LIVE news updates: Jet Airways’ pilots body National Aviator’s Guild to meet again tomorrow; no decision taken

TDP youth wing, Telugu Nadu Students Federation's district president Tirumala Naidu leader has been attacked, today. He has been admitted to a hospital. More details awaited.

Jet Airways' pilots body National Aviator's Guild (NAG) will meet tomorrow again as no collective decision was taken in today's meeting. The Union hasn't yet issued any direction or passed any resolution on whether the pilots will fly from midnight due to non-payment of salaries.

Asked about a possible alliance with the Congress in Delhi, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said he and his party are ready to do anything to save the country from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.

Speaking to the media after a meeting of the opposition parties to discuss the issue of EVM malfunctioning in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal said that the country was in danger.

"The country is in danger and to save the nation from Modi-Shah duo we are ready to do anything. The efforts will continue till the end," the Delhi Chief Minister said.

Holding saffron flags and donning saffron headbands, playing religious songs in full thrust and chanting Lord Ram's name, thousands of Hindu right wing activists and supporters on Sunday took out Ram Navami rallies across West Bengal for the second consecutive day.

Several processions were taken out by right-wing Hindu outfits like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and the Hindu Jagaran Manch in various parts of Kolkata and the districts, many of which saw participation by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls at their respective constituencies.

According to the VHP, which planned 700 rallies in West Bengal this year, 12 major Ram Navami rallies were taken out in Kolkata till Sunday afternoon while more were planned.

Former Shiromani Akali Dal legislator Nand Lal passed away in a hospital in Punjab's Mohali on Sunday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 73.

Lal was a four-time MLA from Balachaur constituency. He is survived by two sons.

The Income Tax department on Sunday recovered ₹14.5 lakh from a senior separatist leader at the Srinagar airport when he arrived from New Delhi.

Informed sources said the IT department detained the leader, Aga Syed Hassan, after finding the money but he was later allowed to go home.

"He arrived on an Air India flight from Delhi after which he was detained by IT officials who recovered the money," an officer said.

"He was taken to a police station near the airport. He has been asked to justify the possession of the money.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is set to embark on a three-day river ride from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency of Varanasi to other eastern Uttar Pradesh districts, a party leader said on Sunday.

"She will travel on a motor boat at the end of this month and cover districts like Chandauli, Mau and Ballia," said the leader.

A month after Ravindra Jadeja's wife joined the BJP, the cricketer's father and sister joined the Congress in Gujarat on Sunday in the presence of party leader and Patidar quota spearhead Hardik Patel.

Jadeja's father, Anirudhsinh, and sister, Nainaba, joined the Congress at an election rally in Kalavad city of Jamnagar district. Jadeja hails from Jamnagar and the Congress candidate for Jamnagar Lok Sabha seat, Mulu Kandoriya, was also present.

Security forces unearthed a militant hideout in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday and recovered huge quantity of incriminating material, police said.

Acting on credible inputs, a joint team of police and security forces unearthed the hideout in Manduna village in Koil area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, a police spokesman said.

He said the security forces recovered huge quantity of incriminating material and other items from the hideout.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu says, “EC is acting under BJP, they are not correct, they have to act impartially which they are not doing. Also, we doubt even EVMs are under manipulation and that's why we are demanding 50% counting of VVPATs. They are not agreeing.”

NIA today arrested an Irshad Ahmad Reshi in connection with the attack on CRPF Group Centre, Lethpora (J&K). He is fifth accused to have been arrested in the case during follow up investigation upon disclosures of accused Nisar Ahmed Tantray and Syed Hilal Andrabi arrested earlier.

He will be produced before the Special NIA court tomorrow.

Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh on Sunday offered to resign from the Cabinet and also as a Rajya Member after the BJP fielded his son Brijendra Singh from the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana.

"I thought it proper that if my son gets nomination, I should resign from Rajya Sabha and also from the Ministry. So, I have written to (BJP President) Amit Shahji. I leave it to the party... I am ready to resign," he told reporters.

Abhishek Singhvi, Congress, at Opposition's press conference says, “Questions were raised after the 1st phase of election, we don't think EC is paying adequate attention. If you press the button before X Party,vote goes to Y party. VVPAT displays only for 3 seconds, instead of 7 seconds.”

“Names of Lakhs of voters are deleted online without physical verification. There is a long list the parties have given to EC. It has become even more necessary to count at least 50% of the paper trail of VVPAT. We will demand the same in Supreme Court.”

Congress General Secretary for eastern UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigns for party's MP candidate, Sushmita Dev, from Silchar parliamentary constituency.

Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSPL) chief Shivpal Yadav on Sunday said that corruption had increased in Uttar Pradesh because Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had no control over the bureaucracy.

Speaking to reporters, the former Samajwadi Party leader said: "I agree that Yogi Adityanath is an honest leader. But he lacks control over the state bureaucracy because of which corruption has increased and people are suffering."

Shivpal Yadav, who parted ways with the SP to start the PSPL last year, is contesting from the Firozabad Lok Sabha constituency against SP's Akshay Yadav, the son of his cousin and SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav.

BJP releases 20th list of 6 candidates in Haryana, MP and Rajasthan for the Lok Sabha elections. Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh's son Brijendra Singh to contest from Hisar (Haryana). One candidate for by-election to Uluberia Purba assembly constituency (WB) also named.

Infighting over spoils of office, control of the lucrative construction material businesses and factional feuds between the old guard and new members may adversely hit the chances of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, though to a very limited extent, party insiders and analysts say.

While a minister who was contacted disconnected the call when he was asked about the issue, a middle level Trinamool leader said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to take advantage of the ruling party's internal conflicts, especially after Banerjee's erstwhile second in command Mukul Roy crossed over to the saffron outfit.

However, political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty felt that BJP had smartly stoked the aspirations of a number of Trinamool leaders to take them in their fold.

SP President Akhilesh Yadav, says, “They say, as long as there is BJP govt, our borders are secure. We the people of Samajwadi Party believe that as long as there are brave soldiers at our borders, the borders are secure. Govts come and go but the jawans stay at the border, protecting India.”

Barauni-Sonpur passenger train collided with a poclain machine near Sahadai Buzurg railway station in Vaishali district this morning. No casualties have been reported.

2 people killed, 5 injured in Summit Air flight crash at Tenzing–Hillary-Lukla airport in Nepal. The aircraft had collided with a parked chopper at the airport.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted on occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti,“On Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s jayanti, let us re-dedicate ourselves to the 4 universal values of JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY enshrined in our Constitution. Those who pay him tributes on this day, while insidiously weakening these values, do his memory disservice.”

The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack at a vegetable and fruit market in Pakistan's city of Quetta.

The militant group said in a statement on Saturday that one of its members carried out the suicide attack that killed and injured several Shiite community members and Pakistani troops, Xinhua reported.

There was no official confirmation from the Pakistani side yet.

The Congress accused Modi government of writing off ₹5.5 lakh crore in loans of its "blue-eyed boys" and asked it to reveal the names of those corporate companies in respect of whom the loans were written off.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi accused the government of crony capitalism.

"This is nothing but one-sided favouritism of your blue-eyed boys, the blue-eyed corporate," he said.

Referring to a news report, he said the total write off was ₹7 lakh crore in the last 10 years and ₹5.5 lakh crore in the last five years.