HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top headlines at 9.15 PM: NATION DEL90 DEF-RAJNATH-LD UZBEKISTAN-VISIT Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to leave for Tashkent on Tuesday to attend SCO meet New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, on Tuesday on a three-day visit to attend a defence ministerial conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

BOM38 GJ-KEJRIWAL-MAHABHARAT Kejriwal invokes Mahabharat, says BJP has central agencies on its side, he has Lord Krishna support Himmatnagar (Gujarat): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday sought to position the contest between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls as a ''Dharamyudh'' like the Mahabharat where the ruling outfit has the ''armies'' of probe agencies CBI and the ED on its side, while his party has the ''support of Lord Krishna''. DEL86 PB-FORMER MINISTER-ARREST Ex-Punjab minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu held over 'scam' in awarding contract for foodgrain transport Chandigarh: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Congress leader and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Monday evening for alleged irregularities in awarding a contract for transporting foodgrain. DEL87 NCR-CHINESE DETENTION 15 Chinese nationals staying illegally in India detained by UP police Noida: Fifteen Chinese nationals, including a woman, staying without valid visas in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar were detained on Monday by the local police, officials said. DEL78 LDALL MAHAPANCHAYAT-FARMERS Thousands of farmers gather in Delhi for 'mahapanchayat', cause huge traffic snarls New Delhi: More than eight months since their year-long protest at Delhi's borders ended, farmers from various states gathered in the national capital in large numbers on Monday to take part in a ''mahapanchayat'', causing massive traffic snarls, especially at the city's entry points, including Singhu and Ghazipur. DEL80 RAIL-BULLET-LD DL-VARANASI Delhi-Varanasi bullet train project hits roadblock, Railway Board rejects feasibility report New Delhi: The proposed high-speed railway corridor between Delhi and Varanasi has hit a roadblock with the Railway Board rejecting the feasibility report on the project citing multiple curves along the route which will not be suitable for a bullet train to run at 350 kmph, sources said. DEL75 SC-LDALL FOOTBALL SC disbands CoA for football body AIFF to ''facilitate'' lifting of FIFA suspension New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday disbanded the Committee of Administrators (CoA) it had set up to manage the affairs of the AIFF in a bid to get the suspension of the national football body by the FIFA revoked. DEL68 CONG-YATRA-LD CIVIL SOCIETY 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' like 'tapasya' for me; ready for 'long battle' to unite country: Rahul Gandhi New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday told a group of civil society representatives the party's upcoming 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' is like a ''tapasya'' for him and that he is ready for the ''long battle'' to unite the country. CAL14 OD-LD FLOOD Odisha: Flood situation alarming in northern districts, evacuation efforts underway Bhubaneswar: The flood situation in several northern Odisha districts was alarming on Monday, as the swollen Subarnekha river inundated low-lying areas and left people in over 100 villages marooned, officials said. BUSINESS DEL66 BIZ-LD MSP PANEL Committee on MSP sets up four sub-groups to discuss key issues New Delhi: The committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) formed four sub-groups on mandated topics, including making ''MSP more effective and transparent'' in its first meeting on Monday but Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) remained absent. DEL62 BIZ-SONOWAL-IRAN-CHABAHAR PORT India committed to strengthen bilateral relations with Iran: Sonowal New Delhi: Ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday called on Iran's Vice President Mohammad Mokhber in Tehran and reiterated commitment to strengthen Indo-Iran bilateral relations, according to an official statement. LEGAL LGD25 SC-LD SETALVAD SC seeks response from Gujarat govt on activist Teesta Setalvad's bail plea New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday sought a response from the Gujarat government on a bail plea by activist Teesta Setalvad, arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame ''innocent people'' in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases. FOREIGN FGN42 RUSSIA-ISIS-INDIA-3RDLD TERRORIST Russia detains ISIS terrorist plotting suicide attack against Indian elite: Russian media Moscow: Russia's top intelligence agency said on Monday that it has detained an Islamic State terrorist from a Central Asian country who underwent special training to carry out a suicide attack against a member of India's leadership elite for the offensive comments on the Prophet. FGN35 BANGLA-HASINA-INDIA Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina to visit India from Sept 5 to 8: Official Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to travel to India on September 5 on a three-day official visit during which defence cooperation and regional stability is likely to be the focus of her talks with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, an official said on Monday. By Anisur Rahman PTI RDT RDT