Ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, the government has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Saturday.
The first time the Election Commission has taken cognisance of a model code of conduct complaint against a sitting prime minister.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand held their first phone conversation, focusing on strengthening bilateral economic ties and advancing shared priorities. The call comes amid efforts to repair relations between the two countries, which had been strained under the previous Canadian government. Both ministers expressed their commitment to improving ties and working together on areas of mutual interest. The conversation follows a period of tensions stemming from allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil.
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to regulate the appointment and service terms of Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners incorporating key amendments like retaining their status at par with Supreme Court judges, upgrading the search committee and inserting a new clause to protect them from court cases while discharging their official duties.
From Instagram to X, social media platforms, in the run-up to the polls have seen bitter poster wars and even bitter meme battles for political one-upmanship.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
The None of the Above (NOTA) option once again found few takers, with 0.75 per cent of the electorate pressing the button in Maharashtra and 1.32 per cent in Jharkhand. Votes for the assembly elections in these two states were counted on Saturday.
The assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held in a single phase while Jharkhand polls will be held in two phases, the Election Commission of India announced on Tuesday.
Days after Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar undertook an hours-long trek to a remote polling station in Uttarakhand, the poll panel on Tuesday decided to double the remuneration of polling officials going to such booths as early as three days before voting day.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
Sitiveni Rabuka's visit to New Delhi marks a major shift in India-Fiji ties as the former coup leader who once expelled India's envoy now returns as an honoured guest, explains Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The legendary Seshan was not keeping good health for the past couple of years and he passed away at about 9.30 pm, a senior police official told PTI.
Bypolls are due in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Acting on complaints, the Election Commission on Wednesday ordered suspension of police personnel violating its guidelines on checking of voters and stopping them from casting votes in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, officials said.
The Rajya Sabha has already given its nod to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023.
Justice Rastogi asks Mehta if he thinks that in the absence of law, whatever appointments are being made in a process are appropriate.
India and Canada have agreed to restore High Commissioners to each other's capitals at an early date, the first in 'calibrated steps' to restore stability to the 'very important relationship', Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he will be attending the G7 Summit later this month in Canada and that he looked forward to meeting his newly elected Canadian counterpart Mark Carney.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Election Commission (EC) is duty bound to act in a fair and legal manner and a person who is weak-kneed before the powers cannot be appointed as an election commissioner.
It is learnt that Ottawa is yet to send an invitation to the Indian prime minister for the summit, but Modi, in any way, would have skipped it as such a visit would have required a lot of groundwork considering the current state of ties between the two sides, said the people cited above.
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said the poll authority will review the COVID-19 situation on January 15 and take a further call on allowing public rallies.
Hitting back at the Election Commission after it dismissed allegations about slowing down the updating of Haryana election results, the Congress on Tuesday said the poll watchdog's reply degrades the conversational level to an 'unacceptable low' and 'misrepresents crucial facts' in a vein similar to that done by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Chronological order of events leading up to Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami recommending the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla.
Former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master and Delhi-based historian Meenakshi Jain have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
Assembly elections will be held in four states with the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, which will start from April 19, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar announced on Saturday.
In a heinous terror attack, two Indians were killed while one was abducted in the Dosso region of Niger, as noted by the Indian Embassy in Niger.
India has lodged a strong protest with Canada over the "threatening language" and "unacceptable imagery" targeting Indian leadership at a parade held in Toronto. The floats at the parade reportedly featured pro-Khalistan propaganda and imagery attacking Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India conveyed its concerns to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, calling on Canadian authorities to act against "anti-India elements" who are spreading hatred and advocating extremism and a separatist agenda. This incident comes days after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's victory in the general election, which was seen as an opportunity to repair India-Canada ties that had been strained under Justin Trudeau's leadership. The two countries have been grappling with strained relations since Trudeau's allegations in September 2023 of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
Kumar also hinted that the Maharashtra elections could be held after Diwali.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said the EC was very enthused by the voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir during the Lok Sabha elections, which showed the eagerness of the people to participate in the democratic process.
It said that increased focus on expenditure monitoring was the reason being the seizures, which included freebies such as sarees, 'food kits', pressure cookers and kitchen appliances.
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Banking on the Budget's tax relief, the BJP seeks to energise Delhi's middle class; the AAP is doing its bit too. But will their outreach mobilise this politically crucial yet disengaged electorate?
The State Election Commission in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday imposed restrictions on conduct of exit polls till the last of the eight-phase District Development Council election is completed.
The plea had also sought to bar the BJP and its leaders from using the "Jai Shri Ram" slogan during the poll campaign in the state.
India is the fifth largest economy in the world and it is central to a number of critical global supply chains, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, arguing that the leadership of the country must be part of discussions at the upcoming G7 summit.
The poll panel has convened a press conference to announce the schedule. The term of the 182-member Gujarat assembly ends on February 18 next year.
Soon after Gandhi's press conference, the Election Commission said it will respond with full facts in writing.
'The people of Gujarat are more religious than people of other states, this gives the BJP an advantage.'
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking initiation of breach of privilege proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making "blatant lies and vilification campaign" during his speech in the House. Dubey alleged that Gandhi used his parliamentary privilege to spread canards without authenticating his charges and distorted historical facts during his speech. Gandhi had claimed that mobile phones were not made in India but only assembled here, China has captured the Indian territory, and India had sent Foreign Minister S Jaishankar to the US to get an invite for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US President Donald Trump's swearing-in ceremony. He also made allegations related to the electoral rolls for the Maharashtra Assembly polls and the law for the appointment of the elections commissioner. Dubey accused Gandhi of misusing the Constitution's Article 105, which accords privileges to parliamentarians for their comments made inside the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. He urged the Speaker to initiate proceedings against Gandhi, alleging that Parliament's records and proceedings are a testimony to his irresponsible attitude.
Ahmedabad civic authorities launched a massive demolition drive on Tuesday, razing over 2,000 illegally constructed houses and properties in the Chandola Lake area. The operation, which involved around 50 teams equipped with earthmovers and 2,000 police personnel, was carried out days after illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were detained from these settlements. The Gujarat High Court declined to stay the action, observing that the dwellings were situated on the periphery of the water body and therefore subject to demolition under the Land Revenue Code. Authorities also demolished the illegal farmhouse of Lalu Pathan, alleged mastermind behind the encroachments, who is suspected to have helped illegal immigrants obtain rental accommodation and Aadhaar cards.
