LIVE! J&K Dy CM asks separatists to have dialogue with special representative

LIVE

Thu, 26 October 2017

J&K Dy CM asks separatists to have dialogue with special representative

Timeline Refresh

23:49 J&K Dy CM asks separatists to have dialogue with special representative

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh today asked separatists in Kashmir to come forward for a dialogue with the Centre's special representative, saying it was a 'golden opportunity' and they need to 'shed the fear of Pakistani guns'.

Three days ago, the Centre appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as its special representative for a 'sustained dialogue' with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, in a fresh move aimed at bringing peace to the troubled state.

"This is a big moment and you (separatists) have to be courageous. You have to shed the fear of Pakistani guns and come forward and put forth your view point before the special representative," Singh said addressing a function organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu.

"They (separatists) have lost an opportunity in the past when they shut their doors to parliamentary delegation (last year). The time has given them another opportunity, a golden opportunity and they need to grab this for restoration of peace in the state," he added. -- PTI

When it comes to getting married, Rahul Gandhi says he is all for destiny.

An otherwise confident-looking Rahul Gandhi seemed stumped when boxer Vijender Singh asked him at an industry event today when he planned to tie the knot.

"This is an old question. I believe in destiny. 'Jab hogi, tab hogi' (It will happen when it does)," he replied when Singh quizzed him about his marital plans.

Asked what importance he gave to sports, the 47-year-old scion of the Gandhi family stressed sports would always be important to him.

"I do sports for at least an hour every day, though I have not been able to do so in the last three or four months," he said, adding that he did not go public with his sports.

But when Singh urged him to post a video on his sporting activities, the Congress vice president said he would do so if it helped encourage the youth to take up games.

Gandhi revealed he played several games, exercised, ran and swam.

He added that he was a black belt in Aikido, a form of Japanese martial art involving traditional weapons. -- PTI

The massive fire that broke out at a slum in Behrampada locality near Mumbai's Bandra station earlier in the day is now under control, authorities said.

Earlier, a team of 16 fire engines and 12 water tankers were rushed to the spot to douse the fire.

The fire was confined to few hutments in the area.

No railway lines were affected due to the blaze, the Western Railway PRO had said.

No causalities were reported in the incident. -- ANI

Photograph: Sahil Salvi

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said rising unemployment in India was 'MMD: Modi Made Disaster'.

Rahul used 112th Annual Session of PHD Chamber of Commerce platform in New Delhi to launch a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi government.

"Rising unemployment in India is an 'MMD: Modi Made Disaster' and after 3 years of NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government, India's expectations are shattered," Rahul claimed, adding, "China creates 50,000 jobs per day against Indian rate of 458, but no amount of growth is good enough if it isn't accompanied by jobs."

The Gandhi scion further asserted that people don't trust the Modi-led central government.

"Business thrives on trust. Business is about creating harmony. The truth is that the trust in this government is dead. For some reasons, the PM and his government is absolutely convinced that every single person in this country is a thief," Gandhi said.

He also said that today no one in the government listens to the pain of people.

"One develops trust by listening to each other. Today there is no one in the government who is ready to listen to the pain of our people," the Congress vice president said.

Rahul also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim of having '56-inch chest' and said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has very a big chest but a small heart. Modi ji and his government have given a double blow to our economy- demonetization and GST (Goods and Services Tax)."

"The prime minister has forgotten that all cash is not black and all black is not bad. Novermber 8th is the 'barsi' (death anniversary) of note ban. GST or Gabbar Singh Tax has unleashed tax terrorism. Small businesses are crying due to the GST," Gandhi said. -- ANI

At a time when the farmers' outcry in the country go in vain, an Uttar Pradesh Minister's convoy drove over a farmer's land in Jalaun and destroyed the farm produce.

Shocked to see the destruction of his farm, the farmer lamented, "I have sown the crop in three bigha land, half of which has been destroyed after the convoy drove over the land."

The farmer, who worked round the clock to make ends meet, said, "I have invested so much time in sowing the field. But all my hard work turned to dust, while I was sitting here taking care of my farm."

His fellow farmers stated that he had taken a loan to sow crops in his three bigha land.

"We are committed for the welfare of the farmers and if this has happened we will surely compensate for it," Uttar Pradesh Minister Jai Kumar Singh said.

Later, Singh gave Rs 4,000 as compensation to the affected farmer, who broke into tears. -- ANI

IMAGE: The farmer narrates his plight to Minister Jai Kumar Singh. Photograph: ANI

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut today said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country and stressed that the Narendra Modi wave has faded, a statement that is not likely to go down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The anger among people in Gujarat against the implementation of the goods and services tax is an indication that the BJP would face a stiff challenge in polls, scheduled to be held in December, he said.

Raut was addressing a discussion on a TV channel.

"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country. It is wrong to call him 'Pappu'," he said referring to the nickname used to mock the Congress vice president by a section on social media.

State Education Minister and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde was also present at the event.

"The biggest political power in this country is people... the voters. 'Woh kisi ko bhi Pappu bana sakte hai' (People can make anyone pappu)," the Sena leader said in an apparent dig at the BJP which had secured a massive mandate in 2014 polls.

Sena, the oldest constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, shares a 'blow hot-blow cold' relationship with its senior ally, the BJP, in the Centre and Maharashtra.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has been attacking Prime Minister Modi regularly and has often taken potshots at the BJP through editorials in the party mouthpiece Saamana.

Raut's comments came a day after the schedule for Gujarat polls was announced.

Though Sena lacks any base in Gujarat, the home state of Modi, the party had extended its support to Patidar leader Hardik Patel who had met Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence in Mumbai earlier this year.

"The Modi wave was there in 2014 general elections but now it seems to have faded away. The way people are marching on roads of Gujarat after GST was introduced, it seems they (BJP) are going to face a challenge," Raut added.

In 2015, Sena had said that even 100 Rahul Gandhis cannot match Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'mega wave' and had mocked the Congress vice president for his 'suit-boot ki sarkar' jibe. -- PTI

The district administration did not allow anyone wearing black t-shirts or shirts to enter a rally addressed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Agra on Thursday to thwart any attempt to show black flags at the event.

Uttar Pradesh Muslim Mahasangh had threatened to show black flags to Adityanath on his arrival in Agra, with its president Chaudhary Farhan alleging that the chief minister had disrespected the Taj Mahal by not including it in the state's tourism promotion booklet.

Before addressing a rally here, Adityanath swept the road outside the Taj Mahal and then went inside the Mughal era monument in a damage control exercise following the controversy over its place in Indian heritage.

The police officials manning the entry gates of the public rally at the Government Inter College grounds sent back several people, mostly youngsters, who were wearing black t-shirts or shirts.

Though policemen remained tight-lipped about the issue, a senior police official, on the condition of anonymity, said that those youngsters who were sent back were suspected people and they would be allowed to enter later.

Another official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they had been instructed that no one should interrupt the rally.

However, nobody wearing black t-shirt or shirt could manage to enter the rally.

Some youngsters, who had taken off their black t-shirts and tied them on their waists to enter the rally, were also sent back by the police.

More than 14,000 policemen have been deployed across the city for the security of the Chief Minister.

There was a controversy after the UP government did not mention the Taj Mahal in the states tourism booklet with many people criticising the Yogi-led government for ignoring the UNESCO world heritage site. -- PTI

Photograph: @CMOfficeUP/Twitter

18:08 Modi to do yoga with IAS probationers tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address IAS probationers at Mussoorie's prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and give them tips on effective administration tomorrow, officials said.

On the second day of his Uttarakhand visit, Modi will also take part in a yoga session with the probationers and Kendriya Vidyalaya students at the academy, they said.

The prime minister arrived in Dehradun today to leave for Mussoorie, where he is slated to attend a slew of programmes at the LBSNAA before returning to Delhi in the afternoon tomorrow.

This is Modi's second visit to the hill state in less than seven days. The prime minister was in the state on October 20, ahead of the Kedarnath shrine's closure for the next six months.

Singer Ed Sheeran, who is recuperating after a bicycle accident, has kept his date with Indian fans even though his injury has forced him to cancel and reschedule tour dates in other countries.

The Shape of You singer is due to perform in Mumbai on November 19 as part of his Asia tour which starts from November 11.

The tour dates in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Dubai will also go ahead as scheduled, according to a statement on Sheeran's official website.

Sheeran has rescheduled his tour dates with Osaka, Tokyo and Manila to April 2018, and cancelled his shows in Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong and Jakarta.

Sheeran had recently fractured his right wrist and left elbow in a bicycle accident. The singer had posted on Instagram a photo of a plaster cast on his lower right arm.

"Ive had a bit of a bicycle accident and I'm currently waiting on some medical advice, which may affect some of my upcoming shows. Please stay tuned for further news," Sheeran had said.

The Supreme Court today refused to accord urgent hearing on a plea challenging a notification of the department of telecom for mandatory linking of mobile numbers with Aadhaar.

A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer refused to list the plea tomorrow and said that a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra was seized of similar matters.

The court asked the counsel, who sought urgent listing of the plea, to mention the matter before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India on October 30 when the other matters on Aadhaar are taken up.

The plea, which was mentioned today, has been filed by Tehseen Poonawala who has sought direction to quash the notification of March 23 issued by the DOT and to hold it "unconstitutional" and "null and void".

A major fire broke out at Behrampada adjacent to suburban Bandra station in Mumbai this afternoon, forcing the railway authorities to halt train services on the harbour line, a senior railway official said.

No casualties have been reported so far, a fire brigade official said.

The fire broke out near the east side of Bandra local station during a demolition drive carried out by the municipal corporation, the official said.

"Our control room got a call at 4.24 pm and fire brigade personnel along with 16 fire engines and 10 water tankers have been pressed into service," the official said.

The chief PRO of the Central Railway said, "We have stopped Harbour line up and down services from 4.25 pm as a precautionary measure owing to fire near the Bandra station on the east side."

As many as 16 fire engines and 12 water tankers have been deployed at the spot.

The fire brigade said that the fire is confined to hutments in area of about 300x300 and skywalk of railway station. It is spreading towards south, north and east side. -- PTI (with inputs from ANI)

17:21 2 cops injured in grenade attack in J&K

Three persons including two cops injured in grenade attack by militants on a police station in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Convict in counterfeit stamp paper scam Abdul Karim Telgi passes away in Bengaluru due to multiple organ failure, reports ANI.

Telgi was on ventilator support since Tuesday. He was admitted to Bengaluru's Victoria Hospital in a critical condition last week.

Telgi was suffering from meningitis and he collapsed in the prison last week, the Indian Express had reported.

He was serving 30 years of rigorous imprisonment in the multi-crore fake stamp paper racket, along with a massive fine of Rs 202 crore.

Photograph: ANI

Fire breaks out in Behrampada near Bandra (East) station in Mumbai. Fire tenders on the spot.

The skywalk leading to the station has been shut down.

More details awaited.

Photograph: ANI

16:33 Markets maintain record-setting streak

Markets continued their record-setting streak for yet another session today with both the Sensex and Nifty ending at lifetime highs amid optimism over earnings and short-covering on derivatives expiry.

The BSE Sensex gained 104.63 points to end at 33,147.13, while the broader Nifty spurted 48.45 points to finish at 10,343.80.

Both the key indices had climbed to lifetime highs yesterday as well. Covering up of pending short positions by speculators on the expiry of the October derivatives contracts helped the index recover in the last hour of trade, brokers said.

16:18 NIA charges Zakir Naik with 'inciting terror'

The National Investigation Agemcy has filed a chargesheet against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

Naik, who is absconding, has been charged with delivering hate speeches and for inciting terror.

The NIA has booked Naik under Section 120-B for waging war against the nation, 295-A for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings, 298. Utterances (speeches) with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person 10,13,18 of Sections 10,13 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The 51-year-old televangelist was being probed under terror and money-laundering charges by the NIA.

He fled from India in July 2016, after terrorists in neighbouring Bangladesh claimed that they were inspired by his speeches.

Balloons with "I Love Pakistan" imprinted on them being sold at a shop in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur have been seized and two persons detained in connection with it, the police said today.

A raid was carried out in Govind Nagar and packets of balloons with imprints of "I Love Pakistan" and "Habibi", which means "my love" or "my darling", were seized from a vendor, who has a shop in the area, they said.

The balloons were being sold from a provision store near the Govind Nagar police station, Station House Officer Amit Singh said.

A police complaint has been registered for making assertions prejudicial to national-integration under the Indian Penal Code.

City Superintendent of Police (South) Ashok Verma told PTI that advocate Ajai Pratap Singh, who is associated with the Hindu Yuva Vahini, first noticed the balloons when he had gone to make purchases for his son's birthday.

He immediately passed on the information to Govind Nagar police who swung into action and detained the retail vendor and supplier whose identities have been established as Sunny and Sameer Vig respectively, Verma said.

He said both were residents of Govind Nagar.

The detained persons disclosed that the balloons came from 'Gubbarey Wali Gali' in Sadar Bazar, the biggest and the oldest wholesale market in Delhi, and a team has been sent there for further investigation.

Inspector General of Police, Kanpur, Alok Singh, meanwhile, appealed to the citizens to immediately share information with the police if they come across any such thing. -- PTI

Photograph: ANI

15:57

Just In: At least 47 people are feared killed, and many injured, in a fire at a fireworks factory in Indonesia.

15:53 No travel, ministers told, polls beckon

Almost all the 75 Union ministers have been given election campaign duty in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

However, for emergency international commitments the PMO has said that three days can be squeezed out, but only for senior Cabinet ministers.

That's how seriously the BJP is taking the election challenge in the two states.

On Amit Shah's instructions BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav has drawn up a poll duty chart for all ministers.

Many of them are not entirely happy at their travel plans being curbed thus, but there's nothing much they can do about it, is there?

15:48 Disney takes a gay turn with new show

Disney Channel is introducing a gay storyline into one of its shows for the first time.

Andi Mack, a coming-of-age drama, will feature one of the show's main characters grappling with feelings for a male classmate.

The show is currently in its second season.

The drama by Terri Minsky, revolves around a 13-year-old girl Andi, her family and her two best friends -- Cyrus and Buffy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Andi Mack is a story about tweens figuring out who they are; Terri Minsky, the cast and everyone involved in the show takes great care in ensuring that it's appropriate for all audiences and sends a powerful message about inclusion and respect for humanity," a Disney Channel spokesperson said in a statement.

Disney Channel has featured gay characters before, appearing in single episodes of shows like Good Luck Charlie and the animated Doc McStuffins.

However, this story arc is a first for the network, as it is for the first time that they are telling the story of a character who is on a journey of realising his or her sexual orientation.

15:46 Court cancels NBW against Hardik Patel

The Visnagar sessions court today cancelled the non-bailable arrest warrant issued against quota agitation leader Hardik Patel after he appeared before it and gave an assurance to remain present during hearings in the future.

Sessions judge V P Agarwal had yesterday issued warrants against Hardik Patel, the convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), and six others, including Sardar Patel Group (SPG) convener Lalji Patel in a case of vandalising the office of a BJP MLA during the quota stir in 2015.

The court issued the warrants after Hardik Patel failed to appear before it for the second consecutive time, while Lalji Patel and others were absent for the first time.

The court cancelled the arrest warrants of Hardik Patel and others after they appeared before it today and gave an assurance that they will remain present during the future hearings. Each of them also submitted surety bonds of Rs 5,000.

The court has posted the next hearing in the case on November 15.

15:40 Imran Khan apologises to Pak poll panel

Pakistan's election commission today warned opposition leader Imran Khan to be careful in his choice of words in future after accepting an apology from him for his remarks against the top poll body.

Cricketer-turned-politician Khan appeared before the Election Commission of Pakistan today in two contempt cases, about two weeks after a non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against him to appear before it on October 26.

Though the Islamabad high court last week suspended the NBW, Khan appeared before the five-member ECP bench led by chief election commissioner, retired Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza.

Akbar Babar, the petitioner who had filed the foreign funding case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership, had informed the ECP that Khan had accused it of being biased in the foreign funding case following which his counsel tendered an apology with the commission.

Khan's lawyer Babar Awan said that he had already submitted an apology but the bench ordered the accused to furnish fresh written apologies against his criticism of the ECP on September 20 in Karachi and his another statement months earlier when he termed the ECP as "biased".

Following the order Khan submitted written apologies in both cases.

Robert Vadra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law today alleged that senior BJP leaders were stalking him online and using his posts "as crutches" in their election campaigns in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

"Senior BJP leaders seem to be obsessed with me and my family. They are stalking me on social media and doing a cut/paste of my pictures to tweet," Vadra said in a series of tweets.

Vadra posted a screen grab of senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh's tweet in which Vadra and his wife Priyanka Gandhi can be seen with a caption "giving job to Chinese".

Vadra had posted the pinned picture on January 11 to wish Priyanka on her birthday.

Vadra said BJP leaders "seem to use me and my posts as crutches, for their comparisons and election campaigns."

"The people of India have understood the rights and wrongs and the trivial ways of this government and it will be evident in the next few months," he said in another tweet referring to upcoming polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

Comedian Shyam Rangeela -- whose video imitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi (with a mimicked version of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi making a 'guest appearance') went viral on social media -- has alleged that Star Plus refused to air his act recorded for the channel's reality show 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge', Karnika Kohli writes in The Wire.

'Rangeela, unlike other contestants who had to give auditions, was invited by the channel to participate in the reality show after his videos mimicking Modi and other politicians went viral on social media,' she writes.

Then came the twist in the tale.

According to Karnika, Rangeela was told to re-record his act without mimicking Modi. "They said you can't mimic Modi but you can do Rahul Gandhi,', Rangeela told The Wire. "I thought, ok, at least they are letting me do something, I can salvage something. But later they told me I can't do Rahul either",' the website says.

You can read the report here.

The opposition parties in the country will become stronger after the Gujarat assembly elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray said today.

"I agree the opposition is a bit weak, but after the Gujarat elections, it will become stronger. There will be a visible change in the opposition," he said.

Thackeray was speaking at the 'Aaj Tak Manthan' event in Mumbai on the theme 'Kahan Gaya Vipaksh?' (Where opposition has gone?)

He was responding to a question on whether the role of the opposition has become negligible in the last three years.

"I wonder why so many ministers, including the prime minister, are holding so many rallies in just one state. Though, it is the home state of the prime minister, it does not look nice that the country's head is campaigning for one

state," Thackeray said at the event.

If the BJP-led government in Gujarat had done a good job, there was no need for so many ministers to campaign for the party in the state, he said.

The MNS leader alleged that the Union government printed more currency notes after demonetisation and that the BJP had benefited from it.

Except the BJP, no political party has so much funds. One should ask how they get so much funds, Thackeray added. -- PTI

14:48 Amit Shah, Gujarat CM?

Gossip from Delhi Durbar has it that if the BJP wins 150 seats in the Gujarat elections Amit Shah may be sent to Gandhinagar as chief minister. And that seems to be the indication from the RSS too. Incidentally, Shah met with RSS leaders for over two hours in Delhi last week.

BJP's internal assessment says it will sweep the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls, with three different agencies deployed by it turning up the same results. In addition, the Intelligence Bureau too has submitted a report with similar inputs to the PMO.

Naturally, this has led to jubilation in the party's national headquarters at 11 Ashoka Road, New Delhi.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav today made light of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's visit to the Taj Mahal, saying it is Lord Ram's "kamaal" (wonder).

"See how time changes...BJP did not consider it as heritage...and now the CM is cleaning West Gate of Taj Mahal with a 'jhadu' (broom)," Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.

"It's good that SP workers from Agra have come here, otherwise they would have used broom at West Gate of Taj. He (CM) is wielding broom there. We have nothing to do with it. It is Lord Ram's 'kamaal'," he said.

Tourists from all over the world visit the monument, he observed.

"I am waiting for him to get clicked on that seat (in front of Taj Mahal)," he said.

Yadav had visited the Taj as the UP chief minister over two years ago on Valentine's Day and sat on one of the benches in front of the monument along with his wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav.

Adityanath's visit is seen by many as a damage control exercise after a series of controversies erupted, beginning with a UP tourism department booklet not mentioning the white marble monument in its list of development projects in the state.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar today said India's goal was to see how the Rohingyas could go back to their place of origin, contending that the crisis should be addressed through a realistic approach rather than doing strong condemnation.

He said India had already voiced its concerns over the gravity of the crisis and held "very high level conversations" with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"The fact that there is an exodus of a large number of people from the Rakhine state in Bangladesh is clearly a matter of concern. Our objective will be to see how they can go back to their place of origin. That is not easy," he said.

The foreign secretary was responding to a question on the crisis at an event organised by the Carnegie India in New Delhi.

"We feel that this situation is better addressed through practical measures and constructive conversation rather than doing very strong condemnation. We need a lot more sober, realistic (and) locally sensitive approach," Jaishankar said.

India has nearly 40,000 Rohingya refugees settled in the regions of Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.

In a communication to all states, the Union home ministry had said the rise of terrorism in last few decades has become a serious concern for most nations as illegal migrants are prone to getting recruited by terrorist organisations.

It has also directed the state governments to set up a task force at district levels to identify and deport illegally-staying foreign nationals.

In September, in response to a petition, the Centre had told the Supreme Court that the Rohingya refugees were a serious security threat as many of them have links with terror organisations and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said situation in the state has improved a lot as violence has come down significantly.

She said this after holding an hour-long meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, three days after the appointment of former Intelligence Bureau director Dineshwar Sharma as the special representative who will hold talks with all stakeholders in the state.

"Situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved as violence has come down a lot," she told reporters.

The chief minister said she discussed with the home minister on the announcement of a special representative for Jammu and Kashmir, security situation in the state and various development issues.

Mehbooba said a detailed discussions was also held on the Rs 80,000 crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.

"Funds are getting released and many development works are going on. Works on AIIMS in the state is also going on," she said.

Apart from the home minister and the chief minister, senior officials of the home ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir government attended the meeting, which lasted for about 45 minutes.

Singh and Mehbooba later had a one-on-one meeting for about 15 minutes.

A long-term plan for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will be approved by the Joint Cooperation Council at its meeting scheduled for Nov 21 in Islamabad, Khaleeq Kiani reports in dawn.com quoting Pakistan's Minister for Interior and Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.

'The JCC is the apex decision-making forum on the CPEC that is jointly chaired by the planning and development minister and the vice chairman of National Development and Reform Commission of China,' Dawn reports, here.

A local court in Barabanki, UP, has issued summons to actor Sanjay Dutt in connection with remarks allegedly made by him against BSP chief Mayawati during campaigning for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Additional chief judicial magistrate Sanjay Yadav yesterday issued summons to the actor directing him to appear in the court on November 16.

The court also asked the Mumbai commissioner to serve the summons to the actor, prosecution officer Ramesh Chand Kannaujia said today.

The actor reportedly made the comment attributed to him on April 19, 2009, while campaigning for the Samajwadi Party nominee in Tikaitnagar area of the district.

The district administration had videographed the public meeting and later, on the directives of then district magistrate, Masauli police station in-charge Vinay Misra had lodged an FIR.

So how's Sundar Pichai faring at Google, did someone ask?

Mark Bergen and Brad Stone write in Bloomberg of 'a CEO increasingly boxed in by regulators, tech critics on both the right and the left, and even his own employees', as they put it.

And not without reason.

'Since he was appointed Larry Page's successor two years ago, he's had to deal with a staff protest over the president's immigration policy, a prolonged standoff with advertisers over unseemly videos on YouTube, a record regulatory fine, debates about gender inequality, and a growing sense around the globe that the tech giants -- Google chief among them -- are too big, too powerful, and perhaps too careless with the trust that their billions of users have invested in them,' they write.

And despite the challenges facing him, Pichai 'is taking on long-standing problems that Page, in all his visionary brilliance, never much cared about.'

'Page always managed to delegate the political and managerial messes that Pichai now has to confront. Page is also largely invisible to the media; his last interview was two years ago.'

'But Pichai returns phone calls. He's working with News Corp. and other media companies on subscription tools and has scrapped a rule demanding free articles in search results, which punished news organizations that tried to charge for professionally produced work.'

You can read the fascinating account of the Chennai-born Pichai's life as Google CEO, here.

Delhi high court dismisses BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking a probe into death of Sunanda Pushkar.

The court says it is left with distinct impression that this is perhaps a textbook example of "political interest litigation" being dressed up as PIL.

Court says Swamy appears to have concealed data or information which he should have disclosed at the first instance.

The central government and Delhi police tell high court that they don't subscribe to the view expressed by Swamy that the probe in the case has been influenced by Sunanda's husband Shashi Tharoor.

Courts need to be careful that judicial process is not used by political persons for their own purposes, says Delhi high court.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today visited the Taj Mahal amid a series of controversial statements by some leaders and ministers from his party against the 17th-century monument.

Before visiting the 'symbol of love', the CM picked up the broom and swept a small area outside the Taj.

According to NDTV, the spot had been left dirty for the photo op, the areas around it had been thoroughly cleaned before the Yogi's arrival.

Over 14,000 policemen have been deployed across the city for the security of Adityanath.

Adityanath is the first BJP CM of UP to visit the monument of love.

His decision to visit the Taj Mahal was announced after a series of controversies erupted, beginning with a UP tourism department booklet not mentioning the monument in its list of development projects in the state.

Subsequently, BJP MLA Sangeet Som called Taj Mahal a "blot on Indian history" and BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said it was originally a Shiva temple.

However, addressing a rally in Gorakhpur recently, Adityanath called Taj Mahal the "pride of India" and referred to it as a "world class monument".

12:08 Who wins with the banks' recapitalisation plan

RBI governor Urjit Patel has called the government's recapitalisation plan for banks as a 'monumental' move, but is it so?

Writing in The Mint, here, Aparna Iyer points out: 'Public sector lenders were sitting on a bad loan pile of Rs7 trillion as of June and this would have swelled further as of September. Barring a handful of lenders, the provision coverage ratio of most banks skims around 50% and that leaves a huge chunk of toxic loans uncovered. Stressed borrowers referred to the National Company Law Tribunal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code will probably result in big haircuts for banks. Crisil Ratings estimates the cuts to be Rs2.4 trillion. This gives a fair idea as to where a part of the recapitalisation money will find its way -- towards future provisions.'

A Pakistan court today issued two bailable arrest warrants against ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Panama Papers case.

The next date for the hearing is scheduled on November 3.

Last week, Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were indicted by an anti-graft court in a corruption case related to the Avenfield property in London.

The National Accountability Bureau had registered three cases of corruption and money laundering against 67-year-old Sharif, his family members and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the accountability court in Islamabad on September 8.

The cases were registered weeks after the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif as prime minister on July 28 in the Panama Papers scandal.

Nawaz Sharif skipped the hearing as he is in Saudi Arabia with his mother to perform Umra, a Hajj ritual, according to local media reports.

11:38 Lankan navy arrests 5 Tamil Nadu fishermen

Five Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested early today by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing off Neduntheevu in their territorial waters, a TN fisheries department official said.

Assistant director of fisheries Shivakumar said the fishermen from Pudukottai district were arrested for fishing close to Neduntheevu and allegedly using banned fishing nets. They were then taken to the Kangesanthurai port there, he said.

On October 21, four fishermen from Pamban near Rameswaram were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing near Thalaimannar coast in their territorial waters.

11:35 Vaiko meets Sharad Pawar in Mumbai

MDMK founder Vaiko today called on Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar in Mumbai and held discussions for about 30 minutes, the party said today.

Vaiko met Pawar at the latter's residence in the Maharashtra capital today, the party said in a release here. 'The meeting was a "courtesy call",' it added.

11:31 I thought they wont hit a woman

'A couple from Lausanne in Switzerland was chased and attacked with stones and sticks by a group of youths in Fatehpur Sikri on Sunday, leaving them battered and bruised,' reports Anuja Jaiswal in the Times of India.

The 24-year-old Quentin Jeremy Clerc and girlfriend Marie Droz were strolling around the Fatehpur Sikri railway station when they were accosted by a bunch of hooligans.

'They initially passed comments, which we didn't understand, and then forced us to stop so they could take selfies with Marie,' Clerc tells Jaiswal. But when he didn't yield they thrashed the young couple, breaking Marie's arm and causing multiple bruises and leading to hearing impairment for Clerc.

'The boys wouldn't stop walking along despite our protests. All the while they kept taking pictures and trying to get close to Marie. From whatever little we could understand, they were asking our names and the place where we had put up in Agra. They were harassing us. They asked us to accompany them to some place, which we refused. A little after stones and sticks began to rain on me. When Marie intervened, she, too, wasn't spared,' Clerc tells the Times of India.

Jaiswal quotes Droz as saying she first thought the boys "won't hit a woman", but she was wrong. "They hurled stones at both of us.I was hit on the back, shoulder and hand. I still cannot understand why they attacked us. They didn't take any of our valuables," she says.

You can read about the horrific incident, here.

11:23

Cartoonist Manjul nails it on the Gujarat poll announcement, here.

10:57 Referring to PM, Ch'garh Min says bachelors have a bright future in BJP

Chhattisgarh Labour and Sports Minister Bhaiyalal Rajwade has said that bachelors have a "bright future" in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Bachelors have a bright future in our party. As you know our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is a bachelor, many chief ministers and other ministers are bachelors," Rajwade said, while giving a speech on the occasion of party's Uttar Pradesh vice-president Deepak Patel's birthday.

The reference was made in the name of Deepak Patel, who, Rajwade said, is also a bachelor. -- ANI

'Japan will propose a top-level dialogue with the US, India and Australia, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told The Nikkei on Wednesday. The idea is for the leaders of the four nations to promote free trade and defence cooperation across a stretch of ocean from the South China Sea, across the Indian Ocean and all the way to Africa,' report Saki Hayashi and Yosuke.

Kono told The Nikkei that he had shared this proposal with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the Australia foreign minister way back in August, on the sidelines of a foreign ministers meeting in Manila, and that the FMs of the UK and France too were offered a "collaborative role' in the alliance.

"We are in an era when Japan has to exert itself diplomatically by drawing a big strategic picture," Kono tells the two reporters in an exclusive interview. "Free and open seas will benefit all countries, including China and its Belt and Road initiative."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to formally propose the arrangement to US President Donald Trump on November 6, the reporters say, here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping for securing a second term as the head of the ruling Communist Party, saying he looks forward to further promote India-China ties together.

"Congratulations to President Xi on getting re-elected as CPC General Secretary. Look forward to further promote India-China ties together," Modi said in his message on popular Chinese microblog Weibo which is akin to Twitter.

Modi's message was posted both in English and Mandarin.

Xi was formally handed a second term in power and his doctrine was written into the party constitution, elevating him on par with modern China's founder Chairman Mao Zedong and his successor Deng Xiaoping.

Modi's message comes amid diplomatic efforts by the two sides to overcome the bitterness caused by the 73-day face-off between their troops in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector.

The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the construction of a road by the Chinese Army.

Last month, Modi and Xi met on the sidelines of the 9th BRICS Summit in Chinese port city Xiamen and held their first substantive bilateral meeting after the Dokalam standoff and agreed to move forward in their ties. -- PTI

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark fell by over 200 points, pulling back from its record highs, on heavy profit booking in banking, FMCG, oil and gas, pharma and capital goods stocks after a recent rally.

Offloading of positions by participants with today being the last trading session of October series contracts in the derivatives segment pulled the index back from record levels, a broker said.

The 30-share index opened gap down at 33,025.17 against yesterday's record close of 33,042.50 and quickly raced to a high of 33,074.91.

However, the index retreated on emergence of profit booking in recent gainers to touch a low of 32,835.06, down by 207.44 points or 0.62 per cent.

The gauge had gained 659.57 in the previous three sessions.

Sectoral indices led by consumer durables, power, FMCG, infrastructure and auto stocks were trading in the red, falling up to 0.43 per cent.

The NSE Nifty fell by 21.40 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 10,273.95.

Major losers were HDFC ltd, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Hind Unilever and Kotak Bank with losses of up to 1.66 per cent.

State-run lenders continued their upward trend as PNB, SBI and Bank of Baroda rose up to 9.68 per cent.

Asian markets were mixed with Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropping 0.15 per cent while Japan's Nikkei moving up by 0.16 per cent in early trade. The Shanghai Composite Index too inched up by 0.18 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.48 per cent lower yesterday. -- PTI

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has issued notices to superstar Amitabh Bachchan and director Rajkumar Hirani along with six others for alleged illegal construction on their luxury bungalows coming up near Film City in Goregaon east, Right to Information queries have revealed.

Right to Information activists Anil Galgali sought information from P South Ward Office of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai about the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices notice that was issued against Bachchan and others.

The BMC has also served notices to Pankaj Balaji, Sanjay Vyas, Haresh Khandelwal, Haris Jagtiani and Oberoi Realty under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act,

"In 2016, Municipal Corporation has issued Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices notice to Amitabh Bachchan and seven other people. They have made illegal construction in their Goregaon bungalows. They have made changes in their main maps for making illegal construction," said Galgali.

A BMC team which inspected the site found several alleged violations including internal walls not built as per the plans, elevators not installed, internal works not completed, inclusion of elevation projection spaces into the flats, and basement works not done as per the sanctioned plans.

Galgali also wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta, demanding immediate action and carry out demolition of illegal extension. -- ANI

09:00

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrives in Agra to visit Taj Mahal.

08:45 Ichthyosaur fossil discovered for first time in India

Scientists in India have discovered a 152 million-year-old fossil of an ichthyosaur -- an extinct marine reptile -- in Gujarat.

This is the first time an ichthyosaur fossil has been discovered in India.

The fossil was found inside rocks from the Mesozoic Era, which ran between 252 and 66 million years ago, in the Kutch desert.

Prof Guntupalli VR Prasad, who led the study, said the 5.5m specimen was almost complete.

United States President Donald Trump has slammed his Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton after news reports appeared that her campaign had funded research that resulted in a dossier which contained allegations that he had links with the Russians.

"It's a disgrace. It's a very sad commentary on politics in this country," Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday.

First reported by The Washington Post, the dossier prepared by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and Fusion GPS has now has become a central focus of ongoing congressional probes into Russian election interference during the 2016 general election.

"I think it's very sad what they've done with this fake dossier. It was made up, and I understand they paid a tremendous amount of money, and Hillary Clinton always denied it. The Democrats always denied it. Now only because it's going to come out in a court case, they said, yes, they did it.

They admitted it, and they're embarrassed by it," Trump said.

He said the whole Russian thing has now turned out to be a hoax.

"This was the Democrats coming up with an excuse for losing an election...They didn't know what to say, so they made up the whole Russia hoax.

"Now it's turning out that the hoax has turned around. And you look at what's happened with Russia, and you look at the uranium deal, and you look at the fake dossier.

So that's all turned around," he said in response to another question.

Trump said the uranium sale to Russia and the way it was done, "with tremendous amounts of money being passed, I actually think that's Watergate, modern age."

According to The Hill, the news has created a problem for Democrats, as the report shows the Democratic presidential campaign funded a foreign spy's opposition research -- an accusation similar to complaints that Democrats have brought against Trump's campaign.

The Republican National Committee chairwoman Dana McDaniel told Fox News that it is incredibly concerning that the DNC and the Clinton campaign funded this Fusion GPS through a third party.

"They touted this fake Russia dossier through Washington, tried to push it into news outlets. It ended up being the basis of some of the Comey investigation," she alleged.

"They never owned up to the fact that they were behind it. They've lied about it, now they're playing hot potato. We need to get to the bottom of why they did this, how they funded it.

And there's a lot of questions that need to be answered by the Clinton campaign and the DNC," she said.

The Washington Post said Clinton and top officials of her presidential campaign were largely silent in response to the damaging revelation. -- PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit Taj Mahal today against the backdrop of various controversial statements made by some BJP leaders and ministers regarding the status of the 17th century monument in India's culture.

According to his programme, Adityanath will stay for half an hour at the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and visit the Shah Jahan park nearby.

The chief minister will inspect various places along the way, inside and outside the monument.

He will also lay foundation for the development of a tourist pathway from Taj Mahal to Agra Fort.

He will also run a cleanliness campaign along with 500 BJP activisits and social workers around the west gate of Taj Mahal.

The chief minister has already declared that the state government will spend Rs 370 crore on development plans aimed at promoting tourism in the city of Taj.

Along with the visit to Taj Mahal, Adityanath will inaugurate various development projects in Agra, an official spokesman said..

"During his tour of Agra.., the chief minister will be visiting all the places inside Taj Mahal," principal secretary, tourism, Awanish Awasthi said.

His decision to visit Taj Mahal was announced after a series of controversies erupted, beginning with a UP tourism department booklet not mentioning the monument in its list of development projects in the state.

Subsequently, BJP MLA Sangeet Som called Taj Mahal a "blot on Indian history" and BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said it was originally a Shiva temple.

However, addressing a rally in Gorakhpur recently, Adityanath called Taj Mahal the "pride of India" and referred to it as a "world class monument".

This was a significant departure from his remarks at a rally in Bihar last year, when he had said that the Taj does not represent Indian culture and that visiting foreign dignitaries should be presented with the Gita rather than

replicas of Taj Mahal.

The last time a UP CM visited the Taj was Akhilesh Yadav, more than two years back.

That was the Valentine's Day and Akhilesh sat on one of the benches in front of the monument along with his wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav. -- PTI

The University of Cambridge has begun discussions to make its curriculum more inclusive by incorporating black and minority ethnic (BME) writers.

The move has been branded as 'de-colonising' the curriculum after Lola Olufemi, the Cambridge University Students' Union women's officer, wrote an open letter entitled 'Decolonising the English Faculty' challenging the traditional priorities of the syllabus which 'elevates white male authors at the expense of all others'.

The letter, signed by over 100 university students, called for the inclusion of two or more post-colonial and BME authors on every exam paper and moving post-colonial books out of the basement in the English Faculty and integrating them in the library cataloguing order among its many recommendations.

'We believe that for the English department to truly boast academically rigorous thought and practice, non-white authors and post-colonial thought must be incorporated meaningfully into the curriculum,' the letter read.

It was taken up at the university's Teaching Forum earlier this month and the university said its conclusions will now be taken up by the faculty to arrive at a final decision on syllabus.

"While we can confirm a letter was received from a group of students taking the post-colonial paper, academic discussions are at a very early stage to look at how post-colonial literature is taught. Changes will not lead to any one author being dropped in favour of others -- that is not the way the system works at Cambridge," said a spokesperson for Cambridge University.

He stressed that there has been no decision to alter the way English is taught at the university.

"The Teaching Forum is a body which has no decision making powers and its decision points are questions to be discussed by the faculty. The Education Committee in the faculty will look at those points in a robust academic debate," he added.

The university points out that there is no set curriculum as tutors individually lead the studies of their group of students and recommend their reading lists and those reading lists can include any author.

Post-colonialism is taught at the moment in a non-compulsory paper, with the faculty reviewing what papers to be kept as compulsory and non-compulsory. -- PTI

Timeline Refresh

TOP STORIES