Victims of atrocities suffer crushing defeat in UP as Cong hits rock bottom

News Network
March 10, 2022

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An intense campaign, huge crowds, attractive slogans and charismatic leadership. Yet the Congress has hit rock bottom in Uttar Pradesh, putting a question mark on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's leadership abilities.

The party is likely to end up with just two seats, compared to the seven it won in 2017.

The party has faced drubbing in its one-time bastions -- Rae Bareli and Amethi -- where the party has not won even a single seat.

When Priyanka announced 40 per cent reservation for women in tickets, many political pundits thought it would be a game-changer for the Congress.

However, the party turned this into a non-serious issue when it gave away tickets to victims of atrocities. The move earned accolades for the party, albeit temporarily, but none of the 'victims' could enlist public support and votes.

The battle for votes is strikingly different from a battle for emotions and this election has proved it.

Priyanka, when she opted for victims as candidates, was probably trying to replicate the success story of Phoolan Devi in the nineties.

Phoolan, who was a victim of gang-rape, was also charged with the massacre of 21 Thakurs in Behmai.

The then Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav's decision to field Phoolan for the Lok Sabha elections created more controversy than commendation but Phoolan did go on to become MP.

Priyanka fielded Asha Singh, mother of the 2017 Unnao rape survivor. Former BJP MLA, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was convicted in the case in 2019, enjoys considerable influence in Unnao and even has sympathy since many believe he was wrongly convicted.

A four-term MLA, Sengar's family had strongly opposed the ticket to Asha Singh who now lives in Delhi with her daughter.

"We have none in the family. I am fighting this election to get justice for my brother-in-law, and for all the victims of rape," she had told reporters when she got the ticket.

Asha Singh turned her campaign into a personal battle rather than a political one and she has lost the polls.

Another player of the Congress victim card is Sadaf Jafar, who became the face of the anti-Citizen (Amendment) agitation in the state after she was kicked in her stomach. She contested the Lucknow central seat and lost.

The Congress fielded Ritu Singh from the Mohammadi seat in Lakhimpur. Ritu Singh hit the headlines when her sari was pulled off by the police personnel during the panchayat polls last year.

The leader of ASHA workers in state Poonam Pandey -- who was allegedly assaulted by men in khaki when she tried to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Shahjahanpur to voice the problems faced by the ASHAs in state -- was fielded from Shahjahanpur.

Both Ritu Singh and Poonam Pandey lost without even putting up a decent fight.

Another victim candidate is Umbha's tribal activist, Ram Raj Gond, who fought for the victims of the massacre in Obra in east Uttar Pradesh.

According to a senior party leader, "The experiment failed because these victims had not been trained to fight political battles. NGOs can help you fight for justice and get headlines but they cannot make you win elections. If Priyanka wanted to give 40 per cent tickets to women, she should have started preparing these women candidates, at least, a year ago."

Another party functionary admitted that when tickets were being announced, the focus was to ensure 40 per cent representation to women and not on the quality of candidates.

The dismal performance of the Congress under Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's leadership is now bound to impact her future as a leader in the Congress.

The party, in her tenure, has already expelled several leaders while an even larger number has left the Congress, blaming the leadership -- rather lack of it.

Its vote share has been on a steady decline. It was at about 6.25 per cent in the 2017 Assembly polls and has slipped to 2.4 per cent in this election.

The state of affairs in the party can be assessed for the fact that state party president Ajay Kumar Lallu has faced a humiliating defeat from the Tamkuhiraj seat where he trailed behind the BJP and SP candidates. 

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News Network
November 22,2025

The Karnataka government has announced a 50% rebate on pending traffic and transport fines. The discount is available from November 21 to December 12.

The rebate applies to all traffic e-challans and violation cases booked by the RTO between 1991–92 and 2019–20. Officials clarified that the offer is not applicable to pending tax dues and is restricted only to traffic-violation fines.

Across Karnataka, more than 4 lakh RTO cases remain pending, including those involving transport vehicles. While thousands of vehicle owners have already cleared their dues, the department expects to generate substantial revenue through this limited-period rebate.

How to Pay and Avail the Discount

There are three ways to check and pay your pending fines:

1. Through Mobile Apps
Available on both Play Store and App Store:
•    Karnataka State Police (KSP) app
•    KarnatakaOne app
•    ASTraM app

Steps:
•    Enter your vehicle number in any of the above apps
•    Verify the photo/details of your vehicle
•    Pay the fine with the 50% discount applied

2. Visit a Traffic Police Station

You can pay your pending fine at any nearby traffic police station.

3. Visit the Traffic Management Centre (TMC)

•    Location: First Floor, Infantry Road, near Indian Express, Bengaluru

Transport Commissioner Yogeesh A M said, “We don't issue e-challans, so there's no online payment system.”

The department estimates ₹52 crore in pending RTO fines up to March 2020. “With the 50% rebate, we expect to collect around ₹25 crore if all dues are cleared,” he added.

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coastaldigest.com news network
December 2,2025

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Udupi, Dec 2: A wave of regional pride is sweeping through Udupi district as Shagun S Verma Hegde, a talented Class 9 student from Christ King English Medium High School, Karkala, has been named the captain of the Indian National Team for the Under-15 Girls’ Volleyball Championship.

Shagun holds the unique distinction of being the sole player from Karnataka selected to represent the country in the prestigious international tournament. The championship, organized by the School Games Federation, is scheduled to take place in Shangluo, China, from December 3 to 13, where Shagun will lead the national squad.

A Remarkable Journey to the Top

Shagun’s selection is a testament to her dedication and exceptional skill on the court. Her journey included several rigorous rounds of selection:

•    She was the only player from Udupi district to qualify for the state-level selection camp.

•    Out of eight players from Karnataka who advanced to the national selection camp in Pune, Maharashtra, Shagun was the only one to secure a place in the final national squad.

•    The national camp saw participation from approximately 200 players, which was shortlisted to 23. Shagun not only made the final cut but was also ranked as the second-best player overall, solidifying her leadership role.

Shagun, who is the daughter of Sandesh Verma and Shruthiraj of Kallotte, Karkala, has trained under experienced coaches Santosh D’Souza, Jeevan D’Silva, Jairaj Poojary, and Ramesh. Her selection as the team captain has brought profound honour to her family, school, the Udupi district, and the entire state of Karnataka.

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News Network
December 5,2025

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New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said. 

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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