LIVE: Mamata says she was attacked in Nandigram, calls it a conspiracy

Mamata Banerjee rushed to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata after she suffers injury in Nandigram. Stay tuned for latest news live updates.

3:01 AM

206 nomination papers found valid for 1st phase of Bengal assembly polls

After scrutiny of nomination papers filed for 30 constituencies in West Bengals first phase of assembly election, the authorities found those of 206 candidates valid, a CEO official said on Wednesday.
 

Altogether 222 candidates have filed their nominations for the first phase of polling to be held on March 27. Of them, the nomination papers of 16 were found invalid, the official of the state Chief Electoral Officers office said.
 

The nomination paper of the Trinamool Congress Joypur candidate Ujjwal Kumar and that of the BJPs Shankar Kumar who was nominated for Baghmundi seat were rejected.
 

The ECI also found the papers of two Congress candidates - Nepal Mahato (Baghmundi) and Subhas Mahata (Kashipur) invalid, the official said.
 

Nomination papers of five more political party nominees and seven independent candidates were also rejected.
 

Tuesday was the last date of filing nominations for the first phase of polling and scrutiny was held on Wednesday.
 

Of the total 222 candidates who had submitted papers for the first phase of polling, 30 each were of the TMC and the BJP.
 

3:00 AM

DDA Housing Scheme: 1,353 flats allotted through online draw of lots

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Wednesday allotted 1,353 flats to people under a housing scheme through an online draw of lots, officials said.
 

Terming the online processes used in the latest allotment a "template for future schemes", a senior official said the urban body could roll out another scheme towards the end of the year if work on ongoing projects is completed.
 

The 2021 Housing Scheme was launched on January 2. Applications were accepted till February 16, with 1,354 flats on offer. These flats under various categories are located in Dwarka, Jasola, Manglapuri, Vasant Kunj and Rohini.
 

The draw of lots was conducted based on a random number-generation system and in the presence of judges and senior officers of the DDA at its headquarters, Vikas Sadan.
 

"A total of 1,353 flats were today allotted through a draw of lots. One flat in Vasant Kunj in self-financing scheme segment remained unallotted due to some legal issues with it,” a senior official said.
 

A total number of 22,752 applications were received for 253 HIG, 757 MIG, 52 LIG and 291 EWS or Janta flats, the DDA said.
 

Allotment of flats through the draw was made to 1,353 applicants, based on their preference, choice for localities. A waiting list of 338 applicants have also been drawn up. These waitlisted applicants would be allotted flats in case of cancellation or surrender of flats by the main allottees, the official said.
 

The 1,353 flats allotted to various categories of applicants -- 17 (ex-servicemen), 930 (general), 225 (SC), 102 (ST), 69 (persons with disabilities) and 10 (war widows).
 

2:59 AM

Married woman made to drink alcohol, raped by 3 in UP

Three people have been arrested for allegedly making a married woman drink alcohol and raping her in Puranpur Kotwali police station area here, police said on Wednesday.
 

A case was registered in this connection on Wednesday against Pawan Kumar, Chote and Umesh, Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Yadav told media.
 

In the complaint given to the police, the woman alleged that one of the accused from her neighbourhood offered to take her to her parents' house. She said he made her drink liquor and raped her along with two of his companions.
 

The accused later dumped her at a deserted place, police said.
 

2:57 AM

Dubai to launch environmental nanometric satellite

Dubai Municipality, in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), has announced that it is preparing to launch the DMSat-1 satellite, the region's first environmental nanometric satellite, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 20.
 

The launch is part of a high-technology project undertaken to develop solutions to environmental challenges and address climate change.
 

Using state-of-the-art space technologies, DMSat-1 will monitor, collect and analyse environmental data as well as measure air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
 

The environmental satellite will also help create maps of the concentration and distribution of greenhouse gases in Dubai and the UAE and study seasonal changes in the presence of these gases.
 

Data provided by the satellite will be used in several areas including finding solutions to environmental challenges, developing long-term plans to address urban pollution and climate change and environmental forecasting in Dubai.
 

This data will also help enhance the emirate's leading role in developing quality projects and pioneering research in the domain of climate change.
 

The DMSat-1 project will help build new capabilities in the field of environmental research at the local level, and provide new opportunities for harnessing space technology to enhance environmental sustainability.
 

“Essential data provided by the DMSat-1 satellite will enable Dubai Municipality to respond to global environmental changes, identify steps to combat climate change and develop long-term environmental plans,” Dawoud AlHajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said.
 

2:55 AM

Bengal poll observers meet govt officials, discuss law and order

Special Observer for the West Bengal assembly elections Ajay Nayak and Special Police Observer Vivek Dubey on Wednesday met senior state government officials and discussed the issue of law and order ahead of the first phase of polling on March 27, a source in the CEO's office said.
 

During the meeting with Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and other officials, Nayak and Dubey sought full cooperation from the administration to conduct free and fair polls.
 

The observers also met Home Secretary HK Dwidevi and DGP P Nirajnayan.
 

"Law and order issue was discussed at the meeting. The ECI officials expressed their concern over the law and order situation in the state and sought total cooperation from the administration to hold fair and free elections," the source said.
 

The meeting was held a day after the Election Commission removed Virendra as the Director-General of Police of West Bengal.
 

The commission also recently removed Jawed Shamim from the post of ADG (Law and Order).
 

Nayak and Dubey reached the state last week and have been holding meetings with various authorities to oversee poll preparedness and take stock of the situation.
 

The first phase of the elections will be held in 30 assembly constituencies in five districts - Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram and parts of Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur.
 

The eight-phased elections to the 294 seats in West Bengal will be held between March 27 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 2.
 

12:27 AM

Khattar govt may have won trust vote, but has fallen in the eyes of people: Hooda

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday said the state government may have won the no-confidence motion moved against it by the Opposition, but it has “fallen in the eyes of the people”.
 

The BJP-JJP government in Haryana survived the floor test on Wednesday, comfortably defeating the no-confidence motion moved against it by the main opposition Congress.
 

The motion was defeated following division of votes.
 

“The Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and (five of seven) independent MLAs, who are allies of the government, had a chance to vote for the farmers and fulfil their responsibility of being people's representatives,” Hooda told reporters.
 

He said even though the Congress had limited strength in the House, “we stood with the farmers firmly in the House and performed our responsibility. We voted against the government which lathi-charged farmers, fired tear gas shells, used water cannons during the peak winter and implicated them in false cases”.
 

“The government may have survived the no-confidence motion, but it has fallen in the eyes of the people,” the Leader of the Opposition said.
 

On his demand of secret voting on the no-confidence motion being turned down by Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, Hooda said, “This clearly shows that the government feared that many of their MLAs would vote in support of the motion”.
 

12:26 AM

NHRC mulls research on key issues to help protect rights of marginalised sections of society

The NHRC on Wednesday organised a statutory full commission meeting of all its deemed members and chairpersons of seven national commissions, seeking to identify mechanisms to reduce human rights violations and share best practices to work on a joint strategy towards that goal.
 

Addressing the meeting, justice P C Pant, member of NHRC, urged all members of the rights panel to suggest human rights issues on which the commission could undertake research in the coming years to protect the rights of the marginalised section of the society.
 

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a statement saying the objective of the meeting was to "identify mechanisms to reduce human rights violation and share best practices to work on a joint strategy for the promotion and protection of human rights of various sections of society".
 

There is a need to work in synergy to identify bottlenecks and failures impeding their growth and contribute to their well-being, Pant was quoted as saying in the statement.
 

12:25 AM

Stalin rues 'attack' on Mamata Banerjee

DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday criticised the alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the state's Nandigram assembly constituency, saying it was "an assault on Indian democracy".
 

Banerjee alleged on Wednesday that she was attacked by four to five men who manhandled her during an election campaign in Nandigram because of which she sustained an injury in the left leg.
 

"The shameful attack on Mamata Banerjee is an assault on Indian democracy. The perpetrators of such a crime should be brought to justice immediately. Election Commission of India and the police dept should take stringent action to avoid such instances in the future," Stalin tweeted.
 

The Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly also wished a speedy recovery to the TMC supremo.
 

9:45 PM

Bengal govt constitutes 5-member team to treat Mamata Banerjee

The West Bengal government has constituted a team of five senior doctors to treat Banerjee, Health Department sources said. In the team were a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, a general surgery doctor, an orthopedist and a medicine doctor, they said, according to PTI. Banerjee was taken to the 12.5 special cabin in the Woodburn Block of the hospital on a stretcher as her convoy reached the hospital, amid a huge presence of her supporters who raised slogans against the BJP.

"We will stabilise her first. An X-ray will be conducted on her leg. We need to find out the degree of her injury and then the course of our treatment will be decided," a doctor at the hospital told PTI. The chief minister's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, a TMC MP, and state ministers Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee were present at the hospital.

9:29 PM

TMC youth wing protest after Mamata suffers injury in Nandigram

9:28 PM

Bengal Guv Jagdeep Dhankhar visits Mamata at SSKM Hospital

9:26 PM

'Attack' on Mamata at Nandigram: ECI seeks report, says official

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday sought a report from the state police on the alleged attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nandigram constituency, in which she was injured, an official said.

 

The Trinamool Congress supremo was injured in the leg after being allegedly pushed by unidentified people near a temple at Reyapara area during campaigning at Nandigram, where the BJP pitted her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari against her.

 

"We have sought a report from the state police administration. The report must be sent quickly," the official of the state CEO's office said.

 

Banerjee alleged that no local police personnel were near her when four or five people might have deliberately pushed her causing the injury.

9:23 PM

Mamata injured after being 'manhandled' during poll campaign in Nandigram, taken to hospital

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Wednesday that she was attacked by "four-five men" who manhandled her during the election campaign in Nandigram, because of which she was injured in the left leg.
 

The incident happened around 6.15 pm when Banerjee was about to leave Birulia area near Reyapara after praying at a local temple.
 

"I was standing outside my car with the door open. I was praying from there on seeing a temple. Few people came around my car and pushed the door. The door hit my leg," she said.
 

Banerjee alleged that she was pushed by four-five men while she was trying to get into the car, following which fell flat on her face.
 

The chief minister said that her leg got swollen because of the injury and she was feeling feverish, besides having chest pain.
 

Pointing to her leg, she told reporters, "See how it has swollen."
 

"Some people deliberately did it. Of course, it is a conspiracy. There were no local policemen around me, neither the district police superintendent was present at the spot," she alleged.
 

The chief minister also has severe pain in the waist, TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who is at present in Nandigram, said.
 

8:04 PM

Wistron resumes operations at Kolar plant

Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple Inc., Wistron has resumed operations at its Narasapura facility at Kolar from March 8, with all the requisite clearance, Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Wednesday.

 

The factory had been shut since December 12, as workers had gone on a rampage due to wage-related issues.

 

"Due to wage-related issues that occurred in December, it had left many employees staring at a bleak future. We don't want a repeat of such incidents.Henceforth, bring to the notice of the local district administration and find a middle path to resolve the issues," Shettar was quoted as saying in an official release, during his visit to the Wistron facility.

7:51 PM

Will go to Kolkata, urge farmers to defeat BJP in polls, but will not support any party: Tikait

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday said he will go to Kolkata this week to urge farmers to defeat the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly elections, but claimed he is not supporting any political party.

 

Farmers are distressed, and election will be discussed with them, Tikait said, adding that he is not going to West Bengal to seek votes.

 

"I will go to Kolkata on March 13. The clarion call for a decisive struggle will come from Kolkata. We will talk to farmers there and urge them to defeat the BJP," the BKU leader said. He was in Ballia to address a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat'.

7:41 PM

Crude oil coming out of ground in few villages in Meghalaya: Congress MLA

A Congress MLA on Wednesday told the Meghalaya Assembly that some people in his constituency are claiming that crude oil is coming out of the ground in a few villages along the Indo-Bangladesh border and urged the government to inquire into the matter.

 

"People have reported that crude oil is coming out from the ground in a few villages in Mawsynram (his constituency)," Congress legislator Hima Shangpliang told the Assembly during the general discussion on the regulation of prices of petrol and diesel in the state.

7:31 PM

Denied poll tickets, 2 Assam BJP MLAs resign from party

Two BJP MLAs of Assam on Wednesday said that they resigned from the party after they were denied tickets to contest the forthcoming assembly elections in the state.

 

The two legislators, former Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul and Shiladitya Dev, also alleged that conspiracies were hatched against them by some leaders in the saffron party.

7:12 PM

LIVE: Farmer bodies, trade unions to protest privatisation and fuel price hike on March 15

Farmer bodies, trade unions to protest privatisation and fuel price hike on March 15: Sanyukt Kisan Morcha

7:12 PM

LIVE: Farmer unions call for 'Bharat bandh' on March 26

Farmer unions call for 'Bharat bandh' on March 26 when their agitation against Centre's farm laws completes 4 months

6:39 PM

Congress's wrong policies behind BJP's rise to power: Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Wednesday attributed the BJP's rise to power to the wrong and anti-people policies of the Congress.

 

"Every party faces ups and downs. After independence, parties like Jansangh and BJP had been finished, said Mayawati in a statement.

 

But, she said, the BJP with its communal and anti-people polices is at its peak today.

6:35 PM

DRDO carried out 28 successful tests in last one year

Twenty-eight successful tests were carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the last one year, the government said on Wednesday.

 

The major weapons and other systems which have been handed over to the armed forces by the DRDO during this period include Astra Beyond Visual Range Missile System, 10m Short Span Bridging System and Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS).

 

The list also includes Heavy Weight Torpedo (HWT) Varunastra, Border Surveillance System (BOSS) and Arjun Mk-1A.

6:35 PM

Epic Games files legal claim against Google in Australia

Fortnite creator Epic Games on Wednesday said that it has filed a legal claim against Google with the Federal Court of Australia, continuing what it calls "pursuit for fairer digital platforms globally".

 

Epic has already filed a claim with the court against Apple on similar grounds.

 

In the claim, Epic alleges that Google's anti-competitive conduct breaches the Australian Consumer Law as well as various sections of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

 

The company has alleged that Google abuses its control over the Android operating system restricting competition in payment processing and app distribution on the Google Play Store.

6:21 PM

Latest News LIVE: AIADMK's list of 171 nominees out of Tamil Nadu polls

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday released its second list of 171 nominees for the April 6 assembly polls and identified the segments to be contested by its allies, the PMK and BJP.

 

Together with its first list of six candidates, the AIADMK would be in fray in 177 constituencies and its partners in 43 while 14 more seats are yet to be allocated.

 

Tamil Nadu Assembly has 234 seats and the state would have a single phase poll on April 6.

 

Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal, several ministers, including S P Velumani, P Thangamani, K A Sengottaiyan, and former ministers such as B V Ramana and TKM Chinnayya find a place in the list of candidates.

6:10 PM

Easy Trip Planners IPO subscribed 159.30 times so far on last day

Easy Trip Planners' initial public offer was subscribed a whopping 159.30 times so far on the last day of subscription on Wednesday.

 

The issue received bids for over 240.23 crore shares against more than 1.50 crore shares on offer, as per data available with NSE till 16:40 pm.

 

The category meant for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 77.53 times, while those for non-institutional investors 382.21 times and retail individual investors (RIIs) 70.26 times.

 

The initial public offer (IPO) comprises an offer for sale aggregating up to Rs 510 crore. It is in the price range of Rs 186-187 per share.

6:10 PM

Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill passed in Rajya Sabha by voice vote

Parliament on Wednesday approved a Bill to amend the arbitration law that would ensure all stakeholders get a chance to seek an unconditional stay on enforcement of arbitral awards where an agreement is "induced by fraud or corruption".

 

The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on February 12.

 

It will replace an ordinance issued on November 4, 2020.

 

Immediately after the passage of the Bill, Deputy Chairman Harivansh adjourned the Rajya Sabha till Monday as opposition parties continued raising slogans demanding discussion on the three Central farm laws.

6:05 PM

Left-Congress-ISF alliance names CPI(M)'s Minakshi Mukherjee as candidate from high-stakes Nandigram seat

West Bengal polls: Left-Congress-ISF alliance names CPI(M)'s Minakshi Mukherjee as candidate from high-stakes Nandigram seat

6:04 PM

US Secy of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to embark on his first overseas trip on Mar 13

US Secy of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to embark on his first overseas trip on Mar 13, to visit US Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters in Hawaii, US troops and senior government leaders in Japan and the Republic of Korea, and senior government leaders in India

5:19 PM

Online content consumption surged significantly during March last year due to lockdown: Report

Consumption of contents on Indian over-the-top (OTT) platforms surged significantly during the lockdown month of March 2020 compared to the same period a year ago, according to a report.

 

Consumption of gaming, entertainment contents on streaming platforms, and usage of smartphones saw a significant rise, said the report published by MICA Ahmedabad in association with Ahmedabad-based start-up Communication Crafts on Wednesday.

 

It said gaming consumption increased to 63 billion minutes in March 2020 compared to 42 billion minutes in the same month a year ago.

4:59 PM

Congress leader P C Chacko resigns from party, alleges groupism in Kerala unit

In a blow to the Congress in poll bound Kerala, Senior leader P C Chacko on Wednesday announced his resignation from the party, alleging group interest in deciding party candidates for the coming assembly elections.

 

Chacko, who was a former working committee member of the Congress, is the second senior leader to quit the national party after Jyotiraditya Scindia.

 

Scindia joined the BJP after his resignation over differences with Congress' Madhya Pradesh state leadership.

 

Amid demand from a group of 23 senior Congress leaders for an organisational overhaul of the party, Chacko, who headed the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G Spectrum during the second UPA rule, also alleged that the national leadership of the party has not been active for the last two years.

4:54 PM

Kolkata: TMC MLA Gaurishankar Dutta joins BJP, ahead of West Bengal Elections

Kolkata: TMC MLA Gaurishankar Dutta joins BJP, ahead of West Bengal Elections