The BJP government in Gujarat has formed a five-member committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to assess the need for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state and to draft a bill for the same. The committee will submit its report within 45 days. The decision has sparked debate with the Opposition claiming it is an attempt to divert attention from pressing issues ahead of the upcoming local body polls, while the government insists the UCC will protect the rights of tribal communities. The committee will consult with religious leaders, including those from the Muslim community.
Several opposition MPs on Wednesday greeted their Bharatiya Janata Party counterparts in Parliament premises with the tricolour in one hand and a red rose in the other, as they urged the ruling party to ensure that the House functions and all issues, including the Adani matter, is discussed.
A cold wave has gripped many parts of north and east India, with Srinagar recording a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius. Other areas experiencing below-freezing temperatures include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Konibal, Qazigund, Kupwara, and Kokernag in Kashmir. Himachal Pradesh has issued an orange warning for severe cold wave conditions in several districts. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius, while Faridkot in Punjab was the coldest in the region at 0 degrees Celsius. Extreme cold conditions also continued in parts of Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The Met office has forecast mainly dry weather until December 26, with the possibility of light snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir on the intervening night of December 21-22.
Top leaders of the two parties are campaigning in Jharkhand and Maharashtra for the ongoing assembly polls in the two states.
'This is the Bengal story, where businesses are nurtured, dreams are realised, and legacies are built.'
Soren, who is scheduled to join the Bharatiya Janata Party on August 30, also resigned as an MLA of the state assembly and a minister in the Jharkhand Cabinet.
Just eight months after its good showing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) seems to be running out of steam with internal bickering and conflicting ambitions resulting in diminishing electoral returns that have once again put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the driver's seat in national politics.
The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Newly crowned World chess champion D Gukesh was felicitated by the Indian community in Singapore on Saturday.
The BJP, the petitioner in the case, has sought Soren's disqualification under Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 -- which deals with disqualification for government contracts -- for allegedly extending a mining lease to himself.
While the MNS had fielded 125 candidates, the VBA had 200 candidates in the fray.
'Whenever the hike in voting percentage is more, the NDA gains more, and when the hike is negligible, the NDA falls.' 'I have established this in UP, Haryana and Jharkhand.'
'Undeniably, Modi's position has stabilised and he has staged a comeback of sorts from the weeks after the Lok Sabha results.' 'Coalition partners are likely to be more tolerant of Modi... The forthcoming elections in Delhi and Bihar will determine whether this continues or not.' 'To win Delhi and Bihar, Modi will have to work in conjunction with the RSS.' 'However, because of the 'truce' that has been worked out within the Sangh Parivar, Modi will have to be more consultative than he has been in the past ten years,' reveals Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
India will showcase its military prowess and rich cultural heritage on Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26 to mark the 76th Republic Day. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the chief guest at the event, which will also see the participation of a marching contingent and a band contingent from Indonesia. The theme of the parade is 'Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas', focusing on the platinum jubilee of the enactment of the Constitution. The parade will feature a number of cutting-edge defense platforms, including BrahMos, Pinaka and Akash, as well as the Army's Battle Surveillance System 'Sanjay' and DRDO's surface-to-surface tactical missile 'Pralay'.
Dhoni endorses 42 brands to Bachchan's 41 and SRK's 34.
Subhas Chandra Bose was under house arrest, yet he pulled out a daring escape from his Elgin Road residence in Calcutta to Germany via Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia...
'He fears that the youth tide has gone against him and he will be swept away in the next assembly election in the state.'
The new faces in the 12-member cabinet, which includes the chief minister, are Congress's Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari, Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh and JMM's Latehar MLA Baidynath Ram.
Till 3 pm Mumbai and suburbs saw a muted 40 per cent voting, but for those who voted it was an occasion to remember.
The MLAs of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition in Jharkhand on Tuesday arrived in Raipur by a chartered flight in a bid to thwart the Bharatiya Janata Party's possible attempt to poach them, and moved into a nearby luxurious resort.
The arrested person was identified as Mohammad Shahnawaz Alam, a resident of Hazaribagh area of Jharkhand.
Once a close aide to JMM supremo Shibu Soren, Champai is now seen as crucial for the saffron party's efforts to establish a foothold in the tribal belt of Jharkhand, where Scheduled Tribes make up about 26 per cent of the electorate.
In Maharashtra's 288-member assembly, the share of legislators with college degrees increased over the past decade.
"I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide," Soren said while addressing JMM workers near his residence.
The Indian government has scrapped the 'no-detention policy' for classes 5 and 8 in schools it governs. This means that students in these classes who do not pass the year-end exams will be allowed to fail. The decision comes after the amendment to the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2019, which has already led to 18 states and union territories doing away with the 'no-detention policy' for the two classes. The new policy will be implemented in over 3,000 schools run by the central government, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navaodyala Vidyalayas, and Sainik Schools.
Soren, addressing a rally in Bhognadih on the occasion of 'Hul Diwas', also claimed that the saffron party has turned 'jittery' after his release from jail and its leaders are 'conspiring' against him again.
Some media reports had on Friday claimed that Soren could join the saffron party ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections.
However, the Congress asserted that its coalition government led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morchais "completely secure and stable'' and would complete its term.
The Delhi Police on Thursday claimed to have busted an Al Qaeda terror module after arresting of 11 people and detaining three others from Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The Election Commission of India has released detailed statistical data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, revealing a record voter turnout of 64.64 crore, with women outnumbering men. The data also highlights the participation of women candidates and the use of postal ballots, along with insights into overseas Indian electors.
The BJP has sought the disqualification of Soren as an MLA accusing him of allocating a mining lease to himself while he held the state Mining portfolio in 2021.
The newly married couple left the village in a bid to protect their lives, while the groom's parents were allegedly prevented from fetching drinking water from a public water tank and bathing in the pond by villagers, the family members claimed.
The committee will submit its report in two months and its chairperson can invite any expert of any institution in the country to help in the probe into the April 10 tragedy, a notification by Jharkhand tourism department said.
From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. JSW Steel and Infosys were the laggards.
He termed the allegations as "just random statements" and demanded that people making such allegations should demonstrate how the EVMs can be "hacked"
Ishan Kishan made a smashing return to domestic red-ball cricket, scoring a century for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh on Day 2 of the Buchi Babu tournament.
Fissures emerged within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra following their defeat in the state assembly elections. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve blamed the Congress's overconfidence, claiming they were already discussing portfolios even before winning the polls. Danve also said there was a lack of clarity on leadership within the alliance, with 10 Congress leaders reportedly vying for the chief minister's position. He also expressed that Uddhav Thackeray's presence as the chief ministerial face could have swung votes in their favour. Despite winning 30 of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the MVA secured only 49 seats out of 288 in the state polls. The Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20, Congress 16, NCP (SP) 10, Samajwadi Party 2, and CPM 1.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail for a period of two months to suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal in a money laundering case to enable her to look after her ailing daughter.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday said she has broken the protocol and undertaken several tours of Odisha and her native Mayurbhanj district in order to speed up development work.
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