Amidst growing calls for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb at Khultabad in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, the administration has declared the area a 'no drone zone' and deployed additional security forces. The move comes after demonstrations and online posts demanding the tomb's removal, with some of these posts leading to violence in Nagpur. Authorities are actively monitoring and removing provocative content from social media platforms.
With husband Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava doing so well at the box office, Katrina Kaif seems to be just as grateful, as she heads to the Maha Kumbh Mela with mother-in-law Veena Kaushal.
The Delhi high court on Friday directed the Centre to place its stand on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs to decide over Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship.
Named 'Kamala ' by Giri, Mrs Jobs arrived in Prayagraj on Monday. She is staying at the Kumbh tent city at the Niranjini Akhara camp till January 15, before returning to the US to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing a PIL filed by former Rajya Sabha lawmaker Subramanian Swamy seeking a direction to the Centre to declare the Ram Setu as a national heritage monument.
The Karnataka High Court has quashed the Enforcement Directorate's summons to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M and Urban Development Minister B S Suresh in connection with the MUDA site allotment case. The court ruled that the ED was conducting a parallel investigation despite the case already being probed by the Lokayukta police and a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The ED had alleged that Siddaramaiah and other accused were involved in attempted money laundering in the MUDA site allotment case and that the fourteen sites (plots) allotted to Parvathi in Mysuru upmarket were illegally allotted.
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.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it had filed a chargesheet on April 9 in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the chargesheet also names senior Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as co-accused.
Standing near the noose, he recited a couplet in which he said he wished nothing but to sacrifice his life for the motherland. Utkarsh Mishra remembers Ram Prasad Bismil on the revolutionary leader's 128th birth anniversary.
Swamy, a close friend of the Rajapaksa family, also met with Gotabaya's brother Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday evening and attended the Navratri pooja at his residence.
Four devotees, including three women, died and several more were injured in a stampede at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati on Wednesday night. Hundreds of devotees had turned up for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, which begins on January 10.
Maurya resigned as the party's national general secretary on February 13, accusing the leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his controversial statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.
'Films like Roja and Bombay, at that point of time, were not something about which I would be too worried.' 'I thought if I'm honest and if I'm reflecting what a normal person like me is feeling, then that honesty will come through.'
Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to Bagga on Swamy's petition challenging the summons issued to him for April 6 in the matter and said, "proceedings in the complaint case are stayed till the next date of hearing".
"For five minutes we thought all of us were dead. I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years and it has never happened like this," D Venkata Lakshmi said, recounting the horrific Tirupati stampede that killed six persons and left over 40 injured.
'While my wife and others were trying to obtain Vaikunta Dwara Darshan tickets, a stampede occurred, resulting in her death'
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian with 38 per cent shares held by each one of them. They were questioned for hours by the ED in this case a few years back.
'They want to keep the pot boiling all the time.' 'The BJP wants to set a political narrative that the Gandhis are doing wrong things.'
Former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy approached the Delhi high court on Thursday, stating that in spite of an earlier assurance the Centre has not made any security arrangements at the accommodation he would be residing in after vacating the government-allotted bungalow.
The court was informed by the central government that a security review of Swamy's private house, where he would be residing after vacating the government-allotted bungalow, has been undertaken.
The gau rakshak stated that the famine-stricken people were suffering because of their past karma and nothing could be done for them. The reply apparently infuriated Vivekananda, who told the gau rakshak bluntly that he had no sympathy to spare for societies which would not lift a finger to help human beings but wasted piles of food on birds and beasts. A fascinating excerpt from Govind Krishnan V's book, Vivekananda The Philosopher of Freedom.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar passed the remark while hearing a batch of petitions filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and others, who have challenged the inclusion of words "socialist" and "secular" in the Preamble of the Constitution.
An RTI activist, Snehamayi Krishna, has alleged that a person claiming to be the personal assistant of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi B M, attempted to lure and pressure him and his son to drop their demand for a CBI probe into the MUDA site allotment scam. Krishna claims that he was offered money in exchange for not pursuing the case further. The incident comes amidst ongoing investigations by the Lokayukta and ED into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of land to Parvathi.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Rohinton Nariman has warned that events similar to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre could occur if the 'basic structure' doctrine of the Constitution is diluted. In his new book, 'The Basic Structure Doctrine: Protector of Constitutional Integrity,' Nariman argues that the 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment, which established the doctrine, is essential for protecting fundamental rights and preventing constitutional amendments that could lead to such tragedies. Nariman's concerns are echoed by Supreme Court judge Justice K V Viswanathan, who applauds the book for its "chilling clarity" and underscores the importance of the Kesavananda Bharati ruling. The book provides a detailed analysis of the doctrine and its implications, highlighting the robustness of the Kesavananda Bharati judgment and the lack of a compelling alternative theory.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the custodian of Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, has barred 18 employees from participating in all religious activities for allegedly partaking in non-Hindu activities. The decision has been defended by the Andhra Pradesh government, citing the need to protect the religious sentiments of Hindu devotees. The move has sparked debate, with some supporting the TTD's stance and others criticizing it as discriminatory.
The prolonged delay over electing J P Nadda's successor possibly stems from the RSS leadership wanting a person who is at least equidistant from the Sangh as well as the Modi/BJP edifice, observes BJP-RSS watcher Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet in the National Herald case, accusing Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of a "criminal conspiracy" to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of its public company AJL by transferring 99 per cent shares for just Rs 50 lakh to their private company Young Indian. The ED has named Sonia Gandhi as accused no 1 and Rahul Gandhi as accused no 2 in the chargesheet, which was filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Priests at the famed Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan have rejected a demand to stop using attires made by Muslim artisans for its deity, emphasizing that religious discrimination has no place in temple traditions. The demand was raised by a right-wing group, who argued that the deity's attire should be made only by those who adhere to "religious purity." The temple priests countered by highlighting the historical contributions of Muslim artisans to temple traditions and the impracticality of replacing them.
"The Maha Kumbh had already passed on Purnima. What is currently happening is the 'Sarkari Kumbh. The real Kumbh takes place in the month of Magh. The full moon of the Magh month had passed, and all the 'Kalpavasi' who were at the Kumbh had already left after the Purnima of Magh month," Shankaracharya said.
After the trio who called on Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday -- retired diplomat and ex-Janata Dal-United MP Pavan Varma; retired cricketer and former BJP MP Kirti Azad; former Congressman Ashok Tanwar -- it was Dr Swamy's turn to call on Didi at her nephew Abishek Banerjee's Delhi home on Wednesday, instantly triggering speculation of his joining the TMC.
A Haridwar-based community welfare organisation, Divya Prem Seva Mission, will host a series of seven lectures on diverse themes, including one on the contentious subject of simultaneous polls, at its camp at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj. The lecture series, starting on January 12, will also cover topics like Swami Vivekananda's philosophy, India's glorious past, global terrorism, gender equality, and the challenges of privacy and safety on social media. The organization has been involved in philanthropic activities for 29 years and is raising awareness about the discrimination faced by people with leprosy.
Actor Mamta Kulkarni has renounced the worldly life at the Maha Kumbh and will be consecrated as a Hindu nun under the Kinnar Akhara. She performed her own 'Pind Daan' and will be consecrated as 'mahamandaleshwar'.
The Supreme Court on Friday observed the 1976 amendment to the Constitution adding terms 'socialist', 'secular' and 'integrity' to the Preamble underwent judicial reviews and it cannot say whatever Parliament did during the emergency period was all nullity.
The city of Shahjahanpur in India celebrates Holi with a unique procession called "Laat Saheb," where revellers hurl footwear at a man impersonating a British Lord. The tradition dates back to the 18th century and has evolved over time. The procession involves a seven-kilometer route, prayers at a temple, and a symbolic bribe offered to the police. The event is marked by strict security measures, including barricades, CCTV cameras, and the covering of mosques with tarpaulins. The procession is seen as a way to commemorate the city's history of freedom fighters and to discourage the British colonizers.
A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said.
A case has been registered against Raju Kapanur, a close aide of Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, and five others in connection with a conspiracy to kill BJP MLA Basavaraj Mattimadu and other leaders. The case was registered based on a suicide note by a civil contractor, Sachin Panchal, who accused Kapanur and his aides of making death threats. The BJP has demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI, while Priyank Kharge has denied the allegations and accused the BJP of politicising Sachin's death.
Researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, were released on bail from a Navi Mumbai prison on Friday, more than six years after they were arrested. The duo walked out of the Taloja jail after completing bail formalities before the special NIA court, over a fortnight after they were granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The HC granted bail to Wilson and Dhawale on January 8, noting they had been in jail since 2018 and the trial in the case, in which anti-terror act UAPA has been invoked, was yet to start. Apart from Dhawale and Wilson, 14 other activists and academicians were arrested in the case. Eight of them have been granted bail till now, with one, Mahesh Raut, still in jail as the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against his bail is pending before the Supreme Court. Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, one of the accused, died in 2021 while lodged in judicial custody. The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima, a village outside Pune city, the next day. The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, speaking at the University of Oxford, stressed the importance of inclusive development and stated that division in society is counterproductive. She emphasized that her governance model prioritizes the welfare of all sections of society and does not allow discrimination, highlighting the state's diverse population and the need for a human-centric approach.
Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police establishment, located in Mysuru on September 27, following the order of the Special Court that exclusively deals with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others on charges of money laundering in the National Herald case. The chargesheet, filed on April 9, names Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as accused persons. The case pertains to the alleged fraudulent takeover of properties valued over Rs 2,000 crore belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald news platform. The ED alleges that Young Indian, a private company "beneficially owned" by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, "acquired" AJL properties for a mere Rs 50 lakh, significantly undervaluing its worth. The case has been transferred to Special Judge Vishal Gogne's court for further proceedings.
