News 18.com Daybreak | Last Leg of Karnataka Poll Campaigns, Mahatma Gandhi's Karachi Connect & Other Stories You May Have Missed
In case you missed it
An election campaign that has been dubbed as never seen before has finally come to an end. The Congress party, defending its full five-year term under Siddaramaiah, termed the Modi-led BJP campaign as vicious, cheap, divisive, communal and full of hype. For the first time in Karnataka elections, primacy of Kannada, separate state flag, no to Hindi imposition, separate religion status to Lingayats have also become poll issues. Whether they translate into votes for the Congress will be decided on the voting day. The BJP, on the other hand, is hoping that Modi will ensure their victory. The JD(S) is hoping to play the role of kingmaker if it’s a hung house. The voting takes place for 223 seats on Saturday.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has refused to support calls for a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir during Ramzaan. The refusal from the BJP has come a day after Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said all the mainstream political parties in the state agreed to the move. The BJP said such a ceasefire would go against the “national interest” and “could wash away the Army’s efforts” in the valley, which has been witnessing large-scale civilian and militants killings this year.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has called a meeting of the Collegium during which the top five judges are expected to decide whether to recommend the name of Justice KM Joseph for elevation to the Supreme Court again. The meeting, which is likely to be held around 1 pm, has been convened after Justice Jasti Chelameswar, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India asking him to convene a meeting urgently to forward to the Centre the name of Uttarakhand Chief Justice as a judge of the apex court.
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and its enabling 2016 law. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra directed all the parties concerned to file their written submissions to put forth their case. The judgment was reserved after a marathon hearing which went on for 38 days spanning four months.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court was told that the decision to tag the Aadhaar law as a money bill has "serious implications" as one half of the Parliament was disabled from making any amendment. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was told by senior advocate P Chidambaram, appearing of party colleague Jairam Ramesh, that besides the Rajya Sabha, even the President was denied the opportunity to have a say on the law.
Kulwant Kaur, a 50-year-old woman living in Punjab, is affectionately known as ‘Google Bebbe’. But Kaur does not even know how to Google and has only studied till Class IV. So why the nickname? Like Google, she can answer all your queries when it comes to Sikh history. Her extraordinary memory means that all the events going back centuries are on her fingertips.
A girl student, who had to remove her innerwear to appear for NEET here on May 6, has filed a police complaint alleging that an external observer had stared at her 'inappropriately.' Based on her complaint, a case was registered under IPC sect 509 (eve-teasing by word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and investigations have begun.
The Archeological Survey of India has set out to demystify the kingdom of the Pandavas, months after undertaking excavation at Purana Qila to find the mythical city of Indraprastha. The ASI has excavated 10 meters and touched the Pre-Mauryan era at 4.5 metre, where it has found traces of Painted Grey Ware in the un-stratified layer. The discovery is crucial as it pushes back the dates of Delhi's existence to 4th-6th century BC.
Amid furore over pulling down Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrait from the Aligarh Muslim University, a building in Pakistan’s Karachi proudly displays its connection with Mahatma Gandhi. At the Karachi Chamber of Commerce, which was built with material brought from the Indian city of Jodhpur, carries a foundation stone which states that it was laid by Mahatma Gandhi in July 1934.
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The death of 22-year-old R Thirumani, a tourist from Tamil Nadu, has exposed the stark reality of the direction in which Kashmir protests are headed. Violence and brutality are quickly overshadowing the 'political' character of resistance. Lt Gen (Retd) DS Hooda writes that constantly blaming the Army serves no useful purpose. “The security forces do not go around seeking an excuse to attack civilians. It is just the other way around with stone pelters looking for opportunities to create mayhem and chaos. It is time for the Kashmiri civil society to look inwards and see where they are headed,” he writes.
On reel
President Donald Trump has pulled the United States of America out of the Iran nuclear deal. What does it mean for India? Watch here.