Bihar: Days ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s visit, poster showing him as Ram comes up in Patna

A poster showing Congress President Rahul Gandhi as Hindu deity Ram was seen on the streets of Patna on Tuesday, days ahead of his visit to the state for the Jan Aakanksha rally. Gandhi is scheduled to address the rally in the Bihar capital on February 3.

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West Bengal: Lok Sabha elections a chance to turn state into ‘Shonar Bangla’ again, claims Amit Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Tuesday attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her party Trinamool Congress and accused them of “propagating violence and poverty” in the state. Shah urged citizens to bring to power a government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in order to give the state a chance to become “Shonar Bangla” (golden Bengal) once again.

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Aadhaar: SBI officials allege data misused, UIDAI says database is ‘fully secure

The State Bank of India has alleged that the login and biometric details of several Aadhaar operators, who were penalised last year, have been misused to generate unauthorised Aadhaar cards, a newspaper report said on Tuesday. The Unique Identification Authority of India has, however, refuted the claim calling the Aadhaar database “fully secured”.

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Jayalalithaa estate theft: Madras High Court stays criminal proceedings against journalist

The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed criminal proceedings against Narada News Chief Executive Officer Mathew Samuel and six others for releasing a documentary linking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami with a break-in at J Jayalalithaa’s estate at Kodanadu in 2017.

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Minimum Income Guarantee: ‘Is this promise also fake,’ Mayawati asks Rahul Gandhi

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday took a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi by questioning the honesty behind his party’s commitment to a Minimum Income Guarantee for every poor person. Mayawati wondered if this new scheme was “fake” like the Congress’ earlier promises to eradicate poverty or Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vow to crack down on black money.

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Citizenship Bill: Ten northeastern parties, including BJP allies, decide to oppose draft law

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday said ten political parties in the North East, including allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party, unanimously decided to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016. Chief ministers of most northeastern states have opposed the bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha earlier this month.

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Uttar Pradesh BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey makes derogatory remarks about Mayawati

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Uttar Pradesh on Monday made derogatory remarks about Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati. At a public event, Uttar Pradesh BJP President Mahendra Nath Pandey referred to an incident in 1995 when the BSP chief was allegedly locked inside a guest house in Lucknow by Samajwadi Party workers and assaulted after she had quit an alliance.

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Adityanath says Bollywood movie ‘Uri’ to be exempt from GST in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Tuesday said that the state cabinet has decided to exempt Bollywood movie Uri from the Goods and Services Tax. Adityanath made the announcement in Prayagraj after holding a cabinet meeting during the Kumbh Mela. He added that the Cabinet had decided to build the 600-km long Ganga Expressway, connecting Prayagraj with Western Uttar Pradesh.

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Kapil Sibal claims government is pressuring networks not to carry new channel ‘Harvest TV’

Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal on Monday alleged that the central government was pressuring cable and direct-to-home networks to stop the airing of Harvest TV, also known as HTN News, a channel financed by him. During a discussion at the Jaipur Literary Festival, Sibal accused the government of pressuring direct-to-home satellite television company, Tata Sky to stop the channel from airing.

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MJ Akbar defamation case: Delhi court issues summons to journalist Priya Ramani

Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Tuesday issued summons to journalist Priya Ramani as an accused in a defamation case filed by former Union minister MJ Akbar against her last year. The court asked Ramani to appear before it on February 25. “Time to tell our side of the story,” Ramani said in a tweet after the court issued summons.

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Tamil Nadu: Jayalalithaa experienced mood swings before her death, says doctor who treated her

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa experienced mood swings during her hospitalisation in 2016, a doctor who treated her told the inquiry panel investigating her death. The Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry quoted anaesthetist and the former chief minister’s critical care duty doctor, identified as Shilpa, in its report.

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Meghalaya trapped miners: Indian Army joins Navy in rescue operations

The Indian Army on Tuesday joined operations to rescue the 14 miners stuck in an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills District since December 13. Last week, the body of one of the miners was pulled out. Another body was detected on Saturday but it has not yet been retrieved.

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Amid Citizenship Bill row, Narendra Modi says BJP will always protect interests of people of Assam

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is “fully committed” to the development and prosperity of Assam. Modi said in a tweet that the party will always protect the interests of the people of the state.

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Goa: Rahul Gandhi meets Manohar Parrikar to wish him a ‘speedy recovery’

Congress President Rahul Gandhi met Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday, a day after he tweeted that Parrikar was in possession of “explosive Rafale secrets”. Gandhi said he visited Parrikar to wish him a speedy recovery. “It was a personal visit,” he tweeted. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former defence minister is suffering from pancreatic cancer.

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Citizenship Bill: Meghalaya CM to convene meeting of all regional northeastern parties on Tuesday

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma will convene a meeting in Guwahati of all regional parties from the North East to discuss the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which has led to protests in the state. Chief ministers of most northeastern states have opposed the bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha earlier this month.

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Odisha: Six arrested for killing woman and four children for allegedly practising witchcraft

The Odisha Police have arrested six people from Sundargarh district for murdering a woman and her four children on the suspicion that she was a witch practising black magic. The police said the accused have confessed to their crimes.

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Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan are traitors, claims RSS leader Indresh Kumar

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Indresh Kumar on Monday called actors Naseeruddin Shah and Aamir Khan, and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu traitors. “They may be good actors but they don’t deserve respect as they are traitors,” Kumar said at a public event in Aligarh. He also alleged that the Congress and Left parties, communal forces, and a few judges were responsible for the delay in the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.

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If you love your children, vote for AAP and not Modi, Arvind Kejriwal tells parents of schoolkids

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged the parents of schoolchildren to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and asked them to choose between “deshbhakti [patriotism]” and “Modibhakti [devotion to Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

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‘Fiery trade union leader, tireless crusader’: Tributes pour in for George Fernandes

Former Union minister and trade unionist George Fernandes died on Tuesday morning at the age of 88. Condolences poured in from leaders across party lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Fernandes will be remembered for being a “fiery trade union leader who fought for justice”. Social activist and former Samata Party President Jaya Jaitly said Fernandes’s last rites will be held on Wednesday.

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Kerala CM defends inquiry into police officer who raided CPI(M) office in Thiruvananthapuram

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday justified the inquiry into an Indian Police Service officer who raided a Communist Party of India (Marxist) office in Thiruvananthapuram last week in an attempt to locate Democratic Youth Foundation of India students accused in a stone-pelting case.

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Ayodhya dispute: Centre moves SC, asks it to return surplus land to Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas

The Centre moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday on the Ayodhya land dispute, seeking the top court’s permission to return all excess acquired land at the site to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, India Today reported.

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Madhya Pradesh: Man believed to be RSS activist fakes death to claim insurance money in Ratlam

The Madhya Pradesh Police is searching for a man who allegedly faked his death to claim insurance money totalling Rs 20 lakh, reported The Indian Express on Tuesday. Himmat Patidar, who is believed to be a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist, allegedly killed a farm labourer last week and burned his face to pass off the body as his own in order to mislead the police.

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Former Defence Minister George Fernandes dies at 88

Former Defence Minister George Fernandes died in Delhi on Tuesday. He was 88. Fernandes was a prominent member of the Janata Dal and founder of the Samata Party.

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‘Too much Odomos’: Omar Abdullah says India suffering from overdose of ‘only Modi, only Shah’

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday quipped that India is suffering from an overdose of Odomos – Overdose Of Only Modi Only Shah – in response to BJP National President Amit Shah’s attack on the Congress at a rally in Una, Himachal Pradesh.

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Karnataka: Congress warns leaders not to cross the line after Kumaraswamy threatens to quit as CM

Karnataka Congress unit chief Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday warned party leaders from crossing the “lakshman rekha” of coalition politics after Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy threatened to quit over statements by Congress leaders supporting former Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah.

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Congress drops Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid from Delhi event

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid were on Monday dropped from a Congress event in Delhi. The party did not explain why Kumar and Rashid were dropped.

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‘BJP isn’t desperate for alliance with Shiv Sena’: Devendra Fadnavis responds to ‘big brother’ jibe

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday responded to Shiv Sena’s “big brother” remark, saying his Bharatiya Janata Party was “not desperate” for an alliance with them.

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