Chandigarh, Jan 19 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday launched Congress president Rahul Gandhi's flagship 'Shakti' project to galvanise party workers in the state ahead of the Lok Sabha election due by May.

According to the party, people can join the 'Shakti' project by sending an SMS, mentioning their voter ID number in the message box and they would be registered. The project also aims to connect Congress workers digitally with Gandhi.

Kolkata, Jan 19 (PTI) Lauding Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee for her clarion call to defeat BJP in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Saturday called upon people to fulfil her desire in its true spirit to save the country and democracy.

Addressing a huge rally at the historic Brigade Parade Ground here, Patel said that all non-BJP parties have united here to defeat the BJP government.

"We must save our country and democracy for the welfare of the nation," he said.

Kolkata, Jan 19 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called upon people to defeat the "dangerous" BJP government at the Centre at any cost.

Stating that the country was at the crossroads of a serious crisis, he said there is need for immediate change of the Modi government to save the country and democracy.

Hyderabad, Jan 19 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare Saturday asked the youth to follow Mahatma Gandhi's principles and said he adopted his ideas and dedicated his life towards the development of society.

Addressing the Telangana Jagruthi International Youth Leadership Conference here, the activist said he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's thoughts and took up work on village development.

"Ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi has gone into my life. Follow his ideas and principles," Hazare said.

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) A court here questioned the Delhi police on Saturday for filing a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in a 2016 sedition case without procuring requisite sanctions.

Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat granted police time till February 6 to procure requisite sanctions after they told the court they will get the approvals within 10 days.

"Why did you file (the chargesheet) without approval? You don't have a legal department," the court said.

Kolkata, Jan 19 (PTI) Disgruntled and previous stalwarts of BJP like Shatrughan Sinha, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shorie, who held important position in the past NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee,joined ranks with opposition leaders Saturday to call for ousting Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

Shatrughan Sinha, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, all members of the NDA cabinet under Vajpayee but, have fallen out with the present leadership, shared dais with senior opposition parties leaders at the rally which launched an attack on Modi and Shah.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s election crisis deepened early Sunday when the Constitutional Court confirmed the win of Felix Tshisekedi, rejecting claims of fraud, and runner-up Martin Fayulu promptly declared himself the country’s “only legitimate president.”

Fayulu’s supporters have alleged an extraordinary backroom deal by outgoing President Joseph Kabila to rig the vote in favor of the opposition after the ruling party’s candidate did so poorly that a Plan B was needed. Neither side has acknowledged the accusations.

Bengaluru, Jan 19 (PTI) The BJP would not destabilise Karnataka's ruling coalition, party state chief B S Yeddyurappa said Saturday, as the state remained in the grip of political unrest with the Congress on tenterhooks to keep its numbers intact.

As the Congress MLAs remained sequestered in a resort on the city outskirts fearing a poaching bid by the BJP, Yeddyurappa said he had asked all his party lawmakers camping at a hotel in Gurugram to return and tour the state's drought-hit areas.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The founder of the World Economic Forum says U.S. President Donald Trump would have been an “interesting discussion partner” at its annual Davos event starting this week, but acknowledges that the partial U.S. government shutdown scuttled those plans.

Klaus Schwab says he saw Trump shortly before Christmas and heard he had been “very much looking forward to coming back.” Last year, Trump was a highlight attendee at the elite gathering in the Swiss Alps, where he dined with business executives and met foreign leaders.

KABUL, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 50 people were confirmed dead in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours as government forces and Taliban militants stepped up fighting in the war-battered country, officials said Sunday.

Taliban militants targeted a security checkpoint in Karji area outside Farah city, capital of western Farah province on Sunday, killing five security personnel and injuring a few others, deputy to provincial council Shah Mahmoud Naemi said.

Lahore, Jan 20 (PTI) The killing of four people, including a man, his wife and their teenage daughter, in what Pakistan's Punjab police called a shootout with "terrorists" has triggered a public outcry and the victims' family held a protest against the "staged" encounter.

The family was travelling in a car when the alleged encounter which the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) officials later termed an 'intelligence-based operation' took place on a highway in Sahiwal, about 200 kms from Lahore, on Saturday.

New Delhi, Jan 19 :  A Delhi court on Saturday extended till January 28 the interim bail granted to RJD chief Lalu Prasad in two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation scam cases

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj also extended the interim bail granted to Prasad's wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav in the cases till January 28

On the said date, the court will pronounce order on the regular bail application of Prasad and others in the ED case

The cases relate to alleged irregularities in granting the operational contract of two IRCTC hotels to a private firm