Quick News

New Delhi:  The police said Father Johnson V Mathew has been arrested from Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district and has been brought to the crime branch office for questioning. The police arrest of one more priest in a sexual exploitation case has rocked the Orthodox Syrian church over the last few weeks.

Another accused in the case, Father Job Mathew, had surrendered before the investigating team on Thursday. Police are still hunting for two more priests booked in the case.

New Delhi:  The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has announced on Friday that it would bring a no-confidence motion against its former ally National Democratic Alliance government in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.

 “We will move a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the monsoon session. Both BJP and YSRCP are conspiring against Chandrababu Naidu & TDP. They have betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh”, said Lanka Dinakaran of the TDP.

New Delhi:For a better media management, the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has decided to send its two spokespersons and one co-convener in the three election-bound states - Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan. They have been entrusted with the responsibility of image building of the state government, showcase the work of the government and how the performance of the government at the centre will help the state as well.

The most aggressive national spokesperson SambitPatra has been given the responsibility of Rajasthan, suave GVL NarsimhaRao to be sent to Madhya Pradesh and co-convener of national media cell Sanjay Mayukh has been entrusted with the responsibility of Chhattisgarh. They will not only guide the state media cell but also interact with the state media when need be.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has asked the Centre to apprise it as to whether petrol and diesel can have an equal pricing for four wheelers and private cars after the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) said pollution from diesel vehicles was a cause of concern.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta suggested that the government could contemplate fixing price of diesel and petrol on par for four wheelers, other than goods vehicles.

New Delhi:  The government plans to introduce the Dam Safety Bill in Parliament during the monsoon session beginning July 18 amid Tamil Nadu government’s opposition. The TN government is opposing to the Centre’s proposal to oversee the safety of dams in shared territories between states.

“The states, which have dams in other states, are generally not allowed inspections and supervision. So in order to resolve the disputes (arising out of it), the central government will be made responsible for the safety of (such) dams,’’ said an official on the condition of anonymity while referring to such dams in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

The official said the absence of safety regulations is a major concern as states are generally unwilling to share safety data and at times go for alterations in structures, which can be dangerous.

The bill proposes formation of centrally-regulated bodies — the National Regulatory Committee and National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) — to devise safety policies, implement guidelines and recommend regulations.

The states have been unable to enforce dam safety guidelines effectively. The bill proposes to address this by having NDSA and state-level bodies responsible for enforcing the safety regulations. The NDSA shall also perform the role of dam safety organisations to prevent inter-state conflicts in case dams of one state fall within the territory of another.

New Delhi: Senior Karnataka Congress leader K B Koliwad accused some of his own party leaders of ‘tormenting’ Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. The CM had said that he was "not happy" being in the top post and was swallowing the pain like 'Vishakantha' (Lord Shiva), who drank poison.

"There are some Congress leaders who are tormenting him. I won't disclose the names. Those who are not able to digest the (Congress-JDS) coalition government are simmering from inside and are giving trouble to Kumaraswamy," said former Assembly speaker Koliwad, while reacting to Kumaraswamy's emotional breakdown.