Chandigarh stalking accused arrested, Marathas march in Mumbai: Top stories to bring you up to date

Congress expels 8 Gujarat MLAs for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha election, Chandigarh stalking accused arrested, China says 53 Indian soldiers and a bulldozer present at Doklam, Marathas storm SoBo in silence, FBI raids home of Trump’s ex-campaign chairman in Russia probe: Here is a list of top stories to bring you up to date

Rajya Sabha election: After Ahmed Patel victory, Congress expels 8 Gujarat MLAs for cross-voting

Vikas Barala, son of Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala, being taken for medical test after he was arrested for stalking case, in Chandigarh on Wednesday.(Karun SharmaHT Photo)

Cracking down on dissidents in Gujarat, the Congress on Wednesday expelled for six years eight of its MLAs who cross-voted in Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha election. AICC general secretary in-charge of Gujarat unit Ashok Gehlot said he has also recommended the expulsion of six of its legislators who had earlier resigned as MLAs. Three of them had later joined BJP. Asserting that indiscipline will not be tolerated in the Congress, Gehlot said those expelled were indulging in anti- party activities. The MLAs are: Shankarsinh Vaghela, his son Mahendrasinh, Raghavji Patel, Bhola Gohil, Dharmendra Jadeja, P K Raulji, Amit Chaudhary, Karan Patel. Read the story here.

Chandigarh stalking case: Vikas Barala, friend arrested, charged with bid to kidnap

In a U-turn, the Chandigarh Police on Wednesday again arrested Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala’s son Vikas and his friend Ashish Kumar and booked them under non-bailable sections of attempt to kidnap in the case of stalking Varnika Kundu, a disc jockey (DJ) and the daughter of an IAS officer. Both the accused, who surrendered at the fortified Sector 26 police station on a rainy afternoon amid high drama and media presence, were interrogated for more than two hours before being booked under Sections 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to confine a person) and Section 511 (attempt to commit offence punishable with life imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code. Read the story here.

How a lawyer-politician helped Ahmed Patel defeat BJP rival in Gujarat RS poll

While Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha election was widely viewed as a clash between two master strategists, Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel and BJP president Amit Shah, it was senior state leader Shaktisinh Gohil who scored the winning shot for the Congress camp. Gohil, who was acting as the Congress’ agent in the polling station, first sought the invalidation of two votes cast by Congress rebel MLAs around 3 pm. The party leadership informed him that the returning officer has promised to look into the matter. “I saw both Raghvji Patel and Bhola Gohil flashing their ballot papers to the BJP’s polling agent. This happened in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah, who was one of the three candidates fielded by the party,” the 57-year-old MLA said. Read the story here.

53 Indian soldiers and a bulldozer present at Doklam, says China amid standoff

Fifty-three Indian soldiers and a bulldozer were present at the Doklam area, a report in a state-run daily said on Wednesday quoting the Chinese foreign ministry. The ministry, according to the Global Times, asked India to withdraw its troops and equipment from what it called the “Chinese territory”. “India should withdraw its troops and equipment...They have gravely infringed on China’s sovereignty,” the ministry was quoted as having said by the daily. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang last week said that “there were 48 Indian soldiers and one bulldozer” in Doklam area as of August 2. Read the story here.

Why Kalapani is crucial and the Chinese threat should not be taken lightly

Experts have said that India should take the Chinese threat of entering Kalapani in Uttarakhand seriously to keep an eye on “activities across the border”. A senior Chinese foreign affairs ministry official on Tuesday rejected India’s suggestion for a simultaneous withdrawal of troops to end the Doklam standoff and asked what New Delhi would do if it “enters” Kalapani region in Uttarakhand or Kashmir, news agency PTI reported. Kalapani is a 35 square kilometre area in the hill state’s Pithoragarh district under control of Indo Tibetan Border Police. Uttarakhand shares an 80.5-km long porous border with Nepal and a 344-km border with China. Read the story here.

Dalai Lama cites Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai slogan, says Doklam standoff not serious

The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said on Wednesday the border standoff between India and China in the Doklam area of Sikkim is “not a very serious issue” and that the two neighbours will have to “live side by side”. The Dalai Lama said India and China have gone through phases in the past when they used “harsh words” against each other and added the only way forward is the “Hindi Chini, Bhai Bhai”. “Even in 1962 (India-China war), Chinese forces which reached Bomdila (in Arunachal Pradesh), eventually withdrew. India and China have to live side by side,” the Dalai Lama said. Read the story here.

Marathas storm SoBo in silence, CM Devendra Fadnavis blinks

More than two lakh Marathas demanding reservation in jobs and education marched on South Mumbai roads on Wednesday morning. Responding to this show of strength, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a package of incentives – much of which was a repetition of schemes announced last year. Some of the decisions announced include extending benefits of concessions in fees to 605 vocational courses, so far applicable to OBCs, to Maratha students. The state also announced skill development training to three lakh students from farmers families and offered interest free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to start new ventures and Rs 5 crore to set up hostels for Maratha students in every district. Read the story here.

Exception in marital rape law: Govt defends no action for forced sex with ‘wife aged 15-17’

The Centre on Wednesday defended in the Supreme Court a provision in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that does not penalise a man for forcibly having sex with his wife aged between 15 and 17, saying the exception in rape law was meant to protect the institution of marriage. Centre made its submission before a bench headed by Justice MB Lokur, which is hearing a petition filed by NGO Independent Thought urging the court to intervene and read down section 375 (2) of IPC – an exception under the rape law – that permits a man to have sex with a girl aged between 15 to 17 if she is married to him. Read the story here.

Amit Shah sets 150-seat target for BJP in Gujarat assembly election

BJP chief Amit Shah today asked the party workers to work towards achieving the target of winning 150 of the total 182 seats in Gujarat in the upcoming Assembly polls. He said “Mission 150” would ensure that the BJP wins three Rajya Sabha seats in the state next time. Shah, who resigned as the state MLA on Wednesday, told the cadres that the magic number of 150 achieved in the upcoming elections would make it possible for the BJP to win the Rajya Sabha seats, irrespective of the number of votes a candidate gets. Read the story here.

Sharad Yadav, others ‘unhappy’ with Nitish’s withdrawal from Grand Alliance

The possibility of a split in Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) swirled on Wednesday, after the party broke ranks with the RJD and Congress to form a new government with the BJP on July 27. Several JD(U) leaders, including former party chief Sharad Yadav, are said to be unhappy with chief minister Nitish Kumar’s alleged unilateral decision to withdraw from the three-party grand alliance and realign with the BJP. Talk of a division increased after Yadav declared a four-day tour of Bihar from Thursday to assess the mood of party workers. Besides, RJD chief Lalu Prasad also fanned the flames on Wednesday, saying the grand alliance still exists as his party, the “Sharad Yadav-led JD(U)” and Congress are partners. Read the story here.

Russia probe: FBI raids home of Trump’s ex-campaign chairman

FBI agents on July 26 raided a home owned by Paul Manafort — once the head of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — in connection with the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and alleged collusion by the US president’s aides, reports have revealed. Agents working for special counsel Robert Mueller arrived unannounced early morning at Manafort’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, one day after he appeared at a closed-door hearing on Capitol Hill. Investigators are reported to have carried away various records — tax documents and foreign banking accounts — including documents already turned over by him to investigators. Read the story here.

Wrestler dies in Ranchi owing to electric shock

A promising national level wrestler Vishal Kumar Verma died of electrocution at a water-logged Jaipal Singh Stadium in Jharkhand capital Ranchi on Tuesday, state wrestling association secretary, Bhola Nath Singh, said. Vishal Kumar Verma, who won gold at the last Jharkhand state competition in both freestyle and Greco-Roman categories, was pumping out water that had collected near the state wrestling body office when he was electrocuted and fell unconscious. Read the story here.