South Africa expects ICJ judgment on Israeli genocide in Gaza on Jan 26

Kolkata: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh or Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari could have been the prime minister, said Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, subtly taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders relegated to the second rung of the organisational echelons.

Banerjee’s nephew and the TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, on the other hand, attempted to stoke trouble within the BJP’s unit in West Bengal, saying that at least 10 more state legislators of the saffron party were keen to join his party and in touch with him.

"You (Rajnath Singh) are surviving at the mercy of Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). You are saluting Modi daily to save your chair. You or Nitin Gadkari could have been the PM (prime minister) today," the TMC supremo said in an election rally at Ausgram in Bolpur Lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday. "There would have been no problem...at least there would have been a gentleman in the chair who knows minimum courtesy," she added.

Banerjee was responding to Singh’s diatribe against herself and the TMC government led by her. The defence minister, who had addressed an election rally in Murshidabad on Sunday, had criticised the TMC government for alleged corruption and anarchy in West Bengal.

Singh had referred to the attacks on the Enforcement Directorate officials on January 5 during a raid at the residence of the TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of the state. It was followed by an agitation by local women protesting against atrocities by Shahjahan and his aides known to be owing allegiance to the TMC.

Singh questioned how the state government, led by a woman as the chief minister, could allow such atrocities on women to take place. He went on to say that Banerjee had lost all ‘mamata’ (affection and compassion) for people.

Banerjee shared a cordial relationship with Singh since the days when they both were ministers in the central government led by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Singh avoided personally criticising Banerjee in the past.

He, however, went ballistic against Banerjee on Sunday, triggering a strong response from the TMC supremo on Wednesday.

"The BJP is trying to get into the game of breaking parties, but they can't win in it. They poached two of our MPs, and we replied by taking two of their MPs, Arjun Singh and Babul Supriyo. Recently, by using ED raids, they inducted Tapas Ray. At least 10 top leaders of the BJP are in the queue to join the TMC," Abhishek said in another election rally in Murshidabad on Wednesday.

Pro-Gaza US protesters in New York's Columbia University say they will stay put despite the university's harassment and police crackdown.

The protesters said they refuse to concede to "cowardly threats and blatant intimidation" by university administration, asserting that they will continue to peacefully protest.

Columbia University threatened the students with the national guard after refusing to bargain in good faith.

The university announced a midnight deadline for talks regarding the removal of pro-Palestine encampments on the varsity campus, warning that their campsite will be forcefully cleared by police if no agreement is reached.

The university campus is being used as a campsite for hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters and other activists, who have gathered and set up numerous tents.

Pro-Palestinian protests at colleges have demanded that their universities divest from corporations doing business with Israel or profiting off the war in Gaza. At Columbia, protesters have also asked the university to end a dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University.

The deadline was announced by Columbia University President Minouche Shafik late Tuesday, as authorities across major American universities have launched their repression campaigns against the pro-Palestinian protests on campuses, amid rising anger over US's support for Israel. 

Shafik has issued a midnight deadline to protesters and organizers, warning that failure to comply will result in the forcible clearance of the camp by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

The university has engaged in discussions with student leaders behind the protests, which are part of a series of protests taking place at various colleges nationwide and resulting in multiple arrests.

The purpose of these talks is to address the encampment on the west lawn of Columbia's Morningside Heights campus.

American universities are grappling with the challenge of maintaining a delicate balance between the right to protest and freedom of speech, while also ensuring campus rules and safety, as tensions surrounding the ongoing war in Gaza continue to permeate across campuses.

Meanwhile, Shafik underscored the importance of free speech and the right to demonstrate, but highlighted significant safety issues, disruptions to campus activities, and a strained environment due to the encampment. She firmly stated that any form of intimidation, harassment, or discrimination would not be accepted.

The arrest of more than 100 protesters at Columbia University last week led to more campus demonstrations, at New York University, Yale, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Palestinian university professor Sami al-Arian said what is happening across US university campuses is unprecedented.

Al-Arian said, "I lived four decades in the US, 28 years of which were in academic settings. During my time, it was a very challenging struggle to present an anti-Zionist narrative."

"But the passion, courage, humanity, creativity, and determination displayed these days by students across US campuses make me proud. The Zionist grip on US society is weakening and waning."

Mangaluru/Udupi: The Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituencies recorded a tentative voter turnout of 77.4% and 76.1% respectively until 6 pm on Friday. In the 2019 polls, Dakshina Kannada recorded 77.9%, while Udupi recorded a 75.8% voter turnout.

The DK Lok Sabha constituency recorded a poll percentage of 71.8% at 5 pm. Among the constituencies, Sullia recorded a maximum of 78.4%, followed by Belthangady at 75.6%, Puttur at 75.2%, Bantwal at 73.7%, Mangalore at 73.5%, Mangalore City North at 69.8%, and Mangalore City South at 61.8%.

Urban apathy continued, with Mangalore City South recording the lowest polling percentage.

Meanwhile, Banjarumale, a remote village in Belthangady taluk, recorded 100% polling with all 111 voters showing up two hours before polling ended at 6pm.

Another interior polling station at Elaneer in the same taluk recorded 82% polling at 4 pm. The booth has 471 voters. The district has a total of 18,18,127 voters, with 9,30,928 females, 8,87,122 men, and 77 transgender individuals.

A good number of people turned out to vote during the early hours. Voters are bearing the scorching sun while stepping out to exercise their franchise as heat wave is sweeping through the state. 

The polling process remained largely peaceful, with long queues observed at polling stations from 7 am onwards in several polling stations. However, technical glitches caused delays at a polling station in Karopady, and at St. Xavier School Bejai, where polling was reportedly delayed by nearly two hours.

Polling staff at a booth near the Mulki police station mistakenly marked the wrong finger with ink during voting. They reportedly applied ink to the index finger of the right hand. According to sources, at least 50 individuals had their index finger of the right hand inked. Deputy Commissioner Mullai Mulihan clarified, "The matter was promptly addressed by the sector office. This error affected 8-9 voters"

A total of 18.18 lakh voters in the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency and 15.85 lakh in Udupi-Chikmagalur hold the power to determine the fate of candidates competing for their respective segments. The polling process is currently underway across 1,876 booths in Dakshina Kannada and 1,842 polling stations in the Udupi-Chikmagalur segment.

In Dakshina Kannada, a closely contested battle is anticipated between Captain Brijesh Chowta representing the BJP and Padmaraj R Poojary from the Congress. Meanwhile, in the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency, Kota Shrinivas Poojary of the BJP and K Jayaprakash Hegde of the Congress are the prominent contenders.