Latest LIVE: Nadda asks Kejriwal to prove innocence in liquor scam case

From the developments around Congress president elections to latest Covid news, catch all the live updates here

2:56 PM

Former Pak PM Nawaz Sharif delivers first televised address in three years despite ban

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has held his first televised address in three years despite a ban on his speeches after being named as a proclaimed absconder, in a move that appears to be softening of the stand by the government run by his brother, a media report said on Tuesday.

 

Sharif, 72, who has been living in exile in the United Kingdom after going to the country under the pretext of medical treatment in 2019, is banned by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) over his status as a convict and absconder.

 

The three-time prime minister, the elder brother of Premier Shahbaz Sharif, on Sunday delivered a short speech to make an impassioned appeal for aid as floods wreak havoc across the country. In the speech, he urged the people to help those in need.

2:35 PM

EoI for IDBI Bank stake sale likely next month

The government is likely to invite preliminary bids for selling a stake in IDBI Bank next month and the discussions with the RBI are at the final stages, an official said.

"There are still some pending issues that need to be discussed with the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India. We are hopeful of issuing the EoI by September," the official told PTI.

The official, however, did not divulge details of regulatory issues on which the government is holding discussions with banking and equity market regulators RBI and Sebi, respectively.

2:24 PM

Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' to cover 366 km in Telangana from Oct 24

AICC leader Rahul Gandhi's Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra is expected to enter Telangana on October 24 and the Gandhi scion will walk approximately 366 km in the state, Balram Naik, former union minister and Coordinator for Telangana for the Yatra said on Tuesday.

He said the foot march will enter the state from Makthal in Mahbubnagar District and will cover four Lok Sabha constituencies and nine Assembly segments.

He further said the exact route map will be submitted to the party high command shortly. However, there may be some changes here and there in the route map as the march is expected to continue for 15 days in the state.

2:13 PM

CBI has given me a clean chit, Sisodia says after search of his locker

The CBI has given him a "clean chit" following its search of his locker, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday after a team of the probe agency went through his locker for about two hours.

 

Sisodia and his wife were present as the four-member team conducted the search at a Punjab National Bank branch in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of the national capital.

 

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader is among the 15 people and entities named in an FIR registered by the agency in connection with alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi government's Excise Policy 2021-22.

 

2:12 PM

Bhupendra Chaudhary quits as UP Minister

The newly appointed Uttar Pradesh BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhary has resigned from his ministerial position in keeping with the party rule of 'one man-one post'.

Chaudhary was Minister for Panchayati Raj in the Yogi Adityanath government.

He had taken over as the state BJP president on Monday.

He submitted his resignation on Tuesday morning and informed about the same through a tweet.

2:04 PM

CBI has found nothing in my locker, says Sisodia

The CBI found nothing during its search of his locker, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday.

A four-member team of the CBI conducted the search at a Punjab National Bank branch in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, for nearly two hours. Sisodia and his wife wre present at the time.

The CBI was acting under pressure, Sisodia told reporters after the search was over.

2:03 PM

Four new toy trains in Darjeeling for festive season

The NFR has decided to operate four new special joyrides under the toy train service of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) during the ensuing festive season, a senior official said.

The new toy trains will run between Darjeeling and Ghum in both directions on a daily basis from October 1 and will continue till December 31 in view of the upcoming festive season, Northeast Frontier Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De said.

"All the joyride specials will run with a composition of three first-class chair car coaches," he said.

2:00 PM

Just 37% transplanted trees survived in Delhi: Forest Dept

Only 37 percent of the trees transplanted in the national capital in 2021-22 have survived despite the implementation of the Delhi tree transplantation policy, according to forest department data.

A senior forest department official said, "The policy has made the tree transplantation process more scientific but we are yet to study its impact as it was implemented just a year-and-a-half ago".

The forest department data showed that only one-third (33.33 percent) of the 16,461 trees transplanted in Delhi over the last three years survived.

1:01 PM

Nothing was found in my bank locker: Manish Sisodia

"Nothing was found in my bank locker today just like nothing was found at my residence during the CBI raid. I am happy that I have got a clean chit. The CBI officials treated us well, and we also cooperated with them. Truth has won," says Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia after CBI raids on bank locker.

1:00 PM

China claiming Arunachal as it own is outrageous: German Ambassador

"We  are very well aware of problems at the northern border. China claims that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of China, which is outrageous. So, I think that the infringement at the border is extremely difficult and should not be accepted,"says Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador.
He adds, You should also differentiate that what happens at border with China has nothing to do with what happens in Ukraine. China doesn't hold 20% of Indian territory, it's not destroying systematically every village, every town in the area".

12:57 PM

Sri Lanka president to present first budget with hopes for IMF loan

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will on Tuesday slash defence and other expenditures in a bid to win International Monetary Fund (IMF) support as he presents his first budget since taking over as leader of his crisis-hit country.

 

Officials hope the interim budget for the rest of the year will be followed by a staff-level agreement on extending much-needed IMF help for Sri Lanka to tackle its worst economic turmoil since independence from Britain in 1948.

 

12:56 PM

PM Modi to commission India's first indigenous aircraft carrier on Sep 2

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commission the first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi on September 2.

The PMO said Modi will be in Karnataka and Kerala on September 1-2 to attend several programmes, including a visit to the birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya at Kalady village near Cochin airport.

He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around Rs 3,800 crores in Mangaluru.

The PMO noted that Modi has been a strong proponent of self reliance, especially in strategic sectors, and the commissioning of INS Vikrant will mark a significant step towards this.

12:56 PM

'Sharab', 'shiksha' scams twin towers of corruption in Delhi govt: BJP

In a fresh attack on the AAP-led Delhi government, the BJP on Tuesday said 'sharab' (liquor) and 'shiksha' (education) scams had become the "twin towers of corruption" in the Delhi government and the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation was gradually building more floors.

The BJP leaders also alleged that the Delhi government escalated the cost of building classrooms multiple times and projected several schools toilets as classrooms to justify the "bloated" costs.

At a press conference, Shahzad Poonawalla claimed that the AAP government was following a 'reverse Robinhood' model wherein money meant for the poor was taken away to fill the coffers of the liquor mafia.

12:49 PM

Amit Shah likely to visit Jodhpur on Sept 10

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to address BJP OBC morcha meet in Jodhpur on September 10, party sources said here on Tuesday.

The national working committee of the party's OBC morcha will meet from September 8 to 10.

Party sources confirmed that this can be ascribed as an attempt to woo OBC voters for the forthcoming Assembly elections in 2023 and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

12:13 PM

After overnight protests by MLAs, Delhi Assembly Secretariat bans entry of MPs in premises

In view of the tense situation due to the overnight protest at the Assembly premises by MLAs of the ruling AAP and opposition BJP, the Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday issued an order banning the entry of MPs and political party leaders in its premises.

BJP leader and South MP Ramesh Bidhuri, however, arrived at the Assembly reception and also told reporters that all his party MPs will take part in the session, irrespective of the Secretariat order. He was stopped at the gate.

The deputy speaker has observed that as members from the ruling and opposition parties are staging protests inside the Assembly complex, security arrangements should be tightened in and around the Assembly complex to ensure no untoward incidents take place, the order read.