Delhi

New Delhi; 30 Jan 2019; GANASHAKTI: Home Minister Rajnath Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had an "angry exchange" during a telephonic conversation over violence at a town near Kolkata after a rally by BJP chief Amit Shah.

Sources told CNN-News18 that when Singh called up Banerjee on Tuesday to express concern over the reports of arson, a "cross trading of charges" ensued between the two.

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) A Delhi court Tuesday summoned scribe Priya Ramani as an accused in a defamation case filed by former Union minister M J Akbar after she levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against him in the #MeToo campaign.

The court directed Ramani to appear before it on February 25 after noting that the allegations made against Akbar were "prima facie defamatory" and he had denied all the accusations as "false and imaginary".

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) The BJP on Wednesday accused Congress MP Shashi Tharoor of insulting Hinduism by "ridiculing" the ongoing 'Kumbh' with "tactical support" of Rahul Gandhi.

BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani attacked the opposition party after Tharoor tweeted a photograph of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his cabinet colleagues taking a dip at 'Sangam' in Kumbh and apparently took a dig at them.

New Jan 30 (PTI) The government Wednesday approved the construction of nearly four lakh affordable houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), taking the total number to about 72.5 lakh, an official said Wednesday.

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said the mission is well on its way of achieving the target of one crore homes for urban areas in the country.

The PMAY(U), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015, aims to ensure "Housing for all by 2022"

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Opposition parties are likely to meet on Friday to discuss their future course of action on the EVM tampering issue.

Sources said the Congress has asked opposition leaders to meet on Friday to discuss a joint strategy on the issue of EVMs, as some parties have questioned the efficacy of EVMs and demanded that the Election Commission revert to the old system of ballot paper.

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Two independent members of the National Statistical Commission, P C Mohanan and J V Meenakshi, have resigned over disagreement with the government on certain issues, an official said Tuesday.

Mohanan was also the acting chairperson. With the two members quitting, the NSC now has only two members -- Chief Statistician Pravin Srivastava and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

New Delhi, Jan 28 : Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the "Goa audio tapes", cited by the Congress to attack the Centre on the Rafale issue, were authentic and the state's Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is in possession of "explosive secrets" that give him power over Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) The Congress on Monday slammed the BJP for its attack over former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's alleged misbehavior with a woman at an event, saying it does not have the moral, constitutional or political right to talk about women's issues.

Siddaramaiah landed in a controversy Monday when he snatched the microphone from a woman during a verbal duel resulting in her dupatta getting dislodged at an event in Varuna in Mysuru.

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Veteran socialist George Fernandes, who was the defence minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, passed away Tuesday following a prolonged illness, his long time associate Jaya Jaitly said. He was 88.

Fernandes was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which had forced him out of the public eye for last many years, and had recently contracted swine flu, she said, adding that he died at his residence here.

New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) A Delhi court Monday granted bail to RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi Yadav in a money laundering case related to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj granted relief to each of the accused persons on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and surety of like amounts.

The court had on January 19 extended the interim bail granted to the them which ended Monday.