More than 200 mid-level andlower-rung leaders of Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party joined the Janata Dal-United in Bihar on Thursday.

A rattled LJP, which has been taking pride in havingweakened the JD-U in the assembly election, lashed out at thedeserters whom it sought to dismiss as traitors.

JD-U national president R C P Singh announced at apress conference the induction of 208 leaders from the LJP.

Some of them held state-level posts in the party,founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan and now headed by his son.

Most notable among the turncoats is former stategeneral secretary Keshav Singh who has been in revolt against Chirag Paswan and predicting the party's collapse for sometime.

Shortly afterwards, a press conference was hurriedlyconvened by the LJP which was addressed by party MP ChandanKumar Singh and former MLA Raju Tiwari.

"These so-called leaders are traitors who had helpedthe JD-U in the assembly elections and betrayed our party'sagenda of Bihar First, Bihari First," they said.

Relations had begun to sour between the JD-U and the LJP last year when Chirag Paswan had started criticising Nitish Kumar for his government's handling of COVID-19 and the migrant crisis thrown up by the lockdown.

Ahead of the elections, he pulled out of the National Democratic Alliance, vowing to dislodge Nitish Kumar from power but helping the Bharatiya Janata Party form the next government.

The LJP queered the pitch for the JD-U by fielding its candidates, many of them rebels from the BJP, against the chief minister's party.

It, however, came a cropper and managed to win only one seat.

One of the prominent BJP rebels fielded by it, Rameshwar Chaurasia, quit the party on Wednesday.  -- PTI

In a statement, the SKM claimed that trains were stopped from 12 noon to 4 pm at hundreds of locations across the country on Thursday.

The railways, however, said there was negligible or minimal impact on train services due to the 'rail roko' protest of the farmers.

'It was a peaceful and successful event.... The citizens of India have opposed the attitude of the Centre towards the farmers' movement in large numbers,' the SKM said.

'Anger among the farmers is intensifying and the Centre will have to repeal the laws,' it stated.

The farmers' body said at various places, its leaders appealed to people on Thursday to come to Delhi's borders to strengthen the movement against the three contentious laws.

SKM member Jagmohan Singh said the unique support and the all-round activism of the people of the country have further strengthened the movement.

'The farmers' movement will be victorious and the motives of the (Narendra) Modi government will be thwarted,' he was quoted as saying in the statement.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson of the Indian Railways said there was negligible impact on train services due to the 'rail roko' agitation called by the protesting farmers.

He said most of the zonal railways did not report any incident due to the protest.

"The rail roko agitation passed off without any untoward incident. There was negligible or minimal impact on the running of the trains across the country. Train movement in all the zones is normal now.

"Majority of the zones have not reported a single case of any stoppage of trains by the agitators. A few trains were stopped in some areas of some railway zones, but now the train operation is normal and trains are being operated smoothly. While dealing with the rail roko agitation, utmost patience was exercised by all concerned," the spokesperson said.   -- PTI

A meeting of ruling Congress MLAs is underway here on Thursday night to decide the next course of action after Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan directed Chief Minister V Narayanasamy to prove his majority in the assembly on February 22.

The MLAs are meeting at the residence of Narayanasamy, whose government is facing a crisis following the resignations of four MLAs, including two ministers since last month.

Earlier, Narayanasamy offered prayers at a Lord Shiva temple in the heart of the town and told reporters that the MLAs would meet at his residence to decide the next course of action.

Soundararajan directed the summoning of the Assembly on February 22 for the 'single agenda namely whether the government of the incumbent Chief Minister continues to enjoy the confidence of the House'.

In the 33-member assembly with an effective strength of 28, the Congress has ten members, including Speaker, while its alliance partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has three and lone independent from Mahe region also supports it.

The opposition parties also have 14 members.  -- PTI

He was admitted to the MDM Hospital in Jodhpur on Tuesday midnight and was discharged after a detailed examination. 

Cardiologist Sanjeev Sanghvi said he was kept under observation at the CCU. After a detailed check-up, we advised him angiography but he refused and preferred to get it done some other time. So, we prescribed him some medicines, said Sanghvi. 

According to hospital superintendent MK Aseri, he had infection in his bladder, after which Asaram was referred to a urologist who prescribed him antibiotics. After being under observation for two days, he was discharged from the hospital in the afternoon, Aseri said. 

His followers who had converged on the hospital in large numbers on Thursday gave a tough time to the police, who had to sweat it out to disperse them. Many of them tried to sneak into the hospital impersonating as patients. 

After a gap of 75 days, Maharashtra on Thursday reported more than 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, a sizable number of them coming from Akola and Nagpur divisions, a health department official said.

With 5,427 new cases, the caseload in the state rose to 20,81,520 while 38 fatalities took the death toll due to the pandemic to 51,669, he said.

The state had reported 5,229 infections on December 4, which had been followed by a gradual drop in cases.

The decline had prompted the state government to relax restrictions on movement and gatherings further, including the restrictions on travel by local trains in Mumbai.

But since the last week, the state is reporting increase in the daily numbers of infections, setting alarm bells ringing.

"Of 5,427 new cases, 38 per cent or 2,105 cases were reported from Akola and Nagpur divisions. Akola division alone reported 1,258 cases with Amravati municipal corporation reporting 542 and Amravati district 191," the official said.

Earlier in the day, the administration in Yavatmal district ordered a ten-day lockdown from Thursdaynight, while a weekend lockdown was announcedin Amravati district of the same Vidarbha region from 8 pm onSaturday to 7 am on Monday.

Out of 38 deaths reported on Thursday, 17 had occurred in the last 48 hours and 10 in the last week; 11 deaths had taken place even before that, the official said.

As many as 2,543 patients were discharged, increasing the tally of recoveries to 19,87,804.

But the number of active patients too went up to 40,858.

On February 2 there were 41,586 active cases, but the number had then fallen to as low as 31,000.

It began to increase since the beginning of last week, the official said. Mumbai city reported 736 cases on Thursday, taking its tally to 3,16,487, while four deaths pushed the fatality count to 11,432.

Mumbai division, which also includes surrounding satellite towns, reported 1,432 new cases taking the cumulative tally to 7,08,972, while 11 deaths took the total death figure to 19,735.

Akola division's case tally so far is 81,504 and death toll is 1,671.

Nagpur division's caseload till now is 2,15,828 and death toll stands at 4,746.

With 65,930 coronavirus tests conducted during the day, the total number of tests conducted rose to 1,55,21,198.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases: 20,81,520, new cases: 5,427, death toll: 51,669, discharged: 19,87,804, active cases: 40,858, people tested so far: 1,55,21,198.   -- PTI

People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Thursday won the posts of District Development Council (DDC) chairpersons in Ramban and Kishtwar districts of the Jammu division, officials said.

Both the districts were reserved for women and the PAGD, an alliance of various mainstream parties including the National Conference, the People's Democratic Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist, easily secured the two posts.

The National Conference, which had emerged as the single largest party in the DDC elections in Ramban district by winning six of the total 14 seats, received a shot in the arm ahead of the rescheduled election when three independent candidates joined the party on Wednesday.

The election, which was earlier deferred due to lack of quorum on February 13, was held in a conducive atmosphere in the district during which NC's Shamshad Shan and Rabia Rashid Beig were elected to the posts of chairperson and vice-chairperson, respectively, the officials said.    

In Kishtwar district, NC's Pooja Thakur won the DDC chairperson post after securing eight votes against six by her rival Shariefa Begum who joined the J-K Apni Party on the day of the elections in the district on February 13.

Begum had won the DDC seat on the NC ticket but later shifted her loyalty to the Apni Party.

The NC had also won six DDC seats in the district and enjoyed the support of three Congress DDC members.

The BJP has three DDC members while two are independents.

Saima Shabir Lone of the Congress won the post of vice-chairperson by securing seven votes, the officials said.

It is a proud moment for the entire Kishtwar that a woman became the first DDC chairperson in the district.

I will take the opposition along to ensure the development of the entire district, Thakur told reporters after her victory.

With the completion of the DDC chairperson elections in the two districts, the focus has now shifted to Rajouri district, where the election is slated on Friday in the last phase.

In the earlier four phases, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the posts of DDC chairpersons in six districts of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Doda and Reasi, while an independent was elected to the post in Poonch district.

Five vice-chairperson posts also went to BJP, while independents emerged victorious by winning the posts of vice-chairpersons in Reasi and Poonch districts.

In Rajouri district, the PAGD has won six seats (NC five and PDP one) and is eyeing the top post with the support of Congress which has three seats.

The BJP has three DDC members and the Apni party and independents one each in the district.

The election in the district, reserved for the scheduled tribes, was also deferred on February 13 due to lack of quorum.   -- PTI

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issues fresh guidelines in Mumbai amid rising cases of COVID-19.

If five or more Covid patients are found in a building, it will be sealed, says BMC Commissioner I S Chahal.

Stamps will be put on back of the hands of the patients staying in home quarantine. 300 marshals will be hired to keep an eye on people traveling in local trains without face mask.

Besides, additional marshals will be hired to keep an eye on violators in Mumbai, the BMC commissioner said.

Wedding halls, clubs, and restaurants etc will be raided to check if they are flouting rules.

Now people returning from Brazil will also have to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine.

Tests will be increased in areas where more patients are found, Chahal said.   -- ANI

Asserting that they won't return home till the farm laws are repealed, Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Thursday said farmers should be ready to sacrifice their standing crop for it.

Tikait said the government should not be under the impression that the movement against the laws will end as farmers will go to their villages to harvest their crop.

Even if you have to set your standing crop on fire, you should be prepared for it.

The government should not harbour this impression that farmers will return home.

We will harvest crops and continue our agitation at the same time, he said addressing a 'mahapanchayat' at Kharak Poonia village of Hisar.

"There will be no 'ghar wapsi' till then," he said.

Tikait also asked farmers to be ready for the next call of the unions spearheading the stir.

Keep your tractors filled with fuel and facing towards Delhi's direction.

You can get a call to move at any time, that will be decided by the committee (farmers unions), he said.

Tikait said after Haryana, they will be holding panchayats in other parts of the country, including West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

While earlier farmers had given a call for a tractor rally in Delhi, Tikait said the next time, they will go to the national capital with their agricultural implements.

Addressing the gathering, Haryana BKU chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni alleged, "If new agricultural laws are implemented, crops will be purchased at arbitrary prices and farmers will be forced to even sell their land."    

Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November at the Delhi borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that these laws will pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the 'mercy' of big corporations.

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring better opportunities to farmers and introduce new technologies in agriculture.   -- PTI

Banking and finance stocks bore the brunt of heavy selling, with HDFC twins being the top drags on the Sensex for the second day. 

The 30-share BSE benchmark ended 379.14 points or 0.73 per cent lower at 51,324.69. 

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dropped 89.95 points or 0.59 per cent to finish at 15,118.95. 

Bajaj Finance was the top laggard among the Sensex constituents, declining 2.43 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, M&M, Nestle India, HDFC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. 

On the other hand, ONGC was the biggest gainer, rallying 8.32 per cent. NTPC, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank were among the other winners.

The untitled series, touted as a "quirky drama thriller", has been created and written by Raj and DK, who earlier helmed the hit The Family Man for the streamer. 

Kapoor said he was looking for an opportunity to collaborate with the directors, known for their films like Go Goa Gone, Shor in the City and Stree, after watching their work on The Family Man. 

"I couldn't think of anyone better for my digital debut than them. Amazon Prime Video is a fabulous service and it's a privilege to work with them. 

"I loved the story idea when I first heard it and since then it has been an exciting ride so far! Can't wait to share this series with the audience," the 39-year-old actor said in a statement. 

Raj and DK said the show is based on their "favourite script" and described it as their labour of love. 

"We found a perfect match in Shahid. He was always our first choice for this series. We hit it off immediately, and have been on the same page from the first time we spoke. Shahid is an exciting actor to watch and work with! The intensity he brings to his roles is amazing," the duo said in a joint statement. 

The series marks Raj and DK's first collaboration with Kapoor, who was last seen in the 2019 hit Kabir Singh. 

Puducherry Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday ordered a floor test in assembly on February 22 amid a political crisis in the Union Territory.

The floor test will be conducted at 5 pm on February 22 and will ascertain the claims of the ruling Congress about having a majority.

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy met the Lt Governor on Thursday.

Asked about opposition demanding floor test in the legislative assembly he said, "I met the Lieutenant Governor. We discussed that also."

Puducherry Bharatiya Janata Party president V Saminathan said his party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India N R Congress have submitted a memorandum to LG stating that the Narayanasamy government has been reduced to a minority.

"The chief minister should resign immediately. We want a floor test to be conducted. He has lost the majority and his claim of having the majority is false. His government will fall on February 22.

"All 14 Opposition MLAs are united," Saminathan said.

Congress MLA A John Kumar had resigned on February 16 citing 'dissatisfaction with the Congress government'.

Congress leader Malladi Krishna Rao had earlier resigned as Health Minister and MLA.

The Union Territory is likely to face elections in April-May this year. -- ANI

Hinting at Bharatiya Janata Party leaders visiting the state from other states before the West Bengal assembly election, the president of All India Trinamool Youth Congress Abhishek Banerjee Thursday said that 'outsiders' will have to return after the state assembly poll.

Banerjee was speaking at a TMC rally at Pailan in South 24 Parganas district where Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on a visit during the day to flag off the fifth and last rathayatra of BJP before the state election due in April-May.

The BJP had failed to make any dent in the district though it had emerged as the main opposition in the state after the 2019 Lok Sabha poll.

The ruling Trinamool Congress has often referred to BJP leaders from other states as 'outsiders'.

"Those coming here are not aware of the unique culture of Bengal but are making promises of making the state Sonar Bangla (prosperous Bengal). Our leader Mamata Banerjee will score a hattrick this time and outsiders will have to return yet again. It is a matter of time," Banerjee, who is the nephew of the chief minister, said.

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee will seek to be returned to power for the third consecutive time in the coming poll.

"Why can't they (BJP) make Sonar Uttar Pradesh, Sonar Rajasthan or a Sonar Haryana. I urge the people of West Bengal not to fall prey to their false campaign.

"The people must make sure that communal forces don't raise their ugly heads in the state", he said.

Referring to the exodus from TMC, including ministers, Banerjee said that BJP has reached such a state that it was poaching leaders from the party to fight the state poll.

"We will fight the saffron party tooth and nail. I am sure Trinamool Congress will get not less than 250 seats in the polls. The fight is to protect Bengal's rich culture," he asserted.

West Bengal has a total 294 seats in the assembly.

Referring to the state government's health scheme 'Swasthya Sathi', he claimed that nearly ten crore people in the state have been given the cards to avail benefits under it.

The scheme, which was launched in 2016, was expanded by the TMC government in November 2020 to cover the entire population of the state and has a basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family.

The state government will fund the scheme.

"On the other hand, Ayushman Bharat health scheme (of the Centre) is not for all. Those having scooters or smartphones are not eligible for it. But Swasthya Sathi card is for all -- no exclusions," the TMC MP said.

Even West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh's family members have opted for the Swasthya Sathi card, he claimed.

Banerjee criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promising the people before the 2014 general election that every person's bank account will be credited with Rs 15 lakh and assuring two crore employments per year.

"How many jobs have been created in the last seven years (since 2014)?" he asked.   -- PTI

There was negligible or minimal impact on railway services due to the rail roko agitation called by farmer groups on Thursday, a spokesperson for the national transporter said.

He said majority of the zonal railways reported no incident due to the protest.

"The rail roko agitation passed off without any untoward incident. There was negligible or minimal impact on running of the trains across the country. Train movement in all the zones is normal now," the spokesperson said.

"Majority of the zones have reported not a single case of any stoppage of train by the agitators.

"Few trains were stopped in some areas of some Railway zones but now train operation is normal and trains are being operated smoothly.

"While dealing with the Rail roko agitation, utmost patience was exercised by all concerned," he said.

Earlier, around 25 trains were regulated by the Railways on account of the agitation.  -- PTI

Hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's 'Didi-Bhaipo' jibes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday challenged him to contest an election against her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and then think of fighting her.

Addressing a party rally in Pailan in the South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee said that Abhishek could have taken the easy route of being an MP by choosing to be a Rajya Sabha member but he fought the Lok Sabha election and got the people's mandate.

"Day and night they are talking about Didi-Bhatija. I challenge Amit Shah, contest against Abhishek Banerjee first and then me," she said, amid a loud cheer from supporters.

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Shah, have often accused Banerjee of dynasty politics, alleging that her 'Bhaipo' or nephew has received preferential treatment and will eventually be made the chief minister of the state.

"How come your son became a part of the cricket administration and made hundreds of crores of rupees?" Banerjee said, in a direct attack at Shah.

She also challenged the home minister to get her into politics and toil to hold public offices.

Banerjee exuded confidence that her party will break all records of past elections in the state, get most of the votes and win the highest number of seats in the upcoming polls.   -- PTI

Addressing a maha panchayat at Kharak Punia here, Tikait said, "Crops prices are not increased, but fuel prices have gone up. If Centre ruins the situation, we will take our tractors to West Bengal as well. Farmers have not been getting minimum support price (MSP) there also."

"The Centre should not be under any misconception that farmers will go back for crop harvesting. If they insisted (cracking down the protest), then we will burn our crops. They should not think that protest will end in two months. We will harvest as well as protest," added Tikait.

Elections for 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal are likely to take place in April-May this year.Meanwhile, farmer unions demonstrated 'rail roko' agitation between 12 pm to 4 pm in different parts of the country. After the tractor rally and 'chakka jaam', 'rail roko' has been the major protest by the farmers against the three farm laws.

Farmers have been protesting at the different borders of the national capital since November last year, against the three newly enacted farm laws - Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. -- ANI

 At least 12 persons were detained that the agitation staged by Lal Bawta Shet Majur Union at Lasur station, around 40 km from Aurangabad, an official said. 

 "The Jalna-Mumbai Janshatabdi train was stopped at the station for around 30 minutes. We have detained around 12 agitators and further probe is underway," the official from the railway police said. The agitation commenced at around 9 am and farmers from 12 villages participated in the protest, president of the union Ram Bharti said. Similarly, the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (AIKS) staged a protest outside Aurangabad railway station. The agitation, which started at 12 pm, was led by AIKS' district president Bhagwan Bhojane, an official said. 

 Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. -- PTI 

The prices of branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, have crossed the Rs 100-mark in some places, including Maharashtra. In Mumbai, petrol is now costing Rs 96.32 a litre and diesel Rs 87.32. 

Patole said the common man has been affected a lot by the increase in prices of petrol and diesel. "Filmstars like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, through their tweets, had earlier criticised the fuel price rise during the Manmohan Singh-led government," he said. "Why are they silent now on the rising petrol and diesel prices?" he asked. "If they do not take a stand now on the injustice meted out by the Modi government, we will not let any films (screening) or shootings of Amitabh Bachchan or Akshay Kumar in Maharashtra," the Congress leader said. "They should now play the same role and protest against the central government's "anti-national policy", as they did during Manmohan Singh's tenure," Patole said. 

He also criticised the BJP-led central government on the FASTag system for vehicles. The Centre had made FASTags mandatory from February 15 midnight and said any vehicle not fitted with it will be charged double the toll at electronic toll plazas across the country. -- PTI

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dropped 89.95 points or 0.59 per cent to 15,118.95. Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, skidding over 2 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Nestle India, HDFC, M&M and ICICI Bank. ONGC was the top gainer, rallying around 8 per cent. NTPC, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank were among the other winners. According to analysts, profit-booking in private banks, auto and FMCG dragged the benchmarks.

Indian markets could not sustain early gains and started trading in negative zone in the afternoon session as selling pressure was witnessed following weak global cues mainly from western markets as investors awaited key economic data, said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi. Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai ended on a positive note, while bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were in the red. -- PTI

"Yes, I will be joining BJP. Other political parties in Kerala are just working in the interest of their respective parties and failed to do any good to Kerala," he said.

When asked whether he would contest the upcoming assembly polls, he said, "If the BJP asks me to contest I will. It is for them to decide the constituency. A lot of development works can be done and I hope to do it by joining BJP."

He said there are many development-oriented works in infrastructure and industries that need to be carried out in the state.

"If Kerala has to develop then its infrastructure and industries have to develop," he stated.

Kerala state president K Surendran said in Kozhikode that Sreedharan would join the party during the Vijay Yatra led by him that will begin from Kasaragod on February 21.

"He will officially join the party during the Vijaya Yatra. Both fronts - LDF and UDF in Kerala have opposed him on several occasions. When Sreedharan opposed Kerala's practice of taking commission under the guise of development activities, Oommen Chandy opposed him. Pinarayi Vijayan's approach was similar," he said.

Surendran added many other prominent people would be joining BJP in the coming days.

This came ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala scheduled to be conducted between April-May. 

 She was Lt Governor of the Union Territory for more than four years and her concern was, among others, protecting the water-table and unhampered implementation of Swacch Bharathi Abhiyan. She said she would take with her to Delhi the bicycle she had been using for her weekend visits to semi-urban and peripheral pockets of Puducherry to learn about the problems of the people. 

 "I will continue to go on bicycle in the capital also," she said. Bedi and the Territorial Chief Minister V Narayanasamy had been having differences over various administrative and fiscal issues. She said in a voice message that she was a believer in communication. "The role of the fourth pillar (media) is crucial in process of development. I feel that media is a watchdog of society and helps the government redress the grievances of the people." she said. PTI 

 With this, the ruling party registered victory in seven municipal corporations and emerged as the leading party in the Moga municipal corporation, where no party got a clear majority. Punjab minister Balbir Singh Sidhu's brother Amarjeet Singh Sidhu won from ward number 10 of the Mohali municipal corporation. The counting of votes for the Mohali municipal corporation was taken up on Thursday as repolling was conducted at two polling booths on Wednesday.

Shah said he will also probe alleged misappropriation of Amphan relief funds. 

A head-to-head political battle is playing out in Kolkata's neighbouring South 24 Parganas district where Home Minister Amit Shah and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are addressing rallies separated by some distance. It is for the first time in the run up to the assembly elections that Banerjee and Shah will be holding rallies in the same district and more or less at the same time in the afternoon.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at the launch of fifth Poribortan Yatra in Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas district: "This is BJP's fight to make Bengal 'Sonar Bangla'. This fight is between our booth workers and the syndicate of TMC.

"This is not a change in power, this is about bringing respect to Gangasagar, about bringing a change in the fishermen of the region. Can law and order situation be fine in West Bengal as long as there is Mamata Banerjee's govt here? Can Bengal walk on the path to progress?

"It is not our aim to bring BJP govt after removing Mamata Banerjee's govt. Our goal is to ensure that there is a change in the situation in West Bengal, a change in the situation of the poor of the state, a change in situation of women of the state.

"BJP govt will provide more than 33% reservation to the women in West Bengal."

The Mission Mangal star took to Twitter and shared a throwback picture (see alongside) with the birthday boy from the sets of Housefull 4. 

The picture sees a bald Akshay dressed in a traditional ensemble posing alongside Nadiadwala.

Sharing that the producer 'literally pays his bills,' the Namaste London star extended birthday wishes while calling him an 'even better friend'.

Akshay tweeted, "Happy birthday to the man who literally pays my bills, the best producer one could ask for and an even better friend, #SajidNadiadwala. Wishing you abundance of health, wealth and happiness."

The actor has done multiple projects with the renowned producer, and the duo even has uncanny similarities. 

Both went to the same school. They also linked up with one another earlier on in their careers with Akshay doing Waqt Hamara Hai with him. 

Akshay and Sajid also got married in the same year, 2000.

The Tikri Border metro station is just near the farmers' protest site. 

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation tweeted on Thursday to inform the closure of entry and exit at these four stations. 

"Security Update Entry/exit for Tikri Border, Pandit Shree Ram Sharma, Bahadurgarh City, and Brig. Hoshiar Singh have been closed," it tweeted. 

The Delhi police on Thursday tightened security in several parts of the national capital, especially near railway tracks, in view of the "rail roko" (rail blockade) called by the farmer groups protesting against the Centre's new agri laws, officials said. 

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the protest, last week had announced the rail blockade to press for its demand of repealing the legislations. 

The SKM had said the blockade will be held across the country from 12 noon to 4 pm.

Air pollution caused by hazardous PM2.5 fine particulate matter led to the death of 54,000 people in Delhi last year where pollution levels remained almost six times above the prescribed WHO limits, according to a new study.

 

According to a Greenpeace Southeast Asia analysis of IQAir data, 1800 deaths per million were estimated due to PM2.5 air pollution in Delhi.

"The PM2.5 air pollution claimed approximately 54,000 lives in India's national capital in 2020," the study said.

PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Exposure to PM2.5 is considered the most important environmental risk factor for deaths globally, and was attributed to 4.2 million premature deaths in 2015, the study said.

The study noted that the damage is equally worrying in other Indian cities.

"An estimated 25,000 avoidable deaths in Mumbai in 2020 have been attributed to air pollution. Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow estimated an approximate 12000, 11000, 11000, and 6700 avoidable deaths respectively due to polluted air," it said

Noting that the air pollutant levels in Delhi remained almost six times above the prescribed WHO limits of 10 g/m3 annual mean, the study said the estimated air pollution-related economic losses were USD 8.1 billion (Rs 58,895 crore), which amounts to 13 per cent of Delhi's annual GDP. 

"Despite a temporary reprieve in air quality owing to the lockdown, the latest figures from the report underscore the need to act immediately. The need of the hour is to rapidly scale up renewable energy, bring an end to fossil fuel emissions and boost sustainable and accessible transport systems," the study said.

Globally, approximate 160,000 deaths have been attributed to PM2.5 air pollution in the five most populous cities of Delhi (30 million), Mexico City (22 million), Sao Paulo (22 million), Shanghai (26 million) and Tokyo (37 million), it said.

"Despite recording relatively better air quality this year due to strict lockdown, air pollution continues to be a serious public health issue which also drastically impacts our economy. For the governments of the day, it is crucial that investments are made towards green and sustainable solutions. When we choose fossil fuel over clean energy, our health is put at stake. Polluted air increases the likelihood of deaths due to cancer & stroke, spike in asthma attacks and worsens severity of COVID-19 symptoms," said Avinash Chanchal, Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace India.  

"We need to ensure our growth demand is fuelled by sustainable and cleaner sources of energy and cities should promote low cost , active and carbon-neutral transport options that prioritises walking, cycling, and public transport, the increased use of clean energy and clean transport will not only improve the public health but it will also strengthen the economy and public money" added Chanchal. -- PTI

Maharashtra water resources minister and state Nationalist Congress Party chief Jayant Patil on Thursday said he has tested positive for coronavirus.

In a post on Twitter, the minister also said he is doing fine and taking appropriate medical advice.

Patil, who earlier this month visited parts of the state during the 'Rashtravadi Parivar Samvad Yatra' (an initiative to reach out to NCP leaders and workers), also asked those who came in contact with him recently to be

observant and self-isolate.

"I have tested COVID positive. Whilst I am doing fine, I am taking appropriate medical advice and hope to recover soon. I shall be undertaking my duties via video-conference," he tweeted.

Earlier this month, state ministers Anil Deshmukh, Satej Patil and Rajendra Shingne also tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

Deshmukh was discharged from a hospital in Nagpur, where he was undergoing treatment, on February 15.   

Last year, over a dozen state ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, were infected by the virus. -- PTI

Sri Lanka has cancelled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's planned address to its Parliament during his upcoming visit to Colombo, according to media reports.

 

Sergeant-at-Arms of Parliament, Narendra Fernando said he has informed Parliament that the Pakistan Prime Minister's visit to Sri Lanka will go ahead as scheduled, the Colombo Gazette website reported on Wednesday.

However, the Foreign Ministry had informed Parliament officials that his proposed visit to the Parliament complex will not take place.

Pakistan Prime Minister Khan will arrive in Sri Lanka on February 22 on a two-day official state visit.

Khan, who will be the first head of state to visit the country since the COVID-19 pandemic, is to hold talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena during the visit.

It is said that the speech to Parliament had been included in Khan's itinerary at the Pakistan government's request. However, it was later cancelled and Sri Lankan media gave various reasons for the cancellation of Khan's address, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.

The address was scheduled for February 24.

According to Sri Lanka's daily Express, Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage said that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena had requested for the cancellation of Khan's address, citing COVID-19.

Dawn newspaper quoting Sri Lankan media reports that there were elements within the Sri Lankan government, who did not want the speech to take place as they feared that doing so could further harm ties with India, which have already been strained after the cancellation of a deal over the East Container Terminal in Colombo port, Dawn newspaper said.

It was expected that Khan would raise the Kashmir issue during his speech, which could have upset Delhi, it said. 

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after New Delhi abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir''s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories in 2019.

Pakistan has been trying to internationalise the Kashmir issue but India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its "internal matter". 

Another speculation doing the rounds is that the Sri Lankan government was concerned about Khan speaking about the rights of Muslims in Sri Lanka, who have faced abuses at the hands of Buddhist majority, rising anti-Muslim sentiments, and biased government actions.

The Sri Lankan government had made compulsory cremation rule for those dying from COVID-19, enraging the Muslim community in the country. 

 The government, however, earlier this month exempted the Muslims from cremation and allowed them to bury their dead after a global outcry over the issue.

Khan had welcomed the Sri Lankan government's decision.  

The Pakistan Prime Minister's visit, scheduled a month after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's three-day visit to Colombo, will coincide with the 46th UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, where a new resolution on Sri Lanka is likely to be adopted. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed Sri Lanka's Parliament in 2015. -- PTI  

The United States has received enough petitions needed to reach the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year 2021 and successful candidates for the most sought-after work visa among foreign professionals, including Indians, would be decided by a computerised draw of lots.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows the US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services has said it has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa US advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2021.

Successful applicants would be decided by a computerised draw of lots.

"We have completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants' online accounts," a media release said.

"We will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap," it said.

Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, are exempt from the FY 2021 H-1B cap.

The USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the US and change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers. 

The Biden administration this month announced that it was delaying the H-1B policy of the previous Trump administration on the allocation of the popular foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to develop, test and implement the modifications to the registration system. -- PTI

Farmers on Thursday blocked railway tracks at many places in Punjab and Haryana for the 'rail roko' protest against the Centre's new agri laws, with officials stopping trains at stations as a precautionary measure.  

 

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions which is spearheading the protest, last week had announced the nationwide rail blockade to press for its demand to repeal the legislations and had said that the agitation will be from 12 pm to 4 pm.

Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) members will block railway tracks at 22 places, including at Nabha, Mansa, Barnala, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Tarn Taran, in Punjab, the organisation's general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said. 

Security has been tightened in both Haryana and Punjab with personnel of the government railway police and the state police forces being deployed, officials said.

Bhartiya Kisan Union leader from Ambala Gulab Singh Manakpur said the protest will be peaceful.     

Thousands of farmers have been protesting since late November at the Delhi borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, demanding a rollback of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers' (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. -- PTI

Directed by Amarjit Singh Saron, the Punjabi romantic-comedy will release on October 15 on Dussehra holiday. 

Honsla Rakh is backed by the 37-year-old actor's company Story Time Productions. 

Dosanjh took to Instagram to share the film's animated poster, featuring him carrying a baby on his back. 

The film, to be shot in Vancouver, Canada, also stars actor Shinda Grewal, son of leading Punjabi actor Gippy Grewal. 

Honsla Rakh is co-produced by Thind Motion Films along with Story Time Productions. Dosanjh was last seen in the 2020 comedy Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari, co-starring Manoj Bajpayee and Fatima Sana Shaikh. It was one of the first Hindi films to release in theatres post the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown.

Sources in the BJP also confirmed that Sreedharan, known popularly as 'Metro man', will formally join the party during BJP's Vijay Yathra, which is scheduled to start from February 21.

The Vijay Yathra will be led by Kerala BJP president K Surendran, ahead of the assembly elections in Kerala scheduled to be conducted between April and May.

A bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that nearly two years have passed and the possibility of retrieving electronic records is very less in the probe. 

The top court, while closing the suo motu proceeding in the case, said the in-house proceedings has already completed the probe into the sexual harassment allegations against then CJI Gogoi and the three-member panel headed by Justice S A Bobde, now the CJI, has already given the report exonerating him. 

The bench also comprising justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said that the Justice (retd) AK Patnaik panel was not able to get electronic records like WhatsApp messages to probe into the conspiracy and hence no purpose would be served by continuing with the suo motu case. 

The top court referred to the letter of the director of Intelligence Bureau that some conspiracy might have ensued due to some tough decisions taken by former Chief Justice Gogoi like verdict on preparation of the National Register for Citizens (NRC) in Assam. 

There are strong reasons to believe that some kind of conspiracy might have been undertaken against the then CJI Gogoi, the bench said, while quoting the report of Justice Patnaik. 

It said, in view of the mandate of the order dated April 25, 2019 Justice Patnaik's report opines that it cannot really inquire whether the decisions of the then CJI on the judicial side had triggered the conspiracy against Gogoi. 

On April 25, 2019, the top court had appointed Justice Patnaik to hold an inquiry into the sensational allegations of a lawyer about "larger conspiracy" to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and fixing of benches in the top court.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his deputy Ajit Pawar discussed the issue on Thursday morning and the step is likely to be taken accordingly, according to the sources.

Of late, Maharashtra has been witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases.         

The state reported 4,787 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest one-day count this year.

Among the districts, Amravati reported the highest rise in a day, from 82 cases on Tuesday to 230 cases on Wednesday.

The Akola municipal corporation, which reported 67 cases under its areas on Tuesday, recorded 105 cases on Wednesday, an official earlier said. 

A (government) doctor was sent to Amravati for taking stock of the situation and he has given a telephonic report about the situation there. Accordingly, the decision is expected any time, the source said.

In view of the recent spurt in cases, Chief Minister Thackeray on Tuesday warned that if Covid-19 norms are not followed, people should be prepared for a fresh round of strict lockdown.

The government last month extended the coronavirus-induced lockdown in the state till February 28, even as a lot of restrictions have been eased in the last few months.

The government's guidelines to operationalise 'Mission Begin Again' for easing of restrictions and phase-wise opening will remain in force till February 28, it had said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will join his counterparts from the United States, Japan and Australia on Thursday under the framework of Quad coalition to deliberate on ways to enhance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.

 

The ministry of external affairs said the ministers will exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

It will be the third ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of Quad member countries and the first after the Joe Biden administration took charge in Washington. 

It will be held in the virtual format.

The evolving situation in the Indo-Pacific region in the wake of China's increasing military muscle flexing has become a major talking point among leading global powers. The US has been favouring making Quad a security architecture to check China's growing assertiveness.

"The third India-Australia-Japan-USA ministerial meeting will be held on February 18 with participation of the respective foreign ministers," the MEA said in a brief statement.

It said the meeting will provide an opportunity to continue the useful exchange of views from their last meeting in Tokyo in October last.

"The ministers will exchange views on regional and global issues especially practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region," it said. 

"They will also discuss ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing global climate change and other issues of mutual interest," the MEA said.

In the midst of growing global concern over China's expansionist behaviour, the foreign ministers of the Quad member nations met in Tokyo on October 6 and reaffirmed their collective vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

The foreign minister of the four countries held their first meeting under the 'Quad' framework in New York in September 2019. 

In November 2017, India, Japan, the US and Australia gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence. -- PTI

Climate activist Disha Ravi, arrested for alleged involvement in sharing a toolkit backing the farmers' protest, on Thursday moved the Delhi high court seeking to restrain police from leaking to the media any probe material in relation to the FIR lodged against her.

 

Advocate Abhinav Sekhri, one of the lawyers representing Ravi, said he is waiting for the matter to be listed for hearing in the high court and then only he can comment about it.

The petition also seeks to restrain the media from publishing the contents or extracts of any alleged private chats, including those on WhatsApp, between her and third parties. 

  

The Delhi Police, probing the "toolkit Google doc" backing the farmers' agitation shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg, had arrested Ravi while Mumbai lawyer Jacob and Pune engineer Shantanu Muluk have been granted pre-arrest bail by court. -- PTI 

The meeting comes against the backdrop of both sides hardening stand and the UK energy company filing a case in the US and the UK, seeking enforcement of an arbitration award.

Thomson had sought an appointment with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who did not give a formal time. 

She, however, told Business Standard, "The finance secretary will meet the Cairn CEO tomorrow. Let us wait and see what Cairn has to say in the meeting. We will chart our future strategy based on that." 

Cairn is likely to file a case in Canada also. It had already got an order from a Dutch court for enforcement of the December 21 award.

A high level inter-ministerial group (IMG), meanwhile, met in New Delhi on Wednesday to chalk out procedural details of the government's appeal against the award. It was part of a series of meetings to chart out India's strategy to contest the award given by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in December. 

The IMG comprises senior officials from the department of revenue, ministry of law, department of economic affairs and ministry of external affairs.India is likely to file an appeal at The Hague by around March 10 and is in talks with senior Dutch lawyers. 

New Delhi has time till March 21 to file an appeal in accordance with a 90-day window.  The award will likely be contested on two key grounds '" jurisdiction and international public policy. Thomson had, however, in a video message last week, expressed willingness to meet Sitharaman.

"I feel happy to share that the interaction every student was waiting for is back! Get ready to smile your way through exams with PM @narendramodi in #ParikshaPeCharcha2021," he said in a tweet. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the interaction will be conducted online, he said in another tweet. 

 The registration for the programme will begin from Thursday and conclude on March 14. Students who will get to ask questions will be selected through a competition. The first edition of the prime minister's interaction programme with school and college students Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0' was held at Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018. PTI

The 30-share BSE index was trading 61.08 points or 0.12 per cent higher at 51,764.91. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty was quoting 18.20 points or 0.12 per cent up at 15,227.10. ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech and Asian Paints. On the other hand, M&M, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank were among the laggards. In the previous session, Sensex slumped 400.34 points or 0.77 per cent to close at 51,703.83.

The broader NSE Nifty tumbled 104.55 points or 0.68 per cent to 15,208.90. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,008.20 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. 

According to Binod Modi Head-Strategy at Reliance Securities, domestic equities look to be modestly positive at the moment. 3QFY21 earnings have been quite encouraging and a large number of companies succeeded to top consensus earnings estimate. 

This along with increased visibility of sustaining corporate earnings rebound after favourable announcements in the Union Budget emboldened investors, he said. Persistent inflows from FPIs, which was the key driving force for markets in recent period, are expected to sustain, he added. US equities finished mostly lower on Wednesday. 

However, Dow Jones witnessed its third straight record close after minutes from FOMC's January meeting echoed Powell's last week of dovish statements. Fed policy makers reiterated that they need to see sustained inflation before considering the end of the bond buying programme. -- PTI

The government will issue the notice by the end of March stating that this time Kumbh will be held from April 1 to April 30. The decision is taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection, he added.

The state government has also emphasised reducing the duration of Kumbh as they fear becoming a hot spot of the virus.

Earlier, the Haridwar District Magistrate C Ravishankar said that pilgrims will need passes to attend Kumbh.

"Pilgrims will need passes for Kumbh and the passes will be issued only after submission of a negative RT-PCR test report, medical certificate, and identification proof. Those without passes will be denied entry," said Ravishankar.

He also informed that the district administration has demanded 70,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the personnel posted on duty to ensure their safety.

The Kumbh administration has also put cameras at the Ganga Ghats to monitor the crowd.

Haridwar has been turned into a hub of mythology-themed colourful wall graffiti to make devotees and tourists aware of its significance in the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, under the campaign called "Paint My City", run by the Haridwar-Roorkee Development Authority.

Describing Kumbh as a festival of colours, Mela Deputy Officer Harbir Singh said that graffiti depicting Hindu mythology and Uttarakhand culture has been installed across walls, bridges, Government buildings, and other spaces available in Haridwar.

The Maha Kumbh is celebrated in a cycle of 12 years at four river-bank pilgrimage sites across India. The fair will conclude in the last week of April. -- ANI

Facebook announced Thursday that Australia will no longer view news on the social media app.

According to a report by CNN, Facebook announced the decision to not allow users in Australia to share news in response to proposed legislation in the country that would force tech platforms to pay news publishers for content.

"What the proposed law introduced in Australia fails to recognise is the fundamental nature of the relationship between our platform and publishers," Campbell Brown, Facebook's vice president of global news partnerships, wrote in a blog post.

"Contrary to what some have suggested, Facebook does not steal news content. Publishers choose to share their stories on Facebook. I hope in the future, we can include news for people in Australia once again," Brown added.

According to CNN, during a January hearing in Australia's senate, Facebook had suggested it could block content in the country if the bill becomes law. -- ANI

Bengali film icon Prosenjit Chatterjee on Wednesday scotched rumours of his joining Bharatiya Janata Party, while his colleague in the industry Yash Dasgupta and several other actors joined the saffron camp before the West Bengal assembly poll.

Chatterjee said he wants to stay focussed in his acting career.

Speculations that Chatterjee might join BJP has been rife for the past few days after senior BJP leader Anirban Ganguly went to meet the national award-winning actor and handed him a copy of a book 'Amit Shah and the March of BJP' authored by him.

The BJP had termed the meeting between Chatterjee and Ganguly as "interesting and insightful".

Chatterjee said in a tweet "As a Bengali, it's in our culture to greet and welcome our guests. I have played host to many in the past and from varied Industries and Profession. I love and respect their views, but at the same time, I have my own."

He continued, "There is no political inclination nor agenda apart from meeting and greeting Dr Ganguly. I stay focused on what I know best-Acting."

The BJP declined to comment on it.

Meanwhile, Dasgupta along with a few other actors of the Bengali film industry joined the saffron camp during the day.

He is considered to be a close friend of TMC MP and actor Nusrat Jahan.

Dasgupta was welcomed to the saffron camp by BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, party national vice-president Mukul Roy and party MP Swapan Dasgupta.

"BJP has always given opportunities to the youth. We all have to work for a change for the better," Dasgupta said at a press meet held on the occasion.

 

"Today that I have joined BJP does not mean I will start saying bad things about chief minister Mamata Banerjee. I had informed her about my decision and sought her blessings before joining the saffron camp," he said.

More youths should join politics for the sake of the country, said Dasgupta, who has acted in films like Total Dadgiri, Fidaa, Mon Jaane Na. -- PTI

India's relationship with China is "complex" and the two neighbours cannot have a "normal" bilateral relationship if there is "transgression" in the border areas, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said in Moscow on Wednesday.

Addressing a meeting hosted by the Diplomatic Academy of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shringla also said the process of disengagement of Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh is expected to be concluded in the next two to three days.

 

He said that the relationship between the two Asian giants is definitely dependent on the normal situation at the border.

"As I told our friends in China, we cannot have a normal bilateral relationship if there is no peace and tranquility in our border areas. The relationship is definitely dependent on the normal situation at the border," Shringla, on a two-day official visit to Moscow, said.

"We cannot have our troops having loss of life, having situation of transgression at the border and still go about a normal relationship, he said.

Indian and Chinese militaries are locked in a bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh since May last year.

The two countries last week reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh that mandates both sides to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner, in a breakthrough after a nine-month border standoff.

"In the last few days we (India and China) have started what is called a disengagement plan. We have come to some kind of understanding with China after nine months of negotiations on a plan of disengagement that would involve frontline troops, that were in close proximity to each other, I would say, going to their permanent bases and thereby preventing any chance of any mishap or miscalculation of troops being in close proximity to each other," Shringla said.

"We do believe that in the next two or three days this process would have come to a conclusion and I think that's a step in the right direction." 

But he said it is "difficult to say" how that will go from there, 

He said the relationship with China is "complex." But he said that bilateral ties have seen a fair amount of growth in the past few decades.

In the 1980s, both the countries decided that they will set aside their differences on the boundary issue while work to develop cooperation in other areas like trade and science and technology, he said.

"We don't have a common perception on boundaries. There will be special envoys who will look into the issue. Meanwhile, we will work on developing other areas of cooperation like trade and science and technology In last few years, trade has gone up significantly with China," he said.

 

"But the developments last year in terms of very large number of troops were amassed on our borders, attempts at multiple transgressions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) did create a situation that I suppose impacted the the larger relationship," he said.  

The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry even as the two sides continued military and diplomatic talks. -- PTI

A head-to-head political battle will play out on Thursday in Kolkata neighbouring South 24 Parganas district where Home Minister Amit Shah and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are scheduled to address independent rallies separated by some distance.

For the first time in the high octane political season in poll-bound West Bengal, Banerjee and Shah will be holding rallies in the same district and more or less at the same time in the afternoon.

Shah is scheduled to arrive in Bengal tonight on a two-day visit starting from Thursday.

He is scheduled to visit Kakdwip area near Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district, where he will flag off the final leg of the five phases Rath Yatra of the BJP in the state.

"He will arrive in Kolkata tonight. On Thursday he will visit Kapil Muni Ashram. From there he will go to Namkhana where he will address Poribartan yatra," a senior state Bharatiya Janata Party leader said Wednesday.

Shah is also scheduled to have lunch at the residence of a migrant labourer and later take part in a roadshow, he said.

Meanwhile, Banerjee and his nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is also local party MP, is slated to address party workers meeting at Pailan in South 24 Parganas on Thursday.

"It will be a politically important day tomorrow. Both Shah and Didi will address rallies in the same district," a senior South 24 Parganas TMC leader said.

After having a limited presence in the politically polarised Bengal for decades, BJP has emerged as the main rival of the ruling Trinamool Congress by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2019 general elections, only four less than the TMC tally of 22.

With the BJP's strength increasing in the state in the last few years, its leaders are upbeat that the party will be able to end Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's 10-year rule in the state polls.

Election to the 294-member state Assembly is expected in April-May this year.   -- PTI