Top news: RBI reduces repo rate for the first time since August 2017

Grand Opposition alliance is adulterated, people will reject it, Narendra Modi tells Parliament

rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a jibe at the Congress and claimed that the party see things from the perspective of two time periods of BC and AD – Before Congress and After Dynasty. He was responding to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Parliament. He claimed the Opposition, by hating him, has begun to hate the nation.

‘Will scrap triple talaq bill if voted to power,’ says Congress

Mahila Congress President Sushmita Dev said on Thursday that the party would do away with the triple talaq bill if voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The legislation aims to make the practise of instant triple talaq illegal. Dev claimed that Modi was using the bill as a tool to imprison Muslim men.

Centre to take away medals of six IPS officers who participated in Mamata Banerjee’s dharna: Report

The Centre has decided to take away the medals awarded to six Indian Police Service officers in West Bengal who had participated in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s protest against the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Lok Sabha: Sonia Gandhi leads Congress MPs in appreciating work done by Nitin Gadkari

United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other Congress legislators in the Lok Sabha on Thursday applauded the work done by Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in improving the country’s infrastructure.

From a temple and sari to gender inclusive couples – here’s what the new emojis include

Emojis representing gender inclusive couples, interracial couples and disabled people are among 59 new emojis – a total of 230 options when their variants are included – slated to be released in 2019. Unicode Consortium, the organisation that approves and standardises emojis, said the new set will come to iOS and Android devices later this year.

‘Narendra Modi is a coward’: Rahul Gandhi challenges prime minister to a debate on Rafale deal

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a coward for not debating him on the Rafale deal. The Congress chief then challenged the prime minister to a debate on national security and other matters.

Union minister VK Singh seeks investigation into 2012 media report on ‘attempted military coup’

Former Indian Army chief and Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh on Thursday said he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an investigation into a false story about an “attempted military coup” that had been allegedly planted in the media in 2012. At the time, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government was in power at the Centre.

Uttar Pradesh Budget: Rs 447 crore allocated for cow shelters by Adityanath government

The Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh allocated Rs 447 crore for cow shelters on Thursday. Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal, who presented the state budget for the 2019-’20 financial year, also earmarked Rs 459 crore for the modernisation of madrasas.

Chhattisgarh: 10 suspected Maoists killed in Bijapur encounter

Security forces gunned down at least 10 Maoists during an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday, PTI quoted police officials as saying. A search operation is underway in the area.

Raipur: Journalists don helmets at BJP event days after attack on colleague

Several journalists in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, donned helments on Wednesday while interviewing Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, days after one of their colleagues was beaten up by suspected BJP workers. The journalists, sporting helmets, were seen with mics and cameras in their hand at an event addressed by leaders of the saffron party.

Noida: Major fire breaks out in hospital, no casualties reported

A massive fire broke out at Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute in Sector 12 of Noida in the National Capital Region on Thursday. Several people are feared trapped inside the building. No casualties have been reported till now.

Centre blocked lawyer’s elevation to J&K HC, yet to explain reason after 10 months: Report

The Supreme Court collegium has questioned the Centre about its opposition to the elevation of an advocate as a judge in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The collegium had approved the appointment of Senior Additional Advocate General Wasim Sadiq Nargal as a judge in the High Court on April 6, 2018. However, the Ministry of Law returned the recommendation and asked the chief justice to reconsider the decision in light of “observations made in the file”.

Karnataka Assembly adjourned for the day amid BJP MLAs’ protest against government

The Karnataka Assembly was adjourned for the second straight day on Thursday after Bharatiya Janata Party legislators disrupted proceedings, claiming that the coalition government of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) lacks majority. BJP MLAs asked Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to step down and shouted slogans such as “down down government without majority” and “No unity, no majority”.

Karti Chidambaram appears before Enforcement Directorate in INX Media case

Karti Chidambaram, the son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday in a money laundering case. Unidentified Enforcement Directorate officials said that Karti Chidambaram was summoned to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Parliament: Rajya Sabha adjourned as Opposition protests over faculty reservation in universities

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday as Opposition parties protested over the roster system for faculty reservation in universities. MPs of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India had moved notices to discuss the matter in the House.

Muzaffarpur rape case: Supreme Court transfers trial from Bihar to POCSO court in Delhi

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the transfer of trial in the Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case from Bihar to the Saket trial court dealing with cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, PTI reported. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi ordered the Saket trial court to complete the trial in six months.

Robert Vadra appears before ED for another day of questioning in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued to question businessman Robert Vadra for the second straight day in connection with a money laundering case, PTI reported. This is the first time Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, has appeared before any investigating agency in connection with graft accusations against him.

Supreme Court refuses to allot pressure cooker symbol to TTV Dhinkaran’s party for now

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to allot the pressure cooker symbol for now to former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran’s party, ANI reported. The court, however, said the Election Commission may allot the symbol to the party if elections to vacant seats in Tamil Nadu are announced in the next four weeks and the Delhi High Court does not dispose of the case by then.

Thiruvanathapuram: Two RSS workers killed during clashes with CPI(M) youth wing cadre

Two Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers were killed during clashes between members of the Hindutva group and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Democratic Youth Federation of India, in Palkulangara area of Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram early on Thursday, Mathrubhumi reported.

Bihar: Muslim teacher claims he was beaten up for not singing Vande Mataram on Republic Day

Residents of Abdullahpur in Bihar’s Katihar district allegedly beat up a Muslim man after he refused to sing Vande Mataram on Republic Day. Primary schoolteacher Afzal Hussain told ANI that singing Vande Mataram was against his religious beliefs.

RBI lowers repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, first cut since August 2017

The reverse repo rate, too, was lowered to 6%, and the bank rate to 6.25%. The reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank borrows money from commercial banks. The bank rate is rate of interest the RBI charges on its loans and advances to commercial banks.

J&K: Police file chargesheet against journalist, 9 others for allegedly harbouring militants

Sultan was taken into police custody in August last year after he wrote a story on militant Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter in July 2017. The story included interviews with non-combatant members of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group.

Minimum income guarantee: Economist Thomas Piketty confirms he is helping Congress with the scheme

Piketty defended the scheme, saying India’s elite have treated the poor badly. “It is high time to move from the politics of caste conflict to the politics of income and wealth distribution,” the Paris School of Economics professor said.

Mumbai airport: Flight operations to be affected three days a week till March 30, airfares may surge

The repair work at the airport will be carried out at the intersection of the primary and the secondary runways, reducing the total capacity of flights taking off and landing at the airport. The Mumbai airport operates about 46 flights an hour. IndiGo airline operates 103 daily flights from Mumbai and expects at least 30 flights to be affected daily when the runways would be closed

Hardik Patel says he will contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections

Patel did not specify if he would join a political party or contest as an independent candidate. “It is not yet decided,” he told The Week. “I did not do politics till we got 10% reservation. Now I feel there is a need to do something for the youth and farmers.”

‘Bureaucracy enjoys cheese and wine, warriors get outdated machines’: Brother of deceased IAF pilot

Samir Abrol and his co-pilot Siddharth Negi died when their Mirage 2000 trainer fighter aircraft crashed near the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited airport in Bengaluru on February 1. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has initiated an inquiry into the accident in coordination with the IAF.

Robert Vadra appears before Enforcement Directorate again for questioning in money laundering case

Businessman Robert Vadra on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for the second straight day in connection with the interrogation into a money laundering case related to the alleged possession of foreign assets. He was questioned for five hours on Wednesday.

CBI row: Centre curtails tenure of two senior officers

The Centre on Wednesday curtailed the tenure of two senior officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Anish Prasad and Abhay Singh, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training. Prasad, was reportedly at the centre of the row between former agency chief Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana.

Pravin Togadia’s political party to contest all Lok Sabha seats, will be launched on Saturday

Former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia will launch a political party on February 9. The party is known as the Hindusthan Nirman Dal, and has been registered with the Election Commission.

National cow commission, promised in interim Budget, gets Cabinet approval

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a national cow commission for “conservation, protection and development of cows and their progeny”. The Centre said the setting up of a Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will increase growth in the livestock sector, and this will benefit women, small and marginal farmers.

Golfer Jyoti Randhawa moves court for bail in connection with poaching charges

Golfer Jyoti Randhawa moved the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday, seeking bail in connection with poaching charges levelled against him.