To cynically ignore repeated exhortations from someone holding high moral authority is to insult: as if the pleas lacked relevance. When it becomes deliberate policy to overlook such appeals an element of cowardice is added.

The calculated “silent treatment” leaders of the government have been extending to the President erodes the impression of strength they strive to project. Count is fast being lost of the recent occasions on which Pranab Mukherjee has flayed the closed mindsets of those now wielding power: In his initial days as Prime Minister Narendra Modi did acknowledge some of Mukherjee’s concerns, but the BJP’s electoral successes seem to have deafened the party’s leaders.

Yet none of them have dared display the moral fibre to indicate to the President that his calls for tolerance, inclusiveness, and open violence-free debate, etc., find no place in the game-plan that found unquestionable favour with the people in UP and Uttarakhand recently: other “skills” came into play when forming the governments in Manipur and Goa.

The President was clearly not unaware of the limited impact his words were having on the “national leadership” when he addressed the convocation at the IIM-Calcutta, going beyond his prepared text to declare “I have departed from the written text of my speech and I apologise for it. But being a fellow Calcuttan and being a son of the soil, I thought I should frankly express some of my views as I speak from my heart. If I have touched anyone’s sentiment I apologise for it.” And he struck a chord ~ nay, sprinkled salt on the wounds ~ when yet again he cited Amartya Sen to indicate a preference for the argumentative over the intolerant.

Mukherjee’s presidency is drawing to a close and there are no indications of a possibility of him being invited to seek re-election ~ not that he has sought this. Whoever succeeds him could play a decisive part in charting the nation’s future course.

The “pocket-calculator pundits” insist it will be no cake-walk for the BJP’s choice, but that would be to underestimate the manipulative capabilities of the Modi-Shah combine. The Opposition’s forging a united front might be the last chance (in the immediate future) of resisting the saffron onslaught.

Yet bringing the Opposition on to a common platform would call for inspiring leadership ~ of which there is little evidence, even though the clock in Rashtrapati Bhawan has begun its countdown. Rahul’s survival-bid to ride piggy-back on Akhilesh ended in disaster.

A few months back Mamata Banerjee had led an anti-demonetisation march to the “presidential palace” ~ even those who cursed, and continue to curse the action on November 8 broke ranks before the procession approached the Jaipur Column.

The AAP will give permanent jobs to contractual sanitation workers of the three municipal corporations if it wins the upcoming civic polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Monday.

Speaking at a public meeting at Badli in north-west Delhi here, Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would also ensure that the sanitation workers get their salaries on time every month.

"Every three months, the sanitation workers are forced to go on strike as the BJP-ruled municipal corporations say they don't have money to pay their salaries. When we rule the municipal corporations, we would ensure they get salaries before the seventh of every month," Kejriwal said.

"We would also make their jobs permanent and give them arrears as well."

He said soon after coming to power in the civic bodies, the AAP would turn those from cash-strapped to profit-making entities.

The AAP leader asked the people of Delhi to give the party a 2015 Delhi Assembly election-like mandate in the civic polls, too.

Listing the achievements of his government, Kejriwal said it reduced electricity rates and provided free water to every household as promised during the election campaign.

"We will also abolish residential house tax if we come to power in municipal corporations using the same rules that the BJP used to waive off house tax for its leader Vijay Goel's mansion," he said.

Citing other achievements, Kejriwal said that the primary healthcare was strengthened by constructing Mohalla Clinics in the city and the standard of education was also improved at government schools by bringing down the student-teacher ratio.

"We made all medical tests free at hospitals. We raised minimum wages, which would be effective from this month. You can see it in your bank account statements," he said.

Elections in 272 municipal wards in Delhi will be conducted on April 23 and the results will be announced on April 26.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned the bombing in St Petersburg Metro, which killed at least 10 people, and said that those responsible for the attack should be held accountable.

"The Secretary-General condemns today's (Monday) bombing in the St. Petersburg Metro," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"He extends his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and the people of the Russian Federation," Dujarric said. "Those responsible for this appalling act must be held accountable."

The blast took place on a subway train in the Russian city of St Petersburg Monday afternoon, killing at least 10 people and injuring about 50 others, a report said. 

The bomb, a homemade device filled with shrapnel, exploded in the third car just after the front of the train had entered the tunnel, the report said.

Several party office bearers and their relatives on Monday got the tickets from the BJP to contest the MCD polls, the candidates for which were announced by the party a few hours before the closure of filing of nominations.

The prominent faces who have been given ticket include Poonam Parasar Jha, Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha president and wife of former MLA Anil Jha. She will contest from Mubarakpur Dabas ward in North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

The BJP has fielded six Muslim candidates for the April 23 polls to the three civic body in the national capital. Among them was Rubina, whose name figured in the final list which came out today. She will contest from Quraish Nagar in NDMC and Jamal Haidar from Abul Fazal Enclave in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

Rubina is daughter of sitting councilor Hoor Bano, said a BJP leader.

A number of party workers who could not succeed in getting a ticket on Monday assembled at the Delhi BJP office and chanted slogans outside the gate as a mark of protest.

"I toiled hard for the victory of the Member of Parliament from my constituency. But, now he seems to have forgotten me," said a woman party worker who had sought ticket from a ward under South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The lists of 100 candidates released on Monday included names of 34 candidates in NDMC, 40 in SDMC, and 26 in East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC). The party had Sunday announced its first list of 160 candidates.

There are a total of 272 wards in the three municipal corporations in the city, 104 each in South and North Delhi municipal corporations and 64 in the East Delhi municipal corporation.

Party sources said that the leadership was under "tremendous pressure" from several quarters including sitting MPs, former legislators and ex-councilors who had been "lobbying hard" with national leaders and the RSS for tickets.

The party had earlier decided not to field outgoing councilors this time to ward off anti-incumbency.

The BJP has given five tickets to its ally Akali Dal which will contest in Pratap Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Kalkaji, GTB Nagar and Rajendra Nagar on the BJP's 'Lotus' symbol.

Earlier, the Paharganj seat in NDMC was given to Lok Jan Shakti Party but later the party announced its own candidate, Babita Bharija, from there.

The final list also included names of some candidates who are known to be close to top leaders in the party, the party sources said.

Raj Kumar Ballan, incharge of Mayur Vihar district who is said to be close to Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, has been given ticket from Brahmpuri in EDMC, while Jai Prakash JP, close to Union minister Vijay Goel, has got ticket from Sadar Bazar in NDMC.

Former army officer Colonel Oberoi will contest from Rajouri Garden ward. Sources said that he is a resident of Dwarka.

The party has also fielded Delhi BJP vice presidents Shikha Rai and Kamljeet Sehrawat in MCD polls.

Rai and Sehrawat had previously contested assembly elections on the party ticket. Purvanchal Morcha president Vipin Bihari has also got the ticket.

Sources said that Bina Virmani, candidate from Ramesh Nagar in North Delhi, is wife of an OSD of a Union minister.

Filing of nominations for the April 23 election ended at 6 pm on Monday. Candidates got the tokens were seen completing formalities for filing of nominations even after the given time.

Over 4,200 nominations have been filed for the municipal polls due on April 23 as the last date for filing the papers ended on Monday amid rush of candidates from all parties and independent contestants.

Among the major parties, AAP has filed 1,033 nominations followed by BJP and Congress with 565 and 544.

Nominations also include duplicate entries for contingencies like cancellation of papers of the main candidate.

According to the data released by the Delhi State Election Commission on late Monday, out of the total 4,240 nominations, 3,249 were filed on the last day today.

The much-awaited polls will be fought on 272 seats. While North Delhi Municipal Corporation and South Delhi Municipal Corporation have 104 seats each, East Delhi Municipal Corporation has 64.

The erstwhile unified MCD was trifurcated in 2012 into NDMC, SDMC and EDMC, respectively.

The BJP has been ruling the MCD since 2007. The last polls were held in 2012.

Most of the nominations were filed today as a heavy rush witnessed at various offices of the returning officers.

While 678 nominations were filed in east Delhi, the north and south saw 1,346 and 1,225 nominations today.

The nomination process had begun from March 27. Due to consecutive holidays on Saturday and Sunday, an extension of three hours was given to candidates. The process was scheduled to close at 3 PM earlier.

Scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 5.

The rush was also due all candidates of BJP and Congress filing their nominations on the last day.

1,439 candidates have also filed nominations as Independents.

Candidates of BSP, JD(U), SP, Shiv Sena, NCP and few other political outfits, also in the fray, filed their nominations.

The total number of electorate for the civic polls stands at 1,32,10,206, which include 73,15,915 men, 58,93,418 women and 793 voters in the other category, the state election commission said.

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU)on Monday strongly condemned the decision of the Government of India to withdraw benefits under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act for MGNREGA workers. 

In an order issued by the Labour Ministry recently, the government has directed all state
and UT governments to withdraw registration of MGNREGA workers under the building and construction workers law.

Lakhs of MGNREGA workers, majority of whom are women, registered under the construction workers law, will now be denied scholarship for their children, medical aid,
money for marriage of their son or daughter, money for repair of their houses, and monetary assistance from the statutory construction workers’ welfare board.

MGNREGA workers with 50 days of work in a year were registered under the law.

Heavy rain and hailstorms that swept across Meghalaya have destroyed over 2,000 houses in the state, officials saidon Monday.

No one was killed or injured in the hailstorm, the district officials said.

As many as 1,500 houses falling under Umling, Umsning and Jirang community and rural development blocks in Ri Bhoi district were damaged in the hailstorm on Sunday, the officials said, adding Umling, which has a population of over 6,000 people has reported the maximum number of damage in the incident.

In south-west Khasi hills district, storms have damaged over 300 houses in 36 villages while 542 houses in 10 villages of east Khasi hills were also affected, officials said.

Relief materials have been provided to the affected families, the district officials added.

Heavy rain and hailstorms that swept across Meghalaya have destroyed over 2,000 houses in the state, officials saidon Monday.

No one was killed or injured in the hailstorm, the district officials said.

As many as 1,500 houses falling under Umling, Umsning and Jirang community and rural development blocks in Ri Bhoi district were damaged in the hailstorm on Sunday, the officials said, adding Umling, which has a population of over 6,000 people has reported the maximum number of damage in the incident.

In south-west Khasi hills district, storms have damaged over 300 houses in 36 villages while 542 houses in 10 villages of east Khasi hills were also affected, officials said.

Relief materials have been provided to the affected families, the district officials added.

Flyers bearing Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's name have been suffering due to the curbs imposed by domestic airlines on the parliamentarian, his close aide said.

He also said that the Shiv Sena MP won't book a flight ticket till the matter was resolved by the Parliament and his party.

"Gaikwad won't ever book a flight ticket till the issue is resolved by the Parliament, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shiv Sena party," the Sena MP's aide from Gaikwad's hometown Omerga in Osmanabad district said.

"After the infamous Pune-Delhi flight, Ravi Sir (Gaikwad) booked flight tickets only three times and all were cancelled owing to the unjust curbs imposed by the airlines.

"The fourth and last ticket he booked was for an 8 AM flight from Mumbai to Delhi and that was also cancelled. He did not book any ticket after that. All this talk of his being on a flight ticket booking spree is a ploy to malign him and we condemn such tactics," the aide said.

The tickets were booked by the Sena MP's namesake who is bearing the brunt of the mistaken identity, he said.

"The airline companies do not have any mechanism to distinguish between the namesakes and as a result, innocent flyers are being inconvenienced," he said.

Flyers bearing Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's name have been suffering due to the curbs imposed by domestic airlines on the parliamentarian, his close aide said.

He also said that the Shiv Sena MP won't book a flight ticket till the matter was resolved by the Parliament and his party.

"Gaikwad won't ever book a flight ticket till the issue is resolved by the Parliament, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shiv Sena party," the Sena MP's aide from Gaikwad's hometown Omerga in Osmanabad district said.

"After the infamous Pune-Delhi flight, Ravi Sir (Gaikwad) booked flight tickets only three times and all were cancelled owing to the unjust curbs imposed by the airlines.

"The fourth and last ticket he booked was for an 8 AM flight from Mumbai to Delhi and that was also cancelled. He did not book any ticket after that. All this talk of his being on a flight ticket booking spree is a ploy to malign him and we condemn such tactics," the aide said.

The tickets were booked by the Sena MP's namesake who is bearing the brunt of the mistaken identity, he said.

"The airline companies do not have any mechanism to distinguish between the namesakes and as a result, innocent flyers are being inconvenienced," he said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said she will discuss with ministerial colleagues the Supreme Court ruling of banning liquor shops along highways, which has sparked concerns in the hospitality sector.

"I know the tourism minister has expressed lot of concern about what impact this is going to have on tourism. I need to talk with some of the ministerial colleagues and see what is coming out of it," Sitharaman told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said that his ministry will seek legal suggestions to explore a "middle path" to solve problems being faced by hoteliers and restaurant owners following the apex court's order.

Sharma, however, said the government will work within the framework of the directives of the Supreme Court on the matter.

The Supreme Court on March 31 had modified its order reducing the distance to 220 metres in areas having a population of up to 20,000. This criterion is also applicable to hill states like Sikkim, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh.

Thousands of restaurants, liquor vends and bars, including those in five-star hotels along national and state highways have been stopped from serving alcohol since Saturday.

When asked about the controversy over a remark made by a BJP leader in Kerala about beef, Sitharaman said she has "no idea" about the matter but noted that beef exports are not permitted from India.

She said that buffalo meat is allowed, only through authorised abattoirs having a valid license.

"What is happening in Uttar Pradesh…licenced abattoirs are not being touched. Without licence, export cannot happen and action was taken only on illegal abattoirs," she added.

When asked about the proposed rubber policy, she expressed hope to announce it soon.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said she will discuss with ministerial colleagues the Supreme Court ruling of banning liquor shops along highways, which has sparked concerns in the hospitality sector.

"I know the tourism minister has expressed lot of concern about what impact this is going to have on tourism. I need to talk with some of the ministerial colleagues and see what is coming out of it," Sitharaman told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said that his ministry will seek legal suggestions to explore a "middle path" to solve problems being faced by hoteliers and restaurant owners following the apex court's order.

Sharma, however, said the government will work within the framework of the directives of the Supreme Court on the matter.

The Supreme Court on March 31 had modified its order reducing the distance to 220 metres in areas having a population of up to 20,000. This criterion is also applicable to hill states like Sikkim, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh.

Thousands of restaurants, liquor vends and bars, including those in five-star hotels along national and state highways have been stopped from serving alcohol since Saturday.

When asked about the controversy over a remark made by a BJP leader in Kerala about beef, Sitharaman said she has "no idea" about the matter but noted that beef exports are not permitted from India.

She said that buffalo meat is allowed, only through authorised abattoirs having a valid license.

"What is happening in Uttar Pradesh…licenced abattoirs are not being touched. Without licence, export cannot happen and action was taken only on illegal abattoirs," she added.

When asked about the proposed rubber policy, she expressed hope to announce it soon.

Six persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) question paper leak case.

Last year, in April, SSC Chairman Aashim Khurana had informed the Crime Branch of leak of paper for the selection of sub-inspectors in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Delhi Police, DCP (Crime) Madhur Verma said.

The paper was allegedly leaked from a centre in Bihar and was sold at prices anywhere between Rs.10,000 and Rs.50,000, police said.

During investigation, it was found the paper was sent on a WhatsApp group 'My Student of Uttam Nagar' by one Bipin Kumar, he said.

Kumar was interrogated and he said the paper came to him from one Sonu Singh of Siwan. Sonu, in turn, said the paper was sent to him by one Manish Kumar Tiwari, a Bihar resident.

"Raids were conducted in Bihar at the residence of Tiwari but he wasn't found there. He was traced to Siwan and arrested on February 15. He said he had received the paper from Manish Kumar of Tarwara, Siwan," said the officer.

Over the span of next few weeks, other accused were arrested.

Manish Kumar was arrested and he disclosed about the involvement of Jaan Mohammed, who was nabbed. Mohammed disclosed about the involvement of Raja Kumar Sharma, Rajesh and Shambu Saran.

After the arrests of Raja Kumar Sharma and Shambu Saran, the involvement of Vikash Chander Bose was also found.

Vikash was arrested around a week back. He had earlier been arrested in 2014 in the Delhi Police constable paper leak case.

There are two other persons Rakesh and Raghu who are allegedly involved but they are absconding. The exact source of the paper leak will be known after their arrest, the police said.

Pakistan on Monday resumed its mass repatriation of Afghan refugees despite past accusations of coercion in the supposedly voluntary UN programme to return hundreds of thousands to a war-torn nation.

The operation, which saw 380,000 registered refugees sent back from Pakistan in 2016, was halted in December for a routine winter break.

"The UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme for registered Afghan refugees resumed today," Duniya Aslam Khan, a spokeswoman for the refugee aid body said.

The UN had cut its cash grant for returnees from USD 400 to USD 200, she confirmed, citing "financial constraints facing humanitarian operations worldwide".

The grant was doubled in 2016 and became a factor in the surge of returnees across the border to Afghanistan after July last year, the UN has said.

But fears of a crackdown by Pakistan on refugees, many of whom left Afghanistan decades ago, also contributed.

Human Rights Watch in a scathing report in February accused Pakistan of coercion, threats and abuse in the mass repatriation, and the UN of complicity.

The report said a combination of insecure legal status, the threat of deportation during winter and police abuses — including extortion, arbitrary detention and night raids — had left the Afghan refugees with no choice but to leave.

It also accused UNHCR of effectively encouraging the exodus by doubling the cash grant, and said the UN body should end the "fiction" that the returns are voluntary.

The UN has previously rejected the criticism.

"UNHCR advocates for all refugee returns from Pakistan to be voluntary, gradual and take place in conditions of safety and dignity," Khan said Monday.

The refugees are returning to an Afghanistan still torn apart by decades of war. They will compete for resources with a record half a million people who were internally displaced by the fighting in 2016, according to UN figures.

The mass migrations are draining local resources, especially in safer urban areas, officials have said.

Some 4.2 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan voluntarily under the UNHCR-funded Voluntary Repatriation programme since 2002.

But UNHCR and Pakistani officials have said some 1.34 million registered refugees still live in Pakistan.

A further half a million undocumented refugees are also estimated to still be in the country, making Pakistan one of the world's largest refugee-hosting nations

Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog in a rare move arrested 72 people on Monday or alleged vote-rigging in the city's legislative election last year.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said 68 of them were newly-registered electors in the information technology sector, one of a number of "functional constituencies".

Thirty of the 70 members of the legislature in the semi-autonomous Chinese city are elected by such constituencies – members of professions or other groups – rather than by the public at large.

Investigations showed the new voters, ranging from students to drivers, may not have had the necessary qualifications to take part in the poll, according to an ICAC statement.

Four "middlemen" – three of them also registered electors in the sector – were also held.

"Enquiries also revealed that some of the electors had allegedly accepted monetary rewards in the process," the statement said.

An ICAC source told the South China Morning Post that some of the suspects are accused of receiving anywhere between a few hundred dollars and USD 128.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Charles Mok, who represents the IT sector, was re-elected in the Legislative Council election in September last year.

Despite complaints that functional constituencies are undemocratic, election malpractices are rare.

Hong Kong is seen as relatively graft-free – it was ranked the joint 15th cleanest country or territory in 2016 by global corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has supported a petition for scrapping of tax on sanitary napkins and recalled that during previous UPA government she had called for providing napkins free to BPL families.

"I am extremely happy to know that you have taken up this case that I fully support. You would be interested to know that during the tenure of our UPA government I had again and again requested both Ghulam Nabi Azad, the then Health Minister, and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to provide sanitary napkins for free at least to BPL families," Gandhi said in a letter to party leader Sushmita Dev, who is now spearheading the petition.

The Congress President also said, "I would like to reiterate my whole-hearted support to your initiative in this regard."

Dev has initiated a movement and signed a petition urging the present government for making sanitary napkins tax-free.

The government on Monday approved procurement of a fresh batch of Barak surface-to-air missiles for Naval warships to enhance India's maritime capability in view of the changing security dynamics in the Indian Ocean region.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, approved capital acquisition proposals totalling over INR 860 crore, including for the purchase of Barak missiles.

The missiles will be procured under 'Buy Global' category from Rafael Advance Defense Systems Limited of Israel at an approximate cost of around INR 500 crore, defence ministry sources said.

Almost all ships of the navy will be equipped with these missiles.

The DAC, which is Defence Ministry's highest decision making body for capital acquisition, also accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of equipment such as underwater robot to counter mines in the sea.