Mulayam comes out in Azam Khan’s support

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday came out in support of his old-time colleague and party's founder member Mohammad Azam Khan, charging the BJP government of allowing its officers and leaders to target him. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters after almost three years, senior Yadav announced that he would lead a campaign in support of Azam Khan.  SP president and former CM Akhilesh Yadav was conspicuous by his absence. TNS

CEC Arora to head global election body for 2 years

New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Tuesday took over as the new chairman of the Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) for 2019-21 as India takes over the chair from Romania for next two years. In a statement, the Election Commission said Arora succeeds Ion Mincu Radulescu, the incumbent chairman from Romania. It went on to add that India was unanimously nominated to be the chair of AWEB at the last General Assembly held at Bucharest in 2017. TNS

Sonia to decide on next MP Cong chief: Scindia

Gwalior: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said party chief Sonia Gandhi would decide on the next Madhya Pradesh unit president and it would be acceptable to all. "Soniaji will take a call on the MP Congress chief. I talked with her. The high command will take the decision, which would be accepted," he said. The former Guna MP's statement comes at a time when there is speculation among political circles that he might look for options apart from the Congress if he is not made head of the MP unit. PTI

Ayodhya idols ‘secretly’ placed in 1949, SC told

NEW DELHI: The Sunni Wakf Board on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that idols were placed there "surreptitiously in a planned manner" on the intervening night of December 22-23, 1949. Some officials connived with Hindus and refused to remove the idols from the disputed site, senior counsel Rajiv Dhavan told the five-judge Constitution Bench. TNS