Indian Sub-continent

Itanagar, Mar 19 (PTI) Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday his party will restore the special category status to Arunachal Pradesh and other states in the northeast if elected to power.

There are some states in the country which require special status because of their "unique problems and difficulties" such as connectivity, terrain, infrastructure, Gandhi said at an election rally here.

During the Congress rule at the Centre, he said, Arunachal Pradesh and other NE states used to enjoy special category status.

New Delhi March 17, 2019 PTI/GANASHAKTI: State-owned telecom firm BSNL will approach National Company Law Tribunal this week to recover dues of about Rs 700 crore from Reliance Communications, according to official sources.

Earlier, debt-ridden RCom in its plea before the NCLAT said that it wants to voluntarily go back into the insolvency process, as it will help selling its assets in a time bound manner.

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Cash-strapped Jet Airways Monday said it has grounded four more planes, taking the number of aircraft that are non-operational due to non-payment of lease rentals to 41.

Grappling with financial woes, the carrier has been looking at ways to raise fresh funds.

Islamabad, Mar 18 (PTI) Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been admitted to a hospital in Dubai after suffering a reaction from a rare disease that has weakened his nervous system, his party has said.

General (retd) Musharraf, 75, who has been living in Dubai since March 2016, is facing the treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.

A conviction for high treason carries the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Bhopal, Mar 18 (PTI) Days after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath asked Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh to choose a tough seat to enter the Lok Sabha election fray, the latter Monday said he was ready to contest from wherever party chief Rahul Gandhi wants him to.

Sigh also said that accepting challenges was his habit.

Rumours are around in political circles that Singh might be fielded from either Bhopal or Indore Lok Sabha constituency, which are the traditional strongholds of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Lucknow, Mar 18 (PTI) A day after the Congress said it was leaving seven Lok Sabha seats for the SP-BSP-RLD combine in Uttar Pradesh, BSP supremo Mayawati Monday asked the national party not to "spread confusion" and said the alliance was capable of defeating the BJP on its own.

At the same time, she dared the Congress to go ahead and field candidates in all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The parliamentary elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases.

Raipur, Mar 18 (PTI) Six CRPF jawans were injured in an ambush by naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Monday, officials said.

A team of the 231st battalion of the CRPF, along with a state police unit, was out on road security duty in the district's Aranpur area when an IED exploded and they were fired upon by Maoists, they said.

Six personnel of the CRPF were injured in the blast and firing that took place around 4:30 pm near the Kamal post of the paramilitary force in Dantewada district, a senior official said.

Ahmedabad, Mar 18 (PTI) A teenage girl was allegedly raped by a man claiming to be an exorcist in a village in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat, police said Monday.

The parents of the 14-year-old survivor had approached the accused, a self-styled exorcist, for help as their daughter had not been keeping well, said a Kalyanpur police station official in the district.

The incident took place Sunday at Bhatvadiya village, around 400km from Ahmedabad, he said.

Hyderabad, Mar 18 (PTI) AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who filed his nomination for Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency on Monday, declared assets worth more than Rs 13 crore.

His immovable assets are worth over Rs 12 crore and movable assets are over Rs 1.67 crore, according to the affidavit submitted by him while filing nomination.

He owns no motor vehicle, but has one NP Bore .22 pistol worth Rs 1 lakh and one NP Bore 30-60 rifle worth Rs 1 lakh.

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Days after having unanimously decided to go it alone in Delhi, the Congress is again mulling options to align with the Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital in its bid to defeat the BJP in Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said the Congress leadership is in talks with AAP leaders and senior leaders within the party are trying to convince Delhi Congress leaders for an alliance with the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP.