NEWS

New Delhi: Undeterred by three MLCs recently quitting the party and joining the BJP, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has said those who wanted to go, should go without offering any excuse, so that he could ascertain who were with him in "bad times".

Referring to the "excuses" put forward by the three MLCs - Bukkal Nawab, Sarojini Agarwal and Yashwant Singh - while leaving the party, Yadav said, "Some people are saying they were feeling suffocated as the atmosphere of the party had gone bad. This should not be an excuse for leaving the party, they should find a better excuse."

New Delhi: Congress MLAs who were staying Bengaluru's Eagleton Resort, returned back to Ahmedabad on Monday ahead of crucial Rajya Sabha elections. Elections for three seats of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat will be held on Tuesday at Gandhinagar. 

BJP National President Amit Shah, Union Minister for Textile and Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani and Balwantsinh Rajput are contesting as BJP candidates, while Ahmed Patel is contesting from Congress party on third seat.

According to media reports, Congress has claimed that their MLAs were united and would vote in favour of Congress candidate Ahmed Patel.

New Delhi: A Mumbai court on Monday sentenced 16 Somali pirates to seven years in jail for hijacking a fishing vessel which had sailed from Iran in 2011 and taking its Iranian and Pakistani crew hostage. 

Special public prosecutor Ranjeet Sangle informed that sessions judge J C Jagdale sentenced the accused to seven years in jail for conspiracy, attempt to murder, kidnapping and offences under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. He also said that the court also imposed a fine of Rs 14,000 on each of them, while directing the government to deport them to Somalia after they serve their prison terms.

New Delhi: The Kerala High Court on Monday quashed the life ban on cricketer S. Sreesanth imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the wake of the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

The court passed the verdict while allowing a writ petition filed by the fast bowler, challenging the decision of the BCCI disciplinary committee.

The cricketer had pointed out that the decision of the disciplinary committee imposing the life ban was taken on the basis of a report prepared by an inquiry commissioner appointed by the earlier BCCI. In fact, the inquiry was conducted without following the principles of natural justice, he alleged.