The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into a case related to two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying the approach of the government was of zero tolerance towards any crimes against women.
High voter turnout was recorded in the assembly polls in Assam and West Bengal where an estimated 82.02 per cent and 79.51 per cent of the voters cast their ballots till 5 pm.
The BJP, whose campaign was focussed more on issues related to nationalism and Shaheen Bagh, failed to find support among voters.
'The violence that shook Assam was a direct outcome of the state's ethnic problem... The tension that created a rift between the Bodos and the non-Bodos for years found a blood-spattered expression.' Former NSG chief Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary, the Trinamool Congress candidate from Kokrajhar, speaks to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com about last week's carnage in Assam.
While the leadership of the biggest Opposition party, the Congress, has not reacted, even non-Congress and (now) anti-BJP parties like the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have voiced no view on Banerjee's appeal, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Bharatiya Janata Party nominee S Selvaganapathy was declared elected unopposed to the lone seat in Rajya Sabha from Puducherry, the first time the saffron party has got representation in the Upper House from the Union Territory, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's two nominees, Kanimozhi N V N Somu and K R N Rajeshkumar, were elected without contest from Tamil Nadu.
Going by Himachal Pradesh's "riwaj", or tradition, it should be the Congress' turn to form the next government.
'There are 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh and we, in the north east, see this Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as a route for them to enter India on the plea that they are facing persecution in Bangladesh.'
He said the poll victory in Assam, the first for the party in the north east, has made it clear that BJP is rapidly receiving "popular acceptance" in all parts of the country which "augurs well" for the democracy.
A sizeable number of MLAs from across state assemblies cross-voted in support of President-elect Droupadi Murmu, defying their parties' stated support to Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, sources said on Thursday.
Bengali sub-nationalism is slowly emerging as a rallying cry ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections due next year.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitted a no-confidence motion moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi against the Narendra Modi government after a head count of over 50 MPs as required under the rules.
'Why is it that no other institutions are attacked? Why are only educational institutions run by Christians attacked?'
'Somebody strong is playing a game behind the violence in Manipur.' 'It is a pre-planned attack on churches, Christian organisations and Christians.'
Outgoing WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has convened a meeting on Sunday to nominate his panel, which will contest the upcoming WFI elections to elect the new office-bearers.
Security forces took out flag marches at several places including Ferozepur, Bathinda, Rupnagar, Faridkot, Batala, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Moga and Jalandhar in a show of strength.
The BJP's remarks came a day after the Congress leaders, led by Sonia Gandhi, met President Ram Nath Kovind and submitted a memorandum demanding resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah for "abdication of duty" during the communal violence in northeast Delhi. She had also reminded the Centre for its 'rajdharma' and protecting the people from all faiths in the country.
While main political parties especially Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaging in high-voltage campaign in Assam, young voters, especially the first timers, sound at a loss about which party or the candidate to choose, as they are hardly convinced about the poll promises and have not been swayed by histrionics of poll candidates.
A senior bishop of the influential Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on Thursday said instead of saying in the US that there is no discrimination in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should try to convince the Christians in Manipur about that.
Congress supporters in Assam are upbeat about their party vice president Rahul Gandhi's upcoming road show in the villages along with a massive rally in the state during his visit on February 25 and 26.
'The unfolding events indicate a dangerous internal security situation in Manipur and the region. It can have external ramifications also.'
Rahul Gandhi claimed that he was stopped from entering a temple in Barpeta by RSS workers during his recent visit to Assam.
Conrad Sangma on Friday evening submitted the letter of support to Meghalaya Governor Phagu Chauhan at Raj Bhawan signed by 32 MLAs of NPP, BJP, Hill State People's Democratic Party and two Independents.
A policeman and a hardcore United Liberation Front of Asom - Independent militant were killed on Tuesday in an encounter in Assam's Goalpara district
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.
A bomb was recovered on Monday from an unclaimed bag in a train just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Assam
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday appealed to the people to ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in 35 seats out of the 42 in West Bengal in the next Lok Sabha polls, saying that the Trinamool Congress government would not survive beyond 2025 if the target is achieved.
Throwing security concerns to wind Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday plunged himself amid the masses in Nagaon district of Assam during a road show after seeking blessings of Goddess Kamakhya at the historic Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati earlier in the day.
'There was a wrong policy of government during the Congress regime. They didn't construct roads up to the border which left a buffer zone of 3-4 km which China occupied. Construction of new villages isn't a new thing, it's all inherited from Congress'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused the Tarun Gogoi-led Assam government of not taking timely steps to contain the conflict in violence-hit districts of lower Assam.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on these quaint developments.
With Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, results for 51 assembly and two Lok Sabha bypolls spread across 18 states were declared on Thursday. Here are state-wise results of the bypolls.
The apex court ordered adequate steps to be taken for protecting places of worship.
Shergill said the primary reason was that "the ideology and the vision of the current decision makers of the Congress is no longer in sync with the aspirations of the youth and modern India".
'The BJP will not be able to create dictatorship of the kind it is perhaps dreaming of.' 'We have Bengal as the biggest example.'
Himanta Biswa Sarma -- who is also the North East Democratic Alliance convenor -- took the oath of office and secrecy in Assamese.
'...through the will of the people and commitment of leaders.' 'It may not happen today or tomorrow, but it will happen.'
Over 83 per cent of the more than 13 lakh electorate cast their vote on Monday in the single-day Nagaland state election which passed off by and large peacefully, Chief Electoral Officer V Shashank Shekhar said.
Former CM Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday accepted his responsibility for the Congress' debacle in Assam assembly polls.
During the Rath Yatra, Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra are carried from their home temple to another temple, located in what is believed to be their aunt's home.