Bollywood actress Dia Mirza has appealed to the government to impose a complete ban on the use of animals in circuses.

In a letter to Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave, she said animals which are used for entertainment are "mutilated and starved" and are forced to perform unnatural tricks.

Elephants, which is a national heritage animal, is made to endure constant confinement and abuse in circuses, flight feathers of all performing birds are cut and bull hooks used to control elephants, she said in the letter written on World Circus Day on April 15.

"It is time we dissociate cruelty from entertainment, and let these majestic creatures be where they belong. Our culture also has many traditional art forms which showcase the skill of our artists. They should be adopted by circuses to evolve into an engaging and healthy entertainment.

"I express my support to the 'End Circus Suffering' campaign, which has helped hundreds of circus animals to be freed from this cruel form of entertainment. I urge you to consider the universal cruelty to animals in this industry and impose a complete and immediate end to the use of all animals in circuses," she said while supporting the campaign by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO).

The 'End Circus Suffering' campaign has so far enabled the rehabilitation of more than 160 abused animals from 15 circuses.

The federation, supported by 82 members and over 200 NGOs nationwide, has also submitted a detailed report of the state of animals in circuses in India to the Environment Ministry.

The FIAPO's investigations have shown animals with broken bones, infectious diseases, permanent physical and mental disorders, crippled animals that cannot even walk being forced by circuses to perform tricks.

FIAPO director Arpan Sharma commended the actress for her progressive stance and kindness to animals.

"The process of training animals to perform unnatural tricks is inherently abusive, as shown in numerous inspection reports. The FIAPO reiterates its appeal to the Environment Ministry to take note of this and ban the use of all animals in circuses.

"Presently, our request is with the Animal Welfare Division of the ministry, and we hope there will be a decision soon," Sharma said.

Sticking to their respective stands on the issue of Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, Punjab and Haryana on Thursday separately sought Centre's intervention in their favour.

During the meeting with secretary, Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Amarjit Singh, while Haryana sought the completion of the remaining portion of the SYL canal for the supply of river water, Punjab expressed its inability to share water with its neighbouring states in view of the critical water situation in the state.

Haryana chief secretary DS Dhesi said they sought completion of the remaining portion of the SYL canal in Punjab side so that the state could get its share of water as per the Supreme Court.

He said Haryana's stand remains the same as it was conveyed to the President through an all party memorandum on 28 November 2016. "The pending portion of the SYL should be completed at the earliest," the chief secretary said adding the even the Presidential Reference in the Supreme Court (SC) has resulted in Haryana's favor.

The Punjab chief secretary, Karan Avtar Singh, on the other hand urged the Narendra Modi government to intervene in the SYL matter to save Punjab from an ecological disaster.

Pointing out that Punjab did not have surplus water and needed every drop of water flowing through its land, the delegation urged the central government to come up with a realistic solution to the problem, keeping the state’s water scarcity in view.

With only 28 per cent of its land canal-irrigated and the rest dependent on tubewells, Punjab was in urgent need of expansion of its canal system to prevent the water crisis in the state from aggravating to devastating levels, the delegation told the secretary.

Pointing to the alarming decline in ground water table in the state, the Punjab delegation noted that the state was losing 12 million acre feet (MAF) of ground water every year.

In fact, 100 of a total of 138 blocks had been rendered `dark blocks’ as a result of over-exploitation of underground water to sustain agriculture. Of these, 45 had further been declared `critical’ by the Central government, they added.

The delegation further noted that the sub-soil of the southern Punjab region was brackish and the people were dependent on canal water even for their drinking needs. Construction of SYL would lead to an estimated 10 lakh acres of land in the region going dry, they further told the central government.

Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday condemned the Supreme Court's ruling in the Panamagate case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, saying the decision has not only "damaged" democracy but also justice.

"I condemn the judgement and ask Sharif to resign," he said in a press conference after a Supreme Court bench declared there was "insufficient evidence" to remove Sharif from office but ordered setting up of a Joint Investigation Team to probe the graft allegations against his family.

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairperson took a swipe at the court, saying "we never expected any justice from the court." 

"With today's decision, not only democracy but also justice itself have been damaged. I also says that people have been made fool through the judgement, Zardari said.

He, however, hailed the two senior judges who asked Sharif, 67, to resign.

He said junior officers working under "Sharif cannot deliver justice as part of Joint Investigation Team (JIT) when the highest court failed to deliver justice." 

Zardari also criticised Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for letting Sharif got off the hook through the judgement of the court.

PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said the JIT ordered by the court was actually meant to "give escape" to Sharif.

He also criticised the Supreme Court, alleging it traditionally shows leniency towards Sharif family.

The case was launched on November 3 and the court held 35 hearings before concluding the proceedings on February 23.

The case is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in 1990s when he twice served as Prime Minister to purchase assets in London.

The assets surfaced when Panama papers last year showed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif's children.

The case filed by various petitioners Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed sought disqualification of Prime Minister Sharif over his alleged misstatement in his address to the nation on April 5 and his speech before the National Assembly on May 16, 2016.

The petitioners had claimed that the prime minister lied about the investments made by his children in offshore companies, which led to the acquisition of four apartments in London s upscale Park Lane neighbourhood.

Raising concern over counterfeiting practices, a senior West Bengal minister on Thursday alleged that companies, however, are neither bothered about it nor taking appropriate steps to check it.

"Counterfeit trade happening in the country is dangerous and it has become a menace," state Consumer Affairs Minister Sadhan Pande said here.

Citing an example of counterfeiting done for a particular brand of tea, he said: "It is a concern that such companies are not taking appropriate steps to stop counterfeiting. They do not bother to contact us and do not take it up seriously."

Seeking cooperation from the companies, he said the counterfeited products had reached reputed stores and shops across districts and that companies needed to be alert on how their products were being counterfeited.

"A mechanism has to be found to stop trade of counterfeit products," he said at an event organised by Ficci Cascade (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy).

Spelling out the hurdles for companies, officials from different companies said that taking action against the manufacturers of counterfeited products had been a difficult proposition.

"To curb the menace and for protecting the brand, domestically we are taking actions against the retailers and distributors. But we are unable to take on the manufacturers of counterfeited products, because majority of them are not within India," said Gaurav Vutts, Regional Legal Manager, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Executive Vice President (Marketing) of ITC Ltd Siddharth Wanchoo said the customs department had doubled the number of seizures in the last one year across country.

"The challenge we are facing is that cigarettes manufactured outside the country are being smuggled into India. These stocks are largely coming from Dubai, Myanmar and South-East Asian countries," Wanchoo said.

The second problem, according to Wanchoo, relates to illegal manufacturers within the country, taking advantage of the arbitrage facility available today.

According to a report prepared by the industry lobby, total loss to the government on account of illicit markets in just seven manufacturing sectors was Rs.39,239 crore in 2014.

Among various sectors, the maximum revenue loss to the exchequer from counterfeiting and illicit trade was attributed to tobacco products, estimating a revenue loss of Rs.9,139 crore, followed by mobile phones at Rs.6,705 crore and alcoholic beverages at Rs.6,309 crore.

Ficci's recent report — Invisible Enemy: A Threat to Our National Interests — highlighted that the smugglers are now switching over to cigarettes and fabric/silk yarn as they are low-risk, high-reward goods.

As per the report, the Department of Revenue Intelligence seizures of smuggled cigarettes increased by 78 per cent in the last one year, followed by fabric/silk yarn where the increase was 73 per cent.

Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari arrived here today on a two-day visit to Odisha during which she will visit Lingaraj Temple and Sri Jagannath Temple at Puri.

Odisha Governor S C Jamir, Finance Minister Pradip Kumar Amat, Home Secretary Asit Tripathy, Director General of Police K B Singh received the Nepal president at Biju Patnaik International Airport here.

As per the programme, Bhandari will attend a women's empowerment programme at Mission Shakti Bhavan here before heading for a darshan of Lord Lingaraj at the 11th century Shiv shrine here. She will offer puja at the temple.

She will spend the night at the Raj Bhavan here, official sources said.

Bhandari will visit Sri Jagannath Temple tomorrow at about 10.55 AM tomorrow and return to New Delhi by an Air India special aircraft at 2.25 PM, Home Department sources said.

Despite having Advocate General's (AG) opinion, Punjab's excise and taxation department is working cautiously before issuing permits to marriage palace owners for serving liquor.

This move may further diminish the joy of marriage palace owners throughout the state as they were expecting a nod from the department on Thursday.

The department officials said that they cannot even issue a single permit for serving liquor in marriage palaces till they can assure to meet the criteria laid under Supreme Court's (SC( verdict.

"Yes, we have received a legal opinion from Punjab's AG office stating that the marriage palaces are not covered under SC's judgment based on the reason that they are not selling liquor. However, the verdict was directly against the drunken driving but not against marriage palaces. We are going through the legal opinion and conditions laid under SC verdict. We will decide the next step after reading and carefully going through the opinion," Punjab's excise and taxation department Commissioner, Vivek Pratap Singh, told The Statesman.

He further said that the marriage palaces are not falling under the limits of highways were getting permits. Meanwhile, president of Punjab Marriage Palace Owners' Association in Ludhiana, Sukhdev Singh Sidhu, welcomed the AG's opinion.

"The excise and taxation department should not take much time as the opinion is already taken after looking into the SC's verdict. We have already suffered a huge revenue loss after a dip in the number of bookings. If we will not get the permits for liquor serving in the next few days it will further dampen the spirits of Punjabi families who have invited guests to celebrate their functions," he said.

According to a rough estimate, the marriage palaces in Punjab have suffered nearly 75 per cent dip in bookings after SC imposed a ban on liquor vends within the 500 metre of a highway. Out of 3,500 registered marriage palaces in Punjab nearly 1,000 falls under the proximity to the highways.

After the SC's verdict, families were forced to book marriage halls at the inner parts with lesser facilities just to attend their guests while serving booze.

Two weeks ago, in an attempt to provide a relief to the affected marriage owners, the Punjab government had de-notified the state highways of Hoshiarpur-Chandigarh, Balachaur-Garshankar, Moga-Kotkapura, Moga-Harike, Gagan Chowk to Liberty Chowk, JCS Saviour School to Bhaironpur Sirhind Chunni Road, Malikpur Chowk to Dalhousie by-pass.

The move had also led to benefit around 300 restaurants and bars situated alongside the highways.

Actor Tiger Shroff and Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer Munna Michael is slated to clash with Rajkummar Rao's Bareilly Ki Barfi at the box office on July 21 this year.

Munna Michael is the story of Munna (Tiger), a boy who loves dancing and grows up idolising legendary dancer Michael Jackson. He (Munna) is given an opportunity by a person (Nawazuddin) to take part in a dance competition, a press release issued by the makers said.

The film marks the third collaboration between Tiger and director Sabbir Khan after Heropanti and Baaghi.

Eros International and Viki Rajani's action-music entertainer also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in an all-new avatar and introduces Nidhhi Agerwal.

The film is slated to release on July 21, it said.

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's Bareilly Ki Barfi is also up for release on the same date.

The film is a quirky romantic comedy rooted in the sub-culture of the north Indian city Bareilly. It stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon and Rajkummar Rao.

Ayushmann reportedly plays the owner of a printing press, while Rajkummar would be seen as an author and Kriti as a straight-forward and liberated girl in the film.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, currently on a visit to the US, will take up with the American administration the matter of restrictions on H-1B visas, the government said on Thursday.

Speaking to media here on the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on H-1B visas, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the US had committed certain number of these visas to India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and "we would definitely want" America to honour that commitment.

"It is not just the US, but several countries now adopting such (restrictive) measures," she said. 

The restrictive visa regime would also impact the US companies operating in India, the minister said.

"So it is not a unilateral (issue) where Indian companies would have to face this… there are several US companies in India which are doing business for years here," she said.

While the US is reviewing its visa programme for foreign workers, Australia has recently abolished a temporary work visa programme — the 457 visa.

Citing the examples of these countries tightening their visa regime for movement of skilled professionals, Sitharaman said: "Countries are now very clearly raising protectionist walls as regards service trade."

"I protest comparison of asylum-seeking migrants with skilled professionals."

To a question whether India would take the US and Australia to the WTO's dispute resolution mechanism, she replied: "At this stage, we will engage constructively. At the same time, India will ensure that it will not accept unfair treatment."

In this connection, Sitharaman said India has submitted a proposal to the WTO for an agreement on trade facilitation in services (TFS)

"It is time that we have a global framework within which trade in services can happen. We will be actively pursuing our proposal in the WTO," she said. 

India has presented a concept note at the WTO for a TFS Agreement, which proposes a way forward on comprehensively addressing the numerous border and behind-the-border barriers on the lines of the historic trade facilitation agreement in goods. 

The TFS proposal aims at liberalising rules for movement of professionals, liberalised visa regime and long-term business visas.

India is pushing for a TFA in services at the WTO as this sector has huge potential and contributes significantly to the country's economy.

Pointing out that the Indian services sector contributes over 55 per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product, Sitharaman earlier said India was unable to leverage its strength in services to get the necessary benefits in the TFA in goods signed with the Asean group, for instance.

Meanwhile, India's paper for a proposed TFS Agreement has been well received by many member countries, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo told reporters here during a visit last month.

Acclaimed Indian violinist L Subramaniam performed with Egyptian harpist Amira Hamed at the 'Concert for Peace' as part of the fifth edition of 'India by the Nile' cultural festival in Cairo Opera House.

The concert was divided in two parts where Subramaniam presented some of his harmonious music and later Hamed joined him to play on the harp.

“I'm presenting some of my compositions for the concept of global fusion,” Subramaniam, renowned for his virtuoso playing techniques and compositions in orchestral fusion, told.

One of the pieces was titled “Journey”, to mark 70 years of India's independence and its relations with Egypt.

“When I got married to my wife, we came here to spend couple of days and we went to the pyramids and walked along the Nile. I love Cairo. Culture is very rich and old and people are very nice, very kind,” he said.

“It is the first time I'm playing in Cairo but it is the second time for me in Egypt. I performed when the Alexandria library opened (2002),” said Subramaniam, who will also play tonight at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support in allowing the state government to sell its surplus power to Pakistan or Nepal in the economic interest of the cash-crunched state.

Singh, at a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also sought the Centre’s support in making agriculture more sustainable for farmers in the state by putting in place a Deficiency Price Payment mechanism to encourage a shift to non-paddy cultivation. This was disclosed here by Raveen Thukral, Media Advisor to CM, after the hour-long meeting at the PM’s residence.

Expressing concern over the problems faced by the Punjab farmers living in border areas, Singh also requested an increase in Central government compensation for such farmers, to ensure effective and stronger border management.

The CM further sought Modi’s intervention to prevent the possible revival of package of concessions to neighbouring states as it would negate the Punjab government’s efforts to bring in investment, create jobs for the unemployed youth and revive the state’s economy, Thukral disclosed.

Pointing to the 1000 MW surplus power availability in Punjab after meeting its internal demand, CM said sale of power to neighbouring Pakistan, or Nepal as the case may be, would save the citizens of the state from the burden of any extra taxes, and also save the electricity consumers from the extra burden of fixed cost of power generating units.

Since Punjab shares its border with Pakistan and its Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant is situated close to the international border, it would not be difficult for the state to supply power to Pakistan on continuous basis, the chief minister noted. He further said Punjab would be happy to supply electricity also to Nepal, which intends to meet its power shortfall by purchasing it from India, if the Government of India agrees.

Though the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. (PSPCL) has, in the recent past, offered supply of power in tender enquiries floated for the purpose, it has not been successful in the same, said Amarinder, urging the Prime Minister to advise the Union Ministry of Power to favourably consider the state government’s proposal to sell power either to Pakistan or Nepal.

Referring to the plight of the state’s farmers, who were suffering from declining real farm incomes due to agricultural stagnation, the chief minister stressed the need for diversification of farming away for paddy. Though high yielding maize hybrids, coupled with increase in area under maize cultivation, holds great promise, the same is not viable for the farmers in the absence of assured procurement at MSP, said Amarinder, seeking financial support from the Centre for farmers compelled to sell their maize produce at a price lower than the MSP. His government, said the chief minister, was willing to work with any agency designated by the Centre for this purpose, in order to facilitate the desired shift in cultivation.

The chief minister also batted for compensation for farmers owning land beyond the International Border with Pakistan, as they face significant restrictions on the types of crops to be cultivated due to security reasons. This leads to significantly sub-optimal yields, necessitating higher compensation for the farmers than the current Rs.10,000 per acre per annum, said the CM, also calling upon the central government to bear the entire burden of the compensation instead of requiring the state government to share 50 per cent of it.

He urged the PM to advise the Union Home Ministry to take immediate steps in this regard.

Amarinder also expressed concern over reports of the ongoing efforts to revive the package of concessions for the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, and urged Modi’s intervention to ensure that no such special package is given to these states at the cost of Punjab’s economic development.

If at all a special package is to be given then Punjab should also be treated at par by granting a similar package, he demanded, pointing out that the state also suffers a massive handicap in promoting industry due to the 554 km long international borders with Pakistan and the sub-mountainous region in the Aravali foothills.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma were the only two Indians to make it to an annual list of '100 most influential people in the world' this year released by the Time magazine on Thursday.

The list features pioneers, artists, titans, leaders and icons from around the world honoured for "the power of their inventions, the scale of their ambitions, the genius of their solutions to problems that no one before them could solve." 

The magazine has also included US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Theresa May in the new list of 100 most influential people.

The profile of Modi, 66, written by author Pankaj Mishra, said that in May 2014 – long before Trump seemed conceivable as a US president – Modi became the prime minister of the world's largest democracy.

"Once barred from the US for his suspected complicity in anti-Muslim violence, and politically ostracised at home as well, this Hindu nationalist used Twitter to bypass traditional media and speak directly to masses feeling left or pushed behind by globalisation, and he promised to make India great again by rooting out self-serving elites," it said.

Nearly three years after he came to power, Modi's vision of India's economic, geopolitical and cultural supremacy is far from being realised, the profile read, but his "extended family of Hindu nationalists have taken to scapegoating secular and liberal intellectuals as well as poor Muslims." 

"Yet Modi's aura remains undimmed. He is a maestro of the art of political seduction, playing on the existential fears and cultural insecurities of people facing downward or blocked mobility," it said.

Modi's elections victory in Uttar Pradesh, India's most politically significant state, by a landslide confirmed that "elected strongmen are the chief beneficiaries of a global revolt against elites." 

For 43-year-old Sharma, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani wrote that when India's government unexpectedly scrapped 86 per cent of the country's currency notes in November, Sharma "seized the moment".

As Indians scrambled to exchange the banned notes for new currency, Paytm, Sharma's digital payments startup, went on a promotional spree, inviting Indians to start using Paytm's digital wallet to pay for everyday goods and services.

"It worked. By the end of 2016, Paytm had 177 million users, compared with 122 million at the beginning of the year," Nilekani wrote.

Sharma had "catapulted himself into a nation's consciousness. It was a masterstroke by a small-town boy who studied in a Hindi medium school before conquering the country's Anglophone startup world," he wrote.

Paytm is now backed by the chief of China's Alibaba, Jack Ma, and Sharma is branching out into the more heavily regulated world of banking, with plans to offer digital accounts. "He will face new challenges from deep-pocketed and more-experienced competitors. But knowing Vijay, he will win the next time around too," his profile read.

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, on Thursday demanded that former chief minister  Bhupinder Singh Hooda should be put behind bars for his involvement in the National Herald case in which a plot worth crores of rupees was allotted to the Congress-linked newspaper in Panchkula at  throwaway prices.

Speaking to reporters, the minister said Hooda had himself signed the National Herald case file just to please his Congress bosses, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Moti Lal Vohra.

"This caused the state heavy financial loss," he said.

Vij said the Central Government had put an end to the VVIP culture with its order on the removal red beacons from atop all vehicles.

This would put an end to the VIP culture and plug the difference between common man and VVIPs.

Referring to the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue , he said the Supreme Court had given its verdict in favour of Haryana.

Taking the initiative, the Central Government has established contact and coordination between the two states to clear the way for the construction of SYL, he added.

Actor Chris Pratt, who will reprise his role as Owen in Jurassic World 2, says the movie will be a “little darker” and will continue to expand and carry the story forward in an unexpected way.

During an interview with Screen Rant, the 37-year-old star shared a few details about the upcoming movie's plot, reported AceShowbiz.

“Deep emotions and suspense. I think it's going to be a scarier version. A little bit darker and will continue to expand and carry the story forward in a way that is really unexpected and you wouldn't have imagined,” Pratt said.

Jurassic World 2 will see the returns of Pratt as well as Bryce Dallas Howard and B D Wong.

James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda are the lastest additions to the cast.

The film is set to hit the US theaters on June 22 next year.

Justifying Maharashtra governor's order granting sanction to prosecute Congress MP Ashok Chavan in the multi-crore Adarsh society scam, the BJP government in the state on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that the step was neither politically motivated nor illegal.

"The Governor has recorded his satisfaction that prima facie there is certainly a nexus established between all the acts of the petitioner (Chavan) while handling files pertaining to Adarsh and the benefits derived by his close relatives in the form of membership in the Adarsh society," the government stated in an affidavit.

Chavan has also prima facie been found "to be tainted with criminality" by a two-member judicial commission set up by the government, said the affidavit.

It was filed in response to a petition by Chavan, who is also a former Maharashtra chief minister, challenging a decision of Governor C Vidyasagar Rao granting sanction to the CBI to prosecute him in the Adarsh case.

Chavan's petition had termed the governor's order as "arbitrary, illegal and unjust" and passed without "proper application of mind" and with "malafide intentions".

In February last year, Governor Rao had granted sanction to CBI to prosecute Chavan for offences under IPC sections 120 (b)(criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating and under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The government in its affidavit today denied that the order granting sanction was politically motivated and passed without proper application of mind.

"It is denied that the proposal for sanction is politically motivated. It is denied that the order is biased and premeditated and the result of political motivations and escalations of the BJP government or a part of its strategy to destroy or neutralise the petitioner (Chavan)," the affidavit said.

The affidavit was filed by Somnath Bagul, Joint Secretary of the government's General Administration Department.

It said that the Governor sought advice from the Council of Ministers and after applying his mind to the material found it fit to grant sanction.

It further said that the CBI approached the Governor for the second time seeking sanction as there was additional and fresh material against Chavan.

The CBI relied on a report submitted by the two-member judicial commission set up by the government to inquire into the Adarsh scam.

It said that even the high court in an order passed last year for the Adarsh building to be demolished had directed the government to initiate criminal action not only against the concerned bureaucrats but also against the concerned ministers and politicians.

The affidavit was submitted on Thursday to a division bench of Justices R V More and Anuja Prabhudessai who posted the petition for further hearing in June.

The CBI had accused Chavan of approving additional floor space index for Adarsh society in return of two flats for his relatives.

He was also charged with illegally approving, as the then Revenue Minister, allotment of 40 per cent of the flats to civilians.

While the CBI named him as an accused in its FIR, in December 2013 the then Governor K Sankaranarayanan refused permission to it to prosecute Chavan in the scam.

However, in March 2015 the high court dismissed a plea by Chavan, who is the sitting Lok Sabha MP from Nanded, seeking deletion of his name from the case, as the Governor had refused to grant sanction.

Following this, the CBI re-approached the governor seeking sanction, which was granted in February 2016.

Union Minister Hansraj Ahir on Thursday accepted that the situation in Kashmir is "not completely under control" and assured that the Centre is making all efforts to improve the same.

"We do accept that the situation in Kashmir is not completely under control. We will continue to do our job," the Minister of State for Home told the media here.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh were taking the issue very seriously.

"We are serious. The Home Minister will soon hold a meeting on the matter. The Prime Minister has discussed the issue. The situation in Kashmir will not always remain like as it's today. It will improve. This is our job and the people have elected us for this. We will overcome (the difficulties). This is our sole aim," Ahir said.

Ahir's remarks came a day after Prime Minister Modi discussed the situation in the state with Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

In a dramatic twist, Seema Pradhan, president of district panchayat here, gave her resignation, blaming the panchayat members and district administration of non cooperation after the change in the government in Uttar Pradesh.

Pradhan is associated with the Samajwadi Party and has been facing a strong opposition of the BJP panchayat members. She resigned on Wednesday just before the discussion on no confidence motion that was proposed against her by BJP panchayat members.

The discussion on the no-confidence motion against the president was supposed to take place on April 24. She said that she was forced to take the decision because of the conspiracies of the BJP.

Wife of Samajwadi Party leader Atul Pradhan, who contested from the Sardhana assembly seat in this election, Pradhan was elected as the district panchayat president on January 7 last year, defeating BJP`s Kulwinder Singh by a margin of just one vote.

She had faced serious charges of poll rigging on this victory by her rivals. The issue was raised in the first meeting of the district panchayat in March last year and the anti- group charged the President of misconduct and also the ruling Samajwadi Party for closing its eyes on this.

But soon after coming in power in the state Kulwinder Singh of BJP and other party members started polarising against her and a no confidence motion was moved against her with a submission of 20 affidavits of the members out of the total strength of 34.

On this development the District magistrate had  fixed April 24 for discussion over the motion in the house and thereafter voting in the presence of an observer from judiciary.

Blaming the state government, Pradhan said that after the change in the guard in UP a woman district president was harassed by unwanted inquiries and complaints. "I thought it better to resign when I am not allowed to work for the people for which I was elected," she quipped.

This is for the first time in the history of district panchayat of Meerut that a President had resigned.

In 2009 one of the members of panchayat Maninder Pal had moved no confidence motion against the than President Rajbala Gautam but she had managed to get a stay against this at that time and remained on the post.

The sources said that BJP`s district president Shiv Kumar Rana was the person who was behind this campaign against Pradhan.

France says it will provide proof within days that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime carried out the April 4 chemical attack in Syria that killed at least 90 people.

Speaking last evening on French TV, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said: "We will provide proof that the regime did indeed organise these strikes with chemical weapons." 

He said he couldn't provide evidence now because analysis is still underway but added: "In a few days I'll be able to provide proof." 

Assad has denied that he was behind the attack. Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons arsenal in 2013.

Speaking today, French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon called on the United Nations to punish those behind the attack and said "whoever uses chemical weapons should be condemned."