'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
Lalu's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, however, sought to downplay the remarks made by his father, in an interview to a local news channel, claiming that the RJD supremo had merely tried to satisfy the curiosity of the prying media.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered setting up of a special investigation team to probe the alleged gangrape of a teenager by five school students on June 12 and the circumstances in which a CD of the incident was made public.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar stressed the need to finalise seat-sharing arrangements by January at the recent meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a key aide disclosed on Friday.
A massive fire that tore through a budget hotel in the congested Mechuapatti area of Burrabazar in central Kolkata on Tuesday night claimed at least 14 lives and left 13 injured, triggering a political blame game and calls for accountability.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United on Saturday maintained that 'there is no confusion' among the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) partners in Bihar.
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
He reaffirmed that parties opposed to the BJP can win with a "huge majority" in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls if they agree to join hands.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has reiterated the state's opposition to Hindi imposition by the Centre, calling it a 'mask' for Sanskrit. He also claimed that the National Education Policy (NEP) is being used to promote Sanskrit in many states, and that the Centre is trying to do away with languages like Tamil and impose Sanskrit. Stalin's statement comes amid growing concerns over the alleged imposition of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states.
The two leaders heaped praise upon each other for effectively implementing prohibition in their states, reports M I Khan from Patna.
Maoists have killed Abhay Kumar Yadav, one of the four kidnapped Bihar policemen, following a decision taken by the 'people's court' after the deadline given by the Left-wing extremists to the state government expired.Avinash, a self-proclaimed Maoist spokesman, has confirmed that Maoists killed Yadav, a sub-inspector in the state police. "We killed him and warned the state government to release our comrades till 10 am on Friday morning," he said.
Jitan Ram Manjhi went ahead with proposing dissolution of the assembly
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday visited Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar in the presence of party president Sharad Yadav to reconcile after Bharatiya Janata Party's top leadership in Delhi made it clear not to support Manjhi.
Police swung into action soon after learning about the posters put up at 'Chalukya Circle', just a stone's throw from the venue of the meeting which is being attended by Nitish Kumar.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
BJP president JP Nadda said on Sunday that the party does not seek to control the Waqf Board but wants to ensure that those managing it operate within the bounds of law and adhere to established rules. He said the properties and funds of the Waqf Board should be dedicated to promoting education, providing healthcare and employment opportunities for the Muslim community. Nadda also highlighted the BJP's growth and achievements, emphasizing its commitment to national unity and cultural heritage.
Giving another dimension to the identity proof controversy in the capital, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday saw the move as a "sinister design" to target the people from his state.
"Liberty is granted to newly-added respondents (states) to file a response within 15 days from the date of service, and rejoinder if any be filed after 15 days. The interim order to continue and will equally apply to the cases mentioned in the amended writ petition. We direct no further cases be registered without the permission of this court," the bench's order said.
Amid deepening fissures in Kumar's ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, BJP leaders have indicated that they are open to tying up with him again.
Allies since the 1990s, the JD-U and the BJP have in the recent past squabbled on issues ranging from Agnipath, caste census, population law and ban on loudspeakers.
'The 2020 assembly election was a Tejaswi Yadav election; whereas this is a Lalu Yadav election. It is his plan.'
The Maha Kumbh, a massive religious gathering in Prayagraj, India, is preparing for the culmination of its events with the Mahashivratri 'snan' (sacred bath) on Wednesday. Authorities have declared the entire mela area a 'no vehicle zone' and are urging devotees to take a dip at the ghat nearest to them to avoid crowding at the Sangam. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is monitoring the arrangements and has issued an advisory for devotees, outlining specific ghats for different arrival routes. The Maha Kumbh has seen a record number of pilgrims, exceeding 64 crore. Security arrangements are robust with over 37,000 police personnel and 14,000 home guards deployed. The fair has also been hailed for its cleanliness and safety measures. The event is expected to conclude with the Mahashivratri puja.
Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad burnt an effigy of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on Friday evening to protest the transfer of 224.02 acres of land to Aligarh Muslim University by the state government for establishing the AMU Kishanganj Centre.
Altogether 77 people have been arrested in connection with the communal violence that erupted in Bihar Sharif town in Nalanda district during the Ram Navami festivities, police said on Sunday.
Amid speculation over Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United's next move in the wake of vote counting trends, senior party leader K C Tyagi on Tuesday said they are in the National Democratic Alliance and 'we will be in the NDA'.
The bodies of the last four of the trapped labourers were pulled out from the site of the avalanche-hit Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Chamoli on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight as authorities ended the nearly 60-hour rescue operation.
On his maiden visit to Bihar after assuming power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said politics had hampered the development of the state and promised to give more than Rs 50,000 crore special package to the poll-bound state at the right time.
The governor accepted Kumar's resignation, and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government is formed, they said.
He was administered the oath of office by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.
The Bihar result could be a flash in the pan but it has Nitish Kumar seriously worried. More so, because the loss represents a defeat for many of the reforms he was trying to introduce.
Although the Bihar CM is mum over his next move, speculations of a rift between Mahagathbandhan and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar joining the NDA, have been soaring high.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha and needing the National Democratic Alliance partners to form the government at the Centre, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United head Nitish Kumar and Telugu Desam Party's N Chandrababu Naidu have emerged as potential kingmakers.
Bihar CM says their activities are not in the best interest of the government.
With its age-old fascination for education, southern states have done better than the North. Start-ups, IT hubs, and industry majors setting up shop have changed the face of the South. Nearly 79% of global offices set up by international conglomerates in India are in the South. Almost 46% of tech unicorns are from the South. The GDP per person in the South is 4.2 times higher than the North. None of these indicators can be ignored by any central government, whatever the political compulsions, notes Ramesh Menon.
Fielding a strong joint opposition candidate from Varanasi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was among the proposals discussed at the fourth meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), sources said.
'The issue has been cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief J P Nadda much before the elections'
Chaudhary alleged that the BJP "hates Bihar" after having lost power in the state, which is "back in the centre-stage of national politics" since the opposition meeting hosted in Patna by Nitish Kumar.
Sources within the INDIA bloc said appointing Nitish Kumar as convenor would lend credibility to the INDIA bloc's demand for conducting a nationwide caste census.
The court order is in the public domain for all to see, the JMM executive president said, adding that he would discharge his duties with commitment.
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