Top news: BJP, AAP and Congress trade barbs in the run-up to Delhi elections

Delhi elections: Narendra Modi is capable of selling Taj Mahal, Rahul Gandhi claims at poll rally

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party at a Delhi election rally. The national capital will go to the polls on February 8, and results will be declared three days later.

‘Pro-BJP wave giving some people sleepless nights’: PM Modi targets AAP at Delhi poll rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a dig at the Opposition, and said some people were losing their sleep because of the pro-Bharatiya Janata Party atmosphere in Delhi four days before the Assembly elections, ANI reported. Modi asserted that the election results, scheduled for February 11, were already clear.

Shaheen Bagh will be cleared of protestors once BJP wins Delhi polls, claims Anurag Thakur

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest site in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh locality would be cleared once the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power after the February 8 Assembly elections.

2012 Delhi gangrape case: Woman’s parents urge HC to swiftly rule on convicts’ execution

The parents of the woman who was brutally gangraped in 2012 in Delhi have appealed to the Delhi High Court to swifty deliver a ruling on the Centre’s plea against the stay on the execution of the four convicts, PTI reported. Death warrants for the convicts were first issued for January 22, then postponed to February 1 but now their execution has been put on hold, owing to their mercy pleas.

Inquiry into Jamia violence is at a crucial stage, Centre tells Delhi HC

The Centre told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that the investigation into the violence on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus on December 15 during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act was at a crucial stage. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, asked a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar for more time to submit a report on the investigation.

Budget 2020: Moody’s calls GDP growth estimate ‘ambitious’, given Indian economy’s challenges

Global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday said economic growth projections mentioned by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget for 2020-’21 appeared ambitious considering the structural and cyclical challenges the Indian economy is facing.

Delhi polls: ‘Name CM face by 1 pm tomorrow, I’m ready for debate,’ Arvind Kejriwal dares BJP

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party to name its chief ministerial candidate for the city-state by 1 pm on Wednesday. He said he was ready to debate with that person.

Raj Thackeray’s party threatens ‘Bangladeshi, Pakistani infiltrators’ with ‘MNS-style action’

Workers of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have put up posters in Maharashtra’s Raigad district warning “Pakistani and Bangladeshi intruders” of “MNS-style action” if they do not leave on their own. The posters have come up days before the party’s chief, Raj Thackeray, is scheduled to organise a rally in Mumbai on February 9.

NRC: No decision yet on conducting exercise nationwide, Centre tells Parliament

The Centre on Tuesday clarified that there are no plans for now to conduct a nationwide National Register of Citizens. The government also reiterated that no document will be collected during the National Population Register exercise. The exercise will be carried out across the country along with the house-listing phase of the Census 2021 from April 1 to September 30, 2020.

‘Never said a word against Gandhi, Nehru,’ says BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde amid Opposition uproar in LS

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anantkumar Hegde downplayed the controversy over his alleged remarks against Mahatma Gandhi saying that he was only trying to “categorise the freedom struggle”. The former Union minister kicked up a storm on Saturday after he told a gathering in Bengaluru that Gandhi’s efforts to get the country independence were a “drama”.

Novel coronavirus outbreak: India cancels all visas for those travelling from China

India on Tuesday cancelled all visas for travellers from China amid the novel coronavirus virus outbreak that originated in the country and has killed over 400 people. On Sunday, India had suspended the online visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners in China due to the outbreak.

One in 10 Indians likely to get cancer in their lifetime, one in 15 may die of it: WHO report

Around 11.6 lakh new cancer cases were reported in India in 2018, while 7.85 lakh people died of the disease, the World Health Organization said in a report released ahead of the World Cancer Day on Tuesday. One in 10 Indians are likely to develop the disease during their lifetime, while one in 15 will die of it, the report said.

Two top AirAsia executives step aside after budget airlines named in bribery scandal

Malaysia-based budget airlines AirAsia on Monday said that two of its top executives will step aside as several countries investigate a multi-billion dollar bribery scandal, reported AFP. There are allegations that Airbus paid $50 million (Rs 355 crore approximately) as sponsorship for a sports team owned by two unnamed AirAsia executives. In return, AirAsia bought 180 aircraft from Airbus.

Shaheen Bagh protests: BJP leader seeks urgent SC hearing to remove traffic restrictions

A Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Delhi has moved the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing to remove protestors from Shaheen Bagh area. The court on Tuesday asked the leader, Nand Kishore Garg, to approach its mentioning officer to get an early date of hearing for his petition, PTI reported.

Soldiers in Siachen, Ladakh short on essential gear, clothing and rations: CAG report

Soldiers deployed in high-altitude areas such as Siachen and Ladakh lack sufficient essential gear, clothing and rations, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India told Parliament on Monday. During the audit period of 2015-’16 to 2017-’18, troops had to use old items instead of being given new improved ones, while lack of special rations compromised their calorie intake by as high as 82%, the auditor found.

Indian curbs on palm oil imports are temporary, will be solved soon, says Malaysia

Malaysia on Tuesday said that India’s decision to cut back on its palm oil purchases was only temporary and will be resolved soon, Reuters reported. “Having long-standing bilateral ties, the two nations will overcome the current challenges, and prevail towards mutual and beneficial outcomes,” the Malaysian Palm Oil Council said in a statement, citing Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

Mumbai: 51 booked for sedition for pro-Sharjeel Imam slogans at queer pride march

The Mumbai Police have filed a sedition case against 51 persons, including activist Urvashi Chudawala, for allegedly chanting slogans in support of Jawaharlal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam at a queer pride parade on Saturday. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya had filed a case against those who chanted the slogans.

Seattle City Council passes resolution against CAA, NRC; says moves are discriminatory to Muslims

The Seattle City Council in the United States on Monday unanimously passed a resolution opposing India’s Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens. The resolution, introduced by Indian-American City Council member Kshama Sawant, asked the Indian Parliament to repeal the amended law and stop the National Register of Citizens. It asked India to uphold the Constitution and take steps towards helping refugees by ratifying various United Nations treaties.

Karnataka HC pulls up police for evicting ‘Bangladeshi migrants’, asks state to rehabilitate

Karnataka High Court on Monday pulled up the state police for razing more than 100 makeshift homes on a private land during an eviction drive in Kariyammana Agrahara, a locality in the suburb of Bellandur, reported The Indian Express. The police had alleged that the tenants were “illegal Bangladeshi migrants”.

Odisha: Daily wage worker issued Rs 2.59 lakh tax notice for alleged transaction worth Rs 1.5 crore

The Income Tax department has sent a notice seeking Rs 2.59 lakh as tax to a daily wage labourer in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district for an alleged transaction he made some years ago, IANS reported. “I have received a notice from the I-T Department, which asked me to pay Rs 2.59 lakh,” Sanadhara Gand, a resident of Purjaribharandi village, told the news agency. “I am clueless. How will I pay the tax amount?”

‘False narratives, hate-filled venom’: Watch Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra tear into BJP in Parliament

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday tore into the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha. She brought up the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the government’s treatment of dissenters in another fiery speech. Moitra said the BJP had betrayed citizens who voted who for them and was questioning the citizenship of the voters who had brought them to power.

Citizenship Act: Former IPS officer stopped from addressing protestors at Aligarh Muslim University

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday night detained former Indian Police Service officer Abdur Rahman, before he could address anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protestors at Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, PTI reported on Monday. The police, after detaining Rahman, a former Maharashtra special inspector general of police at the Lodha Police Station in Aligarh, brought him back to New Delhi.

Budget 2020: Nirmala Sitharaman accuses erstwhile UPA government of fudging fiscal deficit data

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asserted that the government will not fudge data on the fiscal deficit, alleging that the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance dispensation had done so, ANI reported. While presenting the Union Budget on February 1, Sitharaman had set the fiscal deficit target for 2020-’21 at 3.5% of the Gross Domestic Product.

Kerala declares coronavirus a ‘state calamity’ after third person tests positive

Kerala on Monday declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a “state calamity” hours after the third positive case of infection was reported from the state, NDTV reported. These are the only positive cases reported so far in India. The Kerala government took the decision after the apex committee of the State Disaster Management Authority met Chief Secretary Tom Jose in Thiruvananthapuram, The Hindu reported.

BJP issues show-cause notice to Anantkumar Hegde for remarks about Mahatma Gandhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday issued a show-cause notice to parliamentarian and former Union minister Anantkumar Hegde for his controversial comments about Mahatma Gandhi, PTI reported. The saffron party’s Karnataka President Nalin Kumar Kateel told PTI that the central leadership had objected to Hegde’s remarks and asked him to explain them. At a public event in state capital Bengaluru on Saturday, the MP had ridiculed Gandhi’s hunger strikes and satyagraha, and claimed India’s freedom struggle was a “drama”.

Jamia firing: Wrestler arrested for allegedly supplying weapon to teenage shooter

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested a wrestler for allegedly supplying a weapon to the teenager who shot a protestor outside Jamia Millia Islamia University on January 30, PTI reported. The police said the accused, Ajeet, is a resident of Sahajpura village in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district.

Sabarimala: Supreme Court to frame questions related to discrimination of women in religious places

A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday decided to frame the questions that would be adjudicated in the Sabarimala case after the lawyers involved failed to reach a consensus, Live Law reported. On January 13, the top court had given the lawyers three weeks to reach a consensus on the specific legal questions. However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the judges on January 28 that the lawyers could not reach a consensus during their meeting, and requested the court to frame the questions.

Nithyananda rape case: Karnataka Police claim religious leader is on ‘spiritual tour’

The Karnataka Police on Monday told the High Court that religious leader Nithyananda, who has absconded from India, is on a “spiritual tour”, Live Law reported. The police’s statement was in response to an order by the Karnataka High Court on January 31, to serve notice on Nithyananda in a petition seeking cancellation of bail granted to him. This is connection with a rape case against him from 2010.