Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has reportedly cancelled his foreign visit to attend official programmes, sources said on Wednesday.

The CJI, who headed a bench on Ayodhya land dispute case in which the judgment was reserved, has cancelled his programme for foreign visit due to some exigencies, they said.

Gogoi was to travel to some South American countries, Middle East and some other countries before he demits office as CJI on November 17.

The sources also said the CJI cancelled the proposed visits before they were finalised.

Gogoi was sworn in as the 46th CJI on October 3 last year.   -- PTI

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday ruled out any possibility of diplomatic engagement with India after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Qureshi said Pakistan was not against meetings with India but time was not proper for it.

Tension between India and Pakistan escalated after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5.

Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian High Commissioner. Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its 'internal matter'.

New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. India has maintained that 'terror and talks cannot go together'.

"Pakistan has not avoided to resolve issues with India through talks and Prime Minister Imran Khan's attitude has been positive from the day one. But they (India) ran away from dialogue'and they took a step against the UN resolutions on August 5," Qureshi told reporters in Islamabad.

"I do not think of any diplomatic engagement in near future (in such conditions). Even if some friends want a meeting then it will be useless," he added.

Responding to questions, Qureshi hoped that there would be a positive outcome of the ongoing plenary of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris.

"More progress has been made on the FATF concerns during the last one year than the last 10 years. We are trying to convince the world about the steps taken to tackle the issue. I am hopeful about the outcome," he said.

Pakistan was placed on the 'grey list' by the Paris-based watchdog in June last year and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019, or face the risk of being placed on the black list with Iran and North Korea.

If Pakistan continues with the 'grey list' or put in 'Dark Grey' list, it would be very difficult for the country to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank and the European Union, making its financial condition more precarious.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Qureshi also said that India tried its best to damage Pakistan's prospects in the FATF.

"One thing I should tell you, that India left no stone unturned (to harm us)," he said.

He claimed that India's National Security Advisor 'visited a country with a one point agenda' to convince it not to support Pakistan at the FATF but he returned empty handed.

He did not identify the country. Qureshi also talked at length about Prime Minister Khan's visits to Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying his meetings with the leaders of the two countries were positive.

He said that both Saudi and Iranian leaders were supportive of Pakistan's stance on Kashmir.

"The prime minister in his meetings highlighted the Kashmir issue. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that they support Pakistan's position on Kashmir. We also got same response from Saudi Arabia," Qureshi said.

When asked tensions between bitter regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, Qureshi said the prime minister's visit helped to remove the clouds of war in the Gulf region.

"Iranian leaders said that they were ready for dialogue as they do not want confrontation with Saudi Arabia. We found their attitude positive. With this attitude we went to Saudi Arabia and we met all senior leaders and also got positive response," he said.

He said there was a consensus on the both sides that they would prefer diplomatic initiatives.

Tension has been simmering between Iran and Saudi Arabia ever since the start of attacks on Yemen in 2015 by a coalition-led by Riyadh and execution of a prominent Shia cleric in the Gulf Kingdom in 2016.

Iran and Saudi Arabia came close to blows after damaging September 14 attack on oil facilities in the Gulf Kingdom. Saudi and its allies blamed Iran for the attack, a charge which Tehran denied.

On October 11, an Iranian-owned oil tanker was hit in Red Sea waters off the Saudi coast. Qureshi said that there were more chances for a ceasefire in Yemen.

"The chances of ceasefire in Yemen are far greater today as compared to the past," he said.

To a question, he said that Pakistan's ties with the US were far better now as compared to the previous governments.

"If President (Donald) Trump would be waiting anxiously for one call, then it would be from Prime Minister Khan," he said.   -- PTI

A Punjab-based apple trader was killed and another injured in a terrorist attack in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday evening, police said.

Charanjeet Singh and Sanjeev were shot at Trenz by 3-4 terrorists around 7.30 pm, police said.

They were taken to the district hospital in Pulwama in a critical condition. Charanjeet succumbed to his injuries while Sanjeev's condition is stated to be critical, they said.

This is third such incident in as many days in the Valley.   -- PTI

Briefing China's official media on the outcome of President Xi Jinping's visit to India last week for the second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke about the Modi-Xi meeting amidst Indo-Pak tensions.

"In Chennai, Xi said all sides should work together to promote regional peace and stability, and achieve common development and prosperity," Wang said without elaborating.

He carefully avoided any references to the Kashmir issue as well as India's move to revoke the special status to Jammu and Kashmir following which Pakistan launched an international campaign against New Delhi.

A day after concluding the marathon hearing in the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case, the members of the five-Judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will sit 'in chambers" on Thursday.

A notice in this regard has been issued by the Supreme Court saying that Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and four other judges will sit in chambers, where parties involved are not allowed.

'Take notice that on Thursday the October 17, the Chief Justice, Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer will sit in chambers,' the notice said.

The top court Wednesday concluded the hearing in the Ayodhya case and reserved the judgement.

The bench heard for 40 days the arguments of the Hindu and the Muslim parties.

It granted three days to contesting parties to file written notes on 'moulding of relief' or narrowing down the issues on which the court is required to adjudicate.   -- PTI

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday issued an order saying officials on 'field duty' will not be granted leave till November 30, attributing its decision to the festival season and security concerns ahead of the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict.

The instructions came on the last day of the Supreme Court hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case.

The judgment in the matter is to be pronounced by November 17.

While an earlier official order stated that the decision was related to the festival season, a fresh note said the Ayodhya verdict was also a concern.

Officials considered to be on field duties include civil and police officers posted at the district and lower levels.

In the order, Additional Chief Secretary Mukul Singhal said the government after deliberations decided that in view of the coming festival season, no official should be granted leave, unless in the most unavoidable circumstances, till November 30.

Later, Special Secretary Home R P Singh, in a letter to the UP DGP, said that keeping in mind festivals and expected verdict of the Supreme Court on Ayodhya issue no leave, except in unavoidable situations, of officers and employees in field duty should be sanctioned till November end.

It should also be ensured that they remain present in their respective headquarters till the given date, the order said.

"Ensure strict implementation of this order," Singh added in the letter.

Both the orders directed the officials to remain present at the headquarters of their respective places of posting.

Singhal also said strict compliance of the order must be ensured.

The Uttar Pradesh administration last week imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in Ayodhya till December 10 ahead of the Supreme Court order in the politically sensitive case.

Section 144 prohibits assembly of four or more people and empowers police to book people for rioting.

Posting the order on his official Twitter account, District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said, "The order has been issued considering safety and security of Ayodhya and those visiting here as Govt's paramount concerns."

"I must add that already there is another order in force since 31.08.2019 covering aspects of unlawful assemblies and undesirable activities. The order dated 12.10.2019 has been issued to cover a couple of points which were not there in the earlier order," he added.   -- PTI

The Winter session of Parliament is likely to commence in the third week of November and may conclude before Christmas, sources in the government said on Wednesday.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs met at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who heads the panel, to decide on the dates.

However, there was no official word on the date from which the session would commence.

The session is likely to begin in the third week of November and conclude before December 25, the sources said.

In the past two years, the Winter session was convened on November 21 and had continued till the first week of January. Besides various bills, the government plans to convert two crucial ordinances into law during the session.

One ordinance was issued in September to give effect to amendments in the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Finance Act, 2019.

To arrest slowdown in the economy and boost growth, the government has cut corporate tax rate for new and domestic manufacturing companies.

The second ordinance, also issued in September, deals with a ban on sale, manufacture and storage of e-cigarettes and similar devices.   -- PTI

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a faux pas on Wednesday by repeatedly mentioning Abhijit Banerjee, the Nobel Prize winner in economics this year, as 'Abhishek Babu'.

Abhishek (Banerjee) is the name of her nephew and Trinamool Congress MP, while 'Babu' is an honorific.

The chief minister, who was speaking to newsmen after a cabinet meeting, said, "From Bengal there are people like Amartya Sen, Mother Teresa who had bagged the Nobel (Prize) earlier. Now that Abhishek (read Abhijit) Babu has got it, it is a matter of pride for entire Bengal."

She continued, "Abhishek Babu's mother is here (in Kolkata) ... I'm going to his house to meet her today."

Banerjee also heaped praise on former Indian cricket captian Sourav Ganguly for being unanimously elected as the BCCI president calling him ghorer chele, which in Bengali would mean a family member.

Earlier there was Jagmohan Dalmiya and now that Sourav Ganguly got this chance at this (young) age ... Its a matter for pride for West Bengal.

"I had a conversation with Sourav through text messages yesterday. He came to meet me before the Durga Puja. He will come again and we will have a talk ... Sourav is our ghorer chele (family member)," she added.   -- PTI

Former director of the Punjab and Maharashtra (PMC) Bank Surinder Arora has been arrested by city's Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

Earlier today, he was questioned by the EOW in connection with the PMC Bank scam.

Arora was being questioned by the Special Investigation Team of the EOW at the city police headquarters, an official said.

Arora was a director of the PMC Bank and was also on its loan committee, he said.

"We are trying to get certain details about the bank's loan disbursement process," the official said.

The EOW has already arrested promoters of HDIL group Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, former PMC Bank chairman Waryam Singh and former managing director Joy Thomas after the alleged Rs 4,355 crore scam came to light.   -- ANI/PTI

A magisterial court prosecuting former Union Minister Swami Chinmayanand, accused of sexually exploiting a woman student of law college run by his society, on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the case to October 30.

The court deferred the hearing after briefly taking it up through video conferencing.

"Chinmayamand had to reach the court for hearing but due to security reasons, the hearing was done through video conferencing," Chinmayanand's lawyer Om Singh said.

He said judicial magistrate Gitika Singh fixed October 30 as the next date of hearing after conducting it briefly.

Chinmayanand is lodged in the jail following his arrest in the case registered against him under Section 376C of the Indian Penal Code, an offence pertaining to the abuse of one's position by a person in authority to 'induce or seduce' a woman under his charge to have 'sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape'.

Chinmayanand also faces charges of stalking under section 354 D, wrongful confinement under S 342 and criminal intimidation under S 506 of the IPC.

The law student's father, meanwhile, alleged his son was not provided security by the administration.

He said he and his wife have been provided security but his son, who has to move out was not provided any security.  --  PTI

A drone from Pakistan's side was spotted in Punjab's Ferozeporer district, according to Border Security Forces (BSF) sources.

The drone was sighted at Hazara Singh Wala in Firozepur district on October 14, they said.

In order to deal with the intrusion of drones from the Pakistani side, the BSF is all set to purchase the ground-based anti-drone system.

The system will have jammers and sensors amongst other features and will have a 360-degree surveillance system.

The anti-drone system will be able to work day and night and will detect multiple drones at a time.

There has almost been intrusion every day by drones sent by Pakistan to India.

These drones are being used to transport arms and ammunition to the country.

Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had urged Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure necessary action to stop incidents of Pakistan-origin drones being used for dropping consignments of arms and ammunition in the state.  -- ANI

Image only for representation.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday paid a visit to Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee's house in South Kolkata and congratulated her mother on her son's success.

The chief minister who was accompanied by senior officials also exchanged pleasantries with Nirmala Banerjee, Abhijit's mother.

Abhijit Banerjee, an Indian-American, has jointly won the Nobel prize in economics along with his wife Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer.

He bagged the award for his 'experimental approach to alleviating global poverty'.

West Bengal government is also planning to organise a grand felicitation for the Nobel laureate, senior minister Partha Chatterjee said on Tuesday.

Abhijit Banerjee is scheduled to arrive in the city on the night of October 22.

The chief minister on Monday in a tweet had congratulated Abhijit.

'Hearty congratulations to Abhijit Banerjee, alumnus of South Point School & Presidency College Kolkata, for winning the Nobel Prize in Economics. Another Bengali has done the nation proud. We are overjoyed,' Banerjee said in a tweet.

Banerjee is an alumnus of South Point School in the city and Presidency College, Calcutta, where he completed his BSC degree in economics in 1981.

He received his PhD in 1988 from Harvard University.

Banerjee, 58, is currently the Ford Foundation international professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  -- PTI

The Vatican has dismissed an appeal by a Kerala nun,challenging the Franciscan Clarist Congregations decision to expel her for 'failing to give a satisfactory explanation for her lifestyle in violation of FCC laws'.

Sister Lucy Kalappura was expelled by the Congregation in August this year.

The Congregation had charged her with publishing poems, purchasing a car and taking part in a protest against a rape accused former bishop of Jalandhar diocese.

The Congregation, under the Roman Catholic Church, had said the nun was issued 'proper canonical warnings', but did not show the needed remorse.

"The Vatican has dismissed her appeal," a Church source said here without elaborating.

The source said she would have one more opportunity to file an appeal.

If that was also rejected, she would have to leave the convent, the source told PTI.

In its August 5 letter to her, Ann Joseph,the head of the Aluva based congregation had said she was being dismissed from the congregation for failing to give a satisfactory explanation for her lifestyle 'in violation of the proper law of the FCC'.

The 'unanimous decision' to dismiss the nun was taken at the congregations General Council on May 11 this year.

This was approved by the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Vatican through the Nuntiature in New Delhi. In its notice to the nun early in January,the congregation had termed as 'grave violations', Sister Lucy possessing a driving licence, buying a car, taking a loan for it and publishing a book and spending money without the permission and knowledge of her superiors.

Sister Lucy Kalappura had dismissed some 14 charges levelled against her by the congregation, saying many of them were a 'deliberate attempt to paint her in bad light'.

In its notices, FCC had alleged that the nun violated its dress code in public without any permission and caused grave external scandal and harm to the Church by participating in the protest by 'Save Our Sisters Action Council' on September 20 2018 at Kochi,seeking the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun in Kerala.  -- PTI

Former director of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank Surinder Arora is being questioned in connection with the bank scam case, the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) said on Wednesday.

The city's Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) Rajvardhan Sinha said that Arora is being interrogated in the matter.

Meanwhile, a delegation of depositors of PMC Bank met Mumbai's Commissioner of Police Sanjay Barve earlier in the day.

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India restricted the activities of the PMC Bank for six months and asked it to not grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment or incur any liability, including borrowing of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized and identified movable and immovable assets worth more than Rs 3,830 crore owned by Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) in connection with the case.

As many as two PMC Bank customers died within 24 hours, including one Fattomal Punjabi and a 51-year-old former employee of Jet Airways named Sanjay Gulati.

Their families have alleged that they were 'under stress' over the crisis in PMC Bank.

On Tuesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that he will take up the issue with the central government soon.

Earlier this week, a Mumbai court sent former PMC chairman Waryam Singh and HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan to the police custody in alleged connection with the bank fraud case.

The Esplanade court in Mumbai remanded the trio to police custody till October 16.

According to the police, PMC bank officials gave loans to HDIL between 2008 and 2019 despite no repayment of the previous loans. -- ANI

"The formula of Narendra and Devendra has been super-hit in the last 5 years. In the time to come it will take Maharashtra to the new heights of development. When Narendra and Devendra stand together then 1+1 becomes 11 & not 2.  ...Like you brought back Narendra once again to power in Delhi, similarly bring back Devendra back to power again in Maharashtra." 

Prime Minister Modi will hold two more rallies in Akola and Jalna today. The Prime Minister kicked off his election campaign in the state from Jalgaon and Sakoli on October 13.

Just like his previous rallies, he is likely to emphasise on the Centre's work including triple talaq, National Register of Citizens, and abrogation of article 370 as well as highlight the schemes implemented by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

Single-phase polls in Maharashtra will be held on October 21 and results will be announced on October 24.

His resignation has been accepted by House Chairman M Venkaiah Nadu, they said. Ramamurthy is likely to join the ruling BJP in coming days, party sources said. 

In the recent past, Bhubneshwar Kalita and Sanjay Singh, both from the Congress, had resigned from the upper house. Neeraj Shekhar, Surendra Singh Nagar and Sanjay Seth had recently quit the Samajwadi Party and given up their Rajya Sabha membership to join the BJP. They were later re-elected to the Upper House on a BJP ticket, boosting the strength of the ruling party in Rajya Sabha where it lacks majority. In June this year, four Telugu Desam Party members from Rajya Sabha had joined the BJP. 

The BJP-led NDA is just 24 MPs short of the majority mark in the Rajya Sabha and is confident of getting the numbers by 2021-22. This will help the Narendra Modi government get crucial legislation, barring

the Constitution amendment bills, passed without any opposition. 

In the 245-member Rajya Sabha, the BJP is the largest party with 83 members. Its allies JDU(6), SAD (3), Shiv Sena (3), and RPI-A(1) take the NDA tally to 86. AIADMK, with 13 members, usually backs the ruling NDA.

A 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, granted three days to contesting parties to file written notes on 'moulding of relief' or narrowing down the issues on which the court is required to adjudicate. The other members of the bench are justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer. -- PTI

The fruit sellers opened the apple boxes purchased from the wholesale market here only to find the messages written on the apples with black marker.

Led by president of Kathua wholesale market Rohit Gupta, fruit sellers here held protests and raised anti-Pakistan and anti-terrorist slogans. "The boxes were from Kashmir and the messages were written in English and Urdu," Gupta said. He demanded that the government and police take strict action against those behind this.

"We have started investigation into it," Dy SP Majid said. The apples also had messages like 'Go back India-Go back India', 'Mere Jaan Imran Khan' and 'Pakistan-Pakistan'. -- PTI

The body of the deceased has been kept in the morgue. The villagers and the family of the deceased Sharif Khan have placed five demands in front of the subdivision office. They refused to take Sharif's body until demands are met.

They are demanding Rs 50 lakh cash as a relief package, job for one member of the family, all government facilities for his family, martyr status for the deceased and to build a martyr site in the name of Sharif Khan.

"Sharif Khan used to drive a truck and often he used to go to some distant places but on Sunday he went with truck owner to Jammu and Kashmir to get apples. His truck was caught by the terrorists and they were attacked and Sharif was shot in Shopian," one of the villagers told ANI.

"All the villagers are angry and are protesting to give deceased family martyr package. Until our demands are met we will continue this protest. We are told that after the abrogation of Article 370, terrorists have been removed but this does not seem to be true. A common man who went to Jammu and Kashmir to earn a living has been killed, which makes it clear that terrorists are flourishing in the country," said Bhagwan Singh, a villager. -- PTI

A 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was told by senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for the Hindu party, that it was the case of the Muslim party that the mosque in question was built by the state (Babur) on the land belonging to the state, but it has not been proved by them. 

He was responding to the 1961 lawsuit filed by Sunni Waqf board and other Muslim individuals seeking title claim over the entire 2.77 acre disputed land at Ayodhya. 

Vaidyanathan further said that if the Muslim side claimed title over the disputed land under the doctrine of adverse possession then they will have to accept that the deity or the temple was the previous real owner.

"They cannot claim benefit of adverse possession. If they claim so then they will have to show the ouster of the prior owner that is temple or the deity in this case," Vaidyanathan told the bench, also comprising justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer. 

The Muslims may have several places for offering namaz in Ayodhya but for Hindus the place of birth of Lord Ram remains the same which cannot be changed, he argued. He further said that the arguments of Muslim side that the land was dedicated as a 'waqf' on the ground of being long user is not sustainable because they did not have the exclusive possession over the property as Hindus and Muslims both were sitting there. 

Another senior lawyer Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Hind devotee Gopal Singh Visharad, said that Muslims have failed to prove their case and the lawsuit filed by the Sunnni Waqf board and others ought to be dismissed as Visharad and other Hindu devotee have "pre-existing rights to worship" at the site. The character of the disputed site cannot be decided on the basis of the faith of the Muslims, he said while concluding his submissions. -- PTI

India has slipped to 102 position in the Global Hunger Index 2019 of 117 countries, slipping from its 2018 position of 95 and behind its neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"Modiji: Concentrate less on politics more on our children. They are our future. India slips on Global Hunger Index (GHI). 2010: 95th rank. 2019: 102nd rank," Sibal tweeted. "93% of children (6 to 23) months don't get minimum acceptable diet," he said.

Seventeen countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said on Wednesday. PTI

"Everyone knows the history of Savarkar. Savarkar was accused of murdering Gandhi, he was released due to lack of evidence. Today, this government is saying that they will give Bharat Ratna to Savarkar, I am afraid the next in line could be Godse in this chain," Alvi told ANI in Delhi. 

BJP Working President JP Nadda and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Tuesday released the party's manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

The manifesto, among other things, had a page on Bharat Ratna awards in which the party has proposed the names of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai Phule and Veer Savarkar for the country's highest civilian award.

Senior Advocate Dr Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for the Sunni Wakf Board, one of the Muslim parties in the Ayodhya case, on Wednesday tore up papers and maps handed over to him by the counsel of the All India Hindu Mahasabha. Dhavan was objecting to the All India Hindu Mahasabha's counsel trying to place the publication by K Kishore before the five-judge bench Constitution bench headed by Justice Gogoi was hearing appeals challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict, which ordered equal division of the 2.77-acre of disputed land in Ayodhya among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

On the incident of tearing of the pages in Court in the morning session, Dhavan said the incident is going viral, but says in fact he wanted to throw the pages away and the CJI said he may tear them. He said he therefore tore the pages and it was done with the permission of the Court. 

CJI Gogoi agrees with Dhavan and clarifies in the Court that he indeed said Dhavan may tear the pages.

Taking to Twitter, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister wrote, "This is highly insensitive that the ants were crawling on the dead patient at a district hospital in Shivpuri. Such incidents are a shame for humanity and cannot be tolerated. I have ordered an inquiry into the matter and a strict action will be taken against those found guilty."

Balchandra Lodhi (50), suffering from Tuberculosis, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning. After five hours, he died and patients admitted to the same ward informed the medicos about it. Despite recieving information around 8.30 am, the staff neglected it. The doctor who was on duty also visited the ward at around 10 am but neglected Lodhi. Later, the ants were removed by the deceased's wife while he was lying dead on the hospital bed.  -- ANI

"For political gains, some are openly saying that Article 370 has nothing to do with Maharashtra Assembly polls. I want to tell such people that Jammu and Kashmir and its people are also sons of Maa Bharti only," said Prime Minister Modi addressing a rally in Akola of the poll-bound state.

"The thinking of political opportunists pains me from within. How can they ask what Maharashtra has to do with Jammu and Kashmir," he said. "Doob maro, doob maro," Modi lashed out.

He said that the nation is proud of the sons of Maharashtra who have sacrificed for Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the entire country stands with the patriotic people of the region to counter the terrorism coming from the other side of the border.

Single-phased polls in Maharashtra are scheduled to be held on October 21 and results will be announced on October 24. -- ANI

Delivering a lecture at the prestigious Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs on New York on Tuesday, Sitharaman said that giving all the public sector banks a "lifeline' is today her primary duty. 

"I'm taking a minute to respond' I do respect Raghuram Rajan as a great scholar who chose to be in the central bank in India at a time when the Indian economy was all buoyant," Sitharaman said during the lecture organised by the Deepak and Neera Raj Centre on Indian Economic Policies of the Columbia University. 

Asked about Rajan's comments during a recent lecture at Brown University in which he had apparently mentioned that in its first term, the Narendra Modi government had not done better on the economy because the government was extremely centralised and the leadership does not appear to have a consistent articulated vision on how to achieve economic growth, the minister said instead there were major issues with bank loans during Rajan's tenure as the central bank head.

"It was in Rajan's time as Governor of the Reserve Bank "that loans were given just based on phone calls from crony leaders and public sector banks in India till today are depending on the government's equity infusion to get out of that mire," she said. "Dr Singh was the Prime Minister and I'm sure Dr Rajan will agree that Dr Singh would have had a 'consistent articulated vision' for India,' she said amid laughter from the audience. 

"With due respect, I'm not making fun of anybody but I certainly want to put this forward for a comment which has come like this. I have no reason to doubt that Rajan feels for every word of what he is saying. And I'm here today, giving him his due respect, but also placing the fact before you that Indian public sector banks did not have a worst phase than when the combination of Singh and Rajan, as Prime Minister and the Governor of Reserve Bank, had. At that time, none of us knew about it,' she said. Sitharaman said while she is grateful that Rajan did an asset quality review, but people should know what makes the banks ailing today. 

"I am grateful that Rajan did an asset quality review but I'm sorry, can all of us put together also think of asking what ails our banks today. Where has it been inherited from," she said.

Seventeen countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said on Wednesday. 

The report, prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe termed the level of hunger in India "serious". In 2000, India was ranked 83 out of 113 countries. Now, with 117 countries in the fray, it has dropped to 102 rank. Its GHI score has also decelerated -- from 38.9 in 2005 to 32 in 2010 and then from 32 to 30.3 between 2010 and 2019. The GHI score is calculated on four indicators -- undernourishment; child wasting, the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (that is, who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition); child stunting, children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition; and child mortality, the mortality rate of children under the age of five. 

The share of wasting among children in India rose from 16.5 per cent in the 2008-2012 period to 20.8 per cent in 2014-2018, according to the report. Just 9.6 per cent of all children between 6 and 23 months of age are fed a "minimum acceptable diet", it said.

"India's child wasting rate is extremely high at 20.8 per cent, the highest for any country in this report," it said. Countries like Yemen and Djibouti, which are conflict ridden and facing severe climate issues respectively, fared better than India on that front, according to the report. -- PTI

"While greeting the MP, the man attacked him with a knife and immediately fled. Nimbalkar got hurt on his hand but escaped a major injury because of his wrist watch," he said. 

The Lok Sabha member's father Pawanraje Nimbalkar, who was a Congress leader, was shot dead in his car near Kalamboli on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on June 3, 2006. Former Lok Sabha MP Padamsinh Patil is the key accused in that case. PTI

Addressing an election rally in the state's Akola district, Modi rued that Savarkar was denied the Bharat Ratna. "It is due to Savarkar's sanskar (values) that we put nationalism as the basis for nation-building," Modi said. 

Terming the opposition parties as "shameless", he slammed them for objecting to the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir being raised during campaigning by BJP leaders for the Maharashtra Assembly polls. "How dare they question (abrogation of) Article 370 and ask how is it connected to Maharashtra polls?" he said. He dubbed the Congress-NCP alliance as a "bhrashtwadi yuti" (corrupt coalition), which took Maharashtra backwards by a decade. -- PTI

Investigators of the central agency, who arrived at the jail around 8:15 am, were present in the premises for about two hours. They briefly grilled Chidambaram and arrested him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).  The central agency will now move court to seek his fresh custody, they said.  

Chidambaram, 74, was arrested by the CBI on August 21 and is lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody in the corruption case. -- PTI

"I came to meet my father as I am entitled to meet him twice a week. He is in good spirits and whatever these procedural games are being played are for political theatrics," Karti told media persons.

Soon after, P Chidambaram was arrested by Enforcement Directorate after questioning. A three-member team of the probe agency had arrived at Tihar jail in the morning to interrogate the former union minister in connection with the INX Media money laundering case.

Alleging that the case is nothing but a case of "political vendetta", Karti said: "There are no facts. It is a bogus investigation to continue to keep former finance and home minister in some sought of custody for alleged transactions which apparently happened in 2006. This only thing is being played out for the vicarious pleasure of a few and for the television audience."

Karti maintained that he will appeal in the right manner after whatever the court says. -- ANI

"By 5 pm this matter is going to be over. Enough is enough," Justice Gogoi said while dismissing the intervention application filed by the Hindu Maha Sabha in the apex court seeking more time for arguments.

The Hindu Maha Sabha is one of the parties in the dispute, Gogoi however, did not make any mention of the Sunni Waqf Board which withdrew its appeal.

Earlier yesterday, the CJI had said that Wednesday will be the 40th and last day of hearing in the case of Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid land title dispute.

During the hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Gogoi had said: "Today is 39th day. Tomorrow is 40th day and last day of hearing in the case."

The five-judge bench Constitution bench headed by Justice Gogoi was hearing appeals challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict, which ordered equal division of the 2.77-acre of disputed land in Ayodhya among the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the Ram Lalla.

The 16th-century Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.The top court had recently said that it would wrap up hearing in the case on October 17, a day earlier than it was scheduled to. The judgment is likely to be passed on November 4-5. -- ANI

The Congress general secretary made the remarks after the BJP government in the state on Tuesday announced that it was doing away with 25,000 home guards as the state could not afford the new allowances the Supreme Court has asked it to pay. 

However, the UP government reversed its decision hours later, saying no one would be removed. "The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to terminate the jobs of 25,000 home guards ahead of Diwali," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi. 

She also alleged that the law and order situation in the state is in a bad shape. "In such a scenario, more guards and police force is needed, but don't know what craziness has taken over the mind of the BJP government," she said. 

Congress leader Jitin Prasada also questioned the government's decision and asked if it had a plan to rehabilitate them or just leave them and their families without an income. -- PTI

The agency might also name senior government officials who were part of the decision-making process related to foreign investment clearance given to INX Media, promoted by Indrani Mukherjea and Peter Mukherjea, they said. Indrani, who is facing charges of murdering her daughter in a separate case, had turned approver and is likely to be a prosecution witness in the CBI chargesheet in the corruption case, they said.

The CBI had registered an FIR on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram's tenure as the finance minister. 

Chidambaram, 74, was arrested by the CBI on August 21 and is lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody in the corruption case. He is also being questioned by the ED. -- PTI

The 29-year-old Yuva Sena chief, who is the elder son of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, is contesting the October 21 Maharashtra Assembly polls from Mumbai's Worli constituency. He is the first member of the Thackeray clan to contest an election. 

In a video posted on Twitter, Dutt said Aaditya Thackeray is like "a younger brother to me". "He comes from a fantastic lineage of Balasheb Thackerayji, who supported me and my family immensely and was like a father figure to me. I can never forget that. Uddhav bhai is the same," the 60-year-old actor said.

"I wish Aaditya all the very best. I hope he wins with a huge mandate because we need dynamic young leaders in our country. Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra," he added.

Responding to a tweet, Kejriwal said, "Yes @MajDPSingh, persons with disabilities will definitely be exempt during Odd Even." Last week, the chief minister had announced that women will be exempted during the odd-even scheme. Unlike previous occasions, privately owned CNG vehicles will this time not be exempted, he had announced. -- PTI

The West Bengal Governor had on Tuesday said that he was deeply hurt and disturbed by the treatment meted out to him by the state government at a Durga Puja event on October 11 and termed it as an "insult".

Speaking over the same to ANI, Roy said, "Please note that the Governor is the constitutional head of the state and the manner in which he was treated by the state government, it is against the class and creed of Bengal. It was insulting for the state as a whole. So as a common citizen of the state, I feel that this should not be happening and the government should apologise to the Governor."

Dhankar was allegedly sidelined at a Durga Puja programme in Kolkata in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also present.

"I am deeply hurt and disturbed. That insult was not to me but to the culture of West Bengal. Insult was to every person of West Bengal. They will never digest such insult being meted out to a person holding such a position. I am a servant of people and nothing will deter me. I will continue to perform my constitutional duties irrespective of the action of others," Dhankar had told media persons. -- ANI

After Bharadwaj was arrested, Ramachandra Guha, historian and Gandhi's biographer, was in no doubt that the Mahatma would have donned his lawyer's robes and defended  Bharadwaj, an IIT-Delhi alumnus who has spent her life defending the rights of Adivasis in Chhattisgarh.

To mark the denial of bail to Bharadwaj and the others, here's another look at Uttam Ghosh's take on the issue. 

Cabinet Minister PC Sharma compared the condition of roads in Madhya Pradesh to "cheeks" of BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and added that the Congress government will make them like those of Lok Sabha MP Hema Malini.

The minister gave the statement at the time he was inspecting Habibganj area along with Public Works Development minister Sajjan Verma. 

"Roads in Madhya Pradesh were built like that of Washington. What has happened to these roads now? After heavy rain, there are potholes everywhere. Presently, the condition of roads is like stains of smallpox. It seems that the condition of the roads has become like the cheeks of Kailash Vijayvargiya," Sharma told reporters.

"These roads will be repaired within 15 days on the orders of Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Very soon we will make these roads like cheeks of Hema Malini," he said.

Sharma's "Washington" jibe was aimed at former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who had said, in 2017, that roads in the state are better than those in Washington.

One day after a Delhi court allowed the Enforcement Directorate to arrest P Chidambaram and take him into custody, ED officials reached Tihar Jail to interrogate the Congress leader. His son Karti Chidambaram and wife Nalini Chidambaram also visited Tihar jail on Wednesday morning.

A court had on Tuesday allowed three ED officials to interrogate Chidambaram in the INX media money laundering case.

The 74-year-old has been in Delhi's Tihar jail since September 5, after the CBI finished questioning him in the case. He was first taken into custody on August 21.

Seeking Chidambaram's arrest, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED had told Special CBI judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar that there is a finding by the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation of Chidambaram is necessary.

Special judge Kuhar allowed the ED to go to Tihar Jail and interrogate Chidambaram on Wednesday, and arrest him, if required. "It's not of the dignity of this person that you interrogate and arrest him here in public view," the court said.

Chidambaram was remanded to judicial custody till October 17 in the INX Media corruption case filed by the CBI. The special court on October 3 extended the judicial custody of Chidambaram till October 17 in the case filed by the CBI.

An encounter between the police and terrorists broke out in the wee hours of Wednesday in Kashmir's Anantnag area.

"Encounter is in progress at the outskirts of Anantnag. Further details shall follow," the tweet by Kashmir Police's official handle read. 

Further details are awaited.

The Supreme Court said it looks forward to conclude the hearing in the politically sensitive Ayodhya land dispute case on Wednesday and asked the parties to wrap up their arguments.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been hearing the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit for 39 days and had earlier set the deadline to finish arguments on October 18. 

This was later brought forward to October 17, but the CJI on Tuesday indicated that it would like to conclude all arguments by Wednesday instead of Thursday.

Giving the time frame to the concerned parties, the apex court said it would extend the hearing duration and sit till 5 pm on Wednesday to give time for final submissions and rejoinders to the Hindu and Muslim parties. The court also sat till 5 pm on Tuesday.

The judgment will be reserved by the bench if the arguments conclude. The bench, also comprising justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer will have to pronounce the ruling by November 17 as the CJI will retire on that date. If the judgment is not delivered before his retirement, the entire matter would have to be heard afresh.

The CJI has previously said the bench will have only four weeks to write the judgment and it will be a miracle if the court delivers the judgment in this time frame.

Gearing up for implementing odd-even scheme early next month, Delhi government is likely to exempt two-wheelers from the ambit of the vehicle rationing method in line with suggestion of the Transport department, an official said.

   

The Transport department has suggested to allow two-wheelers during odd-even scheme to be in force from November 4-15. It has also suggested to rise the fine for violations of the odd-even formula from earlier Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000, he said.

 

Delhi government has already announced exemption to women under the scheme which will be in place to combat likely high air pollution post Diwali. The private CNG vehicles will be banned during the scheme period.

"The department has suggested to exempt two-wheelers from odd-even scheme considering the public transport will be unable to bear the burden in case two-wheelers which form around two-third of registered number of vehicles in the city, are banned for the whole period of the scheme. It has however suggested to raise the penalty for violation from Rs 2000 to Rs 4000," said the government functionary.

 

The hike in penalty for violation of odd-even scheme has been suggested as per the amended Motor Vehicle Act, which empowers government for such a decision in the interest of public safety. 

 

Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot was not available for his reaction on the development.

   

A final decision on the suggestion of Transport department will be taken by the government "soon", said the government functionary. -- PTI