Asserting that politics and religion should not be mixed, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took a dig at the state BJP leaders who participated in the Ram Navami celebrations saying politicians who walked with arms in the name of Puja are unaware of true Indian culture.

"These celebrations are happening for thousands of years. But why would political parties and leaders get involved. Politics and religion should not be mixed," Banerjee said at a meeting at Asansol where she declared West Bardhaman as the 23rd district of the state.

"Let alone Bengal, they are not aware of the culture of this nation. If they knew the true tradition and culture they would have worshipped the God in the temple rather than trying to scare people by walking on the street carrying swords," she said.

The Trinamool chief further claimed that rallying with swords has no connection to religion but only depicts a picture of violence.

"During Durga Puja, mothers and sisters of our land play with vermilion to bring peace and prosperity but these political leaders are playing with swords," she said.

Massive rallies were organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates like Hindu Jagran Manch across the eastern state on Wednesday in never-before grandiose Ram Navami celebrations which saw thousands of Hindu activists, including school children, walking on the road brandishing sticks and sharp weapons.

Most of the senior state Bharatiya Janata Party leaders took part in the processions, 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 aloft a sword.

Banerjee on Thursday said the law would take its course against political leaders who carried arms without police permission. Hours after her warning, the Kolkata and state police filed suo moto cases against the organisers of armed rallies, including state BJP President Ghosh.

Accusing BJP of trying to polarise the people in Bengal, Banerjee said she would not tolerate any attempts to incite a communal riot and the offenders would have to face the consequences.

"What is this new drama by BJP. I am okay with everything. But I will not tolerate riots in the state. If anyone tries to fuel communal violence, they would have to take the responsibility and face the consequences," she added.

 Bollywood actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn, whose production and directorial venture Shivaay has got the National Film Award for Best Visual Effects, says the decision is not surprising.

After winning the award, Ajay said in a statement: "I feel delighted that the prestigious 64th National Award for Best Visual Effects has been awarded to our very own Naveen Paul of NYVFXWALA for our film Shivaay.

"Many congratulations to Naveen and the entire team. I am thankful to the honourable jury but I have to say that I am not at all surprised by their decision. This indeed is a well deserved win."

The film released on Diwali last year alongside Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta says it's disappointing that his critically acclaimed film Aligarh was not considered worthy of an honour at the 64th National Film Awards. However, he hopes the debate around LGBTQ rights is not ignored.

Set in a town in Uttar Pradesh from which the film takes its name, Aligarh is the story of a professor played by actor Manoj Bajpayee, fired for his sexuality, and a young journalist essayed by Rajkummar Rao, who tells his story to the world. 

After the 64th National Film Awards were announced on Friday in New Delhi, Mehta expressed his sentiments via a Twitter post.

He wrote: "I am getting calls asking me if 'Aligarh' was entered for the National Awards and if I was disappointed with the results. Yes, 'Aligarh' was entered and while we are disappointed like many other colleagues, I would like to congratulate all the the winners." 

The filmmaker says that the jury has a difficult job every year and there are bound to be disappointments for many.

"Some fine films have been rewarded and some excellent work has been recognised. To all my colleagues who poured their hearts out into 'Aligarh', let's just keep making our films with love and care – awards or no awards. There is no point brooding over the results. 

"There is merit in only moving on and continuing to work, to make movies that we believe in."

He says it's more important that the fight for LGBTQ rights continues.

"If Aligarh has shone a light on these issues and if India's ignored LGBTQ's population are able to move forward with dignity rights, and unconditional integration into the mainstream, we will consider our task in making 'Aligarh' accomplished," he said.
 

The tax department has given banks three more months till June 30 to obtain permanent account number (PAN) or Form-60 from all account holders as it looks to tighten the noose around evaders.

Though the deadline for getting the PAN or Form 60 (if PAN is not available) by banks ended on February 28, the tax department on April 5 notified the extension of the time till June 30.

In the notification, the Income Tax Department said that in Income-Tax Rules 114B, in the fourth proviso, “for the figures, letters and words '28th day of February' the figures, letters and words '30th day of June' shall be substituted.”

Rule 114B lists various transactions for which quoting PAN is mandatory.

The tax department had in January asked banks, post offices and cooperative banks to document PAN or declaration of Form 60 received from account holders and maintain all records for transactions under Rule 114B of I-T Act.

It had said that persons who have not quoted PAN, or did not furnish Form 60 at the time of opening account, will have to provide the same by February 28. Form 60 is a declaration form filed by an individual without PAN.

Following the demonetisation move effective November 9, the tax department had asked banks and post offices to report to it all deposits above Rs.2.5 lakh in savings accounts and more than Rs.12.50 lakh in current accounts made between November 10 and December 30, 2016.

Also, cash deposits exceeding Rs.50,000 in a single day had to be reported.

With an estimated Rs.15 lakh crore in junked currency notes coming back into the banking system post demonetisation, the tax department has started analysing the bank deposit trends.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said that it would not allow shops which are have to relocated following a Supreme Court order banning sale of liquor along highways to come up near religious places, schools or populated areas.

“The Supreme Court has ordered removal of liquor shops from the National Highways and government will ensure that the shops removed from there do not relocate to the vicinity of religious places, schools or populated areas,” UP Minister Shrikant Sharma said.

He said strict orders have been issued for compliance of the Apex court orders and directives have also been issued to secretary, excise, and other officials to see that liquor shops and outlets do not open around such places.

Action will be taken if norms are violated, he said.

"This government is law abiding and will not allow any violation of norms by anyone. If people have any grievance or they find that shops are operating near religious places, schools or populated areas, they should immediately complain to the district magistrate and not take law in their hands as arson and hooliganism is wrong,” he said.

The minister said that unlike the previous governments when complaints were left unattended, the new regime is responsive.

Three athletes from Himachal Pradesh made India proud by bagging gold and silver medals for the team in snowboard and alpine skiing event at Special Olympics World Winter Games (SOWWG) held in Austria.

Hailing from a humble background in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, Sanjay Singh bagged two gold medals in snowboarding. Inspired by skiing and sledging, snowboarding involves descending a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet.

“I feel elated on making my country proud,” said Sanjay Singh, who is under the care of Paradise Children Care Centre.

“Winning a medal for India is a dream come true for me. I hope I will bring more laurels to my country in years to come,” said Megha, who won one gold and one silver medal for India at Alpine skiing event. Alpine skiing is a sport involving sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings.

Shubham Singh from Himachal Pradesh also made India proud by winning two silver medals for the team in Alpine skiing.

“The news of the winning a medal hasn’t yet sunk in to me,” said Shubham Singh.

All three athletes were supported by DLF Foundation under their Talent Nurturing Programme, according to a release. 

The foundation bore their coaching and training, equipment and participation expenses.

The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities, organised by Special Olympics.

India finished at the Games with a total of 73 medals, which included 37 gold medals, 10 silvers and 26 bronze.

Thousands of South Africans took to the streets across the country on Friday to protest against President Jacob Zuma and demanding his resignation.

The most populous demonstration took place in the capital, Pretoria, where the civic collective "Save South Africa" organised a march from the treasury to the presidential seat of the Union Buildings, Efe news reported.

In Johannesburg, the Democratic Alliance main opposition party called its supporters to gather in a downtown square to protest against Jacob Zuma.

Cape Town, Durban and other cities also experienced similar protests.

Friday's mass protests came a week after the sacking of former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who triggered a tide of reactions against Zuma and led the credit rating agency Standard and Poor's to downgrade South Africa's rating to junk status.

Gordhan, a person of Indian origin, has become a symbol of the fight against corruption for refusing to approve several projects that would allegedly benefit businessmen close to Zuma.

Gordhan's sacking provoked a deep fracture in the governmental alliance led by Zuma's African National Congress, as its partners, the Communist Party and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, have also called for the president's departure.

Meanwhile, the opposition has redoubled its efforts to overthrow Zuma, and filed a no-confidence motion against the country's president to be debated by members of parliament on April 18.

Zuma's ruling party, the African National Congress, has an absolute majority in parliament, but the opposition expects many of the ruling MPs to break the party discipline and vote conscientiously.

Chairman HP Public Service Commission said on Friday that all the stake holders have been informed through Commission’s website about decision of Commission to finalise and upload the new HAS (Himachal Administrative Services) Allied Combined Services pattern of examination.

It is now on the analogy of Civil Services Examination of UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), which is being implemented with effect from January, 2017.

The syllabi for main examination was finalised by more than thirty experts, which was approved by state government.

The Chairman said that Commission had earlier decided to keep two optional subject papers (Paper VII & VIII) of 100 marks each, which was aimed at creating a level playing field.

“After discussing this issue within HPPSC and with other State Public Service Commissions, it is now proposed to have only one optional subject paper of two hundred marks,” he said.

Tomar said that the syllabus of optional subject papers of HAS Allied Combined Services Exam will not be changed. Candidates would be now required to prepare for only one optional subject Paper (on the basis of combined syllabus of two optional subject papers).”

The sample question paper of new pattern of one optional subject (Political Science) has been uploaded on HPPSC website (http://www.hppsc.hp.gov.in/hppsc/), which will give an idea about the pattern of Question Papers. Gradually, sample question papers of other subjects will also be uploaded on HPPSC website.

The central government said on Friday that in its attempt to curb domestic black money it has unearthed over Rs.1.37 lakh crore worth of tax evasion in 23,064 searches carried out in the last three years.

"The period has witnessed unprecedented enforcement actions in direct and indirect taxes. While 23,064 searches/surveys have been conducted (income tax 17,525; customs 2,509; central excise 1,913; service tax 1,120), more than Rs.1.37 lakh crore of tax evasion has been detected (income tax Rs.69,434 cr; customs Rs.11,405 cr; central excise Rs.13,952 cr; service tax Rs.42,727 cr)," the Finance Ministry said here in a statement on Friday.

"Simultaneously, criminal prosecutions were launched in 2,814 cases (income tax 1,966; customs 526; central excise 293; service tax 29) and 3,893 persons were placed under arrest (customs 3,782; central excise 47; service tax 64)," the statement said.

The Enforcement Directorate in its anti-money laundering actions registered 519 cases and conducted 396 searches. Arrests were made in 79 cases and properties worth Rs.14,933 crore were attached, it said.

The Benami (proxy) prohibition law which remained in-operative for last 28 years was made operational through a comprehensive amendment with effect from November 2016. 

"More than 245 benami transactions have already been identified. Provisional attachments of properties worth Rs.55 crore have already been made in 124 cases," it said.

Crackdown against thousands of shell companies engaged in nefarious activities was effected through enforcement actions (searches, surveys, arrests, prosecutions), the statement noted.

"During the last three financial years (2013-14 to 2015-16), income tax investigations led to detection of more than 1,155 shell companies/entities used as conduits by over 22,000 beneficiaries. The amount involved in non-genuine transactions of such beneficiaries was more than Rs.13,300 crore," it said.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued more than a lakh notices for striking off names of defunct or non-compliant companies. 

"A high-powered group has been set-up for co-ordinating and monitoring the actions taken by departments concerned with the objective of eliminating the conduits of black money generation and application," it said.

There was ruckus in the Rajya Sabha on Friday over cow vigilantes lynching a Muslim man in Rajasthan's Alwar last week. Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad demanded a statement from Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue.

Raising the issue, Azad said the government was "undermining the Rajya Sabha".

Referring to a statement on Thursday by Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, wherein he had dismissed the incident as "did not happen", Azad said: "The Minister misled the house."

The Congress leader said the government was making different statements on the matter in the two houses of Parliament.

"Home Minister Rajnath Singh admitted in Lok Sabha on Thursday that incident happened whereas the Minister (Naqvi) said that it didn't," he said.

He also raised doubt over the intention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on dealing with these self-styled 'gau rakshaks'.

"He (Modi) criticised them using very strong words but it seems the Bharatiya Janata Party has told them to do whatever they wanted to," Azad said.

He was supported by other opposition members, who approached the Chairman's podium and there was noisy scene for the second day in a row, seeking the minister's apology.

On this, Naqvi, who also is the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, said that the Home Minister will make a statement on the issue in the house on Monday.

Earlier on Friday, Naqvi said the alleged lynching of a man in Rajasthan by cow vigilantes should not be viewed from a religious point of view as "criminals are just criminals".

"A criminal, a murderer, a hooligan should not be looked at as a Hindu or a Muslim. A criminal is a criminal," Naqvi told the House.

"One gets 14-day remand for slapping. But in this Rajasthan case, the accused was freed after a day. This government should take this house seriously," Azad said.

"This is undermining the position of the Rajya Sabha. Since the Alwar issue was raised yesterday (Thursday), the Home Minister should have come today (Friday)."

The lynching incident occurred on Saturday when a group of self-styled cow vigilantes allegedly attacked dairy farmer Pehlu Khan in Behror area of Alwar. 

Khan, hailing from Haryana, was travelling in a truck with two cows and two calves. 

The attackers accused Khan of illegally smuggling cows for slaughter. However, his family said he had bought the animals for his small dairy business.
 

Actress Richa Chadha says her debut book will be anecdotal in nature and she hopes she does a good job.

Penguin India will publish the Fukrey actress' book later this year.

"I am writing an anecdotal kind of piece. I wanted to go beyond social media and get a little more in-depth," Richa said in a statement.

"My interest in writing is not new. I hope I can do a good job. This year is special, my debut production and book both come out in 2017," added the actress, who has stepped into production with short film Khoon Aali Chithi.

In her book, she journals her personal journey towards ideal health amid travels to distant cultures and hectic shoots, a source close to the actress said.

"The book will be replete with famous encounters, anecdotes from her jetsetting-life as well as a good dose of optimism and common sense," the source added.

In a breakthrough, scientists have found a new way that could help protect Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef by using the powers of attraction to decimate one of the reef's fiercest enemies.

Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have revealed that crown-of-thorns starfish gather in large numbers due to a release of pheromones – a scent they have decoded so the prickly pests can be lured to their capture.

“For an already struggling Great Barrier Reef, and indeed any reefs across the Indo-Pacific region, these starfish pose an enormous threat due to the ability of a single female to produce up to 120 million offspring in one spawning season,” said Professor Bernard Degnan, who led the study.

“They feast on the coral and leave it bleached white and vulnerable to destruction in heavy storms,” said Degnan.

Millions of dollars have been spent over many years on a variety of ways to capture crown-of-thorns starfish, whether it be via diver collection, injections or robotics.

“Now we have found the genes the starfish use to communicate, we can begin fabricating environmentally safe baits that trick them into gathering in one place, making it easier to remove reproductively-primed animals,” Degnan said.

The research was published in the journal Nature.

David Warner says he remains good friends with Virat Kohli despite a bitterly fought Test series which ended with the Indian captain saying that he was no more friends with the Australian cricketers.

Warner had a chat with Kohli during the IPL inaugural ceremony here.

“Ya. I had a chat with Virat. We are still friends, thankfully. I had a text conversation with him which is very nice of him,” said Warner.

“As we all know, we all got jobs to do. You guys (journalists) write, right or wrong. We players…that's how the game is. But, away from this, we are still very good friends,” the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain.

Against the backdrop of sparks flying during the recent tour of Australia to India, Warner was asked whether he got a chance to have a chat with Kohli.

“Sometimes on the field, we can take it too seriously and for the emotions for the next hour, we might be thinking they are not going to be anymore this and that, but for us, we are all going to be friends, everything is taken care.

“It's a friendly environment, especially IPL and world cricket. We just love playing the game and making sure everyone is smiling,” he said.

Warner was elated over the team kicking off its campaign in the ongoing IPL on a winning note – a 35-run victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the tournament opener.

Warner said there has been no final word on when Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman is going to join the team.

“You know as much as I do. I didn't even know that he was not going to be here till I landed. I think the whisper was he is going to be with us in Mumbai,” he said, adding there will be more clarity on the issue.

The tag of defending champions does not put any pressure on the team this year, he said.

“There is no pressure… Last year (there) were more individuals playing a role, one or two in each single game. This year (to) start the way we did was fantastic. We had self belief,” Warner said.

“It's great to be defending champions. But, we will play the way we do. Keep calm and everything will pan out the way that we do. If we go on field and give 100 per cent everytime,” he said.

Saying that the team had competent players in its ranks, he said he would look to get the balance right.

India and Bangladesh share many commonalities and have demonstrated the will to resolve issues, like the long-standing land boundary agreement, then why should the Teesta water sharing issue be allowed to linger, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said in a newspaper article.

Hasina, who arrived here on Friday on a four-day official visit, her first in seven years, has in a piece titled 'Friendship is a flowing river' in The Hindu, expressed hope that her visit would take the cooperation between the two countries to new heights.

Hasina said there was no reason why there should be any contention between the two countries over sharing the waters of common rivers.

"Only peaceful co-existence can ensure peace. There are some issues between us. But I believe that any problem can be resolved in a peaceful manner. We have demonstrated our willpower through the implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement. There are some more issues like sharing of waters of the common rivers (the Teesta issue is currently under discussion) that need to be resolved," she wrote.

"I'm an optimistic person. I would like to rest my trust on the goodwill of the great people and the leaders of our neighbour. I know resources are scarce, but we can share those for the benefit of the people of both countries. We share the same culture and heritage. There are a lot of commonalities (at least with West Bengal). We share our Lalon, Rabindranath, Kazi Nazrul, Jibanananda; there is similarity in our language, we are nourished by the waters of the Padma, Brahmaputra, Teesta and so on. The Sundarbans is our common pride. We don't have any strife over it. Then, why should there be any contention over the waters of common rivers?" she asked.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's assent is seen as crucial for inking of a deal with Bangladesh on sharing the Teesta river waters. In 2011, Banerjee had at the last moment dropped out of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit over her opposition to the Teesta agreement draft, which was set to be inked then.

Banerjee has been invited for talks with Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi, but likelihood of an accord on Teesta being signed appear dim.

Hasina in her article pointed out the bilateral cooperation in boosting connectivity, trade and investment since the Awami League came to power in 2009.

"Relations, at a personal or national level, largely depend on give-and-take measures. Mexican Nobel Laureate Octavio said 'Friendship is a river'. I think that the friendship between Bangladesh and India is like a flowing river and full with generosity. This is the spirit of the people of the two neighbours. I think if our commitments are honest, we would be able to achieve many things that are beneficial to our people," she said.

Hasina praised India's role in her country gaining Independence.

"We are grateful to the friendly people of India. The Indian government had played an important role even in getting Bangabandhu released from the Pakistani prison. Shrimati Indira Gandhi had played the leading role in earning our Independence, freedom of Bangabandhu and bringing him back to his beloved people. We got her government, political parties and above all the people of India beside us during our hard times."

She outlined her country's progress. "We earned over 7.1 per cent GDP growth. Inflation is contained within 5.28 per cent and the poverty rate has been reduced to 22 per cent. On many socio-economic indicators, Bangladesh's standing is better than many other South Asian nations' whereas a few years ago our position was at the bottom. But we still have a long way to go to ensure prosperity of the people. And we are working towards that end."

"My objective is to fulfil the dream of Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) through building a hunger- and poverty-free Golden Bangladesh being imbued with the spirit of the War of Liberation," she wrote.

The UK government on Friday said it "fully supports" the US missile strike against an air base in Syria in retaliation to a chemical weapons attack that killed over 80 people, including children.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said Prime Minister Theresa May had been "informed throughout" but the UK was not asked to take part, the BBC reported.

He described the strike as "limited" and "wholly appropriate".

Fifty-nine Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from two US Navy ships in the Mediterranean on Thursday night. Six people were killed, according to the Syrian army.

US President Donald Trump said the US missile strike targeted the base which was the launch point for this attack.

Fallon told the BBC Radio that the UK government had had close discussions with the US over the past few days "at all levels" and had "reviewed the various options they were considering".

The US strike had "targeted the airfield, the aircraft the support equipment that were involved, the Americans believe, in this gas attack and is designed to deter the regime from planning similar gas attacks," Fallon said.

"The Americans have made it very clear the attack last night was limited, was narrowly focused, they did everything possible to minimise Syrian casualties, indeed to involve Russian personnel on that particular airfield."

The Defence Secretary said there would have to be a vote in Parliament before the UK got involved in any military action.

In 2013, UK MPs rejected strikes against Syrian government forces in a vote.

The campaign to save girl child has failed in Jammu and Kashmir as "bringing daughters into the world" is the last thing on the minds of people living in conflict-prone areas, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme also came a cropper in Bihar due to local administrative issues, she said at an advertising festival event here.

"In Bihar, (it failed) because their District Magistrates got posted every three months — so nobody was willing to take ownership of the campaign; as a result, the campaign did not happen," she said.

Gandhi said the programme received "stupendous success" in most states. The programme worked very well — thanks to multi-pronged initiatives — in 100 districts with poorest sex ratio.

"We failed in a few districts. We did not get 100 per cent success. But the ones we failed in were for different reasons. We failed in Kashmir. It (programme) didn't make a jot of a difference, no matter what we did," Gandhi said.

"Why? Because we discovered that anybody who believes they are at war or in a situation where there's fighting anticipated or going on, the last thing they want to do is bring daughters into the world. Because they believe that they will be the first victims," the minister said.

The Railways earned Rs.228 crore more by charging full adult fare from children in the reserved class in the fiscal 2016-17, Rajya Sabha was told on Friday.

Railways earned total Rs.914 crore from child passengers between April 21, 2016 and March 20, 2017 as against Rs.686 crore during the same period the previous year.

Children, between 5 and 12 years of age, for whom berth is sought at the time of reservation, are charged full adult fare from April 21, 2016, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said in a written reply in the House.

However, at the time of reservation if full berth is not sought then half of basic adult fare is charged subject to minimum distance for charge.

Children below the age of 5 years are carried free in trains.

The additional earnings from passengers booked on child fare in the reserved class during the period of April 21, 2016 to March 20, 2017 is about Rs.228 crore more as compared to the same period the previous year.