The Congress party in India has condemned the seizure of assets belonging to the National Herald, a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, and announced nationwide protests against the action. The party's general secretary, KC Venugopal, described the action as "draconian" and said it was a politically motivated attempt to silence the opposition. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, among others, on charges of money laundering in the case. The Congress has called for protests in front of ED offices across the country on Wednesday.
Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora suspended Congress MLAs Paresh Dhanani and Baldevji Thakor on the charges of trying to attack BJP MLAs and two ministers -- Vallabh Kakadiya and Nirmala Wadhwani.
The last time when more than 200 MLAs were part of the state government was in 1972, but at that time all the 222 legislators belonged to Congress. Also, the strength of the House was 270 at that time, a former state legislature official said on Monday citing data.
"Speaker is yet to fix another date for them to appear before him," the sources added.
They reached Jaipur in the evening and staying at a resort located on the Delhi highway, source said.
'The BJP, which did not stand with the people of the state during the natural disaster, now wants to push the state into political disaster'
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray planned to make Eknath Shinde the chief minister of Maharashtra after the 2019 polls, but first the Bharatiya Janata Party and later Maha Vikas Aghadi allies including Sharad Pawar played a spoilsport.
Five candidates were in the fray for the four seats in the elections, including Janata Dal-Secular contestant D Kupendra Reddy.
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress has decided to shift its MLAs in Rajasthan to a Udaipur hotel, with party sources saying they fear that the Bharatiya Janata Party will poach them ahead of the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections.
Rebellion in Assam Congress on Monday showed up in the assembly as nine of their MLAs joined opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in protest on the law and order situation in the state.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan on Sunday said the UDF will take part in all the rehabilitation efforts and work towards restoring normalcy in the lives of the survivors.
Himachal Pradesh Speaker Vipin Parmar has lodged a first information report against the five Congress MLAs suspended from the state assembly for the entire Budget session after they allegedly manhandled Governor Bandaru Dattatraya.
Speaking to reporters for the first time after arriving in Bengaluru and sending in their resignations, the 22 MLAs said they were ready to face any consequences.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, state BJP president C P Joshi and Union minister Bhupendra Yadav welcomed them into the party at its state headquarters in Jaipur.
Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.
A senior SP leader requesting anonymity said that the party chief had called a meeting to brief the MLAs about the voting process of the Rajya Sabha elections.
Tensions ran high in Gubbi taluk on Saturday as the farmers' protest against the Hemavati Link Canal project escalated into violence, prompting police to register FIRs. It is said that more FIRs are likely to follow.
Fearing poaching, the party had shifted its legislators to various resorts in Gujarat in the one last week, dividing them in zone-wise groups. While some MLAs gathered in Rajkot in Saurashtra, few others were in Abu Road in Rajasthan.
Lokesh Sharma, the former OSD of Rajasthan's ex-chief minister Ashok Gehlot, has turned approver in a phone tapping case that happened during the political crisis in the state in 2020. Sharma was accused of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations. He has alleged that Gehlot was involved in tapping of phones and gave evidence to support his claim. Sharma claims that he was directed by Gehlot to circulate recordings of phone calls to the media.
Ashok Gehlot has proved that a strong state leader can challenge the Congress high command.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren expanded his cabinet on Thursday, inducting 11 new ministers, including six first-timers and two women. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi. The new ministers include six from the JMM and four from the Congress. One minister is from the RJD. The expansion comes after the JMM-led alliance won the recent assembly elections with a comfortable majority. The cabinet expansion is expected to give the government a fresh impetus to push its agenda and accelerate development in the state.
EPS' acceptance of Amit Shah's proposal for an electoral alliance with the BJP is being interpreted to mean how the AIADMK has signed up the NDA national leader as a junior partner. Not many have appreciated EPS for this strategic move that has now forced the BJP to play second fiddle to the AIADMK. This has meant that the BJP has buried its ambitions of capturing power in Tamil Nadu now, and is willing to wait until after the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Congress leader submitted his resignation as an MLA to Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade at his office. Bagade accepted his resignation, along with that of Congress MLA Abdul Sattar and state minister Girish Bapat.
The Supreme Court of India has invalidated the appointment of 25,753 teachers and other staff in West Bengal's state-run and state-aided schools, deeming the selection process "vitiated and tainted." The court ordered the state government to conduct a fresh selection process within three months. The decision comes after a Calcutta High Court verdict in April 2024, which also annulled the appointments. The apex court, while upholding the high court's order, made some modifications, including exempting disabled employees from returning their salaries. The case stemmed from alleged irregularities in the 2016 recruitment process by the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC), involving OMR sheet tampering and rank-jumping. The Supreme Court had previously termed it a "systemic fraud." Former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee and Trinamool Congress MLAs Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha are among the accused being investigated in the recruitment scam.
The violence, which erupted over the setting up of a shop in Maheshtala under Rabindranagar police station in South 24 Parganas district, quickly escalated, turning the area into a virtual battlefield.
Uttarakhand Speaker has issued notices to nine rebel Congress MLAs asking them why they should not be disqualified from the House for aligning with the opposition BJP.
Raje however, said that "Gehlot's 'praises' is a big conspiracy" against her.
A group of Congress leaders have written to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to warn party leaders and state ministers, who are weighing in for the chief minister's post, in the event of leadership change in Karnataka.
To keep their MLAs together, political parties are organising dinner meetings and arranging hotel stays for them ahead of the council elections, which are taking place just three months ahead of the assembly polls in the state.
In the last five years, 480 candidates with declared cases related to hate speech have contested elections to state assemblies, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the ADR said.
'The Congress government is on its way out in Himachal Pradesh.'
The desertion of MLAs is worrying for the party which has fielded its senior leader Ahmed Patel for the Rajya Sabha election.
While the authenticity of the video has not yet been verified independently, the BJP dubbed it as 'fake and misleading', and said it has been released to tarnish Mishra's image.
A delegation of Congress leaders comprising Pawan Kumar Bansal, Vivek Tankha and Ranjeet Ranjan met the Election Commission and handed over a memorandum by Ajay Maken, its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll in the state.
Amid cross-voting, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan on Tuesday won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, defeating ruling Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi, officials said.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections will see around 20 candidates who have switched parties, with the AAP, BJP, and Congress fielding former foes in a bid for political gains. While these candidates aim to prove themselves in their new political homes, they face challenges including apprehension among members of their adopted parties. The article provides details of prominent leaders who switched sides, including those who joined the AAP, BJP, and Congress.
Unofficially though, it is claimed that Ajit Pawar has the support of 29 MLAs, and the number could add up within two days.
Rebel Congress MLA and former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, who also reached Delhi, said he is surprised why CM Harish Rawat has not resigned so far on moral grounds.
However, two Bahujan Samaj Party and one Samajwadi Party MLA who support the government skipped the CLP meeting, he added.
