Headlines on Friday: Assam hooch tragedy death toll rises to 25

“PM Narendra Modi did not feel the pain and suffering of the families of youngsters who sacrificed themselves. Making a film was more important to him than helping the families of people who died,” says Congress President Rahul Gandhi

“Mr. Modi can give a loan waiver worth ₹3,50,000 cr to the most powerful businessmen of the country but he cannot waive loans of poor farmers,” said Congress President Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi said, “PM Modi gave a speech came here five years ago and said that he would give Andhra Pradesh special status for 10 years. In the same speech he probably said that every person would get 15 lakhs in their accounts. He might have said that he would create jobs for youngsters. All of these statements were a lie. He said to you that he would fight corruption. He said make me the chowkidar not the prime minister.”

Rahul Gandhi says, “The PM is not just a person. He is not just a human being. He is the voice of over a billion people. When the Prime Minister speaks, India speaks and the PM has given Andhra Pradesh special status.

“The most important thing in politics is a person’s word. If what one says has no meaning, has no weight. It has no meaning,”says Rahul Gandhi at public rally in Andhra Pradesh.

A petition has been filed in Supreme Court today seeking direction for the Centre, CVC and CBI for framing of guidelines and policy for timely completion of investigation in the cases which have been pending with the agency since five years or more.

The police have dropped sedition charges slapped against 14 Aligarh Muslim University after the recent protests on the campus, citing “lack of evidence”.

The students were booked for sedition after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) district president Mukesh Lodhi alleged he was assaulted by some students who chanted pro-Pakistan slogans, police said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhari said on Friday the charges were dropped three days back as there is no evidence to support them. He said there is no videographic proof or any other evidence.

Former Bihar Minister Illiyas Hussain and four other accused were awarded five years imprisonment while a contractor was sentenced to seven years in jail in connection with a coal tar scam case by a special CBI court on Friday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court of Anil Kumar Mishra had reserved the judgement on Tuesday after hearing was completed in the 22-year-old case.

The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh on Friday rolled out its flagship 'Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana' that guarantees 100 days of employment every year to urban youths from economically weaker sections (EWS).

The scheme, as part of which youths would be imparted skill development training, was launched by Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

The chief minister added that if the purchasing power of farmers does not increase, it will have a negative impact on the commercial activities and ultimately the state will suffer in terms of overall development.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday offered prayers at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala.

On his arrival at the temple main entrance, Rahul Gandhi was accorded a warm welcome by the hill temple management.

After quickly trekking the nearly 10 km-long steep stairway leading to the ancient hill shrine, the Congress chief paid obeisance to the presiding deity of Lord Venkateswara, said a temple official.

The IPL will not have an opening ceremony this year after the Committee of Administrators (CoA) running Indian cricket Friday decided to allocate the money set aside for it to the families of the CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama terror attack.

The opening ceremonies of the cash-rich T20 league are a heady mix glitz and glamour with performances by Bollywood stars being the highlight. However, as a mark of respect to the slain CRPF men, it has been decided to scrap the ceremony for the event's 12th edition beginning March 23.

China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, on Friday sought to downplay the scathing statement issued by the powerful organ of the world body naming Jaish-e-Muhammad in the Pulwama terror attack, saying the mention of the Pakistan-based outfit was only in "general terms" and "does not represent a judgement".

The powerful UN Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday strongly condemned the "heinous and cowardly" terror attack.

"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir, which left 40 Indian paramilitary forces dead and dozens wounded on February 14, 2019, for which Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility," it said in a statement.

Apna Dal leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel has said some differences have cropped up with ally BJP and her party was now "free make its own decision" for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Apna Dal, a crucial ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, had won two seats -- Mirzapur and Pratapgarh -- in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. "Some differences cropped up between the Apna Dal and the BJP. We had given them time till February 20 to resolve the issues, but there is no answer from the BJP. It appears they are not interested in taking care of their allies," Patel said told reporters on Thursday.

Three persons, including a minor, were killed and another injured when landslides hit two places in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Reasi districts, officials said Friday.

A vehicle, carrying three persons in Poonch district, was hit by a landslide at Baila area on the Mandi-Fatehpur road Thursday night, they said.

Union Minister Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal, a crucial ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, has threatened to quit the National Democratic Alliance over being not heard by the BJP on issues that it had raised.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday set out on foot on a pilgrimage to the Lord Venkateswara Temple shrine in Tirupati.

Rahul Gandhi, who arrived in Tirupati on a day-long visit, began his journey from Alipiri at the foot of Tirumala Hills. He will cover an 11-km distance walking before he reaches the temple atop Tirumala Hills to offer prayers.

Devotees usually take this path to reach the temple of Lord Venkateswara, also known as Lord Balaji.

After prayers, the Congress President will return to Tirupati to participate in the Andhra Pradesh Congress chief N. Raghuveera Reddy's Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Praja Yatra.

The Centre decided on Friday to keep in abeyance the special powers given to the Assam Rifles to arrest anyone and search a place without warrant in northeastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, officials said.

The Home Ministry will now revisit the issue with the concerned state governments, which apparently opposed the move to give sweeping powers to the paramilitary force.

17 people have died, allegedly after consuming illicit liquor in Golaghat, Assam.

Dr Dileep Rajvanshi, Govt hospital, says,"Initial diagnosis suggests alcohol poisoning,4 people were brought dead last night and later 12 other people died. Total 17 people have died. Post-mortem to be done"

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested two alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists from Deoband in Saharanpur district, Director General of Police O P Singh said on Friday.

The two men arrested are Shahnawaz Ahmad Teli from Kulgam and Aquib Ahmad Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. Both were involved in recruiting members for the JeM, the DGP told reporters.

Asked whether the two men were involved in the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, Singh said, "It's difficult to tell whether they came here before the Pulwama attack or after that. The probe is on."

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced a financial assistance of ₹25 lakh each for families of CRPF personnel killed in the February 14 Pulwama attack.

The Assembly and Council adopted a resolution condemning the Pulwama attack and expressing sympathy with the families of the martyrs.

Members of both houses of the Legislature observed two minutes silence as a mark of respect to the 40 CRPF personnel who lost their lives.

In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the "prime time minister" continued shooting for a film till even three hours after news of the Pulwama terror strike came in.

On Thursday, the Congress cited media reports to allege that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park on February 14 for "self propagation", and stayed put till the evening despite the attack on a CRPF convoy in south Kashmir's Pulwama district in the afternoon that day.

Three BJP MLAs were marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly on the first day of the Budget session on Friday for interrupting Lt Governor Anil Baijal's address with their protests over the AAP government's "delay" in sanctioning prosecution in the JNU sedition case.

The three MLAs -- Leader of the House Vijender Gupta, O P Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan -- went to the well of the House after which Goel ordered them to be marshalled out.

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of seven Pakistani terrorists from Jammu jail to Tihar prison here on grounds that they were allegedly indoctrinating local prisoners.

Manish Tewari asks, “At 5:10 pm Narendra Modi addresses a rally over mobile phone. He does not mention a word about the Pulwama terror attack. We want to rephrase the question- what was PM Modi doing between 3:10 pm and 5:10 pm?”

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari says, “As the oldest political party in the country we will continue to ask hard questions because the nation demands answers from this govt and we will not allow jingoistic arrogance to sweep monumental security failures under the carpet.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that efforts are on to introduce an "inhuman" religion in the country on the basis of divisive politics.

In an apparent attack on the BJP on Thursday, Banerjee accused the saffron party of trying to impose its choice of food, clothing and religion on the people and then deciding who would stay in the country and who would be thrown out.

The chief minister also criticised the threats that a Kashmiri medical practitioner in Kolkata received following the Pulwama terror attack.

Supreme Court has sought Election Commission’s response on a plea seeking direction for the government to conduct an independent audit review of various ‘software products’ and particularly the ‘source code’ of EVM, VVPAT and ETS.

The HRD Ministry has turned down a request by Jamia Millia Islamia to confer an honorary doctorate degree on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, saying the actor has already received one from a different university, according to an RTI response.

Khan, who is a former student of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), had given his consent to the proposal of a honorary degree from the varsity following which a request for the same was sent to Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry last year by Jamia for approval. “JMI wrote to HRD for conferring Honoris Causa to Shah Rukh Khan. The HRD did not agree as he has already been conferred the degree by Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANNU) in 2016,”

Karnataka High Court Kalaburagi bench pronounced interim stay of investigation and further proceedings. Former CM BS Yeddyurappa had filed a petition seeking quashing of FIR against him in the bribery audio tape case

Supreme Court issues notice to the Central government and 11 states and seeks their response on a plea seeking its intervention to prevent alleged attacks on Kashmiri students in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.

The denial of visas to Pakistani shooters in the Delhi World Cup has jeopardised India's chances of hosting the Olympics or any global event with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspending all such discussions with the country and recommending that no big tournament be awarded to it.

India denied visas to Pakistani shooters for the World Cup that starts on Saturday in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel. As a result, the IOC revoked the two Olympic quotas on offer in the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol competition of the event.

Rescuers on Friday failed to resume a search operation owing to inclement weather near the Tibet border with Himachal Pradesh, where a snow avalanche killed a soldier while five others went missing this week.

As the searches entered the third day, the authorities suspected that the chances of survival of the five trapped in the snow pile was minimal.

A government education officer in Uttar Pradesh has been suspended for allegedly posting an objectionable message on social media about the Pulwama terror attack, officials said on Friday.

Basic Shiksha Adhikari DK Yadav was suspended on the recommendation of district authorities here and the Uttar Pradesh government has taken steps in this connection, according to Additional District Magistrate Amit Kumar. Yadav was suspended for allegedly posting an objectionable message on social media about the Pulwama incident on Thursday, the officials said.

The White House has announced that a small contingent of US troops will remain in Syria following President Donald Trump's order for a "full" withdrawal of American military from the war-torn country.

In December, Trump ordered staff to execute the "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of US military from Syria, declaring that the US had defeated the Islamic State (IS) terror group, reports CNN.

The 200 troops who will remain will be divided between At-Tanf, an area near the Iraq-Jordan border, and northeast Syria

An avalanche hit a village in Gurez sector of Kashmir's Bandipora district, officials said on Friday. There were no reports of loss of life. Many houses were damaged due to the avalanche.

An encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Sopore township of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday morning, police said. Acting on specific input, the security personnel launched a cordon and search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore, they said.

A senior official said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired at the search party of the security men, who then returned fire. The exchange of fire was on and further details were awaited, he added.

The rupee inched up 2 paise to 71.22 against the US dollar in early trade Friday amid a dip in crude oil prices and fresh foreign fund inflows.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local unit opened almost flat at 71.23 and stayed in a narrow range.