The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said the agenda of the new political outfit would be to struggle for the restoration of J and K's statehood and to fight for the job and land rights of people.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel discovers Ross Island where the clock can never be turned back.
Here is Rediff.com's selection of some stories from Thursday that you may not have read in the morning newspaper.
Days after senior West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the school recruitment scam, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday slammed the media for allegedly launching a "malicious campaign" against her party.
Police had clashed with about 3,000 followers of obscure sect Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi which had encroached on 260 acres government land. Twenty-four people, including a superintendent of police and a station house officer, were killed in the violence which took place when police went to evict the sect from the land.
Eight eminent personalities have appealed to people to "introspect and audit" the working of the Constitution.
A woman passenger claimed that she had explosives and threatened to blow up the aircraft mid-air but it turned out to be a hoax. No bombs were found following a thorough search of the plane after it made an emergency landing.
'We were children and could not distinguish freedom from bondage, but we could understand that a momentous and happy event was imminent.'
"Our tableau will be showcased for the first time on Rajpath in the grand parade. We had struggled to get a separate UT status and that aspiration was fulfilled in 2019 and we had celebrated it in Ladakh. And, now as an independent UT, with our own identity, we will be taking part in the ceremonial event. We feel very happy," said Diksit Palmo, who hails from Leh.
In an embarrassment to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a Delhi court on Thursday termed the arrest of an accused in a money laundering case linked to a UPA-era defence deal with aircraft manufacturer Embraer "illegal" and ordered his release.
While Kharge is considered the firm favourite with his perceived proximity to the Gandhis and a large number of senior leaders backing him, Tharoor has pitched himself as the candidate of change.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused NIA officials of attacking villagers in Purba Medinipur district, the BJP hit back at her saying that the attack on the NIA officials is Sandeshkhalli 2.0 orchestrated by the state.
'Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Swami Vivekananda, all wanted and argued for a united Bengali culture, and there is no room in their social objective for trying to excite one community against another'
Banerjee had on Tuesday confirmed her presence at the ceremony to be held on May 30.
As India observes state mourning on Sunday over Queen Elizabeth II's death, many people questioned the decision after the government's attempts to remove 'symbols of slavery' by rechristening Rajpath and unveiling a new naval ensign drawing inspiration from Chhatrapati Shivaji.
The ICHR, an autonomous body under the ministry of education, has been running a series of lectures and seminars on the theme of the Independence struggle under the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebration.
The 47-year-old Gandhi is on a three-day trip to Singapore and Malaysia during which he will meet Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, besides interacting with the Indian community, and business leaders.
Hitting out at actor Kangana Ranaut for describing India's Independence in 1947 as bheek or alms, the Congress on Thursday said her remarks amounted to 'treason' and demanded the government take back the Padma Shri bestowed on her recently as she has 'insulted' the country's Independence movement.
For the BJP, the RSS' organisational heft is a prized asset, considering the slew of elections it faces this year, ahead of the Lok Sabha election in 2024.
India's struggle for freedom is one of the most unique and compelling stories of the 20th century.
As counting is on in the five states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal -- here's a look at where the heavyweights stand.
Nothing spawns the creation and perpetration of conspiracy theories more effectively than an official obsession with secrecy.
The BJP objected to the name claiming that Tipu Sultan had persecuted Hindus and hence his name was unacceptable for a public facility.
'Netaji Bose followed the concept of Bharatiya and he united all religions and communities of India as Bharatiya.' 'I follow that politics of Netaji and so does the BJP.'
Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said government facilitates freedom fighters and gives pension but revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh are not even give the status of a martyr leave aside any financial support to their families.
'Military is too serious a matter to be taken as a tour for a few years.'
The gallery has come up in a British-era bunker, discovered in the Raj Bhavan campus in south Mumbai in August 2016 during the tenure of the then-Governor C Vidyasagar Rao.
The West Bengal government said the situation was under control in Baduria, Swarupnagar, Deganga and Basirhat, which had witnessed violence. Prohibitory orders are in force there. No untoward incident was reported.
'I could have joined the BJP in 2014, the doors were open.' 'I stayed on with the TMC, a party I was involved with since its very inception.' 'But today enough is enough.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre was not disbursing funds under the PM-Kisan scheme to peasants in the state despite the Trinamool Congress administration having sent the verified names of farmers to it.
This is the full text of the address to the nation by President Droupadi Murmu on the eve of India's 78th Independence Day.
The long queue outside Cellular Jail is a testimony to its place in India's national consciousness. The Andamans is also where the only British viceroy was assassinated and where Bose unfurled the Tricolour for the first time in 1943.
'He was provided sustenance by the British.' 'Many times he wrote to the British that he needed an increase in pension.'
While Smriti Irani might bristle with faux indignation at the 'malicious' newspaper report, it is very clear that just as Teacher's Day was hijacked by her boss and a day of celebration became an assignment, the first attack on Christmas as a holiday has been made in the war on India's cosmopolitan way of life, says the Mango Indian.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
'We think we know him because he's written about everyday.' 'But how many of us know him as a person?'
Saini was summoned to bowl at the India nets during Sri Lanka series in December 2017 as the net bowler but it was Gambhir who told him to concentrate on Ranji Trophy final.
Ramakant Pandey, who was questioned four months ago, over alleged fraudulent recruitments was found hanging from a ceiling fan.
The auction is being conducted through web portal pmmementos.gov.in and it has one section that lists items under the head 'Most Participated Auction'.
