Timeline Refresh
Amid claims by AAP that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degrees and marksheets had "glaring discrepancies", the Gujarat University today said he had "slightly changed" his name, dropping 'kumar' from it.
The University said Modi changed his name from "Narendrakumar Damodardas Modi," which he used in admission form for MA Part I, to "Narendra Damodardas Modi" in MA Part II but everything is "genuine".
Acting Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University, Mahesh Patel told PTI, "Since he (Modi) had taken admission in MA Part I in 1981 on the basis of his DU degree, he used the name Narendrakumar Damodardas Modi. But when filling MA Part II form, he dropped 'kumar' and wrote Narendra Damodardas Modi in the form.
The development came even as Uttarakhand is set to have a vote of confidence tomorrow to determine whether Congress leader Harish Rawat has enough numbers to retain power in the state that is currently under the President's Rule.
Moving the Appropriation Bill in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said its passage will not have any bearing on the Vote of Confidence which will take place in the assembly tomorrow.
The Vote of Confidence in the state assembly can either restore the existing government, establish a new government or result in continuation of the President's rule, he said. Jaitley said the state government, current or a new one, would be free to come out with its own budget as the Appropriation Bill seeks funds for only four months of the current fiscal.
"I've learned a lot from Amelie over the past two years," Murray said in a statement. "She's been a calming influence in the team and we'll miss having her around. "I'll take some time to consider the next steps and how we progress from here, but I'd like to thank her for everything she has done, she's been an invaluable member of the team."
Mauresmo described working with Murray as being a fantastic experience.
"I've thoroughly enjoyed being part of the great team of people he has around him,' she said."Dedicating enough time along with the travel has been a challenge for me. I wish him and the team well and I hope he goes on to win any more titles."
The partnership between the two Wimbledon champions -- Murray won the men's singles in 2013 and French former world number one Mauresmo triumphed at the All England Club in 2006 '" seemed a surprise alliance when it was announced after the 2014 French Open.Yet the pair have enjoyed plenty of success with the 36-year-old Mauresmo helping guide the Scot to seven titles and to two Australian Open finals.
However, the 28-year-old Murray has not been able to quite reach the peaks he climbed when Ivan Lendl was his mentor, winning Olympic gold in 2012 as well as the U.S. Open later that summer before his historic Wimbledon success.
Mauresmo has not been regularly on the circuit with Murray since giving birth to her son Aaron last August and had indicated then that she would have to see how she could cope with being both a parent and a globe-trotting coach. -- Reuters
NDTV reports that in a note to his parents on Mother's Day, Patel urges his mother "not to shed tears for her son". From a Surat prison, he counsels her, "There are hundreds of jawans leaving behind their mothers and families and serving the country and even attaining martyrdom."
In August, Patel emerged as the sword-wielding leader of the Patels or Patidars , front-lining an aggressive demand for affirmative action for the traditionally rich and powerful community which, for decades, supported the BJP in Gujarat. The Patels say that Gujarat has failed to create jobs in the private sector, so they must be added to the list of castes entitled to a share of government jobs and university places. Read more
"Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and the three-other judges of the bench have signed the judgment dismissing his (Nizami's) review plea... We have released the full text of the judgment" required for its execution, a Supreme Court spokesman told reporters here. He said the copies of the final judgment were being sent to Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD), which originally handed down the death penalty. The trial court would send the documents to Dhaka's district magistrate and the prison department for "subsequent actions".
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"For me these are non-issues," he said here replying to a question by media on BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Arun Jaitley seeking a public apology from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for kicking off the controversy.
"First they (BJP) should express regret for uttering filth during Bihar (assembly) polls (held last year)," he said. He was apparently hinting at the "DNA" comments made by Modi against him and other barbs by BJP ministers and leaders during the Bihar assembly poll.
On Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leading a march in Delhi recently against the NDA government, Kumar said "They (BJP) are more interested in hitting at a person rather than discussing policy."
"They applied the same tactics on me too by making personal attacks in place of highlighting the short-comings of my government's policies," Kumar said.
Saugata Roy (TMC) said she was a courageous lady and a film was also made on her recently. Supporting the bill, B N Goud (TRS) said that proper mechanism should in place for compensating the victims.
Remembering Bhanot, he said Pan Am was a US-based company and they had not provided any compensation to Indian crew members. Bhanot, the senior-most flight attendant on board a Pan Am Mumbai-New York flight, was shot dead by terrorists who had hijacked the flight in Karachi on September 5, 1986, during her courageous bid to save the lives of passengers. She became the youngest recipient of India's highest peacetime military award for bravery, the Ashok Chakra.
Rahul Gandhi is an SPG protectee and the SPG is answerable to Parliament as it is was created by a special force under an act of Parliament.
BJP MP Satyapal Singh, former Mumbai COmmissioner of Police familiar with security drills says there is no category more special than the SPG and if the Congress wants to get sympathy for Rahul, they should write to the Director SPG and coordinate with him.
Incidentally, the joint director of the SPG is a choice of Rahul Gandhi. The SPG commandoes protecting Rahul are selected by this joint director in consultations with Rahul.
A senior official of the Cabinet Secretariat which monitors the SPG said that if the Congress still wants the Special Protection Force to be strengthened, the government would do so.
Delhi Police's anti-terrorism unit Special Cell had picked up 13 youths from Delhi and UP after a series of late night raids on May 3, following which three -- Sajid, Sameer Ahmed, and Shakir Ansari -- were arrested and the remaining 10 detained for questioning.
"The remaining six youths have been let off with the condition that they have to make themselves available for questioning whenever summoned. Their guardians have given undertaking that they will make sure the boys lead their lives in the right path in future," Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep said.
Their is no arrangement with a psychiatrist for the six unlike the other four who have to visit a clinical psychologist on a regular basis. The psychologist will provide the investigators with a report on their progress every week, he said.
During questioning, it emerged that the youths had extreme anger within them as a result of which they were vulnerable, making them potential inductees in terror rings, Deep said, adding that so far there is no evidence to make further arrests in the case.
For who that MP is, watch this space.
Days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's educational qualification, the BJP on Monday released his college degrees and demanded an apology from the AAP supremo for his desperate attempts to turn a 'blatant lie into truth'.
Pic: A copy of the PM's BA degree that was shown at the BJP presser.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has received an assassination threat, and a high-powered Congress delegation is meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at 3 pm to appraise him of "the seriousness of the threat" and to seek "additional security measures" for Gandhi.
The assassination threat came via an unsigned letter written in Tamil and posted in Pondicherry on May 4. Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Karaikal tomorrow, Tuesday May 10, for a public meeting.
The letter was sent to V Narayanswamy, who was a minister in the PMO in the UPA government. The letter claims Congress has been responsible for "closure of industries in Pondicherry" and threatens that Gandhi will be "blasted" when he addresses the Karaikal meeting.
Home ministry officials said after the meeting with the Congress delegation, security procedures for Gandhi, who's an SPG protectee, will be reviewed.
This is what Americans call approval rating, and 70 per cent is an incredibly high number. Particularly because opinion polling in India has become accurate in the last decade so this number is believable.
Modi may be assisted by the fact that his rival Rahul Gandhi is not charismatic or competent, and that regional leaders like Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal do not have a large enough stage to project their talents.
But even with this admission, it must be accepted that Modi has a credibility with Indians as nobody else has.
The Bharatiya Janata Party lost state elections in Delhi and Bihar, but its march towards dominance and the Congress's march towards irrelevance continues under Modi.
Aakar Patel explains why the PM has been a success... so far. Read
Nitish Kumar said nobody can be allowed to take the law in their hands and added that, "strict action would be taken. Nobody can escape the law.
"The guilty will not be spared; the law will take its course and a manhunt is on for the accused."
He said action would be takaken against the bodyguard. "The bodyguard has been suspended and arrested. Departmental action already been taken and a criminal case will also be pursued against him," Nitish said.
At the same time the CM lashed out against the BJP saying criminal incidents have many reasons. "Delhi tops the country's crime list and the law there is under the Centre."
The BJP on Monday called for a shutdown in the town of Gaya over the alleged killing of the 19-year-old teen -- Aditya Sachdeva -- by Rocky Yadav, the son of JD-JU legislative council member Manorama Devi.
The police is yet to arrest Rocky who is still on the run, nearly 36 hours after the incident.
The youth was shot dead in Gaya on Saturday night allegedly because the son of JD-U MLC was irked with the teenager for overtaking his SUV.
Aditya, who was a businessman's son who had recently given his Class 12 exams, was in his Swift car with his friends when he overtook the Range Rover belonging to the family of Manorama Devi.
Rocky was travelling in the SUV with a security guard who has said that the bullet that hit Aditya was fired from the personal revolver of the politician's son.
While Rocky is still on the run, the police have arrested Devi's husband Bindeshwari Prasad Yadav alias Bindi Yadav for helping him escape and also the guard.
Pic: The family of Aditya Sachdev, the young man, shot dead by the JD-U MLC mourn
Holding up two degrees -- a BA and an MA -- Shah and Jaitley said it was unfortunate that the party had to clarify the Prime Minister's qualifications.
Shah said, "Arvind Kejriwal has caused embarrassment. He should apologise for baseless allegations. Kejriwal has tried to turn a blatant lie into truth and create confusion by saying PM's degrees are fake.
"We are putting both PM's degrees (Bachelor of Arts from DU & MA from Gujarat university) in the public domain."
Following reports on the University of Delhi refusing any information regarding PM Modi's BA degree, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to DU Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi on Thursday, May 5, asking, "where is the BA (Bachelor of Arts) degree?" He requested the university to keep PM's degree "safe".
Though the PM's website claimed that he had obtained his BA from Delhi University in 1978, CM Kejriwal quoted sources saying that there are no records with the university, be it admission form, mark-sheet or other details.
"Arvind Kejriwal-ji has not only lowered down the standards of public life but has also defamed the nation across the world. He must apologize to the entire nation and must clarify on what grounds he levelled such serious allegations," Amit Shah said.
The order copy tweeted by the NC working president talks about allotment of 350 kanals (about 18 hectares) to Sainik Colony in Srinagar. The Jammu and Kashmir Home Department, headed by chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on April 11 had sought status of allocation of land for Sainik Colony in Srinagar, summer capital of the state.
"Revised proposal sent to Home Department". The Home Department is headed by @mehbooba_mufti so who is lying here?," NC leader Omar Abdullah tweeted.
The former J-K CM challenges Mehbooba Mufti to file a case against him. "If you haven't filed a case against me in the next 24 hours the people will know who is lying in this matter @mehbooba_mufti. Truth prevails.
@mehbooba_mufti you have accused me of "rumour mongering & uploading fake images of Govt orders on SM". I dare you to file a case TODAY!!! If you have the guts & truly believe this image is fake file a case against me in the nearest police station TODAY!!"
Pic: The copy of the order allotting land for a Sainik Colony that was tweeted by Omar Abdullah
In his first public comments since the AgustaWestland issue broke out, Narendra Modi on Friday dubbed the controversial deal a "chori" (theft) and indicated that the guilty, howsoever big, would not be spared.
Without naming the Congress, Modi also attacked the party which has launched a counter-attack on his government for dragging the name Sonia Gandhi, asking "if the court in Italy has said that people from the last government in India have eaten money, why then are you troubling us here?"
"Does anyone of your relatives live in Italy? Does any of my relatives live in Italy.... I have not seen Italy. I have not been to Italy. Nor have I met anyone in Italy. If Italians have accused them what should we do?" Modi said.
"Those involved in helicopter chori, should they be punished or not? Should legal action be taken against them or not. However big they are, should action be taken against them or not? I want to know from the people of Tamil Nadu," said Modi at an election rally here on Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border".
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter before a bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh while submitting that its May 6 order had mentioned the designation of the official as Principal Secretary(Legislative Assembly) which needs to be corrected to Principal Secretary (Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs).
The AG told the bench that the official concerned, who is of the rank of district judge, has written to the Centre that he would not act as observer unless a clarification comes from the apex court.
Senior advocates Abhishek Manusinghvi and Kapil Sibal, appearing for sacked Chief Minister Harish Rawat, opposed the plea of the Centre on the ground that the Principal Secretary (Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs) is an non-cadre post and no outsider can be allowed to participate in the proceedings of the House.
Sibal said the post of Principal Secretary (Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs) comes under the state government. The bench said it will take up the matter at 12.30 pm.
"Today, I document the turnaround in one important area - infrastructure. More will follow soon.
"Critics who continue to argue that nothing has changed since this government took office must ponder the fate of infrastructure in the country had the previous administration continued."
Readwhat Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman, NITI Aayog, has to say on infrastructure.
If Kailash Vijayvargiya-ji,Amit Shah-ji and Shyam Jaju-ji people who were involved in horse-trading, are ready for Narco test, I'll present myself as the first volunteer for the NARCO test."
Ahead of the May 10 trust vote in Uttarakhand, a new purported sting video targeting deposed Chief Minister Harish Rawat emerged on Sunday, prompting the Bharatiya Janata Party to accuse him of trying to "buy" legislators.
As the political fight over the Uttarakhand crisis escalated, Rawat accused the National Democratic Alliance government and the Bharatiya Janata Party of indulging in "politics of blackmail" and creating "unrest" in the hill state. He also alleged that the Congress members of Legislative Assembly were being threatened and their phones tapped by central agencies.
A purported sting video targeting Rawat which allegedly showed a conversation between rebel Congress MLA Harak Singh Rawat and Congress legislator Madan Singh Bisht was released by a private news channel in Delhi.
Bisht is purported to have said in the video that Harish Rawat was giving the money he had earned from mining to his MLAs to keep his flock together.
BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshyari alleged that the video showed that Harish Rawat was "himself involved in horse-trading".
The Uttarakhand HC dismissed their plea, challenging their disqualification on Monday.
The Supreme Court likely to hear their plea at 2 pm.
It's a major setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Tuesday's trust vote as now the dissident Congress MLAs can't vote in during the floor test.
Rebel Congress MLA Vijay Bahuguna said that they will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.
Image: Congress MLA Vijay Bahuguna.
North Korean authorities said they took issue with 'disrespectful' reports he filed from inside the country last week on a group of Nobel Laureates, CNN reported.
He was detained at the airport and questioned but has since be released.
The BBC is working to get him out of the country.
They had earlier written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting for a probe by Mumbai Police Crime Branch into her death.
In their letter to the CM, they have alleged that Pratyusha's boyfriend and actor-producer Rahul Raj Singh was "solely responsible for her death".
'...she fell prey to conman Rahul Raj Singh, who has not only cheated my daughter and is solely responsible for death, but also cheated many innocent girls like her to the tune of lakhs of rupees,' said the letter by Pratyusha's mother Soma Banerjee.
Rahul Raj Singh is out on bail.
The Balika Badhu fame actress was found hanging at her residence in suburban Goregaon in Mumbai on April 1. She was then rushed by Rahul to a hospital where she was declared dead.
A bench of Justices A R Dave, Shiva Kirti Singh and A K Goel on Friday had said that it would pass an order today to put to rest all confusion in this regard.
The bench had also ruled that those students who had appeared for NEET-I held on May 1 would not be allowed in phase II of the test to be held on July 24.
The bench hinted that it may consider allowing states conducting their own tests to continue with the admission process for current academic year alone.
The Court had said that the issue with regard to those students who had appeared or who are due to appear in examinations conducted by the states in accordance with their state laws, shall be decided after hearing Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.
The solicitor general will today apprise the court about the stand of the Centre.
"Robert Vadra's solar land dealings have come out now. Have submitted various notices, and will raise this issue in Parliament today," BJP MP Kirit Somaiya said.
Vadra's land deals are being probed in the BJP-ruled Haryana and Rajasthan and he alleges that he is being subjected to a 'political witch-hunt' and used as a 'political tool'.
"Be it zero hour or calling attention, I will raise Robert Vadra's solar land dealings issue in the Lok Sabha today," Somaiya said.
"Harishji hs to abide by the Supreme Court's order and has to prove majority tomorrow in the floor test. There was no scope for him to go to Delhi," Congress leader Indira Hridayesh said.
Earlier, it was said that Rawat may appear before the investigating agency today in in connection with the preliminary enquiry into the controversial sting CD in which he was purportedly seen talking to middlemen in a bid to strike a deal with dissident Congress MLAs.
The Agency had on Thursday summoned Rawat for questioning in connection with the preliminary enquiry into the controversial sting CD in which he was purportedly seen talking to middlemen in a bid to strike a deal with dissident Congress MLAs.
Two days before Rawat was to face vote of confidence on March 28, nine rebel Congress MLAs, led by former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, had alleged that they were offered bribe by Rawat for support during the floor test in the Uttarakhand assembly and released a video of the 'sting' operation.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, two days before the May 10 trust vote, a new purported sting video targeting Rawat emerged, prompting the Bharatiya Janata Party to accuse him of trying to 'buy' legislators.
A purported sting video targeting Rawat which allegedly showed a conversation between rebel Congress MLA Harak Singh Rawat and Congress legislator Madan Singh Bisht was released by a private news channel in Delhi.
The Uttarakhand high court will also pronounce its order on the nine disqualified Congress MLAs' plea today.