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Mumbai : Shortly after his statement that no state can refuse implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Sunday said that it will be problematic to oppose the new legislation if the Supreme Court declares it "constitutional". However, he emphasized that every state assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution against the CAA and seek its withdrawal. "I believe the CAA is unconstitutional. Every state assembly has the constitutional right to pass a resolution and seek its withdrawal. When and if the law is declared to be constitutional by the Supreme Court then it will be problematic to oppose it. The fight must go on!" Sibal tweeted. Earlier, Sibal, who is also a renowned lawyer, said that no state can say that it will not implement CAA, as doing so will be unconstitutional. "When you come to national politics, I think we all must stand together because this is national legislation. So, we sho

Shirdi: Shirdi, a city in Maharashtra, will remain closed for an indefinite period from Sunday in the wake of state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's decision to develop Pathri town in Parbhani district as Sai Baba's birthplace. However, Deepak Madukar Muglikar, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, has said that Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi will remain open today and will not be impacted by the closure of the city. Maharashtra: Devotees visit Shirdi Sai Baba temple amid bandh called today in #Shirdi town, against CM Uddhav Thackeray's reported comment calling Pathri (in Parbhani) as Sai Baba's birthplace. pic.twitter.com/z5nPzxMiFZ — ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2020 "There are some reports in media that Sai Temple in Shirdi will remain closed on 19 January. I want to clarify that it is just a rumor. Temple will remain open on 19 January," Muglikar said. A call has been given for indefinite closure of Shirdi after Thackeray's reported

Kolkata: Asserting that the National Population Register is nothing but "NRC in disguise", Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Saturday that the Modi government has changed gears and is now only talking about the NPR after the "fiasco" in Assam over the citizenship list. The former Union home minister said states are justified to oppose the implementation of the NPR and the CAA as the Constitutional validity lies with the Supreme Court. "Our purpose is to fight the sinister purpose of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Population Register (NPR) and mobilise public opinion against them. Our stated position is that we will not agree to NPR being rolled out from April 2020," he said. He said all political parties fighting against the NPR, the CAA and the proposed nationwide NRC must come together. "We are fighting against NRC (National Register of Citizens) and CAA. Sometimes together, sometimes differently. The important thing i

Shirdi: Locals have called for a shut-down at the temple town of Shirdi in Maharashtra on Sunday over a controversy over the birthplace of Saibaba, the 19th century spiritual figure. However, the famous Saibaba temple in the town will remain open, its trustees said on Saturday. The temple attracts lakhs of devotees from all over India every year. Controversy erupted after Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a grant of Rs 100 crore for development of facilities at "Sai janmasthan" (birthplace) at Pathri in Parbhani district. Pathri is considered to be the birthplace of Saibaba by some devotees. But residents of Shirdi claimed that the exact birthplace of the famed saint was not known. Deepak Mugalikar, chief executive officer of the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust at Shirdi, said the temple will remain open despite the bandh call. Dipak Muglikar, Chief Executive Officer, Sai Temple in Shirdi: There are some reports in media that Sai Temple in Shirdi will

Actress Shabana Azmi and another person were injured in a car accident on Saturday afternoon on Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra's Raigad district. Her lyricist-husband Javed Akhtar, who was also travelling with her, is safe, reported   Mumbai Mirror. The incident occurred near Khalapur, over 60 kilometres from Mumbai, when the Tata Safari car in which they were traveling to Pune rammed into a truck, said Raigad superintendent of police Anil Paraskar. Azmi's spokesperson said the actor was undergoing a check-up. "She is fine, nothing to worry about," the spokesperson added. Javed Akhtar celebrated his 75th birthday on Friday. A local police official said the driver was apparently trying to overtake another vehicle and rammed into the truck. One more person who was travelling in the car sustained minor injuries, he said. His identity is not yet known. Azmi is known for her path-breaking roles in films such as "Arth", "Ankur", "Paar&q

Howrah: Known for his foot-in-mouth remarks, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh has described the "intellectuals" opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as "spineless", "devils" and "parasites". "The intellectuals who are opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act are spineless. They are devils and parasites," he said at a rally in Howrah on Friday. Ghosh made the comments a day after he was re-elected as West Bengal BJP president for the term 2020-2023. Taking a dig over TMC's dip in seat share in West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Ghosh claimed that the party will not win any seat from the state in the 2024 parliamentary polls. "During the elections, you heard 'didi' (Mamata Banerjee) saying we will win all 42 seats and BJP will get zero seats. When the results came, TMC came down to 22 seats from 34 (it won in 2014 elections). We jumped from 2 to 18 seats. In the 2024 elections, you will not be s

Mumbai:  Hitting back at Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut for his remarks on opponents of the Bharat Ratna honour for VD Savarkar, the Congress on Saturday said supporters of the Hindutva ideologue should visit the erstwhile Andaman Jail to understand the sacrifice made by those freedom fighters who never apologised to the British. File image of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. News18 The Congress' reaction came within hours of Raut stating that those opposing the Bharat Ratna award for Savarkar should be made to spend at least two days in the erstwhile colonial prison to understand the hardships faced by him during his incarceration. In a swipe, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the BJP can grant the highest civilian honour to Savarkar by virtue of majority at the Centre, if it is willing to ignore Savarkar's statements like calling BR Ambedkar a 'mathefiru' (fanatic) and Buddhists as "rashtradrohi" (pro- sedition)". "Savarkar was diffe

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on 20 January a plea of a death row convict in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case against a Delhi High Court order dismissing his claim of being a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence. A bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bushan and AS Bopanna will hear the plea of Pawan Kumar Gupta. Gupta moved the apex court on Friday challenging the high court's order dismissing his claim of being a juvenile in December 2012. Representational image. Reuters Besides, the convict has sought a direction restraining the authorities from executing the death penalty, which has been scheduled for 1 February. He has challenged the high court's 19 December order by which it also deprecated the conduct of his advocate for filing forged documents and not appearing in the court. A Delhi court on Friday issued fresh death warrants for 1 February against the four convicts — Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31)

New Delhi:  A POCSO court convicted two men on Saturday for raping a five-year-old girl in east Delhi in 2013, saying the case had shaken the collective conscience of society. Representational image. PTI Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra convicted Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar in the case, saying that the child experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality. Shah and Kumar had raped the minor at Gandhi Nagar area and shoved objects in her private parts on 15 April, 2013. They had fled after committing the crime and leaving the girl at Shah's room after believing her to be dead. The child was rescued 40 hours later on April 17, 2013. "Collective conscience of the society shaken. In our society, minor girls are worshipped as goddess," the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court said. "The child, who was just 5 years old, experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality." The father of the survivor expressed sat

Jammu: An Army jawan committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle in a camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district, police said on Saturday. Sepoy Prince Kumar (25), a resident of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, was posted in 112 Territorial Army and was on guard duty when he shot himself at Chinar camp in Rehambal area on Friday, a police official said.  The official said that the motive behind the extreme step was not known immediately. The body of the deceased would be handed over to his unit after the completion of medical and other legal formalities which were underway, he said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/3apfMxE Press Trust of India

Voice and SMS facilities were restored for all local prepaid mobile connections across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while 2G internet services were resumed on postpaid mobile connections in two districts of the Valley after being disconnected in August last year, an official said. Rohit Kansal, the principal secretary to the administration of Jammu and Kashmir said the order will come into effect from Saturday. "After a careful review, the competent authority has ordered today that voice and SMS facilities shall be restored on all local prepaid sim cards across Jammu and Kashmir," Kansal told ANI . He also said that 2G mobile data on postpaid mobile for accessing whitelisted websites shall be allowed in all 10 districts of Jammu, and Kupwara and Bandipora districts of Kashmir division. "Mobile internet shall remain suspended in Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Srinagar, Kulgam, Anantnag, Shopian and Pulwama," he added. In order to consider giving mobil

Jammu: Prepaid mobile connections were restored in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday and 2G services resumed in two districts of the valley after being disconnected in August last year, an official said. Voice and SMS facilities were restored for all local prepaid mobile phones across the Union territory. Rohit Kansal, the principal secretary to the administration of Jammu and Kashmir said the order will come into effect from Saturday. In order to consider giving mobile Internet connectivity on such SIM cards, the telecom service providers will have to verify the credentials of the subscribers, he said. Internet service providers have been asked to provide fixed line Internet connectivity in all the 10 districts of Jammu region and two districts, Kupwara and Bandipora, in North Kashmir. Telecom services were shut in the entire Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August when the Centre abrogated special status to the erstwhile state and also bifurcated it into two Union Territories. However, the

New Delhi: A court in Delhi on Saturday asked the Delhi Police to verify if Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who has been accused of inciting people during an anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid on 20 December, has an office in Delhi where he holds weekly meetings. The court had restrained Azad from visiting Delhi for four weeks and directed him to not hold any dharna till the elections in the National Capital while granting him bail in a case related to violent protests at Daryaganj. The Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau directed the police to verify from the Election Commission whether Azad's office in Delhi is an office of a political party and asked them to submit a report by 21 January. The court was hearing a plea filed by Azad seeking modification of the conditions imposed on him in his bail order. The plea, filed through advocates Mehmood Pracha and OP Bharti, has claimed that the restrictions on Azad tantamount to violation of his fundamental rights to take active

Muzaffarnagar: A court has granted bail to 14 people who were arrested in connection with violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. District judge Sanjay Kumar Pachori on Friday allowed their bail pleas and directed that they be released after furnishing two sureties each of one lakh each. According to the prosecution, the accused were arrested and sent to jail for allegedly being involved in the violence that broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act on 20 December in Kotwali police station area. The police have also arrested many others in the district in connection with the incident and imposed the charge of inciting children to pelt stones on 33 people. Meanwhile, police have registered a case against unidentified people for allegedly disseminating fake news, through social media and newspapers, of sexual assault with a madrassa student during police custody following the 20 December violence during the anti-CAA protests. Police sai

Hyderabad: A professor of the Osmania University here was arrested on Saturday for suspected links with the Maoists, police said. Associate Professor of Telugu department, C Kasim was allegedly involved in a case registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act among other sections in Mulugu Police station in 2015. "That case is under investigation and we collected the material evidence also. Recently some inputs have also been received," Siddipet police Commissioner D Joel Davis told PTI . File photo of Osmania University. PTI "We obtained a search warrant and conducted searches at his residence in the early morning. We seized certain documents and some electronic evidence," the police official said. He further said the police have the incriminating information that the OU faculty is in continuous touch with Maoists party leaders. Kasim is allegedly working as an organiser of "united front vertical" of Maoists for Telangana state. "He is

The killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani by US forces has ignited the imagination of Indians who are tired of terrorism nurtured, abetted and sponsored from across the border by Pakistan. Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, Iran’s elite foreign espionage and paramilitary unit, was identified by the Donald Trump administration as a key “terrorist” figure and the alleged brain behind countless attacks on US forces active in the region. Soleimani, claims White House, posed “imminent threat” to US interests in West Asia. Accordingly, American intelligence agency CIA tracked the whereabouts of the top Iranian general (who by some accounts was more powerful than even Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani) over a period of time and had accurate information on when Soleimani's jet would land in Baghdad airport on the fateful day. As a report in NBC News points out, American security officials and members of White House watched on large screens as Soleimani was greeted at

New Delhi : The National Investigation Agency will probe a case in which a senior Jammu and Kashmir police officer was arrested while ferrying three terrorists out of the Valley, an official spokesman said on Saturday. Davinder Singh, posted as the Deputy Superintendent of police (DSP), was arrested last weekend along with Naveed Babu, self-styled district commander of banned Hizbul Mujahideen, a new recruit Atif and an advocate Irfan Mir. The four were caught with arms and ammunition while they were travelling in a car near Qazigund on the national highway in south Kashmir. After receiving orders from the Union Home Ministry, the NIA has re-registered this case and started the investigation, the spokesman said. from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/2G0cq6D Press Trust of India

Billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned The Washington Post ’s senior global opinions editor Eli Lopez had an online spat with BJP’s foreign affairs chief Vijay Chauthaiwale, who slammed the newspaper's editorials, claiming the media house is biased towards Pakistan and overly critical of India. Bezos, who owns  The Washington Post,   has been criticized by the BJP officials for their editorial policies, which they claim are skewed to paint India in a bad light. The saffron party on Friday slammed editorial policies of the Post, even as Bezos' e-commerce firm Amazon announced plans to create a million jobs in the country by 2025. "I am not opposing Amazon as a company, in fact, I am a regular customer ... Jeff Bezos should go home tell  Washington Post  what is his impression about India," Chauthaiwale told   Reuters . " The Washington Post  editorial policy is highly biased and agenda-driven." Chauthaiwale said there was "a lot of problems" with the news

New Delhi: Asha Devi, the mother of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim, on Saturday slammed senior lawyer Indira Jaising for her suggestion that she should forgive her daughter's rapists. "Who is Indira Jaising to give me such a suggestion? The whole country wants the convicts to be executed. Just because of people like her, justice is not done with rape victims," Asha Devi told ANI in New Delhi. "Cannot believe how Indira Jaising even dared to suggest this. I met her many times over the years in Supreme Court, not even once has she asked for my well being and today she is speaking for the convicts. Such people earn their livelihood by supporting rapists, hence rape incidents do not stop," she added. Asha Devi further accused Jaising of using "the garb of human rights" to make a living. 'People like her keep earning money under the garb of human rights. I do not need her suggestions... Just because of people who think like her incidents like rap

In another shocking case of crime against women from Uttar Pradesh, a 40-year-old Kanpur woman was beaten to death allegedly by men who were facing trial for molesting her 13-year-old daughter in 2018. OP Singh, UP DGP confirmed to CNN-New18, that 11 people were accused of attacking the women and so far 8 of them have been arrested. The clarification came after initial reports suggested that only four were involved in the assault that led to the woman's death, and left one other injured. The woman, also a witness in the molestation case, was hospitalized after the accused men stormed into her house on 9 January and attacked her with sharp-edged weapons. The woman and her sister — who is a BJP leader in Jajmau locality — were injured and admitted to a hospital on the same night. NDTV   reported that the woman passed away at the Lala Lajpat Rai hospital (locally still known by its colonial name, Hallett Hospital) one week after the assault, on Friday. According to New18 , the

JEE Main Result 2020: As many as nine students have scored a perfect 100 in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2019 examination, the results of which were announced on Friday by the HRD Ministry's National Testing Agency (NTA) on the official website – jeemain.nta.nic.in . The toppers of the engineering entrance exam include Nishant Agarwal from Delhi, Nisarg Chadha from Gujarat, Haryana's Divyanshu Agarwal, Landa Jitendra and Thadavarthi Vishnu Sri Sai Sankar from Andhra Pradesh, Akhil Jain and Parth Dwivedi from Rajasthan, Rongala Arun Siddardha and Chagari Koushal Kumar Reddy from Telangana. Steps to check JEE Main 2020 Result: Step 1: Visit the official website – jeemain.nta.nic.in Step 2: Click on view result/score card Step 3: Fill in your details, including your application number, date of birth, security pin Step 4:  Hit 'Submit' The exam for Paper II and III was conducted on 6 January while, Paper I was held for admission to BTech and BE programmes

In another shocking case of crime against women from Uttar Pradesh, a 40-year-old Kanpur woman was beaten to death allegedly by men who were facing trial for molesting her 13-year-old daughter in 2018. The incident comes a week after the teenaged survivor and her family were assaulted, allegedly by the same men who had managed to get bail in the original molestation case. All accused have now been arrested, reports said. NDTV   reported that the woman passed away at the Lala Lajpat Rai hospital (locally still known by its colonial name, Hallett Hospital) on Friday. The woman, also a witness in the molestation case, was hospitalized after the four accused, out on bail, stormed into her house and attacked her with sharp-edged weapons. The woman and her sister who is a BJP leader in Jajmau locality were injured on the night of 9 January. According to New18 , the deceased woman had filed a complaint against one Mahfooz for allegedly molesting her daughter two years ago at a tannery i

New Delhi: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) on Friday demanded a judicial inquiry into the 5 January violence on the campus. The teachers of JNU cannot cooperate with the "efforts of JNU administration for the restoration of normalcy in the campus and resumption of academic activities" because there is no such effort to be seen, it said. "Restoration of normalcy requires the sacking of this VC and this is the necessary, though not sufficient, condition for teachers to feel secure," the JNUTA said. The general body meeting of the teachers' body reiterated its demand for the removal of the vice-chancellor. The JNUTA also insisted that the Cyclops Security Agency must be held accountable for its "gross failure" on 5 January and be replaced immediately. They also demanded an urgent thorough review of security arrangements, which must include the participation of teachers, students, staff and residents. "The GBM makes

Bengaluru : A Bengaluru terror module has been busted with the arrest of six members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) who had allegedly attempted to kill an RSS worker on 22 December for taking part in a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally, police said on Friday. The arrested have been identified as Irfan, Syed Akbar, Syed Siddiqui, Akbar Basha, Sanaulla and Sadiq Amin alias 'Sound Amin', all residents of KG Halli in the city, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao told reporters. BJP Bengaluru south MP Tejasvi Surya and right wing leader Chakravarthy Sulibele were among the prominent speakers at December's pro-CAA rally. According to Rao, the SDPI members reached the venue on three stolen motorcycles. They wanted to storm into the crowd initially but, due to heavy police presence, they could not. Bengaluru Commissioner of Police: 6 SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) supporters have been arrested in connection with the attack on a BJP-RSS su

Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday condemned the statements of Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat where he suggested de-radicalisation camps for radicalised youths in the Kashmir Valley and a concerted effort to tackle terrorism globally. Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2020 in New Delhi, Rawat, in a clear reference to Pakistan, sought diplomatic isolation and blacklisting by anti-terror watchdog FATF of countries sponsoring terrorism. The Chief of Defence Staff also said girls and boys as young as 10 and 12 years were being radicalised in Kashmir. Condemning Rawat's statements, the Pakistan Foreign Office said, "These remarks are reflective of the extremist mindset and bankrupt thinking that have evidently also permeated the state institutions of India." The Foreign Office said Rawat's remarks on FATF were further proof of India's repeated attempts to politicise FATF's technical proceedings. "Pakistan has consistently sensitised the wor

New Delhi : The Delhi Police on Friday appealed to agitators to unblock the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch due to which the residents of Delhi and NCR are suffering, officials said. The protesters, who are opposing the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and a proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC), have been siting on protest at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh for over a month. The road is a key link between Noida and Delhi and has been closed by the Noida Traffic Police in view of the ongoing protests. "We appeal to agitators at Road No 13-A, Shaheen Bagh to understand the sufferings, the complete highway blockade is causing to the residents of Delhi and NCR, senior citizens, emergency patients and school going children," a police statement said. The matter had also come up before the High Court. "We again urge protesters to cooperate and clear the road in larger public interest," it stated. Saying that it is the responsibility of the poli

With even the chilling cold of north India’s coldest winters failing to dumb down the numbing trauma of the 15 December incident at the Aligarh Muslim University and the recent revelation of its vice-chancellor’s urgent secret letter to the police demanding security for himself and family, it is but imperative for someone who teaches security at AMU to dispassionately dissect the how, when and why of the incident so as to have an informed understanding which might help in charting out a direction towards some sort of redress. It becomes particularly important because in the shrilling din of the cacophony of voices coming to the mainstream, the power dynamics, which is at its display in the most brutal form throughout the country, can easily be discerned in terms of the space given to differing narrative in the mainstream regarding the incident. At a time when the mainstream media space and the social media both are bubbling with video footages of their own claims and counter-claims on

Thiruvananthapuram: After a storm erupted over a "beef fry" tweet by Kerala Tourism on Makarasankranti day, the CPI(M)-led LDF government on Friday clarified its aim was not to hurt anyone's religious beliefs. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran criticised those who were trying to give a communal colour to the Tourism department tweet on the Kerala delicacy — "Beef Ularthiyathu" and said in the southern state none links food with religion. Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala: https://t.co/d7dbgWmlBw pic.twitter.com/aI1Y9vEXJm — Kerala Tourism (@KeralaTourism) January 15, 2020 "Tender chunks of beef, slow-roasted with aromatic spices, coconut pieces, and curry leaves. A recipe for the most classic dish, Beef Ularthiyathu, the stuff of legends, from the land of spices, Kerala,"

The Congress-led government in Punjab passed a resolution in the state Assembly on Friday demanding the scrapping of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). State minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution against the CAA on the second day of the two-day special Assembly session. "The CAA enacted by Parliament has caused countrywide anguish and social unrest with widespread protests all over the country. The state of Punjab also witnessed protests against this legislation, which were peaceful and involved all segments of our society," Mohindra said while reading out the resolution. The resolution said that the amended law on citizenship seeks to negate the very secular fabric on which the Constitution of India is based. "It is divisive and stands for everything opposed to a free and fair democracy, which must enshrine equality for all. Alongside the religion-based discrimination in granting citizenship, it is apprehended that the CAA is also likely to en