A court in Kottayam, Kerala, has remanded BJP leader P C George to judicial custody in a hate speech case. The Erattupetta Munsif Magistrate Court rejected George's bail application and sent him to police custody until 6 pm. George surrendered before the court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. He was accused of delivering hate speech against a minority community during a TV channel discussion. The case was based on a complaint by Muhamed Shihab, a Muslim Youth League leader, who alleged that George made remarks capable of "inciting religious hatred."
The choice of 59-year-old Nadda has come as a bit of surprise as the party had indicated last week that it could take a call on the issue after the membership drive after about six months.
Bharatiya Janata Party chief J P Nadda and Union home minister Amit Shah held a brainstorming session on Tuesday with key party leaders tasked with boosting its prospects in 144 Lok Sabha seats, considered difficult for it, in the 2024 polls.
Top Union ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, are expected to attend the meeting at the party headquarters, the sources said.
Uproarious scenes on the concluding day of the special session on Thursday turned the West Bengal Assembly into a cauldron of chaos, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's speech was repeatedly drowned out by slogan-shouting, leading to the suspension of five Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs and the collapse of two legislators during forcible eviction by marshalls.
For the past one week, Modi has been holding in-person meetings with Union ministers apparently to take stock of the work done by the government in the last two years and to discuss various issues.
BJP top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior leaders from across the country, are part of the national executive.
The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh will hold a three-day training camp for its leaders from June 14 in Pachmarhi in Narmadapuram. The move comes amid the party facing flak for some statements from its leaders post Operation Sindoor. BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been invited to the camp to lecture the party cadre. The BJP said the event was pre-planned and was a routine affair, but the camp is seen as an attempt to discipline party leaders who have been making controversial statements.
Bharatiya Janata Party president JP Nadda interacted on Monday with a group of foreign envoys, including from the US, Australia and Israel, during which it was suggested that the BJP should increase party-to-party interaction with other countries.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed an uproar on Tuesday over an unparliamentary remark by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, who apologized to the Chair while clarifying that it was meant for the government that was "trying to create a regional divide" in the country. The controversy stemmed from a statement by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who slammed the Tamil Nadu government for its stand on the three-language policy under the National Education Policy (NEP). Kharge's use of a Hindi expression, deemed unparliamentary, sparked outrage from the treasury benches. He subsequently apologized for the remark, stating it was directed at the government's policies and not the Chair.
Sources said Paswan's party may contest on five of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda on Thursday met leaders of the party's allies in Uttar Pradesh -- Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal-S and Sanjay Nishad of the Nishad party -- at his residence in New Delhi as part of its government formation exercise.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured a landslide victory in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections, is set to form the new government in the state. Outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to finalize a power-sharing agreement. The alliance partners, BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, will decide on ministerial berths at the meeting with Shah. Political circles are abuzz about the social equations in Maharashtra influencing the choice of the next Chief Minister.
Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announced that his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) is no longer part of the BJP-led NDA, citing the alliance's support for his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan. Paras also accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being "anti-Dalit" and demanded a Bharat Ratna for his late brother Ram Vilas Paswan, calling him the "second Ambedkar."
"Modi ji should apologise. There is no question of our apologising," he added.
This is the second time that Ranaut has met the BJP president since she stirred a controversy earlier this week with her disparaging remarks on the farmers agitation against the now repealed three farm laws.
The rally was not allowed to proceed towards the South Calcutta Law College, where the 24-year-old student was allegedly gang-raped by three men, including an alumnus of the institute, on June 25.
The Shiv Sena leader also asserted that Eknath Shinde will take any position in the Union cabinet as his interest lies in Maharashtra politics.
With the party fielding three Union ministers, besides four other MPs, as candidates in the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, it may continue with the strategy in Rajasthan.
The list includes constituencies where the BJP came second or third in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and also some which the party has never won.
Opposition parties have called for a discussion in Parliament on the Maha Kumbh tragedy and the UP government's alleged focus on VIPs rather than the common pilgrims. Union minister Kiren Rijiju has stated that the Business Advisory Committee will decide on the agenda of the Budget Session, which will start from January 31. The Session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
An unidentified person threw ink at Union Health Minister J P Nadda at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, amid protest by students over "poor facilities" at the institute.
The Bhopal MP was pulled up and asked to refrain from making statements that go against the party's programmes and ideology
The decision by BJP's highest decision-making body was announced by former party president and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after the meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
BJP MLA Vishal Nehria had claimed that Dravid will be participating in the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha's National Working Committee session in Dharamshala.
Kejriwal described the BJP's election manifesto as "dangerous for the country".
Hours before the ceremony, Saini visited the Valmiki Bhawan and offered prayers at a gurdwara and the Mansa Devi temple in Panchkula.
Nadda also met Chandrashekar Kambar, a Jnanpith award recipient as part of the BJP's ongoing nationwide campaign on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Some newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs met former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje at her Civil Lines residence on Sunday, amid suspense over whom the party will pick for the chief ministerial post in the state.
It also promised financial assistance of Rs 24,000 annually to all dependent widows and single mothers, two free LPG cylinders to all the beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana and 24x7 power supply.
Former Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, has been chosen as the new Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha. Gupta, a BJP MLA from Rohini, vowed to immediately table 14 CAG reports allegedly withheld by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government upon taking charge. His election is a foregone conclusion due to the BJP's majority in the Assembly.
A heated debate erupted in the Rajya Sabha over the ongoing strike by ASHA workers in Kerala, with Congress and CPI(M) MPs trading accusations over responsibility for addressing their demands for a higher honorarium and post-retirement benefits. Congress MP Jebi Mather alleged that both the Kerala government and the Union government had ignored the workers' pleas, while CPI(M) MP John Brittas countered by claiming Kerala provides the highest honorarium to ASHA workers. The debate also saw demands for an AIIMS in Kerala and a hike in MBBS seats, as well as concerns over maternal health, elderly care, and mental health in India.
The jan man survey seeks the people's response on various aspects of governance and leadership and its questions include both central-level development and specifics related to the user's constituency.
The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi.
BJP president JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were among those who attended the meeting.
BJP national President JP Nadda has appointed Adesh Kumar Gupta as the Delhi unit president of BJP.
Malviya, the MLA from Bagidora in Banswara district, said he joined the BJP for the development of the Vagad region.
He also urged all the ministers, MLAs, and public representatives to respect party workers.
While BJD leaders held a marathon meeting at Naveen Niwas, the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, the BJP leaders had a similar meeting in the national capital, discussing election matters, including a potential alliance.
