India

Kolkata, May 15 (PTI) BJP national president Amit Shah has rebutted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's charge that he is an "outsider" in West Bengal and said he has come to the state to campaign for his party.

Shah wondered if he is called an outsider for coming to West Bengal, "which is very much a part of India", then why not Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee be labelled as an "outsider" when she visits New Delhi?

The BJP leader was addressing a meet of intellectuals in the city on Tuesday.

New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Tuesday held "constructive" discussions with her Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on all bilateral issues of mutual interests.

The talks by the two foreign ministers came 12 days after the US ended six-month-long exemptions from sanctions to India and seven other countries to buy oil from Iran.

It is learnt that the issue figured in the talks.

Lucknow, May 14 (PTI) Striking an emotional chord with voters of the temple town, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday described himself as a 'Kashi-vaasi' and sought their blessings to pave the way for his election to Lok Sabha for a second term from the seat.

Terming Kashi his guiding spirit, the prime minister said his bond with the holy city was very strong as he had come here several times in the past five years, and added that it is believed that if a person comes here even once, he becomes an inseparable part of the city.

Hailakandi (Assam), May 14 (PTI) Curfew in violence- hit Hailakandi district was on Tuesday relaxed from 7 am till midnight following improvement in situation, an official order by the Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli said here.

Night curfew, however, will remain in force for eight to 10 days.

Banks, markets, educational institutions and government offices remained open and public and private vehicles were seen plying on the roads during the relaxation period, officials added.

Mumbai, May 14 (PTI) Grounded carrier Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube has resigned from the post Tuesday, a day after its deputy chief executive and chief financial officer Amit Agarwal quit the company.

An Indian-American, Dube had joined Jet Airways in August 2017 after serving various roles at Delta Airlines, Sabre Inc and American Airlines in the US, Europe and Asia.

Varanasi, May 14 (PTI) Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hold a roadshow Wednesday in the constituency represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, her party said.

The Congress show of strength in the temple town comes nearly three weeks after Modi held his own roadshow here, a day before filing his nomination papers.

Congress leaders here said the party's local unit has made elaborate plans to pull in the crowds for Priyanka Gandhi's roadshow.

Kishanganj, May 14 (PTI) A court in Bihar's Kishanganj district sentenced a man to 10 years in jail on Tuesday for raping a girl.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) Krishna Pratap Sinha held Jung Bahadur Rajbhar guilty and convicted him under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 20,000 on him, failing which he would have to spend an additional six months in jail.

Ahmedabad, May 14 (PTI) The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has begun a drive to impound stray cattle after two people were killed by the bovines in the past few days.

The drive, which started on Monday, saw a clash between civic officials and cattle owners in the city's Odhav area, officials said.

"The AMC has launched a stray cattle impounding drive as they cause traffic problems and there have been incidents of people being gored to death," said AMC Commissioner Vijay Nehra Tuesday.

Allahabad, May 14 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to immediately shut all brothels operating in Meerut.

Hearing a PIL filed by advocate Sunil Chaudhari, a division bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery asked the Additional Chief Secretary to obtain a report on steps taken and also about objections by the district magistrate to the allegations made in the petition and place these on record.

Kolkata, May 14 (PTI) BJP and TMC supporters Tuesday fought pitched battles on the streets of Kolkata during a massive roadshow by Amit Shah, who escaped unhurt but was forced to cut short the jamboree and had to be escorted to safety by police.

Parts of the city plunged into a welter of violence as his convoy was attacked with stones by alleged TMC supporters from inside the hostel of Vidyasagar College, triggering a clash between supporters of the two parties, officials said.