Magsaysay Award winning human rights activist Sandeep Pandey has been booked for allegedly making inappropriate comments against Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar. The complaint has been filed by the national Vice-President of Hindu Mahasabha, Rajiv Kumar, who has claimed that Sandeep Pandey made the comments while addressing anti-citizenship law protesters at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Sunday. The FIR has been lodged at the Civil Lines police station under Sections 153 A (provocation with intent to cause riots) and 505 (1)b (inciting public or community to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code. In his address, Pandey had said…
Author: Our Correspondent
The Union cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval allowing the Election Commission (EC) to sign memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with its counterparts in Tunisia and Papua New Guinea. The EC will enter into MoUs with the Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia (ISIE) and the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission (PNGEC) for cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration, a cabinet statement said. “The MoUs would promote bilateral cooperation aimed at building technical assistance and capacity support for the ISIE and the PNGEC for elections for cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration, envisaging cooperation…
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday roped in Saffronart, a leading international auction house, for auctioning seized assets of fugitive Nirav Modi. A live auction in Mumbai on February 27 will take place, followed by an online auction on Saffronart’s platform on March 3 and 4. Collectively, the two auctions will feature 15 artworks by significant modern and contemporary Indian artists as well as a selection of luxury watches, handbags and cars. Highlights of the auction include a 1935 masterpiece by Amrita Sher-Gil, a significant oil on canvas by M.F. Husain from his ‘Mahabharata’ series. Both the art works have been…
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to pass any order to restrain the operation of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) or National Population Register (NPR). The top court gave four weeks time to the Centre to file counter affidavit. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde also indicated the probability of constituting a Constitution Bench to take up the matter on the next date of hearing. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Indian Union Muslim League challenging the new law, urged the court to postpone the process for a few months. However, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal opposed it saying it…
In a setback to the YSR Congress Party government in Andhra Pradesh, a resolution moved by main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) disapproving the government’s policies was adopted in the state Legislative Council on Tuesday night. The resolution moved under Rule 71 was approved by the Upper House with 27 members voting in favour of it and 13 members voting against it. Nine members abstained from voting. Though four opposition members including two of the TDP resorted to cross-voting, the resolution was still adopted, causing embarrassment to the government. The development could deal a blow to the government’s efforts to…
Three girls from Odisha among 22 children will receive the ICCW National Bravery Awards 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the eve of Republic Day this year, an official said on Tuesday. The three bravehearts from Odisha are Purnima Giri and Sabita Giri of Nipania village in Kendrapara district, and Shrimati Badra of Angul. The ICCW Dhruva Award will be given to Purnima Giri (16 years) and Sabita Giri (15 years) for saving 12 persons from drowning in a river when a boat sank into water full with crocodiles. On January 2, a picnic party of 52 people was on its…
Cooperation on developing high-end technologies will become an important agenda item for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries during Russias current-year presidency of the group of emerging economies, Finnish Russian digital solutions provider Zyfra said on Tuesday. Commenting on the current lack information about each other among medium-sized and small businesses, Zyfra said in a statement that the main barrier for commercial projects in BRICS countries is absence of data which correctly describes ongoing processes in digital technology. “BRICS countries need to promote networking between chambers of commerce, business councils, professional associations and unions, as well as…
The Indian Railways is yet again expecting the highest-ever outlay for capital expenditure of over Rs 1.70 lakh crore from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is set to present the Budget on February 1. According to a senior railway ministry official, the railways has got CAPEX of Rs 1.60 lakh crore in last year’s Budget, while in the previous year it got Rs 1.48 lakh crore CAPEX. “Thus this year also the railways will get over Rs 1.70 or 1.75 lakh crore outlay for CAPEX,” said the official. The official said that the budgetary allocation of the railways will…
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal finally filed his nominations from the New Delhi Assembly constituency for the February 8 elections, after hours of waiting. Kejriwal, who reached the office of the Returning Officer (RO) at Jamnagar House to file his nominations at around 12.30 p.m., stepped out at around 7 p.m. He was number 45 in the queue. Tuesday was the last day for filing the nominations. Kejriwal was accompanied by his family, including parents, and Aam Aadmi Party leaders Pankaj Gupta and Gopal Mohan. He had failed to file his nomination papers on Monday as he got delayed due…
Bollywood top-notch actor Sushant Singh Rajput has turned 34-year-old today and his fans have been pouring wishes for his. On his 34th birthday on Tuesday, his rumoured girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty posted an adorable birthday wishes to him on Instagram. Sharing two romantic unseen photos of herself with Sushant, she went on to address him as “supermassive black hole”. “Happy birthday to the most beautiful “supermassive black hole” that is known to mankind! Shine on you crazy diamond @sushantsinghrajput #boywithagoldenheart #rheality,” she wrote. Bollywood actress Preity Zinta also wished Sushant on Instagram with a throwback photo and wrote, “Happy Birthday to…