Days after India's economy showed signs of recovery, Fitch Ratings today cut the country's GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.7 per cent from the earlier projected 6.9 per cent, saying the rebound was weaker than expected.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the identical twins famous for their legal battle with Mark Zuckerburg over the ownership of Facebook, have become bitcoin billionaires following a surge in value of the currency over the past year. 

The BCCI has announced the team for the upcoming T20 matches against Sri Lanka. Skipper Virat Kohli will be rested for the T20 matches. The team will comprise of: Rohit Sharma (Capt), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed  Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sends his condolences to the Kapoor family after the demise of Shashi Kapoor. The PM wrote on Twitter, "Shashi Kapoor's versatility could be seen in his movies as well as in theatre, which he promoted with great passion. His brilliant acting will be remembered for generations to come. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers."

Actor Randhir Kapoor, son of veteran actor Raj Kapoor, confirmed the news. "Yes he has passed away. He had a kidney problem since several years. He was on dialysis for several years," Randhir Kapoor told PTI.

The funeral will be held tomorrow morning, he said.

"Shashi Kapoor expired at 5:20 pm on December 4 at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai," Dr Ram Narain fron Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital told PTI.

Image: Shashi Kapoor with his daughter, Sanjana.

The iconic scene from the Yash Chopra directed film, Deewar.

Shashi Kapoor was the third and youngest son of Prithviraj Kapoor. He made his Bollywood debut in 1961, as the lead actor, in the film Dharmputra.

Born as Balbir Raj Kapoor on March 18, 1938, worked in over 175 films as an actor. He also produced several hit films like Junoon, Kalyug, Vijeta, 36 Chowringhee Lane  and Utsav.


Apart from directing 1991 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Ajooba, Shashi Kapoor also directed a Russian movie Vozvrashcheniye Bagdadskogo Vora in 1988.

Shashi Kapoor started his film career as a child actor. He worked in brother Raj Kapoors  Aag (1948) and Awaara (1951). Shashi Kapoor made his debut as hero in the 1961 film Dharmputra and then went on to rule the Bollywood from till late 1980s.

Shashi Kapoors pairing on the silver screen with megastar Amitabh Bachchan was hugely popular and is considered to be one of best till date. The two superstars worked together in some of the biggest hits of Bollywood Deewaar, Suhaag, Kabhie Kabhie, Trishul, Silsila and Namak Halaal.

In Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, The Star, Aseem Chhabra gives us glimpses of one of Bollywood's best loved actors. All  you wanted to know about one of the most gorgeous actor's in the Hindi film industry. Do read.

Image: An archival picture of Shashi Kapoor with his wife Jennifer and children.

Veteran actor Shashi Kapoor passes away at Mumbai's Kokilaben Hospital after a prolonged illness. He was 79

Kapoor, who has appeared in a number of Hindi films and a few English-language films, was honoured with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Art-Cinema. In 2015, he was awarded the 2014 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, making him the third member of his family to receive the highest award in Indian Cinema after Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor. He has also won three National awards.

Image: Shashi Kapoor with his son Kunal.

"Ashamed" at seeing the Sri Lankan cricketers donning pollution masks while playing in the national capital, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said it is high time the Delhi government took a call on the situation.


"It's not a good scene that the a visiting team is playing an international game wearing masks. Pollution is worsening everyday. This is not earning a good name for the country. I think Delhi must control pollution. Delhi must sit together and decide on it (pollution issue)," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.


Banerjee said she was speaking on it because the pollution in Delhi was a genuine issue.


"I felt very ashamed (seeing the Sri Lankan cricketers wearing masks) otherwise I would not have said this...This is not a political issue but a genuine issue," the Chief Minister said. The Sri Lankan cricket team yesterday took to the field wearing anti-pollution masks while fielding on the third day of the Kotla Test against India, complaining of poor air quality that forced the hosts to declare their innings. --  PTI

1993 Mumbai serial blasts case: Supreme Court stays the death sentence of convict Mohammed Tahir Merchant. Taher Merchant was charged with helping the accused travel to Pakistan via Dubai for training in handling arms and ammunition. Taher grew up with 1993 blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim and his brothers and had a predominant role in the blasts. He allegedly motivated associates to arrange men from Mumbai for training in handling of arms and ammunition in Pakistan. Khan has been charged with off-loading consignments sent by convict Mustafa Dossa.

Tehseen Poonawalla, brother of Maharashtra Congress Secretary Shehzad Poonawalla, on Monday came out in support of party vice president Rahul Gandhi, saying his entire family wanted him to lead the party.


Speaking to ANI, Tehseen said, "I would like to clarify that me and my family are completely with Shri Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party. We want Rahul Gandhi to take over as the leader of the party."


Tehseen further said that the Poonawalla family had cut off their relationship with his brother Shehzad. "We would just say if he had any issues with Congress, he should have raised it in the inter-party forum rather than the media," said Tehseen.


However, Shehzad Poonawalla, who had called out the party's president election 'rigged', called the entire procedure to be a coronation. "I have objection with this election procedure which is rather a coronation. I would like to tell Rahul to ask his people to wait with a crown and coronate him as soon as he reaches the place," said Shehzad. -- ANI

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today wished success to Rahul Gandhi as he prepares to take over the reins of the Congress party.


"As @OfficeOfRG files his nomination to take over the Grand Old Party of India, I wish him all the very best going ahead. Expectations are high, challenges are numerous & I pray for his success," Omar tweeted.


In an apparent reference to the BJP criticising Gandhi's expected elevation to the top post in the Congress party, Omar said, "On a lighter note, this is how we choose our leaders for our parties - we arm wrestle for the post. I'm off to the gym now".


Gandhi today filed his nomination papers for the post of Congress president, paving the way for a generational shift in the leadership of the party headed by his mother Sonia Gandhi.

File pic.

The hero motorman Anurag Shukla was felicitated by the Central Railway for his prompt action of detecting the iron rods on the track between CST and Masjid stations on the suburban railway line. Officials said that the incident happened at around 7:30 am. Shukla spotted two rods lying on the track and stopped the train.

India Today reports that Rahul Gandhi is the only candidate for the post of Congress president. No other candidate has filed their nomination papers today. Filing of nominations for the post ends at 4 pm today.


The Congress vice president today filed his nomination papers for the post of party president, paving the way for a generational shift in the leadership of the party headed by his mother Sonia Gandhi.


He was accompanied by a host of senior party leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, as he filed his papers to become the party president. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, one of the leaders who proposed Rahul's name, was not present.


This clears the decks for his elevation to the party's top post, succeeding his mother, who has held the post for 19 years in a row.

There was a certain irony in the situation but the venerable judges of the Supreme Court seemed oblivious to it. On November 27, the now famous young woman from Kerala - Hadiya aka Akhila - stood before a bench of the chief justice of India, Dipak Misra, and his fellow judges, AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, to face yet another interrogation in her long ordeal for freedom. This was not her first encounter with the courts of law.


She first appeared before the Kerala High Court nearly two years ago in January 2016 after her father, Asokan KM, moved a habeas corpus petition. Her father refused to accept his daughter's decision to convert to Islam and alleged that she had been "brainwashed" into taking that decision.  Read more

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, out on a 650,000-pound bail bond following his arrest by Scotland Yard over fraud and money laundering charges, today arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court for the opening day of his extradition trial.


The 61-year-old tycoon looked relaxed as he was greeted by a swarm of cameras and reporters when he entered the court to stand trial on charges of fraud and money laundering related to his erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines owing several Indian banks around Rs 9,000 crore.


"Please hear the proceedings," Mallya told reporters outside the courtroom. "I have said repeatedly that the charges are false, fabricated and baseless. I have nothing to say, submissions in court will be self evident," he said.


However, the trial opening was delayed as the courtroom had to be evacuated due to a fire alarm going off. Mallya, who has been out on bail since Scotland Yard executed an extradition warrant in April this year, will be in the dock for the duration of the trial -- scheduled to end on December 14.  -- PTI

Vijay Mallya arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London for his extradition trial. "I have said repeatedly that the charges are false, fabricated and baseless. I have nothing to say, submissions in court will be self evident," Mallya said appearing before the London's Westminster Court today.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that the Congress party will cease to exist if vice-president Rahul Gandhi is elevated as the party chief.

Taking a jibe at Rahul, who earlier in the day filed his nomination for the post of party chief, the chief minister told ANI, "The Congress party has become a burden on this nation and after Rahul ji's elevation this burden (Congress) would cease to exist once and for all," Yogi told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi congratulated Rahul for 'promotion without performance' and said that such an election was only possible in a feudal set up. -- ANI

Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, who earlier came out in support of terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawah has now said that he would welcome an alliance with global terrorist and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed for the general election in 2018.


Responding to a question about having an alliance with JuD chief Saeed, Musharraf in an interview to Pakistan based Aaj News channel said, "so far, there has be no talks with them but if they want to be part of the alliance, I would welcome them."


The former military ruler had last month announced the formation of a grand political alliance after a consultative meeting between representatives of around two dozen political parties, including the Sunni Tehreek, Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen, Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Musharraf's own All Pakistan Muslim League.


However, several parties dissociated themselves from Musharraf's Awami Ittehad alliance after he announced the formation of a "grand alliance" of 23 parties. -- ANI

@BollywoodGandu When your mother is the teacher and you top the exam.

A possible train mishap was avoided today after the motorman of a Panvel-CST suburban train spotted iron rods on the track and halted the train in time. Officials said that the incident happened at around 7:30 am.


Motorman Anurag Shukla spotted two rods lying on the track and stopped the train, officials said.


The CST railway police, which is investigating the incident, said it is possible that workers working along the tracks might have accidentally left the rods on the track.


An officer said there was also a possibility that metal scrap thieves might have left the rod on the tracks and fled. The officer said that a case had been registered and a team was scanning the CCTV footage to ascertain leads. He said that all angles, including sabotage, were being examined. -- PTI

Both China and India may be soft-pedalling Myanmar's genocide out of geopolitical interests. But that doesn't explain Delhi's selective rejection of the region's most vulnerable refugees. Read more

"He is 47 years old and not married. Since his son or daughter can contest for Parliament only 25 years after being born, the earliest, if he marries in December, would be 2043. So this, pretty much, is the end of the road for dynastic rule in the party," says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan. Read the column here.

Just in: Terror attack on the Indian army in south Kashmir's Qazigund. Three army jawans have been injured in the attack. Terrorists flee after firing at the jawans.

Mani Shankar Aiyar clarifies his comparison of Rahul's proposed elevation to the Mughals. "Can't compare both. During Mughal rule it was understood that after Jehangir, Shahjahan will be the leader but here anyone is free to contest against Rahul Gandhi, its a totally democratic process."

Taking a dig at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's expected elevation to the post of party chief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday 'congratulated' the Congress on their "Aurangzeb raj'.


Speaking at a rally in Valsad, the PM said senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar cited the example of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb to convey the power shift in Congress.


"Mani Shankar Aiyar, who never shies away from showing loyalty to one family, proudly said, Jahangir ki jagah jab Shahjahan aaye, kya tab koi chunav hua tha? Jab Shahjahan ki jagah Aurangzeb aaye, tab koi election hua tha? Yeh toh pehlay se hi pata tha ki jo badshah hai, uski aulad ko hi satta milegi (When Shahjahan came after Jahangir or Aurangzeb came after Shahjahan, were there any elections for that? This is already known that the one who is a ruler, his son would get the throne)", PM Modi said.


Modi added, "For us, the well being of the people matters and 125 crore Indians are our high command. Earlier, Congress would go out of the way to show their secularism but now we are all seeing what they are doing in this election, where they are going. Unfortunately for them, Muslims know their real nature.

"Disinformation like BJP does this and that against Muslims has been spread. This family party made it their main agenda to spread disinformation about BJP. But Gujarat people are not so naive, they have now become sensitive and aware to disinformation," he said.

Aiyar scored a self goal when asked about the Congress presidential elections. 'Did elections happen during Mughal rule? After Jehangir, Shahjahan came, was any election held? After Shahjahan it was understood Aurangzeb will be the leader," he said. 

Australian lawmaker Tim Wilson on Monday popped the question to his long-term partner Ryan Bolger on the floor of Parliament, during a debate to legalise same-sex marriage in the country.


The proposal, which came shortly after the same-sex marriage bill was introduced to the Lower House of Parliament, was greeted with applause from all sides of politics and the public gallery.


Addressing the Parliament in favour of the same-sex marriage bill, Wilson turned to thank Bolger, who was sitting with marriage equality advocates in the public gallery, for his support.


"There's only one thing left to do," he said, choking up slightly. Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?", The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Wilson as saying.


And the answer came back fast and loud as Bolger responded with a clear "yes".

HC to decide at 4 PM whether Sasikala-Dhinakaran faction of AIADMK can use 'hat' symbol for R K Nagar bypoll.

I congratulate Rahul Gandhi for his promotion without performance, can only be possible in a feudal setup: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,Union Minister

The National Green Tribunal today came down heavily on the Delhi government for not filing a comprehensive action plan on ways to deal with severe air pollution in the city and slammed authorities for holding the India-Sri Lanka cricket match despite bad air quality.


A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar took exception over the failure of the AAP government to file the report despite its specific order.


During the hearing, the Delhi government said it needed more time to file the action plan as the chief secretary and environment secretary have been recently changed.


The tribunal, however, directed the government to file the report within the next 48 hours. "Where is your action plan? Why have you not submitted it? What can we do if you keep on changing everybody? It's not our problem if people don't want to stick to you.


"You keep on doing meetings but tell us a single action or step you have taken in the last four days to combat air pollution," the bench said.


It said that the pollution in the city has already reached alarming levels yet the government was adopting a "lackadaisical" approach in dealing with the situation. The green panel was also irked by authorities for conducting the third Test between Sri Lanka and India yesterday which was disrupted due to the choking smog. -- PTI

Former president Pranab Mukherjee blesses Rahul Gandhi ahead of filing his nomination papers today. 

@INCIndia tweets: A new era begins, as Congress VP Rahul Gandhi prepares his nomination papers for the post of Congress President at AICC. #IndiaWithRahulGandhi

Image: Rahul Gandhi with Dr Singh, Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Just in: The National GT slams authorities for holding India-Sri Lanka cricket match at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi despite hazardous air quality.

Former J-K CM Omar Abdullah on the Shehzad Poonwala issue. @OmarAbdullah What does it say about how things are going for the BJP in Gujarat that no lesser person than the PM of our country has to use Shezad as a campaign issue to target the Congress?

Congress rebel leader Shehzad Poonawala on the elections: "Mere sources mujhe bata rahe hain ki darbariyon mein baat chal rahi hai ki ek dummy candidate utara jaye taake ye election lage, lekin ab logon ki aankhon mein dhool nahi jhonk sakte. My sources tell me that the courtiers have been talking about a dummy candidate being fielded, but you cannot pull the wool over people's eyes anymore."


Poonawalla, an office-bearer of the Maharashtra Congress, has said the process of organisational elections in the organisation is manipulated to favour Rahul Gandhi's election as the party president.


Poonawalla said he would also contest the election if it was conducted in a "genuine' manner. Last week, he has also wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi in this regard in which he wrote, "We are not into some family business, are we?' He also took to Twitter saying, "Raising an issue nobody in my party - the Congress will have guts to raise -- my conscience will not allow me to stay quiet anymore on dynasty/sycophancy.'

Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh who was one of the 10 proposers in the first of nine nominations to be filed by Rahul Gandhi, said, "Rahul Gandhi is a darling of the Congress and he will carry forward the great traditions of the party."

Senior Congress party leader Dr Karan Singh said time has come for vice-president Rahul Gandhi to take over the commands of the party from his mother, Sonia Gandhi.


"Sonia-ji took Congress to new heights. She brought the party to Centre twice, we won many elections under her leadership and now it is time for Rahul Gandhi to take the party forward," Singh told reporters outside the party headquarters in New Delhi.


Confident of the party's future in the Gandhi scion's hands, Singh said, "A young generation is taking over, the future of Congress is bright."


Singh downplayed the allegations about the election being rigged in favour of Rahul Gandhi, saying that "questions are always raised in politics."He also dismissed the accusations of dynastic politics within the party.


"After Jawaharlal-ji, Lal Bahadur took office; he was not from Gandhi family. Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh were also not from Gandhi family," he contended.


Congress leader Kamal Nath also responded to the allegation. "Was Amit Shah elected in a non-rigged election? I want to know that. All the BJP presidents. Was Nitin Gadkari elected through a ballot process? That is the question?" he said. -- ANI

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah meets Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi at the AICC HQ.

The 47-year-old Gandhi scion is likely to emerge as the lone candidate in the fray and decks have been cleared for his election as the Congress president, succeeding his mother Sonia Gandhi, who has held the post for 19 years in a row now.

Today is the last date for filing nominations.


No one else filed papers till Sunday, according to Mullapally Ramachandran, the chairman of the party's Central Election Authority.


Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh are among the proposers for the candidature of Rahul Gandhi for the party chief's post.


The last date for withdrawal of candidature is December 11, and the poll, if necessary, will be held on December 16 and the counting will take place on December 19.  -- PTI

Senior party leaders including Kamal Nath, Sheila Dikshit, Motilal Vora and Tarun Gogoi filed the first set of nominations (as proposers) for Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi is set to file nine sets of nominations for the post of Congress president. Punjab CM Capt.Amarinder Singh who is one of the proposers is expected to be present during the course of the day. Speaking to ANI this morning, the Punjab CM said, "If you ask me, I think he will make a very good Prime Minister."

The two share a fractious relationship.

Amarinder Singh had told Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi in 2015 that he was ready to quit and float his own outfit, if he was not appointed state party chief.

An authorised biography of Amarinder Singh claims that even though Sonia Gandhi was open to bringing Singh back at the helm in Punjab, Rahul Gandhi was dead against taking away the baton from Pratap Singh Bajwa.  

After filing his nomination paper, the first set, Rahul Gandhi spoke with senior party leaders Mohsina Kidwai and Sheila Dikshit. Both the senior leaders greeted him with a hug.

Rahul Gandhi files his nomination papers for the post of Congress president. He will take over from his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who has been holding this post for 19 years.


With him at the Congress HQ are former Delhi CM Sheila Dixit, former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Motilal Vohra, V Narayanswamy, Mallikarjuna Kharge, Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma, Kamal Nath and the younger brigade like Jyotiraditya Scindia.

It is speculated that he will be running unopposed for the post of party President; the speculations can only be confirmed in a bit when the names of contenders are published after scrutiny of nominations.


The elevation comes with a fair share of drama as the Opposition has voiced their lack of confidence in Rahul's ability to hold them together, the way his mother did.


Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury recently said that Gandhi scion cannot replace his mother, Sonia who was "the glue" that held the Opposition together.


The party itself witnessed a much publicized discord recently, when Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the party's presidential elections were rigged.


Nevertheless, various state units of the party have already expressed their support for Rahul's elevation.The process of nomination started on Friday, and today is the last date for filing nominations.


Rahul, who became Congress Vice-President in January 2013, will succeed his mother, who is the longest-serving chief of the party, having been at the helm from 1998.

Delhi: Congress workers and leaders enter the AICC HQ ahead of Rahul Gandhi filing his nomination for the post of Congress President.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP of "spreading lies", saying that while the party was patting its back for doing well in Uttar Pradesh's mayoral elections, it was silent about its defeat in the nagar palika and nagar panchayat polls.


"The BJP is a jhoot parosne wali party (a party which indulges in serving lies). It won 14 out of the 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh due to the electronic voting machines. But it is not discussing its defeats in the nagar palika and nagar parishad polls," he said yesterday. Akhilesh, said. "If countries more developed than India can use ballot papers in elections, what is the problem here? The Election Commission must clarify on how could it repair a faulty EVM. When a faulty EVM can be repaired, a properly functioning EVM can also be tampered with." -- PTI

A team of Central Bureau of Investigation officers from India will be attending the extradition trial of embattled businessman Vijay Mallya, which begins later today.

The trial will continue on 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th of December.

Over the next 10 days, Chief Magistrate at Westminster Magistrate's Court Emma Arbuthnot will hear the case presented by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service on behalf of the Indian government, and the defence on which Mallya will hope to thwart efforts to return him to India to face prosecution.Mallya, who shifted to the UK, is wanted in India for financial irregularities involving a total amount of Rs 9,000 crore as well as money laundering.


One of the main arguments of the defence is that he fears for his life in India, so the prosecution is preparing a submission by the Indian government outlining the security measures that will be in place for Mallya, once he is extradited to India.


Outside the court, Mallya refused to answer questions especially about Diageos' new lawsuit and his fear of Indian jails.Mallya is out on a 650,000-pound bail bond following his arrest by Scotland Yard over fraud and money laundering charges. -- ANI

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said he intends to work hard to find common ground with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, which is necessary to restore the level of stability in South Asia to allow economic development.


Ahead of his visit to Islamabad, Mattis said he wants to work with Pakistan, listening to one another without being combative with one another, listening to others perspective, to address the problems. Mattis is on a five-day tour to Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait and Pakistan, since taking over the charge of the Pentagon. -- PTI

Weighing in on the concern expressed by opposition parties on functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Shatrughan Sinha yesterday said it had damaged the reputation of the BJP and urged the government to ensure that there were no malfunctioning EVMs.

Sinha, expressing surprise over the entire Government sitting in Gujarat to ensure the victory of the BJP in the assembly elections, hoped that the Ghar wapsi would be soon to take care of the country.

This is what the MP said in a series of tweets.

"While the entire Government sits in Gujarat to ensure our victory, in the larger interest of the election process, we must ensure there is no malfunctioning of the EVMs & VVPads which is blamed on us & does further damage to our reputation, he said.


Is it true that the entire Govt. of India, Central Govt. Ministries & Ministers are all sitting in Gujarat to take care of the elections & the election commission? Moot question is When is the Ghar Wapasi to Delhi to also take care of the country.

"Hope wish & pray that the Ghar Wapasi is seen & felt soon better late than never, he tweeted.

Parliament session is starting very late due to obvious reasons after 15th Dec. Remember sir we have ouselves disrupted parliament in the past for weeks & months on matters of convenience and blamed opposition for disrupting the smooth functioning of the Govt, Sinha said.