Ousted Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma, who was removed as the agency’s chief on Thursday by a committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, resigned from service on Friday after refusing to take over as the director general of Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards.
The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to dismiss the First Information Report filed against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana on bribery allegations. The court also directed the central probe agency to conclude the investigation against Asthana and CBI Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar in 10 weeks.
The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday withdrew general consent granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation to inquire cases in the state.
Delhi court grants interim protection from arrest to Robert Vadra’s alleged aide
A Delhi court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest to Manoj Arora, a close aide of businessman Robert Vadra, in a money-laundering case. The Patiala House court also ordered Arora to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday. Vadra is the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
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Upper-caste quota: Arun Jaitley says the amendments do not violate basic structure of Constitution
Union minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for poverty-based reservation was “the single greatest” recognition shown by the government for the poor in the general category. In a Facebook blog post, Jaitley said the amendments to allow reservation for the economically backward among the upper castes do not contravene the basic structure of the Constitution.
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J&K: Former IAS officer Shah Faesal rules out joining a political party for now
Former Kashmiri bureaucrat Shah Faesal, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Services on Wednesday in protest against government policies, said on Friday he wishes to work with people at the grassroots and “reimagine politics in Kashmir”. Faesal said his resignation was a “small act of defiance” to remind the Centre of its duties towards Kashmiris.
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Lok Sabha elections: Congress may be given two seats in Uttar Pradesh, says Akhilesh Yadav
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Friday refused to say how the Congress would fit into the party’s alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, but hinted that the Rahul Gandhi-led party may get two seats in Uttar Pradesh, the Hindustan Times reported.
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Jammu and Kashmir: Former CM Farooq Abdullah says Hurriyat must be included in peace talks
National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said the separatist group Hurriyat Conference must be included in negotiations for lasting peace in the restive state, PTI reported. He was speaking at a discussion organised by the Centre for Peace and Progress in Kolkata.
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BJP national council meet: Lok Sabha polls ‘extremely important’ for party and India, says Amit Shah
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts that helped pass the upper-caste quota bill in Parliament, News18 reported. He made the remarks at the party’s two-day national council meet that began in New Delhi on Friday.
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CBI row: Alok Verma refuses to take charge at Fire Services, resigns from service, say reports
Ousted Central Bureau of Investigation Alok Verma on Friday resigned from service after declining to take charge as the director general of Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards, PTI reported.
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Haryana: Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, three others convicted for journalist’s murder
A court in Haryana’s Panchkula on Friday held Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of ordering his followers to murder a journalist. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on January 17.
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CBI row: Delhi High Court refuses to quash FIR against Rakesh Asthana
The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to quash the First Information Report filed against Central Bureau of Investigation Special Director Rakesh Asthana on bribery allegations.
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Aircel-Maxis case: Court extends relief from arrest granted to P Chidambaram, son till February 1
The Patiala House Court in Delhi on Friday extended the interim protection from arrest granted to former Union minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case till February 1.
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CBI row: Interim director Nageswara Rao reverses all transfers ordered by Alok Verma
Central Bureau of Investigation interim director M Nageswara Rao on Friday reversed all the transfers ordered by former head Alok Verma who was shunted out of the probe agency on Thursday. All transfer orders signed by Verma on January 9 and January 10 have been nullified.
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AgustaWestland deal: British High Commission granted consular access to Christian Michel, says MEA
The British High Commission in India was granted consular access to Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland chopper case, on Friday. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar confirmed that a second secretary level officer from the commission had met Michel.
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Meghalaya trapped miners: SC asks government to continue rescue work, says ‘miracles do happen’
The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and the Meghalaya government to seek assistance from experts and continue efforts to rescue 15 miners trapped in an illegal rat hole mine in East Jaintia Hills district since December 13. The court is hearing a petition filed by Aditya N Prasad, seeking urgent steps to rescue the miners.
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CBI row: Markandey Katju vouches for Justice Sikri’s decision to remove Alok Verma as agency chief
Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju on Thursday vouched for Justice AK Sikri who voted in favour of removing Alok Verma as the director of Central Bureau of Investigation. Katju said Sikri would not have taken the decision without “strong material on record” against Verma.
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CBSE introduces two levels of maths exams for Class 10 students from 2020
“Not only would the two levels of examinations cater for different kinds of learners and allow different levels of testing, it would also reduce overall student stress levels,” the circular dated January 10 said, citing a paper by the National Focus Group on Examination Reforms.
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Lok Sabha elections: Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav to address media on Saturday amid reports of alliance
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary on January 5 had said that both parties had agreed “in-principle” to an alliance and it would be announced later in the month. Yadav had in September announcedthat he was ready to form an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh in order to defeat the BJP.
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Madhya Pradesh: Congress wins deputy speaker’s post amid protests by BJP
BJP leader Bhupendra Singh said the party would approach the president and is contemplating moving a no-confidence motion against the Congress government in the state for using “unfair process” in the election to the post.
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SAARC summit must be reconvened soon, says Nepal
The SAARC summit is usually held once every two years and is hosted by one of the eight member states – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives. The last SAARC summit was held in Kathmandu.
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Assam: Bandh against Centre’s move to grant SC/ST status to six tribes, roads blocked
The strike was effective in Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Baksa and Chirang, Bongaigaon, in adivasi-dominated areas of Morigaon, Nagaon, Hojai, Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong districts. Shops, markets, educational institutions, banks and private offices remained closed. Attendance in government offices was at a minimum.
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Gaganyaan mission: Target to launch manned space flight is December 2021, says ISRO chief K Sivan
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, agency chief K Sivan said that the target for the two unmanned missions is December 2020 and July 2021. The target to send a manned mission to space is December 2021, ahead of the 2022 deadline announced initially.
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Faulty hip implants: Supreme Court accepts compensation formula, directs Centre to publicise scheme
The court accepted the Centre’s formula, according to which patients will get compensations between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1.23 crore depending on their age and the level of disability. The court asked the Centre to publicise the scheme.
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Sabarimala: Two women who entered shrine go into hiding after receiving threats
Two women who entered the Sabarimala temple in Kerala said on Thursday that they have gone into hiding after receiving threats. Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga reached the shrine on January 2 under police protection, after making a failed attempt on December 24.
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Chhattisgarh: CAG finds discrepancies in e-tendering process during BJP rule
The auditor said that 477 bidders across 17 departments used 74 common computers for 1,971 tenders worth Rs 4,601 crore. This indicates that bidders and government officials were “in close touch” before the bidding process began, the Comptroller and Auditor General said.
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Unemployment rose to four-year high in 2016-’17 after demonetisation, says survey: Business Standard
The Labour Bureau’s Sixth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey said that the unemployment rate was 3.4% in 2013-’14, 3.7% in 2015-’16 and 3.9% in 2016-’17. The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labour force available for work but unable to get a job.
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Kerala: Syro Malabar Church to set up internal committees to hear complaints against clergy
The decision was taken at the synod of the church which is currently under way in Kochi. Around 55 bishops are attending the synod or an assembly of the clergy.
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CBI row: ‘I was transferred on the basis of false, unsubstantiated allegations,’ says Alok Verma
Former Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Verma, who was removed as the agency’s chief on Thursday by a committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that he was transferred on the basis of false allegations made by just one person against him. I have tried to uphold the integrity of the institution while attempts were being made to destroy it,” he said.
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Haryana: Security enhanced ahead of verdict in journalist murder case against Ram Rahim Singh
Ram Chander Chhatrapati was shot dead in October 2002 after his newspaper Poora Sach published an anonymous letter narrating how Singh sexually harassed women at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. A case was registered in 2003 and it was handed over the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2006.
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Delhi: Massive fire breaks out at furniture market, no casualties
The fire started around midnight in a four-storey building that stores furniture and spread to a nearby slum. Around 100 houses in the slum were destroyed in the fire. Two people reportedly suffered minor injuries. A large number of furniture pieces were damaged in the fire.
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Centre launches National Clean Air Programme to combat pollution in 102 cities
The Centre on Thursday launched a five-year action plan, the National Clean Air Programme, to tackle air pollution in a time-bound manner across the country. The programme is aimed at reducing the concentration levels of PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) and PM 10 by 20% to 30% by 2024 with 2017 as the base year.
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Cabinet approves proposal for three new AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to establish three new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, the Centre said. In Jammu and Kashmir, AIIMS will be set up in Vijaynagar, in Jammu district Samba, at Rs 1,661 crore and at Awantipora in Pulwama district at a cost of Rs 1,828 crore. In Gujarat’s Rajkot district, the the facility will be set up at a cost of Rs 1,195 crore.
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Chhattisgarh withdraws general consent granted to CBI to investigate cases in the state
The Congress government in Chhattisgarh on Thursday withdrew general consent granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation to inquire cases in the state. The consent had been granted in 2001.
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