India

New Delhi, Mar 24 : The CPI Sunday announced the candidature of former JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, days after the party was left out of the RJD-led opposition alliance in the state.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), which was expecting to get the seat for Kumar as part of the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), has now decided to go alone.

"Kanhaiya Kumar will be our candidate from Begusarai seat. CPI(ML) has pledged their support to us too," senior CPI leader D Raja said.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) A boarding pass issued by Air India with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has come under criticism, days after the PM's photo on railway tickets created a furore.

The airline said the passes featuring the photographs, which were third-party advertisements, would be withdrawn if they are found to be in violation of the Model Code of Conduct.

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit and other leaders of the unit Monday discussed the possibility of an alliance with the AAP for the Lok Sabha polls in the city in a meeting with party chief Rahul Gandhi.

The opinion on the issue remained divided and everyone in the meeting was unanimous that Gandhi should take a final call on it in the larger interest of the party, said a participant of the meeting.

Mumbai, Mar 25 (PTI) The husband of an NCP corporator was Monday hacked to death in Maharashtra's Beed district allegedly by a mob which suspected he was helping members of the Shikalgar community in a kidnapping case, police said.

Pandurang Gaikwad (50) was attacked with swords, sickles and sticks in Phule Nagar area of Parli-Vaijnath town in the district, over 470 kilometres from here, an official said.

"Gaikwad sustained serious injuries in the attack in the early hours of Monday. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival," the official said.

Kanpur: The kind of life we find in Kanpur is not available in other city, stated Dr Alka Shukla. She was speaking at a programme held to celebrate Kanpur Diwas here.

This city has multi-dimensional aspect. We get a mixture of independence struggle, literary trends, and industrial features, said a senior litterateur Neelambar Kaushik. He was speaking at a discussion organised on the occasion of Kanpur Day here on Sunday. 

Lucknow, Mar 24 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party Sunday released its first list of candidates in Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections.

Rajya Sabha MP and AAP state in-charge Sanjay Singh said the party has fielded Yogesh Dahiya from the Saharanpur parliamentary seat and Shweta Sharma from Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Satish Chandra Sharma is the AAP's candidate from Aligarh, he said.

The party is likely to contest the polls from 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

For rest of the seats, the process to select candidates is in the final stage, Singh said.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Mar 24 (PTI) Newly-appointed BJP vice-president Uma Bharti on Sunday hit out Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the latter's remarks that 'chowkidars' (watchmen) of the saffron party were working only for the rich people.

Bharti said Vadra did not know the meaning of 'chowkidar', saying that watchmen work in villages for the security of the poor.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) A 37-year-old man was arrested for allegedly abducting a woman from Outer Delhi's Mundka and sexually assaulting her in Haryana, police said Sunday.

Sonu, a native of Jhajjar, Haryana, had contacted the victim on the pretext of doing her bridal make up, they said.

During interrogation, Sonu disclosed that he came in contact with the victim's brother and took her mobile number after persuading him for the bridal make up of his sister on Saturday, a senior police officer said.

Malda (WB), Mar 23; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying all day and said he is the "chowkidar" of the corrupt and fugitives like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya.

Congress is fighting to keep the country united and the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be a fight between ideologies of the Congress and the BJP-RSS, he said at a rally here kicking off his party's campaign in West Bengal.

New Delhi, Mar 23; PTI/GANASHAKTI: President Ram Nath Kovind Saturday  administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the country's first Lokpal.

The oath was administered at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a communique issued by the President's office said.

Justice Ghose, a former Supreme Court judge, was Tuesday named the country's first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman.