Top news: ‘No matter who protests, CAA will not be revoked,’ says Amit Shah

Ashok Chavan allegedly claims Congress aligned with Sena after Muslims insisted BJP be kept out

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday lashed out at Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan after he reportedly said his party took the approval of Muslims before aligning with the Shiv Sena in the state to stop the saffron party from returning to power.

After Akali Dal, Dushyant Chautala’s JJP says it will not contest Delhi Assembly elections

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and Jannayak Janta Party chief Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday announced that his party will not contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The party had helped the Bharatiya Janata Party form a government in Haryana last year. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Chautala said the party would not field candidates because of a problem with its desired election symbol.

Nepal: Eight tourists from Kerala die due to suspected gas leak at resort

Eight Indian tourists, including four minors, from Kerala died in Nepal after they fell unconscious due to a suspected gas leak from a heater in their room at a resort in Makwanpur district. They were part of a group of 15 tourists. The tourists were pronounced dead on arrival after they were airlifted to HAMS hospital in Kathmandu.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad can now enter Delhi as court modifies bail order

A Delhi court on Tuesday modified the conditions of the bail granted to Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad in the Daryaganj violence case, and allowed him to enter the city for medical treatment and election purposes. However, the court said that when he comes to Delhi, Azad would have to inform the deputy commissioner of the police’s crime division about his visit and schedule, and stay at the address mentioned in his application.

CAA: Amit Shah says law will remain, challenges Opposition leaders to a discussion

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Citizenship Amendment Act will not be withdrawn, amid ongoing protests against the legislation. Addressing a rally in Lucknow, as part of the government’s outreach programme on the amended citizenship law, Shah said, “Let me say this here and now, this law will not be withdrawn, no matter who protests.”

Mangaluru CAA protest: Police used communal slurs, fired at innocent civilians, finds tribunal

Civilians who had no connection with the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act were subjected to indiscriminate lathicharge and police firing in Mangaluru on December 19, said a report by a People’s Tribunal. The tribunal has recommended a probe by a judicial commission of inquiry into the “extra-judicial killings” during the firing. Two people – 49-year-old Jaleel Kudroli, and 23-year-old Nausheen – were killed.

Delhi polls: JD(U) leader Pavan Varma opposes alliance with BJP, seeks clear stand from Nitish Kumar

Janata Dal (United) national spokesperson Pavan Varma on Tuesday wrote another critical letter to his party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, this time opposing his decision to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Delhi Assembly elections. He claimed Kumar had continued to hold apprehensions against the BJP in private even after returning as an ally in Bihar in 2017, and hence the decision had “deeply perplexed” him.

Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes bill for 3 capital cities; Chandrababu Naidu and 17 MLAs detained

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Monday night passed a legislation to give shape to the government’s plan to build three capitals in the state amid protests by farmers and Opposition leaders, PTI reported. The situation in the state has been tense since last month, when Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy declared that the state would have three capitals – the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati, and judicial capital in Kurnool.

JNU violence: HRD minister says demands to sack VC Jagadesh Kumar are not reasonable

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on Tuesday said the Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ demand to remove the university’s Vice Chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar, was not reasonable. He claimed that the basic demands of the students regarding the increase in hostel fees had been met.

Protest watch: Digvijaya Singh visits Shaheen Bagh even as police again urge protestors to disperse

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday met protestors at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, which has become a major centre of continuous protests since last month against the amendments to the Citizenship Act, the proposed National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register. Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act began across the country after it was passed in Parliament in December. On Monday, protests were again held in several places, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Re-examine Speaker’s powers to disqualify lawmakers, Supreme Court tells Parliament

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Parliament should consider having an independent and permanent body to decide disqualification petitions against lawmakers, instead of the Speaker, who belongs to a political party. The court cited certain recent cases to point out that the independence of the Speaker was being questioned time and again. The bench said it was time for the Parliament to revisit the rationale in giving exclusive powers to the Speaker in the interest of more fairness in the procedure.

Rajinikanth refuses to apologise for his remarks on Periyar

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Tuesday refused to apologise for allegedly defaming social reformer “Periyar” EV Ramasamy. Rajinikanth, who is facing a police complaint for his comments, said his remarks were based on news reports he had read.

Shaheen Bagh: Women send defamation notice to BJP IT cell chief for alleging protestors were paid

The women protestors of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi have sent a defamation notice to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Information Technology Cell chief Amit Malviya for his allegations that they were paid to demonstrate against the Citizenship Amendment Act, India Today reported on Monday. The legal notice, which was sent by the office of advocate Mehmood Pracha, demanded an apology and Rs 1 crore in damages from the BJP leader.

Zomato buys Uber’s food delivery business in India for $350 million

Food delivery company Zomato on Tuesday acquired competitor Uber Eats in an all-stock deal for an estimated $350 million (Rs 2,485 crore), reported The Economic Times. With the acquisition, Uber will cease to operate its food delivery business in India, and will get a 9.99% stake in Zomato. Zomato said Uber Eats will direct restaurants, delivery partners and users in India to the Zomato platform from Tuesday. However, Zomato will not take Uber Eats employees in the transition. Around 100 executives will either be reallocated to Uber’s other verticals in the country or laid off.

‘Prepare for attack on Gita Gopinath’: Chidambaram warns after IMF cuts India’s growth figures

Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday warned the International Monetary Fund and its chief economist Gita Gopinath of attacks by government ministers, a day after the agency slashed India’s growth forecast.

Shaheen Bagh: Women send defamation notice to BJP IT cell chief for alleging protestors were paid

The women protestors of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi have sent a defamation notice to Bharatiya Janata Party’s Information Technology Cell chief Amit Malviya for his allegations that they were paid to demonstrate against the Citizenship Amendment Act, India Today reported on Monday.

Zomato buys Uber’s food delivery business in India for $350 million

Food delivery company Zomato on Tuesday acquired Uber’s online food-ordering business in India in an all-stock deal, The Economic Times reported. The deal value is estimated at around $350 million (Rs 2,485).

Bengaluru: Demolition of huts of ‘illegal Bangladeshis’ was unauthorised, says civic body

The Bengaluru civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, has confirmed that the recent demolition of more than 100 makeshift homes during an eviction drive in Kariyammana Agrahara, a locality in the suburb of Bellandur, was unauthorised, The News Minute reported on Tuesday.

CAA: UP Police book Lucknow women protesters on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly

Three criminal cases have been filed against protestors at an indefinite sit-in against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Lucknow’s iconic clock tower, NDTV reported on Tuesday. They have been accused of rioting and unlawful assembly.

In the police complaints, more than 135 unidentified protesters have also been accused of “disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant”, “assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty”, reported The Hindu. Among the dozen people named by the Lucknow Police include Sumaiya Rana and Fauzia Rana – the two daughters of renowned Urdu poet and Sahitya Akademi Award winner Munnawar Rana.

IMF will factor in anti-CAA protests in next assessment for India, says Gita Gopinath

The International Monetary Fund will take into account the widespread protests against the amended citizenship law and the proposed National Register of Citizens in its the next assessment for India in April, organisation’s chief economist Gita Gopinath told NDTV on Monday. She added that the world body will track the ongoing protests in which 26 people have been killed so far.

‘Constitutionally wrong’: Lawyers read out Preamble outside Bombay High Court to protest against CAA

A group of lawyers on Monday assembled outside the Bombay High Court to read out the Preamble to the Indian Constitution in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, PTI reported. Over 50 lawyers, including senior counsels Navroz Seervai, Gayatri Singh and Mihir Desai, read out the Preamble together. They said no one can divide the country and its citizens on the basis of religion. The lawyers said the amended citizenship law was “constitutionally wrong”.

Jammu and Kashmir: Only 5 out of 36 Union ministers to visit three districts in Valley from today

Only five out of 36 Union ministers will be visiting Kashmir from Tuesday as part of the Centre’s outreach programme, PTI reported. This is the first time Union ministers are visiting the region since the August 5 decision to amend Article 370 of the Constitution and split the region into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Delhi elections: BJP’s Sunil Yadav to fight against Arvind Kejriwal

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday released its second list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi. It has fielded Yuva Morcha President Sunil Yadav from the New Delhi seat against Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal. The polls for all 70 seats in Delhi will be held on February 8, and the results will be announced on February 11.

Delhi: Akali Dal says it will not contest elections due to differences with BJP over Citizenship Act

The Shiromani Akali Dal on Monday said it would not contest the Delhi Assembly elections, PTI reported. Rajouri Garden MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa said ally Bharatiya Janata Party had asked the Akali Dal to reconsider its opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act during three poll-related meetings held in connection with the polls. “During our meeting with the BJP, we were asked to reconsider our stand on CAA but we declined to do so,” the Akali Dal leader added. “Shiromani Akali Dal is of the firm stand that Muslims cannot be left out of CAA.”

Mallya petition: Before recusing himself, SC judge says businessman has not repaid ‘a single penny’

Supreme Court judge Rohinton Nariman on Monday recused himself from hearing businessman Vijay Mallya’s plea against confiscation of his assets. However, before recusing himself, Nariman told Mallya’s counsel that Kingfisher Airlines, the defunct company that Mallya owned, had not repaid the money owed to banks. A bench of Justices RF Nariman and S Ravindra Bhat observed that the businessman had not deposited a “single penny” in the banks yet, PTI reported.

Opposition is spreading lies and confusion despite being rejected at elections: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lashed out at Opposition parties on Monday, accusing them of spreading confusion and lies about his government despite being rejected by people in elections, PTI reported. The prime minister made the remark at a function in New Delhi where new Bharatiya Janata Party National President Jagat Prakash Nadda was felicitated.