Highlights: TMC's appeasement politics has disturbed demography of West Bengal, says PM Modi

From PM Modi's jibe at Congress, JMM to Aam Aadmi Party's protest against BJP, catch all the latest LIVE updates from across the globe here

8:39 PM

We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning: Iranian officials

We are still hopeful but information coming from the crash site is very concerning, said Iranian officials to Reuters on the crash of helicopter carrying Iran President Ebrahim Raisi.

8:32 PM

Centre disbursed 'massive' funds for Punjab in 10 years: Jakhar

People of Punjab across all spectrums mainly benefited from the funds provided by the Modi government in the 10 years of the BJP rule at the Centre, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar said on Sunday. The benefits of the "massive" funds disbursed by the Modi government under its flagship and other schemes penetrated right up to the last mile, he said. "Be it social security, agriculture, health, infrastructure, welfare, railways, housing, power, nutrition, road network or employment, Punjab received enormous central assistance in the last decade that has been instrumental in elevating Punjab on the socio-economic pedestal," Jakhar said here. Highlighting the schemes and their corresponding impact, both economic and social, Jakhar said that while the BJP at the Centre continued to help Punjab grow without bias, the people of Punjab can now see through the "false narrative" propelled by the ruling AAP dispensation under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, which allegedly failed to live up to many of its poll promises.

7:51 PM

Congress, RJD leaders did not attend Ram temple consecration because of 'Ghushpathiye' vote bank: Amit Shah

Launching a scathing on INDIA bloc leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused the Congress and RJD leaders of not attending the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya due to their 'Ghushpathiye' (infiltrator) vote bank.
 

Addressing an election rally at Bettiah in West Champaran district in support of BJP's Sanjay Jaiswal, who is seeking re-election from Paschim Champaran Lok Sabha constituency, Shah said, "Congress and RJD were against the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya from the very beginning. Invitations for the ceremony were sent to them, but they did not come because of their 'Ghushpathiye' vote bank." Shah accused Congress and RJD leaders of being scared that attending the ceremony would offend their vote bank.
 

The Home Minister asserted, "After completion of the four phases of Lok Sabha elections, I can tell you the result. Modi ji has already crossed the winning mark of 270 seats. Lalu ji's party RJD will not get even four seats and Rahul Baba's party Congress won't even manage 40. The INDIA bloc will face a humiliating defeat in this election." Shah accused the Congress and its alliance partners of spreading lies that the NDA intends to end reservations if it returns to power for a third term.

7:26 PM

Over 1,000 Mizoram policemen could not vote in Lok Sabha polls: Officials

More than 1,000 policemen in Mizoram were unable to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha polls held on April 19, officials of the state election department said.

These personnel were deployed in other states for poll duty several days before April 19, the day when the northeastern state voted, they added. Although arrangements were supposed to be made for the police personnel to vote at facilitation centres, no such provision was made as they had to leave the state before candidates could be finalised, officials said. Despite requests made to the Election Commission on two occasions to allow the police personnel to cast their votes, the appeals were allegedly rejected by the central poll panel, officials added. In response to this, the People's Conference (PC) party wrote to Election Commission principal secretary SB Joshi urging the poll panel to permit 1,047 policemen from Mizoram to exercise their franchise before the counting of votes.

7:12 PM

LS polls: After being in power for 10 yrs, all PM Modi is saying 'mangalsutra', 'nakli santaan', says Kejriwal

7:06 PM

Airstrike kills 27 in central Gaza and fighting rages as Israel's leaders are increasingly divided

An Israeli airstrike killed 27 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting with Hamas raged across the north on Sunday as Israel's leaders aired divisions over who should govern Gaza after the war, now in its eighth month.
 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces criticism from the two other members of his War Cabinet, with his main political rival, Benny Gantz, threatening to leave the government if a plan is not created by June 8 that includes an international administration for postwar Gaza.
 

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan was expected to meet with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders on Sunday to discuss an ambitious US plan for Saudi Arabia to recognise Israel and help the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza in exchange for a path to eventual statehood.
 

Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood and has rejected those proposals, saying Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and partner with local Palestinians unaffiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

6:40 PM

3 jailed in Patanjali Soanpapadi case in Uttarakhand

A court here has sentenced three people to six months' imprisonment for violating food safety standards in making Patanjali Elaichi Soanpapadi. Assistant Prosecution Officer Ritesh Verma said that Pithoragarh Chief Judicial Magistrate Sanjay Singh on Saturday also imposed fines of Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 on them, besides the jail sentence. Verma said that the court sentenced Leeladhar Pathak, a shopkeeper from the Berinag town of Pithoragarh, to six months' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for selling the product. The court sentenced Ajay Joshi, assistant manager of Patanjali's authorised representative Kanhaji Distributors Pvt Ltd located in Nainital's Ramnagar, to six months' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000.

5:53 PM

BJP going to win only one seat in UP: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that the BJP is winning only one seat in Uttar Pradesh. "Have you heard (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is winning only one BJP seat of Kyoto (Varanasi) in Uttar Pradesh," said Gandhi while addressing a joint poll meeting with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Prayagraj in support of INDIA bloc candidate Ujjawal Raman Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that he will turn Varanasi into Kyoto, a picturesque town in Japan. "The fight is to save the Constitution. The BJP and the RSS are attacking it, and I want to tell them that no power can tear and throw the Constitution away," Gandhi said while waiving a copy of the Indian Constitution. Gandhi reiterated the promises made by the Congress and appealed to vote for the party's candidate. "We are going to make a law for an MSP of farm produce and we will also provide support to the unemployed youth," he added.

5:01 PM

CAA is Modi's guarantee, it is about giving citizenship to refugees: PM at Bengal rally

CAA is Modi's guarantee and it is about giving citizenship to refugees, said PM Modi at a Bengal rally. He further said that TMC welcomes infiltrators but is opposing Hindu refugees. He further alleged that TMC's appeasement politics has disturbed demography of West Bengal.

4:39 PM

Lone Kashmiri Pandit candidate in Anantnag-Rajouri seeks 'justice' for his community

Dilip Kumar Pandita, a lone displaced Kashmiri Pandit candidate contesting on the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, is ramping up his campaign, promising to "reunite all Kashmiris through serious intra-community dialogue via civil society". Pandita is among 20 candidates in the fray challenging prominent figures like PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Mian Altaf Ahmad in the election slated for May 25. Pandita (56), who hails from a small hamlet of Ramhal in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, has been living in a government accommodation in Jagti migrant township with his family for several decades.

Despite the prevailing heatwave conditions in Jammu, he is vigorously campaigning with door-to-door interactions and corner meetings in Jammu, particularly in five migrant camps to seek support of more than 35,000 voters of the community. "We have been displaced from our homes for 35 years without getting justice. I am contesting to fight for justice for Kashmiri Pandits and to create conditions for their safe return to the valley," Pandita told PTI at the Muthi camp.

4:10 PM

Congress preserved Article 370 for 70 years: Shah in UP

Launching a blistering attack on the Congress, Union Home minister Amit Shah accused the opposition party on Sunday of "preserving" Article 370 of the Constitution, due to which terrorism increased in the country. He also asserted that the BJP will never allow another division of the country. Addressing a Lok Sabha poll rally in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh, Shah said, "The Congress and the Samajwadi Party preserved (sambhal ke rakha) Article 370 for 70 years, due to which terrorism increased across the country.

3:45 PM

Airstrike kills 20 in central Gaza

An Israeli airstrike killed 20 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting raged across the north on Sunday as Israel's leaders aired divisions over who should govern Gaza after the war, now in its eighth month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced criticism from his own War Cabinet, with his main political rival, Benny Gantz, threatening to leave the government if a plan is not formulated by June 8 that includes an international administration for postwar Gaza.

3:30 PM

PM Modi's guarantees "not delivered", 83% youths jobless in country: TMC

Alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guarantees on various issues had not been delivered, senior Trinamool Congress leader Amit Mitra on Sunday claimed that 83 per cent of jobless people in the country are youths. Mitra reiterated his party's stand that the TMC is with the INDIA alliance, stating that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's rebuff to senior party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and his retort is their internal matter.

3:02 PM

BJP leader Shazia Ilmi takes a swipe at Aam Aadmi Party over Maliwal assault case controversy

 "Aam Aadmi Party should be named as Aam Apradhi party and Bhibhv Kumar has become the Shahjahan Sheikh of Delhi. Bhibhv has misbehaved with a person who supported their party for so long...She was there for the party...Sanjay Singh said that the incident took place and action will be taken. What kind of action has been taken? The person who is a culprit is out, roaming free...", says BJP leader Shazia Ilmi

2:41 PM

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari slams Delhi CM Kejriwal amid ongoing controversy in Maliwal assault case

"Arvind Kejriwal is protesting to save a person who has misbehaved with a woman at his residence...Why Arvind Kejriwal is not speaking anything against Bibhav Kumar? Why is he trying to save him? He has misbehaved with a woman? He has also destroyed the CCTV footage, why? Such a big conspiracy has been done....", says BJP MP Manoj Tiwari 

 

2:25 PM

Delhi's outdoor workers, low-income households bear brunt of deadly heat

Sitting under a tree, Suman Mandal strenuously fans her two-year-old son on a hot summer afternoon near a construction site in southeast Delhi's Sewa Nagar.

The mercury has soared to 46 degrees Celsius and Mandal, 37, and her two children -- the other aged four -- are visibly sluggish.

"It is very difficult to work in this heat. But I cannot skip work or I will lose income," she said, adding the heat also takes a toll on her children.

1:53 PM

Here's what Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva had to say in Maliwal assault case

" ...The way Swati Maliwal, a woman MP was called to his (Arvind Kejriwal) house and was beaten up, he has no answer to this. I only want to ask one question to him, why are you silent on Swati Maliwal?...no matter what he says, from inside, he himself knows that he is responsible for what happened at his home...", says Delhi BJP chief Virendraa Sachdeva

 

1:52 PM

PM Modi addresses rally in West Bengal, says will not let corrupts live outside jail

"...I am saying it now that I won't let the corrupts live outside jail... Modi is giving you another guarantee, after June 4 when we form the new govt, corrupt people will have to spend their entire lives in jail..", says PM Modi in West Bengal

1:25 PM

Protests take place in Jammu and Kashmir, a day after BJP leader was shot dead

1:11 PM

Yogi Adityanath addresses a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Phoolpur, slams Cong-SP alliance

"The alliance of Congress and Samajwadi party is an alliance of anarchy and corruption. Riots used to happen during their rule. Have you heard of any riots in the state in the last seven years under the BJP government in the state... Now all the festivals are celebrated peacefully... Today, women and businessmen are safe due to the BJP government... This government has sentiments for the people of the nation. Congress and the Samajwadi Party have sentiments for the Mafia and terrorists", says Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

12:57 PM

Delhi CM Kejriwal along with other party leaders leave from AAP's headquarter to protest

12:37 PM

Uttarakhand CM Dhami addresses a rally in support of BJP's Bansuri Swaraj

"After seeing the energy and excitement of  Delhi, it is evident that the people of Delhi are with PM Modi and the public is ready to make him the Prime Minister again", says Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami as he addresses a rally in support of Delhi BJP candidate Bansuri Swaraj

12:28 PM

Here's what Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had to say over BJP's excise policy scam allegations

"Since I came to power in 2015, how many allegations did they (BJP) raise?...now they say that liquor policy scam has happened, people are asking them if the scam happened, where is the money?...in other places when raid happens, notes and golds are recovered but here nothing was found...where is all the money? They (BJP) made fake cases and arrested our people", claims Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

12:17 PM

Here's what Delhi CM Kejriwal had to say during his address ahead of proposed protest

 " BJP has started 'Operation Jhaadu' so that we don't grow big and become a challenge to them. Through 'Operation Jhaadu', AAP's big leaders will be arrested, they are being arrested and in the coming days, AAP's bank accounts will be frozen. ED's lawyer has already given this statement in court that soon after the election AAP's bank accounts will be frozen, he said that if they freeze our account now we will get sympathy...after election, they will freeze our accounts, our office will be cleared out and we will be brought to streets. These are the 3 plans made by BJP", says Kejriwal.

12:14 PM

Kejriwal takes a dig at PM Modi, BJP; says AAP leaders arrested in false cases

'Our ministers have been arrested in false cases', claims Kejriwal

12:13 PM

Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal addresses party workers ahead of proposed protest outside BJP HQ

'You arrest one Kejriwal, many other Kejriwal will be born", claims Delhi CM Kejriwal

12:09 PM

PM Modi slams Congress, allies at a rally in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur

" Congress and their ally parties, wherever they have govts, I am challenging those CMs and this is not my political statement...their 'Shehzada' keeps opposing business industries, businessmen and investments. Which businessman will go and invest in those states? What will happen to the youths of those states?...all investors who come to me say that they won't go to these states because of their ideology against them, businessmen are verbally abused their...investors will think that since 'Shehzada' has this kind of thoughts, his ally parties would have same thoughts as well", says PM Modi at a rally in Jamshedpur

12:07 PM

Farooq Abdullah demands international investigation agencies probe recent killings in JK

Condemning the shooting of a man and a couple by terrorists in two different incidents in Shopian and Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Chief Farooq Abdullah said that terrorism continues to exist here.

"Terrorism still exists here. No matter which party member he (BJP leader and ex-Sarpanch Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh) belonged to, targeting somebody, needs to be investigated. Whether he was killed by terrorists or people here, before pointing fingers at somebody, it needs to be investigated fast," Farooq Abdullah told ANI in an exclusive interview.

He further highlighted that such attacks will adversely impact the tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir.

11:57 AM

AAP MP Raghav Chadha arrives at party office ahead of proposed protest outside BJP HQ

11:56 AM

AAP to protest outside BJP headquarters, says DCP Delhi Central Harsha Vardhan Mandava

"Based on the information that has come to us through social media and other channels, we have made preventive arrangements on DDU Marg to ensure that the law and order is maintained...Our main focus is to deploy enough security forces and have barricading in place so that there is a proper law and order situation", says DCP Delhi Central, Harsha Vardhan Mandava on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's call for a protest outside the BJP HQ against the arrest of AAP leaders