Delhi

New Delhi, Jun 27 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Vijay Goel Thursday demanded a ban on lottery in the country, saying it is a social evil and hurts the poor the most.

Raising the matter during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Goel said single digit lottery has been banned and now even multi-digit number lotteries too should be banned.

He said lottery is a social evil and poor people suffer.

Goel said all parties should support his demand. Several members across the House associated themselves with the suggestion.

New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) The Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the country's external snooping agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Wednesday got new chiefs as the government cleared names of IPS officers Arvind Kumar and Samanat Goel for the coveted posts for a fixed tenure of two years.

Kumar, popularly known as "AK", and Goel, whose name had come under cloud in a CBI bribery case, are experts on Pakistan and had contributed actively in the February 26 Balakot airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camps in the neighbouring country.

New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) The Youth Congress has urged party president Rahul Gandhi to not quit from his post.

The Youth Congress workers from all over the country under the leadership of youth wing president Keshav Chand Yadav gathered at 12, Tughlak Lane, here and appealed their leader to continue.

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) A Delhi court Tuesday sentenced AAP MLA Manoj Kumar to three months in jail for obstructing the election process at a booth in east Delhi during the 2013 Assembly polls, saying offences relating to polls should be sternly dealt with.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, however, granted Kumar bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 10,000 to enable him to challenge the order in a superior court.

Mumbai, Jun 26 (PTI) NCP MLC Prakash Gajbhiye Wednesday turned up at the Vidhan Bhavan here dressed as slain police officer Hemant Karkare, to protest against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur's remarks against the late ATS chief.

Gajbhiye came to the state Assembly complex, where the monsoon session of the Legislature is currently on, wearing a police uniform and carrying a placard that read: 'It's a superstition that I (Karkare) died due to Pragya's curse. I became a martyr for the country.'

New Delhi, June 25 (PTI) A Telugu Desam Party member in the Lok Sabha Tuesday came down heavily on the BJP, saying it was "breaking" the TDP by resorting to "coercive politics" and "weaponising" institutions.

Four of the six TDP members in the Rajya Sabha recently joined the BJP and sought merger of the TDP Legislature Party with the saffron party.

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) Notwithstanding his decision to resign as Congress president after the party's Lok Sabha election debacle, Rahul Gandhi will meet leaders from various poll-bound states to discuss the party's preparedness.

According to sources, Gandhi, who has not been meeting the leaders of various parties ever since he offered to resign as the party chief at the May 25 meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), is slated to meet party leaders from Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi.

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) The Election Commission came under sharp criticsm from the BSP and TMC in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with its members demanding electoral reforms and future elections on ballot paper and not EVMs.

The BJP, however, countered those opposing the EC saying raising questions on the poll body was like pointing fingers at the Constitution.

BSP member Satish Chandra Misra accused the EC of allying with the NDA and said the ruling dispensation in the President's speech has rightly thanked the EC.

New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and discussed various aspects of the bilateral relationship to strengthen the India-US strategic partnership.

Pompeo, who arrived here last night, will hold detailed discussions with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the afternoon and have a working lunch with him

New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) The Union Cabinet Monday cleared a DNA profiling bill, which seeks to control the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of a person.

The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in January, but lapsed as it could not be cleared in the Rajya Sabha due to lack of support from the opposition.

Now, after the Cabinet's nod, a fresh bill will be brought in Parliament in the next few days, sources aware of the development said.