The Election Commission has advised the West Bengal Governor to call off his proposed tour of Cooch Behar on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls' first phase as it was violative of the Model Code of Conduct, sources said on Wednesday.
A petition had sought Modi's disqualification from contesting polls for allegedly seeking votes in the name of deities.
A delegation of Trinamool Congress leaders on Wednesday met Election Commission officials here and alleged that the use of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo on advertisements of various central schemes and the COVID vaccination certificates, distributed by the Union health ministry, violated the model code of conduct.
The Pushpa actor waved to a large crowd from a balcony with the YSRCP candidate and also posted a message on 'X' in his favour.
The power struggle in Tamil Nadu's main opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, appears set to go on for a long time with sidelined leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) approaching the Election Commission and the influential Edappadi K Palaniswami camp refusing to budge.
The apex court noted that the Representation of People Act, 1950, read with the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, has contemplated the name of a candidate has to be proposed while filling the nomination form.
The over two-minute campaign song, penned and sung by AAP MLA Dilip Pandey, was released at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday.
In the notice issued on Sunday, the ECI has notified the main organiser of the 'Auto Rajakanmar Iftar' event, Abubakar Siddique, for violating the election model code of conduct.
The Supreme Court of India, by a majority view of 3:2, on Monday upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitution amendment providing 10 per cent reservation to people belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs.
A delegation of Congress leaders met the Election Commission and handed over complaints against the prime minister, alleging that he has trampled upon and violated the model code and directions of the poll body.
Justifying his arrest, the ED said Kejriwal had been arrested bona fide and not for any mala fide or extraneous reasons.
Police personnel removed him and his supporters from the protest site as they were holding the demonstration near a restricted area, and thus it was "illegal", a senior officer said.
The Election Commission on Tuesday censured former Calcutta high court judge and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay for his comment against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and debarred him from campaigning for 24 hours.
Praful Patel has no mandate to continue as All India Football Federation (AIFF) president as he has already served three terms and the national body should hold elections without further delay, the Sports Ministry informed the Supreme Court.
'The government does not want to be transparent or accountable. Therefore, they do not want to appoint information commissioners.'
District education officer Ajay Kumar Singh said teacher Harendra Rajak's conduct was brought to his notice by family members of several students of the government secondary school at Amrakh in Kurhani block.
The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's move to get a post on electoral bonds scheme deleted from social media platform X and said that the issue raised in the post makes the government 'extremely uncomfortable'.
The first time the Election Commission has taken cognisance of a model code of conduct complaint against a sitting prime minister.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed petitions challenging the 1976 amendment to the Constitution that added the terms "socialist", "secular", and "integrity" to the Preamble. The court ruled that the inclusion of these terms, made through amendments, is valid and does not affect the original adoption of the Constitution in 1949.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti drew comparisons between the treatment of Hindus in Bangladesh and minorities in India, sparking criticism from the BJP. Mufti expressed concerns about the alleged oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh and criticized recent surveys of mosques in India. She called for a united front against forces dividing people on religious lines and warned of a potential repeat of 1947-like riots.
The Himachal Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party Sunday filed a complaint against the Congress and the Hamirpur Youth Congress Club for allegedly portraying actor and BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi, Kangana Ranaut, in a negative light by using pictures from her films.
The case was registered following a complaint filed by KP Sumesh, a local Communist Party of India leader, seeking legal action against Gopi for allegedly misusing an ambulance to reach the Pooram venue flouting police restrictions.
Mayawati, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said she is hopeful her nephew will emerge as a "mature" leader.
Sporadic incidents of unrest marred the West Bengal bypolls, with a local Trinamool Congress worker Ashok Shaw dying following a crude bomb attack in Bhatpara, an area adjoining Naihati assembly constituency where voting was underway.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the removal of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar and mandated the appointment of Vivek Sahay, once suspended by the poll panel, as the new state police chief, with the TMC accusing the BJP of controlling the constitutional body.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was 'party to the criminal conspiracy' of the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy since the beginning, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged in its latest supplementary charge sheet in the case.
The BJP said the former Congress chief's comments during the public meeting were "extremely objectionable" as they are not just in violation of the model code of conduct but could have serious implications.
Following his complaint to the poll panel, the CEO forwarded it to the city police for a factual report, resulting in the registration of an FIR against Shah by the Moghalpura police station at 7 pm on Thursday.
"We will complain. He can meditate, but televisions cannot show it," she said, alleging that this will amount to "violation of the MCC."
The leaders will also raise the issue of alleged "use of religious symbols" by the Bharatiya Janata Party in their campaign, they said.
Hundreds of people are still seen attending the rallies without wearing face masks and pushing and shoving each other for space.
In the 2017 assembly election, the voter turnout in the first phase covering the same 89 constituencies stood at 66.75 per cent.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on Wednesday served a notice to wrestler-turned-politician Vinesh Phogat for whereabouts failure and sought an explanation within 14 days.
Should not entertain him, must be removed: Bhaichung Bhutia criticises AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey for corruption, mismanagement
The BJP leader said the Congress wants to divide the country on the basis of religion and region.
Himachal is first state in the country to pass such a bill under which "A person shall not be entitled for pension under the Act, if he has been disqualified at any point of time under the tenth schedule of the Constitution".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of repeatedly "wounding" the Indian Constitution. He claimed that the Congress, driven by its "lust for power," has consistently undermined the principles of the Constitution. Modi, however, praised India's democratic journey since its independence, highlighting the country's strong democratic roots and its unwavering commitment to its founding principles. He underscored the importance of unity for India's future development and emphasized that the Constitution is the bedrock of that unity.
He could have blazed a trail that few Indian judges had. It was a missed opportunity of a lifetime, notes Ramesh Menon.
