Nitish to become Lalu’s neighbour
Patna: Bitter rivals in Bihar politics Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad will be neighbours now after the JD(U) top leader abdicated power as Chief Minister in the face of severe drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha election. Kumar has been alloted the bungalow on 7 Circular Road by the Building Construction Department (BCD), while Prasad lives in the one at 10 Circular Road alloted to his wife former chief minister Rabri Devi. Kumar will soon leave the CM’s residence on One Anne Marg, which had been his abode for nine years. The 7 Circular Road bungalow is at present in the name of Chief Secretary Ashok Kumar Sinha. But as Sinha is retiring in June end, he will move to another building to make way for Kumar, sources in the BCD said today. But, with some construction work required in 7 Circular Road bungalow keeping in view the security aspect of the former CM, the BCD department has made available 2 Strand Road bungalow to Kumar for the time being, the sources said. Known in political circles as ‘bade bhai and chhote bhai’ (elder and younger brothers), Prasad and Kumar turned hostile after Kumar left him to form Samata Party and later JD(U). The political bitterness between the two increased with times. (PTI)
‘Aavjo Gujarat’ says Modi as be bids goodbye to his home state
Ahmedabad: “Aavjo(goodbye) Gujarat”. This was how Narendra Modi bid adieu on Thursday to his home state of Gujarat where he was the four-time Chief Minister since assuming office on October 7, 2001. “Gujarat is our family. When I am leaving for Delhi, as per our tradition, I would like to say ‘Aavjo’ to 6.25 crore people …’Aavjo Gujarat (goodbye Gujarat),” Modi said at the airport before emplaning for New Delhi. 63-year-old Modi will be sworn in as the prime minister on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 26, ten days after he led his BJP to a resounding victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Modi also thanked media persons of Gujarat before his departure. “I would like to thank all the media persons, be it reporters of television channels, print media, editors, columnists, from the bottom of my heart for their cooperation in the last 13 years. I am hopeful that we will continue to work for development of Gujarat and India,” Modi said. Modi completed all his tasks in Gujarat like resigning from the post of the Chief Minister and MLA and giving the state a new chief minister in form of Anandiben Patel before leaving for Delhi. (PTI)
Attempts to post bizarre pictures proves fatal
Thiruvananthapuram: Attempts to click bizarre pictures to upload them on social networking sites ended in tragedy with a 16-year-old boy being run over by a train and another dying while videographing his own mock hanging. One of them, Edwin, wanted his friends to take photos of him standing on the rail track at Chiyyaram near Thrissur yesterday. He wanted these pictures to be posted on a social networking site, his friends told police. But the boy was fatally knocked down by a speeding train from behind before he could jump off the track. Apart from his friends, those who were witness to the tragedy included Edwin’s brother, police said. The seriously injured Edwin was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. In another incident, a 32-year-old man died while trying to photograph himself in a mock act of hanging on Tuesday. The deceased, Abhilash from Eruva near Kayamkulam, was taking a selfie of the macabre act on his mobile phone at his home where no one was present at the fatal moment. Police said it was suspected that Abhilash’s intention was to picture a mock act of hanging, but the noose around his neck got tightened before he could extricate himself. In both cases, the mobile phones had been seized and investigations were on, police said. (PTI)
India condemns China terror attack
New Delhi: India on Thursday strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Urumqi, China, in which at least 31 people were killed, saying it opposes terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In a statement here, the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said “we strongly condemn the terrorist attack which took place earlier today at Urumqi, China. India opposes terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We extend condolences to the families of the victims.” At least 31 people were killed and 90 others injured in a series of explosions in an open-air market in Urumqi, capital of China’s restive Xinjiang province which is home to mostly Muslim Uighurs, the bloodiest “terror” attack in recent years blamed on radical separatists. China called the attack a “serious violent terrorist incident” and domestic security chief Meng Jianzhu vowed to strengthen a crackdown on the “arrogance of terrorists”. Ninety-four people were wounded. (PTI)
359th Urs of Shah Jahan commences from May 25
Agra: The 359th annual Urs of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan will begin at the Taj Mahal here from May 25 to 27 and entry will be free for visitors during the three-day celebrations. “There would be free entry to the monument from 2 PM to sunset on May 25 and 26, and on May 27 no entree fee will be charged throughout the day,” N K Pathak, Chief Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Agra Zone said here today. Khudddam-e-Rauza Committee, the traditional caretaker of the Taj, would put a 735-meter-long chadar on the cenotaph of Shah Jahan, he said. Committee president Tahiruddin Tahir said that the length of the chadar to be placed on the tomb had been increased by 70-metres from the 635-meters length of last year. Besides, a chadar made of 359 garlands would also be offered by the Shahi Mosque Fatehpuri to mark the Urs on May 27, Saeed Khan, the Mutawalli of the mosque said. During the Urs, prince Yakub Habeebuddin Tusi of Hyderabad, who claims to be the great grandson of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, makes an annual pilgrimage to the monument and offers prayers there. Shahjahan was the fifth Mughal emperor who ruled the empire for 30 years from 1628 to 1658 before he was deposed by his son Aurangzeb. He died in 1666. He had erected the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. (PTI)
Cousin tries to rape minor
BARWANI: In an incident that drives home the need for keeping a watchful eye in order to protect girls from sexual assaults, a Rangaon village-resident four-year-old’s first cousin has been arrested for attempting to rape her. Police said that on Monday afternoon, Lakhan Singh called the child on some pretext and committed the crime. At that juncture, the kid’s parents were not at home. A female neighbour witnessed the attempt and raised the alarm. (UNI)