The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'Mr Ballot Box' occupied the front row seat in the aircraft escorted under the watchful gaze of the Assistant Returning Officers of their respective states.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and firmed up the responses to the terror attack.
A 10-member delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) had announced the dharna after meeting a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) to press their demand.
Elections to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi that were slated for April 26 were postponed on Thursday, with Lt Governor V K Saxena citing 'unprecedented' circumstances where the chief minister is under judicial custody and cannot discharge his constitutionally obligated functions.
Two vacancies of election commissioners came about following the resignation of Arun Goel on Friday and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement on February 14.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said it is some people's job to create doubts and asserted the systems in place at the Election Commission are strong to ensure no mistakes creep in.
The Delhi CM said that the people of India won't forgive the Election Commission and the BJP for manipulating the Constitution.
The Central Vigilance Commission has directed the Public Works Department of Delhi government to conduct a detailed probe into the alleged merger of properties to expand the 6, Flagstaff Road bungalow and the expenditures incurred on its interiors, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijender Gupta said on Saturday.
The Bombay high court on Friday constituted a three-judge special bench to hear the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the law providing Maratha reservation following a Supreme Court directive.
Celebrations started at AAP's office in New Delhi with supporters carrying party flags distributing sweets and dancing to the beat of drums.
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's move to get a post on electoral bonds scheme deleted from social media platform X and said that the issue raised in the post makes the government 'extremely uncomfortable'.
Ramesh was asked by the poll panel to submit factual details by Sunday evening of the allegations that he made in a social media post recently.
The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
Questioning the relevance of the electoral process amidst the ongoing turmoil, the women traders from various market associations, are contemplating a boycott of the polls with their major grievance being -- 'the nation forgot Manipur'.
'Will the LG be ready to rule with a light hand, having been vested with powers that amount to using a hammer to kill a fly?' asks Aditi Phadnis.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Aamir Khan has never endorsed any political party in his 35-year career and the viral video of the Bollywood superstar is "fake" and alarming, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The accusation comes a day after the President's secretariat forwarded the assertions of the Opposition BJP that Delhi was facing a constitutional crisis to the ministry of home affairs for "proper attention".
The bench said it was not questioning the credentials of the election commissioners appointed but the procedure.
The Commission, under Justice (retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, would recommend an amendment to the Constitution to add the "new chapter or part" on simultaneous elections, the sources said.
The Cabinet also initiated the process of notifying the dates of the seven-phase parliamentary elections by sending the Election Commission's recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu.
A high-level committee on Thursday recommended simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and state assemblies as the first step followed by synchronised local body polls within 100 days.
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.
A delegation of opposition party leaders on Friday met the top brass of Election Commission to raise its concerns over poll code violations by the ruling party leaders, and also flagged concerns over delay in release of voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the polls.
The Delhi high court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking direction to the Centre and the Election Commission to make voting compulsory in parliamentary and assembly polls, saying it cannot force a person to vote.
'I feel very happy that we are under democracy. The important thing is to pick the right people for your constituency. What we can do is more important than what the govt can do.'
The BJP received 39.94 percent votes, while the Congress managed 39.09 percent in the assembly polls.
According to the procedure, all reports of the law panel are submitted to the Union law ministry, which then forwards those to the ministries concerned.
This article traces the history of the DMK's fight for state autonomy, beginning with C.N. Annadurai's advocacy in the 1960s and culminating in M. Karunanidhi's resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1974. The article highlights the key figures involved, the arguments presented, and the impact of the Rajamannar Committee Report.
Sharada Kukreja, a Pakistani woman living in Odisha for 35 years after marrying an Indian citizen, has been served a notice to leave the country. She has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi to stop her deportation, citing her long-standing ties to India and family here. Sharada fled Pakistan to escape forced conversion and marriage, and despite having an Aadhaar card and participating in elections, she has not been granted Indian citizenship. The Odisha government has identified 12 Pakistani nationals residing in the state and asked them to leave by April 27. Another Pakistani woman in Bhubaneswar also received a country exit permit on Saturday.
The Election Commission on Monday censured BJP leader Dilip Ghosh and Congress'd Supriya Shrinate for derogatory remarks against the dignity of women.
Sagoo was the lone candidate left in fray after incumbent senior vice president Anju Bobby George opted out of the race for the position.
From florists in Ghazipur's phool mandi to sweet shop owners in Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk, the preparations, if not the sales, have already begun.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of raising questions on sensitive defence matters in Parliament after his marriage to a British citizen. Sarma alleged that Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has links with the Pakistani establishment, including working for an organisation allegedly a front for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Gogoi has rejected the allegations as "baseless" and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its own failures.
In the Congress's Central Election Committee (CEC) held to discuss ticket allocation for the forthcoming Haryana assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi discussed about the possibilities of contesting elections as INDIA bloc, said sources.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have intensified their investigations against Gaurav Mehta, a suspect in a Bitcoin Ponzi scam, following allegations that politicians may have been involved in using cryptocurrency to influence Maharashtra assembly polls. The ED searched Mehta's residence in Raipur and seized computers and digital devices. The CBI summoned him to appear before investigators. The ED is probing Mehta's potential links to politicians, politically exposed persons, and bureaucrats as part of its money laundering probe. The allegations came after BJP released purported voice notes suggesting that Congress and NCP leaders were attempting to use cryptocurrency for election campaigning. Both parties denied the claims, calling the voice notes fake.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
The counting of votes in Mizoram will take place on December 4, a day after it was originally scheduled, the Election Commission said on Friday.
'I wonder how people who come to power through democratic means turn out this way.' 'But people of India are strong, and those who think they can hoodwink people, are mistaken.' 'You can fool some people for some time, but not all people, all the time.'
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