BJP corporators attend birthday bash before Major Rane's body

BJP Insults Army - The BJP was left red-faced after a video went viral showing its MLA and corporators attending a birthday party in adjoining Mira Road township at a time when people were expecting to receive the body of Major Kaustubh Rane, who attained martyrdom in Kashmir.

The video, telecast by a Marathi TV channel, shows BJP legislator Narendra Mehta and a dozen BJP corporators from the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation celebrating the birthday of party corporator Anand Manjrekar in the township on Tuesday night.

The celebrations happened a day before the body of Major Rane, who was killed in Jammu and Kashmir during an operation to foil an infiltration bid, reached Mumbai.

Mehta was quick to tender an apology on the incident.

"What happened (the birthday bash) is extremely unfortunate. It shouldn't have happened," he said.

"All of us have expressed regret for it. This is not a political issue," he told the channel.

SC to hear pleas challenging validity of Article 35-A in Jammu & Kashmir

Amid tense situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court is all set to hear a batch of petitions on Monday, which challenge the validity of Article 35 A of the Constitution that grants special privileges to the residents of the state.

The State government had on Friday moved an application before the top court and sought to defer the hearing of the case, citing upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections.

Earlier in May, the top court had deferred the hearing of the case, saying that the government-appointed interlocutor, Dineshwar Sharma, is making efforts to find a solution; in such a situation, passing an interim order could prove futile.

The Union government decided not to file a counter affidavit in order to leave the Supreme Court free to decide on what is essentially an interpretation of the law and the Constitution.

Pathankot court frames charges against seven accused in Kathua case

Kathua Rape Case - The district and sessions court here today framed charges against seven of the eight accused of raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said.

The eighth accused in the case is a juvenile.

The trial in the case began on May 31 with the seven accused being produced before the district and sessions judge after the Supreme Court shifted the hearing outside Jammu and Kashmir.

The case was transferred by the Supreme Court from Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot in Punjab for a fair trial following a plea by the victim's family.

While transferring the case from Kathua to Pathankot, about 30 km away, the apex court directed day-to-day in-camera trial in the case.

According to the 15-page charge sheet of the Jammu and Kashmir's Crime Branch, the girl from a minority nomadic community, who was kidnapped on January 10 this year, was allegedly raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district. She was kept sedated for four days before being bludgeoned to death.

Srinagar CRPF camp battle ends, 2 LeT militants dead: Top 10 developments

Srinagar CRPF camp battle - Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed by security forces in Srinagar's Karan Nagar area on Tuesday after a gunfight of nearly 30 hours that had started after a failed attack bid on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Kashmir.

The exact identity of the militants was yet to be established, the police said, adding that a search operation in the area was going on.

Earlier on Tuesday, intermittent firing had continued between security forces and terrorists at a CRPF camp in Srinagar's Karan Nagar. Pakistan-backed terrorist organisation, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has claimed responsibility for the attack, which led to the ongoing gun battle and has claimed the life of a CRPF jawan.

Fierce fighting continued between militants and security forces in the heart of Srinagar on Monday after a foiled attack on the CRPF camp left a trooper dead and a policeman critically injured. Here are the top 10 developments:

1) Gun battle ends with two militants dead: Two holed up LeT militants, involved in a failed terror bid on a CRPF camp in Srinagar, were killed on Tuesday in a nearly 30-hour-long gunfight, police said. "While one was gunned down as he came out of the under-construction building to get into another adjacent building, the other was trapped and killed inside the building that they took refuge in on Monday," a police officer said.
READ MORE

After Adityanath left, AC, sofa taken away from slain BSF trooper's home

The family members of slain BSF head constable Prem Sagar were befuddled when the Deoria district administration installed a window airconditioner, put up a sofa and carpet at their home ahead of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's visit this Friday.

They were in for even a greater shock when these trappings of affluence vanished within minutes of the chief minister's departure.

Sagar's family members said they were taken aback when the authorities removed the air conditioner, sofa and carpet soon after the chief minister left their place.

"Officials took away the carpet, sofa and AC soon after Adityanath left our residence....Within 15 to 30 minutes of his departure, everything was gone," Dayasagar, the brother of the fallen BSF trooper said.

There was, however, no official word on it.

The Deoria administration had installed airconditioners, put up new curtains, sofas and carpets in the living room where the chief minister was to meet the family.

A day before CM's visit, dusty roads in the village were cleaned and drains which always used to remain open were covered.

Head Constable Sagar was on patrol duty on May 1 along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch when Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) crossed the LoC and ambushed the patrol team. While taking cover, Sagar and Naik Subedar Paramjeet Singh of the Army were left behind.

They were killed and their bodies mutilated.

Sagar's family had refused to cremate his body, insisting that the chief minister visit them. They agreed to hold the last rites only after the chief minister spoke to them.

Adityanath visited Sagar's family on May 12 at his native village Tikampaar to offer condolences and presented a cheque for Rs 4 lakh. He also reportedly promised employment to Sagar's children after they complete their studies.

The chief minister said a shaheed smarak (martyr's memorial) and a girls inter college will be set up in the village in the memory of the slain trooper.

He also promised a road to connect the village to the main road.

With regard to a demand for a gas agency for the family, he had said a recommendation will be sent to the central government.

READ MORE

Make in India arms too? Jaitley says new defence manufacturing policy soon

The government is in ‘advanced stages’ of formulating a new policy to increase domestic defence manufacturing and reduce dependence on the imported high-tech military, Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday.

"India is the world's largest arms importer, spending some 1.8 per cent of its GDP on defence. It imports about 70 per cent of defence equipment, a proposition which the government wants to change,” Jaitley said at an event organised by industry body CII.

"We are in the advanced stages of formulating a policy where we can ensure that instead of just being buyers, on the strength of technological and other tie-ups, India also becomes a manufacturing economy," he said.

Jaitley did not give additional details on the proposed policy. "The response that we have from domestic and international industry has been quite encouraging itself," he added.

Additionally, he stated that there would not be any massive surprises in fixing tax rates under the new GST regime and that new rates under the nationwide tax regime, expected to be rolled out from July 1, not be "significantly different" from current levels.

He, however, added that companies should pass on to consumers the benefit of reduction in taxes under GST which will eliminate the current compounding effect of different central and state levies. The GST Council, headed by Jaitley and comprising representatives of all the states, is scheduled to meet in Srinagar on May 18-19 to finalise tax rates on different goods and services after unifying at least 10 indirect taxes into the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"We are now in final stages of fixing tariffs for different commodities. The formula under which it is being done has also been explained and therefore nobody is going to be taken by surprise, it's not going to be very significantly different," Jaitley said.
READ MORE