BJP labels Shiv Sena attack as 'convenient'

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday complimented his six party workers who were arrested for smearing former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sudheendra Kulkarni's face with ink on Monday, calling it a "brave act". Kulkarni's think-tank, the Observer Research Foundation, had organised the book launch of former Pakistan foreign minister KM Kasuri on Monday in Mumbai, which went against the Sena's politics. The BJP, which is the Shiv Sena's ally in Maharashtra, labeled the act as "convenient" and asked the firebrand party to instead work together for the development of the state. The Times of India reported that Thackeray had challenged the BJP to quit the alliance if it can't get along with them.

SC rejects Bhatt's claims on Modi's 2002 riots role

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected sacked IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's claims about a collusion between high state functionaries in the then Narendra Modi state government in Gujarat and the prosecution to save the accused in the 2002 Godhra riots, including current Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah. Bhatt had said he was present in a meeting at Modi's home during the communal riots where the chief minister allegedly asked the police to go soft on those engaged in anti-Muslim violence. The court rejected Bhatt’s claims and said he was in touch with “top rival political leaders of Gujarat”, adding that his actions were orchestrated by them to ambush the then Gujarat government.

Sharif to bring up stalled Indo-Pak peace process with Obama

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will bring up the issue of the suspended peace process with India when he meets US President Barack Obama next week, announced the country's National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz on Tuesday. Aziz said that the rising tension between Pakistan and India was a threat to world peace. He also hinted at sharing dossiers with the US and the United Nations on India's alleged involvement in "subversive" activities, accusing New Delhi of supporting militants to destabilise Pakistan. Sharif is expected to meet Obama on October 22 in Washington during his US trip.

Punjabi author returns Padma Shri

Punjabi author Dalip Kaur Tiwana announced on Tuesday that she would return her Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour conferred on her in 2004, to mark her protest over the growing intolerance in the country. Tiwana compared the "atrocities committed on Sikhs in 1984" to the current attacks on Muslims such as the Dadri lynching case. She also expressed solidarity with 25 other writers who have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the “increasing communalisation of society and polity“. The Bharatiya Janata Party later denied that it was being soft on the issue of intolerance and asked for the ideological inclinations of the writers to be checked.

Iran releases 9 Indian sailors

Nine Indian sailors who were jailed in Iran on charges of smuggling have been released, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Tuesday. Swaraj had raised the issue of the jailed Indians with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif during his visit to India in August. Following the announcement of the release, she thanked Iran and Zarif in a tweet for taking "prompt action on our request", and said that the sailors will be reaching Delhi on Wednesday.