New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Union Minister Chirag Paswan came out strongly against Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday, backing the Election Commission of India (ECI) after it rejected Gandhi’s claims of large-scale voter list manipulation.“Go ahead and verify your claim. You spoke so much, gave a speech in English for an hour and a half, and then just left. If there’s such a serious issue, the Election Commission should be approached. Congress is the country’s oldest part…

Hyderabad, Aug 10 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao on Sunday expressed the hope that the Congress government will continue to work towards improving the IT ecosystem. The former minister for Information Technology hailed the progress in the construction of the IT tower in Adilabad town.”Taking IT to Tier 2 towns had been a priority of the KCR Govt and am hoping the Congress Govt will continue to work towards improving the ecosystem,” Rama Rao posted on the soc…

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) A speeding SUV crushed a man to death and injured another on a road close to the high-security President’s Estate in New Delhi, the police said on Sunday. The driver has been detained.The incident was reported by a police patrol van around 6.30 a.m., the police said, adding that the vehicle virtually climbed onto the pavement after hitting two persons on the Mother Teresa Crescent Road near Talkatora Stadium.Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahla said they were…

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) India and Oman are poised to sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) covering goods, services, investments, and labour mobility with a formal announcement expected this month. The India-Oman CEPA is more than a tariff deal as it will open up a strategic economic bridge between South Asia and the Gulf. It offers India tariff-free access to a receptive market, secures energy and labour interests, attracts Gulf investment, and deepens geopolitical engagem…

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)’s demand to disclose constituency and booth-wise details of about 65 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were not submitted. The ADR’s application had sought two directions: first, to publish a constituency and booth-wise list of omitted electors with reasons such as death, permanent migration, duplication, or being untraceable; a…

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) At the halfway point of the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) in Geneva to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, delegates have sought fast-track efforts to provide a treaty truly capable of ending plastic pollution. Also, the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Plastics (IIPFP) has called on governments to uphold their rights in all aspects of t…

Mumbai, Aug 10 (IANS) The CBI has arrested five cyber conmen based in Mumbai and seized seven luxury cars worth Rs one crore, 44 laptops, Rs 1.20 crore cash and 500 gm gold during a raid on an illegal international call centre operating from a resort in Maharashtra’s Nashik, an official said on Sunday.Rainforest Resort in Igatpuri was raided after the CBI registered a cyber fraud case on August 8 against six accused, all residents of Mumbai, as well as unknown private persons and bank official…

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will host a dinner for MPs of the INDIA bloc on Monday, sources said, as the opposition alliance intensifies its efforts to present a united front against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged large-scale rigging in polls.According to sources, Kharge will host the dinner at Taj Palace in Chanakyapuri, which is likely to be attended by the INDIA bloc MPs.The move follows a show of opposition unit…

Bengaluru, Aug 10 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s pleasant conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Bengaluru on Sunday has become a topic of discussion among the public and the state’s political circles. CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar are known for often criticising Prime Minister Modi with sharp remarks.The interaction began with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah holding Prime Minister Modi’s hand while pr…

Hyderabad, Aug 10 (IANS) Former MLA Guvvala Balaraju, who recently quit the BRS, joined the BJP on Sunday. A two-time former MLA from Achampet was welcomed into the BJP by the party’s state president Ramchander Rao at a programme held at the BJP office here.Balaraju was one of the four BRS MLAs who figured in the horse-trading case in 2022. The then BRS government had accused the BJP of trying to poach its four MLAs by offering huge money ahead of the by-elections to the Mungode Assembly seat.BJ…