Indian Sub-continent

Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday lashed out at the BJP for questioning her

religion and said neither she nor the people of the state need to learn the meaning of 'communal harmony' from the "divisive BJP".

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Metro services will not be available till 2.30 pm on Thursday due to Holi, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Tuesday.

In addition, Metro feeder bus services will also not be available till 2pm and will run as per schedule thereafter, it said.

On the day of the 'Holi' festival (March 21), Metro services will start from 2.30 pm on all lines of Delhi Metro including Airport Express Line, the DMRC statement said.

Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) On the day the SP and the BSP announced to contest all 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra together, the NCP Tuesday said the development would not have any adverse impact on the electoral prospects of the Congress-NCP combine.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik also downplayed Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar's decision to not join the Congress-NCP combine and contest all Lok Sabha seats.

Bengaluru, Mar 19 (PTI) Maintaining suspense about contesting the Lok Sabha polls, JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda Tuesday said he is yet to decide and been thinkingabout his 'usefulness' in the national capital.

The 85-year-old leader citing his agesaid he lacked the strength that he had in 1996, when he became the Prime Minister, but there is "enthusiasm".

Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) Five bags with Rs 1.5 crore in cash was Tuesday seized by district election officials in Maharashtra's Beed, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of election officials from the district collector's office intercepted a luxury car in the afternoon at Pandharwadi Phata, over 375 kilometres from here, and made the seizure, an official said.

"The Rs 1.5 crore cash was packed in five bags. Income Tax officials have been alerted. Counting of cash is currently underway in Amalner police station. The man in the car has been detained," he added.

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Robbers fled with an entire ATM machine which contained around Rs 30 lakh near the Nawada metro station in Dwarka, police said on Tuesday.

Police said the incident took place on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The robbers covered the CCTV cameras with grease.

The manger of the Corporation Bank filed a complaint on Tuesday in which he said the bank operates from 9 am to 9 pm and after which, the security guard on duty pulls the shutters down on both- the bank and the ATM.

Jammu, Mar 19 (PTI) The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday dismissed reports of an alliance with the Congress and said the party is preparing to contest all the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We are preparing to contest all the six seats," Mehbooba told reporters late Tuesday night.

Dismissing media reports of parleys with the Congress party on an alliance, she said, "We had no talks with Congress (on alliance). It is mere speculation. If they want to have an alliance with the NC, that is there internal matter".

Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) The umbrella body of the domestic pilots of the nearly crippled Jet Airways Tuesday threatened to stop flying from April 1, if the resolution plan is delayed and salary dues are not cleared by the end of this month.

The decision was taken at the annual meeting of Jet Airways domestic pilots body National Aviators Guild after a meeting here lasting for over 90 minutes.

KANPUR: Indignation over hockey Astroturf on Green Park field appears to have resolved after thorough discussion among former players and the Regional Sports Officer here on Tuesday. They have followed sportsman’s spirit in finding out a satisfactory way. 

A delegation comprising of R Dixit, secretary, Kanpur Olympic Association, A Singh, secretary, District Football Association and other former players met the Regional Sports Officer Ajay Kumar Sethi on Tuesday.

Rajnandgaon, Mar 19 (PTI) A woman naxal was gunned down Tuesday in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, police said.

The skirmish took place in the forest of Gatapar police station area bordering Madhya Pradesh, when a joint team of security forces from MP and Chhattisgarh was carrying out an anti-naxal operation, a senior police official told PTI.