Daily Bulletin: VHP Dharma Sabha in Ayodhya; Sushma Swaraj declines invite to Kartarpur event; Modi to deliver 50th Mann Ki Baat; day's top stories

VHP Dharma Sabha today: Ayodhya on high alert Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya has been put on high alert on Sunday, ahead of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Shiv Sena’s efforts to push for the construction of a Ram temple in the city. Security has been tightened in the temple town as both groups organise separate events. The VHP, backed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will hold a Dharma Sabha on Sunday to press for early construction of the Ram Temple, even as the title dispute lay sub judice in the apex court. About 2.5 lakh volunteers, karsevaks and workers from the VHP, Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and several other organisations have arrived in the temple town for the event. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray arrived in the city on Saturday in preparation for the party’s events. He will address rallies to put pressure on the Centre about the Ram mandir dispute. Police sources said that there would be over two lakh people converging in Ayodhya. Several trains, buses, tractor trolleys, taxis have been booked by the organisers to ferry people from across the state to be part of the congregation, the VHP has announced. [caption id=“attachment_5610811” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Uddhav Thackeray in Ayodhya said the Centre needed to bring in an ordinance on the Ram Temple. PTI[/caption] Swaraj declines Pakistan’s invite to Kartarpur corridor event Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj will not visit Pakistan to attend the ground-breaking ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims but two of her cabinet colleagues will attend it. India will send Union ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Singh Puri, her office said on Saturday while responding to an invite to her by Islamabad for the event. Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in a tweet, said he has extended an invitation to Swaraj, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to attend the ceremony at Kartarpur on 28 November. In a letter to Qureshi, Swaraj thanked him for the invite but said it would not be possible for her to travel to Kartarpur Sahib due to prior commitments. Mann ki Baat: Narendra Modi to deliver 50th episode today Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the 50th edition of Mann Ki Baat radio programme on Sunday. The broadcast is of note as it will be the 50th episode of the monthly programme. He will be sharing his thoughts on various issues, with the people spread all across the country and the world through All India Radio broadcast starting 11 am. The last episode of Mann Ki Baat programme was aired on 28 October. During that day’s address, Modi acknowledged the contribution of Sardar Patel for uniting India and also paid homage to army soldiers and their families on the occasion of Infantry day. As the last address was broadcasted days before the festival of Diwali, Prime Minister Modi has also urged people to buy indigenous products in order to support countrymen. He had also requested farmers to give up the practice of stubble burning in order to curb air pollution. Mexico will hold US-bound refugees while claims are processed: Trump Asylum seekers hoping to enter the US via its southern border will have to wait in Mexico while they are assessed, President Donald Trump announced, appearing to confirm a report about a bilateral deal published by The Washington Post. “Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court,” Trump wrote on Twitter. He added that the US “will allow those who come into our Country legally” and emphasised: “All will stay in Mexico.”   3rd T20I: India take on Australia in do-or-die battle India will be looking for a solid bowling performance against a brittle Australian top-order in third and final T20 International. A win at the SCG will at least let Virat Kohli’s team share the bragging rights and more importantly remain in a good frame of mind before the real test begins at Adelaide on 6 December. Paris protests intensify, 3,000 police personnel deployed France is likely to continue making headlines on Sunday amid efforts to contain the nationwide protests and road blockades being staged by drivers, angry over rising fuel taxes and Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. Tensions have been mounting around the grassroots movement that drew more than a quarter million people a week ago to protests across France, from Provence to Normandy and in between. Demonstrators wearing the yellow, high-visibility vests that symbolise their movement threw projectiles at police preventing them from moving along the famed Champs-Elysees shopping avenue, which was decked out in twinkling Christmas lights. They also built barricades in some spots and tore down traffic lights and street signs, creating riotous scenes reminiscent of France’s 1968 civil unrest, or street insurrections immortalised in several paintings and movies. Police arrested 130 people, 42 of those in Paris, and 24 people were injured, five of them police officers including one who suffered burns to his groin, the city police department and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said. Some 3,000 police were deployed in the capital to contain the situation. Actor-turned-politician Ambareesh passes away Kannada actor and politician Ambareesh on Saturday night passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru due to cardiac arrest, sources said. He was 66. A former Union minister, Ambareesh was rushed to the hospital after he complained of breathing trouble and passed away on Saturday night, officials at the hospital said. “Ambareesh was brought to the hospital around 9 pm and he passed away because of cardiac arrest,” Vikram Hospital officials told PTI. According to the hospital spokesman, Ambareesh was found unresponsive at his residence and the resuscitation efforts were initiated there and continued en route while he was shifted to the hospital. Ambareesh, a three-time Lok Sabha member and also a former State minister, is survived by actress Sumalatha and son Abhishek.