Rahul Gandhi Meets Sharad Pawar Hours After BJP's Bypoll Defeat

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi met Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar last night, hours after the BJP lost two vital parliamentary strongholds in Uttar Pradesh to the combined force of the Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP.

Rahul Gandhi Meets Sharad Pawar Hours After BJP's Bypoll Defeat

Sources say the meeting marks the Congress president's attempts to bring together anti-BJP parties and also explore an alliance to challenge the BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, in the general election due in 2019. He is also expected to meet Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee when she visits Delhi later this month.

Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule was also in yesterday's meeting, which took place at her home in Delhi.

The leaders took up from where they had left off at the dinner hosted a day before by Rahul Gandhi's mother Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the UPA. Nineteen parties attended the dinner, which was seen as a show of opposition unity.

The BJP is having a tough time in Maharashtra, a state that it rules with the Shiv Sena. The Sena has declared that it will go it alone in the Lok Sabha election and has escalated its almost daily attacks on its long-time ally.

Sharad Pawar was instrumental in gathering leaders of political parties in a silent march against the central government in Mumbai. He is also likely to meet Mamata Banerjee.

Rahul Gandhi's initiative to reach out to leaders of like-minded parties comes at a time when Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has proposed an "anti-Congress, anti-BJP alliance" for the national election, a call that has been supported by Mamata Banerjee.

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Counting Interrupted In Manik Sarkar's Constituency, CPM Hits Out At BJP

New Delhi: Top CPI(M) leaders approached the Chief Election Commissioner today to protest the stopping of counting in at least three booths of the Dhanpur constituency in Tripura, previously held by Manik Sarkar. According to leads, Mr Sarkar is set to win the seat again, but counting was interrupted by BJP agents, said the CPI(M).

Counting Interrupted In Manik Sarkar's Constituency, CPM Hits Out At BJP

"The BJP's counting agents did not sign on the control unit," said Sitaram Yechury, the General Secretary of the CPI(M). "If someone voluntarily doesn't do that, then intervention should happen," he added.

According to Mr Yechury, the signatures of presiding officers and control agents from all other parties were present on the slip.

In a statement, the CPI(M) also alleged that BJP workers were heckling Manik Sarkar, who was still present at the counting station till 6:30 in the evening.

The Left party demanded immediate action by the Election Commission to ensure that counting is resumed.

Senior BJP leaders Vijay Goel, Piyush Goyal, JP Nadda and Prakash Javedekar were also seen entering the Election Commission of India office in central Delhi, but they did not confirm the purpose of their visit.

The BJP expanded its Northeast footprint today with a spectacular win in Tripura, ending the two-decade run of the CPM's Manik Sarkar as chief minister. The BJP, along with its regional ally the IPFT, is set to win 42 of Tripura's 60 seats The party on its own is leading in 35 seats; it had won no seat in 2013. The Left is ahead in 18, losing 33 from last time. A party needs 31 seats to win a majority. State BJP chief Biplab Kumar Deb, 48, is widely expected to be the BJP's pick for chief minister in Tripura.

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SBI Clerk Exam Postponed; Check New Prelims, Main, Admit Cards Dates Here

New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI)'s Central Recruitment & Promotion Department has notified new dates for recruitment process of Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales) or Clerks in Clerical Cadre in the bank. Further to the SBI clerks recruitment advertisement dated January 20, 2018, regarding recruitment of Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales) in Clerical cadre in SBI, the bank has now informed that the Preliminary Examination scheduled to be held tentatively in the month of March/April' 2018 has been deferred and it will now be held tentatively in the month June/July'2018.

SBI Clerk Exam Postponed; Check New Prelims, Main, Admit Cards Dates Here

The bank has also changed the dates for download of call letter for preliminary examination from the existing March 1 to June 6, 2018. 

The SBI Clerks Main examination will be held on August 5, 2018 for which the call letters will be released on July 23, 2018.

All the new dates are tentative, according to a statement from General Manager, Central Recruitment & Promotion Department, SBI.

Read: SBI Junior Associates Recruitment 2018: Pre-Exam Training Call Letter Released

To fill the regular and backlog vacancies, SBI had announced a total of 9366 vacancies. Online registration of application and payment of fees of SBI clerk recruitment was concluded by February 10, 2018.

More details of this recruitment can be found at sbi.co.in/careers.

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In Another Bank Scam, Amarinder Singh's Son-In-Law Among 11 Named By CBI

Hapur, Uttar Pradesh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's son-in-law is among the 11 persons accused of causing a loss of Rs 109 crore to the Oriental Bank of Commerce, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said. The probe agency has registered a case of fraud against Simbhaoli Sugars Limited -- a private sugar-manufacturing firm based in Uttar Pradesh's Simbhaoli -- its top officers, including the CMD, CFO, CEO and directors, and unknown bank officials.

In Another Bank Scam, Amarinder Singh's Son-In-Law Among 11 Named By CBI

Gurpal Singh, one of the deputy directors, is married to Captain Singh's daughter Jai Inder Kaur. Gurpal Singh is on the board of directors of eight companies in total. The CBI has charged them with criminal conspiracy and cheating.

Simbhaoli Sugars Limited was granted a loan of around Rs 150 crore in 2011, to finance over 5,700 sugarcane farmers under a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) scheme. The money, meant for farmers, was received between January and March 2012, but never reached them. It was allegedly diverted to the company account, CBI officials said. The account was declared a non-performing asset (NPA) in March 2015, and a fraud in June 2015.

However, months before the account was declared an NPA, the same bank financed another loan of Rs 110 crore to the sugar company under multiple banking arrangements to pay back the earlier loan. The second corporate loan, too, was declared an NPA in November 2016.

The Oriental Bank of Commerce registered a complaint against Simbhaoli Sugars Limited in November last year. The CBI, however, registered an FIR on Thursday. The agency raided eight locations related to the company on Sunday, including six in Delhi and one each in Hapur and Noida.

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Pak Film Stars Pay Condolences To Bollywood Icon Sridevi

New Delhi: Pakistani film stars Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Mahira Khan and Ali Zafar today condoled the death of Bollywood icon Sridevi, saying she will live in their hearts and memories forever.

Pak Film Stars Pay Condolences To Bollywood Icon Sridevi

"So grateful to have grown up and lived in the times of Sridevi. Thank you for the movies, thank you for the magic. You shall live on forever... Great artistes... we cry for them without ever really knowing them, we mourn them because they helped us know ourselves," Mahira Khan tweeted.

People from across the globe started their Sunday on a sad note with the news of the sudden death of Sridevi, 54, due to a cardiac arrest in Dubai. She died on Saturday.

Sridevi was in Dubai to attend the marriage function of actress Sonam Kapoor's cousin Mohit Marwah; her husband Boney Kapoor and younger daughter Khushi were also there.

Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, who is facing a backlash for singing the song titled "Ishtehar" -- a soulful rendition -- for Indian film production "Welcome To New York", also condoled her death.

"My condolences to Boney Kapoorji and the Kapoor family. Deeply saddened to lose an icon like Srideviji," Mr Khan tweeted.

The actress is remembered for her performance in some of the iconic Bollywood films like "Mr India", "Nagina", "Sadma", "ChalBaaz", "Chandni" and "Khuda Gawah", among many others in different languages.

The Padma Shri recipient, who made a comeback to Bollywood in 2012 with "English Vinglish" after a long break of 15 years, was last seen in "Mom" in 2017.

Her "Mom" co-star Sajal Aly also wrote: "Lost my mom again". Sajal Aly was seen as her daughter in "Mom".

Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui, who played her onscreen husband in "Mom", wrote: "Life is so unpredictable. A lady with not just extreme talent but also a beautiful soul, Sri Devi Kapoor leaves us heavy hearted. So many memories attached while shooting 'Mom' with her, just a couple days back I met her at Boney Kapoor's nephew's wedding and who would have thought that it is the last time I am seeing her."

"I am still in a state of shock and out of words to describe my feeling! May her soul rest in eternal peace hereafter," he said.

Actor-singer Ali Zafar said she has left people with "great memories of joy and tears." Sharing an image with the actress on Instagram, Saba Qamar wrote: "R.I.P legend. We'll miss you."

Actor Imran Abbas was in shock. "The 'Sadma' of losing this ultimate superstar is heart wrenching. Her smile, beauty, acting, aura and those 'Nigahen' will be missed forever," wrote the actor, who has featured in Bollywood projects like "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and "Creature".

Mawra Hocane also said that Sridevi will "always have our hearts, grateful to have met the legend that you'll always be".

Her mortal remains are expected to be flown to Mumbai on a chartered flight for the last rites but the timing has not been confirmed yet.

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Official's Assault Seems Premeditated, Says Court, Denying Bail To 2 MLAs

New Delhi: The assault on Delhi's top official at Monday's midnight meeting called by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal prima facie appeared to be the outcome of a "premeditated criminal conspiracy", a city court said on Friday, rejecting bail applications from the two AAP lawmakers, Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal, arrested in this case. According to news agency Press Trust of India, the court said this was a serious case and the two lawmakers could influence witnesses if released on bail.

Official's Assault Seems Premeditated, Says Court, Denying Bail To 2 MLAs

But the court did not accept the police request either for custody of the two MLAs and sent them to Tihar jail. The Delhi Police had asked the magistrate to give them access to the lawmakers for two days for sustained questioning to get to the bottom of the assault case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shefali Barnala Tondon said the court had already rejected this request once and the police had not come up with any new ground that could persuade the court to change its mind.

Ms Tondon was, however, as unsparing to the lawmakers when she ruled on their bail request.

"The circumstances if looked overall, prima facie point towards premeditated criminal conspiracy. Though bail is the rule and jail is an exception, however the applications of present applicants cannot be considered in a routine and casual manner, they being history-sheeters, the magistrate said, according to PTI.

The court said the allegations were "very serious" as it was alleged that the Chief Secretary was called for a meeting at Chief Minister Kejriwal's residence at an odd hour despite his reluctance and the lawmakers were alleged to have "assaulted, abused, manhandled and criminally intimidated" the top official.

The magistrate said the Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash's complaint had been corroborated by the medical report and the testimony of VK Jain, the chief minister's aide. "Hence, at this stage it cannot be looked with suspicion without any cogent reason or evidence to the contrary," the court ruled.

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In Three Years, Punjab National Bank Reported 13 Frauds A Month

New Delhi: The 11,300 crore fraud in Punjab National bank (PNB), involving celebrity designer Nirav Modi, may have jolted the banking system, but the rot runs deep. PNB, the second biggest public sector bank in India, reported 471 cases of fraud between 2014-15 and 2016-17, according to the central government.

In Three Years, Punjab National Bank Reported 13 Frauds A Month

The number of fraud cases reported by government-run banks during the three financial years, as furnished by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), stands at 8,622, said Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla in a written reply in Lok Sabha earlier this month.

 

There were 180 cases of fraud in PNB during 2014-15, Mr Shukla said in his reply dated February 2. The number of cases reported during the next fiscal stood at 131 but rose to 160 during 2016-17, the minister's reply said.

Of the 21 public sector banks, State Bank of India (SBI) that is India's biggest bank, saw the most number of fraud cases (893) in 2014-15. That number came down to 770 in the next financial year but rose to 803 in 2016-17, according to the minister's response.

 

Bank of Baroda comes next on the list, with 303 fraud cases in 2014-15. The number of such cases has shown a dip thereafter - 255 in 2015-16 and 224 in the next financial year.

 

While the cases of fraud remained high, action taken against bank employees found to be involved has taken a dip. According to the minister's reply in parliament, action was taken against 2,748 employees of government-run banks in 2015 for their involvement in fraud. That number came down to 1,994 in 2016. And 458 employees faced action between January and March 2017.

Public sector banks have a market share of 70 percent but the incidence of frauds in private banks is higher than that in government-run banks.  As many as 4,156 cases of fraud were found between 2014-15 and 2016-17 in private banks and action was taken against 568 employees, Mr Shukla said.

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