LIVE
Fri, 04 November 2016
Modi most criticised person post Independence: Shah

Timeline  Refresh

image
23:50   Modi most criticised person post Independence: Shah
Prime Minister Narendra Modiis the 'most bitterly criticised' person post Independence, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah said today, adding that if criticism was targeted against the country, it cannot be called freedom of expression.

"Sab se jyada katu alochana agar kisi ek vyakti ki huihai azadi ke baad, to wah hai Narendra Modiji ki. (After the Independence, if there is one person who has received the most bitter criticism, it is Narendra Modiji)," he said at the inauguration of 'India Idea Conclave 2016' in New Delhi.

"Alochana ka swagat hai. Alochana ko sahan bhi karna chahiye. Magar Narendra Modi ji ki alochana se ek kadam aage jakar agar isko desh ke virodh ki disha mein le jayenge to kshama karna ye sacchi swatantrata nahi hai abhivyakti ki.(Criticism is welcome and it should be tolerated. But ifsomeone goes beyond that and targets the country, it cannot bepardoned or termed as freedom of expression)," he said.

Shah said although dissent was part of the democracy, if it continued in an unwarranted way, there could be no development.

"If people do not understand this, the purpose of democracy will collapse. The purpose of democracy is to ensure that development reaches the last man in the society -- who can utilise the same to explore his maximum potential to realise his freedom," he said.

The BJP chief alleged that the country got good governance after 68 years of Independence, when the Modi-led government came to power.

"We spoke about the all-inclusive development. In the2014 elections, after 30 years a single party got majority in Parliament," he said, adding that the government has implemented reforms in every sector.

Referring to the row over the issue of triple talaq,Shah said, "When the Union government has taken a stand, therewas no scope for confusion on the issue."

"The Constitution has given right to every woman to livesafely here. Had you ever imagined that women's issues couldbe a part of Prime Minister's speech on Independence Day? But when the BJP came to power, it became part of the PM's speech," he added.
image
23:00   Bangladeshi terror suspect arrested in Thane
A Bangladeshi national, who was allegedly involved in terror activities, including bomb blasts, in his home country, was today arrested from Thane, police said.

Bashirmulla Sukurmulla Shaikh, who was illegally staying in India, was nabbed by Crime Branch officials from Kalwa in connection with an offence registered in the city under Indian Penal Code sections related to theft and house trespass, the police said in a release tonight.

The 40-year-old was produced before a court which remanded him in police custody till November 7, it said.

He had been arrested by Special Branch of Mumbai Police in March 2016 for staying in India without valid documents, including passport.

Shaikh was booked under Indian Passport Act and Foreigners Act and was currently out on bail. Further interrogation of Shaikh revealed that while in Bangladesh, he had taken training in bomb-making from terror outfits.

Shaikh assembled bombs at his residence in Narail district, south-western Bangladesh, and also carried out a few explosions in which people were killed, the release said.

Offences were lodged against him and his associates in 2014 at Kalia Police Station in Narail district in connection with these blasts, the police said.

During the interrogation, the Bangladeshi national disclosed he had killed his wife Sultana in one such explosion, they said.

All information provided by Shaikh was confirmed by Bangladesh Police, the release said, adding police were trying to find out which militant outfit he was associated with.

Crime Branch, which is interrogating Shaikh, is ascertaining if the foreign national had any intention to carry out subversive activities in India, police added.
image
22:39   Delhi Police team meets Grewal's family
A Delhi Police team was sent to ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal's home town Bhiwani in Haryana today to meet his family members, a day after his suicide case was handed over to the Crime Branch.

"A team has been sent to Bhiwani to talk to Grewal's family members. However, the team is still waiting to talk to them since they have been surrounded by media and politicians. They have shared all the details with the media but we still need to talk to them," said a senior police officer privy to the probe.

On Thursday, the case was transferred from New Delhi district to Crime Branch keeping in mind the sensitivity of the matter and the fact that the district police is busy with law and order duties in the area.

The Crime Branch team led by DCP (Crime) Bhisham Singh is conducting inquest proceedings in the matter. Grewal, along with three of his companions, had come to the city apparently to submit a memorandum to the Defence Ministry over the issue of OROP.

The 70-year-old ex-serviceman had consumed poison in the lawns behind Jawahar Bhavan, which houses some offices of the Ministry of External Affairs, on November 1.

IMAGE: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi at Ram Kishan Grewal's funeral in Bhiwani, Haryana. Photograph: PTI Photo
image
22:05   5 arrested for spreading 'rumours' about Jaya's health get bail
The Madras high court today granted bail to five persons, arrested last month for allegedly spreading rumours on the health condition of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The court, before which the bail applications of the five persons came up, granted bail to them. All the five were arrested last month.

The court directed each of them to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10,000 with two sureties, to the satisfaction of the magistrates concerned to secure the bail and get released.

Eight persons had already been arrested on the charge of spreading rumours about the health of Jayalalithaa, undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals here since September 22.

Police had warned of stern action against those spreading rumours on the chief minister's health and had already registered around 50 cases in this connection.
image
21:20   BJP to use surgical strike in Bengal bypoll campaign
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to highlight the army's surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the developmental policies of the Centre in its campaign for the November 19 by-poll in the state.

" The Trinamool Congress, in its campaign, is calling the BJP a communal force. We will campaign on how fundamentalism is rising in the state under the TMC rule. We will highlight what a strong government can do to give a befitting reply to Pakistan. We will also use the developmental policies of the (Narendra) Modi government in our campaign," a senior state BJP leader said.

By-polls to the Cooch Behar and Monteswar seats were necessitated following the deaths of TMC MP Renuka Sinha and MLA Sajal Panja respectively.

The by-poll to the Tamluk Lok Sabha seat is being held as TMC MP Suvendu Adhikari subsequently won the West Bengal assembly election from the Nandigram seat. Adhikari is now a state minister.
image
21:11   Panel felt NDTV can't away with 'huge indiscretion': Centre
The government on Friday maintained that a top-level committee decided on the penalty of taking NDTV India off air just for a day instead of 30 days which it had considered because it felt the channel cannot get away with the 'huge indiscretion and violation of rules' in its coverage of the Pathankot terror attack.

Rejecting criticism that the decision on NDTV India amounted to an Emergency-era order, officials said 21 such orders had been issued by the United Progressive Alliance governments since 2005.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee, which looked into the matter has in their comments, mentioned clearly that the threat to national security cannot be justified on any grounds whatsoever, sources said.

'The IMC also noted that this was not the first violation by the channel and that there are previous incidents where the channel had violated the Program code of Cable act,' a source said.

Senior officials in the I&B ministry also said that this is not the first time when an order has been issued to take a channel off air. Since 2005, 28 such orders banning channels from one day to two months have been issued when the channels had been found violating the cable TV rules and programme code guidelines.

'Of these, around 21 orders were issued against different channels during the term of the Congress-led UPA,' an official said.

Sources said the IMC had noted with grave concern that the channel had revealed sensitive detail like location of ammunition depot and place where terrorists were held up, location of school and residential areas which could have been misused by handlers of the intruders.

This could have jeopardised national security and also lives of civilians and defence personnel, they added.

A senior I&B ministry official emphasised that the channel had been given ample opportunity to explain its side as well which was factored in by the high-level panel.

Emphasising that coverage of anti-terror operations is a sensitive issue, officials said several advisories in this regard have been issued to broadcasters.

image
20:35   Kashmir unrest: 31 schools, 110 government buildings damaged
As many as 31 schools and 110 government buildings have been damaged in Kashmir Valley since the current unrest began four months ago.

Among the schools, which were set ablaze by unknown persons, 25 were government-run, two private and four were run by trusts or other social organisations, official sources said.

Out of the 110 government buildings, 65 were either completely gutted or partially burnt down and 55 were damaged through 'other means'. Over the past few months, miscreants burnt down schools across the Valley which is in the grip of unrest following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8.

Amid outrage over the issue, the Jammu and Kashmir high court took suo motu cognisance of this development and asked the state government to take steps to prevent such incidents and 'unmask' the culprits.
image
20:27   China's 'king of prophets' picks Trump as next US Prez
A Chinese monkey described as the 'king of prophets' has chosen Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States.

The monkey had earlier successfully predicted the winner of football's European championship final this year, reports the Guardian.

Known as Geda, which means knots or goose bumps, the prophetic monkey is the latest in a series of purportedly psychic animals that have popped up around the world since Paul the Octopus correctly predicted multiple 2010 World Cup matches.

The monkey was given a chance to pick between bananas placed beside life-sized cut-outs of Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. The mystic monkey chose Trump after 'deliberate thought', Shiyanhu Ecological Tourism Park said on Thursday in a statement on its website.

Without even waiting, he congratulated the cardboard candidate with a kiss on the lips.
image
20:04   Fears rise as Al Qaeda planning attacks on US cities day before election
US intelligence officials have warned local authorities in New York, Texas and Virginia about possible attacks by Al Qaeda, a day before the US presidential election, sources said.

No specific locations were mentioned, but US intelligence officials alerted joint terrorism task forces about the possible threat. 

The FBI did not comment specifically on the report. "The counter terrorism and homeland security communities remain vigilant and well-postured to defend against attacks here in the United States," it said in a statement on Friday.

The bureau was working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement to identify and disrupt any potential threats, it said. 

The potential for violent clashes is darkening an already rancorous presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, on top of the threat of computer hacking and fears that Russia or other state actors could spread political misinformation online or tamper with voting.
image
19:32   Doors not closed for any grand alliance in UP: Babbar
Congress said it has not closed its doors for any possible grand alliance for the 2017 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Raj Babbar also said that no initiative has been taken for an alliance either by his party or by any other political parties in the state.

"No initiative for an alliance, either by us or by any other party in the coming polls has been taken, but Congress has not closed its doors for any such possibility which could benefit people of the state," he said.

The UPCC president, however, stressed that "the party will not enter into an alliance or grand alliance only for numbers, as numbers were not important in UP polls."

He defended party vice president Rahul Gandhi for his protest over alleged suicide by an army veteran Ram Kishan Grewal in Delhi over implementation of OROP scheme.

Babbar also hit out at Union minister V K Singh for his remarks about Grewal's mental health, saying he needs medical treatment as he has lost his mental balance.

Asked if Congress had got invitation from Samajwadi Party for its silver jubilee function tomorrow, in which all other leaders of the prospective grand alliance have been invited, he said, he was not aware of it and it was the prerogative of the SP leaders whom to invite.

When asked whether he will attend the SP function if invited, Babbar said "If I get an invitation, I will welcome it and tell my leadership as to what has to be done."
image
19:22   'Profusely apologise to the press': Tatas apologise for scuffle
Tata has apologised for the scuffle outside Bombay House in which one photo-journalist was injured. 

Earlier, a photo-journalist was injured when a scuffle broke out their office premises when the journalists broke the cordon in an attempt to snap images of Cyrus Mistry. 

Here is their full statement. 
image
18:53   Directors of Tata Group's Indian Hotels back Cyrus Mistry
Here's some good news for Cyrus Mistry. 

Directors of Tata Group's Indian Hotels back Cyrus Mistry in a meeting, said they 'unanimously expressed full confidence' in him. They praised steps taken by him in providing strategic direction and leadership to the company. 

Digging in his heels after being ousted as Chairman of Tata Sons, Mistry plans to continue in his current role at Tata group firms, including Tata Steel, TCS and Tata Motors, where he is chairman.
    
Sources close to Mistry have said he has no plans to quit as chairman of these firms.
image
18:39   India disappointed at EU's response to Uri attack
India today voiced disappointment over the European Union's "muted response" to the Uri attack, asserting terrorism was the "most significant security threat" to both itself and the EU which deserves greater attention.

Proposing scaled up counter-terror cooperation between India and the 27-nation bloc, Secretary (West) in the MEA Sujata Mehta also emphasised on the need for an "effective and comprehensive" global regime under UN through which the phenomenon of terrorism --whether state sponsored or through non-state actors-- be dealt with "firmly and effectively".
image
18:25   Hindu Sena celebrates Trump 'victory' a few days early
Hindu Sena today celebrated the "victory" of US presidential contender Donald Trump, hailing his friendship with diaspora Indians and backing his call to ban immigration by Muslims from countries hit by Islamic militancy.

With drums banging and speakers blaring, the Hindu Sena gathered at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to proclaim to a knot of TV crews that Trump had "already won" the November 8 vote.

"Trump's victory is confirmed early, due to his thoughts against Islamic terrorism and love for India and Hindus," said Vishnu Gupta, the Hindu Sena's national president.
image
18:18   105-year-old mothers trees instead of kids
Being unable to have children is a heartbreaking situation for anyone who wants to conceive.

But in rural India, infertility carries an added stigma for women, who can be outcast from their families and society.

When Saalumarada Thimmakka and her husband Sri Bikkala Chikkayya found themselves childless after 25 years of marriage, she dealt with it in an unusual way.

The illiterate farm laborer from Karnataka, southern India, planted hundreds of trees, which the couple nurtured, watered and cared for "as children."

The woodland is said to number almost 300 trees -- a remarkable achievement.

Read the full story HERE
image
18:05  
How the Sensex performed today
image
18:02  
JUST IN: India dismisses as speculative a Pak media report that the two countries are planning to recall respective high commissioners
image
17:41   Tata Group security guards beat up journalists
A scuffle broke out between security personnel at Bombay House and photographers trying to click pictures of ousted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry, injuring one of them, ahead of the board meeting of Tata group firm Indian Hotels Company Ltd in Mumbai.

As soon as Mistry, who is the Chairman of IHCL, arrived at the Tata group headquarters to chair a board meeting to consider quarterly financial performance of the company, photographers went beyond the cordoned off area to click his pictures.

In a bid to control the situation, the security personnel roughed up the photographers, injuring one belonging to the Times of India and damaging his equipment, in the process. Cameras belonging to lens men of mid-day and Hindustan Times were also damaged.
     
Later on the situation was brought under control with the intervention of police from Mata Ramabai Police station. Four security guards and three photographers have been taken for medical check-up.

Soon after the scuffle, the Mumbai Press Club issued a statement condemning the attack. 

It said in the statement, "The Mumbai Press Club strongly condemns brutal attack on news photographers at Tata House, Fort, Mumbai, and demands immediate arrest of security personnel of Tata House, who were involved in a shameful act of violence against the professionals from various media houses who were performing their duty on Friday (November 4, 2016) afternoon.  

"We understand that at least three photographers have sustained serious injuries and they are being treated at a government hospital.

"The Mumbai Press Club does not expect a corporate house like Tatas to indulge in violent practices against media persons, and demands explanation from the corporate authorities who allowed security personnel to take this extreme step.

"The Mumbai Press Club extends its full support to the affected colleagues and their families. We will declare anytime soon the next course of action that needs to be taken for seeking justice in this matter. 

"We have also expressed our serious concerns to the states political leadership and city police top brass, and expect them to deliver justice."

This picture was tweeted by ABP News.

See the video of the scuffle HERE (external link)
image
17:37   Pakistan has violated ceasefire 99 times post-surgical strike
Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire 99 times along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting Indian posts and civilian areas, after the surgical strike by the army on PoK-based terrorist launching pads.

"Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 99 times after the surgical strike by Indian Army troops on terror launch pads in PoK," a senior army officer.

The officer said there have been 83 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the LoC in the Jammu region. 

The worst-ever Pakistani shelling targeting civil population took place on November 1 when eight persons, including two children and four women, were killed and 22 others injured along the IB and the LoC in five sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, forcing Indian troops to give befitting reply by destroying 14 Pakistani posts and killing two of their troopers.

image
17:05   Congress, AAP doing politics over dead bodies: VK Singh
As a controversy raged over the suicide of an ex-serviceman, Union Minister V K Singh today attacked Congress and AAP, alleging that they were "doing politics over dead bodies".


Singh alleged that the two parties were left with no issues and knew nothing about the 'one rank, one pension' matter. "They have nothing else (no issue) to do politics on. That is why they do politics over dead bodies. Go and ask them whether they have attended funeral of any other soldier.


"So many soldiers have been martyred, did Aam Aadmi Party leaders and Congress leaders go to pay homage to them. They are talking senseless," the Minister of State for External Affairs told reporters on the sidelines of an energy efficiency conference.


Asked about criticism from other parties on his remarks, Singh said, "There is no point discussing with those who don't know anything about it (one rank one pension)."


Earlier on Wednesday, Singh had raised questions about the "mental state" of Ram Kishan Grewal, an army veteran whose suicide, allegedly over OROP, had sparked a political row.


He had also rejected reports about Grewal being a prominent face of the 'One Rank-One Pension' agitation. "He (Grewal) was a Congress worker. He became sarpanch on Congress' ticket. However, he was our soldier. I feel sad over his death," Singh had said yesterday.
image
16:57   Delhi schools to be closed tomorrow due to toxic smog
Delhi municipal schools to remain closed tomorrow due to smog. With the city still reeling under heavy pollution, some schools in the Capital have decided to remain shut till Monday or have suspended morning assembly and sports day celebrations.


The toxic smog choking the capital for the past five days has not abated. Visibility is at its second lowest recorded in at least 10 years for November and one monitoring agency showing that the city's air quality index had again gone off the scale at 500+, a level it had reached a day after Diwali.


File pic.
image
16:32   Pakistan to deport Nat Geo's Afghan girl
Nat Geo's famed 'Afghan Girl' Sharbat Gula is to be deported to Afghanistan after serving a 15-day jail sentence and paying a fine of Rs 110,000, a special anti-corruption and immigration court in Peshawar ordered on Friday. Sharbat Gula was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency on Oct 26 from her house in the Nauthia area for alleged forgery of a Computerised National Identity Card. A day after her arrest, the United Nations High Commissioner distanced itself from Sharbat Gula, claiming that she was not a registered refugee.
image
16:12   Stop lying Modi-ji, you have not implemented OROP: Rahul
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi addresses the media after meeting ex-servicemen in Delhi. He was accompanied by former defence minister AK Antony.

"I met the representatives of ex-servicemen. They discussed their concerns over implementation of OROP. They said, 'Rahul-ji paise ka mamla nahin hai nyay ka mamla hai'. It is an issue of respect and dignity.  I can't understand what's happening in the country, no respect for farmers and no respect for our ex-servicemen.


"Modi-ji has announced that OROP has been implemented. If that is the case, why is it ex-servicemen sat in a dharna at Jantar Mantar for 509 days. It's because Hindustan ki sarkar ne OROP nahi lagu kia hai. It's becasue the Government of India has not implemented OROP.

"Ex-servicemen told me that if the government tells them that they can't do anything, nobody will have an issue. But the government has said it has implemented OROP.

"We ask the government to fulfill the OROP demands, its their right and the govt has to fulfill it. I was detained for the last two days, but it makes no difference to me. But I saw the way the family of the ex-servicemen was dragged out of their home and beaten up. Nobody has the right to do that to anyone, leave alone the family of ex-servicemen.

"What the government has done is enhanced pension. It has not instituted OROP. Stop lying Narendra Modi-ji, implement OROP."
image
15:26   Jayalalithaa 'completely recovered', says Apollo Hospitals boss
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa has completely recovered and "and understands what is going on around her," according to Pratap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals. He told media persons on the sidelines of a function in Chennai.

In a first such interaction on the health status of Jayalalithaa, he said teams of doctors and prayers of millions made this excellent progress possible. "Honourable CM aware of her surroundings, Understands what's going on around her," he said.

AIADMK poll strategists have planned a three to four minute video of Jayalalitha appealing to people of her state to vote for the AIADMK. The video will be shot from her hospital bed.

At least 250 CDs will be made and distributed to booth-level AIADMK workers ahead of the bypolls, apart from regular advertisements on Tamil TV channels.

image
15:04   Modi govt is a headlines government: Lalu

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday launched a direct attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioning the democracy prevailing in the country and said there was an Emergency- like situation under BJP rule.  

"Modi-ji, kaunsa loktantra garh rahein ho? Loklaaj se lokraj chalta hai, Loktantra mein loksharm ko darkinaar nahin kar saktein," the RJD chief tweeted.

"Constitutional values are in danger and fascism has knocked on our doors," he said.

A day after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was detained when he went to meet the family of former armyman Ram Kishan Grewal who had committed suicide over the non-payment of OROP. Lalu said all those speaking against the government are being arrested. He termed the Modi government as a 'headlines government' and 'marketing government'."The Modi government has been violating the Constitution and has stopped a chief minister of a state who was elected by the people to meet the family of a victim and arrested him," Lalu said alluding to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's detention.

MI Khan in Patna/Rediff.com
image
14:50   Quick takes
-- Hearing on National herald case adjourns for 9th December in Patiala house court.

-- Deadlock over dual control in GST council. States and Centre divided over dual control.

-- Pratap Reddy, chairman of Apollo hospitals tells media that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is recovering well .
image
14:42   Cong poll strategist Prashant Kishor says party's goal is to get rid of him
The Congress party's UP polls strategist Prasant Kishor, who is quite naturally a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi has been telling his
near and dear ones that during the 2014 general elections Narendra Modi gave him one goal -- "Go after Congress". He was told to focus on the Congress-mukt Bharat slogan.

In 2015 during the run-up to the Bihar election, JD-U chief Nitish Kumar told Kishor,  "Go after BJP". Nitish told him to use lots of 'innovative ideas and slogans'.

Both the leaders gave him the mandate to achieve the goal -- winning the elections for the party.

But now that Kishor has to win UP for the Congress, sources say his biggest stumbling block is that there is no clarity.

Instead, second and third line leaders have one slogan -- "Go after Prasant Kishor". Kishor jokingly told friends that the goal of the party seemed to be 'Get rid of Prasant Kishor'.  Kishor also told his friends that
the Congress has no focus and was dissent had divided the party.

Last month, senior UP Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi joined the BJP in the presence of party president Amit Shah. Hitting out at Kishor, Joshi said he can be poll manager but not poll director.
image
13:44   The Kanhaiya Kumar Interview: We live so we can defeat fear
Kanhaiya Kumar, the most talked about student leader this year is out with a book, From Bihar to Tihar, published by Juggernaut Books. In an interview with Rediff.com's Archana Masih conducted over Skype, he speaks about his days in Tihar jail, why he is anti-Modi and how he will overtake everyone in his class to submit his PhD thesis.  Do read
image
13:35   Rahul marches to OROP beat, ex-servicemen meet today
Rahul Gandhi will meet several ex-servicemen on Friday keeping up his campaign on the cause of 'one rank, one pension' which is back in limelight after the suicide by a former army man.


On Thursday, the Congress Vice-President was detained by Delhi Police to prevent him from leading a protest march over the suicide by ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal allegedly due to his grievances in implementation of OROP.


"Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will meet several ex-servicemen today afternoon over the OROP issue," party sources said.


Gandhi had on Thursday met Grewal's family in their native village in Bamla in Haryana where the former subedar was cremated. On Wednesday, he was detained here when he went to meet the family of Grewal.Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, on Thursday, had said that Modi government may see politics when Rahul Gandhi and others raise issues involving soldiers over OROP issue, but the party would not remain a mute spectator on it.


The government had in November last year issued a notification on OROP to meet the long pending demand but a section veterans had expressed their dissatisfaction with it.


Image: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi talks to the media at Tilak Marg Police Station where he was detained in New Delhi on Wednesday. Jyotiraditya Scindia is also seen. PTI Photo by Shahbaz Khan
image
13:17   Tata director slams Mistry for 'orchestrated leaks' of documents
Dismissing speculation that he had complimented ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry's performance but voted for his dismissal, Tata Sons independent director and former diplomat Ronen Sen said such "insinuations" through orchestrated leaks reflected a mindset of "self-centred priorities and perceptions".


Taking a dig at the ousted chairman, he said internal documents were being "leaked in a selective and motivated manner by sources close to the former chairman", raising questions on "whether these orchestrated leaks, unless denounced by him, will enhance or further diminish the confidence of his fellow directors on the board of Tata Sons".


"Insinuations that I acted differently in the board room of an iconic company with a great legacy appears to reflect a mindset that measures others by their own self-centred priorities and perceptions," Sen said in a letter to Tatas.


Reports had suggested that Sen along with another independent director Farida Khambata complimented Mistry on his performance as chairman. However, in contrast to the praise, Sen, who is a member of the Nomination & Renumeration Committee (NRC) of Tata Sons and another member Vijay Singh voted to dismiss Mistry in the board meeting on October 24.


"The implied assumption that there were no developments between the meeting of the Nomination & Renumeration Committee and the Board meeting on the 24th October is also naive to put it mildly," Sen said in the letter.
image
12:56   New low in India-Pakistan ties; diplomatic staff may be trimmed
Signalling a fresh slide in ties, Pakistan and India may temporarily recall their high commissioners and scale down the size of diplomatic staff in each other's missions in the wake of the latest diplomatic spat over the spying episode, a media report said today.

The latest spat started last week after a staff member of Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi was detained by police for questioning over espionage charges, the Express Tribune reported. 

The fresh slide in ties may also lead to a 'scaling down' of the strength of diplomatic staff by the two neighbours, the paper said.

The tension intensified after tit-fit-tat naming of diplomatic staff for alleged spy work by both sides. 

Mahmood Akhtar, who was working as a visa officer at the Pakistani High Commission, was later expelled from India. 

"However, India, using a statement Delhi police extracted from Akhtar through coercive means, implicated other Pakistani staffers. The identities of at least six such officials were leaked to the media, jeopardising their security. The move prompted Pakistan to withdraw them from New Delhi," it said. 

In what appeared to be a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan on Thursday claimed that eight officials posted in India's High Commission in Islamabad were agents of RAW and IB. The disclosure left New Delhi with no other options but to withdraw the named officials, the paper said. 
image
12:49   China's Dalian Wanda buys Golden Globes firm
China's richest man has continued his Hollywood shopping spree -- snapping up the company that runs the Golden Globes.

Dalian Wanda, run by property magnate Wang Jianlin, is paying $1bn for Dick Clark Productions that also runs the Miss America beauty pageant and the Billboard Music Awards.

The Chinese conglomerate already controls the AMC cinema chain, the second largest in the US, as well as Legendary Entertainment, co-producer of hit films including Godzilla and The Dark Knight Rises, and has a tie-up with Sony Pictures.

Read more HERE
image
12:38  
Just In: NGT slams Centre, Delhi govt for not taking steps to tackle alarming air pollution level in national capital.

NGT asks Delhi government to stop 10-year-old diesel vehicles from plying on roads in national capital.    

Delhi govt tells NGT that high air pollution is due to crop burning in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan.
image
12:26   2 non-bailable warrants out against Vijay Mallya
A Delhi court has issued two non-bailable warrants against businessman Vijay Mallya.

While the first warrant for allegedly evading summons was in connection with a FERA violation matter, the other was issued in a 2012 cheque bounce case lodged by DIAL.  

Mallya has scant regard for the law of the land and has no intention to return to India, the court said while issuing the warrant.

Mallya's claim that he wants to return to India but his passport has been revoked was malafide and abuse of process, the court added.


image
12:16   NIA will not take up Bhopal SIMI encounter
The National Investigation Agency will not probe the encounter killing of the suspected Students of Islamic Movement of India operatives, who escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail earlier this week. 

According to sources, NIA can investigate the case only if the MP Police find evidence that the SIMI operatives were being helped by a terror group from outside or were supplied arms or other assistance during or before the encounter.

Despite demands for a probe into the encounter, the state government refused to order an NIA probe into it as it believes the encounter to be genuine. The state government has, however, expressed intentions to hand over the jailbreak probe to the NIA.

The Madhya Pradesh Ggovernment has ordered a judicial probe into the encounter of eight SIMI operatives, which escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had issued a notice to the state government on Wednesday seeking a detailed report on the encounter.
image
11:46   No curfew in Kashmir ahead of Friday prayers
With situation improving marginally in Kashmir, there was no curfew anywhere in the Valley today, the first Friday when curbs have not been imposed since it was hit by unrest in July. 

Authorities have been imposing curfew in many parts of the Valley, especially in the old city areas of Srinagar, on Fridays in view of apprehensions of law and order problems after the congregational prayers.

In view of the improving situation, the authorities decided against imposing curfew today.

"There is no curfew anywhere in Kashmir today but curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in Batamaloo police station area of Srinagar as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order," a police official said. 

"The situation has improved a lot. People are moving freely. There is increased traffic on the roads with each passing day, so the decision to not impose curfew was taken," the official said.
image
11:38   The truth about the Modi govt's OROP
"The Modi government is lying about OROP," says Brigadier J S Sandhu (retired), a member of the group of retired soldiers spearheading the demand for the OROP scheme. He tells Rediff.com's Firdaus Ashraf why ex-servicemen are unhappy with the Modi government. Do read
image
11:38   The truth about the Modi govt's OROP
"The Modi government is lying about OROP," says Brigadier J S Sandhu (retired), a member of the group of retired soldiers spearheading the demand for the OROP scheme. He tells Rediff.com's Firdaus Ashraf why ex-servicemen are unhappy with the Modi government. Do read
image
11:34   India prays for toddler battling severe injuries in barbaric Pak firing
Undergoing treatment for severe neck, spinal and abdominal injuries at a hospital in Jammu, 14-month-old Pari is a testimony of the "barbarism" unleashed by the Pakistan Rangers on unarmed civilians on the Indian side.


The girl has lost her grandfather, an aunt and two cousins in the cross-border shelling by Pakistan on her village in Rangoor Camp on November 1. She underwent a life saving surgery at the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital on Wednesday.


"At this tender age she is unable to understand what tragedy has befallen on the family. Her parents were also injured in the Pakistani shelling," Baljeet Kumar a relative of Pari said.


Doctors attending to Pari said she received severe splinter injuries in the neck, spine and abdomen. Some portions of her intestines were also damaged. She has been operated for "Exploratory Latropomy" and has been placed under observation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).


While Pari is battling for her life in the hospital, her father, Rakesh Kumar, who was also injured in the attack, is recuperating in the same hospital. "The attack on our village was sheer barbarianism unleashed by the Pakistani Rangers. They continued to pound our village for several hours, without giving us any time to run for safety. Pari is a living testimony of all this," Geeta Kumari, another relative of Pari, said.


"Pari's father has not been able to see her. He is injured in the leg. We had to lift him on our shoulders so that he could perform the last rites of his father," Kumari said. People across Jammu region have been praying for early recovery of Pari as she has become a symbol of the agony and pain being faced by the border residents across the region due to the continuous firing from across the border.


Rishab (7) and Abhi (5) were among the eight killed in the cross-border firing in Ramgarh sector of Samba district. "These kids had no idea of what cross-border firing is. Their life was cut short by the madness of Pakistan which deliberately targeted the civilian areas," Pardeep Kumar a relative of another injured border resident said.


Terming the attack on civilian areas the "height of barbarianism", Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said it is insane that small kids are targeted by the Pakistan.


"It is barbarianism on part of Pakistan to target kids. Pakistan is a rouge state which attacked villages and killed eight civilians and injured scores others including Pari," he said.
image
11:24  
Just in: RSS to hold strategy meet with ministers today on the UP polls. 
image
11:13   Editors Guild of India full statement on action against NDTV India
"The Editors Guild of India strongly condemns the unprecedented decision of the inter-ministerial committee of the Union Ministry of Information Broadcasting to take NDTV India off the air for a day and demands that the order be immediately rescinded.

"The ostensible reason for the order as reported is that the channel's coverage of the Pathankot terror attack on January 2, 2016 that the government claims gave out sensitive information to the handlers of terrorists. NDTV in its response to a show cause by the government has maintained that its coverage was sober and did not carry any information that had not been covered by the rest of the media, and was in the public domain.


"The decision to take the channel off the air for a day is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and therefore the citizens of India and amounts to harsh censorship imposed by the government reminiscent of the Emergency.


"This first-of-its-kind order to impose a blackout has seen the Central government entrust itself with the power to intervene in the functioning of the media and take arbitrary punitive action as and when it does not agree with the coverage. There are various legal remedies available to both a citizen and a state in the Court of Law to have action taken for any irresponsible media coverage. Imposing a ban without resorting to judicial intervention or oversight violates the fundamental principles of freedom and justice.


"The Editors Guild of India calls for an immediate withdrawal of the ban order."


Raj Chengappa
President


Prakash Dube
General Secretary


Seema Mustafa
Treasurer
image
11:06   Results will be close, go out and vote, urges Obama
US President Barack Obama has acknowledged that the presidential elections between Hillary Clinton of his Democratic party and her Republican rival Donald Trump would be close and urged his supporters to go out and vote in large numbers.


"I am here to tell you that this will be a close race and you cannot take it for granted," Obama told several thousands of his supporters at an election rally yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida -- a key battleground state.


Obama addressed two rallies in Florida yesterday and is scheduled to come back over the weekend. "Because all the progress we've made these last eight years goes out the window if we don't win this election. So we've got to work our hearts out in the next five days. We have to work like our future depends on it, because, you know what, our future depends on it," he said.


Making a strong pitch for his former secretary of state, Obama said there's only one candidate in this race who has devoted her entire life to that better America, and that is the next President of the United States, Hillary Clinton.


Making a contrast between the two presidential candidates, Obama said while Trump is not fit to enter the White House, Clinton is the most qualified person to ever run for this position. "So the question is, if you got one person who you know is not qualified and you got another person who is eminently qualified, the only thing that's left to do is vote. The only thing left to do it vote," he said amidst applause from the audience.
image
10:56   Ban reminiscent of Emergency: Editors Guild backs NDTV India
The Editors Guild of India backs NDTV India saying the government decision is a harsh censorship, reminiscent of Emergency. It says the government panel decision is unprecedented and a direct violation of freedom of media. The Guild demands that the order be reversed.

Yesterday, the Information and Broadcasting ministry's inter-ministerial committee has recommended that news channel NDTV India be taken off air for 24 hours for allegedly revealing "strategically-sensitive information" during the course of its coverage of the anti-terror operations at the Pathankot airbase earlier this year.

The first-of-its-kind order has imposed a blackout prohibiting "the transmission or re-transmission of NDTV India channel for one day on any platform throughout India with effect from 00:01 hrs on 9th November to 00:01 hrs of 10th November".

This is NDTV's statement: "The order of the MIB has been received. It is shocking that NDTV has been singled out in this manner. Every channel and newspaper had similar coverage. In fact NDTV's coverage was particularly balanced. After the dark days of the emergency when the press was fettered, it is extraordinary that NDTV is being proceeded against in this manner." NDTV is examining all options in this matter.
image
10:53   LeT terrorist Omar Khaliq arrested
Just in: In a major breakthrough, Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist Omar Khaliq, was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police in Sopore on Friday. According to ANI, Khaliq is a resident of the Tujjar sector and was arrested during a joint operation launched by the police and 22nd regiment of Rajputana Rifles. According to sources, arms and ammunition have been seized from him, which include AK rifles and grenades. Details awaited.


Representational picture
image
10:35   Wrote 5 letters to Cong on OROP, got no response: BJP MP slams Rahul's vigil
Questioning Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's "recently discovered concern" for defence veterans, Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar said his repeated letters to the UPA government and top Congress leaders on OROP had been ignored.


Chandrasekhar, in a four-page-long open letter, said he wrote five letters to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh between 2010 to 2012, twice to United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi in 2011, four times to then Defence Minister between 2010 and 2012 and to Rahul Gandhi in 2011.


"... All of them were met with either a 'can't do it' or a stony silence," claimed the Independent member from Karnataka.


"I had first written to you on OROP and other Armed Forces related issues way back in 2011, but you neither replied to it nor took any action. It probably wasn't politically 'interesting' enough for you then. It took you years to even mention and get to that issue - and even then it was only before election 2014 as a pre-poll election stunt," he said.


"Perhaps you also need to be reminded that in 2008 the then Defence Minister AK Antony stated that the UPA government had not found the OROP demand acceptable," the letter said.


Chandrasekhar said he accepted "the premise that yours may be a case of belated wisdom and compassion dawning" but said it was "a bit trite to assume that past records of political parties will be forgotten and that the country doesn't realise how far we have come in the cause of serving and repaying our veterans in the past two years compared to the past four decades".


The letter comes on a day when Congress held a protest march against "disrespect" to the family of an ex-Indian Army Subedar Ram Kishen Grewal, who committed suicide on Tuesday. Rahul Gandhi was stopped by Delhi Police at the venue.


Gandhi said he was "detained", but police said they just stopped him.


PTI Photo by Shahbaz Khan
image
10:15   Jayalalithaa to be moved out of critical care to private room in Apollo
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will soon be moved out of the critical care care unit (CCU) to a private room, said a senior AIADMK leader on Friday.


"The lung infection is under control. She has passed the critical stage. The respiratory system is being weaned away. It is being used on and off," senior AIADMK leader and spokesperson C Ponnaiyan told IANS.


He said for the past one week Jayalalithaa was having semi solid food. She was also talking with people now. The 68-year-old chief minister was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals with fever and dehydration on September 22.


Doctors later said she needed a longer stay at the hospital as she had infection and was put on respiratory support. According to Apollo, a team of specialists like cardiologists, respiratory physicians, consultants for infectious diseases, diabetologist and endocrinologist was treating Jayalalithaa.


In its medical bulletin issued on October 21, Apollo Hospitals said Jayalalithhaa "is interacting (with people) and progressing gradually'.


According to Ponnaiyan, it is for the doctors to decide when Jayalaltihaa could be discharged."Her health condition has improved now. The remaining health issues can be addressed while she is in a room or even at her residence,' Ponnaiyan added.


He said Jayalalithaa was suffering from acute lung infection which in turn aggravated the problem. She was suffering from high fever for nearly 18 days at the hospital due to the infection. "The fever was brought down by appropriate medication," Ponnaiyan added.


According to Ponnaiyan, the team of doctors including a British doctor Richard Beale, consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at Guy's and St.Thomas Hospital, London, doctors from AIIMS, New Delhi and from Apollo Hospitals are taking good care and rendering expert treatment to Jayalalithaa. 
image
09:56   OROP suicide: Ex-jawan's bank denies charge of pension miscalculation
Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal's bank has rebutted government allegations that it under-calculated the pension due to the late ex-serviceman. As Grewal's alleged suicide sent the country's political temperatures soaring, India Today TV's special investigation crew met the chief of the State Bank of India's Ghanta Ghar branch in Haryana's Bhiwani, which had been paying out the pension to the army veteran since his retirement in 2004. Ram Singh, the chief manager, explained that the onus of calculating wages and pensions lay solely with the government. Banks, he said, are only disbursing agents and not auditors of such funds. Read more
image
09:33   Just may be, this will help Sean Abbott move on...
A "minuscule misjudgement" by Australian batsman Phillip Hughes when facing a bouncer led to his death, a coroner ruled today, saying neither the bowler nor anyone else was to blame for the tragedy.


Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain in November 2014 after being hit on the neck by a rising ball from Sean Abbott while batting in a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.


The death of the popular 25-year-old, who had risen through the ranks to play for his country, stunned Australia and the world cricket community, sparking an outpouring of grief.


"A minuscule misjudgement or a slight error of execution caused him to miss the ball which crashed into his neck with fatal consequences," said New South Wales coroner Michael Barnes in long-awaited findings.


"There was no suggestion the ball was bowled with malicious intent. Neither the bowler nor anyone else was to blame for the tragic outcome." Barnes added that his death would not have been prevented even if he was wearing more modern head protection, and that a quicker medical response would also have made no difference to the "unsurvivable" injuries.


"Phillip wasn't wearing the most up-to-date safety helmet when he was struck
and the rules that then applied didn't require him to do so," he said.


"However, had he even been wearing that most modern equipment then available, it would not have protected the area of his body where the fatal blow landed."


At the time, Hughes was wearing a helmet which was not compliant with the more recent, and stringent, British Standard, which extends the grille protecting the face further to the rear of the helmet.


Also read: 'I am a better man for having known Phil Hughes my brother', Micheal Clarke's moving tribute.
image
09:17   MP govt orders judicial probe in Bhopal encounter
The Madhya Pradesh Government has ordered a judicial probe into the encounter of eight SIMI operatives, who escaped from the Central Jail, in Bhopal. Retired justice SK Pande will head the inquiry commission. The panel will probe the circumstances under which the SIMI operatives escaped and the encounter in which they were killed by police.


The Madhya Pradesh High Court had issued a notice to the state government on Thursday seeking a detailed report on the encounter. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier announced a NIA probe into the incident.


However, MP Home Minister Bhupendra Singh had said that there is no need of any probe into the encounter.


Eight SIMI operatives had escaped on Sunday night from Bhopal central jail after killing security guard Ramashankar Yadav.


They were gunned down later. Social activists and political parties have raised several questions regarding the incident.
image
08:58  
A Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist identified as Omar Khaliq has been arrested by police in Sopore, news agency ANI reports.
image
08:42   MP jailbreak/encounter: Chouhan orders judicial probe
Madhya Pradesh Jail-break/encounter: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan orders judicial probe. 

Retired high court judge Justice S K Pandey to head the probe.

Eight undertrials were killed by police in an alleged encounter hours after they escaped from Bhopal Central Jail after murdering a security guard.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, raised questions on the encounter after video clips showed a jawan opening fire on one of the men, as he lay motionless on the ground.
image
08:36   Can Delhi Police state law under which Rahul was detained: Digvijaya
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has lashed out at Delhi police over Rahul Gandhi's detention. 

In a series of tweets on Friday morning, he sought to know under which law the Congress vice-president was detained:

"Is it a crime for a political leader to visit a family of an ex Serviceman who committed suicide for not getting OROP?"

"Is it a crime if a political leader wants to participate in a peaceful candle march in memory of an ex Serviceman?"

"Can Delhi Police pl tell us under which provisions of Law was Rahul Gandhi detained thrice in two days?"

"If Police is behaving like this with a MP & Vice President of Congress Party in Delhi what must be happening to a common man in rural area?"
image
08:18   Paris Agreement on climate change comes into force
The Paris Agreement on climate change came into force today.

The Agreement's entry into force comes a month after countries representing 55% of the worlds emissions committed to joining the deal -- the level required to put the agreement into action -- and less than a year after negotiators from nearly 200 countries agreed to the specifics of the text at the 2015 UN climate summit. 

India ratified the landmark Paris climate deal in October.

Next week's meeting in Marrakech will provide the first opportunity since that summit in Paris for all parties to the agreement to iron out implementation details.

"Countries of the world shut the door on inevitable climate disaster and set off with determination towards a sustainable future," said UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa and Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Salaheddine Mezouar in a statement. "This is a moment to celebrate. It is also a moment to look ahead with sober assessment and renewed will over the task ahead."

The Paris Agreement provides a valuable framework for countries to address climate change in an international context, but negotiators kicked many of the implementation details down the road, to be determined at later climate meetings, known as COPs. The rapid entry into force put pressure on negotiators to hash out those details sooner rather than later. 
image
00:07   Clinton holds a slim three per cent lead over Trump: poll
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton holds a slim lead of three percentage points over her Republican rival Donald Trump, a latest national poll said on Thursday amidst strong indication that the race to the White House is entering the arena of dead heat. 

Five days ahead of the November 8 general elections, a latest poll conducted jointly by The New York Times and CBS news said that Clinton (45 per cent) has a slim lead of three percentage points over Trump (42 per cent), which is within the margin of error.

In RealClearPolitics, which keeps track of almost all major national polls, Clinton's average lead over Trump now has dropped down to 1.7 per cent.

"Five days before Election Day, the margin between the candidates is narrow, with 45 per cent of likely voters supporting Clinton, the Democratic candidate, to 42 per cent for Trump, the Republican nominee. 

"The difference is within the poll margin of sampling error," The New York Times wrote. 

However, the daily said Clinton has 86 per cent chances of winning the presidential elections.  

TOP STORIES