The Congress party has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent video message on paper leaks as an 'eyewash', demanding the sacking of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accountability for the alleged brutality against student protestors. The party highlighted the government's initial denial of the NEET-UG 2026 leak and its perceived failure to address widespread irregularities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that a new bill with stringent provisions against paper leaks will be introduced in Parliament next week. The Union Cabinet will finalise the legislation, which aims to address the pain caused to students by such incidents, citing recent actions taken regarding the NEET paper leak and the establishment of fast-track courts.
The flood situation in Assam is showing signs of improvement with receding water levels, though over 6.5 lakh people across six districts remain affected and the death toll has risen to 66. Relief operations are being intensified, with central and state leaders reviewing measures and a central team assessing damages.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has reiterated its demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on fast-track courts for paper leak cases does not address accountability.
The BJP is significantly increasing its digital engagement with young people on Instagram, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers, in response to the NEET-UG paper leak controversy and subsequent student protests. This strategic shift aims to counter the narrative and communicate government actions on examination reforms.
The Indian government has significantly altered its approach to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led agitation over the NEET paper leak, moving from dismissal to calibrated political engagement, including promises of fast-track courts, a new anti-paper leak law, and negotiations with key protest leaders.
'I thought this generation was no good, will not be able to do much with all this social media etc. But then, they surprised us.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee engaged in a war of words during election rallies, with Modi accusing the TMC of supporting divisive forces and Banerjee alleging the BJP plans to divide the state.
Here's how to explore Ahmedabad like a local...
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed poll rallies in West Bengal, promising jobs for youths and an 'infiltrator-free' state if the BJP wins the assembly elections. He also pledged to restore industrial glory, end syndicate raj, and ensure women's safety.
The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) has named Jyotiprakash Chatterji as its new president, a development that follows the merger of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel Lok Sabha faction with the party. This announcement by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a key figure in the dissident camp, comes amidst speculation about the party's leadership after its founder stepped down. However, details about Chatterji and the party's internal workings remain unclear, with some existing members expressing unawareness of the change.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Breaking the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday emerged victorious in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, and also vanquished the alliance of Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.
BJP strategists are missing something somewhere, and they have not acknowledged it, to be able to repair it in good time, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
India has no intention to escalate tensions with Pakistan, but any military attacks on its soil will be met with a "very" firm response, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday. Jaishankar made the remarks at a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, emphasizing that the "barbaric" Pahalgam terror attack compelled India to carry out strikes on "cross-border" terror infrastructure on Wednesday. He reiterated that India's response was targeted and measured, but stressed that any further military attacks would be met with a firm response. The Iranian foreign minister, who landed in New Delhi amidst escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, called for de-escalation of the situation and stressed the need for regional cooperation to eradicate terrorism. The meeting also focused on boosting ties in areas of trade and investment, including the Chabahar port project.
'Often people outside paint a wrong picture of us of Kashmiris. We are not like that. We are cool and bindaas,' said the lady, a teacher, caressing my cheeks in the pressing crowds.
With US President Donald Trump "temporarily suspending" country-specific reciprocal tariffs until July 9, India sees the three-month window as an opportunity to renew its push for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US and expedite finalisation of the first tranche of the trade deal.
The US spy chief, now in India, earlier on Monday said the "longtime unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others has been a major area of concern for the US government and President Trump and his administration."
Another 8 pm prime ministerial speech. Will this one too lead to a scramble and chaos like his previous 8 pm telecasts?
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has criticized the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, calling it a 'brazen assault' on the Constitution and part of the BJP's strategy to keep society in a 'permanent state of polarization.' She also spoke out against the One Nation, One Election Bill, calling it a 'subversion of the Constitution.' Gandhi further accused the Modi government of ignoring the women's reservation bill and other demands for reservation, and of 'dragging the country into an abyss' where the Constitution will only exist on paper. She also criticized the government for limiting the speaking time of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and for not allowing discussions on important issues like the working of the defense and external affairs ministries and the challenges posed by China on the border.
'The time has come to have a relook at the Constitution as every document has a shelf life.'
Manmohan Singh represented the finest aspects of India, asserts Aakar Patel.
To deal with the chaos at toll plazas arising out of the government's junking Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the government has suspended fee collection on all booths at National Highways till the midnight of November 11.
In his second national broadcast in a week on the pandemic raging across much of the world with the number of infections rising in India, Modi made a fervent appeal to the countrymen not to cross the 'lakshman rekha' of their homes in the next three weeks.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
The Congress on Tuesday termed as rhetoric and hollow on specifics the prime minister's address to the nation, saying there was no mention of a financial package or concrete steps to revive the economy.
External Affairs minister S Jaishankar in New York praised the leadership skills of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while recalling the attack on the Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan near the Indian consulate and while India was coordinating evacuations from the country.
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
What is digital house arrest? It is a tactic cybercriminals use to confine victims to their homes and scam them, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Delhi Water Minister Atishi ended her indefinite fast over the water scarcity in the national capital after she was hospitalised early Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said.
The Congress interim president also condemned the "misbehaviour" with doctors and said this is against our culture.
Raking up the Kashmir issue, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said it is the "main source of tension" in Indo-Pak relations and sought its peaceful resolution to explore new ways to bolster bilateral ties.
To demand justice for the eight-year-old girl who was gang-raped and murdered in Jammu and Kashmir and the teenager in UP's Unnao, the Congress party led a candelight vigil to India Gate in New Delhi.
Shah said the new laws would give priority to providing justice, unlike the colonial-era laws that gave primacy to penal action, and made reporting of crimes even easier by recognising e-FIR, Zero FIR and electronic or digital evidence.
Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 49 constituencies in six states and two Union territories in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections, with Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir recording its highest-ever voting percentage.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill with 311 votes in favour and 80 against it a little past midnight.
'Nehru remains central to the polemic between the Congress and the BJP, or stated ideologically, between secular and Hindu nationalism.' 'The reason is that Nehru represents what is optimally possible as a secular politics along with liberalism and democracy in a country like India.'
In an address during the virtual meeting of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) on Saturday, Modi said COVID-19 had been used as an opportunity to work towards making the country self-reliant.
Addressing a rally in the Balpur area in Gonda in Uttar Pradesh on the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government, Singh skipped any direct reference to the wrestlers' protest for his arrest and chose to target the Congress over the Emergency, Ram temple, the 1984 anti-Sikhs riots and other issues.
