LIVE: Rajinikanth to launch political party, contest Tamil Nadu 2021 polls

Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news updates.

Latest LIVE news updates: Actor Rajinikanth on Thursday said he would launch his political party in January and an announcement in that regard will be made on December 31, 2020. With this Rajinikanth ended the various speculations about his plunge into Tamil Nadu politics.

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday ordered HDFC Bank to halt digital launches, new credit cards. The banking regulator issued the order to HDFC Bank with respect to certain incidents of outages in internet banking/ mobile banking/ payment utilities of the Bank over past 2 years, including recent outages in internet banking and payment system on November 21 due to a power failure in the primary data centre.

The Centre has opposed in the Supreme Court the amended PIL seeking imposition of lifetime ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections, saying the elected representatives are equally bound by law.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said sending people, who do not wear masks, for community service at Covid centres may cause health issues, as it stayed the directions in the Gujarat High Court order. However, the top court noted that the Gujarat government should enforce mask and social distancing norms.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

2:03 AM

Expelled BJD leader & Gopalpur MLA Pradip Panigrahi arrested for allegedly defrauding people after promising them jobs: Odisha police

1:49 AM

Kangana Ranaut: 'I am with farmers' after tweet war on farmers protest

Actor Kangana Ranaut has got herself mired in yet another controversy after she said that an elderly woman, who was seen protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh in the national capital in December-March, was seen in the ongoing farmers' protest in Delhi as well. Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanj slammed the 'Panga' actor on Wednesday for misidentifying the elderly woman at the farmers' protest in the national capital. A Punjab-based lawyer, on Wednesday, sent a legal notice to Ranaut for allegedly misidentifying the woman at the farmers' protest in the national capital as Bilkis Bano.

Ranaut deleted her tweet allegedly misidentifying the woman after she was slammed for the same on social media. After being slammed, the micro-blogging site saw a tweet war between Kangana and Diljit. fter a day-long online war, the 'Manikarnika' star took to Twitter to share multiple tweets and check the misconceptions that led to the social media war. "I am with farmers, last year I activity promoted agroforestry and donated for the cause as well, I have been vocal about farmers exploitation and their problems also I worry a lot so prayed for resolves in this sector, which finally happened with this revolutionary bill," she said.

In the second tweet, she said she was certain that the government will address all the doubts on the overrated issue, "This Bill is going to transform farmers lives for better in many ways, I understand the anxiousness and effect of many rumours but I am certain government will address all doubts, please be patient. I am with my farmers and people of Punjab hold a special place in my heart."

9:37 PM

Will soon provide differently abled people facilities similar to BPL categories: Rajasthan CM

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Thursday the state government will soon take a decision to provide differently abled people facilities similar to those extended to people living below the poverty line. Addressing a state-level programme here to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Gehlot said a promise had been made in the election manifesto of the Congress in this regard. The chief minister said the state government has taken many decisions and done a lot of work for the welfare of persons with disabilities.

These include hiking reservations in state government services from 3 per cent to 4 per cent and increasing their pension, he added. "The state government will make efforts to provide maximum facilities to specially abled people so that they can become self-sufficient," Gehlot said. He also addressed a virtual conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and highlighted the steps taken by the state government for the welfare of differently abled persons.

The chief minister said there would be no shortage of resources for the welfare of the persons with disabilities.

9:03 PM

Nitin Gadkari to inaugurate Rs 4,127-crore highway projects in Nagaland on Friday

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday will inaugurate and lay foundation stone for Rs 4,127-crore highway projects in Nagaland in a virtual ceremony, the government said on Thursday. The national highway projects pertain to a total length of 270 kilometres.

 

"Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will virtually inaugurate/lay foundation stone of 15 NH (national highway) projects having 270 km worth Rs 4,127 crore," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

 

The projects include providing alternate access to Imphal to Dimapur and connect Kohima to the Phek district and Myanmar border, besides improving transportation between Dimapur and other districts. Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio will also be present on the occasion.

8:47 PM

SC grants bail to ex-DGP Saini in 1991 alleged murder case

The Supreme Court Thursday granted anticipatory bail to former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in a fresh case lodged in the 1991 disappearance and murder of a junior engineer Balwant Singh Multani. A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah allowed the appeal of Saini and set aside an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court declining him the pre-arrest bail in the 29-year-old case.

 

The top court directed Punjab Police to release Saini on bail in the event of arrest in the fresh case on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of the like amount.

 

It directed Saini to surrender his passport and to cooperate with the investigation in the fresh case without any prejudice to his rights and contentions in the pending proceedings before the top court for quashing of the FIR.

 

The bench said that long delay in lodging of FIR as in the present case can certainly be a valid consideration for grant of anticipatory bail.

8:32 PM

Govt to meet farmers' unions again Saturday, says it 'has no ego'

Government ministers and farmers’ leaders will meet again Saturday to try and break a deadlock over laws passed earlier this year seeking to deregulate the agriculture sector that has ignited the country’s biggest farm protests in years.

 

"Some points have been raised in previous meetings and today's meet. Farmer unions are mainly concerned about these. The government has no ego; it is discussing with farmers with an open mind,” said Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar after a third round of talks that lasted almost seven hours.

 

Tens of thousands of growers have camped out at the entrance to capital Delhi in protest against the laws seeking to rid the sector of antiquated procurement procedures and to allow farmers to sell to institutional buyers and big international retailers. The farmers fear the laws passed in September could pave the way for the government to stop buying grains at guaranteed prices, leaving them at the mercy of private buyers. READ ON...

8:25 PM

Centre opposes in SC PIL seeking lifetime ban on convicted politicians

The Centre has opposed in the Supreme Court the amended PIL seeking imposition of lifetime ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections, saying the elected representatives are equally bound by law. BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, in his amended PIL, has sought lifetime ban on convicted persons including politicians, from contesting elections as against the six-year ban from the date of release after serving the jail terms of two years or more as provided under the Representation of Peoples Act (RPA).

 

The Law Ministry, in its affidavit, said: It is submitted that the application for amendment is devoid of merits and does not justify the challenge to the vires of the statutory provisions under the RPA, 1951."

 

The affidavit, filed through the ministry's official S Mahesh Babu said the amended application does not indicate existence of any conclusive and factual material to substantiate the contention that the provisions challenged are unconstitutional and ultra vires.

7:09 PM

Burger King IPO subscribed 9.4x on Day 2, retail portion by 37.8 times

Burger King India’s initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 9.4 times on Thursday, the penultimate day of the issue. The retail investor portion of the IPO was subscribed 37.8 times; the wealthy investor and institutional investor portions were subscribed 3.6 times and 2.7 times, respectively. Only 10 per cent of the issue is reserved for retail investors.

 

On Monday, the company had issues shares worth Rs 365 crore to 55 anchor investors at Rs 60 per share.

 

The Rs 810-crore IPO of Burger King includes a fresh issue of Rs 450 crore and a secondary share sale worth Rs 360 crore. The proceeds will be used to roll out new stores and repay debt. At the top-end of the price band, Burger King will have a market capitalisation of Rs 2,290 crore. READ MORE...

6:33 PM

Govt belongs to all religions and castes: Madhya Pradesh CM

6:25 PM

Subramanian Swamy asks PM Modi to put LVB merger with DBS on hold

Rajya Sabha MP and BJP member Subramanian Swamy has asked for a CBI enquiry into the Reserve Bank of India's functioning, and has asked the Government to put Lakshmi Vilas Bank merger with DBS Bank India on hold.

 

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Swamy wrote, "...requested for an investigation by CBI into the functioning of RBI, especially in light of the fact that CBI has never found it necessary even to investigate any office of the RBI in any of the high-profile scams."

 

He said RBI's functioning must remain one of the Government's top priorities and urged the Centre to send the RBI Governor on indefinite leave till the investigations are over. He also asked the Prime MInister to reconstitute RBI Board and advisory committees. "Functioning of RBI as a regulator of banks and NBFCs leaves a lot to be desired," said Swamy. READ ON...

6:16 PM

We welcome great actor Rajinikanth's decision to enter politics: Tamil Nadu Deputy CM

5:40 PM

RBI curbs HDFC Bank's digital, credit card operations

The central bank has forbidden India's largest private lender HDFC Bank from adding new credit card customers or launching digital businesses after its digital payment services were hit by a power failure last month. The Reserve Bank of India has asked the bank's board to examine the lapses and fix accountability, the lender said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

 

It said the central bank would consider lifting the curbs on "satisfactory compliance with the major critical observations" it had made.

 

"We are working on war footing," said Sashi Jagdishan, Managing Director & CEO of HDFC Bank in a statement to customers published on the bank's website. "We will work with experts and the regulator to fortify the identified areas for improvement."

 

On Nov. 21, HDFC Bank's digital payments business went down for more than 12 hours following a power outage in its primary data center. The lender faced similar outages in Nov. 2018 and Dec. 2019. Suresh Ganapathy, analyst at Macquarie Capital said in a note that the ban could be in place for around 3-6 months.

 

"The bank would at least take a quarter to resolve some of these issues and then invite RBI for a review."

 

The bank's shares closed down 2.1%, reversing a 1.8% gain made earlier in the session.

4:56 PM

Fans of Rajinikanth burst crackers and distribute sweets after announcement of his political stint

3:51 PM

Pakistan court jails spokesperson of Hafiz Saeed-led JuD to 15 years

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has awarded 15 years jail term to Yahya Mujahid, spokesperson of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD), in a terror financing case. Mujahid was last month awarded a collective imprisonment of 32 years in two terror financing cases by the Anti Terrorism Court (ATC). Besides Mujahid, the ATC Lahore on Wednesday also awarded 15 years imprisonment to JuD's senior leader Zafar Iqbal and six months jail term to Prof Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, brother-in-law of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed.

 

Earlier, the ATC Lahore had sentenced Iqbal for 26 years imprisonment in three such cases.

 

ATC Judge Ijaz Ahmad Buttar announced the verdict in FIR 42 of 2019 under different provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The three convicts were present in the court when the judge announced the verdict. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police had registered as many as 41 FIRs against JuD leaders, including Saeed in different cities. The trial courts have so far decided 25 cases.

3:36 PM

Rajinikanth to launch party in January, outfit to fight 2021 polls

Superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday asserted that he would launch his political party in January 2021, ending years of suspense and in a big morale booster to his supporters and fans. The top star, promising his brand of spiritual politics, dramatically asserted that he was even ready to risk his life for the sake of people's welfare by making a foray into politics. The 70-year old actor categorically said that his party would fight Assembly elections in 2021 and "emerge victorious."

 

Assembly elections are due in Tamil Nadu during April-May 2021. He expressed confidence that his to be floated outfit would be able to "win elections with the huge support of people."

 

"In the upcoming Assembly elections, the emergence of spiritual politics will happen for sure. A wonder will happen," he said on his twitter handle.

 

An announcement on matters connected to the party launch would be made on December 31, he tweeted. Later speaking to reportes at his Poes Garden residence, he recalled that he had announced on December 31, 2017 that he would launch a political party ahead of Assembly elections 2021 and contest from all the 234 constituencies in the state.