Modi slammed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as the most directionless the country has ever seen and cited reviled names, such as East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, to assert that people cannot be misled merely by the use of the country's name.
Union minister Smriti Irani reacted furiously to the Congress leader's barb at the prime minister over the Rafale purchase and the tense situation in Manipur.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed the situation in Manipur with Chief Minister N Biren Singh and top officials, even as the Centre dispatched additional security forces and anti-riot vehicles to maintain peace there, sources said.
Shah, who is closely monitoring the situation in Manipur, had a telephonic conversation with Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who briefed him in the morning about the prevailing scene in the state and steps being taken to restore normalcy.
The curfew imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will be relaxed from 7 am to 10 am, it said.
A man who was part of the mob that paraded naked two tribal women in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and was seen dragging one of them was among four persons arrested on Thursday as the incident of May 4 drew widespread condemnation.
The Supreme Court on Friday said the trial in the Manipur violence cases being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will take place in neighbouring Assam and asked the Chief Justice of the Gauhati high court to nominate one or more judicial officers to deal with the matters.
'The prime minister has not yet expressed anything regarding Manipur. Is Manipur a part of India or not? If it is, why hasn't the Prime Minister of India spoken about it'
The lawlessness because of the fake picture spread like jungle fire and was one of the reasons for the state government to shut down the Internet on May 3, the officials said.
Protest rallies erupted in Imphal with thousands of students marching towards the centre of the city, sloganeering against the kidnapping and killing of two youths for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.
'We cannot accept that this incident was not in the knowledge of the home ministry.' 'If they had no knowledge about this incident, then it is a big intelligence failure as the Union home ministry has no idea what is going on in Manipur and what the state police is doing.'
Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after the May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a group of men from the other side.
Both the Shiv Senas - one of Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde and the other of Uddhav Thackeray - marked their foundation day on Monday, with attack on each other.
In a blistering attack against the BJP over the violence in Manipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that its politics had "murdered Bharat Mata" in the northeastern state and termed members of the ruling party "traitors".
'Why is it that no other institutions are attacked? Why are only educational institutions run by Christians attacked?'
The report urged the top court that the matter may be taken up by the petitioners and other parties with utmost sensitivity as any misinformation or rumour or even suspicion may aggravate the situation in Manipur, where things are slowly returning to normal with the concerted efforts of the central and the state governments.
Soon after the clash, prohibitory orders under section 144 of the IPC were imposed in the town.
The assault and humiliation of two women paraded naked in a Manipur village in May sparked nationwide outrage on Thursday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the incident had shamed 140 crore Indians and the Supreme Court terming it 'simply unacceptable'.
Usually, taking two wickets against a strong North Zone would leave any 17-year-old bowler with a wide smile. But Jotin Singh's smile had a tinge of nervousness.
The Supreme Court on Friday extended by two weeks the protection from coercive action it has granted to four members of the Editors Guild of India (EGI) in connection with two first information reports (FIRs) lodged against them in Manipur for allegedly promoting enmity between different groups.
The apex court ordered adequate steps to be taken for protecting places of worship.
Thousands of agitators took part in the rally, during which violence between tribals and non-tribals was reported in Torbung area, a senior police officer said.
What shocked Kan was the news that a prominent personality in his neighbourhood led the ransacking of his house and its torching later.
Gangmei in his appeal said the HAC "was a necessary and proper party and the proceedings before the high court were vitiated on account of not making the HAC a party".
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha did not see a debate on the Manipur violence, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke on it during their addresses on the no-confidence motion.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
What are the political equations, the challenges, and the threats?
The fulcrum of victory or defeat of parties attempting to form a government is held by smaller players and those willing to defect.
A tripartite agreement among five insurgent groups of Assam, the Centre and the state government was signed on Saturday to end years of violence in the Karbi Anglong region.
'I thought that the days of firing between two police forces (belonging to states of the Union of India) were over.'
'If the NSCN-IM is cold shoulderd, the chances are that it will slip back into insurgency,' caution Sandeep Pandey, Meera Sanghamitra and Babloo Loitongbam.
The MoU was signed on Monday between representatives of the state government and leaders of the Kangleipak communist Party-Nongdreinkhomba, Kuki National Liberation Front and Kuki Revolutionary Party.
After a lull trouble is once again brewing in Dima Hasao (erstwhile North Cachar Hills) district of Assam with the Indigenous People's Forum (IPF), a banner organisation of non-Dimasa ethnic groups, protesting the Centre's intension to sign a memorandum of understanding with militant Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) without heeding to the IPF's demand for bifurcation of the hill district into two autonomous council instead of the existing one.
The Nagas, who inhabit the hills, feel the Manipur (Hill Area) District Council Act (Third Amendment) 2008, under which the election was to have been held, takes away the powers of the tribal people.
Nineteen armed groups belonging to the Kuki National Organisation and the United Peoples' Front mutually agreed to extend Suspension of Operation in their quest of settling their political agendas.
Eleven people, including six suspected United National Liberation Front insurgents, were killed in two separate incidents in the state, officials sources said on Saturday.
Altogether 78 persons were killed and 191 kidnapped by different insurgent outfits in Assam during the last two years when 20 security personnel were also killed, Minister Rockybul Hussain said on Monday in the assembly.
Blockade is an issue which has seemingly widened the divide between the hills and the plains.
The church bells don't toll in Churachandpur any more. The hill district in Manipur has been in mourning for more than a year.
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