Top news: In a setback to Chandrababu Naidu, four TDP Rajya Sabha MPs join BJP

NRC will be implemented on priority basis in areas affected by infiltration, says president

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday told Parliament that the Centre has decided to implement the National Register of Citizens, which is being updated in Assam at present, on priority basis in areas affected by infiltration, PTI reported. The president made the remarks during his customary speech to Parliament after the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha.

Four TDP MPs from Rajya Sabha pass resolution to merge legislature party with BJP

Four Rajya Sabha MPs of the Telugu Desam Party on Thursday passed a resolution to merge its Legislature Party with the Bharatiya Janata Party, ANI reported. The four MPs are YS Chowdary, CM Ramesh, TG Venkatesh and GM Rao. The Telugu Desam Party has six legislators in the Upper House.

Rahul Gandhi says he is not involved in selecting new Congress president

Gandhi also reiterated that there has been corruption in the Rafale deal. “I maintain my stand that there has been theft in the Rafale jet deal,” he told reporters outside Parliament. The government has denied any wrongdoing in the deal.

2008 Malegaon blasts case: Pragya Thakur’s plea for exemption from court proceedings rejected

Thakur had cited ill health, distance, security, requirement of attending Parliament daily and her life as a religious leader as reasons for exemption. When Thakur’s lawyers said the Bharatiya Janata Party has issued a whip from time to time on attendance in Parliament, the court said obeying the party and attending Parliament were necessary. No papers were submitted to substantiate her claims.

Sensex, Nifty surge over 1% as US Federal Reserve announces cut in interest rates

The biggest gainers on the Sensex were Yes Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI Bank. The top stocks on the Nifty were Yes Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Sun Pharmaceuticals, IndusInd Bank and Larsen & Toubro.

Several colleges under Delhi University increase annual fee for undergraduate courses

Authorities on most of the colleges said that “insufficient funds” was the reason for the increase, but some said it was a “routine revision”, the Hindustan Times reported. While fee structure for most of the courses in Gargi College had been revised between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000, admission fee to BA [Honours] Business Economics has been increased by Rs 14,000 to Rs 41,200 as compared to last year’s fee of Rs 26,875.

West Bengal: Two killed, three injured in clashes in Bhatpara

Authorities have imposed prohibitory orders in Bhatpara and Jagatdal area, reported ABP Ananda. Shops, marketplaces, and businesses have reportedly been closed after the unrest.

Full text: LGBTIQ citizens and groups urge Centre to stop harassing NGO Lawyers Collective

The Labia Collective, a Mumbai-based queer feminist group, uploaded the statement online and urged people to sign it in support. Those who signed the statement said the Lawyers Collective has been “a torchbearer in terms of the law, policy and judicial practice in the furtherance of constitutionalism and fundamental rights, especially of the most marginalised amongst us” for close to 40 years.

Mumbai Police send notice to Kerala CPI(M) chief’s son over rape allegations

Two Mumbai police officers, along with two officials of the local police, visited Kodiyeri’s ancestral home at Thiruvangad in Kannur district to serve the notice but he was not home at the time, officials said. The Mumbai police officials told reporters that they were unable to get in touch with Kodiyeri as his phone was switched off.

Rapper Hard Kaur charged with sedition, defamation for her posts on Adityanath and RSS chief

After a complaint was filed by local lawyer Shashank Shekhar, Kaur was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 124A (sedition, attempt to excite disaffection or hatred), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 500 (defamation) and 505 (intent to incite), and section 66 of the IT Act (for sending offensive messages).

MTNL shares tweet eulogising Nathuram Godse, says ‘it is difficult to digest the truth’

The Twitter handle of state-run telecommunications service provider Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited on Thursday endorsed a right-wing troll account’s tweet eulogising Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse. The tweet was deleted soon afterwards. “Hindus nowadays are afraid of supporting Godse whereas Muslims feel proud to name their kids Taimur,” tweeted an account called NitaAmbaniFan. “Patriotism should run in your blood.”

Dubai: Indian man and wife allegedly torture, starve his mother to death

An Indian man and his wife were charged at a court in Dubai on Wednesday for repeated physical assault of his mother and unintentionally causing her death. The Dubai Court of First Instance said forensic reports confirmed that the woman had been starved, tortured and neglected for months leading up to her death. The woman suffered bone and rib fractures, internal bleeding and severe burns due to sustained physical assault and torture. The couple also cut out the iris in her right eye and part of her other eye.

China: Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei pleads guilty to bribery, says court

Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei on Thursday pleaded guilty before a Chinese court to the charge of accepting $2.1 million in bribes. The No. 1 Intermediate Court in Tianjin city said Meng read a statement containing the confession at a hearing. The court said the verdict will be announced at a “select date or time”. The Tianjin court said Meng abused his positions, including as China’s vice minister of public security and maritime police chief, to favour others in return for bribes.

Iran claims to have shot down US surveillance drone near Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on Thursday claimed to have shot down a United States spy drone in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan after it violated Iranian airspace. The Revolutionary Guard Corps said the US-made Global Hawk surveillance drone was brought down by its Air Force near the Kouh-e Mobarak region in the central district of Jask County.

MEA downplays Pakistani news report that claimed Modi has conveyed readiness for peace talks

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday downplayed the claims made by a Pakistani newspaper that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan that New Delhi was ready for talks.

Gujarat: Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt sentenced to life in jail in 1990 custodial death case

A sessions court in Jamnagar, Gujarat, sentenced former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt on Thursday to life imprisonment in connection with a 1990 custodial death case, ANI reported. He was found guilty under the Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

AN-32 crash: Six bodies, remains of seven crew members recovered, say reports

Six bodies and the remains of seven crew members of the Indian Air Force’s AN-32 transporter aircraft have been recovered from the crash site in Arunachal Pradesh, defence spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said in Shillong on Thursday.

Noida: Seven men arrested for alleged gangrape of three women at a farmhouse

The Noida Police on Wednesday arrested seven men for allegedly raping three women at a farmhouse in Sector 135 of the city the previous night. A driver and another accused are on the run.

US tells India it is considering cap on H-1B visas as reaction to data localisation rules: Reuters

The United States has told India that is considering putting a cap on H-1B work visas for countries that force foreign companies to store data locally, Reuters reported quoting unidentified Indian government officials. The Reserve Bank of India had in April 2018 asked payment firms to make sure that data is stored on local servers.

Encephalitis: Bihar starts socio-economic survey of 450 parents of affected children, says report

The Bihar government has ordered a socio-economic survey of more than 450 people whose children have either been affected by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome or died of the disease. At least 128 people have died of the disease across the state.

Gujarat: Dalit village leader’s husband beaten to death in Botad district

The husband of a Dalit sarpanch in Gujarat was beaten to death on Wednesday, the police said. Manjibhai Solanki was allegedly killed by about six men when he was riding a motorcycle on the Ranpur-Barvala Road in Botad district.

‘Voters chose uninterrupted progress by re-electing Modi government,’ says President Ram Nath Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind addressed a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall on Thursday. Kovind said the newly elected Lok Sabha represents an image of the diversities of India, with the most women MPs ever and nearly half of the new members being first-timers.

Assam: Woman’s headless body found near Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, police suspect human sacrifice

The headless body of a woman was found on Wednesday evening around a kilometre away from the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati, Assam. Police are investigating if it is a case of human sacrifice. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Guwahati West) KK Chowdhury said an earthen lamp and pot were found near the body, suggesting a religious ritual.

Simultaneous polls: Milind Deora calls for debate even as Congress skips PM Modi’s meeting

Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “One Nation, One Election” proposal is “worthy of a debate”, even as the Congress skipped the all-party meeting convened by Modi to discuss the matter on the same day. “I believe that being in a continuous election mode is a roadblock to good governance, distracts politicians from addressing real issues,” Deora said in statement on Twitter.

CJI harassment case: Delhi Police reinstate complainant’s husband, brother-in-law, says report

The Delhi Police have reinstated the jobs of the husband and brother-in-law of the woman who had accused Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. They were brought back as head constables.

Uttar Pradesh: Government doctor suspended after infant dies of alleged negligence in Bareilly

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Wednesday ordered the suspension of a doctor and departmental proceedings against another after a four-day-old child died of alleged medical negligence at the Maharana Pratap District Hospital in Bareilly.

MPs heckled in Lok Sabha: ‘House not for slogans, will run it by rules,’ Speaker Om Birla tells HT

Newly-elected Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has said that he will not allow a repeat of the shouting of religious slogans in the House, as seen during the swearing-in of some Opposition MPs earlier this week, Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.

PM Narendra Modi discusses simultaneous polls at all-party meeting, will form panel to examine idea

Several political parties supported the idea of “One Nation, One Election” during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, while others expressed the need to examine all aspects of the proposal carefully, the government said. Modi said at the meeting that a committee would be set up to provide “time-bound suggestions” on the proposal.