No ‘220 Club’ in BJP Hoping to Replace Modi, Says Gadkari
There is no ‘220 club’ in BJP which hopes a reduced tally for the party in the Lok Sabha elections could see the emergence of an alternative to PM Narendra Modi and this is mere speculation in media circles, minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday, 19 March.
In an exclusive interaction with Times of India, the minister, whose name has often been the subject of speculation as an ‘acceptable’ face in BJP in the event the party falls short, ruled out any such discussion, asserting that the party would return to office with a full majority on the basis of Modi’s leadership.
(Source: The Times of India)
 Schools Write in With Demand for Hiked Fee, Arrears
With the Delhi High Court giving interim relief to private unaided schools on fees, messages and circulars have started reaching parents asking them to pay the increased fees and arrears. Directorate of Education is yet to file a petition challenging the order.
Some of the schools have given a time-frame within which the fees have to be paid, while a few have threatened to withhold results on non-payment. “The school committee will decide on how the fees are to be collected. We generally stagger the time-frame to make it convenient for parents,” said a school’s principal.
(Source: The Times of India)
 Clashes in J&K After Family Says 29-Yr-Old Died in Custody
A 29-year-old school teacher, picked up from his south Kashmir home on Sunday evening, 17 March, in connection with a terror case, has died in police custody, triggering clashes in the Valley and allegations that he may have been murdered.
A police spokesman said Rizwan Pandit, the principal of a private school in Awantipora, Pulwama district, who also ran a private coaching centre, had been in custody in “pursuance of a terror case investigation” when he died. The state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the circumstances of his death on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
 Cong in a Huddle to Clinch Alliances in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra
From Delhi to Bihar to Maharashtra, the Congress scrambled to finalise its alliances on Tuesday, 19 March, a day after the notification for the first phase of voting in the April-May Lok Sabha elections was issued, allowing candidates to start filing nominations.
Suspense continued in Delhi over whether the Congress will join hands with CM Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar stepped in as a dealmaker, presumably after finalising the details of the alliance between his party and the Congress that are yet to be announced. But late on Tuesday, Kejriwal said his party will not have any alliance with the Congress.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
 AAP Plans 3,000 Road Meetings, 280 Rallies
With 280 rallies and 3,000 roadside meetings planned for over a month, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday, 19 March, said it will launch its campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on 23 March.
“AAP’s election campaign will begin from 23 March with the first rally scheduled in West Delhi. A total of 280 rallies and 3,000 meetings near polling stations will be held until 30 April. AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal will hold 70 mega rallies – one in each of the city’s Assembly constituencies,” AAP Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai told reporters.
(Source: Hindustan Times)