LIVE! Poll gimmick: Cong on quota for economically weaker upper castes

16:17  Poll gimmick: Cong on quota for economically weaker upper castes:  

The Congress on Monday described the government’s decision of quota for economically backward sections in the general category as an “election gimmick” and accused the BJP of posturing ahead of the national elections.

 

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the government did not think about this for four years and eight months and brought this just months before the model code of conduct coming into effect.

He also asked whether the government has the majority to bring about a Constitution amendment in Parliament.

“Why did you not think of this for four years and eight months? So obviously thought of as election gimmick three months before the model code. You know that you cannot exceed 50 per cent maxima so it is done only to posture that you tried,” he said in a tweet.

The Union Cabinet has approved 10 per cent reservation in jobs and educational institutions for the economically backward section in the general category, sources said Monday.

The government is likely to bring a constitutional amendment bill in Parliament on Tuesday, they said, adding that the quota will be over and above the existing 50 per cent reservation. 

The section doesn’t get reservation as of now. — PTI

15:54  Mayawati calls up Akhilesh, ‘Beware of BJP’s political conspiracy’:   Ahead of a formal announcement of a pre-poll alliance, BSP chief Mayawati dialled Samajwadi party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and extended her full support to him after reports emerged that he might be quizzed by the CBI in connection with a mining scam.

“Do not be shaken by such gimmicks,” she told Yadav, while terming the reports as “political animosity” of the ruling BJP. The BSP chief also alleged that like the Congress, the ruling BJP was “misusing” the government machinery to “trap” its opponents in false cases.

“The CBI raids and later the threat of quizzing by the CBI in a mining scam is nothing but political animosity of the BJP. Such petty politics and political conspiracy are not new for the BJP. The people of the country have understood it and they will teach the BJP a lesson in the Lok Sabha polls,” she said in a press release.

It said that Mayawati called up Yadav on Sunday and talked to him over the issue. “The day news of the SP-BSP top leadership meeting came out, the BJP government used the CBI and raids were conducted in an old mining scam and the news of quizzing Akhilesh Yadav was deliberately spread. Is it not an action to defame the SP-BSP alliance?” Mayawati said.

Yadav may face a CBI probe in a case of illegal mining, according to the agency FIR made public Saturday, the day Samajwadi Party and Mayawati-led BSP indicated their intent to join hands in Uttar Pradesh to fight the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. The agency had also carried out searches at 14 locations.

“If this CBI action is not a political conspiracy, then why did BJP leaders issue statements and why did a BJP leader and minister acted as CBI spokesperson,” she posed.

Claiming that she was “framed” in the Taj corridor case in 2003 when she did not agree to an alliance for the 2004 general elections, Mayawati said, “But later people took revenge and the BSP got absolute majority in the 2007 Assembly polls.”  — PTI

15:37  Modi targeting me due to frustration, says Chandrababu Naidu:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeting him out of “frustration”, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said in Amaravati on Monday, hitting back at Modi who accused him of pushing the state into “sunset” just to see his “son rise”.

The prime minister’s Sunday’s dig was seen as targeting Naidu over the growing prominence of his son Nara Lokesh in the ruling establishment as also a mock reference to the state’s tagline ‘Sunrise AP’.

Modi also said Naidu had “backstabbed” his father-in- law and TDP founder N T Rama Rao not once but twice by “bending his head” before the Congress to save his chair.

“Today, those in power in AP are so desperate to save their power that they betrayed the Telugu interests and stabbed NTR in the back for the second time,” Modi had said while interacting with BJP workers from five Lok Sabha seats through a video conference. — PTI

15:17  Direct tax mop up rises 14.1 pc to Rs 8.74 lakh cr in Apr-Dec 2018:  Direct tax mop up grew 14.1 per cent to Rs 8.74 lakh crore during April-December 2018, Finance Ministry said Monday. Refunds amounting to Rs 1.30 lakh crore have been issued during April to December, 2018, which is 17 per cent higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year.

As much as Rs 3.64 lakh crore has been collected as advance tax, which is 14.5 per cent higher than the advance tax collections during the same period last year.

“The provisional figures of direct tax collections up to December, 2018 show that gross collections are at Rs 8.74 lakh crore which is 14.1 per cent higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of last year,’ a finance ministry statement said. Net collections (after adjusting for refunds) have increased by 13.6 per cent to Rs 7.43 lakh crore during April-December, 2018.

The net direct tax collections represent 64.7 per cent of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for financial year 2018-19 (Rs 11.50 lakh crore).

— PTI

15:08  BJP throws hat in the ring for MP Assembly Speaker’s post:  The opposition BJP in Madhya Pradesh on Monday entered the race for the post of state Legislative Assembly Speaker even as the ruling Congress’ candidate filed his nomination for it.

While Chief Minister Kamal Nath welcomed the BJP’s decision, a state minister said he was hopeful that the opposition party will withdraw its candidate as the state had the tradition of electing the speaker unanimously. The election for the speaker’s post, if needed, would be held on Tuesday.  — PTI

14:53  Cabinet approves 10% quota for economically weaker upper castes:  The Union Cabinet Monday approved a 10 per cent reservation for ‘economically backward’ upper castes in government jobs.

Ahead of the General Elections this year, the government has announced reservation in jobs for those belonging to the upper castes and earning less than Rs 8 lakh per year, sources said.

A bill to amend Article 15 and 16 of the constitution will be moved in Parliament to this effect. The Supreme Court has capped the quota for caste-based reservation for government jobs at 50 per cent.

14:30  HRD ministry approves 5,000 additional seats for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas:  Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday approved an increase of 5,000 seats at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country. In the last four years there has been an addition of 9,000 seats in the residential schools for talented rural children.

With the Human Resource Development Ministry approving the addition of 5,000 more seats, the number of seats has increased from 46,600 to 51,000 at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.

The admission to the additional seats will start in the 2019-20 academic session. “This is a step in the right direction. This is the biggest-ever expansion of quality education for rural students. This unprecedented expansion of JNVs, nearly free of cost residential schools, will provide more opportunity for talented children from rural areas to get quality education,” Javadekar said.

Navodaya schools are the only institutions in the country where students give entrance examination for admission to Class 6.

In 2001, 5.50 lakh aspirants appeared for the entrance examination for Class 6. Over the years the number of aspirants appearing for the test has increased considerably.

14:28  Defence minister lied in parliament: Rahul:  Stepping up his attack on the Modi government over the Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday, said defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman lied in parliament.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament this morning, the Congress president said, “Today, Nirmala Sitharaman lied in parliament. I’m again requesting the Defence minister and PM Modi to answer “did Air Force and Defence ministry senior officers object to your interference in Rafale deal?” Please answer in a “Yes or No.”

“Defence Minister had earlier said that Rs 1 lakh crore was given to HAL, we challenged that, and today she said that Rs 26,570.80 crore were given to HAL, Nirmala Sitharamanji lied in the Parliament.” 

Rahul earlier, said that the government was weakening state-run aerospace major HAL and destroying India’s strategic capability to benefit businessman Anil Ambani.

He also alleged that while the government gave Rs 20,000 crore to Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale jets, even though it has not supplied a single aircraft.

“But, why HAL’s dues of Rs 15,700 crore have not been cleared,” Rahul asked. He was speaking to reporters outside Parliament. “The strategy of the government is — weaken HAL, do not give it money, destroy India’s strategic capability and give ‘gift’ to Anil Ambani,” Gandhi alleged. The government as well as Ambani have rejected all such allegations. Asserting that the Congress will protect the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), he alleged, “we are not going to allow Rs 30,000 crores of people’s money to be taken by Anil Ambani because he is Narendra Modi’s friend.”

Gandhi further said, “Give me 15 minutes with PM Modi for a debate on Rafale, the country will know the truth.”

13:47  Have ‘lot of great things’ to say in SOTU address: Trump:  US President Donald Trump said he looks forward to speaking to the world in his annual State of the Union address later this month in which he has “a lot of great things” to say.

Newly-sworn-in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week invited President Trump to deliver the customary State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 29. Trump told reporters at the White House: “I will be making the State of the Union on January 29th. I look forward to it. I look forward to speaking, really, before the world. We have a lot of great things to say”.

This would be Trump’s first SOTU address wherein the Democrats would be in majority in the House of Representatives. “Our country is doing better than any country in the world, right now. Our military is almost completely rebuilt. When I took it over, it was a mess. It was depleted. Our trade deals are going great.

“We have a deal with Mexico, Canada, South Korea. We’re negotiating with Europe, the European Union. We’re negotiating with China, which is, by far, the biggest of them all. We’re doing very, very well,” the president said in response to a question.

According to the US Constitution, the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient”. Trump’s 2018 SOTU address was watched by more than 45 million people worldwide. PTI

13:30  Another coal mine tragedy in Meghalaya: 2 miners found dead:  The bodies of two miners were recovered from an illegal coal mine located at a remote village in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district, police said on Monday. The bodies were recovered late on Saturday from the coal mine in Jalyiah village, a few kilometers away from the district headquarters of Khliehriat, they added.

“Acting on a missing person complaint lodged by Philip Bareh on Friday, the police conducted a search in the village and recovered the body of Elad Bareh. The body was found near the entrance of the coal mine,” Superintendent of Police (SP) of East Jaintia Hills district Sylvester Nongtynger told PTI.

On searching a little deeper, another body was found, the SP said, adding that the deceased was identified as M Basumatary. The bodies were recovered almost a month after 15 miners were reported trapped in another illegal coal mine located about 40 km away at Khloo-Ryngksan, highlighting that illegal coal mining continued despite the National Green Tribunal ban on unsafe mining since 2014.

A preliminary probe revealed that the two miners had died after boulders hit them while extracting coal, the SP said, adding that the police were trying to trace the owner of the mine. He also said eight persons were arrested from different locations for allegedly violating the NGT ban on mining. — PTI

13:21  SC seeks response from Anil Ambani on Ericsson’s contempt petition:  The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Reliance Communication Ltd Chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani and others on a contempt petition filed by Ericsson India Pvt Ltd over non-payment of its dues.

A bench headed by Justice R F Nariman sought a response from Ambani and others in four weeks. Appearing for R Com, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi asked the court to accept Rs 118 crore towards outstanding dues to Ericsson India to establish its bonafide.

The counsel appearing for Ericsson, however, refused to accept the amount and said the entire outstanding sum of Rs 550 crore should be deposited. The bench then directed R Com to deposit a demand draft of Rs 118 crore in the registry. — PTI

13:02  Without salaries, HAL’s engineers will be forced to move to AA: Rahul:  Congress president Rahul Gandhi keeps up the attack on the government over the decision not to choose Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as the offset partner in the Rafale deal. Anil Ambani’s group is the offset partner, and the decision to choose Ambani has come under severe criticism from the Congress. Rahul’s tweet today, referred to a report in the Times of India, on how HAL did not have resources to pay salaries any more.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “That HAL doesnt have enough cash to pay salaries, isnt surprising.
Anil Ambani has Rafale. He now needs HALs brilliant talent pool to deliver on his contracts.
Without salaries, HALs best engineers & scientists will be forced to move to AAs venture.”

HAL has for the first time borrowed funds to pay salaries to its employees. The state-owned defence PSU has been facing dwindling finances which might lead to its operations coming to a complete standstill later this year due to lack of funds to make fresh purchases or pay its vendors, reports suggest.

“Our cash in hand is in the negative, we’ve had to borrow close to Rs 1,000 crore as an overdraft (OD). By March 31 we’ll have minus of Rs 6,000 crore, which becomes unsustainable. We can borrow for day-to-day work but not for project purchases,” HAL CMD R Madhavan told The Times of India.

This the first time in at least the past three decades that HAL had to borrow money, which has always been cash rich, Madhavan said. As of now, HAL is trying to get its overdraft limit extended from the current cap of Rs 1,950 crore, TOI said.

12:25  Defence minster’s statement on orders given to HAL:  Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gives a statement in the Lok Sabha today on the orders given by the government to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd which had led to a twitter war with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, yesterday.

Sithraman told the lower house today, “I have received confirmation from HAL that contracts during 2014-18 worth Rs 26,570.80 crore have already been signed with HAL. Orders worth Rs 73,000 Cr approximately are in the pipeline.”

A war of words erupted between Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Defence Minister N Sitharaman on Twitter over the latters claim that Narendra Modi government had given contracts worth Rs 1 lakh crores to HAL. In a scathing tweet, Gandhi challenged Sitharaman to submit proofs of the said contracts in the Parliament or to resign from her post.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman “lied” in Parliament that government orders worth Rs 1 lakh crore were provided to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, while demanding that she should either place the documents in support of her statement in the House or resign.Sitharaman hit back at the allegation saying it is a matter of “shame” that the Congress chief was “misleading” the country without fully understanding the issue.

Gandhi’s attack came after a media report claimed that “not a single rupee of the said Rs 1 lakh crore has come to the HAL, since not a single order, as claimed, has been signed till now”. The media report cited senior HAL management officials in order to back its claim.

“When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one. In her eagerness to defend the PM’s Rafale lie, the RM lied to Parliament,” Gandhi tweeted.

12:09  When ‘MGR’ played a Tamil song in LS:  A TDP member struck an unusual note in the Lok Sabha on Monday when he played a Tamil song in the house. Naramalli Sivaprasad, known for sporting different costumes in the House, was dressed like former Tamil Nadu chief minister M G Ramachandran and held a whip in his hand.

During Question Hour, he walked into the Well and sought to flog himself. As members from other parties continued with their protests, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the House till noon.

At the time the Speaker was adjourning proceedings, Sivaprasad switched on an audio device that played a famous Tamil film song of MGR, who was also a cine actor. After the proceedings were adjourned, some members were seen chatting with Sivaprasad while BJP member Anurag Thakur switched off the audio player.

TDP has been demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh. Many of the party’s MPs were suspended from the House last week for unruly behaviour. — PTI

12:00  Last minute change:  The Communist Party of India (Marxist) planned to organise a press conference in Parliament on Thursday. Most political parties, including the CPI (M), hold routine press conferences, if not every day, then once in two days, inside Parliament when it is in session.

The CPI (M) press conference was likely to focus on the violence related to the Sabarimala issue allegedly perpetrated by the Sangh Parivar. Usually, the CPI (M) press conferences are addressed by the party’s leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

In the Lok Sabha, the party’s leader is Mohammed Salim, and Elamaram Kareem is its leader in the Rajya Sabha. However, since the issue related to Sabarimala, the party thought it wiser that one of its Hindu member of Parliament from Kerala should address the press conferences, and the CPI (M)’s Lok Sabha MP from Palakkad, M B Rajesh, was roped in at the last minute.

— Business Standard

11:56  Not against inviting Nayantara Sahgal: Raj Thackeray:  Political leaders and authors on Monday condemned the decision of the organisers of the All India Marathi Literary Meet to withdraw the invitation extended to noted author Nayantara Sahgal. The decision to withdraw the invitation to Sahgal (91), who was earlier at the forefront of the “award wapsi” campaign, was taken after a political outfit threatened to disrupt the function, the organisers said on Sunday.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray issued a statement on Monday, admitting that one of his local party workers had opposed Sahgal’s presence at the literary meet. However, he added that “as the party chief, I am not against inviting her”.

“If Sahgal’s presence at the All India Literary Meet is transcending into a cultural exchange, I or my party will not oppose it,” Thackeray said, adding that he regretted the annoyance caused to the supporters of such literary events.

Sahgal, a noted English-language author, was to inaugurate the 92nd literary meet on January 11 in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Yavatmal district.

Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam criticised the decision to cancel Sahgal’s invitation, alleging that it was done at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“The decision of the organisers was taken at the behest of the BJP, the MNS is just a front. Literature should not surrender before politics. If a government is scared of writers, it means that its days are over,” he said.

Maharashtra’s Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde, however, said the state welcomed everyone. “If someone had opposed Sahgal after her speech at the meet, then it could have been understood. It is not fair to oppose her completely. Maharashtra is a state that welcomes everyone to present their work,” he said.  — PTI

Read our 2014 interview with Nayantara Sehgal: ‘I don’t think one family should rule India’

11:41  Will the winter session of parliament be extended?:  The Winter session of Parliament ends on Tuesday. The big question, however, is whether the government would hold a separate Budget session to present its interim Budget or extend the Winter session. According to sources in the government, the session would begin on January 30, and would last for a week. It would involve presentation of the interim Budget. The Economic Survey will not be presented. But there are two views within the government on whether it should prorogue the ongoing Winter session, and call a separate Budget session, or treat the break between January 8 and 30 as recess and count the last few sittings of the current Lok Sabha as an extension of the Winter session. In 2009 and 2014, the UPA governments had combined the Winter and Budget sessions.

— Business Standard

11:39  Rafale debate: A performance of ‘Hamlet’, but without the prince:  The 150-minute reply to the Rafale debate given by the Union defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Lok Sabha last Friday came in for much praise from her party colleagues. Labelling it a “must watch’, the prime minister tweeted that the speech “demolishes the campaign of calumny on Rafale’.

Echoing him, the Bharatiya Janata Party president, Amit Shah, said, “defence minister [Sitharamanji] has completely demolished Congress party’s lies and misinformation campaign on Rafale with her excellent speech loaded with facts. I congratulate her for bringing the truth to the nation.’ And finance minister, Arun Jaitley, congratulated her for “an outstanding performance’.

Read Manini Chatterjee’s column here

11:34  In Himachal, it’s a freezing winter :  Himachal Pradesh: During the past 24 hours, Keylong in Lahaul-Spiti recorded the lowest minimum temperature of -12.0 degree Celsius, Kalpa in Kinnaur recorded -8.6 degree Celsius, Manali recorded – 3.6 degree Celsius and Shimla recorded minimum temperature of -0.7 degree Celsius. The weather would mostly remain dry in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, the Meteorological Department said. However, there might be snowfall and rain at isolated places of the state on January 8-9 due to western disturbances, Met Centre, Shimla Director Manmohan Singh said.

11:25  Ashok Gehlot may have to step aside as Rahul’s trusted aide:  Is Bhanwar Jitendra Singh from Alwar going to be the one to replace Ashok Gehlot as Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s most trusted advisor? To be sure, Singh lacks Gehlot’s experience and connect with the masses. But he was among the most influential leaders of the party in convincing Sachin Pilot that he should make way for Gehlot as Chief Minister and serve as his deputy.

Singh has worked with Gandhi earlier as his secretary when the latter was a general secretary in charge of the youth wings.

Gandhi has his own compulsions. Having promoted the old guard in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, he needs to send a signal to the younger people in the party that the top posts won’t always be the monopoly of the old and experienced.

— Business Standard

11:08  Hedge your bets :  Planting roadside hedges, rather than just relying on trees, can most effectively reduce pollution exposure from cars in near-road environments, according to scientists including one of Indian origin. Researchers from University of Surrey in the UK looked at how three types of road-side green infrastructure — trees, hedges, and a combination of trees with hedges and shrubs — affected the concentration levels of air pollution. The study, published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, used six roadside locations in the UK, as test sites where the green infrastructure was between one to two metres away from the road.

The researchers found that roadsides that only had hedges were the most effective at reducing pollution exposure, cutting black carbon by up to 63 per cent. Ultrafine and sub-micron particles followed this reduction trend, with fine particles (less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter) showing the least reduction among all the measured pollutants.

The maximum reduction in concentrations was observed when the winds were parallel to the road due to a sweeping effect, followed by winds across the road. The elemental composition of particles indicated an appreciable reduction in harmful heavy metals originating from traffic behind the vegetation.

The hedges only — and a combination of hedges and trees — emerged as the most effective green infrastructure in improving air quality behind them under different wind directions. — PTI

10:55  Rahul Gandhi, read this :  Journalist and former MP Shahid Siddiqui @shahid_siddiqui: “I questioned Rahul,criticised him,made fun of him but gradually I have developed respect for him.He didn’t give up,defeat after defeat didn’t diminish his faith in the people of India and today he has emerged as a national leader of substance who has put 56′ on the back foot.”

10:50  Former MP CM’s protests over national song veto :  Bhopal: Former MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and other BJP leaders sing Vande Mataram outside Mantralaya.

This is Chouhan’s way of protesting since Chief Minister Kamal Nath has done away with the practice of singing the national song on the first working day of January at the Madhya Pradesh secretariat on the first working day of every month, a norm when Chouhan was the CM.

However, Kamal Nath announced last week that at 10:45 am on the first working day of every month, the police band will play the tunes that encourage patriotic feelings during their march from Shaurya Samarak to Vallabh Bhawan in Bhopal. On arrival at the Bhawan, the National Anthem and Vande Mataram will be sung.

10:38   MGNREGA in doldrums due to BJP govt’s neglect: Chidambaram:  Accusing the BJP-led government of neglecting the MGNREGA, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said in times of “rural distress”, the one thing that staved off hunger was the employment programme and now that too was in the “doldrums”.

The former finance minister claimed that the states had exhausted the money allotted for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and an amount of only Rs 331 crore was left for the remaining three months of the current fiscal. There was no indication that the Centre would provide more money, he said.

Another worrying factor was that the MGNREGA was no longer demand driven and the work was provided on the basis of availability of funds, Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.

“With funds not available, work has completely stopped in many panchayats,” he claimed. In times of rural distress, the “neglect” of the MGNREGA by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government was unpardonable, the Congress leader asserted.

“Agricultural prices are low. Job opportunities are dismal. The one thing that staved off hunger was MGNREGA. And that programme is in the doldrums,” he said. — PTI

10:23  EC cancels Jan 28 Tiruvarur bypoll:  The Election Commission of India has cancelled the January 28 Tiruvarur bypoll, necessitated by the demise of DMK leader M Karunanidhi, after political parties expressed reservation in holding the exercise in view of the ongoing relief measures following Cyclone Gaja.

An EC order said the notification issued for the bypoll had been cancelled. The order signed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and fellow Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said a fresh date will be announced in due course of time.

“Bye-election for Tiruvarur rescinded as per orders of the ECI,” Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer N Satyabrata Sahoo said in a brief statement in Chennai. The ECI, in a communique to the state CEO, said the poll panel’s notification dated January 3, scheduling bypoll to Tiruvarur on January 28, “shall stand rescinded forthwith”.

The Tiruvarur constituency fell vacant after the MLA representing the seat, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, passed away on August 7, 2018. Tiruvarur is one of the worst-hit districts in the Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu due to severe cyclonic storm Gaja in November, 2018.

Tiruvarur District Collector L Nirmal Raj, who is also the District Election Officer, had on January 5 held a meeting with the representatives of the political parties after the CEO asked him for his view on holding the bypoll. Communist Party of India Rajya Sabha member D Raja had submitted a representation to the CEO, seeking postponement of the bypoll. — PTI

10:17  Lady Gaga pays tribute to Judy Garland at 2019 Golden Globes :  Lady Gaga always makes sure to turn heads with her bold fashion choices! The Grammy award-winning star did just the same when she strutted down the 2019 Golden Globes red carpet wearing a larger-than-life lavender gown, inspired by a scene from the 1954 version of ‘A Star Is Born’ starring Judy Garland.

Gaga looked stunning in the custom Valentino dress which had extreme puff sleeves and a long train. She completed the look with Tiffany’s & Co. statement diamond necklace. The 32-year-old, whose hair was tied in an elegant bun, even matched her hair colour to her dress!

09:52  Amartya Sen backs Naseeruddin amid row over Amnesty video:  

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Sunday came out in support of Naseeruddin Shah, who recently stoked a controversy with his remark on mob violence and appeared in a video for the Amnesty India against alleged government crackdown on NGOs, and said attempts were being made to “disturb” the actor.

 

In a 2.13-minute solidarity video for the human rights watchdog Amnesty, Shah had said on Friday that those who demand rights are being locked up.

Asked by reporters on the veteran actor’s comments, Sen said, “We must protest against such attempts to disturb the actor… What has been happening (in the country) is objectionable. It should stop.”

The 85-year-old economist said many institutions in the country are under attack, and their freedom is being encroached. “Even journalists are facing harassment”.

About troll attacks against personalities like Shah, he said, “Losing the ability to tolerate others is a serious cause for concern, it points to the losing of ability to think and analyse.”

Under the hashtag #AbkiBaarManavAdhikaar, the Amnesty had claimed that India has witnessed a massive crackdown on freedom of expression and human rights defenders.

In his solidarity messsage in Urdu, Shah had said, “Artistes, actors, scholars, poets are all being stifled. Journalists too are being silenced.

“In the name of religion, walls of hatred are being erected. Innocents are being killed. The country is awash with horrific hatred and cruelty.”

Last month, the 68-year-old had said the death of a cow had acquired more significance than that of a police officer in the country.

He was speaking in the wake of a mob violence that broke out in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on December 3 over alleged cow slaughter in the Mahaw village. The violence led to the death of two men, including a police inspector.

The National Award-winning actor’s visit to a literary fest in December was also cancelled following protests by Hindu outfits ober his comments on mob violence. — PTI 

09:37  US troops in Syria to be pulled out ‘quickly’, says Trump:  

United States President Donald Trump on Sunday said the troop pullout in Syria is happening “quickly”.

Trump’s remarks came after his National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters that the US will not bring its troops back unless the Turkish government guarantees that it would not attack the Syrian Kurdish forces.

Syrian Kurdish forces are backed by the US and are a critical American partners in the fight against ISIS. 

“It’s going quickly,” Trump told reporters here when asked how long it will take to pullout troops from Syria.

Trump said there was no need for US forces in Syria now that the ISIS has been defeated there.

“We’ve wiped out ISIS in Iraq, we’ve wiped out ISIS. Iran hates ISIS more than we do if that’s possible. Russia hates ISIS more than we do. Turkey hates ISIS, maybe not as much as we do. But these are countries that hate ISIS,” he said adding that these countries can now do the fighting themselves.  

Earlier in the day, Bolton told journalists travelling with him on a trip to Israel that the US wanted a guarantee from Turkey that Kurds in Syria would be protected.

“There are objectives that we want to accomplish that condition the withdrawal,” he said. — PTI 

09:35  Marathi literary meet withdraws invite to Nayantara Sahgal after threat:  

Organisers of the All India Marathi Literary meet have withdrawn the invitation extended to noted English language author Nayantara Sahgal, who was at the forefront of the “award wapsi” campaign, after some people threatened to disrupt the function.

 

The decision was taken to “avoid any untoward incident and in view of the controversy that has cropped up against her name”, after a political outfit threatened to disrupt the function, the organisers said on Sunday.

 

Sahgal, 91, a Sahitya Akademi awardee, was at the forefront of the 2015 “award wapsi” campaign against the “growing intolerance in the country” under the Modi government.

 

Sahgal was to inaugurate the 92nd literary meet on January 11 in the presence of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Noted Marathi author Aruna Dhere will preside over the event.

 

In a press release issued Sunday, working president of the literary meet reception committee Ramakant Kolte said the organisers have taken cognisance of the threat given by a political outfit.

 

“Nayantara Sahgal’s name was proposed by the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal chief Shreepad Joshi of Nagpur which was accepted by the organisers. A follow-up was taken by sending her a formal invitation,” it stated.

 

The release stated the organisers have decided to revoke Sahgal’s invitation, “as a controversy has cropped up against her name and to avoid any untoward incident from those who threatened to derail the literary meet”.

 

“We have sent her a letter cancelling the invitation,” Kolte said, adding that the new name for the inauguration function is yet to be finalised.

 

Meanwhile, the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal said in a statement in Nagpur that the decision to withdraw the invite was taken by the local level organisers.

 

“There were newspaper reports about objections and (likely) protests to Nayantara Sahgal inaugurating the event. It was being said that some people would not let the literary meet function. Hence, to avoid any obstruction and untoward incident, the organising committee at the local level decided to send a withdrawal letter to Sahgal.

“This is not the directive of the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal. It is the local organising committee which has taken the decision,” it stated. — PTI 

08:52  BJP will defeat ex-allies, if there’s no tie-up: Shah warns Sena:  

In a veiled warning to the Shiv Sena, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Sunday said that if an alliance happened, the party will ensure victory for its allies, but if it did not, the party will thrash its former allies in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

 

Shah’s statement came immediately after Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis set the BJP workers a target of winning 40 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Reacting to the statements, the Shiv Sena said it was ready to take on whoever challenges it.

 

Shah and Fadnavis addressed BJP workers from Latur, Osmanabad, Hingoli and Nanded districts of Maharashtra on Sunday.

 

“Party workers should get rid of confusion about (prospects of) alliance (with the Shiv Sena). If the allies join us, we will ensure their win, or else will defeat them too. Party workers should start preparations at every booth,” Shah said.

 

He compared the coming elections to the third battle of Panipat, in which Maratha forces were defeated by the army of Afghan ruler Ahmed Shah Durrani (Abdali).

 

The BJP chief said after this battle, the country was “enslaved” for 200 years. 

“If we win this election, our ideology will continue to rule for next 50 years. We should put in extra efforts to win this election,” Shah said.

 

“In 2014, the BJP won 73 seats (in Uttar Pradesh). This time even if SP and BSP join hands, we will win 74 seats,” he said.

 

Echoing Fadnavis, Shah said, “We should aim to win at least 40 out of 48 seats (in Maharashtra).”

This is for the first time the BJP has taken an assertive stand in the matter of alliance with the Shiv Sena.

The Sena has been regularly hitting out at the BJP despite being part of the government in the state and the Centre. Its leaders have often said they would contest the next polls on their own.

 

Speaking before Shah, Fadnavis said, “The party president will decide what to do with the Shiv Sena and the proposed alliance. But the BJP should aim to win 40 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.”

 

“The victory of 2019 will be bigger than 2014. Last time we won 122 seats in (state) Assembly and received 1.50 crore votes. We need two crore votes to attain power on our own. The number of people who have benefited from the state government’s policies is more than that.”

Shah had reportedly told party MPs from Maharashtra at a meeting in Delhi last Thursday that they should be ready to contest the coming elections without an alliance, though efforts to forge a pre-poll tie-up with the Sena were on.

 

The Sena and BJP had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in alliance but split up at the time of Assembly elections. The Sena joined the state government later.

 

Late Sunday evening, the Shiv Sena hit back at the BJP, saying its plan to win 40 seats meant it would rely on manipulation of electronic voting machines.

 

“The Sena is ready to take on opposition. Those who attack us, we will surely defeat them,” said an aide of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

 

“The BJP’s boast of winning 40 seats is evidence that it is going to form alliance with EVMs. The BJP has been unnerved by the results of assembly elections,” he said. — PTI

08:39  Trump offers to build steel barrier on Mexico border to end US shutdown:  

The United States is now planning to install a steel barrier instead of a concrete wall along its border with Mexico, President Donald Trump said on Sunday indicating his administration and the opposition Democratic party are closer to resolving their difference on the issue, which has led to a partial government shutdown for a fortnight now.

“We are now planning a steel barrier rather than concrete (wall). It is both stronger and less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the USA,” Trump said.

 

The presidential comment came soon after US vice president Mike Pence held a meeting with representatives of the top Democratic Congressional leaders — House speaker Nancy Pelosi and senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

Trump described it as productive meeting. 

“VP Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the Schumer and Pelosi representatives today. Many details of border security were discussed,” he said.

“We’ve been in touch with a lot of people, and I informed my folks to say that we’ll build a steel barrier. Steel. It’ll be made out of steel. It’ll be less obtrusive, and it’ll be stronger. But it’ll be less obtrusive, stronger, and we’re able to use our great companies to make it, by using steel,” Trump told reporters at the White House on his return from Camp David.

“So we’re going to be doing a steel barrier, and that gives us great strength at the border,” he said.

 Responding to a question, Trump said the opposition Democrats did not like the option of a concrete wall along the Mexico border, so he has offered them with a steel one. Trump argues that a physical barrier along the US-Mexico border is essential to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the US. — PTI