LIVE! Before RS polls, most MLAs attend Samajwadi dinner

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Wed, 21 March 2018

Before RS polls, most MLAs attend Samajwadi dinner

Timeline Refresh

22:53 Before RS polls, most MLAs attend Samajwadi dinner

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav with wife Dimple Yadav, Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan, Uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav and others attended a dinner party hosted for party members at Taj hotel in Lucknow.

After a scare for Mayawati, the SP lawmakers who had skipped the meeting in the morning arrived hours later for the dinner hosted by party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NDTV reported.

The lawmakers, led by Shivpal Yadav, said they would vote for the SP and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.

This was Shivpal Yadav's first public appearance with his nephew Akhilesh in over a year.

They also sat next to each other for most of the dinner, chatting and posing for the cameras.

The only legislator who skipped both meetings was Nitin Agrawal, the son of Naresh Agrawal, who quit the SP and shifted to the BJP recently.

Agrawal Junior was, however, seen at a meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, described as a 'dry-run' for the Rajya Sabha election. -- Agencies

Photograph: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called Angela Merkel to congratulate her on assuming office as the Chancellor of Germany for a fourth successive term.

Prime Minister Modi lauded the strong leadership provided by Chancellor Merkel to Germany, and the pivotal role played by Germany in European affairs during her leadership tenure, an official statement said in New Delhi.

Modi reiterated his commitment to continue working with Merkel for deepening and strengthening the Indo-German bilateral relationship.

Prime Minister Modi also said that he is looking forward to his forthcoming meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will be on a state visit to India on 22-26 March. -- PTI

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is responding well to treatment in the United States, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement in Panaji today.

Parrikar is suffering from a pancreatic ailment and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the United States.

"Further treatment on the chief minister has begun and he is responding well. The next review will be done in two weeks," Rupesh Kamat, personal secretary to Parrikar, said in the statement.

Parrikar was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on February 15 after being diagnosed with mild pancreatitis. He was discharged after a few days and returned to Goa to present the budget on February 21.

After spending a couple of days at home, he was admitted to Goa Medical College and Hospital near Panaji.

Later, he was again admitted to Lilavati Hospital on March 5, from where he was taken to the US. -- PTI

21:23 Sardar Patel's statue defiled in Gujarat

A statue of India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was found desecrated in Shertha village of Gujarat's Gandhinagar district, the latest in a series of vandalism of statues of popular personalities across the country.

According to police, some unidentified persons last night garlanded the statue with empty cold drink bottles and grass.

The statue was unveiled by Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch L K Advani in October, 1992.

The incident came to light after some villagers spotted the garland placed on the statue and approached police, said Adalaj police inspector J G Vaghela

"We have initiated investigation into the matter and sought CCTV footage from around the area to identify the persons involved in this case. We are also in the process of registering an FIR," he said.

The villagers later removed the garland from the statue.

Two jawans of Home Guard and a police constable are stationed near the statue, Vaghela added.

The statue of E V Ramasamy, also known as 'Periyar', was found decapitated in Viduthi village of Tamil Nadu on March 19.

Desecration of Periyar statues was also reported from Vellore and Pudukottai districts of the southern state. -- PTI

The NDA government today quoted former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the Supreme Court to put forth its arguments supporting the Aadhaar scheme, saying it would stop the leakage of public money.

"A former Prime Minister of this country (late Shri Rajiv Gandhi] has gone on record to say that out of one rupee spent by the Government for welfare of the downtrodden, only 15 paisa thereof actually reaches those persons for whom it is meant.

"It cannot be doubted that with UID/Aadhaar much of the malaise in this field can be taken care of," Attorney General K K Venugopal told a five judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

The bench is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and its 2016 enabling law.

Venugopal said Aadhaar has effectively taken care of the issue of ghost beneficiaries of welfare schemes, besides fake cards for ration, BPL quota and PAN.

It becomes the government's duty in a welfare state to come out with various schemes which not only take care of immediate needs of the deprived class but also ensure that adequate opportunities are provided to such persons to enable them make their lives better, economically and socially, Venugopal said.

However, for various reasons including corruption, actual benefit does not reach those who are supposed to receive such benefits he said.

"One of the main reasons is failure to identify these persons for lack of means by which identity could be established of such genuine needy class.

Resultantly, lots of ghosts and duplicate beneficiaries are able to take undue and impermissible benefits," he said. -- PTI

Hitting out at Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for linking data mining firm Cambridge Analytica with the Congress, the party today said it was the Bharatiya Janata Party which hired the services of the controversial firm during Bihar and Gujarat elections.

Congress communications incharge Randeep Surjewala asserted that the services of the London-based company have never been hired by his party or its chief Rahul Gandhi.

He was reacting to Prasad's charge that the Congress planned to use the firm's services for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and boost Gandhi's profile.

Cambridge Analytica is accused of illegally harvesting personal information from Facebook to influence polls in several countries. Surjewala termed Prasad's remarks as yet another attempt at 'spin strategy' and to divert the country's attention from other issues.

"BJP's factory of fake news has produced one more fake product today. It appears that fake press conferences, fake agendas and fake spins and fake statements have become the everyday character of BJP and its 'lawless' minister of law Ravi Shankar Prasad," he told reporters.

The Congress leader said the company's website claims that it ran a research and communication campaign, and was contacted to undertake an in-depth electorate analysis for the Bihar assembly elections in 2010.

Claiming that Cambridge Analytica and another Indian firm OBI, run by the son of a prominent NDA leader from Bihar, complimented each other's businesses, Surjewala said their achievements include managing four successful election campaigns for the ruling BJP.

He claimed that Cambridge's local partner OBI talked of having achieved 'target 272+' , providing constituency-wise database to BJP candidates and extending support to it in national elections and state elections of Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi.

"It is not me who is saying so; it is Cambridge Analytica which is saying so. And they have partners in India whose businesses complement each other. They have done 272+ campaign and the campaign for four states," he said. -- PTI

Amid reports of China opening up a new route to reach South Doklam, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would react to the development through 'hugplomacy', by blaming the defence minister or crying in public.

'In Doklam, it's China season again. How will Modi Ji react this time? 1. Hugplomacy. 2. Blame RM. 3. Cry in public. 4. All of the above,' tweeted Gandhi.

He also tagged a news report with the tweet that claimed China was quietly and cleverly finding a new route to South Doklam, seven months after India stopped Chinese construction activities in the area lying between Tibet's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha Valley to the east and the Indian state of Sikkim to the west.

Gandhi and his party have been attacking the prime minister and his government over the Doklam issue due to the Chinese build-up there. -- PTI

The Army lost 163 personnel deployed at the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield, during the last 10 years, according to details provided by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Six officers were among the army personnel who lost their lives while guarding the glacier which is at an altitude of above 20,000 ft.

Sitharaman gave year-wise details on the deaths in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winter and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius India and Pakistan started deploying troops at the strategically key glacier in 1984.

Sitharaman said nine army men lost their lives in 2008 followed by 13 in 2009, 50 in 2010 and 24 in 2011. Twelve army men had died in 2012, 11 in 2013 and eight in 2014.

The number of deaths in 2015 was 11 while it was 20 and fi6ve in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

"Indian Army soldiers deployed in extremely harsh terrain and weather conditions are suitably equipped and properly trained to undertake operational challenges and carry out their mandated tasks," Sitharaman said.

Replying to a separate question on whether the Sahayak system in the Army has been discontinued in peace stations, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said no such decision has been taken.

"A Sahayak in the Indian Army has clearly defined military duties and forms an integral part of the organisational structure of a unit and has specific functions during war and peace," he said.

Under the Sahayak or buddy system -- a solider is attached to officers.

Sahayaks are soldiers and their duties include protecting the officers, maintaining their weapons and equipment and helping them in carrying out their responsibilities.

To another question, Bhamre said 33 ships and submarines are presently being constructed at various Indian shipyards for the Indian Navy. -- PTI

Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy today said urban intellectuals did not buy the idea of demonetisation that the government implemented in 2016, but it did go down well with a majority of rural Indians.

Murthy was speaking on the government's demonetisation of high value banknotes in November 2016 at a session with students of Presidency University in Kolkata.

"I am not an expert in economics but I saw that urban intellectuals did not buy the idea of demonestisation, but a vast majority of rural Indians seemed to have welcomed it," he said.

Murthy said he himself could not understand the logic behind the demonetisation move since he is not an expert on the subject.

"Though I am not expert, but as a lay person I saw that when, for some reason, old 500 notes were demonetised, the government introduced new notes pretty quickly of the same denomination and even of higher Rs 2000 denomination. Only an expert can answer why this happened. I cannot understand... you should talk to experts," Murthy said.

To another question, the Czar of the country's IT industry said India had not focused on low-tech manufacturing unlike countries like Japan or China, since the 1950s.

He said it is unfortunate that 75 per cent children in the country go to school but drop out before they reach class 8.

"Hence, when they reach the age of 22, they need job, but they are only fit for a job which is in low-tech manufacture. The economists should have thought of them right from 1950s," Murthy said.

Stressing on the need to strike a balance between automation and human beings, he said, "We can take a decision...we will not follow automation up to certain level of our manufacture or services".

"We have to strike a balance, we have to be internationally competitive in products, services....we may slow down automation for domestic purposes," he said. -- PTI

The home ministry has conveyed to a parliamentary panel that Sikh youths are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan to carry out terror activities in India, and members of the community who are settled in Canada and other places are also being instigated against the country with false and malicious propaganda.

Top officials of the home ministry, led by the Union home secretary, told the committee on estimates, headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, that radicalisation of youths by terrorist groups through the misuse of internet and social media has emerged as a big challenge.

According to the report of the committee -- ' Central armed police forces and internal security challenges-evaluation and response mechanism' -- which was tabled in Parliament on Monday, there have been some developments on the Sikh militancy front.

The "commanders" of terror groups based in Pakistan are under pressure from ISI to further the Pakistani spy agency's terror plans not only in Punjab but also in other parts of the country, it said.

"Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan. Interdictions and interrogations have revealed use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan-based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks," the report said.

Sikh youths based or settled in Europe, the US and Canada are also being misguided and instigated against India with false and malicious propaganda, but the situation is being watched closely by the central and state agencies and they are taking lawful action as and when required.

On the issue of new challenges which have emerged as a threat to internal security, the ministry, in a note furnished to the committee, voiced concern over radicalisation of youths by the terrorist groups through the misuse of internet and social media.

"The problem is further accentuated by the fact that the terror groups have started using secure social media platforms and proxy servers etc. to avoid detection by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

"Activities of radicalised people returning from conflict areas and threat of lone wolf attack are also a challenge," it said.

The ministry told the panel that India continues to remain the prime focus of Pakistan-based terrorist outfits, particularly the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and a faction of Indian Mujahideen besides groups like SIMI and Al-Unmah.

Separately, there are indications regarding revival of JeM in Pakistan and renewed efforts of the said outfit to cause harm to India. Besides, the IS and Al-Qaeda in Indian sub-continent have started posing new challenges to the existing security environment. -- PTI

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt has slammed author Yasser Usman for his 'unauthorised' biography on him.

Dutt took to Twitter to clarify the matter and said he is planning to take legal action against the author and the publication, Juggernaut Books.

The actor shared a note to put across his point and captioned it as, "I hope better sense will prevail and there will be no further excerpts that will hurt me or my family. My official autobiography will be out soon which will be authentic and based on facts."

The note shared by the Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. star read, "I have not authorised either Juggernaut Publications or Yaseer Usman to write/publish my biography. Our lawyers had sent them a legal notice, in response to which Juggernaut Publications said that contents of the proposed book are based on information available in public domain from authentic sources."

"However, from the excerpts that are appearing in the newspaper are partly based on my old interviews but rest all seemed to be based on hearsay, 1990's tabloids and gossip magazines, most of which are figments of imagination and not true. I have consulted with my legal team on the next course of action," Duut added.

Juggernaut Books, however, responded to the actor's statement and said they were "sorry to hear that Mr Sanjay Dutt was upset with the book."

Here is Juggernaut's statement:

We are sorry to hear that Mr Sanjay Dutt was upset by our book on him. The author, Yasser Usman, an award-winning journalist and reputed writer on Bollywood actors, is a fan and very sympathetic to Mr Dutt. Yasser has chosen his sources and materials with care. He has relied extensively on direct quotes from Mr Dutt, his close associates such as Mr Mahesh Bhatt, and members of the Dutt family. Additionally, Yasser has referred to stories already in the public record for many years that were uncontested and widely reported. These stories that have appeared in leading film periodicals have relied on accounts of credible and authoritative sources, people who have either worked closely with or been associated in various capacities with Mr Dutt. The book has been painstakingly footnoted, and the sources the book has relied upon have clearly been mentioned.

Moreover, as has been said in most of Yasser's interviews and pieces in the press, he is a huge admirer of Mr Dutts honesty and lack of pretense and believes these qualities meaningfully set him apart from the rest of the film industry. The book is a homage to those admirable and rare traits of honesty and frankness.

However, to pay respect to Mr Dutts wishes, we wont put out any more extracts from the book in short-form media.

Market benchmark Sensex reclaimed the key 33,000 level today after spurting 139 points amid mixed global cues ahead of US Federal Reserve's policy meet outcome.

Continuous capital inflows by foreign funds and covering-up of short positions by speculators too influenced sentiments here, brokers said.

After a strong opening, the BSE 30-share gauge hit a high of 33,354.93, before closing at 33,136.18, up 139.42 points, or 0.42 per cent. It had gained 73.64 points in the previous session.

The 50-share Nifty scaled a high of 10,227.30 intra-day but succumbed to profit-booking to finish at 10,155.25, still up 30.90 points, or 0.31 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth Rs 344.16 crore on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors also purchased equities to the tune of Rs 731.17 crore yesterday, provisional data showed. -- PTI

15:50 IOC starts home-delivery of diesel

State-owned Indian Oil Corp has launched home-delivery of diesel on a pilot basis in Pune and plans to expand doorstep delivery of the fuel to other parts of the country in near future, its Chairman Sanjiv Singh said today.

The country's biggest oil company has mounted a diesel dispenser, similar to the one seen at petrol pumps, on a midsized truck along with a storage tank for delivering the fuel at customers doorsteps in Pune.

"We are the first company to have started doorstep delivery after receiving clearance from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO)," he said.

The doorstep delivery has been launched on a pilot basis in Pune and it would be expanded to other cities based on the response it gets during the three-month trial period, he said, adding that the same on petrol too would be started soon.

Initially, the company is targeting 'static customers' like shopping malls and commercial establishments that use diesel in gensets for producing electricity, and transport companies with large diesel consumption.

Doorstep delivery is not a substitute for sale through retail outlets (petrol pumps). It is meant to serve consumers, say a farm harvester, for whom it doesn't make sense to travel to a petrol pump just to refuel," he said.

Like IOC, other two state-owned fuel retailers, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd too have got PESO approval for a trial run of doorstep diesel delivery. They will be given different geographies for the trial run.

Depending on the response, the trial run be extended to other cities.

"We have to develop a business model for doorstep delivery," Singh said adding mobile dispenser for door delivery of fuel can be used in areas where there is no petrol pump in a radius of 5-km.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had in April last year stated that the government was looking at options to home deliver petrol and diesel to cut queues at fuel stations and give consumers an option.

But, for home delivery of fuel, a clearance from PESO is required as both petrol and diesel are highly inflammable fuels and require adequate safety precautions.

So far, PESO has given approval for doorstep delivery of diesel only on a trial basis.

India currently has 61,983 petrol pumps with state-owned firms operating 90 per cent of them.

The country consumed 194.6 million tonnes of fuel in 2016-17, nearly 40 per cent of which was diesel.

Diesel consumption in 2016-17 was 76 million tonnes, while petrol was 23.8 million tonnes. -- PTI

Legendary British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will receive a private funeral at a church in Cambridge on March 31, his family has said.

One of the world's most famous scientists, who died peacefully at his home in Cambridge aged 76 on March 14, will receive an "inclusive and traditional" funeral ceremony at Great St Mary's, the University Church in Cambridge, on Easter Saturday.

His ashes will then be "interred" near the grave of Newton, another famous British scientist, during a thanksgiving service later this year.

"It is entirely fitting that the remains of Professor Stephen Hawking are to be buried in the Abbey, near those of distinguished fellow scientists. Sir Isaac Newton was buried in the Abbey in 1727. Charles Darwin was buried beside Isaac Newton in 1882," said the dean of Westminster, John Hall.

"We believe it to be vital that science and religion work together to seek to answer the great questions of the mystery of life and of the universe," he said.

Other famous scientists buried or memorialised in the Abbey in the heart of London include atomic physicists Ernest Rutherford in 1937 and Joseph John Thomson in 1940.

Hawking had been eventually given the prestigious title of Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge a position once held by Newton having arrived in 1962 as a PhD student.

While a date for the thanksgiving ceremony at the Abbey is yet to be decided, the funeral date has been confirmed as March 31.

Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert and Tim said they chose to hold the funeral in Cambridge in recognition that it is the city their father "loved so much and which loved him".

"Our father lived and worked in Cambridge for over 50 years. He was an integral and highly recognisable part of the university and the city," they said in a statement.

"Our father's life and work meant many things to many people, both religious and non-religious. So, the service will be both inclusive and traditional, reflecting the breadth and diversity of his life," they added.

The church is close to Gonville and Caius College, where Hawking had been a Fellow for more than 50 years. The college opened a book of condolence on the morning the physicist's death was announced and that, and an online version, now contains thousands of messages from across the world.

A private reception will be held after the funeral service at Trinity College, Cambridge, attended by family, friends and colleagues.

Following his death, Cambridge University described Hawking as "an inspiration to millions". -- PTI

WhatsApp messaging service co-founder has urged users to "delete" Facebook amid a massive data harvesting scandal in which information of 50 million people was leaked allegedly to influence the 2016 US presidential election.

WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton left Facebook in September last year and joined a foundation.

"It is time. #deletefacebook," CNN quoted Acton as saying.

Acton co-founded WhatsApp with Jan Koum which was acquired by Facebook in February 2014 for USD 19 billion.

Momentum gathered behind the #DeleteFacebook campaign, with several media outlets publishing guides to permanently deleting your Facebook account, CNN reported.

The backlash has spooked investors, leading shares in the company to fall by more than 9 per cent over the last two days -- wiping almost USD 50 billion off the valuation of the company, the report said.

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission will examine whether the social networking site violated a 2011 agreement with the agency over data privacy, after reports that a firm called Global Science Research harvested information relating to 50 million Facebook profiles and provided the data to Cambridge Analytica.

Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, MPs summoned Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to give evidence to a select committee investigating fake news.

UK's Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham earlier said she would be applying to court for a warrant to search the offices of Cambridge Analytica the UK-based political consulting firm accused of using the data of 50 million Facebook members to influence the 2016 US presidential election. -- PTI

India today warned social media platforms like Facebook of 'strong action' if any attempt was made by them to influence the country's electoral process through undesirable means.

Amid probe by United States privacy watchdog over a potential breach of user confidentiality by Facebook, IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government fully supports freedom of press, speech and expression and is for exchange of ideas on social media.

But any attempt by social media sites, including Facebook, to influence India's electoral process through undesirable means will not be tolerated, he told reporters in Parliament House complex.

"If need be, strong action will be taken," he said.

The US Federal Trade Commission, an independent government body charged with insuring that companies abide by their own privacy policies, is looking at whether Facebook violated a 2011 consent decree after media reports alleged that it had handed the data of millions of users to a political consultancy.

Reports had alleged that Cambridge Analytica used data mined from Facebook in the voter research it conducted for President Donald Trump during the 2016 elections campaign.

Prasad alleged that Congress party had links with Cambridge Analytica.

"My question to the Congress party is whether to win elections, the Congress will depend on data manipulation and theft of data," he said. "What is the role of Cambridge Analytica in social media profile of Rahul Gandhi," he asked.

He alleged that Cambridge Analytica, the agency roped in by the Congress to run their 2019 campaign and termed as their 'Brahmastra' in certain section of media, is accused of using bribes, sex workers to entrap politicians and stealing data from Facebook.

However, the Congress has denied the charged, saying it is 'absolutely false'.

"News about Congress engaged/engaging with Cambridge Analytica is absolutely false.," Head of Congress's social media Divya Spandana tweeted.

British superbike maker Triumph Motorcycles today launched the all-new TIGER 800 XCX XR and XRX line-ups in India priced between Rs 11.76 lakh and Rs 13.76 lakh, at the Four Seasons, Mumbai.

There are more than 200 upgrades to the chassis and engine, which is more responsive and optimised, in the new line up, Triumph Motorcycles India said in a statement.

"To deliver the best of Triumph, we here have been working on our engineering and technology to upgrade the capability of the Tiger 800 line-up for versatility on and off-road," Triumph Motorcycles India Managing Director Vimal Sumbly said.

Among the upgraded features is the 'Off-Road Pro' riding mode that helps deliver focused off-road set up, although advanced riders can opt to turn systems off and be in total control.

Besides, cruise control has been updated with easy access through the left hand switch cube along with a simple-to-use, single button cruise control that helps reduce rider fatigue, the company said.

Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com.

14:30 26 killed in Kabul suicide attack

Twenty six people have been killed and 18 others injured in a suspected suicide bomb attack near a shrine in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials say.

Initial reports suggest the bomber attacked a crowd of hundreds of people who had gathered to celebrate the start of Navroz, the New Year festival.

Many in the crowd were minority Shia. Reports say the number killed may rise.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The Centre today sought the Supreme Court's permission to allow the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India for a PowerPoint presentation on Aadhaar scheme in the court to allay concerns.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra, hearing a number of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and its enabling Act, said he will fix the time for the presentation after discussing the matter with other judges of the five-judge constitution bench he is heading.

The bench said there are several technical aspects related to the Aadhaar scheme such as the surveillance, data security and exclusion of certain people from receiving benefits for the want of either authentication or the lack of Aadhaar number.

Attorney General K K Venugopal, who argued for the Centre, said the UIDAI chief executive may deal with technical aspects with more clarity.

He said the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution have two aspects.

One deals with rights like Right to Food and Right to Education and the other pertains to Freedom of Conscience and Right to Privacy, Venugopal said.

The question is which aspect will prevail, he said, adding that the fundamental rights like the Right to Life should prevail over Right to Conscience and Privacy.

He is continuing with his submission.

The Supreme Court yesterday took note of the submission that a person cannot be asked to part with personal information under the Aadhaar scheme on the ground of freedom of right to religion, and asked can a person refuse to follow the law in secular matters such as filing of income-tax returns.

The constitution bench was told that a boy was denied admission in a school after his father refused to give biometric details for Aadhaar on grounds that their religion does not permit it.

"In secular matters, can you say that I will not opt for it. For example, can a person refuse to opt for the Income-Tax saying that his conscience does not allow it," the bench said. -- PTI

13:24 Shami's wife to meet Mamata on March 23

Amid the ongoing tiff with her cricketer husband Mohammed Shami, Hasin Jahan will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on March 23, reports ANI.

Jahan had earlier sought an appointment from the chief minister to meet her in person and listen to her side of the story in regards to her allegations against her husband.

"I only appeal that you just keep your eye on my fight for truth, meet me and listen to what I have to say and then judge what needs to be done," she had told the media, and added, "I want to meet you and share my pain with you. This is all I request of you."

Jahan has accused her husband of abusing her physically and mentally, and of having extra-marital affairs. A case was also registered against Shami on the basis of a written complaint filed by her.

In a bid to expose the pacer's extra-marital affair, Shami's wife had earlier posted several screenshots of Messenger and WhatsApp messages on her Facebook wall.

Shami told a media outlet that his wife has the passwords of all his social media accounts, hinting that she might have fabricated the evidence. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators had also written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India's ACU head to investigate the charges levelled against Shami by his wife.

The cricketer was charged under various non-bailable and bailable sections of the IPC, including Section 498A, which deals with cruelty to a woman by her husband or his relatives, Section 307 - attempt to murder, Section 323 - punishment for voluntarily causing hurt, Section 376 - rape, Section 506 - criminal intimidation, Section 328 and Section 34.

Meanwhile, Shami had rejected all the allegations and said someone has been misleading his wife. Shami and Jahan got hitched in 2014.The couple has a daughter, Aaira Shami, who was born in July 2014.

Air India has rescheduled a couple of India-bound flights from the US today due to inclement weather in north-eastern America, the airline has said in a tweet.

Air India's London-Newark flights (both directions) have been cancelled along with the Newark-Ahmedabad flight. Flight No. AI 102 from New York to New Delhi has been rescheduled and its revised time of departure is 12.15 pm on March 22. The departure timings of flight No. AI 144 from Newark to Mumbai has also been rescheduled to 11 am on March 22.

The airline has cancelled its Newark-Ahmedabad flight for the day along with the London-Newark flight on both ways.

It tweeted that re-booking and cancellation can be done without any penalty.

A low-pressure system moving across the south-eastern US is expected to develop into a storm, which will bring rain and snow across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, US media reports said.

A Pakistani court has upheld the death sentence of a man convicted in the brutal rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl that shook the entire nation and sparked outrage. In the first ever trial in the country's history that concluded in shortest period of four days, an anti-terrorism court last month sentenced to death 23-year-old Imran Ali on four grounds -- murdering a child, kidnapping a child, rape of a minor, and committing an unnatural act with a minor.

The Lahore High Court yesterday upheld the verdict of the anti-terrorism court that awarded death sentence to Ali. Ali was arrested in January, two weeks after he raped and killed the 7-year-old girl and threw her body into a garbage dump in Kasur city, some 50 kilometres from Lahore.

PTI

The Enforcement Directorate has informed the Madras High Court it cannot share copies of official documents, including the case diary, to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dinakaran in connection with the 1996 FERA case filed against him.

When the criminal revision petition by Dinakaran came up yesterday before Justice M V Muralidaran, the ED filed a counter affidavit stating that the documents sought by the accused to defend himself in the two-decade-old case cannot be provided to him as doing so is barred under the CrPC. Dhinakaran had filed the petition challenging the order of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Economic Offences-II), declining to issue copies of certain documents, including the case diary, sought by him.

The ED submitted that Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, prohibits disclosure of any document, information, or intelligence of the department which were kept highly confidential and protected. Hence, such documents also cannot be provided, it said. The matter relates to the allegation that Dinakaran acquired USD 1,04,93,313 in foreign exchange without obtaining prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India and deposited it in the current account of Dipper Investments Ltd., a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and having account with Barclays Bank, Sutton, United Kingdom. PTI

A policeman was injured in a fresh exchange of fire between militants and security forces in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir today, an official said, a day after four militants were killed in a gun battle in the area.

"In the fresh exchange of fire, one policeman has been injured. He is stated to be stable and being treated at a hospital," the police spokesman said.

He said the overnight operation was under way when the last reports came in. The encounter broke out in Arampora area of the district yesterday, after security forces launched an operation in the wake of militants opening firing on an Army patrol party.

The soldiers reacted swiftly and launched the operation to track down the militants, an army official had said. Four militants were killed in the operation yesterday. PTI

File pic

The Centre seeks the Supreme Court nod to allow UIDAI CEO to give PowerPoint presentation on Aadhaar scheme in the court to allay concerns. The CJI says will fix time for PowerPoint presentation after discussing the matter with other judges of the bench. There are technical points related to surveillance, data security and exclusion, says SC. Details awaited.

12:25 Day 13: Parliament adjourned again

The proceedings of the Lok Sabha were disrupted for the 13th day today as the TDP, YSR Congress, TRS and AIADMK continued their noisy protests over various issues including special status for Andhra Pradesh and Cauvery dispute. Even before Speaker Sumitra Mahajan took up the Question Hour, members from these parties trooped into the Well holding placards. While members from the TDP, YSR Congress were seeking special status for Andhra Pradesh, the TRS was raising the issue related to farmers. The AIADMK has been demanding constitution of a Cauvery Management Board to resolve the water dispute. As the protests continued, the Speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha till noon first, and then for the day.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav besides others were present in the House.

The Rajya Sabha too witnessed raucous scenes with the Congress, and parties from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh disrupting proceedings over various issues. As there seemed to be no let-up in the protests, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House for the day.

Since March 5, when Parliament had reassembled for the budget session after recess, the Lok Sabha has seen disruptions on a daily basis. Amid noisy protests, the House had passed the Finance Bill and the appropriation bills last week without any discussion.

-- PTI

Image: TDP MPs storm the well of the Rajya Sabha over demand of special status to Andhra Pradesh. Opposition members say, 'It is also the duty of the govt to facilitate proceedings of the House.'

Rani Mukerji on her 40th birthday recalled her journey in Bollywood and the actor said it was not an easy one as she had to prove her worth every single day. The "Hichki" actor has penned a letter on the occasion and thanked all the filmmakers she worked with in the past 22 years for giving her roles that challenged the society norms.

"It feels great to be 40! It feels great to have also worked for 22 years and having been incredibly lucky to get so much love and appreciation. Very rarely do we artists get material that can genuinely cause social change, cause change in attitude and thinking and I have been fortunate enough to get such content multiple times. I truly feel blessed.

"I thank all the film-makers who have trusted me with their characters. Your characters, your films, became my identity," Rani said in the letter.

"I realised very late that I was actually born to be an actor, that I was born to entertain. And I hope I have been able to do just that. As a woman, I must admit, it has not been an easy journey. I had to prove myself everyday. Actresses have to prove themselves everyday," Rani said.

"A woman has a short career span, a married woman's equity dies, women are not bankable commodities at the box office, 'female-centric' (I hate this word!!) films are huge risks, a married actress who is also a mother is the final nail in the coffin of her dreams, ambitions and aspirations - these are some of the discriminatory stereotypes that we have to live with and try to overcome every single day," she said.

"I have tried to take on this sexist stereotype by coming back to acting after my marriage and motherhood. And I promise you, I will continue working and battling these stereotypes with all my fellow stunning, beautiful, kind and talented actresses and hope to see our society and the film industry mature further," Rani said.

Rani said it fills her with joy to see social changes and she wants to "see many more victories for all of us. It's about time." -- PTI

A petrol bomb was allegedly hurled on the car of the Bharatiya Janata Party district secretary in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore in the early hours today. The bomb was hurled by unidentified people.

Police have reached the spot to investigate the matter. This incident took place a day after the the statue of Dravidian movement icon, EV Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, was decapitated in the state's Pudukottai village.

Earlier on March 7, two petrol bombs were hurled in front of BJP's office in Coimbatore, a day after the party's leader H Raja commented that statues of late Dravidian leader Periyar must be removed from the public places in Tamil Nadu.

10:45 Sasikala mourns husband

Tamil Nadu: VK Sasikala reaches Thanjavur, the place where her husband Natarajan Maruthappa's mortal remains are kept for people to pay last respects. He passed away at the age of 76 due to multiple organ failure. Sasikala has been granted 15-day bail for her husband's funeral.

10:42 Kashmir blooms

And this other Kashmir. Tourists visit Almond Blossom park, locally known as Badam Wae'r in Srinagar. Tourists told ANI, "It is a wonderful place, urge people to come and visit this place as they will never be able to see a place like this anywhere else in India."

10:40

Jammu & Kashmir: Search operation in Kupwara's Halmatpora underway. Four terrorists were killed during an encounter last night.

10:38 Delhi HC to hear appeal against acquittal of A Raja in 2G case

The Delhi High Court will on Wednesday hear an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum case.

The probe agency on Tuesday filed the appeal in the high court after a special CBI court in a shocking judgment in December last year acquitted all the 19 accused, including A. Raja, in the Rs 30,984 crore scam.

The CBI had back then said it would file a petition challenging the trial court order.The high court after examination found strong grounds for an appeal and listed the matter for hearing on March 21.

The Enforcement Directorate had on Monday filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the trial court's acquittal of the accused persons. -- ANI

10:28 'I think govt tried their best'

"Extremely tragic. I think govt tried their best to find out what happened, it took a long time but it was not due to fault of govt as we all know how that area was conflict-ridden & things become tough in such situations": Nirupama Rao, former diplomat on Indians killed in Mosul. Rao served as India's Foreign Secretary from 2009 to 2011 during the UPA government.

Former union minister Salman Khurshid on Wednesday said unnecessary speculation in connection with Congress state party chiefs stepping-down one after another must be avoided.

Khurshid told ANI that to jump on to any conclusion without any evidence would be unfair.

"We should at least wait for the announcement and not introspect. The Congress president said he wanted to revitalise the party and take the best advantage of young people and old people too," he said.

Khurshid's statement comes in the wake of several state Congress chiefs resigning from their posts following Congress president Rahul Gandhi's plans to reinvigorate the grand-old party.

The latest in the list is Raj Babbar, who on Wednesday resigned from the post of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, a party source said.

The development followed Congress' worst performance in recent Lok Sabha bypolls to Gorakhpur and Phulpur, where their deposits were seized. Earlier on Monday, Goa Congress President Shantaram Naik resigned from his post too. -- ANI

United States President Donald Trump spoke over phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to congratulate him on his recent re-election and the two leaders discussed the state of bilateral ties and the possibility of a meeting in the near future, the White House said.

Trump congratulated President Putin on his March 18 re-election and emphasised the importance of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula, said a readout of the phone call.

Trump also confirmed that he had a "very good" phone call with Putin.

"I had a call with President Putin, and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory. The call had to do also with the fact that we will probably get together in the not-too-distant future, so that we can discuss arms," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"I think probably we'll be seeing President Putin in the not-too-distant future," he said.

Trump said Putin had made a statement that being in an arms race was not a great option and emphasised the importance of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula.

"We had a very good call, and I suspect that we'll probably be meeting in the not-too-distant future to discuss the arms race, which is getting out of control, but we will never allow anybody to have anything even close to what we have," he asserted.

"It was right after the election, one of the first statements he made, and we are spending USD 700 billion there are this year, our military, and a lot of it is that we are going to remain stronger than any other nation in the world by far," Trump said.

The two leaders discussed the state of bilateral relations and resolved to continue dialogue about mutual national security priorities and challenges, the White House said.

"The two leaders confirmed the need for the United States and Russia to continue our shared efforts on strategic stability," it said.

Trump and Putin also discussed Ukraine, Syria, North Korea and various other issues, it added. -- PTI

09:18 US condoles death of 39 Indians in Iraq

The United States has offered its "deepest condolences" on the death of 39 Indian nationals abducted by Islamic State in Iraq, saying it stands with the people of India in condemning the murders.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday told Parliament in New Delhi that the 39 Indians abducted in 2014 by the Islamic State terrorists in Mosul city were dead and their bodies had been recovered.

"We offer our deepest condolences. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims," a state department spokesperson told PTI responding to a question on the discovery of a mass grave with the bodies of the Indian construction workers.

"We stand with the people of India in condemning these murders," the spokesperson said.

The northern Iraqi city of Mosul has now been liberated from the Islamic State.

The bodies of Indian workers were found buried near the village of Badsuh, which is in the northwest of Mosul. -- PTI

08:59 Raj Babbar resigns as UP Congress chief?

Days after Congress president Rahul Gandhi's appeal to party veterans to make way for young generation, it seems senior Congress leaders have taken it too seriously.

According to several media reports, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar announced his resignation late on Tuesday.

Although Babbar was not available for comment, his cryptic tweet, quoting noted poet Kedarnath Singh, who passed away on Monday, acted as a giveaway about his move.

"Aaj ghar main ghusa toh ajeeb drishya tha, suniye mere bistar ne kaha yeh raha mera isteefa (resignation), main apne kapaas ke bheetar jaana chahta hoon (Today when i reached home, my bed offered its resignation, telling me it wants to go back to its original self (turn into cotton)," the quoted lines from the Jnanpith Award winner said.

The latest development comes after Goa Congress President Shantaram Naik resigned from his post, saying he was "inspired" by Rahul Gandhi's speech at the party plenary about making way for younger leaders.

Naik, 71, is the first senior Congress leader to resign after Rahul announced on Sunday in his concluding speech that he wants to give the younger generation a chance to come forward and lead the party.

08:31 H-1B application process to begin from April 2

Petitions for H1-B visas, popular among Indian IT professionals, will be accepted from April 2, a federal agency announced on Tuesday.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services also announced the suspension of premium processing of all H-1B petitions which are subject to the annual caps.

The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China

The H-1B petition filing is for the fiscal year 2019 beginning October 1, 2018.

The suspension of premium processing of all H-1B petitions which are subject to the annual caps is expected to last until September 10, 2018. During this time, the USCIS said it will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the fiscal 2019 cap.

"We will notify the public before resuming premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions or making any other premium processing updates," it said.

At the same time, the USCIS said while premium processing is suspended, a petitioner may submit a request to expedite an FY 2019 cap-subject H-1B petition if it meets the expedited criteria.

The USCIS said that the temporary suspension of premium processing will help it reduce overall H-1B processing time.

By temporarily suspending premium processing, the USCIS said it will be able to process long-pending petitions, which it has currently been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming petitions and the significant surge in premium processing requests over the past few years; and prioritise adjudication of H-1B extension of status cases that are nearing the 240-day mark. -- PTI

00:42 Hawking's ashes to rest near Newton, Darwin

Legendary British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will receive a private funeral at a church in Cambridge and the final resting place for his ashes will be next to fellow scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin at Westminster Abbey in London, his family said today.

One of the world's most famous scientists, who died peacefully at his home in Cambridge aged 76 on March 14, will receive an 'inclusive and traditional' funeral ceremony at Great St Mary's, the University Church in Cambridge, on Easter Saturday.

His ashes will then be 'interred' near the grave of Newton, another famous British scientist, during a thanksgiving service later this year.

"It is entirely fitting that the remains of Professor Stephen Hawking are to be buried in the Abbey, near those of distinguished fellow scientists. Sir Isaac Newton was buried in the Abbey in 1727. Charles Darwin was buried beside Isaac Newton in 1882," said the dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall.

"We believe it to be vital that science and religion work together to seek to answer the great questions of the mystery of life and of the universe," he said.

Other famous scientists buried or memorialised in the Abbey in the heart of London include atomic physicists Ernest Rutherford in 1937 and Joseph John Thomson in 1940.

Hawking had been eventually given the prestigious title of Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge -- a position once held by Newton -- having arrived in 1962 as a PhD student.

While a date for the thanksgiving ceremony at the Abbey is yet to be decided, the funeral date has been confirmed as March 31.

Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert and Tim said they chose to hold the funeral in Cambridge in recognition that it is the city their father 'loved so much and which loved him'.

'Our father lived and worked in Cambridge for over 50 years. He was an integral and highly recognisable part of the university and the city,' they said in a statement.

'Our father's life and work meant many things to many people, both religious and non-religious. So, the service will be both inclusive and traditional, reflecting the breadth and diversity of his life,' they added.

The church is close to Gonville and Caius College, where Hawking had been a Fellow for more than 50 years.

The college opened a book of condolence on the morning the physicist's death was announced and that, and an online version, now contains thousands of messages from across the world.

A private reception will be held after the funeral service at Trinity College, Cambridge, attended by family, friends and colleagues.

Following his death, Cambridge University described Hawking as 'an inspiration to millions'. -- PTI

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