New Delhi: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been embroiled in fresh allegations of corruption. Vijayan's daughter Veen Vijayan was paid Rs 1.72 crore by a Kerala mining company between 2017 and 2022. The amount was given to Veena for providing income tax related services. Veena runs a company called Xalogica which provides income tax and other tax related services. The newspaper, which claims that the money was paid to Veena, claims that the money was paid even though Veena's company had nothing to do with the mining company and provided no services. The Income Tax Department has issued a notice to Veena's company in this regard.

Veena's husband Mohammad Rias is the Tourism Minister in the Vijayan government. There have been allegations of nepotism against Vijayan before, now the scandal has come out. However, given Vijayan's dominance in the CPM, nothing is likely to happen to Vijayan.

Did Rahul show humanity or arranged?

A video of Rahul Gandhi helping a young man on his way to Parliament has gone viral. Rahul was on his way to Parliament when he saw a scooter accident on the road. He immediately stopped his car and seated the person who had fallen from the scooter and asked about his whereabouts.

Rahul even helped her stand the scooter and then shook her hand. Congress has put the video of this incident on social media and termed Rahul as Janayak.

BJP calls this video scripted. BJP leaders say that this play is being done to create the image of Rahul as a leader with a humane approach. The Congress says that BJP leaders do such dramas while watching the media, so they feel that everyone is doing dramas.

Attempted murder case against Chandrababu

The Jagan Mohan Reddy government of Andhra Pradesh registered a case against TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu for assaulting YSA Congress workers and made him the first accused. According to the case registered by the police, Naidu instigated TDP workers to attack YSR Congress workers. Police have registered a case of attempted murder against Chandrababu Naidu.

When Chandrababu went to attend an event, YSR Congress workers went to protest and present him. The TDP workers protested him and clashed. Such political skirmishes are common but Jagan has accused several top TDP leaders including Naidu.

Assembly elections are due in Andhra next year. This election is a battle of survival for both Jagan and Chandrababu, so both are trying their best to defeat each other.

Kamal Nath's claim, India is a Hindu nation

A statement of Congress leader Kamal Nath has gone viral. When Kamal Nath was asked about the demand made by some people to make India a Hindu nation, Kamal Nath asked that there is a need to call India a separate Hindu nation, right? 82 percent of people in India are Hindus, so India is a Hindu nation.

Asaduddin Owaisi has termed Kamal Nath's statement as exposing the real face of Congress. Owaisi says that Kamal Nath is also speaking the same language that Sangh's Mohan Bhagwat is speaking. Hate is being trafficked in the love shop of Congress.

Kamal Nath has adopted a Hindutva agenda to win Congress back in Madhya Pradesh. As part of it, Kamal Nath and his son Nakul Nath performed Dhirendra Shastri's aarti which was also criticized by Congressmen including Acharya Pramod Krishna.

***

Less coverage on Doordarshan to opposition: Mahua Moitra

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra criticized Doordarshan ahead of her speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, saying that she has to speak in the House today. If the shameless and discriminatory Parliament TV (Doordarshan) were to focus elsewhere during my speech, let me say that I am wearing a bright pink and green saree. Earlier, he alleged on Wednesday that Doordarshan was not showing enough time on the screen when opposition leaders were speaking in the House during the debate on the no-confidence motion. He also raised the issue of the flying case controversy that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi floated towards the ruling party during the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Also, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, who remained silent on allegations of sexual harassment against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh by women wrestlers, questioned 'What is your priority?'

Assam Chief Minister's Allegation: Fakhruddin ran away from Tezpur

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who shielded Modi against the opposition attack that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit violence-hit Manipur, threw light on the past performance of the country's former president and Congress leader Marhum Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and told reporters in Dispur that during the war between India and China in 1962, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was sent to Tezpur, but he escaped from there. Even the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru never visited Assam during this war. Congress Lok Sabha MP Abdul Khaliq asked Chief Minister Sarma to reveal the source of his comments about former President Ahmad. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted that Sarma is a product of the BJP washing machine. It is noteworthy that Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who became the fifth President of the country in 1974, was originally from Assam. A notable fact about Ahmad, who died in February 1977, is that Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad signed the declaration of emergency imposed on the country by Indira Gandhi in June 1975.

Smart Phones: More for gaming, less for grades

According to a survey conducted by the Delhi-based Development Intelligence Unit (DIU) focusing on students in rural areas of 20 states and Union Territories, 49.3 percent of students in these areas use smart phones. However, 76.7 percent of these students use it for entertainment purposes: playing video games and watching movies. Only 34 percent of students use smartphones for study purposes, while 18 percent do online learning through tutorials. Students aged 6 to 16 were covered in the survey.

Center's tension on the issue of lack of tribal related information

According to the report on health facilities for tribal women presented in the Lok Sabha by the Committee on Women Empowerment of the Centre, the sample registration system report of the country's Registrar General for 2017-2019 did not provide separate information about the deaths of tribal women during childbirth. The committee also noted that the country has a population of 943 females for every 1,000 males, while the ratio is as high and better as 990 females among tribals. However, more tribal women die during childbirth due to child marriage, early motherhood, low body-mass index and high prevalence of anaemia. The health ministry, in response, cited the SRS report as saying that 103 maternal deaths occur nationally out of every one lakh deliveries.

Manipur Police FIR against Assam Rifles

Security forces are upset with the situation created by the Manipur Police having to file a First Instance Crime Report (FIR) against the Assam Rifles while the country's army has been proactive in preventing violence in Manipur in the face of many real challenges. Efforts are being made to quash the above FIR when the Manipur Police itself is divided in the ethnic strife of the Maiti and Kuki peoples of Manipur. The FIR is a mistake and is likely to be quashed, said a source. The Manipur Police feel that the Assam Rifles jawans are giving an easy escape to the Kuki terrorists during the combing operation.

- Inder Sahni