NEWS

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India will hear a fresh Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Rafale jet deal between India and France. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice SK Kaul and Justice K M Joseph said it will hear the PIL filed by lawyer Vineet Dhanda, who is seeking a direction to the Centre to reveal details of the deal and the comparative prices during the UPA and NDA rule in a sealed cover to the apex court.

The petition also sought information about the contract given to Reliance by Dassault. Advocate ML Sharma’s plea, filed earlier, alleging discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and seeking a stay on it will also come up for hearing on October 10.

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami said a decision on an alliance between the ruling AIADMK and BJP for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be taken after elections are announced after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Accompanied by Tamil Nadu Minister D Jayakumar and Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, he met Modi at his office and gave him a memorandum regarding various demands of his government including conferring Bharat Ratna on the late C.N. Annadurai and J. Jayalalithaa and naming the iconic Chennai Central railway station after the late M.G. Ramachandran.

Later, Palaniswami said: “(Lok Sabha) elections have not been announced. We will decide on an alliance once the poll dates are announced.” He also urged the Prime Minister for early action on the construction of an AIIMS at Thoppur in Madurai.

New Delhi: The Faizabad district administration sent Paramhans Das to the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in Lucknow on October 8. Paramhans Das, a saint who is on fast-unto-death since October 1 demanding construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, was admitted to a hospital here after his condition turned critical.

SGPGIMS said: “He is currently in post-op ICU and his condition continues to be serious”. A disciple of Mahant Sarveshwar Das of Tapasvi Ji Ki Chhawni, Paramhans Das sat on fast on the premises of his temple on October 1.

New Delhi: Inaugurating the year-long diamond jubilee celebrations of National Institute of Technology, Warangal (NITW) at its campus, Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu termed beef festivals and “Kiss of Love” protests on university campuses “unhealthy trends”. He expressed concern over growing tensions among students in higher education on grounds of caste, religion, food habits and culture.

He said it was unfortunate that there have been conflicts among students in the name of caste and religion in some universities and other higher institutions. Referring to the controversies over holding of beef festivals on some campuses, the vice president said it was not correct on the part of some groups to impose their food habits on others. “If they like a particular food and want to celebrate it, they can have private parties separately. They don’t have to make it a public issue on the campus,” he said.