LIVE! Reasons for action against IAF officer accused of espionage: Sitharaman

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Thu, 01 February 2018

Reasons for action against IAF officer accused of espionage: Sitharaman

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23:58 Reasons for action against IAF officer accused of espionage: Sitharaman

An Indian Air Force officer was taken into custody on the basis of surveillance and the action was not taken in a hurry, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

A Group Captain, posted at the IAF's headquarters in New Delhi, was taken into custody by the force for alleged involvement in espionage and possible attempt to access sensitive documents.

Sitharaman has already been briefed about the action against the officer, officials said. There were enough reasons to detain him, the defence minister told reporters when asked about the issue.

The investigators are probing whether the officer was a victim of honey trap, sources said yesterday. -- PTI

23:11 Explosion heard near Turkish Parliament

A massive explosion has been heard near the Turkish parliament building in capital Ankara, reports The Mirror.

More details awaited.

23:08 No candidate files nomination in Nagaland

No candidate filed papers for the February 27 Nagaland assembly election today, the second day of nomination filing.

No candidate -- of any political party or Independent -- had filed nominations over the last two days, Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Nagaland N Moa Aier said.

The process of filing nominations opened following the issuance of the official notification by the Election Commission yesterday.

The last date for nomination filing is February 7.

Asked if the political parties were collecting the nomination papers, the additional CEO said the intending candidates were collecting the forms from the respective returning officer and district election officer's chambers, while the documents could also be downloaded from the internet.

A 12-hour bandh was called in the state by the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTHCO) today to protest the issuance of the official notification for the assembly election.

The bandh evoked a mixed response from the tribal bodies.

The CCNTHCO has appealed for a solution to the Naga political problem before the polls.

Upholding the January 29 joint declaration of not taking part in the election, no political party in the state has issued tickets to any candidate.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party has announced that it would contest the polls.

The spokesperson of the ruling Naga People's Front Achumbemo Kikon said the party stood by the general call of the Naga people for a solution to the Naga political issue before the election and therefore, poll tickets were not being distributed at the moment.

Nagaland Janata Dal-United chief Senchumo N S N Lotha, while reiterating the party's stand on a solution to the issue before the election, said they were contemplating not to enter into a pre-poll alliance with any other party. -- PTI

The Centre today opposed in the Supreme Court a plea for awarding the death penalty to those convicted of raping minor girls.

The submission was made by a law officer before a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud which was hearing a public interest litigation filed in a case relating to the gruesome rape of an eight-month-old baby allegedly by her 28-year-old cousin in New Delhi.

"The death penalty is not the answer to everything," Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha, appearing for the Centre, said.

The ASG was responding to the submission of lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava, who had filed the PIL in the rape case, that Parliament be directed to amend the law and award death to those convicted of such crimes.

The bench, which termed the case 'brutal', also said that it could not direct Parliament to amend the law.

The baby was raped allegedly by her cousin on January 28 in a locality near Netaji Subhash Place in north-west Delhi. -- PTI

21:59 IMF welcomes fiscal targets set by Jaitley

The International Monetary Fund today welcomed the fiscal targets set by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the annual budget proposals and noted that the economic survey released this week strikes a good balance with realistic forecast.

"We really haven't had a chance to fully assess it. But, that said we welcome the fiscal 2019 budget targets, which has a fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent of GDP which in our view returns budget to a path of gradual fiscal consolidation while keeping in mind the need to provide support to India's needs and economic recovery," William Murray, deputy spokesman, International Monetary Fund, told reporters.

Last week, the IMF in its World Economic Outlook update released in Davos, Switzerland, projected a 7.4 per cent GDP growth in India in 2018 and 7.8 per cent in 2019, Murray said.

Responding to a question, he welcomed the economic survey and said it's interesting informative report that provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of the economy.

The IMF, he said, is impressed by a range of important economic issues covered and the depth of the analysis in the survey.

"We broadly shared the overall assessment of the state of the economy in particular the economic survey's outlook of 6.7 per cent in fiscal 2017-2018 and 7-7.5 per cent in 2018-19," he said, noting that this is in line with the IMF's forecast.

The Economic Survey report, he said, strikes a good balance with realistic forecast and at the same time remains cognizant of the economic risks that India faces.

"We take note of considerable progress made on both the pace and composition of reform being implemented in India in recent years in line with our recommendations," Murray said.

These reforms include, for example, implementation of goods and services tax, implementation of the insolvency and bankruptcy code, the ongoing recapitalisation of public sector banks, and further liberalisation of foreign direct investment in India, the deputy spokesman said. -- PTI

21:35 BJP's ally Telugu Desam not happy with budget

Union minister and Telugu Desam Party leader Y S Chowdhary today expressed disappointment over the resources allocated in the Union Budget 2018-19 for Andhra Pradesh, adding the party would continue to fight for the southern state's due.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, the Minister of State for Science and Technology noted that the people of Andhra were dissatisfied with the budget.

"People and the party are disappointed with the Union Budget presented today. Many state issues like Railway Zone, Polavaram project funding, funding for capital Amaravati and other pending issues of Andhra Pradesh were not addressed in the budget," he said.

On the pending infrastructure projects, the minister said there was no progress since four years.

"The Polavaram project was linked to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), but there was no smooth flow of funds. The budget should have included it.

"Metro for Andhra Pradesh in Vizag and Vijayawada was promised, but there is no mention about it in the budget, except for things like renovation of platforms and construction of foot-over-bridges," he said.

We are in alliance and will fight for our share, Chowdhary said, adding that the party leaders will put 'pressure on the Centre until 2019 elections'.

TDP MP from Srikakulam, Ram Mohan Naidu said, "Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has paid many visits to Delhi, not once did Finance Minister Arun Jaitley mention his name during the budget speech."

Naidu will hold a meeting in Amaravati on Sunday to discuss the course of action.

The TDP which is part of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre has been demanding Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation in 2014.

But the demand was rejected outright by the Centre.

The TDP had also sided with the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, where the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies do not have a majority, to refer the controversial triple talaq bill to a select committee. -- PTI

In a tragic incident, a 25-year-old woman delivered a baby when she was forced to walk down the corridors of the government district hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Betul, and the infant died after falling to the floor.

The woman allegedly didn't get a stretcher even when she expressed inability to walk.

Civil Surgeon of Betul District Hospital Dr A K Baranga said that Neelu Verma, resident of Ghodadongri, was brought to the Betul hospital by a Janani Express ambulance after she started having labour pains.

Baranga admitted that there was a major lapse on the part of the staff.

"Not providing a stretcher and forcing her to walk despite the fact that she was in labour is a serious case of carelessness," he said.

There would be an inquiry and action would be taken against erring employees, Baranga added.

The exact cause of the infant's death would be known after the autopsy report is available, he said.

Vikas Verma, the woman's husband, said no doctor was present at the primary health centre in Ghodadongri due to a government holiday, so they had to rush to Betul.

His wife started having labour pains midway through the ambulance journey, but she wasn't offered a wheel-chair or stretcher at the hospital, he said.

When she was being escorted, on foot, to the labour room, she delivered the baby which fell to the floor and died on the spot, Verma said. -- PTI

As the Union government came out with its budget proposals today, the Delhi high court remarked that investment on health care by the Centre was 'minimal' leading to 'overworked' and fewer doctors in state-run facilities.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar made the observations while hearing PILs on the issue of rise in violent attacks on doctors in government hospitals in New Delhi.

The court observed that due to their insufficient numbers, the doctors were 'overworked', as a result of which they were not able to provide equal attention to all their patients.

"Only 0.3 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product) was spent on health care. Government investment on health and education is minimal," the bench said and added that this is one of the reasons behind many doctors going abroad to practice.

The court said it wants to assist the system 'which is resisting' as the Centre has said that everything is fine and more doctors are not required.

The bench said that if more doctors were recruited, then OPDs can be run 24 hours in shifts and the doctors will have more energy and time to deal with patients individually.

"However, experience shows that doctors are being overworked without any increase in their capacity or numbers," the court said.

The bench asked the medical superintendent (MS) of Safdarjung Hospital, who was present in the court, to file a report on the department-wise number of doctors and the number of patients they have attended on February 5 and 12.

The court said the figures would help to get to the root of the problem and it was essential to do so. -- PTI

Three men, who were travelling with Pehlu Khan when a mob of vigilantes lynched him, have been accused of offences related to cow smuggling in a chargesheet filed by the Rajasthan Police in a court in Alwar's Behror

town, officials said.

A fourth man, who owned the vehicle in which Khan and others were transporting bovines, has also been named in the chargesheet, they said.

The chargesheet was put up before the additional chief judicial magistrate in Behror town of Alwar district on January 24.

Khan's lynching in April last year had led to a massive furore. Following his death, the police had registered two cases one against the vigilantes over his killing, and another against Khan and his companions for allegedly being involved in cow smuggling.

In the chargesheet, the police has claimed that on the basis of statements of witnesses and evidence, offences under some sections the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 were made out against Azmat, Rafique and Arjun Lal Yadav, according to official sources.

-- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said that he was grateful as it was the last Budget by the BJP-led government. He slammed the NDA for unfulfilled promises, fancy schemes and unemployment.

He wrote, "4 years gone; still promising FARMERS a fair price. 4 years gone; FANCY SCHEMES, with NO matching budgets. 4 years gone; no JOBS for our YOUTH. Thankfully, only 1 more year to go.#Budget2018."

Earlier, the Congress said that the Rs 5 lakh announced to families under health care was a big jumla by the BJP government.

Chidambaram noted that the real agricultural GDP and real agricultural revenues remained constant, despite the NDA's emphasis on a pro-farmer budget. He even pointed out at the jarring state of employment adding that jobs were the prime issue and that it was not being created.

Top actor Kamal Haasan, who is set to launch his political party soon, today said he is not anti-Hindu nor against any other religion or anyone else.

"I am not anti-Hindu," he said, adding, he viewed Christianity and Islam in a "similar" manner.

On November 2 last year, Haasan took potshots at what he termed as "Hindu extremism," without naming any particular outfit.

"Some are making efforts to create an appearance as if I am against some and favourably disposed towards others. Some are saying I am anti-Hindu," he said, writing in his political column in Tamil weekly "Ananda Vikatan."

Stating that his own brother Chandrahaasan and daughter Shruthi Haasan were "devout," he asked how could he be anti-Hindu.

Perceived as a sign of mellowing down ahead of his political plunge on February 21, Haasan asked if he could despise his daughter as she was devout.

Haasan said his political meetings scheduled to start from February 21 will be interactive in nature.

"I am not against anyone," he said.

He was following the same line among his fan club members as well, Haasan said.

The actor said he had equal regard for leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Ambedkar and 'Periyar' E V Ramasamy.

-- PTI

18:06 Budget is defeatist, a big letdown: Congress

Terming Budget 2018-19 "defeatist" and a "big letdown", the Congress today said the government has "thrown in the towel" and conceded that it has failed to address key issues in the economy.

The budget proposals should have been "bold and radical", senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said.

"It is a defeatist budget. I think they have thrown in the towel. It is a budget of a government which has conceded that it has failed to address key issues in the economy... Unfortunately, the budget proposals are a big

letdown," Chidambaram said.

Chidambaram also picked holes in the government's budgetary promise of providing insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore poor families and said it was a "big jumla" (gimmick).

"The finance minister fails the fiscal consolidation test and this failure will have serious consequences," Chidambaram earlier in the day, soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley completed his budget speech.

-- PTI

17:55 Hichki release postponed to March 23

Rani Mukerji's much awaited film "Hichki" will now hit the screens on March 23. The film was earlier supposed to release on February 23.

The marketing and distribution team took the decision to shift the release keeping in mind the post exam scenario for students and families.

'Hichki' is an out and out family movie that will entertain audiences across all age groups. The YRF team decided that 23 March, 2018 is the best release date for 'Hichki' especially given the post exam scenario for students and families - the most relevant TG for this film," producer Maneesh Sharma said in a statement.

Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, the movie features Rani as Naina Mathur who has a nervous system disorder, Tourette Syndrome, that forces an individual to make involuntary repetitive movements or sounds.

The film focuses on turning disadvantages into opportunities and staring down at challenges that life throws at one and ultimately winning over them.

Expressing disappointment over the General Budget, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that the Centre was "continuing" with its "step-motherly" treatment to Delhi.

Kejriwal said he had expected some financial assistance for important infrastructure projects for the national capital. His deputy Manish Sisodia also expressed unhappiness over Delhi's share in central taxes and duties remaining unchanged, saying the BJP-led Centre treats Delhi residents as

"second-grade citizens".

Sisodia said that no plans or schemes have been announced for Delhi Police while the AAP government's demand for special package for 2,000 electric buses to combat air pollution has also not been addressed.

He said that land in Delhi comes under the Centre, but despite this, no plans have been announced for regularisation of unauthorised colonies and giving more land to Delhi government to build clinics, schools, hospitals and bus depots.

-- PTI

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is chairing the Opposition meet to plan a joint strategy for the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.

Among the parties attending the meet are the Nationalist Congress Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the National Conference, the Communist Party of India-Marixt, the CPI, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Kerala Congress.

Janata Dal-United rebels Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar Ansari, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party and TMC's Derek O'Brien are among the leaders attending the meeting.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee yesterday said she won't attend the meeting due to other preoccupations. However, the party will be represented by Trinamool Congress Parliamentary party leaders, she said.

17:00

JUST IN: CBI files chargesheet against rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim and two others for allegedly castrating about 400 followers in Dera Sacha Sauda.

16:39 Rahul Gandhi hails Congress's win in Rajasthan bypolls

After winning all 3 bypolls in Rajasthan -- the Mandalgarh assembly seat and the Alwar and Ajmer parliamentary seats -- Rahul Gandhi, the Congress president congratulated the party for their performance.

Taking to Twitter, Rahul wrote, "Well done Rajasthan Congress! Proud of each and every one of you. This is a rejection of the BJP by the people of Rajasthan."

In Alwar, Congress candidate Karan Singh Yadav defeated his nearest rival, Jaswant Yadav from the BJP while in Ajmer, Raghu Sharma bested Ram Swaroop Lamba.

In Mandalgarh, Congress candidate Vivek Dhakad won by defeating his nearest rival, a BJP candidate, by nearly 13,000 votes.

The Bombay high court today said it had not found any violation on part of the state in allowing actor Sanjay Dutt to walk out of jail eight months before the completion of his five-year sentence in the 1993 serial bomb

blasts case.

A bench of Justices S C Dharamadhikari and Bharati Dangre observed that the state government had succeeded in backing its claims of impartiality in the case with valid documents from the home department.

The court, thus, disposed of a public interest litigation challenging the remission of Dutt's sentence, and the "frequent parole and furlough" leaves granted to him while he was serving his sentence in the Yerwada prison in Pune.

"We found nothing contrary in the records submitted by the state Home department and the explanation offered by the state. No violations or abuse of discretionary powers were detected," the bench said.

The court, however, said the state must devise a scheme to ensure that all applications made by convicts for parole and furlough henceforth, are decided upon expeditiously and in a transparent manner.

"The public or the inmates themselves must not get the impression that the authorities grant favours in allowing parole and furlough," the bench said.

The PIL claimed that while there were several other inmates who displayed exemplary conduct, yet Dutt was the only one whom the prison authorities favoured.

The state government, however, denied the charge.

On a previous hearing, it had submitted a chart of the number of days, the dates that Dutt remained out of jail on parole and furlough, and the reasons for having granted him such leave, to show that it had followed due procedure.

The bench too noted that none of the inmates from the Yerwada prison had made any allegations or complaints alleging that their rights were breached and that undue favours were granted to Dutt.

It cautioned that PILs must not target an individual.

"A public interest litigation must not become a public(ity) interest litigation," the bench said. -- PTI

16:11 Congress wins Alwar LS bypoll

Congress's Karan Singh wins Alwar Lok Sabha constituency seat, defeats BJP's Jaswant Yadav by 1,56,319 votes

15:46 TMC wins Uluberia bypoll

Trinamool candidate Sajda Ahmed wins Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency, defeats BJP candidate Anupam Mallick by 4,74,023.

15:45 SC adopts new roster system

The Supreme Court has adopted a new roster system for allocation of matters to judges.

As per the new system, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will hear all the public interest litigation cases.

The new roster system will come into effect from February 5.

No fresh violence was reported since last night in Kasganj which now looks like an impregnable fortress due to the heavy deployment of gun-toting security personnel.

The Police Headquarters in Lucknow said combing operations had been intensified to nab Naseem and Waseem.

The two are brothers of Saleem, the prime accused in the killing of Chandan Gupta, who was arrested yesterday.

Saleem, who is in his 30s, and his brothers, are accused of killing the 22-year-old college student, police officials said.

Meanwhile, Kasganj appeared to be under siege with the deployment of state police, PAC jawans and RAF personnel. Shops selling essential items and medicines opened, though the number of customers seemed less compared to other times.

"There has been no report of any untoward incident since last night," Superintendent of Police Piyush Srivastava said.

According to an FIR and statements by some of the witnesses, Saleem had opened fire from the roof or balcony of his house.

At least three shops, two buses and a car were torched after Gupta died.

After communal clashes broke out on January 26 during a Tiranga Yatra, authorities deployed around 400 jawans of the RAF and the PAC, and rushed eight ASPs, 14 COs and 25 SHOs to bring the situation under control, Srivastava said.

The issue acquired a political hue as leaders of various parties sought to score a brownie point and the UP government came under fire over the clashes.

Yesterday in Shahjahanpur, three people were injured after volunteers clashed among themselves during a 'Tiranga' rally being taken out by some Hindu organisations, police said.

Two persons were arrested following the incident. -- PTI

A 10-year-old boy, who was injured after an unexploded shell went off at an encounter site in Shopian last week, succumbed in Srinagar today, police said.

Musharaf Faya, who was critically injured after an unexploded shell went off at the site of a gunfight on January 25 in Chaigund village in south Kashmir, died today, a police official said.

He said the boy succumbed to his injuries in the early hours today at the intensive care unit of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital, Soura.

The explosion took place when some people were clearing debris from a house where an encounter had taken place a day earlier. -- PTI

Hollywood stars who will be attending the BAFTA Film Awards have been urged to wear black to the event in support of Time's Up movement.

The Golden Globes Awards, which were held last month, witnessed a rare moment in history with many prominent Hollywood A-listers, including men, donning black and Time's Up pin to protest against gender inequality and sexual harassment in Hollywood.

This was followed by Grammy Awards where the stars turned up wearing a white rose to support the cause of gender equality.

Now, according to a letter sent by a "collective of UK based female film and television industry leaders", the attendees have been asked to follow suit and wear black.

"With BAFTA being the first major film awards ceremony in Europe this year, we feel it is important to make a statement to show global solidarity and that the issue is not being forgotten, and to join hands with people across all industries who have experienced inequality and abuse," the letter stated, reported Deadline.

"Wearing black is a strong, unifying and simple statement a physical and visual representation of our solidarity with people across all industries who have experienced sexual harassment and abuse or have been held back due to an imbalance in power. It is also the easiest colour for the majority to wear and feel comfortable in," it added.

The letter also states that more than half of all women in the UK experienced sexual harassment at work and figure rises to two thirds for women between the ages of 18 to 24.

"We hope that those of us who are privileged enough to have a platform, can use it to raise awareness of the experiences of women beyond our industry, whose experiences are often silenced and marginalised," it added.

The 'Time's Up' campaign was launched by powerful Hollywood women to fight against sexual harassment in wake of Harvey Weinstein scandal.

A New York Times article first exposed Weinstein's history of sexual misconduct, encouraging powerful women to open up about the producer.

The expose had a domino effect with other major names such as Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, James Toback, Jeremy Piven and Dustin Hoffman being accused of similar misdeeds. -- PTI

Congress has won the Mandalgarh assembly byelection in Rajasthan and is leading in the two Parliamentary seats of Ajmer and Alwar.

This is turning out to be a massive blow to the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan that is headed for assembly elections in a few months.

In Rajasthan, the by-polls are not only a test for Chief Minister Raje, but also for Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot, who has been campaigning aggressively in Alwar and Ajmer.

These five constituencies went to polls on January 29.

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union budget.

The House will not to sit tomorrow in honour of its departed member, Chintaman Wanga.

The house to meet on Monday.

Senior BJP MP from Maharashtra Chintaman Wanaga was on Monday passed away in New Delhi. He was 67.

A petrol bomb was thrown at the lakeside villa of Myanmar State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, the government spokesman said.

However, Suu Kyi was not present when the attack happened.

She was held under house arrest by Myanmar's former military regime in the lakeside home in Yangon, in southern Myanmar, for 15 years.

She was released in 2010.

Myanmar's de-facto leader has been the target of international condemnation over the alleged ethnic cleansing by her government of the country's Muslim minority Rohingya people.

Suu Kyi's government has strongly denied accusations it is deliberately targeting Rohingya civilians in the country's Western Rakhine State.

12:22

@IndiaHistorypic

1947 :: First Finance Minister of India , Shri Shanmukham Chetty With His Briefcase (Photo Division )

11:53 Surajpal Amu, who offered bounty for Deepika's head, resigns from primary membership of BJP

A day after he was released from the Bhondsi Jail on bail, Haryana BJP leader Surajpal Amu on Wednesday resigned from the primary membership from the party's state unit.

The police had detained him on January 25 to question him about his involvement in the anti-Padmaavat violence in Gurgaon, and on the following day a court sent him to judicial custody for four days.

"I was saddened over the action of the central government and the Supreme Court on allowing the controversial movie Padmaavat to be screened in every state. This has resulted into violence and the hurting of sentiments of over 12 crore people of the Rajput community," he claimed.

"I was also shocked on how Haryana as well as the Centre fabricated the entire protest by naming it terrorist and anti-social. I have resigned from all posts of the Haryana BJP and informed BJP state president Subash Barala through SMS, e-mail, tweet and Facebook," Amu said.

"I have come to Rajasthan to visit the holy kingdom of Queen Padmini where I have decided to resign from the BJP," he said.

The police also suspected his role in the attack on a Gurgaon school bus, which had children on board.

The Sanjay Leela Bansali-directed period drama faced a lot of trouble from various Rajput groups and political leaders, who accused him of "distorting historical facts" and the wrongful portrayal of queen Padmavati.

Historians are divided on whether Padmavati actually existed.

The film missed its December 1 release as it got stuck with the CBFC over certificate clearance issues. The movie finally released on January 25, with five modifications, including change in the title from Padmavati to Padmaavat, and multiple disclaimers.

The leader also shot into limelight after offering a Rs 10 crore bounty for beheading actress Deepika Padukone and Bhansali for allegedly distorting historical. -- PTI

Photograph: PTI photo

While the Trinamool Congress won the Noapara bypoll by over 62, 000 votes, the Congress is ahead in both Ajmer and Alwar seats.

The Congress is leading in Ajmer by 20, 800 votes while in Alwar it is leading by 43, 728 votes.

Congress' Vivek Bhakad is also leading in Rajasthan's Mandalgarh assembly seat by 116 votes.

The Rajasthan byplls are seen as a test of the popularity of the BJP government led by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

The BJP has been in power in the state since 2013 and in the 2014 national election had won all the state's 25 seats.

The Congress, led by state chief Sachin Pilot, campaigned aggressively for the byelections.

The Trinamool Congress has won the Noapara bypoll by over 62, 000 votes.

TMC candidate Sunil Singh won the seat with 1,11,729 votes.

The TMC also took an early lead in the Uluberia Lok Sabha byelection by a margin of 4,767 votes.

After the first round of counting in Uluberia Lok Sabha seat, TMC candidate Sajda Ahmed secured 6,462 votes, whereas CPI-M candidate Sabiruddin Molla bagged 1695 votes. Anupam Mallik of the BJP and S K Madassar Hossain Warsi of the Congress managed 1,471 and 256 votes respectively.

The elections to both the seats were held on February 29.

The bypolls were necessitated following the deaths of Sultan Ahmed, the sitting TMC MP from Uluberia Lok Sabha constituency in Howrah district, and Madhusudan Ghose, Congress MLA from Noapara assembly seat in North 24 Parganas district.

Sajda Ahmed, the TMC candidate from Uluberia parliamentary seat, is the wife of Sultan Ahmed.

A British member of the House of Lords offered his resignation at the despatch box because he arrived late to the chamber.

According to CNN, International Development Minister and former Conservative MP Lord Bates, who was meant to be in the House of Lords chamber for the start of oral questions at 15:00 GMT said, "I'm thoroughly ashamed at not being in my place and therefore I shall be offering my resignation to the prime minister with immediate effect. I do apologize."

"I wonder if you permit me to offer my sincere apologies to Baroness Lister for my discourtesy in not being in my place to answer her question on a very important matter," Lord Bates said shortly after arriving at his place.

Felllow MPs urged him in vain not to go, and Labour's leader in the Lords said an apology would have sufficed.

Peers cried "no" as he walked past them on his way out of the chamber, leaving puzzled looks in his wake.

Opposition leader in the House of Lords, Baroness Smith of Basildon, stated, "An apology is sufficient for a minor discourtesy."

However, British prime minister Theresa May has rejected Bates' resignation dubbing it as "unnecessary."

"His resignation was refused as it was judged this was unnecessary. As a hard-working and diligent minister, it is typical of his approach that he takes his responsibilities to Parliament so seriously," a spokesperson for Prime Minister Theresa May said. -- ANI

The Congress was leading in Ajmer and Alwar parliamentary seats while the Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in Mandalgarh assembly seat, according to initial trends in the counting of votes for the bypolls.

The counting began at 8 am today amid tight security.

Official polling trends would be released after the completion of rounds of counting, Chief Election Officer Ashwani Bhagat said.

He said the results would be declared before noon.

There was enthusiasm at party offices of both the BJP and the Congress as they were upbeat about the initial trends.

A total of 42 candidates are in the fray for the bypolls to the three seats, the election to which was held on Monday.

In Alwar, Jaswant Singh Yadav of the BJP and Karan Singh Yadav of the Congress contested election.

In Ajmer, Congress' Raghu Sharma would be contesting against BJP's Ram Swaroop Lamba, while in Mandalgarh BJP's Shakti Singh Hada and Congress's Vivek Dhakad are poised for a tough fight.

The bypolls on all three seats was necessitated after sudden deaths of BJP MP from Ajmer Sanwarlal Jat, MP from Alwar Mahant Chand Nath Yogi and Mandalgarh MLA Kirti Kumari. -- PTI

United Progressive Allaince chairperson Sonia Gandhi is likely to chair a meeting of opposition leaders today to plan a joint strategy for the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.

According to sources, the meeting is slated to be held in the Parliament Library Building in the evening after the presentation of the Union Budget in the morning by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Hectic preparations are on to garner the support of all 17 parties that had come together during the presidential and vice presidential polls with Congress hopeful of a good gathering.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad is taking the lead in inviting the leaders.

Among the parties likely to attend the meet are teh Nationalist Congress Party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the National Conference, the Communist Party of India-Marixt, the CPI, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Indian Union Muslim League, the Kerala Congress.

Janata Dal-United rebels Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar Ansari, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party and TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay are among the leaders expected to attending the meeting.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee yesterday said she won't attend the meeting due to other preoccupations. However, the partry will be rtepresented by Trinamool Congress Parliamentary party leaders. she said.

It remains to be seen whether Janata Da-Secular sends its representative to the meeting considering elections in another few in months in Karnataka where the Congress is facing anti-incumbency with the BJP mounting an aggressive fight. The presence of JDS in today's meeting is likely to signal future possibilities of a truck between the Deve Gowda-led party and the Congress.

Crucial issues the instant triple talaq bill, the Supreme Court judges row and the recent communal clashes in Uttar Pradesh are likely to be discussed.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi is also likely to be present at the meeting along with top party leaders.

Sonia Gandhi is, however, likely to will chair the meeting in her capacity as Congress parliamentary party leader and the UPA chief. -- PTI

10:00 Indian American CEO indicted for bribery

A former Indian American CEO of an IT company based in the US city of Detroit has been indicted for his alleged role in orchestrating a scheme to bribe a city official to obtain benefits, the Department of Justice said today.

According to the 11-count indictment filed in the Eastern District of Michigan, Parimal D Mehta, 54, made multiple cash payments to Charles Dodd, former Director of Detroit's Office of Departmental Technology Services between 2009 to 2016.

This included two cash bribes hand-delivered by Mehta to Dodd in the restrooms of Detroit-area restaurants in 2016, the DOJ alleged.

Mehta is also alleged to have employed Dodd's family members at FutureNet and its subsidiaries. Dodd previously pleaded guilty to bribery on September 27, 2016.

The indictment alleges that Mehta paid these bribes to Dodd in exchange for preferential treatment for his company, FutureNet, which received approximately USD 7.5 million from Detroit in 2015 and 2016.

According to the indictment, Mehta and FutureNet benefitted from Dodd's influence over the administration of city contracts, expenditures under those contracts, and the hiring and selection of contract personnel.

Mehta obtained confidential information about Detroit's internal budgets for specific technology projects, the indictment alleges. -- PTI

09:21

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with the all-important briefcase ahead of the budget 2018.

09:01 Jaitley arrives at North Block

And here is the man of the moment.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at North Block before presenting the Union Budget 2018 in the Parliament today.

It will be a good budget. It will be for the benefit of the common people, says Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State, Finance, ahead of the Union budget 2018.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present today the current National Democratic Alliance government's fifth and arguably his toughest budget yet as he seeks to address agriculture distress, create jobs and boost growth while at the same time stick to fiscal prudence.

The budget, in view of upcoming assembly polls in eight states -- including three major states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party -- and general elections next year, may see new rural schemes and stepping up of funding towards existing programmes like MNREGA, rural housing, irrigation projects and crop insurance.

With the recent elections in Gujarat indicating erosion of BJP's rural vote base, Jaitley may also unveil incentives for the farm sector.

Small businesses, which have traditionally formed the core support base of the BJP, too may get some sops to ease pain caused to them due to chaotic rollout of the Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation.

There is also an expectation that common man may get some relief in income tax by way of a raise in the exemption limit.

Also on Jaitley's menu may be upping spending on infrastructure projects like highways and modernisation of railways to boost economic growth that is at a four-year low.

But he has to do all this while sticking to the road map of narrowing one of Asia's largest budget deficits, as failing which, India may fall on the wrong side of global investors and credit rating agencies which had late last year handed out a rare sovereign upgrade.

The target Jaitley had previously set out was to lower the fiscal deficit to 3.2 per cent of the GDP in the current fiscal and to 3 per cent in 2018-19, the Budget for which he would present in the Lok Sabha today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have already lowered expectations of mass voter swaying announcements when he indicated that the budget may not be resort to populism and that it was a myth that common man wants sop.

This will be India's first post-GST and is being keenly watched to see what Jaitley does to boost growth in Asia's third largest economy. -- PTI

Image: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with ministers of state Shiv Pratap Shukla, Pon Radhakrishnan and his team of officials, gives final touches to the Union Budget 2018-19 at his office at North Block in New Delhi on Wednesday. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo

00:09 Counting of votes for Rajasthan bypolls today

Counting of votes for the Rajasthan bypolls in two Lok Sabha and one assembly constituency, a crucial contest ahead of the assembly elections due later this year, will take place on Thursday.

The counting of votes of the Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats will be done in the respective constituencies, whereas it will take place in Bhilwara for the Mandalgarh assembly seat, a spokesperson of the state election department said.

A total of 42 candidates are in the fray for the bypolls to the three seats, the election to which was held on Monday.

In Alwar, Jaswant Singh Yadav of Bharatiya Janata Party and Karan Singh Yadav of the Congress have contested the election, while Raghu Sharma of the Congress and BJP's Ram Swaroop Lamba locked horns in Ajmer.

In Mandalgarh, BJP's Shakti Singh Hada and Congress's Vivek Dhakad are poised for a tough fight.

The bypolls on all the three seats were necessitated after the sudden death of BJP MPs Sanwarlal Jat from Ajmer, Mahant Chand Nath Yogi from Alwar, and MLA Kirti Kumari from Mandalgarh. -- PTI

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