A court in Thane, Maharashtra, acquitted a speech-impaired woman accused of killing her would-be daughter-in-law, citing inconsistencies in the victim's dying declarations and failure of the prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The BJP protesters, carrying placards and raising slogans, slammed the Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, calling them "traitors" for allegedly tarnishing the nation's image.
Votes will be counted on January 16 and the outcome will be keenly watched as the BJP-led Mahayuti will seek to stamp its supremacy in urban landscape, especially in Mumbai, while the Opposition parties will try to redeem themselves after last year's rout in assembly polls.
The Bombay high court has said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has a legitimate right for an expeditious decision on merits over a 2014 defamation complaint for his alleged remarks against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The RRSS on Tuesday accused the Congress of "consistently trying to spread lies" about it
In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should first respect uniform law by disqualifying 40 MLAs including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, whose Urban Development department has taken action against 18 ex-corporators from the Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC).
Raj has set May 4 as the deadline to remove loudspeakers from mosques.
The court directed the NHSRCL to file a correction statement within a month to the effect that the TDS deducted by it while paying the compensation amount to Patil was not liable to be deducted.
Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, in the eye of a storm over her remarks against Prophet Muhammad, Monday sought time to appear before the Maharashtra police to record her statement, while more than 300 people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh in a crackdown on protesters who indulged in violence after the Friday prayers on June 10.
The bench questioned the speech made by Rahul and wondered "why he made a speech quoting wrong historical fact".
'This Sunday holds special significance for us, as we woke up to a new and transformed Sunday, with a feeling of relief that the lingering issue of Ayodhya dispute has been resolved once and for all'
Thousands of farmers from across Maharashtra reached Mumbai on Sunday evening to participate in a rally at the state capital on Monday against the Centre's three new farm laws.
"Even when Vajpayee is ill in hospital, I was the first one to visit him, since the Congress believes he has contributed to the country," he said.
'The humanity displayed by ordinary, lower middle class residents of north east Delhi -- Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs -- will be remembered perhaps even more than the evil wrought in the riots,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
'What of Modi? They are willing to take their chances. Maharashtra's Muslims recall how the Congress scared them with the Bal Thackeray bogey for decades, yet, when it came to using all the might of the State to protect them from Shiv Sena goons, be it in 1970, 1984 or 1992-1993, it did nothing. For them, the Congress's secularism is a cruel joke.' 'This argument that we ('seculars') must vote for the 'winning secular candidate' has one more implication: Those who are against Hindutva must forever be stuck with the same corrupt, cynical and tired old parties, who are not even secular,' says Jyoti Punwani.
'Minorities should not fear a Modi sarkar... Who has given the right to kill in the name of religion? No one! You are not James Bond 007, that you will just take a shotgun and kill anybody at your whims and fancies. We are not living in a banana republic...' The inimitable Shatrughan Sinha on Narendra Modi as a dabbang action hero, what a Modi Sarkar would be like.
