India

Amritsar, June 6; GANASHAKTI: Tension prevailed in this Sikh holy city of Punjab on Thursday as hardliners, brandishing swords, raised pro-Khalistan slogans inside the Golden Temple complex on the culmination of special prayers to mark the 35th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

Thousands of devotees early in the morning thronged the Akal Takht -- the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion -- to attend the 'bhog' ceremony of religious prayers that began on June 4.

New Delhi, June 6; IANS/GANASHAKTI:  The new Modi government will remain a junior ally of the US and Indias national interests will be subordinated to that of Washington, the CPI-M has said.

"All indications are that the second term of the Modi government will mark a further reinforcement of its role as a junior partner of the US," said an editorial in the CPI-M journal "People's Democracy".

"This will, in turn, quicken the implementation of the neo-liberal agenda and the consequent adverse impact on the lives of the people," it added.

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) A Delhi court Friday granted bail to AAP leaders Atishi and others in a defamation case filed by the BJP against them for their remarks over deletion of voters' names from electoral rolls in the city.

AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Gupta, MLA Manoj Kumar were also granted relief on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each after the three appeared before the court.

However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal failed to appear before the court Friday. The court directed him to appear on July 16.

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) A Delhi court granted bail to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Friday on a complaint over his alleged 'scorpion' remarks referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal granted relief to Tharoor on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 after he appeared before the court and moved bail application.

The court was hearing a criminal defamation complaint filed against Tharoor by Delhi BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, who had said his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's statement.

Amaravati, Jun 7 (PTI) In what could be an unprecedented move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy Friday decided to have five deputy chief ministers under him in a full 25-member Cabinet.

The new Council of Ministers will be constituted at a public function here Saturday.

The Chief Minister held a meeting of the YSR Congress Legislature Party at his residence here in the morning where he announced the decision to appoint five deputy chief ministers.

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) India lost a staggering USD 13 billion, over Rs 90,000 crore, to trade misinvoicing, equivalent to 5.5 per cent of the value of the country's total revenue collections in 2016, according to a report by the US-based think tank Global Financial Integrity.

In 2016, almost two-thirds of Indian imports that appear to be most at risk for some degree of potential revenues losses are imports from just one country, China, which was by far India's largest source of imports in that year, GFI said in its latest report released this week.

Aligarh, Jun 6 (PTI) The mutilated body of a 3-year-old girl was found in a garbage dump here, with an initial probe indicating that the killing was a fallout of a monetary dispute, police said Thursday.

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the crime.

Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhari said the girl went missing from Tappal township on May 31 and on June 2, police found her mutilated body in a garbage dump near her house.

Hyderabad, Jun 6 (PTI) In a huge setback for the Congress in Telangana, 12 of its MLAs Thursday met Assembly Speaker P Srinivas Reddy and gave him a representation to merge the Congress Legislature Party with the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

The Congress's strength in the 119-member House came down to 18 after the party's Telangana state unit chief Uttam Kumar Reddy tendered his resignation from the Assembly Wednesday after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Nalgonda.

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) No bilateral meeting has been planned between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan on the sidelines of the SCO Summit, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

Modi would be attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek on June 13-14.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters that "to the best of my knowledge, there is no bilateral meeting being planned between our Prime Minister and the Pakistan Prime Minister".

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka from June 8 to 9, in reflection of continued priority for the neighbourhood in his second term, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

Modi will first travel to Maldives, in his first bilateral visit after retaining power in the Lok Sabha polls.

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Modi is visiting Sri Lanka on June 9 with a very clear message of solidarity in the wake of the Easter bombings.