It is unusual that two leaders are made election in-charge together as, generally, an in-charge is joined by one or more co-incharges.
Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been arrested by US law enforcement authorities in Iowa. He is wanted in connection with several criminal cases in India, including the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique and the firing outside actor Salman Khan's Mumbai home.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
Among urban users, 57 per cent mentioned a preference for accessing Internet content in vernacular languages.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday invited National Conference leader Omar Abdullah to take oath as first chief minister of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on October 16.
'We in Kashmir will ensure that this kind of incident does not happen again.'
As many as 37 central ministers visited Jammu and Kashmir to assess the ground situation and interact with people on various development schemes. Over 30 of them have submitted their reports to the Home Ministry and those were forwarded to the PMO recently, a government official said.
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
Singh said the Modi government has changed the approach adopted by previous governments that the border areas are buffer zones between the plains and the potential adversary.
'India for its survival has to change its doctrine from no first use to a pre-emptive attack in case of any hostile move by Pakistan,' recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
>The Indian Army still uses old British-era names and recruits soldiers based on caste or region, which hurts national unity, argues Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
The chartered flight, operated by a private firm, carrying Rishiraj Sawant (32) and his two friends returned to Pune airport between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Monday, abruptly cutting short a trip to the Thailand capital which was not disclosed to the former minister, who is leader of the ruling Shiv Sena, and his family.
A Haridwar-based community welfare organisation, Divya Prem Seva Mission, will host a series of seven lectures on diverse themes, including one on the contentious subject of simultaneous polls, at its camp at the Maha Kumbh site in Prayagraj. The lecture series, starting on January 12, will also cover topics like Swami Vivekananda's philosophy, India's glorious past, global terrorism, gender equality, and the challenges of privacy and safety on social media. The organization has been involved in philanthropic activities for 29 years and is raising awareness about the discrimination faced by people with leprosy.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development for construction of two crore more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G). The Cabinet approved the 'Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29,"which prescribes for the construction of two crore more houses at existing unit assistance of Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas and Rs 1.30 lakh in North Eastern Region States and Hill States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, according to an official statement.
The much-delayed decadal census exercise and the work to update the National Population Register (NPR) are likely to begin early 2025 and the data will be declared by 2026, thus changing future census cycles completely, official sources said.
Bukhari said party president Mehbooba Mufti was scheduled to address various workers' conventions as part of her ongoing public outreach programme over the next few days.
'It is sad and unfortunate. But we have to accept it'
8.25 per cent or 134 candidates are women candidates in the first phase.
Terrorists active in Jammu and Kashmir will either land in jail or be sent to jahannum (hell), Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday while asserting that the Modi government has zero tolerance for terrorism.
"I'm amazed channels are bothering with exit polls especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I'm ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp etc. because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass," Abdullah, a former chief minister, wrote on X.
The family members of Border Security Force constable Purnam Kumar Shaw, who was released by Pakistan from its custody on Wednesday, expressed immense relief and gratitude to the central government and BSF authorities for securing his return.
The "construct of the DPDP Act" cannot be changed at this stage, though there may be some minor tweaks in the language of the Rules and formats in certain legitimate cases.
He also said if security forces, the Union Territory administration and people come together, then terrorism could be eliminated from the region in a year.
'While I would never wish for anyone to go through what we are, it has brought out the best in us by making each one of us a better version of ourselves.' 'Being courageous, fighting for freedom, taking the burden of responsibility to help each other...' 'I know hundreds and hundreds of examples where Ukrainians are risking their lives for complete strangers and it is only in moments like this that we truly understand what it means to be human.'
The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since November last year when Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as Maldivian president.
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.
The Delhi assembly which held 74 sittings over its five-year term, met for an average of 15 days a year. On the days it met, the assembly sat for an average of three hours.
The former Union minister said the question that was posed to the country then and faced it today was whether Muslims in India felt accepted, cherished and celebrated.
The Delhi government has announced that vehicles older than 15 years will be denied fuel at petrol pumps starting April 1.
Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the decision to transform Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory is 'temporary' and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will restore the statehood to the region.
The Indian Air Force keeps moving its aircraft in both the Union Territories in the Northern sector including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to give them the experience of flying there in their unique terrain.
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 from third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
100 of the 1,198 candidates are women.
COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1 has spread to 15 states and Union territories with a total of 923 cases of the infection reported so far, according to the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG).
India has reached out to key global powers, including members of the UN Security Council, and apprised them about the reasons behind its military strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. New Delhi also conveyed to the countries that it will retaliate if Islamabad escalates the already tense situation.
The poll panel had given a similar voter turnout figure on May 8, a day after the third phase of voting took place.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday appointed election in-charges and co-in-charges for 23 states and Union territories in view of the Lok Sabha polls this year.
There is a limit to ignoring genuine aspirations of the people and suppressing their legitimate voice in running the affairs of the state, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The defence minister, however, said the matter is under the domain of the Union home ministry and it will take appropriate decisions.
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