The Congress' Seva Dal organised a candle march in New Delhi, demanding justice for Ankita Bhandari, who was murdered in Uttarakhand in 2022. The protest called for an impartial investigation and accountability, especially regarding allegations against BJP's Dushyant Gautam, whose recent appointment as Sikkim Governor has drawn criticism from the Congress.
Rahul Gandhi has written to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her to ask the government to reconsider the appointment of Dushyant Gautam as Governor of Sikkim. Gandhi argues that Gautam's appointment, while a CBI probe into the Ankita Bhandari murder case is ongoing, places him beyond the reach of investigation due to gubernatorial immunity. Ankita's parents allege Gautam's involvement and have protested the appointment.
President Droupadi Murmu has announced a major gubernatorial reshuffle, appointing new governors for Tamil Nadu, Keralam, Sikkim, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and Odisha. Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar moves from Keralam to Tamil Nadu, while Om Prakash Mathur becomes the new Keralam Governor. Dushyant Gautam, Sudha Yadav, Dhal Singh Bisen, and Braj Mohan Ram are among the new appointees, bringing diverse political experience to their roles.
The BJP's Sikkim unit has supported the appointment of Dushyant Kumar Gautam as governor, despite opposition allegations linking him to the "VIP" in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. The party called for an independent and impartial probe by the CBI, which recently met Bhandari's parents, and stressed that justice must be free from political influence.
The CBI questioned former MLA Suresh Rathore in Haridwar regarding the Ankita Bhandari murder case, a day after meeting Bhandari's parents. Rathore, who has been expelled from the BJP, denied knowing actress Urmila Sanawar, whose allegations fueled the 'VIP' involvement controversy. The case has seen renewed protests following a governor's appointment and a recommended CBI inquiry earlier this year.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Nabin has made his first significant mark on the BJP's national apparatus with a major organisational reshuffle, bringing back key figures like Smriti Irani and Ram Madhav while removing Nadda-era functionaries, signalling a strategic move ahead of crucial state elections.
Educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's indefinite hunger strike has entered its 20th day, with doctors warning of his critical health condition. Despite this, Wangchuk is resolute in his call for a peaceful march to Parliament on July 20, coinciding with the Monsoon Session's opening, to protest alleged examination irregularities and demand the Union education minister's resignation.
Expelled BJP leader Suresh Rathore appeared before the SIT probing the Ankita Bhandari murder case and was questioned for over six hours. He denies allegations and claims they are baseless.
Ankita's father, Virendra Singh Bhandari, and mother, Soni Devi, met Dhami on Wednesday night and handed him a letter demanding an enquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge.
The 31-year-old will have to do the balancing act between his anti-BJP support base and work with the Khattar-led dispensation for smooth governance.
Khattar, Dushyant and some ministers will be sworn-in at 2.15 pm at the Haryana Raj Bhavan on Sunday.
Responding to a query, Mathur said there is no "formula" for electing the chief minister.
Keen to make a career in wrestling, many Haryana athletes try to come through neighbouring state Delhi by procuring fake certificates.
Chautala said he is 'quite hopeful' that the farmers protesting over the new agri-marketing laws will understand that when the Centre is giving written assurances, it 'a victory for their struggle'.
Gautam said, "If he is Ram's avatar, then Rahul Gandhi should tell his sena what he consumes that he doesn't feel cold, why doesn't his sena roam without clothes... Congressmen should roam naked as Lord Ram's sena did."
"The Congress did not behave properly with my grandfather. I campaigned for the BJP during the Madan Lal Khurrana days in Delhi. My grandfather wanted me to join the BJP. He had introduced me to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani," he said.
Radha Mohan Singh appointed in-charge of politically crucial UP. Kailash Vijayvargiya will continue to be the in-charge of West Bengal and he will be assisted by BJP national secretary Arvind Menon and party national IT cell head Amit Malviya.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party a clear winner in the Delhi assembly elections, meet the BJP aspirants for the chief minister's post.
Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj, will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from the New Delhi seat and incumbent MP Manoj Tiwari from Northeast Delhi as the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced the names of five candidates from the national capital, dropping four MPs -- Meenakshi Lekhi, Harsh Vardhan, Parvesh Verma and Ramesh Bidhuri.
On his condition of resolving farmers' issues, the BJP leader said Singh did not talk about ending the farmers' agitation.
The BJP has fielded former MP Parvesh Verma from the New Delhi seat against Arvind Kejriwal.
Counting of votes for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana was put on hold on Friday after the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Independent candidate backed by it urged the Election Commission to cancel the votes of two Congress MLAs.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance released its manifesto for the February 20 Punjab polls on Saturday, promising a slew of sops for various sections, including 75 per cent reservation in all government jobs for youngsters from the state, an unemployment allowance, 35 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and massive infrastructure development.
Wary of the possibility of cross-voting during the polling for two Rajya Sabha seats, the Congress is likely to take its Haryana MLAs to the party-ruled Chhattisgarh to protect them from poaching.
Incensed by the remark, the Congress President was heard saying, "Kya bola (what did he say)?" While protesting, she addressed Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and said, "What is this?"
Besides in-charges, the party has also named co-incharges for several states, a BJP statement said.
Independent MLA Balraj Kundu, who has been vocal against the BJP-led government on several issues, remained firm in his decision to abstain from voting.
Amit Shah, who missed campaigning in Bihar, made a two-day trip to Bengal starting November 5 to oversee BJPs preparedness for the state polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year.
The exercise would culminate into the election of a successor to Amit Shah.
Former Congress MLA from Barnala, Kewal Dhillon, and former Shiormani Akali Dal MLAs Sarup Chand Singla and Mohinder Kaur Josh also joined the BJP.
Bhandari, a three-term Congress legislator who was also a minister in the state in the past, joined the BJP in the presence of its senior leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and the party's national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP national general Secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam, BJP state unit president B Y Vijayendra, and former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai were among those present at the legislature party meeting, where R Ashoka was picked as its leader.
The BJP has dropped C T Ravi, a leader from Karnataka, Dilip Saikia, a Lok Sabha MP from Assam, as its general secretaries, and Vinod Sonkar, Harish Dwivedi, both Lok Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh, and Sunil Deodhar as secretaries.
A section of state leaders are reportedly miffed with Rawat's leadership and are of the view that the party's electoral prospects under him may not be very bright.
Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party, will be the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh where the saffron party returned to power after a gap of five years following the recently-concluded assembly polls.
As the virus ravaged rural areas, the state BJP figured out it was impossible to underplay or escape its impact on its political plans.
Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, a former member of Akali Dal's women wing and daughter of former Union minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, Gurpreet Singh Shahpur, Chand Singh Chatha and Baljinder Singh Dakoha, all associated with the former BJP ally, joined the saffron party in presence of a number its leaders, including cabinet minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
The decision was taken at a meeting of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions protesting at various Delhi border points against three farm laws.
Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday resigned as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, ending days of speculations of a change in leadership in the hill state.
