Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar elected NCP legislature party leader

Former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday elected the legislature party leader of the Nationalist Congress Party at an event in Mumbai, PTI reported. Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party chief Jayant Patil said the party’s newly-elected legislators voted Pawar the leader unanimously.

Karnataka CM says government will remove all references to Tipu Sultan from school textbooks

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said on Wednesday that the state government will remove all references to 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan from school textbooks, IANS reported. The chief minister made the remark at an event in Bengaluru.

West Bengal: Man from Singur arrested for alleged derogatory post about Mamata Banerjee

The police in Singur town of West Bengal arrested a 28-year-old man on Tuesday night for posting an alleged derogatory comment about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media, PTI reported on Wednesday. Chandan Bhattacharya was apprehended on the basis of a complaint by Trinamool Youth Congress District President Shantanu Banerjee, the police said.

Economic slowdown: Congress announces nationwide protests from November 5 to 15

The Congress on Wednesday announced nationwide protests targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre over the economic slowdown in the country. Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal said the protests would be organised in districts and state capitals between November 5 to 15 against the “misrule” of the government and will culminate in a “massive programme” in the national Capital in the last week of November.

Jammu and Kashmir bifurcation: National Conference leaders urge Centre to maintain statehood

The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Wednesday urged the Centre to not revoke the state’s special status and bifurcate the region into two Union Territories, PTI reported. The state will transition into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on Thursday.

Pehlu Khan case: Rajasthan HC quashes cow smuggling FIR against dairy farmer’s sons

The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday ordered the quashing of a cow smuggling case filed against the sons of Pehlu Khan, the man who was lynched in Alwar district in April 2017 by a mob of cow vigilantes, the Hindustan Times reported. Khan had also been named in the chargesheet but was not formally accused as he was already dead.

Sensex breaches 40,000-mark for first time in four months on better-than-expected corporate earnings

The BSE Sensex breached the 40,000-mark for the first time in four months on Wednesday, closing 220.03 points higher at 40,051.87. This is the third-highest closing mark for the Sensex ever, Mint reported. The rally in the Sensex was the result of better-than-expected earnings of some companies listed on the index.

Allowing European MPs to visit Kashmir was ‘gravest sin’ by Modi government, says Congress

The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the Narendra Modi government for allowing an unofficial delegation of members of European Parliament to visit Jammu and Kashmir. The Opposition party said the government had committed the “gravest sin” by violating and reversing India’s time-tested policy of maintaining that Kashmir is an internal matter.

INX Media case: P Chidambaram sent to judicial custody till November 13

A court in Delhi on Wednesday sent Congress leader P Chidambaram to judicial custody till November 13 in connection with the INX Media case, ANI reported. The court also rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s application seeking custody of the Congress leader for one more day.

Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis elected leader of BJP legislature party

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was on Wednesday elected the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state legislature party for a second term in the post, PTI reported. Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar said no other name was proposed at the BJP legislature party meeting.

Kashmir is India’s internal matter, we stand by New Delhi in fight against terrorism, say MEPs

An unofficial delegation of 23 European Union parliamentarians visiting Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday said the revocation of the state’s special constitutional status and India’s subsequent moves in the region were the country’s internal matter, The Indian Express reported. The Members of European Parliament, most of them belonging to right-wing, nationalist parties, told the media in Srinagar that they did not want to interfere in Indian politics, and identified terrorism as the major factor for instability in Kashmir.

Uttar Pradesh: Police officials booked for custodial death of man after family alleges torture

Unidentified police officials in Uttar Pradesh were booked in connection with the custodial death of a man who reportedly died after being summoned for interrogation in a bank robbery case, IANS reported on Wednesday. The family of the businessman, Satya Prasad Shukla, has alleged that he died on Tuesday due to police torture in Amethi district.

Shiv Sena questions Centre’s decision to allow delegation of EU MPs to visit Kashmir

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday questioned the Centre’s decision to allow a delegation of Members of the European Parliament to visit Kashmir to understand the situation in the region after the scrapping of its special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena said: “What was the need to allow the EU delegation when everything is normal in Jammu and Kashmir? Kashmir is not an international matter.”

Tamil Nadu: Schools in at least four districts closed following heavy rain

Schools in the districts of Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Vellore and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu remained closed on Wednesday following incessant rainfall, The Hindu reported. Schools are also closed in the hill town of Kodaikanal in Dindigul district, according to NDTV.

Kulgam terror attack: Security beefed up in parts of Kashmir, sixth labourer succumbs to injuries

More security forces were deployed in Kashmir on Wednesday, a day after a terror attack in Kulgam district claimed the lives of six labourers from West Bengal, PTI reported. Five of the labourers died soon after the attack, while one succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. All six were from Murshidabad district in West Bengal.

India should allow its Opposition leaders to visit J&K too, says EU delegation member

A member of the unofficial European Union delegation that visited Srinagar on Tuesday said that the Indian government should allow its own Opposition politicians to visit Jammu and Kashmir if it has allowed foreign leaders to do so. Nicolaus Fest of Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland party said there was “some kind of disbalance” and the government should “somehow address it”.

J&K: Countries supporting India will get hit by a missile, claims Pakistani minister

Pakistani minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Tuesday claimed that a missile will be fired at any nation that supports India’s decisions on Jammu and Kashmir

Delhi air quality deteriorates to ‘severe’ category as stubble burning picks up in Haryana, Punjab

A haze of smoke continued to blanket New Delhi and the National Capital Region on Wednesday as pollution levels deteriorated to the “severe” category.

India’s economic slowdown temporary, Centre’s reform measures will help reverse trend: Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Industries Chairperson Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday said the economic slowdown in India was temporary and the steps taken by the Centre would help in reversing the situation. The industrialist made the remarks at Saudi Arabia’s annual investment forum, which is known as “Davos in the desert”.

Two separatists set up Manipur’s ‘government in exile’ in UK in the name of King Leishemba Sanajaoba

Two dissident leaders set up Manipur’s “government in exile” in the United Kingdom on Tuesday in the name of King Leishemba Sanajaoba. The two separatists, who addressed a press conference in London, identified themselves as Yamben Biren – the “chief minister of Manipur State Council” – and Narengbam Samarjit, who claimed to be the council’s “minister of external affairs and defence”.

MEPs’ Kashmir visit: ‘Some people were kept away from us,’ claims Spanish politician

A member of the European Union delegation that visited Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday claimed that the group was “conscious” that “some people were being kept away from us”. Hermann Tertsch of Spain’s Vox Party said the group was in the state to get some news about what is happening, but did not have enough facts to draw a conclusion about the situation yet.

By 2050, Mumbai and other major coastal cities may be wiped out by rising sea, say researchers

Rising sea levels, driven by climate change, may wipe out some of the famous coastal cities in the world, including Mumbai, by 2050 and affect three times more people than estimated before, according to research published in the journal Nature on Tuesday. The paper’s authors – New Jersey-based nonprofit Climate Central’s Scott A Kulp and Benjamin H Strauss – developed a more accurate method of estimating the effects of sea level rise, and found that about 150 million people are currently living on land that may be below the high-tide line by midcentury.

Dushyant Chautala says JJP won’t engage in politics of intimidation after Sanjay Raut taunts father

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday said the Jannayak Janta Party would not engage in politics of intimidation and threats while responding to Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s comments against him and his father. Raut, when asked about the delay in government formation in Maharashtra and the power struggle between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, said there was no “Dushyant in Maharashtra whose father is in the jail”.

India, Saudi Arabia establish Strategic Partnership Council, sign pacts on defence and aviation

India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday signed a dozen pacts in various key sectors, including oil and gas, defence and civil aviation, to bolster relations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day visit to the country, held discussions with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

United Nations needs reform, some countries use world body as a tool, Narendra Modi says in Riyadh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the United Nations needs reform, and regretted that some countries have used the organisation as a “tool” rather than as an institution to resolve conflicts. Modi made the remark during a discussion with Bridgewater Associates Founder, Co-Chairperson and Co-Chief Investment Officer Ray Dalio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Kerala: Scheduled castes panel to summon DGP, chief secretary over 2017 rape-murder of minor sisters

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Tuesday said it will summon Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose and Director General of Police Lokanath Behera, in the matter of the sexual assault and killing of two minor sisters in Palakkad district in 2017, PTI reported. The commission’s announcement came amid Opposition protests, including a 100-hour stir by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Kashmir: Five migrant workers shot dead by militants in Kulgam, one injured

Terrorists on Tuesday killed five migrant labourers and injured one in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. All the labourers are believed to be from Murshidabad in West Bengal. The terrorist attack came on the same day that a group of right-wing parliamentarians from the European Union visited Srinagar, and interacted with local residents. There have been a number of attacks on civilians after India abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5.

Sujith Wilson death: Madras HC raps Tamil Nadu government for ignoring rules about borewells

The Madras High Court on Tuesday pulled up the Tamil Nadu government for the death of a two-year-old boy after he got trapped in an abandoned borewell in Tiruchirappalli district on Friday evening. The court asked if the government needs a corpse to implement each and every statute in its books. The High Court also criticised the media, alleging that it did not telecast anything constructive to create public awareness on the implementation of rules and regulation on borewells and tubewells. The boy, Sujith Wilson, was found dead by rescue officials early on Tuesday.

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