Indian Sub-continent

Colombo, Feb 4 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday said he is opposed to forming a national government only to expand the Cabinet of ministers, indicating that his rift with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was far from over.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe-led government on Friday sought the consent of the Speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament to form a 'national government', a move seen as a step to get a majority in the 225-member House.

New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday complimented Union minister Nitin Gadkari for his remarks that "one who cannot take care of home, cannot manage the country", saying he has guts and should also comment on the Rafale deal, "farmers distress and destruction of institutions".

The Congress president cited a report quoting Gadkari as saying that party workers should first fulfil their domestic responsibilities as "those who cannot do that cannot manage the country".

Kolkata, Feb 4 (PTI) West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Monday said the state has been able to create around nine lakh jobs during the 2018-19 fiscal.

In his Budget speech, Mitra said the country is still suffering from the "hasty and improper" implementation of the GST, and the "shock" of demonetisation.

Chandigarh, Feb 4 (PTI) The Punjab government will soon release compensation to farmers whose crop got damaged because of hailstorm, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said Monday.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had issued orders to all the deputy commissioners to conduct fresh 'Girdawri' (loss assessment) of the affected area, Sarkaria said in a statement issued here.

Guwahati, Feb 4 (PTI) Assam government Monday said sealing of the Indo-Bangla border in the state is going slow due to various reasons, including scarcity of funds to the implementing agency -- Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

In a written reply to a query by AGP MLA Satyabrat Kalita, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said putting up of barbed fence along the international border between India and Bangladesh was being done by the Centre.

Kolkata, Feb 4 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said that her dharna against the CBI's attempt to grill the Kolkata Police chief in the chit fund scam cases will continue till Friday in view of the upcoming boards examinations.

Banerjee is sitting on a dharna at the Metro Channel in Esplanade area in the heart of the city, the same spot she had sat on a 26-day fast in 2006 against the acquisition of farmland at Singur for the Tata Motors factory.

Kolkata, Feb 4 (PTI) Industry bodies on Monday hailed the West Bengal Budget for 2019-20 for its focus on farmers, social infrastructure and incentives for sectors like MSMEs, tea and healthcare.

Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Monday presenting a Rs 2.37 lakh-crore state budget with a Rs 9-crore deficit.

Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) Dalit scholar and rights activist Anand Teltumbde, who was briefly arrested by the Pune police last week in the Elgaar Parishad case, Monday said the "Urban Maoist" was a bogey that was being raised to "silence" those who raise their voice against policies of the government.

Teltumbde, who teaches at the Goa Institute of Management, was arrested by Pune police Saturday at the Mumbai airport, despite the supreme court having granted him time till February 11 to seek anticipatory bail.

New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Monday returned from abroad and met Congress president Rahul Gandhi at his Tughlaq Road residence.

Party sources said Priyanka Gandhi would be present at a meeting of AICC general secretaries and in-charges of various states, called in Delhi on Thursday evening to plan the strategy for the Lok Sabha election due by May.

Ahmednagar/Mumbai, Feb 4 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare, whose indefinite fast for appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs entered the sixth day Monday, has refused to call off his protest saying the government is handling the issue of corruption in a casual manner.

The talks between Union minister Subhash Bhamre, state minister Girish Mahajan and Hazare in the latter's Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmed Nagar district, the venue of his fast since January 30, remained inconclusive Monday.