Top stories on 14 March in a capsule

Akhilesh-Mayawati combine thrash BJP in UP, Yogi admits to underestimating new opposition

The Yogi Adityanath led UP government received a major jolt on Wednesday after the Samajwadi Party – BSP combine trounced the BJP in Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha by-polls by winning the seats of Gorakhpur and Phulpur. Both the seats are prominent as they were vacated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya post the massive victory of the saffron party in the state. In Gorakhpur, a seat held by CM Yogi since 1998, after 26 rounds of counting, SP’s Praveen Kumar Nishad leads by 21,042 votes over BJP’s Upendra Dutt Shukla. In Bihar too, the BJP failed to gain any serious momentum with Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD winning in Jehanabad by over 59,000 votes and leading by 86,000 votes in Araria. The only face saver for the BJP was the seat from Bhabua where the party’s candidate led by 14,500 votes. Meanwhile, the Congress party too has nothing much to cheer as their candidates from Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seats lost their deposits, news agency ANI reported. Minutes after the SP’s victory was declared in Gorakhpur, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that he accepts the verdict of the people. “This result is unexpected, we will review the shortcomings. We had underestimated the Akhilesh-Mayawati combine. I congratulate the winning candidates," Yogi added.

___________________________________

2 Congress MLAs of Gujarat Assembly suspended for 3 years

A Congress lawmaker flung a mic at his BJP colleague as the Gujarat assembly lapsed into utter chaos on Wednesday. The disruptions erupted immediately after Question Hour as Congress MLA Vikram Madam sought to raise a point of order over the death of two children in the Ashram in 2008, even as Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Pradeepsinh Jadeja wanted a discussion on wastage of time in the House. The speaker later suspended two Congress MLAs -- Pratap Dudhat and Amrish Der -- for three years, the longest ever in the state's history. Another Congress legislator, Baldevji Thakor, was suspended for a year for an incident that allegedly took place in the lobby of the Assembly.


_______________________________

SC dismisses plea for 1999 verdict’s recall in Rajiv Gandhi assassination ca

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by AG Perarivalan, convicted in the conspiracy leading to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, for the recall of the 1999 judgement upholding life imprisonment to him. A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi refused to recall its order while hearing Perarivalan’s plea, who supplied two 9-volt batteries used in the explosive device that killed Gandhi at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. “We are satisfied that the order of this court doesn’t required to be reconsidered. We dismiss the plea for recall of the order,” said the court.

__________________________________

Navy’s all-woman crew aboard INSV Tarini begins return journey

An all-women sailing team of the Indian Navy left Cape Town on Wednesday for its return journey to India, nearly six months after embarking on a historic voyage to circumnavigate the globe. This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew, according to the Indian Navy. “Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini left Cape Town today for the final leg of circumnavigation passage to Goa. The yacht was flagged off by Indian High Commissioner Ruchira Kamboj,” the Navy said in a statement here. The INSV Tarini had arrived at Cape Town on March 2 after the completion of the fourth leg of the trip.

____________________________________

SC dismisses all third-party intervention applications in Ayodhya case

The Supreme Court bench hearing the Ayodhya Case on Wednesday dismissed all third-party intervention applications in the Ramjanmabhumi- Babri Masjid land dispute case. The Supreme Court dismissed as many as 32 intervention applications. Among the applications dismissed by the apex court were those submitted by Shyam Benegal, Aparna Sen and Teesta Setalvad. A special bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S A Najeeb accepted a plea that only original parties to the Babri Masjid-Ram temple title dispute be heard while interventions of unrelated people to be rejected. The apex court also rejected the plea of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking to intervene in the ongoing matter.


______________________________

IAF successfully lands its largest transport aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh airfield

The Indian Air Force's largest transport aircraft 'C-17 Globemaster' landed at Arunachal Pradesh's Tuting airfield which is close to the Chinese border late night on Tuesday. The landing of the US-manufactured aircraft is seen as part of the IAF's move to strengthen its overall operations in the strategically-key border state. "The C17 Globemaster carried out a historic landing at Tuting Advanced Landing Ground. The mission was executed flawlessly owing to its superlative performance and excellent flying skills of pilots," said an IAF spokesperson. The ALG will be used to bring in vital supplies from cities in Assam via fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters besides meeting challenges during natural calamities.


______________________________

Mohammad Shami's troubles increase, to be investigated for corruption

After allegations of match-fixing leveled by wife Hasin Jahan, BCCI has asked the Anti Corruption Unit to look into the allegations made against cricketer Mohammad Shami. Committee of Administrators (CoA) chairman Vinod Rai has instructed BCCI's ACU chief Neeraj Kumar to probe into the 'Shami Issue'. The Committee of Administrators of the BCCI (CoA) has heard an audio recording of a telephonic conversation between Shami and his wife Hasin Jahan in which there is a mention of a certain Mohammad Bhai who has allegedly sent some money to the pacer through a Pakistani lady. Hasin had earlier alleged that Shami had accepted the money on the insistence of England based Mohammad Bhai. ACSU head Neeraj Kumar will be investigating the charges and submitting a report within one week.


__________________________

Angela Merkel elected by parliament to the fourth term as German Chancellor

Angela Merkel has been elected by German lawmakers for a fourth term as Chancellor and is due to be sworn-in on Wednesday. In a secret ballot, 364 of the Bundestag's 709 members voted in favor of Merkel -- nine more than the 50% required. Thirty-five MPs from the parties governing under Merkel did not vote to re-elect her. Merkel will first travel to the Berlin residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to be officially nominated before returning to the Bundestag to be sworn in as Chancellor later on Wednesday. For the veteran leader, the ceremony marked the end of a painful stretch of post-election paralysis, the deepest crisis of her 12-year career.


_________________________