Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju had said the cabinet was forced to take the decision because of a constitutional breakdown as six months had lapsed between two sessions of the state assembly.
Internet trolls kept the social media abuzz in 2016 and spared none -- be it Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, cricketer Mohammad Shami or even 'Saifeena' -- unleashing posts and memes that ranged from controversial to hilarious to bizarre.
Modi also appealed to farmers not to burn crop residues so as to curb pollution.
'They don't have a political strategy so they are going to try to deal with it purely as a law and order problem.' 'They will try to use the same strategy they have repeatedly used since 2014 in Kashmir.' 'Mr Modi has landed in a situation where he faces the possible prospect of not only being unable to Indianise Kashmir, but his actions may end up making the rest of India a virtual carbon copy of Kashmir.'
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'That only a certain Mumbai story -- look at Salaam Bombay and Slumdog Millionaire for other examples -- gets made when an international audience is as much a target as the desi viewer, should invoke questions of representation,' notes Vikram Johri.
Acid attack crusader Laxmi Aggarwal's exceptional rise from an accident is sure to inspire you.
Former chief minister Jagannath Mishra was also found guilty in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa treasury in the 1990s.
The police haven't yet made any arrest in the killing of Narendra Dabholkar, five days after the eminent rationalist was shot dead that sparked an outrage and prompted the Maharashtra government to go in for an anti superstition and black magic ordinance.
"I am Dawood Ibrahim that is why I am being hounded," St Stephen's college principal Valson Thampu on Thursday said, expressing anguish over the "way" he is being "attacked" in connection with a research scholar's sexual harassment case.
An American dentist is identified to be the hunter of Zimbabwe's most famous lion, and he's now receiving death threats on the Internet
Sreehari Nair could not put up with turgid and self-serious ones like Super Deluxe and Gully Boy. His list of favourite Indian movies of 2019 contains just five names.
'There will be no more lapses in vigil. Not for the men who will now have to guard these frozen heights.'
Founded in 1994, this is the Tiger Temple, or Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno, a Theravada Buddhist temple in western Thailand.
BJP said if voted to power, it would bring out a 'white paper' on the financial health of the state under the Congress rule.
Panneerselvam said Sasikala is only a 'temporary general secretary' and proper elections have to be held to elect new party chief.
'Ashutosh Gowariker's Mohenjo Daro does what many history books could not have done.' 'He awakens interest in the ancient civilisation of Harapppa and Mohenjo Daro,' says Asim Siddiqui.
'National unity and acceptance of cultural diversity was never more important than now when the world enters an unstable and dangerous phase.'
'The real danger in India right now is that identity politics is being stoked in extremely dangerous ways.' 'The narrative you get about churches in the mainstream Indian media and the narrative you get in the social media is very different.' 'Many Americans today want to appropriate Indian culture. They want yoga, but they say yoga has nothing to do with Hinduism. They want Ayurveda, but they say it's got nothing to do with Hinduism.' 'Hinduism has been failed by political constituencies in India -- seculars and the right-wing.'
The state government held talks with the protesting youth to sort out the matter.
The government may claim planted trees compensate for forests lost, but that does not mean complex flora and fauna destroyed have been restored, points out Himadri Ghosh.
'A false narrative is being created, that Modi is a habitual offender when it comes to lowering the political discourse in the country.' 'Nothing can be farther from the truth,' argues Sudhir Bisht.
Child rights activists India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday said the Nobel peace prize gives them tremendous opportunity in their fight and struggle for children's rights.
Indian envoy to Nepal Ranjit Rae on Monday briefed the government on the latest situation in that country after it adopted its new fully secular and democratic Constitution amid violent protests in several parts of Nepal along the Indian border.
A grieving Pakistan's policy shift towards the Taliban has comes at a great cost, says Shahzad Raza.
He is talking, making sense, and India is listening. Rahul Gandhi needs to listen to him, too, says Shekhar Gupta.
The Great Agriculture Story that propelled Shivraj Singh Chouhan to power just won't sell any longer.
Villagers at the forefront of Pakistani firing say they feel like being in a war zone amid sounds of falling mortar bombs and rattle of automatic weapons and have appealed to the government to ask the neighbouring country to end the tension.
''This chief minister is so obstinate that he is ready to use the police to attain his goal.' 'Had he been more mature rather than obstinate, Kerala would not have reached a boiling point.'
'These ISIS terrorists want to smash Western civilisation, smash India. For the time being though, their main target would be the US and Europe.'
The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the Line of Control. Over 700 such incidents were reported this year, which have left more than 44 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.
Even if I completely disagree with what Gulmehar says, I must, as a father, as an Indian, protect her rights and her dignity. Otherwise I am not entitled to be called an Indian, says Tarun Vijay.
The single-phase polling for 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu on Thursday will test the capabilities of ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, its rival, the Dravidra Munnetra Kazhagam and the Bharatiya Janata Party, who hopes to ride on the Modi wave after drawing a blank in the previous two polls.
Congress on Sunday expressed surprise over the Modi government's "inability" to rein in affiliates of Sangh Parivar "brewing communal hatred and mistrust" for electoral gains.
#Not In My Name, said ordinary citizens, as they took to the streets to reclaim the India they believed in.
The Aligarh Muslim University Teachers' Association on Thursday urged political parties "not to play politics over the dead bodies" of the victims of the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
India is, indeed, particularly vulnerable to this menace.
Here are some of the best images of winners and finalists.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu progressed to the quarter-finals of the All England Championship with a hard-fought win over Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol in women's singles, in Birmingham.
