Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that he never asked for the imposition of Hindi over other regional languages. “I had only requested for learning Hindi as the second language after one’s mother tongue,” Shah said.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ban on e-cigarettes and said it would issue an ordinance to this effect immediately. The move will ban the production, manufacturing, import and export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising of e-cigarettes.
‘I never advocated Hindi imposition’: Amit Shah asks critics to properly listen to his speech
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday claimed that he never asked for the imposition of Hindi over other regional languages. “I had only requested for learning Hindi as the second language after one’s mother tongue,” Shah said, according to ANI.
Shah’s remarks came days after his “Hindi as unifier” comment triggered a backlash in the southern states.
New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee meets PM Modi, discusses plan to rename West Bengal
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday. Addressing reporters after the meeting, Banerjee said she talked to Modi about the proposal to change the name of her state, and other matters.
Chennai techie death: DMK President MK Stalin calls for an end to ‘banner culture’ in Tamil Nadu
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President MK Stalin on Wednesday visited the family of a Chennai techie who was killed last week after a hoarding set up over a road divider fell on her, The Indian Express reported. Stalin also called for an end to the “banner culture” in the state and said his party had filed an affidavit in the Madras High Court on the matter.
Digvijaya Singh faces criminal defamation suit for his alleged ISI remark about BJP and Bajrang Dal
A criminal defamation case has been filed against Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for allegedly accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bajrang Dal of taking money from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency. A court in Delhi will hear the matter on October 9.
J&K detentions: Farooq Abdullah was not arrested till Sunday, says Union minister Prakash Javadekar
Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said that National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was detained under the Public Safety Act a few days ago, which meant that he was not under arrest till now. Abdullah was booked on Sunday night under the “public order” section of the Act, which provides for detention of six months without trial.
JNU sedition case: Delhi court asks AAP government to decide on prosecuting accused within a month
The Patiala House Court on Wednesday gave the Delhi government another month to decide on the sanction to prosecute former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leaders in a 2016 sedition case. The court said the time being taken to approve the prosecution had wasted judicial time.
E-cigarettes banned by government, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced that the Cabinet had approved the ban on e-cigarettes. “It means the production, manufacturing, import and export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertising related to e-cigarettes are banned,” she added.
Bombay High Court orders BMC to pay Rs 10 lakh to family of man who got sucked into MRI machine
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to pay an interim compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of a man who died last year after getting sucked into an Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine at a Mumbai hospital. The civic body runs the BYL Nair Hospital, where the incident took place.
‘In no country people are sent to gas chambers to die’: SC asks Centre about sewer workers’ deaths
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was concerned about people dying during manual scavenging and while cleaning sewers, observing that nowhere in the world do people get “sent to gas chambers to die”.
Mayawati accuses Congress of enabling communal forces after BSP MLAs switch parties in Rajasthan
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Wednesday accused the Congress of enabling communal forces in the country. Her attack continued two days after after all six of her MLAs in Rajasthan joined the Congress.
NGT rejects petition challenging implementation of odd-even scheme in Delhi in November
The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday rejected a petition challenging the implementation of the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme in the national Capital from November 4 to November 15.
Sponsored events abroad do not bring investors, says Priyanka Gandhi on economic slowdown
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday attacked the Narendra Modi government over the state of the economy and said managing headlines in the media will not help the country. In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming event in Houston, Texas, Gandhi in a tweet said: “Sponsored events in foreign countries do not bring investors. Investors have lost faith. Economic investment has lost ground.”
‘Dam filled for one person’: Medha Patkar criticises Modi after Narmada dam’s water level is raised
Social activist Medha Patkar on Tuesday said the grief of those affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam project was overshadowed by the birthday celebrations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, IANS reported.
NGT rejects petition challenging implementation of odd-even scheme in Delhi in November
The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday rejected a petition challenging the implementation of the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme in the national Capital from November 4 to November 15, PTI reported. The petition filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal claimed the Central Pollution Control Board in its assessment found that the air quality of Delhi had deteriorated more when the scheme was implemented in 2016.
Hindi row: Rajinikanth says common language is good but it can’t be imposed on anyone
Tamil actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Wednesday said no language can be imposed on people. He was responding to questions about Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment last week that Hindi was the only language that could unite the country.
Reinstate preferential trade treatment for India, 44 US lawmakers tell Trump administration
A group of 44 US lawmakers on Tuesday urged the Donald Trump administration to reinstate preferential trade treatment for India under the Generalized System of Preferences programme. The United States government had terminated the designation of India as a beneficiary developing country under the programme in June, claiming that India had not assured the US that it will “provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets”.
Assam: Petition filed in Supreme Court against exclusion of 2,000 transgenders from NRC final list
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the exclusion of around 2,000 transgenders from Assam’s National Register of Citizens, ANI reported. The state’s first transgender judge and petitioner Swati Bidhan Baruah said the NRC was not an inclusive exercise.
Ayodhya case: Mediation can continue alongside court hearings if parties want so, says SC
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the parties involved in the Ayodhya dispute were free to use the mediation route simultaneously, even as the Constitution bench continues hearing the matter. The top court went through expected timelines submitted by all parties to the case, and said that the arguments were likely to conclude by October 18.
Assam: Three sisters allegedly stripped, beaten up at police outpost, 2 police officials suspended
The Assam Police on Tuesday suspended two of its officials after three women filed a complaint alleging that they were stripped, kicked and beaten with lathis inside a police station in Darrang district. The women are sisters. One of them was pregnant and reportedly suffered a miscarriage because of the assault.
India’s remarks on PoK are ‘inflammatory and irresponsible’, can jeopardise region’s peace: Pakistan
Pakistan on Tuesday dismissed External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s comments on Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir as “inflammatory and irresponsible”. “We strongly condemn and reject the inflammatory and irresponsible remarks made by the Indian external affairs minister regarding Pakistan and AJK [Azad Jammu and Kashmir, or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir],” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said.
Kashmir politicians detained will be freed in less than 18 months: Union minister Jitendra Singh
Union minister Jitendra Singh has said political leaders detained in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre’s decision to revoke the state’s special status will be released in less than 18 months. He is the first senior functionary in the government to speak about how long the leaders might remain under detention for.
Jammu and Kashmir: Yashwant Sinha alleges he was ‘forcibly sent’ back to Delhi from Srinagar airport
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha was on Tuesday sent back to New Delhi from Srinagar by the Jammu and Kashmir administration after high drama at the airport. However, three associates of Sinha – Journalist Bharat Bhushan and civil society members Kapil Kak and Sushoba Bharve – were given permission to go to Srinagar.
Kashmir may not be a ‘major topic’ during upcoming Modi-Xi summit, bilateral ties on agenda: China
The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday said that Kashmir may not be “major topic” of discussion during the upcoming informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in India next month. The leaders are expected to focus more on broader picture of relationship between the countries and “strategic thinking”, the ministry said.
JNUSU elections: United Left wins all four central seats, SFI bags president post after 13 years
The United Left Panel, comprising the All India Students’ Association, Democratic Students’ Federation, Students’ Federation of India and the All India Students’ Federation, won all the four posts in the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union elections on Tuesday.
Tabrez Ansari lynching: IIM-B staff, students write to Narendra Modi, call for fresh inquiry
Staff members and students of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing shock and concern over Jharkhand Police’s handling of the Tabrez Ansari lynching case. The signatories called urged Modi to direct the state government to launch a fresh inquiry into the case.
J&K: ‘We are not terrorists’, says CPI(M) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami on Tuesday criticised the central government for detaining former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah under the Public Safety Act. Tarigami, who is the first political leader from the state to address a press conference, said “people across the border are clapping” that the Indian administration had done what they could not, referring to Pakistan.