Row over UP CM Yogi’s ‘namaz’ remark: SP points to Lord Hanuman’s portrayal during recent rally

Bengaluru, June 11 (IANS) Criticising the announcement by the Congress-led Karnataka government to update its caste census report by conducting a fresh survey within a stipulated period, the Karnataka BJP unit has slammed the decision, saying that the state government is raising the caste census now to cover up its flaws in connection with the recent stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium here last week which claimed 11 lives.

State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra on Tuesday said, “Whenever the Congress-led state government faces a crisis due to its administrative failures, it brings up the caste census issue. This isn’t out of social concern, but rather a constant ploy to divert the attention of the people of the state.”

He also criticised the Congress government and said, “Not just the state, but the entire country is grieving over the tragic deaths of 11 innocent people in the Bengaluru stampede. However, the Congress-led Karnataka government, which is facing public outrage across the country due to its obsession with publicity, is once again raising the caste census issue. This attempt to cover up its flaws is truly unfortunate.”

“By planning to re-conduct the caste census, is the state government admitting that the Rs 160 crore already spent on the previous caste census was a complete waste?” BJP leader Vijayendra asked.

“Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s statement seems to reveal this fact. The time is near when the people will teach the Congress government a fitting lesson for its cunning nature, irresponsibility, and anti-people stances,” he said.

State BJP General Secretary and MLA, V. Sunil Kumar, charged that “The caste census report prepared by the state government has been rejected by the Congress high command. This report, prepared at a cost of Rs 160 crore, was a great deception to the state’s taxpayers, as well as to the backward and oppressed communities.”

“The BJP had repeatedly insisted that there were flaws in the caste census report’s data and that it should be re-examined. However, CM Siddaramaiah continued his usual dismissive attitude even on such a sensitive issue,” Sunil Kumar said.

“CM Siddaramaiah had presented the report in the Cabinet meeting and was even moving towards accepting the report during this meeting held in Nandi Hills in the outskirts of Bengaluru. But the Congress high command intervened, stating that the report’s data was incorrect, and instructed for a recount within a time limit, effectively tossing the report into the dustbin,” he added.

“Not only CM Siddaramaiah, but the Congress high command has also hurt the sentiments of the Backward Classes and oppressed communities in the state. For the past 10 years, Siddaramaiah had used this very issue to make a fool of the people of the state and create discontent and dissatisfaction among communities. Due to all these blunders, CM Siddaramaiah and the Congress party must apologise to the people of the state,” he said.

Earlier, the Congress-led government in Karnataka has announced its decision to update its caste census report by conducting a resurvey within a stipulated period, the date for which would be announced by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after a Cabinet discussion.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the State Congress President, made the statement while speaking to the media on Tuesday in New Delhi after a meeting with Congress leaders.

“It has been decided to resolve the discord that has arisen regarding the caste census and the confusion surrounding community statistics. Everyone will be given another opportunity to submit their information through house-to-house surveys and online. This process will be conducted transparently,” Shivakumar said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) In the second round of the PM Internship Scheme pilot project, which commenced on January 9 this year, about 327 top companies have posted over 1.18 lakh internship opportunities across 735 districts of the country, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

Over 4.55 lakh applications were received from over 2.14 lakh applicants in this round. As on July 23, 2025, partner companies have made over 72,000 offers to the youth, and over 22,800 offers have been accepted, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Currently, rolling out of offers and the process of acceptances and joining by interns is in progress, he said.

Youths between the age group of 21 24 years, who have passed high school/higher secondary school, possess a certificate from an ITI, hold a diploma from a polytechnic Institute, or are graduates with degrees such as BA, B.Sc, B.Com, BCA, BBA, B.Pharma etc., and are not employed full-time/not engaged in full-time education, are eligible to apply.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is actively working with various stakeholders such as state governments, industry associations, educational institutions, etc., for the promotion and implementation of the scheme. The Ministry is also carrying out Information, education and communication activities to reach out to the target groups across the country, the minister explained.

Malhotra said that the top 500 companies for the pilot project have been identified by the Ministry on the basis of their average CSR expenditure of the last three years. Apart from these, any other company, bank or financial institution desirous of participating in the scheme may do so with the approval of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which would take a view keeping in view under represented sectors. The partner companies include private sector companies and Central and state public sector enterprises.

The pilot project is implemented through an online portal, which serves as a centralised platform for end-to-end scheme and internship lifecycle management. A dedicated dashboard is provided to each partner company on the portal for posting Internship opportunities.

Eligible candidates then have to register themselves on the portal and apply for internship opportunities based on their preferences, including location (state, district), sector, functional role, and qualifications. A pool of candidates, based on the applications, is shortlisted for each internship opportunity through the portal and sent to the companies. Companies select candidates and make internship offers based on their respective selection criteria and processes.

Under the PMIS Pilot Project, the company is expected to provide the person with an actual working experience in a skill in which the company is directly involved. At least half of the internship period would be in the actual real-life business environment. Thus, the scheme provides an opportunity to the youth to get training and gain experience and skills within the work environment of various businesses or organisations with the intention of enhancing their employability by bridging the gap between academic learning and industry requirements.

As per the guidelines of the pilot project, the companies would follow their own mechanism for assessing the candidates on a periodic basis. Quarterly Assessment Report of the candidates would be uploaded by the company on the portal, the minister added.

–IANS

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New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) The busting of an Al Qaeda terror module in Gujarat once again signals the ambitious plans the outfit has in India. Mohd Faiq, Mohd Fardeen, Sefullah Kureshi, and Zeeshan Ali were arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) for spreading the ideology of the outfit as well as running a fake currency racket to raise funds for the banned outfit that was once headed by Osama bin Laden.

Preliminary investigations by the ATS suggest that the four had auto-deleted applications to clean any trace of their communications.

The busting of this network is a major success for the agencies since the Al Qaeda in the Sub-Continent (AQIS) has its biggest ambitions in Gujarat. The busting of this module is also important in the context of the Indian agencies stating that the ISI is likely to use the AQIS to further its operations in India in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor which was carried out to avenge the Pahalgam attack.

The AQIS, which was formed in 2014 under the leadership of Ayman Al Zawahiri, had focused its activities extensively on India. Its chief in the sub-continent was Asim Umar, a person of Indian origin. As part of his expansion plan, he had focused the outfit’s activities largely on Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, and the northeastern states.

The intentions of the AQIS for India were made clear when it declared that all Indian Muslims were obligated to launch a holy war against the “Bhagwa regime” in India for targeting mosques and settlements in Pakistan. This statement, which was released after Operation Sindoor, made it clear that the ISI wants this outfit to up its ante in India. Moreover, this statement came at a time when one thought that the AQIS was losing its sheen.

In fact, the statement was a tactical one and was aimed at openly supporting Pakistan. At a time when Pakistan would need much more time to rebuild the facilities of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which were hit by the Indian armed forces, the AQIS could be used to fill in the gap.

The assessment by the security agencies is that the AQIS is not as strong as it would claim to be, but in India, in terms of ideology, it has a far bigger reach when compared to the Islamic State, Jaish-e-Mohammad, or Lashkar-e-Taiba. There are many who still hero-worship Osama bin Laden, and this is one of the main reasons why the reach is much higher. Further, after Umar was killed, the AQIS has turned against India even more. It launched a magazine called “Nawa-Ghazwatul Hind (Voice of the Battle for India)”.

However, the plans of Al Qaeda for India are not new. It began when David Headley was in Pakistan before the planning for the Mumbai 26/11 attacks began. He had a meeting with Ilyas Kashmiri, the head of Al Qaeda’s 313 Brigade, during which both planned terror strikes in Gujarat, Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh. While scouting targets for the Mumbai attack, Headley had even visited Delhi and Pune.

Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the Mumbai 26/11 case who was recently extradited to India, had, prior to the attacks, visited Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kochi, Agra, Hapur, and Mumbai. The investigators suspect that he may have furthered his agenda at the behest of his handlers in Pakistan. Rana’s visits were against the backdrop of statements by Ilyas Kashmiri that he wanted recruits from Kerala, Gujarat and other parts of the country to carry out his ambitious Ghazwa-e-Hind project.

While a module was busted in Gujarat on Wednesday, the Assam Police too had busted a terror module. It was found that these alleged members of Al Qaeda were in close contact with members of the Bangladeshi outfit, Ansarullah Bangla Team, to carry out acts of terror in the northeastern states.

While the original plan of Al Qaeda was to focus on Afghanistan, it made a surprising turn in 2020 when it renamed its Urdu magazine “Nawa-i-Afghan Jihad” to “Nawaz-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind”. As part of its expansion plans in India, it has managed to rope in several illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh. This came to light when the NIA arrested 53 persons, including Bangladeshis, for being part of an AQIS module.

To add to the problem is the failing law and order situation in Bangladesh. Almost all the terror groups in Bangladesh lean more towards Al Qaeda when compared to the Islamic State. The ISI may use this as an opportunity to ramp up terror activity with the help of the AQIS along the India-Bangladesh border.

In Bangladesh, the ISI has been encouraging Al Qaeda to work closely with other terror groups such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Islam, Hizb ut-Tahrir, and Ansarullah Bangla Team. What is worse is that the interim head of the caretaker government, Muhammad Yunus, had turned a complete blind eye, as a result of which all these groups have a free run in Bangladesh.

–IANS

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