India

Kolkata, Jul 21 (PTI) Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has demanded return of ballot papers in place of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and said electoral reforms are required in the country to save democracy and stop the use of black money during polls.

Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, also demanded state funding of elections.

"Do not forget that the EVMs were earlier used in England, France, Germany and America. But they have now stopped using them.... So why cannot we bring the ballot papers back?" she said.

Bhopal, Jul 20 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh police have busted a racket involved in manufacturing synthetic milk and other products and distributing them to branded outlets in various states, a police officer said Saturday, adding that 62 people have been arrested.

The Special Task Force (STF) Friday raided factories based at Ambah in Morena district and Lahar in Bhind district of the Gwalior-Chambal region, around 400 kms from here, Superintendent of Police Rajesh Bhadoriya told PTI.

Chennai, Jul 20 (PTI) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday said the Union government was not making any attempts to impose Hindi in Tamil Nadu and was trying to promote Tamil as well.

Sitharaman's response to queries of reporters here came in the backdrop of state political parties protesting the conduct of recent Postal department exams in English and Hindi only.

New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) Three-time Delhi chief minister and Congress stalwart Sheila Dikshit, who gave the national capital its modern look, passed away Saturday afternoon at a private hospital here after suffering cardiac arrest.

She was 81.

Dikshit breathed her last at 3.55 pm at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, doctors said.

Ghaziabad, Jul 20 (PTI) A man was arrested for allegedly raping two minor girls here, police said.

Subhash Yadav, a vegetable seller, was known to the family of one of the girls and he would often visit her house, City Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar.

On July 14, he found the girl 9, and her friend, 10, alone in the house. He lured them to the vegetable market on the pretext of giving them chocolates and raped them there, the officer said.

Kanpur: Samajwadi party MLA Amitabh Bajpai has a distinct way of registering protest on issues plaguing the common man. The Aryanagar legislature approached the electricity headquarters to submit his memorandum highlighting at least ten demands. Wearing a black T-shirt with a logo of danger that is normally displayed on power equipment, he wanted to insist upon the problems persisting in different areas and raised demand for swift rectification.

Kanpur: Just as there is a difference in the rate at the ordinary canteen and the air-conditioned canteen at the platform no 1 of the Central railway station here, so as the difference in doctors' fee is seen at their private clinic existing in the same market at Jajmau here.

Both the doctors hold the same degree but show no mercy to the patients by reducing their respective consulting charges. One doctor normally prescribes medicines equivalent to his fee while another doctor tries to make the patients spend more money than his fee.

Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh), July 20; IANS/GANASHAKTI: "I am now leaving because my purpose of meeting the families of the victims has been fulfilled. But I will return very soon. I had come here on the instructions of my brother Rahul Gandhi."

This is what Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi told people and party workers before ending her 24-hour dharna on Saturday and returning to Delhi.

Allahabad, Jul 19 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court Friday issued notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a petition challenging his election from Varanasi parliamentary constituency.

Justice M K Gupta fixed August 21 for hearing of the case.

New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani has kept his annual salary from his flagship firm Reliance Industries capped at Rs 15 crore for the eleventh year on the trot.

Ambani has kept salary, perquisites, allowances and commission together at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09, forgoing over Rs 24 crore per annum.

This is at a time when remunerations of all whole-time directors of the company, including cousins Nikhil and Hital Meswani, saw a handsome increase in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.