Rafale: Rahul Gandhi challenges Narendra Modi to one-on-one debate on the jet deal

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated his accusations that the Narendra Modi-led government had inflated the figures for the Rafale jet deal and changed the defence procurement procedure to buy 36 aircraft. Gandhi challenged the prime minister to a 20-minute debate on the matter.

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Sohrabuddin Sheikh case: Congress ‘misused’ CBI to frame Amit Shah, says Chief Minister Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Wednesday accused the Congress of “misusing” the Central Bureau of Investigation to frame Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case. The chief minister demanded that Congress President Rahul Gandhi apologise for his party’s attempt to “implicate Shah in the matter”.

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Centre says it cracked down on 18 Khalistani terror modules, arrested 95 suspects over two years

The Centre on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that security personnel had cracked down on 18 Khalistani terror modules in Punjab and arrested 95 people for their alleged roles connected to it over the last two years. The Khalistan movement seeks a separate homeland for the Sikh community.

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Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya suicides: NHRC issues notice to Centre, seeks response within six weeks

The National Human Rights Commission has asked the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development to respond within six weeks to its notice on reported suicides in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. The schools are run by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, which is an autonomous organisation under the Department of School Education and Literacy of the ministry.

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Demonetised notes worth Rs 40 lakh offered by Vaishno Devi pilgrims between 2017 and 2018: Report

The Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, which runs the temple in Jammu and Kashmir, has said that pilgrims have offered Rs 40 lakh in demonetised currency notes in the last two years, the Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday.

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Bihar: RJD leader killed in Nalanda, irate mob beats two people to death

A mob protesting a Rashtriya Janata Dal leader’s death in Bihar allegedly lynched two people, including a 14-year-old boy, on Wednesday in Nalanda district’s Maghra village. The leader, Indal Paswan, was shot dead in Nalanda district on Tuesday night.

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Over 4,800 NGOs barred from receiving foreign funding in the last three years, says Kiren Rijiju

The Centre on Wednesday said that in the last three years more than 4,800 non-governmental organisations have been barred from receiving foreign funding after their licences to receive such money were cancelled.

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Delhi government notifies amendments to Disabilities Act

The Delhi government has notified the amendments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, giving persons with disabilities better access to education, health services and employment, PTI reported on Tuesday.

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Rafale debate: Jaitley dismisses Congress demand for parliamentary inquiry, says SC examined deal

The Lok Sabha witnessed huge uproar on Wednesday as Congress President Rahul Gandhi opened the debate on the Rafale jet deal with France, raising questions about alleged irregularities in the deal.

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Tamil Nadu: Traders, manufacturers go on indefinite strike as plastic ban comes into effect

Traders and manufacturers of plastic have launched an indefinite strike in Tamil Nadu as the ban on use of plastic in the state came into effect on Tuesday, reported The News Minute.

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Meghalaya: Supreme Court to hear petition on rescue of trapped miners on Thursday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a petition seeking urgent directions to the Centre and Meghalaya governments to rescue the 15 people trapped in a flooded rat-hole mine in the state’s East Jainitia Hills district since December 13.

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Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court against NGT order allowing Vedanta to reopen Thoothukudi plant

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the National Green Tribunal’s order to reopen Vedanta’s Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi, the Hindustan Times reported.

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Amount of public sector Mudra loans that turned non-performing rose two times in 2017-’18: Centre

The amount of Mudra scheme loans given by public sector banks that turned into non-performing assets increased two times in 2017-’18, the Ministry of Finance has said.

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Uttar Pradesh: Two women get married in temple after divorcing their husbands

Two women got married in a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region on Saturday after divorcing their husbands. Reports have claimed the two had met in college but were forced to drop out because of their relationship and were then married to men. However, the registrar has said he cannot recognise the marriage.

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Rajasthan: ‘My first priority is to work for my caste,’ claims Congress minister Mamta Bhupesh

Rajasthan Minister Mamta Bhupesh on Sunday said she will first work for her caste and only then the rest of society, PTI reported. The women and child development minister is the only woman in the Cabinet of newly-elected Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

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Railway Board seeks action against officer who wrote article ‘casting aspersions’ on Piyush Goyal

The Railway Board has sought disciplinary action against an officer on special duty for breach of decorum, misconduct and for casting aspersions on Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal in an article.

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Amount of public sector Mudra loans that turned non-performing rose two times in 2017-’18: Centre

The amount of Mudra scheme loans given by public sector banks that turned into non-performing assets increased two times in 2017-’18, the Ministry of Finance has said. Data given by the ministry showed that such loans increased from Rs 3,790.35 crore in 2016-’17 to Rs 7,277.31 crore in 2017-’18, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday. The amount was Rs 596.72 crore in 2015-’16.

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Tamil Nadu moves Supreme Court against NGT order allowing Vedanta to reopen Thoothukudi plant

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the National Green Tribunal’s order to reopen Vedanta’s Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi, the Hindustan Times reported. In its petition, the state government argued that the tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the matter.

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Meghalaya: Supreme Court to hear petition on rescue of trapped miners on Thursday

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a petition seeking urgent directions to the Centre and Meghalaya governments to rescue the 15 people trapped in a flooded rat-hole mine in the state’s East Jainitia Hills district since December 13.

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Tamil Nadu: Traders, manufacturers go on indefinite strike as plastic ban comes into effect

Traders and manufacturers of plastic have launched an indefinite strike in Tamil Nadu as the ban on use of plastic in the state came into effect on Tuesday, reported The News Minute.

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Rafale debate: Lok Sabha disrupted after Rahul Gandhi seeks permission to play ‘Parrikar tape’

Congress President Rahul Gandhi opened the debate on the Rafale jet deal with France in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, raising questions about alleged irregularities in the deal. “There are a number of holes in the Rafale story,” he claimed. There was an uproar in the house when the Congress president sought to play an audio clip in which they claim Goa minister Vishwajeet Rane said Chief Minister Parrikar is aware of all the details of the India-France Rafale jet deal.

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Rafale deal: Congress releases audio clip, says Parrikar claimed he had ‘all files in his bedroom’

The Congress on Tuesday released an audio clip in which Goa minister Vishwajeet Rane purportedly claims that former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is aware of all the details of the India-France Rafale jet deal, ANI reported. Parrikar allegedly claimed to have “all the files related to the Rafale deal in his bedroom”.

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Parliament: Both Houses adjourned till 2 pm amid protests; amendments to Aadhaar Act introduced

Both Houses of the Parliament were adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday following disruptions by Opposition parties over a range of issues. Rajya Sabha proceedings were called off till 2 pm after All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MPs continued to protest against the construction of a dam over the Cauvery river, ANI reported. Congress MPs, meanwhile, demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale jet deal.

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Sabarimala: Two women below 50 enter temple to offer prayers, shrine reopens after purification

Two women in their 40s entered the Ayyappa temple in Kerala on Wednesday to offer prayers. Massive protests had prevented dozens of women from entering the shrine until now despite the Supreme Court allowing the entry of women of menstruating age in September. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed the entry of the women and said police were given orders to provide “all possible protection to any woman who wants to enter the temple”.

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Rafale deal: Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha, Prashant Bhushan file review petition against SC verdict

Former Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha and lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Wednesday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its judgement refusing a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the Rafale defence deal between India and France. The top court had on December 14 dismissed a bunch of public interest litigations seeking an investigation into the deal.

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Thoothukudi: US journalist covering Sterlite asked to leave India for allegedly violating visa rules

A freelance journalist from the United States who was covering the Sterlite copper plant case in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district was asked to leave India for allegedly violating visa rules, reports said on Tuesday. Superintendent of Police Murali Rambha said he, as foreigner registration officer in Thoothukudi district, issued Mark Scialla a Leave India Notice, The Hindu reported.

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GST collection falls 3% in December from previous month

The Union Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said it had collected Rs 94,726 crore as Goods and Services Tax in December – lower than the Rs 97,637 collected the previous month.

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Delhi: Former JD(U) MLA allegedly shoots woman in the head during New Year’s party

A former two-time MLA from Bihar allegedly shot a 45-year-old woman in the head at a New Year’s party in a farmhouse in New Delhi late on Monday. Raju Kumar Singh, a politician with multiple cases against him, is absconding along with his driver, police said, according to The Indian Express. He was an MLA when he was in the Janata Dal (United) but had reportedly joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015.

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Priest in Ayodhya arrested for allegedly raping devotee, says report

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested the chief priest of a temple in Ayodhya for allegedly holding a woman devotee hostage and raping her repeatedly, PTI reported.

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Sabarimala temple ‘purified’ after two women under 50 enter shrine, offer prayers

Three months after the Supreme Court lifted traditional restrictions on women of menstrual age entering the Sabarimala temple of Kerala, two women in their 40s entered the Ayyappa shrine early on Wednesday and offered prayers, police officials told Scroll.in.

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Modi interview: Congress says PM is sidestepping the Ram temple matter, RSS calls remarks ‘positive’

The Congress on Tuesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interview with news agency ANI a “monologue” and summarised it as “I, Me, Mine, Myself”. The party listed 10 questions for the prime minister, seeking answers on promises on jobs and black money and policies such as demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax.

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Narendra Modi interview: Mistake to think just one surgical strike will change Pakistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began 2019 with a wide-ranging 95-minute interview with news agency ANI, in which he spoke about a whole host of subjects from the Ram Temple to the resignation of Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel and the grand alliance shaping up to oppose him.

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Bulandshahr violence: Man who allegedly attacked inspector with an axe arrested

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday arrested another key accused in connection with the murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh on December 3 during the mob violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district. The mob had been protesting against an alleged incident of cow slaughter.

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Gujarat: Now, school students to answer roll calls with ‘Jai Hind’ or ‘Jai Bharat’

The Gujarat government issued a notification on Monday directing students to answer roll calls with “Jai Hind” or “Jai Bharat” instead of words such as “yes” or “present” that are currently used. The notification was issued by the Directorate of Primary Education and Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board.

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Kerala: Lakhs participate in 620-km ‘women’s wall’ from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram

Lakhs of women in Kerala on Tuesday participated in the 620 km-long “women’s wall” –
from Kasargod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south – to send a message of gender equality.

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