Ajay Kumar Lallu replaces Raj Babbar as Uttar Pradesh Congress chief
New Delhi: The Congress on Monday appointed Ajay Kumar Lallu as its Uttar Pradesh president, replacing Raj Babbar, and revamped the state unit, bringing in four vice presidents, 12 general secretaries and 24 secretaries.
Ajay was the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Uttar Pradesh and is a two-time MLA from Tamkuhi Raj constituency. He is considered close to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who is the party's General Secretary (Incharge, Uttar Pradesh East).
Aradhana Misra 'Mona' has been appointed as CLP leader in place of Ajay.
In another order, party chief Sonia Gandhi set up an advisory council -- whose 18 members include Ajay Rai, Ajay Kapoor, Mohsina Kidwai, P L Punia and R P N Singh -- to the AICC general secretary.
Ajay Rai is the former MLA from Varanasi and Kidwai is a senior party leader.
An eight-member working group for strategy and planning for UP was also set up. Jitin Prasada, Rajiv Shukla, Rajaram Pal, Imran Masood and Brij Lal Khabri are among its members.
According to a party communication, the four vice presidents are: Virender Chaudhary (UP East), Pankaj Malik (West), Laliteshpati Tripathi and Deepak Kumar for the party's frontal organisations such as NSUI and PYC.
The party communication said that 12 general secretaries include Alok Prasad Rai, Vishwa Vijay Singh, Yusuf Ali Turk and Yogesh Dixit.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
