A cloudburst triggered devastating flashfloods in the Harsil area of Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, with at least 8-10 Indian Army personnel reported missing from a camp in the lower Harsil region.
'The government is distributing land in Ladakh as if they are selling cinema hall tickets.'
Does voter deletion controversy expose critical gaps in ECI verification procedures and safeguards protecting electoral roll integrity?
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju clarifies that tribal communities in the northeast and other areas will be exempt from the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to preserve their traditional way of life.
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 BJP won in 34 of the 69 constituencies where elections were held, while Congress bagged only 21 seats.
This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said.
'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029.' 'He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
They stated that when a soldier fights for the nation, he does so not as a Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion, but as a patriot.
A local Bharatiya Janata Party leader was shot dead on Sunday, allegedly by a Bahujan Samaj Party activist, sparking massive violence in Uttarakhand's Nainital district. In the ensuing violence, a policeman was burnt alive by a mob, which also torched a police station and over a dozen vehicles. Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the killing of Balwant Singh, head of Kotabagh block in the district.
The Uttarakhand assembly on Wednesday passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, which may serve as a template for other Bharatiya Janata Party-run states to enact similar legislation.
The swearing-in ceremony may take place on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and chief ministers of several BJP-ruled states likely to attend the event, he said.
An Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
Despite falling short of majority, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttarakhand on Wednesday began efforts to form the government with its senior leaders trying to establish contact with Independent members of Legislative Assembly and the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal.
The shocking scenes of physical and psychological trauma unfolded on a massive scale as search and rescue operations were underway, digging out mud-buried bodies and rescuing the injured trapped in slush and rocks after flash floods triggered by a cloudburst devastated Chositi village in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district on Thursday.
'If this was not tokenism, why is the central government not bringing the UCC, why is a small state like Uttarakhand doing so?'
As night fell over Chositi village, rescuers worked frantically and pulled out 167 people from under mounds of rubble. Of these, 38 are in a serious condition, officials said. The death toll went up steadily as the day progressed and there were fears it could rise further.
'They are calling me an accused without even an inquiry.' 'The video was fabricated and doctored. Now the truth is coming out.'
The Uniform Civil Code bill was passed by the state assembly and also received the presidential assent recently after which it has become a law.
The monthly Rs 2500 payment for poor women is expected to cost Rs 11,000 crore while the pension scheme of Rs 2000 for every senior citizen will cost around Rs 4100 crore. The Yamuna clean up will cost over Rs 10,000 crore while a similar amount is required to upgrade Delhi's hospitals. Ultimately, the new BJP government will have no choice but to ask the centre for financial support, notes Rashme Sehgal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday accused the ruling Congress of trying to poach its members of Legislative Assembly in Uttarakhand to get a seat vacated for Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, enabling him to enter the state Assembly.
Moderate to high turnout was recorded in 13 assembly constituencies across seven states where bypolls were held on Wednesday amid sporadic incidents of violence in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
Dhami will continue as the Uttarakhand chief minister, the BJP said on Monday, ending the 11-day suspense over it.
Uttarakhand is abuzz with speculation that the BJP could pick a new leader as CM, given the possibility that the Election Commission may not hold a by-poll enabling Rawat's election to the state assembly.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report this week on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people. The investigation is ongoing, with the help of foreign experts, and the black box and voice recorder data are being analyzed.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashwani Choubey and his family, who were stranded in a temple in Kedarnath, have been rescued and brought to Dehradun by a helicopter on Thursday.
Yadav further accused the BJP of "using distractions" to avoid addressing real issues such as rising unemployment, inflation, lack of investment in Uttar Pradesh, and failing healthcare facilities.
Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat resigns
A purported video of former Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat saying no work could be done in the state without paying commission has surfaced online.
Another MLA Rekha Arya, who was also supposed to join the BJP on Wednesday, is visiting the Simhasth Kumbh in Ujjain, but has sent her acceptance to the party.
Dhami under whose leadership the BJP had contested the February 14 assembly polls was the frontrunner for the post.
Six Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs who voted against party nominee Abhishek Manu Singhvi in the Rajya Sabha elections, along with three Independent lawmakers, have shifted to a hotel in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Uttarakhand amid an ongoing rebellion against Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Mr Pradhan's understanding of realpolitik and organisational dynamics makes him the ultimate party man, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The Uttarakhand assembly poll result has presented the Bharatiya Janata Party with a dilemma of sorts as it weighs various options after outgoing chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who was tipped to continue in the post lost the election even as the party stormed back to power.
Reacting to the results, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that in the by-elections held on 13 seats in seven states, the people of the country have given their support to the INDIA bloc.
Known as a simple and down-to-earth leader, Tirath Singh Rawat takes over the rein of power in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is preparing for the state assembly polls due early next year.
The BJP expelled Vinod Arya and his son from the party, a day after the leader's another son was arrested in the murder case of a woman receptionist at a resort in Uttarakhand's Pauri.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shaurya Doval has said he has never expressed desire to contest elections but is open to the idea if the party decides to field him.
The draft will be examined, studied and discussed before it is tabled in the assembly on February 6, he said.
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