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Kolkata, Feb 21 (IANS) The Chairman of English Bazar Municipality in West Bengal's Malda district on Friday filed a police complaint after receiving extortion messages and calls reportedly from the D-Company.Malda district police have started an investigation into the matter and enhanced the security arrangements for Municipality Chairman and former state minister Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury.As per the police complaint filed by Chowdhury, during the last couple of days, he had received two consecutive messages on his mobile phone where the sender claimed to be Pradeep of D-Company and threatened him of eliminating his entire family unless he paid an amount of Rs 20 lakh within 24 hours.However, Chowdhury said that he considered the messages a prank, Chowdhury claimed, he did not give much...

Gondia (Maharashtra), Feb 21 (IANS) Shiv Sena supremo and Deputy Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday targeted his former boss and Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying a wolf does not become a tiger by wearing the skin of a big cat."Some people have lost their mental balance. They are now talking about breaking heads. But those who are in a situation like Asrani in the movie Sholay should not talk like that. You need to have strength in your wrist to challenge. A wolf does not become a tiger by wearing a tiger's skin," he said at the party rally in Deori in Gondia district of the Vidarbha region.“They (Shiv Sena UBT) were defeated in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Now they will be defeated in the upcoming local body elections as well,” he claimed.Shinde said th...

Bhopal, Feb 21 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav extended his greetings to the new Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly Vijender Gupta and Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht. Chief Minister Yadav said that the House will certainly benefit from the long-term experience and knowledge of parliamentary traditions of Speaker Gupta and Deputy Speaker Bisht. After CM Rekha Gupta and the Council of Ministers, the victorious BJP has appointed Rohini MLA Vijender Gupta as Speaker of the Delhi Assembly.Gupta, who was marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly many times during the 10-year rule of former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government, will now lead the House. Vijender Gupta was among those three BJP MLAs who could win the Assembly elections in Delhi during the Kejriwal wave b...

Hyderabad, Feb 21 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday announced that women's self-help groups will be allotted land for setting up one petrol pump in every district.Inaugurating the first petrol pump set up by the Zilla Mahila Samaikhya in Narayanpet district, the Chief Minister said it was a delightful moment that a women's group has set up a petrol pump for the first time in the country.He stated that initially, the government would make arrangements for women groups to set up one petrol pump in each district on government land. Later, steps will be taken for one petrol pump in each Assembly constituency.He claimed that the ‘people’s government’ accorded top priority to the welfare and development of women. "Self-help groups have been revived soon after the people'...

Rohtak, Feb 21 (IANS) A huge number of farmers across the country are benefiting from the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. While talking to them, their happiness can be easily felt. The farmers from Haryana's Rohtak say that since the scheme began, their economic condition has improved, and they have found a lot of relief in their farming activities. Talking to IANS, a farmer Jagmendra said, "The Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme launched by the Prime Minister is very good. It has many advantages. It helps with the purchase of fertilisers, seeds, insecticides, or for any household or farming needs. Since the instalments started, there has been some benefit. So far, 18 instalments have come. Sometimes there are delays, but the scheme is still beneficial, he added.“Earlier, there were many difficultie...

Srinagar, Feb 21 (IANS) A traders association in Srinagar's historic Lal Chowk on Friday put out an appeal to the tourists to not consume alcohol or drugs and avoid smoking and spitting on the roads during their visit to Kashmir.A large signboard was put up near the Clock Tower in Lal Chowk by the local traders today, which said: "Welcome, dear tourists. The Traders Association Central Lal Chowk invites you to experience the beauty of our heaven on Earth! For a memorable and enjoyable trip, we kindly request: Love & cherish your family.""Avoid liquor, drugs, spitting on the roads and smoking. Respect our culture and traditions. Stay blessed and enjoy time in our enchanting city! Thank You."A debate has been recently generated in Kashmir about imposing a ban on liquor in the Valley.This...

Bhubaneswar, Feb 21 (IANS) Odisha Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said on Friday said that efforts are on to bring back the Nepali students and also assured them to bear the travel expenses of all the students returning back to their campuses at KIIT University in Bhubaneswar.Speaking during the discussion on the adjournment motion moved by the legislators of the opposition Congress party on the issue, Suraj on Friday said in the Odisha Assembly that remedial classes will be organised for the students and, if required, the government will ensure the mid-semester examination gets postponed.He also said that the government has promised to bear the travel expenses of the Nepali students returning to the campus.The Higher Education Minister in his speech asserted that the governmen...

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) Reiterating the Delhi government’s resolve to fulfill commitments made to the public, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday said that she has started seeking status reports from all departments and preparing layout plans for welfare schemes.“You will get to know about the outcomes soon,” she told mediapersons as she stepped out of her office at the Delhi Secretariat.Earlier in the day, she met President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.“Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt Rekha Gupta called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” read a post on the official 'X' account of Rashtrapati Bhavan while uploading a picture of their meeting.In the government’s first Cabinet meeting, the CM approved a 100-day plan for the new administration, decided to...

Kohima, Feb 21 (IANS) Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the top leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) held a meeting in Dimapur on Friday and decided to hold fresh formal talks between the government and the dominant Naga group soon, officials said.A Nagaland government official said that MHA’s advisor, North East, A.K. Mishra on Friday held a meeting with NSCN-IM’s General Secretary and chief negotiator Thuingaleng Muivah and discussed various aspects of the Naga political issue."Two other senior leaders of the NSCN-IM attended the meeting. Both sides decided to hold formal talks at the earliest to take forward the long-pending Naga political issue,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Mishra, who came to Nagaland on Thursda...

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia on Friday accused Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of indulging in anti-national activities and colluding with foreign forces to "defeat" Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom his party has failed to beat in elections.Bhatia said that Rahul Gandhi cannot digest the fact that PM Modi has become a global leader while seeking answers from the Congress leader about the revelation made about USAID's attempt to influence Indian elections and his links with American investor George Soros and US politician and anti-India baiter Ilhan Omar.Referring to US President Donald Trump’s statement, detailing how USAID funding was being used to interfere in India's electoral process, Bhatia said that the Congress has now become anti-India ...