EXIT POLLS GIVE DELHI TO AAP AMIDST LOWER VOTER TURNOUTThe Aam Aadmi Party is set to return to power in the national capital, allexit polls released after close of polling on Saturday suggested. While theparty had come to power with a majority of 67 in the Delhi House of 70 seatsin the 2015 Assembly polls, most pollsters this time gave them more than 50seats.According to the exit polls, the BJP will improve on the tally of threeseats it got the last time, but still finish a distant second. The Congress,like the last time, seems to be a non-player in the national capital, withmost polls giving it 0-2 seats.The past month had seen two very different campaigns run by the AAP and BJP- with the former asking people to vote on the basis of its work, and thelatter focusing its campaign around Shaheen Bagh, where protests against thenew citizenship law have been on for almost two months now.The India Today Axis survey gave the AAP 59-68 seats, and the BJP 2-11seats. The Times Now-IPSOS survey gave AAP 47 and the BJP 23, whileNewsX-Polstrat gave AAP 50-56 seats and BJP 10-14 seats. ABP News-C Votergave the AAP 49-63 seats, and the BJP 5-19 seats.Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said it was clear that people had votedfor development. "The city has voted for education and for the work we did.They have completely rejected the politics of hate," he said.Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari tweeted that the exit polls were incorrect."All these exit polls will fail. The BJP will win 48 seats and form thegovernment in Delhi. Please don't blame EVMs. Save this tweet," he wrote.Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra said: "These exit polls are neveraccurate. They failed in Maharashtra and Haryana. We are hopeful we willhave a good number of seats this time. Let us wait for the final results."Delhi recorded 61.46 per cent voter turnout on Saturday, down from 67.47 percent in 2015 assembly election.While the BJP won all 7 Lok Sabha seats from Delhi in 2014 as well as in2019, it has been out of majority in the Assembly since 1998.RAJAPAKSA MEETS MODI. KEEPS FOCUS ON TERRORPrime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa onSaturday underlined their common concerns regarding terrorism and the needto fight the problem "firmly".Rajapaksa kept the focus on security and counter-terrorism issues in hisremarks, while steering clear of the matter of reconciliation with LankanTamils.But, in his remarks, Modi said they had talked "with an open mind" on theissue. "I am confident that the government of Sri Lanka will fulfill theexpectations of the Tamil people for equality, justice, peace, and respectwithin a United Sri Lanka," he said.The five-day visit to India is Rajapaksa's first bilateral visit overseas.Modi described terrorism as a major threat facing the region and assertedthat Delhi and Colombo would expand cooperation on the challenge.Rajapaksa expressed gratitude for India helping Colombo "enhancecapabilities" to counter terrorism. He recalled Modi's visit to Sri Lankaand assistance to counter terrorism, thanking him for his government's'neighbourhood first policy'. "India is our closest neighbour andlong-standing friend.The Sri Lankan PM also met President Ram Nath Kovind and External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar. He will travel next to Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gayaand Tirupati.PAK GOVT CONSIDERING PASSPORT EXEMPTION FOR KARTARPUR PILGRIMSIn a surprise for New Delhi, Pakistan's Interior Minister Ijaz Shah toldPakistan's parliament on Friday that Islamabad is considering allowingIndian pilgrims to the Kartarpur corridor without a passport in order toattract more visitors to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.Shah told the National Assembly that while at present, passport-free entryof Indian pilgrims to the Kartarpur corridor is not allowed, in accordancewith a memorandum of understanding signed between Pakistan and India, achange in this was under consideration. Detailed inputs might be sought fromthe Foreign Affairs Ministry in this regard, he said."As per procedure, pilgrims can visit the corridor from dawn till dusk afterproducing Indian passport or overseas citizen of Indian-origin card alongwith the passport of the resident country," he said. The pilgrims areexempted from visas.Another sticking point is the $20 fees per pilgrim that India wants waived.In November last year, Pakistan and India had separately inaugurated thehistoric corridor on their sides of the border. The corridor provides theshortest route for pilgrims to Gurdwara in Kartarpur area of Pakistan'sNarowal district, where Guru Nanak is believed to have spent last 18 yearsof his life.FOREIGNERS WHO WENT TO CHINA AFTER JAN 15 NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER INDIA, SAYSDGCAAs the outbreak of novel coronavirus has lead to the death of more than 700Chinese nationals, aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday said that foreignerswho went to China on or after January 15 will not be allowed to enter India.The DGCA, in its circular to airlines on Saturday, reiterated that all visasissued to Chinese nationals before February 5 have been suspended.However, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) clarified, "Thesevisa restrictions will not apply to aircrew, who may be Chinese nationals orother foreign nationalities coming from China.""Foreigners who have been to China on or after January 15, 2020, are notallowed to enter India from any air, land or seaport, including Indo-Nepal,Indo-Bhutan, Indo-Bangladesh or Indo-Myanmar land borders," the DGCA said.Among Indian airlines, IndiGo and Air India have suspended all of theirflights between the two countries. SpiceJet continues to fly on Delhi-HongKong route.On February 1 and 2, Air India conducted two special flights to Chinese cityof Wuhan, epicentre of the outbreak, evacuating 647 Indians and sevenMaldivians.Till date, three Indians have tested positive for novel coronavirus.THAILAND SHOOTING: SOLDIER WHO KILLED 20 IS SHOT DEADA soldier who killed 20 people in a gun rampage in the Thai city of NakhonRatchasima has been shot dead by the security forces, Thai police say.Jakraphanth Thomma on Saturday killed his commanding officer before stealingweapons from a military camp.The suspect continued his attack in a shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima,also known as Korat, He posted material to social media, but his motives forhis actions remain unclear.Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul posted on his Facebook page onSunday morning, congratulating the security forces for their actions in thenortheastern Thai town."Thank you police and army for ending the situation. Shooter shot dead!!!"Officials said that the death toll stood at 20, with 42 wounded, revising anearlier total of 21 dead.However, it is still possible that the number of fatalities could rise.SC: STATES NOT BOUND TO GIVE QUOTA IN JOBS & PROMOTIONSBusting a constitutional myth about the cardinality of reservations inpublic employment, the Supreme Court has ruled that states are not bound toallocate a quota for SC, ST or OBCs in government jobs and that there is nofundamental right to claim reservation in promotions."There is no doubt that the state government is not bound to makereservations. There is no fundamental right which inheres in an individualto claim reservation in promotions. No mandamus can be issued by the courtdirecting the state government to provide reservations," said a bench ofJustices L Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupa on Friday.The ruling came in a case where the question was on validity of Uttarakhandgovernment's September 5, 2012 decision to fill up all posts in governmentservices in the state without providing reservations to Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes. The Uttarakhand high court had struck down thenotification and had directed the government to provide reservation as perlaw.The bench upheld the September 5 notification and reversed the HC judgment.Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Rao said, "It is settled lawthat the state government cannot be directed to provide reservations forappointments in public posts. Similarly, the state is not bound to makereservation for SCs and STs in matters of promotions."The SC added, "However, if they (the states) wish to exercise theirdiscretion and make such a provision, the state has to collect quantifiabledata showing inadequacy of representation of that class in public services."It also faulted the HC direction to the state to collect quantifiable datafor providing reservation in promotion. The SC said, "Not being bound toprovide reservations in promotions, the state is not required to justify itsdecision on the basis of quantifable data, showing that there is adequaterepresentation of members of SC and ST in state services. Even if theunder-representation of SCs and STs in public service is brought to thenotice of the Supreme Court, no mandamus can be issued by this court to thestate government to provide reservation."NIRMALA SITHARAMAN SAYS 'SORRY' FOR MARATHON BUDGET ADDRESSFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said her two hour plusbudget speech days ago was inevitable since every aspect of the economywarranted a careful response and expressed regret for putting people toinconvenience.The minister, when asked if such a lenghty budget speech was warranted-which drove her to a point of exhaustion- something which was not seen inthe past few decades, said it was needed."It was needed. Definitely it was needed. I would have completed reading outthe remaining portion after drinking water," she said addressing a pressconference.A Kashmiri verse, quotes from Tamil poets and references to Saraswati-Sindhucivilisation peppered Sitharaman's 160- minute long marathon budget speechon February 1 which got cut short at the fag end after she felt unwell."Sorry. I agree, all of you were put to inconvenience. I don't know if youthought (why) this lady was talking for about two and a half hours. But Ihad things to be spelt out and we have a duty to implement and we will doit," she said.WOMEN ARE CAPABLE OF CHOOSING, SMRITI IRANI REPLIES TO KEJRIWAL REMARKDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union minister Smriti Irani tradedbarbs on Twitter on Saturday after the AAP leader issued a "special appeal"to woman voters and asked them to discuss with men as to who could be theright choice for votes.Irani, a BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP, took a swipe at Kejriwal, asking if hedoes not consider women capable enough to decide for themselves who to votefor."Must go to vote. A special appeal to all women. As you take care of yourfamily, there is another responsibility on your shoulder which is of thecountry as well as Delhi. All women must vote and also take men of theirfamily for it. You also must discuss with men who will be the right choice(for votes)," Kejriwal tweeted minutes before the polling for electing theDelhi assembly began.Irani retorted, "Don't you consider women so capable that they could decidethemselves who to vote for?" She also used a hashtag, projecting him asanti-women.Kejriwal soon hit back at her, saying the women of Delhi have decided who tovote for. "And this time in Delhi, women have decided their family's choicefor votes. After all they have to run their household," he added.MUMBAI BJP CHIEF FELICITATES CAB DRIVER WHO TOOK POET-ACTIVIST TO POLICESTATIONMumbai BJP chief Mangal Prabhat Lodha on Saturday felicitated an Uber driverwho took a passenger to police station after overhearing a phone chat aboutthe anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests.The BJP MLA conferred the 'Alert Citizenship Award' on cab driver Rohit Gaurat the Santacruz police station.Lodha also accused the passenger, poet-activist Bappadittya Sarkar, ofhatching an "anti-national conspiracy" against the CAA.On Wednesday night, Sarkar was taken to the police station by the driver ofhis Uber cab.Sarkar, a resident of Jaipur who arrived in Mumbai on February 3 for apoetry reading session at the Kala Ghoda Festival, also took part in theongoing anti-CAA-NRC protest at Nagpada in Mumbai.On Wednesday night, while travelling by an Uber cab, he was discussingprotests against the CAA with a friend on phone.Overhearing the chat, the cab driver summoned policemen and urged them toarrest Sarkar. Sarkar was taken to a police station and allowed to leaveafter an inquiry.The driver allegedly told Sarkar that he should be thankful that he took himto police station and not somewhere else.Sarkar later commented that the driver's aggressive behaviour and violentlanguage reflected the atmosphere in the country.INDIAN MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM BEAT BELGIUM 2-1 TO REGISTER THIRD ON TROT IN FIHPRO LEAGUEIndian men hockey team's sensational run of form continued as it stunnedworld champions Belgium 2-1 to seal its third win on the trot in the FIH ProLeague in Bhubaneswar yesterday.After defeating world number three the Netherlands in their opening twomatches of the FIH Pro League, India beat world number one Belgium in athrilling match to continue their unbeaten run.Mandeep Singh scored a field goal in the second minute of the match beforeGauthier Boccard equalised for European champions Belgium in the 33rd minutewith a powerful drag flick from a penalty corner. Ramandeep Singh scored thedecisive goal in the 47th minute via a penalty corner to give world numberfour India a victory in front of a frenzied crowd at the same venue wherethe home side beat the Dutch twice.With this sensational victory, India consolidated their ranking from No. 5to No.4 for the first time since the world ranking system was introduced in2003.The two sides meet again today at the same venue.After getting off to a rollicking start in their maiden FIH Hockey ProLeague with a 5-2 and 3-1 shoot-out (3-3 in regulation time) win against theNetherlands, India did well to halt Belgium's winning streak in the ongoingFIH Pro League.Coming into this match with identical 4-2 wins against Australia and 6-2 and3-1 triumph against New Zealand, Belgium struggled to convert their chancesagainst India.INDIA LOSE SECOND ODI TO NEW ZEALAND BY 22 RUNS; ALSO LOSE SERIESNew Zealand exorcised the ghost of a nightmarish T20 whitewash with aseries-clinching 22-run victory against India in the second ODI on Saturday,with the visitors paying price for some poor shot selection.New Zealand yesterday defended a total of 273 by restricting India to 251 in48.3 overs taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.The victory also completed a hat-trick of ODI wins for the Black Capsstarting from their World Cup semi-final win in Manchester last year.The win was more creditable as regular skipper Kane Williamson along withtop bowlers Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson were unavailable.New Zealand's 6-foot and 8-inch debutant Kyle Jamieson (2/42 and 25 off 24balls) got the 'Player of the Match' award for his all-round show.Ravindra Jadeja (55 off 73 balls) along with Navdeep Saini (45 off 49 balls)raised visions of pullingICC U-19 WORLD CUP 2020: INDIA TAKE ON BANFGLADESH IN FINAL TODAYPriyam Garg-led India will face an upbeat Bangladesh side in the final ofthe ICC U-19 World Cup today. The Indian colts look to successfully defendthe title which Prithvi Shaw and Co won two years back in 2018.Both India and Bangladesh are unbeaten in the tournament, having won all oftheir group stage and knockout matches. India won all the three group gamesafter which they eliminated Australia and Pakistan in the knockouts.Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe and Scotland with their third match againstPakistan being abandoned due to rain. They thumped South Africa and NewZealand in the knockouts.