Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 6; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Documents related to the Rafale deal were published in public interest and nobody would get any information from The Hindu newspaper on the confidential sources who provided them, The Hindu Publishing Group Chairman N Ram said on Wednesday.

The documents were published because details were withheld or covered up, the veteran journalist said as the government told the Supreme Court that documents related to the Rafale aircraft deal have been stolen from the Defence Ministry and an investigation into the theft is on.

New Delhi, Mar 6; PTI/GANASHAKTI: The Centre has warned its employees of consequences if they go on strike on March 13 to protest against the New Pension Scheme (NPS), the Personnel Ministry has said in an order.

It has been brought to notice that the National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) has decided to organise dharna/demonstrations in front of Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, and across the country on March 13 in order to protest against the NPS, the ministry said.

New Delhi, March 5; GANASHAKTI: The Central Trade Unions and independent federations organised a workers convention at Constitutional Club Annexe on 5th March, 2019, with a view to adopt a Workers Charter of Demands to be placed in the electoral process about to begin for constitution of 17th Lok Sabha.

The Convention began by observing a minute’s silence to pay homage to the Pulwama martyrs of a terrorist attack.

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi donated Rs 21 lakh from his personal savings to the corpus fund for the welfare of sanitation workers of Kumbh Mela, his office said Wednesday.

The PM had felicitated sanitation workers who ensured cleanliness during the Kumbh recently by washing their feet. He also interacted with the sanitation workers, describing them as "real karma-yogis" whose contributions are being lauded all over.

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday reserved its order on whether the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute can be settled through mediation.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi heard the contesting parties.

The bench also comprising Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer heard submissions from various Hindu and Muslim bodies involved in the matter.

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) The Congress Wednesday alleged corruption and malfeasance in the Rafale fighter jet deal and said the time has come to lodge an FIR against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The corruption and malfeasance in Rafale deal is out in the open. PM Modi misused his office to give benefits to Dassault Aviation and caused loss to the public exchequer," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) India Wednesday said its first meeting with Pakistan to finalise the modalities for Kartarpur corridor would be held at the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border on March 14.

The announcement came a day after Pakistan said it would send a delegation to India on March 14 to discuss a draft agreement for setting up of the corridor to facilitate visa-free visit of Sikh pilgrims to the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib.

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) A day after rejecting an alliance with AAP for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Congress Wednesday claimed that nine MLAs of the ruling party in Delhi were in touch with it.

Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitendra Kochar claimed that the nine AAP MLAs wanted to join the Congress.

New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) Patidar leader Hardik Patel is said to join the Congress soon and is likely to contest the Lok Sabha election from Jamnagar constituency in Gujarat, top party sources said on Wednesday.

"Patel, who led the agitation demanding reservation for the patidar community in Gujarat is likely to join the Congress on March 12 in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi," the sources said.

The Jamnagar Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by Poonamben Maadam of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to a report published in The Hindu, Union government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the documents related to Rafale fighter aircraft deal have been stolen from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

A three-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph, began the open court hearing of the Rafale case.