Expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Dayashankar Singh, arrested for making derogatory remarks against BSP chief Mayawati, sent to 14-day judicial custody.

The government has extended last date for filing income-tax returns to August 5, said Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia.

The Aam Aadmi Party today mocked Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar saying he has turned "Gurugram into Guru-jam", a day after the BJP leader accused Arvind Kejriwal of "non-cooperation" in decongesting Gurgaon.During a live Twitter session with Khattar yesterday, one person had questioned the delay in completion of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR) project also known as the Dwarka Expressway, suggesting it would "decongest most of Gurugram traffic". Khattar responded saying: "Mr. @ArvindKejriwal should be asked this. Frustrated by non-cooperation by Delhi Govt, we have got it declared as NH." Asked about the allegation, AAP spokesperson Ashtuosh dismissed it as "hilarious" saying the people of Haryana wanted a Chief Minister "but got a Khattar" instead. "When you make Khattar as CM this is what you get. He has turned Gurugram into Gurujam," Ashutosh said. Although Kejriwal did not react to Khattar's allegation directly, he put out a tweet "That's BJP's governance", referring to a user's lament about the waterlogging situation in the Millennium city.

Image: Men offer biscuits to stranded truckers in Gurugram. Pic: Adnan Abedi/Reuters.

After floods, Bengaluru residents now have to contend with toxic foam overflowing from Bellandur Lake.

Hillary Clinton made history yesterday when she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. While this moment was about so much more than what she was wearing, Clinton knows that everything down to the colour of her jacket has significance and is an important branding tool to communicate key messages regarding her campaign.  Read more

Just in: 7th Pay Commission arrears to be paid in a single installment. This means that more than 10 lakh Central Government employees and pensioners eagerly waiting for the salary hikes will be paid from August 1. Also the latest announcement made by the officials from Narendra Modi government said, arrears dating back from January 2016 will be paid before March 31, 2017.

Arrears shall be paid in cash in one installment along with the payment of salary for the month of August, 2016, under 7th Pay Commission. Facilities to disburse arrears without pre-check of fixation of pay won't be available for Govt servants who have relinquished service on account of dismissal, resignation, discharge, retirement etc after date of implementation of Pay Commission's recommendations.

The Gurgaon Police have imposed prohibitory orders (under Section 144 of the CrPC) around the Hero Honda Chowk to clear the congestion caused due to massive traffic jam. Thousands of commuters were left stranded on the Gurgaon-Delhi Expressway and national highway 8 on Thursday evening after heavy rain .


"Considering the unprecedented rainfall and the flow of huge volume of water due to downward gradient from Delhi towards Gurgaon, prohibitory order under section 144 CRPC has been imposed near Hero Honda Chowk in the city," Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner T L Satyaprakash said.


Satyaprakash said that authorities have been directed to request all schools in the city to remain close today and on Saturday."Civil agencies may requisition all infrastructure equipment at benchmark rates so as to reposition roads, traffic congestions and other necessary actions. For next three days, the flash flood management works shall be undertaken on quotations basis and all the contractors shall coorperate with the civic agencies," he said.

The gaze of the developmental state and the Narmada Action Plans. Read

The Narendra Modi government on Friday sprang a surprise by giving a two-year extension to AK Mital, the chairman of the railway board. He is superannuating this month end. This is for the first time the incumbent has gotten a two-year extension to continue as the highest official of the railway. 

Sources say that the process of corporatisation of the railways is taking place slowly.


The rail budget will be dispensed with. The govt has plans to create 20 public sector undertakings under the Railway Board. An apex body which will work as a regulator is also envisaged.

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, has slapped a Rs 500-crore defamation case against Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for running a "hate campaign" and "media trial" against him.

In the notice, issued by Naik's lawyer Mubin Solkar, the preacher has also levelled a few other charges against the channel including "creating enmity and hatred between religious communities' and hurting the "religious sentiments' of Naik and the Muslim community through Goswami's statements on the channel.

Naik, facing multiple probes over his alleged provocative speeches, on Friday said he has no plans to return to India this year even as he claimed his remarks were blown out of context and that he has never inspired any terror activity.

Read the full report on Rediff.com shortly.

The Darin Gap is a lawless wilderness on the border of Colombia and Panama, teeming with everything from deadly snakes to antigovernment guerrillas. The region also sees a flow of migrants from Cuba, Africa, and Asia, whose desperation sends them on perilous journeys to the U.S. Jason Motlagh plunged in, risking robbery, kidnapping, and death to document one of the world's most harrowing treks. Read

On a day Arvind Kejriwal attacked Punjab's ruling Akali Dal on the drug issue, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today hit back saying the Delhi chief minister was a "frustrated man" unaware of the dignity of his chair. Badal said it doesn't behove of a chief minister to issue statements as given by Kejriwal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even against the Akali leadership. Interacting with the mediapersons on the sidelines of his 'Sangat Darshan' programme in Bhadaur assembly segment here, he said the irrational and baseless allegations levelled by Kejriwal - without any proof - reflect his hollow personality.


"Throughout my life I have been a votary of morality and I firmly believe that Kejriwal must desist from issuing such statements just for sake of scoring brownie points," he said.


Kejriwal, AAP's national convenor, earlier today attacked the Punjab government after getting bail in a defamation case filed by the state Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. Renewing his allegations against Majithia, brother-in-law of SAD chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Kejriwal said Punjab was in a "bad state" due to the drug issue. Badal claimed that due to its pro-people policies the SAD-BJP alliance would return to power in the state.

On Tuesday night, former President Bill Clinton spent more than 40 minutes, and covered four decades, attempting to humanize his wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

A day later, President Obama did it in three seconds, with a hug that will go down in history.Addressing the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Obama spoke at great length about Clinton's admirable qualities, saying, among other things, that she was the most qualified presidential candidate ever.But it was the after-hug that, well, clinched it.

Read more

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi sounded the poll bugle in Uttar Pradesh today, walking up and down a 200-metre ramp in Ramabai Stadium in Lucknow addressing party workers. The move, say reports is to present himself as a rockstar much as the PM does during his visits abroad, while addressing the India diaspora.

Highlights of what the Congress veep said.

-- 27 saal UP behaal, anek parties UP ko todne main lagi hain. Hum chahate hain ki UP fir pehle no pe jaaye, aur hum leke jaaenge.

-- The Congress is fighting to change the lives of the people of UP. We are fighting to form the Govt in UP. We are not here to merely increase seats.

-- We made Sheila Dikshit-ji the CM candidate of UP because we want her to fight for women.

-- Earlier Modi-ji snatched farmers' lands, now it's dal from your plates.

-- Modi-ji promised bullet trains, tickets will be not less than Rs 15000.
Only Modi-ji and his suited booted friends will travel in it.

-- If the Congress Party stands together, if we fight for our ideology and give voice to the workers then no Party can defeat us.

"A website rang me up last evening asking if I would like to express an opinion on the ongoing 'war' between Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt on tv and social media. I was tempted, if only because I have a strong opinion on most things and believe silence is not an option in the unethical times we live in. And yet, I pressed the pause button and decided I didn't wish to speak on the issue and aggravate the controversy. Maybe, I was influenced by the fact that both Barkha and Arnab have been former colleagues and I have respected their work. Maybe, having been bitten in the past, I didn't want to join the viper's den which platforms like Twitter have been reduced to: 24 X 7 rage machines where every attempt is made to throw darts at public figures, often under the guise of anonymity. Maybe, I just like to see myself as a nice guy who doesn't wish to see more unpleasantness around him."


Why Rajdeep Sardesai refuses to wade into the Barkha Dutt-Arnab Goswami war. Read

BJP MP Anurag Thakur being commissioned into Territorial Army in Delhi.

The wife of Indian national Gurdip Singh, who was to be executed over drug charges last night in Indonesia today said that she spoke to him twice this morning and he has been sent back to jail.

Appealing the Indonesian government for mercy to Singh, his wife Kulwinder Kaur said he has spent 14 years in jail which was enough penance for his crime if he was guilty and he should be sent back to his country.

"I spoke to him twice this morning and he said he is fine. His execution was dropped at the last minute after four others were put to death by the firing squad," Kaur said.

External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj said this morning that 48-year-old Singh had not been executed. However, it was not clear under what circumstance the Indian who was to be executed along with 14 other convicts was spared. Four of them were put to death by the firing squad last night. 48-year-old Singh was among 10 convicts who were not put to death.


He was found guilty by an Indonesian court of trying to smuggle in 300 grams of heroin and was handed death penalty in 2005. "A priest was invited and a van had also arrived to carry his body but the execution was halted at the last minute. He was then sent back to the prison," she said.


"Gurdip asked me to appeal to the government to halt the execution and bring him back to the country. He wants to meet his family," Kaur said. Expressing gratitude to the central government for its efforts, she said


"Swaraj has been constantly in touch with me and has assured me that the government is trying everything to save Gurdip from execution." Singh, who hails from Jalandhar in Punjab, is among 14 people who were facing execution after the authorities decided to resume implementing death penalty.


The 14 convicts included persons from Indonesia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. Singh was arrested on August 29, 2004, at the Soekarno Hatta Airport on charges of drug trafficking. The Tangerang Court awarded him capital punishment in February 2005, against the prosecutors' request for 20 years imprisonment. His appeal against the death penalty was turned down by the High Court of Banten in May, 2005. He then appealed to the Supreme Court which also upheld his death penalty. He is presently detained at Nusakambangan Pasir Putih, Cilacap.

"It's been called many things. A media brawl, a spat, a slanging match, a clash of personalities, everything but what it really is - standing up for freedom and rejecting the sinister intimidation tactics of a classic bully and his embarrassing subversion of journalism." 


Barkha Dutt on the 'journalism' of Arnab Goswami. Read

Breaking News: Dayashankar Singh arrested by police from Buxar, Bihar. He was arrested in a joint operation carried out by the UP Police and Bihar Police.

The expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader on Thursday failed to get a stay on his arrest from Allahabad high court which directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file its reply by August 5 on his plea challenging the lodging of first information report against him for allegedly using derogatory language against Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati.

The Lucknow bench comprising justices Ajai Lamba and Ravindra Nath also directed that a copy of the reply be provided to the petitioner's counsel and fixed August 8 as the next date of hearing.

Singh had moved the HC challenging the FIR lodged against him by BSP leaders after he used derogatory language against party chief Mayawati. In his petition, Singh had sought direction for stay on his arrest in the case.

An FIR was lodged against Singh on July 20 at Hazratganj police station here under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for his remarks against Mayawati.

Five-member committee constituted by Rajasthan Govt to review Supreme Court appeal details in Salman Khan Chinkara case.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday met his estranged cousin and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's home sparking speculation of possible reapproachement for the crucial civic polls in the city due early in 2016. Raj, who lives in Dadar, drove to Matoshree, Uddhav's residence in suburban Bandra.


No aides were present at the meeting, Sena sources said.


In 2012, after Uddhav underwent an angiography (to unblock blood vessels), he was driven home by Raj, giving rise to speculation of a 'thaw' between the two. Uddhav was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Bandra after he complained of chest pain. On hearing the news, Raj, who was on way to Alibaug to attend a party meet, had rushed to the hospital.


The BMC polls are crucial for the two cousins who regularly take potshots at each other. Shiv Sena plays a second fiddle to ally BJP in the state ministry and it is trying hard to retain its rule over the BMC where BJP plays the second fiddle. Uddhav, who turned 56 years old recently, has beenhandling the party affairs since 2004. In 2005, Raj had quit Shiv Sena and formed a new political outfit, MNS, the next year, blaming Uddhav and his 'coterie' for the ills afflicting his uncle Bal Thackeray's party.


A file picture of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray.

Madhu Kishwar @madhukishwar 317 injured due to pellet guns while 2228 police &army men injured from stone pelting which can be as lethal.Yet all sympathy 4stone pelters.

When does a joke stop being funny?Arnab Goswami has always been something of a joke. For Anglophone India, its highest-rated newsman has always been entertainment -- less a real person, more a parcel of self-righteous hot air trapped inside an awful suit. When he comes up in conversation, we roll our eyes.

"Too much shouting,' we say smugly, or "too many guests'. We speculate on whether he gets tired of playing the part of a sanctimonious scold, and make jokes about the "voice of the Nation". Sure, he's powerful -- but he's also a joke.At some point in the recent past, the joke stopped being amusing. Read more

Haryana CM ML Khattar cancels Gurugram visit as his chopper couldn't take off due to bad weather.

At least eight people who were helping construct a new building are feared killed after a part of the 13-storey building collapsed in Pune.

Officials said the top portion of the building came crashing down this morning.

"We have taken his incident very seriously. We shall order an inspection of all such construction sites now to ascertain whether they are employing adequate safety measures of the workers," Pune Mayor Prashant Jagtap said.

It is not known whether the labourers who are believed killed were wearing safety harnesses while working at that height or why a safety net was not erected below.

Rescuers were looking for workers possibly trapped in the rubble, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to news agency AP as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Sand artiste Sudarsan Pattnaik's creation urging tiger conservation. ‏@sudarsansand Today is #InternationalTigerDay ,My SandArt with message "save us"at PuriBeach, #Odisha. Let's protect our #Tigers.


Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Wednesday said there are preliminary reports suggesting Jai, the biggest tiger in the state, has wandered in the neighbourhood corridor of Pauni (Bhandara district) in Vidarbha region.

Jai, who is tagged as a head turner, went missing from his home location Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary for the last few months, causing panic amongst the forest department. The forest ministry has deployed five teams to search the forest corridors to locate missing Jai.

Just in: Gurugram traffic jam: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari directs national highways chief to send a team to clear traffic immediately and report to him.

9 killed, several injured in under-construction building collapse in Pune. Details awaited. 

Incessant overnight rain turned Bengaluru's formidable traffic jams into a a mirror image of Gurugram. Roads near Electronics City, which houses Infosys and thousands of IT workers, were waterlogged with rafts out on the streets to evacuate people.


Heavy rains began on July 26 and continue till date only increasing in intensity. During the last 24 hours from 8:30 am on Thursday, Bangalore recorded a whopping 41.8 mm of rain. In a span of four days, Bangalore has recorded over 135 mm of rainfall, which happens to be about 30 mm more than its monthly rainfall in July, reports Skymet.


However, rainfall intensity and spread both have been more during the last 24 hours. The fire department used boats to rescue people who were stranded in the rain waters.Fallen trees added to the problem in many areas.Worst-hit were areas near the city's lakes - or what had once been lakes.


Biocon chief and Bengaluru resident Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeted: Bengaluru has become Bengalaku. Incessant rains have created lakes across the city. Traffic is in a gridlock.

No updates yet on the San Diego shootings. But to bring you up to speed, two San Diego police officers were shot late Thursday, authorities said. Their conditions are currently unknown. Police said there is an active search ongoing for the suspect or suspects.

Police urged residents to stay inside their homes as operations continued in San Diego late on Thursday night.

A spokesperson announced the double shooting shortly after 11pm local time on Twitter, adding: Their condition is unknown, keep them in your prayers.

The circumstances of the incident in the Southcrest area were unclear.

Eight police officers were murdered in two separate attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge earlier this month, although the majority of police shootings in the US occur during gun battles with armed suspects.

File pic: Dallas police officer pays tribute following the multiple police shootings in the city.

On Tuedsay, parliament sessions are meant meant for meetings of BJP MPs and and MP brings along booklets and pamphlets with PM Modi and party president Amit Shah's pictures, which are invariably on the last page of the booklets.

Parliament House was strewn with booklets on the achievements of BJP MPs.

At least 50 to 60 booklets distributed to MPs were either left at their seats or binned and consequently, Parliament especially central hall and library hall were flooded with these booklets which apparently nobody wants.

Few Congress MPs in fact tore them up and binned them but some of them were seen lying on the floor. 

Gurugram limping back to normalcy. This is the Badshahpur Crossing on Sohna Road at noon today. The picture was tweeted by the Gurugram police who have been lauded for their exemplary work clearing the monster traffic jam and helping people in distress all through the night. 

Govt lists GST Bill for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha agenda for next week. The BJP government on Friday told the Rajya Sabha that GST is a priority for the government and has to get discussed and passed in the House. Minority Affairs minister Muqhtar Abbas Naqvi listed out the agenda for next week in the Rajya Sabha when P J Kurien was in the chair. Five hours have already been blocked for discussing the bill.


File pic of Parliament proceedings.

Gurugram residents were unanimous in lauding the the police during the monster jam and waterlogging. @RachinSharma @gurgaonpolice tweeted, "We just blame police and don't introspect.. main reason of jam is impatience exercised on roads", while @ashu3page tweeted: "Gurgaon Police A clap for cops at work to resume the life line... Bravo guys!"

Peeyush Malhotra ‏@uCheckMyYoutube  tweets: I salute gurgaon police because I know everyday how tough their job is ... ek din ka jam to chalta hai yaar


Kunal Jain ‏@KunalJain515  tweeted his thanks to the police: @gurgaonpolice sir it is only you on the roads can provide immediate solution. Thanks for your efforts. #gurugram #Gurgaonrains

Divyajeet S ‏@divner said," @gurgaonpolice poor guy has made to suffer coz of corrupt N inefficient babus who made third class infra planning. Suffere is always police."

‏@SharmaRohit8484  tweets his respect: @gurgaonpolice big claps for COPS as they are doing their efficiently in this situation. #respect

This, while Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar blamed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for Gurgaon traffic fiasco.

In a tweet, Manohar Lal Khattar held Arvind Kejriwal responsible for waterlogging on Gurgaon highway. The Haryana Chief Minister said that Kejriwal's non-cooperative behaviour has caused the traffic jam. Haryana BJP spokesperson Jawahar Yadav backed CM Khattar saying a large chunk of water goes out from Gurgaon through the Najafgarh drain which flows through Delhi. There is some blockage in the drainage line in Delhi.


@gurgaonpolice  tweeted this picture: Team Effort !

That's a picture of the waterlogged Hero Honda Chowk at present. The picture was tweeted by the Gurgaon Police @gurgaonpolice 10 minutes ago and shows that water levels have receded but there's still a traffic jam.

A Smoking Zone, a special enclosure for MPs has been earmarked in Central Hall by the Lok Sabha Speaker as the entire Parliament premises is smoking free. The regulars to the smoking zone are Union Ministers Ashok Gajapati Raju, Muqhtar Abbas Naqvi, CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri CPM MP T K Rangarajan, Swapan Dasgupta and  Sugato Roy of the Trinamool. Few West Bengal and Assam MPs smoke beedis. Journalists are not allowed into this enclosure.

As matchboxes cannot be brought inside Parliament House, Tea Board and Coffee Board bearers who light the gas stoves quietly hand over matchboxes to law makers.

Out of 793 MPs, around 50 to 55 are chain smokers, according to Parliament staff.

Hundreds of commuters are still stuck on Gurgaon-Jaipur Highway after heavy rains and water-loggings caused massive traffic jams, especially near the Huda City Centre Metro Station.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday blamed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for Gurgaon traffic fiasco.

In a tweet, Manohar Lal Khattar held Arvind Kejriwal responsible for waterlogging on Gurgaon highway. The Haryana Chief Minister said that Kejriwal's non-cooperative behaviour has caused the traffic jam. Haryana BJP spokesperson Jawahar Yadav backed CM Khattar saying a large chunk of water goes out from Gurgaon through the Najafgarh drain which flows through Delhi. There is some blockage in the drainage line in Delhi.

Image: @gurgaonpolice tweets this picture: NH8 at Hero Honda Chowk cleared for heavy vehicles... moving slowly due to flooding on road.

The District Magistrate has directed that all schools in Gurugram will remain closed on 29 and 30 July, in view of unprecedented rainfall. Gurgaon police advised commuters travelling to Gurugram from Delhi to stay back today to avoid being stuck in traffic jams due to waterlogging.


Image: Waterlogged roads in Gurugram this morning. The picture was tweeted by Rohit Sharma ‏@imRo45

Commuters were stuck for hours on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Thursday evening after heavy rain lashed the national capital.There was a massive jam as vehicles - from cars, to two-wheelers to buses and other modes of public transport - were stuck for over four hours, especially on the Delhi-Jaipur stretch.

Hundreds of commuters, including women and children, were stuck on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway throughout Thursday night after heavy rain left the Hero Honda Chowk here inundated.

Around 1 a.m. on Friday, the water level started rising. The scared and stranded people pulled down a part of the divider on Delhi-Gurgaon expressway to escape.


@mlkhattar sir for more than 4 hrs we r in jam to pass just 2 km at sohna rd near Subhas chk Gurgaon. This is not good for happening haryana," tweeted a commuter, Satya Prakash Gupta.

@narendramodi Traffic has come to standstill in Gurgaon for the last 5 hrs; local admin is nowhere! #ivoted4BJP.

"Total failure of administration in GURGAON, hero Honda chowk standstill from last 3 hrs," tweeted another commuter, Pradip Agarwal.

Gurgaon Police Commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk said that the entire traffic and district police force was on roads to help commuters.

Waterlogging on several roads in Gurgaon has led to a gridlock in parts of the city. Entire traffic police is on road trying to do the best," tweeted Gurgaon police.

Over four-feet-deep water was witnessed inundating some places near the expressway.

The excessive flooding was caused by overflow in Badshahpur drain due to heavy downpour that began around 4.30 pm.Kanwarias (Lord Shiva's devotees bringing Gangajal from Uttarakhand), vehicles of NSG commandos, Central and state officials were also stuck in the rainwater under which the expressway and other arterial roads disappeared.

Traffic was disrupted at the Hero Honda, Jharsa, Iffco and Shankar chowks (intersections).

Image: The monster jam on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway last night. The picture was tweeted by @nikunjbali.

Congress gives adjournment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss the issue of the women beaten on suspicion of carrying beef in Mandsur, MP: ANI