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Fri, 10 June 2022
Maha Congress petitions EC to invalidate 2 votes
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23:49 Don't go for TV debates: AIMPLB to Muslim scholars
Claiming that the sole intention of some news channels is 'not to reach any conclusion through a constructive discourse but to ridicule and defame Islam' and its followers, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has asked Islamic scholars and intellectuals not to participate in their debates.
In a joint statement, top office bearers of the Muslim body including its president Maulana Syed Mohammad Rabey Hasani Nadwi said such news channels need Muslim faces in their debates to give 'some legitimacy' to what he called 'their agenda of making a mockery and insult of Islam as well as that of the Muslims'.
If such TV channels and their programmes are boycotted, not only will it affect their television rating points (TRPs) 'negatively', but they will also fail in achieving their 'desired outcome' through these debates, they claimed.
"President Maulana Syed Mohammad Rabey Hasani Nadwi and vice presidents--Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, Maulana Kaka Sayeed Ahmed Oomeri, Maulana Syed Shah Fakhruddin Ashraf, Maulana Syed Arshad Madani and Syed Ali Mohammad Naqvi have issued a joint statement making an appeal to Islamic scholars (Ulema) and intellectuals to not participate in those television debates whose sole intention is to make a mockery and insult Islam and Muslims," AIMPLP general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said.
In the statement, Rahmani said the AIMPLB top office bearers pointed out that by participating in such programmes on TV channels, the Islamic scholars and intellectuals become the reason for their own 'direct insult' by involving Islam and Muslims, instead of being able to do any service to Islam and Muslims.
'The intention of these programmes is not to reach any conclusion through constructive discourse but to ridicule and defame Islam and Muslims,' the statement said.
'To gather some legitimacy, these TV channels need Muslim faces in their debates. Due to their obliviousness, our Islamic scholars (Ulema) and intellectuals become victims of such agendas,' it said, adding, 'If we boycott such programs and channels, not only it will affect their TRP negatively, but they will also fail in achieving their desired outcome through these debates.'
AIMPLB's request comes in the wake of suspension of two BJP functionaries over their inflammatory remarks on prophet Mohammad.
BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma had made the derogatory comments about the Prophet while participating in a television debate on the Gyanvapi Mosque issue. -- PTI
22:53 Maha Congress petitions EC to invalidate 2 votes
The Congress on Friday demanded that the Election Commission invalidate the votes of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar and independent MLA Ravi Rana in the Rajya Sabha election, alleging violation of rules.
State Congress president Nana Patole in a letter to the chief election commissioner claimed that Mungantiwar 'vitiated the voting procedure' by showing his ballot paper to persons other than his own party's election agents.
Rana openly displayed the Hanuman Chalisa, a religious book, and sought to influence other voters, he alleged.
The counting of votes for six Rajya Sabha vacancies from Maharashtra, for which seven candidates are in the fray, has been delayed as the BJP earlier in the day objected to the ballots cast by Jitendra Awhad (Nationalist Congress Party), Yashomati Thakur (Congress) and Suhas Kande (Shiv Sena). -- PTI
22:20 Fresh ED summons to Sonia, called on June 23
The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to appear before it for questioning on June 23 in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, officials said Friday.
Gandhi, 75, was earlier asked to depose on June 8 but as she got infected with COVID-19, she sought a fresh date from the federal probe agency.
Gandhi has been given the fresh date for June 23 to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi where her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, officials said.
Her son and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is expected to be questioned in the same case on June 13.
The case pertains to the probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper. -- PTI
21:21 Won 3 seats in Karnataka, says BJP's CT Ravi
All three Bharatiya Janata Party candidates for Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka have won, the party's national general secretary C T Ravi has claimed.
"Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh and MLC Lehar Singh Siroya have won. They got more votes than the allotted ones, people from the other party helped us," the BJP said.
What this means is that while the Congress's Jairam Ramesh has won, its second candidate, state general secretary Mansoor Ali Khan, and the Janata Dal-Secular's D Kupendra Reddy, did not make it.
There is no official word on the results as yet.
Photograph: Kind courtesy @ShobhaRaniBL/Twitter
21:14 BJP suspends Rajasthan MLA who voted for Cong
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday suspended its Rajasthan MLA Shobharani Kushwah for cross-voting in favour of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria issued an order stating Kushwah voted for Tiwari despite a whip and that she was being suspended from the BJP's primary membership.
In the letter, Kataria also asked the MLA to clarify why she voted against the whip.
BJP state president Satish Poonia said the party high command has been informed about the matter.
The Congress fielded three candidates for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, while the BJP fielded one, besides supporting an independent candidate. -- PTI
20:53 BJP-backed Subhash Chandra has lost: Gehlot
The ruling Congress on Friday won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, overcoming the challenge posed by BJP-backed independent candidate Subhash Chandra, according to the party.
The BJP got the fourth seat.
Congress candidates Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari were elected to the Rajya Sabha, according to a tweet by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
BJP candidate and former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari said he had also won, polling 43 votes.
"Congress's victory on three Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan is a victory of democracy. I congratulate all the three newly elected MPs Shri Pramod Tiwari, Shri Mukul Wasnik and Shri Randeep Surjewala. I am sure that all the three MPs will be able to strongly advocate the rights of Rajasthan in Delhi," Gehlot tweeted.
Speaking to reporters, Tiwari said, "I am thankful to the state and the central leadership for making me the candidate. I got 43 votes."
The statements came before the official announcement of the results.
All 200 Rajasthan MLAs had cast their votes for the Rajya Sabha elections by Friday afternoon.
In the House, the Congress has 108 MLAs, BJP 71, Independents 13, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) three, and the CPI-M and the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) two each.
Congress team reaches ECI office
20:07 Cong asks EC to declare Haryana results at once
The Congress on Friday accused the BJP of trying to defeat the process of free and fair elections to the Rajya Sabha in Haryana and demanded that the Election Commission declare the poll results in the state immediately.
A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Pawan Kumar Bansal, Vivek Tankha and Ranjeet Ranjan met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum by Ajay Maken, its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll in the state.
Party leaders Bhupesh Baghel, Bhupender Singh Hooda, P Chidambaram and Randeep Surjewala joined the meeting with the EC virtually and raised their objections over the delay in declaring the results, soon after a delegation of BJP leaders questioned the poll process in Haryana.
Congress's Rajya Sabha candidate for Haryana Ajay Maken urged the Chief Election Commissioner to declare the results after rejecting the "frivolous" objection by the BJP over alleged violation of the secrecy of the ballot.
In his letter to CEC Rajiv Kumar, Maken has alleged "unwarranted and illegal interference" by Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma and the BJP in the election process.
Maken, a former Union minister, alleged they have raised frivolous objection before the returning officer with the sole agenda to "defeat the process of free and fair elections."
The Congress candidate claimed the returning officer has already rejected the objections of Sharma and the BJP about the votes of its MLAs Kiran Choudhary and B B Batra, saying there has been no breach of secrecy of the ballot papers.
He also shared the hand-written remarks of the returning officer, dismissing the claims made by the BJP and the independent candidate.
"Fearing the loss of face in Rajya Sabha election results the BJP has resorted to cheap politics stalling counting of votes in Haryana. Please have a look at the Returning Officer's decision rejecting the BJP's objections. Is democracy still alive in India," he asked in a tweet while sharing the remarks of the RO.
"After receiving flak from the returning officer, and the observers of the election commission, BJP is moving to the ECI to stall the counting. Why is the BJP scared of counting of votes???," he asked.
19:37 Maha records 3,081 COVID-19 cases, Mumbai 1,956; no death
As you wander around without a mask, (yes, there is no mask mandate), Maharashtra recorded 3,081 new coronavirus infections, highest in nearly four months, but zero pandemic-related deaths, the state health department said. State capital Mumbai alone accounted for 1,956 new cases. On Thursday, the state had recorded 2,813 new cases and one death. The number of active cases in Maharashtra stands at 13,329. -- PTI
The EC has not given permission for counting of votes says, Eknath Shinde
19:25 EC has not given nod for counting votes: Sena
The counting for Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra has been delayed after the BJP raised objections to the votes cast by three MLAs of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), alleging violation of rules.
The counting has been held up, a state legislature official said. "Cabinet ministers Jitendra Awhad (NCP), Yashomati Thakur (Congress) and Sena legislator Suhas Kande violated the model code for voting. We have filed an appeal before the Election Commission of India, seeking that their votes be held invalid," said a state BJP leader.
BJP alleged that Awhad and Thakur handed over their ballots to their party agents instead of only showing them the ballots, while Kande showed his ballot to two different agents.
"Permission is needed from the election commission for the counting. Officials have sent an email to the ECI seeking the permission. It should be granted in some time," said Sena minister Eknath Shinde.
A constitutional expert agreed, saying, "Counting can not be started until the ECI gives its decision because winning quota can not be determined till the number of valid votes is finalized."
Against six Rajya Sabha seats, the BJP has fielded three candidates, the Shiv Sena two and NCP and Congress one each.
A vehicle set ablaze by protestors in Prayagraj
19:13 Prophet remarks: Jamia students stage protest
Several students of Jamia Millia Islamia staged a demonstration on the varsity campus here against suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad.
The students gathered "in a large number" at Gate no-7 of the varsity and demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma "for hurting religious sentiments", said student outfit Campus Front of India.
They raised slogans against the BJP and Sharma. They also held placards that read -- 'Balshphemy is RSS's inborn language, Save India from them, Arrest Nupur Sharma' and 'Stop Attacking Muslim'.
"Nupur Sharma has hurt the religious sentiment. Strict action should be taken against her and she should be put behind bars," a Campus Front of India member said.
The row over the alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad escalated on Sunday with protests from countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran, prompting the BJP to take action against its functionaries and assert that it respects all religions.
As the row intensified domestically and abroad, the BJP on Sunday suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled Former Delhi BJP media unit head Naveen Kumar Jindal.
Earlier in the day, protests erupted outside the Jama Masjid here after Friday prayers with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of Sharma for her controversial remarks, police said.
19:02 Mary Kom ruled out of CWG after suffering knee injury
Veteran Indian boxer MC Mary Kom's bid to compete at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games ended in a heartbreak on Friday as she was forced to withdraw midway from the selection trials due to a knee injury.
The six-time world champion twisted her left knee in the first few minutes in the opening round of the 48kg semifinals against Haryana's Nitu.
Mary Kom will thus miss the quadrennial event, where she had become the first Indian woman boxer to claim a gold medal in the last edition in 2018.
Rajasthan CM votes
18:58 BTP MLAs defy whip, vote for Cong in RS polls
After casting his vote in favour of Congress in Rajya Sabha polls, Bharatiya Tribal Party legislator Rajkumar Roat on Friday targeted his own party chief Velaram Ghoghra, saying he has become too old to understand the issue.
BTP legislators Roat and Ramprasad Dindor voted in support of the ruling Congress candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls on Friday going against their party chief who had issued whip to its MLAs to not take part in the election process. He said the party state chief has become too old to understand the issue.
"But our decision is for the benefit of tribals and people of the region. On the basis of this, we have decided to vote in the favour of the Congress candidates," Roat told reporters after casting his vote.
He said that the decision was taken collectively. In Rajasthan, the BTP has two MLAs who represent the tribal constituencies of Sagwada and Chaurasia. PTI
18:39 The scrips that lost today
The Sensex nosedived over 1,000 points while the Nifty slumped to the 16,200-level on Friday as investors dashed to safer assets as hardening crude oil prices fanned inflation fears and triggered a global sell-off.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 3.96 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Tata Steel. On the other hand, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy's, UltraTech Cement, HUL, Titan, Maruti, Nestle India and NTPC finished with gains of up to 0.78 per cent.
18:34 Forex reserves down by USD 306 mn at USD 601.057 bn
After rising for two consecutive weeks, the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 306 million to USD 601.057 billion in the week ended June 3, according to RBI data.
In the previous week, the reserves had increased by USD 3.854 billion to USD 601.363 billion. It had risen by USD 4.23 billion to USD 597.509 billion in the week ended May 20. During the week ended June 3, the decline in the reserves was on account of a fall in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.
18:17 Counting of RS votes in Haryana on hold
Counting of votes on hold in Haryana.
The BJP met the Election Commission this evening over Haryana and Maharashtra, asking that "this election be declared null and void on basis of broken rules of secrecy in voting".
BJP-JJP backed independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma wrote to Election Commission of India, demanding cancellation of votes of Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhry and BB Batra, due to "violation of the secrecy of votes in the Conduct of Election Rules 1961".
Congress candidate from Haryana, Ajay Maken writes to the Election Commission of India, stating that the demand raised by BJP-JJP backed independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma be quashed and the results be declared at the earliest.
18:10 BJP delegation arrives at EC office in Delhi
A BJP delegation, including Union Ministers Dr Jitendra Singh & Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, reaches the office of the Election Commission of India in Delhi.
"A delegation of BJP met with ECI today regarding RS elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. Our party has submitted complaints in specific states as well. We have asked that this election be declared null and void on basis of broken rules of secrecy in voting," says Union Minister MA Naqvi.
18:08 Rumours of Pervez Musharraf dead untrue
Updates on former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. His official twitter handle says, "Message from Family: He is not on the ventilator. Has been hospitalized for the last 3 weeks due to a complication of his ailment (Amyloidosis). Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living."
17:30 Holiday season behind Covid spike in Delhi: Experts
Experts said people lowering their guard and vacation period are the main reasons behind the recent increase in coronavirus cases in the national capital.
Delhi logged 622 fresh Covid-19 cases and two deaths on Thursday, while the positivity rate rose to 3.17 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. On June 1, the city had reported 368 cases with a positivity rate of 1.74 per cent.
Within a span of 10 days, cases have crossed the 500-mark in terms of single-day infections.
On Wednesday, the national capital had seen 564 infections in a single day, highest since May 15 when 613 cases were reported. B L Sherwal, medical superintendent, RML Hospital said there is a need to keep a vigil, but one should not panic.
"Everybody has lowered their guard so such spikes (of cases) will happen. Patients are recovering in three to four days, and are having fever, body ache or loose motions. The good thing is that there is no lung involvement and requirement of oxygen," he said.
The senior doctor added that only those who are very sick and advised by doctors are getting admitted to hospitals. S K Arora, medical director, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital attributed the increase in incidences of coronavirus infection to the vacation season.
"This has become a common mild infection and such spurts will happen. Also, it is the vacation season and people are travelling from one state to another, and there will be such instances reported. But the only thing is that the infections are mild," he added.
As of Thursday, 85 of 9,630 hospital beds were occupied. According to Delhi Corona mobile application, the number of hospital beds stood at 85 even on Friday, while 28 out of 2,218 ICU beds are occupied.
17:13 Numbers clearly with MVA, says Sanjay Raut
Expressing confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win four Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra, polling for which was held on Friday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the ruling alliance has numbers in its favour.
Talking to reporters, Raut, who was one of the candidates of the Sena in this election, said an atmosphere was being created that the contest would be tough.
"But this is incorrect...An illusion is being created in Maharashtra," he claimed. "The MVA (comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) under the leadership of Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has the support of 179 MLAs. There is one MLA less due to the demise of (Sena legislator) Ramesh Latke. You will see these numbers (are) clearly (with us) in today's polls," Raut said.
Voting for six Rajya Sabha seats was held at the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in Mumbai.
The polling process was conducted between 9 am and 4 pm and the results will be declared in the evening. There were a total of seven candidates in the fray for six seats.
While the BJP had fielded Union minister Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde and former MP Dhananjay Mahadik, the Shiv Sena had given opportunity to MP Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar. From the NCP, Praful Patel was in the election ring, while the Congress had fielded Imran Pratapgarhi.
The contest was primarily for the sixth seat - between BJP's Mahadik and Sena's Pawar. This was after more than two decades that Maharashtra witnessed a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls.
The 288-member Legislative Assembly was the electoral college for the biennial elections. But the total votes have come down to 285 since there is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke and a special court on Thursday rejecting the pleas filed by minister Nawab Malik and former minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a day's bail to vote in the elections. -- PTI
Pic: Umar Ganie
17:10 Protests against Prophet comments spread across India
A young boy joins protesters in Srinagar. Massive protests erupted in Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Punjab, and cities in Uttar Pradesh on Friday over remarks by suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
17:04 Prophet row: Protests in Karnataka and Jharkhand too
Prophet row: Protests also spread to Karnataka and Jharkhand. The Raza Academy staged a demonstration at Muslim Chowk in Kalaburagi against the controversial remarks by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma.
In Ranchi, vehicles were torched and vandalised and incidents of stone-pelting have been reported.
16:44 Confident of win, says Haryana CM
Haryana Rajya Sabha polls: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar says the BJP is confident of a win. "We are sure that we'll win. The way voting happened, we are confident that BJP candidates will win on both the seats. Some Congress MLAs' votes were dismissed as they violated the rules."
BJP-JJP backed independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma writes to Election Commission of India, demanding cancellation of votes of Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhry and BB Batra, due to "violation of the secrecy of votes in the Conduct of Election Rules 1961".
The BJP has fielded former minister Krishan Lal Panwar, while Ajay Maken, a former Union minister, is the Congress nominee. Media baron Kartikeya Sharma has entered the fray as an Independent.
While the BJP with 40 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly has nine more than the 31 first preference votes required for a straight win, the contest has become keen for the second seat with Sharma's entry.
Sharma has the backing of the BJP-JJP combine, most Independents, as well one MLA each from the Haryana Lokhit Party and the INLD.
The Congress has 31 members in the 90-member Assembly, just enough to help its candidate win a seat. Its prospects could be in jeopardy in case of cross-voting. The BJP has 40 MLAs while its ally has 10 legislators. The Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party have one each and seven are independents.
Protests in Sholapur, Maharashtra
16:37 Prophet row: Protests spread to 7 states
Massive protests erupted across the country including in Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and cities in Uttar Pradesh on Friday over remarks by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and her former colleague Naveen Jindal that have triggered an international row.
Punjab: After a protest call by Ludhiana Jama Masjid, protests were held across Punjab demanding the arrest of those who disrespected the Prophet.
Delhi: The demonstrations in Delhi took place outside the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, after the Friday prayers. The protesters demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma and dispersed after about an hour.
UP: Hundreds of protesters were also seen taking to the streets and shops shutting down in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, Moradabad and Prayagraj and other cities. Prayagraj ADG's vehicle damaged. The ADG was on ground to control the law & order situation as a protest erupted.
Maharashtra: Women carry out a protest march in Navi Mumbai A large number of people carry out a protest march in Solapur as well.
Telangana: Protests take place outside Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad against the controversial remarks by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. Later, with the intervention of the Police, protesters were dispersed from the spot. Police force & CRPF deployed in the area now.
West Bengal: A large number of people gather in protest at Park Circus in Kolkata against the controversial religious remarks by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal. Protests were also held at Howrah.
Jammu and Kashmir: Protesters took to the streets in Srinagar.
People are falling ill drinking muddy water like this
15:57 Severe water shortage in several villages in Maha
Villagers in Maharashtra's Khadial village hurling their plastic and metal cans, buckets and bottles strung with ropes down a deep well to fetch water is now a common sight.
In the peak of summer, the parched residents of the village in Melghat district are facing a severe water crisis. According to the villagers, they are 'risking their lives for a bucket of water'.
Speaking to ANI, a villager said, "There are only two wells in the village which have almost dried up. A village of 1,500 population is dependent on 2-3 tankers for water every day." With the onset of summer, the water crisis has been reported from different parts of the country, including Maharashtra.
"Water is supplied to the village through two tankers that pour water into dry wells. People risk their lives to draw water from wells. Diseases are increasing after drinking dirty water," said another villager.
According to the people, the road condition is also bad. "If a person gets sick, there is no road to take them to the hospital," added a villager.
Last week, there were water scarcity reports from a village in Nashik. In the Chichlekhaire village in Igatpuri, Nashik, women travel arduous three km-long treks to fetch water. People in the village are forced to fetch muddy water by going down into a deep well, where the water level has plummeted below the base of the well.
Also, Rohile village in Nashik is facing water shortage and the women have put their lives at stake to fetch drinking water, as they step into the well to fetch water.
15:52 RS polls: Voting ends in Raj, BJP MLA cross votes
All 200 Rajasthan MLAs cast their vote for the Rajya Sabha elections by Friday afternoon. The counting of votes for the four seats will start at 5 pm. Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria admitted that one BJP MLA has cross-voted, which might make the victory of Independent candidate Subhash Chandra difficult.
"How can we win two seats when we had the votes to win just one seat? We lost nothing. As far as cross-voting by one MLA is concerned, the party will take action for violating the whip," he told reporters while leaving the assembly after polling.
BJP state president Satish Poonia said the party's high command has been informed about the cross-voting.
"This will be decided in the counting and we should wait for it. We have apprised the party high command and we will act according to the suggestions and directions of senior leaders," Poonia said.
Asked about the chances of Subhash Chandra's victory, he said, "We supported him on the basis of our surplus votes. He made his own efforts and we supported him. Lets wait for the counting."
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed confidence that the Congress would win three Rajya Sabha seats comfortably. He said the BJP played a "game" of fielding Chandra as an independent candidate without majority.
"Even BJP MLAs did not like him (Chandra)," he said.
BSP-turned-Congress MLAs, who had expressed resentment with the ruling party in Rajasthan, were among those who cast their votes as soon as the voting began for the Rajya Sabha elections for the four seats in the state on Friday morning.
The voting started at 9 am in the assembly building, a spokesperson said. Chief Minister Gehlot reached the assembly shortly before 9 am and the first bus with the Congress MLAs also reached the assembly with Randeep Surjewala, one of the three candidates of the Congress. BJP MLAs reached the assembly in two buses. -- PTI
Protesters in Bengal
15:46 Prophet row: Protests in Bengal, UP, Delhi
West Bengal: A large number of people gather in protest at Park Circus in Kolkata against the controversial religious remarks by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal. Protests were also held at Howrah.
Uttar Pradesh: Stones hurled during clashes in Atala area of UP's Prayagaraj over the controversial remarks.
Delhi: Protests erupted outside the Jama Masjid after Friday prayers with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. According to senior police officials, the protest was held peacefully on the stairs near gate number one of the mosque, and it lasted for around 15 to 20 minutes. The protesters were dispersed from the area later.
Punjab: After a protest call by Ludhiana Jama Masjid, protests were held across Punjab demanding the arrest of those who disrespected the Prophet.
15:33 Biker killed in police firing, cop kills himself
Update: A policeman allegedly fired several rounds outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in central Kolkata's busy Park Circus area on Friday afternoon, killing a woman before shooting himself dead, police said.
The woman, who was riding pillion on a two-wheeler, fell down after being hit by a bullet as the on-duty policeman kept firing from his rifle, triggering chaos in the congested area, they said. She died on the spot, while the policeman after firing a few rounds more shot himself in the head, they added. The identities of the woman and the policeman are yet to be known.
"The whole episode lasted for around five minutes," said a visibly shaken Bablu Sheikh, who claimed to have witnessed the incident.
A huge contingent of police reached the area minutes later and took away the bodies. Preliminary investigations are underway, police said. -- PTI
Akbar the Great
15:15 Historians only gave importance to Mughals: Shah
Most of the historians in India have given prominence in recording the history of Mughals only, ignoring the glorious rules of many empires like Pandyas, Cholas, Mauryas, Guptas and Ahoms, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.
Releasing a book 'Maharana: Sahastra Varsha Ka Dharma Yuddha', Shah also said that the battle fought for the protection of the culture, language and religion for 1,000 years has not gone in vain as "India is again standing with respect before the world now and the country's glory is recognised".
"I want to tell something to the historians. We have many empires but historians have concentrated only on the Mughals and wrote mostly about them. The Pandya empire ruled for 800 years. The Ahom empire ruled Assam for 650 years. They (Ahoms) had even defeated Bakhtiyar Khalji, Aurangzeb and kept Assam sovereign. The Pallava empire ruled for 600 years. The Cholas ruled for 600 years.
"The Mauryas ruled the whole country -- from Afghanistan to Lanka for 550 years. The Satvahanas ruled for 500 years. The Guptas ruled for 400 years and (Gupta emperor) Samudragupta had for the first time visioned a united India and established an empire with the whole country. But there is no reference book on them," he said.
The home minister said reference books should be written on these empires and if they are written, "the history which we believe wrong will gradually fade away and truth will emerge".
For this, he said, there is a need to start work by many people.
"By keeping aside comments, our glorious history should be kept in front of the public. When we make big efforts, then automatically the attempt of falsehood becomes small. So, we should pay more attention to make our efforts bigger," he said.
Shah said history is not written on the basis of victory or defeat, but on the basis of the outcome of any event. History is not made on the basis of the government and books, truth is made on the basis of events, he said.
"No one can stop us from writing the truth. We are now independent. We can write our own history," he said. The home minister said it is a fact that some people have written history in such a way that it generates disappointment. "But India is such a country where disappointment can't survive".
"It may be decades, 50 years or a hundred year but at the end it is the truth which will emerge victorious," he said. Shah said some historians have written some books on a small scale but no one has done any comprehensive work on the history of the whole country and there is limited reference books. He said the government is also taking initiatives but when the government takes the initiatives for writing history, many difficulties come up.
"When independent historians write history, only truth comes up and that is why our people should write book with facts and without making any comments," he said. PTI
15:01 Sensex tumbles over a 1000 points
The Indian stock markets' key indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading around 2 per cent down in the afternoon session on Friday dragged by heavy selling pressure in banking, metal, IT and energy stocks.
The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex was trading 1069.15 points or 1.93 per cent down at 54,251.13 points at 2.15 pm, against its previous day's close at 55,320.28 points.
Earlier, the Sensex started the day in the negative at 54,760.25 points. Selling pressure intensified in the afternoon dragging the Sensex down to 54,242.44 points.
The equities markets have been under selling pressure this week. The Sensex has witnessed selling pressure in five out of the last six trading sessions.
Snapping four days of losing run, the Sensex had gained 427.79 points or 0.78 per cent on Thursday.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange was trading 290 points or 1.76 per cent down at 16,188.10 points against its previous day's close at 16,478.10 points. -- ANI
14:59 Protests erupt outside Jama Masjid demanding Nupur Sharma's arrest
Protests erupted outside the Jama Masjid after Friday prayers with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad, police said.
A large crowd of people could be seen gathering at the steps of the famous mosque, some carrying placards and shouting slogans against Sharma.
A senior police officer said that while some of the demonstrators left the site after some time, others continued to protest. The protest that was carried out peacefully lasted for 10-15 minutes.
Delhi Police has registered an FIR against 31 people, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, and filed a separate case against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly spreading hate and hurting religious sentiments.
The two FIRs were registered on Wednesday after a social media analysis, they had said. Former Delhi BJP media unit head Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was expelled from the party over his alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammad, and journalist Saba Naqvi have also been named in the FIR. -- PTI
14:36 Microplastics found in fresh Antarctic snow for first time
Scientists have found microplastics -- plastic pieces much smaller than a grain of rice - in freshly fallen Antarctic snow for the first time, which they said has the potential to influence the climate by accelerating melting of ice.
The findings, published recently in The Cryosphere journal, bring to light a serious threat to the Antarctic region.
Previous studies have found that microplastics have negative impacts on the health of the environment, limiting growth, reproduction, and general biological functions in organisms, as well as negative implications for humans.
In late 2019, Alex Aves, a PHD student at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand collected snow samples from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. At the time, there had been few studies investigating the presence of microplastics in the air, and it was unknown how widespread this problem was, the researchers said.
"When Alex travelled to Antarctica in 2019, we were optimistic that she wouldn't find any microplastics in such a pristine and remote location," said Laura Revell, Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury.
Once back in the lab, the researchers found that there were plastic particles in every sample from the remote sites on the Ross Ice Shelf too, and that the findings would be of global significance.
"It is incredibly sad but finding microplastics in fresh Antarctic snow highlights the extent of plastic pollution into even the most remote regions of the world," Aves said.
"We collected snow samples from 19 sites across the Ross Island region of Antarctica and found microplastics in all of these," she added. On a wider scale, the presence of microplastic particles in the air has the potential to influence the climate by accelerating melting of snow and ice, the researchers said.
Aves analysed snow samples using a chemical analysis technique to identify the type of plastic particles present. The plastic particles were also looked at under a microscope to identify their colour, size and shape.
The researchers found an average of 29 microplastic particles per litre of melted snow, which is higher than marine concentrations reported previously from the surrounding Ross Sea and in Antarctic sea ice. Just next to the scientific bases on Ross Island, Scott Base, and McMurdo Station, the largest station in Antarctica, the density of microplastics was nearly three-times higher, with similar concentrations to those found in Italian glacier debris, they said. -- PTI
The three who are sentenced to death. Pic: @TadeuszGiczan
14:30 West denounces death sentences for 3 who fought for Ukraine
Ukraine and the West denounced a pro-Moscow court that sentenced two British citizens and a Moroccan to death for fighting for Ukraine, calling the proceedings a sham and a violation of the rules of war.
Meanwhile, as the Kremlin's forces continued a grinding war of attrition in the east, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday appeared to liken his actions to those of Peter the Great in the 18th century and said the country needs to take back historic Russian lands.
The court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine found the three fighters guilty of seeking the violent overthrow of power, an offense punishable by death in the unrecognized eastern republic.
The men were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the defendants identified as Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saadoun will face a firing squad.
They have a month to appeal.
The separatist side argued that the three were mercenaries not entitled to the usual protections accorded prisoners of war. They are the first foreign fighters sentenced by Ukraine's Russian-backed rebels.
BJP's Parag Alawani
14:30 BJP wants 3 MVA votes declared invalid
BJP's Parag Alawani, polling agent for party leader Piyush Goyal, on the Rajya Sabha poll:
"BJP has raised objections on three votes of MVA -- Yashomati Thakur of INC, Jitendra Awhad of NCP and Suhas Kande of Shiv Sena. BJP has requested the Returning Officer to hold their votes invalid.
"Objection was raised because two MLAs gave their ballot papers to the polling agents of their parties which is a violation of rules. They can only show their ballots to their agents and not handover them to anyone."
In Maharashtra, seven candidates are in the fray for six seats in what is the first time in more than two decades that there is an electoral contest for the Rajya Sabha polls.
A close contest is being played out between the state's ruling Shiv Sena and the opposition BJP for the sixth seat. The contest is primarily between BJP's Dhananjay Mahadik and the Sena's Sanjay Pawar.
The ruling MVA - Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress - had kept their MLAs in different hotels and resorts in Mumbai till they left for the state assembly just before polling began.
The Assembly is the electoral college for the biennial elections.
In Maharashtra, the total votes have come down from 288 to 285 -- there is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke and the courts rejected pleas by minister Nawab Malik and former minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a day's bail to cast their vote.
Congress MLAs cast their vote
14:10 Voting for RS polls ends in Haryana, 1 MLA abstains
Voting in the Rajya Sabha elections ends in Haryana. 89 MLAs have voted in Haryana so far in the 90-member Vidhan Sabha. One MLA abstains.
Independent legislator Balraj Kundu decided to abstain, saying the ruling BJP has been hit by scams while the Congress has "insulted" people by fielding outsider Ajay Maken.
Congress' Kuldeep Bishnoi was among the MLAs who cast vote immediately after polling began at 9 am while many of his party legislators reached here from Raipur via Delhi to cast their vote later in the day.
In Haryana, voting took place for two seats.
The MLAs of the ruling BJP and some of its ally JJP were lodged in a resort near Chandigarh. The Congress legislators were also in a resort in Chhattisgarh amid apprehension of poaching.
While the BJP, with 40 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, has nine more than the 31 first preference votes required for a straight win, the contest has become keen for the second seat with entry of media baron Kartikeya Sharma, an Independent.
He has the backing of BJP-JJP combine, most of the Independents, and Gopal Kanda, lone MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party.
The BJP has fielded former Minister Krishan Lal Panwar, while Ajay Maken, a former Union minister, is the Congress nominee.
The Congress has 31 members in the state Assembly, just enough to help its candidate win a seat. Its prospects could be in jeopardy in case of cross-voting.
Kuldeep Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana chief minister, the late Bhajan Lal, is reportedly miffed with the party as he did not find any position in the new state Congress unit when it was reconstituted in April. In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 40 MLAs while the Congress has 31.
The JJP, an ally of the BJP, has 10 legislators, while the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party have one each. There are seven Independents.
13:56 News updates at this hour
Maharashtra: 260 MLAs have cast their votes till 1pm in the Rajya Sabha election.
Sensex: 941 points down, trading at 54,378; Nifty declines 261 points to 16,216.
Jammu and Kashmir: Curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended in Kishtwar district as precautionary measures.
JD-S Chief HD Kumaraswamy
13:18 2 JD-S MLAs cross-vote, Kumaraswamy slams Cong
RS polls in Karanataka. HD Kumaraswamy, JD(S) his MLA K Srinivasa Gowda voting in favour of the Congress.
"I had said that Srinivasa Gowda will vote for Congress. SR Srinivas also didn't vote for JD(S). Congress has shown its true face today. Congress is the 'B' team of the BJP. They're the main culprit for rise of BJP in the country," Kumaraswamy said.
Kumaraswamy alleged "horse-trading" in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections claiming that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was pressurising JDS MLAs to not vote for their own party but that of the candidate of the grand old party.
"Yes, definitely. He is pressurising them not to vote for JD(S)," Kumaraswamy told media persons on being asked about Siddaramaiah's claims that some JD(S) MLAs were in touch with him.
13:09 Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi brought to court
Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi is brought to the Patiala House Court. His 5-day custody with the Delhi Police ends today. A team of Pune Rural Police is in Delhi to interrogate gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, to determine the whereabouts of Santosh Jadhav who is absconding in a murder case registered in Pune district. Jadhav is also a wanted suspect in the Sidhu Moosewala murder.
Bishnoi has told investigators that his gang's members, including Canada-based Goldy Brar, hatched a conspiracy and killed Sidhu Moosewala, officials said on Friday.
According to them, Bishnoi, has alleged that Moosewala was involved in the killing of Akali Dal youth leader Vikramjit Singh alias Vicky Middukhera on August 7 last year which led to a "rivalry" between him and the Punjabi singer.
Bishnoi has been very uncooperative and has not yet disclosed the names of his gang members who were the real conspirators being the killing, officials said.
The 28-year-old singer-politician was shot dead by some unidentified assailants in Punjab's Mansa district on May 29, a day after the Punjab government curtailed his security cover.
12:46 Those who ruled country for long never took interest in it: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attacked the Congress yet again, saying that those who were in power for a long time in the country, never took interest in the development of tribal areas as it requires hard work.
He said he does not initiate development work for the sake of votes or to win elections, but he does it to improve the quality of people's lives.
"Those who ruled the country for a long time, never took interest in the development of tribal areas as it requires hard work," Modi said at Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan rally after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of projects worth Rs 3,050 crore at Khudvel, a tribal region in Navsari district.
"Earlier, it used to take months for campaigns, such as vaccination, to reach forest areas where tribals reside, but now they are implemented in those pockets simultaneously along with urban areas," he said.
The prime minister asked the people present at the rally if they have received anti-coronavirus vaccine doses free of cost or not, to which they replied in the affirmative. Modi said that speedy development in Gujarat during the last two decades is the pride of the state. PTI
K Srinivasa Gowda, Karnataka JD-S MLA
12:37 K'taka JD-S MLA votes for Cong as he 'loves it'
K Srinivasa Gowda, Karnataka JD-S leader on Rajya Sabha elections says he has voted for the Congress because "I love it."
This morning, JD-S chief HD Kumaraswamy alleged "horse-trading" in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections claiming that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was pressurising JDS MLAs to not vote for their own party but that of the candidate of the grand old party.
HD Kumaraswamy
12:25 Kumaraswamy: Sidda indulging in horse trading
Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy on Friday alleged "horse-trading" in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections claiming that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was pressurising JDS MLAs to not vote for their own party but that of the candidate of the grand old party.
"Yes, definitely. He is pressurising them not to vote for JD(S)," Kumaraswamy told media persons on being asked about Siddaramaiah's claims that some JD(S) MLAs were in touch with him.
The former Karnataka chief minister also pointed out that Siddaramaiah had refuted allegations of writing an open letter to JDS MLAs requesting them to cast their "conscience vote" in favour of his party's candidate.
"Today, before local media he (Siddaramaiah) has said that he didn't write to my MLAs. He had even tweeted the letter from his social media account. Now, he's denying what he said yesterday. This shows his double standards," the JD(S) leader added.
Kumaraswamy alleged that BJP general secretary CT Ravi was spotted entering the Congress office in Karnataka.
"CT Ravi is BJP general secretary, so how did he enter Congress office? This shows that CT Ravi went to meet Siddaramaiah for his cooperation in the victory of the BJP candidate," he said.
He exuded confidence that JD(S) already has 30-31 votes in the Rajya Sabha elections.
"We have confidence that we have 30-31 votes. JD(S) K Srinivasa Gowda has expressed that he will vote for Congress. Now, let us see," he added. -- ANI
File pic
12:04 Prophet row: Parts of Kashmir observe shutdown
Parts of Kashmir observed a shutdown on Friday over the controversial remarks by two now-suspended BJP leaders against Prophet Mohammad while the authorities snapped mobile Internet as a precautionary measure, officials said.
Security forces have been deployed in strength at sensitive places in the city and elsewhere in the Valley for maintaining law and order, they said. The old city -- popularly known as Downtown Srinagar -- witnessed a complete shutdown with public transport off the roads.
However, traffic was plying in Lal Chowk, Batamaloo and adjoining areas with offices and schools remaining open. Authorities have shut down the Internet on mobile devices in some areas as a precautionary measure to stop rumour-mongers, officials said, adding there were no reports of any untoward incident in the Valley so far. -- PTI
12:02 Don't want to set wrong precedent, says HC on Nawab Malik's bail
Update: The Bombay High Court on Friday rejected Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik's petition seeking release from jail here to enable him to cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha elections, polling for which is underway.
Malik had sought that he be either released from custody on a bond or be permitted to go with a police escort to the Vidhan Bhavan for voting.
A single bench presided over by Justice P D Naik said that although Malik had avoided the use of the word 'bail' the tenor of his plea was that of seeking bail and therefore, he must file an appeal challenging the special court that denied him temporary bail on Thursday.
The high court said it didn't wish to set a wrong precedent by entertaining Malik's plea, and permitted the minister's counsel Amit Desai to amend the plea and seek appropriate relief.
Malik had mentioned his plea seeking urgent hearing in the HC after a special court rejected on Thursday his plea seeking that he either be released on temporary bail for a day or that he be permitted to go with an escort to cast his vote.
He then moved the high court seeking he either be released on a bond or surety just for casting his vote, or he be accompanied by a police escort.
On Friday, Desai said that Malik was giving up his prayer for even the surety or bond and just pressing for escort to exercise his "constitutional right" and uphold "democratic principles."
Voting for six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra began at 9 am at the state legislature complex. In this election, every vote is crucial for the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), of which the NCP is a constituent, to get the Sena's second candidate- Sanjay Pawar- elected. -- PTI
11:57 Fitch revises India rating outlook to Stable from Negative
Fitch Ratings on Friday said it has revised the outlook on India's sovereign rating to Stable from Negative as downside risks to medium-term growth have diminished on rapid economic recovery. Fitch Ratings kept the rating unchanged at 'BBB-'.
"The Outlook revision reflects our view that downside risks to medium-term growth have diminished due to India's rapid economic recovery and easing financial sector weaknesses, despite near-term headwinds from the global commodity price shock," it said.
It, however, cut the economic growth forecast to 7.8 per cent for the current fiscal (April 2022 to March 2023) from the 8.5 per cent prediction it made in March due to the inflationary impact of the global commodity price shock. -- PTI
11:56 HC rejects Nawab Malik's bail plea to vote in polls
Bombay HC rejects Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik's plea for temporary release from prison for casting vote in Rajya Sabha polls.
Yesterday, a special court in Mumbai rejected the pleas filed by Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik seeking a day's bail to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections today.
Deshmukh is currently lodged in jail in connection with different money laundering cases being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had opposed their pleas, saying that prisoners do not have voting rights under the Representation of the People Act. -- PTI
11:52 RS polls: This is how Haryana is voting
Polling for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana was underway on Friday with Congress MLAs, who were lodged in a resort in Chattisgarh's Raipur due to fear of poaching, on their way to Chandigarh.
The polling for the two seats will be held from 9 am to 4 pm and counting of votes will be taken up soon after, officials said.
While the BJP with 40 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly has nine more than the 31 first preference votes required for a straight win, the contest has become keen for the second seat with the entry of media baron Kartikeya Sharma, an Independent. He has the backing of BJP-JJP combine, the Independents, and Gopal Kanda, lone MLA of the Haryana Lokhit Party.
The BJP has fielded former Minister Krishan Lal Panwar, while Ajay Maken, a former Union minister, is the Congress nominee.
The Congress has 31 members in the state Assembly, just enough to help its candidate win a seat. Its prospects could be in jeopardy in case of cross-voting. Haryana Congress MLAs, who were lodged in a resort in Raipur reached Delhi on Thursday evening. The Congress had shifted its MLAs to Raipur a week ago fearing poaching of its legislators.
The ruling BJP-JJP MLAs, who had remained lodged at a resort since Wednesday, have begun casting their votes.
On Thursday, lone Indian National Lok Dal MLA Abhay Singh Chautala declared his support to Kartikeya Sharma.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Thursday evening, senior Congress leader Vivek Bansal, who is the party's Haryana affairs in-charge, exuded confidence that Maken will win comfortably.
Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda also said the party candidate will win comfortably. Senior party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who had been in Delhi for the past few days, reached Chandigarh on Thursday evening.
Earlier, Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, who is the MLA from Adampur in Hisar, did not go to Raipur as he was reportedly upset with the party for ignoring him in the recent reshuffle in its state unit. He had lobbied for the post of the state unit chief, which went to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda loyalist Udai Bhan.
On Wednesday, the BJP-JJP too had shifted their MLAs to a resort in Chandigarh. They were attending a "training session" in connection with the voting process, Haryana BJP chief O P Dhankar had said.
Kartikeya Sharma is son of former Union Minister Venod Sharma, who had also remained a minister in the erstwhile Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government. Venod Sharma had later floated his own outfit Jan Chetna Party.
The media baron's father-in-law Kuldeep Sharma is a senior Congress leader and a former speaker of the state Assembly.
The votes will be marked by a special pen provided by the Election Commission. Each MLA after casting his vote will hand over the pen to the officer deputed by the poll body, Haryana Assembly Secretary and Returning Officer for the polls R K Nandal told reporters.
Nandal said that Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer and one central observer, who is Manipur's Chief Electoral Officer, will be present to oversee the poll process.
In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 40 MLAs while the Congress has 31. The JJP, which is an ally of the BJP, has 10 legislators while the Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party have one each and seven are independents.
Two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana will fall vacant in August with the terms of media baron Subhash Chandra and BJP leader Dushyant Gautam expiring. PTI
Divya Mahipal Maderna, Congress says she appeals to to the RLP to vote for Surjewala
11:26 RS polls: 40% votes cast till 10.30 am in Raj
Nearly 40 per cent of the votes for the Rajya Sabha elections have been cast by 10.30 am in Rajasthan. The voting started at 9 am in the assembly building and will continue till 4 pm. Counting will start at 5 pm, an official spokesperson said.
The first vote was cast by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. "Approximately 40 per cent voting has been done," said government chief whip Mahesh Joshi. Polling is being held for four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan.
The Congress has fielded Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala and Pramod Tiwari, a prominent Uttar Pradesh politician, while the BJP has chosen former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari, who earlier was a vocal critic of former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje.
The Congress and the BJP are set to comfortably win two and one seats, respectively.
Media baron Subhash Chandra has made the contest interesting by entering the fray as a BJP-backed independent candidate. Rajasthan has a total of 200 MLAs, including 108 of the Congress and 71 of the BJP. -- PTI
Rajashthan CM votes
11:19 RS polls: BJP needs miracle, Cong numbers in Raj
As voting got underway for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, the ruling Congress on Friday exuded confidence that it has the numbers to win three seats while the opposition BJP said it expects a "miracle" when the results are announced.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the Congress will comfortably win three out of the four seats.
Lashing out at the opposition BJP for fielding Subhash Chandra as an independent candidate despite not having majority, he claimed, Their own MLAs did not like Chandra.
The BJP maintained that both its official candidate Ghanshyam Tiwari and independent candidate Chandra will win.
Before leaving for the assembly building for polling, Gehlot told reporters outside Hotel Leela Palace on the Delhi highway, "I am saying again that we are winning three seats comfortably and they (BJP) should take care of their house. The way they fielded another candidate, it was not liked by MLAs of their party. There is a reaction in the whole state. Elections were conducted unnecessarily otherwise all four seats -- three by us and one by the BJP -- would have been won comfortably," he said.
He said the BJP did the same thing during the previous Rajya Sabha elections in 2020 but they were defeated. These people will be defeated again this time, he said.
However, BPL MLA Vasudev Devnani said a "miracle" will happen when the results are announced in the evening. "Our claim is still maintained. You will see a miracle happening when the results are announced," Devnani told reporters in the assembly after casting vote.
One candidate needs 41 votes to win. The Congress, with its 108 MLAs, will have 26 surplus votes after winning two seats. It will require 15 votes to win the third seat.
The math: The Congress, which has fielded Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari, claims the support of 126 MLAs, including 108 from the party itself. The party needs 123 MLAs to win three seats. The BJP has 71 MLAs in the state Assembly, enough to get one seat in the Rajya Sabha this time. After that, it will be left with 30 surplus votes. The 30 surplus votes of the BJP and three of RLP (total 33) are with Chandra. He is short of eight MLAs to win the seat. Polling started at 9 am and will conclude by 4 pm. Counting of votes will be taken up at 5 pm. -- PTI
K'taka CM Basavaraj Bommai casts his vote
11:09 RS polls: Voting underway in Karnataka, tight contest for 4th seat
Voting is underway in the Rajya Sabha polls for four seats from Karnataka on Friday, as suspense continues over the outcome of the fourth seat, for which all three political parties are contenders, despite none of them having adequate number of votes to win it.
Members of Legislative Assembly are voters in this election.
The voting that began at 9 AM will go on till 4 PM and counting of votes will take place at 5 PM, after the polling hours.
Six candidates are in the fray in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state, necessitating a contest for the fourth seat.
Despite not having the adequate number of votes to win the fourth seat from the state assembly, all the three political parties -- the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular -- have fielded candidates for the seat, forcing an election.
The six candidates in the fray for the Rajya Sabha polls from the state are -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh and outgoing MLC Lehar Singh Siroya from the BJP, former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh and state general secretary Mansoor Ali Khan from the Congress, and former MP D Kupendra Reddy from the JD(S).
Sitharaman and Ramesh are seeking re-election to the Upper House of Parliament for a consecutive term from the state.
A candidate needs the support of 45 MLAs to win and based on their strength in the Legislative assembly, the BJP can win two seats and the Congress one.
After getting two Rajya Sabha candidates (Sitharaman and Jaggesh) elected on its own strength in the assembly, the BJP will be left with an additional 32 MLA votes.
The Congress will be left with 25 MLA votes after electing Jairam Ramesh, while the JD-S has only 32 MLAs, which is not sufficient to win a seat.
The fight for the fourth seat will see a direct contest between Siroya (BJP), Khan (Congress) and Reddy (JDS).
While Siroya and Reddy are short of votes from 13 MLAs each, Khan will need 20.
As this election has an open ballot system, every MLA (voter) will have to show his ballot paper to their designated party agents after choosing their preferences. -- PTI
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot casts his vote
10:55 'Forced, unnecessary': Rajasthan CM on RS polls
Bahujan Samaj Party-turned-Congress MLAs, who had expressed resentment with the ruling Congress government in Rajasthan, were among those who cast their votes as soon as the voting began for the Rajya Sabha elections for the four seats in the state on Friday morning.
The voting started at 9 am in the assembly building and will continue till 4 pm and counting will start at 5 pm, an official spokesperson said.
The MLAs came to the assembly building with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and cast their votes.
Gehlot reached the assembly shortly before 9 am and the first bus with the Congress MLAs also reached the assembly with Randeep Surjewala, one of the three candidates of the Congress.
BJP MLAs reached the assembly in two buses while two more buses with Congress and other supporting MLAs will reach after some time.
Congress and supporting MLAs were staying in a hotel on Delhi road while BJP MLAs were staying at another hotel on Agra road.
BSP-turned Congress MLAs including Rajendra Gudha, Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali also reached the assembly with the CM and exercised their franchise.
"I was second to cast vote after the chief minister," Gudha told reporters.
The Congress has fielded Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari while the BJP has fielded Ghanshyam Tiwari while the BJP has supported independent candidate Subhash Chandra.
Chandra has made the elections challenging for the ruling Congress.
Speaking with reporters, Gehlot exuded confidence that all the three candidates of the Congerss will comfortably win.
He said the BJP played a "game" of fielding Chandra as an independent candidate without majority.
"Even BJP MLAs did not like him (Chandra), he said.
"These elections are forced and unnecessary," said Gehlot told ANI before casting his vote in the Rajya Sabha elections.
10:38 Sensex tumbles nearly 600 pts in early trade; Nifty tests 16,300
Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 600 points in early trade on Friday, following weakness in IT, banking and finance stocks amid sluggish investor sentiment in global markets.
Besides, a weaker rupee also weighed on the domestic equity markets, traders said.
Wipro was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.38 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Infosys, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC twins and TCS.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, NTPC and Titan were the gainers.
In the previous session, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 427.79 points or 0.78 per cent to close at 55,320.28. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 121.85 points or 0.74 per cent to finish at 16,478.10.
The rupee depreciated 8 paise to a record low of 77.82 against the US dollar in opening trade.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul were trading with deep losses in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the green.
Stock exchanges in the US ended sharply lower in the overnight session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.65 per cent to USD 122.27 per barrel.
BJP candidate Piyush Goyal at Maha assembly
10:37 Close fight between Sena and BJP for 6th RS seat
Voting is underway for six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra at the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex in Mumbai on Friday, with a close contest being played out between the state's ruling Shiv Sena and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party for the sixth seat.
The polling process, which began at 9 am, will go on till 4 pm and the results will be declared in the evening.
There are a total of seven candidates in the fray for six seats. While the BJP has fielded Union minister Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde and former MP Dhananjay Mahadik, the Shiv Sena has given opportunity to MP Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar. From the NCP, Praful Patel is in the election ring, while the Congress has fielded Imran Pratapgarhi.
The contest is primarily for the sixth seat -- between BJP's Mahadik and Sena's Pawar.
This is after more than two decades that Maharashtra is witnessing a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls.
The 288-member Legislative Assembly is the electoral college for the biennial elections. But the total votes have come down to 285 since there is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke and a special court on Thursday rejecting the pleas filed by minister Nawab Malik and former minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a day's bail to vote in the elections.
After the special court's decision, Malik and Deshmukh, who are currently in jail in separate money laundering cases, on Thursday evening approached the Bombay High Court for relief. The high court is scheduled to hear their pleas in the morning.
Shiv Sena has 55 MLAs, NCP 53, Congress 44 , BJP 106, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi three, Samajwadi party, AIMIM and Prahar Janshakti party two each, MNS, CPI(M), PWP, Swabhimani Party, Rashtriya Samaj Paksh, Jansurajya Shakti party, Krantikari Shetkari Party one each, and there are 13 independent legislators.
The quota for the first preference votes has come down to 41. Congress and NCP have decided to transfer their second preference votes to Shiv Sena's Sanjay Pawar.
For the last couple of days, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) and the opposition BJP had kept their respective legislators in different hotels in Mumbai, where the party leaders explained to them the process of preferential system of voting. -- PTI
10:19 India sees sharp rise of 7,584 in daily Covid cases
India's COVID-19 case tally rose by 7,584 in a day to reach 4,32,05,106 while the number of active cases has increased to 36,267, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
The death toll has climbed to 5,24,747 with 24 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
Active case tally increased by 3,769 and now comprise 0.08 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.70 per cent, the health ministry said.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.26 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was also recorded at 1.50 per cent.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,26,44,092, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.21 per cent.
The total number of Covid vaccine doses administered in the country so far has exceeded 194.76 crore.
Maharashtra MLAs at Vidhan Sabha in Mumbai
09:35 Voting begins for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in 4 states
Voting for 16 Rajya Sabha seats across four states -- Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka -- began on Friday.
Ahead of the polling, political parties moved their lawmkaers to hotels to avoid being poached by the rivals.
Polling will conclude at 4 pm.
The counting of votes will take place at 5pm.
09:12 Ukraine war: IMF says is concerned by food, fertilizer export restrictions
Observing that some 30 countries have curtailed exports of commodity goods including food and fuel since the war in Ukraine began, the International Monetary Fund Thursday said it is concerned by the use of food and fertilizer export restrictions .
It welcomed India's decision recently to relax its originally announced ban on wheat exports, and allow some shipments to proceed.
"We are very concerned by the use of food and fertilizer export restrictions, which can exacerbate global price increases and market volatility. So, this goes beyond India," IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice told reporters at a news conference in Washington DC.
"Our monitoring indicates that some 30 countries, in fact, have curtailed exports of commodity goods, including food and fuel, and that since the war in Ukraine began. So, we are very concerned about this. (IMF Managing Director) Kristalina Georgieva has been very vocal on this. (First Deputy Managing Director) Gita Gopinath spoke about it again, yesterday, he said responding to a question on India.
"On India, we welcome India's decision recently to relax its originally announced ban and allow some wheat exports to proceed, including the already contracted shipments and exports to countries with food security needs. And we hope to see further relaxation of bans and again, not just by India, but also by all countries who have imposed them," Rice said. -- PTI
Cong MLAs shifted to a hotel
08:39 Mobile internet services suspended in Jaipur tehsil ahead of RS polls
Mobile internet services have been suspended for 12 hours starting 9 pm on Thursday in Jaipur's Amber tehsil where the Congress and other supporting MLAs are staying ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.
The divisional commissioner issued the order to suspend the services stating security threat to the protected people staying and moving in the area.
The MLAs are staying at Hotel Leela in the teshil since evening after being shifted from Udaipur. They will go to the assembly building for the Rajya Sabha elections on Friday morning from this hotel.
Taking a dig at the Congress, BJP state president Satish Poonia tweeted the order saying, "Internet shutdown in Amber due to fear of paper leak." -- PTI
08:22 AIMIM to vote for MVA candidate in RS polls
All India Majilis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen has decided to vote for the Maha Vikas Aghadi candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra, the party's state unit president Imtiaz Jaleel said on Friday morning.
Jaleel said the decision has been taken to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party but the party's "political/ideological differences" with Shiv Sena, a partner in the MVA government, will continue.
The AIMIM leader said that the party "laid certain conditions related to the development of our MLAs constituencies in Dhulia and Malegaon".
'We laid certain conditions related to development of our MLAs constituencies in Dhulia and Malegaon. Also demanded Govt to appoint a minority member in MPSC and to take steps to increase the income of Maharashtra Wakf Board. Also demanded reservations for Muslims," Jaleel tweeted hours before the polling.
The AIMIM has two MLAs in the 288-member strong Maharashtra assembly.
The AIMIM has also demanded that the government appoint a minority member to the Maharashtra Public Services Commission (MPSC) and take steps to increase the income of the Maharashtra Wakf Board. Another condition laid by the party is regarding the reservations for Muslims.
"Our 2 AIMIM Maharashtra MLAs have been asked to vote for @INCIndia candidate @ShayarImran for Rajya Sabha seat. We extend our best wishes to him!," he tweeted.
00:44 BJP would have won Bengal polls, but Covid played spoilsport: Nadda
A year after the party's defeat in the high-octane West Bengal assembly polls, BJP president JP Nadda on Thursday claimed that the party would have come to power had the devastating second wave of COVID not affected the campaigning.
Reaching out to the people of the state, Nadda also said that the party will continue its fight to uphold the Bengali pride and expose those who try to demean it.
"With the speed we had picked up during the election campaign, it was quite evident that we would strike the right chord and come to power. But the second wave of COVID just after the fourth phase of polling forced us to call off our campaign," Nadda said while addressing a citizens' meet.
West Bengal witnessed a marathon eight-phase assembly election last year.
"After the fourth phase, the campaign had virtually come to a standstill and elections in the remaining phases took place without any campaigning. We are confident that next time we will come to power and conduct our victory rally at Brigade parade ground (in Kolkata)," Nadda said.
The BJP president claimed that the scene he witnessed during his arrival at the airport here reflects that people, who are fed up with alleged lawlessness, are yearning for a change in the state.
"India is a living society and it reacts and replies at the right time. We will have to continue our fight democratically and defeat the TMC," he said.
Nadda's comments came a year after the party, despite its high pitch poll campaign, failed to defeat the TMC and managed to win 77 seats in the 294-member assembly. -- PTI
00:21 UP takes action against around 1.3L loudspeakers
The Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday said action has been taken on nearly 1.3 lakh loudspeakers at religious places across the state, while more than 13,000 such devices were donated to schools.
A government spokesman said the state was setting an example before rest of the country with such a step to curb noise pollution.
"As part of the drive by the state government, 72,509 loudspeakers were removed from various places of worship, while the volume of 56,558 loudspeakers was reduced to permissible levels," he said.
"More than 13,145 of these removed loudspeakers were donated to schools for their morning assemblies, while 1,583 speakers were handed over for the public address system in the area," he said.
The state's home department had on April 23 issued orders to remove loudspeakers from religious places.
The directives were based on an order of the Allahabad high court.
The spokesman said the entire process was conducted peacefully by holding dialogues with spiritual leaders of various communities.
During the drive, the spiritual leaders were made aware of the noise pollution through the use of loudspeakers, he said. -- PTI
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