India

New Delhi, Oct 7; PTI: The BJP may lose power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, an opinion poll has predicted, saying the Congress is best placed in Rajasthan, where its state president Sachin Pilot is the first choice of the voters for the chief minister's post.

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Uttar Pradesh government to amend the law to bring the office of Chief Minister under the purview of state ombudsman, Lokayukta.

The plea said that the existing status of the 'Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta and Up-Lokayukta Act, 1975' does not make the ombudsman "powerful enough to serve the purpose and object for which it was enacted".

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) The Jamia Millia Islamia University administration has accepted the students' demand to appoint Turkish teachers, even as the students claimed they got only a 'verbal assurance' from the varsity, officials said Saturday.

A spokesperson from the administration said they have accepted the demands of the students.

The students have been sitting in protest against the absence of Turkish language teachers. On Friday, they had a meeting with the administration where they said the administration agreed with them on most of the issues.

New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) Within a day of the one-off excise duty cut and PSUs subsidising fuel, petrol and diesel prices are on the rise again and have hit a three week high.

Petrol and diesel prices were cut by a minimum Rs 2.50 on October 5 when the government's only second cut in excise duty of Rs 1.50 per litre and state-owned fuel retailers providing a Re 1 per litre subsidy came into effect. In BJP-ruled states, the reduction was higher as they matched the cut with a similar reduction local sales tax or VAT.

Hyderabad, Oct 7 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has predicted a hung Assembly in the coming Telangana polls with no single party getting a majority, while promising a "Delhi model" government as its poll plank in the southern state.

AAP in-charge of the southern states and Delhi MLA Somnath Bharti claimed that an "unspoken anti-incumbency" prevailed against the K Chandrasekhar Rao government in poll-bound Telangana.

"This time, Telangana is going to give you surprising results. It will not be along the expected lines...we believe this.

Madhya Pradesh, Shivepuri: BJP MLA and ex-party President of the state Nandkumar Singh Chauhan refused to pay toll tax and smashed the workers for asking toll charges.

According to Punjab Kesari, Chauhan and his supporters’ cars were passing through the toll booth at Shivepuri on Agra-Mumbai national highway, when toll workers stopped their cars and requested them to pay the toll charges.

Punkab, Karnal: Sikh community made its announcement to boycott BJP completely. Thousands of community members that gathered at Dachar gurudwara in Karnal included representatives from other states.

Chief Minister of Punjab, Manohar Lal, did not participate in gurudwara activities.

New Delhi, October 5; GANASHAKTI: The major attraction of the Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India on October 4 and 5 for the 19th India-Russia annual bilateral summit will be the key signing of agreements, including the multi-billion-dollar S-400 'Triumf' surface-to-air missile system.

New Delhi, Oct 5; PTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday held the India-Russia annual summit after which eight pacts, including on cooperation on India's ambitious human space mission project Gaganyaan, were signed.

Official sources said the two countries also signed the USD 5 billion S-400 air defence system deal after talks between the two leaders in Hyderabad House.

Rajkot, Oct 6 : India pulled off their biggest win over West Indies in one of the most ludicrous mismatches in recent times, inflicting on the hapless visitors an innings and 272-run humiliation inside three days in the first Test here Saturday.

India dominated the game, amassing 649 for nine in their first innings before bowling out the West Indies twice on day three, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.