Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today virtually inaugurate the National Mayors Conference to be held in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar.

In a tweet, Mr Modi said, with growing urbanization, it is important that we view it as an opportunity and work together towards building modern, futuristic cities.

As many as 121 mayors and deputy mayors of BJP-ruled urban local bodies across the country will participate in the two-day event, which is being organised by the party’s ‘sushasan (good governance) cell.

BJP national president JP Nadda will also attend the inaugural ceremony.

AIR correspondent reports, In his two-day visit, BJP Chief JP Nadda will participate in a host of events and hold meetings with local leaders at various places in the state. Mr. Nadda will flag off e-bikes at the BJP’s Kisan Morcha event near Gandhinagar today morning. The E-Bikes will travel to around 143 assembly constituencies of the state and reach out to the farmers of the state.

He will visit Rajkot in the afternoon to address a gathering of BJP’s elected representatives in urban, panchayat, and cooperative bodies. Mr Nadda will hold a road show in the neighboring Morbi town in the evening. He will attend ‘Viranjali’ event in Gandhinagar today evening, where artists will pay tributes to national heroes through their songs and plays.

Tomorrow, the BJP president will hold meetings with senior Gujarat BJP leaders at the party headquarters, Shree Kamalam in Gandhinagar.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri will also attend the event.  While Mr Fadnavis will share his vision for urban development and Mr Puri will brief the guests about various government schemes for urban local bodies.

Mayors, deputy mayors and other elected representatives of 18 states and union territories will participate in this conference and share their views on topics like waste management, traffic management and water-logging etc.

Mayors of Surat, Indore, Kanpur and Panaji will brief the audience about the work they have done in waste management, cleanliness and increasing revenue, among other areas.

 New Delhi, (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday recorded the statement of Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar for about six hours in connection with a second money laundering case being probed against him.

The 60-year-old Congress leader said the agency asked him about payments made by him and his brother to Young Indian, the owner company of Congress promoted newspaper National Herald.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her MP son Rahul Gandhi, apart from some other Congress leaders, have been questioned by the ED over the last few months in the National Herald money laundering case.

Shivakumar reached the federal agency’s office at A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi around 12 noon and was seen entering the office after getting a pass made from the front office.  Shivakumar, who was accompanied by a group of about four people, stepped out for lunch during lunch break and re-joined the session. He left after about six hours of questioning.  While exiting the ED office in evening, he told the media that he has been charge-sheeted by the agency in one money laundering case but he does not know what is the money laundering in this case that is allegedly linked to a disproportionate assets case, first investigated by the CBI.

“Surprisingly, they (ED officials) have asked me about the payment from one of my trust, from me and my brother, to Young Indian,” he told reporters.

He said he sought more time from the agency to furnish details about his assets and liabilities to them. The former Karnataka minister said he believed in the “law system” and knew that he will get justice.

“I have faith in the judicial system of India. One day I will be proven innocent of all charges. The political vendetta and harassment against me is the price I am paying for speaking up for the people of Karnataka, for speaking about issues such as unemployment and price rise,” he later tweeted.

The agency had issued him summons last week in the second money laundering case after taking cognisance of a 2020 CBI case linked to the alleged possession of disproportionate assets.    The CBI case was filed against Shivakumar and his family members on the allegations of possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs 74.93 crore.

The Congress leader, after receiving the latest ED summons, had said he was not aware of the case for which he had been asked to appear before the agency.

“In the midst of the #BharatJodoYatra and the Assembly session, they have again issued me an ED summons to appear. I am ready to cooperate but the timing of this summon and the harassment I am put through, is coming in the way of discharging my constitutional and political duties,” Shivakumar tweeted on September 15.

On September 3, 2019, the ED had arrested Shivakumar in another money laundering case and the Delhi High Court granted him bail in October that year.

In May this year, the agency filed a charge sheet against him and some others linked to him in the case. It was registered after taking cognisance of a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department against them in 2018 before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores of rupees.

The I-T department has accused Shivakumar and his alleged associates of transporting huge amounts of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through ‘hawala’ channels with the help of three other accused.

The former Karnataka cabinet minister played an instrumental role in ensuring the safe stay of Gujarat Congress MLAs in a Karnataka resort during the Rajya Sabha polls in 2017 amid allegations that the BJP was trying to poach them.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary, the late Ahmed Patel, had fought the Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat in 2017 and Shivakumar had hosted 44 Gujarat Congress MLAs at the resort to keep the flock together.

The ED had questioned his daughter Aishwarya too in the case after she was summoned to appear in Delhi. PTI 

A forensic team on Monday collected samples from the site of a school building where a crude bomb exploded in West Bengal’s Titagarh, officials said.''We have collected some samples and those would be sent to the lab,'' an official of the team told reporters.Four persons were arrested in connection with the blast on Sunday.The crude bomb exploded on the roof of the school building on Saturday when classes were in progress.There was no casualty in the incident, as students and teachers were in rooms located on the first two floors of the three-storeyed building, police had said.The BJP has demanded 

a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the explosion.

Mumbai,  (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced that an institution on the lines of Niti Aayog would be set up in the state for comprehensive data analysis and to make studied decisions on various sectors.

Speaking to reporters here, Fadnavis said, “A delegation led by Chief Minster Eknath Shinde met the chief executive officer and other officials of the Niti Aayog today. It was proposed that an institute of transformation on the lines of Niti Aayog would be set up to make studied decisions on various sectors. CM Shinde has given an in-principle nod to this suggestion.” The topics discussed during the meeting between the chief minister and the NITI Aayog officials ranged from monetisation of assets, blockchain in agriculture, transportation taking to alternative fuel or EV policy, non-conventional energy, drone in healthcare and agriculture, among others, he said.

The NITI Aayog has also carried an extensive study on similar issues and developed a tool, where inter-related data from various departments is collectively analysed for a better decision-making process, Fadnavis added.

“For instance, one department has details of an outbreak of disease, while another one possesses information about the location of contaminated water. If these two departments share their data, decision making would be more effective,” the deputy chief minister said.

“The trillion dollar economy proposal was also discussed with the Niti Aayog and we are trying to achieve it with its help,” he said.

The NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the central government, and the nodal agency tasked with catalysing economic development, and fostering cooperative federalism through the involvement of state governments in the economic policy-making process. It was set up in January 2015 by the Narendra Modi government to replace the Planning Commission. PTI 

 New Delhi, (PTI) With 4,858 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India’s tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,45,39,046, while the active cases increased to 48,027, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,28,355 with 18 fatalities, which includes eight deaths reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.11 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.71 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 105 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.76 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was at 1.78 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,39,62,664, while the case fatality rate was 1.19 per cent.

According to the ministry, 216.70 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4, three crore on June 23 last year and four crore on January 25 this year. PTI  

 Thiruvananthapuram, (PTI) Amid tension between Kerala’s Left Government and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, the latter has invited media to the Raj Bhavan on Monday where he is expected to release some documents and video clippings.

The Governor’s office said he would meet the press on Monday at 11.45 am at the Raj Bhavan here.

During the day, Khan said he would release to the media letters written by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to him assuring that there will be no interference from the government in the affairs of the universities in the state.

“Now instead of interference, they are trying to take control of the universities,” he said.

The Governor also said he would be put out some video clips, which are probably of the heckling incident he faced at Kannur University in December 2019 when he went there to inaugurate the Indian History Congress.

According to Khan, the heckling he faced there was part of a conspiracy to frighten him into not speaking in public and Vijayan allegedly told the police not to lodge a case in connection with that incident.

“The conspiracy was to frighten me into not speaking publicly. The VC of the Kannur University was used to ensure I was present on stage. Then, they planned to make an assault,” he claimed.

He also alleged: “The in-charge of the Home Department, the Chief Minister, had given specific instructions not to report it. Police were given instructions not to take cognisance. This was a cognisable offence under the IPC.” Khan, however, said that the alleged conspirators never wanted to kill him.

“Naturally, they did not want to kill me. They know what the consequences (of that) will be. They only wanted to frighten me,” he added. PTI 

 New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress chief Amarinder Singh is likely to join the BJP here on Monday in presence of its senior leaders.

The 80-year-old Singh will also merge his newly formed Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the BJP.

Singh had floated the PLC last year after quitting the Congress following his unceremonious exit as chief minister.

The PLC contested the elections in alliance with the BJP and the Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyuk).

However, none of its candidates could register a win, with Singh himself losing from his home turf of Patiala Urban.

Singh will join the BJP in the presence of its senior leaders in Delhi on Monday, PLC spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal had said.

The former Punjab chief minister recently returned from London following a spinal surgery, and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

After his meeting with Shah on September 12, Singh said he held a very productive discussion on various issues related to national security, rising cases of narco-terrorism in Punjab and the future roadmap for the state’s overall holistic development.

The two-time former chief minister is the scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family. PTI 

 At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 79.70 against the dollar

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 79.70 against the dollar

 The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 126.78 points to 55,270.75; the broader NSE Nifty fell by 36.95 points to 16,483.90

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday favoured a consensus for the post of the AICC chief and asserted that Rahul Gandhi will always have a "pre-eminent place" in the party irrespective of whether he is president or not as he is the "acknowledged leader" of the rank and file.  

So far, Rahul Gandhi has declined to take on the mantle of party presidency but may change his mind, the former Union minister and Congress Working Committee member said, just days ahead of the notification of polls to elect the AICC chief. 

In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram said there was no occasion for any controversy over the fairness and transparency of the party president polls and asserted that had central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry's last statement on the concerns of some of the leaders come on the first day, the matter would have stood resolved.

Underlining that it is not the practice of any political party to publish the roll of the electoral college, he said the PCC-wise electoral roll will be available for inspection at the office of the PCC concerned, while the all India electoral roll will be available for inspection at the office of the AICC.   

"Every nominated candidate will be entitled to a copy of the electoral roll. Mr Mistry has since clarified these self-evident points and the MPs have said they were satisfied. The matter is rested," Chidambaram said.  

Lok Sabha members Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram, Pradyut Bordoloi, and Abdul Khaleque, had written to Mistry, seeking clarity on the issue of electoral rolls, to which the party's poll panel chief had clarified that anyone wanting to file nomination for the post of Congress president will be able see the list of the over 9,000 PCC delegates at the AICC's central election authority office from September 20.  

P Chidambaram also asked if the media had raised such issues when the BJP or any other party held its party elections.   

"I cannot recall Mr J P Nadda asking for the electoral roll or filing his nomination!" he said.

Asked whether consensus or elections would be better for the post of AICC president, Chidambaram said while election is the default option, "the better course  and all parties follow this  is to elect a national president by consensus".   

"If my recollection is correct, Mr Nadda, and before him Mr Amit Shah, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Gadkari, were all elected by consensus," he said.  

On whether Gandhi will heed appeals of party workers and leaders, Chidambaram said he does not know the answer to that question.    

"Rahul Gandhi is the acknowledged leader of the rank and file of the party.  They want him to be the President of the party also. So far, he has declined. He may change his mind," the senior Congress leader told PTI.  

Asked whether the Gandhi family will continue to occupy a place of pre-eminence in the party if a non-Congress president is elected, Chidambaram cited the history of the Congress and pointed out that between 1921 and 1948 Mahatma Gandhi was the acknowledged leader of the Congress, and afterwards, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, one following the other, was the acknowledged leader of the party.  

Apart from the Leader, there were several persons who held the office of president of the party for one or two or three years. There have been periods in Congress' history when the Leader and the president was the same person, there have been long periods when the Leader and the president were different persons," he said. 

  The Rajya Sabha MP said that if Rahul Gandhi is elected Congress president, he will be both leader and president, but if he is not, he will remain the acknowledged leader of the party and there will be another person holding the office of president.  

"Rahul Gandhi will always have a pre-eminent place in the party," Chidambaram asserted.  

Asked if a non-Gandhi family person will command the same respect and authority, the senior leader said the office of Congress president carries with it a great tradition and history, vast powers and huge responsibilities.    

"I am certain whoever is elected Congress president will rise to the occasion and command respect among the leaders and the rank and file of the party," he added.  

The notification for the Congress president's election will be out on September 22 and the process for filing nominations will be held from September 24 to 30.  

The last date for the withdrawal of nominations is October 8 and the election, if required, will be held on October 17. The results will be out on October 19.  Talking about the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra that began on September 7 from Kanyakumari, Chidambaram said that from what he saw in Tamil Nadu on the first two days, and from what he has gathered from his colleagues in Kerala, a large number of dormant Congressmen and women and sympathisers came out of their homes and joined the padayatra for short or long distances.   

Many hundreds more stood on the roadside and welcomed and cheered Rahul Gandhi and the yatris, he said.    

"It means that the elephant has been awakened. Thousands of people are hearing an ancient, yet new, message: that this country cannot be allowed to be divided by hate or anger or communal conflict; that love and tolerance and fraternity will unite the people of the country; and that such unity alone can lay the basis for economic and social progress," Chidambaram said.    

This message is very different from the divisive and hate-filled messages that we have heard over the last seven years, he said.   

Chidambaram cited the lines from a poem written a hundred years ago by Tamil poet Subramania Bharati which translate to, "So that this country may arise as one, come forward to do a great deed! Come! Come!".    

"As this message resonates throughout the country, it will certainly rejuvenate and revive the Congress," he asserted.  

On the BJP's criticism of the yatra, Chidambaram said the ruling party was not prepared for the kind of response that the yatra has evoked and alleged that its leaders were resorting to misinformation, lies, mocking and abuse.