Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
The Supreme Court has warned that it will set aside the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar if any illegality is found. The court is reviewing the validity of the Bihar SIR and its potential impact on a similar exercise across India.
Workers from the BJP and Congress clashed in Patna during a protest march organized by the BJP against the use of abusive language towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's late mother. The protest turned violent, with stone pelting and vandalism reported. Police intervened to control the situation, and an investigation is underway.
'I want to ask the entire nation and the opposition. Can a Chief Minister, Prime Minister, or any leader run the country from jail?'
The Monsoon session of Parliament concluded after facing disruptions and protests over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Despite the disruptions, the government managed to pass key legislations.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Parliament has approved a resolution to extend President's Rule in Manipur for another six months, amidst opposition protests regarding electoral roll revisions in Bihar. The extension comes after the imposition of President's Rule in February due to ongoing ethnic conflict.
Will Mamata's bhasha andolan campaign sway Bengal's bhadralok before the 2026 election in the TMC's favour?
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has alleged misuse of power and money to control the election mechanism in Maharashtra, calling for a mass revolt. He cites claims of EVM manipulation by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and says that the situation was unprecedented, with money and power used to control the entire election process. Pawar also expressed concerns about the suppression of opposition voices in Parliament and the lack of response to concerns about EVM manipulation.
A resident of Bhojpur district in Bihar on Thursday called on the Chief Electoral Officer of the state to plead that he was alive.
The current situation in Kerala politics is perhaps best described as a case of the state's traditional two front politics now seeing a third front (the BJP) muscling in with the potential outcome being either a messy three front affair or a renewed endorsement of the two front pattern but with one of the old fronts compromised or quashed, observes Shyam G Menon.
'Till a few years ago, girls wouldn't take an autorickshaw alone. Now, things have improved.'
The Congress party stated that Rahul Gandhi's lawyer raised the issue of a threat to his life without his consent and will withdraw the statement in court. The lawyer filed an application stating Gandhi could face harm from followers of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Nathuram Godse's ideology.
The land pooling policy aims to kick-start a new wave of urbanisation in the predominantly rural state.
The Congress party has voiced its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a 'Tughlaqi process'. The party stated that all options are open for the INDIA bloc to collectively decide on the issue.
'Arundhati Roy is like a ballerina performing on a high wire, cool, supremely at ease but conscious of all the adoring eyes on her,' notes P Vijaya Kumar.
'The Election Commission's involvement in the avoidable SIR controversy has carried a message down to the last voter -- who just does not like it,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Senior BJP leader B Sriramulu has invited K N Rajanna, recently sacked as minister from the Congress government, to join the party. This comes as a state minister and some ruling party legislators met with Rajanna, signaling potential political shifts in Karnataka.
'The long term strategy is that this government wants to create a second class citizen list.'
This is important because he is to be seen as a sure winner before criss-crossing the state to campaign for candidates of the party or an alliance, highlights N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
Glimpses from around the world that will make you smile and cry.
Here is the timeline of the Emergency that lasted for 21 months, which is considered as the darkest period in the history of Independent India.
"We just looked at one constituency and we found this. I am absolutely convinced that constituency after constituency this is the drama that is taking place. Thousands and thousands of new voters, how old are they? -- 45, 50, 60, 65, thousands and thousands of them in one constituency. This is one thing, voter deletion, voter addition, new voters who are way above 18 (is going on)... so we have caught them," he said.
Vice President V V Giri's resignation in 1969 triggered political upheavals that saw the ruling party defy its own presidential nominee, the expulsion of a sitting prime minister by her party president, and a historic split in the Indian National Congress, recounts Utkarsh Mishra.
'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Sports Bill is a key reform aimed at building a "transparent, accountable and world-class sports ecosystem" in India.
Let there be no doubt that Modi in these 24 years so far has reshaped politics and governance considerably, if not completely, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Members of Hindu right-wing outfits allegedly created ruckus at a mausoleum in Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh, demanding permission to offer prayers and claiming a temple had previously existed at the site. The incident has led to heightened security and political reactions.
One Rajya Sabha seat is a small price to pay for all the skills that Kamal Haasan brings to the table, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Expressing surprise over political parties not coming forward in filing objections related to 65 lakh excluded voters, the top court directed the chief electoral officer of Bihar to implead them in the court proceedings.
'Non-BJP state governments and their leaders, navigating today's political landscape, know well they have no clue what awaits around the corner.' 'The chances of charges pressed and oneself getting parked in custody play out on an uneven playing field,' points out Shyam G Menon.
Leaders of several INDIA bloc parties met the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and raised concerns over its timing, alleging that over two crore voters of the state may be disenfranchised by this mammoth exercise being done just ahead of assembly elections.
Rijiju also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that his own party MPs "get uncomfortable" when he speaks in Parliament and are apprehensive that he will do "anap-shanap baatein" and the party will have to bear the consequences.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's (JVP) broader front National People's Power (NPP), on Sunday consolidated his lead in the Sri Lanka's presidential election.
'Today, the State looks at everyone with suspicion.'
'Although there is a visible dent in TMC's urban votes, especially among women, the CPI-M and the BJP are unlikely to benefit from this'
'There is a difference between a politician and leader.' 'A politician will have his pound of flesh first and do everything else later.' 'A leader will sacrifice everything to help people.'
