The Congress is the second largest party, but it managed only 44 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had earlier said that with just 44 seats, the Congress cannot get the Leader of the Opposition post.

He also claimed that the devotees of Sai Baba use pictures of sanatan dharm gods and make money. "If they don't use pictures of our god, who will give them anything," he questioned.

While he admitted that people have the freedom to worship, he said that Sai Baba tries to position himself as god which is not acceptable to them. "We accept only five gods. Anyone who positions himself as an addition isn't acceptable to us," he said.

Shankaracharya also rubbished claims that he has raised objection over Sai Baba at the behest of Congress. "It is wrong to say that I am doing this at the behest of Congress. I am not a political person," he said. Read

The Chief Justice of India's criticism of the government's handling of former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium's nomination as a Supreme Court Judge has sparked a storm.

Sources have told CNN-IBN that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is upset with the controversy. Sources say the Prime Minister has made it clear that the government should not be seen as being at loggerheads with the judiciary. This comes even as government continued to insist that it has the right to reconsider names.

Government sources had cited the case of former law minister Veerappa Moily who reconsidered the then Patna High Court judge CK Prasad's name. The government added that Gopal Subramanium resigned on his own and if the Supreme Court wanted, it could have suggested his name again and the government would have abided by it.

The Congress, however, has demanded an apology from the Prime Minister over the issue. "It's unprecedented for a judge to come out and speak in this manner. The Prime Minister should come out and apologise," Moily said.

Read more on CNN IBN

A minor gas leakage was reported from one of the wells of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation at Kasanapalli in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, which has been brought under control, a senior officer said here today.        

"There was a minor leakage from the well yesterday, which was controlled immediately," said Asset Manager, Oil and Natural Gas Corp Rajahmundry P Krishna Rao said in a statement.        

Following the leak, District Collector Neetu Kumari Prasad appealed to people not panic as ONGC officials had plugged the leak.        

This is the second such incident since the GAIL pipeline blast at Nagaram in the district last Friday that has so far claimed 21 lives and injured many.

Palestinians are preparing to hold the funeral of a teenager abducted and murdered in Israel. The killing of 17-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdair on Wednesday was condemned by both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

The murder sparked fierce clashes amid claims it was in revenge for the killing of three Israeli youths. Meanwhile Palestinian militants in Gaza fired several rockets at Israel. Israel responded with a series of air strikes on the territory early on Thursday. Israeli officials said 20 mortars and rockets were fired.

Read more on BBC

The spat between Shirdi Sai devotees and Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati has turned uglier and reached the court. The Naga seers have now sided with Shankaracharya.

The Nagas have said that if Shankaracharya is insulted, they will take to the streets in protest. The Naga sadhus have called this issue a 'religious war'. Nagas are a sect of seers who worship Lord Shiva. Swaroopanad Saraswati had said that people should not worship Sai Baba and other Hindu deities.

The Sai temple in Lucknow has filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court asking the court to lodge an FIR against Shankaracharya Swaroopananda. The court will hear the case July 4.

"They are trying to incite Hindus. I tried to register a case but it was not done, so I approached the court," said Swami Kamal Kishore. "We are okay with whatever idol they choose to worship. But if they place the idols of our Gods at the feet of Sai Baba, it is unacceptable to us," said Shankaracharya supporter Swami Narendra Giri.

Read more on CNN IBN

The Bombay Stock Exchange has asked to shut down all markets due to a network outage, TV channels report.  

Network service vendor HCL is working on the snag, CNN IBN reports.

NDTV: An infiltration attempt by a group of terrorists was foiled by the Army in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir early this morning. Exchange of fire between the terrorists and the troops is reportedly still underway.

No casualties have been reported so far.More details are awaited.

After reports that 46 Indian nurses trapped in the conflict zone in Iraq have been asked to leave within 5 hours by the militants, Iraq Red Crescent has said that they are safe. "The nurses in Tikrit are safe, there is no threat. They are inside the hospital, " Iraq Red Crescent President Yaseen Ahmed Abbas said.

One of the nurses had said that the militants who were treating them nicely till recently now are asking them to leave the building which could be bombed down any moment.

Nearly 600 Indians have left conflict-hit Iraq after being facilitated by the External Affairs Ministry and about 900 more are to follow. "By our estimation, the facilitation phase has now gathered pace. We have provided tickets to approximately 530 nationals. Their seats have been booked on commercial flights. In addition, we are processing the documentation of another 850 persons," the spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesaday.

He had also said that the nurses who have taken refuge in the basement of their hospital after bombing and firing took place in the vicinity of the building are "safe and unharmed".

Read more on CNN IBN

The Supreme Court today expressed concern over the misuse of a law meant to target those guilty of dowry harassment and said people accused in such cases cannot be automatically arrested.

"The fact that Section 498-A is a cognizable and non-bailable offence has lent it a dubious place of pride amongst the provisions that are used as weapons rather than shield by disgruntled wives. The simplest way to harass is to get the husband and his relatives arrested under this provision. In quite a number of cases, bed-ridden grand-fathers and grand-mothers of the husbands, their sisters living abroad for decades are arrested," said the court.The Supreme Court condemned the police's tendency to arrest the accused first and then proceed with the case -- terming it "despicable".

The court also directed state governments to ensure that police do not automatically arrest the accused in such cases.

Read more on NDTV

NDTV: As heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Wednesday, photos and a video of a The Metro had opened with great fanfare on June 8 this year.The image of a mini downpour inside one of its compartments puts a question mark on Mumbai Metro's services and its impending fare hike.  

"Of the sixteen trains in service, an AC unit of one of the trains reportedly malfunctioned during heavy showers. It was replaced with a train that was kept on standby to ensure that services were not affected. The train will start plying from tomorrow," said an official of the  Mumbai Metro One Private Limited.

Photo courtesy: Twitter