The Congress on Thursday said it would pose a "formidable challenge" to the BJP in the 2019 general elections.

"Just-concluded elections in many states show that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not have a very strong vote share, whereas the Congress, despite it losing the polls, has a good vote share in many states," senior Congress leader C.P. Joshi told the media here.

"Everything possible would be done to counter the BJP in the next general elections and since the Congress and its allies got a good vote share, it would give formidable challenge to the BJP during the next Lok Sabha elections," Joshi said.

Talking about Manipur and Goa where the Congress had emerged as the single largest party, Joshi said that the BJP forming the governments with a "manufactured majority" in these states was "unfortunate" for parliamentary democracy in the country.

"It's a matter of concern for all," he said.

When asked if Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was leading the party well, Joshi said, "He (Rahul) was being criticised unnecessarily."

"Rahul Gandhi has been a good manager. His role (in the party) is to be assessed in a proper manner," he added.
 

Ironically, it was the Congress and not the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar-led government, which seemed desperate not to lose face, during the floor test in the state legislative assembly on Thursday.

The principal opposition, whose actions after the March 11 vote-count have been marked by disarray and chaos, almost went into hyper-mode looking for its "missing" legislator Vishwajit Rane, even checking the toilets in the state assembly complex to trace him, seconds before the trust vote, which was eventually won by Parrikar 22-16.

"We did know how and when he (Rane) disappeared. We do not know where he is. One moment he was perfectly ok, smiling, chatting with us. He also took oath as MLA, but just before the confidence motion was moved, he disappeared," Congress Legislature Party leader Chandrakant Kavlekar told IANS. 

"We checked everywhere, in the lobbies, in the washrooms, in the passages. Rane was nowhere to be found," Kavlekar said soon after the party failed to come up with numbers to beat the BJP in the trust vote.

Kavlekar also said that he had asked Rane's father, also a sitting Congress legislator from Poriem, about his son's whereabouts, but he too was unsure.

"We do not know the reasons for his disappearance. Whether it was a health problem or a personal problem. We could not contact him," he said.

Rane's disappearance from the vote count embarrassed the Congress, which had claimed that it had the numbers to form a government in Goa.

Eventually, during the trust vote, the Congress, which was the single largest party with 17 lawmakers, not only could not pull Independent legislators and allies to its side, it could not even retain its own flock, with Rane playing truant.

Rane, the Valpoi legislator, subsequently later told reporters, that he was disillusioned with the Congress party and had submitted his resignation to the Speaker as well as to the Congress leadership.

"And the manner in which things are going on in the Congress and the poor manner with which the general secretaries are handling it, aggressive leaders like me, will quit the Congress across the country. The Congress central leadership should discuss and act against them (overseers)," he said.

Ironically, it was the Congress and not the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar-led government, which seemed desperate not to lose face, during the floor test in the state legislative assembly on Thursday.

The principal opposition, whose actions after the March 11 vote-count have been marked by disarray and chaos, almost went into hyper-mode looking for its "missing" legislator Vishwajit Rane, even checking the toilets in the state assembly complex to trace him, seconds before the trust vote, which was eventually won by Parrikar 22-16.

"We did know how and when he (Rane) disappeared. We do not know where he is. One moment he was perfectly ok, smiling, chatting with us. He also took oath as MLA, but just before the confidence motion was moved, he disappeared," Congress Legislature Party leader Chandrakant Kavlekar told IANS. 

"We checked everywhere, in the lobbies, in the washrooms, in the passages. Rane was nowhere to be found," Kavlekar said soon after the party failed to come up with numbers to beat the BJP in the trust vote.

Kavlekar also said that he had asked Rane's father, also a sitting Congress legislator from Poriem, about his son's whereabouts, but he too was unsure.

"We do not know the reasons for his disappearance. Whether it was a health problem or a personal problem. We could not contact him," he said.

Rane's disappearance from the vote count embarrassed the Congress, which had claimed that it had the numbers to form a government in Goa.

Eventually, during the trust vote, the Congress, which was the single largest party with 17 lawmakers, not only could not pull Independent legislators and allies to its side, it could not even retain its own flock, with Rane playing truant.

Rane, the Valpoi legislator, subsequently later told reporters, that he was disillusioned with the Congress party and had submitted his resignation to the Speaker as well as to the Congress leadership.

"And the manner in which things are going on in the Congress and the poor manner with which the general secretaries are handling it, aggressive leaders like me, will quit the Congress across the country. The Congress central leadership should discuss and act against them (overseers)," he said.

Saurav Ghosal entered the semifinals, while his compatriots Mahesh Mangaonkar and Vikram Malhotra crashed out in the quarterfinals as India witnessed a mixed outing at the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open, here.

Top-seeded Ghosal defeated Englishman Joe Lee 12-10 11-5 11-7 in the quarterfinals late on Wednesday night.

But it was curtains for Mahesh and Vikram as they failed to seal their places in the last four round.

While Mahesh lost to 11-9 12-10 11-7 to third seed Tom Richards of England, Vikram was shown the door 12-10 11-7 8-11 11-8 by Malaysia's Adnan.

Saurav Ghosal entered the semifinals, while his compatriots Mahesh Mangaonkar and Vikram Malhotra crashed out in the quarterfinals as India witnessed a mixed outing at the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open, here.

Top-seeded Ghosal defeated Englishman Joe Lee 12-10 11-5 11-7 in the quarterfinals late on Wednesday night.

But it was curtains for Mahesh and Vikram as they failed to seal their places in the last four round.

While Mahesh lost to 11-9 12-10 11-7 to third seed Tom Richards of England, Vikram was shown the door 12-10 11-7 8-11 11-8 by Malaysia's Adnan.

Punjab's new Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who was sworn-in earlier on Thursday, has kept the important Home Department with himself while Manpreet Singh Badal will be the new Finance Minister.

Manpreet Badal, the estranged nephew of outgoing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, will also handle the portfolios of Planning and Employment Generation.

Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore, who allocated the portfolios to the nine ministers on the Chief Minister's advice, allocated to former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu the charge of Local Government and Tourism Departments.

Amarinder Singh will also handle General Administration, Personnel, Home Affairs and Justice, Vigilance and all other departments not assigned to any other minister, an official spokesman said here.

Brahm Mohindra will look after Health and Family Welfare, Research and Medical Education and Parliamentary Affairs.

Navjot Singh Sidhu will also handle Cultural Affairs, Archives and Museums.

Other ministers and their portfolios are: Sadhu Singh Dharamsot (Forests, Printing and Stationery, Welfare of SCs and BCs); Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa (Rural Development and Panchayats and Water Supply and Sanitation); Rana Gurjit Singh (Irrigation and Power); Charanjit Singh Channi (Technical Education and Industrial Training); Aruna Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Higher Education and School Education; and Razia Sultana, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Public Works Department, Social Security and Development of Women and Children.

Punjab's new Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who was sworn-in earlier on Thursday, has kept the important Home Department with himself while Manpreet Singh Badal will be the new Finance Minister.

Manpreet Badal, the estranged nephew of outgoing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, will also handle the portfolios of Planning and Employment Generation.

Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore, who allocated the portfolios to the nine ministers on the Chief Minister's advice, allocated to former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu the charge of Local Government and Tourism Departments.

Amarinder Singh will also handle General Administration, Personnel, Home Affairs and Justice, Vigilance and all other departments not assigned to any other minister, an official spokesman said here.

Brahm Mohindra will look after Health and Family Welfare, Research and Medical Education and Parliamentary Affairs.

Navjot Singh Sidhu will also handle Cultural Affairs, Archives and Museums.

Other ministers and their portfolios are: Sadhu Singh Dharamsot (Forests, Printing and Stationery, Welfare of SCs and BCs); Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa (Rural Development and Panchayats and Water Supply and Sanitation); Rana Gurjit Singh (Irrigation and Power); Charanjit Singh Channi (Technical Education and Industrial Training); Aruna Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Higher Education and School Education; and Razia Sultana, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Public Works Department, Social Security and Development of Women and Children.

The CPI-M on Thursday hit out at BJP ministers for evading specific answers and in turn delivering "election speeches" in Parliament in response to queries on serious matters such as agriculture distress.

"The ministers are not addressing specific issues. They are avoiding specific answers whether it is the issue of agricultural distress, farmers' loan waiver or railway safety. They are delivering election speeches in their replies," CPI-M Lok Sabha member Mohammed Salim said.

Talking to reporters, Salim said "dreams and concepts such as bullet trains are being highlighted but specifics are being avoided".

Citing examples, he said that while some members tried to draw the government's attention to improving railway safety and reducing accidents and mishaps, the government skirted these issues and spoke of increasing the speed of trains instead.

The CPI-M on Thursday hit out at BJP ministers for evading specific answers and in turn delivering "election speeches" in Parliament in response to queries on serious matters such as agriculture distress.

"The ministers are not addressing specific issues. They are avoiding specific answers whether it is the issue of agricultural distress, farmers' loan waiver or railway safety. They are delivering election speeches in their replies," CPI-M Lok Sabha member Mohammed Salim said.

Talking to reporters, Salim said "dreams and concepts such as bullet trains are being highlighted but specifics are being avoided".

Citing examples, he said that while some members tried to draw the government's attention to improving railway safety and reducing accidents and mishaps, the government skirted these issues and spoke of increasing the speed of trains instead.

A letter bomb exploded at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Paris on Thursday, leaving one person injured, according to initial reports.

The World Bank office in France is also in the same compound as IMF.

The injured is an assistant to an IMF manager, the reports added.  

Following the incident, IMF staff immediately evacuated the building and armed military and police guarded the area.

A similar incident was reported on Wednesday when a parcel bomb was sent to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble. Police had recovered the parcel before it could hurt anyone.

A letter bomb exploded at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Paris on Thursday, leaving one person injured, according to initial reports.

The World Bank office in France is also in the same compound as IMF.

The injured is an assistant to an IMF manager, the reports added.  

Following the incident, IMF staff immediately evacuated the building and armed military and police guarded the area.

A similar incident was reported on Wednesday when a parcel bomb was sent to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble. Police had recovered the parcel before it could hurt anyone.

The India Habitat Centre has announced the premiere edition of Habitat International Film Festival (HIFF), to begin here from March 24 with the screening of Asghar Farhadi's Oscar winning film The Salesman.

The 10-day festival, which will conclude on April 2, aims to bring together carefully hand-picked world cinema which has witnessed critical acclaim across the globe.

"With the launch of this festival, we seek to fill the vacuum felt by film enthusiasts in the capital and provide them with tasteful movie choices. Through this free-for-all platform, we aim to promote the thought of global dialogue via the channel of movies," Rakesh Kacker, Director, India Habitat Centre, said in a statement. 

The festival will entail a free screening of over 50 films. HIFF will raise the curtain to India with movies from unconventional countries such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Hungary and Mongolia among many others.

"We are happy to have several embassies entrusting us with our unique initiative and are confident that Habitat International Film Festival will witness resounding success," Kacker added.

Presenting every kind of genre, the event will entail themes of human interest, women empowerment, fashion, sports, music among others. Besides non-mainstream cinema, HIFF will also feature various documentaries.

There will be films like Driving With Selvi, White Sun, A Heavy Heart, White Blessing and My Daughter Anne Frank. 

Former BJP Chief and Shimla MLA, Suresh Bhardwaj on Thursday accused the Congress government of meting injustice to state capital Shimla in all spheres of development.

Participating in the debate on budget proposals for 2017-18 in the state assembly, Bhardwaj, who is also the chief whip of BJP legislature party, lashed out at the government for first ignoring Shimla and bringing Dharamshala in the smart city project of Government of India based on fudged calculations, and then deciding to have second capital at Dharamshala.

"The chief minister is doing all this to pamper just one minister,” he said.

The senior BJP leader said Shimla was picked up as the summer capital of the Britishers after survey of hill stations in the country then and Shimla was always kept the state capital of Himachal, even at the time of reorganisation of states.

“However, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has been trying to play politics now by notifying Dharamshala as second capital. All this, when the government has not been able to provide proper systems at Shimla,” Bhardwaj said.

The BJP leader remarked that Virbhadra Singh had earlier tried to gain political mileage in Kangra by having second Vidhan Sabha building in Dharamshala in vain.

“The government will not benefit out of the gimmick of second capital also. The people want development, which is not taking place. The people of Kangra already know that the Congress party has never let the leadership go to lower areas of Himachal. It is BJP, which had chief ministers from lower areas, whether Shanta Kumar or Prem Kumar Dhumal,” he said.

Bhardwaj attacked the Health minister Kaul Singh Thakur for ignoring the development of premier Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla and taking the Medical University to Mandi.

The BJP leader criticised the government for having failed to ensure smooth systems during the snowfall in Shimla on January 6 and 7, 2017 wherein people of Shimla were made to live without power for a week and water for even a longer time. He said the residents of Shimla were supplied sewer mixed water for drinking last year, which led to spread of jaundice and resulted in more than 20 deaths. He dismissed the budget as a mere statement of hollow announcements.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Congress MLA from Rampur Nand Lal appreciated the CM for his prudent financial management.

India and Afghanistan on Thursday committed themselves to the early establishment of an air cargo link to overcome the obstacles being created by Pakistan in the smooth conduct of trade between them.

Afghanistan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai, who is on a visit to India to attend the International Counter Terrorism Conference, today held talks with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar, Foreign Secretary S

Jaishankar and Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the MEA on a range of bilateral issues.

According to MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, Karzai apprised the Indian side of the current situation in Afghanistan and the efforts being made by the government towards peace and reconciliation in the country.

The Indian side reiterated its commitment to continue to support the government and the people of Afghanistan in their efforts to build a peaceful, stable, prosperous, and united country within which the democratic and pluralistic aspirations of people of country are met.

Both sides exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and reviewed progress in implementation of the development cooperation projects and the decisions taken during the visits of President Ashraf Ghani to India last year to attend the Heart of Asia conference.

In response to a question, the spokesperson said discussions on the air corridor were going on between the two sides and making satisfactory progress. The need for an air corridor was felt since Pakistan does not allow Indian trucks to transit through its territory to Afghanistan.

Defending champion H S Prannoy and Subhankar Dey advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles competition at the USD 120,000 Swiss Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy, who clinched their maiden Grand Prix Gold title at Syed Modi Internationals in January, also reached the third round of the mixed doubles event after their opponents gave them a walkover.

In a 43-minute match, fifth seeded Prannoy trounced Scotland's Kieran Merrrilees 21-17 21-19 to set up a meeting with 10th seeded Chinese Qiao Bin.

Subhankar, who won the Iceland International in January, defeated Slovenia's Iztok Utrosa 21-17 21-18. The 23-year-old Indian will face Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama.

Tsuneyama, who had won the Austrian Open this year, ended the campaign of another Indian Sameer Verma, defeating him 16-21 21-15 21-13 in a battle that lasted one hour and six minutes.

Fourth seeded Indian pair of Pranaav and Sikki reached the pre-quarters after Sweden's Nico Ruponen and Amanda Hogstrom handed them a walkover.

Rio Olympians Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy suffered a 15-21 19-21 loss to top seeded Chinese combo of Chai Biao and Hong Wei.

It was also curtains for Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli in women's singles after she lost 18-21 8-21 to seventh seeded Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani.

Women's doubles pair of Sanjana Santosh and Arathi Sara Sunil also crashed out after suffering a 15-21 15-21 loss to German combo of Johanna Goliszewski and Lara Kaepplein.

Mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Sanjana also lost 16-21 19-21 to France pair of Bastian Kersaudy and Lea Palermo.

Karisma Kapoor has been in news for attending parties with an alleged boyfriend but the news that made a blast is that of her ex-husband Sanjay Kapoor.

Allegedly Sanjay is all set to tie the knot for the third time. His long-time girlfriend Priya Sachdev, who is the ex-wife of hotelier Vikram Chatwal is a model from New Delhi.

Chatwal was recently in the news for allegedly lighting up his neighbour’s dogs on fire. He has also been in news for the lavish wedding he had with ex-wife Priya.

Sanjay and Priya are rumoured to be dating since 2013. Sachdev has a daughter Safira Chatwal with Vikram whereas Sanjay has two children Samiera Kapoor and Kiaan Raj Kapoor with the actress Karisma Kapoor.

Sanjay and Karisma got married in 2003 and underwent a messy divorce in June 2016.

“We wished different things from this marriage” stating this as the reason of divorce, Priya and Vikram parted ways in 2011.

Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa in a new video said that their fight is for ‘Islam’ and not Kashmir.

The video was posted on social media on Wednesday and went viral.

“When we pick up stones or guns it should not be with this intention that we are fighting for Kashmir (as a nation). The sole motive should be for the supremacy of Islam so that Shariah is established here,” Musa said.

The newly released unpolished video by the slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani’s successor claimed nationalism is ‘haraam’ or not permissible in Islam.

“Nationalism and democracy are not permissible in Islam,” Musa said.

“I want to tell my stone-pelting brothers that they should check their motives as to why they are fighting when they pick up stones (against Indian forces). I want to tell these brothers that they should not fall for nationalism,” he added.

The 23-year-old militant in the 11-minute video filled with Islamic admonition warned the local police and informers of supporting the Indian Armed Forces in the valley for their “anti Islamic acts of joining the evil”.

Musa born as Zakir Rashid Bhat became the successor to Wani after his controversial death in July 2016 that precipitated a tide of protests in the region where as many as thousands were injured and at least 90 lives were claimed.