Days after its drubbing in the Madhya Pradesh elections, the Congress has replaced senior leader and former chief minister Kamal Nath as the state unit chief with other backward class (OBC) leader Jitu Patwari. 

OBCs account for over 50% of voters in Madhya Pradesh and the selection of Mr Patwari – who lost to a BJP candidate from the Sau Assembly seat with a margin of over 35,000 votes – is being seen as the party’s attempt to make a fresh start in the crucial heartland state ahead of the all-important Lok Sabha elections, which are less than four months away. 

The Congress had managed to secure only 66 seats in the 230-member Assembly and the BJP had won 163 despite being in power in Madhya Pradesh for nearly two decades. 

Despite the loss in Chhattisgarh, however, the Congress has decided to retain Deepak Baij as the state unit chief.

In Madhya Pradesh the party has also appointed Umang Singhar as the Congress Legislative Party leader, which means that he will be the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, and has picked Hemant Katare as the deputy leader.

The picks are significant as, apart from effecting a generational change, they also reflect the Congress’ attempt at caste balancing. Kamal Nath was a Brahmin leader and has now been replaced with an OBC leader in Jitu Patwari. Umang Singhar is a tribal and the nephew of late Jamuna Devi, who was a former deputy chief minister and represented the state both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. 
 

The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is almost ready and the Uttar Pradesh town is going through an infrastructure overhaul ahead of next month’s grand opening. Lakhs of pilgrims are expected to visit Ayodhya to witness the idol of Lord Ram being placed in the sanctum sanctorum.

Champat Rai, the Ram Mandir Trust Secretary, today said that the ceremony will take place on 12 noon on January 22. He said that the sanctum sanctorum is ready, so is the idol, but it could take another two years for the entire temple to be constructed.

“A lot of work (on the temple) still remains. Construction could go on for another two years,” Mr Rai, who is also the international vice-president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said in an exclusive conversation with NDTV.

People from various states have started making plans to visit Ayodhya for the opening, but Mr Rai had a different message for the pilgrims. To avoid overcrowding in the town, he urged people to celebrate ‘Anand Mahotsav’ on January 22 at their nearest temple instead of coming to Ayodhya.

In his message to devotees, he said, “Don’t come to Ayodhya on January 22. Assemble at the temple nearest to you, irrespective of whether its small or big. Go to the temple which is feasible for you, even if it belongs to a different god or goddess.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 next year.

Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony will begin on January 16, a week before the main ceremony. The main rituals at the consecration ceremony will be performed by Lakshmi Kant Dixit.

Several tent cities are being erected within Ayodhya to accommodate thousands of devotees expected to arrive in the temple town for the grand opening of the Ram Temple.

Local authorities are also gearing up for the anticipated surge in visitors around the January 22 ceremony, implementing enhanced security measures, and making logistical arrangements for all attendees.

He is a neurosurgeon, an army doctor, an officer at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and also a close associate of top National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials. But is he?

A man hailing from Kashmir’s Kupwara has been arrested in Odisha on charges of cheating people through impersonation. He would change his identity from time to time and has posed as all the professions mentioned above, and then some more.

The Odisha Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested 37-year-old Sayad Ishaan Bukhari alias Ishaan Bukhari alias Dr Ishaan Bukhari yesterday from Neulpur village in Odisha’s Jaipur district for cheating people.

The Conman

The man with several fake identities allegedly had links with several people from Pakistan and some suspicious elements in Kerala, STF Inspector General JN Pankaj said. The top officer said the police did not find his links the Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), a spy agency.

He forged documents to show he has a medical degree certificate from Cornell University, a top Ivy League college in the US, to foolproof his identity as a doctor, the conman forged a medical certificate from the Canadian Health Services Institute and Christian Medical College in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore.

Possessing international degrees, affidavits, bonds, ATM cards, blank cheques, Aadhar Cards and visiting cards was the conman’s plan of action to create a new identity to cheat people. The police recovered over 100 documents and several incriminating material in the raid carried out based on a tip-off the STF team received.

The man with many identities even married at least six women hailing from different parts of the country including Uttar Pradesh,  Maharashtra, Odisha, Kashmir, etc. and was romantically involved with several women, Mr Pankaj said. He was active on several websites and apps and used his identities to cheat people.

The accused had some links with anti-national elements, but his exact role needs a detailed investigation.

“We have ample evidence against the accused being a fraudster. It is too early to say anything regarding his involvement in terror plots, but he had some links with Pakistan and it will be verified. We cannot rule out that he was a Pakistani spy. But as of now, we do not have much evidence. However, we are in touch with the NIA,” Hindustan Times reported quoting Mr Pankaj.

The Kashmir Police was also on a hunt to arrest Bukhari, who was connected to several cases of forgery and cheating and a non-bailable warrant was already issued against him.

The police have filed cases under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and a joint team of Punjab, Kashmir and Odisha will interrogate him, STF Inspector General said.