HIGHLIGHTS

New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION PAR41 LS-PM-2NDLD MAHAKUMBH

Maha Kumbh strengthened India's spirit of unity: PM Modi New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the recent Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj was a defining moment in India’s history, much like the revolt of 1857 and the Dandi March of Mahatma Gandhi that inspired the nation and paved the way for independence.

BOM34 MH-LDALL NAGPUR VIOLENCE

Nagpur violence premeditated, ‘Chhava’ reignited people’s emotions: Fadnavis Nagpur: More than 50 persons have been taken into custody and curfew imposed in parts of Nagpur, a day after protests against Aurangzeb’s tomb triggered violence in the city, which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed was premeditated.

DEL67 DEF-RAJNATH-LD NETHERLANDS

Rajnath urges Netherlands counterpart to ensure Dutch firms don't provide weapons, tech to Pak New Delhi: Conveying his concern over cross-border terrorism, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged his counterpart from the Netherlands, Ruben Berkelmans, to ensure that Dutch companies do not provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan, sources said.

PAR40 LS-3RDLD ADJOURN

Lok Sabha adjourned for day amid oppn protests over PM's Maha Kumbh remarks, demand for discussion New Delhi: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Tuesday amid noisy protests by opposition members seeking to ask questions on the statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Maha Kumbh.

DEL61 DIALOGUE-LD JAISHANKAR

Jaishankar cites Pak's 'longest-standing' illegal occupation of part of J-K to highlight flaws in world order New Delhi: India endured Pakistan's "longest-standing" illegal occupation of a part of Jammu and Kashmir since 1948 and the "invasion" was made a "dispute", External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday, highlighting the West's selective application of global rules.

DEL40 DIALOGUE LD GABBARD

Trump's 'America first' approach should not be misunderstood as 'America alone': Tulsi Gabbard New Delhi: US President Donald Trump's policy of "America First" should not be misunderstood as "America alone" as it is similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to "India first", US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Tuesday.

CAL19 ED-LALU-4THLD SUMMONS

Rabri Devi, Tej Pratap appear before ED in land-for-jobs case; Lalu Prasad summoned on Wednesday Patna/New Delhi: Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi and her MLA son Tej Pratap Yadav on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate, which has also summoned her husband and RJD president Lalu Prasad for questioning in the land-for-jobs money laundering case, official sources said.

DEL64 PM-LD ILAIYARAAJA

PM Modi meets Ilaiyaraaja, hails him as 'trailblazer in every sense' New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met renowned musician and composer Ilaiyaraaja and said he made history by presenting his first-ever Western classical symphony, Valiant, in London a few days ago.

PAR45 RS-BUD-LD MAKE-IN-INDIA

Believe in Make In India, it is giving good results: Sitharaman to Opposition New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday brushed aside the Opposition's criticism of the 'Make in India' scheme, saying it is yielding "good results" as the government has taken multiple steps to strengthen the manufacturing sector, including defence production.

DEL51 RS-TMC-WALKOUT

TMC MPs stage walkout over FM's reply on Manipur budget in RS New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MPs on Tuesday staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha saying they were dissatisfied with the "superficial" reply of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on a debate on the Manipur budget.

DEL55 EC-LD VOTER CARDS

EC, UIDAI experts to soon begin technical consultations on Aadhaar-voter card seeding New Delhi: The EC on Tuesday said linkage of voter cards with Aadhaar would be done according to the prevailing law and the Supreme Court's directions and added technical consultations between its experts and UIDAI for the exercise would "begin soon".

NAGPUR VIOLENCE-REAX

Opposition blames BJP for Nagpur violence, MoS Athawale says 'Chhaava' stoked anger New Delhi: (PTI) Opposition MPs on Tuesday blamed the BJP-led Maharashtra government for the Nagpur violence, while Union minister Ramdas Athawale said the movie 'Chhaava' stoked people's sentiments against 17th century Mughal king Aurangzeb.

MDS13 TN-FISHERMEN-ARREST-CM

CM Stalin apprises Jaishankar of more fishermen arrests by Sri Lanka, urges action Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday apprised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that three Tamil Nadu fishermen who ventured for fishing from Rameswaram have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy and sought action for release of all the 110 fishermen in custody, and prevent further arrests.

LEGAL LGD32 SC-RAPE

SC upholds man's conviction for raping minor girl in 1986 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a man's conviction by the trial court for raping a minor girl in 1986 and lamented the nearly four-decade long wait of the survivor and her family members for the closure to a "horrific chapter" of their lives.

LGD31 SC-BUILDER-BANK NEXUS

SC seeks CBI roadmap to unravel builder-banks nexus duping homebuyers New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the CBI to submit a roadmap on how it plans to unravel the "builder-banks nexus" which has duped thousands of homebuyers in the NCR as it proposed to go into the root of the matter.

LGD21 SC-LD LOKPAL

Does Lokpal have jurisdiction to hear cases against HC judges? SC to examine New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would examine the issue over the jurisdiction of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal in entertaining complaints against sitting high court judges.

LGD17 DL-HC-LD KAPIL MISHRA

'Hate' tweets: Delhi HC refuses to stay case against Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, says 'no need' New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to stay the trial court proceedings against Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra for allegedly posting objectionable tweets during the 2020 assembly elections.

LGD26 SC-VOTER TURNOUT-LD EC

Ready for talks on publishing polling booth-wise voter data on website: EC to SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday considered the Election Commission of India's stand to deliberate on the demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website and asked the petitioners to make representations before the poll panel in 10 days.

FOREIGN FGN69: LANKA-ADANI-PETITIONS

Rights petitions against Adani Green Energy projects in Sri Lanka withdrawn Colombo: Five fundamental rights petitions filed against the Adani Green Energy projects in the northeastern region of Sri Lanka have been withdrawn by the petitioners.

FGN37: US-INDIAN STUDENT-LD SEARCH

Parents of missing Indian student Sudiksha Konanki ask Dominican officials to declare daughter dead: reports New York: The family of missing 20-year-old Indian student Sudiksha Konanki has asked police in the Dominican Republic to declare her dead, according to US media reports.

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Source: PTI