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Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that she would not take political 'sanyas' (retirement) and won't stop till she forced the BJP into obscurity. In a Facebook Live, she also said people of the state had understood the true face of the BJP within four months of the change in the government. Banerjee alleged that the Census exercise was another backdoor attempt to enforce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and that it was implemented without consulting political parties. She also said people must exercise caution before signing Census forms and sharing personal data, warning that it may result in personal savings getting wiped off. Amid women's protests in different parts of the state over alleged delay in disbursement of funds of Annapurna Bhandar financial aid scheme for women, Banerjee said the state's BJP government was slashing the number of beneficiaries on the pretext of ineligibility. "We had launched Lakshmir Bhandar to make women financially
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the newly-appointed office-bearers of the BJP's national executive on Saturday and said such deliberations are all about fresh ideas and perspectives aimed at strengthening the party. The new team under BJP president Nitin Nabin was announced on August 17 and this was the first time that all its members had a meeting with the party chief and the prime minister. Those who attended the meeting also included some office-bearers of the outgoing national executive and a few state unit chiefs of the party. "Organisational meetings are all about new ideas and perspectives aimed at strengthening the Party and deepening connect with the people. Great interaction with fellow Party colleagues and the new organisational team," Modi said in a post on X. Those who attended included new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-presidents Ram Madhav and former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhra Raje, general secretaries Smriti Irani, a former Union minister, .
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said his party would not break alliances, asserting that the fight is against the BJP as he accused the ruling party of pursuing policies benefiting big business groups. Addressing reporters at the party headquarters here, Yadav said, "The Samajwadi Party never breaks alliances. When the Samajwadi Party agrees to move forward with others, it stands by them, and we have always honoured our commitments." He said the party's objective is to form a government committed to social justice based on socialist ideology and solidarity with the 'PDA' -- 'pichhda' (backward classes), Dalit and 'alpsankhyak' (minorities). "They are scared of the PDA, that is why they are trying to misrepresent the PDA. The greater the suffering, the stronger the PDA will become," Yadav said. On inflation, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief said essential commodities have become expensive, particularly with festivals approaching. "Everything is becoming expensive tod
BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Saturday held the first meeting with the party's newly appointed national office-bearers to discuss poll strategy and grassroots outreach, party sources said. The meeting focused on preparations for upcoming state assembly elections, grassroots mobilisation and communicating government initiatives to the public, the sources said. More meetings are scheduled later in the day, with state presidents, state in-charges and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states expected to attend, they said. The BJP announced a new national team under Nabin earlier this week. It comprises 65 office-bearers, with 51 new faces. The new team includes 13 national vice presidents, including former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and former RSS functionary Ram Madhav, while former Union minister Smriti Irani has been appointed as one of the eight national general secretaries. B L Santhosh has been retained as national general secretary (organisation) and Vi
BJP president Nitin Nabin on Tuesday appointed Rajya Sabha MP Vinod Tawde and national general secretary as in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh and newly appointed national secretary Jagdish Ishwarbhai Patel as co-in-charge. Newly appointed BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Satish Poonia was made in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, according to a notification issued by the party. Nabin made Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh in-charge of party affairs in Gujarat. "These appointments will come into effect immediately. The appointment of other state in-charges will be made in due course; meanwhile, the current Prabhari arrangement will continue," the BJP said in a circular. According to party sources, these appointments have been made in view of the assembly polls next year. While the assembly elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are due early next year, Gujarat will go to polls later in 2027. This comes a day after the BJP overhauled its national team under party
Deepak Mhaskey, academic and former member of the board of Engineers India Limited, was on Monday appointed as the head of the BJP's social media department, replacing Amit Malviya, who had been steering the party's social media outreach for 11 years. Malviya congratulated his successor, who also had a stint as a chemistry professor in Chhattisgarh. Mhaskey, born in 1968, is the chairman of the Chhattisgarh Medical Services Corporation Limited (CGMSC). He possesses a state minister-rank and is a permanent invitee of the BJP's Chhattisgarh unit. He had also served as an independent director of Engineers India Limited (EIL), a central PSU known for engineering consultancy and project management, principally focused on the oil & gas and petrochemical industries. "Their appointments come at a crucial juncture as the party prepares to scale newer heights and take its message and organisation to every corner of the country," Malviya said in a post on X. "I wish to particularly ...
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday said he has resigned from all positions and primary membership of the party. Poonawalla said he has submitted his resignation letter to BJP national president Nitin Nabin, requesting him to accept it. He also posted his resignation letter on X, which stated that he had written to Nabin, offering "to resign unconditionally" from all positions and primary membership of the BJP on July 30 due to "pressing financial and personal circumstances." In his letter to Nabin, Poonawalla expressed how moved he was by the party's reluctance to accept his resignation promptly, as they requested him to reconsider his decision. "But after long and hard contemplation, I have arrived at a final decision that I would like to press for relieving me from my role as National Spokesperson and active primary membership of the BJP. The events of the last few days, courtesy certain individuals about whom I have told you in great detail, have forced me to
The Congress on Thursday condemned the "purification" of the rally venue in Uttarakhand's Haldwani after a public meeting addressed by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and alleged that the incident reflected the "anti-Dalit" mindset of the BJP and RSS. Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, also raised the matter in the House and demanded the registration of a case under the Untouchability Act against those involved even as Chairman C P Radhakrishnan and Union minister J P Nadda condemned the incident. "Is this the way democracy works? How are you protecting the Constitution?" Kharge asked. He also said he does not intend to politicise the issue, but they have "insulted" him by purifying the stage. Nadda said the matter will be investigated. "...The BJP does not subscribe to such activities. We will investigate it, and I condemn this incident," he said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the "purification" of the stage after the public meeting "is not just an insult t
West Bengal's BJP government on Thursday withdrew and annulled Banga Bibhushan, the state's highest civilian award, previously bestowed upon the party's Rajya Sabha MP Nagendranath Roy aka Ananta Maharaj, in the wake of his alleged derogatory remarks about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The move came less than 24 hours after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari directed the police to take stringent action, including arrests, against those making derogatory remarks about Netaji on social media, and said the law would apply equally to MPs, MLAs and government officials. Adhikari's direction to the police came days after Ananta Maharaj described Netaji as a "war criminal" and questioned his leadership and the role of the Azad Hind Fauj in India's freedom struggle. Roy hails from Cooch Behar in the northern part of the state and is a leader of the Rajbanshi community. Roy was bestowed with the honour by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee on February 21, 2026, during an International Mother .
The protest by students over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment exams entered its 18th day on Tuesday, with the BJP observing a state-wide bandh, while ABVP announced that it would organise a march to the state assembly during the day. The saffron party called the bandh from 8 am to midnight to protest against the police action on demonstrators during their march to Vidhan Sabha on Monday. The students and job aspirants have been agitating since July 25, demanding transparency in recruitment examinations, reforms in the functioning of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission(JSSC), cancellation of several examinations and an independent investigation by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state. Six demonstrators have also been observing an indefinite hunger strike to press their demands, with two of them hospitalised. The sixth round of talks between the Jharkhand government and the protesting
Normal life was affected in parts of Jharkhand on Tuesday as BJP workers enforced a state-wide bandh in protest against police action on job aspirants during their march to the state assembly a day ago over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations. Most schools and business establishments remained closed, while vehicular movement was very low in the state capital Ranchi and several other cities. The shutdown, announced after the police used water cannons, tear gas and batons against protesters in Ranchi on Monday, was being observed from 8 am to midnight, with essential services kept outside its purview, BJP state president Aditya Sahu said. The BJP described the police action as "atrocities" against students and accused the JMM-led government of using force instead of addressing their grievances. The party has also backed the protesters' demand for an independent probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service .
BJP leaders staged a protest outside Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence here on Monday, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in the state. At the sit-in led by the party's state unit chief Aditya Sahu and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, the protesters were seen raising slogans and holding up placards with demands such as "stop playing with students' future" and "recommend a CBI probe into irregularities in JPSC examination". A police official said several BJP leaders, including Sahu and Marandi, have been detained. On the other hand, BJP's Jharkhand unit spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo says he and several other leaders were under "house arrest" since 7 am. The Jharkhand government said it has conceded to "98 per cent of the demands" made by the protesting job aspirants even though the agitators claimed that it was not true. It has agreed to the cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, proposed an ED probe into alleged
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said India's youths are the country's greatest strength as he spoke about their "dard (pain), data, and daulat (wealth)" to attack the BJP and the RSS. Addressing the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' programme at KP Ground here, Gandhi said, "You are the power and pride of India. When I say this, I am talking about every Indian citizen." He added, "This evening I want to speak to you about dard, data, and daulat." While there is much talk about America, China and Russia, "India's youths are unparalleled," he said. In his speech, Gandhi, who wore a half-sleeve pink shirt, throwing an uncharacteristic dash of colour against his usual white, touched upon several topics, from AI and data gathering to the BJP-RSS combine, which he accused of holding sway over young people's minds. The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said India has a big chunk of young population and the data it generates would be the key driver of the country's economy in the 21st ...
The Supreme Court has refused to review its decision which said that no cognisable offence was made out against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches over the anti-CAA protest in Delhi in 2020. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed a plea of CPI(M) leaders Brinda Karat and K M Tiwari, seeking review of the April 29 decision of the court. "We have gone through the review petition as well as the grounds in support thereof. We do not find any error, much less apparent, in the order impugned, warranting its reconsideration," the bench said, while dismissing the review petition. The order was passed on July 29 but uploaded recently. On April 29, the top court said that no cognisable offence was made out against Thakur and Verma. While BJP MP Thakur is a former union minister, Verma is a minister in the Delhi government. The CPI(M) leaders had challenged a June 2022 verdict of the Delhi High Court in the case The high court h
Union Minister Bhagirath Choudhary and BJP MP Lumba Ram had received financial assistance under a scheme of the National Horticulture Board in the last five years, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday, adding that Choudhary had, however, refunded the subsidy. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said, "Financial assistance under the National Horticulture Board (NHB) schemes is provided in the form of credit-linked back-ended capital investment subsidy to eligible farmers and entrepreneurs for development of commercial horticulture, protected cultivation, post-harvest management and cold chain infrastructure." The minister provided details of serving Union Ministers, Members of Parliament and their immediate family members, who have received financial assistance under the Schemes of the NHB during the last five years. As per the list, Lumba Ram (MP of Sirohi, Rajasthan) in 2025 and Bhagirath Choudhary (Union Minister of State for
The Congress on Sunday said the Jantar Mantar and other protests in recent weeks have had proximate causes in a rigged exam system but the agony and anger of youth and their parents have more fundamental causes of both accessibility and affordability revealed by household expenditure data. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the youth and their parents are crying out for remedial action on accessibility and affordability. "The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has very recently done a detailed analysis based on its household expenditure data between 2014/15-2025/26. The conclusions are stark. Education costs are rising substantially faster than household income. Households are allocating a considerably larger share of their income towards education. "Private tuition has emerged as one of the fastest-growing components of household expenditure on education. School and college fees have recorded sustained growth throughout the last decade, consistently outpacing ..