India

New Delhi, Oct 20: Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, the country's second-highest law officer, resigned on Friday for "personal reasons". The office of Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received his resignation letter. While Kumar confirmed that he had resigned, sources close to him said it was for "personal reasons". He was appointed solicitor general in June 2014 after the Modi government came to

New Delhi, Oct 20: Delhi and the National Capital Region woke up to a blanket of smog today, after a quiet and promising Dilwai evening gave way to noisy and relentless bursting of firecrackers till late night yesterday, despite a Supreme Court ban on their sale in the NCR. The online indicators of the pollution monitoring stations in the city glowed red, indicating a 'very poor' air quality as

Ayodhya, Oct 19: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday visited the disputed Ram Janmabhumi site, a day after the mega pre-Diwali celebrations organised by his government in this temple town. Speaking to reporters after the visit, Mr.Adityanath said that Ayodhya was his personal belief and opposition parties had no right to question him on it. On the second day of his visit here

Srinagar, Oct 19: Prime Minister Narendra Moditoday celebrated Diwali with troops posted along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Gurez Sector and lauded the soldiers for their penance and sacrifice saying he considers them his family. In an unannounced visit, Modi arrived at Gurez this morning to celebrate Diwali with the army and BSF soldiers posted along the LoC, officials said. He

New Delhi, Oct 19: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today that on the auspicious occasion of Diwali India will grant medical visa in all deserving cases that are pending, as she responded positively to a number of such requests by Pakistani nationals. To a request for a visa by a Pakistani woman named Amna Shamin, whose father is already in Delhi for treatment and she wants to visit

Ahmedabad, Oct 19: Ahead of Assembly polls in Gujarat, the state government has announced a slew of sops for teachers, employees of municipalities and others. The polls are due later this year.The government said "fixed-pay" teachers of government- aided secondary and higher secondary schools across the state would get a significant hike in their salaries. Employees of 105 municipalities would now

Agartala, Oct 19: Tripura governorTathagata Roy has created yet another controversy by claiming azaan, or Muslim call to prayer, caused noise pollution. Roy was in news last week for his comments equating the Supreme Court ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi to a communal conspiracy. "Every Diwali fights start over noise pollution from crackers. A few days in a year. But no fight about Azaan over

Ayodhya, Oct 18: Seeking to deflect opposition criticism, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today that no politics should be seen behind his government's efforts to develop this temple town which gave the idea of 'Ram Rajya' - where there is no poverty or discrimination. Speaking at the glittering 'Deepotsav' organised on the bank of river Sarayu on Diwali eve here, Adityanath hit

Lucknow, Oct 18: Giving a new twist to the controversy surrounding the Taj Mahal, senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar today said it was Lord Shiva's temple called 'Tejo Mahal' which was converted into a mausoleum by Shahjahan. He, however, added that he does not want the monument as famous as this, which is among the wonders of the world, to be demolished. He also has no objection to Chief Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 18: The Janaraksha Yatra launched by BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan, to focus attention on ‘red and jihadi terror’ in the State, drew to a close here on Tuesday with BJP president Amit Shah issuing a war cry against the CPI(M). Addressing a public rally to mark the conclusion of the march here, Mr. Shah asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to explain why 14 BJP