Top news: 12-year-old girl stopped from trekking to Sabarimala temple by Kerala Police

JNU fee hike protest: Two FIRs filed against demonstrators by Delhi Police

The Delhi Police on Tuesday registered two first information reports in connection with the march that Jawaharlal Nehru University students held the day before in protest against the university administration’s recent hostel fee hike proposals. Students from a number of other colleges and universities also participated in the demonstrations.

Conduct social audit of 2019 Lok Sabha elections, group of ex-bureaucrats urges Election Commission

A group of former bureaucrats has written to the Election Commission of India, asking for a social audit of the last General Elections in order to establish its integrity and fairness. In a letter dated November 19, they cited various media reports to say that unauthorised private engineers had access to electronic voting machines and Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail, or VVPAT, machines. The VVPAT is a printer attached to voting machines that allows voters to verify that their ballots have been cast as intended.

Sabarimala restrictions: 12-year-old girl not allowed to trek to Kerala shrine

The Kerala Police on Tuesday stopped a 12-year-old girl from trekking to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple who after she arrived in the town of Pamba. The child, from Puducherry, was shown as 10 years old during online booking, the report said. But the police examined her identity card and found that she was 12. Her father and other relatives left her at a room in the Pamba base camp and proceeded to the temple.

Rajasthan municipal elections: Congress wins 26 of 49 local bodies

The Congress in Rajasthan on Tuesday registered massive victories in the recently-held elections to 49 municipal bodies. Of 17 municipal councils, the Congress won 11 and the Bharatiya Janata Party three. The other councils went to Independent candidates. Of the 29 municipalities, the Congress won 15, while the BJP won six and Independents eight. The BJP was ahead in all three municipal corporations of Bikaner, Udaipur and Bharatpur.

‘Tell us how BJP won 18 seats in Bengal’: Owaisi on Mamata Banerjee’s ‘extremist’ remark for AIMIM

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday responded to a veiled attack by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had on Monday appeared to refer to his party as “extremists among minorities”. Owaisi said it was not religious extremism to say that West Bengal’s Muslims have “one of the worst human development indicators of any minority”.

IIT-Madras suicide: Students call off fast after dean agrees to set up complaint redressal system

Two students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, who began a protest on Monday to demand an inquiry into a suicide on campus, ended their fast on the second day. Humanities student Fathima Latheef was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room on November 9.

Mumbai: 14-year-old raped and murdered, body found in Palghar; one arrested

The Mumbai police have arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly raping and killing a 14-year-old girl in October. The police produced the man, identified as Ajay Banvashi, in court on Monday. He was sent to police custody till November 25.

English naturalist, TV presenter David Attenborough to get Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019

English natural historian and television presenter David Attenborough will receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019. An international jury headed by former President Pranab Mukherjee selected him.

Mumbai and Kolkata account for over 50% of electoral bonds sold, shows RTI response

More than 50% of the electoral bonds sold so far were in Mumbai and Kolkata, the response to a Right to Information query revealed on Monday. Electoral bonds worth Rs 1,880 crore – or 30.6% of total electoral bonds sold – were issued in Mumbai and those worth Rs 1,440 crore, or 23.5%, were issued in Kolkata. The value of electoral bonds sold in 12 phases between March 2018 and this October was Rs 6,128 crore.

Maharashtra crisis: Shiv Sena accuses BJP of removing it from NDA without any discussion

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of removing it from the National Democratic Alliance without any discussion. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena said it was ready to take on the BJP, and that the people of Maharashtra will one day chant “Shiv Sena Zindabad”.

Winter Session: Venkaiah Naidu asks for review of marshals’ uniform after criticism

The Winter Session of the Parliament started on Tuesday with another round of protests similar to the first day. Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu asked the secretariat of the Upper House to revisit the dress code of the marshals, who got a new uniform to mark the 250th session. However, following criticism from former Army chiefs on Monday against the new military-style suit with caps, Naidu asked for a review of the uniform.

Rajasthan migratory bird deaths: Avian botulism suspected as toll rises to 17,000 in Sambhar Lake

Around 17,000 migratory birds have died so far around Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan reportedly due to botulism, a fatal illness that affects the nerves, PTI reported, citing a forest official. Jaipur, Nagaur and Ajmer districts of the state reported the deaths.

Farooq Abdullah was not detained in August: Lok Sabha Speaker defends Amit Shah

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday defended Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in August that National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was not detained at that time, the Hindustan Times reported. Abdullah is the Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar.

Former Army chiefs say new uniforms of Rajya Sabha marshals resemble those used by the force

Former Army chiefs on Monday criticised the change in the uniforms of marshals of the Rajya Sabha. The Winter Session of Parliament began on Monday, and Rajya Sabha marshals were seen wearing dark blue uniforms, with shoulder insignia, gold buttons and gold aiguillette – an ornament braided cord seen on Army uniforms, NDTV reported.

Kashmir: Pakistan foreign minister writes to UN again, asks it to reject bifurcation of state

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has written a letter to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Security Council President Karen Pierce, asking them to reject India’s decision to bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territories, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. The bifurcation came into effect on October 31.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Kishori Pednekar elected mayor unopposed

Shiv Sena’s Kishori Pednekar is set to become Mumbai’s 77th mayor on Friday after the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress did not field anyone. This may be the first time in 88 years that a candidate is elected unopposed, The Times of India reported on Tuesday.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea to raise tariffs from next month, first time in over a decade

Telecommunications services majors Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will raise their tariffs next month, for the first time in over a decade. The decision to revise the rates comes in the face of the two companies posting historic losses for the second quarter of 2019-’20: Rs 50,922 crore for Vodafone Idea and Rs 23,045 crore for Bharti Airtel. Vodafone Idea’s loss is the biggest in the history of India Inc.

Mughals intended to destroy Tripura’s cultural wonders by bombing them, claims Biplab Kumar Deb

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday claimed that Mughal emperors intended to destroy the cultural wonders of the state by “bombing them”. “Tripura has enough wonders still unknown to people, the Mughals intended to destroy the culture of Tripura by bombing its arts and architectures,” Deb said at an event in state capital Agartala. The chief minister, however, did not elaborate on his comment.

Citizenship Bill: Protests held across North East, Mamata Banerjee calls draft law a ‘trap like NRC’

Protests erupted across the North East on Monday against the Narendra Modi-led government’s decision to introduce the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill during the Winter Session of Parliament. The government has listed the Bill in its items of business for the session. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also lashed out at the Centre during an event in Cooch Behar district, saying the Bill was a trap.

J&K: Four soldiers and two porters killed in Siachen avalanche

Four soldiers and two porters were killed after an avalanche hit Army posts at Northern Siachen glacier around 3.30 pm on Monday. The soldiers were part of an eight-member patrol party, and were reportedly on their way to rescue a soldier who had fallen ill at a forward post.

Religare case: Delhi court extends ED custody of ex-Ranbaxy promoter Malvinder Singh till Saturday

A court in Delhi on Monday allowed the Enforcement Directorate five more days of custodial interrogation of former Ranbaxy promoter Malvinder Singh and former chairman-cum-managing director of Religare Enterprises Limited Sunil Godhwani in a money laundering case. The two were in judicial custody after they were arrested last month along with three others by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police for alleged diversion of Religare Finvest Limited funds and for losses to the tune of Rs 2,397 crore.

Parliament: Modi hails Rajya Sabha’s role as 250th session begins; uproar over J&K detentions in LS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the Rajya Sabha is an institution that provides checks and balances in India’s democracy, but there is a distinction between “checking and clogging” – a reference to disruptions in previous sessions. Meanwhile, Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha criticised the Centre for the detention of National Conference leader and sitting Lok Sabha MP Farooq Abdullah in Jammu and Kashmir since the region’s special status was revoked in August.

Maharashtra crisis: Sharad Pawar meets Sonia Gandhi, but no final outcome yet

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, who met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday, said after the meeting that the two parties will hold more discussions on forming a government in Maharashtra. The meeting was held to finalise the fate of the state’s political situation. The two leaders met for about 50 minutes at Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence in the national Capital.

Growth slowdown is a result of climate of fear and a loss of trust in institutions: Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday blamed a climate of fear, helplessness and loss of trust and confidence in public institutions such as the media and the judiciary for the economic slowdown. In an opinion article published by The Hindu, the former prime minister said this was a “self-inflicted economic wound”.

Delhi water quality: Kejriwal dismisses Centre’s report, says can’t judge with just 11 samples

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed a study in which water samples from the city failed quality tests was “false and politically motivated”. The study, conducted by the Bureau of Indian Standards, found that Delhi had the most unsafe water among 21 major Indian cities.

Congress links electoral bonds to money laundering after report claims Centre ignored RBI’s advice

The Congress on Monday claimed that electoral bonds had become instruments of anonymous political funding “bordering on opaque money laundering”. The Opposition party made the remark after a report in HuffPost India revealed that the Centre had ignored the Reserve Bank of India’s suggestion to not launch electoral bonds, which allow political parties to receive funds anonymously.