A Mumbai court has granted anticipatory bail to Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi in a case filed against him for his remarks praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. The court, however, cautioned Azmi to exercise restraint during interviews, warning that any irresponsible statement could spark riots. The case stems from Azmi's remarks during an interview where he praised Aurangzeb's rule and claimed that India's GDP during his reign accounted for 24 percent of the world's GDP. Azmi's lawyer argued that his client's statements were made spontaneously and without any malicious intent, while the prosecution opposed the bail plea, arguing that the remarks were made in a sensitive time following the release of a film based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, a revered Maratha king who was captured by Aurangzeb. The court noted that the investigation was at a preliminary stage and that the investigating officer did not have the video recording of the interview when the case was filed. The court also expressed concern over the potential for Azmi's remarks to incite violence.
It may be a little late in the day, but Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had apparently realised the futility of shaking hands with his one time sworn political foe and Bhartiya Janata Party rebel, Kalyan Singh. Mulayam, who had struck a alliance with Kalyan apparently in the hope of building a new backward axis in a caste-ridden Uttar Pradesh, had finally decided to dump the latter.
The incident has brought back into focus the controversy that erupted last year when BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directed food outlets along the Kanwar route to display the names of their owners and staff.
The Samajwadi Party on Friday said it will strongly oppose the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, holding it was against the very basis of democracy.
The trouble arose when the youths entered Udit Narayan Inter College where Rahul's meeting was underway and chanted slogans and distributed pamphlets, official sources said.
The Samajwadi Party on Saturday distanced itself from Shahid Siddiqui, saying he is no longer a part of the party two days after his interview with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made waves.
A Rajya Sabha member seeked a ban on Amir Khan starrer 'Mangal Pandey' alleging inaccurate portrayal of the hero of the 1857 revolution.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, suspended from the Maharashtra assembly over his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, will be '100 per cent' put in jail, Chief Minister Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the legislative council.
Abu Farhan Azmi, son of Maharashtra Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi and husband of actress Ayesha Takia, has been booked by the Goa police for allegedly getting involved in a fight at a public place. The incident occurred in Candolim, North Goa, on Monday night. According to police, Farhan Azmi reportedly threatened the other group with a licensed firearm he was carrying. The police filed a case against Azmi and others under section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for disturbing public peace and causing affray.
The SP hopes to rope in Telugu Desam Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazagam and the Nationalist Congress Party in the proposed front.
In a major jolt to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, its national general secretary Naresh Agarwal and two sitting legislators from Hardoi joined the Samajwadi Party on Friday. "I am resigning from the Rajya Sabha and the post of BSP national general secretary," Agarwal said while addressing a gathering at a function at the SP headquarters in Lucknow. Besides Naresh, his son Nitin Agarwal and Rajeshwari -- both BSP MLAs from Hardoi -- also joined the SP.
Abbas Ansari, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party MLA, was sentenced to two years imprisonment in a 2022 hate speech case by a special MP-MLA court on Saturday.
A defiant Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said, "We are going for polls... Will return again."
He lashed out at the state government terming it an "extremely sad and inhuman" crime.
Samajwadi Party member of Parliament Shailendra Kumar, two members of Legislative Assembly including Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, and a member of Legislative Council were on Sunday arrested in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh on charges of an attempt to murder after they allegedly threatened a candidate in local body elections, the police said.
A BJP leader in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, died after three unidentified men allegedly injected him with a poisonous substance. The incident took place on Monday evening when the leader, Gulfam Singh Yadav, was sitting at his farm. He was being taken to Aligarh for treatment but died on the way. Police are investigating the case.
Days after the alleged caste-based tonsuring of a Bhagwat Katha preacher and his aide in Etawah's Dandarpur village, tensions escalated on Thursday as members of Yadav groups staged protests demanding the arrest of all accused and withdrawal of the case registered against the victims.
Abu Farhan Azmi, son of Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi, has denied brandishing a weapon in a fight in Goa, calling the incident a "small thing" that got out of hand. He maintains he is not against the coastal state and has been visiting Goa for 20 years. Azmi's father has recently faced criticism for comments praising Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat was unable to end its 18-year jinx in Visavadar as it lost the bypolls to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party despite a strong campaign.
Live coverage of a cultural extravaganza in Etawah in the ancestral Saifai village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has been prohibited by the district administration.
The delegation will now head to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, where they are expected to arrive on Sunday. Member of the delegation, Brijesh Chowta left earlier for Ljubljana.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said 'there is no need for socialism in India', adding 'secularism is not the core of our culture'.
BJP's Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had sought the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
How he hopes to retain his fort is anyone's guess, says Nazarwala, the man who called right the 2007 and 2012 UP elections.
The actress-turned-neta wants to "serve" and not contest any elections.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Thursday rejected an indirect offer made by the Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh to join his outfit.
Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman on Thursday said he will not apologise for his remarks on Rana Sanga because one cannot deny history.
The Samajwadi Party on Friday expelled six MPs for defying the party whip during Tuesday's trust vote.
During the meeting, held at the residence of Pranab Mukherjee, the government's pointsman for the deal, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh was understood to have been briefed about the deal and the steps India would have to take in the coming weeks to push it through.
The deadly stampede at the Maha Kumbh, leading to the deaths of at least 30 people, resonated in both Houses of Parliament on Monday, with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and other Opposition leaders demanding a list of the deceased.
Rinku Singh gifted his father Khanchand Singh a Kawasaki Ninja 400 motorcycle.
The Congress announced on Thursday that it would not field candidates in the nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls are being held and would support Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) nominees.
The SP continued silence on last week's acquittal of 16 policemen, pointedly accused of the cold-blooded murder of 42 Muslims in Meerut
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
A day after the Congress reached out to Mulayam Singh Yadav seeking support for passage of the Food Security Bill, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday decided to support the legislation but will move amendments seeking to give farmers their due for crops and giving more grains per person.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday on Sunday attacked Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party on Muslim reservation issue saying these parties are trying to "entrap" the Muslims with the "expired salve" of secularism and religious reservation.
Reacting to the beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control, the Samajwadi Party on Tuesday said that a war with the country would give it a "befitting" reply for its brutality.