SUNDAY FOCUS

Delhi Police's Cyber Cell will be handed the case of an online fraudster trying to cheat people by posing as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's private secretary.

In a tweet, Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana warned the public about the scamster and said that the person falsely claiming to be from PM Modi's office on social media will be identified soon.

The scam came to light after the complainant, Kunal Merchant, received an email from a person who identified himself as Vivek Kumar, private secretary to PM Modi. The contents of the email are about Kumar asking Merchant to design and build a table which would be installed in the prime minister's office for PM Modi's personal use.

India will be able to have reasonable relations with Russia as well as the West as it is much more powerful today than in the Cold War era, said veteran journalist and geopolitical expert Fareed Zakaria in an exclusive interview with a national tv channel.

Despite pressure from the West to speak out against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, India has so far taken a neutral stand on the issue. India has also abstained from voting against Russia at the United Nations.

When asked if India will have to make choices of the kind that they perhaps made at the time of the Cold War era, Fareed Zakaria said, "I don't think India faces the same pressure. Largely because it is a much more powerful country today than it was during the Cold War. India will be able to have it both ways... will be able to have reasonable relations with Russia while maintaining good relations with the West."

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Friday mocked the Aam Aadmi Party as "dramebaaz" (drama queen) and questioned why it has implemented the 'one MLA, one pension' policy in Punjab, but not done the same in Delhi.

"This rule should be implemented in Delhi also. Those earning through politics do not need a pension. Old pension should also be withdrawn from them," said Vij.

Last month, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said former MLAs will now get pension for only one term, doing away with the practice of drawing the benefit for each term served by them. The money saved from it will be spent on the welfare of people, he added.

As Sri Lanka continues to reel under its worst economic crisis, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has offered to hold talks with protesters demanding the dismissal of the Rajapaksa family from their positions in the government. The protesters, however, have reportedly rejected his proposal.

India, meanwhile, is looking to send more assistance to the island nation, which is also set to have talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

A woman waits in line to buy domestic gas on a main road in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Reuters)

On the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the “Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya” at Teen Murty Bhawan, the son of former prime minister Chandrashekhar and a BJP Rajya Sabha MP Neeraj Shekhar on Thursday shared memories of a long time bonding his father had with Modi even as the two leaders came from different political backgrounds and belonged to different generations.

“PM Narendra Modi and Chandrashekhar…different generations, different political parties yet a very close bond. This is exactly what democracy is about. My father knew PM Modi for many years and was always appreciative of his developmental work and eye for detail,” Shekhar shared in a series of tweets, which was circulated by the BJP senior leaders in their bid to showcase it as an endorsement of Mod’s vision about developing the museum to highlight the contributions made by all prime ministers.