And Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray reacts to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis's statement that the Shiv Sena was nothing but a drama company. 

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray rejects Eknath Shinde's offer to quit.

Omar Abdullah @abdullah_omar  tweets: That the PM left Del to campaign for a few hours while all the African leaders were in town says a lot abt how much he has at stake in Bihar

India cricketer Yuvraj Singh hinted about his future plans in a Twitter conversation with Harbhajan Singh who tied the knot on Thursday with his long-time girlfriend Geeta Basra.


The Indian Express reports that Yuvraj, who is a close friend of Harbhajan Singh, wished him with a tweet on the occasion. "Can't bowl the dusra now buddy Stick to one line! Wish @harbhajan_singh and @Geeta_Basra a happy life together love u both," tweeted Yuvraj.


Bhajji was quick to respond and asked the left-hander to restrain from cut and pull and 'play straight' from now on.


"u should also come in a line and play straight now. No cut pull,' tweeted Bhajji.


It's here that Yuvraj gave the gossip mongers some fresh fodder. "Yes mr @harbhajan_singh from Diwali onwards I'm going to play straight see u Tom night,' he shot back.


So should we expect Yuvraj to get married by Diwali? Watch this space.


Pic: That's a 2010 picture of Yuvraj Singh with model Aanchal Kumar, who he was dating at the time. Yuvraj has also been linked with Bollywood actresses Kim Sharma and Deepika Padukone.

The Supreme Court today adjourned a case on a public interest litigation to ban websites on sardar jokes by a month. The petition said the jokes portrayed the sardar community as 'persons of low intellect, stupid and foolish'.


The petition filed by one Harvinder Chowdhury, a Sikh, said it was 'about time' that such jokes, which amount to insulting the community were prevented from being propagated through the Internet. Such a complaint has come up for the first time in Delhi - that too before the Supreme Court.


Hearing the case today, the Supreme Court said that the Sikh community is in fact known for its great sense of humour and enjoys being the brunt of jokes.


Chowdhury however, argued that these jokes affect the dignity of  the community, to which the SC said "Even Sikhs may object to your petition. Fortunately, we have a Sikh judge in the Supreme Court. Can we post this case before the Judge?"

The petitioner turned down the offer and argued that even PM Modi when he went to Bihar said "Biharis are more intelligent people " The judges smiled and said, "When Modi goes to Punjab he will say Punjabis are intelligent."


The petitioner argued that Sikhs are ridiculed abroad because of these jokes. "We are being ridiculed by these jokes. We have sacrificed a lot but when we go abroad we are ridiculed. I have suffered and I want these to be stopped." She said she wanted more time to prepare and argue the case. The court then adjourned the case for a month.

The Santa Banta jokes stay for now. 

Just in: Pakistan envoy to India, Abdul Basit, says all militant outfits banned in Pakistan. He said LeT chief and 26/11 terror mastermind Hafeez Saeed's outfit JuD is not a militant organisation but a charity outfit. He said Dawood Ibrahim is not in Pakistan and if India has any proof to the contrary, they should give it to Pakistan. Basit said Pakistan is committed not to allow any terror activity on its soil.


This comes after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised action against all terrorist networks, including the Haqqani Network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, in a joint statement with US President Barack Obama, which also called for sustained India-Pakistan dialogue on all outstanding "disputes, including Kashmir" in the US on October 23.

Just in: Maharashtra public works minister Eknath Shinde resigns. Shinde has sent in his resignation to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray saying false charges are being slapped against Sainiks. Details awaited. 

A folk singer has been arrested by the Chennai police for writing and singing a song in which he criticised the Tamil Nadu government for the alcoholism in the state.


The police have booked him for sedition for using alleged derogatory remarks against AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in the lyrics. 


S Kovan, who is a member of the Makkal Kalai Ilakkiya Kazhagam, a performance group that deals with political issues, was arrested from his house in Trichy in the early hours today.


The song has reportedly gone viral after it was shared on WhatsApp and social media.  Kovan has been booked under various sections of the IPC, including 124 (A) (sedition), The Times of India reported.

Whenever he is in Bihar, BJP president Amit Shah's routine is to sit with NDA leaders up to 1 am and discuss the way forward for the Bihar polls.


Ram Vilas Paswan, Jitan Ram Manhji and Sushil Kumart Modi are regulars at the meeting, where Dharmendra Pradhan and Ananth Kumar (Amit Shah's eyes and ears) walk in to give their daily account of what's been happening in the state.


Ananth Kumar has been given the responsibility of publicity material for Modi rallies, while Pradhan being 'oil' minister is the temporary treasurer. And yes, Amit Shah (taking over from the original 'chaiwalla') organises tea or coffee for leaders and visitors.  

India can learn from Israel as regards the limits to a 'national security state'. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is primarily viewing its regional policies today through the prism of security. The security agencies are in the driving seat in not only in shaping neighborhood policies but also in fine-tuning diplomacy. Read MK Bhadrakumar's column here.

The AAP government will move the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order today quashing its decision to get the accounts of three private power distribution companies audited by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).


Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that the HC order is a "temporary setback" for the people of the national capital and he is "committed" to provide cheap electricity to people.


"Delhi HC order is a temporary setback for the people of Delhi. Delhi government will soon file an appeal in SC. "I am committed to providing cheap electricity to people of Delhi. Our fight will continue (sic)," Kejriwal said in a series of his tweets.


Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court quashed the AAP government's decision to get the accounts of three private power distribution companies audited by the CAG.

LJP Ram Vilas Paswan has asked Amit Shah's wife Sonal, who is in Patna, about her impressions on the Bihar poll campaign.


Sonal choose to be diplomatic and remained mum on the BJP's strategy in the state (whether the party's '3 Idiots' campaign has been successful will be seen on November 8) but said that she can talk about her husband.


She said he (Amit Shah) had spent every waking hour on the campaign trail over the past two months and had little time for her or the family.


She however admitted that in the last couple of days that she has spent in Bihar, she realises it would be very difficult to develop the state which neither has proper roads and an erratic power and water supply. But she said she is confident of a NDA win.

Against the backdrop of controversies like on beef, Moody's Analytics today cautioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the country may lose domestic and global credibility if he doesn't rein in the members of his party.


In a report titled India Outlook: Searching for Potential, Moody's Analytics said for the country to reach its growth potential it has to deliver the promised reforms.


"Undoubtedly, numerous political outcomes will dictate the extent of success," it said. The ruling BJP does not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and crucial reforms bills has been met with an obstructionist opposition.


"But in recent times, the government also hasn't helped itself, with controversial comments from various BJP members. While Modi has largely distanced himself from the nationalist gibes, the belligerent provocation of various Indian minorities has raised ethnic tensions.


"Along with a possible increase in violence, the government will face stiffer opposition in the upper house as debate turns away from economic policy. Modi must keep his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility," Moody's said. It projected that India's GDP growth for September quarter at 7.3 per cent, while for the full fiscal it would be 7.6 per cent.


"Key economic reforms could deliver greater potential GDP, as they would improve India's productive capacity. These include the land acquisition bill, a national goods and service tax, and revamped labour laws. They are unlikely to pass through Parliament in 2015, but there is an even chance of success in 2016," Moody's said.


As regards interest rates, it said low rates will buttress the economy in the short-term but reforms are needed to reach long-term potential growth. The Reserve Bank kick-started the recovery by cutting the repo rate by 1.25 per cent this year. It said positive signs are emerging with the State Bank of India, the nation's largest bank, cut its base lending rate earlier this month.


"Capacity utilisation has been low across industries this year. The capital expenditure pipeline is running dry. However, interest rate cuts should encourage investment, as will the softer inflation profile," it added.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis slams writers, filmmakers  and scientists for returning their awards. Fadnavis today lashed out against the growing sentiment of returning awards instituted by the government -- Sahitya Akademi Awards, Padma awards, National awards -- and cited examples of intolerance during the Congress rule that had been met with silence.  


Around 40 writers and 12 filmmakers have returned their state awards in protest against the growing intolerance in the country and the murders of Kannada writer and Sahitya Akademi Award winner MM Kalburgi and anti-superstition activists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.


Fadnavis asked why there was no awardwapsi (as the return of awards is being labelled) when professor TJ Joseph's hand was chopped off in 2010 for alleged blasphemy.


He asked why was there complete silence from writers, scientists etc, during the Khairlanji killings. In September 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to a Dalit caste were murdered by upper caste men. He said the murders had happened during the Congress-NCP rule.


Fadnavis said it was unfair to blame the BJP for the Dadri killing, when in fact it had happened in Samajwadi Party-ruled  Uttar Pradesh.  


The lynching of a 55-year-old Muslim man, Mohammad Ikhlaq, by a mob in Bisada village of Uttar Pradesh last month following rumours that he slaughtered a calf triggered a wave of protests against attacks on freedom of choice.


Fadnavis also asked why there was no award wapsi during the Godhra killings of 2002. He said it was not good if writers become biased.

A Delhi court has granted permission to former TERI Director General R K Pachauri, facing sexual harassment allegations, to visit Kuwait and Somalia to attend conferences from November 1 to 7.


Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan, while allowing Pachauri's application, directed him to inform the court when he returns to India and make himself available to the investigating officer (IO) as per requirement.


"Accused (Pachauri) is permitted to travel as per his itinerary from November 1-3 to Kuwait and thereafter from November 3 to Somalia and return on/or before November 7, subject to furnishing of one local surety of Rs 4 lakh to satisfaction of this court and upon furnishing an undertaking that he will make himself available to the IO as per requirement upon service of notice on him," the magistrate said.


The court also asked him to file a copy of the travel tickets and intimate the court and the IO about any changes in his itinerary, in advance. Pachauri's advocate Ashish Dixit sought permission to travel abroad citing his past cooperation in the case and said that his client needed to attend the meetings and deliver a lecture in Kuwait and attend a conference in Somalia between November 1-7.


However, the investigating officer opposed his application saying Pachauri had failed to give satisfactory answers but admitted that he had joined the investigation.


On February 13, an FIR was registered against Pachauri on charges of sexual harassment under IPC sections including 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 (d)(molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The court had granted him anticipatory bail while imposing the conditions that he will join the probe as and when called and not enter the TERI office premises. In the place of Pachauri, TERI governing council had on July 23 appointed Dr Ajay Mathur as its Director General. Pachauri had also stepped down from United Nations' IPCC and the Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change.

Railway authorities stopped a Mysuru-bound express to recover a baby's feeding bottle which had fallen on the railway track just as the train was about to start from here, a railway official said today.


The incident occurred on Tuesday when the signal was given to the Tuticorin-Mysore Express to proceed and the mother accidentally dropped the feeding bottle, Station Manager Premkumar said.


Passengers on the platform raised an alarm and urged Premkumar to stop the train following which a message was sent to the guard and driver to stop it. Some passengers helped the woman pick up the bottle and the train left as soon as it was recovered.

The Delhi High Court today quashed the AAP government's decision to get the accounts of three private power distribution companies audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).


"We have allowed the petitions of the discoms," a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw said while clarifying that the entire audit process carries out so far as well as the draft report of the CAG would be "non-est" and would have no bearing any more. The discoms -- Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL), BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd -- had challenged the AAP government's January 7, 2014, decision ordering a CAG audit of their accounts.


The discoms had also challenged an order of a single judge of the high court who had refused to stall the CAG audit. The single judge, in his January 24, 2014 order, had also asked the discoms to "fully cooperate with CAG in the audit process".


While allowing the discoms' pleas today, the court dismissed a PIL filed by NGO United RWAs Joint Action (URJA) which had sought an audit of the discoms' accounts by CAG. Earlier, the city government had told the court that a CAG audit of the private discoms here was necessary as these companies discharged "public function".

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has parted ways with his wife Reham Khan -- just 10 months after his marriage, ARY News reported.


According to a PTI spokesperson, the couple divorced with mutual consent. Sources said the couple had been braving some issues for some time, which led to their divorce.


PTI's senior leader Naeemul Haq has issued a terse media statement confirming the news of couple's divorce.He appealed the media to understand the sensitivity of the issue and not spread any rumours.


On September 22, senior journalist Arif Nizami from Pakistan had claimed in TV talk show that Imran Khan was regretting his decision to marry Reham and their marriage was "at the verge of collapse' and their relation had reached the 'point of no return'.


The following day, Imran has expressed shock over claims by the TV and termed these reports baseless. In his tweet, the PTI chief called it a slanderous statement about his marriage by a TV channel.

I strongly urge media to desist from such statements, he tweeted in response to the rumblings over his marriage.

Just in: A sessions court has served the death sentence on Chandrabhan Sanap for the rape and murder of 23-year-old software engineer Esther Anuhya.


A sessions court in Mumbai on Tuesday had convicted Sanap for the rape and murder of the TCS techie from Andhra Pradesh.


On Tuesday, special judge Vrushali Joshi convicted accused Chandrabhan Sanap after agreeing with the prosecution, which examined 39 witnesses in the case. Sanap was convicted under IPC Section 302 (murder), Section 376 (rape) and Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence).


The Mumbai Police's crime branch had arrested Sanap in early March last year about two months after the murder of the 23-year-old techie, who was from Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh and was employed as assistant system engineer with IT major TCS at its office in suburban Goregaon.


Investigators caught Sanap after an exhaustive scrutiny of 36 CCTV footages at the railway station and grilling of about 2,500 people.


The victim went missing from Lokmanya Tilak terminus near Kurla after arriving by train from Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of January 5, 2014.


According to police, Sanap spotted her sitting alone at the railway station and offered to drop her off at Andheri on his two-wheeler. Subsequently, he took her to an isolated spot and strangled her when she resisted his attempt to rob her.


The decomposed body of the techie was found off the Eastern Express Highway in suburban Bhandup on January 16, 2014. Sanap, who worked as a porter and then as a driver in Nashik, is a history-sheeter.

The grand alliance will lodge a protest with the Election Commission on Friday against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah's remark that crackers will burst in Pakistan if his party loses the Bihar Assembly polls.


Janata Dal (United) leader K.C Tyagi condemned Shah's remark and alleged that it was an an insult to the Dalits and the backwards in Bihar. "We will take this to the Election Commission and demand a ban against him from further campaigning in Bihar," Tyagi told ANI.


The Congress asserted that this statement was an indication by the BJP of their impending loss in the elections. "India will celebrate and burst crackers before Pakistan when the BJP loses and we will defeat them with all certainty. I can tell you for sure that we are defeating them right now," Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar told ANI.


Addressing a rally in Raxaul yesterday, Shah had said that crackers will be burst in Pakistan if the BJP loses in Bihar. The grand alliance had earlier alleged that after provocative speeches by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and provocative newspaper ads and photos by the BJP president, this was the latest attempt to communalise the Bihar polls.

A top US Senator has said that former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf's admission that the country aided and trained terror groups like LeT is "not surprising" and the link between the 26/11 attackers and some elements in the Pakistani government cannot be credibly denied.


"I am not surprised...I think that the evidence about ties between some aspects of the Pakistani government with LeT in connection with the attack in Mumbai in 2008 is pretty hard to deny," said Senator Tim Kaine, an influential Democratic Senator in the two power Senate committees of foreign relations and armed service.


"When you get into the intel (intelligence information) and explore, you get the questions how high the ties were and how officially they were sanctioned. But there were definitely ties (between Pakistani government and LeT)," said Kaine who visited the 26/11 terror attack sites in Mumbai last October.


"The connection between those attackers and at least some elements in the Pakistani government, I do not think they can be credibly denied," Kaine told Defense Writers Group when asked about Musharraf's remarks that Pakistan supported and helped terrorist organisations like LeT.

In a significant move, the Civil Aviation Ministry has pitched for over 50 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic carriers in case the open skies policy is implemented. Under open skies policy, overseas airlines can operate unlimited number of flights into and out of India.


At present FDI limit is 49 per cent. Presenting the revised draft national aviation policy here, Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said the ministry has proposed 2 per cent levy on all domestic and international tickets for regional connectivity scheme.


"The government expects about Rs 1,500 crore annually from charging 2 per cent levy " Choubey added. The policy has mooted various measures to boost regional connectivity including setting up of no-frills airports and providing viability gap funding for airlines.


Another proposal is to cap fare at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flight under regional connectivity scheme. To make MRO (Maintenance Repair, Overhaul) cheaper, the government has proposed to exempt such activities from service tax net and not levy any VAT. However, the government has decided to seek more comments from stakeholders before taking a final call on 5/20 norms -- whereby local airlines can fly overseas only when they have five years operational experience and at least a fleet of 20 aircraft.


The policy has now mooted three options -- abolish the norm completely, continue with it or link overseas flying rights with domestic flying credits. The draft policy would be put up for comments from stakeholders for three weeks.

David Beckham, that hot-at-40, former British football captain has added added two more tattoos to his ever-growing collection. The difference is that both the tattoos were designed by his children.


Becks got his daughter Harper to doodle a stick figure of a girl and got it tattooed onto his hand. He shared the picture on Instagram.


That doesn't mean he loves his daughter more; his sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz have also inked their daddy, with the tattoo, 'we love you daddy', onto his rib.


That's a surefire trendsetter, we think.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry asked global powers yesterday not to pressurise Pakistan on its nuclear programme.


Pakistan's Dawn newspaper quoting Chaudhry, reports, "Rather than making unrealistic demands on Pakistan to compromise on its core security interests, major powers must consider implications of their actions and policies," Chaudhry said at a seminar on 'Defence, Deterrence and Stability in South Asia', which was jointly organised by Islamabad-based think-tank Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS) and The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of London. He did not name the world powers he was referring to.

Anupam Kher was booed at a debate organised by a literary festival in Mumbai on Thursday, October 29, evening. Perhaps an indication of how closely identified the actor is with the Narendra Modi government in the public perception. Kher -- one of India's finest actors -- has come down heavily on writers, filmmakers and scientists who are returning their awards to the government, citing the rise of intolerance in India. Kher spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com about the current political situation. Read the full interview here.

More on PM Modi's speech at Gopalganj.

-- Nitish-ji says, we want old days back; do you want old days of atrocities against dalits, kidnappings, rapes, murders?

-- Nitish-ji said properties of people involved in corruption will be confiscated and schools for poor will be opened there.


-- Lalu-ji went to jail on corruption charges or not? Nitish-ji please tell us, was his house confiscated, was a school opened there or not?

Historian Ramachandra Guha @Ram_Guha  tweets:

The two most depressing things about Indian politics:\
1. Amit Shah is BJP President
2. Rahul Gandhi will soon be Congress President

Studious silence on Jawaharlal Nehru from Narendra Modi contrasted with repeated praise from multiple African leaders for India's first Prime Minister today, exposing a gulf in their understanding of the legacy of a relationship New Delhi's biggest diplomatic summit in decades is meant to elevate.

Prime Minister Modi, in two speeches that sandwiched addresses by 26 Presidents, two kings, six Prime Ministers, six Vice-Presidents and the African Union commission chair, referred to Mahatma Gandhi and five African Nobel laureates to point to traditional ties.

Read more

After the Turkish government seized a media headquarters in Istanbul on Wednesday, the group appointed to take over stopped two newspapers from publishing and fired an editor, according to numerous reports. The Koza-pek Group owns the daily newspapers Bugn and Millet, where printing was stopped on Wednesday night, Hurriyet Daily News reported Thursday.
Read more

Ahead of the fourth phase of Bihar Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a rally in Gopalganj district of the state.

Highlights:

-- You are listening to the absurd statements made by the members of Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). I wonder that the people who have ruled Bihar for so many years are making such statements.


-- It seems your love for Modi prompts them to make such statements.


-- Fact is, Lalu Prasad Yadav has made Gopalganj mini Chambal.


-- All kinds of nonsensical exchanges during Bihar campaign.


-- They are cursing Bihar, this will rebound. Nitish should not hurt the pride of Biharis.


-- Fresh exchanges of abuse during campaign every day. Grand Alliance will pay for insulting Biharis. Abuse me but don't abuse Biharis.

SPI Cinemas, a leading player in the film exhibition business in Tamil Nadu and a household name in theatre business in Chennai, has sold its swanky 11-screen multiplex Luxe situated in Phoenix Market City, Velachery, to Jazz Cinemas. Read more

Even when Chhota Rajan was a rising criminal and, later, on the run from investigating agencies, he kept in touch with his large extended family, say relatives from his mother's side. They say he repeatedly made it clear that he would not like anyone from his family to get into "his field'.  Read more

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said archaeologists and activists will not be allowed to stand in the way of the government as it seeks to develop tourism potential in the country.


"Archaeologists will not complain if a wall (of old heritage structure) erodes away but if you put a coat of paint, they will question. There is no dearth of such 'learned' people in our government," Gadkari said at a roadshow to get private investments for upgrading old lighthouses in Mumbai. "We ministers are capable of silencing them. If such people come to us we will throw them out," he said.

After BJP chief Amit Shah's controversial "crackers in Pakistan" comment, the party's senior Bihar leader Sushil Modi has said voters must strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "China and Pakistan are afraid of him". 

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi informing him about the state government's plans to resort to legal action against the Delhi police for intruding into Kerala House without proper authority under the provisions of the relevant laws governing slaughter of agriculture cattle. The CM was apparently forced to shoot off the second letter because there was no response to his earlier one sent on Tuesday when the row over the beef raid on Kerala House erupted.

In a statement, which is likely to kick start another controversy, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav today called top scientist Pushpa Mittra Bhargava a pro-naxal and political savvy. Taking to Twitter, Madhav wrote, "Rants of a disgruntled pro-Naxal politically savvy scientist from Hyderabad gets so much space. India's top scientist in defence research VK Saraswat addressed RSS Vijayadashami function last week at Nagpur in the company of RSS Chief Shri Bhagwatji. No space for the views of this real scientist and many more!!!"

Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari slammed the writers, poets, filmmakers and scientists for returning awards, calling it hypocrisy and calling them microscopic minorities. "What hypocrisy is this? Why only to return it when Narendra Modi is the prime minister? The Dadri incident happened in Samajwadi Party-ruled Uttar Pradesh and rationalist MM Kalburgi was killed in Karnataka where Congress is in power," said Gadkari. According to him the "microscopic minorities" should criticise the state governments instead of the Union government and added that these incidents should be condemned. 

Observer Research Foundation Chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was sprayed with black paint by Shiv Sainiks for organising former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book launch here, will travel to Karachi next week to attend the launch of the same book. Kulkarni said he has accepted Kasuri's invitation to join the launch of his book 'Neither a Hawk nor a Dove' in Karachi on November 2, along with a number of prominent Pakistanis and Indians.

Just a day after Anupam Kher and Ashoke Pandit slammed the filmmakers who have returned their National Awards to protest against the 'growing intolerance' in the country, Vidya Balan too joined the ranks. The Kahaani star said she will not give back her national award as it was an honour bestowed on her by the country and not the government. Filmmakers Dibakar Banerjee and Anand Patwardhan were among the 10 film personalities who have returned their National Awards in solidarity with FTII students and against growing intolerance in the country.

As the CBI registered a case over the October 20 incident in a Faridabad village where two children were burnt alive in an alleged attack by upper caste Rajputs, Haryana forensic experts, who inspected the scene of crime in Sunpedh, concluded that the "origin and source of fire was from inside the room and not from outside". 

In a scathing attack that is sure to raise the hackles of the anti-beef lobby, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said nobody could stop him from eating cow meat if he so wished. He also took a dig at fringe right wing groups that police Indian culture. "Till date I have never eaten cow meat. But if it suits my palette and if I want to eat beef, I will eat it. Nobody can stop me," he said. 

The Editor of a Haryana government magazine, which carries an article mentioning positive effects of beef-eating, has been removed. The magazine "Shiksha Bharati" has included "beef" besides "veal" (meat of young cows) among four "enhancers" which "directly affect absorption of iron in human body."

The Information and Broadcasting ministry has banned the screening of a documentary film on beef eating practices, which was slated to be screened at the Jeevika Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival 2015. "The film was supposed to be screened on Saturday at the festival in New Delhi, but we were informed by the organisers that we would need a censor certificate," Atul Anand, one of the filmmakers, said. The film titled "Caste on the Menu Card" is about beef eating practices in Mumbai.

Some photojournalists were allegedly manhandled by bouncers outside the house of Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh during his wedding ceremony. The bouncers also snatched video cameras from the crew as they were recording the event, police said, adding that a case against unidentified persons has been registered.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will distribute enhanced compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims, as announced by the Centre, in West Delhi's Tilak Vihar area on Sunday. 

Russia is no longer a superpower as its deteriorating economy is ranked "somewhere behind Spain", the White House today said and stressed that Moscow's influence is limited compared to the erstwhile Soviet Union.