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[00:00:08] Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I am your host Patmokumar and these are the major news stories of Wednesday, February 19, 2025. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Union Government and Railways over the stampede last week at the New Delhi Railway Station in which 18 people were killed.
[00:00:30] The court asked why the railways had continued to sell tickets in excess of the number of passengers who could be accommodated in one coach. The court sought replies from the sender and the railways. The NIA has arrested three men including one from Kochi for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan-based intelligence operatives. The anti-terror agency apprehended Abhilash P.A. from Kochi.
[00:00:59] Vedan Lakshman Dandal and Akshay Ravi Naik were picked up from Uttarakarnada district in Karnataka. NIA said the three were sharing sensitive information about Indian defence establishments at Karwar Naval Base and Kochi Naval Base. They also received money from Pakistan intelligence operatives in exchange for the information.
[00:01:18] Congress President Mallagarjan Kargay on Wednesday told top party workers that they would be held accountable for election results in the future and warned them against turn courts. Remarks came in the backdrop of the party's Delhi poll debacle. Addressing the new office bearers at a meeting held at the party headquarters at Indira Pavan,
[00:01:40] he urged party leaders to work at the grassroots level and strengthen the party from the booth level and promote such people who are ideologically committed to the organisation. Kargay also hinted at some more changes in the organisation, saying some changes have already taken place and some more are in the offing.
[00:02:01] The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would on February 19 take up on priority basis the pleas against the appointments of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners under the 2023 law. On February 17, the government appointed E.C. Gyanesh Kumar as the next CEC.
[00:02:23] Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law and his term would run till January 26, 2029, days before the E.C. is expected to announce the schedule of the next Lok Sabha election. Vivek Joshi, a 1989 batch Haryana Kader IAS officer, was appointed as an election commissioner.
[00:02:48] Amid controversy within the Congress over his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kerala's LDF government, Thirvanathapuram MP Shashi Tharoor was invited by the DYFI to attend its start-up festival. The DYFI National President A.A. Rahim and State Secretary V.K. Sanuch personally visited Tharoor at his Delhi residence to extend the invitation.
[00:03:12] The event, Mafa Sov, will be held in Thirvanathapuram on March 1 and 2, with the chief minister set to inaugurate it. However, Tharoor has decided to skip the event. That brings us to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening to Daily News Dose, hosted by me, Pat Mogumar and produced by Kannan. Follow on manorama.com for detailed updates on the latest news and be sure to come back tomorrow.