March 15: Top news at 2 pm

Developing News

*Speaking on attacks on Indians in the US, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in the Lok Sabha that safety, security of Indian diaspora is a top priority of the govt.

*The J&K National Conference and Congress will jointly contest the upcoming bypolls to two Lok Sabha seats in a pre-poll alliance. NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah will contest from Srinagar and JK PCC chief GA Mir will contest from Anantnag seat.

Absconding former UP minister Gayatri Prajapati arrested

Rape-accused former UP minister Gayatri Prajapati was today arrested in Lucknow after remaining absconding for nearly a month. Senior Superintendent of Police, Lucknow, Manzil Saini told PTI that Prajapati was arrested from Aashiyana area of the city early this morning. He is likely to be produced before the POCSO Court later in the day, Saini said. Six persons named in the FIR against the 49-year-old SP leader have already been been picked up by the police. Police had yesterday interrogated the SP leader's two sons and nephew to get some inputs regarding his whereabouts. Prajapati was booked on a Supreme Court directive and an FIR was lodged on February 17 against the minister and six others for allegedly gang-raping a woman and alleged attempt to rape her minor daughter. In the just-concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Prajapati had lost to BJP from Amethi, the seat he held.

White House says Trump paid $38m in taxes, made $150m in 2005

The White House said that President Donald Trump made more than $150 million in income in 2005 and paid $38 million in income taxes that year. The acknowledgement came shortly before MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reported on two pages of Trump's 2005 tax forms on her Tuesday night show. The records were obtained by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston, who said he received the documented unsolicited, in the mail. The documents have become highly sought-after because Trump refused to release his tax returns during the election campaign, breaking a decades-long tradition. He claimed he was under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and said his attorneys had advised against it though experts and IRS officials said such audits don't bar taxpayers from releasing their returns. The White House pushed back pre-emptively on Tuesday night, saying that publishing those returns would be illegal.

Kejriwal alleges major EVM tampering in Punjab

EVM tampering may have led to AAP's poor showing in Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today alleged, saying around 20-25% of its votes may have been "transferred" to the SAD-BJP coalition. AAP's poor tally of 20 seats is "beyond understanding" and raises a "big question mark" on the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs) as political pundits across the spectrum had "predicted a landslide" for the party, he told a press conference in New Delhi. "How did the Akalis get 30% vote share when an AAP sweep was a foregone conclusion? No one said Congress will perform so well and it got a two-third majority. We suspect that 20-25% of AAP votes may have been transferred to SAD-BJP through EVM tampering," he said. It was Kejriwal's first media interaction after March 11, the day the Punjab Assembly poll results were declared. The AAP national convenor, however, did not refer to Goa where the party drew a blank.

Congress uproar over Governor' role in Goa, Manipur disrupts Rajya Sabha

Opposition Congress today forced three adjournments in the Rajya Sabha protesting the "stealing of mandate" in Manipur and Goa where it was not invited to form government despite being the single largest party. The House witnessed adjournment of proceedings thrice, twice during the Zero Hour and once during the Question Hour. Congress cited rulings by the Constitution benches of the Supreme Court to state that the Governor was bound to invite the party with the largest number of MLAs to form the government and prove its majority on the floor of the House. It alleged that the Governors in the two states, which in the recently concluded assembly elections threw up a hung assembly with Congress being the single largest party, were "acting at the behest" of the Centre. Congress members stormed into the Well of the House shouting slogans, forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn proceedings for 10 minutes.

Maharashtra ATS detains man from MP in ISIS case

A 26-year-old man was detained in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with a case related to terror outfit ISIS, officials said today. A team of officers from Nagpada unit of ATS Maharashtra picked up A Shaikh from his residence in Khargone city yesterday with the help of MP Police. He is being brought to Mumbai for questioning, a senior police official said in Mumbai. According to police, Shaikh, who has completed his MTech, was allegedly in constant touch with one of the accused in the case, who was earlier arrested for his alleged links with the banned terror group.