Delhi

New Delhi, Feb 19; PTI/GANASHAKTI: The Supreme Court Tuesday expressed concern over thousands of illegal migrants being kept in detention centres for years in Assam without being repatriated or deported to their countries of origin.

"Don't you think some explanation is called from state government as to why these people are detained for such a long period? Many of them have been detained for last 9-10 years. What is the justification," a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) A turbaned Sikh, barred from participating in a sporting event without a helmet or protective gear, cannot claim discrimination or interference with his religious rights, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

The top court refused to interfere with the alleged disqualification of a Delhi-based 50-year-old Sikh cycling enthusiast from a long-distance cycling event for refusing to wear a helmet.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday met traders of small and medium-sized businesses from various parts of the country over lunch and discussed implementation of the Goods and Services Tax along with a host of other issues.

The interaction was part of Gandhi's outreach initiative 'Apni Baat Rahul ke saath' ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) A Saudi man has been arrested by customs officials at the Delhi airport for allegedly trying to smuggle into India gold worth about Rs 53 lakh, according to an official statement issued Tuesday.

The accused was intercepted after his arrival from Dammam in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) India Tuesday strongly rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's response to its allegations of Islamabad's involvement in the Pulwama attack, saying disclaiming its link with terrorist attacks is an oft-repeated excuse by the neighbouring country.

In a hard-hitting statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said India was not surprised that Khan refused to acknowledge the attack on India's security forces in Pulwama as an act of terrorism.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The Supreme Court has set aside an order declaring a man as foreigner whose Indian citizenship was denied on the ground of discrepancy in the name of his grandfather.

A bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Vineet Saran noted that character 'F' was replaced with 'M' in his grandfather's name in some of the documents.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) There is talk of growth without any jobs and the government is "funding big guys" when it is the small and medium business people that can create employment, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Tuesday.

Gandhi, during an interaction with small and medium business people as part of his outreach initiative 'Apni baat Rahul ke saath', also said the small and medium businesses were producing jobs, but not getting the funding they needed.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) The Union Cabinet Tuesday gave its nod to re-issue the contentious Triple Talaq ordinance that makes the practice of instant triple talaq by Muslim men a penal offence.

The Cabinet has given its nod to the Triple Talaq ordinance, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters in the Cabinet briefing, noting that it is among those ordinances and bills which had been passed by the Lok Sabha but could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha due to continuous protests by opposition parties.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday appointed six AICC secretaries for Uttar Pradesh --three each attached to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Priyanka Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia were appointed AICC general secretary in-charge of UP east and UP west respectively in January and took charge earlier this month.

New Delhi, Feb 20 (PTI) Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant full statehood status to Delhi, an issue that the ruling AAP is expected to raise in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in an emphatic manner.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Tuesday said it will hold a door-to-door campaign to tell people how the BJP had done them "injustice" on the issue.