The Madhya Pradesh government is in talks with a foreign firm to build 300 "smart gaushalas" (cow sheds) to house abandoned cattle, state Animal Husbandry Minister Lakhan Singh Yadav said.

He informed that, as per the plan, the foreign firm will be asked to build 60 such cow sheds every year and complete the work in a five-year period.

"We are in talks with a foreign company to build 300 smart gaushalas (cow sheds). We are going to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for it," he said.

Government sources said non-resident Indians are being approached to fund these 300 cow sheds which would be equipped with air-conditioners.

Yadav said the state government would set up 1,000 cow sheds of its own besides these 300. Building cow sheds was a promise of the Congress during the 2018 assembly polls.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought a one-time grant of Rs 5,000 crore for organising the Maha Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in 2021. 

Rawat said, "More than 15 crore tourists and devotees from different parts of the country and the world are expected to visit Haridwar for the Maha Kumbh in 2021. Keeping in view the arrangements like housing, transportation, health, sanitation, security etc. to be made for the Maha Kumbh Mela, we have requested for Rs 5,000 crore one-time grant." "All the preparations for Maha Kumbh in Haridwar have to be done by October 2020," he added. 

The finance minister said, "The Central government will provide every possible assistance to Uttarakhand for the Maha Kumbh." 

Rawat also met Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and requested the Central government to bear the cost of land acquisition for Rishikesh bypass road. 

"Land acquisition for Rishikesh bypass is estimated to cost around Rs 250 crore. Since the road was accepted under the Char Dham Highway Project, the Central government should bear this cost," Rawat said. 

"In order to deal with the traffic inflow during the Maha Kumbh, it is also necessary to construct a ring road in Haridwar city," he added. 

The chief minister said that the NHAI is already working to convert the Muzaffar Nagar-Haridwar National Highway into four lanes and requested Gadkari to make sure the road is completed before the commencement of the Kumbh Mela in 2021.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will visit Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Sunday to take stock of the situation there in view of rising cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and Japanese Encephalitis there.

  

According to officials, 67 children have died this month in two hospitals -- the state-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital and the Kejriwal Hospital which is run by a trust.

"While the Centre is extending all support to the state for the containment and management of the recent surge of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis cases, I shall be going to Muzaffarpur tomorrow to take stock and review the situation at the site with the state government," Vardhan said.

During his visit, the minister will interact with the multi-disciplinary teams deployed there and address a state-level review meeting.

I shall discuss the management measures being recommended by the high level expert team of the Centre, and support that can be extended through National Health Mission for health systems strengthening, and other Ministries of the Central government including the Ministry of Women and Child Development as part of the immediate and long term measures," he stated.

Vardhan said that the health ministry is constantly monitoring the situation and supporting the state health authorities in managing the AES/JE cases.

The continued round-the-clock presence of the central and state teams in the affected areas and preventive actions taken by them have instilled confidence among the public. We will soon be able to contain the rise in AES/JE cases," Vardhan added.

After one positive case and over 300 suspects, the scare of the second attack of Nipah virus in Kerala is over, state Health Minister KK Shailaja told the media on Saturday.

"Even though the Nipah scare is over and there is no need for complete surveillance, the situation will be under observation till the middle of next month," Shailaja said.

On June 3, a 23-year-old college student, admitted to a private hospital in Ernakulam, tested positive for Nipah virus. Since then, the health authorities in the state have been on their toes to prevent the virus from spreading. And after almost two weeks, Shailaja finally gave the signal that the scare was over.

After 12 deaths were reported last year in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts following a Nipah outbreak, experts had collected samples from bats. Now, fruit bats have been identified as the carriers of the deadly virus.

The health department is now conducting studies to find out the reasons behind the second Nipah outbreak.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, Andhra Pradesh chief minister, once again vociferously demanded Special Category Status for his state during the meeting of Fifth Governing Council of NITI Aayog on Saturday. 

Terming the status as an "essential lifeline" for Andhra Pradesh, the CM said, "It is disheartening when we hear several rumours and excuses for not granting special category status." On "widely rumoured argument" that few other states may demand SCS if it is granted to Andhra Pradesh, the CM said, "In the history of this country no other state was bifurcated with a pre-condition that special category status would be accorded to compensate the economic and financial hardships such bifurcation would entail, which was supported by both ruling and opposition parties that had representatives from all the states." 

During his speech, the Andhra CM also criticised the previous TDP government led by Chandrababu Naidu for "mis-governance and institutionalising corruption". 

"Mis-governance and institutionalised corruption coupled with lack of sincerity during the past five years have left the state with high unemployment amongst youth, lack of investment in infrastructure and industry, a sharp deterioration of public education and health system and empty coffers," he said.

With the doctors' strike in West Bengal inching towards a sixth day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said she accepts all valid demands of the protesting doctors and requested them to return to work. 

Banerjee, addressing the media this evening, said, "We are not going to take any strict action against the doctors". 

Meanwhile, the central government has asked for a report from the state, sources said on Saturday. 

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also wrote to all chief ministers, calling for strict action against anybody who assaults doctors. 

The strike, triggered by an attack on two junior doctors by a patient's family on Monday, has spilled over to other states.

The Maharashtra cabinet will be expanded on Sunday and a final meeting on the ministers to be inducted will be held later Saturday night, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Delhi.

Raj Bhavan sources said the swearing-in ceremony will be held at 11 am on Sunday, a day before the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, the last before assembly polls later this year, begins.

"I have had one meeting (on cabinet expansion) and the final meeting will be held tonight," the Maharashta CM said.

In the last few days, both Fadnavis and Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had given enough indications about a cabinet expansion.

Earlier, on Friday night, Fadnavis had met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and discussed about the ministers to be inducted in his cabinet.

"I met shiv sena president uddhav thackeray at his residence Matoshri and discussed in detail cabinet expansion," Fadnavis had tweeted late Friday night.

The Republican Party of India (Athawale) on Saturday announced that its leader Avinash Mahatekar will be inducted into the Fadnavis government in Sunday's expansion.

Currently, there are 37 ministers including the chief minister, and Fadnavis can accommodate another five.

A vacancy was created in 2018 when BJP's Pandurang Fundkar died, the then agriculture minister. The portfolio is now being handled by revenue minister Chandrakant Patil.

Deepak Sawant, then health minister, resigned earlier this year and the department is being looked after by Eknath Shinde, who is also the PWD minister.

It was a collaboration that started with Shyam Benegal's "Nishant" and now 44 years later, Shabana Azmi remembers theatre and film veteran Girish Karnad as a true intellect, whose life cannot be described in a single sound byte.

  

Azmi on Saturday finally opened up about her work relationship with Karnad, who died at the age of 81 at his residence in Bengaluru after prolonged illness on June 10.

In a Facebook post, titled "Farewell My Friend", the actor said she first heard about Karnad during the making of Benegal's 1974 feature "Ankur", when he assisted the director with the editing.

"Few people know that when Shyam Benegal first made 'Ankur' it was a very lengthy film. Shyam roped in Girish to help him edit the narrative. That's when I first heard of Girish."

Azmi recalled that when Karnad was director at Film and Television Institute of India, he showed immense maturity in handling the students' strikes that she said were headed by actor Naseeruddin Shah. 

"It was a troubled tenureship because the students were on strike and very hostile. But Girish handled it with great maturity and compassion. Legend has it that Naseeruddin Shah was in the forefront of the strike and there were some unpleasant altercations between them. 

"But to Girish's remarkable credit that didn't deter him from recommending Naseer to Shyam for a very important role in 'Nishant' -- his first break in films that launched his career and established him as a fine actor. A lesser person than Girish could have been revengeful." 

In Benegal's 1975 film, Azmi remembers that it was the first time that she shared screen space with Karnad.

"I was playing the schoolmaster's wife in 'Nishant'. Girish played the somewhat timid school master - quite the opposite of what he was in real life - confident, articulate, erudite, a true intellectual.

"He didn't fancy himself as an actor and rued that it would damage his reputation as a playwright (who was fast getting acknowledged as one of the best in India). I would tease him and say, 'No matter... even if you aren't good, you are so good looking that all will be forgiven!' He would laugh loudly and then proceed to regale us with umpteen stories. it was a pleasure to hear him speak. I warmed up to him."

Azmi said she was later cast as Karnad's wife in Basu Chatterjee's 1997 film "Swami", which was based on a short story by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhayay.

"Girish and I were tickled pink and made a pact that we wouldn't let on that we both thought otherwise! If that's how the audience saw him we would keep the secret between ourselves! 

"But the fact is that he had undeniable screen presence and very soon turned into a fine actor."

She said her last film collaboration with the veteran was 2016 film "Chalk and Duster".

"Gone was the initial reluctance and hesitation. He faced the camera like a total pro, as though to the manor born! Even so being an actor was only a small aspect of his personality," Azmi recalled.

The actor said she last met Karnad in Bengaluru on the sidelines of his play "Broken Images" and added that despite his failing health, the veteran was still full of "his passion or his commitment as an engaged citizen".

"It was his fearlessness, his speaking his mind without mincing words, his total commitment to freedom of speech that defined him. We kept in touch on e-mail and the occasional phone call," Azmi wrote.

With six more deaths reported in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, the death toll due to viral infection Acute Encephalitis Syndrome has reached 83 on Saturday.

The Muzaffarpur district administration had issued a statement on Friday evening saying that six children died in the state-run SKMCH hospital while three died at Kejriwal hospital, which is operated by a trust.

The Muzaffarpur district of Bihar is among the worst hit by the outbreak of brain fever.

In Vaishali, ten fresh cases of children suffering from AES had been reported.

The state health officials had been maintaining that deaths were due to hypoglycemia -  a condition caused by a very low level of blood sugar and electrolyte imbalance.

According to Bihar Health Department's Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar, the disease has affected 222 blocks of 12 districts especially Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sheohar and East Champaran.

BJP Lok Sabha MP and Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur was on Saturday exempted from appearance at a special court in connection with the matter.

 

Her lawyers sought an exemption from appearance from a Mumbai court as the regular Special Judge V S Padalkar, presiding over the case, was absent on Saturday, special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal said.

The exemption plea was granted by the in-charge court and matter was posted for hearing on Monday.

Thakur had appeared before the court last week for the first time after winning the Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

However, she had sought exemption each day from Monday to Friday this week on health grounds.

The court had, last month, directed all the accused to appear before it once a week, stating that an exemption would be granted if cogent reasons were submitted.

Thakur and six other accused persons are facing trial under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code.

They have been charged under sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act) of the UAPA.

They are also facing charges under IPC sections 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153(a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups).

The accused have also been charged under relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a power-loom town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

Inclement weather on Saturday hampered rescue efforts to retrieve the mortal remains of 13 air-warriors who were on board the Indian Air Force aircraft that crashed in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh, an IAF spokesman said. 

  

Shillong-based IAF spokesman Ratnakar Singh said the rescue operation, which commenced early Saturday morning, could not progress further due to inclement weather at the crash site.

Cheetah and ALH helicopters are on standby and are waiting to commence operations once the weather improves.

At present there are low clouds accompanied with rain in the area, the spokesman said in a statement.

The IAF is making all efforts to retrieve the mortal remains of the deceased air-warriors.

IAF personnel are in constant contact with the families of these air-warriors and they are being updated regularly about the ongoing rescue operations. They are also being explained the challenges being faced by the rescue team, he added.

The rescue team on Friday recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the Russian-origin AN-32 aircraft.

The aircraft was going from Jorhat in Assam to Mechuka advanced landing ground in Shi-Yomi district in Arunachal Pradesh, near the border with China, on June 3 when it lost contact around half-an-hour after taking off.

The wreckage of the plane was spotted by an IAF chopper on Tuesday at a height of 12,000 ft near Gatte village on the border of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts, after eight days of a massive search operation involving a fleet of aircraft and choppers as well as ground forces.

The fifth meeting of Niti Aayog's Governing Council began with the main agenda of deliberating upon drought situation, farm distress and security concerns over Naxal-affected districts.

        

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing the meeting, which is being held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This will be the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government.

       

Among others attending the meet are Union ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman and Rajnath Singh.

     

The agenda for the meeting also includes rain-water harvesting, aspirational districts programme and structural reforms in the agriculture sector.

      

The council, the apex body of Niti Aayog, includes all chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials.

      

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath are among the heads of states attending the meeting.

      

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, has refused to attend the meeting, saying it is "fruitless" as Niti Aayog has no financial powers to support state plans.

    

The Governing Council reviews the action taken on the agenda items of the previous meeting and deliberates upon the future developmental priorities.

The first meeting the Governing Council was held on February 8, 2015, at which the PM laid down the key mandates of Niti Aayog such as fostering cooperative federalism and addressing national issues through active participation of the states.

    

Rishabh Pant, who was given an SOS call to fly to England after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out for at least 2 weeks with a fractured thumb, has joined team India ahead of the crucial World Cup game against Pakistan on June 16 at Manchester.

Pant has been flown in as a cover for Dhawan, who is certain to miss the Pakistan game. The Delhi wicket-keeper batsman, who was ignored for Indias original 15-member World Cup squad, has not been named as an official replacement. The Indian team management instead, opted to wait for Dhawan to regain his full fitness later this month.

Team India started their training in Manchester under overcast conditions on the eve of the Pakistan match and Pant too joined Virat Kohli and Co to keep himself ready. BCCI took to twitter break the news.

Though the Indian think tank is confident of Dhawans availability towards the latter half of the group stage and knockouts, they have kept Pant on stand by just in case the opener does not recover on time.

Shikhar will be in a plaster for a couple of weeks, well assess and see. Hopefully, hell be available for the latter half and the semi-finals. Hes motivated, we wanted to keep him back, Kohli had said after Indias third World Cup game against New Zealand was washed out without a ball being bowled at Nottingham on Thursday.

India is currently positioned at the third place in the standings of ICC Mens Cricket World Cup.

The Centre on Saturday sought separate reports from the West Bengal government on political violence in the state which has claimed 160 lives in the past four years, and on the ongoing doctors' strike, officials said.

  

A report has been sought from the West Bengal government on measures taken to contain political violence in the state and investigate such incidents so as to bring culprits to book, a home ministry official said.

Another detailed report has been sought from the West Bengal government on the ongoing strike by the doctors which has crippled medical services in the state, the official said. 

Cyclone Vayu is moving towards westwards and is "likely to hit Kutch as a deep depression," said IMD director Jayant Sarkar on Saturday. 

"Due to the Cyclone Vayu Kutch along with nearby areas such as Saurashtra will receive heavy downpour for a couple of hours. Though the wind speed in these regions will not be very strong," he added. 

The IMD director also assured that the cyclone will not cause any substantial damage in the areas where it will come. 

The cyclone is expected to move towards North Gujarat in a weakening state on June 18. Light to moderate rains will continue in the areas such as Junagadh and Porbandar. 

The IMD has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea for the next few days. 

The Indian Coast Guard, the Navy, the National Disaster Response Force and the state authorities are on high alert. Army teams have been kept on stand-by.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to visit Dr Paribaha Mukherjee, the medical intern injured during Monday's violence at NRS Medical College and Hospital. 

He has been admitted to a hospital located in Central Kolkata.

Meanwhile, IMA is holding a meeting at NRS to decide whether some junior doctors will go to Nabanna to meet Mamata. They refused to do so yesterday. Mamata Banerjee has again invited them for a meeting at 5 pm today.

Four Congress chief ministers and Karnataka's H D Kumaraswamy met former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday to discuss issues of their respective states, especially those related to farmers and tribals, to be taken up at the Niti Aayog meeting.

  

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Puducherry' V Narayansamy held a meeting with Singh at the Congress headquarters. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel also joined the meeting later.

Kumaraswamy of the JD-S is heading a coalition government with the Congress in Karnataka.

They discussed the proposed agenda and issues of their respective states to be taken up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Niti Ayog meeting, sources said.

Among the issues discussed were injecting life back in water bodies, fresh efforts needed from the Centre in the agricultural sector and amendment in the Forest Act to bring about change and prosperity in the lives of the tribals.

Baghel, Kumaraswamy and Narayansamy also separately called on the prime minister on Saturday.

On Friday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Nath had hosted a dinner at his residence where Gehlot, Baghel and Narayansamy were present. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh could not make it for the dinner and is likely to skip the Niti Aayog meeting.

The chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states are expected to raise key farmers issues and also share the benefits of the loan waiver scheme implemented by them at the Niti Aayog meeting, sources said.

The fifth meeting of the Niti Aayog's Governing Council will focus on issues like the drought situation, farm distress, rain water harvesting and preparedness for kharif crops.

The five-point agenda for the meeting also includes aspirational districts programme, transforming agriculture and security related issues with special focus on left wing extremism districts, an official statement said.

This is the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government, which is being attended by chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, Union ministers and senior government officials. 

The Indian Air Force will ascertain the cause of the recent crash of AN-32 aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh and ensure such accidents do not recur, IAF chief B S Dhanoa said Saturday.

 

His comments come days after the wreckage of the IAF aircraft was found in a remote area in Arunachal Pradesh more than a week after it went missing with 13 people on board.

"We have recovered the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder...We will go into the detail (to ascertain) as to what happened and how do we make sure that it does not happen again," he told reporters on the sidelines of Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy in Dundigal near here.

He was responding to a query on the accident involving the AN-32 transport aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh, which left 13 people dead.

"In Arunachal Pradesh, the terrain is very treacherous and most of the time, it is cloudy...When you are flying in that terrain, in that cloudy weather, there have been many, not only Air Force, even otherwise, Pawan Hans and all, accidents, because of controlled flight into terrain," he claimed.

The Russian-origin aircraft went missing in the afternoon of June 3, around 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam for Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh.

After eight days of a massive search operation, the wreckage of the plane was spotted by an IAF chopper on Tuesday at a height of 12,000 feet near Gatte village on the border of Siang and Shi-Yomi districts. 

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and now leader of opposition N Chandrababu Naidu had to undergo frisking at Gannavaram Airport here late on Friday.

Naidu was also denied VIP access to the aircraft and had to travel in the bus along with common passengers. The security staff at the airport reportedly didn't allow his convoy up to the aircraft. Naidu was asked to get off and undergo the regular process of checking.

A security guard was seen frisking Naidu at the security entrance.

The Telugu Desam Party chief was also not allowed to reach the aircraft in VIP vehicle.

The incident drew a strong reaction from TDP, which alleged that BJP and YSR Congress Party were resorting to witch-hunting.

Alleging that "jungle-raj" was prevailing in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav met Governor Ram Naik on Saturday over the poor law and order situation and asked him to "wake up" the Yogi Adityanath government as he used to do during the SP regime.

 

"The Governor used to intervene on law and order earlier (during SP regime). It was said that there were only Yadav officers...Now there is hardly any Yadav SP or DM. We have requested him (Governor) to wake up the government and give direction to control the prevailing 'jungle-raj'," the SP chief told reporters after meeting the Governor.

He, along with senior party leader Ahmad Hasan, gave a memorandum to the Governor and sought his intervention to check deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

"Bar council chairperson is being murdered in her chamber. There is murder in jail...How these are happening? The state government is responsible," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Bar Council president Darvesh Singh was allegedly shot dead on Agra court premises on Wednesday by a lawyer who then tried to kill himself. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio programme "Mann Ki Baat" will resume on June 30 at 11:00 am, Narendra Modi said on Saturday. 

"30th June, Sunday at 11:00 am... we will meet once again, thanks to the radio, share joy, positivity and celebrate the collective strength of 130 crore Indians. I am sure you have lots to say for #MannKiBaat. Share it on the NaMo App Open Forum," Modi tweeted. 

Modi is also looking forward to discussing public insights in his upcoming episode of Mann Ki Baat. 

"For the #MannKiBaat this month, dial the toll-free number 1800-11-7800 to record your message. You could also write on the MyGov Open Forum and pen your inputs. Looking forward to a great interaction," he said in another tweet. 

The PM has asked everyone to share their thoughts on themes and issues that matter to the public, said the government. 

This will be the first Mann ki Baat episode after Modi assumed office for the second time. The first episode of the second season will be broadcast on All India Radio, on June 30. 

The final episode of the last season was aired on February 24 and the program was later discontinued during the Lok Sabha elections.

In response to Metro Man Dr E Sreedharans letter to PM Narendra Modi requesting him to not agree to the Delhi governments proposal of free travel for women in the Metro, Delhis Deputy CM Manish Sisodia wrote to Sreedharan, saying hes surprised and pained by his viewpoint. 

Explaining the proposal, Sisodia wrote, The Delhi government will buy around a million coupons in bulk from the DMRC on a daily basis and provide these to women Why should anyone have any objection to that?

He said the Delhi governments intention is to ensure womens safety and encourage use of public transport in the capital to reduce air pollution. Sisodia called it a revolutionary step to empower women.

He said that after the completion of Phase III of the DMRC, services were designed to have a capacity of 40 lakh passengers daily. Sisodia pointed at ridership figures in his letter to Sreedharan and said, Figures, however, show that DMRC is catering to an average ridership of less than 25 lakh daily Delhi Metro is running at less than 65% efficiency, and this is pretty bad performance.

He also asked Sreedharan to reconsider his stand and give his blessings for the progressive step. By DMRCs own admission, free ridership for women will increase women ridership by 50%. Delhi Metro should celebrate this, he said. Sisodia claimed that high fares is one of the main reasons behind falling ridership.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said that only one change needs to be made to the software and the entry gates meant for male travellers should be programmed to reject pink smart cards or tokens issued to women.

Seven persons, including four sanitation workers, died due to asphyxiation on Saturday while cleaning sewer of a hotel in Gujarat's Vadodara district, officials said.

  

The incident happened at a hotel in Fartikui village in Dabhoi tehsil, about 30 km from Vadodara city.

Three employees of the hotel were also among those killed.

"When one sanitation worker failed to come out of the manhole, others went inside. All of them died due to asphyxiation," said district collector Kiran Zaveri.

Two TMC workers, named Khairuddin Sheikh and Sohel Rana died after a bomb was hurled at their residence in West Bengal's Murshidabad district. 

Khairuddin (55) and Sohel (19) are from the same family. "We were sleeping. Suddenly our house was bombed. They shot my father. Few days back my uncle was also killed. Congress is behind this," said Khairuddin's son Milan Sheikh. 

Further details are currently awaited. 

Striking junior doctors turned down West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's invitation for a meeting at the state secretariat, which was called to resolved the impasse, and continued their protest for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday.

 

The doctors, who are protesting against the assault on two of their colleagues at NRS Medical College and Hospital, had on Friday sought unconditional apology from Banerjee and set six conditions for the state government in order to withdraw their stir.

"We are not going to the secretariat upon the invitation of the chief minister for the meeting. She will have to come to the Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital and deliver an unconditional apology for her comments made during her visit to the SSKM Hospital on Thursday," Arindam Dutta, spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors, told PTI.

"If she can go to the SSKM she can also come to the NRS... or else this agitation will go on," Dutta said.

Banerjee, who visited the state-run SSKM Hospital on Thursday amid slogans of "we want justice", had contended that outsiders were creating disturbances in the medical colleges and the ongoing agitation is a conspiracy by the CPI-M and the BJP. -- PTI

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will also skip the meeting. 

Calling the meet "fruitless", she said that the Niti Aayog has no financial powers to support state plans.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will chair the fifth meeting of the Niti Aayog's Governing Council which will focus on issues like the drought situation, farm distress, rain-water harvesting and preparedness for Kharif crops.

   

The five-point agenda for the meeting also includes aspirational districts programme, transforming agriculture and security related issues with special focus on left wing extremism districts, an official statement said.

 

The meeting, to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, will be attended by chief ministers, lieutenant governors of union territories, several union ministers and senior government officials.

 

This will be the first governing council meeting under the new Modi government.

 

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, however, has refused to attend the meeting, saying it is "fruitless" as the Niti Aayog has no financial powers to support state plans.

 

Headed by the prime minister, the Governing Council includes ministers of Finance, Home, Defence, Agriculture, Commerce and Rural Development, besides state chief ministers and Niti Aayog vice chairman, CEO and members.

 

The Governing Council reviews the action taken on the agenda items of the previous meeting and deliberates upon the future developmental priorities.

 

So far, four meetings of the Governing Council have been held under the chairmanship of the prime minister. -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Ram Madhav said that his party did not return to power with a massive mandate using polarisation or appeasement, but through uniting people of India.

"The BJP did not come back to power with routine political play. We did not come back by dividing people in the name of caste and religion, polarisation or appeasement. In fact, we returned to power by demolishing all these and uniting people of India," Ram Madhav said at an event in Mumbai on Friday.

Taking a dig at some opposition parties, the BJP leader said that dynasty used to be a merit in politics some years back which has demolished to an extent.

He said, "In this country, dynastic identity was considered to be a huge qualification for politics. There is nothing wrong in it, but people should come forward through their efficiency and not only their surname."

Earlier, he had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will break the Congress' record of ruling the country for the longest period and the BJP will remain in power when the nation would celebrate its 100 years of independence. -- ANI

With striking junior doctors refusing to meet her on Friday night, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee invited them again to meet her Saturday evening to end the impasse in government hospitals.

 

The doctors, who struck work for the fourth day Friday, refused to meet the chief minister, demanding an unconditional apology from her.

They also put up six conditions for withdrawal of their stir.

 

"We want an unconditional apology from Chief Minister Banerjee for the manner in which she addressed us at the SSKM Hospital yesterday. She should not have said what she said. She should come to the NRS Hospital to meet us," said Dr Arindam Dutta, a spokesperson of the joint forum of junior doctors.

 

After her visit to the state-run SSKM Hospital Thursday, Banerjee had alleged some outsiders had entered the medical colleges to create disturbances.

 

She had also dubbed the agitation as a handiwork of the CPI(M) and the BJP.

 

She had also asked the agitating junior doctors across the state to resume work by 2 pm, failing which she had threatened them with disciplinary actions. The doctors had defied her warning.

 

State Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, meanwhile,  said he had called up Banerjee to discuss the issue of doctors' strike but got no response from her.

 

"I tried to contact the chief minister. I called her up. Till this moment there is no response from her. If she calls me up, we will discuss the matter," he told reporters after visiting injured junior doctor Paribaha Mukhopadhyay at the hospital. -- PTI

Bharatiya Janata Party ally Janata Dal-United on Friday opposed the triple talaq bill, which is likely to be tabled by the Narendra Modi government in the upcoming Parliament session, and said any view should not be imposed on Muslims without wide consultations.

   

"The Janata Dal-U reiterates its previous stand on Uniform Civil Code. Ours is a nation based on a delicate balance in respect of laws and governing principles for different religions and ethnic groups. We must not impose any view without obtaining substantive consultations," its spokesperson K C Tyagi said in a statement. 

 

Though the statement did not address the triple talaq bill directly, JD-U sources said the proposed legislation is at the centre of their stand on Uniform Civil Code as the BJP has often projected its strong push for criminalising instant divorce among Muslims as a step toward uniform civil laws among people of different faiths.

 

The Bihar-based party, led by state chief minister Nitish Kumar, had opposed the bill even during the first term of Prime Minister Modi, and the reiteration of its stand makes it clear that the JD-U remains firm on its stand.

 

"We are of the view that it (UCC) still needs in-depth consultations with various religious groups. In absence of such a process, any attempt at premature or hasty tampering with long standing religious practices that deal with complex issues of marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and the right to property and succession, would be clearly inadvisable," Tyagi said.

 

The JD-U demands that all the stakeholders must be taken into confidence to make the law more broad, comprehensive and acceptable, he added.