Daily Bulletin: Opposition parties to meet on 22 Nov to discuss grand alliance; CPCB issues show cause notice to Delhi Police; other top stories

Grand Opposition meet in Delhi soon; Chandrababu Naidu to lead All major Opposition parties are expected to meet in Delhi on 22 November in what is being seen as the first major move to build a grand anti-BJP front ahead of the next general elections. The plans for a grand Opposition show of strength in the midst of the ongoing state Assembly polls were announced by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu after he met Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot in Amaravati on Saturday evening. Naidu, who has met many top Opposition leaders in the last one month, said the parties would decide on the future course of action at the proposed meeting. Speaking to the media, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister said efforts were on to bring together parties for an anti-BJP bloc ahead of the elections and he would meet his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee on 19 or 20 November to seek her support as well for the alliance. [caption id=“attachment_5332181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. News18[/caption] Ban on construction activities extended till 12 November as Delhi continues to choke As Delhi’s air quality remained severe on Saturday, authorities extended till 12 November the ban on construction activities, industries using coal and biomass, and entry of trucks, while the CPCB issued show cause notices to police departments and officials of Delhi-NCR over “non-compliance” of the Supreme Court order on sale and bursting of firecrackers. Kerala BJP chief denies claim that Sabarimala thantri sought his advice After creating controversy over his statement that the Sabarimala head priest had consulted him before threatening the closure of the Lord Ayyappa shrine if women of menstrual age entered it, the BJP’s state unit chief PS Sreedharan Pillai on Saturday denied this, saying that not the thantri but someone else in his family had sought his (Pillai’s) views. Since the head priest has clarified that he had not called him up, there is no need to doubt it, Pillai said. When the controversy broke out, Pillai had said that the priest had sought a legal clarification, which he had given. However, the thantri denied having consulted Pillai and said he had only spoken to his senior priest Kandararu Mohanararu. Tipu Jayanti celebrated in Karnataka but CM, deputy CM skip events The Congress-JD(S) led Karnataka government managed to celebrate Tipu Jayanti without any incident of violence on Saturday but the absence of chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara from the events has created some discord among the coalition partners. Voices of disapproval emerged from within the ruling coalition, with a Congress MLA terming the leaders’ absence an “insult” to the Muslim community. The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), however, issued a statement on Kumaraswamy’s absence. Wishing success for Tipu Jayanti celebrations, Kumaraswamy said that Tipu’s progressive measures in administration and his quest for innovation were “commendable”. Meanwhile, water resource minister and Congress troubleshooter DK Shivakumar had instead presided over the celebrations. Jamal Khashoggi’s body was dissolved in acid, his remains poured down the drain, claim report Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s remains were poured down down the drain after dissolving him in acid, a Turkish newspaper reported on Saturday. Samples taken from the drains at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul showed traces of acid, pro-government daily Sabah said, without quoting sources. This led investigators to believe the dead body of the insider-turned-critic of the Riyadh regime was disposed of through the drains as a liquid, the paper said. Khashoggi was last seen entering the consulate on 2 October to obtain documents for his forthcoming marriage. His body was never found. After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia had finally admitted the 59-year-old had been murdered at the mission in a “rogue” operation. Alibaba generates record sales in annual shopping bonanza Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba generated $3 billion in five minutes during its annual 24-hour online shopping sale on Sunday with Apple, Xiaomi featuring among the top brands. It recorded the purchases of products worth $10 billion in the period of little over an hour, News18 reported. Last year, Alibaba recorded sales worth $25 billion in 24 hours. Los Angeles, Tokyo and Frankfurt were among the global cities that saw orders being placed for various goods.