NEWS

New Delhi: Union minister and state election in charge Prakash Javadekar said that no one will be allowed to change their seats while “winnability” will be the only factor in deciding the candidate. Amid speculation that several BJP ministers and MLAs in Rajasthan were searching for safe seats for the coming assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference at the new BJP media centre here, Javadekar said: “No one will be allowed to change seats. Candidates will be changed.”

On children of BJP leaders seeking tickets, the Union minister for human resource development said any party worker who has the greatest chance of winning will be fielded, and there was no formula on whether the BJP would allow MPs to contest polls.

New Delhi: Two persons died and more than a dozen injured in a stampede at Santragachi rail station in West Bengal’s Howrah. The incident took place around 8 pm at Santragachi rail station, about 4 km from Howrah. The stampede was triggered by announcement of two trains arriving simultaneously at the station.

“Two persons have died and several have been injured. The state government would give Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead. We would conduct an inquiry into the incident,” said chief minister Mamata Banerjee. She also announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the injured.

Local Trinamool Congress MLA Jatu Lahiri said 2 children are among the injured. The chief minister said the foot overbridge was too narrow to handle the pressure of the passengers. “Railways is the main lifeline of the nation. Lifeline of the nation should not be derailed. Railways must take proper care for passengers. I can’t blame railways. Let them investigate. If there is a rush, they must clear the rush,” Banerjee said.

New Delhi: Delhi journalist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra was arrested by the Bhubaneswar police after hours of questioning. He was in the centre of controversy in Odisha over his allegedly derogatory tweets on the Jagannath and Konark temples.

Bhubaneswar police commissioner Satyajit Mohanty said Iyer-Mitra was arrested in connection with a case registered against him in the state capital for allegedly making offensive remarks that could cause communal disturbances and sent to judicial custody. The case was filed at Saheed Nagar police station September 20 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act by activist Manoranjan Swain.

New Delhi: Lok Sabha constituency of her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has sparked a verbal spat between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party with posters accusing Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of being “missing” and terming her an “emotional blackmailer” have been seen in some areas of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

The headline of the posters read “Madam Priyanka Vadra is missing,” with “emotional blackmailer” written below her picture.

Saying they were waiting for a glimpse of her, the posters cited her absence after the rail accident in Harchandpur and the tragedies at NTPC plant in Unchahar and Rowlpur in the constituency as well as in festivals.