954

SC may lay down when governor can send Bills to President

Questioning the Kerala governor for sitting over bills passed by the state assembly for two years without offering any justification and then referring them to the President, the supreme court on Wednesday said it would examine laying down guidelines on when a governor can send bills to the President.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it would consider framing guidelines on how governors can exercise the discretion they enjoy under the Constitution. This was in response to a plea from the Kerala government's counsel, former attorney general K K Venugopal, who argued for judicial intervention saying that the governor's inaction was hurting people's interests.

907

Farmers From Punjab, Haryana Call Off Strike, Warn Centre of Bigger Agitation, 'This Was A Trailer'

Farmers and their unions who gathered at the Mohali and Panchkula border for a three-day strike ended their protest on Tuesday after meeting with the governors of Punjab and Haryana.

But, farmers have warned the Centre of a “bigger agitation” if it does not show “seriousness” towards their pending demands.

“This was a trailer,” said Harinder Singh Lakhowal, a farmer leader from Punjab adding that a bigger agitation will be held if the government does not show seriousness towards our demands.

906

US, Israel intelligence chiefs discuss 'next phase' of Gaza deal in Doha: Report

US and Israeli intelligence chiefs arrived in Doha to discuss the "next phase" of a deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, a report claimed. The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency and Israel's Mossad were scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, news agency AFP reported. Egyptian officials were also taking part in the meeting, it claimed.

“The director of the CIA and the director of the Israeli National Intelligence Agency are in Doha to meet with the Qatari prime minister,” a source told AFP.

905

Rahul Gandhi in Telangana, 'If PM Modi is to be defeated at Centre, KCR must...'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said it was if the Narendra Modi government is to be defeated in Delhi, it is important to defeat K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharatiya Rashtriya Samithi (BRS) in Telangana first.

Addressing a poll rally in Hyderabad, Rahul Gandhi said, "If Modi is to be defeated in Delhi, BRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao should be defeated in Telangana first."

904

Telangana elections: Congress woos Reddys, BRS banks on booth management

Visheshwar Rao, a civil society member who went to campaign for poet Gaddar’s daughter G Vennela in Secunderabad Cantonment seat, sounded worried. “I went to a semi-slum area and people said 12 workers of the ruling BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) have been camping there for the past few days,” said Rao.

This intense canvassing reflects the meticulous election planning of the BRS and its strategists. Sitting at the annex of Pragati Bhavan, chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s official residence, a top BRS functionary, who didn’t want to be named, said: “Our booth-level poll management had started in September. In close to 100 seats, we have nominated candidates who had been MLAs at least once in the last 10 years. So, they have their teams ready at the booth level.”