Author: Himalaya Post

New Delhi/Patna (Bihar) [India] – United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said that the defeat in the election to the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post should not be perceived as lack of unity in the Opposition. She said, “Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.” When media reporters asked whether the Opposition unity was falling apart, Gandhi said, “No…why?” The reaction of the former Congress president came a few hours after National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh was announced as the new Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Harivansh Narayan Singh polled 125 votes out of 332 whereas Congress candidate BK Hariprasad bagged 105 votes only. Two members of the Aam Aadmi Party abstained from voting. Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated Singh for being elected as the new Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman. “I congratulate Harivansh Narayan Singh for being elected as the new Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman,” Kumar tweeted. Soon after Harivansh Narayan Singh was announced as the winner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other members of the House walked up to him and congratulated. The post of the Deputy Chairman has been lying vacant since June 2018 after the retirement of Congress leader PJ Kurien. At the farewell of Kurien, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu had urged the ruling and opposition parties to find a suitable replacement...

NEW DELHI – As many as 22 people have been killed and several others missing in floods and landslides, triggered by heavy rains, in the southern Indian state of Kerala in the past 24 hours, officials said Thursday. The deaths were reported from the districts of Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Ernakulam. “With two more latest deaths reported from Ernakulam district, the toll has now risen to 22. Earlier 11 people died in Idukki, while six lost their lives in Malappuram, two in Kozhikode and one in Wayanad,” a disaster management official said. “Several low-lying areas have been flooded. Also a number of people are missing in Palakkad, Wayanad and Kozhikode districts. Several teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the state,” he added. Aviation officials said that such was the impact of heavy rains that flights operations had to be stopped for some time at the state’s Cochin International Airport that is close to the Periyar river due to fears of flooding because of opening of Idukki dam shutters. “But all flights have now resumed, considering an improvement in the situation,” an airport spokesperson said. Local TV channels reported that schools and colleges have been closed in large parts of the state and the annual Nehru boat race in Alappuzha district has been postponed because of the heavy showers lashing Kerala. State Chief Minister...

Baramulla,India – At least five terrorists have been gunned down by the security forces in an ongoing encounter in Rafiabad in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Yesterday, the security forces had killed four terrorists. The operation was later halted to due to a bad weather. The security forces once again started the operation on Thursday morning. This comes after security forces in another incident arrested a terrorist identified as Abdul Majid Shah, a resident of Iqbal Colony, in Pattan Baramulla in Awantipora on Tuesday. On search, arms, ammunition and other incriminating material were recovered from him. The terrorist was travelling in a car bearing registration number DL9CM0213, and he was on his way to meet other terrorists active in the area. ...