Avani Lekhara becomes first Indian woman to win 2 Paralympic medals
Tokyo(PTI): Trailblazing shooter Avani Lekhara on Friday became the first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals by claiming the 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 bronze to add to an unprecedented gold she had won earlier in the ongoing Games here.
The 19-year-old Lekhara qualified second for the event with a score of 1176, including 51 inner 10s.
In the fiercely contested finals, Lekhara totalled 445.9 to finish ahead of Ukraine's Iryna Shchetnik, who let slip her grip on the medal spot with a poor third shot of 9.9 in the elimination.
Lekhara had become the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold by claiming the top honours in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.
The Jaipur-based shooter, who sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident in 2012, had fired a world record equalling total of 249.6, which was also a new Paralympic record.
Prior to her, Joginder Singh Sodhi was the lone Indian to win multiple medals in the same edition of the Games when he fetched one silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics.
His silver came in shot put, while the two bronze medals were won in discus and javelin throw.
The gold in Friday's event was claimed by China's Zhang Cuiping with a new Games record of 457.9, while German Natascha Hiltrop took the silver with a 457.1 in the final.
Athletes in SH1 Rifle have an impairment in their legs, for example amputations or paraplegia. Some athletes will compete in a seated position, while others will compete in a standing position.
Lekhara started shooting on the insistence of her father in 2015 at a city shooting range.
She was also inspired by Olympic gold-medallist rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra after reading his autobiography.
In the men's event 50m Rifle 3P, Deepak failed to qualify for the finals after finishing 18th with a score of 1114.
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CAG must audit how policies benefited private firms: Cong on fuel excise duty hike under Modi govt
New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Accusing the government of "looting" people by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel, the Congress on Sunday called for fixing accountability and demanded that the CAG should audit how government policies benefited private companies.
The opposition party also demanded that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should investigate whether there was deliberate negligence or collusion in this.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh in a post on X said, "The people of India are being looted — on one hand the Modi government is increasing the tax burden and picking people's pockets, while on the other hand private and government oil companies are making profits! This is open economic exploitation!''
"The truth is: In May 2014, the excise duty on petrol was Rs 9.20 and on diesel Rs 3.46. Which is now Rs 19.90 on petrol and Rs 15.80 on diesel in the Modi government — an increase of 357% and 54%!" he said in his post in Hindi.
The Congress leader claimed that the government earned Rs 39.54 lakh crore from the petroleum sector in the last eleven years, yet it did not give any relief to people.
"In May 2014, crude oil was USD 108/barrel, today it is only USD 65.31 — i.e. 40% cheaper, yet the prices of petrol and diesel are higher than the UPA era," Ramesh said.
"In 2014, petrol in Delhi was Rs 71.41 and diesel Rs 55.49 per liter. Today the same petrol is Rs 94.77 and diesel Rs 87.67 per liter — the public is being openly looted. Who is benefiting?" he asked.
The Congress leader said along with government companies, the private oil companies are also earning huge profits from refining and marketing, while the common man is burdened with expensive petrol and diesel.
"The issue is serious! CAG should audit how the government policies benefited these private companies. CVC and CBI should investigate whether there was deliberate negligence or collusion in this?" Ramesh said.
"Public money needs to be accounted for — accountability must be fixed," he asserted.
The Congress general secretary shared a media report, which stated that oil firms were benefiting big time but now lowering prices for people.
The Congress had last week taken a swipe at the government over the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel, with Rahul Gandhi stating Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally gave a befitting reply to "tariffs".
Gandhi had also said that people suffering from inflation had been given another gift of "government loot".
The government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre each. The excise duty on petrol was hiked to Rs 13 per litre and that on diesel to Rs 10 a litre.
भारत की जनता लूटी जा रही है — मोदी सरकार द्वारा एक तरफ़ टैक्स का बोझ बढ़ाकर जहां जनता की जेब काट रही है, वहीं दूसरी तरफ़ प्राइवेट व सरकारी तेल कंपनियां मुनाफ़ा कमा रही हैं!
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 13, 2025
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