India

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the Maldives for its return to the Commonwealth as its 54th member.

The Maldives had joined the Commonwealth in 1982, but withdrew its membership in 2016.

Hyderabad, Feb 1 (PTI) The Union Budget proposals are 'totally disappointing' and the Centre has shown discrimination towards Telangana by imposing substantial cuts in funds to be released to the state, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said here on Saturday.

He said the Centres allocations in the budget may have an adverse impact on the development of Telangana, "which is a progressive state."

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) He is not radical and is a "simple boy" but he was "tired" of travelling extra kilometers as roads are blocked due to protests at Shaheen Bagh, said family members of Kapil Gujjar, who was arrested for firing in the air at the south-east Delhi locality on Saturday.

Kapil, who owns a dairy business in Dallupura village on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, fired two rounds in the air at Shaheen Bagh, the epicenter of anti-CAA protests due to which a major road connecting south Delhi to Noida is blocked for over a month now.

Malkangiri (Odisha), Feb 1 (PTI) The Odisha government has decided to make Malkangiri Maoist-free, police said on Saturday, urging left-wing extremists (LWE) to join the mainstream.

The appeal by the state police comes a week after villagers killed a Maoist member and injured another.

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) India on Sunday reported a second case of novel coronavirus with a person from Kerala with a travel history to China testing positive, officials said.

"The patient has tested positive for novel coronavirus and is in isolation in a hospital," the health ministry said.

The patient is stable and is being closely monitored, it said.

India's first novel coronavirus case in India was also reported from Kerala with a student testing positive.

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday demanded the Election Commission to ban Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from campaigning in the national capital over his alleged provocative speeches.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also demanded an FIR against him for his remarks.

Singh told a press conference here that it has been 48 hours since the AAP asked the Election Commission time to meet them but it has not been granted.

NEW DELHI, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Two paramilitary troopers and two civilians were wounded on Sunday in a grenade attack in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The grenade attack was carried out in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Today militants threw a grenade in Lal Chowk (red square) area of Srinagar. Two civilians and two personnel belonging to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were wounded," a police official in Srinagar said.

NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (NNN-PTI) – A senior leader of a leading Hindu organisation, Hindu Mahasabha (Ranjeet Yadav), was killed by unidentified assailants, in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, early today (Sunday), said media reports.

Identified as Ranjeet Bachchan, he was shot at, while he was having a morning walk outside his residence, in Uttar Pradesh’s capital city, Lucknow. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

Aurangabad, Feb 1 (PTI) In a bid to improve students' focus on education, a women's college in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city has banned the use of mobile phones inside its campus.

The move comes at a time when mobile phones have become an indelible part of everyday living, where youngsters are glued to social media.

Aligarh (UP), Feb 1 (PTI) Child specialist Kafeel Khan who was accused of making an inflammatory speech at AMU was remanded to judicial custody and later transferred to Mathura jail, officials said on Saturday.

Circle Officer (Civil Lines) Anil Samania said Khan was brought here late Friday evening and was produced before the remand magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody.