Top news: India says Pakistan’s action against LeT founder Hafiz Saeed is a ‘cosmetic step’

Chief economic advisor counters predecessor on GDP, says it’s difficult to create a false narrative

Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian said on Thursday that it is very difficult to create a narrative that is different from the truth, PTI reported. His remarks were a possible reference to his predecessor Arvind Subramanian’s claim that the Gross Domestic Product growth rate between 2011 and 2017 was lower than what official figures showed.

Lok Sabha passes Aadhaar Amendment Bill, Opposition demands data protection law

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Aadhaar & Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Bill that will replace an ordinance issued in March.

AAP leader Raghav Chadha moves High Court against BJP candidate’s election from South Delhi

Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court challenging his defeat to Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Ramesh Bidhuri in the Lok Sabha elections. The two candidates had contested the elections from the South Delhi constituency.

BJP issues MLA Akash Vijayvargiya a showcause notice for assaulting civic body official

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s disciplinary committee on Thursday issued a showcause notice to party MLA Akash Vijayvargiya for assaulting a municipal corporation officer in Indore with a cricket bat on June 26, ANI reported. This came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modicondemned the incident.

HK Kumaraswamy appointed Karnataka JD(S) chief, Nikhil Kumaraswamy is youth wing president

Five-time MLA and former minister HK Kumaraswamy was appointed the new president of the Janata Dal (Secular) party’s Karnataka unit on Thursday, ANI reported.

Economic Survey 2019 recommends special privileges for top tax payers

The survey recommended that the government put up signboards saying “tax money at work” at sites of public welfare projects, provide top tax payers expedited boarding privileges at airports, fast-lane privileges on roads and toll booths and special lanes at immigration counters.

India says Pakistan’s action against Hafiz Saeed a ‘cosmetic step’, shows its double standards

“Pakistan is trying to hoodwink the international community on taking action against terror groups,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. “Let us not get fooled by cosmetic steps against terror groups by Pakistan.”

Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra submits breach of privilege motion against Zee TV and its editor

“Sir, under Rule 225, I have given a breach of privilege notice against Zee TV and its editor, Sudhir Chaudhary for falsely reporting my maiden address in this august House,” Moitra said on Thursday while speaking in the Lok Sabha.

Former RBI chief Urjit Patel says Centre didn’t manage economy well, admits banks were over-lending

Patel said in the presentation that the banks had failed to maintain balanced credit lending growth and that they had applied very little risk analysis and management in sifting good assets from bad. The regulators, he said, failed to react quickly to improve recovery or cut losses.

Watch: Mob led by Congress MLA Nitesh Rane pours mud on engineer over poor state of highway

In the video, Nitesh Rane was seen pushing the engineer, identified as Prakash Shede, while his supporters poured buckets of mud over Shede’s head. A group of supporters, allegedly belonging to the Swabhiman Sanghatna, were then seen tying up Shede by the side of the bridge.

Election to Vellore Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu to be held on August 5, results on August 9

The notification for the election will be issued on July 11 and the last date for filing nominations is July 18. Nominations will be scrutinised on July 19 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is July 22, the poll body said. Votes will be counted on August 9.

Harish Rawat quits as Congress leader in charge of Assam after Lok Sabha election loss

Congress General Secretary in charge of Assam, Harish Rawat, who lost the Lok Sabha elections to Uttarakhand Bharatiya Janata Party President Ajay Bhatt, resigned on Wednesday after taking responsibility for the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. This came the same day Rahul Gandhi announced he would no longer lead the party, and asked its leadership to find a replacement soon.

Indrani Mukerjea turns approver in corruption case involving the Chidambarams

A special court on Thursday allowed Indrani Mukerjea’s application to turn an approver in the INX Media corruption case, which involves former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram. The court listed the next hearing in the case on July 11.

TikTok ban: SC refuses to hear company’s plea seeking transfer of cases from Madras High Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear TikTok’s plea seeking to transfer cases related to a ban imposed on its mobile application from the Madras High Court to the top court. “We are not inclined to entertain this transfer petition,” the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.

Delhi: AAP MLA Som Dutt gets six-month sentence, fined Rs 2 lakh in 2015 assault case

A Delhi court on Thursday gave a six-month jail term to Aam Aadmi Party MLA Som Dutt and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on him in an assault case. The case dates back to the 2015 Assembly election campaign, when Dutt assaulted the complainant, Sanjeev Rana.

Rahul Gandhi says he will fight BJP, RSS with ‘10 times more vigour’

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said he will engage in an “ideological battle” with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh with “10 times more vigour than the last five years”.

Indian airlines lost Rs 549 crore due to Pakistan’s airspace closure, says Centre

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said that Indian airlines had suffered a loss of at least Rs 549 crore due to Pakistan’s airspace closure since February 27. Puri said that closing the airspace was a “unilateral measure” and that it was up to Islamabad to lift the ban.

Economic Survey projects 7% GDP growth in 2019-’20 financial year

India’s economic growth is likely to accelerate slightly to 7% in the financial year 2019-’20, from 6.8% in the previous year, the Centre said in the annual Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on Thursday. The Economic Survey for 2018-’19 was released a day before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget for the remainder of the ongoing fiscal year.

Gauri Lankesh murder: Rahul Gandhi granted bail in defamation case filed by RSS activist

A court in Mumbai on Thursday granted bail to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi after he pleaded not guilty in a defamation case filed by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist for allegedly linking the organisation to the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in 2017.

Rahul Gandhi’s resignation is a ploy to get a non-Gandhi leader to rebuild party, alleges BJP

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday kept up its criticism of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, a day after he announced that he was no longer the party chief. BJP’s Karnataka Twitter handle alleged it was a ploy to get a non-Gandhi leader to rebuild the party.

Gujarat Congress shifts MLAs to ‘safe location’ ahead of Rajya Sabha bye-polls

The Congress on Wednesday shifted its legislators in Gujarat to a “safe location” – said to be either in the state’s northern part or in Mount Abu in Rajasthan – ahead of the bye-elections to two Rajya Sabha seats. The bye-polls will take place on Friday.

‘Few have the courage you do,’ Priyanka Gandhi says on Rahul Gandhi after he quits as Congress chief

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said she had the “deepest respect” for her brother Rahul Gandhi’s decision to step down as the party’s president. This came a day after Rahul Gandhi announced he would no longer lead the party, and asked it to find a replacement soon.

Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra rejects plagiarism allegations, says Parliament speech ‘came from heart’

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday dismissed allegations that she had plagiarised her June 25 speech in Parliament on “seven signs of fascism”, a video of which went viral. Moitra said the speech came “from the heart” and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “troll army” for propagating the charges to shield actual problems.

Economic Survey to be tabled in Parliament today by Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian

Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian will table the Economic Survey for 2018-’19 in Parliament on Thursday, a day before the new government presents its first Union Budget. This is also Subramanian’s first Economic Survey since being appointed to the post in December.

Karnataka: Five college students arrested for allegedly raping friend, filming the act

Five students of a private college in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping their friend in March, the police said. The incident came to light this week after a video of the crime started doing the rounds on social media.

Delhi: Manish Sisodia sends defamation notice to Manoj Tiwari after Rs 2,000 crore scam allegation

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday sent a defamation notice to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari and two others for alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party was involved in a Rs 2,000 crore scam. Tiwari had claimed on Monday that an additional Rs 2,000 crore was spent on the construction of classrooms in Delhi when they could have been constructed at Rs 892 crore.