Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responds by saying it was not feasible to mention every state in the Budget
The three new criminal laws aim to modernise the criminal justice system. With states organising awareness programs and FIRs already filed under the new laws, here are the latest updates
The National Investigation Agency filed a charge sheet on Wednesday against a CPI (Maoist) cadre in a case related to the conspiracy to damage and block a road in Chhattisgarh with the intent to kill police personnel and loot their arms. Lakhma Ram alias Lakhma Korram has been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005, according to the charge sheet filed before the NIA special court in Jagdalpur. He was one of the 35 accused against whom the NIA registered the case on February 29, 2024, along with other unknown armed cadres of the proscribed terrorist organisation, after taking over the investigation from the local police, an official statement said. The CPI (Maoist) cadres and their associates had blocked the Narayanpur-Orchha main road from India Gate, Raynar, to Marghat Raynar in furtherance of the conspiracy to kil
The TMC raced ahead of its rivals, leading in 28 seats after several rounds of counting, while the BJP led in 11, Congress and CPI(M) in one each, according to the Election Commission website. TMC candidate and sitting MP Abhishek Banerjee is leading in the Diamond Harbour constituency over his nearest rival, BJP's Abhijit Das, by a margin of 115,933 votes. TMC's Hooghly candidate Rachana Banerjee was leading over her nearest BJP rival and sitting MP Locket Chatterjee by a margin of over 12,139 votes. TMC candidate and two-time MP Asit Mal was leading from Bolpur over her nearest rival, BJP's Piya Saha, by 6,010 votes. In Malda Dakshin, Congress candidate Isha Khan Choudhury was leading by 11,733 votes over her nearest BJP rival, Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury. In Jadavpur, TMC's Sayani Ghosh was leading by over 40,000 votes over her nearest BJP rival, Anirban Ganguly. In Malda Uttar, sitting MP and BJP candidate Khagen Murmu was leading by a margin of 11,119 votes over his nearest riv
Opposition parties in West Bengal welcomed the CBI slapping attempt to murder charge on suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in connection with the attack on an ED team in Sandeshkhali on January 5. The same charge besides criminal conspiracy was also brought against Sheikh's brother and five others. The Congress, CPI(M) and the BJP said that they expect the verdict in connection with the case to be delivered quickly. Declining to comment in this regard, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh claimed that investigations of the central agencies are "highly influenced" by the Centre and the point mentioned in the chargesheet gets changed during trials. "I welcome the CBI's chargesheet which included sections of criminal conspiracy and attempt to murder on Shajahan and his men. Otherwise, it would have become a practice in West Bengal that mobs can attack investigating officers. We want the culprits in the Sandeshkhali attack on the ED case to be punished. Their punishment should be set as an example
Blaming Congress for "failing" to put up a united candidate in Barpeta Lok Sabha constituency, where another opposition party TMC too is contesting, CPI(M) nominee Manoranjan Talukdar feared that anti-BJP vote will be divided and it may create "some difficulties" for him. Talukdar, however, expressed optimism that he will give a "tough fight" against all opponents and will win the election from Barpeta, which has become a Hindu-majority seat after the delimitation exercise last year. "This is unfortunate and Congress is only responsible for what happened in the constituency. We had talked about contesting from Barpeta a long time ago... A wrong message has gone because of the opposition parties fighting separately," he told PTI in an interview here. From the ruling front, AGP has nominated senior leader, former minister and sitting Bongaigaon MLA Phani Bhusan Choudhury to contest from Barpeta. Congress nominated its state Seva Dal chief Deep Bayan, while TMC has named Abul Kalam Aza
We have fielded mostly new faces. There are barely three who are above 60 years of age, said Samik Lahiri, a senior leader of the party
In 2019, the BJP secured only 13 per cent of the votes polled in Kerala and 16 per cent along with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies
General Elections 2024 news updates: Catch all the news updates on the announcements related to Lok Sabha polls here
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday defended his recent recollection of Rahul Gandhi's "old name", stating that it was in response to certain statements made by the Congress leader during campaigning in the state, which according to the left leader, helped the BJP and agencies under its control. Vijayan said that such a conduct from the Congress leader was "completely immature" and therefore, Gandhi should not simply repeat what some of his party's leaders in the state tell him. "That is why I said he should not go back to his old name," he said at a press meet held here. Vijayan was responding to a reporter's query regarding the correctness of him making such a remark when in the past the CPI(M) had taken a stand against such personal attacks. Vijayan had referred to Gandhi's old name on April 19 a day after the Congress leader had wondered why the Marxist veteran was not jailed by the BJP government at the Centre, unlike two other Chief Ministers of opposition-ruled
Congress says the Election Commission 'risks tarnishing its legacy and abandoning its constitutional duty' if it fails to act against the Prime Minister
The Northern Kerala constituency of Kannur is witnessing an intense battle between the Congress and the CPI(M), while the BJP is focusing on the newly registered young voters to make an impact in the seat. With 39 percent minorities, including Muslims and Christians, the voters often support the CPI(M)-LDF in most of the assembly seats falling under this Parliament constituency in the polls to the legislature, but the Lok Sabha constituency has often swayed towards the Congress-led UDF, hoping to replace the BJP at the Centre. The strong minority vote base is what helped the UDF win the seat as the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is its major partner. The rubber farmers in areas like Irikkur and Peravoor, predominantly Christians, have also been a strong vote bank for the Congress. Hoping to retain the seat this time as well, the Congress has fielded Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief K Sudhakaran here. Considering his candidature in the seat, Sudhakaran had recently ...
The Election Commission of India has warned BJP candidate Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency, Kriti Devi Debbarman, for violating the model code of conduct by branding the opposition CPI(M) a party of murderers. The CPI(M) on Wednesday lodged a complaint against her with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar in this regard. The video footage of the speech also corroborated that the (BJP) candidate has made the speech against which the complaint was made, said Saju Vaheed, Returning Officer of the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat. Based on the available evidence, it is convinced that the statement was made in violation of the model code of conduct, he said in a statement. Smt Kriti Devi Debbarman is hereby warned to abstain from making such statements in future which violates the MCC. Otherwise, appropriate action will be taken as per the provisions of MCC the returning officer said. Debbarman, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Tripura, is the sister of Pradyot Debbarma, the
Election manifestos of Congress and CPM promise stronger legal protections for the community
The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala and the opposition Congress, both part of the INDIA bloc, on Sunday traded allegations against each other on various issues, including the CAA and the recent Kannur blast, as the Lok Sabha poll campaign intensified in the state. Polling will be held in the state on April 26. At an LDF public meeting in Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituency, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reiterated his accusations of Congress being silent on the implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and various central government policies that are against the interests of the state. He contended that the Congress never opposed the central government policies that are financially choking the state and obstructing its welfare measures. Vijayan went on to claim that the past experience of the country has been that the Congress's stand was always similar to that of the BJP and, therefore, they cannot be trusted to oppose the saffron party. He further alleged
CPI (M) said it stands for state governors to be chosen out of a panel of three eminent persons proposed by the chief minister, state funding of elections and banning corporate donations to parties
In the seat-sharing formula for the Mahagathbandhan allies, RJD gets key constituencies in Madhubani and Hajipur while Congress to contest from Kishanganj and Muzaffarpur
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has received a notice from the income-tax department, asking it to pay "dues" of Rs 11 crore for using an old PAN card while filing tax returns during the last few years, sources said on Friday. They said the Left party is consulting its lawyers to challenge the notice of the tax authorities. The sources said the "dues" to be paid to the I-T department include penalties and interest due to authorities for "discrepancies" in the use of an old PAN card by the party. "We are seeking legal assistance and consulting our lawyers," a senior CPI leader told PTI. Earlier, the Congress said it has received I-T notices, asking the party to pay dues of more than Rs 1,823 crore for discrepancies in tax returns filed for previous years. Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale has also claimed that he has received 11 I-T notices in the last 72 hours. The Congress has been alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre is trying to "cripple" the opposition
The CPI(M) is hoping for a turnaround in the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal after a barren outcome in 2019, maintaining that the results will depend on the people being able to freely exercise their franchise. Claiming that the people have seen through the "hollow" promises made by the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, CPI(M) central committee member and candidate from Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency Sujan Chakraborty said that the "red flag" is there when no one else is believed to be trustworthy. "If people can exercise their franchise freely, then there will be a reflection of that in the results," he told PTI. Elections in West Bengal, where poll-related violence has been in the focus for long, will be held in seven phases with the highest number of central security forces. Several companies of central forces were sent to the state by the Election Commission as a confidence-building measure even before the polls were announced. The CPI(M)-led Left Front, which ruled the state for
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Tuesday announced that CPI(M) will contest from Madurai and Dindigul and the CPI from Nagapattinam and Tiruppur constituencies in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The announcement came a month after the ruling party allotted two seats each to the Left parties, who are part of the alliance with Congress and a few other parties. CPI(M) leaders led by State Secretary K Balakrishnan, CPI State Secretary R Mutharasan and others called on Chief Minister and DMK President M K Stalin at the Dravidian party's headquarters 'Anna Arivalayam' here today and signed formal agreements regarding the seats. The ruling DMK had allotted two seats each to the CPI(M), CPI and VCK and one each to the IUML, KMDK and MDMK. The DMK has earmarked nine seats in Tamil Nadu besides the lone segment in Puducherry to the Congress party. The DMK is set to contest in 21 seats. The KMDK nominee will contest in DMK's rising sun symbol and in effect, the ruling party is set to fight from 22 ou