Hardik Patel rules out negotiations
The curfew imposed in Gujarat in the wake of violent protests to demand Other Backward Class-category status for the Patel community was lifted from parts of the state on Friday, even as community leader Hardik Patel threatened to intensify the agitation for reservations. Officials said that curfew was lifted from the Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad, where a protestor died after being allegedly beaten up by police forces in the area. The officials said that as many as 95 First Information Reports had been registered, with nearly 100 people being arrested. Hardik Patel ruled out the possibility of negotiations on the issue of reservations.
'Captured militant met with Hafeez Saeed'
Abu Ubaidullah, the second Pakistani militant captured in Jammu and Kashmir this month, met with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafeez Saeed at least twice while being trained by the outfit, investigators said on Friday. The officials said that Ubaidullah had gone through at least three rounds of training with the militant group before being sent to North Kashmir with instructions to set up a base in the Rafiabad region. Ubaidullah’s capture comes after another militant, Mohammed Naveed, was captured by security forces after he and another group of fighters ambushed a Border Security Force convoy in the Udhampur district of Kashmir.
Government allows land ordinance to lapse
The Land Acquisition Ordinance was allowed to lapse on Friday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre choosing not to re-promulgate it for a fourth time. The government also issued executive orders to extend provisions relating to the compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement portions of the Land Acquisition Act 2013 to 13 Central Acts such as the Railways Act and the National Highways Act. The orders will allow the government to acquire land under the 13 Acts, which were not included in the version of the Bill implemented by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. They will also allow state governments to acquire land under their own laws.
PMO ‘directly involved’ in dealing with OROP: Parrikar
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that the Prime Minister’s Office was “directly involved” in finding a resolution to the One Rank One Pension stand-off. The prolonged delay in implementing the scheme has sparked protests by retired members of the armed forces. “Give it some time for completion,” Parrikar said. However, ex-servicemen’s associations later said that they were disheartened by the defence minister’s remarks.
India, US aim to share terror database
India and the United States are expected to reach an agreement on sharing a terrorism-related database for the exchange of information, Indian government officials said on Friday. The officials said that the database would be shared between the US Terrorist Screening Centre and India’s Intelligence Bureau. A senior official said that while negotiations between the two sides were still ongoing, “a mutually favourable framework” was “close to fruition”.
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The curfew imposed in Gujarat in the wake of violent protests to demand Other Backward Class-category status for the Patel community was lifted from parts of the state on Friday, even as community leader Hardik Patel threatened to intensify the agitation for reservations. Officials said that curfew was lifted from the Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad, where a protestor died after being allegedly beaten up by police forces in the area. The officials said that as many as 95 First Information Reports had been registered, with nearly 100 people being arrested. Hardik Patel ruled out the possibility of negotiations on the issue of reservations.
'Captured militant met with Hafeez Saeed'
Abu Ubaidullah, the second Pakistani militant captured in Jammu and Kashmir this month, met with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafeez Saeed at least twice while being trained by the outfit, investigators said on Friday. The officials said that Ubaidullah had gone through at least three rounds of training with the militant group before being sent to North Kashmir with instructions to set up a base in the Rafiabad region. Ubaidullah’s capture comes after another militant, Mohammed Naveed, was captured by security forces after he and another group of fighters ambushed a Border Security Force convoy in the Udhampur district of Kashmir.
Government allows land ordinance to lapse
The Land Acquisition Ordinance was allowed to lapse on Friday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre choosing not to re-promulgate it for a fourth time. The government also issued executive orders to extend provisions relating to the compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement portions of the Land Acquisition Act 2013 to 13 Central Acts such as the Railways Act and the National Highways Act. The orders will allow the government to acquire land under the 13 Acts, which were not included in the version of the Bill implemented by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. They will also allow state governments to acquire land under their own laws.
PMO ‘directly involved’ in dealing with OROP: Parrikar
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that the Prime Minister’s Office was “directly involved” in finding a resolution to the One Rank One Pension stand-off. The prolonged delay in implementing the scheme has sparked protests by retired members of the armed forces. “Give it some time for completion,” Parrikar said. However, ex-servicemen’s associations later said that they were disheartened by the defence minister’s remarks.
India, US aim to share terror database
India and the United States are expected to reach an agreement on sharing a terrorism-related database for the exchange of information, Indian government officials said on Friday. The officials said that the database would be shared between the US Terrorist Screening Centre and India’s Intelligence Bureau. A senior official said that while negotiations between the two sides were still ongoing, “a mutually favourable framework” was “close to fruition”.