Top news: Kerala government told to provide security to two women who entered Sabarimala
The biggest stories of the day.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Kerala government to provide round-the-clock security to the two women who, earlier this month, became the first women of menstruating age to enter the Ayappa temple in Sabarimala and offer prayers.
The Centre on Friday appointed former Central Bureau of Investigation Special Director Rakesh Asthana the director general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The government had removed him from the CBI on Thursday, along with three other officers.
Congress leader P Chidambaram claimed that the Centre sought to benefit Dassault Aviation by negotiating a new deal for Rafale aircraft with France. He said the Congress wants a Joint Parliamentary Committee inquiry into the agreement.
Madhya Pradesh: BJP leader’s murder in Mandsaur is internal party matter, claims CM Kamal Nath
“There is no doubt who is the accused and who has committed the crime,” Nath told reporters. “But there should be no politics over this issue. I believe that it is unfair to make a political issue out of a murder of a person, especially when it is an internal matter of a party.”
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Kerala rape case: Transfer order is an attempt to mentally harass us, say protesting nuns
“It is mental harassment so that the survivor sister and we come under mental pressure and somehow finish,” said Sister Anupama Kelamangalathuveliyil. “We won’t go, will be here with our survivor sister until our case ends.”
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‘Manikarnika’: Kangana Ranaut says she will ‘destroy’ Karni Sena after outfit threatens filmmakers
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut on Friday threatened to “destroy” the Rajput Karni Sena, after the outfit said that the makers of Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi will face “consequences” if Rani Laxmibai has been shown in a negative light in the movie.
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Ram temple in Ayodhya should be built by 2025, says RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday said the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya should begin now so that it can be completed by 2025.
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Former CBI deputy chief Rakesh Asthana appointed director general of Bureau of Civil Aviation
The Centre on Friday appointed former Central Bureau of Investigation second-in-command Rakesh Asthana director general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, a day after removing him and three other officers from the agency.
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AAP won’t ally with Congress ‘for 2019 or beyond’, says spokesperson
The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday said there was no possibility of such an alliance “in 2019 or beyond”, rejecting a call by regional party leaders to come together for a tie-up with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, The Indian Express reported.
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Sabarimala: 51 women under the age of 50 have entered temple so far, Kerala government tells SC
The Kerala government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that a total of 51 women of menstruating age have entered the Sabarimala shrine since the top court in September allowed women of all ages to enter.
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Rafale deal: Chidambaram says Centre sought to benefit Dassault Aviation, demands JPC investigation
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday reiterated the party’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation into the Rafale jet deal.
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Health ministry bans 80 more fixed-dose combination drugs, including antibiotics and painkillers
These 80 drugs are part of a list of 294 drugs that were first banned in November 2007 as they were licensed without the approval of the Drugs Controller General of India. Drug manufacturers challenged the ban in the Madras High Court and managed to get a stay on proceedings.
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UP Cabinet approves proposal to rename Mughalsarai tehsil after Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Last year, the state cabinet decided to rename Allahabad city Prayagraj, and Faizabad district was renamed Ayodhya district. The Indian Air Force airport in Gorakhpur was renamed after Maha Yogi Gorakhnath.
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Maharashtra may introduce ordinance against dance bars, says state finance minister
On Thursday, the Supreme Court struck down some restrictions imposed on these establishments under a 2016 law, and said there cannot be a total ban on them.
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UP: Enforcement Directorate summons IAS officer, Samajwadi Party MLC in illegal mining case
The agency’s move comes a day after it registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on a Central Bureau of Investigation case in connection with the ongoing probe in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of sand mining leases between 2012 and 2016.
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Vibrant Gujarat summit: Modi says India is aiming to be in the top 50 of ease of doing business list
India, which was ranked 77th on the World Bank’s Doing Business Report in 2018, has jumped 65 places in the last four years. “I have asked my team to work harder so that India is in the ‘Top 50’ list in ease of doing business next year,” the prime minister said.
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J&K: Suspected militants carry out grenade attacks in Srinagar and Shopian
Three grenade blasts have now taken place in Kashmir in the past 24 hours. On Thursday, three police officers were wounded when suspected militants hurled a grenade at security forces near Zero Bridge in Srinagar’s Rajbagh area.
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Full text: Ambedkarite organisations demand withdrawal of charges against Anand Teltumbde
The statement was issued in response to the imminent arrest that the activist faces after the Supreme Court on Monday rejected his appeal to quash the first information report filed by the Pune Police against him. Teltumbde was granted protection from arrest for four weeks, during which he can seek bail from a trial court. Two days later, Teltumbde wrotean open letter to the public, asking for support.
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‘Twitter is preparing for Indian elections,’ CEO Jack Dorsey tells Huffington Post
On January 10, Twitter had announced that it will provide an advertising dashboard that will show expenditures by political parties in India on the platform during the course of the election. Twitter Global Vice President (Public Policy) Colin Crowell said the tool – Ads Transparency Centre – will be available over the next few weeks.
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Grand alliance: Rahul Gandhi writes to Mamata Banerjee, extends support for Kolkata rally
The rally, which will take place in Kolkata, is being seen as an effort to unite the Opposition against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are expected to address it, as are Opposition leaders Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Omar Abdullah, N Chandrababu Naidu, Tejashwi Yadav and MK Stalin.
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Sabarimala: SC directs Kerala government to provide full security to two women who entered shrine
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Kerala government to provide round-the-clock security to the two women who were the first of menstruating age to enter the Sabarimala temple and offer prayers earlier this month, ANI reported. The women had moved the top court on Thursday seeking police protection, claiming their life and liberty were in danger.
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Tamil Nadu: Woman who contracted HIV after blood transfusion gives birth
A woman who had contracted HIV after undergoing blood transfusion in December gave birth to a girl at a hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai city on Thursday evening, reports said. Doctors said the baby was born underweight but is now doing fine.
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Upper-caste quota: DMK moves Madras High Court against 10% reservation to economically backward
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Friday moved the Madras High Court challenging a constitutional amendment granting 10% reservation in government jobs and education institutions for the economically weak sections of the upper castes, ANI reported. The party’s organising secretary RS Bharathi filed the plea.
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Rafale: Similar specifications, but each jet 41% costlier in NDA deal than UPA’s, reports The Hindu
The Narendra Modi government’s decision to accept the cost of €1.3 billion for the design and development of 13 India-specific Enhancements was the major reason for the increase in per-aircraft price in the Rafale jet deal by 41.42% compared to the deal signed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, The Hindu reported on Friday.
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Jammu and Kashmir: At least 10 trapped after avalanche hits Khardung La pass in Ladakh
At least 10 people are trapped after an avalanche hit Khardunga La pass in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh on Friday morning, ANI reported. A search and rescue operation –
involving personnel from the district administration, police and State Disaster Response Force – is under way in the high altitude region.
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Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna sworn in as Supreme Court judges amid seniority row
Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna were sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court on Friday. The top court now has 28 judges as against the sanctioned strength of 31. The swearing-in ceremony took place in the chamber of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi at 10.30 am on Friday, according to Live Law.
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Karnataka: Congress hopes to put up a show of strength in legislature party meeting today
The Congress party in Karnataka is seeking to put up a show of strength on Friday at its legislature party meeting later in the day amid reports that some of its MLAs have joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple the government.
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Dabholkar, Pansare murders: Don’t just rely on Gauri Lankesh case findings, Bombay HC tells CBI, CID
The Bombay High Court on Thursday told investigation teams looking into the murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare not to depend on the revelations made in the investigations in Gauri Lankesh murder case.
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IndiGo, GoAir barred from flying Airbus A320neo aircraft to Port Blair
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has banned IndiGo and GoAir from flying Airbus A320neo aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney engines to Port Blair.
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Election Commission asks Delhi Police to investigate fake Lok Sabha poll schedule on social media
The Election Commission on Thursday asked the Delhi Police to investigate a “fake news” item spread about the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections being circulated on social media platforms.
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Jayant Sinha denies media reports that he predicted an unstable government after Lok Sabha polls
Union minister Jayant Sinha took to Twitter to deny media reports in which he had been quoted as saying that the “most likely” outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be an unstable government.
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CBI row: Rakesh Asthana’s tenure curtailed by Centre, three other officers also removed
The Centre on Thursday approved a proposal to end the tenure of Central Bureau of Investigation Special Director Rakesh Asthana, and three other officers with immediate effect.
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