NEWS

New Delhi: The Income Tax department early on Saturday conducted raids at the residences of people associated with Samajwadi Party. The raids were conducted at the residence and offices of Jainendra Yadav in Lucknow, Rajeev Rai in Mau, Manoj Rai in Agra and some other people closely associated with the SP and party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh attacked the BJP over the raids and said that the party was misusing agencies on the lines of Congress. Addressing a press conference in Raebareli on Saturday, Akhilesh Yadav said, “IT has already arrived, soon ED and CBI will also come to UP. But this is not going to stop the march of Samajwadi Party. Rajeev Rai is our leader, why are the raids being done now and not earlier? Now the IT department will contest polls.”

The renewable energy ministry has reintroduced conditions that will require renewable energy companies to furnish performance bank guarantee and earnest money while bidding for projects.

The ministry on Thursday asked public intermediaries such as SECI, NTPC and NHPC auctioning renewable projects to introduce the conditions in their upcoming tenders.

Under the new terms, bidding for projects will have to furnish 4% of the project cost as bank guarantee if the site is specified by them and 5% of project value if the site is selected by the generator.

New Delhi: The mercury further plummeted several degrees on Saturday as North India shivered amid a cold wave. Delhi on Saturday recorded a minimum temperature of six degrees Celsius, the lowest this season so far, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 20 degrees Celsius and shallow fog has been predicted during the day, it said. The minimum temperature was two notches below the season’s average, the IMD said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday said, “The day temperature over Northwest India appreciably to markedly below normal. So, there’s added adverse impact of below normal day temperature to prevailing cold wave conditions here. Day temperature expected to continue in below normal category up to December 21."

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Delhi HC to expeditiously decide on a plea seeking registration of FIR against some BJP leaders and others for allegedly making provocative speeches ahead of last year's Delhi riots.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai refused to entertain a PIL filed by Delhi riots victims and asked them to approach the Delhi HC. But when senior advocate Colin Gonsalves contended that a petition is pending in the HC for the last two years and nothing was happening in that case, the bench asked the HC to decide the case within three months.tnn

Petitioners claim a straight-forward case for registering FIR