The party is eyeing at expanding its footprint across the country and has tied up with the Congress to contest the Lok Sabha polls against the BJP in Delhi, Haryana and Gujarat.
Days after he escaped assassination, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal appeared before the Akal Takht seeking forgiveness -- kshama yachna -- after completing the 10-day tankha (penance for violating the Sikh religious code) at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Friday, December 13, 2024.
Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian national and close associate of David Coleman Headley, is set to be extradited to India from the US. Rana was involved in the planning and execution of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which killed 166 people, including six Americans. He assisted Headley in obtaining a visa for India, established a front company in Mumbai, and helped in reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai and New Delhi. Rana was convicted in the US for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and sentenced to 14 years in prison. His extradition to India will allow authorities to question him about his involvement in the Mumbai attacks and potentially uncover new information about the role of Pakistani state actors.
The "weaponisation" of economic activity - through tariffs and sanctions - is now a reality, with countries leveraging these tools strategically, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at the Raisina Dialogue recently.
The Union ministers and farmer leaders had met earlier on February 8, 12 and 15 but the talks remained inconclusive.
Bypolls will be held on Wednesday in 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand. The bypolls, however, will not have any direct impact on the respective legislative assemblies. The results will be declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, polling will be held in Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. Ninety candidates are in the fray in these seats with the maximum of 14 in Ghaziabad. This will be the first electoral test of the INDIA bloc as well as the NDA in the politically-crucial state after the Lok Sabha elections. In Punjab, bypolls will be held in four assembly seats - Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal (SC) and Barnala. The bypolls were necessitated after MLAs representing them were elected to the Lok Sabha. Polling will also be held for the Palakkad seat in Kerala and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.
Finance ministers of states demanded an increase in allocation under 50-year interest-free loan scheme, while fiscally stressed states like Punjab and Kerala pitched for a special package and borrowing flexibility, sources said on Friday. In a pre-budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, states have also urged for higher borrowing limits to support fiscal activities, besides additional funds for Jal Jeevan Mission.
Amid intelligence reports of a pro-Khalistan group plotting an attack against him, Delhi Chief Ministerial candidate Arvind Kejriwal responded with faith, stating "God will save him." The threat comes ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls, with authorities reviewing Kejriwal's security and deploying round-the-clock surveillance.
He drew the roadmap of India's economic reform, unshackled it from the licence raj and pulled it back from the brink when even its gold reserve was pledged.
Telangana Minister J Krishna Rao told reporters that the chances of survival under the circumstances are "not that good."
While the BJP has assured voters that these benefits will not be discontinued, AAP leaders have questioned the party's long-term commitment.
Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met the governor in Chandigarh on Thursday, demanding the dismissal of the state's home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the police chief over the security breach during the prime minister's visit to Punjab.
'We wouldn't have had to face all this had our national leaders taken care to select a place for Sindhis and sent us there, instead of sending us all over to settle in places where the locals didn't want us.' 'They could have partitioned Sindh and given us a Sindhi state from its two Hindu-majority districts.' 'Wasn't that the logic of Partition?'
A team of three Union ministers will hold talks on Monday with a delegation of farmer leaders, who are planning to march towards Delhi to press for their demands.
'Adventure travel, cultural tours, and wellness retreats are in high demand.'
'No military offensive by Pakistan will end the insurgency in Balochistan without simultaneous, concerted efforts toward political dialogue to de-escalate tensions.'
A team of experts involved in rescuing eight people trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel in Telangana have reached the end of the tunnel, but debris is hindering further progress. The rescue operation, described as one of the most complex in the world, continues with experts from the Indian Army, Navy, NDRF, and GSI working tirelessly to find a breakthrough. Despite continuous efforts and oxygen pumping, there has been no contact with the trapped individuals.
Indians have topped the number of illegal immigrants from Asian countries caught at land, sea, and air checkpoints of the US since 2022.
Yogendra Yadav, a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), believes the party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls is a setback for the entire opposition and raises questions about its future. He attributed the loss to factors like the liquor scam, the 'Sheesh Mahal' row, and the constant fights between the Delhi LG and the AAP government.
In an email sent to some journalists and two videos accessed by PTI, Pannun compared Mann with former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was assassinated in a bomb blast on August 31, 1995.
Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health has become critical after 27 days of a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border protest site. Doctors attending to him have warned that he is at risk of cardiac arrest and multi-organ failure. Dallewal, 70, began his hunger strike on November 26 to pressure the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP on crops. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha have issued a statement saying that Dallewal's immunity has become very weak due to the continuous hunger strike, putting him at risk of infection. Former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Dallewal at the protest site on Saturday evening and conveyed the concerns expressed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding his health and well-being. The statement also said that candle marches will be taken out across the country on December 24 in support of Dallewal's hunger strike. On December 26, when Dallewal's fast will complete one month, symbolic hunger strikes will be held at tehsil and district levels.
Moreover, the CEO said that citizens can also lodge complaints through the cVIGIL application, where the complaint needs to be addressed within a 100-minute time frame.
The Supreme Court of India has directed the President to consider the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in the 1995 assassination case of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. The court gave the President two weeks to decide on the plea. Rajoana was sentenced to death in July 2007 for his role in the bombing that killed Beant Singh and 16 others. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) filed a mercy petition on his behalf in 2012.
Forty-one Border Road Organisation labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday.
A three-member panel led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has been formed to probe the discovery of "four to five semi-burnt sacks" of Indian currency notes found after a fire at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. The incident, which occurred on March 14, has triggered an in-house inquiry, with the findings determining the judge's fate. The panel, consisting of Chief Justices Sheel Nagu (Punjab and Haryana), G S Sandhawalia (Himachal Pradesh), and Karnataka High Court judge Anu Sivaraman, will conduct a "deeper probe" into the allegations. Justice Varma has denied any knowledge of the cash being stored in the storeroom. The inquiry follows the Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya's report that recommended a deeper investigation. The top court's 2014 guidelines for in-house procedures for probing allegations against judges will be followed during the inquiry. The panel's findings could lead to either the removal of the judge, if the misconduct is deemed serious, or a reprimand. The inquiry will also determine if the fire was indeed a short-circuit as initially reported.
Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, faced financial difficulties during his time studying at Cambridge University in the mid-1950s, according to his daughter Daman Singh's book "Strictly Personal: Manmohan and Gursharan". The book details how Singh, who was on a scholarship, often had to skip meals or live on a sixpence bar of Cadbury's chocolate to make ends meet. The book also offers insights into Singh's personal life, including his fondness for singing, his quirky sense of humor, and his habit of giving nicknames to people. Daman Singh describes her father as a man who was careful with money, had a good sense of humor, and was a loving husband and father.
A man was arrested from Ludhiana in connection with the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav said on Saturday.
In its response, the Ministry of Defence issued a statement saying tableaux proposals from states and Union territories and central ministries or departments are evaluated by an 'expert committee' comprising eminent persons in the fields of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture and choreography among others.
Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra has come under fire from several quarters after he was seen forcing the Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) to lie on a dirty mattress at a hospital.
'The strategic direction of the relationship will not be affected. But the perception has been affected.'
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
A panel of Union ministers will hold a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including loan waiver and bringing an ordinance on giving legal guarantee to a minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Sources said all the ministers expressed anguish over the "major security breach" during Modi's visit to the Congress-ruled state on Wednesday, with some demanding strong action.
The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying the workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army.
The former deputy chief minister, a Z+ protectee, arrived at the Ananadpur Sahib shrine surrounded by security personnel. Dressed in blue 'sewadar' uniform, Badal sat at the entrance of the gurdwara with a spear in one hand.
Several party hoppers including Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa and Anil Joshi were trailing from their respective constituencies in Punjab, according to poll trends.
Dallewal has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border since November 26 to press the Centre to accept demands including a legal guarantee to the MSP on crops.
A few people held a protest against the Punjab Police in Mansa for allegedly stopping them from entering the Moosa village by deploying heavy security ahead of Mann's visit.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party is committed to the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and will not break away from it.
The AAP national general secretary (organisation) said Kejriwal asked him to convey to the party MLAs to go door to door in their areas and meet people to understand their concerns.
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