In a second major blow to the ruling Trinamool Congress in a matter of three weeks, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested party strongman and its national executive member Anubrata Mondal in a cattle smuggling case.

Mondal, a senior leader and Birbhum district president, evaded 10 out of 11 CBI summons and was arrested by the central agency in an early morning swoop on his Bolpur residence in Birbhum district.

Mondal’s residence is barely a mile away from the iconic Shantiniketan-Viswa Bharati of Rabindranath Tagore.

While his lawyers could not pray for bail, the TMC leader was remanded to 10 days CBI custody by a special court at Asansol.

After months of sparring with the BJP, Nitish Kumar on Tuesday finally pulled the plug on his party’s alliance with the saffron outfit, paving the way for the revival of the seven-party Mahagathbandhan Government and opening up the possibility of his emergence as a common candidate to take on Prime minister Narendra Modi in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Kumar will take oath as Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his deputy on Wednesday at 2 pm, sources said.

Earlier in the day, after resigning as NDA Chief Minister, Kumar staked claim to form a new Government when he was unanimously declared the leader of the Opposition grand alliance. He submitted a list of 164 supporting MLAs to the Governor.

In the State Assembly, which has an effective strength of 242, requiring 121 MLAs for a majority, the RJD has the highest number of 79 MLAs followed by the BJP (77) and the JD(U) with 44.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation on Wednesday via video conferencing a second generation (2G) ethanol plant built at an estimated cost of Rs 900 crore in Haryana’s Panipat, his office said.

The dedication of the plant is part of a long series of steps taken by the government over the years to boost the production and usage of biofuels in the country, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

This is in line with the prime minister’s constant endeavour to transform the energy sector to make it more affordable, accessible, efficient and sustainable, it said.

On the occasion of World Biofuel Day, Prime Minister Modi will dedicate the second generation (2G) ethanol plant in Panipat, Haryana to the nation on August 10, 2022 at 4:30 PM via video conferencing, the statement said.

The 2G ethanol plant has been built at an estimated cost of over Rs 900 crore by the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) and is located close to the Panipat Refinery.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an active ISIS member from here, an official said on Sunday, claiming the "radicalised" individual was collecting funds for the global terror group.

Mohsin Ahmad, originally hailing from Patna in Bihar, was arrested from his Batla House residence by a search party on Saturday, a spokesperson of the federal anti-terror agency said.

The spokesperson said the NIA conducted a search in the residential premises of the accused and subsequently arrested him in the case pertaining to ISIS' online and on-ground activities.

The NIA had registered the case suo-moto on June 25.

"Ahmad is a radicalised and active member of ISIS. He has been arrested for his involvement in collection of funds for ISIS from sympathisers in India as well as abroad," the spokesperson said, adding he was sending these funds to Syria and other places in the form of cryptocurrency in order to further ISIS' activities.

In a major blow for the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal, the ED on Friday recovered at least Rs 20 crore from the house of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Bengal Industries Minister Partho Chatterjee, sources said.

The count of notes could go further up, sources added.

The ED raided 14 locations in Bengal, including  the houses of senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Industries Minister Partho Chatterjee, his Ministerial colleague Paresh Adhikari, party MLA Manik Bhattacharya and a bevy of former senior education department officials.

The raids are linked to the recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board.

The recovered cash is suspected to be proceeds of crime of said SSC Scam. The search team is taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash. Apart from the currency notes, 20 I-phones, gold and other ornaments have also been recovered, sources added saying three counting machines had been employed to count the notes.

Cong workers take to streets to protest her questioning

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. The issue of summons to the Congress president rocked Parliament even as the Congress workers took to the street to protest her questioning.

The agency summoned her again on July 25 for further questioning, officials said. She was questioned for about two hours and was allowed to leave on her request, officials said. However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the ED told Sonia that they had no further questions and she could leave.

“The Congress president told the ED officials that “I am ready to return, I will answer your questions, it may take till 7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm, I am ready to sit here”. But from the ED side it was said their doctor is not available in the afternoon and tomorrow the ED is busy with some court issue, Ramesh said.

Actor Tanushree Dutta has alleged she is being targeted and harassed by "Bollywood mafia and the old political circuit of Maharashtra" for taking a stand against injustice.

In 2018, Dutta triggered India's MeToo Movement by reviving a decade-old case of alleged harassment against actor Nana Patekar.

"The Bollywood Mafia, the old political circuit of Maharashtra (which still has influence here) and nefarious anti - national criminal elements together usually operate like this to trouble people (sic)," the former Miss India wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday.

From her films being sabotaged to attempts on her life, the 38-year-old alleged she was being targeted in a systematic manner.

"The metoo culprits & the NGO who I exposed" were responsible for her troubles, she said, without taking any names.

India naturally worried about consequences and spillover of protests: Min  

Terming the situation in Sri Lanka as a “very serious crisis,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said India is naturally worried about its consequences and the “spillover” it can have for the country.

Underlining this point during the all-party meeting to discuss the situation in the island nation, Jaishankar, however, dismissed suggestions about such a situation arising in India.

Political parties from Tamil Nadu, including the DMK and the AIADMK, had demanded an all-party meet before Parliament’s monsoon session began and suggested that India should intervene to help the neighbouring country overcome the crisis.

“The reason we took the initiative to request you all to join an all-party meeting was...This is a very serious crisis and what we are seeing in Sri Lanka is in many ways an unprecedented situation,” Jaishankar said.

Veteran sports administrator Narinder Batra resigned as President of International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Monday and also gave up his IOC membership, almost two months after a High Court ruling ended his reign as IOA President.

Batra quit his positions, hours after CBI conducted multiple raids at his residence and offices in New Delhi and Jammu.

According CBI officials, searches were made in five locations across the two cities after filing an FIR against Batra in an alleged corruption case.

In April, the CBI had initiated a preliminary inquiry against Batra for alleged misappropriation of Hockey India funds to the tune of Rs 35 lakh.

Batra ceased to be President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) when the Delhi High Court, on May 25, struck down the post of 'Life member' in Hockey India, courtesy which he had contested and won the IOA elections won back in 2017.

Batra had appealed against the ruling but a larger bench of the High Court had refused to stay the earlier order and listed the matter for the next hearing on July 26. The sports administrator also officially resigned as IOA President.

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has given  the CBI sanction for the prosecution of AAP MLA and Delhi Waqf Board (DWB) chairman Amanatullah Khan and retired IPS officer Mehboob Alam under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 in connection with "illegal" appointments. The case was registered in 2016.

The prosecution sanction has also been granted for offenses including "deliberate and criminal violation" of rules, regulations, and law and "misuse of position" and causing financial losses to the exchequer. According to the official sources, the SDM (HQ), Revenue Department of the Delhi Government in November 2016, filed a complaint alleging arbitrary and illegal appointments to various existing and non-existing posts by Amanatullah  in the DWB.

Letter sent via email from Singapore;   announcement to be made today 

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday emailed his resignation letter to the Speaker, soon after he was allowed by Singapore to enter the city-state on a “private visit”, ending the suspense over his future in the face of massive public revolt against his Government’s mishandling of the economy. A Saudi airlines flight carrying Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore from the Maldives where he had fled early Wednesday without resigning as promised to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new Government.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s media secretary Indunil Abeywardena on Thursday night said a resignation letter from President Rajapaksa has been received through the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore.

“The Speaker wishes to inform that an official statement on this

would be made on Friday after  verification and legal formalities,” Abeywardena said in a statement. The Speaker wants to see the original signature, which will be brought to Colombo from Singapore by flight by a diplomatic officer, sources said.

DRI has issued show cause notice to mobile major Oppo India  

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has issued a show cause notice to Chinese mobile company, Oppo India, demanding Customs duty amounting to `4,389 crore.

The notice  also proposes relevant penalties on Oppo India, its employees and Oppo China, under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. The DRI  detected Customs duty evasion of around `4,389 crore during an investigation against  Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited, a subsidiary company of Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Ltd., China.

Oppo India is engaged in the business of manufacturing, assembling, wholesale trading, distribution of mobile handsets and accessories across India. Oppo India deals in various brands of mobile phones, including Oppo, OnePlus and Realme.

6.5 metre high bronze statue weighs 9,500 kg; Modi says nation proud of workers who made history

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled the national emblem installed on the roof of the new Parliament building here in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Made entirely of bronze the national emblem weighs 9,500 kg and is 6.5 metres in height.

The inauguration of the emblem marks the first major milestone ahead of the new building’s scheduled opening, later this year. Authorities have maintained that the Parliament’s Winter Session will be held there. The emblem has been cast at the top of the central foyer of the new Parliament building. A steel structure weighing around 6,500 kg has been constructed to support the emblem.

The concept sketch and process of casting of the national emblem on the roof of the new Parliament building has gone through eight different stages of preparation, from clay modeling and computer graphics to bronze casting and polishing.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced land for setting up a separate building for Haryana Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Saturday.

At present, the Punjab and Haryana governments share the Vidhan Sabha complex which is next to the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat in Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The Haryana government had been making this demand for the last one year. Khattar on Saturday took to Twitter to thank the Union Minister for his announcement.

Shah was chairing the Northern Zone Council meeting in Jaipur and Khattar was also one of the participants.

"Fulfilling our demand for separate building of Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced additional land for Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh. I, on behalf of the people of Haryana, thank the home minister," Khattar said in a tweet in Hindi.

Mutual respect, sensitivity and interest must be basis of bilateral ties, says EAM 

India on Thursday conveyed to China the need for an early resolution of all outstanding issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and said that bilateral ties should be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.

India’s stand was conveyed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in an hour-long meeting on Thursday with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bali on the sidelines of a conclave of Foreign Ministers of the G20 nation.

“Began my day in Bali by meeting FM Wang Yi of China. Discussion lasted one hour. Focused on specific outstanding issues in our bilateral relationship pertaining to the border situation. Also spoke about other matters, including students and flights,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Jaishankar and Wang looked forward to the next round of military talks between the two sides at an early date to resolve the border issue.

Elated over being nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Centre, sprint legend P T Usha on Thursday thanked supporters and well-wishers across the country and said their faith in her would go a long way in shaping her journey forward.

"Elated by the wonderful wishes from all over India! Your support and faith in me will go a long way in shaping my journey forward from here. Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat," Usha tweeted.

She also shared a photo of her cutting and sharing a cake with her husband and some others to mark the occasion.

Soon after the announcement came last night, she, through her Twitter handle, also expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said she was "deeply touched" by his "kind words" about her.

"I will always give my best to any responsibility bestowed on me, and work towards the betterment of all of us Indians. Jai Hind," she tweeted on Wednesday.

A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border early Wednesday, killing at least 920 people and injuring 600 others, authorities said. Officials warned the death toll would likely rise.

Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6.1 temblor that damaged buildings in Khost and Paktika provinces. Rescue efforts are likely to be complicated since many international aid agencies left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of the country last year and the chaotic withdrawal of the U.S. Military from the longest war in its history.

Neighboring Pakistan's Meteorological Department said the quake's epicenter was in Afghanistan's Paktika province, just near the border and some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the city of Khost. Such temblors can cause severe damage, particularly in an area like this one where homes and other buildings are poorly constructed and landslides are common.