Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Congress President Rahul Gandhi today gave an ‘F’ grade report card to the Modi government on the “subject” of agriculture in poll-bound Karnataka. There has been no contribution from the Centre to the Congress-led government’s Rs 8,500 crore contribution in farm loan waivers, Gandhi said on Twitter. Farmers have also suffered due to the prime minister’s crop insurance scheme in which insurance companies have made huge profits, Gandhi added. He also said that there has been no MSP (minimum support price) plus 50 per cent for farmers of Karnataka as…

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A Bhiwandi court has asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on June 12 to record his plea in a defamation case filed against him by an RSS functionary. The court yesterday heard arguments on Gandhi’s application, seeking a detailed recording of evidence instead of a ‘summary trial’, and adjourned the matter till June 12. The court said that on June 12 it would pass an order on the application and would also record the defendant’s (Rahul Gandhi) plea, and asked him to remain present on that day.…

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The Lucknow division of the Northern Railways has decided to install gates at 121 unmanned level crossings in view of the Kushinagar incident in which 13 children were killed at an unmanned crossing. “The work to close these 121 unmanned crossings will start from June and will end by September. Though the Railway ministry had decided to close all unmanned crossings by 2020, the work will now be completed by September this year,” NR, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Satish Kumar said. He said unmanned crossings in Kanpur, Lucknow-Varansai and Lucknow-Prayag…

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A Mumbai court today convicted gangster Chhota Rajan in the murder case of journalist J Dey while acquitting former journalist Jigna Vora and another accused in the case due to lack of evidence. Besides Rajan, special MCOCA court judge Sameer Adkar convicted eight others in the case. Vora and Paulson Joseph were acquitted due to lack of evidence and the prosecution’s failure to prove the case against them beyond reasonable doubt. The sentencing in the case likely later today. The prosecution in the case has demanded the maximum punishment for…

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In a major push to transform Kerala as an investment-friendly destination, the CPI(M)-led LDF government has banned the obsolete ‘Nokku Kooli’ practise used by headload workers to extract exorbitant wages without doing any work. “The order, which was issued last night, comes into effect from today on Labour Day,” an official statement said. NokkuKooli, which literally means ‘gawking wages,’ is a euphemism for extortion by organised labour unions in the state under which wages have to be paid to trade union workers for loading and unloading works done by other…

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Buoyed by GST collections exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore in April, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said it is a landmark achievement and a confirmation of increased economic activity. The government mopped up Rs 1.03 lakh crore in GST collection in April, indicating stabilisation of the new indirect tax regime which was rolled out on July 1 last year. While Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in entire 2017-18 stood Rs 7.41 lakh crore, in March the figure was Rs 89,264 crore. “GST collections in April exceeding Rs 1 lakh…

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Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, along with top district officials, took a casual stroll around Subhash park in Marine drive here today. During his morning walk, Naidu discussed the infrastructure development of the city with the officials, including Mayor Soumini Jain and Ernakulam district collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla, official sources said. Naidu, who reached the city yesterday after inaugurating the new Kasaragod campus of Central University, also had a brief chat with the sanitary workers and public, they said. “Vice President of India took a morning walk at Subash Park,…

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The AIIMS today discharged RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, saying his condition has improved significantly, even as the former Bihar chief minister alleged a “political conspiracy” behind his discharge. The Rashtriya Janata Dal president also wrote to the institute’s director, asking him to continue his treatment at the facility till he recovers fully. Supporters of Prasad created ruckus in the hospital premises protesting the AIIMS’ decision, with his party alleging that there is a conspiracy to “murder” their leader by “forcing him out” of the premier hospital even though he continues…

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Hitting out at the Congress over its ‘Jan Akrosh’ rally, BJP president Amit Shah today said it was in fact a ‘Parivar Akrosh’ rally that highlights increasing irrelevance of a “dynasty and their courtiers”, who have been sent out of power from one state after another in elections. The Congress has organised a ‘Jan Akrosh’ rally in the national capital today to highlight “failures” of the Modi government. In a series of tweets, Shah took a dig at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and hoped that Gandhi would apologise to the…

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