Haryana polls: Congress cannot take stand on nationalism due to vote-bank politics, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Congress cannot make up its mind on nationalism because of vote-bank politics, PTI reported. Shah, who addressed an election rally in Tigaon near Haryana’s Faridabad city, said only the Narendra Modi government could have taken the decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status. He said no other prime minister in the past had dared to do so.

UP Police accused of torturing man to death in front of his son, three officials suspended

A 35-year-old security guard allegedly died in police custody in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh on October 13, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. Three policemen, including the station house officer of Pilkhuwa town, have been suspended for allegedly torturing him.

Maharashtra elections: Prakash Javadekar defends cutting of trees for PM Modi’s rally in Pune

Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday defended the cutting of trees for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rally at a college in Pune. Opposition parties had alleged that some trees at Sir Parshuram College in Pune were cut on Monday for Modi’s Assembly election rally on Thursday.

J&K: Three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed in Anantnag encounter, say police

Three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Pazalpora area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Wednesday, said the Kashmir Zone Police. The security forces carried out the operation after the district police provided specific intelligence inputs.

Madhya Pradesh: Ants found crawling over dead man’s eyes in Shivpuri district, CM orders inquiry

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday ordered an inquiry after ants were found crawling over the eyes of a dead man at a government-run hospital in Shivpuri district. Five doctors, including a surgeon, have been suspended.

Ayodhya dispute: Supreme Court reserves judgement after second-longest hearing in its history

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its judgement in the Ayodhya land dispute caseafter 40 days of daily hearings that began on August 6. The five-judge Constitution Bench that heard the matter said the parties in the case can make the rest of the submissions in writing in the next three days.

Land Acquisition Act: SC to pronounce verdict on plea seeking recusal of judge on October 23

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it will pronounce on October 23 its verdict on a request for the recusal of Justice Arun Mishra, from the bench hearing a plea to re-examine one of his own judgements on the 2013 Land Acquisition Act. Mishra had on Tuesday refused to recuse himself from the case.

PMC Bank: SC to hear urgent plea seeking orders to provide protective measures to customers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to an urgent hearing of a petition seeking directions to provide interim protective measures for insuring around 15 lakh people whose money is blocked in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank.

UP: After VHP complaint, school principal suspended for allegedly making students sing poem by Iqbal

The district administration in Pilibhit town of Uttar Pradesh suspended the headmaster of a government school after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad alleged that the teacher made students recite a religious prayer, usually sung in madrasas, instead of the national anthem.

UP ends services of 25,000 home guards in state due to budget concerns

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday terminated the services of 25,000 home guards in the state police as it could not afford to pay them the allowances ordered by the Supreme Court.

Jammu and Kashmir: Chhattisgarh labourer shot dead by militants in Pulwama district

Militants shot dead a labourer from Chhattisgarh in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday, said the police. The labourer has been identified as Sethi Kumar Sagar who worked at a brick kiln in Nehama.

‘Drown in shame’, says PM Narendra Modi after Opposition brings up Centre’s Kashmir move

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit back at the Opposition, which had accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of diverting people’s attention from real problems. This came on the day Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar claimed the saffron party was raking up Article 370 repeatedly instead of focusing on problems like unemployment, farmers’ troubles, and failing industries.

‘Worst phase’ of Indian banks was under Manmohan Singh, Raghuram Rajan, claims Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the “worst phase” of the Indian public sector banks was under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Jammu and Kashmir: SC asks Centre to produce orders related to shutdown and detentions

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to produce orders related to the shutdown and detentions in Jammu and Kashmir. The three-judge bench of Justices NV Ramana with R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai was hearing a petition filed by Kashmir Times Editor Anuradha Bhasin challenging the restrictions placed on media and communications in the Valley.

MP roads are like Vijayvargiya’s cheeks, but Congress will make it look like Hema Malini’s: Minister

Madhya Pradesh Minister PC Sharma on Tuesday compared the condition of roads in the state to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya’s cheeks and said the ruling Congress would soon make them as smooth as BJP MP Hema Malini’s cheeks instead, ANI reported.

BJP is raking up Article 370 to divert attention from actual electoral problems, says Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was bringing up Article 370 repeatedly to divert attention from actual issues. Unemployment, farmers’ troubles, and failing industries were actual election issues that needed attention, he told the Hindustan Times on Wednesday.

Retired SC judge says government is trampling on judicial independence through appointments

A retired Supreme Court judge has alleged that the government was trampling on judicial independence through appointments. In an op-ed article published on Wednesday in The Indian Express, Justice Madan Lokur said the National Judicial Appointments Commission, a proposed reform to give the government more control over picking judges that was struck down as unconstitutional, is effectively in place anyhow because of the Centre’s behaviour.

PMC Bank crisis: Three account holders die in a day in Mumbai

Three account holders of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank have died in Mumbai in the last 24 hours, amid a crisis at the bank, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. The Enforcement Directorate is looking into allegations that the bank did not report all non-performing assets, or bad loans, after providing funds to a number of companies.

INX Media case: P Chidambaram arrested by ED inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail

Former Union minister P Chidambaram was arrested inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday morning in the INX Media case, said multiple reports. This came after a three-member agency team, led by ED Deputy Director Mahesh Sharma, questioned him in the morning.

Ayodhya: Arguments begin on final day, reports emerge suggesting Waqf board may withdraw claim

Daily hearings in the Ayodhya land dispute are expected to end at 5 pm on Wednesday. The Sunni Waqf Board may withdraw from the petition, according to some reports.

Delhi’s air quality deteriorates, NASA images show stubble burning in neighbouring states

An action plan to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region was enforced on Tuesday as the region’s overall air quality slipped to “very poor” levels. The plan includes a ban on diesel generator sets, and intensified vacuum and water-cleaning of roads.

Global Hunger Index: India’s rank down to 102 out of 117 countries, in ‘serious’ category

India’s rank in this year’s Global Hunger Index dropped to 102, which is considered to be in the “serious” category. The index, which calculates the hunger levels and malnutrition across the world, had ranked the country at 95 in 2010.

Land Acquisition Act: SC Justice Arun Mishra refuses to recuse, says his ‘integrity is clear’

Supreme Court Justice Arun Mishra on Tuesday refused to recuse himself from the Constitution Bench he was heading to re-examine one of his own judgements on the Land Acquisition Act. Mishra said his “conscience is clear, my integrity is clear before God, I will not budge”.

Telangana: Mob kills 25-year-old man on suspicion of stealing from temple, murder case registered

A 25-year-old man was allegedly killed in a mob attack in Telangana’s Nizamabad district on suspicion of stealing from a temple, police officials said on Tuesday. Villagers beat up G Gangadhar, who worked as a mason, and then handed him over to the police.

J&K government misled Supreme Court about Srinagar media centre timings, say journalists

Journalists in the Kashmir Valley have accused the state government of misleading the Supreme Court in its response to a writ petition filed in the top court by Kashmir Times Editor Anuradha Bhasin.

IMF slashes India’s GDP growth projection to 6.1% for 2019-’20, cites ‘sector-specific weaknesses’

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered India’s growth rate projection to 6.1% for the 2019-’20 financial year. In July, it had revised India’s growth forecast from 7.3% to 7%.

‘Good economics points to one direction’ while Modi government points to another, says P Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday criticised the Narendra Modi government over the state of the economy. The Congress leader’s tweets were posted by his family.

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