Daily Bulletin: Narendra Modi to address BJP national executive meet; Djokovic, Del Potro in US Open final; today's top stories

Narendra Modi to address BJP national executive meet today Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to give the valedictory speech at BJP’s national executive meet on Sunday. The two-day meet was inaugurated by party president Amit Shah on Saturday, who dubbed the proposed grand alliance of the Opposition as an “illusion, eyewash and sham for fulfilling self-interest”. On the first day, he also asserted that the saffron party would return to power in 2019 with a bigger majority than what it got in 2014. The BJP will win in all the 19 states where it is in power and will also do well in the Opposition-ruled states due to anti-incumbency, Shah had claimed. Top party leaders, including Modi and the chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states, were in attendance as Shah asserted that the party will return to power on the basis of the Central Government’s performance, Modi’s charismatic leadership and its organisational strength. [caption id=“attachment_5146081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and LK Advani at BJP national executive meeting. PTI[/caption] Djokovic, Del Potro in US Open finals On Sunday, Novak Djokovic, who hailed Juan Martin Del Potro as a “gentle giant”, will look to cut his close friend down to size when they meet in the singles final of the US Open. Djokovic, the 2011 and 2015 champion, will be aiming to complete the Wimbledon-US Open double for a third time when he tackles the 2009 winner in New York with a 14th major within touching distance. And he will start the heavy favourite, boasting a 14-4 record over the Argentine who will be playing in just his second final at the Slams. England vs India, 5th Test, Day 3 Ben Stokes’ twin strikes late on Day 2 have severely dented India’s hopes of registering their second Test win of the series. The scoreline of 4-1 seems certainly possible. India, though, would like to pin their hopes on debutant Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja. Either way, with the trail being 158, they find themselves in a precarious position and would need something miraculous to come out of it. RSS doesn’t believe in Constitution of India, says Asaduddin Owaisi Criticising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said that the organisation does not believe in the Constitution of India. His statement comes after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, at an event in Chicago, United States, said, “If a lion is alone, wild dogs can invade and destroy the lion. We must not forget that.” Owaisi also said that the RSS has weird ideas to demean people by comparing them with dogs and referring themselves as tigers. Yogendra Yadav arrested in Tamil Nadu, accuse state police of threatening farmers Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav claimed on Saturday that he was arrested in Tamil Nadu when he was on his way to meet farmers protesting against the proposed Salem-Chennai Expressway project. He had also accused the police of detaining farmers who came to meet him and manhandling him. He later claimed that they were all “released unconditionally” and he met with women farmers of Nammianthel village. MNP set to become easier Mobile Number Portability is apparently set to become much swifter. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reportedly decided to quicken the entire Mobile Number Portability (MNP) process. Instead of taking a week to a 15-day work period, the number may soon be ported in as soon as two days. Microsoft set to announce new products in October Microsoft has sent out invites for an event in New York on 2 October, where it is expected to announce its latest hardware, software, and services. Reportedly, Microsoft will refresh its Surface Pro line and Surface Laptops. National Conference threatens to boycott Lok Sabha polls Days after the National Conference announced its decision to not participate in the panchayat and urban local bodies (ULB) elections, the party on Saturday threatened to boycott the Assembly and Parliamentary polls too if the Centre does not take effective steps for protection of Article 35A. Party president Farooq Abdullah asked the Centre to clear its stand on Article 35A and said that his party was not running away from polls, but wanted the Centre to take effective steps for the protection of the state’s special position. Six killed after chopper crashes in Nepal A helicopter crashed into a hillside in central Nepal on Saturday, killing six on board including a Japanese tourist. One woman survived the crash with injuries and was airlifted to capital Kathmandu. The single-pilot Kathmandu-bound Altitude Air helicopter lost contact with air traffic control after taking off from the central district of Gorkha. Nepal to not join BIMSTEC military exercise The Nepal government has confirmed that they will not join the first ever BIMSTEC military exercise, which is slated to begin from 10 September in Pune, Maharashtra. Prime Minister KP Oli asked the national defence force not to participate in the drill, compelling the Nepal Army’s leadership to rollback its earlier decision to take part in the first ever military exercise of the regional grouping initiated by India.