London's Underground network will shut down this week for the second time in two months after talks again broke down in a dispute over all night services, trade unions said today. 

The Allahabad High Court today stayed for four weeks the bailable warrant issued against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by a Amethi court for his alleged inflammatory speech in UP during Lok Sabha elections. 

A body of a top militant commander was spotted and fished out from a nullah in north Kashmir Baramulla district, reports Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com from Srinagar. A police spokesman in Srinagar said body of Tariq Ahmad Mir was fished out from Ferozepur nullah near Sumbal.

The spokesman said Tariq was the divisional commander of Hizbul Mujaheedin outfit and an active member of Lashkare Islami involved in recent attacks on telecom towers in Sopore town.

A lesser known outfit Lashkare Islami, it maybe mentioned, had threatened the cellular companies to shutdown their business in Kashmir valley. The spokesman said that the two militants had attacked a naka party of the police near Mirgund on the Srinagar Baramulla highway in the evening of July 31 in which three cops including the station house officer of police station Pattan were critically wounded.

Amid AAP government's standoff with the police on a range of issues, the Delhi Assembly today recommended setting up of an inquiry commission to probe alleged police inaction in cases of sexual harassment, stalking and voyeurism since February 2013 when a stringent anti-rape law had come into force.

A resolution providing for the appointment of the Commission of Inquiry to be headed by a retired judge was passed in the one-day special session, called to discuss threadbare the issue of women security in the city.

The House, in the resolution, expressed "anguish and deep sense of regret over the ever increasing incidents of crime against women and perceived negligence and inability on the part of law enforcing agency in dealing with this grave situation".

The terms of reference for the Commission will be to receive "unheeded complaints regarding crimes such as violence, sexual harassment, stalking and voyeurism" since February, 2013 when stringent provisions were made in CrPC and IPC based on the recommendations of Justice J S Verma committee.

The Verma committee was formed in the aftermath of the Delhi gangrape case of December 16, 2012. According to the resolution, a Commission of Inquiry, consisting of not more than three members to be headed by a retired judge will be constituted pursuant to Section 3 of The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952.

Participating in the discussion, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "Our first attempt is to make women feel safer in Delhi so that they can walk freely till late in the night.
 
"There are various cities in the world where women walk on the streets till midnight. This is why we are setting up this commission of enquiry."

A delegation of Film and Television Institute of India students protesting against the appointment of TV actor Gajendra Chauhan as its Chairman, today met senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, though no breakthrough was achieved in the ongoing logjam. The students of the prestigious Pune-based institute, who today also brought their stir to the national capital, met K Sanjay Murthy, joint secretary (films) in the ministry.

Murthy said that they had sought a meeting with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley or his deputy Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, though no such assurance was made by the officials present. Both sides, however, were keen that communication channels should remain open.

"We asked the joint secretary if an official meeting can take place between students and either of the ministers. The official did not promise us anything, but said, he will speak to the minister first and then get back to us. We are hoping the minister agrees to it and a channel of communication opens up," said Vikas Urs, member of the delegation.

Reiterating the protesters' demands, Urs said the demonstrations will continue until the government listens to the agitating students. Sources in the I&B ministry, meanwhile, confirmed that a meeting had taken place between senior officials and students, and added, the ministry is open to any positive proposal emerging from the students' side.

From Rediff Archives: A 2001 interview with NSCN-IM leader Thuingaleng Muivah, who was present in New Delhi as PM Narendra Modi made an announcement of the historic Naga accord. 

Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with NSCN-IM leader Thuingaleng Muivah at the signing ceremony of the accord. Photograph: PIB 

Hours after the Modi government announced the historic Naga peace accord, leading journalist Shekhar Gupta posted on his Faceboook, "Just yesterday the Army spokesman reminded us of the heroism of Capt Eric James Tucker of Maratha Light Infantry, who won his Ashok Chakra fighting Naga rebels on this day in 1957. Look at it this way: It was a good month before I was born, and I will be 57 this year! That gives you an idea of how old the Naga insurgency is. It was India's first. It tested Nehru, was patronised by the Chinese once our border dispute became contentious. It was the inspiration for all other insurgencies in the Northeast, most significantly the Mizo, in very early 1966 when Indira Gandhi had just taken over.

"The Nagas are ferocious fighters and both tested and battle-trained the Army over these decades, developing healthy mutual, soldierly respect. The insurgency defied peacemaking efforts of Nehru and later of the Centre even through the good offices of Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) and Vinoba Bhave. Angami Zhapu Phizo, the 'president" of the so-called Naga Federal Government, controlled the rebellion from exile in London," he adds.

Gupta continues, "....The story of the rebellion and the first round of peacemaking was brilliantly chronicled by Late Nirmal Nibedon with his sadly out of print classic, 'Nagaland: The Night of the Guerrillas'.

"Thuingaleng Muivah and close comrade Isak Chishi Swu were then more ideologically left, younger, and unwilling to make peace. They were also much closer to the Chinese and wanted a sovereign socialist Nagaland. They continued their insurgency though never on the same scale as before. Since the Tangkhul are from Manipur, they also opened another front there.

"Today's agreement ends this chapter. There are no major groups left now. The NSCN (K) faction is Myanmar-based and even they are negotiating with their government to join the mainstream.

"There are many challenges with governance in the N-E. But Naga separatism is now history, and the sacrifice of Capt Eric James Tucker and thousands more after him has borne fruit. It's a truly wonderful day for India," concludes.

Read the complete post here

 

Just in: Congress Vice President tweets, "We stand with each of our suspended MPs."

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended 25 Congress MPs for five days for causing "grave disorder" in Parliament.

"The truth will not be silenced in the case of corruption scams either where the Prime Minister is protecting the guilty. The modi Govt will soon understand that truth cannot be silenced. The ppl of India & Congress Party have shown this in case of land bill."

In a huge setback for PM Modi, his government will reportedly withdraw virtually every change it had made to the existing law on acquiring farm land for industry.

 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced that the state government will provide Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those killed in flood and storm.

While visiting a school at Ashok Nagar in North 24 Parganas district which is being operated as a relief centre, Banerjee said the state will give Rs 2 lakh to those who lost their limbs and Rs 60,000 for other injured.

The CM, who stayed at state secretariat Nabanna overnight to personally monitor the flood situation, handed over relief package to flood and storm-affected people who had taken shelter in the school. Besides flood, the area was hit by a major storm last week in which many houses were damaged. Without naming the Centre, she said she would not beg to anyone for money for the disaster-affected people.

Just in: Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefs Opposition leaders of peace accord with NSCN, the Naga militant group.

Modi speaks to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh about the historic agreement. He also speaks to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, BSP leader Mayawati and CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury. 

Pakistan Prime Minister's adviser on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz is likely to travel to India on August 23 for a meeting between the national security advisers of the two countries.

"The visit so far is on. Let us see what it leads to," government sources in Islamabad said.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had decided during a meeting in Ufa, Russia, last month that their National Security Advisors will meet. India has proposed August 23 and 24 for the meeting between Aziz and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. However, Pakistan has not yet confirmed the proposed dates for the meeting and the agenda of the planned talks has also not been fixed yet.

During the meeting, the NSAs are expected to discuss the Gurdaspur terror attack, bail for Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and other security issues of mutual concern. Despite the two premiers agreeing to re-start talks on bilateral issues during their meeting in Ufa, the recent Gurdaspur terror attack has increased tension between the two countries

External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj has asked Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to meet Geeta, a deaf and mute Indian woman stuck in that country for more than a decade.   

Responding to Pakistan's human rights activist AnsarBurney's tweet about the mute Indian girl who had strayed into Pakistan more than a decade ago, Sushma tweeted today, "I have asked Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan to go to Karachi with Mrs Raghavan and meet this girl."  

Geeta was seven or eight years old when she was found by the Pakistan police 15 years ago from Lahore railway station,according to reports from Pakistan.   Burney thanked the minister for the response through the tweet, "Sushma jee, Thank you so much for taking action and your efforts on Ansar Burney Trust request to start search of a missing family."

From Wednesday, the rape case against spiritual guru Asaram Bapu will be heard in the prison in Rajasthan where he has spent nearly two years.

A court today took the unusual decision after considering the huge crowds during his court appearances. Trial court judge Manoj Kumar Vyas said that it would be appropriate to hold the trial in the Jodhpur jail, given the law and order situation, the security of the court staff, counsels and also Asaram.

Every time Asaram, 74, came to court for a hearing in the past year, a large crowd of devotees would gather for a glimpse, said officials. To prevent chaos, a heavy contingent of policemen near the courtroom was often forced to use batons.

India will submit to Pakistan evidence that the three terrorists who carried out attacks in Gurdaspur had come from across the border during the proposed National Security Advisor-level talks here later this month. Sources privy to the development said the Indian side could also bring up terror cases related to wanted gangster and mastermind of 1993 Mumbai blasts Dawood Ibrahim during the meeting, which was agreed to at the meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Ufa in Russia last month.

Modi lamented that it took so long for the peace efforts to culminate into action. The PM said, "Unfortunately, the Naga problem has taken so long to resolve because we did not understand each other."

After being presented a jacket by the Nagas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "The Naga political issue lingered for six decades, taking a huge toll on generations of people. I sincerely thank Isak Swu, Muivah and other Naga leaders for their wisdom and courage."

Muivah added, "Under PM Narendra Modi we have come close to understand each other and worked out a new relation between the two parties. Nagas will forever remember you for your statesmanship."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signed the historic Naga Peace Accord with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isak-Muivah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the presence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval, signed the accord with NSCN-IM's Thuingaleng Muivah. 

A court in Delhi said there was "sufficient material" to proceed with the criminal defamation complaint filed by a Delhi police constable against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for using a slang 'thulla' to describe policemen. 

Something's up at the Prime Minister's residence. Raising eyebrows, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, "Today, we would be witness to an important & landmark event at 6.30pm at RCR. I will be making a special announcement at 6:30 PM from RCR."

A US hunting tourist has provoked an online backlash after posting photos of herself with several dead animals in South Africa. Sabrina Corgatelli, a senior accountant and hunting enthusiast from Idaho, posted pictures of herself with animals including a giraffe that she shot dead on her Facebook page. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state government will provide Rs four lakh each to the families of those killed in flood and storm. Banerjee said the state will give Rs 2 lakh to those who losttheir limbs and Rs 60,000 for other injured. She added that those who had lost their houses and crops in the storm would be helped. 

As a measure of solidarity, members of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress have decided to boycott Lok Sabha for 5 days -- the same amount of time that the Congress members have been suspended for. 

Reacting to the news of 25 Congress MPs being suspended, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, "It is a black day for democracy."

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspends 25 Congress MPs suspended from the house for five days over repeated disruptions. The Congress has 44 MPs in Parliament.


The logjam continued in the Parliament today with the Congress objecting to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement in the Rajya Sabha saying it was made without notice and urged Chairman Hamid Ansari not to take it on record claiming it was "illegal".


In her statement during the Zero Hour, Swaraj had made the statement saying she had not made any request to the British government for issue of travel documents to controversial former IPL chief Lalit Modi and asserted that all allegations against her were "baseless and unfounded".


Swaraj managed to speak a few sentences in the Rajya Sabha amid slogan-shouting by Congress members seeking fixing of accountability in the Lalitgate and Vyapam scam but could not complete her statement.


Despite the government's best efforts to clear the logjam at the all-party meeting, the Opposition has adopted the "no resignation, no discussion' line.


With the House paralysed for most of the Monsoon Session, the BJP-led government are believed to be mulling over the idea of introducing a "no work, no pay' policy to counter the Opposition.



File picture of Parliament.

Speaker suspends Lok Sabha MPs for five days. Lok Sabha adjourned for the day.

Vote: Should viewing porn be banned in India?

Author and columnist Chetan Bhagat's tweet against the government's decision to ban porn. @chetan_bhagat Don't ban porn. Ban men ogling, leering, brushing past, groping, molesting, abusing, humiliating and raping women. Ban non-consent. Not sex.


Many Indian porn lovers woke up to a rude shock on Sunday morning: On most internet service providers (ISPs) including Vodafone, MTNL, ACT, Hathway and BSNL porn sites were inaccessible.
 
The matter came to light late on Saturday, when a number of internet users across the country could not access pornographic websites. On searching for popular porn sites Pornhub and Redtube, all they ended up on were blank pages.
 
Porn watchers who couldnt access the sites took to social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit to bring the matter to light.

Congress leader Ambika Soni on Monday asked the Narendra Modi-led government to stop politicising Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and urged the ruling dispensation to initiate a dialogue with the students to end the controversy.


"There should be no politics as far as Rahul Gandhi's visit to FTII is concerned. He did not go there as a representative of the party but on the invitation of the students. No one from the government is acknowledging the students' issues and that's why they invited him to listen to them," Soni said.

Protests by students of the Film and Television Institute of India or FTII, which is on its 53rd day today, have been endorsed by veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who questioned: "Who is Gajendra Chauhan?"

Chatterjee, who won the Dada Saheb Phalke award three years ago, told NDTV that he had "never heard" of Chauhan.


"I don't know who he is. Anyone who will occupy a responsible position should have good body of work. Does he have that? Who is he?" said the 80-year-old Bengali actor, who has been a perennial favourite of Satyajit Ray.

Chatterjee, who is in the news recently for his role in Sujoy Ghosh's 14-minute film Ahalya said, "For so many days there have been protests but the government is not listening."


The students have been protesting against Chauhans appointment since June 12, saying he lacked vision and artistic credentials to merit the post at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India.


Chauhan, known for his role of Yudhishtira in popular tele-serial Mahabharat, has refused to step down, claiming he is well equipped for the job and that if Centre, which has appointed him tells him to go he will do so.

"Main aur mera rab hi janta hai ki asliyat kya hai. Aap log toh duty kar rahe hain isliye main aapko maaf karta hoon (I and my God know the truth. You people are just doing your duty, so I forgive you)."


Those were the last words of 1993 Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon, seconds before he was escorted to the gallows, the The Indian Express reports.


"He didn't appear shaky at all, he was not trembling. He seemed to be quite composed and ready to spend the last few minutes of his life in a dignified manner. He was brought out of his barrack at 6.50 am. His face was covered with a black cloth and hands tied at the back with three constables taking him over the ramp-like elevated concrete path leading to the gallows. Along the way, a constable just uttered the word 'chappals'.


Yakub understood what he meant right away. He immediately removed his slippers saying "Haan, nikal leta hoon' and walked the remaining distance without them.


Exactly at 7 am, Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai pulled the iron lever making the trapdoor beneath Yakub's feet drop. At 7.30 am, his body was brought down and the jail's doctor declared him dead,' sources said, narrating the last 10 minutes of Yakub's life.


The officials, sources claimed, had also made preparations to ensure that resistance, if any, coming from Yakub, could be dealt with promptly and properly.


Therefore, three constables who had done the same job at Kasab's hanging in Pune were deployed in Nagpur too. Earlier, Yakub only slept for a few hours before being woken up by the jail authorities at around 5 am. "He took a bath, wore newly-stitched white clothes, had a cup of tea and also offered prayers before being brought out of his barrack around 6.50 am,' sources said.

India-born former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta has accepted his two-year imprisonment on insider trading charges as his "destiny" while spending a low- profile life at a Massachusetts prison where he occasionally runs into his friend and hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam.


Gupta, 66, currently serving two years at the Federal Medical Center Devens in northwest of Boston on insider trading charges, washed tables at the facility, played handball and racquetball and bridge, according to an account in the New York Times. Gupta and Rajaratnam are under the same roof at the prison with 1,000 other inmates.

Ahead of the release of Khushwant Singh's book, Portrait Of A Serial Killer. Uncollected Writings, his daughter Mala Dayal, who has edited it, is brutally frank about her father's famous soires. She believes that in later years in particular, her father, who died last year at the age of 99, was easily exploited by people currying favour.  Read more


Representational picture: Khushwant Singh with his friend Sadia Dehlvi

The families of more than 150 soldiers of an artillery unit have sought the intervention of the government to rescue their kin from a three-year forced confinement under a colonial-era charge of "mutiny" that the officers of the battalion have allegedly foisted on them.


In representations to the President, the Prime Minister and the defence minister, the families, speaking for the soldiers of the 226 Field Artillery Regiment, have alleged that through a conspiracy, a section of the officer cadre had closed ranks to protect their own at the cost of the men they were supposed to lead. Read

The Shiv Sena has called off its alliance with the BJP in Kolhapur in Maharashtra and will contest the upcoming municipal corporation polls there on its own.


The election to the 81-member Kolhapur civic body is scheduled to be held later this year.


The split in Kolhapur comes in the backdrop of Sena president Uddhav Thackeray recently saying that his party is keen on winning the Assembly polls in Maharashtra on its own and that they had extended support to BJP in 2014 elections to avoid political instability.

An inquest into the apparent suicide of renowned cricket writer Peter Roebuck in South Africa four years ago is set to be reopened, his former employer reported on Monday.


English-born Roebuck, 55, was covering the Test series between South Africa and Australia in 2011 when he plunged to his death from the Southern Sun Hotel in Cape Town. South African police said he leapt out of a sixth floor window after two officers arrived to arrest him over a claim of sexual assault by a Zimbabwean man.


Australia's Fairfax Media said his family had since dealt with obstructionism from authorities with a closed hearing in Cape Town into the circumstances of the death in 2013 about which neither they nor the continent's largest law firm, which represents them, were notified, The newspaper group, which had employed Roebuck since 1984, claimed access to any forensic evidence taken from the hotel room was denied, as was a police toxicology report and fingerprints from the window, while requests for his mobile phone were rejected.


Roebuck's 87-year-old mother Elizabeth said that as a result she has never had questions answered about how he died while in the custody of two police officers. -- AFP

The flood situation in south Bengal districts today remained grim after fresh water was released from different barrages, compounding the woes of over 37 lakh people in 12 affected districts.


West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who stayed at state secretariat Nabanna overnight to personally monitor the flood situation, would visit Habra and Ashoknagar areas of North 24 Parganas to monitor the relief and rescue operations there.


The CM had yesterday held meeting with senior officials regarding the situation and has set up a control room at the state secretariat to keep an eye on the problem 24X7.


Besides, Banerjee four of her Cabinet ministers would also visit other affected districts to review the situation. Last night, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had spoken to the CM over phone about the flood situation in the state.



"The flood situation in the state still remained a matter of concern after fresh water was released from different barrages since last night. High tides worsened the situation," state Irrigation Minister Rajib Banerjee told PTI.


Among others DVC has itself released 90000 cusecs of water since midnight last night, the minister added. The toll due to the floods, however, remained at 48 while 2.14 lakh people were sheltered in 1,537 relief camps in the 12 districts.


According to the disaster management department's report, 47 municipalities across the state have been affected by floods.


The government has issued an appeal to all the affected in the districts to move to their nearest relief camp before the situation worsens.

The Supreme Court has appointed Fali S Nariman as amicus curiae to assist it in deciding Justice Markandey Katju's plea against resolutions passed by Parliament.

The apex court said that Justice Katju should be ready to face criticism for venting his opinion on a public platform.


Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Markandey Katju, moved the apex court in June against both the Houses of Parliament for passing two resolutions condemning his social media posts in respect of Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

In the petition posted on his blog 'Satyam Bruyat', Justice Katju wants the apex court to quash the Resolutions passed on March 11 and 12 this year by both Houses of the Parliament as they violate his rights as a private citizen to express his views freely about historically-respected personalities and show disagreement, dissent, criticism, non-acceptance or critical evaluation.

He said the Parliament violated the principles of natural justice by not giving him an opportunity to be heard.

Both Houses of Parliament had condemned me for my statements calling Gandhi a British agent, and Subhas Chandra Bose a Japanese agent, without even giving me a hearing, Justice Katju wrote in the blog post which has the petition attached to it.

He's an alumnus of London School of Business and Chicago University, has worked as investment banker for GE Capital and Morgan Stanley and heads the India unit of an investment fund, Zeus Caps, backed by a super wealthy Saudi Sheikh - but that's not what makes Shaurya Doval (40) special. Neither it is that Shaurya's father happens to be India's National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval.  Read more

Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu to represent the NDA government at the All Party Meet in Parliament, PM Modi will not attend the meeting. 

Research firm Moody's Analytics today said the Reserve Bank is likely to cut the benchmark rate by 0.25 per cent in its monetary policy review tomorrow as inflation is likely to remain subdued on the back of average rainfall and lower commodity prices.


"The Reserve Bank of India could deliver fireworks in its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday by cutting the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7 per cent," it said in a report, 'Asia Spotlight: More Rate Cuts in India'. Moody's Analytics is a division of Moody's Corporation and is engaged in economic research and analysis.

Breaking her silence, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said she had not made any request to the British government for issue of travel documents to controversial former IPL chief Lalit Modi and asserted that all allegations against her were "baseless and unfounded".


Swaraj managed to speak a few sentences in the Rajya Sabha amid slogan-shouting by Congress members seeking fixing of accountability in the Lalitgate and Vyapam scam but could not complete her statement, as Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House till 1200 hours amidst the din.


Seizing on Kurien's statement that Prime Minister cannot respond unless a discussion as demanded by Anand Sharma (Cong) under Rule 267 by suspending the business is initiated, Leader of the House Arun Jaitley said Swaraj would make a statement to initiate the debate in the absence of unwillingness of the Congress leader to initiate it.


Swaraj said she had conveyed on 'day one' through Jaitley that she was ready to respond to all charges being made against her. The allegations of assisting Lalit Modi are "baseless and unfounded," she said, adding "I did not make any request to the British government for issue of travel documents to Lalit Modi."


She wanted to say more but Kurien adjourned the House amid vociferous protests from the Congress members, who moved into the Well the moment Swaraj rose to speak.


The Minister said for two weeks she has been coming to the House every day in the hope of being able to make a statement and clarify on the issue. Earlier, Anand Sharma (Cong) said the House has been in a stalemate because of the government's "arrogance".


"This House cannot be in order unless issues have been responded by the Prime Minister on fixing accountability and responsibility." Government is not serious, he said demanding a response from the Prime Minister. Kurien said, "unless you start the discussion, Prime Minister cannot respond."


This moment was seized upon by Jaitley who said if Sharma was unwilling to initiate a discussion, Swaraj will make a statement to start the discussion. Congress members trooped into the Well of the House shouting slogans seeking resignations of Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in connection with the Lalit Modi controversy and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the Vyapam scam.

Two crude bombs went off around 9.30 am on Monday in North Kolkata's Tala Park area. The explosion injured a six-year-old child, who has been admitted to hospital in a critical condition. The child is a resident of the nearby slums. The bombs were hidden inside a few broken pipes.


A bomb disposal squad with sniffer dogs have reached the spot, police sources told Indrani Roy/Rediff.com. The entire area has been cordoned off.

External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj speaks in the Rajya Sabha on her alleged links with former IPL chief Lalit Modi: "Allegations leveled against me are baseless. I did not request the British government for travel documents for Lalit Modi. I have never favoured Lalit Modi. I'm ready for a debate in Parliament, but the Opposition is not allowing it."


Swaraj, who has been attacked by the opposition for helping disgraced cricket boss Lalit Modi get travel papers in Britain, has been keen to make a statement in Parliament on the controversy, since June.


The Congress says Sushma Swaraj must be sacked for helping Modi, who it calls a "fugitive", obtain documents to travel out of Britain last year, at a time his passport stood cancelled by the Indian government.


The Congress has also maintained that the minister should first resign before she is allowed to make a statement in Parliament.

Why Goonj founder Anshu Gupta got the Magsaysay. Read

Just in: One child has been injured in crude bomb blast in the Tallah area of Kolkata.

Details awaited.

"In our Anglicised middle classes, the sense of bigotry and prejudice runs through so strongly that it is frightening. I need hardly go into the matter of the troubled faced by Muslims who look for housing and jobs.


"There are moments, and the hanging of Yakub Memon was one, where all of the gathered injustices are crystallised. Those gathered at the graveyard were not there to protest. They came to sympathise because they are also victims,' says Aakar Patel. Read

Aakar is Amnesty International India chief and regular columnist with Rediff.com.

At least 134 people have lost their lives and over 80 lakh people affected in fresh floods due to excessive rains in worst-affected Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Odisha


While the death toll touched 53 in Gujarat, 48 in West Bengal, 28 died in Rajasthan and five in Odisha, a Home Ministry statement said.


A total of 36,90,627 people in 9,691 villages of 210 blocks in 12 districts in West Bengal have been affected due to floods, while a population of 40 lakh in Gujarat and 4,80,399 in Odisha, it said.  Read more

More on the Sonia Gandhi's sharp attack on the PM and the BJP:


-- The PM is conspicuous by his "deafening silence on the blatant transgressions" by his External Affairs Minister and two Chief Ministers.


-- The BJP is the author of 'resign now, debate later' principle which it had used in at least five occasions during the UPA rule. We are only following it.


-- The PM has turned out to be a master repackager, a skillful salesman, a sharp headline grabber and a clever news manager.

In an Independence Day Special series, Rediff.com celebrates India through the lives of her people. In the first piece in the series Dr Ruveda Salam, the first woman IPS officer from the Kashmir Valley, talks about the rigors of life in Kashmir, Robert Frost and the admiration she has received from young girls. Read

Ahead of an all-party meeting called by the government, Congress president Sonia Gandhi made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, the BJP's stand of discussion and dialogue first and action later is not acceptable to the Congress.


"We are raising a very important issue with strong evidence, but the government is unwilling to take action in this regard," Sonia said at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party.


"The government is using numerical strength as a source of arrogance rather than responsibility, and is trying to substitute  investigation by mere discussion. This is unacceptable," she said.


PM Narendra Modi will meet senior ministers today ahead of an all-party meeting to end the Parliament logjam.


Sonia Gandhi also attacked the PM's much-publicised 'Mann ki Baat' man appears saying he has retreated into a 'Maun Vrat' whenever there is a scandal involving his colleagues."

President Pranab Mukherjee today will meet a select group of 250 media persons today for an informal chat at Ashoka Hall inside Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Rediff.com is the first tell you of this meeting, but expect reports across newspapers tomorrow. The meeting was rescheduled to today after former president APJ Kalam passed away last week.