With 21 "Youth" Members, Average Age Of Congress Top Panel 61

The average age in the newly-formed 84-member Congress Working Committee under party chief Mallikarjun Kharge is 61 years, with the eldest member being former prime minister Manmohan Singh at 90.

The youngest in the CWC is 31-year-old Neeraj Kundan, who is an ex-officio member of the body as the president of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the students' wing of the party.

The Congress has failed to fulfil its promise of having 50 per cent of people below the age of 50 years made in its Udaipur declaration but has maintained 66.6 per cent reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and women as promised during its Raipur plenary session.

An analysis of the decision-making body of the Congress party reveals that it has 12 members of the Scheduled Castes, four from Scheduled Tribes, 16 from other backward classes, nine among minorities and 15 women, besides 43 general category people.

There are 21 'youth' members around the age of 50 years like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sachin Pilot, Deepender Hooda, Meenakshi Natrajan, Praniti Shinde, Supriya Shrinate, B V Srinivas, Alka Lamba, Phulo Devi Netam and Gurdeep Sappal, the party leaders claim.

However, a detailed analysis of the age of all the 39 regular members reveals that the average age is around 66 years, which leaders say is high as some from the old guard like former prime minister Manmohan Singh, A K Antony, Ambika Soni and others had to be accommodated keeping in mind their vast political experience.

Among the regular members, while Manmohan Singh is the eldest at 90 years, Gourav Gogoi, the party's deputy leader in Lok Sabha and son of former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi, is the youngest at 40 years.

Kanhaiya Kumar, 36, has also been included in the CWC among the permanent invitees as he is in-charge of the NSUI.

The Congress had during the Udaipur plenary, where the presidency of Mallikarjun Kharge was ratified, promised to provide 50 per cent reservation for youths at all levels of the party including its top body the CWC.

Also, it was decided to have a 50 per cent reservation in the expanded CWC for SCs/STs/OBCs/Minorities and women.

There are 14 per cent SCs, five per cent STs, 19 per cent Other Backward Classes, 11 per cent minorities and 18 per cent women in the CWC body which includes permanent members, special invitees and the in-charges of various states and heads of front organisations of the party.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is himself 81 years old, has attempted a fine balancing act by ensuring a blend of young and old leaders and giving space to dissident voices who have in the past raised questions on the party leadership.

He included Shashi Tharoor who contested against him for the Congress chief's post, even though his elevation as a regular member has been objected to strongly by senior Congressmen like Ramesh Chennithala in Kerala, under whom Shashi Tharoor had joined.

The CWC includes several leaders from poll-bound states of Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, where assembly elections are due shortly followed by the crucial Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

The all-important Congress Working Committee, formed 10 months after Kharge took charge after defeating Shashi Tharoor, has 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees and 13 special invitees.

While Kanhaiya Kumar and Deepender Hooda have been named among the permanent invitees, the special invitees include Supriya Shrinate, Pawan Khera, Praniti Shinde and Alka Lamba.

Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh, who recently backed the government's push for Uniform Civil Code, also find a place among permanent invitees along with G23 leader Veerappa Moily.

The regular members of the CWC include Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manmohan Singh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Meira Kumar, Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, Lal Thanhawala, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma, Ashokrao Chavan, Ajay Maken and Kumari Selja, according to the party statement.

Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma and Shashi Tharoor, part of the group of 23 dissident leaders who had written to then Congress president Sonia Gandhi and had raised questions on the party's leadership, are among the regular members of the new CWC. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Astrologer Poses As Gujarat Official, Threatens Tax Officer; Arrested

A 28-year-old man working as an astrologer-cum-priest was arrested on Monday for allegedly trying to threaten a Goods and Services Tax (GST) official in Gujarat and interfere in his work by posing as a senior bureaucrat in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), said police.

Based on a complaint submitted by the GST official, the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch arrested one Lavkush Dwivedi, a native of Uttar Pradesh currently residing at Sanand near Ahmedabad city, said a police release.

When the complainant was conducting a survey of a company in Unjha town of Mehsana district a few days back under the provisions of the GST Act, Dwivedi called on his mobile phone and identified himself as a senior officer working in the CMO in Gandhinagar, said the release.

As per the FIR (first information report) registered by the crime branch on the basis of the complaint, Dwivedi, in a threatening tone, asked the GST officer to wind-up his ongoing probe against the firm, it said.

After his arrest, it was revealed the firm under the scanner belonged to Dwivedi's uncle. Dwivedi posed as a CMO official with a hope that GST officials would believe his claim and stop any proceedings against his uncle's firm, said the release.

While Dwivedi works as an astrologer and a priest performing various religious rituals, he is also into providing private security to VIPs, said the police, adding in the past he has misused his political connections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Reckless Driving Led To Uttarakhand Bus Accident In Which 7 Died: Cops

Over-speeding and careless driving led to the bus accident near Gangnani in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district in which seven pilgrims from Gujarat were killed and 28 injured, a senior police official said on Monday.

Driver Mukesh Kumar has been booked under serious provisions of the law, Superintendent of Police (Uttarkashi) Arpan Yaduvanshi told reporters.

Prima facie, over-speeding and careless driving led to Sunday's accident on the Gangotri Highway, he said.

Even the injured passengers, in their statements to the media, spoke about the speed of the bus at the time it fell off a narrow road into a gorge, Yaduvanshi said.

The driver did not have the time to bring the vehicle under control due to over-speeding, he added.

The district magistrate has ordered a magisterial probe into the accident and the police are also investigating it minutely, the officer said.

The driver is among the injured and action will be taken against him once he recovers, he said.

The bus with 35 people on board was returning from Gangotri.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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In Maharashtra's Latur, Sons Won't Get Property, Government Benefits If...

A gram panchayat in Maharashtra's Latur has passed a resolution stating that not taking care of elderly parents will result in their sons and daughters-in-law losing inheritance to property rights.

This resolution was passed in the Independence Day meeting of Yerol gram panchayat in Shiroor-Anantpal tehsil, Deputy Sarpanch Satish Sindalkar told news agency PTI.

Apart from village sarpanch Sukumar Lokre, the meeting was also attended by an agriculture assistant, village development officer and villagers.

"Village development officer Keshav Madiboyne read out the previous minutes. Issues such as removing encroachment from the main road and chowks in the village, providing a graveyard for the Lingayat community, building a community temple, supplying drinking water, making roads free of encroachment, and stopping illegal liquor trade were discussed and decisions were taken," Mr Sindalkar said.

The meeting also discussed the issue of elderly parents being not looked after by their sons and daughters-in-law, he said.

"It was decided to deny the benefits of government schemes to children who don't take care of their elderly parents. A resolution was passed unanimously to not register names of the sons under inheritance rights in the gram panchayat records who don't take care of their parents," the Deputy Sarpanch said.

He claimed this resolution is being welcomed in Latur district. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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ISRO Recruitment Test Cancelled After 2 From Haryana Caught Cheating

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) on Monday cancelled the test held a day ago to hire technical staff, after two men from Haryana were arrested for allegedly impersonating and cheating in the exam.

The VSSC, in a notification, said that the written tests to the posts of technician-B, draughtsman-B and radiographer-A held on August 20 at various centres in Thiruvananthapuram now stand cancelled.

"The revised schedule for the test will be informed to all the candidates through the VSSC website in due course. Inconvenience caused is regretted," the statement said.

The move comes after the Kerala Police caught two people red-handed at separate test centres as they cheated and arrested them.

On checking their identities, the police realised they were proxying for the actual candidates when their names did not match with those appearing for the exam.

Besides these two, four others from Haryana are in police custody for cheating.

The police launched a full-fledged investigation into the incident, had also urged VSSC to cancel the test.

As more than 400 candidates from Haryana had taken the test, there are suspicions over whether coaching centres may be involved. An investigating team will be sent to the state to collaborate with the state's police for the probe, the police had said earlier.

A case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act has been lodged against those arrested, the police said.

"The two arrested accused will also be charged for impersonating the actual candidates," they said.

The national-level recruitment test was held only in Kerala at 10 exam centres, the police added.

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Rajinikanth Offers Prayers At Ram Mandir, Hanuman Temple In Ayodhya

Superstar Rajinikanth offered prayers at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Sunday and saw the construction work. He also visited the Hanuman Garhi temple and paid obeisance.

"I wished to come here for a long time and I am fortunate that the wish has been fulfilled. If Lord wishes, I will come again after the construction of the temple is completed," Rajinikanth told reporters.

At the Ram Janmabhoomi, he was welcomed by senior officials, including the Ayodhya Commissioner Gaurav Dayal, the Inspector-General of Police Praveen Kumar and the Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh.

The chief priest of the Ram temple Acharya Satyendra Das presented Rajinikanth a model of the Ram temple and a stole with the name of Lord Ram woven on it.

Mahant Raju Das of the Hanuman Garhi temple told news agency PTI that the actor spent around 10 minutes at the temple.

"I express my thanks to Rajinikanth ji. Today, people from different parts of the country, of different professions and Bollywood are being attracted towards Ayodhya," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rajinikanth met Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav at his residence in Lucknow.

The Tamil superstar reached Lucknow on Friday to promote his film "Jailer", which hit the screens on August 10. On Saturday, he met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The actor said his meeting with the UP Chief Minister was "very good".

On Saturday afternoon, Rajinikanth along with UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya watched "Jailer" in Lucknow.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Ticket Checker Says Attacked With Knife By Drunken Man On Train In Kerala

A travelling ticket examiner (TTE) was allegedly attacked with a knife onboard a moving train in Kerala by a man against whom the railway official had complained to the RPF for being drunk.

The incident occurred on the West Coast Express on Sunday close to Vatakara in Kozhikode district, a Railway police officer said.

The accused was arrested based on the TTE's statement, the police said.

The TTE claimed to have suffered an injury to the back of his head in the attack.

He told reporters that from Kannur he notice the alleged attacker was drunk and accordingly informed the Railway Protection Force's (RPF) control room.

Subsequently, RPF officers made him deboard the train at Thalassery, the TTE said.

However, the man got back on the train under the pretext of getting his bag and then went and sat in the general compartment, he said.

Later while checking for tickets, he found the man in another reserved coach and on confronting him, the accused abused the official in Hindi and took out a knife and started waving it around, the TTE claimed, adding that he was injured during the ensuing scuffle.

Some of the passengers standing behind the accused managed to restrain him, averting any serious injuries to the ticket checker, the official said.

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