Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act, has declared assets worth Rs 1,000, according to his poll affidavit.

Chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, Singh, 31, has thrown his hat in the electoral ring by contesting from the Khadoor Sahib seat in Punjab as an Independent.

Singh's nomination papers were filed by his uncle in Tarn Taran district on Friday.

Singh filled in his nomination papers on Thursday in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.

According to his poll affidavit, Singh has Rs 1,000 bank balance in the State Bank of India branch, Rayya, Baba Bakala in Amritsar.

Other than this, Singh does not have any moveable or immovable assets, according to his affidavit.

His wife Kirandip Kaur owns movable assets worth Rs 18.37 lakh. It comprises Rs 20,000 cash in hand, gold jewellery worth Rs 14 lakh and 4,000 GBP (pound) equivalent to Rs 4,17,440, in account at Revolut Ltd, London, UK.

Singh has been shown as dependent on parents while his spouse is a British citizen.

She earlier worked as a language interpreter at National Health Services in the UK, but is now a housewife, as per the affidavit.

Singh has declared that 12 criminal cases are pending against him though he has not been convicted in any case.

He, along with nine of his associates, has been lodged in the Dibrugarh jail since April 23, 2023.

Singh's educational qualification is matric which he passed from a school in Pheruman in Amritsar in 2008. Polling for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will be held on June 1.

The Khalistan sympathiser had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18 last year, switching vehicles and changing appearances.

The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23 Ajnala incident last year in which Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aides.

He and his associates were booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.  -- PTI

Two security personnel were also injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Maoists during the operation, they said. 

This was the third major strike on Naxalites by security forces in the last one month and comes three weeks after 29 extremists were killed in an encounter in Kanker district. 

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai congratulated security forces and senior officials for the successful offensive in Bijapur. 

The latest gunfight took place in a forest near Pidia village under Gangaloor police station limits when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a police official said. 

Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma districts, Bastar Fighters, Special Task Force (STF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) were involved in the operation, he said. 

The operation was launched based on inputs about presence of commander of PLGA (People's Liberation Guerrilla Army) company No. 2 of Maoists Vella, and Gagaloor area committee secretary Dinesh Modiyam along with 100 to 150 cadres in the forest, the official said. 

The encounter broke out between the two side at around 6 am in the forest near Pidia, located over 450 km away from state capital Raipur, and then multiple exchange of fire took place in different places in the area, he said.

According to the FIR, Kaur made the comments at a corner meeting held at Shadnagar on May 8. 

The Amravati MP was booked under Sections 171-C read with 171-F, 171-G (undue influence and electoral rights) and 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant). 

A police official said the complaint was lodged by the Flying Squad Team (FST) of the Election Commission on May 9. 

In an attack on AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin, Navneet Rana had said that if the police were removed from duty for "15 seconds, the brothers would not know from where they came and where they went". 

The comments drew flak from Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Asaduddin Owaisi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday said he will participate in a roadshow in South Delhi on May 11 along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor was granted interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court earlier in the day in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

This will be Kejriwal's first roadshow after walking out of Tihar Jail on Friday.

The chief minister reached his residence in the Civil Lines area around 8.20 pm from the prison complex.

"There is a roadshow in South Delhi. I will participate in the roadshow with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann," he told reporters while standing through the sunroof of his vehicle.

AAP has fielded Sahi Ram Pahalwan from the South Delhi parliamentary constituency.

Under a seat-sharing arrangement between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the former has fielded candidates from three Lok Sabha seats in Delhi while the latter is contesting from the remaining four.   -- PTI

IMAGE: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal received a warm welcome from his family members after he reached his residence. Photograph: ANI on X

Pandian, a close aide of Patnaik, challenged Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to announce that the BJP leader would also take political sanyas if the saffron party failed to come to power in the state. 

Pradhan is the face of the BJP in Odisha.

You (BJP) say that there is BJP wave and wave for a change in Odisha, but I strongly say that if the chief minister (Patnaik) does not become the CM again, I will take sanyas from politics, Pandian said while addressing a rally at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda district.

Patnaik has been at the helm of Odisha since March 5, 2000.

Pandian claimed that the BJP calls him gumastha (clerk) or chamcha (obedient servant) of Patnaik.

"But you (Pradhan) are a Union minister. If you have the courage, announce that you will also take sanyas from politics if the BJP does not come to power in Odisha," he said.

The BJD leader wondered what Pradhan had done for the people of Odisha.

Pandian claimed that the BJP leader tried to contest from Dhenkanal for 10 years and finally went to Sambalpur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 5 said that June 4 was the expiry date of the BJD government in Odisha and a BJP chief minister will take oath on June 10.

Pandian was quick to hit back and claimed that the BJD would win the polls with three-fourth majority and Patnaik will be sworn in on June 9 between 11.30 am and 1.30 pm.

A case of sexual harassment has been registered against Bharatiya Janata Party leader G Devaraje Gowda from Hassan, who had written to the saffron party leadership before it formed an alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular, flagging Prajwal Revanna's alleged sexual abuse of several women, police said on Friday.

The first information report (FIR) was registered against Devaraje Gowda, who is an advocate, on April 1 but it has come to light only recently after his whistleblowing in the Prajwal Revanna case.

Devaraje Gowda was the one who had alerted the BJP leadership last year about Prajwal Revanna's alleged sexual abuse of several women, and cautioned the saffron party not to give a Lok Sabha ticket to the JD-S MP from Hassan.

Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former prime minister and JD-S patriarch H D Deve Gowda, and is the BJP-JD(S) Lok Sabha poll candidate from Hassan.

The BJP entered into an alliance with the JD-S last year.

Devaraje Gowda, who contested the 2023 assembly election against Prajwal's father and Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna -- also accused in a case of molestation and another for abduction -- had blamed the Congress leadership in Karnataka for leaking the sexual abuse videos.

Devaraje Gowda has been booked on a complaint by a 36-year-old woman from Hassan district, who alleged that he molested her on the pretext of helping her sell her property.

The BJP leader was not available for comment.  -- PTI

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor was granted interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court earlier in the day. 

He walked out of the prison in the evening amid dhol beats and sloganeering by AAP workers and leaders. 

Standing through the sunroof of a car, Kejriwal then addressed AAP workers and supporters amid slogans of 'Jail Ke Tale Toot Gaye, Kejriwalji Chhoot Gaye'. 

Beginning with slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Vande Mataram' and 'Inquilab Zindabad', the Delhi chief minister said, "I am fighting against dictatorship with all my might but 140 crore people (of the country) will have to come together to fight against it." 

He further said that he would visit the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place at 11 am on Saturday and address a press conference at the AAP office at 1 pm. 

"I am feeling great to be with you. I had told you that I would come out soon... First of all, I want to pay obeisance to Lord Hanuman. I am among you because of the blessings of Lord Hanuman," Kejriwal added. 

The AAP leader also thanked people for their love and blessings and asked them to come together to fight against dictatorship. 

"I want to thank you all. Crores of people of the country sent their blessings to me. I want to thank the Supreme Court because of which I am here," he added.

China is ready to work with India to "accommodate" each other's concerns and find a mutually acceptable solution to "specific issues" through dialogue at an early date, Xu said, in remarks that came against the backdrop of the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh.

Sixty-year-old Xu succeeds veteran diplomat Sun Weidong who left India after completing his tenure in India in October 2022.

His arrival in India comes amid protracted military and diplomatic negotiations between Beijing and New Delhi to resolve the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.

"It is an honourable mission and a sacred duty. I will do my best to deepen understanding and friendship between the two peoples, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and improve and advance the bilateral relationship," Xu told PTI and China's state-run CGTN-TV in a media interaction in Beijing before leaving for New Delhi.

"China is ready to work with India to accommodate each other's concerns, find a mutually acceptable solution to specific issues through dialogue at an early date, and turn the page as soon as possible," Xu said without elaborating further.

Xu previously served as China's ambassador to Afghanistan and Romania, besides senior cadre-level postings in the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

In a brief statement, the Chinese embassy in Delhi said Xu arrived in New Delhi to assume office.

"Officials from the protocol division of the ministry of external affairs of India, the Dean of Diplomatic Corps, ambassador of Eritrea to India Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam and Minister Ma Jia, Minister Wang Lei, Minister Counselor Chen Jianjun from the Chinese embassy greeted the ambassador and his wife Tan Yuxiu at the airport," it said.

Xu is the 17th Chinese ambassador to India.

Workers and leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had gathered outside the prison complex to welcome him. 

Kejriwal left from Tihar in his convoy. He was accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal, his daughter Harshita and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak. 

In a major relief to the AAP national convenor, the Supreme Court on Friday granted him interim bail till June 1 to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha election. 

Arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, Kejriwal will have to surrender and go back to prison on June 2. 

June 1 is the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election. Votes will be counted on June 4.

'By picking a side right in the middle of elections, the lordships that be have made themselves a part of the campaign. When the billion ballots speak, they may not like it,' he wrote on X.

This comes after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1 to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said Kejriwal, arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.

The bench refused the request of senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, that the interim bail be granted till June 5. June 1 is the last day of the seven-phase elections. The votes will be counted on June 4.

Reacting to the decision, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said bail does not amount to acquittal and asserted that Kejriwal's release will have no impact on the elections.

The BJP will win all seven seats in Delhi, he told reporters in Patna.  -- PTI

 The FIR was registered against Prajwal on May 8 in Bengaluru, according to sources in the Special Investigation Team which was constituted for a probe after a huge cache of explicit videos allegedly showing Prajwal sexually abusing several women became public. 

 A case has been registered under IPC 376(2)(N), 376(2)(K), 354(A), 354(B), 354(C) and 506 of the IPC was registered. These cases pertain to repeated rape, voyeurism, filming, demand for sexual favours, dragging by clothes, molestation and threatening. 

 The details of the victim have not been shared by the SIT sources. Prajwal is the grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and stood for the April 26 Lok Sabha election in Hassan as the NDA candidate. His party had formed an alliance with the BJP in 2023.

 The doors of the revered Himalayan temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and goddess Yamunotri respectively were opened at 7 am in the presence of a large number of devotees amid chanting of hymns. 

 Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his wife Geeta were also present as the portals of Kedartnath opened for devotees. 

 "It is an auspicious day for which we wait throughout the year. I welcome you all on the occasion. May you all be showered with the blessings of Baba Kedar," Dhami said addressing a gathering outside the temple after offering prayers. About 10,000 devotees witnessed the opening of the portals of Kedarnath.

 It asked Kejriwal to not sign any official file unless absolutely necessary to obtain the Lieutenant Governor's sanction during the 21-day interim bail period.

 Imposing a raft of bail conditions on the embattled AAP leader, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said, "He shall not visit the Office of the Chief Minister and the Delhi Secretariat."

 "He shall be bound by the statement made on his behalf that he shall not sign official files unless it is required and necessary for obtaining clearance/ approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi," the top court said. 

 The bench also directed Kejriwal to furnish bail bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent. 

 "He will not make any comment with regard to his role in the present case; and will not interact with any of the witnesses and/or have access to any official files connected with the case," the top court said. 

 The apex court, while granting Kejriwal the relief said there was no doubt about the fact that serious accusations have been made against him but he has not been convicted yet. 

 "He does not have any criminal antecedents. He is not a threat to the society," the bench said. 

 In a major relief to Kejriwal, the top court granted him interim bail till June 1 to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The apex court said Kejriwal will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. -- PTI

"You take it as a written guarantee that Narendra Modi is not going to become the prime minister of India. It's over," he said at a rally in Kannauj, from where Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is contesting the Lok Sabha polls. "Aap likh ke le lo (take it in writing)," he said at the rally predicting that the BJP was set to lose the election. 

 Apart from Gandhi and Yadav, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh addressed the joint INDIA bloc rally. In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is fighting on 17 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats. Last time, the BJP won 62 seats, and two went to its ally Apna Dal (S). 

"The INDIA block has done the needed poll preparations over the past years," Gandhi said listing his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Nyay Yatra and opposition meetings. "Also opened were shops of love (mohabbat kee dukaan) in the bazaar of hatred," he said.

 He countered Modi again on his recent allegation that there was a nexus between the Congress and business tycoons Adani and Ambani. "You have seen that in 10 years, Narendra Modi ji had not taken the names of Adani and Ambani, the former Congress president said. But now he is taking the names of people who he thinks can save him," Gandhi claimed. "The INDIA bloc has surrounded me, I am losing. Save me, Adani-Ambani ji save me," Gandhi mocked, suggesting that the two industrialists were Modi's friends. "So he also knows in which tempo' and what kind of money Adani ji sends. The prime minister has the personal experience of the tempo," Gandhi said, referring to the PM election speech on Wednesday.

 Modi had asked if the Congress received "tempo-loads of black money" from the two businessmen to make Gandhi stop abusing them.

 She also asked the ruling party to fight the polls on real issues. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Priyanka Gandhi accused the BJP of raising the Hindu-Muslim rhetoric to win the elections and asserted that the people don't want the polls to be contested on the basis of religion and caste.

"People are saying you've (the BJP) won two elections on religion and now move forward from that," the Congress general secretary said. Questioned on the row over Congress leader Aiyar's remarks, Priyanka Gandhi asked why the issue is being discussed now when the statement is an old one.

 "I ask when was the statement made? If it is an old statement, then why are we discussing it today? Secondly, I want to ask, where are elections taking place, in India or in Pakistan? They are taking place in India. So why are we discussing Pakistan?" she told PTI during her campaign trail in Amethi for the party's candidate Kishori Lal Sharma. 

 Priyanka Gandhi also questioned why discussion is not taking place on rising unemployment in India, which is the highest in the last 45 years, and on the high inflation due to which "people go to the market and return without buying half the things they wanted to". 

 "If they (people) have to get treatment done, they feel worried. Why is this not being talked about? Farmers are suffering, unable to earn, everything has become expensive, from diesel to farming materials. Why is this not being discussed? Why are labourers being exploited and do not get enough wages?," she asked. 

 Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan sparked a row on Friday, with his party quick to dissociate itself from the comments while the BJP latched on to those, accusing the grand old party of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil.

 Recovering from the sharp decline in the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 260.30 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 72,664.47. During the day, it rallied 542.37 points or 0.74 per cent to 72,946.54. 

 The NSE Nifty climbed 97.70 points or 0.44 per cent to 22,055.20. From the Sensex basket, Power Grid, NTPC, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever and Tata Motors were the biggest gainers. On the other hand, Tata Consultancy Services, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Wipro, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

The commission further said that such utterances can have a negative impact on voters' participation and demoralize the large election machinery across states.

 In a harshly worded rejoinder to the Congress President, ECI called his statements "aggression on vitals of live election operations". It said that the ECI was determined "to act against developments which have a direct impact on the delivery of its core mandate." 

The commission takes cognizance of Kharge's letter addressed to leaders of INDI alliance on voter turnout data, and finds it highly undesirable. The commission categorically rejected Kharge's contentions, calling them insinuations and innuendos. The ECI asserted that no lapse or deviation in the collection and dissemination of voter turnout data; pilots all past and present procedures and practices; and provided point-by-point counters to reject Kharge's contentions. The commission also refuted any delay in giving turnout data and pointed out that updated turnout data has been always higher than the poll day. The commission provided a factual matrix from the 2019 general election onwards. 

The Commission said it finds a 'pattern' in a series of past and present irresponsible statements from INC and calls it 'disconcerting''. 

The commission said, with all facts in place, the Congress President is attempting to push a biased narrative ECI especially condemned with contempt Kharge's statement, "Could this be an attempt to doctor the final results", and said, it can create an anarchic situation, besides doubts and disharmony.

On May 7, Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the leaders of the INDIA bloc over the alleged discrepancies in the voting data released by the Election Commission (EC). In his letter, Kharge urged the INDIA bloc leaders to raise their voices against voting data discrepancies, for "our only objective is to protect the culture of a vibrant democracy and the Constitution". 

The Congress president alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are 'visibly flustered' and 'frustrated' by the voting trends and their receding electoral fortunes in the first two phases. 

 "In this context, I would urge all of you that we must collectively, unitedly and unequivocally raise our voice against such discrepancies, for our only objective is to protect the culture of a vibrant democracy and the Constitution. Let us ensure the independence of the Election Commission of India and make it accountable. Let us ensure the independence of the Election Commission of India and make it accountable," the letter read.

 In a major relief to Kejriwal, the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till June 1 to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. "Truth can be troubled but not defeated. The decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court is welcome. The dictatorship will end. Satyamev Jayate," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a post in Hindi on X. 

 AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak told PTI, "We welcome the Supreme Court order. Satyamev Jayete! The dictatorship will end." PTI

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com reports from Kashmir.

Read the report here. 

 Jubilant workers danced and raised slogans such as "Jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal ji choot gaye". 

 In a major relief, the Supreme Court on Friday granted Kejriwal interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. 

 A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta said Kejriwal, arrested in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. The last phase of the general elections will be held on June 1. PTI

 In a post on X, All India Congress Committee media department chairman Pawan Khera wrote, "Indian National Congress dissociates itself completely from and disagrees totally with some remarks made by Mani Shankar Aiyar a few months back which have been revived today by the BJP in its attempt to deflect attention from Prime Minister Modi's daily goof ups. Aiyer does not speak for the party in any capacity whatsoever."

 "The Indian National Congress and indeed the entire nation recalls with pride that in Dec 1971 Pakistan was broken and an independent Bangladesh emerged thanks to Indira Gandhi's decisive and determined leadership and the valour of our armed forces," the post further reads. 

 "Almost exactly 50 years ago on May 18 1974 under the leadership of Indiraji, India's nuclear capability was announced to the world. The Indian National Congress has always believed that our decision-making should be guided by supreme national interest. And if old videos are to be used, here is a not-so-old video where the External Affairs Minister is publicly advising India to be afraid of China," he added. 

 Earlier today, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar found himself at the centre of a fresh controversy after a clip of him saying that Pakistan is a respected nation and suggesting that India should engage in dialogue with them went viral.

 A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said Kejriwal, arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, will have to surrender and go back to jail on June 2. 

 The bench refused the request of senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, that the interim bail be granted till June 5 -- a day after the votes are counted on June 4. 

 The apex court is hearing Kejriwal's plea challenging Delhi High Court's last month verdict upholding his arrest in the case. The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's now scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. -- PTI 

 A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had reserved its verdict on Kejriwal's interim bail on May 7.

On Tuesday, a Delhi court extended his judicial custody till May 20.

"Yesterday, ED presented its side before the Supreme Court and said that Arvind Kejriwal should not be granted interim bail because the right to campaign is a legal right, not a Constitutional right...It is correct. But the law also provides that if someone has been awarded punishment and court says that they are staying the punishment, he can take part in campaigning...," Sibal told ANI. 

 Sibal added: "Ask them how Hardik Patel contested the election. Hardik Patel was convicted, High Court stayed it. Hardik approached the Supreme Court and the Court stayed it. Hardik contested the election and joined the BJP. Someone, against whom you have evidence and punishment, has the right (to campaign) if the Court stays it. But someone who is just an accused can't be given the stay...What kind of politics is ED doing?..."

 Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will pass an order today on CM Kejriwal's interim bail in the money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. 

 A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday told Enforcement Directorate counsel Additional Solicitor General SV Raju that it may pass the order on interim relief to Kejriwal on Friday. 

 Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22. Kejriwal, while filing an appeal in the apex court, contended that his arrest after the announcement of the General Elections is "motivated by extraneous considerations."

Pitroda resigned as the party's overseas unit chief after stoking a major controversy this week with his remarks during a podcast where he cited ethnic and racial identities like Chinese, Africans, Arabs and Whites to describe the physical appearance of Indians from different parts of the country. 

 "I think what he was saying probably is what is the talk in the circles which he inhabits, possibly shared by people he has mentored, and I think there were two parts of it which were troubling for me," Jaishankar told PTI in an exclusive interview at the news agency's headquarters late Thursday. 

 "One what you referred to as typecasting and racial stereotyping. I think that was troubling for me. The second was actually a sense that you know what the remark implies -- that there are very different people, and somehow somebody has put it together, it has taken some kind of effort to bring them altogether, to make India. I find that even more troubling," he said. 

 "Because that is actually the colonial way of trying to define India. That you know, it took some outside force; it took some external force or some inorganic effort to put a country together. I think we have a natural organic unity," he said. 

 Pitroda was an advisor to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and has been closely associated with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanying him during his foreign visits. The external affairs minister said Pitroda's remarks reflected a certain kind of thinking. 

 "To me, India is a civilisation; it is a belief system in a way. It is something which is in our soul, it is in our sort of spirit, and clearly he does not share it," he said. Jaishankar further added, "To me, this is a certain kind of thinking, a thinking which likes to... which has actually assumed we are in bits and pieces and somewhere in their view, some ruler or maybe some family, somebody has put something together." 

The external affairs minister said Pitroda's remarks "revealed" the Congress' "mindset". 

 Asked whether he was willing to put the remarks as an immature comment, Jaishankar said, "You know, he is not exactly a young person so you can't say it is immature. Here is a person who has been around a lot.

"You know, there's a saying that the 'slip of the tongue is a slip of the mind'. So it's actually a mind speaking. It's a mindset...I would only suggest, a person was being around that long, this is clearly the mindset of a party and mindset of a set of people." PTI

 "It is obvious from the sweater I am wearing that my comments to Chill Pill were made in the winter several months ago. They have been dredged up now as the BJP's election campaign falters. I refuse to play their game," the Congress leader said in a statement. 

 "Interested persons may please read the relevant passages in my two books released by Juggernaut last year, "Memoirs of a Maverick" and "The Rajiv I Knew"..," he said. 

 In the video, Aiyar is saying that India should give respect to Pakistan as it possesses an atom bomb. "If we don't give them respect, they'll think of using atom bomb against India," he said in the video. Asked about use of India's muscular policy, he said, "We should not forget that Pakistan also has muscle at Kahuta (Rawalpindi)," a reference to the atomic bomb. -- PTI

 Dabholkar (67), an anti-superstition crusader, was shot dead while on a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge in Pune on August 20, 2013. Reading out the order in a packed courtroom, Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court) P P Jadhav said that the prosecution had proved the charges of murder and conspiracy against Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar and they have been awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

 According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Andure and Kalaskar had shot Dabholkar. 

 The court acquitted accused ENT surgeon Tawde, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave for want of evidence. The prosecution examined 20 witnesses while the defence examined two witnesses during the trial. 

The accused were opposed to Dabholkar's crusade against superstition, it had stated in its final arguments. Pune police initially probed the case. The CBI took over the probe in 2014 following a Bombay High Court, order and arrested Tawde linked to the Hindu right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha, in June 2016. 

 According to the prosecution, Tawde was one of the masterminds of the murder. Sanatan Sanstha, to which Tawde and some of the other accused were linked, was opposed to the work carried out by Dabholkar's organisation, the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (committee for eradication of superstition, Maharashtra), it claimed. 

 The CBI first named fugitives Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as the shooters in its charge sheet. But later it arrested Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, and claimed in a supplementary charge sheet that they had shot Dabholkar. Subsequently, the central agency arrested advocate Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave as alleged co-conspirators. During the trial, advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, one of the defence lawyers, had questioned the CBI's flip-flop over the shooters' identity. The accused were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 120 B (conspiracy ), 302 (murder), relevant sections of the Arms Act, and section 16 (Punishment for terrorist act ) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. 

 While Tawde, Andure and Kalaskar are in jail, Punalekar and Bhave are out on bail. Dabholkar's murder was followed by the murders of three other rationalists/activists in the next four years: communist leader Govind Pansare (Kolhapur, February 2015), Kannada scholar and writer M M Kalburgi (Dharwad, August 2015) and journalist Gauri Lankesh (Bengaluru, September 2017).-- PTI

Narendra Dabholkar was shot in Pune on August 20, 2013.

Details shortly.

The strike by a section of the cabin crew since Tuesday night that resulted in the cancellation of more than 170 flights was called off on Thursday evening and the airline also withdrew termination letters issued to 25 striking cabin crew. 

The Tata Group airline, which operates around 380 flights daily, has curtailed operations in the wake of the strike and the official on Friday said, normalcy is expected in the next two days.

Cabin crew who were on strike are joining back and the airline is extending support to them in getting the fitness certificate, which is required to resume duty, the official added. The official also said that most international flights are in the evening time and the operations on that front are expected to be better from Friday onwards with the availability of more cabin crew.

On average, the airline operates 120 international flights and 260 domestic services daily while there are fewer flights on some days. Faced with cabin crew shortage, Air India Express on Thursday cancelled 85 flights or around 23 per cent of its total daily capacity. 

 After the strike was called off on Thursday, the airline had said it will help to swiftly restore flight schedule and also apologised to passengers who were impacted by the flight disruptions. 

 Many cabin crew members had reported sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the airline and lack of equality in treatment of staff. Air India Express -- which is in the process of completing the merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself -- has around 6,000 employees, including over 2,000 cabin crew. PTI

During a recent campaign rally in Hyderabad, referencing AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi's statement from 2013 that it would take just '15 minutes' for his community to show what it could do to ensure demographic balance in the country, Navneet Rana had said that "it would take us 15 seconds (to strike back) if the police were removed or made to stand down". Slamming Navneet Rana for her "15 seconds" remark," Reddy urged the Election Commission to respond by taking action against her and arresting her for the offensive statement. 

 "The Election Commission should book a criminal case against the MP who had made provocative comments and arrest her. I would ask Union Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi, BJP leader has stated that if given 15 seconds, she will see the end of crores of people in the country... If you don't support it, then expel her from your party immediately," Reddy said. 

Accusing the BJP of trying to create communal tensions, Reddy urged Hindu and Muslim brothers not to fall into their trap. Addressing an election rally in Telangana's Medak on Thursday, Reddy said, "God should be in the temple, devotion should be in the heart. Today, I appeal to my Hindu brothers and Muslim brothers not to fall into the communal fight trap that is about to be started by the BJP. We are all brothers. Let us all save our state. It is our responsibility to protect the peace and security of our state."

Earlier, while responding to the AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi's statement that they would take them all of '15 minutes' to balance out the "Hindu-Muslim ratio" in the country, Navneet, who is seeking a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from Amravati, on a BJP ticket this time; hit back at the Owaisi brothers, saying "it would take us 15 seconds if the police were removed or made to stand down".

Aiyar further said there have been no efforts from India to reach out to Pakistan in the last ten years.

In an interview with Chill Pill Mani Shankar Aiyar on April 15 Aiyar said, "They are also a sovereign country (Pakistan). They are a respected nation. You can talk tough with them (Pakistan). But start the dialogue. You are walking with a gun which yielded you nothing. Tensions are escalating. And if a mad person comes there, what will happen to the nation? They have an atom bomb. We also possess the atomic bomb. But if a mad person detonates our bomb at Lahore station, so within eight seconds, eight moments, its radioactivity will reach Amritsar."

He added: "So you should prevent the use of atomic bombs. But, if you start a dialogue with them (Pakistan) and encourage them (by considering them as), then they should start thinking about their atomic bomb. But if you snub them, then a mad person will come and detonate the bomb. Then what will happen?"

He also took a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that there had been no effort to reach out to Pakistan in 10 years. "We must understand that to become the 'Vishwaguru' (global leader), it is important to show that we are working rapidly to solve (all the bilateral issues) with Pakistan. There has been no effort (on the part of the government) to ( reach out to Pakistan) in the last ten years," the Congress leader added.

Aiyar's pro-Pakistan stand was slammed by several BJP leaders, Union Minister Rajiv Chandrasekhar said the comment reflected Congress' ideology. -- ANI

"If Congress comes to power, as our manifesto states, every woman will get Rs 1 lakh in her bank account. Women from each household will receive Rs 1-1 lakh. Those who have two wives will get Rs 2 lakh..." Bhuria said while addressing a poll rally in Ratlam.

The Congress party on April 5 released the manifesto 'Nyay patra' for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. The Congress has promised to introduce the 'Mahalaxmi Scheme' in the poll manifesto which will provide Rs 1 lakh annually to the poor to alleviate poverty.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja shared the clip of Bhuria's statement on X and tagged the Election Commission seeking action.

In a post on X, Narendra Saluja wrote, "What an objectionable comment made by Congress's Ratlam candidate Kantilal Bhuria about the head of the country, who represents 140 crore people of the country...Such is the cheap thinking of Congress...Election Commission should take cognizance and take action." -- ANI

He joined the party after then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost the general elections in 2004 and has remained a committed party worker since.

Thakur has been attacked by terrorists for his association with the BJP; he was also kidnapped, but he fought off his kidnappers.

Asked why he joined the BJP in the Kashmir Valley, Altaf Thakur tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, "I like the BJP's ideology of nation first, therefore I joined them."

Read the interview here. 

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday disapproved of his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil's remarks that he and workers of his party BJP wanted to defeat NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar in Baramati, saying he should not have spoken those words.

  

Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded.

Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra contested from Baramati against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.

In March, Patil had said that he and his party workers wanted to defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family.

Patil, while speaking to reporters in Baramati, had accused the senior Pawar of "taking away" the Shiv Sena despite the people of the state giving a clear mandate in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance by electing 161 MLAs in the 2019 polls.

"I and my party workers want defeat of Sharad Pawar (in Baramati) and that is enough (for us)," the senior BJP leader had said.

Ajit Pawar, while expressing his displeasure over the BJP leader's comments made in March, said on Thursday, "He (Patil) should not have made those remarks."

"(After that statement), I told Chandrakant dada to look into the BJP's work in Pune city and me (Ajit Pawar) and my party workers will look after the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. He should not have made those comments. 

But later, he never spoke a word," said the Deputy Chief Minister. --- PTI

The Supreme Court is likely to pass an order today on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's interim bail in the money laundering case in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

 

A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday told the Enforcement Directorate counsel Additional Solicitor General SV Raju that it may pass the order on interim relief to Kejriwal on Friday.

 

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22. 

 

On Tuesday, the bench hinted at granting interim bail to Kejriwal to enable him to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, it had also said that if interim bail were granted, Kejriwal would not be allowed to discharge any official duties as Chief Minister.

 

The ED opposed his bail saying, the right to campaign in an election is neither a fundamental nor a constitutional right.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, also representing ED, told the bench at an earlier hearing that there can't be any deviation only because Kejriwal is Chief Minister and asked if the Supreme Court is carving out exceptions for politicians?

 

"How can a Chief Minister be treated differently from an aam aadmi? There can't be any deviation only because he is a chief minister. Would campaigning for elections be more important?" he had told the bench.

 

To this, the bench said that elections are held once every five years.

 

Meanwhile, the legal team of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, has raised a strong objection to the affidavit filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opposing interim bail in the Supreme Court.

 

A formal complaint has been lodged with the Supreme Court's registry denouncing the ED's affidavit as a blatant disregard of legal procedures, especially considering that the matter is already slated for a final decision in the SC today and the affidavit was submitted without the SC's approval.

The team issued a press release revealing that a formal complaint in this regard has been lodged with the Supreme Court's registry.

Denouncing the ED's affidavit as a blatant disregard of legal procedures, the release said the affidavit was submitted without taking the SC's approval and issued at a time when the matter is already slated for a final decision in the top court tomorrow.

The right to campaign in an election is neither a fundamental nor a constitutional right, the Enforcement Directorate submitted to the apex court on Thursday, a day ahead of the scheduled pronouncement of the court's order on grant of interim bail to Kejriwal in an alleged money laundering case. -- PTI

Addressing a rally in Srirampur in Ahmednagar for his party's Shirdi Lok Sabha candidate Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Thackeray further said the PM will make such statements on one hand and then bow at the Shivaji Park memorial of the late Shiv Sena founder during his Mumbai visit on May 17. 

"In a rally in Telangana, the PM said he wants to ask the nakli santaan of Balasaheb. Modiji should fight me, but if you insult my parents I will not tolerate it," Thackeray said. -- PTI

Ajit Pawar criticised Patil, a senior BJP leader, for his remarks two days after polling in the Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district concluded. 

Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra contested from Baramati against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar. 

In March, Patil had said that he and his party workers wanted to defeat Sharad Pawar in Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family. 

Patil, while speaking to reporters in Baramati, had accused the senior Pawar of "taking away" the Shiv Sena despite the people of the state giving a clear mandate in favour of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance by electing 161 MLAs in the 2019 polls. 

"I and my party workers want defeat of Sharad Pawar (in Baramati) and that is enough (for us)," the senior BJP leader had said. 

Ajit Pawar, while expressing his displeasure over the BJP leader's comments made in March, said on Thursday, 

"He (Patil) should not have made those remarks." 

"(After that statement), I told Chandrakant dada to look into the BJP's work in Pune city and me (Ajit Pawar) and my party workers will look after the Baramati Lok Sabha seat. He should not have made those comments. But later, he never spoke a word," said the deputy CM.