Top news: Shiv Sena claims Maharashtra government will be formed in six days

Walayar sisters’ rape-murder: Kerala government moves HC against acquittals

The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government on Wednesday filed an appeal in the High Court to challenge the acquittal of the three accused in the alleged sexual assault and murder of two minor sisters in Palakkad district in 2017.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut protests against Rajya Sabha seat change, says formally not out of NDA yet

Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday wrote to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, complaining that his seat in the House had been changed to humiliate him and deliberately hurt the party’s sentiments.

EU MPs’ Kashmir trip a ‘private visit’, they wanted to understand impact of terrorism: Home ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday told the Parliament that the delegation of 23 European Union MPs who visited Kashmir last month were on a “private visit” on the invitation of Delhi-based think tank International Institute for Non-aligned Studies. Samajwadi Party MP Sukhram Singh Yadav had asked the ministry a series of questions about the October 30 visit.

‘Delhiites deeply scared’: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari writes to Kejriwal about panic over drinking water

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday wrote to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying that people were “deeply scared” of the city’s drinking water, which a Bureau of Indian Standards study found to be the most unsafe among 21 major Indian cities. Kejriwal had on Monday called the study “false and politically motivated”.

Sabarimala: SC asks Kerala government to frame separate law for the temple’s administration

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Kerala government to frame a separate law on the administration of the Sabarimala temple, PTI reported. This came a week after a five-judge Constitution bench ruled that a larger bench should again consider the matter of the entry of women of all ages into the temple.

Watch: BJP leader Vijay Jolly dragged out of summit for disrupting Pakistan leader’s speech on J&K

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Jolly had to be escorted out by security personnel at the Asia Pacific Summit in Cambodia on Tuesday after he tried to interrupt a speech by a Pakistani legislator on the Kashmir matter. Jolly is a former member of the Delhi Assembly.

BHU protests against Muslim professor’s appointment to Sanskrit department continues for 12th day

Protests continued against the appointment of a Muslim professor in the Sanskrit department of the Benaras Hindu University in Uttar Pradesh, NDTV reported on Wednesday. A group of 30 students have held a sit-in protest for the past 12 days in front of the university vice-chancellor’s office, calling for a replacement for Professor Firoz Khan, whose appointment was announced earlier this month.

Public sector banks reported more frauds in first half of FY20 than in entire FY19, shows data

Public sector banks reported 5,743 cases of fraud in the first half of the ongoing financial year, involving Rs 95,760 crore, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. This is much higher than the cases the Reserve Bank of India reported in state-run banks in the full 2018-’19 year – 3,766 cases involving Rs 64,509 crore.

Sensex hits fresh record high during intra-day trade led by telecom stocks

The BSE Sensex hit a fresh record high during intra-day trade on Wednesday led by a surge in shares of Reliance Industries Ltd, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd.

Maharashtra crisis: Shiv Sena says government will be formed in five to six days

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that the new government in Maharashtra will be in place before next week, reported PTI. “The process to form the government will complete in next 5-6 days and a popular and strong government will be formed in Maharashtra before December,” he said. “The process is going on.”

PMC Bank officials used special codes to hide HDIL’s stressed loan accounts, RBI tells court

The Reserve Bank of India told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that an annual inspection of the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank had revealed that some bank officials manipulated with its core banking system to hide fraudulent loan accounts of real estate developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited, the Hindustan Times reported.

Parliament: Situation in Kashmir normal, authorities to decide on restoring internet, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the decision on restoring internet connections in Kashmir will be taken by the Union Territory’s authorities. He added that banks, courts and government offices as well as TV channels and landlines were operating properly in the region.

JNU protest: Students allegedly stopped from protesting outside police headquarters

Members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Visually Challenged Students Forum were on Wednesday stopped from going to the new police headquarters to protest against the alleged lathicharge on protesting students on Monday, reported PTI. The varsity students have been protesting for the last three weeks against the university’s decision to revise hostel fees,

New CJI must restore SC’s credibility urgently, court needs to show some spine: Retired judge

Former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur on Tuesday said that new Chief Justice of India SA Bobde has the task of restoring the top court’s credibility and stature urgently. In an article in the Hindustan Times, Lokur wrote that Bobde had to tackle problems in the judiciary with “utmost urgency, dispassionately and with the assistance of all stakeholders”.

INX Media case: Supreme Court asks ED to reply to P Chidambaram’s bail plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the Enforcement Directorate’s response to a bail plea filed by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media Case by November 25, reported Bar and Bench. The bench of Justices R Banumathi, AS Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy said it will hear the matter next on November 26.

UP: Anand Bhawan, where Indira Gandhi was born, gets tax notice of Rs 4.35 crore

The Prayagraj Municipal Corporation in Uttar Pradesh has sent a house tax notice to Anand Bhawan, the place where former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was born, The Times of India reported on Wednesday. Anand Bhawan is also the ancestral home of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The corporation has sought dues of Rs 4.35 crore, including tax arrears pending since 2003. Anand Bhawan is run by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Trust, headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Rs 2,000 note is main denomination for hoarding of unaccounted income, assets, says Centre

The Rs 2,000 note has been the main denomination for hoarding of unaccounted income and assets, The Hindu reported on Tuesday referring to a reply by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha.

Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that an analysis of the search cases involving cash seizures of more than Rs 5 crore revealed that 67.91% of the cash was in the form of Rs 2,000 notes in 2017-’18, 65.93% in 2018-’19, and 43.22% in the 2019-’20 financial years. However, the data also implies that the percentage of Rs 2,000 notes found by the Income Tax Department in cash seizures has been on the decline.

Maharashtra crisis: Ahead of Congress-NCP meeting today, Sharad Pawar to meet PM Modi

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar will on Wednesday meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, to discuss the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra, where President’s Rule was imposed on November 12. The two leaders will meet at Parliament in the afternoon. Pawar’s meeting with Modi comes at a time when there is a political crisis in Maharashtra, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena failing to form the government despite a pre-poll alliance.

Jharkhand: JD(U) to support Saryu Roy, who will contest against CM Raghubar Das as an Independent

The Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday pledged support to former Jharkhand minister Saryu Roy, who is contesting as an Independent candidate against Chief Minister Raghubar Das in the upcoming Assembly elections. Roy’s name had not featured in the candidate lists that the Bharatiya Janata Party had released.

New Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to visit India on November 29

New Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will visit New Delhi on November 29, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said after meeting him in Colombo on Tuesday. “President @GotabayaR has accepted PM @narendramodi ’s invitation to visit India on 29th November,” Jaishankar tweeted after meeting the new Sri Lankan president.

SC tells Centre to decide on permanent commission to women in Army retrospectively

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Centre to take a decision on providing permanent commission to eight women officers who had approached the top court in 2010 against a law that allows them to serve in the Army for 14 years only. The Centre has since granted permanent commission to women officers, but left out the eight women who had first approached the court.

Rajinikanth endorses Kamal Haasan’s statement, says they may join hands in politics if required

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Tuesday endorsed fellow actor Kamal Haasan’s statement that the two could come together politically for the benefit of Tamil Nadu, if such a situation arose. “Rajini and I will travel together if there is a need for Tamil Nadu’s development,” Haasan told reporters earlier on Tuesday.

Delhi: BJP alleges Rs 100-crore scam in AAP government’s streetlight scheme, files CBI complaint

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation after alleging there were irregularities in the procurement of 2.1 lakh LED street lights by the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. Delhi BJP legislators met CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla, and demanded an investigation into the alleged scam that they claimed was worth Rs 100 crore.

JNU files contempt plea against agitating students and police in Delhi High Court

Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday approached the Delhi High Court, seeking contempt proceedings against students and the police for allegedly violating the court’s August 2017 order banning protests within 100 metres of the institution’s administrative block. This came a day after hundreds of students were stopped from marching towards Parliament to protest against the university’s decision to hike hostel fees.