Even as preparations are on for Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s arrival in Shimla  on 27 April, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) move to take donations door-to-door in cash for the party’s rally has sparked row.

The BJP leaders started the drive to collect funds for the rally on Sunday from every household, wherein they invited every resident in the city and sought donations from them, usually ranging from Rs 10 to 100.

The Congress party has, however, questioned it.

“The BJP is befooling people. The BJP has funds worth crores of Rupees in its kitty and had even bought land for BJP offices at district headquarters in the state. If the party does not have money for organising a rally then the party leaders should explain the source of money, which they used to buy the land,” said Congress leaders in a joint release here.

The state BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti, on the other hand, said it was the tradition of party to seek participation of general public and collect funds for party’s programs. “Since BJP is social organisation working for the welfare of all sections of society, we have started door to door programme for interaction with general public and seek funds for the rally,” he said.

He said the BJP had collected funds for PM Modi’s earlier rallies in the state.

Satti said the party wanted to make the people feel a part of BJP’s movement for inclusive development of the country and it was heartening to see the response of residents of Shimla for their program.

“People are giving us good response. We will keep record of entire collection and use the money for rally purposes only,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP leaders have massively taken up cleanliness drive in entire Shimla in the up to Modi’s rally on the Ridge, with Satti also taking part in it on Monday.

Padma Shri singer-composer Kailash Kher expressed his views on getting actress Sonakshi Sinha to perform at Justin Bieber's maiden concert in India. He said “choosing an actress over any other acclaimed Indian singer is not a good sign, and sends a wrong message internationally”. “Getting a known Bollywood face has become a trend followed by event managers and producers of the Indian entertainment industry,” he added.

According to him it doesn't give a good message internationally. "They (people from foreign shores) will think that Sonakshi must be a big singer in India. And then she will get concert offers from Canada, and then probably Sonakshi will laugh them off, saying 'I am not a singer but an actor'," Kailash said.

Sonakshi made her debut as a singer in 2015 with single Ishqholic. "Whenever any singer from the West comes to India, we get an actor on board to match their level. We don't get singer for another singer, but actor… Event managers and producers of entertainment industry are so scared," he added.

Kailash carved a niche for himself with his rustic voice as he gave hits like Ya rabba, Chak de phatte and Tere naal ishqa and also gave chartbusters from albums like Teri Deewani, Saiyyan and Chaandan Mein.

(inputs from agencies)

Many years ago, Priyanka Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan were seen sharing a great camaraderie in Karan Johar’s Dostana but their pairing was never seen again. While the fans kept waiting, the duo never came together for a project.
 
But if rumours are to be believed, both Priyanka and Abhishek will be seen sharing the screen space real soon.
 
According to a report by a leading daily, Abhishek is being considered to essay the role of Sahir Ludhianvi, famous poet, in the film titled Gustakhiyan.

Back in the days, Sahir and Amrita were romantically linked and it will be great to see the two actors portray them on screen.
 
Priyanka and Abhishek’s pairing in Bluffmaster was much loved by fans.
 
With the two coming together for a project, one can expect them to do justice to the characters with their intensity.
 
However, there is no confirmation on the same from the makers as Abhishek wasn’t the first choice. Earlier, there were also rumours of the role of Sahir Ludhianvi being offered to actor Shah Rukh Khan but the actor didn’t break his silence on the matter.

Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder Ben Cutting feels Royal Challengers Bangalore remain a strong team, despite their batting collapse against Kolkata Knight Riders where they scored the lowest total in IPL history.

“49 all out – it happens time to time, RCB is still a very strong team,” he told reporters at an interaction here.

Chasing a paltry 132 to win, Royal Challengers Bangalore collapsed to 49, the lowest total in the history of IPL, to succumb to an embarrassing 82-run loss against as Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday.

Cutting said they don't have any specific strategy against Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle and his side would stick to their gameplan of restricting RCB in the first six overs.

“We do not have strategy against ABD, Kohli and Gayle. We will stick to our gameplan which is working for us – that is restricting opponents in first six overs,” he said.

Cutting said Hyderabad is not out of contention because four wins in seven games is good enough.

“We are not too far off the map, four wins in seven games is quite good. We are halfway through and seven more games left. If things improve, we will be in comfortable position,” he said.

Cutting said he cannot be disappointed if he doesn't get to play all the games since there is only one place left for foreign players and David Warner, Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada pick themselves in the playing XI.

The Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) on Monday held a protest rally here against China's move to "standardise" official names of six places in the north eastern state.

The students, carrying placards and banners, shouted 'anti-China' slogans and burnt the effigy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Arunachal Pradesh has never been a part of China and Arunachalees hold strongest patriotism for India.

"Arunachal is an integral part of India and if we go by history, people of the state had participated in the country's freedom movement. People here have never been under the Chinese rule," AAPSU president Hawa Bagang said.

He also criticised the state government for remaining silent over the issue, adding that the matter needs to be taken seriously.

China had announced standardised official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh, days after it lodged strong protests with India over the Dalai Lama's visit to the frontier state.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday played down apprehensions of a financial loss caused by prohibition and said the state, instead, had witnessed a surge in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals.

"Against 1.69 crore domestic tourists in 2015, the figure was 2.85 crore in 2016, a 68 per cent increase," he told reporters in his state Legislative Assembly chambers here quoting from official figures.

Likewise, against 9.23 lakh foreign tourists in 2015, the state played host to 10.10 lakh foreign tourists in 2016, a 9 per cent hike, Kumar added.

He quoted statistics to dispel the apprehensions of loss to the state exchequer due to the implementation of prohibition in the state in April, 2016.

Kumar said the state accrued a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore in revenue collection in 2016-17 and maintained that this was not due to prohibition but mostly on account of demonetisation and other factors.

The JD(U) chief has on several occasions claimed that instead of an estimated annual excise duty loss of about Rs 5,000 crore due to the liquor ban, the state had gained "double the amount" as people were investing the money saved from alcohol consumption on good food, clothes, furniture etc.

Kumar has been visiting various places in the country on invitation from organisers of liquor ban campaigns.

On April 21, he was at Bharananganam in Kerala to address the 18th state-level Assembly of Kerala Catholic Bishops' Conferences Temperance Movement. On April 22, addressing a function in Mumbai, he had listed the virtues of not drinking.

"Those who attended the event in Kerala were immensely impressed when I told them in details about the implementation of the liquor ban in Bihar, which has transformed the social environment and resulted in economic gains," said the chief minister.

Kumar, who led the world's longest human chain, involving over four crore people, in support of prohibition in Patna on January 21, also criticised the Centre and various state governments for "finding ways to denotify national and state highways" to work a way around a Supreme Court direction that there should be no liquor outlet within 500 metres of any highway.

India's Under-16 football team continued its fine run to beat Alexandria's Smouha Club 3-1 in the second friendly match and win the India-Egypt Friendship Cup for the second time.

Talented young footballer Rohit Danu scored a hat-trick in the match to help the Indians post a comfortable win.

“I scored hat-trick. This is my first hat-trick. I am feeling proud,” Danu told PTI.

Danu had also scored a goal on Saturday during India U- 16's first friendly match with Al-Ahly in Cairo.
Smouha's lone goal was scored by Osama Mohamed.

Mohamed said he played against a foreign team for the first and it was great experience.

“We enjoyed playing with them. They are a strong team and we loved the game,” Mohamed told PTI.
India's ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya said it it was fantastic game between the two teams.

“This has been a fantastic game. Some of the boys are really very good. I loved the spirit. I hope to see more of this because this is what brings people together,” said Bhattacharyya.

The ambassador also said that he would love to see an Egyptian team going to India.

“We are also trying to get a hockey team to come,” he added.

India U-16's visit to Egypt is the first ever by an Indian football team to the country.

The matches were played as part of the India by the Nile cultural festival, which runs until 27 April.

Khaireya el-Sokary, vice-president of Smouha Club said: “Both teams showed very good skills. This is a very good experience, which can be counted as a good training for coming championships.”

A 32-year-old man was arrested on Monday on charges of assaulting three persons transporting buffaloes in south Delhi, Delhi Police said.

Accused Shashank Sharma attacked Rizwan, Kamil and Ashu when they were transporting 14 buffaloes in a vehicle on late Sunday night in Kalkaji area, Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya told IANS.

Sharma lives in Rohini area and rents out vans for ferrying school children. He was part of the group of 10-12 cow vigilantes who attacked the three persons. 

People For Animals (PFA ) activist Gaurav Gupta had tipped off the police about ferrying of the buffaloes to the Ghazipur slaughterhouse in east Delhi, following which the assault occurred.

Rizwan, Kamil and Ashu were later released on bail. 

Baaniya said closed-circuit television footage from main roads in the area was being examined to identify more attackers.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said "Gau Rakshaks" (cow vigilantes) are committing acts of terror against innocent people and warned that continued attacks will stoke anarchy in the country.

The Member of Parliament alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its government did not want to stop Gau Rakshaks as they had a soft corner for them.

He was reacting to the latest attacks by cow vigilantes on some people transporting cattle in Jammu and Delhi.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President said the attacks by Gau Rakshaks were increasing day by day and they had so far killed nine people and raped two women.

"They are committing acts of terror. They are beating up whosoever they want. They have become law unto themselves. This is a grave danger for the country. If this continues, there will be more anarchy," he said.

The Hyderabad MP said it was high time the BJP stopped the cow vigilantes "who are from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)".

"They are emboldened by the fact that the party which is in power ideologically shares the same thoughts with them," he said.

"PM only talks and does nothing," Owaisi said when asked about the appeal made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Gau Rakshaks in the past.

He demanded that the government deal firmly with the attackers by enforcing stringent laws.

"If BJP is practising Hindutva, let them do it and see what will be its result in the country," the MP added.

Owaisi also voiced concern over the attacks on Kashmiri youth in different parts of the country and an incident in which a Kashmiri scholar was allegedly forced to leave BITS Pilani.

"An environment of hatred towards Muslims and Kashmiris has been created in the country. They are either beating up Muslims in the name of cow vigilantism or assaulting Kashmiri youth," Owaisi said.

He pointed out that many Kashmiri youth were studying in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana under the Prime Minister's scholarships.

"Kashmiris, like Kashmir, are an integral part of India," he said and demanded that the government send a strong message by acting tough against those attacking them.
 

An official North Korean website warned on Monday that Pyongyang will "wipe out" the United States if Washington starts a war on the peninsula, the latest tit- for-tat sabre-rattling that has sent tensions soaring in the region.

The US supercarrier Carl Vinson will arrive in waters off the Korean peninsula "in a matter of days", Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday, amid reports the North could be preparing a sixth nuclear test.

Pyongyang is still believed to be far from reaching its aim of building a missile capable of reaching the US mainland, but the secretive nation has ramped up its rhetoric in recent weeks and has carried out two rocket tests this month alone.

In a series of editorials the Rodong Sinmun newspaper — the official mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party — said the North's forces were undeterred and called the US strike group's imminent arrival "undisguised military blackmail".

"Such threat may startle a jellyfish, but can never work on the DPRK," it said today, using the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

A day earlier it said the North's revolutionary forces were "combat-ready to sink the US nuclear aircraft carrier with a single strike".

Pyongyang's rhetoric intensifies every spring, when the US and South Korea hold joint exercises it sees as rehearsals for an attack on the North.

A separate editorial on the North's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri today claimed that the dispatching of the Carl Vinson signalled a war: "It is proof that an invasion of the North is nearing day by day." 

The editorial, described as being written by an army officer, said it was a "big miscalculation" for Washington to compare the North to Syria, which did not launch an "immediate counterattack" after a US cruise missile strike earlier this month.

In the event of an attack, it said, "The world will witness how Washington's rash nuclear aircraft carriers are turned into a huge pile of steel and buried at sea and how a country called America is wiped out from the Earth." 

There is speculation the North may conduct another test to mark the 85th anniversary of the founding of its Korean People's Army (KPA) on Tuesday.

But it has never tested an intercontinental ballistic missile with sufficient range to reach the continental United States — although it has ambitions to develop one — nor is it known to have miniaturised atomic technology sufficiently to be able to fit a nuclear warhead on a rocket.

US officials have repeatedly warned that "all options are on the table" to curb the North's weapons ambitions, including military strikes.

Three years after winning a bronze at the Gimcheon edition, PV Sindhu will once again eye a superlative performance when she leads the Indian challenge at the Asia badminton championship, starting here on Tuesday.

The Rio Olympic silver medallist had clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in January this year before annexing the India Super Series title early this month.

The fourth seed Sindhu then reached the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open, where she lost to Olympic champion Carolina Marin. The Indian ace will look for another consistent show this week.

The 21-year-old from Hyderabad will square off against Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine in the opening round.

Another shuttler from Hyderabad Saina Nehwal, who had skipped Singapore Open to work on her game after losing in the first round of Malaysia Open, will open her campaign against Japan's Sayaka Sato at the Wuhan Sports Center Gynasium.

The World No. 8 Indian has a 6-1 head-to-head record against the Japanese, having last beaten her at the Hong Kong Open last year.

The London Olympic bronze medallist had clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold in January after recovering from a career-threatening knee injury. She reached the quarterfinals of All England championship and India Open.

In men's singles, Ajay Jayaram, who reached a career-best World No. 13 last Thursday, will face a tough competitor in fifth seeded Chinese Tian Houwei, who clinched the China Masters Grand Prix Gold on Sunday.

“I have a tough first round against Tian. The goal as of now is to get past that first hurdle,” Jayaram said.

HS Prannoy, who had skipped Malaysia and Singapore Open, to change a few things in his game ahead of future tournaments, will take on Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus, seeded eighth.

“I had a good two and a half weeks of training after I decided to skip Malaysia and Singapore Open as I felt I am performing below par. Quite a few things needed to be changed and I think I am now in good shape to play a tournament,” Prannoy told PTI.

“I am in the Sudirman Cup team. I'll also be playing Indonesia and Australia Super Series next,” he added.

Among others, Indian mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy will have a tough task at hand when they face top seeded Chinese combo of Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen in the opening round.

In women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki will meet Korean combo of Chae Yoo Jung and Kim So Yeong, while Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram will take on another Korean pair of Jung Kyung Eun and Shin Seung Chan, seeded second.

Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will take on fifth seeded Chinese pair of Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan in men's doubles competition.

Social activist Anoop Nautiyal has opposed a proposal to construct a helipad at the President's Estate in the city, 'Ashiana', saying it would cause massive damage to the environment.

He has written to President Pranab Mukherjee, requesting him to drop the plan.

He cited reports in a section of the local media that the proposal, cleared by the President's Secretariat recently, would involve largescale chopping of trees and relocation of people living on the periphery of 'Ashiana'.

Noting that increased construction activities have already done enough damage to the city's environment, he said a World Health Organization (WHO) survey ranked Dehradun as the 31st most polluted city in the world.

"Dehradun has environmentally, ecologically and aesthetically been ravaged repeatedly by tasteless constructions. Air quality in Dehradun has deteriorated significantly. We are today the 31st most polluted city in the world as per the WHO Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database," the social activist said.

"I request you to kindly instruct your secretariat to completely abandon the idea of building the helipad in 'Ashiana'. There are already two helipads in Sahastradhara and Cantt area which are barely 5-10 kms from 'Ashiana'. On top of this, presidential visits to Dehradun are extremely rare.

"Considering all these facts if the helipad were to still come up at the President's Estate, then it will be one more nail in the green coffin of Dehradun. I earnestly hope that you will send out a strong message of environmental conservation and augmentation by taking a firm no-helipad stand on the issue," he wrote to Mukherjee.

The president had stayed in 'Ashiana', also called the President's Bodyguard Estate, for three days in September last after its renovation.

State governments should display at PDS shops the foodgrain subsidy borne by both the Centre and states that will prevent the latter from hijacking the credit for selling highly-subsidised grains to the poor, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

Wheat and rice are being sold through PDS (public distribution system) shops, also known as fair price or ration shops, at a highly-subsidised rate of Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg, respectively, as per the Food Security Law.

"It is unfortunate that most states are taking credit for this even though the entire PDS foodgrain subsidy is borne by the central government. So, we have asked states to display the details at PDS shops," Paswan told reporters.

The Centre bears a subsidy of Rs 22 on wheat and Rs 29.64 per kg on rice. "Except for one or two states like Tamil Nadu that are further subsidising it and selling it free of cost, others are not shelling out (anything) from their pocket," he said.

Paswan further said the states have been asked to prominently display the foodgrains subsidy on a board at all ration shops for public awareness.

"More public awareness is required on this issue because for instance in Bihar the poor think that Nitish Kumar is giving foodgrains at Rs 2-3 per kg. People were not aware that the Centre was providing it," he added.

The central government's annual food subsidy bill is over Rs 1 lakh crore.

BJP's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Monday warned West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of "total ruination" if it did not stop its appeasement politics.

"I assure you (the people) that through Bengal's 'Jan Aakrosh', we will only breathe after we have felled the Trinamool government. Through the district administration, I want to tell the state government, to stop the politics of appeasement," the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said here while addressing a meet.

"We are telling you clearly. We are warning you, if you do not stop politics of appeasement, then we will bring total ruination on the Trinamool government," he said.

Vijayvargiya also called for "equal treatment for all".

"There should be equal treatment for all. If Muslims can celebrate Eid, then we also have the right to celebrate Diwali. If Muslims observe Muharram then we also have the right to observe Durga Puja. You are letting Muharram processions but not allowing Durga immersion. We will not tolerate this," he added.

The BJP and the Trinamool have been on the warpath since the April 5 Ram Navami celebrations in the state.

Massive rallies were organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates like the Hindu Jagran Manch across the eastern state in grand celebrations which saw thousands of Hindu activists, including schoolchildren, walking on the road brandishing sticks and sharp weapons.

Most of the senior state BJP leaders took part in the rallies, with a number of them carrying arms. 

The party's state President Dilip Ghosh, who is also an MLA from West Midnapore district's Khargapur, was seen leading one such rally in his constituency holding a sword.

With the BJP perceived to be celebrating the occasion to make fresh inroads into the state, Banerjee came down heavily on the party for "appropriating festivals".
 

Gangster Chhota Rajan and three retired public servants were on Monday held guilty by a special court in a fake passport case.

Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal convicted Rajan for offences including forgery of valuable security under the IPC which entails a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Besides him, the other persons who have been convicted are three retired government servants — Jayashree Dattatray Rahate, Deepak Natvarlal Shah and Lalitha Lakshmanan.

Rajan is lodged in Tihar Jail in Delhi. The other three persons, who were out on bail, were taken into custody after the verdict was announced.

The court will tomorrow hear arguments on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to the convicts.

The court had on March 28 reserved its judgement in the case in which Rajan allegedly procured a fake passport in the name of Mohan Kumar with the help of the three government officials.

Lakshmanan had approached the high court to transfer to Bengaluru her trial in the case but the petition was rejected on January 9 on the ground that a district court here could also hear the matter.

During pendency of the plea, the high court had ordered a stay on pronouncement of verdict in the case by trial court. However, the high court later rejected the plea.

All the four persons have been convicted of offences under sections 420 (cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 467(forgery of valuable security or will), 419(cheating by impersonation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and section 12 (offences and penalties) of the Passport Act.
Deported after being on the run for 27 years, the 55-year old gangster, once a close aide of fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was brought to India to face trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling in Delhi and Mumbai.

Rajan was deported to India after his arrest in Bali in October 2015.

With a jaunty victory dance, 101- year-old Man Kaur celebrated winning the 100 metres sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland on Monday, the 17th gold medal in the Indian athlete's remarkable late-blooming career.

Kaur clocked one minute 14 seconds as a small crowd cheered her on — ending a mere 64.42 seconds off Usain Bolt's 100m world record set in 2009.

In truth her dash became more of a gentle amble the closer the diminutive centenarian came to the finish line, with more energy spent beaming at spectators than running.

But Kaur was guaranteed victory as the only participant in the 100-years-and-over category at the New Zealand event, which has attracted 25,000 competitors.

Participation, not racing the clock, is the priority for Kaur, who has been dubbed the “miracle from Chandigarh” in New Zealand media.

“I enjoyed it and am very, very happy,” she told reporters via a Punjabi interpreter.

“I'm going to run again, I'm not going to give up. I will participate, there's no full stop.”

Late bloomer

Kaur only took up athletics eight years ago, at the tender age of 93. She had no prior sporting experience before her son Gurdev Singh suggested she join him in competing on the international masters games circuit.

After a medical check-up she was given the all-clear and since then mother and son have taken part in dozens of masters athletics meets around the globe.

Kaur already has a swag of gold medals that would rival Michael Phelps' haul and also plans to compete in the 200m sprint, two kilogramme shot put and 400 gram javelin in Auckland, taking her tally to 20.

Her son told the Indian Weekender newspaper that Kaur was on a strict diet that included wheat grass juice and a daily glass of kefir (fermented milk).

World Masters Games 2017 chief executive Jennah Wootten said the Auckland organisers were delighted to host such an inspiration.

“Man Kaur truly personifies the 'sport for all' philosophy which World Masters Games is all about and we are thrilled to have her here,” she told AFP.

“I have no doubt that she and many of the other 24,905 athletes competing in these games are inspiring others to lead more active lifestyles and take up a sport.”

While Kaur was the only 100-plus athlete to compete in Auckland, there are a surprising number of spritely centenarians still on the sporting stage.

Japan's Hidekichi Miyazaki, 106, holds the 100m record in the category with a time of 29.83, earning him the nickname “Golden Bolt” after the Jamaican Flyer.

Miyazaki, who credits his daughter's tangerine jam for his age-defying exploits, even mimics Bolt's signature victory pose and is keen to race against the Olympic superstar.

Frenchman Robert Marchand, 105, set a cycling record for his age in January, riding 22.547 kilometres (14.01 miles) in one hour. Afterwards, the former fireman said he was not even tired and said he could have gone faster.

Central Board of Secondary Education has released the NEET admit card 2017 on the official website www.cbseneet.nic.in but due to the heavy load on the website the links were not working and sometime the website was not opening.

So the candidates who had not yet downloaded the CBSE NEET 2017 admit card are advised to enter the official website and follow the instructions to get their Admit card 2017.

Candidates trying to download CBSE NETT 2017 admit card may directly visit http://cbseneet.nic.in/cbseneet/Online/AdmitCardAuth.aspx and enter the required information inclduing registration number, date of birth, security pin may download NEET admit card easily.

As per the latest updates, CBSE NEET 2017 examination will take place on May 7, 2017 across 104 cities in the country and this year more than 11 lakh candidates are expected to enter the NEET examination hall.