As the wait for chief ministership in Tamil Nadu continued, some media reports claimed that Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao has sent a report to the home ministry saying that he has decided not to invite VK Sasikala to form a government. 

RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said that all humans are equal and be respected as god dwells in everybody. 

The Election Commission today ordered the transfer of the Excise Commissioner, two IGs, as many DIGs, four district magistrates and six SPs in poll- bound Uttar Pradesh. 

Senior Finance Ministry official Ajay Tyagi was today appointed as chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today ruled out any post-poll pact with the Bahartiya Janata Party even as he claimed the saffron party, having 'understood its mistake', is eyeing a reconciliation.

Keeping up its diatribe against the BJP, Sena taunted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'raincoat' jibe against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and heaped praises on Congress for 'leading the country in the path of development' after independence.

'(BJP president) Amit Shah says it is a friendly match between them (in BMC polls). It only means that they have realised their mistake. They have understood that they have taken wrong steps and it will be difficult for them to fight the anger of Mumbaikars. Thus, they are now trying to get back to us,' Thackeray said in an interview to Sena mouthpiece Saamana.

Shah had last Sunday said there were no differences with Sena and that he hoped its decision to contest the Maharashtra civic polls independently was not going to cause damage to the alliance.

'But why should I compromise with them now? Why should I hug you once I have seen the evil thoughts in your mind? A compromise will never happen. It is not possible. I am firm now. Had I not been firm, I would not have announced that I am carving a new way for my party in future,' he asserted.

Needling the BJP further, an editorial in Saamana hailed the development works done by Congress governments at the Centre and targeted Modi, saying he is not ready to admit the 'chaos' created by demonetisation.

About Modi's 'raincoat' barb against his predecessor Manmohan Singh, it said being in power with the corrupt is also corruption.

'But for the work done by the Congress governments, Modi would be governing a backward nation in Africa,' the Sena publication asserted.

'Even if one believes Congress governed while indulging in corruption, it transformed the nation, which could not even produce a needle before Independence, to one that is at the forefront of economic and industrial growth. The previous rulers have made India what it is today,' the Sena organ said.

Sena also praised the previous Prime Ministers who headed the Congress governments at the Centre, including Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler today told a Delhi court that the Central Bureau of Investigation has not given any reason in its plea to conduct lie detection test on him in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

Tytler, who did not appear before the court personally, filed an application through his lawyer stating that the CBI plea was a gross misuse of law and it was filed with 'mala fide intention'.

Arms dealer Abhishek Verma, who was also issued notice by the court on the CBI plea, appeared before the court and said he stands by his statement given to the probe agency earlier and was ready to join investigation.

Advocate Maninder Singh, who represented Verma, also said CBI has not given any reason to conduct lie detection test on him and he was ready to record his statement before a magistrate under section 164 Code of Criminal Procedure.

He also sought a weeks time to file his reply on the plea.

Senior advocate H S Phoolka, who represented the riot victims, said Tytler had earlier given a statement to the media that he was ready to undergo lie detection test.

The court had on February 8 issued notice to Tytler and Verma on the CBI's plea.

The case pertains to death of three Sikhs in the aftermath of the riots that broke out after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. -- PTI

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary V K Sasikala is holding a meeting with party MPs at Poes Garden.

She earlier interacted with supporting MLAs staying at Golden Bay Resort via video conferencing.  -- ANI

A Bill to pave way for Kambala, the traditional buffalo race held in the coastal districts of Karnataka, has been tabled in the state assembly today.

After Jallikattu protests in Tamil Nadu, people in Karnataka have been demanding an immediate ordinance to lift the ban on Kambala.

Earlier on January 30, the Karnataka high court had adjourned the Kambala matter for two weeks and advised the petitioner to come back once the apex court passes a verdict on Tamil Nadu's bull taming sport Jallikattu.

With the clamour growing for revoking the ban on Kambala, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier pitched for the traditional annual buffalo race, saying that the government will issue an ordinance to lift the ban if necessary.

The Karnataka high court in an interim order, in November 2016, had stayed holding of Kambala on a petition by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals.

The Kannada committee, however, filed an interim application seeking vacation of the stay.

As of now, the case has been adjourned till January 30.Kambala is a folk sport, held traditionally under the auspices local land lords and households, in coastal Karnataka.

The sport generally starts in November and lasts until March.

The late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's soul "will not forgive' O Panneerselvam for trying to split the AIADMK, the party said on Friday as it sought to keep up the pressure on the caretaker chief minister, who has refused to give up the post to VK Sasikala, a confidante of Jayalalitha.

Vaigaichelvan, spokesperson of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, said those aligning with Panneerselvam were "beyond their expiry date" and the people will ignore them. He expressed confidence that Sasikala will soon be sworn in as chief minister.

Sasikala, who made her political moves after the December 5 death of Jayalithaa, claims to have most of the members of the legislative assembly on her side. But some senior leaders such as E. Madusudanan, chairman of the Presidium, have switched sides to join Panneerselvam. Panneerselvam, who was a Jayalalithaa loyalist, says Sasikala coerced him into stepping down although he had been doing a good job after taking over the mantle when his mentor died.

The AIADMK spokesperson said those leaders "who had been ignored by Amma, those who are beyond their expiry date (politically)," have joined Panneerselvam. "Even Amma's soul will not forgive Panneerselvam for trying to split the party," he told reporters. He expressed confidence that Sasikala, elected leader AIADMK legislatur party on Sunday, will soon take over as Chief Minister. "Chinnamma (Sasikala) had met the Governor yesterday. Good news will come soon. She will become Chief Minister," he said. He also iterated the party's stand that its rival the DMK was behind Panneerselvam's revolt.

Chandni Chowk beautification case: Delhi HC orders that rickshaws can't run without registration from April 1.

The Madras High Court today sought the Tamil Nadu government's response to allegations that AIADMK MLAs were being illegally detained in a resort near Chennai and 20 of them were on a fast.

Referring to claims by the counsel for habeas corpus petitioners that the 20 MLAs were on a fast protesting their illegal detention, a division bench of justices C T Selvam and T Mathivanan said if true, it was a matter of serious concern, but added the court cannot act on mere submissions of counsel.

"(Counsel) K Balu submits that 20 of the MLAs are refusing food and drink owing to their illegal confinement. If true, the matter is one of serious concern.

"However, this court cannot act on the mere say of the counsel. Given the nature of the case, it would only be appropriate to afford the state an opportunity to inform its response," the bench said in its order and adjourned the matter to February 13 for further hearing. The allegations were made by the counsel when the HCPs seeking to trace and set at liberty MLAs T Ramachandran and Geetha came up for hearing.

Sharmila Yadav, the wife of BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who had filed a Habeas Corpus petition claiming her husband had been untraceable and feared that he was being illegally detained, will now be able to meet her husband.

Her husband, Tej Bahadur Yadav, had posted a video on his Facebook page on the poor quality of rations handed out to BSF jawans, which went viral.

After the Centre responded that he has not been in illegal detention, but is in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir, the court intervened that Sharmila be allowed to travel to meet Yadav. She will now be staying for two days with her husband at his post in Samba.

The Centre has also told the court that Yadav has not been taken to any undisclosed location and has merely been moved to the 80th batallion of the BSF.

On Friday, a bench headed by Justice G.S. Sistani asked the Centre as to why can it not allow Sharmila to meet her husband if she has some apprehensions about his wellbeing.

How can your officers be so insensitive? Why can the woman not meet her husband, said Justice Sistani.

The court was not impressed with the call chart placed before it by Additional Solicitor-General Sanjay Jain to show that the man and his wife have been in telephonic contact till February 7, 2017.


Image: Tej Bahadur Yadav with his wife Sharmila in picture posted on his Facebook page last month. He captioned it simply, My wife ke sath.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa appointed Principal Honorary Air ADC to the President of India from Jan 1, 2017, says the Ministry of Defence. 

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to lift ban of selling and transportation of firecrackers in Delhi and NCR.

The ban to continue till next the date of hearing.A total of 100 firecracker companies moved the Supreme Court on January 30 seeking modification of its earlier order which had put a ban on selling of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.

The Firecracker Association, earlier in December last year moved the apex court, challenging its earlier order of banning firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.

On November 25 last year, the apex court banned the sale of fire crackers in Delhi and NCR region until further notice in wake of the alarming air pollution in the region.

The top court had asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to file a reply within three months regarding the harmful effects of fire crackers.

The apex court is also mulling on the decision of imposing a national ban on manufacture of fireworks.

Just in: BSF responds to jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav's wife saying he is at Samba and not under arrest. His family has filed a petition in the  High Court, saying they have no idea of his whereabouts. The family claims they have sent two letters to the BSF Director General to know where Yadav is, but received no reply. The BSF constable's Facebook video about the food served at the Line of Control had created a storm last month.

AIADMK announces that party presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan has been removed from all party posts, and expelled from the party.  KA Sengottayyan replaces him.

Madhusudhanan had extended his support to O Panneerselvam at the latter's residence and told waiting mediapersons after the meeting that his conscience was urging him to join Panneerselvam's camp and he has surrendered to that voice.

He said says Sasikala lacks the qualification to be the general secretary of the AIADMK and has written to the Election Commission that her appointment as interim general secretary is invalid as she was not a member of the AIADMK for five continuous years, as required by the party constitution. 

Tamil Nadu governor Vidyasagar Rao to make a statement shortly. 

A section of AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to party General Secretary V K Sasikala today dismissed media reports and allegations from the Panneerselvam camp that they were being "detained" at a resort near Chennai and asserted that they were "free".

VC Arukutty, MLA from Kavundampalayam in Coimbatore and a supporter of revolting Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, alleged that the MLAs were "detained" and "not reachable."

"The MLAs are not reachable. They have been detained. They are legislators elected by people, so release them. Let them go and meet people," he told reporters in Chennai.

However, the MLAs owing allegiance to Sasikala rejected the allegations. "We are free. We are keenly awaiting Governor's invitation (to Sasikala to form government). We are not children to be detained or abducted as is being reported in a section of media," Perundurai MLA ND Venkadachalam said.

Some of the MLAs, including former ministers like himself, were made to stay put at one place to move swiftly in case there was a need in the wake of an invitation from the Governor, he told a TV channel. Kattumannarkoil MLA N Murugumaran said he was staying at the resort near here on his own volition and that he was paying for the expenses from his own pocket.

"There is no intimidation, no abduction, no pressure. These are all cooked up charges," he said. While some of the MLAs were staying there, others were residing at places of their choice, he said. Responding to reports that most of the MLAs were not reachable on the phone, he said he had switched off his mobile phone to avoid "unnecessary calls," and to avoid any kind of speculations and "wrong news."

Gudiyatham MLA Jayanti Padmanabhan also said she was not being detained as was being made out and lashed out at Panneerselvam. Former Minister and senior party leader B Valarmathi insisted that the MLAs were free and alleged they were being "intimidated" by those close to Panneerselvam.

"The MLAs are free. They are being intimidated by Panneerselvam's relatives over phone and that is why they have switched off their mobile phones," she said.


MAGE: AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala hands over a letter presumably containing the names of MLAs who elected her as the legislature party leader to Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhawan in Chennai on Thursday. Photograph: @AIADMKOfficial/ Twitter

Bernhard Langer, the two-time Golf Masters champion, has said that Donald Trump called him to apologize for any misunderstanding after the golfer was caught up in one of the president's confusing tales about alleged voter fraud. Read more

Major security breach in Indigo flight from Mumbai to Chandigarh after passenger opened safety door of the flight before take off: ANI

Restrictions in parts of Srinagar continued for the second day today to maintain law and order in the city in wake of proposed march of the separatists to Lal Chowk city centre and to the local office of the United Nations in Srinagar.

While restrictions continued in downtown (interior areas of the city), the curbs have also been imposed in the police station areas of Maisuma, Ram Munshi Bagh and Kothi Bagh in the city, a police official said.

He said the restrictions were imposed to maintain law and order in view of the call for a march to Lal Chowk and to the office of United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) at Sonwar. The official said security forces have sealed all entry points leading to Lal Chowk by putting up barricades at various places.

The security forces have also been deployed in strength in sensitive areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley to thwart any protests.

Tamil Nadu DGP TK Rajendran likely to visit the Golden Bay resort in Mamallapuram, where 100 MLAs are allegedly held 'hostage' by VK Sasikala. This comes after the DGP and Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Girija Vaidhyanathan met governor Vidyasagar Rao.

Governor Vidyasagar Rao has asked the DGP to look into complaints that the MLAs are being held captive.

On Wednesday night, Sasikala herded 130 MLAs to the Golden Bay luxury resort near Chennai to prevent them from engaging with O Panneerselvam.

Multiple reports said the MLAs were taken to an undisclosed location and were not even reachable by phone. A plea was also filed in Madras High Court alleging the MLAs were being held captive.


India Today finds that Sasikala supporters have replaced resort security guards and are barring people from entering or leaving. Resort security have been relegated to duties inside the resort building itself.

Apart from mobile jammers and the WiFi being turned off, landed internet/Ethernet wires have also been deactivated.

The MLAs have been ordering largely ordering room service in their rooms, with only a few descending to the common restaurant area for meals.

Hotel staff have been tasked to patrol the corridors periodically to keep tabs on the MLAs, and this has sometimes led to quarrels. Some MLAs have questioned and fought with the staff, asking why they are loitering outside the MLAs' rooms.

Image: The Golden Bay resort in Mamallapuram where the MLAs were taken.

Union Minister Uma Bharti told a large crowd while campaigning in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr on Thursday that she made rapists "beg for forgiveness" when she was Chief Minister.

The Times of India reports: In a startling and graphic revelation, Bharti claimed that she had got rapists tortured during her tenure as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, and had let survivors watch.

Addressing a rally in Agra, Bharti, while referring to the Bulandshahr gang rape of a woman and her daughter by robbers in August 2016, said, "The rapists should be hung upside down and beaten till their skin comes off. Salt and chilly should be rubbed on their wounds, so that they scream for their lives. That is what I had got done when I was chief minister (of Madhya Pradesh from 2003 to 2004)."


When a police officer objected, she shared, "I told him people who behave like 'danav' (demons) cannot have Manavadhikar (human rights). Their heads should be cut off like Ravana's."

Uma Bharati, who is Water Resources Minister in the central government, is known for her intemperate pronouncements.

"There has never been a problem between Hindu and Muslims in Kairana. We are a people that smoke from the same hookah," Kariana's people tell Rediff.com's Archana Masih. Once the seat of an influential tradition of Indian classical music, Kairana has become a metaphor for the exodus of Hindus. Listen in.

Right now: Meet between TN DGP T K Rajendran and Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao underway in Chennai.

Sify cartoonist Satish Acharya's take on the PM's raincoat comment on Dr Manmohan Singh. 

Delhi HC agrees to hear today a plea seeking to trace 'missing' BSF jawan, who posted video alleging that poor quality food was served to them.


Tej Bahadur Yadav - the BSF constable whose Facebook video about the food served at the Line of Control had created a storm last month - is allegedly missing. His family has filed a petition in High Court, saying they have no idea of his whereabouts. The family claims they have sent two letters to the Border Security Force Director General to know where Yadav is, but received no reply.


IANS quoted his brother-in-law saying that Yadav's wife talked to him last on February 7. We have been calling him on his mobile number but it goes unanswered," Vijay said. "When we contact on his official phone number, nobody tells us about his location or they put our phone calls on hold."

Yadav's family had earlier alleged that he was being threatened and mentally tortured. Yadav's wife Sharmila has sought a high-level inquiry into his disappearance and the recent rejection of his plea for voluntary retirement.

Last Friday morning, Manzoor Ahmad Magray huddled in a corner of the mosque in the south Kashmir village of Nowpora Payeen, clutching a pistol and a grenade, thinking about whether his life might be redeemed by death. The police, waiting outside, sent in his father, an ageing agricultural labourer, to urge his son to come out; officers, as well as village notables, assured the teenager he would be treated well. This wasn't the way his friends in the Lashkar-e-Taiba had taught him: the road to redemption and manhood went to death.

Praveen Swami ‏writes that for a new army in Kashmir, the Lashkar turns to the rural poor. Read more

The Supreme Court declines an urgent hearing of a PIL seeking to restrain V K Sasikala from taking oath as CM. The court has said there will be no 'urgent' hearing of the case, but reschedules to February 17.

A PIL was moved in the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to restrain AIADMK leader V K Sasikala from being sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister on the ground that the apex court was likely to pronounce within a week the judgment in a corruption case in which she and late CM J Jayalalithaa were accused.

The PIL was filed by Chennai resident Senthil Kumar, general secretary of NGO Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, hours after the apex court indicated it could deliver its judgment on the appeals challenging the acquittal of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala in a 19-year-old disproportionate assets case.

Kumar, who mentioned in the plea that he will argue the matter in person, sought a stay on Sasikala's swearing in, contending that if she was convicted and forced to resign, there was a possibility of riots erupting all over Tamil Nadu. He said law and order may worsen in such an eventuality as the state was already facing a "desperate situation" due to cyclone, demonetization and death of Jayalalithaa.

President Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday night that he will honor the "One China" policy that recognizes Beijing as the only legitimate Chinese government.

The two leaders spoke by phone Thursday night, the White House said in a release, their first phone conversation since Trump's inauguration.

"The two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'one China' policy," the release said.
"Representatives of the United States and China will engage in discussions and negotiations on various issues of mutual interest."

Trump accepted a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen after his election, breaking with the long-standing protocol. He later told the Wall Street Journal that "Everything is under negotiation, including 'One China.'

"The White House described the Thursday call as "lengthy" and "extremely cordial," and said both men had extended invites to visit their respective countries. The release came shortly after the publication of a New York Times report that described China as "stung" by Trump's call with Taiwan. Officials told the Times that Xi would not agree to speak with Trump until after his public acknowledgment of the policy, which in effect cuts off official governmental ties with Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China. China -- officially the People's Republic of China -- considers Taiwan to be a breakaway region.

The policy was put in place under President Jimmy Carter, and he was the last president to speak with a Taiwanese leader.The call comes one day before Trump is set to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington, after which they will play golf at Trump's Palm Beach resort. 

US President Donald Trump calls Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, says will respect 'OneChina'policy: White House.

Two more temples, both from Gujarat, have joined the government's Gold Monetisation Scheme, taking the total so deposited since the launch in November 2015 to around six tonnes.

Progress is slow but some experts say the scheme needs to be given some time before it picks up. Sometime earlier, the Shree Somnath Trust, near Junagadh, had deposited a small quantity of gold under GMS with Dena Bank.

This was refined by the Gujarat Gold Center, one of the oldest gold refineries in the state, at Ahmedabad. In end-January, another North Gujarat temple, Ambaji's, Shri Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust, deposited 6.3 kg of gold with Dena Bank, through the same Centre.

This is the first such incidence, of a private refinery route being used to deposit gold.Sources close to the temple said they were testing the mechanism.

"More deposits will be made in the near future,' the source said. The Ambaji temple is said to have another 100 kg which can be deposited.

Rajesh Bhayani/Business Standard

Francis Fukuyama, an acclaimed American political philosopher, entered the global imagination at the end of the Cold War when he prophesied the "end of history" -- a belief that, after the fall of communism, free-market liberal democracy had won out and would become the world's "final form of human government."


Now, at a moment when liberal democracy seems to be in crisis across the West, Fukuyama, too, wonders about its future.


"Twenty five years ago, I didn't have a sense or a theory about how democracies can go backward," said Fukuyama in a phone interview. "And I think they clearly can." Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday -- "only Dr Sahab knows the art of taking bath in the bathroom while wearing a raincoat. No one else does" -- during his reply to the debate on the President's address has predictably evoked an angry response from the Congress party, apart from coming in for criticism across the political spectrum.