Rahul Gandhi leads tributes to Sitaram Kesri as PM Modi honours Karpoori Thakur, signalling both parties' attempts to appeal to Bihar's backward class voters
Anup Kumar Srivastava, a social worker and former district BJP president in Gopalganj, reportedly felt sidelined by the BJP despite his claim to contest with sufficient resources
The BJP leader also launched a sharp attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal and its supremo, Lalu Yadav, accusing them of pushing Bihar backwards
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the birthplace of socialist icon Karpoori Thakur, the Congress on Friday took a swipe at the PM and asked whether it is not an acknowledged fact that the Jan Sangh brought down Thakur's government in Bihar in April 1979 when the-then CM introduced reservation for OBCs. The opposition party also asked whether it is not a fact that the PM and his "trouble-engine sarkar" in the state did nothing to provide protection to Bihar's 65% reservation law for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, and EBCs under the Constitution. The attack came ahead of PM Modi addressing two poll rallies in Samastipur and Begusarai districts. Before addressing the public rally in Samastipur, the PM will visit Karpurigram, the birthplace of socialist icon and former Bihar CM late Karpoori Thakur, who was conferred the Bharat Ratna last year by the NDA government. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the PM and
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah turned 61 on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other prominent leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, greeting him on his birthday. In a message, Modi said Shah has made commendable efforts to strengthen India's internal security apparatus and ensure every Indian leads a life of safety and dignity. "Birthday greetings to Home Minister Shri Amit Shah Ji. He is widely admired for his dedication to public service and hardworking nature... Praying for his long and healthy life," Modi wrote on X. Shah has been a trusted ally of the prime minister for about four decades. Extending his greetings, Union Health Minister and BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda said Shah's public life is an unparalleled example of dedication and organisational skills. Due to the home minister's unwavering resolve to eradicate Naxalism, Nadda said, the battle to make the country Naxal-free i
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The Women and Child Development Department, which administers the scheme, said that these men had been removed from the beneficiary list, along with 77,980 women who were also found ineligible
The Congress on Wednesday said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues are trying to manufacture a bullish sentiment on the economy, they are simply running away from the "bearish reality" facing farmers who are getting prices below MSP. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh claimed that the market prices for various crops like maize, soybean and moong are currently well below their minimum support prices (MSPs). "The PM and his colleagues are trying to manufacture a bullish sentiment on the economy. They are simply running away from the bearish reality that stares farmers across the country," he said in a post on X. Market prices for maize, soybean, moong, arhar, cotton, and bajra are well below the corresponding MSP, Ramesh said. He also shared a chart elucidating his point. "This is why farmers' organisations have been demanding a legal guarantee for MSP -- something the ousted Vice President of India had also strongly supported,"
A political blame game has erupted once again with BJP and AAP accusing one another for the worsening air quality in the national capital, a day after Diwali
Congress and BJP workers on Tuesday staged protests in front of the mini civil station at Agali here over the death of a farmer, who died by suicide, on his agricultural land in this north Kerala. The protesters alleged that procedural lapses and delay by revenue officials in providing 'thandaper' (land record number) for his farmland despite repeated visits to the village office forced Krishnaswamy, the farmer, to take the extreme step. The 53-year-old farmer, a native of Kavundikkal in Attappadi, was found hanging from a tree in his farmland on Monday. His family had also alleged that Krishnaswamy took his life after being exhausted by officials not providing thandaper "for his three acres of land". They said that he had been visiting the office for the past six months and he was upset over the delay. Congress workers, who gathered in large numbers in front of the civil station, squatted on the road holding party flags and raised slogans against the government and officials. Th
In an apparent counter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" barb centered around Karnataka, the state BJP on Tuesday levelled "tax chori" allegation against the party-led government following a citizens forum's recent grievance aired to the state Chief Minister. BJP leader R Ashoka accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of "tax Chori" (tax theft) and said Bengaluru deserves action to address its infrastructure woes, not excuses and intimidation. Ashoka, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, attacked the government by highlighting a citizens forum's letter urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene and direct the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) not to collect property tax from residents, complaining that "unscientific and incomplete" civic works in their locality have led to flooding and poor road conditions. Ashoka's tax theft allegation is also seen as a counter to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" (votes theft) charge made against t
Former minister and veteran BJP leader Mahadeorao Sukhaji Shivankar died after a prolonged illness in Maharashtra's Gondia district on Monday, family sources said. Shivankar (85) breathed his last at his residence in Amgaon in the early hours of the day, his son Vijay Shivankar said. He was a five-time MLA from the Amgaon constituency and had represented the Chimur constituency in the Lok Sabha. The veteran leader also served as the national president of the BJP farmers' cell. Shivankar had announced the bifurcation of Bhandara district and the formation of the new Gondia district on January 26, 1999. He served as the state irrigation and finance minister in the Manohar Joshi government in Maharashtra in the 1990s. Shivankar is survived by his sons, Vijay and Sanjay Shivankar, and a daughter. The last rites will be conducted at Sakhritla Ghat in Amgaon on Tuesday, and the funeral procession will begin at 10 a.m. from Shivankar's residence.
BJP's Dilip Jaiswal criticism of Rahul Gandhi comes after several Congress leaders used 'Jan Nayak' term for him
Referring to Mumbai Metro stations, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant alleged that the BJP's "corporate Hindutva" had reduced deities and national figures to marketing tools
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday asserted he will not ally with the BJP to hasten the restoration of statehood to the Union territory, saying his party has no intention of repeating the "mistakes" committed by others in the past. The chief minister said if the restoration of statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in J-K, then the national party should be honest in saying so. "If that is the deal that is to be struck with the people, then the BJP should be honest, because the BJP in its manifesto and its promises to Parliament and to the Supreme Court never said that the statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in J-K. "If that is the case, then I think the BJP should be honest, they should tell us that so long as there is a non-BJP government in J-K, you will not get statehood. Then we will decide what we want to do," he said. However, Abdullah added that "tying up with the BJP or an alliance with the BJP is out of the question". "No,"
Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday accused the ruling CPI(M) of "manufacturing" the hijab controversy to divert attention from the Sabarimala gold missing case. Speaking to reporters, Chandrasekhar said the row over hijab use at St Rita's Public School in Palluruthy, Kochi, was being used to shift focus away from the alleged theft of 4.5 kilograms of gold from the Sabarimala temple. "This is a political tactic to draw attention away from the Sabarimala gold case. It will not succeed," he said, alleging the role of General Education Minister V Sivankutty in "manufacturing" a row over the matter. "The BJP will stand firmly to protect the rights of the school and its students," he told reporters at Tripunithura near here. He criticised State Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan and the Travancore Devaswom Board Chairman, demanding that both resign immediately. "If they have any sense of decency, they should step down. Otherwise, we will seek a central agency investigation,"
Gujarat Cabinet rejig: The Cabinet overhaul is likely to introduce additional ministerial positions, and balance caste and regional dynamics
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The list includes Nand Kishor Ram from Ramnagar, Vinay Bihari from Lauriya, Bina Devi from Kochadhaman, and Kumar Shailendra from Bihpur