13:39 Yashwant Sinha quits BJP, says will unite opposition parties: M I Khan reports from Patna
Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Saturday announced that he is quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party and will launch a countrywide campaign to ‘save democracy’.
“I am announcing here the end my long-time association with the BJP,” Sinha said while addressing the first meeting of ‘Rashtra Manch’ founded by him months ago.
He said now onwards he will try to unite all non-BJP parties.
“I will not join any political party and will have nothing to do with party-politics,” he said.
“I am not an aspirant for any top post and I am making it clear here that I am not at all interested in seeking any post,” Sinha said.
Sinha along with sulking BJP MP Satrughan Sinha, Congress leader Renuka Choudhary and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh attended the meeting of Rashtra Manch.
12:16 Cases of violence against minors getting more publicity these days: Hema: Bharatiya Janata Party MP Hema Malini on Saturday said the number of crimes reported against women and minors might be rising due to the recent publicity it has gathered.
Speaking to ANI, the actor-turned-politician said that such crimes might have been common earlier too.
“Such cases are being given more publicity these days. So, it may have been happening earlier too, but wasn’t known. The government will definitely take more precaution and will come out with a solution,” she said.
“Such incidents should not have happened; it is also showing our country in a bad light,” she remarked. — ANI
12:14 Cop suspended for demanding pizza for booking FIR: A lady Sub-Inspector was allegedly suspended for demanding pizza from a restaurant owner, who came to register a complaint in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow.
The incident is of Hazratganj Police Station, where the owner, Rohit Berry went to the police station to file a case against an unknown man, who did not pay for the food in the restaurant.
The woman Sub-Inspector wrote the FIR, but asked the owner to bring Pizza when he comes again to take the copy of the FIR.
“She asked us to bring food and take our FIR copy. We supplied the order but they returned it and paid us after the incident went viral on social media,” said the owner of the restaurant Rohit Berry.
SSP Hirendra Kumar confirmed the suspension of the sub-inspector and said a departmental inquiry has been initiated in the matter. — ANI
10:45 MP shocker: 6-month-old girl raped, killed in Indore :
The blood-soaked body of a six-month-old infant was recovered from the basement of a building in Indore, a police official said.
Police identified the accused as Sunil Bheel, 21, claiming that he was seen in CCTV footage, at around 4.45 am on Friday, carrying the infant on his shoulder.
The post-mortem of the infant, which was carried out at the state-run MY Hospital in Indore, suggested that she might have been raped before being killed as her private parts bore an injury mark, a source said.
The child’s body had injury marks on the private parts and the head.
“The body of the infant was recovered from the basement of a commercial building in Rajwada area. The accused, Sunil Bheel, had kidnapped her early in the morning when she was asleep with her parents outside the Rajwada Fort. The accused was sleeping close to the family,” said HC Mishra, deputy inspector-general of police, Indore.
The accused and the infant’s parents knew each other and were in the business of selling balloons, Mishra said.
“The accused is seen carrying the infant in CCTV images of around 4:45am today. He then took her to the basement of the building, some 50 metres away from where the family was sleeping, and her body was recovered in the afternoon,” he said.
“The infant had an injury on her head. The accused probably threw her to the ground. However, only the post-mortem report will verify if she died due to this or whether she was smothered,” Mishra said.
“We are going to arrest the accused shortly,” he added.
The rape and murder follows a disturbing pattern emerging even as the country tries to cope with grief and anger over the kidnapping, gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir in January. — PTI
An officer of the Central Reserve Police Force officer was killed in a gunfight with the Maoists in a dense forest in the insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said today.
The gunfight took place last night in Kistaram police station area when a team of CRPF’s 212th battalion was out on a search-cum-area domination operation, Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
“Assistant sub inspector Anil Kumar Maurya was killed in the incident,” he said.
The deceased was a native of Madhya Pradesh.
Security forces have launched a combing operation in the area, located around 500 km away from the state capital Raipur, he added. — PTI
10:18 India’s growth momentum must continue despite elections: IMF:
The International Monetary Fund has said it wants continued momentum in India’s growth and structural reforms despite the election period.
A number of elections are scheduled to be held in India within the next one year with assembly polls in Karnataka, Mizoram, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan as well as the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
“We are not saying that India’s structural reform speed will slow down because of elections. What we are saying is that the growth momentum and the structural reform momentum should continue despite the election period,” said Changyong Rhee, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF.
India is projected to grow at 7.4 per cent in the fiscal year 2018-2019 as the economy recovers from temporary destruction due to currency exchange initiatives and the roll out of the new goods and services tax, Rhee said yesterday.
Ken Kang, Deputy Director, at the IMF Asia and Pacific Department said the implementation of the GST was “a major reform” of the Indian tax system.
“In recent years, India has made impressive progress in reforms.. It (GST) will enhance the efficiency of intra-Indian movement of goods and services, help create a common national market as well as help boost jobs and growth,” said Kang.
He said India’s introduction of flexible inflation targeting and of a statutory monetary policy which has helped strengthen the monetary policy framework was another big achievement.
“The government has recently announced a major recapitalisation plan for the public-sector banks in order to accelerate the work out of non-performing loans, as well as made some important legal improvements through a new insolvency and bankruptcy law,” said Kang.
“The IMF hopes that the reform momentum would continue,” Kang added.
Looking ahead, said Kang, India needed to focus on labour market reforms with a focus on increasing formal female labour participation, to improve the business environment, and reduce complex regulations, but also to address supply bottlenecks, particularly in the agricultural sector and distribution networks.
Responding to a question, Kang said that the IMF expects India’s role in the region to expand.
“India does have a room to expand its export orientation and to reduce further trade and non-trade barriers. The statutory tariff rate in India is relatively high at about 15 per cent and higher than those in the rest of the region. So there is room to do more on trade reforms,” he said. — PTI
09:39 Impeachment is the extreme remedy, could have been avoided: Ex-Law Min:
Congress leader and former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar has opposed his party’s decision of moving an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and said that the move could have been avoided.
He added that if he would have been a member of parliament and had been given the paper to sign, he would not have done it.
“I would not like to get into the merits of the controversy. I am on a larger principle and the larger principle is that impeachment is the extreme remedy and that to against the chief justice, which is an unprecedented move,” Kumar said.
On Friday, the opposition parties led by Congress moved the impeachment motion in the Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of CJI Misra under Article 217 read with article 124 (4) of the Constitution of India. The motion was signed by 64 sitting members of the House.
As per Article 124 (4), “A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.” — ANI
An army jawan, who was injured in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, succumbed to injuries at a military hospital in Jammu, a defence spokesman said today.
His death raised the number of persons killed in over 650 ceasefire violations by Pakistan in the state this year to 31, including 16 security personnel.
Havildar Charanjeet Singh, 42, suffered bullet injuries in the unprovoked Pakistani firing on army posts along the LoC in the Sunderbani sector on April 17. He was evacuated and provided intensive medical care in a military hospital, the spokesman said.
He said Singh, hailing from Kalsian village of Nowshera in Rajouri district, succumbed to his injuries yesterday despite all out efforts by doctors to save his life.
Singh is survived by his wife Neelam Kumari, the spokesman said, adding that he was a brave and sincere soldier.
“The nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty”, he said.
The spokesman said the mortal remains of the soldier had reached his home for last rites and he will be given a farewell with full military honours later in the day. — PTI
09:15 PM Modi returns home: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is back home after his three-nation tour in Europe. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj received him at the airport.
08:43 PM Modi ‘had a wonderful meeting’ with German Chancellor Merkel:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had a “wonderful meeting” with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discussed multiple aspects relating to bilateral cooperation as well as other global issues.
Modi met Merkel during a brief stopover in Berlin after wrapping up his visit to the United Kingdom where he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and held a series of bilateral meetings.
It was the third and last leg of Modi’s three-nation tour to the UK, Sweden and Germany.
“Had a wonderful meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. We discussed multiple aspects relating to India-Germany cooperation as well as other global issues,” Modi tweeted.
The two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen India-Germany cooperation, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, adding that Modi’s visit “demonstrates India’s mutual desire to strengthen the strategic partnership”.
“Further cementing a cherished friendship! PM @narendramodi warmly welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery ahead of the bilateral meeting,” Kumar said in a tweet.
Modi’s meeting with Merkel comes after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s trip to India last month, which focused on boosting economic and strategic ties between the two countries.
Germany is India’s largest trade partner in the European Union bloc. — PTI
08:17 North Korea suspends missile testing, closes nuclear site:
Ahead of a planned meeting with United States President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced the his country will suspend its nuclear and missile tests and shut down a nuclear test site.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that North Korea, amidst preparing for discussions with the United States and South Korea, would shut down its nuclear test site in the northern area.
“From April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles,” Yonhap quoted the Korean Central News Agency as saying.
“The North will shut down a nuclear test site in the country’s northern side to guarantee transparency in suspending nuclear tests,” the statement from North Korea added.
The decision was made in a meeting of the ruling Worker’s Party of Korea’s full Central Committee that had convened to discuss a “new stage” of policies.
Kim Jong-un is set to hold a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next Friday.
A meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un will possibly happen in May or early June, this year. — ANI
00:07 EDM star Avicii found dead in Muscat, at age 28: Swedish-born producer and DJ known as Avicii has been found dead in Oman, his representative said.
The musician — born Tim Bergling — was 28, The Independent reported.
Avicii’s publicist Diana Baron confirmed the news in a statement that the DJ was in Muscat, Oman when he passed away.
Avicii was a pioneer of the contemporary Electronic Dance Movement and a rare DJ capable of worldwide arena tour, said KRON4.
No cause of death was given and Baron said no further statements would be released. — Agencies
Photograph: ANI
00:01 Modi arrives in Germany to hold talks with Merkel: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Germany today on a short visit to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Berlin from Britain on the third and last leg of his three-nation tour.
‘Maintaining the momentum of regular high-level dialogue, PM @narendramodi arrives in Berlin on a short visit to meet with German Chancellor Merkel,’ Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
The visit demonstrates India’s mutual desire to strengthen the strategic partnership, he said.
Modi reached Berlin after wrapping up his visit to the United Kingdom where he attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and held a series of bilateral meetings. — PTI
Source: Rediff