LIVE! Trump's travel ban faces US Supreme Court showdown

LIVE

Sun, 22 April 2018

Trump's travel ban faces US Supreme Court showdown

Timeline Refresh

21:22 Trump's travel ban faces US Supreme Court showdown

The first big showdown at the US Supreme Court over President Donald Trumps immigration policies is set for Wednesday when the justices hear a challenge to the lawfulness of his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries.

The case represents a test of the limits of presidential power. Trumps policy, announced in September, blocks entry into the United States of most people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Chad previously was on the list but Trump lifted those restrictions on April 10.

The high court has never decided the legal merits of the travel ban or any other major Trump immigration policy, including his move to rescind protections for young immigrants sometimes called Dreamers brought into the United States illegally as children. It has previously acted on Trump requests to undo lower court orders blocking those two policies, siding with him on the travel ban and opposing him on the Dreamers.

The conservative-majority Supreme Court is due to hear arguments on Wednesday on the third version of a travel ban policy Trump first sought to implement a week after taking office in January 2017, and issue a ruling by the end of June.

India and Pakistan have squandered a lot of good chances to resolve the Kashmir issue, but there are still opportunities, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said.

He outlined the need for a dialogue process both internally as well as externally to address the issue, saying the solution cannot be driven by the barrel of the gun.

There are clearly two dimensions (to Kashmir issue). It is not simply a matter between New Delhi and J-K, nor is it a matter between Islamabad and J-K. A part of the state continues to remain with Pakistan and I belong to the part of the state that is with India, that acceded to India. So when we come to the way forward, both these dimensions of the problem will have to be tackled, he said.

He was speaking at an event on the path forward in Kashmir at University of Berkeley in California in the US last week.

His speech was followed by a question and answer session where he spoke on varied topics, including on the current political situation in the country and the run-up to the general elections next year.

Abdullah, the working president of the opposition National Conference, wondered if the time had come to ask are we being overly ambitious and overly emotional in talking of getting Pakistan-occupied Kashmir back.

Referring to the Kargil war of 1999 between the two neighbours, he said that even with the greatest of provocations that time, India respected the sanctity of the Line of Control.

In spite of the fact that we took losses on account of that, there were express instructions by the government of India that Indian planes and helicopters will not cross the LoC, that Indian troops will not cross the LoC. So, imagine even if with the provocation of Kargil we decided to respect the sanctity of the LoC, haven't we somewhere or the other, decided that perhaps this is the way and let's move forward, he said.

In this context, he said one of the ways to move forward is to sit down with Pakistan and once and for all, address this issue.

-- PTI

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu who, as the Rajya Sabha chairman, can alone decide whether the opposition's notice for impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will be accepted or rejected, has started consultations on the matter. Mr Naidu, who was in Hyderabad, cut short his visit and returned to Delhi this morning.

Sources said he has already spoken to Subhash Kashyap, former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, former Law Secretary PK Malhotra, former legislative secretary Sanjay Singh and senior officials of the Rajya Sabha secretariat. He is also expected to consult former Supreme Court judge Sudarshan Reddy, sources said.

The Congress has indicated that if the motion is not taken up, they will approach the Supreme Court, news agency Press Trust of India has reported, quoting party sources.

The opposition notice -- carrying 71 signatures -- was submitted to Mr Naidu on Friday. Seven of the lawmakers have stepped down since, but the number of signatures is still well above the mandatory 50, the party has said. According to the rules, he now has to decide whether the motion will be accepted.

While impeachment proceedings have never been taken up against a Chief Justice of India, the procedure say after such a notice is given, the chairman forwards it to the Rajya Sabha secretariat to verify mainly two things --- the signatures of the members who have signed the petition and whether the rules and procedures have been followed. The secretary general of Rajya Sabha sends a report to the chairman who then decides whether to accept the petition or not. The chairman is likely to receive the report by Tuesday.

20:11 Terrorist hideout busted in J-K

Security forces busted a terrorist hideout today in north Kashmir's Kupwara district and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, a police spokesman said.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of security forces launched a search operation in Watsar forest area in Handwara, he said.

A Pika gun, a Bazooka, a Radio-set yaesu, six Mor rounds, 940 Pika ammunition rounds, three silencers, six AK magazines, four IED initiating mechanism, eight kg of IED, 21 UBGL rounds, one hand grenade, four RPG rounds, 15 RPG boosters, 20 electric detonators, four detonator boxes and a magazine box were seized, he said.

It is pertinent to mention that the area has been highly infested with militancy since long, the spokesman said, adding that a case was registered in the matter.

-- PTI

US President Donald Trump said the North Korean nuclear crisis is far from conclusion on Sunday, striking a cautious note a day after the Norths pledge to end its nuclear tests raised hopes before planned summits with South Korea and the United States.

North Korea said on Saturday it was suspending nuclear and missile tests and scrapping its nuclear test site, and instead pursuing economic growth and peace ahead of planned summits with South Korea and the United States.

We are a long way from conclusion on North Korea, maybe things will work out, and maybe they wont - only time will tell....But the work I am doing now should have been done a long time ago! Trump said on Twitter.

World leaders welcomed the announcement about the end to nuclear tests including Trump, who in an earlier tweet Sunday called North Koreas statement a pledge to denuclearize: Wow, we havent given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearisation (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will tomorrow launch his party's nationwide 'Save the Constitution' campaign, aiming to highlight alleged attacks on the Constitution and Dalits under the BJP-led regime.

Seen as the party's effort to reach out to the community ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the campaign launch is expected to be attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, its senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sushil Kumar Shinde among others.

Congress's present and former Dalit lawmakers, those holding offices in zilla parishad, civic bodies and panchayat samitis, the party's office-bearers attached to its regional units will also attend the event, aimed at sensitising the attendees on the current state of affairs with regard to the community.

The attendees are expected to take the message forward, holding similar campaigns in states to reach out to the community members, sources said.

"The Constitution is under threat in the BJP regime. The community is being denied opportunities in spheres of education and jobs. The programme aims to highlight these issues nationwide," a party leader said.

Dalits form roughly 17 per cent of the country's electorate. There are 84 parliamentary seats reserved for candidates belonging to the scheduled castes. The BJP had bagged nearly half of the seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, reflecting in its success in politically key states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The leader noted that the Congress could win only three-fourth of the seats.

-- PTI

India today strongly condemned the "cowardly and barbaric" terror attacks in Kabul and northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, which killed over 50 people and left dozens injured, in the latest wave of attacks that came ahead of parliamentary and district council elections in the country.

Afghan authorities said at least 48 people were killed in a bomb blast outside a voter registration centre in Afghan capital Kabul, while another blast in Baghlan province left five people dead.

Referring to the Kabul attack, India said it was not only an attack on innocent civilians but also an attack on the democratic rights of the Afghan people.

"What makes this attack particularly reprehensible is the fact that the terrorists and their backers chose to attack a voters' registration centre for the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections. The attack has resulted in the death of Afghans who firmly support and believe in the democratic process to empower themselves and make their voice heard," it said.

Condemning the strikes in Kabul and Baghlan and calling them "cowardly and barbaric", the ministry of external affairs said India stands ready to extend all possible assistance, including for treatment of those injured in the attacks.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of the victims, and we wish quick and complete recovery to the injured," the MEA said.

-- PTI

Claiming that Christian missionaries are a threat to the unity and integrity of the country, BJP MP Bharat Singh has accused the Congress party of working on their directives.

"Christian missionaries control the Congress. Sonia Gandhi, the mother of Congress president Rahul Gandhi works on the directions of these missionaries. These missionaries are a threat for the unity of the country," Singh said.

Singh also alleged that the democracy in the north eastern states of the country has "weakened" due to "conversion of people there into Christianity."

"The North-East is under the influence of Christian missionaries. Democracy has weakened due to conversion of people into Christianity there. The conspiracies hatched by these missionaries are threat for the country," he added.

The Ballia MP, incidentally, had also alleged recently that the Christian missionaries were behind the vandalisation of the statues of the Dalit icon and key architect of the Indian Constitution, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

18:29 Gang rape is the ultimate act of impunity

Nirbhayas rape and the brutal attack on her in December 2012, and her death subsequently, shook the conscience of the nation as no similar crime in the recent past had done. It attracted a description that is not often used bestiality. She was subjected to gang rape, brutalised, thrown out of the bus with no clothes, and left to die. Miraculously, she lived for a few days to tell the horrific story before she died in a hospital in Singapore.

Rape is not about sex. It is difficult to imagine anyone deriving sexual pleasure by forcing himself upon a woman (who is fighting him with all her strength) or a child. Rape is about the power of the male over the female, in particular over the female body. In the case of rape of a helpless child barely a few months or a few years old or a minor one has to look beyond sex and power to understand the self-belief that removes all inhibitions of the criminal.

Read P Chidambaram's full column HERE

As the Congress awaits the decision of Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on an impeachment notice moved by it and other parties against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, it is considering moving the Supreme Court if the petition is rejected, party leaders said.

They said if the Upper House chairman did not find merit in the notice for the impeachment, the decision could call for a judicial review.

"The chairman's decision is open to being challenged. It is bound to go for a judicial review," said a Congress leader.

The Congress was also trying to build up "moral pressure" on the Chief Justice of India in the hope that he would step aside from judicial duty if an impeachment motion was moved against him.

-- PTI

India and China today agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Natha Lu route in Sikkim, Ministry of External Affairs today said, 10 months after the pilgrimage was stopped following the Doklam standoff.

The decision was made during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi here.

"We are also happy that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Nathu la route will be resumed this year.

"I am confident that with Chinese side's full cooperation, this year the yatra will be a fulfilling experience for the visiting Indian pilgrims," Swaraj said during a joint press statement with Wang.

The yatra was stopped by China in the aftermath of the military face-off with India last year at Doklam.

The standoff began on June 16 after the Indian troops intervened and stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area claimed by Bhutan as it posed a security risk to Chicken Neck, the narrow corridor connecting India with its north-eastern states. Finally, the two armies "disengaged" on August 28.

-- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gopal N Singh on Sunday said his party gave too much importance to Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha which made them arrogant.

Singh said both Yashwant and Shatrughan often spoke against the Centre because they think that the BJP is dependent on them.

"The party gave too much importance to Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha which have made them arrogant and believe that the party is dependent on them," Singh said.

Yashwant quit the BJP on Saturday, saying that he felt the democratic institutions in the country were being undermined. Singh countered his reason, saying that the former was merely expecting a higher position.

"I think he (Yashwant Sinha) was expecting a higher position after his son (Jayant Sinha) was made a minister. When his wishes were not fulfilled he started bad mouthing the party. He thought doing so would make him relevant, but Narendra Modi doesn't care for such people. So, his unfulfilled wishes put him in a state of frustration," Singh said.

Coming down heavily on Shatrughan Sinha, who actively critiques his own party's government and also supported his ex-party colleague's decision to quit, Singh said, "Shatrughan Sinha has no existence in politics. He has no contribution in the development of Bihar or the country. When he was in Atal ji's cabinet his conduct was questionable- he used to lodge at a five-star hotel despite having a house in Patna. This time too, he wanted to be in the cabinet and he thinks that he can take a negative approach and blackmail the party."

-- ANI

A group of 50 alumni from the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology across the country have quit their jobs to form a political party to fight for the rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The group, which is waiting for an approval from the Election Commission, has named their outfit Bahujan Azad Party.

We are a bunch of 50 people, all from different IITs, who have quit our full-time jobs to work for the party. We have applied to the Election Commission for an approval and are meanwhile doing ground work, Naven Kumar, a 2015 IIT Delhi graduate, who is leading the group.

The party members, however, do not wish to jump the gun and aim for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

We do not wish to do a hurried job and end up being reduced to just one of those small political outfits with big ambitions. We will begin with contesting the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections and then aim for the next Lok sabha polls, Kumar said.

The group, which includes members mostly from the SC, ST and OBC communities, feels that the backward classes have not received their due in terms of education and employment.

All set with a poster which has pictures of B R Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose and A P J Abdul Kalam, among others, the party has already begun a social media campaign.

Once we have the registration, we will form small units of the party which will start working on the ground for our target groups. We also do not wish to pitch ourselves as a rival of any political party or ideology, Kumar added.

-- PTI

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said that public pressure propelled Siddaramaiah to contest Karnataka assembly election from Badami constituency along with Chamundeshwari seat.

"People are demanding his representation from this area, Badami, so under pressure, he has accepted this and High Command agreed on this. As per the direction of the High Command, he is contesting in two places," Kharge said.

"Modi ji also contested election from two seats," he added.

In the last general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested two constituencies -- Varanasi and Vadodara.

Karnataka will go to polls on May 12 to elect its representatives for the 225-member assembly. The results will be out on May 15.

-- ANI

16:51

JUST IN: Three dead in Nashville, Tennessee, shooting

16:39 PM Modi issues gag orders again to party motormouths

Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a stinging rebuke again to party motormouths, who have covered a wide range of subjects from terror and rape to Mahabharata and Darwin's theory over the last six months. In a video-conference with lawmakers across the country, PM Modi ripped into the leaders, reminding them that this was affecting their image as well as the party's.

"We make mistakes and give 'masala' to the media... as if we are great social scientists and experts to analyse issues... the moment you see a camera you start speaking. So this half-baked stuff is picked up," he said.

The warning -- given a few times earlier -- was issued today as the nation seethes over a spate of child rapes and murders, in which BJP leaders are seen as being soft on the accused. Today, junior finance minister Santosh Gangwar stepped into controversy, saying one "should not make such a big deal" if "one or two such cases are reported" from such a huge country.

An Indian national, who had gone to Pakistan on a 10-day pilgrimage as part of the Sikh Jatha on April 12, has failed to return home, police said today.

The Sikh Jatha returned home yesterday but 24-year-old Amarjit Singh, a resident of village Niranjanpura in Amrtisar district, was not part of it.

"The group of Sikh pilgrims after observing Baisakhi festival and paying obeisance at various Sikh shrines in Pakistan returned yesterday but Amarjit Singh was found missing", SSP, Amritsar (Rural), Parampal Singh said.

Singh had arrived in Pakistan along with other pilgrims to celebrate Baisakhi on April 12.

His disappearance was only noticed when the Jatha started its return journey to India, according to a Pakistani media report.

Singh's passport, like that of other pilgrims, was with the officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, who immediately informed top officials when Singh failed to collect it within the stipulated time.

"Initial investigation shows that Amarjit Singh separated himself from the group members on a visit to Gurdwara Janamestan in Nankana Sahib (some 80km from Lahore) on April 16 and disappeared," an official of ETPB told PTI.

The ETPB came to know about his disappearance when Singh did not turn up yesterday along with other visiting Indian Sikhs at the Wagah railway station to leave for their homeland.

Singh and others have a valid Pakistani visa for April 21.

-- PTI

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal ended her indefinite hunger strike on Sunday. Maliwal, who has been sitting on a hunger strike for past 10 days at Rajghat in New Delhi, broke her fast at 2:00 pm today.

I was fighting alone but then I was supported by people across the country. I think this is a historical victory in independent India. I congratulate everyone on this victory, she said.

On Saturday, she made the decision to end her hunger strike hours after the Union Cabinet approved an ordinance to give stringent punishment, including the death penalty, to those convicted of raping girls below 12 years.

Earlier, the DCW chief had said she wont end her fast until something concrete happens to ensure safety of a girl child. I congratulate people of this country for this victory. Very few protests have achieved so much in such less time. But until something concrete happens, I will not give up. Until a system is there which ensures safety for the last girl, I wont give up, Maliwal had said on Twitter.

I will continue the fast until the ordinance is passed. Also police resources and accountability needs to be increased. Really sad that some channels are playing false news that I have broken the fast. Praying to all news channels conscience to kindly not report fake news, she added.

Image: DCW chief Swati Maliwal broke her 10-day fast on Sunday after the POSCO Act was amended. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

15:30 Swaraj meets Wang, discusses India-China ties

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and discussed a host of bilateral issues and ways to step up the pace of high-level interactions to improve the relationship.

Swaraj arrived in Beijing yesterday on a four-day visit to take part in the foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

She was received by Wang at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing ahead of their bilateral meeting.

This was their first meeting after Wang was elevated as state councillor last month which makes him the top diplomat of the country in the Chinese hierarchy. He also continues to be the foreign minister.

In her initial remarks, Swaraj congratulated Wang on being elevated as state councillor and appointed the special representative for the India-China boundary talks.

Wang said the bilateral ties have witnessed a good development and shown a positive momentum this year under the guidance of the leaders of the two nations.

"On the eve of the closing of China's National People's Congress this year, President Xi Jinping received a very important phone call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

He said the call spurred a positive momentum in the dialogue process between the two countries.

"Our two leaders had in-depth exchange of views and reached important consensus on furthering the China-India relationship. We must work very hard to implement the consensus between our two leaders.

"India's membership to the SCO has expanded the orgainsation's potential and its influence, as well as providing a new platform for the India-China cooperation and I believe that India will make a positive and energetic contribution to the organisation," Wang said.

-- PTI

The Indian Medical Association and Mumbai Association of Medical Consultant has expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in London where he had highlighted the alleged nexus between doctors and pharmaceutical firms and said that doctors attend conferences abroad to promote these companies.

The medical bodies have written a letter to the PM expressing their dissent over his statement.

In a press statement, IMA Secretary-General Dr RN Tandon said that the health system of the country would collapse without Indian doctors and added that the statement made by the PM is not accepted.

"Indian doctors have brought international acclaim and repute due to their world-class proficiency and skill. Engaging in small talk and maligning the entire medical fraternity in India with a broad brush on foreign soil was certainly not expected out of the prime minister of the country," Dr Tandon said in the statement.

"IMA expresses its displeasure on your unfortunate remarks," he added.

He also alleged that the doctors of India are being "suppressed and exploited" by every means possible and put the onus of the "mess in healthcare" on the Centre.

The statement further read that the IMA has always supported the use of generic drugs, but the only hitch is the issue of quality assurance.

"The current level of quality testing by the Centre is less than one percent of the total drugs manufactured in such a state of affairs how can doctors betray the confidence of the patients and support the populistic posturing of the Government?" Dr Tandon asked.

He further assured the PM that the day the Central Government would be able to assure the quality of all the drugs manufactured in India, they will "find the doctors of this country wanting."

"India has a robust price control policy for drugs. This being so why does the government allow huge profit margin in the Pharmaceutical industry?" Dr Tandon asked.

"Why a pharmaceutical company allowed pricing the same drug categorised under different names with different profit margins?" he said, adding that the Indian doctors in no way control the price of drugs or stems.

IMA national president Dr Ravi S Wankhedkar also expressed anguished over prime minister's statement and asked him to reconsider it.

"We are all saddened by Prime Minister Modi's remarks on Indian doctors, that also in a country (United Kingdom) where medical system is run by 70 percent Indians. Issues like medicine prices are in hands of government, not us. We humbly request the Prime Minister to reconsider his remark," Dr Wankhedkar said.

Meanwhile, AMC has also expressed displeasure over the remark and said that the talk of the Prime Minister on a foreign land should have highlighted the "good in India and not the bad."

-- ANI

14:32 Mamata urges people to end plastic pollution

In a tweet on the occasion of Earth Day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged people to put an end to plastic pollution to ensure a clean environment.

"On the occasion of Earth Day, let us pledge to keep our environment clean. We can take a step in this direction by putting an end to plastic pollution," Banerjee tweeted this morning.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

-- PTI

Asha Devi, mother of 2012 Delhi gang rape victim on Sunday hailed the Centre for amending Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and urged it to consider death penalty for every rapist.

"Yes for minors under 12 (rape victims) it is a good step, but what about ones who are older? There is no more heinous crime than rape, there is no larger pain," she said.

"Every rapist should be hanged," she added. `

In the wake of an increase in incidents of rape of minors, the Union Cabinet on Saturday approved the amendment in POCSO Act, putting a stamp on awarding death penalty to the rapists of children below 12 years of age.

The ordinance seeks the death penalty for the rapists of girls below 12 years of age and stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape particularly of girls below 16 year.

13:58

JUST IN: 13 naxals killed in an encounter with police in Etapalli's Boriya forest area in Gadchiroli district.

13:56 Piyush Goyal explores Quora to connect with Young India

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal is exploring question-and-answer site Quora to connect with young India.

Till date, the railway minister has answered a total of 14 questions on diverse topics like steps taken to improve safety in Railways, Railway apps, Latur coach factory project, Dedicated Freight Corridor project, future of solar energy in India and others.

The answer of Goyal on India's need to have a Bullet Train has since gone viral with more than 10 lakh answer views and 73,000 upvotes (votes in support of any online comment, article).

Goyal forayed into this new social media site to connect and interact with a young and 'New India' in the wake of the fact that more 50 per cent of India's population is currently less than 25 years of age and 65 percent is less than 35 years of age.

He is using infographics and videos in content to make answers more understandable and interactive for readers and to create a strong level of engagement.

Goyal has chosen this new platform when most people think that social media is limited to only relatively mature platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.

Interaction of leaders on Quora is not new, prominent world leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Former United State President Barack Obama, and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are also utilising this platform to connect with the masses.

-- ANI

CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury got a second term for the top post after the new central commitee unanimously elected him.

His three-year second term comes after huge speculations that the Politbureau Member Prakash Karat would push for some other candidate.

"Yechury has been re-elected as party general secretary," said party sources.

The Politbureau met in the morning Sunday to zero upon name of new Central Committee. The new Central Central commitee elected its new general secretary.

The differences in Yechury and Karat came out open in the party Congress over party's official political line. After several delegates threatened secret ballot, Yechury line of keeping window open with the Congress was adopted by the party.

13:17 Ordinance to amend POCSO Act historic: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh hailed the ordinance to amend the existing Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and said it is a historic decision.

"This is a historic decision by the cabinet, such a law is needed to punish people who commit such heinous crimes," he said.

He further said that the decision was welcomed unanimously.

The ordinance seeks the death penalty for the rapists of girls below 12 years of age and stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape particularly of girls below 16 years.

-- ANI

The Communist Party of India-Marxist will elect its next general secretary on Sunday, the last day of its 22nd party Congress.

The prospects of incumbent Sitaram Yechury being re-elected to the post have brightened with the party endorsing his political-tactical line, paving the way for an understanding with the Congress for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

This effectively means that the CPM would be ready to enter electoral alliances with the Congress if the situation so demands but it will not form any government with the party.

This view was diametrically opposite to the one held by the Prakash Karat camp, effectively causing a rift in the Left party. The official draft, backed by Karat, had said that the party should unite all secular democratic forces "without having an understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress party".

But in the amended document, it is now written that the party can unite secular democratic forces "without having a political alliance with the Congress party", thus keeping the doors open for an electoral understanding.

In the Kolkata Central Committee meeting in January, the Karat faction defeated Yechurys draft resolution by 31:55 vote.

Sources had said earlier that the Karat camp was trying to replace Yechury with former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar as the next general secretary. Sources, however, added that Sarkar may not like to challenge Yechury. Whether the Karat camp does prop up a candidate against Yechury remains to be seen.

After moving the insolvency authority in the US, Punjab National Bank has raised heat by approaching Hong Kong Court against billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, who is accused of a Rs 13,000-crore fraud.

The bank plans to approach other jurisdictions where Nirav Modi and his associates have assets and properties as part of recovery process, a senior PNB official said.

Hong Kong authorities have been approached and recovery writ has been filed against companies of Nirav Modi, the official said without disclosing other details.

It is to note that PNB recently hired lawyers to represent itself in the bankruptcy proceedings of the US-based Firestar Diamond, a group company of billionaire diamantaire.

The US Trustee Program oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases in the United States.

Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, in connivance with certain bank officials, allegedly cheated PNB of over Rs 13,000 crore through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking.

A Mumbai branch of PNB had fraudulently issued LoUs for the group of companies belonging to Nirav Modi since March 2011.

Meanwhile, China earlier this month said Hong Kong was free to accept India's request to arrest Modi on the basis of the local laws of the region and judicial agreements between the two.

While Hong Kong is part of the People's Republic of China, it is an autonomous region with its own laws.

On March 23, India's ministry of external affairs had requested authorities in Hong Kong to arrest Modi in connection with the alleged fraud from PNB.

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to promulgate Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018 that provides for confiscating properties and assets of economic offenders like loan defaulters who flee the country, sources said.

-- PTI

An Air India aircraft flying from Amritsar to Delhi on April 19 ran into such severe turbulence that three passengers suffered injuries, the inside part of a window panel came off and some overhead oxygen masks got deployed.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANI) had a very turbulent flight for 10 to 15 minutes during climb phase from 8,000 feet to 21,000 feet, the cause of which is being probed by the airline and aviation agencies.

The turbulence on AI 462 was such that the head of a seated passenger, who possibly did not have his seat belt fastened, hit the overhead cabin because of a bump. The person suffered injuries. Two more had minor injuries. The inside of a window panel (18-A) came off. The outside window did not break and there was no de-pressursation. Passengers were naturally terrified, said sources.

Some oxygen masks also dropped during the severe turbulent phase of the flight. The overhead panel cover of seat 12-U got cracks. This was a freak high level turbulence. AI and Directorate General of Civil Aviation is probing it, said a senior AI official.

On landing in Delhi, the three passengers were taken to hospital. Our emergency response and angels took care of the three injured passengers who were taken to a hospital on landing in Delhi. The passenger whose head hit the overhead panel got stitches. Two passengers suffered minor injuries. They are all fine and took their connecting flights after getting the first aid. The passenger who got stitches said he felt okay and the doctors said he could travel. Our angels were with him throughout, said the official.

Union Minister Santosh Gangwar said that rampant incidents of rape in the country are unfortunate, but sometimes they cannot be prevented.

"Such incidents (rape cases) are unfortunate, but sometimes cannot be prevented," Gangwar told media.

Asserting that the Central government is actively taking action against such incidents, he said that hue and cry should not be created if one or two such incidents rake up in a big country like India.

The minister's statement comes amid an outrage over Kathua and Unnao rape cases that have taken the country by a storm.

In the wake of these incidents, the Union Cabinet on Saturday approved the amendment in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act putting a stamp on the death penalty for the rapists of children below 12 years of age.

-- ANI

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday released its list of 40 star campaigners for the May 12 polls in Karnataka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and the partys CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa will be accompanied by 14 Union ministers, for campaigning.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitaraman, Piyush Goel and Smriti Irani will tour the state. Ministers Ananth Kumar, DV Sadananda Gowda, Ramesh Jigajinagi and Ananthkumar Hegde, all of whom are from Karnataka, will also be part of the campaign drive.

The party has also listed three chief ministers, Yogi Adityanath of UP, Madhya Pradeshs Shivaraj Singh Chauhan and Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra for canvassing.

It has also listed named film stars and party leaders Hema Malini, Tara Anuradha and Shruthi as its campaigners.

Pippa Middleton is pregnant with her first child. The Duchess of Cambridges younger sister, 34, and financier husband James Matthews, 42, are said to be overjoyed.

They told close family and friends last week after her 12-week scan.

It comes at a difficult time for the family, after Jamess dad, David, 74, was accused of rape.

The Duchess of Cambridge could not have been more delighted on learning little sister Pippa was pregnant, a friend revealed.

Kate, only weeks away from giving birth to her third child, was the first person after Pippas husband, James Matthews, to hear the good news.

A friend said: When Pippa found out she was pregnant, she was obviously thrilled and utterly overjoyed.

Pippa was said to be eager to start a family after marrying financier James in May last year.

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra is learned to have decided not to recuse himself from administrative and judicial work in the Supreme Court, feeling reassured by the support from a large number of senior advocates and lawyers who have rallied behind him against the removal motion of Congress-led opposition parties.

SC sources said that Justice Misra maintains that the removal motion against him, based on frivolous allegations, has been propped up for political considerations and to deter him from discharging his duties as the CJI. They also said that he is in no mood to oblige those who have engineered the dubious pretext to get him to quit.

With Congress-aligned lawyers, like former attorney general K Parasaran and his son Mohan, the former solicitor general, as well as senior advocate Mahalaxmi Pavani, daughter-in-law of the late P P Rao, backing him, the CJI, sources said, is feeling vindicated that he has done no wrong.

SC sources said the CJI is of the opinion that he would reconsider his stand if the Rajya Sabha chairman too fails to see through, what they called, the game being played by Congress, which is annoyed with the CJI for not giving in to belligerence by certain party-affiliated lawyers to coerce the court into accepting demands for a year-long adjournment of a sensitive case, and admits the motion. Till that time the CJI will continue with his administrative and judicial work, a source said.

The victory of Rabri Devi along with two other RJD members and son of former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi in the biennial elections to the Bihar Legislative Council has brightened her chance of getting the status of Leader of Opposition in the upper house.

After announcement of results for 11 seats of Council on April 19, the RJD now has 9 members in the 75-member upper house.

Santosh Manjhi, son of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, also won the council poll with the help of Lalu Prasad's party.

The strength of at least 10 members is required for according the status of the Leader of Opposition in the Council.

Her son Tejashwi Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative assembly after the Grand Alliance comprising JD-U, RJD and Congress disintegrated. Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in July last year while the RJD moved into the opposition bench.

Earlier for want of numbers, Rabri Devi, wife of RJD president Lalu Prasad, was denied the status of Leader of Opposition in the Council. At that time RJD had only seven

members including Rabri Devi.

RJD Bihar president Ramchandra Purve, who also became MLC after declaration of results on Thursday last, said the party would send a proposal to the Acting Chairman of the Council Haroon Rashid to accord opposition leader status to Rabri Devi.

When contacted, Rashid told PTI that he would deliberate on the issue when a proposal seeking opposition leader status came to him.

-- PTI

President Ram Nath Kovind has signed an ordinance to provide stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those convicted of rape of girls below 12 years.

Yesterday, The Union cabinet approved the ordinance amid a nation-wide outrage over cases of sexual assault and murder of minors in Kathua and Surat and the rape of a girl in Unnao.

New fast-track courts will be set up to deal with such cases and special forensic kits for rape cases will be given to all police stations and hospitals in the long term, according to the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance cleared by a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It stipulates stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape, particularly of girls below 16 and 12 years.

Death sentence has been provided for rapists of girls under 12 years, officials said quoting the ordinance.

The minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.

A minor girl was allegedly raped by three men at gunpoint here, an official said on Saturday.

The incident took place on the intervening night of April 19 and 2o when the victim was sleeping in the courtyard of her house with her sister-in-law, said Assistant superintendent of police (circle officer Modinagar) Ravi Kumar.

After midnight, the trio barged into her house and took the girl to a secluded place. They stuffed a cloth in her mouth and raped her, he said.

An FIR was registered against the three accused -- Amir, Adil and Ziaul -- under Section 376 of the IPC and the POCSO Act.

He said the girl was also beaten up for resisting sexual assault. Later, they threw in front of her house. After reaching home, the girl narrated her ordeal to her sister-in-law.

Police are verifying the veracity of the complaint as the victim denied any medical checkup.

According to the officer, a case was registered six years ago against the victim's brother for raping Amir's sister on the pretext of marrying her.

The woman had later committed suicide, he said. An FIR was registered against the victim's brother under Section 306, 376, 506 and 120B of the IPC, he said, adding that the case is under trial in the sessions court. -- PTI

Nirbhaya's father alleged on Saturday that the Union Cabinet's approval to promulgate an ordinance to give the death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below 12 years has no "logic" and the decision was taken in view of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The man, whose daughter was raped and tortured by six people in a moving bus in a south Delhi neighbourhood on December 16, 2012, said there should be "no differentiation between the rape of minors and adults".

"Rape is rape, be it of a minor or an adult. Why the ordinance has the provision for death penalty for those found guilty of raping children below 12 years only? All rapists should get life term or death penalty, irrespective of the age of victim," he told PTI.

He also wondered how a juvenile accused will be dealt with under the new provision.

One of the six people who assaulted his daughter was a juvenile and according to the Juvenile Justice Act, no minor can be sentenced to death.

"Rapists don't have fear in their minds, it's the biggest reason such acts are committed," he stressed.

He said to deter people from committing such crimes against women and children, all rapists should be given life term or the death sentence.

"I don't see logic behind bringing this ordinance. This is just being done in view of the general elections in 2019. I have been battling over last six years to secure justice for my daughter and yet the culprits have not been hanged," he said.

The Cabinet on Saturday approved an ordinance to provide stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for those convicted of rape of girls below 12 years. -- PTI

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he was not a detractor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but"will always speak up when he doesn't approve of something.

"I am not a critic of Modi, but I will speak on the issues where I don't agree (with Modi government's decisions)," he said.

Sena, ally of the BJP in the Centre and in Maharashtra, continually takes swipe at the the prime minister and his party, especially through its mouthpiece Saamana.

Speaking at the release of a Marathi book, Gof, penned by Sena's Rajya Sabha MP and Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut in Mumbai, Thackeray said his father (late Bal Thackeray) had taught him to speak his mind.

RSS leader Sunil Deodhar, who is credited for the BJP's victory in Tripura assembly elections, was present at the function.

"If we come together as Hindus, there will be no division of votes. But if"there are differences of opinion and views, then the question arises who is the real Hindu," said Thackeray.

"You (Deodhar) have come back to Maharashtra after 28 years, if you hadn't left, this state would have fared better," the Sena chief said.

"You gave your sweat and blood to install a BJP chief minister in Tripura, but what should one do when he makes laughable comments," Thackeray said, in apparent reference to Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb's widely reported comment that `Internet existed during the Mahabharat era'. -- PTI

With economic reforms adopted in the last few years starting to bear fruit, India is poised to remain the fastest growing large economy in the world, and its GDP is expected to reach USD 5 trillion by 2025, a top Indian official has told the World Bank.

"India is poised to remain as the fastest growing large economy in the world. In 2018, we expect India to grow at over 7.4 per cent," Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told the 97th meeting of the Development Committee of the World Bank in Washington on Saturday.

Giving an overview of the South Asian countries - Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - Garg said India continued to be a beacon of growth in the region.

"In the last few years, India has undertaken massive structural reforms toward formalisation of the economy and fostering digital financial inclusion," he said, adding that the country had grown at an average of 7.2 per cent per annum in the last four years and was continuing on the trajectory of sustained growth.

"India's GDP is expected to reach a volume of USD 5 trillion by FY2025 by leveraging on digitisation, globalisation, favourable demographics and structural reforms," Garg added.

Transformational reforms such as Goods and Services Tax, and initiatives such as Insolvency and Bankruptcy code, recapitalisation of banks, and unclogging of infrastructure investments will support such elevated growth, he told the World Bank.

In the absence of the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Garg is leading the Indian delegation for the annual Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

India, he said, has accorded top priority to addressing its infrastructure deficit to sustain economic growth. Steps have been taken to mobilise funds from various sources for development of infrastructure which includes, inter alia, launching of innovative financial vehicles, he added. -- PTI

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday alleged that Pakistan was trying to "break up India" by helping terrorists sneak into the country, but the armed forces are giving it a befitting reply.

Addressing a gathering at Diu in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu, Singh said "all our neighbours are good, except one".

"We want to maintain good relations with all our neighbours. Our sages said the whole world is one family....We accept our neighbours as friends. All neighbours are good except one which does not agree. You know which one," he said, alluding to Pakistan.

"If (this neighbour is) not agreeing with us today, it will have to do so tomorrow. The entire international fraternity is putting pressure on it to leave the path of terrorism. It is helping terrorists sneak in to India, conspiring to break up India despite being a neighbour. It should look at its own weaknesses," Singh said.

He lauded the armed forces for giving a "befitting reply" to terrorists.

"We told the Border Security Force in September 2014 itself that we should maintain good relations with neighbours, and also with Pakistan because it is our neighbour. I told the BSF and armed forces not to fire the first bullet, but when the other side fires, don't count how many bullets you fire (in retaliation)," he said to a cheering crowd. -- PTI

Timeline Refresh

TOP STORIES