West Bengal: NRC is an electoral gimmick, says Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday described the National Register of Citizens in Assam as an electoral gimmick and said she would not allow it to be implemented in West Bengal. “These are all electoral gimmick and there is no need to bother about it. As long as we are alive, such attempts will be futile,” Banerjee said.

Read more here.

Shiv Sena is the BJP’s big brother in Maharashtra, says Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday referred to his party as the “big brother” in the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra. The saffron party has not proposed extending the alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, he added.

Read more here.

Indian Science Congress: Speakers at certain events will have their talks vetted, says association

The Indian Science Congress Association has said that it was deeply shocked to learn of unscientific claims made at the an event for children during a gathering of scientists in Punjab earlier this month. “The ISCA is greatly concerned and will not tolerate in the future any unscientific claims at the session,” Dr Manoj Kumar Chakrabarti, the general president of the Indian Science Congress Association, said.

Read more here.

Sensex ends 369 points lower, NSE Nifty drops 119 points ahead of Union Budget

Days before the Union Budget, the BSE Sensex on Monday dove 369 points to end at 35,656.70, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty dropped 119 points to close at 10,661 points. The decline was attributed to heavy selling pressure in the banking, auto and consumer durable sector.

Read more here.

Rahul Gandhi promises minimum income for every poor person if Congress is voted to power

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday announced that his party would ensure that every poor person in the country receives minimum income if it returns to power after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “This means, each poor person in India will have minimum income. This means there will be no hungry, poor people in India,” he said in Chhattisgarh.

Read more here.

Karnataka: Congress leader Siddaramaiah accused of misbehaving with woman at Mysuru meeting

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday found himself the subject of a controversy after he attempted to snatch a microphone from a woman’s hand during a public meeting and, in the process, pulled her dupatta off.

Read more here.

Bharat Ratna: Asaduddin Owaisi questions Centre on choice of award recipients

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday questioned the Centre on its choice of recipients of the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award. “Tell me out of the total Bharat Ratna awards given how many were Dalit, Adivasi, Muslim, poor, upper caste and Brahmin?” he said while addressing a rally in Kalyan in Maharashtra’s Thane district.

Read more here.

Himachal Pradesh: For Congress, OROP stands for ‘Only Rahul Only Priyanka’, claims Amit Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Monday attacked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra by introducing a new definition of the abbreviation of the One Rank One Pension scheme. “Modiji gave OROP to our jawans, Congress gave ‘Only Rahul Only Priyanka’.”

Read more here.

Institutes of Eminence: Intelligence Bureau names universities critical of Modi, reports The Print

The Intelligence Bureau sent the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development a note last month, saying that those associated with universities like Ashoka University, KREA and Azim Premji University have been critical of the government, and of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Print reported on Monday. Hence, the ministry has been reportedly hesitant to grant these universities the Institute of Eminence tag.

Read more here.

Supreme Court should rule on Ayodhya case soon, says Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said the Supreme Court should soon take up the long-pending Ayodhya case as people were waiting for a Ram temple to be built on the site where the Babri Masjid once stood.

Read more here.

Haryana: 60% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in Jind Assembly bye-election

Voting to select an MLA for Haryana’s Jind Assembly constituency began at 7 am on Monday amid tight security. Around 1.7 lakh people are expected to exercise their franchise in the bye-election. Over 60% voter turnout was recorded till 3 pm.

Read more here.

Audio clip on Rafale deal authentic, Manohar Parrikar has ‘explosive secrets’, alleges Rahul Gandhi

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday claimed that an audio clip related to the Rafale deal released earlier this month was authentic and that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was in possession of “explosive Rafale secrets”.

Read more here.

Tamil Nadu: Chennai Police ask band to stop performing song with ‘Modi’ in lyrics

The Chennai Police on Monday intervened and allegedly stopped a music band from performing a song featuring the word “Modi”. The Casteless Collective was performing at Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar as part of a cultural festival called the Chennai Kalai Theru Vizha.

Read more here.

Bhopal gas tragedy: Supreme Court to hear Centre’s petition for increased compensation in April

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the Centre’s curative petition seeking Rs 7,844 crore from the successor companies of Union Carbide, to provide compensation to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. The court said it will hear the petition in April.

Read more here.

Uttar Pradesh: Police constable and suspected criminal killed in encounter in Amroha

A police constable and a suspected criminal were killed in an encounter in Amroha in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday evening. Chief Minister Adityanath announced a compensation package for the constable’s wife and parents, but his family members have expressed dissatisfaction.

Read more here.

Supreme Court asks ED when it wants to question Karti Chidambaram in INX Media, Aircel-Maxis cases

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Enforcement Directorate to inform it of the date by January 30 when it seeks to interrogate Karti Chidambaram in connection with the INX Media and Aircel Maxis cases.

Read more here.

Ambati Rayudu suspended from bowling by ICC after opting against evaluating suspect action

Ambati Rayudu was Monday suspended from bowling in international cricket by the International Cricket Council after the Indian player opted against getting his suspect action tested within the stipulated 14-day period.

Read more here.

Bengaluru: Toddler dies after falling from Metro station escalator

An 18-month-old died on Monday after she fell off an escalator at a Metro station in Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru the previous night. Police have registered a case of negligence.

Read more here.

UP: Air force plane crashes in Kushinagar district, no injuries reported

An Indian Air Force plane crashed in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district on Monday. However, no casualties were reported, as the aircraft crashed in a non-residential area and both pilots ejected safely.

Read more here.

Nitin Gadkari’s ‘tall promises’ comment was aimed at Congress and Rahul Gandhi, clarifies BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday attempted to clarify Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s comment that urged leaders to make only those promises that could be fulfilled. BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao claimed Gadkari was referring to the Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi, and not his own party, when he made the comment.

Read more here.

2008 Assam bombings: Bodoland outfit founder Ranjan Daimary, 13 others held guilty

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Monday pronounced National Democratic Front of Bodoland founder Ranjan Daimary and 13 others guilty in the 2008 Assam bombings case.

Read more here.

Assam: Supreme Court wants details on detention centres, foreigners detained in the last 10 years

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to submit details about the number of functioning detention centres in Assam, the number of foreigners who have been detained there in the last 10 years and for how long they were detained.

Read more here.

Editors Guild demands inquiry after journalists were denied entry to Republic Day event in Srinagar

The Editors Guild of India on Monday condemned the “arbitrary manner” in which journalists in Jammu and Kashmir were denied entry to the venue of the Republic Day event in the state on Saturday and demanded an inquiry.

Read more here.

SC refers mandatory recital of Sanskrit hymns in Kendriya Vidyalayas to Constitution bench

The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a Constitution bench a petition challenging the compulsory recitation of Sanskrit and Hindi hymns during morning assemblies at the central government-run Kendriya Vidyalayas.

Read more here.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy threatens to resign if Congress does not control its MLAs

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday threatened to resign if the Congress did not rein in its MLAs. Kumaraswamy, responding to a question about a Congress MLA who referred to Siddaramaiah as the state leader, said: “If they want to continue with the same thing, I am ready to step down. They are crossing the line.”

Read more here.

Tamil Nadu: MDMK functionary arrested for posting defamatory image of Narendra Modi

The Tamil Nadu Police have arrested a functionary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam from Nagapattinam for sharing an allegedly defamatory post about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

Read more here.

Union minister Anantkumar Hegde drags Karnataka Congress leader’s Muslim wife into Twitter spat

Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao found himself at the receiving end after he had criticised Hegde’s remarks and queried him about his achievements as a minister or an MP. “What are your contributions for Karnataka’s development?” Gundu Rao had tweeted.

Read more here

Maharashtra: At least six police officers injured during protest against alleged cow slaughter

Protestors blocked the highway from 5.30 am on Saturday, causing a 7-km long traffic jam. When the police arrived to disperse the mob, they pelted stones, attacked officers with sticks and burnt a police vehicle.

Read more here

Southern states show sharp decline in child sex ratio at birth, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka worst

Southern states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have shown the sharpest decline over the period between 2007 and 2016. In Andhra Pradesh, the sex ratio at birth was 974 in 2007, and it dipped by 168 points to 806 in 2016. A year earlier, Andhra had a ratio of 971. During the period between 2007 and 2016, the sex ratio at birth declined by 108 points in Karnataka and by 95 in Tamil Nadu.

Read more here

Haryana BJP MP praises Congress, compares Priyanka Gandhi to Indira Gandhi

Ashwini Kumar Chopra, the BJP MP from Karnal, wrote an editorial in Punjab Kesari on Friday called “The fragrance of Priyanka” in which he extolled Vadra and said her official entry into politics will have a major impact on the party’s fortunes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, The Print reported. Chopra is the editor of Delhi-based Punjab Kesari.

Read more here

Andhra Pradesh: 17 students injured after school bus overturns in Guntur district

At least 17 students were injured after a private bus overturned in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district on Monday morning. Two of the injured students were in critical condition.

Read more here.

Trinamool Congress says it will contest Lok Sabha elections in 14 states

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said on Sunday that the party will contest the Lok Sabha elections in 14 states. O’Brien was addressing reporters at the Odisha Pradesh Trinamool Congress office in Bhubaneswar.

Read more here.

IRCTC scam: Lalu Prasad Yadav and family granted regular bail in money laundering case

A court in Delhi on Monday granted bail to Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav in a case of money laundering related to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation scam.

Read more here.

Mumbai: Actor Isha Koppikar joins BJP months ahead of Lok Sabha elections

Actor Isha Koppikar joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Mumbai on Sunday. She was inducted into the party in the presence of Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

Read more here.

Rajasthan: Voting begins for Ramgarh Assembly constituency bye-election in Alwar district

Voting for the Ramgarh Assembly constituency in Rajasthan’s Alwar district began on Monday morning at 8 am. The bye-poll was necessitated after Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Laxman Singh died in November during the state elections.

Read more here.

Muzaffarnagar riots: UP government orders district administration to withdraw 18 cases

The Uttar Pradesh government has directed the Muzaffarnagar district administration to withdraw 18 cases related to the 2013 riots in the region. At least 60 people were killed in the riots.

Read more here.

Ramdev asks why no Hindu saint has ever been conferred the Bharat Ratna

Yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday wondered why no Hindu saint had yet been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honour. “They have given Mother Teresa this award as she was a Christian, but they will not give to other seers as they are Hindus,” the yoga guru claimed.

Read more here.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge booked for questioning Bharat Ratna to Bhupen Hazarika

Police on Sunday registered a case against senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge for his remark about the Bharat Ratna being conferred on Assamese artiste Bhupen Hazarika.

Read more here.

Karnataka: ‘If a Hindu girl is touched by a hand, then it should not exist,’ claims Union minister

Union minister Anantkumar Hegde stoked a new controversy on Sunday by saying that anyone who harasses a Hindu woman must be severely punished.

Read more here.

Karnataka temple poisoning: Toll rises to two, food samples sent to forensic lab for tests

The Karnataka Police on Sunday said another devotee had died after eating religious offerings at a temple in the state’s Chikkaballapura district, taking the toll to two deaths so far.

Read more here.