NEWS

New Delhi: Actor-politician Rajinikanth has suggested he had been misunderstood and insisted that he only meant that if the Opposition was working on a front against the BJP, they clearly perceived the ruling party at the centre as a danger. He was clarifying his remark about the BJP that was widely seen as an attempt to distance himself from the party.

Rajinikanth, who has been vocal in his support of the BJP in the past, was seen as taking a pot-shot at the BJP when reporters asked him about the opposition effort to unite and its campaign that pitched the BJP as a dangerous party.

He had responded “if everybody thinks that way, definitely it could be”. The brief response had even surprised BJP leaders in the state.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto for the December 7 Assembly polls in Telangana has proposed introduction of Yoga in schools and colleges. It also proposed setting up a Sanskrit University in the state besides establishment of a board for welfare of IT sector employees.

These measures are in addition to other proposals made earlier, including regulation of sale and consumption of liquor, free trips to certain religious places like Sabarimala and distribution of one lakh cows every year.

“This (introduction of Yoga in schools and colleges) is not linked to Hindutva. Yoga is for better health,” BJP’s manifesto committee Chairman NVSS Prabhakar said. The manifesto would be formally released soon.

New Delhi: Cyclonic storm “Gaja” is likely to develop in to a severe cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and bring heavy rains to the two states so fishermen and local people have been warned to stay away from the sea in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

IMD meteorologists, however, said the severe cyclonic storm may weaken before its landfall on November 15. “The cyclonic storm ‘GAJA’ over west-central and adjoining east-central and southeast Bay of Bengal moved south-south-westwards with a speed of 8 kmph,” IMD said in its bulletin.

“We haven’t issued evacuation warning yet but people should stay safe. Gaja is developing into a severe cyclonic storm but it will weaken marginally before landfall,” said M Mohapatra, director of meteorology at IMD.

New Delhi: In his Lok Sabha constituency in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated two important roads having a total length of 34 kilometres and built at a cost of Rs 1,571.95 crore.

He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari.

The 16.55-km-long Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been built at a cost of Rs 759.36 crore, while the work of four-laning and construction of 17.25 km Babatput-Varanasi road on NH-56 cost Rs 812.59 crore, an official release said.