The Supreme Court has begun hearing petitions challenging the Election Commission's decision to conduct a special intensive revision exercise in Bihar ahead of elections, raising concerns about voter exclusion.
The incident occurred at the Avsaaneshwar temple in the Haidergarh area during the holy month of Shravan on Monday when devotees had gathered at the temple for 'jalabhishek' (offering water as a ritual). The electric current spread through the tin shed as the wire fell, triggering panic and a stampede in the temple premises.
Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Tuesday resigned as the party's national general secretary accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his remarks.
Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman on Thursday said he will not apologise for his remarks on Rana Sanga because one cannot deny history.
'If the Mughals, who ruled for over 800 years are no longer around, what makes you think the BJP will last?'
The delegation will now head to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, where they are expected to arrive on Sunday. Member of the delegation, Brijesh Chowta left earlier for Ljubljana.
The Gandhi-led yatra will pass through Amethi on Monday. It will then enter Raebareli, where the Samajwadi Party chief had earlier said he would join.
"I had said on the soil of Bahraich that glorification of foreign invaders should be stopped and that the national heroes must be honoured. And 1,000 years ago, such a tale of courage and bravery was written by Maharaja Suheldev on this very soil of Bahraich," Adityanath said.
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Protesters blocked the Gorakhpur-Pipraich road on Tuesday morning after that forces from four police stations and PAC were deployed.
In a major upset in the Faizabad parliamentary constituency, where the temple town of Ayodhya is situated, Samajwadi Party candidate Awadhesh Prasad defeated sitting Bharatiya Janata Party MP Lallu Singh by a margin of 54,567 votes.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat was unable to end its 18-year jinx in Visavadar as it lost the bypolls to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party despite a strong campaign.
Friendly fights, however, are more complicated for the MVA, especially since smaller parties who are part of the INDIA bloc are also in the mix.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Indian government of hiding the number of deaths in the stampede at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Yadav demanded strict action against those involved in covering up the "mis-management" of the event and called for an all-party meeting to discuss the arrangements. He also criticized the government's handling of the stampede, claiming that they used JCB machines and tractor trollies to clear the bodies lying around after the incident.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress's alliance in Uttar Pradesh came under scrutiny as both parties did not hold a single joint campaign for the bypolls to nine assembly seats. While both parties maintained that the alliance is strong, BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) claimed a crack in the alliance. The Congress opted out of the bypolls and announced coordination committees for all nine seats to support the SP. However, the absence of joint rallies raised questions about the alliance's strength. The SP campaign was spearheaded by its chief Akhilesh Yadav, while the Congress cited its leaders' busy schedules in Maharashtra and Jharkhand for the lack of joint campaigns. The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.
'It was a disaster on his part to give an oral remark which allowed ascertainment of the religious character of places of worship.' 'This disrupted the social harmony of the country.'
'This is not just about Modi saying it, every Indian should say this -- if we want India to become the third-largest economy, every political party and every leader, keeping aside their hesitations, must work in the nation's interest and awaken the spirit of Swadeshi among the people'
Malik had served as the 18th governor of Goa between November 3, 2019, and August 18, 2020.
Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X, 'The BJP is warned not to come in the way of the public. Preventing voters from casting their votes is also a crime. The public has come to know about the conspiracy hatched by the BJP to prevent people from casting their votes by misusing power. BJP supporters are bent on violence...'
For Adityanath, it's not just a chance to reaffirm his dominance in Uttar Pradesh, it's an opportunity to solidify his narrative as a vote-winner.
'BJP leaders emerged victorious only because of Narendra Modi's name, not for their own political capability.'
Yadav took to social media and shared video clips and pictures of the deployment of security personnel, including police and rapid action force, with barricades near his house here, a stone's throw away from the Samajwadi Party headquarters.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav took a holy dip in the Sangam at Maha Kumbh on Sunday, urging the BJP to bathe with "patience." He criticized the BJP for splashing water on each other after bathing in the Sangam, saying people come to Kumbh for virtue and charity, not for water sports. Yadav, who had earlier taken a dip in the Ganga river in Haridwar on Makar Sankranti, said he had always visited the religious congregation. The latest official figures show that 1.17 crore people took a dip in the Sangam till late Sunday afternoon, bringing the total number of 'snan' (bath) in Maha Kumbh since its start to 11.47 crore.
Daughter of three-time MP Toofani Saroj, Priya Saroj, 26, is a first-time MP from Uttar Pradesh's Machhlishahr. constituency.
The incident has brought back into focus the controversy that erupted last year when BJP-led governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directed food outlets along the Kanwar route to display the names of their owners and staff.
The high-level committee on 'one nation, one election' approached 62 parties out which 47 responded -- 32 in support of holding elections simultaneously, 15 against it.
Uttar Pradesh Women Welfare Minister Baby Rani Maurya has proposed renaming the Mughal-era Shahjahan Garden in Agra after the Malwa Kingdom queen Ahilyabai Holkar, citing her contributions to women's empowerment. The proposal has sparked debate, with opposition parties criticizing it as a tactic to divert attention from pressing issues. The UP government has already renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad as Ayodhya.
The Allahabad high court on Friday stayed the arrest of Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq in connection with violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district during a survey of a Mughal-era mosque.
Khan, who was recently released from Sitapur Jail, is in Rampur and could not attend the meeting due to health reasons, SP leaders said.
Wearing white caps with a red cross on the words 'SIR' and "vote chori", the protesting MPs started their march from Parliament's Makar Dwar raising slogans against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and "vote chori" while carrying placards and banners.
Several petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the Act, contending that it was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violated their fundamental rights.
INDIA bloc parties are set to raise issues such as the Pahalgam attack, US President Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire, and concerns over electoral roll revisions in Bihar during the Parliament's Monsoon session.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said 'there is no need for socialism in India', adding 'secularism is not the core of our culture'.
"If the BJP had governed with the same intensity with which it is running the bulldozer of injustice, today its members wouldn't have to hide in their homes, fearing the anger of students," he said.
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.
Yogendra Yadav, a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), believes the party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls is a setback for the entire opposition and raises questions about its future. He attributed the loss to factors like the liquor scam, the 'Sheesh Mahal' row, and the constant fights between the Delhi LG and the AAP government.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath slammed the opposition Samajwadi Party over the 2013 Kumbh Mela arrangements, accusing the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of appointing a "non-Sanatani " as the in-charge of the religious congregation in Prayagraj. Adityanath highlighted the presence of dignitaries, including the President, Prime Minister, and heads of state from 74 countries, at the recent Maha Kumbh, contrasting it with the "chaos, corruption, and pollution " of the 2013 event. He also criticized the opposition's criticisms of the Maha Kumbh arrangements, arguing that everyone found something in accordance with their nature and character. Adityanath refuted allegations of discrimination against any community at the Maha Kumbh, emphasizing the unity and inclusivity of the event.
The move comes days after Akhilesh's party said he would join Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra only if its seat-sharing proposal for the Lok Sabha polls is accepted.
Samajwadi Party leader and Kairana MP Iqra Choudhary has moved the Supreme Court seeking effective implementation of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. This move comes amidst several petitions challenging the law's validity, including those filed by the Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay. The Supreme Court, in December 2022, had restrained all courts from examining fresh suits and passing interim orders in pending cases seeking to reclaim religious places. The Act aims to maintain the religious character of places of worship as they existed on August 15, 1947, but the dispute relating to Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid at Ayodhya was kept out of its purview. The court has listed Choudhary's plea with other pending pleas for February 17.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with the five other Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh will visit violence-hit Sambhal on Wednesday, party's state unit chief Ajay Rai said.
