Quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel has demanded the release of Patel youths convicted in various riots cases of 2002, but alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not facilitate it as he now wants to project himself as a “secular” leader to the world.

Patel in a letter to Modi, has listed 102 Patel community members, who have been awarded life imprisonment in different riot cases of 2002.

“Everybody knows that Narendra Modi first became chief minister of Gujarat taking the benefit of 2002 riots and then become Prime Minister of the country,” Hardik Patel said in a letter addressed to Modi accusing him of being responsible for the carnage.

“Many Patidar youths have been sentenced (by courts) in riots cases. I have given a list below,” he said in the letter.

Patel is at present residing in Udaipur, as he has been asked to stay outside Gujarat by the State High Court as part of one of his bail conditions.

“All these Patel youths are rotting in jails of Gujarat.

Modiji is now Prime Minister. He can recommend to the President for release of Patel youths involved in riots and get them released,” Hardik said in the letter.

“But, I know Modiji will not do that as he wants to show the country and the world that he is a secular person. Modiji has misused Gujaratis and particularly Patidars,” Hardik alleged.

He then goes on to give a list of various riots cases and number of youths convicted by courts in this connection.

A year back, Hardik had started his agitation with a demand for inclusion of his community in the OBC category for reservation.

Violence had erupted after he held a mega rally here on August 25 last year in which government and private property worth crores of rupees were damaged and 11 persons, including one policemen, were killed.

Later, he was arrested on sedition charges and spent about nine months in jail. He was released thereafter following which he formed a new team for his agitation.

His old associates like Ketan Patel and Chirag Patel, who were co-accused in sedition case with him have alleged that the young leader has amassed wealth in the name of Patel quota agitation. They have also accused him of ruining the agitation due to his ambition of becoming a leader at a young age.PTI

The ongoing unrest in Kashmir has led to a whopping Rs 6,400-crore loss to the economy of the Valley, with businesses being badly hit due to curfew and separatist sponsored strikes.

Tourist and other business activities in Kashmir have come to a halt for the past 49 days after protests erupted in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on July 8.

Clashes between protesters and security forces have claimed the lives of 66 people and left thousands of others injured.

Shops, business establishments, private offices and petrol pumps have been shut as the separatists groups have called for a complete strike to protest the civilian deaths in the violence after Wani’s killing.

The separatists have announced periods of relaxation, but they are usually in the night which does not help the traders who allege that there have been instances of masked youths or even security forces forcing the shopkeepers to down the shutters.

“Kashmir is suffering losses of about Rs 135 crore daily. This estimates to over Rs 6,400 crore so far,” Mohammad Yaseen Khan, president Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), said here.

Khan, however, said these figures were based on the daily business six months ago.

He said the trader community wants the Kashmir issue to be resolved permanently

The state government has suffered revenue losses close to Rs 300 crore in the past one-anda-a-half months.

“The collection of levies and taxes has come down drastically since the unrest began. The sales tax collection has been the worst hit,” an official in the Finance department said.

Similarly, tourism, considered to be the mainstay of Kashmir’s economy, has also come to a stand still.

“People are turning away from Kashmir due to the unrest,” a tourism player said here.

He said that hotels and houseboats were empty and famous tourist spots were looking desolated.

An official of the Tourism Department, who did not wish to be named, admitted that tourism in the Valley was on decline but said they were “helpless”.

“What can we do? The department is helpless. We cannot go outside the state and ask people to visit the Valley.

“How can we even expect people to visit the Valley when the situation is such,” the official said.

Till this situation is addressed and the issue resolved, the tourism would continue to be affected, he said.

The Nagaland Legislative Assembly today ratified the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill.

The bill was endorsed by the House by a voice vote following a brief discussion.

Introducing the bill, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiyanilie Peseyie said the revenue of the state would go up as tax evasion would be checked due to transparency and broadening of tax base.

“A purely consuming state like Nagaland will benefit even more since GST is based on the destination principle,” he said, adding, tax administration would improve since most of the activity would be online.

“Bhago yahan se” (go away from here)–a voice suddenly booms from a dark corner of a street in curfew-bound Srinagar as dusk falls.

This is the voice of a para-military personnel behind a concertina wire who tries to prevent movement of people on the main road here and is unwilling to listen to anyone even if one is carrying a curfew pass or has some emergency.

Srinagar like any other part of Kashmir is witnessing the longest spell of curfew since July 8 when unrest broke out in the Valley.

“This has become a daily routine. To walk just across the chowk, which is only 500 metres away, I have to take a detour of nearly two kilometres through narrow lanes and by-lanes to reach my aunt’s place,” says Mushtaq Mir, a resident of Rainawari locality in downtown city.

Mir is carrying some medicines for his aunt who has been suffering from age-related ailments.

Changing his path, Mir, accompanied by his wife, finally chose another route to reach his destination but not before a group of young boys try to block his way as he was sneaking from by-lanes.

Armed with ‘lathis’, stones and bottles filled with petrol and kerosene, youngsters will soon inquire every single detail from you and verify everything before letting you go, he said.

“The security forces at least give you a chance to retreat while with youngsters that option is also not available and you are allowed to cross only after every detail has been verified,” says his wife.

This broadly is the experience of an average Kashmiri in the Valley today who is caught between security forces and agitating youths with no end to this misery in sight.

Many such harrowing experiences of anguished residents were shared with a PTI correspondent on a quick round of the city.

“We are not inhuman but we have to act tough as a preventive measure. In case of a medical emergency, we take care and ensure that the patient reaches the hospital,” says a middle-rung paramilitary officer deployed at Rainawari chowk, who spoke on the condition of anonymity..PTI

India today donated 18 fire fighting engines to Nepal to be utilised mostly by newly established municipalities in and around the Kathmandu valley.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over the keys of the fire engines to Minister for Federal Affairs Hitraj Pandey at a function here.

These firefighters will be utilised mostly by newly- established municipalities in and around Kathmandu Valley for controlling fire.

One of the fire fighting engine will be used by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

The fire engines gifted by India will play an important role in saving life and property during the time of emergency, Pandey said while addressing the gathering at the function as he thanked the Indian government for its help.

Ambassador Rae said Nepal and India enjoy close ties and during the time of disasters they extend help to each other.PTI

The Travancore royal family today came out against an audit report by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai over alleged theft of gold valuables from the Sree Padmanabha Swamy shrine here, saying it was never consulted in its preparation.

Adithya Varma, a member of the the erstwhile royal family which had earlier managed the centuries-old shrine, said, “Such huge difference in the figures (regarding the gold valuables) in the report is unbelievable.”

“It has pained us,” he said, adding they had not been consulted before the compilation of the report submitted in the Supreme Court.
“We have not been consulted before the report was prepared. If we were consulted, it would not have happened,” Varma told a regional channel here.

The royal family member also said old Malayalam numerals were used in the temple records and the “mistakes” in the figures might have happened while translating it.

His reaction came in the wake of reports that the Supreme Court-appointed committee, headed by Rai, had found ‘abnormal’ increase in the expenditure at the temple and gold pots valued at Rs 186 crore had gone missing and that it had recommended constitution of a panel to probe the “irregularities”.

The royals had said in a statement last week that Rai committee had submitted the report without seeking any type of explanation from temple Executive Officer, Treasurer or those in responsible positions during the period from April 2002 to April 2014 or from anyone from the royal family.

CPI(M) veteran and former chief minister V S Achuthanandan recently sought a CBI probe into the alleged theft.

One of the richest temples in south India, the shrine is now under the administration of a committee appointed by the apex court as a case is pending over issues related to its management. The Administrative Committee is headed by a district and sessions judge.

The temple, dedicated to Lord Padmanabha, shot to fame after treasures worth crores of rupees were found in the secret vaults of the temple basement four years ago.

India should shed its concerns over pollution and allow Chinese industries to shift their excess capacity to it which would be benificial to both countries, state media here said today.

“India may need to carefully think about whether it wants to resist or embrace the migration of China’s production capacity, which allegedly involves some investment in heavy polluting industries,” an article in the state-run Global Times said.

Referring to reports of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) starting operations at its joint venture plant in Haryana to manufacture and repair locomotives, it said, “the partnership is hardly surprising seeing as India has one of the world’s largest railway network, creating a huge demand for engines and other railway equipment”.

“China’s train makers have an advanced production capacity and have been actively looking for cooperation ties in the world. What is odd is that the cooperation between the two countries has only just now come about,” it said.

State-run Xinhua news agency reported that the plant was set up with an investment USD 63.4 million and the Chinese side holds 51 percent of the share. The India plant will repair and manufacture railway locomotive engines.

The Global Times article said, “there have been some obstacles restricting Chinese enterprises’ access into India, where some people worry that boosting India-China production capacity ties may also bring heavy polluting production into the country”.

“But these concerns are unfounded. The venture plant in India will transform CRRC from a company that exports equipment to one that exports advanced production technology that includes more clean and green methods. Further, this move will boost India’s rail system and drive tax revenue for the local economy,” it said.

“In fact, a considerable part of China’s excess production capacity could be conductive in boosting the local economy if they can be transported to India. A large number of Chinese manufacturers have acquired far more advanced technology than some local Indian firms despite those Chinese enterprises suffered problems of overcapacity domestically,” the article said.

“India may want to consider offering more opportunities for Chinese manufacturers to invest in the country as both countries could enjoy great potential in production capacity cooperation,” it said.PTI

Three people were killed when two vehicles fell into a river after a bridge collapsed in east China’s Jiangxi Province.

The bridge in Xiushui County collapsed last night when an electric motorcycle and a minibus were passing over it.

Two people on the motorcycle were rushed to the county’s hospital by rescuers, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The three passengers trapped in the minibus died.PTI