Delhi

Gandhinagar, Nov 27 (PTI) A controversial Gujarat anti-terror law, which recognises intercepted telephonic conversations as a legitimate evidence among other provisions, will come into force from December 1, a state minister said here on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, President Ram Nath Kovind had given his assent to the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Act, which had thrice failed to get the nod of his predecessors since 2004.

New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday launched a spirited defence of her handling of the economy, comparing macroeconomic indicators with past Congress rules and said the growth may have slowed down but the economy will never slip into recession.Replying to a short-duration discussion on the state of the economy in the Rajya Sabha, she said steps taken by the government post her maiden budget have started bearing fruits and some sectors such as automobiles have shown signs of recovery.

New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The BJP on Thursday condemned the remarks made by its Lok Sabha MP Pragya Thakur in Parliament on Wednesday referring to Nathuram Godse and said it does not supports such statements.

BJP working president JP Nadda also recommended Thakur's removal from the consultative committee on defence, to which she was recently appointed.

"We have decided that Thakur will not attend meetings of BJP parliamentary party during the session," he said.

New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) Amid vehement opposition by the Congress and other parties, Union Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar on Thursday introduced the Industrial Relations Code Bill 2019 in Lok Sabha.

Congress and other opposition parties were protesting against the bill while describing it as "anti-labourers". They demanded that the bill be referred to the parliamentary standing committee on labour.

Speaking about the bill, Gangwar said there is nothing in this bill which is against the right of labourers.

New Delhi, Nov 27; GANASHAKTI: Nearly 1,000 foreigners are lodged in six detention centres in Assam, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Nityanand Rai said from 2016 to October 13, 2019, as many as 28 detenues have died either in the detention centres or in hospitals where they were referred.

"As informed by the government of Assam, as on November 22, 2019, 988 foreigners were lodged in six detention centres in Assam," he said, replying to a written question.

New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) The government on Wednesday remained non-committal over the issue of restoring Internet facility in the Kashmir Valley.

When the House was discussing issue of broadband and Internet facility in rural areas of the country during Question Hour in Lok Sabha, National Conference MP Hasnain Masoodi said Internet has not been available in the Kashmir Valley for the last four months and asked when the facility will be restored.

Speaker Om Birla said the matter is not in the domain of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI) Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill which seeks to ban electronic cigarettes, with Health Minister Harsh Vardhan saying such a measure was necessary to protect the youth from a new intoxication being promoted by companies as a new "fashion".

The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019, seeks to replace an ordinance issued on September 18

New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI) Train services in the Srinagar-Banihal section of Kashmir Valley has resumed fully, more than three months after it was suspended due to security reasons, the railways said on Tuesday.

A limited passenger service of two pairs of Trains between Srinagar-Baramulla was started between 10 am to 3 pm with effect from November 12. Later, two more pairs of train services were allowed to operate between Srinagar and Banihal from November 17.

New Delhi, Nov 25, GANASHAKTI: Former presidents of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU), including CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and politburo member Prakash Karat, expressed solidarity with the students demanding a rollback of a recent fee hike on Monday and said the protest should not be seen as a "Left vs BJP" issue.

At a press conference here, they said the students of JNU always protested against issues in the country and raised concerns over the manner in which they were dealt with by the authorities.

New Delhi, Nov 26; GANASHAKTI: Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Shiv Sena, skipped a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on Constitution Day Tuesday to mark their protest against the BJP's alleged high-handedness in Maharashtra.

Upset over political developments in the state, the opposition parties, including the DMK, the SP, NCP and the Left parties, boycotted Constitution Day celebrations in the Central Hall of Parliament and held a joint protest in front of the Ambedkar statue inside Parliament complex.