In a stunning comeback, Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance on Saturday stormed to power in Jharkhand for a second consecutive term, winning 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, despite an all-out blitz by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance which managed only 24 seats.
The prime accused in the rape of a minor girl allegedly escaped from police custody, jumped into a pond and died on Saturday morning at Dhing in Assam's Nagaon district, an official said.
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
Almost a week after winning the Assam Assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to decide on the name of its Chief Ministerial nominee on Saturday in a crucial meeting called by the central leadership of the party.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra in a grand ceremony at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
Last month, the Cabinet had approved the Repealing Bill to abolish the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorce Registration Act and Rules of 1935, which permitted underage marriages under specific conditions.
The decks have been cleared for the appointment of TDSAT member JS Sarma as the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Sarma will succeed former Trai chairman Nripendra Mishra who retired on March 22, 2009.
Members of the Congress and AIUDF, protesting against a Cabinet decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, staged walkouts later.
Tata Electronics on Saturday began the construction of its Rs 27,000-crore chip assembly plant in Assam, which is expected to become operational next year and create 27,000 jobs initially. The plant will produce 4.83 crore chips per day using indigenously-developed technologies. The plant's Bhumi Pujan (foundation stone laying) ceremony was held at the project site at Jagiroad in Morigaon district in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran.
The special leaves cannot be used for personal enjoyment and those without parents or parents-in-laws will not be eligible for the leaves, it added.
Holi was celebrated with pomp and splendor across India on Friday, with people soaking in the festivities by smearing 'gulaal' on each other and exchanging greetings and sweets. Homes and streets wore a colourful look as the revellers splashed colours and feasted on traditional delicacies. Public transport did not ply in the morning in most major cities while metro services started functioning from noon. As Holi coincided with the second Friday prayers during the holy Islamic month of Ramzan, security -- including increased patrolling and picketing -- was beefed up in several states. In Delhi, more than 25,000 security personnel were deployed. Police closely monitored about 300 sensitive areas with CCTV cameras and drones.
The Assam assembly will discontinue with the two-hour break provided on Fridays to facilitate Muslim legislators to offer 'namaaz', Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The rule will be implemented from the next session, an assembly official said.
Sarma said his government was looking forward to the legislation on the Uniform Civil Code, which will be considered during a special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly that is starting from February 5.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 31 assembly seats spread across 10 states and Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, from where Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut. Though these bye-elections are not going to have any bearing on the governments, they are seen as a big test for the Congress and the INDIA bloc which failed to put up a united show in the recent Haryana assembly polls. Most of these seats fell vacant after the sitting MLAs contested the Lok Sabha elections and won while in some constituencies, the bypolls are being held due to death of the representatives. The Wayanad seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. Voting will be held in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four seats in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two seats in Madhya Pradesh, and one seat each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala and Meghalaya. Votes will be counted on November 23.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, chief ministers of Nationalist Democratic Alliance-ruled states and prominent personalities from industry and Bollywood on Thursday attended the grand swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Mumbai.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, two days after he resigned from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha citing dissatisfaction with the party's current style of functioning and 'bitter humiliation'.
Trai member A K Sawhney had been acting as chairman since Nripendra Mishra retired on March 22 this year. Before joining Trai, Sarma was member of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and is a well-known expert in the field, the regulator said.
Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said people of the state have voted for development and protection of their identity.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for uploading a post with casteist remarks on his social media platforms saying that his team made an 'incorrect translation' of a verse from the Bhagavad Gita.
'Women' as a political constituency appears to be an idea that has come of age. It is changing India in ways that we only dimly understand, asserts Aditi Phadnis.
Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance throwing all its weight to snatch Jharkhand from the hands of a Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-headed coalition, the saffron camp suffered a debacle leaving the party's rank and file wondering what had gone wrong.
Twenty-two police personnel and a government official were also injured in an attack by an irate mob which prompted the firing by the law enforcers.
The accident took place in the Lumding-Bardarpur Hill section under Lumding division.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday hit out at the Election Commission for the 'tone and tenor' of its recent letter to his party while also urging the poll body to act against 'communal and incendiary rhetoric' allegedly used by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during poll campaigns.
The Assam police suo motu registered the FIR against Gandhi and several other leaders for "wanton acts of violence" here during the party's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' on Tuesday.
The senior JMM leader, who briefly held the chief minister's post after Hemant Soren's resignation, said only the saffron party seems serious over the issue of tribals, while others are indulging in vote bank politics.
Rahul claimed that the Assam CM has taken land in Kaziranga National Park.
The refugees launched their hunger strike since Monday evening and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also been apprised of the situation, he added.
The body of an eight-year-old boy who had fallen into a stormwater drain in Guwahati on Thursday, was recovered about 4 km downstream in Rajgarh area, police said.
The BJP's year has been marked by a remarkable ability to adapt its message and methods, rebounding from Lok Sabha election setbacks with improbable wins in Haryana and Maharashtra. The party's campaign machine, drawing on the strength of the RSS and its affiliates, has demonstrated a capacity to shift focus and respond to regional dynamics. While the BJP faces challenges, its adaptability and Modi's unchallenged leadership suggest a continued strong presence on the Indian political landscape.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid the foundation stone for a Rs 27,000-crore semiconductor assembly and test facility in Assam's Morigaon district on Wednesday. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was present at the event organised at the site of the facility in Jagiroad, said today is a landmark day for Assam and the North East. "Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji is laying the foundation stone for the Rs 27,000 crore Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility at Jagiroad," the chief minister posted on 'X'.
Dhubri is the worst-hit district, followed by Cachar and Darrang.
'After his warm and affectionate farewell speech, the Chief of Staff of the formation asked me, "So, now you are off to Coorg to look after your coffee estates?"' For the last time, in Army uniform and much to his surprise, I replied, "Sir, I am not from Kodagu.".'
Gogoi and Sarma have been locked in a war of words on 'X' since Wednesday on the issue of the chief minister's wife's company allegedly being given a credit subsidy of Rs 10 crore.
"I am a son of Assam and if a single person who has not applied for NRC in the state gets citizenship, I will be the first to resign," the chief minister said on the sidelines of a programme at Sivasagar.
BJP leader Pema Khandu took oath as the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for the third consecutive term on Thursday.
The student was detained three days after the ISIS India head Haris Farooqi alias Harish Ajmal Farukhi and his associate Anurag Singh alias Rehan were arrested in Dhubri district after they had crossed over from Bangladesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in as new chief minister of Maharashtra while allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday evening.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should avoid visiting the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava on January 22, as there can be no competition between Lord Ram and the medieval age Vaishnav saint revered as an icon in the state.
Modi, in his rally just days ahead of the last phase of the Lok Sabha election, also said that "well-wishers of Naveen babu are worried over his deteriorating health condition."
