Coming down hard on the Election Commission for its response on 'vote theft' allegations, former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Sunday said the poll body should have ordered a probe into Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's charges instead of 'shouting' at him in a language that was 'objectionable and offensive'.
Gandhi's remarks came on a day it emerged that the Election Commission has formally written to him on his allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all polls held by the poll panel strictly as per laws passed by Parliament and rules, and the entire exercise involves thousands of personnel, including booth-level agents appointed by political parties.
Rider Fateh Jahan Singh Dhaliwal, aged 16, has also approached the court, through his mother, seeking quashing of the list of selected athletes and requested "further directions to conduct the shortlisting of riders for the Asian Youth Games".
The Centre told the Supreme Court that governors are not indefinitely sitting on bills passed by state legislatures, and that barring a few exceptions, most have acted in a way which the apex court would have perhaps desired. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that a Governor is "not a rubber stamp" and has a duty to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.
'No one anticipated magical solutions or miraculous interventions.' 'However, people across the entire spectrum -- whether residing in the valley or the hills -- expected the prime minister to dedicate at least five to ten minutes to genuinely listening to the voice of the people.'
Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had met him in New Delhi before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls and 'guaranteed' the Opposition's victory in 160 of 288 constituencies.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan predicts Nitish Kumar will be Bihar CM again after elections, criticizes opposition for targeting the Army and questioning Operation Sindoor.
Former Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur was once again rendered ineligible to contest the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) elections, with his name omitted from the electoral college released on Wednesday for the August 21 polls.
As anti-establishment protests led by Nepal's Gen Z continue across the country, youth leaders at the forefront of the demonstrations have stated that the widespread corruption and political stagnation were the core reasons behind their mass mobilisation against the government.
The Supreme Court of India has sought the government's response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges the appointment process of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), arguing it's unconstitutional. The PIL, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, claims the current process, solely through executive appointment by the Prime Minister, undermines the CAG's independence and violates constitutional principles. The court, while acknowledging the importance of institutional trust, questioned the extent to which it should intervene in the appointment process and whether this would constitute rewriting constitutional provisions. The PIL suggests the CAG's appointment should be similar to other independent bodies, with a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India. The case has implications for the independence and transparency of India's audit system.
A new book by former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi claims that former chief election commissioner T N Seshan proposed an immediate halt to the general election process after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 and even offered to become home minister. Gandhi, who was joint secretary to then president R Venkatraman, writes that Seshan was the one who broke the news of the assassination to the president and arrived at the Rashtrapati Bhawan "super-fast" that night. According to Gandhi's account, Seshan told Venkatraman that he felt the election process needed to be stopped and that he was ready to take on the role of home minister if necessary. However, Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra assured the president that the situation was under control and that there was no need to pause the election process. Seshan's suggestions were ultimately ignored, but he did manage to postpone the second and third phases of polling.
Expressing surprise over political parties not coming forward in filing objections related to 65 lakh excluded voters, the top court directed the chief electoral officer of Bihar to implead them in the court proceedings.
The effective strength of both the Houses together is 786 and the winning candidate will require 394 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise.
'I want to request the central government that they should not target someone just for the sake of targeting him if he has not done anything wrong.'
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will spearhead discussions on gender eligibility criteria in sports, its new President Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday, four years after the ruling body had urged federations to handle the issue independently.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of 'linguistic terror' and plotting to delete Bengali voters from electoral rolls, vowing to protect voting rights.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that the Congress party's setback in the recent Lok Sabha polls in the state was the result of 'illegal manipulation' of the electoral process by the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing it of 'misusing' the Election Commission.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal spoke on the BCCI finally having started the "ball rolling" as far as finding a new lead sponsor for Team India is concerned
Khelo Bharat Niti: Regulatory bodies for better sports administration but will IOA, NSFs play ball?
Let there be no doubt that Modi in these 24 years so far has reshaped politics and governance considerably, if not completely, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his hunger strike as protests for Ladakh statehood and Sixth Schedule extension turned violent. The BJP office was set on fire, vehicles were torched, and clashes erupted, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders.
Nepal's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki is set to lead an interim government, announced by the President's office, following the resignation of prime minister K P Sharma Oli. She will be the first woman prime minister of Nepal.
Four cardinals from India, including two from Kerala, are eligible to vote in the upcoming conclave to elect the new Pope. Only cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, as per the regulations. Anthony Poola, the Archbishop of Hyderabad; Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman; Cardinal Baselios Cleemis of the Syro-Malankara Church; and George Koovakkad, the newly appointed cardinal, are the four who can cast votes in the upcoming conclave.
The Election Commission will publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar assembly polls, triggering a period for claims and objections amid fears of voter exclusion.
The Supreme Court has stated it will intervene if there is mass exclusion in the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, emphasizing the Election Commission's role as a constitutional authority.
The Election Commission (EC) has published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, marking a key step ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The publication follows a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The window to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors on draft electoral rolls opened on August 1.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
Erroneous payments were made to 77,980 women and 12,431 men, many of whom did not qualify for the scheme's benefits.
'College-going Gen Z students are devastated by the killings and destruction.' 'These are not the kind of people who would burn somebody's home or beat up political leaders or set fire to people and snatch guns from the policemen.' 'So obviously a huge infiltration has happened.'
On July 2, the US Embassy shared data that "it said covered USAID funding in India from 2014 to 2024", including details of implementing partners, objectives, and key accomplishments of each activity undertaken, he said.
If the INDIA bloc and NDA develop consensus then Shiv Sena-UBT will also be part of that process, Raut said.
The Opposition has claimed that the move will disenfranchise crores of eligible citizens.
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
Justice Sameer Jain cancelled the exam 2021 which was the bone of contention for both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress governments in the state and gave a detailed verdict.
A 35-year-old woman in Bihar, India, was mistakenly listed as 124 years old in draft electoral rolls, sparking a political demonstration and raising questions about the accuracy of voter registration.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Salient features of the National Sports Governance Bill that promise to overhaul several aspects of sports governance and the grievance redressal system for athletes and administrators alike in the country.
Dhankhar, who represented the Kishangarh Assembly constituency as a Congress MLA from 1993 to 1998, received pension as a former legislator until July 2019. It was discontinued after he was appointed the governor of West Bengal.
When the government chooses to either ignore or use identity documents only when it suits them, it shakes people's sense of stability, notes Shyam G Menon.
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