Category: India

Supreme Court tells Swamy and activists to Keep away from Babri Masjid Case

Editor

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ousted BJP leader Subramanian Swamy from being a part of the politically and communally sensitive case relating to the Hindu-Muslim ownership battle over the 2.77 acre Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi disputed plot. A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer also rejected intervention applications by 17 others along with the one filed by 32 eminent persons, including renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, actress Aparna Sen, columnist and writer Anil Dharker and social activist Teesta Setalvad who suggested that the disputed…

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New caste arithmetic hurts BJP, SP-BSP combine halts saffron run in UP

Editor

The result shows that the combine, which stalled BJP’s march to victory in 1993, can play spoilsport in 2019. On the eve of the Lok Sabha bypoll results, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi hosted a dinner in Delhi that was attended by leaders of two strong regional forces from Uttar Pradesh – Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Satish Chandra Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) – signalling that the stage was set for a joint onslaught against the dominant Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).…

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BSF Jawan loses seven days salary for referring to PM without ‘Shri’

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In a bizarre punishment, a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan who forgot to affix ‘honourable’ or ‘Shri’ while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been penalised by the force, which called the mistake “disrespect” to the Prime Minister. The constable was handed down a seven-day pay cut. The incident took place on February 21 inside the BSF’s 15th Battalion headquarters in Mahatpur, Nadia (West Bengal), during the zero parade, a routine exercise to account for jawans’ daily activities. During the parade, constable Sanjeev Kumar used the word “Modi programme”…

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CBI arrests Vipul Chitalia, Gitanjali VP, dubs him ‘Brain Behind PNB fraud’

Editor

The CBI on Tuesday arrested the 48-year-old vice president of the Gitanjali Group of Companies in the alleged Rs 12,600 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case. During his remand hearing before the special CBI court later in the day, the investigating agency dubbed the accused Vipul Chitalia the “main protagonist of the fraud” and “brain behind the conspiracy” alongwith chairman and managing director, Mehul Choksi. Special judge SR Tamboli sent Chitalia to CBI custody until March 17. Chitalia is the 19th accused to be arrested in the case. The…

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TDP likely to snap ties with BJP, two ministers may quit Modi cabinet

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With the Centre making it clear that special category status for Andhra Pradesh is not possible and most TDP MLAs and MLCs wanting the party to end its alliance with BJP, TDP president and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu is likely to set the separation process in motion beginning with the resignation of two TDP ministers — Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdhary — from the Narendra Modi cabinet. At the TDP Legislature Party meeting in Vijayawada on Tuesday, all 125 MLAs and 34 MLCs, barring six absentees, strongly…

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For harmony, two Lucknow clerics change Friday prayer timings on Holi

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The chief minister’s office has directed all the district magistrates to convene meetings of people of both the communities (Hindus and Muslims) to ensure peace and harmony on the festive occasion. Two prominent Muslim clerics have decided to change this Friday’s namaaz (prayer) timings as the occasion coincides with Holi on March 2. The step was taken to ensure communal harmony, said Islamic scholar and Imam-e-Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali. “As the festive occasion of Holi is on Friday, I have decided to reschedule the Friday prayers at the…

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Distorted J&K map at event attended by Canadian PM another controversy hits Trudeau’s visit

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Another controversy has hit Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to India as a map misrepresenting Jammu and Kashmir was put up at the event he was speaking at. A map showing a distorted Jammu and Kashmir – without the entire PoK area including Gilgit and Baltistan – was placed at an event in New Delhi where the Canadian PM and his wife were speaking at. India has firmly maintained that Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir is a part of India and has been encroached upon by Pakistan. The distortion of the map will come…

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India ranks 81 in global corruption perception index

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India has fared better than neighbours Sri Lanka (ranked 91), Pakistan (117), Myanmar (130) and Bangladesh (143), but is behind Bhutan (26) and China (77). The 2017 corruption perception index, released by anti-graft watchdog Transparency International on Wednesday, has ranked India at 81 among 180 countries and territories. The index is based on perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, using a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. India’s score in 2017 is 40 — the same…

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Convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal on Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s dinner guest list

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Jaspal Atwal, a Canadian Indian businessman, and three others were in 1987 convicted of attempted murder of Akali Dal leader Malkiat Singh Sidhu. Trudeau’s office said the High Commission was in the process of rescinding the invitation. A convicted Khalistani terrorist has been invited to an official dinner reception for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in New Delhi and photographed with the leader’s wife during their visit to India. Jaspal Atwal, a Canadian Indian businessman, and three others were in 1987 convicted of attempted murder of Akali Dal leader Malkiat…

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India Inc’s Recent Scams Turn In-Laws into Outlaws

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‘Marriage arrangements help ensure that control over capital doesn’t go out of the community.’ A recent spate of loan defaults – most of which curiously centre around trade finance and buyer’s credit – has shined a spotlight on the close and influential links between some of India’s wealthiest business families. The world over, it is natural for the sons and daughters of business elite to marry into other family-run corporate empires, even if such alliances are a more pronounced feature of the Indian power elite than of their counterparts in…

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