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LIVE! Tamil Nadu Governor not in favour of Sasikala's swearing-in

10:03  Tamil Nadu Governor not in favour of Sasikala’s swearing-in:  The real reason why VK Sasikala will not be sworn in as Tamil Nadu CM today.

Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, who is to administer the oath of office, is in Mumbai and has cancelled all his engagements in Tamil Nadu. He will not be returning to Chennai either today or tomorrow and reports say he is not in favour of a hasty swearing-in.

VK Sasikala, the long-time friend of J Jayalalithaa chosen by the AIADMK to take over as Chief Minister, was supposed to have been sworn in at 8:30 am today.

Sources say that the governor has consulted legal experts on whether Sasikala, who has never won any election and is a political novice can become chief minister, especially since the verdict in the disproportionate assets case against her and Jayalalithaa is expected next week.

The Supreme Court has been petitioned to stop Sasikala taking office till she absolved in the case.

NDTV reports that the governor, who attended the wedding reception of Union Minister Prakash Javadekar’s son in Delhi, had a one-on-one meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The central government is believed to be concerned about the political developments in Tamil Nadu. Public unease over Sasikala’s promotion has been reflected on social media in viral hashtags and memes.

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09:47  DMK’s Stalin seeks PM’s intervention over Sasikala elevation:  Ahead of change of guard in Tamil Nadu, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, in a bid to prevent Sasikala Natarajan from becoming the next chief minister, has sought the Centre’s intervention. DMK leader MK Stalin will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

DMK, which has been expressing displeasure over Sasikala’s elevation, reportedly wants to put forward its view and opinion on the latest development in the AIADMK leadership. Sources have said that DMK is also mulling to approach President Pranab Mukherjee to discuss their stand.

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09:22  Mastermind of Kanpur train derailment arrested in Nepal:  

Indian security agencies have arrested the mastermind of a train derailment in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, last year.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence’s Dubai-based agent Shamshul Huda is also a known operative of fake Indian currency and has a network in Nepal.

Huda was arrested by a team of officials from Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, and National Investigation Agency as soon as he landed in Kathmandu.

Nepal’s Inspector Arun Kumar Kushwaha, who is posted at SP’s office in Bara, said Huda was arrested at the airport.

Notably, the NIA is investigating the role of ISI in the derailment of Indore-Patna Express train on November 20 last year in Kanpur in which 150 people lost their lives. The agency is also probing into the train derailments in Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar’s Ghorasahan case in which an IED was found near a rail track.

The Bihar Police had earlier arrested three suspected criminals — Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel, and Mukesh Yadav — in connection with the case and had claimed that ISI had conspired to carry out a spate of train derailments in India.

09:18  JUST IN: Until SC gives an order on DA case filed against Sasikala, swearing-in wont happen: TimesNow reports

09:04  British Speaker opposes letting Trump address parliament:  

The speaker of Britain’s lower house of parliament said he would not support any plans for US President Donald Trump to address parliament during a state visit planned for later this year, citing Trump’s temporary immigration ban as a factor.

More than 1.8 million people in Britain have signed a petition calling for Trump’s planned visit to be canceled or downgraded to avoid embarrassing Queen Elizabeth, part of a grassroots backlash against his immigration policies.

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08:45  No casualties in Uttarakhand earthquake, confirm officials:  

No major damage to property or loss of life was reported from the earthquake that jolted Uttarakhand late on Monday, state government officials said on Tuesday. 

The 15-second earthquake that shook the state at 10.33 pm measured 5.8 on the Richter Scale and was centred at Rudraprayag district.

People in several districts ran out of their houses to safety. There were reports of minor cracks in walls and ceilings of houses in Chamoli and Dehradun. The National Disaster Response Force teams were alerted as well.

08:20  White House demands an apology from The New York Times :  

Slamming The New York Times for inaccurate reporting, the White House has said that the popular American daily owes an apology to the US President Donald Trump.

“I would say that story was so riddled with inaccuracies and lies that they owe the President an apology for the way there were just literally blatant factual errors.

“And it’s unacceptable to see that kind of reporting, or so-called reporting. That is literally the epitome of fake news,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters travelling with Trump abroad Air Force One from Tampa to Andrews Air Force base.

Yesterday, the New York Times published a lead story on the internal differences within the White House staffers.

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07:54  Will Sasikala be sworn in as Tamil Nadu CM today?:  

The prospects of AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikalas immediate swearing-in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister appear remote with Governor C Vidyasagar Rao headed from Mumbai to New Delhi and not to Chennai.

Reports had come in on Monday that the AIADMK was busy sprucing up the Madras University centenary hall for Sasikalas swearing-in.

Sources said that Governor Vidyasagar Rao has taken a legal opinion on Sasikala’s becoming the Chief Minister in view of the disproportionate assets case against her, which is pending in Supreme Court. Sources said the BJP is also unhappy with the developments in Tamil Nadu and is not in favour of Sasikala’s elevation.

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00:21  ‘Some FAKE NEWS media lies’: Trump hits out at US media again :  

United States President Donald Trump hit out at several American media outlets, including The New York Times, for allegedly running inaccurate stories.

“The failing New York Times writes total fiction concerning me,” Trump alleged in a tweet.

“They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources!” he told his 24 million followers on Twitter.

Trump was apparently responding to an insight into his working inside the White House by The Times.

“During his first two dizzying weeks in office, Trump, an outsider president working with a surprisingly small crew of no more than a half-dozen empowered aides with virtually no familiarity with the workings of the White House or federal government, sent shockwaves at home and overseas with a succession of executive orders designed to fulfill campaign promises and taunt foreign leaders,” the daily said.

In other tweets, Trump lashed out at other media outlets for running polls in which his popularity is low.

“Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting,” he said.

“I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!” Trump said.

As per latest CNN/ORC poll, Trump has an approval rating of 44 per cent and a disapproval rating of 53 per cent.

Source: Rediff