Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn launched his bid today to remain head of Britain's biggest opposition party despite bitter divisions that have been deepened by the Brexit referendum.

The veteran socialist has clung on even though three-quarters of the party's lawmakers say they have lost confidence in his leadership and Welsh MP Owen Smith has launched a challenge to oust him.

"It's the job, it's the duty, it's the responsibility of every Labour MP to get behind the party," Corbyn said at the start of his leadership campaign. "I hold out the hand of friendship," he said, addressing 'those who may not agree with me politically, may not even like me personally'.

Labour Party members and supporters will vote on Corbyn and Smith by postal ballot over the summer and the result will be announced on September 24.

Some commentators have warned the outcome could split the historic Labour Party, which grew out of Britain's trade union movement in the 19th century.

The 67-year-old Corbyn is automatically on the ballot as the current leader and he has strong grassroots support but Smith is backed by 162 of the party's 230 MPs including former leader Ed Miliband.

Some 180,000 Labour supporters have signed up to vote in recent days. "We, the Labour party, will be stronger, even stronger, and hopefully even bigger at the end of this campaign," Corbyn said.

Swati Singh, the wife of former Bharatiya Janata Party Uttar Pradesh vice president Dayashankar Singh has alleged that Bahujan Samajwadi Partys people are mentally harassing her and their 12-year-old daughter.

She said that her husband apologised for his remarks against BSP chief Mayawati, he was expelled from his party and a first information report was lodged against him, but still the BSP supremo is not satisfied.

BSP people are publicly making statements like unki patni, beti ko pesh karo (present his wife, daughter in front of us). My daughter is in trauma. Isnt what BSP people are saying condemnable? Shouldnt such people be also removed from their party? Swati Singh said.

People are saying that theyll give Rs 50 lakh to anyone who gets my husbands tongue. Can they say anything they want only because they belong to weaker sects? An FIR must be lodged against all those who spoke against me, my daughter. A case must be registered for mentally harassing my daughter, she said.

The Gujarat High Court today reversed a trial court verdict of acquittal in a post-Godhra riots case, and held ten of the 27 accused guilty of murder of two people at Meda Adraj in Kadi tehsil of Mehsana district. A division bench of Justices Anant Dave and B N Karia will pronounce the sentence on August 4. 

JUST IN: Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the Nice truck attacker had 'support and accomplices,' plotted over several months, the prosecutor has said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to the capital today to resume his official duties despite doctors advising him to take rest as he suffered from a leg infection following his heart surgery. 

Ted Cruz on Thursday strongly defended his refusal to endorse Donald Trump during his Republican National Convention speech, saying he's not "in the habit" of backing politicians who attack his family.

The BSE Sensex slipped from its initial gains and traded nearly flat in late morning on profit-booking in IT, bank, capital goods, metal and tech sectors amid mixed Asian cues. 

Fishing nets of six boats of Tamil Nadu fishermen were allegedly cut by Sri Lankan naval personnel, who also chased away more than 400 fishermen off Katchatheevu islet on Thursday. 

So, the answer to the quiz (scroll down to the 18:17 post) is Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji is the person in the picture with Pandit Nehru that graces the walls of the room from where the PM held a video conference with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina today.

BSP chief Mayawati was today unlenting on BJP over the attack on her by Uttar Pradesh leader Dayashankar Singh, saying his sacking was not enough and the party itself should have filed an FIR against him.


She alleged in Rajya Sabha that atrocities on dalits are on the rise in BJP-ruled states in the name of cow protection and the centre should call an all-party meeting to find solution to this issue.


Referring to the incident of atrocity on dalits in Gujarat, she said the state government, instead of CID probe, should set up a separate team to conduct the inquiry in fast track mode.


"A report has been published that the BJP member (Dayashankar) has been expelled from the party. It would have been better had the party not only expelled him but also lodged an FIR against him. That would have been admirable," she said while participating in debate on issue of dalits. Mayawati was referring to Dayashankar Singh, vice president of BJP's Uttar Pradesh unit, who was sacked by the party for making derogatory remarks against her.


The BSP leader thanked all Parliamentarians as well as women Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for "unanimously condemning" the remarks. "It is a positive thing that the entire Parliament has condemned it. You have not only condemned vehemently, but boosted my morale and motivated me to fight for the cause of dalits," she said. Expressing concern that suggestions emanating from the debates on dalits are not implemented, the BSP chief said there has been a disturbing trend that atrocities on dalits occur during the period of Parliament session. "The matter is discussed. Leaders give suggestion. In reality nothing happens, just lip service is done."

The Jammu and Kashmir government today ordered a magisterial probe into the killing of three persons including two women in army firing at Qazigund in Anantnag district on Monday and asked the inquiry officer to submit his report with 15 days.

The Army has already ordered an inquiry into the incident. District Development Commissioner, Kulgam ordered the magisterial inquiry into the killing of three persons - Showkat Ahmad Itoo, Seda Begum and Nelofar - in a firing incident at Churat near Qazigund, 80 km from Srinagar on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on Monday.

According to a government notification, Additional District Magistrate Ghulam Hassan Sheikh has been appointed as the inquiry officer. "He (Sheikh) will hold the inquiry into the circumstances which led to the incident and submit the report within 15 days," the notification read. Regretting the incident, the Army on Tuesday had ordered an inquiry into the incident and assured all possible assistance to the bereaved families and six others who were injured in the "unfortunate" incident.

Representational picture

Just in: French police raid a northern Paris suburb in an anti-terror op. 

And another picture quiz. Look closely at the picture on the wall behind PM Modi. There is another person with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who cannot be seen, in this picture. Name the person. Clue: He is one of the world's greatest freedom fighters. 

The answer, in a bit.

So, the answer to this quiz, who is the boy with superstar Rajinikant in this picture, is Hrithik Roshan. 

India's progress is linked to that of all its neighbours, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he along with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina inaugurated Petrapole-Benapole land port which will serve as a key trade route between the two countries.

Addressing via video conferencing the event which was also joined by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said Integrated Check Post (ICP) will serve to foster more economic integration and connectivity between India and Bangladesh.

Underlining that economic development and connectivity are very closely linked to each other, Modi said, "India's progress is linked to progress of all its neighbours."

He said inauguration of the "biggest land port in South Asia" is a "very important milestone" in the relations between India and Bangladesh. "Both India and Bangladesh have not only ventured on the path of development but are also marching together," he said.

Petrapole-Benapole is a key land border crossing for India-Bangladesh trade, with over 50 per cent of bilateral trade passing through it. Petrapole ICP will provide better facilities for effective and efficient discharge of functions such as security, immigration, customs. It will also provide support facilities for smooth cross-border movement of people, goods and transport.

Modi noted that every year 15 lakh people and one-and-a- half lakh trucks cross this border point. At the outset, he conveyed his deep condolences to Hasina over the loss of lives in the recent attacks and told her that India is with her in the fight against terror. "In the fight against terrorism, do not consider yourself alone. India's full support is with you," he said.

"It's a matter of pain for me as well as for people of my country that there were two terror incidents in Dhaka and Kishoregunj during the holy month of Ramadan. It's a sad moment when temples and their priests as also civilians were subjected to inhumane torture," he said.

Modi also thanked Mamata for joining the programme and appreciated her role in improving India-Bangladesh ties.

Image: PM Modi, Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj speak to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina via video conferencing.

Much ado is made about the metaphorical milk of human kindness, but in the not-so-distant future, we're going to be hearing a hell of a lot more about the literal milk of cockroach persistence. After all, few things beat the refreshing tang of some freshly harvested cockroach milk earnestly enjoyed after a hard day's work! Read more

So, that's superstar Rajinikanth on the left, but who's the boy in the picture, who grew up to be superstar in Bollywood?

We will give you the answer in a bit.

The picture was tweeted by @IndiaHistorypic. 

Pakistan's 'Black Day' exposes its longing for Jammu and Kashmir territory, the governments says in a statement. Highlights of the statement from the MEA.

-- We have seen reports about rallies, events and statements related to Jammu & Kashmir in Pakistan and POK over the last two days.

-- We have noted that events were led by UN-designated terrorists, who had in past protested elimination of dreaded terrorists including Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Akhtar Mansour in Pakistan.

--India strongly condemns Pakistan's support to terrorists and their activities.

-- We ask Pakistan to stop inciting and supporting terrorism.

-- In view of the threats of marches and protests at the High Commission of India in Islamabad, we ask Govt of Pak to ensure full safety and security of the High Commission, all its officials and their families in Pakistan.


While addressing a cabinet meeting in Lahore on July 15, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced to observe 19th of July as a Black Day. However as Pakistan celebrates July 19 as Accession to Pakistan Day, the Black Day observance was shifted on July 20.

As per reports rallies will be organised to draw attention of the world community towards the Kashmir issue.

Just in: Bangladesh arrests four Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen terrorists, it's regional head arrested. Huge cache of ammunition and bombs recovered in Gazipur, Bangladesh, reports Reuters.

The banned group is blamed for the Islamist attack on a cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people were killed, mostly foreigners.

The Rapid Action Battalion raided an apartment on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka and arrested the group's southern region leader and three other members, including a medical student, said RAB spokesman Mizanur Rahman Bhuiya.

"They will be interrogated intensively to understand if they had any connection with the cafe attack," he told Reuters.

  

Just in: Ex BJP leader Dayashankar Singh's brother held for questioning. If you've just joined us, Dayashankar is the former BJP leader from UP who likened BSP leader Mayawati to a sex worker. With state bound for polls and the BJP looking at cornering the Dalit voter, a police team was sent to arrest him only to find him missing from home.


Image: Dayashankar Singh.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday night expelled its Uttar Pradesh unit vice president from the party as it sought to buffer it against the fallout of his derogatory remarks against Bahujan Samajwadi Party chief Mayawati.

A first information report under Sections 153A, 504 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 310 under the SC/ST act was also lodged against Singh.

The BJP had also sacked Singh from all party posts after his derogatory remarks sparked massive uproar and pushed the saffron party in a tight corner.

Ahead of his visit to Una to meet Dalits thrashed for skinning a dead cow, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal today exhorted all community members to unite in the fight against Gujarat BJP's "oppressive" regime.

In a video message released by party spokesperson Ashutosh at a press conference here today, the Delhi Chief Minister asked Dalit youths to not attempt suicide, responding to the news of more than a dozen and half protesting Dalit members attempting suicide in different places in the state over the Una incident. Kejriwal is scheduled to visit Una tomorrow.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday announced a three-month state of emergency, saying this would enable the authorities to take swift and effective action against those responsible for last weekend's failed military coup.

Erdogan, who has launched mass purges of state institutions since the July 15 coup attempt by a faction within the military, said the move was in line with Turkey's constitution and did not violate the rule of law or basic freedoms of Turkish citizens. 'The aim of the declaration of the state of emergency is to be able to take fast and effective steps against this threat against democracy, the rule of law and rights and freedoms of our citizens,' Erdogan said.

The president accuses a US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, of being behind the coup. Gulen, who has many followers in Turkey and abroad, denies the charge. Erdogan made his announcement in a live television broadcast late on Wednesday evening in front of assembled government ministers after a meeting of the National Security Council that lasted nearly five hours.

"Gau raksha jaruri hai (cow protection is necessary) but who will save humans," newly inducted Union Minister and Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale said on Thursday, asserting that incidents like the attack on Dalits in Gujarat should not be allowed to recur.Law alone will not ensure that there is no crime against Dalits, he said and suggested that promotion of inter-caste marriages can help in checking casteism in the society.

"All should work together and nobody should politicise things," he told reporters. "Law alone will not ensure that there is no crime against Dalits. For this, people need to work together. Law will take its own course. Unless the society changes, inter-caste marriages are promoted, unless efforts are made to bring together two sides of the society, I feel casteism will not end," he said.

To a question over attack on Dalits by vigilantes for skinning a dead cow in Gujarat, he said these sort of incidents should not happen."The message should go that Dalits are also citizens of this country. They should also be respected. "Gau Rasksha jaruri hai" (cow protection is necessary) but who will save humans. It is not right to attack people like this."That is why I would like to appeal to all the people of the country that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar has given us a Constitution, which ensures social and economic equality, and accordingly we should work and end any wrong mentality,"' said Athawale, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment.

Just in: Russia loses appeal against Olympic ban on its track and field athletes.

This comes after the International Olympic Committee received an urgent letter from more than a dozen national anti-doping organisations on Wednesday night urging it to immediately suspend the Russian Olympic Committee and provisionally ban all Russian athletes from the Rio Olympics.

The letter addressed directly to the IOC president, Thomas Bach, warned him that he needed to fulfil his obligation to take the toughest possible sanctions against institutionalised, government-run doping and abuse of athletes to ensure the integrity of the Olympic Games.

Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti has come to the defense of BSPs Mayawati over BJP leader Dayashankar Singh comparing her with a prostitute.

When SP attacked BSP and Mayawati-ji in that guest house 20 years back, BJP had helped her even then. Bharti said today. We are the same BJP, we have atoned for Dayashankars slur. We have taken action. I know how she must feel as a woman she added.

However, she went on to say, If Mayawati-ji is attacked again well stand with her again. But if she wants to use this in polls then she should forget about it.

An FIR has been lodged against Dayashankar Singh under section 153A,504,509 IPC and 310 under the SC/ST act, but the BJP leader is absconding.

Meanwhile, Mayawati said that the BJP would have won her heart if the party had filed an FIR against Dayashankar.

Protests today continued in some parts of Gujarat over the brutal thrashing of Dalits at a village in Una town of Gir Somnath district, even as many political leaders met the victims and their families.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi reached Mota Samadhiyala village in Una to meet families of the victims. Incidents of violence were reported late last night in Rajkot and Mehsana, while protest marches were today held in Limbdi and Surat, police said.

In Rajkot, a BRTS bus stand was damaged, while a state transport bus was damaged at Unjha in Mehasana district late last night though nobody was hurt, they said, adding barring sporadic incidents, nothing major has been reported so far today. The state transport bus service resumed today after remaining suspended yesterday in view of the protest, officials said.

Dalit protesters tried to block a train today for a short while near a railway station at Udhna in Surat. Thousands of protesters took out a rally and blocked the Ahmedabad-bound Navjivan Express for some time before police managed to clear the tracks.

A rally was also taken out in Limbdi town of Surendranagar district. In Modasa of Arvalli district, shops were shut today against the forced closure and damages suffered during the bandh called by Dalits yesterday.


Image: Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel met the families of the victims in Una yesterday.

After being caught out with his eyes shut (the jury is still out on whether he was napping, using his phone, enjoying the air-conditioning or listening to the Dalit debate attentively) in Parliament, Congress VP Rahul Gandhi met families of Dalit youth today.

The youth were those thrashed for allegedly skinning a dead cow in Gujarat's Una district.

Earlier in the day, Nationalist Congress Party MP Praful Patel also met the victims and assured help.

Protests escalated in Gujarat over the brutal thrashing of the Dalit youths in Una town even as incidents of violence were reported from several places across the state.

Enraged community members took out rallies in towns and cities, blocking roads, damaging buses and even a train was stopped near Vadhvan in Surendranagar district.

What emerges on the sixth day of the failed coup attempt in Turkey is that three inflection points could be in play in the Turkish-American relations in the coming days and weeks.


They are:The functioning of the Incirlik Air Base on the Syrian border;
Extradition of the Islamist cleric Fetullah Gulen from the US; and,
The massive purge of 'Gulenists' that is under way.

Read MK Bhadrakumar's blog here.

A record Rs 43,829 crore in black money has been unearthed by raiding 990 companies. During the last two years 990 companies were raided and an undeclared income of Rs 43829 crores was detected, the the Finance Ministry said in an answer to a question raised in parliament. This does not include monies declared so far under the domestic scheme. The information was given by Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Finance.

Apart from conducting 990 raids across the country on companies, the Income Tax,
Enforcement Directorate and other agencies also undertook 9457 search operations.

The Modi government has launched a special one-time amnesty scheme for those who had stashed their monies in foreign banks abroad.

As many as 648 persons had declared their hidden income of Rs 2476 crores during this amnesty scheme during July 1, 2015 to September 30, 2015. The window closed last year.

Now the government has brought a special scheme for those hoarding domestic black money. 

Opposition parties, cutting across political lines, slammed the Centre over excessive use of force in Jammu and Kashmir, and cautioned the government that bullets cant bring a solution to the current unrest in the Valley.

Responding to the criticism, Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha today said Pakistan was responsible for the Kashmir unrest.


"Pakistan is trying to destabilise India to hide its own failures. Govt has taken all necessary steps to stabilise the Kashmir, but Pakistan is spreading terror in Kashmir.

"Unity in diversity is India's special character. Even on foreign tour PM was worried about Kashmir. 

"Not for the first time have pellet guns have been used. Panel to look into alternative for pellet guns. PM has asked forces to be as restrained as possible, but Kashmiri youth are being instigated."


Image: Family members stand beside an injured man as he lies in a hospital bed after clashes between police and protesters in Srinagar. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

IAS officer Ratna Prabha is likely to be the Chief Secretary of Karnataka. She succeeds Arvind Jadhav who is on an extension.

Interestingly, since she is empanelled as Secretary to the Government of India, she is keen to come to the Centre, but insists that she should be given the Commerce or Finance portfolio as she is the topper and belongs to the weaker section.

Ratna Prabha is from Andhra Pradesh and will have to take a call whether she wants to join the centre or stay put in Bengaluru. She has  bright chances of becoming the second woman Cabinet Secretary next year. A senior IAS officer quipped that there was politics in all spectrum of the society.

Update on the BSP vs Dayashankar Singh clash. BSP's Chandigarh unit chief Jannat Jahan says she will give a reward of Rs 50 lakh to the person who gets Dayashankar's tongue.

There was all-round condemnation of Singh for his remarks by MPs including Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, DMK's Kanimozhi, TMC's Derek O'Brien, Congress' Kumari Selja and Renuka Chowdhury, TK Rangarajan of CPI(M) and Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP and demands were made for action against him.

Tight security arrangements have been made in Lucknow in view of the demonstrations and traffic has been diverted.

Singh has been sacked from the party for six years and from the post of vice-president of the party's UP unit.

The BSP on Wednesday had lodged an FIR against Dayashankar Singh for his derogatory remark on party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati.

However, this morning when a police team went to his home, he was not there.

Inflation in India is expected to fall to 4.5 per cent by the quarter ended March 31, and this in turn would give Reserve Bank space to cut key policy rates by 50 basis points this fiscal, says a Morgan Stanley report.

According to the global financial services major, disinflationary pressures would keep RBI on an easing path. "We expect a 50 bps cut in the policy rate by quarter ended March 2017," Morgan Stanley said in a research note. In the June policy review meet, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan kept interest rates intact, citing rising inflationary pressure, but hinted at a reduction later this year if good monsoon helps ease inflation. The report further noted that inflation is expected to fall to 4.5 per cent by quarter ended March 2017.

BSP workers on Thursday staged a protest in Hazratganj area in Lucknow demanding the arrest of BJP leader Dayashanakar Singh for making derogatory remarks against party chief Mayawati. The workers held a protest before the Ambedkar statue in Hazratganz area, reports the Times of India.

Venkaiah Naidu, I&B Minister said, "Dayashankar Singh gave an objectionable statement, we removed him from party for 6 years." ANI reports that a police team arrived at the residence of Dayashankar Singh in Ballia district of UP to arrest him, but he wasn't there.

BSP workers from different districts have been asked to reach the state capital to lodge a strong protest against the remarks made by the BJP leader, the party said.

At least 500 to 1000 workers from each district started arriving in the night itself.

BJP has already sacked its vice president Singh from all party posts after his derogatory remarks against Mayawati which sparked massive uproar and pushed the saffron party in a tight corner. Singh had said that "Mayawati is breaking the dream of Kanshi Ram into pieces".

"Mayawati gives tickets for Rs one crore and if there is someone who can give Rs 2 crore, then she sells it for Rs 2 crore within an hour. If someone is ready to give Rs 3 crore by the evening, she gives the ticket to him. She is even worse than a sex worker," Singh had said.


Image: BSP workers protests at the Ambedkar statue at Hazratganj in Lucknow today

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and the Maharashtra government over a plea challenging provisions of abortion law which prohibits termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks even if there was a fatal risk to the mother and the foetus.

Just In: Dubai-Amritsar SpiceJet flight being inspected after phone call about suspicious bag, passengers offloaded

Britain will not start exit talks with the European Union until our objectives are clear and that wont be this year, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday, at her first meeting with a European Union leader as the United Kingdom begins the long, uncertain process of leaving the bloc.

May met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, on her first foreign trip as Britains leader. At a joint news conference, the two women conveyed a desire to work together but little sense of urgency, or a concrete idea of how the complex divorce process will play out.

May said Britain won't invoke Article 50 of the EU constitution, triggering formal exit talks, this year. All of us will need time to prepare for these negotiations, she said.

Merkel signaled that Germany was prepared to wait.

She said it is up to the British government to define its principles for the EU exit and also to trigger the necessary steps. She said its only then that negotiations for the exit can take place.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in Turkey after a failed coup attempt even as he said that other countries could be involved in the attempt to overthrow him.

He said that the organisation of United States-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who he blames for the coup bid, was itself led by a superior mind.

There could be, Erdogan told Al-Jazeera when asked if other countries could have been involved in the coup bid.

The Gulen organisation has another superior mind, if you will, and the time will come when those connections will be deciphered, he said.

He said that this may not be the may not be the end of coup attempt and there may be more such plans.

Three people were killed in a shooting in eastern England, including the suspected assailant, police said -- adding that there was no indication of a link with terrorism.

'Three people have been fatally wounded, including the suspected offender,' a statement from Lincolnshire Police said, confirming a 'firearms incident' near a swimming pool.

'There is an ongoing police investigation and at this stage we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. There is no indication that this is a terrorist related incident and no shots have been fired by police,' the statement said.

The incident began at around 9 am (local time) when police were called to reports of a person injured near the Castle Swimming Pool in Spalding, a town in Lincolnshire.

The United States gathered its allies in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group on Wednesday and agreed on a plan to corner the jihadists in their final bastions.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter told reporters that an accelerated military effort would soon see the group pushed back to Raqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. He warned that isolating and taking out what he called the IS 'parent tumor' would not eliminate its violent ideology or its ability to spring attacks elsewhere.

But defense ministers from the Western and Arab countries of the coalition now have a military plan to liberate the cities with local Iraqi and Syrian forces.

"Today, we made the plans and commitments that will help us deliver ISIL the lasting defeat that it deserves," Carter told reporters at an airbase outside Washington. "Let me be clear: They culminate in the collapse of ISIL's control over the cities of Mosul and Raqa."

About 50 per cent ambulances may go off the capital's roads following the National Green Tribunal order for de-registration of diesel vehicles,leading to a crisis in the health system.

According to the Delhi Transport Department, there are about 1,600 registered ambulances in the national capital and of these, 991 are diesel-run and more than 10 years old.

"If the Transport Department starts de-registering diesel vehicles more than 15 years old, 813 ambulances will go off roads in a first phase," a senior government official said.

Apart from this, of the total 89,917 goods vehicles,81,169 are 15 years old. Phasing out of these vehicles will affect transportation of goods in the national capital, the official said.

The official said that the Transport Department will first de-register vehicles in phases and then notices will be sent to their owners to remove such vehicles from the city's roads.

The NGT had on Monday issued an order directing the Delhi RTO to de-register all diesel vehicles operating in the citythat are over 10 years old.

Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday that there should be 'rai shumari (plebiscite)' in Kashmir but later explained that he meant dialogue, not referendum, as the situation in the Valley has deteriorated and the People's Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party government has 'insulted' the 'crown' of India.

"I have never said there should be plebiscite. I have said there should be dialogue," he said.

Earlier speaking in Lok Sabha, he said, "In Kashmir today, there is a need for 'rai shumari'.

"The PDP-BJP government has shed all the principles. Administration is divided and the government, which should support people, is using weapons against them," Scindia said, adding 'the wounds there can be healed only through humanity'.

While attacking the Centre and state governments, the Chief Whip of Congress said, "There is a need to create an environment of peace and tranquility; growth and development."

Describing Kashmir as 'an important part of the heart of every Indian', he said, 'but today that crown is being insulted. This I feel is irresponsible'.

He said the United Progressive Alliance government had created an environment of peace and harmony by taking everybody along.