Lalu and Nitish playing caste politics in Bihar, claims Amit Shah
Major developments from around the country.
Amit Shah says that Nitish betrayed BJP
Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Sunday criticised Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for joining hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad and the Congress. Addressing an election rally in Katihar in Bihar, Shah said that Nitish had betrayed the BJP by opposing Narendra Modi’s candidature for prime minister. He added that the Bihar elections would be fought on the issue of development and that Lalu and Nitish were “misleading the people of Bihar in the name of caste”.
Gujarat local body polls postponed
The Gujarat State Election Commission announced the postponement of polls to local bodies in the state, citing the unstable law and order situation. According to PTI, the commission is concerned about the Patel quota agitation. A decision on the elections will be taken within three months, after re-examining the situation.
Man who shot himself at Delhi Metro station arrested
The 22-year-old man who tried to shoot himself at Delhi’s Rajiv Chowk Metro station last week was formally arrested by Delhi Police on Sunday. Shibesh Adhikari, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, is suspected to be mentally unstable and gave inconsistent details about the sequence of events. Adhikari claimed that he accidentally shot himself as he was on his way to "assassinate" a person who was about to "blow up" Delhi Metro. The police believe he tried to shoot himself in the head, but missed the target and the bullet grazed past his shoulder.
Gold worth Rs 8.43 crore seized at Madurai airport
Almost 32 kilograms of gold, worth Rs 8.43 crore, was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at the Madurai airport on Sunday in a major crackdown on gold smuggling. Officials intercepted passengers in two flights, a Mihin Lanka flight from Colombo and a SpiceJet from Dubai, suspected of smuggling gold into Tamil Nadu. Gold bars weighing a kilogram each and 100 gram gold biscuits were recovered during the search. The officials said the gold bars were wrapped in chocolate wrappers. Ten passengers have been detained for questioning.
Rebel Punjab AAP members form new outfit
Just 14 months before the scheduled Assembly election, dissatisfied members of the Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit on Sunday announced their resignation from the outfit, citing unhappiness with its way of functioning. Claiming that the party has deviated from its original ideals, the disgruntled leaders also declared the formation of a new front called Aam Aadmi Party Volunteers Front. Two suspended AAP MPs, Dharamvira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa, have lent their support to the new outfit.