Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Parrikar will stay at his private residence in Panaji,
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party managed to notch up a morale-boosting win on its 'Mission Northeast' on Thursday by retaining Tripura emphatically, despite anti-incumbency and newcomer Tipra Motha playing spoilers to its party, while also piggy-backing to power in Nagaland on Neiphiu Rio-led NDPP's shoulder.
The Delhi high court has said that Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, Netta D'Souza along with others conspired to 'launch a tirade of false scathing and belligerent personal attacks' on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Smriti Irani and her daughter, who are neither owners of the restaurant in Goa nor have they ever applied for the licence for food and beverages at the eatery, as alleged.
Michael Lobo, who resigned as deputy speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly, and three of the 10 MLAs who joined the BJP -- Chandrakant Kavlekar, Jeniffer Monserratte, Philip Neri Rodrigues -- were sworn in as new ministers.
The assembly polls are seen as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, especially in the wake of demonetisation.
Should the anti-defection law in India exist only to prevent democratically elected governments from being toppled?
In a massive setback to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed his petition challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam, saying there was no contravention of legal provisions.
While former minister and MLA Aravind Limbavali's wife Manjula Arvind Limbavali has got the ticket for the Mahadevapura constituency, the party has fielded Katta Jagadish, son of former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu from Hebbal.
The "guests from Goa", BJP sources said, have been shifted to a private farm house on the Jaipur-Ajmer road, about 20 km from Jaipur.
Upset with the removal of Subhash Velingkar as Goa RSS chief, over 300 Sangh workers have annouced that they will quit the organisation and vowed to "defeat" the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly polls next year if he is not reinstated.
The party is eyeing at expanding its footprint across the country and has tied up with the Congress to contest the Lok Sabha polls against the BJP in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat.
The development comes at a time when Parrikar, 62, is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.
Nath's comment came amid the exodus from Congress and four days after eight MLAs of the Grand Old Party from Goa switched allegiance to BJP.
While the Congress currently has 14 MLAs, down from 16 after Sopte and Shirodkar left it to join the BJP, the latter has 13 MLAs.
The widely expected development underlines the party's preference for continuity as it gears up for the all-important Lok Sabha polls next year, expected in April-May.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The states and union territories where the elections are being held in this phase are Assam (4), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (7), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2), Goa (2), Gujarat (25), Karnataka (14), Maharashtra (11), Madhya Pradesh (8), Uttar Pradesh (10) and West Bengal (4). The BJP has bagged the Surat seat unopposed.
'Not just Maharashtra, the Congress has not fielded even one Muslim candidate from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.'
As the new year arrives, what is clear is that the BJP's stars continue to shine the brightest while its rivals' search for a way to dim their glow go on.
The CM said that parents have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their children.
The MNS chief started his speech with the name of Nehru, then paused. After a few tense seconds, he resumed: "After Nehru, here is the only politician who will be PM for the third term."
Shinde and Fadnavis held a brief meeting at the latter's residence before both of them headed to the Raj Bhavan along with several BJP leaders.
First-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma was sworn in as the chief minister of Rajasthan at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party's top leadership on Friday, 12 days after the party ousted the Congress in the assembly polls.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manohar Parrikar is all set to become the chief minister of Goa for the third time after the BJP-MGP combine on Wednesday staked its claim to form the government with the support of 26 legislators and the swearing -in will be held on Friday.
At its Jaipur meeting, the BJP will focus on this year's assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh while the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Udaipur will discuss how it can resurrect itself.
BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday promised Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs in Himachal Pradesh while releasing the party's manifesto for the state assembly polls.
The ED also alleged that Kejriwal, during his questioning, said AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair 'did not report to him' but to his cabinet colleagues Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and that his interaction with Nair was 'limited'.
Here are some of the glimpses.
Reacting sharply to Banerjee's fulminations, the Congress struck back pointing out that Prime Minster Narendra Modi's and her stand were similar, with one seeking a 'Congress 'Mukt' (Free) India' and the other, an 'Opposition coalition sans Congress'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has announced a list of 22 candidates for the forthcoming Goa polls. The list, which was announced on Sunday night, includes names of its prominent leaders except its Member of Parliament Sripad Naik, who has refused to contest. The party's central election committee, which met in Delhi on Sunday night with party national president Nitin Gadkari, finalised the list.
The Delhi high court on Friday issued summons to Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Netta D'Souza on a civil defamation suit filed by Union minister Smriti Irani seeking damages of over Rs 2 crore for allegedly making baseless allegations against her and her daughter.
Parrikar's poor health has sparked speculation over his continuation as the chief minister of Goa, and Shah had recently sent a central party leaders team to the coastal state to speak to allies and take stock of political situation.
Amid opposition unity talks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the Trinamool Congress, alleging that it was fighting elections in Meghalaya to ensure the Bharatiya Janata Party comes to power in the state, drawing a sharp reaction from the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
On poll eve, both the BJP and the Congress claimed they were headed towards a majority and would form the government.
Cashing-in on the anti-incumbency factor in a big way, the Bharatiya Janata Party-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party combine on Wednesday rode to power in Goa, ousting the Congress and securing majority in a House of 40 members, nearly half of whom will be new faces.
Former Uttarakhand CM and Congress leader Harish Rawat alleged that the state government wants an immediate discussion on the UCC bill despite nobody having a draft copy of it.
In his absence, the party stares at uncertainty as many of its other senior leaders are either in jail or in political obscurity.
Independent MLA Govind Gawde supporting the BJP's effort to form the next Goa government confirms that defence minister told him he will be the next Goa chief minister
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra soon following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, will be holding a series of meetings in Mumbai on Thursday to decide the future course of action, where party's state in-charge C T Ravi will remain present, party sources said.
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