LIVE: Cong must be fulcrum of any Oppn alliance for 2024, says Ramesh

LIVE news updates: The Congress general secretary also said in his view the Congress should be preparing to fight on its own in every state in the 2029 general elections

3:08 PM

'Pathaan' emerges as first film in 33 years to have houseful shows in Kashmir

People of Kashmir are queuing up to watch Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Pathaan", making it the first film to have houseful shows in 33 years in the Valley.

The cinema halls reopened in Kashmir last year after being shut for three decades due to threats and attacks by militants.

Vikas Dhar, owner of Kashmir's only multiplex theatre, said all the shows of the spy thriller were houseful on the first day of its release on Wednesday.

3:06 PM

UP CM Yogi Adityanath to chair state cabinet meeting in Lucknow today

The Uttar Pradesh state cabinet is scheduled to meet in Lucknow today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

In the meeting, many important proposals are expected to be approved including the private MSME park policy.

The meeting will be held on Saturday at 4:30 in the evening in Lucknow.

According to the sources, proposals related to the promotion, dissemination and extension of coarse grains across the state will also be placed.

2:55 PM

Hyundai, Kia sued in US for lack of anti-theft technology

A Seattle City attorney in the US has filed a lawsuit against Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia for the lack of anti-theft technology in some of their models, the carmakers said.

In the suit filed in the federal court, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison argued the carmakers' failures to install anti-theft technology in some vehicles led to a sharp increase of their car theft in Seattle and other regions.

The city said from 2021 to 2022, thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars increased by 503 per cent and 363 per cent, respectively, reports Yonhap news agency.

Hyundai and Kia expressed regret over the legal action in Seattle while apologising for the inconvenience to affected customers.

2:43 PM

Delhi govt centre of corruption, BJP will expose it: Union Min Anurag Thakur

Union Minister of Sports Anurag Thakur while addressing the second day of BJP National executive on Saturday attacked the Delhi government and said it is the centre for corruption and BJP will expose this soon.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, "Delhi govt is a centre of corruption and the BJP will expose their corruption soon."

Further attacking the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, Thakur said, "I campaigned in many areas of Delhi during the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections and saw that the Kejriwal government's magic has reduced on people. This was also reflected in the election results where Aam Aadmi Party got a very negligible majority. In our new resolution, the development work being done by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi is to be taken among the public and victory will be ours in 2024 and in 2025 elections."

2:43 PM

CM Chouhan, Kamal Nath express concern over fighter jets crash in MP

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Congress leader Kamal Nath on Saturday expressed their concern over the incident of two fighter jets crashing in the state's Morena district this morning.

Directing the Morena district administration and police to provide all possible help in the rescue operation, Chief Minister Chouhan said, "The news of the crash of Sukhoi-30 and Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Air Force near Kailaras in Morena is very sad. I have instructed the local administration to cooperate with the Air Force in quick rescue and relief work. I pray to God that the pilots of the planes are safe," Chouhan said.

The Chief Minister, along with state BJP head V.D. Sharma, was participating at an event celebrating Narmada Jayanti in Ujjain.

2:29 PM

BMW launches its 3rd gen BMW X1 in India

Luxury car maker BMW on Saturday launched the all-new BMW X1 sports activity vehicle (SAV) in both petrol and diesel variants for consumers in India.

Locally produced at BMW Group Plant Chennai, the car comes at introductory prices of Rs 45,90,000 (petrol) and Rs 47,90,000 (diesel) and is available for bookings at the company's dealership network and through its official website.

The company said that -- the deliveries for BMW X1 (diesel) will commence from March onwards and for the BMW X1 (petrol) from June.

2:15 PM

IAF's Sukhoi and Mirage aircraft crash; one pilot killed

In a tragic incident, a Sukhoi and a Mirage-2000 aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district following an accident during a routine training mission on Saturday, killing a pilot.

Officials said the two pilots of the Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft ejected safely while the pilot of the Mirage-2000 lost his life.

"Two fighter aircraft of IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior today morning," the IAF said in a statement.

It said the aircraft were on a routine operational flying training mission.

"One of the three pilots involved, sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident," the IAF said.

2:04 PM

Ex-SC judge Nariman slams Rijiju for 'diatribe' against collegium

Former Supreme Court judge Rohinton Fali Nariman has slammed Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for his "diatribe" against the collegium system for appointment of judges, and said the government sitting on the names of judges recommended by the collegium was "deadly" for democracy.

Nariman also said that if the last bastion of independent judiciary falls, then the country would enter the "abyss of a new dark age". What is the independence of the judiciary if independent and fearless judges are not being appointed, he said. He was speaking on Friday at the Mumbai University while delivering the seventh Chief Justice M C Chagla Memorial Lecture.

1:53 PM

Govt working to empower every section of society, give preference to underprivileged: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is trying to empower every section of society and working to give preference to the underprivileged.

He is on a visit to Bhilwara district on the 1111th incarnation festival of Lord Shri Devnarayan.

"For the last eight-nine years, the country has been trying to empower every section of society that has been neglected and deprived. We are walking with the mantra of giving preference to the underprivileged," Modi said in Malaseri in the district.

1:51 PM

BJP may lose K'taka in next Assembly polls: Sharad Pawar

Karnataka is slipping out of the ruling BJP's control and may see a change of power after the next Assembly elections, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar said here on Saturday.

"There are clear indications that the BJP will not retain power in Karnataka after the upcoming state electionsa We are making attempts to unite the Opposition parties and forge a united front, but all states have different local issues which need to be tackled," said Pawar.

Addressing mediapersons in this erstwhile royalty town, Pawar said that the results of a recent public opinion survey have revealed that the mood of the masses is going against the BJP and it could suffer major setbacks in the next elections.

1:20 PM

Cong must be fulcrum of any Oppn alliance for 2024: Jairam Ramesh

The Congress has to be the "fulcrum" of any Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections as it is the only political force with a pan-India presence, senior leader Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday.

The Congress general secretary also said in his view the Congress should be preparing to fight on its own in every state in the 2029 general elections.

In an interview with PTI, Ramesh said he would certainly put his weight behind doing another yatra from Gujarat's Porbandar to Arunachal Pradesh's Parshuram Kund this year but the party has to take a call on it eventually.

1:19 PM

"I need not fear anyone" says mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy

Mining baron-turned-politician Gali Janardhana Reddy, who had launched Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Party (KRPP) in Karnataka, on Saturday said that he need not fear anyone.

His statement assumes importance against the backdrop of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state.

Reddy further stated that will announce his party's candidates for the Assembly polls by February 10.

1:17 PM

Tripura polls: BJP announces list of candidates, CM Manik Saha to contest from Town Bordowali

Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha will contest the upcoming state assembly polls from the Town Bordowali constituency, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) announced on Saturday.

The BJP in a statement also announced the candidates for 48 out of the total 60 seats for the Tripura Polls.

Twelve candidates are to be announced soon.

Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik will contest from Dhanpur while Md Moboshar Ali who joined the party on Friday will contest from Kailashahar. The state BJP chief Rajib Bhattacharjee will contest the polls from Banamalipur.

12:50 PM

Rahul Gandhi pays tributes to CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama terror attack

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday paid floral tributes to the 40 CRPF personnel killed in a car bomb blast in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in 2019.

Gandhi, who is in the last leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, laid a flower bouquet at the spot where the CRPF bus was blown up by a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway four years ago.

The Yatra, which is heading towards Srinagar, stopped briefly to pay homage to the slain CRPF personnel.

12:10 PM

US mulls bill to ban TikTok nationwide over security concerns

The US plans to ban Chinese short video-making app TikTok nationwide, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a vote next month on a bill to completely block the platform.

According to reports, the bill will give the White House the legal power to ban TikTok over larger national security concerns.

Last month, the Chinese short-form video making app was banned on mobile devices issued by the US House of Representatives. The House ordered staff to delete TikTok from all mobile phones.

A TikTok spokesperson told South China Morning Post that a total ban of the app is a "piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy and online harms".