Congress leader and former Union minister RPN Singh joins BJP
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader RPN Singh on Tuesday joined the BJP in the presence of the saffron party's Uttar Pradesh in-charge and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Singh is the second big exit from the Congress in Uttar Pradesh after Jitin Prasada quit it last year. Prasada joined the BJP and later became a minister in the Adityanath government.
"This is a new beginning for me and I look forward to my contribution to nation building under the visionary leadership & guidance of the Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, BJP president Shri @JPNadda ji & Honourable Home Minister @AmitShah ji," Singh, a former Union minister, had tweeted before his joining.
Besides Pradhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress to join the BJP and is a Union minister, was also present for Singh's joining in ceremony.
Singh was also the in-charge for Jharkhand affairs of the Congress, where the party is in power along with the JMM.
He has earlier represented the Padrauna assembly constituency and had defeated Swami Prasad Maurya from Kushinagar in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Singh was on Monday included in the Congress list of 30 star campaigners for the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. PTI JTR
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India rescues 549 Indians from cybercrime centres along Myanmar-Thailand border
New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI): India has brought back 549 of its citizens in two military aircraft after securing their release from cybercrime centres located along the Myanmar-Thailand border, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The Indians were victims of fake job offers, officials said.
In a post on X, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government of India arranged for the safe repatriation of 266 Indians on Tuesday onboard an Indian Air Force aircraft.
On Monday, 283 Indians were similarly repatriated, he said.
The Indian nationals, mostly from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were lured with fake job offers to either Thailand or Myanmar. They were then taken to cybercrime centres in Myanmar's Myawaddy region, he said.
The Indian embassies in Myanmar and Thailand worked with the governments of the two countries for the release and repatriation of the Indians, he added.
The MEA said on Monday that the government has been making sustained efforts for the release of Indians lured to various Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, with fake job offers.
"These persons were subsequently made to indulge in cybercrime and engage in other fraudulent activities in scam centres operating in regions along the Myanmar-Thailand border," it said in a statement.
"The government of India wishes to reiterate its caution, circulated earlier from time to time through advisories and social media posts, about such rackets," it added.
"Indian nationals are once again advised to verify credentials of foreign employers through Missions abroad and check the antecedents of recruiting agents and companies before taking up a job offer," the ministry said.
Government of India arranged for the safe repatriation of 266 Indians yesterday by an IAF aircraft, who were released from cybercrime centres in South East Asia. On Monday, 283 Indians were similarly repatriated.
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) March 12, 2025
Indian Embassies worked with Myanmar & Thailand governments to… pic.twitter.com/m56JcUzLSp
