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.
Thodupuzha: The arrest of two Kerala nuns in Chhattisgarh has triggered widespread protests across Kerala. Bishop Mar George Madathikandathil of the Kothamangalam Diocese demanded that the false charges filed against the nuns be withdrawn unconditionally by the court. He emphasised that merely granting bail is not sufficient. The bishop was speaking at the inauguration of a prayer rally and public meeting held in Thodupuzha, organised jointly by the CRI and various diocesan organisations. He urged government officials and authorities -- who, he said, have come under the influence of religious extremists -- to correct their flawed stance. He stressed that instead of offering temporary relief through discussions whenever Christian believers are attacked, the root causes of such hostilities must be addressed permanently. "In a secular India, the constitutional right to religious freedom must be protected and universally implemented," he said. He strongly condemned the attacks on poor, selfless nuns who dedicate their lives to serving the helpless, calling such actions inhumane. The bishop also called on those in positions of responsibility to act sincerely to stop hate campaigns by communal and divisive groups and to ensure that justice prevails. The event, which included a prayer rally from Gandhi Square to St. Sebastian's Church in Thodupuzha, saw the participation of hundreds of nuns, numerous priests, and thousands of laypeople from across the diocese. Holding placards protesting minority persecution and immersed in prayer, the rally concluded with worship at the church. Kothamangalam Diocese Vicar Generals Monsignor Pius Malekkandathil and Monsignor Vincent Nedungatt, Diocesan Chancellor Fr Jose Kulathoor, Procurator Fr Jose Pulparambil, and provincial superiors of various religious congregations led the protest. Catholic nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis, both from Kerala, along with Sukaman Mandavi, were arrested on July 25 from the Durg railway station in the BJP-ruled state. The arrests were made following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary, who accused them of proselytising and trafficking three girls from Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh. They are currently housed in Durg jail as a NIA court reserved its judgement on their bail plea.
NEW DELHI: Axiom-4 crew members, including Shubhanshu Shukla, were welcomed with hugs and drinks as they stepped into the International Space Station on Thursday. The newly launched spacecraft -- the fifth in the Dragon series and named Grace -- successfully completed a soft docking with the International Space Station at 4.01pm while orbiting above the North Atlantic Ocean."At 6:31 am EDT (4:01 IST) on Thursday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station for the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4," the National Aeronautics ...Read More >
Rahul Gandhi criticized the RSS after its general secretary, Dattatreya Hosabale, suggested reviewing the terms "socialist" and "secular" in the Constitution's Preamble. Gandhi alleged the RSS prefers "Manusmriti" over the Constitution, aiming to deprive marginalized communities of their rights. He vowed to defend the Constitution against the RSS's alleged agenda.leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the mask of the RSS has come off again as it wants "Manusmriti" and not the Constitution, after the ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Mysuru Dasara is set to run for 11 days this year -- a rare extension driven by celestial alignment and cultural planning -- with the inaugural ceremony on Sept 22 and the grand Jamboo Savari taking place on Oct 2, coinciding with Vijayadashami and Gandhi Jayanti.Chairing a high-level meeting at Vidhana Soudha Friday, chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "Mysuru Dasara in 2025 will be celebrated for 11 days, due to a unique astronomical occurrence -- the Panchami tithi (fifth lunar day) will appear on two consecutive days, Sept 26 and 27, a rare alignment that hasn't occurred in nearly ...Read More >
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 1 (ANI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday slammed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over their General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale's statement demanding reconsideration of the terms 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. Alleging that the RSS wants to 'alter' the Indian Constitution, Kharge said that these are the same people who 'staged a protest when the constituent assembly debates were going on and burned the constitution.' Responding to recent remarks made by Hosabale, the Karnataka Minister said, 'Very cle ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 5 (ANI): Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Saturday accused the Congress of misleading the country with its claim that the BJP-led government at the Centre wants to change the Constitution. He added that AICC has now become the 'All India Cheating Congress'. "The words 'secular' and 'socialist' were not there in the Constitution. It was added after the 42nd Amendment. The Amendment was brought during the Emergency. Emergency was a black day in the democratic history of our country. So, the original Constitution did not have the words 'secular' and ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 6 (ANI): The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign of the electoral rolls in Bihar is progressing rapidly and recognizing the efforts of the Polling station officials, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar has announced a special incentive of Rs 6,000 for each. This additional honorarium is aimed at acknowledging their hard work and commitment during the intensive revision process. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi, Argentine President Javier Milei Agree to Diversify India-Argentina Trade Basket, Vows to Expand Cooperation in Defence, Security and Mine ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 9 (ANI): Following the violent protest at Kerala University, a case has been registered against 27 activists of the ruling CPM's Students Federation of India (SFI), including its state secretary P S Sanjeev, who has been named the prime accused, police said. The case also names 1,000 identifiable protesters who have been accused of damaging public property, forcibly entering the university campus, and assaulting police and university staff, police said on Tuesday. The police have also invoked non-bailable charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BN ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: A group of madrasa students attacked a stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka on Monday, protesting the display of books written by exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, according to police and eyewitness accounts. The incident occurred at the stall of Sabyasachi Publication, which publishes Nasreen's books. Eyewitnesses reported that a group of individuals approached the stall, questioning why Nasreen's books were being displayed. "A group of agitators came to Sabyasachi Prakashani and began shouting about the presence of Taslima Nasreen's books in the stall. Later, Pu ...Read More >
Kottayam (Kerala,), May 27 (PTI) Sister Anupama, who was the face of protests against former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal in a rape case, has renounced nunhood and gone back to ordinary life, leaving the Catholic convent. For several years, she had been an inmate of a Kuravilangad-based convent, which is functioning under the Latin Catholic diocese of Jalandhar. A group of nuns, led by Sister Anupama, had fought on behalf of the victim nun who had accused Mulakkal of raping her multiple times. "She renounced nunhood and left the convent some time back," a church source told PTI. Howeve ...Read More >
Itanagar, Jun 7 (PTI) The flood situation in Arunachal Pradesh improved on Saturday with water levels of most rivers receding, even as 33,000 people in 24 districts remained affected, officials said. Twelve people lost their lives and one person went missing in rain-related incidents, including landslides, after the monsoon set in, they said. In its daily report, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said 33,200 people in 215 villages remained affected due to floods and landslides in the state. The water levels of most major rivers and their tributaries were showing a receding trend o ...Read More >
VISAKHAPATNAM: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar inaugurated Andhra Pradesh's first Super ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) compliant building at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Terming it a landmark in sustainable infrastructure, he emphasised the government's commitment to energy efficiency and green design in public facilities. The facility will serve as a national-level training hub for power sector staff. He urged power utilities to expedite 20 lakh rooftop solar connections, targeting 10,000 in each Assembly segment. He reaffirmed nine-hour uninterrupted power for agri ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday extended the term of the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Ravi Agrawal by one year, an official notification said.The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the re-appointment of Agrawal, an IRS officer of the 1988 batch, as CBDT chairman for one year from July 1 this year to June 30, 2026, on contract basis.Agrawal took over as the CBDT chairman from Nitin Gupta in June 2024 after Gupta's extended tenure ended. Agrawal has been a member of CBDT. He was member administration and had served as DG investigation in Delhi. The gover ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) Amid the row over RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale's remarks on the Constitution's Preamble, CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar on Sunday wrote to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, questioning if the organisation "truly accept the Indian Constitution". Hosabale, the general secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideologue mentor of the ruling BJP, on Thursday called for a review of the words "secular" and "socialist" inserted into the Preamble by way of the 42nd Amendment. He said the words were added during the Emergency and were not part of the original text drafted by B ...Read More >
Kannur [Kerala] (India) July 1 (ANI): Congress National General Secretary KC Venugopal has strongly criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) demand to amend the Constitution, particularly with regard to the words 'Secular and Socialist' stating that the country would not tolerate any attempt to tamper with these fundamental principles. 'Let them say whatever they want to say. But we would like to make it crystal clear that any attempt at change in the Constitution, and any tampering with the words 'Secular and Socialist', will not be tolerated by this nation. They can wish anything, b ...Read More >
Amritsar: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey from Jharkhand has claimed that Britain assisted India in executing the 1984 Operation Bluestar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, stoking a new controversy.In a post on X on Monday, Dubey alleged that then PM Indira Gandhi "launched an attack on the Golden Temple in collaboration with Britain", with British Army officers present in Amritsar.He uploaded a classified British document, "Sikh Community", claiming that on Feb 23, 1984, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office mentioned in a letter that the Indian govt had sought British advice over a plan to remove Si ...Read More >
Chennai: In a reprieve to actors Srikanth and Krishna, who were arrested on charges of using cocaine, Madras high court on Tuesday granted them conditional bail. Granting the relief, Justice M Nirmal Kumar directed them to appear at the Nungambakkam police station daily until further orders.Actor Srikanth was arrested on June 23, while Krishna was arrested on June 26 in connection with a cocaine smuggling racket. Representing Srikanth, senior advocate John Sathyan submitted that Srikanth was arrested solely based on a confession given by the prime accused, Pradeep Kumar, who said that Srikanth ...Read More >
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], December 15 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended the ceremony here on Sunday to present the President's Colour Award to Chhattisgarh Police. Shah embarked on a three-day visit to Chhattisgarh from December 14 to 16, during which he will chair a high-level security review meeting. Also Read | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Death Anniversary 2024: Priyanka Gandhi Pays Tribute to Former Congress President on His 74th Punyatithi. The Chhattisgarh Police has been honoured with the prestigious 'President's Police Colour' award, recognizing their remarkable 25-yea ...Read More >
Puri: At least three persons, including two women, were killed and around 50 others injured in a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple during Odisha's Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra on Sunday morning, June 29, officials said. The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri District Collector Siddharth S Swain said. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital, and the condition of six people is critical, he said. "Out of the 50 injured, six people are still unconscious and their condition is very serious," an off ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
Srinagar, June 7: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on Saturday, congratulated the University of Kashmir for getting an A++ grade in the NAAC inspection. The Lt Governor extended his heartiest congratulations to the Vice Chancellor, faculty, staff, and students of the University of Kashmir for attaining the prestigious A++ Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), and securing an outstanding Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.68 on a seven-point scale. Calling it a proud moment for J&K UT, the Lt Governor said, "The A++ Grade places the Un ...Read More >
Guwahati, Jun 28 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed on Saturday that 'socialism' and 'secularism' are Western concepts, and these words should be struck off of the Constitution. He said these words were included in the Preamble of the Constitution by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and these have no place in Indian civilisation. "How can I be secular? I am a hardcore Hindu. A Muslim person is a hardcore Muslim person. How can he be secular?" Sarma said. He was speaking after launching in Assam a book titled 'The Emergency Diaries: Years That Forged a Leader' which is b ...Read More >
DHARMAPURI: For the third time in the past two months, a wild leopard wandered into a private farmland near Valaithottam village near Palacode and hunted chicken raised by a local farmer. Locals are increasingly distressed and urged the forest department to take steps to relocate the leopard. Over the past few months, there have been several reports of leopard sightings in forest areas near Palacode, particularly in Valaithottam village, near the forest's fringe. There have been two instances when the leopard attacked farmlands, taking away a domestic dog and a chicken. On Saturday, the leop ...Read More >
MADURAI: Likening the custodial murder of Ajith Kumar in Tiruppuvanam to an 'organised crime by police where the state kills its own citizens,' Madras high court lambasted the Tamil Nadu police and said the action against the perpetrators should be more stringent than in normal murder cases.A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete pointed to 44 external injuries on the person of Ajith Kumar and said no part of the body was spared by the delinquent cops. "Even an ordinary murderer would not have inflicted such kind of injuries," the bench said on Tuesday.The natur ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) Delhi Police on Wednesday argued in the Delhi High Court that the intention behind February 2020 riots in the capital was to globally defame the nation by way of a well-planned and orchestrated criminal conspiracy by the accused persons including Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. Delhi Police was opposing the bail pleas of the accused persons when it argued before a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur that it was not a spontaneous riot but a well-organised act planned in advance in the capital of the country, aimed at a particular day and time. The bench res ...Read More >
New Delhi: In its final bid to oppose the bail petitions of northeast Delhi riot accused, including Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, Delhi Police on Wednesday alleged that the intention behind the Feb 2020 riots in the national capital was to globally defame the nation through a well-planned and orchestrated criminal conspiracy.Arguing before a special bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur in the conspiracy case related to the riots, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said, "If you are doing something against your nation, then you better be in jail till you are acquitted or convicted. Th ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
Kolkata, June 28: A political slugfest has erupted in West Bengal after a woman accused Padma Shree awardee monk Kartik Maharaj, who is posted with the Murshidabad unit of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, of allegedly raping her 12 times for six months in 2013. As per the police complaint lodged by the woman, Kartik Maharaj raped her multiple times 12 years ago promising her a job at a local school. The ruling Trinamool Congress is highlighting the issue in a major way and accusing the BJP of being silent on it since the accused monk had been reportedly close to the saffron party. The woman accusin ...Read More >
Haveri (Karnataka) [India], June 29 (ANI): Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has claimed that the words 'socialist' and 'secular' were rejected in the original Constitution by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Speaking to ANI, Joshi on Saturday said, "The words 'socialist' and 'secular' were rejected in the original Constitution by no less than Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar himself. We respect the Constitution given by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar." Also Read | Bhopal's Aishbagh Railway Overbridge Sparks Outrage Over Hazardous Design; MP CM Mohan Yadav Suspends 8 Engineers, Orders Inquiry. The remarks came after RSS gene ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 4 (ANI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday came down heavily on the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) over its pitch to reconsider the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution while saying that it was 'all talk'. He dared and challenged RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and top leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the centre to remove the words 'secular and socialist' from the Preamble. 'Days before, I heard that some RSS person said that we should remove Secular and Socialist words from ...Read More >