Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Dalit leader Udit Raj today questioned the claim that Naxals were  behind the violence in Bhima Koregaon, saying it amounted to 'insulting' Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar's followers gathered there and instead blamed some Hindutva leaders  for vitiating the atmosphere prior to the incident.

Days after the Pune police arrested five persons with alleged Maoist links for the Bhima Koegaon violence, Udit Raj said he wondered if naxals are capable of mobilising lakhs of Dalits.

There is frustration and anger in the community that had voted for the BJP with a lot of expectations in 2014, he said, adding the party needs to identify the reasons behind this so that it can make amends before the next Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

He said he had recently met party president Amit Shah over Dalit issues and given his suggestions.

He accused  Hindutva leaders like Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote of  vitiating the atmosphere for weeks prior to the incident.

Large number of Dalits had gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon in which forces of the East India Company had defeated the the Peshwa's army. Dalits believe that Mahars, a scheduled caste, formed a major part of the company's army.

The BJP MP said there could be infiltration by some naxals but to suggest that they were behind the mobilisation of lakhs of Dalits was wrong.

"There could be naxal elements but can lakhs of Dalits who had gathered there be naxals or be mobilsed by naxalites?.. It amounts to insulting Ambedkar and Ambedkarites," he said.

Asked if blaming naxals for the violence amounted to insulting Ambedkarites- a term for the followers of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar's principles- he said, "Of course."

Naxal elements may be there and a thorough probe should be done, he said.

To a question about perceived anger among the Dalits, Udit Raj, a former IRS officer who also heads All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, said the BJP leadership should look into it.

Only those who are accepted by the community as its leader can convey the party's and the government's views to it, he said, adding that a leader empowered by the party but not seen as their representatives by Dalits cannot do the job.  -- PTI

India was the only country today in the eight-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organisation grouping which opposed China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that any mega connectivity project must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries.

A declaration signed by leaders of the SCO countries, including Modi, at the end of a two-day summit of the bloc said Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have been 'reaffirming' their support for China's Belt and Road Initiative.

In his address at the summit, Modi, in a clear reference to the BRI, said any mega connectivity project must respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries and assured that India will support projects which ensure inclusivity.

"Connectivity with the neighbouring countries is India's priority. We welcome the connectivity projects which are sustainable and efficient and which respect territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries," he said.

India has been severely critical of the BRI, the pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is part of the BRI, passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

India says it cannot accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Modi, in presence of Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, said India's commitment to connectivity projects was reflected in its involvement in the International North South Corridor project, development of the Chabahar port and Ashgabat agreement.

China had unveiled the BRI in 2013 with an aim to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.

President Xi has already announced that China would invest around $126 billion for the project.

However, there has been suspicion among several countries that the main aim of the project is to expand China's influence globally.

According to Chinese officials, around 80 countries and international organisations have already inked pacts with Beijing for the ambitious project.

'The Member States express appreciation for the joint efforts taken towards its implementation, including efforts to coordinate the development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the BRI and call for using the potential of the regional countries, international organisations and multilateral associations  to create a broad, open, mutually beneficial and equal partnership in the SCO space,' said the declaration on the BRI.

It said the SCO member countries pointed out the potential of coordinating international, regional and national development projects and strategies for stimulating cooperation in the interests of economic development based on the principles of respect, equality and mutual benefit.

In his address, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain whole-heartedly supported the BRI, saying it was boosting Pakistan's economy.

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.        Ashgabat agreement is a transport agreement among several Gulf and Central Asian countries which is aimed at creating a transit corridor to spur trade and investment. India has been supporting the project.  -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah asserted today that the SC/ST Act and the reservation system in jobs will remain in force till the party-led government is in power.

He said the election season would kick in soon and the Congress would use the opportunity to spread 'lies' about the Narendra Modi government. The main opposition party will 'mislead' people by saying the National Democratic Alliance government will scrap the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the system of reservation in government jobs and education for the deprived sections the society, Shah added.

"In the coming days, the Congress will spread different types of lies to mislead people. Sometimes they will say the SC/ST Act is being abolished, on other occasions they will say the reservation (system) was being scrapped.

"I want to clearly say that the SC/ST Act and reservation will remain in force till the BJP government is in power," he added.

The BJP chief was addressing a public rally here in Chhattisgarh, which goes to the polls by the year-end.  -- PTI

United States President Donald Trump arrives at Singapore's Paya Lebar Air Base ahead of his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12.

Kim has already arrived in Singapore and met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday.  -- ANI

After a year's gap, China has resumed sharing hydrological data on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers with India, an official of the Water Resources Ministry said.

For the Brahmaputra river, data was shared by China from May 15, while it started sharing data for the Sutlej from June 1.

The move comes after the two sides held talks over the issue in March.

Data will be shared twice daily until October.

Last year, China stopped the exercise citing that the hydrological gathering sites were washed away due to floods. It also coincided with the 73-day Doklam stand-off that took place during the peak monsoon period.

The sharing of hydrological data also coincides with the two sides agreeing to resume the annual exercise between their armies. The exercise did not take place last due to the Doklam stand-off.

The Brahmaputra originates from Tibet and flows into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and later drains into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh.

"Sharing hydrological data is very important for generating information on floods for the northeastern states," the official said.

Beijing has started providing data from three hydrological stations -- Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia, lying on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra, also known as Yarlung Zangbo in China -- and from the station at Tsada for the Sutlej, known as Langqen Zangbo, the official said.

India also pays an annual amount of Rs 1 crore to China for providing data on these two important rivers, the official added.

Interestingly, after the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, an agreement was signed between India and China to share hydrological data for Brahmaputra.  -- PTI

Former National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar was today appointed vigilance commissioner in the probity watchdog Central Vigilance Commission, officials said.

The 62-year-old Kumar, a 1979-batch Indian Police Services officer of the Haryana cadre, retired in September last year after heading the NIA, an anti-terror probe organisation, for over four years.

According to an official order, Kumar has been appointed vigilance commissioner in the CVC for a term of four years or till he attains the age of 65.

The post was lying vacant since February.

According to the rules, Kumar's tenure will come to an end in October 2020.

The Commission comprises central vigilance commissioner and two vigilance commissioners.

At present, K V Chowdary is the CVC and T M Bhasin is the other vigilance commissioner.  -- PTI

The Kerala government today decided to lift the high alert sounded in northern Kozhikode and  Malappuram districts in the wake of the outbreak of deadly Nipah virus last month that has so far claimed 17 lives.

Addressing a press conference in Kozhikode after an all-partymeet that discussed the situation post-Nipah, state HealthMinister K K Shylaja said the virus has been brought under control and its spread checked.

"It has been decided to reopen educational institutions, schools and professional colleges on June 12, which was postponed due to the virus outbreak," she said.

However, she said though restrictions for the public gatherings of people has been relaxed, it was better tocontinue the vigil till this month end.

"Nipah is under control now and no positive case has beenreported. In this backdrop, it has been decided to relax the high alert issued in mid-May after the outbreak of the disease," she said.

Out of the total samples sent for examination, 371 cases have tested negative so far.

"We expect the same results in the remaining samples also. So we can say that the disease is under control and we do not expect any further spread," she said.

However, the minister said that monitoring of persons who were in the contact list, would continue.

But she made it clear that these persons or families should not be isolated as there is no chance of recurrence of the disease.

As many as 2,649 person were in the contact list, which has now come down to 1,430.

The minister also said that the expert cell, opened to monitor the day-to-day situation in Kozhikode, would be closed on June15, but the District Collector and the District Medical Officer (DMO) would continue the coordination in this regard.

Lauding the services by doctors, nurses and paramedics who played a vital role in bringing the situation under control, the minister said the government would organise a function to felicitate them.  -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Tripura on June 18 to unveil the 100-day report card of the state government, party sources said in Agartala today.

Shah might also hold a meeting with the party workers on this occasion to chalk out a strategy for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, they said.

The BAP-Indigenous People's Front of Tripura alliance had recorded a landslide win in assembly election earlier this year, overthrowing the 25-year-old Left Front government.

The coalition government would complete its 100 days in office on June 16.

The state general secretary of the saffron party, Pratima Bhowmik, said the report card would reflect the development work done by Chief Minister Biplab Deb-led government in the first three months.

"Amit Shahji is scheduled to hold a meeting in Guwahati with all chief ministers of BJP-ruled states in the Northeast on June 18 before coming down to Tripura to release the BJP-IPFT government's performance of 100 days," she told reporters.

Deb had promised to go public with his government's 100-day report card, soon after assuming office in March.

Giving details of Shah's itinerary, Bhowmik said, "There will be no public address programme by Shah on this occasion. However, he may hold a meeting with party leaders and karyakartas (workers) to draft a strategy for the upcoming general election."

Tripura has two Lok Sabha constituencies- Tripura West and the ST-reserved seat of Tripura East.

Both seats are currently held by the Communist Party of India-Marxist.  -- PTI

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday landed in Singapore two days ahead of the much-awaited summit with United States President Donald Trump.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Tuesday at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, where the process regarding denuclearisation of North Korea may kick-start in exchange for economic aid.

Several media reports stated that Kim, who arrived in an Air China 747 that touched down at Changi Airport today, is due to meet Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in the city-state later in the day.

Meanwhile, Trump on Saturday left two-day Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Canada's La Malbaie early to head to Singapore for the summit.

Trump is scheduled to arrive at Singapore's Paya Lebar Airbase at 12:30 GMT on Sunday and will stay at the Shangri-La Hotel, according to the White House.

Officials on board Air Force One include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Al Jazeera reported.   -- ANI

Dr No star and first Bond girl, Eunice Gayson passed away at the age of 90. The actor died on June 8.

Gayson is best known for playing Sylvia Trench, who was part of the now-famous scene where James Bond -- then played by Sean Connery -- introduces himself for the first time in the film based on the iconic character created by Ian Fleming.

The news of her death was confirmed on her Twitter page.

'We are very sad to learn that our dear Eunice passed away on June 8th. An amazing lady who left a lasting impression on everyone she met. She will be very much missed,' the post read.

Till date, Gayson continues to be the only Bond girl to appear in two 007 films -- other being From Russia with Love.

Hardcore Bond fans would remember the memorable scene where Connery's Bond asks Gayson's Trench 'I admire your courage, Miss, er... ?'

To which she replies: 'Trench, Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mr... ?'

Connery then delivers the line which went to become the introduction for the next six actors who played the characters as he said: 'Bond, James Bond.'

Bond producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, also paid tributes to the actor on the official James Bond Twitter account.

'We are so sad to learn that Eunice Gayson, our very first 'Bond girl' who played Sylvia Trench in 'DR NO' and 'FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE' has passed away. Our sincere thoughts are with her family,' the post read.

Gayson also appeared in movies such as The Revenge of Frankenstein and classic TV shows The Saint and Avengers.  -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today shook hands with Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain and had a brief chat with him at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Qingdao, China.

The two leaders, who are here to attend the 18th SCO Summit, shook hands after signing of agreements between the members states of the eight nation bloc.

The relations between India and Pakistan had strained after an attack on an army camp in Uri by Pakistan-based terror organisations in 2016.

The ties took a severe hit post-sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in April last year. India had also boycotted the 19th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit after the Uri attack.

The summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad in 2016 was postponed. India has been raising the issue of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in various multilateral forums with an aim to build pressure on Islamabad to dismantle the terror infrastructure operating from that country.

Modi held nearly half a dozen bilateral meetings with leaders of other SCO countries.

However, there was no bilateral meeting between Modi and Hussain.  -- PTI

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) today announced results for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced, with Panchkula boy Pranav Goyal bagging the first rank scoring 337 marks out of 360.

The second position has been secured by Kota's Sahil Jain while Delhi's Kailash Gupta got the third spot.

Kota's Meenal Parekh has emerged as topper among girls with 318 marks.

Around, 1.55 lakh students appeared for the JEE Advanced examination this year that was conducted on May 20 out of which 18,138 have qualified.

With results out now, seat allocation will commence from June 15.

For the first time, JEE Advanced was held completely in the online mode.

Selected ones will obtain admission into undergraduate courses, which will help in obtaining a bachelor's, integrated masters or bachelor-master dual degree in engineering, sciences or architecture.

Aspirants can attempt JEE (Advanced) a maximum of two times in two consecutive years.  -- PTI

Three coaches of Mumbai-Howrah Mail were derailed in Maharashtra's Nashik district in the wee hours of Sunday.

No casualties have been reported so far.

However, 12 trains on the route have been cancelled while one short has been terminated following the repairing works.

The incident took place at about 2 am in the morning, near Igatpuri railway station in the district.

The cause for the derailment has not been ascertained yet.  -- ANI

In a sheer case of medical apathy, three out of four infants died after being put on one oxygen cylinder in Lucknow's King George Medical University.

The family of the infants alleged that they died due to hospital's negligence.

However, the hospital authorities denied the allegation saying that only one infant died after suffering cardiac arrest.

"Only one infant died after suffering cardiac arrest rest are under observation. All the remaining three infants have been admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)," Dr Sudhir Singh, Media co-ordinator of the hospital told ANI.   -- ANI

Currency with the public has reached a record high level of over Rs 18.5 lakh crore, more than double from a low of about Rs 7.8 lakh crore it had hit post-demonetisation decision in late 2016, as per Reserve Bank of India data.

 

At the same time, the total currency put in circulation by the Reserve Bank has also more than doubled to over Rs 19.3 lakh crore -- from a low of about Rs 8.9 lakh crore post-demonetisation.

Currency with the public is arrived at after deducting cash with banks from total currency in circulation.

This high level of currency available with the public is in sharp contrast to the reported cash crunch in various parts of the country a few months ago. There has been a fear that hoarding or accumulation of large amounts of cash for various reasons could have triggered an artificial currency crunch.

The figures for both 'currency with the public' and 'currency in circulation' have also exceeded the levels seen before the government's demonetisation decision on November 8, 2016, that saw nearly 86 per cent of the currency in circulation at that time being invalidated overnight by scrapping the then Rs 500/1,000 banknotes.

The public was given time to deposit the invalidated notes in banks, which saw nearly 99 per cent of banned notes coming back into the system.

As per the RBI's latest disclosure in this regard, people had returned Rs 15.28 lakh crore as on June 30, 2017, of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore banned currency, or 98.96 per cent, of the scrapped notes to the banking system.

Since then, the RBI has introduced new denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 200, among others, besides a new Rs 500 note. After the recent cash crunch, the government had announced that printing of Rs 500 notes would be stepped up.

While the RBI is yet to announce its final word on processing and verification of all the returned notes, the latest 'money supply' data from the central bank puts the "currency with the public" at over Rs 18.5 lakh crore as on May 25, 2018 -- up more than 31 per cent from year-ago level.

This is an over two-fold jump from Rs 7.8 lakh crore as on December 9, 2016 -- the lowest level it had seen after the announcement of the demonetisation decision as people rushed to deposit the scrapped notes with banks and the RBI.

Prior to demonetisation, the currency with the public stood at about Rs 17 lakh crore.

In terms of 'currency in circulation', the RBI puts the latest figure at over Rs 19.3 lakh crore as on June 1, 2018 -- again a jump of about 30 per cent from the year-ago level, according to the 'reserve money' data released by the central bank.

This also marks an over two-fold rise from a low of Rs 8.9 lakh crore as on January 6, 2017 -- the lowest level it saw post-demonetisation. The current level of currency in circulation is also above the pre-demonetisation figure of Rs 17.9 lakh crore as on November 5, 2016.

The RBI publishes the figures for currency in circulation on a weekly basis, while the currency with the public comes out every fortnight.

An analysis of historic data shows that the currency with the public stood at about Rs 13 lakh crore before the Modi government took charge in May 2014. -- PTI

A decision on the issue of prime ministership should taken by a united opposition after the Lok Sabha polls next year, Janata Dal-Secular secretary general Danish Ali said as he made a fervent appeal to all like-minded parties to come together and defeat the Bharatiya Janaat Party. 

   

At a press conference in New Delhi, he cited three previous instances when the prime ministers were chosen post elections.

 

"We have in the past experienced that V P Singh emerged as the prime ministerial candidate only after the elections. In 1996, after the Lok Sabha elections, the United Front was formed and H D Deve Gowda became the prime minister. Similarly,  Manmohan Singh was chosen the prime minister during UPA 1 after the elections," he said.

 

Ali said in a multi-party democracy, the issue of leadership comes after general elections.

 

"We have to decide by consensus who should be the prime minister," he said.

 

Expressing confidence that opposition parties will come together, Ali, who was a key player in the formation of the JDS-Congress government in Karnataka, said they have realised a multi-cornered contest will not help their cause. 

 

He also said that there cannot be an alternative to the BJP without the Congress being part of a formation of opposition parties.

 

 When his attention was drawn to states where the opposition parties were pitted against each other, he said the "parties can contest each other in those states where there is no threat from the BJP". -- PTI

Image:  Opposition leaders at H D Kumaraswamy's swearing in as Karnataka chief minister, May 23, 2018. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that connectivity with the neighbourhood and in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation region is India's priority as he stressed that his country was committed to extend full cooperation to a successful outcome of the summit.

 

Speaking at the restricted session of the SCO Summit, Prime Minister Modi also floated the concept of SECURE: 'S' for security for citizens, 'E' for economic development, 'C' for connectivity in the region, 'U' for unity, 'R' for respect of sovereignty and integrity, and 'E for environment protection.

"We have again reached a stage where physical and digital connectivity is changing the definition of geography. Therefore, connectivity with our neighbourhood and in the SCO region is our priority," Modi said.

Noting that only 6 per cent of foreign tourists in India are from SCO countries, the prime minister said this can easily be doubled. 

"Increasing awareness of our shared cultures can help boost this number.We will organise a SCO food festival and a Buddhist festival in India," he said.

Citing Afghanistan as an "unfortunate example" of effect of terrorism, Modi said he hoped the brave steps towards peace taken by President Ashraf Ghani will be respected by all in the region, apparently referring to a cease-fire announced by the Afghan leader for the Eid festival.

The SCO currently has eight member countries which represents around 42 per cent of the world's population and 20 per cent of the global GDP.

Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar has accused the government of creating an "unsettling" atmosphere in the country on the issue of reservations and urged the Dalits not to respond to "provocations".

 

He was speaking at a congregation of organisations of nomadic tribes from Maharashtra in Pune.

It was Ambedkar's first public appearance since his name allegedly cropped up in one of the documents reportedly seized by the Pune police from five persons in connection with the Elgar Parishad organised in Pune on December 31 last year.

According to the police, the five persons have "close Maoist links".

Ambedkar refused to speak on the issue, saying he would put forward his views on it at a press conference in Mumbai on June 13.

"In Madhya Pradesh, people from the RSS, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are performing yagna and also agitating, seeking to put an end to reservations.

"A move is being made against reservations by pitting the anti-reservation lobby against the pro-reservation one," he said.

Ambedkar claimed that Muslims were "initially incited", but when they stopped reacting, these people started targeting those who were "pro-reservation".

"I fear this will lead to riots between these two groups (pro-reservation and anti-reservation). But the government wants riots to take place on the issue of reservations and this is its agenda. So, I appeal to the people not to react to the provocations," he said.

Ambedkar said by pitting the groups against each other, the government was creating an "unsettling" atmosphere in the country.

He further alleged that the government wanted the system to "fail" so that it could impose Emergency.

The government, Ambedkar alleged, would then use the imposition of Emergency to ensure that no elections were held.

"We will give them a befitting reply by confronting them in the elections and conquering power," he added. -- PTI

Three terrorists were killed after an infiltration bid was foiled by security forces in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Operation is underway.

Further details are awaited. 

The incident comes four days after three terrorists were killed in Macchil sector of Kupwara. 

The infiltrators were eliminated after the army noticed suspicious movement in along the Line of Control.

Chinese President Xi Jinping today welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Qingdao.

The second day of the 18th SCO summit commenced with a welcome ceremony and a group photo of leaders of the eight SCO member-states.

A restricted session is then scheduled which is to be attended only by the SCO members. 

Thereafter, a plenary session will take place following signing ceremony and a joint press conference.

It is for the first time the Indian prime minister will be attending the SCO Summit after India along with Pakistan became a full-fledged members of the grouping, which has been increasingly seen as a counter to NATO.

 

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.