Trader stops for tea on highway, loses Rs 1 crore cash stashed in car’s boot (2024)

In a major jolt to Congress in Madhya Pradesh, former union minister Suresh Pachouri, former MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi and several others joined the BJP on Saturday in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president VD Sharma and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the party’s state headquarters in Bhopal.

Former MLAs Sanjay Shukla, Arjun Paliya, and Vishal Patel were among the leaders of the Congress who also joined the ruling party in the State.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and dedicated the world’s longest bi-lane Sela Tunnel project to the nation, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Itanagar on Saturday. The State CM Pema Khandu was also present at the event.

The Tunnel constructed on the road connecting Tezpur to Tawang in the State has been constructed at an altitude of 13000 feet with a total cost of Rs 825 Crore and will provide all-weather connectivity to the Tawang Region of Arunachal Pradesh. The foundation stone of Sela Tunnel was laid by PM Modi on 09 Feb 2019.

Addressing the ‘Viksit Bharat Viksit Northeast’ programme in Itanagar, PM Modi said that people must have heard of the ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’. People will realize its meaning once they reach Arunachal. The entire Northeast is a witness to this, he added.

Congress had neglected the border villages and termed them the last villages. But for the Modi government, this is the first village and so Centre started the Vibrant Village Programme, he said.

The Prime Minister responded to the Opposition bloc INDIA alliance’s attack on him over his family. PM Modi said he is putting together bricks to construct ‘Viksit Bharat’ and working day and night for the better future of the youth. But, ‘Parivarvadi’ leaders of the INDIA alliance have increased their attacks on Modi.

He added, What INDIA alliance has been asking him, ‘Modi ka parivar kaun hai’? (who are Modi’s family). Modi reminded those who have been abusing him that every family living in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh is saying, ‘Ye Modi ka parivar hai’ (This is Modi’s family).

From Independence till 2014, around 10,000 km of National Highway was constructed in the Northeast. However, in the last 10 years, more than 6,000 km of National Highway has been constructed in the Northeast. PM Modi claimed that his government has completed the work of seven decades in just one.

CM Khandu, addressing the gathering, thanked PM Modi for coming to Itanagar and inaugurating several development projects in the North East on behalf of the citizens of Arunachal Pradesh.

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The Congress on Friday released its first list of 39 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi will contest again from Kerala’s Wayanad, while former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has been fielded from Rajnandgaon.

Shashi Tharoor has been fielded for the third time from Thiruvananthapuram. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal has been fielded from Kerala’s Alappuzha seat. Former Chhattisgarh Minister Tamardwaj Sahu will contest from Mahasamund and Jyotsna Mahant has been fielded from Korba.

The 39-strong list includes DK Suresh, brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who has been fielded again from Bengaluru Rural. The party has fielded 16 candidates in Kerala, 7 in Karnataka, 6 in Chhattisgarh, 4 in Telangana, 2 in Meghalaya, 1 each in Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Lakshadweep.

The Congress first list features 15 candidates from the General Category and 24 Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBC candidates.

The primary announcement of names includes southern and northeastern states, except for Chhattisgarh and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The majority of the candidates, at 16, have been announced from Kerala, with the Congress expected to accommodate its allies in remaining four seats.

The CPI(M) in Kerala had been canvassing the Congress to not field Gandhi from Wayanad, he is likely to face the CPI’s Annie Raja, the wife of CPI leader D. Raja.

The lopsided list is evidence of the tie-ups in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere where the Congress has decided to play second fiddle. The Samajwadi Party will play the main role in UP, a similar arrangement is likely in Bihar with the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The party has been keen to ally with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and has evinced its readiness. Talks in Maharashtra have been smoother but the party not announcing names from that state indicate alliance level talks are still on.

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