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LIVE! 2002 post-Godhra riots: Zakia Jafri’s plea to be heard after Nov 26

14:17  The people behind DeepVeer’s successful wedding:  Behind every successful story is a bunch of hardworking souls who worked tirelessly. While fans of Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh can’t stop gushing over their wedding and post wedding pictures, we did a little Insta-stalking to find out how the grand wedding was planned. Turns out, the newly-weds have a lot of people to thank for making their big day so memorable. Take a look.

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14:10  2002 post-Godhra riots: Zakia Jafri’s plea to be heard after Nov 26:  The Supreme Court Monday deferred till November 26 hearing on the plea of Zakia Jafri challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigating Team  to Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat Chief Minister, in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said, “The matter will take some time for hearing. The plea will be heard on November 26”.

At the outset, senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for SIT said Zakia’s plea was not maintainable and social activist Teesta Seetalvad cannot be the second petitioner in the case. The bench said it will look into the application before hearing the matter on making Seetalvad as the second petitioner in Jafri’s plea. — PTI


13:23  Two women Naxals killed in encounter with police in Maharashtra:  Two women Naxals were gunned down in an encounter with police commandos in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Monday morning, a police official said.

The gun battle broke out between the ultras and C-60 commandos, a specialised combat unit of the Gadchiroli police, in Nihalkay forest area under Dhanora taluka around 8.30 am, Gadchiroli’s Additional Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit told PTI.

The commandos were on an anti-Naxal operation in the area since Sunday night, he said.

“The exchange of fire continued for about half-an-hour. Later, during a search, bodies of two armed women Naxals were found,” Pandit said. The combing operation was on in the area, he added. — PTI

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12:48  Don’t be scared of PM, make Shivaji statue world’s tallest: Sena :  The Shiv Sena Monday asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to declare that the proposed statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji off the Mumbai coast will be the tallest in the world, and not be “scared” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah over the issue.

The Sena said the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil has claimed the height of Shivaji’s statue has been decreased to ensure that the ‘Statue of Unity’, dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, remains the tallest.

It said Fadnavis should use the same courage that he displayed in announcing quota for the Maratha community, and not be “scared” of Prime Minister Modi and Shah over the issue of Shivaji statue’s height. Decreasing the height of Shivaji’s statue to make Sardar Patel’s statue look taller is “narrow and distorted mindset”, the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

“Fadnavis should use the same courage that he showed while granting reservation to the Maratha community and fearlessly announce that Shivaji’s statue would be the tallest in the world, and not get scared of Amit Shah and Modi. This will not diminish the prestige of Sardar Patel,” it said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party reminded Fadnavis that earlier, then Union finance minister Chintamanrao Deshmukh in the Jawaharlal Nehru government had shown courage to tender his resignation, to ensure Mumbai stayed with Maharashtra.

It rued that while the ‘Statue of Unity’ has already been unveiled and opened for public viewing, not a single brick has been laid for the construction of Shivaji’s statue. There are now doubts being raised if there was an internal conspiracy to make Shivaji’s statue seem like a dwarf compared to the structure dedicated to Sardar Patel, it said. — PTI

Image: An artist’s impression of the Shivaji statue on the Arabian Sea

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12:21  Malegaon case: SC asks Bombay HC to deal with Purohit’s plea:  The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Bombay High Court to deal with the plea of Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon bast case, that he was being prosecuted in the matter without any valid sanction.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed the high court that Purohit’s plea be dealt with on November 21.

A special court on November 2 had commenced the formal trial against Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and five other accused after framing of charges under various penal law in the Malegaon blast case.

Purohit, in his plea, referred to the earlier apex court order by which the trial court and the Bombay High Court were directed to deal with the claim of Purohit that he was being prosecuted under penal laws including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act without any sanction from the authorities.

The plea also alleged that the charges have been framed against Purohit and others by the trial court which had commenced the trial without dealing with the claim on sanction.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. — PTI

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11:37  Hope Urjit Patel has spine and shows PM his place: Rahul :  Ahead of the RBI board meeting this morning, Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted, ” @RahulGandhi Mr Modi and his coterie of cronies, continue to destroy every institution they can get their hands on. Today, through his puppets at the #RBIBoardMeet he will attempt to destroy the RBI. I hope Mr Patel and his team have a spine and show him his place.”

The Reserve Bank of India board meeting began this morning amid an atmosphere of
mistrust over what the central bank perceives to be government
interference in its functioning.

The government has
maintained it has no intention of forcing the RBI’s hand to do its
bidding, but the opposition has said the NDA regime intends to plough
into the precious reserves of the central bank in election season.

Image: RBI governor Urjit Patel.

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11:21  CBI officer probing FIR against Asthana moves SC:  A CBI officer, who was probing the FIR lodged against Special Director Rakesh Asthana, Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of his transfer to Nagpur in Maharashtra. Manish Kumar Sinha, an IPS officer who was part of the investigation team probing Asthana’s role in an alleged corruption case, mentioned his plea before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi for urgent hearing tomorrow.

The bench also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph is scheduled to hear tomorrow the plea of CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma challenging the government’s decision of divesting him of duties and sending him on leave.

Sinha said that his plea be also heard along with Verma tomorrow. He has alleged that he was transferred to Nagpur and as a result has been taken out from the probe team investigating the FIR against Asthana.

Asthana has also been divested of his duties and sent on leave by the central government following his ongoing feud with the CBI Director. The CBI had booked Asthana on allegations of receiving a bribe from an accused probed by him in a case linked to meat exporter Moin Qureshi.
— PTI

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11:12  Protests across Kerala over detention of 68 Sabarimala pilgrims :  Protests are being held across Kerala against the detention of the 68
persons even as the BJP demanded a judicial probe into the police
action.

Union Minister KJ Alphons Monday slammed the Kerala government for turning the Sabarimala Temple complex into a “war zone” and lack of facilities at the shrine even as police detained 68 people from the complex in the early hours for holding protests.

The sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa Temple opened Monday morning with very few devotees turning up early. Police sources told PTI that 68 persons had been taken into preventive custody from the temple complex and brought to the Manniyar camp early this morning.

Their details are being verified and their arrests have not been recorded yet. Alphons, who arrived at Nilackal, the base camp, Monday morning, told reporters, “The state government has turned the temple complex into a war zone. The devotees are not militants, they are pilgrims.” “What was the need to declare Section 144 at Sabarimala,” he asked.

The minister said there was lack of basic facilities at the temple complex. The union government had provided Rs 100 crore for putting up various facilities at Sabarimala, he said.

The minister’s visit comes hours after the late night developments in Sabarimala when hundred-odd devotees held protests while chanting “nama japam” (chanting in the name of Lord Ayyappa) on Sunday.

The protest by devotees at the ‘sannidhanam,’ on the second day of the two-month long pilgrim season, resulted in police taking into custody 68 persons early Monday morning, the first such incident witnessed at Sabarimala.

This had also led to protests across the state, including in front of the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram. Those taken into custody have been brought to the Manniyar police camp and BJP leaders led by Shobha Surendran are holding “nama japam” protest in front of the camp. 

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10:33  Amritsar blast: Rs 50 lakh reward announced for information on suspects:  Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh for anybody providing information on those involved in the Amritsar grenade blast that left three persons dead, officials said. Information can be provided on the Punjab Police helpline – 181, officials said, adding the identity of the informer will be kept a secret.

The chief minister will visit Amritsar later in the day, officials said. A team of the National Investigation Agency visited the blast site Sunday night along with their investigators and explosive experts.They also held  discussions with the top brass of the Punjab Police.

Three persons, including a preacher, were killed and over 20 injured when two-motorcycle borne men threw grenade on a religious congregation on the city outskirts here on Sunday, an incident which the police are treating as a “terrorist act’.

The incident took place inside the Nirankari Bhavan’s prayer hall at Adliwal village near Amritsar’s Rajasansi, police said. A religious congregation of the Nirankari followers was being conducted inside the Bhavan at the time of the incident. 

The Sant Nirankari Mission is a spiritual organisation and the Bhavan lies close to the international airport and the Indo-Pak border. — PTI

Image: Relatives of a victim mourn the incident at the Nirankari Bhawan in Adliwal village near Amritsar. Photograph: PTI Photo

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10:24  Crucial RBI board meeting begins :  The Reserve Bank of India board meeting has begun amid an atmosphere of mistrust over what the central bank perceives to be government interference in its functioning.

The government has maintained it has no intention of forcing the RBI’s hand to do its bidding, but the opposition has said the NDA regime intends to plough into the precious reserves of the central bank in election season.

Investors are awaiting cues from the meet. The Finance Ministry nominees and some independent directors are expected to take on Governor Urjit Patel and his team later in the day over issues ranging from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) credit to the central bank’s reserves, though both sides are in favour of reaching a common ground.

The first sign of trouble came in October when reports alluded to the government’s interest in Section 7 of the Reserve Bank of India Act or RBI Act, which empowers the centre to issue directions to the “lender of last resort” — meaning the government could take charge of policy.


10:13  Sensex rises over 150 pts ahead of RBI board meet:   The benchmark BSE Sensex surged over 150 points and the broader NSE Nifty went past the 10,700 mark in opening trade Monday on the back of widespread gains ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s board meet amid capital inflows by foreign funds.

The 30-share index was trading 190.81 points, or 0.54 per cent, higher at 35,647.61 points. Sectoral indices, led by realty, metal, auto, IT indices and bankex, advanced up to 1.44 per cent.

The barometer had gained 315.17 points in the previous two sessions. Similarly, the NSE Nifty was up 43.10 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 10,725.30 points. Investors are awaiting cues from the Reserve Bank of India’s board meet later in the day.

Finance Ministry nominees and some independent directors are expected to take on Governor Urjit Patel and his team later in the day over issues ranging from micro, small and medium enterprises credit to the central bank’s reserves, though both sides are in favour of reaching a common ground. — PTI


09:58  Rupee sheds 9 paise against US dollar:  The rupee depreciated by 9 paise to 72.02 against the US dollar in early trade Monday at the interbank foreign exchange, halting its four-day winning streak, ahead of the RBI’s board meet.

Fresh demand for the dollar from importers amid rise in crude prices weighed on the domestic unit, dealers said. However, weakness in the US dollar against some currencies in global market and a higher opening of the domestic equity markets limited the rupee fall ahead of Reserve Bank of India’s board meet, dealers said.

Finance Ministry nominees and some independent directors are expected to take on Governor Urjit Patel and his team later in the day over issues ranging from micro, small and medium enterprises credit to the central bank’s reserves, though both sides are in favour of reaching a common ground. — PTI

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09:38  Sri Lanka: All-party meeting ends with no solution for political crisis:  

The all-party meeting called by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday ended with no solution for the ongoing political crisis in the island nation.

The meeting was attended by former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and representatives of his party as well as the unconstitutionally ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was joined by the representatives of the United National Front along with representatives of other political parties, reported Colombo Page.

Former cabinet minister and UNP parliamentarian Harsha de Silva said that the meeting concluded with no breakthrough as Sirisena suggested that the minority government headed by Rajapska continues to hold the office.

“They want to drag impasse along giving lame excuses of procedure,” Colombo Page quoted de Silva as saying.

Sirisena and the members of the minority government have maintained their stance that the two no-confidence motions passed in Parliament against Rajapaksa did not follow proper procedure.

Sri Lanka tumbled into a constitutional crisis after President Sirisena ousted then-Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and named Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister.Sirisena further suspended the country’s Parliamentary proceedings until November 16.

However, on November 5, the Sri Lankan President announced to reconvene the Parliament on November 14, amid rising demands by legislators of the state to end the political crisis in the island nation as soon as possible.

On November 14, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed a no-confidence motion against the government of Rajapaksa.

Following which the Parliament on November 15 witnessed a huge ruckus as members got into fistfights, hurled objects at each and even tried to attack Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.  — ANI

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09:26  Rajasthan MLA known for his ‘condoms in JNU’ remark quits BJP:  

Miffed over being denied a ticket by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections, Ramgarh MLA Gyan Deo Ahuja quit the party on Sunday and announced he will contest the polls as an Independent candidate.

Ahuja hit national headlines in 2016 during the JNU controversy for claiming that thousands of ‘used condoms’ were found at the university campus, ‘where girls and boys dance naked in cultural programmes’.

Since last Sunday, when the BJP released its first list of candidates for the December 7 polls, several party MLAs, including a state minister, have resigned.

The party has so far declared 170 out of total 200 candidates in three lists.

“My name was dropped by the party without taking me into confidence. I was not even told about the reason why my name was dropped. After pressure from my supporters and family members, I resigned from the party. I will now contest the elections from Sanganer seat,” Ahuja said.

“I had demanded a ticket from Sanganer after the other candidate was given the ticket from Ramgarh but the party did not fulfil my demand. Therefore, I decided to contest as an independent candidate,” he said.

Ahuja said he had sent his resignation to the state BJP president Madan Lal Saini.

He said he will file his nomination papers on Monday and issues of ‘gau raksha’ (cow protection) and construction of a Ram temple on Ram Janmabhoomi will be on his agenda.

Ahuja, in the past, had also supported mob lynching of cattle
smugglers and had recently courted controversy by saying Nehru wasn’t a
‘Pandit’ because he ‘ate beef and pork’.   — PTI, agency inputs

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09:13  United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi pay tribute to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal, on her 101st birth anniversary. — ANI

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08:58  Jet Airways cancels 10 flights from Mumbai, flyers stranded:  

Hundreds of passengers of Jet Airways were left stranded at Mumbai airport after the carrier cancelled 10 domestic flights from the city on Sunday, an airline source said.

The Jet Airways said the flights were cancelled from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) due to ‘operational issues’.

However, the airline source claimed it was due to pilots’ scarcity.

‘Jet Airways had to cancel a few domestic flights of date (November 18) due to operational reasons. Guests of the affected flights were duly informed about their flight status via SMS alerts. In accordance with regulatory policy, guests havebeen re-accommodated and or compensated,’ the airline said in a statement.

The airline said it regrets the inconvenience caused to its guests.

The airline source said the carrier has not been regular in paying salaries to pilots, engineers and senior management for quite some time now.

Facing cash crunch, the Naresh Goyal-controlled private carrier has lost a good number of pilots in the recent past and many a time they have to work overtime to make up for the shortage, the source said.

“The airline failed to operate as many as domestic 10 flights from Mumbai Sunday as it did not have required number of pilots.

“Due to the abrupt cancellations, passengers who had booked their journey on these flights were left stranded,” the source said.

He said the shortage of pilots at the airline has been going on for months together as it has not hired new ones to replace those who have quit the airline in this period due to financial issues. — PTI

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08:44  Today’s situation worse than Emergency: Arun Shourie:  

Former Union minister Arun Shourie Sunday said ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a ‘great sense of remorse’ for imposing Emergency, but the situation today is ‘graver’ than it was in 1975-77.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s juggernaut can be stopped in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls if the entire Opposition unites and follows the principle of one candidate against the BJP in every seat.

The journalist-turned-politician was addressing a session on ‘Danger within the Judicial System’ at Tata Literature Festival in Mumbai.

“In 1975 (Emergency) there was much better defined opponent. Today there is widespread opponent. I can tell you this, the difference between Gandhi and Narendra Modi is that Gandhi had a great sense of remorse about what she had done,” he said.

“Today, there is no remorse. In Gandhi’s case I feel, in spite of the fact that she put 1,75,000 people in jail, there was a sense of limit…isse aage nahi jana hai (not beyond this point). But today there is no sense of limit,” he added. The Emergency lasted for 19 months, but today there is much more sustained and relentless assault at undermining institutions, Shourie said.

“…so I feel the situation now is much more graver than it was in 1975,” he added.

Shourie asserted that Opposition unity is key to defeating Modi in 2019.

“After all, Modi at the peak of his popularity (in 2014)… how many votes he got? Only 31 per cent. So if the opposition unites, it starts with 69 per cent of the votes,” he said.

“In any case the BJP has no presence in the states where regional parties are strong. We should think of the Congress and support the Congress in those places where it is a dominant regional party,” he said.

He added that if the leaders of the other parties don’t agree on the principle of one candidate against a BJP candidate, then people should be approached to teach them a lesson for splitting opposition votes.

A former minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, Shourie said people should look within themselves to bring change.

“If we’re not prepared to do anything, situation will be the way it is,” he said.

He claimed all institutions are under assault, especially during the last four years, and have been destroyed by the ‘termite’ inside them.

“Institutions in India, I fear, are hollow,” he said.  — PTI

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08:21  Sabarimala: BJP, RSS hold state-wide protests as devotees detained:  

A large number of Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers protested outside the official residence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan late on Sunday night against the detention of over 30 persons at Sabarimala Temple.

The members of the BJP and its mentor the RSS had gathered in front of Cliff House — Vijayan’s official residence at Nanthancode in Thiruvananthapuram.

Simultaneous protests were also held at various places across the state in Aranmula, Kochi, Kollam, Alapuzha, Ranni, Thodupuzha, Kaladi, Malappuram and Idukki among others.

To further intensify their stir against ‘police high handedness’, a daylong state-wide agitation will be held on Monday by Yuvamorcha, the youth wing of the BJP, its chief said.

“We have organised state-wide protest against this emergency like situation in the state,” Yuvamorcha state president Prakash Babu told PTI.

The protesters were taken into preventive custody Sunday night at the Sabarimala Temple after fresh protests broke out at Nadapanthal area in Sannidhanam where hundreds of devotees agitated against the police restrictions.

Even though there were unconfirmed reports that the detained protesters were taken to Maniyar police camp in Pathanamthitta district, officials at Pamba Police Station, which is around 3.5 km downhill, denied any knowledge.

On the second day of the two month-long pilgrimage season, the devotees had gathered at the covered pathway to the temple when they were asked to leave Sannidhanam.

Due to the early incidents of violence at the hill-top shrine, the police had imposed strict restrictions for devotees at Sannidhanam, including not allowing them to stay back at night.

Superintendent of Police (special officer) Pratheesh Kumar said people were detained for violating Section 144 that prohibits assembly of more than four people at a spot.

“Section 144 had been declared in the area. We had asked them to disperse after the Harivarasanam but most of them refused,” the SP said, adding that the police was not against the devotees who wished to offer prayers.

“Those who have to offer ‘neyyabhishekam’ (anointing deity with ghee) can stay back. They can recite prayers also. We are not against it. The police will assist those who want to offer prayers,” he said.

Police sources claimed they had information that the protesters might create trouble at Sannidhanam and therefore, precautions were taken accordingly.

Rajesh, one of the protesters, said, “We are devotees and we started reciting prayers but the police did not allow us, saying Section 144 (prohibitory orders) has been imposed.”

He said he did not mind getting arrested for reciting prayers at Sannidhanam.  — PTI

Photograph: Sivaram V/Reuters

Source: Rediff