Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence here amid efforts by the party leadership to end factionalism in the party unit in the poll-bound state, sources said.

The meeting comes amid continued attack by former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on the chief minister.

Singh and Sidhu have been at loggerheads over various issues.

New Delhi, July 5 (PTI) The Supreme Court Monday said it is amazing and shocking that people are still being booked under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act that was scrapped by the apex court verdict in 2015.

Under the scrapped section a person posting offensive messages could be imprisoned for up to three years and also fined.

A bench of Justices R F Nariman, K M Joseph and B R Gavai issued notice to the Centre on an application filed by an NGO, 'People's Union for Civil Liberties' (PUCL).

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas seeking permission to conduct 'rath yatras' at various places other than Jagannath Puri in Odisha.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said that it would not interfere with the directions passed by the state government under the Disaster Management Act.

We are sorry. We also feel bad, the bench said.

The Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri is an annual ritual and this time, it is scheduled for July 12.

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday attacked the Centre over the glitches in the new Income Tax portal, alleging that even after spending Rs 4,200 crore on it, the government had "failed" to make it user-friendly and created a "mess" instead.

New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed condolences on Monday over the death of Father Stan Swamy and said he deserved justice and humaneness.

"Heartfelt condolences on the passing of Father Stan Swamy. He deserved justice and humaneness," he wrote on Twitter.

Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, died at a Mumbai hospital on Monday afternoon.

New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) India's technology platform for COVID vaccination - CoWin -is being made open source and soon it will be available to all countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, asserting that India has been committed to sharing its expertise and resources with the global community in combating the pandemic.

Addressing the CoWIN Global Conclave via video conference, Modi said experience shows that no nation, no matter how powerful, can solve a challenge like this pandemic in isolation.

New Delhi, Jul 5 (PTI) India's services sector activities contracted further in June as the intensification of the COVID-19 crisis and reintroduction of containment measures restricted demand, a monthly survey said on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell from 46.4 in May to 41.2 in June, as new work intakes and output contracted at the fastest rates since July 2020, which prompted companies to reduce employment again.

New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) A day after the Congress demanded a JPC probe into the Rafale deal, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday put out an online survey asking why the Modi government was not ready for it.

Among the choices given by Gandhi to the question were guilt conscience, saving friends, JPC does not want a Rajya Sabha seat and all the above.

New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has expressed shock over the government raising false claims and defences with impunity as there is no accountability of officers for doing so and called for framing rules by the Centre and Delhi government to hold officers accountable for the lapses in handling of court cases.

New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has denied meeting West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari at his official residence here after the Trinamool Congress wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his removal over the issue.

The letter to the prime minister was written by TMC MPs Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Mahua Maitra stating that the alleged meeting between Adhikari and the law officer "reeks of impropriety" as the BJP MLA is an accused in Narada and Saradha cases which are being investigated.