Shweta Parande

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing tussle between Iran and Israel, the exiled Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi will be in an exclusive conversation with Republic Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Nation Wants to Know. Reza Pahlavi will be speaking on the current conflict between Iran and Israel and its implications on the Middle East and West Asia region. This is the Biggest World Exclusive Interview on the Iran-Israel war.Iran attacked Israel on April 14 with multiple drones and misslies, an attack which was foiled by the alert Israeli defence forces. Iran said the drones were sent in retaliation to Israel's attack on Damascus. In retaliation, Israel launched an airstrike on Iran on April 19.How does the Crown Prince of Iran view the ongoing crisis in Israel and Iran? He will be speaking on the issue in the BIG INTERVIEW on Republic.Catch the LIVE Updates of the interview here.Arnab: Why would you want the world to push the envelope?Pahlavi: There is a basic flaw of regime policy…. The very premise of expecting behavioral change…is to explore the religious idealogy…My argument is about why a change of regime would be good in Iran would be…this regime would continue to create problems through its proxies like Hamas, the Houthies, etc. There is only one solution left. A change from the Iranial people themselves.

Mumbai: Advocate Ujjwal Nikam’s candidature was announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. As public prosecutor, Nikam is known for high-profile cases such as the 1993 Bombay bombings, the 1997 Gulshan Kumar murder case, the 2006 Pramod Mahajan murder case, and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case in 2008, among others. Ujjwal Nikam will be the BJP’s candidate from the Mumbai North Central constituency for the General Election 2024. 'This is an important constituency, from where I have been asked to contest the elections,' said Nikam. Upon being asked about his focus if elected, Nikam said, 'Our country's Constitution, law and security will be my priority.'Ujjwal Nikam on replacing Poonam Mahajan for LS Polls 2024Ujjwal Nikam was selected by the ruling party as a replacement for Poonam Mahajan, the current Member of Parliament from the constituency and the daughter of senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. The public prosecutor in his press conference post his nomination on Saturday said that he will be meeting Poonam Mahajan to get a rundown from her about the constituency.'I used to meet Poonam (Mahajan) ji and Pankaja Munde. I will meet Poonam ji soon. In fact, I will take suggestions from Poonam ji. Will definitely meet her. Poonam ji has represented this area for 10 years. She has complete information about this place. I will definitely take her opinion,' said Nikam.On PM Modi and his work for the nation so far'Prime Minister Narendra Modi has enhanced the image of the country, on the basis of which today the name of India is taken with respect all over the world. I give full credit for this to Modi ji and his government,' said Nikam.Ujjwal Nikam was formally inducted into the BJP by the party’s Mumbai President Advocate Ashish Shelar, who posted on X today, “Best wishes to our Saccha Mumbikar lawyer Padmashri Shri Ujjwal Nikam ji who is set to represent North Central Mumbai constituency in Parliament as BJP's winning Lok Sabha candidate! Adv Ujjwal Nikam ensured Ajmal Kasab's conviction & death penalty for the 261/11 dastardly Mumbai terror attacks ! Mumbaikars faith in Modi Guarantee & our BJP/SS/NCP/RPI Govt work will ensure Shri Ujjwal Nikam ji victory ! Appeal to all political parties on behalf of Mumbaikars to set aside political differences & elect Adv Ujjwal Nikam ji unopposed to Lok Sabha !” (sic)Best wishes to our Saccha Mumbikar lawyer Padmashri Shri Ujjwal Nikam ji who is set to represent North Central Mumbai constituency in Parliament as BJP's winning Lok Sabha candidate ! Adv Ujjwal Nikam ensured Ajmal Kasab's conviction & death penalty for the 261/11 dastardly…— ॲड. आशिष शेलार ( MODI KA PARIVAR ) (@ShelarAshish) April 27, 2024 Ujjwal Nikam vs Varsha Gaikwad in Mumbai North Central'Varsha ji is a senior person,' said Nikam, while talking about the Indian National Congress (INC) candidate he has been posed against in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

A deep fake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah has gone viral, creating a political storm in the country. The video claimed Amit Shah was talking about removing Reservation in India. The fake video had Shah saying, “If BJP comes to power, it will end the unconstitutional SC/ST (Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes) and OBC (Other Backward Classes) reservation.”While speaking exclusively to Republic, Home Minister Amit Shah reacted to the deep fake video controversy. “The media has my real video. This shows that the Opposition doesn't have confidence. It has exposed the Opposition.”What has the Opposition to do with the doctored video of Amit Shah?The deep fake video of Amit Shah was allegedly shared by the Telangana Congress handle on social media. The Indian National Congress (INC) has refuted any claims of wrongdoing as regards the video. But Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was summoned by the Delhi Police on Wednesday in connection with the doctored video of Amit Shah. Along with the CM, four other people from Telangana have been summoned.After the Telangana Congress shared the deep fake video of Amit Shah on X, several party leaders and supporters reposted the video. This led to it being viral and created a controversy, as the video is fake. The BJP has claimed that the video is fake and does not have Amit Shah’s original statements that he made during a political rally, of which the footage has been used.The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have both been accusing each other of plans to abolish reservation if one comes to power. The Delhi Police have filed a first information report (FIR) under Sections 153, 153A, 465, 469, 171G of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66C of the Information Technology (IT) Act. Further, the Delhi Police has sent notices to social media platforms X and Facebook for information on the specific accounts and handles that uploaded and shared the deep fake video of Amit Shah. Amit Shah’s stand on ReservationAmit Shah in a rally on April 28 said that the BJP-NDA government, if it comes to power for the third term, will not alter Reservation in any manner. Shah refuted counter-claims being made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.“Rahul Gandhi is trying to mislead people by spreading canards against us. The BJP has been at the helm of this country for 10 years now and was elected with absolute majority twice. If we had, indeed, been working with the intention or motivation to put an end to reservations in the country, it would have happened by now. These are nothing but lies,” Shah said. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that a man named Reetom Singh aka Reetam Singh arrested in connection with the deep fake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. From his social media, Reetom Singh seems to be a member of Assam Congress.The Congress is in a soup now and no amount of denial will help in a clear case of deep fake video, altered to change the statements of a person no less than the Union Home Minister of India.

Pakistan continues a dangerous game of terror and radicalisation with its neighbours. The terror state has been involved in terrorism in India, and especially in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, for decades now post Independence. On the other hand, Pak does not spare its other neighbours. Reports have now come to light that Pakistan has been sending ‘preachers’ affiliated with its terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to radicalise residents and especially schoolchildren of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.Pakistan's most dangerous gameOn April 29, Afghanistan Green Trend (AGT), an anti-Taliban resistance force, posted a video of how so-called preachers allegedly from Pakistan are trying to radicalise and brainwash the people of Kabul.In a message in Persian posted alongside the video on social media platform X, AGT has called out Pakistan for its “forced presence of Pakistani missionaries and consultants in schools in Kabul”.The message read, “Afghanistan's Green Trend Information Unit (Warsaw) has obtained a video of the forced presence of Pakistani missionaries and consultants in schools in Kabul, a sample of which is published here. With the hypothesis that the faith of the people of Afghanistan, especially in the city of Kabul, is incomplete, these missionaries force teachers and administrators to listen to religious lectures in Urdu, which are translated into Pashto or Farsi by an Afghan translator.”“Most of these missionaries and advisers are members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is considered part of the unofficial force of the Pakistani army. This video is about Ebrahim Khalilullah School in Kabul. Oh, oh, oh, my homeland,” the post read.Pakistan terror groups active in AfghanistanA 2022 United Nations report states that Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) are consistently maintaining training camps in provinces of Afghanistan that are under Taliban. The UN report also stated that some of the people from these terror outlets are directly under Taliban control, reported PTI.The UN report further stated that the terror organisation al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has anywhere between 180-400 ‘fighters’, picked from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. The report informed that the JeM maintains at least “eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control”.Pakistan has had to deal with incidents of terrorism in its own country. That has not deterred the rogue nation from continuing to pursue its coercive terror activities in the name of religion.

Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar has slammed the Indian National Congress (INC) on the recent police closure report of the Rohith Vemula case. The Telangana Police in its closure report of the controversial case mentioned on Friday that Rohith Vemula was 'not a Dalit'. The PhD scholar's death on January 17, 2016 created a row over the treatment of Dalits at the University of Hyderabad. Former Congress president and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi had fully supported the 'Justice for Vemula' movement.Gandhi had, in several posts on social media platform X (then Twitter), talked about Rohith Vemula and the atrocities on the Dalit community. However, the police report says that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit, and feared that his 'real identity' would be revealed.Ambedkar hit out at the Congress, saying its government in the state couldn't prevent such a closure report. The VBA chief further mentions the treatment of Rohith Vemula's mother Radhika Vemula by the investigating officer, who asked the lady if she was willing to go through a DNA test to determine her caste location.Ambedkar, in a post on X, said today, “The Congress has NO relationship with Nyay! Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit — Telangana Police, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Congress-led Telangana government, in the closure report of the investigation of the Rohith Vemula case.”Ambedkar’s advice to Congress - STOP using the word NYAYRohith Vemula

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka minister and member of legislative assembly HD Revanna was detained in Bengaluru on Saturday in the Karnataka Sex Scandal and kidnapping case. HD Revanna, the son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was arrested by the Karnataka Police in the case of kidnapping of a woman. The female is allegedly a victim of Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sex escapades.As per a complaint filed by the woman’s 20-year-old son, the woman was taken away by HD Revanna's confidant Sathish Babanna, who allegedly kidnapped her on April 29. Babanna along with Revanna’s personal assistant Rajashekar held the woman captive at a farmhouse in Karnataka, said the police. The SIT rescued the woman on Saturday and she is under police protection.Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge react to HD Revanna arrestKarnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have reacted to the detention of HD Revanna today. 'We don't want to interfere in this, as law will take its own course. He had applied for anticipatory bail in the kidnapping case, but it was rejected. I don't know about the kidnapped lady…I haven't spoken to the Police yet…,' Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah told reporters today.Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar dismissed the HD Revanna case, saying that he is 'not aware of the arrest' and that 'law will take its own course'.Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI the ones who commit crimes need to be punished. 'The SIT is taking the action that needs to be taken...they are doing the work as per the law. Those people who commit crimes, need to be punished…,' he said.Karnataka Law Minister KL Patil said that the 'law has taken its course'.What is the Prajwal Revanna Sex Scandal?Hassan candidate and member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna, the prime accused in the sexual harassment case, is likely to surrender soon. Days before the obscene videos scandal came to light - nearly 3,000 explicit videos of victimes made by Prajwal Revanna - the accused fled to Germany and has been absconding ever since.A lookout notice was put out for both HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna, with the senior Revanna being arrested on Saturday.Prajwal Revanna has been booked for rape and sexual harassment of several women, whom he allegedly taped in order to silenced them. A molestation and kidnapping case has been filed against HD Revanna.Blue Corner Notice against Prajwal RevannaThe SIT informed Siddaramaiah that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may issue a Blue Corner Notice to Prajwal Revanna, who escaped to Germany on a diplomatic passport. A Blue Corner notice is a request for international cooperation among the police of member nations.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in an exclusive conversation with Republic Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, spoke about the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 and the chances of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA).In an exclusive chat onboard his election campaign chopper, Amit Shah also talked about the chances of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting the LS polls from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in Kerala.Amit Shah on Rahul Gandhi in Rae BareliOn Rahul Gandhi contesting from Rae Bareli, Amit Shah said, “Rahul Gandhi will lose Rae Bareli by a big margin. I can say this without hesitation that Rahul will lose with a huge margin in Rae Bareli. Rahul wasn't able to hold onto a seat or decide his seat when half of the elections are over. How will he hold onto an election or lead the nation?”Rae Bareli has been a bastion of the Gandhi-Vadra family for a long time, said Arnab, asking Shah to please elaborate on his statement of Rahul’s loss in the elections. “I know the people of Rae Bareli, and I know Rahul Gandhi. He won't win from there. The BJP candidate from Rae Bareli (Dinesh Pratap Singh) will win with a huge margin,” said Shah. “Indians have decided that the NDA’s slogan of ‘Ab Ki Baar, 400 Paar’ will come true (with a 400-seats win this election). Whether it is north, south, east or west, or the northeast, everywhere, people are feeling the excitement to elect Modi ji as PM for the third time. A government, a leader who made sure every sector made progress, whether it is cultural renaissance, economic growth, new education policy, securing the nation, or making sure India gets respect and recognition on a global platform, and the biggest thing - making sure to enlighten the lives of 80 crore poor people - all this has been done by Narendra Modi ji,” said Shah.Shah said with supreme confidence that Rahul Gandhi will lose his Rae Bareli seat with a huge margin, adding that he has “no pressure” on him.

New Delhi: Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and current National Conference (NC) president, spoke to Republic today about Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s remarks on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on Pakistan preferring Congress ‘Shehzada’ Rahul Gandhi as the future PM of India.'I don't think Pakistan can make that an issue. Pakistan doesn't hold India in its pocket. India is a free country and Indians are free. India doesn't go by what others say, be it Russia, America, or Pakistan. We decide on our own,' remarked Farooq Abdullah.The former J&K CM also expressed his opinion about PM Narendra Modi’s third term in office. Abdullah said, “If the PM is voted to power, you will see what the country will be like. Abdullah also said that the PM has not read the Congress Manifesto for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024. “I don't think PM Modi has read the manifesto. The manifesto never says anything that the PM or his party is saying. Read the manifesto, and you will know what exactly is there,” said the NC president.On the Ladakh seat in the LS Polls 2024. Abdullah said that his party will support the INDI Alliance. “In Kargil-Leh, a difficulty has erupted upon us. The problem is that in Kargil, people want their candidate to be given a ticket for the parliamentary election, while in Leh, they want a Leh candidate. We are part of the India Alliance, and the alliance has decided from Delhi that the Ladakh candidate should be an India Alliance candidate. NC has decided to agree with the India Alliance on this decision, and the candidate of India Alliance should be given the vote. We should stand with the India Alliance candidate. If our party workers in Kargil-Ladakh don't accept the decision, then they have no association with JKNC. We will move forward with the India Alliance as being a party of it.”Farooq Abdullah bats for reestablishing talks with PakistanAbdullah encouraged reestablishing talks with Pakistan. 'Is this the first time I'm saying this? I have been saying this for years, and the PM himself, on record, has stated that wars are over and we have to find negotiations. With negotiations, we have to move forward. So, where is Farooq Abdullah to be blamed? Today, all are after Farooq Abdullah. Where is Farooq Abdullah wrong? I don't want to stop them. Let them do what they want to do,” said the National Conference leader.

Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) chief HD Kumaraswamy has alleged that the current Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is responsible for releasing the obscene videos of his nephew and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The JD-S leader said that it was a “political conspiracy to finish my family and party”. The state has been rocked with the sex scandal involving Prajwal, involving the alleged abuse of several women. Prajwal Revanna has been absconding since the scandal came to light, having fled to Germany just a few days before. He is expected to surrender anytime, even as a blue corner notice has been issued against him.What did Kumaraswamy say about DK Shivakumar?The Karnataka sex scandal has led to a political row all over the country, and especially in the state. Kumaraswamy has demanded that DK Shivakumar be sacked for the release of the obscene tapes that inadvertently defamed several women. “If the Chief Minister has any morality, he should dismiss Mr. Shivakumar from the cabinet. We will also complain to the Governor of Karnataka,” he said in Bengaluru today.Kumaraswamy added that he was not trying to protect Prajwal Revanna, his nephew, and wanted justice for his alleged victims.Karnataka sex scandal prime accused Prajwal Revanna

New Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, who has been in prison since being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 15, 2024, will remain in judicial custody until May 14, the Rouse Avenue Court ruled.The Delhi court had rejected her bail application on Monday, May 6. K Kavitha had been taken into custody in two cases - corruption and money laundering - in connection with the Delhi liquor scam of the excise policy. Both cases are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED.Kaveri Baweja, Special Judge for CBI and ED of Rouse Avenue Courts, extended the custody of K Kavitha after she was produced before Rouse Avenue Court on expiry of her remand, as per reports in PTI.The ED said in the court that the investigation in the cases was at an important stage, and that it may file a charge sheet against K Kavitha within a week from now. On May 6, the CBI had told the court that K Kavitha was not required for custodial interrogation any further. The investigation agency had already questioned the BRS leader in custody. Telangana MLC K Kavitha is the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.