KCR unlikely to receive and see off Modi at Hyderabad airport Modi is landing at Shamshabad at 2.15 pm on Saturday and would fly in a helicopter to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics campus in Patancheru to inaugurate the 50th anniversary celebrations of the institution. Deviating from protocol norms, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is unlikely to receive and see off Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be coming on a half-day visit to Hyderabad on Saturday. An official release from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said state minister for animal husbandry, fisheries, dairy development and cinematography Talasani Srinivas Yadav has been nominated as the minister-in waiting to receive and see off the prime minister. The chief minister has asked the minister to receive,
accompany and see off the prime minister on behalf of the state government. This is the schedule as of now, unless the chief minister changes his mind at the last moment,” an official from Yadav’s office said. Modi is landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad at 2.15 pm on Saturday and would fly in a helicopter to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru on the city outskirts to inaugurate the 50th anniversary celebrations of the institution. He would return to the airport at around 4.30 pm and from there, he would travel by road to Sriramanagaram, the ashram of Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, where he would dedicate to the nation the ‘Statue of Equality,’ the 216ft statue of 11th century Vaishnavaite saint Sri
Ramanujacharya. The chief minister, however, would be attending the Sri Ramanujacharya statue unveiling ceremony, along with the Prime Minister, according to a CMO spokesperson. The development comes in the wake of the latest outburst by the chief minister against Modi while reacting to the Union budget at a press conference on Tuesday. While making serious
Kerala gold smuggling case: Main accused says CM’s secretary was aware of her activities Talking to news channel Asianet, Swapna shot back saying he was aware of everything and he can’t wash off his hands like this. A day after excerpts of senior IAS officer M Sivasankar’s autobiography that detailed his trials and tribulations as an accused in the sensational gold smuggling case came out, main accused Swapna Suresh on Friday took strong exceptions to some of his comments and said he was “aware of everything”. In the excerpts, carried by a Malayalam literary magazine “Pachhakuthira”, Sivasankar claimed that he was not aware of Swapna’s links with the smuggling racket and he feels she cheated him. In the book, Sivasankar also denied all charges against him and claimed that main target of central agencies was Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Talking to news channel Asianet, Swapna shot back saying he was aware of everything and he can’t wash off his hands like this. “If he said I cheated him, it was totally wrong. I was branded as a bad woman by many and I never thought he will also be a part of them. He can’t be given a clean chit by branding me like this,” she said, adding that she did not read what he said in the book. When newsmen persisted with posers, she said she was close to him and he was aware of her activities. “He only gave me job in the space park. He gave me the job only after recognising my capability, not my degree. Even my bio-data for the job was corrected by
him and I met many persons suggested by him for the interview,” she said. “So, many people exploited me. I am also a victim. But I suffered everything in last two years and did not utter a word to media so far. But if some people think they can get away by sacrificing me I will not allow this to happen,” Swapna said in the interview with the news channel. When asked about Sivasankar’s claim that she trapped him by gifting an I-Phone on his birthday, she said she gifted so many other things and he took up only the phone since it turned an object of evidence in the case. “He was an important person in my life. I never thought he will disown me like this. He was aware of everything,” Swapna said. She also said she got some commission from the Life Mission project and they (she and Sivasankar) had a joint account to share this. She said she will say more when more details emerge after the release of the book. She also said at one point of time, Sivasankar was planning to take voluntary retirement and settle in the UAE. Despite repeated attempts, Sivasankar could not be contacted for his response.
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Meanwhile, a senior government official said the IAS officer did not take permission from the government to write the book as it was mandatory for civil servants to take permission of the government before giving an interview, writing a book or going public on an issue. Three years back, DGP Jacob Thomas was suspended from service for more than eight months for writing a book without permission. The gold smuggling case came to light on July 5, 2020 when the customs department seized 30 kg gold hidden in bathroom fittings in one of the consignments, camouflaged as diplomatic baggage, came in the name of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. The CM’s principal secretary Sivasankar was implicated in the case by central agencies for his alleged association with prime accused Swapna. The case also saw the central and state governments locking horns several times with the latter even constituting a judicial commission against the ED, a first of its sort, alleging the agency’s bid to implicate many senior leaders including the CM. The high court later scrapped the judicial commission.
comments against Modi, KCR, as the chief minister is known, called upon the people of the country to throw the Modi government in Bay of Bengal. He, however, said he would follow the protocol during the Prime Minister’s visit to Hyderabad on February 5. This is the second time that KCR will not be receiving Modi as per the protocol. On November 28, 2020, too, the chief minister stayed away from Modi’s visit to
Hyderabad to inspect the Covid-19 vaccine-making facility at Bharat Biotech in Genome Valley. The PMO office had informed to the CMO then that KCR won’t have to come to the airport to receive Modi and only five persons including the chief secretary Somesh Kumar, Director General of Police M Mahendar Reddy, then Cyberabad Commissioner V C Sajjannar and Medchal District Collector Shweta Mohanty were allowed to receive the Prime Minister. On January 13 this year, KCR skipped the video conference convened by Modi with CMs of various states and senior officials to review the Covid-19 situation. Instead, he deputed health minister T Harish Rao and chief secretary Somesh Kumar to attend the meeting. Meanwhile, the Telangana police have made elaborate
security arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit to Hyderabad on Saturday, keeping in view the recent unsavoury incident he had to face in Punjab. Around 7,000 police personnel, including Central teams, are being deployed as part of the security for Modi’s visit. DGP Mahender Reddy on Friday inspected the airport and the two venues where the Prime Minister would be going to oversee the security arrangements. At the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the ICRISAT, the Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. He will also unveil a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launch a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion, the official note from ICRISAT said.
Barring slogan shouting by AIMIM workers, Friday prayers pass off peacefully in Hyderabad Hundreds of police forces, including those from Quick Response Team and Rapid Action Forces, were pressed into service and positioned in and around Charminar to avoid any untoward incident. Barring slogan shouting by activists of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in protest against the Thursday’s firing on a convoy of party president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi in Uttar Pradesh, situation remained peaceful the Friday prayers at historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad. Police made heavy security arrangements at the Mecca Masjid adjacent to Charminar, amid announcement by the AIMIM that a protest rally would be taken out soon after the prayers at the mosque. Under the auspices of Hyderabad deputy commissioner of police commissioner (south zone) Gaja Rao Bhupal, senior police officials supervised
security arrangements. Hundreds of police forces, including those from Quick Response Team and Rapid Action Forces, were pressed into service and positioned in and around Charminar to avoid any untoward incident. However, following instructions from Owaisi, the AIMIM activists withdrew their plan to take out rally. However, some youngsters raised slogans against the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, blaming it for the attack on
the AIMIM chief, before being dispersed by police. Shops and restaurants in and around Charminar and Mecca Masjid remained closed till the afternoon, in the wake of the proposed protest rally by the AIMIM. BJP legislator from Hyderabad T Raja Singh said Owaisi’s provocative speeches might have led to the attack on him. “However, we don’t support the firing at the MP and condemn the same,” he told reporters.
Hijab Row: Congress To Raise Issue In Assembly, Says Siddaramaiah Bengaluru: After female students wearing 'Hijab' were denied entry into Bhandarkas' College in Karnataka's Kundapura, Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Assembly and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday alleged that the aim of this is to deprive Muslim girls of education. "This is the plan of depriving female students of education. The aim is to deprive female children of
education," Siddaramaiah told the mediapersons in Bengaluru. On being asked about Hindu students wearing saffron shawls in protest against the use of hijab in the college, he said, "Wearing a Saffron shawl has been in practice for a few days, but wearing a Hijab has been in practice for several years. The issue is sub judice in the court of law. The hijab has been around for a long time," he said.
