Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, Apr 5 (PTI) Veteran BJP leader L K Advani's assertion that his party did not consider political adversaries as anti-national was "timely", Congress leader Sam Pitroda said here Friday.

He also drew parallels between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at an event organised by the All India Professionals Congress, the technocrat-turned-politician also said there was "something wrong" with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) though he could not point it out.

New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Three men were arrested on Friday for allegedly raping a Haryana-based dancer in northeast Delhi's Khajuri Khas, police said.

The incident took place five days ago when the 20-year-old woman had come to Khajuri Khas in north-east Delhi for a show, which turned out to be a trap laid for her by the trio, they said.

The woman had arrived at Kashmere Gate ISBT on a bus from Haryana from where the accused had picked her up in a car on the pretext of taking her to the event venue, police said.

Ahmedabad, Apr 6 (PTI) A 50-year-old farmer facing financial crisis allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling of his house at Lushala village in Junagadh district of Gujarat, police said Saturday.

The deceased Dilip Tatamiya shared 0.4 hectares of land with his two brothers, a Vanthali police station official said.

New Delhi, Apr 6 (PTI) The Congress Saturday fielded actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha as its Lok Sabha poll candidate from the Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar, hours after he joined the party quitting the BJP.

The 72-year-old Sinha, the incumbent MP from the seat, will face senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The Congress also announced that former Himachal Pradesh minister Ramlal Thakur will contest from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat in the state against sitting BJP MP Anurag Thakur.

MALE, Maldives (AP) — Voting began in the Maldives in a crucial parliamentary election on Saturday many hope would help President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih to overcome a coalition split that has hampered his efforts to restore political freedoms and tackle corruption.

Thousands lined up to cast their ballots across the Indian Ocean archipelago nation known for its luxury resorts.

6 Apr 2019; AFP: India's alpha-male Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces three formidable women looking to spoil his chances of winning a new term in elections beginning next week.

AFP profiles them here:

- 'Big sis' -

Feisty and fiery Mamata Banerjee is the first female chief minister of the eastern state of West Bengal -- home to more people than Germany -- where Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) needs to do well.

Kanpur: Inspecting the new building of the ARO at the Collectorate here on Friday, the District Magistrate V V Pant learnt of the employees absent during training for the election duty. He found three employees absent on the occasion. He directed their one-day salary cut. mi vy He made it clear that employees must be present at 10 am and put their signature in the attendance register. 

Making his stand sterner he stated if the employees remained absent for three days their suspension order will be issued. The ACMs were also present on the occasion. 

New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) The Delhi government on Friday told a court here that the police filed the charge sheet in the 2016 JNU sedition case in a "hasty" and "secretive manner" and that it will take over a month to decide whether to grant sanction to prosecute former JNU student's union president Kanhaiya Kumar in the case.

The AAP government made the submission to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat

It accused the police of filing the charge sheet secretly and in a hasty manner without obtaining the required sanction from the competent authority.

Mumbai, Apr 5 (PTI) More than 600 theatre personalities, including Amol Palekar, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad and Usha Ganguli, have signed a letter asking people to "vote BJP and its allies" out of power, arguing that the idea of India and its constitution are under threat.

The letter, which was issued Thursday evening in 12 languages on the Artist Unite India website, said the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are the "most critical in the history" of the country.

Bhubaneswar, Apr 4 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday mocked the BJP-led government, saying its "dismal" performance bore testimony to the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only "television" instead of vision.

The Rahul Gandhi-led party also slammed the BJP for criticising its manifesto, noting that the central government had no right to preach national security, as the country saw a "260 per cent" rise in terror-related incidents during the last five years.