Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extends birthday wishes to his senior and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on his 88th birthday today.

Taking it to twitter, Rahul Gandhi said, “India feels the absence of a PM with the depth of Dr Manmohan Singh. His honesty, decency and dedication are a source of inspiration for us all. Wishing him a very happy birthday and a lovely year ahead.”

The Congress party on the occasion of Singh’s birthday praised him as a dedicated leader who was always committed towards the overall well-being of each Indian.

“A dedicated leader’s primary aim is always to eradicate the worst evils that plague the society in the soonest & surest possible way. Today, we celebrate former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s commitment towards the overall well-being of each Indian,” it tweeted.

Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932 in Gag, now in Pakistan.

Singh is a well-known economist who became a politician and later country’s prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

Manmohan Singh was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

His political career began in 1991 when he was appointed as the country’s Finance Minister under the leadership of late prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.

He was praised and marked his name in golden letters in the Indian history during his tenure as Fin Min as he helped usher in “liberalisation and privatisation” to the Indian economy.

India's benchmark indices ended up on Monday with Sensex rising more than 300 points and Nifty ending over 90 points.

At close, Sensex ended 300.44 points, or 0.51 per cent, up at 59,141.23, and Nifty closed up 91.40 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 17,622.45.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever, State Bank of India, and Nestle were major gainers on the Sensex.

Nifty FMCG ended 1.07 per cent up, BSE Auto up 0.78 per cent and BSE IT O.30 per cent up, respectively.

"Markets managed to gain over half a percent in a volatile trading session, taking a breather after the recent slide. The Nifty index witnessed a swift rebound in the first hour after the initial fall and remained range bound thereafter. Meanwhile, the sectoral trend was mixed wherein banking, FMCG and auto witnessed buying interest while realty, energy, and metal were on the back foot," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Asian stocks had a mixed day as traders remained cautious awaiting a slew of interest rate decisions in the days ahead and after global equities notched their worst week since hitting this year's low in June.

Going forward, as per Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, markets are likely to remain range-bound ahead of US Fed interest rate decision to be announced September 21 (Wednesday).

While it is widely expected that Fed will go for at least 75 basis points hike, however given the stubbornness of US inflation and robust numbers from US data points like retail sales and a strong labour market, there is a high chance that the aggressive stance towards rate hike is likely to continue for a prolonged time.

Even the Bank of England is likely to announce a 50bps rate hike to combat inflation and could keep global markets under pressure.

US 2-Year bond have spiked to 15-year high at 3.9 per cent while 10-year bond is hovering at 3.4 per cent, thus implying that the short term pain could continue in the global markets.

"Back home, Indian markets is better placed compare to the other global markets due to its strong macro factors, strong government policy implementation and oil price falling to 7-month. This well reflected in today's Nifty outperformance to global market as well," said Khemka.

Shimla, (PTI) Three students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Varanasi were among 10 tourists killed as a tempo traveller fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, officials said on Monday.

Ten others were injured in the accident that took place at 8:30 pm on Sunday in Ghiyaghi in Banjar subdivision.

BJP MLA from Banjar Surender Shourie streamed a video on Facebook at 12.45 am on Monday, informing people about the accident.

The injured were first taken to Banjar hospital from where they have been referred to a Kullu hospital after being given first aid, he added. PTI 

Chhatarpur,(PTI) The family of a 30-year-old Dalit man has alleged that he was beaten up by a group of persons for sitting on a chair in a village panchayat office in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district.

But, Bijawar’s sub-divisional officer of police Raghu Kesri on Monday denied the claim that the man was thrashed for sitting on a chair and said the incident, which took place on Saturday, was a fallout of an enmity between the man and the accused.

A case has been registered and efforts are on to arrest the accused, he said.

The man’s wife and a panchayat official said the victim was seriously injured in the incident which took place in Chauka village under Matguan police station limits, around 10 km from the district headquarters.

Talking to reporters, the victim’s wife alleged that one Rohit Singh Thakur thrashed her husband after he sat on a chair in the village panchayat office on Saturday.

She said Thakur objected to it saying how a Dalit man dared to sit on a chair in front of him and asserted that only Thakurs will sit on the chair.

She said her husband was injured seriously after Thakur and his accomplices beat him up.

The woman said she feared for the safety of her family. She also said she had filed a complaint with police, but claimed no action was taken on it.

Chauka village panchayat secretary Arvind Kumar Ahirwar said the victim had come to his office to submit papers for the construction of a well under the Kapil Dhara Yojana on Saturday.

He also claimed that Thakur objected after the victim sat on a chair and beat him up.

On Sunday, Thakur along with two others reached the victim’s home and attacked him again for sitting on the chair despite being a Dalit, he further alleged.

The victim suffered serious head injuries, fractures on hands and injuries on other body parts, and was undergoing treatment at the district hospital, Ahirwar said.

Village sarpanch Krishna Gopal Ahirwar claimed the victim was beaten up for the reason that he came to the panchayat office in a car and sat on the chair.

He said after the dispute over sitting on the chair on Saturday, the accused along with others reached the victim’s home on Sunday evening and thrashed him. PTI 

Jaipur, (PTI) Efforts were underway by senior Congress leaders on Monday to resolve the impasse in Rajasthan after several MLAs loyal to Ashok Gehlot submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister.

Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, who had waited in vain for all legislators to arrive for the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Sunday, were trying to persuade Gehlot loyalists to meet them one by one in an effort to defuse the political crisis.

The Gehlot loyalists had visited Speaker C P Joshi’s home after a long meeting at minister Shanti Dhariwal’s residence on Sunday, saying they were resigning as MLAs.

At the chief minister’s home, Gehlot, Kharge and Maken waited for all legislators to arrive for the CLP meeting.

Pilot and his supporters came but the meeting was a washout.

Gehlot loyalists claimed that over 90 MLAs had visited Joshi’s home, but the number could not be verified independently. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the House of 200.

There was no word from the Speaker’s office on the resignation letters.

Ministers Dhariwal, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Mahesh Joshi, along with CM Gehlot’s advisor Sanyam Lodha met the AICC observers, but the standoff continued.

On their return, sources said, they told the other loyalists that they had put forth three conditions.

They wanted the decision on the next CM to be left till after the Congress organisational election and stressed that Gehlot should have a say in picking the new CM who should be someone who stood by the veteran leader during the rebellion by Pilot supporters in 2020.

“We have submitted our resignation and are now going home. The MLAs want that any decision on the CM’s should be taken only after the election of the party’s national president,” minister Govind Ram Meghwal had said.

The loyalists said the views of MLAs should be taken into account.

“Later, whatever decision taken by the high command will be accepted,” independent MLA Babulal Nagar had said.

The aborted CLP meeting was seen as crucial step ahead of Gehlot filing his nomination for the Congress president’s post, amid speculation that the former deputy chief minister Pilot will take his place in the state.

Gehlot, seen by many as a reluctant candidate for the top party position, initially appeared unwilling to give up his CM’s post. Later, it was speculated that he would rather see Joshi — or anyone else — as CM rather than Pilot, who had rebelled against his leadership.

Gehlot had told reporters in Jaisalmer that the MLAs would pass a one-line resolution at the CLP meeting calling upon party president Sonia Gandhi to pick his successor.

But the MLAs seemed to go off script.

Before setting off for Joshi’s home, some Gehlot loyalists had said the next CM should be someone who was instrumental in saving the government during the 2020 crisis and not anyone involved in the bid to topple it, a veiled reference to Pilot.

“We are going to the Speaker’s residence and will submit our resignation,” Khachariyawas had told reporters.

Another leader, Govind Ram Meghwal, said Gehlot can shoulder both roles, that of the chief minister as well as the party’s national president.

He said if Gehlot does not remain CM, the party will face problems in winning the next Assembly elections.

“If a decision is not taken keeping the MLAs’ sentiments in mind, the government will be in danger,” independent legislator and advisor to the chief minister Lodha had said.

Gehlot and Pilot were at loggerheads over the chief minister’s post soon after the Congress won the Assembly elections in December 2018.

The high command then chose Gehlot as the chief minister for the third time while Pilot was made his deputy.

In July 2020, Pilot along with 18 party MLAs rebelled against Gehlot’s leadership. PTI

New Delhi,(PTI) The water level in the Yamuna here breached the warning mark of 204.5 metres on Monday following heavy rain in the upper catchment areas and is expected to rise further in the next two days, officials said.

The Delhi flood control room said the water level crossed the warning mark at 1 am on Monday and rose to 204.7 by 8 am.

It reported a discharge rate of 2,95,212 cusecs at 6 am from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana, which is the highest so far this monsoon season. The flow rate was 2,57,970 at 7 am.

One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.

Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two to three days to reach the national capital.

Authorities have not issued a flood alert yet.

Announcements are being made to caution people living in low-lying areas near the river banks about a further increase in the water level, East Delhi District Magistrate Anil Banka said.

“The water level is predicted to touch the 206-metre mark by Wednesday. A food alert will be issued when it crosses the danger mark of 205.3 metres,” he said.

Incessant rains have battered parts of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and north Uttar Pradesh over the last few days.

The catchment of the Yamuna river system covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.

The low-lying areas near the river in Delhi are considered vulnerable to flooding. They are home to around 37,000 people.

The Yamuna had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres on August 12, following which around 7,000 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas near the river banks. PTI 

New Delhi: Ahead of Diwali, a 33-year-old Noida shopkeeper has been arrested from southeast Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin area for allegedly carrying 21.7 kg firecrackers in his vehicle despite a ban on their sale and bursting, police said on Sunday.

The vehicle used for carrying the firecrackers has also been seized from accused Heera Lal, who runs a shop at his native place in Noida, they said.

According to the police, Lal was arrested on Friday why a police team deployed on Lala Lajpat Rai Marg intercepted his vehicle after a brief chase and recovered the firecrackers weighing about 21.7 kg.

“When he was questioned about the firecrackers, he could not give any satisfactory response initially. During interrogation later, Lal disclosed that he had purchased the firecrackers to sell them at his shop at a higher price in order to earn quick money,” said Esha Pandey, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast).

A case has been registered against Lal under section 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act at Hazrat Nizamuddin police station, she said.

On September 28, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) had ordered a complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1 next year.

Cuttack, (PTI) The National Green Tribunal has imposed restrictions on the Odisha government's ambitious Bali Jatra project, for which the Cuttack district administration had “reclaimed an area of around 426 acres of the Mahanadi riverbed”, environmentalists said on Saturday..

As part of the Bali Jatra riverfront or the Barfi project, the district administration had reclaimed the floodplain zone of the river near Jobra barrage in Cuttack city by filling sand and garbage, they claimed.

According to them, the move allegedly "reduced the water retaining capacity of the barrage and posed a threat of inundation to at least 38 nearby villages".

A five-member special bench, headed by chairperson Justice A K Goel, said it was difficult to accept the state government’s plan for construction on the reclaimed land, which has been clearly established to be part of the floodplain zone.

"There's the clear anticipated danger of flooding. We're guided by precautionary principle under Section 20 of the NGT Act," the eastern zone of the NGT observed while adjudicating on an application by city-based advocate Pradip Pattnaik.

The tribunal, however, has agreed to retain the original Bali Jatra ground of 34 acres, although it falls under the floodplain zone.

This is because the ground has been used for holding the annual historic festival since time immemorial, it said.

The Bali Jatra is one of the largest open fairs in Asia to commemorate the glorious past of voyages to the islands of Indonesia by Odia traders.

"There should be no further expansion and no concretisation or compacting of the said ground," the court said.

It also directed that the remaining 392 acres of land be used for plantation of local species and the area be developed as a biological park where no commercial activity would be allowed.

The NGT said "two-thirds of the reclaimed land be developed as dense forest" and the remaining area may be used for the park and playground without any permanent or temporary constructions or any commercial activity.

"It is made clear that no concretisation of any sort will be allowed in the entire 426 acres of reclaimed land," the tribunal said, adding that due precautions for maintaining sanitation and hygiene should be made at the Bali Jatra ground.

The bench directed the state government to take necessary safeguard measures for protecting 38 riverside villages, which are likely to be affected by flood in the periphery of Cuttack city.

It also ordered that the area where the forest is to be developed may be handed over to the forest department after demarcation.

"Rest of the area may be maintained by the local body/ irrigation department, as may be decided by the state government," the bench said.

Meanwhile, Cuttack collector Bhabani Shankar Chayni said the administration will examine the NGT order. PTI

Pauri (UKD), (PTI) A BJP leader’s son who owns a resort in Yamkeshwar block of Pauri district and his two employees were arrested on Friday allegedly for killing a 19-year-old girl who had been missing for the last few days, police said.

The girl worked as a receptionist at the resort.

Pulkit Arya is the son of Vinod Arya, a BJP leader from Haridwar, and a former chairman of Uttarakhand Mati Kala Board. Vinod Arya has been granted a state minister’s rank but holds no post in the government.

Pulkit Arya, the resort owner, manager Saurabh Bhaskar, and assistant manager Ankit Gupta were arrested after they confessed to have killed the missing girl and thrown her body into the Cheela Canal, Pauri Additional Superintendent of Police Shekhar Chandra Suyal told PTI.

Initially, they tried to mislead the police, but when interrogated sternly they confessed to the crime, the ASP said.

A team has been sent to search for the girl’s body in the canal, he said, adding the case was cracked within 24 hours of being transferred from the revenue police to regular police.

The three accused were sent to a 14-day judicial custody by a Kotdwar court, police said.

A missing complaint had been lodged at a revenue police outpost after the girl was not found in her room by her parents on Monday morning. PTI 

Rewa (MP), (PTI) In a video that has gone viral on social media, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lok Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa, Janardan Mishra, can be seen cleaning the toilet of a girls’ school in his constituency with his bare hands.

The video was shot on September 22, during the parliamentarian’s visit to the school in Khatkhari to participate in a plantation programme as a chief guest.

After seeing a dirty toilet at the school, Mishra decided to clean it himself with his bare hands using only water and without waiting for any equipment, including gloves and brush, sources said.

When asked about it, Mishra said, “Everybody should maintain cleanliness. From Mahatma Gandhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they have given the message of cleanliness.” He said he cleaned the toilet to motivate people towards cleanliness.

In 2018 also, Mishra had cleaned the toilet of a school and a video of that act had gone viral at that time. He had also driven a garbage collection vehicle. PTI