Pranab Mukherjee garlanding a portrait of RSS founder KB Hedgewar. To Mukherjee's right is RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. The former president is set to address the meet at around 6:30 pm.

Former President and the Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee today visited the birth place of the RSS founding Sarsanghachalak Keshav Baliram Hedgewar ahead of his much-anticipated speech at the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur.


In the visitor's book at the Hedgewar's birthplace, Mukherjee wrote, "Today I came here to pay my respect and homage to a great son of Mother India."


Hedgewar, before he founded the RSS, was an active member of the Indian National Congress in the 1920s. He was deeply influenced by the writings of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and broke away from the Congress to form the RSS in 1925.


Mukherjee was welcomed by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. According to sources, this visit to pay tributes to Hedgewar was not part of Mukherjee's scheduled itinerary and an impromptu decision was taken by the former president to do so.


At the headquarters, he will also garland the statue of the sangh founder Hedgewar. There, he will be introduced to the other senior Sangh functionaries and will attend the Sangh parade by its workers on completion of the training camp.


Mukherjee, who reached Nagpur last evening, has been invited by the RSS to address its Shiksha Varg. It is an annual training camp, meant for swayamsevaks in their third year in the organisation. The RSS holds training camps for first, second and third-year swayamsewaks. -- PTI

One of the few Congressmen who have come out in support of Pranab Mukherjee's decision to attend the RSS function at Nagpur is former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh .


"Pranab Mukherjee is a senior leader and I believe that he will not say anything at the RSS event that will harm the country. He was a President of India, and he can go anywhere where he dims fit," he said.


"I'm sure Pranab Mukherjee won't say anything in Nagpur which isn't in favour of the nation. In fact whatever he says will be in favour of the country," Virbhadra Singh said.


The other Congressman who did not criticise Pranab Mukherjee's decision was Salman Khurshid, who said, "We should first wait for his speech at the RSS event, before that it would not be right to pass a judgment. He is a person of great intellect, he must have thought enough before taking the decision.


"We have always discussed him in critical situations, we trust him enough to have made offered him the position of the President of the country, a position that he served with brilliance. He is above the party, if he thinks a discussion is required and should be taken forward, we should wait and see and it impacts the country. We should not make comment before we know about the implications," he added.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founder KB Hedgewar's birthplace. He was welcomed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.


The visit has given rise to a lot of speculation and has been opposed both by the Congress and his 'parivar'. Some Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh and C K Jaffar Sharief, have written to him. A few leaders of the party, including Anand Sharma, have personally visited him in a bid to dissuade him from going to Nagpur.


Mukherjee will have tea with Bhagwat and RSS No 2 Bhaiyyaji Joshi, after which senior functionaries of the Sangh will be introduced to him. Mukherjee, 82, offered floral tributes to RSS founder KB Hedgewar. He is scheduled to make a 20-minute speech thereafter which will be closely watched by the Congress and the BJP.


Image: Pranab Mukherjee with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

The Human Resources head at Mitsubishi has been shot at by a former employee, say reports. Details awaited.

The district and sessions court today framed charges against seven of the eight accused of raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said.


The eighth accused in the case is a juvenile. The trial in the case began on May 31 with the seven accused being produced before the district and sessions judge after after the Supreme Court shifted the hearing outside Jammu and Kashmir.


The case was transferred by the Supreme Court from Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot in Punjab for a fair trial following a plea by the victim's family. While transferring the case from Kathua to Pathankot, about 30 km away, the apex court directed day-to-day in-camera trial in the case.


According to the 15-page charge sheet of the Jammu and Kashmir's Crime Branch, the girl from a minority nomadic community, who was kidnapped on January 10 this year, was allegedly raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district. She was kept sedated for four days before being bludgeoned to death. PTI


This is what her parents had to say after the murder.

PM Modi will be participating in the 18th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in China, on 9th June. PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the first day of the summit: Raveesh Kumar,  MEA

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel today expressed his disapproval at former president Pranab Mukherjee visiting the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and said he 'did not expect this from him'.


Patel, who is UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's close confidant and has been her political secretary, voiced his view on Twitter, in reply to Mukherjee's daughter who spoke out against the decision of the former president to address an RSS event.


"I did not expect this from Pranab da!" Patel said in his one line tweet, which is believed to be a missive from Sonia Gandhi.


Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee had yesterday said her father was giving the BJP and the Sangh a handle to plant false stories. His "speech will be forgotten" but the "visuals will remain", she said on Twitter.


She also expressed the hope that the former president would realise how the BJP's "dirty tricks department" works and warned him of the consequences of attending such a meet. Pranab Mukherjee is in Nagpur today to address an RSS event in the evening.


The visit has given rise to a lot of speculation and has been opposed both by the Congress and his 'parivar'. Some Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh and C K Jaffar Sharief, have written to him.


A few leaders of the party, including Anand Sharma, have personally visited him in a bid to dissuade him from going to Nagpur. Adding to the chorus of voices, former MP and Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said he agreed with Sharmistha Mukherjee.


"... He's no longer a political person and is not directly associated with the Congress. The Sangh is expert at misusing small things in a wrong way. Those who do not have a standing of their own try and present things in a dramatic manner," he added.


Sharmistha Mukherjee's outburst came soon after rumours about her joining the BJP cropped up. She dismissed as "false" rumours of her joining the BJP and alleged they were the handiwork of BJP's "dirty tricks department". She said she would rather leave politics than quit the Congress. -- PTI


File pic of Pranab Mukherjee with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

King's Circle in Mumbai was waterlogged this morning as pre-monsoon showers lashed the city. King's Circle, much like Hindmata, is low-lying and gets waterlogged easily. However, the skies are clear now and there has been no rain for a couple of hours. Pic: Sahil Salvi.

The US is evacuating several diplomats from China amid concerns that they were suffering from a mysterious illness similar to those reported by its personnel in Cuba, even as Beijing today said it has investigated and found "no clue" about the sound attacks.


The US move comes after the State Department recently received medical confirmation that one of the US government employees had suffered a medical incident in China that was consistent with what an American personnel in Havana, Cuba had experienced.


The worker at its Consulate in Guangzhou had experienced a "subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure," the state department said.


Thereafter, it deployed a medical team to Guangzhou to conduct a medical screening of all US government employees and family members who requested it.


The medical screenings are ongoing for any personnel who have noted concerning symptoms or wanted baseline screening, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.


"As a result of the screening process so far, the department has sent a number of individuals for further evaluation and a comprehensive assessment of their symptoms and findings in the United States," she said.


"The US medical professionals will continue to conduct full evaluations to determine the cause of the reported symptoms and whether the findings are consistent with those noted in previously affected government personnel or possibly completely unrelated," Nauert said.


Reacting to the reports of the mysterious sound attacks on the US diplomats, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing today that Beijing had investigated the May 23 allegation and found no clue.  -- PTI

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today undertook a train journey from Pentrich to Pietermaritzburg, a railway station where a young Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of a "whites-only" compartment, an incident that acted as a catalyst for the launch of the Satyagraha movement.


Swaraj, who is in South Africa on a five-day visit, yesterday planted a sapling in the Phoenix settlement where Mahatma Gandhi theorized his philosophy of non-violence during his stay in South Africa.


"The journey that acted as a catalyst for Mahatma Gandhi to practise satyagraha! EAM @SushmaSwaraj embarks a train journey from Pentrich station to Pietermaritzburg," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.


On the night of June 7, 1893, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a young lawyer, was thrown off the train's first class compartment at Pietermaritzburg station for refusing to give up his seat.


The incident led him to develop his Satyagraha principles of peaceful resistance and mobilise people in South Africa and in India against the discriminatory rules of the British.


The incident of Gandhi being thrown off the train on a cold winter evening was re-enacted, and his a two-sided bust installed on the station platform. Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa before returning to India in 1915. -- PTI


Image: The two-sided bust of Mahatma Gandhi, one as a young lawyer in S Africa and the other as the man the world knows as the Mahatma.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday announced that all stone pelting cases against children in Jammu and Kashmir will be withdrawn.


Speaking at the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Conclave in Srinagar, Rajnath said, "When I was in Delhi, I met Afshan Ashiq (Kashmiri Footballer) and she told me that she had been a part of stone pelting incidents earlier, but ever since she got into sports, her life was turned around. Sports can bring a change in your lives. Children can be misguided easily but we know the truth that is why we have withdrawn all stone pelting cases against them."


Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, while lauding the Central Governments' efforts for promoting Sports in the state, said that the children of the state deserved to live in a positive atmosphere sans all the terror and violence.


"Children from Jammu and Kashmir should also be given atmosphere and opportunity to develop like that of the other parts of the country, so that stone pelting, bombing and gunning stop and these children get a chance to grow," Mufti said. Rajnath attended this conclave as part of his two-day official visit to the state.

A Texas man needed 26 doses of antivenom after a beheaded rattlesnake bit him last month near Corpus Christi, according to media reports today. Jennifer Sutcliffe told local station KIII-TV that her husband was working in the garden on May 27 when he saw the four-foot rattlesnake and decapitated it. When he picked up the snake's remains to dispose of them, the head bit him.


She called 911 and started driving to the hospital, and her husband began having seizures, lost his vision and had internal bleeding, the channel reported.


An air ambulance was requisitioned and the man was airlifted to the hospital.


"A normal person who is going to get bit is going to get two to four doses of antivenom," Sutcliffe told the station. "He had to have 26 doses." More than a week after the incident, the man is reportedly in stable condition, with some weakened kidney function, reports said. Texas is home to at least six rattlesnake species. -- PTI

The Centre has set up a three-member committee for monitoring and redressal of grievances relating to the alleged racial discrimination faced by the people from the northeastern region residing in different parts of the country.


According to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the committee comprises Satyendra Garg, joint secretary (Northeast) in the ministry, Alana Golmei, secretary, Northeast Support Centre, New Delhi and Mizum Nyodu, assistant professor, Law Faculty, Delhi University.


The panel has been constituted for monitoring and redressal of issues/grievances relating to the racial discrimination faced by the northeastern people residing in different parts of the country, the order said.

Delhi's Tis Hazari Court pronounced 7 years imprisonment to gangster Abu Salem for demanding Rs 5 crore as protection money from a Delhi-based businessman

Heads up those heading for a weekend getaway from or to Mumbai.

The Meteorological Dept sayd that the monsoon has arrived up to Goa. In the next 24 hours it'll reach southern Maharashtra/Konkan region. In the next 48-72 hours it's expected to reach Mumbai. Heavy rain warning still in place for June 8 and 9. On June 10, intensity of rain to decrease.

BJP President Amit Shah meets Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal  in Chandigarh. 

Singapore has said all the preparations, including security and logistic arrangements, for the June 12 meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are well in hand and expressed hope that there will be a positive outcome from the summit.


Singapore designated a special event area of the Sentosa island tourist resort for Tuesday's historic summit, which is expected to be covered by over 2,500 journalists from across the world.


"No, we did not put our hand up, but we were asked. And in this case, both the North Koreans and the United States felt that we were an appropriate venue," Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said during a visit to Washington on Tuesday.


"I think Singaporeans can be proud ... that we've been chosen because they know that we are neutral, reliable, trustworthy and secure," said Balakrishnan, adding that it was the Americans who approached Singapore first.


He assured that Singapore is ready to host the summit and "do our part" for world peace.


"I can say with confidence that all the preparations, logistics and security, the diplomatic arrangements, are all well in hand," Singapore media quoted the Minister as saying.


He expressed hope that there will be a positive outcome but cautioned that one meeting will not "unlock the entire situation on the Korean Peninsula". Balakrishnan is visiting Pyongyang today at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho, just ahead of the summit.


Singapore authorities are working, along with the Americans, to ensure very tight security. The summit will see Singapore at the "peak of security', said Dr Graham Ong-Webb of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.


Strict security measures will be enforced around Shangri-La Hotel and The St Regis which have been selected for Trump and Kim's stay in Singapore. Security will also be very tight on Sentosa island. The Capella Hotel on the Island will be the venue for the meeting. -- PTI 

The South West Monsoon has become active over Kerala with heavy rains lashing the southern state since last night. Widespread rains are likely to continue in the state in the next five days, Dr K Santosh, In charge Indian Meteorological Department, Thiruvananthapuram, told PTI.


Fishermen have been warned that strong winds with speed reaching 35-45 km per hour gusting to 50 kmph is likely to hit the Kerala and Lakshadweep coast in the next 24 hours from 2 pm today.


The state capital recorded 45.8 mm rainfall as per the weather chart at 0830 hrs this morning, while airport received 35.5 mm rains. Airport Director said there have been no disruptions in flight services. Kochi airport recorded 51.8 mm rains, while in Kannur it was 30.2 mm. -- PTI

BJP chief Amit Shah arrives in Chandigarh. Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher met him at the airport. Shah will be meeting sporting legend Milkha Singh and hockey player Balbir Singh Sr. at their respective residences as a part of the BJP's initiative 'Sampark se Samarthan'.

Pic courtesy: Kirron Kher on Twitter.


Amit Shah's Sampark se Samarthan in Mumbai

A scooter makes its way through a flooded road in Hindmata, Dadar. However, this is not an indicator of how the rest of Mumbai is faring as pre-monsoon showers hit the city this morning. Hindmata is a low-lying area and floods even with little rain. Pic Sahil Salvi. 

These may be just pre-monsoon showers, but clearly they are a harbinger of the season ahead. Between 18 mm and 20 mm of rain has been reported in the city.

Suburban trains, long-distance trains, flights, have all been delayed after heavy rains lashed Mumbai this morning.

Reports say a Jet Airways flight from London has been diverted to Ahmedabad.

Flooded roads have been reported from Dadar, Parel, Cuffe Parade, Bandra, Borivali and Andheri.

Disaster management authorities have warned about very heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours.

Trains were running late by over 30 minutes on the Central railway after reports of a landslide at Mumbra.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation administration has taken a number of precautionary measures to tackle any eventuality in view of extremely heavy rainfall warning by the India Meteorological Department from June 9 to 11, a statement issued by the civic body said.


Image: A waterlogged road at the low-lying, flood-prone Hindmata area of Dadar in Mumbai. Pic: Sahil Salvi

With the IMD predicting "heavy to very heavy" rainfall along the Maharashtra coast, including Mumbai, over this weekend, the Mumbai civic body is preparing itself to prevent and tackle monsoon-related disasters.


The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation administration has taken a number of precautionary measures to tackle any eventuality in view of extremely heavy rainfall warning by the India Meteorological Department from June 9 to 11, a statement issued by the civic body said.


"Leaves of all the senior officials, including Deputy Municipal commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and heads of departments have been cancelled and they have been directed to be available in their headquarters on June 9 and 10 (Saturday and Sunday)," it said.


On the steps being taken, the BMC said three teams of National Disaster Response Force will be stationed at Parel, Mankhurd (for eastern suburbs) and Andheri Sports Complex (for western suburbs). They are equipped with walkie-talkies and flood rescue material.


Besides, Navy personnel will be deployed in Colaba, Worli, Ghatkopar, Trombay, Malad for flood rescue if required, the BMC release said.


In addition to this, six Flood Rescue Teams of Mumbai Fire Brigade will be posted at the Regional Command Centres and emergency support functions like BEST (bus transport system), police, traffic police and education officers have been alerted.


The education officers monitoring school premises in all 24 administrative wards have been asked to keep shelter schools open 247. Dewatering pumps will be kept ready and flood-prone spots will be monitored closely during the heavy rain period, statement said.


As per the IMD forecast, there is a possibility of very heavy rainfall in Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts on June 9. There is a similar forecast for the six districts of Konkan region, including Mumbai, and surrounding areas on June 10 and 11. -- PTI


Image: Mumbaikars brave the rain this morning. Pic: Sahil Salvi

The Supreme Court today modified the Delhi High Court order by stopping salary and allowances of former Janata Dal United president and rebel MP Sharad Yadav till the pendency of his plea challenging his disqualification from the Rajya Sabha.


A vacation bench of Justices A K Goel and Ashok Bhushan, however, allowed him to retain his official bungalow, as ordered by the high court on December 15 last year.


The apex court's decision came on a plea by JD-U's Rajya Sabha MP Ramchandra Prasad Singh challenging the Delhi High Court's interim order which had allowed Yadav to retain his official residence in New Delhi and draw his salary, allowances and perks.


The high court, however, had refused to grant interim stay on his disqualification as a Rajya Sabha MP. The interim order of the high court had come on Yadav's plea challenging his disqualification on several grounds, including that he was not given any chance to present his case by the Rajya Sabha chairman before passing an order against him and his colleague and then MP Ali Anwar on December 4, 2017.


On May 18, the top court had agreed to hear the appeal by Singh and issued a notice to Yadav. Singh had sought the disqualification of Yadav and Anwar on the grounds that they had attended a rally of opposition parties in Patna in violation of the party's directives.


Yadav had joined hands with the opposition after JD-U president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dumped the grand alliance with the RJD and the Congress in Bihar and tied up with the BJP in July last year. Yadav was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 and his term was scheduled to end in July 2022. Anwar's term as a Rajya Sabha MP expired in April. Both were disqualified under the anti-defection law. -- PTI

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is slated to visit Thoothukudi on June 9 to meet the families of those killed by police firing during the anti-Sterlite protests. The Chief Minister will also meet those injured.


Superstar Rajinikanth had also visited the general hospital in Thoothukudi to meet with the injured and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.


Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, in May, had visited the General Hospital in Thoothukudi, where he met those who were injured in the clashes.


On May 22, 13 people were killed and more than 60 injured in the police firing during the protest against the construction of a new smelter plant by Sterlite copper mining Industries in Thoothukudi.


The people were protesting against the construction of the copper plant, claiming that it was polluting groundwater, and was hazardous for the environment. - ANI

Widespread protests by pro-Kannada activists marred the screening of the Rajinikanth-starrer 'Kaala' in most parts of the state today. Cinema halls, where it was to be screened, refused to show the film, leaving cinema goers, especially diehard fans of the Tamil superstar, disappointed. Demonstrations were held in front of all the theatres in the city where the film was to be screened.


Protestors were seen requesting the 67-year-old actor's fans not to watch the movie for the sake of their Kannada brethren fighting for Cauvery water.


They also asked them to come together to show solidarity to the farmers who have been deprived of Cauvery river water.


Reports from Mysuru said the screening of the film was delayed by movie houses due to protests. However, two cinema theatres in Ballari and Raichur districts decided to screen the movie.


Image: Rajinikanth fans at Chennai's Rohini Theatre. The first show of the movie began at 4 am.

US President Donald Trump hosted his first Iftar dinner at the White House during which he sought co-operation from the Muslim world to achieve a future of security and prosperity for all, a move that surprised many in the community after he skipped hosting such a party last year.


Last year, Trump broke with decades of precedent by not hosting the annual Iftar dinner -- a bipartisan tradition that formally began with Bill Clinton in the 1990s but has conceptual roots tracing as far back as under Thomas Jefferson in 1805.


Trump, who has frequently engaged in anti-Muslim rhetoric, wished Muslims around the world a "Ramadan Mubarak" - a blessed holiday and sought co-operation from them to achieve a future of security and prosperity for all.


"Only by working together can we achieve a future of security and prosperity for all," Trump told a gathering of diplomats and officials at the iftar dinner last evening.


"For this reason, I was proud to make my first foreign trip as President to the heart of the Muslim world, where I addressed an assembly of more than 50 leaders of Muslim-majority countries. That was something," he said.


"The partnership and solidarity that we established over the past year has only deepened with time. So many friendships. So many meetings, even in the Oval Office. And we've made a lot of progress, I think, a lot of tremendous progress," Trump said.


After delivering his remarks, Trump sat on the head table which among others included Saudi Ambassador Prince Khalid Ben Salman and Jordanian envoy Dina Kawar. The Indonesian Ambassadors was also seated on the same table. Envoys from several Muslim countries including the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Qatar, Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Kuwait, Gambia, Ethiopia, Iraq, and Bosnia were invited.  -- PTI

President Ram Nath Kovind will not host an Iftar party this year, in accordance with his decision to not observe any religious functions inside Rashtrapati Bhawan at taxpayers' expense.


Kovind, who assumed office last July, decided not to use Rashtrapati Bhavan for any religious observance.


"After the President took over office, he decided there would be no religious celebrations or observances in a public building such as Rashtrapati Bhavan on taxpayer expense," Press Secretary to President Ashok Malik told ANI.


"President Kovind did not celebrate any religious festivities such as Diwali, Christmas and Holi though he wished all fellow citizens on every major religious festival since he assumed office last July," he added.

Infighting and the BJP's rising graph in West Bengal seem to be taking a toll on the ruling Trinamool Congress, with the party deciding to crack the whip against internal strife and revamp the organisation ahead of next year's Lok Sabha polls.


According to senior TMC leaders who do not wish to be named, the recent spate of reshuffle in the state cabinet and some local bodies is a hint that the party is planning to overhaul the organisation at various levels.


The BJP is trying to expand its footprint in West Bengal, which has 42 Lok Sabha seats. The party, at present, has just two seats in the state.


The recent bypolls and the panchayat election results have indicated a paradigm shift in the state politics with the saffron party emerging as the main opposition to the TMC, although it has a long way to go before it can put up a close fight to the ruling party.


Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has floated the idea of a federal front of regional parties, is also making her presence felt at the national level as a prominent challenger to the BJP. According to TMC insiders, the party has a two-pronged strategy, under which ministers who are "overburdened" with various portfolios will have to do away with some responsibilities. -- PTI

The traffic in south Srinagar city came to a grinding halt today due to security arrangements for Home Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Jammu and Kashmir.


The roads leading to Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor Complex at Wazir Bagh in Srinagar have been sealed as the home minister is scheduled to attend the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Conclave 2018 organised by the state sports council.


The vehicles are being checked by security forces at Rambagh intersection before being allowed to pass which has caused a massive traffic jam.


The traffic jam spread to areas like Gojgi Bagh, Bund side, Jawahar Nagar, Batamaloo, Rambagh and Lasjan, eye witnesses said. They said traffic cops are trying to ease the traffic, but have not been successful so far.


This is the peak hour for traffic in the city because of the office hours as well as schools which open at 9 am. -- PTI

Terrorists attacked an Army team in Keran sector, J&K. Two soldiers injured. More information awaited.

Superstar Rajinikanth returned to cinema halls with Kaala, a gangster flick set in the backdrop of Mumbai's Dharavi. This is the second consecutive outing of director Pa Ranjith with the Thalaivar after 2016's Kabali.
At a theatre in Chennai, fans offered milk to the actor's poster and burst crackers as they gathered in large numbers to watch the film. Outside the Lido Mall in Bengaluru, fans waited for the show to begin.

Kaala hit theatres worldwide today, as scheduled, after the Supreme Court, on 6 June, refused to stay its release.

Rajinikanth earned the ire of the Karnataka film fraternity for his comments on the Cauvery river water dispute with fringe groups in the state threatening to disrupt shows. Yesterday, Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said makers of the movie should avoid releasing it in the state "considering the situation". The statement comes as the Karnataka high court had earlier in the day asked the state to provide security to the centres screening the movie.

In Mumbai, neither rain nor the warnings of a 100 mm deluge today, could dent the spirit of Rajinikanth fans who came in large numbers to watch the superstar's latest "Kaala" for their first-day-first-show pilgrimage.


As the admirers celebrated the release of the much-awaited film by dancing to the beat of the drums, the skies too opened up to match the footsteps of Rajini lovers. Rajini loyalists started streaming into one of the suburban multiplexes as early as 12 am holding their special "fans only" tickets with a poster of "Kaala" printed on them.


By 5 am as many as 1,000 fans started thronging the multiplex. Three police jeeps and a police van were stationed outside the venue for security reasons.


Mumbai rains tried to put a dampener on what could inarguably be called a festival, but failed to match the frenzy of ardent Thalaivar fans.


Men were dressed in suits, blazers and traditional lungi, and the women draped in saris with 'gajra'-adorned hair.


"Rajini sir is not a star, he is our God. He is a culture in himself. I inherited my love for him from my parents. They will be proud of me," said a 20-year-old fan from the Tamil stronghold of Dharavi who arrived at midnight to catch the first show at 6 a.m. at the theatre with his friends.


Over 50 women, dressed in traditional south Indian yellow sari, walked from a temple to the theatre to show their devotion for the actor. Fans, with Rajinikanth's portrait painted on their chests and some even replicating his "Kaala" look - black shirt, black lungi and a white beard - gathered near the 67 feet poster of the actor, which was garlanded, signalling the beginning of the day and the film's first show.


"The poster is 67 feet because Rajini is 67 years old. We were coordinating over this since months and the auspicious day is finally here. We have prayed for him, danced for him, now we, will cheer for him," Santosh, a member of Rajini fan club, said.  -- PTI

Air India, which failed to get even a single bidder for its disinvestment plan, has delayed the salaries of their employees for the month of May. Airline Head Quarter staff told to ANI that they are not getting any communication from management as to when they will get salary.


Sources said that the airline has been facing cash crunch since April and therefore employees are getting their salaries late. However, earlier salaries were paid on time either on 30 or 31 of every month. On May 31, the government had said no initial bids were received for the strategic disinvestment for the loss-making carrier. -- ANI


Also read: Why no one is ready to bail out Air India