White House asks Congress to probe if Obama ordered wiretap

File photo: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) greets President-elect Donald Trump at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as president on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By John Whitesides and James Oliphant | WASHINGTON

The White House asked the U.S. Congress on Sunday to examine whether the Obama administration abused its investigative authority during the 2016 campaign, as part of an ongoing congressional probe into Russia's influence on the election.

The request came a day after President Donald Trump alleged, without supporting evidence, that then-President Obama ordered a wiretap of the phones at Trump's campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in New York.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump and administration officials would have no further comment on the issue until Congress has completed its probe, potentially heading off attempts to get Trump to explain his accusations.

"Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling," Spicer said in a statement.

Trump made the wiretapping accusation in a series of early morning tweets on Saturday amid expanding scrutiny of his campaign's ties to Russia. An Obama spokesman denied the charge, saying it was "a cardinal rule" that no White House official interfered with independent Justice Department investigations.

Under U.S. law, a federal court would have to have found probable cause that the target of the surveillance is an "agent of a foreign power" in order to approve a warrant authorizing electronic surveillance of Trump Tower.

"There was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time as a candidate or against his campaign," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who left the office at the end of Obama's term, said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The White House offered no evidence on Sunday to back up Trump's accusation and did not say it was true.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, appearing on ABC's "This Week," said Trump has "made very clear what he believes, and he's asking that we get down to the bottom of this. Let's get the truth here."

Democrats said Trump was trying to distract from the rising controversy about possible ties to Russia. His administration has come under pressure from Federal Bureau of Investigation and congressional investigations into contacts between some members of his campaign team and Russian officials during his campaign.

Trump, who is spending the weekend at his Florida resort, said in his tweets on Saturday that the alleged wiretapping took place in his Trump Tower office and apartment building in New York, but there was "nothing found."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Trump had either made a false accusation, or a judge had found probable cause to authorize a wiretap.

"Either way, the president's in trouble," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press," adding that if Trump was spreading misinformation, "it shows this president doesn't know how to conduct himself."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last week he would stay out of any probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election after it emerged he met last year with Russia's ambassador, although he maintained he did nothing wrong by failing to disclose the meeting.

Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned in February after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office.

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary under President Obama, said the president did not have the authority to unilaterally order a wiretap of a U.S. citizen.

"The president was not giving marching orders to the FBI about how to conduct its investigation," he said on ABC.

PIL not a weapon to challenge financial decisions: RBI to HC

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Public interest litigation (PIL) cannot be used as a "weapon to challenge financial or economic decisions", the RBI has told the Delhi High Court opposing a plea against the surcharge on credit and debit card transactions.

The plea has alleged that the surcharge levied by the banks and the financial institutions on credit and debit card transactions was "illegal" and "discriminatory".

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has urged a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal to dismiss the PIL.

"The decisions are taken by the RBI in exercise of its administrative/statutory powers and in public interest.

"The issues in the writ petition pertain purely to the economic policy of the state and the challenge to the same at the instance of a public-spirited person cannot fall within the parameters of PIL, as has been laid down by the Supreme Court from time to time," the RBI submitted.

The response of the federal bank came on the PIL filed by advocate Amit Sahni who alleged that though Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation move was beneficial, the decision to levy surcharge on credit and debit card transactions was "highly unfortunate".

"The issue raised in the present petition almost affects everyone operating a bank account," the plea said, adding that the "unlawful, unequal and arbitrary treatment is visible in the payment of petrol charges through credit and debit cards".

The lawyer said that levying surcharge is not only illegal and discriminatory but it also promotes circulation of black money.

The RBI, however, refuted the petitioner's contention and said that it has neither violated any fundamental right or any legal right of the petitioner or any citizen of India.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Inaugurates ‘Training of Self-Organized Small & Medium Traders on Digital Payment Initiatives’

The Minister appeals to the business community to turn digital transaction into a national movement

The Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and law & Justice, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadtoday called for a national movement to make digital transaction a way of life for all sections of the society. Speaking at the inauguration of On-boarding of self organized small and medium businesses / traders on digital payment initiatives – project entrusted to the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, he said, “The objective of ushering in transparency in the system along with reducing corruption wave can only be achieved with evolved participation of all sections of the society.”

The minister further added, “The Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has resolved to work towards making India a digitally advanced country which serves as a role model for the developing world and the objective of reaching this goal has been rested with the ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.”

The objective of these training programmes is to understand and adopt simplified digital payment mechanisms like UPI, USSD, BBPS, AEPS etc. in a convenient manner, which would contribute towards establishing digital economy and convey the benefits of digital payments to traders through capacity building programs. About 13500 small and medium unorganized / self organized businesses/ traders are targeted. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) shall be mobilizing traders and trade union leaders for training on digital payment initiatives. Under this programme, NIELIT shall be organizing 5 Regional Workshops at Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and 30 State Workshops and 100 DigiDhan Camps, all over India.

The nation-wide campaign to launch the training programs was inaugurated by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice in the presence of Shri Sanjiv Mittal, Joint Secretary, MeitY, Dr. Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Director General, NIELIT and Shri Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)at the Auditorium, SCOPE Convention Centre, SCOPE Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

In his address, Shri Sanjiv Mittal, Joint Secretary, MeitY said, “With the increase in mobile penetration, citizens and traders have started switching to digital mediums for financial transactions. Mobile as a Point of Sale (PoS), Point of Purchase (PoP) and Point of Acceptance (PoA) is also lessening the digital divide between urban and rural India, along with drawing the masses into the net of financial inclusion. Post demonetization, NIELIT through its PAN India centres, accredited training partners and facilitation centres has been making appreciable efforts in promotion of digital payment initiatives. Capacity building of SMEs and traders on digital payment by NIELIT trainers is another nugget to take forward Government’s untiring efforts for creation of a digitally vibrant society, which is also in line with the ‘Digital India’ mission.”

Dr. Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Director General, NIELIT outlined the details of the programme for training of traders on digital payment initiatives. He further said, “All NIELIT Centres have been geared up to ensure that the training targets are achieved within 2-3 months. At NIELIT, use of cash as a mode for making payment to vendors/suppliers has been discontinued since 2014.I express my gratitude to representatives from UIDAI and SLBs for organizing live demonstration including hands-on training to the traders. On successful completion of the one day training programme by the traders, a certificate of participation shall also be issued. It is worthwhile to mention that the bouquet of Digital Literacy courses offered by NIELIT has already been retrofitted with a module on financial inclusion developed by the Ministry of Finance.”

Shri Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, “The DigiDhancamps shall be organized in the market itself to digitally educate the shopkeepers and merchants. CAIT has touch based with its member and market associations throughout India and the main purpose of the Regional and State Workshops would be to create momentum and vibrancy among the self-organized and informal trading community. These Regional Workshops would also serve as Master Training on Digital Payment Modes for traders, who would be involved with further proliferation and promotion of digital payment initiatives among their fellow traders.”

“Digital transaction will get a massive boast with the implementation of the GST. I appeal to the Government to provide required training on GST to the traders and merchants to make it a huge success,” added Mr. Khandelwal.

The event was attended by more than 200 traders, besides senior officials of the Government

84 pc voter turnout in first phase of Manipur polls

Imphal, Mar 4 (PTI) Manipur recorded a tentative 84 per cent voter turnout in the first phase of polling for the 60-seat state assembly today.

Polling was held in 1,643 polling stations in 38 constituencies across the twin districts of Imphal East and Imphal West, Bishnupur and the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi.

The figure is tentative as reports from 28 polling stations are to yet be received due to lack of proper communication, Chief Electoral Officer V K Dewangan told reporters here.

He said 77.18 per cent polling was recorded in the same constituencies in the 2012 Assembly elections.

He said there was alleged threat to voters by unidentified troublemakers at Saikul constituency in Kangpokpi district and investigations would be made.

The second phase of election in the remaining 22 constituencies is scheduled to be held on March 8.

Rivals to get "electric shock" after UP poll results: Modi

Mirzapur (UP), Mar 3 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said BJP's rivals SP, BSP and Congress will get "electric shocks" when the results of UP assembly elections are announced.

Modi's sharp riposte came in response to a remark by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who had asked him to touch an electric wire to see if current flows through it.

On the campaign trail, Modi has been attacking the Samajwadi Party government over "poor" power supply in the state and also controversially accused it of discrimination in its distribution along religious lines, a charge rubbished by the Chief Minister.

"On March 11, election results will give electric shock to SP, BSP and Congress," he said.

"Akhilesh has dared me to touch an electric wire to find out whether power is really there or not. His new friend Rahul Gandhi, during his 'khaat sabha' at Madihan in Mirzapur, however, had touched the wire and told his party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad that there was nothing to worry as there is no power in the line," Modi said.

"This is the acceptance of your new friend. Do I need touch the wires any more? Akhileshji, now people have spread such a current that will give shocks to SP, BSP and Congress on March 11," he said.

Rahul had launched a 'khat sabha' campaign, much before the SP and Congress got into an alliance for the state assembly election, where the Congress vice president would interact with the village folk seated on cots to understand their problems and find solutions. One 'khat sabha' saw villagers run away with the cots after the meeting had ended.

Modi said people had run away with the cots as those belonged to them and they would now ensure the defeat of Congress.

Referring to the alleged decline of the famous brassware industry in Mirzapur, Modi alleged it was "ruined" because of lack of electricity.

"Had there been adequate power supply and had the brassware industry been functional, the young would not have been forced to move out to Gujarat and Maharashtra for employment. Youths do not get jobs in UP also because of nepotism and casteism," he said.

The Prime Minister also accused the SP government of corruption, claiming bribe had to paid for getting a work done, from lodging a police complaint to securing jobs and pensions.

"If you want to lodge a police complaint or even if you don't want to get it lodged at a police station, it's fixed as to how much you have to pay. Similarly, for getting pensions, jobs and ration cards too, the rates are fixed," he alleged.

"If you want to get rid of this, you have to defeat the SP, BSP and the Congress," he said.

Attacking BSP supremo Mayawati, Modi said she had taken stones from Mirzapur for construction of her statues when she was in power. However, when an enquiry started, she claimed the stones were from Rajasthan.

"You tell me why she has so much hatred even for stones of Mirzapur. Why should you vote for such people at all?" he said.

Indo-Nepal border sealed a day before sixth phase of UP Polls

Mahrajganj(UP), Mar 3 (PTI) The Indo-Nepal border has been sealed, 24 hours before the polling in the sixth of the seven phased Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls begins tomorrow.

Voting for 49 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats will be held on March 4.

"The 84 km long Indo-Nepal border will be sealed 24 hours prior to the start of voting and will remain so till the end of polling on March 4. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) will enforce the sealing. Only emergency vehicles will be allowed across the border during this period," said District Electoral Officer Virendra Kumar Singh.

Cameras have been installed on trade and transit points along India's border with Nepal to prevent illegal movement of people during polling.

He said two such cameras have already been set up at Sonauli Indo-Nepal Border of Maharajganj district on India-Nepal border.

Five Assembly seats in the district- Siswa, Nautanwa, Frenda, Paniyara and Maharajganj - are going to polls in the penultimate phase-VI of UP Assembly polls tomorrow.

Market changes course, Sensex gives up 145 pts

Mumbai, Mar 2 (PTI) Stocks frittered away a good beginning today as the Sensex stumbled and lost about 145 points to end at 28,840 after investors moved in to take profit towards the close amid a lower opening in Europe.

Both the Sensex and the Nifty even touched nearly 2-year highs (March 2015) in their early sessions.

Asia saw a mixed closing and Europe a lower opening amid growing optimism of Fed rate hike bets this month, which may suck out capital from emerging markets, traders said. The US markets yesterday closed at a new high.

The BSE index ended down 144.70 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 28,839.79 after moving between 29,145.62 and 28,784.31 intra-day.

The BSE barometer had gained by 241.17 points in the previous session on the back of strong GDP data for the December quarter and positive global cues.

The NSE Nifty closed lower by 46.05 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 8,899.75 after hitting 8,992.50 -- the highest since March 3, 2015. It also touched a low of 8,879.80.

As many as 22 stocks in the Sensex group fell and only 8 rose.

Market started on a strong footing, picking up cues from global markets on growing optimism about corporate tax cuts and other policy proposals as referred to by US President Donald Trump during his speech before the Congress.

Barring auto, all sectoral indices ended lower with realty, power, PSU, healthcare, oil and gas, FMCG and bank down by up to 4.34 per cent.

Wockhardt fell sharply by 4.95 per cent after the company said the US health regulator has issued a warning letter to its step-down subsidiary Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Adani Ports plunged 3.07 per cent followed by Sun Pharma (2.63 per cent), NTPC (2.50 per cent), Bharti Airtel (1.71 per cent) and Dr Reddy's (1.98 per cent).

Auto stocks buzzed for the second straight day after release of monthly sale numbers as the BSE auto index gained 0.28 per cent. Tata Motors shot up 2.66 per cent, the best show among Sensex scrips, after the company yesterday reported a jump in total sales in February.

The mid-cap index fell 1.41 per cent and small-cap 1.30 per cent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 198.27 crore yesterday, showed provisional data.

Regional markets were mostly mixed, with China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.52 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.20 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.88 per cent.

Europe too was in the grip of weakness in its early session. .

Varsities should be place of debate, not violence: Prez

Kochi, Mar 2 (PTI) Advocating free thinking in university campuses, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said students and faculties must engage in "reasoned discussion and debate rather than propagating a culture of unrest"

He also said it was tragic to see students caught in the vortex of violence and disquiet

His comments come in the backdrop of the ongoing tussle between RSS-affiliate ABVP and Left-backed AISA supporters in the Delhi University and a raging debate over free speech and nationalism following recent tweets of one of the varsity's students Gurmehar Kaur

"It is tragic to see them (students) caught in the vortex of violence and disquiet," Mukherjee said while delivering the sixth K S Rajamony Memorial Lecture here

Underlining ancient glorious culture of universities in the country, he said, "Our premier institutions of higher education are the vehicles on which India has to propel itself into a knowledge society." 

"These temples of learning must resound with creativity and free thinking," he said.

Mukherjee also cautioned against the exploitation of "fault lines" in the society, intolerance and attack on women

He said there should be no room in the country for the "intolerant Indian" as this nation has been a bastion of free though, speech and expression since ancient times

The society has always been characterised by the open contestation of diverse schools of thought and debate as well as discussion, the President said

"Freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution

There must be space for legitimate criticism and dissent," he said

The views of Kaur, daughter of an army officer killed in action against militants, evoked sharp reaction from Union minister Kiren Rijiju who went on to ask, "who is polluting her mind"

Kaur was allegedly threatened with rape on her Facebook page and was mocked by sportspersons and celebrities who questioned her pacifist approach

"Protection and safety of our women and children must be a nationwide priority. The acid test of any society is its attitude towards women and children. India should not fail this test," he said

In terse comments, Mukherjee said he does not consider a society or State to be civilised if its citizens' behaviour towards women is uncivilised

"When we brutalise a woman, we wound the soul of our civilisation. Not only does our Constitution guarantee equal rights to women but our culture and tradition also celebrate the feminine as divine," he said. .

Pak created terror outfits, now 'monster' devouring it: India

Geneva/New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Pakistan created terror outfits against India and the "monster" is now devouring its own creator, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva said today.

Addressing the 34th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Ambassador Ajit Kumar hit out at Pakistan for destabilising the situation in Jammu and Kashmir by promoting infiltration and cross-border terrorism, inciting, promoting and glorifying violence.

Asserting that terrorism is the "grossest violation of human rights", he said members will recognise the irony of a nation that has established a well-earned reputation of being a "global epicentre of terrorism holding forth on human rights".

"Pakistan has created terrorist outfits against India.

This monster is now devouring its own creator," Kumar said, adding that in the last two decades, the most wanted terrorists of the world have found "succour and sustenance" in Pakistan.

The fundamental reason for disturbances in parts of Jammu and Kashmir is cross-border terrorism aided and abetted by Pakistan, he said, noting that for many years now, Islamabad has been carrying out an intense campaign to destabilise the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

He further emphasised that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the situation there is an internal matter of the country.

The central government and democratically elected state government have led a system-wide effort last year to restore normalcy in the state in the wake of Pakistan-supported violent unrest, he said in the session's 'General Segment'.

India would also like to point out that Pakistan's unwarranted references to UNSC resolutions are "grossly misleading as Pakistan was required to vacate the parts of the State of J&K under its illegal and forced occupation," Kumar said. .

India test-fires indigenous supersonic interceptor missile

Successful Test Firing of AAD Endo-Atmospheric Interceptor Missile

Balasore/New Delhi, Mar 1 : India today successfully test-fired an indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile capable of destroying any incoming enemy missile at low altitude, a feat which reflects the country's Ballistic Missile Defence prowess.
The Defence Ministry said all the mission objectives were successfully met during the test-firing of the endo- atmospheric missile from Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha.

This the second time that the missile has been test-fired in less than a month and is part of an effort to put in place a multi-layer missile defence system.

"The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 km successfully destroyed the incoming missile. All the mission objectives were successfully met," the Defence Ministry said.

DRDO conducted the successful launch of the interceptor missile Advanced Area Defence (AAD) at 1015 hrs today from Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 kms successfully destroyed the incoming missile. All the mission objectives were successfully met.

The weapon system radars tracked the target and provided the initial guidance to the interceptor which could precisely home on to the target and destroyed it in endo-atmospheric layer. The complete event including the engagement and destruction was tracked by a number of electro-optical tracking systems using infrared imagery. Radars and telemetry stations tracked the target and the interceptor till the destruction of the target. The launch has proved the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) prowess of the country.

The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar congratulated DRDO on the successful launch of the interceptor missile. Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D Dr. S. Christopher also congratulated team AAD for the successful test firing."The launch has proved the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) prowess of the country," the Ministry said.

Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri and Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems), DRDO Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy monitored the launch operation along with other senior officials.

Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Director General (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy monitored the launch operation along with other top officials.

The Ministry said the complete event including the "engagement and destruction" was tracked by a number of electro-optical tracking systems using infrared imagery.

Radars and telemetry stations tracked the target and the interceptor till the destruction of the target.

"Today's test launch was conducted in order to validate various parameters of the interceptor in flight mode," a defence official said, adding it was a low altitude trial.

The interceptor was engaged against a target which was a Prithvi missile launched from launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore, taking up the trajectory of a hostile ballistic missile.

The target missile was launched at about 10.10 hours from Chandipur.

After about four minutes the interceptor, Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile positioned at Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal, getting signals from tracking radars, roared through its trajectory to destroy the incoming hostile missile in mid-air, in an endo-atmospheric altitude, the official said.

"The mission was excellent and it was a direct hit," said a scientist of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).

The interceptor is a 7.5-m-long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator, the official said.

The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars, the official added.

On February 11, an incoming hostile ballistic missile target was successfully intercepted at high altitude, above 50 km of the earth's atmosphere by an exo-atmospheric interceptor missile off the Odisha coast.

Earlier, a low altitude (endo-atmospheric) test of AAD missile was successfully test launched on May 15, 2016 from the same base.