13:57 TN govt’s request to free Rajiv’s killers not referred to Centre: Guv:
Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit denied on Saturday reports in a section of media that he had forwarded to the Centre the state government’s recommendation to release all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The governor said a decision on the issue would be taken in a “just and fair manner” in accordance with the Constitution.
“A section of media has been reporting that in the matter of the release of the convicted prisoners undergoing life imprisonment for involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, a reference has been made to the ministry of home affairs, government of India,” a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said.
Also, some television channels have been holding debates on this “assumption”, it said.
“It is clarified that no reference has been made to the ministry of home affair in the matter. The case is a complex one and involves the examination of legal, administrative and constitutional issues,” the statement by joint director-public relations of the Raj Bhavan said.
Noting that voluminous records on the matter were being received from the state government, the Raj Bhavan said court judgments on connected matters were handed over to it only on September 14.
“All efforts will be taken to process the papers scrupulously. Necessary consultation may be carried out, when required, in due course. The decision will be taken in a just and fair manner and in accordance with the Constitution,” the Raj Bhavan said.
On September 9, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet had recommended the release of all the seven Rajiv case convicts, including Nalini and her husband Sriharan alias Murugan.
All the seven prisoners are in jail since 1991. — PTI
13:33 Eminem apologises for using homophobic slur on ‘Kamikaze’ album:
Rapper Eminem has regretted the use of homophobic lyrics on his new album, Kamikaze.
The 45-year-old musician was criticised by many, including Imagine Dragons’ lead singer Dan Reynolds, for using homophobic slurs in the track Fall in an attempt to take a dig at rapper Tyler, The Creator.
Tyler had tweeted about Eminem’s 2017 single Walk on Water, saying, “Dear god this song is horrible, sheesh how the f**k.”
In an interview with Sway Calloway, Eminem said, “I think the word that I called him on that song was one of the things where I felt like this might be too far.”
“Because in my quest to hurt him, I realize that I was hurting a lot of other people by saying it. … It was one of the things that I kept going back to and going ‘I don’t feel right with this’,” he added. — PTI
13:20 Modi sweeps premises of Delhi school: Prime Minister sweeps the premises of Baba Sahib Ambedkar Higher Secondary School in Paharganj , Delhi as a part of ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign.
13:05 ‘High time’ Parrikar gives charge to seniormost minister, says BJP ally :
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, an alliance partner in the Manohar Parrikar-led government in Goa, today said it was “high time” the chief minister handed over the charge to the seniormost minister during his absence in the state.
Parrikar, 62, was flown to Delhi on Saturday for a follow-up treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. According to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources, he is scheduled to undergo a series of tests in the afternoon at the AIIMS.
Parrikar has been undergoing treatment for his pancreatic ailment. Earlier this year, he had undergone a three-month-long treatment in the US. He had formed a Cabinet Advisory Committee to guide the state during his absence.
The MGP, with its three legislators, has given support to the BJP to form the government in the state along with the Goa Forward Party and other independent legislators.
Talking to reporters Saturday morning, MGP president Deepak Dhavalikar said, “It is high time Parrikar hands over the charge to the seniormost minister for smooth functioning of the government.”
He said in the last eight months, the government has not been able to function smoothly.
Dhavalikar said Parrikar can remain the chief minister and hand over the charge to someone else in his absence.
When asked whether he wanted his elder brother and MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar to be given the charge, he said, “I don’t know…let them tell who is the seniormost. I am just saying that whoever is given charge should be the seniormost. Let them tell who is the seniormost.”
Sudin Dhavalikar, who is the the Public Works Department Minister, is the seniormost member in the Parrikar-led cabinet.
The MGP chief also ruled out any possibility of the MGP’s merger with the BJP.
“There is no question of merger. We are not interested in the merger. It will never happen. We have built the party over several years and it is the hope for future of Goa’s politics. We have 12-13 per cent vote share in the state, so where is the question of merging the party,” Dhavalikar added. — PTI
12:23 Bishop accused of raping Kerala nun hands over charge to another priest:
Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Jalandhar diocese, accused by a Kerala nun of raping her, today issued a circular stating that he is handing over charge of the administration of the Jalandhar diocese to Fr Mathew Kokkandam.
“In my absence Msgr. Mathew Kokkandam will administer the diocese as it is normal practice when I am away from the diocese,” says in the circular dated September 13
He also gave additional responsibilities to two priests in the diocese and made a new appointment.
“I am likely to be called for further clarifications by investigating officer in Kerala, appoint Rv, Fr Joseph Thekkumkattil and Rev Fr Subin Thekkedathu,” he said in the circular.
Kerala police on 12 September, had summoned the Bishop, asking him to appear before it on 19 September.
Meanwhile, according to ANI, the accusations against the Bishop have been brought to the notice of the Vatican.
Quoting sources, ANI reports that the church’s representative from India was at the Vatican to discuss the issue and is expecting intervention in the coming days.
11:26 Doval holds talks with Pompeo, Mattis on ‘future direction’ of Indo-US ties: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday held ‘broad-based’ talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defence Secretary James Mattis and his American counterpart John Bolton during which they discussed the ‘future direction’ of the strategic Indo-US ties.
Doval’s meeting with the top three officials of the Trump administration came a week after the successful India-US 2+2 Dialogue between the defence and foreign ministers of the two countries.
This was Doval’s first meeting with Bolton, the new National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump. Doval had met Pompeo and Mattis last week in New Delhi too.
“During the three back-to-back meetings, Doval had good chance to review the entire bilateral relationship after the 2+2 talks. They build upon the discussion in New Delhi last week,” informed sources told PTI.
India’s ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, accompanied Doval in these meetings.
Describing it ‘as a very broad-based discussion’, the sources said that Doval and the three top Trump administration officials talked about the ‘future direction’ of the strategic relationship and identified areas of co-operation.
Regional issues and global developments too figured in the talks, they said, without going into specifics. The US Ambassador to India, Ken
Juster in a tweet said that the last week’s 2+2 dialogue ‘set the course for even closer ties’ between the two countries. He said India-US partnership are on an upward trajectory.
“We’ve seen positive momentum regarding the US-India relationship these past few weeks with 2+2 dialogue and the progress continues with Doval’s visit to the US,” said the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF). — PTI
11:08 JNUSU poll: Counting suspended after ABVP protest: Counting of votes for the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) polls was suspended early morning after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members protested alleging they were not informed about the process.
The ABVP said their counting agent was not informed about the beginning of counting of votes polled in science schools.
In a statement, the JNU Election Committee said it suspended the counting temporarily but refused to name the party which protested.
Members of Left student unions alleged that the ABVP created a ruckus. The ABVP denied the allegation.
“The counting process, which began on September 14 at 10 pm has been suspended due to forcible entry into the counting venue and attempts to snatch away the sealed ballot boxes as well as ballot papers from our counting centres,” according to the Left bloc.
They also claimed that their members, including women, faced intimidation. The Left bloc claimed, “Around 4:00am, ABVP broke the glasses of the School of International Studies building. EC stopped the counting indefinitely.”
They also claimed the ABVP counting agent was called but he did not turn up on time. Vijay Kumar, ABVP president of JNU, said their counting agent was not called and the counting process was initiated in front of the members of the Left outfit.
“We protested peacefully as the EC is biased towards the Left. We did not create any ruckus,” he said.
The voter turnout in the keenly contested JNUSU election on Friday was 67.8 per cent, believed to be the highest in six years.
Over 5,000 students cast their votes. The Left-backed All India Students’ Association, Students’ Federation of India, Democratic Students’ Federation and All India Students’ Federation have come together to form the United-Left alliance.
Besides the Left bloc, there are candidates of ABVP, NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) and BAPSA (Birsa Ambedkar PhuleStudents Association).
Technical glitches in EVMs had led to a ruckus during the counting process for Delhi University Students’ Union polls on Thursday, leading to suspension of counting for close to three hours.
The counting had resumed only after parties reached a consensus. — PTI
10:11 Parrikar to be flown to Delhi AIIMS for follow-up treatment : Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will fly to Delhi on Saturday for his follow-up treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a senior official said.
Parrikar, 62, is currently undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at a private hospital at Candolim in North Goa.
“He will be flying to Delhi around 10.30 am today by a special flight and would be admitted to AIIMS for his follow-up treatment,” a senior official from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.
Parrikar had returned from the US in the first week of September following which he was admitted to the hospital at Candolim.
Earlier this year, he had undergone a three-month-long treatment in the US. – – PTI
08:55 3 terrorists killed in encounter in Kulgam: Three terrorists were killed on Saturday in an encounter with the security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
Three terrorists have been killed in the operation at Chowgam in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, a police official said.
He said a total of five terrorists were believed to be engaged in the encounter.
Acting on specific information about the presence of terrorists in Chowgam, the security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area this morning.
Amid the ongoing search operation, the terrorists opened fire on the security forces, prompting them to retaliate and kill three of the outlaws, the official said, adding the operation is continuing.
Meanwhile, train services have been suspended in the valley due to apprehensions of law and order problems.
The train services between Baramulla-Qazigund have been suspended, the official said. — PTI
07:41 Parrikar spoke to Shah, to continue as Goa CM: BJP leader: Manohar Parrikar, who has been admitted to hospital, spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Friday and it was decided that he would continue as the chief minister of Goa, a party leader said.
“Parrikar spoke to Shah and briefed him about the political situation in the state, and also informed him about his health condition. It was decided that Parrikar will continue as the chief minister but he might give some of his portfolios to his cabinet colleagues,” he told PTI.
“By next week, the government will work out the exact arrangement through which the work burden on Parrikar could be reduced. A thought would also be given to replacing the two ailing ministers in the cabinet, Pandurang Madkaikar and Francis D’Souza,” the leader said.
Both Madkaikar and D’Souza are currently hospitalised.
Earlier in the day, Goa BJP held a meeting of its state-level core committee.
The core committee later met Parrikar.
Parrikar, who returned from the United States after medical check-up on September 7, was admitted to a private hospital at Candolim in North Goa district on Thursday evening.
Earlier this year he underwent three-month-long treatment in the US for a pancreatic ailment. — PTI
00:08 Blast in Jalandhar police station, terror angle not ruled out:
A blast occurred in Maqsudan police station in a busy area of Punjab’s Jalandhar city on Friday evening, in which a police personnel sustained minor injuries, police said.
They said the possibility of a terror angle or even plain mischief could not be ruled out at this stage.
The blast, caused by some crude explosive, in all likelihood was triggered after the explosive material was hurled inside the police station, the police said.
The incident created panic as the police station is located in a busy area.
“The police station is housed in a building of a primary health centre. It appears that someone hurled some explosive from outside. The police station is open from two sides and has low boundary wall,” Jalandhar Police Commissioner Praveen Kumar Sinha told PTI over phone.
At the time of the incident, Maqsudan Police Station’s SHO was holding a meeting with some other personnel posted there. Sinha said a police personnel sustained minor injuries.
“We will investigate case from all angles,” he said.
Asked if it was an attempt to blow up the police station and if there was a terror angle, he said, “it’ll be presumptuous to say anything at this stage, but at the same time nothing can be ruled out. It can be anything. It can also be a mischief on someone’s part. But we are taking it very seriously.”
“We have cordoned off the area and security has been stepped up in entire Jalandhar,” he said.
A case has been registered against unidentified persons under provisions of the IPC and the Explosives Act, he added. Forensic team has been summoned and the CCTV footage will be examined, he said. — PTI
Source: Rediff