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Soon after Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar sworn in as his deputy, Twitter expressed its shock over the unforeseen twist in the tale with memes. Following the oath ceremony of the two leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media to congratulate both of them. He wrote, “I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra.” Congratulations to @Dev_Fadnavis Ji and @AjitPawarSpeaks Ji on taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 23, 2019 After his tweet, social media was flooded with memes as the puzzled netizens tried to comprehend the situation. Here's how Twitter reacted: Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar at Family functions from now #MaharashtraPolitics #HasnaZarooriHai pic.

New Delhi : Delhi recorded a further improvement in the air quality on Sunday morning due to a slight increase in wind speed. The overall air quality index in the city read at 254 at 9.45 am, down from 312 at 4 pm on Saturday. Delhi: Air Quality Index (AQI) at 253 ('poor' category) around India Gate. #AirPollution pic.twitter.com/DKD3gDnkZj — ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2019 Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) recorded a marginal improvement in the air quality on Saturday due to a slight increase in wind speed. However, pollution is expected to increase again from Monday due to a dip in wind speed under the influence of a fresh western disturbance. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2OG0D0V Press Trust of India

New Delhi: On a spring afternoon in 2016, when I was working in India, I received a telephone message from a recluse who lived in a forest in the middle of Delhi. The message was passed on by our office manager through GChat, and it thrilled me so much that I preserved it. Office manager: Ellen have you been trying to get in touch with the royal family of Oudh? Ellen: this has to be the best telephone message ever Office manager: It was quite strange! The secretary left precise instructions for when you should call her — tomorrow between 11 am and 12 noon Ellen: oh my god I knew about the royal family of Oudh, of course. They were one of the city’s great mysteries. Their story was passed between tea sellers and rickshaw drivers and shopkeepers in Old Delhi: In a forest, they said, in a palace cut off from the city that surrounds it, lived a prince, a princess and a queen, said to be the last of a storied Shiite Muslim royal line. There were different versions, depending on whom

Lucknow:  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said it was the prerogative of the governor to invite a party to form a government. File image of Rajnath Singh. ANI The comments come after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the Maharashtra chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively on Saturday in an unexpected development a day after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray emerged as the Sena-NCP-Congress' consensus candidate for the top post. "At this point of time in this programme, I do not wish to make any political statement. It was the prerogative of the governor," Rajnath said at an event in Lucknow. "The governor invited the person (to form the government) after he was satisfied." At the event, Rajnath paid tributes to former servicemen and their families in Lucknow, and said the country is proud of them. Addressing the audience, which had gathered at the AMC Stadium, Rajnath said: "The nation is p

New Delhi:  Terming electoral bonds the "biggest scam of the decade", Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said the donor who did not donate to the BJP will be known to the party and if anyone will be completely in the dark, it is the people of India. File photo of Congress leader P Chidambaram. PTI "Electoral Bonds are the biggest scam of the decade," he said in a tweet posted by his family on his behalf. Chidambaram, who is lodged in jail in cases of corruption and money laundering, said purchasers will be known to the bank and, therefore, to the government. "Donor will be known to the party (BJP) to which he donated. Donor who did not donate to the BJP will be known to the BJP. If anyone is completely in the dark it will be the people of India. Long live transparency!" the former Union finance minister said. A political row has erupted over the use of electoral bonds for donations to political parties, with the Congress terming them a "

New Delhi:  A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed a complaint seeking an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. The court took into record an action taken report filed by Delhi Police which had said that no "cognisable offence" was made out against Rahul. The report said Rahul allegedly made the defamatory statement against the prime minister for which a suit may be filed, but "no police action was made out". The complaint, filed by advocate Joginder Tuli, sought direction to the police to register an FIR against Rahul for his remarks against Modi, accusing him of hiding behind the blood of soldiers and cashing in on their sacrifice. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2QR66oi Press Trust of India

Varanasi : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) backed professor Firoz Khan as students protesting against his appointment at Banaras Hindu University (BHU)'s Sanskrit department called off their agitation on Friday. File image of BHU campus. News18 Functionaries of RSS' Kashi unit held a meeting today to discuss the students' protest against Khan's appointment in the faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharm Vigan. "The Sangh is of the opinion that opposing Dr Firoz Khan is wrong. The Sangh has a clear and firm view that opposing a person appointed by the due selection process and is dedicated and devoted to Sanskrit literature, goes against the law and social harmony," said Jayprakash Lal, Vibhag Sanghchalak, RSS Kashi. The students called off their protest against Khan's appointment on the fifteenth day of their agitation on Friday evening. "We are ending this movement, but our struggle will continue until our demands are fulfilled," student leader Ch

Maharashtra woke up to a tectonic shift in the month-long political standoff on Saturday with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis returning as chief minister for a second consecutive term, while Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar was given the post of deputy chief minister. The unexpected turn of events, which culminated in Fadnavis being sworn in at Raj Bhavan around 7.30 am,  left ministers from the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena on the back foot. The Shiv Sena lashed out at Ajit, claiming he was "blackmailed" into joining hands with the BJP. Accusing the BJP of acting like "thieves", firebrand Sena leader Sanjay Raut alleged that Ajit "kidnapped" NCP MLAs. "Of the 8 MLAs who had gone with Ajit, five have come back. They were lied to, put in a car, and sort of kidnapped." "I have no comments on what Ajit has said, but what he has done is for everyone to see. He has backstabbed people of Maharashtra and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. He has com

New Delhi : A three-member panel appointed by the HRD Ministry to recommend ways to restore normal functioning in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is facing student agitation, concluded its meetings on Friday and will submit its recommendations next week. The three-member committee, including former UGC chairman VS Chauhan, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe and UGC secretary Rajnish Jain visited JNU campus to meet students' union representatives. File image of JNU students protesting. PTI Some students formed a human chain ahead of the meeting at the main gate but the panel members entered the campus through another gate. While the meeting was underway at the administration block, the students gathered outside and raised slogans demanding complete rollback of the hostel fee hike. "We spoke to the students union representatives and took their suggestions into account. The meeting went on for two hours where we dwelled upon the reasons behind the discord between

Mumbai:  The "clandestine" manner in which Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as the chief minister of Maharashtra will be written in black ink in the history of the state, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said on Saturday. File photo of Congress leader Ahmed Patel. PTI He also accused the BJP of crossing the limits of "shamelessness", adding democracy stands "shattered" after the saffron party formed the government by joining hands with NCP president Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar. Patel recalled that Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had not invited the Congress to stake claim to form the government in the state after the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP were asked to do so earlier this month. "There was neither band-baja (celebration) nor a procession as the chief minister was sworn-in in a clandestine manner...the incident will be written in black ink in Maharashtra's history," Patel told reporters. He also said that the list of MLAs submit

Latehar: Four police personnel have been killed in a Naxal attack near a village in Latehar district, police said on Saturday. Representational image. ANI Armed Maoists opened fire on a patrol van near Lukiatand village under Chandwa police station on Friday night, killing the four policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), they said. The deceased have been identified as ASI Sukra Oraon and home guard jawans Sikander Singh, Jamuna Prasad and Sambhu Prasad, a police officer said. Another jawan, who was part of the patrol party, escaped the attack as he had gone to attend nature's call, he said. Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das has condemned the attack and expressed grief over the death of the four police personnel. लातेहार में वीर जवानों पर किया गया हमला कायरता है। मैं इस नृशंस हमले की कड़ी निंदा करता हूं। हमारे बहादुर सुरक्षाकर्मियों का बलिदान व्यर्थ नहीं जाएगा। पूरा झारखण्ड और देश बहादुर शहीदों के परिवारों के साथ कंधे से कंधा मिलाकर खड़ा है। — Raghubar D

Mumbai : In the wake of dramatic political developments in the state, security has been beefed up at offices of political parties and leaders' residences to prevent untoward incidents, an official said on Saturday. Representational image. News18 Devendra Fadnavis took oath as chief minister of Maharashtra and NCP leader Ajit Pawar was sworn in as his deputy at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. There is heavy police deployment outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence Silver Oak, the official said, adding that the police have placed barricades to restrict movement of vehicles in the area. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation in the city after the latest political development, and have increased security at sensitive locations," a spokesperson of the Mumbai police said. All appropriate measures are being taken to ensure that citizen are not inconvenienced, he added. Click here to follow Maharashtra Govt Formation LIVE Updates Following the political situation, sec

With the political developments in Maharashtra taking a dramatic turn this morning, there are several legal issues which can crop up with the ensuing events. On the face of it, as per the conventional wisdom the anti-defection law is not attracted because no one seems to have defected from the NCP because the doubt is regarding the actuality of the support of the NCP to the BJP led government. File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Twitter/@ANI As per the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, which contains the law on anti-defection, no defection can take place from a political party by its constituent legislators and parliamentarians. The disqualification as per paragraph 2 of the constitutional law, is twofold. First, under para 2(1)(a), when a member of a Legislative House, voluntarily gives up their membership of the political party, they are disqualified. This provision is not attracted, in the instant case, because no one has seemingly quit the NCP. Hence,

The month-long political impasse in Maharashtra ended dramatically on Saturday morning with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis returning as chief minister , backed by the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. NCP's Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as the deputy chief minister. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai at around 7.30 am. Blaming the Shiv Sena for disrespecting the people's mandate in last month's Assembly polls, Fadnavis said, "People had given us a clear mandate, but Shiv Sena tried to ally with other parties after the results, after which the President's rule was imposed. Maharashtra needed a stable government, not a ' khichdi ' government." Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. PTI "I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and JP Nadda for giving me the chance to serve people once again," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added. Ajit Pawar backed the