UAE announces paid public holiday for Prophet's birthday

Bengaluru, Sept 11: The federation of private transport associations have called off the ‘Bangalore Bandh’ after Karnataka government assured to fulfil their promises. From the morning, the private transport system was halted as cabs, taxis and other private buses stopped operating across the IT capital.

The major demand of the unions is to extend the government's Shakti scheme to even the private players in the state as they are severely hit by the free transport scheme to women. The government has already said that it is practically not possible to extend the Shakti scheme to private buses.

The auto unions have also demanded a ban on bike taxis in Karnataka, which is affecting their livelihood. The government said that it must seek a legal opinion on their bike taxi ban demand. Welfare board for drivers, insurance for auto drivers and lifetime tax on commercial goods vehicles are among the other demands. A total of 30 demands were presented to the transport department by the unions in previous meetings.

Earlier, transport unions had held discussions with state transport minister Ramalinga Reddy on July 24, just three days before they initially scheduled a protest for July 27.

However, Reddy had then said that he will take it to the notice of the chief minister and discuss the issues with him. After not hearing back from the government, the associations decided to go on a strike for a day on September 11. After minister Ramalinga Reddy promised the fulfillment of demands, the bandh was called off on Monday afternoon. 

New Delhi, Sept 21: Stepping up its crackdown on Khalistani terrorists, the NIA on Wednesday announced cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of five Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives, including Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias 'Rinda' and Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias 'Landa'.

The federal agency announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each for Rinda and Landa and Rs 5 lakh each for Parminder Singh Kaira alias “Pattu”, Satnam Singh alias “Satbir Singh” alias “Satta” and Yadvinder Singh alias “Yadda”.

A spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said these five terrorists are wanted in a case registered early this year related to the BKI's terrorist activities aimed at disturbing India's peace and communal harmony and spreading terror in the state of Punjab.

'The wanted terrorists are accused of commission of terror acts and activities, besides raising funds for the BKI, a banned terror outfit, through smuggling of terrorist hardware and narcotics into Punjab and also through extensive extortion from businessmen and other prominent individuals.

'They are also wanted in cases relating to commissioning of targeted killings as well as targeting of law enforcement agencies in order to create an environment of terror in the state of Punjab,' the spokesperson said.

The official said investigations have shown that the five terrorists have been engaged in recruiting new members of the BKI by promising them monetary benefits.

'They have also established a network of operatives in various countries to further their terror activities in different parts of India,” the official said.

Rinda, originally a resident of Maharashtra, is a Pakistan-based 'listed individual terrorist' and member of the BKI, while Landa, Khaira, Satnam and Yadvinder are residents of Punjab.

'Any specific information leading to the arrest of the five wanted terrorists can be shared with the NIA headquarters in New Delhi or the NIA Branch Office in Chandigarh,' the spokesperson said, sharing the telephone and WhatsApp numbers.

Meanwhile, the NIA released two lists of 54 individuals with their photographs who are wanted in the investigation of two cases, registered last year, to dismantle terror-gangster networks in the country.

The lists, one naming 11 persons and the other 43 persons, were shared by the NIA on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The list included several wanted gangsters, including Goldy Brar, Lawrence Bishnoi, Anmol Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh Gill.

'If you have any information about properties/assets/business owned by them in their name or in name of their associates, friends and relatives, please WhatsApp,” the agency said, sharing the mobile number. 

A warning that Mallikarjun Kharge issued to the Congress leaders and ranks on Sunday underlines the gravity of the crisis: “If you don’t work hard, democracy will perish, constitutional rule will be over.”

While Kharge was exhorting the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) to gear up for the battles ahead, Rahul Gandhi explained how to go about it: “Avoid irrelevant issues, don’t fall into the BJP’s trap. Listen to the voice of the people and ensure these voices are crystallised into policies and guarantees. That’s how the Congress system is designed.”

The Congress strategy will be evolved on these critical counsels. The election strategy for five states was discussed at the extended CWC meeting on the second day. The party issued a statement after the meeting, exuding confidence about victory in all the states. Kharge asked the workers to ensure outreach to voters aged between 18 and 25 and explain to them the ideology and history of the Congress.

Later, addressing a massive public rally in Hyderabad, the Congress launched six guarantees, telling the voters to trust the party that fulfilled its commitment to create the state of Telangana.

Sonia Gandhi, who was instrumental in creating Telangana, was asked to launch the guarantees. Rahul and Kharge entreated the voters to judge the party on its track record, reminding them how all the guarantees were fulfilled within the first three months in the neighbouring Karnataka.

The guarantees for Telangana are: Rs 2,500 for every woman per month, free bus travel for women across the state, gas cylinder for Rs 500, Rs 5 lakh for every homeless person for construction of a house, Rs 4,000 per month for senior citizens, Rs 10 lakh health insurance for the citizens, Rs 15,000 per acre for farmers every year and Rs 12,000 for agriculture workers.

Rahul spent most of his time at the public rally on trying to convince the people that the BJP, K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s BRS and Asaduddiun Owaisi’s AIMIM have a partnership and work as a team. He recalled how the BRS helped the Narendra Modi government in Parliament and outside on every critical occasion over the last nine years. He said the ED-CBI and income tax, which have been targeting all Opposition leaders, kept aloof even as thousands of crores were looted in Telangana.

He said the new state was not created to empower the KCR family, and his government must be ousted to empower the poor, farmers, workers, women and youth. He accused Owaisi of disturbing the Congress in all states to help the BJP. Amidst loud cheers, he declared: “Nobody can save the KCR government now, not even Modi.”

Kharge also concentrated on explaining to the people how the Congress track record inspires confidence, recalling the nation-building process in the initial decades after Independence and recent schemes like the MGNREGA and the Food Security Act. He said the politics of Modi and KCR rests on lies — both these leaders make false promises to mislead the voters. He said KCR pushed a surplus-budget state into financial bankruptcy.