Attempting to defuse the controversy, the Nishad Party chief said the comment, made in Hindi and labelled misogynistic and crude, was light-hearted and made casually.
The Bombay High Court criticized the shifting allegiances of NCP members in the Ambernath Municipal Council, referring to it as "globe-trotting," while addressing orders related to alliances within the civic body.
The Congress party has accused the government of stifling opposition voices in the Lok Sabha, alleging that opposition leaders are not being allowed to express their views while the government side faces no such restrictions.
S A Chandrasekhar, father of actor-politician Vijay, has appealed to the Congress party to form an alliance with his son's party, TVK, in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Ajit Pawar, who was the finance and planning minister, would have tabled his budget for 2026-27 next month when the state legislature's budget session begins in Mumbai on February 23.
'Tarique Rahman's refrain during the electoral campaign was that the minorities are safe under BNP. He has to honour that promise.'
A purported video showing local Bharatiya Janata Party leader Babban Singh Raghuvanshi engaging in obscene acts with a dancer has gone viral and is trending rapidly on social media.
The Indian Army's Eastern Command has sought the intervention of West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose in connection with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent allegation that a senior army officer was using the command base at Fort William and working on the SIR exercise at the behest of the BJP.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
Sunetra Pawar, wife of the late Ajit Pawar, has been appointed as the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, marking a new chapter for the NCP and presenting her with the challenge of leading the party.
Veteran BJP leader Prem Kumar was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Bihar assembly. The election took place on Tuesday, with Kumar being the sole candidate for the position.
'If the BJP had contested all 227 seats, I believe they would have managed to secure a majority on their own.'
The real surprise in these results came from Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM. Of the 29 Muslim candidates who got elected to the 227-strong BMC, the Congress and the AIMIM between them bagged 22.
Large hoardings praising Fadnavis' leadership appeared across the city, reflecting a celebratory mood within the BJP camp following its strong performance in the country's richest civic body.
'Marathi-speaking people of Mumbai have now emerged as a consolidated vote bank standing firmly behind the Thackerays.'
With Ajit Pawar's passing, the 40 MLAs who remain will now have to decide whether they want to continue in Mahayuti in the company of the BJP and Shiv Sena -- or return to the Sharad Pawar fold.
8 Member of Parliaments were suspended from Lok Sabha for tearing & throwing papers at the Chair till April 2. Uproar started when Rahul Gandhi was barred from citing former Army Chief, General M M Naravane's memoir on 2020 India-China clash. Rediff.com brings you the details of these MPs who were suspended.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the TMC government in West Bengal of patronizing infiltration, leading to demographic changes and riots. He reassured refugees and promised action against illegal migration if the BJP comes to power.
'It would have polarised the Marathi-non Marathi divide further. 'Fadnavis had a very clear strategy: Let all Marathi people campaign for us (the BJP), and whatever results we get will be delivered by Marathi people only.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with families affected by the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, met with the Chief Election Commissioner to voice their concerns and demand a halt to the revision process.
Stepping up political pressure ahead of the assembly elections, the Congress-led Opposition bloc in Assam has lodged an FIR against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Dilip Saikia, accusing him of directing BJP MLAs to delete Opposition voters during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls.
In a measured but scathing attack, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of committing a 'big sin' by creating a controversy over Vande Mataram and claimed that the government pushed for a debate on the national song as the West Bengal assembly polls were approaching.
With the Congress coming third overall and having done much better than Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP, its allies in Maha Vikas Aghadi, political analysts said it will force a rethink as far as coordination, seat-sharing and leadership are concerned ahead of the 2029 assembly polls.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being 'anti-farmer' and 'selling' the country through the India-US interim trade deal, vowing to stand strongly with farmers.
The Supreme Court of India has censured BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for his remarks against the judiciary, stating that his comments "tend to scandalize and lower the authority of the Supreme Court of India." The court dismissed a contempt petition against Dubey but issued a scathing order criticizing his remarks, which included accusations that the court was "taking the country towards anarchy" and that Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna was "responsible for the civil wars taking place in the country." The court deemed Dubey's statements "highly irresponsible" and indicative of an attempt to "incite religious wars." The order highlighted the importance of maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and condemned attempts to undermine its authority.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar has offered Rs 10 lakh fund for villages in his Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency if they elect a BJP-backed candidate in the Gram Panchayat polls to be held in Telangana next month.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticizes Kerala's ruling Left government over the Sabarimala gold loss case, demanding a neutral investigation and accusing the government of protecting the real culprits. He also signals the start of the BJP's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju demanded an apology from Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi after Congress workers allegedly threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's life at a rally.
The Congress party experienced a significant decline in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, winning a mere 15 seats out of 227. Analysts attribute the poor performance to strategic missteps, infighting, and a failure to connect with voters amidst linguistic and religious polarization.
The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to display the names of those on the 'logical discrepancies' list at various public offices in West Bengal, addressing concerns about irregularities in the voter rolls.
Amid speculation in political circles over Shiv Sena's stand vis-a-vis the next mayor of Mumbai, party leader and minister Uday Samant said the civic body polls were contested as the Mahayuti alliance.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
Cracks appeared in the opposition ranks as some parties showed willingness to participate in the budget debate, while the government insisted on equal speaking opportunities for all members amidst ongoing disruptions.
'Whether we like it or not, we have been separated by the Meiteis and therefore we have put up our demand for a separate administration in the form of a Union territory with legislature.' 'For us lasting peace is the achievement of our demand.'
The Shiv Sena has moved its newly elected corporators to a luxury hotel as the race to pick the next Mumbai mayor intensifies. The move comes amid political maneuvering and strategic positioning following recent civic poll results.
Left to its machinations, the BJP would have loved to cut Nitish down to size, but it can't afford to do so as the JD-U is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre, and cannot form a government on its own in Bihar. For now, both need each other: Nitish for legitimacy, the BJP for numbers, points out Ramesh Menon.
'The question for the TMC is not whether it can hold its bastions, but whether it can expand effectively into regions where the BJP already possesses a good ecosystem.'
Most Shiv Sena ministers in Maharashtra's BJP-led government were absent from a cabinet meeting, signaling tensions over defections between the parties. Only Deputy CM Eknath Shinde attended. Sena ministers later met with the Chief Minister to express their displeasure.
State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has reiterated that the party would never join hands with "those who indulge in violence".
'Removing Nitish Kumar prematurely risks unsettling both the alliance balance and parts of the social coalition that delivered this victory.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances