Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Five militants were today gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, while a civilian was killed and 10 others injured during clashes with law enforcement personnel after the gun battle, officials said. Fresh exchange of firing between militants and security forces took place this morning at Kiloora in Shopian, where a militant was killed last night, they said. “Four more terrorists have been killed in the operation at Kiloora in Shopian. One terrorist was killed last night,” an army official said. All…

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New Delhi, Aug 3 (DIN NEWS) The government has cleared the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium to elevate Justice K M Joseph, who heads the Uttarakhand High Court, to the top court, ending a long standoff with the judiciary. The government has also given its nod to appoint Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the SC. Justice Joseph’s name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court by the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India…

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Mumbai, Aug 3 (DIN NEWS) The BJP in Maharashtra today trounced the Shiv Sena in the Jalgaon civic body polls, winning 57 of the 75 seats, and came up trumps in the Sangli municipal elections, bagging 41 out of the 78 seats. The BJP, an ally of the Shiv Sena in the state and at the Centre, won 57 of the 75 seats in the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC). Local strongman and Shiv Sena leader Suresh Jain’s Khandesh Vikas Agadhi (KVA), which ruled the JMC for several years, won only…

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Loktantrik Janta Dal leader Sharad Yadav appealed to the Congress today to take the lead in bringing together all opposition parties on a single platform to dislodge the BJP from power. Addressing a gathering here, he said the country was currently reeling under an “undeclared democracy” in the BJP rule. “It (defeating the BJP) will not happen without opposition unity. Those getting 31 per cent votes are ruling now because 69 per cent votes stood divided. The Congress is the biggest opposition party and it should take responsibility to bring…

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Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Dwipen Pathak and two other party leaders resigned today in protest against party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to the final draft of the NRC, which has evoked a sharp reaction from different parties and organisations in the state. Pathak’s resignation came within hours of a TMC delegation arriving at the Silchar airport in the Bengali-dominated Barak valley at Banerjee’s instructions and being stopped from exiting it by the police. Diganta Saikia, a TMC leader from Golaghat and who was among the three to resign, even…

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The Kolkata Police today granted permission for BJP president Amit Shah’s proposed rally here on August 11, police said. The development came hours after the BJP Yuva Morcha alleged that they are yet to receive any communication from the Kolkata Police regarding permission for Shah’s rally. The ruling Trinamool Congress took a swipe at the BJP and Shah, claiming that they had become nervous and wished them “happy journey to the land of peace and harmony”. “Some unwarranted speculation in social media about denial of permission to a political party…

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The Union Cabinet today gave its nod to a bill to restore the original provisions of a law on atrocities against Dalits and tribals, acceding to a key demand of Dalit groups ahead of their call for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on August 9, a top government source said. The bill to restore the original provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act will be brought in Parliament, he said. The Supreme Court in a ruling in March had introduced safeguards which, Dalit leaders and organisations said, diluted…

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today alleged that the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam was done with a “political motive” to divide people and warned that it would lead to bloodbath and a civil war in the country. Attacking the BJP, she said the saffron party is trying to divide the country and asserted this will not be tolerated. “The NRC is being done with a political motive. We will not let this happen. They (BJP) are trying to divide the people. The situation cannot be…

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said his government was working on the demand for reservations to the Maratha community, but that the legal process could not be curtailed. Speaking at a function here to release a book on Chhatrapati Rajaram, King Shivaji’s descendant, Fadnavis said the decision cannot be taken only on the basis of sentiments. He described as lamentable the incidents of violence and alleged suicides for the quota demand reported during the ongoing agitation by Maratha organisations in the last few days. “If sentiments are aroused, there…

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Yavatmal (Maha), Jul 30 (DIN NEWS) The central government will soon bring a bill proposing death penalty for the crime of lynching, Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said here today. The proposed bill will be on the lines of a legislation seeking capital punishment to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years, he said. “Lynching is a barbaric crime and no civilised society can accept it. The Union government will soon bring a bill proposing death penalty for lynching. “The proposed bill will…

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