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LIVE! VK Singh’s proposal to count casualties in air strikes: Tie Oppn to planes

12:04  Not concerned about what Babur had done: SC on Ayodhya case:  The Supreme Court Wednesday said it was conscious of the gravity of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute and the outcome of mediation on the body politic of the country. 

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the case was not only about property but also about sentiment and faith.

“It is not only about property. It is about mind, heart and healing, if possible,” the bench also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer said. 

“We are not concerned about what Mughal ruler Babur had done and what happened after. We can go into what exists in the present moment,” the bench said. The apex court is considering whether the dispute can be settled through mediation. The top court had asked the contesting parties to explore the possibility of amicably settling the decades-old dispute through mediation, saying it may help in “healing relations”. 

Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among the three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. — PTI

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11:43  VK Singh’s proposal to count casualties in air strikes: Tie Oppn to planes:  
A belligerent VK Singh tells news agency ANI that the next time India conducts an air strike, Doubting Thomases in the opposition should be tied to the IAF jets and dropped at the location of the strike so that they can count the casualties. “Agli baar jab Bharat kuch kare toh mujhe lagta hai ki vipakshi jo ye prashna uthate hain, unko hawai jahaz ke neeche baandh ke le jayein, jab bomb chale toh vahan se dekh lein target, uske baad unko vahin par utar dein, uske baad vo gin le aur wapas aajayein,” he said.

The Union Minister’s comment comes after the opposition raised questions on the opacity on the number of casualties  in the Balakot air strike. The government has offered no numbers on the deaths, except for the MEA statement on a ‘large number of casualties’  in the air strike on the Jais-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan. BJP president Amit Shah’s figure of 250 deaths remains unsubstantiated.  

VK Singh also hit out at senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for terming the ghastly Pulwama terror attack an “accident” and asked him whether the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was a terror incident or just an “accident”.”With due respect, I would like to ask Digvijaya Singh Ji, was Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination an accident or a terror incident? Let him answer this first,” VK Singh, who is Minister of State for External Affairs, had said. 

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11:16  Digvijaya Singh dares PM to file case against him:   Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to file a case against him over allegations from BJP leaders that he was an anti-national and a Pakistan supporter. 

In a series of tweets, Singh, who stirred a controversy on Tuesday by referring to the Pulwama terror attack as an “accident”, questioned why calling the attacks a “durghatana” prompted Modi and three Union ministers to term him anti-national.

“The tweet over which you and your ministers called me a Pakistan supporter and an anti-national was posted from Delhi where police are under the Union government. If you are brave, file a case against me,” he tweeted. 

Singh said that Modi and his ministers levelled several allegations against him and even expressed their intentions of filing a sedition case. “What action has Modi taken over intelligence failure in the Pulwama terror attack? He is yet to tell the country who is responsible for it. Does Modiji hold anyone responsible for this or not? Has he asked for a clarification from the NSA, IB or the RAW chief?” he asked. 

Singh also re-tweeted a video that shows Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya describing the terrorist attack as a “big accident”. 

“Would Modiji and his ministers like to say something about Mauryaji?” Singh asked.  — PTI

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10:56  Rahul meets Deve Gowda to embroider alliance for LS polls:  Congress President Rahul Gandhi met former Prime Minister and JDS leader HD Deve Gowda in Delhi this morning. The two leaders held discussions on the issue of seat-sharing in Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

On March 3, Deve Gowda had said that they had agreed to join hands with the Congress to revive secular forces. The two parties will finalise seat-sharing very soon, he had said. 

Earlier, on February 28, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had said that if the Congress and JDS alliance won at least 20-22 seats in the state, then a Kannadiga could once again become the next Prime Minister of the country. 

There are 28 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Karnataka, out of which the BJP currently holds 16 seats, while the Congress and the JDS hold 10 and two seats, respectively. — ANI

Image: Congress president Rahul Gandhi at HD Deve Gowda’s residence in New Delhi today. Pic: ANI


10:24  Indian-origin woman dentist killed in Australia, body found in suitcase:  

A 32-year-old Indian-origin woman dentist has been found dead with stab wounds in Australia, days after she went missing from Sydney’s busiest area under mysterious circumstances, police said on Wednesday.

Preethi Reddy’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase in her car parked in an eastern Sydney street, New South Wales Police said.

Her ex-boyfriend has also died in a road accident that appeared deliberate, they said.

Reddy was last seen waiting in line at McDonald’s in George Street on Sunday, the police said.

On Tuesday, the police found her car parked in Strachan Lane in Kingsford. Inside the car, they found her body in a suitcase, according to media reports.

Her body had been stabbed numerous times. She and her ex-boyfriend stayed in a hotel in Market Street in Sydney’s CBD on Sunday, officials said.

Reddy was attending a dental conference in St Leonards at the weekend and last spoke to her family at around 11 AM on Sunday.

She told them that she would head home after breakfast, and when she failed to return, her family contacted police.

NSW Police described Reddy’s disappearance as “out of character” and said there were serious concerns of her welfare.

Her work colleagues said they were “terrified” and had been unable to sleep since her disappearance.

“It’s devastating, and this is completely out of character,” dental assistant Chelsea Holmes of Glenbrook Dental Surgery was quoted as saying by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. — PTI

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09:35  Fire breaks out at Delhi’s CGO complex, 24 fire engines rushed in:  

A fire broke out at a building that houses government offices in central Delhi this morning. 

The fire broke out on the fifth floor of the Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan at CGO Complex.

24 fire engines have been rushed to the location in central Delhi. 


09:10  Pompeo played ‘essential role’ in deescalating Indo-Pak tensions: State Dept:  

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played an “essential role” in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan last week, according to a top State Department official.

Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.

India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 and captured its pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was handed over to India on Friday.

State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino, during his bi-weekly news conference on Tuesday, said: “Secretary Pompeo led diplomatic engagement directly, and that played an essential role in de-escalating the tensions between the two sides”.

“We continue to urge both sides to continue to take steps to de-escalate the situation and that includes through direct communication. We believe strongly that further military activity will exacerbate the situation,” he said.

Palladino also reiterated America’s call for Pakistan to abide by its UN Security Council commitments to deny terrorists sanctuary and block their access to funds.

Pompeo made the diplomatic efforts over phone from Hanoi where he was present to attend the North Korea summit with US President Donald Trump, he said.

“He (Pompeo) spoke with leaders in both countries, and that included the Indian Minister of External Affairs (Sushma) Swaraj, National Security Advisor (Ajit) Doval, and Pakistani Foreign Minister (Shah Mehmood) Qureshi,” Palladino said. — PTI

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08:20  ‘Very closely’ following reports of F-16 misuse by Pak, says US:  

The United States is “very closely” following the reports which have claimed that Pakistan misused American-made F-16 fighter jets against India in the recent aerial confrontation between the air forces of the two countries, a top State Department official has said.

The Indian Air Force on Thursday displayed parts of an AMRAAM beyond visual range air-to-air missile as evidence to “conclusively” prove that Pakistan deployed US-manufactured F-16 fighter jets during an aerial raid targeting Indian military installations in Kashmir after India’s anti-terror operation in Balakot.

Pakistan has said that no F-16 fighter jets were used.

The US State Department has said that America is seeking more information from Pakistan on the potential misuse of American-made F-16 fighter jets by it against India in violation of the end-user agreement.

“We’ve seen those reports and we’re following that issue very closely,” US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters at his biweekly news conference on Tuesday.

He was responding to questions that Pakistan has violated the end-user agreement on F-16 that it procured from the United States.

“I can’t confirm anything, but as a matter of policy, we don’t publicly comment on the contents of bilateral agreements that we have in this regard involving US defence technologies nor the communications that we have with other countries about that.

“So, we’re taking a look and we’re going to continue to take a look. I’m going to leave it at that,” Palladino said.

AMRAAM missiles allow a fighter pilot to target an enemy aircraft that is beyond visual range, in day or night, and in all-weather conditions. They have an autonomous guidance capability, which allows the pilot to manoeuvre immediately after the missile’s launch. — PTI

Image: Indian Air Force officials display a wreckage of AMRAAM air-to-air missile that they say was fired by a Pakistan air force F-16 fighter jet during a strike over Kashmir on Wednesday. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters

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00:09  Congress has ‘secret understanding’ with BJP: Kejriwal:  

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed there are ‘rumours’ that the Congress has a ‘secret understanding’ with the Bharatiya Janata Party and asserted that his Aam Aadmi Party is ready to fight the ‘unholy alliance’.

Kejriwal’s comments came in response to the Congress’ announcement that it will not form an alliance with the AAP in Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

‘At a time when the whole country wants to defeat Modi-Shah duo, Cong is helping BJP by splitting anti-BJP vote. Rumours r that Cong has some secret understanding wid BJP (sic),’ he tweeted.

‘Delhi is ready to fight against Cong-BJP alliance. People will defeat this unholy alliance,’ Kejriwal added.

The AAP alleged that the Congress is ‘helping’ the BJP in winning elections.

“They just want to help the BJP win elections and the AAP to be defeated. It seems that central leadership is under pressure to help the BJP in the country. They just want to win polls by putting the Army in the front,” senior party leader Gopal Rai told reporters.

Asked why the AAP wanted an alliance with the Congress, Rai said, “All leaders of grand alliance wanted that the votes of opposition parties are not divided.

“We are in-principal against the Congress over several issues…but we wanted to drink this poison (alliance with Congress) for the country,” he said.

He said the Congress is fielding its candidates where opposition parties are in a strong position, be it in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Rai announced that the AAP will contest the Lok Sabha elections on issue of full statehood and exuded confidence that the party will win all the seven seats.

Following a meeting with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday announced that they will not form an alliance with the AAP in the national capital for the upcoming general elections.

He said it seems there is ‘undeclared alliance’ between the BJP and the Congress.

“The Congress was of late playing hide and seek. After today’s meeting between Sheila and Rahul Gandhi, it is clear that the Congress’ stand goes against the country’s mood.

“Not only in Delhi, the Congress is going against the country’s mood in other states as well,” Rai said.

The country wanted parties to put their individual ambitions in the back seat and fight together, the AAP leader also said.

“For the Congress, party comes before the country.” Rai added.  — PTI

Source: Rediff