The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said India was “persistently and relentlessly” seeking the extradition of Islamist preacher Zakir Naik. Union minister S Jaishankar refuted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s claim that Narendra Modi had not sought Naik’s extradition.
Indian benchmark share indices suffered major losses on Tuesday amid fears that prices of crude oil might surge further following the drone attacks on two major oil plants in Saudi Arabia. The Sensex dropped 642 points to settle at 36,481, while Nifty ended 1.7% lower at 10,817.
India is ‘persistently and relentlessly’ seeking Zakir Naik’s extradition, says S Jaishankar
The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said India was “persistently and relentlessly” seeking the extradition of Islamist preacher Zakir Naik. Union minister S Jaishankar refuted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s claim that Narendra Modi had not sought Naik’s extradition.
Bihar: Three men arrested for allegedly raping former inmate of Muzaffarpur shelter home
Three people have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a former inmate of a Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar, PTI reported on Tuesday. Four men had allegedly raped the girl in a moving vehicle in Bettiah town in West Champaran district on Friday evening.
Lawyers’ group urges SC collegium to disclose reasons for transfer of High Court judges
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms on Tuesday condemned the decision of the Supreme Court collegium to not disclose why it recommended the transfer of Madras High Court Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani to the Meghalaya High Court. Tahilramani had last week resigned after the collegium rejected her request for the transfer to be reconsidered.
India faces a unique challenge from a neighbour that needs to become normal, says S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the country faced a “unique challenge from one neighbour”, a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan. He said a stronger neighbourhood would be built once Pakistan became “a normal neighbour” and the matter of cross-border terrorism was addressed. The minister was addressing a press conference on the 100 days of the Narendra Modi-led administration.
Modi government tried to ‘crush Amnesty’ for J&K criticism, claims human rights organisation’s chief
The chief of Amnesty International on Monday alleged that the Indian government was intimidating the rights group for voicing its concerns about the situation in Kashmir.
“The Modi government has made a very big attempt to crush Amnesty in India,” Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, told AFP in an interview.
Supreme Court stays execution of man convicted of killing two children in Coimbatore in 2010
The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the execution of a man convicted of raping a girl and killing her and her brother in Coimbatore nine years ago, PTI reported. The top court had confirmed his capital punishment on August 1 in a 2-1 verdict, and he was scheduled to be hanged on September 20.
Sexual harassment case against investor Mahesh Murthy dismissed by Bombay High Court: Report
The Bombay High Court has dismissed criminal proceedings against investor Mahesh Murthy for an alleged incident of sexual harassment in 2004 as the complainant did not properly explain the reason for filing the first information report 14 years after the alleged offence. The court order was passed last week.
Sensex tanks 642 points, Nifty 50 sinks to 10,817 amid fears of rising oil prices
Indian benchmark share indices suffered major losses on Tuesday amid fears that prices of crude oil might surge further following the drone attacks on two major oil plants in Saudi Arabia. Stocks of banks, automobile companies and metal firms led the losses.
Facebook, Instagram now let Indian users add music to their stories
Facebook-owned Instagram on Monday rolled out a feature that allows users in India to add background music tracks to their stories on the two platforms. The company launched music feature for stories feature for a few select markets in June 2018. However, there had been no announcement about the update in India so far.
Supreme Court judge recuses himself from Karnataka disqualified MLAs’ case, next hearing on Monday
The Supreme Court on Tuesday postponed the hearing of petitions filed by disqualified Karnataka legislators challenging former Speaker Ramesh Kumar’s decision to remove them from the Assembly under the anti-defection law.
Rape-accused BJP leader Chinmayanand undergoes treatment for uneasiness and weakness
Former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Chinmayanand, who is accused of a raping and harassing a 23-year-old law student, was treated for uneasiness and weakness on Monday night. Photos from the former Union minister’s house in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh showed the 72-year-old lying on a cot and hooked to some medical apparatus as medical professionals attended to him.
Centre expands foreign funding eligibility criteria to cover all office-bearers, members of NGOs
Various eligibility criteria for NGOs to receive foreign funds will now apply to all office-bearers, key functionaries and members of such organisations, instead of just the person applying for permission under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. In amended rules issued under the Act on Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs said all such office-bearers and members of an NGO need to declare that they have not been prosecuted or convicted for converting anyone from one faith to another or for creating communal tension or disharmony.
UP: Congress hits out at BJP after Dalit man is burnt alive, says social fabric is being attacked
The Congress on Tuesday criticised the Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government after a 20-year-old Dalit man was allegedly burnt alive last week for his relationship with a woman from another caste. The party said the social fabric of the state was being attacked by the Bharatiya Janata Party government to achieve its political objectives.
Farooq Abdullah’s detention: Opposition attacks BJP, says arrest threatens the identity of India
The Opposition on Tuesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party government for the detention of National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah under the Public Safety Act. Congress leader Kapil Sibal questioned whether the move was taken because of the petition filed by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko last week, which sought that Abdullah be released.
Gates Foundation stands by award to Narendra Modi even as two participants pull out of ceremony
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has said it will go ahead with its Goalkeepers Global Goals Award for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month despite protests. The foundation also confirmed that two participants had pulled out of the award ceremony, though the reason is not clear. One participant who withdrew, actor Jameela Jamil, refused to specify a reason, but hinted that it was related to politics.
Those who oppose Hindi as common language do not love India, claims Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday claimed that people who were opposed to making Hindi India’s national language did not love their country. He was speaking in support of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had last week alleged that Hindi was the only language that could unite the country.
Mamata Banerjee is an ‘opportunistic politician’, says BJP after she seeks to meet Narendra Modi
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday mocked Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after reports claimed that she had sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She is expected to meet him either on Tuesday evening or Wednesday. While the TMC said she wanted to discuss administrative matters, the BJP claimed she was trying to save herself from being investigated in the Saradha scam.
Ayodhya case: Mediators receive demands to resume talks, inform Supreme Court
A panel of mediators that failed to resolve the Ayodhya dispute earlier this year has apprised the Supreme Court of demands to resume the mediation process. The panel submitted a memorandum to a Constitution bench on Monday to seek directions on two such letters it has received. The Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, has been hearing the case on a daily basis since August 6 after the mediation panel said that it had failed in its effort.
Rajasthan: All six MLAs of Mayawati’s BSP join Congress, claim they want to fight communal forces
All the six MLAs of Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party in Rajasthan on Monday night wrote to state Assembly Speaker CP Joshi asking to merge the legislative party with Congress. The MLAs then joined the Congress. “The BSP MLAs met me and handed their letter about this,” Joshi said. The MLAs were identified as Rajendra Singh Gudha, Jogendra Singh Awana, Wajib Ali, Lakhan Singh Meena, Sandeep Yadav and Deepchand Kheria.
Uttarakhand will implement NRC if the need arises, says CM Trivendra Singh Rawat
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Monday said his administration will implement the National Register of Citizens if the need arises. Rawat is the fourth Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister – after Haryana’s Manohar Lal Khattar, Uttar Pradesh’s Adityanath and Manipur’s Biren Singh – to express such sentiments since the final NRC list was published in Assam on August 31. It excluded around 19 lakh individuals.
‘People use caste card when they fail to get ticket based on their work,’ says Nitin Gadkari
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said reservation was necessary for the progress of socially and economically backward classes, but reservation alone cannot ensure their complete development.
Donald Trump says he will meet Modi, Imran Khan soon; claims the two countries have ‘made progress’
United States President Donald Trump on Monday said he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan soon, and maintained that tensions between the countries over the Kashmir dispute has reduced.
Supreme Court expected to hear petitions of disqualified Karnataka MLAs today
The Supreme Court is expected to hear on Tuesday a batch of petitions filed by 17 MLAs from Karnataka challenging their disqualification from the Assembly. The resignations of these 17 leaders led to the collapse of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress government in July and the subsequent formation of the BJP government.
Motor Vehicles Act: Kerala asks Centre for clarification on new penalties, seeks reduction in fines
Kerala Transport Minister AK Saseendran on Monday wrote to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, and urged him to give flexibility to states to fix the penalties for violations of traffic rules prescribed under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 that has come into effect from September 1.
Raghuram Rajan’s ‘The Third Pillar’ on FT and McKinsey & Company’s shortlist for business book award
The Financial Times and McKinsey & Company on Monday released a shortlist for the 2019 Business Book of the Year Award. Six most influential business books, including former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan’s The Third Pillar, were shortlisted by eight judges.
Carlsberg India bribed government officials for favours between 2015 and 2016: Berlingske
Top executives at Danish brewery Carlsberg’s Indian subsidiary allegedly made cash payments under the table to government officials over a period of 18 months. The company launched a thorough audit in India after the revelation.
High Court stays UP government’s move to include 17 OBC communities in Scheduled Castes list
The Allahabad High Court on Monday stayed Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government’s decision to include 17 Other Backward Classes in the Scheduled Caste list. The High Court said the administration had not followed due process before taking the decision, adding that it should have been first cleared in the Parliament.