Two more MLAs resigned from their posts on Wednesday evening, bringing the total number of rebel legislators to 16. One of the MLAs, K Sudhakar, was locked up in the room of Karnataka legislator KJ George in the Vidhan Soudha, where senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah interacted with him.
Earlier in the day, 10 of the dissident Karnataka MLAs, now in Mumbai, moved the Supreme Court against the state speaker’s refusal to accept their resignations.
Read our live coverage on Karnataka here.
A Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death in Gujarat on Monday night after he had gone to bring his pregnant wife back home. The woman’s relatives attacked the man while he was waiting outside the residence.
Karnataka crisis: Two more legislators resign, drama in Vidhan Soudha as Congress intervenes
As soon as the MLAs submitted their resignations to the Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, some Congress leaders reportedly took away Sudhakar into Minister KJ George’s room in an apparent effort to win him back into the party. Nagaraj, however, had left the place by then.
Union Cabinet amends POCSO Act to include death penalty for sexual assault on minors
“It intends to protect the interest of vulnerable children in times of distress and ensures their safety and dignity,” the government said. “The amendment is aimed to establish clarity regarding the aspects of child abuse and punishment thereof.”
Karnataka crisis: BJP delegation urges governor to get speaker to act quickly on MLAs’ resignations
At least 16 legislators from the ruling coalition have stepped down over the past week. If they do not withdraw their resignations, the 13-month-old coalition government will collapse. All ministers of both parties have already vacated their Cabinet posts to accommodate the legislators in the government.
Supplementary chargesheet filed against Misa Bharti by ED in money laundering case
Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar are accused of acquiring benami property at subsidised rates. A benami property is one that is bought in an individual’s name though someone else is the real beneficiary. If convicted, Bharti and Kumar will face up to seven years in jail and a heavy fine under the Benami Transactions Act.
Arunachal Pradesh: At least 200 people evacuated as flash floods hit West Kameng district
The situation could turn worse as the India Meteorological Departmentsaid North Eastern states – Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura – were likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall from July 9 to July 12.
Tejasvi Surya asks Centre to extend NRC to Karnataka to ‘weed out Bangladeshis’
“The state government last year as well as the honourable chief minister had said that there are more than 40,000 illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants in the state of Karnataka,” Surya said in the Lok Sabha. “They have now taken up jobs illegally, procured Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards with the help of state government authorities. They are now posing a very important security threat to the state.”
Karnataka crisis: Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and Milind Deora detained by Mumbai PoliceCongress leader DK Shivakumar was detained by the Mumbai Police on Wednesday while he was waiting to meet Karnataka’s rebel MLAs at the hotel in Powai locality in which they are staying. Shivakumar stationed himself outside the hotel after being stopped from entering earlier in the day. The police have imposed prohibitory orders in Powai from July 9 to July 12.
Tejasvi Surya asks Centre to extend NRC to Karnataka to ‘weed out Bangladeshis’
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday asked the Centre to extend the National Register of Citizens to Karnataka in order to “weed out Bangladeshis”. Surya claimed that a significant population of undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants had been living in Karnataka, especially in Bengaluru, and posed threat to security.
IndiGo CEO assures staff that feud between promoters has nothing to do with company
In a letter, Dutta said problems between the promoters had nothing to do with the company and its operations. “The issues between them will eventually get sorted out,” Dutta added. “As much it is very important that we all remain focused on running high-performance airline.”
Agra: BJP MP’s security guards arrested for allegedly thrashing toll plaza staff
The guards were arrested from Tundla town, said Station House Officer of Etmadpur police station Vikas Tomar. He said the two had been suspended and an investigation was going on.
Al-Qaeda chief urges ‘mujahideen in Kashmir’ to inflict blows on Indian Army and government: Report
“I am of the view that the mujahideen in Kashmir – at this stage at least – should single mindedly focus on inflicting unrelenting blows on the Indian Army and government so as to bleed the Indian economy and make India suffer sustained losses in manpower and equipment,” Zawahiri said. “In doing so, the mujahideen must persevere patiently.”
Free metro rides for women: Delhi HC rejects plea challenging AAP government’s proposal
The government’s counsel told the court that the policy was still being mulled over, and hence it would be premature to dispute it. The bench, comprising Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar, said it rested upon the Delhi government to provide fare exemptions to a certain section of the consumers after factoring in all the circumstances.
NIA attaches Srinagar residence of Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi
Last month, the National Investigation Agency claimed that separatist leaders in the state had received foreign funds and used them to amass property and to pay for education of family members.
India asks UN Security Council for ‘focussed attention’ on Jaish-e-Mohammed and D-Company
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin said Ibrahim’s illegal activities from a “safe haven”, which refuses to admit his existence, poses an actual threat. He was referring to Pakistan. Akbaruddin made the comments during a discussion on the link between organised crime and international terrorism.
SpiceJet technician dies in accident while doing maintenance work at Kolkata airport
The accident occurred at 1.45 am, an airport official said. “Pandey was doing maintenance work in right hand main landing gear wheel well area of a Q400 aircraft, which was parked in Bay No 32 at Kolkata airport on July 10,” the airline said in a statement. “Inadvertently, the main landing gear hydraulic door closed and he got stuck in between the hydraulic door flaps. The hydraulic doors were broken to rescue Pandey but he was declared dead.”
Parliament: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 3 pm as Congress protests against Karnataka government crisis
Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, who was not present in the House at the start of the proceedings, sought to raise the adjournment motion notice given by his colleagues but Naidu said the chair’s ruling was final. “If any member has any problem, he can come and see me later,” Naidu added.
IndiGo shares plunge 19% after SEBI intervenes in co-founders’ allegations against each other
Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which runs IndiGo airline, fell 19% on Wednesday morning after markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India sought a response from the company on the allegations made by two promoters against each other. Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, both co-founders, together hold more than 70% stake in the company.
Centre claims its order to connect students’ social media accounts with colleges not compulsory
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has denied it wants to monitor college students’ social media accounts through an order to higher education institutions last week. The ministry said that it asked for students’ accounts to be connected to those of their colleges for the sharing of “best practices”, ThePrint reported on Tuesday.
Journalists’ group warns Kangana Ranaut of media boycott after argument at promotional event
The Entertainment Journalists’ Guild of India on Tuesday said it would boycott actor Kangana Ranaut after her argument with a reporter at a promotional event for her upcoming film Judgmentall Hai Kya on Sunday. The guild wrote to the film’s producer Ekta Kapoor, and demanded that she condemn Ranaut’s behaviour.
Dutee Chand wins 100m gold medal at World University Games
Dutee Chand on Tuesday created history by become the first Indian to win a gold medal at the Summer Universiade in Napoli, Italy. India’s star sprinter Chand won the gold in women’s 100m with a timing of 11.32 seconds.
Gujarat: Dalit man beaten to death by upper-caste in-laws when he goes to bring wife home
A Dalit man was allegedly hacked to death by his upper-caste wife’s relatives in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district on Monday night. Eight men, including his father-in-law, have been booked for murder and are on the run.
Gujarat: Eight Congress candidates withdraw nominations for Junagadh civic polls, party blames BJP
Eight Congress candidates withdrew their nomination papers for the Junagadh Municipal Corporation polls in Gujarat on Tuesday, allowing three Bharatiya Janata Party candidates to be elected unopposed.
Assam rains: Eight districts with 63,000 people flooded, more showers expected
Heavy rain continued in parts of Assam on Tuesday, causing further flooding in many areas. Around 63,000 people in eight districts have been affected by the floods.
Karnataka crisis: 10 rebel MLAs in Mumbai write to police claiming ‘threat’ during CM’s visit
Ten rebel MLAs of the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) wrote to the Mumbai Police commissioner on Tuesday claiming a threat to the lives during the visit of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leader DK Shivakumar. The legislators said in the letter that they do not want to meet Kumaraswamy or Shivakumar and requested police not to allow them to enter the hotel where they are staying.
Nirmala Sitharaman denies journalists have been banned from entering finance ministry
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s office on Tuesday refuted allegations that journalists were refused entry into her ministry’s offices housed in the North Block. This came after multiple reports said that Sitharaman had restricted the entry of media persons.
Karnataka crisis: BJP MLAs to protest outside Assembly on Wednesday to demand CM’s resignation
Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in Karnataka will protest outside the state legislature on Wednesday morning to demand the resignation of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy because of the ongoing political crisis in the state.