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Sat, 03 December 2016

Petition to remove Trump as President is the most popular in history

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21:36 Petition to remove Trump as President is the most popular in history

A petition urging the Electoral College to reject Donald Trump as the next President of the United States has become the most popular in the history of Change.org, a site that mobilises support for petitions through e-signatures.

Over 4.6 million people have signed the petition titled "Make Hillary Clinton President", which calls on the Electoral College to elect the Democratic presidential candidate over Trump when it officially votes on December 19.

The petition argues that since Clinton won the popular vote in the November 8 election by a margin of 2 million ballots, she should be the President.

It also dismisses Trump as unfit to be the next US Commander in Chief.

20:47

JUST IN: Nine dead and 25 unaccounted for after massive fire during rave in Oakland, California

20:47 China lodges formal complaint with US over Trump's call with Taiwan prez

Beijing has lodged a protest with the United States over a call between US President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

"We have already made solemn representations about it to the relevant US side. It must be pointed out that there is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," the statement said.

"We urge the relevant parties in the US to abide by the commitment to the one-China policy" and "to handle Taiwan-related issues with caution and care to avoid unnecessarily interfering with the overall situation of Sino-US relations," it said.

Trump's telephone call with Tsai broke with decades of foreign policy and fuelled fears he is improvising on international affairs.

It is thought that no US president or president-elect has spoken with a leader of Taiwan for 37 years, after the US implemented a "One China" policy.

Mahesh Shah, the Gujarat businessman who had gone missing after he disclosed Rs 13,860 crore under the Centre's Income Disclosure Scheme, appeared before media on Saturday and claimed that he had made the disclosure at behest of some people in the greed for commission.

"I will disclose the names of the people before specific I-T officers," Shah said.

Mahesh Shah appeared in the office of a local TV channel. Later police and I-T officials arrived at the channel's office and detained him.

"I was not running away anywhere but for some reasons I stayed away from media," the businessman said.

19:50

JUST IN: IT Department officials detain Mahesh Shah, who disclosed unaccounted income worth over Rs 13,000 crores under the Income Declaration scheme.

19:48 Mamata not against note ban, but its way of implementation: Ramdev

TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is not against demonetisation per se, but the way it is being implemented, yoga guru Baba Ramdev said today.

"I praise Mamata Banerjee because she is very simple and stays in a cottage and wears hawai chappals. I think she is not opposed to the demonetisation move per se. But I feel she is not happy the way it was implemented," he said.

In an ambush in Arunachal Pradesh's Khonsa on Saturday, one Assam Rifles soldier was killed and 9 others were injured.

The convoy of the Assam Rifles was ambushed by the militants. Search operations are still on.

Image used is for representational purposes only

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has announced that he will contest elections from his mothers constituency Larkana and aims to become the prime minister of Pakistan in 2018, according to media reports on Saturday.

Bilawal, the only son of assassinated former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has said earlier he will contest by-elections or general elections - whichever come first.

Bilawal targeted Nawaz Sharif, saying that the prime minister did not know how to rule the country. The time will come when PPPs flag will hoist on houses of all chief ministers, the prime minister and the president of Pakistan.

With your support, I will become Pakistans prime minister in 2018, the 28-year-old said.

The Hindu Forum of Britain has called on the Bank of England to withdraw the new 5-pound note from circulation because it uses animal fat.

HFB said it was convinced the move was not "malicious" but a result of "ignorance" and called for the notes to be made "Karma-free" at the earliest.

The group has been encouraging people to sign a petition calling for the withdrawal of the notes as vegans and vegetarians continued to express outrage at the use of tallow, a substance derived from animal fat.

A petition titled "Remove tallow from bank notes" has gathered nearly 126,000 signatures. It will be delivered to the Bank of England when it hits 150,000.

17:52 IS planning car bombs in Europe: Report

Islamic State terrorists have infiltrated operatives into Europe who could be plotting attacks in European cities, the EU's police force has warned in a report.

Europol said this week that the terror group is determined to continue attacks against EU members and could deploy methods that have been successful in Syria and Iraq, including "car bombs, extortion and kidnappings".

"France remains high on the target list for IS aggression in the EU, but so too do Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK," the report says.

Amid growing protest by opposition against demonetisation, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today again voiced support to the Modi government's decision, saying it is a positive step which will lead to benefits.

"This 'notebandi' is a positive step which will lead to benefits. It will happen," he said, where differences in the party came in the open as former

party chief Sharad Yadav targeted the Modi dispensation over demonetisation.

Terming corruption and black money as a big sin and a "festering wound" which must be eradicated, Kumar said, "Severe steps will have to be taken. That is why we offered our support to this (demonetisation). It is a positive

beginning."

The JD-U president also refrained from any criticism on the implementation issue, which has been vociferously raised by the opposition.

He, however, added that demonetisation alone will not end black money.

17:30

JUST IN: GST Council fails to break deadlock, to meet again on December 10-11.

17:27 BSF foils intrusion bid in Pathankot

BSF has foiled a cross-border intrusion bid after its troopers shot down a suspect at Dhinda post in Pathankot district of Punjab.

BSF personnel shot the intruder dead on Friday night after he came close to the border fence in Bamial area, a police official posted in Pathankot said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a massive search operation was launched on Friday by the police forces of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the Army in Pathankot after a local resident claimed to have spotted four to five armed men roaming around suspiciously.

Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with India over its diplomats in the high commission here allegedly not being allowed to withdraw their salaries, which is paid in US dollars, by the bank.

Asserting that not allowing its officials to withdraw their salaries was in breach of Vienna Protocol, Pakistan has also threatened that in case the matter is not resolved soon, it may consider retaliatory action against salary disbursal for Indian diplomats there.

RBL Bank, an Indian private bank, holds the salary account of the Pakistan high commission staff.

"We are not allowed to withdraw our own salary. It is not a demonetisation issue. It appears that it is done more at the instructions of the Indian government," a senior Pakistan high commission said.

While there was no official reaction to Pakistan's protest from Indian side, officials here maintained that the matter is between the bank and the depositor and government has no role to play.

A state government employee who was returning home in Kolkata from his place of posting died while standing in a queue in front of an ATM counter near Bandel station in Hooghly district today.

The employee, Kallol Roychoudhury was returning tohis Behala home in South Kolkata from Cooch Behar in North Bengal where he was posted.

He got down at Bandel station from Paharia Express this morning with his colleague and was supposed to catch another train to come to Kolkata. But then, he decided to withdraw some money from an ATM counter at Station Road near the station.

He stood in the queue at 7.35 am, became unwell after 20 minutes and fell down. The police said nobody extended a helping hand and he remained unattended for 30 minutes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses BJ P volunteers at the Parivartan Rally in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Here are the highlights:

-- I had come to Moradabad in 2009, could not come in 2014.

-- If poverty is eliminated from a large state, the overall number poor will reduce.

-- The faster we do it, the faster our country will get rid of poverty.

-- If there's development, then there will be employment, there will be education for kids, the medicines for the old will cost less.

-- Vikas will change the lives of mothers and sisters.

-- I don't have a high command, no ministers above me, I only report to you, the people.

-- If you want development, it can be done. But if you only think of your progress, then the country can never prosper. Many such governments have come. The BJP government is not one of them.

-- I ask you, tell me honestly, with all your strength, hasn't corruption troubled you, hasn't it destroyed the country. So you tell me, should corruption stay or go? Will it go itself?

-- If someone works to weed out corruption, is he a criminal?

-- But I am surprised that some people in our country are accusing me? Is it my fault that I am working for the poor?

-- I am fighting this war for you. What can they, the corrupt, do to me? What will they do at best? We are fakirs, we will carry our bags and walk away.

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the recent Nagrota attack is as "shameful" as the 2008 Mumbai carnage and has "disproved" the belief that surgical strikes can end cross-border terrorism.

Speaking at the launch of former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon's book, titled "Choices:Inside the making of India's foreign policy', Chidambaram said there was no "unified command" at the level of the ministry of home affairs.

"What happened at Nagrota is just as shameful as what happened in Mumbai. The cross-border, cross-LoC action will not prevent Pakistan-based terrorist groups from attacking Indian installations and camps," he said.

"The strikes restore balance at the border. It sends a signal to Pakistan that if you can do it we can do it. But to imagine that surgical strike will put an end to cross-border action, that has been disproved by what has happened in Nagrota," he said.

He claimed that there was "no coherence" at the level of MHA and attributed it to discontinuation of a "good practice".

Parents of Indian national Hamid Ansari, who is lodged in a Pakistani jail, will seek to meet Pakistani Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz at the two-day Heart of Asia conference which begins in Amritsar today.

Mumbai-based Fauzia Ansari and her husband Nihal arrived in the holy city carrying several placards with the hope of getting back their son, who has already completed his jail term, from the neighbouring country.

Fauzia said she had written a letter to Aziz seeking an appointment to request for the release of her 32-year-old son.

She said as there was no reply from Aziz's office, she will now stand near the venue of the conference and display placards.

Hamid, an IT engineer and an MBA degree holder, had gone to Kabul on November 4, 2012 from where he wanted to reach Pakistan allegedly to meet a Pakistni girl he had been in touch with through e-mails.

There was no whereabouts of him after November 10.

The deputy attorney general of Pakistan had informed the court that Hamid was in the custody of Pakistani army and had been awarded three years' imprisonment.

Fauzia had filed a writ petition in the Peshawar high court seeking release of her son after the completion of his jail term.

14:07 West Bengal Governor irked over claims at army

West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi has waded into the army row, with him saying, "One should be careful while making any allegation againsta responsible organisation like army."

A massive stand-off was seen against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and the Centre over the presence of army officials at toll plazas.

The CM had slammed the move, saying that permission from the state wasn't given for such exercises and the row even echoed in Parliament on Friday with TMC seeing "sinister" designs behind the move and the government vehemently denying the charge, saying it was a routine exercise conducted in full knowledge of the local authorities.

The Supreme Court is arguably facing its biggest crisis of legitimacy since the Emergency. The recent order on the national anthem in cinema halls exemplifies in a nutshell so much that has gone wrong with jurisprudence in recent times. It is an order that seems to wilfully disregard basic distinctions central to a conception of rule of law in a liberal society.

Read more HERE

Despite of all the tall promises made by the Maharashtra government to encourage cashless travelling, not a single toll plaza around the country's financial capital Mumbai were ready to accept cards or indulged in mobile wallet payment options on the first day after toll collection resumed on since PM Modi's decisions relating to the ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

Toll fee collection on national highways had been suspended until midnight of December 2 due to the confusion and disruption resulting from the sudden scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. However, at the stroke of midnight on Saturday (December 3), the toll collection services on all the national highways resumed.

Sagar, a commuter who was travelling from Mumbai to Thane said, "I had my last Rs 100 note which I had to give away because these people are not ready with debit/ credit cards. I actually wanted to buy a monthly pass for seamless travel across Thane and Mumbai but since these people do not have swipe machines I will have to give all that amount in cash which I don't have."

Several pensioners were enraged after they were given Rs 1,000 in Rs 2 coins at Jalandhar banks.

Pensioners, who all got a specified amount of Rs 10,000 each, were given Rs 9000 in notes while the remaining Rs 1,000 was disbursed in Rs 2 coins. After getting the coins, one of the pensioners asked, What will I do with Rs 2 coins. How will these help me?

Aajkal toh bachche bhi nahin lete do rupaye ke sikke. Kya karenge hum inka? Sarkar ne ye haalat kar di hai ab hamaari (These days even children dont accept these coins. How will we use them? The government has brought us down to such a level), said another furious pensioner.

As Afghanistan faces the resurgence of Taliban, a conference of major regional and global powers began today in Amritsar to explore ways to effectively deal with threat of terrorism in the region, its complex security matrix and help the war-ravaged nation in its transition.

Being attended by nearly 40 countries and leading groupings like the European Union, the annual conference of the Heart of Asia -- Istanbul Process is deliberating on various challenges facing Afghanistan, including revival of a peace process in the conflict-ridden country.

Today, senior officials of all 14 countries, including India, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan, and representatives of 17 supporting nations were deliberating on a vast range of issues facing the region including its complex security scenario and dealing with threat of terrorism, radicalisation and extremism.

11:41

JUST IN: Veteran poet and former Rajya Sabha MP Bekal Utsahi passes away in Delhi's RML Hospital

11:37 India has given tremendous support to cash ban: Piyush Goyal

Highlights of Power Minister Pyush Goyal statements at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit:

>> It's (demonetsation) only people with illegal money who have a cause to worry, that's what the people of India wanted.

>> I have not found any collateral damage except for some people reporting it (demonetsation) on the media platform.

>> India loves disruptive change when it benefits the country.

>> Demonetisation is going as per plan. Part of a series of decisions we took to curb black money and bring down corruption.

>> People associated with BJP don't come with vested interests, they come to serve the country.

11:06

Fog UPDATE: New Delhi-Patna Rajdhani Express delayed by 21 hours & Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani has been cancelled. Archana Express delayed by 55 hours

11:06

Fog UPDATE: New Delhi-Patna Rajdhani Express delayed by 21 hours & Patna-New Delhi Rajdhani has been cancelled. Archana Express delayed by 55 hours

10:58 Special SC hearing on Nirbhaya gangrape case today

The Supreme Court on Saturday will hold a special hearing on the Nirbhaya gangrape case.

The death sentence of four of the convicts- Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh was upheld by the Delhi High Court.

In the last hearing on November 7, the top court's Amicus Curiae in the case, Raju Ramachandran, had asked the apex court to set aside the death penalty awarded to the accused.

In his written submissions, the senior advocate listed six fundamental errors committed by the trial court while awarding death sentences, including not taking the mitigating circumstances of the accused persons into consideration and not hearing them in person on their punishment.

Amicus curiae refers to someone who is not a party to the case but volunteers to offer information on a point of law or some other aspect of the case to assist the court in deciding a matter before it.

The top court had on April 4 begun final hearing of the convicts' appeal almost two years after staying their execution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday address Bharatiya Janata Party's Parivartan Yatra rally in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad with BJP leaving no stone unturned to make the event a grand success.

This is his third rally in Moradabad after the massive victory of Narendra Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

Parivartan rally is scheduled to take place on the Sector 2 grounds in Moradabad city. Apart from Modi, BJP state party chief Keshav Prasad Maurya, party state in-charge Om Mathur and union minister Sanjeev Balyan will take part in the rally.

Security has been beefed up in Moradabad and at least three lakh people are expected to take part in the rally.

10:37

West Bengal: As 72-hour exercise is over, we withdrew deployment from Palhit toll plaza and other areas yesterday night, says Wing Commander S S Birdi of the Eastern Command CPRO.

10:33

UPDATE: The encounter between security forces and terrorists, which had broken out on Friday evening in Kulgam district of J&K, is over; both terrorists have fled

10:32 Now, new currency worth Rs 71 lakh recovered in Udupi

Days after Karnataka Income Tax Department recovered over Rs 6 crore unaccounted cash, of which Rs 5.7 crore were in the new currency, from four government officials in the state, another seizure has been reported from Udupi.

Udupi police recovered Rs 71 lakh new currency from three car-borne persons in Karkala on Thursday.

According to The Hindu, the police team led by Udupi Circle Inspector Joy Antony got a tip-off and started checking vehicles plying on Udupi-Karkala road.

At around 7 pm, they stopped a brown car. After they found Rs 71 lakh, all in Rs 2000 notes, stored in a plastic bag in the car, the police called the income tax officials.

Representative Image

10:23

Madhya Pradesh: Lokayukta raids at Public Works Department officer Anand Prakash Rane's residence in Indore in a disproportionate assets case

10:22 The world's fastest man is slowing down

Usain Bolt has said he doesn't plan to run the 200 meters in his final season, realizing that his world record of 19.19 seconds is now likely beyond him.

Speaking Friday in Monaco before picking up the IAAF's 'Male Athlete of the Year' award for a sixth time, the 30-year-old Bolt said he thought he could dip under the 19-second barrier at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

But coming off the bend in the final, he felt his legs didn't have a record-beating performance in them.

"After last season, I kind of figured out that no matter how hard I work at this point, it probably is going to be hard to get the 200-meter world record," Bolt said.

"And it's a lot more work and for me, coming to the end of my career, I'm not trying to do too much work."

He also didn't sound optimistic about breaking his 100-meter record of 9.58, either.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday saluted the determination of the disabled has conveyed his best wishes to them on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

In his remarks, PM Modi said: "On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I salute determination of our Divyang sisters and brothers and convey my best wishes to them."

"Let us continue our ongoing efforts with renewed vigour and create a nation where both accessibility and equality prevail," he Prime Minister said.

After consensus eluded on the model GST law on Day 1 of its meeting, the all-powerful GST Council will deliberate again today on the issue and also try to resolve the contentious point of dual control of assessees under the new indirect tax regime.

The fifth meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state finance ministers, will also deliberate on impact of demonetisation on revenue.

The Centre plans to implement the GST from April 1. Due to Constitutional compulsion, the GST has to be rolled out by September 16 next year as the existing indirect taxes will come to an end, and it would not be possible for either Centre or the states to collect indirect taxes.

Some state finance minister exuded confidence that it was still possible to implement GST from April 1, 2017, though the Centre is running on a tight time schedule.

Amid heightened tension with Pakistan following yet another brazen terror attack on an army base, India is likely to step up efforts to corner it diplomatically and mobilize support for concrete action against state-sponsored terrorism at the two-day Heart of Asia conference beginning in Amritsar today.

Being held in the wake of the brazen Nagrota terror attack, the annual conference of the Heart of Asia Istanbul Process, a platform to assist Afghanistan in its transition, will extensively deliberate on threat from terror networks operating from Pakistani soil and may push for some concrete action to deal with it.

The conference will be attended by representatives from over 30 countries including China, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Iran. Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz will represent Islamabad at the conference.

On Sunday, the main conference will be jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani where both India and Afghanistan are likely to corner Pakistan on terror.

The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process was launched in 2011 and the participating countries include Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.

The countries which support the initiative are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the US. Four countries Uzbekistan, Latvia, Bulgaria and Austria are attending the conference as guests.

An American woman was allegedly gang-raped by a group of five men, including a tourist guide, at a five-star hotel near Connaught Place in Delhi.

Police said they received a complaint from the woman through email. The woman said she would come to Delhi to record her statement once an FIR was registered.

In her complaint, the woman said she had arrived in Delhi early in March 2016 on a tourist visa and was staying at the five-star hotel near Connaught Place.

The Times of India reported that she had hired the tourist guide from an agency suggested by the hotel authorities.

The guide showed her around the city. One day , while she was in her room, the guide offered to discuss a route plan and arrived at the hotel along with four other friends. They went up to her room and had a few drinks together, following which the guide forced himself on her.

The friends then took turns to rape her as well, the report added.

The encounter between security forces and terrorists, which had broken out on Friday evening in Kulgam district of J&K, is still underway.

According to a report, gunshots were heard after security forces cordoned off the area where 2 terrorists are believed to be hiding.

A government employee was killed in the counter-insurgency operation, official sources said.

Assadullah Kumar, working in J&K Fisheries Department, died due to gunshot injuries at Chancer area of Kulgam district, they said.

The incident comes ahead of Pakistan Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz's visit to India to attend Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar on Saturday.

Recently, seven army personnel, including two officers, were killed in a terror attack on an army base camp at Nagrota in Jammu has shocked the nation. This was the biggest terror strike since the Uri attack in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the wee hours on September 19.

Image: Deferred visual of the operation by ANI

08:43 Dense fog delays trains, grounds flights

Foggy conditions once again affected air and rail traffic in northern India in the form of several diversions, delays and cancellations.

ANI reported that nine international and four domestic flights from Delhi were delayed due to fog. One Delhi-Lucknow flight has been cancelled.

Over 80 trains are running late while 13 trains are cancelled (for December 3 and 4) and 40 trains rescheduled due to foggy weather conditions in the northern region, said a senior railway official.

08:31 What's making news now

* Four domestic flights from Delhi delayed due to foggy conditions, one Delhi-Lucknow flight cancelled

* International Day of Persons with Disabilities is being observed today; The day is annual event promoted by the UN since 1992.

* American national alleges she was sexually assaulted by five people in a 5 star hotel of Delhi in March this year. Police investigating

* Heart of Asia conference kicks off in Amritsar today. Terror to dominate agenda at meet; Arun Jaitley to lead Indian delegation

A 16-year-old Indian environmental activist based in the UAE has won this year's prestigious International Children's Peace Prize for her fight for climate justice and combating environmental degradation.

Kehkashan Basu was presented the award by Bangladesh's Nobel peace laureate Mohammad Yunus at a glittering ceremony in The Hague.

Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts for economic and social development, underlined the urgency and importance of Kehkashan's work, as more than three million children under the age of five die every year from environment-related diseases and many more suffer deeply from environmental issues.

"It is a great achievement for such a young person to already have such reach and impact with her important message," Yunus said.

"A healthy environment is essential for the survival, wellbeing and development of children, and therefore it is a precondition for the realisation of the rights of the child. Kehkashan teaches us that we all have a responsibility to work towards a sustainable future," he said.

After receiving the prize, Basu said she would "keep campaigning to encourage children and adults to create a more sustainable future".

"I call upon everyone to think of how they can contribute to the preservation of the environment... Time is not on our side -- we have to act now, or we will have polar bears under palm trees," she said.

Image: Kehkashan Basu, 16, receives the International Children's Peace Prize from Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus in the Hague, Netherlands, December 2 2016. Photograph: Courtesy KidsRights Foundation

A government employee was killed in a counter-insurgency operation, launched on Friday night, in south Kashmir's Kulgam district, official sources said.

Assadullah Kumar, working in J&K Fisheries Department, died due to gunshot injuries at Chancer area of Kulgam district where security forces, including army, had launched a counter-insurgency operation, they said.

Further details were awaited.

An army official said an operation was going on in the area, but maintained that they had no reports of any casualty.

The House of Representatives has approved a $611 billion defence policy bill that rejects a number of President Barack Obama's proposals for managing the nation's vast

military enterprise.

Lawmakers passed the legislative package today by a wide margin of 375-34. The bill now goes to the Senate, where a vote is expected early next week.

The legislation would prohibit Obama from closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and would deny the Pentagon's bid to start a new round of military base closings.

The legislation would award US troops their largest pay raise since 2010.

The White House has warned granting a higher raise would upset a careful balance between paying service members competitive salaries and acquiring cutting-edge equipment and training.

The bill also would block the Pentagon's planned reductions in the number of active-duty troops.

With West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatening to adopt legal course against the Centre for deploying armed forces without informing the state administration, the Indian Army on Friday stood afirm and said that it would not call off its troops and the routine drill exercise will resume till midnight of December 2.

Responding to a poser whether the West Bengal government, if required, is ready to take legal action against central government to which Mamata said, "Action has already been initiated."

Later, Wing Commender S S Birdi, Chief Public Relations Office of the eastern command told ANI that the army won't be called off until the exercise concludes.

"Army will not be called off and routine exercise will continue till midnight," Birdi said.

Upon being asked whether the deployment details about the army would be disclosed, Birdi said, "We can't disclose the army deployment details as of now but army will not be called off."

Birdi's comment came in response after Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien asserted that no such document existed, and added that he would hang his head in shame if the government could prove him otherwise.

00:09 Top headlines at this hour

'Overweight' Tejas LCA not fit for aircraft carriers: Navy

Mamata 'guards democracy' overnight at office, Army says no 'coup'

Trump was NOT as candid with Sharif on the phone as Pakistan flaunted

Sensex ends 329 points lower, Nifty slips below 8,100

I-T raids unearth massive black money -- and almost Rs 6 cr in new notes!

'We have to go all out on attacks': Burhan Wani to Hafiz Saeed

Review: Kahaani 2 is let down by predictability

Review: Moana is a treat

Missed Friday's commentary? Click HERE