LIVE! BSF, Pak Rangers exchange fire along IB in Raj

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Fri, 09 December 2022

BSF, Pak Rangers exchange fire along IB in Raj

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23:56 BSF, Pak Rangers exchange fire along IB in Raj

Border Security Force troops and Pak Rangers exchanged fire on Friday along the Anupgarh sector of the India-Pakistan International Border in Rajasthan, officials said.

No casualties were reported on the Indian side even as the BSF has decided to lodge a "protest" with their Pakistani counterparts and have sought a flag meeting on Saturday, a BSF spokesperson said.

He added that Pak Rangers short first as they fired 6-7 rounds at 2 pm "on BSF troops" who were present ahead of the border fence as part of a 'kisaan guard' deployment meant to escort and protect five local farmers working in their farms.

"In retaliation, the BSF 'kisaan guard' party fired about 18 rounds on Pak Rangers," he said.

No injury or casualty to the BSF or the farmers has been reported in the incident that took place along the Anupgarh sector in Sriganganagar district of the state, the spokesperson said.

"A protest is being lodged and a flag meeting has been called," the official said.

It is very rare that troops exchange fire along the Thar desert comprising Rajasthan front of the IB that also runs along Gujarat, Punjab and Jammu, a senior officer said. -- PTI

Sheena Bora

23:30 Sheena murder: Indrani's plea to recall witness Rahul bid to prolong trial, says CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday told a special court in Mumbai that the plea by Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, to recall witness Rahul Mukerjea at a future date is an attempt to prolong the trial as she is out on bail.

The probe agency, in its written response to Indrani's plea, said that her application was "not maintainable'.

Rahul Mukerjea has already deposed as a witness in the murder case and was cross-examined at length by Indrani's lawyer Ranjeet Sangle.

After completion of his deposition last month, Indrani moved a plea seeking to recall Rahul Mukerjea for cross-examination later, claiming that she still does not have access to all case papers.

She had also accused Rahul Mukerjea of being dishonest and uncooperative.

However, the CBI in its reply said that considering the fact that the prosecution witness (Rahul Mukerjea) had already been cross-examined and discharged, the present application has otherwise become infructuous.

The probe agency further said that it has already supplied documents to the accused persons in compliance with the relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Code and the charges were framed in January 2017. -- PTI

22:46 CPM MP brings bill on SC judges appointment

A private member bill to regulate the appointment of judges through the National Judicial Commission was on Friday introduced in Rajya Sabha by Communist Party of India-Marxist's Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya but was opposed by Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha.

The National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022, was introduced after the majority of voice votes were in its favour.

Bhattacharyya moved the bill that aims to regulate the procedure to be followed by the National Judicial Commission for recommending people for appointment as the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court and chief justices and other judges of high courts. -- PTI

Sahara India chief Subrata Roy

22:28 Police searches Sahara chief's offices, home in Lucknow

The police on Friday searched the office, home and other premises linked to Sahara India chief Subrata Roy in Lucknow in connection with a non-bailable warrant issued by a district consumer commission in Bihar, an official said.

A Sahara statement, however, claimed that the court has stayed the execution of the order.

The police searched for Roy at the Sahara office in Lucknow's Aliganj area and at other places linked to his company in Gomtinagar but failed to find him, deputy commissioner of police (North) Qasim Abidi told reporters.

He said searches were on at other places in an effort to arrest the businessman.

The warrant was issued by the district consumer commission in Bihar's Nalanda on November 29, the DCP said.

He said some "important evidence' was found in the searches and police are taking further action on its basis.

The district consumer commission has charged Roy under the Consumer Protection Act for failing to comply with its order. -- PTI

Prashant Kishor

22:07 Kurhani bypoll defeat shows people's anger at Nitish: PK

Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Friday claimed that the BJP's victory in the recently held Kurhani bypoll was a reflection of people's anger against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Mahagathbandhan government.

Kishor, who is on a 3,500 km-long padayatra in the state, also said that he has found out during interactions with people that they were fed up with the "rampant corruption" in Bihar.

Talking to reporters at Ghodasahan area in Motihari (East Champaran), Kishor said, "People are not happy with the performance of the Mahagathbandhan government. I have been interacting with people over the last several days, and I can say with full confidence that they are fed up with rampant corruption in the state.

"The Kurhani bypoll result is a reflection of people's anger against Nitish Kumar."

The BJP on Wednesday wrested from Bihar's ruling JD-U the Kurhani assembly seat.

"Angry protests greeted Nitish Kumar when he launched his poll campaign in Kurhani two days before the December 5 polls. As Nitish reached the venue, protestors created ruckus, shouted slogans against him and flung the chairs... People's anger against CM can be seen everywhere. The CM cannot walk without security guards even in a small village in the state," Kishor added.

Kishor, who had joined the JD-U in 2018 and was expelled from the party two years later, is travelling across and breadth of Bihar on foot as part of his Jan Suraaj campaign, which is aimed at connecting with people and bringing them on a "democratic platform". The march is widely seen as a precursor to his re-entry into active politics.

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21:44 SC notice to Centre on Muslim girls' marriage age

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre on a petition filed by the National Commission for Women to make the minimum age of marriage for Muslim girls the same as that of persons belonging to other religions.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha sought a response from the Centre within four weeks.

The minimum age for marriage in India is currently 18 for women and 21 for men.

However, the minimum marriage age for Muslim women is when they attain puberty and 15 years is presumed to be that age.

The NCW said that allowing Muslims to marry at the age of puberty (around 15) is arbitrary, irrational, discriminatory and violative of penal laws.

The plea said even the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act does not provide for those under 18 to consent to sex.

It said the PIL was filed for enforcement of the fundamental rights of minor Muslim women to bring Islamic personal law in consonance with the penal laws applicable to other religions.

Earlier, the apex court agreed to examine the plea of the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights against an order of the Punjab and Haryana high court which said a Muslim girl of 15-years-old is competent to enter into a contract of marriage with a person of her choice under the Muslim Personal Law.

It had issued notice to the Punjab government and appointed senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

The high court in June in its order had cited the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law on marriage to rule that a 15-year-old Muslim girl was competent to enter into a contract of marriage with a person of her choice.

The NCPCR sought to ensure the proper implementation of statutory laws that are specifically in place to protect children below the age of 18 years.

The Commission highlighted the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act to put forth its reasons for challenging the high court ruling. -- ANI

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Friday appeared before a special court in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project in the metropolis.

It was his first appearance before special judge RN Rokade after being granted bail in the case on November 9.

As per his bail conditions, Raut is required to attend the hearings of the case, which at present is in the stage of hearing before framing of charges.

The court on Friday adjourned the matter to January 24.

The Enforcement Directorate had arrested the Rajya Sabha MP in August this year for his alleged role in financial irregularities in connection with the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon. -- PTI

Saket Gokhale/ANI

20:49 TMC's Saket Gokhale gets bail in 2nd tweet case

A local court on Friday granted bail to Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale in a case related to a tweet allegedly posted by him about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Morbi bridge collapse site.

The TMC leader was first arrested on Tuesday by Ahmedabad cyber crime police in the case for allegedly spreading fake news, and after he got bail on Thursday, Morbi police arrested him for the same offence.

On Friday, additional chief judicial magistrate DK Chandrani granted bail to Gokhale on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 in the second case.

On December 1, Gokhale shared a news clipping which cited a purported Right to Information query to claim that PM Modi's visit to Morbi after the bridge collapse tragedy on October 30 cost Rs 30 crore.

On Tuesday morning, the Press Information Bureau tweeted that the information was fake. -- PTI

The Delhi high court on Friday suggested formulating a plan to publicise the crowdfunding platform created by the central government under the national rare diseases policy across all Navratna companies as well as the private sector.

Justice Prathiba M Singh, while dealing with a batch of petitions for treatment of children suffering from rare diseases, said although the platform became operational pursuant to an order passed by the court in 2021, it needed to be publicised to attract funding from the general public as well as corporate entities and public sector undertakings.

"Accordingly, it is directed that a plan be prepared for publicising the crowdfunding platform across all the Navratna companies and top 10 private sector companies at least," the court said.

The court said the details of the crowdfunding platform should be communicated to these entities to enable them to consider contributing under their corporate social responsibility account, and asked for the responses received pursuant to these communications be placed on record.

The petitions have been filed on behalf children suffering from rare diseases, including duchenne muscular dystrophy and Mucopolysaccharidosis II or MPS II (Hunter Syndrome), seeking direction to the Centre to provide them uninterrupted and free of cost treatment as the therapy is very expensive.

DMD, one of the various forms of muscular dystrophy, is a rare genetic disease that almost exclusively affects boys and causes progressive weakness.

MPS II is a rare disease that is passed on in families and mainly affects boys.

The bodies of these patients cannot break down a kind of sugar that builds bones, skin, tendons and other tissues. -- PTI

Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, B S Yediyurappa and Arjun Munda were appointed on Friday as central observers for the meeting of the party's new MLAs in Gujarat to pick the next chief minister.

The BJP registered a historic victory in Gujarat on Thursday by clinching 156 seats in the 182-member House.

The BJP has called a meeting of its newly elected legislators on Saturday morning to elect the legislature party leader who will be the next chief minister.

The BJP has announced earlier that Bhupendra Patel will continue as its chief minister in the state. -- PTI

Over 16 lakh Indians have given up Indian citizenship since 2011 including 183,741 this year, the government said in Lok Sabha on Friday.

The data was provided by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan while replying to a question.

He said the number of Indians who renounced their Indian citizenship in 2015 was 1,31,489, while 1,41,603 people gave it up in 2016 and 1,33,049 in 2017.

In 2018, the number was 1,34,561, while 1,44,017 renounced their citizenship in 2019, 85,256 in 2020 and 1,63,370 in 2021.

He said 1,83,741 people gave up Indian citizenship till October 31.

For reference purposes, he said the data for 2011 was 1,22,819 while it was 1,20,923 in 2012, 1,31,405 in 2013 and 1,29,328 in 2014.

The total number of Indians who gave up Indian citizenship since 2011 comes to 16,21,561.

The minister also said that the number of foreign nationals, except citizens of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who took Indian citizenship was 93 in 2015, 153 in 2016, 175 in 2017, 129 in 2018, 113 in 2019, 27 in 2020, 42 in 2021 and 60 in 2022. -- PTI

Among the 68 newly elected legislators in Himachal Pradesh, 23 are first-timers -- 14 of the Congress, eight of BJP and one independent.

The election, results of which were announced Thursday, threw up many upsets and surprises.

Eight cabinet minister were trounced. Only three -- outgoing Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and his cabinet colleagues Bikram Singh and Sukh Ram Chaudhary -- managed to retain their seats. BJP stalwart Rajiv Bindal, who was elected to the assembly five times in a row and served as minister, speaker and party's state unit president, lost the poll.

Thirty-six outgoing MLAs will not be members of the fourteenth Himachal Assembly -- 26 members lost the elections while 10 others did not contest. Senior Congress leaders and former ministers, including Kaul Singh, Asha Kumari and Ram Lal Thakur, also failed to win.

The new faces included Lokender Singh (Anni), Dr Janak Raj (Bharmour), Triolok Jamwal (Bilaspur), D S Thakur (Dalhousie), Puran Chand (Darang), Deep Raj (Karsog), Dilip Singh (Sarkaghat), Ranvir Singh Nikka (Nurpur), all from the BJP.

The Congress gained 20 seats and increased its tally to 40 in the 68-member House. Its 14 new faces includ are Suresh Kumar (Bhoranj), Neerj Nayyar (Chamba), Sudarshan Singh Babloo(Chintpurni), Chander Shekhar (Dharampur), Chetanya Sharma (Gagret), Malender Rajan (Indora), Devinder Kumar (Kutlehar), Bhuvneshar Gaur (Manali), Raghuvir Singh Bali (Nagrota), Ajay Solanki (Nahan), Kewal Singh Pathania (Shahpur), Harish Janartha (Shimla), Kuldeep Rathore (Theog) and Vinod Sultanpuri (Kasuali).

Independent Ashish Sharma, a BJP rebel, was elected from Hamirpur.

The new assembly has three six-time MLAs, including Jai Ram Thakur, former Congress minister Chander Kumar and senior Congress leader Harashwardhan Chauhan.

Leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly, Mukesh Agnihotri, Anil Sharma and Kuldeep Singh Pathania are the three five-time legislator.

One of the frontrunners for the chief minister's post Sukhvinder Singh Sukku, former BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti, Speaker of outgoing assembly Vipin Parmar, Jagat Singh Negi, Nand Lal, Rohit Thakur, Sudhir Sharma, Vinay Kumar and Bikram Singh and Sukh Ram Chaudhary are among four-time legislators.

There are 11 three-time MLAs and 18 two-time legislators, Vikramaditya Singh, the son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh. -- PTI

19:34 MCD mayor to be from AAP: Delhi BJP's U-turn

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi mayor will be from the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party will play the role of a "strong opposition", its Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta said on Friday, ending speculation over the saffron party staking a claim on the mayor's post despite losing the civic polls.

Gupta added that the BJP councillors would resist if the AAP indulged in corruption at the MCD and work for the city's people as Opposition.

Several BJP leaders had earlier hinted that the party might go for the mayor's post despite losing the civic polls.

"Now over to electing a mayor for Delhi. It will all depend on who can hold the numbers in a close contest, which way the nominated councillors vote etc. Chandigarh has a BJP mayor, for instance," the BJP's IT department chief Amit Malviya had tweeted the day the results were being declared.

Hints dropped by other party leaders, including Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Tajinder Pal Bagga, also gave rise to speculation that the BJP might go for the mayor's post.

It was further buttressed by the example of Chandigarh where the AAP had earlier this year emerged as the single-largest party by winning 14 of the 35 wards in the municipal polls but the BJP secured the mayor's post.

Gupta, however, put all the speculation to rest.

"The AAP has got the peoples' mandate, so they can have their mayor. We extend them good wishes," Gupta told PTI when asked if the BJP would contest the mayoral poll.

The MCD mayor is elected by all 250 councillors in the House, seven Lok Sabha and three Rajya Sabha MPs from the city, and 14 MLAs nominated by the speaker of the Delhi assembly.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said all parties should make a collective effort to implement a uniform civil code which will be good for the nation and humanity.

Replying to a question on Uniform Civil Code at Agenda Aaj Tak event, he said, "If a man marries a woman it is natural. But if someone goes for four marriages that is unnatural. Therefore the progressive and educated Muslims don't do it."

"There should be a qualitative change in society. It is not against any religion or sect. We should together develop the nation," the Union minister for road, transport and highways said.

Should not women of any religion, be they Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, be given equal rights, he posed. The Union minister also asked which Muslim country in the world has two civil codes.

"If the Central government takes a decision on any issue and the states object, then the message that will go out will not be good as there is the concurrent list. So I think that if the states and all parties take a collective decision that it will be good for humanity and the nation," he said.

Bringing in a Uniform Civil Code was among the major poll promises of the BJP in the recently concluded Assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. On October 29, the Gujarat government had announced that it would form a committee for the implementation of the UCC. The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting that day. -- PTI

Some parts of Maharashtra might receive unseasonal rainfall in the next 48 hours due to the cyclone storm 'Mandous' over Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Mild or medium rainfall is expected to hit Konkan, Marathwada and most districts of central Maharashtra after 48 hours, said Sushma Nair of IMD Mumbai.

The cyclonic storm 'Mandous' over Bay of Bengal is expected to make landfall after 24 hours, she said.

Weather condition is expected to change in Maharashtra due to vapours from Bay of Bengal and vapours being pulled from Arabian Sea, the official said.

Mandous, pronounced 'man-dous' is an Arabic word and it means treasure box and the name was reportedly picked by the United Arab Emirates. -- PTI

Of the 45 new candidates fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Gujarat assembly elections by dropping the sitting MLAs, all but two sailed through.

In a bid to nullify anti-incumbency sentiment, the ruling party dropped 45 MLAs including former chief minister Vijay Rupani.

The saffron party is in power in Gujarat for 27 years.

The strategy paid off as most of its new candidates won the election.

The exceptions were Botad and Waghodia where new BJP candidates were defeated by their Aam Aadmi Party and independent rivals, respectively.

In Botad, the BJP had dropped sitting MLA and former energy minister Saurabh Patel and fielded Ghanshyam Virani. Patel had won the seat in 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2017. In 2012, the BJP's T D Maniya had won the seat.

In a major upset this time, Virani was defeated by AAP's Umesh Makwana with a thin margin of 2,779 votes.

In Waghodia constituency in Vadodara district, the ruling party replaced sitting MLA Madhu Shrivastava with Ashvin Patel. Shrivastava, a six-time MLA, then jumped into the fray as an independent.

Dharmendrasinh Vaghela, another aspirant for the BJP ticket, also contested as an independent and defeated Patel by nearly 14,000 votes. Shrivastava ended fourth with 14,645 votes while Congress candidate received 18,870 votes.

But everywhere else the BJP newcomers managed to sail through. -- PTI

The three services are reeling under a shortage of 1.35 lakh personnel with the maximum number of vacancies of 1.18 lakh in the Army, according to details provided by the government in Lok Sabha on Friday.

The total shortage in the Indian Navy (sailors) was estimated at 11,587 till September 30, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said in reply to a question.

He said the number of vacant posts in the Indian Air Force (Airmen and Non-Combatant) as on November 1, 2022, was 5,819.

The number in the Army was till July 1 and it included junior commissioned officers and other ranks.

"A total of 40000 vacancies have been advertised for JCOs/OR in the Indian Army. A total of 3,000 vacancies have been advertised for Agniveers in the year 2022 in the Indian Navy. 3,000 vacancies have been advertised in the Indian Air Force as Agniveer-vayu in the year 2022," Bhatt said.

He said all the recruitments at the level of jawans are being done under the Agnipath scheme.

Noting that on average, 60,000 vacancies occur in all three services every year, out of which approximately 50,000 vacancies are for the Army, the minister said due to the suspension of recruitment rallies in the last two years because of the COVID-19 situation, there was a shortfall of 1,08,685 jawans in the Indian Army at present.

With the improvement in the COVID-19 situation and the start of the recruitment, these vacancies are expected to come down in coming years, he added.

To a separate question, he said approximately 45,906 acres of defence land under the management of different services and organisations of the defence ministry is presently lying vacant.

In response to another question, Bhatt said the government has undertaken the modernisation of the defence airfield infrastructure in two phases.

The budgetary allocation made for modernising airfields under phase-I was Rs 1,215.35 crore and phase II is Rs 1,187.17 crore, he said.

The Modernisation of Air Field Infrastructure (MAFI) (phase-I) was for 30 Indian Air Force airfields and the project has already been completed, Bhatt noted.

The MAFI (phase-II) for the modernisation of another 37 airfields is under progress, he said. -- PTI

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation on Friday partially resumed bus services to Karnataka from Kolhapur in southern Maharashtra after consulting local police authorities, an official said.

The state-owned public transport body had suspended 382 out of 1,156 services to Karnataka, mainly between Kolhapur and Belagavi via Nipani, after protests erupted over the border row between the two states.

Some MSRTC buses were defaced in Karnataka. Buses from Karnataka were similarly targeted in Maharashtra.

The MSRTC spokesperson said that normal services between Kolhapur and Belagavi via Nipani restarted from Friday afternoon.

The long-pending border dispute between the two states revolves mainly around Belagavi, a border district in Karnataka which Maharashtra claims because of its sizable Marathi-speaking population. -- PTI

Former chief secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Jitendra Narain, accused of involvement in an alleged gang-rape case, was admitted at GB Pant Hospital in Port Blair after he complained of chest discomfort and fever on Thursday night.

Police sources said, the doctors at GB Pant examined him thoroughly and decided to admit him for few more health check-ups.

Narain was in jail custody at Prathrapur District correctional center in connection with rape of a 21-year-old woman.

On Thursday, Narain's bail petition was heard before the Division Bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury in connection with the rape case.

After hearing Narain's and victim's Lawyers, the Calcutta High Court placed the matter before the Circuit Bench at Port Blair for next hearing within a week by December 15.

Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the police was constituted to probe into allegations that a 21-year-old woman in Andaman and Nicobar Islands was lured to the chief secretary's residence on promises of a government job and then raped by top officials.

So far three persons have been arrested including Narain, Sandeep Singh alias Rinku and suspended labour commissioner Rishishwarlal Rishi in connection with the case.

Singh, who had been absconding, was apprehended from Haryana on November 13, while Rishi and Narain was arrested on November 22 and November 10 respectively. -- PTI

A BJP supporter in New Delhi yesterday

17:19 Will get 40% vote share in Guj next polls: Cong

A day after its drubbing in the Gujarat assembly elections, the Congress on Friday blamed the state leadership for the poor showing and said it is time to introspect as well as take "tough decisions".

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also accused the Aam Aadmi Party and the AIMIM of colluding with the BJP, saying they were "informal alliance partners" of the ruling party.

He, however, said in Himachal Pradesh the Congress put up a good show despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high decibel campaign.

"For us, the Gujarat results show the need for introspection and for taking tough decisions. In Gujarat the election results have been very disappointing and are far below our expectations. It is a very sad reflection on the state's organisation," he told reporters.

Asked who were responsible for the poor performance of Congress in Gujarat, Ramesh said the local leadership and admitted there were shortcomings in the party's campaign there.

"There have been shortcomings in Gujarat unit and we will have to work on them. In the next election, our vote share would come back to 40 per cent," the Congress leader claimed.

"The BJP has lost miserably in Himachal Pradesh, given the fact that the prime minister campaigned extensively besides BJP president J P Nadda and Union minister Anurag Thakur, both of who hail from Himachal, the BJP has still lost," Ramesh alleged.

He also blamed the AAP and the AIMIM for the poor performance of Congress, saying both the parties were BJP's "informal alliance partners" in Gujarat.

"(AIMIM chief Asaduddin) Owaisi's role in our politics has became amply clear. Both the AAP and AIMIM have been getting the active support of the BJP and they have cut into the Congress vote bank," he said. Ramesh also said that an atmosphere of fear was created in Gujarat to ensure that many sections of society who supported the Congress do not come out and vote.

"In Himachal, we have won even though our vote share is less," he said, adding that winning 40 seats out of 68 is a big thing to achieve against a formidable BJP.

17:02 That's the KCR's new party flag

Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao unfurled the party flag of Bharat Rashtra Samiti at the party headquarters in Hyderabad after the Election Commission officially approved the name change of TRS to BRS.

16:55 Delhi Cong VP, MLCs join AAP

And so the defections begin... Delhi Congress vice-president Ali Mehdi and party's two newly-elected councillors join Aam Aadmi Party, says AAP leader Durgesh Pathak.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls with 134 seats, ending the 15-year rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the prestigious municipal corporation and reducing the Congress to just nine seats in a house of 250.

Pratibha Singh is eyeing the top post

16:43 Cong observers in HP meet guv ahead of MLA meet

Congress observers sent to Himachal Pradesh after the party wrested power from the BJP met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Friday, ahead of a meeting of the newly elected MLAs.

The MLAs are expected to pass a resolution authorising the party president to pick the legislature party leader who will be the next chief minister.

Earlier, the Congress observers -- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda -- and AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla met state Congress chief Pratibha Singh at a hotel.

Pratibha Singh, Congress MP and the wife of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, has indicated that she is in the running for the chief minister's post, a point also made by her son.

"I am not in the race for the top post but my mother is one of the contenders for the post of chief minister," her son and Congress MLA from Shimla Rural Vikramaditya Singh told PTI.

"A meeting of all winning MLAs has been convened and the final decision would be taken by the high command which would be acceptable to all," he added.

The Congress on Thursday won 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of not voting any incumbent government to power since 1985.

Hooda, who arrived in Shimla on Friday, met the governor along with Baghel and Shukla. Hooda later said they have informed the governor that the party has the majority and will seek a formal meeting with him later to stake claim to form the government.

Deciding on the chief minister who can bind the party going forward is the immediate challenge for the Congress. Pratibha Singh is considered a key frontrunner for the chief minister's post, closely followed by former party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and outgoing legislature party leader Mukesh Agnihotri.

16:18 And the answer is...

We asked you the name of this actress/starlet, her face partially obscured in a silhouette. The answer is Mallika Sherawat.

A controversial private member's Bill that seeks to provide for a panel to prepare a Uniform Civil Code was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

'The Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020' was introduced in the Upper House amid protests from opposition parties.

BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena moved for leave to introduce the Bill to provide for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for preparation of a Uniform Civil Code and its implementation throughout India and for matters connected therewith during the private member's business.

However, Opposition members from the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), Trinamool Congress protested against the introduction of the Bill saying it will "destroy" the social fabric and unity in diversity that is prevalent in the country.

With the Opposition members seeking withdrawal of the Bill, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called for division and the motion for introduction of the Bill was passed with 63 votes in favour and 23 against it.

In the past, although the Bill was listed for introduction, it was not moved in the Upper House.

The Bill envisages a collection of laws to protect the personal rights of all citizens without considering religion. PTI

15:54 Jadeja has a message for his MLA wife Rivaba

Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja shared a loved-up picture with his wife Rivaba for winning the Gujarat Assembly election. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Jamnagar North constituency won with an over 57 per cent vote share.

Jadeja tweeted, "Hello MLA you truly deserve it."

The shows Rivaba holding a small placard that says "MLA Gujarat".

Rivaba defeated her nearest rival, Karshanbhai of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) by a margin of more than 53,000 votes.

Uprooted trees in Chennai

15:50 Cyclone: Flights cancelled, NDRF on standby in TN

Several parts of Tamil Nadu witnessed light to moderate rainfall and some places heavy showers as the cyclonic storm 'Mandous' continued to move closer to the State's coastline, and it is set to cross coast near here starting midnight, the India Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Under the influence of the cyclonic storm, several areas here witnessed heavy rainfall (including Nungambakkam--7 CM) and it was light to moderate in other regions.

The IMD said Doppler weather radars are monitoring the cyclone which weakened into a cyclonic storm on December 9 after being a severe cyclonic storm for less than 24-hours and it now lay at about 260 km south-southeast of Chennai and 180 km east-northeast of Karaikal.

Mandous, pronounced 'man-dous' is an Arabic word and it means treasure box and the name was reportedly picked by the United Arab Emirates.

The cyclonic storm is very likely to move nearly northwestwards and cross north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts between Puducherry and Sriharikota near Mamallapuram as a cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph, during midnight and early hours of Saturday.

Starting from 6 pm today and till midnight the departure of at least five flights from Chennai have been cancelled. Trains including suburban services were operated and there was some disruption in bus services in view of water logging in a string of areas. Schools and colleges were closed in several districts.

In neighbouring Puducherry, the territorial administration declared holiday for all schools and colleges in Puducherry and Karaikal regions on Friday and Saturday after the IMD issued a cyclone warning.

Puducherry Home and Education Minister A Namassivayam said in a release that the government took note of the warning issued by the IMD that a strong cyclone would hit Puducherry and Karaikal regions under the influence of the storm in the Bay of Bengal.

All schools and colleges would remain closed for two days from Friday, he added.

The Department of Revenue and Disaster Management geared up all departments concerned with relief works and deployed rescue teams to respond to any exigency.

A storm warning signal flag Number Five has been hoisted at the Puducherry port and fisherfolk had been asked not to venture into the sea. Chief Minister N Rangasamy held discussions with officials of Revenue and Disaster Management Department officials.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday laid the foundation stone for 31 km-long Hyderabad Airport Metro Rail project construction.

The project, starting at Mindspace junction to Shamshabad (Hyderabad International Airport) Airport, would cost approximately Rs 6,250 crore, Rao said.

The project entails 27 km elevated route and 2.5 Km underground passage, he further said. It is a 100 per cent State Government, GMR group, which manages Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and HMDA (Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority) funded project, KCR said in a public meeting after laying the foundation stone.

"Mass Transport and Metro Rail are the only traffic and pollution-free systems in the world. There is a need to expand this in Hyderabad also. Whether the Central government cooperates or not, we will create better connectivity in the city," he said.

Complimenting the officials for putting efforts to make the Airport Metro a reality, Rao said Hyderabad which is known as a true cosmopolitan city in the country by espousing all religions, communities has now become a global city.

Hyderabad was not appropriately developed during earlier regimes in undivided Andhra Pradesh, he alleged.

KCR said Hyderabad city has been turned as a "Power Island" by connecting it with all power generating stations in the state and the national electricity grid, resulting in continuous power supply.

"That means there may be power outages in London, New York and Paris cities, there will not be any power interruption in Hyderabad," he asserted. There are 500 important IT firms in the city, he said, adding permissions are given to construct skyscrapers also. He stressed the need to increase greenery further in the city. PTI

15:22 HP Cong chief's supporters stop Baghel's car

Himachal Pradesh State Congress chief Pratibha Singh's supporters gather outside the Oberoi Cecil hotel in Shimla showcasing their support to her while stopping Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel's car.

Two party observers -- Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior leader from Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda -- along with AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla arrived in the state capital to decide on who would be the chief minister.

"We'll be holding a meeting in the evening and then deciding the name of the CM. There's no groupism and everybody is with us," Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh, who is the wife of the late CM Virbhadra Singh, said.

The Congress, which wrested power from the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, has convened a meeting of all its newly-elected MLAs on Friday where a resolution is likely to be passed authorising the party president to pick the next chief minister.

The Congress on Thursday won 40 seats in the 68-member Assembly in the hill state which maintained its tradition of not voting any incumbent government to power since 1985.

Deciding on the chief ministerial face who can bind the party going forward is the immediate challenge for the Congress.

Pratibha Singh is considered a key frontrunner for the chief minister's post, closely followed by former party chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and outgoing CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri.

Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, son of late chief minister Virbhadra Singh, told reporters that "collective will of MLAs will be kept and then observers will convey the same to the high command".

15:04 Delhi mayor will be from AAP, says BJP

The BJP today said the next Delhi mayor will be from the Aam Aadmi Party as it got the majority in the Municipal elections.

"BJP will play the role of a strong opposition in the MCD," Delhi BJP President Adesh Gupta told NDTV today, adding that his party will not allow any corruption, and act as "a watchdog" in MCD.

"Delhi should be clean and MCD should do good work, it will be our priority," he added.

The BJP had suggested earlier that the AAP may have won the majority in the MCD polls, but the mayor's election is still an open game, while noting that Chandigarh, where its rival was the largest party, has a mayor from BJP.

The AAP on Wednesday dismantled the BJP in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls by winning 134 wards, ending the 15-year rule of the BJP in the prestigious municipal corporation and reducing the Congress to just nine seats in a House of 250.

14:58 TRS is now BRS officially

Marking the formal launch of TRS into national politics, party supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday unfurled the flag of Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) in the wake of the Election Commission approving the name change of TRS as BRS.

Rao hoisted the BRS flag at the party headquarters here. Earlier, he signed on the papers concerned about the name change of TRS as BRS. Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, popular actor Prakash Raj and several BRS leaders were present on the occasion.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel tendered his resignation along with his entire cabinet on Friday to pave the way for formation of a new government in the state after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's landslide victory in the Assembly elections.

The BJP registered a historic victory in Gujarat by clinching 156 seats in the 182-member House. Patel, accompanied by Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil and party's chief whip Pankaj Desai, handed over his resignation to Governor Acharya Devvrat at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar.

This is just a formality as the party has already announced that Patel will be the next chief minister of the state ahead of the polls.

On Thursday, the state BJP chief had once again announced the Patel would continue to occupy the top post in the state and his swearing-in ceremony would be held on December 12.

"The governor had accepted the resignation of the chief minister and his cabinet. Till the formation of the new government, Patel will remain as the caretaker chief minister," Desai told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

In a letter, Paatil informed the governor that the BJP, which has won 156 out of 182 seats, has called a legislative party meeting of all the newly-elected MLAs on Saturday morning to elect a new leader, who will eventually become the next chief minister.

"The meeting of MLAs will be held at 10 am on Saturday at the party headquarter Kamalam in Gandhinagar. The governor will be informed about the election of a new leader in the afternoon, for which we have sought time from him. The swearing in of the new chief minister and his cabinet will take place as per the governor's instructions," Desai said.

Paatil had announced that the swearing-in ceremony of the new government will take place on Monday at the Helipad Ground in Gandhinagar. PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will meet chief ministers of Maharashtra and Karnataka on December 14 to soothe tempers on the border dispute between the two states, Nationalist Congress Party leader Amol Kolhe said on Friday.

Kolhe, a Lok Sabha member from Shirur, was speaking to reporters after meeting Shah along with a delegation of parliamentarians of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in New Delhi.

During the meeting, the MVA delegation told Shah that the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka had reached such a stage that it could erupt into full-blown violence.

Kolhe said Shah has called a meeting of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai on December 14. -- PTI

The Meghalaya high court has ordered an interim stay on physical demarcation or erection of boundary posts on the ground in connection with an interstate border pact signed by chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya earlier this year.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma had in March signed an MoU for demarcating the border in at least six of the 12 contested locations that often raised tensions between the two states.

Justice H S Thangkhiew ordered the interim stay till the next date of hearing on February 6, 2023, on a petition filed by four traditional chiefs' of Meghalaya.

It is however understood that during the intervening period, no physical demarcation or erection of boundary posts on the ground, pursuant to the MoU dated 29.03.2022 shall be carried out, till the next date, Justice Thangkhiew said.

The traditional chiefs' in their petition had urged the high court to set aside the MoU signed between the two northeastern states, claiming that it violated provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with special provisions for administration of tribal areas. -- PTI

Vikas Walkar

13:44 Should happen to Aaftab too... Shraddha's father

Vikas Walkar, father of Shraddha Walkar, addresses a press conference."The Delhi Police has assured us that we will get justice. Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also assured us of the same.

"My daughter was brutally murdered. I faced many problems because of the Vasai police, if they would have helped me, my daughter would have been alive," Vikas Walkar says.

"I expect a similar lesson for Aaftab Poonwala in the way he murdered my daughter. Probe should be conducted against Aaftab's family members, relatives and all others included in the incident," Shraddha's father said.

Aaftab Amin Poonawalla, the accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, is to be produced before the Saket court in Delhi through video conferencing, said the Prison Officials.

The 28-year-old, who dismembered Shraddha's body and stored the chopped body parts in a refrigerator before disposing of them in the forests of south Delhi's Chhatarpur, is currently in judicial custody.

Shraddha's father added, "Children older than 18 years of age should be somewhat controlled. What happened to me shouldn't happen to anyone else. Walkar was referring to dating apps. He said Aaftab pursued Shraddha to leave Mumbai for Delhi and that it was because of dating apps that Shraddha came in contact with the accused.

"I tried to talk with my daughter but she didn't respond to me in the last two years. I was never told what was happening with my daughter."

He said he was against Shraddha's relationship with Aaftab Poonawala. "I was unaware of the domestic violence Shraddha was subjected to by Aaftab. I feel his family members knew everything about what he was doing with her."

"The connect Gujarati voters have with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is phenomenal. They see him as one of their own when he comes to campaign in the state.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra has generated some positive traction, but it is not enough to catapult the Congress to revival or regeneration.

"Arvind Kejriwal sees himself as the new national challenger, but it will take some time for him to be able to catapult his party as a challenge."

Dr Rahul Verma, Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and visiting assistant professor at the department of political science, Ashoka University, discusses the Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh elections and Delhi election verdicts with Rediff.com's Archana Masih.

Read the interview here.

Kajol does the best she can with the role though it is a bit limiting. Vishal Jethwa gives the movie-crazy Venky a bright charm, observes Deepa Gahlot.

Read the review here.

Cancer screenings and treatment were affected due to Covid but the screening services have gone up post-pandemic, Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Pawar informed Lok Sabha on Friday.

Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, she said the government is focusing on increasing screenings and early detection of cancer.

"Due to Covid, cancer screenings and treatment were affected. After Covid, screenings have increased," Pawar said.

She said cancer screening services are being provided through 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) across the country. Through these HWCs, 16 crore cases of oral cancer, eight crore cases of breast cancer and around 5.53 crore cases of cervical cancer have been detected, the minister said.

"Whether it is rural or urban areas, these services need to be increased. In that view, we are going to increase our 1.5 lakh HWCs throughout the country and through that, we are providing very good screening services," she said.

"Our aim is to focus on screening... We are working on early diagnosis and raising awareness," Pawar added.

Under Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), 1.5 lakh Sub Health Centres and Primary Health Centres have been transformed into Health and Wellness Centres across the country for the provision of Comprehensive Primary Health Care, including preventive healthcare and health promotion at the community level. PTI

The boy fell in the borewell on December 6

12:56 Mother of boy in borewell begs, 'Give me my child'

As a rescue operation to save an eight-year-old stuck at 55-feet of a 400-feet deep borewell in Mandavi village of Madhya Pradesh's Betul district crossed 65 hours on Friday, the boys family raised questions and demanded immediate results.

Tanmay's mother, Jyoti Sahu said: "Give me my child, whatever it may be. Would it have taken so much time if it was a child of a leader or an officer?

"So much time has passed, and they are not saying anything. Not even allowing me to see."

Three days have passed, citing two to four more hours. Tanmay fell on Tuesday and now it is Friday. I don't want anything, take out my son. I want to see my child once, whatever it may be, just take him out," the mother sounded desperate.

Other family members of Tanmay, who has been unresponsive since Thursday, also raised questions about the work of the administration.

His schoolmates, meanwhile, have been chanting Gayatri Mantra for the well-being of their Class 3 student.

Providing an update, Betul Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Shyamendra Jaiswal said, "We have completed the digging to 45 feet and now will dig a horizontal tunnel which has been started. There were hard rocks in the way which were broken with the help of machines.

"But now we have reached near the child and it is a very sensitive situation so now it will be dug manually and will try to reach near the boy."

Tanmay fell into the borewell while playing in the farm around 5 pm on December 6 and the rescue operation started within the next hour.

His father, Sunil Sahu has said, "My 12-year-old daughter saw him falling into the borewell and informed me about the incident. We immediately rushed to the spot. He was breathing and we listened to his voice as we enquired. The rescue operation was started from 6 pm onwards on December 6."

State Disaster Response Force Home Guard, and local police personnel have been at the job over the past three days.

Tanmay's teacher, Geeta Mankar, said, "Tanmay is a student of Class 3. The children of his school, including teachers, chanted Gayatri Mantra for his safety. The teachers and students have prayed to God that Tanmay comes out safely from the borewell. Tanmay is an intelligent student. His safety will be the victory of all of us." -- ANI

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, along with the father of Shraddha Walkar, arrives at the residence of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai. Shraddha's father Vikas Walkar is likely to address the media today.

A court in Delhi today extended by 14 days the judicial custody of Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who allegedly strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and chopped her body into pieces, a source said.

Poonawala was produced before the court through videoconferencing, the court source said. In the last hearing in the case on November 26, the court had extended the judicial custody of the accused by 13 days.

Poonawala, 28, allegedly sawed Walkar's body into 35 pieces and kept them in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in south Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days.

Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel submits the resignation of his government to Governor Acharya Devvrat. Bhupendra Patel will be sworn-in as the CM on Monday.

The BJP won a record 156 seats in Gujarat with a staggering 52.5 per cent vote share, dwarfing the Opposition Congress and AAP, that got over 27 per cent and about 13 per cent vote share respectively. The Congress got just 17 seats while the AAP managed to bag five. Independents won three seats and the Samajwadi Party picked up one.

12:19 Virbhadra's widow stakes claim as Himachal CM

Hours before the Congress party's meeting to decide on its Chief Minister for Himachal Pradesh, one of the frontrunners staked her claim to the top job, reminding Congress chief Sonia Gandhi of her achievement in the state.

"This big responsibility was given by Sonia Gandhi and she told me that she was choosing me as state chief and that I would have to go to all 68 constituencies and win the state. I did that honestly. The result is before us.

"They can't neglect his (Virbhadra Singh) family. We won on his name, face and work. It can't be that you use his name, face and family and give credit to someone else. High Command won't do this," Pratibha Singh, who is the widow of former CM Virbhadra Singh told news agency ANI.

Top Congress leaders will meet with newly elected Congress MLAs at 3 pm in Shimla for the discussions on a Chief Minister.

11:58 Recognise her?

"Love the green, the peace & quiet & my green tea :)," tweets this actress/starlet. Who is she?

The BJP's annihilation of a divided opposition in Gujarat, as it wielded its planks of Hindutva, nationalism and development to power its electoral juggernaut to a record-breaking victory, has boosted its already high hopes of retaining power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

However, its loss of power in Himachal Pradesh to the Congress, which was seen organisationally weak but focussed on local issues and satraps to drive its campaign, showed that the BJP is not an invincible force.

The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party has also presented the ruling party and, more so, its main national rival Congress with a host of challenges as they prepare for a slew of state elections before the mega contest in 2024.

The Congress got just 17 seats while the AAP managed to bag five. Independents won three seats and the Samajwadi Party picked up one.

The BJP has much more positives to draw from these results with party leaders believing that it is their "national" agenda which worked in Gujarat.

The poll results and the campaign showed that the brand Modi is intact and the prime minister remains the trump card for the BJP to woo voters, something that was reflected in the massive mandate in Gujarat and the close fight in Himachal, political analysts say.

"On the large issues of governance and ideology, people trust Modi and the BJP far more than any other party whatever their grievances may be about certain issues. We have seen that in many state polls, including in Uttar Pradesh, and now in Gujarat," a party leader said, blaming the Himachal loss on local factors like the Old Pension Scheme and "poor" ticket distribution.

As the country approaches the next Lok Sabha polls, the larger national issues and the 'Modi factor' will matter more and more, he said.

The BJP's record-breaking win in Gujarat has come as a ringing endorsement for its narrative built around Hindutva, nationalism, development and Prime Minister Modi's enduring appeal but the AAP's noticeable show coupled with its loss of power in Himachal Pradesh to the Congress has also given the ruling party some food for fought as it gets ready for upcoming electoral challenges.

The BJP's sweeping win in the saffron bastion of Gujarat has also strengthened the impression that it faces no serious challenge to its bid for power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

"There is no doubt that the BJP remains the most dominant party and will be very difficult to beat in 2024," Manindra Nath Thakur, who teaches political science in JNU, said.

However, the Congress' win in Himachal does show that the BJP is not invincible but it remains the party to beat, he added.

The road to 2024 for its main rival Congress has gotten bumpier after having suffered its worst-ever defeat in Gujarat.

Though its win in Himachal Pradesh had given it a glimmer of hope, it not only faces a rampaging BJP but an ambitious AAP vying for the leadership of the Opposition in the run up to 2024 general elections.

Political analysts believe the Gujarat debacle is bad news for the Congress not only in terms of the scale of loss but also in ceding space to the Aam Aadmi Party that could challenge the grand old party in other two-party states such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh which go to polls next year.

Eventually, that could have implications for 2024. The dismal showing in Gujarat would impact the party's bargaining power vis-a-vis other opposition parties. Also, losing Gujarat badly could also add to the exodus of leaders that the party has been facing.

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to disclose the details of a collegium meeting held on December 12, 2018 under the Right to Information Act.

A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said that only resolutions drawn and signed by all collegium members can be said to be a final decision.

Tentative resolutions drawn upon discussion and consultation among the members cannot be said to be final unless they are signed by all of them, it said.

"Collegium is a multi-member body whose tentative decision cannot be brought in the public domain," it said.

The top court said it cannot place reliance on media reports and the interview of a former member of the collegium and doesn't want to comment on statements made by the former judge.

In a resolution passed on January 10, 2019, the collegium, whose combination was changed due to the retirement of Justice MB Lokur, mentioned that in its meeting on December 12, 2018 only consultations were held on certain names but no final decision was taken.

The top court passed the verdict on a petition by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj against a Delhi High Court order dismissing her plea seeking the agenda of the Supreme Court Collegium's meeting held on December 12, 2018, when certain decisions were purportedly taken on the elevation of some judges to the apex court

11:21 US: India won't be our ally, it will be...

India, which has a unique strategic character, will not be an ally of the US, but another great power, a top White House official has said, asserting there is no other bilateral relationship that is being "deepened and strengthened" more rapidly than between the two countries over the last 20 years.

Responding to a question on India during his appearance at the Aspen Security Forum meeting in Washington on Thursday, Kurt Campbell, the White House Asia Coordinator, said that in his view India is the most important bilateral relationship for the United States in the 21st century.

"The fact is, I don't know of any bilateral relationship that is being deepened and strengthened more rapidly than the United States and India over the last 20 years," he told a Washington audience.

"The United States needs to invest even more of its capacity, and build in people-to-people ties, working together on technology and other issues, he said. India has a unique strategic character. It will not be an ally of the United States. It has the desire to be an independent, powerful state and it will be another great power. But I think there are reasons to believe that our strategic alignment is growing across the board in almost every arena," Campbell said.

"There are inhibitions in both of the bureaucracies and there are many challenges," he acknowledged. "But I do believe that this is a relationship that should have some ambition. We should look at things that we can do together, whether it's in space, whether it's education, whether it's on climate, whether it's on technology, and really move in that direction," he said.

"If you look over the last 20 years and look at the hurdles that have been surmounted and the depth of engagement between our two sides, it's remarkable," he said.

The India-US relationship, he asserted, is not simply built on anxiety around China.

It is a deeper understanding of the importance of the synergies between our societies, he said, adding that the Indian diaspora here is a powerful connection.

Campbell acknowledged that Indians were ambivalent when President Joe Biden and his administration decided to take the Quad to the leader level. India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.

"There were probably voices in their bureaucracy that were against it. But when President Biden made the direct appeal repeatedly to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, they decided that this was in their interests," he said.

The US is working very constructively with its Indian partners on the major set of initiatives in COVID-19 vaccine delivery, in maritime domain awareness and education, the White House official said.

DCW chief Swati Maliwal

11:21 Court slaps graft charges on DCW chief

A special court on Thursday ordered the framing of corruption and criminal conspiracy charges against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal and 3 others after finding prima facie sufficient material that the accused had abused their official position in allegedly appointing Aam Admi Party (AAP) workers to different posts in the commission.

The court observed that a strong suspicion does arise against all four accused persons and the facts do disclose prima facie sufficient material to frame charges against all the four accused persons for offences U/s 120B of IPC r/w Sec. 13(1)(d)/13(2) of POC Act, as well as for the substantive offence U/s 13(2) r/w Sec. 13(1)(2) of POC Act.

"Charges be framed accordingly," said Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh. Along with DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal, the court also ordered to put then members of DCW Promila Gupta, Sarika Chaudhary and Farheen Malick on trial.

According to the prosecution, all the four accused in the conspiracy were together involved in abusing their official position and obtained pecuniary advantages for the party workers and acquaintances of Swati Maliwal as well as the ruling party namely AAP.

It has been alleged that such workers and acquaintances were appointed to different posts of DCW without following due process.

Instead, the appointments were made in contravention of procedures, Rules, Regulations, without even advertising for the positions, in violation of General Finance Rules (GFR) and other guidelines and money was disbursed to various such persons towards remuneration/salary/ honorarium.

10:34 What world media said about Gujarat win

Global news outlets have widely reported on the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat where Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a campaign to a record win on his home turf.

On Thursday, the ruling BJP recorded a historic win in Gujarat, winning 156 seats. The BJP's 7th consecutive Assembly poll win in Gujarat is also its biggest since the founding of this state in 1960.

The Straits Times of Singapore, the Nikkei Asia, Al Jazeera, Independent, ABC News were among the global publications which displayed photographs of jubilant celebrations of the BJP's win in Gujarat.

British publication The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Modi had given a significant boost to his Bharatiya Janata Party, a sign of the party's enduring popularity before a general election due in 2024.

Noting how BJP has not lost a Gujarat assembly election since 1995, Japan's Nikkei Asia attributed this win to PM Modi's popularity in the state of Gujarat.

"Modi is wildly popular in the state, where he served as chief minister for nearly 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014," the newspaper said.

The Japanese daily said Modi held a series of campaign rallies in the state, lending his star power to the BJP's campaign.

"Many residents take pride in the fact that the Gujarat-born Modi represents India at the global level, and feel a sense of responsibility to support him," the newspaper added.

The UK-based The Independent said the record win in Gujarat is a big boost to the BJP ahead of the national elections in 2024.Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Ajay Gudavarthy told Al Jazeera that the BJP's comfortable win in Gujarat shows a deeper consolidation of the Hindu vote.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi, on his personal Twitter account, thanked the people of Gujarat saying, they blessed the politics of development.

"Thank you Gujarat. I am overcome with a lot of emotions seeing the phenomenal election results. People blessed politics of development and at the same time expressed a desire that they want this momentum to continue at a greater pace. I bow to Gujarat's Jan Shakti," PM Modi tweeted.

"To all hardworking @BJP4Gujarat Karyakartas I want to say - each of you is a champion! This historic win would never be possible without the exceptional hardwork of our Karyakartas, who are the real strength of our Party," he added.

10:23 Aaftab plays solitary chess in jail

Aaftab Amin Poonawalla, the accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walker and currently lodged in Tihar Jail, is to be produced before the Saket court on Friday, as per sources.

The Tihar Jail authority has asked its 3rd Battalion to provide special security to the accused Aftab as he will be produced before the concerned judge concerned.

The 28-year-old, who is accused of dismembering Shraddha's body and storing the chopped body parts in a refrigerator before disposing them in the forests of south Delhi's Chhatarpur, is currently in the custody of Delhi Police.

According to the jail authorities, Aaftab spends time plotting chess moves, often solitary and occasionally sparring with two fellow inmates.

One of the investigators in the case even said Aaftab is very clever and a "new twist" could be expected in the case.

According to sources, Aaftab shares his jail cell with two more inmates who frequently play a game of chess in the cell.

Sonia Gandhi at the Yatra in October

10:04 Sonia to celebrate birthday today at Ranthambore

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi will celebrate her 76th birthday today with her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi at the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.

Sonia is on a four-day visit to Rajasthan.

According to a party spokesperson, she reached Jaipur in the morning yesterday in a routine flight from New Delhi. Thereafter, she took a chopper from Jaipur airport and reached Sawai Madhopur. "A few hours later Rahul and Priyanka joined her at a luxury resort near Ranthambore Tiger Reserve," the spokesperson said.

She may likely participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra on December 10, a day reserved for women participants, the official said.

"It is her personal visit and no leader is called or permitted to meet. There are chances that CM Ashok Gehlot and state party Chief Govind Singh Dotasra may meet on her birthday," the spokesperson said.

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is passing through the Kota district, will be paused after the first half of Thursday. It will resume on December 10. The march entered its 93rd day on Thursday in which the Gandhi scion walked a 24 km stretch in one go. Later, he too flew to Ranthambore from Bundi in a chopper.

The yatra will cover about 500 km in Rajasthan by passing through Jhalawar, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa and Alwar districts over 17 days before entering Haryana on December 21.

The march that started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7 has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana before traversing through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It will conclude in Jammu and Kashmir in early February 2023, covering 3,570 km in 150 days.

09:51 When Federer was denied entry to Wimbledon

Tennis great Roger Federer revealed a hilarious incident when he was not allowed to enter into Wimbledon, the same Grand Slam tournament where he has won eight titles, the most by any player.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion was stopped by a security guard for not having his membership card with him.

In an episode of The Daily Show released on Thursday, when host Trevor Noah asked him about the incident, the Swiss Maestro said, "When you win Wimbledon, you become a member automatically. So, I'm like, "No, I don't have my membership card but I am a member and I'm just wondering where I can get in," and she said, "Yeah, but you have to be a member."

"I was like, "I'm just asking you again where can I get in", and she said, "The other side, but you have to be a member."

When a player wins Wimbledon, he immediately becomes a member of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (ALTEC), a feat Federer has accomplished eight times.

"So, I look at her one last time and I'm so sorry, I couldn't believe and still can't believe I said this and because I still feel bad about it. I'd look at her and say, "I have won this tournament eight times. Please believe me, I am a member!" he added.

Federer, who was unfamiliar with membership cards, informed her that he did not have one but was a member.

"When I said I won Wimbledon eight times, for a split second, I wasn't sure if it was eight anymore because I thought it 'was it seven, was it eight? I don't know'. But I said it because I never talk like this," he further added on the show.

Federer went on to say that he had to drive to another gate before being recognised by a security guard, who took a picture with him and set up a meeting with the ALTEC chairman.

"And I thought of going over to the other side and giving a wave that I was in but I didn't do it," Federer joked.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion's most recent match was a doubles game with long-time friend and rival Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup earlier this year.

Karan Tacker plays Amit Lodha

09:48 IPS officer who inspired 'Khaki' charged with graft

Bihar IPS officer Amit Lodha, who rose to prominence following the release of the web series "Khakee: The Bihar Chapter", was suspended after a case was registered against him on charges of corruption and for allegedly entering into a commercial agreement with Netflix while being on a government post.

According to an official statement, Lodha is accused of using his position for financial gains by signing an agreement with the streaming platform for making a deal with the production house Friday Storytellers while he was in the position of an IPS officer.

The statement said that during the investigation by the department, the allegations of corruption against Lodha were found to be true, based on which a case was registered on December 7 by the Special Vigilance Unit under sections 120B and 168 of the IPC along with sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act ie PC Act.

Further investigation into the matter will be carried out by a Deputy Superintendent of Police level officer.

The series 'Khakee: The Bihar Chapter' follows the story of epic tussle between two men on both sides of the law -- one a dreaded gang lord and the other a fiercely upright Indian Police Service officer Amit Lodha.

09:28 NOTA votes down by over 9% in Gujarat

The share of NOTA votes in the Gujarat Assembly elections fell by more than nine per cent from 2017, with the highest of 7,331 such votes polled in Khedbrahma seat this time.

According to Election Commission data, 5,01,202 or 1.5 per cent votes polled this election in the state were NOTA, down from 5,51,594 in the 2017 assembly elections.

The highest number of 7,331 NOTA votes were polled in Khedbrahma seat, followed by 5,213 in Danta and 5,093 in Chhota Udaipur.

The Devgadhbaria seat saw 4,821 NOTA votes, Shehra 4,708, Nizar 4,465, Bardoli 4,211, Daskroi 4,189, Dharamppur 4,189, Choryasi 4,169, Sankheda 4,143, Vadodara City 4,022 and Kaprada 4,020, among others.

The BJP bagged 156 seats in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly.

It garnered a vote share of nearly 53 per cent, which was the highest for the party in the western state.

The BJP, which bagged 99 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls with a 49.1 per cent vote share, surpassed its previous best showing of 127 seats in 2002 when Narendra Modi was the chief minister. -- PTI

Severe cyclonic storm Mandous will cross the coast between north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh around December 9 night and early next day, the regional weather office said on Friday.

Parts of Tamil Nadu witnessed rains under the influence of the system in the Bay of Bengal, including in Chennai.

A Twitter update from the India Meteorological Department said Mandous lay over 270 km east south east of Karaikal.

It is expected to cross the coast near Mamallapuram, an IMD official said.

It lay centred around 270 km off Chennai.

It will weaken into a cyclonic storm in the next few hours, the IMD official added.

Educational institutions in several districts in Tamil Nadu remained closed in view of the IMD warning of heavy rain and winds.

Meanwhile in neighbouring Puducherry, the territorial administration declared holiday for all schools and colleges in Puducherry and Karaikal

regions on Friday and Saturday after the IMD issued a cyclone warning.

All schools and colleges would remain closed for two days from Friday, he added.

The Department of Revenue and Disaster Management geared up all departments concerned with relief works and deployed rescue teams to respond to any exigency.

A storm warning signal flag Number Five has been hoisted at the Puducherry port and fisherfolk had been asked not to venture into the sea.

Chief Minister N Rangasamy held discussions with officials of Revenue and Disaster Management Department officials. -- PTI

08:49 Shivpal Yadav merges his party with Samajwadi

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday presented his party's flag to his uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) founder Shivpal Singh Yadav in Saifai, indicating a merger of the two parties.

Though an official announcement of the merger is yet to be made by either of the two parties, the event and comments of the two leaders dropped ample hints towards it.

"People wanted us to come together. Today we have become one on the right moment. Now in 2024, we will contest elections together," Shivpal Yadav told reporters at Saifai in Etawah district.

When asked whether he accepted the SP flag, the PSPL head said, "Now it will be there on my car."

Sharing a picture of him giving an SP flag to Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav tweeted in Hindi, 'With coming together of SP-PrSP (Samajwadi Party-Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party), the strength of samajwadi movement and positive politics of harmony has doubled.'

As SP candidate Dimple Yadav gained a massive lead of over two lakh votes in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, both the leaders sat together in their native Saifai village, where the SP chief presented his party's flag to Shivpal Yadav in the presence of PSPL chief's son Aditya Yadav and a large number of their supporters.

Later, they posted photographs of the event on Twitter.

An SP flag was also put on Shivpal Yadav's car by the party's workers.

After the development in Etawah, flags of PSPL were removed from its office on Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in Lucknow.

Both Shivpal Yadav and son Aditya Yadav also updated their twitter bio as SP leaders.

"We will remain together. My blessings will be with him (Akhilesh) for life time. Now the SP flag will not come down from my vehicle," Shivpal Yadav said.

About his role in SP, he said, "I will fulfil whatever responsibility is given to me by the party." -- PTI

After registering a win in the Himachal Pradesh assembly election, Congress MLAs will meet on Friday in Shimla to decide on the chief minister.

Himachal Congress Legislature Party meeting will be held at 3 pm at State Congress Headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan today.

Rajeev Shukla, in-charge of the Himachal Pradesh Congress, and supervisors Bhupesh Baghel and Bhupendra Hooda will also be present at the meeting.

MLAs are likely to pass a resolution and authorise the party's high command to take the final call for the chief minister.

The Congress, which had not projected a chief ministerial candidate in the hill state, was earlier planning a meeting of its MLAs in Chandigarh but changed its plans later after it got a clear majority.

It is a big task for Congress to choose its chief ministerial candidate among various aspirants including Pratibha Singh.

Former state Congress chief Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and CLP leader Mukesh Agnihotri are seen as the other contenders for the post.

Earlier on Thursday, Shukla had said that the party chief will decide who will be the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh.

Speaking to ANI on election results in Himachal Pradesh, he said the party chief will take a decision on the chief minister's post. -- ANI

IMAGE: Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Singh addresses a press conference, at the party office, in Shimla on Thursday. Photograph: ANI Photo

The three services chiefs on Thursday paid homage to Gen Bipin Rawat on his first death anniversary at the National Defence Academy in Pune, an official release said.

Gen Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff; Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff, and Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff, paid homage to Gen Rawat at the iconic Hut of Remembrance at the NDA.

Gen Rawat was an alumnus of Charlie Squadron of the 53rd NDA course.

He served the nation as the 27th Chief of the Army Staff and subsequently the first Chief of the Defence Staff prior to his death in a helicopter crash on December 8, 2021. -- PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday won the Limkheda assembly seat in Gujarat's Dahod district where 2002 riots victim Bilkis Bano once lived.

The candidate of the opposition Congress which had promised to revoke the remission granted by the BJP-led state government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case stood third in the contest.

Bano was a resident of Randhikpur village in the tribal-dominated Dahod district.

Sitting BJP MLA Shailesh Bhabhor defeated his closest rival, Aam Aadmi Party's Naresh Baria by nearly 4,000 votes.

The Congress candidate ended up third with little more than 8,000 votes.

The premature release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case became an issue in the election campaign, with the Congress mentioning it in its manifesto and vowing to ensure justice for her. -- PTI

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Ahmedabad on Thursday granted bail to Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale in a case related to a tweet he had allegedly posted about the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy.

But he was soon arrested in another case registered by Morbi police.

Chief metropolitan magistrate MV Chauhan here granted bail to Gokhale after he was produced before the court following the completion of his police custody, said assistant commissioner of police (Cyber Crime) Jitendra Yadav.

But soon afterwards he was arrested by the Morbi police in another offence registered there, Yadav said.

As it happened, the TMC in a tweet said it has sent a three-member delegation to Morbi, Gujarat in the wake of the development.

"BJP4Gujarat's nefarious agenda is out again," it tweeted.

"Our National spokesperson @SaketGokhale was arrested again moments after his release by the Gujarat Police, with no good reason." -- PTI

A court in Lucknow has framed charges against jailed Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan and six other people in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case.

Special Judge of Enforcement Directorate matters Sanjay Shankar Pandey asked the federal agency to produce its witnesses before the court on December 17.

Besides Kappen, the other accused in the case are KA Rauf Sherif, Atikur Rahman, Masud Ahmad, Mohammad Alam, Abdul Razzak and Ashraf Khadir.

The ED had booked Kappan in the PMLA case for allegedly obtaining money from a foreign country illegally and utilising it in acts against the interest of the nation.

Kappan was arrested along with three others on October 6, 2020 while they were on their way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh to report on the alleged gang rape and killing of a 19-year-old woman.

He has been in jail since then. Police had initially booked the journalist for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Subsequently, the ED also lodged a case against him under the anti-money laundering law.

The central agency has charged Kappan, Rahman, Ahmed and Alam of receiving money from the now-banned Popular Front of India to "incite riots".

Rahman is the national treasurer of the Campus Front of India, a student body of the PFI.

Ahmed is the general secretary of the Campus Front of India's Delhi unit, while Alam is a member of the outfit as well as the PFI. -- PTI

Representational image

00:00 AAP confident its councillor will be Delhi mayor

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday said it was confident that its councillor would be elected as the next mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi since the numbers were "on their side".

Sources in the party said they were also keeping a keen eye on the BJP.

This comes after senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Wednesday alleged that the BJP had made attempts to poach its newly elected councilors.

The AAP on Wednesday wrested power from the BJP in the high-stakes civic polls in the national capital, even as some leaders of the saffron party claimed that its member could be elected to the top post.

The municipal polls were held on December 4 and the AAP bagged 134 of the 250 wards, emerging as a clear winner.

Amid all this, the party even had plans to take its councillors to Punjab to ensure that they are not "poached" by the BJP but the plan was cancelled, sources claimed.

The MCD will be approaching Delhi LG VK Saxena to seek a date on which the Municipal House can be convened so that the councillors can take oath, and then a mayor can be elected.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly the area of the corporation, and one-fifth of the members of the Delhi assembly representing constituencies, to be nominated by the speaker, and chairpersons of various municipal committees can vote in a mayoral poll, according to the rules.

Ten aldermen are nominated to the MCD by the Lt Governor, he added. -- PTI

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