LIVE! Kerala man working in Gulf threatens to kill CM, loses job

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Wed, 06 June 2018

Kerala man working in Gulf threatens to kill CM, loses job

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23:50 Kerala man working in Gulf threatens to kill CM, loses job

A Kerala man working in the Gulf has been booked for allegedly threatening to kill Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a social media post, prompting his employer to sack him today even as he tendered an apology.

Police registered a case against the man, who identified himself as Krishnakumaran Nair.

In a live video on Facebook recently, the man purportedly said he had decided to return to India from the Gulf to kill Vijayan and attack his family, police said.

Nair said he was working in the Middle East to amass money to kill the chief minister.

He also allegedly hurled expletives at Vijayan, his family and some of his ministerial colleagues, police said.

After the video was shared on the social media, the accused posted another video, apologising to Vijayan, his family, state Electricity Minister M M Mani and the Keralite community, saying his earlier remarks were made in an inebriated state, they said.

Nair, in his late 50s, is seen in the second clip appealing to the chief minister with folded hands to forgive him, considering his age, they added.

In another video later today, the Keralite said he had been fired by his employer for his act and he will soon return to Kerala to face the legal action initiated against him.

"When I reached office today I came to know that I have lost my job. I am returning to Kerala. I am ready to accept whatever punishment as per the law for the crime that I have committed," he added.

The case against Nair has been registered under Indian Penal Code Section 500 (punishment for defamation) and relevant sections of the Kerala Police Act.

The case was lodged suo motu (on their own) by the police in Ernakulam. -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said today the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre may 'have to think of' recommending the imposition of President's rule in West Bengal if the situation in the state continues to deteriorate.

His remark came after two people, whom the BJP claims as its workers, died in Purulia within a week, leading a verbal duel between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the saffron party.

The two were found hanging in the district, where the BJP fared comparatively well in panchayat polls, on May 30 and June 2.

"Considering the direction in which the state government is moving and its irresponsible ways ('amaryadit acharan'), it seems the Centre might have to think of using Article 356 of Constitution," Vijayvargiya, the BJP in-charge of West Bengal, told reporters in Indore.

"Their (Trinamool Congress's) aim is to crush the opposition. Left parties' workers were killed during the last assembly elections. Now BJP workers are being killed," he said.

Describing his party as the second biggest political force in West Bengal, he said: "Many of our workers have been killed. Despite this, our workers are not afraid of anyone. We are fighting and playing the role of a vigilant opposition."

The first person's body was found hanging from a tree in Balarampur area, while the second was suspended from a high-tension electric tower in Dava village in the same area.

The BJP has alleged that the two were killed because of instigation by senior Trinamool leaders.

The TMC has denied involvement of the party in the two deaths. The police claimed that the second death was suicide. -- PTI

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is likely to accept the resignations of five Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress MPs from the House after they met her today and ruled out any rethink of their decision, official sources said.

A notification to this effect is likely to be issued soon, the sources said.

Mahajan asked all of them to give it in writing that they are sticking to their stand of resigning from the Lok Sabha, they said.

YSRCP floor leader M Rajmohan Reddy, along with the party's four MPs P V Midhun Reddy, Y S Avinash Reddy, Y V Subba Reddy and V Varaprasad Rao, today met the speaker and said they were adamant about their resignation.

The five Lok Sabha MPs from Andhra Pradesh's main opposition party had resigned to protest the Centre's decision to not grant special category status to the state.

The Speaker had met them earlier as well, asking them to reconsider their decision.

The Telugu Desam Party, which is in power in the state, had broken ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party over the special category issue. Terming the resignation of the YSRCP MPs as 'drama', TDP MP Kesineni Nani alleged that 'the match is fixed' between the BJP and the Jaganmohan Reddy-led party.

"YSRCP MPs are doing nothing but drama. Actually the match is fixed between BJP and the Jaganmohan Reddy. They are trying to befool the people of Andhra Pradesh, which will not happen," Nani told reporters in New Delhi.

He alleged that the five MPs were delaying their resignation to avoid by-poll in their constituencies and this was being done after an understanding with the BJP.

The state is scheduled to hold assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha elections next year. Both parties are seen to be taking positions on an issue they believe has an emotional connect with the masses in the state. -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah today met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai for a meeting which is seen with much significance since the two allies have been bickering for quite some time.

Shah, accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, met Thackeray at the latter's residence Matoshree.

According to Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas, Shah said BJP and Sena will fight 2019 elections together, adding that the differences will be sorted out.

The BJP has said the meeting is in connection with its Sampark for Samarthan (contact for support) campaign being led by Shah in the run up to next year's Lok Sabha polls.

However, the meeting is being seen with much significance as the BJP and the Shiv Sena have been bickering despite being allies at the central and state level.

The two allies contested the May 28 by-polls to Palghar Lok Sabha constituency of Maharashtra separately and engaged in a bitter campaign against each other. -- With PTI inputs

IMAGE: Shah at Matoshree in Mumbai on Wednesday evening. Photograph: ANI

President Ram Nath Kovind's press secretary Ashok Malik issues a statement saying that the President had directed in 2017 that there will be no religious observances at Rashtrapti Bhavan as it is a public building.

Malik's statement comes in the wake of several reports in the media about Iftar not being held at Rashtrapati Bhavan this year.

'After the President took office in July 2017, he directed Rashtrapati Bhavan being a public building there would be no religious observances at taxpayer expense. This is in keeping with the principles of a secular state and applies to all festivities, irrespective of religion,' Malik wrote on Twitter.

'Of course the President wishes all fellow citizens on all major religious festivals. Officials and employees living in the President's Estate premises are absolutely free to celebrate any religious festival of their choice in the privacy of their homes.

'President's Estate has religious institutions, such as a temple, a gurudwara and a masjid, erected by and for residents. On major festive occasions, the President does visit these to wish people. For example, he recently visited the masjid to mark the holy month of Ramzan,' he said in a series of tweets.

Iftar was discontinued in Rashtrapati Bhavan when A P J Abdul Kalam was the president between 2002 and 2007.

However, it was resumed when Pratibha Patil succeeded him. Her successor Pranab Mukherjee continued the tradition.

For the first time in several years, carol singing in Rashtrapati Bhavan did not take place in 2017 on Christmas.

Though iftar was discontinued for five years when Kalam was a resident of the majestic monument, carols were sung even then.

Christmas celebrations and Iftar are just two of the many religious festivities that took place in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and Holi are some of the other festivals which were celebrated in the president's official residence.

However, Iftar has a distinct place among all the religious celebrations. It is the only festival when the president hosts dinner for the dignitaries. With Kovind as president, Rashtrapati Bhavan will skip all religious festivals.

Diwali celebrations also did not take place last year though the monument was lit with multi-coloured LED bulbs. -- Agencies

Attacking Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his speech in Madhya Pradesh today, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley wondered 'how much does he know? when will he know?'.

'Every time I listen to the view of Shri Rahul Gandhi, both inside and outside Parliament, I ask myself the same question -- How much does he know? When will he know?' Jaitley said in a Facebook post in response to Gandhi's speech in Mandsaur earlier in the day.

'Listening to his speech delivered in Madhya Pradesh today reaffirms my curiosity about the answer. Is he being inadequately briefed or is he being a little too liberal with his facts,' he wrote.

On Gandhi's accusation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has waived the loans of Rs 2.5 lakh crores of the 15 top industrialists, Jaitley said this is factually and completely false.

The government, he said has not waived a single rupee due from any industrialist. The facts are to the contrary.

'Those who owed money to the banks and other creditors have been declared insolvent and removed from their companies by IBC enacted by Prime Minister Modi's Government. These loans were given largely during the UPA Government,' said Jaitley, who is recuperating from a kidney transplant surgery.

On Gandhi's comment that Modi has given Rs 35,000 crore each to two diamond jewellers who have now escaped out of country, Jaitley said this is factually false. He added that the banking fraud started in 2011 when the United Progressive Alliance II was in power and it was only detected during the National Democratic Alliance period. -- PTI

IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi met farmers in Mandsaur, MP, today. Photograph: Kind courtesy @RahulGandhi/Twitter

There are no implications on non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks because of farm loan waivers provided by various states, said Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel.

Many states have waived agriculture loans, latest being Rajasthan which has launched Rs 8,500 crore waiver scheme last week.

"Farm loan waiver has been given through Budget of individual state governments so far. Therefore, implications on the banks' NPA directly are not there," he said after unveiling second bi-monthly monetary policy review for the current fiscal.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has also announced farm loan waiver. In his meeting with leaders of farmers' organisations on May 30, the new CM said the government intends to waive loans borrowed after April 1, 2009.

Uttar Pradesh was the first state last year to announce Rs 36,359 crore farm debt waiver for small and marginal farmers. It was followed by Maharashtra and Punjab.

According to a report, the farm debt waivers announced by the five large states together will widen the fiscal deficit of the states by Rs 1,07,700 crore or 0.65 per cent of GDP in the current financial year.

The combined fiscal deficit of the states for FY18 has been budgeted at 2.7 per cent of GDP or Rs 4.48 lakh crore.

"With several states announcing farm loan waivers, there is a fear that the combined fiscal deficits of the states could be much worse than the budgeted figure,' India Ratings said in a report. -- PTI

18:22 Shah meets Tata, up next meeting with Uddhav

BJP president Amit Shah met industrialist Ratan Tata and actor Madhuri Dixit and shared the Modi government's achievements with them as part of his party's "contact for support" campaign.

Shah, who was in Mumbai today, is also scheduled to meet sporting legend Milkha Singh on June 7 in Chandigarh.

As part of the BJP's 'sampark for samarthan' campaign, Shah met the celebrities at their respective residences.

The BJP launched a mega public drive, 'sampark for samarthan', following the Modi government's fourth anniversary on May 26.

Pic courtesy: Sahil Salvi

The Reserve Bank's rate hike will not have a major impact on home sales, which has seen a revival in the past few months, say experts. The apex bank for the first time in over four years raised the repo rate, or the short-term lending rate, by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent, on inflation concerns arising from surge in oil prices.

Naredco national president Niranjan Hiranandani said the hike is justified on account of inflationary trends, global hardening of interest rates as also petroleum prices moving upwards. "It will not make a major difference to real estate. However, in the long run, we would prefer rates coming down," he said. -- PTI

Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee today criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre over spiralling fuel prices and said the people of the country are fed up with its "anti-people policies" and want to get rid of it "at any cost".

Abhishek, who is also nephew of TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, today led a protest rally in south Kolkata against the fuel price hike.

The hike in fuel prices is a result of the "anti-people policies" of the Centre and the protests by TMC against it would continue till the prices are rolled back, he said at the rally.

"The people of this country want a pro-people government and restore a secular government at the Centre. They want to get rid of the BJP-led government at the Centre at any cost," Abhishek, who is also president of TMC's youth wing, said. -- PTI

17:49 J&K sex scandal: Five get 10 years in prison

A Central Bureau of Investigation court today sentenced five persons, including a former Border Security Force deputy inspector egenral, to 10 years in prison in the 2006 Jammu and Kashmir sex scandal.

The quantum of sentence was pronounced by CBI special judge Gaganjeet Kaur in Chandigarh.

Those sentenced are former BSF deputy inspector general K C Padhi, former J&K deputy superintendent of police Mohammad Ashraf Mir and three others -- Maqsood Ahmad, Shabir Ahmad Langoo, Shabir Ahmad Laway.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on Padhi and Mir.

In case of default of payment, they will go through another year of rigorous imprisonment.

The court slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Ahmad, Langoo and Laway and if they default, they will serve another six months in prison.

The court had held the five guilty in the case on May 30.

Two accused, including the then Additional Advocate General of J&K, were acquitted by the court.

The infamous J&K sex scandal had hit the headlines in 2006 when J&K police recovered two CDs showing Kashmiri minors being sexually exploited.

The minors were coerced into prostitution and supplied to top police officials, bureaucrats, politicians and surrendered terrorists.

Those five men have been convicted under Section 376 (rape) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).

Prime accused Sabeena and her husband Abdul Hamid Bulla, who allegedly ran a brothel, died during the trial.

During the investigation, J&K police prepared a list of 56 suspects including some high-profile people for their alleged involvement in the sex scandal.

The case was shifted to the CBI in 2006 after the names of some ministers also emerged in this case.

The Supreme Court shifted the case to Chandigarh later that year.

The then J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had submitted his resignation in 2009 when an opposition leader linked him to the case.

J&K Governor N N Vohra, however, refused to accept the resignation. -- PTI

17:15 Pranab arrives in Nagpur to attend RSS event

Former President Dr Pranab Mukherjee arrives in Nagpur.

He is the chief guest at a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh programme scheduled to be tomorrow. -- ANI

16:45 Unwell Lata cancels meeting with Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah who was to meet singer Lata Mangeshkar today, and share the Modi government's achievements as part of his party's "contact for support" campaign, will not be able to do so.

Mangeshkar tweeted that she was unwell with food poisoning and she spoke to Amit Shah over the phone.

@mangeshkarlata Aaj BJP ki adhyaksha mananeey @AmitShah ji se meri mulaqaat honewali thi parantu mujhe food poisoning hone ki wajah se maine unse telephone pe baat karke milne mein asamarthta vyakt ki aur agli baar jab bhi wo Mumbai aayenge tab unse milne ka nivedan kiya.

Shah, who will be in Mumbai today, is also scheduled to meet Ratan Tata and Uddhav Thackeray. He will meet sporting legend Milkha Singh on June 7 in Chandigarh.

The BJP launched a mega public drive, sampark for samarthan, following the Modi government's fourth anniversary on May 26. It announced that 4,000 functionaries of the party will contact one lakh people, who are well-known names in their fields, to spread the word about the government's works during its four-year tenure.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to expedite the process for Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to set up its Rs 6,000-crore food park, following which the company said it is reviewing its decision to pull out of the project.

Yesterday, Patanjali had stated that it was pulling out of the mega food processing project along the Yamuna Expressway, citing non-cooperation from the state government and delay in clearances for transfer of land.

"We are reviewing our decision in the light of assurances given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. We do trust the assurances given by him," said Patanjali Spokesperson S K Tijarawala. -- PTI

16:04 Sensex soars 276 pts even as RBI hikes rate

The BSE Sensex surged almost 276 points to end above the key 35,000-mark today even as the RBI hiked the policy rate by 0.25 per cent on inflation concerns.

However, the RBI retained the GDP growth forecast for 2018-19 at 7.4 per cent on hopes of further boost to investments and higher consumption.

The central bank hiked the benchmark lending rate for the first time in four-and-half-years on inflation concerns arising from a surge in international oil prices. The repo rate now stands at 6.25 per cent.

The BSE Sensex, which opened strong at 34,932.49, fell after RBI's policy announcement but soon recovered to touch the day's high of 35,230.54. It finally ended at 35,178.88, up 275.67 points, or 0.79 per cent. -- PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today directed officials to expedite the process for Patanjali Ayurved to set up its Rs 6,000-crore food park, after the company said it was pulling out from the project due to non-cooperation from the state government.

"The formalities will be completed soon," UP Infrastructure and Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana said.

Earlier, a government spokesman clarified that the project has not been cancelled and Adityanath spoke to Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of the firm promoted by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

"The chief minister has talked to Acharya Balkrishna and heard his grievances. There is no cancellation yet. They have been allotted land and the project is to commence," Principal Secretary (Information) Awanish Awasthi told PTI.

He said the chief minister has directed officials to expedite the process. Industrial Development Minister Mahana said, "We will not let Patanjali go from the state. Our CM has talked to Patanjali. The formalities will be completed soon."

He said the state government was talking about incentives as well, and there were some technical issues involved. "We are bringing a proposal in this regard to the cabinet," the minister said.

The Haridwar-based company had proposed to invest up to Rs 6,000 crore to set up a plant spread over 425 acres along the Yamuna Expressway through its step-down firm Patanjali Food and Herbal Park.

On Tuesday, Balkrishna had told PTI: "We are cancelling the project as we did not get required clearances from the UP state government." The company planned to shift the project to some other state, he had said, adding, "We did not get any cooperation from the state government for this project." Patanjali had earlier said its new plant would produce goods worth Rs 25,000 crore annually, if it runs to its full capacity. It would also create 10,000 direct jobs, Patanjali had said.

Patanjali is also investing in mega food park projects in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and Tezpur (Assam) as well. -- PTI

Congress President Rahul Gandhi today announced here that the farmers' loan would be waived within 10 days if his party comes to power in Madhya Pradesh later this year.

"Here Kamal Nath (MP Congress President) and Jyotiraditya Scindia (the State poll campaign committee chairman) are sitting. I want to assure you that within 10-days of coming to power in Madhya Pradesh, the government will waive (farmers') loan," Rahul said.

He was addressing a rally at Pipliya Mandi in Mandsaur district to commemorate the first anniversary of police firing on farmers during an agitation in which six farmers were killed.

The Congress president also promised that a government of his party in the state would take action against those responsible for the police firing on farmers on this day last year. Assembly polls are due in Madhya Pradesh in November this year along with Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. -- PTI

15:03 What the RBI bi-monthly statement says

Highlights of the second bi-monthly monetary statement for 2018-19:

* RBI hikes key lending rate (repo) by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 pc
* Rate hike is the first in four-and-half-years
* Reverse repo rate stands at 6 pc, bank rate at 6.50 pc
* Growth projection retained at 7.4 pc for 2018-19
* Projects retail inflation at 4.8-4.9 pc for April-September, 4.7 pc in H2
* Major upside risk to the inflation path as price of crude rose by 12 pc
* Volatile crude oil prices adds to uncertainty to the inflation outlook
* Investments recovering well; to get boost from swift resolution under IBC * Geo-political risks, financial market volatility, trade protectionism to impact domestic growth
* Adherence to budgetary targets by the Centre and states will ease upside risks to the inflation outlook
* All members of the monetary policy committee voted for 0.25% rate hike * Next meeting of the MPC on July 31 and August 1.
-- PTI

15:00 RBI hikes repo rate to 6.25%

Reserve Bank of India hikes Repo Rate by 25 bps to 6.25%. Reverse Repo rate at 6%. The central bank announced its bimonthly monetary policy on Wednesday amid expanding economic growth and the recent increase in crude oil prices.

The RBI projects inflation for 2018-19 at 4.8- 4.9% in first half and 4.7% in the second half of the year, projection for GDP is 7.5-7.6 in first half and 7.3-7.4 in the second half.

The meeting of the monetary policy committee headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, began in Mumbai on Monday. The committee will meet today as well, before the policy will be announced. This is the first time the six-member committee is meeting for three days instead of the usual two, due to certain administrative exigencies.

All six members of the MPC including RBI Governor Urjit Patel voted for the 0.25 per cent rate hike.

14:55 Sivakumar gets his due

The Congressman who kept the flock together in the hit-and-miss Karnataka elections -- DK Sivakumar -- gets his due. Sivakumar was administered oath of office as minister in the Karnataka Cabinet.

The Shiv Sena today questioned the BJP's outreach programme after suffering defeats in bypolls and asserted it will fight all upcoming elections solo, attacking the party on a day its president Amit Shah meets Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Shah is in Mumbai today to meet Thackeray as part an effort to reach out to NDA allies ahead of the 2019 general elections.

"The prime minister is touring the world and BJP chief Amit Shah is going around the country as part of their sampark programme. Shah will be meeting NDA allies. However, what exactly will he do? Why is he meeting at this juncture when the BJP has suffered defeats in bypolls," the Sena asked in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana.

The focus on the 2019 polls may be the reason for Shah's outreach, but the BJP has lost connect with the people, it said.

"Winds of change of governance are blowing in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Change of governance is inevitable in Maharashtra as well. Amit Shah intends to win 350 seats in the Lok Sabha on the BJP's own strength. He says Ram Mandir will be built then. His stubbornness needs to be saluted," the Sena said.

The party added that inflation had peaked due to the high prices of petrol and diesel and farmers were protesting as their connect with the government was lost.

During the Palghar bypoll, posters of Modi and Amit Shah went missing, it said, adding that the party used the posters of its late MP Chintaman Wanaga despite protests from his family.

"After their win, Modi and Shah were back on the posters. This shows that commercial arithmetic decides who and when you keep contact with and when to break (contact)," it said.

It noted that the BJP had broken contact with TDP's Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh and questioned if building an equation with him once again will be part of Shah's outreach programme. If Naidu does not agree, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy (of the YSR Congress) is available, the Sena sarcastically added.

Shah, who will meet Thackeray at his Mumbai residence today, will travel to Chandigarh tomorrow to call on Shiromani Akali Dal leaders Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal, a BJP leader said.

The series of meetings are being seen as an attempt by the BJP to reach out to allies who have either been criticising or expressing their dissent with the party and also to strengthen the National Democratic Alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year. -- PTI

File pic.

The Uttar Pradesh police has issued a statewide alert after the LeT threatened to blow up several stations as well as the Krishna Janmabhoomi and the Kashi Vishwanath temples in a letter by a commander of the group, a senior official said today.

The letter, sent to Northern Railways last month, was purportedly sent by Lashkar-e-Taiba area commander Maulana Ambu Shaikh, he said.

The letter was received by the Northern Railways, New Delhi, on May 29. It threatened to blow up the Saharanpur and Hapur railway stations and other stations as well.

"In the wake of the letter, an alert has been issued across the state," the senior police official told PTI. It also threatens to carry out blasts at the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura and the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and mentions the dates, June 8-10, the official said. Officials have been directed to keep strict vigil across the state and ensure proper security of sensitive places. -- PTI

The Cabinet today approved a Rs 8,500 crore bailout package for the sugar industry which includes Rs 4,500 crore soft loan for building ethanol production capacity and creating a 3 million tonne stockpile to soak up excess supply. The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also approved a Rs 1,300 crore interest subversion on the loan to be provided for creating new ethanol production capacity as also expanding the existing one, sources said.

Ethanol extracted from sugarcane will be used for blending in petrol and will provide cane farmers remunerative price for their crop. Also included in the package is Rs 1,540 crore previously announced production-linked direct payment to help clear dues which sugar mills owe to cane farmers.

The Centre has already doubled sugar import duty to 100 per cent and scrapped export duty to check sliding domestic prices. It has also asked mills to export 2 million tonnes of sugar. -- PTI

In Mumbai: BJP President Amit Shah meets Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit and her husband Dr Sriram Nene as part of the 'Sampark for Samarthan' campaign. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis was also present.

Shah will also meet Ratan Tata, Lata Mangeshkar and Uddhav Thackeray through the day.

The 'Sampark for Samarthan' campaign seeks support of prominent people on the performance of the Modi government in the past four years.

Shah is on a day-long trip in Mumbai and will meet Tata and Mangeshkar at their residences. He will be carrying booklets containing details of the various promises fulfilled by the Modi government.

Image: BJP President Amit Shah with Madhuri Dixit, her husband Dr Sriram Nene and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis at the actor's home.

In Madhya Pradesh, parents of Abhishek Patidar, who died during the Mandsaur farmers' protest last year, say, "SDM (Sub-Divisional Magistrate) called our other son and asked who among us will meet Rahul Gandhi. When my son told him that my parents are going, SDM said ask them not to meet Rahul Gandhi."

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will address a Kisan Samriddhi Sankalp rally in Khokhra close to Piplia Mandi in Mandsaur.

To bring you up to speed, the Mandsaur agitation last year was the epicentre of farmers protests across Madhya Pradesh. The subsequent violence and police action triggered demonstrations across states. Similar protests in Maharashtra this year have put agrarian distress at the top of the poll agenda ahead of Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

13:16 Virat gets waxed

Wax statue of Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli to be unveiled shortly at Madame Tussauds, Delhi.

Those who noticed will already know that Graeme Smith, the former South Africa cricket captain, has flagged off the Narendra Modi campaign for 2019. For those that did not, here is how it happened. May 27, the first day of the last year of Modi's term. A pulsating corner of the Wankhede arena, where the final game of the Indian Premier League was about to get under way. Smith stood kitted out in traditional regalia - rust kurta (Sunil Gavaskar would follow sporting saffron and oblige with his own pitch, but not yet), linen mantilla streaming down his neck to the knees, churidars and kolhapuris to boot. The pre-match show had warmed up just right when the big question was popped to Smith.

Sankarshan Thakur's column for the Telegraph. Read it here.

12:06 J-K: Security forces kill infiltrators

Three suspected terrorists were killed on Wednesday as security forces foiled an infiltration bid in Kupwara district's Machhil sector. A search operation has been launched. A similar incident took place on Sunday when a terrorist was killed after security forces foiled another infiltration bid in Jammu and Kashmir's Keran sector according to sources. Last month, five terrorists were gunned down post a failed infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Tangdhar sector. - ANI

Supreme Court refuses to stay the release of Rajinikanth starrer, Kaala, which is scheduled to hit theatres tomorrow.

A vacation bench comprising Justices A K Goel and Ashok Bhushan refused to entertain a plea by K S Rajashekaran, who sought an injunction against release of the movie. "You want an injunction against the release of the movie. Everybody is waiting for the film to be released," the bench told the counsel appearing for the petitioner.

The petitioner has approached the apex court against the May 16 order of the Madras High Court which has posted his plea against the release of the movie for hearing on June 16.

The petitioner has claimed that his copyright-protected work related to story scenes and songs were used by the producer of the movie without prior permission.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy backed deferring the release of the Rajinikanth-starrer in Karnataka after the high court directed the state government to provide necessary security for peaceful screening of the movie opposed by pro-Kannada outfits.

Kumaraswamy, however, said the government would implement the directions of the Karnataka High Court which came on a plea by the producers seeking directions for smooth release of the film.

Pro-Kannada outfits have threatened to stall the film, set to hit the screens on June 7, over the actor's reported remarks on the Cauvery row involving Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

In an appeal as a 'Kannadiga', Kumaraswamy requested the distributor of the film not to release it in "this kind of atmosphere".

As the Bharatiya Janata Party enters its last lap before its term ends, its formidable citadel is not as strong as it was when the party came to power four years ago. Its defeat in the recent Lok Sabha by-elections in Uttar Pradesh -- most recently in Kairana last week -- and the mounting anger among the country's farmers has sent worrying signals to the BJP leadership.

"The BJP's big brother attitude and naked communalism by its frontal organisations has galvanised the Opposition for their survival," Professor Manzoor Ali -- an observer of UP politics at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow -- tells Rediff.com/Archana Masih.

11:34 INX media case: Chidambaram reaches CBI HQ

Former finance minister P Chidambaram reaches the CBI headquarters for questioning in the INX media case. Chidambaram today went to the CBI headquarters for questioning regarding foreign investment clearances given to INX media during his tenure. The agency had alleged irregularities in the clearance of foreign investment in INX media, a venture promoted by former media baron Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani, sources said.

Chidambaram's alleged role came under the scanner of investigating agencies in connection with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance of Rs 305 crore.

The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15 last year for alleged irregularities in the FIPB clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore in 2007 when Chidambaram was the finance minister during the UPA-1 government.

Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram was also arrested in the case for allegedly receiving funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh. The other accused in the case include then INX media director Indrani Mukerjea and then INX news director Peter Mukerjea, both in jail for alleged murder of their 24-year old daughter Sheena Bora. -- PTI

Image: P Chidambaram with his son Karti, who was arrested in the case for allegedly receiving funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh.

US President Donald Trump today said that preparations for the June 12 summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is moving along very well.

The President's statement comes a day after Singapore designated a special event area of the Sentosa island tourist resort for Tuesday's historic summit, which is expected to be covered by over 2,500 journalists from across the world.

There was initially much uncertainty over whether the summit would go ahead at all, and it was briefly called off last month by Trump after a dispute with the North Koreans over the key issue of denuclearisation.

"North Korea (summit) looks like it's moving along very well. A lot of relationship being built. A lot of negotiation going on even before the trip. But it looks like it's coming along fine," Trump said at a White House event.

Multiple US and N Korean teams are holding simultaneous meetings ahead of the Singapore Summit.

"We'll see what happens. But very important. It will be a very important couple of days," Trump said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would be at the White House later this week for talks with Trump on the latter's summit meeting with North Korea.

"We certainly anticipate the summit with North Korea that will be next week to come up, as well as trade issues and other matters," White House Press Secretary Sarah sanders told reporters at her daily news conference. -- PTI

The Reserve Bank of India will announce its second bi-monthly Monetary Policy of 2018-19 on Wednesday. The meeting of the monetary policy committee headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, began in Mumbai on Monday. The committee will meet today as well, before the policy will be announced.

This is the first time the six-member committee is meeting for three days instead of the usual two, due to certain administrative exigencies.

For those unversed, the RBI's six-member committee has been entrusted with the task of setting the benchmark interest rate after an amendment was passed through the Finance Act, 2016.

Prior to the establishment of the MPC, the RBI Governor was responsible for setting the interest rate.

In the previous Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy statement announced in April, the MPC had kept the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged at 6 percent and 5.75 percent respectively.

The Committee also projected real Gross Domestic Product growth of 7.4 percent in FY19, as against 6.6 percent in FY18.

The last rate hike was announced by RBI in January 2014 when the repo rate was increased to 8 percent. Since then, RBI has either reduced the rate or maintained status quo. -- PTI

The BSE Sensex rebounded over 69 points in opening trade, breaking its three-day losing run, ahead of the RBI's bi-monthly policy meet outcome due later in the day.

The 30-share index recovered by 69.38 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 34,972.59. It had lost 419.17 points in the previous three sessions. Sectoral indices led by FMCG, auto, metal,IT and capital goods rose by up to 0.30 per cent. The NSE Nifty also went up by 22.65 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 10,615.80.

Brokers said investors were seen raising their bets ahead of the monetary policy announcement. Besides, a mixed trend at other Asian bourses influenced the trading sentiment in the domestic market.

Shares of Bharti Airtel, Coal India, L&T, Tata Motors, M&M, Adani Ports, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid and Infosys climbed up to 1.48 per cent.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 474.33 crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 157.51 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.19 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.31 per cent in their early trade. However, Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.15 per cent. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.06 per cent lower in yesterday's trade. -- PTI

Security has been beefed up outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar in the wake of the 34th anniversary of Operation Blue Star on Wednesday.

Five Rapid Action Force companies and several companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed across the city to maintain law and order.

In the run-up to the anniversary, the Punjab Police have also busted a few modules which allegedly operated at the behest of foreign-based handlers to cause communal disturbances.

The Army had carried out Operation Blue Star in June 1984 to smoke out hiding terrorists from the Golden Temple complex.

Meanwhile, radical outfit named Dal Khalsa on Tuesday staged 'genocide remembrance parade' in Amritsar to pay homage to the people killed in the attack. -- ANI

India cricket captain Virat Kohli is among the world's highest-paid athletes, according to a Forbes' compilation topped by American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.

Kohli, the only sportsperson from India to be featured in the list, is ranked 83rd with earnings of USD 24 million. Surprisingly, the 'World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2018' compilation is an all-male affair with no women being featured in the list.

Kohli, 29, is not just cricket-crazy India's biggest name but is also one of the most popular athletes in the world, "boasting more Twitter followers (25 million-plus) than all but three active sports stars", Forbes said.

The 'World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2018' list is topped by 41-year-old Mayweather, with USD 285 million earnings.

This year the Indian national cricket board 'The Board of Control for Cricket in India' named Kohli as one of just five players to receive the newly-created A+ contracts, which guarantee an annual retainer of more than USD 1 million, it said.

"Yet like the Indian cricket mega-stars who have come before him, Kohli's big payday comes off the pitch" where he's partnered with top brands such as Puma, Pepsi, Audi and Oakley, Forbes said.

There are no women on the list. Forbes said tennis' female sportspersons Li Na, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were list regulars but Li retired in 2014 and Sharapova is still dealing with the aftermath of a 15-month suspension for using a banned substance.

Williams was the only woman to feature in the top 100 last year, but her prize money dropped from USD 8 million to USD 62,000 this year after she gave birth to her daughter, Alexis, in September. -- PTI

The Army today foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Macchil sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing three militants. Troops noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in Macchil sector in Kupwara district and challenged the infiltrators, an Army official said. Three militants were killed in the ensuing gunfight, he said, adding search operations were on in the area. -- PTI

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein pled not guilty to the charges of rape and other acts of sexual misconduct.

Weinstein appeared in a Manhattan court on Tuesday to enter his plea, reported Variety.

When asked how he pleaded to first-degree criminal sexual act and other charges against him, Weinstein replied, "Not guilty."

The charges involve two alleged victims.

The first, Lucia Evans, claims that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex at his Tribeca office in 2004.

The other woman has not been named, but she alleged that Weinstein held her against her will and raped her at a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.

It was Weinstein's first court appearance since his May 25 arrest on charges that he sexually assaulted two women in New York.

Weinstein's not-guilty plea was expected as he has always denied he forced any of the dozens of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct to have sex with him.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved has threatened to scrap plans to set up a mega food park along the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh.

Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved Limited and co-founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Acharya Balkrishna said due to Uttar Pradesh government's disappointing attitude, Patanjali was to shift its planned food park from the state.

His statement comes after the Uttar Pradesh government denied permission to Patanjali for its planned mega food park.

"Patanjali to shift its planned food park from Uttar Pradesh due to state government's disappointing attitude," Balkrishna told ANI.

"Mega Food Park was coming up to make lives of farmers better. We had also asked for permission from central government. There are paper works for which we requested state government. But due to their disappointing attitude, it couldn't be done," he added.

Yesterday, Balkrishna took to his Twitter handle and informed that they have to shift the food park due to state government's disappointing attitude.

According to reports, around 455 acres of land was allocated for the Patanjali Food and Herbal Park in Greater Noida.

In 2016, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had laid the foundation of this park. -- ANI

The then United States President Barack Obama used his African-American card to win over Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the last phase of negotiations at the Paris summit in late 2015, where India was the last holdout as its officials were the toughest negotiators, says a book on his presidency.

"When we got to Paris, the main holdout was India," Obama's then top foreign policy and national security aide for eight years Ben Rhodes writes in his book 'The World at It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House'.

The book will hit stands today.

Rhodes was Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications.

Giving a blob-by-blow account of the last phase of US-India talks on climate change, Rhodes writes that at one point of time in Paris, Obama himself entered into a personal conversation with two Indian officials to convince them of the need for India to be part of the deal. But he failed to cut ice with the two Indian negotiators, says the book.

Then he spend nearly an hour with Modi in Paris. Nothing appeared to work till the time Obama played the African-American card, according to the book.

"For nearly an hour, Modi kept underscoring the fact that he had three hundred million people with no electricity, and coal was the cheapest way to grow the Indian economy; he cared about the environment, but he had to worry about a lot of people mired in poverty. Obama went through arguments about a solar initiative we were building, the market shifts that would lower the price of clean energy," writes Rhodes in his book.

"But he still hadn't addressed a lingering sense of unfairness, the fact that nations like the United States had developed with coal, and were now demanding that India avoid doing the same thing. 'Look', Obama finally said, 'I get that it's unfair. I'm African-American'. Modi smiled knowingly and looked down at his hands. He looked genuinely pained," he writes.

"I know what it's like to be in a system that's unfair," he went on. "I know what it's like to start behind and to be asked to do more, to act like the injustice didn't happen. But I can't let that shape my choices, and neither should you. I'd never heard him talk to another leader in quite that way. Modi seemed to appreciate it. He looked up and nodded," writes the former top White House official, while describing how Obama used his African-American card to convince Modi.

But before it, Rhodes writes, Obama tried and could not succeed in convincing the Indian negotiators.

"We were scheduled to meet with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. Obama and a group of us waited outside the meeting room, when the Indian delegation showed up in advance of Modi. By all accounts, the Indian negotiators had been the most difficult," he writes. -- PTI

A group of public health experts have urged superstar Amitabh Bachchan to dissociate himself from promoting Horlicks, a multinational brand that has extended support to the Centre's recently launched National Nutrition Mission aimed at addressing the issue of undernutrition in the country.

The experts under the banner of the Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest - India (NAPi) in a letter to the actor said, "Horlicks is a high sugar product, as 100 gram of a popularly advertised pack of Horlicks Delight, contains 78 gram of carbohydrates of which 32 grams is sucrose sugar".

"This is harmful for children as it may contribute to childhood obesity and non communicable disease in later life," the experts said.

They said the WHO recommends a reduced daily intake of free sugars throughout the life course to less than 10 per cent of total energy intake.

Furthermore, in the interest of good health WHO suggests intake of free sugars to below 5 per cent of total energy intake, the letter stated.

The letter mentioned that in 2016, the World Health Assembly adopted a Resolution 69.9 that recommends ending inappropriate promotion of foods for children from ages 6-36 months based on WHO and FAO dietary guidelines.

"Going by this recommendation promotion of Horlicks falls in category of inappropriate as they use false health claims in TV commercials," they said, adding that it dents Bachchan's image as a socially responsible celebrity.

"I fear that this campaign may have serious adverse repercussions: Horlicks is expensive and is likely to drain pockets of marginalized families under the misbelief that Horlicks is a good nutritious product for children as it is endorsed by Mr Bachchan. Thus Horlicks may displace healthy real family home foods and this way contravenes tackling the problem of undernutrition among children," said Dr Arti Maria, Head of Neonatology Department, RML hospital in New Delhi. -- PTI

Launching a veiled attack at Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that today's youth don't enter politics with their own capabilities but only because of their families.

Addressing a Yuva Sankalp rally in Patna, Kumar said, "Today, youth does not want to enter into the field of politics with their own capabilities. These days people are coming in and getting ahead in politics because of their families."

Kumar's statement come hours after, Tejashwi took to Twitter daring the chief minister to swear on an affidavit that his son will never enter politics.

"If Nitish uncle is left with even an iota of morality and integrity, he should sign a sworn affidavit stating that his son will never enter politics," Tejashwi tweeted.

During the rally, the chief minister further said that the Bihar government is making efforts on improving the current situations prevailing in state.

"People are asking me to say about the current situations prevailing in Bihar. I don't know what they want to hear. I always keep on saying things to make this democracy stronger. We have been doing work for the public," Kumar added. -- ANI

A 52-year-old Pakistani journalist and activist known for her criticism of Pakistan's military was allegedly abducted by unknown men in Lahore, but was later released as netizens took to social media blaming intelligence agencies for her forced disappearance.

Gul Bukhari was on her way to the Waqt TV studio for a show when she was intercepted and abducted on Sherpao Bridge in Lahore's Cantonment area at around 11 pm last night.

The driver of the Waqt TV cab told the police that two persons came out of a double-cabin and asked Bukhari to get into their vehicle.

"When she refused they bundled her up in the vehicle and sped away," he said, adding that her abductors did not say anything to him.

Later, Bukhari's family registered a missing report at a local police station.

As the news of Bukhari's abduction broke out, several people took to the social media blaming the intelligence agencies for her forced disappearance for her extreme views about the Pakistani army.

Some three hours later, Bukhari's family confirmed that she has returned home.

It, however, did not talk about her abductors.

Hammad, a police official, said the police had reached Bukhari's house but she refused to record her statement at the moment. "

We will visit her in the morning again for her statement," he said.

Reacting sharply on Twitter, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, expressed her shock.

"Extremely disturbing and worrisome news of Gul Bukhari's abduction. This is just cruel & worst kind of oppression. A sad day," she said.

Bukhari is a vocal critic of the Pakistan army. She is presently a contributing Op-Ed writer at The Nation and appears as an analyst on Waqt TV show '2vs2'.

In a separate incident, journalist Asad Kharal of BOL TV was allegedly attacked by unidentified men near the Lahore airport.

Kheral later posted pictures of his blood-soaked jacket and blood-stained face on his Twitter account. "I was attacked by some persons wearing masks. I am at hospital," he tweeted.

Senior police officer Bilal Zafar said, "Kharal has been tortured by unidentified persons when he was coming out of the Lahore airport."

He said a case will be registered on the statement of Kheral. -- PTI

A defamation case has been registered against Gujarat MLA and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani after he allegedly tweeted a morphed picture of a columnist, police said.

The columnist, Shefali Vaidya, lodged a complaint based on which a case was registered against Mevani on June 3 at Pune's Paud police station under IPC Section 500 (defamation) and Section 66 (C) of the Information Technology Act, said a police official.

According to the police, Mevani tweeted a picture of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Vaidya together on May 29 along with a still from Hindi film 'OMG Oh My God!' and allegedly drew a parallel between the two images in his tweet.

Mevani later acknowledged that he had tweeted a photoshopped picture and deleted the contentious tweet.

"I am told that this is a photoshopped image. Apologies for posting it without verification. Deleting my previous tweet now and will be careful in future.

"We all should be careful abt this and whenever we get to know that it's fabricated we should delete it," tweeted Mevani after removing the controversial post.

Vaidya, however, approached the police and registered a complaint alleging Mevani had downloaded her photo from her social media account, cropped and morphed it and used it in his tweet.

Mevani, by allegedly posting defamatory comments against her and circulating the morphed image on a microblogging site, caused mental harassment to her and her family, the complainant said.

-- PTI

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