1. Crucial Lok Sabha Bypoll Results to be Declared Today
In the last round of Lok Sabha bypolls before the 2019 elections, Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana, Palghar and Bhandara-Gondia in Maharashtra, and Nagaland will see new members of Parliament elected on Thursday, 31 May.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has campaigned hard for Kairana.
It hopes to send a strong message to voters, party workers as well as the opposition parties that the drubbing it got in Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-elections was an aberration — and that they are a force to reckon with in western UP.
The opposition hopes that by consolidating the anti-BJP vote, it will repeat its success in Gorakhpur and Phulpur by-elections earlier this year when the ruling party suffered humiliating defeats.
Track live updates here.
2. Karnataka Cabinet: JD(S) May Keep Finance, Home Ministry For Cong
The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) coalition in Karnataka, which has been struggling to form the Cabinet because of a lack of consensus on portfolio allocation has reached a solution in which the JD(S) will get the finance ministry and the Congress will get Home Ministry, according to people familiar with the developments.
But the people cited above said the Congress had finally agreed to let JD(S) get finance, with the Congress getting home, heavy industries, energy, IT/BT, travel and education in return. The JD(S) is also likely to get the PWD, revenue and co-operative affairs ministries, they added.
Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s Cabinet is now likely to be sworn in over the weekend, once the Congress high command clears the list of prospective ministers.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. India Seeks UK Help in Early Extradition of Vijay Mallya, Lalit Modi
India asked for the UK’s help for the early extradition of embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former IPL manager Lalit Modi, and in tracing diamantaire Nirav Modi during the third Indo-UK Home Affairs dialogue, which began on Wednesday. New Delhi also raised concerns over the recent anti-India activities in London, asking the UK government to not allow the British territory to be used for Kashmiri and Khalistani separatists’ activities.
“Detailed exchange of views took place between the two sides on Indian fugitives and economic offenders residing in the UK. The Indian delegation impressed upon the UK authorities the need to expedite the process of extradition,” the Home Ministry said in its statement.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. PM Modi Refuses to Sign MoU on Illegal Indians as UK Denies Easing Visas
Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Britain agreeing to facilitate the return of thousands of illegal Indian immigrants because the UK is not offering Indians easier access to its visas, it has been revealed.
Sources at the Indian high commission in London told TOI that the bilateral agreement on the return of illegal Indians, which junior Home Minister Kiren Rijiju had pencilled in January, was not signed in April when Modi visited London because India “did not see any progress on the British side of the agreement”.
The deal was meant to have been the centrepiece bilateral agreement signed during Modi’s visit. British Prime Minister Theresa May had told Modi in India in November 2017 that “the UK would consider further improvements to its visa offer if, at the same time, we can step up the speed and volume of returns of Indians with no right to remain in the UK”.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Donations to BJP Increased by 7 Times in 2016-17, Says ADR Report
The ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre received donations that were nine times of the aggregate declared by the Congress, NCP, CPI, CPI (M), and TMC during 2016-17, a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Wednesday said.
The BJP's income through donations increased nearly by 7 times from Rs 76.85 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 532.38 crore in the succeeding year.
The seven national parties collected Rs 710.80 crore from "unknown sources" during 2016-17, while the total amount of donations (above Rs 20,000) declared by them was Rs 589.39 crores. The BJP received a lion’s share with Rs 532.27 crore from 1,194 sources, the report said.
Read full report here.
6. Alleged BJP Worker Found Dead in West Bengal, Shah Blames TMC
An 18-year-old, purportedly a BJP worker, was found dead in Balarampur, West Bengal, on 30 May 2018. While the victim’s identity couldn’t be independently verified, BJP President Amit Shah posted a tweet claiming that the victim’s name was “Trilochan Mahato,” and that he was a BJP karyakarta.
In his tweets, Shah said the life of young BJP worker, Trilochan Mahato, was "taken under the state's patronage" because his ideology was different from that of "state-sponsored goons".
The 18-year-old’s body was allegedly found with a note that read, “Associating with the BJP from the age of 18 is the reason for your death. I wanted to do this (kill you) since the elections, but I failed. Today your life ends.”
(Read full report here.)
7. Gauri Lankesh Murder: SIT Files Chargesheet, Four More Suspects
Eight months after the cold-blooded murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru, the Special Investigation Team probing the murder filed a chargesheet in the 3rd ACMM court on Wednesday, 30 May.
According to SIT sources, the chargesheet mentions the roles played by KT Naveen Kumar alias Hotte Manja and Praveen alias Suchit Kumar.
The 650-odd page preliminary chargesheet has included 131 witnesses including forensic experts and eyewitnesses. It also includes statements of family members of Lankesh, doctors who performed the autopsy and the officers who visited the spot on the night of the murder.
“Charges have been framed against him in the preliminary chargesheet under IPC Sections 118 (concealing intent to commit an offense, 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 35 (criminal intention),” an investigating officer said.
(Source: The News Minute)
8. ED Finds 2 More London Accounts of Karti, Asks I-T to File Fresh Case
The Enforcement Directorate has asked the income tax department to initiate fresh cases under the stringent Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act against Karti Chidambaram, the son of former finance minister P Chidambaram, after the agency came across two bank accounts in London which Karti allegedly did not mention to either investigating agencies or in his I-T returns.
The documents in ED’s possession, sources claim, show that Karti had opened two bank accounts in London in June 2016. He closed both in June 2017 when CBI and ED investigations against him for allegedly receiving bribes in the Aircel Maxis case started gathering momentum.
When confronted with the “evidence” during his questioning by the ED at its Delhi zonal office on 10 April, 2018, Karti allegedly admitted to having opened the two bank accounts in London and closing them next year.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. IndianOil Blames Price Faux Pas on Technical Glitch
The government suffered considerable embarrassment on Wednesday when the first fuel price reduction in a month turned into a “cruel joke” for consumers because of a “technical glitch” by state-run oil companies.
After first indicating a 60-paise reduction, they hastily clarified within a few hours that the cut in petrol and diesel rates actually amounted to 1 paisa per litre.
In a statement issued soon thereafter, IndianOil apologised and blamed “technical glitch” for the faux pas. Company insiders said it was human error.
“Prices are worked out by the pricing division with the help of special software with a maze of numbers and values fed into the system. The reduction was indeed supposed to be 1 paisa but due to a clerical error the price prevalent on 25 May was communicated as today’s (Wednesday’s) price,” one executive said.
(Source: The Times of India)
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