Former Jharkhand CM Babulal Marandi may merge party with BJP.

Source – thehindu.com

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has been asked by senior BJP leaders to come to Delhi this week as talks for a merger of the Jhakhand Vikas Morcha (P), led by another former Chief Minister of the State, Babulal Marandi, with the party gain pace.

Senior BJP sources in Delhi and Ranchi have said that Mr. Marandi has been in talks with the party for the merger, and Mr. Das has been asked to give his input. Mr. Marandi had been in the BJP in the past and broke away after he felt he was being undermined.

“The loss in the Jharkhand polls is being assessed by the BJP and it was felt, especially by the on-ground RSS in the State, that Mr. Marandi, a former BJP leader, should be wooed and brought back into the party to restore some of its support base among tribal communities, which has been badly eroded under Mr. Das,” a senior BJP leader said.

Multiple reasons

The BJP feels that if Mr. Marandi had note fielded strong candidates in seven or eight constituencies in the Santhal-Kolhan belts and cut into the grand alliance votes, the party’s tally in the Assembly election could have been lower. Mr. Marandi had broken his Lok Sabha election alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress to go it alone in these polls.

“Mr. Marandi too is assessing his political future, with Hemant Soren having pulled off a big victory. He feels he needs a national party to go forward, as his tally came down from eight (in 2014) to three in 2019,” the BJP leader said.

The sabotage that happened within the BJP campaign, specifically in Mr. Das’s Jamshedpur (East) loss to rebel Saryu Rai, is another reason Mr. Marandi is being brought back.

“There are certain leaders who worked against the interests of the party in these polls, and combined with Raghubar Das’s unpopularity, the grand alliance managed a simple majority in the Assembly. We have to acknowledge that too,” a source said.

With the “inauspicious” khar maas ending with Makar Sankranti on January 14, a meeting of the party parliamentary board will be called soon after to take forward the merger, BJP leaders say.

65-year-old woman killed after being branded ‘witch’ in Jharkhand: Cops

Source – hindustantimes.com

A 65-year-old woman suspected of practising witchcraft was beaten to death by a man in Jharkhand’s Simedga district, days after a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said the state recorded the highest number of such killings in India in 2018.

Police said 22-year-old Manoj Bilung allegedly killed Ashrita Bilung with sticks after branding her a witch on Friday, a day before his wedding at Sarkhutoli village under Pakartand police station, around 140km from capital Ranchi.

“Suspecting Ashrita of practising black magic, Manoj went to her house in the village on Friday midnight and beat her to death. This is what Manoj said during interrogation,” Pakartand police station in-charge Hiralal Mahto said.

Mahto said Manoj was arrested on Saturday and sent to jail on Sunday.

Despite a drop in witch-hunt murder cases in Jharkhand, annual figures released by NCRB last Wednesday show the tribal state witnessed the highest number of such killings in the country in 2018 at 18.

The country witnessed 63 such murders in 2018. Madhya Pradesh recorded 10 witch-hunt murders, Andhra Pradesh nine, Chhattisgarh eight and Odisha saw five such killings in 2018, as per NCRB.

An analysis of NCRB’s data since 2001 shows 560 women were lynched in Jharkhand after being branded witches between 2001 and 2018. The state saw the highest or 54 witch-hunting murders in 2013, 52 in 2008 and 50 in 2007.

Jharkhand has seen a decline in such killings since 2014 when 47 women were lynched, which dropped to 32 in 2015, 27 in 2016, 19 in 2017 and 18 in 2018.

Four people in their 60s, including two women, were killed in July last year after around a dozen angry villagers dragged them out of their houses and attacked them with sticks and sharp weapons while accusing them of practising witchcraft at Siskari village in Gumla district.

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are the worst affected states of the social evil. Hundreds of women have been persecuted, tortured and killed after being branded as witches in the past few decades in these four states.

Meet a traffic cop who simply ‘loves to help’

Source – telegraphindia.com

Libnus Tirkey, a constable of Special Auxiliary Police posted at Keredari in Hazaribagh, cursed his luck on January 4 when he lost his wallet containing cash, his ID and debit cards in Ranchi.

Tirkey, who’d come to Ranchi on official work, had not believed that a traffic cop here in the capital would take extra effort to track him down and return the wallet.

Traffic assistant sub-inspector Devendra Kumar Singh proved to be that cop who went beyond the call of duty. And it isn’t in Tirkey’s case alone that Singh has taken the trouble, he does it as a matter of course.

Tirkey said he had come to Ranchi for some official work when he lost his wallet at Hinoo. “Frankly, I was very dismayed because I thought that realistically it was next to impossible to get it back. I had everything in that wallet, from my ATM cards, my army canteen card, my Aadhaar card. I had cash too, but losing it was the least of my worries,” said the SAP constable.

On January 9, Tirkey received a phone call from the SBI.

“The person on the other end of the phone inquired whether I lost my wallet along with the debit card. I nearly jumped out of my skin in surprise,” Tirkey said. “He informed me that traffic ASI Devendra Kumar Singh had found the wallet and wanted to return it to me. On Saturday (January 11), I visited the traffic post at Hinoo where Singh handed me over my wallet, everything intact. I appreciated him profusely and blessed him. Every cop should be like him.”

Asked, ASI Singh shrugged it off as “no big deal, just doing my job”.

Singh, who joined the police force in 2000 was transferred to Ranchi traffic police in 2016.

If Singh finds lost purses or wallets, documents or mobile phones, he not only tracks the owners down, but also ensures safe delivery of the items.

This apart, the elderly, children and patients caught in traffic snarls have often found a helping hand in Singh.

The state and district police have acknowledged his services with cash prizes and citations at least on 72 occasions. Last year, he was awarded the President’s Police Medal for meritorious services.

Known to be jovial and helpful, Singh is nicknamed Good Samaritan by his colleagues.

Singh smiles at the nickname. “What can I say. I think I am just doing my duty. I love helping people. The smile that lights up people’s faces when they get back something they had thought they had lost forever…that’s good to see. That drives me to do my best,” he said.

On Tirkey’s wallet, Singh said he found it lying unattended. “I sent a message about the wallet in our chat group (of traffic cops) on WhatsApp. But no one knew of a complainant who’d lost his wallet. So I decided to track down the owner from the cards in the wallet,” he said. “I visited an Aadhaar enrolment center and requested the staff to check whether any mobile phone number was attached to the Aadhaar card I found in the wallet, but there wasn’t. I had better luck with the bank debit card.”

“Singhji really walks the extra mile,” said one of his colleagues. “Take Saturday evening. A rickshaw puller was injured by a speeding car. Singhji promptly called an ambulance and hospitalised the rickshawpuller.”

Border Police Jawan Fires Over 200 Rounds At Bihar Outpost, Sparks Panic.

Source – ndtv.com

Kishanganj, Bihar: A jawan of the Sashastra Seema Bal posted at an outpost in Bihar’s Kishanganj along the Indo-Nepal border on Saturday fired more than 200 gunshots in the air, triggering panic in the area, a police official said.

The incident took place inside the SSB camp at Piltola border outpost where the sounds of gunshots were heard first at around 3 pm and the gunshots rent the air for about 45 minutes.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kishanganj, Ajay Kumar Jha, the jawan Abhay Kumar – who is from Rajasthan – took out INSAS rifles from the warehouse inside the camp and began shooting in the air.

SSB officials led by commandant Subhash Chand Negi rushed to the spot and overpowered the jawan – said to be mentally unstable – upon being informed by Abhay Kumar’s colleagues, Mr Jha said.

About 240 fired cartridges were later collected from the spot, he said, adding that a large number of curious and frightened villagers had gathered outside the camp upon hearing the gunshots, who were persuaded to go back to their homes.

The police and the SSB were jointly investigating the matter and officials of the paramilitary force have said on condition of anonymity that Abhay Kumar would face departmental action and may end up facing dismissal from service.

Bihar: Oppn alliance fights for seats ahead of polls.

source – outlookindia.com

Though Bihar assembly elections are still far away, the swords have been drawn in grand alliance of the opposition parties on who will fight on how many seats in the state.

Similar is the case in the ruling alliance where Lok Janshakti Party is eyeing more seats for the party in the assembly elections. The LJP has said that it will fight at least on 43 seats given the fact that it won 100 per cent seats in the general elections in 2019.

In the opposition alliance, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has said the party will contest on 150 seats out of a total of 243 in state assembly.

Vijay Prakash, RJD legislator said, “Though our party is planning to contest all seats in the state, but if like minded parties come together, we will not compromise on anything below 150 seats.”

Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi, an ally of the opposition, has upped the ante by demanding 85 seats for his party.

“We cannot win elections on all 243 seats alone, but with an alliance can certainly win 85 seats,” Manjhi said.

In 2015, the Congress, which was a part of the grand alliance with the RJD and the JDU then, had fielded 40 candidates and won 27 seats. Now it is putting pressure on the alliance partners to shell out more in the next assembly elections. “Our vote share in Bihar has increased and people are more inclined to the ideology of the party,” claimed a senior Congress leader Ravindranath Mishra.

“We want to fight on at least 100 seats in the state this time, and the way the party has progressed in the state, it will not be very difficult for other alliance partners to allocate that many seats to us,” Mishra added.

The opposition grand alliance in Bihar includes RJD, Congress, HAM, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and others.

On the other hand, the ruling JD(U) on the question of allocation of seats said that when the time will come the party will make its stand clear on how many seats it is going to contest.

Prashant Kishor thanks Congress for anti-CAA stand, repeats no NRC in Bihar.

Source – indiatoday.in

JD(U) vice-president and poll strategist Prashant Kishor took to Twitter on Sunday to declare that the Citizenship Amendment Act ( CAA ) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be implemented in Bihar.

“I join my voice with all to thank #Congress leadership for their formal and unequivocal rejection of #CAA_NRC. Both @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi deserves special thanks for their efforts on this count. Also would like to reassure to all – Bihar me CAA-NRC implement nahi hoga [CAA-NRC will not be implemented in Bihar],” Prashant Kishor tweeted.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party JD(U) had supported the Centre in passing the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 in both houses of Parliament last month.

After Prashant Kishor’s declaration on Sunday, questions are being raised whether the CAA will be implemented in Bihar or not even as the Centre, two days ago, had issued a gazette notification announcing that the new law has come into effect from January 10, 2020.

However, there are several states ruled by Opposition, like Kerala and West Bengal, which has clearly stated that they will not implement the new citizenship law in their states.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Saturday, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had reiterated that no states can oppose the implementation of the Act as it has already been passed by both the Houses of Parliament.

Corruption charges baseless, ready for any probe: Ex Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das.

Source – avenuemail.in

Ranchi, Jan 10: Former Chief Minister Raghubar Das Friday challenged Hemant Soren government to get allegations of corruption against him probed by any agency. He termed the allegations as baseless.

Replying to allegations of corruption worth Rs 100 crore leveled against him by Jan Sabha’s Pankaj Kumar Yadav, Das said, “Momentum Jharkhand Global Investors’ Summit brought Jharkhand prominently on the world map. Investors all over the world came to know about Jharkhand’s suitability as an investment destination. They came to know about the ease of doing business in the state, availability of resources and basic infrastructure.”

Das spoke while attending a programme organized in the state Capital to pay tributes to Justice LPN Shahdeo. He said there was no scam in Momentum Jharkhand.

“Momentum Jharkhand was organized with full transparency. Many companies invested in Jharkhand after the Global Summit. Many youths of the state got employment after the event. Anyone can complain. Now it’s their (JMM’s) government. They can get the allegations investigated. I have nothing to worry about,” said the former CM.

Yadav, the Jan Sabha functionary, lodged a complaint against Das with the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) yesterday. He also accused former Jharkhand Chief Secretary Raj Bala Verma, former Principal Secretary to CM Sunil Kumar Barnwal and several other state bureaucrats of involvement in the scam and demanded a thorough probe.

IBPS Clerk Scorecard Released at ibps.in, Check How to Download.

Source – pagalguy.com

IBPS clerk examination is a prominent competitive examination in the country. With a large number of applications from all parts of the county, the examination is conducted at a very grand level with more than 300 centres all across the nation.

The examination is conducted in two levels or phases

  • Prelims
  • Mains

Only those candidates that qualify the prelims are allowed to appear for the mains examination.

The prelims of this IBPS clerk examination were conducted on 07 and 08 December 2019.  And the results for this examination were declared on 01 January 2020. The scorecard was released on 08 January 2020. The mains examination for IBPS clerk is scheduled to be on 19 January 2020.

Admit cards for the IBPS clerk mains examinations have also been generated, candidates are advised to get check their prelims score and then get the mains to admit card if they have qualified prelims.

Candidates who appeared for the examination can follow the following steps to check their admit cards.

  1. In order to check your results, you must know the following details first.
  • Username or registration number
  • Password or date of birth
  1. Go on the official website @ www.ibps.in
  2. You will find a link related to results and scorecard of IBPS prelims on the home page.
  3. Click on that link.
  4. Enter your username/registration number
  5. Enter the password or date of birth
  6. Match the captcha code given
  7. Your scorecard will be displayed on the screen of your device.
  8. Save your result.
  9. Keep a printout of your scorecard for further use.

Key points

Some key points for candidates are

  • Keep a copy of your admit card or application form so that you dint face troubles finding the registration number.
  • Remember your passwords to avoid troubles.
  • Enter registration number carefully.
  • Enter your password properly.
  • The captcha code should be entered correctly.
  • Keep a copy of the scorecard.
  • In case you qualify for the examination, you must quickly find details about the next level examination.
  • If you qualify the prelims examination, download your admit card for mains examination.
  • Students who do not qualify the examination must not get disheartened.
  • Learn from the mistakes you made in this examination and try to correct them from next time.
  • Keep your scorecard with yourself for motivation and compare it with your previous performances.
  • Start preparing for the next exam instead of feeling sad for not qualifying this one.

UPSC Announces Over 400 Enforcement Officer Vacancies In EPFO.

Source – ndtv.com

New Delhi: Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced 421 vacancies for Enforcement Officer/Accounts Officer available with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Ministry of Labour and Employment. The last date to apply for this recruitment is January 31, 2020.

Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline to be eligible for recruitment. Upper age limit is 30 years.

Eligible candidates can apply for the recruitment through the Online Recruitment Application (ORA) website, ‘upsconline.nic.in’. The last date to print completed application form is February 2, 2020.

Candidates are required to pay a fee of Rs. 25 only either offline by remitting the money in any branch of the SBI by cash or online by using net banking facility of the SBI or by using visa/master credit/debit card.

Candidates will be selected after a pen-paper based Recruitment Test (RT) and Interview. The Recruitment Test and Interview will carry weightage in the ratio of 75:25 for the candidates who are shortlisted for interview on the basis of performance in the Recruitment Test.

The Recruitment Test will be held tentatively on October 4, 2020.

The Recruitment Test (RT) will be of two hours’ duration. All the questions will carry equal marks. The test will be objective in nature and questions will be bilingual – in English and Hindi. Candidates who qualify in the written test will be called for Interview.

UPSC NDA (I) 2020 notification released at upsc.gov.in, check details before applying.

Source – hindustantimes.com

UPSC NDA notification 2020: Union Public Service Commission has released a notification inviting applications for National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I) 2020 on its official website.

The application process for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I) 2020 started on Wednesday, January 8 and the last date for submission of application is January 28 till 6pm.

The online applications can be withdrawn from February 4 to February 11 till 6pm. Detailed instructions regarding withdrawal of applications has been given in the notification.

Approximately, 418 posts will be filled through this exam: 370 for the National Defence Academy (208 for the Indian Army, 120 for the Indian Air Force (including 28 for ground Duties), 42 for Indian Navy) and 48 posts for the Indian Naval Academy.

UPSC will on April 19, 2020 conduct the written examination for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 145rd Course, and for the 107th Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) commencing from 2nd January, 2021. The examination date is tentative.

Candidates should check eligibility conditions and instructions before applying for the exam on upsconline.nic.in.

Admit card for the exam will be issued three weeks before the commencement of the examination.