LIVE! Can’t be out of bandwagon: Army chief on talks with Taliban

13:17  Can’t be out of bandwagon: Army chief on talks with Taliban:  

The army has managed the situation well along the borders with China and Pakistan and there should be no cause for concern, army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Thursday.

Rawat, speaking at his annual press conference, also said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir needs to be improved further.

“We are only facilitators for peace in J&K,” he said.

“We have managed the situation well along the northern and western borders,” Gen Rawat said, adding that there should be no cause for concern.  

Talking about talks with Taliban, Rawat said, “We have interests in Afghanistan. We can’t be out of bandwagon.”

On talks with Hurriyat, Rawat said, “Our position is very clear that shun the gun and stop taking support from the western neighbour. Talks can happen only if they shun violence.”

13:11  When Amit Shah joined party MPs for dinner:  Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah has a reputation in the party for being a hard taskmaster and a workaholic who has little time for recreation. 

So it surprised many in his party when they heard Shah joined some of his party colleagues for dinner at a restaurant in Delhi on Tuesday evening.   

The outside world came to know of it when BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy tweeted about it on Wednesday afternoon.   

‘Yesterday, hard working efficient Parliamentary Affairs Minister (Vijay) Goel took BJP MPs of Rajya Sabha, including me to dinner at a lovely Rajasthan type ITDC Haveli restaurant/hotel in Chandni Chowk. Party president Amit Shah headed the dinner table. The informality of the occasion was great,’ Swamy tweeted.   

A party member quipped how much has changed after the recent assembly poll results.

— Business Standard

13:08  PM in ‘tearing hurry’ to sack CBI chief due to Rafale: Rahul:  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in a “tearing hurry” to “sack” Central Burau of Investigation chief Alok Verma because of the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the selection committee headed by Modi met to decide agency director Alok Verma’s fate.

Gandhi’s attack came two days after the Supreme Court quashed the government’s unprecedented “overnight” order issued in October last, stripping Verma of his powers and sending him on leave after a bitter feud with his deputy Rakesh Asthana with both charging the other with corruption. 

“1. Why is the PM in such a tearing hurry to sack the CBI Chief?

“2. Why will he not allow the CBI Chief to present his case in front of the selection committee ? Answer: RAFALE,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

The court, while reinstating Verma on Tuesday, however, made it clear that he will desist from taking any major policy decision till a high-powered committee considers the issue of “divestment of power and authority”.

The outcome of the meeting, which took place at the prime minister’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, was not known.

Following the apex court verdict on Tuesday, Gandhi said no one can save the prime minister from the Rafale investigation and the entire nation would know “without a shadow of doubt” that he took Rs 30,000 crore of people’s money and gave it to his “friend” Anil Ambani. — PTI

The operations of the Hubble Space Telescope’s most technologically advanced camera have been suspended after it encountered a hardware problem, NASA said.

However, the telescope will continue to perform science observations with its other three active instruments, while the Wide Field Camera 3 anomaly is investigated, the US space agency said in a statement.

The Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 was installed by spacewalking astronauts during Servicing Mission 4 in 2009.

NASA said that the camera is equipped with back up electronics that can be called to action should they be needed to recover the instrument.

Hubble is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space, providing an unobstructed view into the universe.

Launched in 1990, the world’s first space telescope helped confirm the theory that the universe is expanding, lending credence to the Big Bang theory.

Hubble has made more than 1.3 million observations since its mission began in 1990, taking pictures of stars and galaxies of as it whirls around the Earth. 

 Astronomers using Hubble data have published more than 15,000 scientific papers, making it one of the most productive scientific instruments ever built. — PTI

A 4.6-magnitude earthquake hit Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region Thursday, officials said.

The quake occurred at 8:22 am with its epicentre at 34.39 degrees north and 78.21 degrees east — 63.6 km north of Leh and 193.1 km east of Kargil — in Ladakh region, officials of the Disaster Management Department said.

They said no loss of life or damage to property was reported so far. — PTI 

12:29  Terms like chest-thumping nationalism, jingoism used to shame people: Kangana:  

Declaring that passion for the country should be proclaimed loudly, actor Kangana Ranaut says terms such as “chest-thumping nationalism” and “jingoism” are being used to shame people these days.

Ranaut, who spoke on nationalism during the launch of a song from her new film Manikarnika, said she agreed with lyricist Prasoon Joshi and writer Vijayendra Prasad who articulated the same views.  

“Nowadays, words like chest-thumping nationalism and jingoism are used for shaming. When we used these words on our set, Prasoon sir and Vijayendra Prasad would tell us, ‘Yes, it’s chest-thumping. So, why not?’ So, how passionate you are, that’s how your passion will be,” Kangana told reporters at an event along with Joshi and Prasad on Wednesday. 

“How beautifully Prasoon sir said, one should not be shamed for whichever kind of love one has. Flags of various colours are being waved, so what’s bad in our tricolour? We should not be ashamed about it,” she added. 

Echoing her, Joshi said love for the country had become “uncool” today. 

“I don’t know who has done this but someone has made love for the country uncool. They are like, ‘What’s this nationalism?’ Whatever love we have for someone, it should remain cool. 

“I feel hurt when youngsters question the need to show it. We need to. When there’s love, there is a need to express. I have been wanting to start this hashtag, ‘deshprem jatao’,” he said. 

The writer-lyricist said there are several ways to express love for the country but one must “show” it.

“By writing a poem or making a painting… you have to show it. If you have love, you need to show it. Wear it on your sleeves,” he added. 

Asked for her reaction on the downside of hyper nationalism, including beating up people who do not stand up for the national anthem, Kangana seemed to digress and said, “Like Prasoon sir said, love is love. If you love your partner and you never want your partner’s company, it’s up to you.” 

The actor said the Constitution of India is “a promise we have all made with each other” and is not a gift from God that has “fallen from heaven”.

“That promise needs to be owned. It needs to be shown that we own it. It is not something to be internalised,” she added. 

Joshi said one should not express love for the country according to “convenience”.

“You say, ‘I will sit alone in a room and tell people when they ask me about it’. No. If you love someone, then saying it a little bit, showing it a little bit… Of course in your own way but one should express it. It is important. 

“It reflects in the eyes, in your gestures, in your hugs and touches. Don’t base the love for your country on convenience. As far as you are cognisant of it and honest about it, don’t make it convenient. If you are hiding behind convenience, I have a problem,” he added. 

Manikarnika, on the life of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, is scheduled to release on January 25. — PTI 

11:58  NCW sends notice to Rahul over remark on Sitharaman:  

The National Commission for Women has issued a notice to Congress President Rahul Gandhi  over his recent remark on Union defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“We have asked explanation from Rahul Gandhi for why he said what he said yesterday in tweets. The statement was pathetic, sexist and misogynistic. That is why we have sent him a notice. He has to explain what does he mean when he is trying to talk low of women,” NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma said.

Gandhi on Wednesday while addressing a rally at Jaipur, Rajasthan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi got a woman to defend him in Parliament on Rafale fighter jet deal.

He was referring to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharamans speech in Lok Sabha last week.

“The watchman with a 56-inch chest ran away and told a woman, Sitharaman ji, defend me. I wont be able to defend myself, defend me,” he said.

“For two-and-a-half hours, the woman could not defend him. I had asked a straight question — answer yes or no — but she couldnt answer,” the Congress chief said, using the word mahila for a woman in his speech in Hindi.

In his public meeting a few hours later in Agra, Modi accused Congress leaders of insulting the countrys women.

United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a national emergency which will empower him to go ahead with his plan to construct a barrier, concrete or steel, along the southern border with Mexico to prevent flow of illegal immigrants into the country.

Trump on Wednesday said imposing a national emergency is the last option and threatened to use it if the Democrats do not allocate USD 5.7 billion funding for his controversial US-Mexico border wall plan.

He argued that the current situation, wherein people are entering the country illegally and there is a massive smuggling of drugs, poses a national security threat.

“I have the absolute right to impose national emergency if I want,” Trump said.

To a question why he did not declare this option during his prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday night from the Oval Office, the president said, “Because I think we might work a deal and, if we don’t, I may go that (national emergency) route.”

A wall along the US-Mexico border was one of Trump’s signature campaign promises. Trump wants USD 5.7 billion to build the wall, even though he said repeatedly during his campaign that he would make Mexico pay for the structure.

The Democrats are refusing to allocate the money, arguing that a wall would be costly and ineffective. Mexico has rejected Trump’s demand to pay for the border wall. — PTI

11:04  Ayodhya hearing deferred again after judge exits case:  

The Supreme Court today said that a new bench will be constituted to hear the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title dispute case after one of the members of a five-judge Constitution bench recused himself from the case.

A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi with Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, U U Lalit and D Y Chandrachud was set up for hearing the matter on a batch of petitions.

However, Justice UU Lalit has recused himself from hearing the case. 

The apex court now will hear the matter on January 29.

10:55  Mark Tully on meeting PMs, dictators, militants:  
‘Of all the PMs of India, I had the closest relationships with Morarji and Rajiv.’

10:43  Where are the jobs, asks Shiv Sena on 10% quota:  

A day after Parliament approved 10 per cent reservationto general category poor, the Shiv Sena on Thursday wondered where will the jobs come from and warned that if it is an election-driven move, then it will prove costly.

The Maratha community has been given reservation in Maharashtra, but the question still remains that where are the jobs, the Sena said.

The Parliament had on Wednesday approved amending the Constitution to provide 10 per cent reservation to general category poor in government jobs and education.

“When those in power fail on the twin fronts of employment and poverty, they have to play the reservation card,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

“If this decision has been taken for votes, it will prove costly. After 10 per cent reservation, what about employment? Where will you get the jobs from?” it asked.   

In India, the population of those over 15 years of age is increasing by 13 lakh every month. Employing minors below the age of 18 years is a crime, but child labour continues unabated, said the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, which is an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

Around 80 to 90 lakh new job opportunities are needed every year to balance the employment rate in the country, but this calculation has been unstable for a while now, it noted.

“In the last two years, job opportunities have decreased instead of increasing and about 1.5 crore to two crore jobs have been lost due to decisions like demonetisation and GST implementation. There is a feeling of helplessness among youth,” the Marathi publication said.

In 2018, 2.8 crore people applied for 90 lakh jobs in Railways. Besides, for 1,137 positions in Mumbai Police, over four lakh people applied and many of the applicants had more educational qualifications than required, the Sena claimed.

“After the government’s 10 per cent reservation, will the eligible youth be able to gain anything? The prime minister, who had advised youth to fry ‘pakodas’ (snack), had to eventually give 10 per cent reservation to the economically backward classes,” it quipped. — PTI

10:27  Chidambaram takes dig at govt over Kashmiri IAS officer’s resignation:  

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday took a dig at the BJP-led central government over the resignation of IAS officer Shah Faesal, saying the world will take note of “his cry of anguish and defiance”.

In a series of tweets, the former home and finance minister claimed whatever Faesal, the first Kashmiri IAS topper, had said was an indictment of the Narendra Modi government.

“Though sad, I salute Mr Shah Faesal IAS (now resigned). Every word of his statement is true and is an indictment of the BJP government. The world will take note of his cry of anguish and defiance,” he said.

Faesal has resigned from the civil services. 

He had Wednesday attributed his decision to the “unabated killings in Kashmir”, the central government’s “lack of sincere” efforts to reach out to the Kashmiris and the “marginalisation of the Indian Muslims”.

Chidambaram said that not long ago “legendary police officer” Julio Ribeiro, a former DGP of Punjab and a former commissioner of Mumbai Police, had stated the same thing, but there was “not a word of reassurance from the rulers”.

“Such statements from our fellow citizens must make us hang our heads in regret and shame,” he said.

On the Modi government, Ribeiro had said the country needed inclusive development and not just for some sections.

He had also said he “felt threatened, not wanted, reduced to a stranger in his own country” and that he never felt that he belonged to a different religion. — PTI

09:56  Bulandshahr violence: BJP youth wing leader arrested:  

Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha member Shikhar Agarwal, a key suspect in the mob violence in Bulandshahr’s Siyana, was arrested early Thursday, police said.

Agarwal was held from the adjoining Hapur district by the Bulandshahr police, a senior official said.

“He was arrested this morning. We are interrogating him and produce him in the local court later today,” Additional Superintendent of Police (Bulandhshahr city) Atul Kumar Srivastava told PTI.

Police Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, 44, and civilian Sumit Kumar, 20, were killed of bullet shots during the mob violence on December 3. 

An FIR against 27 named people and 50 to 60 unidentified people was registered at the Siyana Police Station for the violence that was witnessed at Chingrawathi police post after cattle carcasses were found strewn outside nearby Mahaw village.

On January 3, the police had arrested local Bajrang Dal leader Yogesh Raj, also a key suspect in the case. 

So far, over 35 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, including Army jawan Jeetender Malik, Prashant Nat who allegedly shot the inspector dead and Kalua who had attacked him with an axe, the police said.– PTI

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was no trust between Russia and the US and that Washington has not expressed any willingness to solve the election-meddling issue through an “inter-agency process”.

“Because there is no such thing as trust between Moscow and Washington, we cannot just take as something granted of what we hear from Washington on these issues,” he said during a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue 2019 in New Delhi.

“And like Mueller’s investigation, we haven’t seen anything during these two years that underpin claims of US officials that Russia is ‘guilty’,” he added.

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s one-time presidential campaign chairman, admitted in a court filing in the US on Tuesday that he provided 2016 campaign’s polling data to a Russian, who has ties with intelligence agencies.

“I understand that many in the US strongly believe in Russia’s wrongdoing with regards to election meddling, hacking or whatever,” Ryabkov said.

“We have offered countless times to this (Trump) administration and a dozen of times to the Obama administration to deal with it in a very pragmatic manner, to go through inter-agency process, to deal with IP addresses with individuals and institutions. The answer is no. Or, alternatively, there is no answer” he said.

The findings of the US special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 election are yet to come out.

While discussing matters related to Iran and Syria, Ryabkov on Wednesday said that notions of “regime change” and “unilateral action” should not be discussed lightly.

“It’s striking for me to be present in this room and kind of listen to a debate where notions of regime change and imposition of unilateral sanctions are being kicked around as something generally acceptable, very normal, very usual, very standard,” Ryabkov said.

“The chances for yet another regime change are being discussed by think-tankers, politicians, in a sober quiet and cold manner. Something is wrong in the mindset of the people today. But let’s limit my comments to this,” he added. — PTI 

09:34  World’s richest couple Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie to split :  

Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, are getting a divorce after 25 years of marriage.

The two published a joint statement on Wednesday on the Amazon CEO’s Twitter account stating that the two will get a divorce but continue to cherish each other as friends

“After a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends,” the couple said in the statement.

Expressing their gratitude, the two further wrote, “We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.”

The couple also said that they are looking forward to working together as “parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures.”

Jeff and MacKenzie have four children. — ANI

09:10  SC’s 5-judge Constitution bench to hear Ayodhya title suit today:  

08:56  Sidhu gets enhanced security cover, bullet-proof vehicle: Report:  

The Punjab government is learnt to have increased the security cover of Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in the wake of threats issued to him, sources said Wednesday.

A bullet-proof vehicle has also been provided to Sidhu by the state government, the sources close to Sidhu said.

In November 2018, the Congress had sought the Central Industrial Security Force security cover for Sidhu citing “growing threat perception” to his life.

Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had written a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard as Sidhu was to campaign outside Punjab for the party. — PTI  

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Wednesday announced the names of their candidates for the by-election in Haryana’s Jind assembly constituency scheduled to be held on January 28.

Krishan Middha, the son of late Indian National Lok Dal MLA Hari Chand Middha, will be the BJP’s candidate, while Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala will be its nominee for the bypoll.

Krishan Middha, whose father’s demise in August had necessitated the bypoll, had recently joined the saffron party. He was the frontrunner to contest as the BJP candidate from this constituency.

“After discussion and taking various factors into account, the BJP’s Central Election Committee has decided that Krishan Middha, the son of late Hari Chand Middha, will be the party’s candidate for the Jind bypoll,” Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala told reporters earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, the INLD and the recently floated Jannayak Janata Party said they would announce the name of their candidates on Thursday.

After his name was announced, Middha exuded confidence about his win.

“The BJP will get one more MLA, this time from Jind,” he said.

Jind was represented by his late father, who was two-time MLA from here. The BJP is yet to taste a win from this constituency.

However, senior INLD leader and Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala said, “This seat was with our party MLA. But his son chose to join the BJP and people of the constituency know that he has betrayed them.”

 “We will be announcing name of our party candidate on Thursday and he will win by at least a margin of 25,000 votes,” Chautala claimed.

 The Election Commission had on December 31 announced that the bypoll to the Jind assembly seat would be held on January 28 and the results will be out on January 31. — PTI

08:30  Trump walks out of meeting with Democrats, calls it ‘waste of time’ :  

United States President Donald Trump has walked out of a meeting with top Democratic leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer, after they refused to allocate a whopping USD 5.7 billion funding for his controversial US-Mexico border wall plan.

Trump was furious that Pelosi said no when he asked the Democratic leaders on Wednesday would they support the move to fund the border wall within the next 30 days if he ends the partial government shutdown that has crippled many offices.

“Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works (sic)!” a furious Trump tweeted.

The sharp differences between the Trump administration and the opposition Democrats over border security has resulted in a partial government shutdown, which entered its 19th day on Wednesday, making it the second-longest in history after the 21-day shutdown in 1995-96.

The Democrats are refusing to allocate the money, arguing that a wall would be costly and ineffective. Mexico has rejected Trump’s demand to pay for the border wall.

The president’s walkout from the meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon opens a new phase of political uncertainty in the US.

Talking to reporters after Trump’s walkout from the meeting, Pelosi and Schumer asserted that under no circumstances the Democrats are willing to fund a border wall.

Blaming Trump for the partial government shutdown that has badly hit the functioning of the federal government, the two leaders indicated that their party is not going to change its stand over the issue.

The Democratic party enjoys a majority in the House of Representatives.

Vice President Mike Pence, who made a rare media appearance at the White House stake out location along with the other Congressional Republican leaders, said their doors are still open for the Democratic party leaders to come up with their own proposal.

However, Trump has made it clear that there will be no moving forward without funding approval for a wall. In recent days, the president has showed signs of some flexibility by proposing a steel barrier instead of a 30-foot-high concrete wall. — PTI

00:04  India to receive S-400 in due time, without any delays, assures Russia:  

Russia has said there will be no delays in the delivery of the S-400 air defence systems to India and a payment mechanism for the deal is being worked out.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the missile systems will significantly enhance India’s air defence capability.

Last week, the government informed Lok Sabha that it will start receiving the missile systems from Russia from October next year and the deliveries will be completed by April 2023.

India inked an agreement with Russia in October last year to procure a batch of the missile systems at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore. India went ahead to seal the deal notwithstanding the US’ warnings against it.

There were apprehensions about the payment mechanism for the deal in the wake of the US sanctions against Russia.

“India would receive the systems as agreed upon in due time, without any delays. And, your (India’s) national security will be enhanced substantially,” Ryabkov told reporters.

— PTI