India

New Delhi, Jun 20 (PTI) As speculation continues on his next steps, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said his party will decide on who his successor will be and not him.

He is not the person to take a decision on his successor, Gandhi told reporters when asked who will succeed him as Congress president.

Gandhi is adamant on stepping down as party president following the debacle in the elections, but the CWC, the highest decision making body of the Congress, has rejected his offer to resign and asked him to restructure the party at all levels.

New Delhi, Jun 20 (PTI) Noting that frequent elections in various parts of the country have impacted the pace and continuity of development, President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday urged parliamentarians to seriously consider the "development-oriented" proposal of holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a brain storming session with heads of 21 political parties on holding simultaneous polls.

New Delhi, Jun 19; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Amid growing rumblings in the Karnataka Congress, the grand old party dissolved its unit in the southern state on Wednesday, while retaining its president and working president.

"The AICC has decided to dissolve the present committee of (the) Karnataka Pradesh Congress. The president and working president remain unchanged," a statement issued by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said.

New Delhi, June 18; GANASHAKTI: The Congress on Tuesday named Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, its five-time MP from Bengal’s Berhampore as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, a day after the Budget session of Parliament began.

After a lengthy meeting of the Parliamentary Core Committee in the morning at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s house, the party wrote to the secretary general of the Lok Sabha, informing him of its decision of entrusting Chowdhury with the responsibility of taking up all matters of the party in Parliament.

Allahabad, Jun 18 (PTI) A special court here sentenced four persons to life imprisonment and acquitted one in connection with the 2005 terror attack on a makeshift temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex here in which two locals were killed and seven CRPF personnel injured.

Special judge Dinesh Chandra, who announced the verdict inside the Naini Central Jail where the accused are lodged, also imposed a fine of Rs 2.4 lakh on each of the four, Public Prosecutor Gulab Chandra Agrahari told reporters here.

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) IT services major HCL Technologies Wednesday said it has signed a multi-year deal with Cricket Australia (CA) to deliver digital experiences to fans, players and employees.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

HCL Tech will help the Australian cricket's governing body provide an elevated and immersive digital experience to cricket fans, players, partners, employees, and volunteers across the country and around the world, through CA's digital offerings, HCL Technologies said in a statement.

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) Scientists have developed a compact and portable sensor that detects explosives like DNT and TNT in real time, and can be used to monitor public spaces to counter terrorism.

Nitroaromatic explosives like DNT, TNT and TNP pose a serious threat to civilian and military safety. These chemicals are also recognised as toxic contaminants that pollute the environment.

The device, described in the the journal Scientific Reports, paves the way for light weight and compact explosive sensor for field use as well as for environmental monitoring.

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday wished good health and a long life to Congress president Rahul Gandhi on his birthday.

Modi took to Twitter to convey his wishes to Gandhi, who turned 49 on Wednesday.

"Best wishes to Shri Rahul Gandhi on his birthday. May he be blessed with good health and a long life," he tweeted.

Gorakhpur (UP), Jun 18 (PTI) A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a driver here, police said Tuesday.

The suspect, identified as Ravi Prakash Rai (30), had been arrested, they said.

The girl was alone when the accused allegedly took her to an isolated place near Bhagwanpura village around 9 pm on Monday and raped her, police said.

Aizawl, Jun 18 (PTI) Eight Rohingya girls, suspected to be victims of human trafficking, were rescued from a village near the Mizoram-Myanmar border in Champai district, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police of Northern Range Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said here Tuesday.

The girls, all of them minors, were rescued from Dungtkang village on Monday, the DIG said, adding that they were being taken to Myanmar from Bangladesh via India. Khiangte told PTI that the girls were produced before the chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday.