Modi targets TMC in Bengal rally

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held two rallies in the state of West Bengal ahead of the second and final phase of voting, where he attacked the ruling All India Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) and said, “The final phase will ensure that the BJP comes to power.”

The state witnessed a record-breaking turnout in the first phase of polling amid the controversy over large-scale deletion of names of voters during the revision of electoral registers.

Referring to the high turnout in the first phase of voting, Modi said, “In the first phase of voting, West Bengal has recorded remarkable turnout,” and claimed that “TMC’s ego has been shattered with the first phase.”

Reiterating his attack on TMC, he said, “West Bengal is not run by the state secretariat but by goons and criminals protected by the party.”

The state witnessed a record-breaking turnout in the first phase of voting amid the controversy over large-scale deletion of voters’ names during voter list revision.

The second phase of elections is to be held on April 29 and the results will be declared on May 4.

A Swiss Air flight from Delhi to Zurich had to be halted after an engine failure in the early hours of Sunday and five people on board were injured.

According to Swiss International, the injured included four passengers and one crew member.

“Just after 1am local time on April 26, flight LX147 experienced an engine problem during takeoff in Delhi. The crew aborted takeoff and after assessing the situation decided to evacuate the aircraft as a precautionary measure,” Swiss International said in a statement.

The airline did not provide additional details, but Economic Times It was reported that an engine of the plane caught fire. It also said that passengers were injured during the emergency evacuation.

All passengers were evacuated to the runway of Indira Gandhi International Airport using emergency slides.

The airline said it has assigned a team to investigate the incident, adding that injured passengers have been hospitalized and a crew member suffered a sprained ankle.

The Airbus A330 was carrying 228 passengers, four infants and 13 crew members.

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha lost nearly 2 million followers on Instagram after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Before the announcement of joining BJP, Chadha had about 14.6 million followers on Instagram. However, his current number of followers is 12.7 million.

The decline in the politician’s followers is indicative of his potential decline among the younger generation in India, who viewed Chadha as a representative of the youth population in Parliament.

Observers say the decline in Chadha’s followers reflects his reduced appeal among the youth due to his switch to the BJP.

Fresh unrest was reported in Manipur as thousands of protesters from the Meitei community took out rallies that turned violent on Saturday.

Manipur Coordination Committee on Integrity (COCOMI) held a massive rally in the capital Imphal and submitted a memorandum to the Manipur government.

The rally was organized after more than a week of continuous protests in Manipur over the killing of two Meitei minors in a bomb blast in Bishnupur district.

The protesters raised slogans demanding justice for the minors killed in the bomb blast.

The rally turned into a clash with security forces as protesters were stopped from marching towards the residence of Chief Minister Y Khemchand in Imphal.

The state has been grappling with ethnic conflict between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the predominantly Christian Kuki community for nearly three years, in which more than 250 people have been killed.

Three people were killed and five others injured in a shootout between rival ethnic groups, the Nagas and the Kukis, in India’s northeastern state of Manipur on Friday.

Raghu Rai, one of India’s most famous photojournalists, died at the age of 83 in a private hospital in Delhi.

His son Nitin Rai, himself a photographer, said on Sunday that he was battling cancer for the last two years.

“Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, but he recovered. Then it spread to the stomach, he also recovered. Recently the cancer spread to his brain and then age-related problems also started,” he told Indian news agency Press Trust of India.

His last rites will be performed at Lodhi crematorium in New Delhi at 4 pm on Sunday, the family informed through a post on Instagram.

A Padma Shri awardee, Rai’s camera captured many national events as he worked as a photojournalist for five decades for various newsrooms in India. His most prominent works include coverage of the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

In 1977, he became the first Indian photographer to be invited to join Magnum Photos following the nomination of French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacted to the shooting at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner, which was attended by US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Modi said he was relieved that the President, First Lady Melania Trump and the Vice President were “safe and secure”.

Modi stressed that “violence has no place in a democracy and it must be unequivocally condemned.”

Panic spread after gunshots were heard at the White House correspondents’ dinner held at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday evening.

Trump was safely evacuated from the venue by security personnel. A 31-year-old suspect has been arrested from California.

hello! I’m Midhat from DW’s New Delhi bureau, bringing you all the important stories from India today.

India has woken up to the sad news of the death of veteran photojournalist Raghu Rai.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished US President Donald Trump after the firing incident at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Scorching heat has gripped northern and central states, with Delhi recording its hottest day of the year so far on Saturday. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that the heat wave will continue.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest from the country.