A Congress MLA has beenbooked allegedly for raping a 51-year-old woman and driving her to attempt suicide last week by consistently harassing her, the police said today.

A case of rape, abetment to suicide and stalking was lodged against Congress MLA M Vincent of Kovalam assembly segment last night on the statement of the woman who had tried to end her life last week at Balaramapuram near Thiruvanthapuram, the police said.

The Congress party state leadership today demanded a 'transparent' and 'impartial' probe into the matter.

The office of state assembly speaker said the police has written to Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan informing him that a rape case has been registered against Vincent and his statement would be taken.

The witnesses' statements have been taken and the victim's medical examination was also conducted today, the police sources said.

Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters that he hoped an 'impartial' and 'transparent' probe would be conducted. -- PTI

The Trump Administration today announced plans to ban its citizens from travelling to North Korea, attributing it to the serious risk of arrest and long- term detention of Americans in the reclusive nation.

The move comes following the death of university student Otto Warmbier, who was returned to the United States in a coma after spending time in a North Korean prison.

A federal notification is scheduled to be published next week and new travel restrictions could come into place 30 days after that.

"The safety and security of US citizens overseas is one of our highest priorities," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said.

"Due to mounting concerns over the serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea's system of law enforcement, the Secretary (of State) has authorised a Geographical Travel Restriction on all US citizen nationals' use of a passport to travel in, through, or to North Korea," Nauert said.

Once in effect, US passports will be invalid for travel to, through and in North Korea, and individuals will be required to obtain a passport with a special validation in order to travel to or within North Korea, she said.

Individuals seeking to travel to North Korea for certain limited humanitarian or other purposes may apply to the Department of State for a special validation passport, the spokesperson said.

There has been movement towards a ban for a while in the US, which increased with the Warmbier death.

Apart from the treatment of Americans in North Korea, tension has been increasing over North Korea's nuclear programme. -- PTI

JUST IN: Sean Spicer has resigned as White House press secretary, the American media reported on Friday.

Spicer resigned as press secretary, telling President Trump he vehemently disagreed with his choice for a new communications director, the New York Times reported.

Trump had offered the New York financier Anthony Scaramucci the job.

Trump requested Spicer to stay on, but he told the President that he believed the appointment was a major mistake, the NYT said, quoting a person with direct knowledge of the exchange. -- Agencies

A batch of 1,141 pilgrims today left Jammu for the 3,888-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir Himalayas.

Escorted by the Central Reserve Police Force and police, the batch consisting of 759 males, 200 females plus 182 sadhus and sadhvis left in a convoy of 42 vehicles for Baltal and Pahalgam base camps,officials said.

With today's batch, a total of 63,301 pilgrims have left Jammu for the cave shrine in 22 batches since the yatra began from Jammu on June 28.

As many as 2,27,342 pilgrims have paid obeisance at ice lingam of Lord Shiva at Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas till last evening.

The number of pilgrims going to Amarnath has been dipping over the last few days.

As many as 4,105 pilgrims left Jammu for Amarnath on July14, followed by 3,398 pilgrims on July 15, 3,603 pilgrims left Jammu on July 16.

A batch of 2,646 pilgrims left Jammu for Amarnath on July17, followed by 2,224 on July 18, 1,877 on July 19 and 1,782 pilgrims on July 20.

The 40-day pilgrimage that started from Jammu on June 28 will conclude on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on August 7.

The government has mobilised a heavy security blanket of over 35,000 to 40,000 troops including the police, the Army,the BSF and CRPF. -- PTI

A Group of Ministers appointed by the Union cabinet to look into disinvestment of Air India held its first meeting in New Delhi.

The ministers who attended the meeting included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Union minister with independent charge for power and coal, Piyush Goyal.

The fifth minister part of the GoM, minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, was not present.

"We can't hide anything from people but when we come to a stage where it is worth saying something, we will tell you," Raju told reporters after the meeting.

Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, R N Choubey declined to comment on the specifics, saying, "It is a market sensitive issue."

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs late last month gave its in-principle approval for disinvestment of Air India.

It constituted an Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), or a group of ministers, headed by Jaitley to look into five terms of references.

The mandate of the AISAM is to look into the treatment Air India's debt, hiving off of certain assets to a shell company, demerger and strategic disinvestment of three profit-making subsidiaries, quantum of disinvestment and the universe of bidders.  -- PTI

The United States has decided against disbursement of $350 million in coalition support fund to Pakistan after the defence secretary informed Congress that he was not able to certify that Islamabad has taken 'sufficient actions' against the dreaded Haqqani network, a top official said today.

The Pentagon's decision came ahead of the Trump administration's review of US policy with regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As a result of the notification by Defence Secretary James Mattis to Congress, the Department of Defence has reprogrammed remaining Coalition Support Funds, which is $350 million, to other accounts, Defence Department Spokesman Adam Stump said.

"Secretary Mattis has informed congressional defence committees that he was not able to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient actions against the Haqqani Network to permit full reimbursement of Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Coalition Support Funds (CSF)," Stump said.  -- PTI

Senior diplomat and External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay was today appointed as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office.

He has been appointed in place of Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who has been already named as India's Ambassador to France.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Baglay's appointment to the post for three years, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training said.

Baglay is a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer.

The ACC has also approved that Kwatra and Baglay would work together in the PMO for an overlapping period of two weeks to facilitate smooth transition of work, it said.  -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked party MPs to shun the mindset of 'lal batti (red beacon) culture'.

He made these remarks in a meeting with party MPs from western Uttar Pradesh at his residence, according to an official statement.

Modi routinely meets party MPs from different states during Parliament's sessions to discuss governance and political issues.

The Modi government had barred the use of beacon lights from May 1 on all vehicles, except emergency vehicles, saying they have no place in a democratic society.

It had projected the measure as an attempt to end 'VVIP culture'.

Modi also told the MPs to work among the masses and said the work his government has carried out among the poor and in villages has resulted in positive changes.

He said over 80 per cent sugarcane farmers had received their pending payment and the 'Ujjwala' scheme, which provided free LPG connection to poor households, had benefited women.

The MPs should now meet them and spread awareness about nutrition, he said, according to the statement.

The MPs also praised the prime minister and said his government had ignited new hope among people. Modi had yesterday met MPs from the eastern Uttar Pradesh.  -- PTI

Pakistani troops today violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Nowgam sector for the third consecutive day and in Keran sector but there were no casualties in the unprovoked firing from across the LoC.

An army official said the Indian Army is retaliating to the Pakistani aggression in equal measure.

"Pakistani troops violated ceasefire again in Nowgam sector today by unprovoked firing towards our posts," he said.

The official said the Pakistani troops also violated ceasefire in Keran sector of Kupwara.

This is the third ceasefire violation in Nowgam sector within 24 hours.

An Army jawan was killed in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Nowgam sector on Wednesday.

Pakistan has violated ceasefire in north Kashmir six times in the last nine days. -- PTI

Reliance Industries' chairman Mukesh Ambani today said rolling out fixed line services will be the next focus area for the company's telecom services arm, Reliance Jio, after the wireless expansion.

"In next level, we're very focussed in terms of giving fixed line connectivity to both home and enterprise," Ambani said, answering shareholder queries at the company's 40th annual general meeting in Mumbai.

Earlier, he said Jio is targeting to expand its wireless network to cover 99 per cent of the country's population in the next 12 months which will make sure that the 4G coverage in the country is more than the 2G one.

Jio today launched a 4G-ready handset targeted at the 50 crore Indians using a feature phone at present. As part of the offering, it is also giving a cable to connect with the TV as a special accessory to display the phone content on a bigger screen. -- PTI

Goa Bharatiya Janata Party president Vinay Tendulkar today won the sole Rajya Sabha seat, defeating his Congress counterpart and sitting MP Shantaram Naik.

Tendulkar polled 22 votes, while Naik bagged 16 in the election held at the state assembly complex today in which all the 38 state legislators voted.

The 40-member House has its current strength reduced to 38 due to resignations of two MLAs earlier.

It presently has 16 Congress MLAs, 12 of the BJP, 3 each of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and independents and one of the Nationalist Congress Party

Naik was seeking a third consecutive term.

While the tally of the BJP and its allies -- the GFP, the MGP and three independents -- in the House comes at 21, Tendulkar got one more vote, apparently of the lone NCP MLA Churchill Alemao.

Alemao had also backed NDA's Ram Nath Kovind in the presidential election held on July 17.

Naik was banking on the support of the like-minded parties. All the Congress legislators voted for Naik contrary to the cross voting in the presidential poll in which at least three MLAs believed to have voted for Kovind.

"We concede the defeat. Our candidate polled 16 votes against 22 scored by the rival candidate," said Ravi Naik, the counting agent for the Congress nominee.

"I am happy that my party legislators and alliance partners have supported me. I will work for the development of Goa," Tendulkar told reporters.

He attributed his victory to the BJP and its alliance partners. "The circle is completed as the BJP now has representatives right from panchayat to the Rajya Sabha," he said.  -- PTI

IMAGE: Vinay Tendulkar.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday fired a new salvo at the BJP and said that the TMC would launch the 'BJP Bharat Chhodo' movement on August 9.

Addressing the Martyr's Day rally in Kolkata commemorating the 1993 Kolkata firing, Mamata also accused the Union Government of not allowing the State Governments to work.

"We are residing in India at a time when we do not know whether we have our democracy or not. Also the Hindus do not know if they can live with respect due to fake Hinduism. Don't know if Dalits, or Muslims can survive with dignity," she added.

Attacking the BJP Government on demonetisation, Mamata called it one of the "biggest scams".

"The BJP had made crores of money during demonetisation. The Reserve Bank till date hasn't given any calculation of the total collection. We want an investigation into the demonetised money. It's the biggest scam ever. Employment has gone down in the country due to demonitisation," she added.

Mamata also accused the Left of supporting the BJP secretly.

"If the TMC was not dedicated, we would not have replaced left, we will not allow the BJP to win a single seat from here," she said.

Mamata also blamed the Centre for the unrest in Darjeeling and said, "The unrest in the hills is a game played by Delhi, but we will not allow it for long."

The Trinamool hold the Martyrs' Day rally annually on this day in memory of the 13 youth who were killed in the police firing on this day in 1993.

Image: A TMC worker wearing a banner of the party's 'Ma Mati Manush' mantra.

Shares of Reliance Industries today closed the day with nearly 4 per cent gains after the company reported its highest quarterly consolidated net profit of Rs 9,108 crore in three-months to June 30.

The scrip of Reliance Industries went up by 3.76 per cent to close at Rs 1,586.20 on BSE. Intra-day, it gained 4.15 per cent to Rs 1,592.20 -- its multi-year high.

At NSE, shares of the company moved up by 3.66 per cent to end at Rs 1,585. Led by the gain in the stock, the company's market valuation surged Rs 18,724.39 crore to Rs 5,15,790.39 crore. In terms of volume, 19.76 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over 2 crore shares changed hands at NSE during the day.

Munna Michael's hollowness is as striking as Tiger's chiselled torso, one that he freely bares in everything from an unzipped hoodie to a doily masquerading as a shirt. Can't say I am surprised. What's shocking is the lack of wit.

Rediff.com reviews Munna Micheal. Read before you book.

This is a film that trumpets out its sex -- it is content in being a girl's version of the archetypical boy's locker-room picture. And if it was just that, that would have been fun too, but Lipstick Under My Burkha doesn't want to affect your senses, it wants to control your mind!


Rediff.com's review of Lipstick under my burkha. Read before you book.

The image depicting Kiran Bedi as the goddess Kali.

Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi took to Twitter today to post a series of images portraying her as Hitler and the goddess Kali, which were used in posters across the city.

The posters were allegedly made by Congress party cadres to protest against the appointment of three MLAs by the LG without consulting the government.

The Hitler poster has Bedi with the German dictator's toothbrush moustache, while the one as goddess Kali has her holding decapitated heads.

The Union home ministry had appointed BJP's Puducherry chief V Saminathan, the party's treasurer K G Shankar and another functionary S Selvaganapathy as nominated legislators of the Puducherry Assembly.

The three leaders were inducted by Bedi as members of the House on the night of July 4 at the Raj Nivas, triggering strong protest from the Congress, its alliance partner the DMK, and Left parties.

Bedi has been asserting her supremacy in the state and has rubbed the chief minister V Narayanasamy and elected representatives the wrong way. The elected representatives also want the central government to recall her.

Bedi retored that the posters were in bad taste. 

Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Pon Radhakrishnan today inspected the memorial for former President A P J Abdul Kalam, which is to be inaguruated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27.

Curiouser and curiouser. RS Surjewala of the Congress now says no action was taken against Shankersinh Vaghela nor was he expelled. "These are baseless arguments. Its his decision," Surjewala said.

Vaghela also changed his stance saying he quit the party but had earlier maintained that the Congress had expelled him. 

Image: Shankersinh Vaghelah offered prayers at a temple before he addressed his followers on his birthday today and announced he had been expelled from the party.

A 5-judge Supreme Court bench hearing the Whatsapp privacy case will await the verdict of the 9-judge Constitution bench to decide on the privacy issue involving Aadhaar.

The Centre told the Supreme Court today that personal data cannot be shared and said that WhatsApp and other social media will be regulated, in effect opposing the sharing of personal data by service providers. The Centre said  personal data was integral to life and liberty and it would bring about a law on data protection.

The Supreme Court bench has fixed the matter for further hearing on September 6.

The Supreme Court has started hearing arguments on the contentious issue of whether right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution, a key question linked to the Aadhaar debate.

A nine-bench bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, is listening to the arguments. The bench also comprises Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde, R K Agrawal, Rohinton Fali Nariman, Abhay Manohar Sapre, D Y Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer.

The state-run Chinese media has accused External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj of lying in Parliament. On Thursday she had told the Upper House that the standoff between India and China can be resolved through talks, but both sides have to first recall their armies.

Sushma said the issue was due to the tri-junction point that is between India, China and Bhutan and that if Beijing unilaterally tries to change the status quo at the tri-junction, it would pose a threat to New Delhis security.

She added that all countries, including Bhutan, are the same page with Indi.

The editorial in the Global Times rebutted Sushmas remarks stating two reasons while saying the Indian foreign minister was lying to parliamentarians. Firstly, India invaded the territory of China and it is a fact that New Delhis adventures made the international community surprised that no country would support it. Secondly, Indias military power is far behind China, and once things go to a military solution, there is no doubt India will lose, it added.

China said that there has been a "fractional change' in India's stand. "They started to claim that Donglong (Dokalam) is a trijunction and have presented the proposition of withdrawing the troops of both sides to feel out China's response. It reflects that New Delhi has begun to be diffident, ' it stated.

Warning India, it said, if India still holds on to their confrontational attitude, they should prepare for bearing the consequences of the escalation of the conflict.

More changes in the Congress: Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni says she has asked the party to relieve her as in-charge of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh due to health reasons.

I have been expelled by the party. Shankarsinh Vaghela: Had joined public life for the people, not myself. I have been expelled by the party; don't know what my party thought I would say, but Vinaash kal vipreet buddhi (when one's destruction comes, one thinks unintelligently or negatively). I have been given the power to digest poison by Lord Shankar. Have never been interested in power or post. 

Congress leader Shankarsinh Vaghela speaking at a rally in Gandhinagar. The former Gujarat CM said he has been thrown out of the Congress. "I was sacked by the party 24 hours ago," he said at the rally to celebrate his 77th birthday today. He says he is 77 not out and believes in destiny.

This will come as a blessing for the ruling BJP in Gujarat ahead of the November assembly polls.

Vaghela, a BJP rebel had merged his Rashtriya Janata Party with Congress 17 years back. 

Former J-K CM Omar Abdullah defends his father on his remark that third party intervention was needed to solve the Kashmir problem.

Omar Abdullah tweeted, "My father isn't a Congress party member & doesn't need it's permission or approval before he voices his opinion. It's called free speech."

Farooq Abdullah said that India should approach third parties, such as the United States and China, to mediate in the Kashmir issue.

Adbullah said India has so many allies across the globe, which can be approached for settling the Kashmir issue to act as a mediator between India and Pakistan.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has Farooq Abdullah's assertion saying, "I have been asserting for long that it's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies at the Centre that have destroyed Jammu and Kashmir. And the point that is being mentioned that a third party's intervention should be invited for the settlement of the issue, it's wrong. India is Kashmir and Kashmir is India," Rahul said today.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not directly referred to India's concerns over proposed cuts in a key American visa scheme when he met US President Donald Trump last month, though he discussed the "spirit" behind those visas. Sushma was responding to MPs' questions whether Modi had articulated to Trump India's concerns over the possibility of the tightening of norms for the issuance of H1B work visas by the US.  Read more

The Rajya Sabha today witnessed an uproar with Opposition members, including those from the Congress, seeking initiation of privilege proceedings against certain media houses for disseminating the expunged remarks of an SP leader, leading to a brief adjournment of the proceedings.

They alleged that due to the publication and broadcast of the expunged remarks of SP leader Naresh Agrawal, his house was attacked by BJP youth activists.

Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien assured that he would look into the demand of the agitating members but asked them to first give notice along with material evidence.

"Give notice with evidence and I will take action," he said, as some members including Sukhendu Shekhar Roy (TMC) and Anand Sharma (Congress) sought immediate initiation of privilege proceedings against those newspapers and TV channels which had disseminated these remarks made in the House and expunged by the Chair on Wednesday.

"I cannot act like an instant coffee. Notice has to be examined. (Give notice) I will come back today itself," Kurien said.

Terming the issue raised by the Opposition as a serious matter, the Deputy Chairman said if anything has been expunged, no one can print it and nobody has the authority to file an FIR on the basis of the expunged remarks. The issue was raised by Agrawal himself saying certain remarks made by him in the House were expunged by the Chair which had also ordered against publication or telecast of those remarks.

Javed Ali Khan (SP) said that an editor of a publication had gone to the extent of writing on his official website that had he been in the House then, he would have held the collar of the member and dragged him out.

Kurien repeatedly called for material evidence and also said he cannot rely on Whatsapp messages as some members were displaying on their mobile phones. As the opposition members continued to raise slogans, Kurien adjourned the House for about 15 minutes till noon.

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre and the states not to protect any kind of vigilantism and sought their response on violent incidents of cow vigilantism.

A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra was informed by the Centre that law and order is a state subject but it does not support any kind of vigilantism in the country.

"You say that law and order is a state subject and states are taking actions as per law. You don't protect any kind of vigilantism," the bench, also comprising A M Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudar, said.

It also sought the assistance of the Centre and states for removing violent content related to cow vigilantism uploaded on social media.

"Law and order is a state subject and Central government does not have any role into it. However, Union of India is of the view that no vigilante group has any space in the country as per procedures of law. It does not support any kind of vigilantism by private persons," Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar said.

Counsel appearing for BJP-ruled Gujarat and Jharkhand informed the court that appropriate action has been taken against those involved in violent activities related to cow vigilantism.

The bench recorded their submission and asked the Centre and other states to file their report regarding to the violent incidents in four weeks time and posted the matter for further hearing on September 6.

The apex court had on April 7 sought the response of six states on the plea, filed on October 21 last year, seeking action against cow vigilantes who were allegedly indulging in violence and committing atrocities against Dalits and minorities.

Activist Tehseen S Poonawalla, in his plea, said violence committed by these 'Gau Raksha' groups have reached such proportions that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared them as people who were "destroying the society".

The plea also alleged that these groups were committing atrocities against Dalits and minorities in the name of protecting cows and other bovines and they needed to be "regulated and banned in the interest of social harmony, public morality and law and order in the country".

"The menace caused by the so-called cow protection groups is spreading fast to every nook and corner of the country and is creating disharmony among various communities and castes," the petition submitted.

The plea sought to declare as "unconstitutional" section 12 of the Gujarat Animal Prevention Act, 1954, Section 13 of Maharashtra Animal Prevention Act, 1976, and Section 15 of Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964, which provide for protection of persons acting in good faith under the Act or rules. Seeking action against the vigilantes, the petition said the atrocities committed by them were punishable under various provisions of IPC and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989.

Kabhi apni shakal dekhi hai' is an Urdu phrase which literally translates as, 'Have you ever seen your own face?' Like many such phrases, it is not intended to be taken literally; most people have, of course, seen their own faces. Instead, what the query asks is this: Who are you to ask questions? Are you worthy of the demands you make?


The phrase in question came to my mind last night as I witnessed some earnest discussions between Pakistani and Indian intellectuals at a dinner. One of the topics of discussion was inevitably Kashmir and all around me my fellow citizens were confidently arguing that the people of Kashmir should be allowed to fulfil their natural destiny by joining with Pakistan. But the thought which kept going through my head was: Kabhi apni shakal dekhi hai?


Read the column on the Tribune.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has refuted former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah's assertion that a third party can be approached for the settlement of the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan.


"I have been asserting for long that it's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies at the Centre that have destroyed Jammu and Kashmir. And the point that is being mentioned that a third party's intervention should be invited for the settlement of the issue, it's wrong. India is Kashmir and Kashmir is India," Rahul said on Friday.


"It's our internal matter and no other country should have any say in it," he added.


Earlier in the day, Abdullah said that India should approach third parties, such as the United States and China, to mediate in the Kashmir issue.


Adbullah said India has so many allies across the globe, which can be approached for settling the Kashmir issue to act as a mediator between India and Pakistan.


"For how long are you going to wait? Sometimes, you have to pull the bull by its horns. The way is to have a dialogue. India has so many friends all across the world. They can ask them to act as a mediator. U.S. President Trump himself said that he wants to settle Kashmir problem. China also said that it wants to mediate in Kashmir. Somebody has to be approached," Abdullah said.

Update: The Jio phone to be available for pre-booking from August 24, all Jio phones will be made in India from the last quarter.

Kokilaben Ambani breaks down, briefly, when Mukesh Ambani dedicates the growth of Reliance Industries to his father, Dhirubhai Ambani.

The 'zero cost' Jio Phone has a fully refundable security deposit of Rs 1500. The customer can claim the refund after three years by returning the Jio Phone. Ambani says this will prevent misuse.  

Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani announces the launch of the 'intelligent feature phone, Jio Phone, at the company's 40th AGM to loud cheers by shareholders.The Jio Phone allows free voice, SMS, data at just Rs 153 per month, while a the Jio TV cable which allows you to watch three to four hours of videos per day, costs Rs 309 per month. The effective cost of the phone is zero.

This comes roughly a year after the 2016 Reliance AGM, where Ambani announced the public launch of the Reliance Jio telecom network. The Jio Phone supports 22 Indian languages. The phone was launched on stage by Mukesh Ambani's children, Isha and Aakash Ambani. His other son, Ananth was in the audience, seated next to his grandmother Kokilaben.

Kokilaben broke down briefly when Mukesh Ambani dedicated the achievements of the company to its founder, Dhirubhai Ambani. Several references to PM Narendra Modi during the AGM.

Ambani said Jio phone will be the "most intelligent, affordable phone" in
the world -- a 4G LTE phone supporting all 24 Indian languages. Ambani says Jio committed to ending "digital disempowerment and unfairness" by providing affordable data and devices.

India has overtaken US and China in mobile data usage, says Mukesh Ambani on his telecom venture Jio. In just 6 months of Jio launch, data consumption in India went to 120 cr GB a month, from 20 cr GB. Jio has 125 million customers today, added 7 customers per second every single day.

The Supreme Court today said it will take a decision to list for early hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ram Temple-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

"We will take a decision on it," a bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud said when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy mentioned the matter for urgent listing and hearing.

Swamy said that the main appeals against the Allahabad High Court order are pending for the last seven years in the apex court and they required urgent hearing.

He also said that a separate petition had earlier been filed by him seeking enforcement of his right to worship without much hassle at the site. He also said that he has been allowed by the apex court to intervene in the matter and is seeking expeditious disposal of the cases.

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court had in 2010 ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres area at the disputed site in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The three-judge bench, by a 2:1 majority, had said the land be partitioned equally among three parties, the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and 'Ram Lalla'.

Calling for an end to politicisation of incidents of cow vigilantism, the RSS has said it does not support any kind of violence linked to cow protection and demanded action against those found guilty.

RSS's Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya's remarks came at a time when the opposition is trying to corner the government in Parliament over killings by the so-called cow vigilantes.

"Instead of connecting it (violence in the name of cow  protection) to the RSS, action should be taken and those who are found guilty should be punished. Law should take its own course," he told reporters in Jammu yesterday.

Vaidya, who was replying to questions on incidents of lynching and violence linked to cow protection, said, "Sangh does not support any kind of violence. We have said it earlier and made it clear earlier too."

"Gau raksha is a different issue. The movement of Gau raksha has been going on for hundreds of years. These incidents have been happening for years together. It is not that it has happened for the first time," he said.

The RSS leader said the media is trying to connect it to a kind of ideology and the opposition is trying to politicise the issue. "It is wrong.

The RSS has never supported violence. Doing politics over it and demeaning a part of the society, it is not good," he said.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's three-day conclave in Jammu, the first such meet in Jammu and Kashmir since Independence, ended yesterday. Issues related to the situation in the state, country and several other topics were discussed in it.

The Akhil Bhartiya Pracharak conference from July 18-20 was held following the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims and against the backdrop of the worsening security situation and increasing militancy in Kashmir.

As many as 195 pracharaks (preachers), heads of all allied organisations of RSS and top leaders took part in the conference, in which its chief Mohan Bhagwat, senior leaders Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Dattatreya Hosabale and Krishna Gopal also participated.

Tamil Nadu farmers continue their protest at Jantar Mantar.

These farmers, who had grabbed headlines earlier this year, for their unique methods of protests, have returned to Jantar Mantar with skulls and femur bones allegedly of farmers who had committed suicide in the face of drought and debt, reports Hindustan Times.

The group of almost a 100 farmers resumed their protest, demanding loan waivers, revised drought packages, a Cauvery Management Committee, and fair prices for their products, among other things.

The farmers had earlier this year been at Jantar Mantar for over 40 days, and had made headlines for their unique protest methods, including biting mice and snake bits, holding mock funerals and threatening to drink their own urine.

The farmers resumed their protest after the Supreme Court stayed the Madras High Court order directing the state government to waive all agricultural loans, irrespective of how much land the farmer owned. The state government had moved the apex court, asking it to restrict the loan waivers to small or marginal farmers who owned less than five acres of land.

The United States has congratulated president-elect Ram Nath Kovind on his electoral victory and said that it "looks forward" to working with him on regional and global issues.

Kovind, a low-key lawyer-turned-politician, was yesterday elected as India's 14th President, the first BJP member and the second Dalit to occupy the country's highest office.

"We want to congratulate the president-elect Ram Nath Kovind on his victory," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters yesterday. Noting that the US and India have a "deep and growing strategic partnership", she said: "We look forward to working with president-elect on regional and global issues."

Nauert credited the close people-to-people contact between the world's two largest democracies and "our shared democratic values" with the type of partnership they share.

The benchmark Sensex rallied over 131 points above the 32,000-mark today as Reliance Industries' reported its highest quarterly earnings. The numbers came in after market hours yesterday. Besides, better-than-estimated results by Wipro gave investors more confidence. The 30-share index bounced 131.48 points, or 0.41 per cent, at 32,035.88. The big movers were IT, technology, oil and gas and realty. The gauge had lost 50.95 points yesterday. The NSE Nifty gained 26.65 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 9,899.95.

In the fourth week of May, Ram Nath Kovind was called to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 71 year old assumed that the meeting had something to do with his gubernatorial assignment in Bihar, but was surprised to be told that he was one of the nine names being considered for the National Democratic Alliance's Presidential candidate. Read more

The Congress today said that it will discuss the issue of alleged cross-voting that happened during the Presidential elections, in which NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind emerged victorious.

Congress leader Pankaj Chaturvedi, speaking on the behalf on his party colleagues from Madhya Pradesh, asserted that all 56 leaders of his party in the region voted for Opposition candidate Meira Kumar.

"I am sure that from MP all 56 Congress leaders have voted for Meira Kumar and if a vote or two have swung on the other side, a discussion will be done on the same," said Chaturvedi.

Asserting that the cross-voting in the recently concluded Presidential election shows lack of unity in the Congress party, the BJP said that all political leaders who wished for the better of the nation, have voted for President-elect Ram Nath Kovind.

BJP leader Vishwas Sarang said large-scale cross-voting exposed the vulnerability of the opposition camp.

"I had already told this in advance that let the results come, and the truth of unity in the Congress will come out in open. All the leaders who love this nation have voted for Kovind ji," Sarang told ANI.

Announcing the results, Lok Sabha Secretary General and returning officer Anoop Mishra announced yesterday that Kovind got 2930 votes valued 7,02,044 and Meira Kumar got 1844 votes valued 3,67,314.

Reportedly, approximately 100 MLAs and MPs cross-voted in favour of Kovind in the president polls conducted on July 17 across the nation.

Kovind's overall vote value was 661 more than the assured value of 701,382, comprising lawmakers from the NDA and some opposition parties. In contrast, Kumar's total vote value stood at 367,314.

As India is celebrating the entry of the national Women Cricket team into the ICC Women's World Cup final, courtesy Harmanpreet Kaur's brilliant knock 171 not out off 115 balls, the cricketer's mother has urged the nation to empower their daughters.


Expressing happiness over her daughter's achievement, Kaur's mother said the entire family used to enjoy her game and would just stick to the television set to watch her game.


"I just want to say to other women that the way my daughter has made us proud, they should also give their daughter a chance to live their dream and shouldn't kill them in the womb," Kaur's mother told ANI.


She gave the credit of Kaur's achievement to her father, saying that he supported her the most and was the one to take her to grounds for practice when she was a kid.


Meanwhile, Kaur's father wished the Indian team luck to bring the World Cup trophy home and to make the nation proud.


"I just wish the Indian women team all the luck. I hope Harmanpreet keeps playing the way she has been and bring the World Cup to India and make the nation proud," he said.


A magnificent unbeaten century from star batswoman Harmanpreet Kaur yesterday helped India beat Australia by 36 runs in the semi-final of the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup at the county ground.


Chasing a daunting total of 282 in a match that was reduced to 42 overs because of rain, the defending champions were bowled out for 245 in the 40th over.


Winning the toss and electing to bat in derby, which was virtually India's home ground, Harmanpreet played gem of an innings, scoring 171* to propel India to 281.


She smashed the Australian bowlers to all parts of the ground and was absolutely brutal with her power hitting. Her 115-ball knock was studded with 20 fours and seven sixes and was rightly adjudged the player of the match award.Now, India will face host England in what could be expected as a cracker of a final on Sunday at the iconic Lord's.

Asserting that the cross-voting in the recently concluded Presidential election shows lack of unity in the Congress party, the BJP on Friday said that all political leaders who wished for the better of the nation, have voted for President-elect Ram Nath Kovind.

BJP leader Vishwas Sarang said large-scale cross-voting exposed the vulnerability of the opposition camp.

"I had already told this in advance that let the results come, and the truth of unity in the Congress will come out in open. All the leaders who love this nation have voted for Kovindji," he told ANI.

Announcing the results, Lok Sabha Secretary General and returning officer Anoop Mishra said yesterday that Kovind got 2930 votes valued 7, 02,044 and Meira Kumar got 1844 votes valued 3, 67,314.

Reportedly, approximately 100 MLAs and MPs cross-voted in favour of Kovind in the president polls conducted on July 17 across the nation.

Kovind's overall vote value was 661 more than the assured value of 701,382, comprising lawmakers from the NDA and some opposition parties. In contrast, Kumar's total vote value stood at 367,314

The BJP on Friday hailed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement against self-styled cow vigilantes and asked the Congress party not to communalise the issue.

BJP leader Sanju Singh said that the Congress should not give the menace of lynching a religious colour to garner brownie points, and instead should fight the political battle at the hustings.

"More lynching incidents were in the Congress regime. But the bigger point is that lynching is condemnable, the BJP does not endorse any sort of vigilantism and lawlessness," said Singh.

"Congress is practicing communal politics. People can see through the façade. I will tell the Congress that please don't try to gather attention through communal politics. Please fight the political battle at the hustings," she added.

Echoing similar sentiments another BJP leader S Prakash urged the Congress to not play on the lynching issue to score political points.

"Lynching issue was brought in the Parliament by the political parties to score points. Jaitley ji categorically states that people challenging law will be punished," said Prakash.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has has travelled 49 countries in the last three years during which India signed a number of agreements on a range of topics, the government today said.

In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, V K Singh, the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the prime minister visited eight countries in the first second half of 2014, starting with Bhutan.

This year, the prime minister has visited 10 countries in the last seven months.  -- PTI

With 65% votes, Kovind elected India's 14th President 

Never thought he would become President: Savita Kovind

Cross-voting powers Kovind well past the halfway mark

Bengaluru: Man strums guitar as docs perform brain surgery

'Lead India to the path of prosperity': Wishes pour in for Kovind

Read yesterday's commentary HERE