1. BJP’s Sadhvi Pragya Brags She Killed Hemant Karkare with Curse, Then Retracts
Pragya Singh Thakur, BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal, triggered a firestorm on Friday, 19 April, saying Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, killed in the line of duty during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, died because she had cursed him “tera sarvanash hoga”.
After her remarks drew all-round condemnation and the BJP distanced itself saying it was her “personal statement” and that Karkare was a “martyr”, she retracted the remarks. “I felt that the enemies of the country were being benefited… therefore, I take back my statement and apologise for it. It was my personal pain,” she told ANI.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Maya, Mulayam Bury 24 Years of Bitter Rivalry, Share Stage
He was frail but firm. She was warm and courteous. When two stalwarts of UP politics –Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati – shared the dais at the historic Christian College ground in Mainpuri on Friday, 19 April, the rancour accumulated over close to 24 years between SP and BSP evaporated instantly.
Profusely thanking the Dalit leader for her gesture of seeking votes for him in what he called his last election, the SP patriarch called upon his supporters—chanting “Mulayam Dadda zindabad”—to always respect her.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Abhinandan May Soon Fly Fighter Planes Again
There’s a “good chance” of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returning to a fighter cockpit soon but the final clearance will be given by the Bengaluru-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) where the 35-year-old will undergo a series of tests in the coming weeks, two Indian Air Force officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on the condition of anonymity.
Varthaman created military aviation history by shooting down a Pakistani F-16 during a dogfight with the Pakistan Air Force over the Line of Control on 27 February, seconds before his own MiG-21 Bison was hit by a missile forcing him to eject. Experts have hailed it as the first ever kill of an F-16 by a MiG-21 Bison, fighter jets of two different generations. He could be recommended for a Vir Chakra, India’s third-highest war-time gallantry award, HT learns.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. SpiceJet Hires 100 Pilots, 400 Cabin and Technical Staff from Jet Airways
After flag-carrier Air India picked up 150 cabin attendants from grounded Jet Airways, budget airline SpiceJet said on Friday, 19 April, that it has hired 100 pilots, 200 cabin crew and over 200 technical and airport staff from the collapsed airline. “As we expand and grow, we are giving first preference to those who have recently lost their jobs due to the unfortunate closure of Jet Airways,” Ajay Singh, SpiceJet’s chairman and managing director, said.
On Friday, The Indian Express reported Air India has almost completed hiring 150 cabin crew members from Jet Airways for its international operations on Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. High-Profile Spokesperson of Cong Quits, Joins Sena
A redfaced Congress was left scrambling for cover after its national spokesperson and media cell convenor Priyanka Chaturvedi, who has a strong presence on social media, joined Shiv Sena within hours of tendering her resignation on Friday, 19 April.
Chaturvedi’s resignation from all party posts came days after her public criticism of Congress for reinstating party workers who were suspended after they allegedly misbehaved with her when she was in Mathura in September last year to address a press conference on the Rafale controversy.
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Ban Ends, Yogi Brings up Bajrang Bali, Balakot and ‘Babur Ki Aulad’
After the Election Commission’s 72-hour ban on campaigning by him ended, chief minister Yogi Adityanath again referred to Bajrang Bali and the Balakot air strikes at an election rally in Sambhal on Friday, 19 April.
“Do you want to hand over the rule (power) to those who oppose Bajrang Bali,” Adityanath said at the rally after offering prayers at the Kaila Devi temple.
He also targeted the SP-BSP-RLD alliance’s Sambhal candidate Shafiq-ur-Rehman Barq by describing him as ‘Babur ki aulad (descendant of Babur)’ .
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Modi Makes Poll Pitch to Woo Traders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, 19 April, described small traders as the “backbone” of the economy, listing everything his government has done for them in the past five years and promising to do more if he wins a second term for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) .
The prime minister promised a welfare board for traders, a credit card for them on the lines of the Kisan credit card, loans of up to Rs 50 lakh without collateral, a policy for retail businesses, and accident insurance of Rs 10 lakh to those registered on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) network.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Kerala Tops in Women on Haj Without Males
A growing number of Muslim women from Kerala are taking advantage of the change in government rules that allow women above 45 years of age to travel in groups for Haj without being accompanied by a male companion (mehram). Freshly released government data show 1,124 of the 1,340 women who undertook the pilgrimage without a male companion last year were from Kerala. This year too, 2,011 of the 2,340 Muslim women who will be travelling to Saudi Arabia happen to be from the southern state.
A year after the rules were eased, the pilgrimage this year is also likely to see the highest number of Indians, with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday issuing a formal order to enhance India’s quota from 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh. It follows a meeting in February attended by the PM, Sushma Swaraj, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. ND Tiwari’s Son Rohit Shekhar Was Strangled, Says Autopsy, Police Register Murder Case
The Delhi Police has registered a case of murder into the death of Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, son of late Uttarakhand Chief Minister ND Tiwari, hours after an AIIMS autopsy report Thursday, 18 April, stated that he died of “asphyxia due to smothering and strangulation”.
Forensic experts, sources said, have told police that Shekhar died around 14 hours before he was taken to hospital on Tuesday. Police have seized two pillows from Shekhar’s and another room in his house in Defence Colony.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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