UP polls: Ram temple back in BJP manifesto

January 28, 2017

Lucknow, Jan 28: BJP President Amit Shah today released the party's manifesto for Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections promising to make efforts to ensure construction of Ram temple under constitutional provisions if voted to power.

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The manifesto, called 'Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra' (Pledge for People's Welfare), also promises to press for taking forward its view on the triple talaq in the Supreme Court.
"The party is firm on the Ram temple issue...efforts will be made to ensure that Ram temple is constructed under the constitutional provisions," Shah said.

On the contentious issue of triple talaq, Shah said the party, on coming to power, will take views of women and present its opinion before the Supreme Court.

On exodus of people due to communal tension, he said a special team would be formed to check it at district level. DMs will be held responsible for mass exodus, he said.

Shah also said all mechanised slaughter houses will be closed in the state. Taking a cue from ruling Samajwadi Party, Shah promised to upgrade the Dial 100 of the state police to ensure police help in 15 minutes all over the state.

Stressing that if voted to power, his party will take one step ahead of the Samajwadi Party's laptop distribution scheme by providing 1 GB free data for one year besides free wi-fi in universities.

To ensure the safety of college girls, innovative anti- Romeo squads will be set up near colleges to check eve- teasing. Besides, three women battalions will be raised for security of women, the document said.

While releasing manifesto, the BJP president said the party will form government in Uttar Pradesh with a two-thirds majority. He attacked Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party which have ruled Uttar Pradesh for the last 15 years, accusing them of doing nothing to develop the backward state.

BJP, he said, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would turn UP into a developed state, the way it has developed the other states it rules. "All BIMARU - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - states have become developed except UP," he soid.

BJP is going hammer and tongs to return to power in UP after 15 years. In 2012, it had won only 47 of the state's 403 seats, but in the 2014 national election, it swept 71 of the state's 80 Lok Sabha seats and hopes to repeat that performance in this year's assembly election.

Elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases from February 11 to March 8.
Accusing the Akhilesh Yadav government of not doing anything for the upliftment of the state, he said the Centre sanctioned Rs one lakh crore to Uttar Pradesh but no development has been seen on ground.

Besides, law and order is at its nadir, he claimed, adding that Akhilesh will have to answer for the problems faced by the state where "ruling party goondas have grabbed land". He said people will not be hoodwinked by merely entering into an alliance with Congress to win the polls.

"UP has been plundered by SP-BSP for 15 years and we have come with a pledge to transform the state," he said. Before unveiling the document, Shah said, "We have tried to take views and aspirations of a cross section of people and in the process contacted people through different means (before drafting the manifesto)."

The document focuses on farmers' welfare, he said, adding agricultural loans will be waived once BJP comes to power. He also said a Special Task Force to be set up to put an end to illegal mining in the state.

Shah said on lines of central government's decision, no interview will be held for Class III and IV UP government jobs to end corruption in recruitment if BJP comes to power.The manifesto promised free education up to Class 12 and waiver of fees up to graduation level to meritorious students.

Shah said food processing parks would be set up in UP and power would be supplied round the clock in the state with cheaper rates for the poor. "We will provide laptops to all students without any discrimination," he said.

Shah also said special focus would be given to Bundelkhand for its all round development.
He expressed hope that UP would get the strongest government since Independence when BJP gets over 300 (of the 403) seats.

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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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News Network
December 16,2025

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, during which the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, with the Prime Minister outlining an eight-point vision covering key areas of cooperation.

Describing the meeting as “productive”, PM Modi said he shared a roadmap focused on trade and economy, fertilisers and agriculture, information technology, healthcare, infrastructure, critical and strategic minerals, civil nuclear cooperation, and people-to-people ties.

In a post on social media platform X, the Prime Minister praised King Abdullah II’s personal commitment to advancing India–Jordan relations, particularly as both countries mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

“Held productive discussions with His Majesty King Abdullah II in Amman. His personal commitment towards vibrant India-Jordan relations is noteworthy. This year, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic relations,” PM Modi said.

The meeting took place at the Al Husseiniya Palace, where the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, defence and security, counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation, fertilisers and agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and heritage.

The MEA said both leaders reaffirmed their united stand against terrorism.

PM Modi arrived in Amman earlier on Monday and was received by Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, who accorded him a formal welcome. Following the talks, King Abdullah II hosted a banquet dinner in honour of the Prime Minister, reflecting the warmth of bilateral ties.

Jordan is the first leg of PM Modi’s three-nation tour. From Amman, the Prime Minister will travel to Ethiopia at the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, marking his first official visit to the African nation. The tour will conclude with a visit to Oman.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced major operational turbulence this week after failing to prepare for new pilot-fatigue regulations issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The stricter rules—designed to improve flight safety—took effect in phases through 2024, with the latest implementation on November 1. IndiGo has acknowledged that inadequate roster planning led to widespread cancellations and delays.

Below are the key DGCA rules that affected IndiGo’s operations:

1. Longer Mandatory Weekly Rest

Weekly rest for pilots has been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours.

The government says the extended break is essential to curb cumulative fatigue. This rule remains in force despite the current crisis.

2. Cap on Night Landings

Pilots can now perform only two night landings per week—a steep reduction from the earlier limit of six.

Night hours, defined as midnight to early morning, are considered the least alert period for pilots.

Given the disruptions, this rule has been temporarily relaxed for IndiGo until February 10.

3. Reduced Maximum Night Flight Duty

Flight duty that stretches into the night is now capped at 10 hours.

This measure has also been kept on hold for IndiGo until February 10 to stabilize operations.

4. Weekly Rest Cannot Be Replaced With Personal Leave

Airlines can no longer count a pilot’s personal leave as part of the mandatory 48-hour rest.

Pilots say this closes a loophole that previously reduced actual rest time.

Currently, all airlines are exempt from this rule to normalise travel.

5. Mandatory Fatigue Monitoring

Airlines must submit quarterly fatigue reports along with corrective actions to DGCA.

This system aims to create a transparent fatigue-tracking framework across the industry.

The DGCA has stressed that these rules were crafted to strengthen flight safety and align India with global fatigue-management standards. The temporary relaxations are expected to remain until February 2025, giving IndiGo time to stabilise its schedules and restore normal air travel.

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