TOP NEWS

In a first, the Indian Railways plans to roll out double decker trains which can transport cargo and passengers as well. First two such trains with 20 coaches will be manufactured with nearly Rs 160 crore investments at a rail coach factory, sources said.

These will be rolled out on the concept of Cargo-liners, which is a regular scheduled service on a fixed route between designated points and carries many consignments of different commodities.

Sources said while the middle and upper decks of the coaches in the trains will have the seating space to accommodate a maximum of 72 passengers, the lower deck can be used for transporting goods of upto 4-5 tonnes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Uttar Pradesh government gave its consent for whatever committee Supreme Court wanted to form, to probe the violence that erupted during farmers' protest in Lakhimpur Kheri.

Speaking to a news agency, PM Modi said the state government was working in a transparent manner.

PM Modi said, "State government gave its consent for whatever committee the Supreme Court wanted to form, for whichever judge SC wanted for probe. State government is working transparently."

Karnataka High Court on Wednesday heard a batch of pleas challenging the hijab ban as all schools and colleges were shut in the aftermath of protests for and against the hijab. Both the petitioner and the government wanted disposal at the earliest, while the College Development Committee opposed interim relief to students in this matter.

A Single Bench led by Justice Krishna Dixit then decided that the matter required to be heard by a larger bench. A larger bench will now decide whether to offer interim relief to students or not. Meanwhile, in the wake of growing protests, Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed in Bengaluru around education institutions. No protests can take place within 200 metres of educational institutions in the city for the next two weeks. Here are the top developments.

Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) national president Lalan Singh took a jibe at BJP MP Chhedi Paswan for his comments against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying that Paswan should forget the fact about how BJP formed a government with the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Recently, Paswan attacked Nitish Kumar, saying that the latter could also join hands with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to remain the chief minister. Former chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Yadav had also supported Paswan's remarks against Nitish Kumar.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said there were more charges against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the deputy chief minister than there are Sections in the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

"There are some serious allegations against the chief minister...If someone files a petition, we will reconsider cases against them...," Akhilesh Yadav said.

Akhilesh Yadav said if his party comes to power after winning this year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, it will double the number of police vehicles so that they could reach the crime spot as soon as possible.