Ultimately quotas kill talent and true meritocracy, argues R Jagannathan.
One person was killed and at least 18 others were injured in a series of clashes between supporters of Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India since Sunday night in West Midnapore district, police said on Monday.
The Centre and the Gujarat government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that they may file a plea seeking a review of its March 27 order asking them to be ready with original files on the grant of remission to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
State Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De wrote that 'firm and appropriate actions' were initiated in all cases of violence without any delay.
The leaders alleged that those who had no contribution in the freedom struggle wanted to spread fear 'in the name of nationalism', suppress the voice of people and were questioning the legacy of Congress.
The brutal killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan's Udaipur was a "terrorist incident", he said, alleging that Riyaz Attari, one of the main accused, was a BJP member since 2019.
The Uttar Pradesh government grappled on Monday with the aftermath of violence during a farmers protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, lodging a case against Union minister Ajay Mishra's son, promising a probe by a retired high court judge and stopping opposition leaders from reaching the trouble spot.
Following the killing of an SDPI state secretary late Saturday night, a BJP leader was hacked to death less than 12 hours later on Sunday morning and later, prohibitory order under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 144 was imposed in the entire Alappuzha district, additional police force was deployed there and senior officers camped there to monitor the law and order situation.
With an eye on the crucial Uttar Pradesh assembly election, BJP's national executive will begin its two-day meet in Allahabad on Sunday which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah among others.
Alleging political vendetta, the family of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Pandit on Sunday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into his killing as police detained four persons in the case and prohibitory orders were clamped in Gautam Budh Nagar, where the murder had sparked violence on Saturday night.
The two women, who had earned their daily bread selling lottery tickets on the streets of Kochi, were allegedly sacrificed by the accused to settle their financial issues and bring prosperity in life, police said.
A four-member team of the Union home ministry, tasked with looking into reasons for the post-poll violence in West Bengal, met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Raj Bhavan.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who arrived Bahraich on Thursday to meet the families of two farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, said by allowing Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra to continue on the post, the Centre is giving the message that those in power can do anything.
Police arrested two men and detained a teenage boy last week after the headless body was found dumped near a canal at Vapi in Valsad district in neighbouring Gujarat.
Sporadic incidents of violence were reported on Tuesday in some areas where voting is underway in the third phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, even as the overall situation by and large remained peaceful with 34.71 per cent turnout recorded till 11 am, officials said.
Senior party leader P Chidambaram, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut expressed support to Priyanka, who has alleged that no notice or first information report (FIR) has been given to her even after her 38-hour detention and was not allowed to meet her legal counsel.
According to the FIR lodged on a complaint of Jagjit Singh, a native of Bahraich district, the episode was 'premeditated' for which the 'conspiracy was hatched' by the minister and his son.
The attack was claimed by the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) which said it would not tolerate 'any Chinese military expansionist endeavours on Baloch soil'.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Wednesday filed a complaint with the state director general of police, seeking a thorough probe into allegations of an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple its government.
Railway officials also indicated that possible 'sabotage' and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation, and assured all possible assistance to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. The prime minister also chaired a meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to assess the situation.
The case against Rahul was filed by a local RSS functionary over the former's speech in which he claimed that 'the RSS people had killed Gandhi'.
Karra alleged that the central and state government's policies of "unabated genocide", continued denial of the dangerous ground realities, insensitive and ad hoc approach towards the Kashmir issue and blatant policy of dealing with Kashmiris by way of "oppressive, repressive and suppressive measures" were the other reasons for his resignation.
The Opposition candidate in the July 18 presidential polls, Yashwant Sinha, held his first campaign strategy meeting on Wednesday at the Nationalist Congress Party office in New Delhi and said a "rubberstamp President" will not work in the country.
A court in Thane district of Maharashtra on Saturday said trial in the defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by an activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh will be conducted on a day-to-day basis from February 5.
The incident is linked to the elopement of a local BJP worker's daughter.
The private bus (bearing registration number HP 66-7065) fell into the over 300-metre-deep nullah near the Dhoth Morh in Banjar tehsil of the district, Kullu Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri said.
A 54-year-old chemist was stabbed to death in Amravati city of Maharashtra, with the police suspecting that the accused committed the offence as the victim had allegedly shared a post on a social messaging platform in support of Nupur Sharma, whose remarks on Prophet Mohammed led to nationwide protests and global condemnation.
The Delhi BJP, however, refuted the allegations, saying their protest was peaceful. The Delhi Police also said the allegations that the gate of the deputy CM's residence was damaged or broken are 'incorrect' and a case has been registered under appropriate sections in the matter.
A bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari issued notice to the Centre, West Bengal and Election Commission of India on the plea, which also sought to central and state governments to award compensation to the victims and their family members after ascertaining the nature of loss sustained by them in post-poll violence in the state.
Two of the accused were arrested on Tuesday, while the priest is on the run, police said, adding that the woman's leg was fractured and there were injuries in her private parts.
With three sarpanchs killed in December, many panchayat members are running scared and quitting their posts. Pervez Majeed reports.
She is the 21st chief minister of West Bengal and 8th person to hold the office.
The BJP chief had lunch at the house of a tribal family before interacting with party workers.
'I am considering issuing a diktat - anyone who is a male in my party must keep clear of all remarks, written or verbal, on anything to do with women.' Sherna Gandhy's tongue-in-cheek piece on Didi's travails with the foot-in-mouth netas in her party!
The external affairs minister said that the dreaded terror outfit Islamic State had killed all the Indian nationals.
Gandhi also charged that the focus of the Uttar Pradesh government has been propaganda and public relations instead of welfare of people.
Two of the three youths killed in an encounter with security forces in the Parimpora area of Srinagar were 'radically inclined' and working as overground workers of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) terror outfit, police said on Friday and added that the case was being investigated.
