Punitive fire assaults on Pak posts, says Army; releases video

New Delhi/Islamabad, May 23(PTI) The Indian Army today said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the Line of Control, inflicting "some damage", days after two of its troopers were beheaded.

It also released a video of the military action which showed some structures in a forested area crumbling in a heap under the impact of repeated shelling.

Pakistan Army, however, dismissed as "false", its Indian counterpart's assertion of destroying its posts in the Naushera sector.

Though the Indian Army did not give much operational details of the retributive assault across the Line of Control (LoC) against Pakistan Army positions in Naushera sector of Jammu and Kashmir which were "aiding" infiltration, sources in the force said the strike was carried out on May 9, nine days after two Indian security personnel were beheaded.

"A recent action by our troops in the Naushera Sector has caused some damage to the Pak Army posts, which are supporting infiltrations. This is part of our overall strategy to counter terrorism," Additional Director General of Public Information Maj Gen A K Narula told reporters here.

The government supported the Army's action, with Defence Minister Arun Jaitley saying it was to ensure peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Government supports the actions of Indian Army across LoC. Such actions are needed to ensure peace in J&K," Jaitley tweeted.

"Indian Army is taking preemptive and measured actions to counter terrorism in valley and disengage Pak posts across LoC supporting infiltration," he said.

"Indian claims of destroying Pakistani post along LoC in Naushera Sector and firing by Pakistan Army on civilians across LoC are false," Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor said in a tweet.

Sources in the Indian Army said the strike was a message to Pakistan that it will take stronger action with increased frequency against any infiltration attempts from across the border.

The 22-second video showed concrete structures being reduced to rubble amid plumes of smoke and balls of fire.

However, the area of the operation was not clearly identifiable in the clipping.

"As part of our counter-terrorism strategy and to ensure that infiltration is curbed and initiative remains with us, the Indian Army proactively dominates Line of Control.

"While doing so, locations aiding infiltration of terrorists are being targeted and destroyed to deny advantage to terrorists thus curbing infiltration attempts," said Maj Gen Narula. There was no official word on the casualty on the Pakistani side.

The Army sources said rocket launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and automatic grenade launchers and recoilless guns were used in the strike.

He said as part of the Army's counter-terrorism operations, "punitive fire assaults" across line of control are being undertaken.

"Pak Army has been providing support to armed infiltrators by engaging our forward troops from their weapon emplacements and pill-boxes closer to the Line of Control. At times they have not even hesitated to target villages in the proximity of Line of Control," he said.

Maj Gen Narula said infiltrations are likely to increase with melting of snow and opening of passes, and referred to the recent incident in Naugam where four terrorists were neutralised on May 20-21.

"This calls for even more proactive counter-terrorism operations.

"We want peace and tranquillity in the state of J&K. For this purpose, it is essential that the infiltrations along Line of Control are controlled which is essential to bring down the numbers of terrorists in J&K so that youths of J&K are not adversely influenced by terrorists," he said.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) will lead to lower tax burden in several commodities including packaged cement, Medicaments, Smart phones, and medical devices, including surgical instruments

The roll out of Goods and Services (GST) Tax will bring benefits to the consumers due to reduced tax rates on various commodities such as packaged cement, medicaments, smart phones, and medical devices, etc.

 Packaged cement attracts central excise duty of 12.5% + Rs.125 PMT and standard VAT rate of 14.5%. At these rates, the present total tax incidence works out to more than 29%. If we include tax incidence on account of CST, octroi, entry tax, etc., the present total tax incidence would work out to more than 31%. As against this, the proposed GST rate for cement is 28%.

 There will be lesser tax burden in case of Medicaments, including Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathic or Bio-chemic systemsalso. Medicaments, in general, attract 6% central excise duty and 5% VAT. Further, CST, octroi, entry  tax, etc. are also applicable in general. At these rates, the present total tax incidence works out to more than 13%. As against this, the proposed GST rate on medicines, including ayurvedic medicines, is 12%.

             Smart phone attracts 2% central excise duty [1% excise duty + 1% NCCD]. VAT rates vary from State to State from 5% to 15%. Weighted average VAT rate on smart phones works out to about 12%. Thus, the present total tax incidence on smart phones works out to more than 13.5%. As against this, the proposed GST rate for smart phones is 12%.

 Similarly, medical devices, including surgical instruments, in general attract 6% central excise duty and 5% VAT. Along with CST, octroi, entry tax, etc., the present total tax incidence on them works out to more than 13%. As against this, the proposed rate under GST is 12%.

Puja samagri including havan samagri will be under the Nil category. However, exact formulation for the same is yet to be finalized.

Iran must stop supporting 'terrorists', Trump says in Israel

Tel Aviv, May 22 (PTI) US President Donald Trump today said that there is a "rare opportunity" to bring peace to the Middle East as he denounced Iran for supporting "terrorists" and vowed never to allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons.

"I have found new reasons for hope," said Trump upon arriving at the Ben-Gurion International Airport.

"There is a rare opportunity to bring security and peace to the region, but we can only get there by working together," said Trump who arrived here from Riyadh in what is believed to be the first direct flight between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Trump went on to say that he met with leaders from across the Arab world in Saudi Arabia and reached "historic agreements" in fight against terror.

"On my first trip overseas as President, I have come to this sacred and ancient land to reaffirm unbreakable bond between us and Israel," Trump said during a welcome ceremony at the airport.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump on what he called a "truly historic" visit, which he viewed as a "powerful expression of your friendship".

Trump left for Jerusalem immediately after the welcome ceremony for his meeting with Rivlin at the President's House amid heightened security with all the major roads in Jerusalem completely gridlocked.

At Rivlin's residence, Trump lashed out at Iran.

"The United States and Israel can declare with one voice that Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon -- never ever -- and must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias," Trump said in remarks at Rivlin's residence.

"It must cease immediately," he said, referring to Iran's alleged involvement in arming and training militias.

During his stay in Saudi Arabia, Trump had accused Iran of fuelling "the fires of sectarian conflict and terror" in the region and called for its international isolation.

Earlier, Netanyahu applauded Trump's call for nations to do more to fight terrorism during his visit to Saudi Arabia.

"Israel shares the commitment to peace that you made yesterday. The peace we seek is genuine and durable, in which the Jewish state is recognised, security remains in Israel s hands, and the conflict ends once and for all," Netanyahu said while welcoming the US president at the airport.

"I hope this trip is a step on the path toward reconciliation and peace," he stressed.

The Israeli leader also noted that it was the first time that a US President has chosen to come to Israel during his first foreign trip after taking charge.

President Rivlin thanked Trump for his "commitment to Israel's ability to face the threats of today and of tomorrow".

The Israeli president emphasised that while the world, the Middle East, and Israel all need a strong United States, "the United States also needs a strong Israel".

"In the Middle East, an area that suffers from terrorism and madness, the alliance between the United States and Israel shines like a beacon of liberty and progress," Rivlin said.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu today and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas tomorrow.

He has called an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement "the ultimate deal", but has been vague about what form it should take.

At a summit in Riyadh yesterday, Trump called on Arab and Muslim leaders to take the lead in combating Islamist militants, urging them to "drive them out of this earth".

Pointing at Iran - Israel and Saudi Arabia's main foe in the region - the US President accused Tehran of fuelling the fires of sectarian conflict and terror.

Before meeting Netanyahu, Trump visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where according to Christian tradition Jesus was buried and resurrected.

Trump is also expected to visit the Western Wall, located in the Old City of East Jerusalem, in a private capacity in what would be the first such visit to Judaism's holiest site by a sitting US President.

The US President has been widely seen as considerably more supportive of Israel than his predecessor Barack Obama.

He has taken a softer position on the contentious issue of Israeli settlements, suggesting that their expansion rather than their presence might hamper the search for peace.

During his election campaign, Trump had expressed views that seemed to fit neatly with those of the right-wing Israeli government of Netanyahu favouring expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and a tough line towards Palestinian aspirations for independence.

However, after taking charge of Presidency his statements have been rather nuanced on the issue of settlements as well as regarding moving of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, causing some heartburn among his right-wing supporters here.

H C Gupta awarded 2-yr jail term in coal scam case

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Former coal secretary H C Gupta was today awarded two-year-imprisonment by a special court here in a coal scam case.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parasher also sentenced two senior government officials, K S Kropha and K C Samaria, for two-year imprisonment in the case.

Besides the jail term, the court also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each on the three convicts.

Besides them, the court imposed a fine of Rs one crore on convicted private firm Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd, while its Managing Director Pawan Kumar Ahluwalia was awarded three-year jail term by the court.

Ahluwalia will also have to pay a fine of Rs 30 lakh.

All the convicts were granted bail soon after the sentence was announced to enable them move the High Court.

Gupta and two serving senior officials were earlier convicted by the court for irregularities in the allocation of of the Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to a private firm.

Amid NDA's silence, opp to intensify efforts for jt prez candidate

New Delhi, May 21 (PTI) As the Centre's ruling NDA maintained silence over its nominee for the presidential poll, major opposition parties plan to intensify efforts for finalising a joint candidate for the top post for which they are likely to approach regional players.

Opposition sources said efforts are on to bring political rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party on the same page, while also trying to rope in Naveen Patnaik's BJD in Odisha.

Senior opposition leaders at the forefront of the move to field a joint candidate against the NDA nominee are likely to meet SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and Patnaik over the next few days.

They could also approach the BJP's ally Shiv Sena. The two oldest saffron partners have been locked in rancorous disputes despite being coalition partners in governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

The talk of a consensus candidate gained momentum after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke in favour of a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and prodded the NDA government to build a consensus around him.

The Congress, to which Mukherjee belonged before becoming the President, has so far been non-committal on a second term for him. "It is up to the government to bring about a consensus among all on a candidate it proposes," a senior Congress leader said, and maintained the Modi dispensation was unlikely to support Mukherjee for a second term.

Despite BJP's emphatic victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the NDA is still short of 20,000 electoral college votes to have the candidate of its choice occupy the top constitutional position.

The KCR Congress and the ruling TRS of Telangana have already promised to back the NDA nominee in the election.

Opposition sources said its candidate for the top post could be a non-Congressman. The names of former West Bengal governor, the euridite Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and JD(U) veteran Sharad Yadav are doing the rounds in political lobbies as possible opposition nominee.

The name of NCP chief Sharad Pawar has also been discussed by the opposition camp, but the astute Maharashtra politician has said he would not contest the poll.

The opposition, sources said, wanted to put up a candidate who has impeccable secular credentials, and who could "maintain secular supervision of the Indian Constitution." 

Congress president Sonia Gadhi has already held talks with key players like Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar, who is also the JD(U) president, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Sonia is likely to hold talks with some other leaders this week and among them could be BSP supremo Mayawati.

Sources in the Congress and some other parties said they wanted the opposition unity over the presidential election extended to the Lok Sabha election in 2019.

The Congress' communications department chief Randeep Surjewala said," All opposition parties including the Congress will work to build a consensus for a candidate with unquestionable record of dedication and commitment to the founding principles of Constitution, bereft of political colour or pressure from the ruling dispensation." 

"We want that India should have a president who can guide the government when it goes astray on being drunk with the brute majority and remind them of 'raj dharma'," he told PTI.

Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said the opposition should unite to put up a consensus candidate.

"We want secular supervision of Constitution. The President is the custodian of the Indian Constitution. We want a person whose secular credentials are impeccable," CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told PTI.

"The President should do a secular supervision of the Indian Constitution and not a communal supervision," he said.

The term of Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and the election has to take place before that.

"Kashmir is ours," says Rajnath, promises "permanent" solution

Pelling (Sikkim), May 21 (PTI) "Kashmir is ours, Kashmiris are ours and Kashmiriyat is also ours," Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today, asserting that the Modi government will find a "permanent solution" to the Kashmir problem.

The home minister's assertion came amid continued unrest in the Kashmir valley.

Addressing a public reception here in this tiny northeastern state, Singh accused Pakistan of trying to "destabilise" India by fomenting trouble in Kashmir.

"But I want to tell all of you that our government will find a permanent solution to the Kashmir issue," he said, without elaborating.

Kashmir is in a vice-like grip of violence since the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces in July last year. Though there was a brief lull, violence erupted again on April 9 this year when the bypoll to Srinagar Lok Sabha seat was held. Normalcy has eluded the state since.

Eight people were killed in firing by security forces on the polling day and a paltry 7.14 per cent of the electors came out to vote, the lowest ever in the valley since the rise of militancy in 1989.

Bypoll for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat was first deferred and then cancelled by the Election Commission which said the situation in the region was "scary".

Students have joined the protests like never before with even girls taking to streets, and fighting pitched battles with security forces.

Around 80 people had lost their lives as violence held the valley in a prolonged stranglehold in the aftermath of the killing of Burhan Wani, who had emerged as the posterboy of militancy in Kashmir.

Rajnath Singh said heads of government of all neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, were invited to the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi government in 2014 in an indication that India wanted friendly relations with them.

However, he deplored, there was no change in the "attitude" of Pakistan which wanted to "destabilise" India.

"We hope that Pakistan will change. If it does not change, we will have to change them. After globalisation, one country can't destabilise another country as the international community will not forget it," he said.

The home minister is on a three-day visit to Sikkim during which he attended a conference of Himalayan states to review the security situation and development activities along the Sino-Indian border.

He also visited the Nathu La border post, besides a few posts of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and SSB along the Sino-India and Indo-Nepal border respectively.

EVM challenge to start from June 3: EC

New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) The challenge to prove that EVMs can be tampered with will start from June 3, the Election Commission announced today, asserting that the machines are tamper-proof.

The announcement came over a week after the Election Commission threw down the gauntlet to political parties to prove that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) used in the recent assembly polls were tampered with.

"The EVM challenge will start from June 3," Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said, addressing a press conference.

He said people who had questioned reliability of EVMs have not yet submitted any proof or credible material to support their claim.

Zaidi said replacement of the internal circuit of EVMs is not possible at all.

"Our EVMs have strong technological features and are tamper-proof," he said.

Zaidi rubbished the Aam Aadmi Party's claim that EVMs could be tampered with, and said no manipulation of the machines is possible.

He also said that improving the election process is a responsibility of all stakeholders and the EC is taking all necessary steps in this regard.

Several major opposition parties had claimed that the faith of people in the machines has eroded.

The BSP and AAP had alleged that the machines used in the recent assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa and Punjab were tampered with and favoured the BJP. Later, several other parties had joined the chorus and waned the EC to revert to paper ballots.

The EC has already announced that it will ensure paper trail of voting in all future elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.

ICJ stays Jadhav's execution

The Hague, May 18 (PTI) The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today stayed the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistan military court on charges of espionage and subversive activities.

In a major boost to India, which has moved the UN's highest judicial body against the death sentence, the ICJ instructed Pakistan to take all "necessary measures at its disposal" to ensure that Jadhav was not executed pending a final decision by it.

The decision of the 11-judge bench was unanimous, ICJ President Ronny Abraham said while reading out the verdict.

The ICJ said that India should have been granted consular access to its national as per the Vienna Convention to which both countries have been signatories since 1977.

The ICJ asserted its jurisdiction over the case of the 46-year-old former Indian Navy officer while noting that the circumstances of his arrest remain disputed.

The ruling came three days after India and Pakistan gave their submissions in the case.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

Jadhav's case is the latest flashpoint in the tensions between Pakistan and India.

On May 8, India moved the ICJ against the death penalty, alleging violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. On May 9, the global court stayed the death sentence as a provisional measure.

Heated exchanges between Jaitley and Jethmalani in HC

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) Heated exchanges were witnessed between Union Minister Arun Jaitley and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani in the Delhi High Court today during the former's cross-examination in a defamation case against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The recording of Jaitley's statement in a civil defamation suit of Rs 10 crore filed by him against Kejriwal and other AAP functionaries could not continue as the Minister objected to the use of a word against him by the veteran lawyer representing the Chief Minister.

The Finance Minister, who appeared before Joint Registrar Deepali Sharma, lost his cool and asked Jethmalani whether the word was used as per instructions from Kejriwal.

"If this is so, I would aggravate the charges against the defendant (Kejriwal)," Jaitley said, adding that there was a limit to personal malice.

Senior advocates Rajiv Nayar and Sandeep Sethi, who were representing Jaitley, also said that Jethmalani was putting scandalous questions and should restrain himself from asking irrelevant ones "as this matter is Arun Jaitley versus Arvind Kejriwal and not Ram Jethmalani versus Arun Jaitley".

To this, Jethmalani said he used the word on the instruction of Kejriwal.

However, Anupam Srivastav, advocate on record for Kejriwal since the beginning of the suit, submitted that he had no instruction on the use of the word.

A group of lawyers including Jethmalani who were defending the AAP leaders also maintained that Jaitley was not entitled to a claim of Rs 10 crore on account of his alleged defamation.

Jaitley has filed the civil defamation suit seeking Rs 10 crore damages from Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders -- Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Deepak Bajpai -- for accusing him of financial irregularities in the DDCA of which he was the President from 2000 to 2013.

The verbal exchange between Jethmalani and Jaitley started when the former asked a question alleging that his article on irregularities in DDCA could not get published in a weekly magazine at the instance of the Finance Minister.

Jethmalani also alleged that the article pertained to the corruption in DDCA during the period when Jaitley was its President.

The question, however, was disallowed by Joint Registrar observing that she had already termed the article irrelevant on day of recording of the statement on the ground that it was not connected with the instant case. Jethmalani, however, insisted that it was.

He also alleged that Jaitley was "deceiving the people by concealing his guilt of crime." 

The counsel representing the Finance Minister vehemently opposed the choice of words by Jethmalani saying he must stop insulting the minister.

However, as Jethmalani continued his attack, the Joint Registrar objected to it and said the senior lawyer and other advocates were crossing the limit and should allow the court to proceed in the matter.

The court listed the matter for further cross-examination on July 28 and July 31 after Kejriwal's counsel asked the court to defer it.

Sensex, Nifty extend bull run, hit record highs

Mumbai, May 17 (PTI) Markets ended at record highs for the third straight session on Wednesday on sustained foreign inflows and persistent buying by retail investors buoyed by the early onset of monsoon and encouraging quarterly earnings.

The BSE Sensex closed at a new peak of 30,658.77, while the broader Nifty finished at an all-time high of 9,525.75 (rpt) 9,525.75.

After opening weak, the Sensex zoomed to hit yet another record intra-day high of 30,692.45, before slipping to 30,519.14 on profit-booking.

It finally finished at 30,658.77, up 76.17 points, or 0.25 per cent, surpassing the previous record close of 30,582.60 hit yesterday.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty ended at 9,525.75, up 13.50 points or 0.14 per cent, breaking its previous record closed of 9,512.25 hit in yesterday's trade.