India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
In a historic ruling, Hong Kong's highest court upheld inheritance and public housing benefits for same-sex married couples, a decision that marks a major stride in the fight for gay rights in the region. Although Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage, the verdict, reported by The New York Times, resolves two protracted legal disputes involving couples married overseas. One case involved Nick Infinger, who wed his husband in Canada. Their application for public housing in Hong Kong was initially rejected, prompting Infinger to sue the Housing Authority in 2018. Despite an initial victory, the government attempted to appeal. In a separate case from 2019, Edgar Ng challenged the legality of a policy barring his husband, whom he married in Britain, from inheriting a government-subsidized apartment. Ng's unexpected death in 2020 did not halt the legal battle, which ended in a favorable ruling for his spouse, Henry Li, despite the government's appeals. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung emphasized the need for equitable distribution of welfare benefits, free from discrimination, declaring the exclusion of same-sex couples from housing policies unjustifiable. Judges Joseph Fok and Roberto Ribeiro condemned the discriminatory inheritance laws as unconstitutional. Outside the Court of Final Appeal, Infinger hailed the judgment as a victory for love and equality, and advocacy group co-founder Jerome Yau urged the government to cease denying spousal benefits based on sexual orientation. Last year's court mandate for the government to devise legal recognition for same-sex partnerships by 2025 did not extend to marriage equality, despite growing public support. Recent surveys indicate a 60% approval rate for same-sex marriage among Hong Kong residents, underscoring the imperative for comprehensive legal reform. Yau argued that the rational choice is to legalize same-sex marriage, criticizing the government's piecemeal approach. He urged authorities to heed the court's directive and establish a coherent framework that acknowledges the dignity and rights of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation.
A question. Which party played identity politics in the 2024 campaign? Donald Trump and the Republicans or Kamala Harris and the Democrats? Left-leaning pundits think they know. Political consultant James Carville blamed Democrats' defeat on their "stupid, Goddamn identitarian mission." CNN anchor and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria argued that one of the big mistakes Harris made was "elevating identity politics." New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd declared that "woke is broke." This one-sided attack on identity politics happens like clockwork when Democrats lose an election, eve ...Read More >
In a significant legal blow to Saif Ali Khan, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected his long-pending petition against the government's move to designate his ancestral assets, worth Rs 15,000 crore, as "enemy property." In a major legal setback for Saif Ali Khan, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed his long-standing plea challenging the government's decision to classify his ancestral properties, valued at Rs 15,000 crore, as "enemy property." A trial court decision from 2000 that ac ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) YouTuber Samay Raina appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi on Tuesday, months after he was summoned in connection with allegedly offensive and sexist content aired during his show "India's Got Latent", officials said. Raina was also among the five social media influencers who appeared before the Supreme Court in a case seeking action against them for ridiculing persons suffering from disabilities. Raina submitted his statement in response to the allegations to NCW officials. Officials said further steps will be considered after reviewing his ...Read More >
The Delhi high court on Thursday asked the Centre to clarify the rationale behind excluding unmarried and same sex couples from giving consent on their partner's behalf for medical treatment/emergencies, saying that it saw no valid justification for such exclusion. A bench of justice Sachin Datta sought justification while dealing with a plea filed by Arshiya Takkar, a queer individual, seeking directions to the Centre to frame guidelines allowing same-sex partners to give consent in medical sit ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 12 (VOICE) The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that no fresh suits would be registered under the Places of Worship Act in the country, and in the pending cases, no final or effective orders would be passed till further orders of the Apex Court. A Special Bench headed by CJI Sajiv Khanna asked the Union government to file within four weeks its reply to the clutch of petitions challenging the validity of the 1991 Act, which prohibits the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947. The Bench, also c ...Read More >
New Delhi: An underaged teenage survivor of rape seeking to immediately end her unwanted pregnancy of 27 weeks will have to wait until the fetus reaches the gestational period of 34 weeks so that the child can be born, Delhi High Court ordered on Thursday."Don't ask us to be a part of foeticide. Every endeavour must be made by the state to protect life," the bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Anish Dayal told the counsel for the survivor, after AIIMS highlighted that aborting the 16-year-old girl's pregnancy at 27 weeks may harm her reproductive health permanently and amount to fo ...Read More >
Chandigarh: A day after the ministry of external affairs (MEA) rebuke of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann's remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visit, CM Mann repeated the same on the floor of the state assembly here on Friday. Speaking during the discussion on the resolution presented in the assembly to reject deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) dams, Mann said that the MEA issued a statement when he, as a citizen, questioned the foreign policy of the BJP-led Central government. Repeating his jibes, Mann said ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The Indian equity indices opened lower on Friday as heavyweights like Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers in the BSE benchmark. At 9.25 am, Sensex was down 171 points or 0.21 per cent at 82, 087 and Nifty was down 35 points or 0.14 per cent at 25, 075. In the Sensex pack, M&M, Tata Steel, Power Grid, L&T, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Tata Motors, BEL, NTPC, TCS, Trent and Maruti Suzuki were top gainers. Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra , HDFC Bank, Eternal (Zomato), HUL, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Titan and Bajaj Finserv ...Read More >
The Supreme Court halted new temple-mosque legal battles. The court will review the 1991 law impacting religious site status. This law froze the status of religious sites as of August 15, 1947. Several cases, including Gyanvapi and Shahi Idgah, challenge this law. The law's validity is being questioned. The court's decision impacts ongoing and future disputes.In its ruling on the keenly-watched Place of Worship Act case, the Supreme Court said on December 12 that no new Mandir-Masjid suits are to ...Read More >
SRINAGAR: A defiant Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled the gates of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard to pay tributes to the 22 people killed by the Dogra army on July 13, 1931. The dramatic scene unfolded a day after Abdullah and several leaders of the National Conference and opposition parties were put under house arrest to prevent them from going to the graveyard to mark Martyrs' Day. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah took an autorickshaw from the Khanyar crossing to the martyrs memorial while Minister for Education Sakina Ittoo surprised everyone by r ...Read More >
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 15 (ANI): The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Tuesday wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, seeking his immediate intervention in an incident of alleged religious discrimination faced by Kashmiri female students at a nursing college in Bengaluru. The students, who wear the hijab or burkha in accordance with their religious beliefs, have reportedly been barred from attending classes and threatened with expulsion by the management of Sri Soubhagya Lalitha College of Nursing, affiliated with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Heal ...Read More >
In the letter, the association said the Kashmiri women students have been systematically targeted. This incident follows the 2022 Karnataka hijab ban, currently under Supreme Court review after a split verdict. Bengaluru: The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Tuesday, July 15 wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stating that Muslim students wearing hijab were barred from attending classes and threatened with expulsion at a Bengaluru college. The alleged case of rel ...Read More >
Pune: The Indian Gig Workers' Front on Saturday evening suspended the ongoing strike of cabs and autorickshaws operating on applications till Tuesday, after leaving many commuters, including those arriving at the airport on Saturday morning, hassled. Keshav Kshirsagar, the president of the front, said, "We have a meeting on Tuesday with senior officials of the state transport department. If its decisions don't meet our expectations, the strike will resume." Several commuters had a harrowing experience on roads on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday. Cabs and autos were hard to come by. T ...Read More >
New Delhi: The death sentence of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was sentenced to death in Yemen, has been postponed for the time being. She was to be executed by shooting today, July 16. According to media reports, activist groups and influential religious leaders intervened in the matter, after which the death sentence of Nimisha Priya was postponed. Earlier, many efforts were also made at the diplomatic level to save Nimisha from the death penalty. There is also news that the victim's family has not yet agreed to clemency or blood money. As a last-ditch effort to save her, Kanthapuram A. ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 17 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Central government regarding a petition urging for the creation of guidelines to legally recognise non-heterosexual partners as medical representatives, thereby allowing them to give consent on each other's behalf in medical situations. Justice Sachin Datta sought responses from the Union Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Law and Justice, Social Justice and Empowerment, and the National Medical Commission regarding the plea. Also Read | Patna Voter List Controversy: Election Commission, District ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): Justice Yashwant Varma of Allahabad High Court has approached the Supreme Court challenging the in-house three-judge inquiry committee's report and former CJI Sanjiv Khanna's recommendation to initiate impeachment proceedings against him. Justice Varma stated that he was not given a fair opportunity to respond to the in-house inquiry committee before it presented its findings. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Launches Infrastructure Projects Worth INR 7,200 Crore, Says Bihar's Growth Vital for Viksit Bharat (Watch Videos). His plea came ahead of the Parliament' ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 10: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday objected to the PILs filed by several NGOs and other political activists in the Supreme Court challenging its decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the poll body, objected to the locus standi of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and other PIL litigants. "None of them are voters in Bihar! Before you (SC) are some sections of people who write articles and then file petitions. I have a serious objection to this," ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday claimed that the Election Commission "cannot reject per se" Aadhaar, ration card and voter card as valid identity proof after the Supreme Court's interim order on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, and alleged that "disinformation" is being spread on the issue. The party also demanded the EC shelve its plan for a nationwide special intensive revision, calling it "unconstitutional". The apex court on Thursday allowed the Election Commission of India to continue with its special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a "constituti ...Read More >
Bareilly (UP), Jul 17 (PTI) A teacher from Bahedi district, who went viral recently after reciting a poem mentioning Kanwar Yatra, approached the police on Thursday stating a threat to his life from anti-social elements. A case has been registered at Bahedi police station based on a complaint from Dr Rajneesh Kumar Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College in the district. According to Circle Officer Arun Kumar Singh, Gangwar's complaint says that ever since his recitation of the poem 'Tum Kanwad Lene Mat Jana, Gyaan Ka Deepak Jalaana' (You don't go get Kavad, light the lamp of knowledge inste ...Read More >
Bengaluru: For millions of people, the sudden, sharp pain of tooth due to sensitivity can turn a sip of cold water into a jolt. Now, researchers at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Theranautilus, have engineered "CalBots" - magnetic nanobots that can seal the problem at its source.As per IISc, CalBots are 400-nanometre particles loaded with a calcium silicate-based bioceramic formula, designed to travel 500 micrometres deep inside dentinal tubules, the tiny tunnels in the tooth that lead to nerve endings. Guided by an external magnetic ...Read More >
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 2 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) President Farooq Abdullah claimed that Muslims are feeling unsafe and stated that there is no discrimination based on religion, as guaranteed by the Constitution. The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir also said that the government should treat Muslims without any discrimination. "...There is no doubt that Muslims are feeling unsafe. I will ask the govt of India to stop that. 24 crore Muslims cannot be thrown into the ocean. They (the govt) should treat Muslims equally, there is no di ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 2 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a petition alleging that the Assam government has reportedly launched a "sweeping and indiscriminate drive" to deport persons suspected to be foreigners to Bangladesh. A vacation bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the All BTC Minority Students Union (ABMSU) to approach the Gauhati High Court for appropriate relief. Also Read | INR 2,000 Currency Notes Worth INR 6,181 Crore Still in Circulation After Withdrawal 2 Years Ago, Reveals RBI Data. The petitioner said that the state of Ass ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Delhi Public School, Dwarka, has decided to revoke the suspension of 32 students over a fee dispute, the Delhi High Court was informed on Thursday. The development came as Justice Sachin Datta was set to pronounce his verdict on a petition filed by the parents of the students, who were suspended over alleged non-payment of increased fees. "We have withdrawn the suspension order striking off students and also filed an affidavit to that effect on Monday," the counsel for the schoo ...Read More >
The Supreme Court has requested responses from the Centre, Tamil Nadu Governor's office, and others regarding the TN government's plea. This plea challenges a Madras High Court order that suspended the state's authority to appoint vice-chancellors at state universities. The University Grants Commission has also been issued a notice concerning the high court's interim order.The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Centre, Tamil Nadu Governor's office, and others on a plea by the TN governm ...Read More >
Srinagar, July 09: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that Jammu & Kashmir's tourism sector is witnessing a strong revival, with a steady rise in the number of tourists visiting the Union Territory each day.Abdullah, while addressing reporters in West Bengal ahead of the Kolkata Tourism Fair, said, "Tourists are coming back to Kashmir in good numbers. The ongoingAmarnathYatra is proceeding smoothly with heavy footfall on both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes, he said."I spoke to several pilgrims, and they are all happy and satisfied with the arrangements. I have come to Kolkata to ta ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 12 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday slammed Kerala ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), accusing both of being tainted by corruption. Rejecting allegations of the Centre stepmotherly treatment toward the state, he said the Modi-led government had allocated more funds to Kerala than the previous UPA government. The track record of LDF and UDF has been that of a corrupt government. LDF has done explosives scam, cooperative bank scam, AI camera scam, Life Mission scam, PPE kit s ...Read More >
The Supreme Court will hear a plea against the Delhi High Court's stay on the film 'Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal tailor murder'. The film's release was halted despite censor board approval. Producers argue the stay violates their rights after investing in the movie. The Delhi High Court wants the Centre to decide on banning the film due to potential disharmony. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to stay the release of the film 'Udaipur Fi ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey has spoken about his controversial Supreme Court is responsible for inciting religious wars in the country and parliament, assemblies should be shut remarks made amid opposition parties move to approach the top court against the Waqf Act and said influx of around 4,000 people from Malda, Murshidabad, and Kaliachak into his constituency had become a significant challenge, prompting him to speak out. Dubey, who is MP from Godda, had also slammed the Supreme Court ruling prescribing a timeline for the President to ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], February 5 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday addressed a distribution program of over 2,800 appointment letters in the Tripura government, saying that joining the communist party cadre was no longer a requirement for jobs in Tripura. He said that Tripura has been transformed from a "land-locked" state to "land-linked" one. "There was a communist rule here in the past. To get jobs in the government, one had to be a part of the communist cadre. I would like to thank the Chief Minister of Tripura for giving a chance to 2,806 youth, without any discrimination an ...Read More >
Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Marking the Cooperatives Year, a two-day national seminar will be inaugurated on Friday at the Swarn Jayanti Auditorium of Vikram University. Farmers from five major states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Goa are set to participate in the seminar, 'Dairy Development in Madhya Pradesh: Possibilities and Challenges', under the joint aegis of the Indian Dairy Association (DA) West Zone, and Vikram University (VU). Researchers, students, milk producers from across the country, where over two lakh cooperative societies function, along with experts ...Read More >