Choksi appears on video message from Antigua, calls all charges 'baseless' Fugitive jeweler and uncle of Punjab National Bank’s (PNB) Rs 13,000 crore fraud accused Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi on Tuesday uploaded a video message, saying the charges against him are false. In the video that features Choksi and his lawyer asking him questions, it appears to be have been from Antigua. Accusing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) ‘falsely’ framing him, Choksi said, “ED have attached my property illegally without there being any basis of the same." Choksi further also displayed agitation with the regional Passport office for canceling his passport. “I did not receive any reply from passport office, further the Regional Passport Office did not give any reason as to how I was a security threat to India," Choksi said. ___________________ 2 LeT militants killed in J&K's Kupwara The Indian army successfully eliminated two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants in an...

Election commission holds all-party meeting to discuss reforms Chief Election Commissioner, O P Rawat  Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat and other senior officials of the Election Commission held a meeting with all national and recognized regional political parties on Monday in New Delhi to discuss issues related to elections procedures. Several Opposition parties opposed the idea of 'One Nation, One Poll' during the meeting. Election Commission Chief OP Rawat also voiced his disagreement over the same and also mentioned the need for an all-party meet to discuss the same. The Congress and other opposition parties also raised questions about the credibility of EVM machines questioning whether how in every case of EVM malfunction, the vote goes to only one party and demanded that the commission hand over the name and address of the firms that repair these. Considering the questions raised by the Opposition the Commission is likely to discuss how usage of paper trail ...

Maharashtra faces reservation heat again as protests erupt in Pune, 40 buses burnt, 50 vandalised The demand for reservation in government jobs and offices by the Maratha community in Maharashtra received a fresh wave of agitation on Monday as violence erupted in the city of Pune. As of evening, it was reported by News18 that around 40 buses were set on fire and 50 were attacked by supposedly members of the Maratha Kranti Morcha , who also raised their voice in support of two fellow members who killed themselves earlier in the day. While a youth jumped in front of a train and ended his life in Aurangabad another 38-year-old hanged himself in Nanded, taking the death toll to four in connection with the protest. As of now, Section 144 has been imposed in Chakan area of Pune-Nashik highway. ____________ TRAI chief's daughter threatened in private mail after Aadhaar controversy A day after Telecom Regulator Association of India (TRAI) chief RS Sharma’s bank account was ...

Ganga water too should carry injurious to health warning like cigarettes: NGT The National Green Tribunal on Friday expressed concerns over the polluted water of River Ganga and asked why shouldn’t the polluted river carry a health warning just like cigarette packets. “If cigarette packets can contain a warning saying it is ‘injurious to health’, why not the people be informed of the adverse effects (of the river water),” a  bench, headed by NGT chairperson A K Goel, said while hearing a case over the Ganga River pollution. The green panel also directed National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to install display boards at a gap of 100 kilometers, indicating whether the water was fit for bathing or drinking. It directed the NMCG and the Central Pollution Control Board to place on their website, within two weeks, a prominent map showing where the water was good for bathing and drinking. ______________ Karunanidhi’s health stable says son MK Stalin M.K. Stalin Party wor...

STORY OF THE DAY TDP ministers resign from Cabinet but hold back from NDA divorce The two ministers of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), whose decision to quit the Union Cabinet rocked the relations between the party and NDA, submitted their resignation to PM Modi on Thursday. Former Minister of state for science and technology YS Chowdary, and civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju, addressing a press conference after their resignation, cleared that they are quitting the Cabinet but not the NDA. “We are stepping down as ministers, but our Presidents (CM Chandrababu Naidu) has said we will be continuing as part of NDA.” Meanwhile, two BJP ministers- Health and Education minister Kamineni Srinivas and Endowments ministers Manikyala Rao pulled out of the Naidu cabinet, in the morning ahead of the state budget session.  ________________________ CBI moves SC against acquittal of Talwars in Aarushi murder case The Crime Bureau of Investigation (CB...