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Ahead of UP polls,Sonia in Modi's turf

  Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday launched her party's campaign for the 2017 UP Assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency.  She is being accompanied by a feisty throng of 10,000 bikers. Congress poll campaign in the politically crucial Hindi heartland state goes with the punch line 27 saal, UP Behal (No progress in UP for 27 years). Most posters and banners has this catchphrase. Flanked by senior leaders of her party, Mrs Gandhi will set off on a 6.4 km road showthrough the city post-lunch in an open mini truck and will address a rally at the end of it.  She will also visit the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple in the evening before leaving for Delhi. Raj Babbar and the Congress' chief ministerial candidate for the state Sheila Dikshit are accompanying Mrs Gandhi as is Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Congress leader in charge of UP.    "Yes we need a chamatkaar (miracle) in Uttar Pradesh but it has happened in the past too, even 2014 was a miracle for our opponents and we are hoping there will be a miracle this time too," said Mr Babbar whose party hopes to reverse its trend of placing last in recent elections in the state. Recently soon after Sheila and a host of other senior leaders concerned with UP campaign were packed in a bus to Kanpur, a yatra flagged off by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Sheila Dikshit had fallen sick and had to return to her Delhi home for rest and medical check-up.

Gujarat CM Anandiben submits resignation

  In a sudden turn of events, Gujarat's Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, on Monday in a Facebook post offered her resignation citing that she will turn 75 in November  and if a new incumbent steps in now, he/she will get enough time to prepare for the upcoming elections in Gujarat, as well as important events like Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017. Anandiben Patel maintained that her decision to resign came as she will soon turn 75 - an unwritten age cap the PM imposed in the BJP for the top positions.   Patel had been Modi’s protégé when he left the state - projected as a development success story - in her hands in 2014, when he moved to the Centre as PM. She had been in BJP government since 1998. She was Gujarat’s first woman chief minister, who succeeded Modi on May 22, 2014. But Patel's standing weakened after a series of caste-driven protests, which could be politically damaging for Modi. They have also disrupted parliamentary proceedings and may affect state elections in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh in 2017. Shortly after Gujarat Chief Minster Anandiben Patel offered to quit her position thatthe Opposition geared up its guns to knock down BJP’s strategies. While Arvind Kejriwal believes that the growing popularity of AAP has made Patel resign,Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi thinks that Patel is a scapegoat, who is being sacrificed by BJP.

Modi asks Narsingh to concentrate on Olympics!

  Giving a clean chit to wrestler Narsingh Yadav in doping case the National Anti-Doping Association (NADA) on Monday and allowed him to participate in the Rio Olympics. This comes as a huge relief to the wrestler who was embroiled in a controversy over testing positive for a banned substance just before going to the Olympics as India's medal hope. A panel of the NADA, reviewing Narsingh’s case, said the wrestler is a victim of sabotage as there is no fault and negligence on his part. “There is no fault and negligence on Narsingh Yadav’s part, he is a victim of sabotage done by a competitor,” said NADA DG Naveen Agarwal while reading out the verdict.   “We kept in mind that in the past, till June 2, none of his samples were positive. It was inconceivable that one-time ingestion would be of benefit. Therefore the panel is of the view that the one-time ingestion was not intentional,” said Agarwal. Narsingh Yadav met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today Speaking after the meeting, Narsingh said, "The Prime Minister gave his best wishes to me and asked me to be carefree and participate in Olympics without any tension. He asked me to focus on winning medals for the country. He also assured me that no injustice will be done to me," Yadav said after the meeting.

Guntur: Mother-in-Law gifts toilet to bride

  Paving way for more awareness and sensitivity towards the issue of providing a toilet for every women and making them feel more safe for their needs, a Guntur woman has become a person to look up to. "I never had access to a toilet in my father's home, nor in my in-laws' home," Shamsun, a resident of Bollavaram village in Guntur. She proved to be an ideal mother in law to her son's wife when she made sure she builds a toilet for her as a gift to spare her from going out for her needs.  "I cannot even talk about the monsoon months and the hardships that the season represented for us women - to answer nature's call."   Shamsun once felt particularly humiliated when a Dubai-based relative of hers refused to visit her home because it didn't have a toilet. Shamsun decided to have one built before her son's wedding. She pooled together a government incentive with Rs. 4,000 of her own money to finance its construction. Her entire family now uses the facility. "I do not want to put her health at risk," Shamshun is quoted as saying about her daughter-in-law - Shalma - who is now pregnant. She also plans to ask Shalma's family to build a toilet, for their daughter's sake and for their own. This is one huge step forward to make India open defecation free very soon.

Secunderabad building collapses killing 2

  A building in Secunderabad's Chilkalguda locality collapsed late on Monday night killing 2 people. Local police sources said the building was an old one and had been marked as unsafe for living. The building is said to have collapsed due to heavy rain in the region. Meanwhile rescue operations were under way and injured were given medical assistance. 5 were injured in this mishap. The police said initial reports of the collapse came in at around 10:30 p.m. on Monday. They also said they immediately sent their own rescue teams and the fire service personnel to assess the situation and find out if anyone was trapped under the debris of the building. They worked throughout the night to ensure that this was not the case.   They said the building had been marked as unsafe to live in, with local authorities having warned those residing in or operating out of the building that it was in danger of collapsing any time. Despite that, people lived in the upper floors of the building and there were shops in the ground floor. Monday's late night incident comes just over a week after two people were killed in Film Nagar in Hyderabad when a construction slab of an under-construction building collapsed from several storeys up, bringing down several people with it.

3000 from AP left with no food or job in Saudi

  In the ongoing crisis in Saudi Arabia, it has come to light now that nearly 3,000 migrants from Andhra Pradesh were among the Indians left jobless and stranded in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. More than 10,000 Indian citizens who have gone to Saudi Arabia for work are in a grim situation. Indian government is rushing aid to 10,000 of its citizens in Saudi Arabia who are running short of food after losing their jobs. "I assure you that no Indian worker rendered unemployed in Saudi Arabia will go without food," Swaraj said on Twitter. She said more than 10,000 Indians in the country were facing a "food crisis" and dispatched one of her deputies to the country.   Minister for Non-Resident Indians (NRI) affairs Palle Raghunath Reddy on Monday wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, seeking her intervention and urged her to issue necessary instructions to officials of Indian embassies in those countries to provide food and shelter to the stranded. He said necessary steps may be initiated to bring them back by providing free travel and necessary visa documents at the earliest. There are roughly 3 million Indians employed in Saudi Arabia, which depends on foreign workers to fill jobs in its services, manufacturing and construction sectors.

Opposition calls for Bandh in AP for special status

  In the wake of protests in the state demanding for a special status for Andhra Pradesh, the opposition parties in the state have called for a bandh today. YSR Congress Party has called AP bandh today. This comes a day after members from TDP and YSR Congress had virtually joined hands in the Lok Sabha to demand special category status for Andhra Pradesh. As soon as the House met for the day, members of the YSR Congress trooped into the Well holding placards and raising slogans seeking special category status for the state.   YSR Congress party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had said the BJP led NDA ally TDP also failed to impress upon the Centre in achieving special status to the residue state of Andhra Pradesh. Leaders and activists who have been trying to stop APSRTC buses and other vehicles have been taken into custody at Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Tirupati and here. Activists disrupted bus services in Prakasam district. YSRCP leaders Mustafa and Lella Appireddy were taken into custody while they were trying to enforce bandh in Guntur city. The bandh is being supported by the left parties as well. Meanwhile the ruling party TDP is also looking to increase the pressure on the centre to meet its demands for a special status for the state.

Nitish brings in stricker Liquor law in Bihar

  The Nitish Kumar government is bringing in several amendments to tighten the prohibition law in Bihar, including one that will make culpable all adults of a family if any member is found drinking, possessing or selling liquor from the premises they occupy. The bill also puts toddy in the category of country liquor and makes tapping of toddy as serious an office as preparation of country liquor. The amendments to the bill were tabled in the assembly on Friday and will be taken up for discussion on Monday. Other stringent changes being made to the law include provisions to confiscate property and impose collective penalty on a village or town.   The government’s bid to reach out to the opposition assumes considerable significance as the BJP has decided to boycott the bill over its “draconian nature”. Sushil Kumar Modi said the BJP was never opposed to prohibition, but it did not like the stringent measures the proposed act envisages.  A team of parliamentary affairs minister Shravan Kumar, excise minister Abdul Jalil Mastan and art and culture minister Shiv Chandra Ram called on senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and ex-CM and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi.

After 100 water trains to Latur, Tap water arrives!

  Last weekend saw Latur, in Maharastra breath a sigh of relief as there was a severe drought last summer in the district. The downpour is set to revive tap water supply in the parched city , which was depending on the water trains from Miraj for its daily supply. Up to 110 mm rainfall was recorded over the next four hours. At some places, it was up to 70 mm rain. Following the heavy rain, key Sai and Nagzari barrages had copious amount of water. At a joint meeting of the local district administration and the Latur civic body on Sunday, it was decided to restart the water supply through taps, which had rundry for more than six months now.   Latur city, which has a population of nearly 4 lakh, last received drinking water through taps in the second week of February. Latur district received around 68.2mm rain in the 24 hours from 8.30am on Saturday , the highest for this season. “You can say that Latur’s water problem is almost over,” Latur Municipal Commissioner Sudhakar Telang said. The administrations have decided to lift 20 millions litres of water daily from Nagzari barrage and Sai barrage for drinking water supply through pipelines.

Chances of Finding AN-32 were always remote

  With hope of finding the missing IAF AN-32 fading, new pieces of information are coming to light. Those involved in the search for the missing Antonov 32 aircraft are beginning to raise a fundamental point - does AN-32 have systems on board to help rescuers locate and salvage if it were to crash at sea. "There is no device on AN-32 which can emit such acoustic signals," said a senior planner deployed in the search. When asked why, he explained that AN-32 was not an aircraft which primarily flew over the sea for operations.   The absence of this beacon raises serious questions like why the Indian Air Force was operating an aircraft over maritime areas without installing systems which would have allowed wreckage to have been located underwater in the event of such a crash. The locator devices on board AN-32 can emit electromagnetic signals/transmission using devices like the fixed Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) or Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) on rubber boats and vests. The ill-fated flight had 50 life vests and 10 boats. Unfortunately, these signals won't travel in water to be picked up by a sensor or submarine. "They are designed to function at the surface, say if they float, come in touch with water, but not underwater especially at a depth like 3500m where we suspect the plane has crashed," he explained.

Chorus from parties grows for AP special status

  The chorus for the special status for the state of Andhra Pradesh is growing and it is evening uniting the ruling and opposition parties as well. Members from NDA partner TDP and opposition YSR Congress today virtually joined hands in Lok Sabha to demand special category status for Andhra Pradesh. TDP is unhappy at the Narendra Modi government for not providing the desired funds to the state after Telangana was carved out of it. members of the YSR Congress trooped into the Well holding placards and raising slogans seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Members of BJP-led ruling alliance partner TDP also stood in the aisles with larger placards and raising similar slogans.    Despite repeated reminders by the Speaker that placards are not allowed, members of the two parties continued to show banners and raise slogans throughout the Question Hour, which continued in the din. Just a couple of days ago, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has summoned party MPs for an emergency meeting to decide whether or not to continue in the NDA government. Amid the standoff between the centre and its key ally, at least two MPs of Telugu Desam Party today indicated that they were ready to resign (as Members of Parliament) to safeguard the interests of the state.

SC says no need to re-investigate Amit Shah

  In a big relief to the BJP party chief, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to permit social activist Harsh Mander to challenge Amit Shah's discharge in the Sohrabuddin encounter case. A bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan rejected the plea by Mander, who had challenged the Bombay High Court order rejecting his plea against the discharge of Amit Shah on the grounds of the former bureaucrat's locus standi to do so. In 2014, Mr Shah was found innocent of charges that he ordered the "fake encounter" that led to Sheikh being shot dead in 2005 by the police which reported to him as Home Minister of Gujarat.   A court in Mumbai ruled that there was no evidence against Mr Shah and that he had been included in the inquiry of Sheikh's death for political reasons. Former bureaucrat Harsh Mander had asked the Supreme Court to order that the 51-year-old politician's role be examined again. Judges today said that Mr Mander is "not even remotely connected with the case." They also stressed "Once he (Mr Shah) has been discharged, can he be continuously prosecuted?".

Sushma:Will ensure Indians in Jeddah get their dues

  Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, has said that she is personally monitoring the crisis in Jeddah and also that the  issue of food shortage faced by nearly 10,000 Indians rendered jobless in Saudi Arabia very seriously. The issue of food shortage faced by nearly 10,000 Indians rendered jobless in Saudi Arabia very seriously. She also told the house that the government is talking with Saudi authorities to ensure that those who haven't been paid their salaries by their employers for the last several months get the dues they deserve.   "I assure you that no Indian worker rendered unemployed in Saudi Arabia will go without food. I am monitoring the situation on hourly basis. I am satisfied to say this in the Parliament that ration (food packets) has been distributed to all the five camps for the next 10 days," said Sushma Swaraj. Low oil prices have forced the Saudi government to slash spending since last year, putting heavy pressure on the finances of local construction firms which rely on state contracts. As a result, some companies have been struggling to pay foreign workers and have laid off tens of thousands, including Indians, leaving many with no money for food let alone for tickets home.

BJP asks all its MPs to attend RS for GST bill

  The much in news Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill is to be tabled tomorrow in the parliament. And in view of this the BJP has askedall its Rajya Sabha MPs, asking them to be present in Parliament for the next three days. The ruling party which is in minority when it comes to numbers in Rajya Sabha, the numbers for the BJP are more favourable now than they were earlier, the GST is a Constitution amendment bill and requires the nod of at least 163 MPs in the 245-member Upper House. The crucial reform bill, India's biggest tax law since independence, has been listed for consideration and passage in the Upper House.   The NDA has 72 MPs; it also has the support of the SP with 19 MPs, BSP with six, JD(U)'s 10, NCP's five, RJD's three, TMC's 12, and the BJD's eight. The 60-memeber Congress and the AIADMK with 14 members are still hold the key. The government, including the finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been reaching out to opposition to support the bill and let it pass in the House when it is tabled tomorrow.

MP says she has threat to life;AIADMK sacks her

  After being given permission to speak in the Rajya Sabha after she raised the issue in the well of the House, Sasikala Pushpa, an AIADMKmember, was permitted to speak. "There is a threat to my life. I am being pressured to resign from my Constitutional position. Sir, please help me," she said and broke down. She also alleged that she was under pressure to quit from the Upper House. Kurien then asked her to write to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President,Hamid Ansari, about the alleged threat to her life and assured her the House's support.   Minutes after her assertion, the AIADMK announced that she was expelled from the party for 'bringing a bad name' to the party by slapping DMK MP Tiruchi Siva. In a brief statement, Jayalalithaa said that Pushpa was being expelled from all party posts, including primary membership, as she had acted in violation of the party principles and ethics. "Her behaviour has brought great disrepute to the party," she said. Jayalalithaa has also asked party supporters not to have any truck henceforth with the Thoothukudi based Rajya Sabha MP.

SC asks ex-CMs to vacate Govt houses

  While sending a strong message to the former Chief Ministers of the states, the Supreme court today asked the former CMs to vacate the government accommodation. "Any such possession of government accommodation should be vacated within two months," the SC said in an order on Monday ruling on a petition filed by NGO Lok Prahari. A dead line of two months has been issued to 6 ex-CMs of Uttar Pradesh including Samajwadi party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP Chief Mayawati to empty the Government owned bungalows under their procession.   Six former chief ministers NDTiwari, Kalyan Singh, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Rajnath Singh and Ram Naresh Yadav- have been given government accommodation in UP. This comes as a significant ruling on VVIP encroachment on government properties. A Lucknow-based NGO had filed this petition and it had been pending with the Supreme Court. The court had reserved its order for 20 months. But now, with the Supreme Court cracking its whip, this ruling that is specific to Uttar Pradesh as of now, can also be invoked for other states.

Man jumps from 25,000 feet without parachute

  Luke Aikins, 42, a daredevil skydiver just made history. He has become the first person to jump 25,000 feet without a parachute. During the two-minute free fall that was aired live on television, he reached the speed of as extreme as 193km/h. A veteran of 18,000 jumps, completed the stunt without mishap, landing almost in the middle of the 100ft by 100ft net. Takingonly a few moments to regain his composure, Mr Aikins came out ofthe net and immediately jumped into the arms of his very relieved wife, Monica.  Members of the family and a crowd of well-wishers watched it into from an improvised spectator stand in the California desert.     He almost had to cancel his epic jump because he was ordered to wear a parachute for safety and this would have made his landing more dangerous because of the extra weight. However, the ban was lifted by the organisers just minutes before the jump. It took him 18 months of preparation to make the jump, Mr Aikins said the need to wear a parachute would have made the jump more dangerous because of the need to adjust his position as he approached the net.

Parrikar says Aamir Khan's remarks arrogant

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Saturday that those who speak ill of India need to be taught a lesson. Manohar Parrikar took a jibe at Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan as he raked up his remark about leaving the country and described it as "arrogant". "One actor had said that his wife wants to live out of India. It was an arrogant statement. If I am poor and my house is small, I will still love my house and always dream to make a bungalow out of it," he said, without naming Khan. Parrikar was speaking in Pune after releasing the Marathi version journalist-author Nitin Gokhale's book on Siachen. Last year in November Aamir raked up the intolerence debate when he said, "When I sit at home and talkto Kiran, she says 'Should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day".  "How can anyone dare to talk ill about our country? If anyone speaks like this, they need to be taught a lesson," Parrikar said.

Rahul Gandhi gives Parrikar a 'lesson'

Earlier in the day it was reported that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that those who speak ill of India need to be taught a lesson. And Congress Vice President is at it again in an attempt to give it back to him. Tweeting from his account OfficeOfRG, Rahul said that the RSS and Manohar Parrikar who wanted to teach everyone a lesson, should have a lesson for them too. He said that hate was the preserve of the coward and that it never won. He said, “RSS & Parrikarji want to teach everyone a lesson. Here’s a lesson for you: hate is the preserve of the coward and it never wins.” This comes a day after the Defense Minister, Manohar Parrkiar took a dig at Bollywood actor Aamir Khan on his remark about 'leaving the country'. A few months later, e-commerce giant, for which Khan was brand ambassador, did not renew his contract. It had earlier faced a strong backlash on social media, including a reported loss of customers. “I am only trying to point out… if anyone speaks like this, he has to be taught a lesson of his life,” Parrikar said at a ceremony to launch the Marathi edition of a book by journalist Nitin Gokhale.