THE HEADLINES:-
- Bihar Governor asks Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi to prove majority on the floor of the House on the 20th of this month.
- In Maharashtra, tension between Shiv Sena and BJP rises as Sena's Minister of State for Revenue threatens to resign, alleges being sidelined; Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rubbishes claim.
- Supreme Court pulls up Centre for delay in payment of compensation to farmers for the land acquired from them.
- Pakistan to release 173 Indian prisoners next Monday; Sri Lanka to release 87 Indian fishing boats.
- United Nations refugee agency says that at least 300 migrants are feared drowned trying to cross Mediterranean Sea.
- Chennai Super Kings to be hived off as a subsidiary of India Cements Ltd; Paving way to reduce N Srinivasan's conflict of interest in IPL.
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Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has asked Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi to prove his majority on the floor of the House on the 20th of this month. Principal Secretary to the Governor, Brajesh Malhotra said the floor test would be taken up either through lobby division or a secret ballot immediately after the Governor's address to the joint sitting of the State Legislature on the opening day of the budget session which begins next Friday.
The latest development comes in the backdrop of JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar meeting President Pranab Mukherjee showing the support of 130 MLAs, and the Patna High Court staying his election as the leader of the JD(U) legislature party.
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Shiv Sena's Minister of State for Revenue in the Maharashtra Cabinet, Sanjay Rathod has threatened to resign, after he complained of being sidelined. In a letter to Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, Rathod expressed his wish to resign from his post. Sources said, he cited the reason that he had no work to do despite being a Minister and the BJP's cabinet minister was not letting him take any decisions or work as per his wishes. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has rubbished all the claims.
Our correspondent reports that the Shiv Sena has five Cabinet and an equal number of Ministers of State in Maharashtra at present. The BJP kept important portfolios such as Finance, Home and Revenue with itself, while the Sena was asked to work on Environment, Health and Industry.
Our correspondent reports that the Shiv Sena has five Cabinet and an equal number of Ministers of State in Maharashtra at present. The BJP kept important portfolios such as Finance, Home and Revenue with itself, while the Sena was asked to work on Environment, Health and Industry.
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Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today. He is expected to invite him for the swearing-in ceremony which will be held at the Ramlila Maidan on Saturday. This will be the first meeting of Mr. Kejriwal with the Prime Minister after his historic victory in the Delhi Assembly elections. The Aam Aadmi Party Chief, along with his party colleague Manish Sisodia met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu yesterday and sought co-operation from the Centre on the issues of unauthorized colonies and statehood for the national capital. Mr. Kejriwal also called on President Pranab Mukherjee. It was a courtesy call. During the meeting, Mr Mukherjee gifted to the AAP Chief, a copy of the Constitution of India and his own authored book 'Thoughts and reflections'.
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The Aam Aadmi Party has said that Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal will not accept Z Plus security. Party leader Ashutosh said that Mr Kejriwal is opposed to it as it hinders his interaction with the people. He said that Mr Kejriwal's security has been enhanced after the party's victory. The AAP Chief had rejected Z plus security in his earlier tenure as well. Even when he was the Chief Minister, he had denied security, but the police continued to provide the cover.
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In Jammu and Kashmir, an army helicopter crashed in a forest area of Bandipora district last evening killing both the pilot and the co-pilot. Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. N N Joshi said, the helicopter, which took off from a local helipad on a routine sortie, lost contact after some time when it was flying over Safapora heights, and it crashed near the Saderkote area. He said, rescue teams were rushed to the area immedialely and bodies of both the pilots were recovered.
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Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan occupied Kashmir or PoK have arrived at a consensus on resumption of the stalled cross-LoC trade. Except for one stranded truck, all others have been allowed to return to their respective sides. Our correspondent reports that the stand-off was resolved yesterday after the Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla, Talat Ahmad spoke to his Pakistani counterpart in Muzaffarabad over the phone.
50 trucks from Kashmir and 22 trucks from PoK were stuck up since Friday on opposite sides after authorities in Baramulla recovered suspected contraband items from an orange-laden vehicle from PoK. The accused driver and the trader in whose name the consignment was booked are taken into custody. The trade and the weekly bus service were suspended following the seizure. Normal trade will resume from today while the cross LoC bus service will resume its operations from Monday. It is the third time that drugs were recovered from PoK trucks since the cross border trade resumed in 2008 after remaining suspended since 1947. With R. K Raina's report from Srinagar, This is Lumpem Vashum for AIR News.
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The Supreme Court has pulled up the Centre for delaying payment of compensation to farmers for the land acquired from them. The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Defence Ministry on granting of compensation to farmers on land acquisition in cantonment areas in Punjab. While declining to interfere with the compensation awarded by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu criticised the central government for filing appeals in several matters, particularly on issues relating to compensation to farmers. The bench said that the government spends 100 crore rupees on the Republic Day parade, but when it comes to payment of compensation to farmers, it files appeals.
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The Delhi Police has said that the SIT set up to probe the Sunanda Pushkar murder case will again question her husband, Congress leader and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor today. Talking to reporters yesterday, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said, Mr Tharoor will be questioned again as police need to obtain some clarifications from him. Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in mysterious circumstances at a hotel in Delhi in January last year. The Delhi High Court yesterday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a CBI probe into Sunanda Pushkar's death.
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In Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has launched the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System Project. Our correspondent reports that this will enable the State Police to further raise the benchmark of professional efficiency besides catching interstate criminals more quickly.
"This 19 Crore Rupees project funded by the Union government will help in connecting 114 police stations in the state besides 13 district headquarters, 26 sub-divisional police officers and three police ranges. The digitization of historical data at all police stations has been undertaken at war footing now and so far more than one lakh records has been digitized. Himachal is the first state in the country to launch this project in five police stations of Shimla city prepared by the union home ministry after Mumbai attack of 26/11. SHISHU SHARMA SHANTAL, AIR NEWS, SHIMLA."
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The External Affairs Ministry has said that Pakistan will release 173 Indian prisoners on the 16th of this month. In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that the government has received a written communication from Pakistan on the release of the prisoners. He said that the prisoners will come through Wagah and will be first received by the Indian diplomatic mission staff. According to official figures, 526 Indians are lodged in Pakistani jails.
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The Sri Lanka government has decided to release the 87 Indian fishing vessels that were captured by its navy on charges of illegally crossing the international maritime boundary. The decision to return the boats comes days ahead of President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to New Delhi early next week. A senior official in Sri Lanka’s fisheries department said, the official announcement of the release will be made today. The courts hearing the cases related to these boats will be advised by the Attorney General’s office regarding the decision of the government. Our correspondent reports that these fishing boats were captured at different times over the last year.
"As a goodwill gesture ahead of meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in New Delhi on Monday, Sri Lanka has decided to release the 87 Indian fishing vessels in its custody. The release of these boats was long overdue and some of these have been in Sri Lankan custody for a long period. They were captured by Sri Lanka navy on charges of illegally crossing the international maritime boundary and poaching in its waters. Although the fishermen were released from time to time, Sri Lanka had not returned the boats to discourage trespassing and poaching. The fisheries issue will be taken up at bilateral talks and will be followed up with meeting of officials next month. Abhishek Dayal: Air News, Colombo"
"As a goodwill gesture ahead of meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in New Delhi on Monday, Sri Lanka has decided to release the 87 Indian fishing vessels in its custody. The release of these boats was long overdue and some of these have been in Sri Lankan custody for a long period. They were captured by Sri Lanka navy on charges of illegally crossing the international maritime boundary and poaching in its waters. Although the fishermen were released from time to time, Sri Lanka had not returned the boats to discourage trespassing and poaching. The fisheries issue will be taken up at bilateral talks and will be followed up with meeting of officials next month. Abhishek Dayal: Air News, Colombo"
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The United Nations refugee agency has said that at least 300 migrants are likely dead after they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea in inflatable boats. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that it is shocked by new information that shows that the scale of the tragedy is much larger than initially reported. Reports emerged that four inflatable boats had left Libya together carrying a total of more than 400 people.
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BCCI President-in-exile N. Srinivasan led India Cements' board has approved transfer of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings to a wholly-owned subsidiary Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd.
A decision to this effect was taken at a Board meeting of the company which was held in Chennai yesterday. Srinivasan told reporters after the meeting that the board has considered re-organisation of powers of the franchise Chennai Super Kings from the exsisiting shareholders of India Cements Ltd. He, however, did not specify who would be at the helm of the newly formed subsidiary.
Srinivasan has been barred by the Supreme Court from contesting any polls of the board till he gave up the ownership of the Chennai Super Kings. On January 22, the apex court found that Srinivasan had a conflict of interest as a BCCI official as well as an IPL team owner.
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In IPL cricket, Kolkata Knight Riders will begin their title defence on their home turf, the Eden Gardens, on the 8th of April. They will clash with Mumbai Indians, which will be the opening encounter of the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
- Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal's meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, a day after the Aam Admi Party won a landslide in the Delhi Assembly elections dominates the front pages. "The day after: Kejriwal drives home Delhi statehood demand" reports the Hindustan Times. The Times of Indiawrites "Kejriwal turns down Z plus security cover".
- Most papers highlight the blame game that has begun over the BJP's electoral defeat in Delhi. "Day after : BJP Delhi chief says could have avoided Kejriwal centric campaign" reports the Indian Express. The Asian Age writes ,"Now Kiran blames fatwa" referring to the appeal made by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in favour of the AAP. The Statesman observes "Akalis blame BJP for Delhi rout".
- The Patna High Court putting a stay on the election of former Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar's election as JD-U legislature party chief and the Income Tax notices sent to the AAP and the Congress regarding allegedly dubious donations received by them are the other stories that are prominently noticed.
- The Times of India in a front page story writes that the Election Commission is in the process of sending the donation details of all political parties to the Central Board of Direct Taxes for a probe.
- The President's address at the 46th Governors Conference held in the Capital is tracked by most papers. "President asks Guvs to ensure communal harmony, peace" writes the Pioneer. The Hindu observes " Go by Constitution, Pranab tells governors".
- The Supreme Court's decision on the PIL challenging the appointment of Shashi Kant Sharma as the CAG is highlighted in most papers. "SC rejects PIL against appointment of CAG" reports the Indian Express. Referring to the hearing in the case, theTimes of India says "Modi Govt tells SC not to encroach on executive turf".
- In a special story captioned "Year of living dangerously : India more unsafe than Syria in 2014", the Times of India cites the latest data of the National Bomb Data Centre which indicates that there were more bomb explosions in India than in Syria or Afghanistan.
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