Home Blog

Cloud Kitchens Begin To Replace Base Kitchens For Supplying Food On Long-Distance Trains

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
IRCTC has begun to replace base kitchens with cloud kitchens to supply food packets/plates on long-distance trains to address hygiene and quality concerns among passengers

Do what it may, the Indian Railways, through its extended arm Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), under the Ministry of Railways, could not match up to the expectations of rail passengers regarding food served by it on long-distance trains. Complaints regarding poor hygiene and quality of food served refused to die down.

So, the IRCTC has now thought out a new plan to revamp its entire food delivery system on long-distance trains by switching from base kitchens to the modern concept of ‘cloud kitchens’, which, under strict hygiene and quality standards fixed by it, are being authorised to prepare and deliver food on these trains.

Cloud kitchens are like delivery-only restaurants without dining areas. They operate behind the scenes and out of sight. The food is prepared in production kitchens from which it is collected by drivers and taken to customers.

Mumbai is among the first places to have made the switch already, with cloud kitchens supplying food packets pantries on long-distance trains since almost a month.

Various news reports have quoted senior IRCTC officials as stating that the cloud kitchens will be operated on a seven-year contract by different professionals and caterers. Their kitchens will be required to be equipped with latest systems for production and delivery and will be covered by CCTVs. Cleanliness and hygiene will be closely monitored.

The private operators running the kitchens would be responsible for delivering the food packets/plates to the pantry cars of long-distance trains in cold storage vans.

While 50-odd cloud kitchens have already started providing the services in Mumbai and some other areas, the officials inform that at least 200 such kitchens are in the pipeline in IRCTC’s west zone, covering Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

For the past several years, Indian Railways has been producing thousands of food plates for long-distance trains, including premium ones such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Tejas Express. More recently, the base kitchens were also supplying meals to Vande Bharat trains.

The IRCTC officials confided that despite imposing hefty fines and terminating contracts of those failing to maintain hygiene in the preparation and delivery of food on trains, the complaints of poor-quality food kept pouring in, some of them of very serious nature like foreign objects, cockroaches, insects, etc being found in the food.

Expressing confidence that the revamped system will make a positive change, the IRCTC officials claimed that wherever it has already started, complaints about food quality have dropped considerably.

Will it make a real difference, only time will tell! Till then hoping for the best!

Another Armani, Premium Café Concept Armani/Caffè Opens In Jio World Palace Mumbai

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0

 

Indian fans craving for more from the Italian luxury fashion brand Armani within the country have something to cheer about.

Having been exposed to Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange in India through its licensee, Reliance Brands, they will now get to savour Armani’s experiential café concept as well, with the formal opening of the Michelin-starred Armani/Caffè in the country’s biggest mall Jio World Plaza in Mumbai’s posh Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Thursday.

Mumbai joins an exclusive club of a handful of world cities, including Cannes in France, Doha in Qatar and Dubai in UAE, to host Armani/Caffè.

The announcement was made on the official Instagram account of Armani Restaurants https://www.instagram.com/armanirestaurants?igsh=bG42eXJxaTRqYWZz

A couple of messages posted on the Insta account read thus: “A brand-new Armani/Caffè has recently opened its doors in Mumbai, situated in the vibrant Jio World Plaza Mall. The café is conveniently positioned adjoining the new Giorgio Armani boutique and is designed to mirror his (Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani’s) unmistakable style in its décor and culinary selections.

Photos Credit: https://www.armani.com/

“Covering an area of 110 square meters, the venue features a refined colour palette and an atmosphere that seamlessly merges Italian elegance with a feeling of cosiness and sophistication ….. (it) reflects the distinct style of Giorgio Armani in both its interiors and carefully crafted menus … it features a refined colour palette of soft blues and greens, adorned with Armani motifs and delicate palm tree designs.”

The premium standalone café concept has been brought to India by Reliance Brands Ltd., a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani company Reliance Ventures, in response to the growing demand among affluent young Indians for experiential café culture.

The Armani/Caffè launch deepens Reliance Brands Limited’s connection to Armani and bolsters Jio World Plaza’s selection of high-end restaurants. Armani/Caffè joins Si Nonna’s, Ladurée, and Café&Meal Muji at the Jio World Plaza.

According to various reports and reviews available online, the menu at the 52-seater Armani/Caffè features Italian classics. The authentic Italian dishes are paired with 52 of the finest wines flown in from Italy, three champagnes from France, and more. There are also Roman-style pizzas – baked on a stone heated to 350 degrees Celsius – in variations like Pizza Napoli and Pizza Medina alongside various pasta options. Plus, a range of premium coffees.

To round off the meal, there is an array of desserts, including coffee-bean shaped Tiramisu Chicco, the classic Éclair alla Nocciola and Panna Cotta Alle Fragole amongst others.

Goes without saying, the place is super expensive!

Approx. cost for two, food with drinks: Rs 12,000 (as per some writers/reviewers)

For more details: https://www.armani.com/en-in/experience/armani-restaurant/armani-caff%C3%A8-mumbai

 

 

 

 

Delhi Excise Policy Scam: SC Grants Arvind Kejriwal Bail In CBI Case

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
File photo of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal campaigning in Haryana, where he has his family roots
Court in its order, however, upholds validity of Kejriwal’s Arrest By CBI, though one of the judges on the two-judge bench, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan differed with his brother judge Justice Surya Kant on this issue

As was being widely expected, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR related to the Delhi liquor policy case. The Court verdict was in response to petitions filed by the Delhi chief minister challenging his arrest and seeking bail in the case.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan after concluding hearing of the matter had reserved its verdict on September 5.

Both the judges delivered separate judgments. While Justice Kant held the Kejriwal’s arrest legal and not suffering from any procedural irregularity, both judges were one in granting bail to the chief minister, considering that the chargesheet had been filed and that the trial is unlikely to be completed any time soon.

Kejriwal is expected to walk free later in the day. The development comes as a big relief for AAP, which is left to contest the ongoing Haryana assembly elections on its own after the breakdown of coalition talks with the Congress. The party has named nominees to all 90 seats and campaigning by Kejriwal in a state where he traces his family roots would provide a big boost to its electoral prospects.

The same conditions will apply to the bail in this case as imposed while granting interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case, including restrictions like Kejriwal not being allowed to visit the office of the Chief Minister and Delhi Secretariat, and forbidden from signing official files unless required and necessary for obtaining clearance/approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

He will be required to furnish bail bonds of Rs 10 lakh, will not make any public comments about the case, and be present for all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.

Justice Bhuyan had a differing view regarding the need and necessity to arrest Kejriwal, holding that the arrest by the CBI was only to frustrate the bail granted to the Delhi chief minister in the money laundering case.

The judge also expressed reservations regarding the bail condition that Kejriwal should not visit the CM’s office or the Secretariat but chose not to pass any direction in this regard. He reminded the CBI of its duty to ensure that its investigations are fair.

“Not so long ago this Court had castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that the CBI dispels the notion of being a caged parrot, rather the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot,” Justice Bhuyan observed.

Kejriwal’s petition in the Supreme Court had challenged the Delhi High Court order under which his plea against CBI arrest was dismissed by a Single Judge bench with liberty to approach the trial Court for bail.

The Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo was formally arrested by CBI on June 26, 2024, while in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged liquor policy scam.

With Last Lists In, Congress Fields 88 Nominees For Oct 5 Haryana Assembly Elections 2024

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
The raise of hands in support at a Congress nomination rally in the runup to the October 5 assembly elections in Haryana
Leaves Bhiwani for INDIA partner CPI(M), does not field party nominee against Ranjit Singh Chautala in Rania
Three MPs – Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jai Prakash, and Varun Chaudhary – obliged by giving party tickets to their kin
Hooda pushes in his close kin Karan Singh Dalal from Palwal
Another member of Bansi Lal clan in the fray

After playing safe by renominating all 28 incumbent MLAs in its first list of 32 nominees for the October 5 Haryana assembly elections 2024, from the third list onwards the Congress, showing some urgency in its efforts to return to power in the state after 10 years, has been distributing tickets to kin of members of Parliament and party bigwigs along with a significant number of new faces.

The party completed the process of naming 88 nominees to the 90-member state assembly hours before the deadline for filing of nomination papers ended on Thursday. It has left the Bhiwani seat for its INDIA alliance partner CPI(M) from where Comrade Om Prakash has filed his nomination papers.

It has also decided to support former Haryana power minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, who recently resigned from the BJP on being denied the party ticket and is contesting from his home constituency Rania in Sirsa district as an independent candidate. The party has not put up its nominee against him, apparently to ensure BJP’s defeat in the constituency.

Even while the lists show overwhelming influence of former two-term chief minister and Leader of the Opposition in the now prematurely dissolved House, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in the selection process, three members of Parliament have also been obliged by giving party tickets to their sons (in two cases) and spouse (in one).

Former Haryana minister and current Rajya Sabha member Randeep Singh Surjewala’s son Aditya Surjewala has been given the party ticket to contest from Kaithal, a seat held for two terms by Randeep and once by his father Shamsher Singh Surjewala.

Hisar MP Jai Prakash’s son Vikas Saharan has been given the party nomination from Kalayat; and Ambala MP Varun Chaudhary’s wife Pooja Chaudhary will be the Congress candidate from Mulana, a seat vacated by Varun himself on being elected to the Lok Sabha.

Defeated candidates get another chance

A significant number of leaders (12), who lost the last assembly elections held in 2019, have also been renominated, among them being Mandeep Singh Chatha, son of former Haryana minister and speaker of the House Harmohinder Singh Chattha, who lost both his previous elections (2014 & 2019) from Pehowa, a constituency from which his father won twice in 2005 and 2009.

34 new faces: At the same time the party has given a chance to 34 new faces and denied renomination to 28 leaders, among them being BJP’s Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh’s younger brother Rao Yadavendra Singh, who lost consecutively to BJP candidates in 2014 and 2019 from Kosli assembly constituency in Rewari district, a seat he won once in 2009.

The constituency of another leader has been changed.

Former Haryana deputy CM Chander Mohan has been renominated from Panchkula assembly constituency, from where he lost the last elections in 2019 to Gian Chand Gupta of the BJP by less than 6,000 votes. Gupta, who went on to become the Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, will again face Chander Mohan to make it three-in-a-row win from Panchkula.

Chander Mohan was elected to the Kalka assembly constituency four times consecutively – in 1993 through to 2005, but ever since Panchkula has been carved out as a separate assembly constituency, he has not been able to establish a firm footing in the new constituency.

Another Bansi Lal kin fielded

Sombir Sheoran, son-in-law of former chief minister Bansi Lal who was considered by many as the architect of modern Haryana, has been fielded as the party nominee from Bhadra assembly constituency, in place of Bansi Lal’s elder son Ranbir Singh Mahendra, who had lost the last elections in 2019 to Naina Chautala of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP).

The party has already pitted Ranbir Mahendra’s son Anirudh Chaudhary against Bansi Lal’s granddaughter Shruti Choudhry from his younger son, late Surender Singh, in Tosham assembly constituency, Bansi Lal’s family bastion.

Hooda’s close kin Karan Dalal from Palwal

Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s close relative Karan Singh Dalal was confirmed as the party nominee from Palwal in Rewari district much after he filed his nomination papers with the returning officer as a party nominee, assured that he was getting the party ticket.

Dalal is five-term MLA from the constituency, four times consecutively (winning from from 1991 through to 2005). He also served as cabinet minister in the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) government led by Bansi Lal. HVP later merged with the Congress in 2004.

Congress’ third list

Congress’ fourth list

 

Congress’ final fifth list

 

All 90 Names In With 2ND and 3RD List, BJP Banks On Fresh Faces To Buck Anti-Incumbency

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini participates in a show of strength at the nomination rally of BJP nominee from Naraingarh Dr Pawan Saini on Thursday.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) late on Wednesday evening completed the process of naming party nominees to all 90 seats for the October 5 Haryana assembly elections 2024. While a second list of 21 nominees was released on Tuesday, following the first list of 67 on September 4, the final third list of the remaining three nominees was released on Wednesday.

In its second list of 21 nominees, BJP appeared to have more seriously addressed the anti-incumbency concerns over its 10-year rule in the state, fielding 14 new faces and denying renomination to seven incumbent MLAs, including two cabinet ministers.

The party has pitched an OBC nominee Capt Yogesh Bairagi against former Olympian wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat from Julana. The Pehowa nominee, named in the first list, has been replaced after a couple of embarrassing old videos and photographs featuring the nominee surfaced on the social media.

Alliance with HLP dissolved: In the third list too, all three nominees named for Sirsa, Mahendragarh and Faridabad NIT are fresh faces. The party has dissolved its alliance with Gopal Goyal Kanda’s Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP). In 2019, the Sirsa seat had been left to the HLP from which Gopal Goyal Kanda had won by the thinnest of margins (600+ votes) against Gokul Setia, who contested as an independent.

Ram Bilas Sharma denied renomination: The party has also denied renomination to its former Haryana minister and state party chief Ram Bilas Paswan from Mahendragarh despite he and RSS member Kailash Pali having already filed their respective nomination papers in the constituency as party nominees.

Cabinet ministers Dr Banwari Lal, Seema Trikha replaced

The ministers who were denied tickets in the second list released by the party were from South Haryana – Health Minister Dr Banwari Lal from Bawal-SC in Rewari district and School Education minister Seema Trikha from Badkhal in Faridabad district.

One person, one post comes in Badoli’s way: State party president Mohan Lal Badoli had also been denied a renomination from Rai assembly constituency in adherence to the party’s one person, one post policy. After his defeat by a narrow margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, in which he was fielded from Sonipat, he had replaced Nayab Singh Saini to the post in July this year after the latter, who was holding dual responsibilities since he succeeded Manohar Lal as chief minister in March, relinquished the charge as head of the state unit.

Krishna Gahlawat fills his place: In Badoli’s place, BJP has named a former minister in the Bansi Lal government in the late 1990s, Krishna Gahlawat. Later she had joined the Congress and in 2014 quit the party to join the BJP. She contested the 2014 election on the party symbol from Rai but finished a close third behind the Congress and INLD in a hotly contested triangular.

The influence of BJP’s traditional ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was also apparently quite evident in the list with at least five of its nominees being given a ticket and its surveys given weightage wherever those conducted by professional private agencies raised doubts.

Focus on South Haryana & GT Road

In releasing the list, the saffron party had concentrated heavily on maximising benefits from the Ahirwal belt and rest of South Haryana, which send 23 legislators to the state assembly, and the GT road belt running from Sonipat district to Ambala district which accounts for another 30 seats.

In South Haryana, apart from replacing the two ministers, the party in its second list denied renomination to its five other candidates of the 2019 elections – in Pataudi-SC (MLA Satya Prakash Jravta), Punahana, Hathin (MLA Praveen Dagar), Hodal (MLA Jagdish Nayar), and Nuh assembly constituencies.

The Muslim face of the BJP in Nuh, Zakir Hussain has been replaced in the light of the 2023 Nuh riots. Minister of state in CM Nayab Singh Saini’s council of ministers and MLA from Sohna-Taoru assembly constituency falling in Gurugram and Nuh districts Sanjay Singh, is the new party’s nominee there.

Son of former Haryana minister Surajmal Singh, Sanjay Singh was part of the BJP delegation, headed by then state party president Om Prakash Dhankhar, which visited Nuh in the aftermath of the riots.

Zakir Hussain, as an INLD candidate in the 2014 elections, had defeated Aftab Ahmed of the Congress by a huge margin of 33,000+ votes, but after switching over to the BJP and contesting on its ticket in 2019 he had lost to Aftab by 4,000 votes.

The other Muslim face from the 2019 elections, Naseem Ahmed has been renominated from Ferozepur Jhirka constituency despite the former INLD leader having lost to Mamman Khan of the Congress by a huge margin of 37,000 votes after joining the BJP and being fielded as the party candidate. In the 2014 elections, as INLD candidate, Naseem had, defeated Mamman Khan by 3,000 votes.

The party has decided to put up a Muslim candidate, Aizaz Khan, this time from Punahana. In 2019 it had fielded a new woman entrant into politics Nauksham Chaudhary, who lost from Punahana but later won on the party ticket from Kaman assembly constituency in Bharatpur district during the 2023 assembly elections in Rajasthan.

Pehowa nominee replaced

The party replaced its nominee Kawaljeet Singh Ajrana from Pehowa, who was named in the first list, after being embarrassed by old videos of him going viral in which he is seen shaming Prime Minster Narender Modi and then Haryana Chief minister Manohar lal for their performance.

Some old photographs of him celebrating with and hugging Pakistani security officials during his visit to the neighbouring country also appeared on social media.

Under pressure from the party, which he joined only in July this year, the former Akali leader and spokesman of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) returned his party ticket. He was replaced in the second list by Jai Bhagwan Sharma.

Ajrana had earlier replaced incumbent BJP MLA from the constituency and former minister Sandeep Singh, who is embroiled in a molestation case involving a Haryana government woman junior athletics coach when he was sports minister. The court framed charges against the former Olympian and Indian hockey captain in July this year and he is awaiting trial.

OBC face Capt Yogesh Bairagi Against jat Vinesh Phogat

The party has pitted an OBC face against former Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat of the Congress, who belongs to the Jat community. Vinesh had recently joined the Congress after a shattering disqualification from the Paris Olympics ahead of her gold medal bout and was immediately rewarded with a party ticket to contest the elections from Julana constituency.

The BJP nominee, Capt Yogesh Bairagi, is a former commercial airlines pilot and currently holding responsibility as vice president of the state unit of Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the party. In fielding Yogesh, the party is looking to consolidate all non-Jat votes against Vinesh.

The BJP in its second list also replaced its 2019 election candidates in Naraingarh, Pundri, Assandh, Ghanaur, Baroda, Narwana, Dabwali and Ellenabad, all of whom had lost.

The Rohtak candidate from the 2019 elections, Manish Grover, has however, been rewarded with a renomination for putting up a spirited fight against Congress’ Bharat Bhushan Batra, eventually going down to the latter by less than 3,000 votes.

The last day for filing of nominations for the October 5 polls in the state expired today. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 8 and results are expected to be announced in the afternoon the same day.

The BJP had returned to power in the state for a second straight term in the 2019 elections, through it did not secure a majority on its own. Winning 40 seats it fell short of the magic figure of 46 and had to cobble together a post poll alliance with the JJP which won 10 seats. Their coalition government lasted for nearly the entire tenure before it was dissolved following differences in the runup to the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.

BJP’s 2nd list

BJP’s 3rd list

In Bihar, The Unthinkable Happens, Self-Styled Doc Performs YouTube-Assisted Surgery!

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
Calamity strikes family as 15-year-old boy, Krishan Kumar alias Golu, dies

It’s common to hear or read about people indulging in all kinds of dangerous or illegal activities, inspired watching YouTube or other social media videos/tutorials. But untrained hands performing complicated YouTube video/tutorials-assisted surgery on humans is a different ballgame altogether.

According to news reports, an overzealous self-proclaimed doctor in Bihar’s Saaran district allegedly did just that with disastrous consequences for the victim.

The self-styled doctor, Ajit Kumar Puri, who had opened his own medical facility, Ganpati Seva Sadan at Motirajpur Dharambagi Bazaar in Saaran, after having earlier worked as a helper-cum-compounder for four years, performed gall bladder stone removal surgery on a 15-year-old boy, allegedly assisted by a YouTube video he was watching on his mobile phone.

After apparently botching up the surgery, when patient Krishan Kumar alias Golu’s condition deteriorated alarmingly, the ‘doctor’ assured the patient’s father Chandan Shah that he would rush the boy to a bigger hospital in Patna.

The boy, however, died on the way after the ‘doctor’ fled.

‘Doctor’ Puri was traced by the police and arrested following a written complaint lodged by the grieving father, Chandan Shah, in which he alleged that the ‘doctor’ started performing the surgery without their knowledge or consent. Later, when they learnt of the surgery being performed, and they protested, the ‘doctor’ silenced them saying who’s the doctor, you or me?

The reports quoted Saaran Superintendent of Police Ashish Bharti as informing the media that the accused, Ajit Kumar Puri, was absconding after the incident, but was later arrested and his clinic has been sealed. Earlier, the police registered a case on the written complaint by the boy’s father.

According to the complaint, the boy Golu was brought to the medical facility complaining of stomach-ache and vomiting. The ‘doctor’ initially tried out various injections and medicines over two days to treat the patient. On the third day he performed the surgery without their knowledge or consent.

 

A Unique Ancient Practice In Tribal Bastar Region Of Chhattisgarh: Divine ‘Trial’ of Local Deities!

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
A unique 'people's court' during a three-day festival in tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh which holds 'divine trial' of local deities for 'failing' to perform their divine duties (PHOTO: X/Anzaar Nabi)

How would you react if told that the local deities we worship are to be put to ‘public trial’ for ‘failing’ in their divine duties! Blasphemy, right!

Not in the remote areas of Dhamtari district in the tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, where per ancient tradition even local deities are ‘held accountable’, and ‘punishment’ handed out to them, if they are ‘judged’ to have ‘failed’ in their divine duties or neglected responsibilities.

According to a report in The Vocal News (https://thevocalnews.com/), this practice, deeply rooted in the region’s tribal culture, has been observed for centuries and continues to draw crowds every year during the rainy season.

The venue for the annual ritual, held in the month of Bhadrapada (Bhado), is the Bhanga Rao Mai temple in Kursighat Borai. It’s a site revered as a ‘divine court’ where deities from various regions, including Bastar, Odisha, and Sihawa gather for the ‘day of judgment’. The ‘chief judge’ in this court is Bhanga Rao Mai, who ‘decides’ the fate of other deities perceived to have neglected their responsibilities, resulting in hardships or misfortunes faced by the villagers.

The ‘accused’ deities are represented by the village priests and elders, who argue on their behalf. If found ‘guilty’, a symbolic ‘punishment’ is handed out to the deity, often involving rituals like animal sacrifice.

During the ‘trial’, the ‘accused’ deities are symbolically placed in a dock, and the village elders, including the Sirha (tribal priest), Pujari, Gayta, and Majhi, present evidence and arguments.

Meanwhile a related NDTV report adds that the Bastar region, where tribals account for 70 per cent of the population, is steeped in myth and folklore. The tribes – Gond, Maria, Bhatra, Halba and Dhurwa – practice many traditions that are unheard of outside the region and form a key part of Bastar’s heritage.

The report further says that the divine ‘trial’ is part of a three-day festival in which villagers are the complainants. The complaints range from a failed harvest to a lingering illness and can include anything for which prayers were not answered. People from around 240 villages gather to see the deities on trial. A feast is arranged for them.

Behind the festival, which is a symbol of India’s diversity, is an idea that even Gods are accountable to the people, the NDTV report explains.

Haryana Assembly Elections 2024: In Congress’s Brief 2nd List, Trigger For Legacy War In Tosham

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
Ex-MP Shruti Choudhry will face off with her lesser-known cousin Anirudh Chaudhry in former Haryana CM and strongman Bansi Lal’s family bastion
Former Hisar MP Brijendra Singh, who is respected farmers’ champion Sir Chhotu Ram’s great grandson and former Union minister Birender Singh’s son, will lock horns with former Dy CM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala from Uchana Kalan
Three senior leaders, who lost the last assembly elections in 2019, renominated from the same constituencies

Awaiting outcome of seat-sharing negotiations with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress is holding back naming of a large chunk of its nominees, even as the last day for filing of nominations for the October 5 assembly election in Haryana is just three days away (Sept 12).

The party, sensing that the prevailing political situation in the state has given it some momentum, and desperate to capitalise on it to wrest back power from the BJP after 10 years, on Sunday night released a second list of just nine nominees to add to the 32 names it released in two parts in the first list.

After seemingly unending talks, Congress is learnt to have served a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to AAP on Sunday to accept a handful of specific constituencies being offered to it, or there is no-deal.

Some senior AAP leaders, like Somnath Bharti, are not keen on a pre-poll alliance with the Congress in Haryana, considering that the experiment proved disastrous for the party in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. They argue that while the AAP leadership put its heart into campaigning for Congress candidates, there was little reciprocal support from the Congress leadership for AAP candidates.

One of the most interesting aspects of Congress’ second list is that the party has tried to invoke the legacies of two tall leaders from the state’s past – Sir Chhotu Ram, well respected champion of farmers’ cause; and former chief minister for multiple tenures and Haryana strongman Bansi Lal – to counter the BJP.

Bansi Lal’s grandchildren to face off in Tosham

After Bansi Lal’s daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhry, widow of his younger son and minister Surender Singh; and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, a former Lok Sabha MP from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, left the Congress and joined the BJP earlier this year, Congress was looking for another face from the family to challenge Kiran-Shruti combine.

Kiran Choudhry was recently elected Rajya Sabha MP from the state as a BJP nominee and Shruti has been named as the party nominee to contest the assembly elections from Tosham in Bhiwani district, the pocket borough of the Bansi Lal family.

To counter Shruti Choudhry, Congress has named Bansi Lal’s grandson Anirudh Chaudhry, from his elder son Ranbir Singh Mahendra, as its nominee from Tosham. Little is known about Anirudh’s exploits in politics, through he has been a cricketer and treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI). His father Ranbir Singh Mahendra has also remained president and secretary of the governing body of cricket in India in the early 2000s.

Mahendra has also remained MLA from Mundhal Khurd constituency, the last one before it ceased to exist after the 2008 delimitation exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India. Its erstwhile territories were redistributed among other constituencies.

Bansi Lal’s elder son also contested the last assembly elections from Badhra in Charkhi Dadri district as Congress candidate in 2019, but lost to JJP’s Naina Singh Chautala, wife of party’s national president Ajay Singh Chautala and mother of former deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.

Tosham constituency has been represented for most part since 1967 by the Bansi Lal family – Bansi Lal himself, his younger son Surender Singh and daughter-in-law Kiran Choudhry.

Upholding Bansi Lal’s legacy, Kiran Choudhry has uninterruptedly held the seat since 2005 when she won a by-poll, necessitated by the death of her then minister husband Surender Singh in a chopper crash along with another minister and noted industrialist OP Jindal.

Tosham also falls in the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency, which Shruti Choudhry represented as a Congressperson from 2009 to 2014, after which it has been served without interruption by Dharambir Singh Chaudhary of the BJP.

Encashing Sir Chhotu Ram’s legacy in Uchana Kalan

To contest from Uchana Kalan in Jind district on the party ticket, Congress has chosen Brijendra Singh, ex-IAS officer and former BJP Lok Sabha member from Hisar, who switched over to the Congress in March ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Brijendra is great grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram, the champion of farmers; and son of former Haryana finance minister in the Congress government Birender Singh, who had switched over the BJP and found a berth in the Union council of ministers and is now back in the Congress.

Brijendra will be pitted against incumbent Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLA and former deputy chief minister in the now broken BJP-JJP coalition government Dushyant Chautala, who too will be banking on the legacy of his great grandfather, former Dy PM Devi Lal.

In the past, the constituency has been represented four times by Brijendra’s father Birender Singh and once by his mother Prem Lata. Dushyant’s grandfather and former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala has represented it once before he himself.

Others in the list

Among others named in Congress’ second list are Balram Dangi, son of former minister Anand Singh Dangi from Meham assembly constituency in Rohtak district; Manju Choudhary, wife of Gujjar leader Mula Ram, from Nangal Chaudhary constituency in Mahendragarh district; and former Haryana ministers Ashok Arora and Paramvir Singh from Thanesar (Kurukshetra district) and Tohana (Fatehabad district) assembly constituencies, respectively, despite both having lost the last elections from the same constituencies in 2019.

Former Haryana assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma is the party’s nominee from Ganaur assembly seat in Sonipat district from where he won twice, in 2009 and 2014, but lost in 2019 to BJP’s Nirmal Rani.

From Gurugram district, two new faces – Mohit Grover from Gurugram constituency and Vardhan Yadav from Badshahpur constituency – have been given the party tickets.

Mohit Grover, son of party’s former district president Madan Lal Grover, as Congress rebel (independent) candidate in the 2019 assembly elections had polled more than 25% of the votes, against official Congress candidate Sukhbir Kataria’s dismal 12% voters. He had, however, lost the elections to BJP’s Sudhir Singla, who polled more than 43% votes, by a big margin.

Vardhan Yadav, a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), faces a daunting task of vastly improving the party’s dismal performance in Badshahpur constituency in the 2019 assembly elections. The elections had been won by independent candidate Rakesh Daultabad, a businessman and committed social worker, who defeated BJP candidate Manish Yadav by more than 10,000 votes. Congress finished among the also rans.

Though he won as an independent, defeating the BJP candidate, Daultabad steadfastly supported the BJP-JJP coalition government in the state led by Manohar Lal and later BJP government led by Nayab Singh Saini. He passed away due to cardiac arrest at an early age of 44 years in May this year.

Kolkata’s Heritage Sweets Shop Prepares 500-kg Giant ‘Laddoo’ On Ganesh Chaturthi

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
Sudip Mullick of Kolkata's heritage sweets shop Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick unveiling the 500-kg laddoo in Bhowanipore area of the city
In Hyderabad, the famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol reaches a towering 70-ft height, up from 63 feet last year

As the fervour of celebrations for Ganesh Chaturthi sweeps across different parts of the country, a heritage sweets maker in the Bhowanipore area of Kolkata, West Bengal has done what it always does differently, create something special. This time they thought up and prepared a massive 500-kilogram laddoo to celebrate the festival.

According to The Telegraph, Sudip Mullick, the owner of the nearly century-and-a-half-old Bengali sweet shop Balaram Mullick and Radharaman Mullick (or simply Balaram’s, incepted in 1885), on Saturday proudly presented a 500-kg laddoo decorated with myriad kinds of dry fruits and kaju barfis. A small idol of Ganesh finds pride of place atop the giant sweet.

The so-called ‘biggest laddoo’, up for sale, priced at Rs 1 lakh, has become a big attraction for visitors to the busy shop, famous for its classical Bengali sweet offerings like Korapak and Nolen Gur (Guli Sandesh).

70-ft Lord Ganesha idol unveiled in Hyderabad

Meanwhile the famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol in Hyderabad this year is a towering 70-feet tall, up from 63 feet last year, to commemorate 70 years since its organisers, the Sri Ganesh Utsav Committee (SGUC), Khairatabad, first installed a one-foot idol in 1954.

Since then, every year the committee has been raising the height of the idol. This year, at 70 feet, the Ganesha idol is claimed to the highest Ganesha idol in Telangana, if not in the country.

This year’s idol, called Saptamukha Maha Shakti Ganapati, has seven faces, seven snake canopy and 14 hands. Organisers have tried to keep it as ecofriendly as possible, with 25 tonnes inner core of steel and the rest of the idol made from 35 tonnes of clay mixed with straw, rice husk and other ingredients.

The famous Khairatabad Ganesha idol in Hyderabad this year stands at a towering 70 feet height

Randhir Singh Becomes First Ever Indian To Be Elected Oly Council Of Asia (OCA) Chief

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
-
0
Randhir Singh acknowledges the applause after being confirmed as unanimously elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in its General Assembly held in New Delhi on Sunday (08.09.2024) Photo credit: https://oca.asia/
Scion of the erstwhile Patiala royals, who nurtured the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), right from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, who first became IOA president in 1928

One of the most influential Indian sports administrators of the country, and a scion of the erstwhile royal family of Patiala, Randhir Singh has become the first Indian ever to be elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

The appointment was made official at the 44th OCA General Assembly held at the Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, on Sunday. Sports leaders from all 45 countries of Asia were present.

Randhir Singh was unanimously elected by the OCA representatives for the top post when he emerged as the sole candidate contesting for the position earlier this year.

The 77-year-old’s tenure as OCA president will run till 2028.

Randhir Singh has been serving as the acting president of the OCA since 2021, stepping in for Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who received a 15-year ban from sports administration earlier this year due to ethics violations.

Prior to this he was appointed as the Secretary General of OCA in 1991 and held the position till 2015, before taking on the role of life vice-president which he held till 2021.

For his services to sports, Randhir Singh was conferred the OCA Award of Merit in 2005, the Merit Award from Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in 2006 and the Olympic Order, Silver in 2014.

Olympic trap & skeet shooter

A five-time Olympic trap & skeet shooter, who became the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in Asian Games (at the 1978 Asiad), Randhir Singh received the Arjuna Award in 1979 for his achievements in shooting. He retired as a sports shooter in 1994.

In domestic sports administration, Randhir Singh’s remained secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from 1987 to 2012. He is known to have played a major role in bringing the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Delhi.

Family nurtured IOA

Randhir Singh’s family has been deeply rooted in sports. He is grandson of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who served as IOA president from 1928-1938.

Randhir’s elder paternal uncle, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, the last maharaja of Patiala, was a Test cricketer and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, who succeeded his father as IOA President, serving in that capacity from 1938 to 1960. The maharaja is learnt to have played a prominent role in lobbying for and organising the first Asian Games, held in Delhi in 1951.

Randhir’s father, Bhalindra Singh, also a first-class cricketer, served as an IOC member from 1947 to 1992 and IOA president from 1980 to 1984 (taking over from his elder brother). His role was crucial in bringing the 1982 Asian Games to Delhi.

All the election results

OCA President: Randhir Singh (India)

OCA Vice Presidents

East Asia: Timothy Fok (Hong Kong, China)
Southeast Asia: Dr Norza Zakaria (Malaysia)
South Asia: HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck (Bhutan)
West Asia: Dr Thani Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
Central Asia: Otabek Umarov (Uzbekistan)

Executive Board members:

East Asia: Ms. Mikako Kotani (Japan)
Southeast Asia: Prof. Dr. Supitr Samahito (Thailand)
Central Asia: Ms. Olga Rybakova (Kazakhstan)
West Asia: Noora Al Jasmi (United Arab Emirates)
South Asia: no candidate

123...87Page 1 of 87

LIfe in chandigarh

About us

Anchored by a senior journalist, LifeInChandigarh.com is a digital endeavour, a news portal with a positive and progressive outlook, to keep you up to date with the latest developments as they happen in the Chandigarh tricity area.

Latest Articles

Cloud Kitchens Begin To Replace Base Kitchens For Supplying Food On Long-Distance Trains

News & Views 0
Do what it may, the Indian Railways, through its...

Another Armani, Premium Café Concept Armani/Caffè Opens In Jio World Palace Mumbai

Lifestyle 0
  Indian fans craving for more from the Italian luxury...

Delhi Excise Policy Scam: SC Grants Arvind Kejriwal Bail In CBI Case

Legal 0
Court in its order, however, upholds validity of Kejriwal’s...

Most Popular

Cloud Kitchens Begin To Replace Base Kitchens For Supplying Food On Long-Distance Trains

News & Views 0
Do what it may, the Indian Railways, through its...

Another Armani, Premium Café Concept Armani/Caffè Opens In Jio World Palace Mumbai

Lifestyle 0
  Indian fans craving for more from the Italian luxury...

Delhi Excise Policy Scam: SC Grants Arvind Kejriwal Bail In CBI Case

Legal 0
Court in its order, however, upholds validity of Kejriwal’s...

Subscribe

Copyright 2023 Life In Chandigarh All Right Reserved.