Press "Enter" to skip to content

LIVE! Bhima Koregaon case: SC extends house arrest of all 5 activists

13:03  Bhima Koregaon case: SC extends house arrest of all 5 activists :  Supreme Court extends house arrest of all five activists till September 19 which is when the next hearing will be held.

Abhishek M Singhvi, appearing for many of the petitioners, submits to SC that out of the 25 cases against accused, Varavara Rao, he was acquitted in all cases. Vernon Gonsalves, was acquitted in 17 cases out of a total of 18 cases and  Arun Ferreira was acquitted in all 11 cases.

Singhvi submits to the SC that no accused was present in the programme of Yalgar Parishad and even the FIR does not have names of any of the five accused persons in the case.

Image: Activist Varavara Rao at his home in Hyderabad. File pic.


12:46  Karan Johar @karanjohar wishes the PM on his birthday today. “India shines ….with beautiful rainbow Colors….to progress…to progression …to prosperity….may the force of all good things always be with you…happy birthday to our respected Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi.”


12:40  Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior lawyer appearing for many of the petitioners, submits to the Supreme Court says: We have come directly to the SC, as we only need a court-monitored investigation or a CBI or NIA probe, to ascertain what the case is and who is involved in it.”

He said that the Apex Court had in many cases directed for a SIT or Court-monitored probe. 

CJI Dipak Misra observed, we are not going to any extreme propagation, but wanted to see whether the case is connected to CrPC or article 32 of the Indian Constitution.

image

12:33  Hearing case on foundations of liberty: CJI on Bhima Koregaon:  The Supreme Court has resumed the hearing in the arrests of five activists made by Maharashtra Police in relation to the Bhima-Koregaon violence on January 1, 2018.

Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj, and Gautam Navlakha were arrested and remain under house arrest as directed by the apex court.

Senior lawyer Maninder Singh appearing for the Central govt told the Supreme Court that the menace of Maoists and Naxalites is increasing day by day, and it is these accused persons who are responsible for the increasing threat of the anti-social activities.

Singh questioned the way the petitioners had directly approached the Supreme Court, and said, “they have options to approach the lower court, high courts or even other legal options to seek redressal.” 

CJI Dipak Misra observed, “We entertained the case on the foundations of liberty. Issues like independent enquiry, etc, comes at a later stage.”

image

12:18  SC stays NGT order on two-wheelers in Delhi:  The Supreme Court Monday stayed the operation of the National Green Tribunal’s 2017 order which had directed that odd-even vehicle rotation scheme be made applicable to two-wheelers also in Delhi.

A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Dipak Gupta was told by Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, appearing for the Delhi government that it would be impossible to accommodate people in public transport if odd-even scheme is made applicable for two-wheelers also.

Under the scheme, odd and even numbered vehicles ply on alternate days. Nadkarni said there were around 68 lakh two-wheelers in Delhi and they were seeking exemption for two-wheelers.

He said the NGT had passed an order on December 15 last year in this regard and they were complying with all directions but want exemption for two-wheelers in the odd-even scheme.

The green tribunal had in December last year dismissed the Delhi government’s review plea seeking exemption for two-wheelers in odd-even scheme, saying such a relaxation would defeat the purpose of improving Delhi’s ambient air quality. — PTI

image

12:11  India’s 1st dog park opens in Hyderabad:  India’s first exclusive dog park has been set up in Hyderabad and will be inaugurated soon. The park offers training and  xercise spaces for dogs, splash pools, an amphitheater among others. The park has been certified by The Kennel Club of India.

Hari Chandana Dasari, Zonal Commissioner, West Zone, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, said, “We converted a dumping yard to dog park at Rs 1.2 Crore. The park is spread across 1.5 acres of land. We have also thought of adding a cat corner in the park but we will wait for that.”


12:06   Mamata greets PM Modi on his birthday:  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 68th birthday. “Birthday greetings to Prime Minister @narendramodiji,” Banerjee, who is currently on 13-day official tour to Europe, tweeted in the morning. Modi will celebrate his 68th birthday in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. The PM is scheduled to spend the day with children of a primary school, aided by a non-profit organisation. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP celebrated Modi’s birthday by gifting gold rings to newborns. — PTI

12:06   Mamata greets PM Modi on his birthday:  West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 68th birthday. “Birthday greetings to Prime Minister @narendramodiji,” Banerjee, who is currently on 13-day official tour to Europe, tweeted in the morning. Modi will celebrate his 68th birthday in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. The PM is scheduled to spend the day with children of a primary school, aided by a non-profit organisation. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP celebrated Modi’s birthday by gifting gold rings to newborns. — PTI

image

11:56  Man washes BJP MP’s feet, drinks the water:  BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has found himself at the centre of controversy after a party worker washed the parlimentarian’s feet and drank the used water thereafter.

The incident took place on Sunday when the MP from Jharkhand’s Godda visited Kanhavara village of his constituency to announce the construction of a bridge. Onlookers filmed the episode, which was also shared by Dubey on his Facebook page, however, he later deleted it.In the video, a BJP worker, Pawan, can be seen washing Dubey’s feet and drinking the water used for it.

Earlier in July, Dubey grabbed headlines after he said that his party members fear that hugging Congress president Rahul Gandhi might lead to divorce. — ANI


11:41  Plea in HC challenging DUSU poll results:  A plea has been moved in the Delhi High Court Monday challenging the Delhi University Students’ Union election results. The plea filed by three candidates alleged that EVMs were tampered with and questioned how “privately procured” EVMs could have been used in the polls held on September 12. The candidates sought securing of the Electronic Voting Machines used in the DUSU elections. The office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi on Thursday last said that EVMs used in the DUSU election were not issued by the Election Commission and seem to have been procured privately.

The ABVP, student wing of the RSS on September 13 bagged three posts including that of the President in the student union elections. The Congress-backed NSUI won only one seat, while the AAP’s student wing CYSS, which fought the elections in alliance with Left-backed AISA, failed to open its account.– PTI


10:58  Govt must formulate law to curb population: Giriraj Singh :  BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday said that the government must formulate a law to curb the population if it has to save “India’s democracy from the growing divisive forces”.”

The population of the country in 1947 was only 33 crores. However, it has gone up to 135 crores in 2018. The Hindu population is witnessing a sharp decline. Neither social equability nor any kind of development is possible if the population is not brought under control. The debate should be raised from the road to the Parliament,” Singh told ANI.

“Most countries apart from a few have a law regarding population control. In India, it had not been possible because of the vote bank politics. In order to save the democracy, there has to be a law,” he added.

Singh’s comment comes hours after he triggered a controversy by tweeting that the country might witness another partition in 2047 akin to that of 1947, on grounds of religion.

“The country was divided in 1947 on the basis of religion. A similar situation will happen in 2047. In 72 years, the population has gone up from 33 crore to 135.7 crore. The population explosion of divisive forces is dreadful. At present there is uproar over discussion on 35A. It will become impossible to even mention about Bharat in the times to come,” his tweet read.

In July, Singh accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of conspiring to divide the nation and influencing the Muslim intellectuals to do the same. — ANI

image

10:42  Karnataka cuts fuel prices by Rs 2 :  Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy announced today that he would be taking a decision to reduce Rs 2 on both petrol and diesel prices. Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have lowered taxes on fuel leading to an overall reduction of fuel prices.

Fuel prices skyrocketing since the past few days witnessed a hike today. The rising prices of petrol and diesel every day have burnt a hole in the pockets of consumers.

In New Delhi, petrol is now being sold at Rs Rs 82.06 per litre (increased by Rs 0.15 per litre), while the price of diesel has been hiked by Rs 0.6 per litre to Rs 73.78 per litre.On the other hand, the price of petrol rose to Rs 89.44 per litre in Mumbai, while diesel is being sold at Rs 78.33 per litre.

The continuous hike in the fuel price is being witnessed from the past few days, causing much trouble for the common people.The Union Government has also been facing flak in the past few weeks for not implementing stringent measures to curb prices.


10:37   Aspirin does not reduce heart attack, stroke risk: Study:   Taking aspirin daily does not reduce the heart attack or stroke and has no benefit in prolonging life free of disability, a study has found. Aspirin-related compounds have been used for the treatment of pain since the 16th century BC, when it was reported that people chewed on the bark of willow and papyrus.

It was first synthesised in 1898, and since the 1960s has been known to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke among those who had previously experienced heart disease or stroke.

This protective capacity of aspirin was extrapolated to people who were otherwise healthy to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, despite the evidence supporting this to be sparse. In three studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers showed that daily low-dose aspirin (100mg), when initiated in otherwise healthy people from age 70 onwards, has no benefit in prolonging life free of disability, or substantially reducing the risk of having a first heart attack or stroke.

Over 19,000 people in Australia and the US were studied over seven years for the study was called ASPREE — Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly. The results showed that low-dose aspirin did not prolong healthy life. Nor did it prolong life or substantially reduce the incidence of heart attack or stroke — with little difference between the placebo and aspirin groups. — PTI

image

10:23  Time magazine sold :  Meredith Corp. is selling Time magazine for 190 million USD in cash to Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce and his wife.The Benioffs are purchasing Time personally, and the transaction is unrelated to Salesforce.com, where Benioff is chairman, co-CEO and co-founder, reported ABC News.

As per the announcement by Meredith, the Benioffs will not be involved in the daily operations or journalistic decisions at Time and the current executive leadership team of the magazine will continue to take care of these.

Meredith president and CEO, Tom Harty, in a statement said, “We’re pleased to have found such passionate buyers in Marc and Lynne Benioff for the Time brand. For over 90 years, Time has been at the forefront of the most significant events and impactful stories that shape our global conversation.”

The prospective sale is expected to close within 30 days. — ANI

Image: Time Magazine was sold to Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff.

image

10:19  Lawyer representing Stormy Daniels may run for presidency in 2020:  Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing adult star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump, on Sunday expressed his intentions about a possible run for the presidency in the 2020 election, saying he is “very serious” about it.

Citing The Hill, Avenatti told CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources’, “I’m very serious. And I’m getting more serious by the week because I’m travelling around the country and people are encouraging me to do it.”

Lashing out at his Democratic critics who say he lacks the experience of holding public office, Avenatti said that he has 20 years of experience as an attorney and has knowledge about the working of government regulations.

“I’ve got 20 years of experience at a very high level as an attorney. I understand how governmental regulations are passed, how laws are passed, how the Supreme Court works. I have an extreme depth of knowledge,” he added.

The 47-year-old attorney has been vying to run for the presidency in the 2020 presidential election since recent months. In July, Avenatti had announced that he would stand in the polls if Trump ran for re-election.

image

10:11  Kishor and the kinship of cartwheels:  The art of the political cartwheel has made Patna its stage again. Strategist Prashant Kishor, who joined the Janata Dal United on Sunday and announced his “new journey from Bihar”, is as adept and frequent a fence-hopper as his boss and Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar. The near-incredible trapeze loops the two men have enacted over the last several years may, in fact, have evoked a special sense of kinship. Read the column here.


09:51  PM’s return gift on his birthday:  Fuel prices, skyrocketing since the past few days, witnessed a hike today. The rising prices of petrol and diesel every day have burnt a hole in the pockets of consumers. In New Delhi, petrol is now being sold at Rs Rs 82.06 per litre (increased by Rs 0.15 per litre), while the price of diesel has been hiked by Rs 0.6 per litre to Rs 73.78 per litre.

On the other hand, the price of petrol rose to Rs 89.44 per litre in Mumbai, while diesel is being sold at Rs 78.33 per litre.

The continuous hike in the fuel price is being witnessed from the past few days, causing much trouble for the common people.

The Union Government has also been facing flak in the past few weeks for not implementing stringent measures to curb prices.

Speaking about the soaring fuel price, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan earlier said that the hike in fuel price in the country is due to international factors, and not under the Centre’s control. — ANI

image

09:50  Wishes pour in for PM on his birthday:  Birthday greetings and wishes have started pouring in from early morning on Monday for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 68th birthday.

President Ram Nath Kovind extended birthday greetings to the Prime Minister and wished for his long life. “Birthday greetings to our Prime Minister @narendramodi. Wish him a long life and many years of dedicated service to the people of the country,” tweeted the President.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also took to Twitter to wish Prime Minister Modi. “Warm birthday compliments to the dynamic and illustrious Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modiji. I wish him good health and a long life. May he continue to render for many more years his exceptional services to the nation and guide the country to its glory,” Jaitley wrote.

Lauding Prime Minister for his “dynamic leadership”, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar tweeted, “Heartiest birthday wishes to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The nation continues to make progress under your dynamic leadership.”

Former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya also extended his greetings through a tweet. “Happy birthday Prime Minister @narendramodi May the nation have the benefit of your strong and dynamic leadership for many years to come”, he tweeted.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also wished Prime Minister Modi a long life and good health on his birthday. “Heartfelt greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I pray for your long life and good health,” Adityanath tweeted.Prime Minister Modi will celebrate his 68th birthday in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi. — ANI


09:46  Rupee again breaches 72-mark, down 81 paise in early trade:  The rupee depreciated 81 paise to 72.65 against the dollar in early trade Monday at the forex market, despite the government’s steps to stem a steep fall in the currency, amid reports that the US could announce a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports later in the day.

The dollar rose against a basket of major currencies overseas, with investors cautiously awaiting news on the implementation of US tariffs on an additional USD 200 billion of Chinese imports, forex dealers said.

On Friday, the rupee had gained 34 paise to close at a one-week high of 71.84 against the US dollar on positive macro data and hopes of policy intervention by the government to defend the volatile currency. — PTI

image

09:43  Lucknow: Flag of Shivpal Yadav’s recently launched party Samajwadi Secular Morcha seen on his car as he leaves for the family bastion of Saifai.

image

09:34  Bishop accused of rape asks Pope for permission to step down :  Bishop Franco Mulakkal has written to the Pope yesterday expressing his desire to step down temporarily from the responsibilities of the diocese and has sought permission for it, the Diocese of Jalandhar says.

Bishop Mulakkal had last week handed over administrative responsibility of the Jalandhar diocese to a senior priest.

In a circular addressed to priests, nuns and brothers of the diocese, the bishop had said, “In my absence Msgr Mathew Kokkandam will administer the Diocese as in the normal practice when I am away from the Diocese”.

The bishop claimed there were “several contradictions” in the evidence collected against him by the police probing the case. “I leave everything into the hand of God as I await the result of the findings of the team probing the allegation,” he had said in the circular.

The Bishop is due to appear before an investigating team of the Kerala Police on September 19.

The nun had recently sought urgent intervention of the Vatican for justice and demanded the bishop’s removal as the head of the Jalandhar diocese, questioning why the church was “closing its eyes to the truth” when she had mustered courage to make public her suffering.


08:42  Netanyahu nominates Ron Malka as Israel’s next envoy to India:  

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nominated academician Dr Ron Malka as the country’s next envoy to India.

Malka, a senior lecturer at the College of Law and Business and Dean of the graduate programme in financial markets and banking, completed his doctorate from Israel’s Bar-IIan University. He has also served as a director and acting chairman of the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange.

Netanyahu, who according to sources is entitled to make 11 political appointments as envoys to Israeli missions, has chosen to send his own nominee instead of a career diplomat to India amid burgeoning bilateral ties.

The agreement to the appointment is awaited from New Delhi.

Malka has also served as a Colonel at the unit of the financial adviser to the Chief of the Israel Defence Forces General Staff.

He currently serves as the chairman of the investment committees of three investment funds as well as economic and financial adviser to various bodies in the country, including the Office of the Prime Minister.

He would be replacing Ambassador Daniel Carmon who completed his tenure in August. — PTI 


08:37  Indian ‘Mard’ beats Hollywood bigwigs to win TIFF award:  

Vasan Bala’s Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, which premiered at the tail-end of the Midnight Madness section of the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival, bagged the Grolsch Viewers’ Choice Award in Toronto, pushing David Gordon Green’s Halloween and Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation to the second and third positions respectively.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Vasan Bala during the post-awards brunch.

“It probably will when I am on the flight back to Mumbai,” the director said.

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, completed just in time for TIFF, stars newcomer Abhimanyu Dassani in the role of a young man who has a congenital disorder that makes him incapable of feeling any pain. The condition allows him to jump into violent fights and brawls without worrying about being hurt.

The film stars Radhika Madan in the key role of the hero’s girlfriend who is no mean fighter herself.

Another Indian film, The Field, directed by London-based Sandhya Suri, won the IWC International Short Films Award. 

“It is amazing that this film about a woman in rural India has been recognised in this way in TIFF, she said in a recorded message from the UK.

The Field is a 19-minute fiction film about a woman who works on a north Indian farm and finds a way against all odds to assert her innermost urges in an ultra-conservative setting.

Peter Farrelly’s The Green Book, starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen, won the festival’s Grolsch People’s Choice Award, while Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, adapted from a James Baldwin story, and Alfonso Cuaron’s black and white Venice winner Roma took home the runners-up prizes. — PTI 


08:32  ‘Hind Kesari’ Ganpatrao Andalkar dies:  

Well-known wrestler Ganpatrao Andalkar died on Sunday at a private hospital in Pune, his son said. 

He was 83.

Andalkar, a former Olympian who took part in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, had bagged the coveted “Hind Kesari” title in 1960.

He also went on to clinch Gold and Silver medals in two different weight categories in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.

“My father passed away at a hospital in Pune,” his son Abhijit told PTI.

Andalkar was also a recipient of the Arjuna award (1964) and the Maharashtra government’s ‘Shiv Chhatrapati Award’ in 1982 for his contribution to wrestling.

Kaka Pawar, the coach of Commonwealth Gold medallist wrestler Rahul Aware, termed Andalkar’s contribution to wrestling in Maharashtra as notable.

“He had notable contribution in wrestling in Maharashtra,” Pawar said. — PTI  

image

08:24   Parrikar fine, no leadership change in Goa, says BJP:  

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday ruled out change in leadership in Goa, claiming Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, admitted to the New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, is fine.

 

BJP president Amit Shah has sent three senior members of the party — B L Santhosh, Ram Lal and Vinay Puranik — to Goa to take stock of the political situation in the coastal state in view of Parrikar’s indisposition.

 

“Whatever was discussed today will be briefed to you tomorrow. There is no issue about the government and there is no demand of change in leadership from anyone,” Ram Lal told reporters after a series of meetings with state BJP leaders and MLAs in Panji.

 

The three-member team, which is on a two-day visit to Goa, also met BJP’s allies in the state.

 

He declined to divulge details about the meetings, but Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said there is no question of leadership change in the state as Parrikar is “fine”.

 

“During the meetings with central observers today we discussed organisational issues. There is no issue of leadership,” Ram Lal said.

 

Parrikar has been admitted to the AIIMS for follow-up treatment reportedly for a pancreatic ailment.

 

The 62-year-old IIT engineer-turned-politician is running the BJP-led government with the help of two regional allies — the Goa Forward Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party — and three Independents. — PTI

Source: Rediff