India

New Delhi, Dec 30; PTI:  The central government has not given "blanket power" to any agency to intercept information from any computer and they have to strictly adhere to the existing rules and stick to the book while carrying out such action, a senior Home Ministry official said.

There is no new law, no new rules, no new procedure, no new agency, no blanket powers, no blanket authorisation and it is the same law, same rule, same procedure and the same agencies, he said.

Port Blair, Dec 30 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday announced renaming of three islands of Andaman and Nicobar on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Tricolour hoisting by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose here.

The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, the Neil Island would now be known as Shaheed Dweep and the Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep, Modi said during a speech.

The PM also released a commemorative stamp, its first-day cover and a Rs-75 coin on this special day.

Ahmedabad, Dec 30 (PTI) Former Gujarat Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela Sunday said Manmohan Singh was the "world's best prime minister" who worked hard for the country without seeking publicity.

In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vaghela accused him of "wasting" public money on the Statue of Unity and for "self-advertisement", and sought Rs 10,000 crore aid for welfare of the OBC community.

"This (Central) government allocated only Rs 1800 crore for welfare of the entire OBC community (in 2018-19).

Chandigarh, Dec 30 (PTI) BJP's rebel MP from Kurukshetra Raj Kumar Saini on Sunday dared the saffron party to expel him.

Saini, who had four months ago floated his own political outfit, hit out at the BJP saying it had allegedly betrayed the people who had voted for the party.

"I have had nothing to do with the party for the past three years," Saini told reporters here.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) Cold conditions prevailed in the national capital on Sunday with the minimum temperature settling at 3 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average, the MeT department said.

The maximum temperature settled at 22.9 degree Celsius, two notches above the season's average, an official of the Meteorological (MeT) department said.

The humidity oscillated between 34 and 100 per cent.

Delhi has been reeling under a cold wave for the past few days.

Imphal, Dec 30 (PTI) A militant carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head and wanted by security agencies in connection with the attack on Army personnel in 2015 in which 18 armymen were killed was arrested by police, a senior police officer said Sunday.

Kannur, Dec 30 (PTI) Police intensified combing operations on Sunday following reports that four suspected Maoists appeared at Ambayathod in Kannur district, raised slogans and pasted posters, police said.

Talking to reporters, Kannur Superintendent of Police, Siva Vikram, said three of the Maoists were armed and have been identified.

"A thorough search operation was conducted in Kannur, Wyanad and Kozhikode districts. A case has also been registered. We are planning a larger operation jointly," he said.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) A 32-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times allegedly by her husband after he suspected her of having an illicit affair in northeast Delhi's Sonia Vihar, police said Sunday.

The incident took place Saturday morning, they said.

The woman suffered multiple injuries to the chest and in the abdomen, police said.

KANPUR: Speaking as the chief guest in a programme here on Sunday, Tariq Anwar, MP, said the Congress party will reach an alliance with every secular political party in the coming parliamentary elections. It has also been discussing on possibilities of an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party. There will arise no problem in seat sharing.

New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) A Delhi court on Thursday allowed 12-day custodial interrogation by NIA of 10 people arrested on the suspicion of being members of an ISIS-inspired group who were allegedly planning suicide attacks and serial blasts, targeting politicians as also government installations, in Delhi and other parts of north India.

NIA had sought 15-day custodial interrogation of the arrested, saying it needed to unearth the entire conspiracy for which there were intelligence inputs.