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QBullet: Pak PM on Pulwama Attack; BJP-AIADMK Pact Sealed 

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1. Imran Khan Asks for Proof of Role in Attack; It’s Sitting in Pakistan: India

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, 19 February, offered to help New Delhi investigate the Pulwama suicide bombing, which was claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, but warned his country would retaliate if India carries out an attack over the strike.

Within hours, New Delhi dismissed Khan’s offer, citing Pakistan’s track record in probing the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2016 Pathankot terror strike, which too were carried out by Pakistan-based terrorists, and on both of which India has provided substantial evidence to the country. India reiterated it is ready for a comprehensive dialogue but only in an atmosphere free of terror and violence.

Shortly before Khan’s remarks during a televised address, top officials of the Indian Army, police and CRPF in Srinagar said the 14 February attack, which killed 40 troopers, was controlled from Pakistan with the active support of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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2. France Leads Effort to Sanction Masood Azhar, to Keep Pressure on Pakistan at FATF

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Masood Azhar, Chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group. 
(Photo: Reuters)

India’s efforts to corner Pakistan over terrorism in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack received a boost on Tuesday with France taking the lead in a fresh move to list Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN Security Council.

France will also take steps to retain Pakistan on a watch list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is holding its plenary meeting in Paris during February 17-22, French officials said on condition of anonymity.

India and France agreed to coordinate diplomatic efforts to counter terror on two fronts — the UN Security Council’s 1267 Committee and FATF – when Philippe Etienne, diplomatic advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron, spoke on phone with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday, French officials said.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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3.Tamil Nadu Pact Sealed, Brings AIADMK Back to NDA Fold

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Union Minister and BJPs Tamil Nadu in-charge Piyush Goyal along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami waves after AIADMK signed an alliance with the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
(Photo: PTI)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday finalised its alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) for the coming parliamentary elections in Tamil Nadu, a state that sends the fourth highest number of representatives to the Lok Sabha, 39, after Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal.

The BJP will contest five of these seats, and the AIADMK 25. Earlier in the day, the AIADMK announced its partnership with the PMK, which will contest seven seats. The other two seats have been reserved for smaller parties that will be part of the alliance. They are likely to include actor Vijayakant’s Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). The AIADMK said the PMK will also be allotted a Rajya Sabha berth. Analysts say the AIADMK may also give some seats from its quota to the smaller parties.

The BJP and PMK said they will support the AIADMK in bypolls for 21 assembly seats that are expected to be scheduled at the same time as the Lok Sabha elections.

(Source: Hindustan Times)

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4. Ramdev’s Trust in the Race for Running First Vedic School Board

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File photo of Baba Ramdev.
(Photo: Reuters)

Yoga Guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust has expressed interest in establishing the country’s first national school board for Vedic education, The Indian Express has learnt.

The Haridwar-based Trust is among the private players that have responded to the ‘Expression of Interest’ (EoI), released by Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Vedavidya Pratishthan (MSRVP) on 11 February, inviting applications for setting up the Bharatiya Shiksha Board (BSB). The deadline expired Tuesday evening.

According to its website, Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, among other things, aims to “study and research subjects associated with yajna, organic agriculture, cow urine, nature and environment in addition to the study and research of yoga and Ayurveda…”. Apart from Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, Swami Muktanand and Shankardev are its trustees.

(Source: The Indian Express)

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5. Phones Tapped to Sabotage Political Meets: YSR Congress Moves Delhi HR

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YSR Congress pPresident YS Jaganmohan Reddy.
(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

YSR Congress Party leaders have approached the Delhi High Court alleging that their phones are being tapped at the behest of the ruling party in the Centre for “sabotaging their political meetings” in Andhra Pradesh.

The plea, urging that the government be directed to “forthwith suspend the ignoble action of placing them under unlawful and unguided surveillance”, came up for hearing before Justice Najmi Waziri, who asked the Centre and Andhra Pradesh to respond to the allegation by the party’s former MP Y V Subba Reddy and five others, including party chief Jaganmohan Reddy’s personal and political assistants.

The plea sought to “initiate necessary action under relevant provisions of law against the government, responsible for unauthorisedly intercepting their telephone calls”.

(Source: The Indian Express)

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6. MHA Transfers Pulwama Case to NIA, Team Questions Suspects in Attack

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Army personnel stand guard at a road in Jammu.
(Photo: PTI)

The Home Ministry on Tuesday transferred the 14 February Pulwama suicide attack case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). An official order in this regard was received by the NIA at its headquarters on Tuesday evening. Sources said the agency would file an FIR in the matter on Wednesday.

A team of more than 10 NIA officers under an inspector general-rank officer had been camping in Kashmir since Friday. It was providing assistance to Jammu and Kashmir Police, which was probing the case.

Sources said the agency, along with the police, has been questioning suspects from Pulwama and Awantipora. On Tuesday, too, the sources said, the NIA team questioned some people from the two areas on suspicion of having provided logistical support to the attacker.

(Source: The Indian Express)

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7. Congress Campaign to Roll out in Early March

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A 2014 picture of Priyanka Gandhi with her brother and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in UP
(Photo: Reuters)

The Congress is set to launch its campaign for the Lok Sabha election in the first week of March. The party is expected to focus on the “non-fulfilment” of promises by the BJP government, highlighting its vada (promise) and dhokha (betrayal).

The work on the campaign strategy began in October. Top sources say many companies such as Leo Burnett, Niksun, FCB-ULKA, Percept, Design Boxed and Crayons made a series of presentations on the campaign strategy. The Congress had worked with many of these firms in the past too. In 2004, the Congress campaign around the Aam Aadmi to counter the NDA’s “India Shining” pitch was helmed by Leo Burnett. For the 2014 election, Japanese firm Dentsu India handled the Congress’s Rs 500 crore advertising campaign.

The sources say seven taglines have been shortlisted including Bande Mein Hai Dum-Saath Challenge Hum, Ab Is Bar Soch Samajh Ke, and Bahut Hua Jumalon Ki Mar-Aao Badlein Modi Sarkar.

(Source: The Hindu)

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8. Actors, Singers Ready to Promote Political Parties on Social Media for a Fee: Cobrapost

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Cobrapost Editor Aniruddha Bahal
(Photo Courtesy: Anthony S Rozario/The Quint)

Investigative platform Cobrapost on Tuesday claimed to have exposed 36 Bollywood personalities who agreed to promote for a fee any specified political party on their social media accounts ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Appearing to represent a fictitious Public Relations agency, undercover Cobrapost reporters approached several actors, singers, stand-up comedians and dancers with lucrative offers of quick money, ranging from more than Rs 2 lakh, for promoting political parties through their accounts on various social media platforms. Some of the celebrities, having lakhs of followers on social media, sought as much as Rs 50 lakh per message, according to the report.

However, four of those who were approached refused the offer straight away.

(Source: The Hindu)

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9. Dismiss Plea to Free Jadhav: Pak

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Kulbhushan Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for espionage on 10 April.
(Photo: The Quint)

India’s application to have the International Court of Justice order Kulbhushan Jadhav’s release should be dismissed as inadmissible Pakistan’s counsel Khawar Qureshi argued on Tuesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in a heated, and often personal presentation that repeatedly referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused India of engaging in “political theatre,” “grandstanding,” and presenting its case in “bad faith.”

In presentations that contrasted with the more muted tone of India’s opening oral arguments the day before, Mr. Qureshi and Pakistani’s Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan accused India of failing to answer fundamental questions and of “causing terrorism and training terrorists to act in Pakistan” and wanting to “destroy” the country.

Pakistan had suffered more than 74,000 terrorism-related casualties and fatalities that had been caused “mainly by the interference” of India, said Mr. Khan in opening remarks.

(Source: The Hindu)

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