LIVE! Vanakam Puducherry: Rahul takes jibe at Modi over gaffe

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Tue, 25 December 2018

Vanakam Puducherry: Rahul takes jibe at Modi over gaffe

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20:47 Vanakam Puducherry: Rahul takes jibe at Modi over gaffe

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reportedly ignoring a Bharatiya Janata Party worker's question on the middle class' struggle with the taxation policy, saying forget a press meet, he cannot even hold a poll booth workers conference.

Gandhi was apparently referring to an incident that took place last week during Modi's interaction with "booth workers" from northern districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

He also said "BJP-vetted" questions is a superb idea, but the party should also "consider vetted answers".

The Congress chief cited a media report that claimed Modi faced embarrassing moments during his interaction with BJP workers from Tamil Nadu when a worker sought to know why his administration was busy collecting taxes from the middle class but not interested in taking care of them.

The report claimed that the prime minister during his video interaction chose not to answer the question raised by the worker and continued with his interaction by switching to Puducherry.

Taking a jibe at the prime minister, Gandhi tweeted: "Vanakam Puducherry! That's NoMo's answer to the struggling middle class. Forget a press conference he can't even string together a polling booth worker's conference."

On reports that the BJP will filter questions from workers to Prime Minister Modi following the incident, Gandhi said, "BJP-vetted questions is a superb idea. Consider vetted answers as well."

The Congress president has been criticising Modi for not holding a press conference during his tenure.

Earlier this month, Gandhi had posted pictures from a press conference he held and tweeted saying the prime minister should try one someday as it is fun to be asked questions. -- PTI

Small parties should be respected and given due importance by their bigger allies, Ashish Patel, national president of Apna Dal-Sonelal party, a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, said on Tuesday.

He also cautioned the saffron party that a tie-up between the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh would pose a challenge to it in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

"We small parties, like the Apna Dal-S, want some respect to be shown to us. We, our leaders and workers feel hurt if due importance is not given to us," Ashish Patel told mediapersons here.

He added that his party was not happy with the behaviour of the BJP-led state government with Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel, also his wife.

The Apna Dal-S chief claimed that she was not given adequate importance and not even invited for inaugurations of medical colleges.

Ashish Patel's remarks come days after Rashtriya Lok Samta Party chief Upendra Kushwaha walked out of the NDA.

He was upset with the BJP after it asserted that the RLSP would not be given more than two seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Earlier in March, the Telugu Desam Party ended its four-year-old alliance with the NDA over the Centre's refusal to grant Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh.

Asked how many seats his party would like to contest in in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 Lok Sabha election, Ashish Patel said it would be revealed when the time comes.

He asserted that the Apna Dal-S had widened its base during the last five years.

The party's candidates Anupriya Patel and Harivansh Singh won from Mirzapur and Pratapgarh respectively. -- PTI

Former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular supremo H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday expressed disappointment at not being invited for the inauguration of the country's longest rail road bridge in Assam though he had laid the foundation stone of it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the 4.9 km long bridge at Bogibeel across Brahmaputra river, built at a cost of Rs 5,900 crore.

The foundation stone for the project was laid by Gowda when he was the prime minister in 1997.

"Railway line to Kashmir, Delhi Metro and Bogibeel rail road bridge were among the projects I had sanctioned (as prime minister). I had sanctioned the budget of Rs 100 crore for each of these projects and laid their foundation stones. People have forgotten today," Gowda said.

Replying to a question from reporters on the sidelines of a function here as to how he felt about the inauguration of the project started by him, the former prime minister said he had given the nod for many projects.

To a question whether he received an invitation, Gowda quipped, "Aiyo Rama! Who will remember me? Some newspapers might have mentioned about it."

On the enormous delay in completing the project, he said, "That is where I differ. I completed the Hassan-Mysuru project in 13 months. I completed two bridges on time. Anagwadi bridge (across Ghataprabha). Go and see the bridge on Krishna river.

"Some people from Bombay Karnataka region say that Deve Gowda did not do anything (for the north Karnataka region), go and see it," he added. -- PTI

Services of state-owned banks are expected to be impacted on Wednesday due to a nation-wide strike call given by unions to protest against the proposed amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda.

This will be the second bank strike in less than a week.

Last Friday (December 21), an officers' union of state-run banks observed a day-long strike to protest against the merger and also demanded immediate settlement of wage negotiations.

Most of the banks have already informed customers about the strike.

Private sector banks will continue to function as usual.

The strike is being organised by the United Forum of Bank Unions, an umbrella organisation of nine unions, including the All India Bank Officers Confederation, the All India Bank Employees' Association, National Confederation of Bank Employees and the National Organisation of Bank Workers.

The UFBU claims membership of 10 lakh officers and staffers.

According to AIBEA General Secretary C H Vekatachalam, the conciliation meeting called by Additional Chief Labour Commissioner did not lead to any assurance and so the unions are going ahead with the strike.

During the meeting, neither the government nor the concerned banks came forward to assure that they will not go ahead with the merger, he added. -- PTI

The police in Noida has prohibited any religious activity, including offering of Friday prayers by Muslims, in a public park.

The directive was conveyed by the police in Ssector 58 of Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi, to a private company, saying its employees were found to be offering Friday prayers without authorisation from the administration.

"It is to inform you that there is no permission from the administrative authorities for any kind of religious activity including the namaz offered on Fridays in the park situated in sector 58.

"It has often been seen that the Muslim workers of your company assemble in the park to offer namaz. It is expected that you inform your employees to not come to the park to offer namaz," said a directive issued by Pankaj Rai, SHO of sector-58 Police Station, Noida.

It added that "if employees still continue to come to the park, it will be assumed that you have not informed your employees and you will be held liable."

As the matter became public, senior superintendent of police of Noida Ajay Pal Sharma said the notification was not directed against any particular religion or group.

Speaking to ANI, SSP Singh said, "A few people had asked for permission for offering religious prayers in a park in sector 58. In spite of no permission granted from the city magistrate office, people congregated there. The companies in the area were informed about it. The information is not specific to any particular religion or group." -- ANI

With the national capital battling 'severe' air pollution, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday that his government will implement odd-even scheme, to regulate plying of private vehicles in the city, whenever it is required.

He said that the Delhi government was taking several steps for reducing pollution levels in the national capital.

In view of the city's 'severe' air quality, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority on Monday banned industrial activities in pollution hot spots and construction work across Delhi-NCR till Wednesday.

"Whenever the odd-even (scheme) is required, we will definitely implement it," Kejriwal told reporters here.

"We all have to be participants in reducing pollution. The Delhi government is taking several steps. We have carried out large-scale tree plantation drive. The government will procure 3000 buses soon. Also, we sanctioned a large phase of Metro... We are making all efforts on our part," he said.

Asked about the Centre's role in reducing pollution levels, the chief minister said the Union government should call a meeting of neighbouring states as "air has no boundary".

"In October and November, there are around 20-25 days when pollution level increases in Delhi due to stubble burning (in neighbouring states). Until the centre takes steps, nothing cannot be done," Kejriwal said.

Delhi's air quality remained in the 'severe' category for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as meteorological conditions continued to be unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants, authorities said.

The city is facing its worst pollution crisis since Diwali.-- PTI

British Prime Minister Theresa May has cut her Cabinet's Christmas break short to prepare for Brexit as the March 2019 deadline nears.

Her senior ministers will reconvene for a Cabinet meeting on January 2, five days before the rest of the UK Parliament returns from Christmas recess, to begin preparations for all eventualities -- including a chaotic no-deal Brexit.

Stephen Barclay, her Brexit Secretary, will lead the Cabinet meeting, which will take place a week before Parliament is scheduled to reconvene for the New Year, according to the Financial Times.

Prime Minister May had put off the vote on her controversial Brexit deal two weeks ago amid deep parliamentary divisions, postponing it to mid-January instead. She has been trying to convince her MPs to back her plan, in part through ramping up the threat of no deal.

Writing in the Daily Express, she called on the Conservative Party to "put aside our differences" as the "vast majority of people" want politicians to move on from Brexit to focus on other issues.

May said it is time to "dispense with the titles of 'Leave' and 'Remain,' and instead find common ground and focus on what we can achieve together".

Christmas is a time "to put aside our differences and focus on what really matters", she said.

"Now, two and a half years after the referendum, it is time for us as a country to do the same," she added. -- PTI

Asserting that India should adopt a "clear-cut roadmap" to tackle the Kashmir issue, former director general of police of Jammu and Kashmir K Rajendra Kumar has said the United States pulling out troops from Afghanistan will have implications in the Valley and terrorist outfits may feel emboldened.

Kumar was delivering the Lalitaditya Memorial Lecture in Pune, organised by Sarhad organisation.

During his speech, he also said that there is a need to send a stern message to Pakistan for its support to militancy.

"A stern message needs to be sent to Pakistan in terms of retaliation. We need to make it more costly for Pakistan because today Pakistan is not feeling the pinch it should feel," said Kumar.

He said India should deal strongly with Pakistan as far as training camps and terrorist launchpads are concerned.

"Now the USA is existing Afghanistan. It has its implications in Kashmir. It is a matter of time that we will be feeling its implications in the Valley. After the US withdrawal, the terrorists organisations would feel pumped up, emboldened," he said.

Seeing America's withdrawal as a "sign of victory", terrorist outfits can feel that New Delhi can also be defeated, so there is an urgent need for India to adopt a "clear-cut roadmap" to deal with terrorism in Kashmir, he asserted.

The US is planning to withdraw 7,000 troops from Afghanistan. The American troops contribute to training and advising local forces fighting the Taliban and the Islamic State group.

Underling Pakistan's active role in spreading terrorism in the Valley, the former IPS officer said Pakistan is not only sponsoring terrorism but also sending its nationals to Kashmir in the garb of fighting jihad.

"No matter which government is in power, Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorism in the Valley," he said.

He said militancy in Kashmir started with local terrorist organisations but now it is tilting towards Islamic extremism.

"The Valley has a rich history of Sufism but over the years it has moved towards Wahabism," he said, adding that efforts should be made to take Kashmir back to Sufism. -- PTI

In a fairy tale ending of a real-life story, a 17-year-old, mentally challenged girl, who had gone missing in Kedarnath during 2013 deluge there, has been reunited with her family in Aligarh after five years.

Elated over the return of their long-lost grand-daughter Chanchal, her grandparents Harish Chand and Shakuntla Devi, residents of Bannadevi locality in Aligarh, said, "This reunion is nothing short of a miracle."

Chanchal had gone to Kedarnath on a pilgrimage with her parents when the tragedy struck, sweeping away her father, while her mother returned home after sometime, Harish Chand told media persons .

Chanchal, then 12, was feared dead but some good samaritans handed her over to an orphanage in Jammu, said director Gyanendra Mishra of NGO Childline Aligarh which helped in bringing the girl home.

For the last few months, the orphanage management had been observing that the girl often tried to communicate something about Aligarh city through her limited verbal skills, Mishra said.

They somehow got in touch with Aligarh city legislator Sanjiv Raja who then took Mishra's assistance. Mishra, in turn, managed to identify the family of the lost girl with the help of police, and restored her to it.

Chachal still misses her long-lost father Rajesh and keeps remembering him, Harish Chand said. -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government has changed the "dilly-dallying" work culture regarding implementation of development projects.

Addressing a rally in Assam's Kareng Chapori after inaugurating the country's longest rail-cum-road bridge, at Bogibeel, he said completion of projects within a given time frame is no longer confined to paper but has become a reality.

"We have changed the earlier 'latkane bhatkane' (dilly-dallying) work culture... Completion of projects within a time frame is no longer confined to paper but has become a truth in the real sense," he said in a apparent dig at the previous Congress-led UPA government.

If former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had a second term, Bogibeel bridge would have been ready by 2008-09. After his government, no attention was paid to the project till 2014, the prime minister said.

Asserting that the Bogibeel bridge will strengthen the country's defence prowess with movement of vehicles and trains, he said, it is not only a bridge, it is a lifeline for crores of people in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The bridge will cut down rail distance (between Dibrugarh in Assam to Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh) to below 200 km from 700 km now, Modi said.

After inaugurating the bridge, the prime minister flagged off the Tinsukia-Naharlagun Intercity Express, which will run five days a week and use the 4.9-km bridge to cut down the train-travel time between Tinsukia in Assam to Naharlagun town of Arunachal Pradesh by more than 10 hours.

Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh is just over 15 km from Naharlagun. -- PTI

Retorting to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's minority remark, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Tuesday said that Pakistan is the last country that should be lecturing any country on how to treat minorities.

"There were around 20 per cent minorities at the time of partition in Pakistan, now less than 2 per cent. On the other hand, the minority population has grown significantly in India since Independence. Pakistan is the last country that should be lecturing any country on how to treat minorities," Kaif tweeted.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday also hit out at the Pakistan prime minister.

Owaisi asked Khan to borrow some leaves of wisdom from India, specifically about "inclusive politics and minority rights."

"According to the Pakistani Constitution, only a Muslim is qualified to be President. India has seen multiple Presidents from oppressed communities. It is high time Khan Sahab learns something from us about inclusive politics and minority rights," Owaisi said.

Khan on Saturday had said that giving equal rights to the religious minorities is the cornerstone of the vision of Pakistan's founding father and that the country will show the Narendra Modi government how to treat these groups. -- ANI

16:58 Tharoor wants Shatru to join Congress

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday invited Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shatrughan Sinha to join the Congress.

The two are colleagues in the Lok Sabha.

Tharoor is an MP from Thiruvananthapuram and Sinha from Patna Sahib.

Sinha was in Thiruvananthapuram to launch Tharoor's book The Paradoxical Prime Minister, Narendra Modi And His India.

Tharoor said there was 'room for a hero' like Sinha in the Congress.

In his speech, Sinha criticised the PM. Along with BJP Lok Sabha member Kirti Azad, Sinha has emerged one of the most vocal critics of the PM and party chief Amit Anilchandra Shah within the BJP.

There is speculation that Sinha will contest the Lok Sabha elections as part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led alliance in Bihar. The Congress, Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party and some others are constituents of this alliance.

Business Standard

At least five persons, including a policeman, were killed and 21 others injured after a hijacked bus crashed into pedestrians on Tuesday in southeastern China's Fujian Province, according to the state-run media.

A suspect, who had a knife, has been detained and an investigation is underway, state television CGTN reported.

Five people were killed and 21 others injured after the bus which had been hijacked crashed into pedestrians on the street Tuesday afternoon, state-run XInhua news agency reported, quoting local authorities. -- PTI

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath expanded his Cabinet on Tuesday, with 28 MLAs, including two woman legislators, sworn in as ministers.

Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to the new ministers at the Raj Bhavan here.

Sajjan Singh Verma, Vijayalaxmi Sadho, Hukum Singh Karada, Govind Singh Rajput, Bala Bachchan, Arif Akil, Pradeep Jayaswal, Imarti Devi were among those sworn in as ministers.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Kamal Nath had taken oath as the chief minister on December 17, after the Congress won the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, defeating the BJP in a nail-biting contest.

The Congress returned to power in the state after a hiatus of 15 years. -- PTI

Singer Sonu Nigam, who has been in the proverbial eye of the storm for his comments on Pakistani musicians and the #MeToo movement, says he is concerned about the "country's anger" and would like people to "smile and be a little easy".

An eye for an eye leads to lynchings and road rage incidents and is just not his style, said the singer who ignited twin controversies last week.

He said during a media summit that it would be better if he was from Pakistan so he would get more offers from India. Nigam also attracted attention with his verbal spat with Sona Mohapatra on #MeToo movement.

"I am very concerned about the country's anger. There has to be some decorum. The kind of language people use is unbelievable. The kind of language she (Sona) used, there is so much hatred. I maintained my decorum in all my statements. We need to smile and be a little easy," Nigam told PTI.

The 45-year-old said he became a victim of sensational headlines and their viral effect on social media.

"When I want to communicate something I will say what I know or believe in. I will speak the truth. Eye for an eye is not my style of dealing with things. This leads to mob lynching, road rage," he added.

With his comments on Pakistan drawing flak, Nigam issued a statement saying he has immense respect for global musicians, including Pakistani singers, but wishes for Indian artistes to be given same facilities as their foreign counterparts.

He said he made the remarks in response to a question on the current situation of the country's music industry.

"I was asked about how the business of music functions in India. I was just giving them a clear understanding of the business status right now. These days music companies want to own the singers so when the artiste performs the companies get a cut from that," he said.

"... The companies have this rule for Indian singers but not for the talent coming from Pakistan or any other country," he added.

Nigam asserted that singers from Pakistan were his friends and he has been the only one in the last 20 years to criticise those banning Pakistani singers.

"I don't believe in the banning politics. Having said that, if Indian singers are made to follow a certain rule, the same system should be implemented on people from abroad," he said.

At the summit, Nigam was quoted as saying that Anu Malik, his longtime friend, was accused without any proof and had maintained a dignified silence on the #MeToo allegations.

Mohapatra voiced her disapproval with Nigam for his comment on Anu. She had earlier called the music composer a "serial predator". -- PTI

At least 12 people were injured when they were attacked by a group of persons during a prayer meet in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, police said Tuesday.

The victims were attending the Sunday Mass at the residence of Bhimsen Chauhan in Kolhapur's Kowad village, located on the Karnataka border, when the incident happened around noon, a police official said.

A group of 10-15 men armed with swords, iron rods and glass bottles reached the residence on motorcycles and attacked the congregation, he said.

They threw stones on those attending the prayer and tried to barge into the house. But some women, who were part of the prayer meet, forced the attackers to back off by throwing chilly powder on them, the official said.

Twelve people were injured in the attack and they were admitted to hospital, he said.

Senior police officials were monitoring the situation in the area, he said, adding that efforts were on to ascertain the reason behind the attack.

Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad Tuesday made it clear that his committee picked Ravindra Jadeja for the Test series based on the fitness report where he was declared absolutely fit.

Jadeja, who had a shoulder stiffness couldn't feature in the second Test in Perth and coach Ravi Shastri told the mediapersons that the player was carrying the niggle from India.

Prasad however wanted to set the record straight on the eve of the Boxing Day Test, which will feature the Saurashtra all-rounder.

"On the eve of any selection meeting, the selection committee is given a fitness report of all the players. In that report, Jadeja was absolutely fit. So we picked him. After we picked him, he went and played Ranji Trophy also, where he bowled 60 overs. So there is no question of him being unfit at the time of selection (for Australia)," Prasad said.

"Whenever a health issue comes up, we have a group in which it is being placed. All that is looked after by the physio and they have very clearly given it in the statement," he said.

On a different note, Prasad said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's return in the T20 squad for New Zealand tour was on expected lines as he was only rested for the six T20 Internationals against West Indies and Australia.

"With regard to MS, even while resting also, we categorically told that he was going to be rested for those six matches so that we an give more game-time to Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. That is the very reason. Now they have played quite a few matches, so we thought that we should bring back MS into the squad," Prasad reasoned, even though it is clear that Dhoni won't be part of 2020 World T20 in Australia.

Prasad said the decision to drop Rishabh Pant from the ODIs against Australia and New Zealand was to keep him fresh for bigger battles ahead. He assured that the young keeper is still in scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup.

"With regards to Rishabh, given the intensity of this series that we are playing right now, so after this series, we want to keep him fresh. Give him a break and he will have a very good game-time of five matches against the visiting England Lions. Definitely a part of our World Cup plans (sic), Prasad said. -- PTI

15:21 Miley Cyrus, Liam Hemsworth reportedly married

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth have reportedly tied the knot in a secret ceremony.

The once on-again off-again couple, who reconnected in 2015, exchanged vows in an intimate affair at their home in Franklin, Tennessee on Sunday.

Several pictures of the two were shared by their surfer friend Conrad Jack Carr on his Instagram Story where in one of the photographs Hemsworth, 28, and his brothers Chris and Luke can be seen doing a "shotski", with 'Mr and Mrs' balloons in the background.

Another picture has Cyrus, 26, and Hemsworth dressed in traditional white and a tux, respectively in front of a white cake and cupcakes, with the singer's mother, Tish in the frame.

According to People, the "Malibu" hitmaker's sisters Noah and Brandi were also in attendance at the party.

On their Instagram Stories, they posed together with Carr as 'Mrs' balloons floated in the background.

The couple first started dating when they starred opposite each other in Nicholas Sparks' 2010 drama, "The Last Song".

Until recently the couple lived with their seven dogs, two pigs and two miniature horses in a shared Malibu home, which burned down in one of the three wildfires that blazed through California.

Representatives for both stars did not immediately reply to request for comment. -- PTI

With an increasing pressure of an ever-growing population on our planet, celebrity chef Gary Mehigan believes that the ubiquitous insects can be an attractive and viable food option to fulfil the dietary requirements of the future.

A recent study found that promoting insects as tasty, or even as a luxurious and exotic delicacy, could help achieve more sustainable food production and healthier diets.

"Insects are eaten all over the world, some are absolutely delicious and with the pressure of an ever-growing population on our planet it will become a viable and attractive option," Mehigan, who has been judging Masterchef Australia for the past nine years, told PTI.

However, he does not believe that super-foods, food pills and protein bars will fill in the role played by traditional foods.

"I don't think food pills or bars will replace the traditional food that we know and enjoy today. Food is not just about sustenance, it is about family and community and an integral part of our lives, our culture and beliefs," said Mehigan who was in the city to promote South Australia as a tourist destination.

According to an estimate, the world population is expected to reach a whopping nine billion by 2050. To feed all of those hungry mouths, we will need to produce almost twice as much food as we currently do.

"The global community has to make some very real changes to the way we consume the world's resources or the outcome for humanity is not all that rosy," said Mehigan.

He noted that experimenting with lab-grown meats as green alternatives with a lower carbon footprint was a welcome step.

"The cruelty we inflict on millions of animals fills many of us with sadness, our over consumption and food waste in the first word is horrendous," said Mehigan.

"We need to do something... I think we need to look at ways to reduce how much food we waste and consume, and make an effort to have meat free days, if we are carnivores, and take a lesson from the vegetarian community's recipe books," he added.

14:38 PM Modi inaugurates Bogibeel bridge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Bogibeel bridge in Assam, Asia's second longest rail-cum-road bridge.

The 4.9 km-long Bogibeel bridge reduces travel time from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh to four hours and will cut out the detour of over 170 km via Tinsukia.

It will also reduce Delhi to Dibrugarh train-travel time by about three hours to 34 hours as against 37 hours presently.

The bridge on the Bramhaputra river is India's only fully welded bridge for which european codes and welding standards were adhered to for the first time in the country.

The bridge, constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 5,900 crore, has a "serviceable period of around 120 years".

Aadhaar issuing body, the Unique Identification Authority of India has asserted that schools cannot make the 12-digit biometric identifier a pre-condition for student admission and warned that doing so will be against the recent order of the Supreme Court.

The word of caution from the UIDAI comes at a time when admissions to nursery and entry-level classes have just begun in over 1,500 private schools in Delhi.

However, there have been reports of certain schools insisting on Aadhaar as one of the documents required for admission.

The UIDAI has said it is aware of the reports that some schools are asking for Aadhaar cards for student admission.

"This is not right. This is not as per the provisions of law...school admission and other facility to children cannot be made conditional to production of Aadhaar," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI.

The UIDAI has asked the school authorities and their managements to ensure that no child is denied admission for lack of Aadhaar.

"In fact, schools should admit children without Aadhaar and ensure that children are given Aadhaar once they are in schools by arranging special camps for them," he said.

Asked what action could schools face if they continued to insist on Aadhaar, Pandey said that it will clearly be seen as contempt of court.

In September this year, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar but clipped the scope of the biometric identity project, ruling it was not mandatory for bank accounts, mobile connections or school admissions.

The apex court held that Aadhaar would remain compulsory for filing of Income Tax returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number, as well as welfare schemes.

The SC verdict emphasised that it would not be mandatory for school admissions, as also for the examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical entrance and the University Grants Commission. -- PTI

The city is facing its worst pollution crisis since Diwali.

While the Central Pollution Control Board data showed the overall air quality index at 'severe' level of 416, the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting recorded an AQI of 423.

Twenty-five areas recorded severe pollution levels, while nine recorded very poor air quality, the CPCB data showed.

In the NCR, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida recorded severe pollution while Gurgaon recorded 'very poor' quality air.

The overall PM2.5 level (fine particulate matter in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometre) was recorded at 271 and the PM10 level at 422 here, the CPCB said.

Delhi's air quality had turned 'severe' on Saturday. The national capital recorded its second highest pollution level of the year on Sunday with an AQI of 450.

According to the SAFAR, the overall air quality in Delhi is expected to remain in the 'severe' range till Tuesday.

"Recovery got delayed mainly due to slowing of wind speed, leading to persistence of fog which rapidly multiplied finer particles, leading to rapid increase in PM2.5 and even PM1 (fine particulate matter in the air with a diameter of less than 1 micrometre)," it said.

"Improvement is expected from late Tuesday evening only when radiation fog get dissipated with sufficient sunshine," it added.

According to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, air quality is likely to improve on Tuesday, but will remain in the upper end of the 'very poor' or in the 'severe' category.

"The wind speed and ventilation index are highly unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants," it said.

Ventilation index is the speed at which pollutants can get dispersed. A ventilation index lower than 6,000 sqm/second, with average wind speed less than 10 kmph, is unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants.

The index on Tuesday was 5,000 sqm/second on Tuesday, the IITM said.

Cold wave conditions intensified across Kashmir, except Srinagar city, as the mercury slipped further below the freezing point, resulting in frozen water bodies and water supply lines in several residential areas on Tuesday.

Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- which recorded the coldest night in 11 years on Monday at minus 6.8C, experienced some respite as the mercury settled over a degree higher at minus 5.5C last night, a Met department official said.

The official said Qazigund -- the gateway town to the Valley -- in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.2C, while the nearby Kokernag town registered a low of minus 5.3C last night.

Kupwara in north Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.2C last night, he said.

The night temperature in Pahalgam, which serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra, in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 7.7C last night, the official said, adding the resort was colder than Gulmarg and the coldest place in the Valley.

The ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.6C, he said.

The official said Leh recorded a low of minus 10.0C last night up from minus 14.7C the previous night.

The nearby Kargil recorded a low of minus 14.2C, he added.

The cold wave has resulted in freezing of some water bodies, including the fringes of the famous Dal Lake here, and residential water supply pipes in many areas of the city and other towns of the Valley.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai-Kalan' -- the harshest period of winter when chances of snowfall are maximum and the temperature drops considerably.

'Chillai-Kalan' ends on January 31, but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir. The 40-day period is followed by a 20-day 'Chillai-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day 'Chillai-Bachha' (baby cold). -- PTI

13:16 RBI to soon release new Rs 20 bank note

The Reserve Bank of India will soon introduce a new Rs 20 currency note with additional features, according to a document of the central bank.

The central bank has already issued new look currency notes in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100, and Rs 500, besides introducing Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 bank notes.

The new look notes are being introduced since November 2016 under Mahatma Gandhi (New) series. These are different in size and design compared to the notes issued previously.

The currency notes, except for banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, issued under old series continue to remain legal tender.

According to the RBI data bank, there were 4.92 billion pieces of Rs 20 note in circulation as on March 31, 2016. The number more than doubled to about 10 billion pieces by March 2018.

The Rs 20 notes accounted for 9.8 per cent of the total number of currency notes in circulation at the end of March 2018. -- PTI

Supermodel Heidi Klum and musician Tom Kaulitz are now an engaged couple.

The catwalk icon made the announcement on Christmas Eve on Instagram where she shared a black-and-white photo flaunting a big diamond on her finger.

Klum, 45, captioned photo,"I said yes."

Klum and Kaulitz, 29, went public with their relationship in March this year at the amfAR Gala Cannes. -- PTI

12:53 Indonesia tsunami death toll reaches 429

The death toll from the tsunami that hit Indonesian islands on Saturday has passed 420 with more than 1,400 people injured.

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the death toll had climbed to 429 on Tuesday and at least 128 were missing.

Thousands of people were left homeless when the waves smashed homes on coastal areas of western Java and southern Sumatra, when a volcano known as the child of Krakatoa erupted, which in turn, triggered a tsunami

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday conducted the first expansion of his Cabinet by inducting nine Congress MLAs, including a woman legislator, as ministers.

Governor Anandiben Patel administered the oath to the new ministers at the Police Parade Ground here.

The ministers took oath in Hindi.

Among the ministers sworn in included Mohammed Akbar, Umesh Patel, Anila Bhediya and Ravindra Chaubey.

Baghel took oath as Chhattisgarh chief minister on December 17, after the Congress won the state assembly election with a thumping majority.

Two other Congress legislators, T S Singh Deo and Tamradhwaj Sahu, were also sworn in as ministers that day.

The Congress returned to power in the state after 15 years, dislodging the Raman Singh-led BJP government. PTI

Bored at the White House on Christmas Eve, a lone Donald Trump spent the day slamming his critics, as the government entered its third day of partial shutdown initiated by a rift with Democrats over the President's long-promised wall along the United States-Mexico border.

President Trump, who has cancelled his trip to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, said he was "all alone" in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come to the negotiating table to end the partial government shutdown.

Through a series of tweets and pictures, Trump showed he was working hard while the opposition Democratic lawmakers were in their homes celebrating Christmas.

"I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security," Trump tweeted on Monday.

Trump wants the Democrats to fund for a border wall to stop illegal immigrants from entering the US. Democrats have refused his demands for USD 5 billion in funding for his border wall in a standoff that resulted in a partial government at midnight on Friday.

"At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our country more money than the border wall we are all talking about. Crazy!" Trump said.

Several hours later, Trump said in a tweet that he was in the Oval Office and working on border security.

"I am in the Oval Office and just gave out a 115-mile-long contract for another large section of the Wall in Texas. We are already building and renovating many miles of Wall, some complete. Democrats must end Shutdown and finish funding. Billions of dollars, and lives, will be saved!" he said.

He also tweeted a picture of him with senior administration officials for a briefing on North Korea.

"Christmas Eve briefing with my team working on North Korea Progress being made. Looking forward to my next summit with Chairman Kim!" Trump said. -- PTI

The visionary leadership and endearing personality of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were fondly remembered by the entire country on Tuesday - his 94th birth anniversary. Leading the heartfelt tributes for the iconic leader was PM Narendra Modi who, along with politicians cutting across party lines, paid homage at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.

PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were among the first to reach Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where they offered a floral tribute to Vajpayee. PM Modi also took to Twitter to honour the memory of a figure who played an important role in shaping the future of the party, the country and its people. "Tributes to Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We reiterate our commitment towards creating the India he dreamt of," he wrote, alongwith a video showing priceless glimpses from Vajpayee's life.

Former PM Manmohan Singh and several other leaders from the opposition also honoured the memory of Vajpayee - many attending the sombre event at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.

Vajpayee passed away on August 16 at All India Institute of Medical Science in Delhi following a prolonged illness. The veteran leader, who led the National Democratic Alliance government from 1998-2004, was the first ever person from the BJP to have become the nation's Prime Minister. Vajpayee served as Prime Minister thrice -- briefly in 1996, and then for two terms between 1998 and 2004.

Diamantaire and PNB scam accused Mehul Choksi has written to a special anti-money laundering court seeking the dismissal of an Enforcement Directorate plea to declare him a fugitive economic offender.

In the letter, Choksi also lamented about the tortoise speed at which the investigation was proceeding in India, saying it would be years before trial would even begin. He also reportedly said that it would not be possible for him to endure a 41-hour flight back to India from Antigua, whose citizenship he obtained earlier this year, due to "health ailments".

According to a report in Times of India, Choksi has told the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court that he was in touch with the Punjab National Bank to settle his loans. Choksi has alleged that the ED deliberately did not placed this correspondence before the court to mislead it, the report added.

Choksi, the Chairman of the Gitanjali Group who has taken refuge in Antigua, was one of the prime accused in the Rs 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank fraud along with his nephew Nirav Modi.

The ED in October had attached both their assets in India and abroad worth Rs 218 crore. Both left India in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has been caught on camera telling someone over the phone to kill the attackers of a local leader of his Janata Dal-Secular party, Honnalagere Prakash, mercilessly in a shootout.

He (Prakash) was a very good man. I dont know who did this and why. But Kill them (assailants) mercilessly in a shootout, there is no problem, Kumaraswamy is heard saying in the video clip.

Prakash was attacked by unidentified men with machetes on Monday in south Karnatakas Mandya district while he was travelling in his car in Maddur.

Prakash, who was murdered, was a party loyalist. I have instructed the police to take all necessary measures to ensure that such incidents are not recurring, Kumaraswamy said in a statement issued by his office.

The chief minister later defended his statement, saying he was angry.

Later, the chief ministers office issued a statement where it was claimed that the comments were an emotional reaction to the incident and not orders. The words used while receiving information about this incident were an emotional reaction to the incident and not an order by the chief minister.

All departures at Delhi airport have been stopped for the last hour due to dense fog. The dense fog has led to poor visibility on the runway.

Several parts of Delhi and other states in north India were engulfed in thick fog this morning.

With departures getting delayed, some people complained on social media that their travel plans on Christmas would be affected.

Assams long wait for the Bogibeel Bridge -- the longest rail-cum-road bridge -- will end when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates it on Tuesday.

The 4.9km-long bridge, which witnessed several protests and missed deadlines, will not only improve connectivity between the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River, but also help the economic development of the region and strengthen the defence movement along the India-China frontiers.

The Bogibeel Bridge, an offshoot of the Assam Movement which culminated with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985, is also recognised as Asias second-longest bridge with three-lane roads on top and a double line rail below.

Sanctioned on January 22, 1997, then prime minister HD Deve Gowda had laid the foundation stone for the bridge. However, the construction began only after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the work site on April 21, 2002. The inauguration ceremony of the bridge coincides with the 94th birth anniversary of Vajpayee, who passed away in August this year.

he Indian team management named the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test and there are quite a few changes in the team from the XI that took the field in the second Test in Perth.

Both the openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay have been dropped and Mayank Agarwal is set to make his debut. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also comes in for Umesh Yadav as the thinktank decided to pick a spinner. ODI deputy Rohit Sharma also makes a comeback to the team.

The playing XI for 3rd Test goes: Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invited his American counterpart Donald Trump to visit Turkey in 2019, the White House has said.

"President Erdogan invited President Trump to visit Turkey in 2019. While nothing definite is being planned, the President is open to a potential meeting in the future," a White House spokesperson said.

The invitation comes just days after Trump made the controversial decision to withdraw American troops from Syria, where they have been deployed to assist in the international war against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Turkey was a rare ally that lauded Trump's decision on Syria, a country where it will now have a freer rein to target Kurdish fighters who were armed and trained by the US and played a major role in the war against IS but are deemed terrorists by Ankara.

Turkey has said an offensive targeting the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units militia and IS group will be launched in the coming months, and has deployed troops to the Syrian border.

The new Cabinet of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath will take oath on December 25.

The oath ceremony would take place at Raj Bhawan at 3 pm.

Congress veteran Nath was sworn-in as Chief Minister on December 17, six days after his party posted a narrow victory over the BJP, which ruled the state for 15 years.

Nath has been camping in New Delhi since the past three days to finalise the list of his Cabinet colleagues, to be sworn in today, in consultation with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders.

Their names have not been made public so far.

According to party sources, one or two Independent MLAs may get into the new Cabinet.

Though the Congress, with 114 seats, emerged as the single largest party in the 230-member assembly, it failed to cross the halfway mark on its own and enlisted support of the

BSP and the SP, which have won two seats and one, respectively.

Four Independent MLAs, who are Congress rebels, have also extended their support, taking the total number of MLAs on the Congress side to 121.

The BJP had won 109 seats.

The MP assembly session is going to begin on January 7 with the oath-taking by newly elected MLAs.

-- PTI

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar Monday asked the BJP to refrain from making statements on Lord Hanuman, suggesting that the party lost elections in three states by dragging the deity into politics.

The Congress leader's remarks came amid a row over Lord Hanuman's caste triggered by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath when he called the deity a Dalit during a rally in the run-up to the Rajasthan assembly elections.

"Don't trouble Lord Hanuman too much. With a swipe of his tail, the BJP lost elections in three states, Now, their Lanka will be on fire," he told reporters here.

While addressing a rally in Rajasthan's Alwar district, Adityanath had said, "Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to unite all Indian communities, from north to south and east to west."

A few days later, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes chairperson Nand Kumar Sai had claimed that Lord Hanuman was a tribal.

Last week, Bukkal Nawab, a BJP MLC from Uttar Pradesh, claimed that the monkey god was a Muslim while UP's Religious Affairs Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary stated that the Hindu deity belonged to the Jat community.

Samajwadi Party's national general secretary and former MP Rama Shankar Vidyarthi had claimed that Lord Hanuman belonged to tribal 'Gond' community. -- PTI

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