BJP's campaign in Bihar assembly polls today received a shot in the arm with JD-U MLA Satish Kumar, who had defeated RJD chief Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi from Raghopur constituency in 2010 elections, joining it today.

BJP is likely to field him from Raghopur from where Prasad's son Tejaswi Yadav is also set to make his electoral debut.

Kumar said Bihar could develop only by following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's developmental agenda and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to betraying the people of state by joining hands with Prasad who, he alleged, is pushing it towards 'jungle raaj'.

Sources said he was peeved with JD-U's decision to concede Raghopur seat to Prasad. Welcoming him into BJP, party secretary Shrikant Sharma said Modi-led BJP is the ambassador of development and good governance and Kumar's entry will strengthen the party's campaign.

Indian tennis great Leander Paes might retire after the 2016 Rio Olympics if he does not perform well.

Leander's father Vece Paes said that the tennis star is quite focussed on qualifying and playing the Olympics next year and his future will depend on his performance at the mega sporting event.

"If he does well at the Olympics then there would be reason for him to play longer. If he does not do too well at the Olympics, then the chances are that he would probably retire," the elder Paes told IANS in an interview.

Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, son of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the prime minister and vice president of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, died this morning of a heart attack.

The 33-year old was the eldest son of Sheikh Mohammed. Rashid's brother Sheikh Hamdan is the crown prince of Dubai.

Photograph: Reuters

The court of the ruler of Dubai declared three days of mourning in Dubai from today, and flags will be at half-mast at government departments and institutions.

Congress in Maharashtra today demanded immediate ban on right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, a member of which has been arrested in connection with murder of Communist leader and rationalist Govind Pansare.

"This organisation (Sanathan Sanstha) poses a threat and attacks freedom of thought which is a cultural tradition of Maharashtra. There is an urgent need to ban it with immediate effect", Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said in Pune.

Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly and senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also made the same demand in Kolhapur. After meeting Pansare's wife and daughters-in-law, Vikhe-Patil said, "I demand an immediate ban on the activities of Sanatan Sanstha. The role of Fadanvis government is suspicious in this regard as it has not taken strong action into the murder case."

He said the Congress government never gave clean chit to Sanatan Sanstha. The state police on Wednesday arrested Samir Gaikwad, an active member of Sanatan Sanstha in connection with Pansare's murder and have detained two relatives for questioning.

The organisation has also come under a shadow during investigation of murder of another rationalist Narendra Dabholkar of anti-superstition movement in Pune over two years ago.

In Chamaparan, Rahul Gandhi takes one swipe after another at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "He started off as a tea seller, but Modiji's clothes started are getting better. From kurtas he has moved onto Rs 15 lakh suits," said Rahul.

"If you want to create employment for people, you need to talk to the unemployed," he added. The government only made false promises. There no change in unemployment, inflation and poverty. Modi promised 2 lakh jobs and  Rs 15 Lakh to each account; he promised to reduce high prices. Did it happen? It was all fake."

Rahul promised Bihar that if his government is formed it will create employment opportunities. "We will give a credit of Rs 4 lakh to Bihar youth for education. We want to save Bihar from Modi and his suit-boot friends. We will make a government for the poor, the youth and the common man."  

"PM Modi has promised to end corruption, but he protects his corrupt friends.   

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addresses his first rally for the Bihar polls in West Champaran. And once again he goes on the 'suit-boot ki sarkar' rant.

"Maine kuch din pehle kaha, ye jo aapki sarkaar hai, ye gareebo ki sarkaar nahi hai, ye suit boot ki sarkaar hai. (I had said this earlier that this government is not for the poor but for those in suits and wearing boots.) If you look around you won't find anyone wearing a suit or boot. People here are wearing torn clothes or kurtas," he said. 

MSG-2 The Messenger, directed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was today banned in Jharkhand.

Referring to some "objectionable" dialogues against tribal communities, Chief Minister Raghubar Das issued the order to impose ban on the film which was released in the state yesterday, an official release said.

"Playing with the sentiments of tribals or people of any section of the society will not be allowed...screening of the controversial film will not be allowed in the state," Das said in a statement. The film is a sequel to the MSG: The Messenger released earlier in the same year.

In a setback to India at the Davis Cup, Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna lose 5-7 2-6 2-6 to Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek of Czech Republic.

Czech Republic now leads the world group play-off 2-1.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi begins the campaign for the Bihar polls with a public address in West Chamaparan. Alliance partners Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad have skipped the rally.

But, Lalu's son Tejaswi Yadav was seen sharing the stage with Rahul.    

 

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is all set to begin his campaign in Bihar for the upcoming polls with a rally in West Champaran today. Alliance partners Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav said they would not be able to address the rally. 
But when he arrived in Patna this afternoon, he was received by the chief minister, reports NDTV. 

Representation Lalu's RJD will be his son Tejaswi Yadav. 

In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party, eminent lawyer and human rights actvist HS Phoolka said that he will resign from all posts in the party.

Phoolka in an open letter said that he is stepping down to focus full time on ensuring justice for 1984 riot victims.

Details awaited. 

Members of Dera Sacha Sauda, headed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, are holding protests in Punjab after theatre owners decided not to screen the film Messenger of God 2. The protesters stage a rail roko, which has led to the cancellation of 16 trains.

There has been no official ban on the film, but it was released only in a handful cinema halls on Friday with most not willing to take the risk of screening it in view of the call for its ban by various Sikh outfits.

No cinema hall in Bathinda, the hub of Dera activities in Punjab with its state headquarters at Salabatpura in the district, screened the movie starring the Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. MSG-2 is a sequel to the first film.

Read: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's interview here

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case arising out of a land grab case at Bikaner in Rajasthan involving a firm allegedly linked to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

According to ED, a criminal case has been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which will soon issue summons and question the accused, including some unknown private entities, involved in it.

According to reports, ED has taken cognizance of the earlier media reports that had referred to a firm linked to Vadra, which had purchased some of these lands.

The agency did not take the name of Vadra or any company linked to him in the FIR, but it has named some state government officials and some of the land mafias.

Congress General Secretary and spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed called it sheer political vendetta.

A section of agitating ex-servicemen will boycott the "high tea" which is being organised next week by President Pranab Mukherjee to felicitate the 1965 war veterans, even as they wrote to defence minister Manohar Parrikar in protest against the "serious shortcomings" in the "diluted" One Rank, One Pension announced on September 5.

"The government has approved OROP but with so many riders that the OROP definition has been completely destroyed and has lost all its significance. What is the use of soldiers attending an event being organized for their honour even when their legitimate demands have not been met," United Front of Ex-Servicemen media advisor Colonel (retd) Anil Kaul told The Times of India.

Read the full report here

The Jammu and Kashmir police recovered a body of a Hizbul Mujaheedin militant from the Tangmarg area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district this morning, reports Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com.

A senior police officer said body of Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, a militant of Hizbul Mujaheedin was recovered from Devbugh village near Tangmarg. Earlier this week bodies of three militants, belonging to the Lashkar-e-Islami outfit, a breakaway group of Hizbul Mujaheedin had been recovered from the Pattan area. They were killed in group rivalry.

The killing of the Hizbul Mujaheedin militant is also attributed by police sources to the same factor of group rivalry between the two groups.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will hold a Bihar ahead of the upcoming elections. But surprisingly alliance partners Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar will stay away from it.    

Lalu said earlier this week that his son, Tejaswi Yadav, will represent their party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal at Gandhi's rally in West Champaran. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will skip the rally too, as he would be busy with ticket distribution.

Bihar Congress President Ashok Choudhary told PTI that they have received a communication that like RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Kumar too is occupied with seat allotment and selection of candidates and hence would not be able to it make to the programme. He, however, said too much of political meaning should not be read into it.

Hardik Patel, the leader of the quota agitation, is detained in Surat, as he tries to take out a march to press for reservations for the Patel community.

Patel was scheduled to hold an Ekta Yatra from Surat today. Over seventy protesters are detained with him and are moved to the Varachha police station.

The Gujarat government yesterday once again denied permission to Patel to hold the rally. However, he remained adamant to go ahead with the planned protest.

In past two weeks, Patel had announced to go on a 'reverse Dandi March' twice, but cancelled the plan after the district administration denied permission.   

Donald Trump is taking flak from fellow Republicans for not correcting a supporter who said US President Barack Obama was a Muslim and not American.

Egyptian army killed nine militants in clashes with them in restive North Sinai of the country, a top military official said today. The security forces also arrested 88 suspected terrorists, army spokesperson Brig Gen Mohamed Samir said.  

Japan's upper chamber of Parliament early Saturday approved controversial bills allowing the country's military to engage in overseas combat in limited circumstances -- a major shift after seven decades of pacifism.

At least seven bodies were recovered, including a child, and four pregnant women were listed as missing, as an oil tanker rescued 102 migrants from the Mediterranean off Tripoli today.

Japan's parliament passed contentious security bills into law in the early hours of Saturday, in a move that could see Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time in 70 years. 

Carl E. Schorske, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and popular classroom lecturer whose "Fin-De-Siecle Vienna" is widely regarded as a classic work of intellectual scholarship, has died.  

The Gujarat government today once again denied permission to Hardik Patel-led 'Ekta Yatra' scheduled on Saturday, even as the Patel quota agitation leader remained adamant to go ahead with the march "at any cost". 

Across southeast Europe, nations closed borders, blocked bridges, shut down trains and built new razor-wire fences today in a rush to block tens of thousands seeking safety in Western Europe from crossing their territories.

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