. Till 2018, only the ground floor of the proposed three-storied structure had been built.
This made the civic body and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) intervene. They took the task of providing houses to eight families who were staying at the proposed site.
The civic body has also identified some other spots in different locations of the town where new parking lots can be developed for smooth traffic in the town.
In Kalimpong, vehicles are parked on the roadside. As a result, four-wheelers move at a snail’s pace, particularly during rush hours.
Sanchita Aich Bag, MP, 12 June 2024, Siliguri: Firhad Hakim, minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Government of West Bengal and TMC leader expressed concern over the Lok Sabha election results in North Bengal.
He stated that the BJP has been manipulating people of North Bengal, especially those living in hills. The minister, on a tour of North Bengal, visited offices of Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) and Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday where he held meetings with the SJDA Chairman and SMC Mayor.
Talking to mediapersons, Hakim stated: “Papiya did a good job in North Bengal but BJP is misleading the people of North Bengal, especially in the Hills. While BJP has lost in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram, it is politics in the name of religion in North Bengal. Actually, hoodwinking is a practice that the BJP has been using on innocent people. However, many people have now realised their conspiracy thereby resulting in the dip in the margin of votes this election,” said the minister talking to mediapersons during his visit to the SJDA office in Siliguri.
“All the development work in the hills has been done by our Chief Minister. The BJP has not done anything. Every time before the election, Gurung’s party arrives on the scene and manipulates the people.
People of hills are being used for political gains,” he added. Hakim also suggested that Sourav Chakraborty, the chairman of SJDA, expand the jurisdiction of the SJDA along with focussing on green development by preserving nature.
From SJDA, the minister visited the SMC office. There Mayor Gautam Deb and Tshering Y. Bhutia, Commissioner of SMC requested for funds for several ongoing works of the SMC. Hakim assured of all necessary help.
Meanwhile, he advised the Trinamool Congress councillors to focus on public participation in development works. “People’s participation is one of the most important factors but they deeply rely on councillors. Councillors are the only entities who can connect with the people at the grassroots level.
Every councillor should involve people in all the development projects that are being undertaken in their wards. This will result in residents supporting the councillor and the councillor will never lose an election,” Hakim added.
Tshering Y Bhutia, Commissioner, requested the minister to sanction a fund of Rs 15 crore for the renovation work of Kanchenjunga Stadium.
She also requested him to sanction funds for the work of elevated corridor near Mahananda River which will cost about Rs 250 to 300 crore; work of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) 1; AMRUT 3 project; new building for the SMC and river cleaning work.
The minister asked the SMC to install a biochemical waste management plant using their resources.
MP, 12 June 2024, Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee advocated zero-tolerance against illegal occupying of government land and directed the administration to take immediate measures for freeing such land.
Banerjee, while chairing her first administrative meeting after the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday at Nabanna, sought a report from all government departments about respective lands belonging to them and ordered that if any such land is found to be illegally occupied, the police should take action and return it to the respective departments.
All ministers in her Cabinet, department heads and the district magistrates too were virtually present in the meeting.
The majority of the government departments have some quantity of land under them but in a good number of cases, due to lack of surveillance, such lands are being grabbed.
Sources said when a senior official of the Food Processing and Horticulture department (FPI&H) raised the issue of their land for the food processing hub at Bamanghata in Bhangar being illegally encroached upon, Banerjee ordered Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goel to take immediate measures for freeing the land.
The FPI & H department will set up a food processing unit– the first of its kind in the state at the government level at Bamanghata.
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will be executing the project which will have a four-storey building providing space for small food processing units and a market for processed food and vegetables.
It is learnt that the Chief Minister’s office (CMO) in the recent past has received complaints related to illegal occupation of land and in some cases, allegations have surfaced that the character of land has also been altered.
MP, 12 June 2024, Kolkata: Taking into account the allegations of post-poll violence and “apathy” of the state police administration in not tackling the situation, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that the Central Force deployment in the state should continue till June 21.
Two PILs were filed by the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP leader Priyanka Tibrewal regarding safety, security, protection and the prevention of the violence.
In one of the PIL, prayer was made to extend Central Force deployment to ensure peace and safety while the other alleged inaction by state police administration in taking steps in several complaints filed through e-mail.
The Vacation Bench of Justice Kausik Chanda and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray had earlier directed both the state police and Central Forces deployed in the state by the Election Commission of India to take steps to safeguard the lives and property of victims based on complaints filed through e-mail addresses.
The Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya on Wednesday directed the state to file a comprehensive report on/or before June 14 disclosing the actions and steps taken upon the complaints made through e-mail.
Launched by the British in 1881 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, popularly called the toy train, is famous for joy rides and draws thousands of tourists
Pramod Giri, THT, 12 June 2024, Siliguri: A 16-year-old boy died under the wheels of a toy train at Kurseong in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Wednesday afternoon, officials said, adding that this was the third death of its kind since March 2022.
The deceased was identified as Surya Routh, a resident of Kurseong’s Dak Bungalow area, police said. He was declared dead on arrival at the local sub-divisional hospital.
A police official, who requested anonymity, said, “Surya was standing on the platform when the train, which was going from Darjeeling to New Jalpaiguri, rolled in. The boy somehow fell on the tracks and the train dragged him for some distance although the driver had applied the brakes immediately.”
Launched by the British in 1881 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, popularly called the toy train, is famous for joy rides and draws thousands of tourists.
“Since the train runs slowly many people tend to ignore the fact that it is a machine and can pose danger as well,” a railway official said on condition of anonymity.
On June 6, a woman named Sita Routh was hit by a train near St Anthony School on the outskirts of Kurseong. She is admitted to a hospital, officials said.
On February 13 last year, a 70-year-old man, Khadga Bahadur Tamang, a resident of Tindharia Tea Estate, died after he was hit by a train.
On March 28, 2022, a man died after he was run over while crossing the tracks at Dagapur on the outskirts of Siliguri.
Editorial, EOI, 12 June 2024 : The congratulatory message of Darjeeling M.P. Raju Bista to Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang on the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony of the latter that people of Darjeeling and Sikkim are blood brothers is highly true.
Historically, the hills of Sikkim Darjeeling had been bound by the same umbilical cord that got separated in 1835 when the British obtained the title over the Darjeeling hills from the Chogyal of Sikkim to set up a health resort.
But there are numerous other ties between the two neighboring hill regions which it is not possible to severe.
One of the most important of them is the infrastructure. When a landslide occurs, for instance, on National Highway 10, Sikkim and Darjeeling suffer equally badly. The landslide near Singtam on Tuesday morning, for instance, had rendered the highway impassable, leading to extensive traffic disruptions and severe inconvenience for commuters.
There was a massive traffic jam, with the queue of vehicles extending to several kilometers. Though the disruption was in Sikkim, the impact was felt in the neighbouring West Bengal district of Kalimpong as well.
Equally, when a landslide on N.H. 10 occurs in some of the vulnerable stretches of the road in the Kalimpong district of West Bengal, commuters from Sikkim going to Siliguri to catch a train, a bus or a flight get equally caught in the disruption.
The disruption caused by the downpour in the Pakyong sub-division, too, affected the traffic flow from Sikkim to the Pedong area of Kalimpong. When the Elevated Highway Corridor from Balason to Sevoke Army Cantonment comes up, it will speed up the flow of traffic to Sikkim as well as the Kalimpong hills of West Bengal.
If the setting up of this road infrastructure attracts investments to north Bengal, both Sikkim and Darjeeling will also enjoy some benefits.
The on-going improvements in this road infrastructure will also increase the tourist flow to the hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim.
When the Buddha Air of Nepal begins its flight operations between Pakyong Airport and Kathmandu and Pakyong, it will help the people of Sikkim and Darjeeling equally. For, many people travel between Nepal and Sikkim and Darjeelng frequently and they have to undergo similar difficulties either by availing the land border between India and Nepal at Kakarvitta or circuitous routes when travelling by air.
For people of Darjeeling and Kalimpong it may be a shorter journey to Pakyong to take a flight than to Bagdogra.
At another level, the demand for recognition of the left-out Gorkha communities as scheduled tribes touches the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim equally; though in the case of Darjeeling it is 11 communities while in the case of Sikkim it is 12. When the Centre agrees to accept this demand, it may have to make it a package deal for Darjeeling and Sikkim.
For, the communities in question are the same and when their demand is accepted in Darjeeling it cannot be ignored in the case of Sikkim.
The two regions had got separated because of historical reasons and it may not be possible to reverse that reality because history, too, has its own momentum. But it is sure the hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim will share their joys and sorrows together
PTI, JUNE 12, 2024 : The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education on Wednesday asked state-run and state-aided educational institutions to tailor school hours due to scorching heat prevailing in most parts of the state.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, referring to a communique from the school education department on June 11, stated in its advisory that upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools can collaborate with “stakeholders” to adjust school hours without disrupting the academic calendar and mid-day meal programme.
The advisory emphasised the importance of considering “weather conditions” in their respective areas while making such decisions, WBBSE deputy secretary Rhitabrata Chatterjee said.
Cities and districts of south Bengal, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Purnba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Badhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Nadia, have been experiencing hot and humid weather with temperatures ranging between 35 and 40 degree Celsius.
Although the advisory did not specifically mention any particular zone, a school education department official clarified that the communique aimed to address the difficulties faced by children attending classes in the extreme heat, often leading to illness.
The official further explained that many primary and upper primary schools had already adjusted their class schedules to morning hours.
“Many primary and upper primary schools have already rescheduled classes in the morning hours. We have enabled every institute, even at secondary and higher secondary level, to tweak class hours according to their convenience for the benefit of students and teaching/non-teaching staff till the weather condition improves,” the official added.
PTI, New Delhi, Jun 12, 2024 : The Congress on Wednesday claimed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has become “irrelevant” and said the Constitution, democracy and society do not need the Sangh or its chief Mohan Bhagwat as they can protect themselves.
The opposition party’s assertion came after Bhagwat’s remarks on a host of issues, including on the Manipur violence and the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Congress’ media and publicity head Pawan Khera said, “Mohan Bhagwat ji, you reap what you sow. The fault is not of the soil, the fault is of the gardener.”
“When farmers were facing the wrath of the weather and police just outside the capital, you were silent. When a Dalit girl was raped and murdered in Hathras, you were silent. When the rapists of Bilkis Bano were released and your ideological brothers welcomed them, you were silent. When Dalits were being urinated upon, you were silent. When Pehlu Khan and Akhlaq were killed, you were silent. When Kanhaiya Lal’s killers’ links with the BJP were exposed, you were silent,” Khera said of Bhagwat.
“Your silence and Narendra Modi have made you and the Sangh irrelevant. You’ve been made irrelevant by Amit Shah and the BJP. Your last chance was when the BJP leaders were talking about changing the Constitution, you should have spoken out but you remained silent,” the Congress leader said.
“What is the use of speaking now?” Khera added.
The Constitution, democracy and this society does not need the RSS or Bhagwat as they can “protect and reboot” themselves, he asserted.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also hit out at Bhagwat and posted on X a Hindi couplet by Kabir — “‘Karta raha so kyon kiya, ab kari kyon pachtaye, boye pedh babool ka, amua kahan se paye’ (loosely translating to ‘you shall reap what you shall sow’).”
Bhagwat had on Monday expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur even after one year and said the situation in the strife-torn north eastern state must be considered with priority.
Addressing a gathering of the RSS trainees at the concluding programme of organisation’s ‘Karyakarta Vikas Varg- Dwitiya’ at the Dr Hedgewar Smriti Bhavan premises in Reshimbagh in Nagpur, he said the conflict in various places and in the society is not good.
Bhagwat stressed on unity among all communities in the country, which he said was very diverse though people understand it is one and not separate.
He emphasised the need to get over with election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation.
Speaking about the recently held Lok Sabha polls, Bhagwat said the results were out and a government had been formed so unnecessary talk on what and how it happened etc. can be avoided.
The RSS does not get involved in such discussions of “kaise hua, kya hua”, he said, adding that the organisation only does its duty of creating awareness on the need to vote.
Bhagwat stressed on the need for consensus between the ruling side and the opposition so that work for common good (of the masses) can be carried out.
There are always two sides in an election but there should be dignity about not resorting to lies to win, the RSS chief asserted.
Lies were spread using technology (an apparent reference to deepfakes etc.), he added.
PTI, New Delhi, Jun 12, 2024 : Around 40 Indians were killed and over 50 injured in a devastating fire that broke out at dawn in a building housing around 195 migrant workers in southern Kuwait’s Mangaf area, officials said on Wednesday.
The total number of people killed in the Al-Mangaf building is 49 and 42 of them are learnt to be Indians; the remaining ones are Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals, they said.
“In an unfortunate and tragic fire incident earlier today in a Labour housing facility in Mangaf area of Kuwait, around 40 Indians are understood to have died and over 50 injured,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement late on Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described the incident as “saddening”, reviewed the situation at a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra and Principal Secretary to PM PK Mishra among others.
Following the meeting, the prime minister announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased Indian nationals from the PM Relief Fund and directed that the government should extend all possible assistance.
External Affairs Minister spoke to his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya on phone and urged him for the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those killed.
“Spoke to Kuwaiti FM Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya on the fire tragedy in Kuwait. Apprised of the efforts made by Kuwaiti authorities in that regard. Was assured that the incident would be fully investigated and that responsibility will be fixed,” Jaishankar said on ‘X’.
“Urged the early repatriation of the mortal remains of those who lost their lives. He emphasized that those injured were getting the requisite medical attention,” he said.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh is urgently travelling to Kuwait following a direction from PM Modi to oversee assistance to Indians injured in the fire and to ensure early repatriation of mortal remains of those killed.
The officials cited above said most of the Indian victims are from Kerala.
“The fire mishap in Kuwait City is saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. The Indian Embassy in Kuwait is closely monitoring the situation and working with the authorities there to assist the affected,” Modi said on ‘X’.
In its statement, the MEA said the Indian embassy in the Gulf nation is ascertaining the full details from the Kuwaiti authorities.
“Those injured are presently admitted in five government hospitals (Adan, Jaber, Farwaniya, Mubarak Al Kabeer and Jahra) in Kuwait and receiving proper medical care and attention,” it said.
“According to hospital authorities, most of the admitted patients are stable,” it said.
Following the incident, Ambassador of India in Kuwait Adarsh Swaika immediately visited the incident site and also the hospitals to ascertain the welfare of the Indian nationals.
“The embassy continues to coordinate with local authorities to assist Indian nationals who have been injured in this unfortunate incident and extend all possible support. The embassy is receiving full cooperation from the Kuwaiti authorities,” the MEA said.
“Our Embassy in Kuwait continues to remain in touch with local authorities to provide relief to those affected. The Embassy has established a helpline +965-65505246 (WhatsApp and regular call) for family members to get in touch,” it said.
The fire in Al-Mangaf building was reported to authorities in Al-Ahmadi governorate at 4.30 am and most of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation, Kuwaiti media reported, adding the fire started in a kitchen.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry in a statement confirmed that the death toll reached 49.
Construction firm NBTC group rented the building for the stay of more than 195 workers, most of them Indians from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and northern states, the Kuwaiti media said.
The NBTC group is partly owned by an Indian, officials said.
Kuwait’s Interior Ministry said criminal evidence department personnel are currently working on identifying the victims and revealing the cause of the fire.
It said strict measures will be taken against building owners who violate laid down norms.
“Unfortunately, we received a report of a fire at… exactly 6:00 am (0300 GMT) in the Mangaf area,” Major General Eid Al-Owaihan, head of the Interior Ministry’s General Department of Criminal Evidence said.
Kuwait’s health ministry said the injured were admitted to several hospitals, with 21 of them sent to Al-Adan Hospital, six to Farwaniya Hospital, one to Al-Amiri and 11 to Mubarak Hospital.
“Amb @AdarshSwaika visited the Al-Adan hospital where over 30 Indian workers injured in today’s fire incident have been admitted. He met a number of patients and assured them of full assistance from the Embassy,” the Indian embassy said on ‘X’.
“Almost all are reported to be stable by hospital authorities,” it said.
The Indian embassy said it is in touch with Kuwaiti law enforcement authorities, fire service and health department for necessary action.
Interior Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah ordered an investigation into the fire incident and issued directions to apprehend the owner and janitor of Al-Mangaf building.
“What happened today is a result of the greed of the company and building owners,” Al-Sabah was quoted as saying by Kuwait Times.
June 12, 2024 : The 2024 national elections braked India’s slide into authoritarianism but did not halt it. The Narendra Modi-led Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 240 of 543 parliamentary seats even as, diminished by voter pushback, the BJP lost 63 seats. Failing to secure the requisite 272-seat majority, Modi forfeited the ability to command a solely BJP national government. Reliant on partners in the seemingly unsteady National Democratic Alliance (NDA), on June 9, Modi assumed office as prime minister of India for a third term.
On June 4, in his victory speech, Modi underscored the religionisation of state and government, rallying: “Bharat Mata ki [Jai]” (Hail to Mother India), a slogan promoted by Hindu nationalists. Bharat Mata, the nation as goddess, objectifies and feminises the state wherein control over women is critical to nationalist assertion. Bharat Mata is associated with Akhand Bharat (undivided India), the delusive once-future homeland of Hindus.
Modi spoke of Odisha and the BJP’s sweep of the 2024 elections, taking 20 of 21 seats. Commending the state’s excellent performance, Modi extolled that, for the first time, the land of the “great god Jagannath” would install a BJP chief minister. A male Odishan tribal figure, Jagannath has been deified, Hinduised, as a manifestation of the deity Krishna.
Modi omitted to note the BJP’s downturn, focusing instead on the exceptionalism of a third consecutive win, stating, “In the third term, the country will write a new chapter of big decisions, and this is Modi’s guarantee,” continuing, “the NDA government will put a lot of emphasis on uprooting all kinds of corruption.” The reference to eradicating corruption was incongruous, given the BJP’s reported recent collusion in the electoral bonds scandal.
The NDA secured a majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha, with support from BJP partners, Telugu Desam (TD), Janata Dal (United), and the ultranationalist Shiv Sena. Modi’s allies include incoming Andhra Pradesh chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, of TD. Following initial criticism of Modi in 2002 relating to the Gujarat pogrom, Naidu had acquiesced to the BJP leadership. In Delhi, in 2024, the BJP won all seven seats, lost 14 seats in Maharashtra, lost six seats in West Bengal, gained one seat each in Chhattisgarh and Kerala, and secured nine of 14 seats in Assam. Considering the 2019 revocation of Article 370 and India’s continued siege on Kashmir, what does it mean for Kashmiris to have the BJP secure 2 of 5 seats in the 2024 elections?
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP lost 29 seats. Modi had consecrated the temple in Ayodhya in January on the wreckage of Babri Masjid, a momentous marker for the Hindu Nation. To do so, land was appropriated from local communities, while BJP policies disaffected Muslim, Dalit, and other caste-oppressed groups, impacting electoral decisions against the party.
People attending Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, 2023. Photo: X (Twitter)/BJP4India.
Speech-Acts
Between 2014 and 2024, Narendra Modi’s words sought to remake India. The speeches attest to Prime Minister Modi’s unrestrained power within his government to reconfigure a gigantic electorate. Modi’s words conjured a world wherein aggrieved Hindus across India may believe in his salvific power to lead India to glory. Modi’s speeches – fervent, narcissistic, significant – became the locus of engagement between him and his “subjects”. Modi’s domineering oratory marshalled crowds, turning his government’s repeated incapacity and misconduct into grievances against those who critique and oppose his positions, his party, and its ideological and political agenda.
Innumerable speech-encounters between Modi and his subjects were formative in delivering India for the Hindu Nation in 2014 and 2019. His rallies were thronged with people, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands. His speeches extended the illusion of intimacy between him and the people while simultaneously reflecting the rising grandeur and drama of his role. Modi spoke to Hindus as a people, a unitary collective. He narrativised political messaging to create fear. The Prime Minister used speech-acts to ostensibly command, convey, scold, accuse, threaten, pledge, endorse, educate, amass, convince, mobilise, and govern. A vortex of emotions and meanings, catalysed to emit strength, induce behaviours, and exhort masses of people.
How have Modi’s obfuscations of state power misled the public? In 2023, the Indian Penal Code (IPC, 1860) was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS, Indian Justice Code), effective July 1, 2024. Modi termed it: “A watershed moment in our history…the end of colonial-era laws. A new era begins with laws centred on public service and welfare.” In actuality, the BNS broadens the definition of terrorist actions beyond what the extreme Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) encompasses, curtails freedoms, targets political opponents and dissent, and criminalises “intentions” and “feelings”.
Modi’s speeches and appearances, carefully crafted, fashion an iconography of allure and invincibility. The deification of Modi, an elected leader, has been self-purposed to induce attachment and ecstatic merger between Modi’s aura and people’s aspirations. Modi presents himself as the spiritual force able to realise people’s yearnings. Modi professes to stand for India’s fulfilment. To those who feel powerless, he bestows the promise of power. To those who feel belittled, he bestows the promise of pride. To those who feel wronged, he bestows the promise of retribution. To oppose Modi, the leader, therefore, is to betray the nation. To unite with the leader promises the achievement of greatness.
The intensity of the speech-encounters between Modi and his Hindu subjects has become the performative mechanism for creating a shared social world for his acolytes that simultaneously serves to exclude “Others”. Stronger than the sum of its making, this habitus has repeatedly inflamed Hindutva adherents to vengeance and redemption. Violence is promoted as a form of personal and national purification.
On May 26, in a televised interview, Modi stated that “Parmatma [god] sent me for a purpose…I have completely dedicated myself to god.” In asserting that his presence on earth as divinely ordained, does Modi see himself as a messiah incarnate? Was Modi seeking to imply that his grip on India’s prime ministership is without end?
Like others before him, Modi relies on repetition to orate the import of an idea and stir an audience. His words codify national enemies, seek to mobilise, and expand Hindutva’s base, and guide “ordinary people” away from the disarray in the political and economic life of the country. In the time of social media, these exhortations reverberate, amplified through platforms such as WhatsApp and X, rendering Modi omnipresent across India.
Fascistic collusions
Modi has been vigorously supported by henchmen, old cronies who helped deliver the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 and newer disciples of the current regime. His calls to action were repeatedly prolonged by Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati/Giri, and others. A wave of emergent front runners responded, using virulent speech, even calls to genocidal violence, to gain prominence and contend for power within the party’s hierarchy. Repeatedly, the prime minister failed to call them to order.
Taken together, the Hindutva leadership’s sinister and public vilification of minorities, the political opposition, dissenters, and “seditious” Hindus; comprehensive engineering of social facts; and demagoguery have reified fascistic Hinduism and architectured its manifesto. Most distressing is how this massive and malicious enterprise has found deep resonance among millions and millions of people of dominant descent in India. Irrespective of social conditions, such predilection is not a given and cannot be normalised. It is the dangerous outcome of the collision between authoritarian rulers and majoritarian desires, built upon the fault lines of an inveterate casteist, classist, gender oppressed, and segregated society.
The Hindu Sena, one of Hindutva organisations which filed the intervention application in the case seeking a probe into hate speeches by Muslim leaders. Photo: Facebook/HinduSenuOfficial
Hindu nationalists have used hate speech to provoke grassroots proponents and fence-sitters, using hostile messaging to proliferate political institutions and social media and target opponents, media, and vulnerable communities. The BJP-led government routinely exploited dishonest speech, illiberal governance, and toxic masculinity to militarise the state and massify the Hindu Right’s cadre. Hindu nationalist leaders manipulated the escalating participation of Hindutva-inclined civil society into colossal, riotous actions to exact retribution and discipline voters. Many who did not actively participate, acquiesced through silence.
In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state of over 250 million, 19% of whom are Muslims, the BJP’s 2024 losses also attest to voter concern regarding incumbent head of state, Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu nationalist hardliner. Adityanath has directed various campaigns to override the rights of Muslims and other vulnerable communities. In a video that surfaced in 2014, he reportedly stated that: “If [Muslims] take one Hindu girl, we’ll take 100 Muslim girls. If they kill one Hindu, we’ll kill 100 Muslims.” Adityanath enabled Hindu right-wing activists to make significant inroads within the state machinery. The National Crime Records Bureau data shows that 23,612 riots were reported in UP from 2017-2019.
The Hindu nationalist sweep of Odisha in the 2024 elections is a contrary case in point. Addressing a series of public events in Odisha, in May 2024, Modi, the prime minister of a constitutionally secular republic, started a meeting by invoking Hindu gods: “Jai Jagannath! Jai Sri Ram!” At another, he claimed that the people had developed a “deep emotional connection” with the BJP. At yet another event, Modi spoke of “unprecedented achievements” to be heralded by his government in the next five years.
In Odisha, Hindutva workers were inspired by the BJP’s coalition with the Biju Janata Dal as early as March 2000. Just before, in August 1999, Sheikh Rahman, a male Muslim garment merchant, was tortured in Padiabeda, Mayurbhanj district, his hands severed, burned to death. Approximately 10 percent of the state’s population was conscripted by Hindutva organisations between 2000 and 2008. Dalits and Adivasis were criminalised for their beliefs, practices, and counter-memory, and refusal to be forcibly assimilated into dominant Hinduism. Adivasis across Odisha were forced to chant, “Garbh se kaho hum Hindu hai” [Say with pride that I am a Hindu] at majoritarian rallies. Dalits who elected to convert to Christianity were brutalised to “return” to Hinduism. Massified violence against Christians of Dalit and Adivasi descent erupted in 2007 and 2008, in continuum with the ferocious targeting of Muslims in the state. The absence of accountability to these events bolstered the BJP’s electoral incursion in Odisha.
Weaponising acrimony
In weaponising majoritarian subjects as agents of hate, the imaginary of India as a Hindu State is fait accompli. In propagating its mandate, between 2014 and 2024, the BJP government sought to amalgamate prejudice with discrimination. State policy and practice focused on the intersections of racism and cultural nationalism. In doing so, Hindu nationalists erected a “deeper state” establishing crime zones and regulated anarchy to fortify structural racism and criminality, and forge robust proximities between Hindu Right cadres and militias, government, and law enforcement.
India’s Muslim communities and cultures are foremost among those fallaciously presented as causal to India’s historical, present, and future malfunctions. Islamomisia and racialisation of Muslims serves to homogenise Hindus as a “race”. Hatred (of Muslims) has been justified based on concocted behaviours (i.e., hypermasculinity) and falsified evidence (i.e., “love jihad”). Fascistic Hinduism, portrayed as patriotic nationalism, became the war to save and fabricate the Hindu Nation, carried out via malevolent operations that polarised and religionised the body politic, like “bulldozer justice,” anti-conversion campaigns, and the prejudicial citizenship experiment privileging Hindus.
Representative image of a bulldozer demolishing a settlement. Photo: By arrangement/File
In Dumka on December 15, 2019, Modi asserted that the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), protests: “were a “conspiracy against the country,” calling protesters “conspiracy makers.” On December 18, 2019, BJP leader Kapil Mishra stated, “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko [Shoot the traitors of the nation, shoot the */derogatory].” On December 22, another BJP leader, Anupam Pandey, reiterated on Facebook Live: “Desh ke gaddaron ko, goli maaro saalon ko.”
Between December 12 and 23, 2019, police fired on civil society dissenters across India who were protesting the ratification of the CAA on December 12, 2019, resulting in the deaths of 25 persons, a majority of whom were Muslim males. On December 24, Mishra recorded a public message, stating, “Will your eyes open up when the fire has reached your homes?” On December 25, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati used slurs against Muslims, labelling them “jihadis” and “pigs.” He described anti-CAA protesters as “enemies,” calling for them to be incarcerated, and should they still not conform, for them to “be sentenced to death.”
In Rajasthan, where the BJP lost 10 seats in the 2024 national elections, Modi had stated in April 2024, that a Congress win would lead to the redistribution of people’s wealth [possessions] among “those who have more children” and to “infiltrators,” reportedly referring to Muslims. In May 2024, in Uttar Pradesh, Modi alleged that the “Congress and the [winning] Samajwadi Party tried to spread lies in the name of CAA. They tried to push Uttar Pradesh and the entire country towards riots.”
The right-wing is still in power
The 2024 elections were not a decisive victory for India’s right-wing and the right-wing is still in power. Upper caste urbanite Hindus reportedly voted for the BJP in large numbers. Dissenting votes were driven by minority and marginalised communities, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs, Adivasis, and their allies. Among and beyond them, millions of wage labourers, farmers, and economically shattered communities–devastated by the government’s policies, discourses, and practices—voted to oust the BJP.
Following his investiture on June 9, Modi proposed to “move forward with new energy and new courage.” Can Modi, who has been politically narcissistic, stabilise a coalition government and keep in power those that have abetted him since Gujarat, such as Home Minister Amit Shah? Among the nerve centre of the Hindu Right, the RSS, and its affiliate organisations, many are disgruntled with Modi, and may seek to assert control. This may engineer a crisis within the ranks of the BJP, and lead to the incurable disempowerment of Narendra Modi and a party governed by his ideals. However, this will not halt the march of Hindu nationalism in India. Rather, it may prompt the Hindu Right to rely upon its grassroots infrastructure to optimise previously deployed and new strategies of mass violence and aggressive social disruption.
The electoral gains by the I.N.D.I.A. alliance reflect immense voter discontent with the BJP’s blatantly despotic policies, securitization, dog whistling that provoked social violence, information insecurity, economic implosions, and democratic backsliding. The political terrain is ideologically discordant. Can the I.N.D.I.A. alliance amend its own frailties, to halt the rightward trend and recuperate India’s democracy?
The majoritarian deluge into the country’s bloodstream has induced disorder and caused extensive damage across the education sector, law and order, judiciary, and development, and will require forceful political and social reform. The decade-long divisive and violent transformation of society heralded by the Modi-led BJP and the Hindu Right has led the onslaught on India’s already conflicted democracy and engineered severe estrangements and alienation between neighbours, communities, and peoples who rely on each other in everyday life. Targeted communities and nonbelievers are ruptured from the impact, which like slow-release poison, has galvanised a savagery that has spread to terrify and destroy life-worlds.
In modern history, authoritarian regimes have been unable to retain their stranglehold on power. But they have often not gone quietly. The longer the Modi regime endures, the more likely will be its desperation to grasp at domination and the more hazardous its actions. For the Modi-led BJP government surely fears that, once dislodged, accountability is to come.
Sources said the incident took place at Uttar Simlabari village that is adjacent to Chilapata forest and under Alipurduar–I block
TT Bureau Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, 12.06.24 : A wild elephant trampled to death the owner of a private lodge in Alipurduar early on Tuesday morning.
Sources said the incident took place at Uttar Simlabari village that is adjacent to Chilapata forest and under Alipurduar–I block.
Around 4am, a lone tusker came out of Chilapata forest and damaged a hut at Deodanga of Simlabari. The animal then entered a paddy field adjacent to a private lodge.
According to sources, 30-year-old Kingshuk Karjee, who owns the lodge, came out with four others and tried to drive the animal away.
“The elephant, however, retaliated and gave them a chase. Others managed to escape but it grabbed Kingshuk with its trunk and then trampled him to death. Later, it then went back to the forest,” said a source.
The locals then informed the foresters and a team reached the spot.
“It is an unfortunate incident. Kingshuk died while trying to drive away the elephant from the agricultural field. The department will provide the stipulated compensation (of ₹5 lakh) to the bereaved family,” said Sudipta Ghosh, the range officer of Chilapata forest range.
In another incident, a wild elephant came out of the Gorumara National Park early on Tuesday morning and damaged six houses in Uttar Dhupjhora area under Matiali block of Jalpaiguri.
Sources said the elephant strayed into the village in search of food around 2am. Also, it was raining heavily then.
It then damaged the houses and later, walked into the Panjhora forest.
The affected families have demanded compensation from the forest department.
Leopard attack
Subal Roy, a 51-year-old farmer got injured in a leopard attack in Falakata block of Alipurduar on Tuesday.
He is under treatment at Birpara state general hospital.
Sources said Roy, who stays in Chandnikura village, was working in the field. Around 6am, he spotted a leopard lying on the ground.
As he retreated, the leopard attacked him and mauled his back. Roy raised an alert and locals rushed him to the hospital.
Foresters were informed and a team reached the spot. They have laid a cage in the areas to trap the animal, sources said.
Pangolin rescued
A pangolin was rescued from Demka Jhora, a locality in Malbazar block of Jalpaiguri on Tuesday afternoon.
Locals said over the past few days, poultry were going missing in the village.
On Tuesday, some of them spotted the animal near a pond. They caught it and informed the foresters.
Later, the pangolin was handed over to foresters of Malbazar wildlife squad.
The GTA had submitted a proposal to the state government for the construction of three roads to ease traffic congestion in the hills, said GTA chief executive Anit Thapa
A traffic snarl on NH55 at Jorebunglow, 8km from Darjeeling: The Telegraph
Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, 12.06.24 :The Bengal government has in principle agreed to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA)’s proposal to construct alternative roads from Darjeeling to Teesta Bazar and from Bungkulung to Kurseong.
The two alternative roads are proposed largely to ease traffic congestion while travelling to Darjeeling.
“The GTA had submitted a proposal to the state government for the construction of three roads to ease traffic congestion in the hills. Of the three roads, the government has agreed in principle to construct two roads,” GTA chief executive Anit Thapa told The Telegraph.
The 35km-long alternative route from Darjeeling town will start at Lebong and end at Teesta Bazar. Lebong is at the opposite end of Jorebunglow where vehicles coming from Gangtok, Kalimpong, Siliguri and Mirik converge creating huge traffic snarls on a stretch of 8km.
During peak tourism season, it takes hours to cover the 8km stretch and the entire traffic in Darjeeling town also gets affected.
“This alternative route from Lebong would ensure that vehicles to Kalimpong and Gangtok can exit Darjeeling from the other end of town. In fact, from Teesta Bazar, one can also go to the Dooars and Siliguri,” said a GTA source.
The in-principle nod to the new road was granted on May 24, said the source.
The other road agreed on by the government is from Bungkulung to Kurseong. “This road will be 14km long and will ease travel from Mirik to Kurseong,” said a source.
Sources said the new road would touch the Pankhabari road at Ambootia Phatak, just a few kilometres below Kurseong town.
The third proposal made by the GTA was to construct a road from Bungkulung in the Mirik subdivision to Sukhiapokhri touching Nagri and Dhajea but it was not approved by the government immediately.
Sources said on June 3, the GTA also wrote to the secretary of the public works department (PWD) to take over the construction of a circular road from Lebong to 3rd Mile via Pandam tea garden.
The GTA has taken up the construction of the 13km stretch from Lebong to 3rd Mile via Pandam and Rangaroon tea gardens. “The GTA has requested the government to take up the balance work,” said a GTA source.
This route would also provide an alternative route to people travelling to Kalimpong, Gangtok, Takdah, Lopchu and Peshok among other places.
SANDIP C. JAIN, EOI, 12 June 2024 : The beautiful hills, forests, ravines and rivers of North Bengal have developed into a happy hunting ground for tourists from across the globe. Tourism has rapidly changed the economy and way of life of this area in drastic ways.
Politically too, this area has for the past decade, become a happy hunting ground for the BJP which now considers this region as its own backyard.
Having won seven of the eight Lok Sabha seats in the region in 2019 and six of the eight this time, north Bengal is a BJP fortress though the dream of the party of conquering the rest of West Bengal has received a setback.
With a total of 12 seats in its tally from the state in the Lok Sabha poll from a total of 42, it has been a disappointing performance for the BJP in the rest of the 34 seats in south Bengal.
The Darjeeling seat is one which the BJP has been dominating for the last three general elections and this time round was no exception.
From Jaswant Singh to S S Ahluwalia to Raju Bista, the Darjeeling seat seems to have become a safe seat for the BJP over the years. Raju Bista, the sitting MP, has won the Darjeeling seat for a second time; though with a much reduced margin.
There of course was no doubt that Bista would win again once his name was declared. Riding on the back of several developmental projects that he has brought into Siliguri, like the Balasan-Sevoke highway and the Bagdogra International Airport project, it was definite that the Siliguri voters would once again prefer Bista over Gopal Lama, the Trinamool Congress candidate.
Bista of course did not have too much to show to the population of the Darjeeling hills by way of any development projects but then the hills anyway vote on sentiments, not development. Even on the subject of sentiments, there was a growing dissent against the BJP in the hills for the hill voters felt that they had been taken for a ride more times than they could digest. Despite exploiting the emotive issue of a separate state and tribal status for the remaining 11 communities, the BJP has nothing to show on this account. This was in some ways responsible for its reduced vote share in the hills.
Bista polled 679,331 votes this time which was about 70,000 votes less than in the last elections. This figure shows that the BJP lost almost 9 percent of the votes to what it polled in 2019. In 2109 BJP polled 59.2 percent of the total votes cast whereas this year the percentage of the total votes it received was about 51.
Trinamool candidate, Gopal Lama on the contrary polled 500,806 votes which was a big rise from the 336,624 votes that the Trinamool candidate polled in the 2019 elections.
With approximately 164,000 more votes this time, the Trinamool can take some solace in this year’s performance, despite losing the electoral battle.
If this increase in Trinamool votes is analyzed, it clearly shows that it has gained both in the hills and in the plains.
It has gained approximately 102,000 votes in the four assembly segments in the plains, Siliguri, Matigara, Phansidewa and Chopra; while in the three hill assembly segments of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong it has gained about 62,000 votes. On a percentage basis, in 2024, Trinamool gained almost 60 percent votes in the hills over what it received in 2019. In 2019 it received a meager 103,500 votes in the hills while this time round they polled 165,494 votes.
Percentage wise, the Trinamool received just 26.56 per cent votes in the Darjeeling seat in 2019 while getting 38.5 percent votes this time, recording a substantial increase of over 12 percent.
An analysis of the BJP vote share in the hills shows that in 2019, the saffron party polled 344,100 votes from the hills while managing to get 258,978 votes this time. This shows a significant drop of over 85,000 votes. This means that the BJP has lost almost 25 percent votes this time in the hills in comparison to the last elections.
The BJP leadership in the hills must take note of this big drop in vote share and try to analyze the cause of this vote loss.
Of course the Anit Thapa led Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha which is in alliance with the Trinamool is now a stronger force in the hills than what it used to be earlier; with it stranglehold over the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the panchayat bodies in the hills but the loss of BJP votes has more to do with just this.
The fact that the overall image of the BJP across the country has taken a beating on bread and butter issues of the public also has contributed to the BJP vote loss in the hills.
With the BJP now no longer in absolute control of things at the Central level, having to share power with conservative politicians like Chandra Babu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, the dream of the hills of a separate state or even scheduled tribe status for the 11 communities seems unlikely to be fulfilled in the near future.
There is no way that the BJP will rock the already fragile boat that it will have to sail for the coming few years.
Another aspect that needs to be discussed is the better than expected performance of the Congress candidate this time. Polling 83,374 votes, Munish Tamang the Congress candidate supported by the CPI (M) did himself proud especially for the fact that he was brought into the election fray at the very last moment with almost no time to prepare.
Many in the hills had considered him to be the best of all the candidates in the election lineup. But the Congress has practically no grass-root infrastructure in the area.
Hence he had always been just a marginal player in these elections. There is little doubt though that someone of his calibre, representing the hills in Parliament would have been a big plus for the entire Darjeeling region.
The BJP will have to do some serious thinking if it wants to remain relevant in the hills in coming years. It has to realize is that the 258,978 votes it received in the hills this time were not just BJP votes but boosted by voters of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists and a host of smaller parties.
(The writer of this article is the Editor of Himalayan Times,Kalimpong)
SUJAL PRADHAN, EOI, GANGTOK, JUNE 11, 2024 : A team from Buddha Air visited Pakyong Airport on Tuesday to conduct a feasibility study for launching flight operations between Kathmandu and Pakyong.
The visit included a presentation by the Air Traffic Controller and an airport tour led by Airport Director S.K. Singh.
The three-member team from Buddha Air included Uday Krishna Shrestha, Om Pradhananga, and Jiwan Basnett. Buddha Air plans to operate two daily flights: one from Kathmandu to Pakyong and another from Kathmandu to Pakyong via Guwahati.
The flight from Kathmandu to Pakyong will take about one hour, while the flight from Pakyong to Guwahati will take around 35minutes.
As per reports, the proposed fare for Kathmandu to Pakyong is expected to be between Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 7,000, but Singh has requested Buddha Air to reduce it to Rs. 5,000 to Rs 6,000.
The airline is confident there will be enough passengers on these routes. Buddha Air is already operating flights from Kathmandu to Varanasi and is seeking permission for a new route from Janakpur to Ayodhya.
The tentative timing for the new flights is between noon and1.30 pm. The flights will use ATR 500aircraft which can accommodate 85 to 90 passenger
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.png?w=1038&resize=1038,576&ssl=1 "Kalimpong’s multi-level car parking arena nears completion, inauguration due in few months")
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